Chapter 169: Putting Disputes Aside
Hawaii in 1851 had not yet been annexed by the United States. Google search reading
At this time, Hawaii was still an independent kingdom at least in name. The current situation of the Kingdom of Hawaii was not much better than that of the Qing Dynasty in the Gengzi Year, and it could even be said to be worse than that of the Qing Dynasty.
At least with the size of the Qing Dynasty, no major power had the ability to swallow up the Qing Dynasty, but Hawaii, a tiny country, was different.
The Hawaiian Islands only cover an area of 670,000 square kilometers, and there are different opinions about its population at its peak, with some saying 400,000 to 500,000, and some saying 700,000 to 800,000.
Regardless of whether it is 400,000 to 500,000 or 700,000 to 800,000, an indisputable fact is that after the white people arrived in the Hawaiian Islands, the diseases they brought to the Hawaiian Islands and the deliberate massacre of the local indigenous population have caused the total population of the Hawaiian Islands to drop sharply to less than 80,000.
These 80,000 people are not entirely indigenous populations, there are also a considerable number of white people from various countries and a small number of Chinese and Japanese.
Liang Yao's Zhongyihui also accepted some Japanese members. These Japanese members of Zhongyihui made a living in the Hawaiian Islands in their early years. After hearing that gold was discovered in California, they came to California by ship.
In the past ten years, Britain and France have plundered the Hawaiian Islands several times, and the most recent plunder occurred last year, that is, in 1850.
General Tromelin of the French Navy openly sent troops to land in Hawaii and looted all the gold and silver treasures on the island. The palace of the King of Hawaii was the focus of attention.
Shortly after the French invasion, the British who heard the news drove away the invading French navy.
This is not how bright and majestic the British Empire is. The British just saw the French's intention to monopolize the Hawaiian Islands and did not want the French to monopolize the Hawaiian Islands.
The two sides are still unhappy about this matter and blame each other.
The British accused the French of inhumane massacres and plundering of the Hawaiian Islands.
And the French accused the British of damaging their warships.
Of course, America also wants Hawaii, but compared with the two colonial big brothers, Britain and France, America has no say at this time.
But America also has the geographical advantage of annexing Hawaii, that is, Hawaii is closest to America, and the distance from the main island of Hawaii to San Francisco is only more than 3,700 kilometers.
After Liang Yao became the deputy governor and speaker of the state assembly of California, President Fillmore also mentioned the Kingdom of Hawaii in his letter to him, asking Liang Yao to keep an eye on the developments of the Kingdom of Hawaii and invite the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii to visit America and feel the kindness of the American people.
Of course, Liang Yao himself also has this idea. If he gets involved in Hawaii, California will become the biggest beneficiary.
"You still have the face to mention Hawaii. You bandits just looted Hawaii last year." Gibson blamed Le Goff.
"If it weren't for the arrival of our British Royal Navy and the timely stopping of your atrocities, God knows what crimes you French people would have committed in Hawaii that would be unforgivable even to God!"
"Bullshit, our French Navy entered Hawaii to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Hawaiian Christians!" Le Goff retorted to Gibson.
"If we talk about crimes committed in Hawaii, the crimes committed by you British people in Hawaii are too numerous to list!"
Watching the two robbers' spokespersons quarreling, Liang Yao found it very interesting. He did not dissuade them, but watched the show quietly.
When the two of them quarreled for a while and were tired, Liang Yao took a sip of tea and said.
"Gentlemen, no matter what, after our efforts, we finally brought democracy to the autocratic country of the Kingdom of Hawaii, didn't we?"
"Mr. Liang, you are still right. Although our French navy left, we still left the parliament and democracy to the Hawaiian people." Le Goff said proudly.
"But you also took away the gold and silver treasures of Hawaii!" Gibson said dissatisfiedly.
"Democracy comes at a price, and the deployment of the French Navy also requires military funds!" Le Goff retorted.
"Okay, okay, stop arguing. If you continue arguing like this, there will be no good results." Liang Yao stopped them.
"I asked you to come here today mainly to mediate the conflict between you. Although you are not ambassadors and cannot represent England and France, I believe that you two have a pivotal position in the political arena of England and France, and your words are also weighty."
"Mediate? How do you want to mediate? Can you represent the United States? As far as I know, the states of your country do not have diplomatic rights." Gibson looked at Liang Yao vigilantly.
"Of course not, but I can represent the people of California and the American Group."
Liang Yao motioned Gibson and Le Goff to sit down first.
"Whether it is England, France, or America, we all need a supply point in the Pacific to provide supplies for our fleet, right?"
"Yes, sir."
The two said at the same time.
"Since the Kingdom of Hawaii is now a democratic country, I think as a role model for democratic countries, we should help this devastated country rebuild." Liang Yao said.
"My suggestion is to put aside the dispute and jointly help the Kingdom of Hawaii rebuild, repair and expand the port of Hawaii.
After the port is repaired, ships from England, France, and the United States can replenish coal and supplies in the port of Hawaii."
When the French Navy left Hawaii, in order to disgust the British Royal Navy, General Tromelin ordered the destruction of the facilities in the Hawaiian port, which needed to be repaired.
Gibson and Le Goff were not very interested in repairing the port in Hawaii, which would cost a lot of money and invest a lot of manpower and material resources.
The attitudes of the two actually represented the attitudes of the British and French high-level officials.
The British and French high-level officials were interested in Hawaii, but they were not interested in building Hawaii.
Neither country was completely sure of monopolizing Hawaii. If Hawaii was controlled by the other side in the end, all these investments would be cheap for the other side.
However, they both wanted their ships to be supplied in Hawaii, especially hoping that their steamships could be replenished with coal in Hawaii.
Coal was also a thorny issue.
The French colonies were far away from Hawaii and could not provide Hawaii with a large amount of coal.
The Canadian colonies on the Pacific coast of Britain were extremely underdeveloped and could not provide Hawaii with a large amount of coal.
The only country capable of providing coal for the Hawaiian supply station was California.
"Hawaii's most pressing need is coal. I hope you can provide coal for Hawaii. As for the proposal to shelve the dispute and jointly develop, I will state it to Mr. Ambassador." Gibson said to Liang Yao.
"I think all your suggestions are very reasonable. I will convey your suggestions to my country's ambassador to the United States." Le Goff said.
This is the reply given to Liang Yao by the two after consideration. Obviously, they do not reject Liang Yao's proposal.
They do not reject Liang Yao's proposal, and Liang Yao's goal has been achieved.
Liang Yao called them just to greet them in advance and communicate with them to avoid unnecessary trouble in the future. Last time, France did not communicate with Britain in advance, and the two sides were unhappy.
Even if they oppose, Liang Yao will repair the port of Hawaii according to the planned plan, transport coal to the port, and provide supplies for the Global Shipping Group.
As for annexing Hawaii, with his current strength, even the strength of the United States does not allow him to do so.
If the United States is strong enough, he can be more arrogant and do not even need to communicate with Britain and France.
Historically, the United States only annexed Hawaii in 1898. By 1898, the United States had experienced the baptism of the Second Industrial Revolution, and its strength was no longer comparable to that of 1851.