Her Majesty’s Secret Service

071. Goa

The all-out war that began in October 1555 came to an end when the French attacked Bruges in northwest Flanders via Calais.

France no longer had enough money to wage war, and Spain wanted to end the war slowly due to the growing dissatisfaction of lowland merchants and the burden caused by Ottoman movements.

Henry II, who had reached an agreement with England, sent a message to Felipe and expressed his wish to conclude an ‘agreement to end the war’, and Felipe also gladly accepted the offer.

In February 1557, the ambassadors of France and Spain met in Brussels and began to coordinate the details of an agreement to end the war.

One month later, in March 1557. After the ambassadors of both sides coordinated their opinions, Spain and France were able to dramatically conclude an ‘agreement to end the war.’ This was not the previous ‘armistice agreement’, but an ‘end-of-war agreement’ that ended the long war between France and Spain.

The contents of the agreement coordinated by both sides were as follows.

[One. France renounces its right to inherit Italy, but Spain recognizes French control of Metz.

2. Neither France nor Spain demands compensation from each other.

3. France will return Ghent and Bruges to Spain, and in return, Spain will share anchorage rights in ports desired by France and England.]

Unlike the other two clauses, there was a lot of debate about the third clause, but Felipe had no choice but to accept this agreement because he could no longer block the sea route as the complaints of lowland merchants were skyrocketing.

Just like that, two years have passed since the long war between France and Spain came to an end.

* * *

Drake couldn’t believe that the things that had happened to him over the past few years really happened in reality. At best, he was an apprentice sailor from Plymouth. Who could have imagined that he would become a sailor on the royal flagship, take part in the war, and, after the war, receive an audience with her queen for encouragement.

“Ready to anchor!!! I can see the port!!! “Arrived in Goa!!”

“oh! “That’s India?!”

“Hey… I never thought I would come this far… .”

Moreover, he never imagined that he would come to India.

Francis Drake, a 15-year-old boy sailor, was working as a sailor on England’s eastern trade ship ‘Mary’. The Eastern trade ship ‘Mary’, which left England’s Port of Deptford, had just reached India after a long 7-month voyage.

“Drake, don’t stand idly by and tell the captain that you will be docking at Goa soon. It seems he’s still upset that he left behind a pregnant princess. I wonder if you’re still stuck in the captain’s room… .”

Captain Stan Percy, who served as helmsman of ‘Mary’ following ‘Catherine’, was able to board this ship in recognition of his experience as helmsman of ‘Catherine’.

Captain Stan, who was now nearly 50 years old and was thinking about retirement, volunteered to be the helmsman of the ‘Mary’, thinking that it would be his last chance to explore unknown seas he had never been to before retirement. He would have been selected as helmsman even if he did not volunteer, as it was written on Logan’s recommendation letter anyway.

“You’re still doing that? Umm… The two of you seemed to be very happy together… . “He was a surprisingly soft person.”

As those words came out of Drake’s mouth, a heavy fist landed on the back of Drake’s head. Drake, who felt pain with a crunching sound, looked behind him and stroked the back of his head to soothe his pain.

“You insolent b*stard! “How can you, so young, know how she feels when she sets sail, leaving her pregnant wife behind?”

“Lord, Lieutenant… .”

The person who hit Drake on the back of the head was Lieutenant Flint, who had been the navigator of ‘Catherine’ in the last war.

Lieutenant Flint, who became more interested in money than promotion after the last war, volunteered to be a navigator on the ‘Mary’, expecting to make quite a lot of money in this ‘Eastern Trade’, and is currently working as a navigator on the ‘Mary’. there was.

“I told you before, but you are so arrogant… .”

When it seemed like Lieutenant Flint’s nagging would begin, Drake turned to the helmsman, Captain Stan, and said:

“Then I will report it to the captain!”

Making an excuse to avoid Lieutenant Flint, Drake ran to the captain’s office.

Drake found Lieutenant Flint extremely annoying. I didn’t know why, but when I stood in front of Lieutenant Flint, I felt weak and like I was a prisoner in front of a guard.

Anyway, Drake arrived at the captain’s office after avoiding the lieutenant and carefully knocked on the captain’s door.

“Captain!! Francie. “We have just arrived in Goa. Are you awake?”

When no answer came from inside the captain’s office, Drake knocked on the door of the captain’s office once more.

“Captain!! Are you inside?!”

After knocking on the door three or four times, I heard an answer from inside the captain’s office.

“uh… I’m inside… What’s going on… Are you a pirate again?”

“no. Just arrived in Goa. “I think you should come out on deck!”

Upon hearing that we had arrived in Goa, the door to the captain’s office opened. The man who appeared inside the captain’s office was Logan Lee, Baron Grinstead and captain of the Eastern trade ship ‘Mary’.

* * *

I haven’t been able to sleep for several days already. I was worried about leaving the pregnant Jane at sea, but the closer I got to Joseon, the more anxious I became about whether my plan would succeed or fail.

“By the way, Captain, are you really okay? My eyes are red… .”

“Ah, Drake. Don’t worry. Because I’m fine. No, should I say that I feel refreshed now? So, you arrived in Goa?”

“Yes, Portuguese Goa. The captain needs to get out so we can anchor… .”

“ah. Right, wait a minute, where did I put that… ?”

I went into the captain’s room, found the berthing permit with the seals of the King of Portugal and the King of Spain, which must have been stashed somewhere, and came out again.

“For me, tell Lieutenant Flint or Captain Stan to take it and check it out. What to buy… Sugar and buffalo horn. Focus on purchasing those two. Oh, you’re running out of biscuits? “And supply adequate amounts of water.”

“Then shall we tell them how long we plan to stay anchored?”

“one month. “Wouldn’t that be enough?”

“Yes, I understand. “Then I will tell you that.”

After hearing my answer, Drake took the permit and returned to the deck. After confirming that Drake had returned, I closed the door to the captain’s office and turned my attention back to the paper on the desk.

The paper, written based on the Indian products I had learned about through Robert, a bill dealer who became my close associate, and the future knowledge that remained in my memory, contained plans for successfully completing trade with the East and ways to resolve the genealogy problem.

What was written at the top of the paper was that ‘sugar’ and ‘buffalo horn’ were being purchased from Goa.

* * *

Rahul was a middleman who went into the interior on behalf of Portuguese merchants and brought them the goods they wanted.

Among the numerous middlemen in Goa, Rahul held an unrivaled position, as he was famous for using any method to get the merchants the desired items on the desired date and in the desired quantity.

As Rahul has such an unrivaled position, he has completed countless transactions so far, but this transaction partner’s order was slightly, if not significantly, different from the merchants he had dealt with so far.

“Maybe I heard something wrong? What do you want me to ask for… ?”

“You heard correctly. “I’d like you to get me some ‘buffalo horn’.”

A man named ‘Stan’, who introduced himself as a sailor of a ‘huge ship’ that had arrived in Goa a few days ago, came to see him through his younger brother Rohit.

Since he was said to be looking for items not sold in Goa, he assumed that he was a merchant looking for spices from the inland and came out in person with a heavy body. However, when he was suddenly asked to get ‘buffalo horn’, he could not help but make a puzzled expression.

“Umm… If you want it, I should get it for you. But… May I ask where you plan to use it? This is my first time seeing a customer order like this… .”

“Oh, you don’t need to know. “If you can’t save me, I’ll find someone else.”

“no. no. It’s hard to find. I can get you as much as you want. I just… I was curious about where the cow horns used to make children’s toys were used… .”

From my long experience as a middleman, I knew that the gaunt-faced merchants from faraway places never engage in business at a loss. Here, we already knew that the moment the insignificant spices were transferred to their land, their value became no different from gold of the same price.

Until now, no one had asked for ‘cow horns’, but when a new merchant, a wealthy-looking merchant who arrived on a huge ship he had never seen before, asked for ‘cow horns’, Rahul decided to get ‘cow horns’. I asked the question because I guessed that there might be something of value I didn’t know about.

“I can’t tell you that. If you are a merchant, don’t you know this well? So, can you save me?”

“Haha, of course I can save you. How much can I save you? The things I can’t get are the things no one in Goa can get. “Okay, how much can I save you?”

“Can you get me two baskets worth of that basket over there?”

Rahul looked at the basket that Stan pointed to. The fruit seller had a large basket full of fruit.

“That much? Hmm… I think it will take some time. “It would take at least two months to get a sheep’s horn that size.”

“I’ll give you one month, one month.”

“One month. One month is too soon… .”

“It’s urgent, but it’s not impossible, right? I too have found out everything there is to know. Cow horns are not used here except for making accessories. If you want to get them, you can get them, right?”

At Stan’s firm words, Rahul scratched his head as if he was troubled and then nodded.

“great. First of all, the down payment. “If I were to gather as many horns as I did in a month, I would have to use people.”

“Okay. “How much will it cost?”

“How long have you been looking into it?”

Rahul concluded the bargain on the condition that he be paid ten gold coins as an advance payment and 20 gold coins if he delivers the goods.

After Captain Stan left, Rahul called his younger brother Rohit, who brought Stan with him.

“Rohit, can you find out the boat that Stan is on, where it came from, and what purpose it is going for?”

“huh? “Why is that?”

“You idiot, let’s find out where the cow horns are going to be sold! “Is it because you don’t know how amazing those white people are when it comes to smelling money?!”

“No, I wouldn’t even call you an idiot… .”

“Anyway, can you find out?”

“Well… I’ll find out first. Sailors say things they can’t say when they’re drunk… . therefore… .”

Looking at his younger brother who was holding out his hand to him with a sly smile, Rahul took out two gold coins from the pocket he had just received from Stan and handed them to Rohit.

“Is this enough?”

“After a while… What do you know? “I’ll find out soon.”

* * *

The next day, Rohit, who received the gold coins and went to a bar in the port, returned to Rahul’s shop with a still sly expression on his face.

“So, did you find out anything?”

From noble mtl dot come

“Yes, their boat is called ‘Mary.’”

“Not the name of the ship!”

“My brother has an impatient personality, so it’s a problem.”

“Ah, so what did the sailors who got off the ship say?!”

“Yeah, those guys are really good at drinking.”

“so? Where are you going? “Did you figure that out?”

“I don’t know about that? “No matter how drunk he was, he wouldn’t say anything.”

At those words, Rahul beat his chest as if he was frustrated and urged Rohit.

“no! Are you bragging that you took two gold coins and wasted them?!”

“Oh, but I still know this. They said they were going to buy sugar. Ah, that guy named Stan. “It looks like he went around asking if there were any cow horns in other places.”

“Yeah? Hmm… I don’t know what it is, but it means that cow horns will make money… ? Rohit, go to Hassan and tell him to buy all the horns that come his way. “It seems like those albino b*stards have figured out how to turn cow horns into money.”

“yea, I got it. “I will do that.”

In all his life, Rahul has never heard of white people doing business at a loss. The products they wanted were always products that made money, and they thought the same would be true for the white people on the ‘big ship’ who arrived this time.

As Rahul, a well-known middleman, began hoarding cow horns, other middlemen also took notice and started buying cow horns.

Thus, an untimely cow horn craze began in Goa.