Chapter 77: "Cargo" Arrival
Port of Dar es Salaam.
Slave trading market.
Although the Sultanate of Zanzibar was packaged and sent to Zanzibar Island, it was impossible for the colony to send slaves to the island for trading.
So the slave market in the port of Dar es Salaam was retained, operated jointly by the East African colonies and the Sultanate of Zanzibar.
"Sir, look at these goods, they are absolutely genuine and carefully selected from the Ottoman Empire. They are top-notch whether they are used to farm the fields or take care of housework." Azam tried his best to sell the goods in front of him.
The poor Armenian women were lined up by Azam like cattle and sheep for inspection by officials from the East African colony.
Azam boasted about the "goods" in front of him: "They all lived in the western mountainous area of the Ottoman Empire before. The environment there is much worse than that in East Africa. Not only are the roads difficult to travel, but the land is barren and there is a lack of water. So if we buy them back, they will definitely be able to endure hardships and will not cause any trouble to you."
Mark Villian, an East African colonial official, held a wooden stick in his hand and looked left and right, occasionally lifting the faces of these "cargoes" with the stick to check their health.
After the long ocean voyage, most of them were not in a very good mental state, but they were still healthy. Mark Villian was very satisfied with the quality of the "goods" in front of him.
"Mr. Azam, I've checked them out. They're all fine. If our people check them out and find no major problems, we'll take all of them."
Azamu hurried forward and said with a flattering smile: "Sir, since you think this batch of goods is not bad, and the quantity we provide this time is also good, can you give us a higher price?"
Mark Varian said seriously, "We agreed on the price before. One Armenian for seven savages. Any higher would be a violation of the original agreement!"
Azam said quickly, "Sir, you also know that the distance from Ottoman Empire to East Africa is not short. For us who sail, we cannot avoid losses. A round trip not only causes losses on the way there, but also on the way back with more people, the conditions on the ship are worse, and the losses will be even greater."
Mark Villian nodded thoughtfully, agreeing with Azam's statement. Mark Villian was not a professional businessman and indeed lacked talent in this area.
He turned around and discussed with his deputy. After getting confirmation, he said to Azam: "Mr. Azam, we understand your difficulties, but the East African colony is not something that a small official like me can decide. But for the sake of our friendship, I will still provide you with ten more savages within the scope of my authority. I can't do anything more than that!"
Azamu said with a look of regret: "This is really too difficult for me, sir."
After that, Azam changed the subject: "But for your sake, I still did this 'losing' deal to ensure our friendship."
Although Azam said it was a "losing" business, he was very happy in his heart. He actually didn't pay any cost to go to Osman to pick up the goods.
The Ottomans' attitude towards Armenians, a pagan, can be described as disgusting, but Armenia is different from the group of unruly people in the Balkan Peninsula who have been clamoring for independence.
In line with the principle of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, the bureaucrats in the Ottoman Empire agreed directly after learning that Zanzibar merchants were buying Armenian women. They even wanted to pack up and send away the Armenian men.
It's a pity that what the East African colonies are most in need of right now is women, otherwise Ernst might really be tempted.
Grassroots officials within the Ottoman Empire gave full play to their subjective initiative and launched operations to demolish homes in places where Armenians gathered. Those with good brains used deceptive means to trick Armenian women into going to Europe to work, while those with poor brains and who were too lazy to think directly went to the homes of the women to rob them. If the men resisted, they would be killed with force.
The Zanzibar merchants only paid two castrated East African native slaves in exchange for an Armenian woman.
Now, influenced by the cheap slave market, a trend of using black people to carry out production activities emerged in the Ottoman Empire.
These blacks are cheap, easy to use, and disposable. They do not pose any hidden dangers, and their skin is dark, making it impossible for them to escape.
The landlords, bureaucrats, and nobles of the Ottoman Empire used black people to plow the fields, dig mines, build wonders, and satisfy their own luxurious lives.
Even the cheap labor force greatly alleviated the Ottoman Empire's dependence on imports of European machinery and goods.
Now it is not a question of production efficiency, but a question of the number of black slaves. The more slaves there are, the more wealth can be created.
Even some industries that were heavily dependent on manpower gained a competitive advantage over Europe after employing a large number of black people, and some handicraft products were sold back to Europe.
As for the loss of black slaves, it was naturally quite large. They worked day and night, and ate food worse than pig food. When they fell sick, they were basically declared dead.
But the Ottoman Empire was not at all panicked. Now with the support of the East African colonies, it could get as much as it wanted.
Ernst also didn't care about the situation of black slaves in the Ottoman Empire. Once they left East Africa, they couldn't come back.
As for the Zanzibar merchants, after deducting losses at sea and the natives needed to pay Ottoman bureaucrats, the rest were all their own, so they did not need to exchange them with others but could sell them directly on the market.
The East African colonies made money, the Zanzibar Sultanate made money, the Ottoman Empire made money, and the Arab merchants made money. A world was created in which only the natives were hurt.
Mark Varian arranged for his men to number these Armenian women and send them to various places in the East African colonies.
The solution to this large-scale "purge" campaign in the East African colonies lies here.
After all, fighting with the natives is threatening. Even if the natives shoot arrows indiscriminately, they may hurt some unlucky people.
The East African colonies did not offer any bonuses to these immigrant soldiers, so how could they motivate them?
Of course, what they need most is to start a family. Living in the East African colonies, having enough food is no longer a fantasy. As the saying goes, when you are full, you will think about sex. There is basically no alcohol in the East African colonies at present, and Chinese immigrants don’t need it. After all, they couldn’t even eat a mouthful of food back then, so how could they want to drink?
Now that food, clothing, housing and transportation are basically guaranteed, what Chinese bachelors need most is to continue the family line.
This is how it is in this era. Things like fear of marriage, free love, and having many wives and concubines are all advanced tricks used by the rich and the nobles.
Ordinary people have simple and unpretentious thinking. The East African colonies took advantage of this and the highest reward for the Chinese in the East African colonies was to allocate wives.
Before, the East African colonies were not doing nothing. They also brought some indigenous women from Southeast Asia every month, but the number was extremely small.
For the Chinese immigrants in the colonies who have made the most outstanding efforts and contributions, a big wedding gift package will be given directly.
But in the past, only about a hundred Chinese people each month could receive this gift package.
Even so, Chinese bachelors who see hope are full of energy, especially the earliest Chinese who started families in East Africa. Their children are old enough to go out and have children, and they are the envy of many bachelors.
Before the East African colonial government launched the "purge" campaign, it had already promised that the best-performing towns and villages would be allocated more women.
In their own place, the one with the best performance has a greater chance of getting a woman, which completely motivates the majority of Chinese immigrant bachelors.
They enthusiastically joined the army and joined the East African colonial army. As for Armenians, Christians, and Southeast Asian natives...
For the lower-class Chinese people of this era, as long as they are not picky about food and can give birth, that's enough.
(End of this chapter)
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