Chapter 442 East African Threat Theory

The geographical location of East Africa always makes it easy for people to feel ignored. This is the inertial thinking caused by empiricism. Under this kind of thinking, no one will take Africa seriously. The most typical example is the United States today.

The United States has a very advantageous geographical location and all the necessary conditions, but even though it is now second only to the United Kingdom in terms of development, its position in the world is not matched. The United States' political influence is limited to the Americas, and small countries like Mexico and the Caribbean basically revolve around the United States.

Because in the general impression, America has never had a country with global influence. For example, in the Black Ship Incident, the Americans opened the door to Japan, but the Japanese navy learned from Britain and the army from Prussia, not from the United States.

It is generally the consensus of most people that the U.S. Army is very weak, but given the size and land area of ​​the United States, theoretically the U.S. Army should be much stronger than the British Army. The reason why the U.S. Army cannot develop is entirely because Mexico and Canada are too weak.

Even a country as powerful as the United States cannot put pressure on Europe today, so naturally, small East Africa does not have much presence.

However, just because Europe cannot feel the development in East Africa does not mean that the countries and colonies around East Africa cannot feel it.

When the Archduke Ferdinand passed through the waters of Dar es Salaam, it was seen by Portuguese people who were spending money there.

As a neighbor, the Mozambique colony was most concerned about the development of the East African Kingdom. They specially sent people to stake out in Dar es Salaam to collect relevant intelligence.

"Is that... a warship from East Africa?"

Looking at the East African flag flying on Archduke Ferdinand, the Portuguese said with some disbelief.

"If it is really an East African ironclad ship, then we will be in big trouble. Even the Kingdom's own navy would have difficulty dealing with this level of ironclad ship!"

After East Africa annexed northern South Africa, Mozambique realized that it was truly surrounded by the East African Kingdom. It bordered East Africa on three sides on land. Although there was an ocean to the east, the East African Navy also started patrols (actually naval ships dispatched to the New Hamburg Port).

Although the strength of the East African Navy was not weak in the Indian Ocean region, the Mozambique colony believed that it was not enough to threaten itself.

But if a top-level ironclad ship like Archduke Ferdinand joined in, the situation would be different.

"This situation must be reported to the Governor. If this is really an ironclad ship purchased by East Africa, then the strength of the East African Kingdom is too terrifying!"

It already seemed like they couldn't win on land, and if they lost their advantage at sea, Mozambique would probably have become a piece of fat meat in the mouth of the East African Kingdom.

After Brazil's independence, Portugal's two most important colonies were in Africa, one was Mozambique and the other was Angola. Previously, there were two potential threats around Mozambique, one was Britain and the other was East Africa. Now the only threat is East Africa.

"In recent years, the Germans have developed too fast. I heard that the Angolan colony is also bordering East Africa. This means that the Atlantic coast is no longer safe for us in Portugal."

"They also went on to take over the Transvaal Republic and the Zulu Kingdom, which was no different from snatching food from the British."

"And if this ironclad ship is really a warship of the East African Kingdom, it means that East Africa is still able to purchase other warships from Europe. Judging from the displacement of this ironclad ship, it is estimated to be over 5,000 tons, and it may even reach 7,000 tons. The cost of building such an ironclad ship is not cheap. If East Africa can afford an ironclad ship of this size, then they must be able to buy some slightly smaller ironclad ships."

"There is no doubt that East Africa has purchased a lot of offshore defense gunboats in recent years, which shows that East Africa is gradually building its own maritime power. The Germans' ambitions are not only to satisfy the African continent, but also to the western Indian Ocean."

"East Africa is destroying the balance of the African continent, but European countries cannot see this. Someone must suppress the development of East Africa, otherwise it will be another America in the future. Will the Germans also have to do the same as the Americans and create an African version of the Monroe Doctrine?"

The Portuguese are simply talking without any concern. East Africa's achievements today were not obtained through charity. Besides, East Africa's starting point was much worse than Portugal's.

Before East Africa, Portugal had opened up the trade route from Angola to Mozambique. If the Portuguese had had a little more courage, they would not have allowed East Africa to catch up and occupy the African interior.

Speaking of threats, East Africa still feels that Portugal threatens East Africa's security! You have Angola and Mozambique, one in the east and one in the west, sandwiching East Africa in the middle.

If Portugal had paid more attention to the development of Mozambique and Angola and strengthened the two colonies during the years of East Africa's development, the situation would have been reversed.

But everyone knows what Portugal is like. They are ruthless in taking money from the colonies. Don't even think about supporting the colonies because they can't even afford to pay the money domestically!

But the Portuguese don’t think so. Your development in East Africa is a threat to us. Although I don’t vigorously develop colonies, that is not normal. Who would develop colonies as if they were their own?

"These days, there are more and more ships from Europe to East Africa, and they are mainly carrying steel, which shows that East Africa is undergoing large-scale development and construction. Once construction in East Africa stops, it means that they have completely digested the interior of Africa."

“What is East Africa going to do with all this steel?”

"The railroad, I guess."

"Railway? Is that possible?"

"Anyone with normal ears can hear the train whistle in the suburbs of Dar es Salaam. That is the unique sound of a train. Although East Africa is very closed, we can still infer that the East African Kingdom has railways. I dare say that this is the only country in sub-Saharan Africa with railways."

"Moreover, the country with the most crazy railway development in Europe in recent years is Germany. The application of railways in the military has been fully verified in the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War. So it is completely understandable that the East African Kingdom attaches great importance to railways. The most important thing is that only railways can consume so much steel."

“How will the East African Railway be built?”

"We can infer from the territory of East Africa. Others don't know the territory of East Africa, but we can guess roughly. The Kingdom of East Africa occupied the Transvaal and Zulu Kingdoms before. The distance from East Africa to South Africa is at least 2,000 kilometers. What kind of transportation do you think can closely connect the two places?"

"Will you pay?"

"Um!"

"Idiot, do you think Africa is America and Europe? It's also used to connect East Africa and South Africa. Don't you know how expensive this is? And are you building such a long railway for the natives? How long will it take to recover the cost? Hundreds of years!"

"In my opinion, it would be great if East Africa built a railway in the coastal areas, but if they want to connect East Africa with South Africa, the Hechingen royal family must really want to do charity. The problem is that few countries can withstand such a test. The problem of money alone is not easy to solve, unless they can persuade a family like the Rothschilds to invest. But are they stupid? Unless East Africa has gold."

In fact, there is gold in East Africa, but the gold in East Africa is either not developed or not flow into the international market after it is developed. The nose of international capital is as sensitive as a dog, and if a large amount of gold really flows into the market for cash, the source can be traced quickly.

Therefore, East Africa's current exports have always been mainly agricultural products. If you ask Europeans to pan for gold, they will be more excited than anyone else and will swim here at their own expense. If you ask them to farm, they will not choose Africa. This is the benefit of Africa's notoriety, which is the experience summed up by countless explorers with blood and tears over hundreds of years.

(End of this chapter)