East Africa had no way of knowing the Spanish government's attitude toward the Spanish-American conflict, but that did not prevent East Africa from selling Spain various military supplies and weapons in advance.
In fact, arms trade between East Africa and Spain had begun shortly after the South African War. After that war, East African military products—especially army equipment—drew the attention of quite a few countries.
Spain was one of them. A large portion of Spanish Army weapons procurement came from Germany, while East African Army equipment shared the same lineage as German arms, which gave East Africa a convenient opening.
Before the South African War, Spain might have harbored doubts about the quality of East African weapons. After the war, however, those doubts vanished.
From the end of the South African War to the present, East Africa had exported more than twenty thousand rifles and over a hundred machine guns to Spain. Machine guns had undoubtedly delivered the most outstanding performance in the South African War, drawing considerable attention.
"Mr. Crus, this is the Model 1895C Mauser Rifle, a tropical jungle rifle produced by East Africa. It also belongs to the Mauser rifle family, but East Africa's military research team has adapted it specifically for regional conditions. Its materials were modified according to the temperature and humidity of tropical jungle regions, making it more suitable for firing in hot, humid areas," East African arms salesman Manske told his old friend Crus.
Spain had begun adopting Mauser rifles as early as 1886. The Mauser rifle used by Spain was the Model 1893, a German export model designed specifically for Spain. East Africa also possessed the qualifications to manufacture it. However, the Mauser rifles used by the East African National Defense Army differed in certain details from German rifles and their export