Chapter 318 Eastern Colonies

After the fall of the Aksumite Kingdom, the Abyssians were not interested in doing business. They preferred to be warriors or clergy. Roman merchants began to control the commodity trade throughout Abyssinia.

Slaves were an important trade commodity in the port of Andronikos. They transported a large number of workers to Aden to grow cotton. Since this crop required a lot of labor, cotton plantations similar to those in Cyprus began to flourish.

In Aden, the East India Company had to protect Christian merchants from being robbed by people from Mecca and Medina. Fortunately, there was no unified regime in the entire Arabian Peninsula. There were constant struggles between tribes. In addition, the trade volume increased after sectarian conflicts and the company's involvement in the Red Sea trade. The local merchants were not as aggressive as the merchants in India.

"We must expand our territory in Ceylon, and we must hurry to build ships. We must go out within two years."

Mason gave orders. Thanks to the funds sent by the company, he could build a huge fleet. In order to train sailors, he offered a salary that was twice the income of local people, and many people signed up to join at once.

"Sir, there is a letter for you."

Mason took the letter, which had the seal of their family on it, and it seemed that there was something urgent.

After reading half of it, Mason's face turned red with anger. How could Florence be ungrateful? If it weren't for his father's plea and his service to His Highness, with Peter's temper, he would have forced everyone to sell their children.

Now he is repaying kindness with hatred and forcing them to leave. Isn't this an ungrateful person?

"We are going to Constantinople, and the family's property is being negotiated with others. I hope to see you soon, my son."

They are going to Constantinople, but Mason will not be back for another two years. There is no time to think about it, so he wrote a letter to Peter directly, asking him to treat his family preferentially for the sake of his colonization and exploration for the empire.

"You must hand him over to His Highness."

For the experience of his family, Mason swore that he would make Florence pay the price. Even if it means gambling with his own honor.

Unlike the colonies of ancient Rome, the current Roman colonies are commercial colonies based on mercantilism. Specialties and raw materials from all over the country were sent to Constantinople, and then the locally produced goods were transported back for sale.

The influence of Roman merchants was greater than that of Arab merchants. These Christian merchants not only wanted profits, but also power. Abyssinia's loan request was approved in part, and the small rulers of India turned to the East India Company to continue to obtain local rule. In exchange, they needed to pay taxes and provide troops every year.

For India, which has a vast land, Mason felt that it was too difficult to rely solely on bureaucracy, and it was necessary to cooperate with local rulers to maintain rule. The grassroots rule belongs to them, and they only need to continue to gain benefits.

For small and geographically important places, direct rule will be carried out, such as Ceylon. Other company allies like Abyssinia can be turned into vassals through means such as support and differentiation. These are also the three types of colonial expansion of the East India Company.

The East India Company also began to intervene in the Persian Gulf trade. They had a trading post in Hormuz. They also bought pearls from the Bahrain region. If they were not preparing for an expedition to the East, this place should have been conquered long ago.

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At this time, Andronikos was already a port city with 1,200 people. A large amount of land was reclaimed and planted with grain and a small amount of coffee. Due to the lack of water, the town chief mainly relied on commercial trade as a source of income. Relying on the ally Abyssinia, a large amount of luxury goods and gold were exported to Constantinople through here.

An Orthodox church, a church school, a large town square, a large trading market and a formal port have been built locally. Some of the Roman immigrants who came here were various craftsmen, and the things they made could be exchanged with the Abyssinians for more goods. Although they came to a place where they were unfamiliar with life, they lived better than before.

After several years of governance, Andronikos began to pick up the fine traditions of ancient Greece. The chief executive formed a 7-member council. In addition to the chief, the bishop and two government officials, the others were all highly respected local figures. The chief had to hold a meeting to ask for their opinions on any major events.

The local civilians also have a good life. They can get at least hundreds of acres of land for cultivation, or get the money converted from the land to the market price to open a shop in the town to do business. There are also some adventurers from Italy who heard that there are countless wealth and sold their property to go there. Their exploration of East Africa enriched the map and also understood the local humanities.

"William, are you really going to leave?"

In the tavern, a man with a northern Italian accent was asking another person.

"Yes, I want to go to Ceylon. Although the situation there is more dangerous, the rewards are also very generous. What about you, are you going to stay here?"

"You know, I have obtained a lot of land here, plus the business in the city, enough to live. I have asked someone to pick up my family. Although I am reluctant, it can only be done this way."

Seeing the other party like this, William could only bless him. There are still many people like this. Poor farmers from Italy accidentally get a chance to turn over. If they can't survive, who would be willing to leave their hometown?

In addition to craftsmen and self-employed farmers, slaves were also an important factor of production in the local area. Most of the local public construction was done by slaves, and slaves were also used in large numbers in mines, quarries and other places. These black-skinned people are not only strong, but also resistant to many diseases, and are not as delicate as them. Therefore, they are purchased in large quantities.

The company treated white slaves from other places more leniently, not calling them slaves, but contract laborers. They could get part of the remuneration, have a certain degree of freedom of movement and employment, and could get real freedom as long as they paid twice the amount the company paid for them or worked for seven to ten years. If they were willing to stay here, they could also get land or other privileges.

The attitude towards slaves in different regions was also the attitude of the company. After all, these black slaves were just labor, while white people were laborers and citizens, and were the main force for the expansion of the Roman Empire. Before Rome had the ability to immigrate on a large scale, it could only do this.

Andronico also engaged in the re-export trade of slaves, and the urban area continued to expand. This also caused dissatisfaction among some indigenous people. Fighting and fighting had become daily behavior, but fortunately there was no organization to unite them, so they could be defeated one by one.