Chapter 409: Belgian Congo
In March 1871, Leopold II declared to his cabinet: "Belgium is small, poor in resources, and trapped between major powers. If we Belgians want to establish ourselves in this era, we must have broad colonies of our own!"
Leopold II had dreamed of ruling a great power from a young age, but Belgium's size made it difficult for his ambitions to take shape. He believed Belgium's future lay in overseas colonies.
By 1872, word reached him of the East African Kingdom's unprecedented victories in southern Africa, stirring Leopold II—who had long been eyeing the African continent—into action.
Leopold II said, "Previously, our government couldn't unify its stance on colonizing Africa, causing me to waste time convincing parliament. Now, with the East African Kingdom as a shining example, those opponents have no comeback. If a tiny state like the Hechingen Principality can seize a huge piece of Africa, Belgium—much bigger in comparison—certainly can as well."
Among nobles, everyone was quite familiar with how glorious the Hohenzollern family had become in recent years. First, the Prussian royal family unified Germany, turning a kingdom into an empire. Then, the Sigmaringen branch obtained Romania. Finally, the Hechingen branch raked in massive fortunes while founding the East African Kingdom.
Even though Africa didn't hold high status among the European powers, the wealth the Hechingen royals had gained from it was enough to arouse envy.
But Leopold II, hearing his ministers had no ready plan for colonization, said, "Huh, I expected as much. Since you have nothing, you'll have to follow my lead."
He then instructed a servant to bring over a map of Africa. Pointing at it, he explained: "This here is Africa's map. The red area is French, the blue is Portuguese, gray is Spanish, green is British, black is East African… The rest is open to us."
Seeing this, the officials realized that the competition also looked fierce.
Leopold II said, "Colonial maps are vague. Many so-called possessions are nominal claims. Real control depends on who has the bigger fists."
"But if it's a matter of fists," his ministers said, "wouldn't colonizing Africa be very risky? Apart from the East African Kingdom, every other presence here is from a formidable power."
Leopold II said confidently, "Then you're quite mistaken. Right now, the single power you can't provoke in Africa is precisely the East African Kingdom. Recently, they had a minor dispute with Britain's Cape Colony in southern Africa, and in the end, the British backed down—forced to cede over a hundred thousand square kilometers of territory."
That caught the ministers by surprise.
"This is impossible, Sire! The British wouldn't swallow such a loss."
"Agreed. Historically, Britain has only ever seized others' lands. No one has managed to bite back at Britain. Had it been France before, maybe, but who now dares challenge Britain?"
"And if that truly happened, it'd be an international scandal as big as Britain's defeat in Afghanistan. Yet no British newspapers have reported it. How did Your Majesty learn of this?"
…
The ministers buzzed excitedly, all doubting Leopold II's words. They argued Africa was so backward, who could stand up to the British there?
Striking the table, Leopold II shouted, "Quiet! You're making a ruckus. Why would I deceive you with such nonsense? As unbelievable as it sounds, it did happen. I bought this information from people inside Cape Town's administration and had it confirmed by Charlotte as well."
Although Ernst had pursued isolationist policies in the East African Kingdom, they still needed some external ties. One example was Archduke Ferdinand's family (Maximilian I), who resided in East Africa. As high nobility from Europe, they had relatives and friends everywhere. They wrote letters back and forth, though rarely of major political importance.
Archduke Ferdinand himself had avoided contacting old acquaintances until he achieved something concrete. Charlotte had fewer qualms but usually confined her letters to personal topics. She'd once been too involved in politics, almost sending her husband to his death, so she avoided repeating that mistake—except that Leopold II, being her brother, asked her about East Africa, and she gave him some basic facts.
The East African Kingdom's southern African wars certainly counted as widely known local news. It was the first time in southern Africa that a white-ruled state (the Transvaal Republic) lost to another African-based force, a huge morale boost for East Africa. Nearly every public bulletin described the army's triumphs.
Leopold II continued: "This time, the East African Kingdom deployed tens of thousands of troops and, like a whirlwind, toppled several small states in southern Africa. That's how they forced Britain's hand."
"Tens of thousands?!"
He nodded. "Exactly. Tens of thousands. That's the core reason the British gave in."
"But, Sire, let me remind you, tens of thousands of troops cost enormous sums. Our homeland has plenty of defense pressure already. If we raise a separate army just to colonize Africa, wouldn't that be too big of a risk?"
Leopold II replied, "Hah, and where exactly does that threaten our domestic defense? Let's be frank: from our precarious position in Europe—stuck between France and Germany—Belgium can easily become a battlefield for either side. On our own, we can't remain untouched in any major war. Precisely because we have such terrible geography, we have all the more reason to break out of Europe, colonizing overseas to strengthen ourselves.
"And we don't need to dispatch a large army to Africa at once. I've examined how every African colony is run. Almost nowhere else invests in building large local armies the way East Africa does. We can take that as an example."
Ernst's heavy emphasis on armed forces in East Africa had clearly paid off, letting the kingdom stand firm even against the world's leading empire. After hearing Leopold II's logic, one minister asked, "Where do we even start? Where do we land in Africa?"
Pointing at the Congo River, Leopold II said, "We begin from the Congo estuary and expand inland along the river's north bank."
"Sire, isn't that Portuguese territory?"
Leopold II shook his head: "No. The area north of the Congo estuary is some African minor kingdom called Ngoyo. Portugal did set up outposts there in past centuries, but they were destroyed. Right now, nobody claims it. And the southern bank of the Congo isn't Portuguese either—it's the Kingdom of Kongo. If it weren't for not wanting to upset Portugal, I'd go straight after the Kingdom of Kongo."
Another official pointed. "But, Sire, France seems to have some colony there."
Yes—on the map, red markings along the northern Congo coast indicated Gabon, where France had been active for decades.
Leopold II shrugged. "And so what if the French are there? They have tons of colonies everywhere."
"Wouldn't that bring us into conflict with France?"
"No," Leopold II said. "We just need to move inland first. France already has many colonies—we're just taking one small area, so they're not really a threat."
He wanted territory that historically corresponded to what would be the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville)—part of what was known as French Congo. The timing was excellent. Unlike in the old timeline, Belgium wouldn't need to fight its way into the Congo rainforest or worry about access to the sea. A few local kingdoms existed, but with Belgian force, it shouldn't be too difficult.
As for the vast Congolese rainforest, it truly wasn't worth much at that stage, given the harsh climate. Belgium's real profits from the Congo in the old timeline came with deeper penetration inland. The colony eventually extended east toward the territories that, in another timeline, would border Rwanda and Burundi.
After Leopold II and his ministers reached a consensus, the Kingdom of Belgium officially embarked on its grand African venture—though the chosen territory was drastically different from history, it would still be known as the "Congo Colony."
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