African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 227: Chapter 215 Ernst’s Little Plan

December 3, 1869.

First Town, Central District of East Africa, Sweet Palace.

”Hehehe, this East Africa is truly a treasure.” Prince Constantine said while examining detailed data in his hands, ”Ernst, what do you plan to do next?”

On the other end of the line: ”Father, everything in East Africa should continue developing as normal, but there’s one thing we need to speed up, otherwise it might cause trouble in the future.”

”What is it?”

”It’s about the Gledi Sultanate in the Somali region.”

”Do you plan to take action against it?”

”The Gledi Sultanate may not have a large population, but its location is important, especially since its residents are mainly Black people, which is a potential threat.”

Ernst was referring to its importance in terms of East Africa’s demographic policy, rather than its geographical significance.

Constantine hadn’t seen the terrifying birth rates of Black people in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, so he couldn’t grasp Ernst’s sense of urgency.

Historically, from 1961 to 2021, Somalia’s population grew from 2.94 million to 17.06 million. Currently, the Gledi Sultanate is just a state in southern Somalia, with a population of about tens of thousands, so taking over the Gledi Sultanate wouldn’t be difficult.

Historically, the Zanzibar Sultanate defeated the Gledi Sultanate and made it a vassal, so East Africa could easily move forward and directly annex the Gledi Sultanate.

Somalia, like Ethiopia, has a mixed Black and White population. However, Somalia mostly comprises Arab countries, where culture serves as a link, rather than bloodline, which bears a resemblance to East Africa’s German culture promoting racial integration.

(Image: Dark blue area represents the distribution of African mixed-race populations)

”Ernst, you’re overreacting. The Gledi Sultanate has only tens of thousands of people and can’t pose a threat to East Africa. However, its geographical position is indeed good, so if you want to take it, just say so. There’s no need to hide it from me. Between father and son, let’s speak frankly.”

”Father, I’m entirely thinking about the future situation around East Africa. In actuality, the Gledi Sultanate doesn’t have any resources I care about, except Mogadishu, which has some value. However, East Africa already has ports like Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.”

”Moreover, with the opening of the Suez Canal, Mogadishu will lose even more value. The Gledi Sultanate isn’t truly at the Horn of Africa, so it can’t block the passage from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, and it has large areas of desert, which wouldn’t be worth much even if taken.”

(Image, location of Gledi Sultanate)

”Alright, whether it’s valuable or not, let’s take it first. In any case, its population isn’t large, so occupying it wouldn’t be difficult.” Constantine said.

”Yes, we can replace all the Black people here with immigrants at that time, making it so that the northern part of the East African colony has very few purely Black forces,” Ernst said.

Prince Constantine felt dismissive. He thought his son was overreacting, as if hearing about Black people felt like encountering a terrifying and troublesome monster, a sense of trepidation.

However, if Ernst’s plan was completed, it certainly wouldn’t harm East Africa. So he let his son be capricious. In an ordinary conversation between father and son, the fate of an ancient African nation was decided.

”This year is crucial, and before May next year, we must solidify East Africa’s foundation a bit more, so that when East Africa becomes a kingdom, its appearance will look better,” Ernst said.

When the topic of establishing a kingdom came up, Constantine became interested. In fact, Ernst had long hinted at the goal of constructing East Africa as a nation.

But this was the first time Constantine heard Ernst explicitly say that East Africa was to become a kingdom, rather than a principality, duchy, or grand duchy. For Constantine, the temptation of becoming a kingdom was too great!

”Ernst! Are you confident in accomplishing this?” Prince Constantine suppressed his excitement, though his voice still carried a tremble.

”Father, the conditions in East Africa are there, becoming a kingdom naturally follows. Truth be told, if we wanted to amuse ourselves, calling for the title of African Emperor wouldn’t be a problem,” Ernst teased.

The geographic location of East Africa meant it did not need to define itself by European legal frameworks and procedures. However, Ernst didn’t want to truly be an African chief, so it was better to maintain some connections with Europe.

And Europe, from beginning to end, has had only one emperor—Caesar of Rome. Currently, there are three rulers in European nations claiming to be Caesar: Franz of Austria, Napoleon III of France, and Alexandria II of Russia.

Franz’s title as emperor is undisputed, as he is Roman Holy and True. Napoleon III is controversial as a legitimate noble, and Russia is completely sidelined by Europe. Not even Eastern Rome in existence would be anything other than the Byzantine Empire in the mouths of Western European countries.

”How do you plan to execute this?” Constantine asked curiously, knowing that gaining the recognition of European countries is East Africa’s real challenge. Otherwise, calling oneself a universal divine nation would still look like a joke to others.

”It’s quite simple. We’ll first establish the Kingdom of East Africa ourselves, with the legal authority naturally coming from this land. That is also a reason for taking the Gledi Sultanate.”

Then, Uncle Franz will declare his recognition of the Kingdom of East Africa’s legitimacy. In this way, we gain the acknowledgment of a European emperor, which naturally implies official recognition from Austria-Hungary.

Next, we obtain recognition from Prussia, Romania, and the German states, as well as the Kingdom of Sweden. It’s not hard since we’re all related to some extent.

Finally, the focus will be on courting Russia and Spain. We have had previous cooperation with Russia, and you don’t need to worry about Spain either.

In all these countries, the success rate is above sixty percent. Austria-Hungary’s success rate is one hundred percent, while Romania, Prussia, and Sweden also have a one hundred percent success rate, though their influence is slightly weaker compared to Austria-Hungary. Most of the Southern German states will support us, while North German has become Prussia’s mouthpiece.

In summary, securing recognition from these countries allows us to essentially control international opinion, so even if Britain and France have objections, they must begrudgingly accept it.”

Ernst’s plan is most clever in forcefully linking East Africa to Europe. A country in Africa yet seeking European recognition for its legitimacy means adding a layer of protection.

And the most crucial point is that the Kingdom of East Africa’s legal authority derives from Africa, not Europe. But where is the legal authority in Africa? It still depends on how East Africa chooses to interpret it.

Franz becomes a tool for Ernst. According to European procedures, a country must be elevated to kingdom status with an emperor’s coronation, such as the neighboring Kingdom of Württemberg by Heixinggen, which was elevated from grand duchy to kingdom by Napoleon.

In Ernst’s plan for East African state-building, it’s instead first forming a kingdom themselves, rather than receiving an emperor’s coronation, yet later getting Emperor Franz’s recognition. This keeps the interpretation under East Africa’s control.

But it also easily creates a misconception among uninformed European countries that East Africa is a vassal of Austria-Hungary, which adds another layer of protection for East Africa.

As for why Austria-Hungary, after the Franco-Prussian War, Prussia became too powerful, taking the leap to become Europe’s top power, providing a huge shockwave to all countries. If East Africa then were to lean towards Prussia, Britain and France would certainly go mad in the future.

Austria-Hungary is also very strong, but everyone knows Austria-Hungary is using what it has from the past, preventing other countries from being too wary, while also not daring to overlook them.