African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1261 Attempting to Split
After all, the Netherlands was the local landlord, and various materials from the East Indies, such as spices and minerals, were transported to the mainland through the Sunda Strait, which was much more convenient than the Strait of Malacca.

After the rise of East Africa, the situation changed further. With the development of East Africa's industry and foreign trade, as well as the expansion of East Africa's colonies in the Southeast Asia region, East Africa's attention to the Sunda Strait continued to increase.

Freer went on to say: "Your Excellency the Prime Minister, if you look at the map, you will find that the Sunda Strait is the most convenient maritime trade route for us between East Africa, the South Pacific, the Far East, and even the North Pacific."

“For most cities along the eastern coast of our country, especially the southern ports, it is more convenient to travel from the coast through the Sunda Strait than through the Strait of Malacca.”

"The reason why Chinese merchant ships choose the Strait of Malacca more often is because the Strait of Malacca is more stable, the infrastructure is more complete, the hydrological conditions are clearer and more comprehensive, the service industry is more developed, and there are historical inertia and other factors."

“Therefore, the development of the Sunda Strait is a long and delicate process. If our two countries work together, the prosperity of the Sunda Strait route can at least be taken to a higher level, which is beneficial to both the empire and the Netherlands.”

Prime Minister Kuyper was indeed quite tempted by the promise made by Freer. After all, the importance of controlling a world-class shipping route was self-evident.

If the Sunda Strait route develops, the biggest beneficiaries will obviously be the two sides of the Sunda Strait controlled by the Netherlands.

The Sunda Strait could not be developed in the past because of its poor geographical location, which led most ships to choose to pass through the Malacca Strait.

However, the rise of East Africa will greatly change this situation. The emergence of East Africa means that East Africa, which has integrated half of Africa's area, is fully capable of supporting the prosperity of the Sunda Strait on its own.

The reason why this condition did not exist in the previous life was that the various African countries were fragmented, and since the colonial era they had been vassals of Europe, and had closer economic ties with Europe.

As an imperialist country, East Africa has the power to determine its own national policy and destiny and does not need to rely on Europe for survival.

This gives East Africa the ability and confidence to conduct independent trade activities with the Far East. In addition, as East Africa's main economic entities focus on the Southern Hemisphere, the importance of the Sunda Strait is further highlighted.

So Prime Minister Kuyper had no doubt about the authenticity of Freer's blueprint.
He said, "Mr. Freer, this means that your country intends to develop the Sunda Strait route, thereby opening up a second trade route to the East, and therefore chooses us, the Netherlands, as a partner?"

Freer said: "This is natural. After all, no one wants to take a detour, which would waste time and money. The development of the Sunda Strait is a shortcut to save the trade route between East Africa and the East."

"We in East Africa are vast, industrially strong, have the world's second-largest commercial fleet, and focus on trade with Eastern countries. Therefore, our choices in East Africa can determine the fate of the Sunda Strait in the future."

"If your country chooses to cooperate with us, you can get a share of the profits and make the economy of your East Indies colony more prosperous. Otherwise, it will not benefit our two countries. We will continue to use the Strait of Malacca, while your country will lose an opportunity to develop the Sunda Strait."

Prime Minister Kuyper naturally would not let this opportunity slip away. He said: "If it is economic cooperation, we in the Netherlands are naturally willing to support and cooperate with your country, but I don't know what your requirements are."

Freer said, "I just mentioned the first point, that is, this kind of cooperation will definitely benefit our two countries in the end, so the Sunda Strait does not allow the entry of third-party troops. This is the premise. In other words, your country cannot lease ports and bases along the route to third-party countries for military use. Of course, if you encounter trouble, you can ask for help from our country. We in East Africa are very willing to help your country get rid of the entanglement of some foreign forces."

Prime Minister Kuyper nodded and said, "Of course there is no problem with that." After all, the Netherlands did not want any other country to have its eyes on the East Indies. As for East Africa, there was no way around it. East Africa was already here, and the Sunda Strait route also relied on East Africa's support, so Kuyper naturally would not object to this request.

Freer went on to say: "Then there is the construction and renovation of infrastructure along the route. This is a big project and we in East Africa can help your country in this regard."

Although the Netherlands is very rich, its infrastructure capabilities are very poor. Of course, this mainly applies to the colonies that are thousands of miles away from the Dutch mainland.

East Africa not only has strong industrial capacity and a large population, but has also accumulated decades of rich experience in infrastructure construction. The Sunda Strait is not far from East Africa, which is also conducive to the transportation of construction materials such as cement, steel, power equipment, etc.

So, Freer said: "We in East Africa can produce any materials and equipment needed for the construction of the Sunda Strait route, and we have a large number of experienced workers and technicians who can help the Netherlands build the East Indies colony."

Prime Minister Kuyper did not deny this. After all, although the Netherlands is a world-renowned rich country, its energy is concentrated in the fields of maritime trade and commerce. The country's population is not large, and it is indeed not easy to independently complete the construction of the East Indies.

Take the development of the East Indies in recent years as an example. The Netherlands' demands on the local area far outweigh its construction. After all, the Netherlands has the will but not the ability to develop the local area. The East Indies colony is too far away from the Netherlands mainland, and the Dutch government does not want to invest its energy in this area.

In response to this, Freer made a separate suggestion to Prime Minister Kuyper: "We in East Africa suggest that the Netherlands separate the two sides of the Sunda Strait from the East Indies and establish a new administrative region, rather than as part of the Dutch East Indies colony."

"In this way, even if there are any changes in the Dutch East Indies in the future, your country can separate the two in time and stop the loss in time."

In order to save administrative costs, many colonists like to integrate colonies. This is of course unreasonable, but it makes it easier for colonists to make money in the short term.

Freer said: "Your country can completely treat both sides of the Sunda Strait as a local discovery, or manage it as an administrative unit at the same level as the East Indies. At present, there are not many people on both sides of the Sunda Strait, which is very conducive to your operation."

"After all, the colonial environment is getting worse and worse. According to our judgment in East Africa, the resistance movements in the colonies will become more and more frequent in recent years. In addition, due to the support of foreign forces, the gap in weapons between the indigenous peoples of the colonies and the mainstream countries is getting smaller and smaller."

"Although the Netherlands can currently guarantee the stability of the Dutch East Indies, can you guarantee that this advantage will continue for another thirty or forty years?"

"If nothing else, the United States is a good example. For Britain, the United States was once a colony that was no less important than India, but the United States eventually gained independence from Britain."

"The Dutch East Indies alone covers an area of ​​more than one million square kilometers. To put it bluntly, its potential far exceeds that of your country. Your integration of the Dutch East Indies has cultivated a large and cohesive vassal class in the area."

"They intermarry with Dutch colonial families and officials, and their voice is growing. With the existence of such a class, if they have the opportunity in the future, they will definitely not be willing to accept your country's rule and break away from the Dutch colonial system."

Freer's words caused Kuyper to think deeply. After all, Freer's words did make sense. The East Indies were too large. Would the Netherlands be able to control this huge colony thousands of miles away across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans in the future?
Taking advantage of the fact that the Sunda Strait has not yet developed, whether dividing the Sunda Strait will be beneficial to the future Dutch government's control over the East Indies, etc., are issues that Prime Minister Kuyper needs to consider.

(End of this chapter)