Chapter 824 - Trade
Van der Lanthroon completed the handover procedures with the former Merchant of the Magdeburg. The vessel had arrived from the Netherlands only a few months prior and remained in quite serviceable condition after refitting. Given that this voyage led to the port of an unknown power and therefore carried certain risks, personnel aboard had been reinforced. The ship now carried one hundred and twenty sailors and forty soldiers. Originally mounting only four cannons, the Magdeburg had received four more. Though the route to Hainan Island could be considered a relatively short voyage, the ship was nevertheless equipped with two military surgeons to tend to the crew—though how useful they would prove was debatable; no voyage passed without a dozen or more bodies being consigned to the sea. A priest, of course, was also indispensable to look after the sailors' souls.
Van der Lanthroon convened a brief meeting with the Captain, Gonzalez, and Leibtrini. The Governor's orders were clear: establish trade with the Australians while simultaneously gathering as much intelligence as possible. To accomplish this, the first requirement was selecting suitable trade goods. If the Australians showed no interest in what they brought, neither commercial relations nor intelligence gathering could proceed.
Van der Lanthroon found this a difficult puzzle. No one present had ever traded with the Australians; no one knew what they wanted or needed. Since the Australians were established on the Chinese coast, they surely had access to ample supplies of Chinese goods: silk, raw silk, porcelain. And judging from their massive exports of sugar, paper, and glass products, they possessed formidable manufacturing capabilities of their own. After considerable thought, Van der Lanthroon concluded that the only products from the entire East Indies likely to interest them were spices. Pepper, cinnamon, and cloves numbered among the few goods Chinese buyers imported in substantial quantities from the Dutch.
If no suitable bulk export commodities could be found, Van der Lanthroon would have to transport a large amount of silver to trade with the Australians—precisely the situation the Company least wanted to see.
The Governor's secretary had provided him a pamphlet summarizing what was known about the Australians. Van der Lanthroon studied their import patterns carefully. The things they imported were remarkably diverse, but the largest bulk commodities were rice, timber, pig iron, various metals, and cotton products. Cotton products especially: the import figures were enormous. Van der Lanthroon was astonished to learn that, according to the pamphlet, just from one trader alone, the Australians purchased more cotton cloth and yarn from India than the total sales of all textiles to China since the East India Company had begun trading there. In fact, the Company not only failed to sell many cotton products to the Chinese but instead imported large quantities of "Nanking cloth" from Chinese merchants every year for distribution elsewhere.
Clearly, they have a great demand for textiles, Van der Lanthroon concluded. Unfortunately, he could do nothing about cotton products—these were mostly distributed by the English. Batavia had no stockpile available unless a ship was dispatched to procure supplies from India, which was obviously impossible given the time constraints.
Pig iron and metals proved equally scarce. Whether ironware, lead, or copper, such materials were either shipped from Europe or imported from China and Japan. Supplies were already strained and could not be diverted for export.
However, Batavia did possess a substantial stock of Dutch linen—a major industrial export of the Netherlands. Its prices were so low that it was effectively dumped on European markets. Contemporary observers described it as so cheap that "even the poorest people could afford shirts made from it." In addition, Van der Lanthroon planned to bring some high-quality woolens. Though woolens did not sell well in China, there was always a small market for them as luxury goods.
After repeated deliberation and close study of the pamphlet, Van der Lanthroon finally assembled a cargo list for the Magdeburg. The goods intended for sale in Lingao included: a large quantity of spices, Dutch linen, raw timber, and a small amount of fine woolens. Noting from the pamphlet that clothing worn by Australians was predominantly blue and gray, he surmised that the Australians lacked dyes beyond indigo. He therefore added dyestuffs like sappanwood to the manifest. Finally, he loaded several hundred bags of local rice. Even Europeans in the East Indies had to rely on rice as their staple.
Since no Dutchman had ever sailed to Hainan Island, but the precise coordinates of Lingao were known, and the Dutch regularly traded with Vietnam, they were not entirely ignorant of the region. Consulting nautical charts and the intelligence gathered so far, Van der Lanthroon understood that Lingao lay within the Qiongzhou Strait. He need only follow the established Vietnam route, turn west after reaching the Vietnamese coast, and enter the Qiongzhou Strait to find Lingao.
After the Magdeburg set sail, it passed through the Palembang Strait, skirted Sumatra and the Philippine Islands, and after thirty-five days at sea arrived at Cam Ranh Bay. Having replenished food and fresh water there, the Magdeburg turned northeast, preparing to cross the Gulf of Tonkin and locate the entrance to the Qiongzhou Strait.
Thanks to the approximate coordinates Li Siya had provided, the voyage proceeded smoothly. In early February 1631, the Magdeburg sailed past Bach Long Vi Island. The lookout atop the mast spotted land—according to their charts, this must be Hainan Island.
The Magdeburg navigated cautiously along the coastline. No European vessel had ever entered the Qiongzhou Strait before. After several days of coastal sailing, they finally identified the narrow strait entrance. At that moment, however, the lookout called down a warning: "Ship approaching!"
"Battle stations!" The Captain immediately issued the order.
Hearing the alarm, Van der Lanthroon rushed out from the poop deck and immediately shouted: "No firing without my orders!"
His deepest fear was that the approaching vessel was Australian. An armed confrontation would badly compromise his mission.
Sure enough, from approximately two compass points off the port bow, a single-masted sailing ship gradually rose above the horizon.
Van der Lanthroon leaned on the bow rail, watching the Bermuda sloop bearing down on them at full sail. Such vessels were extremely rare in East Asian waters—it was a distinctively European-style ship. Small, but beautifully crafted. It reminded him of the sloops he had seen along the Mediterranean coast and in the English Channel.
A flag he did not recognize flew from the masthead. He shifted his gaze to the stern, where a blue and white ensign streamed in the wind—exactly as described in the pamphlet. This was the Australian Navy.
"That ship is truly strange," Gonzalez remarked. "A Bermuda sloop! Where would they have gotten such a thing? I've never seen anyone use this type of vessel in East Asia!"
The Merchant glanced at the officer beside him. A Spaniard. Van der Lanthroon harbored a deep hatred for all Spaniards. During the War of Independence, he had heard endless accounts of the terrors and atrocities they had committed.
"Lower the pennant!" Van der Lanthroon ordered. This gesture conveyed respect to the other party, indicating peaceful intent. Whether the other side understood the signal was uncertain—but Van der Lanthroon reasoned that if the Australians used a typical European-style ship, they probably comprehended nautical conventions.
Sure enough, the other vessel responded with the same courtesy. The sloop was gradually closing the distance.
Leibtrini had also emerged on deck, sketchbook in hand. He rapidly roughed out the approaching sailing ship with his charcoal stick, simultaneously asking: "What do you think they want? They're waiting along our course. Are they trying to make contact?"
It was Leibtrini's first time in East Asia—and his first extended voyage of any kind.
"Unknown. Perhaps they wish to communicate. Perhaps they intend to attack." Gonzalez's voice was tense. "Have everyone prepare for alert immediately. Their ship is small—fifty men at most. Besides, our freeboard is considerably higher. Even in a boarding action, we hold the advantage. Load all the swivel guns."
Van der Lanthroon ordered: "Do not lower sails. Continue forward." Boarding alongside a strange vessel at sea was dangerous business. It was not uncommon for large ships to be swarmed by smaller craft and captured in hand-to-hand fighting.
"...Ship inspection..." someone opposite was shouting.
"Is that Spanish? What are they saying?"
"Stop for inspection!" The shouting from the small boat grew louder. Though the words were Spanish, the accent was peculiar.
"Strange—they're speaking Spanish!" Gonzalez frowned. "They're ordering us to stop for inspection."
"We're clearly flying the Prince's Flag."
"Perhaps they don't recognize the Prince." Gonzalez harbored no love for the Dutch, and consequently felt none for His Highness either.
"Well! First time encountering such a thing!" The Spaniard laughed loudly. "How do you propose we handle this, my dear Merchant? Shall we heave to and let them board for inspection in the middle of the open sea?"
"Certainly not—that would be unsafe. Besides, we cannot even be certain they're actually Australians." Van der Lanthroon remained firm. "Maintain course."
But the other vessel's sailing speed was considerably greater than theirs, and the ship was far more agile. Soon the sloop was running neck and neck with the Magdeburg. Now they could see the other vessel clearly. It appeared quite new—surely launched not long ago. Cannons stood on the deck, already stripped of their covers. Sailors wearing blue short jackets hurried about their duties.
Tension spread through the Magdeburg. Gunners and musketeers lit their matches. Off-duty sailors of the "Prince's Squad" armed themselves with cutlasses, axes, and daggers, ready to join battle at a moment's notice.
Then a figure appeared on the sloop's poop deck. He raised a cone-shaped device to his mouth and shouted something loudly—in Chinese.
(End of Chapter)