Chapter 325: The Unexpected World Strategy
Chapter 315 The world strategy of the unexpected
The wheel of history rolls on, after Alexander II succeeded to the throne, the tsarist government once again kicked off the prelude to reform.
However, Alexander II did not have the prestige of Nicholas the Great, could not suppress the domestic aristocracy, the scene is a little embarrassing.
This was the aftermath of the failure of Nicholas I’s reforms, everyone was very wary of the Tsar to play new tricks, in the face of the group of aristocrats Alexander II really can’t do anything about it.
Of course, the Russian history books certainly will not say that Nicholas the Great reform failure, will only say that he died too early, not able to complete the reform.
The capture of Constantinople had already put Nicholas I on the pedestal as the greatest Tsar of the Russian Empire.
The successful man was above reproach, people would find reasons to defend him, and all the pressure for reform fell on the shoulders of Alexander II.
The infighting in the Tsar’s government intensified, and the Russians had no energy left to continue to seek the bad luck of the British.
On March 26, 1860, Britain and Russia signed the Memorandum of India. In exchange for a low-interest loan of 15 million pounds sterling, the British offered the Russians recognition of his sovereignty over the Indian regions.
In other words, the Indian Rebellion was sold by the Tsarist government. Although this was not a good price, Alexander II could not care less.
Reforms also needed money, and unless they were carried out by violent means, compensation for the groups whose interests had been damaged was indispensable.
Watching the bitter Alexander II and the domestic aristocratic groups fight to the death, Franz could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The infighting Russian Empire needed a stable international environment, and the Russo-Austrian alliance became crucial.
This was exactly what Franz needed as well. In the final stage of completing the Industrial Revolution, Austria needed a stable international situation.
The British were still too busy suppressing the Indian Rebellion to get into trouble; the French were also in the final throes of the Industrial Revolution and needed a stable international environment.
The four great powers all needed stability, so naturally no one would mess things up on the European continent. Other regions were not so sure, the Second Opium War had already broken out, and the American Civil War had appeared on the tip of the spear.
Overseas things and the Vienna government does not have much to do, so far Austria’s sphere of influence, that is, the Mediterranean Sea and the African continent, further afield can not reach.
But soon it would matter, looking at the Austrian World Strategic Plan submitted by the Colonial Ministry, Franz could only lament that ambition was a good thing.
Regardless of whether or not it could be realized in the end, the plans had to be done beautifully first. Almost every colonial empire had a world strategy, and it was already too late for the Austrian colonial ministry to come up with a plan.
After carefully studying it, Franz had to admit that the strategic vision of the person who compiled the plan was still good, and theoretically all the strategies on it could be realized.
Exactly according to Franz’s strategic thinking, before the colonies are divided up, try to avoid the outbreak of violent conflict with the major colonial empires.
“The expansion plan of the African continent, there is no problem, connecting our colonies together is not too difficult, the main difficulty is the harsh natural conditions.
Penetrating into the Arabian Peninsula and gradually taking control of this region is also not much of a challenge, once the Suez Canal is open to navigation, we can control these areas.
However, the Asian strategy and the American strategy are much more problematic.
Malaysia, New Guinea and Kalimantan in Asia are too far away from us, how much power can we put into it?
Even if they weren’t taken seriously by the countries, the surrounding areas were the spheres of influence of the Dutch, Spanish and British. It is not difficult for us to occupy these areas, but what about ruling them in the future?
The Americas are even more problematic, don’t look at these independent countries are weak, in the European continent is not even qualified to survive, but 10,000 miles away from the Americas, we may not be able to be their rivals.
War is costly, and we must consider the question of income and expenditure. As for the plan to dig canals in Central America immediately put a stop to it, there is no need to do the grafting for others for what we can’t keep.
Establishing a colonial stronghold in the Patagonian Highlands is not a big problem, there aren’t even many people there.”
There were also a number of islands, none of which Franz reviewed. He didn’t know what they were and had no way of commenting on them if he wanted to.
These small, unknown places could not be found on top of the globe in later times, so naturally he had no memory of them.
Governor Josip Jelacic explained, “Your Majesty, these plans of ours have been thoroughly analyzed and studied, and they all have a certain degree of feasibility.
For example: the Nicobar Islands are the legacy of the Austrian East India Company, and are now ruled by our civilian merchants.
Then there’s Kalimantan, which already has our colonial stronghold. In the region of Malaysia, we have secured Most Favored Nation status.
Most of these were achieved by private colonial teams, not governmental organizations. The British occupation of all of Australia not long ago triggered them to worry and ask the Colonial Office for help.
Considering that the British are still busy suppressing the Indian rebellion and have no energy to grab territory with us in a short time, the Colonial Ministry agreed to this plan.
As for the American colonization plan, what we are preparing for is economic colonization, relying on economic means to penetrate Central America, and opening a canal in the Panama area that was proposed by the capitalists.
The main reason for retaining this plan is for future consideration. If we are able to control the countries of Central America, then the opening of this canal will be necessary.
Your Majesty, the countries of Central America are very weak, with practically no industry, and rely on the importation of arms and ammunition.
The total population is just over two million, averaging out to just over three hundred thousand people per country, three-fifths of whom are Indians, one-fifth of whom are mestizos, and less than one-fifth of whom are white.”
Franz was speechless, no wonder the Colonial Department was hitting Central America, so weak that it was a wonder it wasn’t spied on.
Economic colonization first, then slow immigration, and when there were enough immigrants, overthrowing the local government.
The bias is not difficult, this is the aftermath of a small population. As long as the Vienna government is willing to invest, it really isn’t difficult to colonize these areas.
When he thought about it, Franz could only spit out that the Spaniards were defeated. It seemed that the Habsburg dynasty split had left them too rich a legacy, and they didn’t know how to cherish it at all.
But where the government has a bit of vigor, it will not let these regions independent. It is really not possible, you can also engage in autonomous territories, to create an economic community, or better than the present can not get a hair.
“Alright, you’ve convinced me. But the canal plan should be put on hold for now, I don’t want a canal that improves transportation in the Americas until we split the United States.”
……
Since reading the Austrian Global Strategic Planner, Franz was all about gathering information on each country.
It was a shock not to find out. If it wasn’t for the geographical location constraints, he wouldn’t even bother to develop the African continent and directly colonize South America.
Look at the population of South American countries will know:
Peru has a territory of 1.29 million square kilometers and a population of about 2 million;
Paraguay has a territory of about 410,000 square kilometers and a population of about 500,000 people;
Bolivia has a territory of 1.1 million square kilometers and a population of about 1.25 million;
Ecuador has a territory of 280,000 square kilometers and a population of about 800,000 people;
Brazil has a territory of 8.51 million square kilometers and a population of about 7.3 million;
……
With such a small population, there are still serious racial tensions in the country, with only a few whites as the ruling class, and more Indians and black slaves.
Come to think of it, Portugal and Spain are not very populous countries and have so many colonies, where are they going to get so many immigrants?
Without enough immigrants, the development of the local area was not successful. The low level of local development in turn reduced the desire to emigrate.
Caught in a vicious circle, South American countries have slowly missed the opportunity to develop. When the United States developed, they were suppressed, and then they did not have the opportunity to develop.
This and the South American countries government is not strong also has a relationship, but where the government does a little better, a little strong is not a problem at all.
(End of chapter)