Chapter 393: Civil Conflict Between East Africa and England
East Africa's war against the Transvaal Republic has ended, but in the South African region the fighting continues. First, the 123rd Cavalry Division and the 514th Infantry Division, which were in Pretoria, are heading east to join up with Felix's group and begin a campaign against the Zulu Kingdom.
Conquering the Zulu Kingdom not only provides access to abundant coal resources but, more importantly, secures an eastern outlet to the sea. In earlier times, South Africa's main coal-exporting port, Richards Bay, lay abandoned there.
Capturing that port is of great significance to East Africa in ensuring the safety of its southern territory. Once it has taken the Transvaal, the East African Kingdom will stretch into a long strip from north to south. The distance between East Africa's core region (what used to be the East African Federation) and South Africa is excessively long. But, after defeating the Zulu Kingdom, East Africa can use Richards Bay for ocean transport, moving people and supplies efficiently.
On the land East Africa actually controls in South Africa, Ernst does not plan to develop large-scale plantations. Instead, he aims to establish ranching—similar to that in northern Kenya.
Compared with northern Kenya, this area's temperature is lower, a subtropical zone with a cooler climate, making it arguably East Africa's best pastoral land.
At the same time, Ernst anticipates tapping into this region's rich mineral resources in the future, necessitating industrial development. But industry requires water, and South Africa's annual rainfall is even lower than Zimbabwe's, especially inland, plus it fluctuates greatly; some extreme years may see only a bit over 400 millimeters.
Water usage divides roughly into domestic, agricultural, and industrial. Agriculture uses the most. If large-scale farming were to be done in South Africa, it's clear there wouldn't be enough water just for agriculture.
What's more, East Africa has no real need to run plantations in South Africa anyway. First, it doesn't require them at this stage—East Africa's grain output is already in surplus. Second, East Africa owns an abundance of arable land: in Tanzania alone, there are 44 million hectares of cultivable ground (about 660 million mu)—almost 30% of India's farmland. Much of it can produce more than one crop per year, so Ernst isn't even interested in using Tanzania's poorer or less easily irrigated lands.
In the future, any South African grain can simply be imported from the north, leaving the limited water resources of East Africa's southern territory for industrial use.
Industry's dependence on water can be illustrated by Shandong Province in earlier times. Shandong was a heavy-industry province, where chemical, steel, and coal-related sectors accounted for about 70% of its industrial base, with the highest energy consumption in the country. Yet its industrial water usage was only a bit more than 10% of neighboring Jiangsu Province's, sharply constraining Shandong's industrial progress. Meanwhile, Shandong was also a major agricultural producer, so farming and industry continually vied for the limited supply—essentially "competing for water." Even the Huang He (Yellow River) had to be used sparingly.
The southern territory under East African control will face a similar problem. Ernst's solution is to avoid water-hungry farming there, so that a water crisis never arises—or water might even be abundant. Ernst certainly doesn't believe industry in East Africa's southern territory will ever reach the scale of 21st-century Shandong. Setting aside other factors, Shandong alone had around 100 million inhabitants, but it's almost impossible for East Africa's southern territories to reach that figure. As for the entire East African Kingdom hitting 100 million people, that seems more plausible.
Since they won't be developing large-scale agriculture locally, these southern lands must rely on other parts of East Africa for food distribution. And the cheapest way is by sea, which highlights Richards Bay's importance.
Richards Bay's conditions are no worse than Durban's, down south, but due to the Zulu Kingdom, it was never developed. The East African Kingdom will have to build it into a real port.
Right now, Durban is the political-economic center of Britain's Natal Colony, and East Africa doesn't yet dare rouse the wrath of the British Empire.
In addition to the newly begun war with the Zulu Kingdom, East Africa is also pressing a campaign of conquest in the region south of the Kalahari Desert and north of the Orange River. This area is presently "no man's land," with few natives, so Mölk's forces advanced smoothly, encountering no major obstacles in the early stages.
However, as East Africa's army approached the Orange River, they had a small clash with Britain's Cape Colony forces.
"Stop right there! Who are you?"
A group of militiamen blocked the path of the 7th Regiment, the vanguard of the 411th Division of the East African Army. The 7th Regiment's commander, Naldowicz, was known for his temper and had no patience for these people.
One can tell from his name that Naldowicz has a Slavic ring; in fact, he's a Croatian from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. But in the East African Kingdom, Slavs who had been culturally Germanized under Austria-Hungary were categorized as "Germans." Thanks to his military achievements, Naldowicz advanced easily in his career.
Riding his warhorse, Naldowicz asked, "Who are you, and why are you blocking our way?"
"This is the land of the Griqualand Republic! If you go one step farther, you'll have crossed our border!" a Boer militiaman declared.
"Damn it, how many republics have the Boers founded already!" Naldowicz cursed inwardly. He didn't realize that to the east there was also a "New Griqualand Republic," meaning the Boers had formed two such Griqualand Republics.
Under orders, Naldowicz wasn't about to entertain talk of a "republic." Instead, he turned it around on them: "What nonsense is this Griqualand Republic? I've never heard of it! Everything north of the Orange River belongs to us Germans. Why are you trespassing on German territory?"
That left the Boer militiamen momentarily at a loss, especially since many in their group were descendants of German immigrants. If Naldowicz had claimed the area was East Africa's land, they would have staunchly objected. But now that he called it "German territory," did those Boers of German heritage count as Germans themselves?
This highlights the sense of national identity Naldowicz had absorbed through East Africa's cultural assimilation. Though originally a true Croatian—culturally similar to Austrians of the Austro-Hungarian Empire—Austria's Germans would never acknowledge him as "German." Yet upon arriving in East Africa, he grew proud of his German identity.
It's understandable that the Boers were conflicted about their own identity. The concept of "Boers" isn't that old. When the British took Cape Colony, many Boers of British descent separated out and returned to the mother country. Meanwhile, Germans and French had become a key part of the Boer mix.
After a brief moment's hesitation, the Boer militiamen snapped back, "We don't care who you are—this is the Griqualand Republic's land!"
Naldowicz sneered. "Griqualand, huh? I bet nobody in the international community's even heard of that country. You people are basically stealing the East African Kingdom's soil. Surrender to East Africa now, and we'll forget the past, guaranteeing your safety."
For their part, the Griqualand militiamen caught a new name: "East African Kingdom." But they had no fear. They'd never heard of East Africa. It wasn't any different from their own Griqualand Republic, right?
Certainly not the same. The Griqualand Republic never publicly proclaimed its founding in Europe, whereas East Africa had made a loud announcement there. People might be unclear about East Africa, but at least they knew it existed. As for the Griqualand Republic, if you asked folks in Europe about it, most would assume it was a chiefdom or tribal polity in some remote corner.
Of course, the militiamen's greatest confidence didn't come from whether East Africa was a "self-congratulatory" realm like them, but from the fact that last year, the Griqualand Republic voted to join Britain's Cape Colony. They had the British behind them. Who would be so foolish as to cross them?
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