1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 798 Colonization of South Africa ([-])

On October 1664, 10, Da'an Fort (now North Durban District, Durban City, South Africa)

On an empty meadow by the Changning River (now the Usukla River in Durban, South Africa), a primitive barter trade is going on. One side is composed of more than ten local aborigines—Eastern Bantus, driving dozens of A cow and a sheep, carrying bundles of ivory; the other party is a person from Qi who came here a year ago, and the trade items they provide are only two barrels of sorghum shochu, more than 20 iron farm tools and a dozen bolts of cotton cloth .

Ran Fuwen inspected the cattle and sheep brought by everyone in the Eastern Bantu one by one. Although he was very satisfied with these animals in his heart, he still had a look of disgust on his face. He shook his head and sighed from time to time when he looked at the teeth and hooves of the cattle and sheep.

Two dark-skinned Eastern Bantu people followed behind him, chattering in their mouths, as if they were boasting about how healthy and fat the animals they brought were, and trading with you Qi people is definitely worth the money.

"What is this?" After checking all the animals roughly, Ran Fuwen began to rummage through a pile of ivory. At this moment, he picked up a short white sharp object, "This is the tusk of a wild boar! These savages dare to cheat and use these things to fool us."

As he spoke, Ran Fuwen picked out the tusks of other suspected animals from the pile of ivory, and threw them aside like trash.Damn, I used to look at the honest and honest stupid savages, but now I have been trading with us for a long time, and I know that they are pretending to be fakes and pretending to be fakes.

Although we also know that this kind of unequal trade activities definitely takes advantage of you Bantu people, but we can't bully us outsiders with some "fake and shoddy products" so blatantly.

Which is the precious ivory and which is the tusk of a worthless animal, we still have a clear distinction!

Seeing this situation, those Bantu people immediately showed anxious expressions on their faces.You know, it took them more than two months to come up with these goods that can be traded. They thought that even if the tusks of wild boars and porcupines were not as valuable as ivory, they could be exchanged for something.

But the Qi people look like this, it is obvious that they don't want those animal fangs at all. Seeing that they can exchange a lot less goods, wouldn't it be possible to exchange a lot less things from the Qi people.

So, is it the spicy and slightly intoxicating soju, or the iron farm implements that can easily dig the soil, or the soft and comfortable cotton cloth?

"What are you doing!" All of a sudden, they heard a person from the Qi country yelling sharply, and everyone looked for their reputation, only to see two Dongbantu people couldn't help but drink, holding a gourd ladle, and about to scoop it into the wine barrel drink.Immediately, several nearby Qi people shouted to stop, and brandished their scabbards and smashed at them.

It may be that the attack was a bit harsh, and one of the Bantu people was beaten with blood on his face, and he looked miserable.This move obviously angered all the Bantu people present.They surrounded the Qi people in twos and threes, yelling loudly, as if expressing their dissatisfaction and anger at the tyrannical behavior of the Qi people.

"Touch!" A musket sound made the noisy scene immediately quiet down.

A Bantu man covered his abdomen with his hands, knelt down on the ground, and yelled in pain. After a while, he curled up on the ground and kept rolling, and his sharp cries gradually turned into weak moans.

"Everyone stand back!...all be on alert!" The guard captain who came to preside over the transaction shouted loudly, and then quickly took the musket off his back, reloaded the ammunition while stepping back, and did not forget to observe from the corner of his eye. The movement of those Bantu people.

"Hoho..." Finally, a Bantu man woke up with a start, roared angrily, grabbed the wooden spear beside him from the ground, rubbed his body and rushed towards the Qi people facing him.

"Bump! Bump!..." Five or six muskets fired, killing several Bantu people holding wooden spears on the spot.

Afterwards, more than a dozen people from the Qi State quickly counterattacked, holding bayonets and long knives.

Damn, now that people have been killed, they simply kill all these stupid savages, swallow their goods, and then gather their hands to slaughter their tribes to prevent future troubles.
-
On October 10, Fort Changning (now Durban, South Africa).

Chen Hongan, the general manager of the Africa Business Association in Changningbao, received the news on the third day after the conflict with the nearby East Bantu tribe in Da'anbao.Without any delay, he immediately mobilized [-] armed guards and [-] Cochin servant guards from Changning Fort, and rushed to help Da'an Fort on a galley.

Unexpectedly, less than five days after the reinforcements were dispatched, they received a request for help from Da'an Fort, saying that the Bantu tribe that had clashed with it had gathered several surrounding tribes and mobilized more than a thousand people to start besieging Da'an. fort.If it weren't for the artillery bombardment on the wall of the fortress and the musket fire of more than 100 defenders in the city, the Bantu people would have almost been wiped out.

Considering that Da'an Fort was established only a little over a year ago, the entire defense facility is still made of civil structures, and was besieged by more than 1000 indigenous people. Although there are artillery and muskets guarding the city, the number of people is too small. If one is not careful, the castle will be breached , the loss would be huge.

Immediately, Chen Hongan organized and mobilized more than 60 people in Changning Fort, and went to support by boat.

Perhaps because he felt unsafe and worried that the surrounding Bantu tribes would take advantage of the situation to plan for Changning Fort, he sent a flying fish boat to Nanhua Fort (now Port Elizabeth, South Africa, also known as Mandela City) hundreds of kilometers away, ordering Some armed guards were dispatched from the area to come to help.

The African trading company established seven years ago (1657) is not so much a private trading company that raises funds and shares, but a semi-official foreign colonial institution.Because the main shareholders are the royal family, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the cabinet, and several major domestic trading companies, there are almost no ordinary merchants and people investing in the shares, and there is no requirement for any profit in the short term.

You must know that among European countries during this period, only the Dutch East India Company established a supply point near the Cape of Good Hope to provide fresh water supplies for its many merchant ships traveling to and from Asia.As for the desire to colonize and profit in this vast area, it was never within the expectations of the Dutch colonial forces.

In Africa, there is no better place than West Africa to obtain high-value goods such as ivory, gold, and slaves, and it is very close to Europe.What is there in southern Africa, no gold, no spices, and no rich kingdoms to trade with.As for ivory, although there are some, compared with West Africa, the output is too little.

What else is there but a big fast bird (ostrich), a tall deer with a long neck, or some swift eland?

Don't forget that the most primitive driving force of European colonial forces (companies) is to constantly pursue various specialties that can obtain huge profits, such as gold, silver, spices, ivory, or silk, porcelain, and tea. Fertile land that produces high added value such as tobacco leaves and cane sugar.However, in order to obtain suitable land resources, the Americas are more suitable for the numerous immigrants and colonization companies in Europe.

Therefore, only the rich and powerful Dutch East India Company will spend a huge price to establish a supply point in southern Africa.

Even so, since the Dutch settled in Cape Town in 1652, the planned Cape Town Fort has not been completed for more than ten years. Take a look at the ignorant and backward Khoi people around.

Apart from the important geographical location, there seems to be nothing valuable here. Otherwise, the English, who are hostile to the Dutch, would not just attack a series of strongholds in West Africa and the Netherlands.

However, operating the South African region and establishing a solid logistics supply base here is a forward-looking task personally arranged and arranged by King Qi, and it is a key part of Qi's future global marine strategic planning.

In view of this, the expected profitability of this African trading company will naturally be greatly weakened, and even in a few years, it will need to continue to spend money in it for some construction. In the short term, there is no expectation of dividends.Therefore, when raising funds through IPOs, ordinary people rarely responded.

Such a long distance, and the locals are still some ignorant and backward primitive tribes. If they want to do trade, they can play with mud and run around chasing their prey, and they have nothing to produce at all!

At present, the South African Trading Company has established three strongholds with Changning Fort as the core. In addition to Da'an Fort, which is seven or eight kilometers away, there is also Nanhua Fort established three years ago.There are more than 750 people stationed and guards in total. There are less than 400 Qi people who are the core personnel, and the rest are farmers, craftsmen and servants recruited from the Kingdom of Cochin.

Several strongholds under the South African Trading Company, except for providing necessary fresh water supplies to the passing merchant ships of the Dutch East India Company, are temporarily closed to other European countries, and are closed to focus on infrastructure construction.Through various commodities brought in from the local area, the businessmen and guards of the stronghold exchanged a large amount of cattle, sheep and grain from the nearby Eastern Bantu tribes, which provided great convenience for them to settle here smoothly in the early days.

After gaining a firm foothold, Changning Fort bought hundreds of acres of roughly plowed farmland from the Eastern Bantu tribe using sorghum shochu, iron pots, iron farm tools, and some fresh gadgets. Immigrants from the Qi State and the recruited Cochin people began to grow coarse grain crops such as potatoes, sorghum, and corn, as well as a large amount of vegetables, fruits and other non-staple foods.

By 1660, Fort Changning had achieved basic self-sufficiency in most agricultural products.Not only is there a large supply of coarse grains, but also successfully introduced dozens of acres of experimental wheat.Although the yield is not very high, it proves that the climatic environment and geological soil here can still grow grain and food crops.Everything is going in a good direction.

On this basis, the African Trading Company successively established Nanhua Fort and Da'an Fort in 1661 and 1663 respectively, and began to expand its colonial power in the coastal areas of southern Africa.

The General Staff, the Navy, the Cabinet Ministry of Industry and other military and civilian personnel also sent corresponding personnel to Changning Fort a few years ago, and began to conduct detailed topographical surveys, sea state and hydrological surveys, and preliminary exploration of surrounding minerals in this vast area. .

Although several investment shareholders did not require the African trading company to obtain profits in the short term, as an operating colonial trading company, after gaining a foothold, it is natural to regard profit as its main goal instead of blindly relying on shareholders Continuous blood transfusion.

Based on the purpose of relying on mountains to eat mountains and relying on water to eat water, the shopkeepers and guys sent by the trading company here have launched an extremely unequal battle with the local Eastern Bantu people by using various industrial products shipped from Hanzhou. barter trade.

Cattle, sheep, poultry, sorghum, barley, as well as ostriches, ivory, fur, etc., the Qiguo African Trading Co., Ltd. is always willing to come, and what they pay is only a small amount of shochu, sugar, and iron. Farm tools, cotton cloth and other commodities.

Compared with the Dutch in Cape Town, the relationship between the Qi people and the local indigenous tribes is still harmonious. In the past six or seven years, although there have been countless minor frictions and conflicts, there has never been a large-scale military battle.In addition to the long-standing gentleness and humility of the Chinese nation, there is also some fear and fear of this strange continent.

Dark faces, white teeth and eyes, primitive and wild religious rituals, the frightening custom of adult circumcision...

In addition, the people of Qi also learned a terrifying piece of news from the Portuguese population, that is, many indigenous tribes in Africa have a tradition of cooking living people.They said that more than 70 years ago (1589), during the Battle of Mombasa initiated by the Portuguese, they encountered a tribal alliance of more than 2 cannibals, and plundered more than [-] soldiers and civilians in the city and Ottoman vassal troops for rations. .

At that time, almost all the city's soldiers and civilians, including the Ottoman soldiers, fled towards the beach where the Portuguese warships were.Pray that the pagans whom I once regarded as my mortal opponents will take me prisoner immediately.Because even being captured a thousand times is better than being caught and eaten by primitive tribes.

In the first few years, the colonists of the Qi State in Changning Fort maintained a high degree of vigilance when trading with the local Bantu tribes, equipped with swords, muskets, leather armor, half-body plate armor, and even dragged out several The artillery burst into battle.The location of the transaction should also be as close to the castle as possible, so that if there is a slight disturbance, they can hide back in the city in time to defend.

However, with frequent contact and understanding, the Qi people gradually put away their fear.

Nima, these indigenous tribes are a group of uncivilized savages, and their development (evolution) level is a little higher than that of Hanzhou natives.Everyone is so stupid that they can't even count the number of cows and sheep, and the leadership of the transaction is completely in the hands of the people of Qi.

In addition, the Dutch who passed by here mentioned that their Cape Town stronghold dealt with the surrounding Khoi people like hunting in the wild, oppressing and killing them wantonly, and never encountered fierce resistance at all.In order to rob more arable land, cattle and sheep, the Dutch also launched a large-scale war against the Khoi (the Hottentot War) from 1659 to 1660.The Khoi tribe near Cape Town suffered heavy losses, cattle and sheep were plundered in large numbers, the population also dropped sharply, and the former land and homes were also occupied by the Dutch.

As the person in charge of the African Trading Company stationed in Fort Changning, Chen Hongan decided to also launch a war against the local indigenous tribes. In addition to retaliating against the Bantu people's daring behavior in besieging Da'an Fort, he also wanted to use thunder to shock the surrounding indigenous tribes. , to establish a kind of prestige for the expansion of forces in the later period.

If the tiger doesn't show its power, you will treat me as a sick cat! ?
The Dutch are powerful, and we Qi people are even more difficult to mess with!

(End of this chapter)