African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 402 Compromise

 “The shells are loaded!”

 “Aim at the target point, prepare, release!”

Boom... With a loud noise, billowing black smoke spurted out from the barrel. The huge recoil caused the artillery to shake directly off the ground and stir up a burst of dust. It was temporarily built with soil on the bank of the Fal River. The target was instantly blown to pieces.

But this is not over yet. The third brigade is equipped with a total of eleven artillery pieces, which is the entire property of the entire 511th Division. As the first artillery fires, other artillery pieces also fire at the destroyed target in turn, and on its body He started kneading, and when the dust passed, the pile of earth and rocks that was originally more than one meter high turned into a deep pit.

 “Third Cavalry Company attacks!”

More than two hundred war horses galloped in the open field. As the speed gradually increased, the cavalry took out their Dresser carbines and quickly filled the ammunition on the horseback. Then they drove the horses to an emergency stop, took aim, and pointed in the direction of the Fal River. Shooting, the action is done in one go, without any pause.

Subsequently, each unit of the third brigade conducted a series of tactical demonstrations based on the fantasy enemy deployed by the pre-war headquarters, advancing, retreating, and counterattacking. The units cooperated with each other, demonstrating the coordination capabilities among the units of the third brigade. The exercise lasted for four For hours, after the scorching sun set in the sky at noon, the meal finally came to an end with the sound of the dinner trumpet.

 The British, Boers and natives on the other side of the river have also been watching the good show prepared by the East African Kingdom for them.

 British mine owners stood in the distance watching with telescopes and discussed the significance of this exercise in the East African Kingdom.

 “Oh, myGod! The Germans are demonstrating against us!”

"But you have to admit that they do appear to be a well-trained army on the surface. No wonder the Germans can quickly complete the attack on many places in South Africa and ultimately win."

“If it weren’t for the yellow men in the German army, I would really suspect that these Germans were the Prussian army disguised as the army of the Kingdom of East Africa, and then fought against the Boers and the Zulu Kingdom.”

“Gentlemen, what should we do now? Does the East African Kingdom really intend to attack Kimberley?”

"We must not let the Germans cross the river, but who can stop the Germans? Their military power is very important. Even if the Royal Navy from Cape Town comes inland, there is probably nothing they can do against the Germans."

"In this case, we can only force Cape Town to negotiate with the Germans. Let's not talk about the outcome if a war breaks out. My mine cannot stop working for a day, which means that we will make a lot less money. Moreover, the result is very If the worst happens, we might lose all our money, and once the war starts, it’s not certain who will own Kimberley in the end.”

“If this were India, then I believe the empire would not be afraid of any challenge, but the Cape Colony cannot be compared to India, not to mention Canada and Australia. Our population is too small.”

"The terrain of Cape Town is also not conducive to the defense of our army. If it were in the east, it would be okay to use the port to land the army, but Kimberley is in the hinterland of the South African plateau. Even if the army comes from the east, everything will be difficult. late."

The terrain of the Cape Colony was indeed unfriendly, especially to the British, because the edge of the South African Plateau was a large escarpment two thousand kilometers long.

(picture)

This special geographical structure is similar to the Brazilian Shield. The situation is a little better than that of Brazil, because the South African plateau has a longer history. After hundreds of millions of years of historical development, some coastal areas have experienced long-term erosion by sea water, rivers, rain, and wind. Slowly forming some narrow plains, Cape Town (city) is built on such plains. The Drakensberg Mountains to the east are part of this large cliff, but there are many gaps in the Drakensberg Mountains and there are many excellent ports, so the transportation is reasonable.

The situation leading from Cape Town (city) to the interior is difficult to describe. Not only is it limited by terrain, but the part in the north where it connects to the South African Plateau is the very arid Great Karoo Basin, which belongs to a semi-desert arid climate area with low rainfall. The amount is between 100 millimeters and 400 millimeters, which is extremely unstable. Years with lack of rain are even drier than the Kalahari Desert. There is almost no population and only some goats and sheep can be grazed. However, because of the existence of the Great Escarpment in South Africa, the The river can be replenished by water from the mountains, and limited irrigated agricultural land can be developed along the river.

(picture)

All in all, it was extremely difficult for the Cape Town colony to develop inland. On the contrary, East Africa expanded from the inland to the coast, and the East African Plateau and the South African Plateau were almost connected, without much terrain obstruction, so it was Cape Town can only watch East Africa's unscrupulous expansion in the interior, with no solution. However, the fundamental reason is that Cape Town's population is too small to support more troops and explore the interior areas.

“The worst thing now is that the Germans are only separated from us by a river, and the Kimberley mining area is the most valuable piece of cake in the whole of South Africa. We cannot afford to lose Kimberley.”

"We must unite and make an agreement between Cape Town and East Africa. Losing some worthless land is not a big deal. Although Grigualand is large, it is invalid land. It has no population and poor climate conditions. It doesn't matter if it is given to the East African Kingdom, as long as the East African Kingdom promises to never have a thought about Kimberley, I think for our common interests, this is understandable."

His words aroused the recognition of the Kimberley mining owners. So far, there are more than 30 companies in the Kimberley mining area, which have developed diamonds worth about 350,000 pounds. It is also the largest source of tax revenue in the Cape Colony.

But this is only the limit of the mine owners, far from the limit of the Kimberley mining area. With the increase in investment, the output of Kimberley diamonds has increased exponentially, and all that is buried underground is wasted money. The mine owners and the establishment of diamond-based enterprises For enterprises, the most lacking thing is manpower. Currently, the Kimberley mining area has a population of less than 10,000, which severely limits the development of Kimberley.

As long as the population increases, how much diamonds can be developed in the Kimberley mining area? Millions of pounds, even tens of millions of pounds.

For comparison, the total annual income in the UK in the early 19th century was 230 million pounds, and the income of the nobility was 3.1 million pounds. The value of Kimberley is self-evident, so Kimberley cannot be lost. Business owners and mine owners in the Kimberley area are willing to pay for their own interests. The interests will not choose to go to war with the East African Kingdom.

Soon, Henry Buckley, the Governor of Cape Town, received a letter from the British nobles and big capitalists behind the Kimberley mining area. The general meaning was: "Guarantee the safety of the diamond mining area. As for the Republic of Grigualand, just throw it away." , otherwise you, the governor, will have reached your end. Hurry up and negotiate peace with the East African Kingdom to avoid expanding the conflict."

This made Henry Buckley very depressed. He wrote in his diary: "For the immediate interests, the politicians and capitalists in London did not realize what giving up dealing with the East African Kingdom would mean for the future of Britain! If let The East African Kingdom has established a foothold in South Africa. Even if Cape Town is not annexed in the future, it can only become its vassal. In my opinion, this is only a matter of time. Within fifty years, the seeds they have planted will definitely bear evil results. …”

Subsequently, the Cape Colony signed a non-aggression agreement with East Africa. The agreement stated that the East African Kingdom must cease all military operations in South Africa and promise never to invade the territory of the Cape Colony. The two sides were bounded by the Orange River.

After the agreement is signed, the East African Army on the border must be withdrawn, and only a small number of border troops are allowed to exist. As a reciprocal condition, the same is true for the Cape Colony.

 Finally, regarding the issue of the Republic of Grigualand, it was purchased by the Kingdom of East Africa as compensation for the Cape Colony. Financing the purchase of the Republic of Grigualand was a matter of face, and East Africa paid a symbolic payment of 3,000 pounds.

 The residents of the Republic of Grigualand were packed up by East Africa and sent to the Cape Colony, which happened to provide labor for the Kimberley mining area.

 (End of this chapter)