African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1022: Southern German Kingdom
To be honest, it was not easy for East Africa to not forget to give some benefits to Lan Fang's overseas provinces during the First Five-Year Plan. After all, the local development level was still not high, and being able to help the overseas territories to a certain extent was considered tightening the belt.

Not to mention the Lan Fang Overseas Department, there are two provinces on the island of Madagascar closest to East Africa. Mahajanga Province and Toliara Province are currently underdeveloped, and their population is even lower than that of the Lan Fang Overseas Department. That is, they are closer to the East African continent, otherwise they would have become a meal for France long ago.

……

Rhine Palace.

"Your Highness, the Kingdom of Southern Germany is seeking help from our country. This is a letter from King Leopold to you!"

The Kingdom of South Germany, formerly the Sigmaringen Colony of Chad, was formally upgraded to the Kingdom of South Germany in 1901 after the Rhine Empire was informally established in the East. The Sigmaringen royal family believed that the Chad Colony also had the foundation to be upgraded to an independent country. Therefore, in , the Sigmaringen Colony of Chad, with the Chari River Basin and Lake Chad Basin as its core, was officially upgraded to the Kingdom of South Germany.

As for the name of the country, the South German Kingdom is relatively appropriate. After East Africa chose the Rhine Empire as its country name, one of the options for new citizens of East Africa at this level was chosen by the Sigmaringen royal family. The Chad region is located in the southern hemisphere. In the eyes of the Sigmaringen royal family, the South German Kingdom is the most appropriate as their second kingdom (the first is Romania).

The monarch of the Kingdom of South Germany is formerly Prince Leopold of Sigmaringen, now Leopold I.

By 1900, the population of the entire South German Kingdom had exceeded million, with the majority of residents being Chinese immigrants, occupying an area of ​​approximately million square kilometers centered on Lake Chad.

However, most of the land was desert area in the former Chad and western Sudan, and currently has no practical value.

According to climate classification, the territory of the South German Kingdom can currently be divided into three parts: the desert area in the north, the Sahel area in the middle, and the Sudan grassland area in the southernmost part. Lake Chad is located in the Sahel area, and it is generally relatively dry.

Ernst opened the letter and took a quick look. It turned out that Leopold was preparing to use force to expand the territory of the South German Kingdom to the west, so he was seeking help from East Africa and providing a batch of weapons and ammunition support.

"The Kingdom of South Germany seeks our support for war materials such as rifles and ammunition. They intend to expand westward along the Komadugu Yobe River basin."

The Komadougou Yobe River is the second largest river flowing into Lake Chad. The largest river is the Shari River, which originates in East Africa in the south.

The Chari River can be called the mother river of the South German Kingdom. More than 70% of the water in Lake Chad comes from the Chari River.

The Chari River basin and the area around Lake Chad are also the most densely populated areas in the current South German Kingdom, with cotton and grain cultivation being the main industries.

Although the Shari River was a good river, it was not completely controlled by the Kingdom of South Germany because the upper reaches were East African territory.

Given the brotherly relationship between East Africa and the Kingdom of South Germany, it was impossible for East Africa to cut off the water of the Chari River. However, as a European, Leopold naturally understood the fragility of his country's ecology. Therefore, for the future development of the Kingdom of South Germany, expansion to the west was the current national policy of the Kingdom of South Germany. Therefore, expansion along the Komadugu Yobe River basin became the first step of Leopold's ambition.

"I guess Leopold doesn't just want to gain more land and water. We all know that the Kingdom of South Germany is very eager to have access to the sea, so eventually reaching the sea is Leopold's real goal." Ernst said to his subordinates.

Siwei Te: "Then this road is probably not easy to take. There are a lot of indigenous kingdoms in the western part of the Southern German Kingdom, and the level of civilization is not low. The coastal areas are basically the sphere of influence of the Germans and the British. If we want to achieve this goal, we must have the full support of us or Germany behind the scenes."

On the one hand, the black forces in West Africa, especially in Nigeria in the west of the Kingdom of South Germany, are very different from the original East African natives, and their civilization is more than one level higher. Because of their geographical location, they are deeply influenced by the civilization of the Ottoman Empire. On the other hand, these indigenous countries have British intervention behind them, so the expansion of the Kingdom of South Germany to the Yobe River Basin in Komadugu is bound to cause friction with the British.

Merke: "These are nothing to worry about. The population and civilization of the Kingdom of South Germany are far beyond the reach of those tribes or kingdoms in Nigeria. As for the British, as long as they do not threaten the so-called British Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, the British will not directly interfere with the expansion of the Kingdom of South Germany at this stage."

The Protectorate of Southern Nigeria is the coastal area of ​​Nigeria controlled by the United Kingdom. Correspondingly, there is also a British Protectorate of Northern Nigeria in Northern Nigeria, but the Northern Nigeria Protectorate is ruled by a puppet regime supported by the United Kingdom, rather than being directly ruled by the British like the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria.

Ernst also agreed with this view: "As long as it did not touch the core interests of the British, the expansion of the Kingdom of South Germany would hardly be forcibly blocked by the British, let alone those indigenous forces that were not British protectorates."

Even though Britain established the so-called Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate, the areas bordering the South German Kingdom were mostly inhabited by independent armed forces native to West Africa.

Therefore, in the eyes of the East African government, Leopold's westward expedition was feasible. The only obstacle that could pose a hindrance to the Kingdom of South Germany was the local indigenous forces. Although these indigenous forces were much more developed than the East African indigenous peoples, they were also very limited in the face of the Kingdom of South Germany.

East Africa is not worried about the South German Kingdom becoming bigger. Take the current territory of the South German Kingdom for example. On the surface, it is also a large country with an area of ​​one million.

However, the land quality is too poor and the agricultural foundation is very weak. Even if the Chari River and Lake Chad basins are fully developed, the population that can be fed is ultimately limited.

To change this outcome, the United States must annex the entire Nigeria region, which would not only allow it to obtain a large amount of high-quality arable land, mineral resources and access to the sea.

But this situation is basically impossible to happen. First of all, the population of Nigeria is very large. As the most populous country in Africa in the past, even in the early 20th century, the population base of Nigeria could not be too small. According to the estimates of the East African government, the population of the entire Nigeria region is at least more than million, or even more than million, which cannot be less than that of the Abyssinian Empire or Egypt.

After all, the level of civilization here is relatively high, there is more arable land, and it is located near the Gulf of Guinea, so it has been in contact with Europeans for a long time.

This means that the Nigerian natives had relatively frequent trade exchanges with Europe. They had hot weapons in their hands. Although they were not advanced, at least they would not fight against East African soldiers with cold weapons like the East African natives.

Therefore, the westward expedition of the South German Kingdom was not destined to be smooth, at least not as smooth as its past in East Africa, especially after the British realized that this emerging force could threaten its Nigerian colony.

After all, at least the losses suffered by the British in East Africa are unlikely to be repeated in West Africa. The British are likely to consume the South German Kingdom by arming the indigenous forces in northwestern Nigeria and avoid the birth of a monster similar to that in East Africa in West Africa.

Moreover, the religious power in Nigeria cannot be ignored. Although Nigeria is divided into pieces, these green religious countries are likely to unite to fight against the invader, the Kingdom of South Germany.

The British were only interested in colonization and would also win over local sultans and emirs, while the South German Kingdom was simply going for the land and water, which was extremely threatening to their rule.

Due to various restrictions, the East African government believed that it would be easy for the Kingdom of South Germany to expand its territory, but it would be almost impossible to annex the entire Nigeria.

(End of this chapter)