African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 475 - 153: The Crisis Triggered by Germany: The Wolf is Coming!
April 1876.
Germany, having been hit by a new wave of economic crisis, was evidently dissatisfied, especially the Junker nobility who wanted to take advantage of the situation but ended up losing more than they gained.
In the Imperial Parliament, a Prussian representative said, "The root cause of this new wave of economic crisis in Germany is still because we, Germany, lack the vast colonies and populations like those of Britain and France to absorb our agricultural and industrial products. Nor do we have the vast territory and rich resources like the United States to offset the crisis. Therefore, as a significant political power in the world, Germany must possess its own colonies. It is unreasonable that Germany’s current international status is not matched with corresponding colonies."
This statement by the Prussian representative reflected the mentality of the Prussian Junker nobility during this economic crisis. It proves that ordinary people, when faced with adversity, will first consider the environment before looking for problems within themselves.
However, the broader environment was indeed unfavorable to Germany, which made the Prussian nobility deeply believe that this crisis was caused by the lack of colonies.
Bismarck was infuriated by the Prussian representative’s words. He felt betrayed! In Bismarck’s view, using administrative means to pressure domestic enterprises was incorrect. Still, the Junker nobility had previously promised Bismarck that, as long as the Berlin Agricultural Company went bankrupt, they would support him. But now, they’ve messed it up and want to backtrack?
This enraged Bismarck, but as a rational political figure, he restrained his anger and humbly said, "Although Germany is now unified, our crisis is not resolved. The French think about revenge every moment; the relationships with Britain, Tsarist Russia, and Austria all need balancing. If irrational actions cause Germany to lose international credibility, then Germany would be in extreme danger."
Bismarck’s foreign policy bore an uncanny resemblance to Ernst’s, both hoping to weaken their negative image internationally.
Germany’s difference is that it sits at the center of the European continent, in a hotspot of hotspots, unable to escape the international community. In contrast, East Africa, being in Africa, is less known, at least to Europeans.
Thus, Germany certainly cannot stay out of affairs like East Africa could. Any European continental disputes must be carefully controlled to avoid backfire. Bismarck’s approach is to disguise Germany as harmless until the time is ripe for it to seize European dominance.
But the interest groups in Germany, especially the Prussian nobility who have had smooth sailing in recent years, inevitably got a bit arrogant.
After all, there are only two great powers ahead of Germany: one is Britain, and the other is France, which Germany has already defeated once, boosting confidence. Now, only Britain remains, but Germany currently cannot challenge Britain. The British Royal Navy looms over all the world’s nations, unshakeable.
"Mr. Prime Minister, I agree that the international order is very disadvantageous for us, but this disadvantage is fundamentally due to the lack of colonies. The mainland of Britain and France might not be much stronger than us, yet their greatest support is their colonies, which continuously supply resources to their mainland. This allows them to mobilize countless people and resources to gain a wartime advantage over us."
Bismarck retorted, "So what do you want our government to do? Go overseas and snatch colonies from Britain and France? The valuable lands in the overseas world have already been divided by Britain and France. Their colonial activities have lasted for over a century, and countries like Portugal and Spain even have centuries of overseas colonial histories. So what advantages do we have over these longtime colonial powers?"
"Moreover, our navy is very weak. Germany’s maritime access is quite closed. Whether we can even get out of the Atlantic is questionable. In this situation, the navy certainly cannot strongly support the colonial development enterprise. Even if we develop a colony overseas, it might end up benefiting others."
"Finally, we should talk about the problem of colonial management. It’s well-known that colonization carries risks and requires significant investment. Those fertile areas have been occupied by Britain and France. What can we gain by investing in those barren lands overseas? Are we to maintain the empire’s facade with a bunch of annually losing territories? Or believe that Germany is now number one in the world, fearless of other countries’ challenges, ready to wage wars against these traditional colonial nations?"
Bismarck’s rapid-fire response left the German representatives speechless. The naval representatives considered rebutting but, glancing at their own strength, thought better of it. The army chose to watch the spectacle since they held the advantage, and the navy couldn’t grow a backbone.
However, this didn’t satisfy the Junker nobility represented by the Prussian representatives. The new economic crisis had cost them dearly. In the previous economic crisis, the collapse of grain prices already resulted in losses. This time, seeing that the Berlin Agricultural Company (a sales and processing enterprise under the Heixinggen consortium) was doing well, the agricultural company had to charge fees. It certainly couldn’t purchase grain for charity, so the bill fell on the Junker nobility. Of course, they were unhappy with being charged extra. Their income was already low, and now there were fees, prompting them to think of bankrupting the Berlin Agricultural Company to manage sales themselves. In the end, the Berlin Agricultural Company went bankrupt, but the issue of selling their agricultural products became even more severe.
This was predictable. Although the Berlin Agricultural Company went bankrupt, the sales channels built by the Heixinggen consortium were still controlled by their people. It merely handed the Berlin Agricultural Company’s business over to the Munich Agricultural Company. If Prussian landlords didn’t welcome them, they’d do business in Bavaria. And don’t think the world stops spinning if they leave Prussia. Do the Heixinggen consortium lack land as a bargaining chip?
Moreover, Bavaria holds a unique position in Germany, being the second-largest state after Prussia and located in a Catholic region. Bavaria’s heart is known to all, and the Prussian Junkers had no way of dealing with the Munich Agricultural Company.
In the Imperial Assembly, a Bavarian representative added salt to Prussia’s wounds: "We fully support Prime Minister Bismarck. Peace is most important for Germany. We should maintain long-term peace, at least ensure long-term peace in Europe, so there should be no conflict with other countries."
Most representatives from the Southern German states adopted a similar attitude. Besides some awkwardness with Prussia, the main reason was that they genuinely didn’t want to be drawn into war, as the Southern German region was always a victim in every war.
Although Southern Germany’s stance was less than enthusiastic, it didn’t affect the big picture. If Prussia couldn’t even handle Parliament, could it still claim unity?
In reality, the Imperial Parliament was ultimately dominated by William I and Bismarck. Even though William I had his little schemes, he generally supported Bismarck, as facts always proved Bismarck right.
In the tug of war between Bismarck and the Junkers, Bismarck had the upper hand. Many Junkers also supported him, along with support from Southern Germany, suppressing the German radicals. However, as a compromise, Bismarck decided to open a small door, allowing non-governmental German forces to first participate in overseas colonization strategies.
This meant that Germany still set out on the path of overseas expansion. Non-government organizations, that is colonial companies or groups, in reality, achieved the overseas colonies that Germany secured in a previous era, before the government took over.
However, Bismarck thought that at present, he was merely going through the motions, without genuinely intending to compete overseas with Britain, France, and other countries, leaving this task to the radicals, as the government wouldn’t spend much on it anyway.
