South Atlantic route, Africa segment.

The Little Hans, which had just passed the coast of Southern Angola, was heading up the cold current of Benguela into the waters of the Portuguese-controlled colony of Northern Angola.

The name of the ship indicates the ship's former belonging, and the name must be a ship of the German state, of course, this is only the past, and now the little Hans is a wooden sail merchant ship registered in the Republic of Haiti, and it is also the identity of this ship on the surface.

"Report to the captain, a British warship has been spotted ahead!"

"Don't panic, check the personnel on our ship first to see if there is any negligence, maybe the British warship is just passing by here."

Saying so, Captain Othello still prepared for the worst in his heart, and British law enforcement warships were rarely seen on this route.

Soon the British ships on the opposite side waved their flags and docked the Little Hans for inspection.

"Captain, what now?"

"Get checked!" Othello ordered.

You can't run away, you can't beat it, and this slave trading ship disguised as an armed merchant ship is no match for ironclad ships at all.

At present, the ships used to transport slaves in East Africa are relatively backward wooden sail merchant ships, and many of them are second-hand ships purchased from the world in East Africa.

The slave trade comes with great risks, especially under the joint attack of the international community, so East Africa, a slave-exporting country, can only keep a low profile, but under normal circumstances, East Africa has not been targeted in the South Atlantic waters, but today it seems to be in trouble.

Soon, the British warship approached the Haitian merchant ship, and in front of the British warship, the Haitian merchant ship was like a small point, which was also the defect of the wooden sail merchant ship, and it was difficult to surpass these steel behemoths in size.

The British sailors quickly set up the staircase and then transitioned to the Little Hans.

"Which of you is the captain of this ship?" The sailor of the Royal Navy asked.

Othello stepped forward and said, "I am the captain of this ship, Othello. ”

"Othello?" The Royal Navy sailor looked at the black captain carefully and asked strangely, "Are you black?" ”

"Yes, I'm Haitian." Othello smiled flatteringly, not daring to look out of the slightest, and his dark face showed a mouthful of big white teeth, which was very dazzling against the backdrop of the sea and blue sky.

"Haitians? Why is your ship called Little Hans? ”

"The ship was purchased from East Africa, so we didn't change its name, but the sailor and I are Haitians." Othello replied.

"That's a rarity!" Said the British Royal Sailor.

Black captains are indeed uncommon on the ocean, maybe there are more countries like the United States, and in Africa, where there are the most black people, black people engaged in ocean trade are definitely rare.

In the past, Somali and Swahili peoples, as well as some black countries on the Red Sea coast, were relatively good at maritime trade, but these countries have long been abolished or colonized by Western colonizers such as East Africa.

"Of course, Haiti is an island country, and the country's main trade depends on shipping, so we also buy a lot of ships from the civilized world to develop shipping," Othello said. ”

In fact, these cheap merchant ships were all donated by East Africa to Haitians, after all, the slave trade is not easy to do, and East Africans do not want to sell them directly, so as Haitians, who are also black, to sell black slaves, it is much more "harmonious".

And now that Haiti itself is the largest exporter of "labor" in the Americas, it makes more sense, which is also a direction of development for the East African slave trade in recent years.

And Othello is a Haitian businessman who cooperates with East Africa, East Africa ships, Othello pulls "goods" from East Africa, so that Othello can not only obtain an ocean-going ship at a very low cost, although it is only a wooden sail merchant ship that is being eliminated, but it is also a great wealth for Haitians.

At the same time, "goods" and "labor" can be prostituted for nothing, in which case it is equivalent to East Africa sending three cents to Haitians.

The ships were supplied by East Africa, the goods were actually the freight paid by East Africa, and the laborers were also slaves who retired from the service in East Africa after the expiration of their service period.

The Haitians only needed to contribute to this wealth, while the Haitians continued to make a fortune by reselling slaves and goods.

Under this "tens of billions of subsidies" in East Africa, Haitians naturally live a prosperous life and go down the road of slave economy without returning.

The sailors of the Royal Navy were not interested in this, because Haiti was a former French colony and now independent, so they did not have the time to investigate where they got these second-hand ships.

He was more interested in whether the ship was a slave ship or not, which was a requirement from above, so it was important to be sure.

"Now we have to check whether your merchant ships, including people and cargo, are in compliance with international regulations, Captain Othello, you should not stop it!"

Othello's face was ugly, although he couldn't see the slightest change because of his black skin, but he didn't dare to refute and said, "Then please!" But we are serious businessmen and never do illegal business. ”

The British didn't believe what Othello said, and there weren't many clean seas in the 19th century.

Soon hostage by British sailors, Othello's crew took them to take a closer look at every part of the ship.

"Captain Othello, why are there so many sailors on your ship, it's obvious that it's overcrowded? It should be enough for a few dozen sailors, and there are almost hundreds of people on this ship, right? ”

"Sir, our ships employ more people, but these are all Africans who have obtained our Haitian nationality, and at present, we have a lot of Haitian labor companies in the Americas, and they need a lot of manpower, so we are all legal workers."

On the surface, there should be nothing wrong with what Othello said, at least in terms of clothing, these people don't look like slaves.

These clothes were naturally distributed in East Africa, after all, the slaves in East Africa contributed their youth, and if they didn't even mix a set of clothes, then the East Africans would also be "livestock".

"There is also a problem with your cargo, the cargo of a normal merchant ship is not so small, don't you lose money on this trip?"

Othello: "Sir, this is not the case of Haiti, which is a notoriously poor country, with a narrow land area and not a lot of property, so there are not many things that can be used for foreign trade, so it is normal for the volume of cargo to be small, and as you said before, the most important thing on my ship is these new Haitian 'citizens', they are our wealth." ”

"Slaves, too?"

Othello didn't dare to answer, but said righteously: "These are all citizens of Haiti who have been naturalized by legal means, and they have the identity information issued by our Haitian embassy, sir, you can't harm us!" ”

Under the suspicious eyes of the British sailors, Othello asked the men to pull out the identification "certificates" issued by the Haitian embassy in East Africa.

The whole inspection passed in such a thrilling way that the British warship had to give the "normal trade vessel" a clear pass.

This is also where the East Africans are cunning, and now that the slave trade is becoming more and more risky, the slave traders naturally have to improve with the times.

At present, there are no people in East Africa, and the slave trade is directly disguised as a normal legal form of "migration" and "work", and the international community as a whole cannot find fault with it.

Of course, the fundamental reason for the realization of this "advanced" slave trade is that East Africa has paid a lot of costs, and it does not take profit as the primary goal at all, and even has to reverse it to maintain it.

(End of chapter)