1.1 Discovery
The first discovery of the island of Liga was, remarkably, very late in 1679 by a Dutch adventurer called captain
Hendrick Rooibos, or
Bois de Rouge. On the 22th of april 1679 Rooibos stepped on the shores, around what is now called the city of
Mohodver, when he, as the story goes, did a look around while walking en felt face foreward on the beach.
According to the legend he is known to say,
"Wat eene moij eijlant met merkwaerdigh veel duiven ende.. mohodver ", ("What a beautiful island with an remarkably lof of pigeons and.. dammit"). His curse gave name to the landing for many years after and is held still today.
Rooibos stayed for about 3 years on the island and sailed back to
Flushing, Holland. It took more then 25 years before another adventurer, a French captain,
Gilles Sacrebleu, set foot on shore, but on the other side of the island.
The shore is now identified as
Port Salut. It is not exactly know how Port Salut got its name. For certain is that it was founded by Sacrebleu in 1705. The French initially thougth the island of Liga was to be claimable for the French crown, but they were unpleasantly suprised when in 1710 the Dutch captain Rooibos, with a fleet of 5 galleons, each carrying 366 guns return and tried to expell the French colonists.
A two day battle over Port Salut area crippled both fleets, and the Dutch retreated to Mohodver. What happened after that is unclear. Both nations stayed for 10 years on Liga without claims on possesion.
Around 1720 another face showed up with the name of
Thomas Cocklyn, an English pirate who sought refuge after repression of the English navy in the Carribean. Cocklyn was successfull in repelling the Dutch and the French off the island and started a new settlement after Mohodver and Port Salut were burned to the ground. He choose a location for a new harbour due to better currents, and called the settlement
Liga, named after his Carribean origin wife. This settlement became eventually the main capital.
Cocklyn and his cronies lived by raiding all nations cargo ships, and gathered a lot of gold, jewelry and coins. The Spanish crown, getting more and more annoyed by the presence of the successfull pirate tried to capture the island and imprison Cocklyn. The plan was to use the small Liga island, called
Liga Minoras by the Spanish, as a base to spy on the movements of Cocklyn's fleet. Spanish admiral
Blas de Lezo however did not made any movement to start removing Cocklyn. The legend goes that Blas de Lezo used his time to rest before sailing of to
Colombia. The English king
Charles eventually ordered his navy, under lead of Admiral
Jack Curser to make an end on the adventures of Cocklyn. In a heavy storm somewhere in september 1768 Cocklyn was arrested, his fleet destroyed and his cronies executed. What happened after his arrest is not recorded, but the English started a settlement in the north, named after the admiral. However, with the death of Curser in 1772 the English departed the island, leaving a small detachment of soldiers behind.
After 1772 no nation apperantly gained interrest in the island, and the decendants of former Dutch, French and English ship crew mixed up, started to populate and exploit the island. International trade ships sporadically visited, and a new established country was formed.
This part is about
Captain Hendrick Rooibos, part of Liga history.
Rooisbos was one of the unknow Dutch adventurer captains. His story here is given with some liberty.
Hendrick Rooibos, born in 1634 in the small Dutch community Zaamslagveer, apperantly under the name of Wim Pladett, altough this is not confirmed, Because of his very wild red hair he got the nickname of Rooibos. He made it to a captain of a galleon in 1655 called the 'Laughing Sea Dick' and sailed all known oceans and seas.
The most impressive act of Rooibos was his journey to now know as Japan in 1657.Japan then, was impossible to visit for all seafaring nations like England, Spain, Chinese and other great powers of that age.
His first brave officers, called Jo and Co got the order to set ashore on the Japanese mainland. Rooibos is cited as being shouted the command, (DUTCH)
"Jo, Co hao moa" (OLDENG:
"Jo, Co, go than"). The other morning the Japanese called the settlement Yo ko hama (
Yo Co Ha Ma) after the shouting order of Rooibos. Nowadays there live 14 million people.
Rooibos, many years later, sailing around, now known as North America, seemingly to be lost, was being asked by his crewmen where to go now. Looking at his maps he apperantly seemed to have said, (DUTCH)
"Je kan noar ier, en je kan noar da" (OLDENG:
"Thou can go here, and thou can nar thar") They went to Ca na da (DUTCH:
Kan na da(ar)) (OLDENG:
Can nar thar). This part of northern America is supposedly be called after this command.
Altough the date is known as 3 september, the year is still unsure, another event happened. On that date Rooibos lost a legendary sea battle from a Spanish-Mexican armada. People yelled in his hometown with full emotions of unbelieve, (DUTCH:
"Ferloor ie da ?") (OLDENG:
"Forlor he thar ?"). He did, and eventually the United States called the coast provice Flor i da. (
Forlor he thar).
In 1679 Rooibos further discovered an island somewhere south west of the Azores, now known as
Liga.
Rooibos continued to sail the seven seas until his death in 1699.
Sources:
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