My British Empire

Chapter 349 England's Hard Colonial History

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In fact, colonizing Ireland was a last resort for England.

After all, rabbits don’t eat grass beside their nests. Not only the Chinese understand it, but the English also understand it.

Early before the large-scale colonization of Ireland, the English set their sights on areas other than Europe.

In the early days of the Tudor Dynasty, during the period of Henry VII, this is the first time the English explored abroad according to historical records.

This expedition was an overseas expedition for the purpose of searching for gold and silver mines, and the time was in July 1480.

At that time, the British navigator set off from the port of Bristol and went to the west of Ireland to find the legendary "Brashear Island". According to the legend, it is rich in mahogany, which is a very precious dye required by the woolen industry.

But the hard-working English returned without success as expected, but it made the Port of Bristol an important base for English navigators and expeditions.

In the 1580s and 1590s, the English continued to carry out expeditions, but they all ended in failure, which greatly dampened the English people's desire for exploration.

At this time, Spain and Portugal have reaped a lot.

The Portuguese bypassed the Cape of Good Hope, opened up a new route to India, and entered the East, reaching Japan and the Ming Empire.

The Spaniards crossed the Atlantic Ocean, discovered America, and aggressively expanded their colonies. Ships of gold and silver were continuously transported from the Americas to Spain, supporting the first generation of the empire on which the sun never sets.

More critically, in May 1493, under the arbitration of Pope Alexander VI, Spain and Portugal divided the boundaries of the colonies.

Delineate the meridian 100 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands as the dividing line, and assign all land west of the line to Spain, and all land east of it to Portugal.

The intuitive point is that, except for Brazil, the Portuguese are not allowed to enter South America, and the vast African and Asian regions belong to Portugal.

As a result, there were very few areas that England could explore, as seen at the time.

In order to reach Asia and find the Eastern Empire, the English think there are only two ways.

One is to start from the northeast, that is, the road to Russia, pass through the North Pole, and then reach the east.

The second is to start from the northwest, which is the direction of North America, and then reach the east.

In 1496, John Cabot, an adventurer from Venice, met Henry VII in an attempt to occupy some undiscovered land for the king through the northwest route.

Therefore, Henry VII granted a charter to the Cabots and his sons, giving them the privilege of exploring overseas, and asked all Englishmen to help the Cabots and his sons in their expeditions.

Therefore, Cabot and his son carried the banner of the King of England, according to the authorization of Henry VII,

"Take a boat to the east coast, west coast and north coast of the Pacific Ocean (you can't go to the south coast, so as not to conflict with Spanish interests) for the development and exploration of all areas. For Christians, any place that is unknown, barbaric, and inhabited by pagans Islands, countries, districts, or provinces, wherever they may be in the world, conquer and occupy, occupy, any town, castle, city, island they find capable of ruling."

It can be said that this is the first clear expression of the principle of "effective occupation" that Britain insisted on during its colonial expansion.

From then on, all colonial expansions will use this as the standard.

The fleet led by Cabot and his son arrived in Newfoundland, where cod and other European best-selling marine products are abundant, and then planted the flag of the British royal family.

Then sailed to a certain corner of the coast of North America.

The second time, in 1498, Cabot discovered Greenland, Baffin Island, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Maryland for England, but Cabot disappeared and died in all likelihood.

After John Cabot died, his son Sebastian Cabot continued to receive the support of the English royal family. In the early 16th century, he continued to explore North America and discovered Addison Bay for England.

To say that the most beneficial thing is the discovery of Newfoundland, a large fishing ground, which not only created a lot of wealth for England, but also cultivated European oceangoing sailors.

John Cabot with a big mouth told Henry VII of the Newfoundland fishing ground for the first time, but revealed it to the kings of Portugal and Spain, so that England could not monopolize the Newfoundland fishing ground.

Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and England, all warships are equipped with crew trained from Newfoundland, and there is even such a rumor.

A fleet without Newfoundland fishermen can never be a first-class fleet.

But in general, England's Northwest Passage expedition was a failure for the people at that time.

Northwest failed, then turn to the northeast!

In 1548, London merchants tried to find a route to sail eastward from the Arctic, and found a route to reach the East.

just failed.

However, in 1553, Sir Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor, funded by commercial companies, led a fleet to the North Pole in search of a channel to the East.

Of course, Edward was aware of this and acquiesced.

Of course he knows that this voyage will definitely not find a route to China. The North Pole is too cold, and under the current conditions, it is impossible to reach the East.

But Edward still issued letters of credence in Latin, Greek and other languages, and sent letters to the monarchs of the countries along the way, saying that he came only for trade and peace (is it ironic), and asked for asylum.

In this way, Sir Wiblow went to the Arctic region with confidence and boldness to make a contribution to England.

The eastern route is not the goal, but Russia and Eastern Europe are Edward's goal.

This voyage will definitely pass through Russia and Eastern Europe, thus finding a new trade route for England.

Finding Russia not only opened up a new market for England, but more importantly, it allowed England to become a second-hand trader and obtain a lot of benefits at a small cost.

For example, Russia’s wax, cattle and sheep, timber, animal fur and other commodities are under the monopoly of England, which has brought huge benefits to England.

Moreover, England can also open the market in Eastern Europe. This business is really great.

A while ago, news came from Russia that Richard Chandler had arrived in Russia and entrusted a businessman from Eastern Europe to bring a letter to England.

In the letter, he briefly introduced his experience. He lost contact with Sir Willow in a strong wind, and when he was driving along the coast of Russia, he learned that Russian fishermen had discovered Sir Willow's frozen body. corpse.

Moreover, he promised that after arriving in Moscow, he would sign a commercial treaty with the tyrant Ivan IV to fulfill the king's entrustment.

(end of this chapter)

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