African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 323: Chapter 6: Targeting the Abyssinian Empire

The road to the unification of the Kingdom of Italy was completely blocked, with considerable territory lost, yet the population did not significantly decrease accordingly. Thus, the Kingdom of Italy must seek a way out, and at present, colonial expansion seems the only path.

Inspired by the Kingdom of East Africa, Emmanuel II also intends to establish a colony in Africa, primarily to address the food gap problem of the Kingdom of Italy.

Although temporarily hindered by financial constraints, Emmanuel II still ordered the collection of information on Africa.

There is only so much information about Africa, and his staff quickly gathered the data and reported to Emmanuel II.

”Your Majesty, various powers are scattered along the coast of Africa. West Africa possesses the most favorable conditions, with distributions from Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. North Africa is the closest to us in terms of distance, but it’s mostly desert, lacking large-scale arable land. Some oasis regions are controlled by France and the Ottoman Empire. In East Africa, the Kingdom of East Africa and Portuguese Mozambique are the dominant forces. South Africa, with a climate most similar to Italy, is the British colony of Cape Town, which we dare not provoke.”

Listening to his subordinate’s report, Emmanuel II frowned and said, ”It seems that competition in Africa is fierce! I thought it was really a barren land, but I didn’t expect so many European powers to be present.”

”Your Majesty, the main reason still lies in the first-mover advantages of these countries. Even the small Principality of Heixinggen within Prussia can occupy large territories in Africa, indicating the strength of native Africans. Moreover, although these countries have footholds in Africa, except for the Kingdom of East Africa and Portugal, the Boers have little capacity to develop the interior of Africa on a large scale, so there are still many opportunities for us.”

Upon hearing this, Emmanuel II felt relieved: ”Do you have any general directions?”

”Your Majesty, after reviewing African regional data and intelligence from the past two years, we conducted meticulous analysis and believe the Abyssinian Empire along the coast of the Red Sea is a more suitable place for the constitution of our Kingdom of Italy.”

Emmanuel II asked, ”The Abyssinian Empire? What advantages does it have?”

”Your Majesty, first of all, Abyssinia is located along the Red Sea, close to the Suez Canal, which provides us with convenient access for conquering this place.”

Emmanuel II: ”Isn’t North Africa closer to us?”

”Ah! Your Majesty, if it were the original Kingdom of Italy, we might have had the chance to expand into North Africa. But now, we have been greatly weakened. Currently, the weakest in North Africa is the Ottoman Empire, yet it has become an existence we cannot afford to offend. While the Ottoman Empire is weakened, it is massive. Previously, when we were fairly strong, we might not have feared the Ottomans, but now, having lost nearly half our territory, what do we have to compete with the Ottoman Empire? Moreover, if a conflict truly arises with the Ottoman Empire, Franz of Austria will likely laugh in his dreams. Our two nations face the same enemy in Austria-Hungary, so maintaining good relations to jointly address the threat of Austria-Hungary is the correct path.”

The Kingdom of Italy faces the threat of extinction from the ambitious Austria-Hungary, while the European territories of the Ottoman Empire also face threats from Austria-Hungary. The two countries share the same plight. Although the Ottomans have a deadly adversary in Tsarist Russia, the Kingdom of Italy also has France to the west, which historically poses a significant threat to Italy.

”Secondly, which is the second point I want to say, the Abyssinian Empire has a large amount of arable land, which North Africa cannot compare to. What we need most now in the Kingdom of Italy is arable land, and the land in the Abyssinian Empire is already present, having undergone thousands of years of development. Unlike other regions of Africa, which contain uncertainties, if we can suppress the Abyssinian Empire militarily, we can continuously import food to the homeland.”

The agricultural conditions of the Ethiopian plateau are indeed good. If it were not for the excessive altitude, over a thousand meters higher than the East African plateau, and its high level of civilization, even Ernst would be tempted. The high altitude also has its benefits; the terrain of the Ethiopian plateau intercepts rain, resulting in an annual average rainfall between 1200mm and 1600mm, known as the East African water tower.

Especially in the southwestern part of the Ethiopian plateau occupied by the Kingdom of East Africa, the rainfall is maintained at over 1300mm annually, creating a unique rainy mountainous plateau climate region.

Of course, it is worth noting that in this space-time, the Abyssinian Empire cannot be equated with the Ethiopian plateau; in the previous life, Ethiopia as an independent country exclusively occupied the Ethiopian plateau. Now, however, the Abyssinian Empire and the Kingdom of East Africa jointly own the plateau, though the majority remains within the Abyssinian Empire, with East Africa only occupying the southwest part. The southeast part is relatively arid plains region.

The agricultural zone of the Abyssinian Empire is concentrated in the northwest region of the Ethiopian Plateau, which is foundational to the establishment of the Abyssinian Empire, making it an agricultural state like Egypt. The central Sultanate region is primarily pastoral, with only a narrow agricultural belt relying on the intersection of the Blue and White Nile Rivers, coincidentally dependent on the water sourced from the Blue Nile originating in the Ethiopian plateau.

Emmanuel II: ”If that’s the case, shouldn’t the national strength of the Abyssinian Empire be considerable? Are you sure it wouldn’t be a hard bone to chew?”

”Rest assured, Your Majesty. Our selection of this area naturally takes these aspects into consideration, and this is what we want to emphasize as the last point: the national strength of the Abyssinian Empire is insignificant. Three years ago, the British defeated the Abyssinian Empire’s capital with only a small force. The emperor committed suicide following defeat, leading the Abyssinian Empire to fall into fragmentation. Simultaneously, conflicts arose between Abyssinia and Egypt in the Sultanate region, rendering this the weakest period in the Abyssinian Empire’s history.”

As a local power, the Abyssinian Empire has several vassal states in the Sultanate region, which is also the reason for the conflict between Egypt and the Abyssinian Empire. However, Egypt’s control over the Sultanate is relatively weak, and poor transportation contributes to Egypt’s inability to effectively deal with the fragmented Abyssinian Empire despite its stronger national strength.

In the era of Ali, Egypt’s expedition to the Sultanate was halted in northern Sudan due to harsh desert conditions, implementing a governance similar to the Ottoman Empire’s management of Egypt.

Emmanuel II, after hearing this, was satisfied: ”Indeed, the natives are just natives. We cannot defeat Austria, but certainly, we can manage the Abyssinian Empire. If the British can do it, so can we.”

Emmanuel II then started preparing the plan for the Kingdom of Italy’s invasion and colonization of Abyssinia. The Ministry of Colonization of the Kingdom of Italy began its construction. Abyssinia, as an opponent, is large enough and with a significant population, coupled with favorable agricultural conditions—all qualities needed by the Kingdom of Italy. Domestic industry and commerce require markets due to the independence of the Kingdom of Naples, and the surplus population caused by war also needs land. Nothing is more enticing than invading the Abyssinian Empire.

The various forces within the kingdom also actively support Emmanuel II’s decision. After the disastrous defeat in the Second Austro-Italian War, the grand ideal of unifying Italy—anyone who cares may pursue it, as the Kingdom of Italy has been utterly frightened. A weak opponent like Abyssinia is now the preferred target of the Kingdom of Italy.