South Africa, Cape Colony.
A sudden influx of German immigrants arrived, many of them carrying weapons, which naturally made the locals feel uneasy.
Fortunately, British troops accompanied them, preventing panic from breaking out in the Cape Colony.
People soon learned that the British Empire had sold Orange and Transvaal in the north to the German Confederation, and that these German immigrants had come to take possession of the land.
The locals breathed a long sigh of relief, because many of the German immigrants looked downright fearsome.
The ones happiest about the news were the John Norton family. Old Norton's son, Joshua Norton, had fallen out with his father and gone to England and America to do business in his youth.
But history had taken a different turn, and Joshua Norton, who should have made a great success of himself, had lost everything in the real estate markets of both countries.
Now he had no choice but to return home and inherit the family estate. Unfortunately, after years of struggling, John Norton had managed to pile up a mountain of debt.
Just as father and son were blaming each other, news arrived that Britain had sold Orange and Transvaal to the German Confederation.
Most colonists didn't care one way or the other, but for the Norton family, who had already bought a great deal of land, it was wonderful news.
With northward expansion blocked and the supply of land shrinking, land prices were bound to rise. Joshua Norton was brimming with confidence. He had also heard that a massive gold deposit had been discovered in California.
Old Norton was furious. He thought his son should stay home and be a landlord, passing their family's land down through the generations.
Old Norton: "Damn it! You could've sat back and collected rent, but