Chapter 382

"Your Honorable Earl, in the eyes of Europeans, these are two completely unrelated matters. It is one thing for the French to maintain their influence and territory on the European continent, and colonial expansion is another matter. This is related to resources and Market dumping should not be confused. In fact, the French expansion in Africa does not require much military power, and the benefits are quite good."

   "Mr. Professor, what do you think of the Congo issue?" Li Fushou asked.

Professor Glen Johnson replied; “The land in the Congo River Basin is not of geographic importance to Europeans. Reflecting this characteristic, the British support Portugal's claims of territorial rights and interests, while Portugal gives full freedom of business and convenience, and both sides take what they need."

  "The French and the Belgians are fighting a lot on this issue. Do you think there will be a fight?"

Faced with Li Fushou’s problem, Glen Johnson gave serious consideration and shook his head and said, “Belgians have a very deep relationship with the French. To fear this powerful neighbor from the heart is at most showing toughness with teeth and claws. In the end, they will still compromise. They have no guts or capital to start a war with France. Even a small conflict in Africa will quickly deteriorate the relationship between the two sides. This is what the Belgians do not want to see, Leopold II. Can't afford such a price."

in Europe

  The Congo issue ignited the enthusiasm of the European powers to colonize Africa. They suddenly discovered that almost an entire continent was waiting for a racetrack. In the face of the coming Europeans, Africa had almost no resistance.

The United Kingdom formulated the "Two C Plan" from Cape Town to Cairo in an attempt to establish a colonial empire that runs through the continents of North and South Africa. The gold of South Africa, the cotton of Egypt, and the inexhaustible labor and dumping markets of the entire Black Africa are all British. Required.

  France formulated the "Second S Plan" from Senegal to Somalia in an attempt to traverse the east and west continents of Africa, and the appetite is not ordinary.

Germany formulated a plan to cross the African continent from East Africa to Southwest Africa. As a latecomer that was reunified only in 1870, the German Empire must draw a large piece of fat on this continent, and major interests must not be occupied by the old colonial empires. NS.

  The Belgian Association led by Leopold II is striving to occupy the entire Congo River Basin. He has long taken a fancy to this rich place. For this reason, he is tit-for-tat against the French, and he is reluctant to give in at all.

Portugal and Italy also have their own expansion plans. The territory is only 92,000 square kilometers. Portugal has a fancy to Angola, Tanzania and Mozambique in southern Africa. This is a vast land with an area of ​​up to 3 million square kilometers. The appetite is not small. .

  The magical spaghetti is fancy to Ethiopia, the most powerful indigenous country on the African continent, with its own emperor and powerful army, it still can’t stop spaghetti’s greedy vision.

  European powers all want to realize their expansion plans on the African continent, which has caused serious disputes and conflicts. These disputes and conflicts will become an important factor leading to the First World War

"Even if it is as powerful as the British Empire, it is impossible to monopolize the African continent. Queensland should have a share of this feast. This is determined by our interests in safeguarding the ocean trade routes and is related to major economic security." Li Fushou pointed out. The core topic of this interview.

His expression was solemn, his eyes fixed on Professor Glenn Johnson and slowly said; "The vast land of Africa in the hands of primitive tribes is different from the hands of Europeans. We can't extravagantly ask for the economic security of vital interests and rely on others. My pity, this is a very ridiculous dream, Mr. Professor, you must be able to understand my worries."

  Of course I understand Lord Earl, your desire to possess in your bones is recurring.

  As a well-known botanist and historian of the Royal Society, Glen Johnson is loyal to Her Majesty, not the ambitious young man in front of him. The two sides are similar to an employment relationship.

  To put it bluntly, in Li Fushou, he can get more money and can maintain good upper class living conditions, nothing more.

  Professor Glen Johnson did not rush to answer, but thought for a while and said; “I understand your concerns very well, but I need to know your plan specifically, which piece of land or several pieces of land in Africa?”

   "Don't worry, Africa is big enough to not conflict with the plans of the British Empire."

   "Can you tell me more specifically?"

   "Of course, there is nothing to hide."

  Li Fushou readily agreed. On any issue that does not conflict with the British Empire, Professor Glenn Johnson has shown a very high standard. As long as Li Fushou does not rebel against the flag, the interests of both parties are the same.

  "I am interested in Somalia, including Djibouti, Madagascar and Guinea, if possible, plus Mozambique, a total of four African lands."

   "That's it..." Professor Glenn Johnson recalled the location and historical origins of these pieces of land in his mind, and said after a moment;

  "Madagascar and Guinea have little problems. Madagascar is just an island that no one pays attention to. Although it is not small in size, its production is very limited, and it is not worth the effort.

  Guinea is a small place. I have the impression that the Spanish once established a colony there, and it may still be there, but this is not a big problem. Just spend some money to buy it. Anyway, Lord Earl does not lack this money.

  Guinea has neither gold nor ivory. The Spaniards don’t value this place at all. I don’t think it will exceed 100,000 pounds, and it’s about 50,000 or 60,000 pounds. "

  Speaking of which

  Professor Glen Johnson paused, carefully sorted out his thoughts and said;

"The Somalia region, known as the Horn of Africa, is barren and barren. Most of the area is desert and Gobi. The local African tribes are sparsely populated and mainly live on nomads. The total population does not exceed 350,000. They mainly live in small oasis in coastal areas. It doesn't take much effort to take it down.

  In my impression, the Italians have always been very interested in Ethiopia. They once established a colony in Eritrea and were later expelled by the Kingdom of Ethiopia. However, the Italians have never given up and are likely to make a comeback.

   Therefore, Queensland’s colonization of Somalia may arouse the vigilance and protests of the Italians, and the French may express concerns due to geographical considerations.

In the Horn of Africa, the Kingdom of Ethiopia, which occupies the plateau area, is the richest. It has the most complete royal rule on the African continent. It has an army, a government, and even police and tax officials belonging to the royal family. It has a population of nearly 10 million. Italians Never conceal his greed for the region.

  If you simply colonize the Somalia area, you should not encounter too much resistance.

  But Mozambique is difficult. The Portuguese established many colonies in the area at the end of the 15th century, and it has continued for more than 380 years.

At the end of the 15th century, Portugal came to Mozambique in order to open the route from Europe to East India and discovered the rich gold resources and ivory. The local indigenous tribes exchanged gold nuggets for sailors’ knives and wine, which was very attractive to them. force.

  In 1498, Vasco da Gama led a wind sailing fleet to the coast of Mozambique, where he investigated the local hydrogeography in detail and prepared for colonization.

  In 1505, the Portuguese expelled the Arabs in Sofala by force, established the first colonial stronghold, and then occupied the island of Mozambique, gained a firm foothold through the slave trade, and gradually expanded the scope of colonization.

  In the following ten years, the Portuguese controlled several major ports along the coast of Mozambique. Since then, the Portuguese have successively occupied some inland areas of Mozambique and Seine and Tete in the Zambezi River basin.

  In order to stabilize the colonial rule, the Portuguese set up a governor's palace in the area, which was directly appointed by Lisbon to manage the colonial governor, and several times invaded the indigenous Mweni Matapa kingdom, and finally gained control over the inland areas of Mozambique.

  The Mozambique region is rich in resources. Every year, the gold exported from Quelimane alone is 60,000 ounces. There are also ivory and black slaves, which are the absolute money bags of the Portuguese.

  It is also for this reason that the Dutch have attacked Mozambique several times, but they have all been pushed back by the Portuguese.

  In 1869, a British unit tried to gain a foothold in the Zambezi Valley, but had to give up after a skirmish.

  This is the last conflict I know about in Mozambique, it's only 15 years ago.

  So, although Britain and Portugal are close allies, London has always had ambitions for the Mozambique region.

  Maybe, this is a place that can be used. "

  Professor Glenn Johnson has a very thorough analysis. As an expert in teaching the history of world civilization, he can be said to be precious to the history of European colonialism, and he is very clear about the inside story and historical origins, like a walking library.

  This point he pointed out is very important, and may be the fulcrum of the situation in Mozambique.

  No matter how unwelcome you are in London, Queensland is, after all, a territory of Her Majesty the Queen of the British Empire, much closer than the so-called close ally.

  Any rights and interests obtained by Queensland in Africa, no matter from trade to garrison, no more treaties need to be signed, the British Empire can fully enjoy it. This is the essential difference.

  A knife in the back of a close ally, the British don’t do this kind of thing too much!

Li Fushou thought about it carefully, and said in a cautious tone; "Except for the Kingdom of Ethiopia, Queensland must be obtained in the Horn of Africa region. This will help maintain the security of the ocean trade from Queensland to Europe. It should be ranked first. It’s an important matter. Mozambique is not in a hurry for the time being, so I can talk about it later."

  The Horn of Africa is a broad geographical term. According to its geographic location, it is also known as "Northeast Africa". It is located at the top of northeastern Africa and is a peninsula in Eastern Africa. It stretches eastward into the Arabian Sea for hundreds of kilometers on the south coast of the Gulf of Aden.

It is the easternmost area of ​​the African continent, and the easternmost Cape Hafon is also located in this area. As a larger regional concept, the Horn of Africa includes Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia, and is a broader geographical extension. It also includes Kenya.

  Li Fushou has no intention of encroaching on the Kingdom of Ethiopia, which has a population of tens of millions. This is a hard nail, and it is left to the Italians.

  What he values ​​is the position of Somalia. What is the purpose of establishing military bases in Djibouti in succession by major powers in later generations?

   is an extremely important geographical location. It is located on the west coast of the Gulf of Aden in northeastern Africa. The Mande Strait is the key point for the Red Sea to enter the Indian Ocean.

  In the current era that has not yet been proposed in "On Sea Power", the importance of the region has been ignored.

As long as he can occupy the area, just like France controls the Suez Canal and Britain controls Egypt, Li Fushou has the means to cut off important trade lines from Europe to India and even the Far East. This will add a heavy weight to his identity. Let European powers have to pay attention.

  Now this opportunity to pick up the missed is certainly not to be missed.

  Why do you say this? Are Europeans all stupid, failing to see the importance of the Somalia region (including Kyrgyzstan without mentioning it)?

It can’t be said that the French have firmly controlled the Suez Canal, the British have controlled Egypt, and the Germans have only unified the empire for more than ten years. They are focused on resolving the contradictions between the German princes, the Grand Duke and the free city, and they have no time to take care of Europe. Outside the region.

The decadent Austro-Hungarian Empire never cared about things outside Europe. As for Tsarist Russia, no European country would allow Russians to reach out to the maritime trade line. Tsarist Russia’s influence could only be limited to the east of the Balkans. It was really human. The poor quality has caused public outrage.

The theory of sea power has not yet been born. The maritime powers such as Spain and the Netherlands have declined, and the American cowboy has not yet risen. In the current era of underdeveloped transportation and information, more than 80% of the entire African continent has no footprints of European colonists. Who will Concerned about this barren desert and Gobi area?

  The Suez Canal, which is vital to the communication between the two oceans, is located in the arms of the Ottoman Empire. The French controlled the canal and the British controlled Egypt along the Red Sea. This was enough for them.

This situation is like a slave. The Ottoman Empire has its ownership. The French choked the slave's throat (Suez Canal). The strong British stood by (Egypt), holding a sharp dagger against the slave. The heart of the region has been extremely controlled, and there is no need to superfluous.

  What Li Fushou has to do is to hold tightly the *** (Somali region) below, which can also achieve the goal of threatening the trade line between the two oceans.

  Don’t forget, Queensland is now the Ma Tsai of the British tycoon. This identity is enough to influence the decision-making makers of European powers. Before daring to do it, think about whether it will cause the British to be unhappy.

  Queensland had just been fighting in the East Indies War, and the Dutch were unable to take care of themselves. They showed strong strength and were eligible to participate in the game of dividing Africa.

  The French have just languished in the Northern Continent, and their ambitious colonial expansion plan met with a blow. This made them more cautious and valued the great Chinese power.

  All kinds of opportunities come together, so now is the best opportunity to miss.

  (End of this chapter)