Chapter 794 British Parliament
With the surrender of the last resistance army in Mozambique, the South African War began to come to an end. East Africa turned its guns and began to attack the Cape Colony with all its strength.
The changes in the situation in South Africa have also completely caused an uproar in the UK, and Prime Minister Cecil is facing increasing pressure.
Cecil, full name is "Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoigne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury".
After Gladstone, a "moderate", he is another prime minister who is extremely hostile to East Africa, and his diplomatic policies and methods are more extreme than Gladstone.
For example, the political strategy for Ireland during the Gladstone period mainly advocated "autonomy". However, after Cecil came to power in 1886, it turned into "forced suppression". Almost all British wars in the late 19th century were initiated by him. plan.
For example, the Second Boer War in the previous life suppressed civil uprisings in the Far Eastern Empire, promoted British colonial activities in Southeast Asia, Africa, etc.
He promoted the annexation of Uganda, Kenya, and Rhodesia to the colonial territory of the British Empire, so the origin of the "enmity" between East Africa and him can be seen from his policy proposals in previous lives.
During the Gladstone period, although Gladstone was also "chasing and intercepting" East Africa, it was not to the point of wielding swords and guns, and mainly focused on economic sanctions.
Even if he took action, it was through Portugal as an agent, and he did not do it personally. Therefore, with the support of Cecil, Gladstone actually became a "moderate" for East Africa. This has to be said It's a huge irony.
...
Before the end of the Mozambique War, the British Government Parliament in London was still having a heated debate about the South African War, and was discussing whether to increase support for Count Roberts.
London.
“Africa is the last piece of paradise that has not been completely divided. It is an important territory for Britain’s national destiny in the next hundred years. If we do not seize the opportunity and allow East Africa to dominate Africa, it will be very difficult for our country. would be disastrous, but post-Egypt , Cape Town, British Somalia...we all face a threat from the Germans."
Cecil tried to explain to Parliament the threat from East Africa, these were facts and the presence in East Africa had seriously damaged the British Empire. Progress in colonial times.
Cecil's political views have also been supported by a large number of parliamentarians, especially groups with tangible interests in South Africa.
“Prime Minister Cecil is absolutely right. Our country has important interests in South Africa. Cape Town itself has extremely important strategic value and is an important part of the British Empire’s global strategic security. At the same time, we have South Africa also has considerable economic interests, especially the mineral resources in Kimberley and other places, which can bring a lot of revenue to the government every year. Therefore, our country must not give up its important political and economic interests in South Africa while maintaining peace and stability in South Africa. The evil Kingdom of Hechingen must be destroyed,” a member of parliament said in support of Cecil.
Of course, many people do not buy this reckless man’s remarks.
The conservative Sir Hertha stood up and asked: "The current situation is that we are completely at a disadvantage in the war in South Africa, and our two allies, the Boers, have been completely driven to Oran by East Africa. On the south bank of the river, Portuguese Angola was also captured by East Africa, leaving only Mozambique struggling to hold on, and this was still with our help."
"Even the Natal colony was defeated a few days ago. The fall of Canada is a huge humiliation that is unique in the history of the British Empire. Even in 1812, when the United States of America attacked the Canadian colonies, we have never suffered such humiliation. ""As far as I am concerned, this is very painful, but we You also need to think, is it worth it? ”
Before Sir Herta finished speaking, he was interrupted: "Sir Herta, do you mean that we should surrender to an African country that has just been established and does not even have a history? "
Sir Hertha said without changing his face: "Of course not. I only interpret my views on the South African war from the perspective of national interests. Also, interrupting someone's speech is not what a qualified gentleman should do. , so please let me finish my words and let everyone make a judgment.”
After setting the tone, Herta straightened out his thoughts and said: “As far as I know, from before the war started to now, the coalition forces have a total of More than 700,000 troops were mobilized. Our country alone mobilized nearly 400,000 troops to go to South Africa, including nearly 200,000 local troops to fight against the East Africans in Cape Town, Natal and Mozambique. At the same time, 20 There are tens of thousands of Indians.”
“The Kingdom of Portugal has also tried its best to cooperate with the empire’s strategy and organized more than 300,000 troops in Angola and Mozambique. But how many results have we achieved since the South African War?”
There was silence in the parliament. Both sides invested more than one million troops in the South African War alone, which was rare in the world. It could even be said to be the largest war except for the Eurasian continent and the American Civil War.
Moreover, this war is a modern war. The weapons and equipment of both sides are at the forefront of the world, and the pressure it has put on Britain since the beginning of the war is unprecedented.
Sir Hertha continued: "Since the beginning of the war, we have spent 80 million pounds, which far exceeds the total amount of our war funds in other regions, but our income is zero, even is a negative number, and how many more soldiers do we need to recruit if we want to change the disadvantages of the South African War? How much!”
When the economic calculation was done, everyone was shocked. Eighty million pounds was an astronomical sum in this era, and this number would continue to rise as the war continued. , even the calm old British gentleman couldn't sit still and must stop the Prime Minister's "crazy" idea.
In the second Boer War in history, Britain spent 220 million pounds in war funds, because the Boer War lasted for two and a half years, while the South African War has been less than a year so far. A large-scale naval battle also broke out between the two sides, and due to the pound itself, there was only a "mere" 80 million.
However, 80 million is enough to give the British government a headache, because there is another important difference between the South African War and the Boer War, that is, the South African War was a passive war, while the Boer War was an active war.
In the previous life, the British launched the Second Boer War for the rich gold mines in South Africa. Naturally, they had full motivation. The South African War was to suppress the African power in East Africa. From the beginning, the British from this war Benefits actually come second. All in all, it is thankless.
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, it is time to end this purposeless war. Our contempt and arrogance towards East Africa have cost the UK a heavy price. If the war continues, we will only lose more."
“It is true that East Africa’s political landscape on the African continent has been difficult to change. We do not need to fight for a The meaningless war caused the empire to continue to lose blood. "
Pessimism about the South African War began to spread in Parliament. The heavy burden of the war and the tenacious resistance in East Africa and the defeat of the British army made more people lose their original strength. The centrists realized that the South African War would do no good to the British Empire, and that withdrawing from the South African War in time should be the only option for the empire.
(End of this chapter)