Chapter 442 East African Threat Theory
The geographical location of East Africa always makes it easy for people to feel ignored. This is the inertial thinking caused by empiricism. Under this kind of thinking, no one will take Africa seriously. The most typical one is America now.
The geographical location of the United States is quite advantageous, and all conditions are top-notch. However, even if the United States is now second only to the United Kingdom in development, its status in the world is still very unmatched. The political influence of the United States is limited to the Americas. Small countries like Mexico and the Caribbean basically revolve around the United States.
Because in ordinary people's impression, America has never had a world-influential power. For example, in the Black Ship Incident, the Americans opened Japan's door. However, the Japanese navy imitated the British and the army imitated Prussia, but they did not imitate the United States.
The U.S. Army is weak, which is basically the unanimous view of most people. However, with the size and land area of the United States, theoretically speaking, the U.S. Army should be much stronger than the British Army. The reason why the U.S. Army cannot develop is entirely due to Mexico and Canada are too hip.
Even a country as powerful as the United States cannot put pressure on Europe, and small East Africa naturally does not have much of a presence.
However, the fact that Europe cannot feel the development of East Africa does not mean that the countries and colonies surrounding East Africa cannot feel it.
When the Archduke Ferdinand sailed through the waters of Dar es Salaam, it was seen by the Portuguese who were spending money here.
As a neighbor, the Mozambique colony is most concerned about the development of the East African Kingdom. They specially send people to stay in Dar es Salaam to collect relevant intelligence.
"Is that...a battleship from East Africa?"
Looking at the East African flag flying on the Archduke Ferdinand, the Portuguese said in disbelief.
"If it is really an ironclad ship from East Africa, how big of a problem would it be? Even the Kingdom's own navy would be hard-pressed to deal with an ironclad ship of this level!"
After East Africa annexed northern South Africa, Mozambique realized that it was really surrounded by the Kingdom of East Africa. It was bordered by East Africa on three sides of the land. Although it was the ocean to the east, the East African Navy also started cruises (actually dispatched to the New Hamburg Port naval ship).
Although the strength of the East African navy was not weak in the Indian Ocean region, the Mozambique colony believed that it was not enough to threaten itself.
But if a top ironclad ship like Archduke Ferdinand joins, the situation will be different.
"This situation must be reported to the governor. If it is really the ironclad ship purchased by East Africa, then the strength of the East African Kingdom will be too terrifying!"
Originally, it felt unbeatable on land. If the advantage at sea was gone, Mozambique might have become a piece of fat on the lips of the East African kingdom.
After Brazil became independent, the two most important colonies for Portugal were in Africa, one was Mozambique and the other was Angola. Previously, there were two potential threats around Mozambique, one was the United Kingdom, and the other was East Africa. Now this threat only exists in East Africa. .
"In recent years, the Germans have developed too fast. I heard that the colony of Angola is also bordering East Africa, which means that the Atlantic coast is no longer safe for us Portugal."
"They also further captured the Transvaal Republic and the Zulu Kingdom. This form is no different from taking food from the British."
"And if this ironclad ship is really a warship from the Kingdom of East Africa, it means that East Africa still has the ability to purchase other warships from Europe. Judging from the naked eye, the displacement of this ironclad ship is estimated to be upwards of 5,000 tons, and may even reach 7,000 tons. tons, the cost of building this kind of ironclad is not cheap. If East Africa can afford an ironclad of this magnitude, then they must be able to buy some slightly smaller ironclads."
"There is no doubt that East Africa has purchased a lot of offshore defense gunboats in recent years, which shows that East Africa is gradually building its own maritime power. The German ambitions are not only satisfied with the African continent, but also the western Indian Ocean."
"East Africa is destroying the balance of the African continent, which European countries cannot see. Someone must suppress the development of East Africa, otherwise there will be another United States in the future. Will the Germans also want to create an African version like the Americans? The “Monroe Doctrine”?”
The Portuguese just stand up and talk without pain in their backs. The achievements East Africa has achieved today are not achieved through charity. Moreover, the starting point of East Africa is far worse than that of Portugal.
Before East Africa, Portugal had opened up the trade route from Angola to Mozambique. As long as the Portuguese had a little courage, East Africa would not be able to catch up and occupy the interior of Africa.
Speaking of threats, East Africa also feels that Portugal threatens East Africa’s security! You have Angola and Mozambique, one in the east and one in the west, with East Africa just in the middle.
If Portugal could focus on developing Mozambique and Angola during these years of development in East Africa and strengthen the strength of the two colonies, the situation would be reversed.
But what is Portugal like on the mainland? Everyone knows that there is no mercy in taking money from the colonies. Don’t even think about supporting the colonies. The country can’t afford to pay!
But the Portuguese don't think so. Your development in East Africa is a threat to us. Although I don't vigorously develop colonies, that's not normal. Who develops colonies as their own!
"These days, there are more and more ships from Europe to East Africa, mainly transporting steel, which shows that East Africa is undergoing large-scale development and construction. Once East Africa stops construction, it means that they have completely digested the interior of Africa."
“What are you planning to do with so much steel in East Africa?”
"I guess it's the railroad."
"Railway? Is it possible?"
"As long as your ears are normal, you can hear the train whistle in the suburbs of Dar es Salaam. It is a unique sound of trains. Although East Africa is very closed, we can still infer from this that the East African Kingdom has railways. I I would say this is the only country south of the Sahara that has railways.”
"And the country with the craziest railway development in Europe in recent years is Germany. The application of railways in the military has been fully verified in the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War. Therefore, it is completely understandable that the East African Kingdom attaches great importance to railways. The most important thing is that only railways It takes so much steel.”
“How will the East African railway be built?”
"We can infer from the territory of East Africa. Others don't know the territory of East Africa, but we can make a rough guess. The East African Kingdom previously occupied the Transvaal and the Zulu Kingdom. The distance from East Africa to South Africa is at least two thousand kilometers. What mode of transportation do you think can be used to closely connect the two places?"
"Are you paying for it?"
"Um!"
"Idiot, you think Africa is the Americas and Europe! It is also used to connect East Africa and South Africa. Don't you know how expensive this thing is? And build such a long railway for the indigenous people? How long will it take to recover the cost? Hundreds of years !”
"In my opinion, even if East Africa builds railways in coastal areas, it would be great, and they want to connect East Africa and South Africa. Unless the royal family of Hechingen really wants to do charity, the problem is that few countries can withstand such a test when it comes to charity. It’s not easy to solve the money problem alone, unless you can persuade a family like Rothschild to invest, but are others stupid! Unless there is gold in East Africa.”
In fact, there is indeed gold in East Africa, but the gold in East Africa is either not developed, and when it is developed, it does not flow into the international market. International capital has a nose as sharp as a dog. If a large amount of gold does flow into the market for cash, the source can be traced quickly.
Therefore, East Africa’s current exports have always been mainly agricultural products. If you ask the Europeans to dig for gold, they will be more excited than anyone else. Experience summed up by countless explorers over the past century with blood and tears.