This distorted form of trade was in fact a new kind of triangular trade. As the First World War wore on, the Entente Powers camp was doing relatively well; after all, Britain and France had vast estates and deep foundations, with colonies supporting them from behind. The Central Powers camp's purse, however, was being squeezed dry by a host of "neutral countries" at a rate visible to the naked eye.
As the Central Powers camp's largest economic cooperation "partner," East Africa had carefully devised a series of plans to ease their financial pressure.
In summary, the trade between East Africa and the Central Powers now amounted to this: "Anything can be traded."
Gold naturally ranked first. According to the East African government's assessment, large amounts of gold from the Central Powers had flowed into East Africa, while most of Russia's gold reserves within the Entente Powers camp had likewise entered East Africa.
Britain and France, meanwhile, faced competition from the United States. Moreover, as American domestic production capacity expanded, trade between the United States and Britain and France had surpassed East Africa's after August 1916.
Of course, this was also because East Africa had shifted the focus of its trade toward southern countries. Although trade with Europe yielded greater profits, compared with trade with southern countries, those were merely short-term gains.
After all, no matter who emerged victorious on the European battlefield, the ultimate winner would reclaim control of the European market and drive out outside powers such as East Africa and the United States.
Still, despite facing fierce American competition in the North Atlantic, Ernst was already quite satisfied. Thanks to advance preparations, East Africa had completely recouped its investment in just two years, from 1914 to 1916. Not only had it paid off its prewar loans, but it