university, surely.”
“Probably. Although if your family was prudent, they probably fled to the countryside. They certainly had enough warning.”
“I hope for the best.” Maria paused. “And your wife?”
“She is in Hoorn. The Spanish will probably check to make sure that no warships are hiding in its harbor. Otherwise, I don’t think it will be directly affected by the fighting. The Spanish will land more troops at Egmont, and move them south to complete the investment of Amsterdam. Once the siege line is drawn close to Amsterdam, Hoorn will be militarily irrelevant.”
“That sounds promising . . . as much as anything can be promising in these evil times.”
“But, Mevrouw Vorst, you realize that this means that we can’t go to Suriname after all.”
“Why not?”
“It is my duty to fight the invaders. My ship, the Walvis , is in Hamburg, and it is well armed; it was outfitted as a privateer. I can attack the Spanish supply ships; perhaps send small boats into Amsterdam.”
“That is courageous of you.”
David bowed.
“But Captain, is that really the best you can do against the Spanish?”
David bristled. “Surely you don’t expect me to attack the Spanish fleet singlehandedly.”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant at all. From what I hear, the only thing that can prevent the ultimate fall of Amsterdam is if the city is relieved by the Swedes and their American allies. Is that true?”
“Well.” David dropped his eyes, then raised them again. “The city is well stocked against a siege . . .”
“Captain . . .”
“The fortifications are in excellent condition. . . .”
“Really, Captain . . .”
“Well, of course, Amsterdam would fall, eventually. If disease, or a Swedish relief force, or some crisis elsewhere, didn’t force the Spanish to pull back. But it could hold out for many months.”
“It seems to me that your ships could be put to better purpose than sinking a Spanish supply ship here and there. Bringing tar from Trinidad, and rubber from Suriname or Nicaragua, to keep the American APCs running.” The APCs were coal trucks converted into makeshift armored personnel carriers, and they had played a major role in Grantville’s past military operations.
David took a deep breath, expelled it slowly. “I suppose there is something in what you say. I see it is not enough for you to be a science officer, you have aspirations to be a general, too.”
“War is too important to be left to men,” she quipped, smiling. “Logistics is not their forte.”
“Okay, I’ll think about it.”
* * *
David’s original plan had been to simply transfer his rights as a patroon of the Dutch West India Company from Delaware to Suriname. The Dutch defeat at Dunkirk, and the subsequent fall of most of the Republic, had changed all that.
Raising the Dutch flag over a new colony was now more likely to invite attack by English and French opportunists than to deter it. So after extensive negotiations, a “United Equatorial Company” had been formed, under the laws of the New United States. Those laws were based on the U.S. Constitution, and thus banned slavery. The up-time American backers insisted that the corporate charter also ban slavery, since the political fate of the NUS was somewhat uncertain.
There was the practical problem that the NUS flag might not be recognized. Hence, as a additional diplomatic fig leaf, David obtained the right to have his ships, and the colony, fly the Swedish flag, too. Not that David was getting any troops or money from Gustav Adolf. Still, it would be a warning that Sweden might officially take notice of any harm done the colony, and the better Sweden did in the wars, the more others would fear to give it an excuse to retaliate.
* * *
“Thanks, Philip,” said Maria, balancing a stack of books. “This will really be helpful.”
“You’re welcome,” he said with a smile. He blinked a few times. “Do you like Westerns? They’re showing
“Probably. Although if your family was prudent, they probably fled to the countryside. They certainly had enough warning.”
“I hope for the best.” Maria paused. “And your wife?”
“She is in Hoorn. The Spanish will probably check to make sure that no warships are hiding in its harbor. Otherwise, I don’t think it will be directly affected by the fighting. The Spanish will land more troops at Egmont, and move them south to complete the investment of Amsterdam. Once the siege line is drawn close to Amsterdam, Hoorn will be militarily irrelevant.”
“That sounds promising . . . as much as anything can be promising in these evil times.”
“But, Mevrouw Vorst, you realize that this means that we can’t go to Suriname after all.”
“Why not?”
“It is my duty to fight the invaders. My ship, the Walvis , is in Hamburg, and it is well armed; it was outfitted as a privateer. I can attack the Spanish supply ships; perhaps send small boats into Amsterdam.”
“That is courageous of you.”
David bowed.
“But Captain, is that really the best you can do against the Spanish?”
David bristled. “Surely you don’t expect me to attack the Spanish fleet singlehandedly.”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant at all. From what I hear, the only thing that can prevent the ultimate fall of Amsterdam is if the city is relieved by the Swedes and their American allies. Is that true?”
“Well.” David dropped his eyes, then raised them again. “The city is well stocked against a siege . . .”
“Captain . . .”
“The fortifications are in excellent condition. . . .”
“Really, Captain . . .”
“Well, of course, Amsterdam would fall, eventually. If disease, or a Swedish relief force, or some crisis elsewhere, didn’t force the Spanish to pull back. But it could hold out for many months.”
“It seems to me that your ships could be put to better purpose than sinking a Spanish supply ship here and there. Bringing tar from Trinidad, and rubber from Suriname or Nicaragua, to keep the American APCs running.” The APCs were coal trucks converted into makeshift armored personnel carriers, and they had played a major role in Grantville’s past military operations.
David took a deep breath, expelled it slowly. “I suppose there is something in what you say. I see it is not enough for you to be a science officer, you have aspirations to be a general, too.”
“War is too important to be left to men,” she quipped, smiling. “Logistics is not their forte.”
“Okay, I’ll think about it.”
* * *
David’s original plan had been to simply transfer his rights as a patroon of the Dutch West India Company from Delaware to Suriname. The Dutch defeat at Dunkirk, and the subsequent fall of most of the Republic, had changed all that.
Raising the Dutch flag over a new colony was now more likely to invite attack by English and French opportunists than to deter it. So after extensive negotiations, a “United Equatorial Company” had been formed, under the laws of the New United States. Those laws were based on the U.S. Constitution, and thus banned slavery. The up-time American backers insisted that the corporate charter also ban slavery, since the political fate of the NUS was somewhat uncertain.
There was the practical problem that the NUS flag might not be recognized. Hence, as a additional diplomatic fig leaf, David obtained the right to have his ships, and the colony, fly the Swedish flag, too. Not that David was getting any troops or money from Gustav Adolf. Still, it would be a warning that Sweden might officially take notice of any harm done the colony, and the better Sweden did in the wars, the more others would fear to give it an excuse to retaliate.
* * *
“Thanks, Philip,” said Maria, balancing a stack of books. “This will really be helpful.”
“You’re welcome,” he said with a smile. He blinked a few times. “Do you like Westerns? They’re showing
Similar Books
