African Entrepreneurship Records

  Chapter 45 Ron Rhoda

  Ron Roda, a small stronghold in the current East African colony is about 60 kilometers away in a straight line to the south, which is the Portuguese colony of Mozambique, and 30 kilometers to the east, it is the sphere of influence of the Sultanate of Zanzibar.

   September 13, 1866.

  The geographical survey team of the East African colony conducted an investigation here and determined that it is suitable for human habitation.

  On October 7th, the first batch of immigrants arrived in Ronroda. So far, the population of Ronroda is more than 600.

  Ron Roda is the capital of the lower coastal area planned by Ernst. The entire lower coastal area covers an area of ​​nearly 80,000 square kilometers.

  On the land of 80,000 square kilometers, there are only more than 600 Chinese immigrants in Ron Roda and a small number of Germans.

  Ron Roda is nearly 400 kilometers away from the first town, separated by the Central Coastal Area. The farthest administrative region from the first town is the Lake Sauron area. The distance from its capital, Kigoma, to the first town is about 1,000 kilometers.

  So the entire East African colony, even with the addition of indigenous peoples, appears to be sparsely populated, and the development of the East African colony still has a long way to go.

  Ron Roda, as the capital of the Lower Binhai District, currently only has the name of the capital, and its size is only equivalent to a village in the Upper Binhai District.

  The more remote East Malawi Lake District is even more difficult to explain. The exploration work has only been completed, and the immigrants assigned by the first town are still on their way to Songgaia.

  The situation in the Central Binhai District is relatively better, because it is relatively close to the Upper Binhai District. At present, the number of immigrants has reached more than 1,000.

  Ron Rhoda's chief executive is a German named Thomas, who was a member of the original East African Colonial Mercenary Corps.

  His deputy is Li Wenhua, a student who graduated from the Heixingen Military Academy, and the Germans in the East African colonies have basically joined the army. The second-echelon Chinese sheriff is also selected from the students who graduated from the Heixingen Military Academy.

  So it can be said that the entire East African colony is currently a military government, and all immigrants act according to military-style plans and instructions, and produce and live.

   Fortunately, the colony adopts a collective management method, and the immigrants are relatively honest and obedient to orders, unlike the European people who have a sense of resistance.

  If it is true that these immigrants are given the right to live freely like other countries, then these colonial officials of military origin must be caught blind. After all, they are not the kind of professional bureaucrats with administrative experience.

  Collective management is just like what they do in the army. It is enough to follow the orders of the chief step by step. Before the East African colonies are fully developed, they only need to develop according to Ernst's instructions.

  As a student who graduated from the Hexingen Military Academy, Li Wenhua has nothing to say about his loyalty to Ernst. Compared with the days in the Qing Dynasty, studying at the Hexingen Military Academy has reshaped the three views of students like Li Wenhua.

  During the brainwashing and cramming education, the students of Hechingen Military Academy subconsciously understood that it was Ernst who pulled them out of dire straits, and the only way to repay the principal was to work hard.

  Li Wenhua also came to the East African colony with such a mood. In the colony conference on the development of new land in the large area, Li Wenhua was selected as the second in command of the Lower Binhai District.

  At present, the East African colonies are basically managed by two groups, the Germans and the students of the Hechingen Military Academy.

   Among them, the students of Hexingen Military Academy played the role of a bridge and an important part of promulgating colonial policies to immigrants.

  They are responsible for preaching policies, educating the people, managing military affairs and other important tasks.

   All official documents in the colonies must be in German, so those colonial policies must be translated by them to the immigrants.

  At the same time, the East African colonies are promoting Germanization, so these immigrants must be re-educated. However, for these old farmers who have been illiterate and have never read books, learning is very difficult.

  So the colony can only provide them with simple German education, first learn 800 important German vocabulary, and learn two or three every day.

  If immigrants want to learn German thoroughly, they can only start from the baby, starting from the next generation. At that time, the East African colonies will move compulsory education into the colonies.

  All of this requires preparation time. Ernst is training a group of future colonial teachers at the Hechingen Military Academy. After they complete their studies, they will start the century-old project of education in the colonies.

  The students this time are mainly composed of orphans from the German region. They study together with the Chinese students in the classroom. In the future, they will go to the East African colonies with these Chinese students and set up their own schools in the East African colonies.

  …

  Ron Roda's geographical location is relatively superior, so there are three indigenous tribes distributed less than a few miles to the west.

  The scale of these indigenous tribes is still relatively large, so the colonial security forces need to be dispatched to clean them up. Among the immigrants sent to Ron Roda this time, there are 200 security forces.

  After the distribution of guns and ammunition, Thomas and Li Wenhua began to lead the team to set off. The first tribe to be cleared by the security forces of the Ron Roda colony was named Chigugu.

  There were only a few hundred people, and the security forces equipped with horses scattered the natives in one charge. After burning the tribal houses built with thatch and branches, the colonial security forces set off for the next destination.

  The second and third indigenous tribes are located to the north of the Chigugu tribe, among which the Muweina tribe has the most people, and the Lindy tribe has the most dangerous terrain.

  The way to deal with the Muwena tribe is similar to that of Qigugu, that is, it takes a little more time, but the Lindy tribe is really difficult to fight.

  The cavalry is useless and can only use more ammunition to consume the enemy. Fortunately, the gates and fences of the Lindy tribe are made of wood.

  The Colonial Vigilante used rockets doused in vegetable oil to ignite the Lindy tribe's fence, and finally in the scorched earth Vigilante soldiers charged and crushed the last native tribe near Ron Roda.

  The remnants of the three indigenous tribes could only flee westward, and there was a safer area near Ron Roda.

  After cleaning up the wild animals near the Ron Rhoda colony, the Colonial Security Force joined the immigrants and started Ron Rhoda's security work.

  The initially established Ron Roda is a small village with civil structures. It is relatively close to the sphere of influence of the Portuguese and the Arabs, so in terms of construction, the defensive function has been added.

  Watch towers, ditches, fences and suspension bridges with a certain degree of defense all give immigrants who come here a sense of solidity and security.

  Ron Roda is also located in the coastal plains of Africa, so rice is mainly grown here, but tobacco is the economic crop of choice.

  Tobacco planting can provide raw materials for Hexingen Tobacco Company. In the past, Hexingen Tobacco Company mainly imported from businessmen from Britain, Portugal and the Netherlands, and then processed and sold them.

  So the cost is still relatively high, and East Africa is more suitable for tobacco growth, and the land area is also large. As long as it is developed enough to supply the needs of the entire Heixingen Tobacco Company.

  Ron Roda is the first step in experimenting with tobacco planting. If this planting is successful, it will be extended to the entire lower coastal area in the future.

  The Central Binhai District, like the Upper Binhai District, still mainly grows sisal, because the sales of sisal are really good, and the market needs more.

There are more competitors in tobacco cultivation, especially in North and South America, which are important producing areas for tobacco cultivation, and most of the tobacco in the East African colonies is used by the Hexingen Tobacco Company. The main purpose is to reduce costs while also taking into account development. colony.

  So the colony does not intend to blindly expand some crops that are theoretically suitable for East Africa. Before there is a stable market, it is still small-scale planting, such as coffee and rubber.

  (end of this chapter)