Chapter 277: Others Colonize with Guns, But I Use Information Asymmetry
"Line up, everyone! Anyone pushing will be thrown into the Gulf of Gabes!"
On the docks, over a dozen mounted Tunisian Legion soldiers shouted in Arabic.
Before the three gangplanks leading to the transport ships, doctors from the Gemini Company inspected the former Tunisian Janissaries, allowing the robust ones to board and unequivocally turning away the rest.
Those who boarded the ships breathed a sigh of relief, knowing they wouldn't starve anymore. Moreover, according to the Tunisian authorities' promise, if they performed well in New Zealand, they could bring one family member over after a year.
A scraggily-bearded, raggedly dressed Tunisian Janissary, guided by a soldier, bypassed the crowd and boarded the ship with his wife and two children, immediately drawing envious glances. He was a blacksmith, considered a skilled professional, which allowed him to bring his entire family aboard at once.
Before long, the three transport ships, now packed with people, slowly sailed out of the harbor. Three empty ships promptly docked to continue loading laborers.
Indeed, from this moment on, the so-called Tunisian Janissaries were history. From now on, they would have only one identity: laborers for New Zealand.
By noon the next day, the Gemini Company's fleet, laden with 5,000 laborers, set sail. They would bypass the Strait of Gibraltar and journey towards the distant island of New Zealand.
...
Cook Strait.
On the foredeck of the Gemini Company's armed merchant ship, the "Graceful," Marion Dufresne gazed at the wide, flat black sand beach in the distance, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Previously, neither France nor Russia had extensively explored this massive island named New Zealand—a landmass roughly the size of Great Britain. Yet, the Crown Prince had been absolutely certain, instructing them to find a suitable port nearby.
He had initially been extremely worried because, according to intelligence gathered from Spain, British explorers seemed to have landed on the northern side of the island in the past.
He had commanded the fleet to sail along the west coast of New Zealand's North Island for three days, and indeed, they had found the excellent harbor the Crown Prince had described.
Joseph didn't know the exact location of Kaphia Harbor, but he remembered it being mentioned in a documentary as the port closest to New Zealand's ranching areas.
Under Dufresne's command, the Gemini Company's five ships slowly anchored in a horseshoe-shaped bay. They then lowered their dinghies, passed between two towering boulders on the shore, and stepped onto the mysterious island.
As the vanguard of the Gemini Company's colonization team, only over 600 people had come on this expedition.
Initially, the company had only recruited fewer than 300 volunteers. After all, the islands of the South Pacific were notoriously desolate, and adventurers weren't particularly keen on seeking opportunities there.
The situation only changed when the Crown Prince informed the Church that the island held over a hundred thousand people who would undoubtedly embrace Catholicism.
The Church quickly organized a large contingent of priests, who funded their own journey with the fleet to colonize the island, their expenses even covered by the Church itself. In those times, finding a mission destination with over a hundred thousand souls was an incredibly valuable resource. Such a contribution might even serve as leverage for future archiepiscopal ambitions, leading major dioceses to fiercely compete for a spot.
Furthermore, to secure the Gemini Company's support, the Church even entrusted command over this group of priests to the company.
The sailors quickly set up a makeshift camp on the beach and began transferring goods from the ships to the shore.
Meanwhile, Dufresne led an exploration party of fewer than a hundred men towards the eastern interior of the island. The establishment of the New Zealand colony, so crucial for France, was now commencing under their feet.
The group traveled for a day and a half until, nearing a stretch of winding hills, they suddenly heard a loud, high-pitched shout from a massive Pandanus tree ahead.
Remembering the Crown Prince's instructions, Dufresne quickly ordered the exploration team to halt, then signaled for the translator, Tolman, to step forward. Before coming here, they had specifically made a trip to Tahiti, where they hired several local people who understood French. That island had been colonized by the Spanish early on, and while French speakers were few, some could still be found.
Tolman stepped forward, waving amicably at the brawny, brown-skinned man in the tree. After he mumbled something and the other man replied, the translator turned to the expedition commander and said, "Sir, they're asking us to put down our weapons."
Dufresne couldn't help but feel a pang of nervousness. Just as the Crown Prince had said, these natives were far from ignorant; though mostly unclothed, they clearly recognized guns as dangerous objects.
In fact, this was one reason why the British colonization of New Zealand was so arduous historically. Over a century prior, the Spanish had already arrived in New Zealand and interacted with the Māori, exposing them to many new things. They were far from unsophisticated savages.
This made them much more difficult to deal with than the Native Americans. They had seen firearms, cultivated potatoes and sweet potatoes brought by the Spanish, and sweet potatoes had even become one of their staple foods.
Dufresne ordered his men to lay their weapons on the ground, then, accompanied by two assistants and the translator, he approached the Māori man.
He had only taken a dozen or so steps when dozens of burly Māori men, armed with stone spears, suddenly emerged from behind the surrounding tall grass and low hills.
Dufresne signaled his team members not to move and instructed the translator to call out loudly, "We are friends, here to trade with you."
Seeing no threatening gestures from the leading Māori man, Dufresne bravely stepped forward and, following the 'New Zealand Guide' written by the Crown Prince, brought his nose towards the native's.
The latter clearly paused in surprise but immediately leaned forward, touching his nose to Dufresne's, then let out a joyful laugh.
The surrounding Māori warriors joined in the laughter, and several even stepped forward to perform the nose-press greeting with members of the exploration team.
This simple yet effective traditional Māori greeting immediately fostered a much closer relationship between the two parties.
By evening, the exploration team, guided by the Māori warriors, met the leader of the local 'Hapū'—their term for a subtribe or clan.
After receiving a soft woolen blanket as a gift from Dufresne, the leader joyfully gathered his people for a welcoming celebration, treating them to roasted meat, seafood, and sweet potatoes. The exploration team members, in turn, interacted with the Māori strictly as instructed by the 'Guide.'
Following this, Dufresne, still guided by the tribal leader, trekked for five more days until they reached an expansive Māori village. There, he successfully met with the chief and high priest of the Tainui iwi.
Among the Māori, an 'iwi' is equivalent to a tribal confederation, and the Tainui iwi was the largest such confederation on New Zealand's North Island.
Compared to the Dutch, who had been soundly thrashed by the Māori and driven out of New Zealand decades prior, and the British, who decades later would deploy numerous soldiers and fleets yet still fail to subdue the Māori, Dufresne's expedition could not merely be called successful; it was as if he had divine assistance.
Such was the formidable power of information asymmetry!
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