Chapter 337 Fellow Americans
We cannot rush the promotion of East African cuisine now. Ernst must do this himself, but he is still in Europe, so he will wait for a while until he arrives. We will make plans after visiting East Africa.
……
July 12, 1871.
New York, USA.
The United States experienced unprecedented prosperity after the Civil War. This is what Jonathan, the North American general manager of Hechingen Bank, has witnessed in the past three years.
The Bank of Hechingen landed in North America three years ago. In fact, there was a North American Commercial Liaison Office earlier, but there was no Bank of Hechingen at that time. Ernst had just started his career in Berlin. At that time, it was not until the establishment and expansion of the Hechingen Bank that it officially landed on this fertile soil.
“Another migrant ship?” said Jonathan, who was walking with his wife on the beach.
Wife Angelina: "They are probably Italians. There have been a lot of Italians coming to America recently. There were Italians docking in New York almost every day some time ago. It seems that the situation in the Kingdom of Italy is not very good."
Jonathan: "Hahaha, you deserve it. How could it end well for provoking us Germans."
As a German, Jonathan independently regards the Austro-Hungarian Empire as the motherland of the Germans. Now he has a second choice-Germany. But in the past, most people overseas still used the banner of Austria. At that time, only the Austrian Empire was the top power. .
Angela: "Jonathan, just say these things at home. Don't say it outside. If someone with a heart hears it, you may get into trouble."
Jonathan: "I I know, dear, but we are the only two here now, so I said this.”
Angela is mainly worried that Jonathan’s words will cause unnecessary trouble if heard by the Italian immigrant group, Italian immigrants in the United States. The community is famous, with members of the revolutionary party and gangsters mixed together. A few days ago, the Austro-Hungarian Empire forced the Kingdom of Italy to expel a large number of "patriots", so the Italian immigrants in the United States are quite rich in martial arts.
New York is the first stop for many Italian immigrants. There are many Italian groups here to pick up the boats and then take them away, so it is better to be careful on the streets. There may be something unusual in the crowd. Nowadays, almost all of the most famous gangsters in the United States are controlled by Italians.
Before the rise of the Italian gangs, the main gang groups in the United States were dominated by the Irish. From 1845 to 1850, the Great Famine occurred in Ireland, and millions of Irish refugees poured into the United States. These people who escaped not only had American citizenship, The U.S. government also arranges jobs for them.
At that time, it was the early days of American democracy, the separation of powers had just been established, and any new immigrants had the right to vote, so these Irish were the main targets of American politicians. At first, politicians bribed these Irish people by looking for jobs, arranging nationality and other preferential conditions. However, as the competition became fierce, corrupt politicians also demanded to attack their opponents. Of course, the methods became diverse. They committed all kinds of evil including kidnapping, extortion, intimidation, etc. The Irish gangsters trained by these politicians became the original gangsters in the United States.
But now the Irish are out of date. Compared with these low-level gangsters in Ireland, Italian gangsters are mostly battle-hardened veterans. They have strict discipline and large-scale organizations, and are more popular with employers.
With Ernst's encouragement, it also contributed to the development of the Italian gang's career in the United States.
As a small country, Paraguay cannot attract many Italian immigrants, and most of them are Venetians. Although Argentina and other South American countries also welcome Italian immigrants, in the end, more Italians go to the United States, mainly Italians in the United States. The immigrant base is large, so calling friends can always have some effect.
Italian refugees contacted their relatives in the United States, inquired about the situation, and then sold their homes and came to the United States.
After penniless Italian refugees arrived in the United States, what awaited them was not paradise, but the "love" of their fellow countrymen.
……
The pier was crowded with people, and the immigration ship finally docked. Many Italians were dizzy because of seasickness. Some even didn’t wrap their bellies for a long time, and their bodies were weak. But the shipowner has begun to rush people away impatiently.
"Hey, poor man! You've made it to America, freedom is here, heaven is here, so get off my boat."
"Don't wait around! Are you awake? Take your luggage and get out!"
"Hey, don't die on my boat. You can die in the sea. The sailors will take care of you." Drag me down.”
Finally, an hour later, the shipowner kicked everyone off the ship.
"Captain Mone! This is some of the shipping fees collected by our chamber of commerce. Thank you for your kindness in saving so many Italian people."
"Hahaha, Mr. Babur, you You’re welcome! This is what I should do!”
Meni, who was still fierce just now, seemed to have changed his face. He was smiling at Babur. He completely lost his impatience with the Italian just now. After all, he was the one who gave him money.
Barbour was one of the representatives of the Italians in New York. The reason why he paid shipowners like Muni was because three months ago, they received an appalling incident. In order to make more money, some unscrupulous shipowners threw the Italians who came to the United States into the high seas, gave them a few small boats, and then left them to fend for themselves before hurriedly pulling them off.
As a result, a survivor was rescued by a passing merchant ship, and the matter was published in the newspapers. Seeing the catastrophe of their compatriots, the Italian patriots in the United States thought of a way , raising funds to pay shipowners so that they can get an extra income for each group of Italians they bring to the United States.
It was required that all Italians be alive and the ship be full before they could get the money. With inducements, such incidents were finally put to an end.
Of course, the patriots do not have so much funds, because they also need to support the cause of Italian unification, which is very expensive, so the sponsors are mainly Italian gangs.
The Italian gangs are now in need of manpower to conduct business in the United States, so the Italians who have just disembarked once again feel the enthusiasm of "fellows".
"Hey, brother, you are so hungry! I just have some bread and water here."
"Thank you so much, sir!"
" Eat slowly, don’t choke, there is water!”
Later.
“Where are you from in Italy?”
“Lombardy!”
“That’s a really good place. I used to be in Sicily and I heard that Lombardy is The best place in Italy ”
“It’s a pity it’s not anymore, the war destroyed it ”
"Don't be sad, brother, now that you have come to the United States, everything will be fine!"
"I hope so!"
"Brother, are you coming to the United States to seek refuge with your relatives?"
“My family died in Italy.”
“My condolences!”
"It doesn't matter. I have recovered a bit these days. Especially on the boat, I felt like I was about to die. But the moment I set foot on land, I still felt alive!"
" If you are alone in the United States, will you have a place to live, a job, and how to make a living? A plan?"
"This..."
"Oh, as expected, you ran to the United States in a daze like the others before. At least you should find out the situation and be prepared before you come back!
“What should I do?”
"Haha, luckily you met me. Our company is recruiting people. The boss is also Italian. Are you interested in joining us?"
"Really?"
"Of course. , look at my suit, you can’t imagine that I was just a refugee from the poorest area of Italy! In the United States, as long as you dare to think and work hard, there are many opportunities to make a fortune!”
Look at him! After hesitating, the man continued: "Don't worry, I won't lie to you. I'm helping you for the sake of being an Italian."
(End of Chapter)