Whilst the Natalia Securities Exchange was busy dealing with cattle, a Boer was sitting in his office in Port Mpande wondering how the exchange could make more money. Profitability was key, and from the reports of the transactions given out, profit would come in a couple of years. That will not do.
The NSE had to be like a start-up and hit fast and hard. Once Port Natal was seized from the British during the Xhosa wars, many of Port Mpande’s original duties would be carried out by the new port. Port Mpande thus had to diversify its workforce. It couldn’t rely on shipping to ensure its people were financially well. Thus, Jan wanted the town to specialise in financial services.
After all, financial services were extremely profitable. And with the gold from Zoutpansberg to back them, they could expand with glee whilst the other Boers watched on, jealous of the riches of Port Mpande.
However, financial services were very high on the value chain. The problem was that the South Elfrican economy was agrarian. There was a reason why banking services were not provided to the poor, and that there is a penalty if one does not deposit a large enough sum into the bank account. Banking in small sums is inherently unprofitable.
Trading cattle is likewise, also extremely unprofitable. This was why Jan was straining his mind, thinking about how he could supercharge the port’s economy. They need to get out from the very bottom of the value chain and climb to useful industrial products.
If nothing was done, his town would be stuck in a mostly agrarian economy, which was why most of his funds had to be spent subsidising the various industrial efforts. However, this money wasn’t for free, they gave him a stake in the various companies he was trying to industrialize for. Once they climb up the chain and become wealthier, then they can partake in more expensive financial services such as bonds and stocks, making the Natalia Securities Exchange profitable.
His goal was to mock the development of the Four Asian Tigers of the 20th century, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. He was going to raise every Boer’s living standard from that of a subsistence farmer to one that can compete with British aristocrats.
To do so, were the coming trends of the Victorian age.
Chemistry and the various discoveries made during the age. Fertilizer was one such discovery that allowed the global population to rise from 1 billion in the 1900s to 8 billion in the modern world. Most important of all was the fractional distillation of oil and hydrocarbons that brought plastic to life.
If he could put some funds and some manpower into experimenting with his scant memory of Secondary School, they can easily dominate the Chemical Industry. British Companies would instead be begging the enlightened Boers for technology sharing. First was the periodic table, if he remembered correctly, they haven’t even figured out how to organize atoms together. He needed to find a notable Chemist or whatever they’re called in this world and tell them to organize atoms by atomic weight.
Next was electricity. Absolute gamechanger. The one issue was he couldn’t remember. He looked at his right hand. His thumb pointed upward, his index finger pointed straight ahead, and his middle finger pointed to the left. He could only remember that electricity could be generated with some magnets and kinetic force. As of this time, there should be a man who led the charge, Michael Faraday. Electricity can be used in everything and is the backbone of modern society.
Last of all was the change in warfare. Warfare changed from Napoleonic line infantry to skirmish infantry since artillery could smash units in formation. Most important of all was that the crappy muskets were replaced with repeating action rifles. Also, if he obtained machine guns, he could likely crown himself King over South Elfrica. Developing such a military-industrial complex requires advanced chemical and physics knowledge.
But this was a pipe dream. Of a man, stuck in a town with a mostly agrarian economy, trying to industrialize.
While Boers weren’t good clientele for financial services, some merchants came to town or traded amongst the various towns. They were in dangerous lands after all. The next corner could lead to an elven ambush and a loss of all their cargo. Naturally, they wanted some protection from a total loss of cargo.
That’s where he comes in offering insurance. All he had to do was insure various goods offered by policyholders and collect premiums. The policyholder didn’t want to lose the cargo, so there was no reason to make false claims to take compensation. He didn’t plan on paying them the full sum for the good either. After all, he was the only game in town. There were no other insurance companies. It was betting everything that the trade goes well or having some insurance to hedge that the transaction went well.
He had Zulu friends. He could negotiate a way for both to profit. Get the Zulu to attack some caravans. This would lead to merchants scratching their heads. He comes in and offers insurance.
Now, Jan was no lawyer, and he was sure no Boer knew anything about law. So, he copied what English insurance companies were doing by dispatching a bureaucrat to Port Natal for some corporate espionage.
For those who pay his insurance, their caravans will be safe and sound. They will make a smooth trip from Pietermaritzburg to Potchefstroom. But for those who didn’t or did business with another company? Then he would sympathize with the poor merchants who had all their goods stolen. He already thought of a name for the insurance, Zulu insurance. If he could rope the Xhosa in, Xhosa insurance. What if there were unlawful Boers? Boer insurance. Just slap Pretorius' name on the caravan or something and they will run away in fear.
That is three insurance policies he could offer to his policyholders. Was it scummy? Of course. But he wanted to jumpstart the financial sector. As those business professors say, you need to find a strong pain point that people are willing to pay for. Since there wasn’t now, he would just make one. Yes, every tribe in South Elfrica will get custom insurance. If his policyholders don’t pay, then they shouldn’t mind the sudden attacks by the very specific tribe his insurance policy listed.
Attacks from hostile foes are good insurance. Another one would be insurance on goods to ensure compensation for them. Especially if it's extremely valuable ones like firearms. What about travel insurance? There is no guarantee that one will be fine during their trek. A doctor can be easily procured for the cheap in Potchefstroom to help them out.
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There was a market he could see the more he thought about it.
He had the insurance company to be a subsidiary of the Natalia Securities Exchange. It will be called South Elfrica Insurance. Descriptive and brief. One can easily understand the point of the company upon its name.
The human clientele serves as a decent consumer base. But most of the region was made up of elves. Perhaps they would be willing to purchase insurance?
“Ahh, yes. Would you be interested in purchasing insurance for your cow?” The salesperson went to the elf who was laying by the tree.
“Ag soega,” The elf replied to the Boer who went off.
These incidents repeated many times, so he decided it was a bust. How about the Elfrican chiefs? They hired a couple of Zulus and Xhosas and sent them to negotiate with the chiefs.
“Would you like to purchase insurance for your husband? Let’s say by any chance, he dies due to some unforeseen reason. Wouldn’t you like to receive compensation? The South Elfrica Insurance firm will also help to look for another husband for you, with some help from local matchmakers,” The Xhosa salesperson explained.
The Xhosa Chief looked towards her favourite sitting by her side before turning to face the salesperson decked out in Western clothing.
She spread her hands out and pointed at the numerous men sitting around her, all belonging to her household. Only wealthy chiefs can have many husbands, and she had many to replace her favourite. Still, he was her favourite. It would be a pity if he perished.
“Tell me more,” The Xhosa Chief demanded, crossing her arms.
“Included in the policy is also that the best medical treatment would be sourced for your favourite. We have Xhosa War Doctors, Zulu Sangomas, Boer doctors?” The Xhosa salesperson paused and thought about whether he wanted a Boer doctor to treat him. Did those farmers know how to care for the wounded?
The Xhosa shook his head and continued, “We also have English doctors from Port Natal. Whatever medical treatment your favourite or that you want, we got.”
The Xhosa Chief gestured and the Xhosa handed over the insurance policy written in Xhosa. She did a quick scan and signed it.
“By the way, I don’t have any of those pounds sterling. Will you take some cattle instead?”
The only problem was that business with Elfrican Chiefs only brought cattle, the currency of pastoralist peoples. It was great if he wanted to run an agrarian economy, but he wanted cold hard cash! Or gold, whatever that everyone around the world can universally agree upon as a universal currency.
And it wasn’t like Jan could dump them on the open market. If his men knew he was the one who crashed the prices of cattle, he was going to get a visit from all his corporals. He transferred the cattle to the custody of the Natalia Securities Exchange where they will be loaned away.
To ensure his finances were in check, he hired some bookkeepers to track the various transactions between his companies. This wasn’t going to be an FTX situation, where there was no oversight. All of these were burning holes in his reserves, but with gold passing through his hands, he shouldn’t be thrifty and focus on investing every sum into the town.
To ensure that the financial statements are well, he spent another lump sum in creating another subsidiary of the Natalia Securities Exchange. An auditing firm. But this firm would only answer to him and answer to no one in the NSE conglomerate. They will check the books and ensure everything was fine. They would also help prevent tax evasion. And since the town was stable and everything was in check, he planned to implement taxation. The auditing firm could make some money on the side, charging local companies to check their books so that they could give a rating to ensure other Commandoes will be satisfied since tax evasion did not take place.
His funds were running low, so he took some time to wait for the companies to establish themselves while waiting for further correspondence from Potchefstroom.
1st February 1841.
A letter came. It was addressed to Commando Jan Boddewijk.
Dear Jan,
The men from Zoutpansberg have been clamouring for the special tobacco we shipped over the other time. They wish that we supply more. They are willing to pay a good price for the tobacco.
Yours sincerely,
Hendrik Potgieter
Seeing that letter, he immediately went to Pietje’s office and requested for the man to negotiate with the merchants in procuring poppy seeds.
Pietje obliged and a couple of seeds were procured. Jan sent them to his newly constructed estate.
There he stood before the lovely cottage constructed by a Zulu company while looking over the endless fields of grass. He stared blankly at the fields and didn’t even know where to begin.
His neighbours were looking at their Commando staring at the ground before him. They all scratched their heads, wondering if he would pick up the mantle of a real Commando and start domesticating the land.
Jan went into his cottage and found it suitably furbished. He sat on a seat and began drafting out his request that would be listed in the next government contract. Yes, he would be contracting either an elf or a Boer to manage this estate for him. To be honest, he couldn’t care less how the opium is grown. All he needed was opium to grow, and for the poppy to be shipped to Zoutpansberg.
The contract went up, and no one took the contract. To be exact, Russell’s bureaucrats rejected every bid that came through. They cited that no one was experienced enough to cultivate opium. It makes sense, the crop was foreign. If he wanted an expert to cultivate it for him, he would need either an Omani, Persian, Afghan or Indian. More specifically, a Bengali.
Since the Natalia Republic was in the British market, finding a Bengali and hiring one should not be too difficult. He dispatched bureaucrats to chatter with the merchants from India to source an opium grower from Bengal.
A couple of days later, a Bengali was produced before his eyes.
“I heard you are looking for a man to cultivate opium in your little town. I could do a mighty fine job of that,” The Bengali confidently assured him. A young fellow in his twenties, he wore a simple cotton shirt paired with wool leggings. A hat shielded him from the harsh Elfrican sun. His skin was dark, but not as dark as an elf's. Indians after all have many different skin colours depending on the region of India they hailed from. For those in the North, their skin colour might be lighter. Whilst those in the South usually had darker skin. And since the man was from Bengal, around the South of India, his skin tone was dark like most Bengalis from the region.
“No offence, sir. But we do consume cattle here. I hope you wouldn’t be too offended.”
The Bengali swayed his hand from side to side while shaking his head.
“I’m Muslim. It is fine.”
Jan took the Bengali to his estate and explained to him how he wanted the crops to be rotated.
“All year round, opium. Maximize the opium yields.”
“The plant takes an average of 120 days to mature. Around six weeks later or 42 days, a small cabbage would grow from the ground. Around eight weeks or 56 days, the stem of the poppy plant will grow from the cabbage to reach about one or two feet. 90 days and the bud on the stem will develop into a flower consisting of four petals. Inside the flower is the pod that looks green. The pod will ripen between 10 to 12 days, any longer and more wouldn’t be produced. Then, it will be harvested,” The Bengali explained the entire process, stunning Jan with the complex process.
120 days, that’s around 4 months. If the man started planting now even with the help of contract labour, the earliest he could see yields was around June. But most likely, he would see yields in July to account for planting and sowing of the soil. After all, the soil in his estate had weeds and grass sucking up all the nutrients meant for his opium. It will have to be cleared before proper planting can be carried out.
But it wasn’t as if opium was entirely useless. Its industrial product already discovered at this time was known as morphine. There were tales of such a formula existing during the days of the Byzantine Empire, but the conquest of the Ottomans caused the formula to disappear. A German by the name of Friedrich Sertürner discovered morphine in 1804. He set up a company to sell morphine as pain medication, as well as treatment for various addictions. The man even reportedly warned, "I consider it my duty to attract attention to the terrible effects of this new substance I called morphium in order that calamity may be averted." Sertürner got addicted to morphine, and he rightfully made this warning.
In the coming conflict, he’ll need batches of morphine for the wounded. They may get addicted, but without the lack of modern pharmaceuticals, it was either watching a man suffer in pain or relieving him with it. And he rather chooses the latter, than wait for the invention of modern pharmaceuticals.