Chapter 694 Tanzania Colony
In East Africa, under Franz's personal control, the Austrian Empire's Tanzania colony finally improved.
With a large number of Indian Dalits being transported to the colonies, the problem of severe labor shortage was finally solved.
Language barrier is fatal to most officials in the world. If left unchecked, administrative efficiency will be infinitely close to nothing.
However, this situation is very common in the Austrian Empire, so even if there is a language barrier, it is not to the extent that all actions cannot be carried out.
In fact, the Viceroyalty of Tanzania also has translators, but there are not many of them. Most of them are believers who have developed the church in India over the years, so the risk of being tricked by translators is minimized.
However, it is a bit nonsense to promote ethnic equality in the colonies of this era. It is still the old routine of free people in clerical countries.
These Dalits (untouchables) are not slaves, but they are in debt and need to work in exchange for food and freedom.
However, Franz still underestimated the impact of Hinduism and the caste system on these Indian untouchables. At first, these people worked very hard, so hard that they died of exhaustion directly under the hot African sun.
These people had no objection at all to kneeling down to pick cotton, and some even didn't care if their knees were bruised to pieces.
At first, the officials of the Tanzania colony reported to Franz in high spirits that these "black slaves" were so useful! He had never seen such a hard-working and cheap labor force.
(Dalits have relatively dark skin, but their Asian faces are very different from black people.)
But soon these Dalits began to die in large numbers, causing panic among colonial officials.
In fact, Franz, who was far away in Vienna, was also very puzzled. He was actually ready to compete with these Dalits.
Because the Japanese in California had taught him a lesson before, Franz couldn't help but think of Kikuchiyo's famous comment about Japanese farmers in "Seven Samurai":
"Japanese farmers are the most cunning. They don't give you rice when they ask for it, but they don't have it when they ask for wheat. In fact, they have it. They have everything. Open the floor and take a look. If it's not underground, it's in the storage room. You will definitely find a lot of things, rice, salt, beans, wine
Go deep into the valley to see hidden rice fields. They look loyal but are the best liars. They will lie no matter what!
When there is a war, they kill the remaining soldiers and seize weapons. listen! The so-called Japanese farmers are the stingiest, most cunning, cowardly, bad-hearted, imbecile, and murderers. "
Franz initially planned to use the Japanese to supplement the labor force in low-end industries, and farming was their old profession.
Franz felt that there would be no problem if he was a professional counterpart. Ask yourself, whether it is transporting by sea or supplying food rations, these Japanese immigrants have not been treated badly at all.
And it’s just farming, what else could happen?
It really happened. The yield of farmland managed by Japanese immigrants in California dropped by 70%, which was simply worse than a natural disaster.
At first, the colonial government in California was still looking for reasons, because things were so outrageous that Vienna would not believe it.
Franz also had informants in California. After receiving the information, he directly ordered the California government to search the homes of Japanese immigrants.
As a result, a large amount of agricultural products and wine were discovered, and some people even got muskets from nowhere and prepared to resist.
However, the colonial army of the Austrian Empire was too experienced in dealing with such stragglers, and they quickly eliminated the resistance forces.
At the same time, because the agricultural areas of California are all great plains, the Japanese could not escape even if they wanted to. They could only be chased and killed by the cavalry after their physical strength was exhausted.
In the end, the harvest season turned into a blood sacrifice. More than 15,000 Japanese immigrants were killed, but Franz discovered a new use for Japanese immigrants.
In East Africa, Franz also did not expect these Dalits to be any better than the Japanese. But the news from Tanzania surprised him.
The Austrian colonists in Tanzania had no choice but to divide them into several groups, and then use half-day work and half-day rest to reduce labor deaths.
Eventually, the church's investigative team found out the truth. The working model of the Austrian Empire's colonies and the attitude of the colonists towards Dalits was very much like an upgrading ritual among branches of Hinduism.
According to legend, if the Dalits, the lowest class, accumulate enough merit, they will have the opportunity to be taken across the River Styx by the priests of Brahma. They will have the opportunity to worship the gods, so that after their death, they can reincarnate into a higher realm. to enjoy the prosperity of the world.
(Dalits are normally not allowed to worship gods.)
That's right, it's just a reward for their hard work, which makes these people mistake Tanzania for paradise.
But not all Dalits have this belief. Only the untouchables in the Kalaika region have such legends.
However, Franz was not prepared to use these people to death. Although transportation from India to Tanzania was convenient, it was not in line with his philosophy.
These Dalits are easy to control and have no self-respect at all. They do whatever the officials of the Tanzanian colony tell them to do.
Hendry Vandermeer's learning ability has greatly affected the local black people. Hendry Vandermeer would have jumped up and cursed if he had not been paralyzed by the work efficiency of these Dalits.
Dalits soon got used to the life in East Africa. The heat here, coupled with the strong sunshine, would easily cause sunburn or even heatstroke and dehydration to white Europeans.
However, this is nothing to the Dalits who live in harsh environments all year round. In fact, the temperature in southern India is much higher than that in Tanzania, with summer temperatures above 40 degrees all year round.
In comparison, their time in Tanzania was as relaxing as a vacation for these Dalits.
The most important thing is that they can't finish the rice they won't be able to eat in their lifetime.
Austrians rarely eat rice, and they eat it as a vegetable, so this makes it cheaper for Dalits.
It is also very easy to manage the Dalits. Even if the colonial officials draw a circle on the ground, those people will sleep and defecate directly inside without leaving even half a step, let alone escaping.
But it was impossible for Franz to let them sleep in the pen. Officials of the Tanzanian colony ordered Dalit laborers to build houses for themselves.
Every morning a whistle blows and the Dalits get up. Then when the third whistle blows, they are gathered together to eat.
After eating, these people would go to work with the colonial officials. The specific work was decided entirely on demand.
Of course, some people who show talent for planting do not have to follow around, they are responsible for taking care of the farmland.
Another point is that although these Dalits behaved submissively when facing the colonists of the Austrian Empire, they always dealt hard blows to the local black uncles.
Franz later analyzed that they might have finally discovered someone darker than themselves.