How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony-Chapter 192: Open-Pit Promise (1)
The murmuring sounds in Scottish, Gaelic, English, and Spanish are growing like storm clouds just before rain.
...More and more spectators are gathering. I feel like a celebrity visiting a quiet rural village, causing quite a stir.
This village.
It was initially established about three years ago, and it really began to grow from last year.
That means it was first established when Queen Elizabeth moved to Virginia and the Scottish people arrived.
And it began to grow when the Spanish, who had been blocking the sea, were repelled by us.
'I've been a bit anxious since then.'
With tens of thousands of our population concentrated in a small area near Chesapeake Bay, I felt our surveillance capabilities and influence over the surrounding territories—both land and sea—gradually diminishing. The dense settlement pattern created blind spots in our intelligence network that we hadn't anticipated.
Still, since this centralized population was easier to govern and control, and there were no competing nations or hostile powers in our immediate vicinity, I allowed myself to think somewhat complacently about our security situation. We focused on internal development rather than strengthening our perimeter defenses. Unfortunately, we eventually paid a severe price for that strategic complacency.
The Spanish, recognizing our vulnerability, constructed a formidable fortress directly facing our territory—a clear provocation and threat to our sovereignty. It's worth noting that the Spanish settlers who built and occupied this installation weren't volunteers or colonists in the traditional sense, but rather prisoners who were relocated and settled in this region following Spain's defeat in the conflict of that period.
So after that incident, we decided to grow a village near the Pamlico River.
What particularly caught our strategic attention during this expansion was a growing village where Scottish immigrants had begun to gather in significant numbers. Seeing an opportunity for alliance and integration, we settled the newly joined Spanish people—those who had chosen to defect to our side—in this area among the Scots.
Initially, there were considerable concerns.
Scottish and Spanish people.
People who speak Scottish, English, and Spanish.
People who believe in Presbyterianism and Catholicism.
Celtic and Latin peoples.
People with different languages, religions, and cultures - perfect conditions for conflict, right?
Still, since this place is close to Croatoan Island, the apostles and I took turns visiting to provide appropriate supervision.
"You there! Move those Chesapeake casks over here too!"
"Ah, understood! Hey, Spanish friend! Let's carry them together!"
"Argh, damn it (Mierda)! This is ridiculously heavy!"
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"I can't understand a word you're saying! What?"
"I said it's heavy!"
Thanks to that, they seemed to get along reasonably well.
Perhaps it was possible because I served as a central figure.
Of course, there was one more important factor.
"Hello everyone! Today we'll learn Spanish! You there in front? Would you say 'hello' in Spanish?"
"¿H...ola?"
"Correct. However, you shouldn't pronounce the 'H' and just skip it. Next, the person standing behind... please say 'thank you' in Spanish..."
In one corner of the village, people were gathered, and among them stood individuals who looked like pastors or priests but somehow didn't give off a religious atmosphere.
"Please repeat what you just said in English!"
"I... don't like... studying English?"
"Well done!"
They either used Scottish while teaching Spanish to Scottish speakers, or conversely, used Spanish while teaching English and Scottish.
"We're on the 7 times table. It won't be easy for you to solve this easily. Now, what is 7 times 6?"
"Um... 40?"
"No. But everyone, just remember this: if you can read and write numbers and perform the four basic operations skillfully, you'll have no problems with life here. No, it will be very convenient!"
And in another corner of the settlement, they were teaching the use of Arabic numerals and mathematical symbols, patiently guiding people to solve simple multiplication and division problems on wooden tablets. The instructor, a bearded man with ink-stained fingers, moved methodically from student to student, correcting their work with quiet encouragement.
It wasn't for children as one might expect; it was a dedicated class teaching adults of various ages and backgrounds. Many of them had callused hands from years of labor, yet their eyes reflected intense concentration as they grappled with concepts entirely foreign to their upbringing.
Yes, even knowledge of mathematical symbols is considered advanced learning in this era—a fact that's easy for us to forget. These numerical concepts that we take for granted represented revolutionary thinking for most of them. They were teaching mathematics alongside foreign languages and basic reading and writing skills, creating a comprehensive education program unusual for frontier settlements.
Basically, in the Virginia community, dozens of languages echoed through the streets and households—a veritable babel of tongues—but the main ones in official use are English, Algonquin, and Spanish. Each language represented different power structures and cultural traditions that were slowly being woven together into our unique colonial tapestry.
After teaching those languages just enough for settlers to make simple greetings and self-introductions—functional communication rather than fluency—they also taught mathematics at a level slightly higher than the average person of this era would ever encounter. The curriculum was carefully designed to expand practical skills without overwhelming students with abstract concepts they couldn't immediately apply.
At first, Harriot and others tried to dissuade me, saying it was a waste of money, resources, and talent, but their attitudes changed after seeing the benefits in utilizing various personnel.
"This... communication between people is quite convenient?"
"Having them learn basic multiplication isn't bad at all, haha."
It wasn't extraordinary education. It was all content that might be taught to lower elementary school students, like the alphabet, greetings, self-introductions, and so on.
But the results were significant nonetheless.
"Ah, hello, Pedro?"
"...Hello?"
As people began to ask about each other's well-being with simple words, they learned to become familiar with one another.
And as they calculated numbers with simple multiplication and division, people learned to think systematically in their daily lives.
Anyway, when I looked at the teachers teaching people in the open space near the distillery, they bowed to me, and so did the others.
"N-Nameless One... what brings you to this humble place..."
"Please, stay as you are. I'm just here for a brief visit, so don't worry too much. I don't want to disturb you."
