My British Empire

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In fact, colonizing Ireland was a last resort for England.

After all, rabbits don't eat grass beside their nests. Not only the Chinese understand it, but the English also understand it.

Long before the large-scale colonization of Ireland, the English had their sights set beyond Europe.

In the early days of the Tudor Dynasty, during the period of Henry VII, this is the first time the English explored abroad according to historical records.

This expedition was an overseas expedition for the purpose of finding gold and silver mines, in July 1480.

At that time, the British navigator set off from the port of Bristol and went to the west of Ireland to find the legendary "Brashear Island". According to the legend, it is rich in mahogany, which is a very precious dye required by the woolen industry.

But the hard-working English returned without success as expected, but it made the Port of Bristol an important base for English navigators and expeditions.

In the 1580s and 1590s, the English continued to carry out expeditions, but they all ended in failure, which greatly dampened the English people's desire for exploration.

At this time, Spain and Portugal have reaped a lot.

The Portuguese bypassed the Cape of Good Hope, opened up a new route to India, and entered the East, reaching Japan and the Ming Empire.

The Spaniards crossed the Atlantic Ocean, discovered America, and aggressively expanded their colonies. Shiploads of gold and silver were continuously transported from the Americas to Spain, supporting the first generation of the empire on which the sun never sets.

More importantly, in May 1493, under the arbitration of Pope Alexander VI, Spain and Portugal divided the boundaries of the colonies.

Established the meridian 100 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands as the dividing line, and assigned all lands west of this line to Spain, and all lands east to Portugal.

The intuitive point is that in South America, except for Brazil, the Portuguese are not allowed to enter, and the vast African and Asian regions belong to Portugal.

As a result, there were very few areas that England could explore, as seen at the time.

In order to reach Asia and find the Eastern Empire, the English believed that there were only two ways.

One is to start from the northeast direction, that is, the road to Russia, pass through the North Pole, and thus reach the east.

The second is to start from the northwest, that is, the direction of North America, so as to reach the east.

In 1496, the Venetian adventurer John Cabot had an audience with Henry VII in an attempt to pass the northwest route and occupy some undiscovered lands for the king.

Therefore, Henry VII granted a charter to the Cabots and his sons, giving them the privilege of exploring overseas, and asked all Englishmen to help the Cabots and his sons in their expeditions.

Therefore, the Cabot and his sons carried the banner of the King of England, and in accordance with the authorization of Henry VII,

"Take a boat to the east coast, west coast and north coast of the Pacific Ocean (you can't go to the south coast, so as not to conflict with Spanish interests) for the development and exploration of all areas. For Christians, any place that is unknown, barbaric, and inhabited by pagans Islands, countries, districts, or provinces, wherever they may be in the world, conquer and occupy, occupy, any town, castle, city, island they find capable of ruling."

It can be said that this is the first clear expression of the principle of "effective occupation" that Britain insisted on during its colonial expansion.

Since then, all colonial expansions have been based on this standard.

The fleet led by Cabot and his son arrived in Newfoundland, where cod and other European best-selling marine products are abundant, and then planted the flag of the British royal family.

Then sailed to a certain corner of the coast of North America.

The second time, in 1498, Cabot discovered Greenland, Baffin Island, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Maryland for England, but Cabot disappeared and died in all likelihood.

After the death of John Cabot, his son Sebastian Cabot continued to receive the support of the English royal family. In the early 16th century, he continued to explore North America and discovered Addison Bay for England.

It should be said that the most beneficial thing is the discovery of Newfoundland, a large fishing ground, which not only created a lot of wealth for England, but also cultivated European oceangoing sailors.

Although the big-mouthed John Cabot told Henry VII of the Newfoundland fishing ground for the first time, he revealed it to the kings of Portugal and Spain, so that England could not monopolize the Newfoundland fishing ground.

In Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and England, all warships are equipped with crews trained from Newfoundland, and there is even such a rumor.

A fleet without Newfoundland fishermen can never be a first-class fleet.

But generally speaking, the expedition of England's Northwest Passage was a failure for the people at that time.

If the northwest fails, turn to the northeast!

In 1548, London merchants tried to find a way to sail eastward from the Arctic region, found a route, and reached the East.

Just failed.

However, in 1553, Sir Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor, funded by commercial companies, led a fleet to the North Pole in search of a route to the East.

Of course, Edward was aware of this and acquiesced.

Of course he knew that this voyage would definitely not find a route to China. The North Pole is too cold, and under the current conditions, it is impossible to reach the East.

But Edward still issued letters of credence in Latin, Greek and other languages, and sent letters to the monarchs of the countries along the way, saying that he was only here for trade and peace (is it ironic), and asked for asylum.

In this way, Sir Wiblow went to the Arctic region with confidence and boldness to make a contribution to England.

The eastern route is not the goal, but Russia and Eastern Europe are Edward's goal.

This voyage will definitely pass through Russia and Eastern Europe, thus finding a new trade route for England.

Finding Russia not only opened up a new market for England, but more importantly, it allowed England to act as a second-hand dealer and obtain a lot of benefits at a small cost.

For example, Russia's wax, cattle and sheep, timber, animal fur and other commodities are under the monopoly of England, which has brought huge benefits to England.

Moreover, England can also open up the market in Eastern Europe. This business is really great.

A while ago, news came from Russia that Richard Chandler had arrived in Russia and entrusted a businessman from Eastern Europe to bring a letter to England.

In the letter, he briefly introduced his experience. He lost contact with Sir Willow in a strong wind, and when he was driving along the coast of Russia, he learned that Russian fishermen had discovered Sir Willow's frozen body. corpse.

Moreover, he promised that after arriving in Moscow, he would sign a commercial treaty with the tyrant Ivan IV to fulfill the king's entrustment.