Chapter 1605 Psychological Gap

Now the Habsburg royal family cannot carry out any colonial activities, which has a lot to do with East Africa. Before East Africa ruled Togoland, the local population was actually only about 700,000 to 800,000.

From 1914 until the mid-1920s, the indigenous people of Togoland were basically driven out of East Africa.

The process of East African rule over Togoland was much more civilized than that of East African rule in the 19th century, with no large-scale genocide. After all, Togoland was surrounded by British and French colonies, and by driving the natives of Togoland into their territories, they could easily achieve the "purification" of Togoland.

The reason for this result is also related to the geographical characteristics of Togoland. Its terrain is long and narrow, and its area is not large, so the cost of eviction is low.

However, during the 19th century colonial expansion in East Africa, it would have been too costly to send the indigenous people away, and it would have been inappropriate to drive them inland, as that was East Africa's intended future territory.

Therefore, during the colonial expansion in East Africa in the 19th century, there were two main ways to expel the indigenous people: one was to sell them overseas, and the other was to forcibly exile them to West Africa.

For both methods, the migration routes are often thousands of kilometers long and the costs are relatively high.

Togoland is completely different. The narrowest part of its territory is only more than 50 kilometers. As long as the East African government makes a little effort, the local indigenous people can easily flee to Daholland, Ghana and Upper Volta.

The colonies of Britain and France themselves were not averse to, and even welcomed, the move in East Africa, because the three regions mentioned above required a large labor force.

Therefore, the disappearance of the original Togoland natives was not because they were eliminated in East Africa, but because they fled to the surrounding British and French colonies.

…

"Crown Prince Karl and His Excellency Archduke Ferdinand, welcome to Togoland."

At the dock of Lomé Port, the two men were personally received by Governor Yotal, the highest administrative officer of East Africa in Togoland.

Crown Prince Karl and Archduke Ferdinand also greeted Governor-General Johann Hof. In the future, the Habsburg Monarchy and the new Kingdom of Austria would inevitably have to deal with this East African governor.

"From now on, your safety will be the responsibility of our military personnel. Of course, I wonder if you two are feeling unwell?" Governor Yotal asked.

Togoland is a tropical region after all, and Lome is even more humid and hot because it is close to the sea. Therefore, it is easy for people from non-tropical regions to suffer from acclimatization when they come here.

Governor Yotal did not dare to let these two core members of the Habsburg royal family get into trouble in Lomé.

Crown Prince Karl said, "Thank you, Governor Yotar, for your concern. However, we have been in East Africa for some time and have begun to overcome the discomfort caused by the climate."

The climate in East Africa and Togoland is not much different, both are tropical savannas. Therefore, if you can adapt to the local climate, there will be no problem in going to most overseas colonies in East Africa.

Archduke Ferdinand was even more straightforward than Crown Prince Karl. He said, "Since I arrived in East Africa, I haven't had any problems with acclimatization."

Archduke Ferdinand's physical fitness is better than that of Crown Prince Karl. Because of his military experience, Archduke Ferdinand himself has a relatively strong physique.

However, he has not suffered from acclimatization problems since arriving in East Africa. This may be because he traveled to many places during his time in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and especially often slept in the open air with the army, which gave him greater endurance.

Hearing that neither of them was feeling unwell, Governor Yotal breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. Acclimatization in Africa can easily lead to serious problems, especially in West Africa."

"West Africa's medical standards are extremely backward. Sometimes minor problems, if not addressed in a timely manner, could take away fragile lives."

"When you two return to your respective territories, please pay attention to hygiene and environmental issues. If you become ill, it's best to come to Lomé immediately. We have the best hospital in Togoland, and perhaps even in all of West Africa."

"But it's best to stay healthy. We have a 'Guide to Hygiene and Epidemic Prevention' in East Africa. This book is based on decades of experience accumulated by the Empire and is the most suitable book on hygiene and epidemic prevention issues for most of Africa."

"When we get to the Governor's Mansion, I can personally give you two copies. I believe they will be helpful in building your own territory."

Although the Habsburg Monarchy and the new Kingdom of Austria were ready to be established, these two places were still more like territories than countries, so Governor Yotal said so.

At least we have to wait until the framework of the two countries is established before we can have the initial prototype of a country. As for now, even the monarchs of the two countries have not arrived at their fiefdoms, so naturally they do not have the conditions to become an independent country.

Over the next year, the Habsburg Monarchy and the New Kingdom of Austria would no longer appear on the list of nations, but would continue to develop under the name of the northern territory of Togoland in East Africa.

This is in itself to maintain the security of the two countries, as they do not have the ability to develop independently at present.

Crown Prince Karl expressed his gratitude to Governor Yotal again, and then he asked, "Governor Yotal, Ferdinand and I will each go to our respective territories. I wonder if you can tell us about the details?"

Governor Yotal naturally would not refuse his request: "Crown Prince Karl, for the subsequent development of your territory, I suggest that you directly copy our Togoland governance model."

"After so many years of development, Togoland has also summed up many experiences and lessons and made many adjustments to the industry to adapt to local conditions."

"Natitingu, where Crown Prince Carl is about to go, is actually quite good. It's not badly developed, and the infrastructure is relatively complete. Therefore, when Crown Prince Carl arrives in Natitingu, he can directly continue many of the policies and institutions left over from East Africa."

"The infrastructure of Dapan, Archduke Ferdinand's destination, is much worse. The population is less than a thousand, and the industry is unclear. If you encounter any problems later, you can contact us directly."

"Both Dapan and Natitingou have telegraph and telephone lines directly connected to Lomé, so communication is very convenient."

"Once you arrive in the colony, you should prioritize developing a major cash crop and food crop. I suggest cotton. Cotton cultivation has been promoted to a certain extent in Natitingu, so it will be easier to develop."

"The situation in Dapang is similar. Of course, the choice of food crops should be diversified. After all, Togoland is not as prosperous as Europe and is easily affected by natural disasters. Therefore, if we want to ensure food security, we cannot put all our eggs in one basket."

"You can give priority to corn and millet, two drought-resistant crops. Corn is easy to grow in Togoland and has a high yield, while millet can adapt to extreme climate change and is not prone to crop failure. It can become a life-saving food in critical times."

East Africa has liked to grow millet in the early days. After all, this crop is drought-resistant and resistant to barrenness. In the early days when East Africa's water conservancy facilities were particularly underdeveloped or even non-existent, millet became one of the most suitable food crops.

Of course, with the continuous progress of agriculture and social development in East Africa, wheat, rice, etc. became the most important food crops in East Africa.

Governor Yotal specifically reminded: "Another point is that although corn has a high yield, it also absorbs a lot of nutrients and can easily damage the soil, so it is best to rotate it with crops such as beans."

As the governor of a relatively backward colony, Yotal was well aware of many issues and measures regarding land development.

After all, Togoland's own development is similar to that of East Africa in the 1970s and 1980s, so Governor Yotal has an in-depth understanding of many details about managing Togoland. However, Togoland has local support, while East Africa can only develop by itself through trial and error, so Togoland's development is definitely much faster than that of the mainland back then.

However, this mainly refers to the field of agricultural development, where Togoland has local ready-made experience, technology and talents that can be utilized.

In terms of industrial development, Togoland has basically no possibility of catching up with and surpassing its own country, and East Africa itself does not need Togoland to develop its industry.

Therefore, unless Togoland becomes independent, its industries will never be able to shift their focus to industry.

For Togoland today, it is enough to focus on developing agriculture. After all, Togoland itself has a small population and the profits from agricultural development are considerable.

Crown Prince Karl and Archduke Ferdinand listened carefully to Governor-General Jotal's advice and constantly asked him questions on various issues. With the help of Governor-General Jotal, the two of them had a clearer idea of ​​how to develop their territory.

Afterwards, Crown Prince Karl and Archduke Ferdinand stayed in Lomé for about a month. The reason they stayed for so long was that they had a lot of things to deal with in Lomé.

It was mainly responsible for the coordination and dispatch of Habsburg royal personnel and resources from East Africa to Lomé and finally to their territories.

The Togoland army in East Africa is responsible for assisting them in transporting various supplies and personnel to their destinations.

In addition, for the safety of the two, the Togoland colony in East Africa also dispatched a company of troops to temporarily go to Dapao and Natitingou.

A company does not have many soldiers, but it is enough to ensure the safety of two people. After all, the garrison of the neighboring French Kingdom of Dahomey is only about a thousand people, and they are also responsible for the security of the entire Dahomey, not to mention that it is impossible for them to cross the border and enter the East African territory to provoke.

As for the indigenous forces, those who were short-sighted had long been eliminated by East Africa. Now the indigenous people around Togoland all know that East Africa is not something they can afford to provoke.

Therefore, the biggest threat to the safety of Crown Prince Karl and Archduke Ferdinand was not even people, but the beasts on the road.

…

Dapang Town.

Archduke Ferdinand finally arrived at the town of Dapan under the escort of the Togoland garrison.

"Your Excellency, we have arrived. This is the town of Dapon." Art, the platoon leader of the Togoland garrison in East Africa, opened the car door for Archduke Ferdinand and said.

Even though he had long known that Dapan was a remote and backward town, it was only when he saw the scene in person that Archduke Ferdinand understood the difficulty of his future work.

With a wry smile, he said to Art, "Mr. Art, I finally understand how difficult the conditions were when Russia developed Siberia. No wonder the Tsarist Russia loved exiling prisoners there! I guess most of Siberia, like Dapan Town, is simply a natural prison."

Platoon Leader Art understood Archduke Ferdinand's feelings very well. He said, "To be honest, Your Excellency, when I joined the army and was assigned to Togoland, I felt much the same way when I arrived here."

"Although my ancestors once told me how difficult the situation in East Africa was, it was already quite prosperous when I was born. And in the more than ten years since I grew up, East Africa has changed even more every year, becoming one of the most developed and prosperous countries in the world."

"So, although I often heard my father and grandfather talk about how backward and desolate East Africa was in the past, I didn't experience it myself, so it was hard for me to understand."

"It wasn't until I came to Togoland that I immediately experienced what my ancestors had experienced. When I served in Togoland, Lomé hadn't developed yet. Back then, Lomé was less than one-tenth of its current size, with a population of just 4,000."

"Apart from Lomé, it's no exaggeration to describe the area as uncivilized. In many places, the conditions are even worse than those in Dapang."

“Even now, there are still many areas, especially small villages, that are not as developed as Dapan.”

After all, the town of Dapan is a regional center, so it is one of the best developed towns in the north of Togoland.

Archduke Ferdinand said: "It's more like being a village chief than being a king. However, the construction of East Africa in Togoland is quite good. The roads are even better than some places in the Austro-Hungarian Empire."

There are not many roads in Togoland, but the quality is not bad. Archduke Ferdinand hardly felt any major bumps along the way.

As for the comparison with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the quality of the roads in the Austro-Hungarian Empire was certainly not too bad, but the economic development of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was uneven and the area was large. In some relatively backward areas, the roads were indeed not as good as the highways built in Togoland.

After all, before the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire could only be considered a semi-industrialized country, and its level of industrialization was even surpassed by the Soviet Union.

From the fall of Tsarist Russia to the completion of the First Five-Year Plan, the Soviet Union achieved quite remarkable results in infrastructure, with a development speed far higher than that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Platoon Leader Art is also very proud of East Africa's infrastructure capabilities. He said, "East Africa's ability to become the world's leading industrial power is largely due to its emphasis on transportation development. It was the construction of roads, railways and other transportation systems in the 19th century that paved the way for the rapid economic growth of the empire since the 20th century."

"Although Togoland is only a colony of the empire, it has inherited the characteristics of the mainland in its development. To be frank, Togoland is very backward compared to the mainland, but in West Africa, it is also one of the most modern places in the entire region."

Togoland's level of development in West Africa is probably only comparable to the Kingdom of South Germany and the coastal towns that Britain and France have focused on developing.

The Kingdom of South Germany is the undisputed largest country in West Africa, so it is not surprising that its level of development ranks first in the entire West Africa.

The main task of the colonies of countries such as Britain and France was to provide blood transfusions to their homelands. They lacked construction. In addition, their colonies were numerous and covered a large area, so it was difficult for them to concentrate development in one place.

As the only colony of East Africa in West Africa, Togoland can enjoy more investment of local resources, which is the main reason why it develops faster than most places in the region.

(End of this chapter)