African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 409 Belgian Congo

As for the colonization of Africa, Belgium was actually unable to unify its thoughts before, which made Leopold II waste a lot of time and words to convince the parliament.

 Now Leopold II took the Kingdom of East Africa as an example, and he really defeated those who opposed it. The Prince of Hechingen was able to acquire such a large piece of land in Africa with such poor conditions, and Belgium was only a lot larger.

The nobles know each other well. The Hohenzollern family is undoubtedly the most prosperous among the nobles in recent years. First, the Prussian royal family unified Germany and turned it from a kingdom to an empire. Secondly, Sigmaringen acquired Romania. Finally, they made a fortune. At the same time, the royal family of Hechingen, the East African Kingdom, was established.

Although the status of the East African Kingdom is not high, and Africa is not a good place after all, the wealth acquired by the Hechingen royal family is very enviable.

However, Leopold II clearly overestimated his subordinates when he asked the cabinet to come up with a plan. Although the ministers were educated by His Majesty the King from time to time, they were treated as jokes and there was no plan at all.

Leopold II said at this time: "Huh, I knew this would happen a long time ago. Since you can't come up with a plan, you have to listen to me next."

With that said, Leopold II ordered the servant to bring over the map of Africa and said: "This is the map of Africa. The red area on it is France, the blue area is Portugal, the gray is Spain, the green is the United Kingdom, and the black is East Africa...the rest The area down there is where we can choose.”

At this glance, everyone immediately felt that the competition was fierce.

Leopold II explained: "Colonial maps are often relatively fictitious. In some places, countries may not really control them. They only have verbal claims. In fact, it still depends on whose fist is stronger."

Hearing that there was a fist fight, this made the Belgian ministers retreat: "Your Majesty, if this is the case, wouldn't the risk of colonizing Africa be great? There are no countries here that are easy to mess with except the East African Kingdom."

Leopold II confidently broke the news: "Then you are totally wrong. The country that should not be messed with the most in Africa is the Kingdom of East Africa. Not long ago, the Kingdom of East Africa and the British colony of Cape Town were in There was a small dispute in South Africa, and eventually the British chose to give in and were forced to cede a territory covering an area of ​​more than 100,000 square kilometers."

Sure enough, Leopold II’s words aroused doubts among the ministers.

"This is impossible! Your Majesty, the British will not suffer such a loss."

“Yes, Britain has always invaded the territory of other countries. It is impossible for others to bite Britain back. If it was France before, it would have been possible, but now no country can challenge Britain.”

“And if this happens, it will be an international scandal, no less than the previous major incident of Britain’s defeat in Afghanistan. No British newspapers have reported it. How did your Majesty know about it?”

 …

The ministers all talked about it, and they all agreed that Leopold II was talking nonsense. If this happened in other regions, it would be easier to accept, but Africa is the most backward region in the world, and there is not even a decent person. Civilization has never been produced. How can an East African kingdom built on Africa compete with the British!

Leopold II knocked on the table and said: "Quiet, look at what you look like now! As for my identity, how can I deceive you? Although this thing is unbelievable, it actually happened. My news is The information was obtained with money from officials in Cape Town and was also confirmed by (Princess) Charlotte.”

Although Ernst implemented a policy of isolation, it was certainly impossible for East Africa not to communicate with the outside world, of which Archduke Ferdinand and his wife were examples.

As big European nobles, they have a lot of relatives and friends. They get a lot of letters every year, but it's usually not a big deal.

Archduke Ferdinand didn’t really want to communicate with his old friends before he achieved results, and even if he did communicate, it was mainly about necessary greetings.

As for Princess Charlotte, she doesn’t have the same concerns as her husband, but her social circle is generally those noble ladies in Europe, and they don’t talk about politics at all. Moreover, Charlotte almost killed her husband before because she cared too much about politics. Sent to God, so now it is even more taboo to talk about politics with sisters.

　　That is to say, Leopold II, as her brother, asked her about some situations in East Africa, but Charlotte didn't know much about it, unless it was some important events that everyone in East Africa knew.

The East African Kingdom's war in South Africa is such a major event. After all, this is the first time South Africa has defeated a country that is also a white regime (the Republic of Transvaal). It is a very exciting event for the East African Kingdom. Almost everyone The bulletin boards introduced in detail the achievements of the East African Army this time. Leopold II continued: "The East African Kingdom dispatched tens of thousands of troops this time, and they defeated several small countries in South Africa like the autumn wind sweeping away leaves. This is their confidence."

 “Tens of thousands of troops!”

Leopold II: "Yes, tens of thousands of troops. This is the fundamental reason why the East African Kingdom can make the British bow their heads."

"But, Your Majesty, I want to remind you that the cost of tens of thousands of troops is not a small amount. Our local defense pressure is very high. If we send out separate troops to colonize Africa, I am afraid that the gains will outweigh the losses!"

Leopold II: "Okay, what does this matter have to do with our national defense? To be honest, anyone in Belgium's position will have a headache. If either Germany or France has an idea, Belgium may become a On the battlefield, with our national strength, unless we mobilize the whole country, we cannot be alone. And precisely because of our bad geographical environment, we should break out of Europe and enhance our national strength through colonization.

And we don’t need to send too many troops to Africa at once. I have studied the situation of all colonies in Africa. Basically, no colony has developed its army as vigorously as East Africa. This is also a place that we can learn from. "

Ernst has made the development of the army his top priority since the beginning of the East African colonies. Now it has been proved that this is a very correct decision. The army is the foundation for the East African Kingdom to establish itself in Africa and the world.

 After listening to Leopold II’s explanation, a minister asked, “Your Majesty, where should we start? Where should we land in Africa?”

Leopold II pointed to the Congo River on the map and said: "We started from the outlet of the Congo River and colonized inland along the north of the Congo River."

 “Your Majesty, this is the power of the Portuguese!”

Leopold II shook his head and said: "No, north of the outlet of the Congo River is a small African country called the Kingdom of Ngoyo. The Portuguese did establish a stronghold here before, but it was destroyed by the Kingdom of Ngoyo. And that was already in the last century. This is currently unclaimed land. Moreover, the south bank of the Congo River is not the territory of the Portuguese. It is the land of the Kingdom of Congo. If it were not for the face of the Portuguese, then I would Directly choose to invade the Kingdom of Congo."

“Your Majesty, it seems that France also has a colony here.” Someone pointed to the red area in the north of the Congo River and said.

This red area was the coastal zone of Gabon in the previous life, where the French had colonial activities decades ago.

Leopold II said: "This is normal. The French have many colonies."

 “Then will we run into the French?”

Leopold II said: "Don't worry, we just need to be the first to develop inland. France has so many colonies, but we only need this one. They will not pose a threat to us."

Leopold II wanted to acquire land in Africa, which was actually the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) in his previous life, which was also the French Congo.

Time is very good now. Belgium does not have to go to the Congo rainforest to open up colonies like it did in its previous life. It also does not have to worry about the issue of access to the sea. There are only a few indigenous countries here, and Belgium’s strength is not a problem.

As for the Congo rainforest, although it is very large, it is of little value, and the climate is harsh. In the previous life, Belgium could benefit from the Congo, which was the result of continuous expansion into the inland. The Congolese colonies have reached as far west as Rwanda and Rwanda in East Africa. Burundi.

After Leopold II and a group of ministers reached a consensus, the Kingdom of Belgium officially embarked on the grand mission of colonizing Africa. Although the colonial area was very different from its previous life, it was still called the Congo Colony.

 (End of this chapter)