History of Ryukyu
Episode 3
Landfall
Reign of Shō Hō, 1635
It has been several months since Julio César set off on his adventure. He had with him 15,000 men along with their wives and children aboard the ships. It is unclear what made them flee, but flee they did.
Suddenly, the call was given “Tierra a la vista!”, land was spotted. César took a breath of relief and ran out to the side of the ship to see what would soon be his new home. It was morning, and there was a thick mist covering the land. A large mountain was visible, however.
As the news spread through the armada, praises were sung and festivities were held. The Western Latins would soon have a new home. Of course there was soon much worry about the natives. What were they like? How would they communicate? Is there any hope of peace? Only time would tell.
When they got near shore, they anchored their ships in deep water while using boats to get ashore. The first to touch ground were Julio César and a host of halberdiers and swordsmen. Now on the first solid land in ages, César offered thanksgivings and then took a look around.
The area was mostly open, with some vegetation which got denser in the distance. The landscape was mountainous with various plains and fields spread about.
As the supplies were being offloaded from the ships, trees were cut down and palisades were built. Tools were assembled and weapons were prepared. There really weren‘t any settlements nearby, so some of the men assumed that the land was uninhabited. Thus began the construction of a town called “Colonia Latina”, meaning “place with a lot of Latins in it”. For a while, it’ll be mostly tents and palisades until proper buildings could be erected.
In order to keep stability, a new government was devised. Julio César was made rey, or king. He was to share power with a Noble Senate (Senado Noble). This new government was called The Mountainous and Latin Republic (La República Montuna y Latina), often shortened to Latin Republic (República Latina) or Mountain Republic (República Montuna/Montañera).
As the Republic’s first action, the cavalry would begin exploration and cartography operations. During one such ride, Capitán Alatriste of the Mounted Harquebusiers noticed a decently sized village. After returning to Colonia to make his report, he set off with a unit of heavy lancers in addition to his mounted harquebusiers.
When they approached the village, the cavalry force hid away behind a hill and a treeline. Alatriste and some of his fellows approached the village, each having swords and pistols for self defense. The pistols also served as a signal for the cavalry.
As they rode in, Alatriste gave his greetings: “Salvos sean!” (Equivalent to Salvēte), “Yo soy capitán Alatriste de la caballería latina y vengó en paz. Quiero tener trato y comercio con ustedes.” (I am Captain Alatriste of the Latin Cavalry and I come in peace, I wish to have dealings and trade with you.)
His well-wishing was futile, however, as he wasn’t understood. He and his companions dismounted their horses and tried to talk to the locals one-on-one, pointing to things and writing down the words the natives gave for them. Unfortunately, their activity was soon to be interrupted.
On the horizon, a raiding party from a rival clan is marching towards the village, intending to burn it down. Seeing this, the captain fired his pistol into the sky in the enemy’s general direction. This startled the villagers beyond any wits they had left, and they quickly either ran or hid in their homes.
The Latin Cavalry crested the hill, revealing themselves at the sound of the signal. The raiders, however, paid no mind; as they were solely focused on the village. Alatriste and his officers thusly mounted their horses and sounded the regroup on their bugles. Once the units were reassembled, their attack commenced.
The Harquebusiers rode up to the side of the enemy formation, fired a volley, and withdrew. 10 of the enemy were struck by shot and were injured or killed. After the Harquebusiers retreated, the Heavy Lancers charged into the almost shattered formation. The enemy cavalry was decimated, and the infantry was routed. Prisoners were rounded up and captured.
When the prisoners were brought back to Colonia, they were restrained but well-fed. Over time, the prisoners learned Western Latin, and the Latins learned Yamatuguchi. Now that their rice supply was running out, they could buy the local variety of rice using the prisoners as translators. It was also learned that the island was in a state of constant civil war. Of course, the prisoners were freed, pardoned, and converted to Catholicism according to the appropriate rites.
Throughout this process, the clan the prisoners served kept trying to raid The Mountainous and Latin Republic and its protectorate villages. These attacks were fended off, and later the king and senate declared an offensive war against that clan. They destroyed any army assembled to meet them, their tactics foreign and especially effective against the mounted samurai. When they tried to copy their tercio formation, its imperfections led to prime opportunities for Latin swordsmen and musketeers to exploit. Furthermore, the Latin implements of war were of much higher quality, though limited.
The Latin Republic came to prominence and became a true player in the Warring States period. The Republic mostly kept to itself, defending against independent Yamatu clans, the shogun and his allies, and imperialists. The natives were converted to Christianity in droves, some of which would soon begin the Enlightenment.
The Enlightenment is an event marked by several schisms occurring simultaneously in the Catholic Church, effectively shattering it into several new denominations. It is thought that the driving factor of this event was lack of communication with the pope, which led to investigation of the church and faith; and thusly to The Enlightenment. Things like vernacular scripture and sola scriptura are among the common themes of The Enlightenment.
Swordsman:
Latin Cavalry:
King Julio César:
