Chapter 1609 Double-headed Eagle Flag
To be frank, for the indigenous people around Togoland, arriving in Togoland is like a farmer entering the city for the first time, or a citizen entering the countryside for the first time, full of novelty.
Although Togoland was also a colony, its planning at least had some resemblance to that of a native country, and compared with the colonies of neighboring countries, it was even "very developed."
Although Togoland has a population of only over 300,000, which is not large and sparsely populated, the neighboring Upper Volta, Dahomey and Ghana do not have much more population than Togoland. For example, the total population of Dahomey is about one million, which is three times that of Togoland.
However, Togoland's per capita productivity is several times that of Dahomey, and the proportion of taxes paid to the local area is lower than that of surrounding areas. It can also receive some subsidies and support from the local area.
In other words, East Africa is doing long-term business in Togoland, just like investing in heavy industry, with a long cycle and low profits, but it is beneficial to Togoland's development.
Togoland's economy is healthier than its neighbors.
As Rubirola traveled along with the caravan, he indeed witnessed some differences between Togoland and Dahomey. The road conditions and public security in northern Togoland were indeed better than those in Dahomey.
He looked at the smoother land and said, "Togoland's construction is indeed better than Daho's, but it's also limited. It's just that they pay slightly better attention to details."
Sakuma shook his head at Rubirola's judgment. "Your Excellency is overthinking things. The reason you think Togoland is only slightly stronger than Dahomey is simply because you haven't been to many places."
He pointed to the south and said, "The truly prosperous and developed part of Togoland is in the south, while the north is just the poorest and most sparsely populated part of Togoland."
"There's a huge difference. In southern Togoland, all the main roads are paved, and only some of the smaller roads are similar to those in the north. As far as I know, there are only two paved roads in northern Togoland, but this is also extremely rare in Dahomey."
The two paved roads in northern Togoland are actually the two roads connecting Lomé and the towns of Dapon and Natitingou. In the past, in addition to economic considerations, the construction of these two roads in East Africa had two main purposes: one was military and the other was immigration.
For a terrain like Togoland, transportation construction can refer to Vietnam and Peru. Moreover, Togoland's terrain is flatter. It only needs to build a 600-kilometer north-south highway, and the East African army can quickly reach most areas of Togoland.
Sakuma continued, "In the south, you can see a lot of cultivated farmland and plantations, but in northern Togoland, there are very few. Only around Natitingou is agriculture on a relatively large scale."
"There are more cities and towns in southern Togoland, and each one of them is probably no worse than Porto Novo!"
Porto-Novo is the capital of the Dahomey colony and the former capital of Benin.
In its previous life, Porto-Novo was the capital of Benin, but it was only the second largest city in Benin, surpassed by the coastal city of Cotonou.
However, Porto-Novo still holds the position of the most economically developed town in Dahomey, which is somewhat related to East Africa.
In the past, Cotonou's economy surpassed that of the capital, Porto-Novo, with maritime transport advantages being the most important decisive factor. However, the French policies during the colonial era also played an important role in the development of the two cities.
Although Porto-Novo was chosen by the French as the capital of the colony in 1894, all economic activities, transportation hubs, and modern facilities were concentrated in Cotonou. Cotonou became a veritable economic capital and even a secondary administrative center, with a population growing rapidly as job opportunities increased.
It was precisely because of the French approach that by the end of the colonial era, Cotonou had far surpassed ancient cities such as Ouidah and Abomey in population and economic size, and was on par with or even surpassed the administrative capital Porto-Novo.
In this time and space, the French did not dare to invest a lot of resources in the construction of Cotonou, because Cotonou could not bring a sense of security to the French. This port city faced the threat of the powerful East African Navy. On the contrary, Porto-Novo, which was some distance away from the coast, felt more secure.
Cotonou is different from Lomé, the capital of Togoland in East Africa. After all, the Port of Lomé is one of the top deep-water ports in West Africa and is more suitable for the berthing of main naval ships. Therefore, the Port of Lomé itself has a strong naval force guarding it.
As for the French port of Cotonou, not to mention the average conditions, it is impossible for France to deploy much naval force here. After all, Dahomey can only be said to be an upper-middle-level colony among French colonies and does not receive much attention.
The combination of these factors allowed Porto-Novo, as the capital of the colony, to enjoy more resources than in the previous life, consolidating its economic advantages. At least during the French rule, it became much more difficult for Cotonou to achieve an economic comeback as in the previous life.
Porto-Novo, the largest city in French Dahomey, is far less developed than Lomé in neighboring Togoland, and is even ranked only sixth among the towns in Togoland.
There are also some Togoland towns whose economic scale and population are not as large as Porto-Novo, but their infrastructure is not much worse than Porto-Novo.
This is also the reason why Sakuma said that Porto-Novo said that any town picked at random in Togoland is no worse than Porto-Novo.
Togoland’s infrastructure cannot represent economic data, but it is also the external feature that can most intuitively make people feel the development differences with surrounding areas.
This is similar to many unknown counties in the Far East Empire in the past. Although their economic development level is very low, their urban construction is better than that of the capitals of many small and medium-sized countries and backward countries in the world.
Rubirola fell silent after hearing what Sakuma said. Even if he didn't want to admit it, Togoland's level of development was definitely better than Dahomey. Although he had not been to Togoland's capital, Lomé, he had seen Aného, the second largest city in Togoland.
The so-called Aného is actually the second largest port city in Togoland. Before Germany colonized Togoland, Aného was the largest port in Togoland. However, due to river siltation, Aného could not meet the conditions for modern port development, so it was replaced by Lomé.
However, after East Africa colonized Togoland, the port of Aného was comprehensively managed and transformed, and it prospered again and became the most important communication port between Togoland and other countries in the world.
The reason why East Africa operates and builds Aného is that the Port of Lomé has stronger military attributes. Therefore, for military purposes, East Africa tries its best to avoid foreign ships docking at the Port of Lomé.
Of course, the Port of Lomé does not refuse East African ships from docking, and East Africa has the greatest influence on Togoland. Therefore, even if the Port of Aného replaces Togoland's previous position in foreign trade, it still cannot surpass the Port of Lomé economically.
Rubirola had seen the city of Aného before. In terms of its development alone, Aného was indeed better than any other city in French Dahomey, including the capital Porto-Novo and the second largest city Cotonou.
It's not just Rubirola. Many French people in Dahomey and even British people in Nigeria may have visited this city. Like Lomé, Aného is considered a developed area in the Gulf of Guinea, and its consumption and business are much stronger than other places.
Of course, those with more financial resources will choose to go to local cities in East Africa for vacation, consumption and tourism. After all, the west coast of East Africa is not far from the Gulf of Guinea, and Cabinda and Luanda are well-known international metropolises with no competitors along the entire South Atlantic coast.
…
After a day's journey, Sakuma's caravan finally arrived in Natitingou before dusk. Natitingou is not far from Dahomey, only about 60 kilometers away, so many Dahomey merchants will arrive in this town before sunset.
At this time, Rubirola finally saw this important economic and military town in the northeast of Togoland.
Before entering the city, he discovered an important detail about Natitingu, that is, the flag flying on Natitingu was not the common East African flag, but a double-headed eagle flag.
"Sakuma, when you went to Natitingu before, was the flag also a double-headed eagle?"
Facing Rubirola's question, Sakuma's eyes flashed with confusion. He said, "No, Your Excellency Rubirola, I remember that the flag of Natitingu has always been the national flag of East Africa. We also call it the Lion Flag because it has a lion on it. This flag with a double-headed eagle embroidered on it is the first time I have seen it."
Hearing him say this, Rubirola thought that the doubts in his heart might be related to this flag. However, the double-headed eagle is not uncommon in Europe. Prussia, Tsarist Russia, and many European nobles have used double-headed eagle flags.
Of course, if Rubirola had been born earlier, he might not be so unfamiliar with this flag.
Because the flag flying above Natitingu was the former flag of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. This flag was used after Francis II announced the establishment of the Austrian Empire in 1804.
In fact, this flag was still used during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but it was only used on special occasions, so it was no longer so common. That's why Rubirola couldn't recognize it. If he was a Frenchman before the mid-19th century, he would know the meaning behind this flag.
Rubirola's expression became somewhat serious. Although he didn't know what the meaning of this flag change was, he believed that East Africa would definitely not easily put down the national flag and replace it with another one.
"Then let's go into the city and see what the East Africans are doing!" said Rubirola.
Then, under the guidance of Sakuma, the group entered the neighborhood of Natitingu.
As soon as he entered the ancient town of Natiting, Rubirola made many new discoveries, such as Natiting was undergoing construction and renovation, there were many people working there, and there were also many vehicles here.
Cars are definitely rare in West Africa, but in Natitingou, a small town in northeastern Togoland, Rubirola saw quite a few of them along the way, which was very unusual.
It is true that East Africa is the world's "car kingdom", but it is unlikely that even the most remote colonies have such a proliferation of cars!
With full of questions in his mind, Rubirola and the caravan rented a hotel, and then he immediately asked Sakuma to find out the news.
Half an hour later, Sakuma entered Rubirola's room with the information to report.
"What! This is no longer Togoland, but the Habsburg Monarchy? Natitingou has become the capital of the Habsburg Monarchy!"
When Rubirola got the news from Sakuma, he was shocked, and his expression was also seen by Sakuma.
"Mr. Rubirola, do you know anything about the Habsburg Monarchy?" Sakuma asked doubtfully.
Rubirola said with a serious expression, "I have indeed heard of the Habsburg Monarchy, but it's a country that existed in history and was once part of the Holy Roman Empire. However, that country is in Europe, and it changed its name a long time ago."
"Now it has appeared openly in West Africa and even has a so-called capital. This makes me very surprised and shocked..."
Rubirola and Sakuma then gave a detailed introduction to the history of the Habsburg family and the country established by this family.
"...Finally, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was annexed by Germany, effectively destroying the empire completely. All we know is that the Kingdom of Dalmatia was the last Habsburg territory in Europe, and that the core members of the royal family were exiled to East Africa."
"I originally thought that the Habsburgs had essentially withdrawn from history after fleeing to East Africa. But now it seems that not only are they not content with mediocrity, but they are also looking to re-establish themselves in West Africa and even to build a West African version of the Habsburg Empire!"
Sakuma was also surprised after listening to the legendary experience of the Habsburg royal family. After all, he knew about Europe. According to Rubirola, it was hard for him to imagine that a royal family of a European empire as powerful as France would run to their remote West African country to start a new business. However, the facts were before their eyes.
Rubirola speculated, "The Habsburgs are likely trying to emulate the South German Kingdom and rebuild their family legacy in West Africa. I wonder if the so-called Habsburg Monarchy's monarch is Emperor Rudolf?"
At this time, Sakuma said: "Their emperor seems to be called Karl I."
Hearing him say this, Rubirola was 70% certain: "Then it's most likely Crown Prince Karl of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. But come to think of it, even Emperor Rudolf wouldn't be able to withstand the turmoil of living in a colony."
"However, whether it's Emperor Rudolf or Charles I, the establishment of the Habsburg Monarchy is extremely important news to us in France. It reveals a dangerous signal: East Africa may use this puppet regime of the Habsburgs to expand their territory and influence in West Africa."
"The Habsburg Monarchy is located right between Dahomey and Upper Volta. If the Habsburg Monarchy truly expands abroad in the future, France's interests will most likely be threatened. Therefore, we must convey this news back to Porto-Novo as soon as possible."
Rubirola would naturally not be afraid of this ridiculous "Habsburg Monarchy". After all, it had fallen to the small town of Natitingou as its capital. The area and national strength of the Habsburg Monarchy could be seen as not powerful, and even very weak.
Of course, it would be difficult to deal with the Habsburg Monarchy, which was just playing house, if one relied solely on the power of a French colony in the surrounding area. After all, the French garrison forces in Dahomey and Upper Volta were also just playing house, and could only bully the backward African natives.
(End of this chapter)
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