The Eagle of Eastern Europe

After the fall of the Kingdom of Aksum, the Abyssians were not interested in doing business. They preferred to be warriors or clergy. Roman merchants began to control the commodity trade throughout Abyssinia.

Slaves were an important trade commodity in the port of Andronico, transporting large quantities of labor to Aden to grow cotton. Because the crop required so much labor, cotton plantations similar to those in Cyprus began to flourish.

In Aden, the East India Company had to protect Christian merchants from being robbed by Mecca and Medina. Fortunately, there is no unified political power in the entire Arabian Peninsula. There are constant struggles between tribes, coupled with sectarian conflicts and the huge increase in trade volume after companies intervene in the Red Sea trade, local merchants are not as aggressive as those in India.

"We must expand our territory in Ceylon and build ships as soon as possible. We will go on an expedition within two years."

Mason gave the order, and thanks to the funds sent by the company, he could build a huge fleet. In order to train sailors, he offered a salary that was twice the income of local people, and many people signed up at once.

"My lord, I have your letter."

Mason took the letter. It had their family's seal on it. It seemed like there was something urgent.

Halfway through, Mason's face turned red with anger. How could Florence be so ungrateful? If only his father hadn't begged for mercy and he was working for His Highness, with Peter's temper, he wouldn't have forced everyone to sell their sons and daughters.

Now to repay kindness with hatred and force them to leave, isn't this just a white-eyed wolf?

"We are preparing to go to Constantinople. The family's property is in negotiation with others. I hope to see you soon, my son."

They were coming to Constantinople, but Mason would not return for two years. Without having time to think about it, he wrote directly to Peter, asking him to treat his family preferentially for the sake of colonizing and exploring for the empire.

"We must hand him over to His Highness."

For what happened to his family, Mason vowed that he would make Florence pay the price. Even if you risk your own honor.

Unlike the colonies of ancient Rome, today's Roman colonies are commercial colonies based on mercantilism. Specialties and raw materials from various places were sent to Constantinople, and then locally produced goods were transported back for sale.

Roman merchants had a greater influence than those Arab merchants. These Christian merchants not only wanted profit, but also power. Part of Abyssinian's loan request was approved, and the small rulers of India surrendered to the East India Company to continue to gain local rule. In exchange, they were required to pay annual taxes and provide troops.

For the vast land of India, Mason felt that it was too difficult to rely solely on bureaucracy and needed to cooperate with local local rulers to maintain rule. The power to rule at the grassroots level belongs to them, and they only need to continue to obtain benefits.

Direct rule was exercised over small and geographically important places, such as Ceylon. Other corporate allies, like Abyssinian, can be turned into vassals by supporting divisions and other means. These are also the three types of colonial expansion of the East India Company.

Persian Gulf Trading The East India Company also became involved, and they had a trading post at Khrumos. They also bought pearls from the Bahrain area. If they were not preparing for the Eastern Expedition, they would have captured them long ago.

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At this time, Port Androniko was already a port city with a population of 1,200. A large amount of land was reclaimed and planted with grain and a small amount of coffee. Due to the lack of water, the town chiefs mainly rely on commercial trade as their source of income. Relying on Abyssinia as an ally, a large amount of luxury goods and gold were exported to Constantinople through here.

An Orthodox church, a church school, a large town square, a large trading market and a formal port have been built locally. Some of the Roman immigrants who came here were various craftsmen, and the things they made could be exchanged with the Abyssians for more goods. Although I came to a place I was unfamiliar with, my life was better than before.

After several years of governance, the port of Androniko began to pick up the fine traditions of ancient Greece. The chief executive formed a seven-member council. In addition to the chief, the bishop and two government officials, the others were local A person with high reputation. Whenever the chiefs encounter any major issues, they need to hold a meeting to ask for their opinions.

The life of local civilians is also good. They can get at least hundreds of acres of land for farming, or they can get money equivalent to the market price of the land to open a shop in the town to do business. There are also some adventurers from Italy who heard about the countless wealth and sold their belongings to go there. Their exploration of East Africa enriched the map and also understood the local humanities.

"William, do you really want to leave?"

In the tavern, a man with a Northern Italian accent was asking another man.

"Yes, I want to go to Ceylon. Although the situation there is more dangerous, the rewards are also very rich. What about you, are you ready to stay here?"

"It's not that you don't know that I have acquired a lot of land here, and with the business I do in the city, it is enough to live on. I have already asked people to bring my family over. Although I am reluctant to part with it, this is the only way. "

When William saw the other person like this, he could only bless him. There are many people like this. Poor farmers from Italy accidentally get a chance to make a comeback. If they can't survive, who would be willing to leave their hometown?

In addition to craftsmen and homesteaders, slaves were also an important factor in local production. Most of the local public construction was done by slaves, and slaves were also used in large numbers in mines, quarries and other places. These black-skinned people are not only strong, but also resistant to many diseases. They are not as delicate as they are. So buy in bulk.

The company treated white slaves from other places more leniently and did not call them slaves, but indentured laborers. They can get part of their remuneration and have certain freedom of movement and employment. They only need to pay twice the amount the company paid to buy them or work for seven to ten years before they can gain real freedom. If they wanted to stay here, they could get land or other privileges.

The attitude towards slaves in different regions is also the company's attitude. After all, these black slaves are just labor force, while white people are workers and citizens, and are the main force for the expansion of the Roman Empire. This was the only way to do it until Rome was unable to immigrate on a large scale.

Andronikos also engaged in the re-export trade of slaves, and the town area continued to expand. This has also caused dissatisfaction among some indigenous people. Fighting has become a daily behavior, but fortunately there is no organization to unite them, so they can defeat them one by one.