Chapter 158: Closed East Africa
November 5, 1868.
First Town.
The Little Rhine River northwest of the First Town was originally the land of the Second Town. However, with the upgrading of the East African colonies, the status of the First Town also increased. As the seat of the East African colonial government and the capital of the central district, it naturally also To expand, the second town next to the first town was annexed.
More than a month ago, the residents of the former Second Town saw a group of strangers come here after a long absence. This was really strange for the residents of the Second Town who had not seen new faces in nearly half a year.
Since the area of East Africa expanded, immigrants have been needed in all regions. In order to fill the newly occupied land, many areas in the east were developed earlier and have a relatively large population, so there are few new immigrants. The Second Town is among them.
Except for the few port cities in East Africa and the first town where the colonial government of East Africa is located, the plains adjacent to the coastal areas have basically no injection of new immigrants, and most of the new immigrants will tend to the inland areas.
If they were just ordinary immigrants, the residents of the second town would naturally not be curious, but the residents of the second town could tell at a glance that this group of people was different from ordinary immigrants. After all, the residents of the second town were immigrants. of.
So they still know very well what it was like when they immigrated to East Africa. When they came to East Africa, they were in such a mess that many of them didn't even have any decent clothes.
It was still the uniform issued by the East African colonies when they first came ashore. Until now, the vast majority of people in East Africa still wear clothes modified from the Prussian military uniforms.
Even the immigrants from Europe were not well-dressed, but their clothes were not confiscated by the East African colonies.
But after simple disinfection, they were returned to them and given a set of Prussian military uniforms with East African characteristics.
After all, European immigrants live a more decent life than Chinese immigrants, and their clothes are also a little more refined.
If we talk about the clothes of European immigrants, at least it can be seen that they are clothes, but the size and other aspects may not fit well.
The clothes that Chinese immigrants wore to East Africa can be said to be a collection of all kinds of rags, none of which is complete. Patches are trivial, and there are countless seams and holes. Come, even among the same group of Chinese immigrants to East Africa, some wore unlined clothes and some wore cotton-padded jackets.
In order to facilitate the elimination of bacteria and dust that immigrants may carry, and to facilitate subsequent management, Ernst simply prepared new clothes for immigrants. The rags of Chinese immigrants were directly confiscated by the East African colonies.
Of course, when East Africa confiscated the clothes that the Chinese wore from the Far East, they also had assimilation considerations. Since they want to be Germanized, they should do it thoroughly. The braids have been cut off, and there is no need for clothes with oriental colors. reserve.
European immigrants do not need to confiscate their clothes. They simply clean them and return them. Some European immigrants also bring a few pieces of ancestral clothing for replacement.
However, since East Africa has distributed a new set of clothes, although it is a military uniform, it is not free for the poor in this era.
When it comes to dressing, European immigrants like to interchange their original clothes with Prussian military uniforms.
If people from European countries come to visit East Africa, they will see a strange scene.
The whole of East Africa is full of Prussian military uniforms at a glance. If you don’t look carefully, you would think you are in a Prussian military camp.
Anton Peruzzi was one of the victims. Anton Peruzzi was the professor who Ernst had hired at the East African Institute of Tropical Agriculture.
When he first arrived in Dar es Salaam, Anton Perouse was not aware of it, because the port was after all the only window for external exchanges in the East African colonies. In order not to scare the friendly countries, the port issued immigrants The ones are not military uniforms, but ordinary European clothes.
It is impossible for Ernst to close Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, the two traditional ports along the Indian Ocean. Merchant ships from various countries have to dock at these two ports and replenish supplies. If the port was blocked, the British, Portuguese, French and Dutch forces would come to the door the next day. Ernst's success in opening up the East African colonies was only thanks to the fact that Prussia had not yet unified Germany.
Especially Britain, the maritime hegemon, currently has a very good relationship with Prussia. In addition, East Africa is not a good place. Turning a blind eye, the East African colonies are left to Ernst. came out.
East Africa is not a good place relative to the current understanding of European countries. Not to mention East Africa, there are only a few places in Africa that countries can focus on.
West Africa is the Gold Coast, the Ivory Coast, the Slave Coast, the Pepper Coast... so all countries are looting.
Cape Town, British Somaliland, Gibraltar and the future Suez Canal respectively choke Africa's most important maritime traffic arteries
The North African coast has been an area of great importance to Europe since ancient Roman times.
Only the Portuguese are stably operating a few colonies in Africa, but the Portuguese came to Africa hundreds of years ago, when the slave trade was prevalent. They have already recovered their capital, but such a long investment is very difficult. It is obvious that Portugal does not have the energy to continue.
The reason why Europeans poured into Africa in droves around 1880 was entirely due to the economic crisis of 1873.
Every economic crisis is fatal to capitalist countries. It also means that economic development has reached a bottleneck and new outlets need to be found.
The direct consequence of the economic crisis in 1873 was that capitalist countries transitioned from commodity export to capital export. For the sake of raw material origin and world market, the great powers set off a frenzy to divide the world.
This time has obviously not come yet. For the British, the years are quiet and peaceful. Moreover, Britain is causing trouble in South America. There are successive wars on the European continent. France, Russia, Opinion and Opus have no energy to make trouble. The United States is busy cleaning up the aftermath of the Civil War. In the mess and the development of the western region, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands have not made much progress in recent years, and they have not made any big moves overseas.
As long as Ernst can bear it and does not expose East Africa's resources in advance, almost no one will pay attention to East Africa.
Back to Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, these two ports are the only windows for external exchanges in East Africa. In addition to their own use, they also have to take care of the colonists from various countries drifting in the Indian Ocean.
After all, it is an important node on the traditional waterway. If you really take yourself seriously, there will definitely be no good results if you close the country.
Of course, Ernst was a solitary person in East Africa, so he just continued to maintain the status quo of these two ports and continued to provide convenience to various countries.
There is no need to share Tanga, Bagamoyo and Mtwara with other countries. These are ports built by East Africa itself and are only used by the Hechingen Consortium.
But to be on the safe side, Ernst forced all immigrants except regular soldiers to wear ordinary clothes at all ports, making East Africa look slightly normal in the eyes of ships from various countries.
If other countries saw a large swath of Prussian military uniforms appearing in East Africa, I'm afraid no one would think too much.
There is no need for the inland areas. Except for immigrants and members of the Hechingen Consortium, no one from other countries can go deep into the interior of East Africa to explore the situation.
Arab merchants and slave traders who used to operate in the interior of East Africa now wait directly for door-to-door delivery from the East African colonies in the border markets.
East Africa itself was isolated from other countries and colonies with connections to the world by terrain and indigenous tribes.
(End of this chapter)