Chapter 85 East Africa in the Eyes of Maximilian I
As the saying goes, it is easier to invite a god than to send him away. Maximilian I, who had a strong sense of self-esteem, did not want to return to Europe. He thought he was gifted and would be ridiculed by everyone if he returned in such a disgraced state.
End of July.
The Port of Mombasa is quite prosperous. Due to the distance, Asian immigrants currently land here, while European immigrants land at the Port of Dar es Salaam.
Maximilian I came to Mombasa with a fleet of Chinese immigrants and stayed in Alaska for only one day. That place is not a place for people to stay.
There was no Austro-Hungarian diplomatic office in the Far East for the time being (the Sino-Austrian Beijing Treaty of 1869), so the ships from the Hechingen royal territory could only bring Maximilian I to East Africa.
East Africa could directly contact the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Maximilian I in Mombasa immediately found the organization.
After all, there were quite a few immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire here (immigrants from the colonies would be distributed and settled separately), allowing Maximilian I to obtain a lot of intelligence.
After learning that this was the territory of his future son-in-law, Maximilian I decided not to leave. He used poor health as an excuse and refused to take the ship back to Europe with the students of the Hechingen Military Academy.
It would be difficult for the East African colonial government and the special operations team of the Hechingen Military Academy to force Maximilian I to go back. After all, this was the Hechingen royal territory, and Maximilian I was the father-in-law of His Royal Highness the Prince, so Maximilian I was the person with the highest status in the current East African colony.
Of course, no one dared to neglect Maximilian I just because of his status as Emperor of Mexico, not to mention that he was a member of the Austro-Hungarian royal family.
Although the environment in East Africa is not as good as that in Europe and its development is not as mature as that in Mexico, Maximilian I feels that it is not bad.
Like Mexico, East Africa is also a tropical region, and both are dominated by plateau terrain, so the coastal environments are somewhat similar.
Maximilian I walked on the docks of Mombasa, watching the busy workers carrying goods.
He was followed by students from the Hechingen Military Academy, who were responsible for his safety.
Through contacts along the way from Mexico to East Africa, Maximilian I learned that these people who looked similar to Indians were not Indians. They even spoke fluent German, which was very similar to the language of northern Austria.
Of course Maximilian I was very angry. When he was in Mexico, he always thought that these people were local Indian people who supported him, but they did not communicate with him because they could not understand what he was saying.
As a result, when replenishing supplies in Alaska, the local administrators communicated with these students in German. Maximilian I knew that these people were not unable to communicate with him because of language barriers, but simply refused to communicate with him.
After arriving in East Africa, Ernst, who received the telegram, was reluctant to let Maximilian I return to Europe immediately. After all, Queen Dowager Sophie was quite emotional. If she saw this unfilial son, it would cause another palace drama.
As the saying goes, distance makes beauty. Before Maximilian I returned to Europe, he was still the pitiful little son in the eyes of Queen Mother Sophie. It would be better to let them meet after some time, when both sides have given up their obsession.
Maximilian I, who had nothing to do, wandered around Mombasa all day. Before becoming emperor, Maximilian I was actually more interested in entomology.
In East Africa, Maximilian I wanted to return to the mountains completely to explore and search for various unique insects in East Africa.
The East African colonial government certainly could not agree to that, and Maximilian I's sphere of activities was confined to Mombasa.
"Li, why are you Chinese more considerate than Indians even though you are all yellow people?" Maximilian I sighed.
"Your Majesty, please allow me to correct a mistake. I am first and foremost a German, not a Chinese. The education I received taught me that Germany is a cultural symbol. Anyone who accepts German culture from the bottom of his heart is a German. If ethnic groups are divided by skin color and bloodline, then the German nation located in the center of Europe will also be torn into pieces." Roy Lee replied.
"You're right! Just like the Austro-Hungarian Empire, if everyone identified with German culture, it would not have changed from the Austrian Empire to what it is today." Maximilian I said in agreement.
Cultural identity plays a greater role than this. The German region, located in the interior of Europe, is a region where various ethnic groups blend together.
For example, Prussia was not originally a country in the traditional German region, but was forcibly pulled into the German region by Brandenburg and eventually dominated the politics of the German region.
The same was true for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the Austrian Empire, it was not a purely German country. As long as Austria won the competition with Prussia for dominance in the German region, the Germans would immediately become the majority population in the country. Nationalism was simply a small problem that Austria was worried about.
Unfortunately, Austria lost the Austro-Prussian War, the Greater German Empire could not be established, and ethnic groups such as the Hungarians in the country could not be suppressed.
"Yes, if Austria had realized the importance of cultural identity, it would not have suffered such a disastrous defeat."
Maximilian I said as he looked at the Austro-Hungarian and Chinese immigrants in Mombasa who cooperated with each other and lived together in harmony.
After leaving Mexico, Maximilian I seemed to have found again the days when he was in charge of the country and made great efforts.
When he was in power in Mexico, he was surrounded by intrigues and quarrels with conservatives and republicans every day. The rebels won victory after victory, and Maximilian I was the target of public wrath. He could not hear any good news.
"Ernst did a good job. He gave everyone the motivation to live. Although East Africa is not very rich, it is much fairer than Mexico," said Maximilian I.
"Principal, the requirements for immigrants are very strict. Although the cultural level of immigrants is generally low, they are not influenced by messy thoughts. These immigrants have very simple hearts. As long as they can have good living conditions, they don't have much interest in politics." Roy Lee said.
"Yes! This is a very bad thing about Mexico. Various ideas have taken root in Mexico, American, French, Republican, monarchist... No one sits honestly at the negotiating table. Everyone wants to solve the problem with force!" Maximilian I concluded.
Roy Lee naturally couldn't tell Maximilian I, and you are the same, and you still have the nerve to mention others!
"East African society as a whole is relatively backward, unlike Mexico which had early contact with civilized society. Our principal often reminds us that one cannot expect to learn to run before learning to walk. So before changing the social and economic foundation of East Africa, we should not blindly adopt seemingly advanced systems, but should adapt to local conditions." Roy Lee changed the subject.
"Ernst is a kid with a lot of crooked theories! But they do make some sense. I also actively promoted social reforms in Mexico, but the Mexican people still opposed my rule, even though I gave them freedom and equal rights. Even when I first arrived in Mexico, I was thinking about pardoning Juarez and others, but in the end everyone opposed me. But when I ask myself, the policies I implemented are all advocated by European philosophers. The Mexican people still cannot accept these advanced theories." Maximilian I said narcissistically.
As an idealist, Maximilian I's policies, on the surface, were indeed good governance for Mexico, and he had no selfish motives after becoming emperor.
But the reason why Maximilian I's men and Nazianzus supported him was to feel at ease sucking blood in Mexico, and Maximilian I's flirting with the blind Republican not only did not receive any praise, but instead caused trouble for himself.
Seeing that East Africa as a colony was not prosperous but full of order and vitality under Ernst's rule, and comparing it with the chaotic and turbulent situation in Mexico as an independent country, Maximilian I could not help but feel that God treated him differently.
(End of this chapter)
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