African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 97: Chapter 92 Mtwara

Mtwara is located on the east coast of Mikindani Bay, a natural deep-water harbor in southern Tanzania.

As the first checkpoint after the reform of new administrative divisions, the construction of Mtwara Port was prioritized.

Its construction work was jointly completed by the Ron Roda government and staff from the Marine District.

The initial scale of construction, once completed, could accommodate two ships, which is sufficient as the fleet arriving from Europe can be shunted here.

Two ships at a time can allocate several hundred immigrants from Austria-Hungary, along with immigrants from the Far East, accumulating over time to meet the population demands of the Lower Marine District and the East Lake Malawi area.

While Ernst was contemplating and reviewing the Paraguay War, a sense of worry also grew in his heart.

Counting the tragedies of the Paraguay War, on the surface, Paraguay’s leader Lopez aspired to be Paraguay’s Napoleon, using an advanced army to maintain Paraguay’s own interests (territorial disputes with neighboring countries and autonomy), eventually leading to a pummeling by the Three Kingdoms.

In reality, behind the Paraguay War, there was the shadow of the British, influenced by the American Civil War, Britain lost its North American agricultural market and thus strove to compensate for its losses in North America through trade expansion and economic expansion into South America.

From 1857, based on agreements with the Argentine Federal Government and the Brazilian government, Britain began constructing railways in these countries linking the most important agricultural regions and ports.

At the same time, Britain wished for the Parana River and Paraguay River to be completely free for navigation and hoped to engage in tax-free trade with the inland provinces of Argentina and Paraguay.

Paraguay resolutely opposed this. However, because the Parana River runs from Buenos Aires through Paraguay to reach the prosperous regions at the southern end of Brazil, Britain was determined to crush Paraguay’s resistance regardless.

Additionally, Britain hoped to destroy the seeds of independence in Brazil and Argentina by funding these countries during the war, thereby gradually bringing them under its control to secure a stable foothold in South America. Before the war broke out, Britain eagerly fueled the flames of war.

The script the British played out in South America was identical to their balance-of-power gameplay on the continent, relying on stirring up regional conflicts to achieve their goals.

As Britain’s traditional art, it’s something to guard against; in previous lifetimes, the British used similar measures in Africa.

For instance, conflicts between the Boers and the Zulu Kingdom, and disputes among Germany, France, and Morocco.

These actually had nothing to do with Ernst because, in the past life, the British personally intervened to resolve the German East Africa issue.

In previous lives, Britain launched an ambitious Two-Cs plan in Africa, aiming to connect British colonies from Cape Town at Africa’s southernmost point to Egypt in North Africa.

At that time, the biggest obstacle to completing this plan was the German colonies standing in front of southern Africa. After unification, Germany successively opened German East Africa and German Southwest Africa (Namibia) in Africa.

These two colonies happened to restrain Britain’s South African colony, one east, one west, serving as horns to each other.

And the British wanted to link their entire African colonies, so they couldn’t bypass German East Africa, as westward lay the Congo rainforest.

The tropical rainforest is also called a green desert, the difficulty of development is imaginable. During a flood season, British people could feel the power of nature (reference the Amazon rainforest videos), even in the 21st century, tropical rainforests are extremely difficult to develop.

In past lives, German East Africa was completely backed by Germany and had some ability to resist.

Now, Ernst’s East African colony does not have a close relationship with Germany because German East Africa is directly managed by the German government, while in this space-time, the East African colony is just private land of the Heixinggen royal family.

In past lives, Germany was unable to care for its overseas territories and colonies during World War I, let alone desperately escorting Ernst’s East African colony.

Moreover, in the future, East African colonies cannot be bound to Germany; otherwise, just like in the past, if Germany is defeated, wouldn’t it also have to cede the East African colonies to Britain and Portugal?

Therefore, Ernst cannot always stand firmly on the side of Germany; it’s better for East Africa to remain independent in the future.

Of course, to be independent and autonomous, it must stand on its own, arm itself; otherwise, who would take the East African colony seriously?

If in this lifetime, Britain continues to promote the Two-Cs plan, even if Ernst seeks Germany’s help at the time, it might not be effective.

After all, compromises among great powers are possible, especially when it comes at others’ expense. The interests of the German government don’t completely align with Ernst’s interests, they might swap the East African colony with Britain for benefits in other regions.

This has historical precedent; in the past, when Germany and France were contending for Morocco, Germany initially made good promises to Morocco, but finally, under pressure from the British and French, Germany abandoned Morocco, and the British and French compensated Germany with Cameroon.

So it’s impossible for Ernst to faithfully and blindly follow the future German government down one path, and engaging actively with the Austro-Hungarian royal family is partly due to this reason.

More friends mean more paths; if not for a backstab from his grandfather against Napoleon back in the day, Ernst would have considered aligning with the Napoleon III government now.

As for Britain, it’s likely a potential enemy of the East African colony in the future, and Ernst finds dealing with them unrewarding.

The most crucial point is that Britain can’t be related to their family; Ernst’s deceased mother was at least French, his grandfather had some influence in France, along with some followers and old subordinates.

Ernst had no contact person for dialogues with the British, only the Prussian royal family and some North German states have links with Britain, historically often allied.

The main activities of Ernst’s family were in Southern Germany, before seeking refuge with Prussia, they have been mixing with Austria and France, during the worst times even lived under Bavaria’s rule (Holy Roman period).

Therefore, the network mainly lies on the European continent, and the British can hardly intervene in Southern Germany’s affairs. Without the size of Baden, Württemberg, or Bavaria, the British government wouldn’t even glance at you.

However, the Heixinggen royal family can currently leverage the Hohenzollern flag; under the rule of the Hohenzollern family, Prussia, along with Romania, still have significant standing in Europe.

The Heixinggen royal family also has connections in other countries like Sweden, Russia, and inter-married Austria. These are the public opinion forces Ernst can strive for in Europe.

In the future, establishing good relations with so many European countries is better than hanging on Germany alone; of course, before the outbreak of World War I, the East African colony was a good, trustworthy partner to Germany.

The interests of the German government don’t completely align with those of Ernst, but the interests of the Hohenzollern family align with his own; as a member of the Hohenzollern family, lending a hand when able wouldn’t hurt.

After all, in the future, if the East African colony is threatened by the British, it will mostly rely on its own strength, counting on others involves uncertainty.

And the establishment of Mtwara port is precisely to strengthen East Africa’s power on the southern border, a subsequent large number of weapons and materials can be transported through this port, stockpiling in the Lower Marine District and the East Lake Malawi area.

As everyone knows, Britain and Portugal are so close, it’s as if they’re wearing the same pair of pants. In past lifetimes, these two countries teamed up and took down German East Africa and German Southwest Africa.

Therefore, vigilance against Portugal is necessary, especially since the two colonies are already adjacent, subsequent advances towards Zimbabwe and Zambia are bound to lead to conflicts with the Portuguese.

First, arming the southern part of the East African colony brings some security; as for the north, now the northwest eight countries are in a semi-lifeless state, just waiting for the epidemic to end so that the East African colony’s army can directly take over.

In the northeastern direction, there’s no real power. Apart from some tribes, the strongest are Abysinnia (Ethiopia) and the Ottoman Empire.

But the East African colony does not actually border these two countries, being separated by some small religious countries and indigenous forces.

Moreover, the emaciated camel of the Ottoman Empire is bigger than a horse, which serves as a good buffer against the speed of Western development in Africa.

From the Balkans extending all the way to Algeria, vast lands are under Ottoman rule.

The Ottoman Empire itself is constrained by Western countries, with a relatively turbulent internal situation and unable to expand, which provides a cover for the early development of the East African colony.

The hapless Ottoman Empire is actually a real friend of the East African colony, as it can both deter Western attention from Africa and not pose a threat to the East African colony.

As for the Abysinnia, the empire faces the same dilemma as the Ottoman Empire.