Chapter 143: The Slave Economy
In August, at the Mbeya mining district, natives were shackled with wooden stocks binding their feet and forced to carry hoes, clearing weeds and rubble on the surface.
Because their mobility was restricted, they worked slowly, but the East African overseers stood by, completely unbothered by the inefficiency.
East Africa had never expected these natives to be highly productive. They simply set a hard daily goal. If it was unmet, there would be no avoiding the bamboo whip and reduced rations.
After all, the natives were performing only menial tasks. The colony certainly didn't anticipate precision. As long as the quantity was done, that was enough. Digging, hauling bricks, trenching, chopping trees… all were tasks you pick up on the fly, and if the natives did a rough pass, the settlers could tidy it up afterward.
This was especially true at the Mbeya mine, where, with the population so scarce, East Africa needed a large native workforce to ensure coal production. Presently, about three thousand "native laborers" toiled in the Mbeya coal mines. Nominally "laborers," in truth they were slaves.
South of the Sahara, Africa exhibited two major forms of civilization: primitive society, surviving as tribes, and slave society, existing as kingdoms founded on slavery. East Africa undoubtedly belongs to the latter, as it truly does harbor massive numbers of Black slaves, integral to the colonial economy.
Before the colony's rise, while East Africa boasted many slaves, its cultural pattern remained predominantly tribal. Hence the "Eastern Bantu tribes" of Tanganyika. The colony's establishment effectively shifted East Africa as a whole from a primitive society to a slave-based one.
The difference? Tribal communities sometimes used their slaves for trade with Arabs or even for ritual and as rations. The East African colony uses them to build infrastructure, turning them from commodity (food) into productive tools. Meanwhile, the colony itself is in a transitional phase from slavery to feudalism.
All East African immigrants hail from unshaken feudal backgrounds, having never been swayed by liberal ideas, while the Black slave population steadily shrinks. Over time, East Africa will be dominated by a feudal populace. That means the colony will at least experience a short-lived feudal era in its future.
Yet no matter the stage, East Africa's development cannot do without natives contributing mightily—like the American South, which had reached capitalism yet still relied on slaves for its plantations. Especially in tropical regions, big projects demand a heavy toll in human lives. Though East Africa's highlands are relatively decent, other tropical areas can be truly lethal.
The colony knows this well. Even though the coastal zone was opened early (including the Sultanate of Zanzibar's works), it's nowhere near as livable as inland highlands. Residents often labor under a scorching sun, let alone the slaves.
Mbeya, at about 1,700 meters altitude, is milder. Although it's in the tropics, it's quite cool thanks to elevation. Perfect weather for the natives to work in the mines. Meanwhile, settlers have their own duties, like constructing the wooden framing (pit props) that keep shafts stable. Truth be told, that's not especially difficult, but the natives won't do it right. They'll shirk or play dumb, acting as if building a simple support frame is some unsolvable universal problem.
In reality, these natives lack patience. They'd rather do menial, physically demanding chores than slightly technical tasks. It's not mere hearsay—before the colony captured them, they lived tribally, weaving huts from branches, carving wood into beautiful sculptures, polishing weapons, and making bows. But once in captivity, such natural aptitudes seemed to vanish overnight, leaving them good only for brute labor.
Early on, some East African managers, unconvinced, tried employing Blacks in agriculture (this was in the east), only for them to plant rice seedlings in a chaotic, widely varied distribution. The sight pained Chinese farmers so much that they tore it all up and started over. (China's own agricultural advisors had encountered something similar when teaching peanuts in Africa—despite meticulous guidance, locals couldn't keep the seeds spaced properly, and only a marked rope solved that problem.)
Because agriculture is the colony's primary industry and total grain output is critical to the economy, they couldn't allow natives to ruin it. So the natives' duties are restricted to unskilled tasks heavy on physical effort. For instance, when developing farmland, after slash-and-burn, the ground must be turned; with limited draft animals, the natives act as beasts of burden.
At the Mbeya coal mines, those native slaves are effectively living mine carts, carrying lumps of coal up from the shafts. Yet even then, the colony can't fully trust them, so officials check underground regularly to prevent them from breaking rules in the tunnels.
At least the final shipping of Mbeya's coal uses ox- or horse-drawn carts to haul it into the East African territory. Mbeya's output isn't large, but it's more than enough for the colony's current needs. Ernst collects the coal all around East Africa as a strategic reserve—only a few steam-powered factories require it.
Since East Africa's grasslands are extensive and forests abound, firewood for cooking and heating isn't lacking. The appetite for coal is small. But once coal is mined at Mbeya, it can't just be tossed aside, so it's warehoused across the colony. Exporting it to Germany doesn't make sense, since Germany's Ruhr region has plenty of coal, plus shipping it back would occupy the cargo space once meant for immigrants, so it's not profitable.
Later, when the colony starts building simple factories, coal will be in high demand. Having Mbeya's supply keeps them from importing expensive German coal, saving a fortune. And employing native slaves for mining makes the cost minimal—just feed them. Tools are mostly found or made on site, aside from some iron implements imported from Europe.
Beyond Mbeya, slaves are widely used in East Africa for construction and production, though typically for large-scale projects. Immigrants aren't left idle; many tasks must be done by them personally—for example, once farmland is opened up by natives in the early stages, the colonists themselves manage and cultivate it. Additionally, settlers must serve in the militia, routinely eliminating wild beasts and participating in colonial expansion.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Canserbero10