Chapter 19 Chapter 1 Horror Africa
We, who believe in God, find it hard to believe that there have been ugly acts of slave trade in human history.In fact, the sinful business remained alive until the 19th century.
Those European countries with overseas colonies have a long history of operating this dirty business.Although this bloody way of making money has been declared illegal many years ago, it has not been banned in practice, and the trading market for "black goods" is mainly in central Africa.
Until this story happened, there were still several "civilized" countries that claimed to believe in Christ and had not signed the "Convention on the Abolition of Slavery".
You may be able to calm down and understand how slave traders are still rounding up blacks in order to provide slaves to several colonies that still practice slavery?This round-up could wipe out the population of the entire African continent.
You should also find out where and by what means the black slave traders carried out this barbaric plunder?
In the whole process of slave trade, how much blood and tears were there for the slaves?
How many organized burns and lootings were carried out by slave traders?And for whose benefit are they doing this?
The trade in black slaves first began in the 15th century.
Let us first talk about the circumstances under which the system of this slave trade began to develop.
There was a group of Muslims who were driven out of Spain and fled to the coast of Africa across the strait.
At that time, this area of the coast was the territory of the Portuguese, so the Portuguese desperately rounded up these Islamic residents.Some of the refugees were captured by them and taken to Portugal.These people became slaves, the first black African slaves in Western Europe.
However, most of these Muslim families are very wealthy, and their families are willing to pay a high price to redeem them.
Sadly, no matter how much ransom they pay, they can't redeem these islamists, the portuguese refuse to free the slaves, because they want money from foreigners to no avail, what they lack is the labor force in the newly created colony, that is , needs slaves to work.
Mohammedan families, seeking to redeem their kin, offered to exchange their kin with a greater number of black Africans.
Capturing black Africans is an easy task.
The Portuguese thought it would be more cost-effective to do so, so they agreed. Since then, there has been a black slave trade in Europe.
By the end of the sixteenth century, nations had generally accepted this shameful bargain.At that time, there were extremely barbaric customs and habits everywhere, and they didn't think the act of selling black slaves was shameful.
The slave trade was protected by all nations so that the colonization of the islands of the New World would be more rapid and secure.
Indeed, Caucasians are still not familiar with tropical places like South America, and they are not acclimatized to the local climate, and they cannot bear the hot climate there. Hundreds of people died in the past.
But these black Africans can tolerate this climate.Therefore, it is very normal to use special slave ships to transport these blacks to the American colonies, just like shipping by sea.
This cross-Atlantic black slave trade has prompted white people to create black slave trade companies in several places on the African coast, and the scale is huge.This kind of "goods" can be obtained at a low cost in the place where it is produced, but the profit is considerable.
Of course, manpower was always necessary in order to establish overseas colonies, but that was not enough to justify human trafficking in any way.
It didn't take long for the voices against the black slave trade to rise, and everyone asked the governments of all countries to issue a decree to abolish the black slave trade based on humanitarian principles.
In 1751, the Quakers of the Quakers led the people in northern America to abolish slavery. In the following hundred years, the American Civil War broke out in North America, that is, the American Civil War.
Slavery is a well-known issue in North America and everyone is concerned about it. At that time, many states in North America ordered the cancellation of the transaction of buying and selling black slaves.For example: Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, etc. They also released the black slaves that the black slave trading companies spent a lot of money to transport to the states, allowing them to regain their freedom.
The movement initiated by the Quakers was not limited to a few states in North America. Even the Europeans on the other side of the Atlantic were greatly affected, although they once advocated slavery.
In England and France especially, this just cause has brought many like-minded people together.
At that time, the slogan that resounded throughout the old continent of Western Europe was "It is better to let the colonies be destroyed than to let the humanitarian principles perish!" This slogan is full of fraternity.
Although the issue of emancipating black slaves at that time affected the political and commercial interests of the whole of Europe, this slogan was still widely circulated throughout the Old World.
Subsequently, the emancipation movement entered a climax.
In 1807, Britain first announced the abolition of the black slave trade in its colonial territories.
In 1841, France subsequently announced a decree to abolish the slave trade.
The two great powers signed a treaty on this issue, and Napoleon, during the famous "Hundred Days Coup", ratified the text of the interchange treaty.
But all this is nothing more than a purely literal statement of position.The ships of those black slave traders, loaded with "black goods", are still sailing on the sea non-stop.They drove ships from Africa to various colonial ports to trade slaves.
People took more effective measures to ban this extremely inhumane slave trade.
The United States announced in 1820 and the United Kingdom in 1824 that the commercial activities of selling black slaves were piracy. Once people engaged in such transactions were caught, they would be sentenced to death as pirates. They were severely punished at sea. hunt down.
Subsequently, France also participated in the signing of the treaty.
However, the South American countries, Portugal and Spain's colonies did not participate in the signing of this treaty, so these two countries still made huge profits in the black slave export trade.
Although all countries have generally recognized the right to inspect ships on the high seas, this inspection is only for those suspicious ships to check whether the flag flying is consistent with the certificate of registry.
However, the new statute abolishing slavery does not have retroactive effect.Even if people stopped selling new black slaves, the original black slaves would still not be emancipated.
The United Kingdom stands out against this background and sets an example. On May 14, 1833, Britain issued a proclamation to emancipate all blacks in the colonies of Great Britain.By August 1838, a total of 670,000 slaves had been declared free.
Ten years later, in 1848, the French Republic also announced the liberation of 260,000 slaves in the French colonies.
In 1859, the United States broke out in the war between the Northern Union and the Southern Confederacy, thus completing the cause of emancipating black people, and this movement spread throughout the North American continent.
Therefore, Britain, France, and the United States have completed the cause of this humanitarian master.But in the present case, the hideous practice of the slave trade only benefits the colonies of Spain and Portugal, and serves only the needs of the Turks and Arabs.Although Brazil has not liberated the black slaves it originally bought, at least it has stopped buying new black slaves, and the government has promulgated a law stipulating that all newborn children of black slaves in Brazil are free blacks.
In the interior of Africa, the African chiefs fought bloody battles for the plunder of the population, and as a result entire tribes were enslaved.
At that time, the "desert caravan" escorting black slaves took two routes in opposite directions. The destination westward was Portuguese Angola, and the eastward one was a road leading to Mozambique.
Among the trafficked black slaves, only a small number of them survived to their destinations, some were transported to Cuba, some were sent to Madagascar, and some were sent to Turkey or Arab territories in Asia. Mecca or Muscat.The maritime patrol ships of Britain and France have very little effect, and it is difficult to carry out effective supervision. They can only stop a small part of black slave trafficking because the coastline is too long.
Even so, is the total number of these trafficked black slaves still high?
Indeed a lot!It is estimated that at least 80,000 people were transported to the coast.And this is only one-tenth of the number of black slaves who died.
After the shocking massacre, the desolate fields are even more infertile, the burned villages are empty, the rivers are full of corpses, and the wild animals are everywhere.
The explorer Livingston once visited villages that had just been plundered by black slave traders, and these places were completely different from those a few months ago.Several other explorers, such as Grant, Spark, Bolton, Cameroon, Stanley, etc., when they talked about this forested Central African plateau, they also believed that it was black people like Livingston. A battlefield where chiefs fought and plundered.
In the area where several great lakes in Central Africa are located, the entire Zanzibar slave market is the source of goods.In Bor, Fezzan, and further south on Lake Niassa and along the Zambia River, and further west in the Congo regions explored by the brave Stanley, the scene was the same: destruction, massacre, and flight.
Does this evil trade of black slaves have to be stopped until the black race is extinct?
Are they going to be extinct as well?
No, the black slave markets in the colonies of Spain and Portugal will disappear one day.The market will be completely cut off, and the civilized nations will not tolerate this ugly behavior for long!
In 1828, black slaves in various Christian countries were liberated, but in some countries in West Asia, this kind of black slave trade, which caused the population of Africa to drop sharply, continued.
A large number of blacks are transferred to West Asian countries in this way, because more than 40,000 blacks are captured from all parts of Africa and transported to the east coast every year.
Before the French expedition to Egypt in 1798, hundreds of black slaves from Sennar, the ancient Western Sudan Kingdom, were sold to Darfur, and many black slaves from Darfur were also trafficked to Sennar for sale.
General Bonaparte also bought many such slaves at that time and organized them into assault squads.
From that time to now, four-fifths of this century has passed, but the black slave trade has not stopped, but has increased.
The black slave trade in West Asian countries is very rampant, and they want to replace the former white slaves with black slaves.Therefore, all kinds of black slave traders are carrying out this shameful commercial activity on a large scale.
These black slaves have become soldiers specializing in war just like they did during Bonaparte's expedition to Egypt.Among the peoples of the upper Niger, half the army of the chiefs consisted of slave soldiers.However, there is no obvious difference between the situation of slave soldiers and free men.
However, if a black slave is not a soldier, he becomes property that can be used as "currency". In some places, the salaries of officers and officials are also paid in black slave "currency".The famous French traveler, Guillaume Lejean, had personally seen and recorded these things.
The above is the current situation of slave trade.
It must be further explained that representatives of many European powers showed a disappointing attitude of tolerance towards the slave trade, and they were not at all ashamed.
This is the fact. On the one hand, cruisers are constantly patrolling the coasts of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. On the other hand, the activities of rounding up and selling black slaves are proceeding step by step in the interior of Africa. The "desert caravan" that escorted black slaves Just walk away in front of some officials, rush and kill according to the established time!
On average, for every black slave trafficked to its destination, ten black slaves died on the way!
Now you can understand the horror of Dick Sander's "Africa! This is Africa! Slaver's Africa!"
Dick Sander was right in judging that this was the terrible Africa that was so dangerous to them!
But what part of Africa was it that bad luck landed them in?
Dick Sander knew he was on the west coast of Africa, and he had to be sure that it was off the coast of Angola that the Prodigal Son had run aground.The rampant "desert caravans" used Angola as the distribution center for trafficking black slaves.
It was here, years later, that Cameroon on the south and Stanley on the north crossed, and they worked so hard for it!
This vast land consisted of three regions: Benguela, Congo and Angola. People only knew about the coast at that time. Along the coast, from the Nors River in the south to the Zaire River in the north, there were two major cities in the middle. Two major ports: Benguela and Luanda, Luanda is the capital of the colony to which the Kingdom of Portugal belongs.
The hinterland of this region was little known at the time, and few dared to travel and explore the hinterland.The climate there is harsh, the land is humid and hot, cold and fever are prevalent, the aborigines are very barbaric, and there are even tribes that cannibalize human flesh.
Tribal wars continue all the year round, and the natives are hostile to outsiders. All these are the dangers that Dick Sander and the others face. Difficulties and obstacles, threats from nature and humans lie in front of him.
In 1816, the British explorer Tu Kai went up the Congo River and walked through the Hamlala Falls, which is 200 miles away from the mouth of the Congo River on the south bank of the Congo River.But 200 miles is too short to get a complete picture of the region.Even this 200-mile expedition has killed most of the experts and officers in the expedition.
Thirty-seven years later, David Livingstone traveled north from the Cape of Good Hope to the upper Zambezi.With unprecedented courage, in November 1853, from the south to the northwest, he crossed the Guangu River, a tributary of the upper reaches of the Congo River, and arrived at the port of Luanda on May 31, 1854. Unlock the secrets of Portugal's vast colony.
Another 18 years later, two brave explorers crossed Africa from east to west. They both went through unimaginable difficulties.
In terms of time, the first person was the British naval captain Verge Howett Cameroon.
In 1872, the expedition led by American Stanley went to the Great Lakes to find Livingstone, and it was thought that he did not solve the problem.The Captain of Cameroon offered to find Livingstone by him, and his suggestion was accepted.
The Cameroonian captain set out from Zanzibar with Dr. Dijon, Lieutenant Cecil Murphy, and Livingstone's nephew, Robert Moffat.
They crossed the Ugogo River, east of Lake Tanganyika, and encountered Livingstone's entourage, who were transporting Livingstone's body back to the east coast.
Cameroon continued to advance to West Africa, and he was determined to walk from the east coast to the west coast, passing through Unyangambe, Ukunda, and Kahuilai.
In the town of Kara, Cameroon found the documents left by Livingstone.
He crossed Lake Tanganyika and visited all the villages devastated by the war, the areas depopulated by "desert caravans": Jilumba, Ulua, the branch rivers of the upper Lomavi, Ulu Luda, Loval, crossed the Bombare mountains and crossed the Lualaba River, because they could not follow the river down.
Cameroon crossed the Kwanza River and witnessed the large forest along the coast, which is the large forest that Harris tricked Dick Sander into. This strong naval captain finally saw the Atlantic Ocean and reached the port of Benguela .
During this trip of 3 years and 4 months, Cameroon sacrificed two partners: Dr. Dijon and Mora.
After Cameroon came the American Henry Ruolan Stanley.He continued to explore along this road.
We know that this indomitable correspondent of the New York Herald, a correspondent specializing in the Livingston incident, found on October 30, 1871, the Livingstone.
In a humanitarian sense, Stanley accomplished his task very successfully.He also wanted to make a career in geographical scientific investigation, and he set himself the goal of conducting a comprehensive exploration and investigation of the Lualaba River, which can only be seen from a distance.
When Stanley headed west inland from the port of Bagamoyo on the east coast in November 1874, Cameroon was still exploring somewhere in central Africa.
Twenty-one months later, on August 21, 1876, Stanley left the city of Oujj, a city where a smallpox epidemic had killed a large number of residents.It took him 74 days to complete the journey from Lake Tanganyika to Nyungwe Town.
Niangwei Town is a famous black slave trading market that both Livingstone and Cameroon have visited. Stanley saw the Zanzibar Sultan’s army rounding up and massacring black people in this city where the Marungu and Manuema lived together. horrific sight.
At that time, Stanley was going to investigate the entire Lualaba River, and he was going to go down the river until it entered the sea.He hired 140 porters and 19 wooden boats in Nyungwe Town, which constituted all the personnel and supplies of the expedition.
The expedition set out from the town of Nyungwe, and at the beginning they fought against the barbarians of Ukusu, and they also had to walk with boats to bypass the impassable waterfalls.
When the fleet approached the equator, they encountered hundreds of aborigines at the place where the Lualaba River turned to the northeast. They set up 54 wooden boats and rushed up to attack Stanley's fleet. Finally, the expedition team drove the aborigines away up.
Immediately afterwards, the brave American explorer went up the Hebei River until he reached 2 degrees north latitude, where he discovered that the Lualaba River is the upper reaches of the Zaire River, that is to say, the upper reaches of the Congo River.If you go up the river, you will go directly to the mouth of the sea.While fighting the natives on both sides of the river, he went down the river.
On June 3, 1877, while crossing Massasa Falls, one of his companions, Francis Pocock, died.
On July 18, he himself and his boat were washed under the Mbelo Falls, but it was a miracle that he survived!
On August 6, Henry Stanley finally reached a small town called Nisanda, which was only four days away from the coast.
Two days later, at Bangsa Mbugo, he found food that two merchants had sent to the expedition from Ambuma.
Stanley rested in this seaside town.He was only 35 years old, but already looked like an old man.The fatigue and turbulence of a life, two years and nine months across the continent, had aged him prematurely.
He knew then that the Lualaba River ran all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.If the Nile River is the main artery in northern Africa, and the Zambia River is the main artery in the east, then it can be said that the other main artery is this river.
It has three names: the Lualaba River, the Zaire River and the Congo River. It is 2,900 miles (4,650 kilometers) long and connects the Great Lakes of Africa to the Atlantic Ocean.
However, throughout Angola between the two routes traveled by Stanley and Cameroon, when the "Prodigal Son" ran aground on the coast of Africa in 1873, it was a mysterious area where no one knew what happened.
All that is known is that Angola had three extremely important slave markets: Bié, Kasange and Casota.
Dick Sand and the others are here now, more than a hundred miles from the coast, with a weary mistress and sick child, and a few Negro friends who are prey to slavers.
It's Africa, not America!
In America, neither the climate nor the beasts nor the Indians are so terrible.But it's not like that nice piece of land between the Andes and the sea, full of villages and towns where the traveler can enjoy...
Nigulu's evil hand broke the compass, and the "Prodigal Son" would never reach that good place, and of course it would not be able to return to its hometown of San Francisco.
Not only that, what you are now arriving is not the coastal area under the direct supervision of the Portuguese government, but the inland of the colony, where "desert caravans" are rampant, black slave traders are driving slaves, and Central Africa is full of killing and blood!The most chaotic region in Africa.
Fifteen-year-old Dick Sander knew very little about all this. Oral accounts of those Portuguese merchants and priests who frequently traveled from Luanda via El Salvador to the River Zaire in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and accounts recorded by Livingstone after his expedition in 1853 , that's all.
Still, that alone is enough to intimidate anyone who isn't as strong as Dick Sander.
The situation is extremely dangerous, this is something no one wants to accept, but now it is really in front of me!
No one can refuse!
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