Chapter 743 - 343: Africa Railway (Part 2)

After all, the colonies conquered by Spain had vast tracts of fertile land, while the fertile land in Spain itself had been almost entirely divided up.

Although the soldiers in these colonial armies were all composed of natives, after fighting for Spain, they could naturally obtain Spanish nationality.

Of course, these soldiers were certainly first settled in the local colonies. Carlo also particularly transported a large number of native women from other colonies to help these colonial soldiers settle down and completely reside in the colonies.

However, neither the colonial soldiers nor the transported native women included any trace of Black people.

Carlo was well aware of the expansive ability of Black people, and even when it came to Spain’s own colonies, Carlo was unwilling to allow Black people to set foot.

Currently, in Spain’s colonies, there exists a relatively strict racial segregation policy between Black and non-Black communities.

Spanish colonial cities and outposts had no Black presence, while Black natives lived concentratedly in native states within the colony.

Both parties generally kept to themselves and, apart from necessary activities such as tax collection or material transportation, did not venture into the other’s territory.

To prevent these Black individuals from exploiting various ways to obtain Spanish nationality, the colonial affairs department and colonial governments had relevant regulations.

Regardless of whether they were the offspring of Black men or women, they were always deemed Black and were forced to survive in the territories of the natives.

Spanish colonies could only support the offspring of non-Blacks, aiming to curb any attempts by Black people seeking to change their offspring’s identity.

Even if Black women could marry Spaniards or other non-Black natives, their offspring would also be unable to obtain Spanish nationality.

Intermarriage with Black people would violate the colonial government’s law on illegal marriages, punishable by fines of hundreds of Pessetas, and at worst, incarceration of several years to a decade or more.

Of course, the colonial government would not actually imprison them. Imprisonment meant having to feed them, and the colonial government would not support them for free.

Their ultimate destination, for those who broke the law, was to head to plantations or mines for labor.

However, if it were European immigrants committing the crime, penalties could be reduced at discretion. They wouldn’t be forced to labor at plantations or mines but genuinely serve sentences in colonial prisons.

In prisons, there would be lighter tasks for them to complete, and if they could meet work deadlines, certain reductions to their sentences were possible.

This situation was almost similar in colonies of different countries, with completely different treatment of native immigrants, European immigrants, and local natives.

Especially between European immigrants and local natives, the attitudes towards both had a world of difference.

Take the United Kingdom’s most important colony, India, as an example. If Britons committed an offense in the Indian colony, it was very unlikely to lead to severe consequences.

But if an Indian committed an offense, especially against a Briton, they would be inexorably guilty.

Moreover, even without committing an offense, a Briton with some power could employ various methods to oppress an Indian if they disliked them.

This was also what characterized the state of various countries’ colonies in this era, where natives at the colonial bottom had no voice, and even their survival rights depended on local European immigrants.

It’s worth mentioning that with the outbreak of the Tri-national War of Germany, Austria, and Russia, the number of European immigrants to Spain increased continuously.

Especially immigrants from Austria-Hungary and Russia, whose numbers nearly doubled in the month before the war compared to the same period last year.

It makes sense, after all, war and famine were almost the primary causes of increased immigration.

Only these two reasons would prompt people to be unable to live in their country. In other cases, most clung to the idea of enduring as long as they could.

After all, immigration meant leaving one’s homeland to go to a foreign country. Not everyone could endure leaving their familiar environment and loved ones, and this was also why the number of immigrants across countries wasn’t so exaggerated in this era.

Moreover, the transportation tools of this era were overly simplistic, with only trains and ships as the basic mainstream means of transport.

The speeds of these transport means were too slow, and traveling to a slightly distant place would require weeks of time.

Even traveling from Spain to an African Colony would require one to two weeks on a fast military ship. If taking a slower boat, the time could extend to two to three weeks.

Such a long journey alone was enough to deter many from immigrating overseas, not to mention that ocean voyage tickets of this era were extremely expensive and many could not afford them.

To be honest, this situation was similar in later generations as well.

Transnational air tickets in later generations were also quite expensive, and taking a ship required a long time as well.

This resulted in, even in the economically and industrially developed future, countless people who had never been abroad, never taken a transnational flight or cruise.