African Entrepreneurship Record

East Africa doesn’t have many neighboring countries, and Belgian Congo is one of the friendlier ones. After all, Belgium is just a small country in front of East Africa, and its strength in its African colonies is very weak. The countries even have a bit of a family relationship.

In fact, Portugal and the Heixinggen royal family can also be considered relatives, though it requires tracing back two generations, related to the grandfather’s uncle. After the death of the former queen of Portugal, there was basically no further contact, which is also why East Africa was unrelenting towards Portugal.

If a conflict were to arise between East Africa and Belgium, they would certainly negotiate first, especially since King Leopold II of Belgium is Karina’s grandfather, bringing them much closer.

In 1885, Belgium was also a colonial ”winner”; taking advantage of the Berlin Conference, it solidified its colonial legitimacy in Belgian Congo, which was recognized by various countries.

After Belgium, especially France, Portugal, and East Africa reached a consensus, Belgian Congo was situated north of the Portuguese Angola colony, west of East Africa’s eastern Azande province, and south and east of the French Gabon colony, spanning a total area of 260,000 square kilometers. Belgian Congo, as in the past, served as a natural buffer zone.

Of course, compared to the past, Belgian Congo’s area has shrunk tenfold, as Congo (Gold)’s area reached over two million square kilometers.

Belgium might not know whether to see this as a loss or a gain, as in the past, Congo-Brazzaville’s economy was much better than Congo Gold’s.

Belgian Congo serves as a buffer between East Africa, Portugal, and France. None of the three like direct contact with each other. East Africa and Portugal can agree somewhat, but France is different. East Africa and Portugal have some vigilance towards France; France has no interest in Portugal, but that’s not necessarily the case with colonial government.

Colonial governments generally have considerable autonomy since military commands aren’t always followed when on foreign ground. Many powerful nations, over time and unconsciously, have been compelled to expand their territories.

This doesn’t include East Africa. After the founding of East Africa, it centralized control over administrative, military, and financial powers, necessitating reporting to the central government before any action. Thus, East Africa’s territorial expansion is systematically advanced by the central government.

The advantage of this is that East Africa can save costs, concentrate resources, and exert overwhelming force on native nations.

Don’t underestimate the natives; even rabbits bite when cornered, let alone the strong and sturdy Black people.

One characteristic of colonies is that a minority sovereign nation rules the majority of natives, and the sovereign country’s military forces are very limited; some colonies might only have a few hundred armed personnel.

The Black population numbers often range from tens of thousands to millions. It’s challenging to control even thousands of pigs with just a few hundred people.

Therefore, colonization is not an easy feat. Additionally, the number of troops in colonial armies can’t be too high, as many colonies aren’t wealthy enough to cover costs.

Belgium’s Congo colony is exactly like this; currently, the official military personnel in Belgian Congo number only just over two thousand.

In the past, Belgian Congo’s territory was within present-day East Africa (Congo Gold), and East Africa even has parts of what was once French Congo, primarily on the left bank of the Ubangi River, extending narrowly along the Ubangi River and the lower Congo River.

With smaller territory, the population is also much less, although the population density is much greater than that of the past Belgian Congo, as the Congo rainforest population can’t compare to the western coastal regions.

Essentially, current Belgian Congo is the same as the former French Congo, later known as the Republic of Congo-Brazzaville (with Brazzaville as the capital).

Of course, the capital of Belgian Congo is not in Brazzaville but in the Atlantic coastal city of Black Horn.

Black Horn is ”black cape.” In 1484, when a Portuguese navigator passed by, he saw black rocks on this cape and named the place accordingly.

At the same time, due to this distinctive feature, Black Horn is an important nautical marker on the West African coastal route, similar to the Skeleton Coast with its distinct regional characteristics.

As Belgium’s only colony, Black Horn City in Belgian Congo is its most densely populated area, with more than two thousand people, including over a thousand Chinese.

The presence of many Chinese in Black Horn is mainly due to the few settlers from Belgium to Africa, as Belgium itself is relatively affluent, with neighboring options like the Netherlands and France. So, moving to the harsh environment of Africa was not appealing.

”Belgian Congo is different from East Africa; Whites are Whites, Asians are Asians, and Blacks are Blacks, forming a well-established hierarchical distinction. However, due to East Africa’s influence, Asians here hold a slightly better position, while Blacks suffer much more. According to our rough estimates, during the years of Belgian colonization, Black population in Black Horn has decreased by at least tens of thousands. Especially in Black Horn, one can see many Black people with missing limbs,” said Carlos, the East African consul to Belgian Congo, to his subordinate Val.

East Africa naturally has direct connections with the Belgian Congo government, with permanent staff primarily responsible for matters in the eastern Azande province, the Congo rainforest, and the Danube River province.

These three provinces and regions are close to the Atlantic Ocean and lack rail links to the east, so most freight must pass through Belgium. As for Portugal, there’s nothing to discuss.

Belgium can’t deny Asians any status, as East Africa is nearby. East Africa has a division of troops stationed near Belgian Congo, centered on Bangui, and half of the East African military is composed of Chinese.

Every day, the East African military patrols along the Ubangi River, exerting significant deterrence on surrounding forces, including Belgian Congo.

”Of course, the status of Asians in Belgian Congo isn’t very high either. Think of them as akin to Indian sepoys serving outside of India, and you’ll understand,” Carlos said.

Even so, Belgium’s attitude towards Chinese immigrants is much better than in the past. In the past, Belgium introduced Chinese from the Far East Empire, and their treatment was no different from the local Blacks.

Of course, this didn’t come at the behest of East Africa but was rather a spontaneous action by Belgium. East Africa isn’t a saint; unless they’re East African nationals, it harbors no special sentiments towards other Chinese.

The reason why American Chinese exclusion provoked East Africa’s displeasure was because the laws extended to East African Chinese, who held East African citizenship, thus East Africa couldn’t stand idly by.

”Mr. Carlos, does this have any relation to our usual work?” Val asked.

”Not much, as I mentioned earlier, East Africa recognizes only German people, not groups divided by skin color. We only speak of nationality, safeguarding the interests of East African citizens, including those with East African identity residing in Belgian Congo, overseas companies, Heixinggen consortium employees, and even East African Defense Army personnel,” Carlos emphasized.

Val harbored some inner disdain, as not dividing people by skin color sounds good, but East Africans know the country’s attitude towards Black people is different. However, as the Black population in East Africa continues to decline, Black people may not even have a place in East Africa in the future, so this statement makes sense. It just requires a transition period of two to three decades.