African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1557 Breaking the Ice in South Africa
To be honest, in 1933, the only governments in the world that truly valued people's livelihoods were probably those composed of the Social Democratic Party and the Labour Party. The latter is understandable, but the former was represented by Sweden.

Its ruling party is currently the Social Democratic Party, which has implemented a series of social welfare systems, which are the prototype of the welfare states in the Nordic region in later generations.

As for East Africa, countries like the United States, which seem to be doing well, rely more on the conscience of their leaders, such as the newly elected US President Roosevelt.

While Adolf II of Germany introduced many policies to benefit the people after coming to power, his ultimate goal was to launch a war, so he cannot be counted as such.

……

A major international event in 1933 was Roosevelt's ascension to the presidency of the United States. As one of the world's most powerful nations, the change in the leader of the United States had a profound impact on the entire world.

Some of Roosevelt's foreign policies also impacted East Africa's global strategy.

Rhine City.

It's already the end of the year. Unlike the Northern Hemisphere, most of East Africa follows the Southern Hemisphere's timetable and is about to enter summer. Of course, for countries like East Africa, there is no concept of four seasons, only rainy season and dry season, and Rhine City is just entering the rainy season.

"Father, the United States and the Soviet Union have officially established diplomatic relations!" Friedrich said excitedly.

Ernst was not at all surprised by the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, but Crown Prince Friedrich was different, after all, he lived in this era and did not have Ernst's vision.

Friedrich's current feelings, to draw an analogy, are roughly equivalent to when, in his previous life, the United States was engaged in a trade war with the Far Eastern Empire, and suddenly the United States announced to the world: "We're not fighting anymore!" and "We're going to engage in comprehensive cooperation with the Far Eastern Empire."

Crown Prince Frederick, upon learning of the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, was deeply shocked.

Because no country in the world was as hostile to the Soviet Union as the United States, except for Germany, whose conflict with the Soviet Union was a typical struggle for interests, while the United States and the Soviet Union were mortal enemies in the ideological sphere.

If the Soviet Union was the most typical labor party country, then the United States was the most typical capitalist country in the world. The two are inherently incompatible, just like two people in real life who don't have much interaction but feel annoyed by each other when they meet for the first time.

Ernst lay on the sofa, looking at the Austro-Hungarian newspaper, and said, "We already knew this outcome. After all, Roosevelt had been pushing for the normalization of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. The new American president, Roosevelt, is indeed very decisive."

"This also shows that the United States is in a very bad economic situation now, and they have benefited from their previous cooperation with the Soviet Union."

"So much so that President Roosevelt was able to put aside his prejudices and break the ice with the Soviet Union to deal with the crisis in his own country. He broke free from the trap of fame and fortune and was more pragmatic than previous US presidents."

What Ernst called the trap of fame and fortune is "anti-Soviet" or "anti-labor." For most US presidents, anti-Soviet rhetoric could increase their approval ratings and gain the support of the American upper class.

Before the Labour Party, America's main "enemy" was the British. This was an enemy deliberately created by the United States, just as the United States would seek new "enemies" even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, such as Iraq, Russia, and the Far Eastern empire that emerged after the rise of manufacturing in the 21st century.

Such political behavior is not surprising. For example, the Soviet Union called other capitalist powers imperialists, and East Africa deliberately guided public opinion to make its people hostile to the United States. Japan and the Soviet Union did the same.

Before Roosevelt took office, anti-Soviet sentiment was politically correct in the United States. Now that he has taken office, he actively promotes the normalization of relations with the Soviet Union and eventually establishes diplomatic relations. Obviously, some Americans suspect Roosevelt of "colluding with the Soviet Union".

Some even went so far as to call Roosevelt a "spy," and it's not surprising that he was labeled a "Labour Party member."

Crown Prince Friedrich agreed with Ernst's assessment, given that Roosevelt had been in power for some time and he had some understanding of Roosevelt.

"As my father said, Roosevelt was a very decisive man, as well as shrewd and capable, and also quite approachable."

"In less than a year, under his leadership, the US government has pushed through a series of reform bills, rectified the financial, industrial and agricultural sectors, and has restored the confidence of the American people."

After three years of economic devastation, coupled with the spread of Labour ideology around the world, the American people were indeed worried about the future of their country before Roosevelt took office. They had no doubt that the United States was about to perish.

After all, there are so many unemployed people in the United States that many are struggling to even put food on the table. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for anyone to be optimistic about the fate of the country.

Roosevelt's rise changed this. Although his reforms might not solve America's economic problems in the short term, he was able to help Americans find jobs and maintain basic survival. By fulfilling such a simple demand, the American people's morale stabilized.

"However, while the rise of someone like Roosevelt was indeed beneficial to the United States, it might not have been a good thing for East Africa."

“East Africa has always been America’s biggest competitor, and our two countries also have direct conflicts of interest in South America. If the United States recovers, it will directly threaten our interests.”

The conflict of interests between the United States and East Africa is mainly reflected in the economic field. East Africa is the world's largest industrial country, and the United States ranks second. As for the world's third largest, there is some controversy. Some say it is Germany, while others say it is the Soviet Union.

However, at this stage, neither Germany nor the Soviet Union had the same level of industrial scale as East Africa or the United States. Germany's industry was of high quality but not large in scale, while the Soviet Union's industry was large in scale but low in quality.

This precisely results in less overlap in the economic structures and industries of the two countries, East Africa, and the United States.

East Africa and the United States are different. Both countries are countries with complete industrial chains, and there is competition in industries from low-end to high-end. This is especially true in emerging industries. For example, in the automotive industry, although the United States is not as good as East Africa, it is the only country in the world that can threaten East Africa's automotive industry's position in the world market.

In the oil industry, the United States was the only country that could compete with East Africa. Although the Soviet Union did not lack oil resources, its development was limited and it was far from comparable to East Africa and the United States.

The same applies to the power industry. The United States has the world's second-largest power market, with a penetration rate exceeding that of Europe combined, and is also a strong competitor to East Africa.

The competition between East Africa and the United States was not limited to the industrial sector; the two countries were also neck and neck in agriculture. However, Britain was not far behind in agriculture, but its control over its colonies was gradually weakening.

A weakened Britain would clearly be more advantageous to the United States, given the similarities and continuity in their cultures and systems. The US would be more likely to take over Britain's global assets, which is not what East Africa wants to see.

In this context, Canada will essentially have no choice but to follow the US's lead, while East Africa must guard against Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand directly siding with the US after the end of British hegemony. India, Britain's most important colony, is not mentioned because from an East African perspective, US influence is largely inaccessible there, and India is not part of the same cultural sphere as the US.

Even though India had many appalling practices in its past, it is undeniable that India's vigilance against colonization is commendable. Of course, India is wary of external forces colonizing India, but when it comes to infiltrating, invading, and expanding abroad, India is quite hypocritical.

This is all the fault of Britain. Among Britain's many colonies, Canada, Australia, and South Africa were where the British profited the most. Only in India did the British truly treat them like livestock.

Moreover, India's strong religious and traditional genes make it impossible for it to integrate into the Anglo-Saxon world.

In terms of East Africa's attitude towards India, the Soviet Union was a greater threat than the Americans. As the dominant power in the Indian Ocean, the United States had no way to extend its influence into the Indian Ocean. The Soviet Union was completely different; it was only the distance between the Soviet Union and India, which was only Afghanistan away, and did not need to take a sea route.

South Africa and Australia, on the other hand, can establish direct relations with the United States through the ocean.

Crown Prince Frederick said with some concern, "In the Empire's world strategy, Australia is manageable, but South Africa is a problem that gives us a headache, after all, South Africa is directly adjacent to us."

"Sooner or later Britain will relinquish control of South Africa, and the United States may take advantage of the situation to threaten the empire's back. Therefore, we should make arrangements for South Africa as soon as possible."

When discussing South Africa, it is indeed a country that has long been neglected by East Africa. Since the South African war, East Africa and South Africa have basically had no political exchanges.

Now, nearly forty years have passed, and relations between the South African people and East Africa have actually eased to some extent, since the generation that had a grudge against East Africa is almost extinct.

Over the past forty years, East Africa has not used its national strength to bully South Africa or caused any conflicts, while in the economic field, the two countries have had to cooperate to some extent.

East Africa borders both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, making it impossible for trade and exchanges between the two sides to completely bypass South Africa, which has also promoted Cape Town's economic development.

The development of industry and agriculture in East Africa created one of the world's most developed markets on the African continent, which boosted the revival of the Cape of Good Hope shipping route. Many merchant ships returned to this route, thus mitigating the impact of the Suez Canal on the Cape of Good Hope route.

This fact has led to South Africa benefiting economically from the rise of East Africa, unlike South Africa in its previous life, whose economy mainly relied on minerals and industries developed due to its abundant mineral resources.

Modern South Africa is now more reliant on maritime trade because East Africa occupies the South African plateau, especially the northern Orange River basin, which happens to be the region with the most abundant mineral and agricultural resources in South Africa.

The southern part of the Orange River, which is occupied by South Africa, lacks mineral resources, has a small arable land area, and faces a serious water shortage problem.

Therefore, South Africa's population is now mainly distributed along the narrow coastal plains. For example, the South African capital, Cape Town, is backed by almost right-angled cliffs, while other cities such as Durban and Port Elizabeth are concentrated along the coast.

In summary, South Africa is heavily reliant on the maritime economy, including providing services to passing ships and fishery resources. As for developing agriculture, South Africa lacks land and faces water shortages, while its population is insufficient to develop industry.

Like Britain's most industrialized colonies, Canada and Australia, Australia has a population of over six million and abundant resources.

South Africa's current total population is only a little over one million, and it is almost entirely white with only a very small number of indigenous people. The main indigenous people in South Africa are the San people, but the San people are not black. Overall, South Africa can be regarded as a white country today.

Ernst said, "South Africa is indeed a concern for us. We can allow it to remain under British rule for the time being, but we must never allow it to fall into the arms of the Americans in the future."

"We must not allow the United States to deploy military forces to South Africa, thereby posing a threat to the empire."

If it were conventional military forces, Ernst would naturally not be worried. However, Ernst knew that with the advent of missiles and nuclear weapons in the future, the world's military would undergo drastic changes. Ernst did not want South Africa to become like South Korea in its previous life, being used by the United States.

Just as the Americans feared the Soviet Union deploying missiles or even nuclear weapons in Cuba.

Geographically speaking, South Africa is East Africa's "backyard," so the gatekeepers of that backyard must be controlled by East Africa.

“We have a history of grievances with South Africa, so to win over South Africa, we must break the ice in our relations with the two countries. The Boers, with whom we have a deep historical grudge, should be our primary focus.”

“South Africa is not a monolithic entity either. The British and the Boers were just a political alliance. They were able to cooperate entirely because of the threat that existed in East Africa in the past.”

"Therefore, we should dispel the concerns of South Africans and make them understand that East Africa has no ambitions toward South Africa. Only after establishing this foundation should we support the Boers to become the main body of South Africa."

"The Boers are different from the British. They have cultural and racial differences with the United States. Therefore, if the Boers control South Africa in the future, they may not necessarily join the American camp."

The same was true in the previous life. The relationship between the white government of South Africa and the United States was not very good, and it even suffered sanctions from Western society. In the previous life, Western society was actually the camp that the United States controlled.

Ernst continued, "Even if we can't get South Africa to stand with us, we absolutely cannot tolerate South Africa siding with other countries. It would be a good thing for us if South Africa remained neutral."

"Friedrich, this is the perfect opportunity for you to take charge of: formally normalize relations between East Africa and South Africa, and try to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries to lay the foundation for future relations."

It was more appropriate for Crown Prince Friedrich to handle this matter than for Ernst to do it himself. After all, Ernst was the one who started the South African war, and in the eyes of some Boers, Ernst might be seen as an "executioner" with the blood of the older generation of Boers on his hands.

"Let's send someone to South Africa to make contact and see their attitude towards us. If South Africa has put aside its hatred now, we might be able to go to South Africa in person in the future."

Ernst took a cautious approach here to prevent extremists from threatening the safety of the royal family, given that Serbs had previously assassinated Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in Bosnia.

Therefore, Ernst planned to send East African officials to South Africa to test the waters first. If South Africans' sentiment towards East Africa remained strong, Ernst would not send his son to South Africa and risk his life.

(End of this chapter)