Chapter 245 Colony
Thousands of kilometers away from Constantinople, in East Africa, the Romanians who stayed behind began to build on this land. More than 70 people, including missionaries, merchants, craftsmen, doctors, etc., stayed. In a short period of time, they built docks, markets, chapels and other buildings. They also planned to build 100 residential houses, open up farms and pastures, and a total of more than 20 construction projects were put on the agenda.
With a goal, you need manpower. With the funds left by Mason, they bought 200 prisoners of war and slaves from nearby tribes and Arab merchants. Under the effect of the whip, the efficiency is not ordinary.
Alessandro walked out of the newly built house. After a long time of living, he finally adapted to the climate here. As the newly appointed chief executive, he had the obligation to protect the land of the empire.
"Sir, another imperial merchant ship has stopped at the dock."
"Got it, let them do their job, I'm going to go somewhere else."
As Rome explored eastward, some merchants followed their example and entered the Red Sea through Egypt. This proposed port became a safe haven and trading point for merchant ships. The surrounding tribes exchanged their own goods with them, and the merchants also obtained slaves, ivory and other things from them.
Alessandro then walked to the chapel, where Father Gerasimovich was leading the believers in prayer. He was a Ruthenian and a fanatical Orthodox Christian. When he learned that he was going to spread the gospel far away, he immediately signed up and then began to preach here.
But it is not easy to preach in this land. Not to mention pagans, there are heretics here. Although Abyssinia, ruled by the Solomon Dynasty, believed in Christianity, they believed in the Eastern Orthodox Church, which belonged to the Oriental Orthodox Church, and did not communicate with the universal patriarch of the Eastern Roman Orthodox Church.
In such a difficult situation, the priest still converted more than 20 people to Orthodoxy here, which is already remarkable. At the same time, he also participated in the governance of the colony, so it was understandable that Alessandro asked him to discuss.
After the prayer, the priest found the officer waiting next to him and quickly came to talk to him.
"Respected sir, what wind blew you here?"
"Father, what do you think of this land?" Alessandro first asked the priest how this place was, and the priest did not hesitate to say that this was a land that needed to be purified by God. The church has the obligation to spread the gospel of God.
Alessandro expressed his support for the priest's decision, but he didn't say anything when the other party asked for funds and other support. Now is a period of great construction, where is the money. If it weren't for the tolls and trade income paid by the merchant ships coming and going, it would have been out of pocket long ago.
Moreover, the troops and weapons in this area are only enough to delay time, and self-protection is far from enough. The best way now is to accumulate strength and hold on until the caravan to India returns. At the same time, rely on the merchant ships coming and going to bring news back to Constantinople and request more support.
But before he could write a letter, support came. Representatives of the Southern Chamber of Commerce came to discuss loans, trade and immigration with Alessandro.
The Chamber of Commerce already knew that the fleet had established the first colony in the East, and the boss behind it had foresight and had thought about the problem of insufficient manpower in the colony, so they asked them to prepare 120 free people and 280 slaves to go together. This is a great help for the colony with scarce manpower.
"Do you feel anything different here, sir?"
In the relatively simple reception room, Alessandro was asking the Chamber of Commerce representative.
"Well, it's much worse than Constantinople, but it's also a good start. We all know the difficulties here. The Chamber of Commerce agreed to lend 200,000 lei to help here, and will also help immigrants."
Hearing this, Alessandro was a little shocked. He didn't expect that the rescue came as soon as he asked for help. This speed is simply too fast.
"Not only that, Lord Caesar also wrote a letter of appointment after learning about it. Congratulations, you have become the official chief executive here."
In the letter of appointment written by Peter, in addition to appointing the chief executive, this place was named after Andronikos, tax exemption for five years, encouraging them to make persistent efforts, and allowing them to do business with others.
Alessandro accepted the appointment, and the first order he issued was to set aside a piece of land as a branch and trading house of the Southern Chamber of Commerce. The first batch of loans and land fees totaling 70,000 lei have been received, and he can use this money to continue expansion and construction.
Now this colony has 200 free people and 400 slaves, and it has the size of a village. In this case, supporting facilities must also be established to gain long-term control over this land.
The surrounding tribes were curious about this town, but after seeing that they could obtain goods they had never seen through trading, the trade between the two sides began.
The frankincense and myrrh here, the ivory and slaves in the south, as well as grain and timber will be traded here. It's a pity that there are no spices like pepper and nutmeg, otherwise why go all the way to India, can't we just buy it here?
In the market today, several merchants from the western region brought a kind of red fruit. They said that it was the food they prepared for the soldiers going to war, and eating it can make them energetic, and it can be brewed and blended.
Such a magical thing naturally won the favor of some people, and they bought some and planned to ship it to Constantinople to let the people there taste the drinks here.
If Alessandro wants to expand his territory here, he must make it prosperous. Although it is located at the node of the spice trade route, it is not as important as Aden on the opposite side. The toll collected is less. If you want to increase the number of merchant ships, you have to open Suez.
The current canal concept has been supported by more than 2,000 black people with actions. They keep digging every day. Because it is the territory of the Mamluks, they have to keep a low profile. When can they pass through Egypt in 151 days?
And both sides of the Red Sea are pagan forces. Christians want to have a place here and control it. They need strong support from their hometown. Although they have received help from Caesar, it would be best if they had the support of Basilius.
What is the purpose of colonization? During the Industrial Revolution, it was labor, raw materials and markets, but in this era, luxury goods are undoubtedly the goal of colonization. Spices, sugar, porcelain, silk, ivory, gems, gold and silver, these things are the goals of the Age of Discovery. These things are of high value and difficult to find, and there will be competition from other forces. Therefore, whoever controls the place of origin and trading port first will gain the upper hand in this game. In the original world, it was Portugal, and in the current world, it is Rome.