African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 471: Chapter 149: The ”Pearl” of the Pacific

In East Asia, Grand Duke Ferdinand received a warm welcome, which is not difficult to understand. After all, his most important identity is still that of a grand duke of Austria, the younger brother of Emperor Franz. Even without the boost from the East Africa fleet, this status would earn him a courteous reception from East Asian countries.

The East Africa Navy also achieved its visit goals seamlessly, making a mark in East Asia and letting the East Asians know that there is a country called East Africa. After all, in this era, only a few countries could sail their ironclad ships to East Asia.

With this diplomatic mission completed, the East Africa Navy could head back, but Grand Duke Ferdinand thought it would be prudent to visit Alaska. After resupplying in East Asia, they continued to the royal territory in Alaska.

...

Alaska Royal Territory.

As an overseas domain isolated by the Heixinggen royal family, it has a total population of over ninety thousand, with as many as thirty thousand troops, making it a region truly controlled by the military. This state will likely continue for a long time until the East Africa Navy genuinely has the capability to enforce laws across the ocean.

The population of Alaska Royal Territory is mainly distributed in the southern temperate maritime climate regions, which share similar climate types with Western Europe, but are actually significantly different.

Southern Alaska is cooler than Western Europe, with much higher precipitation exceeding 1,500 mm annually. This is due to Alaska’s predominantly mountainous terrain, while Western Europe has vast plains. The terrain elevation in Alaska makes moisture more likely to condense and form rain.

”Years ago, I transited from here to East Africa. Revisiting this place is truly an emotional experience!”

Grand Duke Ferdinand would never forget the day he was stuffed into a sack, thrown on a horse’s back, and jolted into a stupor. When he next opened his eyes, he found himself on a ship to Alaska. Thus, Alaska marks a turning point in Grand Duke Ferdinand’s fate.

In August, Alaska’s temperature hovers around ten degrees, generally quite mild, and the coastal areas are vibrant with life.

Agriculture in Alaska primarily focuses on potatoes and wheat, so one can see large expanses of developed farmland near settled areas. This development is not as easy as in East Africa because the primary residents of the Alaska Royal Territory are immigrants, lacking the cheap labor resources available in East Africa.

There are indeed some Inuit in the Alaska Royal Territory, but their numbers are almost negligible. Living in icy environments, they have little interaction with the residents of the royal territory.

Thus, development in the royal territory has to be accomplished by the immigrants themselves, which is less efficient than in East Africa. However, this does bring a bit of life to the sparsely populated Alaska Royal Territory.

Moreover, Alaska’s fishery resources are rich, and its fishing industry is well-developed. This contrasts with East Africa, where most vessels are part of Ernst’s private fleet, whereas Alaska’s fishing boats are built by the immigrants themselves.

Since fishery resources are a crucial lifeline for the residents of Alaska Royal Territory, small fishing boats are common, almost every household having one.

The civilian shipbuilding industry in Alaska Royal Territory is more developed than in East Africa, focusing more on activity levels. In practice, however, Alaska’s fishing boat technology is not advanced. They’re just good enough for fishing trips, lacking other capabilities.

The coastal areas of the Alaska Royal Territory have been developed reasonably well. However, when it comes to developing the interior, Alaska shows little enthusiasm. In addition to not developing it themselves, they also prevent outsiders from entering Alaska. Since the founding of the royal territory, the Alaska Royal Guard has expelled more than twenty foreign exploration groups trying to enter.

There are those with designs on Alaska, although mostly from civilian groups, leading the Heixinggen royal family to invest mainly in military, resulting in the army constituting thirty percent of the population.

This is a necessary measure. As the weakest force in the region, they can only continue to invest in military technology. However, the primary defense burden of Alaska Royal Territory lies at sea, maintaining a small fleet composed mainly of small gunboats to ward off illegal Canadian and American fishing vessels, preventing them from landing in Alaska.

Of course, the Alaska Royal Territory exercises restraint, generally turning a blind eye unless it’s within their coastal areas. They have no particular objection to fishing in ’international waters’ in the Bering Gulf.

After all, completely prohibiting these foreign fishing boats from obtaining seafood in the Alaska Gulf would make them hard to handle, given their own influential backing. But that’s the extent of it.

Every move in Alaska Royal Territory has to be cautious, yet there’s no need to be overly anxious. The interest of the United States and Canada in Alaska isn’t strong. Besides Alaska’s armed capabilities, past decisions were sound, leaving a piece of land in the far south to the Russians. Thus, other North American countries would have to pass through Russian land to invade the Alaska Royal Territory by land.

Not passing through Russian territory means entering Alaska from the interior, which is fraught with treacherous terrain and perpetual snow, making such military endeavors as challenging as a German winter attack on Siberia.

Thus, organizing a significant force to attack Alaska Royal Territory from the interior is an impossible task, with the real threat coming from the sea.

But with the East Africa fleet circling the Bering Gulf, no one should underestimate the strength of Alaska Royal Territory.

In September, Grand Duke Ferdinand inspected various places in Alaska Royal Territory.

”Alaska Royal Territory needs more advanced communication equipment. Ideally, a direct telegraph line to Jiaozhou should be laid.”

”The area of Alaska Royal Territory is too vast. Even with the population primarily in the south, the southern land is too much for ninety thousand people. The spacing between settlements is too large, so it’s best to connect these settlements via telegraph to facilitate unified management by the Alaska Royal Territory military district.”

”Connecting with the Far East telegraph lines can enhance East Africa’s control over the Alaska Royal Territory. Relying on mail ships for communication is too slow.”

These were the suggestions Grand Duke Ferdinand made after his inspection. In fact, if conditions permitted, Ferdinand would have liked to establish a naval detachment in Alaska Royal Territory.

The Alaska Royal Guard has its independent naval system because Alaska Royal Territory belongs not to the East Africa Kingdom but to the Heixinggen royal family, theoretically equal in status to East Africa. It’s unsurprising that Constantine still serves as the King of the Heixinggen Principality. If he wished, Constantine could still return to Prussia to assume his princely duties, although currently, there’s no need.

”At the same time, the navy of Alaska Royal Territory should be integrated with our kingdom’s naval forces, allowing them to receive more systematic naval training while ensuring the effective coordination to protect East Africa’s global interests.”

Every bit counts, and Grand Duke Ferdinand is very interested in the navy of Alaska Royal Territory. Though largely composed of small gunboats and not highly functional now, in the future, things could be different, given Alaska’s excellent harbors and control over the Bering Strait. Grand Duke Ferdinand believes that this strategic value will prove significant in the future.

Moreover, Alaska Royal Territory might become the largest East Africa territory in the Eastern Pacific, justifying its title as the ’jewel’ of East Africa in the Eastern Pacific.