Chapter 56: Balance

Chapter 56: Balance

Ernst returned from Austria to the Black-Sengen family home and spent Christmas of 1866 with Prince Konstantin. The development of the East African colonies continued steadily.

On January 14, 1867, the first group of immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire arrived at the port of Dar es Salaam. The immigrants, who had been toughened by the turbulence at sea, were now very happy to see land. Because they were still within the Sultanate of Zanzibar, the environment here appeared quite favorable to the immigrants. After all, Zanzibar had been developed for many years, and the city's infrastructure was passably adequate. People of various skin colors were seen in Zanzibar: Germans, Arabs, Portuguese, Africans, Indians, and Chinese… Immigrants who had lived deep within the Austrian Empire had never seen such diversity. The architectural style in Zanzibar was also different from Europe, filled with rich Arabian influences. With tropical beaches and coconut trees, everything was so novel to these immigrants.

After three days of travel, the immigrants were brought to the first town, where officials from various regions of the East African colonies had already prepared to receive them. The first batch of immigrants was surprisingly white! The colonial officers, who were used to receiving Chinese immigrants, were a bit shocked. However, they quickly shook off their surprise. The colonial officers were all Germans, and the students from the Black-Sengen Military Academy typically worked as translators and assistants or served as junior officers in the colonial military.

In fact, these Germans were also a bit apprehensive. After all, what if the Chinese immigrants rebelled? Earlier, it wasn't a big issue because the population was small, but by the end of last year, the number of Chinese immigrants had increased by tens of thousands, while the number of Germans remained the same at about 2,000. Two thousand Germans could still manage to control tens of thousands of people, but the Chinese were multiplying too quickly. This year, there were tens of thousands, and next year, there would be hundreds of thousands. The year after that, there might be millions. That's still an understatement. No one knew if Ernst would increase the number of ships and bring even more people.

Though the Chinese immigrants were obedient and industrious, and the development of East Africa had significantly accelerated since the restrictions on Chinese immigration were lifted, the German officers still preferred to rely on their own people (white people). After all, they didn't speak Chinese, and many tasks required the help of students from the Black-Sengen Military Academy. The German officers, who had tasted the sweetness of power, were naturally uneasy. They believed that the Black-Sengen Military Academy students were loyal to Ernst, and their presence acted as a form of surveillance on the German colonial officers. The German officers saw themselves as Ernst's primary support, and they worried that Ernst's over-reliance on the Chinese would destabilize the East African colonies.

Compared to the German workers hired with money and the students trained by the Black-Sengen Military Academy, Ernst naturally trusted his own trained students more. However, human nature is unpredictable, so Ernst didn't dare entrust the colony entirely to them. He preferred to use Germans who weren't very skilled (mostly retired military veterans and mercenaries who had served overseas; only a few high-ranking officials were members of the Black-Sengen consortium).

The migration of people from the Austro-Hungarian Empire was also a measure to prevent the Chinese immigrants from becoming too dominant. Ernst was just a feudal noble with ambitions to expand his empire. Some people doubted whether Ernst had a "white skin, yellow heart" mentality. In fact, Ernst had never thought that way. Apart from realizing the great ideals from his past life, his primary goal in East Africa was to build a strong nation and prevent the indigenous Africans from wasting Africa's vast land. Ernst always prioritized the interests of the House of Hohenzollern.

In Ernst's view, Africa could support two world-class nations at least: one in West Africa and one in Southeast Africa. West Africa was densely populated and had many foreign powers involved. Every colonial power had its sphere of influence on the Gold Coast. However, in East Africa, the only real colonial power was Portugal. Cape Town in South Africa had already been controlled by the British, and the Boers were no pushovers, so it wasn't the best starting point.

East Africa was largely untouched, with Portugal being a declining power. Ernst didn't even pay much attention to the Sultanate of Zanzibar next door (the colonial forces there had already surpassed Zanzibar's military strength). Development in East Africa required the displacement of all the indigenous people, and the best way to do that was through immigration, just like the Americans did with Native Americans.

For example, in the former German East Africa, local officials reported to the German government that it would be impossible for large numbers of whites to settle in Tanganyika. The large-scale land cultivation had to be done by local labor. So it wasn't that Ernst didn't want to use Germans, but there were simply too few Germans. The German-speaking population in the German regions was just barely sufficient. After years of war, many Germans had opted to emigrate, and now, Germany was under Prussian control and stabilized. Without the threat of war, Germans preferred to stay in their homeland.

The most abundant labor force in the world at the time came from the Russian Empire, India, and the Qing Empire. Russians weren't a viable option because they had long lived in temperate, subarctic, and arctic climates, and they wouldn't be able to handle Africa's environment. As for India, Ernst would never use them. Not only did Indian people have a bad reputation in the past, but India would also be East Africa's strong rival in the Indian Ocean. Ernst's ambition was to dominate the Indian Ocean, and a unified India could interfere in the politics of all surrounding nations.

The Qing Empire, on the other hand, didn't have such capabilities. Their influence only extended as far as the Malacca Strait. In Ernst's previous life, he never saw the Imperial Navy break the First Island Chain, let alone reach Malacca. The truth was, India could cripple the Empire's economy if it controlled the Malacca Strait. Interrupting oil energy transportation and blocking the European market through the Americas was a significant threat.

As for Chinese immigrants, Ernst, having been Chinese in his past life, had some sympathy for them. The Chinese were indeed very useful. Ernst was now a full-fledged German and, as for his identity, being German came first. Everything had to align with German interests, after all.

To develop East Africa, it was impossible to rely solely on Germans. The Chinese were indispensable, and Ernst trusted the Chinese as they had proven to be effective in building the colonies. Even if the Chinese didn't have formal education, they had inherited social experience. The first-generation Chinese immigrants might not be easily influenced by education, but as long as they had enough food, they would be grateful. Chinese immigrants, unlike Europeans, had no political agenda. Before the founding of the Republic of China, Chinese people only rebelled when they couldn't even find food, and even then, they often endured hardships rather than revolting.

Ernst knew that colonization was an inescapable evil. By involving the Chinese, he ensured that they would not rise up and cause trouble in the future, just like how Americans and the Chinese in Africa would later do. The cultural integration of Germans and Chinese would be the key to success.

Ernst didn't intend to treat the indigenous people of East Africa like the Americans treated the Native Americans, and he didn't need to be the saint of the world. No colonial power had a nobler motive than Ernst.

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