Chapter 936 They seem to have left
The Portuguese shipwrecks from the Age of Discovery are really easy to identify.
Even though Portugal and Spain signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, dividing the world in two, Portugal was much weaker than Spain. So, while Portugal was in the West, it tried to colonize the East, while Spain, in the East, tried to colonize the West, which was much easier.
What lay west of Europe? The Americas, where the natives didn't even have wheels! And what lay east of Europe? The Mamluks, who controlled the Red Sea and Cairo; the invincible Ottoman Empire in the Middle East; the Sultanate entrenched in Malacca; the ancient civilization of India... Portugal's matchlocks were probably inferior to bows and arrows, and their shipbuilding technology wasn't up to par. They generally used caravels and carracks. The former couldn't carry artillery, with their sterns tilted high. Essentially, the ferry boats in Booty Bay in World of Warcraft were caravels. Carracks, on the other hand, had towering forecastles capable of carrying light artillery, while archers and musketeers stood atop the forecastle to support the Portuguese landing forces.
Portugal's colonial methods are also quite interesting. These ships were large-bellied cargo ships, carrying various building materials and weapons from Portugal to the colonies to build cities and fortresses. Once they established a foothold under the guise of trade and missionary work, they gradually expanded, then brought the plundered resources back to Lisbon. This explains why, despite their numerous colonies, Portugal generally maintained relatively small size, with the exception of Brazil and some parts of Africa.
The reason why they used this method of colonization was largely due to their neighbor Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar.
Portugal's colonial journey began with the colonization of Morocco.
At that time, Morocco belonged to the Arab Empire. After conquering Morocco, the Arab Empire marched northward. The present-day Portugal and Spain were basically part of the Arab Empire. This frightened European Christians, who united to resist the expansion of the Arab Empire and continued to recover lost territory southward. Among them, Alfonso I founded Portugal during the process of recovering lost territory.
However, Portugal was established by "picking up bargains" after all. It has a small land area and poor economic potential. Moreover, the gap between it and its neighbor Spain is getting bigger and bigger. If it continues like this, it will probably not last long before it is annexed by Spain.
So Portugal embarked on the road of expansion and began to colonize everywhere. The first stop of their colonization was Morocco in the south. In 1415, King John I and his sons led their army to secretly land in the port of Ceuta and occupied it. Then, after having this bridgehead, they spent decades to capture a series of ports in Morocco. John I's descendant, Alfonso V, even called himself the "King of Africa".
Despite acquiring a significant amount of land, Portugal was forced to continuously pour resources into Morocco to maintain its colonial rule. This led to a period of unprofitability and even losses. After over a century of colonization, Portugal's treasury was essentially depleted. In 1578, the local Moroccan nobles rose up in rebellion against the Portuguese. King Sebastian of Portugal personally led the battle at the Battle of Ksar el-Kebir, which resulted in the death of King Sebastian of Portugal, the Moroccan Sultan, and the drowning of the former Sultan's son. This battle, with the deaths of three kings, earned the name the "War of the Three Kings." However, Portugal never dared to touch Morocco again.
There are also many good things in Portuguese shipwrecks. This time I went to the South Atlantic Anomaly to see if there are any Portuguese shipwrecks! Let you bother me! Let you bother me - anchoring in the anchorage outside the port is not free!
Anyway, he is now heading to the Atlantic Anomaly, and there must be Portuguese shipwrecks along the way!
Back then, there was no Suez Canal to travel from Portugal to the Orient. The only way to get there was to go around Africa and around the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape of Good Hope is famous for its harsh weather, and countless ships have been wrecked there! It would be strange not to find a Portuguese shipwreck in such a place! We must find a Portuguese shipwreck worth salvaging to piss them off!
Xiao Peng's two ships were waiting for port entry procedures at the anchorage, but they didn't know that there were people watching them with binoculars at the port.
"Boss, what are the higher-ups thinking?" A younger man in a suit put down his binoculars. "Is it necessary to trap them there?"
Behind him, a woman in a suit and black-framed glasses was standing there playing table football with another person. After hearing what the young man said, she said, "Who cares what they think! Isn't it good for us to live like a vacation? All we have to do is keep an eye on it every day. How easy is life?"
The young man in a suit pulled a beer from the fridge. "Boss, I've been hearing that this Xiao guy is so popular right now. It would be great to have his ship sail into Lisbon. It's sure to attract a lot of tourists! I even want to take a picture with him! Besides, aren't port fees much more than anchorage fees? The supply costs for two large ships like this are also quite high, right? And the spending of so many crew members will boost the economy, right? I heard that everyone on their ship is richer than the other. The spending of the people on one ship alone increased the tourism GDP of Norderney Island, Germany by 5%! I really envy these Chinese people! They're really rich!"
The woman stopped playing table football and said, "Give me a beer, too!"
She picked up a thick document on the table. If Xiao Peng were here, he would definitely be shocked: because the document contained the information of everyone on the "Calypso" and "Luna".
She pulled out Xiao Peng's profile and looked at it. "Ms. Clara Pataki from the Spanish CNI is my friend. A long time ago, she was on a mission from France. Their submarine had an accident and they contacted many ocean exploration companies to look for it, but it was Xiao who found it in the end. Actually, this was also about investigating ocean exploration companies from around the world. That's when Spain contacted us and asked us to jointly look after this Chinese man."
The other guy playing table football with him said, "That's nothing strange. After all, our two countries have the most shipwrecks on the seabed right now. It's all about money! We've been keeping an eye on ocean exploration companies around the world!"
"What ocean exploration company!" the bespectacled woman scoffed. "It's just a shipwreck salvager! To put it bluntly, it's a thief! A thief who stole our nation's wealth! For a little money, the Germans and French actually let a Chinese company act so arrogantly in Europe? The higher-ups are just trying to teach them a lesson! Of course, this won't cause a big fight. Generally, if you keep him at bay for a few days, you'll be able to talk to him, right?"
"What if they leave in anger?" the young man asked, puzzled. "What's the point of even talking about that?"
The woman with glasses smiled and waved her hands, saying, "No, how can one person turn against the country?"
"Uh. Boss, they seem to be leaving!" said the man in the suit, glancing through the telescope.
"Hmm? No way?"
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