Although Mwesili had long sold the Yake Kingdom to East Africa, the kingdom spanned over a hundred thousand square kilometers, so it took the East African government three months to fully take over.
The most challenging aspect was migration, as the overall number of new migrants to East Africa decreased, and the Yake Kingdom lay deep inland, far from East Africa’s main migrant landing ports, making migration even more difficult.
Just traveling from the coast to this place consumed considerable time, and Mbeya City even diverted a portion of its own migrant quota here.
Original capital of the Yake Kingdom.
The palace of the Yake Kingdom’s capital is now deserted, and the natives have been driven out. However, some people still remain here, including East African migrants and a portion of Portuguese merchants.
"Mr. Santos, it has been ascertained that these people are German. They made a deal with Mwesili and bought this place, but the details of the transaction remain unknown to us," said Afonso.
"That Mwesili, was he kicked in the head by a mule? Not only did he yield the Yake Kingdom, but he also helped the Germans drive out his own people!" Santos exclaimed angrily.
Santos was frustrated because East Africa’s expulsion policy rendered years of his hard work in this place instantly worthless.
The Portuguese forces hadn’t ventured much into this area, but many Portuguese merchants still dared to explore the African interior, where the risks were high but the rewards were greater.
Santos had made quite a profit through his operations in the Yake Kingdom, as those unsophisticated natives were fairly easy to deceive, especially after East Africa blocked the kingdom’s original trade routes. In the past two or three years, Santos made a killing.
Good times didn’t last long, and now East Africa has taken action against the Yake Kingdom. Most absurdly, these Germans even refused the natives, cutting off Santos’s original supply sources.
However, East Africa only expelled the natives while maintaining respect for these Portuguese merchants, allowing them to stay.
"Have you established contact with the Germans?" Santos asked.
"Yes, but we need native translators to get a general idea. Native languages lack many words and meanings, so the translations might be somewhat inaccurate," Afonso replied.
"What did the Germans say?" Santos inquired.
"The result is rather favorable; my people can continue to remain here, but they have to comply with their laws," Afonso said.
"What kind of good result is this? They drove out the natives, and now our supply sources are cut off. How do we account for this loss? We used to have sole distribution rights, but now with no goods, there’s no business. And what about their so-called laws? Aren’t they just whatever they say they are? Talking about laws in a colony is nonsense!" Santos protested.
"Mr. Santos, the result is already quite favorable. The Germans promised to provide us with supplies again, but only when their personnel is in place, which they say will take a few months," Afonso explained.
"I said these Germans have lost their minds! If you’re short on manpower, why drive the natives away? And then have the cheek to complain about insufficient manpower? Who can wait for a few months?"
Santos was infuriated. These Germans always acted destructively without benefiting themselves. Although the Portuguese also colonized Africa, the natives were crucial labor assets in colonies. The Germans’ approach was downright rebellious.
Moreover, no matter how capable Germany is, how many migrants can they bring? Haven’t they seen that after hundreds of years in Africa, Portuguese migrants are still limited?
"What are your thoughts?" Santos asked the others.
Afonso replied, "Sir! After careful consideration, I plan to stay."
"What about the rest of you?"
Among the remaining Portuguese merchants, some wanted to stay, while others expressed intentions to leave.
"Regardless of your decisions, I plan to leave this cursed place. A few months without business—how much money will be lost? I intend to move to the southern Kazemb Kingdom for development," Santos expressed his stance.
The Kazemb Kingdom is southwest of the Yake Kingdom, located on the southern shores of Mweru Lake, and borders the Malawi Kingdom to the east, established by the Lunda people.
The Kazemb Kingdom is a key node in the African ivory trade. Initially, Santos operated in the Kazemb Kingdom before moving to the Yake Kingdom.
Relatively speaking, the Kazemb Kingdom offers greater interests, but there’s more competition, which is why Santos took a group north to develop the Yake Kingdom.
Afonso and others were akin to Santos’s partners, and they indeed made a considerable sum in the Yake Kingdom over two years.
However, Afonso had his own ideas and didn’t want to leave the Yake Kingdom. Although this place was colonized by East Africa, the local goods and ivory wouldn’t grow legs and run away, and he knew Santos had been contemplating leaving since the Germans arrived.
Being the second-in-command among local Portuguese merchants, once Santos leaves, the region would essentially be his.
Moreover, prior to the gathering, Afonso was extensively liaising with the Germans. Santos was cautious, unwilling to personally negotiate with the Germans, mainly due to his overseas experiences leading to too many losses and fears of being double-crossed.
In reality, the East African government promised the local ivory and other business rights to the Portuguese, but Afonso translated it as East Africa agreeing for Portuguese merchants to continue staying.
Ernst’s colonization in Africa was always prudent, especially in dealing with Europeans and Arabs. Although East Africa engulfed these lands, it continued to offer goods at relatively low prices to these people for processing.
The aim was to keep them from returning home to complain. Of course, the Portuguese merchants in the Yake Kingdom weren’t influential enough for this.
They were far from the Portuguese colonial sphere, engaging in spontaneous commercial activities, though East Africa wasn’t clear on this point. After all, Portuguese arrived in Africa too early, and East Africa hadn’t yet grasped the extent of Portuguese influence in the African interior.
"I must remind you all: Germans are not benevolent by any measure. At least, I don’t trust their promises. My years of experience tell me that colonists are synonymous with ruthless and dark-hearted. Don’t expect the Germans to share their interests freely.
Think for a moment: we’ve been active in Africa for so long through cunning and our own means, and the Germans will undoubtedly act even more intensely," Santos advised those contemplating staying in the Yake Kingdom.
Indeed, Santos’s persuasion swayed many of the already small number of supporters for staying, and they joined the group intending to leave.
Santos was quite displeased with Afonso’s attempt to operate independently but couldn’t express it openly, as the land now belonged to East Africa.
Besides, Santos himself didn’t see much of a future for the Yake Kingdom, leaving it to Afonso and the others to stay and regret it later.
As long as most people followed him, he’d be fine relaunching in the Kazemb Kingdom, needing a more loyal crew.