Chapter 34 The Complexity of the African Situation

Constantine and his attendant Schmidt hurriedly said goodbye to Sanford and took a cruise ship from New York to London to return to Europe.

Constantine, who was troubled by the competition among European countries for the Congo River, stood on the side of the ship, feeling the sharp sea breeze and looking at the vast sea, hoping to calm his complicated heart.

According to the information sent by the Greek ambassadors in London, Paris and Berlin, these big countries have all moved their minds on the Congo River Basin.

The Congo River Basin has a dense network of rivers and abundant rainfall. Although the length of the Congo River is not ranked first in the world, the water flow of the Congo River is second only to the Amazon River in Brazil, ranking second in the world.

The tributaries of the Congo River include the Ubangi River, the Sangha River, the Lukuga River, the Luama River, the Elira River, the Ulindi River, the Lowa River, the Kasai River, and many other rivers. They are crisscrossed and dense. If we ignore the river sections that are blocked by waterfalls and cannot be navigated together, it is almost a natural inland river shipping network.

More importantly, the Congo is located in an important strategic position in the center of Africa.

If a European country with considerable strength occupies this land, then in the competition for European colonies, it can attack from all sides, nibble away step by step, gain an advantage, and make other countries feel like a thorn in the throat.

In the Congo River basin, to the south, there are French North Africa and French West Africa, to the northeast are Sudan, Egypt, and Uganda controlled by the United Kingdom, to the east is Tanzania, to the south is Rhodesia (Zambia and Zimbabwe) and South Africa, and to the southwest is Angola controlled by the Portuguese.

The importance of its strategic location can be seen.

Up to now, the so-called African colonies of various countries have only established colonial outposts near coastal ports and rivers deep inland for the convenience of commercial trade.

In other words, it is still full of uncertainty as to who a piece of African land belongs to.

(In fact, from the colonization of Africa by European countries until the independence of African countries after World War II, most regions have never established effective rule from beginning to end).

Starting from the Congo and the river basin, attacking from all sides and encroaching on the surrounding African territories step by step is an obvious and effective strategy for competing for African territory.

This also determines that any country that covets European colonies must seize the Congo if it does not want to be at a disadvantage in the future African cake-sharing feast.

The competition among countries for the Congo region is bound to focus on the Congo River estuary.

The reason is obvious. Many tributaries of the Congo River flow into the main stream of the Congo River and into the Atlantic Ocean. A Congo without the Congo River estuary has become an inland area.

No matter what resources and business opportunities Congo has, if goods from outside cannot be shipped in and resources from within cannot be shipped out, the value of Congo without shipping will be greatly reduced.

As long as the mouth of the Congo River is controlled, Congo and the river basin will be controlled in disguise.

Constantine faced the sea, thinking about the decision and response of the Congo Commission.

The cruise ship cut through the waves and sailed eastward. The red sun rose slowly where the water met. Seagulls flew over the hull. The wind blew suddenly and the flag on the mast flew high.

"Your Excellency the Duke, it's windy. Go back to the cabin to avoid the wind," Schmidt said with concern, standing behind Constantine.

"Yes, it's windy"

·······

Eight days later, the two who crossed the Atlantic Ocean to London took a boat to the port of Piraeus in Athens without stopping.

The King's Study in Tatoi Palace in northern Athens.

King George and Queen Olga were delighted to see their son Constantine, who had been away for two years, successfully complete his two-year study trip in Germany.

"Constantine, I heard that your Congo Commission is in trouble. How is it? Can it be solved?" King George was more concerned about his son's career.

"Yes, France and Portugal have disputes, and the British must have understood their hearts. Can your Congo Commission handle it?" Queen Olga also echoed.

Britain and France are both important powers in Europe. One is the undisputed hegemon of the world, with the strongest navy in the world, and the other is a traditional European power, and its army strength cannot be ignored.

The Congo Commission supported by Constantine is really not enough in front of such a behemoth.

"There is nothing to worry about. In fact, for the Congo River Basin, the more countries are interested, the more complicated the competition is, and the greater the chance of the Congo River Commission." Faced with an increasingly severe situation, Constantine became more confident.

King George nodded thoughtfully and agreed with his son's statement.

Only Queen Olga could not understand what the father and son were talking about.

"How long will the high expenditure continue? Even the royal family can no longer sustain such a large expenditure," Queen Olga frowned and complained dissatisfiedly.

"It won't be long, and the parties will soon show their cards," Constantine comforted. After all, the royal family has spent a huge sum of 7 million francs on the Congo Commission so far, and the landlords don't have much surplus food.

This 7 million francs is not only the cost of supporting the adventure team, but also includes the cost of mobilizing newspapers and public opinion in various countries, scholars speaking out to support the Congo Commission, and the salary expenses of military personnel.

This huge expenditure has almost no return worth mentioning so far.

······

Time quickly came to January 1884.

Banning, who rushed back from southern Africa, came to the Tatoi Palace to report the news from Africa to Constantine.

Banning went to Africa for three months, and his cheeks became obviously darker and thinner. His face could not hide his fatigue, and his sharp eyes revealed a good spirit. It seemed that he had suffered a lot in Africa.

"Thank you for your hard work, Banning. How is the situation in Africa?" Constantine asked.

"The situation is not bad. In March last year, Stanley invited all the chiefs between the Kwilu River and the lower reaches of the Nia River on the left bank (north bank) of the Congo River to Kinshasa and persuaded them to sign a joint protection treaty with the Congo Commission. After that, the Commission set up 7 strongholds there." Banning replied.

While speaking, he pointed to the map of the Congo River basin on the table and showed it to Constantine.

After these strongholds were established, the French base camp, Brazzaville, was cut off from the Congo River coast.

At least in terms of legal theory (if both sides do not use force), the French could not threaten the mouth of the Congo River.

Constantine breathed a sigh of relief. In this case, the Congo Commission had a legal advantage in diplomatic negotiations.

"Besides that, is there any other news?" Constantine continued to ask.

"Recently, I heard that a large amount of gold deposits were discovered in South Africa, specifically in the Transvaal. This is the topic that I heard the crew members talking about when I returned to Europe." Speaking of gold, Banning was very excited.

"According to them, the UK is boiling. A large number of people who dream of getting rich overnight are flocking to South Africa. Now the whole of Western Europe is going crazy."

"There were originally 50 crew members on their ship, but when they returned from Africa, there were still more than a dozen people on the ship. In their words, if it weren't for the captain's strong request, I'm afraid there wouldn't be enough people to drive the ship."