Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 217 Negotiation (Part )

This Borneo crisis also triggered a butterfly effect. In the northern Kuching region, a group of Chinese approached Lanfang and Iran for support. They were members of the Twelve Companies.

The Twelve Companies were an organization of Chinese miners in Maoshan, primarily engaged in the development of gold mines in Maoshan, Shilongmen, Daduan, Yanwoshan, Wusuo, Shananpo, and Beili. Modeled after the Three Valleys Company, the company not only oversaw mining, agriculture, and commerce within its jurisdiction but also organized the miners to establish an armed force to maintain local security.

The ruler of this land was a white Englishman named James Brooke, who was given the title of White Razor for his meritorious service in helping Brunei quell internal strife, suppressing local indigenous uprisings, and eliminating pirates.

Initially, the Twelve Companies warmly welcomed James Brooke's arrival in Sarawak, sending representatives to greet him at the ferry terminal on two separate occasions. After James became the Raja, the two sides secretly agreed to a division of power. The companies gained control of the upper reaches of the Sarawak River, from the Batu Ktang area upstream to the left-hand harbor basin, extending to Bau and the mountainous region along the Sarawak-Indonesian border. The two sides enjoyed a full ten-year period of peace, during which the Twelve Companies were completely autonomous.

Later, James successfully quelled rebellions by indigenous peoples throughout Sarawak, consolidating his power and beginning to formally expand his influence to Bau. James then began to strip the Twelve Companies of their right to conduct direct business with companies from other regions, an action that angered the Twelve Companies and led to a complete breakdown in relations.

In February of this year, they launched an uprising, but it failed, and the remaining forces had to flee to Lanfang to escape persecution. Now that Lanfang has revolted, they see an opportunity. They are even imitating Lanfang by handing over half of their company's shares to Iran in exchange for support.

However, without a Chinese uprising, King Brooke himself approached Iran. Governor Bahram looked at the ruler of Sarawak and served him coffee.

"May I ask what brings you to Saigon?"

"I think there's a business deal that your country would be interested in."

Brooke mysteriously told the governor, which made Bahram curious. Shouldn't business be done through merchants? Why did he find them? Then he learned that they wanted to sell their territory, Sarawak, to Iran.

In 1838, James traveled to Borneo and arrived in Kuching in August. A rebellion broke out among the indigenous people in Kuching. Brunei's Sultan Omar sent his uncle, Hasim, to lead an army to quell the rebellion. Hasim's army was no match for the rebellious natives and sought help from James. James brought in British troops to assist in the battle, and the rebellion was quelled. Hasim appointed James as the Governor of Sarawak. James led his people to establish a government, enact laws, and fight against pirates. The Kingdom of Sarawak was thus established.

Following the Chinese uprising a few months earlier, Brooke borrowed £5000 to revive local production, but the lender demanded immediate repayment. Meanwhile, the expensively constructed mines quickly failed, and the rebellion caused a labor shortage. If it weren't for his old flame, he would likely have been driven into bankruptcy.

Moreover, the British government had not recognized his title as King of Sarawak, meaning the British Navy would not protect him. Everything made him feel dizzy and disoriented. He had come here to make money, but now he hadn't made any money and was burdened with debt, forcing him to sell Sarawak to pay it off. That's why he came to us.

"This place has a lot of mineral resources and is also very suitable for growing cotton and grain. It's a pity that I'm short of funds, otherwise I wouldn't be selling it."

"So, I wonder if your country is interested?"

This place sounded good, but Bahram still needed to report it to Tehran and ask the Shah for instructions. So he was allowed to stay in Saigon, and told to keep him informed as soon as there was any news.

Dutch Foreign Minister Daniel Theodoregefors van Ndgist arrived in Tehran after a month-long voyage, traveling by train, ship, and horse-drawn carriage from Amsterdam to Iran.

To facilitate the negotiations between the two countries, the British and French ambassadors to Iran joined in, and the US ambassador also entered at Iran's urging. Due to the urgency of the situation, the negotiations between the two sides began quickly.

Inside the main conference room, the Dutch side, represented by Dutch Foreign Minister Ndegist, and the Italian side, represented by Iranian Foreign Minister Pezeshkian, stood ready at the negotiating table.

"Your Excellency Pezeshkian regrets the shelling of our country by your merchant ships. Our country is willing to pay compensation and to demarcate the border in the East Indies."

However, the Lanfang Chief Minister has always been a Kapitan appointed by our country, and in principle, he should be an annexation of our country.

Endegist directly stated that Lanfang's leaders were colonial officials appointed by the Netherlands, thus justifying Lanfang's status as a vassal state.

"This is no excuse, Your Excellency. I think you know that this reason is completely untenable, so please don't come up with such laughable reasons."

Pezeshkian's courage stemmed from prior communication with Britain, the United States, and France. After all, the constant struggle for control of the Far East would lead to local unrest; it would be better for everyone to make money peacefully together—it's just free trade, right?

The US and France agreed to this plan, but Britain, which held a dominant position in the Far East, opposed it. However, Iran secretly negotiated with Britain and hinted that a future civil war in the US would help British influence return to the country.

Britain didn't know whether Iran's vague prediction was accurate, but seeing that France and the United States had agreed, Britain could only grit its teeth and acquiesce.

In order to give them a taste of success, Iran proposed forming a coalition to go to the Far East, but the target was not Qing China, but Japan.

After Japan opened its doors to the world, a large influx of goods entered the region, and Japanese-made raw silk was exported in large quantities. Within a few years, the local population suffered greatly, to the point that many considered rebellion. Iran also suffered greatly; the Japanese treachery caused its merchants heavy losses. Therefore, Iran planned to form a coalition to completely turn Japan into a puppet state, offering to let Britain take control after the war, provided Britain agreed.

This appealed to Britain. Although Japan was small, it was still a country with 3000 million people. Moreover, supporting a commodity market was much better than getting involved directly.

So when the Netherlands asked Britain for help, Britain just laughed it off. Times had changed, and the maritime charioteers were gone forever.

"Regarding negotiations, it seems your country has little room for maneuver. If you can acknowledge that Lanfang belongs to our country, I think Japan should be able to compensate you for your losses."

Yes, Iran also intends to involve the Netherlands. After all, they have been trading with Japan the longest, so it wouldn't be right to exclude them.

This did persuade Endegist, but he still needed to communicate with Amsterdam, so he asked them to wait.

(End of this chapter)