Chapter 474 Discussion
Lyford's pessimism is ultimately a matter of money. The mainland will only **** blood from Mozambique, so Mozambique cannot invest funds in local development like East Africa anyway. Even if there is no money, Portugal itself cannot give to Mozambique. Provide other favorable support to reduce colonial costs, so that all avenues for increasing revenue and reducing expenditure are blocked.
The East African naval exercises have made the new governor of Mozambique somewhat aware of the reality, while the British colony of Natal's attitude towards the East African exercises is "understood" and neither cold nor indifferent.
The East African Navy does pose a certain threat, but the British are not afraid of this threat. In 1877, Britain had a total of nearly 180 main warships, and the East African Navy was like an ant in front of the British Royal Navy.
Of course, this ant is still somewhat threatening in the Western Indian Ocean region, because the Royal Navy is a global force and cannot be concentrated in one place to crush this ant.
"What do the Germans want to do? Demonstration? If they dare to go to India, Cape Town and the Red Sea to do this, then I will admire them, but conducting such meaningless exercises in Natal is too much. We are dead! Even if it were replaced by Cape Town, the Germans would know what the world's best navy is."
In the final analysis, the Natal colony is just a small colony surrounding the Port of Durban, which is far different from a large colony like Cape Town. Therefore, the behavior of East Africa is very disdainful in the eyes of the Governor of Natal. This is like Two people were fighting, but one person went to the enemy's house and threatened the other's children.
The purpose of East Africa is not simply to show off its muscles, but more to express an attitude to the outside world, that is, East Africa is different from other countries in the region. The colonists were not fools. They also had to screen their targets, otherwise it would be embarrassing if they overturned when they encountered hard problems. This kind of thing happened all over the world.
The East African Navy is the best window to showcase the mental state and national governance capabilities of East Africa. The good development of the navy shows that the organizational capabilities of its own government are not too bad, and countries with strong organizational capabilities are generally the hardest bones for colonists to crack. .
As for land, the East African Army should not wander around. To be honest, the East African Army is considered a second- or third-rate force in Europe. It is at most a little worse than the armies of the major powers. It would be bad if it scares the surrounding forces.
Generally speaking, the East African naval exercises are useful. At least they let the British know that there is a fleet in East Africa that looks good. Without a big deal, it will be extremely difficult to colonize East Africa. However, what worries the British most is what exactly East Africa is. Which end?
After more than half a year of investigation, Benjamin obtained relatively comprehensive information, and the British government had a clearer understanding of the size of the East African colonies.
"From the Somali Desert in the northeast to the Namib Desert in southwest Africa, we can just draw a diagonal line on the African continent facing the equator. This diagonal area can already be clearly defined as the territory of the East African Kingdom. This is almost The land shape of the East African Kingdom, plus the two Portuguese colonies on the left and right, just shows that the land of East Africa is in the shape of a diagonal line. Therefore, estimating the area of this diagonal line, we believe that the land area of East Africa is at least about 7 million square kilometers. , oh my God! The numbers alone are scary, there are few countries in the world bigger than East Africa."
Benjamin: "A large area does not mean it is useful. There are deserts in Australia, ice sheets in Canada, and rainforests in Brazil, so in the end it still depends on the effective territory. What do you think the effective territory of East Africa is?"
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, this is difficult to describe, but it is certain that most of Southwest Africa is a desert area of little value, and the northeastern region of East Africa is also a large desert area. There are probably nearly two hundred people in these two areas. Thousands of square kilometers, and there should be rainforests like those in Brazil. However, it is difficult to analyze the specific area. But one thing is certain, that is, the scale of development in Africa should not be large. If Africa wants to be fully developed like the Americas, it will probably take a long time. Hundreds of years."
"It is wrong to think this way. The development of the Americas will encounter the constraints of insufficient manpower, so there has been the black slave trade for hundreds of years, but Africa is different. It is the hometown of black slaves. I mean, if East Africans use black people to What will happen if we develop Africa?" ˆ ˆ ˆ "Fantasy, if black people are really that useful, then it won't be the Germans' turn to take advantage of it. You should really communicate more with black people. I'm sure except for a few For example, most black people are so stupid that they can't do anything, and they are not as reliable as machines. Machines don't riot, but black people do. I think the same is true for black people in East Africa. They It is very possible that they would resist the colonization of East Africa like the Indians did."
You can say what you want about the Indians, but their determination to oppose the invasion is still good. It is a pity that the Indians do not have a unified core force to fight against the despicable white colonists.
It took more than a hundred years for the United States to massacre Indians. If an East African kingdom wanted to colonize and expand in East Africa, it would still encounter black rebels.
However, he did not realize that there are not many black people in East Africa, or that there are too many Germans in East Africa. The resistance of black people in East Africa has been completely destroyed, so the status of black people in East Africa is that of untraded slaves. .
Of course, no matter how large Africa is, its national strength is not determined by size alone, especially for immigrant countries. Brazil and Argentina have such good natural conditions that they are so bad, so the Benjamin government does not believe that East Africa's national strength will be higher than those countries in the Americas.
As for the special case of the United States, it is not something that can be touched in East Africa. The name of the "Chosen Land" does have some truth, but even so, it took a hundred years for the United States to develop into one of the great powers, so the Benjamin government does not think that East Africa also has this potential.
So East Africa itself does not deserve too much attention, but whether there is support from the German and Austrian governments behind East Africa. If the two countries were not interested in overseas colonies, Benjamin himself would not believe it.
"The royal family of Hechingen, like the royal family of Prussia, is also a Hohenzollern family, and the relationship between the two families is quite close. It is the same as Sigmaringen in Romania. I even think that in addition to Germany, other countries led by the Hohenzollern family may It was all premeditated, that is, a national network was formed through family connections, so East Africa must be on the same side as Germany."
"Mardos, your idea is simply not true, because our intelligence investigation shows that East Africa is obviously closer to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, especially the alliance treaty signed by both parties. This shows that East Africa surrendered to the Austro-Hungarian Empire when choosing its camp. , not Germany, and the same is true at the economic level. The Austro-Hungarian Empire ranks first in East Africa's trade partners, which can be seen from the destinations of merchant ships."
Benjamin: "East Africa is a very special existence. Maybe it is not a colony of Germany or Austria, and it is not impossible."
In the past, the British understanding of East Africa was that this country might have been created by Prussia. After all, the surname Hohenzollern could explain many things. However, East Africa's subsequent behavior was not like this. On the contrary, East Africa was closer to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
(End of this chapter)