Chapter 144 Trade
Port of Dar es Salaam.
Slave trading market.
"I'm leaving these natives to you, Mr. Abragu. It's a pleasure to work with you." The staff handed over a batch of slaves to the Zanzibar slave traders.
"Of course, my friend, good luck to you," said Abragra.
He then ordered his men to put chains on the natives, and in this way another group of slaves left East Africa.
Abraj was a long-time partner in the East African colonies and his father was the vizier of the Sultanate of Zanzibar.
The long line slowly walked towards the dock under the supervision of thugs.
"You beasts! Don't look back. From today on, you can never go back again! Just give up on this idea."
The Zanzibaris used Swahili to launch a psychological attack on the natives.
This is a procedure in the slave trade, used to destroy the last hope in the hearts of these slaves.
Becoming a slave was not a terrible thing for black people, because they were already living in the tribal era. The indigenous people of the African continent fought against each other, and it was normal for the losers to become slaves.
In the tribal era, every tribe would capture people from the hostile tribe and turn them into slaves, or be captured by the hostile tribe and turned into slaves.
In other words, slavery was commonplace on the African continent, so the natives would not panic too much after becoming slaves, because that was their worldview—the losers became slaves.
Moreover, being a slave in the East African colonies was actually considered a good thing in the eyes of some natives!
This is not nonsense. After working and training in the East African colonies, these indigenous slaves actually lived a fairly satisfactory life. Although they were a bit tired every day, their daily food source was stable.
When these natives were in the tribe, they knew how their tribe treated slaves. Beating and scolding were commonplace, and it was not uncommon for them to do heavy physical labor. It was not uncommon for them to lose arms and legs. When the tribe was short of food...
Compared with the methods used by their own tribe, the actions of the East African colonies are simply like a living Buddha.
So the natives were not too afraid of becoming slaves, but they were afraid of ships on the sea.
Because they also know that once they board the ship, they will leave this land forever and may never come back in their lifetime!
The experienced Zanzibar slave traders naturally had to dispel the natives' "homesickness", otherwise, these native slaves would easily riot after boarding the ship.
There is no more convenient and effective way to divert the attention of these natives than beating and scolding.
The Zanzibar people's method was very effective. The slaves' attention was quickly distracted by the whipping and cursing, and combined with the training they had received in the East African colonies, they soon became obedient.
"You should keep the goods separate from the slaves and don't let the natives cause any trouble. Also, put them in a high place to prevent the goods from getting damp! If my goods suffer any damage, you will be in trouble." Abrag said to his men.
"Yes, sir." The subordinate said respectfully.
Now more and more slave traders have begun to mix people and goods, transporting slaves and goods to the Middle East for sale.
In the past two years, the situation has become increasingly tense and the slave trade has become increasingly difficult. To the people of Zanzibar, those Europeans are really meddling in other people's affairs.
You were the ones who loved buying and selling slaves in the past, and now that you've made a fortune you come and destroy everyone's livelihood!
The Zanzibaris and Arabs were referring to Britain and France, where anti-slavery was prevalent and some ships had been seized.
If Europeans were really so kind, Abrag would eat * while standing upside down. As a person who has been on the sea for many years, Abrag knows that those who live on the sea in this era are all living devils, and none of them are good. The Virgin Mary would have been thrown into the sea to feed the sharks long ago.
These European bastards, now that they no longer need slaves, have started pretending to be saints and playing moral blackmail. It's really disgusting.
People who are influenced by Arab culture are the ones who have the most dealings with the West. The two religions have been fighting for thousands of years, so who doesn't understand whom?
Only now that the Arabs have fallen, these Europeans dare to stand up to them and bully them.
The situation is stronger than people. The Arabs are indeed in trouble. They have no strength and naturally no confidence. But the Zanzibar people and other Arab businessmen will naturally not sit idly by. They also began to transform and upgrade. Of course, it is impossible to give up the slave trade.
Illegal slave ships, after some packaging, became labor import ships, and slaves became legally recruited workers.
In order to prevent Europeans from catching them, slave traders would also reduce the number of slaves on the ship, so that there would be no problem of overloading, at least not visible from the outside.
However, in order to make more money, many merchants began to use the space originally used to transport slaves to load goods.
This was also influenced by the East African colonies. The Hechingen Consortium transported goods to the Arab region, mostly through the Mediterranean line, from factories in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, through ports around the Adriatic Sea, and directly to countries such as the Ottoman Empire. But some of it also flowed to East Africa.
These industrial products are very valuable to the people of Zanzibar, and most importantly, they don’t have to be paid for! Of course, the goods in East Africa are clearly marked with prices, but women can be used as collateral.
Except for black people, we want all kinds of people, as long as they are not too old. That's easy. After all, the people of Zanzibar do not only fly to the Middle East, they also go to India and Southeast Asia.
In this era, the lower class people in the colonized areas were extremely poor. They were already exploited by the local powerful people, and now with the arrival of the colonists, there was a group of vampires.
Southeast Asia was a colony developed by the Dutch and Portuguese forces for two or three hundred years. Why did Southeast Asia become a high-quality colony? It is because the local population is large and it was developed early. After all, there is civilization there. Unlike Africa and America, before the Europeans arrived, the American Indians were still playing with stones, and Africa...
Moreover, many of Southeast Asia, especially the island countries in the south, are Arab countries (Indonesia), so naturally there are many Arab businessmen going there to trade and commerce.
In this way, the channels for the people of Zanzibar are very diverse. As long as they bribe the local nobles, they can basically get as much money as they can. After all, there is no concept of human rights in the colonies.
Many of these nobles were agents of European colonists. European countries could not have colonized the local areas without their help. They were mainly used to rule and suppress the lower classes, so don't expect them to have any moral integrity when it comes to interests.
It just so happened that as local bullies, they were capable of doing all kinds of evil. There were only a few people at the bottom of the colony who could have enough food to eat, and their economic conditions were naturally very poor.
When the lower class can hardly survive but still has a breath left, they will become afraid because the colonists and local nobles can really decide life and death with a single word, but no one wants to be the first to do so because it is very possible to "survive" now.
In order to survive, ethics and good qualities are not as practical as a meal, so Zanzibar merchants often buy people from these areas with one or two meals.
Anyway, the merchants make money from the price difference, and in the end the money is still paid by the East African colonies.
(End of this chapter)
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