African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1707 Cyrenaica Province

Secretary Clyde could only console himself with this thought. However, just as the two had discussed, Italy's attempt to gain control of French Libya was destined to be fraught with difficulties. Currently, almost all of the more than 600,000 Libyans in French Libya were enemies of Italy.

The tragedies that occurred in Italian Libya have already been laid bare before the people of French Libya, leaving them with no choice but to fight to the end.

This will undoubtedly cause considerable trouble for Italy.

The reason the Italians were able to easily wipe out the indigenous people of Italian Libya was because they lacked understanding of Italy.

However, there are already many resistance organizations and people who have fled from Italian Libya in French Libya, and they have spread the story of what happened in Italian Libya to French Libya.

Suppressing the more than 600,000 prepared Libyans will certainly not be an easy task for Benito.

This is probably the situation the French government wanted to see. As long as the Italians are tied up in Libya, Italy won't have the energy to continue causing trouble in Europe for the time being.

Two days later...

An Italian fleet officially docked at the port of Tripoli. The French flag was slowly lowered from the sky above Tripoli, while the flag of the Kingdom of Italy was raised. The city officially fell under Italian rule.

Massimi, the first Italian governor of Tripoli, officially took office.

Meanwhile, on the same day that Masimi took office as governor of Tripoli, a significant event was also taking place in neighboring Italian Libya.

That is, the former Italian colony of Libya was abolished and officially became a new Italian province, namely Cyrenaica.

Benghazi.

The streets of Benghazi were bustling with activity today as the new Cyrenaica province government and the Benghazi city government organized a grand celebration to mark the establishment of the province.

By this time, Benghazi had completely transformed into an Italian-style city, with the Italian government having planned and constructed a new city entirely within Benghazi.

Following the urban planning principles of Italy, the city was designed with wide streets, a grid-like road network, various squares, parks and seaside promenades, European-style apartment buildings, hotels, cinemas and cafes, etc., completely reshaping the urban landscape and lifestyle.

Benghazi also boasts a modern port, railway, highways, and airport, making its transportation infrastructure highly advanced and comprehensive.

Benghazi's cityscape and economy are not bad even by Italian standards; it is a perfect model of ideal urban development in Italy.

By 1938, Benghazi's population had exceeded 100,000, even surpassing that of Tripoli.

The newly built Benghazi Governor's Palace also appears quite magnificent.

This governor's residence has only been in use for a short time, but today its life is coming to an end, and it will continue in a new form.

In front of the Governor's Palace, a group of Italian workers were removing the original sign of the Governor's Palace, while next to them a brand new plaque with the words "Cyrenaline Province Government" painted in large characters.

The original intention was that Libyan Governor Santini looked at the replaced plaque with mixed feelings.

“Derna, starting today, the term Italian Libya will become history. Although I was only the governor of Italian Libya for a few days, it has really disappeared now, and I feel a little nostalgic.”

Derna was originally the commissioner of Benghazi, Libya, and was also a subordinate of Santini.

With the establishment of Cyrenaica Province, he transformed from a commissioner into the director of the provincial government office, which could also be called a department head.

Secretary Delna said, "Senior Santini, this change is not a bad thing for us. After all, the Kingdom has been moving towards localization in Italian Libya over the years."

"Initially, we governed Libya according to the model of overseas colonies simply because the conditions were not yet ripe. But now Italian Libya has been basically Italianized, and even the local people have become our own people. Therefore, it is imperative to abolish the colony and turn it into a new province of the kingdom."

On the very day Italy colonized the country, Benito had this plan: to fully integrate Italian Libya into its own governance system.

After all, the original Libya and Italy's Red Sea colonies were different. The Red Sea colonies were relatively far from the Italian mainland, and were separated by Egypt, which was under British influence.

Therefore, it would be difficult for the Red Sea colonies to be directly managed by the Italian government. Even if their colonial status were revoked and they became one of the Italian provinces, they would not be able to be like the newly established Cyrenaica province.

Cyrenaica is unique in that it is not an overseas province that lies between a native province and a colony, but is directly regarded as a native province by the current Italian government.

This is not surprising, after all, Cyrenaica is not far from mainland Italy. Its situation is similar to that of Sardinia and Sicily under Italian control. Although it does not border the Apennine Peninsula, which is the main part of Italy, it is not difficult for Italy to exert influence over these areas.

Moreover, even if Cyrenaica wanted to break away from Italian rule, it would not be an easy task. Although Cyrenaica has a large area, it actually has very little land available for development and very limited water resources.

Therefore, the population of Cyrenaica Province, formerly part of Italian Libya, is mainly concentrated in the narrow coastal area, while the inland population and economy are almost negligible.

Therefore, Italy could easily control this new province through its navy and prevent any unforeseen events from occurring there.

Governor Santini, now known as Senior Santini, has no change in his jurisdiction; Cyrenaica province is simply the original territory of Italian Libya.

However, the difference between a governor-general and a high-ranking official can be enormous.

In the past, Santini, as the colonial governor, wielded immense power and was a veritable "regional governor," holding military and political power over Italian Libya and possessing a high degree of autonomy.

However, now that he has become a high-ranking official, it also means that Santini's power has shrunk dramatically. In other words, Santini was well aware that this day would eventually come, so he was mentally prepared. Moreover, he had only served as governor for a short time, so he did not feel it too deeply.

Of course, there are definitely differences, but the biggest difference is not that Italian Libya changed from a former colony to the present Cyrenaica province.

Instead of merging French Libya, Italy did not do so after acquiring it. Santini had previously predicted that the two territories would be merged into a new administrative region after French Libya came under Italian control. He expected to become the highest-ranking official in this new region. However, the outcome was unexpected. Benito did not merge the two territories; instead, he renamed the former French Libya the Tripoli Colony and appointed a separate governor for Tripoli.

Libya, formerly part of Italy, became a new province of Italy and was directly brought under the administration of Rome.

Santini, the senior official, said: "You are right, it is an inevitable trend for Italian Libya to become a province directly administered by the Kingdom."

"After these years of development, apart from the endless desert, this place is practically no different from the kingdom's homeland."

"Even economically, the gap between Cyrenaica and the mainland has almost disappeared. Relying on the North African Railway, a major trade artery, Benghazi has become a highly sought-after modern city."

"And its future economic prospects may be more than that."

"But now that Cyrenaica is developing so rapidly, why doesn't the Empire just annex Tripoli into Cyrenaica as well?"

Rather than saying that the senior official Santini was asking Secretary Delner a question, it would be more accurate to say that he was expressing some of his own frustrations. In fact, he did have an answer to this question.

Director Derna didn't seem too concerned about the issue and said truthfully, "Merging Cyrenaica and Tripoli into one place would have been fine ten years ago, since both places were underdeveloped back then."

“But now, Cyrenaica has fully developed, and as a province alone, it is stronger than many native provinces in terms of economy, population, and agriculture.”

The new Cyrenaica province inherited the legacy of Italian Libya and had a very substantial foundation from the outset.

Economically, Cyrenaica is already in the lower-middle range of many Italian provinces, and has great potential for growth.

On the commercial front, the North African Railway and the port of Benghazi connect East Africa and the Mediterranean countries, while also serving as a link in the traditional overland trade routes of North Africa. This is a huge advantage for the commercial development of Cyrenaica Province today.

At the industrial level, Cyrenaica province has great potential. Italy itself has invested in the province's industries, and immigrants from Italy have brought talent and technology, which has allowed Cyrenaica's industry to take initial shape, and its long-term development potential is also good.

In addition to being able to obtain the raw materials needed for development through the North African railway and Mediterranean trade, Cyrenaica Province itself has enormous potential in terms of resources.

Although most of Cyrenaica is barren desert, the new province is incredibly large! It covers approximately 300,000 square kilometers, almost the same size as mainland Italy (including islands like Sardinia and Sicily).

Such a vast land must contain a lot of resources, but Italy's rule and development of the area has been too short, so it cannot be utilized for the time being.

For example, Cyrenaica has abundant oil resources. If Cyrenaica can remain under Italian control in the future, it could become the richest province in Italy.

In terms of agriculture, Cyrenaica, as a predominantly desert region, may seem to have few advantages, but it is still a force to be reckoned with among Italian provinces.

Cyrenaica now supports hundreds of thousands of Italians, and the population level of most Italian provinces is similar. Only highly developed provinces like Rome, Turin, and Naples have populations exceeding one million.

Overall, Cyrenaica now ranks firmly in the upper-middle range among Italy's many provinces in terms of comprehensive strength.

"Our Cyrena province is already strong enough in almost every aspect for the mainland, so there is naturally no need for us to merge with Tripoli," said the minister.

"After all, if it were to merge with Tripoli, the population would exceed one million, which is something that few other regions in the country can match."

"Moreover, Cyrenaica province has become completely Italianized due to the investment and political continuity over the years, while Tripoli, on the other hand, has long been under French rule, and the locals are completely uncivilized Libyans."

"Therefore, the merger of the two regions is inherently incompatible in terms of culture and economy, making it more difficult to manage."

"Furthermore, Tripoli itself is a problem, so it needs greater autonomy in governance. If Cyrenaica were to merge with Tripoli, it would only invite trouble."

Derna was well aware that the Tripoli colony was not a windfall for the Italians at this stage, but rather a hot potato.

After all, Italy has already established a good reputation there, and the local Libyans are bound to rise up in resistance against Italy.

Under such circumstances, the Italian military and political leaders in Tripoli would inevitably have to govern Tripoli with iron-fisted methods.

Santini, a senior official, largely agreed with his analysis, but added, "You've forgotten one thing: the geographical connection between our Cyrenaica province and the Tripoli colony isn't actually very strong."

"Although the best parts of the Tripoli colony and the Cyrenaica province are both located on the northern coast, they are separated by the desert, so they are naturally not easy to become a whole."

Santini's words clearly contradicted the methods used by Italy in its previous colonial rule of Libya. After all, in its previous colonial rule of Libya, Italy operated as a single entity, with Tripoli and Cyrenaica both under the administration of the Libyan colonial government.

The reason why Italy doesn't do that now is because of new changes. There are two main reasons for this change: one is that Italy's colonial history has shifted dramatically from its past, and the other is the result of intervention from East Africa.

In the previous life, Italy's colonization of Libya went extremely smoothly. However, in this timeline, Italy had only acquired half of Libya, which is now the area of ​​Cyrenaica province.

Meanwhile, western Libya, centered on Tripoli, fell into French hands, splitting Libya in two. After so many years of separation and completely different development models, the differences between the east and west have become enormous.

As for the result of East African intervention, it refers to the construction of the North African Railway, which greatly enhanced the status of Cyrenaica Province.

In its previous existence, Cyrenaica was certainly no match for Tripoli, which made it more like an "add-on" during the Italian colonization of Libya, a byproduct of Tripoli.

Therefore, in its previous life, Tripoli was the absolute core of Italian Libya.

However, now that the North African railway has opened, the value of Cyrenaica Province is completely different from what it was in the past. Backed by this major trade and transportation artery, Cyrenaica's economic development potential has actually surpassed that of Tripoli, unless Tripoli also builds a similar railway connecting the Mediterranean Sea and sub-Saharan Africa in the future.

But this is clearly unrealistic. Building such a railway would require the support of a major power, since crossing the Sahara Desert is no easy task. East Africa already has the North African Railway, so it is not very interested in building another railway to Tripoli.

(End of this chapter)