On Christmas Eve in 1500, Amerigo finally returned with his expedition fleet. Marin was very happy, held a grand ceremony to welcome Amerigo's return, and immediately fulfilled his promise, canonized Amerigo as a hereditary knight, and rewarded 100 Yugram's cultivated land and manor.
The voyage data recorded by Amerigo this time is very detailed, and it is positioned almost every once in a while to accurately record the route. Of course, because Columbus had already recorded the route to the Caribbean Sea, Amerigo only recorded the specific coordinates. After all, the voyage diary recorded by Columbus has no accurate method of latitude and longitude. And Amerigo was "broadcast" by Marin, and equipped with a sextant produced by Ada, which naturally made it more convenient to record.
The most important thing for Amerigo this time is to record the transatlantic route from the two islands of North America to East Frisia. This route, in fact, is very convenient to travel from North America to Europe. Because ships can sail along the warm North Atlantic Current. Moreover, during the voyage, it is basically in the westerly belt (0 degrees to 60 degrees north latitude). Therefore, sailing from the two islands of North America to East Frisia is a smooth journey. If Amerigo hadn't slowed down so that they could record the coordinates in detail, they would have returned long ago.
But on the other hand, going from East Frisia to the North American twin islands is extremely sad, it is simply going against the wind and the current, and it is extremely difficult. Therefore, the historical "Mayflower" set off from Plymouth, England on September 6, 160, and arrived at Cape Cohen on November 1, 160, which took two and a half months.
However, when the "Mayflower" returned to England in the second year, it set off on April 5, 161, and returned to England on May 6, which took only one month and one day.
Therefore, sailing from North America to Europe with a downwind takes less than half the time it takes to go from Europe to North America with a headwind. This is the major feature of the age of sail: fast with the wind and slow with the wind.
Therefore, when Columbus went to America, he did not go directly to the west, but first took the fleet to the south, passed the 0 degree north latitude, first arrived at the Canary Islands, and entered the easterly belt. Then, continue to go south, following the Canary cold current, after arriving at the northern equatorial warm current, follow the easterly wind and the westward flowing northern equatorial warm current, and go westward along the wind and water. When returning to the voyage, first sail from the northern part of the Windward Islands to the northeast, and after arriving at 0 degrees north latitude, return to Spain along the westerly wind.
Because Amerigo stayed in the two islands of North America for a long time, he visited the east coast of North America for a while. In addition, he kept slowing down to measure the coordinates halfway, so it took him two or three months to return to East Frisia from the two islands in North America. However, now with his accurate records, the next voyage, from North America to Europe, will be faster.
For the coordinates and route maps recorded by Amerigo, Marin listed them as one of the top secrets of East Frisia, and made Amerigo swear not to disclose them, otherwise he would accept severe sanctions.
On the way home, Amerigo also stopped in Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island, landed for investigation, and drew a map.
What surprised Marin was that after Amerigo landed in a good harbor on Cape Breton Island, he discovered a coal mine some distance inland from the harbor...
Through the map drawn by Amerigo, Marin recognized that it was Cape Breton Island, and instructed that the harbor where Amerigo landed is Sydney, Canada...
Yes, Sydney, Canada. When Marin searched Wikipedia in his previous life, he searched for Sydney, and two Sydneys popped up. Therefore, Marin was very impressed with Sydney, Canada, and also remembered the map of Cape Breton Island.
The coal mine found by Amerigo is obviously the coal mine near Sydney, Canada (the mining area near North Sydney, just by the sea). Strictly speaking, this is a coal mine very close to the sea, which is very suitable for colonist applications. Moreover, it is an open-pit coal mine, and mining is very simple. As a result, Sydney, Canada became a steel center as early as the 19th century. Because there is a lot of coal in the area...
Marin had forgotten about this. Unexpectedly, Amerigo passed through Cape Breton Island by chance, and not only discovered Sydney Cove, but also discovered the Sydney mines in North Sydney (sydneymines, easy to find on satellite maps, 5140 Google Maps), nothing short of a surprise.
Of course, Marin does not want to transport North Sydney's coal back to Europe for use. If you do that, the cost is too high. After all, the journey from North America to Europe is long and expensive. This era is not the era of super freighters with large diesel power in later generations. The size of a sailing ship is far less than that of later freighters, and the larger the ship, the lower the transportation cost. Therefore, it is not economical to transport coal back to Europe, and it is better to import it from the UK.
However, coal in North America can be used locally!
What is it used for? Make paper and ship!
Before, Marin thought about using North American forest resources to make paper and using logs as a source of pulp. However, this requires the use of sealed high-pressure vessels, adding sodium sulfate or caustic soda to cook over high heat. As a result, a lot of fuel is needed.
Originally, Marin planned to directly use the leftovers of felled wood (such as dead branches, dead leaves, etc.) as fuel. However, the calorific value of dead branches and leaves is not high, and cooking pulp requires a strong fire. Therefore, using coal is a better choice.
Now, with coal, everyone is naturally happy. Moreover, with coal, Marin can also use the high-temperature steam boiled by the coal stove during the shipbuilding process to soften the wood and process it into ship ribs.
In short, with coal, the fuel issue is no longer an issue. As for the dead branches, leaves, bark and so on left over from the felled trees, they can be used as firewood by the common people. Industrial production uses coal from Cape Breton Island.
In fact, there are coal mines on Cape Breton Island, which is simply a very good development base. However, it also has major flaws.
Because Cape Breton Island is relatively north and the climate is relatively cold. Therefore, there are more coniferous forests in the cold temperate zone and few broad-leaved forests.
The oak trees that Marin needs most are found on high-latitude islands like Cape Breton Island, but their proportion is very small. Most of the island, or birch, pine and other coniferous trees. However, coniferous trees such as birch and pine have poor corrosion resistance and are not suitable for shipbuilding.
Therefore, although Cape Breton Island has coal mines, it is not suitable as a shipbuilding base. However, the wood from the coniferous forest is used to make paper, but there is no problem.
Therefore, after thinking twice, Marin finally made up his mind to open a base on Cape Breton Island, mainly for coal mining and papermaking. Of course, the nearby land can also be used for sheep.
Amerigo Island has been inspected. There are very few aborigines here, and it is very dangerous to occupy the island...
It is no wonder that the native Indians are backward civilization after all, still in the stage of hunting and primitive agriculture. However, Cape Breton Island is not suitable for growing food because of its high latitude. And because of the cold winter, hunting is also very troublesome.
Anyway, the North American continent in this era has a small population and there is no need for the Indians to trap themselves here. They can completely move south to the territory of the later generations of the United States in the south. After all, the further south you go, the more animals there are, and the more suitable for growing crops.
Therefore, it is very convenient to occupy Cape Breton Island, without fear of being besieged by the Indians. Unlike the coastal areas of the United States in later generations, because the climate is warm, the land is fertile, and there are many Indians. When the British colonized Virginia in the 17th century, they were often besieged by Indians, causing many people to starve to death. If it weren't for the Indians' inability to break through the strong castle, the British colonists would have been slaughtered many times.
After deciding to colonize Grenada, the North American Twin Islands, and Cape Breton Island, Marin began to write a report, planning to report these three colonies to the Spanish royal family to ensure their legitimacy.
In fact, Marin is not willing to give Spain this face. However, Spain's acquisition of the Americas was approved by the Holy See after all. If you occupy these three places without saying hello to the Spanish royal family, it will not only attract dissatisfaction from the Holy See and Spain, but also set a bad start for other European countries and cause other countries to follow suit.
Therefore, Marin still counted this colony as one of the 15 colonies according to the rules and reported it to the Spanish royal family to show its legitimacy.
Moreover, in order to continue to win over the two great navigators Columbus and Amerigo, Marin decided to change the names of the North American twin islands to the names of the two great navigators.
For example, Nantucket Island was named Amerigo Island by Marin. Martha's Vineyard was named Columbus Island.
After hearing the news, Amerigo was very happy and ran over to thank him. After all, besides pursuing profit, these great navigators also care about reputation very much.
It is an honor to name an island after oneself. You know, the lifespan of a person is limited, but the name of the island can last forever. Marin's move simply made the two famous. That is to say, Columbus is still in India. If he knows that there is an island named after him, he will be very happy.
As for Grenada and Cape Breton Island, Marin has no plans to change their names. Some subordinates suggested that Marin name Cape Breton Island Marin Island, but Marin did not agree. It's not that he doesn't want to name it after himself, but that Marin doesn't like this broken island at all. If you want to name it, you have to name New York and other prosperous areas in the future with your own name. Cape Breton Island is a sub-frigid island, and agriculture cannot be done, so it is destined not to be popular. Isn't it in vain to name this kind of island with your own name? It's better to find a place where I can develop and name it after myself...