Chapter 442 East African Threat Theory
The geographical location of East Africa always makes it easy for people to feel ignored. This is the inertial thinking caused by empiricism. Under this kind of thinking, no one The most typical example of taking Africa seriously is the United States today.
The geographical location of the United States is quite advantageous, and all conditions are top-notch. However, even if the United States is now second only to the United Kingdom in development, its status in the world is still very unmatched. The political influence of the United States is limited to the Americas. Small countries like Mexico and the Caribbean basically revolve around the United States.
Because in ordinary people's impression, America has never had a world-influential power. For example, in the Black Ship Incident, the Americans opened the door to Japan. However, the Japanese navy imitated the British and the army imitated Prussia, but they did not imitate the United States. .
The U.S. Army is weak, which is basically the unanimous view of most people. However, with the size and land area of the United States, theoretically speaking, the U.S. Army should be much stronger than the British Army. The reason why the U.S. Army is If there is no development, Mexico and Canada are simply too pushy.
Even a country as powerful as the United States cannot put pressure on Europe, and small East Africa naturally does not have much of a presence.
However, the fact that Europe cannot feel the development of East Africa does not mean that the countries and colonies surrounding East Africa cannot feel it.
When the Archduke Ferdinand sailed through the waters of Dar es Salaam, it was seen by the Portuguese who were spending money here.
As a neighbor, the Mozambique colony is most concerned about the development of the East African kingdom. They specially send people to stay in Dar es Salaam to collect relevant intelligence.
“Is that...a battleship from East Africa?”
Looking at the East African flag flying on the Archduke Ferdinand, the Portuguese said in disbelief.
“If it is really an East African ironclad, how big of a problem would it be? Even the Kingdom’s own navy would be hard-pressed to deal with an ironclad of this level!”
After East Africa annexed northern South Africa, Mozambique I realized that I was really surrounded by the Kingdom of East Africa. It was bordered by East Africa on three sides of the land. Although there was the ocean to the east, the East African Navy also started cruising (actually, it was a naval ship dispatched to the New Hamburg Port).
Although the strength of the East African navy was not weak in the Indian Ocean region, the Mozambique colony believed that it was not enough to threaten itself.
But if a top ironclad ship like the Archduke Ferdinand joins, the situation will be different.
"This situation must be reported to the governor. If it is really the ironclad ship purchased by East Africa, then the strength of the East African Kingdom will be too terrifying!"
It feels like it cannot be defeated on land, but if the advantage at sea is gone, , Mozambique may have become a piece of fat on the lips of the East African kingdom.
After Brazil became independent, the two most important colonies for Portugal were in Africa, one was Mozambique and the other was Angola. Before, there were two potential threats around Mozambique, one was the United Kingdom and the other was East Africa. Now This threat only exists in East Africa.
“The Germans have developed too fast in these years. I heard that the colony of Angola is also bordering East Africa, which means that the Atlantic coast is no longer safe for us Portugal.”
"They also further captured the Transvaal Republic and the Zulu Kingdom. This form is no different from taking food from the British."
"And if this ironclad ship is really a warship from the Kingdom of East Africa, it means that East Africa still has the ability to purchase other warships from Europe. Judging from the naked eye, the displacement of this ironclad ship is estimated to be upwards of 5,000 tons, and may even reach 7,000 tons. tons, the cost of building this kind of ironclad is not cheap. If East Africa can afford an ironclad of this magnitude, then they must be able to buy some slightly smaller ironclads."
"No doubt, East Africa has purchased these in recent years. The acquisition of many offshore defense gunboats shows that East Africa is gradually building its own maritime power. The German ambitions are not only satisfied with the African continent, but also the Western Indian Ocean."
"East Africa is destroying the balance of the African continent. Those European countries cannot see that someone must suppress the development of East Africa, otherwise there will be another United States in the future. Will the Germans also have an African version of the "Monroe Doctrine" like the Americans? "The Portuguese are totally different? It’s about standing up and talking without pain in the back. East Africa’s achievements today are not achieved through charity. Furthermore, East Africa’s starting point is far worse than Portugal.
Before East Africa, Portugal had opened up the trade route from Angola to Mozambique. As long as the Portuguese had a little courage, East Africa would not be able to catch up and occupy the interior of Africa.
Speaking of threats, East Africa also feels that Portugal threatens East Africa’s security! You have Angola and Mozambique, one in the east and one in the west, with East Africa just in the middle.
If Portugal could focus on developing Mozambique and Angola during these years of development in East Africa and strengthen the strength of the two colonies, the situation would be reversed.
But what is Portugal like? Everyone knows that they are not merciless in taking money from the colonies. Don’t even think about supporting the colonies. The country can’t afford to pay!
But the Portuguese don’t think so. Your development in East Africa is a threat to us. Although I don’t vigorously develop colonies, that is not normal. Who develops colonies as their own!
“These days, there are more and more ships from Europe to East Africa, mainly transporting steel, which shows that East Africa is undergoing large-scale development and construction. Once East Africa stops construction, it means that they have completely digested it. The interior of Africa”
"What are you going to do with so much steel in East Africa?"
"I guess it's the railway."
"Railway? Is it possible?"
"As long as the ears are normal, it can be done When we hear the train whistle in the suburbs of Dar es Salaam, it is the unique sound of a train. Although East Africa is very closed, we can still infer that the East African Kingdom has railways. I dare say that this is the only country south of the Sahara that has railways.”
“And the country with the craziest railway development in Europe in these years is Germany. The application of railways in the military has been in the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War. It has been fully verified, so it is entirely reasonable for the East African Kingdom to attach importance to the railway. The most important thing is that only the railway can consume so much steel.”
"How will the East African Railway be built?"
"We can infer from the territory of East Africa. Others don't know the territory of East Africa, but we can make a rough guess. Previously, the East African Kingdom occupied the Transvaal and Zu The Kingdom of Lu, the distance from East Africa to South Africa is at least two thousand kilometers. What mode of transportation do you think can be used to closely connect the two places? Start?”
“Do you want to pay for it?”
“Yeah!”
“Idiot, you think Africa is used to connect East Africa and Europe! South Africa, don’t you know how expensive this thing is? And how long will it take to build such a long railway for the indigenous people?”
"In my opinion, even if East Africa builds railways in coastal areas, it would be great, and they want to connect East Africa and South Africa. Unless the royal family of Hechingen really wants to do charity, the problem is that few countries can withstand such a test when it comes to charity. The problem of money alone is not easy to solve unless a family like Rothschild can be persuaded to invest, but other people are stupid! Unless there is gold in East Africa."
In fact, there is gold in East Africa. The gold will either not be developed, or if it is developed, it will not flow into the international market. The nose of international capital is as sharp as a dog. If a large amount of gold does flow into the market and is realized, the source can be traced quickly.
So East Africa’s current exports have been mainly agricultural products. If you ask the Europeans to dig for gold, they will be more excited than anyone else. They have to swim here even if they have to pay for it. If you want them to farm, then don’t choose Africa. This is Africa. The benefits of notoriety are the experiences that countless explorers have summarized with blood and tears over hundreds of years.
(End of this chapter)