Chapter 1602 New Austria
If the Habsburg royal family wanted to establish a country in Africa, they would inevitably have to offend one of Britain and France. Now, no matter how you look at it, the latter is weaker. Of course, this also depends on the geographical location.
Although France and Britain had the most colonies in West Africa, France focused more on the western and northern parts of West Africa, while the focus of Britain's colonies was on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea.
The starting point that East Africa could provide for the Habsburg royal family was closer to the coast of the Gulf of Guinea.
After listening to Emperor Rudolf's words, Crown Prince Karl said, "In this case, we can only choose to attack the French colony of the Kingdom of Dahomey first. I just don't know what the basic conditions in this area are like."
Crown Prince Friedrich was quite familiar with some data about the Kingdom of Dahomey. After all, East Africa had been in Togoland for so many years, and it was impossible for him to have no intelligence at all about the surrounding colonial powers.
He said, "Under normal circumstances, the French in Dahomey aren't very strong, with their forces generally ranging from a few hundred to a thousand men. The population of Dahomey itself isn't large either. According to our estimates, the entire population of Dahomey may barely reach over a million, or even less than a million."
"However, looking at the military strength data of the French colonization of the Kingdom of Dahomey, it can be seen that it does not require a large number of troops to control the Kingdom of Dahomey."
The Kingdom of Dahomey was the predecessor of Benin in the past. It was originally a local power in West Africa. Especially in the 18th century, the Kingdom of Dahomey made a lot of money by relying on external expansion and slave trade, and was called the Slave Coast by European colonists.
It was not until the mid-19th century that the Kingdom of Dahomey began to decline. Later, France invaded the Kingdom of Dahomey at the end of the 19th century, turning it into the French colony of Dahomey and incorporating it into France's West African colonial zone.
In other words, the Kingdom of Dahomey was actually a beneficiary of the triangular trade. They used to help European slave traders capture black slaves, making the Kingdom of Dahomey one of the most powerful black countries in West Africa at that time.
However, by the 19th century, the slave trade declined and the predatory economy of the Kingdom of Dahomey could no longer be maintained, which was also an important reason for its decline.
Friedrich continued, "Of course, what I said before was under normal circumstances. To be honest, with the French military deployment in Dahomey, you can easily organize a mercenary army and take Dahomey into your possession."
"However, the Kingdom of Dahomey was part of the entire French West Africa. In order to conquer the Kingdom of Dahomey, France deployed over 10,000 troops."
"And this is simply because the Kingdom of Dahomey's strength is not worth France's full force. Their civilization is too backward."
At the end of the last century, the main force of France's invasion of the Kingdom of Dahomey was the French Foreign Legion and Marines, numbering about two to three thousand people. At the same time, there was also a colonial army composed of African soldiers from various French colonies and commanded by French officers, numbering about two thousand people.
This part is the combat force, and the non-combat force may also reach 10,000 people, responsible for carrying out auxiliary tasks such as material transportation and engineering construction for the French army.
Therefore, a conservative estimate is that the actual combat strength of France at that time was about 5,000 people.
Crown Prince Friedrich said, "If you want to deal with a big country like France in the future, your army should be no less than 10,000 people to occupy Dahomey and hold it."
It is actually not easy to support and maintain an army of more than 10,000 soldiers. It requires dozens of times the population to support the military expenses. Of course, if there are sufficient financial resources, it is feasible to reduce the demand for combat effectiveness or adopt extreme militarist policies.
The East African colonial activities at that time were funded by the Hexingen Group, which adopted a very extreme militarized colonial management model.
Now the only resources the Habsburg royal family has at their disposal are their huge family assets.
The wealth accumulated by the Habsburg royal family is quite astonishing. After all, it has a deep foundation, and in this time and space, the Habsburg royal family has not been able to transfer assets. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to describe the wealth of the current Habsburg royal family as rich enough to rival a country. It is an objective fact.
The Habsburg royal family now controls a large amount of funds and artworks, jewelry, precious metals... In addition, the Habsburgs also have a large amount of assets in East Africa and Europe.
Therefore, as long as the Habsburg royal family is willing, there is no shortage of financial support needed for colonization.
Crown Prince Karl said: "It is indeed not difficult for us to form a colonial army, but at the moment, blindly building an army is not cost-effective. It is a bottomless pit."
"Therefore, it is best to first acquire a piece of land for management and recruit immigrants. Once the colony has a certain economic foundation, then seize the opportunity to expand the army and expand the colony to minimize costs."
Although the Habsburg royal family was rich, they would not spend money recklessly. Maintaining an army would be fine if it was small, but it would be very uneconomical if it was a little larger.
According to the military standards of the Far Eastern Empire, the annual cost of a soldier's salary and food would be at least one thousand Rhine guilders, and ten thousand soldiers would require ten million Rhine guilders a year, not to mention the expenses of weapons, equipment, and ammunition.
For example, the Far Eastern Empire's miscellaneous troops could cost up to one million silver dollars per 10,000 people, which is about 16 million Rhine guilders.
Of course, many of the high costs of the Far Eastern Empire’s military expenditures were due to its low industrial level, especially weapons and equipment, which were highly dependent on imports.
Crown Prince Friedrich said, "We can provide you with a batch of obsolete army equipment free of charge. Although these weapons and equipment have been eliminated in East Africa, they are sufficient to deal with various forces in West Africa."
"Of course, you'll have to pay for the land due to special reasons. After all, Togoland is our colony, so we can't just give it to you for free. Back then, the South German Kingdom's land acquisition was quite special because the colonization of West Africa hadn't yet been fully launched, so they were able to easily acquire so much territory."
The birthplace of the South German Kingdom was the East Africans who were driven out militarily and then given to the Sigmaringen royal family. However, the Shari River and Lake Chad did not belong to the East African colonies at that time, so they cannot be generalized with the territory in the north of Togoland.
Togoland was a de facto East African territory, so even if a part of it had to be separated and handed over to the Habsburgs for management, the Habsburgs would at least have to buy it. Of course, due to the friendship between the two royal families, the price would certainly not be too high.
Crown Prince Friedrich continued, "We can also directly donate some of the military facilities on the land we sell to you, such as some border outposts and military camps, which you can use directly."
"Economically, East Africa can also provide you with some conveniences in the initial stage, such as the procurement of weapons and equipment, support for agricultural management technology, and subsequent cooperation in mineral development between the two countries."
Obviously, if the early Habsburg royal family wanted to establish a country in West Africa, they could only engage in agriculture first. However, agricultural management in Africa was obviously not something that could be accomplished overnight just because the Habsburgs came from Europe and had a high level of civilization.
The crops grown in Africa and Europe are very different. If the Habsburg royal family wants to obtain high-quality tropical cash crops and grain crop varieties, they can only obtain them from East Africa, otherwise the yield will be very unsatisfactory.
Take corn, a very common crop, for example. In tropical regions, East Africa has the highest unit yield of corn, which is on par with that in temperate regions.
This is thanks to East Africa's decades of investment and cultivation in agriculture, which has led to the development of many excellent corn varieties suitable for tropical regions.
If the Habsburg royal family wanted to develop agriculture independently, it would take too much time, which was obviously not cost-effective, and the Habsburg royal family could not wait that long.
As for the cooperative development of mineral resources, this is one of the fastest ways to generate revenue and tax revenue for the colonies. However, the Habsburgs obviously do not have such conditions now. The mines on the land sold to them by East Africa will definitely still be in the hands of East Africa.
If they wanted to obtain their own mines, they had to seize them from French or British colonies through subsequent colonial expansion.
Crown Prince Friedrich continued, "The last and most crucial point is immigration. The possibility of Europe recruiting immigrants is basically zero, and the cost does not support you doing so."
"So, if you want to obtain sufficient immigrants, choosing the Far Eastern Empire is the best option. Currently, the Far Eastern Empire is not short of immigrants due to Japan's continuous expansion, internal wars, natural disasters and other problems. Of course, if you can recruit immigrants from East Africa, we will not stop you, but it is too difficult."
At present, East Africa's population size does not really care about the problem of population loss, but you have to know that it is quite difficult for East Africa's own colonies to recruit local immigrants, not to mention the Habsburg colonies which are still completely poor and exist only verbally.
The Habsburg royal family was not very concerned about recruiting immigrants from the Far East Empire. After all, when they were in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, they also ruled various non-German ethnic groups.
Crown Prince Friedrich suddenly thought of something and said, "One more thing. Some of our people originally in Togoland can also be transferred directly to you. However, the number will not be large, perhaps only 10,000 or 20,000 people."
It is completely understandable that East Africa "abandoned" its own people. As a colony in East Africa, most of Togoland's population were actually attracted by immigrants from the Far East in recent years.
Therefore, these people have not developed a sense of national identity, at least it is significantly different from the native citizens of East Africa. In Togoland, there are only a few thousand people who truly and sincerely identify with the "East African identity".
These people actually belong to the ruling class of East Africa in Togoland, such as colonial officials, civil servants, soldiers, etc.
Crown Prince Karl was delighted with the last point mentioned by Crown Prince Friedrich. After all, this meant that after they bought the land from East Africa, there would be someone available. This was especially important for the Habsburg royal family who wanted to start over. Of course, it was also necessary to continuously recruit more immigrants in the future.
East Africa supported the Habsburgs to establish a country in order to squeeze the living space of the blacks in West Africa, but not to turn them into a real black country. Therefore, the Habsburgs' colonial activities could only rely on immigration. As for the blacks, they could serve as labor or even slaves for a short time, but eventually these black populations had to be eliminated.
Back then, East Africa also guided the Kingdom of South Germany to do so. Now, there are basically no black people in the eastern part of the Kingdom of South Germany. Only in the newly occupied western territories are a large number of black people being exploited.
Crown Prince Friedrich emphasized: "The future Habsburg monarchy must be a German state. This is the bottom line for East Africa. At the same time, you must also shoulder the task of resisting the infiltration of Arab religion into West Africa."
This is actually the feudal system that East Africa implemented in West Africa, which aimed to "change the customs and reform the rituals" in West Africa and ultimately expand East Africa's influence.
Although East Africa participates in international affairs under the name of Germany, everyone knows that Germany is the orthodox German state. Therefore, East Africa urgently hopes to build more "East African German countries" or "mixed-blood German settlements" in the world.
East Africa already has many successful experiences with this plan, so it needs to be promoted on a large scale, such as the Kingdom of South Germany, Dalmatia, a number of East African overseas colonies after independence in the future, the currently planned Habsburg Monarchy, and some special forces supported by East Africa, such as the German community in northwestern Venezuela.
These countries and gathering areas are highly tied to East Africa in terms of language, culture and economy, thus forming a "New German" or "Rhine people" ethnic group dominated by East Africa.
It is also the future spokesperson for East Africa's overseas interests and a strong supporter who will wave the flag and cheer for East Africa to boost its international momentum. In the future, the Habsburg Monarchy will also be one of them.
The Habsburgs obviously did not mind being used by East Africa. After all, they did gain practical benefits and could re-establish a country in West Africa and continue the Habsburg heritage.
Just as the Habsburg royal family was imagining the future, Emperor Rudolf made a special suggestion to the Habsburg Monarchy.
He said to Crown Prince Frederick: "Since East Africa intends to support the Habsburgs in establishing a state in West Africa, why not sell the entire North to us at the same time."
"I think the Habsburgs were fully capable of supporting expansion in two directions at the same time and establishing two states in West Africa, rather than just focusing on the French colony of Dahomey."
"Of these two countries, one will focus on the French colony of Dahomey, while the other can attack Ghana to the east, or the north."
Obviously, Emperor Rudolf thought that the previous plan was a bit conservative, and the Habsburg royal family could just bet on both sides and there was no need to hang on to one strategic direction.
Crown Prince Friedrich did not directly reject Emperor Rudolf's idea, but said: "If you really want to do this, it is not impossible, but the Habsburgs will have to invest more resources, and if two countries are established, the Habsburg royal family will be divided into two."
Emperor Rudolf said: "For the current Habsburg family, we can definitely afford the gamble. If either of these two new countries succeeds, we will win. If both succeed, that would be even better. In the future, the Habsburg royal family may be able to make a comeback in the world."
"So, why not establish two states at once? The eastern one is called the Habsburg Monarchy, and the western one is called New Austria. As for the monarchs, Karl and Ferdinand are fully capable of the job."
(End of this chapter)
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