African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 59 - 55: Going to East Africa

December 22, 1866.

Hungary, Duoboci Town.

Yanosen, a Hungarian who speaks German.

In his youth, Yanosen went to Austria to seek fortune and eventually became a worker in Trieste, but a mechanical failure caused Yanosen to lose his left arm forever.

Fortunate Yanosen survived with the help of simple medicine, but it exhausted his savings. At the same time, losing his left arm meant Yanosen also lost his ability to work.

And the heartless factory owner directly dismissed the now worthless Yanosen. Just when Yanosen’s prospects seemed bleak, he encountered the newly established Mei Lede Company in Austria recruiting staff.

This company had unique recruitment conditions, no educational background was required, only proficiency in German and at least one dialect within the Austria-Hungary Empire, of course, the more languages the better. After an interview, one could start working.

With a "dead horse as a living horse" mindset, Yanosen applied. Because he could speak Hungarian dialect and German, along with his decent eloquence, Yanosen was directly hired by Mei Lede Company.

And Yanosen’s job was straightforward, to recruit people in Hungary, his salary depended entirely on how many people he could persuade to board the ship bound for the East African colonies.

This so-called Mei Lede Company was actually the Heixinggen consortium’s new front in Austria, responsible for immigration business within the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the future.

As a newcomer in Mei Lede Company, after understanding his job, Yanosen also roughly understood the business of this so-called Mei Lede Company.

Being clever, after analyzing his situation, Yanosen, eager to earn his salary quickly, decided to start working in his hometown first.

Although this Mei Lede Company seemed like a shell company, it didn’t matter to labor-incapable Yanosen, as long as they paid him, what kind of company it was didn’t concern him.

The reason it seemed like a shell company was that, during Yanosen’s interview, there were only three employees in the company, and they didn’t require educational qualifications for hiring.

Yanosen had seen some small companies before, mostly in the finance industry, but they required highly educated individuals when recruiting.

The recruitment location for Mei Lede Company was Africa. As someone who traveled far and wide in his early years, Yanosen had heard from some sailors about Africa.

They said Africa was all sand, with a scorching sun, where Arab merchants wearing robes rode camels back and forth across the sand.

Egyptians relied entirely on the Nile River for living, and the Nile River housed terrifying creatures called crocodiles, with gaping mouths that could swallow a person whole.

These sailors often traveled along routes around the Mediterranean coast, so they imprinted their impressions of North Africa on young Yanosen.

Thus, Yanosen’s knowledge of Africa was synonymous with heat, deserts, Arab merchants, and black slaves...

In short, Africa wasn’t a good place, but after joining Mei Lede Company, Yanosen still learned about East Africa.

After all, to entice immigrants, East Africa had to be portrayed in glowing terms, and the state of the East African colonies had to be conveyed to these employees.

These uncultured employees couldn’t be left to conjure up an image of the East African colonies out of thin air.

They might as well take a Bible directly and tell the country bumpkins in the Austrian Empire that East Africa is the Eden where Adam and Eve once lived.

In short, the East African colonies as rebranded by Mei Lede Company were described as having fertile land, crisscrossing rivers, boundless savannahs, endowed with eternal spring, and most importantly, traveling there nowadays guaranteed free tickets, food, and lodging, with no wage arrears. Whole families were welcomed to relocate, providing free education for children.

This was the basic template, and employees could exercise their creativity to exaggerate on top of it!

If immigrants went to East Africa and found reality didn’t match, it’s their personal affair, and since they were already there, there was no turning back.

...

Yanosen was busy selling the benefits of the East African colonies to his fellow townsfolk.

"Folks, sign up now before it’s too late to regret missing the chance."

"Yanosen boy, you won’t fool us, will you? Such good conditions, could it really be our turn?"

"Uncle Kari, we’re all fellow townsfolk here, am I that kind of person? You can absolutely trust my character. This recruitment is of the same nature as those going to make a fortune in America, the difference being the East African colony was discovered later than America. Now, America no longer needs as many people, but the East African colony urgently needs population, so there’s an opportunity for us."

"Then why aren’t you going to the East African colonies, but persuading us to go?"

"Uncle Kari, how can you say that? I’m only currently assigned this job by the company. Look at this arm—it’s good to have a job at all. If I can’t work in the future, I’ll go to East Africa to retire, since they provide food, lodging, and housing there."

While speaking, Yanosen raised his empty left sleeve, waving it, letting it swish in the air.

A woman spoke up, "Yanosen, we’ve never heard of this East Africa, we’re afraid to venture into unknown places."

Another villager chimed in, "Yanosen, stop talking about East Africa, tell us about the city life, so I can decide whether to have my kids go and explore."

"Uncle, city life isn’t easy! For instance, do your kids have skills or education? If they don’t, they’ll start as apprentices or engage in heavy labor, might as well develop in East Africa!"

Yanosen continued, "Think about it, your family has been farmers for generations, why work as free labor or engage in heavy physical work? That’s not humane work, low pay and more tiring than farming. After four or five years, your health would be worn out!"

"But the situation is different in East Africa, what’s in abundance there? Land. Why do so many villagers go out to work every year? Isn’t it because there’s not enough land to farm now? Since the liberation of peasants, the noble masters no longer need as many people to farm for them. Going to East Africa is also farming for German nobles, just in a different place."

"Moreover, East Africa provides free education for children, ample food, what’s better than the whole family moving there for a comfortable life? And the work is what you’re familiar with—farming—no one can deceive you in this!"

"Don’t be fooled by those making money in big cities, the waters there run deep! Most people don’t gain much going there, those who return wealthy to brag about are rare, one in ten thousand. Do you believe you could achieve that? Do you have the same capability and luck?"

...

Trieste Port.

Yanosen still managed to coax a bunch of townsfolk, after all, Hungarian rural areas tend to be fertile grounds for raising families, having three to five children is normal, with the eldest inheriting the family business and the rest venturing out.

Yanosen led dozens of people to Trieste Port, where an Austrian soldier received them.

This Austrian soldier was a management officer at the port, having received orders today to prepare these immigrants for their psychological journey to East Africa.

The method was straightforward—proving to these immigrants gathered from different parts of the Austrian Empire that Mei Lede Company was legitimate, with ties to the German aristocracy linked to the royal family, so there’s no need to worry.

Thus, you can trust the government won’t deceive you, keep calm on the journey, and after three to five years of hard work, you can return.

Whether they can return is only known by the Austrian government itself, and they support Ernst’s activities, but can’t intervene directly. After all, if the Magyars discovered their intentions, it wouldn’t be easy to pull back.

Magyar nobility indeed has too strong an influence over Hungarian regions, otherwise, they wouldn’t dare act audacious in front of the Austrian government.

Ernst recruiting in the Austrian Empire is essentially weakening the power of these local nobles, although it may seem like a drop in the ocean, it’s better than doing nothing.

Meanwhile, Ernst is also solving some unemployment issues by packaging and relocating these unemployed populations, thus alleviating social tensions, as the population growth in the Austrian Empire is rapid, and the value of the population is depreciating, particularly the non-German ethnic groups.

In any era, unemployment among the populace is detrimental to stable governance, so Ernst taking these unemployed away somewhat alleviates societal tensions.

Currently, the Habsburg royal family still holds some credibility in the eyes of the people, as surely the emperor wouldn’t deceive us common folk!

Thus, the relaxed immigrants obediently boarded the ship bound for East Africa...

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