African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 515: Chapter 193 Lan Fang Overseas Province

In addition to northern Mozambique, East Africa also acquired one-third of the land south of Angola. For this area, Ernst has no intention of developing it right now.

Angola is situated on the Atlantic coast, meaning it’s not as easy to intervene as it is in the Indian Ocean. East Africa can exert its naval strength in the Indian Ocean, but it would be less effective in the Atlantic, and it’s not feasible to spread out naval forces. What if the British take advantage of it?

Ernst’s concerns are not unfounded. Although Ernst dislikes Britain, he has to admit that it is a very pragmatic country. Of course, one could also say it is unscrupulous, willing to forego dignity in order to achieve its goals. Otherwise, it couldn’t have become the world’s overlord. After all, Britain is just a tiny place, and without some ruthlessness, it couldn’t have had Germany, France, Austria, Russia, and America in the palm of its hand.

Previously, Ernst naturally didn’t have the right to say Britain was just a tiny place, but now the sheer size of East Africa indeed grants him this privilege.

Cape Town is still in British hands. The British have strong power in the Atlantic. Saint Helena Island, where they once held Napoleon, is not far from Angola. The British homeland navy can maneuver southward unimpeded. Therefore, if East Africa spreads its naval forces into the Atlantic, the British have the capability to wipe them out.

Moreover, Britain has the motivation to do so, as East Africa has already become antagonistic towards Britain. Hence, East Africa has effectively become one of Britain’s enemies.

Therefore, Ernst is not at ease with spreading limited naval forces in the Atlantic. The Indian Ocean is different. Overall, the East African Navy isn’t too weak, but its strengths can only be fully utilized in one maritime area.

The East African Navy’s setup is similar to that of Austria-Hungary and Germany, whose naval operational areas are very narrow and can even be described as pitiful. Therefore, their naval power seems abundant, but East Africa is different. The Indian Ocean is too vast, and protecting the eastern coast is already challenging. Adding the Atlantic would completely stretch East Africa’s naval resources.

Of course, there’s another reason Ernst is not developing Angola: the land Portugal ceded to East Africa isn’t actually very good. It’s in southern Angola, with natural conditions similar to Namibia, making it not an ideal place for development.

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Kalimantan Island, Lan Fang Republic.

Kundian Port is the largest port of the Lan Fang Republic. East Africa already had a military presence in Kundian, but today, two East African merchant ships carrying a battalion disembarked here, formally declaring that Lan Fang Republic has become a colony of East Africa.

After the ceasefire with Portugal, East Africa now has time to focus on assimilating Lan Fang Republic. Of course, the primary reason lies in East Africa’s engagement with the Dutch, who have already abandoned the Lan Fang Republic in exchange for East Africa’s recognition of surrounding Dutch colonies, meaning that the Dutch and East Africa have delineated their respective spheres of influence on Kalimantan Island. Ernst also prudently respects the current Dutch interests in the Lan Fang Republic.

At Kundian Port, Wilt officially took office as the first Governor of the Lan Fang Overseas Province of the Heixinggen Kingdom. The Lan Fang Overseas Province is not the first colony of the Heixinggen Royal Family; Alaska is, but Alaska belongs to the Royal Family territory and is not under the jurisdiction of the Heixinggen (East African) Kingdom, as even a cunning rabbit has three burrows, and the Heixinggen Royal Family also needs a fallback.

Looking at the original Lan Fang Republic flag, as the ”Hakka” flag rose up alongside the East African flag, Wilt felt quite pleased, as from today he would also be a provincial leader.

Due to its special geographical location, the Lan Fang Overseas Province does not have a Governor, but appoints a Governor-General, whose powers are slightly greater than a Governor’s. For example, the Lan Fang Governor-General holds half of military command.

Ultimately, Ernst still prefers centralization and doesn’t trust the Lan Fang Republic with too much autonomy, so the Lan Fang Republic directly became an overseas province of East Africa, rather than an ordinary colony. As a province, it becomes one of the East African provinces and is considered part of the family.

Of course, the main reason is that the Lan Fang Overseas Province is not large, with a small population, so joining East Africa hasn’t faced much resistance. The former scope of the Lan Fang Republic at its peak only covered the northwest of Kalimantan Island, and after several decimations by the Dutch, the Lan Fang Republic could only be considered an insignificant small nation on Kalimantan Island.

If the Lan Fang Republic truly dominated the entire Kalimantan Island, Ernst certainly wouldn’t grant Lan Fang the status of an overseas province.

Speaking of the Lan Fang Republic, there’s another interesting feature: it had its own colony called Daiyan.

Daiyan was a state founded by the indigenous people of Kalimantan Island, located inland to the east of the Lan Fang Republic. According to the former Lan Fang Republic, it was a vassal state, but by East African standards, it is considered a colony, and Daiyan was also annexed into the newly established Lan Fang Overseas Province.

As for whether the locals are willing, it’s not up to them. East Africa is not as lenient as the Lan Fang Republic.

Previously, Daiyan could maneuver between the Lan Fang Republic and the Dutch, but now that East Africa has an agreement with the Dutch, Daiyan’s existence is no longer necessary.

The nations on Kalimantan Island can be divided into three main groups based on belief: the Hakka, which refers to the original Han people’s beliefs, primarily comprising the Chinese community on Kalimantan Island. Ernst knows that this doesn’t count as a religion or belief, but globally only the East has this peculiarity. Secondly are the Christians, primarily the Dutch. Finally, there are the Arab believers; most of the countries on Kalimantan Island practice Arab religions.

Daiyan also belongs to the Arab faith, and for East Africa, where Catholicism is the mainstream folk religion, there’s no psychological burden in eliminating such a pagan nation.

This even aligns well with the European mindset. The Dutch strive to spread their religion on Kalimantan Island. After all, the primary religion in Dutch colonies, like in East Africa, is Catholicism, with Protestantism being second, and then other religions. Due to the influence of Zanzibar, East Africa also has a contingent of Arab believers.

However, the Arab believers in East Africa are somewhat unique. East Africa tolerates their presence due to the commercial trade with Arab countries. These Arabs actually have flexible nationalities.

Because Zanzibar was once a territory of the Oman Empire, the Arabs on Zanzibar Island can also be citizens of the Oman Empire or other Arab nations.

In reality, this is the case. After East Africa designated Zanzibar Island as a province, many Arabs from the original Sultanate of Zanzibar returned to Oman. After all, Arab religion has no status in East Africa. However, due to trade, most of them still reside in Zanzibar Island temporarily.

There exists a tacit understanding between East Africa and the Arab communities; currently, East Africa has no intention of expelling them. As for when to expel them, it depends on East Africa’s wishes. The initiative lies with East Africa because taxes, finances, and military power in Zanzibar Island have all been reclaimed by East Africa. To expel the Arabs, East Africa only needs to tweak some policies, forcing them back to the Arab world. After all, although they have amassed a little wealth, living as second-class citizens in East Africa is less comfortable than being superior in Oman. As for those who refuse to leave, there’s the East African military to deal with them, so there’s no chance for that.

Regarding Daiyan, which is also an Arab country, East Africa plans to relocate its residents to East Africa for assimilation. As a vassal state of the Lan Fang Republic, Daiyan cannot negotiate with East Africa, and given that its inhabitants are mainly Malays, as long as they aren’t Black, Ernst can accept them.