stevep
Fleet admiral
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Post by stevep on Nov 11, 2022 14:33:00 GMT
Please keep your ideas on IRIC coming. I assure you I will think about each one.NOW Hear THIS  I have made up my mind that NOVA GENOVA (that name cracks me up every time I write it. I bet my hero Mel Brooks would approve!) will be a colony of Genoa.
Exactly what type of colony I haven't decided upon yet. I do think it will start as a small Indian trading center affair on the French North American model, possibly , with strong initial links to Spain. I can see NOVA GENOVA maturing into a more traditional New England type of colony with aspirations of strong local government? I am thinking long term NOVA GENOVA gets swallowed up by Great Britain possibly in French and India wars ? Might be strong militia conflict between NE and NG, especially with NG being a Papist colony and maybe a haven for Massachusetts dissenters per RI in the OTL? Possibly with a vibrant and influential Jewish community as RI had in the OTL.
This could make NG ripe to join the 12 UK break away Colonies. Vengeance is very, very deep rooted trait in Italians. Maybe, tempered by the Jewish Community, reason just might prevail in NG, for the time being, over animosity toward Massachusetts?
Where exactly will NG be if your decided that? If its fighting Massachusetts then that sounds like its a little to the north, possibly where New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine are? As such it could end up fighting on two fronts with the French as well. At least unless and until there's some equivalent of the Bourbon take over of Spain which lead to a frequent Franco-Spanish alliance. [Albeit that Genoa would quite possibly have different political interests again]. Plus with Genoa's location its likely to be a possible target for French expansion which would be another reason for NG to be a French target.
I was thinking that you were planning further south, possibly in the vicinity of OTL Georgia and the Carolina's? This might also be better for settlement as the region north of Massachusetts is - possible access to the Grand Banks fisheries aside - is pretty barren for any significant settlement. Plus they have Spanish Florida to the south as a potential ally so they would only have land challenges - locals aside - with English settlement in Virginia and points north.
I'm not sure of viewpoints in N Italy at this point but Spain was pretty hostile to Jews - as was most of western Europe but things did get better in the northern regions in the centuries following the reformation. [Until you got idiots like the Nazis of course].
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oscssw
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Post by oscssw on Nov 11, 2022 20:39:49 GMT
Where exactly will NG be if your decided that? If its fighting Massachusetts then that sounds like its a little to the north, possibly where New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine are?
It will be where the current State of Rhode island is Now. No initial conflict with the French or Dutch in my ATL.
As such it could end up fighting on two fronts with the French as well. At least unless and until there's some equivalent of the Bourbon take over of Spain which lead to a frequent Franco-Spanish alliance. [Albeit that Genoa would quite possibly have different political interests again]. Plus with Genoa's location its likely to be a possible target for French expansion which would be another reason for NG to be a French target.
I was thinking that you were planning further south, possibly in the vicinity of OTL Georgia and the Carolina's? This might also be better for settlement as the region north of Massachusetts is - possible access to the Grand Banks fisheries aside - is pretty barren for any significant settlement. Plus they have Spanish Florida to the south as a potential ally so they would only have land challenges - locals aside - with English settlement in Virginia and points north.
I'm not sure of viewpoints in N Italy at this point but Spain was pretty hostile to Jews - as was most of western Europe but things did get better in the northern regions in the centuries following the reformation. [Until you got idiots like the Nazis of course].
One of the reasons OTL Rhode Island was founded was because there were people who could not stomach the Massachusetts Puritans. These people were much more open minded than most of Europe. In fact, The Touro Synagogue or Congregation "Jeshuat Israel" was built in 1763 in Newport, Rhode Island.
Please note Steve I have no problem fudging dates to fit my ATL. I am writing fiction not history, although I try to keep it plausible.
Hope you don't mind me sharing my research for the IRIC ATL.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE? Touro-Synagogue-History First Jews in Newport
The first Jewish immigrants in the small but growing colony of Newport, Rhode Island, arrived from Barbados in the mid to late 17th century, possibly as early as 1658. They were primarily of Spanish and Portuguese origin; their families had migrated from Amsterdam and London to Brazil and then to islands in the Caribbean. They were not given full rights as citizens — they could not vote or hold office — but Rhode Island’s religious toleration meant they were safe and free from persecution. In Newport, they formed Congregation Nephuse Israel (Scattered of Israel), the second oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. By 1677, the community realized the need to acquire land for a Jewish burial ground. Two of the original immigrants, Mordechai Campanal and Moses Pacheco, purchased the lot at the corner of what is now Kay and Touro Streets for this purpose.
In the 1680s, Mordechai Campanal, Moses Pacheco, and fellow Jewish “resident aliens,” Abraham Burgos and Simon and Rachel Mendes tested British Navigation laws that prohibited aliens from engaging in mercantile trades. In 1684 the General Assembly of Rhode Island agreed that the group should be allowed to conduct business and that they were entitled to the full protection of the law as “resident strangers.”
Through the early and middle 1700s, Newport rose in prominence and importance, taking a leading role in the shipping and mercantile trades of the American Colonies. By 1758, the Jewish population had grown enough to warrant the construction of a synagogue. The Congregation, now known as Congregation Jeshuat Israel (Salvation of Israel), hired Newport resident Peter Harrison to design the building. Harrison, a British-American merchant, sea captain, was also fascinated with architecture. He studied and acquired many books on the subject and had already completed the design of Newport’s Redwood Library and King’s Chapel in Boston. Construction began on the “Jews Synagogue” in 1759. At the same time, Harrison was also building Christ Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Brick Market in Newport.
Several theories have arisen as to how Harrison, having no direct experience of the needs and requirements of a Jewish house of worship, could execute the elegant design of the first synagogue in New England. He had a limited choice of earlier models to draw on in the Western Hemisphere. He may have seen the 1732 Mikvé Israel Synagogue on the island of Curaçao or the 1701 London synagogue, Bevis Marks. For the building’s exterior, Harrison drew on his knowledge of and enthusiasm for Palladian architecture. He is known as one of the first designers to bring this popular European architectural style to the American colonies. More than likely, his best references for the interior came directly from members of the Newport Jewish congregation, notably, the Hazzan [prayer leader], Isaac Touro, who had only recently arrived from Amsterdam, and the 1675 Portuguese Synagogue known as the Esnoga.
To help fund the new synagogue, the Jewish community in Newport turned to Jewish communities throughout America’s mid-Atlantic region and in the Caribbean, where there were close ties through family and business interests. Generous financial support came from the older New York congregation, Congregation Shearith Israel, and the Jewish communities in Curaçao, Jamaica, and Surinam. Additional support came from London and Amsterdam.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW EVEN MORE 
from 350 Years: The History of the Jews in America 1492-1775
Submitted by: Suzanne Sobczak
Three days after the expulsion of the Jews, Christopher Columbus set sail for
India. His fleet of three ships instead landed on the shores of North America in what is
now Cuba. Of the ninety sailors, historians have identified five as Converso/or Crypto
Jews (Jews forced by the Spanish Inquisition to Convert to Catholicism yet practiced
many Jewish rituals in secret). Speculation has it that they sailed in hope of finding a
community more hospitable than Spain. One crew member, Luis de Torres (a Converso),
was a man who knew Hebrew, Arabic, and Spanish. He was the ships interpreter and
was the first crew member to set foot on North American soil.
Columbus’ journey was not a direct route to America for the Jewish population
that had fled from Spain. For the next 162 years the Jews searched for an accepting
community. Although a small hand full of Jews did sail to North America many more
fled to Portugal for safety. But in 1497 Portugal and Spain signed an agreement and once
again the Jews were forced to be expelled or convert. Even as many Jews fled to other
parts of Europe and North Africa safety was only momentary. In 1518 the Inquisition
made it illegal for any Jews/Converso to form settlements in any new country.
Jews who did manage to escape to safety left to the Netherlands. By 1581 Holland
had won its independence for Spain. The Dutch who were Calvinist accepted other
religions and strongly opposed the Inquisition. Conditions continued to get better for the
Jewish population after the Dutch captured Pernambuco, Brazil, in 1630. The Dutch
West India Company governed the colony and wanted to be a success. The company
recruited Jewish settlers and gave them the same rights as those given to Christians. By
1640 there were more than 1,000 Jews in Brazil. Most of these Jews settled in and
around the city of Recife, Brazil. Two synagogues were established and Recife became
the first legally recognized Jewish community in the New World.
Unfortunately, the freedom the Jews found in Recife lasted only a short time. In
1654 the Portuguese recaptured the colony. The remaining 600 Jews were once again
expelled. Some returned to Holland while others left for the New World.
The first group of openly Jewish settlers arrived in New Amsterdam (New York)
in 1654. The Ste. Catherine brought a group of six families totaling twenty-three people,
including thirteen children and two widows. These twenty-three Jews began what is now
the largest, most prosperous, and most successful Jewish communities in the history of
the Diaspora.
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oscssw
Senior chief petty officer
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Post by oscssw on Nov 20, 2022 14:17:56 GMT
Working on the outline and doing some light research for IRIC now. Next Segment of NC vs Bismarck takes precedence and should be posted soon. I think my Hero will be named Matteo Moreno,after one of my Milanese ancestors. Old Matteo founded the USA wing of our clan. He reached NYC, flat broke but was just in time to take a substitute bounty and join the Union Army. That got him US citizenship, a bum leg at Cold harbor(the doctor saved his knee and most of his lower leg but not his foot) and a small pension. From what one of my cousins who is into genealogy could find "No one cried when he left for America". 
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Post by American hist on Nov 24, 2022 5:14:38 GMT
It would be cool if Spain and Italy could have a joint Italian Spanish colony. However I realize that Italy was once apart of the Spanish empire and Italy was a region of separate kingdoms and city-states. How would Latin American cuisine differ in this alternative history? It would be nice to see more Italians living in the Spanish empire if feasible.
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oscssw
Senior chief petty officer
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Post by oscssw on Dec 13, 2022 16:11:05 GMT
It would be cool if Spain and Italy could have a joint Italian Spanish colony. However I realize that Italy was once apart of the Spanish empire and Italy was a region of separate kingdoms and city-states. How would Latin American cuisine differ in this alternative history? It would be nice to see more Italians living in the Spanish empire if feasible. American hist, as things are developing in my ATL Spain's conflict for domination of the new world with England will play a part in both establishing NOVA GENOVA and it's early survival.
I have also decided that whale oil will play a big part in the new colony. There will be a strong mutually beneficial alliance between certain of the New England tribes and the colonists. One of the things the Red Men teach the White settlers is how to hunt whales. Whale oil was a very important and lucrative business. It generated a lot of ready, disposable cash for the new colony and which is used, in part, to repay the Genoa banking families who financed the colony.
I am enjoying researching American Indian whaling quite a bit. I was much surprised by how many, of what I thought were very early 19th and possibly mid to late 18th century inventions by the white settlers were actually adoption and enhancement of the tools and techniques of the pre NE colonists Red whalers.
Please note I am not using woke terms. I detest them because they are based on lies. So even with an ATL I believe truth plays a big part in a good historical, sort of, story.
Got to scoot.
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oscssw
Senior chief petty officer
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Post by oscssw on Jan 5, 2023 19:55:36 GMT
NOVA GENOVA OUTLINE & Research notes AS OF 5 JAN 23.
IRIC Italian Rhode Island Colony ATL
will be named Nova Genova.
Will be founded in 1630 by Matteo Adorno Great Grandson of Andrea Doria, Genoese statesman, condottiere (mercenary commander), and admiral victor of battle of Battle of Lepanto . died Nov. 25, 1560. father Luca Adorno an Anziano Commissario of the Bank of Saint George mother Caterina Doria.
Premise
Genoa founds a colony where Rhode island stands today
Possibly triggered by Genoa being desperate because they were getting driven out of the eastern trade by their rivals?
Genoa was eventually occupied by Austria in 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession. This episode in the city's history is mainly remembered for the Genoese revolt, precipitated by a legendary boy named Giovan Battista Perasso and nicknamed Balilla who threw a stone at an Austrian official and became a national hero to later generations of Genoese, and Italians in general (see also Siege of Genoa (1746), Siege of Genoa (1747), and Siege of Genoa (1800)). Unable to retain its rule in Corsica, where the rebel Corsican Republic was proclaimed in 1755, Genoa was forced by the well-supported rebellion to sell its claim to Corsica to the French, under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles of 1768. Could be ripe for another colonial possibly in The New World?
I do think it will start as something more than the French model small Indian Trading post but frimly tied to the Backers. Maybe a Hudson's Bay Company based on whale oil instead of furs?
I can see NOVA GENOVA maturing into a more traditional New England type of colony with aspirations of strong local government.
Long term NOVA GENOVA gets swallowed up by Great Britain during the Seven Years' War. 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763 ? The Seven Years’ War in Europe picked up where the War of the Austrian Succession left off in 1748: with increasing levels of hostility between Prussia (led by Frederick the Great) and Russia. The Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle, or Treaty of Aachen, had taken Silesia from Austria and given it to Prussia, prompting Russia to worry about Frederick’s growing influence in the region.
Might be strong militia conflict between NE and NG, especially with NG being a Papist colony and maybe a haven for Massachusetts dissenters per RI in the OTL? Possibly with a vibrant and influential Jewish community as RI had in the OTL
Joins the 12 UK break away colonies in the American Revolution.
Genoa was Filthy Rich. The rise of Genoa’s banks, included the famous Bank of Saint George (Which will play an important part in the IRIC ATL) is important.
Genoa OTL had strong commercial ties to the new world. From about 1520 the Genoese controlled the port of Panama, the first port on the Pacific founded by the conquest of the Americas; the Genoese obtained a concession to exploit the port mainly for the slave trade of the new world on the Pacific, until the destruction of the primeval city in 1671.
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oscssw
Senior chief petty officer
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Post by oscssw on Jan 10, 2023 12:05:27 GMT
IRIC Italian Rhode Island Colony ATL
Jan 16
Prologue
9 Apr 1972 Radarman 2nd class Ed Bardsley, “Fast Eddie” to his shipmates, local bar girls and most people who knew him well had the week end duty prepping for the War Games that would start Monday at the War College. It was Saturday 0530 Nine April 1972 and he did not have to muster until 0730. Eddie was having an early breakfast at Salas’s Restaurant located in a very old building with creaky wooden floors, at the beginning of lower Thames Street. Mary Salas, another friend of Eddie’s, put out a damn fine breakfast for 90 cents and he preferred her cooking to the base galley. Sala’s had a homey feel to it you don’t generally get in today’s restaurants. When you sat down at the bar, you got drawn into the conversation, no matter who you were. At this hour only Mary, Eddie and an old, well dressed gentleman were there. Eddie, being Eddie, struck up a conversation with the other diner. His name was Luca Adorno an Anziano; a newly arrived “Visiting Research Scholar from the “Università di Genova” at the U.S. Naval War College (NWC). He was researching the early years of Newport’s maritime development when Rhode Island was called Nova Genova and Newport was called Porto Nuovo. Both Mary, who grew up in San Diego and Eddie who spent his entire 17 years of life in North Andover Massachusetts before he enlisted in the USN knew this state was founded by the Genoese, had been a very important whaling port and refuge for people who could not stand the Puritans up in Massachusetts. They also thought RI was one of the original 13 states but that was about it because neither Mary or Eddie had much interest in history.
22 December 1972
Radarman 2nd class Ed Bardsley, was playing piano at the Red Parrot bar on Thames St, Newport. He kept a beer mug on the upright and it was almost always filled with tips. In 1973 The Red Parrot was not the off limits “Bucket of blood” combo sailor’s bar and whore house it had been during the Prohibition, when it was a “Speak Easy”, to just after WW II but it still felt like home. These days the “Working Girls” were pretty much semi-pros and not owned by “The House” but did find plenty of “Custom” from the young sailors at the Parrot. There were even still a few rooms on the top floor of the Parrot that could be “leased by the hour”. Fast Eddie’s piano was on the first floor of the main bar, the Parrot was a multi story building. It was built in 1898 by John Alton Barker as a meat packing house; a running joke with the “Working Girls” and their sailors. This was a farewell party for “The Prof” ( as Eddie called him) Professor Luca Adorno an Anziano; lately “Visiting Research Scholar” at the NWC favorite hang out. The “Prof” and “Fast Eddie” had become good drinking buddies. “The Prof” had completed his research, presented his “Paper” to the NWC, collected his “Honorarium” and conducted a series of lectures on the subject that had been well received. Now it was time to return to “Università di Genova” after he visited some NWC “friends” now stationed in San Diego for a few weeks. Before he left “The Prof” handed “Fast Eddie” a Christmas Gift. Bardsley, hefting the heavy package said, I didn’t get you a gift Luca. I’m sorry about that.” Luca replied, “Oh but you have. You befriended me when I arrived and I have been drinking free while you labored away at the Piano here at The Parrot. To say nothing of the lovely young ladies you introduced me to. Not one of which gave me a STD. They both laughed. “The Prof” gave Bardsley a bear hug, kissed him on the cheek and left for California. Neither man ever saw the other again and nether was the type to stay in touch. Next morning Eddie was having an early breakfast at Salas’s and over his second cup of coffee he opened “The Prof” present. It was bound copy of his Research paper for the NWC. On the leaf was written in a very good hand “To Radarman 2nd Class “Fast Eddie” Bardsley USN, whose kindness and fellowship I greatly appreciate.” From Your “Liberty buddy” and fellow patron of The Red Parrot . Luca." This is Professor Luca Adorno an Anziano of the “Università di Genova” (NWC) Paper, limited to the Title page, Background, Findings and Time Line.
NAVAL WAR COLLEGE
Newport, R.I.
THE EARLY YEARS OF RHODE ISLAND’S MARITIME DEVELOPMENT AS A GENOESE COLONY
Luca Adorno an Anziano of the
Visiting Research Scholar from the Università di Genova at the U.S. Naval War College
A paper submitted to the The Director Maritime History Department (NWC) in accordance with with an agreement between the Naval War College and the University of Genoa to provide a historical narrative of Rhode Island’s Maritime development as a Genoese colony. The contents of this paper reflect my own personal views and are not necessarily endorsed by the Naval War College or the Department of the Navy. Signature: Luca Adorno an Anziano
10 August 1972
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oscssw
Senior chief petty officer
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Post by oscssw on Jan 17, 2023 17:30:56 GMT
IRIC Italian Rhode Island Colony ATL
Jan 17
THE EARLY YEARS OF RHODE ISLAND’S MARITIME DEVELOPMENT AS A GENOESE COLONY
BACKGROUND
The Genoese Republic At it’s zenith The Genoese Republic had possessions in the Mediterranean, North America and the Black Sea region, which it used as trading points. Of these were the islands – Corsica, Gorgona, Capraia, Cyprus, Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Tabarka, continental possessions were territories in the Crimea, the Black Sea cities of Samsun, Sinop, Samastro, etc., cities nearby with Constantinople – Galata and Pera. In the Americas was the colony of Nova Genova, today’s Rhode island. All this was once called the Genoese Empire.
Genoa became a self-governing commune within the Italian kingdom in the 11th century. Genoa soon became an important trading center that could already compete with a city like Venice. Genoa began its expansion during the Crusades, providing its fleet for transportation, and seized several territories in the Middle East, conducting it’s vigorous type of trading there.
During the 12th century, the Genoese Republic (GR) entered into an alliance with the Nicene empire and aided in reclaiming Constantinople in 1261. The alliance allowed GR to freely trade on the enormous holdings of the Byzantine Empire. About the same time GR captured many islands in the Aegean Sea.
GR rapidly advanced its trade interests to the Black and Azov Seas, where it began to control, many settlements in the Crimea.
The main western Mediterranean rival of Genoa was Pisa. GR defeated the Pisa’s navy in the sea battle of Meloria in 1284. That victory, gained GR the island of Corsica, and later control of northwest Sardinia. In the rivalry between the Angevins and the Aragonese for control of Sicily (after the “Sicilian Vespers” of 1283), GR decided to support the victorious Kingdom of Aragon, which allowed GR to quickly join the Sicilian economy.
The Bank of Saint George was founded in 1407 by some of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Genoa. It was housed in the Palace of Saint George, which still stands in Genoa today. The Bank of Saint George became significant for helping fund Genoa’s debt which had increased dramatically due to its conflict with Venice in the earlier Venetian-Genoese Wars. Furthermore, other European nations and leaders borrowed heavily from the bank which allowed Genoa to grow in importance and wealth. For example, Christopher Columbus, the famous explorer, had an account at the bank and used the bank during his famous four voyages to the New World in the late 15th century. The Bank of Saint George eventually closed in 1805 following Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Italy.
Due to the growing power of the Ottoman Empire, economic depression of the late 14th century and the long war with Venice, GR entered the period of decline. From 1499 to 1528, under French occupation, the republic fell into decay. When the great admiral Andrea Doria from the powerful dynasty of Doria teamed up with Emperor Charles V in order to expel the French from Genoa and restore its independence, the city had new perspectives.
As a junior ally of the Spanish Empire, the GR began it’s renaissance called “El siglo de los genoveses” (AKA The century of the Genoese). GR’s bankers thrived, due to their “Branch offices” in Seville, who negotiated the financing of many enterprises of the Spanish Crown. The period From 1557 to 1627 was the “Golden Age of Genoa.” All this conspicuous wealth, was concentrated in the hands of a narrow circle of bankers, financiers, which are now called “ venture capitalists ”.
The opening of the Genoese Banking Consortium was preceded by the state bankruptcy of Philip II in 1557, which plunged the German banking houses into chaos and marked the end of the Fugger domination of Spain’s finances. The Genoese bankers provided the cumbersome Habsburg system with loans and, last but not least, with a steady and reliable income. In return, less reliable supplies of American silver were made through Seville to Genoa, replenishing capital for future high-risk enterprises.
But the activity of the Genoese did not end with the economy, for example, the Genoese banker Ambrosio Spinola equipped and led the army in one of the companies of the Eighty Years War, which took place in the Netherlands in the early 17th century. The decline of Spain in the XVII century led to the decline of Genoa. The frequent bankruptcies of the Spanish kings largely contributed to the ruin of a significant number of Genoese bank houses.
GR continued to experience decline in the 17th century and in 1768 was forced to sell Corsica to France. However, Genoa was still richer than Venice and was an important trading center. At this time Nova Genova, one of GR’s few remaining possessions, provided important revenue from it’s whaling trade and many enterprising Genoese immigrated to this North American colony.
THE EARLY YEARS OF RHODE ISLAND’S MARITIME DEVELOPMENT AS A GENOESE COLONY
BACKGROUND (CONT.)
The Natives Americans of Nova GenovaWhen the first European settlers arrived, the predominant tribe in Rhode Island were the Narragansett. The Wampanoag and Niantic peoples shared similar languages and cultures, though they struggled to maintain their own way of life.The Narragansett which means “the people at the small narrow point.”In the early seventeenth century, Narragansett Native Americans occupied most of Rhode Island, from Narragansett Bay on the east to the Pawcatuck River on the west. They were the largest and strongest chiefdom in New England.They escaped the great pestilence of 1617 that swept through southern New England, and the remnants of other tribes who had suffered joined them for protection. When the English began colonizing New England in 1620, the Narragansetts were the most powerful native nation in southern New England numbering around 10,000. They were of the Eastern Woodlands culture. They were made up of several sub-tribes, each with a chief (sachem). The Narragansett spoke a Y-dialect of the Algonquian language, similar to the N-dialects of their neighbors, the Niantic and the Wampanoag tribes. Speakers of Algonquian languages stretch from the east coast of North America all the way to the Rocky Mountains. They were an eastern woodland people. Their subsistence came from the farming of corn, beans, and squash. They also grew tobacco for smoking and medicinal use. They spent a great deal of time in the fields tending their crops. They gathered nuts, berries, and other plants in the forest. They were also very skilled hunters and fishermen. Small game, fish, and seafood were used to supplement their diet.All of the R I Native Americans moved during the year to where food was readily available. At the beginning of summer, they moved to the shore and built wigwams or wetus, houses used by Algonquian-speaking peoples in the eastern woodlands.The frame of the house could be shaped like a dome, a cone, or a rectangle with an arched roof. Once the birch bark was in place, ropes or strips of wood were wrapped around the wetu to hold the bark in place. Wetu is the word for house used by the Wampanoag tribe. These were small temporary shelters. Their winter home was called a long house, in which up to 20 families lived during the cold months.The Narragansetts spent a great deal of time building and repairing canoes, which were their primary means of transportation. The canoes they dug out of trees were large enough to hold up to forty men.
The Niantic Which means “The people of long-necked waters”, believed to refer to the long neck or peninsula of land now known as Black Point that is juts out into Long Island Sound. Due to intrusions by the Pequot tribe, the Niantic were divided into an eastern and western division. The Western Niantic lived just east of the mouth of the Connecticut River, while the Eastern Niantic became very close allies to the Narragansett.Conflict broke out between the Niantic and their colonial neighbors, leading to military expeditions that dealt out massive destruction in contrast to the rather limited incidents that had provoked the conflict. As the violence became more widespread, it evolved into the Pequot War in 1637, which resulted in almost total destruction of the Western Niantic. After King Philip’s War, many surviving Narragansett fled to the Eastern Niantic, and many modern-day Narragansett have significant Niantic blood.
The Wampanoag Which means "Eastern People." In 1600, the Wampanoag probably were as many as 12,000 with 40 villages, roughly 8000 in what would become Massachusetts and eastern Rhode Island, and 4000 on the offshore islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The three epidemics between 1614 and 1620 were especially devastating to the Wampanoag, with mortality in many mainland villages reaching 100%. in 1620, fewer than 2000 mainland Wampanoag had survived. Those on the islands were protected somewhat by their relative isolation and still numbered 3000. The Wampanoag were nearly exterminated during King Philip’s War. Only 400 survived, and they joined the Narragansett.THE EARLY YEARS OF RHODE ISLAND’S MARITIME DEVELOPMENT AS A GENOESE COLONY
BACKGROUND (CONT.)
The East Coast North American Colonies In 1564, French Protestants (Huguenots) built a colony near what is now Jacksonville, Florida. This intrusion did not go unnoticed by the Spanish, who had previously claimed the region. The next year, the Spanish established a military post at St. Augustine; Spanish troops soon wiped out the French interlopers residing but 40 miles away.
About the same time French, Basque and English fishing fleets began regular operations along the coasts from Newfoundland to Cape Cod. Some of these fishing fleets even set up semi-permanent camps on the coasts to dry their catches and to trade with local people, exchanging furs for manufactured goods. In the few decades, Europeans' presence in North America was limited to these semi-permanent incursion. In the 1580s, the British tried to establish a permanent colony on Roanoke Island (on the outer banks of present-day North Carolina), but their efforts failed.
In the early 1600s, in rapid succession, the British began a colony of Jamestown in Chesapeake Bay in 1607, the French built Quebec in 1608, and the Dutch began their interest in the region that would become New York. Within another generation, the Plymouth Company (1620), the Massachusetts Bay Company (1629), the Company of New France (1627), the Dutch West India Company (1621) and NOVA GENOVA (1630) began to send thousands of colonists, including families, to The New world. Successful colonization was not inevitable. Rather, interest in North America was a halting, yet global, contest among European powers to exploit these lands.Many Native American tribes viewed the Europeans' arrival as an invasion and they pursued any number of avenues, including their own form of guerrilla warfare perfectly suited for the terrain and climate, to deal with that invasion. That the Native American were unsuccessful in the long run in resisting or in establishing a more favorable accommodation with the Europeans was much more the result of European diseases than superior tactics and/or generalship. Because of the interactions of these very diverse tribes, the process of European colonization of the western hemisphere was a complex one, indeed. Individual members of each group confronted situations that were most often not of their own making or choosing. They responded with the means available to them. For most, these means were not sufficient to prevail. Yet these people were not simply victims; they were active agents trying to shape their own destinies.THE EARLY YEARS OF RHODE ISLAND’S MARITIME DEVELOPMENT AS A GENOESE COLONY
BACKGROUND (CONT.)
Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries The 16th century was a time of great economic development. This development in turn played a major role in the many other social, political, and cultural transitions of that age.
By 1500 the inhabitants of most areas of Europe were expanding after a couple of centuries of reduction and/or stagnation. The ties of trade in Europe strengthened , and the “wheels of commerce” were accelerating ever quicker. The great geographic discoveries then in process were uniting Europe into a global economic network. New commodities, many of them sourced from newly discovered lands, enhanced material life. Not only commerce but also the manufacture of products accelerated as a result of new manufacturing practices. Business man, speculators, and bankers amassed and manipulated capital in heretofore unimaginable volume. The 16th century is now acknowledged as the beginning, or at least the maturing, of Western capitalism. Capital assumed a major role not only in economic organization but also in political life and international affairs. Renaissance and Reformation Cultural values spread through Old Europe and changed the perspectives by which they both viewed themselves and the world.
Early capitalism was not stable or always prosperous. Financial crashes were common; the Spanish crown, the heaviest borrower in Europe and her banker Genoa, suffered repeated bankruptcies. The mid to late 1500s and of 1607, 1627, and 1647 were particularly harmful. The number of societies indigent declined but became if not more visible. The capitalism of the West, did not extend to the once-free peasants of central and eastern Europe who were forced into serfdom.
The new prosperity of the 16th century gave way in later periods of the 17th century to a “general crisis” in many European regions. Politically, the leaders of the new centralized states insisted on cultural conformity from their subjects. A few nations expelled Jews, and almost all would not tolerate religious dissenters. Despite of the resurgence of classical learning and the long overdue reformation of the churches, a hysterical fear of witches grasped large portions of the population, including the educated.
Commercial ports, often capitals, became large cities: examples include Venice, Genoa ,Livorno, Sevilla (Seville), Lisbon, Antwerp, Amsterdam, London, Bremen, and Hamburg. By 1550, Antwerp was the chief Northern port. In 1510, the Portuguese moved their trading station from Brugge to Antwerp, making it the chief northern market for their Indian spices. The Antwerp’s bourse, or exchange, became the leading money market of the north with a population of 90,000. The revolt of the Low Countries against Spanish rule (from 1568) ruined Antwerp’s prosperity. The mid-17th century was a period of recession in many European regions but it was “Holland’s golden age”. Late in the century, Amsterdam faced the growing challenge from London which was only slightly smaller than Paris at 440,000 residents.
The “Atlantic revolution,” was the rerouting of trade routes brought about by the great geographic discoveries. The Atlantic revolution, was built on the old lines of medieval commerce. In the Middle Ages, Italian ports—Venice and Genoa in particular—dominated trade of Middle East and Eastern products and especially spices. The Inorthern german ports, organized into a loose federation known as the Hanseatic League. When the Portuguese in 1498 opened direct maritime links with India, Genoa faced the competition of the Atlantic ports, first Lisbon and Antwerp. Nonetheless, Genoa effectively responded to the new competition and attained in the 16th century its apogee of commercial importance. Genoa was not well placed to take advantage of the Atlantic discoveries, but Genoese bankers played a central role in the finances of Spain’s overseas empire and in its military ventures in Europe. Italians did not quickly relinquish the prominence as merchants and bankers that had distinguished them in the Middle Ages.
In terms of maritime trade, the Atlantic revolution may well have stimulated rather than injured the older exchanges. At the same time, new competition from the western ports left both Hanseatics and Italians vulnerable to the economic downturn of the 17th century. For both the Hanseatic and Italian cities, the 17th—and not the 16th—century was the age of decline.
The most amazing transformation in the 16th-century economics were in the area of international banking and finance. Granted, medieval bankers such as the Florentine Bardi and Peruzzi in the 14th century and the Medici in the 15th had operated on an international scale, but the full development of an global money market with supporting organizations took place in the 16th century. Its earliest architects were South German banking houses, from Augsburg and Nürnberg, who were well situated to serve as financial intermediaries between such southern capitals as Rome, or commercial centers such as Genoa and the northern financial hubs at Antwerp. Through letters of exchange drawn on the various stock markets that were growing throughout Europe, these bankers were able to mass huge amounts of capital.
The Habsburg king of Spain, Charles I, used nearly two million florins supplied by Jakob II Fugger to bribe the imperial electors and became Holy Roman emperor as Charles V. Money was shaping the politics of Europe.
The subsequent bankruptcies of the Spanish crown greatly damaged the German bankers; from 1580 or even earlier, the Genoese became the chief financiers of the Spanish government and empire. Through the central fair at Lyon and through letters of exchange and a complex variant known as the asiento, the Genoese transferred great sums from Spain to the Low Countries to pay the soldiers of the Spanish armies. In the mid-16th century, dissatisfied with Lyon, the Genoese set up a fictional fair, known as Bisenzone (Besançon), as a centre of their fiscal operations. Changing sites several times, “Bisenzone” from 1579 settled at Piacenza in Italy.
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oscssw
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Post by oscssw on Jan 18, 2023 12:30:52 GMT
I am trying out a different style with IRIC, the format of a US Naval War College (NWC) research paper. I got to admit once I started researching for IRIC I became fascinated with the subjects of the Republic of Genoa and ships of the early 1600s. I have had an interest in New England Native American culture since I was working on my BSA Indian Lore merit badge. FWIW, I had two good shipmates who were Native Americans. I even spent a week with one of them at his family's home on an Indian reservation outside of San Diego. Those were "pre casino" days enough said.  1. I'd like to thank "kyuzoaoi" It was his "Italian American Colony" thread that peaked my interest in doing my own ATL. 2. I welcome all comments (both good and bad) and suggestions on the IRIC ATL. As for posting, I just got started. |
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oscssw
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Post by oscssw on Jan 28, 2023 15:31:41 GMT
IRIC Italian Rhode Island Colony ATL
Jan 28
THE EARLY YEARS OF RHODE ISLAND’S MARITIME DEVELOPMENT AS A GENOESE COLONY
DISCUSSION / ANALYSIS
A stolen copy of a supposedly very confidential report of a recently completed voyage of exploration of the English owned East coast of North America was the catalyst for Bank chairman Luigi Grimaldi, decision to recommend a new "Venture".
The expedition had been commissioned by the Earl of Southhampton with the goal of establishing an English colony in north Virginia, which stretched from Florida to Canada. The stolen report was that of Bartholomew Gosnold, English explorer who in 1602 sailed along the east coast of North America, mapping and naming many of the locations he saw, including Cape Cod but also Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay; the prize Luigi was determined to own for his bank and his republic Genoa.
The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. There are more than 30 islands in the bay; the three largest ones are Aquidneck Island, Conanicut Island, and Prudence Island. Bodies of water that are part of Narragansett Bay include the Sakonnet River, Mount Hope Bay, and the southern, tidal part of the Taunton River. The bay opens on Rhode Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean; Block Island lies less than 20 miles southwest of its opening.
There are three major rivers: the Blackstone, the Pawtuxet, and the Pawcatuck. quite navigable rivers leading inland to very desirable lands ideal for a colony. The Blackstone and Pawtuxet Rivers flow into Narragansett Bay, while the Pawcatuck River flows into Little Narragansett Bay and then on to the Atlantic Ocean.
In December of 1615 the Board of Directors of the Bank of Saint George, headquartered at Palazzo San Giorgio, approved a "Capital Venture" proposed by Bank Luigi Grimaldi chairman in the New world. They chose to gamble on the proven abundance of Fur, Fish, lumber, Iron ore and the infant North American whaling trade. All were commodities that were in great demand, especially good quality fur and consequently very profitable. The whaling trade had the potential to largely replace the now depleted Northern European off shore whaling grounds.
It was doubtful that "North America" would ever fully replace Genoa's traditional Mediterranean trade, much of which was now controlled by the Ottomans. However, "The Bank" would turn a nice profit on the new trade and that was what was important.
The Chairman of "The Bank" Luigi Grimaldi had wisely convinced the Board to support and fund Bernardo Clavarezza who was now the ninety-first Doge of the Republic of Genoa. When appraised of the idea for a colony/trade center on March 20th 1616 in what we now call New England the Doge, not wanting to anger the English and doubting North America would ever really turn a profit hesitated to back the plan. Chairman Luigi Grimaldi obtained another meeting with the Doge on June 12, 1616 now accompanied by the Spanish Ambassador to The Republic of Genoa. Philip III's plenipotentiary informed the Doge Clavarezza that his his king, who was in deep debt to the Bank of Saint George, backed the "The Bank's" Venture and would provide protection against the English.
As an Oligarchic city-state, the Dodge held a meeting on August 19 1616 of Heads of the handful of aristocratic families who firmly controlled The Republic. He put "The Bank's" venture to a formal vote. It passed quite handily as some of those voting were either on the Board of "The Bank" or saw their own best interests served by the venture. "The Bank" BOD had done the very necessary "influencing" of the Patriarchs well in advance of the actual vote.
With the backing of the Republic there was much planning to be done in the Palace of St. George. As educated men of trade, seafaring and commerce , the Board knew about the voyages of Giovanni da Verrazzano, in search of the North West Passage. In his writings, Verrazzano took note of an island (probably Block Island) that he figured was about the same size as the "Island of Rhodes" in the Mediterranean. He also noted the most plentiful whaling 'Grounds" ever discovered off that same coast. This was old news and not enough to for their purposes. So they brought in current experts on North America, the fur trade and the whaling industry. The information provided by the "Experts" reinforced their belief in the viability of the venture but there was one major hurdle to jump.
They also had access to records of the Venetian, it would be another Venetian, Giovanni Caboto's 1497 voyage to the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England; the basis for British land claims in New England and Canada. Over time, the English Crown declared to the world that "New England" belonged the Great Britain by right of exploration. The claim aided Stock companies in raising the capital required to established British colonies in North America under a, very lucrative (to the king) Crown charters. It was unlikely the English would welcome the the newly named Nova Genova colony into it's sphere of influence with open arms.
The BOD of Bank of Saint George, knew they could always bribe Royal officials, if not the monarch's themselves, to get what "The bank" wanted. It was only a matter of negotiating exactly what or how much was required to seal the deal.
They saw selecting who would lead the actual effort to found and develop NOVA GENOVA as a far more important decision. One likely candidate was Matteo Adorno, Great Grandson of Andrea Doria, the Genoese statesman, condottiere (mercenary commander), and admiral victor of battle of Battle of Lepanto. His father was Luca Adorno an Anziano a Commissario of the Bank of Saint George and his mother was Caterina Doria, so he would be backed by the important families of Genoa.
Matteo was a master mariner, in the prime of life, with extensive military, as well of commercial trading experience in the service to Genoa and especially to "The Bank" which, to the BOD, was really the same thing. Caterina had convinced Luca Matteo was ready to throw himself into a desperate venture after recently loosing his wife in childbed after giving birth to a fine healthy son. She was looking forward to raising the boy, until she selected another, politically and socially acceptable young beautiful wife for Matteo.
After considering her suggestion for a few days Adorno broached the idea with Matteo who jumped at the chance immediately Adorno informed the board Matteo was ready and willing to take on the job of founding NOVA GENOVA. A short deliberation followed, the BOD knew Matteo well, but in the end Matteo was offered the command of the expedition. In March of 1616 Doge Bernardo Clavarezza rubber stamped and agreed to issued Matteo the commission of the Republic of Genoa as Governor of NG if and when the project became a certainty.
At the end of September 1616 the BOD directed commissioner Adorno to contact the English government and begin the negotiations for the land. Adorno didn't care to leave Genoa for a winter of cold, rain and boredom in London. He knew the BOD, to exert it's authority after granting his son a prized position, was making his life difficult because they could and he had to comply. The BOD jealously guarded it's authority and that meant all, aside from The present Chairman Luigi Grimaldi, had to know their limits.
Adorno was in London meeting with both James' chief minister Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury and the Howard faction at the court by late October 1616. His way had been eased by the fact that "Great Britain" was in terrible fiscal condition. The parliament was at odds, as usual, with their "Scot Laird" James I.
James I was the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots. He was and remained king of Scotland as James VI also being the first Stuart king of England and Ireland from 1603 to 1625. He considered himself “King of Great Britain.” James was a strong advocate of royal absolutism, and his conflicts with an increasingly self-assertive Parliament set the stage for the rebellion against his successor, Charles I.
An attempt to reach an accommodation with parliament in mid 1611 to exchange the king’s feudal revenues for a fixed annual sum from Parliament, called Great Contract came to nothing. James then dissolved Parliament in 1611. The problem was he still desperately needed money. Adorno's offer that wealthy Genoa buy, what we now call Rhode Island,was accepted by the King and Parliament in early December of 1616.
Elizabeth had left James 1st a debt of more than £300,000; by 1616 royal debt was more than £500,000. The Bank of Saint George provided the funds for GENOVA NOVA that made James 1 solvent, for a short period. Needless to say, both James' chief minister Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury and the Howard faction and a couple of very influential members of Parliament were discreetly amply rewarded by "The Bank" for advising James and Parliament to accept Genoa's offer.
"The Bank's" Chairman, Luigi Grimaldi, selected Commissioner Ferrante Pallavicino to consult with the minsters of King Philip III (also King of Portugal, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia and Duke of Milan) at Madrid. Ferrante was officially an ambassador of the Republic of Genoa. However, it was his position of Commissario with "The Bank" that ensured him access to the ladder of ever more senior government functionaries that led up to the door keepers of those who actually counted at the Spanish Court. He finally was allowed a meeting with Don Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, better known as the Duke of Lerma. Don Francisco was the favorite (El Favorito o Valido) and unofficial prime minister of Philip III of Spain from 1598 to 1618. He was trusted by the King and therefore both respected, and feared by the other court members who treated him as what he was the defacto Prime Minister. The negotiations had to be shoehorned into Don Francisco's very busy schedule.
However, any fairly realistic scheme that would in any way materially weaken Spain's blood enemy England, was one that stood a very good chance of being approved by Phillip III if presented to him favorably by his defacto PM and trusted favorito. One of the secret clauses of the alliance was that the magnificent harbor of Porto Nuovo (Newport) would be available for use by the Armada (Spanish Nav) and Spanish merchant vessels.
In the end it came down to a matter of the amount of the "gratuity" for Don Francisco's in valuable assistance. It was much, much less than what Arnoldo spent on the English, which would please the BOD and strengthen Pallavicino's chances at becoming the next Chairman of the BOD of "The Bank". He was back in Genoa by early August 1618.
In mid September Doge Bernardo Clavarezza issued the commission of the Republic of Genoa as Governor of NG to Matteo Adorno. |
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oscssw
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Post by oscssw on Feb 2, 2023 12:55:41 GMT
IRIC Italian Rhode Island Colony ATL
Feb 2
THE EARLY YEARS OF RHODE ISLAND’S MARITIME DEVELOPMENT AS A GENOESE COLONY
DISCUSSION / ANALYSIS (continued)
Matteo "served" both The Republic of Genoa and Bank of Saint George. "The Bank", specifically Luigi Grimaldi, was his Overlord because, as the old Genoese saying goes, "Colui che ha le regole d'oro" (He who has the gold rules).
The Governor's Plan
At the end of October 1618 the future governor of NOVA GENOVA had submitted his plan and list of both personnel and logistical requirements for the establishment of the Colony and Trade Center to The Bank's Commissarios. Chairman Grimaldi had already reviewed and amended Matteo's proposal.
As to be expected, the individual BOD Commissarios, proposed changes that would benefit themselves and their favorites. Matteo acquiesced to the appointment of the Commissarios nominees for all but the essential positions, as he had been instructed to do by Grimaldi. He also agreed to minor changes to the actual plan and his material requirements. One point Grimaldi told him not to concede, after he personally consented to, was the type, source, number and senior officers of his ships and the garrison.
By 1618 a lot had been learned about how NOT to establish a permanent Colony and Trade Center in "The New World." There were plenty of disasters to learn from but the Genoese had a proven, at least in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, track record that they were masters at this very difficult art. The tough part was to adjust their methods to the natives, called "Indians", of the New World. For that Matteo, as a Genoese, he desperately needed an "Indian" with specific knowledge of the tribes and their language in NG who was also was both intelligent and very greedy.
Tomocomo
Matteo knew who he needed and his name was Uttamatomakkin known as Tomocomo, who had accompanied Pocahontas at the request of her father Chief Powhatan. When she died in March 1617 at Gravesend, England Tomocomo was convinced to embark on a tour of Europe which found him a great celebrity when he visited Genoa. He was treated so well that he lingered as a guest of The Doge.
Tomocomo was an energetic man, in his prime, able bodied, grave of countenance, and spare of speech. He styled his raven hair in two braids falling just below his shoulder blades bound by rawhide cords. On dress occasions he wore a Venetian red tunic with a buff coat, knee-length breeches and wide-brimmed black felt hat with a single eagle feather attached. He was bare calved and for shoes he preferred beaded moccasins, fur lined in winter. This was a gift to him by the Colonel of a regiment of English Musketeers only slightly altered from their uniform. Tomocomo wore a thick gold chain about his neck, and a bag of tobacco and a long stemmed wooden pipe at his belt. Like everyone else he carried a knife. His was not the lethal but eloquent stiletto but a heavy bladed hunting knife of the very best English steel with a horn grip.
Matteo made Tomocomo an offer he could not resist. He would hire him as an advisor, translator and guide for the NG venture. It was also a way for a now homesick Tomocomo to return home as a man of stature and wealth. Tomocomo had lived in England since early 1616 and by March 1617 had acquired a functional knowledge of spoken English. Matteo's English was not too much better, aside for nautical terms, than his "Indian's." In fact Matteo sensed Tomocomo had a real facility for learning languages and soon they would be communicating in Genoese Latin Italian.
Sebastiano Caboto
Although Matteo was a fairly competent ship's master with a good deal of commercial trading experience in the Mediterranean, Black sea and European coastal trade he was not a highly skilled Navigator and Atlantic mariner. What he needed was a Squadron Navigator able to do more than just use the stars to fix a ship's latitude and therefore sail from east to west; about all the average ship's Masters and first mates were capable of.
Competent navigators of the early 1600s could use the cross-staff a square baton 3.5-4 feet in length, bearing a scale, with four sliding cross-pieces or transversals of graduated lengths. Only one transversal was used at a time, its selection being based upon the height of the heavenly body in the sky - the higher the body, the longer the transversal. The user held one end of the staff to his eye, then slid the transversal onto the far end and moved it back and forth until its upper and lower edges seemed to touch, respectively, the observed body and the horizon. The location of the transversal on the scale was converted by a table into degrees of latitude.
BUT Polaris is often obscured by clouds, fog, or daylight, and it is below the horizon for anyone in the Southern Hemisphere. Darkness often makes the horizon hard to find. So navigators learned to use the astrolabe, quadrant, and cross-staff with the sun. A piece of smoked glass was frequently used to keep the user from blinding himself. Under lock and key, for use by the captain and pilot only, were highly prized declination tables or astronomical charts showing calculated heights of the sun above the equator at noon for every day of the year.
There was really no practical way to fix a ship's Longitude because no watch was accurate enough once at sea so, out of sight of land, you never ever really knew where you were. It was up to trust in God, Guesswork and luck when sailing North to South. Oh there was the compass to tell you roughly East, West, North and South subject to all kinds of natural and man made inaccuracies. Compass errors such as Variation, Deviation, Oscillation and even Magnetic Dip induced Northerly Turning Error wrecked many a good ship commanded by very good Masters. There was also the old stand by, Dead Reckoning, nothing more than an educated guess really, no matter how carefully you plotted wind, tide and current, and kept up the Traverse Board, it became ever more inaccurate the longer you relied on it.
The Traverse Board was a very useful navigational tool used to approximate the course run by a ship during a watch. It consisted of a circular piece of wood on which the compass points had been painted. Eight small holes were evenly spaced along the radius to each point, and eight small pegs were attached with string to the center of the board. Every half-hour one of the pegs was stuck into the next succeeding hole for the compass point closest to the heading the ship had maintained during that half hour. At the end of that watch, a general course was determined from the position of the pegs. With wind, tide, current adjustments and speed information from the long and line, the traverse board served as a crude dead-reckoning computer.
Long ocean voyages required navigators who could use the imperfect tools and somehow still navigate safely and with a degree of accuracy far beyond most mariners. That was the type of man Matteo needed and he was willing to pay handsomely for his expertise. He found him in the person of the Marco Caboto. In fact the word Caboto means "coastal seaman”. He was the man to get him to 41°29′17″N 71°18′45″W in as short a voyage as humanly possible.
Marco was a Venetian Cartographer, North America explorer and highly skilled Navigator who would work for anyone who met his price. Marco was the Grandson of Giovani Caboto (John Cabot) and the son of Sebastiano Caboto both outstanding navigators. Marco apprenticed and matured in the family business, learning cartography, navigation, astronomy, mathematics and seamanship early in life. In 1618 Marco Caboto was 39 years old, of medium height with a Roman nose, somewhat deaf in his right ear but with excellent eyesight, of olive complexion with red hair and on his third marriage. His first wife died in child bed and his second of cholera. His wives gave him 9 children; 5 of which were still alive. His eldest son Giovanni 19, was already a competent Navigator and would accompany his father to Nova Genova as part of his professional training in preparation of the day he would inherit his father's business.
Bartolomeo Colleoni
The future Governor of Nova Genova was charged with establishing a dockyard. He required a Master Shipwright with proven shipyard management skills. He knew exactly where to find such a man. The Genoese Republic maintained special facilities on the city's waterfront (collectively known as the Genoese Arsenal). Along with warships for the Navy the Arsenal produced the majority of Genoa's maritime trading vessels, which generated much of the city's economic wealth and power. It was one of the largest industrial complexes in Europe prior to the Industrial Revolution, with an area of 65 acres. Master Shipwrights, journeyman and apprentice shipbuilders and laborers worked within the Arsenal, building ships that sailed from the city's port. Different areas of the Arsenal, each under a Master of a specific trade along with their journeyman, apprentices and laborers, produced a particular prefabricated ship part or other maritime implement, such as munitions, rope, and rigging, ship's iron and sails. These parts were assembled into a ship on the ways. The Arsenal was under the overall direction of "The Master Shipwright of Genoa". He had a staff of a few shipwrights, accountants and more clerks. He reported directly to The Doge. However, the bankers and merchants of The Republic had much influence on him.
Bartolomeo Colleoni, was one of these staff Shipwrights. He was ambitious, still in excellent health in early middle age and willing to immigrate to the New world, as long as he could take his family along. He was acceptable to Chairman Grimaldi, a majority of The Bank's Commissarios and the Doge. Colleoni would also be of great value in selecting his three Carracks.
The Squadron
Governor Matteo Adorno's plan for establishing the Nova Genova colony and trading center, called for a squadron of three medium sized, blue water, cargo ships capable of withstanding a winter North Atlantic storm. The ships had to be armed well enough to take on any pirate alone but not detract from their cargo carrying capacity. The choice came down to the well proven Carracks and/or the more modern Galleon.
Matteo favored what he knew; The Genoa “Carraca” (Carrack.)
The carrack, was Portuguese designed with a frame-built hull type of medium to large sailing vessel up to 2,000 tons when fully loaded used for exploration, to carry cargo and as a warship. Her superior cargo capacity made them the ideal long haul merchant ship into the first half of 17th century.
Carracks usually carried three masts with a mix of square and lateen (triangular) sails. They could withstand rough seas and carry hundreds of tons of cargo from one continent to another making them the vessel of choice for colonial powers throughout the Age of Exploration before they were replaced by the larger galleon. At this time, 1618, the carrack was still widely used, especially by Genoa.
Carracks usually had four decks with the lower two used for cargo, the third for accommodation cabins, and the fourth for privately owned cargo (by the ship's passengers and crew).
The carrack was a short and not particularly fast vessel. Carracks typically had only a 2:1 ratio of length-to-beam which gave them greater stability in heavy seas, although this reduced maneuverability. The hulls of early carracks were of pine or oak and clinker-built (with overlapping planks), but now the design had matured into an oak framed, smooth carvel hull.
The merchant cargo Carracks, favored by Matteo for this expedition, were built with reduced fore and aft castles (focsles) necessary for carracks warships with their large complement of marines. A high and imposing aft castle was useful as a retreat of last resort if the vessel were boarded. The downside of these large superstructures was that they could make a ship top-heavy and reduced its maneuverability and thus was avoided in the Cargo Carrack.
The three or four masts of a carrack carried a mix of square and triangular sails, perhaps 10 in total. The usual compliment of sail was square sails on the foremast and mainmast, a lateen sail on the mizzenmast, and a small square sail on the bowsprit. If there was a fourth (bonaventure) mast, it was rigged with another lateen sail. This mix made the merchant cargo carrack very handy whether the wind was fully astern or even against a headwind. Matteo favored the three mast design.
The Galleon was used for both carrying cargo and as a warship had three or four masts which were square- and lateen-rigged, a distinctive beak at the prow, and a high sterncastle. The name 'galleon' is derived from 'galley', a ship propelled by a combination of sails and banks of oars. Galleons did not have any oars. Now it was applied to mean any large, high-sided ship with three decks and a high sterncastle. Galleons evolved from ships like the caravel and carrack. They shared the same lower superstructures to make them more manoeuvrable in heavy seas. Other common features of the galleon were the beaklike prow, the setting back of the forecastle from the prow, a flat stern, and a smooth carvel hull.
In Matteo's opinion, the merchant cargo Galleon offered little advantage over his trusted Genoa “Carraca". More important to the Nova Genova venture, a serviceable, fairly new carrack of the same size and cargo capacity could be purchases for about half of the cost of a newly built Galleon. What he specifically wanted were fairly new, three masted Cargo Carracks, of about 200 tons with a keel length of about 60 feet and overall length of about 120 feet and a beam of about 25 feet. He also preferred a draft of no more than 12 feet, mast height of approximately 95 feet, sail area of about 4,000 square feet. These ships should be capable of carrying considerable cargo and transporting 80 passengers on a summer trans Atlantic voyage of 60 days.
The Mariners.
The Cargo Carracks should be crewed by 20 to 25 prime mariners; men who could hand, reef and steer by whipstaff. They should also be able to crew her eight four pounder canons and 10 swivels, along with being trained in the use of sword, pistol, boarding pike and fire locks.
The Master and his two mates had to be veteran, proven ship handlers and navigators.
The Bosun had to be both expert sailorman and a strict disciplinarian without alienating the crew. The Bosun, was in charge of keeping the ship in shape for travel and battle, looking after the wood, canvas, and ropes that were vital to swift and safe sailing. The Bosun often led shore parties to restock supplies or find material for repairs when needed. He oversaw activities such as dropping and weighing the anchor, setting the sails, and making sure the deck was swabbed. An experienced boatswain was a very valuable man who was paid handsomely compared to an Able seaman.
The choice of Ship's Cook was very important. It was up to him to keep the crew healthy, strong and the content. He had to make the best of the ship's staples of salt beef or pork, cheese, fish, wine and some form of ship's biscuit. The quality of food deteriorated because of storage problems, lack of ventilation, and poor drainage. It was also affected by the presence of rats and other vermin on board.
The Ship's "Doctor" had to be competent and sober if at all possible. In addition to caring for the sick and injured, especially able to handle broken bones, amputations and the many common serious injuries of shipboard duties. "Bones" was also responsible for the sanitary conditions on the ship. He fumigated the sick bay and sometimes whole decks by burning brimstone (sulfur), and maintained the ventilating sails that supplied fresh air to the lower decks to keep them dry.
The ship's Carpenter must be a master of his trade. The carpenter, who generally answered to the boatswain, was in charge of ensuring the ship’s structural integrity. He was tasked with fixing holes after combat, making repairs after a storm, keeping the masts and yardarms sound and functional, and knowing when the ship needed to be beached for maintenance or repairs. Until Nova Genova had it's own dockyard ship's carpenters had to make do with what was at hand. They would often have to make repairs at sea or on stretch of beach, using only what they could scavenge or cannibalize from other parts of the ships
The ship's Cooper was another essential crewman because wooden barrels were the best way to store food, water, and other necessities of life at sea, they were considered extremely important, so every ship needed a cooper—a man skilled in making and maintaining barrels. Existing storage barrels had to be regularly inspected to ensure they were sound. Empty barrels were dismantled to make space in limited cargo areas. The cooper would reassemble them as needed should the ship stop to take on food, water or other stores.
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oscssw
Senior chief petty officer
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Post by oscssw on Feb 7, 2023 16:10:52 GMT
IRIC Italian Rhode Island Colony ATL
Feb 7
THE EARLY YEARS OF RHODE ISLAND’S MARITIME DEVELOPMENT AS A GENOESE COLONY
DISCUSSION / ANALYSIS (continued)
Planning the Scouting Voyage
Mid JANUARY 1619, following supper, Matteo, Doge Bernardo Clavarezza, Chairman Grimaldi, Tomocomo and navigator Caboto were reviewing progress to date on the Nova Genova Colony and Trade center project. The ships had been purchased from vessels held by The Bank, at a substantial discount, for failure of the owners to pay their debts. The masters and crews had not been hired yet but Master Shipwright Bartolomeo Colleoni had done a thorough survey and judged them seaworthy. Matteo had taken each to sea with a temporary crew and proven to himself they were good sea boats, handy and adequate to the tasks assigned to them and their armament was sound.
Over cigars, pipes, brandy and cheese the most senior members of the Nova Genova venture were discussing the status of the project. On the whole, they were quite pleased except for how long it was all taking. It was then that a costly and time consuming suggestion was asked.
Navigator Caboto expressed concerns about exactly what Nova Genova was like today. He pointed out "The information basis of this entire venture was mainly taken from a copy of a report based on a voyage by Bartholomew Gosnold, in 1602. That expedition had been commissioned by the Earl of Southhampton with the goal of establishing an English colony in northern Virginia. That is a good distance South from Nova Genova. The report states he did sail from Florida to Canada but the coastal charts and sailing directions he produced for Nova Genoa's Narragansett Bay are far less detailed than those of Virginia. Finally that was 16 years ago!"
This came as a sobering thought to his companions.
He then proposed he take the fastest and most seaworthy of their ships with Tomocomo, and crewed by the best Master and crew they could hire. Their mission was to conduct a detailed survey of the coastal areas of Nova Genova. He would also be able to use this voyage to identify navigational hazards and peculiarities of the proposed track to Nova Genova. It would also give them invaluable information for coastal piloting, river navigation, tidal, current and weather of their destination. They could also, greatly aided by the experience and wisdom of Tomocomo, conduct a survey of the land areas and peoples within a couple days trek of the ship. By fine tuning his navigational information he should be able to make a much safer and quicker passage. That meant less risk of sickness and ship wreck for the crews and essential passengers.
Chairman Grimaldi, asked "when would you set out on this scouting voyage Navigator?"
Master Navigator Caboto quickly replied "Probably in early to mid March, depending on the weather Commissario anziano. A winter voyage, as you already know, on the Atlantic is a recipe for disaster."
"How long would this voyage and survey take Navigator" asked the Commissario anziano with real menace in his voice.
Matteo, both shielding and showing his support for the Master Navigator's suggestion, answered "60 to 90 days from Pillars of Hercules to Narraganset bay. Say another month for the coastal, river and additional surveys. Another 50 to 70 days back if all goes well, which it will not. Let us say Master Navigator Caboto should be reporting to us again in September. That means the expedition could not set out until March of 1620. Any sooner and we risk disaster. Much later in the year and the colonists will not have time to plant crops, ready shelter for both the people and the ship's cargoes and construct fortifications against pirates and the local Indians before winter cold, snow and freezing temperatures swallow Nova Genova. The expedition ships must recross the Atlantic, load another cargo and land it back in Nova Genova and return home before the next fall."
It did not take long for the group to see and regretfully agree with the Master Navigator's proposal. The Doge suggested Navigator Caboto " Why not delegate the voyage to his son Giovanni, himself a competent Navigator."
Caboto merely replied " That is a handsome compliment to my son Doge. Giovanni is growing into a competent navigator but, at 19, he still requires years of experience at sea before he is ready for a cruise with this much at stake in such an unknown wilderness. I myself will be hard pressed to accomplish all that is required in the time we have."
The Doge also objected to endangering Tomocomo, an irreplaceable member of the venture on an additional Trans Atlantic voyage.
Again Matteo chose to answer. "Your excellency, we have no choice but to take that chance. In my opinion, it is absolutely essential that the local people be greeted by one of their own as part of our party and the only Indian we have is Tomocomo. We need him to translate and we need him to advise us on what to say and do. He may also be able to enlist a few knowledgeable natives to return to Genoa with us. Once they learn enough of our tongue they would prove very valuable additions to our venture."
Tomocomo put down his pipe and said "The Governor is speaking bigger truth than he thinks. I must talk "The People" (rough translation to the term all North American Indians use for themselves) into seeing you as friends or they will make war on the colony. They will 'rub you out' before you can make defenses. Even if they wait for illness and the other dangers of their land to reduce your numbers before attacking, they will not help and teach you. Without their help you will loose half your people or more to the first winter. A Nova Genova winter is like a bear to your rabbit here. I know it is much worse than winter in my own lands because I have journeyed to the land of the Narragansett and lived with them through a winter.
At that point Chairman Grimaldi spoke sternly to Matteo. "Governor Adorno see the ship is ready and she has a competent Master and crew. You are not to be that master. I need you here."
"Since we have to wait; employ our other two ships San Giorgio and Gianandrea Doria in the European Atlantic carrying trade. That will help defray their cost and give you a chance to observe their Masters and crews suitability for this venture."
Matteo replied with deference "I know the quality of the Master and crew I used for the sea trials. They now know and are confident in our ships. The fastest, handiest and best sea boat, despite being the smallest at 250 tons is Grande Impresa. The Master will be Enrico Pietra. Both Master and crew are eager for a cruise, at the wages I am offering."
The Commissario Anziano (Chairman of the BOD) called Matteo aside for a little private talk. "Matteo we have a chance to move up our time table without endangering the venture. Navigator Caboto's scouting voyage gives us the opportunity to establish a small defenseable outpost in this bay of Porto Nuovo."
Matteo said "Commissario Anziano, I see no reason why we could not establish that garrison. In fact I should have thought about that as soon as Caboto told me about his concerns."
The Commissario Anziano chuckled " You see we old men sometimes see things that you young studs do not. Draw up a plan for our outpost in the new world Matteo and present it to me in the next few days for my review and approval.
Later that day Matteo, Enrico Pietra, Tomocomo and Capitano Carlo Marino of the Regiment Grenadier Liguria met at Bank of Saint George, headquarters at Palazzo San Giorgio. A secure two room suite was allocated to the Governor of Nova Genova along with a small staff. One room was his office with a good deal of storage cabinets, a map holding cylinder stand and one three foot high iron bound safe. The other was a meeting room with a large wall mounted black board, high windows and a table that would accommodate 8 comfortably.
Matteo had to admit Capitano Marino, a man of about 25 in excellent physical condition did look the part of a soldier with his white wig and full natural mustache. He commanded # 6 Company of his regiment. His company, at full strength, consisted of 3 officers, 9 NCOs, 2 drummers and 91 privates. Matteo wondered if the Doge would let him have that company for his outpost? Not likely without The Commissario Anziano's insistence.
He bet Carlo would want to go because he would be eager to try out the local Indian maidens and they would be even more eager. Matteo was sure the ladies climbed over each other to get into his bed.
Marino wore the regulation Grenadier uniforms of his regiment. His coat was white, his Waistcoat and breeches were blue. His cuffs were of facing color and turnbacks were blue with white coats and of facing color in blue. His highly polished brown leather equipment, including high top boots. His grenadier cap was black fur with a high front bearing painted metal plate topped by the crenelated circular fort, flanked by griffins (a composite beast of an eagle whose head, neck, wings and talons are affixed to to the legs and body of a lion, symbolizing strength, military courage and leadership), white shield with a red cross over a scroll with the words LIBERTAS.
Based on the current information provided by both Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano 1524 and Bartholomew Gosnold, 1602, Navigator Caboto suggested the second-largest island in Narragansett Bay, Conanicut as a prime candidate. He stressed both explorers' journals are in agreement. It's area was only 9 square miles, it was large enough and has a flat enough area to support a farm. Conanicut had ample fresh water, a good stand of trees for construction and fuel for winter.
He asked Capitano Marino, "Would Conanicut make a good location for a temporary fortified base for those left behind?"
Marino look at the chart closely, especially the lines of height and measured distances by eye. Finally the Capitano sid, " If I am reading this map correctly Navigator, this island also has some low gentle hills and one dominating heighht of adequate size with very steep slopes for a stockade fortification,a lookout and signal station. The big hill is also ideally positioned for heavy seacoast batteries to protect the harbor. It will do. It will do very well."
Shipmaster Enrico Pietra, had said little to this point he now said, " Judging by this chart and especially it's soundings. These are English fathoms Navigator?"
Caboto said, "Yes they are Enrico."
The Master of Grande Impresa said. "It also has a few protected bays with good holding ground to moor or even careen ships much larger than the 250 ton Grande Impresa. Cargo handling, via boat, in this bay would not be difficult. Wood and water are close by; always a concern. It might also be a good site for the future dock yard."
"Navigator, have you a track for me." said Enrico.
Caboto, "As we discussed with the Governor, given we we will be sailing in mid March, our fastest and safest route would be SouthWest to the Azores. Get a good fix and then hunt for the trade winds that will push us to the Caribbean. Make another good landfiall to fix our position and head roughly NorthEast for the Gulf stream that will push us north to Nova Genova. We will be far enough offshore to miss most of the navigational hazards. When we cross the 41st parallel of Latitude, we turn West and that should land us very close to our destination. After the scouting voyage I will have much better sailing directions for you. Of course, decidng on a sepefic course to take best advantage of local winds and coastal piloting will be up to you Master Mariner."
Caboto knew this all sounded far too simple. Both The governor and Shipmaster Enrico Pietra knew it but he hoped they would not say anything to frighten the urine out of the others here. That time would certainly come, especially if the Atlantic decided to behave like the rabid bitch they knew her to be.
Matteo and Enrico were stitting in his office enjoying some cheese and pretty good wine as they ironed out details of the Scouting Voyage". Shipmaster Enrico wanted Grande Impresa drydocked or at least hauled down and her hull thoroughly cleaned and inspected as soon as possible. Both mariners knew wooden ships fell foul of barnacles and other sea life infesting the hulls, delaying voyages and making the vessels difficult to maneuver. Anything attached to a ship’s hull caused excessive drag. The Carrack, ,although a superb cargo hauler and exploration vessel were not very fast.
Although the recent purchase survey had shown the hulls sound A pruident mariner harbored a greater concern for Marine Worms a real hazard, as they burrowed into ship’s timbers, creating leaks and encouraging rot. Now was the time, with the dockyard available, to set right any rot and other underwater damage if any is found. The most common methods of dealing with these problems were through the use of wood, and sometimes lead, sheathing. Niether man had any faith in lead sheeting because it was sure to fall off as the nails holding it wore through the soft lead plates.
They both preferred expendable wood sheathing, a cheap, outer skin to the hull for the worm to attack, and could be easily replaced in dry dock at regular intervals. When combined with the various "graving and paying techniques" the hull should be protected during the Scouting voyage. There were three main hull coatings used: white stuff, which was a mixture of whale oil, rosin and brimstone; black stuff, a mixture of tar and pitch; and brown stuff, which was simply brimstone added to black stuff. It was common practice to coat the hull with the selected substance, then cover that with a thin outer layer of wooden planking. Both men preferred the more expensive "White Stuff". Matteo was sure he could get The Bank to agree to the added expense.
They just briefly touched upon piracy. Both considred it a very slight possibility. The Bank had the backing of Spain, that eliminated a lot of Buccaneers/Prates. Since Nova Genova was recently purchased by The English King and approved by their Parliament there would no No Letter's of Mark and no where for pirates to sell their goods. The number of freebooting pirates was still quite small. Finally, Grande Impresa, mounting eight 4 pounders and 10 swivels was well armed. Her crew of 20 to 25 prime mariners were well trained and experienced in the use of trained in the use of sword, pistol, boarding pike fire locks also. She would also be transporting a half company, of Grenadiers under capitano Marino if they were lucky. Matteo was sure the Doge would not allocate the entire company unless The Bank was adament and he would not push the issue. Fifty or even a hundred good troops made no difference if the tribes attacked in force.
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oscssw
Senior chief petty officer
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Post by oscssw on Feb 17, 2023 13:29:52 GMT
IRIC Italian Rhode Island Colony ATL
Feb 17
THE EARLY YEARS OF RHODE ISLAND’S MARITIME DEVELOPMENT AS A GENOESE COLONY
DISCUSSION / ANALYSIS (continued)
As the meeting broke up Capitano Marino asked Matteo if it would be possible for Tomocomo to meet with him to discuss Indian warfare. He admitted he was a continental soldier and knew very little of what to expect from the "Red" warriors of Nova Genova. The Governor was quick to agree to the meeting and invited himself to join it, at least for a while. After checking with Tomocomo availability, he was still in great demand with Genoese society, and explaining what was required of him the meeting was set for two days later.
17 JANUARY 1619 Matteo, Tomocomo and Capitano Carlo Marino of the Regiment Liguria met at Bank of Saint George, headquarters at Palazzo San Giorgio to learn from Tomocomo how his people made war.
In the two days since the planning meeting, due to the urging of The Bank's Chairman, the Doge confirmed Capitano Marino as commander of the garrison for Esploratore (scouting) cruise to NOVA GENOVA. The Doge had not stipulated just what that garrison would consist of but he did inform the Colonel of Regiment Liguria he would provide the required infantrymen, under Capitano Marino.
Captaino Marino asked Tomocomo "What is the people of Narraganset Bay style of warfare?"
Tomocomo drew on his pipe for a while and then answered. "I am not of the Narragansett, Wampanoag or Niantic. I am of the Powhattan people but I have lived amongst the Narragansett.
You already know how we fight. The People make war using the same tactics of your European Light troops. The people's way of war comes from our hunting customs. “Every man is a hunter, and our manner of making war is of the same nature, only changing the game, by surprising and killing men instead of animals."
We are armed mainly with bow, war club and spear. Our bows are made of various
woods as well as strips of ram and buffalo horn, and ranged in length from about five to three feet. The war Bows are the same we use against moose and bear about 60 inches, are made of a single "stave" of wood. We often use a sapling of witch-hazel, ironwood or hornbeam.
Some of our bow strings are of strong, tough cord made from the stems of dogbane, an American hemp, that we call "pemmenaw." Our sqaws pick it fresh, and the stems are crushed and separated into long thin fibers. Others are the thin fibers of deer sinew from major tendons along the spine or leg which are stronger when laid up as cord. pemmenaw is best. The ends of the string, where it made sharp turns around the tip of the bow, were are reinforced by spiraled cord whipping, which keeps the plaited natural fibers aligned with each other where they were strained the most.
Our arrows also are varied, some being of reed, and others of highly polished wood. Arrow heads are of bone, flint, or fire-hardened wood. Only at very close range, say less than 25 yards, one of our shatfts might defeat a good helmet or breast plate but I would chance my life on it. If The people can get within 100 yards of you they should be able to hit your un protected arms and legs. Givden the forests you will be fighting in a claer 100 yard shot does not come along often.
Since I've seen your matchlocks regularly hit a man sized target at 200 yards you have the bows outranged. A good soldier can shoot 4 times a minute but an average bowman can deliver 12 aimed shafts in the same time. If the People are firing from cover, those many arrows are going to win the fight, given roughly even numbers, and we will not attack unless we have a lot more warriors than you do soldiers.
The club is of two types; Stone and Wood. The stone club is merely a solid chert or flint head attached to a hardwood wooden handle. The Wood clubs were carved from a solid piece of hardwood, like maple or oak. Wooden clubs have a heavy carved ball at the end of a handle; some times sharp stone shards are driven into the ball. A solid blow will smash in man's skull or break an arm or cave in a chest unless he is wearing a good helmet and breast plate.
The People put great faith in their spears. They use them to both stab and throw. We often kill large bears and moose with these thrusting spears. Our spears are made with a short stone tip attached to long wooden handle or a fire hardened, sharpened tip. Men without helmet and breast plate are easy kills.
Although the People know nothing of the horse they move with speed for sudden attacks and ambushes. Our idea of war is to never fight in an open field. The People use our wooded lands to hide our movements to mass for an attack or to escape when overmatched and thereby carry on the struggle another day. Our forests require a closer type of warfare between warriors. The ways of killing in this type of ground is a loose way of fighting, instead of your rigid line tactics. We go where you will not. We melt away into the woods when you are too strong to fight. We then find another weak group of you and kill or capture you for slaves.
To you we are savages because we torture men, kill babies, rape women to death and enslave older children. And savages we are but so are you. I know about your Holy Wars and what you do to the weak and helpless. Your great folly is to think just because we are savages you are superior to us in the making of war. You have better weapons, war horses and there are many more of you here in Europe. That is why, in the end, you will win and our time will be over.
There was silence in the room for a long while. Finally Matteo said "If that is what you believe Tomocomo, why do you help us and why should we trust you?
Tomocomo said "I want to help you because I have seen your great cities, great wealth and the power of your war horses and guns, great and small. I have marvelled at huge ocean crossing canoes. I have been made drunk by your wine, abundance of food, great wealth and comfort of your wickiups as much as by your very willing squas. I would serve you because I want all that. Because you need me and, in time others like me, to help you rule The People and you will reward me well.
You should trust me because you do not mean to conquor the Powhattans, my people.
I care nothing for the Narragansett, Wampanoag or Niantic. What you will learn and it will be one of the reasons our time will pass, is that each "Tribe" is a nation to itself. We are always at war with other tribes. We torture men, kill babies, rape the women to death and enslave the older children of other tribes constantly.
I warn you that if ever you make war and try to take the lands of MY Powhattans; I will lead them in butchering each and every one of you until I take my last breath. I can do that, before the great waves of your kind reach my land, because I know how you fight and what your weaknesses are. I can also teach my people how to use your fire sticks and great canon we will capture or some other white men will sell us for you are like us;constantly making war on your neighbors."
Captain Marino said "Governor I think a bottle of wine is in order now."
To Tomocomo he said. "It is always comforting to know where one's comrad stands."
They then had a good comradly smoke and kiled more than one bottle of wine as Carlo planned how he was to defeat any and all of the Indians that maight oppose Nova Genova.
17 JANUARY 1619 A meeting between the Doge Bernardo Clavarezza and the ArchBishop of Genoa Domenico de' Marini acting as emissary for the Pope Paul V, original name Camillo Borghese, was held a litttle before noon. ArchBishop Marini came to Palazzo Ducale di Genova., residence of Doges since 1339 for the meeting. The subject was the Pope's concern, the soon to be established colony of Nova Genova, was merely a commercial venture. There was no provision, so far, for the propagation of the faith to the native people. As Europe was in the second year of what appeared to be a long hellish religous war ( it would be dubbed the 30 years war) with it's roots in the Reformation, Paul V was determined to spred the one true faith in the New world.
Earlier attempts to persuade Commissario Anziano of "The Bank" of this vital need had fallen on deaf ears. Now Archbishop Marini presented the Doge a concrete proposal by Pope Paul V to provide the clerics and their attendants necessary to carry out God's work in converting the Savages of the New World to the One True Religion Roman Catholicism. The initial party would be small consisting of two priests and 6 Carmalite nursing nuns led by Sister Superior Sorella Maria Ricci. These clerics would see to the needs of the colonists as well as to the conversion of the savages.
The Dodge ensured Archbishop Marini he would see to it that the main expedition, scheduled for the spring of 1620, would allocate space and provisions for the Priests and Nuns.
19 JANUARY 1619 Capitano Carlo Marino and Sergente Di Prima Classe (First Sergeant) Riccardo Panettiere of the Regiment Liguria sat across a table drinking the cheap regimental wine both had aquired a taste for. Captain Marino and his Company Sergente Di Prima Classe had known each other since a 17 year old Guardiamarina had joined the regiment. In time their relationship had matured into one of nephew and rather crude, fearles, wise and totally trustworthy Ncvle (uncle). At 43 years old Ncvle Riccardo was regarded in the Regiment Liguria as one of the very toughest and most competent NCOs; certain to be the next Sergente Maggiore.
"That Ncvle Riccardo, is everything our Indian advisor Tomocomo, has told me about fighting the Narragansett, Wampanoag or Niantic savages. What do you think?" said Carlo. Years of warfare together had instilled in the Capitano deep respect for his Sergente Di Prima Classe military opinion. Like most competent, experienced and particularly combat veteran officers, Carlo had great respect for his best NCOs. Ncvle Riccardo was not a big, ferocious looking man. In truth he was of average height but very heavily muscled, broad shouldered with a maturely handsome face; all his scars were on his torso, legs, arms and one on his left buttock. He was not a scholar but he could read and write well enough to rank him above most of his fellow NCOs, one of the reasons he was the leading candidate for Sergente Maggiore.
Riccardo knew a tough question was coming since he sat down with a bottle of wine on the table and had been thinking deep about what he was hearing. He stalled as long as he could by taking a deep swig of his wine, filling and then lighting his pipe. Eventually he said "Capitano, that is much for an old army goat to think about. I'd hope that Indian of ours can convince these savages trade with us is in their best interest. A few bribes to their leaders with goods they really want, at first might work. Buy them I say, if we can. It will prove a lot cheaper in the end.
If that fails then we better slaughter them in the first battles. Try to put the fear of our weapons in them. Our Matchlocks backed by, swivels, grape shot and langrage firing canon might scare them enough to leave our settlement alone but they will still be looking to take revenge on our patrols and farmers. That just might work but I doubt they will be stupid enough for a stand up fight.
A few things I know is our men will not like wearing helmet and armor. They will not like this ambuscade and hit and run warfare either. Another thing that will not endear them to you is patrolling and fighting in God damn forest. That is nothing to worry about. They are all grenadiers and used to being handed the really tough jobs. The first fight will make them glad they were armored although long patrols with that extra weight will cause lots of bitching and complaining.
This is a job for young, very fit men and the best veteran, junior, cunning sergeants we have. Our line tactics, of Pike and matchlock will not work against these savages. They have no cavalry so our pikes are useless. Are we going to employ cavalry, horse drawn field guns and pack horses?"
Capitano Marino replied, "Ncvle the land around NOVA GENOVA is not suitable for cavalry so we don't have to transport any cavalry mounts, thank God. For the Esploratorem (scouting) cruise, we will need a few horses or oxen for the few field guns and wagon teams. I think we will find horses helpful for scouting and communication. Of course the colonists of the main expedition will need horses, oxen, cattle, pigs and God alone knows what other animals.
Judging by the fact we are employing only three Caracks, I doubt our Governor has given much thought to dedicated horse and live stock transports. I will have to talk to ShipMaster Enrico Pietra, of our not so mighty Carrack Grande Impresa, about how many animals his ship can accomodate for this Esploratorem trip. I'd be surprised if the number was a dozen or more. As you know all too well Sergente Di Prima Classe; mariners hate carrying live stock."
Capitano Morina then told his Ncvle. "What else are you thinking about our garrison?
Sergente Di Prima Classe replied, "We must issue and train our men with swords, to replace the pikes. We must also practice patrolling, although I don't see us ever being as good at it as the savages. They will travel faster and further than we until we have horses, because they travel much lighter and they know the ground. Our armor and weapons will slow us down but that can't be helped. We will need both to defeat their arrows and numbers."
He then paused as he marshalled his thoughts before voicing the most important and probly presumptuous idea.
"One thing we might try is buying some of the savages. Judging by what you said about Tomo whatever he is called, some of them can be bought, probably by iron knives and the like. These scouts might be able to give us warning of the most likley ambuscade sites and just maybe warn our patrols of ambuscades before they are sprung. Then we could form a hollow square and meet their charge? These scouts might be able to tell us where the savages villages are. Then we might be able to push a strong, fast column as we can, hit the village at dawn and then kill every one. Maybe that will break their will but I doubt it."
Capitano Carlo Marino listened carefully to his sage Ncvleand said. "What do you think of a demonstration of our might? Get four of the cannons, five swivels off the ship. Flank them with our matchlocks and as many pistols armed mariners as the shipmater will allow and then fire a volley. The sound and fire just m,ight do the trick?"
Sergente Di Prima Classe replied "just might work". It is wroth a try. One thing we don't want them to see is how long it takes us to reload. Maybe canons and swivels first followed by a couple of half company volleys in quick succession, followed by the mariners postols while the gunners reload and a second volley from the guns while we reload and two more quick half company volleys?"
21 JANUARY 1619 The court of French kingLouis XIII. Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes , close advisor and favorite of King Louis XIII of France from childhood and defacto First Minister of the Spanish Empire was discussung the plans to disrupt establishment of colonies in what was now being called New England Charles hated that name. The French interest in Canada focused first on fishing off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. However, now at the beginning of the 17th century, France was more interested in fur from North America. His intension was to eventually make the name New France the only one used for North Eastern America. His method; aquisition by any method of the native lands and established colonies of other powers.
He felt France had a very valid claim to this new continent. Had not Jacques Cartier been first to explore the coast of Newfoundland and the St. Lawrence River. Had Cartier not founded New France by planting a cross on the shore of the Gaspé Peninsula. Louis discarded the fact the French subsequently tried to establish several colonies throughout North America that failed, due to weather, disease, or conflict with other European powers.
He put much faith in his claim because Cartier create the first permanent European settlement in North America at Cap-Rouge (Quebec City) in 1541 with 400 settlers but the settlement was abandoned the next year after bad weather and attacks from Native Americans in the area. A small group of French troops were left on Parris Island, South Carolina in 1562 to build Charlesfort, but left after a year when they were not resupplied by France. Fort Caroline established in present-day Jacksonville, Florida, in 1564, lasted only a year before being destroyed by the Spanish from St. Augustine. An attempt to settle convicts on Sable Island off Nova Scotia in 1598 failed after a short time. In 1599, a sixteen-person trading post was established in Tadoussac (in present-day Quebec), of which only five men survived the first winter. In 1604 Pierre Du Gua de Monts and Samuel de Champlain founded a short-lived French colony, the first in Acadia, on Saint Croix Island, presently part of the state of Maine, which was much plagued by illness, perhaps scurvy. The following year the settlement was moved to Port Royal, located in present-day Nova Scotia.
He swore to his king that he would reclaim French Floorida from Spain. Did not, In 1562, Jean Ribault and a group of Huguenot settlers colonize the Atlantic coast and found a colony on a territory which became French Florida? It was Ribault who discovered the sound and Port Royal Island, which would be called Parris Island in South Carolina, on which he built a fort named Charlesfort. Did not René Goulaine de Laudonnière, moved to the south with his French settlers and founded Fort Caroline on the Saint John's river Florida in 1564?
This irritated the Spanish who claimed Florida and opposed the Protestant settlers for religious reasons. In 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés led a group of Spaniards and founded Saint Augustine, 60 kilometers south of Fort Caroline. Fearing a Spanish attack, Ribault planned to move the colony but a storm suddenly destroyed his fleet. On 20 September 1565 the Spaniards, commanded by Menéndez de Avilés, attacked and massacred all the Fort Caroline occupants including Jean Ribault.
All proved France's Claim was valid.
Standing before him was just the man to make New France a reality Samuel de Champlain. Samuel was a proven French colonist, navigator, cartographer, draftsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He had already made more than a dozen trips across the Atlantic Ocean, and founded Quebec. in 1604 Champlain made his first trip to Canada on a trade mission for fur. Although he had no formal mandate on this trip, he sketched a map of the St. Lawrence River and in writing, on his return to France, a report entitled Savages (relation of his stay in a tribe of Montagnais near Tadoussac).
He participated in another expedition to New France in the spring of 1604, conducted by Pierre Du Gua de Monts. It helped the foundation of a settlement on Saint Croix Island, the first French settlement in the New World, which would be given up the following winter. The expedition then founded the colony of Port-Royal.
In 1608, Champlain founded a fur post that would become the city of Quebec, which would become the capital of New France. In Quebec, Champlain forged alliances between France and the Huron and Ottawa against their traditional enemies, the Iroquois. Champlain and other French travelers then continued to explore North America, with canoes made from birch bark, to move quickly through the Great Lakes and their tributaries.
23 JANUARY 1619 A meeting bteween Commissario Anziano at The Bank of Saint George, headquarters at Palazzo San Giorgio at the request of the Doge of Genoa, Bernardo Clavarezza had just begun. The Doge said "Luigi, I have met with ArchBishop Marini, who delivered a message from Pope Paul V. The Pope expressed his concern that there was no provision, so far, for the propagation of the faith to the native people at Nova Genova."
Luigi replied, with a hint of irritation, "Doge, speaking as Commissario Anziano of The Bank of Saint George, we have no intension of jeopardizing the success of this very expensive venture by forcing the our religion on these savages. Our Indian advisor Tomocomo has stressed not to force the issue of a new religion on these tribes. It is a sure way to unite them against us in a "Holy War" that might destroy this infant colony or at a minimum be very bad for the trade we are counting on to repay our investment."
The Doge replied, "Offending the Pope is not a wise thing to do Commissario Anziano".
Clearly this meeting had just gone from a polite conversation between two friends to a matter of state. There was no doubt in his mind the Doge of Genoa feared the anger of Pope Paul V. He would rmuch ather The Republic of Genoa stay on good terms with the papacy if at all possible and Luigi could not blame him for that.
Both men here had known Camillo Borghese before he became Pope in 1605. As a member of the powerful and unforgiving Borghese clan, he was never a man to be trifled with. Paul V was an unabashed nepotist, naming his brother Francesco Duke of Rignano and general of the papal army, his other brother Giambattista Governor of the Borgo and castellan of Castel Sant'Angelo. As an extended family, the Borghese are some of the largest landowners of the Roman Campagna, increasing their wealth by their strategic control of their properties and a concerted policy of assuming monopolies of milling grain and the rights to run inns.
Further discussion, some of which involved the fact Genoa and The Bank were not the Spanish Empire. They did not have the military resources, or the desire, to fight a protrected war against a numerous confederation of tribes to force The Cross upon them.
Commissario Anziano finally said. "Doge I suggest you inform the archbishop of this discussion and emphasize The bank and The Republic of Genoa are in agreement with the Pope it is our duty as Catholics to propagate the faith to the native people at Nova Genova. It was just a question of which approach would best bring about the mass conversion."
"That should buy us some time, unless Camillo sees the reply as an insult. Even if we don't offend him he is is not going to be appeased for long Commissario Anziano." said the Doge.
Chairman Grimaldi replied, "Leave it to me to work out an accomodation with Camillo, probably involving some advantageous loans by The Bank to his personal or family accounts. I think a minimum presence of clergy at Nova Genova can be agreed to, at least for the first few years. I'll apply for an audience with Pope Paul V as soon as possible to work this out. The Bank has enough influence with some of his most trusted advisors to have that scheduled soon."
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oscssw
Senior chief petty officer
Posts: 967
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Post by oscssw on Feb 22, 2023 0:30:54 GMT
IRIC Italian Rhode Island Colony ATL Feb 21 THE EARLY YEARS OF RHODE ISLAND’S MARITIME DEVELOPMENT AS A GENOESE COLONY DISCUSSION / ANALYSIS (Cont.)
The following are entries from the journal of Master Navigator and Commander of the Esploratore (scouting) Voyage
Marco caboto.
3 MARCH 1619 aboard Genoese Carrack Grande Impresa, Master Enrico Pietra, pier side at San Luca Spain. I, Shipmaster Enrico and his two Mates, were seated around the big table in the captain's cabin with my, annotated chart of the North Atlantic ocean spread before us. Book marked copies of Giovanni da Verrazzano 1524 and Bartholomew Gosnold, 1602, reports lay open beside Pietra.
They were here to listen to my navigation decisions of the Esploratore (scouting) Voyage. I chose to explain why I decided to follow my first choice to cross the Atlantic. As commander, I need not explain my actions to anyone aboard Grande Impresa but being a veteran explorer and shrewd judge of men I knew these men would work better if they understood my thinking.
I told them As I saw it we had three choices.
First, to sail south to The Canary Islands where we pick up the Trades Winds and ride them due west until they hit the Bahamas Then with the aid of the 4 knot Gulf Stream sail North to Narragansett Bay the site of NOVA GENOVA. This time of year that would take us about two months.
Our second choice would also be heading South to The Canary Islands then south west to Cape Verde islands where we pick up the Trades Winds and ride them due west until we hit the Santo Domingo. There we pick up the Gulf Stream and sail North to Narragansett Bay. This track would take a few weeks longer than the first.
The third choice which is much shorter, much more direct and further North is the one used by Verrazzano's 1524 "La Dauphine" crossing. He took two months. We just might do better as he sailed in January and we should have better weather now in March.
"I choose to sail south to The Canary Islands where we pick up the Trades Winds and ride them due west until they hit the Bahamas. With a moderate trade wind we should be able to make 80 to 120 miles in 24 hours. My calculations are based on a conservative 100, about 4 knots. Then with the aid of the 4 knot Gulf Stream sail North to Narragansett Bay the site of NOVA GENOVA. This time of year that would take us about two months. That gets us into Narragansett Bay in late April or early May. That gives us three months for exploration, establish good relations with the local Indians and build the fortification for those staying until we and the rest of the Colonizzazione squadron arrives. We will return on the Northern track using the Prevailing Westerlies and the Gulf stream to speed us on our way.
I intently scanned the faces of the master and his two mates for signs of fear and found none. I then asked for their opinions and suggestions. Both mates deferred to their Ship Master Enrico Pietra. He took his time to marshal his thoughts. "That sounds like Chris Colombo's 1492 crossing. I agree, we can count on the Trade Winds. Verranzano got very lucky with his winds. His other three ships were not so lucky; he lost three of his four ships.
I answered. "Verrazzano's 1524 voyage lost those ships due to the worst winter storm conditions reported since Columbus and it was not due to bad luck. Although that was almost a century ago he still should have known better than to run along Latitude 33 in winter. I do not navigate hoping for good luck."
We will make this voyage in summer conditions; that makes a big difference. We also know a lot more about the Atlantic now. We are sailing a much better sea boat than what Verrazzano had. What is just as important I am also relying on you three very well paid veteran mariners to ensure nothing is left to chance that would attract Bad Luck." Flattery never hurts proud men.
I then poured a hefty glass of my best, very expensive dry Madeira, fortified wine and handed one to each of his crewman. What made it so expensive was it came only from the small island of Madeira, about 300 miles off the coast of Morocco. It was only from there that the special grapes, Tinta Negra Mole, Sercial, Verdelho, Bual, and Malvasia grew.
I held up my hand said "Shipmates, here is to a successful, safe and very profitable voyage." Instead of savoring this fine wine my guests drank it in a couple of gulps. It was then Ship Master Pietra banged his horny fist down on the table. He said,looking directly into my eyes, "I pledge to The Bank of Saint George and the Republic of Genoa; with the aid of our Christian God, we will do our duty."
At that I was shamed into opening another bottle to fill their glasses again with my best wine. The wink from the old, bastard Shipmaster told me I might have just been had. I was sure of it when the First Mate followed his Master with another pledge of his loyalty, and he was followed by the 2nd Mate. I will be lucky to have one bottle of my prized dry Madeira left for the voyage.
4 March 1619 aboard Grande Impresa, at anchor in the outer roadstead At San Luca Spain. I spent most of the day inspecting the maintenance performed on the
Carrack. Like any other type of ship leaked she leaked . I found the Pumps in good condition. They had to be manned, especially in heavy seas to keep the filthy waters down in the bilges of the ship at an acceptable level.
The outside of the hulls had to be protected, especially on lengthy sea voyages. A thick black tar mixture had been applied to that part of the hull above the waterline to prevent rot.
Below the waterline, hot pitch was used to coat the planks to increase the water-resistance of the wood. Then a mixture of pitch and tallow (animal fat) was smeared all over the hull to deter marine animals and especially shipworms. None of these methods was entirely efficient, and really it was only a matter of time before a ship disintegrated into rotten, worm-riddled flotsam, especially in tropical waters. The job had been done well with high quality material.
Our rigging, was made from the best quality twisted flax but still had to be constantly renewed. This had been done to my satisfaction.
I inspected our "canvas" (sails) and found those bent in serviceable condition. I also inspected our spare canvas in the sail locker to ensure we had ample, it was properly labeled as damaged canvas might require immediate replacement in the worst weather. I also ensured that it was stored in a manner to preserve it far later use. The bosun was responsible for this and he had done his job well.
The hull had to been scraped of thousands of marine encrustations like barnacles that significantly slowed the ship down at the Geno arsenal under our ship master's personal direction. We would have to do this again before the return passage without the aid of a dockyard. This would involve laying anchor in shallows and shifting the entire ship’s stores and cargo to one side of the vessel’s holds. Our strongest hawsers would then be used to heel the ship over at an angle so that the lower part of the hull was exposed and men could scrape it. When done, the whole process was repeated for the other side of the ship. This would also be an opportunity to re caulk the ship,'s hull’s planking in order to make them as watertight as possible. Shipmaster Enrico, his two Mates, our carpenter and especially our Bosun were all masters of this art. Never the less I inspected the hawsers and ensured we had ample supplies oakum filler (loose rope fibers), Stockholm tar and the proper calking irons and mallets.
I also inspected our 8 four ponder cannons, their carriages, side tackles, rammers and all other artillery gear. The guns had been fired on our trip from Genoa and the guns crews had been exercised. Both passed my inspection. I also inspected every gun port and ship's timbers supporting our guns which are mounted low in the ship. Those ports had to be tight to prevent capsizing to prevent flooding the vessel. I also inspected the shot lockers and powder magazine thoroughly and ensured the seaman assigned as "gunner" knew his job. Especially the utter necessity to keep any flames away from the kegs and slow match by keeping the magazine very clean, to immediately sweep up any spilled powder on the deck, return it to a cask and swab up the area. Since no candles or even lamps were allowed in the magazine illumination was provided by sealed light boxes which I inspected closely.
Our Gunner also had to know the proper amount of powder and how to sew and fill the various types of cartridge. Full measure for round shot and half for double shotted and/or grape atop ball. Use of large Canons, pistols and fire locks presented a formidable fire hazard and I took no chances so daily inspections were part of the ship master's standing orders. I might add Shipmaster Enrico, or his one of his Mates conducted these daily inspections and they were not found wanting.
9 March 1619 aboard Grande Impresa. This day we continue to sail south on the second leg of our "summer's cruise" to NOVA GENOVA in a moderate sea with steady winds that allowed us to keep my planned course. The further south we go the closer we get to the Berber pirates favorite cruising grounds called the "Atlantic Triangle" where they could find a concentration of very rich Spanish and Portuguese oceangoing commerce . This area lay between Seville & Cadiz, the Azores Islands, and the northwest coast of Africa, encompassing Madeira and the Canary Islands. The "Atlantic Triangle" was not only the hunting ground of the Berber but also European pirates. To make things even more complicated some of this "European piracy" was often sponsored by, even if only at times marginally, by monarchs of England and France.
Capitano Carlo Marino, commanding half of # 6 Company (52 men) Regiment Liguria and his Sergente Di Prima Classe (1st Sgt) Riccardo Panettiere were exercising their men in the drill of repelling boarding pirates. Marino had spent a good deal of time with our Shipmaster Enrico Pietra finding out everything he knew about fighting pirates. As it turned out, like all successful Ship masters, Enrico was all too experienced in this form of sea warfare. The voyage from Genoa to San Luca Spain had been spent, first finding their sea legs and then general drill, while wearing a Morion helmet and a steel cuirass on a rolling deck and finally learning the fine art of keeping the slow match of a matchlocks lit while at sea. This was no small thing.
Now his men were practicing the drill that would ensure them victory. They might all be armed with matchlocks but they also had to be expert with sword, their daggers the ship's "Lucci d'imbarco" (boarding Pikes) because it took so long to reload, time no boarding pirate would give them in boarding.
Number 6 company soon learned "Lucci d'imbarco" (boarding pikes), were deadly effective weapons. Given that under the best of circumstances matchlocks at sea were unreliable. They were actually useless in the frequent heavy downpours. The mariners contended the most reliable weapons for boarding enemy ships or repelling boarders were the point and edge weapons; cutlass, boarding ax, and boarding pike. The score of Grande Impresa's boarding pikes had an overall length of eight feet. They consisted of wooden shaft with a long narrow steel spearhead, reinforced with metal strips called "cheeks" or langets. The "Lucci d'imbarco" (boarding pikes),were stored in beckets around the masts on the main deck for ready use.
Mario and Enrico had one dilemma to solve. Would it be better to show presence of the half company by long range volleys that might drive the pirates off? Or would it be wiser to keep #6 company hidden until the pirates were actually boarding and then give them a single close range volley, draw their swords and boarding pikes make a united charge into the pirates trusting to surprise, their armor, weapons skill and discipline to win the day?
11 March 1619 aboard Grande Impresa. This day we continue to sail South in a moderate sea with steady winds that allowed us to keep my planned course. Our shipmaster, Enrico Pietra, is well satisfied with our ship and crew. I am well pleases that "The Governor" chose wisely in selecting him. He has proven himself a consummate seaman, a better navigator than most ship masters and even a few master navigators. His command style works well with this crew of veteran mariners. He has impressed on his men that he will stand for no neglect of their duty. He has also shown himself a fair man without coddling them. The crew has shaken down now. Enrico and his officers know the ability and temperament of every mariner.
His insistence on shipping his shipmate "Obruciatore di Stufatold" ( Stew Burner) , an old man, one legged, half deaf cook has paid great dividends. Our cook prepares very good hot meals, serves out full portions and occasionally even a desert; all of which goes a long way to keeping up the crews spirits and cooperation.
His favorite pot is a thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid made of seasoned cast iron; called Cocottes (French ovens). His has a bail handle, and a slightly concave, rimmed lid so that coals from the cooking fire can be placed on top as well as below. This provides more uniform internal heat and lets the inside act as an oven. "Obruciatore di Stufatold swears any any recipe that can be cooked in a conventional oven can be cooked in a Cocottes. He has one very large one he often uses because the heavy lid keeps the meal from being thrown out on the deck in heavy seas.
He does wonders using a "Cook-box", nothing more than a metal box walled high on three sides full of sand, in which the cook stokes a fire and over which he secures a metal grate and a number of spits. One of "Obruciatore di Stufatold" first acts was to convince Enrico to tile the galley area deck with sheets of tin, to prevent hot coals from setting the ship on fire. "Obruciatore di Stufatold" was an absolute maniac about cleanliness which is a big factor in keeping us healthy.
13 March 1619 aboard Grande Impresa on passage to Canary Islands to pick up the trade winds. It is a fine day with a following wind that allows us to keep the track I planned. At about 8 bells in the morning watch the lookout reported a sail to windward bearing down on us. At 6 bells we sighted another sail, close hauled also closing us. Our shipmaster, with his prized Dutch made "spy-glass" slung from a strap over his shoulder, climbed the main mast and observed these ships for what seemed like a long time, but was only about 10 minutes, and then ordered "All Hands on Deck. Unlock the arms chests. Man the great guns and swivels. Prepare for battle." Capitano Marino hold #6 company out of sight in the "Tween Decks" fully armed and ready for battle. I took my place armed with sword, dagger and a brace of wheel lock pistols, by the tiller as fighting the ship was Shipmaster Enrico Pietra's responsibility, not mine.
Once on deck our Shipmaster informed his mates, Capitano Marino and I that the ships were Berber Pirates. Both ships had three lateen masts and appeared to be zebecks favored by the Berbers. They are much faster and handier than we are in the current winds and sea state. We'd have had a good chance of loosing them in an Atlantic storm but not here and now. I can't be sure yet of how many guns they mount but you can bet they are crammed with men. These Berber Pirates are hopeless as gunners at anything but pistol shot so they will not lay off and blow us to pieces. Their tactic is to get close, give one double shotted, two round shot topped by, broadside grapple and then board. If they can manage it , you can count on us being boarded at the same time on both sides."
He then turned to the Bosun and said "Rig the boarding nets make sure they hang loose, secure chains to the yard arms, double the helmsmen, sand the decks, fill all our buckets and boats with sea water.
To the cook "Obruciatore di Stufatold Break out the wine skins and see to it every man gets a good long swallow at his station."
To his mariner assigned as gunner, "Make sure you keep the powder cartridges getting to the guns, no matter what else happens. You have to keep our ship's boys' at it. Tell them I will hang anyone who does not do his job. You might want to tell them what their fate will be if the Berbers get them. I also want you to make sure there are plenty of Grape shot and langrage bags at the guns. Issue extra powder to Captain Marino's soldiers along with the grenadoes."
Now we'll see if those 4 pound gunpowder filled, hollow iron balls, ignited by a slow burning fuse rolled in dampened gunpowder and dried are worth the expense and extra hazard to my ship thought the shipmaster.
To Capitano Marino, "Station four of your best marksmen in the main and fore mast tops along with my swivel gunners, if you please. Their targets are the sailing masters, helmsmen, gun captains, sharp shooters and their powder monkeys. Save your grenadoes until we get close and then use them to break up boarding parties and, if at all possible, throw a few down the pirate hatches, not ours. I assume your men know how to use grenadoes Capitano? If not I'll have my mate give them a quick lesson. Nothing to it really, especially to men who are trained in the use of matchlocks"
Carlo answered, "We are not a grenadier regiment but my Sergente Di Prima Classe (First Sergeant) and a few other senior men had been Grenadiers once. They will teach the others now." He kept to himself his thought that if we have any Marksmen in #6 company they sure have kept it a secret.
It took over two hours for the two pirates to get within long gun range. By then Shipmaster Enrico's marvelous "Spy Glass" had revealed. These zebecs as long hulled , narrow floor to achieve a higher speed than their victims, had a considerable beam in order to enable them to carry an extensive sail-plan. They were fitted with oars that would be of little use in this sea and wind.
These two were about 125 tons three-masted lateen-rigged vessels favored by the Berber corsairs off the coast of North Africa. They showed 12 and 10 gun ports respectively for four to six pounder cannon. If their gunners were any good, not likely, that wide beam would provide a steadier gun platform than Grande Impresa.
Our shipmaster was of the opinion, and I certainly agree, it was their very large crews, between 100 to 150, of cut throats that were the real worry. They were used to boarding a typical merchant ship with a 20 to 30 man crew and over powering them with numbers. They were terrible gunners but absolutely fearless masters of close range, hand to hand combat, especially with their cavalry like scimitar swords. Those razor sharp, curved blades were ideal for ship boardings. Capitano Marino's half company will come as a real shock to them and, with luck, should win us the fight.
We learned after the battle that the two Berbers zebecs were named Goke and Hizir. They were under the command of the veteran, shrewd, greedy and vey able pirate captain of Goke, Yakup Ağa. Yakup was a Greek renegade born on the Ottoman island of Midilli (Lesbos). The "late" master of GOKE thought Goke and Hizir were in the service of the local pasha.
However, we found out from a captured Frenchman who obviously was not a Berber or a pirate that Yakup was very wrong. A half hour of "questioning" by one of the mates revealed, these Berber pirates were really working for Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes, defacto First Minister of the French Empire.
By two bells of the Forenoon watch Goke and Hizir had closed the range to pistol shot and taken positions to grapple with us. Our shipmaster gave the order to fire a broadside into the closer on our port side Goke. This was followed by a second broadside from our Larboard battery into Hizir. The pirates replied with broadsides that that all fell short because they fired on the down roll into the sea. Enrico was relieved to see these Berber pirate's state of gunnery was a good deal worse than even his own.
Now his order was to fire as quickly as the guns could be reloaded. Assigning extra hands from #6 Company to each gun allows both broadsides to be worked. Their speed and aim were not up to naval standards but they were certainly much better than the pirates.
It was at the fifth broadside, with Hizir just about in range to grapple, that a lucky shot brought down her main mast which then fouled her fore mast and both crashed down on her main deck killing gunners, wrecking gun carriages and trailing rigging and one of the huge lateen spars into the water between us and them. This drag immediately took control and Hizir fell off and down wind of us. Taking her out of the battle temporarily.
Goke had not been idle. At half pistol shot (25 yards) Yakup Ağa ordered another full broadside, which this time flew high and did some damage to our rigging. Having the weather gauge he crashed into our starboard side, huirle grapnels, fire every weapon that would bear, closely followed by his boarding parties flinging themselves into our board nets. At this point # 6 company quickly emerged from the tween decks both fore and aft, formed up as drilled and on command of Carlo (aft) and the First sergeant (forward) delivers a devastating volley into the board party hung up in the nets. As ordered twenty soldiers grounded their guns and took up boarding pikes. Under Calo's personal command they charged the netting and mercilessly thrust their pikes into the bodies of the struggling pirates. A whistle blast from Sergente Di Prima Classe (First Sergeant), they dropped to the deck as another volley was fired into the pirates. It was then up and thrust boarding pikes into the boarders until they heard the next whistle.
Dead and wounded pirates were piling up but their assault, backed by many more unwounded pirates relentlessly hacked at the boarding nets until they gave way. It was then the greatly superior numbers of pirates drove the defenders back from the starboard bulwark. The capitani kept a tight reign on his men who gave ground slowly killing pirates every they of the way. Mean while the small starboard battery of Grande Impresa, mounted higher than the pirates deck guns was firing triple shotted grape and langrage down into the pirates as they massed to board. The swivels were doing good execution ton hose pirates on our deck. But the day was won by the grenadoes in the main top. All four Soldiers were hurling them onto the deck of Goke and managed to get three down the open hatches. One must have made contact with ready service cartridges. A large explosion followed that stunned most but certainly not all the pirates still on the deck of Goke and more than a few of our own people. There were many pirate casualties. Worse for them their ship was on fire.
Given the state of the wind the hulls were held fast grinding together. Thinking fast our shipmaster ordered all grapnels lines severed immediately and he turned Grande Impresa down wind. He also ordered his mariners to boom off Goke, not an easy task. he also instructed his gunners to switch to double round shot and fire into the waterline of Goke as if their lives depended on it because they. Meanwhile #6 Company cleared the main deck of all pirates with boarding pike, sword, knife and occasional match lock volleys.
The fire aboard Goke was fast becoming all consuming and it did not take a genius to figure out her magazine would soon explode. As it turned out Grande Impresa was a cable's length (720 ft) away from the pirate when her magazine exploded. The explosion turned out to be much smaller than our shipmaster, and the rest of us, expected. It turned out the Berber pirate's gun powder supply was far less then we feared because they did not plan on a long cannonade and relied more on their large numbers of boarders to win prizes.
This left a badly knocked about Hizir drifting down wind with most of her masts and rigging dragging along side. Our victorious Shipmaster called, his first mate, Capitano Moreno and myself together. He stated. "We have been very lucky. Looks like both our hull and masts are still sound. The Bosun, I and my mates will do a thorough inspection after we have cleared the ship of the dead and wounded pirates. I see no reason to patch up the wounded bastards just to hang them later.
It is my plan to lay us close along side the remaining pirate and rake her stern with our guns until she is nothing but a hulk. I don't want her repaired just to come after us. I also don't want her reporting back to the master we are still afloat.
Dr. Mario Andriotti reported to Shipmaster Enrico Pietra's after caring for today's casualties. " All things considered we got off pretty lightly. We have three dead, 4 more who will die in the next few days, 12 more who should, if putrefaction does not set in, recover but will be of no use on this voyage. We also have about another dozen with minor injuries who should be fit for duty in the next few weeks."
Pietra hardened his heart and said. "So the "Butcher's Bill" is 19 good men before we even get to the Canary's. That is a bad start. Who exactly did we loose Doctor?"
Dr. Andriotti read from his written report.
Our Carpenter, 9 mariners, 3 ship's boys, and 6 soldiers.
Among those lightly injured are Your second mate Alanzo broken arm, the Indian Tomocomo cutlass slash to his thigh not deep, Capitano Moreno knife cut to his right cheek, 4 mariners and six soldiers. I used very small stitches on the capitano and barring putrefaction, his scar will not mar him enough to put the women off."
The rest of the afternoon was spent supervising repairs and making a thorough inspection of the ship. Some shot holes, well above the water line had been plugged, the ship's belfry and bell was shot overboard, all the boats required some work. Master Shipwright Colleoni was standing in for the dead ship's carpenter and would be a great help. "The The masts and yards were all in good condition but a lot of rigging was being replaced. So much that they would have to restock a cruise worth of cordage and tar.
They held the burial service for the dead at nautical twilight. Best to get them out of sight of the crew quickly and still do it in a way that showed respect for the dead.
That evening after a surprising good supper, over cigars, wine and cheese Shipmaster Enrico appraised Capitano Moreno, the first and second mates, Shipwright Colleoni, the Bosun and myself of his short term plan for the voyage.
He began by stating, " I'll make this short so the capitano and Alonzo can get some rest.
I'm increasing the cook's pay; it takes more than a pirate attack to keep "Stew Burner" Stufatold" from serving a decent meal."
That got them into a good mood and as did the wine, now for the bad news he thought.
"Master Navigator, I want to reach the canary's as soon as possible to off load our wounded and recruit some mariners to replace those we lost. We are only at the start of this cruise and, if what we have experienced so far is any sign of what lies ahead, we will need every able mariner we can get. In fact, I plan to increase the crew by at least a dozen.
Not much we can do about replacing your soldiers, Capitano is there?"
Carlo replied with some pain, "There are always not so old soldiers around these days. My First Sergeant will bring us back up to strength but it will require a joining bonus."
I thought to myself "and they will rue the day they met him after a few days of his whipping them back into shape as soldiers."
I simply assented to the recruiting incentive and the larger crew. Enrico was right; we definitely are going to loose more men before this Esploratore Voyage was over.
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oscssw
Senior chief petty officer
Posts: 967
Likes: 1,576
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Post by oscssw on Mar 2, 2023 20:10:06 GMT
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I have made up my mind that NOVA GENOVA (that name cracks me up every time I write it. I bet my hero Mel Brooks would approve!) will be a colony of Genoa. 
