African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 841: Missions from Great Powers

 October 3, 1891.

 Port of Dar es Salaam.

 “Welcome to East Africa!”

 As a member of the world's major powers, East Africa can now have equal dialogue with any country in the world. On the other hand, most countries must have good relations with East Africa.

The most eager among these countries is undoubtedly Germany, which is most concerned about East Africa. The German delegation to East Africa was personally led by Prime Minister Caprivi.

Previously, it was difficult to imagine a leader of a world power visiting an African country. Not to mention that this is the 19th century, even in Ernst's previous life, it was difficult to witness this scene. It seems that only a certain American president visited Kenya. Looking back on the roots of my hometown and asking about my ancestors.

As for the fact that Britain and France basically do not have the majesty of great powers in the 21st century, especially France itself is the King of Africa, Paris is considered the capital of West Africa, and its international status has dropped too much compared with the 19th century, but in the 19th century the status of countries such as Britain, France and Germany It is similar to the Far Eastern Empire, the United States, and Russia in the previous life.

Of course, it is a bit reluctant to say that Caprivi is the leader of Germany. Although he is the Prime Minister of Germany, as a monarchy, Germany still has an emperor, so Caprivi can only be regarded as one of the main leaders of Germany.

 Caprivivi: "Hello, Mr. Sweet."

“His Majesty the King and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince welcome your arrival.” Sweet said politely.

“Even in Germany, the city of Dar es Salaam ranks among the top ten. It’s hard to imagine that this is an African city.”

Looking at the young man in front of him, Caprivi was very envious. It was rare to be in a high position at such a young age. It took him so many years to get to the position of prime minister.

Although Dar es Salaam has a developed economy, it is not the capital of East Africa after all, so next, Kaprivi and his team will take a train to the first town.

Of course, Sweet is not young now, just middle-aged. However, compared with Caprivi, he is naturally very young and the officials are young. This is a relatively common phenomenon in East Africa.

Sweet said: "After more than ten years of development, East Africa is also considered a populous country. With the accumulation of population and resources, it is not difficult to develop a relatively developed city. Moreover, Dar es Salaam is not inland in East Africa. Here It was the political center of the Zanzibar Sultanate in the past, and it was not without economic foundation. At that time, Dar es Salaam was one of the important commercial centers on the western Indian Ocean coast. "

 So much so that Ernst treated the older people in the government as treasures and used them to suppress the anger of the East African government. After all, young people are prone to impulsivity, especially in East Africa, a rapidly developing country.

The city of Dar es Salaam is only a quarter of the size of Berlin, but it also impressed Caprivi.

 Led by Sweet, the German delegation took a brief tour of Dar es Salaam. As a window city, the development of Dar es Salaam has attracted the attention of German officials.

For example, the aging Minister of Defense, Count Jarman, has basically bid farewell to daily affairs, but still sits firmly in the position of Minister of Defense.

"Haha, Mr. Sweet, you are too modest. Without the existence of East Africa, the people of Zanzibar at that time would not have been able to create a world-class city. And you not only have Dar es Salaam but also Mombasa. , New Hamburg Port and other cities, the development of East Africa is obvious to all,” said Caprivi.

He spoke highly of East Africa, but in fact, Caprivi said it was a pity that Germany did not pay attention to such a good land in the future, which was advantageous to the Hechingen royal family.

At the same time, a wave of dissatisfaction with Bismarck also came to mind. If Bismarck had devoted even a little more energy to the colonial cause, nothing would happen in East Africa. As the new German prime minister single-handedly promoted by William II, Caprivi and Bismarck had completely opposite political opinions, but they were also completely unrelated.

Different from the Europe-centered "continental policy" of the Bismarck era, Caprivi advocated a "new line", which meant broadening the empire's diplomatic vision to the world stage, developing from a continental power to a world power, and seizing overseas colonies. , to expand Germany’s colonial empire.

In Caprivivi’s view, with just a little effort, East Africa’s vast land and market could be used by me, instead of having to sit down together with East Africa to discuss cooperation like now.

Of course, Caprivi just thought about it. The deal is now done, and Germany has lost the best opportunity to intervene. I am afraid that the country’s connection with East Africa is not as deep as that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

But on second thought, the existence of East Africa is not a bad thing, at least for the country. Because without East Africa, I am afraid that this vast area would have been carved up by Britain and France. On the contrary, the existence of East Africa allowed Germany to get a piece of the pie.

Moreover, as a non-traditional colonial country, Germany currently does not have a big appetite and is not used to showing off its power overseas. Of course, it is impossible to think of running wild in East Africa. After all, although Germany is developing the fastest in Europe, it still cannot compare with Britain and France in terms of strength. two countries.

This is also one of the purposes of Caprivivi’s visit to East Africa, which is to promote cooperation and exchanges between the two countries and promote the further development of the German economy.

What Germany lacks most now is the colonial market. East Africa, as an independent country and one of the great powers, naturally cannot become a German colony. Then we can only take a step back and allow German industrial and commercial goods to enter East Africa more smoothly. If possible It would be best if the two countries could form an alliance.

Germany is not as timid as Austria-Hungary. If it can form an alliance with East Africa, it will naturally be what it wants, instead of just Austria and East Africa.

After admiring the city of Dar es Salaam, the German officials boarded the train to the first town with unsatisfied emotions. Then, the sound of the tall chimneys and roaring machines in Dar es Salaam slowly dissipated. .

 In response to Kaprivi's visit, the first town and city held a warm welcome ceremony, and the East African Honor Guard held a ceremony to welcome high-level foreign leaders in the country for the first time.

Ernst personally received Caprivivi at the Svet Palace and conducted specific negotiations on cooperation.

 Forge an alliance! Of course it's impossible. Now East Africa no longer needs to play tiger's skin to maintain national security, and there is no freedom in forming an alliance. After all, an alliance with Germany will definitely not lead East Africa, and it will not be a problem if there is any trouble after the alliance. shirk.

Ernst declined politely: "We in East Africa are peace-loving countries. In Africa, we have just experienced the South African War, so we make some strategic misjudgments, which are likely to cause misunderstandings by third-party countries, which is not conducive to the stability of the world situation. and economic development in East Africa.”

 The third country can refer to either the United Kingdom or France, which has enmity with Germany. It doesn’t matter how you interpret it. Now that East Africa is so “powerful”, if it continues to ally with Germany, I’m afraid many countries will not be able to sleep well.

Caprivi had already anticipated Ernst's refusal. In other words, forming an alliance would mean staying together for warmth. Obviously, the current diplomatic environment in East Africa does not need to worry about security issues. On the contrary, forming an alliance with Germany may drag East Africa into trouble. .

 Caprivi feels a little sad about this. Germany can be said to be surrounded by enemies on all sides, and East Africa's geographical advantages are extremely prominent. It can be said that it is second only to the United States among the world's major powers.

Before the South African War, Britain could still rely on Cape Town and the Portuguese colonies to put a certain amount of pressure on East Africa. After the South African War, the security issues in East Africa had been completely solved. Just like the United States today, Canada in the north was not a climate, and Canada in the south was Mexico is completely defeated.

 (End of this chapter)