Chapter 338： North Island Double Island

After leaving Grenada in September, the American fleet sailed northward along the Windward Islands, westward on Barbuda, and soon reached the Bahamas recorded by Columbus.

The subsequent voyage was smoother, because the Gulf Coast warm current on the east coast of North America pushed the fleet all the way north. By the end of November, the fleet had arrived on Long Island, New York. Later, Amerigo continued to direct the fleet to the northeast, and soon found Nantucket and Martha's Vineyards.

The reason why is so smooth is because Marin gives the latitude of New York-40 degrees 43 minutes north latitude, and the approximate value of longitude.

The exact longitude is not given because Marin did not follow the calculation method of 0 degrees in Greenwich, but also gives the approximate distance.

纽约 While New York is by the sea, Marin also drew a contour map of New York's Long Island. Therefore, Amerigo easily reached Long Island, New York. Then, heading northeast, you soon reached Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

After arriving at the two islands, Amerigo did not rush to land. Because Marin mentioned that the Indians of the Northern Barrens (the North American continent) are more fierce. He had also seen the ferocious side of the Indians before in Grenada. For example, if the Arawak were defeated, their men would be killed by the invading Caribbean, or even eaten as food.

Therefore, Amerigo is also worried about cannibal Indians on the two islands. If you rush into the jungle, it is easy to be killed by the other party.

Therefore, Amerigo first took the fleet to the freshwater estuary on the land side to replenish the fresh water. Then, come back and start a circle around the two islands. At the same time, Amerigo began to observe two islands with a telescope.

A few days later, Amerigo finally determined that Nantucket had no Indians because it was far from the land. Because the Indians used canoes and could only board a few islands close to the land.

Massa Vineyard is closer to the land, and there are traces of Indian activity on the island. However, Amerigo found that Martha's Vineyard was only one bay to the north with a row of thatched houses. However, there were no people in that hut.

Therefore, Amerigo concluded that this is a seasonal place of residence for Indian fishermen. Probably, during the prosperous fishing season in spring and summer, fishermen will land on the mainland as a harbor and base for fishing. It is now the end of November and it is winter, and the fishermen probably returned to the land for winter.

After making a judgment, Amerigo carefully took 30 combative sailors, put on armor, and boarded Martha's Vineyard.

After more than a day of searching, no other Indian village was found. Of course, they only searched the area north of the island. After all, they did not bring horses.

Then, Amerigo took someone to search on Nantucket, and found no trace of human activity. Moreover, on the north side of Nantucket Island, there is a very good harbor suitable as a port. This port, because it is semi-closed, is a very good haven.

Moreover, Amerigo believes that this island is more suitable as a frontier colony without the interference of Indians. And Martha's Vineyard, because it is too close to the mainland, Indians can easily kill the island even if they canoe.

Not only that, Nantucket Island is also large enough, and the island has a lot of animal and plant resources, which is enough to sustain the lives of many people. As the fleet cruised around the island, Amerigo also found that various fishes frequently jumped out of the waters around the island. Obviously, the fishery resources here are abundant.

In addition, the island has fresh water resources. When visiting the island, Amerigo discovered that the western part of the island is rich in fresh water resources and the terrain is flat, which is very suitable for reclamation as a farm. The eastern part of the country is a bit rugged, but it is no problem to use it as a pasture.

Of course, before the reclamation, the island was full of towering trees, and there were many oak trees suitable for shipbuilding. Some are fir and pine. In short, if you set up a colony on the island, there is no shortage of wood.

Similarly, on Martha's Vineyard, there are countless trees that can be felled. In short, the timber resources on the two islands are extremely rich. Moreover, these trees are extremely tall. Obviously, most of them are hundreds of years old ...

Amerigo made detailed inspections on the two islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, more carefully than in Grenada.

After all, Grenada is a tropical island. Although Marin has repeatedly assured that there are no poisonous insects on Grenada, Amerigo is not very convinced. Because, Marin himself has never been there. As a navigator, Amerigo knew that there were many poisonous snakes and poisonous insects on tropical islands. Therefore, he did not dare to venture deep into Grenada.

The situation is different on the North American islands. This is a temperate zone. Moreover, because of the winter, even the poisonous snake venoms hibernate. That's why Amerigo dared to explore everywhere.

大约 After about 10 days of exploration on the North American islands, Amerigo concluded that Nantucket Island is more suitable as the first stop to colonize the Northern Wilderness (North America).

It is even possible to build a shipbuilding base on Nantucket Island. Because Nantucket Island is not too small to say, Bitsel Island is much larger. With so much wood on the island, it seems that after drying enough, it is possible to make many ships ~ www.novelhall.com ~ As a navigator, Amerigo is very sensitive to the oak used for shipbuilding. On Nantucket Island, he saw hundreds of huge old oak trees up to 30 meters in height, which are very suitable for the keel of ships. And other pine and fir can also be used to make masts, decks and other parts.

It is just that although these oaks are very rich in materials, the wood that can be used for shipbuilding needs to be cut down and air-dried for one or two years before it is suitable for shipbuilding. Therefore, in a short time, it is impossible to build a ship on the island.

However, Amerigo knew that Marin was so determined to colonize the northern continent. So he didn't worry about time. Because in the future, Marin will definitely establish a permanent residence on the island, and some will wait for the felled oak to air dry.

Furthermore, Amerigo now believes Marin's judgment. From the tree resources on the two small islands, he can infer that there will be many, many old oak trees suitable for shipbuilding on the northern wasteland.

I was like on Nantucket, where he found hundreds of old oak trees that were hundreds of years old. Such oak trees are strategic resources belonging to kings and nobles in Europe. If they are sold, the prices are very high.

Therefore, it is not a loss to discuss oak resources alone and colonize the northern desert continent. Amerigo now agrees with Marin's plan to build a shipyard here.

After all, it is too much trouble for those extra-large timbers longer than 30 meters to be shipped back to Europe. It is better to open a shipyard on site and build ships locally. After the ship is built, it can be directly used in Europe.

Before I left, Amerigo recorded the coordinates of the two islands in detail for future reference. Then he set sail and set sail to the northeast according to the secret outline map given by Marin, ready to return to Europe ...