Chapter 366 "Reciprocity"
"According to the news from New York, more than 2,000 people left Chicago on the first day. In the next few days, the number of immigrants may exceed 10,000. According to the current situation in Chicago, we should be able to tap the potential of tens of thousands of immigrants..."
"Okay, Thomas. There are many Germans in North America. We cannot ignore them. The immigration officers should learn to go deeper into the grassroots level in the United States, especially in rural areas and port cities. We need to pay special attention to them. It would be best to persuade some immigrants to return from the United States as soon as they arrive."
"Your Highness, do you mean by persuading them to return to Europe?"
"Anywhere is fine! But it's best not to stay in the United States. Of course, you immigration officers should act within your capabilities and not arouse the suspicion of the Americans."
"Your Highness, don't worry about this! The US government is a virtual non-existent entity, so our people shouldn't encounter any problems."
"I'm not talking about the US government, but the Americans, especially the American financial groups. They are the masters behind the United States. If they find out about your immigration from the United States, what do you think will be the consequences?"
Thomas immediately reacted. The American government might be harmless at ordinary times, but if they offended the interest groups behind them, problems would arise. The outbreak of the Civil War was essentially a war launched by northern capitalists in order to plunder the labor, raw materials, and markets of southern slave owners. The greed for labor was especially endless in the United States. East Africa was completely digging at the foundation of the United States in terms of American immigration.
But thinking of the labor force, Thomas suddenly had an idea in his mind, and he said to Ernst: "Your Highness, can we restore the slave trade in the United States?"
Hearing Thomas say this, Ernst immediately understood: "You mean black people!"
"That's right, Your Highness. Since we are recruiting immigrants in the United States, it would be rude not to return the favor. East Africa may not have much else, but it has a lot of black people. Can we try to import black people to the United States to replace the white people we have taken away from the United States? This can also cover up the fact that we are stealing people from the United States."
Ernst affirmed: "It's a good idea, but how can we implement it? How to bypass the slave trade is a big problem!"
In fact, Ernst had wanted to do this a long time ago, but he didn't have the ability at the time. Now that Thomas mentioned it, Ernst thought he could give it a try.
Thomas did not answer the question directly, but asked: "Your Highness, have you ever heard of Haiti?"
"Of course, it's a small country in the Caribbean!"
Of course Ernst had heard of Haiti. It was a country in his previous life where the people were so hungry that they had to eat dirt. It was also a model of capitalist democracy. Its system and laws were exactly the same as those of the American beacon. The only difference was that Haiti had too many people and was not as vast as the United States.
But that was in the 21st century. Conditions in Haiti are still quite good now. Although it is still poor, the population has not reached as exaggerated as in the past. The resources on the island can still sustain the Haitians, and at least they will not be reduced to the point of eating dirt.
Haiti was once known as the Pearl of the Antilles and was the richest colony in the world. In the 1750s, Haiti provided 50% of France's GDP. The sugar, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, cotton, and indigo produced were continuously shipped to France, refined and processed, and sold throughout Europe, creating unimaginable wealth.
Despite such conditions, Haiti has not developed. In addition to its own reasons, the main reason is the long-term blockade by the international community.
After the revolution of 1804, Haiti became the first black republic, while the United States and Britain were still slave states. The international community believed that Haiti's free slave state model was a dangerous precedent, fearing that it would cause other slave states to follow suit, and boycotted Haitian products, causing Haiti's economy to fall into chaos.
The Haitian government was anxious to be recognized by the French and Europeans. France naturally refused recognition unless it was paid in compensation in the form of land, and finally, in 1838, Haitian President Boyer accepted a debt of 150 million francs to pay for the compensation.
This debt plus interest has plagued Haiti's economy for more than 80 years, and it was not paid off until 1922. The huge debt has prevented Haiti from building infrastructure such as roads, water supply, sewage treatment and electricity.
At that time, 150 million francs was a sky-high price. This debt was shared among the newly independent Haitians, who had a population of only 300,000 to 400,000. This meant that the average debt per person was close to 400 francs. At that time, the wages of workers in Paris, the capital of France, were only about 3 francs a day.
Today, Haiti is still paying off its debts, and its government is as rotten as a pile of mud. Haiti is rapidly transforming from the pearl of the Antilles to a "cesspool" country in its previous life.
Thomas: "Your Highness, you are a very knowledgeable person. You have even heard of a small country like Haiti."
Ernst: "Okay, stop flattering me. Since you mentioned Haiti, do you want to cause trouble in this country?"
Thomas: "Yes, Your Highness. Didn't we just say that if we want to import black people to the United States, Haiti is a very good springboard."
Ernst asked: "Why not Cuba, Mexico or other countries that are closer to the United States?"
"The reason is simple, Your Highness. Haiti is a black country, while Cuba and Mexico are not. And most importantly, the Haitian government is corrupt enough. As far as I know, there is nothing that cannot be done in Haiti as long as money is given." Thomas replied.
Ernst: “So you want to use these two points to make a fuss in Haiti!”
Thomas: "Yes, it is difficult to import blacks directly to the United States. It is easy to attract the attention of international anti-slavery trade organizations and countries, which is extremely disadvantageous for East Africa. So if we want to import blacks to the United States, we must cover up the slave trade and make it difficult for the international community to find any evidence. Haiti's identity as a black country is very advantageous.
First of all, Haiti is a black country, so it is natural for Haiti to introduce black immigrants, and no one can question it. Secondly, Haiti has abolished slavery in law, although slaves have only become free slaves, which is the same as the "laborers" in East Africa. Therefore, the sale of slaves to Haiti will not attract the attention of the international community, because there are no "slaves" in Haiti itself. Finally, Haiti is in economic difficulties, and we can import black people to Haiti under the banner of trade and aid.
In this way, we in East Africa will be morally invincible, and even if other countries find out, they will not be able to blame us."
Ernst: "You are right, but how do you get the Haitian government to willingly take over the blacks in East Africa, and what does this have to do with importing blacks to the United States?"
"Your Highness, don't be impatient. Listen to me first. The way to let Haiti take over the blacks is very simple. First, we can bribe the incumbent supreme ruler of Haiti. We can give him a sum of money every year and ask him to sign a decree agreeing to immigration from Africa. The Haitian government is unstable, so we can just pay a deposit annually. Whoever is the president of Haiti will get the money.
Not only that, if this route is blocked, we can also bribe the Haitian customs officials to allow East Africa to import people to Haiti. The customs certificate will also allow us to legally import blacks into Haiti.
If customs still doesn't work, we can continue to look for other government departments in Haiti. There are endless reasons. The entire Haitian government is like a sieve, leaking air everywhere. It is impossible for it to prevent us from importing blacks into Haiti.
However, based on the integrity of the Haitian government, I have no idea that the president of Haiti has ever been a person of high moral integrity, so I can accomplish this by simply bribing the president."
Ernst exclaimed: "Very good, it is true when you put it that way. I have no doubt about the integrity of the Haitian government."
Thomas went on to say: “After we open up the channel for the importation of black people into Haiti, we can directly help the Haitian government to establish an embassy in East Africa to issue identity certificates specifically for Haitians. We in East Africa will then convert the population that needs to be cleared out of East Africa into Haitian nationality, so that East Africa will have nothing to do with the slave trade at all.
But to be on the safe side, I have another plan, which is to disguise these "Haitians" as sailors and workers on the ship, add some food, and send these "Haitians" to the Republic of Haiti under the pretext of caring about the famine in Haiti and helping the Haitian people. "
Ernst: "It doesn't matter. It's still worthwhile to waste some food to send the natives away."
In other words, Ernst thought it was a good deal. In fact, most countries and colonies currently felt that there was a shortage of labor. For example, the various colonies of France were thinking of introducing more black slaves, but they usually captured them directly from the surrounding areas.
However, Thomas's so-called aid plan for Haiti is too damaging. The little food sent from East Africa may not be enough for the East African natives in Haiti to digest. Whether it is to help Haiti survive the famine or to aggravate the famine is something that needs to be discussed carefully.
Thomas: "Finally, and most importantly, Haiti has taken in native East Africans, and its native land cannot support such a large population."
Ernst expressed doubts. In the past, Haiti could feed more than 10 million people by just eating dirt. Now the population of Haiti is so small that it can definitely bear it. Besides, there is a Dominican Republic next door to share the pressure. However, Ernst did not say it. He waited for Thomas to finish speaking.
Thomas: "The Haitian government doesn't care about the lives of these people. These people will inevitably overflow, and we have to help Haiti build a channel for the population to overflow. This channel is the Caribbean Sea, and the end point is the plantations in the southern United States. We need to get in touch with the original owners of those plantations. They will take the initiative to absorb these people for their own benefit."
This is true. Although the slave owners in the South were severely weakened by the Northern capitalists, they were still unwilling to accept it. Especially after the emancipation of black slaves, the Southern slave owners lost a lot of profits. Therefore, there were not enough black slaves in the United States. If there were enough, there would be no need for everyone to fight for them, and the Civil War would have been avoided to a great extent.
The reason why there was a shortage of slaves in the United States was the opposition to the slave trade led by Britain and France. In essence, it was a restriction on developing countries like the United States that relied on slaves to get rich. The proof was that they banned the slave trade, but there were a large number of slaves in their own colonies, which was a typical double standard.
If East Africa could open up a transportation route for blacks from East Africa to Haiti and then to the United States, the southern plantation owners would definitely take over.
Because of the Caribbean Sea, the United States can have the final say. If it is just a matter of sending blacks from Haiti to the United States, it will not be difficult at all, and even the shipping cost will not cost much.
Then, these plantation owners would sign employment contracts with these blacks for 20 to 30 years, which basically made them no different from "black slaves". They could just be fired when they were done with their work, and these blacks would eventually drift around the United States.
Although this would mean that East Africa would have to bear most of the cost of transporting the blacks, and would not even make any profit, and would have to pay to enter, Ernst was willing to bear such a cost.
(End of this chapter)
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