Trade and Markets

"Ambassador Arland, railways and telegraphs are both things we need, but we also need military equipment to resist the invaders. Otherwise, we cannot even guarantee national security, let alone have the heart to build our own country," Johannes IV said.

Arland said, "I understand Your Majesty's concerns. East Africa will make preparations for this and ensure your country's security!"

How could the Abyssinian Empire's security be guaranteed? Naturally, by resolving the current military conflict between Italy and the Abyssinian Empire.

Therefore, Arland's promise was of great importance to the Abyssinian Empire. After all, the Abyssinian Empire alone certainly could not reach a consensus with Italy.

Of course, granting the Abyssinian Empire such treatment was also related to its importance to East Africa. The Abyssinian Empire was the only major country with a population in the tens of millions whose trade was monopolized by East Africa.

Although the Far East Empire's market was enormous, East Africa's room for maneuver in the Far East was quite limited. Even the Huaihai Economic Zone market had to be shared with countries such as Germany and Austria.

Though trade with the German territories flourished, East African industrial goods could not compete with similar German products. Instead, German goods were exported into the East African mainland, which was hardly friendly to East Africa's industrial exports.

In 1887, East African trade suffered a tremendous setback. Industrial products in particular shifted from growth to stagnation, creating a major obstacle to the development of East African industry.

Then there was the Middle Eastern region. At present, its most valuable areas were basically under Ottoman control, and East Africa could only compete with it through Oman.

Thus, from the situation in these major markets, the importance of the Abyssinian Empire to East Africa was self-evident.

Therefore, supporting the Abyssinian Empire