African Entrepreneurship Record

During this period, Archduke Ferdinand was very confident about the East African Navy. In the South African War, it faced the greatest pressure, and under such high pressure every day, the East African Navy gained a wealth of experience and eliminated numerous potential issues.

”Now the naval department, having been baptized by war, we dare to brandish our swords against any navy except for the powerful navies like that of the United Kingdom, so we are fully confident in taking over the nearby Madagascar Island,” Archduke Ferdinand confidently told Ernst.

”Madagascar Island is not a small place. If we want to control areas besides the vast territory of the Imerina Kingdom, we definitely need a significant military force, so the army should be stationed on Madagascar Island once the navy captures the target. The forces should not be less than a brigade, preferably equipped with cavalry, and to guard against the Imerina Kingdom’s unauthorized expansion activities, we must ’knock the mountain to shake the tiger,’ making them stay put in the eastern highlands,” said Chief of Staff Sivert.

Currently, the Imerina Kingdom is the biggest obstacle to East Africa’s expansion towards Madagascar Island. Due to its highest level of civilization on Madagascar Island, the Imerina Kingdom also has the ambition to annex the entire island.

However, this clearly does not align with East Africa’s interests, so we must take strong measures against the Imerina Kingdom to restrain its populace from migrating into future East African regions, until East Africa’s foundational population on Madagascar Island is sufficient to prevent the expansion of the southwest areas of Madagascar.

This is a typical policy of ”settler frontier” or conversely, it could be called a ”settler invasion” plan. East Africa has managed to develop from a tiny area to a great power spanning the southeast, middle, and northern regions of Africa, relying on endless immigration activities.

This rogue tactic is something traditional colonizers are fundamentally unable to resist. Once they confront East Africa, they will find themselves short-handed.

However, for a long time in the future, East Africa will not have a large population on Madagascar Island. Under these conditions, pressuring the Imerina Kingdom becomes particularly important.

Currently, East Africa’s population distribution is very unbalanced, especially in places like Angola and Mozambique, where there is practically no foundational population. Even in the most densely populated eastern part of East Africa, it’s actually still sparsely populated.

And for a long time in the future, East Africa’s priority development directions will certainly be the west and south, as well as the developing central region, with not much spare population to consider for Madagascar Island for the time being.

”The territorial expansion towards Madagascar Island must be completed within a year, otherwise, if France or the United Kingdom completely finishes their colonial activities toward the Imerina Kingdom, we will miss the best opportunity. Thus, the conquest of the western and southern parts of Madagascar Island must be wholly completed before the end of 1890,” Ernst spoke, ”As for military forces, let the southern military district send a brigade to Madagascar Island, and the northern district provide a cavalry brigade, especially for the arid regions in the south of Madagascar Island.”

This essentially equals placing a division’s worth of troops on Madagascar Island, more than enough to deal with the Imerina Kingdom, with a population of only a bit over two million.

It’s also because Madagascar Island is close to the East African mainland, otherwise this scale of garrison would be hard to support. Conversely, it’s precisely because Madagascar Island is close to East Africa that East Africa cannot ignore this place.

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September 21, 1889.

Shortly after the South African War ended, East Africa once again launched a colonial war on Madagascar Island. The East African navy and army, numbering over 12,000, landed on Madagascar Island.

This also taught a painful lesson to all the Madagascan ethnic groups except for the Immerina people, because the Immerina people are of yellow race, whereas the other forces besides the Imerina Kingdom mostly belong to the Bantu people, which are ancient Black people living in West Africa.

Of course, this was purely coincidental; they happened to live in the area that East Africa intended to expand. And East Africa has never shown any mercy to Black people, plus the development of Madagascar Island lacked population, so many Bantu people were reduced to slaves.

However, within the East African-controlled area, the Black population wasn’t large, as those living in the tropical savanna areas were not different from the Black tribes living in the East African savannas in earlier times. The total Black population on Madagascar Island was only tens of thousands, including a few mixed-race individuals of Black and Yellow descent.

As for the rapid increase in the Black population on Madagascar Island in the past, it was entirely due to France’s introduction of Black slaves to expand plantations, bringing at least 500,000 Black people to Madagascar Island.

Plus, Madagascar Island is too close to the African continent, so even a race with low technical levels like the Black people could cross the sea, making the Black population on Madagascar Island naturally grow larger.

However, since the founding of East Africa, even if the French fully occupy Madagascar Island, they could no longer bring in cheap Black slave resources, unless they didn’t count the cost of introducing people from West Africa, which evidently, Madagascar Island is not worth for the French to do so.

Currently, the French are still confined to the northern and eastern coasts, struggling even to deal with the Imerina Kingdom, so the history of Madagascar Island has been completely altered.

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”What are the East Africans trying to do? Our two countries have just signed a ceasefire agreement, and now you’re making a move on Madagascar Island. It’s too much. Do you intend to reignite the South African War?” The UK’s first ambassador to East Africa, Bruce, protested to the East African government.

It’s not surprising Ambassador Bruce was nervous; when East African cavalry appeared at the Imerina Kingdom border, he was almost scared to death.

He even thought East Africa was ready to ”make a comeback” and restart the war. This concern wasn’t without basis, as the United Kingdom did not gain an advantage in the South African War.

So they were very worried about East Africa becoming inflated after their victory, which would not be conducive to the stability of the South African region. The subsequent military operations on Madagascar Island further confirmed Ambassador Bruce’s suspicions, which is why he was actively contacting the East African government.

”Ambassador Bruce, please calm down, we certainly respect your country’s interests on Madagascar Island, but as far as we know, the United Kingdom’s influence on Madagascar Island is limited to the Imerina Kingdom, and there is not even a military deployment. The western and southern parts of Madagascar Island have always been ’Land of No Master,’ so our activities in Madagascar Island are entirely reasonable and legitimate,” responded a reception staff from the East African embassy.

Hearing this, Ambassador Bruce asked, ”So, you have no intention of invading the Imerina Kingdom?”

”Of course, East Africa has never had any designs on the Imerina Kingdom. Our military actions in the western and southern parts of Madagascar Island are entirely to ensure the safety of the Western Indian Ocean sea route.”

Regarding East Africa’s shameless remarks, Ambassador Bruce sneered, ”On Madagascar Island, the Imerina Kingdom is the core interest of the United Kingdom, so no matter what East Africa does, it must not enter the Imerina Kingdom territory. At the same time, to ascertain the spheres of influence between our two countries, we must undertake a detailed boundary delineation of Madagascar Island.”

In response to Bruce’s request, the East African government readily agreed. After all, they didn’t want to ”push too far,” and peacefully resolving the Madagascar Island issue is something East Africa is very willing to see happen.

But even with this East African issue resolved, the British found controlling the Imerina Kingdom wasn’t simple, because it was actually France that was the major force expanding into the Imerina Kingdom, and they couldn’t be stopped by the British.