African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 807 A world where only Portugal is injured

　　For Von der Leyen to be so shameless, even if Ellenthal was favoring East Africa, the corner of his mouth twitched.

However, if we look at the scale of the war alone, East Africa’s demands are completely reasonable. If the scale of the South African war were placed on the European battlefield, it would also be ranked at the forefront.

It's just that Africa is a place and Europe is a place. Ellenthal is sure that the losses caused by the South African War are not as great as the losses caused by Austria's war with Venice. After all, Venice itself is a big city in Europe, and even the surrounding economy is not bad. , and most of the main battlefields of the South African War were wastelands, forests and grasslands. Even if the war did not enter the core area of ​​East Africa for ten years, it would not have much impact on Africa.

However, Ellenthal could only say: "Okay, East Africa's requirements are quite reasonable, but we will not discuss whether the Portuguese can accept this price. Our focus now should be on the Boer Republic and Cape Town. Tal’s question, regarding these two areas, Mr. von der Leyen, East Africa should make appropriate concessions to the UK. After all, it is impossible for East Africa to take all the good things.”

He specifically emphasized the word "concession". After all, Salisbury didn't speak just now, which already represented Salisbury's attitude to a certain extent.

Von der Leyen said very wisely: "The conflict with the UK is actually just a misunderstanding between the two countries. In fact, historically, there is not much bad blood between us and the UK, so we in East Africa are willing to respect the UK." , but the premise is that the UK cannot harm our interests."

Count von der Leyen had already taken the initiative to give up the steps. At this time, it was Salisbury's turn to speak.

 In fact, during the conversation between the two just now, Salisbury already understood that East Africa was bound to acquire the Portuguese colonies. No matter how much Britain did, it would be impossible for the East African government to compromise on the issue of annexing Portuguese colonies.

 In this case, we can no longer continue to use the Portuguese issue as a prevarication in East Africa. This will not end the war, and for Britain to continue the South African war now will only lose more.

So Salisbury said: "We in the UK have our own plans for the Portuguese issue, but we certainly will not favor the culprits of the South African War."

Von der Leyen and Salisbury’s remarks are directly equivalent to blaming Portugal for the South African War. I wonder if the Portuguese would cry to death if they knew about it.

"What we value more now is Cape Town and the surrounding areas. Our attitude towards Cape Town and Natal is consistent. They are both sacred and inviolable parts of the British Empire. As for the Boer Republic, we also have important interests." The relationship exists.”

 Salisbury basically clarified Britain's bottom line, which was the integrity of British territory and the existence of the interests of the Boer Republic.

Von der Leyen said at the right time: "We can protect the relevant interests of the United Kingdom in Orange, the property security of British businessmen including Kimberley, and the continued development and utilization of existing developed minerals in Orange. Of course, the premise is It’s about obeying the laws of our country.”

Salisbury frowned and said: "The Boer Republic is a legal regime after all, so it is the best choice to continue to maintain it."

In contrast, Von der Leyen said with a smile: "The Boers originally lived around Cape Town, and it is good that they have returned to Cape Town. As for the Boer Republic, it has actually existed in name only. In the past few months, except for the rebels who have fled, and their families, most Boers have automatically acquired East African citizenship, and we have de facto established government institutions in Orange.”

“Humph, this is just your unilateral statement. What if it is threatened by you?”

"Of course not. Don't be anxious, Mr. Salisbury. Let me explain in detail. Orange's original population was only less than 300,000, and some of them have fled to Cape Town. We in East Africa can The number of Boers obtained as prisoners of war is only about 170,000. Currently, 130,000 of these 170,000 have been assigned to various regions in the country. Even if we want the Boers to return to Orange, it will no longer be possible."

Von der Leyen’s words are very clear, that is, the Boer Republic has completely existed in name only, and it is no longer possible for East Africa to spit out the Boer Republic. Von der Leyen continued: "The Orange River is the natural boundary between the two countries. The Orange area should be used as the natural boundary between East and Britain. In addition, our country can withdraw its troops to the area north of Orange, and Nanchang The Thar colony can also restore the pre-war border between the two countries. Of course, as a goodwill gesture from East Africa, we can also appropriately reduce our demands for war reparations from Britain."

“Haha, do you really expect the empire to compensate you?” Salisbury said sarcastically.

Von der Leyen’s words sounded like giving up in Salisbury’s ears. Britain had never compensated a country for war losses.

"We in the UK have paid a huge price to protect our national interests, including spending more than 90 million pounds on the navy and army. We have already given East Africa face by not asking you for war compensation, and this does not include Durban, East Africa, etc." The damage suffered by South African cities such as London,” Salisbury said.

At this time, Ellenthal said: "As for the issue of war reparations, I think East Africa can just ask the Portuguese government. Of course, the British government should also make certain concessions. I think the border between the two countries will be restored after the armistice. At the same time, East Africa will The UK can provide certain compensation."

After summarizing the opinions of the two parties, Ellenthal gave a third plan.

Von der Leyen asked at this time: "Do we pay compensation to the British?"

East Africa, as the victorious party, naturally cannot understand it. After all, the British still have more than 60,000 hostages in East Africa. No matter how you look at it, East Africa is in a dominant position.

"You have to be merciful and merciful. The UK has not exerted any force in this war, and East Africa has acquired so much land, and the British government also needs to be accountable at home, so this is a good way to solve the war." Allen Tal said.

"Of course, this is definitely unfair to East Africa, but I have a perfect plan. I don't know what you two think. That is, Portugal's war reparations can be advanced by the United Kingdom. In this way, the United Kingdom can get the money, but it will be paid by Portugal. The government takes it and East Africa gets the land, so both sides get what they want.”

Ehrenthal completely confused the representatives of East and Britain, and then Ehrenthal explained his thoughts in detail.

That is, the winner of the South African War was East Africa, and Portugal had to cede land and pay compensation. Portuguese land was obtained by East Africa, and compensation was obtained by the United Kingdom. Of course, on the surface, the money must be compensated to East Africa, but East Africa and Britain privately signed an agreement in which East Africa would not pay a penny, and Britain could obtain Portugal's debt relationship.

This means that while Portuguese land was taken away from East Africa, it was also economically controlled by the British. After all, Portugal originally owed a huge debt to the British. If the war reparations were implemented, the Portuguese mainland would be completely reduced to a British economic colony. After all, it would cost 40 million pounds. In addition to Portugal's previous loan from the United Kingdom, Portugal will never be able to pay it back in its lifetime.

Of course, in general, Britain has both losses and profits. It is certainly a good thing to be able to better control the Portuguese economy. However, it is indeed difficult to recoup the expenditures for the South African War. However, after controlling Portugal's local economy, Britain has many ways to regain military spending. , the war reparations debt alone can recover half of the blood, and with interest, you can earn even more.

As for East Africa, it was definitely a big profit, but Britain could only stop its losses in time. The failure of the South African War meant that the last chance to contain East Africa was lost.

 (End of this chapter)