[You'll be happy with this post.]
Section Four
Being a Period of Five Years and Thirty-Seven Days
In January of 1499 we recieved a wave of explorers. Alonso de Ojeda volunteered to explore on land, while three veterans of Columbus' early voages (Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, Amerigo Vespucci, and Juan de la Cosa) prepared ships for voyages wherever they were needed. De la Cosa travelled to Brazil to explore the coast southward; Vespucci went along the coast of the northern part of the new continent; and Pinzón was sent to complete the exploration of Africa. De Ojeda went along with Vespucci, to be set down on land when Vespucci discovered some potentially useful area.
By this point, we weren't the only ones with an interest in this new land. King Henry of England sent an Italian named Giovanni Caboto to explore lands for England. Late in 1499 Vespucci came across Caboto who was coming out of some English port and heading south. The two Genoans started yelling at each other in their native language. Eventually, Vespucci agreed to allow Caboto to continue as long as Caboto told King Henry that the land would be called "America."
The explorers continued on. Pinzón found plenty of malaria-ridden but livable land in Africa. Columbus angered more natives. De la Cosa found silver in southern Brazil [OOC: Argentina]. Vespucci found lots of Englishmen.
In 1501, Isabella decided it would be a good idea to route some of the Spanish trade through her own lands. She encouraged trade through Sevilla. Fernando didn't care, as Spanish merchants continued to trade through Lisbon, and Sevilla's trading center became a bit of a flop.
Due to the ever-increasing size of the "Indies," Emperor Fernando created an new Viceroyality of America (name stolen from the English), and made Columbus viceroy of a couple trading posts and a small colony in Virginia.
It was from here that a new plant came. I was, at the time, in the town of San Fernando when a trader gave me a sample of some weed called "tobacco". He told me you put it in a pipe and burned it. I told him that he and his noxious weed could go to the infernal regions. The thing gives off the most terrible smell when burned. But people don't seem to be able to stop doing it. Odd, really.
Early in 1502, Vespucci came across a well-organized tribe (rare in America) called the Lenape. The English had already had contact with them and one of the natives had been taught Italian by Caboto. The two spoke to each other, and soon the native chief offered Vespucci a pipe of tobacco "as a peace offering." Vespucci gladly agreed, and Spain and the Lenape became good friends. I could hardly allow that. I requested five thousand soldiers "for the suppression of native tribes." Along with them came Prospero Colonna. For two years I trained them in the new kind of warfare that was needed in America.
Finally, on 6 February 1504, the army, under the joint command of Colonna, de Ojeda, and myself (Columbus was busy trying to find out what happened to Pinzón's expedition, which disappeared a year before), sent a message to the chief of the Lenape: "We ask that you join us in the brotherhood of the Christian faith. If you do, you shall be accepted as an equal nation, with all the rights involved. If you do not, you shall be considered heathens, in league with Satan and deserving nothing more than ruin and slavery." Predictably, the chief refused, and the army moved forward.
Section Four
Being a Period of Five Years and Thirty-Seven Days
In January of 1499 we recieved a wave of explorers. Alonso de Ojeda volunteered to explore on land, while three veterans of Columbus' early voages (Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, Amerigo Vespucci, and Juan de la Cosa) prepared ships for voyages wherever they were needed. De la Cosa travelled to Brazil to explore the coast southward; Vespucci went along the coast of the northern part of the new continent; and Pinzón was sent to complete the exploration of Africa. De Ojeda went along with Vespucci, to be set down on land when Vespucci discovered some potentially useful area.
By this point, we weren't the only ones with an interest in this new land. King Henry of England sent an Italian named Giovanni Caboto to explore lands for England. Late in 1499 Vespucci came across Caboto who was coming out of some English port and heading south. The two Genoans started yelling at each other in their native language. Eventually, Vespucci agreed to allow Caboto to continue as long as Caboto told King Henry that the land would be called "America."
The explorers continued on. Pinzón found plenty of malaria-ridden but livable land in Africa. Columbus angered more natives. De la Cosa found silver in southern Brazil [OOC: Argentina]. Vespucci found lots of Englishmen.
In 1501, Isabella decided it would be a good idea to route some of the Spanish trade through her own lands. She encouraged trade through Sevilla. Fernando didn't care, as Spanish merchants continued to trade through Lisbon, and Sevilla's trading center became a bit of a flop.
Due to the ever-increasing size of the "Indies," Emperor Fernando created an new Viceroyality of America (name stolen from the English), and made Columbus viceroy of a couple trading posts and a small colony in Virginia.
It was from here that a new plant came. I was, at the time, in the town of San Fernando when a trader gave me a sample of some weed called "tobacco". He told me you put it in a pipe and burned it. I told him that he and his noxious weed could go to the infernal regions. The thing gives off the most terrible smell when burned. But people don't seem to be able to stop doing it. Odd, really.
Early in 1502, Vespucci came across a well-organized tribe (rare in America) called the Lenape. The English had already had contact with them and one of the natives had been taught Italian by Caboto. The two spoke to each other, and soon the native chief offered Vespucci a pipe of tobacco "as a peace offering." Vespucci gladly agreed, and Spain and the Lenape became good friends. I could hardly allow that. I requested five thousand soldiers "for the suppression of native tribes." Along with them came Prospero Colonna. For two years I trained them in the new kind of warfare that was needed in America.
Finally, on 6 February 1504, the army, under the joint command of Colonna, de Ojeda, and myself (Columbus was busy trying to find out what happened to Pinzón's expedition, which disappeared a year before), sent a message to the chief of the Lenape: "We ask that you join us in the brotherhood of the Christian faith. If you do, you shall be accepted as an equal nation, with all the rights involved. If you do not, you shall be considered heathens, in league with Satan and deserving nothing more than ruin and slavery." Predictably, the chief refused, and the army moved forward.