Four Arrows: Abyssinia]
It is 1888 when the Great Ethiopian Famine begins in southern Abyssinia, livestock still underdeveloped but of immense value for citizens, receives a severe blow when native cattle are infected by the epizootic African rinderpest.
Where does this disease come from? Well, it comes from cattle of Indian origin, brought by the British to their colony in East Africa (Kenya), but the colony in its failures (which contribute to its end years later) caused cattle to escape, cattle that infected other specimens. in northern German East Africa and southern Abyssinia.
Not only is that factor, but in East Africa the climate becomes especially dry during 1888, and finally there is an infestation of locusts and caterpillars.
This obviously has massive consequences for local economic development, and raises the need for Russia to intervene.
Yohannes IV and Menelik of Shewa understand this too, so the Russian-Ethiopian conglomerates, the Russian army in Sagallo and Somaliland, and the Russian administration had to develop a plan of action.
On the one hand, it was necessary to begin to dispose of the infected corpses, and to quarantine the possibly infected cattle. Those healthy cattle had to be taken to northern regions or to the Russian colonies.
The Russian administration benefited and could help Ethiopia in various ways, on the one hand Sagallo had made preventive warehouses and they could start feeding some refugees.
The Russian-Ethiopian army and the administration also had to help with the formation of camps to distribute food and exterminate (population control) locusts and caterpillars.
The problem was that it did not have the capacities to feed all the needy of Abyssinia, and even importing grain or other food would be difficult (not so much in the aspect of going to Abyssinia, but in the aspect of the distribution of said food).
Sagallo benefited as such, nobility and educated staff, in addition to more manpower arrived, but even so the colonial administration had problems and due to foreign policy they were trying to do something to relieve the population.
The great famine would not end until 1891, having claimed the lives of 80% of Ethiopian livestock, and 3 million people from a country that at that time had 12 million people.
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[Four Arrows: Orphanages]
The rapid increase in the number of orphans in Abyssinia and Sagallo meant the need for drastic measures, so Tsar Alexander III had no choice but to increase the provisions of orthodoxy and orphanage programs in the Russian colonies of Africa.
Now the charity of the Russian Orthodox Church extended to form orphanages (which provided education and food) for the needy in all the colonies of the Russian Empire, and not necessarily only in Madagascar.
Although the state would still have to review all institutions at least once a year.
Policy remained unchanged in Madagascar / Merina as it was already an existing Russian government policy in the region.
In Russian North East Africa, or simply Sagallo, this was carried out to continue fighting against the great Ethiopian famine.
It would allow to control and receive resources through charity to help the native population.
It would also be a success for the integration and popularity of Russia in the Ethiopian Empire.
In Russian Cameroon this meant an increase in the Orthodox Church and its support among the natives, also came Catholic charity continuing the competition but in general the Russians had much more resources to support the project.
It would also serve to combat the effects of malaria in Cameroon and allow earlier Russian expansion plans to the tropical regions of the region.
In Namibia the policy was understood not only as an act of charity and promotion of orthodoxy but also as one more of Russia's peace efforts in the region, native children who lost their parents to tribal conflicts (before the Russian arrival ) could reach Russian orphanages and integrate more, avoid conflict and integrate, have a chance, etc.
In addition, the Namibian climate was unforgiving, the orphanages had a roof, food and education, something very useful to help young people survive.
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[Four Arrows: Madagaskar]
* Perspective of Tsiraka Tsiajotso.
Gavriil Tsaralaza and Tsiraka Tsiajotso did not have much choice after being orphaned at a young age, after Russia established their orphanages on the island in the mid-1880s they both ended up under the tutelage of Russians, leading the young to be part of the new Russian-Malagasy armies.
In 1888, Queen Ranavalona III and Tsar Alexander III proclaimed Order 001 for the pacification of the island of Madagascar and the kingdom of Merina.
All Russian-Malagasy forces mobilized to vital positions to put an end to rebel groups, de-facto independent and lacking loyalties to the Kingdom (and the Russian Empire, mainly to the Russian Empire).
Tsiraka was drinking some water while patrolling with his companions, the army advancing inch by inch, attacking and subduing rebellious tribes.
Like all wars, it was not pretty, Malagasy murdering Malagasy for various reasons, like all previous wars in Madagascar.
*******
The battle in Madagascar's climate and geography was difficult, but the Russo-Malagasy army had superior manpower, supplies and equipment, it just needed some good strategy and officers.
"Our Father, Who art in heaven". Gavriil was praying against a tree after a swing, the squad had won but there was still a lot of fighting ahead.
Tsiraka on the other hand was thinking about other matters, burying the dead, some companions, some enemies (it was important to get rid of all of them to avoid diseases). "Hey Gavriil. Can you stop praying and help me a bit here?" Tsiraka asks.
"Right away, but I must pray. You should too." Gavriil mentions with concern.
"Do you care about our souls or those of our enemies?" Tsiraka asks.
"Both." Gavriil does not hesitate long to answer. "We are doing the right thing for the future by the wrong means. Just repentance guarantees us some mercy from God."
"Well, diplomacy is not an option with most." Tsiraka responds. "Once we remove all threats ... Our land should be at peace, peace ... it sounds strange."
"Hmm?" Gavriil asks confused.
"I don't know. What are we going to do after all this? We will bring peace to Madagascar, the system they taught us will be implemented, there will be stability, progress. But what will happen to us? They didn't tell us what we are going to do next." Tsiraka insists.
"Don't worry, surely God has a plan for us." Gavriil responds more hopefully, he was always the more religious of the two (baptized under a Slavic name to begin with, obviously the Russians had more influence on him than Tsiraka).
"... I don't doubt God, Gavriil, but I mean, I think there was something that we ended up in the army for to begin with but after that everything is blurry." Tsiraka exclaims simply.
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"Gavriil could explain everything from a religious point of view, I do not reject God, but I think there are other factors. In the orphanage they taught us not only religion, in the orphanage and the academy they also taught us Russian, mathematics, engineering, tactics, history, etc.
The pacification of our land [Madagaskar, Мадагаскар] is not just a political or religious process, it is an almost natural process.
The fittest system survives, we have better weaponry, better training, even our goal is higher than that of most local leaders.
God plans for the future, leaders (like Our Tsar or the queen) should do the same. Leaders who desire power and perpetuate struggle without thinking about the future are doomed from the start.
So our fight is the right one, even if we lose, eventually the less fit systems will fail. "
-Tsikara's Diary.
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[International]
On April 3, the first murder of Whitechapel takes place, the victim is the woman Emma Elizabeth Smith (profession, prostitute). Smith is currently considered to have been killed by two or three men, and not by Jack the Ripper.
April 6, the first New Year of the Thai solar calendar adopted by King Chulalongkorn is observed, a date that in turn celebrates the anniversary of the founding of Bangkok (106 years of Bangkok).
April 16, the German Empire annexes the Nauru region to its colony of New Guinea (after Russia annexed Novo White Rus).
May 12, Austro-Hungarian Borneo expands in the reign of Rudolf I to rule the northwestern coast of the island, as determined by the St. Petersburg Conference for years.
It is on May 13 when the Empire of Brazil under Don Pedro II (although signed by the emperor's daughter, Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil, regent while her father was in Europe) adopts the Lei Áurea (Golden Law).
This law finally ends slavery in the Empire of Brazil, similar to the liberation of the serfs in Russia, the law has a good aim but lacks serious political preparation.
There were no conditions of any kind to free or prevent the liberation of slaves, but there is no compensation of any kind for former slave owners, ex-slaves on the other hand do not receive support from the state (political representation, economic or social aid ), and neither type of person receives any kind of advice or law about how to adapt or modify their lifestyle regarding the Golden Law. This is particularly difficult for slaves, who were forbidden to have possessions or education and now must adapt to the world.
June 3, English colonization attempts in Kenya fail catastrophically with livestock failures and the economic success of the colony, generally forcing the English government to abandon the territory from the late 1880s onwards.
June 15, Emperor Frederick IV of Germany dies (fortunately his title did not cause any problems), causing Crown Prince Wilhelm, now Kaiser Wilhelm II, to ascend to the throne.
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[Novo Alexandria]
Novo Alexandria, Brazil, was a particular city, it had started as a Russian project to avoid military dependence on natural rubber from English possessions. And it had certainly been successful, demonstrating the cooperation between the government of Brazil and Russia.
Russia contributed money or resources, while Brazil offered the labor force, enforced its laws, and the population maintained its cultural freedom.
However, in 1888 with the abolition of slavery in Brazil, the city exploded economically and demographically for various reasons, on the one hand there were now many ex-slaves seeking a social and economic advance, what Novo Alexandria offered, and on the other Russian investments and priests were building useful infrastructure (churches / schools) to educate ex-slaves and their children.
In the city, the schedules were used to the climate and Brazilian agricultural functions, there were no dress rules, and in general there was cultural freedom for anyone as long as the laws were not violated.
Land and building materials (for a house) were also given in exchange for jobs on the rubber plantations, other jobs in the city, or its growing factories (product of merchants).
An ex-slave could go to Novo Alexandria and easily obtain a roof in exchange for work, so ex-slaves got possessions and money in exchange for their labor or production (usually rubber).
The ex-slaves themselves and their children could get an education as well.
Of course the ex-slaves were not the only ones, with the explosion of labor, production and growth of the city, there was still an increase in populations of the Russian Empire in the region, dedicated to jobs and some administrative functions of the city (Still under Brazilian sovereignty, but the Russians wanted to guarantee their investment and had to take care of matters such as paying taxes to the Brazilian authorities, etc).
There were Slavs, Finns, Cossacks, some Arabs and to a lesser extent other ethnic groups from Russia.
Some Brazilian citizens voluntarily converted to Orthodoxy in the growing Novo Alexandria, although the majority obviously remained Catholic.
In general, Novo Alexandria demonstrated the possibility of being a multicultural and commercial city where many peoples and ideas could coexist.
With rubber production, demographics and exports increasing, more economic industries and services were needed.
For example, the number of restaurants, schools, churches, clothing factories, etc. increased.
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[Ben-Yehuda]
June 29.
Years had passed since Eliezer Ben-Yehuda had been arrested by French authorities, with alleged evidence. Jews in Russia continued to hold demonstrations and calls for his release from time to time, generally supported by the government but the French authorities continued to refuse.
The biggest demonstration that support for Ben-Yehuda was still alive was a demonstration when Boulanger visited Russia, but once again Russia and France had not reached an agreement on the release of the Russian citizen.
In his prison, Ben-Yehuda had been tortured numerous times, but he was still innocent, the problem was that the French judicial system had not accepted Ben-Yehuda as innocent.
The body weakens, but Ben-Yehuda's mind was still ... well, for the moment.
Even the Pale of Settlement was better than that prison ...
Generalissimo Georges Boulanger converted the Deuxième Bureau de l'État-major général ("Second Bureau of the General Staff") into the Deuxième Bureau de la Sécurité Publique (Second Bureau of Public Security). Or simply, the Deuxième Bureau.
Day by day more people came to the same prison as Boulanger, first they were Orleanists and Legitimists, then in 1887 they began to bring non-alienated republicans, Marxists and syndicalists.
In 1888 on the other hand they began to bring in other opponents of the regime.
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[Åland Islands]
The Åland Islands are a Russian possession of the Grand Duchy of Finland, a demilitarized archipelago according to treaties between Russia and other nations.
Despite this (and thus a considerable loss of the islands' strategic value), Tsar Alexander III gave Åland some autonomy within the Grand Duchy, because more Swedish was spoken on the Åland Islands (Swedish Åland, a dialect of Swedish in the region, which seems very close to Uppländska) than Finnish.
The Finns, despite being promoted in the government of Alexander III, had to respect this decision, in essence on the island most of the education was done in Swedish Åland, their administrators had to know Swedish and Russian but not necessarily Finnish , etc.
With the Russian economic and colonial growth, the islands also grew, especially dedicated to the aspect of maritime trade (Finnish-Russian companies dedicated to the transport of goods passing or based on the islands).
The islands would also become a stopover or resting place for other international companies, providing income to the region in addition to some hotels and so on.
Agriculture and fishing were important in the food industry.
The particular thing about the geography of the area is that it generally has an exuberant flora than the rest of Finland, where there are pines, firs, birches, poplars, elms, ash trees, and oaks used for the lumber industry, boat production and construction. .
Under Russian law, native seabirds are protected, reducing their hunting to certain particular periods (where eggs are especially obtained for food).
Despite this growth, and certainly an environment that was not hostile to life, not all the islands were inhabited. This mainly because Åland was not a great industrial and economic center outside of shipping, and there were other much larger ports within the Russian Empire.
In short, the Åland Islands were not doing badly within the Alexandrian period, but they could be doing much better.
Fortunately, the island's authorities receive, like all administrations, a budget for projects and continue investing in the region.
For example, it was clear that certain regions of Russia were growing in many different directions, and Åland could find its own.
There were places that went to tourism and nature, regions that went to extractive industries, commercial regions, industrial regions, etc.
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[Manchurian project]
The Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov had to leave the Inner Manchuria region only twice in 1888, curiously both times were related to the death of a German emperor ...
The time he was away, the truth is that not much happened, and the time in Berlin was nothing special, Nicholas just talked and spent some family time with Wilhelm II of Germany and Princess Margaret of Prussia.
Most importantly, during these periods, the first stations of the Transmanchurian railway were completed, and a train began to timidly circulate through the railway lines.
In the beginning as safety and quality standard tests, which were successful.
This increased a little more the internal trade of cities in the south of Inner Manchuria (very slightly because it was Port Arthur and a few settlements), for something it had to start.