African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1599 Provincial Mergers
In terms of both resources and manpower, the Nationalists have a greater chance of winning the final victory. Furthermore, if the Soviet Union adopts the same attitude towards the Spanish Civil War as it did in the previous life, it will only further increase the Nationalists' chances of winning.

Although Germany and the Soviet Union were external powers in Spain's past and did not genuinely support its development, their cooperation models with Spain were still a significant factor influencing the outcome of the Spanish Civil War.

The Soviet Union's cooperation with the Spanish Republicans was largely driven by geopolitical security concerns, which is understandable. However, it is well known that East Slavs are known for their inaction, strong desire for control, self-righteousness, and refusal to listen to advice.

Regardless of the earlier purge of the Far Eastern Imperial Labour Party, the failure of the Hungarian regime, or the subsequent defeat of the Greater Austrian coalition government, the Soviet Union's misguided command and interference were all significant factors.

The Soviet Union was very fond of copying its own experiences to deal with the labor party movements in other countries. At some critical moments, it failed to see the situation clearly and dragged down the labor parties in other countries. This was fully demonstrated in the Far Eastern Empire and Hungary.

If the Soviet Union had subsequently adopted this approach in Spain, it would likely have further weakened the already chaotic Republican faction.

Conversely, Germany's attitude towards Spain was more favorable because, compared to the Soviet Union, Germany was more likely to treat Spain as an equal in dialogue and was less domineering.

Germany hoped that Spain would cooperate with it and become its ally, thus directly threatening France's rear. At the same time, Spain controlled the Strait of Gibraltar and faced Britain directly to the north. If the Spanish navy was strong, it could even cooperate with Germany to threaten the British navy.

Economically, Germany also has its own interests in Spain, such as its copper, iron, and mercury resources.

Even though Germany has now annexed Austria-Hungary, greatly easing its resource pressures, its resource situation is still among the worst compared to other superpowers.

East Africa, the United States, and the Soviet Union were all vast, resource-rich mineral-producing countries, while Britain and France also had large overseas sources of raw materials.

Therefore, Germany still faces resource pressures, and the importance of some Spanish minerals to Germany has become an important supplement. In addition, with Germany gaining access to the Adriatic Sea, it is easier and cheaper to import Spanish mineral resources.

In contrast, the Soviet Union did not have much economic demand from Spain. After all, the Soviet Union itself was one of the world's leading countries in mineral resources, and it could be said that it had nothing to lack.

In short, Ernst had neither a high opinion of the Republicans nor of their foreign aid to the Soviet Union.

He said, "Regarding Spain's internal issues, we can make contact with the Nationalists in advance, especially Franco. Although Franco appears to be an extreme nationalist, he is actually a master of diplomacy."

"Spain and Portugal seem to have a penchant for producing these kinds of eccentric leaders. However, as long as they can safeguard the interests of East Africa, their domestic antics are none of our concern."

Here, Ernst mainly refers to Salazar of Portugal and Franco of Spain, whose thoughts and actions can be described as completely unpredictable.

However, in Ernst's eyes, these two dictators were rather "lovable," at least their rule would not have any negative impact on East Africa.

Whether it was Salazar or Franco, they could at least guarantee neutrality in Europe through Portugal and Spain. For East Africa, a neutral Iberian Peninsula would clearly be more advantageous for its participation in European affairs and for conducting trade.

Crown Prince Frederick also said: "Spain and Portugal will not have much impact on East Africa as long as they do not completely side with the other camps in Europe. However, Franco himself is still a questionable figure."

It's no wonder he thought that way, since Franco did indeed rely on Spain's extreme populist parties, and before he actually came to power, who could guarantee that he wouldn't be the next Adolf?

Ernst said, "Franco did need the support of Spanish extreme nationalists, but that doesn't mean he was an extreme nationalist himself, or at least not entirely."

"Moreover, even if he really is an extreme populist, our connection with Europe cannot bypass the country of Spain."

"Therefore, we can apply the same approach to Spain as we did to Italy. These two countries have no conflict of interest with East Africa and pose no threat to it."

"At the same time, given the current economic situation, cooperating with Spain will also make it easier for us to circumvent the tariff restrictions of some European countries."

Italy, at least, is a newly emerging power, and its light industry is relatively well-known in Europe, while Spain's industrial development is relatively lagging behind in Europe overall.

Because of its industrial backwardness, other European countries were not too strict in their trade with Spain and did not restrict the inflow of Spanish industrial products. East Africa could take advantage of this to expand its trade with Western Europe through Spain.

……

1935 9 Month 4 Day.

East Africa has made a major adjustment to the administrative divisions in the north, which mainly involves the Azande Plateau region and its surrounding areas.

At a working meeting chaired by Crown Prince Friedrich in Rhine, he told East African officials: "This administrative division adjustment mainly involves one issue, which is to integrate local resources to better adapt to the needs of regional economic development after the opening of the North African railway."

The North African Railway will be completed by the end of this year, which means that this new trade route from East Africa to Europe will be activated.

For this reason, the administrative divisions along the railway line in East Africa became an obstacle.

"For a long time, the entire Azande Plateau region has been one of the most economically backward areas in the empire, and its four provinces have become the economic lowlands of the north."

"The northern part of the empire itself lags behind in the national economic landscape, so revitalizing the economy of the Azande Plateau region has become an urgent issue."

In recent years, with East Africa's policy support for the south and the Great Lakes region, the economies of these two areas have improved significantly, which has made the economic problems in North East Africa even more prominent.

The north has effectively become the last weak link in the East African regional economic tack.

Crown Prince Frederick continued, "The Azand Plateau is a key node in the economic landscape of the empire's north. If it can be developed, it will open up the channels for economic and transportation development in the north, thus forming a new economic distribution belt that connects the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic coast."

The Azande Plateau connects to the Great Lakes region in the southeast and borders the Cameroon and Gabon provinces in northwestern East Africa to the north, making it a natural economic hub for northern East Africa. If this hub is not utilized, northeastern and northwestern East Africa will not be connected. For example, inland products would incur higher costs and reduced efficiency in cargo transportation if they wanted to export through western ports.

There is no alternative route to connect the economies of northern East Africa except for the Azand region, because the south of the Azand region is the vast and difficult-to-develop Congo rainforest, while the north is the Sahara Desert.

Therefore, economic exchanges in northern East Africa cannot bypass the Azande region. Currently, most of the major transportation routes connecting the east and west coasts of northern East Africa, including the Northern Railway, pass through the Azande region. It is also impossible for East Africa to build a railway that can replace the Azande Plateau and cross the rainforest and desert at a huge cost.

After all, North East Africa is sparsely populated with an uneven distribution of population and is not particularly important politically, so it is not worth going to great lengths to address it.

Therefore, the development of the Azande Plateau and its surrounding areas must revolve around the Azande region.

This can be compared to the Hexi Corridor of the Far Eastern Empire. The Far Eastern Empire connected with the Western Regions, and the Hexi Corridor was the best passage. This is also the transportation status of the Azande region in northern East Africa.

Of course, East Africa's emphasis on the Azand region was far less than that of the Far Eastern Empire's emphasis on the Hexi Corridor. After all, the Hexi Corridor was related to its national security, while the Azand Plateau, although located on the border of East Africa, faced very little defense pressure in northern East Africa.

At the same time, East Africa's military deployment in the northern region does not have to rely entirely on this location; it can be achieved entirely through the West Coast Railway, enabling support and troop transport to the northern region.

Crown Prince Frederick: "As a border region, Azand can also develop certain industries and focus on commerce by taking advantage of land trade with Europe, West Africa and North Africa."

Even with the North African railway as an opportunity, East Africa will still tend to adopt a conservative development policy towards industrial development in the north.

After all, East Africa's industrial capacity is already basically saturated, so building new large-scale industrial zones in the north is not very meaningful, and the resource shortage in northern East Africa is still quite prominent.

The Azand region is roughly the same area where the Central African Republic was located in the previous life. Its most prominent resources are diamonds and gold. Although these two minerals are very valuable, their importance to industrial development is far less than that of energy minerals and metal minerals.

Of course, East Africa also has to consider the fact that its ecosystem is relatively fragile and water resources are relatively scarce due to its proximity to the Sahara Desert, which makes it unsuitable for large-scale industrial construction.

Therefore, Crown Prince Frederick set the tone for developing only appropriate industries in the region.

The vigorous promotion of commerce is easy to understand, since the Azand region is located on the East African border, bordering North and West Africa. After the opening of the North African railway, it will be able to trade with some countries in Europe and the Middle East.

However, even if commerce is developed, it can only improve the local economy, since the main source of foreign trade in East Africa is still the east and west coasts.

Fortunately, the population in northern East Africa is not large, so even if they can get a share of the pie, it will be enough to meet the economic needs of the local people.

"It is precisely because of the above considerations that, in this administrative division change, East Azand Province will be split up, with its northwestern part and West Azand Province forming the new Azand Province, while the remaining majority of the area will be assigned to Bavaria Province."

As a result, the original four provinces of Azande have become three, and they are now in a tripartite balance of power.

Crown Prince Frederick continued, "The new province of Azander will primarily connect with trade with the Kingdom of South Germany and with West Africa, while Bavaria will connect to the North African Railway and become a new economic hub in the north."

"The future transportation network in Bavaria will be restructured to serve as a central link in trade between the Great Lakes region and Europe,"

The Great Lakes region was able to support large-scale trade with Europe and activate the potential of the North African railway. Therefore, the new province of Bavaria became the best choice to facilitate the subsequent connection between the Great Lakes region and North Africa.

At the same time, this can also integrate most of the resources of the original Bavaria and East Azander provinces, reduce administrative expenses, and promote the development and extension of the local industrial chain.

"The reorganization and merger of the new Azander province and the Bavarian province will not only be more conducive to strengthening the Empire's trade with West Africa, North Africa and Europe, but will also make it easier for the Empire to coordinate on issues such as environmental management in the north and water resource allocation."

The northern part of Azande has a relatively arid climate, so water resources are a prominent issue. The merger of the northwestern part of East Azande Province and West Azande Province is intended to alleviate this problem.

For example, the Ok River in the north was originally divided between East Azande Province and West Azande Province. Now, the riverbanks are all included in one administrative region, which avoids disputes between the two provinces over water usage.

At the same time, the Ok River, as an important tributary of the Shari River, also facilitates the coordination of water resources between East Africa and the Kingdom of South Germany.

The importance of the Chari River to the Kingdom of South Germany is self-evident. Its lower reaches are arguably the most densely populated and economically developed region in the Kingdom of South Germany, extending all the way to Lake Chad.

However, the upper reaches of the Shari River are controlled by East Africa. Originally, the Ok River, which is upstream, was governed by two provinces. If East Africa wanted to coordinate the allocation of water resources with the Kingdom of South Germany, it had to take into account the ideas of these two provinces. Now, only the Azand Province is needed, which reduces the time spent on disputes and improves efficiency.

In addition, it is more convenient for a province to manage regional rivers and the environment, which helps to maintain policy uniformity and eliminate administrative barriers.

Of course, provincial mergers will also face resistance, as the resettlement of personnel and the growing pains of the transition period must be taken into account.

However, as mentioned before, the Azand region is an economically disadvantaged area within East Africa, so pushing for administrative division adjustments in the region does not present as much resistance as one might imagine for East Africa.

Friedrich said, "My expectation for the three provinces of Azand is that they can become a comprehensive hub for trade in North Africa, Europe, West Africa and domestic trade. By leveraging this locational advantage, we can fill the last gap in the empire's economic map and help the northern economy catch up with other regions, or at least not fall too far behind."

Friedrich's attitude reveals that the adjustment of the administrative divisions of the current Azand region in East Africa was largely aimed at promoting coordinated regional economic development within East Africa.

However, given the current limitations of northern East Africa, even with strong support from East Africa, it's impossible for it to truly surpass other economically developed regions in East Africa.

Therefore, the development strategy of a local economy does not necessarily have to follow the example of other regions in the country, but rather should be tailored to local conditions and leverage its own advantages.

(End of this chapter)