African Entrepreneurship Record

Venice.

Under the rule of Austria-Hungary, Venice appeared far more desolate than before the Italo-Austrian War. The war severely affected the Venetian population, leading to significant loss and infrastructure damage, resulting in a substantial weakening that has persisted.

Of course, this has brought about a more stable governance in the Venetian region. During the Italo-Austrian War, hundreds of thousands of Italians went to East Africa, becoming one of the major sources of population there. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Italians fled to other countries and regions due to the war, leaving behind large areas of population vacuum that Austrians filled.

At the same time, the aristocrats and powerful families in the Venetian region faced liquidation by Austria-Hungary, enabling Austria’s various population policies to be implemented in Venice, making the future detachment of Venice from Austria-Hungary increasingly difficult.

However, compared to neighboring Lombardy, Venetians are still fortunate. Under the oppression of the Hungarian government, Lombardy’s economy is in shambles, with a large number of factories either destroyed or relocated.

The greatest flaw of the Hungarian government is its lack of reconstruction efforts in Lombardy. After all, the biggest obstacle to Austria-Hungary’s finances is Hungary itself. It’s impossible for Hungary to fund Lombardy’s reconstruction, and in fact, Lombardy’s tax burden is heavier than Venice’s.

Entering the 1880s, with Austrian investment in Venice, a direct railway to Vienna was completed, reestablishing it as an important trade port for Austria-Hungary.

However, Venice is temporarily still suppressed by Trieste, only becoming the second-largest port city of Austria-Hungary, which is the result of historical inertia.

”Currently, Venice has emerged from its economic slump; many factories in the city have resumed operations, or have been reconstructed. Austria-Hungary’s construction efforts here are actually quite commendable,” Herman, the Minister of Foreign Affairs for East Africa, said to his colleague Von der Leyen.

”Now Venice is merely restoring its role during the Austrian Empire period. However, Austria naturally is a Land Power Country; even acquiring Venice doesn’t change the fact that its exit to the sea is constrained within the Adriatic Sea. Nonetheless, for Austria-Hungary, this is the best outcome, as Venice’s more important role is suppressing the entire Apennine Peninsula, preventing the emergence of a unified Italian nation,” Von der Leyen analyzed.

”Indeed, regarding Italy’s fragmentation, we were actually facilitators. Years ago, we seemed to play a role in it as well. Cities like Nairobi house many Venetians, primarily engaged in handicraft and agriculture, effectively severing Venice’s historical roots.”

As former East African officials cooperating with Ernst to undermine Italy, they are quite aware of the unscrupulous actions East Africa took during the Italo-Austrian War.

One could say Nairobi’s emergence as the top city for textile is built on Venice’s downfall, while East African shipbuilding also relied heavily on Venetian assistance, with many Venetians living within East African shipyards.

”Indeed, Venice’s contribution to East African economic development is significant. Before the war, Venice was in a relatively developed economic region within Italy or Austria-Hungary, ranking highly in traditional crafts and industries, yet now it doesn’t even surpass Tyrol.”

Tyrol, located in the southern territories of Austria-Hungary in the Alps Mountains, originally lagged behind Venice. Following the destruction of Venice’s economic foundation, massive population loss, and the cheap sale of equipment, Tyrol surpassed it, not to mention comparison with neighboring Trieste.

Of course, Venice surpassing Tyrol again is only a matter of time; this area undoubtedly excels over Tyrol in various aspects such as transportation terrain. However, with Trieste being ahead, reemerging as Austria-Hungary’s largest port remains challenging.

Ultimately, Austria-Hungary isn’t foolish; after suffering losses due to Venice, they are determined to continue building up the already risen Trieste.

Trieste’s economy must rely on Austria, completely constructed by Austria, negating any risk of separation or independence, ensuring strategic maritime security for Austria-Hungary.

Moreover, a crucial point is that Trieste is closer to Vienna and other Austrian hinterlands, making it easier to control, and the cost isn’t higher than Venice.

”In comparison, Venice’s development doesn’t actually surpass our Nairobi City. I recall that in 1880, Nairobi’s population surpassed twenty thousand, while Venice’s urban population has not increased but declined, possibly just over ten thousand now.”

Von der Leyen naturally isn’t clear on specific Venetian population numbers, but it’s certain that before the Italo-Austrian War, the Venetian population was close to twenty thousand; in the mid-19th century, Venice already had more than twelve thousand residents.

From the 19th century, European cities were expanding, especially in recent years where normal countries experienced good development, like Belgium which completed industrialization during this period, while Portugal accelerated its decline due to heavy military expenditures hampering economic progress, where its economic situation wasn’t good to begin with.

”The reality is there might be quite a few Austrians in Venice; thus, when accounting for numbers, the original Venetians might only number a few thousand,” Herman supplemented.

Notably, East Africa’s focus for Venetian population acquisition wasn’t the Venice urban area, but rather the rural areas within the region.

One reason was Venice’s long-term blockade, making immigration operations challenging; the other was Ernst’s deliberate effort to strengthen Austria’s power.

In economically developed areas, natural population growth rate typically isn’t significant, especially in regions like Venice which have been affluent since the Middle Ages, coupled with higher cultural literacy among citizens.

East Africa’s interception of large rural populations further plunged Venice’s natural population growth rate into a trough, with significant tracts of land occupied by Austrians, causing the Venetian population in the future to slowly shift towards Germans, alongside population assimilation policies, potentially realizing the goal of a German Venice.

East Africa certainly didn’t neglect the Venetian urban population acquisition either, concentrated mainly on workers and handicraft professionals, typically in sectors like textile and shipbuilding noted earlier, where individuals are technological talents per this era.

Many Venetians also chose to stow away on ships bound for South America and other regions, as was the case in Paraguay.

Upon the arrival of the East African negotiation team members, Venice made headlines across European newspapers on this day, with many starting to pay attention to the African nation that defeated Portugal and the British Empire.

Historically, sub-Saharan Africa was viewed by Europeans as impoverished, backward, and savage, yet on this land, a powerful nation established by European colonizers emerged, which is indeed an intriguing topic.

Certainly, the Kingdom of Portugal and the British Empire as the backdrop don’t perceive it this way. The status of the East African Kingdom was gained over the corpses of soldiers from the two nations, especially given how Portugal faced major disgrace.

European newspapers described Portugal as: ”Portugal—a European ’great power’ defeated by a colonized nation!” Portugal’s illustrious history and recent events were dug up, including Brazilian independence and the recent South African War, all indicating the country cannot be salvaged.

Some ill-intentioned editors joked: ”Countries like Portugal should be kicked out from the civilized world.”

In Europeans’ view, the civilized world naturally refers to Europe, which was the consensus of the 19th century. Of course, people from countries outside Europe surely regard their countries as within the ’civilized’ ranks alongside Europe, such as Indians flaunting imperialism in British colonies, Japanese eager to ”exit Asia to enter Europe,” or East Africa promoting itself as a German Country.