Chapter 1058 British Concern
“What is East Africa trying to do?” British Prime Minister Bannerman said. Prime Minister Bannerman is quite sensitive to East Africa’s recent active status in the international community.
Because not long ago, the so-called South German Kingdom invaded the Yobe River Basin of Komadugu in the northwest region of Nigeria.
The British blamed East Africa for the war launched by the Kingdom of South Germany. After all, the so-called Kingdom of South Germany was a "puppet" regime supported by East Africa. Many British people viewed the war by the Kingdom of South Germany as East Africa's attack on Britain. Test.
If you understand the psychology of these British people, East Africa will definitely cry out for injustice. Although the South German Kingdom has received support from East Africa, this matter is not East Africa's original intention.
Of course, these are no longer important. After all, the British only look at the results and process, that is, the East African brothers invaded the periphery of the British Nigerian protectorate.
However, this is still within the range that the British can tolerate. After all, the South German Kingdom has not entered the British Nigeria Protectorate, and the South German Kingdom is not equivalent to East Africa, and it is not worthy of British action.
Bannerman pointed to the map and said: "Before, East Africa instructed the South German Kingdom to make small moves in Nigeria. This was still within our control, but now there are obvious signs of East Africa penetrating into the Middle East. East Africa sent three envoys at the end of the year. Regiment to the Ottoman Empire, Oman, and Persia."
“This time point can be said to be quite sensitive, mainly because we have just reached some consensus with the Russians, and now East Africa’s intervention is likely to destabilize the region again.”
Bannerman does not think that East Africa knows the content of the negotiations between Britain and Russia and undermines the plans of Britain and Russia. East Africa should only intervene in the region to plant its flag here.
“After the South African War, East Africa’s diplomatic activities have been inactive and its appearances in the international community have been rare. Now more than ten years have passed, and it seems that East Africa cannot help but want to stir up trouble in the international community.”
In fact, the British cabinet would only take a glance at an incident like the invasion of the Yobe River Basin in Komadugu by the South German Kingdom and no longer pay any attention to it.
But the Middle East is different. It is a sensitive area, and the UK has important strategic interests here. Any force that may have an impact on the local situation will naturally attract the attention of the UK.
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, East Africa has been busy with the development and construction of its own country in recent years, but this does not mean that East Africa is not interested in international affairs. In fact, in the large-scale wars in the world in recent years, there is always the shadow of East Africa. Although they It’s not a dominant force, but it has a big impact.”
“For example, during the Russo-Japanese War, East Africa provided port services to Russia, or it provided a certain degree of assistance to Spain during the Spanish-American War.”
“So the country of East Africa has never been as honest as it seems on the surface. This time East Africa has entered the Middle East in a big way. In my opinion, it can be regarded as a change in East Africa’s diplomacy and politics.”
“Judging from the current actions in East Africa, East Africa is likely to launch offensives on two fronts at the same time, one in West Africa and the other in the Middle East.”
Listening to the analysis of his subordinates, Prime Minister Bannerman also became serious. After straightening out his thoughts, he said: "East Africa is already a big country with strong influence due to its current territory, population, etc. If they are in West Africa again, If the Middle East gains the upper hand, East Africa will become one of the most powerful countries in the world."
"If we cooperate with some colonies in East Africa, East Africa will build a powerful sphere of influence from the Atlantic to the Pacific, which will be a disaster for the whole of Europe." Foreign Secretary Williams said: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, it will not happen. Therefore, as you said, if East Africa controls West Africa and the Middle East, East Africa can indeed become the most powerful country in the world.”
“But, can East Africa really do this? Not to mention other things, we have strong strength in these areas alone and can push back East Africa and its minions. Our power in the Middle East and West Africa is far from comparable to that of East Africa.”
"Furthermore, the forces of various countries in West Africa and the Middle East are complex. France, Germany, and the United States all have colonies in West Africa. The same is true in the Middle East. In addition to external forces, countries such as the Ottoman Empire, Oman, and Persia cannot completely fall to East Africa. After all, we It took hundreds of years to conquer these countries, but they are still there, so it is impossible for East Africans to gain huge influence in the Middle East or West Africa.”
Bannerman: "What you said makes sense, but this idea is too optimistic. After all, in terms of geographical location alone, East Africa has an advantage over us. East Africa can directly exert influence on West Africa or the Middle East through its navy, and East Africa itself It is not a small country, and its potential may even become the next United States. East Africa has been developing very well in recent years. If they are allowed to gain extraterritorial influence, East Africa will be even more powerful and will be difficult to restrict.”
Today's industrial countries have relatively stable external markets. Why Britain and France are envied by others is because their colonies are vast, so they can transfer their own crises to the colonies during economic crises, and accelerate local development through colonial plunder. These two It makes it difficult for any country to refuse.
As a late-developing country, East Africa, like Germany and the United States, has always lacked stable and valuable colonies, especially colonies with a considerable market size. Among them, Germany is the worst. Due to its geographical location, German colonial activities were relatively late. Take Cameroon, Germany's largest colony, with a population of only a few million. A large part of this population is still primitive and has little spending power.
At any rate, East Africa still has a stable market like the Abyssinian Empire with a population of over ten million. Together with other colonies, East Africa seems to be much happier than Germany.
The United States also exerted great influence throughout the Americas through the Spanish-American War and various political activities, holding rich Caribbean colonies such as Cuba.
In addition, the area of East Africa and the United States is far beyond that of Germany. If Germany wants to go further, there are only two ways to go. One is to integrate the Central and Eastern European markets, and the other is to defeat Britain and France to obtain their colonies.
In the 19th century, the Eastern European market was very important to Germany. Today, this market plays a huge role in the development of German industry. However, because of the existence of Russia, Germany's power can only extend in the direction of the Ottoman Empire.
As for Western Europe, various industries are developed and they can be regarded as competitors of Germany, and the leading forces are Britain and France. If you want to break the pattern of Western Europe, you must defeat Britain and France at the same time, otherwise everything will be a mirror image.
In short, all countries are extremely eager for colonies, and East Africa is no exception. The British government’s idea is to prevent East Africa from gaining advantages in West Africa and the Middle East.
Because of these two regions, if West Africa is annexed by East Africa, it will form a superpower second only to Russia, and the Middle East is a region that cannot be missed by the United Kingdom.
The Middle East is actually a bridge connecting the British mainland and India. Any person or force that may pose a threat to India will be the target of British attack.
Bannerman said: "From now on, we will strictly monitor the political and diplomatic dynamics of the East African government in the Middle East. We must only know the final thoughts of the East African government and take actions in sequence. The Middle East is the crossroads of world transportation, so we absolutely cannot Allow any force other than the British to control this place, including locals."
(End of this chapter)