African Nationhood

Chapter 275 Tax Resistance Riot (Part )

In February 1890, the Matabeleland Administrative Office and the Lunda Administrative Office issued a joint announcement: In view of the serious shortage of revenue and expenditure of the Nanhua Company, in order to make up for the company's financial gap, new taxes were levied on the people in the Kingdom.

Special tax one: capitation surcharge
  Based on the head count, each person will be levied an additional 100 yuan military stamps per year.

Special Tax 2: Tax on livestock occupying pasture
  Based on individual livestock, an additional military stamp of 100 yuan is levied per year.

Special tax three: land pollution tax
  Based on the number of fields, an additional military stamp of 100 yuan per mu will be levied every year.

Special tax four: refined salt consumption tax
  Based on the number of kilograms of refined salt, an additional 20 yuan military stamps will be levied per kilogram.

……

There are a total of 24 items, and each indigenous resident pays an extra 600-1000 yuan in military stamps out of thin air.

The forced tax increases in the past two years have caused the death of many indigenous people. In order to survive, the indigenous people have basically had their property confiscated and can only be reduced to indentured labor.

There are only a few senior chiefs left who can barely support themselves.

If taxes are increased like this, not to mention the extremely poor indigenous people, even the senior chiefs will not be able to survive.

Thinking of the various forced showdowns and squeezes carried out by the Administrative Office in the past two years, the few indigenous chiefs could no longer sit still and started collaborating in private.

The chiefs of the Shona people and some Tswana leaders in the Matabeleland Kingdom quietly gathered in a dense forest in the north of the kingdom, near Victoria Falls.

The goal of their rally was to resist the Ngoni people. These indigenous people knew that they could not defeat the South China Company, but they must eliminate the brutal Ngoni people.

These Ngoni people were so cruel. Not only did they deduct the rations provided by Nanhua Company to the workers, but they also went to any lengths to collect taxes, burn, kill, and loot.

Many tribal women and children were massacred and raped by them, and they also seized the fields and livestock of the Shona people.

These grudges must be avenged. After overthrowing the Ngoni people, they gathered to negotiate with the Nanhua Company. They demanded fair treatment and benevolent rule.

Nanhua Company knew the inside story of this gathering because among the Shona and Tswana people who participated in the gathering were insiders and undercover agents from the Military Intelligence Office of Nanhua Company.

These insiders and undercover agents had already been trained when Nanhua Company occupied the two kingdoms, and the training place was in the dark prison of the Labor Department.

These undercover insiders provided Nanhua Company with a lot of information. Even the property status of the indigenous chiefs was clearly understood by Nanhua Company.

This gathering of indigenous people was also instigated by these undercover insiders. They even obtained some firearms and equipment. Although they were all matchlocks and flintlocks, they also gave the indigenous people great courage.

……

The situation in the Kingdom of Lunda is somewhat special. Due to the tax increase by the South China Company, many remaining indigenous people fled to Portuguese West Africa, the Congo Free State, and even the Rhodesia colony controlled by Governor Cecil Rhodes. .

The remaining indigenous people did not have the courage to resist the Nanhua Company. Only a few people were agitated, and their goals were also very low. They hoped that the Nanhua Company would replace the Lunda people's tax collection team and supervisors.

Several military chiefs from the Nanhua Company's Military Department and Yang Kuan from the Labor Department were quite amused by the intelligence sent back by insiders from the two kingdoms.

Since someone is willing to cause trouble, they must be given the opportunity to do something bigger.

If they don't cause trouble, Nanhua Company won't be able to clean it up.

Therefore, the military headquarters of the Nanhua Company issued a new order to make the oppressed indigenous people bolder. They could first practice with some weak hostile classes.

……

Under the control of the Nanhua Company's military headquarters, the insiders were like gods possessed, guiding the indigenous resistance forces to rush towards the "lonely" Lunda or Ngoni tribes.

After these indigenous rebels successively raided the homes of more than a dozen weakly defended oppressors, their mentality changed, stimulated by the wealth, women, and blood.

The previous mode of mild resistance quickly turned into violent resistance. Their team grew stronger and their number increased.

The Lunda and Ngoni people were afraid. After all, their numbers were too small compared to the angry indigenous coalition.

They asked the South China Company for help, and the South China Company's garrison generously gave them Martini-Henry rifles and bullets to suppress the rebel coalition.

You can give more rifles, but the bullets must be stuck, and you cannot give more, otherwise they will be taken by the resisting natives, which is "shooting yourself in the foot."

When the two sides launched a war, this incident immediately alarmed the surrounding countries. Both the Boer and Boer heads of state called to inquire about Nanhua Company. Shi Jintang replied that there was only a small-scale rebellion and it would be put down soon.

Governor Cecil Rhodes came to ask for details in person, and Shi Jintang smiled and reassured him.

Tell him that the matter is easy to resolve, but it will take some time and not to worry.

Cecil Rhodes will naturally not be easily persuaded. He will continue to support Chief Han Jia after the Nanhua Company quells the rebellion.

Funding Chief Hanjia had already started when Cecil Rhodes came to Shi Jintang.

Therefore, Portuguese East Africa was not peaceful during this period. The Baruei tribe had accumulated thousands of people in the Zambezi region and had begun to attack some plantations controlled by the "Prazo". Fierce conflicts broke out between the two sides.

After the Barue people suffered setbacks, their Hanga chief became more determined, but only asked for more support.

Cecil Rhodes also came here with the intention of causing the Nanhua Company to bleed. However, seeing the aboriginal riots in the Nanhua Company, he was a little unsure and wanted to wait and see.

Naturally, Shi Jintang could not disappoint Cecil Rhodes and decisively ordered to suppress the rebellion of the indigenous people.

The Matabeleland garrison raided the rebels' nest and massacred tens of thousands of indigenous coalition troops in the Matabeleland Kingdom.

After seeing the "attack" of the Matabeleland garrison, the rebellion of the indigenous coalition forces immediately ceased after receiving the news.

Many indigenous people were frightened by the rapid and violent destructive weapons of the Nanhua Company, and they began to flee across the country.

……

Cecil Rhodes was relieved and then proposed that Nanhua Company should also supply firearms and bullets to the indigenous people of the Barue tribe.

Shi Jintang readily agreed and directly gave 1000 Martini-Henry rifles and 5 rounds of ammunition.

Cecil and Rhodes returned satisfied, and then the Baruet tribe in Portuguese East Africa became stronger again.

Then, relying on the newly acquired firearms and bullets, they captured a "Prazzo" manor, and after retrieval, they obtained a large amount of cane sugar, firearms, ivory and gold.

At this time, Dr. John Jameson, a representative of the Rhodesia Company, and Yang Kuan, a representative of the Nanhua Company, appeared.

Dr. Jameson asked for most of the cane sugar, ivory, and gold to compensate for the firearms and bullets previously given to the Hanga chief.

The South China Company only had a small amount of property, and his main target was the white women in the "Prazo" manor.

There are nearly 200 "prazos" in Portuguese East Africa. The number of these white women is not small, at least a thousand.

These women he could take back and serve as immigrants' wives or prostitutes.

At this point, the two British companies reached a secret agreement with the Hanga chiefs. The Baruet people took the lead in attacking the Portuguese, and the two British companies provided military assistance.

……

Because the Barue tribe resisted the Portuguese, it attracted a large number of Yao people in Portuguese East Africa to respond.

Soon the power of the Hanga chiefs grew to tens of thousands, and now the entire Portuguese East African colonial government was panicked.

The newly arrived governor of Portuguese East Africa, Antonio Enes, not only asked for help from the mainland, but also asked for help from the neighboring South China Company and the Northern Rhodesia Company.

Governor Cecil Rhodes of the Northern Rhodesia Company called back: Sorry, I am dealing with matters between the Natal Colony and the Zulu Kingdom and cannot spare manpower for the time being.

General Manager Shi Jintang of Nanhua Company also called back: Sorry, our company is quelling the rebellion of the indigenous coalition forces in the territory and cannot spare manpower for the time being.

Cecil Rhodes was lying, but Shi Jintang did not lie. The rebellion in the two kingdoms "rised" again.

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  (End of this chapter)