African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1258: Conversation between the Emperor and His Ministers
Kuyper frowned and pretended to be conflicted, although the places that East Africa demanded were actually not very important to the Netherlands.

But what he was worried about was not this piece of land. What really worried him was East Africa's greed. As the old saying goes, if you cede five cities today, you will cede ten cities tomorrow.

Now that East Africa dares to covet these islands, who can say that in the future East Africa will not covet large islands such as Java or Sumatra?

Of course, Kuyper was also very clear that the Netherlands was currently unable to reject or offend East Africa. There was no need to mobilize East Africa. The East African Navy of the Lanfang Overseas Province alone could make the entire Dutch East Indies change its flag.

So Kuyper said in great embarrassment: "Mr. Freer, your country's request is really difficult for us to deal with!"

"Although these islands are not large in area, each of them is a strategic location. I dare not make a decision on my own and give these places to East Africa for nothing."

Freer said: "We will not make it difficult for you. We are willing to pay a high price of 10 million Rhine guilders to acquire these islands. Of course, unlike East Kalimantan, this time we are buying out some of the ownership of these islands."

Kuyper also calculated in his mind that 10 million Rhine guilders was definitely not a small amount, because among these dozen islands, the only valuable one was the largest one, Belitung Island.

The total area of ​​all the islands purchased by East Africa is less than 10,000 square kilometers, and Belitung Island alone occupies more than 4,000 square kilometers.

How big is the Dutch East Indies? Even without the land of Kalimantan, the entire Dutch East Indies still covers more than one million square kilometers.

Therefore, these scraps that East Africa asked for are really a drop in the bucket for the Netherlands, and this should not have any impact on its political reputation at home.

Except for a few islands, most of the islands purchased by East Africa are like uninhabited areas, and there is not even soil to support the majority of the population.

So after considering all factors, Kuyper believed that this deal could still be done.

Moreover, even if he did not do this business, he was afraid that East Africa would force the sale or even rob the entire Dutch East Indies, which would be a disaster for his political career.

Although Kuyper had made the final decision in his heart, he did not show it. Instead, he said to Freer, "Sir, I need to discuss this matter with the Queen, the Cabinet, and the Parliament, so I cannot give you an answer for the time being. Please give me a few days."

Freer was naturally not worried that the "deal" would not be done. He said to Kuyper: "Of course, I can stay here for five days. I hope the Prime Minister and your government can make a decision as soon as possible. In any case, I will return to East Africa after five days."

This sentence obviously has a superficial meaning. To put it bluntly, if the Dutch government does not give an answer within five days, East Africa will directly skip negotiations with the Dutch government.

By then, the fate of the Dutch East Indies would no longer be determined by the Netherlands, but by what East Africa planned to do.

This was an obvious threat. Kuyper's heart was filled with alarm. He said respectfully, "Don't worry, sir. In the next few days, we will definitely give your country a satisfactory answer."

Then Kuyper escorted Freer, the plague god, out of his mansion. He said to the butler, "Prepare the car. I am going to the palace to report this matter to Her Majesty the Queen."

Kuyper reported the situation to Queen Wilhelmina that same day.

Queen Wilhelmina said: "What are the characteristics of these islands claimed by East Africa, and what is their purpose?"

Kuyper replied: "Your Majesty, the purpose of the East Africans is very clear. The islands they are plotting are closely related to the waterways, involving the Sunda Strait, Lombok Strait, Makassar Strait and other important transportation routes."

"For example, Panaytan Island, Sangiang Island, Belitung Island, and Subi Island are connected in a line, which is the route from East Africa to the East Indies, then to the South China Sea and finally to the Far East Empire." "So it is obvious that East Africa's move is to strengthen their voice in the Southeast Asian region and make strategic layout."

Queen Wilhelmina said: "If what you said is true, these areas should be considered strategic locations. They should be very important, right?"

Kuyper shook his head and said, "It is true that they are strategic locations, but Your Majesty, these islands are actually only useful to global powers like East Africa."

"East Africa obviously has ambitions for world hegemony, especially maritime hegemony, and the Nanyang region is a region they value very much."

"Just recently, East Africa forcibly seized nearly 50,000 square kilometers of land in the Isthmus of Kra from the Siamese."

"Combined with what East Africa has done in the Southeast Asian region in recent years, we can surprisingly find that from the 1970s to now, in just a few decades, East Africa has become a major country that cannot be ignored in the Southeast Asian region. The scale of their colonies in the Southeast Asian region is second only to my country and the United Kingdom, and even exceeds that of France."

Queen Wilhelmina asked, "But the lands acquired in East Africa should not be worth much!"

Prime Minister Kuyper agreed, "That's true. After all, although East Africa has been planning in the Southeast Asian region for decades, they are latecomers after all. Rich areas such as Siam, Vietnam, Burma, the Malay Peninsula, and Java Island, which we control, have long been divided up."

“However, the current colonial potential of East Africa should not be underestimated. Although it has not been effectively developed, the area is large enough.”

“Especially in East Kalimantan and Mindanao, the conditions in the Southeast Asian region are not too bad.”

"I think it is a wise choice to conquer these areas in East Africa first. After all, the African continent was not well-received by European countries before, and the Hohenzollern family took advantage of it, resulting in the emergence of East Africa, a monster on the African continent."

“So even though the East African and Southeast Asian colonies are not highly developed today, no one knows whether these areas will become areas like East Africa itself in the future.”

Queen Wilhelmina also sighed: "The history of East Africa's rise is indeed a legend, but only the royal family of the Rhine Empire has the courage to do this. After all, we will not learn from Emperor Ernst and boldly introduce millions of immigrants from the Far East Empire."

"Without such a large initial population, it would be impossible to develop East Africa. When the Netherlands dominated the world, we suffered from a small population and a small country. Otherwise, we might still be in control of world hegemony today!"

As the once famous "Coachman of the Sea" and the old overlord of the ocean, it has now been surpassed by an up-and-coming country like East Africa, which is indeed a cause of great regret for the king and his ministers.

Of course, now is not the time to reminisce about the former glory of the Netherlands. Kuyper shifted the topic to the issue of territory and said: "East Africa obviously intends to bypass the Strait of Malacca under British control. Although they have obtained the Isthmus of Kra, the Isthmus of Kra is ultimately just a land transit channel, and its strategic significance is far greater than its economic significance."

"So they targeted the two alternative channels, the Sunda Strait and the Lombok Strait. As for the Makassar Strait, after the East Africans took control of East Kalimantan, this channel was completely under their control."

The Makassar Strait is located between the islands of Kalimantan and Makassar, so as long as East Africa controls East Kalimantan, it means that the Makassar Strait will be a completely unobstructed route for East Africa. The Balambangan Islands that East Africa requested from the Netherlands is nothing more than further strengthening East Africa's control over this place.

In fact, even if the Netherlands controlled part of Makassar Island, it would not be able to pose any threat to East Africa here.

Kuyper went on to say: “As for places further afield, Palau, once a German colony, is now also part of East Africa. This is also the fifth route from East Africa to the Far East.”

(End of this chapter)