Chapter 718 Othello "Slave Trade"
South Atlantic route, African section.
The Little Hans had just passed the coast of southern Angola, sailed up the Benguela Current, and entered the waters of the Portuguese-controlled colony of North Angola.
The name of the ship shows its former ownership. A ship with this name must have belonged to the German country. Of course, this was only in the past. Now, Little Hans is a wooden sailing merchant ship registered under the Republic of Haiti, which is also the ship's official identity.
"Report to the captain, a British warship has been spotted ahead!"
"Don't panic. First check the people on our ship to see if there is any negligence. Maybe the British warship is just passing by here."
Although he said this, Captain Othello still prepared for the worst in his heart. British law enforcement ships are rarely seen on this route.
Soon the British ship on the opposite side signaled the Little Hans to dock for inspection.
"Captain, what do we do now?"
"Submit to examination!" Othello ordered.
It couldn't escape, and it couldn't be defeated either. This slave ship disguised as an armed merchant ship was no match for the ironclad ship.
Currently, the ships used to transport slaves in East Africa are relatively backward wooden sailing merchant ships, many of which are second-hand ships purchased by East Africa from all over the world.
The slave trade is accompanied by huge risks, especially under the joint crackdown of the international community, so East Africa, a slave-exporting country, can only act with a low profile. However, under normal circumstances, East Africa has not encountered any targeting in the South Atlantic Ocean, but today it seems to have encountered trouble.
Soon, the British warship approached the Haitian merchant ship. In front of the British warship, the Haitian merchant ship was like a tiny thing. This is also the defect of wooden sailing merchant ships. It is difficult to surpass these steel behemoths in size.
The British sailors quickly set up the ladder and then transferred to the Little Hans.
"Who among you is the captain of this ship?" asked the Royal Navy sailor.
Othello stepped forward and said, "I am the captain of this ship, Othello."
"Othello?" The Royal Navy sailor looked at the black captain carefully and asked strangely, "Are you black?"
"Yes, I am a Haitian." Othello smiled ingratiatingly, not daring to show any sign of abnormality. His dark face showed a row of big white teeth, which were very dazzling against the backdrop of the sea and blue sky.
"Haitians? Why is your ship called Little Hans?"
"The ship was purchased from East Africa, so we didn't change our name, but the sailor and I are both Haitians by birth," Othello replied.
"That's really rare!" said the Royal Navy sailor.
Black captains are indeed rare on the ocean. Perhaps they are more common in countries like the United States. However, in Africa, where the largest number of black people exist, black people engaged in ocean trade are absolutely rare.
In the past, the Somali people, the Swahili people and some black countries on the Red Sea coast were quite adept at maritime trade, but these countries have long been abolished or colonized by Western colonizers led by East Africa.
Othello said: "Of course, Haiti is an island country, and the country's main trade depends on sea transportation, so we also bought a lot of ships from the civilized world to develop shipping."
In fact, these cheap merchant ships were all gifts from East Africa to Haitians. After all, the slave trade was not easy to do, and East Africans did not want to participate directly. Therefore, it was much more "harmonious" for Haitians, who were also black, to sell black slaves.
Moreover, Haiti itself is now the largest exporter of "labor" in the Americas, so this is even more reasonable. This is also a development direction of the East African slave trade in recent years.
Othello is a Haitian merchant who cooperates with East Africa. East Africa ships out, and Othello pulls "goods" from East Africa. In this way, Othello can not only obtain an ocean-going ship at a very low cost, although it is just a wooden sailing merchant ship that is being eliminated, but it is also a huge fortune for the Haitians.
At the same time, they can get "goods" and "labor" for free. In this case, it is equivalent to East Africa giving Haitians three times the money.
The ships were provided by East Africa, the goods were actually the freight paid by East Africa, and the laborers were slaves who were retired after their service in East Africa expired.
The Haitians only need to contribute manpower and effort to obtain these riches. At the same time, the Haitians can continue to resell slaves and goods and make a fortune.
Under this kind of "hundred billion subsidies" in East Africa, every Haitian household naturally lived a prosperous life and was on the path of a slave economy with no return.
The Royal Navy sailors were not interested in these because Haiti was once a French colony and is now independent, so they didn't have the time to investigate where they got these second-hand ships.
He was more interested in whether the ship was a slave ship. This was a requirement from above, so he had to be absolutely sure.
"We are now going to check whether your merchant ship, including the personnel and cargo, complies with international regulations. Captain Othello, you should not stop us!"
Othello looked very unhappy. Although his dark skin did not show any change, he did not dare to retort and said, "Then please! But we are merchants doing legitimate business and never do illegal business."
The British did not believe what Othello said. There was not much clean on the sea in the 19th century.
Soon, under the control of the British sailors, Othello's crew took them to carefully observe every place on the ship.
"Captain Othello, why are there so many sailors on your ship? It's obviously overcrowded. A few dozen sailors should be enough. There are nearly a hundred people on this ship, right?"
"Sir, our ship does employ a lot of people, but they are all Africans who have obtained Haitian citizenship. Currently, there are many Haitian labor companies in America, and they need a lot of manpower, so we are all legal workers."
On the surface, there should be nothing wrong with what Othello said. At least judging from their clothes, these people don't look like slaves.
These clothes were naturally distributed in East Africa. After all, the slaves in East Africa contributed their youth. If they couldn’t even get a set of clothes, then the East Africans would be considered "beasts".
"There's something wrong with your cargo. A normal merchant ship wouldn't have so little cargo. Aren't you losing money on this trip?"
Othello: "Sir, you don't understand the situation in Haiti. Haiti is a well-known poor country with a small land area and not abundant resources. Therefore, we don't have many things to trade with foreign countries. So it is normal that the cargo volume is small. And as you said before, the most important thing on my ship is these new Haitian 'citizens'. They are our wealth."
"So slaves?"
Othello didn't dare to answer, but said righteously: "These are all citizens who have legally naturalized in Haiti, and they have identity information issued by our Haitian Embassy. Sir, you can't harm us!"
Under the suspicious eyes of the British sailors, Othello asked these people to take out their identity "certificates" issued by the Haitian Embassy in East Africa.
The entire inspection was passed very thrillingly, and the British warship had to let this "normal trading ship" pass.
This is also where East Africans are cunning. The risks of the slave trade are getting higher and higher, and slave traders must naturally continue to improve with the development of the times.
Now East Africa doesn't even have people leaving, and simply disguises the slave trade as normal legal forms such as "immigration" and "work". The international community as a whole cannot find any fault with it.
Of course, the fundamental reason why this "advanced" slave trade method was possible was that East Africa paid a huge cost, did not regard profit as its primary goal, and even had to pay out of pocket to maintain it.
(End of this chapter)
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