Chapter 915 The Strategic Value of the West Coast
After the South African War, Portugal’s war reparations were actually transferred from East Africa to the British. Therefore, the British achieved all-round control over the Portuguese economy. With the addition of the British and Portuguese As the two countries were traditional allies, the British acquiesced to Portugal's colonial expansion in West Africa.
And this can also play a role in buffering the British and German colonies. As for France, it is naturally impossible to deprive the Weida colony from Portugal like it did in its previous life.
In fact, it is impossible for the British to let France do this. After all, they suffered a big loss in South Africa. The British can only go to West Africa to intensify competition with France. However, France is obviously too strong in West Africa, so currently France The conflict with Britain in West Africa was actually not small.
In the final analysis, it is all because of the expansion of East Africa, which interrupted the colonial footsteps of various countries in previous lives. According to the current territory of East Africa, the victims include the United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany, Belgium and France.
Britain lost Kenya and Rhodesia, Portugal lost Angola and Mozambique, Germany lost German East Africa and Southwest Africa, Belgium lost the Congo Basin, and France only got one-third of Madagascar.
The only two countries that benefited were Italy and Sigmaringen. However, Italy was also deceived by Ernst before, losing all of Venice and part of Lombardy, and the Papal States and Naples were also re-established. independent.
This shows that East Africa plays a "dirty stirrup" role in the world situation. In fact, the victims include Japan and the United States, and they have all been cheated by East Africa to a greater or lesser extent.
Of course, except for Britain, Portugal and Japan, other countries have good relations with East Africa. After all, they could not imagine the colonial pattern in their previous lives.
Of course, it is precisely because of this that French businessmen will invest or conduct trade activities in East Africa. It is a big country with a land area of 13 million and a population of more than 70 million. If you miss a little bit, there will be many businessmen. Bowls full of food.
Cross: "Actually, your company's ability to get this order has something to do with us. The East African government makes money from us through agricultural products, so that they have the funds to buy advanced industrial equipment from you. Otherwise, they rely on East Africa." economic level and want to rely on oneself Improving industrial capacity is not easy to do.”
There is nothing wrong with what Cross said. East Africa is now following the path of the Soviet Union, raising funds for industrial development through the scissor gap between industry and agriculture. Of course, this is not the Soviet Union. It's original, but it's just typical.
There are actually similar cases in the early industrial development in European and American countries. The more well-known ones include the sheep-eating man movement in the United Kingdom. However, in European and American countries, land is mainly concentrated in the hands of landlords, so the manifestations are different. In essence, they promote industrial development at the expense of farmers' interests.
Of course, sacrificing agriculture is one of the current mainstream methods for countries that want to industrialize, but Europe and the United States can also achieve primitive accumulation of wealth through foreign colonial plunder and the export of industrial products.
East Africa is no exception. However, the colonies in East Africa have basically been "localized", but the damage to the local indigenous people is irreversible. Although East African agriculture has made great progress, agricultural development provides the main funds for industry. At the same time, East Africa also exports electricity, automobiles, steel and other products, so the industrialization processes of various countries are similar and not very clean.
Of course, Burley knew what Cross said. He smiled and said: "Same, same. This can only show that everyone has obtained their own interests in trade with East Africa. East Africa has obtained advanced industrial equipment, and we have also obtained Everyone has made money, everyone just takes what they need.”
So who is losing money in the transaction? The answer is the Portuguese, the Orangemen, the Zanzibaris, and the natives of Africa.
As for East African agriculture, although it seems to be suffering a lot, it can only be regarded as a loss and a gain. After all, East African agriculture has also enjoyed the dividends of the times. The land was basically stolen, and the labor force was supplemented by black people. Now black people Although the number has declined rapidly, East Africa's animal power has increased, and mechanization is now in its infancy. Coupled with the improvement of related supporting projects, the development of East Africa's agriculture is actually not slower than that of industry, but industry is more likely to produce results.
"Mr. Cross, as a fellow countryman, why not get together at Block 11 tonight, call more friends then, and we fellow Frenchmen should help each other more overseas." Burley suggested smoothly.
Block 11 is actually the red light district of Dar es Salaam, where foreigners generally like to go for fun. "No problem, but I have a lot of acquaintances in Dar es Salaam. You're going to spend a lot of money tonight." Cross said with a smile.
In fact, the French are relatively concentrated in East Africa. There are more than 700 permanent residents in Dar es Salaam.
Of course, the main reason for this is that in addition to Dar es Salaam being the largest city in East Africa and having more opportunities, another reason is that there are relatively few ports in East Africa. Due to the insular policy of East Africa, no matter how many foreigners there are, they can only be concentrated in a few coastal cities.
There are only a handful of such cities, so currently most foreigners are mainly distributed in Dar es Salaam, Mombasa, Mogadishu, Kismayo, Beira, New Hamburg Port, etc. Luanda, Benguela on the west coast.
The foreigners on the West Coast are mainly Germans, concentrated in Luanda and Benguela. As for other West Coast cities, such as Cabinda, which is second only to Luanda in terms of economy, there are actually not many Germans. Because the local railway has not yet been opened and is located in the tropical rainforest, Germans prefer to invest in Luanda and Benguela in the south.
As for merchants from other countries, except for Portugal, few of them live permanently in the ports on the west coast of East Africa.
As for Austria, they will definitely not go to the west coast to invest. If Austria takes the Suez Canal, it is closer to the east of East Africa. At the same time, the economic strength of the east coast of East Africa is also stronger.
Of course, another reason why the Germans attach great importance to the west coast is that the German colony of Cameroon is not far from the west coast of East Africa. In this way, the construction of Cameroon or other German West African colonies requires nearby support from East Africa.
After all, Germany is far north of the European continent. On the way from its homeland to its colonies in West Africa, it has to pass through British and French waters, so it is not too safe.
Furthermore, directly importing some goods needed for colonial development from East Africa can save a lot of costs. After all, East Africa is very close.
Moreover, investment in East Africa is not a bad thing in itself. Germany is also optimistic about the development and construction of East Africa in the west, especially Angola. Advance planning can also deepen its influence on East Africa.
At present, East Africa is an important source and market of new raw materials for Germany, with huge potential. Sea transportation from the west coast of East Africa to Germany is the most convenient and least likely to be blocked by the Suez Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar.
This can also be seen as a strategic foresight by Germany, just like the previous Far Eastern Empire opened ports and land passages in places such as Pakistan and Myanmar in order to ensure energy security.
Normally it seems that it is of little use and may even cost you money, but if there is a blockade or a war, it may play an important role.
The Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal are both under the control of the British. Naturally, Germany does not want to be controlled so easily. In the previous life, Germany built the Baghdad Railway without such considerations, that is, to break through other countries' maritime blockades through land. .
The emergence of East Africa only gave Germany one more option. During the war, it was relatively difficult to block trade between the west coast of East Africa and the German mainland. After all, it was not as advantageous as Suez, Gibraltar, or even the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. terrain conditions.
(End of this chapter)