How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony

"P-p-please... spare me..."

"..."

"..."

Where did it all go wrong?

It was clearly a situation where victory was inevitable.

They knew all the enemy's weaknesses and strengths, had perfectly deceived the enemy, and even had three times the manpower.

Yet they lost.

In the past two hours, about half the troops died right here. The rest either fled or were captured while fleeing.

Like Gaspar now.

A complete defeat. They lost so badly it seemed almost impossible.

Boom-boom-boom-boom!

'Those things' are coming.

Didn't they say they were made of thin steel?

Shouldn't they be penetrated after being shot at a few times?

Why do bullets and swords just bounce off that thing called a 'tractor' without even touching it?

With his last strength, even knowing it was meaningless, he struck the transparent wall before him with the sword he was holding.

Ting.

And it bounced off.

The power of Lexan.

"Over there, it's the enemy commander!"

"Here! Take me... take me as prisoner..."

At the sound calling for him, Gaspar crawls along, completely exhausted. Then he kneels before Knight Captain Sir Skinner, battered and bruised.

It was useless to repeatedly brainwash his troops that those were just large lumps of iron. The very fact that those 'large lumps of iron' were moving was shocking.

No matter how many shots they fired or swords they swung, they couldn't touch them. No, those damned blades made it difficult to even approach.

Just when they thought they might reach the operator, they would be pierced by enemy bullets from troops taking cover and fall.

Yes, bullets. The enemy's guns were also strange.

How could a force of just about a hundred men wage a firepower battle against what must be over a thousand troops and hold their own?

Everything was... bizarre and made no sense.

"How on earth... how... that gun..."

"Don't you know? It's called [flintlock]..."

"Shut up!"

"..."

"..."

Ah, no, what have I done.

I got so annoyed that I shouted at someone I need to surrender to.

"I'm... sorry. I, I made a mistake..."

"..."

"..."

"Please take me as a, a prisoner. Surely there are people in my homeland who will pay a ransom for me..."

Thwack!

Gaspar couldn't even identify what had hit him. He only realized it was the fist of Sir Skinner, whom he had mocked as 'Don Quixote,' after hearing the shout that followed.

"Begging for your life is dishonorable!"

What honor? I just want to live right now...

"A dishonorable commander must be killed immediately!"

...Come to think of it, honor seemed very important. Slightly less important than life, but still.

"To honorrrr! Die by the honorable blade of a knight!"

"Calm down. Whoa, whoa. Calm. Calm."

"Grrrrr! Grr! Honor! Honor!"

Oitotan barely manages to calm Sir Skinner, who was flailing about with his sword drawn and foam in his mouth. Watching this blankly, Gaspar...

Just wanted to give it all up and go home.

Of course, that wasn't possible.

So he was sad.

==

The Florida colony of Nueva España was operated in a form where a small number of Spaniards ruled over a majority of Black slaves.

The policy itself in Florida was different from other Spanish colonies.

In Spanish colonies, other races, including natives, were 'provisional citizens' who would eventually be converted to Catholicism and reborn as subjects of the Spanish Empire.

The possibility for other races to be incorporated into the system was relatively open. The prohibition of native slavery existed in this context, even before Elizabeth's scheming and propaganda.

However, Florida was a colony formed through rapid immigration and colonization policies.

The basic framework was to import Black slaves as labor for the minority Spanish rulers and then separate the Indian society from them.

And as with systems like Sparta, Qing, and the Republic of South Africa, which suppressed ruled ethnicities that made up the majority of the population, those with armed power in Spanish Florida were generally limited to Spaniards.

A unique system that allowed weapons only to Spaniards and opened military service to them.

The force of 1,500 troops heading to Florida was indeed a precious resource.

For Viceroy Juan de Mendoza, who was barely maintaining his position by establishing connections with Spain's power player, the Duke of Lerma, this was infuriating.

He believed that 1,500 armed men would be more than enough to conquer Florida, yet for the results to be so meager was absurd.

Despite all the talk about uprisings, weren't the rebels just slaves who didn't even know how to fight properly?

They might have overwhelmed us once with sheer numbers, but to win again after that? And in open field combat?

No, perhaps even more shocking than the defeat in battle was something else.

Namely, the very fact that a 'battle' took place.

There was organized resistance.

They thought that once they sent troops, the rebels would scatter in all directions like insects fleeing from humans.

They believed that at most there would be sporadic resistance and armed conflicts, but that would be it. No one had imagined this kind of battle.

But their suppression force encountered military resistance during their march.

And was thus crushed miserably.

Therefore, the disturbance in Florida is not simply a disorderly 'riot.'

It is a 'rebellion' with a subject.

If so, the chaos in Florida is not a problem that can be solved by simple suppression.

This is war.

And war ends when the enemy leadership is subjugated.

What is needed right now is not the arduous process of suppression forces invading various areas to restore order.

What is needed right now is a decapitation operation.

The officials of Nueva España carefully gathered information. They asked passing merchants and fled slave owners.

"When did you say Florida began to collapse simultaneously?"

"After the fall of San Agustin."

"Where was the problematic 'priest' last seen?"

"In San Agustin."

"Which port in modern Florida has the most ships coming and going?"

"...San Agustin."

"That'll do."

And after compiling the information they gathered, Juan de Mendoza y Luna ran calculations in his head.

If they don't want to give up their control over the entirety of Florida, the leadership of the rebellion must necessarily be located in San Agustin.

Even if the rebellion's leader isn't there, it doesn't matter. After all, Florida's road network radiates from that one city, so they can conquer other cities as well.

If they seize San Agustin, the rebel forces can be instantly divided and conquered.

"San... Agustin."

Juan de Mendoza swallowed, sensing that this would be the last order he would give as the viceroy of this place.

He would either overcome this ordeal and be promoted to Viceroy of Peru, or be broken here and demoted forever.

Moreover...

"Request support from the homeland as well."

Whether he could block the blade aiming at the empire's throat depended on this.

Massive forces were mobilized.

The colonial governing machine, which had grown since the reign of Philip II, moved at maximum output.

==

Florida's defense plan was quite... complex.

This was due to the situation the new government of Florida found itself in.

The Spanish government nurtured various strongholds to control and dominate the sparsely populated land of Florida, and then planned road networks and spread administrative networks centered on the 'stronghold of strongholds.'

That was San Agustin.