African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 495: Chapter 173 Bosnia

In March 1878.

While the Russo-Turkish War was still ongoing, the Austro-Hungarian Empire moved its troops into Sarajevo, taking advantage of an agreement with Russia, as the Ottoman Empire’s control over the Balkans teetered on the brink. This was a concession that Russia had offered to ensure Austro-Hungarian neutrality during the war.

Due to the interference from East Africa, Russia’s expansion in the Central Asian steppes and the Western Asian regions did not proceed as smoothly as in history. Therefore, Russia, worried that the Austro-Hungarian Empire might suddenly change its stance, had to prematurely offer Bosnia and Herzegovina to buy Austro-Hungarian support.

The region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, known as Bosnia for short, was one of the most tumultuous regions in Europe in history, with Sarajevo, in particular, being famous as the spark that ignited World War I.

In Ernst’s view, the Bosnian region wasn’t particularly desirable, but it was an intersection of civilizational conflicts, a frontier for clashes between Catholicism, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and Islam, thus encapsulating a multitude of destabilizing cultural factors.

Even in the 21st century in history, though Bosnia and Herzegovina appeared peaceful on the surface, Ernst believed that any spark could plunge it into chaos, as it happened historically. Bosnia and Herzegovina was a country even more abstract than the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with two governments (Bosnia, Herzegovina), three presidents (one for each of the three major faiths), and two capitals (Banja Luka, Sarajevo).

With the Austro-Hungarian military occupation of Bosnia, the Heixinggen consortium quickly followed, engaging in large-scale land acquisitions in the region.

During the Ottoman Empire’s rule, most Bosnian land was held by the Tima class (equivalent to European feudal lords).

However, the Tima system was significantly different from the European manorial system. The Ottoman Empire wasn’t as fragmented as Europe but was more centralized, so the lord’s powers were also restricted by the central government.

For instance, regarding land, the Ottoman Empire stipulated that except for a strictly prescribed small portion, land couldn’t be hereditary. Lords had to allocate the vast majority of their territories to peasants for hereditary cultivation and were not allowed to seize it arbitrarily. Lords could not operate more land than the peasants, and taxes were under the supervision of the Ottoman Empire.

As the military expansion of the Ottoman Empire halted, the Tima class, unable to profit from warfare, turned to exploiting the lower classes to maintain their income, rendering the restrictive laws and supervision on the Tima class ineffectual.

In the second half of the 17th century, the process of land consolidation accelerated, with the Tima class using various means to aggressively expand their lands, including private land development and methods that bankrupted the lower classes, repossessing their land.

Thus, the Heixinggen consortium’s land acquisition actions in Bosnia proceeded quite smoothly, with about thirty percent of the arable land in the entire Bosnian region being acquired by the consortium.

Of course, the true reason for the smooth operations of the Heixinggen consortium wasn’t just the collapse of Ottoman rule there; it was because competitors didn’t value Bosnia.

The Bosnian region, with over forty percent mountainous terrain, about twenty percent hills, and only five percent plains, with nearly thirty percent karst topography, was seen in Europe as undesirable land, akin to Guizhou in the Far East, although Guizhou had around seven percent plains and was over three times the size of Bosnia.

Thus, after the Austro-Hungarian military occupation, the only commercial interest from within the empire was from the Heixinggen consortium.

By cooperating with the Austro-Hungarian military, the Heixinggen consortium was able to easily purchase land from the Tima class at low prices. Moreover, to pressure Tima class into concessions, the consortium actively fomented local chaos.

Rumors spread that the Austro-Hungarian Empire intended to purge the upper echelons of Islam, seizing infidel lands, which stirred a hornet’s nest, causing many Tima lords to begin selling their lands and retreating to Ottoman heartlands.

As for resisting, that was impossible; the Ottomans were still fighting Russia and had no energy to care for them. The majority of the Balkan Peninsula was cut off by Russia and Balkan states, leaving Bosnia isolated and at the mercy of others.

However, the methods of the Heixinggen consortium drew discontent from the Austro-Hungarian military. The Austro-Hungarian military representative, Ronaldinho, soon came to confront them: ”Mr. Belk! Are your people spreading rumors all around Bosnia? Claims about purging and such? Over thirty major riots have occurred because of these rumors, causing us considerable trouble!”

There certainly needed to be purges, but the Austro-Hungarian Empire wanted it done discreetly. After all, they occupied Bosnia too easily and needed to proceed carefully due to the remaining local power.

Belk feigned innocence and said: ”General Ronaldinho, how could this be possible? Our Bosnian Agricultural Development Company is a law-abiding enterprise and would never disrupt local unity and peace.”

Ronaldinho: ”Hmph, don’t think you can fool me so easily; you surely did this for the land acquisitions!”

Belk: ”General, that’s merely your assumption. You need evidence to make such claims. Although our Bosnian Agricultural Development Company does benefit, there’s no need for such actions. It might be that some Ottoman Empire resisters are stirring chaos to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Empire from liberating the local populace.”

Saying this, Belk brought out a letter, ”General, this letter is entrusted to us by your father. Perhaps reading it might change your perspective.”

The upright Ronaldinho accepted the letter and, after reading it, predictably changed his demeanor and said, ”If these are enemies of the Ottomans, then the rumors make sense. Indeed, these infidels should be dealt with severely.”

Belk seized the opportunity and said, ”Not only that, but for the sake of the empire’s interests, we need to re-educate the local populace to ensure they understand their place properly, wouldn’t you agree, General?”

Ronaldinho was unsure what Belk meant by this, ”Mr. Belk, whose view does this represent?”

Belk: ”Of course, it’s the view of us Germans. Don’t you think there are too few Germans within the empire, which is quite unfavorable for the empire’s stability?”

Ronaldinho: ”Mr. Becker! Who exactly is behind you?”

Becker: ”General Ronaldinho, some things are just my personal views, and they don’t represent anyone. These words are just between us.”

Ronaldinho, of course, didn’t believe Becker’s claims. The Bosnian Agricultural Development Company wasn’t a small entity, as few domestic forces could acquire land on such a large scale in Bosnia. However, Becker had made some valid points; the empire’s instability was indeed partly due to the small number of Germans.

He pursued, ”Mr. Becker, what you said makes sense, but the Bosnian region only has Slavic people; Germans can’t appear out of thin air...”

Becker: ”Of course not, but just who said that Bosnia only has Slavic people? I see many Germans who were coerced by the Ottomans into becoming Slavs. If we can help them reclaim their identity, they will naturally reintegrate into the German nation. Bosnia has always been imperial land; it’s just that foreign forces altered the history, deceiving the populace.”

Beck’s words further convinced Ronaldinho that his identity wasn’t just that of a mere businessman.

In fact, Beck was backed by the Heixinggen consortium, and their actions in Bosnia were a precursor to a Germanization transformation attempt in Bosnia, for controlling the local economic base could lead to cultural changes.

For instance, the Ottoman Empire’s assimilation methods were very effective. Through taxation and other means, the majority of Bosnia’s population turned out to be Muslims.

This also highlighted the Austro-Hungarian Empire government’s limited means to address nationalism. With obstacles like Hungary within the government, many actions couldn’t be undertaken. Since the Austro-Hungarian Empire was incapable, it fell to private forces to act.

Given Bosnia’s poor economy and underdeveloped agriculture, its small population provided the Heixinggen consortium with favorable conditions for their transformation efforts. Implementing their East African model in Bosnia could greatly benefit Austro-Hungarian control.

In the previous era, the Austro-Hungarian Empire militarily occupied Bosnia for over twenty years, but Serbia gained the upper hand in the end, a result Ernst wasn’t pleased with. Of course, Ernst wouldn’t outright criticize Franz as inept, as being in his position entailed too many constraints.