African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1391 International Conference
Congo is the biggest intersection between East Africa and Belgium, so it is feasible to use Congo as a springboard to influence Belgium.

Belgium and East Africa had always had good relations since the time of Leopold II, and at that time, the bond between the two countries was Leopold II and his sister Princess Charlotte, Ernst's mother-in-law.

Leopold II has passed away, but Ernst's father-in-law and mother-in-law are still in good health. Without the interference of government affairs, they live a relaxed and comfortable life every day. They are in good mental state and pay attention to recuperation. It is hard not to think that they will not live a long life.

The family members of my father-in-law, Archduke Ferdinand (Maximilian I), are relatively long-lived, such as his brother Emperor Francis who is still living in Vienna. If nothing unexpected happens, the old emperor may be able to live for a few more years.

……

1922 5 Month 17 Day.

Rhine City.

At the Rhine International Conference Center in the northeast corner of Rhine City, an international conference led by East Africa is underway.

The Rhine International Conference Center stands on the shore of the artificial lake in Rhine City, close to the royal gardens. It has beautiful natural scenery and complete facilities.

This magnificent building, which was planned and constructed by the East African government in 1910 and completed in 1915, also represents the attitude of the East African government at that time to actively integrate into the international community.

However, to date, this is the first time that the Rhine International Conference Center has hosted an important international political and economic conference.

A red carpet had been rolled out in front of the conference center building, with colorful flower baskets placed on both sides. In the square in front of the conference center, Crown Prince Friedrich personally received guests from various countries.

In May in Rhine City, the weather was turning from hot to cool. A comfortable breeze blew on the face of Crown Prince Friedrich, who was waiting solemnly for the arrival of important dignitaries from other countries.

Soon, a black East African Crown car drove in from outside and finally stopped slowly in front of the red carpet. Then, with the help of security personnel, the heavy bulletproof door was opened.

A middle-aged man who looked about the same age as Friedrich got out of the car. He was wearing a traditional military uniform of southern Germany, similar to that of some national leaders of that era.

"Cousin Ludwig, welcome to East Africa." Friedrich stepped forward and shook the middle-aged man's hand.

Ludwig I, now King of the Kingdom of South Germany, was also a member of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen order.

Today, Sigmaringen can be divided into three branches, one in Germany, one in Romania, and one in the Kingdom of South Germany. Therefore, although Sigmaringen is not as dazzling as the Prussian royal family and the Rhine royal family, it also has a huge influence in the international community.

The late 19th century to early 20th century was the heyday of the Hohenzollern family, which owned two empires and two kingdoms.

Moreover, both Germany and the Rhine Empire are world-famous powerful empires. As for Romania and the Kingdom of South Germany, they should also be considered important countries in their respective regions.

Ludwig I said to Crown Prince Friedrich: "Cousin, why are you in charge of the reception today? Where is His Majesty the Emperor?"

Crown Prince Friedrich said: "Father said that we young people should exercise more. Actually, he just wanted to be lazy, so I stood here. But this is indeed a physical job. No wonder father didn't come here in person."

Ludwig I reached out and patted Friedrich on the shoulder and said, "Haha, you guy, I don't know how many people want to do this job but don't have the chance. If I were the heir to the most powerful empire in the world, it wouldn't be a problem for me to stand here for a day."

As for people like Friedrich who were born in Rome, Ludwig I, as a king, could only envy him. The Kingdom of South Germany, apart from its stylish name, was a completely remote and poor place compared to East Africa.

Crown Prince Friedrich did not dwell too much on this topic with King Ludwig I, but instead asked, "What has my cousin been busy with lately?"

Ludwig I sighed and said, "What else can we do? The kingdom's only goal at this stage is to expand its access to the sea and open up a passage to the Atlantic Ocean to the west."

The Kingdom of South Germany has always been striving for an outlet to the sea. However, like Russia, it is not without external ports. Instead, its coastline is too narrow and long, and it lacks relatively good ports.

The current seaport of the Kingdom of South Germany was opened up after several wars, close to the border of the former German colony, which is now the Cameroon Province in East Africa.

Further north is the Nigeria region under the British sphere of influence. Therefore, sandwiched between East Africa and Britain, the South German Kingdom's access to the sea is not very ideal. Instead, it extends out with difficulty from the gap between the two superpowers like a tentacle.

To put it more vividly, the Kingdom of South Germany is like a person who is about to die of thirst in the desert, and there is a glass of water not far away from him. This glass of water is the Atlantic Ocean. However, it is not easy for the Kingdom of South Germany to reach this glass of water because he has no strength at all, and even with all his strength he can only touch the edge of the glass.

In fact, most of the territory of the South German Kingdom is desert, with only a few grasslands and oases in the southwest of the country.

Of course, the Kingdom of South Germany is a large country with a land area of ​​more than two million square kilometers. Even if the grassland area in the southwest accounts for a small proportion, the area is not small. Judging from the conditions of these areas in the previous life, it is still possible to accommodate tens of millions of people.

"The Kingdom of South Germany is not as big as your East African country. Although our territory is vast, most of it is a worthless desert. Of course, the saddest thing is that the coastline of the Kingdom of South Germany is only a narrow strip of more than 100 kilometers."

"In this era where people are destined to be poor without the ocean, we can only work hard to expand our coastline. However, the difficulty in doing so is that our neighbors are the British. If we replace our opponents with the Spaniards on the other side of the strait, perhaps this problem will not exist."

Bioko Island is an island with very little presence. Of course, this is only relative to other parts of the world. In fact, the forces around the Gulf of Guinea still attach importance to Bioko Island.

Currently, Bioko Island belongs to the Spanish colony of Guinea. This area is probably the strange African country of Equatorial Guinea in the previous life. Of course, Africa has never lacked strange countries, and the governments of most African countries are very anthropomorphic.

The same was true of Equatorial Guinea in the previous life. As far as the territory of Equatorial Guinea is concerned, there is no doubt that the African continent accounts for the majority of the territory, but the capital of Equatorial Guinea is built on Bioko Island.

This is as unreasonable as setting the capital of a unified Italy on Sicily or Sardinia.

However, it is absolutely correct to blame the colonizers for this situation. The fact is that Spain's construction in Guinea was basically on Bioko Island. As for the mainland part of Spanish Guinea, Spain, an old colonial country, has never paid much attention to it and is not willing to develop it.

Most of Spanish Guinea has a tropical marine climate, which is extremely humid and hot, making it difficult to develop. This can be seen from neighboring East Africa. Gabon and Cameroon are in the hands of East Africa, and despite the support of this industrial power, they are still the most backward regions in East Africa today. If you want to transform the local area, you will have to devote a lot of energy, manpower, material and financial resources.

But it is obvious that Spanish Guinea is not worth it for Spain to do so, especially the continental part. Spanish Guinea is adjacent to the big country of East Africa, and the Spanish government is also worried that its investment in the local area will serve as a wedding dress for East Africa.

Not to mention East Africa, even in the last century when facing competition from France and Germany, Spain mainly compromised and gave in, until the surrounding lands completely fell into the hands of East Africa.

Therefore, the Spanish government, which lacks a sense of security, dares not invest in the mainland part of Spanish Guinea. On the other hand, Bioko Island, as an island that can be attacked or defended, is more favored by the Spaniards.

The coastline of the Kingdom of South Germany faces Bioko Island in Spanish Guinea. Malabo, the capital of Spanish Guinea, and Bamosso, the only coastal city in the Kingdom of South Germany, are across the sea from each other. The straight-line distance between the two sea areas is only more than 70 kilometers.

It can be said that Bioko Island is blocking the doorstep of the Kingdom of South Germany. Only a navy is needed to block the Kingdom of South Germany's only outlet to the sea. However, the Spanish government will definitely not do so at this stage, and they have no real conflicts with the Kingdom of South Germany.

The Kingdom of South Germany was not very interested in Bioko Island and was more interested in the land in Nigeria.

Expanding into Nigeria would not only extend the length of the coastline and seize excellent sea outlets, but would also gain access to a large amount of fertile land, both of which were urgently needed by the Kingdom of South Germany.

Nigeria's land can be said to be among the best in sub-Saharan Africa. It has supported 200 million people in the past. Of course, compared with its arable land resources, Nigeria's oil resources are more famous.

To simply summarize the conditions for agricultural development in Nigeria, there is a vast area of ​​arable land, flat terrain, relatively abundant rainfall, and the Niger River, the second largest river in Africa, nourishes and replenishes the land.

At the beginning of the 20th century, its agricultural conditions were enough to allow the Kingdom of South Germany, a country with a population of only more than three million, to live a prosperous life like Argentina.

Unfortunately, most of Nigeria was under British control, and the South German Kingdom clearly did not have the ability to confront the British.

However, with the support of East Africa and Germany, the Kingdom of South Germany has opened up some new territories over the years.

The reason why Germany is involved here is because Germany once colonized Cameroon. However, after Germany sold Cameroon as a package to East Africa, the Kingdom of South Germany basically returned to the position of being dominated by East Africa.

Therefore, Ludwig I said: "In recent years, we have made some progress in Nigeria, but with the end of the European war, the British turned their attention back to Nigeria, which greatly hindered the kingdom's expansion to the northwest."

"I am here in East Africa to attend the COMESA meeting this time. I also hope to gain some of your support and to provide us with some convenience in terms of weapons and supplies."

When talking with Friedrich, Ludwig I was basically very straightforward. After all, putting aside the relationship between the two countries, the fact that they both belonged to the Hohenzollern family was enough.

Strategically, the Kingdom of South Germany was a country supported by East Africa from the very beginning as a population barrier to separate East Africa and Black Africa. It could also act as an agent to make things difficult for the British.

Today, the geographical concept of Black Africa is far from comparable to that in the past. In the past, Black Africa referred to the entire sub-Saharan Africa. After the emergence of East Africa, the living space of Black Africa or African blacks was greatly compressed.

Except for West Africa, white or mixed-race people were the absolute majority in Central Africa, North Africa, East Africa and South Africa in the past.

Mixed races can be divided into three types. The first type is mixed black and white. The typical country is the Abyssinian Empire (Ethiopia). Secondly, there are also a small number of mixed races in North Africa, such as Egypt, British Somaliland and other regions.

The second type is a mixed race of yellow and white, typical examples being East Africa, the Kingdom of South Germany, Darfur, the Belgian Congo and other regions.

The third type is relatively rare, that is, a mixed race of yellow and black, mainly distributed in the Kingdom of Imerina in the east of Madagascar. However, the overall race of the Kingdom of Imerina is still dominated by yellow people, and their bloodline is closer to the indigenous people of Southeast Asia. In addition, there are also some island countries in the Indian Ocean where they are distributed, especially the French colonies, Mauritius and Reunion.

Under the influence of East Africa, the second type, that is, the yellow and white mixed race, not only occupies the majority of the mixed race, but is also the largest population in the entire African continent today, and German is the main language.

Whether in East Africa, the Kingdom of South Germany, or even Belgium's Congo colony, German was the mainstream language.

The South German Kingdom is the fourth largest German country in the world and the second largest German country in Africa. East Africa is also relatively supportive of the South German Kingdom's expansion into West Africa.

East Africa is not afraid that the South German Kingdom will break away from East Africa's control. After all, East Africa alone occupies nearly half of Africa's area. Unless there is a country that can unify North Africa and West Africa, there is no country on the African continent that can pose a threat to East Africa.

The Kingdom of South Germany cannot even unify North Africa and West Africa, and it is now struggling just to deal with Nigeria. Even if the Kingdom of South Germany can annex Nigeria, its upper limit is just a regional power.

As far as the current situation in Africa is concerned, the possibility of the French unifying North Africa and West Africa is much greater than that of the Kingdom of South Germany. This is also assuming that there is no interference from East African and other countries in West Africa and North Africa.

Crown Prince Friedrich said to King Ludwig I: "Cousin, I summoned you to Rhine City mainly for an economic meeting. The issue of support for the Kingdom of Southern Germany can be discussed after the meeting."

"You don't need to worry. After all, our attitude towards the Kingdom of South Germany in East Africa is consistent. That is to support the Kingdom of South Germany's expansion to the northwest. At that time, you can communicate more with my father about the issue of aid."

After hearing what Crown Prince Friedrich said, Ludwig I had no choice but to give up. However, he had made up his mind to actively cooperate with East Africa's plan for the Common Market for East and South Africa, so as to further deepen the relationship between the two countries in exchange for East Africa's further support for the Kingdom of South Germany.

In fact, in recent years, due to the Kingdom of South Germany's aggressive expansionist policy, its economic and population growth rates are not very ideal, so it needs more support from East Africa.

The root cause of this problem is that the Kingdom of South Germany missed the best opportunity to expand in Africa. Before the establishment of the Kingdom of South Germany, the entire Africa had been divided up, so the expansion of the Kingdom of South Germany could only take more extreme measures.

Moreover, the Kingdom of South Germany was also subject to demographic constraints, especially the lack of immigrant population from the German region.

(End of this chapter)