African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 56: Chapter 52 Trieste

December 15, 1866.

Trieste, the most important port of the Austrian Empire.

Ever since the end of the Prussia and Austria war, Austria handed over Venice to Italy through France, making Trieste automatically become the only most important port of the soon-to-be-born Austria-Hungary Empire (February 1867).

Currently, the Austrian government is negotiating with Hungarian Magyar nobles, and both sides are fiercely debating rights and obligations.

By February of the following year, a compromise was reached, granting Hungarian Magyar nobles equal rights as Austria, but the Magyars must ensure that Hungary remains within the Empire, thus forming the dual monarchy.

Trieste is the shipbuilding center and commercial maritime trade hub of the Austria-Hungary Empire.

Once engaged in a two-century-long war with Venice, the locals later actively sought protection from the Habsburg and were incorporated into the Austrian Empire, remaining as core territories of Austria ever since.

Trieste actually had its own dialect, but due to the increase in Italians, coupled with the temporary strength of the Republic of Venice, the influence of Italian culture in Europe, and other factors, speaking Italian became mainstream.

After World War I, Italy annexed Trieste on the grounds that they spoke Italian, resulting in Austria losing Trieste, which it had ruled for five hundred years. This truly shows how inefficient and incompetent the Austria-Hungary Empire was.

Today, the city still retains a strong Viennese style, and many speak German. If the Austrian government had implemented German education here, Austria might not have become a landlocked country after World War I.

Latterly, Trieste transformed from the jewel of the Austria-Hungary Empire to an unremarkable city of Italy.

This showcases the power of cultural influence; originally, Trieste spoke its local dialect, but in long-term interactions with Italian states (especially Venice), they began speaking Italian and were ultimately annexed by Italy.

This is also why Ernst wants to reform immigrant education in East Africa colonies: as long as you successfully shape immigrants’ identity, East African colonies will only have genuine ”German people” in the future.

The current Trieste connects directly to the Austrian capital, Vienna, with a railway built in 1857 to Vienna.

With the entire Austria-Hungary Empire as its economic hinterland, Trieste became the third-largest city within the Austria-Hungary Empire, only after Vienna and Prague.

As the top seaport city of the Austria-Hungary Empire, it was responsible for the Empire’s coal supplies and external cargo transportation, and also served as the headquarters for the Austria-Hungary Empire’s navy.

It was called the ”Blue Coast of the Austria-Hungary Empire.” At that time, Trieste was definitely one of the major cities in Europe and the world.

But once in Italian hands, Trieste became the frontier of the nation, losing its economic hinterland, making it almost nonexistent among Italy’s numerous ports in later generations.

Many Italians don’t even know about the city of Trieste.

In the future, people can only know from Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech, ”Oh, there used to be such a place in Europe.”

”From Szczechin on the Baltic Sea to Trieste on the Adriatic Sea, an iron curtain is drawn across Europe.” — Churchill

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Ernst walked through the streets of Trieste. Now Ernst could be considered half-son-in-law of the Habsburg, making it suitable to leverage some investments within the Austria-Hungary Empire.

Trieste is one of Ernst’s targets. He plans to build a center for the East African overseas trade fleet here.

Although there is a functional overlap with Venice, Ernst still wants to spread the risk by placing eggs in two baskets.

After all, Venice and Austria-Hungary count as two different countries now, and if goods are shipped from Austria to Venice, the Italian government will charge an extra tax.

Therefore, the shipyard remains in Venice, while the fleet directly relocates to develop in Trieste.

Apart from economic reasons, the main choice for Trieste is to foster population influx into East African colonies.

White migration has always puzzled Ernst, as Germans within Prussia are hard to persuade to go to East Africa, having relatively higher education levels (compared to other European regions), is a secondary obstacle; currently, with Prussia thriving and offering ample opportunities, few choose to develop overseas.

Those Germans venturing to America mainly do so for the early development and favorable environment. Another reason is that they can’t get by in Prussia; many are criminals, rogues, documented by the Prussian government, and not excluding those ambitious fortune seekers.

Both types are easily spotted and aren’t needed in the East African colonies, as their arrival would threaten the stability of East African colonies.

It’s different with the Austria-Hungary Empire, which has been on a downward trajectory since its inception, with waning national strength, low levels of industrialization, and severe ethnic conflicts, giving Ernst the chance to capitalize.

The Austria-Hungary Empire’s population ranks only behind Russia and Germany (which has been excluded from Germany), and the literacy rate of the population is far below that of Germany, barely better than Russia, with many illiterate peasant slaves.

These illiterate farmers imply that cultural identity can be reshaped through education, which is precisely the quality immigrant needed in East African colonies.

Uneducated farmers, in any era, possess the strongest ability to reproduce offspring, and the lands of the Austria-Hungary Empire cannot increase out of thin air, coupled with the exploitation by nobles within the Austria-Hungary Empire.

These farmers either find jobs in the city, but clearly, the Austria-Hungary Empire’s industry can’t absorb so many people, and working in black-hearted factories in the city might not necessarily be easier than farming.

Or choose to revolt against local noble exploitation, but the success rate in the conservative Austria-Hungary Empire is basically zero.

The last option is to go abroad and seek employment opportunities elsewhere.

Unlike literate Germans, hinting at working and living in East Africa to Germans, they would absolutely perceive you as a fraud. Only mercenaries and colonization specialists would even consider going.

Yet, for the Austria-Hungary Empire’s lower-class citizens, if you mention East Africa, they might first ask where East Africa is?

At this point, as long as you increase persuasive efforts, depict East Africa as a paradise, and finally find a few shills to persuade them, anyway, without land or employment in the Austria-Hungary Empire, it’s better to gamble abroad.

These farmers of the Austria-Hungary Empire aren’t as easy to persuade as Chinese immigrants, knowing Chinese were driven by desperation, while Austria-Hungary farmers could barely survive.

If we go further back, during the serfdom era, it was even harder, as serfs were private properties of nobles, and persuading local migration requires negotiating with local nobles.

Right now, it’s just right. With serfdom abolished not long ago, these farmers don’t need nobles to be responsible for them anymore, and everything they eat, wear, and live is their own responsibility.

Farmers without land can only choose to keep farming for noble masters, but the problem is the population keeps growing while the efficiency of production tools keeps improving, requiring fewer farmers.

At this point, landless farmers can only move to cities to work in black-hearted factories to support their families.

A large number of farmers looking for work opportunities flood into cities, yet the Austria-Hungary Empire’s industrialization level isn’t high enough to absorb so much labor.

Ernst organized his company to start recruiting under the guise of jobs in various cities of the Austria-Hungary Empire, persuading unemployed farmers to go to East Africa and develop.

Not only paying wages but also providing room and board, allowing them to earn money and return to Europe in the future.

Agricultural workers are workers too, not that Ernst’s speaking falsehoods, room and board are true, although the living place still needs building oneself, and eating comes from crops grown on their own land.

As for wages, they’re virtually negligible but they can save a bit; what? You say it’s not enough to support a family, well, you’re fortunate.

Encourage the whole family to work in the East African colonies, thus ensuring your entire family doesn’t worry about eating or drinking, and the colony provides free education for children.

Regarding returning to Europe in the future, it’s possible, there’s hope after four or five years. At present, the merchant ships of the East African colonies bring people in only, not out, and they are sparse.

And traveling back to Europe via other country’s ships costs a costly fare, impossible to save up without working in the East African colonies for four or five years.

Currently developing in East Africa means merely living, not hoping for fortune. The East African colonies lack myriad industries like America, entrepreneurship is non-existent.

All valuable lands are owned by the colonial government, unlike the American West where you circle land to build farms.

However, the East African colonies actively bear the ticket cost for immigrants heading to East Africa, which surpasses advantages of heading to America since the U.S. government wouldn’t voluntarily pay a fare to cross the Atlantic.

Going to East Africa has an advantage: you’re doing planting tasks you’re accustomed to; if you head to America without skills you aren’t going to do anything but common labor too, while farming is something you inherently know, and no one can persuade you otherwise. Life regardless wouldn’t be as worse as the days of serfdom.