African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 377: Chapter 56: ”Reciprocity

”According to the news from New York, more than two thousand people departed from Chicago on the first day, and in the coming days, the number of immigrants may exceed ten thousand. Given the current situation in Chicago, we should be able to tap into the potential of tens of thousands of immigrants...”

”Hmm, alright, Thomas, there are many Germans in North America who are an existence we cannot ignore. The Immigration Bureau must learn to delve more into the grassroots of the United States, especially the rural areas and port cities of America, which all need special attention. It’s best to persuade some immigrants to return to their countries right as they arrive in America.”

”Your Highness, does ’persuade to return’ mean sending them back to Europe?”

”Anywhere is fine! Just preferably not in America, of course, your Immigration Bureau should act within its means and not arouse the suspicion of Americans.”

”Rest assured, Your Highness! The American government is virtually non-existent; our people shouldn’t run into any problems.”

”I’m not referring to the American government, but to the Americans, especially the American financial groups. They are the real power behind America; what do you think would be the consequences if they found out about the immigration from America?”

Thomas immediately realized that although the American government might ordinarily be harmless, stirring up the interests behind them could lead to big problems. The outbreak of the Civil War was essentially a war initiated by Northern capitalists in America to seize labor, raw materials, and markets from Southern slave owners. Especially the greed for labor, America is endless; immigration from the United States to East Africa is fundamentally uprooting America’s foundation.

However, thinking of the labor force, an idea instantly occurred to Thomas. He said to Ernst, ”Your Highness, could we possibly revive the American slave trade?”

Upon hearing this, Ernst immediately caught on, ”You mean Black people!”

”Precisely, Your Highness. Since we’re recruiting immigrants in America, it would be impolite not to reciprocate. East Africa doesn’t have much, except for a lot of Black people. Can we attempt to export Black people to America to replace the White people we’re taking out, thus also covering up our population stealing from the U.S.?”

Ernst affirmed, ”Good idea, but how can we achieve this! Circumventing the slave trade is indeed a big problem!”

In fact, Ernst had long intended to do this, but initially lacked the capability. Now that Thomas mentioned it, Ernst believed it was worth a try.

Thomas did not directly answer the question but instead asked back, ”Your Highness, have you heard of a country called Haiti?”

”Of course, it’s a small country in the Caribbean Sea!”

Ernst had certainly heard of Haiti; it was a country that had once achieved a level of famine where people ate dirt. It was also considered a model capitalist democracy, with systems and laws identical to the American beacon. The only difference was that Haiti’s population was too large and lacked America’s vastness.

But that was the 21st century; the conditions in Haiti are still quite good now. Although poor, the population hasn’t reached previous levels of absurdity. The resources on the island can still sustain the Haitians, at least avoiding the point of eating dirt.

Haiti was once called the Pearl of the Andres Islands, the richest colony in the world. In the 1750s, Haiti provided 50% of France’s GDP. The continuous production of sugar, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, cotton, and indigo was shipped to France, refined, and sold across Europe, creating unimaginable wealth.

Despite such conditions, Haiti did not thrive, mainly due to long-term international community blockade besides its reasons.

After the 1804 revolution, Haiti became the first Black republic, while America and Britain remained slave states. The international community saw Haiti’s free slave state model as a dangerous precedent, fearing it might inspire similar moves in other slave states, so Haitian goods were boycotted, throwing its economy into chaos.

The Haitian government was eager for recognition from France and Europeans. France naturally refused unless compensated with land payments. Finally, in 1838, Haitian President Boye agreed to a debt of 150 million Francs to settle this compensation.

This debt and its interest burdened the Haitian economy for over 80 years, historically repaid only by 1922. The enormous debt prevented Haiti from constructing roads, water supply, sewage systems, and power infrastructure.

At that time, 150 million Francs was an astronomical amount. Divided among the newly independent Haiti’s mere three to four hundred thousand population, it amounted to nearly four hundred Francs per capita. Meanwhile, a worker in France’s capital Paris earned just three Francs a day.

Even today, Haiti is still repaying the debt. Combined with governance as rotten as sludge, Haiti is rapidly transitioning from the Pearl of the Andres Islands to a ”cesspool” country from his former life.

Thomas: ”Your Highness, you are truly knowledgeable, even hearing about such a small country as Haiti.”

Ernst: ”Alright, stop flattering. Since you’ve brought up Haiti, were you planning to do something in that country?”

Thomas: ”Yes, Your Highness, we just mentioned exporting Black people to America. Haiti is an excellent stepping stone for that.”

Ernst asked, ”Then why not Cuba, Mexico, those countries closer to America?”

”The reason is simple, Your Highness, Haiti is a Black nation, while Cuba and Mexico are not, and most importantly, the Haitian government is corrupt enough; as I understand it, in Haiti, as long as you pay, there’s nothing you can’t get done.” Thomas replied.

Ernst: ”So you want to use these two points to make a move in Haiti!”

Thomas: ”Yes, it is quite difficult to directly import Black people to America, as it is likely to attract attention from the international anti-slave trade organizations and countries, which would be extremely detrimental to East Africa. Therefore, if we want to import Black people to America, we must cloak the slave trade in a disguise that the international community cannot discern. Haiti’s identity as a Black country is very advantageous.

First, Haiti is a Black nation, so bringing Black immigrants into Haiti is perfectly logical, and no one can question it. Secondly, Haiti has abolished the slave system legally; although slaves have merely turned into free slaves, this is similar to East Africa’s ”laborers.” Thus, selling slaves to Haiti will not attract international attention since Haiti itself does not have ”slaves.” Lastly, Haiti’s economic difficulties allow us to ship Black people under the guise of trade and aid.

This places East Africa on a winning moral ground; even if other countries find out, they cannot blame us.”

Ernst: ”You’re right, but how do you plan to make the Haitian government willingly accept East African Blacks, and what does this have to do with importing Blacks to America?”

”Your Highness, don’t rush. Allow me to finish. The method to make Haiti accept Blacks is quite simple. First, we can bribe the current highest ruler in Haiti by giving him a sum of money annually to sign an agreement endorsing an African immigration decree. The Haitian government is unstable, so we can pay a deposit annually. Whoever is the Haitian president, will receive this money.

Additionally, if this approach fails, we can buy off Haitian customs officials to let them tacitly approve East African population intake. Customs certification can likewise legitimize our import of Blacks into Haiti.

If customs are still ineffective, we can further explore other Haitian government departments. The rationale is endless. The entire Haitian government is like a sieve, leaking everywhere, and cannot possibly obstruct our import of Blacks into Haiti.

However, given the integrity of the Haitian government, it seems the Haitian president has never been a noble character, so bribing the president will achieve the goal.”

Ernst exclaimed, ”Great! What you’ve said indeed makes sense; the integrity of the Haitian government is not something I doubt for a second.”

Thomas continued, ”After opening the channel to import Blacks into Haiti, we can directly assist the Haitian government in establishing an embassy in East Africa, specifically for issuing identification for Haitians. We in East Africa can then transform the population we need to clear out into Haitian nationality, thus making East Africa completely unrelated to slave trade.

But to be safe, I have another plan: disguise these ”Haitians” as sailors and workers on ships, add some food supplies, and under the banner of caring for Haiti’s famine and aiding the Haitian people, send these ”Haitians” to the Haiti Republic.”

Ernst: ”Well, that’s irrelevant; wasting a bit of grain to send the natives away is still quite cost-effective.”

It’s only Ernst who finds it worth it; actually, most countries and colonies currently consider labor insufficient, such as French colonies that are constantly looking to import more Black slaves, but they generally capture them directly from nearby.

Thomas’s supposed plan to aid Haiti is indeed wicked; the little grain East Africa sends might not even be enough for the East African natives shipped to Haiti to digest. Whether it’s helping Haiti overcome famine or exacerbating famine needs to be discussed further.

Thomas: ”Finally, and most importantly, Haiti receiving East African natives will definitely not be able to support such a large population domestically.”

Ernst expressed skepticism, as in the past Haiti had managed to feed over a million people, even if living off dirt; nowadays, Haitian population is scarce, so it can definitely handle it. Not to mention, Dominica next door can help alleviate pressure. But Ernst kept silent and waited for Thomas to finish.

Thomas: ”The Haitian government doesn’t care about these people’s lives. These populations are bound to spill over, and we will help Haiti establish an overflow channel. This channel is the Caribbean Sea, with the end point being the Southern United States plantations, where we will connect with plantation owners who, for profit, will voluntarily absorb these people.”

This is indeed true; although Southern slave owners were severely weakened by the Northern capitalists, they remain unconvinced, especially with the emancipation of Black slaves, costing Southern slave owners significant interests. Therefore, there are simply not enough Black slaves in America; if there were enough, nobody would need to fight over them, which would greatly avert the Civil War.

The reason for insufficient American slaves is primarily spearheaded by Britain and France’s opposition to slave trade, essentially limiting the late-developing USA that relied on slaves to prosper. Evidence is their prohibition of slave trade while maintaining vast numbers of slaves in their own colonies — the epitome of double standards.

If East Africa can establish a direct route from East Africa to Haiti and then to America for transferring Black people, Southern plantation owners would surely take them over.

Because of the Caribbean Sea, America could speak directly. If it were merely transferring Blacks from Haiti to mainland America, it would be no challenge at all, not even incurring much shipping cost.

Then, these plantation owners can sign two to three-decade employment contracts with these Blacks, which is practically the same as ”Black slaves.” Once used up, just dismiss them, and these Blacks will eventually disperse all over the USA.

Although this means East Africa takes on the brunt of transporting Blacks, even without much profit, and even subsidizes money into it, Ernst is willing to bear this cost.