La Via Della Seta - The Ship of Fernando Del Monico
(The Silk Road)


The life of Fernando Del Monico was not something to sung by the bards in taverns. He did not fight seamonsters or rob the great ships from Castille. He made every piece of Gold through hard work and trade.


Fernando was born into a poor crabber in the slums of Genoa, in the area of what is now known as Italy. Where every piece of bread was cherished. His mother, whom he held dear, starved herself in order to keep her husband and son healthy and strong. Fernando remembered the heartful act of charity for the rest of his life.

Fernando, when he grew into a young man, helped out his father when he worked. They used to paddle down the rocky shores of the country side, setting up traps next to that of rivals, in the hopes that the crab would chose their traps over the others. It rarely happened, and the business struggled to keep afloat.

When they did well, however, they used to sell what they caught to the local market. But there were so many other crabbers that prices were forced to be low, as they all tried to outmatch the competition by lowering their prices. What resulted was a meager 
income, just enough to pay for more food than the crab provided.

But Fernando had another plan. What if he was able to bring all the crabbers into one group? Perhaps, then he could raise the prices of crab and get enough money to support his family. Gathering all the crabbers into a meeting. He told of this plan. With some doubts, the other crabbers decided that they too, would not want to suffer with the plight of low wages and starving children. They would join this new company, and become rich beyond their dreams. The Great Company of Genoa was founded.

Money poured into the marketplace. Fernando had more than he could possibily imagine. Excitingly, he ran home to find his mother, laying in her bed, not moving. She was dead, died of malnourishment. It crippled their family. So Fernando, and his father, fell victim to depression. His father dissappeared on a crabbing run.. Only his boat was found.

Devistated, Fernando decided not to follow in his father's footsteps. He would use this money to buy a great ship and a crew, and sail across the meditteranean, trading whatever goods he saw as a profit. His company flourished...