usatvline Chapter 829 - 619: Colony Incident
Chapter 829 - 619: Colony Incident
Chapter 829: Chapter 619: Colony Incident
Although the cost of manufacturing televisions is a significant issue at present, it is fundamentally impossible to abandon the development of the television.
The importance of television to people hardly needs to be mentioned, for who doesn’t wish to watch a movie or TV show with their family during their leisure time?
Of course, this is under the condition that people have enough free time after work. If people can’t be assured of sufficient leisure time, buying a television is just the desire to own one, rather than the desire to watch it.
It seems now that for television to truly become widespread in every household, it would be impossible without improvements over the next ten years.
However, the good news is that in Larasia, most of the population already has access to wireless broadcasting and radios, allowing televisions to further develop over time and for radios to continue generating more profits.
“Let’s start with small-scale production, Mr. Baird. We can’t stop improving the television either. I see this device replacing radios as people’s top choice of household appliances,” Arthur instructed after some thought.
There are still quite a few middle-class and wealthy people in Larasia, and these are the real consumers of televisions at present.
It’s also an ideal situation to use televisions as rewards for those who have made contributions, incidentally increasing the popularity of the device.
In any case, it’s a no-lose situation. It is very necessary to take an early hold of the television market, as brand and recognition are sureties in an industry.
“I hope to quickly reduce the production cost of televisions to below 100 Australian dollars and to improve the stability of movie playback as much as possible. This is key for the device to become more widespread in households,” said Arthur with a smile.
There must be enough profit between the cost and the selling price, which also suggests that, given the current costs, people might have to spend three to five years of income to buy a television.
If we can reduce the production cost to below 100 Australian dollars, there is hope that the television market can expand rapidly in a short time.
After all, the main purpose of a television is to play movies. Why would people not choose to watch cheaper movies at the cinema instead, considering the cost of more than 100 Australian dollars?
More than 100 Australian dollars would be enough to take the family to the cinema several dozen times, which would be far more economical than buying a television.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Under the leadership of some mixed-bloods with ulterior motives, the indigenous peoples of the Dutch East Indies quickly followed with their own protests, and even some mines and factories held strikes to resist the colonial government’s harsh taxes and cruel policies.
The incitement by these mixed-bloods led to the number of indigenous participants in the protests skyrocketing to several hundred thousand in a short time, directly threatening the colonial government’s rule.
This naturally caused the colonial government’s displeasure. After all, those Dutch were not the same as these indigenous peoples.
No one could afford the risk of slaughtering their kin, but there was no risk in slaughtering indigenous people; in fact, quelling the protests could even lead to praise back home.
With this in mind, the colonial government launched a brutal suppression of the protests in the Dutch East Indies, forcefully repelling two large-scale protests through two bouts of military repression.
These suppressions left at least several thousand indigenous dead and at least tens of thousands injured. The starkly different treatment compared to the Dutch protests deeply dissatisfied the indigenous and mixed-blood people, and the intensity of the protests increased. In some urban cities, a comprehensive strike was even initiated.
Masses of indigenous began to attack parts of the colony’s cities, even successfully seizing a city’s armory.
This also gave the indigenous hope, believing the current Dutch government was already too weak and that it was time for the Dutch East Indies to declare independence and escape the cruel rule of the Dutch.
Without any intervention from other countries, the current number of protesters and strikers in the Dutch East Indies has surpassed a million, with the number of armed rebels reaching tens of thousands.
This was already beyond the control of the current Dutch East Indies Government; with tens of millions of indigenous still in the Dutch East Indies, if they really united in resistance to Dutch rule, even the Kingdom of the Netherlands, despite all its efforts, might not be able to suppress the indigenous rebellion.
But this was inevitable. The European peoples’ disregard for indigenous life meant that these indigenous could never willingly submit to European rule.
If a country is strong, the indigenous might acquiesce. But once a country like the Netherlands entered a period of decline, the indigenous would try everything to escape their rule.
“What have the Dutch been doing recently?” Arthur asked with a hint of curiosity.
The current situation was so tricky that even the Kingdom of the Netherlands would struggle to handle it, which made Arthur very curious about what the Dutch would do next.
After all, the Dutch East Indies was also a colony comprising three large islands with tens of millions of natives, and it was also very close to Australasia; it was impossible for Arthur to remain uninterested.
Perhaps this was also the best opportunity for Australasia to intervene in the Dutch East Indies, and even possibly obtain the entire Dutch East Indies from the Netherlands through a trade of interests.