How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony-Chapter 100: Hunger and War (1)

"How much expansion has been achieved?"

"The Seminole tribes allied with us are celebrating their victory in war. Soon, it will be nothing to control the entire Florida peninsula."

"Good. Excellent results. First, let's bring in more slaves to cultivate the land."

For a long time, a plague that had killed countless people began to spread from Florida.

This time, it wasn't about smallpox or other diseases spread by Europeans.

Of course, the Spanish colonial policy ignited the flame, but the disease itself was not something that even the natives were experiencing for the first time.

"We must go north. If we don't go, everyone will starve to death."

"Then shouldn't we submit to those tribes? Will they accept us? They lack food just as we do..."

"If they also lack food... they will find a way too.

The first plague to arise was named 'hunger'.

Those in Florida who refused to ally with Spain were defeated in wars with Spain and other tribes and were pushed northward.

It was an unprecedented upheaval. A population of a scale never seen before began to move simultaneously.

Naturally, tribes pushed from their lands couldn't leisurely pack their corn and peas and flee.

Some were killed as adults and absorbed into other tribes, while others barely escaped, maintaining the lineage of their tribe as they fled northward.

"Please... accept our tribe...!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"If we accept them, our own strength will be reinforced. Food is scarce. A path could open for us too."

"If a path opens..."

"Yes. With these numbers, we can stand against the forces in the north. Aren't the Muscogee tribe also sharpening their knives? Now is the opportunity!"

"...You're right. Select a new war chief."

The tribes that fled this way became carriers of yet another disease, igniting a new fire in the north.

The second plague to arise was something very familiar to the first plague of 'hunger'.

It was 'war'.

People replaced arrowheads, gathered stones that fit perfectly in their slings, and sharpened spear tips to be more pointed.

As vegetable gardens dried up and hunting grounds became barren while mouths to feed increased, this was a natural result.

And...

"Kill them all! No, rather than killing, focus on the beans and corn!"

"If we retreat from here today, we all die!"

Blood soaks the dried furrows of fields.

Crack! Crunch! Thud!

Skulls are broken and brains scatter on the ground. Intestines spill out, bones and muscles protrude, and skin is torn off.

Like starving beasts fighting, desperate and terrible battles spread like epidemics or wildfires.

Northward.

And, northward again.

Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina...

And to Virginia.

Scholars of the future would define that the Catawba and Tutelo tribes use Siouan languages.

And most of the tribes of the great Virginia Confederation use Algonquian languages.

Language, as always, is an important issue.

Those who speak the same or similar languages, those who share ancestors, can communicate and unite more quickly than those who don't.

The same thing happened among those who suddenly lost their land and collapsed.

"There... the lands spread around Chesapeake Bay are the only wealthy lands even in the midst of this turmoil."

"..."

"...They offer enormous gifts to the Great Chief, but in return, they receive enormous amounts of food. That's why so many people have survived through that long famine."

"So?"

"We too... must go there... In order to survive..."

Dozens of tribes driven north gathered, their chiefs gathered, and the great chiefs they served gathered again.

"Then, how? Other tribes in that area won't welcome us, will they? They will surely kill us."

"...No.

We must kill them. By any means necessary.

We must open a path to that wealthy Great Chief.

If not..."

The great chiefs briefly look at the other chiefs. They see the flesh beneath their bellies gradually drying up. Outside that tent, the crying of a child who had been crying from hunger stops.

Another one has died.

"...If not, everyone will starve to death."

Hunger brings war, and war brings hunger again.

The Catawba and Tutelo tribes, with thousands of warriors, invaded the land of the Tuscarora tribe.

They were the largest group among those who offered tribute to Chesapeake.

They fought for days.

And all died.

Thus, one tribe disappeared.

"...Huh?"

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"What's wrong, Mr. Hewett?"

"No... Fox furs are scarce. That was the item the Tuscarora tribe brought the most..."

"Because the Tuscarora tribe hasn't sent envoys."

"..."

"..."

"...Vicente, do you know the reason?"

"I have no idea."

The exquisite cycle created by the devil rolled smoothly, staining the American continent with blood and scattering bones on the ground.

That's how history moved.

Desperately biting and being bitten for survival.

That chain eventually reached Virginia.

==

The Spanish Empire had clearly designated us as enemies.

And we too were in a situation where we could no longer stand by and watch the Spanish Empire's colony growing in this vicinity.

Whether for survival.

Or for moral reasons.

Everyone in the settlement learned about the situation in the Florida colony.

"They... impaled people and burned them?"

"Good heavens, such... ugh!"

The English, having been exposed to a lot of anti-Spanish propaganda for a long time, denounced the immorality and cruelty of the Spanish.

And the Algonquins and other natives who had been living with the English and heard their angry remarks about Spain also felt disgust.

The Spanish expressed regret as well as shame and anger at the behavior of their 'former' homeland, which had become so corrupt.

Finally, the freed slaves...

"Co-could we have become like that too?"

"No. Not 'could have'. If this place falls, we could become like that anytime."

"..."

"..."

"..."

They were afraid.

Thus, many tribes speaking mixed languages united with various angers and various hatreds.

Frankly speaking, it was the moment when the Virginia community, which had no commonalities except faith in me, came closest to being united for the first time.

Fear, hatred, and anger.

Like a similar dew, negative emotions swirled and kept the settlers' hands and feet busy.

"How many cannons remain in the coastal battery now?"

"Out of 210 in total... about 70 are available!"

"We must strengthen the defenses of Croatoan Island more thoroughly!"

"Transparent shields! We're short on transparent shields!"

"We're also short on gunpowder! We need to expand fertilizer somehow..."

"No. With farmland rapidly expanding, fertilizer too? Rather, let's find a place where saltpeter is available..."

"I know."

"Nemo? Is that true?"

"Yes. For now, let's go south of Croatoan Island together. Manteo? Prepare the ships."

First and foremost, preparing military force was the top priority.

The freed slaves, terrified that their former masters might enter this land and create a living hell at any moment, advocated for strengthening the military. Most other groups agreed with this.

If Spain were to land a large fleet here... we too could suffer tremendous damage, or in the worst case, we could even be defeated.

At least, that's what the settlers believed. I thought the possibility of a Spanish invasion was low, but I didn't think it was bad to increase Virginia's military power either.

Our community clearly needed more strength. This small settlement with only this population had to face the threat of a huge empire with millions of people.

They worked hard to make more guns, more ships, more gunpowder.

Military training became more frequent, and gradually, there were fewer and fewer settlers who couldn't properly shoot a gun.

So we rushed forward diligently. First of all, the issue with Spain was a matter of survival, and matters of survival were more important than anything else.

So I thought this trend would continue in our settlement for a while.

"Aren't there tribes whose communication... was cut off?"

"Yes, Manteo. There are tribes whose gifts suddenly stopped."

"They've... returned."

"What? What happened?"

But I was wrong.

"And they are requesting settlement. Perhaps... thousands will gather."

"...What did you say?"

Because another problem began to pounce on us.

Natives from various regions began to pour in again.

"Pl-please accept us. We have no more land to stay on."

The Chowanoke tribe.

The Moratuc tribe.

The Pamlico tribe.

The Secota tribe.

...And many other tribes I didn't even know the names of.

They migrated in tens and hundreds every few days.

They are tribes that served me as the Great Chief, and they have maintained gift exchanges with the Virginia community for a long time.

The sight of them, all exhausted from hunger and injured, asking to be accepted by the 'Great Chief' was...

Devastating.

Just organizing a list of these people into a chart was a task, but first, it was urgent to treat and feed the injured and hungry people.

Eleanor and other medical volunteers moved breathlessly, and 'administrative officials' with tablets also bustled about, trying to grasp the current state of personnel.

And then the result was...

"Injured people, big or small, make up about 10% of the refugees."

"..."

"There seems to have been... war. And in many places."

"Manteo, if there was war, why didn't they report to the 'Great Chief'? As small as the role of the Great Chief might be, I understood that he at least oversees matters related to war..."

To my question, Manteo answered.

"They probably tried to report... but collapsed before they could."

"That means."

"Yes. It seems foreign tribes suddenly poured in unbelievably. Due to the simultaneous collapse of tribes, there was confusion."

Foreign tribes poured in?

...From the south?

Usually, group migrations occur due to food shortages, and the south, having a milder climate than the north, has more abundant food.

So while invasions from the north would be understandable, invaders from the south seem a bit strange.

"The Spanish are expanding the Florida colony down there. They seem to feel threatened by the Virginia colony. So be careful, as there might be trouble from the south."

...Ah.

Clearly, when we first met, Drake had said something like that.

Considering that was a year or two ago, the influence of the Spanish movement seemed to be just now reaching here.

'Goodness.'

It gives me chills.

I don't know how many times our colony has staggered just because the Spanish decided to expand the Florida colony.

It's from such people that we must survive.

Anyway, as my expression worsened, Manteo cautiously answered.

"And, above all, the situation in the south is not looking good."

"...The south? You mean where the newcomers who have invaded this area are?"

"Yes. It seems we should prepare."

...'Prepare'.

For some reason, Manteo's words felt hollow to me.

A few days later, when the 'council' was held, the identity of the emptiness I felt was clearly revealed.

"The Catawba and Tutelo tribes that have newly taken over the land of the Chowanoke tribe... have expressed their intention to submit."

"What? Impossible! We cannot let those cruel ones into this land!"

"That's right. They are... devils. Devils, I say! Great Chief, please destroy them! Please kill them!"

The current situation was not a disaster of a nature that could be prepared for.

Just as an ant cannot prepare for a landslide.

First, we had to receive it with our whole body.