African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1593 Modern and Primitive

In contrast, East Africa and the United States, although they have few footholds in Northwest Africa (Togolan and Dahra in East Africa, and Liberia in the United States), can play a much greater role.

For example, in its previous life, during World War II and the Cold War, Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, made significant contributions to the establishment of American global hegemony.

During World War II, the port of Monrovia was a vital transit point for transporting supplies, troops, and aircraft to the North African and European theaters of war. At the time, Monrovia's Robertsfield Airport was a key hub for Pan Am's transatlantic routes and an important transit base for the U.S. Air Force.

During the Cold War, the U.S. National Security Agency established a vast communications and surveillance facility in Liberia to monitor communications in Europe, Africa, and the Soviet Union.

During World War II and the Cold War, the United States’ adversaries, whether the Axis powers or later the Soviet Union, were all European countries. Northwest Africa was merely a secondary direction in their wars and competition with the United States.

Therefore, once we enter an era of peace, or rather, an era of American unipolar hegemony, its level of attention to Liberia will naturally decrease.

However, after the rise of East Africa as a behemoth in Africa, the situation changed completely, and Liberia is very likely to become an important fulcrum in the US global strategy for a long time to come.

Even in peacetime, the United States maintains military and communication facilities in Monrovia and other areas for a long time to monitor the activities of the East African navy in the Atlantic Ocean and the trends of East African trade, due to its need to compete with East Africa.

In the future, Europe's major powers will also strengthen their deployments in Northwest Africa due to East Africa, just like the former Soviet Union.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was very enthusiastic about North Africa, with countries like Egypt and Algeria being typical examples of those that received strong support from the Soviet Union.

Algeria is already a country in northwestern Africa. At the same time, the Soviet Union participated in the Western Sahara conflict, supported pro-Soviet forces, and tried to win over countries such as Mauritania, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau.

Although the Soviet Union's expansion in Northwest Africa ultimately failed, this was mainly due to the Soviet Union's geographical location, which made it difficult for it to compete with Northwest Africa.

East Africa would not take Soviet activities in the region seriously; on the contrary...

Thallmann said, "For Northwest Africa, the future European contenders will most likely be either Germany or the Soviet Union."

"Even if the Soviet Union could dominate European affairs, it would be difficult for them to exert influence in Northwest Africa."

"If it were Germany, that would be troublesome and could drastically change the local situation. Now that Germany has access to the Mediterranean Sea, they can play a greater role in western North Africa than in East Africa."

The Soviet Union had difficulty even getting out of the Black Sea, so for the Baltic navy to come here was almost no different from an expedition.

In contrast, Germany's location, while not ideal, was still a level above that of the Soviet Navy in terms of development conditions. Whether launching from its Atlantic coast or the Adriatic Sea, the journey was not difficult.

Speaking of Germany, Christine said with some anxiety, "Germany's power in Europe has now grown to the point that even the Empire feels threatened."

"Although both of our countries are German countries, the true thoughts of the German side may not be so, and they may not regard us as a nation in their hearts."

"Moreover, there were some historical rifts between Germany and the Empire, especially on the issue of colonies, where Germany has always been dissatisfied with the Empire."

Before World War I, the trade of overseas colonies between Germany and East Africa was the most infuriating thing for Germans in East Africa, and even now, many Germans believe that East Africa should "return" its land to Germany.

The German mentality is easy to understand. They did not expect World War I to be so brutal. Although Germany ultimately gained some benefits, they were insignificant compared to its losses in the war.

The envisioned goal of quickly defeating Britain and France and inheriting their vast overseas assets did not materialize.

Naturally, the Germans became completely psychologically unbalanced regarding their previous territorial deals with East Africa.

If Germany had won a clean and decisive victory in World War I, they obviously wouldn't have cared about the meager "gifts" given to East Africa. However, the outcome of World War I completely exceeded their expectations. In turn, the entire overseas colonial system that Germany had built over decades was entirely benefited by East Africa. Not to mention Germany, it would be difficult for any country to accept this psychologically.

Of course, from East Africa's perspective, East Africa also feels wronged. After all, even if these lands were not sold to East Africa, could Germany have held onto them?

Thälmann expressed his indignation, saying, "Germany doesn't appreciate kindness. Given their circumstances at the time, being able to monetize the colonies was already the best outcome they could hope for."

"Not to mention that although we did not participate in the World War, the help we provided to Germany was enormous. We provided support to Germany from beginning to end, at great political risk."

"As a result, these ungrateful wretches not only did not know how to be grateful, but also bit back."

"They didn't even consider that without East Africa's help, given Germany's huge shortages of essential supplies like food, medicine, and rubber at the time, it would probably have been dragged down by the Allies long ago."

"And the current German Chancellor, Adolf, is also a man who speaks without thinking. His appearance has further deteriorated relations between the Reich and Germany, especially hurting the feelings between the people of the two countries."

“Even Benito of Italy wouldn’t make this mistake.”

Here, Thälmann is mainly referring to the two men's views on race. If Adolf had been similar to Benito on racial issues, the distance between Germany and East Africa wouldn't have been pushed so far.

The foundation of East African nations lies in the integration of ethnicities and races, cultural identity and assimilation, while Adolf resolutely denied cultural identity and assimilation.

Christine said, "Given the current state of relations between the two countries, I believe that if Germany becomes the ruler of Europe in the future, it will inevitably become a potential enemy of the empire, and the relationship between the two countries may even be more tense than Germany's relationship with the United States."

"If Germany had dominated Europe, even if its relations with the United States had deteriorated, it would have simply isolated the United States on the North American continent."

“The geopolitical disputes between East African and European rulers are even more intense, especially in key areas such as North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean.”

This is why East Africa finds it difficult to accept the emergence of a unified European power. After all, Europe naturally connects the political regions of North Africa and the Middle East, and also controls the Suez Canal, a vital artery of Eurasian trade routes.

These regions are equally important to East Africa, or are coveted by East Africa.

North Africa can be seen as a buffer zone between East Africa and Europe, and a barrier to the security of East African countries. To understand this issue, we can refer to the Mongol Empire in the past. Although the Mongol Empire was also a buffer zone, both Russia and the Far Eastern Empire clearly wanted to keep this buffer zone under their control.

For example, when the Soviet Union existed, it controlled this so-called buffer zone, but when it needed to exert its hegemony, it deployed heavy troops there to threaten and oppress the Far Eastern empire.

Similarly, for North Africa, if it were controlled by East Africa, East Africa could further enhance its national security and gain a strategic advantage over Europe through the Mediterranean. Conversely, if a unified European power emerged and controlled North Africa, East Africa's northern border would face military pressure.

However, there is a prerequisite: the emergence of a unified government in Europe, or a dominant European power with absolute authority.

The current situation in Europe is very favorable to East Africa. In its fragmented state, although North Africa is basically controlled by European countries, they cannot form a united front against East Africa, thus posing no threat to East Africa.

The importance of the Middle East and East Africa as a strategic point for containing the three continents of Eurasia and Africa, as well as their energy resources, goes without saying.

Currently, East Africa, the Soviet Union, and Germany are engaged in fierce competition in the Middle East.

Germany is not yet the dominant power in Europe, yet it already wields significant influence in the Middle East. If it were to consolidate the power of the entire European continent, that would be unimaginable!
Foreign powers that control the Middle East will inevitably further threaten East Africa's interests in the Indian Ocean.

It can be said that signs of conflict of interest between East Africa and Germany in the Middle East have already emerged, not to mention the increasingly fierce competition between East Africa and Germany in industry.

With growing political, geopolitical, and economic differences between the two countries, it's no wonder that East African leaders are increasingly wary of Germany.

If we disregard the ideological threat posed by the Soviet Union, Germany might be listed as East Africa's number one enemy in Europe.

……

Port of Dahra.

At this moment, a rather spectacular scene unfolded in Dahra Bay, where more than a dozen ships of varying sizes and shapes were moored.

There were warships from East Africa, as well as three domestically built marine dredgers working near the shore.

Other vessels were mostly transport ships, including dedicated vessels responsible for supplying materials to meet the daily needs of the navy and workers, as well as large ocean-going cargo ships responsible for hauling building materials.

However, the most eye-catching of them all is an engineering vessel belonging to the navy, which is responsible for special tasks such as lifting and pile driving.

On the land in Dahra, a large number of construction machines are also working to level the land, pour concrete, and drill wells.

Meanwhile, the Sunset quietly arrived in the Dahra Bay area. The Sunset's main task was to patrol, so it did not enter the Dahra Bay.

Looking at the bustling construction site, Captain Thallman of the Sunset sighed with emotion: "Although both are port construction projects, Dahra and Monrovia are like two extreme cases."

"We have achieved a high degree of mechanization and modernization in the field of infrastructure construction, while in the Port of Monrovia, the Americans are still using primitive methods to exploit Liberian laborers to complete the port construction."

"Now I can assert that the port of Dahra will be completed and put into use before the port of Monrovia, becoming a strong fortress for the future empire on the northwest coast of Africa."

The construction of the port of Dahra in East Africa and the port of Monrovia in Liberia, built by the United States, present two completely different models.

This is not because the United States is backward. As the world's second-largest industrial country, the United States is obviously not far behind East Africa.

More importantly, in Liberia, the United States has a large pool of cheap labor resources available. By employing Black laborers, the US can achieve significant savings in construction costs.

East Africa is different. In Western Sahara, it's rare to see even animals or wild grass, let alone people. They are willing but unable to find cheap labor.

Therefore, the use of a large number of the most advanced engineering equipment in East Africa, as well as local professional workers, became highlights of the construction of the port of Dahra.

Christine said, "The Empire attaches great importance to the construction of Dahra Port, so it has set high requirements for both the speed and quality of construction."

"To build a modern port, along with supporting military and civilian facilities, in this almost desolate place in a relatively short period of time, requires a large investment of financial and material resources, as well as various large-scale engineering equipment."

"The construction of Dahra Port has set a precedent in the Empire. The construction of future overseas military bases of the Empire may follow the Dahra model."

In the past, the construction of overseas military bases in East Africa tended to utilize and employ local laborers, which was most prominent in the construction of military bases in East Africa in the Southeast Asia region.

In the Middle East, where the local population is relatively small, East Africa can also assist in construction work by employing workers from neighboring countries. For example, East Africa has employed workers from Oman, Iran, and the Ottoman Empire for military bases in the Persian Gulf.

The port of Dahra is completely different. It is difficult to find people here, so the main force of construction is mainly composed of East African workers and East African engineering troops.

In contrast, East Africa does not treat its own citizens as harshly as it treats foreign workers, and therefore invests a great deal of specialized equipment to assist in the operations.

Thallman said, "You're right. The Empire is the country with the most powerful infrastructure in the world today. In the construction of overseas military bases, there will definitely be more and more places like Dahra Port today."

"These engineering machines and professional personnel are the foundation of the Empire's strength, and they also provide a model for the future construction of military bases and engineering projects in some harsh and sparsely populated areas."

"It may even change some details of the empire's overseas expansion strategy."

As mentioned earlier, many places and countries are constrained by local populations and environments when constructing overseas military facilities, making the selection of overseas military base locations an important reference standard.

For example, the Port of Monrovia, which is currently under construction in the United States, does not have the best water depth in Liberia. In contrast, the Port of Buchanan in southern Liberia was the most modern deep-water port in Liberia in the 21st century.

Moreover, Buchanan is located further south than Monrovia, which makes it more advantageous for the United States to strategically contain East Africa.

The main reason why the United States does not build a military base in Buchanan is that the conditions in Buchanan are too poor. The main condition here is that Buchanan has no urban infrastructure at all and is almost uninhabited, unlike Monrovia, which, although also underdeveloped, at least has a certain population base and, as the capital, can mobilize national resources.

If Buchanan were in East Africa's hands, it might be valued. East Africa, on the other hand, doesn't like towns like Monrovia that have already developed to a certain extent, because it makes local military deployments more susceptible to interference from the locals.

(End of this chapter)