African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1609 Double-Headed Eagle Banner

To put it bluntly, for the indigenous people around Togoland, arriving in Togoland is like a farmer visiting the city for the first time, or a city dweller entering the countryside for the first time—it's full of novelty.

Although Togoland was also a colony, its planning at least resembled that of a native country, and it was "very developed" compared to the colonies of neighboring countries.

Although Togoland has a population of only over 300,000, which is not a large number due to its vast land area and sparse population, neighboring Upper Volta, Dahomey, and Ghana do not have much larger populations than Togoland. For example, Dahomey has a total population of around one million, which is about three times that of Togoland.

However, Togoland's per capita productivity is several times that of Dahomey, and the proportion of taxes paid to the local area is lower than that of the surrounding areas. It can also receive some local subsidies and support.

In other words, East Africa is doing long-term business in Togolan, much like investing in heavy industry. It has a long cycle and low profits, but it is beneficial to the development of Togolan.

Togoland's economy is in a healthier state than that of its neighbors.

Ruby Lola traveled with the caravan and indeed witnessed some differences between Togoland and Dahomey. The road conditions and security in northern Togoland were indeed better than in Dahomey.

Looking at the more level land, he said, "Togoland's construction is indeed better than Daho's, but it's only by a small margin. They're just a little better at the details."

Sakuma shook his head at Rubilora's assessment: "Your Excellency is oversimplifying things. The reason you think Togo Lambidahome is only slightly stronger is simply because you haven't been to enough places."

He pointed south and said, "The real prosperity and development of Togoland is in the south, while the north is just the poorest and most sparsely populated part of Togoland."

"There are huge differences. In southern Togoland, all the main roads are paved, and only some of the smaller roads are similar to those in the north. As far as I know, there are only two paved roads in northern Togoland, which is extremely rare even in Dahomey."

The two paved roads in northern Togoland are actually the two roads connecting Lomé and Dapang, and Natitingu. In the past, the construction of these two roads in East Africa had two main purposes besides economic considerations: military and immigration.

For a terrain like Togoland, transportation infrastructure can be modeled after Vietnam and Peru. Moreover, Togoland's terrain is flatter, so all that is needed is to build a north-south highway that is 600 kilometers long, and the East African army can quickly reach most of Togoland.

Sakuma continued, "In the south, you can see a lot of cultivated farmland and plantations, but in the north of Togoland, you can see very little, except for the area around Natitingu where the scale of agriculture is relatively large."

“There are even more cities and towns in southern Togo, and each one, taken individually, is probably no less impressive than Porto Novo!”

Porto Novo, also known as the capital of the Dahomey colony, was formerly the capital of Benin.

In its previous life, Porto Novo was the capital of Benin, but only the second largest city in Benin, surpassed by the coastal city of Cotonou.

However, Porto Novo still holds the title of the most economically developed town in Dahomey, which is partly due to its connection with East Africa.

In its previous existence, Cotonou's economy surpassed that of the capital Porto Novo, with its maritime advantages being the most important decisive factor. However, the French colonial policies also played a significant role in the development of both cities.

Although Porto Novo was chosen by the French as the capital of the colony in 1894, all economic activity, transportation hubs, and modern facilities were concentrated in Cotonou. Cotonou became a veritable economic capital, and even a second administrative center, with its population growing rapidly as employment opportunities increased.

It was precisely because of the French approach that, by the end of the colonial era, Cotonou had far surpassed ancient cities like Vida and Apome in terms of population and economic size, and even rivaled or surpassed the administrative capital, Portonovo.

In this timeline, the French dared not invest a large amount of resources in the development of Cotonou, because Cotonou could not provide them with a sense of security. This port city faced the threat of the powerful East African navy, while Porto Novo, which was some distance from the coast, was much safer.

Cotonou is different from Lomé, the capital of Togoland in East Africa. After all, Lomé is a top-class deep-water port in West Africa, which is more suitable for the berthing of the main naval vessels. Therefore, Lomé itself has a strong naval force guarding it.

As for the French port of Cotonou, not only were the conditions generally poor, but France was also unlikely to deploy much naval power there. After all, Dahomey was only considered a mid-to-upper-tier colony among the French colonies and did not receive much attention.

These factors combined to give Porto Novo, as the colonial capital, more resources than in its previous life, consolidating its economic advantage. At least during the French rule, it was much more difficult for Cotonou to achieve an economic turnaround as it had in its previous life.

Porto Novo, the largest city in French Dahomey, is far less developed than Lomé in neighboring Togoland, and even ranks only sixth among the towns in Togoland.

There are also some towns in Togo that, while not as large or populous as Porto Novo, have infrastructure that is not much worse.

This is also why Sakuma said that Portonovo or any town in Togolan he could pick at would be no worse than Portonovo.

While Togo's infrastructure development may not be a direct indicator of economic growth, it is certainly one of the most visible external features that highlight the differences in development between Togo and its surrounding regions.

This is similar to many obscure county towns in the Far Eastern Empire of the previous life. Although their economic development level was very low, their urban construction was stronger than that of many small and medium-sized countries and backward countries in the world.

Rubilora fell silent in response to Sakuma's words. Even if he didn't want to admit it, Togoland's level of development was definitely stronger than Dahomey's. Although he had never been to Lomé, the capital of Togoland, he had seen Anejo, the second largest city in Togoland.

Anejo is actually Togo's second largest port city. Before the German colonization of Togo, Anejo was the largest port in Togo. However, due to river siltation, Anejo could no longer meet the conditions for modern port development and was replaced by Lomé.

However, after East Africa colonized Togoland, the port of Anejo underwent comprehensive management and transformation, and it prospered again, becoming the most important port for communication between Togoland and other countries in the world.

The reason for the construction and operation of Anejo in East Africa is that the port of Lomé has a stronger military attribute. Therefore, for military purposes, East Africa tries to avoid foreign ships docking at the port of Lomé as much as possible.

Of course, the port of Lomé does not refuse to allow ships from East Africa to dock, and East Africa has always had the greatest influence on Togolan. Therefore, even though the port of Anejo has replaced Togolan's former position in foreign trade, it still cannot surpass the port of Lomé economically.

Rubi Rola had seen Anéjo before, and in terms of development alone, Anéjo certainly surpassed any city in French Dahomey, including the capital Porto Novo and the second largest city Cotonou.

It's not just Rubilora; many French people in Dahomey, and even British people in Nigeria, have likely visited this city. Like Lomé, Anejo is considered a developed region in the Gulf of Guinea, with a much stronger consumer and commercial sector than other places. Of course, those with more financial means might choose to vacation, shop, and travel in cities within East Africa, given that the west coast of East Africa is not far from the Gulf of Guinea. Cabinda and Luanda are renowned international metropolises, unrivaled along the entire South Atlantic coast.

……

After a day's journey, the Sakuma caravan finally arrived at Natitingu before evening. Natitingu is not far from Dahomey, only about 60 kilometers away, so many Dahomey merchants would try to reach the town before sunset.

At this point, Rubilola finally met this important economic and military city located in northeastern Togoland.

Before even entering the city, he noticed an important detail about Natitingu: the flag flying over Natitingu was not the common East African flag, but a flag with a double-headed eagle.

“Sakuma, when you went to Natitingu before, were the flags also decorated with double-headed eagles?”

Faced with Rubilora's question, Sakuma's eyes also flashed with a hint of confusion. He said, "No, Your Excellency Rubilora, I remember that the flag of Natitingu used to be the flag of East Africa, which we also called the Lion Flag because it had a lion on it. This flag with a double-headed eagle embroidered on it is the first time I have ever seen it."

Hearing him say that, Ruby Lola thought that her doubts might be related to this flag. However, double-headed eagles are not uncommon in Europe. Prussia, Tsarist Russia, and many European nobles have used double-headed eagle flags.

Of course, if Ruby Lola had been born earlier, he might not have been so unfamiliar with this flag.

The flag flying above Nattigingu was the very same flag that had once served as the monarch's flag of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was the flag that was used after Franz II declared the establishment of the Austrian Empire in 1804.

In fact, this flag was still used during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but only on special occasions, so it was no longer so common. That's why Rubirolla couldn't recognize it. If he were a Frenchman before the mid-19th century, he would know the meaning behind this flag.

Ruby Rola's expression turned somewhat serious. Although he didn't yet know the meaning behind this change in the flag, he believed that East Africa would certainly not easily lower its national flag and replace it with another one.

“Let’s go into the city and see what the East Africans are up to!” Ruby Rola said.

Then, guided by Sakuma, the group entered the Natitingu district.

Upon entering the ancient town of Natitine, Rubilola made many new discoveries, such as the fact that Natitine was under construction and renovation, there were many people, and there were also quite a few vehicles.

Cars are a rarity in West Africa, but Rubilola saw quite a few in Natitingu, a small town in northeastern Togo, which was quite unusual.

Admittedly, East Africa is the world's "car kingdom," but surely cars shouldn't be so rampant even in the most remote colonies!
Filled with questions, Ruby Lola and the caravan rented an inn, and then he immediately sent Sakuma to gather information.

Half an hour later, Sakuma entered Rubyrola's room with the intelligence to report.

"What! This place no longer belongs to Togoland, but to the Habsburg Monarchy? Nattigingu has become the capital of the Habsburg Monarchy!"

Upon receiving Sakuma's message, Ruby Lola was deeply shocked, and Sakuma noticed his expression.

"Your Excellency Rubilola, do you know anything about this Habsburg monarchy?" Sakuma asked with a hint of doubt.

Ruby Lola said with a somewhat solemn expression, "I have indeed heard of the Habsburg Monarchy, but it was a historical country, and it was once a country under the Holy Roman Empire. However, that country was in Europe, and it changed its name a long time ago."

"It's quite unexpected and shocking that it now appears so openly in West Africa, and even has a so-called capital city..."

Rubi Rola and Sakuma then gave a detailed account of the history of the Habsburg family and the state they founded.

"...In the end, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was annexed by Germany, and the empire was completely destroyed. We only know that the Kingdom of Dalmatia was the last territory of the Habsburg royal family in Europe, and the core members of their royal family went to East Africa."

"I originally thought that after the Habsburgs went into exile in East Africa, they had basically withdrawn from the stage of history. But now it seems that they are not content with mediocrity, but want to make a comeback in West Africa, and even want to build a West African version of the Habsburg Empire!"

Sakuma was also surprised after hearing the legendary story of the Habsburg royal family. After all, he knew Europe. According to Rubilola, he found it hard to imagine that a royal family of a European empire as powerful as France would come to their poor and remote West Africa to start anew. However, the facts were right in front of him.

Ruby Lola speculated, "The Habsburg royal family most likely wants to learn from the Kingdom of South Germany and re-establish their family business in West Africa. I just don't know if the monarch of this so-called Habsburg Monarchy is Emperor Rudolf."

At this point, Sakuma said, "Their emperor seems to be called Karl I."

Hearing him say that, Ruby Lola became seven or eight parts certain: "That is most likely the former Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince Karl. But thinking about it, it makes sense. Even Emperor Rudolf probably couldn't withstand the chaos that comes to the colonies."

"However, whether it was Emperor Rudolf or Charles I, the establishment of the Habsburg monarchy was extremely important news for us in France. It revealed a dangerous signal: East Africa might use this puppet regime of the Habsburgs to expand their territory and influence in West Africa."

"And the location of this Habsburg monarchy is right between our Dahomey and Upper Wolter. If the Habsburg monarchy really wants to expand outwards in the future, then France's interests are most likely to be threatened. Therefore, we must pass this message back to Porto Novo as soon as possible."

Ruby Lola was naturally not afraid of this ridiculous "Habsburg Monarchy". After all, it had been reduced to using the small town of Natitlingu as its capital. The size and national strength of the Habsburg Monarchy could be glimpsed from this, and it was not powerful, but rather quite weak.

Of course, it would be difficult to deal with this childish Habsburg monarchy using only the power of one of the surrounding French colonies. After all, the French military presence in Dahomey and Upper Wolter was also very limited, only able to take advantage of the fact that the African natives were too backward.

(End of this chapter)