African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 493 - 171: The Conspiracy of Britain and France
As the largest customer of East African slaves, the Ottoman Empire had a strong demand. It wasn’t a matter of liking or disliking, but rather that the price of East African slaves was too low. No one could resist this low-price temptation, and even some civilians within the Ottoman Empire could afford them. Thus, in the eyes of the Ottomans, slaves were cheaper than livestock, requiring less food, making them very suitable for widespread use.
However, the number of Black people in the Ottoman Empire was somewhat excessive, to the extent that they could be used in wars against Russia, used as consumables. This also troubled the Russians, but fortunately, the combat level of Black people was not high.
The advantage of East African Black Slaves was that they were very suitable for being organized for large-scale use. This was the norm for slave life in East Africa, so after the Ottomans took over, they could easily organize the Black Slaves, even if they were a haphazard group, gathering them together could greatly reduce the pressure on the Ottoman Empire’s regular army.
...
Mozambique colony.
"Governor Lieford, sir! Is this the army you’ve mentioned?" The French instructor looked at Mozambique’s armed forces somewhat incredulously.
In front of him, the entire Mozambican army numbered only a mere 1,400 people, and they looked hardly more advanced than medieval armies. According to the French instructor Dres, it seemed that some islands in the Indian Ocean might be stronger than Mozambique’s regular army.
If Dres had seen the state of the Portuguese homeland’s army, he would likely understand why Mozambique’s army was in such poor shape.
Like England, Portugal also focused on naval development. Now, even the Portuguese navy had severely declined, and the army was even less promising. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
The good news was that Spain, next-door to Portugal, was also in poor shape, which meant there wasn’t much national defense pressure. The former dual pillars of the Iberian Peninsula continued to maintain a stable balance.
Lieford said awkwardly, "Most colonial armies are like this. For example, some of your French colonies might not be stronger than us."
"It’s not a matter of being strong or not. I heard that the East African army has tens of thousands of soldiers and can fight against Boer forces, which means that the enemies Mozambique faces are similar in strength to some weaker European countries. But the military power of European weak countries should not be overlooked in Africa. With such a low number of trained regular soldiers and inadequate equipment, how can you compete with East Africa? No wonder East Africa is able to oppress you and expand vigorously. It’s very clear that you haven’t invested enough in the colonial military."
Lieford: "This is due to the previous governors. They indeed did not invest much in the military, but that also relates to the lack of focus from the homeland on colonial development. We don’t get much funding, so the army can only barely get by."
Dres: "Alright then, now Portugal needs to find a way to expand the size of the army first. Honestly, this army lacks quantity and quality. It’s no wonder the Germans, as latecomers, can have such an advantage in Africa."
Despite saying this, Dres was thinking inwardly that the Portuguese were really failing here. What a boon for the Germans. If only France had occupied East Africa back then instead.
Of course, Dres mistakenly thought that Portuguese colonial power needed to be considered separately. The regular army was small and lacking in combat ability, but the power structure in the colonies was actually dispersed among various forces, including colonial companies, merchants, plantation owners, and mine owners. These forces’ private armed groups were also an important part of the Mozambique colony, yet they did not accept governance from the kingdom.
Lieford: "But where are we going to find so many troops? If we had that capability, we wouldn’t have let the Germans be so rampant in East Africa!"
Dres: "Africa is never short of Black people, so we can use them to form an army capable of competing with East Africa."
"No way!" Lieford opposed: "If we form an army with Black people, wouldn’t that be like putting the wolf’s teeth in the sheep’s mouth? What if they learn to use firearms and turn against us?"
Lieford was addressing a very real issue. Mozambique managed to control such a large area and govern so many Black people based on the advantage of weapons. Otherwise, it’s hard to say how much more advanced the Portuguese are compared to Black people. As a monarchy, Portugal might not be much stronger than some African indigenous kingdoms.
Dres: "Governor, do you have any other choices now? If you don’t use Black people, where else can you find so many troops? Moreover, the threat from Black people is in the future; the immediate threat is the Germans in East Africa. Once you resolve the Germans, the biggest enemy, everything else will be minor issues."
Lieford: "But even if Mozambique is not short of Black people, we lack weapons and equipment! As far as I know, the German army is equipped with both Dreyse Rifles and Mauser Rifles, which are active gear for the German army, creating a huge gap between us."
Dres said, "Yes, that is indeed a problem! But you don’t need to worry too much; we’ll help you solve the weapon issue. Black people don’t need too advanced equipment; we, together with Britain, can provide rifles and ammunition for 50,000 people, mainly Enfield and Minié rifles."
"Does it cost money?" Lieford asked a critical question.
"No, this batch of weapons will be jointly provided by us and Britain," Dres said. "But you need to solve the food issues yourself."
In fact, the money for the weapons had already been paid by the British, who were particularly invested in dealing with East Africa.
The British were very clear about Portugal’s capabilities; relying solely on Portugal, it might fail against the Germans, so the combat ability of the Portuguese needed to be enhanced.
Although the assistance provided by the British wasn’t substantial, Britain felt Mozambique didn’t need too advanced weapons. The goal was to have a confrontation with East Africa and test its true strength. As long as East Africa showed a little fear, Cape Town could take action without relying on the Portuguese.
"Even so, our gap with the Germans is still too large. Setting aside the discrepancy in weapons, there’s also the question of whether Black people can fight!"
"Governor, you’re too conservative. While the fighting ability of Black people is poor, the East African Kingdom’s army is not entirely composed of Germans. They also use a large number of Far Eastern people, so you are only half-baked in comparison," Dres said based on his own experiences.
It’s not surprising that Dres was underestimating here. Although France lost to Germany, France believed the loss was entirely accidental. After all, they weren’t fully mobilized during the last war, and France’s overall competence was shown to be stronger than Germany’s, according to the reflective analysis post-defeat.
Additionally, there was an abundance of Far Eastern people in the East African army composition, and the Far Eastern Empire’s track record in recent years had been poor. Consequently, Dres had some arrogance when addressing the mixed East African army of Far Eastern immigrants.
Dres said, "This time we will personally train your troops and guarantee that we’ll forge combat effectiveness in a short period. With the advanced experience from the French army, Mozambique will definitely be able to compete with East Africa."
France’s enthusiasm for joining the British plan against the East African Kingdom was, unsurprisingly, driven by interests. In reality, the German influence in East Africa was already enough to upset France, and the French hatred towards Germans ignited by Prussia was already at its peak. However, the Germans were too formidable to provoke directly, so France decided to vent its frustrations in East Africa.
Moreover, if Germany could stumble badly in East Africa, France could possibly have future opportunities to infiltrate the East African region, thereby making its colonial map more complete.
