Manhattan Reborn 1978

Tokyo.

A quarter past four in the afternoon~

Tokyo Imperial Hotel, 1-1 Uchisuki-cho, east of Hibiya Park, Chiyoda-ku.

After David had lunch with little Peter in the living room of his room, the two felt that the other person was very "in tune" with him and chatted for a whole afternoon. .

Little Peter was the first to lead the topic, and continued from the original East India Company in London, which controlled the entire Indian peninsula at its peak → the East India Company suffered a disastrous defeat due to riots by Indian soldiers → and finally dedicated India to Her Majesty the Queen of England → the company’s senior management Completely withdrew from India in 1858. .

Nearly a hundred years later, India entered a "new era" of direct rule and management by the British government~

(Note: During this period, the Indian colonies under the British government also included most of what is now Bangladesh and Myanmar, as well as Pakistan in northwest India and Nepal in the northeast.)

After listening carefully, David "showed off" some of his unique insights into history under the "expectant" gaze of little Peter~

From 1618, a religious war broke out within the Holy Roman Empire and attempted external expansion. It was opposed by all of Europe. The Netherlands, Denmark, Britain, Sweden, and France successively joined the war against the Holy Roman Empire. The war between the two sides lasted for thirty years. , was the starting point for the Thirty Years' War.

→In 1648, the Holy Roman Empire and Spain were defeated.

→The Holy Roman Empire was forced to recognize the freedom of religious belief of the German princes and the independence of Switzerland.

→Spain was forced to recognize the independence of the Netherlands.

→The Holy Roman Empire has since become a union of more than 300 independent states. Spain's maritime hegemony has been replaced by the Netherlands, England's navy has risen, and France's army has risen.

Before this period, most of the wealthy Jewish businessmen who once lived in Spain moved secretly to the Netherlands and Frankfurt, taking away a large amount of wealth because they could not bear the constant oppression of the Holy Roman Church.

It was also this group of wealthy Jewish businessmen who "escaped" with a large amount of wealth and purchased many shares of the Dutch East India Company, unexpectedly "recovering a wave of blood." .

The remaining small number of wealthy businessmen did not stay in the seemingly safe Netherlands and Frankfurt areas, but dispersed further north to places such as Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

The last remaining small group of wealthy businessmen with long-term vision chose to live in the Netherlands for a short time and then quietly crossed the sea to the west to settle in England.

After that, the wheel of history continued to move slowly towards its established track ~

→In 1665, war broke out again between Britain and the Netherlands, which ended in Britain's defeat in 1667.

→In 1672, Britain joined forces with France to fight a war with the Netherlands. Britain withdrew from the war after its defeat in 1672, and France ended the war after its defeat in 1678. The Netherlands' maritime supremacy was as stable as Mount Tai.

→In 1700, the Spanish Habsburg dynasty became extinct, and Louis XIV established his grandson as King of Spain in 1701. This aroused opposition across Europe, and Britain and the Holy Roman Empire united against France.

This is the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714).

→In 1714, France was defeated and European countries recognized the Bourbon family's rule over Spain, but prohibited the merger of the royal families of France and Spain.

A year later, Louis XIV died of illness, France was on the verge of financial bankruptcy, and France's strength weakened.

→In 1756, a seven-year war broke out between Britain and France. Britain won a complete victory in 1763, and France lost its colonies in North America and India.

When David said this, he happened to mention the Seven Years' War mentioned by little Peter again~

→On December 1773, 12, the Boston Tea Party broke out.

→In 1774, the British Parliament successively enacted five bills, collectively known as Coercive Acts, in response to this incident.

This bill was called the Intolerable Acts by the Americans at the time, and lit the fuse for the American revolution that was about to break out!

→In 1775, the thirteen northern states of the United States, under the leadership of George Washington and other founding fathers, convened the First Continental Congress to fight against the Intolerable Acts and petitioned the British royal family, hoping that it could revoke these laws. Act, and mediate colonial resistance to the Act and the British government.

France and the Netherlands united to send troops to aid the thirteen North American states against the British army.

→In 1783, the United States successfully achieved independence, but they paid a heavy price. France was completely financially bankrupt, the Dutch navy was defeated, and it completely lost its maritime hegemony. Britain has since become the hegemon of the world's oceans.

→In 1789, the bourgeois revolution broke out in France, and the Bourbon dynasty was overthrown in 1792. All Europe abandoned their past grievances and united to suppress the bourgeois revolution in France. Even the Russian Empire as far away as Northeast Europe also participated.

On March 3 of the same year, the first constitution of the United States, the "Constitution of the United States of America", was officially promulgated and came into effect. It is the first written bourgeois constitution in the world~

George Washington, based on the sacred power conferred by the Constitution of the United States of America, was successfully elected as the first president of the United States and was re-elected in 1793.

After his term ended, George Washington voluntarily gave up his bid for re-election in 1797, and John Adams successfully took over as the second president of the United States.

Two years later, he died of illness.

→In 1799, Napoleon, "the most powerful man in modern European history", became the first consul of France and launched a victorious counterattack against the anti-French coalition.

In the same year, the Dutch East India Company announced its dissolution!

When the two of them were chatting to this point, David stopped and thought for a moment, and finally asked a question he had been confused about for a long time~

"According to historical data, George Washington, the first president of the United States, was a nonpartisan person."

"But I heard that before the outbreak of the War of Independence, he joined many secret societies such as the Freemasons."

"Do you... know anything about this?"

After hearing this question, little Peter smiled and shook his head.

"Before 1930, Freemasonry was an organization with members all over the world, and it was not considered a secret society in the United States."

"Including after the end of World War II, President Eisenhower and General MacArthur were also members of the Freemasonry."

"So it has never hidden its existence in the past hundred years. It's just that it's difficult for ordinary people to come into contact with its level of existence."

"Hmm..." David felt that what little Peter said made sense, so he simply skipped this paragraph and continued talking about another period of history.

Since the London East India Company established a stable trading post on the Indian Peninsula, the traditional living habits of the British for thousands of years have also changed with the large number of "native products" from the East~

Cloth, silk, sugar, tobacco, medicinal materials, spices, tea, coffee, gold, silver, gems, coral, agate, pearls, and of course the porcelain used in almost every British home!

These "local specialties" produced in the mysterious oriental country have gradually made the British develop the habit of drinking afternoon tea, and also made them have higher requirements for their own quality of life.