Wild North America 1846

Chapter 40

The prosperity of the guano trade is inseparable from the current background of the times.

19 century

The first industrial revolution originated in the UK swept across Europe in full swing. By the middle of the 19th century, Britain had become the world's first industrialized country. The industrial revolution represented by steam power had a profound impact on European and American countries. Large-scale industrial production replaced the traditional The handicraft industry has greatly improved social productivity and promoted the prosperity of international trade.

There are many factories in European and American countries, and there is a strong demand for labor force. This has led to a large number of landless farmers entering factories to work, and the urban population has increased rapidly, which has correspondingly increased the demand for agricultural products.

compared with

The development of the agricultural field seems to be lagging behind. In the era when chemical fertilizers did not appear, the land yield was very low, and the only way to promote crop production was through organic fertilizers, so human and animal manure was a very sought-after resource.

In order to increase the fertility of the land, Europeans even went to the battlefields during the Napoleonic period to dig up bones, import animal bones from Australia and New Zealand, and bury them in the ground to increase fertility.

The above-mentioned measures have no obvious effect.

However, the emergence of guano has solved the biggest problem in agricultural production in European and American countries, and doubled the crop yield. This is a precious agricultural resource, which is in the ascendant in international trade, and its popularity is unprecedentedly high.

The guano deposits on the Peruvian islands are precious resources that are rare and inhabitable. They have been looted by European and American countries, and their prices have been rising steadily.

It was against this background that Peru became a major South American country that imported Chinese laborers. They could pay large sums of money to continuously import Chinese laborers from mainland China.

Another large importer of Chinese laborers is the Cuban white sugar plantation. At this stage, it is estimated that the total number of Chinese laborers is no less than 15, mainly distributed in the surrounding areas of Havana.

After the Opium War

The closed gate of the Qing Dynasty has actually broken its defenses. Due to the urgent need for labor, the great powers headed by the British Straits Colonies and the French Indochina Peninsula colonies import an astonishing number of Chinese laborers from the coastal areas of the Chinese mainland every year, with an average annual number of hundreds of thousands. .

In the British Straits Settlements alone, more than 10 million Chinese laborers were imported in just a few decades (from the first half of the 300th century to the end of the Qing Dynasty).In Batavia (Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies alone, there are more than 19 Chinese.

throughout the 19th century
It was the era of the great migration of Chinese laborers. The population of Chinese laborers spread all over Southeast Asia, Australia, South American countries and North America, with a total of no less than tens of millions.

From the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 19th century, in order to carry out colonial expansion in Malaya, the British encouraged a large number of Chinese laborers to go to Malaya for development by using preferential conditions such as land grants, reclamation, and loan subsidies as bait.

Most of the early Chinese laborers were bankrupt peasants and unemployed poor people in the southeast coast. They were left in a foreign country due to contract sales or abduction, and they had to suffer blood and tears.

During the Tongzhi period, "Jie Yao Jie Yao" records:
"Thousands and hundreds of people are cheated out of the sea and die every year. There are those who die of illness halfway, those who ask for their own death, and those who burn and chisel ships. If you want them, they all perish. Insufficient, more than whipping; or killed by innocent people, no one to protect, life is worthless. Chinese people are innocent, wandering tens of thousands of miles, and it is so cruel to suffer!"

This is part of the history of blood and tears of labor. By the middle of the 19th century, it had intensified and became the second largest wave of human trafficking after the black slave trade, affecting almost all parts of the world.

19s
There were tens of thousands of Chinese laborers in the tin mines near Malacca and the states in the west of the peninsula. The primeval forests of Penang and Singapore were quickly exploited by the Chinese laborers, and then turned to the land states of Johor, Selangor and Perak in the interior of the peninsula.

The Chinese laborers built their own villages and towns in the local area, just like the North American grape valley. The Chinese live in thousands of villages in Johor. The banks of the 29 rivers in Johor State are almost all plantations reclaimed by Chinese laborers.

The port of Singapore in the Straits Settlements became a stronghold for Chinese workers to continue to advance to the peninsula.

Take North America only as an example;

American Pacific Cruises is a shipping company specializing in the transportation of Chinese laborers across the ocean. The cost of transporting a "piglet" is about 6 to 7 US dollars. The ticket to the destination in North America or Central America is worth 50 US dollars. Get huge profits.

In the Cuban market, a contracted Chinese laborer only needs about 350-400 US dollars (a strong male over 18 years old).

19 century

A black slave is worth $250. With the huge profits generated by the cotton trade in the southern United States, the demand for labor is more urgent. It costs 19 US dollars, and the total number of black slaves in the United States alone has reached more than 18 million.

One only needs 400 meters, and the other needs more than 800 meters. This is an obvious gap, which greatly stimulates the urgent demand for Chinese labor from the planters and mine owners in Central and South America, and is the root cause of the wave of population flow. factor.

The tide of history is mighty, running along the original track...

In Li Cha's heart, he has the idea of ​​expanding the Chinese influence and basic consolidation, and also has the consideration of finding a bright future for these Chinese workers who have been exiled to foreign lands. Wouldn't it be good to have the best of both worlds?
Compared with those white mine owners and plantation owners who mistreated Chinese laborers, following Richard to open up a business in North America, the prospects of these overseas Chinese are even brighter.

Li Cha feels deeply obligated to do his part for his compatriots.

His goal is not the more than 3000 Chinese workers in San Francisco, but hundreds of thousands or even more Chinese workers in Central and South America, but this has to be done step by step, and there is no rush.

think for a moment
Li Cha sighed lightly and stood up. The heavy pressure on his shoulders made him feel that there was a long way to go.

At this stage

It is still necessary to lay a solid foundation in San Francisco and establish corresponding industries. It takes time to train soldiers, consolidate power, and clear obstacles on the way forward.

I have made up my mind
Li Cha opened the prestige system interface and highlighted the prestige title task "King of the Bay Area";
Prestige Title Quest; "King of the Bay"

The current task progress; 31722 people/3331 people, the progress is more than 10%.

10%?

After thinking about it for a while, Richard understood the recognition of the reputation system. The number 3331 includes 2955 Chinese in San Francisco and some Chinese in Sacramento.

After eliminating the influence of the Agreement Hall, he has been recognized as the leader of the Chinese community and the "King of the Bay Area" in the eyes of the Chinese people. He has a high reputation in the area and is recognized by the reputation system.

It is obviously not easy for the entire San Francisco area, including whites, Mexicans and indigenous Indians, to recognize the title of "King of the Bay Area".

At the very least, with John Sutter's 10 years of operation as a huge force, it has not been generally recognized, so one can imagine how difficult it is to complete this prestige title task?

In this ghost place, whites and Mexicans have a lot of brains, and if they want to be recognized by them, they must have crushing strength.

Li Cha silently encouraged himself;

Well, my future is the sea of ​​stars, this is just a small challenge in the process of moving forward, and I have enough confidence to complete it.

(End of this chapter)