African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 157: Chapter 147 Spain

The education in the East African colony is of a popular science nature, through the imparting of such knowledge, it greatly reduces the outbreak of diseases in East Africa and also improves the health and survival rate of the immigrants.

Currently, the East African colony performs much better in disease prevention than those colonies in South America that have been developed for hundreds of years.

That is to say, the East African colony is just being constructed, so it looks relatively poor and not very wealthy.

This is especially evident in the ugly and rough appearance of the buildings, particularly those in East Africa that were developed earlier. Because there was no template for reference, they naturally appear less aesthetically pleasing. Moreover, the clothing is quite monotonous and uniform, but these are all external factors.

In fact, the investment in other areas of East Africa far exceeds that of contemporaneous colonies, or independent countries at the same latitude, primarily in the aspects of education, health, and infrastructure construction.

Take roads and other infrastructure, for instance, although the quality is not high, the East African colonial government is seriously constructing them, first solving the problem of having them or not, as very few countries at the same latitude have what East Africa has, or they simply do not have the opportunity.

Colonies, as the name implies, are places for colonizers to parasitize, especially in the current era, where Western countries are purely extracting resources from their colonies.

In contrast, East Africa is being developed by Ernst as a country, so the treatment is naturally different, and over-exploiting East Africa’s potential would be a waste.

Moreover, currently, East Africa is surrounded by no strong enemies, it can develop peacefully, and no one has noticed this little corner yet.

People’s needs include nothing more than the four essentials of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. In East Africa, the priority is to solve the issues of transportation and food, constantly striving in these two aspects.

As for clothing and shelter, they can currently manage with what’s available. After all, in East African weather, it never drops below ten degrees, so there’s nothing much to worry about.

Regarding food, given that East Africa is a colony primarily engaged in agricultural development, with vast land and a sparse population, the immigrants’ diet here far surpasses the world average, so it is not too urgent.

Transportation is the biggest issue in East Africa, so infrastructure construction should focus on building more roads, digging more canals, and raising more livestock as transportation means.

By solving the issue of transportation, European materials and equipment can be transferred to East Africa, and East African grains can be sold, making it a bilateral economic issue.

Hundreds of thousands of indigenous laborers are arduously working on the front lines of road construction in East Africa, adding bricks and tiles to East African transportation infrastructure. Building roads isn’t just about paving a path; in East Africa, the drainage work also needs to be done well.

Therefore, drainage ditches need to be dug alongside roads, and their scale cannot be small; they must be sufficient to handle the heavy rains of the East African rainy season, preventing roads from being washed away by rainwater.

In the absence of specialized machinery, a large number of local people must be used to carry out these tasks.

East Africa is building not only roads but also a water network, allowing rainwater to gather in these channels during the rainy season rather than spreading directly over the grasslands as before.

Actively channeling rainwater into rivers, lakes, and low-lying areas equates to reclaiming land that had potential to become arable from previously flooded plains during the rainy season.

The water distribution in East Africa is not concentrated, and these channels can also help the East African colonial government serve as a water diversion network in the future.

Accumulating rainwater can also somewhat improve the local environment, especially during the dry season.

Currently, building reservoirs in East Africa is unrealistic, but many natural lowlands and lakes can be utilized. While building roads in East Africa, rainwater from various regions is also channelled through roadside ditches into lowlands and lakes.

Some temporary wild reservoirs are thus formed, preventing much of the rainwater from gratuitously flowing into the Indian Ocean along the topography.

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Berlin.

Heixinggen Manor.

”Ernst!” Prince Constantine suddenly rose from the recliner, shouting excitedly to his son.

Constantine, holding the edge of the chair with one hand and a newspaper with the other, asked, ”Have you seen today’s newspaper?”

Ernst calmly held a teacup, added some hot water for himself, sipped a little, and then said, ”Of course, father, they’re just trivial matters.”

”My God, you have a big heart, calling such matters trivial; this is an event that affects the European continental structure,” Constantine said.

He continued, ”It’s truly unexpected how fast the world is changing nowadays.”

Ernst consoled, ”As long as the European structure doesn’t affect our interests, let it change freely!”

”True, but it’s not without impact. Now that Spain’s Elizabeth II has fled to France, the Spanish monarchists will certainly choose a monarch from the European royal families,” Constantine said meaningfully.

”Father, Spain’s situation is terrible, and especially in the future, it will continue to decline at a speed visible to the naked eye. There isn’t a unified voice domestically, and local autonomy is strong,” Ernst said rationally.

Constantine was still a bit unwilling: ”But what if it succeeds!”

Ernst just uttered one word: ”The French!”

Constantine instantly understood.

”It seems I was too anxious!”

”Actually, with such a big opportunity in front of anyone, it’s tough to resist the temptation, father. It’s just that we shouldn’t stick our necks out, and there’s no need to take such a big risk,” Ernst comforted.

”After all, Spain is one of the few major countries today; who wouldn’t be envious!” Constantine sighed, as for the risks, the temptation of the royal position doesn’t seem like something poorly manageable.

”Our Heixinggen’s interests lie in Germany, in East Africa, but not in Spain. Maximiliano I is still in East Africa doing well! This is already a pre-existing lesson, naturally something to be cautious about,” Ernst said.

”Indeed, given Spain’s current complicated situation, even someone as experienced in politics as I may not be a match for those old hands, especially now that they still have military force,” Constantine said.

”That’s all fine, the main issue is that the country of Spain is too old, many things can’t be changed, and it has no investment value at all,” Ernst said.

”The current situation in East Africa is much better than in Spain. The land area there is second in Europe only to Russia, and it’s not wasteland either. The population is close to two million this year, and the comprehensive resources far exceed those of many European countries.” Speaking of these, Ernst felt a profound sense of achievement.

The main point is that the East African colony is new enough, all the order and rules are of his own making, and given the current situation in the East African colony, Ernst could declare himself a local emperor without any issue.

But if he really went to Spain, it wouldn’t be that easy, with all those old foxes and powerhouses. To be honest, the Habsburgs are stronger than the Hohenzollerns there.

In late September 1868, Spain’s military government overthrew Elizabeth II’s rule, and Queen Elizabeth II fled to France, leaving the Spanish throne temporarily vacant.

Just as in history, the Spaniards initially set their sights on the Hohenzollern family, with a significant role played by Prussian Prime Minister Bismarck.

After Bismarck employed financial tactics, the Spanish government shamelessly chose the Hohenzollern family.

The Heixinggen royalty naturally showed no interest in this matter, and after an understanding, Constantine and his son both clearly indicated that Heixinggen has no current interest in Spain.

The historical baton then returned to Prince Leopold of the neighboring Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen royal family.

From a personal perspective, Leopold himself wasn’t very willing to wade into the murky waters of Spain, but now it involved the interests of the family and the kingdom, so Leopold was indecisive. However, soon the French would help Leopold make the decision.