In February 1881, the Chinese population in Samoa reached 14,000, and the Chinese replaced the Polynesian natives and became the largest ethnic group in the area.

In March 1881, more than 200 island-defending militia troops stationed on Tutui Island and took over control of the island. Subsequently, the American businessmen on the island were forced to agree to the conditions proposed by the Han government and paid 190,000 silver dollars.

The land and property they occupied were packaged to the Han side, and they, in accordance with the agreement between the two parties, completely withdrew from the Samoa Islands after the transaction was completed, and returned to the United States with their Polynesian servants.

After expelling American businessmen from the Samoa Islands and cutting off the possibility of the United States taking the lead in competing for the ownership of the Samoa Islands with businessmen as the lead, the Han government officially incorporated the Samoa Islands into its own territory, along with Easter Island and Zilu Island.

, jointly named the Yizhou Islands, their political status is temporarily designated as a city level, and the administrative capital is established in Apia in the Samoa Islands. The governor of the Yizhou Islands and the South Pacific Squadron designated by the central government jointly manage the local area.

affairs.

The South Pacific Squadron is a newly established fleet. Its warships include two self-built 1,350-ton light cruisers, four medium-sized armed merchant ships, and five steam-modified ships responsible for transportation, supply and other tasks.

In early January 1881, the central government made further adjustments to the navy's establishment. The Second Fleet was permanently stationed in Haizhou, with Haizhou Yishui Port (Port Mont) as its home port, and was renamed the Pacific Fleet, and the First Fleet was renamed the Atlantic Fleet.

The two fleets are respectively on the home side and jointly protect the country's maritime security.

After the Navy's new organization adjustment was completed, two newly built 1,350-ton light cruisers were delivered to the Pacific Fleet, and then based on the two light cruisers, a secondary squadron belonging to the Pacific Fleet - the South Pacific Squadron - was established.

Both the South Pacific Squadron and the Caribbean Squadron have a certain degree of autonomy. However, due to geographical factors, the Caribbean Fleet is weak. There are only a few gunboats with a displacement of 500 tons to support the situation, and the Caribbean Squadron occupies the Thor

The island still officially belongs to Haiti. The island area is only small. The area of ​​only 180 square kilometers does not allow the daily docking and maintenance of large and medium-sized ironclads. Therefore, except for the Caribbean Squadron, which is not worthy of the name, the South Pacific Squadron is second only to the Caribbean Squadron.

Atlantic Fleet, Pacific Fleet, the third largest maritime force in the country.

The South Pacific Fleet shoulders the important task of maintaining the security of the Pacific immigration routes. It is located in Samoa, Zilu, and Easter Island. It has a total of 500 naval sailors, 400 marines, and 1,000 militia reserves, all belonging to the South Pacific Fleet.

The Taiping Squadron is under unified command. Considering the importance of the South Pacific Fleet, the Naval General Staff raised the level of the South Pacific Squadron to a deputy division-level fleet. The fleet commander and the governor of Yizhou were temporarily selected by Marine Corps Commander Feng Guoan.

concurrently.

In March 1881, two months after Feng Guoan took over the duties of governor of the Yizhou Islands and the South Pacific Squadron, in order to cope with the coming wave of immigrants, he began to recruit Chinese immigrants to work on the expansion project of Apia Port.

The port of Apia is located on the island of Upolu in Samoa.

The port coastline is 694m long and the maximum water depth is 12m. According to the prescribed construction requirements, after the completion of the first round of construction period, the expanded port will be able to carry and supply a team of 20,000 immigrants at a time.

In April 1881, construction activities on the Samoa Islands were proceeding in an intense and orderly manner. However, in the coastal areas of the Far East, the overseas immigration ban promulgated by the Qing government ultimately failed due to the strong desire for survival of the people going to sea and the urging of Western powers.

end.

The immigration ban was implemented for more than a year, and groups of refugees who went to sea to survive were expelled and isolated from the immigration ports by the Qing government.

On the seventh and eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, beggars froze to death. In the northern coastal areas, the refugee groups gathered were suffering from hunger and cold. Every day, hundreds or even thousands of people froze to death in the cold wind school.

Experiencing the threat of death, facing cold and hunger,

The last traces of humanity and dignity of the refugees were not worth a bowl of survival food. The Manchu Qing government issued an immigration ban, which destroyed the refugees' hope of survival. In extreme despair, the deported refugees broke out into long-simmering anger.

Group after group of young and strong refugees gathered together, and under the command of a few people, they launched riots and continuously attacked the counties and villages under the rule of the Manchu and Qing officials.

The riots spread rapidly like a plague. Armed riots occurred successively in refugee gathering areas such as southern Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, and the coastal areas of eastern Shandong. During more than a year after the immigration ban was implemented, the number of refugees involved in the riots exceeded 100,000. Local gentry and

The output owned by Westerners in coastal areas has been impacted by the rioting refugees. The economic losses suffered by the local gentry alone are a staggering figure in statistics.

The riots caused extremely serious damage to the national economy. Han Chinese officials from various places who had just tried to take over local power wrote to the Qing government to lift the immigration ban and quell the refugee riots as soon as possible. At the same time, some Western countries whose economic interests were harmed

While threatening the Manchu and Qing government with force to resolve the refugee riots and restore economic order in the coastal areas, the lion opened its mouth and demanded that the Manchu and Qing court act as Yuan Datou and compensate Western countries for their economic losses.

Feeling the huge destructive power of refugee riots again,

The Manchu and Qing government could only swallow a bitter pill. While appeasing the Western countries and promising them compensation, they threatened the refugees with a sullen tone, not to defect to the Han and rebel, otherwise they would be punished with treason.

The Manchu and Qing government's self-deceptive threats were probably not even believed by themselves, let alone the local Han gentry and refugees who were bent on survival.

After the immigration ban was abolished, a huge wave of overseas immigrants reappeared. Moreover, because of the Manchu Qing government's weak performance in the face of threats from Western countries, more people saw through the Manchu Qing government's nature of being strong on the outside and working hard on the inside. Disappointed, they also followed the refugees fleeing for famine.

Together, they went to sea to join the Han Dynasty.

Quang Ninh and Lang Son provinces in northern Annam are the main immigration bases of the Han Dynasty in the Far East. Refugees migrating from Guangdong, Guangdong, southern Fujian and other places generally stay in the two provinces in northern Annam for a period of time, and then go by boat in batches.

Han native land.

However, as the French colonists intensified their aggressive activities in the Annan region, the status of the two northern provinces of Annan as an immigration base was facing an increasingly powerful threat. The Nanyang Corps stationed in the two northern provinces had conflicts with the French colonists.
Chapter completed!