Chapter 325: Chapter 8 Trade and Conflict
Bodelai Town in Turkana Province of the East African Kingdom is one of the northernmost towns of the province, and it is also a trade market set up by the East African Kingdom.
At dawn, Bodelai opens for business.
Abyssinian caravans from various parts of southern Abyssinia bring Abyssinian-bred horses, cattle, sheep, camels, and some agricultural products to trade in Bodelai Town.
"Today, our shop has a total of 150 rifles, all of excellent quality, open to bidding, and the highest bidder wins." With this announcement from a store specializing in firearms.
Instantly, everyone began to bid competitively.
"I’ll offer thirty Abyssinian horses," proposed Bubuawes, a trader from the Tigray region in northern Abyssinia.
The Abyssinian horse is a specialty of Abyssinia, and Turkana Province in East Africa also produces them.
His bid immediately frightened off many small Abyssinian caravans interested in purchasing. Northern Abyssinia is the core region of the Abyssinian Empire, and Tigray is the birthplace of the Abyssinian Empire, with multiple ruling families rooted there, and Bubuawes is a member of the Zagwe Dynasty from Tigray.
Just as Bubuawes thought he had secured the goods, a discordant voice suddenly came, "Heh heh heh, the northerners want to ride on top of us too. Our Anli’s Clan offers thirty Abyssinian horses plus a camel."
This was a trader named Oudel Kevin from the southern Amhara region of the Abyssinian Empire. Clearly, Oudel Kevin was also determined to obtain this batch of firearms.
Bubuawes took a closer look and realized it was an "old rival" and mockingly said, "Oh, it’s a small family from Amhara. What class do you think you are to be compared with our Zagwe Dynasty? We Zagwe are one of the top three families of the empire. I’ll add ten Amhara donkeys, so these guns are mine."
The East African merchant was taken aback and asked, "Mr. Bubuawes, you mean ten donkeys, right?"
Bubuawes replied, "Yes, ten donkeys, but they are Amhara donkeys, as foolish as Anli’s Clan."
"You..." Oudel Kevin’s blood pressure immediately rose, "Fine, fine, you want to play this way? I’ll also add ten Zague Dynasty’s lame camels from Tigray."
East African merchant: "Uh! Mr. Oudel Kevin, disabled livestock need to be discounted."
Clearly, Oudel Kevin did not actually intend to trade with lame camels; it was simply to humiliate the Zagwe Dynasty. The East African merchant misunderstood his meaning, but Oudel Kevin felt very satisfied.
Oudel Kevin: "You’re not wrong. Lame camels should be valued less. I’m just saying that a lame Zagwe camel isn’t worth that price! Hahaha..."
"You bastard..." the insulted Bubuawes was enraged and was about to engage in a brawl with Oudel Kevin.
The sharp-eyed East African staff rushed to stop both parties, but neither was willing to back down, resulting in a scuffle involving a group of people.
Seeing they couldn’t stop the fight, the shop owner had to blow the warning whistle, with a sharp, trailing "bleep".
Bodelai Town’s East African mounted police, alerted by the sound, arrived on more than a dozen steed from outside the market, wielding sticks to break up the entangled Abyssinian merchants.
Soon.
"Everyone quiet down, this is a public place, not a place for fighting," said the furious Bodelai Police Chief, Cruise.
By this time, the fighters had already squatted in a row, listening to Cruise’s lecture, surrounded by Abyssinian onlookers, who found it entertaining to see these big family members come up short.
"Bodelai is a fair trade market. Everything is about money, not who is stronger. You’re lucky it’s me who came and not the border troops, because they wouldn’t be so gentle with you. Now get back to trading, and no more fighting, or I’ll show you what the East African police can do. The rest of you disperse and continue trading."
After stabilizing the market’s order, Cruise left, leaving only Bubuawes and Oudel Kevin glaring angrily at each other, but they dared not make a move. The East African police batons really hurt when they hit.
Finally, Oudel Kevin won the firearms with a bid of thirty horses, plus eleven "Zagwe lame" camels.
However, on leaving town, Bubuawes said viciously, "Bastard! You better pray you’re safe when you get within Abyssinia’s borders!"
Oudel Kevin retorted with a smug face, "You really think this is Tigray! I’ll be waiting for your retaliation."
Oudel Kevin’s confidence came from the firearms he just acquired. With weapons in hand and a caravan of seasoned Abyssinian traders, he naturally wasn’t afraid.
...
To the north of Bodelai Town is the southernmost city of the Abyssinian Empire, Nigmet. Relations between East Africa and the Abyssinian Empire remain quite good, with almost no major conflicts of interest, which is why Bodelai was established as a trade market.
Although East Africa’s expansion toward the Ethiopian highlands was met with some wariness by local forces within the Abyssinian Empire, it amounted to little more than that.
East Africa has never truly invaded Abyssinia, so conflicts and tensions are nonexistent. At most, the southern neighbor changed from Black natives to White people, naturally triggering vigilance among Abyssinian southern rulers. After all, the British, French, Italians, and Egyptians all eyed the Abyssinian Empire along the Red Sea covetously, and the Abyssinians couldn’t allow their guard to drop, given the previous British incursions.
Indeed, Italians briefly held a "colony" along the Red Sea, namely Asab Port in northern Djibouti. In 1869, Italian colonizer Giuseppe Sapetto’s private colonial company, the Rubatino Company, signed an agreement with the tribal chieftains along the Red Sea’s Asab, purchasing Asab Port. However, Egypt opposed this, sending troops to occupy Asab, leaving Italy’s colonial ambitions in Asab frustrated for the time being.
So currently, Italy has no colonies in Africa. Still, the Rubatino Company hasn’t completely withdrawn from Asab Port but continues to seek opportunities to make a comeback. Now they’ve encountered a perfect chance, as the Kingdom of Italy plots to invade the Abyssinian Empire and needs a landing port. Along the Red Sea, only the Rubatino Company counts as Italy’s own people, so the Italian government recruited them, a full ten years ahead of historical events. However, Asab Port is still in Egyptian hands, requiring further planning.
From the Italian Kingdom’s ambitions for Asab Port, it’s apparent how fiercely competitive all powers were around the Mand Strait. Historically centering on Djibouti, the middle was the French Somaliland colony, the southeast the British Somaliland colony, with Egypt’s sphere of influence in the north’s Eritrea mingling with Italian private colonial groups by Asab Bay, and to the west stood the Abyssinian Empire, the southwest hosting the East African Kingdom’s Dedradawa military town. Adding the Ottoman Empire’s residual presence, the few tens of thousands of square kilometers on the Mand Strait’s west coast were crowded with nations and tribes, all originating from the opening of the Suez Canal.
The most aggrieved are undoubtedly the Abyssinian Empire and Ottoman Empire, with one encircled as a landlocked country and the other, although nominally the local master, practically having been carved out by Egypt after the sudden rise of Albanian giant Ali, who broke free from the Ottoman Empire while inheriting most of its assets west of the Sinai Peninsula.
Interestingly, Eritrea was seized by the Ottoman Empire at its peak in 1557 from the Abyssinian Empire, now it’s Egyptian territory. This is one reason for the poor relations between Egypt and the Abyssinian Empire, coupled with their interest disputes in the Sultanate area, piling grudge upon grudge. When Britain invaded the Abyssinian Empire, Egypt took advantage to rob it under such circumstances.
East Africa has no territorial conflicts with the Abyssinian Empire. Although East Africa now holds the southern part of former Ethiopia, the Abyssinian Empire never governed here. Former Ethiopia’s south merged into the Abyssinian Empire between 1872 and 1896 during Menelik II’s reign, who also moved the capital south to Addis Ababa in central Ethiopia in 1886. Currently, the strongest force in the Abyssinian Empire is John IV, supported by the British, while Menelik II is now King of Shawa Kingdom (equivalent to a vassal state conquered by the Abyssinian Empire).