Harry Potter Morning Light.

Chapter 1750 The Queen of Hell (21)

When Isaac Allerton resigned from the Plymouth Fur Selling Company in 1630, he left others in a financial mess.

The first passenger on the "Mayflower" and the fifth person to sign the "Mayflower Convention" did not use the proceeds from the sale of furs to repay and bear the expenses of the colony, but chose to A path that satisfies self-interest.

He charged high prices when supplying contractors, not only falsified accounts, but also had some unexplainable people and expenses. He almost squandered the profits from fur sales, but the debt owed by the contractors more than doubled. The whole colony was kept in the dark by him.

After Allerton left the contractors, who hired new accountants to oversee every business expense, desperately hoped their luck would improve as the invasion of the French in the north and competition from the Dutch in the southwest cut off the Their continued access to high quality beaver hides.

The sixth of the Ten Commandments says not to kill, let alone for beavers, though those condemning it might think less of it if people knew how lucrative the fur trade was.One person used 13 gallons of corn seeds at a cost of 6 shillings and 8 pence. He exchanged the harvested crops from the Indians for £327 worth of beaver fur, and the profit margin was close to 1000%.

British merchants can exchange common goods in Europe, such as cloth, kettles, beads, mirrors, axes, pots, etc., for furs that are of high value in Europe at the trading point. use gunpowder and guns, and are willing to travel long distances in search of fur.

Sometimes the French lived with the Indians and even intermarried, in short as if they were of the same ethnic group, which endeared the French to the Indians more than the British, and many British feared continuing to hold the opposite Ideas will be squeezed out of this deal.

Of course, the French did not do bad things. They brought a lot of wine when they gave gifts to the Indians, and the Indians never refused wine.

They drink to get drunk, and at first they see drinking as a potential avenue to a higher spiritual level, amounting to "ritually inspiring a trance state, a time to pursue visions or explore external sources of psychic power." ", is the pursuit of supernatural power.Later, with the increasing scale of the fur trade, more and more Indians no longer drank alcohol in search of supernatural powers. In order to prevent them from hurting themselves, their wives would use the guns in the house, pointed spears, Bows and arrows, axes, and even the knives that hang around their necks are taken away, and then they will hide with their children far away in the forest, at this time the men can start to have a good drinking time, and the result is likely to be a fight , injured or even killed.

Not all Indians were unaware of the dangers of alcohol, and to avert disaster, they hoped that Europeans would stop selling spirits to warriors.

But such pleas had no effect, and spirits became the perfect bargain in the fur trade, cheap and easy to transport, and drunk Indians were more likely to accept favorable terms for European traders.The phenomena of lending and exchanging land became part of the exchange process.Before the winter hunting season began, fur traders would advance large shipments to the Indians on the condition that they would be repaid in the form of skins after the hunting season ended.To ensure that their debts would be repaid, fur traders would demand land from Indians as collateral.While many indebted Indians eventually rejected such deals and re-established loan relationships with other fur traders, some Indians did hand over their land.

The Dutch didn't intend to colonize North America in the first place, they just set up some trading points, and the British felled trees and destroyed the habitat of fur animals.Originally, because of overhunting, the local fur animals became scarce, and the environment was damaged and it was even more difficult to recover. The Indians were already very dependent on European goods at this time. In exchange for these things, they had to go to more inaccessible forests, or even It is westward movement.The Europeans entertained the Indians with wine and tricked them into exchanging skins for the wine. After the Indians drank up the wine, the debt still existed, and then they would enter the cycle again. Many Indians who owed debts would eventually refuse to admit it. traded, and re-established loan relationships with other fur traders, but some Indians did deliver their lands.Still the same, the Dutch did not intend to colonize North America at the beginning, the French were more likely to please the Indians, and the British who liked to use "conspiracies and tricks" gradually became hostile to the Indians, and the British rarely had the ability to "conspiracy" with the Dutch. Forest smugglers" traded deep into the Indian tribes, which caused the English in Plymouth to be double squeezed by the French in the north and their New England countrymen in the southwest, and many goods that flowed to Plymouth fur trading points reached New England.

When Plymouth's fur luck ran out, the fur trade in other parts of New England became more prosperous due to market demand. The increase in the population of the colonies increased the demand for beaver fur hats among the natives. Wearing fur in Europe was still a social distinction. Significant sign of class.Because of New England's luxury law, wearing silk is a privilege for women whose husbands earn more than 200 pounds. Ordinary women are not allowed to wear it, but fur is not within the scope of restrictions. Both men and women actually have a desire for new clothes, which also leads to This led to a shortage of furs, which eventually led to a 1634 New England law banning the purchase and wearing of beaver fur hats.

Some people also used guns and gunpowder for fixed exchanges, which not only changed the way Indians hunted, but also became a key factor in determining the balance of power among tribes.An Indian warrior can hold a wooden barrel and swim in the water for 45 minutes. Many fur trading spots are distributed along the river.

John Alden had been arrested as early as 1634. At that time, he was the sheriff of Plymouth, as well as a captain and merchant, and often traveled between Plymouth and Boston.In April of that year, John Hawking, an English settler from Piscataway, sailed up the Kennebec River with several others, intending to cross the Plymouth Trading Point and go downriver with the Indians. And go down and buy their skins before you get there.

When Hawking met the group of Indians, John Howland, the leader of the trade, told him that all the furs in this area belonged to the Plymouth Colony, and asked Hawking and his passers-by to leave peacefully, and a dispute arose between the two sides.

It was John Hawking who drew the pistol first, and he pressed it to the temple of one of Howland's men named Moses Talbot, and Howland yelled "Don't shoot, shoot at me, Talbot Bot was just following my orders."

But Hawking ignored Howland and shot and killed Talbot. Just when Hawking was about to shoot again, a friend of Talbot shot and killed Hawking. Hawking, who had lost his leader, returned quickly. Now, when they returned to the Piscataway settlement, they described Hawking as the victim rather than the party who started the conflict, and said he was killed "for no reason", such stories caused Massachusetts Bay The people were furious, and a relative of Hawking asked Governor Winthrop to bring the killer to justice.

Winthrop did not arrest Howland and other relevant persons, but instead arrested John Alden, who was trading on the Kennebec River in Boston at the time of the incident. Although he was not involved in the shooting incident, who made him Plymouth the magistrate, he is obliged to be questioned and explain the situation.

The people of Plymouth were outraged at what their "neighbors" had done. Massachusetts Bay had no jurisdiction over Plymouth, but had imprisoned a member of their group and forced him to testify in court.

Standish, who had just taken over the Plymouth fur trade three years earlier, had tried to persuade the Massachusetts Bay colony to support them in organizing an attack on the French to retake the Perobscot River trading point.

The settlers of Massachusetts approved of the retaliatory actions of the Plymouths, but they offered no help, and the Plymouths were on their own to fight the French.

That expedition was a complete disaster, the French were able to build a strong fortress, and the commander Green (mr.girling) abandoned the agreed strategy, that is, to negotiate with the French and mobilize them to lay down their weapons, so as to avoid head-on confrontation with heavily armed opponents .Originally, the French were able to occupy the settlement because their ship was leaking and they docked by accident. The British who were in charge of the guards went to Plymouth for supplies, and the trading point was empty, so they occupied the trading point without bloodshed.

However, Green fired from a long distance like crazy. The shell was useless when it hit the French fortifications. When his ship reached a place with enough range, the shell was gone. Standish sought out more shells and powder to continue the attack.

Standish found ammunition for Green, and then took the beaver belt on Green's boat back to Plymouth. Green's offensive plan did not work, so he did not harass the French again, nor did he go to Plymouth to ask for payment.

Standish once again tried to persuade the colony of Massachusetts Bay to support their organization. Because of special reasons in 1630, Massachusetts received a one-year charter from the royal family to allow them to trade fur, and the Massachusetts people also tasted the benefits of fur trade.How could a wolf who had seen blood make them spit out their meat? New England also hoped that it could share in this "successful grace", the governor of Massachusetts Bay, John Winthrop, complained with strong commercial jealousy It is said that Plymouth occupies all the main trading points in New England, that is, the Kennebec River, the Penobscot River, Narragansett and Connecticut, so if the Massachusetts Bay Colony can meet a fur source that can be found before Plymouth They will never let go of this opportunity.

In fact, as soon as the Plymouth settlers were expelled from the Penobscot River settlement, Massachusetts Bay immediately started trading with the French, which drew strong condemnation from the Plymouth people.

The Penobscot shooting was no longer a friction over the Maine fur trade. When Standish promised the governor of Massachusetts that he would release John Alden on the condition that he would appear in court, Piscataway's The owners, Sir Sey and Sir Brooke, also sent a notice to the then Governor of Plymouth, Thomas Prince, "Because of Hawking's death, we have every reason to send a warship to take your family on the Kennebec River. Houses were razed to the ground, but we would have preferred to have it resolved otherwise, bringing together representatives from Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, and the settlements of Piscataway to try this case."

On the day of the meeting, however, Piscataway had not sent a representative, so Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay officials debated "a series of events" thoroughly, concluding that Hawking had violated the rights of the Plymouth Colony and should be held accountable for the event. The deadly altercation takes responsibility, and while his crimes are regrettable, the actions of the killer are forgivable.

Hawking time and the French occupation of the Penobscot River Trading Point further stimulated the Massachusetts Bay people's interest in Maine's fur trade, and also highlighted the weakness and inability of the Plymouth Colony to protect its own regional interests. Finally, The result was that British traders from the Massachusetts Bay to the rest of the coast drove out the Plymouth fur traders, and by the end of the 30s there were no Plymouth traders in Maine.

In the late 20s, when New Amsterdam and Plymouth were still on cautiously friendly terms, the Dutch had once mentioned to England a fine place, the Connecticut River Valley, which was the domain of the Wasinacats, and they offered to Massachusetts and Plymouth At the same time, the people made an offer that if the British settled in the Connecticut Valley, the Vasinacats were willing to trade with them for furs. In return, the settlers would join them in fighting the Pequots.

The Massachusetts people declined the invitation, but the Plymouth people were tempted, especially since they had recently learned that Allerton had betrayed their trust, so they were eager to expand the scale of the fur trade. In 1632, the Plymouth people sent the former governor Winthrop to inspect. After he returned, he reported that it was a good place. Since then, the Plymouth people have carried out a series of fur trading attempts there.

Whatever the purpose of the Dutch settlement of Plymouth in the first place, by 1633 the Dutch saw the valley as their backyard and the English as potential invaders.

The 17th century was the century of the Netherlands. Britain had not yet achieved the position of maritime supremacy. When Winthrop went to Amsterdam on the warship "Gulf Grace" and showed the Dutch the King's charter, that is, the King of England had already The Connecticut River and the adjoining lands are granted to the English subjects, and the Dutch should cease to build anything here.

The governor of the Netherlands politely sent Winthrop and his warship away. Not two days after they returned to Boston, Winthrop received a letter from the governor of the Netherlands, suggesting that the dispute between Massachusetts and Plymouth be left to the British king. Negotiated with the Dutch Parliament on the border between the two sides, and that place happened to be the main battlefield of King Philip's War more than 40 years later. A small stream of the Connecticut River was stained red with blood, and it was named "Blood Creek".

At the Salem Witchcraft Trials in 1692, John Alden was arrested again, this time accused of selling arms during the war and putting his career ahead of public affairs.

Both Plymouth and Massachusetts are citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. At the end of King Philip's war, the chief Metacomite, that is, King Philip's head, was still displayed in Plymouth for a period of time, and the people of Plymouth also contributed.John Alden had never been to Salem, and the accusation of witchcraft against him was a girl claiming that his ghost had hurt them with a sword, which even Dutch thought was hilarious.Reverend George Burroughs was accused by Abigail Hobbs' stepmother Tilly Furren. Burroughs was an important figure in Casco Bay. If Massachusetts had not withdrawn troops, Casco would not have been burned. The captured civilians in York County, it was because of Alden's experience in trading with the Wabanaki that the Wabanaki agreed to talk to him about exchanging captives. Those captives were unwilling to return to Massachusetts. Rumors But it was said that he would rather do arms deals than redeem captives.

In the eyes of ordinary New Englanders, Indians were devils, savages, flayers, and who would want to join them?
As always, societies are resilient in times of upheaval, and it was the women who built a fort across the river to protect Boston when Indian raids devastated the town in King Philip's War.When an Indian appeared at the door, the sharp-eyed Dorchester maid had hidden the children under a brass cauldron, before throwing spadefuls of burning coals into his face.When Indian marauders killed Hannah Dustin's newborns in front of her face, she then hacked them to death with a tomahawk and scalped them as they fled, at least according to Cotton Mather She did that.

On April 1692, 4, Tilly Firence said that a ghost in black had come to the village, murdered several women, including Father Rosen's child and wife, and some frontier soldiers, Reese's niece casts a spell.

Ann Putnam Jr. said that the pastor may be a wizard, because he can change shape, but never changes sex, and this person may not be just a wizard, he is above the witch. On April 4, the court issued an arrest warrant to arrest George. Burroughs.

According to the confessions of the witches who attended the devil's gathering in Andover in May, the devil promised Burroughs a throne in the world he ruled, and Moshe Lewis, a servant of the Putnam family, quoted the variation of the Gospel of Matthew. The overall story: Burroughs took her up a high mountain, promising her a "vast and magnificent kingdom" beneath her feet.Others retorted that it was Berners exaggerating his level, he was just a little higher than ordinary wizards.

In fact, Boston also has a court that executes the death penalty. Local courts like Salem are not qualified to execute the death penalty, but because there are too many suspects, Boston is not a peaceful place, so the trial of the witchcraft case was changed to the town hall. It is a two-storey masonry building located in a piazza.

On July 1692, 7, Stoughton went to Cambridge with a few colleagues to celebrate the conferral of Harvard College, a raucous and joyful common people's festival, full of hawkers and feasts, with salmon on the table , capers, oranges and booze, graduates are finally freed from the three-gallon limit and can drink as much as they want.

Incris Mather had awarded degrees to six young men that morning, and their fathers were proud to congratulate them, except for one graduate who was not congratulated by anyone, and that was the son of John Alden, whose father He was imprisoned because of witchcraft accusations, and his elder brother was captured by the Indians. Now his life and death are unknown. The laughter of others showed his embarrassment. Anyway, he was not happy at this graduation ceremony.

However, the judges who came out to take a breath were not happy for a long time. A magistrate hurried over and said something in Stoughton's ear. The smile on the old judge's face quickly froze.

Little Alden, who had been watching them, followed them from his position to a secluded place to eavesdrop, and though Stoughton's voice was muffled, he heard it, sixty miles from Salem, There was a place called Gloucester, and there lived a man named Lancaster, and he came home to find his wife and three children lying in a pool of blood, all of them hacked to death with an axe.

The night raids spread like a plague in the town, and for several nights the sounds of fighting reached the nearby garrison barracks, and soon a dozen men appeared, sometimes dressed as French, sometimes as Indians, sometimes saying English is sometimes spoken in foreign languages, and they have left no clues. The local garrison expects to send investigators who are good at tracking militias or soldiers.

Stoughton has a fiery temper and a strong aura, which deters many prisoners, but the enemy he is facing now cannot be bluffed by his aura.

Wearing a graduation gown, Alden Jr. walked away with a smile on his face. He quickly blended into the crowd and enjoyed his graduation celebration like other Harvard graduates.

(End of this chapter)