African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 865: Chapter 169: Hawaii

Hawaii, Kauai.

”Mr. Kerkov, your asking price is too high. We’ve seen your land, the yield is not good at all, and labor is also lacking in Hawaii. Kauai is not like the several big islands in the southeast, so we can only offer four hundred British Pounds.”

Kerkov wanted to continue bargaining, although he agreed with what Rog said, but who wouldn’t want to sell for a good price.

”Six hundred British Pounds, no less. I won’t sell the local farmland for any lower than that,” Kerkov emphasized.

”Four hundred and fifty British Pounds at most. This is also taking into account that you’ve invested a lot before. You should know that this price is enough to buy a farm of the same size in the western United States. If you go to the several southeastern big islands, you can even expand your farm by more than double. If you don’t accept this offer, we’ll buy those small farms first, and in the future, the price won’t exceed three hundred and eighty British Pounds. You won’t be able to sell it then,” Rog said firmly.

Kerkov thought for a moment and decided this price was indeed sincere enough. Once he sold the land, he could completely buy the same area of land near Honolulu.

”Deal, but I have one condition: I would like a case of wine as a bonus, not vodka, but red wine.”

Rog gritted his teeth and said, ”No problem, considering we are old friends.”

Finally, after three months of haggling, East Africa succeeded in acquiring this piece of land, which meant East Africa had completed its first move in Hawaii.

East Africa had been eyeing Hawaii for a long time, but the situation in Hawaii was complex, so East Africa planned to follow the United States’ lead by infiltrating the place first.

Of course, East Africa wasn’t planning to monopolize Hawaii, but rather to get a piece of the pie in the future.

Now, the Three Kingdoms and the United States have a presence in the Hawaiian Islands, and as a latecomer, East Africa couldn’t even compare with the United Kingdom or France, let alone the United States.

So, to have a foothold in Hawaii, East Africa early on turned its attention to islands that were not very advantageous in the entire Hawaiian Islands’ location.

Kauai is the fourth largest of the Hawaiian Islands, located in the northern part of the Hawaiian Islands. It was once a Russian colony and later became part of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

The entire island has a population of less than twenty thousand, mostly concentrated in the eastern region, and East Africa is currently targeting the Elealeh area in the south of Kauai.

Elealeh has a port and a small amount of farmland, although the best land and port on the island are in the east at Lihu’e.

Now with Elealeh as the core, most of the southern and western coastal land fell into East Africa’s hands after completing the acquisition of Kerkov’s land.

Kauai is a volcanic island, so the central and western areas are primarily crisscrossed by mountains and steep cliffs, leaving the Southwest Region largely undeveloped. East Africa easily acquired most of the southern coastal land by paying prices higher than market value.

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Of course, in other words, East Africa bought a large area of undeveloped tropical rainforest, with only a small amount of developed farmland in Elealeh. The local port hasn’t even been built; there’s only a dock for small vessels. But once it falls into East Africa’s hands, it naturally won’t be a problem in the future.

That’s why East Africa bought Kerkov’s farm for three times the market price, and with the farm merged in, East Africa thoroughly controls the Elealeh area.

After completing the transaction, Rog returned to East Africa’s economic office on Kauai and said to John Cran, the Governor of East Africa in Hawaii, ”Governor, from today, we have complete control over the entire Elealeh area, your title as Governor is finally more than just nominal.”

Indeed, East Africa appointed a Governor for Hawaii, but naturally, this appointment is illegal in a normal sense.

In fact, over the past six years, East Africa has been annexing lands in the south of Kauai under the names of German merchants, and the title of Governor is just something East Africa bestowed upon itself. You should know that Kauai currently has a real Governor of the Hawaiian Kingdom, situated in the eastern Lihu’e.

Presently, Hawaii is still a sovereign nation. In fact, the United States will annex Hawaii just next year, after a group of American businessmen overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom and established the so-called Republic of Hawaii. Of course, only Ernst knew about this historical event that had yet to occur.

John Cran inquired, ”Did that Russian bearded man finally agree to sell the land?”

Rog sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a sip before saying, ”Yes, before leaving, he even extorted a case of red wine from me. If it weren’t for the mission of our kingdom, I would’ve dumped him into the sea long ago!”

Hearing his colleague’s slightly malicious remark, John Cran felt a chill run through him, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, even in the scorching weather.

Indeed, Rog belonged to East Africa’s intelligence department, not unfamiliar with acts of murder, arson, and coercion, which, of course, enabled him to successfully complete the local land acquisition.

East Africa’s land purchases here definitely couldn’t be done in East Africa’s name, so on the surface, Rog held dual British and American citizenship as a businessman.

”Next month, our people can set out. The Kingdom will dispatch a group of retired soldiers with rich combat experience from the Defense Army to Elealeh. I heard they’ve participated in the South African War, and then my nominal title as Hawaii Governor will become substantive,” John Cran said to Rog.

After all, to occupy a piece of land in Hawaii, one must rely on military strength. In 1843, the British government declared sovereignty in Hawaii, and in 1849, France declared occupation of Hawaii.

But ultimately, it was the Americans, proclaiming that ”no country can monopolize Hawaii,” who occupied it, using the Monroe Doctrine and Open Door policy to their advantage, a traditional American craft.

So when Americans say, ”I am not interested in...”, that’s when it’s truly worth being on guard.

Ernst wants to have a share when the United States annexes Hawaii in 1893, so East Africa has been laying out its plans on Kauai for several years.

Currently, there are only about thirty thousand residents on Kauai, with over six thousand East Africans spread throughout the east, south, west, and north of Kauai, including the political center, Lihu’e, which also has a large East African population. On the surface, they mainly identify as Chinese and Japanese.

After all, there are many Far East Empire residents and Japanese immigrants in Hawaii. By using their identities, East Africa can act without drawing attention from the American government.

That’s why the economic office, effectively East Africa’s Governor’s Mansion for Hawaii, is placed in Elealeh. Lihu’e, as Kauai’s political center, is too conspicuous, unfavorable for East African activities.

”Although we’ve done sufficient preparation work, annexing a country is still difficult. Who knows if the Americans will firmly intervene?” Rog said.

In response, John Cran smiled and said, ”No need to worry too much. After all, the Americans can’t blatantly annex Hawaii. If they dare to take the first move, we’ll follow through with the fifteenth. Currently, the population of Kauai is in our favor, and by the end of the year, it may increase. With the army’s assistance, we can effectively occupy Kauai. The prerequisite is that the military perfectly cooperates with us without any mistakes.”

Rog nodded and said, ”The key is the Navy’s response speed. The premise of controlling the entire island is that the Navy can cooperate timely. I think if the American government plans to annex the Hawaiian Kingdom, this would be the approach. The only difference is that America’s grassroots foundation here is much better than ours.”

John Cran scoffed and said, ”What grassroots foundation? It’s just an old trick of changing the cage for a bird. Now the Americans in Hawaii are as numerous as cattle, only on Kauai do we have more people. In the end, everyone just uses the method of concealing movements. Frankly, if Japan and the Far East Empire weren’t so weak in power, they could do the same.”