Chapter 922: Killing
As the saying goes: cheap goods are not good, and good goods are not cheap. Soon East Africa learned the pain of Spain.
In May 1897, with the withdrawal of Spanish troops, East Africa successfully took over several Spanish strongholds on Mindanao. East Africa directly transferred some of the garrison troops from Lanfang Overseas Province to station in Mindanao.
"The Moros are the main residents of the island and believe in the Green religion. This is also the reason why the Moros are so difficult to deal with. Under the rule of the Spanish, most of the northern Luzon Island believed in Christianity, so the Moros were against' The hatred of the pagans is innate. They are not as easy to conquer as the indigenous people in the northern Philippines, and the terrain of Mindanao is complex. , with lush vegetation, so Spain has encircled and suppressed the Moros several times before, but the results were not great. Instead, it could only operate in a few strongholds along the coast, and promised the Moros a high degree of autonomy, which means that its rule is in name only. . ”
Intelligence personnel from the National Defense Security Agency briefed the first East African Governor in Mindanao on the situation on the island.
"Actually, the Moros are the Spanish collective name for the Green Sect believers on the island. They are also divided into several ethnic groups and tribes, but they are more united because of the unified belief."
In fact, Mindanao has always been a In the most turbulent area of the Philippines, the local Moros not only fought fiercely with Spain, but also did so after the Americans came. The Americans also failed to establish effective rule there.
So the United States gradually conducted political negotiations with the southern Muslims, and signed the Gillam-Bac Treaty with the Moro Sultan and the Sultan of Maguindanao. According to the treaty, Americans will not enter the southern part of the Philippines, and affairs in the region will be managed autonomously by the Moros.
Later, the U.S. and Philippine governments gradually changed the local population structure through immigration, turning the Moros, who originally accounted for 100%, into a minority, and only then did the overall stability of the local area be achieved.
But until the 21st century, Mindanao was also a region with a strong desire to secession in the Philippines, with warlords, separatist forces, independent armed forces, and separate governments.
Facing such a complex region, the East African Governor in Mindanao, Berkeley, also looked grim.
“At present, the only areas we can control are Zamboanga and Davao. However, it may be very difficult to stabilize local rule.” Berkeley said.
Zamboanga is fortunately located at the western end of Mindanao and is the most important Spanish stronghold on the island. Davao is not yet a municipality in the Philippines in its previous life. It is currently just a small town, but the port conditions are excellent. So East Africa chose to land at these two places.
“During the Spanish rule, Zamboanga was often attacked by Moros. Last year alone, it happened three times. As for Davao, the situation is more preferable because our people are mainly concentrated in Davao and have already settled in Davao. The local area has formed an advantage,” said the person from the National Defense Security Agency.
Just by hearing the name, Zamboanga knows that the area has a long history, but Davao has not yet become famous, so it is easy for the National Defense and Security Bureau to settle there.
This is also the area with the largest number of Chinese people in Mindanao. In fact, except for Zamboanga and Davao, which was developed by the East African Defense and Security Agency, the rest of the island is basically undeveloped. Even the natives of East Africa will "cry" when they go to these areas.
This is not nonsense. After all, it can be seen from the belief of the island's population that the Green Religion originally originated in the desert area, and the tropical rainforest climate is a "green desert", so it is very consistent with the population distribution of this belief. .
Of course, this is also related to the commercial activities of the Green Sect. Especially in ancient times, the Green Sect was considered a higher-level civilization for these indigenous people. In addition, the local indigenous people were naturally easy to be greened because they were near the water and the buildings were first served.
“So if we want to establish effective rule on the island, one of the first steps is to get rid of the Moros on the island. Otherwise, this may become the most turbulent and expensive colony in East Africa.”
Lan Fang Although overseas provinces are also in Nanyang, their population is mainly The majority of the people in East Africa are Chinese, so the rule of East Africa is very smooth, but the Green Sect area is unlikely to be so smooth. East Africa has a deep understanding of this in Zanzibar, and the people of Zanzibar had a close relationship with Oman at the beginning, so they had to run away. Where the road is, we won’t have to fight with East Africa.
Mindanao is different. This group of Moros has a firm attitude towards external invaders. Berkeley, among others, does not believe that Mindanao is easily conquered. ...
Berkeley’s idea was quickly verified. Less than a month after East Africa started to straighten out the Zamboanga area, the East African colonial troops suffered three small-scale attacks. Rebellion.
"Your Majesty the Governor, we lost more than a dozen soldiers this time. Although we killed more than 60 enemies, most of them ran directly to the jungle area, and we did not dare to pursue them rashly!"
After hearing the report, Berkeley looked so embarrassed that he could squeeze out water. Since he took office in Zamboanga, he has sacrificed more than 40 soldiers. Don’t look at the small number, but Berkeley only has a total of 500 soldiers. Many soldiers.
"These natives must have been tipped off by the Moros in the city. The third attack was obviously premeditated. The first two enemies were wiped out, but this time it was obviously more organized. The enemy's escape route and combat coordination The clues can be seen in it.”
“So we must expel the Moros in Zamboanga and give them a deadline of fifteen days to evacuate Zamboanga.” Berkeley ordered directly.
The barbarians can be killed if they are not convinced by the king. This is the attitude of East Africa. Ernst had given instructions long before Berkeley arrived.
After all, in Ernst’s view, land is more important than the value created by the colony. The annexation of Mindanao itself was not for the primary purpose of exploiting and squeezing these Moros, and even if the Moros were honest and stable, East Africa would not It is impossible to keep these troubles, and the Moro people have shown a sense of resistance that is several times stronger than the indigenous Africans, so it is even more impossible to keep them.
As expected, Berkeley's order caused an uproar among the Moros in the Zamboanga area, and it was impossible for anyone to accept such conditions from the East African government.
Sure enough, four days after the order was issued, the Moros launched the largest rebellion in Zamboanga's history.
As the most developed region in Mindanao, the total population of the Zamboanga region is only more than 10,000, most of whom are Moros, as well as some Spaniards, northern Filipinos, and Chinese.
Berkeley, who had already borrowed weapons from the National Defense and Security Bureau, was naturally unafraid. On June 17, 1897, as the rebellion broke out, Mindanao Governor Beleland, who had already been prepared, ordered an attack on the Zamboanga area. All the Moros were killed.
Previously, some Moros had escaped from the Zamboanga area, and there were only three thousand unwilling Moros in the city who wanted to resist.
Including the personnel of the National Defense and Security Bureau, the number of East African armed forces in Zamboanga reached more than a thousand, so as soon as the war started, the strong East African armed forces launched a purge of the Moro people.
This was also one of the rare targeted massacres of colonial natives since the founding of East Africa.
This day was extremely shocking to the Spaniards and Chinese in the Zamboanga area. Throughout the streets of Zamboanga, East African soldiers searched from house to house. Anyone whose identity was verified as a Moro would be executed on the spot. It can be said that nine out of ten rooms in the city are empty.
On the same day, the National Defense and Security Administration also launched a large-scale purge of the local population in Davao City. This allowed the Spaniards and Chinese in Mindanao to see the true "cruelty", leaving no land and no people. The policy was thoroughly implemented by the East African colonial government to these two main strongholds in East Africa.
Spanish businessman Mosier later recalled: "I will never forget the darkest day in Zamboanga. The East African executioners slaughtered the natives of Zamboanga like cattle and sheep, and launched a bloodbath against the natives of Zamboanga. Gunshots rang out. All day long, one by one... this It is one of the most serious tragedies in human history. Production and commercial activities in Zamboanga have almost come to a standstill. Except for the Spaniards, Filipinos, Chinese and East Africans, no one is alive. "
(End of this chapter)< br>