Chapter 337 American Fellows

There is no need to rush to promote East African cuisine. Ernst has to do it himself. However, he is still in Europe, so he will wait for the time being and make plans after he arrives in East Africa.

…

July 12, 1871.

New York, USA.

The United States experienced unprecedented prosperity after the Civil War, which is what Jonathan, the North American general manager of Hechingen Bank, has witnessed over the past three years.

The Hechingen Bank landed in North America three years ago. In fact, there was a North American Commercial Liaison Office even earlier, but there was no Hechingen Bank at that time. It was when Ernst was just starting out in Berlin. It was not until the Hechingen Bank was established and expanded that it officially landed in this fertile land.

"Another immigrant ship?" said Jonathan as he was walking with his wife on the beach.

His wife, Angela: "It's probably Italians. There are indeed a lot of Italians coming to America recently. Recently, Italians have landed in New York almost every day. It seems that the situation in the Kingdom of Italy is not very good."

Jonathan: "Haha, that's what he deserves. How can he have a good ending after provoking us Germans?"

As a German, Jonathan independently regarded the Austro-Hungarian Empire as the Germans' homeland. Now he has a second choice - Germany, but in the past most people overseas still flew the flag of Austria, and at that time only the Austrian Empire was the top power.

Angela: "Jonathan, just say these things at home. Don't say them outside. If someone with ulterior motives hears you, you might get into trouble."

Jonathan: "I know honey, but I'm only saying this because we're the only two here."

Angela was mainly worried that Jonathan's words would be heard by the Italian immigrant community and cause unnecessary trouble. The Italian immigrant community in the United States is very famous, with revolutionaries and gang members mixed together. Some time ago, the Austro-Hungarian Empire forced the Kingdom of Italy to expel a large number of "patriots", so the martial spirit of Italian immigrants in the United States is quite abundant.

New York is the first stop for many Italian immigrants. There are many Italian groups picking up people from the ship here, so it is better to be careful on the streets, as there may be some dangerous people in the crowd. Now, the most famous gangs in the United States are almost all controlled by Italians.

Before the rise of the Italian mafia, the main mafia groups in the United States were dominated by the Irish. From 1845 to 1850, a great famine occurred in Ireland, and millions of Irish refugees poured into the United States. These people who escaped not only had American citizenship, but the US government also arranged 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 people were the main targets of American politicians. At first, politicians bribed these Irish people by finding jobs, arranging nationality and other preferential conditions, but as the competition became fierce, corrupt politicians also wanted to attack their opponents, and of course the means were varied. Kidnapping, extortion, intimidation and other evil deeds were committed, and the Irish followers cultivated by these politicians became the first gangs in the United States.

But now the Irish are out of date. Compared with these low-level gangs in Ireland, most Italian gangs are veterans who have been through many battles. They have strict discipline and large organizations, and are more popular with employers.

With Ernst's instigation, the Italian mafia's business in the United States was further boosted.

As a small country, Paraguay cannot get much profit from Italian immigrants, and most of them are Venetians. Although South American countries such as Argentina also welcome Italian immigrants, in the end, more Italians go to the United States. The main reason is that the number of Italian immigrants in the United States is large, and calling on friends can always help.

Italian refugees contacted their relatives in the United States, inquired about their situation, and then sold their belongings to come to the United States.

When the penniless Italian refugees arrived in the United States, what awaited them was not paradise but the "love" of their fellow countrymen.

…

The dock was crowded with people. The immigrant ship finally docked. Many Italians were seasick and dizzy. Some even had not eaten for a long time and their bodies were weak. However, the ship owner had already started to get rid of the people impatiently.

"Hey, poor bastard! You've arrived in America. Freedom is here, and heaven is here, so get off my boat."

"Don't dawdle! Are you still sleepy? Take your luggage and get out of here!"

"Hey, hey, don't die on my ship. You can die in the sea. Sailor, drag him down for me."

Finally, an hour later, the ship owner drove everyone off the ship.

"Captain Mooney! This is some shipping fee collected by our Chamber of Commerce. Thank you for your kindness in saving so many Italian people."

"Hahaha, Mr. Babur, you're welcome! This is what I should do!"

Meni, who had been fierce just now, seemed to have changed his face and smiled at Babur. He no longer had any impatience towards the Italian, after all, he was the one who gave him money.

Babur is one of the representatives of Italians in New York. The reason why he paid shipowners like Mooney was because they received a shocking incident three months ago.

In order to make more money, some unscrupulous ship owners threw the Italians who had come to the United States into the high seas, gave them a few small boats, and let them fend for themselves while they hurried to pick them up for the next trip.

As a result, some survivors were rescued by a passing merchant ship and the incident was reported in the newspapers. Seeing their compatriots suffering such a disaster, Italian patriots in the United States came up with an idea: they raised funds to pay the ship owners, so that they could get extra income every time they brought a group of Italians to the United States.

The requirement was that all the people on board must be living Italians and the ship must be full in order to get the money. With the inducement, such incidents were finally stopped.

The patriots certainly did not have so much funding, because they also had to support the Italian unification cause, which was very expensive, so the sponsors were mainly Italian gangs.

The Italian mafia was now in need of manpower to do business in the United States, so the Italians who had just got off the ship once again felt the enthusiasm of their "fellow countrymen".

"Hey, brother, you must be hungry! I just happen to have some bread and water."

"Thank you so much, sir!"

"Eat slowly, don't choke, there's water here!"

Later.

“Where in Italy are you from?”

"Lombard!"

"It's a great place. I used to be in Sicily and I heard that Lombardy is the best place in Italy."

"Unfortunately it's not now. The war destroyed it."

"Don't be sad, brother, now that you're in America, everything will be fine!"

"I hope so!"

"Brother, are you coming to America to live with your relatives?"

“My family died in Italy.”

"I am sorry for your loss!"

"It doesn't matter. I've recovered these days. Especially on the boat, I felt like I was dying, but the moment I stepped on land, I felt that it was better to be alive!"

"Then you are alone. Do you have a place to live and a job in the United States? How will you make a living?"

"this……"

"Ah, as expected, you are just like the previous people, running to the United States without knowing what's going on. You should at least find out the situation clearly and be well prepared before coming back!"

"Then what should I do?"

"Haha, luckily you met me. Our company is recruiting and 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 America, as long as you dare to think and work hard, there are plenty of opportunities to make a fortune!"

Seeing that he was still a little hesitant, the man continued, "Don't worry, fellow villagers don't cheat on fellow villagers. I'm only helping you because we're both Italians."

(End of this chapter)