Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 181 Lord Governor

Regardless of the staff of the Governor’s Office, the man who broke into the office forcibly was a tall and thin white man who was about 50 years old. His face was reddened by the tropical sun, and he looked a bit like a cooked lobster. The emotions are very impulsive.

   "I'm sorry, Mr. Governor, Mr. Frank Sneider, a farmer from West Java, regardless of our dissuasion, strongly urges to meet you in person, we..."

   "Okay, I will take care of this, thank you Wen Baker."

  "Does the guard need to be notified? Mr. Governor."

  "No, no...it feels honored to be able to serve a citizen who speaks Dutch. I can spare five minutes from busy business affairs and listen to his demands."

Frederick-S-Jacob is having a lot of trouble now. He doesn't mind listening to what this rude white farmer says. On this remote island far from Northern Europe, every white man who can speak Dutch Descendants are worth listening to.

  The Dutch have landed on this spice-rich archipelago during their voyages. It has a well-documented history for more than 300 years. However, there are still very few Dutch-speaking white descendants on this Nanyang archipelago, with a population of less than 100,000.

  The Dutch have never promoted Dutch in the East Indies. There are only a few thousand local residents who can speak Dutch fluently. Most of them are Chinese or indigenous nobles.

  The East India Company implemented the policy of “indirect rule” in the archipelago. The Dutch recognized part of the interests of the local aristocracy and recreated a management class on top of the natives, thus positioning themselves as the traditional protector.

  The Netherlands colonized the entire archipelago with a small number of people. The local administrative class was composed of a group of white Dutch officials composed of garrison officers, garrison assistants and district civil servants. The wealthy Chinese businessmen and the upper class of indigenous nobles were in a subordinate position and became accomplices in colonial rule.

  This is the so-called “indirect rule”. The Dutch believe that the “indirect rule” policy will not interfere with the traditional lives of farmers and it is also cheap. There is no need to re-establish a government from scratch.

  In the Governor's Office

  The beautiful yellow steel horn of the gramophone came out with moving notes, which seemed to soothe the anxiety of Mr. Frank Sneijder. He took off the wide-brimmed hat on his head and took a deep breath, then said;

"I’m so presumptuous to come to bother. I beg your forgiveness, Mr. Governor. I am a plantation owner in West Java. I grow coffee, cocoa and rubber trees on the land. Of course... We also have some apple trees and rice-growing land. , Hire some locals to help with the work, my goodness... Mr. Governor, you simply don’t know how lazy these indigenous people are. You must use a whip to urge them to work at all times."

  As soon as the conversation box opened, Mr. Frank Sneijder began to talk endlessly.

Frederick S-Jacob walked to his desk, elegantly made a sitting posture, and then asked, "What do you need? I have Bordeaux wine, juice, and lemon tea. And water."

   "Uh... if it is not troublesome, please give me a glass of Bordeaux wine, thank you!"

Frederick S-Jacob smiled slightly, with a trace of imperceptible contempt across his face, maintaining an elegant demeanor, and said to Wenbeck standing at the door; "Pour a glass for this gentleman from West Java. Red wine, I hope to hear some interesting things."

Batavia (Jakarta City) is located in East Java, thousands of miles away from West Java. The easiest way to travel is to take a passenger ship, which is the kind of big-bellied sailing vessel with distinctive Dutch characteristics, which can carry cargo as well as cargo. For passengers, it takes 5-7 days to go back and forth.

  The red wine was brought up, and Mr. Frank Sneijder seemed to have some comments on Wenbeck who had just blocked him, and said stiffly; "Thank you!"

"You're welcome. It's my duty to prohibit unrelated people from trespassing in the Governor's office. Of course... Since you have Mr. Governor's permission, you are not included." Wen Baker threw a nail softly and nodded politely. Turned and left.

Mr. Frank Sneijder's face flushed by the sun could not be seen as embarrassed, he just snorted heavily, and said to a toast; "Thank you, Lord Liquor, you are a generous gentleman, and I hope the Governor Adults have the opportunity to be a guest in West Java. We will definitely treat you warmly. Know that we don’t lack anything. My wife can also make delicious apple pie, and the home-brewed wine is also very good..."

"Ahem... please allow me to interrupt." Sir Frederick S-Jacob's patience is gradually disappearing, and the false smile on his face fades; "If you are going to talk about your own plantation , I think I can talk about it on appropriate occasions in the future, but now... You know Mr. Frank Sneijder, I'm very busy on official business."

  What it means; if you have something to say, it’s okay to get out of here!

  Frank Sneijder looked at the slender and dusty desk of the Governor, the Cuban cigar exuding the rich tobacco fragrance, took the red wine glass in his hand and drank it all;

  "Dear Governor, I really need your help.

  Things are like this

  Because the continued development of the land in West Java will encounter resistance from the local indigenous people, this is a very troublesome thing, you can never kill them all.

Therefore, my two sons, John, Davis and some like-minded friends, set off for Irian Island (Shangri-La Island) a few years ago and established a small settlement in a place called Jayapura. After several years of painstaking management, there are probably more than 60 companions, all of whom are Dutch whites.

  Illian Island is a completely undeveloped primitive island with only some local tribal indigenous people. The initial development was very smooth. Although they encountered small resistance from the local indigenous people, they quickly settled these small troubles.

  The problem now is that I have not received any news from Irian for several months, which makes me feel very confused and uneasy. "

  Governor Sir Frederick S-Jacob finally figured out what the other party was coming from, and he hesitated to ask; "Is the Irian Island you said is near the island of West Java?"

   "Yes, the strait is only a few hundred miles apart, and if there is a tailwind, you can reach the island in a few days."

   "What happened there, why don't you go and see for yourself?"

"It is true that someone has been to Mr. Governor, who is the family of other white pioneers, but they never come back after they went. I am very sure about this. Legend has it that it is a place cursed by the devil and the plague, and this is what I am very confused about. And the uneasiness, to be honest, as a descendant of immigrants, I don’t believe this."

"I can understand." Frederick S-Jacob said perfunctorily, pointing his finger at the large map of the East Indies hanging on the wall and saying; "You can show me on the map, Where is this archipelago called Ilion?"

   "Of course, Sir."

Frank Sneijder strode to the corner of the wall, stared at the map for a while, and tapped his finger on almost the edge of the map; "Here, Mr. Governor, this is a very large area. Islands area."

The Governor-General Sir Frederick S-Jacob has just taken office for two months. He is not familiar with the geographical distribution of the East Indies. As a professional bureaucrat with rich experience, he is keenly aware of Irian Island (Shangri-La). Island) value.

  Nothing else, just because it is big enough.

  Across the entire East Indies

Java Island is an archipelago with a long history of development. There have been several indigenous kingdoms. It is rich in spices, hemp, tin, copper, gold and rubber and other special products. It has a large population and is the focus of Portuguese, British and Dutch colonists in history. Region, the population occupies more than 80% of the entire East Indies.

  The geographical area of ​​Java Island is 138,000 square kilometers. As of the early 1880s, the population roughly exceeded 8 million.

Corresponding

  The area of ​​Irian Island (Shangri-La Island) is as high as 880,000 square kilometers, which is more than 6 times that of Java Island, which shows the vast area of ​​the island.

  If the terrain of Java Island is like a French baguette, Irian Island (Shangri-La Island) is a bread basket, which looks fat and big.

  He walked to the map to observe for a long time, and said in a deep thought; "Mr. Frank Sneijder, as far as you know, have any other Dutch pioneers logged on to this island before, and what is the specific situation?"

"My lord, in history, this place was a transit point for the Spanish trade, but it has not been seriously developed. The entire island presents a primitive tropical jungle scene. My sons John and Davis should be the first settlers. They arrived in the city. At Yapura, there was nothing but natives."

   "Have there ever been a plague on this island?"

   "Swear to God, as far as I know, no. The previous reclamation has been smooth, but the news was suddenly interrupted for some reason. This situation has been around for half a year."

  "How often do you contact each other?"

"Uh...it’s hard to say. Sometimes it’s two or three months, sometimes it’s shorter. It depends on what kind of supplies John and the settlers lack, but the longest is not more than three months, but this year I’ve already had enough. There has been no news from them for more than eight months." Mr. Frank Sneijder frowned and looked very worried.

Sir Frederick S-Jacob nodded gracefully and said; "I have roughly understood this situation. John lost contact with some settlers for about 5 months. This may be caused by many circumstances, such as Say that John and the others are exploring inland, or the storm damaged the sailing ship they were traveling with, or there was a spread of plague, or they were attacked by the enemy, or simply..."

Sir Frederick-S-Jacob shrugged helplessly, and said in a sympathetic tone; "They were killed by the local brutal indigenous people. After all, they only had more than 60 people. If you are not prepared for this situation, It's still very likely to happen."

"No, please trust my Lord Governor, my son John and several of his companions were once mercenaries, and their residence in Jayapura is a strong dock-style building, which is by no means a primitive indigenous tribe capable of breaking through. Yes, I firmly believe in this." Mr. Frank Sneijder has stood up, his tone very determined.

Sir Frederick S-Jacob was not moved by it, his eyes turned from his body to the map, and he thought about it for a moment and said; "Mr. Frank Sneijder, I deeply appreciate your experience. Sympathy, everything can happen during colonization. This is the price we have to pay. I will instruct the subordinates of the Governor's Mansion to organize a ship to search the Philippine Islands when they pass Jayapura through Jayapura to see where they are. what happened?"

"Oh...no, I hope I can send a fleet immediately, even a small sailing fleet. I am sure that the children are in urgent need of assistance now, Lord Governor..." Mr. Frank Sneijder asked eagerly. .

  "Sorry, it is impossible for me to send a fleet without knowing anything about it. This is the best I can do."

  "Your Excellency, for the sake of God..."

   "Wen Baker, send this gentleman out, and tell the guards of the Governor's Mansion that if this kind of trespassing of the Governor's Mansion occurs again, they will be able to get rid of them."

  Sir Frederick S-Jacob's patience was exhausted, and despite Frank Sneijder’s plea, he coldly asked Wenbeck to drive him away with the guards of the Governor's House.

  It's just a native white man, who really thinks of himself as an onion, who would eat you with cream (miso)!

  The guards drove away the stubborn old white man, and the former elegance and tranquility of the governor’s office was restored.

  Sir Frederick-S-Jacob circled the office space a few times and saw Assistant Administrative Officer Wen Baker coming back down the corridor, and raised his hand to say hello; "Dear Wen Baker, come here."

   "My lord Governor, what do you want?" Wen Baker heard the sound and walked over.

  "My office door is not closed. You must have heard what the planter said. Do you have any insights on this?"

Wenbek is a 36-year-old assistant to the administrative officer of the Colonial Department. He has lived in Batavia for 11 years and has a good understanding of the local situation. The most important thing is that he is from Amsterdam. He took over the post of Director of Immigration and became one of the senior officials of the colonial government.

  Sir Frederick S-Jacob has served as governor for only four years and will return to the Netherlands after the expiration of the term. Therefore, work in the East Indies relies heavily on these right-hand men who are familiar with the local situation and attach great importance to their opinions.

  Wenbeck looked at the Governor, and thought about the words, and said; “Yes, Lord Governor, I did hear a little bit outside from time to time. There must be something we don’t know about.”

   "Oh, what do you think is the most likely scenario?"

   "Maybe you have encountered Spanish pirates or British people, you must be one of the two."

  Sir Frederick S-Jacob raised his eyebrows; "I am very interested. Can you elaborate on it?"

  (End of this chapter)