New Shun 1730

The Chinese are very capable.

Their ability to work is much better than that of Tamil slaves and Sinhalese people. This is the consensus of all the successive governors of Batavia.

The Dutch actually lack two types of people in Ceylon.

One type is skilled workers, such as those who can build houses and repair canals.

Ceylon has a tradition of building water conservancy since ancient times.

During the Portuguese rule, the middle castes, which were the basis of small farmers, fled to the highlands. Because the Portuguese forced missionaries, the Dutch had a lot of unowned land in the lowland coastal areas after driving the Portuguese away.

These lands need a water conservancy foundation for growing food crops.

The Netherlands needs to build various fortresses and houses. Batavia was basically built by slaves captured from Zhoushan and Penghu. This time, they also hope to let the Chinese work.

The other type is cheap workers.

For example, people who peel cinnamon bark and rub cinnamon in hand factories also need people to fill the vacancies after the uprising a few years ago.

The two most in-demand people, after looking around, the most suitable ones are Chinese.

Moreover, the situation in Ceylon is different from that in Batavia.

In Ceylon, the Dutch were not worried that the increase in the number of Chinese might revolt, because the Dutch rule in Ceylon was quite stable.

Capital is of course evil, but capital has a dual mission.

In order to gain as much profit as possible, capital will transform the old world in the way it wants. It is not to transform it in the way of the West, but to transform it in a way that is more profitable.

It has to be said that although the Dutch system is brutal, bloody and evil, it is still a little higher than the caste system.

After the Dutch arrived in Ceylon, they gradually broke the Ceylon caste system that affected their profit-making in the areas under their rule, especially by supporting a large number of middle and low caste people to enter the company as grassroots managers.

Breaking the old serf village system, appropriately using the Roman law inherited by the Netherlands to determine private ownership. This is of course for better profits, and in the early stage it was to restore the ruins after the Portuguese retreat.

But we have to admit that some middle-caste people have a channel for class advancement. The middle castes who stayed in the lowland areas, especially the majority of small farmers and fishermen, still supported the rule of the Dutch.

Because the Portuguese did all the worst things. For example, forced conversions, etc.

When the Dutch came, these people were basically the descendants of those who did not escape and were forced to convert. They felt that they believed in Christianity since birth. As for Catholicism or Reformed, they probably couldn't tell the difference.

The only difference might be that November 20th was the day when the Netherlands defeated Portugal. The Dutch stipulated that this day was Ceylon's [Thanksgiving Day], requiring all Ceylon people to gather, thank, and celebrate on this day. Those who did not go would be fined 100 silver coins. When the Portuguese were there, they did not celebrate Thanksgiving.

The Dutch were relatively loose here, and they were not as fanatical as the Spanish and Portuguese. When they saw the Sinhalese who converted to Christianity, they would go to worship at the Buddhist temple, and basically did not care much.

Relying on this policy of differentiation and the advantage that the caste system next to me is worse than mine, the Dutch are still confident.

Relying on the middle and low castes and self-employed farmers in Ceylon as the base, there is no problem in suppressing the large number of Chinese immigrants.

Immigration to Ceylon is of course also related to the company's senior decision-making.

The company judged that the sugar trade is finished.

The quality of the sugar factory in Batavia is not as good as that of Taiwan, and the price is not as good as that of Bangladesh. As for Cuban sugar and Haitian sugar, the difference is even greater.

But cinnamon was originally only produced in Ceylon. Even if it was taken to Brazil by the Portuguese, everyone in the European market shared half and half, and the Dutch could still monopolize the Asian market.

So the situation of Batavia sugar should not happen, causing such a big mess.

In addition to cinnamon, Ceylon also has betel nut.

It doesn't matter if you eat it, but this thing is definitely not as good as emerging hobbies, such as tobacco, coffee, etc.

But Indians use this stuff to dye cloth, and reddish-brown cotton cloth is very popular in India, so betel nut, as a dye, can also make a fortune by selling it to India.

At this time, the world's top two cotton textile countries are China and India.

The 17-member gentleman group judged that Indian cotton cloth will always be strong and Europeans will never be able to catch up. The Netherlands itself has no textile industry, and capital has flowed into usury, bonds and commerce. They hope that Indian cotton cloth will be strong and make British and French woolen cloth strong.

Cinnamon is not grown in the West Indies, and Brazil has grown some but is short of manpower. Unlike sugar, Cuban Haitian sugar can beat Batavia sugar in the European market.

Betel nut may be grown in the Caribbean, but it is too far away from India, the largest betel nut consumption market, so it is still irreplaceable.

The company's senior management deeply analyzed the lessons of the failure of the sugar industry, considered the market and origin matching, freight, substitutability and other issues, and came to the above conclusion with the minds of the top economists of this era.

Therefore, the company's 17-member gentleman group hoped to build Ceylon into an important profit growth point for the company in the future and a base for occupying India in the future.

It can be said that the fate of the Chinese in Batavia was actually doomed.

Dashun would not allow them to die, but would not allow them to return to Fujian, hoping that they would all go to Ceylon.

The senior officials of the East India Company did not dare to slaughter them, nor could they send them back to Fujian, and did not want them to stay in Batavia, and they also hoped that they would go to Ceylon.

The local government of Batavia did not want so many unemployed Chinese to stay near Batavia, especially in the case that they were likely to join the rebels, and also wanted to send them to Ceylon.

In this case, the struggle of the lower class was meaningless. Even the Celestial Empire behind them thought so. With the joint efforts, the only difference was what identity they went to Ceylon with.

The closed-door meeting of the Governor's Office lasted for two full days. The people of Batavia generally agreed with the idea of ​​shipping to Ceylon. After analysis, they finally believed that this solution could be used.

Some people could be assigned to work in cinnamon factories to replace the shortage of cinnamon workers.

But at the same time, they continued to put pressure on the Kingdom of Kandy to repatriate the cinnamon workers who had fled from the lowlands.

Once the pressure was successful, these Chinese could be allowed to contract land and grow rice, etc.

It could even be promised that after working in the cinnamon factory for a few years, they could be allocated a piece of land for their own cultivation, and they only had to pay a certain amount of land tax every year.

Given the degree to which the Chinese love land, and with the guarantee of the Dashun court, this should not be a problem.

When the Portuguese came, a large number of high-caste and middle-caste people fled the lowlands because of forced conversion, and a large amount of land is still barren.

Another part of the people can be some technical talents allowed to stay in Colombo, such as bricklayers, stonemasons, carpenters, etc.

As long as these people can accept the orthodox teachings and convert, they can engage in some high-income jobs such as doing business and being technicians.

But they can no longer be allowed to have tax farming rights like the Chinese in Batavia.

Since the identity and status have changed, the middle ruling class in Ceylon are those middle and low-caste Sinhalese.

The role of the Chinese in Batavia is assumed by the "Burgers" in Ceylon.

For example, hawkers, restaurants, hotels, small businesses, etc., these Burgers are all Eurasian.

Burger, burgher, and the word bourgeois have the same origin. It means "small businessmen who are neither nobles nor tenants". The word itself also explains the economic status of these mixed-race people, that is, a group of petty bourgeoisie, that is, the economic status of the Chinese who have residence permits in Batavia but are not tax farmers.

In this case, once the Chinese are migrated to Ceylon on a large scale, the role played by the Chinese in Ceylon society can also be appropriately adjusted.

Batavia is too close to Dashun, and the Chinese have a tradition of going to Southeast Asia, so the Chinese must not be allowed to serve as soldiers here.

Once the Chinese are allowed to serve as soldiers, the Chinese who go to Southeast Asia like a tide will one day replace them. And the Chinese have money.

However, Ceylon is so far away from Dashun that it is impossible for the Chinese to go to Southeast Asia so far. The population size is always controlled by the East India Company.

The growth of the Chinese in Batavia is also partly due to the fact that the Chinese capital can contract industries, and the Chinese rich businessmen also prefer to employ Chinese.

In Ceylon, Chinese businessmen are not allowed to contract or participate in the betel nut and cinnamon industries. Therefore, unless the company takes the initiative to transport people, it is impossible for Chinese to go there.

So, can Chinese be sent to Ceylon as cannon fodder?

Incorporate Chinese into the army to save some expenses and balance the Sinhalese and Tamils?

After all, the continuous wars in the past few years of Dashun have completely reversed the impression that Chinese are not good at war. It seems that Chinese can be used as excellent soldiers.

Introducing Chinese to serve in Ceylon can be used as cannon fodder and can also instigate the relationship between Chinese and Sinhalese.

Chinese are a minority in the local area, so once they fight a few battles with the Sinhalese, Chinese must be the most loyal soldiers to the Netherlands.

If they revolt, they will face the joint stranglehold of the Dutch and the Sinhalese.

After leaving the Netherlands, the Sinhalese will evaluate the advantage in numbers and can kill all the Chinese.

Therefore, at that time, there is only one way to follow the Netherlands wholeheartedly.

In this way, there are other benefits.

A part of the Dutch garrison in Ceylon can be mobilized to Batavia to suppress the uprising of the Chinese and Javanese in Batavia, so that the military force will not be stretched.

Let Chinese soldiers fill the vacancies left by the Dutch soldiers in Ceylon and maintain the Dutch rule in Ceylon.

In this way, there can be 1,000 people recruited as soldiers; 5,000 people can be recruited to replace the cinnamon factory; and 7,000 to 8,000 people can be recruited to replace Tamil slaves as castle builders and city builders, who are promised to be given land in the future and do not need to be paid for the time being, but are actually still similar to indentured servants.

This is about 15,000 people, which should basically absorb all the unemployed Chinese around Batavia.

After that, more Chinese can be sent there slowly to reclaim wasteland.

It was a trick played secretly, and in name they were no longer debt slaves.

But in fact, after going there, the houses to be built, the land to be reclaimed, and the land to be divided must be wasteland, and it would be difficult to survive without the supplies and tools provided by the Dutch.

The promised land may not be given until five or six years later, so they are still nominal freemen and indentured servants in reality.

At least within five or six years, the cost of using them is about the same as that of Tamil slaves.

Moreover, food in Ceylon is cheap.

Not giving the Chinese rice can allow them to eat jackfruit every day during their indentured service.

That thing is large in quantity, cheap, and produced in large quantities in Ceylon. It cannot be exported as a commodity, so it is not a pity to feed it to people.

After two days of meetings, the Dutch have basically reached a consensus. Now they only need to use some language skills to make the special envoys of Dashun recognize this immigration plan that is "essentially contract slavery".

However, the Dutch did not know that Dashun did not care whether it was contract slavery or not.

The reason for forcing the Dutch was just to force the Dutch to transport people to Ceylon, not really caring about the lives of these Chinese.

Including the emperor's payment, he said "all my children" and was kind-hearted.

In fact, the starting point of consideration was just: spending 6 silver coins now can get one more Han Chinese in the future [Anxi Four Towns]; if you don't spend 6 silver coins now, you may have to spend 60 silver coins to move one person in the future.

Now, if you spend 6 silver coins, all the Chinese in Nanyang will shout "Long live the emperor", and all of them will be loyal to the Celestial Empire. In the future, if you spend 60 silver coins to force immigration, the people will curse their mothers, and their families will be separated. Maybe when you just walk to the beach, you will hear a fox call at night; when you eat fish, you may find a silk book; when you just arrive in Ceylon, you may dig out a one-eyed stone man.

Dashun only wants one result [Chinese go to Ceylon, survive, and live for three to five years].

As for whether it is a contract slave... Dashun Jinghai has a lot of people with similar identities. A lot of tenants in the Huanghuai area live worse than contract slaves. The hinterland is not well managed, so how can it really care?