Chapter 663 Chaos in West Africa
After confirming that Sweet would go to Berlin, East Africa quickly prepared for the relevant matters and greeted the host German government. At the same time, Prince Leopold of Sigmaringen also joined the meeting on behalf of Sigmaringen.
The Berlin Conference was held in April 1884, half a year earlier than in history, mainly due to the variables brought about by a number of countries such as East Africa.
Now the whole of South Africa and East Africa have basically been divided up, leaving only West Africa, so other countries are naturally worried that they won’t be able to get even this last piece of meat.
The Berlin Conference soon turned into a vegetable market. After all, this time only a few strokes could determine the ownership of a large piece of land. In the face of interests, no one could remain calm and composed, and they did not feel ashamed even if they argued until their faces turned red. Compared with the benefits gained, face was not worth much.
But surprisingly, the main competitors at the Berlin Conference were not Germany and France, the two mortal enemies, but Germany and France joining forces to fight against the British.
France had an advantage in Northwest Africa, but this was not the case in West Africa, especially after the British joined the colonial efforts in West Africa.
The first is the Gold Coast, traditionally the richest colony in Africa, which is firmly controlled by the British. Then there is the coast of Nigeria, Africa's largest economic power in the past life, where the British also have an advantage.
Nigeria is now called the Sokoto Caliphate. The area of this empire exceeds one million, and it occupies the most fertile arable land in the whole of West Africa and has a huge population. The only drawback is that the Sokoto Caliphate has split into a large number of vassal states. However, this is a disadvantage for the central government of the Sokoto Caliphate, but it is an assist for the colonists, making colonial rule more convenient.
Of course, there is actually only a small area along the coast of the Sokoto Caliphate, which is divided between the Oyo Empire and the Ijebu Kingdom.
In its previous life, the Oyo Empire was one of the most famous countries in African history. At its peak, it ruled the Kingdom of Dahomey, Togo and most of Nigeria.
The Ijebu Kingdom was a country with relatively prosperous trade along the West African coast, and therefore it was conquered by the British around 1892 in the previous life.
And these two countries are merely two vassal states of the Sokoto Caliphate, located on the southwest coast of the Sokoto Caliphate.
The southeastern part of the Sokoto Caliphate does not belong to the Sokoto Caliphate, but to the Kingdom of Benin and other independent countries.
It is worth mentioning that the Kingdom of Benin was not the predecessor of the Republic of Benin in Africa in the previous life, but the predecessor of the Republic of Benin was the Kingdom of Dahomey.
This also shows the destructiveness of the colonists to the history of West African countries. If history could be passed on in an orderly manner, the mistake of the Kingdom of Dahomey becoming the Republic of Benin would not have occurred.
The current Kingdom of Benin and Kingdom of Dahomey are fundamentally two different things, separated by the Sokoto Caliphate. Of course, an important reason why the Kingdom of Dahomey later evolved into the Republic of Benin is that the Kingdom of Benin itself is very famous in Africa and is a famous ancient civilization in Africa.
This is the same as a group of European countries competing for the title of the Roman Empire, and the Republic of Benin, which developed from the Kingdom of Dahomey, is similar to the Holy Roman Empire in German history.
The new colony of the British was not the above-mentioned country, but the Kingdom of Bonny in the west of Benin. The Kingdom of Bonny was a coastal country through and through. There was not much land in the interior, but the coastline was intricate and winding.
This is also the reason why the British occupied the Kingdom of Bonny first. It is in line with the characteristics of British colonization as a maritime country. After all, good ports are relatively scarce in Africa.
The vassal states of the Sokoto Caliphate also include the independent state of Benin. If the tribes are added, there are hundreds of political entities in the entire territory of Nigeria in the previous life, and there are more than a dozen ancient countries with a little history.
And this is just Nigeria in the previous life. You have to know that there were many countries in West Africa in the previous life, and that was the result of the integration of the colonists, so West Africa in this era was even more chaotic.
Moreover, there are now many indigenous regimes in West Africa that have fled from East Africa, further exacerbating the complex situation there.
Speaking of this, East Africa is still doing arms business with these indigenous regimes that have fled to West Africa. However, at present, their overall influence on West Africa has not been reflected, and there will be no chance in the future. After all, the great powers are not vegetarians.
"Germany and France seem to be arguing fiercely, but in fact they are trying to exclude Britain everywhere, especially since the targets they are targeting were clearly discussed before the meeting," said Siewert to the East African delegation.
"The British representative's face almost turned green with anger, but it was what he deserved. Britain itself is the world's largest colonial power. Now there is only a large piece of 'no man's land' in the world, West Africa. The British still want to eat alone, so they will naturally be excluded."
The fundamental reason for Britain's fate and the competition for food with Germany and France was the rise of East Africa, which made it impossible for Britain to carry out the so-called "Two C Plan" as it did in its previous life. The Two C Plan basically controlled most of Africa in the hands of the British, from Egypt to South Africa. In addition, Britain also had considerable influence in West Africa, so the British were the real overlords of Africa in the past life.
However, the British failed to maintain their sphere of influence after World War II. Coupled with the joint suppression of the United States and the Soviet Union, the colonies became independent one after another, which led to the birth of France, the later overlord of Africa.
Of course, this is also related to France’s geographical location. West Africa and North Africa are not far from mainland France. In addition, during the Cold War, France’s united front values were significantly higher than Britain’s, so French Africa was able to remain relatively intact and did not collapse until the 21st century.
"Let the three countries quarrel first. Our goal this time, in addition to ensuring East Africa's relevant rights and interests in Africa, it would be best if we can obtain some additional benefits." Thinking of Ernst's instructions, Siweit said to his subordinates.
Although it is highly unlikely to be achieved, it is still possible through human efforts. Now West Africa has not yet shown its potential, but in the past life, West Africa should be considered one of the few chosen places in the world.
Especially in Nigeria, the indicators of coal, iron, oil, arable land, population, etc. are not bad, which can fully support the development of a world power.
In other words, Ernst chose to establish his base in East Africa. If he wanted to colonize West Africa, Ernst would have chosen Nigeria as his first choice.
In fact, the advantages of choosing West Africa are much more obvious than East Africa. That is, West Africa can be self-sufficient in the main resources for industrial development, while East Africa lacks fossil energy such as oil.
Moreover, East Africa itself has very poor mineral resources. In order to solve the resource problem, East Africa expanded all the way to South Africa. The problem was not completely solved until it annexed the Matabele Plateau. However, this could only meet the needs of the First Industrial Revolution.
This is also an important reason why Ernst set his next target on Angola. Angola has two main resources for East Africa, one is oil and the other is hydropower.
Both are located near the mouth of the Congo River. The hydropower resources contained in the waterfalls in the lower reaches of the Congo River are unique in the world.
The oil producing area is not far from the mouth of the Congo River, and finally the port of Angola, which is an important channel for East Africa to connect to the Atlantic Ocean.
(End of this chapter)
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