East Africa Standardization Association

In August 1887, British Parliament passed insulting provisions to the Trademark Law, specifically requiring that goods imported from Germany be marked "Made in Germany" to distinguish inferior German goods from superior British goods.

Setting down the newspaper in his hand, Ernst felt somewhat reflective. Some things would not change simply because East Africa had barged into the picture—such as Britain's latest Trademark Law.

Britain's amendment to the Trademark Law was, broadly speaking, driven by the pressure it felt from the rapid rise in the industrial strength of countries such as Germany. It was an advanced nation suppressing latecomers.

The same would have been true for any other country. So long as it posed a threat to Britain, it would receive the same treatment Germany was receiving now. Thus, this was an inevitable historical trend—unless Britain produced a fool of a prime minister who persuaded Parliament to spare Germany.

That was virtually impossible. After all, the British were now famed for their steadiness. Unless, as in his previous life, an anti-intellectual tide swept through society and politicians were then hijacked through the "democratic system," British society was not yet awash with "lies."

Returning to the impact of the bill's provisions, never mind the emotional harm this blunt, in-your-face humiliation inflicted on Germans—East Africa, as a "great nation of knockoffs," truly felt a biting chill.

After all, many East African goods were nothing if not German knockoff versions. To Britain, East African industrial goods were therefore knockoffs of knockoffs.

When it came to establishing standards, the Hohenzollern Conglomerate and East African state-owned enterprises had to be considered separately. Most companies under the Hohenzollern Conglomerate were innovative enterprises that also valued product quality.

The state-owned enterprises that formed the pillars of East Africa's national economy, however, were sorely lacking in this respect, especially