African Entrepreneurship Record

The choice of the French Government was quite rational, and East Africa was not far behind. Lieutenant Masels reported the news to his superiors, and since East Africa was originally close to Madagascar Island, the East African Government obtained the news of the border friction between the two countries earlier than the French Government.

”We have long foreseen this day; after all, the Madagascar Island issue had been a ticking time bomb since the last century. However, no one expected that it would be East Africa and France that would have differences in this area,” said Herman, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of East Africa.

This is nonsense; East Africa only appeared on the historical stage in the mid-to-late 19th century, while France had colonial activities on Madagascar Island as early as the end of the 18th century. Originally, there was no East African involvement, but the sudden emergence of East Africa disrupted the original England and France game, and now the British attention to Madagascar Island is not even comparable to the previous existence.

This is also understandable; the South African War effectively replaced the previous Boer War, representing the budding decline of British global hegemony, so at this time, Britain did not want another round on Madagascar Island.

Of course, France had never had a confrontation with East Africa, so East Africa had no precedent. This does not mean that East Africa does not have confidence in defeating France at home; in the eyes of East Africa, the territory of East Africa on Madagascar Island is also considered part of the homeland.

”Negotiate if possible, fight if not. There’s no fundamental conflict of interest between us and France, so let’s start with negotiations on this matter; we can appropriately show goodwill to the French Government,” said Ernst.

Ernst did not have much interest in the Imerina Kingdom, just like with the Abyssinia Empire, considering these two countries are rare in Africa to hold their independent ideologies; in the future, France will not be able to hold onto these places.

Thus, both the French Government and the East African Government preferred to resolve the territorial sovereignty issue of Madagascar Island through negotiations, which laid the foundation for both countries to share Madagascar Island.

In June 1896, proactively proposed by the East African Government and positively responded by the French Government, both governments conducted negotiations in Paris. After some discussion, the two countries ultimately decided to set their borders according to actual occupied areas.

After all, the historical and geographical boundaries of the original areas between the countries had always been vague, considering territories and colonies were acquired with such ambiguous accounts; it was impossible to strictly adhere to the standards of the original inhabitants.

Therefore, referring directly to the actual occupied areas of both countries was most in line with the shared interest of both parties. Naturally, in some minor details, both governments showed a certain ”tolerance” attitude.

In August 1896, amid harmony, the East and French governments officially signed the ”East-French Territorial Confirmation Agreement,” which clarified the border areas of both countries, specifically Madagascar Island, Gabon, and French Somaliland, as fixed borders with East Africa, peacefully resolving the territorial disputes between the two countries. Everyone considered the agreement to be public and equitable.

This disappointed some external countries hoping for a conflict between East Africa and France, including Britain, Portugal, and Germany.

Britain and Portugal had previously suffered losses, while Germany hoped France didn’t fare too well; at the same time, they didn’t want East Africa and France to become too close.

Of course, in regard to third-party countries’ attitudes, East Africa and France naturally would not be disturbed, as both countries are Great Powers. Although France is a level stronger than East Africa, East Africa’s influence in Africa is unparalleled, and France has considerable interests there, so mutual respect and cooperation were the foundation.

The signing of the ”East-French Territorial Confirmation Agreement” also marked a significant historical event for East Africa.

”After the agreement was signed, the territorial borders of East Africa’s homeland with surrounding countries, regions, and forces, including the Abyssinia Empire, Egypt, Sigmaringen, Germany (Cameroon colony), Belgium, were confirmed and implemented,” said Gers, the Director of the National Bureau of Statistics.

Actually, there’s Britain as well, but Britain is the only one that confirmed its respective sphere of influence with East Africa through war; the two countries have no relevant formal agreement or treaty.

This is also Britain’s little trick, as Britain loves to create some historical legacy issues to ensure regional conflicts remain.

Fortunately, East Africa signed relevant treaties with the Egyptian Government long before Britain completely colonized Egypt; otherwise, in the future, Egypt might indeed have a reason to bring out the ”South Sudan” issue to stir trouble.

Moreover, considering East Africa’s scale, unless Egypt is secretly Africa’s ”Wakanda,” they wouldn’t dare to provoke a hegemonic country like East Africa.

”Prior to this agreement, the national territory scope of our East African homeland was basically confirmed and implemented, already allowing a nationwide survey to be conducted based on this event,” said Gers, the Director of the National Bureau of Statistics.

Previously, the specific value of East African territory was unstable because East Africa continued to expand. After the South African War, the estimated East African territory area in 1890 was about 13 million square kilometers, giving an opportunity to remeasure the national area more accurately this time.

”In addition, our administration division should also be readjusted; with the stabilization of territorial area and the industrial transformation carried out by East Africa’s ’three divisions’ construction, and population migration activities, regions like Angola, Mozambique, and Orange have accelerated development. To facilitate governance over these areas lacking clear administrative divisions, necessary adjustments should be made,” he said.

Previously, East Africa has ruled over regions like Mozambique and Angola for five years already. Through the construction of the three divisions, by 1900, these areas should meet the national average level.

To this, Ernst also agreed; he told everyone, ”Since that’s the case, start compiling a new round of divisions nationwide. My requirement is to implement this division adjustment based on comprehensive factors like local economy, population, environmental capacity, geographic position, terrain, climate, etc.”

”Of course, not just limited to the current population and economic level but also with a focus on the future. For example, Western regions, Southwest Africa, and Angola are certainly different. Angola, as an important external channel for East Africa’s West Coast, has potential not inferior to the eastern coastal regions; over time, it may even surpass some eastern coastal areas. So in this round of division adjustment, the vision should be more forward-looking.”

”Secondly, for some existing unreasonable territorial divisions, it should be adjusted according to local conditions. For example, the provincial capital of West Great Lake Province, Bujumbura, is too remote, and due to terrain reasons, inconvenient exchanges with other regions within the province are an issue that should be prioritized.”

Bujumbura City is located in the southeast corner of West Great Lake Province, and the province overall tends towards the Great Lake (Lake Victoria) basin, while Bujumbura, the provincial capital, actually belongs to the Soron Lake (Lake Tanganyika) basin and is the most developed city in the Soron Lake basin, which is indeed somewhat awkward.

Therefore, according to Ernst’s idea, Bujumbura will not serve as the provincial capital of West Great Lake Province in this division adjustment; the new provincial capital will be selected directly from the eastern cities of West Great Lake Province.

While Bujumbura will become the provincial capital of a new province, it is well-known that East Africa’s three Great Lakes, the Great Lake (Lake Victoria) and Lake Malawi receive excessively prominent attention, while Soron Lake (Lake Tanganyika) has long been neglected. To effectively manage and develop Lake Tanganyika, Ernst is inclined to set up a new province around the lake area.

Moreover, this new province also has a purpose, which is to weaken Highland Province since its area in the eastern region tends to be large.

With East African Government deciding on a remeasurement of the national territory area and intending for a new round of administrative division adjustments, between 1896 to 1897, the East African Government conducted a new round of exploration and survey nationwide.

The focus being border areas, as well as regions like Angola, Mozambique, Madagascar Island, and Orange that have been incorporated into East Africa relatively recently and lack relevant administrative divisions.