Chapter 1059 Warmonger
Suppressing Arab religious countries can be said to be Britain’s unchanging national policy, especially their leading brother, the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire’s deterrent power is considerable, although it has now become the “sick man of West Asia.” , but the reputation of our ancestors for killing, burning, and looting in Europe has always made European countries worried about his return.
“The Ottoman Empire and Persia should be the focus of the East African strategy, so we will start with these two countries and always monitor East Africa and the cooperation between the two governments.”
As for Oman , although it is also a key country for visits to East Africa, the British government is not worried because Britain has a huge advantage in Oman, and with the British deployment, Oman's national power has been declining. For example, in the previous life of the United Arab Emirates, the current pirate coast is where the British have been. A breakaway political force in Oman.
As the only maritime power in the Arab region, the UK naturally does not trust Oman, so the UK has always implemented a policy of suppression against Oman. This is also the reason why a relatively strong anti-British group has formed within Oman.
……
Hudaydah.
In its previous life, it was the second largest port city in Yemen. Of course, Hodeidah now belongs to the Ottoman Empire.
A group of businessmen in robes were counting goods in a hotel.
“A total of more than fifty firearms and three boxes of ammunition were brought here this time, all of which are British-made rifles. The British power is relatively strong in other areas along the Gulf of Aden, so we have to find a way to transport these weapons by sea. Aden is very difficult and can only be transited through the Ottoman port.”
"We bribed Ottoman officials at the port to successfully bring this shipment over. However, we still have to take a long land route and then cross the border to deliver this shipment of weapons to customers in Aden."
Aden, which is the British Protectorate of Aden, includes Yemen, Oman, and some parts of Saudi Arabia in its previous life. There are many small countries in the area. In fact, it is an Arab nomadic tribe-like country similar to the Pirate Coast.
This has also given East Africa an opportunity. With more countries, there are naturally more conflicts, especially in areas where water resources are scarce. It is possible to fight for water sources.
Of course, no matter any country or force, they will try their best to enhance their military strength. This is especially true for the tribes in the Aden Protectorate. Whoever has more guns and whoever has more advanced guns will be able to Gain an advantage.
Although there is a British pressure on everyone, it does not mean that there are no conflicts. At this time, if someone is sending weapons to everyone from the outside, they will naturally accept it happily.
Not only the port of Hudaydah, but most of the other southern ports of the Ottoman Empire became transit points for arms smuggling from East Africa to the Persian Gulf coast and the Arabian Peninsula, mainly because other areas were easily detected by the British.
Speaking of arms trade, East Africa actually spent a lot of money, similar to the military gift packages that the United States and the Soviet Union issued to their respective younger brothers in the past for the purpose of the Cold War, that is, free military assistance.
After all, the Zanzibar people will not take a lot of risks when there is no profit. Helping East Africa smuggle arms to various parts of the Middle East and earning intermediate profits has always been the basis of cooperation between East Africa and the Zanzibar people.
The Zanzibar people did not disappoint East Africa. With their strong personal and business networks in the Arab region, the Zanzibar people were able to accurately find buyers.
“In June this year, we have already delivered more than 2,000 rifles and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition to the Middle East and Central Asia. If nothing else happens, tribal conflicts in the Middle East and Central Asia may intensify and eventually continue. Expansion, thus triggering instability in the local situation," agents from the National Defense Security Agency reported to their superiors.
"The credibility of these Zanzibar people is relatively reliable. They have been doing business in the Arab region all year round, and their influence covers almost the entire coast of the Indian Ocean. Therefore, most of these weapons entered the Middle East and Central Asia without anyone noticing." "It's just that now it's just They sold weapons to some small customers, but they were not enough to trigger the situation in the entire Middle East and Central Asia. As time accumulates, the stronger the power in their hands, the more their ambitions will expand. Then the British will have a headache.”
In fact, starting from the second half of 1908, the British noticed something was wrong, and there was a significant increase in minor conflicts and conflicts in its colonies, but they were all minor. It is easy to explain the small fights. Before the arrival of the British, these Arabs often fought, so there was no need to pay attention to the "occasional" violent activities that occurred for the British.
After all, inter-tribal conflicts, as long as they do not involve Britain's own interests, are completely within the acceptable range.
As a result, under the British's indulgence, East Africa increased its shipments of local arms, and small-scale low-intensity wars have begun to develop in the direction of "normalization", but all nearby British colonies are This situation.
The frequent outbreaks of small-scale wars finally attracted the attention of Britain. It would be impossible not to pay attention. The situation developing out of control will only damage Britain's own prestige.
These tribes or countries, under the rule of the British in the past, basically did not harm the interests of the British. But when the situation really got out of control, everyone became anxious, no matter what, it was just a melee. .
Under such circumstances, some local political forces that the UK originally supported locally are vulnerable to challenges, so they urgently need the UK to bring order to the chaos and maintain their own interests.
So under the instigation of some pro-British forces, the British Aden Protectorate government had to launch an investigation. Without investigation, it would not have been known that through rough data, tens of thousands of firearms had flowed into the Aden Protectorate.
This is obviously an attempt by foreign forces to undermine British rule there. As the Aden Protectorate reflected, other British colonial governments near the Persian Gulf also described this situation.
This coincides with former British Prime Minister Bannerman's prediction that East Africa will make big moves in the Middle East and Central Asia. However, no one would have thought that East Africa was just trying to cause trouble. After all, East Africa has gained almost no actual benefits other than that. On the contrary, part of it has to be paid back to subsidize the arms business.
As for why it was the former Prime Minister, it was because Bannerman died of a heart attack in April this year. This also caused the British government to be in a hurry and temporarily relaxed its vigilance against East Africa in the Middle East and Central Asia.
It was not until feedback from the Aden Protectorate and other colonies along the Persian Gulf that the new government focused again on this area.
The new Prime Minister Asquith was quite disgusted with this little move by East Africa. In order to solve this trouble, Asquith finally decided to conduct preliminary negotiations with East Africa.
What East Africa wants is very simple, that is, "free trade" in the Persian Gulf, the Middle East, and Central Asia. The United Kingdom did not agree to this "simple" request. After all, Britain had just divided the spoils with Russia and had already It is impossible to regard the region as one's own interests and to cede meat to East Africa.
Moreover, if East Africans are brought in, East Africa will definitely make further progress in the future. Naturally, the British government will not be so short-sighted, and the negotiations between the two parties will remain in a stalemate.
East Africa began to increase its military assistance to the Middle East. As a result, Britain was really distressed. Of course, Britain also had many means to attack East Africa, so throughout 1908, Britain and East Africa were hurting each other. spend.
Of course, both countries have a sense of proportion. After all, there are many countries in the world besides East Africa and the United Kingdom. The unhappiness between the United Kingdom and East Africa does not affect Germany. France is a greater threat to the United Kingdom, and it is impossible for East Africa to A fierce conflict broke out with the United Kingdom in a short period of time, so time passed in the stalemate between the United Kingdom and East Africa. 1909 came quietly. In the past 1908, East Africa almost played the role of warmongers, making the entire Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden The area is ablaze.
(End of this chapter)