Chapter 279: The First Colony in the Pacific
After Chief Tūī repeatedly confirmed the details of the transaction with Dufresne and discussed it with High Priest Matarau to ensure there were no traps, he finally agreed to France's proposal to purchase land.
In fact, Chief Tūī felt that the French were so sincere that he was somewhat "indebted." Therefore, he agreed to sell Dufresne 1,000 acres of land that France would own entirely, as long as it wasn't too close to the Tainui tribe. Dufresne, overjoyed, immediately chose the area where he had first landed. This place could later become a port, with a town built further inland, making it very convenient to ship New Zealand wool back to France.
After the deal was finalized, both parties became much closer. Chief Tūī ordered his tribe to prepare a ceremony to welcome the French guests, while the priests who had come with Dufresne were already engaged in conversation with the Maori high priest.
"Indeed, there is one supreme god who rules over everything," said Matarau with devout fervor, raising his hands to the sky. "Io Matua Kore, we worship Him, honor Him, and offer Him everything!"
A priest from the diocese of Reims nodded with a smile. "Respected High Priest Matarau, in fact, God's name is Jehovah, and He indeed rules over everything."
This clever priest had seen in the Prince's "New Zealand Guide" that the Maori loved facial tattoos, so he had drawn some lines on his own face with a pen. Although the Maori found the meaning of these "tattoos" unclear, they found him more agreeable than those with clean faces.
Matarau looked at him and asked, "How could that be? Our ancestors told us this, and they would not be mistaken."
The priest, remembering the Prince's instructions not to contradict the Maori's beliefs, replied, "You see, different languages have different names for things."
He picked up a sweet potato from the table. "For example, you call this…"
The translator quickly provided the Maori word for "sweet potato."
"And we call it a 'sweet potato,'" the priest continued. "So, just as the names for things can differ in pronunciation, the name for God may sound different, but it refers to the same being."
He nervously watched the high priest, who eventually nodded in thought, allowing the priest to relax—just as the Prince had predicted, the Maori seemed likely to convert to Catholicism. The church's significant investment shouldn't go to waste!
This was something Joseph had learned from a documentary. The Maori worshiped a supreme god, and their religious beliefs were so primitive that they could easily be swayed by the well-developed teachings of Christianity. Historically, the British colonizers had also quickly converted the Maori to Protestantism.
By the next day, Matarau was already crossing himself, guided by a few seasoned priests, though he remained convinced that he had not changed his religion but had merely gained a deeper understanding of God.
Before sunset, the official ceremony to sign the "land purchase agreement" between Dufresne and Chief Tūī began.
The Maori had no written language, nor any concept of paper, so their version of signing a contract typically involved a ritual similar to worship, with markings made on animal skins to seal the agreement. Their deep respect for their ancestors and devout faith meant they would never violate the contract. If any Maori did break a contract, they would be shunned by all other Maori.
Given that this agreement involved tens of thousands of acres of land from the Tainui tribe, the ceremony was very grand, with nearly all tribe members coming to witness it.
Dufresne followed the Maori traditions to the letter, and by the time everything was settled, it was past 9 PM. He had successfully secured 50,000 acres of pasture and 1,000 acres of "personal use" land.
The French were very prompt, handing over dozens of flintlock muskets to the Maori as a down payment. Chief Tūī was all smiles, his good opinion of these French friends growing even stronger.
A few days later, the spot where Dufresne had first landed was marked with the French royal flag, and the port, known later as Kawhia Harbour, was officially named "New Marseilles Port."
Dufresne then led his exploration team to the center of New Zealand's North Island. With the Tainui tribe's endorsement, they met the leaders of the Ngāti Raukawa tribe.
Several days later, when Dufresne emerged from the Ngāti Raukawa village, surrounded by the tribe, he couldn't help but feel grateful he had taken on this colonial mission—it was an easy success. At this rate, he figured he could secure deals with all the major tribes of the North Island within two months, after which he could sit back and enjoy his rewards.
Meanwhile, near New Marseilles Port, construction of a makeshift town had already begun. Employees of the Twin Trade Company and priests were supervising over a thousand Maori as they cleared land. Not far away, stacks of neatly cut timber were ready to be turned into houses.
These Maori weren't hired by the company; their chiefs had sent them to help out of goodwill towards their French friends.
A little over a month later, when Dufresne returned to New Marseilles Port with contracts for nearly 300,000 acres of land, he could already see the bell atop the newly constructed chapel from a distance.
Three smooth, compacted dirt roads connected the port to the rest of the settlement. Lined along the roads were over a dozen houses, with many more being built by both Maori and company workers.
Dufresne smiled with satisfaction, already imagining the prosperity this place would see when the company sent thousands of laborers here in a few months.
And then there were the sheep—the company's ships would soon bring in large numbers of sheep. They were the true future rulers of this island.
Southeast France
Toulon Port
As soon as Joseph stepped off the ship, a military officer handed him a set of documents from the General Staff.
After dismissing the officials who had come to greet him, Joseph got into his carriage and opened the files.
The first item detailed the General Staff's decision to deploy 10,000 troops from Montpellier and Provence to Tunisia, to work with the Moulins Corps to stabilize the situation there.
Among these 10,000 troops, nearly half came from the recently restructured Montcalm Corps—now renamed the Montpellier Corps—with the rest from the garrison in Provence.
This was just the first batch of troops dispatched from the provinces closest to Toulon Port, with plans to send an additional 10,000 to Tunisia later on.
(End of Chapter)
Friends, if you want to read chapters in advance, subscribe to my patreon.