African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 481: Chapter 159: Southwest Africa

The East Africa warship closely followed behind the British survey ship, while the British ship hovered around the offshore area of New Hamburg Port like a pesky fly, irritating the East Africa Navy even more as they couldn’t simply swat this fly away.

In fact, not only New Hamburg Port but also almost every port in East Africa had British ships performing similar actions recently, especially the two open ports, where the British carried out careful evaluations.

”The economic open zones claimed by the Kingdom of East Africa are already quite prosperous; this place resembles a miniature version of London and Paris. Although the population doesn’t compare to the two capitals, it is sufficiently developed, with a strong commercial and service industry atmosphere, and many ships stop at these two ports along the way to enjoy the services of the East Africans.”

”The populations of the two cities are composed of a mix of Caucasian and Asian individuals. We haven’t obtained any valuable information from the local residents, but through indirect means, we can discern that the Kingdom of East Africa is different from our impression of African countries; it is orderly and not backward, ruled by the Prussian Heixinggen royal family, which holds high esteem among the populace.”

”Dar es Salaam and Mombasa have already fully rivaled European port cities, with vast European architectures established along the East African coast, making it completely different from a dozen years ago. Germans have thoroughly replaced Arabs, becoming the undisputed overlords here. Aside from Transvaal and the Zulu Kingdom, Zanzibar Sultanate, once marked on maps a few years ago, has completely become a province of East Africa, and most of the Somali coast has been annexed by the Germans.”

”The Portuguese once divided the areas around Lake Malawi with East Africa, while the inland regions have been largely monopolized by the Kingdom of East Africa, likely expanding its territory to over one and a half million square miles.”

”However, we lack a clear understanding of the specific inland territories occupied by East Africa, as we haven’t detected the Kingdom of East Africa’s influence on the West Coast. This indicates that East Africa has yet to venture into the West Coast. If we wish to further comprehend East Africa’s territorial scope, we must dispatch an expedition from the west to conduct reconnaissance. Yet, the African West Coast is a Portuguese colony, so if we aim to bypass the Portuguese, we can only enter from the southern desert regions, which won’t be an easy task for us.”

As Britain began exploring Africa, the veil of East Africa was gradually lifted by Britain, and the mere tip of the iceberg already delivered a significant shock to Britain.

Benjamin: ”Containment of East Africa has become inevitable. If East Africa is allowed to develop unchecked, would it monopolize Africa like America?”

Chancellor of the Exchequer: ”Your Prime Minister, we must not act impulsively. Though the Kingdom of East Africa holds certain potential, it doesn’t pose a threat. Africa is not fertile like America, and we must also consider the attitudes of Austria-Hungary and Germany. These two nations might have provided substantial assistance for East Africa’s development.”

He wouldn’t believe that East Africa could develop to this extent solely through its capabilities, as Britain possesses rich colonial experience, with the difficulty of developing colonies closely related to population, where a prosperous colony requires more than just gold mines; population is a crucial indicator.

Just like the Philippines and India, which were built up by their populations, Africa is typified by large, sparsely populated areas, where a lack of adequate population significantly reduces the colony’s value, making governance difficult unless charity work is done locally.

Benjamin: ”Regardless, once we address matters in India, East Africa must be prioritized on our agenda.”

Benjamin’s idea is commendable, yet Ernst does not believe Benjamin will have the opportunity to focus on East Africa, because Russia hasn’t taken action, and signs of the tenth Russo-Turkish War have emerged. If the British can genuinely disregard risks and choose to engage fiercely against East Africa, then Ernst would see Benjamin as quite a man.

Disregarding British intentions, East Africa still must fend for itself without British interruptions. Upon receiving information on Britain’s unusual movements, Ernst gathered military personnel to commence discussions on East Africa’s new expansion plans.

”We’ve achieved notable success along the Indian Ocean coast, but East Africa hasn’t yet established its foothold along the Atlantic. The importance of the Atlantic cannot be overstated, so this time I plan to target the Skeleton Coast between Angola and the Orange River.”

The Skeleton Coast refers to the Namibia coastal region, which early Portuguese sailors labeled as the ”Land of Hell” along this extensive coast, and here Ernst uses Skeleton Coast to represent the entire Namibia coastal area.

”Your Highness, if we intend to advance towards the Skeleton Coast, we must navigate the geographical disadvantages, as the entirety of Southwest Africa is virtually desert. Unlike the Somali region, where we can control areas through oases and camels, Southwest Africa’s conditions are far inferior.”

”Yes, but I don’t plan on a large-scale actual occupation in the southwest; rather, I focus on occupying certain areas to sever other countries’ colonial opportunities in Southwest Africa.”

The large and arid Namib Desert in earlier times made Namibia one of the world’s lowest population density countries, with its 1,600 km coastline largely covered by the Namib Desert.

Thus, during the few hundred years when the African West Coast served as Europe’s main route to Asia, no colonial powers ever entertained ideas of colonization in Southwest Africa, including the Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch, who would land here, take a look, then leave.

It wasn’t until 1884 that the Germans claimed the Southwest African coastal area as their colony, though Southwest Africa was not considered a good place. Still, poor Germany entered too late, so even this desert wasn’t spared.

”Our control over Southwest Africa mainly involves three regions: the area bordering the Portuguese, the outlet of the Orange River, and Walvis Bay in central Southwest Africa.”

The distance between East Africa and Southwest Africa isn’t considerable, plus East Africa’s western part actually includes part of the Southwest African region, mainly the Southwest Africa Plateau area, Okavango River basin, known as Leta Province.

The Okavango River originates in central Angola in earlier times, traverses Namibia, and is ultimately swallowed by the Kalahari Desert in Botswana.

However, Leta Province is primarily located on the eastern banks of the Okavango River (present-day northeastern Namibia, southeastern Angola), where the western part of East Africa hasn’t undergone large-scale exploration and development.

Southwest Africa isn’t a small locality; coupled with the Kalahari Desert, it’s estimated that around seventy to eighty thousand square kilometers are uninhabited, so East Africa’s attempts to occupy it would face challenges.

The main hurdle is the difficulty of transport, given the sprawling desert areas that differ from Somalia’s, with exceedingly sparse populations and an absence of human settlements providing essential supplies.

In the absence of unforeseen challenges, the Orange River corridor might instead be the easiest area to occupy, providing the chance to advance westward along the Orange River, which can also solve the water supply issue.

Regarding other areas in Southwest Africa, Ernst’s thought this time is to progress both land and sea, delving into Southwest Africa on land while establishing bases along the Southwest African coast through maritime logistics.