Chapter 466 Attitudes of various countries
Whether there is a true alliance is not important to East Africa, because if it really encounters an enemy, it is not something that the Austro-Hungarian Empire can deal with. After all, only countries that can ignore the face of the Austro-Hungarian Empire can only Can be a great power.
“I think this matter is a bit cheaper for Austria!” Ferdinand said very dissatisfied with the outcome of this negotiation.
"Don't worry, our goal has been achieved. Even Austria has a deterrent effect on ordinary countries. Although the Austria-Hungary Empire is partially clear, in the eyes of others, Austria is the Austro-Hungarian Empire." Enns. Te said to his father-in-law.
As Ernst said, the news of East Africa's "alliance" with Austria still caused a certain reaction in the eyes of other European countries.
British Prime Minister Benjamin was particularly concerned about Austria's behavior: "This alliance between the Austrian government and East Africa shows that Austria-Hungary has ideas about Africa!"
"There may be this reason, after all, the economic depression , there are not many ways to deflect conflicts, and the importance of colonies has become even more prominent," said the Foreign Secretary.
“We can’t just sit back and watch Austria’s actions, and how is the intelligence of the East African Kingdom being investigated now? I didn’t expect that they would embrace the Austro-Hungarian Empire first.”
Benjamin and his predecessor Gladstone was very different. As the leader of the Conservative Party, he was an active advocate and defender of British colonial imperialism, and vigorously promoted the policy of foreign aggression and colonial expansion.
And it is worth noting that Benjamin himself is a Jew, so he has a very close relationship with the Jewish consortium, especially the British Rothschild family.
In 1875, the Egyptian governor Ismail Pasha encountered a financial crisis and planned to sell his canal shares. However, the French were not greedy enough and planned to lower the price. After Benjamin heard the news, he privately borrowed money from the Rothschild family overnight and purchased all the Egyptian government's shares (approximately the entire canal) at a low price of 4 million pounds. 45% of the shares), plus some small shares, the UK thus controlled this lifeline of east-west maritime transportation.
So the Prime Minister of the British Empire, who has a good relationship with the Rothschild family, has no good impression of the Hechingen royal family behind East Africa.
But the good news is that the focus of the British Prime Minister is still India. In 1876, his foreign policy focus was to continue to strengthen the relationship between India and the British mainland, and to promote Queen Victoria to become the Empress of India. The British Empire completely changed from a verbal habit to a textual "empire".
So for the sake of the security of the Indian colonies in recent years, the British government, with India as the core, has stepped up aggressive actions in its surrounding areas, including Southeast Asia, East Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran. The sub-direction of the colonial empire of the Benjamin government was to use South Africa as a springboard to invade the entire Africa.
The importance of India is self-evident. As for why the British government suddenly paid more attention to Africa, the actual reason is that the colonial strategy in other regions did not go well.
Britain was originally the world's number one colonial country, but the British's greed was never-ending. After the colonial activities in the Americas were completed unsatisfactorily, looking at the entire world, only the African continent still had vast land that had not been carved up.
Because of India, Britain does not yet have the energy to "take care" of Africa, but the Benjamin government has begun to investigate the forces in Africa to facilitate the next invasion process.
And East Africa happens to be stuck in front of Britain's most important colony in Africa (Egypt is a semi-colony).
“We sent twelve expedition teams last year in an attempt to explore deep into the interior of Africa. Our operations in West Africa were relatively smooth, but we encountered trouble in southern Africa. The East African Kingdom prohibits any individual or force from entering East Africa. The kingdom was engaged in exploration activities, so five expedition teams were expelled and one was missing.”
It is worth noting that this time the British exploration of the interior of Africa started from its own colonies. It is the British Gold Coast in West Africa and the Cape Colony in South Africa.
The progress in West Africa was relatively smooth, but South Africa suffered a setback. The East African Kingdom that controlled the north bank of the Orange River tightly blocked the border and did not give the British any chance.
Benjamin cursed angrily: "Gladstone, this bastard, should not have just sat back and watched the Kingdom of East Africa annex the Republic of Transvaal." "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we know too little about East Africa, so we should not let it go first. It's easy to end. Although the Transvaal Republic has been annexed by the Germans, the Orange Free State is still there. We should first find an opportunity to merge the Orange Free State into Cape Town. The diamond resources of the Orange Free State It is also a valuable asset to the empire."
Benjamin: "Of course I know this. First, find someone to lobby the Orange Free State government. Join in. Also, the intelligence work on East Africa must be strengthened. We must understand the population and land size of East Africa. Austria's unusual behavior shows that the East African Kingdom is definitely not simple."
"Yes, Prime Minister"<. br>
…
Berlin.
William I was also somewhat interested in the Austrian practice of eating alone.
William I: "Austria still has the leisure to exert its influence in Africa. Can it be said that Africa is really profitable?"
Bismarck: "This is impossible, Your Majesty, according to me It is speculated that the main reason for the signing of the contract between Austria and East Africa is that the high-level relations between the two countries are relatively friendly. The Royal Family of Hechingen simply wants to find a human shield to ensure the security of their country. This is the way to survive for many small countries in the world.”
William I: "But in this case, Prince Constantine should find us. After all, the Princely Kingdom of Hechingen is also part of the empire."
Bismarck: "Your Majesty, to put it harshly, Hechingen In my opinion, the choice of the Root Royal Family is the most appropriate. Africa is in the southern hemisphere and is the closest world power to East Africa. It’s the Austro-Hungarian Empire. There is only one Suez Canal between them. The Austro-Hungarian Empire’s navy is also stronger than ours. So if I had to choose, I would definitely choose the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After all, Prussia cannot go from the Baltic Sea to the North Atlantic and then to the Mediterranean. , and then entered the Indian Ocean to take care of East Africa, and the citizens of East Africa were Germans, and Germany and Italy Sharing the same origin and leaning towards Catholicism in culture, the royal family of Hechingen was historically closer to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It only had a brief honeymoon period with Prussia after the 1848 revolution.”
William I: "You are indeed right. The Imperial Navy is in an awkward position. Although the Austrian Navy The Hungarian navy is not very good, but the Mediterranean is obviously much wider than the Baltic Sea."
Bismarck then said: "It doesn't matter if the Austro-Hungarian Empire affects East Africa, we can influence the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Anyway, the current Austria-Hungary. The Reich Chancellor is pro-German ”
……
Compared to Britain and Germany, France is not interested in East Africa at all. France even believes that an alliance between East Africa and Austria is beneficial to its African strategy.
France’s strategic focus is on North and West Africa, so there is no conflict of interest with East Africa, and it is good that the East African Kingdom can provide eye drops to the British. The British in the province are making small moves in West Africa, and both parties are in West Africa. On the contrary, they are real competitors.
As for East Africa’s willingness to form an alliance with Austria, France doesn’t mind. Is it possible that Austria still wants to build a triarchal empire? As long as it is not cooperating with the enemy Prussia, the French government does not have much objection.
Russia: "East Africa? Never heard of it, just the Balkans."
Portugal: "..."
(End of this chapter)