Chapter 208 Basically stable
In colonies, infectious diseases are the most difficult to deal with, and there is no good way to deal with except isolation.
Smallpox is not bad. After all, the empire has popularized vaccination with cowpox, and the Naval Hospital in Atlantic City has to vaccinate everyone who arrives, so it is not afraid of it. Malaria also has cinchona as a special medicine, but there are many infectious diseases that cannot be treated and prevented, such as plague and cholera.
These diseases often break out in colonies, and each outbreak will take many lives.
Since last year, infectious diseases have once again broke out in the inland areas of North America. Not only the southern side of the five major lakes where Indians gather, but also the French colony New France.
Although the Empire has been stumbling with the Iroquois League in recent years, because there has been conflict between the Iroquois League and the French colonies and their ally, the Hurons, the Empire has always given support to the Iroquois and allowed them to attack France. With the support of the Empire, the Hurons, who were not originally an opponent of the Iroquois League, were completely defeated and collapsed. They went south along the Songjiang River, or went out to the sea along the river, and joined the imperial colony for protection.
Because of the outbreak of the epidemic, starting from last year, these Hurons have to be isolated first and then allowed to enter.
The empire forced vaccination of cowpox nationwide in the 32nd year of the empire was a policy regarded as a moral policy by later generations. After three years of promotion, urban people have completed this project. Vaccination with cowpox to prevent smallpox is also a necessary process for becoming a newborn in the empire. However, in the vast rural areas, there are still a large number of uninoculated people. People who go to the countryside to vaccinate cowpox are called "Mr. Dianhua". Their work has been hindered by rural people.
This year, the emperor ordered the suspension of forced vaccination in rural areas. The reason is very simple. In a county in Gansu, due to the wrong operation of "Mr. Dianhua" artificially led to the smallpox epidemic, resulting in the death of hundreds of people. The Imperial Medical System believes that the promotion of vaccination still requires the production of more scientific and stable vaccines, rather than leading the calf around to vaccinate people.
Duan Yi thought for a while and said, "Maybe this is a good opportunity to resolve the tension between us and the Iroquois League."
Although the Iroquoi Alliance is very powerful and can be regarded as the leading indigenous power on the North American continent, its strength is just that. According to the Empire's investigation of it, it was found that this alliance of five tribes could produce tens of thousands of warriors, and this was the data from a few years ago. With the epidemic of diseases in recent years, its actual strength is not as good as before.
Once upon a time, some people proposed a military solution, but the one who promoted this proposal was the garrison, and neither the local people nor the colonial government had this intention.
The reason is actually very simple. The empire has all the colonies opened by the British back then, and the living space has far exceeded the needs of the population. On the contrary, the profitable trade of the colonies, such as fur, needs to maintain the existence of the Indians. Moreover, the Indians are tough and good at fighting, which is not easy to solve.
After owning the British colony, the Governor's Office integrated various information and found that at least so far, the Indians had the upper hand in the struggle between the Anza people.
(After later generations counted all recorded data. By the beginning of the 19th century, in three centuries, Indians attacked more than 9,000 colonists, and colonies killed more than 7,000 Indians. Of course, that was just a count of those with records, and it was difficult to explain those without records.)
Unlike the policies of isolation and expulsion from the Indians during the British rule, the Governor's Office of the North American colonial colony welcomed the Indians openly. In contact with the empire immigrants, the Indians also learned to grow wheat and raise livestock. The Indians who entered the city also became construction workers, and the intermarriage and integration between the two ethnic groups was also proceeding in an orderly manner.
Therefore, military means are not in the plan. The most important thing now is to win the friendship of the Iroquoi Alliance, so that the imperial merchants can go deep into the Great Lakes basin and share the market and fur resources there. The opportunity Duan Yi mentioned is to assist the Indians in dealing with the epidemic.
Bai Jingyu heard Duan Yi's words and said, "Duan Yi, you have been with the prince for many years. You are indeed a little smart, but you have thought it simple. And the Governor's Office has already arranged this opportunity."
Duan Yi felt that this was an opportunity. Of course, Bai Jingyu thought so early in the morning, but he needed to determine what kind of infectious disease that broke out in the Iroquois League was. Even if he had to provide help, he would never introduce the disease into Atlantic City. Only by protecting himself can he help the Indians.
Although the information currently obtained shows that the epidemic is smallpox, in North America, infectious diseases often occur together, and Bai Jingyu must be prepared for other infectious diseases.
Therefore, Bai Jingyu has asked the Navy Hospital to form a medical team, especially the medical resources required for smallpox vaccination, and has recruited more than 40 immigrants from the Iroquois tribe as interpreters and assistants. As long as the real situation of the Iroquois League epidemic is determined, this medical team can enter its territory to assist at any time.
However, Bai Jingyu's head is not just about the nobleness of humanitarianism, but also about the tricks of being a politician.
Because it was not only the Iroquois League that broke out, but also the French colonies of New France, Bai Jingyu was preparing to directly hold the hat of the spread of the disease on the French, and to promote it that the French brought the infectious disease and deliberately spread it to the Iroquois. Anyway, the French have not done such a thing.
"If you do this, it will trigger a rebound from France." Duan Yi was a little worried about the consequences of this approach.
Bai Jingyu was careless and said, "In the last Great Alliance War, the prince captured the British and Spanish colonies in North America. This time, as long as the Spanish king dies, the new war will definitely seize the French colonies in North America. I do this to prepare in advance."
Although Duan Yi and Bai Jingyu had some differences in their specific approach, he could only respect the opinions of the colonial governor. In the following days, after waiting for his wife and brother to arrange the canning factory affairs, Duan Yi took a boat south as planned, went to Xinhu first, and lingered on Songjiang for a few days. According to the agreement with Bai Jingyu, he did not rashly enter the gathering place of the Indians.
Since then, Duan Yi went south and visited several port cities of the Empire's North American colonies, Philadelphia, Richmond and Charleston. These cities and their colonies were under the autonomy of the Anza people. The Empire simply sent garrisons to station them in the ports to carry out anti-smuggling, tax collection and strict investigation of smuggling activities.
At these ports, Duan Yi saw a depressed scene, because the North American Governor's Office implemented strict policies in these places, increased a lot of taxes on imports and exports, and strictly controlled local industries.
For example, the unprecedented Virginia tobacco cultivation industry lost its vitality under the attack of the Governor's Office. Before Bai Jingyu took office, the garrison would send troops to clear out the tobacco cultivation areas and burn down the plantations because these people were the main forces supporting the resistance army. However, after Bai Jingyu took office, especially after the appeasement policy determined last year, everything changed.
The Governor's Office no longer controls the tobacco cultivation industry, but only imposes large-scale taxes on this industry, and does not allow Virginia tobacco to be exported to the Empire and overseas territories controlled by the Empire. It also cracks down on smuggling.
On the other hand, the Empire came forward to persuade the Spanish colonies in Cuba and other places to introduce these British capitals and develop tobacco cultivation. Compared with the Virginian tobacco plantations that can only survive by smuggling, tobacco grown in Cuba can be exported to European countries and African colonies.
Driven by this policy, a large number of Virginia tobacco planters took their black slaves to Cuba and returned to their old business. The economy in the Virginia region fell into a depression. In addition, investment from the UK was cut off, Virginia and other places had transformed from an extroverted colony into a closed and backward small peasant economy. The people living in the local area were only engaged in planting rice and maintaining their lives.
Duan Yi stayed in Charleston for the longest time, and here he found a small-scale slave market. The market was filled with various types of slaves, especially black slaves, but they were not bought from Africa, but locally owned. Most of the people who came to buy black slaves were merchants from Spanish and Portuguese colonies, mainly various plantations in Virginia could not be maintained. Some farmers who wanted to return to the UK were dealing with the remaining assets.
Not only black slaves, but also white indentured slaves are also quite popular among merchants, because the slaves have lived in America for a long time and proved their vitality. Even if they are more expensive, they are much better than the new black slaves. The latest batch of black slaves are from the Imperial Farmers of the Dragon Tail Peninsula.
The so-called Dragon Tail Peninsula is the Florida region. During the American War, Spain sold Florida to the Empire. The name of Dragon Tail was obtained because of its shape. There were not many Spanish colonists in the local area and were expelled to Cuba. The local area was also taken over by the Imperial military. Because of its excellent geographical location and subtropical climate, many merchants attracted to come here to open plantations to plant cotton and sugarcane. The labor force was the black slaves who took over directly from the Spanish colonists.
This was not allowed by the empire. The Governor's Office repeatedly issued orders that the use of slaves was completely prohibited from the entire empire, whether in provinces or overseas territories. When merchants saw the move, they immediately signed a lifelong employment contract with the slaves, but even the children were not spared.
Since then, the Governor's Office and the Navy have sent people to investigate several times, but they have not been able to completely clean up.
If Florida wants to develop a climate, it must start with a planting industry, and it will inevitably plant tropical subtropical products such as sugarcane, cotton and tobacco. This will inevitably require a large number of black slaves who adapt to this climate and resist tropical diseases. This is determined by its own environment, and the fact is that the colonies of the empire in tropical regions are like this.
In the end, under the strict orders of the center of the empire, Bai Jingyu sent the navy into the Longwei Peninsula and declared that it was a military zone and no economic activities were allowed. Only then did the Longwei Peninsula finally cleared, and local merchants either went north to Atlantic City to operate or went to the Panama Isthmus to invest. The land taken over locally could only be handed over, and slaves and other means of production were sold.
As the heat went from cold, Duan Yi returned to Ceuta, it was November of the 35th year of the empire. On the merchant ship he returned, he had already written a complete report and sent it back to the capital. Although he was still holding a manuscript, Duan Yi knew Li Junwei's habits, and this prince did not have the habit of reading the report.
"I have seen your brother-in-law. He is a shrewd and capable guy. Just give him the canning factory. Duan Yi, you are not a material for business. You are smart, but you are too shameless." Li Junwei said to Duan Yi while approving the notes. He easily approved 50,000 silver dollars from Prince Yu's Mansion and handed it to Duan Yi to run the canning factory. Although it was not directly given to Duan Yi, it was also a reward for this young man. After all, he has been traveling in the colony for half a year.
Duan Yi took the note and put it away, saying, "Don't worry, you will definitely not lose money."
"Tell me, are these people making a big fuss about the Southern Colonial Resistance Army?" Li Junwei asked.
Duan Yi said: "It's not that great anymore. I met the garrison in Charleston. The major in charge is a low-level acquaintance. According to him, the resistance army has had very few sabotage activities in the past two years, especially since this year, it has only happened twice, and no casualties have been caused.
The main reason is that my husband has many ways. To put it bluntly, the resistance troops were organized and supported by the planters in the south. These people originally made money by growing tobacco and sugarcane. As a result, after the colony returned to the empire, the trade routes for export to Britain were cut off. We do not want them to compete with similar products in other overseas territories of the empire. After several suppression, the more they suppressed, the more they resisted.
After the husband took charge of Atlantic City, he gave these people a way out and asked them to go to Cuba Island, Jamaica and Haiti to do planting, especially the first two islands. I heard that Cuban land is especially suitable for planting tobacco and sugarcane, which is more difficult to deal with the local Spaniards. Jamaica is an autonomous colony, and most of the people in charge are British, implementing religious tolerance policies. So many people went there, and when these people went to the Caribbean, the resistance army stopped.
I heard that many resistance troops came out of the inland and went to the coast to clean up some of the land of the departed and settled down."
"That's good. The management of North American colonies is to calm people down and spend less money. After all, it's all my money." Li Junwei muttered.
"Yes, now the people of Atlantic City are all thinking of you, saying that you are the Buddha of the Ten Thousand Family."
Chapter completed!