African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 663 Chaos in West Africa

After confirming that Sweet was going to Berlin, East Africa quickly prepared relevant matters and greeted the host German government. At the same time, Prince Leopold of Sigmaringen also joined the meeting on behalf of Sigmaringen.

The Berlin Conference was held in April 1884, more than half a year earlier than in history. The main reason was the variables brought about by a number of countries such as East Africa.

Now the entire South Africa and East Africa have been basically divided up, leaving only West Africa, so other countries are naturally worried that they will not be able to eat even this last piece of meat.

The Berlin Conference quickly turned into a vegetable market. After all, this time it only took a few strokes to determine the ownership of a large piece of land. In the face of interests, no one can be calm and comfortable, and they don’t feel embarrassed even if they argue, and get it in their hands. Compared with the benefits, face is worth a few dollars.

But what is unexpected is that the main competitor at the Berlin Conference was not Germany and France, the two life-and-death enemies, but Germany and France united against the British.

France had an advantage in northwest Africa, but this was not the case in West Africa, especially after the British joined the colonial effort in West Africa.

First of all, the Gold Coast, the richest colony in Africa in the traditional sense, was firmly controlled by the British. Then it was the largest economic power in Africa in the previous life. The British also had an advantage on the coast of Nigeria in the previous life.

Nigeria is now called the Sokoto Caliphate. This empire covers an area of ​​more than one million, and occupies the most fertile farmland in West Africa and has a huge population. The only drawback is that the Sokoto Caliphate has split into a large number of vassal states. However, this is a shortcoming for the central government of the Sokoto Caliphate, and an assist for the colonists, making it more convenient for colonial rule.

Of course, there is actually only a small area along the coast of the Sokoto Caliphate, which is occupied by the Oyo Empire and the Ijebu Kingdom.

In its previous life, the Oyo Empire was one of the most famous countries in African history. At its peak, it ruled the Kingdom of Dahomey, Togo and most of Nigeria.

The Ijebu Kingdom was a country with relatively prosperous coastal trade in West Africa, so it was conquered by the British around 1892 in the previous life.

These two countries are just two satellite countries of the Sokoto Caliphate, on the southwest coast of the Sokoto Caliphate.

The southeastern part of the Sokoto Caliphate does not belong to the Sokoto Caliphate, but to the Kingdom of Benin and a number of other independent countries.

It is worth mentioning that the Kingdom of Benin was not the predecessor of the Republic of Benin in Africa in its previous life, but the predecessor of the Republic of Benin was the Kingdom of Dahomey.

From this point, we can also see the destructiveness of the colonists to the history of West African countries. If history could be passed down in an orderly manner, the mistake of turning the Kingdom of Dahomey into the Republic of Benin would not have occurred.

The current Kingdom of Benin and the Kingdom of Dahomey are basically two things, separated by the Sokoto Caliphate. Of course, an important reason why the Kingdom of Dahomey later evolved into the Republic of Benin is that the Kingdom of Benin itself is famous in Africa. It is very large and is a famous ancient civilization in Africa.

This is the same as a bunch of European countries competing for the title of the Roman Empire, and the Republic of Benin, which developed from the Kingdom of Dahomey, is almost the same as the Holy Roman Empire in German history.

The British's new colony is not the above-mentioned country, but the Bonny Kingdom in western Benin. The Bonny Kingdom is a completely coastal country, with not much land inland, but the coastline is intricate and winding.

This is also the reason why the British occupied the Bonny Kingdom first, which is in line with the colonial characteristics of British maritime countries. After all, in Africa, there is a lack of excellent ports.

The vassal states of the Sokoto Caliphate also include the independent state of Benin. If tribes are added, the number of political entities in Nigeria in its previous life can reach hundreds, and there are more than a dozen ancient countries with a little bit of history. So many. And this is just Nigeria in the previous life. You must know that there were many countries in West Africa in the previous life, and that was the result of the integration of the colonists. Therefore, in this era, West Africa is even more chaotic.

Moreover, there are still many indigenous regimes in West Africa who have fled from East Africa, further exacerbating the local complex situation.

Speaking of this, East Africa is also doing arms business with these indigenous regimes who have gone to West Africa. However, it seems that their overall influence on West Africa has not been reflected, and there will be no chance in the future. After all, the great powers are not vegetarians.

"Germany and France seem to be quarreling fiercely, but in fact they are ostracizing the UK everywhere, especially since the goals targeted by the two countries were clearly communicated before the meeting." Sweet said to the members of the East African delegation.

"The British representative's face was almost green with anger, but he deserved it. Britain itself is the world's largest colonial power. Now there is only a large piece of 'empty land' like West Africa left in the world. The British still want to be alone. Naturally will be ostracized.”

The fundamental reason for the fate of the UK and the competition between Germany and France was the rise of East Africa, which made it impossible for the UK to engage in the so-called "Two C Plan" like in its previous life. The Two C Plan basically controlled most of Africa in the hands of the British. , from Egypt to South Africa, and the British influence in West Africa is not small, so the British were the real overlords of Africa in the previous life.

However, the British failed to hold on to their sphere of influence after World War II. Coupled with the joint suppression of the United States and the Soviet Union, the colonies became independent one after another, and only then was the birth of France, the African hegemon.

Of course, this is also related to France’s geographical location. West Africa and North Africa are not far from the French mainland. In addition, during the Cold War, France’s united front value was significantly higher than that of the United Kingdom. Therefore, French Africa was able to remain relatively intact and did not collapse until the 21st century. .

"Let the three countries quarrel first. Our purpose this time is not only to ensure East Africa's relevant rights and interests in the African region, but also if we can obtain some additional benefits, that would be the best." Thinking of Ernst's instructions, Sweet told his subordinates they said.

Although there is a high probability that it is impossible to achieve, it depends on man-made efforts. Now West Africa has not shown its potential, but in its previous life, West Africa should be regarded as one of the few places chosen by nature in the world.

Especially in Nigeria, coal, iron, oil, arable land, population and other indicators are not bad, and can fully support the development of a world power.

That is to say, Ernst chose to develop his business in East Africa. If he wanted to colonize West Africa, Ernst would also choose Nigeria as his first choice.

In fact, the benefits of choosing West Africa are much more obvious than East Africa, that is, they are the main resources for industrial development. West Africa is self-sufficient, while East Africa lacks fossil energy such as oil.

Moreover, East Africa's own mineral resource endowment is very poor. In order to solve the resource problem, East Africa expanded all the way to South Africa. It was not completely solved until the annexation of the Matabele Plateau. However, this could only meet the needs of the first industrial revolution.

This is also an important reason why Ernst set his next target in Angola. Angola has two main resources for East Africa, one is oil and the other is water power.

Both of these are located near the mouth of the Congo River. The waterfalls in the lower reaches of the Congo River contain unique hydraulic resources in the world.

The oil production area is not far from the mouth of the Congo River, and finally the port of Angola, which is an important channel for East Africa to open up to the Atlantic Ocean.

(End of this chapter)