African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1224: Chapter 233: Concentration Camp

A Deep Water Port can be said to be one of the most lacking strategic resources in East Africa, so it’s no wonder that upon acquiring Lome Port, East Africa was eager to develop it into one of its most important naval bases.

As a world Great Power, East Africa’s coastline is not short, and it has territories in the four oceans regions, yet it still lacks a naturally good port.

This has led to East Africa’s domestic port construction and renovation costing more than other countries. At present, many newly built ports in East Africa have been gained through large-scale artificial modification by the East African Government, such as Falta Port, Lamu Port, Eler Port, and so on.

Port construction also belongs to important infrastructure, which greatly tests a country’s capabilities. For instance, in the previous Era, the Far East Empire helped regions in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to build or remodel ports.

Among them, the typical ones are Gwadar Port or Karachi Port. Even these ports involve a complete set of transportation construction behind them. To become wealthy, roads must first be built. To activate the distribution function of these ports, there must be roads, railways, and other transportation to connect the inland economic hinterland.

East Africa’s Falta Port is like this. Without matching roads, railways, or even water and electricity supply, Falta Port could not possibly be developed or utilized.

Of course, East Africa’s positioning of Lome Port is obviously not like this. East Africa does not need Lome Port to connect Togoland’s inland economy; rather, it values its military and strategic significance. This navy port’s greater importance is its connection with East Africa’s mainland, while what Lome Port lacks can be provided by East Africa itself.

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Once the ships finally docked, Brand started to command the sailors to orderly drive all the Black Slaves off the ship, handing them over to the colonial troops stationed in Togoland.

”Colonel Brand, these Black people’s mental state doesn’t look too good!” Togoland’s receiving officer, Andel, said with some disdain.

Of course, Andel’s disdain was directed at these half-dead and demoralized Black Slaves.

Brand said, ”These Black people are on a ship for the first time, so seasickness is inevitable. It’s already quite commendable that they’ve managed to endure it.”

The aide Tara also said, ”We are actually the most unfortunate ones; many Black Slaves couldn’t stand the sea’s tossing and turned nauseous, vomiting and defecating in the cabins. Combined with the damp environment and sweltering temperatures, the fermented smell is simply unbearable, and our sailors had to pinch their noses to clean and disinfect the ship.”

When someone else is worse off than you are, it tends to improve your mood. After hearing the two’s complaints, Andel became less resistant to escorting these Black people, considering that the situation on land is much better compared to the Navy’s circumstances.

Of course, in reality, Brand and Tara’s words were half true and half false—Black people’s seasickness and lack of hygiene were true, but the precise cleaning methods warrant investigation.

According to the tone of the two, it seemed as if the sailors themselves completed the cleaning work, but with so many ”Black Slaves,” how could the East African sailors possibly have to do the work themselves.

The work of the East African sailors was to hold guns and force these Black Slaves to complete the cleaning themselves. As for those truly disobedient ones, they were long thrown into the sea to feed sharks.

With mood relatively improved, Andel even started to change the topic: ”I wonder why the government is doing this unnecessary effort. There are as many as 800,000 Black people domestically, even if we handle it, it’s quite a workload, as Togoland itself isn’t very staffed.”

East Africa’s Black Slaves may be old and weak, but alas, they are numerous! Over 800,000 Black Slaves thrown all at once into Togoland, such workload can’t possibly be completed in a short time.

Of course, the East African Government doesn’t plan to complete it in the short term either; currently, the situation in Europe is favorable for East Africa, and East Africa has plenty of time to deal with its Black Slaves without worrying about criticism from the International Community.

Brand said, ”It’s really unavoidable, as you’ve seen, many of these Black Slaves are aged and can no longer contribute value to the Empire. Even if they are young and strong now, the same will be true in a few years.”

”The Empire never supports inhumane large-scale extermination, so it’s better to exile them to West Africa.”

”Besides, you find it troublesome, but we don’t have it easy either. With over 800,000 Black Slaves being exiled to West Africa, we don’t know how many trips we will need, how many ships and people to deploy. The sea environment isn’t much better than yours here; honestly, I’m rather envious of you army folks!”

Andel scoffed, ”Colonel Brand, that’s not quite fair; the Navy’s treatment is far superior to ours. Just your equipment and food surpass our army by a large margin. Speaking of envy, it should be us envying you, especially now that we’ve been sent by the Empire to this godforsaken place, Togoland.”

The Navy’s budget is far more affluent than the Army’s, reflected across all aspects, and as members of colonial troops, colonial army forces are even worse off than mainland forces. So Andel considers Brand’s words somewhat biased.

And Brand helplessly explained, ”Let me clarify some of the details, so you’d know I wasn’t deceiving you. Just think about it; staying on the sea can never be more comfortable than on land, given the need to consider climate, waves, hygiene, and so on; every moment on the boat can be considered an intensely painful experience.”

”Take the most basic issue of sleeping; it’s impossible to sleep soundly. I imagine you must’ve felt this from the mainland to Togoland as well.”

Traveling from East Africa’s mainland to Togoland must take sea routes, so Andel nodded and said, ”Indeed, I remember when we were on that ship, sleeping in hammocks, unable to move our bodies, the space was especially cramped, stuffy, and very uncomfortable.”

Brand nodded in agreement and said, ”That’s exactly right; imagine sleeping on board every day, unable to eat well, sleep well, yet having loads of work to do. So even though our food budget is higher than the Army’s, it requires the appetite to eat.”

”Second, look at the ships we came over with this time; it’s hard to believe the youngest of these warships is two years older than me. Operating these sail ships involves more responsibilities and is more intricate than running modern warships.”

”Just adjusting the sails alone is enough to make our lives miserable, and cleaning the wooden deck isn’t easy either.”

Brand went on and on, demonstrating how terrible the comfort level of ships of this Era is, unless you’re a passenger on a cruise or ferry, which might be a bit better.

And Andel was effectively convinced by Brand; being in the Navy really isn’t something for ordinary folks. Although Navy wages are relatively higher, they are very limited. If Andel were to choose, he’d definitely still prefer the Army, as enduring the Navy’s treatment for a slightly higher wage isn’t worth it.

”Alright, this batch, except for a few thrown to the sharks due to illness or other reasons, we’re turning over to you entirely. We still have to rush for the next round, and who knows when these days will end,” Brand grumbled.

To which Andel could only respond, ”Good luck to you guys!”

After counting the number of people, only 1,789 Black people remained out of the initial 1,800, with 11 fewer. But these are not Andel’s concerns.

”Take them to the concentration camp first. After the next batch arrives, transport them collectively to the border.”

The East African Government set up a concentration camp at Lome Port for the temporary internment of these Black Slaves. Once the numbers are enough, they will be collectively transported by colonial troops to the northern border for release.

The final destination is the French Upper Volta colony, namely Burkina Faso, which means these Black people still have a 500-kilometer journey to go.

Togoland has no roads or railways to transport so many Black people to the border, inherently making this journey unfriendly to them.