Chapter 390 Whimsical Plan

Putting down the "African Strategy" in his hand, Franz can only sigh that everyone's goals are lofty, and he has encircled most of the African continent in one breath.

That's right, it was encircled, not occupied. At present, Austria has not completed one-third of the above plan, and the actual control area may be less than one-fifth.

Even if Franz has worked hard to emigrate, the current population of Austrian Africa is still less than five million.

With such a small population controlling seven or eight million square kilometers of land, one can imagine how sparsely populated the land is.

Of course, this does not count the local indigenous people, otherwise it would have already exceeded 10 million.

If the next strategy is to be completed, it is impossible to have a population of tens of millions. However, the population of the entire New Holy Roman Empire has just crossed the threshold of 60 million.

Now that the division of the world is almost over, the last piece of no-man's land must be a battle between dragons and tigers.

At present, France and Austria have come to the forefront of colonizing Africa, followed by the British, Portuguese, and the Dutch also have small colonies.

This macro strategy of the Colonial Ministry should be better described as "ideal strategy".

As long as countries are not stupid, they will not make this plan a reality.

At first glance at the map, it is roughly as follows: Guinea and Mali in the west, Libya in the north, Boer Republic in the south, and Somalia in the east.

Although there was no satellite positioning in this era, Franz estimated at first that the total area of ​​these areas added up to 20 million square kilometers.

After thinking about it, Franz picked up the pen and started to make a fork on it, ready to hit it back and let the Colonial Department redo it.

Such an unrealistic strategy is simply not feasible. Unless a world war is provoked and Austria becomes a big winner, there is no capital to realize it.

However, Franz was not a war madman, nor was Austria the second German Empire in history that had to challenge the world.

Although many people believe that the Second German Empire provoked war because of economic development, resources and the market were needed, but Franz believed that it was mainly resources, because the problem of the market could be solved.

The world economy is a big cycle, and the national economy is a small cycle. In theory, as long as this cycle continues to operate normally, the economy can continue to develop.

The core of this economic cycle lies in population and resources, and now the world's population is just over one billion.

Among them: about 275 million in Europe, mainly Russia, Austria, France, and the United Kingdom, which add up to more than 200 million.

There are about 820 million in Asia, and the two eastern populous countries add up to 700 million. The rest of the region is also vast and sparsely populated.

The African continent has about 60 million people. The influence of colonial activities has caused the local population to grow. Because more immigrants have left in recent years, many areas have experienced negative growth.

There are more than 60 million people in the Americas, which is truly vast and sparsely populated. The North and South Americas add up to only so many people, and the two United States occupy half of them.

The current international trade volume is actually not large. The economy of each country mainly depends on the domestic economy. Taking Austria as an example, the proportion of international trade in the economy is less than 5% of the total.

If the colonial trade volume is included in the domestic economy, then international trade is even less worth mentioning in the total Austrian economy.

This is determined by productivity, the total social wealth is limited, and the commodities that can be exported are too single, and the trade volume cannot be increased at all.

Now on the international market, the largest export commodity is textiles, followed by food. There is not much market for any industrial and commercial products, machinery and equipment.

In the entire international market, the total value of all exported goods is less than one billion pounds, or even less than seven hundred million pounds.

The market is so big, and the main force of each country's economy is the local market. Regardless of the British, French, and Austrian households, the total domestic economy cannot be measured by one billion, at least two or three.

In an era dominated by the domestic economy, the most important thing is internal circulation. As long as there are enough resources, the economy can theoretically develop normally.

For details, please refer to the United States. Many people think that Latin America is the back garden of the Americans and the dumping ground for American industrial and commercial products.

The reality is that there are more than 2 million people in Latin America, and 60 to 70 percent of them are Indian tribes, with gross purchasing power.

South American countries don't buy Americans' accounts. They would rather import European goods than buy American junk products.

However, the U.S. economy has continued to grow by leaps and bounds since the late 19th century, growing ninefold in four decades.

This is the power of resources. It is also the lack of sufficient commodity export markets. The Germans are forced to enter the battlefield by capital, while American capital can be stabilized by relying on its own abundant resources.

In Franz's view, "resources" are the core of colonization. Under this concept, the colonial indigenization movement was born.

After hesitating again and again, Franz did not directly dismiss this "whimsical plan". He is very disgusted with drawing pie, but having to draw pie is very effective.

Otherwise, there would not be so many whimsical plans in history, for example: the British 2c plan, from Cairo to South Africa, directly from south to north.

Including: Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Tanzania.

Although the plan was huge, John Bull finally realized it. However, it didn't last long before the colonial empire collapsed.

As a latecomer, the Germans also came up with the "Teutonic Africa Plan". This plan is not ambitious, but only includes: Namibia

, Angola, Congo, Tanzania.

The success of the strategy depends on the strength, and has nothing to do with the size of the ambition, so this strategy died prematurely.

The French "2s plan" is a bit perverted. After occupying North Africa, the French are also preparing to kill from Senegal to Somalia.

This plan is similar to Austria's strategic plan. The difference between "Guinea to Somalia" and "Senegal to Somalia" is not big.

As for Austria's southern Boer republic, it has been barely realized, and a thousand-person colonial stronghold has appeared in the Zimbabwe region.

It is not difficult to reach Libya in the north. After all, it is an inland area of ​​Africa, and competitors cannot reach this area.

The only way to the east is Somalia, which is still a long way off, with Sudan and Ethiopia in between. Of course, you can also go around from Uganda and Kenya.

In fact, it is definitely not that simple to operate. Because of Austria's colonial strategy, these areas were drawn together.

In any case, spiritually it is worthy of affirmation. Since this plan has been sent up, it means that the Colonial Ministry believes that there is a possibility of success.

Of course, this success does not mean that all the goals have been achieved, it just means that the plan is completed strategically, and a few colonies are missing in the middle, which is inevitable.

Considering that now is a critical moment for the localization of the colony, Franz acquiesced in the existence of this plan. Of course, when it is implemented, it must not be so rigid.

For example, areas connected by rivers should be given priority, desert areas should be at the back, areas with strong indigenous strength should be put on hold first, and areas that may lead to conflict should refrain from expansion...

In this era, the African continent has no national boundaries, and most of them are a group of indigenous tribes. It is still too nonsense to talk about the concept of a country.

Naturally, this colonial strategy will not follow the borders of later generations. In fact, Franz has no way to find the borders of later generations on the map.

After a while of revision, Franz managed to compress the strategic plan.

For example: the deserts of North Africa do not compete with the French, and they cannot be controlled in this age anyway.

Specifically: most of Mali is no longer needed, and Niger is basically no longer needed. If it weren't for the connection to Libya, Chad Franz was ready to give up, and now he is reluctant to stay.

In the east, Ethiopia and Somalia were also ranked last by Franz, and they would not pay attention to other areas before they were occupied.

Namibia and Tanzania are in the penultimate sequence and are basically abandoned areas. The rest of the area depends on the ability of the subordinates, how much can be won.

In this way, the plan has shrunk by almost one-third, and the feasibility has been greatly improved.

Occupying more than half of the African continent is too much hatred, but occupying one-third, or about 40% of the African continent, Franz thinks it is possible to succeed.

This is determined by strength + first-mover advantage. Once the localization strategy is successful, it will be another peak period for immigration. Franz is not afraid of any challenge on the African continent, as long as there is enough population.

For example, in the current West Africa and Congo regions, there are millions of people there. Who has the ability to take these places away?

War also has costs, and without enough benefits, it is simply not enough for colonial empires to wage war.

Except for the gold mines in South Africa, other areas on the African continent that can trigger wars between the great powers are not enough for the great powers to fight against each other.

In fact, South Africa's gold mines are not worth a fight between the two great powers. Although gold reserves are high, it is the same before it is mined.

Don't look at the annual output of hundreds of tons. In fact, gold mining also requires costs. It is necessary to rely on gold to recover the cost of war. Franz does not think it can be achieved in his lifetime.