Entering February, the situation in the Congo Free State collapsed rapidly. As large companies evacuated one after another, large areas in the central and eastern areas fell. The Belgian government lacked effective response methods in the face of chaos. Even the connection between Leopoldville and Boma was lost.
cut off.
Leopoldville, named after Leopold II, is the largest city in the Congo Free State, but it is not the political center of the Congo Free State. Boma is the nominal capital of the Congo Free State.
Previously, the river between Leopoldville and Boma was cut off by a group of waterfalls, and the two cities were connected by railway. After the rebellion broke out, the rebels blew up the railway between Leopoldville and Boma, and the entire Congo Free State was
Only a small area around the seaport is still under the control of the Belgian government.
The terrain of the Congo Free State is like a huge funnel. The funnel is an inland tropical rainforest area with an area of more than 2 million square kilometers. The outlet to the sea is extremely narrow, only less than 30 kilometers.
Although most of the territory of the Congo Free State is controlled by rebels, the Belgian government has not given up its ambitions for the Congo Free State. After the rebellion, large companies have withdrawn, giving the Belgian government a golden opportunity. If the Belgian government does this
If we can come up with a strong method when the time comes, the Belgian government can take the opportunity to take back the power of major companies in the Congo Free State and complete its actual control over the Congo Free State.
The problem is that in the face of the rebels, the Belgian government cannot even form a counter-rebellion force. Although the Belgian government insists on its ownership of the Congo Free State and refuses any "help" from neighboring countries and regions, the actual situation in the Congo Free State is
It continued to deteriorate, and by the end of February, only a few white-controlled areas were still holding on in the Congo Free State, and even Leopoldville was besieged by rebels.
Today's rebels are different from the unarmed rabble of the past.
Since the Africans in Portuguese East Africa successfully drove away the Portuguese, siege became the most effective method for Africans to deal with the colonists.
Compared with countries like Belgium and Portugal, the biggest advantages of Africa are its human resources and complex geographical environment. In the past, when Africans fought with whites, they often took the initiative to attack the colonial armies because they did not understand the whites' weapons. The result was that
The colonial army relied on its superior weapons to build strong fortifications and suffered a bloody blow.
Now the Africans are wiser. They no longer take the initiative to attack. Instead, they give full play to their numerical advantage and take advantage of the complex geographical environment to encircle rather than attack. This gradually consumes the material reserves of the colonial troops and collapses the colonial troops to take the initiative to attack. This is exactly what happened.
The situation was broken instantly, and the previous disadvantages were turned into advantages. The result was that the colonial troops were passive and defeated.
After the rebellion broke out in the Congo Free State, the lucky white people fled one after another, and the unlucky white people disappeared without a trace. Roque originally planned to gradually send back the refugees in Nyasaland in batches starting from the beginning of February.
Europe, but was rejected by most refugees. Many refugees wanted to stay in Nyasaland and did not want to leave at all.
"Most of the white people in Africa chose to immigrate because they couldn't survive in Europe. Even we officials chose to find another way out in Africa because they were not taken seriously in our homeland and had no hope of promotion. Those refugees from the Congo Free State are now
They were penniless and all their property was lost in the rebellion. After they returned to Europe, most of them were reduced to the bottom of society, so it is normal for them not to want to leave." Henry understood the mentality of white Africans. Henry was also because he did not have the right to inherit the title.
, was not valued in the family, so he went to Africa to join the army.
"Even if they stay in Nyasaland, they will be at the bottom of society, and there are no Africans in Nyasaland for them to enslave. I'm afraid they are not used to the way the farms in Nyasaland are run." Roque is not optimistic about these refugees.
If they had fought bloody battles with the rebels and were eventually defeated and forced to go to Nyasaland, then Rock would have given them some respect. Forget it now. Those cowards who fled without fighting do not deserve mercy at all.<
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This is indeed a sharp contrast. In Nyasaland, even women must take time to receive a certain degree of military training every year, just to have the ability to survive when disaster strikes.
These refugees from Nyasaland are planters in the Congo Free State. Hunting is the most popular sport among white people in the Congo Free State. In their spare time, they even enjoy shooting Africans in the Congo Free State. It is said that they all have good military capabilities.
However, when facing the rebels, these people still chose to escape instead of fighting to the death. This is really regrettable.
"It's the same when you go back to Europe, and you don't even have a farm when you go back to Europe. You can only work in factories and be enslaved. If you stay in Nyasaland, at least you have a farm. As long as you're not hopelessly lazy, you can still support your family."
There is nothing Henry can do about this issue. There are already "poor whites" in Orange who have been forced to sell their farms due to poor management. Whites are no longer superior in Africa.
Most Boers choose to sell their farms and go to Canada or Australia to start a new business. However, according to their character, even if they immigrate again, the results will not change.
Now, because of the immigration policies of various countries, there are still loopholes for these wandering poor white people to exploit. When countries realize this problem and gradually cancel their immigration policies, these white people will completely become poor white people, and no one can save them.
In fact, this is normal. There are many poor white people in Europe now. Before coming to Africa, most of these white people in Africa were poor white people.
"There is no extra land in Nyasaland to allocate to them." Roque refused directly. There are a lot of open spaces in Nyasaland, but they are all prepared for the Chinese, and there is not an inch of land left over.
Refugees from the Congo Free State, even if they want to stay in southern Africa, must accept unified distribution from the federal government. It is basically impossible to stay in Nyasaland. Natal or Basutoland are still possible.<
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In a few years, even Natal and Basutoland will not have enough space to accommodate these new immigrants, so Adelaide is canceling the immigration policy in stages.
"You don't have to be so obvious. There are only a thousand people. It doesn't take much land to house them." Henry was dissatisfied. Although Rock didn't say it, in fact Nyasaland is extremely xenophobic. Look at it.
Those white people introduced to Nyasaland knew that unless they had special skills, Nyasaland would never accept them.
Among the ten states in southern Africa, Nyasaland is not the largest in area, but it has been expanding. After annexing part of the land of Portuguese West Africa and the Congo Free State, Nyasaland now has an area of nearly 70
Thousands of square kilometers, this does not include Lake Niassa and the North Sea, which are actually controlled by Nyasaland. For such a large area, there are almost no white farmers in the territory. This is an open secret in southern Africa.
Many white people, including Henry, also criticized Rock's approach, but Rock's reasons were sufficient. White people were significantly different from the Chinese in terms of farming technology, diligence, management difficulty, etc. Although Nyasaland
It is located on the border, but it has the best level of development among the ten states in southern Africa. The Chinese are now also Afrikaners, so white people who know the situation dare not bring it up in person and can only criticize it behind their backs.
In a relationship like Henry and Roark, if you have something to say, you must say it face to face, and there is no need to avoid it.
"Come on, why don't we let them go to Fawalt?" Rock was even more dissatisfied. Fawalt's area is a bit smaller, but it's no problem to accommodate more than a thousand people.
"I think it's just a pity that they don't like it." Henry was also sad and happy. There were steel and cement factories everywhere in Fawalt. He made a lot of money, but the environment was very poor. In 1911, at the moment,
Don’t talk about environmental pollution. The current level of economic development is not qualified to consider this issue.
When Rock and Henry complained, Feng Xun, who was in charge of managing the refugee camp, also spoke sincerely.
There are no adult men in the refugee camp now. All the adult men were put on the ship as soon as Rock decided to repatriate in batches. They didn’t even know their destination.
Now the only people left in the refugee camp are women and children. They knew through some means that they were about to be deported, so they refused to leave the refugee camp, which gave Feng Xun a headache.
"This place is very close to the border. The rebels may attack at any time, so you have to leave here and go to a safer place -" Feng Xun still tried hard to persuade. Faced with a group of women and children who readily used tears as weapons, Feng Xun
It’s true that I can’t be cruel.
These women and children are not stupid. During their stay in the refugee camp, as they got to know the Nyasaland people, they finally found the appropriate way to communicate with the Nyasaland people. Tears were their greatest weapon. p>
"Sergeant, don't lie to us. The rebels will never dare to enter Nyasaland. This is the safest place in the world -" Louisa, who hoped to stay in Nyasaland, had tears in her eyes. The refugee camp was indeed very far from the border.
However, the rebels did not dare to go near the border, and they could not even hear the sound of gunshots in the refugee camp.
"We will dismantle this refugee camp in a few days, and the rebels will definitely come back by then." Feng Xun bluffed and threatened, but his soft tone really didn't have much deterrence.
"It doesn't matter, as long as we stay, we can build our own houses. It will be bad luck for us if the rebels come back -" Louisa's attitude was firm. Although Louisa didn't quite understand the Nyasaland people's persistence in land, she was very fond of it.
Understand.
The entire Congo Free State knows that the land controlled by Nyasaland will never be spit out. Nyasaland will not allow Africans to enter Nyasaland. All illegal entry will be regarded as an invasion and will be punished.
The Nyasaland military and border police brutally attacked the rebels, and they were not stupid. Even if they came back, they would not dare to cross the small river that had dried up due to lack of water.