Chapter 1503 - 39: International Conference (3)

Chapter 1503: Chapter 39: International Conference (3)

Strategically, from the very beginning the Southern German Kingdom was a state fostered by East Africa as a demographic buffer, used to separate East Africa from Black Africa, while also serving as an agent to cause trouble for the British.

Today, the geographical conception of Black Africa cannot be compared with that of the previous world at all. In the previous world, Black Africa meant the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa, whereas after the emergence of East Africa, the living space of Black Africa, or rather of African Blacks, has been drastically compressed.

Aside from West Africa, in what used to be Central Africa, North Africa, East Africa, and South Africa, whites or mixed-race groups have become the absolute mainstream.

Mixed-race populations can be divided into three categories. The first is black–white mixed; the typical country is the Abyssinia Empire (Ethiopia). In addition, there are small distributions in North Africa, such as Egypt, British Somaliland, and other regions.

The second category is yellow–white mixed, the typical cases being East Africa, the Southern German Kingdom, Darfur, the Belgian Congo, and similar regions.

The third category is comparatively rare, namely yellow–black mixed, mainly distributed in the Imerina Kingdom in eastern Madagascar. However, the Imerina Kingdom as a whole is still predominantly of yellow race, its bloodlines closer to indigenous Southeast Asia. Beyond this there are also some island states in the Indian Ocean where such groups are found, especially in French colonies such as Mauritius and Reunion.

Under the influence of East Africa, the second category, that is yellow–white mixed, not only constitutes the bulk of the mixed-race population, but is now the largest single ethnic group on the entire African Continent, and it uses German as its primary language.

Whether in East Africa, in the Southern German Kingdom, or even in Belgium’s Congo colony, German occupies the dominant position.

The Southern German Kingdom is the world’s fourth-largest German Country, and at the same time Africa’s second-largest German Country, and East Africa is relatively supportive of the Southern German Kingdom’s expansion into West Africa.

East Africa is not afraid that the Southern German Kingdom will break free of East Africa’s control. After all, East Africa alone occupies nearly half the area of Africa. Unless some country can unify North Africa and West Africa, there simply is no state on the African Continent capable of posing a threat to East Africa.

As for the Southern German Kingdom, let alone integrating North Africa and West Africa, at present it finds itself hard pressed simply to deal with Nigeria. Even if the Southern German Kingdom could annex Nigeria, its upper limit would still be no more than a regional great power.

Judging from the current situation in Africa, the likelihood that the French will unify North Africa and West Africa is far greater than that of the Southern German Kingdom, and this is even under the assumption that East Africa and other states do not interfere in West Africa and North Africa.

Crown Prince Friedrich said to Ludwig I: "Cousin, the main reason we have called you together here in Rhein City this time is for an economic conference. As for the question of supporting the Southern German Kingdom, that can be discussed later, after the meeting."

"You need not be anxious, for East Africa’s stance toward the Southern German Kingdom has always been consistent: we support the Southern German Kingdom’s expansion toward the northwest. At that time you can engage in more detailed exchanges with my father on the matter of assistance."

Hearing Crown Prince Friedrich speak thus, Ludwig I could only give up for the moment. Yet he had already made up his mind to actively cooperate with East Africa’s planned East–Southern Africa common market, thereby further deepening relations between the two countries and obtaining even greater support from East Africa for the Southern German Kingdom.

In fact, in recent years, because of its militaristic, light-troops expansionist national policy, the Southern German Kingdom’s domestic economic and population growth has not been particularly satisfactory, and therefore it needs East Africa’s support all the more.

The root cause of this lies in the Southern German Kingdom’s having missed the optimal window of opportunity for expansion in Africa. Before the founding of the Southern German Kingdom, the whole of Africa had already been almost completely partitioned, so its expansion could only proceed by adopting more extreme methods.

Moreover, the Southern German Kingdom is also constrained by demographic limitations, especially the lack of immigrant population from the German Region.