Chapter 1604 Arrival in Lome
Blatter's courage comes from the fact that East Africa's upward path has tightened, especially after the economic transformation began in the late 1920s. Even the probability of successful entrepreneurship has become much smaller. Therefore, instead of continuing to live in the corners of the colony, it is better to participate in the Habsburg royal family's re-entrepreneurship process.
For this reason, when faced with the plan given by his superiors, he chose to stay here without hesitation and wait for the Habsburg royal family to take over the town of Dapan.
Mayor Blatter was not at all worried about other residents in the town competing with him. After all, no matter in terms of academic qualifications, knowledge or ability, he was a target that the Habsburg family could win over.
He didn't mind telling the other residents the news and explaining some of the twists and turns to them.
Mayor Bratt, with a tone of exhortation, addressed the townspeople: "Don't ignore my words. Besides striving to improve yourselves and seizing opportunities, I have one more piece of advice for you."
"That means we should focus on educating our next generation and encourage them to study knowledge and culture, President Covance. Don't you agree?"
Principal Covens is a recognized intellectual in the town, apart from a dozen or so civil servants such as Mayor Bratt.
Of course, he is actually the only so-called principal in the entire school. He also teaches German and mathematics, and is generally respected.
Covens pushed his glasses and said to the people around him, "The mayor is right. Now that Dapan Town has become the territory of the Kingdom of New Austria, it is indeed a rare opportunity for all of us."
"Having cultural knowledge is very useful no matter where you are. Even if you join the military, the higher your education level, the greater your opportunities."
"Take the Empire's regular army for example. They require at least a high school diploma. It's because our Dapang Town is too backward and not part of the mainland that they lower the standards."
"Therefore, being able to better master German and other knowledge will be beneficial to everyone's future. If you are valued by the Habsburg royal family, it is not impossible for you to soar to fame in the future!"
With Covens' personal testimony, most people in the town believed what the mayor said.
Mayor Blatter continued, "Although the Habsburgs may face many difficulties in their initial attempts to establish a new state, I am still very optimistic about the future development of the new Kingdom of Austria."
"After all, the fact that the Empire allowed the Habsburgs to take over our place is itself an attitude, demonstrating the support of the top leadership for the Habsburgs."
East Africa's support for the Habsburg royal family is obviously the reason why Blatter and others chose to stay. After all, they are not stupid. If this new Austria cannot even guarantee its own safety, it would have fled back home long ago.
With East Africa as a backing, at least the town of Dapon, the future capital of New Austria, will definitely not be threatened by war.
What's more, many people like Blatter are heading towards civilian careers rather than the military.
…
The capital of the new Kingdom of Austria was clearly the town of Dapon. Similarly, the capital of the Habsburg Monarchy was almost certainly Natitingu in northeastern Togoland.
The so-called Natitingou is the former northwestern city of Natitingou in Benin (Dahomey), and it is also the capital of Atakora Province in Benin.
As for why this town is in the hands of East Africa, it is easy to understand. It is simply because Natitingou is too close to East Africa, so East Africa annexed this land into the Togoland colony in East Africa during its colonial development activities in Togoland.
Once, when Togoland was still a German colony, it competed with France for Natitingou. However, the French could not tolerate Germany occupying this important transportation hub and military fortress, whether out of practical interests or hatred towards Germany.
But the situation in East Africa is obviously different. France generally tends to adopt a policy of concession when it comes to West African issues with East Africa.
There is no way around it. France is no longer the country that it was in the 19th century and before, which had always been the world's second most powerful country. Moreover, East Africa not only has enough national strength to make France feel despair, but it is also an African country itself.
If France were to fall out with East Africa over the issue of West African colonization, it would have no chance of winning and might even lose both the wife and the army, and lose international face.
Therefore, the French government wisely chose to remain silent on some of the "illegal" activities in the Togoland colony in East Africa.
Natitingou and the surrounding areas, formerly part of Benin, became part of East Africa and are now the foundation of the Habsburg Monarchy.
Although the ancient towns of Natitin and Dapon are both "important towns" in northern Togoland and the administrative centers of the region, the two towns are completely incomparable.
The ancient town of Natitin is a town in the true sense, not a small village like Dapan which is only a town in name.
By 1935, Natitingou had a population of over 2,300, making it the largest town in northern Togoland, with a population nearly four times that of Dapon.
At the same time, the economy of Natitingu is much stronger than that of Dapang Town.
Although the level of agricultural development in Natitingu and its surrounding areas is relatively low, it exceeds that of Dapang Town. Cash crops such as cotton and peanuts are already being cultivated on a large scale.
In other words, Natitingu is ahead of Dapang in the field of agriculture. Of course, the more important feature of Natitingu is its geographical location. It was originally a center where surrounding forces converged, so trade was more prosperous.
Another driving factor is Togoland's military deployment in Natitingou, where troops are stationed, which has stimulated the development of local trade.
If it weren't for the two factors of trade and military, theoretically, Dapao should have been able to surpass Natitingu, because Dapao's agricultural development conditions were actually more superior, and it had more advantages than Natitingu in terms of soil fertility and water resources.
November 6, 1935.
Port of Lomé.
Crown Prince Karl and Archduke Ferdinand were on an East African cargo ship that docked here. They showed great interest in Togoland, a strange place.
"This is the port of Lomé in Togoland. It's developing very well!" Crown Prince Karl exclaimed while standing on the deck.
Archduke Ferdinand said, "Lome is East Africa's most important strategic fulcrum in the Gulf of Guinea. Therefore, they certainly spared no resources when operating here. In addition, it is the capital of Togoland, so its development is enough to rival some small cities in East Africa."
"Even compared to many cities in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, Lomé is a place with a good economy. However, the scenery in Lomé is indeed very pleasant and gives people a fresh feeling."
The scenery of Lomé is indeed outstanding, especially when looking at the Atlantic Ocean from the land, the water and the sky are connected, which is very magnificent. The straight coastline and pure sandy beaches, as well as the East African style urban planning, are harmoniously integrated together.
Crown Prince Carl said: "East Africa's urban planning is unique in the world, and Lomé is very similar to Luanda in terms of urban layout, but the scale of this city is far smaller than that of Luanda."
“In the future, if we can build a city like Lome in our territory, that would be great.”
Archduke Ferdinand wasn't particularly interested in urban development. He told Carl, "We're not here to visit Togoland, but to restore our family's glory. Lomé is indeed beautiful, but once we get to the territory, it's best to spend our money wisely."
"I'm going to Dapang this time. I plan to prioritize its development as a military fortress. As for urban development, I'll consider it after I've firmly established a foothold in northern Togoland."
"The military pressure on Dapan Town is quite high. Judging from the map, it's bordered by French colonies to the north and British colonies to the west. If New Austria wants to establish a state there, it must first address security concerns."
Archduke Ferdinand originally served in the military in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so he was more inclined to pragmatism and focused on military development thinking.
Crown Prince Karl agreed with his views, but also had some unique insights of his own: "Militarily, as long as we do not take the initiative or provoke forces like Britain and France, our security can be guaranteed in East Africa."
"I also have some understanding of the place we are going to. Right now, the most important thing is to develop the population as quickly as possible. Therefore, more work should be put into the field of agricultural development."
"After all, immigrants also need to eat. Without sufficient agricultural support, it would not be feasible for us to increase the population of the territory on a large scale."
Regarding the most crucial issue of population, Archduke Ferdinand also felt somewhat powerless. He said, "I heard that the total population of the area allocated to us in East Africa is only over 10,000 people. If we divide it between our two territories, each family would only have a few thousand people."
"The extreme lack of manpower is our biggest problem. Only with a sufficient population can we do other things."
"Karl, do you have any unique insights on this?" Archduke Ferdinand took the initiative to ask. He did not have as much experience as Crown Prince Karl in administrative work. After all, Crown Prince Karl had participated in many government affairs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and participated in the governance of the entire huge empire.
Crown Prince Karl said: "We should give priority to agricultural development. It is best to first establish a framework for arable land development. We can first invest the funds in purchasing a batch of agricultural equipment."
"Otherwise, relying solely on human and animal power will slow progress. Regarding manpower, the populations of our two territories are too small. Even using slaves would be difficult to fill the gap. As for animal power, the cost-effectiveness is not high unless we focus on developing animal husbandry."
"Therefore, we should prioritize agricultural equipment. This will not only speed up our reclamation work, but also accelerate the construction of the territory. For example, the transportation of construction materials, water conservancy projects, tractors and other agricultural equipment can all be completed."
"The most crucial point is that our two territories are vast and sparsely populated. Using agricultural machinery in the early stages of development is the most efficient. We should first develop the land, then develop a small-scale farming economy to accelerate the natural growth of the population."
"It would be best to first increase the population of our respective territories to over 10,000 people. This will be more conducive to our subsequent actions."
"If the population can exceed 50,000 in a relatively short period of time, we will be able to gain a firm foothold in West Africa."
Fifty thousand people may not seem like a lot, but if the population of the New Austrian Kingdom and the Habsburg Monarchy could reach this level, the two countries would have the minimum requirements for external expansion.
The areas around them that could be expanded were not particularly strong, and even the colonies of Britain and France only needed a few hundred people to maintain them. Therefore, as long as they could withstand the counterattacks of Britain and France, dealing with those African black forces would be a piece of cake.
Crown Prince Karl said: "In short, we will definitely encounter various problems in the early stages of colonial development. After all, we lack experience and manpower."
"Given the extreme shortage of human resources, we must adopt a conservative approach to economic development, focusing entirely on agriculture. Industry can be put on the back burner. After all, we can obtain industrial products and even arms from East Africa."
"After establishing the agricultural framework, we will then begin developing the military. Finally, once our population and territory have reached a certain size, we can consider more matters and achieve comprehensive development, just like the Kingdom of Southern Germany."
Crown Prince Karl saw clearly that the current Habsburg Monarchy and the new Kingdom of Austria should not attempt any economic leapfrog development. After all, industrial development places too high demands on personnel, and the quality of personnel in their territories certainly cannot meet the minimum standards of industrial development.
The tolerance rate for agricultural development is very high. Even if problems arise, the Habsburg royal family's foundation can support them in trial and error.
Not to mention that East Africa has promised to help them in the field of agricultural development, providing talent, technology, and support in seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, etc.
Therefore, Crown Prince Karl emphasized to Archduke Ferdinand: "After you go to New Austria, even if you want to prioritize military development, you shouldn't invest too much. Just enough to ensure your own safety. Of course, if you develop a slave economy, you can also expand the army appropriately."
The slave economy must have military power to ensure supervision and suppression to prevent accidents. Of course, after Crown Prince Karl said this, the black people in West Africa may face disaster.
However, the Habsburg royal family now has no better choice than the slave economy. After all, they themselves cannot solve the most important problem of labor shortage in a short period of time.
The development experiences of East Africa and the South German Kingdom both illustrate the important role of the slave economy in early economic development, which can help accumulate primitive capital more quickly.
Of course, it would be much more difficult for the Habsburg royal family to achieve this than for the Kingdom of South Germany and East Africa, because it was more difficult for them to obtain slaves. The surrounding forces had long been divided up by Britain and France, and the northern part of Togoland and the surrounding areas were sparsely populated. If they wanted to capture the slaves themselves, it would be a big problem whether they could even find anyone.
This is also the reason why Crown Prince Karl said before that priority should be given to purchasing agricultural equipment, especially tractors. It is not that it is not feasible for the Habsburg royal family to develop a slave economy, but that they may not even be able to find enough black people. Therefore, it is best not to put too much energy on this aspect.
Crown Prince Karl once again reminded them: "Don't count on slaves to run the colony. Ultimately, we still have to rely on immigrants. The families of the immigrants will cooperate with us. All we need to do is provide them with a place to live and land for farming."
(End of this chapter)
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