Chapter 479: The Empire of Oxen and Horses
Early 1878.
Central Province, Kidatu Village Agricultural Cooperative.
Village chief Rowis stood before the villagers to announce the latest policy: "Alright, settle down! I bring good news. A new policy from the Kingdom has arrived. According to the royal directive, our country will resolve the issue of slavery within the next thirty years. To align with international norms, we will begin replacing slaves with large livestock such as oxen and horses. As per the township document, Kidatu Village has been allocated 236 oxen to replace field labor slaves."
Remy: "Chief, how is that good news? They're just swapping slaves for beasts. At least slaves can do heavy work beyond plowing. They're more useful than animals!"
"Remy, you don't understand. Slaves may be useful now, but they're not a long-term solution. Our East African situation is unique, so we've temporarily used slavery to boost productivity. But the international community doesn't accept it—it will be abolished. Besides, no matter how hardworking a slave is, they're less efficient than large livestock and carry the risk of revolt."
Remy muttered, "I think blacks are still better. And don't tell me we can't keep them in line."
"Heh, America used to think the same way. But their slaves have now been freed, and it's clear Black Americans will deeply influence that society—for better or worse. We can't allow that to happen in East Africa. Look at Egypt's Mamluks—slaves who seized power. I don't want the Kingdom to face that future. Don't rely on exploiting others. Real happiness comes from creating with your own hands. Exploitation doesn't last."
Rowis's outlook was clearly different from that of the average East African citizen. He had been part of the early Hechingen education program and had a solid foundation—no wonder he was village chief.
Replacing slaves would certainly impact East African productivity. After all, compared to animals, human labor was still the most versatile and efficient.
"Chief, these oxen seem to correspond to our labor force. Does each person get one?"
"You wish! Do you even know how to raise oxen? Ever handled one? What if it dies?"
Rowis was being practical—most people in East Africa, whether from the East or the West, had never worked with oxen.
The Far Eastern immigrants were mostly dirt-poor. If they had an ox, they wouldn't have had to come to East Africa. Many didn't even own proper tools. European immigrants weren't much better. In Europe, ox-plowing was uncommon. Only in America had oxen been widely used in agriculture. In Europe, oxen were mostly used for transport, dairy, and meat.
Besides, raising oxen required skill and money—neither of which ordinary East Africans had.
Rowis: "The cooperative will raise the oxen. Specialists will care for them. Like before with the slaves, you'll have to apply to use them. According to kingdom policy, grazing lands will be designated."
East Africa's tropical savanna climate made it a natural pasture. But unlike Argentina, East Africa prioritized farming, so most land was used for crops. Still, animal husbandry had lower costs—no tilling, no soil improvement, no massive irrigation needed.
East African agriculture called itself smallholder-based, but it was nothing like true smallholder farming. It was highly organized and leaned toward capitalist agriculture. In fact, it resembled the Soviet model—though the Soviet Union didn't exist yet. Lacking a communist blueprint, East Africa's system most resembled European serfdom. The difference? There was only one "lord": Ernst. He wasn't aiming for big profits. Farmers had a fair degree of freedom. But real serfs still existed—black agricultural slaves.
"Replacing slaves with livestock is inevitable. It's not just our village. The whole Central Province is a pilot area," Rowis told the villagers.
Of course, this wasn't an immediate or total rollout. The policy targeted farming regions. Cash crop plantations would still use some slave labor.
The main reason for the policy was that, after over a decade of development, East Africa's two major pastoral zones had raised a large number of animals. The Northern and Highland pastures now had a combined total in the tens of millions—giving East Africa the foundation to modernize rural productivity.
Still, tens of millions was modest. Texas alone had over 50 million cattle—just in one U.S. state, and only counting cows. East Africa's figures included both oxen and horses. It had a long way to go to match real livestock powers.
"Chief, if we're replacing slaves, what happens to the slaves? Will they be sold?"
Rowis replied, "Who knows? That's the Kingdom's problem, not ours."
Selling them wasn't realistic. No existing slave market could absorb such numbers. For example, the Ottoman Empire had reduced its purchases—too busy fighting Russia, with a tight budget.
To deal with the surplus, East Africa launched a slave discount promotion—subsidizing Arab merchants from Zanzibar. For each slave they exported, they got a bonus. Where they went, East Africa didn't care. As a result, the Ottomans quickly had a surge of "black livestock" to throw at Russia's "gray livestock."
And those slaves still needed to eat—giving East Africa a way to unload surplus grain. The Ottomans had stopped buying from Russia, opening up the market. Grain flowed, slaves sailed, everyone benefited.
So in the Tenth Russo-Turkish War, the Ottomans did poorly in the Balkans—but less so in Asia. In the Caucasus especially, they did well. They even formed black slave battalions to fight the Russians.
This was linked to their East African population trade. In the Caucasus, East Africa had bought many white women. These people were forcibly relocated, which sparked local resistance. That suited the Ottomans perfectly—they cracked down on rebellious minorities and took over their land. But land needed labor, and black slaves were perfect.
The Ottomans had the means to control them and weren't afraid of slave uprisings. Over a decade, the black population in the Caucasus grew to over 300,000, working the fields for Ottoman lords.
When war broke out, those same black slaves were conscripted into the army. Manpower vs. manpower—they played Russia at its own game. As long as the slaves didn't all die, the Ottomans could keep fighting. Of course, replenishing them wasn't easy. It also strained Ottoman logistics.
Britain and others didn't need to intervene. The Ottomans were eager to keep fighting. The Balkans were a mess, but that was inevitable. The whole peninsula was crawling with rebels. The Ottomans couldn't even assert control. Romania, under Sigmaringen's leadership, was already de facto independent—just nominally part of the empire, like Egypt.
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