African Nationhood

Chapter 161 Berlin Conference (Part ) Please subscribe! ! !

Otto von Bismarck has to be said to be an extremely important figure in the modern history of Europe. He made an indelible and huge contribution to the unification of Germany and the rapid rise of national power.

Two big figures in East Asia, Li Hongzhang and Ito Hirobumi, couldn't help but touch this iron-blooded prime minister, which shows how huge his influence is.

It is understandable that the young Prince William admired and admired him. However, two years after His Royal Highness ascended the throne and became Kaiser, he hurriedly drove away Bismarck.

There was only one sentence left on Bismarck's epitaph after his death: Margrave von Bismarck - a loyal German servant of Emperor Wilhelm I.

Because "admiration is the farthest distance in the world", no matter how much admiration and admiration you had before, once you actually get along with someone, you will have a sense of idol disillusionment that "fairies can even poop".

The main reason why Wilhelm II was inflated and difficult to control was the rapid expansion of Germany's national power, the rise of domestic militarism, and Wilhelm II's character was quite reckless and irritable.

The combination of the two just creates an arrogance and vigor that wants to break all the old and decadent forces.

In the eyes of the new emperor, Bismarck's steady style was a sign of staleness and staleness. Naturally, the two parties could not get along harmoniously and a breakup was inevitable.

……

Speaking far away, after Shi Jintang saw the majestic old man with a straight beard, he consciously lowered his head, and then a series of humble greetings came from his ears.

Bismarck's huge popularity and rich connections reflect Bismarck's hard-won success.

With his control, the new empire of Germany could bravely move forward despite all obstacles.

Without him at the helm, the German Empire quickly fell apart in just twenty years.

The important ministers of the empire really don’t just talk about it casually!

……

The meeting was officially convened. After Prime Minister Bismarck delivered a brief opening speech, he sat down and allowed the representatives of various countries to express themselves freely.

Representatives of France, Belgium and Portugal were fighting each other face to face, spitting and speaking fiercely.

The afternoon passed quickly like this, and Bismarck had enough time to announce the adjournment of the meeting and continue tomorrow.

Arguments and insults became the main theme of the meeting, but there were still smart people.

Leopold II of Belgium sent his men to quarrel with people at the meeting, and outside the meeting he contacted privately with various countries.

Promised to grant equal privileges, waive commercial taxes on imported and exported goods, and open navigation.

It took more than half a month to make a promise.

Several major powers agreed that Leopold II would personally serve as the head of state of a large territory in the interior of Central Africa, and named this area the "Congo Free State".

The only difference between this land and the original time and space is that at the request of Shi Jintang, Qu Sangqian went one step ahead and signed an agreement to deliver territorial rights with the indigenous chief tribe on the Katanga Plateau.

Therefore, the Katanga Copper Belt was under the control of the "Lunda Defense Group" and became the territory of Nanhua Company.

……

France and Portugal reluctantly agreed. France occupied the area north of the Congo River, and Portugal occupied an enclave "Cabinda Area" outside the French's sphere of influence.

The outlet of the Congo River was left to the "Congo Free State". Who knew the Belgians were fooled.

This is the shortcoming of the map's delimitation of borders. Leopold II thought that if there was an outlet to the sea, he would definitely be able to build a port to facilitate the transportation of imported materials.

Who would have known that the hydrological conditions at the outlet of the Congo River are particularly poor and are not suitable for building a port at all.

Naturally, France and Portugal would not be kind enough to remind His Majesty the King of Belgium.

Therefore, although the Congo Free State has access to the sea, it still has no seaport.

In desperation, the Belgians could only use the inland port of Leopoldville, the capital of the Congo Free State (now Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) as a port for import and export cargo.

……

Now that the first issue has been reached, the next step is the second issue.

Representatives from various countries made impassioned speeches and outlined on the huge map of Africa in the venue hall, claiming which areas were their spheres of influence.

Bismarck sneered at such rhetorical demarcation and asked: "What sphere of influence?
  If I casually say that this is my territory, then I can now claim that the African continent is the territory of the German Confederation.

Do you accept it?
  In my opinion, only effective occupation by raising flags and erecting boundary markers can be considered effective occupation. "

The presentation of this argument stopped many representatives from participating.

The British Ambassador, Sir Mallet, immediately cheered up and said, "Yes, we do.

Our country's royal charter, the Nan Hua Company, not only occupied the actual land, erected boundary markers, but also signed an agreement with the indigenous chiefs to deliver territorial rights. "

After speaking, Shi Jintang acted as a coolie and took out a stack of contract documents from the large suitcase.

Every piece is genuine!

At this moment, the British Ambassador and Shi Jintang really became the focus of the audience. After the British side was finished, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Heimskerk, not to be outdone, took out a pile of contract documents.

"We also have, we have also set up boundary markers and occupied the ground."

When the two countries engaged in this, the atmosphere at the scene was very strange.

The King of Belgium did a lot of work privately to obtain the "Congo Free State" and obtained de facto contract documents as a basis for France and Portugal to admit their defeat.

Unexpectedly, the arrogant and proud British people also walked ahead of many European powers.

Is this still British?
  Of course Shi Jintang doesn't care what others think. He just wants to quickly confirm the actual boundaries of the two territories, so this meeting has nothing to do with him.

Bismarck had been in the political arena for so many years, and for the first time he was caught off guard.

Someone actually predicted his prediction in advance!
  He responded quickly and immediately agreed: "Well, the approach of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands is very stable, allowing the indigenous people to gain the right to know and bringing them tangible benefits.

This is the responsibility that we, the first-mover countries, should bear, don’t you think? "

These words won applause from the audience. After everyone applauded, Sir Mallett immediately asked: "Your Excellency Bismarck, should the sphere of influence claimed by our country be recognized by all countries?"

It is natural to recognize what Bismarck just said.

"Well, you should admit it!"

At this moment, Shi Jintang got reassurance, his heart burst violently, and his breathing became uncontrollably rapid.

There are so many people at the scene, so we can’t lose our composure.

He silently comforted himself in his mind and tried to regain his composure.

……

Bismarck spoke, and many representatives at the meeting also admitted that there was no dispute at all.

Bismarck happily marked the territories of the two indigenous kingdoms on the map and added them to the British sphere of influence.

The Dutch Prime Minister also followed up with Bismarck for confirmation, and naturally his expectations were met.

As a result, the colonial territory of the British South Africa Company in the original time and space of 1890 was realized in 1884 ahead of schedule.

On the contrary, it is larger than the territory of the original time and space.

After all, the territory of Portuguese West Africa was wasted, and Qu Sanggan took a piece of it like a horse race.

The total area of ​​the Lunda Kingdom and Matabeleland Kingdom actually occupied exceeds 130 million square kilometers.

It's just that the Dutch's territory is much smaller than Nyasaland in the original time and space, but this is not critical.

……

The people present did not care about the area, only the scope.

As a result, Britain basically occupied most of the land in southern Africa, making other countries jealous.

As a result, they began to attack other spheres of influence claimed by the British, such as Uganda and Kenya.

In these two areas, the British did not come up with contracts signed with the indigenous people, nor did they erect boundary markers, nor did they actually occupy them.

Bismarck also vaguely felt that Britain was too powerful to control, and he had to find a way to contain Britain.

His eyes naturally connected with the French ambassador's eyes, and the two parties suddenly had a tacit understanding.

……

Shi Jintang's purpose of participating in the Berlin Conference had been achieved, and it was of little significance for him to stay here. On the same day, he resigned from Sir Mallett.

The British ambassador had a very good impression of Shi Jintang, and the two had been together for a while and found that this honorable white man had a quick and clear mind and was a good talent.

He also secretly envied the relationship between this honorable white man and the royal family. It was not easy for him to obtain the title given by the Queen as an outsider.

After the two said goodbye, Shi Jintang rushed to London to say goodbye to Alice.

He did not plan to take Alice back to South West Africa and planned for her to give birth in Europe.
  At that time, Lawen Schneider and his two female doctor assistants will be Alice's midwives.

Because Britain advocates monogamy, if he rashly takes Alice back, it will easily arouse criticism, and it will also make Jin Xiyue and Ye Rong sensitive.

Although the Berlin Conference determined the territory of the Nanhua Company, these are all illusory. Population is the true heritage of a country.

Shi Jintang's next move is to do his best to obtain immigrants. European immigrants must be fought for, but his main ethnic group must be Qing immigrants obtained from the Far East.

Only this population can truly define his Nanhua Empire!

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  (End of this chapter)