Chapter 217 Ernst’s Little Calculation
December 3, 1869.
The first town in the central region of East Africa, Swet Palace.
"Hahaha, this East Africa is really a treasure." Prince Constantine looked at the detailed data in his hand and said, "Ernst, what are you going to do next?"
Telephone The other end: "Father, all affairs in East Africa can proceed as usual. However, we still need to speed up the progress. Otherwise, it may cause trouble in the future."
"What's the matter?"
"It's about the Gredi Sultanate in Somalia."
"Are you planning to attack him?"
"The Gredi Sultanate Although the population is not large, the location is important, especially since its residents are mainly black, which is a potential threat. "
The location Ernst said is important, and it is aimed at the population policy of East Africa. It has no geographical significance.
Constantine had not seen the horrific birth rate of black people in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, so he could not feel the urgency in Ernst's heart.
Historically, from 1961 to 2021, the entire population of Somalia increased from 2.94 million to 17.06 million. However, the Sultanate of Gradi is now only a country in southern Somalia, with a population of only about hundreds of thousands, so It is not difficult to capture the Gradi Sultanate.
Historically, the Sultanate of Zanzibar defeated the Sultanate of Grady and made it a client of its own. So East Africa might as well just do it in one step and directly annex the Sultanate of Grady.
Somalia, like Ethiopia, is a mixed race of black and white. The difference is that Somalia is mostly an Arab country. Arabism is a link between culture and not blood. This is related to the German culture in East Africa that promotes racial integration. Different approaches but similar results.
(Picture: The dark blue area shows the distribution of African black and white mixed race people)
"Ernst, you are making too much fuss. The Grady Sultanate has a population of only a few hundred thousand and cannot be a threat to East Africa. However, its geographical location is indeed not bad. If you want to eat something from it, just say so. No need to tell me. Just cover it up and tell the truth between father and son."
"Father, I am planning for the future situation around East Africa. In fact, the Gradi Sultanate does not have any resources that I am interested in. , only Mogadishu is slightly valuable, but East Africa also has ports such as Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.”
“Besides, after the opening of the Suez Canal, Mogadishu will be the most valuable. It’s even less valuable. The Sultanate of Gradi is not really in the Horn of Africa. It can control the passage from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, and there is also a large desert. It is not worth much to take it.”
(Picture, the location of the Grady Sultanate)
"Okay, let's decide whether it is worth defeating it first. Anyway, its population is not large, and it is not difficult to occupy." Constantine said.
"Well, when the time comes, just replace all the black people here with immigrants. Then there will be very few pure black forces in the entire north of the East African colonies." Ernst said.
Prince Constantine was very disdainful. He thought his son's reaction was a bit excessive, as if he heard that black people were like a kind of terrifying and difficult monster, and he felt a little bit changeful.
However, if Ernst's plan is completed and there is no harm to East Africa anyway, then he can do whatever he wants. In an ordinary conversation between father and son, the fate of another ancient African country was decided.
"This year is a critical year. Before May next year, we must lay a stronger foundation for East Africa so that when East Africa becomes a kingdom, it will look better," Ernst said. When it came to the topic of nation-building, Constantine immediately became interested. In fact, Ernst had already hinted that he wanted to build East Africa into a national purpose.
But this was the first time Constantine heard Ernst clearly say that East Africa should become a kingdom, not a princely kingdom, a princely state, or a grand duchy. The temptation of becoming a kingdom was too great for Constantine!
"Ernst! Are you sure you can complete this thing?" Prince Constantine suppressed the excitement in his heart, with a tremor in his voice.
"Father, given the conditions in East Africa, it is natural to become a kingdom. To be honest, if you want to amuse yourself, there is no problem in calling it the African Emperor." Ernst joked.
The geographical location of East Africa determines that it does not need to position itself according to European legal principles and procedures. However, Ernst does not want to be a real African chief, so it is better to have some relations with Europe.
As for Europe, there has been only one emperor from beginning to end, that is Caesar of Rome. Now there are three European countries whose rulers call themselves Caesar, namely Franz of Austria, Nazian of France and Tsarist Russia. of Alexander II.
There is no controversy about Franz's emperor. After all, the Holy Roman Empire is orthodox, and there is a dispute over whether it counts as an orthodox noble. Tsarist Russia is completely excluded by Europe. Not to mention Tsarist Russia, even Eastern Rome can only be spoken of by Western European countries while they are still alive. of the Byzantine Empire.
"How do you plan to operate it?" Constantine asked curiously, wanting European countries to recognize it is the problem in East Africa, otherwise even claiming to be the Kingdom of the Universe will only be a joke in the eyes of others.
“It’s very simple. We first established the East African Kingdom. The source of legal principles naturally comes from the land of East Africa. This is also one of the reasons why I want to take over the Gradi Sultanate.
Then, Fu Uncle Lantz came forward and declared that he recognized the legitimacy of the East African Kingdom, so that I We were recognized by a European emperor, which naturally also represented the official recognition of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Then we obtained the recognition of Prussia, Romania, the German states and the Kingdom of Sweden, which was not difficult. After all, they are all related.
Finally, we focus on attacking Tsarist Russia and Spain. Tsarist Russia is okay, at least we have cooperated with them before, and you don’t have to worry about Spain.
The success rate of the above countries is basically more than 60%. The success rate of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is 100%. The success rate of Romania, Prussia and Sweden is also 100%, but their influence is similar to that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. We are slightly weaker than that, and most of the states in southern Germany will support us. North Germany has become the mouthpiece of Prussia.
In short, by obtaining the recognition of these countries, we have basically controlled international public opinion. Even if Britain, France and other countries have opinions, they can only admit it by pinching their noses. ”
The most stupid thing about Ernst’s plan is that it forcibly links East Africa to Europe. For an African country to ask Europe to recognize its legitimacy, it is tantamount to adding a A layer of protection.
And the most important point is that the legal principles of the East African Kingdom come from Africa, not Europe, but how can there be any legal principles in Africa?
Franz became Ernst's tool. According to European procedures, for a country to be promoted to a kingdom, it needs to be canonized by the emperor. The Kingdom of Württemberg next door to Hechingen was canonized by Napoleon and turned from a grand duchy into a kingdom.
However, Ernst’s plan for East Africa’s nation-building was to first establish a kingdom himself, instead of being canonized by the emperor. However, the emperor Franz later admitted that the power of interpretation was still in East Africa’s own hands. .
However, it is also easy for European countries who do not know the truth to give the illusion that East Africa is a subsidiary force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which adds another layer of protection to East Africa.
As for why it is the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it is because Prussia after the Franco-Prussian War was so awesome. Prussia became the top power in Europe, which would have a huge impact on all countries. If East Africa surrendered to Prussia again, Then Britain and France will definitely go crazy in the future.
Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire is also very powerful, everyone knows that the Austro-Hungarian Empire is resting on its laurels, so that other countries will not be too afraid, and at the same time they will not dare to take it too lightly.
(End of this chapter)