African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1619 The Winter Olympics in Germany

Alaska, compared to East Africa, clearly does not hold the same position as Canada or Australia during their time as British colonies.

At the same time, due to historical and geographical reasons, Alaska does not want to secede from East Africa.

Historically, the main concern regarding Alaska is the Soviet Union. As is well known, Alaska was purchased by the Rhineland royal family from the Tsarist Russian royal family. Back then, the Russians didn't care much about Alaska, but now some people in the Soviet Union are denying it.

This was not the Soviet government's idea, but a very small number of "Royal Russian" elements within the Soviet Union believed that the deal between the Tsar and the Rhine royal family was illegal, and that the Tsarist royal family could not represent the Soviet (Russian) people and was selling out national interests.

Meanwhile, the military significance of Alaska has been clearly recognized by various countries in recent years. Especially after the advent of airplanes, Alaska has become a key "springboard." Controlling Alaska means controlling the initiative in the airspace of the North Pacific region.

If the Soviet Union were to gain Alaska, it would gain air superiority over Canada and the United States. Therefore, some "enlightened people" in the Soviet Union are now clamoring for the return of Alaska.

Therefore, Alaska was very wary of the Soviet Union.

Geographically, Alaska is wary of even more countries, including the Soviet Union, Japan, the United States, and Canada. Therefore, Alaska needs East Africa to provide it with defense and military support.

……

Anchorage is the capital of the Alaskan colony and the most populous region in all of Alaska.

The coastal lowlands centered around Anchorage are also the most densely populated area in Alaska. In fact, before the 19th century, the population of Alaska was more concentrated in the southeastern part of Alaska, which is a temperate maritime climate zone.

Entering the 20th century, with population growth and railway construction, Anchorage and its surrounding areas rapidly rose to prominence.

To date, Anchorage alone has a population of 230,000, making it the largest city in Alaska. This population size is not bad, not only in Alaska but also in East Africa.

Anchorage's large population is largely due to the development of local agriculture. Anchorage and the surrounding area are suitable for growing crops, with main crops including potatoes, barley, sugar beets, radishes, and other cold-resistant crops.

In the 19th century, due to climate and environment, it was difficult to effectively develop the Anchorage region in East Africa. Later, with the industrialization of East Africa and the progress of the machinery manufacturing industry, the land reclamation work in this region was accelerated.

Although it is close to the Arctic and has a non-temperate maritime climate, Anchorage and its surrounding areas are not as cold as one might imagine. Winter temperatures here generally do not drop below minus ten degrees Celsius. However, summer temperatures in Anchorage are also rarely high.

"...For high-latitude regions, our city of Anchorage benefits from the influence of the ocean and mountains, with mild winters and cool summers."

"The ocean brings us warmth, while the towering mountains block most of the cold, damp air currents from moving south. Therefore, Alaska is definitely an ideal sightseeing destination for tourists from the Empire and other regions."

Ma Xuesen, a tour guide in Anchorage, is introducing the city to a tour group from the Empire.

These first-time visitors were incredibly excited, wearing thick down jackets and having a blast playing in the snow along the streets of Anchorage.

“Anchorage is such a magical place!” exclaimed Richard, a tourist from Cabinda. “Our Cabinda is hot and humid all year round, which is the complete opposite of Anchorage.”

"The cityscape here is also very different from that of the mainland, and it looks somewhat like the Soviet architecture in the pictures."

Alaskan architecture is indeed in line with the Soviet Union, or more accurately, with the former Tsarist Russia; one can even see many onion-domed roofs.

Ma Xuesen explained, "The architecture in Alaska is indeed very similar to that in the Soviet Union, or rather, the two are the same thing. Of course, over the years, Alaska has also developed some of its own characteristics."

“Alaska was once a colony of Tsarist Russia, so when the first imperial immigrants arrived here, they continued the architectural style of the Tsarist era.”

"Alaska itself has some descendants of Tsarist Russia, but they have now fully integrated."

To be more precise, when the Rhine royal family took over Alaska, the main inhabitants were Creoles.

The so-called Creoles are a new mixed-race group created by intermarriage or union between Russians and local indigenous peoples, and they are culturally no different from Russians.

However, precisely because of this, the integration of the local Creoles into Alaska did not cause too many problems, since Creoles, like East Africans, are of mixed Asian and Caucasian descent.

Moreover, their numbers were far too small; when the Rhine royal family bought the land, the so-called Creoles numbered less than two thousand.

Ma Xuesen said, "Although the number of descendants of Tsarist Russia in the original Alaska was not large, we were able to get through the difficult early days of Alaska development by learning some of their local survival experiences."

"This includes Russian architectural patterns and styles. Of course, later, with the emergence of cities, under the auspices of the government, we also sent people to Tsarist Russia to study their architectural construction methods in cold regions."

"So, if you've ever been to a Soviet city, you might be surprised to find how similar Anchorage is to them."

“It wasn’t until the 1920s that Anchorage began to further study the architecture of countries and regions in cold regions such as Canada, Northern Europe, and even the Far Eastern Empire and Japan. He combined this with Anchorage’s own characteristics to form some new architectural styles.”

In its early days, Alaska completely copied the Russian experience in the development of cities and settlements, as this was the most effective approach, since Tsarist Russia was the only representative powerful nation in high-latitude, cold-climate regions at the time.

Furthermore, since Tsarist Russia was close to Alaska, Alaskans did not need to travel to the European part of Tsarist Russia; they could learn from it in its Far East.

Meanwhile, Canada was not developing at all, so Alaska did not learn from Canada in this regard. Instead, it went to Russia instead. Later, relations between East Africa and Britain deteriorated rapidly, which also led to the deterioration of relations between Alaska and Canada.

This situation persisted until the early 20th century. With East Africa's growing power, Britain had to accept its inability to stop its rise and actively sought to ease tensions with the continent. Canada, by then quite independent, was unwilling to directly offend another world power for Britain's sake. However, Canada also missed its best window of opportunity to exert influence over Alaska, allowing the "Russian style" to become the dominant architectural style in Alaska.

However, with the strong rise of Canada's economy and industry in the early 20th century, especially in the 1920s, Canada could be said to be unparalleled in the world, and its economy could even be compared with some of the world's major powers.

Meanwhile, Tsarist Russia suffered economic decline for various reasons during the same period, and was later replaced by the Soviet (Russian) Labour Party.

In the 1920s, Alaska experienced a "Canada fever." Of course, regardless of whether Alaska learned from Russia or Canada, its core culture was always East African culture, or German culture, while other cultures were merely embellishments.

In Alaska, German culture is dominant. In some aspects of infrastructure, such as urban planning and architectural style, as well as agricultural crops, it is close to Tsarist Russia. In terms of cultural customs and lifestyles, it is greatly influenced by the Far Eastern Empire, and also has some influence from Canadian Inuit culture.

Ma Xuesen told the tourists, "Alaska is a very inclusive place with a relatively significant cultural difference from the mainland, making it the only 'cold pearl' of the empire."

This so-called "pearl of the cold" doesn't really have much substance, since East Africa, especially in high-latitude regions, only has one cold-climate colony, Alaska.

Ma Xuesen continued, "In the next few days, in addition to enjoying the beautiful local snow scenery and ice sculptures, we can also participate in some Alaskan winter sports. At the Winter Olympics earlier this month, Alaska won two medals for the Empire, one silver and one bronze, which is an absolute honor in the Empire."

This Winter Olympics was held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, from February 6 to 16, 1936, and was the fourth Winter Olympic Games.

East Africa won one silver and one bronze medal. Undoubtedly, the winners of these two medals were athletes from Alaska, representing East Africa.

Despite East Africa not winning a single gold medal, this still surprised Europeans.

After all, in the general impression of Europeans, East Africa is a tropical country, and even in most parts of East Africa, snowfall is a very rare sight.

"A total of 29 countries participated in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Winter Olympics in Germany, of which only 12 countries won medals. East Africa was one of them, and we were also one of the only three non-European countries to win medals."

"And through the efforts of our Alaskan athletes, the Empire's two medals also rank ninth, surpassing countries like Canada, France, and Italy."

At the 1936 Winter Olympics, medals were basically monopolized by Europe. Outside of Europe, only the United States, Canada, and East Africa won medals. Among them, the United States was the strongest, winning one gold medal and three bronze medals.

Secondly, East Africa won one silver and one bronze medal, while Canada only won one silver medal.

Norway leads the pack with 15 bronze medals and 7 gold medals. Germany comes in second with 11 medals, including 5 gold medals.

Of course, Germany's medal count far exceeds that of its predecessor, thanks to its annexation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which contributed five medals to Germany, including two gold medals.

However, this Winter Olympics is not very indicative of anything. For example, the Soviet Union, a powerhouse in winter sports, did not participate. If the Soviet Union had participated, it would have been a strong contender for the top spot.

In the previous life, the Soviet Union made a stunning debut in its first participation in the Winter Olympics, taking the top spot. If the Soviet Union participates in this Winter Olympics, it is guaranteed to be in the top three.

Richard said with a hint of regret, "It's a pity that the Soviet Union didn't participate in winter sports competitions. However, if the Soviet Union had participated, it would have been difficult for us in East Africa and other countries to have the opportunity to perform."

Ma Xuesen neither confirmed nor denied this point, but he emphasized: "Even if the Soviet Union participates, Alaska can still win honor for the Empire. Moreover, competitive sports in Alaska are just beginning. With economic development, Alaska will be able to cultivate more outstanding athletes for the Empire in the future."

"Not only the Winter Olympics, but also this year's Summer Olympics, maybe Alaska can achieve something too."

In 1936, Germany bid to host two major international events, the Winter Olympics and the Summer Games. This was clearly actively promoted by the Adolf government to demonstrate Germany's superiority and for political purposes.

However, judging from the Winter Olympics in the recent period, the German government's goal was well achieved. Germany itself ranked second in both the medal and gold medal standings, while Norway, which ranked first, and Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, which ranked high, are all of the so-called "pure Aryan" bloodline designated by Adolf.

Therefore, even though Germany only came in second, it successfully highlighted the so-called "superiority" of the Aryans.

Furthermore, through international events like the Olympics, Adolf successfully promoted Germany's "peacefulness" to the world. Although Germany did not suffer the humiliation of defeat in this era, Adolf still maintained caution, thereby lulling other countries into a false sense of security. This was also the political purpose of Germany's active hosting of the Olympics.

Richard also became interested when talking about this year's Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. He said, "When August comes, that's when the Empire will really step up its game. At that time, it won't be like the previous Winter Olympics, where Alaska had to struggle so much."

“Our local sports are very strong in the world. Unfortunately, most of our region, including our own, is tropical, which is why we cannot participate in the Winter Olympics.”

"I dare say that the Empire will at least rank in the top three in the medal standings at the Berlin Olympics this August, and that's even without considering overseas territories."

East Africa has many overseas colonies, among which Alaska, East Kalimantan, and Mindanao are relatively well-developed. If you're lucky, you might even win a medal there.

Of course, this probability is not high. After all, these places have small populations and their economies are developing well, but only in comparison with other colonies or backward countries.

East Africa has a highly developed sports industry, not to mention its population of nearly 200 million. Under these circumstances, it would be unacceptable if East Africa could not squeeze into the top three of the medal table.

In fact, in the field of sports competition, there are only three countries that can pose a threat to East Africa. First is the Soviet Union, but the Soviet Union is unlikely to participate, so it can be ruled out. Then there is Germany as the host country, and finally the United States.

Germany's sporting strength is definitely far stronger than in the previous life. After all, Germany is now a combination of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while in the previous life, Germany was the champion of the 1936 Berlin Olympics and had a huge lead over the United States, which was ranked second. In this timeline, Germany's sporting competitiveness will only be stronger.

However, the emergence of this East African country has introduced significant uncertainty into whether Germany can continue its "myth".

(End of this chapter)