Chapter 813 Madagascar
Speaking of Madagascar, Ernst has always had ideas about this largest island in Africa, which is an excellent strategic fulcrum.
Conversely, East Africa is also a place where external forces can easily threaten it. A typical example is the United States and Cuba. Cuba's location can be said to make the United States very uncomfortable, especially during the Cold War. It was the only strategic fulcrum through which the Soviet Union could pose a threat to the United States in North America.
Madagascar Island is even more amazing. It is much larger than Cuba, with an area of nearly 600,000 square kilometers, and there is a large amount of arable land.
The most powerful country on the island, the Kingdom of Imerina, is a typical feudal agricultural power, which means that its history developed relatively late, otherwise it would not be inferior to traditional African powers like Abyssinia.
However, because East Africa has been expanding on the continent, it does not have the energy to fight on two fronts. Especially during the South African War, the East African Navy wanted to split it into two, and also took into account the attitude of the French, so until now East Africa has not made any gains on the island of Madagascar.
However, Ernst was determined to conquer the tropical savannah areas of Madagascar Island, mainly the plains areas in the west and south of Madagascar. These two areas are tropical savannahs and tropical arid grasslands, with a climate similar to that of East Africa.
Of course, the truly habitable area of Madagascar is the same as that of East Africa. The plateau area in the east is the core area of Madagascar and the sphere of influence of the Kingdom of Imerina.
At present, the Kingdom of Imerina is still an independent country, and its main relationship with the United Kingdom is friendly. Of course, France has successfully established a colony in the northern part of the Kingdom of Imerina. If the original history had developed, France would have occupied Madagascar in 1895.
However, due to the reasons in East Africa, the Second Boer War in history was naturally impossible to happen. During the South African War, while Britain was at war with East Africa and had no time to take care of the Kingdom of Imerina, the French had launched a new round of offensive against the Kingdom of Imerina, which greatly advanced the time for France to occupy Madagascar.
Therefore, if East Africa wants to get a piece of the pie on Madagascar, it must hurry up. If it delays for two or three years, Madagascar will probably become the shape of the French.
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First town city.
"We have already learned that France did launch a new round of attacks on the Kingdom of Imerina during the South African War. Several cities in the north and west of the Kingdom of Imerina were occupied by the French." The intelligence department reported to Ernst.
"So what is the current situation of the Kingdom of Imerina?" Ernst asked.
"The Kingdom of Imerina is still able to resist the French offensive. In recent years, the Kingdom of Imerina has actively learned from Europe, especially from Britain, and has gained a lot of benefits. The army of the Kingdom of Imerina was trained by the British, so their core areas have basically not been affected too much."
The Kingdom of Imerina is definitely a "modernized" country in Africa. Of course, since the residents of Madagascar are mainly yellow people, apart from its geographical location, it actually has little relationship with the indigenous people of Africa.
Of course, the main ethnic group in the Kingdom of Imerina is the Austronesians, who are the strongest maritime people in early human civilization. They are widely distributed in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and their tools for crossing the sea are extremely simple.
Today, the Austronesian people living on isolated islands in the Pacific Ocean are all excellent swimmers. Some even pierce their eardrums in order to dive. They truly live by the sea. Unlike the so-called maritime civilization of ancient Greece, where the ancient Greeks could trade and plunder along the Mediterranean, the Mediterranean environment is not as turbulent as the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
Of course, the Austronesian civilization was very backward and had not developed much, so that the current population of the entire island of Madagascar is less than three million, just over two million, and is concentrated in the plateau area in the northeast, which is the territory of the Kingdom of Imerina.
Archduke Ferdinand: "Now that the South African War is over, the pressure on our navy has dissipated. We can spare some time to expand our forces to Madagascar. Ernst, what are your thoughts now?"
Ernst said to his father-in-law: "We cannot touch the Kingdom of Imerina. After all, we have just ended the war with Britain. We cannot go back on our word, otherwise Britain will definitely do something desperate."
At present, the Kingdom of Imerina still belongs to the British sphere of influence. Of course, it cannot be considered a British colony. The close relationship between the Kingdom of Imerina and the United Kingdom is entirely a spontaneous act of the Kingdom of Imerina to actively approach the United Kingdom, rather than being forced, so it is still an independent sovereign state.
Of course, the French certainly don’t think so. France has long had ambitions for the Kingdom of Imerina, which is one of the important reasons why the Kingdom of Imerina took the initiative to move closer to Britain.
Ernst went on to say, "The Kingdom of Imerina has now been targeted by Britain and France, so it is not something we can covet. We have already offended Britain, and it would be more troublesome to offend France again. In addition, the Kingdom of Imerina is more civilized, and it is not a place conducive to expansion."
The Kingdom of Imerina was much more knowledgeable than the natives of Africa, and its national identity had already been formed, which did not meet the colonial standards of East Africa.
Ernst has always liked areas with vast land and sparse population, and the tropical savanna area in the western part of Madagascar is of this type. After all, it is similar to most areas in East Africa, so Ernst is determined to obtain it.
He said: "The west and the south, these two areas, are our targets, so that we will not overlap with forces such as Britain and France, and it will be less difficult."
Of all climates, tropical rainforests are one of the least suitable areas for military operations, and Madagascar is no exception. The strongholds of countries such as France and Britain are concentrated in the tropical rainforest areas on the east coast.
That is because the majority of Madagascar's population is concentrated in the Kingdom of Imerina on the eastern plateau. Colonies without population generally have poor economic benefits and are difficult to develop.
When Britain and France colonized, what they actually considered was not the cost, but rather the profit. Otherwise, according to the logic of the 21st century, no piece of land in the world is redundant. Maybe one day they would discover mineral resources and soar to success.
However, this concept did not exist in the 19th century, so there are many "unowned" islands in the world, such as Nauru, which was accidentally acquired by Germany.
After all, each country has limited energy. Even colonial empires like Britain and France would not designate a place as their colony for no reason. Every time a colony is opened, troops and government agencies must be stationed, which are expenses. In areas without population, the economic efficiency is low, and the cost of stationing troops or establishing a ruling order is very high.
Of course, if the colonists have development purposes, the situation is the same. A typical example is East Africa. The rise of East Africa is entirely dependent on the abundant immigration resources of Germany and the Far East Empire. With people, economic benefits will naturally be generated.
Other colonists were more inclined to plunder the colonies rather than build them, because they had a local presence, and even if they gained huge profits from the colonies, they would naturally give priority to local construction.
The most typical example is Portugal. Portugal basically made no investment in colonies. This is also the fundamental reason why East Africa was able to occupy Angola and Mozambique. Ernst was able to squeeze Portugal out of southern Africa even by using the most basic human wave tactics.
(End of this chapter)
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