Chapter 742: African Railway

In just a month after the outbreak of war between Germany, Austria, and Russia, Spain sold over 20,000 rifles and 100 cannons to Austria-Hungary, which was incredibly good news for Spain’s military industry.

Although this massive arms trade resulted from Austria-Hungary’s large-scale military expansion and the resulting weaponry gap, as the war progresses, and with the consumption of strategic materials stockpiled in Austria-Hungary, the purchases from Spain are only expected to increase.

Thanks to this major client, Austria-Hungary, Spain’s armament factories have no shortage of orders for months to come, effectively boosting the growth of Spain’s military industry.

While the military industry is thriving due to the war, for Carlo, the good news from the military industry is not as significant at this moment.

The reason is simple: after several years of strenuous construction, Spain has finally made some progress in the development of its African colonies.

The most significant development is the completion of the so-called African Railway, which spans the length of the railway, greatly enhancing Spain’s control over the African colonies.

The so-called African Railway actually runs from the far west of the original Gold Coast to the southernmost part of the Congo Territory.

Why is this railway called the African Railway? Firstly, its total length is an incredible 4,500 kilometers.

This railway mileage is already close to the total railway length within Spain before Carlo became the King of Spain, indicating Spain’s strong commitment to developing Africa.

More importantly, this railway sequentially passes through the former Ashanti Empire, Togo, Dahomey Kingdom, Sokoto Caliphate, Benin Kingdom, Niger Kingdom, Alo Alliance, and Bam Kingdom, and then enters the land controlled by the Baka and Bantu peoples.

Its significance is not only about connecting these former tribal regions but also allowing Spain’s colonial army to easily reach these areas where indigenous people are concentrated.

Regardless of any rebellion or crisis erupting in any area in the future, the Spanish army can reach there in the shortest time, greatly enhancing the stability of the Spanish colonies.

Unfortunately, the West Africa Colony is not connected to the African Railway.

After all, the West Africa Colony, Guinea Colony, and Congo Territory are still separated by French colonies, and the railway cannot be built on French land.

However, the colonial affairs department is quite attentive to railway construction within the West Africa Colony. Currently, nearly a thousand kilometers of railway have been built, connecting several important grain production areas within the colony.

During every grain harvest season, a large quantity of grain is transported by train to ports, and then shipped to mainland Spain.

These grains are trans-shipped in Spain’s mainland, either to storage warehouses for the domestic grain market or further packaged for sale to other European countries.

Nearly a third of the grain exported by Spain to Europe annually comes from the West Africa Colony, which is a rather large scale.

If not for a domestic grain deficit, the export scale from the West Africa Colony might be even larger.

Grain export represents foreign exchange earnings, which is extremely important for Spain and a crucial component of the Spanish government’s revenue.

The full opening of the African Railway is a significant milestone for Spain.

However, Carlo does not intend to personally attend the completion ceremony of the railway but instead sends the Spanish Minister of Colonial Affairs.

Also attending the railway completion ceremony are the governors of Guinea Colony and Congo Territory, both personally appointed by Carlo and close allies of his.

It must be acknowledged that after nearly two decades of development, Carlo has amassed considerable power.

Foremost are Spain’s key colonies, where governors are essentially appointed by Carlo. Although some colonial governors are promoted from noble ranks, most are also sent to colonies as a gold-plating opportunity.

Nonetheless, it is undeniable that Carlo has completely regained the power to appoint governors, indicating his considerable influence in the colonies.

It must be noted that each colony has sizable troops stationed. This also suggests that Carlo’s military power is not just limited to the Guard Army; he can command tens of thousands of colonial troops.

Having these forces at his disposal is the foundation for Carlo’s continuous reforms. With the support of these troops, no one in Spain can defy Carlo’s orders.

Taking advantage of the African Railway’s completion, Carlo also conducted large-scale awards to the colonial troops in Africa and promoted many young officers.

For Spain, the war against African natives is considered a large-scale war.

This war alone promoted dozens of senior officers, with a few who performed outstandingly successfully advancing from colonel ranks to brigadier general.

Along with rank promotion came various rewards including land, property, and funds.

Of course, most of the rewarded land is colonial land, with very little from mainland Spain.