Chapter 93 Mtwara
Mtwara is located on the east coast of Mikindani Bay, a natural deep-water harbor in southern Tanzania.
As the first step after the restructuring of the new administrative division, the construction of Mtwara Port was given top priority.
Its construction work was completed by the Ron Roda administration and staff from the Upper Marina District.
The scale of the preliminary construction will be able to dock approximately two ships after completion, which is enough. The fleet arriving from Europe can be diverted here.
Two ships can distribute hundreds of Austro-Hungarian immigrants at a time. Together with the immigrants arriving from the Far East, the accumulation over time is enough to meet the population needs of the Lower Maritime District and the East Malawi Lake District.
When Ernst was thinking and reviewing the Paraguay War, he actually had a kind of worry in his heart.
Taking a closer look at the tragedy of the Paraguay War, on the surface it was Paraguay's leader, Lopez, who aspired to be Paraguay's Napoleon, using an advanced army to safeguard Paraguay's own interests (territorial disputes and autonomy between Paraguay and neighboring countries), which ultimately led to an siege by the three countries.
In fact, there was a shadow of the British behind the Paraguay War. Affected by the American Civil War, Britain lost its agricultural market in North America, so it sought to make up for its losses in North America through trade expansion and economic expansion in South America.
From 1857 onwards, in accordance with agreements reached with the Argentine federal government and the Brazilian government, the British began to build railways connecting the most important agricultural areas and ports in these countries.
At the same time, Britain wanted complete freedom of navigation on the Paraná and Paraguay rivers, as well as tax-free trade with the interior Argentine provinces and the owners of Paraguay.
Paraguay firmly opposes this. However, since the Paraná River leads from Buenos Aires through Paraguay to the wealthy area at the southern tip of Brazil, Britain must crush Paraguay's resistance no matter what.
In addition, Britain hoped that by funding Brazil and Argentina in the war, it would "destroy the seedlings of independence in these two countries, thereby gradually bringing them under its control and gain a solid position in South America. Before the outbreak of the war, Britain tried its best to Start the war.
The script played by the British in South America is exactly the same as the continental balance of power it plays in Europe. They all rely on provoking conflicts among countries in the region to achieve their own goals.
As a traditional British performing arts, we have to be aware that Britain actually used similar methods in Africa in its previous life.
For example, the conflict between the Boers and the Zulu Kingdom, and the dispute between Morocco, Germany and France.
These have nothing to do with Ernst, because in the previous life, the British solved the problem of German East Africa personally.
In its previous life, Britain launched the ambitious Plan II-C in Africa, which extended its colonies in Africa from Cape Town in the southernmost tip of Africa to Egypt in North Africa.
At that time, the biggest obstacle for Britain to complete this plan was the German colonies lying in front of southern Africa. After reunification, Germany successively opened up German East Africa and German Southwest Africa (Namibia) in Africa.
These two colonies happened to contain the British South African colony, one in the east and one in the west.
If the British wanted to connect the entire British African colony, they could not avoid German East Africa. After all, the west of German East Africa was the Congo rainforest.
Tropical rainforests are also known as green deserts. The difficulty of development can be imagined. A flood season can let the British feel the power of nature (refer to the Amazon Rainforest video). Even in the 21st century, tropical rainforests are extremely difficult to develop. .
In the previous life, German East Africa was completely dependent on Germany, with some ability to fight back.
Now Ernst's East African colonies are not closely related to Germany. After all, German East Africa is an overseas territory directly managed by the German government, and the East African colonies in this time and space are just the private domain of the Hechingen royal family.
In its previous life, Germany was unable to take care of its overseas territories and colonies during World War I, let alone desperately protect Ernst's East African colonies.
Moreover, the East African colonies cannot be bound to Germany in the future. Otherwise, like in the previous life, if Germany loses the war, the East African colonies will also be ceded to countries such as Britain and Portugal.
Therefore, Ernst cannot always stand on the German boat. It is better for East Africa to be more independent in the future.
Of course, if you want to be independent, you must stand on your own feet and arm yourself, otherwise no one will take the East African colonies seriously.
What if, in this life, Britain continues to promote the Two-C Plan? By then, even if Ernst seeks help from Germany, it may not be effective.
After all, major powers can compromise, especially when it comes to generosity. If the interests of the German government and Ernst are not completely consistent, they may exchange the East African colonies and the United Kingdom for the interests of other regions.
This is based on history. In the previous life, Germany and France competed for Morocco. At first, Germany made good promises to Morocco's supporters. In the end, due to the joint oppression of the British and the French, Germany gave up on Morocco, while Britain and France took Cameroon. Sent to Germany as compensation.
Therefore, it is impossible for Ernst to be determined to go to hell with the future German government. Ernst actively communicates with the Austro-Hungarian royal family for this reason.
Many friends lead to many paths. If his grandfather hadn't stabbed Napoleon in the back, now Ernst would want to establish relations with Napoleon's government.
As for the United Kingdom, it is likely to be a potential enemy of East African colonization in the future, and Ernst is too lazy to fall in love with a cold butt.
The most important thing is that my family has nothing to do with Britain. My late mother was French after all, and my grandfather also had some influence in France, and some of his disciples were former officials.
Ernst had no contact even if he wanted to talk to the British. The Prussian royal family and some countries in the North German region had contacts with the British and had often formed alliances in history.
The Ernst family was mainly active in the South German region. Before taking refuge in Prussia, they had been hanging out with Austria and France. At the last time, they lived under Bavaria (the HRE period).
Therefore, the main connections are in continental Europe, and it is difficult for the British to interfere in the affairs of the South German region. Without the size of Baden, Württemberg, and Bavaria, the British government will not even look at you.
However, the Hechingen royal family can still take up the banner of the Hohenzollern family. Prussia under the rule of the Hohenzollern family, together with Romania, is still quite prestigious in Europe.
The royal family of Hechingen also has connections in other countries, such as Sweden, Russia, and Austria by marriage. These were the forces of public opinion that Ernst could win over in Europe.
It is better to have good relations with so many European countries in the future than to hang on a tree in Germany. Of course, before the outbreak of World War I, the East African colonies were Germany's trustworthy partners.
The interests of the German government and Ernst are not completely consistent, but the interests of the Prussian royal family and their own family are the same. They are both members of the Hohenzollern family, and they can hold hands if they can.
After all, if the East African colonies are threatened by the British in the future, they will mainly rely on their own strength, and it is uncertain to rely on others.
The establishment of Mtwara Port is to strengthen East Africa's strength on the southern border. A large number of subsequent weapons and supplies can be transported through this port to the Lower Marina District and the East Malawi Lake District for storage.
As we all know, Britain and Portugal are better off than wearing a pair of trousers. In their previous lives, the two countries worked together to destroy German East Africa and German Southwest Africa.
Therefore, the Portuguese had to guard against it, and the two colonies were already bordering each other. Subsequent conflicts with the Portuguese in the direction of Zimbabwe and Zambia were inevitable.
Arming the southern part of the East African colonies first will make it somewhat safe. As for the north, the eight northwest countries are now in a state of half-death. Just wait for the plague to end and the East African colonial army can go directly to accept it.
In the northeast, players are still insignificant. Except for some tribes, the strongest ones are Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and the Ottoman Empire.
But there was actually no border between the East African colonies and the two countries, and they were separated by some small religious countries and indigenous forces.
Moreover, the Ottoman Empire was so thin that camels were larger than horses, which was a good buffer for Western countries to develop Africa.
A vast area of land stretching from the Balkans to Algeria was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman Empire itself was constrained by Western countries, and its domestic situation was relatively turbulent and unable to expand. This provided better cover for the early development of the East African colonies.
The half-dead Ottoman Empire was a true friend of the East African colonies. It could block the attention of Western forces on Africa without posing a threat to the East African colonies.
As for the Abyssinian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, they faced the same dilemma.