African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1610 Eastern Europe Railway Train

To further investigate intelligence on this Habsburg monarchy, Rubyrola once again took to the streets of Nattigingu the following day.

Yesterday, Ruby Lola had gained a basic understanding of Natitigu, but they rushed into the city before it got completely dark, so they overlooked many details.

However, now that Ruby Lola was strolling around the streets in broad daylight, he found himself somewhat conspicuous. Natitlingu now had a permanent population of over three thousand, including the original residents, the Habsburg family and their associates, as well as some East African technicians.

However, overall, the majority of Nattitingu people are still of Asian descent, followed by mixed races, while pure Caucasians are quite rare, let alone Rubyrola, who is purely French.

At the same time, Rubyrola also noticed that the German spoken by the people on the street was very broken, mixed with some strange accents and words, and some people's German was not as good as Rubyrola's, a Frenchwoman.

And so, Ruby Lola stumbled into a small tavern in Natitingu, a place recommended by Sakuma and the easiest place to gather information.

Upon seeing an unfamiliar face, the shopkeeper asked familiarly, "Sir, you've also recently arrived in Natitlingu, haven't you? Are you a native or a Habsburg?"

Hearing his boss's question, Ruby Rola was a little embarrassed, but he didn't hide anything and said, "I'm not from East Africa, nor am I a member of the Habsburg royal family. I'm a European tourist who travels around West Africa, such as Togolan, and recently came here with a caravan."

It's no wonder the tavern owner asked that question. After all, very few foreign whites come to Nattigingu. It's an extremely small probability. For example, the French whites in Dahomey, Upper Volta, and Niger combined number only a few thousand. They also have to manage so much territory and population. Very few of them actually have the time to go into Togoland.

Not to mention that most white people who come to Togoland will choose to go to the "big cities" in southern Togoland, while Nattitingu was just a backward and remote town in Togoland before!
The recent arrival of white people in Natitlingu easily led people to associate them with local or Habsburg members and some of their white employees, which is why the tavern owner made a misjudgment.

This put the tavern owner in a somewhat awkward position, and he quickly said, "I'm really sorry, Natitigu has changed a lot recently, and we rarely see genuine European tourists here, so that's why there was a misunderstanding."

Ruby Lola waved her hand and said, "No need to apologize, it's nothing. But boss, you just said this is Togoland, but I heard it has now become the Habsburg Monarchy. What's going on?"

In response to his question, the tavern owner said nonchalantly, "It's just a habit of calling it that. After all, this place used to be Togolan territory, and it only became the Habsburg Monarchy three months ago."

"We long-time residents are still finding it hard to adapt to this change, so we haven't changed our way of addressing you yet. By the way, sir, you're here to drink, right? Would you like to try our sorghum liquor? I think you're European, so you've probably never had this kind of sorghum liquor before."

Ruby Lola had never tasted sorghum liquor before; in France, he preferred white wine. However, in order to gather intelligence, he decided to give it a try.

The boss quickly brought him a bottle of sorghum liquor, a specialty of Natitingu, or more accurately, brewed from local sorghum. The glass bottle itself was imported from the region, as Natitingu is a relatively underdeveloped area without complete processing equipment.

“This sorghum liquor is a specialty of our Natitingu. Many West African caravans really like this strong liquor. I don’t know if it suits your taste,” the tavern owner said as he filled his cup. “I heard that sorghum liquor is not very popular among the locals. In this respect, we Togolan people are a bit different from the locals.”

The popularity of sorghum liquor in Natitlingu and throughout Togoland is mainly due to two factors: custom and the local climate.

West Africa is very suitable for growing sorghum, a crop that thrives in warm climates, is drought-resistant, and can tolerate poor soil. In the past, West African sorghum liquor already had a certain market. Of course, West African sorghum is mainly used to brew a local traditional beer.

The immigrants to Togoland, mostly from the Far East, preferred a spirit made from sorghum.

As a colony in East Africa, Togoland also has a popular beer culture, but it mainly relies on imports from the country.

As Ruby Lola listened to his explanation, she picked up her cup, sniffed the inside, and took a small sip. "Hiss, it's a bit spicy!"

The tavern owner chuckled and said, "That's true. But once you drink a lot, you get used to and even like the taste. Many black people from West African caravans have come to like this flavor."

Ruby Lola had already labeled this liquor as low-end and felt somewhat disgusted, mainly because he wasn't used to the taste yet, and also because Nattigin sorghum liquor had a somewhat heavy colonial label.

After calming herself down, Ruby Rola finally asked, "Boss, is this so-called Habsburg Monarchy ruled by the East African government, or is it a fiefdom of the Habsburg royal family?"

Ruby Rola was not entirely convinced that East Africa would be so generous as to hand over its colonies to the Habsburgs.

The tavern owner said, "As far as I know, it has completely become the Habsburg Monarchy! And our Nattigingu is the capital of this new country."

“Previously, this place was indeed under the jurisdiction of the Togoland Territory government of the Rhine Empire. However, many people from the original Natitingu government have now left, and there are many new faces in the government. Moreover, the positions have changed quite a bit. For example, the mayor has been replaced by a new mayor to manage Natitingu.”

"However, to be honest, it's just a waste of time. Our Natitingu is just a small town of some size, and suddenly it's become the capital of a country..."

The tavern owner found it hard to understand, but Ruby Lola wasn't surprised. After all, there used to be many small countries in Europe, especially within the Holy Roman Empire, many of which were probably smaller than the present-day Habsburg Monarchy.

Ruby Lola said, "So, are you comfortable with this Habsburg rule?"

The tavern owner replied, "At first we were a little worried, after all, we were used to the old way of life in East Africa. As for the new ruler, he seems to be doing quite well so far, and has brought about quite a few changes to Nattigingu."

“For example, Natitlingu is expanding now, and the population has increased a lot. Recently, there have been new immigrants coming in, and our business here has improved.”

"There's also a lot of work going on in the neighborhood development. Besides building more housing, I heard they're also going to build new roads and water and electricity facilities, as well as new schools, hospitals, and so on."

"However, in my personal opinion, it will not be easy to fully implement these measures, because there are too few people in Natitingu. For example, when building a new school, the enrollment of students is a big problem." "Originally, our town only had one small primary school, which was responsible for the education of the entire area. Now, in addition to expanding the primary school, we also need to build a middle school. It will be difficult to recruit enough students."

"However, whether these changes will ultimately be implemented remains to be seen. If they are realized, it will definitely be a good thing for us locals. In the past, if outstanding students in our area wanted to continue their studies after graduating from primary school, they had to go to high schools in the south, but that was too far away, and they could only board, which was very inconvenient..."

As the tavern owner recounted his story, Ruby Rola finally confirmed the various aspects of the Habsburg monarchy: it was a vassal state supported by East Africa, at least for the time being.

After spending two days in Natitingu, Rubilora, along with a few bodyguards left behind by Sakuma, began her return journey, while Sakuma himself continued his business trip north.

In early 1936, France finally figured out the activities of East Africa in Togoland. They not only learned of the existence of the Habsburg monarchy, but also that the Upper Wörth colony in the north had reported the situation of the new Austrian kingdom to the mainland.

These two new West African states were funded and built by the Habsburg royal family who had fled to East Africa. The combined area of ​​the two countries is about 10,000 square kilometers, which is by no means small. After all, the French mainland is only about 500,000 square kilometers. In other words, the sum of more than 50 Habsburg monarchies and the new Austrian kingdom is about the size of France.

Therefore, the emergence of these two countries still attracted the attention of the French government, which ordered the French colonial governments of Dahomey and Upper Volt to strengthen their surveillance of the two countries.

At the same time, they began to plan how to integrate France's three colonies in West Africa: Dahomey, Upper Volta, and Niger.

This would strengthen France's dominance and administrative resources in the region in order to counter the threats posed by East African powers, including East Africa, the Kingdom of South Germany, the Habsburg Monarchy, and the Kingdom of New Austria.

However, while the French government is wary of the two newly formed Habsburg states, there is not much it can do.

Because France is currently in dire straits and struggling to protect itself, and facing the increasingly severe situation in Europe, especially with Germany embarking on a new path of military expansion, it is difficult to simultaneously ensure the security of its colonies while its own territory is under serious external threat.

Moreover, in 1936, another major event attracted the attention of the French: the increasingly volatile situation in Spain, which bordered France, and the possibility of civil war.

France cannot completely ignore the changing situation in Spain, lest Spain side with Germany and betray France.

……

Darfur.

Nyala is the administrative and economic center of Darfur and the seat of the East African Darfur colonial government. When East Africa was choosing the capital of the Darfur colony, there were two main competing cities: Nyala and El Fasher.

Nyala ultimately won due to its advantages in transportation and water resources.

In terms of transportation, Nyala has always been Darfur's most important commercial center, connecting trade between Egypt and Sudan, the Kingdom of South Germany and East Africa, and radiating to the main population areas of Darfur.

Fasir is closer to the center of Darfur than Nyala, but northern Darfur is almost entirely desert, with the population concentrated in the south and west.

As for water resources, Nyala, although its rainfall is also relatively scarce, can reach at least 400 millimeters, which is two to three times that of El Fasher. Furthermore, through the dikes built in East Africa, a reservoir has been formed in its southern part that is sufficient to supply the city's development.

Therefore, from the perspective of modern urban development, Nyala is more suitable as the economic center of Darfur, and it also facilitates East Africa's control over the Darfur region.

Unfortunately, due to its extreme poverty, Darfur was not even given much importance among the colonies in East Africa.

However, Darfur now has a chance to turn its fortunes around, as the North African Railway has been fully completed, making Darfur a key link in East Africa's trade with the Mediterranean.

On the Nyala side, the first freight train from Benghazi port to East Africa, also known as the East Europe freight train, was stopped at Nyala railway station to replenish drinking water and for maintenance, which attracted a large number of Nyala residents to watch.

"Excellent! This train is a symbol of Nyala's economic take-off. From now on, Nyala will no longer be a remote place ignored by the Empire, but a key node in trade between the Empire and Europe and North Africa!"

"The opening of the North African Railway is of great significance to Nyala and Darfur. Without this railway, Darfur would always have been the most insignificant territory of the empire. With this railway, our status can be greatly enhanced, and it can also give wings to Darfur's economic development."

All Darfurans are filled with anticipation for the opening of this railway, because opportunities are so rare in Darfur.

For a long time, if we were to name the poorest and most backward countries or regions around East Africa, Darfur would undoubtedly be at the top of the list, and its position would remain unshakeable.

Even though Egypt and Abyssinia are both low-income and underdeveloped countries, they have large populations and economies!
Furthermore, Darfur has the harshest climate in the surrounding East Africa. Egypt and eastern South Germany also have large areas of desert, but Egypt has the Nile River as a stable water source, and eastern South Germany has the Chari River and the Lake Chad basin. Only Darfur does not have a single river that can provide water year-round.

Therefore, for the residents of Darfur, the scarcity of water resources naturally restricts the development of local industry and agriculture. So the most reliable way for Darfur to break this deadlock is to overcome the transportation constraints imposed on Darfur as an inland region.

Although Darfur was once a crossroads of several countries and regions and had a relatively good ancient business, transportation relied mainly on livestock and manpower, making it difficult to expand its scale. To put it bluntly, Darfur was a completely remote and undeveloped area with very few people.

Now, with the opening of the North African Railway, Darfur's situation has completely changed. In terms of railways, the North African Railway is a major artery for trade between East Africa and the Mediterranean. As long as it can be maintained, it will bring benefits to Darfur.

Meanwhile, with the development of South Germany, Darfur can now play an important role in East-West trade. The Charité and Lake Chad basins have markets with millions of people, while the economies of Egypt and the Abyssinian Empire are even larger, with markets of tens of millions of people. Theoretically, Darfur is the most convenient and fastest route for their trade with the Kingdom of South Germany.

(End of this chapter)