May 27, 1651, Jamestown.

Founded in 1607 by the Virginia Company, this colonial city has gone through more than 40 years of ups and downs and has become almost the most successful example of England's colony in North America. For the first few years, the city's colonists lived with starvation, disease (too tired from work, too hot), and frequent raids by the Powhatan Indians. During that time, Jamestown was able to survive several attempts, but was able to survive, and with reinforcements from the Virginia Company in 1611, the English colonists were able to defeat the Powhatans, leading them to sign a peace treaty in 1614.

In 1618, tobacco cultivation was introduced to Virginia, and this unexpected success led to the rapid development of the colony. The tobacco trade with Britain and other countries in Western Europe led to an influx of English immigrants and merchants throughout the Virginia colony, so much so that by 1644 the number of English in the Virginia colony had exceeded 8,000. After defeating the Indians of the Powhatan League in 1646 and making them no longer a threat, the number of English in Virginia grew. Farmers tired of the wars, religious oppression of the Puritans, and merchants who could not bear the extortion of both sides of the war poured into Virginia, which was advertised as "extremely rich" by those who had a heart, and the development of this British colony was on the fast track.

But beyond these positives, there are not without some negatives. Like what. It's 1651 now, but most of the profits from the transportation and sale of tobacco in Virginia (and the entire Chesapeake Bay area) are in the hands of Dutch merchants. They took advantage of the English Civil War to wedge the market, when the British Parliamentarian army and the royal army were fighting fiercely. Neither side showed much interest in developing commerce, and even many ships were requisitioned by both sides, which undoubtedly led to fewer and fewer British merchants and convoys arriving in the port of Jamestown, to the detriment of the interests of Virginia tobacco planters, and this obviously provided a godsend for the Dutch to intervene.

In the last decade, although the British throughout the Virginia colony were mostly firmly mercantilist. But in the face of threats of survival and starvation, the plantations had to accept the Dutch's offer. Selling tobacco to them for a profit, as well as buying Old World goods, slaves, and indentured slaves from the Dutch who had entrusted them with transportation from the Old World, would otherwise have a hard time holding on to the Virginia colony. Actually, throughout the 40s. Not only the colonies around the Chesapeake Bay, but many colonies in New England passed legislation to relax restrictions on the entry of Dutch merchant ships, because it was a matter of whether their entire colony could grow and develop.

Of course, we all know very well that the Dutch West India Company is not a good man from top to bottom, they are a group of vampires who are desperate for profit. The foreign trade of the British colonies was controlled by them, and the British naturally paid a lot of price: since the tobacco was sold to the Dutch, the trade income in it naturally had nothing to do with the British merchants; In addition, the income from the transportation of industrial goods and slaves from the Old Continent to the colonies, as well as the income from freight transportation between the two places, were gone.

At last. All of this loss of revenue will eventually be reflected in the reduction of the British government's revenue, because a large part of the government's revenue comes from these big state-sponsored businessmen who have run out of money. Naturally, there is less funding for the government. In addition, the British government also lost import and export duties on tobacco and industrial products through the ports of Guò, because whether industrial products from the Old World were sold to the American continent or the specialties of the American colonies were shipped back to the Old World, import or export duties had to be paid at the ports of London, Bristol, and Liverpool. Now that these businesses are being handled by the Dutch merchant ships, the British government naturally has nothing to catch. This is not a small number, how can it not anger the top brass of the British government in the Old World?

"Dutch captains never buy goods from the UK. They would only source handmade goods from the colonies in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Delft and even North Germany, which dealt a blow to England's industry. My uncle, who had run a textile workshop in Bristol, had lost a quarter of his fortune since the Dutch had taken over the trade between Virginia and New England, and on one occasion he was drunk and yelled at me that no matter which of the parliaments or the royal party won, he would be willing to give a quarter of his fortune if anyone was willing to kill the Dutch and regain their dominant commercial position in North America...... "George of New England at the Jamestown Wharf Tavern," said George from New England. Mr. Hampton sipped French wine brought in by Dutch merchants and said to Gao Wengang, who had recently been sent to Europe to work as Mo San's assistant.

The eldest son of the veteran of diplomacy and foreign trade, Gao Wengang received a rigorous education under his father's personal supervision from an early age, and was fluent in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and other languages, and is still learning Turkish, as well as some knowledge of economics, trade and diplomacy. This time, he was sent to Europe to serve as Mo San's assistant in the early stage, and he may have to intern at the commercial station later, in order to accumulate valuable experience in presiding over a certain aspect of work in the future.

He arrived in Jamestown on an East Coast ship. The flute-shaped transport, which belonged to the South China Sea Transport Company, quietly transported a batch of supplies to the waters off Tobago Island, and then sailed into Jamestown in the Chesapeake Bay with the monsoon and ocean currents to repair a mast that had been blown off by strong winds during the voyage, as well as to maintain the bottom of the ship. Thanks to the relaxation of restrictions on the entry of foreign ships by the British a decade ago, the flute was able to be repaired and maintained in a timely manner.

While taking a break at the dock tavern, Gao Wengang himself met George, who was from New England and had a few previous encounters with Gao Wengang. Mr. Hampton. This gentleman and his good friend John Brown Hill also has cotton and tobacco plantations in Virginia, so it's not uncommon to be here this season. George. Mr. Hampton apparently had no affection for the Dutch, so much so that he could not help complaining to Gawain Gang when he had just seen two heavily laden Dutch transports docked in the harbor.

Gawain just smiled at Mr. Hampton's complaint, and said nothing, but said in his heart: The Dutch West India Company has now purchased a great deal of East Coast industrial products for sale to the North American continent, and from the standpoint of the East Coast, the Dutch are really good friends and good partners - but this cannot be said to this slightly drunk Englishman.

"Oh, yes, the Dutch are a nuisance. They are on the East Coast, and they are always picky and selective about every commodity. Sometimes, because of their advantage in commercial channels, our merchants or enterprises will compromise with them in order to be able to sell more goods, and the Dutch make a lot of money. After following Hampton's words for a while, Gao Wengang changed his words again and asked cautiously in a side-to-side manner: "Mr. Hampton, I have heard that a large number of seafarers in your country are facing the dilemma of losing their jobs because of the Dutch, or that they have been unemployed for a long time, so can you help me to inquire if anyone is willing to work on the East Coast?" For experienced seafarers, we in the East Coast Republic of China have never been stingy in giving them the best treatment. Of course, we'll pay you for that......"

"Don't bother with this idea before it's too late, ...... high," George. Hampton glanced at Gao Wengang and said in a complicated tone, "I have dealt with your father many times, and I know your purpose very well. In the past, perhaps I would have been happy to introduce you to some of these sailors, these lads have all been on the ocean, many of them have a lot of experience at sea, but life is generally not very satisfactory, which should have been a mutually beneficial thing, but now things have changed......"

"Yes, the situation has changed!" Speaking of which, George. Hampton's affection was suddenly a little higher, and he shook the glass of North Germany lightly, and said in a slightly mysterious tone: "I have heard that some of the great men in London have been in heated discussion for several months since the enactment of a new trade regulation, and have begun to fix it in the form of law. I don't know the exact terms yet, but at least one thing is clear, and that is that from now on, the good days of the Dutch will come to an end! Because the big men have been trying to wrest the economic spillovers from the Dutch, and the parliament and the top of the government are supportive of this, the government's finances are so bad that new sources of finance must be sought, or it will become untenable. ”

"By then, maybe only English ships will be allowed to carry cargo between the mainland and the North American colonies, and to hell with the damned Dutchmen! They have been sucking our blood, and most of the herring off the coast of England has been caught by the Dutch, and their larger fishing boats have even rammed into the boats of our fishermen, resulting in several drowning incidents every year. Why do we have to pay the Dutch even to eat herring from British waters? Why does every cotton cloth we export have to be shipped to the Netherlands first? Why was the Chesapeake's foreign trade with New England controlled by the Dutch? It's ridiculous that the residents of Jamestown want to buy a piece of woolen cloth from their hometown only to find that the market is full of Dutch goods! This sucks! This must change, otherwise there is no future for Britain! The first step in the rise of England was to break the shackles imposed on us by the Dutch! ”

Gowen was silent at Mr. Hampton's words, and he smelled a hint of war in them, which made him reluctant to stay here any longer. On the 2nd of June, the merchant ships on the east coast, which had been repaired and maintained, bought a little tobacco from the fingers of the Dutchman, Mr. Tohampton's blessing, and quickly pulled anchor and set sail for Jamestown. (To be continued)