Chapter 4: American Colonies

“We must find new lands from which we can easily obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit the cheap slave labor that is available from the natives of the colonies. The colonies would also provide a dumping ground for the surplus goods produced in our factories.” – Cecil Rhodes.

York, Great Britain. April 1078

Marion felt her eyes snap open and groaned quietly. It was the third night in a row of waking up to pee, but since she had fallen asleep on the outside of the foursome, it was easy for her to swing her legs out of bed. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes to help clear her vision and remove the sand. Marion took four steps before suddenly stopping and shrieking. The other three jumped out of bed with Gabriella holding her handgun, but then Marion started yelling.

“SALEM, YOU DAMN CAT!! QUIT LEAVING YOUR DEAD MICE LYING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLOOR!!”

Marion had just stepped on a mouse Salem had killed and left for her. He seemed to love leaving Marion mice even though he had claimed the red-haired Rebecca as his pet human. Gabriella could barely turn the bed lamp on as she was laughing so hard. Marion stepping on the dead mouse was bad enough, but it was a fresh kill, and when she stepped on it, juices squirted out, causing her to whimper. At the edge of the light, Marion saw a pair of disembodied green eyes looking at her from the shadows.

“SALEM, IF YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOU, YOU WILL GET OUT!” Marion yelled.

Salem licked his chops in the dim light and strutted off toward the children’s rooms like he owned the place. Behind Marion, Alice giggled, and Marion spun around to glare at her.

“Don’t look at me like that, honey. That cat is as mischievous as his owner.” Marion glared harder. While Mackenzie was a force of nature, Rebecca was the jokester. She was always playing pranks on the people around her and had gotten more than a few spankings when one of her pranks went too far. “Quit drinking so much water before bed, and you won’t have to get up to tinkle in the middle of the night.”

“Bite me, Alice. Salem didn’t start leaving me mice until he claimed Rebecca.”

“Hey! Outside of her prankster nature, she’s a good girl.” That was something none of them could dispute. None of the children were bullies or looked down on others, and they were often complimented by other adults for their maturity.

Marion went pee, and the four settled down for a few more hours of sleep. Everyone had a long day ahead, and none wanted to be tired. To compensate for her teasing, Alice wrapped Marion in her arms, and the pair quickly fell asleep.

Marion was still tired when Captain Morwenna was brought into her office.

“Good morning, captain. It’s good to see you.”

“Morning, Your Majesty. It’s good to be seen.” Morwenna didn’t know why she had been recalled to York but figured the queen would soon tell her.

“How was your time in South America?”

“It was good. As you can see, I got plenty of sun.” Morwenna sported a bronze tan that set off her long, platinum hair.

“I see that,” Marion chuckled. “Have you thought about what you want to do now?”

“I am a naval officer in your service, Your Majesty. I go where you send me. I fight who you tell me to.”

“Don’t give me that, captain. You must have thought about where you would like to go next.”

“Somewhere other than Europe. Britain doesn’t hold much for me. There is nothing to explore, and my family disowned me long ago.”

Marion stood, went to her map table, and pulled out a world map.

“Intelligence reports Toirdelbach has been busy setting up a new kingdom in North America. There, he is waging a war of annihilation against the natives while growing his kingdom as quickly as possible.”

“Does he have a chance there?”

“Given time and some luck, yes. Remember my husband’s nation. They ruled over a country the size of a continent and were the most powerful nation in the world.”

“Do you want me to go to North America?”

“It’s a possibility. So are West Africa, South Africa, and the southern tip of South America. The question is: where best to send you so you can do the most good? Thoughts?”

“Well...” Morwenna looked at the map. “South Africa is a good place. It would allow our trade ships to resupply on their trips to the Far East. North America would be a good place as a settlement in the correct location would help contain Toirdelbach. West Africa would help safeguard our Asia trade ships from pirates.”

“South Africa is also rich in gold, diamonds, and other metals, while West Africa is rich in gold, timber, and diamonds. The problem is getting the minerals out as Africa doesn’t have many ports, and none of them are good.” Marion took a breath. “As rich as Africa’s mineral deposits are, I think it would be best for you to go to North America. While the East Coast may not have gold or diamonds, it boasts rich farmland and fisheries. Inland are riches in minerals, timber, firs, and farmland that are beyond our wildest dreams.”

“What about the natives?”

“You are to do your best not to get into a war with them, but that will be impossible if your luck holds up.” Morwenna snorted.

“Some luck. Every place I have landed, I seem to find aggressive natives.”

“I know. Your goal in North America will not be to fight the natives but to help protect them against Toirdelbach. He has cavalry and firearms. Even though his army is small, they annihilate every tribe they come up against.”

“Why should the natives allow us to help?”

“Because in exchange for us protecting them, they will allow us access to their land.”

“I doubt that will work, ma’am. If they are anything like the Irish and Scottish tribes, they are more interested in fighting each other than fighting a common foe. As soon as peace is declared, the tribes will return to fighting each other, so every time the Irish return, the natives will be weaker. Additionally, if the North American natives are anything like the natives I have encountered, they are very susceptible to our diseases. Eventually, the Irish will run them over, and we will have fought for nothing. I will go to North America if you want, but I would prefer not to ally with the natives. Let the natives and Irish fight all they want, and when the Irish make the mistake of attacking us, we crush them and take over. By that time, the natives should be gone. Of course, if the natives are foolish enough to attack us, we would be able to defend ourselves in the same way as we would defend ourselves against the Irish.”

“You are more than a bit cocky, captain. Be careful; that attitude may come back to haunt you later.”

“Your Majesty...” Marion held up her hand.

“Not from me, captain. But history is filled with pompous fools who thought they knew better, and look what happened to them. They underestimated who they were fighting against, and they ended up dead. I would rather you stay alive to serve Great Britain long into the future.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Where would you like me to land, and when should I leave?” Marion looked at the map and thought. “Here,” she said as she laid her finger on the map. Morwenna leaned in to see where she was going.

“Boston?”

“Yes. It has a deep-water anchorage and is far enough away from the Irish they shouldn’t interrupt, but it is close enough to keep an eye on them. Luke told me the area has decent farmland and is reasonably close to the North Atlantic fisheries. In his universe, the early city ran on trade and manufacturing. I would suggest you focus on developing those sectors.”

“What will we manufacture?” Marion gave her a dry look. “I’ll figure it out,” Morwenna answered her own question.

“Look. Boston isn’t the only place we will be working at settling. I plan on sending some people to the southern coast. Luke said there is rich farmland down there that grew vast amounts of cotton. Additionally, there are vast amounts of oil offshore in the Gulf. Speaking of energy, there are vast reserves of high-quality coal west of New Cork. Those reserves run from west of New Cork to the southwest for a thousand kilometers.”

“Damn.”

“The good news is those reserves are in the Appalachian Mountains and are not the easiest to get to, especially when you don’t know where to look.”

“So, they will still be there when we are ready for them?”

“Most likely.”

“When should I leave?”

“It will take you a couple of months to gather the resources to be successful. I don’t anticipate Boston growing as rapidly as your previous settlements just because we already have five other overseas settlements that people can move to.”

“Then why jump the gun on Boston?”

“I want something in place to contain the Irish. They are too close to our shipping lane from Amazonia, Jamaica, and New Britain. I think it’s only a matter of time before they attack either our merchant ships or the fishing boats out of Iceland.”

“I guess you are right. I didn’t think of that.”

“Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have thought of it either if Kukka hadn’t pointed it out.” Morwenna smiled

“If there is nothing else, Your Majesty.” Marion shook her head no. “Then I shall be off.” Morwenna turned to leave. Before she was out the door, Marion stopped her.

“Assuming you are successful in Boston, your next mission will be to build a naval base in South Africa. I don’t see you going down there for several years, though.”

“Aye, Your Majesty.”

Morwenna’s head was spinning. She could barely believe the trust Marion put in her, and that trust pushed Morwenna to serve Marion in any way she could. Unlike her previous settlement missions, her new mission could have profound geopolitical implications for Great Britain.

After Morwenna left, Gabriella sat on Marion’s lap and laid her head on her wife’s shoulder.

“Should you really have sent Morwenna to establish a colony so close to the renegade Irish?” Marion took a deep breath.

“I don’t want the Irish growing strong enough for them to cross the sea and invade Ireland.”

“That’s a long way to support an amphibious invasion.”

“I would take and secure Iceland before striking at Ireland. Their first move would be to cut off our shipping from the Caribbean. Shipping from Asia is too far away for their current technology, but traffic from the Caribbean travels right by their doorstep.

“But what about the natives living where you plan to colonize?” Marion pulled a report from her bottom desk drawer and handed it to Gabriella.

“Fishermen from Iceland have reported the coast from Cape Hatteras to the mouth of the St. Lawerance River is depopulated of natives. It seems the Irish have taken a liking to native women and keep them as sex slaves. They found using natives in the fields didn’t work, but in brothels, they can keep the slaves from escaping. The Irish either buy their slaves from other native tribes or launch raids on the native villages to capture them. Any natives who get away end up spreading diseases they picked up from the Irish in other native villages. Remember, the Irish who ran weren’t vaccinated against smallpox, and I remember Luke saying how smallpox spread through the native population like wildfire. They have no immunity against it, so the fatality rate was extremely high. If they were not killed by smallpox, they were hit with the flu, the measles, or mumps.”

“So, our next war will be against the Irish again.”

“Possible. It won’t surprise me if they try to attack Captain Morwenna.” Gabby snorted.

“I wish them luck with that.”

“Yeah. I’m planning to send several destroyers and a light cruiser with her.”

“Damn, you’re not fooling around, are you?”

“No. That slimy Irish bastard has slipped through my fingers twice. If he’s dumb enough to attack again, it will be the last time.”