The Rise of the European Emperor

Mao Mei was so important that Marin had already sent someone to wait for him in the Strait of Gibraltar. The matter of selling Maomei, even if it is known, doesn't matter. However, the impact is still not good.

After all, according to Catholic teaching, everyone is equal. Therefore, the matter of the slave trade is not on the table. Although it is said that indentured slaves are also very popular in Europe at present, they cannot be disclosed. Portugal was selling black slaves, but it wasn't overt either. All of these are related to religious issues.

Fortunately, the female slaves Marin sold were all Orthodox Christians and were hostile forces of Catholicism. If Marin dared to sell a large number of Catholics as slaves, it is estimated that the Holy See must be bombed. Even if there is a father-in-law of the Pope, it is estimated that he will have to eat and hang. As for the sale of Orthodox women, it is fine if it is not publicly discovered. If the information is made public, it will also affect Marin's reputation. After all, the notoriety of a "human trafficker" cannot escape the mass trafficking of women and children.

To this end, Marin asked Kohler to arrange manpower to be stationed in the Strait of Gibraltar and bribe Pisas, the commander of the Spanish Gibraltar fleet, to turn a blind eye.

On the Atlantic Ocean, in order to ensure the safety of Mao Mei, Marin also arranged for 20 warships to come to respond to avoid problems with Mao Mei's safety. After all, these women are the hopes of those bachelor immigrants in East Friesland. It's not a pity to lose the goods, it's a pity to lose people. In particular, the entire fleet is full of beauties...

...

When the fleet transporting Mao Mei passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and joined the escort fleet in the Atlantic Ocean, Columbus's fleet also came to the Caribbean Sea again.

After passing through Cape Haitian on the island of Hispaniola, which was once discovered, Columbus discovered that the "Christmas Fort", a colonial point he had built by himself, had been abandoned by the Spaniards.

Then, Columbus continued westward along the sea north of Haiti, looking for Cuba Island...

In fact, when Columbus first discovered America, he had already discovered the island of Cuba. However, what Columbus discovered at that time was only the most southeastern part of the long and narrow island of Cuba. Moreover, after the end of the second voyage, because of the influence of Marin's "syphilis report", Columbus was removed from the altar and became a street rat that everyone shouted and beat, and there was no third and fourth voyage.

Therefore, Columbus's information on Cuban Island was very incomplete before, and it could only be regarded as a "flickering glimpse". There was only information on a section of the southeastern end of Cuban Island, and there was no complete map at all.

However, upon reaching the coast of Cuba Island, Columbus was astonished to find that the outline map of Cuba Island that Marin gave him was very accurate. It seems that someone has discovered the island of Cuba before.

As a result, Columbus no longer has the face to call himself the discoverer of the "Wild Continent". Obviously, everyone has a complete map, which is much more advanced than him...

Along the northern coast of Cuba Island, Columbus directed the fleet to continue sailing, while recording the latitude and longitude, so that later sailors could easily reach their destination according to the coordinates.

After sailing for a few days, the direction of the northern coast of Cuba Island turned from northwest, to due west, and then to southwest. Before long, the fleet reached the westernmost point of the island of Cuba, and then headed east...

At this point, Columbus no longer has to explore. Because, it turns out, the map of Cuba given by Marin is very accurate, but there are no specific coordinates.

After the discovery of Pinos, Columbus simply ended his exploration of Cuba. There is an outline map of Cuba drawn by Marin according to the map of later generations, and he also explores a P. In fact, his mission this time was clearly to record navigational coordinates. There is a complete set of navigation coordinates, which is very suitable for ordinary captains to find a specific destination according to the coordinates, so as not to deviate.

After replenishing fresh water on Pinos Island,

Columbus had planned to go directly south to find Panama. However, Columbus suddenly remembered that the small ball he gave Caesar made of what Marin called "rubber" attracted Marin's attention. And, Marin said, if you can find the rubber tree, it will be a credit.

So, Columbus stopped going south, but returned to Cuba Island, and used his men who knew simple Indian language in the team to go ashore to communicate with the natives and inquire about the rubber tree.

The Indians living on the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola belong to the Taino people of the Arawak. Columbus and a few capable men once stayed on the island of Haiti for a long time and learned some Taino language from the local Taino people. Therefore, it is not particularly difficult for them to communicate with the locals.

Tainos are mild-mannered and not as aggressive and aggressive as the Caribs. Therefore, Columbus and his men easily communicated with the locals.

After giving away some beautiful glass ornaments, the local chief told Columbus that the seeds of the rubber trees were actually brought over from the invading Caribs from the south. In Cuba, there are not many rubber trees. The chief, looking around, only found dozens of rubber trees in his territory, collected a small bag of rubber tree seeds, and told Columbus the precautions and methods of rubber tapping.

Columbus collected the hundreds of rubber tree seeds like a treasure, and planned to take them to Grenada when he returned to the island, and let old George arrange to plant them. After a few years, there will be hundreds of rubber trees available for tapping.

After leaving that Taino tribe, Columbus hurried to the next Taino tribe, using the same method, took some beautiful glass ornaments, and exchanged dozens of rubber tree seeds from another Taino chief. ...

By analogy, after visiting five Taino chiefs along the coast, Columbus collected a total of 460 rubber tree seeds, which were carefully packed in a waterproof animal skin bag and hidden like a treasure.

Probably thinking that so many seeds were enough, Columbus finally ended his activities along the coast of Cuba, and commanded the fleet to bypass the western end of the island of Cuba again and start heading south...

During the voyage, Columbus was surprised to find that in the vast sea, there were actually many large canoes of Indians sailing in the Caribbean Sea. It seems that these canoes lost their western land for trade.

So, with strong curiosity, Columbus also let the fleet follow the canoes of the Tainos who were going to the west to trade, arrived at a fishing village on the Yucatan Peninsula, and visited their humble trade fair.

The Taino brought the island's specialties, such as some beautiful shellfish from the sea or the sea, and a lot of cassava, a fabric called cotton, and some strange gadgets to trade with the Mayans some necessary supplies.

On the Yucatan Peninsula, there is an important commodity that the Tainos and even the Caribs are rushing for, and that is salt.

The northern Yucatan Peninsula is the driest region in the Caribbean. It is hot and dry here, and there is a lot of evaporation. So, some puddles where seawater accumulates after the tides are formed. After the sea water in these puddles was excavated, a lot of salt was formed.

The Mayans could not only collect these natural salts, but also already knew how to cook it. The specific method is to use a simple clay pot, put seawater into it, and then boil it to obtain salt.

Because of the trade in salt, the Mayan civilization developed. The Yucatan Peninsula is also an important salt trade center in the Caribbean region. Not only the Taino, but also the Aztecs, as well as the Caribs, came here to buy salt. In particular, the Taino people on the island of Cuba, which is very close to the Yucatan Peninsula, are more dependent on the salt trade with the Maya.

Columbus took out some shiny glass ornaments at the trade fair in the seaside fishing village, which was popular with the locals. The locals took out their own goods and exchanged them with Columbus.

Columbus happily and selectively traded some of the sand with the locals for himself. Then, in a strange way, they exchanged a piece of cotton...

After visiting the Mayan seaside village fair, Columbus remembered that he seemed to have business to do. So he boarded the fishing boat again and headed south all the way to Panama...