The Golden One - August 14, 2021


Christopher Da Gama's Expedition 1542： Age of Empires 3 – Also, A Note on Portuguese Courage

Topics
Portuguese bravery
Hosted by
Marcus Follin
Mentioned
Achmed Gran Christopher Dagama Arda Roger Crowley Christopher D'Gama Vasco Dagama Laddingtons John
The Wild Hunt Challenge – You Must Do This Afghanistan. Central Asian History Month – Book Recommendations

Episode Stats


Length

14 minutes

Words per minute

115.93

Word count

1,701

Sentence count

139

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Toxicity

5

sentences flagged

Hate speech

14

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode, I tell the story of the Portuguese Magellan's voyage to the Indian Ocean, and how the Portuguese were famous for their bravery and daring in the face of overwhelming odds. I also discuss the reasons why the Portuguese chose to embark on these expeditions, and why they were so brave.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Greetings, my esteemed Laddingtons. I'm checking in from Age of Empires 3, I'm checking in with a Let's Play, and I'm doing it only to promote my book review of Roger Crowley's book Conquerors, How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire.
00:00:18.820 It's a good book, and if you want to know more about it, I recommend that you read the book review. Reading my book reviews is also one of the steps on the latest Wild Hunt challenge, and hopefully many of you have already read it, so this will be familiar to you, the story I'm about to tell now.
00:00:39.780 So, well, perhaps not really tell a story, but I will show a story. So we have here in this fine game, Age of Empires 3. I played it a bit in my youth. It's a good game. I get a nice feel when playing it.
00:00:55.320 Now, of course, I haven't played it in a while. I did a Let's Play about a year ago, if I'm not mistaken. But anyway, it seems that they have released a new DLC, so with some new historical battles set in Africa.
00:01:09.600 And of course, this, Christopher Dagama's expedition in 1542, is also set in Africa. So I will read this little accompanying text here.
00:01:21.760 Following in the footsteps of his famous father, Vasco Dagama, Christopher Dagama traveled east seeking riches and adventure. On the East African coast, he learned that Ethiopia had been nearly conquered by the Somali Adal Sultanate.
00:01:36.500 But Dagama set out to find a rescue, the Ethiopian emperor, and help him retake his empire.
00:01:42.900 Now, something I didn't quite elaborate on in my book review, but something that Roger Crowley mentions in the book, is that in Portugal at the time, or a bit earlier than 1542, so before the great voyages took place,
00:01:59.700 there was a legend about a powerful Christian emperor, Prester John, they named him.
00:02:05.680 So a powerful Ethiopian Christian emperor, who could be an ally against Islam. 0.98
00:02:10.920 So this can be viewed from that aspect, that the Portuguese, they wanted allies against the Muslims, because a motivating factor for the Portuguese, and of course also the Spanish,
00:02:23.920 they had fought the forces of Islam for so long.
00:02:26.980 So they brought that ethno-religious rivalry with them to the Indian Ocean.
00:02:33.340 So certain battles, they were a bit more ferocious because of that.
00:02:39.420 But anyway, that is the story of why they would be here.
00:02:44.240 They sought allies, and at some times they even thought that the Hindus of India were Christian, because they were not Muslims.
00:02:50.840 So that was their perspective.
00:02:54.040 Now, of course, why did the Portuguese go to the Indian Ocean?
00:02:57.740 Yes, first and foremost, to gain access to a lucrative spice trade.
00:03:06.100 And of course, when they went to India, they also landed along the coasts of Africa.
00:03:11.880 So anyway, that being said, let's get into the scenario at hand.
00:03:18.020 I've set the difficulty to standard.
00:03:20.320 I have actually played this before at moderate, but I don't want to concentrate overly much on the actual gameplay,
00:03:27.720 in case I need to enlighten you with some wisdom about Portugal's glorious history.
00:03:34.480 So we're getting ambushed here.
00:03:49.620 We need to escape from this place.
00:03:52.480 I will leave an organ gun here to deal with these hostiles.
00:03:59.980 So yes, we are outnumbered there.
00:04:07.940 We need to flee to our allies.
00:04:11.500 Here they are.
00:04:17.040 And this is actually a new civilization in this fine game.
00:04:22.620 So some African civilizations. 0.83
00:04:29.980 Our captain, Christopher D'Gama, I will address your cowardice with him personally.
00:04:35.460 Your majesty, our captain has been murdered by the adult warlord Achmed Gran. 0.95
00:04:40.120 We came to join you so that we can recover D'Gama's body and have our vengeance on his murderer. 0.97
00:04:45.540 Then you will listen to my commands.
00:04:48.480 Liberate the Highland villages.
00:04:50.680 Tell the people that the Emperor lives.
00:04:52.740 And you will strengthen my armies as they push through the valleys.
00:04:56.240 All right, so a bit of historical inaccuracy here in this otherwise fine game.
00:05:05.520 The Portuguese were famous for extreme bravery.
00:05:10.380 The French Royal of India sends reinforcements.
00:05:12.860 It demands that we bring the head of Gran as payment for his brother's death.
00:05:17.280 We will use my time to receive reinforcements from Portugal. 0.89
00:05:22.440 If my son and I are to defeat Achmed Gran, we will need more than a few cowardly Portuguese who let the captain be murdered. 1.00
00:05:32.600 Yes, as I said, the Portuguese were famous or even infamous in the Indian Ocean for extreme bravery.
00:05:42.540 Because they were...
00:05:43.600 My armies will be attacked in the direction of the Adalto.
00:05:47.160 Travel to the Philippines so that more warriors join our forces.
00:05:51.000 They were very concerned with honor and glory.
00:05:58.320 So to describe the Portuguese as anything but very brave, courageous is historically inaccurate.
00:06:06.740 There was even a sequence where they could have sunk an enemy ship by using superior firepower.
00:06:13.340 But they didn't because it would be more honorable to take the ship via hand-to-hand combat.
00:06:21.960 So yeah, that's something to keep in mind.
00:06:24.860 Something that can be a motivating factor.
00:06:28.500 This insane thirst for honor and glory that drove them.
00:06:35.120 And of course, you're not a coward if you set out on this sort of expedition that the Portuguese did.
00:06:44.600 So we have taken a village.
00:06:53.240 We'll take this village now as well. 0.99
00:06:54.780 Attack my warriors! 0.87
00:06:56.380 Reclaim the land that is rightfully yours!
00:06:58.880 So something I've always liked with this fine game is the graphics of it.
00:07:06.700 The feel to it.
00:07:07.580 It looks warm and inviting.
00:07:10.180 And of course, it's set in the Age of Exploration.
00:07:15.940 The original game, Age of Empires III, it's set in good old America.
00:07:20.340 Where you have European powers coming there to colonize and settle. 0.88
00:07:25.680 Okay, so we can actually send some additional units from our home city here.
00:07:52.120 So we're going to send two priests to heal our units.
00:07:59.040 So as you might have seen, I posted to JutaNameNutrition a home city shipment, it's called.
00:08:11.400 And that's actually, I've got an inspiration from this particular game.
00:08:16.820 So this is called a home city shipment, where you send reinforcements from your home city, Lisbon in our case.
00:08:25.120 So that's what I think about when sending supplements to the new world, that you're getting reinforcements from me.
00:08:35.200 Your esteemed captain here in the old world.
00:08:39.300 All right, I utilized a little edit there, and I have almost liberated all of the Ethiopian villages. 1.00
00:08:50.920 And as such, our force has also grown quite a bit.
00:08:57.320 And we're getting ready to assault the main camp.
00:09:01.460 So as you might see here, I have two priests with me.
00:09:07.720 And in the game, they heal our own troops.
00:09:12.660 So it's quite good to have.
00:09:17.220 And now we're getting...
00:09:19.460 Yes, so that is what we're doing right now.
00:09:31.440 We're actually throwing the foreign invaders out. 1.00
00:09:36.520 So we have one village there that we will liberate and then we'll assault the main base.
00:09:43.660 And you can see we have a lot of support from our allies here.
00:09:51.660 Some shuttle warriors and some spearmen there.
00:09:59.040 Good times, good times.
00:10:01.140 So we have a village here, in addition to a little outpost, a tower of the Adal Sultanate.
00:10:08.700 We're gonna ambush these guys now.
00:10:13.660 And there we are.
00:10:25.500 Good times, good times.
00:10:28.180 And now we've got another home city shipment.
00:10:30.120 Hi, Ethiopians! 0.99
00:10:32.020 Throw those foreign invaders from our borders! 1.00
00:10:34.480 So now we're ready to mount the final attack.
00:10:43.440 And hopefully our little army here will be enough to do it.
00:10:50.120 It should be enough.
00:10:52.040 Since we have our allies as well.
00:10:54.420 But who knows?
00:10:55.380 We'll see.
00:10:55.700 Now we have to protect the organ guns, since they are our main artillery that can take down buildings.
00:11:07.020 Now of course we can use the infantry as well, but not quite as effective.
00:11:11.400 So anyway, let me know in the comments section if you would like to see more let's plays.
00:11:18.640 They're quite easy for me to make.
00:11:20.360 Quite relaxing as well, so not anything overly time consuming.
00:11:27.560 I don't need to prepare as much as I would need to do for a more heavier topic video, or something like that.
00:11:37.880 And yeah, it's a nice break for me too.
00:11:40.360 I've been write-maxing.
00:11:42.520 Currently fully occupied by rewriting Dauntless, so I can get it out in good time.
00:11:49.360 It'll be in October, or something like that.
00:11:51.360 And yeah, when you're productivity-maxing, when you're writing, it's always nice to have a little break.
00:11:57.280 Do something more light-hearted, such as visiting East Africa in the 1500s, reliving the glories of the Portuguese. 0.99
00:12:06.760 So we are almost there.
00:12:08.780 Just need to destroy that tower.
00:12:11.860 Then I suppose we have won this particular scenario.
00:12:16.840 So anyway, thank you for watching, and be sure to read the book review, which you should do anyway, if you participate in the Wild Hunt Challenge.
00:12:29.060 So now, we'll admire this moment of triumph on this Tower Falls.
00:12:34.000 Boom.
00:12:34.340 Portuguese, you have done your duty to your slain captain.
00:12:39.460 Return to Portugal, and tell your king that Ethiopia officials put the noise from the sea, 0.97
00:12:46.240 by letting you know how hard we fight to defend our lives.
00:12:52.360 All right, there we are.
00:12:56.340 Driven to avenge the death of their captain,
00:12:58.840 the surviving members of Christopher de Gama's expedition remained in Ethiopia,
00:13:05.000 joining Queen Sabla Wengo and the Emperor Galadewos.
00:13:09.140 At the Battle of Wainadaga, six months after de Gama's execution,
00:13:13.580 the Portuguese finally had their vengeance. 1.00
00:13:17.100 As the Arda warlord, Ahmed Gran, commanded his troops from horseback in the thick of battle,
00:13:22.680 a lone Portuguese soldier fearlessly charged into the Arda lines and fired his Arquibus into the warlord's chest.
00:13:31.760 Gran fell dead, and the Portuguese avenged their chivalrous captain. 0.76
00:13:37.500 Without their leader, and withering under the Ethiopian assault, the Arda forces retreated.
00:13:43.880 Ethiopia, an empire as old as Rome, was saved.
00:13:48.020 It would not be the last time that the Ethiopians fiercely fought to defend their land.
00:14:18.020 You to take advantage of an EN purchase.
00:14:20.460 This means the virtual city won't be the last time they were the last time they died in their
00:14:33.380 a particular dream.
00:14:36.020 Hallelujah.
00:14:37.300 Something else he could have had in the future.