Chapter 245 Colony
Thousands of kilometers away from Constantinople in East Africa, the Romanians who had stayed behind began construction on this land. More than 70 people, including missionaries, businessmen, craftsmen, and doctors, stayed. In a short period of time, they built docks, markets, chapels and other buildings. They also planned to build 100 residential houses and develop farms and pastures. In total, there are more than 20 construction projects on the agenda.
With a goal, they needed manpower. With the funds Mason left them, they purchased 200 prisoners of war and slaves from nearby tribes and Arab traders. Under the action of the whip, the efficiency is not ordinary.
Alessandro walked out of the newly built house. After living for a long time, he finally adapted to the climate here. As the newly appointed administrator, he had the obligation to protect this piece of imperial land.
"Sir, another imperial merchant ship has stopped at the dock."
"I know, let them do their job, I'm going to look elsewhere."
As Rome explored eastward, and some merchants followed their lead into the Red Sea via Egypt, this proposed port became a safe haven and trading point for merchant ships. The surrounding tribes exchanged the goods they produced with them, and the merchants also obtained slaves, ivory and other things from them.
Alessandro then walked to the chapel, where Father Gerasimovich was leading the believers in prayer. He was a Ruthenian and a fervent Orthodox Christian. When he learned that he was going to spread the gospel in a distant place, he immediately signed up and then began to preach here.
But it is not that difficult to preach in this land. Not to mention heretics, there are also heretics here. Although Abyssinia under the rule of the Solomonic dynasty believed in Christianity, they believed in the Eastern Orthodox Church and belonged to the Oriental Orthodox Church, rather than communing with the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Eastern Roman Orthodox Church.
In such difficult circumstances, it is remarkable that the priest is still here converting more than two dozen people to Orthodox Christianity. At the same time, he was also involved in the governance of the colony, so it was understandable that Alessandro would discuss it with him.
After the prayer, the priest found the chief waiting nearby and quickly came over to talk to him.
"Dear Sir, what kind of wind brings you here?"
"Father, what do you think of this land?" Alessandro asked the priest first how he felt about this land. The priest did not hesitate and simply said that this is a land that needs to be purified by God. The church has an obligation to spread the gospel of God.
Alessandro expressed his support for the priest's decision, but he said nothing once he asked for financial and other support. Now is the period of major construction, where is the money? If it weren't for the tolls paid by the merchant ships and the income from trade, we would have been unable to make ends meet.
Moreover, the troops and weapons in this area are only enough to delay the attack, but not enough to protect themselves. The best way now is to accumulate strength and hold on until the caravan to India comes back. At the same time, he relied on the passing merchant ships to bring the news back to Constantinople and requested more support.
But before he could write, support arrived. Representatives from the Southern Chamber of Commerce came to discuss loans, trade, and immigration issues with Alessandro.
The Chamber of Commerce already knew that the fleet had established the first colony in the East, and the boss behind it was far-sighted and had already considered the problem of insufficient manpower in the colony, so he asked them to prepare 120 freedmen and 280 slaves to go together. This was a great help to colonies where manpower was scarce.
"Do you feel anything different when you come here?"
In the relatively simple reception room, Alessandro was asking the Chamber of Commerce representative.
"Well, it's a lot worse than Constantinople, but it's a good start. We all know the difficulties here. The Chamber of Commerce agreed to lend 200,000 lei to help here, and will also help immigrants."
Hearing this, Alessandro was a little shocked. He didn't expect that when he asked for help, the rescue came. This speed is simply not too fast.
"Not only that, Lord Caesar also wrote a letter of appointment after learning about it. Congratulations, you have become the official chief executive here."
In the appointment letter written by Peter, in addition to appointing the chief executive, the place was named after Andronikos, exempted from taxes for five years, encouraged to continue their efforts, allowed to do business with others, etc.
Alessandro accepted the appointment, and his first order was to set aside a piece of land as a branch and business building for the Southern Chamber of Commerce. The first batch of loans and land fees totaling 70,000 lei have been received, and he can use this money to continue expansion and construction.
There are now 200 free people and 400 slaves in this colony, which is already the size of a village. In this case, supporting facilities must also be established to gain long-term control of this land.
The surrounding tribes were curious about this town, but after seeing that they could obtain unseen goods through trade, trade between the two parties began.
Frankincense and myrrh were traded here, as well as ivory and slaves from the south, as well as grain and timber. It's a pity that there are no spices such as pepper and nutmeg. Otherwise, why go all the way to India? You can just stay here.
In today's market, several merchants from the west brought a red fruit. It is said that the food they prepare for soldiers on the expedition can make them feel more energetic after eating it, and it can be brewed and blended.
Such magical things naturally attracted the favor of some people. They bought some and planned to transport them to Constantinople so that people there could taste the drinks here.
If Alessandro wants to expand his territory here, he must make it prosperous. Although it is located at the node of the spice trade route, it is not as important as Aden opposite. The tolls collected will be less. If we want to increase the number of merchant ships, we have to open Suez.
The current canal concept has been supported by more than 2,000 black people with actions. They are digging non-stop every day. Because it is Mamluk territory, they have to keep a low profile. When will it be possible to cross Egypt in 151 days?
Moreover, both sides of the Red Sea are pagan forces. If Christians want to have a place here and control it, they need the strong support of their hometown. Although they have the help of Caesar, it is undoubtedly best if they have the support of Basilius.
What was the purpose of colonization? During the Industrial Revolution, it was labor, raw materials and markets, but in this era, luxury goods were undoubtedly the goal of colonization. Spices, sugar, porcelain, silk, ivory, gems, gold and silver, these things were the goals of the Age of Discovery. These things are of high value and difficult to find, and there will be other forces competing for them. For this reason, whoever controls the origin and trading port first will get the upper hand in this game. In the original world, it was Portugal, but in the current world In the middle is Rome.