Chapter 127 Las Campoli Trading Market
Hans Back exhaled the last puff of smoke and threw the cigarette handle aside in the sand. A dry wind blew through it and it burned out quickly.
Feeling that his throat was a little dry, Hans Back opened the kettle and took another sip of water to moisten his throat.
After about four or five minutes, everyone started to get up and pack their equipment, get back on the saddle on the camel's back, and continue the boring patrol.
The camel of the East African colonies, the dromedary, is mainly distributed in the Middle East and North Africa. The dromedary is best adapted to desert environments, especially tropical deserts. It can go without water for several months (mainly getting water from plants), even if it does not eat or drink. It can also last for a week.
The Bactrian camel is mainly distributed in the Far East and Central Asia. It is suitable for deserts, Gobi and grasslands, and is more cold-resistant than the dromedary camel.
Both have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of functionality. Bactrian camels are suitable for carrying heavy loads and have good endurance, while dromedary camels are suitable for riding and run faster.
…
"Captain, look ahead, are there people moving?" Heinz said to Hans Back.
Not long after leaving, Heinz saw a moving black line appearing in the sea of sand.
Hans Back followed Heinz's words and squinted his eyes to take a closer look. He saw a black western line on the desert far ahead, slowly moving towards Kenya.
Hans Back picked up the telescope under his body and put it in front of his eyes. The scene in the distance immediately became huge. After careful observation, it turned out that a group of people dressed as Arabs were crossing the border.
"Brothers, get ready for battle and take out your guns." Hans Buck ordered.
The atmosphere in the whole team suddenly became tense. Everyone took off the guns behind them, unwrapped the gauze, and held them in front of them.
Hans Buck drove the camel and trotted along with the troops, chasing the Arabs in the direction they were heading.
"Stop! What do you do?" Hans Back stopped in front of the Arabs and asked them?
There are Arabs and blacks in Somalia. If they were black, Hans Barker would not be so polite. He would usually fire a warning shot to shock them first.
But Arabs are different. Arabs are mainly engaged in commercial activities in Africa. East Africa itself does business with Arabs, so its attitude towards Arabs is quite friendly.
Even with the Sultanate of Zanzibar, there was a little "minor friction" between the two parties. Ernst did not say to kill them all. He just left Zanzibar Island for the Sultanate of Zanzibar to live in. Zanzibar Island is The core of the Zanzibar Sultanate, this is interesting enough.
Hearing Hans Back's inquiry, the Arabs were confused because they didn't understand the language.
Heinz stepped forward and repeated Hans Back's words in Arabic.
Only these Arabs can understand. Heinz worked in Dar es Salaam before, so he knows some Arabic and Swahili.
"Friend, we are an Arab caravan. We are going to the south for trade. I wonder which force you are from?" the leader of the Arab caravan said to Hans Buck.
Unlike the natives in the interior of Africa, the Arabs have seen the world, especially these Arab businessmen who travel around. Naturally, they know the real guy in the hands of Hans Barker and his party, so they are more respectful.
"We are the patrol team of the East African royal territory of Hechingen. We are ordered to patrol the territory here to prevent anyone from crossing the border." Hans Back said.
"Hechingen East African royal territory? I wonder if you are the country neighboring the Zanzibar Sultanate to the south." the Arab businessman asked.
"That's right. Now can you tell me where you are going? What are you doing?" Hans Back asked.
After confirming the identity of the other party, the Arab businessmen became more respectful. The Arab countries have weakened so much in recent years that even the Ottoman Empire cannot protect itself. The Indian Ocean has almost become a bathtub for European countries.
The Arab businessman replied: "My name is Akaramu, and I am the leader of this caravan. We went from the city of Hama (Mogadishu) to the south to do business with those tribes, mainly to purchase some medicinal materials and other specialties. .”
"That's it!" Hans Barker was relieved and said to Aikalam: "You don't have to go south anymore!"
"The south is already the land of the Hechingen East African Royal Family. Whether the tribes there still exist is unknown now. You should go back early and maybe you can recover some losses."
"Your Excellency, why do you say that?" Aikalam asked Hans Barker.
"Now, the entire south is under our rule. All external forces, including indigenous people, traders and tribes, are not allowed to enter. This is an order issued by the East African colonial government. When you go back, you can also bring news to others so that they don't have to Come over here," said Hans Back.
Aikalamu was a little anxious when he heard this. If he couldn't do business today, he could still bear it. After all, he hadn't left for a few days. If there was no business in the future, wouldn't he lose his job?
Akaramu was impatient, but he still said kindly: "Sir, we all do small business and rely on this trade route to support our families! How can we live if you cut off the trade route!"
Who cares about your life or death? Just when Hans Back was about to forcefully drive away this group of people, Heinz came to Hans Back's side and whispered a few words.
"How could I have forgotten this!" Hans Back said in annoyance.
"Okay, don't worry, don't cry here. Who is that? Ikaramu, right? Do you know Ras Kampoli (the southernmost town in Somalia)?" Hans Buck said .
"Your Excellency, are you talking about a village on the east coast?" Aikalam said uncertainly.
"Yes, that's right there, that village. If you walk a few miles south along the coastline, you can see a trading market. If you want to get goods, go there!" Hans Buck said.
Aikaram is still a little embarrassed: "But, sir, this requires a long detour, and we don't know if there are goods we need in that place!"
"You don't have to worry about it. Most of the products you can see in the south are available there. Of course, I can't guarantee the medicinal materials, but it would be good to at least let you bring some goods back and recoup your money." Hans Back said.
Needless to say, this Ras Campoli trading market is another trading place with the same nature as the Dar es Salaam slave market.
The slave market does not necessarily have slaves, it can also have ivory, sisal, or even Heixingen's upcoming goods...
Of course, the Ras Kampoli Trading Market is definitely not a slave market. The East African colonies are still relatively loyal. They beat the Sultanate of Zanzibar so hard that Ernst was a little embarrassed. In order to appease (ease Zanzibar) The Sultanate's resistance to the cession of territory), the East African colonies packaged the slave business and gave it to the Zanzibar Sultanate.
In other words, the Sultanate of Zanzibar was the only seller of slaves in the East African colonies, and it was engaged in monopoly trading.
So far, the Sultanate of Zanzibar is very satisfied with this
"Besides, if you go south now, you may not be able to see those tribes and villages, so it's better to go to Las Campoli to trade!" Hans Buck and Aikram hinted.
At this point, Aikalam finally understood the hidden message in Hans Barker's previous words. When they first met, Hans Barker said that the existence of the southern tribes was a problem. Now he can emphasize it again, this is not Is it obvious what happened?
Aikalamu felt cold in his heart. This Heixingen was indeed not a good person. As a businessman, Aikalamu had traveled all over the country and had a wide range of knowledge. He had been to Liberia in North Africa in the west, Damascus in the east, and Damascus in the south. In some parts of Kenya, we have seen a lot of all kinds of things.
In this area, there are so many disputes between Arabs and Westerners, Arabs and indigenous people, and indigenous tribes and indigenous tribes.
Now there is a new player in East Africa, and he is very powerful. It seems that this business cannot be done, and he can only try his luck in Ras Campo, which is what the Hechingen forces call him.
Laskampoli is a transliterated place name, and it is an important stopping point on many trade routes, so for Aikalam, who has been doing business in this area all year round, when he hears Laskampoli, he knows where it is, although they The accent he spoke was very inaccurate.
"Thank you for the reminder, we will go east to Ras Campoli to try our luck." Aikram said to Hans Barker and others.
"Also, you should try to stay to the north of the desert and avoid running into our people. In case the officers in the next team are not as easy to talk to as me, you understand!" Hans Back emphasized.
"Thank you, thank you so much!" Aikram thanked Hans Barker from the bottom of his heart this time. This was life-saving information.
Afterwards, the two teams separated. The life-conscious Aikaram naturally retreated far to the north, and then continued to turn east, heading towards Ras Campoli.
Hans Buck and others continued to head west towards Difu (the name of the stronghold).
…
Four days later.
"This is the Ras Campoli Trading Market. It looks pretty good in scale!" Aikalam said.
The Ras Kampoli Trading Market was established by the East African colonial government, not far to the south of the original Ras Kampoli village.
Akaramu observed that some Arab businessmen have begun to do business here. These are Arab businessmen who were persuaded to come here like Akaramu.
The market is managed by the force called Hechingen. The Hechingen market is patrolled by armed officers dressed in the same style as Hans Backer and his group that he saw on the road that day.
The East African colonial government specially prepared many special products, such as ivory and cloves, sisal fabrics, grains and European industrial products.
After Aikalam tied the camel, he led the people to the market.
"Well, the quality of this knitted fabric is good!" Aikalamu was thinking in his mind while holding the linen produced in Tanga.
He tugged at the sample with his hand. It was quite strong. This kind of good quality and cheap fabric is also very marketable to ordinary residents in Somalia.
Aikala Wood is mainly interested in the quality of sisal cloth. If you want to use this cloth as a material to make some daily utensils, such as carpets and utensils, you can add some for decoration or save costs. Anyway, the price is not expensive.
The Ras Campoli market mainly sells raw materials, such as unprocessed ivory, animal skins, hemp rope, linen, logs, grain, etc. Except for ivory, most of them are needed by Somalia and North Africa. Of course, ivory is highly profitable. The ones are also very good.
It is a pity that there are too few Arab merchants in the Ras Campoli trading market, and many of the products used for trading are unavailable, such as salt, a necessity that many indigenous people need.
East African salt is mainly divided into two parts. One part is the salt field built after acquiring the coastal zone, and the other part is imported from Germany. Germany is an important salt exporter in Europe, especially from the Port of Hamburg, a large number can be brought to East Africa to solve the problem of East Africa. The problem with salt is that the quality is pretty good.
Of course, Arab currency is still acceptable. As for some gadgets used to deceive the indigenous people, the East African colonies naturally look down upon them.
Many Arab merchants who arrived this time could only sigh with excitement at the goods, and then went back to raise money and other materials accepted by East Africa.
Aikala wood was harvested, and the price of linen was not high, so he bought a large quantity to take back and sell.
The Ras Kampoli trading market has just been built, but it provides a commercial channel for the southern Somali region. Many goods that once needed to be transported from North Africa (Egypt) can now be purchased in Ras Kampoli at a cheaper price. , which greatly facilitated Arab merchants to earn the price difference.
