African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1583 Karl I

Ernst comforted them, saying, "The situation in the Austro-Hungarian Empire was so dire that even God couldn't help it. The fact that you've managed to maintain it for so many years is already quite remarkable."

"Even if it weren't this time, there would be another. There were too many ethnic conflicts in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and people were not united. Even without ethnic issues, class issues would be difficult to resolve. With the expansion of the Soviet Union, this kind of thing will happen again in Europe."

"Now that you've escaped the quagmire, it might not be a bad thing. Of course, if you still want to take a gamble, there's still a chance."

Rudolf wasn't interested in the opportunity Ernst mentioned, but he still asked curiously, "What opportunity?"

Ernst stated bluntly: "The Kingdom of Dalmatia is currently seeking independence, and they hope to find a monarch from the Habsburgs. Of course, you can go if you want."

Rudolf lay on his sickbed, shook his head, and said, "So this is your pawn in East Africa. The Kingdom of Dalmatia is a place you've painstakingly built up. You just handed it over to us so easily?"

The Habsburgs were well aware of the origins of the present-day Dalmatian Kingdom, but the mixed-race Germans in the Dalmatian Kingdom were also beneficial to their rule, so in the past the Habsburgs turned a blind eye.

Ernst did not feign modesty, but frankly said: "The Kingdom of Dalmatia was indeed a pawn that I placed in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It took me a lot of effort and money to settle hundreds of thousands of immigrants there."

"However, this piece was never intended to target the Habsburgs; in fact, it could even contribute to your rule."

"However, the friendly relations between East Africa and the Habsburgs do not fully represent the relationship with Austria-Hungary, and Dalmatia is a response to the current situation of Austria-Hungary."

Rudolf nodded: "If I were in your position, I would probably do the same. Of course, without the cooperation of the Habsburgs, it would be impossible to change the population structure of the Dalmatian Kingdom."

"But in retrospect, it was a good outcome that we Habsburgs tolerated your misdeeds in Dalmatia. At least it didn't benefit the current Yugoslavia."

Yugoslavia was a traitor in Rudolf's eyes, and this traitor was more hateful than those in other regions. Austria betrayed the Habsburgs, which shows that the Habsburg rule was unpopular, which is understandable. Hungary opposed the Habsburgs, which is also understandable, since Hungary had been causing trouble since its founding.

Not to mention that Hungary showed absolute loyalty on the eve of the empire's collapse.

The unrest in Bohemia, at least, broke out from the beginning. Only Yugoslavia dragged it out until the Austro-Hungarian Empire completely lost power before it finally got around to messing with Rudolf.

Ernst asked, "Do you have any thoughts about the throne of Dalmatia? Although Dalmatia is only part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it is still a good foothold for the current Habsburg royal family."

Rudolf sighed and said, "I don't want to go back to that troublesome place in Europe now. Of course, if any members of the royal family are interested, I won't stop them."

"Now that they are all in East Africa, let them choose one who is willing to go to Dalmatia to inherit the throne! I will issue the decree."

This is Rudolf's role; although he is now the deposed monarch, he still retains the status of emperor and holds the legal authority of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Therefore, Rudolf's issuance of a decree appointing a king for Dalmatia would legitimize Dalmatia's independence.

In fact, Rudolf is now the King of Dalmatia, a title that was previously inherited by the Emperor of Austria-Hungary.

Therefore, there was absolutely no problem with his appointment of the King of Dalmatia. If he could, he could also appoint the monarchs of Austria and Hungary, but that would be meaningless, since Austria and Hungary were no longer under the control of the Habsburgs and their hearts were no longer with the Habsburgs.

……

Rudolf himself was not interested in the Kingdom of Dalmatia, nor did he want his son, Crown Prince Karl, to get involved. He left the matter to other members of the Habsburg royal family to handle.

This immediately stirred up the Habsburg family members who were in exile in East Africa.

Most members of the Habsburg family were very unwilling to accept the loss of Austro-Hungarian rule, and now the Kingdom of Dalmatia intended to invite one of them to take up a post, which was supported by the vast majority of the Habsburg family.

Currently, there are over a hundred Habsburg family members who have fled to East Africa alone.

Most of them are concentrated in Bagamoyo and Dar es Salaam. The reason why Bagamoyo has the most is because Archduke Ferdinand of East Africa retired there.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand established the East African Navy in Bagamoyo.

Therefore, after Emperor Rudolf handed over the throne of the Kingdom of Dalmatia to his family, members of the Habsburg family gathered in Bagamoyo and decided to select a suitable person to go to Dalmatia to take office through a family meeting.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand presided over the family meeting at his estate on the banks of the Bagamoyo River.

“Now that the Kingdom of Dalmatia is preparing for independence and supporting its family members to continue ruling Dalmatia, I know that this is an irresistible temptation for some of you.”

"But you need to think this through first. It is not an easy thing to secure the position of King of Dalmatia. To become its king, you must withstand the pressure, especially from Germany, Italy, and Yugoslavia. They may all have designs on Dalmatia."

"At the same time, Dalmatia itself is not a wealthy place. Its area is less than 20,000 square kilometers, and most of the area is mountainous."

The Kingdom of Dalmatia is slightly larger than in the previous life, but it is only about 15,000 square kilometers, roughly the size of Shijiazhuang in the Far Eastern Empire in the previous life, which is the size of a prefecture-level city in East Africa.

At the same time, mountains and hills accounted for more than 90% of the Dalmatian Kingdom, and plains were extremely scarce.

Even so, the Kingdom of Dalmatia held immense appeal for members of the Habsburg family; whoever was chosen would at least become a king, someone with influence in Europe.

Therefore, members of the Habsburg family expressed their opinions and nominated their preferred family members regarding the throne. Ultimately, two people received the most support: Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and Archduke Karl.

Archduke Ferdinand was the one who was assassinated in Sarajevo. He was chosen because of his prominent position in the Habsburg family. After all, in his previous life, he became the new crown prince of the empire after Rudolf's death, so his status was not low and he was capable.

As for Archduke Karl, he was even more remarkable. In his previous life, Archduke Karl was Karl I, the last monarch of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, in this timeline, he did not have that opportunity. Rudolf and Archduke Ferdinand were both alive, and the fate of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was greatly altered.

However, this is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, when he took over the Austro-Hungarian Empire in his previous life, it had already become an unmanageable mess. After World War I, this last emperor could only leave in disgrace.

Now, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is an even bigger mess, but the throne of the Dalmatian Kingdom is the real deal.

The question of who should become the new king of Dalmatia sparked a fierce debate within the manor.

At this point, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary stepped forward and said, "I think it would be better for Karl to assume the throne of Dalmatia. Firstly, there will be many affairs to attend to in Dalmatia, and Karl is younger than me and better able to resolve the many issues related to Dalmatian independence."

"After all, for Dalmatia to achieve independence, it must reach agreements with its neighboring countries and gain recognition from the international community. There are too many steps involved in this process."

"On the other hand, I have been injured before and my body can't withstand the travel, so I don't want to travel and work hard in Europe again."

Since Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary withdrew from the election, the throne of the Kingdom of Dalmatia ultimately fell to Archduke Karl, who was quite interested in becoming King of Dalmatia.

After the candidate was chosen, Archduke Ferdinand of East Africa said, "In that case, Karl, you will become the new monarch of the Kingdom of Dalmatia. However, I also have a few words to say."

"When you go to the Kingdom of Dalmatia this time, don't be too ambitious and try to restore the glory of the Habsburgs. The Austro-Hungarian Empire is a thing of the past. No matter how much our family invests, it's just a bottomless pit. It's unlikely that countries like Germany will let us regain control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire."

"It is best to maintain neutrality regarding the future development of the Dalmatian Kingdom and try to avoid conflicts with neighboring countries."

"The Balkans are a troublesome place, so you must be careful in politics, especially with Yugoslavia, with which you have territorial disputes."

Territorial disputes between Yugoslavia and Dalmatia were inevitable, given that most of the Kingdom of Dalmatia bordered Yugoslavia, and that the majority of the population of Dalmatia in the past consisted of Croatians and other Yugoslavian ethnic groups. There were real conflicts of interest and historical grievances between the two sides.

Therefore, Archduke Ferdinand emphasized: "Be vigilant towards Yugoslavia, and even make military preparations. Of course, if you can be on good terms with Germany, you can cooperate with Germany. If you really can't do that, don't force it."

The relationship between the Kingdom of Dalmatia and Germany is complex, as both countries are German states, but Dalmatia may not necessarily gain Germany's recognition.

Archduke Karl said, "Adolf of Germany may not like mixed-race Germans, but I believe that with our mediation, at least the two countries can live in peace."

Archduke Karl dared to say this because he had some confidence. After all, it was an objective fact that Adolf disliked mixed-race Germans. However, as a member of the Habsburg royal family, Archduke Karl was of pure German blood. Adolf couldn't possibly completely disregard a pure-blooded German king.

Furthermore, Dalmatia, a mixed-race German country, was clearly better off than Yugoslavia and Italy, even if it was disliked by Adolf. At least Dalmatia had one-third German ancestry.

……

In late 1934, following a family meeting, Archduke Karl officially traveled to Dalmatia to assume his post. The Kingdom of Dalmatia warmly welcomed Archduke Karl's arrival.

Furthermore, through a joint resolution by the government of the Kingdom of Dalmatia and Grand Duke Karl, it was determined that the coronation ceremony would officially take place at the beginning of next year.

At the same time, it clarified matters such as the flag and capital of Dalmatia after its independence. The capital of Dalmatia after independence will be Split.

During the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Zadar was the political center of the Kingdom of Dalmatia, but after Dalmatia gained independence, Zadar was clearly no longer a suitable location for the capital.

Because Zadar is located at the northern tip of Dalmatia, facing the Adriatic Sea, it was advantageous for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to control Dalmatia.

Now, if independence is desired, Split is clearly better positioned to guarantee Dalmatia's security after independence. Furthermore, its location in the central part of the Dalmatian kingdom makes it a crucial hub for north-south transportation, which would facilitate stronger connections across the country.

Economically, Split has a relatively good foundation. It has long been one of the more economically developed regions in Dalmatia, comparable to the former political center of Zadar. Moreover, Split is also a port city, so its economic development potential is not inferior to that of Zadar.

In addition, although they are all port cities, Split is protected by an island chain in the western waters, which limits the threat of maritime enemies to Split. The most dangerous straits are the Blach Strait between Shorta and Blach, which is less than a kilometer wide. The widest of the other straits is only five or six kilometers.

As long as these straits can be tightly controlled, it will be virtually impossible for the enemy to attack Kesprit from the sea.

In conclusion, Split is impeccable compared to other cities in terms of economy, transportation, and defense, making it ideal as the capital of Dalmatia after independence.

After Archduke Charles succeeded to the Kingdom of Dalmatia, he became Charles I. Emperor Rudolf personally issued a decree to him, passing the throne to him and increasing the legitimacy of his rule.

This caught Germany and other countries off guard, especially Yugoslavia, whose declaration of independence lacked any legal basis. This wasn't so obvious before Dalmatia, but in comparison, Yugoslavia was in a difficult position. Of course, Yugoslavia could not be recognized by the Habsburgs.

Britain and France were very positive about Dalmatia's independence. They quickly brought the new country into the discussion on the division of the spoils of Austro-Hungarian Empire, since the Dalmatian Kingdom was in a very important location and they did not want it to become part of the future German Mediterranean naval sphere of influence.

In addition, the independence of the Kingdom of Dalmatia was naturally recognized by East Africa, which will replace Austria as the representative of East Africa's interests in Europe and become an important transit point for trade between East Africa, the Adriatic countries, and the Balkan Peninsula.

Charles I of the Dalmatian Kingdom also took the opportunity to sign some agreements with East Africa, including the Dubrovnik Port Lease Treaty reached between East Africa and Rudolf, which in effect clarified the quasi-military alliance between Dalmatia and East Africa after independence.

(End of this chapter)