1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Grave Island, located directly south of the Cape Verde Peninsula at the westernmost tip of the African continent, was one of the earliest Portuguese colonial bases in Africa.

Grave Island is composed of basalt rock rising from the ocean, resembling a giant beast with claws and a ferocious mouth facing the fertile African continent.

There are now over 100 Portuguese colonists here, primarily engaged in trade and ship repair.

At this point, the known world has come to an end, and the map beyond is shrouded in darkness.

The Senegal region east of Gray Island lies at the junction of the Sahara Desert and the West African savannah. South of the Senegal River, the desert gradually gives way to grasslands, where residents primarily cultivate various unnamed grains, legumes, and tubers as staple foods.

Continuing south from the Senegal region, one reaches the Guinea Gulf region. Although the climate here is more humid, it is plagued by malaria, making it impossible to venture inland.

Further east lies Mali, a land rich in gold.

Isaac rested for a few days and found Captain Fernando.

Upon meeting, Captain Fernando expressed his apologies to Isa.

"I'm sorry, my dear prince. I was too impatient. I should have waited for the storm season to pass before setting sail."

Isaac shook his head to indicate that it was okay.

"Captain, what do you plan to do now?"

"This time, Prince Henry has tasked us with exploring the area around Grey Island, capturing slaves, and trading gold with tribal chiefs to boost the confidence of domestic merchants. "

"We don't plan to continue sailing south. What do you think?"

"We will continue southward in search of the land of gold and spread the gospel of God."

"You are truly a devout believer, Your Highness, who has come from so far away."

Isaac and Captain Fernando shook hands and said goodbye, replenished their fresh water and food supplies, repaired the broken mast, and then set sail again.

In fact, after passing through the strong headwinds off the northwest coast of Africa, the rest of the voyage was smooth sailing.

After leaving Gray Island, the sky was clear, and the breeze was gentle.

As they sailed along the West African coast, the scenery gradually changed from desert to grassland, then to vast tropical forests.

As the Grand Duke of Morelia sailed south, there were more and more tropical tribes along the coast. Isaac could occasionally see black people living along the river estuaries. The sailors on board were excited to see the black people scatter in fright, pointing and laughing.

The ship's priest held up a cross and chanted.

Sometimes they encountered large tribes, and Isaac would stop the ship to trade.

The tribal chiefs had never seen the power of firearms and swords and were very interested in white people like Isaac.

Isaac took out some small trinkets he had brought with him and gestured to trade them for the chief's gold chain.

The black people were fascinated by some of the small European crafts, especially glass balls.

Isaac gestured for a long time before the chief finally understood what he wanted.

The chief casually pulled off the gold chain from his ankle and threw it to Isaac.

Isaac responded with three glass beads.

In this way, Isaac walked and stopped, and eventually filled a large basket with gold items.

Isaac knew that there must be many open-pit gold mines deep in the jungle, and some sailors had asked him to explore them.

But Isaac refused sternly.

Joking aside, contracting malaria was no laughing matter.

For a long time before quinine was discovered in Europe, colonial activities were limited to coastal areas, mainly because of this terrible disease spread by mosquitoes.

The coastal areas were much better off.

One morning, Isaac woke up from his sleep.

Looking at the carvings on the table, Isaac knew that it was now October 10, 1445 AD.

He pushed open the cabin door, and the cries of seabirds and the curses of sailors filled his ears.

On the deck, sailors with nothing to do were gathered together gambling.

To lighten the mood, Isaac turned a blind eye to this and gave them nearly a year's worth of wages, sometimes even joining in for a few rounds.

Isaac also launched a literacy campaign on board, asking the ship's priest to teach the sailors.

There was only one subject: Greek.

Some of the sailors were Bulgarian, some were Romanian, and some were Albanian, all of whom were ethnic groups heavily influenced by Greek culture.

Many of them could speak Greek, but were illiterate.

Isaac offered generous rewards to encourage the sailors to sign up for the classes.

Over the past few months, a total of 23 people have learned the basics of reading and writing, including a hired Genoese crossbowman.

Isaac ordered Fidel to remember their names so that they could become the next batch of officers when the fleet expanded.

In the long run, this would strengthen the navy's soft power.

In addition, Isaac ordered the navigator to hurry up with drawing the nautical charts and strictly ordered them to be kept secret.

"Land ahead, possibly a large archipelago!"

The sailors looking up from the deck shouted down.

Isaac's expression changed.

"Captain, go and take a look."

In fact, the Grand Duke of Moriah had already spotted many small islands and reefs, but they were all worthless desert islands, and they always left disappointed.

However, this time, the archipelago was large and there were many indigenous villages.

The Grand Duke of Moria chose a calm bay to anchor, and Isaac took some sailors and mercenaries in a small boat to the largest island in the archipelago.

The island was densely vegetated and relatively humid, with palm trees predominating among the trees.

A Genoese crossbowman shot and killed a terrified black man who was trying to escape. He knelt on the ground in panic, crying out, "Birego!"

Isaac's heart was at ease.

This was the Birego Islands, located off the coast of Guinea-Bissau.

The name probably came from the chief of the island when the Portuguese discovered it in later times.

Isaac ordered the small boats to return and bring more sailors.

Then they set up a pot to cook and waited for the black people to come to them.

As expected, before they had finished eating, the chief named "Bige" arrived in a palanquin carried by four men, accompanied by hundreds of black people wielding stones, to demand an explanation.

The chief, Birego, had no intention of negotiating and ordered his men to charge forward.

The black men rushed out of the forest toward the open coast and became easy targets for the Genoese crossbowmen.

The outcome of the battle was inevitable.

After a while, the once-mighty Chief Birego knelt before Isaac, weeping bitterly and kissing the soles of his shoes.

Soon, several black men brought over a few baskets.

There were few gold artifacts, mostly tribal crafts and some odd trinkets.

Isaac kicked Birego in frustration.

Then Isaac took out all the gold and casually threw the remaining "treasures" at the feet of a skinny black man kneeling on the ground.

The skinny black man was too scared to pick them up and glanced at Birego.

Birego roared and glared at him.

Isaac made a gesture, and Maruna, grinning savagely, slashed Bige's head off with his sword.

Maruna picked up the leaf crown from Bige's head and handed it to Isaac.

Isaac symbolically placed it on his own head, then put it on the skinny black man's head in full view of everyone.

"What is your name?"

Isaac pointed at him.

The black man pointed at himself and muttered.

"Danjiru, Danjiru!"

"All right, Danjiru, from now on, you are the chief here."

Isaac patted him on the head.

Danjiru seemed to understand something and bowed his head wildly, kneeling down to kiss Isaac's shoes.

Isaac kicked him away. Danjiru excitedly shouted at the black people kneeling behind him and raised his crown.

Then he shouted loudly at the headless corpse of Bige.

The next day, Danjiru brought fresh water and food.

Isaac then explored several other islands, following the same pattern and installing chiefs loyal to him.

Isaac also followed the Portuguese example and named the three largest islands after the local chiefs.

The largest island was named Dangir Island, the one to the east was called Balthan Island, and the one to the north was named Namban Island.

The archipelago was still called Birego.

Isaac planned to occupy this archipelago in the bay as a hub for the slave trade and gold trade.

It was close to the African continent, and the sea was relatively calm, allowing ships to pass through.

The island had high-quality trees that could be used to build canoes and small ships, and it was rich in fishing and hunting resources, which could support a large population.

Isaac summoned Maruna and Fidel, and the officers of the Grand Duke of Morria also came to listen.

"In the name of God, I swear that this archipelago now belongs to me, Isaac of the Balearic family."

"I plan to establish a base here and move more people here later. Who among you is willing to stay?"

No one answered. Everyone looked down at their feet, very much in agreement.

"In the future, this place will become a governorate of our colony in Africa. Those who are willing to stay now will become the governors of this place."

Isaac coaxed them gently.

Some of the officers began to whisper among themselves.

"I know you are not nobles yet, but I think the future governor deserves the title of earl."

"I'll take it!"

Isaac looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was the sailor who had made the mistake.

"Very well, Gosia, you are now the governor of the Birego Islands. The island of Baltan to the east will be your fiefdom. You must provide me with taxes and soldiers, and fight alongside me in times of war."

"It is my honor, Your Highness!"

Gosia, who had just been promoted to Earl of Baltan, was overjoyed.

Isaac motioned for Gosia to kneel and handed him his sword.

"I hope you will protect the land in my name,"

"I will!" Gosia shouted.

"I hope you will spread benevolent rule in my name."

"I will!"

"I hope you will conquer those who do not obey."

"I will!"

After a simple ceremony, Isaac ordered his attendants to bring the governor's scepter and the earl's letter of appointment.

These had all been prepared in advance, with the aim of giving the brave men the biggest surprise possible.

The others standing nearby watched with their eyes wide open.

No way, he really gave it to him!

Although it was just a governor with no real power and a count with no subjects, the title and scepter were real, and anyone with eyes could see that the Rogos Islands would surely flourish in the future.

The other officers beat their chests and sighed.

Isaac looked on with satisfaction as they circled around the bewildered Gosia.

It was just a wooden gate and a horse's skeleton, but it was worth a fortune.

No doubt everyone will be scrambling for the same thing next time.

When it came to the time to recruit sailors to stay behind, the atmosphere was much better.

Everyone knew that Gosia, who had been playing cards with them the day before, was now a count.

So, they all started to think about it.

Whether it was the governor or the earl, someone had to do the work below them, right?

If they didn't go and make themselves known now, when would they? The 20 spots were quickly snapped up.

Isaac left them basic weapons and supplies, instructing them to make good use of the black laborers to build houses and plow the land as soon as possible.

After bidding farewell to the newly appointed Governor Gosia, the fleet began its return journey, continuing to trade with the tribes along the way, obtaining large amounts of gold while mapping the seas and the coastline.

Following the sea route recorded on their way there, the journey went smoothly.

On November 2, 1445, Isaac arrived at the Portuguese-controlled Gray Island and met Captain Fernando, who was smiling broadly.

It was clear that they had also had a fruitful journey.

After a few days of rest, the fleet began its return voyage.

Compared to when they left, the fleet was much smaller.

Isaac's St. Nicholas was nowhere to be found, and Captain Fernando had lost two transport ships and a caravel.

On November 10, 1445, the fleet returned to the Canary Islands.

The French refugees had settled down, and Little Lothar had bought 200 Slavic slaves who believed in the Orthodox faith. The initial shelters had been built, and the refugees and slaves were turning over the volcanic soil, hoping to plant a season of rye.

There was even a small church on the island, where priests from the Greek Orthodox Church were preaching to the people.

It was quite impressive to accomplish so much in just a few months.

Isaac praised Little Lothair's efforts and immediately appointed him governor of the Lapalma Governorate and baron.

Without lingering, Isaac continued his way home.

Before leaving, Isaac summoned Governor Lothair and pointed out the current direction of development.

First, establish a comprehensive port system, which is the purpose of purchasing La Palma Island.

Second, recruit vagrants and purchase slaves, but only Orthodox Christians. After working for a period, they can be released as free citizens. As for the vagrants from France, those willing to convert to Orthodoxy can be recruited.

Third, establish a militia and build fortresses to prepare for emergencies.

"Do a good job. In the future, the entire population of West Africa, along with its gold and goods, will pass through here. We will never be poor."

Isaac patted young Lothair on the shoulder.

On November 12, Isaac set sail, accompanied by Count Conte and the other French knights.

A few weeks later, they would officially return to the European continent they had been away from for half a year.

...

"This is the 63rd day since we were stranded on this deserted island. Since encountering that heavy rainstorm, all of us crew members of the Saint Nicholas have lost contact with the civilized world..."

"In the rainstorm, our sails and rigging were destroyed, and we could only drift with the waves until we arrived at this archipelago..."

"I sent the first mate, Owen, to explore the entire archipelago. There are eight large islands and several smaller ones, divided into two groups. Remarkably, the islands in the north are swept by northeast winds, while those in the south are hit by southwest winds. The ocean currents converge here, which explains why we were carried here by the waves..."

"There is no tall vegetation on the island, but fortunately there are many rodents, and there are some shellfish and shrimp and crabs on the shore. With the supplies we brought with us, we managed to survive these days..."

"The St. Nicholas is not in good condition. We have tried our best to repair it, but the large hole in the bottom cannot be filled. I don't know when we will be able to sail again..."

"I love the evening breeze here, it reminds me of my hometown, Crete, but it's not as rich as Crete..."

The middle-aged man put down his pen and closed the logbook.

In the distance, the sailors were fishing. Some were Catholics, some were Orthodox Christians, but now they were all the best of friends.

If Captain Fidel were here, he would surely recognize his fellow countryman and friend, Henry, who had taken over as captain of the Saint Nicholas after Fidel.

Not far away, the Saint Nicholas was stranded on the beach.

There were many sailors nearby, banging on the ship.

Captain—Captain—

Henry snapped back to reality and saw the sailor who had gone out to explore, Owen, running toward him.

"Owen, you're back! Any good news?"

Henry asked urgently.

"Captain, Captain, we found a small valley on the westernmost island, with many large trees!"

"The big hole in the ship's bottom can be repaired!"

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