Chapter 1143 Belgian Refugees
August 19, 1914.
Noire City.
The outbreak of war in Europe and the German invasion brought huge troubles to Belgium. As a Belgian colony, the Belgian Congo also ushered in a rare opportunity.
It can be said that the situation in the Belgian Congo is very different from that of the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the Belgian colonial rule in its previous life.
Now that Leopold II has already left, the rule of the Congo colony has been taken over by the Belgian government, turning it from a place where Leopold II made money into a colony that has been initially developed.
On the one hand, the population is smaller than that of the Congo, and the black indigenous people were basically "extinct" due to the scourge of Leopold II's rule. On the other hand, the conditions here are much better than those in the previous life of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Although the Democratic Republic of the Congo is much larger than the Congo Free State, it has only one outlet to the sea that cannot be fully utilized. Moreover, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is deeply inland and its area is too large, making development difficult. For a small European country like Belgium, the difficulty level of developing a colony of more than two million square kilometers is completely different from that of a colony of only more than 200,000 square kilometers.
Moreover, the discovery and development of local iron ore has made the Belgian government pay more attention to the Congolese colony. After all, Belgium is famous for its steel industry and is one of the few major steel countries in Europe. The development of the Belgian Congo is of great significance to Belgium. The development of the steel industry is of great significance.
In addition to iron ore, the Congolese colony is also very rich in other resources, at least for Belgium itself. The export of potassium salt from the Congolese colony alone can bring a lot of revenue to the Belgian government.
Mineral exports have become the pillar industry of the Belgian Congo. Because of its developed local industry and its proximity to East Africa, Africa's largest industrial power, the Belgian Congo has never lacked markets.
At the same time, there is also great promise in developing agriculture in the Belgian Congo. Although Leopold II was brutal, it must be said that during his reign, the blood and sweat of black people gave the local area a preliminary foundation for the development of agriculture.
Belgium is originally a high-latitude country. Even though the warm and humid Atlantic air currents make Belgium quite livable, it is impossible to develop tropical agriculture.
The Belgian Congo provides this opportunity. The Belgian Congo can develop almost most tropical agricultural products to meet Belgium's own needs.
This allows Belgium to obtain a stable supply of tropical agricultural products, such as rubber, coffee, sugar, etc., and can basically be self-sufficient.
After the death of Leopold II, the Belgian government also changed some of its extreme policies in the Congo. Instead of simply plundering the local area in the past, it began to make some large investments, and at the same time encouraged immigrants from the country to develop in the Congo colony.
This is also a last resort. The Belgian Congo has shown great value, and there is a giant country like East Africa next to it. The Belgian government must not simply trust the guarantees of the East African government.
Therefore, starting in 1908, in just five years, the Belgian government successively immigrated nearly 130,000 Belgians to the area. During the era of Leopold II, the Belgian population in the entire Belgian Congo was less than 30,000.
The influx of Belgians has further developed the local economy, developed a large number of agricultural products and plantations, and established a number of small and medium-sized enterprises, mainly engaged in mining, agricultural product processing, and import and export trade.
Before the outbreak of World War I, the entire Belgian Congo was already full of vitality, and the quality of economic development was even better than that of Argentina.
This also provided the basis for Belgian immigrants. When World War I broke out, Belgium itself was affected by the war, and a large number of Belgians chose to escape the war in the Belgian Congo.
In 1913, the population of Pointe-Noire had reached 130,000. It was the political and economic center of the entire Belgian Congo and was considered a large city in Belgium. The total population of the entire Belgian Congo had exceeded 600,000, of which 400 were Chinese immigrants. There are over 100,000 Belgians, close to 200,000, and the rest are mostly East Africans.
In Pointe-Noire Port, ships are surging, and every day a large number of ships carry products from the Belgian Congo to the Belgian mainland or East Africa. However, the Port of Pointe-Noire has now ushered in new changes. Many Belgians with their families took refuge in Pointe-Noire City with their luggage.
On the dock of Pointe Noire, Herman was taking his wife and his three children, looking for the target.
"Is this you Herman?" At this time, a strong man squeezed out of the crowd and shouted to De Croo.
I saw this man walking over carrying a wooden sign, and it was Decroo's name written on it, Herman Decroo.
"Are you Hughes?" De Croo asked with some uncertainty as he looked at the visitor.
"It's me, brother. How about it? Can't you recognize me? Have you become a lot darker and stronger?"
Hughes Decro is also Herman's younger brother, but the images of Hughes and Herman's memories are quite different.
The Hughes in Herman's memory was definitely not strong. I remember that when he was in Belgium, Hughes was relatively thin due to poor nutrition, and his skin was not as dark as it is now. Hughes even looked a little delicate before leaving Belgium. .
However, now Hughes looks like he is wearing a muscular body with strange short sleeves. The lines of his two arms are vividly displayed in the scorching sun. He is wearing shorts and a pair of sandals on his lower body. If it weren't for the familiar voice, He would never consider this man to be his brother.
As if reading his brother's thoughts, Hughes said with some embarrassment: "When I came to the Belgian Congo, my appearance has indeed changed a lot in the past few years, but it is mainly because the environment here is different from that at home."
In fact, compared to the mainland, the Belgian Congo is definitely a good place for ordinary people in Belgium to live. In addition to the climate here, of course, the climate in Pointe-Noire is still good.
Although this place is in the tropics and is adjacent to the tropical rainforest climate zone, the Benguela cold current along the coast keeps the temperature in Pointe Noire at more than 20 degrees, even though the sun is a bit fierce.
And Herman continued to ask: "Your clothes are a bit strange. Are all tropical people dressed like this?"
Herman's impression of the tropics was that it was relatively hot, so he couldn't accept his brother's attire yet, but he also noticed that most of the locals dressed like this.
Hughes said: "These are East African short-sleeves and shorts. This is what East Africans usually wear, so we also wear it. It should be very comfortable to wear in Europe in the summer, but cultural differences mean that this kind of clothing is only available in East Africa and surrounding areas for the time being. More popular."
Europe and many temperate countries do not have this kind of attire. This is actually consistent with common sense. After all, the temperature of the earth today is far less hot than Ernst’s previous life. This has to be mentioned. The Little Ice Age had a huge impact not only on the Far East, but also on Europe. It also experienced a Little Ice Age that lasted hundreds of years.
Therefore, in this era, especially in temperate regions such as Europe and East Asia, people generally wear thicker clothes than in Ernst’s previous life. Of course, as a tropical region, East Africa, with Ernst’s influence, is much more casual than Europe in terms of clothing. Why? No matter how comfortable you are, this situation has also affected areas around East Africa.
After all, East Africa is a major country in the textile industry, and East African clothing habits will also flow to these areas with trade. This is the case in the Belgian Congo. Many East African industrial products are popular in the Belgian Congo. After all, a piece of clothing, shipped from Belgium, costs only It is not cheap, and the trade between East Africa and the Belgian Congo is quite frequent. There are many places bordering the two countries and there are many border trade markets, so the living habits of the Belgian Congo are also rapidly becoming East African.
Hughes said: "Your suit looks rather strange here. At first glance, you can tell that you just came from Europe. Compared with the mainland, the Belgian Congo has its own culture and living habits. Many things here are compared with those in East Africa." Similar, you should get used to it after living there for a while.”
"And let me tell you, whether you can go back to Europe is another matter. I feel that here is no worse than the mainland. Basically, there is no shortage of everything. There are also many opportunities now. Many local nobles and businessmen are increasing their investment here. If it can be developed to the level of Cabinda, it will basically be no different from Europe:"
(End of chapter)