Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 432: Visit of the Suez Canal Company

According to policy, these Chinese immigrants who migrated to East Africa could obtain 100 mu of land each for free upon arrival, and all of the land was easy to cultivate located in the oasis.

This also greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of Chinese immigrants for farming and labor, as planting is an instinct deeply embedded in the bodies of Chinese immigrants.

At the right time, the nature of Chinese immigrants was fully stimulated and unlocked, forming vast fertile fields with rows of paths, and the rice was fragrant and growing very well.

The Eritrea region in East Africa belongs to the plateau ocean temperate zone, with a coastline of about 1200 kilometers and an area of ​​about 15.5 square kilometers (note, including Djibouti).

The entire region can be divided into four geographical and natural zones based on topography:

Eastern lowlands, eastern coastal plains, central plateaus and western lowland hills.

The average altitude of the eastern lowlands is below 500 meters, with a mild and rainy climate, with an average annual rainfall of between 650 and 800 mm, which is suitable for agricultural production.

Coastal plains are similar to lowlands, but with a flatter terrain, making them suitable for growing crops over large areas.

The Central Plateau occupies about one-third of Eritrea, with an average altitude of 1800-3000 meters. The climate in the cold season is around 15 to 16 degrees Celsius. There are many alpine meadows, which are suitable for grazing.

The Setit River is the only perennial river in the territory, with a total length of 180 kilometers. The largest seasonal river, the Maleb River, reaches 440 kilometers during the flood season and extends through half of the territory.

Under the East African Company
The existing 1.3-plus Chinese immigrants live a very comfortable life. Not only do they own land, but each household also has a varying number of black slaves who help with farming under the supervision of their Chinese families.

Actually

These black slaves were not owned by Chinese families, but were leased to Chinese immigrants by East African companies. They were responsible for supervising their labor and taking care of their food, and the companies paid the lease fees by handing over agricultural products every year.

Thus

The East African Company did not need to spend manpower and material resources to control this large number of black slaves. By dispersing them among Chinese families, it could obtain a stable income.

Chinese families used these black slaves to work, cultivate fields, raise livestock, actively develop agricultural production, and build rural homes, which greatly benefited them.

This is a two-way process and everyone is happy.

Of course, if these black slaves died from overwork, the Chinese families would have to pay a certain amount of money as compensation, and the same applied to those who escaped.

Therefore, in Chinese villages and towns, all Chinese immigrants participate in armed militia patrols from time to time. This is a colonial system to protect their own wealth and to maintain the stability of Chinese villages and towns. All Chinese immigrants participate consciously.

Through similar measures, the East African Company stably owned more than 20 strong male black slaves without spending much cost, but instead made a huge profit from it.

The construction of Chinese villages, towns and roads was therefore greatly accelerated.

In Eritrea
The houses of Chinese immigrants are mainly made of stone. There are more than a hundred quarries in the local area. Each quarry has a varying number of black slaves working hard. These are some unruly black slaves and black slaves who have repeatedly rebelled. They are imprisoned in the quarries and forced to work hard.

The entire Eritrea's black tribal population is about 400,000, and basically all of them are in a state of slavery. Very few have escaped and it is difficult for them to survive in the wild.

Chinese immigrant villages and towns are basically distributed in oases, where there is water, fields, crops, villages and roads, as well as Chinese armed cavalry patrolling back and forth.

In the vast mountainous, Gobi and desert areas, there is a lack of water, food and basic conditions for human survival. Even if a few black slaves escape, they cannot survive in such a harsh environment.

From Jibuti to the east and south, there is the vast East African desert and large areas of saline-alkali Gobi desert. There is no human habitation for hundreds of kilometers, which is almost a natural barrier.

Under the colonial governance of the East African Company, black slaves were not allowed to have contact with black women, marriage and reproduction were not allowed, and black women formed independent camps and were centrally managed.

Some Chinese immigrants would bring some young black women back home to help with housework, such as feeding chickens, ducks, and pigs, doing laundry, cooking, and other chores, and also to meet their physiological needs.

The East African company turned a blind eye to this, but would not allow anyone to die, nor would it recognize any mixed-race children born as a result. Those who violated these rules would be severely punished.

The life expectancy of African natives of this era was generally not long, most of them were in their thirties.

Normally, after more than ten years of implementing such a colonial oppression policy, the local black indigenous population would be basically exhausted, and very few would reproduce, thus achieving natural replacement of the social population.

By that time, urban and rural construction in Eritrea will have reached a certain scale, basic infrastructure will be mostly complete, and the Chinese immigrant population will have reached a certain number, so there will no longer be a need to enslave the black indigenous population.

The Russo-Turkish War was in full swing at the end of 1877, which inevitably affected the situation in the Red Sea region, causing desert bandits to emerge along the coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Local Arab tribes were often robbed and suffered heavy losses.

on the other hand
Many Arab women who were abducted by desert bandits were sold in large quantities to Dinghai City, Asmara and Mingyue City on the other side of the Red Sea. Arabian horses and carpets were also sold, which were very popular goods.

Thousands of Arab women were sold to the other side of the Red Sea and became housewives in local Chinese immigrant families. Settling down in Chinese colonial towns was not a bad destination for them.

In this historical context

The East African Company developed rapidly in towns along the Red Sea coast, reaching a population of nearly 3 by the end of the year. Mingyue City, Fjord City and Jibuti developed one after another and became emerging colonial cities along the Red Sea coast.

According to the plan of East Africa Company

The plan was to bring the total population of Chinese colonial towns under the East African Company to 1878 by the end of , representing a leap in strength.

The rapid development of the East African Company attracted the attention of the Suez Canal Authority, which was mainly composed of Britain and France, and sent a visiting delegation to exchange ideas.

Asmara City

This is the location of the Governor's Palace of the East African Company. The Governor's Palace is a three-story Chinese-style building with flying eaves, with four courtyards inside, a typical front-yamen and rear-mansion structure.

it's here

Governor Corning received the relevant personnel of the Suez Canal Company delegation. In the courtyard, a long table was covered with a white tablecloth and filled with fruits and various exquisite snacks. There were also various drinks available. It was a buffet banquet.

"Welcome, respected Mr. Manuel. The arrival of you and the members of your delegation has brought honor to this town. You are the distinguished guests of our East African Company." Governor Corning said enthusiastically, holding a champagne glass in his hand.

The chairman of the delegation was French director Jufey Manuel, and the other vice chairman was British director Frederick Jacob. They were standing under the laurel tree in the courtyard, chatting and laughing.

In the courtyard, graceful Arab women flitted about, carrying trays of wine and fruit, entertaining the distinguished guests. Elegantly dressed wealthy Chinese businessmen chatted in groups of two or three, looking quite content.

Mr. Jufeli-Manuel took a sip of champagne with reserve, looked around and said:

“Dear Governor, I must admit that you have built this place very well.

There are broad streets and neat houses here, as well as abundant supplies. It is said that the merchant ships passing through are well-supplied, and the food is especially delicious. Dinghai Port is highly praised."

"Thank you for your praise. The Eurasian route needs a supply port like Dinghai Port, which provides convenience for cargo ships." Governor Corning replied with a smile.

British director Frederick Jacob looked around with gray-blue eyes and said meaningfully, "Mr. Governor, there seem to be quite a few Arab women here."

"Well, some Arab armed forces across the Red Sea like to traffic in such spoils. In Sana'a, the price of these Arab women is half the price. As long as they are transported across the Red Sea, the price can be higher." Governor Corning did not hide this.

In Sana'a, an ordinary Arab woman is worth a rifle, about thirty or forty silver dollars.

Of course, the price of a beautiful Arab woman may be more than this. It may be 10 times or even 20 times higher. There is almost no upper limit. As long as she is young and beautiful, she may be worth thousands of silver dollars.

Even more expensive are Arabian horses. A good Arabian horse costs at least 200 silver dollars, and the most expensive one is worth thousands of silver dollars. It is truly a famous horse.

The East African company was very good at developing the economy. These Arab women and horses could make a lot of money by loading large quantities of them onto immigrant ships and returning them to the Chu mainland while meeting the local market demand.

Often a few hundred Arab women can be exchanged for a shipload of goods, which can be sold at a good price in the Red Sea region. It is really profitable both ways.

The East African Company also engaged in human trafficking. The black slaves trafficked from the Ethiopian Plateau were then sold to the Iraqi province and Istanbul. These tall and strong black slaves were very popular in the Ottoman Empire slave market.

Some local Armenian or Greek women were sold in large quantities by Ottoman slave traders, with the number often reaching hundreds or even thousands, and often ended up in the hands of East African companies.

Shipping goods back to the country by the East African company is also a very profitable business.

Anyway, the returning immigrant ship is empty, so bringing back some young white women would be profitable.

British director Frederick Jacob was clearly uncomfortable with the East African Company's white slave trade. He said pointedly, "Excuse me, but the white slave trade is a sensitive topic in Europe. It's a symbol of ignorance and backwardness, and not many people like it."

"Then we have to talk to our Ottoman counterparts. They like to organize the trafficking of Armenians out, which is better than slaughtering them in vain. After all, it is a safe place for them to go." Governor Corning retorted disapprovingly.

Because of the impact of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War, some hardliners in the Ottoman Empire became increasingly sensitive and distrustful of the oppressed foreigners in the country, and simply took up the butcher knife.

It is no secret that many Armenians have suffered systematic persecution and are in a very miserable situation. This has also been heard by countries such as Britain and France.

Frederick Jacob was so blocked that his expression froze. He wanted to show compassion, but he succeeded in making others feel disgusted.

French director Jufeli-Manuel frowned, looked at him unhappily, and said:

"Rather than letting these Christians die, I think giving these poor women another chance to live might be a beneficial solution.

If Asmara can accept 5 Armenian women, allowing these people to live with dignity, and at the same time support the Ottomans in resisting the invasion of Tsarist Russia, it will relieve some of the pressure on us.

Doing so will benefit all parties.”

Wang Xuemao approached, champagne glass in hand, and said with a smile, "The East African Company has no interest in war. Our goal is to build a supply port on the Red Sea and provide unimpeded access for merchant ships from all over the world. Spreading the civilization of modern society is our unwavering goal."

"I appreciate your efforts, and the Suez Canal Company appreciates it." Jufey-Manuel raised his glass in approval, easing the discordant atmosphere on the scene.

Friedrich Jacob shrugged, agreeing that what everyone said made sense.

He himself did not approve of the Ottomans' anger towards the Armenians under their rule, as these were typical Christians.

However, due to Britain's policy of protecting the Ottoman Empire, the interests of these weak and oppressed white nations were ignored.

But the British do not want to see this happen, as the rabbit dies and the fox mourns.

Within the Ottoman Empire
Serbs, Bulgarians, Romanians and Montenegrins frequently launched uprisings and cooperated with the Russian army to attack the Ottoman army everywhere, creating a prairie fire everywhere in the Balkans.

There are profound historical reasons behind this, which are difficult to explain in a few words.

The Armenians were a weak ethnic group that was the target of British anger. Under Britain's overall strategy, preventing the westward invasion of Tsarist Russian forces was of paramount importance, and the interests of these weak ethnic groups were sacrificed.

It would not be unacceptable if the East African Company could rescue some of them, even through the trafficking of white slaves.

In the eyes of these high-ranking figures, everything is business.

The buffet under the laurel tree was soon followed by an Arabic dance performance, especially a passionate belly dance, which excited the guests from the Suez Canal.

There is no man who doesn't like women with pink arms, especially these Arab women who are beautiful and have golden bells hanging on their bodies. When they dance, their breasts are rippled and the performance is wonderful, which attracted the attention of the guests.

Dongfei Company was very good at dealing with people and doing things. They provided the Suez Canal delegation members with good food, and sent Arab beauties to sleep with them. When they left, each of them took two maids with them. Everyone was very happy.

Located on the Eurasian shipping route, the Suez Canal Authority is Dinghai City's most important customer, no doubt about it.

The Suez Canal Authority, which is dominated by British and French forces, has never been a company in the true sense. Rather, it is the shadow projected by British and French forces on the Egyptian Peninsula and has a strong semi-official nature.

Both Britain and France maintained a military force of more than 10,000 people within the jurisdiction of the Suez Canal Authority, which shows that neither side would give in.

Just supplying food supplies, vegetables, fruits and non-staple foods to tens of thousands of British and French troops within the jurisdiction of the Suez Canal Authority is a big business worth more than 10 million pounds a year. How could we not serve them well?

A little leakage from your fingers is enough for tens of thousands of residents in Asmara to have delicious food and drink, and their agricultural products can be sold at a good price. There are really many benefits.

(End of this chapter)