1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 801 Colonization of South Africa ([-])
What is the most expensive in the 21st century?Now many people will answer with one voice, it is talent.

From the 14th century to the beginning of the 19th century, the answer would be to remove the word "cai".And this "person" specifically refers to African slaves.In the late period of the large-scale slave trade, a healthy adult African slave could be fired for thousands of dollars in the United States.As a shrewd businessman, the European powers know that gold and diamonds are just floating clouds. As a businessman, the best business is of course buying and selling.

Back then, Spain and Portugal took the globe and split it in half, one facing east and the other west.The Spaniards found a large amount of gold and silver in the Americas, and quickly became the largest local tyrant in Europe.The Portuguese were unlucky, exploring all the way east, but found no land rich in gold and silver.So the Portuguese shifted their interest in Africa from fabled gold mines to a more readily available commodity—slaves.

European colonial states expanding in the New World lacked one major resource—labor.For the most part, the native peoples proved unreliable (most of them died from diseases brought from Europe, or were rebellious), while the Europeans were climate misadapted and suffered from tropical diseases.Africans, on the other hand, were excellent workers: they often had experience in farming and cattle raising, they were accustomed to tropical climates and were resistant to tropical diseases, and they could "work very hard" on plantations or mines.

In the seventeenth century, the slave trade was in full swing, gradually forming the notorious Atlantic Triangle Trade.It was a particularly fruitful trade, as each stage of the journey could bring profits to the merchant.

In the first phase of the Triangular Trade, merchants shipped manufactured goods from Europe to Africa: cloth, spirits, tobacco, beads, shells, metalwork, and guns, which were exchanged for enslaved Africans.

The second stage of the triangular trade, the middle channel, involved transporting enslaved Africans to the Americas, selling them to their customers—planters or mine owners—and then driving these slaves to grow cotton, sugar, tobacco, and gold Digging in a silver mine.

The third and final stage of the triangular trade was to bring products from plantations or minerals back to Europe.

From 1440 to 1640, for more than 200 years, Portugal almost monopolized the export trade of African slaves and became the largest slave trader at that time.However, with the joining of European powers such as the Netherlands, Britain, and France, the Portuguese business began to be greatly affected.

The enslaved Africans of the transatlantic slave trade originally came from Senegambia and the Windward Coast.Later, as the "source of goods" dwindled, around 1650 the trade shifted to west-central Africa (Kingdom of the Congo and neighboring Angola).

However, the slave coasts occupied by the Dutch in West Africa (the coastal areas of Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, etc.), after more than ten years of operation, the number of slaves available is less and less, and they often have to go deep into the inland Two hundred kilometers, the cost is getting higher and higher.

Therefore, when the Dutch arrived in Fort Changning, they saw that the local Hanzhou people had captured so many Bantu people, they immediately became very interested, and asked if they wanted to sell these natives.If you take hundreds of slaves along the way to Brazil or the Caribbean for resale, you can get a lot of huge profits.

Faced with such eager gazes from the Dutch, Changning Fort suddenly felt a burst of joy.

Damn, he was worrying about how to deal with these captured Bantu people. If they were killed, it would hurt the peace of heaven, but if they were to be raised, they would cost food!If it is close to our Hanzhou mainland, it can also be sent to various mines as a coolie to dig stones.

Moreover, in addition to the need to build a city and a pier in Da'an Fort, it needs to be driven by the Bantu people who left hundreds of captives.For the remaining 1000 people, they even planned to let them disperse and fend for themselves.But if you don't want to meet interested owners, why don't you hurry up and sell them for some money.

After some bargaining, all the Bantu people, regardless of gender, age or age, were priced at Changningbao for 25 Hanzhou silver dollars, and 500 of them were first sold to the Dutch.

A few days later, all the "goods" were loaded on the ship, and the Dutch left Fort Changning with satisfaction. When the ship sailed out of the harbor, several excited Dutch businessmen could not help but give each other high fives.

These stupid Hanzhou people actually sold them [-] African slaves at such a cheap price. If they were transported to America and resold, the profit would be several times higher.

You know, the price of obtaining a slave on the coast of Africa is generally around 25 pounds (about 75 taels of silver, equivalent to 62 Hanzhou silver dollars), but if it is shipped to America, you can get items worth about 150 pounds, and the profit rate is 600 %.Even for some women and children, the selling price is around 80-100 pounds.

And the Dutch also bullied the Hanzhou people who had never been engaged in the slave trade and did not understand the market at all, so they cut off the cost of each slave by another 30 yuan of Hanzhou silver dollars, and severely cheated Changning Fort.

However, the Qi people in Changningburg, who were considered stupid by the Dutch, were extremely satisfied with the deal, happily counting the silver coins paid by the Dutch.It took less than half a month to go out and raid, and nearly 2000 people were captured. If they could be sold, they would earn more than 4 Hanzhou silver dollars.This is not counting the cattle and sheep, furs, food, and scattered ivory, tortoiseshell and other valuables looted from those Bantu tribes.

All I had to do was follow the trails of the Bantu people's activities to find their tribal camp, then run errands, sweat a little, and fire a few shots.Of course, during the period, some unlucky ones were stabbed with wooden spears by the rebel Bantus and injured their arms and legs, and they needed to recuperate for a few days.

This business can be regarded as a business without capital!It's much more cost-effective than planting crops in the field for a year.Immediately, several captains of the guards suggested to Chen Hongan, the manager of Changning Fort, to continue to send out manpower to wipe out the Bantu tribe near Changning Fort.

After hearing this, Chen Hongan was speechless.These killers really tasted the sweetness from the looting of the natives!

A large part of the personnel recruited by the African Trading Company are soldiers from the former Self-Rescue Army and the Loyalty Army. They are used to fighting and killing, and they are not satisfied with farming and working in factories. Some of them are men with more brothers and sisters in their families. , I hope to come out and make a fortune, so that I can accumulate a family business for my future.

Nowadays, it is only necessary to pick up a sword and a musket, like hunting, to round up those ignorant and backward local aborigines, and then sell them to the Westerners, in exchange for a lot of money.That being the case, what land is needed?Food, livestock, furs, just grab those natives directly!
However, the area here is vast, the rainfall is relatively abundant, the climate is suitable, there is no severe cold in winter, no severe heat in summer, and there is sufficient sunshine, which is much better than the northern and inland areas of Hanzhou.It would be a good way to enclose all their land through large-scale capture of the aborigines.

At the beginning of the establishment of the African Trading Company, King Qi once said that this vast area in southern Africa is a treasure land. If it can be fully owned, then Qi will surely gain a huge wealth that ordinary people can't imagine.

In the past seven years, although the African Trading Company has established three strongholds in South Africa and conducted a rough exploration, it has not found any wealth such as gold, silver and copper mines.But everyone did not have any doubts about Qi Wang's statement. This vast area must contain astonishing treasures.

So, what the African business community needs to do now is to lay a solid foundation, accumulate strength, and gradually expand.It is also a matter of course to clean up the local indigenous tribes and seize more land.

In this way, selling some African slaves can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
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On January 1665, 1, South Warburg (now Port Elizabeth, South Africa, also known as Mandela City).

"Bump! Bump! Bump!..."

As the volleys of guns rang out, several huge ostriches surrounded in the middle screamed and fell to the ground, their two huge toes kept stepping on the ground and continued to struggle.

Seven or eight armed guards carried muskets behind their backs, drew out their short knives, and surrounded them with joyful faces, ready to give these dying ostriches a good time.

"There are natives!" Suddenly, a guard pointed to a hillside ahead and shouted loudly.

Everyone heard the words, stopped and looked up towards the hillside.I saw two or three Bantu people seem to be disturbed by the sound of muskets, and they were running up the slope with all their strength, almost using their hands and feet at an extremely fast speed, and disappeared at the top of the slope in a moment.

"Forget it, with the few of us, we probably won't be able to catch those natives. Hurry up, pack up these big birds, and bring them back to Nanhua Castle for processing."

"It's a pity, if those aborigines are captured alive, they won't be sold for tens of dollars." A guard slashed at the long neck of the ostrich on the ground with a knife.

"That's not true! We have worked hard for a long time to hunt such a few big birds. Maybe it is worth more than catching a few natives."

"After capturing the aborigines, we can let them walk back to Fort Nanhua by themselves. But after killing these big birds, we still have to drive them back." The two guards each grabbed one of the ostrich's toes and struggled towards the stop. Tow in the direction of the carriage.

"There's so much nonsense one by one." A guard captain scolded: "Why, you heard that Changning Fort sold the aborigines and made tens of thousands of dollars, are you fucking jealous? In recent years, We collected ivory and furs, and hunted big birds, and made a lot of money. Back then, you were all satisfied. Now, knowing that you can make money by capturing natives, do you despise these businesses?"

"Zhangtou, there's no comparison, we don't know." A young guard in his twenties said with a smile, "Although the money earned here is much better than eating in the field. But when I think about it, those stupid The black aborigines can be worth 30 to [-] yuan each. You said that if we catch tens of thousands of people a year, each person will be given hundreds of Hanzhou silver dollars. It will take a few years, and all of us Everyone can go back to their hometowns, and return to Hanzhou to enjoy the happiness!"

"Plundering people as slaves will be condemned by God!" The guard captain shook his head and said, "Those aborigines have lived here for hundreds of thousands of years, and they have always lived a life of indifference to the world. Just because we want to make black-hearted money, They will be rounded up and imprisoned, and then sold to Western barbarians. Let me tell you, how is this practice different from that of the Qing captives?...Lao Tzu was encircled and occupied by the heavenly Qing captives back then, and became theirs Coated servants, working as cows and horses, almost died of cold and hunger."

When everyone heard the words, they were suddenly speechless.Among the seven or eight guards present, there were also many from the Qing Dynasty in the north. Like this small captain, they had the experience of being plundered by the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty.However, they felt faintly in their hearts that this seemed a bit different from capturing natives and selling them as slaves.

"In other words, this slave trafficking business is definitely not a long-term business." The guard captain kicked the ostrich carcass on the ground and said with a smile: "Although this big bird is not as valuable as slaves, it is also worth a lot, and The whole body is full of treasures. Bird egg shells can be used as high-end carved ornamental objects and sold to nobles in Europe. Bird skins can be made into excellent leather. Look, this fur is soft, beautiful, and has unique pores Pattern. Good air permeability, strong tensile strength, not easy to age, durable, and can be curled. Look at this feather, which is fine in texture, good in warmth retention, soft to the touch, and can be used as noble clothing and headgear. These things are rare for Westerners Tight! Eliminate these, and there will be a lot of meat that can be eaten. Doing this business makes people feel at ease."

In the evening, the guards drove back to Nanhua Castle with six or seven ostriches in three carriages.In the city, it was unexpectedly found that groups of sailors under the Dutch East India Company gathered in several restaurants and taverns, making loud noises and enjoying the short leisure time after the long voyage.

"Are these Dutch people passing by, or are they here to buy supplies?" The guard captain asked a guard who was on guard nearby.

"They're all from Europe, and they're going to Batavia." The guard said, "I heard that in the fleet arriving at the port, there are several senators from their country who want to visit our mainland of Hanzhou, and Meet our king."

"Hey, I heard that their senator is quite powerful in the Netherlands. I'm afraid they came to our Qi country for more than just a simple visit."

"I heard from those Dutch sailors that they are going to fight a European country. They probably want to ask us to help Qi."

"The Dutch are fighting in Europe, how can we Qi help?"

"Then you don't know!" The guard had a trace of mystery on his face, "The country where the Dutch are going to fight is England, and they probably want us to deal with the English businessmen there in India."

"Helping the Dutch fight the English, what benefits can we get for Qi?" The guard captain shook his head and said, "It's killing the Dutch, and in the end it's just for nothing."

"Why do you worry so much!" The guard said with a smile: "Shouldn't this be the responsibility of our king and the cabinet members? Don't worry, our country of Qi has been established for more than 20 years. Under his leadership, he has never suffered a big loss so far!"

(End of this chapter)