African Entrepreneurship Records

  Chapter 127 Las Campoli Trading Market

   Hans Barker exhaled the last puff of smoke, and threw the handle of the cigarette in the sand beside him. A gust of dry wind blew through it, and it quickly burned out.

  Feeling that his throat was a bit dry, Hans Buck turned on the kettle and took another sip of water to moisten his throat.

  After about four or five minutes, everyone started to get up and pack their equipment, re-board the saddle on the camel's back, and continue the boring patrol road.

The dromedary camels in East African colonies are mainly distributed in the Middle East and North Africa. Dromedary camels are most suitable for desert environments, especially tropical deserts. They can go without water for several months (mainly get water from plants), even if they don’t eat or drink It can also last for a week.

   Bactrian camels are mainly distributed in the Far East and Central Asia, suitable for deserts, Gobi and grasslands, and are more cold-resistant than dromedaries.

  Both have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of functional use. Bactrian camels are suitable for carrying heavy loads and have good endurance, while dromedary camels are suitable for riding and run faster.

  …

   "Captain, look ahead, is that a person moving!" Heinz said to Hans Barker.

   Not long after he left, Heinz saw a moving black line appear in the sea of ​​sand.

  Hans Barker squinted his eyes carefully as Heinz said, and saw a black western line in the desert far ahead that was slowly moving towards Kenya.

  Hans Barker picked up the binoculars under him and put it in front of his eyes. The scene in the distance was immediately oversized. After careful observation, it turned out that a group of people dressed in Arabian clothes were crossing the border.

   "Brothers, get ready for battle and take out your guns." Hans Buck ordered.

  The atmosphere in the whole team suddenly became tense. Everyone took off the guns behind them, untied the wrapped gauze, and held them in front of them.

  Hans Barker drove the camel, trotted all the way with the troops, and chased after the group of Arabs in the direction they were heading.

   "Stop! What are you doing?" Hans Buck stopped in front of the Arabs and asked the Arabs?

  There are Arabs and blacks in Somalia. If it was a black Hans Barker, he would not be so polite. Generally, he would directly fire a warning shot to deter him first.

  But the Arabs are different. The Arabs are mainly engaged in commercial activities in Africa. East Africa itself does business with the Arabs, so the attitude towards the Arabs is still friendly.

Even in the Sultanate of Zanzibar, there was a little "small friction" between the two sides. Ernst did not say that he would kill it all, but left Zanzibar Island for the Sultanate of Zanzibar to live in. Zanzibar Island is As the core of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, it is quite interesting to do so.

  Hearing Hans Barker's inquiry, the Arabs looked confused, after all, they didn't understand the language.

  Heinz stepped forward and repeated Hans Buck's words in Arabic.

   These Arabs can understand. Heinz worked in Dar es Salaam before, so he can speak some Arabic and Swahili.

   "My friend, we are an Arab caravan. We are going to the south for trade. I don't know where you are from?" The leader of the Arab caravan said to Hans Barker.

  Different from the natives in inland Africa, the Arabs have seen the world, especially these Arab businessmen who are traveling around, naturally know the real guys in the hands of Hans Barker and his team, so they are more respectful.

   "We are the patrol team of the royal territory of Hexingen in East Africa, and we are ordered to patrol the territory here to prevent anyone from crossing the border." Hans Barker said.

   "The royal territory of Hexingen East Africa? I don't know if your side is the country that neighbors the Sultanate of Zanzibar in the south." The Arab businessman asked.

   "That's right, now you can tell me where you are going? What are you doing!" Hans Barker asked.

   After confirming the identity of the other party, the Arab businessman became more respectful. The Arab countries have been weakened so badly over the years that even the Ottoman Empire cannot protect itself, and the Indian Ocean is almost becoming a bathtub for European countries.

The Arab businessman replied: "My name is Ekaramu, and I am the person in charge of this caravan. We traded with those tribes from Hama (Mogadishu) to the south, mainly to buy some medicinal materials and other special products. .”

   "So it is!" Hans Barker was relieved, and he said to Ekaramu: "You don't have to go south any more!"

   "The south is already the land of the Hexingen East African royal family. Whether the tribes there still exist is unknown now. You still say to go back early, maybe you can recover some losses."

   "Your Excellency, why do you say that!" Ekaramu asked Hans Barker.

"Now, the entire south is under our rule, and all external forces, including aboriginals, merchants, and tribes, are not allowed to enter. This is an order issued by the colonial government of East Africa. After you go back, you can also bring news to other people so that they don't have to Here we are," Hans Buck said.

   Hearing this, Ikaramu was a little anxious. I couldn’t do a business today, but I can bear it. After all, I haven’t been away for a few days. If there is no business in the future, wouldn’t I lose my job?

  Ekaramu was impatient in his heart, but he still said kindly: "Your Excellency, we are all doing some small businesses, and we all rely on this trade route to support our families! How can we live if you cut off the trade route!"

  Who cares about your life? Just when Hans Buck was about to forcibly drive away the group of people, Heinz came to Hans Buck and whispered something in his ear.

   "My brain, how could I forget this!" Hans Buck annoyed.

"Okay, don't be in a hurry, don't make a sad face here. Who is that? Ekalamu! Do you know the place Raskanpoli (the small town at the southernmost tip of Somalia)?" Hans Barker said .

   "Your Excellency, are you talking about a village on the east coast!" Ekaramu said uncertainly.

   "Yes, that's right there, that village. If you walk a few miles south along the coastline, you will see a trading market. If you want to get goods, go there!" Hans Barker said.

  Ekaramu is still a little embarrassed: "But, sir, this needs to go around a lot, and I don't know if there is any goods we need in that place!"

"You don't have to worry about that. Most of the products you can see in the south are available there. Of course, I can't guarantee the medicinal materials, but at least let you bring some products back. Wouldn't it be good to get back the money?" Hans Barker said.

  The Las Campoli trading market, needless to say, is another trading place of the same nature as the Dar es Salaam slave market.

  The slave market does not necessarily have slaves, but there can also be ivory, sisal, and even Hexingen’s temporary commodities...

Of course, the Las Campoli trading market is definitely not a slave market. The East African colonies are still relatively loyal. Ernst was a little embarrassed when he beat the Sultanate of Zanzibar back then. In order to appease (relieve Zanzibar The Sultanate's resistance to ceding the country), the East African colonies packaged the slave business to the Sultanate of Zanzibar.

   That is to say, the Sultanate of Zanzibar is the only seller of slaves in the East African colonies, and what it does is monopoly trading.

   At present, the Sultanate of Zanzibar is still very satisfied with this

   "Besides, if you go south now, you may not be able to see those tribes and villages, so it's better to go to Las Campoli to trade!" Hans Barker and Ekaramu hinted.

At this point, Ekaramu finally understands the hidden information in Hans Barker's previous words. When we first met, Hans Barker said that the existence of the southern tribes is a problem. Now I can emphasize it again. This is not Are you showing what happened?

Ekaramu’s heart is cold. This Heixingen is really not a good stubble. As a businessman, Ekaramu has traveled all over the world and has a lot of knowledge. He has been to Liberia in North Africa in the west, Damascus in the east, and has been to the south. In some parts of Kenya, all kinds of things have been seen a lot.

  In this area, there are too many disputes between Arabs and Westerners, Arabs and indigenous people, and indigenous tribes and indigenous tribes.

  Now there is a new player in the East Africa region, and the strength is good. It seems that this business will not be done. We can only try our luck in Las Campoli, which the Heixingen forces say.

Las Campori is a transliterated place name, and it is an important stop on many commercial roads. Therefore, for Ekaramu, who has been doing business in this area all year round, he knows where it is when he hears Las Campori, although they The accent is very inaccurate.

   "Thank you for your reminders. Let's head east to Las Campoli to try our luck." Ekaramu said to Hans Barker and others.

   "Also, you should try to walk as far north as possible in the desert, and don't run into our people. In case the next team's officer isn't as talkative as me, you understand!" Hans Barker emphasized.

   "Thank you, thank you!" Ekaramu thanked Hans Barker from the bottom of his heart this time, which was life-saving information.

   Afterwards, the two teams separated, and Ekaramu, who was desperate for his life, naturally withdrew a long way to the north before continuing to turn east and head towards Las Campoli.

  And Hans Buck and others continued westward towards Divo (name of the stronghold).

  …

   Four days later.

   "This is the Las Campoli trading market, and it seems to be of a good scale!" Ekaramu said.

  Las Campori Trading Market, established by the East African colonial government, is not far from the south of the former Ras Campori Village.

  Ekaramu observed that some Arab businessmen have already started doing business here, and these are Arab businessmen who were persuaded to come here like Akaramu.

  The management of the market is the faction called Hexingen. This Hexingen market is patrolled by armed personnel, who are dressed in the same clothes as Hans Barker and his party that they saw on the road that day.

  The East African colonial government specially prepared many special products, such as ivory and cloves, sisal weaving, food and European industrial products.

   After tying the camel, Ekaramu led the people to the market.

   "Well, the quality of this weaving is good!" Ekaramu was thinking in his mind with the linen produced by Tanga in his hand.

  He pulled the sample with his hands, and it was quite strong. This kind of good quality and cheap fabric is also very marketable for ordinary residents in Somalia.

  Ekara wood is mainly interested in the quality of sisal cloth. If you want to use this cloth as a material to process some daily utensils, such as carpets and utensils, you can add some as decoration, or save costs, anyway, the price is not expensive.

The Las Campoli market mainly sells some raw materials, such as unprocessed ivory, animal skins, hemp rope, linen, logs, grain, etc. Except for ivory, most of them are needed in Somalia and North Africa. Of course, ivory is highly profitable. The ones are also very good.

   It is a pity that there are too few Arab merchants in the Las Campoli trading market, and many of the products used for trading cannot be sold, such as salt, which is a must for many indigenous people.

East African table salt is mainly divided into two parts, one part is the salt farm built after obtaining the coastal area, and the other part is imported from Germany. Germany is an important salt export place in Europe, especially from the port of Hamburg, a large amount can be brought to East Africa to solve the problem The problem with salt is that the quality is good.

  Of course, Arabic currency is still acceptable. As for some gadgets used to deceive the natives, the East African colonies naturally look down on them.

  Many Arab businessmen who came this time could only look forward to the goods and sigh, and then went back to raise money and other materials accepted by East Africa.

  Ekara wood has been harvested, and the price of linen is not high, so he bought a large batch and prepared to take it back for sale.

The Ras Campori trading market has just been built, but it provides a commercial channel for South Somalia. Many commodities that once needed to be transshipped from North Africa (Egypt) can now be bought in Ras Campori, and the price is also cheaper , which greatly facilitated the Arab merchants to earn the price difference.

  (end of this chapter)