Chapter 140: Central Asian Horse Bandits
By the end of July, the war had concluded, leading to a surge in immigrants from East Africa. Over the past six months, Ernst had been actively recruiting settlers, which quickly emptied South Germany of its population.
To capitalize on the newly acquired territories, the Hechingen Consortium intensified its immigration efforts. They not only used all their ships for immigration but also hired additional vessels from the Nordic region.
With the war over, the immediate demand for immigrants was met, but the immigration potential of South Germany had been exhausted by Ernst's rapid efforts. It would take some time to accumulate more potential immigrants.
As a result, not only did the number of German immigrants decrease significantly, but the Far East and the Austro-Hungarian Empire also experienced reduced immigration levels due to their earlier development.
The Far East had entered a period of political stability, particularly after quelling the Nian Army, which had reestablished order in the north. With major conflicts in the Central Plains and North China winding down, the Qing Dynasty sought to rebuild its local populations.
Additionally, immigration conditions in East Africa had been stringent, screening out many unfit individuals, particularly those who were sickly or frail. The physically weak were unlikely to survive the challenging journey at sea.
European immigrants, on the other hand, often intended to return to their home countries to visit family, so complaints about poor conditions during their voyage to East Africa could deter others from making the journey.
The situation for immigrants from the Far East was even more challenging, especially those who arrived on Dutch ships. They were often treated as cargo, and their living conditions were hardly better than those of black slaves. Fortunately, East Africa's payment system was based on survival rates, so Dutch shipowners did not exploit their passengers excessively.
Among the various immigrant groups, only those from Paraguay and the Middle East remained stable. In Paraguay, the war was still ongoing, but the coalition forces were gradually approaching victory. The Hechingen Consortium had been actively recruiting settlers as the front advanced into the interior of Paraguay.
In the Middle East, immigrants were predominantly women. Zanzibar merchants, who had expanded their operations significantly, managed not only the slave trade with East Africa but also the sale of products from the Hechingen Consortium. Goods and tobacco flowed into the Middle East, and Zanzibar merchants paid East African colonial women in return.
This practice was essentially human trafficking, but the Sultanate of Zanzibar profited from it. The source of Middle Eastern immigrants had expanded beyond Armenian populations in the Ottoman Empire.
Russian nobles had no qualms about their integrity, and the products of the Hechingen Consortium were considered hard currency in Tsarist Russia. Officials in Tsarist Russian Central Asia, who received fewer benefits compared to their European counterparts, used Turkic women to exchange for goods.
Central Asia, which had previously been relatively stable, was now plagued by a wave of horse bandits. These bandits specialized in looting wealth and capturing women.
With fewer immigrants, Ernst redirected more ocean-going capacity to transport commodities. During the war, the Hexingen Consortium had heavily relied on overloaded immigrant ships to fill the gap in newly acquired territories. This resulted in a substantial financial investment.
Now that the immigrant population in East Africa had exceeded one million, Ernst was no longer in a hurry to increase immigration numbers. Immigration would gradually return to normal levels each month.
Ernst's primary concern now was reducing the construction costs of the colony and ensuring a stable supply of cement, ironware, and food processing in East Africa.
Cement and other modern industrial materials had been heavily reliant on imports in East Africa for a long time. These materials could be produced locally, but East Africa lacked the necessary factories and facilities.
Cement production was not highly advanced technology, and the Hexingen Consortium had the means to obtain cement production equipment. Ernst purchased a small cement factory in Hamburg, Germany, at a low cost.
This acquisition was not intended for cement production in Germany, as the German cement industry was already well-established. Instead, it was meant to serve East Africa's growing demand for cement.
Ernst was focused on developing light industry and advanced technologies, which allowed him to prosper in these fields where traditional industries struggled to compete.
Several German power companies and technology research and development firms had investments from Hechingen Bank, which would become the cornerstone of the Hechingen Consortium's future wealth.
With the cement factory acquired, machinery and personnel were transported directly from the Port of Hamburg to East Africa on Hechingen Consortium ships. The second-hand equipment was purchased at a low cost due to its poor condition, and the employees from the cement factory were dispatched to East Africa to aid in construction.
To ensure their commitment, Ernst combined high wages with the dispatch system. Workers sent to East Africa would guide the construction of the cement plant and other facilities.
The first cement plant was constructed in Dar es Salaam, thanks to its convenient sea transportation links. Other cities in East Africa, such as Mombasa, Dodoma, Mbeya, Kisumu, and Songea, were also selected for future cement plant projects.
Despite being referred to as cities, these were relatively small towns with modest populations. Traditional construction methods sufficed for housing, at least for the time being.
The total investment for the first cement plant was around £50,000, a relatively modest sum. Cement was mainly used for specialized roads and city development in East Africa, so the scale of future cement plants would not rival that of Dar es Salaam.
Ernst was particularly concerned with lowering the construction costs in the colony and facilitating the use of cement, ironware, and food processing. While the Hechingen Consortium focused on cement production, efforts were also made to improve transportation in East Africa, which would help address the issues related to the shortage of labor in the colony.