Unequal Transaction

"Technology has many facets and involves every industry. It does not have to be confined to the industrial sector. Take medicine and handicrafts, for instance. East Africa had always attached great importance to medical development, but this was not the strong suit of a new nation like East Africa. Although we had absorbed the essence of traditional medicine on a large scale, we likewise needed the Austro-Hungarian Empire's help."

That was what Ernst said. In truth, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's industrial development had only begun making great strides in recent years. Among the top great powers, it was perhaps only somewhat stronger than Tsarist Russia.

Of course, its backwardness was only relative to Britain, France, and Germany. For East Africa, it was still an existence far beyond reach.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire's main traditional overseas markets were the Balkan Peninsula and the Ottoman Empire, while domestically it possessed a vast internal-circulation market. The relationship between Austria and Hungary was precisely like that.

Yet the Austro-Hungarian Empire's domestic market was far from stable. Above all, conflicts between the economies of its various ethnic groups ran deep, undermining the market's stability. Its multiethnic nature intensified this instability, becoming an obstacle to Austro-Hungarian industrial development.

The same issue applied to East Africa's resource allocation. Coal resources from the Southern Frontier Province fueled industrial development in East Africa's coastal cities, yet the people of the Southern Frontier Province would not think there was anything wrong with that.

But within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it could easily give rise to the misconception: "The Austrians are plundering our resources."

That was why Austria found it extremely difficult to integrate the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Opportunists like Hungary could still be negotiated with, but when faced with extreme nationalists like Serbia, they simply struck the old empire at the head with heavy