Chapter Summaries

Ernst told Constantin to press the Sultanate of Zanzibar to end its slave trade within five years, warning that it could provoke British intervention. He proposed disguising the trade as labor export while East Africa built its military industry and prepared to defend its territory.

• Ernst urged Constantin to tell Sayyid to reduce Zanzibar’s slave trade and phase it out within five years.
• Ernst explained that provoking Britain could hinder East Africa’s development and outlined plans to build weapons factories and secure its territory.
• Ernst said East Africa should absorb its recent conquests and prioritize the resource-rich Matabele Plateau.
• Ernst told Constantin that Zanzibar should rebrand slave traders as labor export companies and improve conditions aboard their ships.
• Ernst warned that East Africa would destroy British colonies in Africa if Britain attacked, and Constantin approved his resolve.

East Africa pressured Young Sayyid to formally abolish slavery while disguising Zanzibar’s slave trade as labor export, and used the agreement to bring the island under its defense system. Zanzibar accepted the demands, and freed slaves quickly signed employment agreements with their former masters.

• Minister Lemons told Young Sayyid that Zanzibar should legally abolish slavery and rebrand slave-trading groups as labor-export companies.
• Lemons required more presentable conditions for transported laborers and proposed a household registration system, with East Africa offering cheap clothing and assistance.
• Lemons announced that East Africa would expand its garrison to three thousand troops, take over coastal artillery, and incorporate Zanzibar into its military defense system; Young Sayyid accepted.
• After Lemons persuaded Zanzibar’s ministers, the Sultanate issued laws abolishing slavery and banning slave trading on October 21, 1870.
• Former slaves signed employment agreements with their former masters, while registered labor companies began appearing across Zanzibar.

After the Franco-Prussian War, Ernst and Leopold discussed the Hechingen cadets’ performance and the plans for their future. Ernst offered Heinrich a place at Austria’s Theresia Military Command Academy and proposed helping Sigmaringen acquire a colony, but Leopold declined because his family lacked funds.

• Ernst, Leopold, and the Hechingen Military Academy community held a memorial ceremony for cadets killed in the war.
• Ernst questioned Heinrich about his origins and discussed how the Hechingen Brigade had performed with Leopold.
• Ernst said he had secured thirty places for Hechingen cadets at Theresia Military Command Academy.
• Ernst chose Heinrich for one of the places and named him as his preferred future principal for a military academy in East Africa.
• Leopold praised Heinrich and thanked Ernst for involving him in the campaign, while Ernst offered to help Sigmaringen obtain a colony in western Central Africa.
• Leopold declined the offer because Sigmaringen had invested most of its capital in Romania and could not afford to develop a colony.

As Venice starved under the Austro-Hungarian blockade, Fulton learned that Morley and his family planned to leave aboard ships operated by the Hechingen Overseas Trading Company. The chapter revealed how East Africa and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were arranging mass emigration from Venice to Paraguay and other South American countries in exchange for economic concessions and territory.

• Ernst decided to send the remaining trainee members to East Africa and use the reorganization to retire older German mercenary officers.
• Prussian forces advanced through France while Archduke Albrecht’s blockade left Venice’s civilians facing severe food shortages.
• Lisa told Fulton their food was nearly gone, and Fulton planned to ask his employer, Martin, for an advance on his wages.
• Morley told Fulton that his family would leave Venice for East Africa aboard a Hechingen Overseas Trading Company ship, though the company would choose their destination.
• The chapter explained that East Africa and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were transporting Venetian emigrants to Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil in return for land and resource rights.
• The Austro-Hungarian Empire promised Hungary part of western Lombardy if Italians were removed, while Count Medina arranged for Italian refugees in France to be sent to the front against Prussia.

Ernst arranged for the Berlin Hechingen Arms Factory to retire its outdated Dreyse rifle production line and partner with the Mauser brothers to develop a new rifle. The Mauser brothers joined the factory, which Ernst planned to rename the Berlin-Mauser Arms Factory, while East Africa would support the rifle with orders.

• Mein compared the Dreyse and Chassepot rifles for Ernst and explained why the Chassepot had better sealing, muzzle velocity, range, and reliability.
• Ernst ordered Mein to retire a Dreyse production line and focus on developing new firearms with a partner.
• Mein recalled that the Mauser brothers had designed the Mauser-Norris rifle with Samuel Norris, who later broke their partnership and left them running a small workshop.
• Ernst explained that the Mauser brothers had agreed to cooperate with the Hechingen Arms Factory while keeping the Mauser Arms Factory name, and he proposed renaming the combined operation the Berlin-Mauser Arms Factory.
• Ernst told Mein that East Africa would buy the new rifle even if other countries did not, and admitted that his confidence came from intuition rather than firearms knowledge.

Ernst trusted Mayne to scrutinize the Mauser brothers’ firearm proposal, while Carlton arranged to transfer workers from the Jiaozhou Textile Mill to East Africa. More than three thousand workers were selected, and they became eager to go after learning their families would receive jobs, food, and lodging.

• Ernst asked Mayne to use his experience to help the Mauser brothers refine their firearm proposal, and Mayne agreed to review it strictly.
• Carlton told Jiaozhou Textile Mill’s workers that East Africa needed textile workers and asked for volunteers, but no one raised a hand.
• Carlton explained East African wages, legal protections, and living conditions, then selected more than three thousand workers by lottery.
• The workers learned their families could also receive work, food, and lodging in East Africa, and many welcomed the transfer.
• East Africa planned to place the Jiaozhou workers in a new Nairobi textile mill alongside Italian workers to diversify the city’s population.

At a plantation in Matala, Oliveira and Adros questioned refugees fleeing west from an unknown force that had driven them from their homes. They suspected the force might be German, and decided to seek reliable information from the Lunda Kingdom.

• Oliveira and Adros noticed growing numbers of refugees near their plantations and wondered whether unrest or an epidemic had driven them west.
• The plantation's armed men captured several refugees, whose unfamiliar speech made it difficult for the interpreter to question them.
• The refugees said strangers dressed like Europeans had driven them west, and that people called the strangers white-faced monsters who ate people.
• Oliveira ordered the refugees taken to the crosses after learning their chief had been killed during the capture.
• Adros suggested sending someone to ask the king of the Lunda Kingdom about the strangers, and Oliveira agreed.

Nairobi mayor Jose welcomed the first group of Venetian immigrants and explained their work, meals, worship, and living arrangements. The newcomers were registered and assigned homes in a district designed to mix immigrants from different regions.

• Jose greeted the Venetian immigrants and described Nairobi's development and climate.
• The immigrants asked about housing, water, work hours, and worship, and Jose explained the city's arrangements and rules.
• Nairobi staff registered the families, assigned houses, and recorded their details on slips for their doorways.
• An East African police officer escorted four families to Seventh Community and explained that vacant houses were reserved for future immigrants from other regions.
• The officer directed the families to the police department, wells, cafeteria, river, toilets, and drainage facilities.

The Abbott family settled into their new East African residence and joined other immigrants for dinner at the cafeteria. Haydn explained local customs and rules as the newcomers struggled with chopsticks and learned about East Africa’s sanitation requirements.

• Abbott assigned bedrooms to Andrew, Anlina, and his parents in their new house, which had no private toilet.
• Haydn introduced himself as the district officer and warned the immigrants that the cafeteria supplied chopsticks instead of European utensils.
• Haydn demonstrated how to use chopsticks, and Abbott’s group ate rice, flatbread, beef stew with potatoes, and limited portions of fruit.
• Lepp asked Haydn about chopsticks and rice, and Haydn described East Africa’s abundant rice production and past consumption of wild animals.
• Haydn warned the immigrants to drink only well water, boil it before drinking, and follow East Africa’s sanitation laws.

East Africa planned to make Nairobi a major textile center by cultivating Egyptian long-staple cotton and bringing Venetian workers and machinery to the region. The chapter left Ernst waiting for Austria to capture Venice so East Africa could transfer its industrial equipment and complete Nairobi’s development.

• East Africa planned to grow Egyptian long-staple cotton in Northern Province and Juba Province, then process it in Nairobi for export to the Middle East and Europe.
• Ernst planned to combine cotton and wool textile production in Nairobi with a silk industry in Kisumu, forming an East African light-industry belt with Mombasa.
• Venetian immigrants arrived through Mtwara and traveled inland to develop farming, while other Venetian workers were distributed among East African cities to support handicrafts and industry.
• Ernst expected Nairobi’s German-speaking population to assimilate Italian and Far Eastern immigrants, with German serving as their common language.
• The Hohenzollern Conglomerate arranged for Hechingen Bank to pay Austrian soldiers for captured machinery, which they would carry to the docks for shipment to East Africa.

In Walonga Province, East African soldiers encountered a harmless tree snake and discussed the dangers of local venomous snakes. In Hechingen, Ernst planned to recruit medical experts and collect traditional remedies from the Far East, leaving East Africa poised to patent those practices and earn the nickname “Country Thief.”

• Paul spotted a green African tree snake, and the squad leader knocked it from its branch before it fled.
• The soldiers noted that Black Mambas were especially dangerous because they aggressively chased and bit people.
• Tom questioned why Ernst wanted to recruit Far Eastern medical experts instead of European ones, and Ernst defended Eastern medicine’s long written history.
• Ernst instructed Tom to have Ambassador Richard seek official cooperation and to collect prescriptions and books from the Far East, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
• Ernst warned Tom to reject claims that opium cured every illness and said East Africa could sort useful remedies from mistakes later.
• East Africa’s patenting of traditional remedies later earned it the nickname “Country Thief” among Far Eastern nations, especially Japan.

East African officials planned how to develop the Matabele Plateau through native labor, communications, transportation, and a tax farming system. Constantin approved using native rulers and industrial goods to build infrastructure until immigrant numbers allowed East Africa to take direct control.

• Von der Leyen, Yalman, and Svit proposed recruiting native labor, seeking a port in Mozambique, extending the telegraph, and building roads and bridges across the region.
• Constantin ordered the government to begin agricultural development with potatoes and cassava, contact Mozambique, and prioritize extending the telegraph into the Matabele Plateau.
• Felix proposed using native chiefs and industrial goods to reduce resistance, trade for food, and fund transportation construction through a tax farming system.
• Constantin confirmed that the government would buy food from native rulers, employ natives during slack seasons, and eventually move against them once immigrant numbers grew.
• East Africa’s tax farming system left native rulers collecting taxes and sharing revenues with the government, while native laborers farmed and built infrastructure under heavy taxation.

Msiri arrived at Port Mpulungu, where East Africa gave him more than ten thousand enslaved men to support his move into West Africa. Convinced they were healthy and well suited to his plans, Msiri decided to use them as a regular fighting force to plunder West African tribes and kingdoms.

• Msiri reached Port Mpulungu with three thousand soldiers and civilians, where Kabri presented him with more than ten thousand East African men.
• Kabri explained that the men spoke Swahili, had agricultural experience, and could help Msiri establish power in West Africa.
• Msiri inspected and tested several of the men, found them strong and healthy, and thanked Kabri for the gift.
• Kabri concealed that East Africa had selected the men as aging, worn-down laborers it no longer wanted to support.
• Msiri decided to organize the men into a regular force without firearms and lead them into West Africa to seize wealth and women.

Yuris introduced Anda wristwatches to Van der Mel on the Limpopo River, selling him his silver model and the remaining stock. Van der Mel planned to resell the watches in Transvaal and asked Yuris to bring more silver ones.

• Yuris offered Van der Mel a batch of thirty Anda wristwatches, presenting them as Swiss-made goods and demonstrating how to wear one.
• Yuris praised the convenience and prestige of wristwatches, claiming European royalty and nobles wore them.
• Van der Mel tried on Yuris's silver Anda watch and offered thirty pounds to buy it; Yuris accepted.
• Van der Mel bought all the remaining watches for four pounds each and planned to sell them in Boer territory for six pounds apiece.
• Van der Mel asked Yuris to bring more silver watches on his next delivery, and Yuris agreed.

Leon encouraged Vandermeer to expand his trade with East Africa by bringing cattle, sheep, and horses, while East Africa’s request to use a southern Mozambican port was refused by Governor Cabral. The chapter left East Africa facing a dismissive but newly strengthened Portuguese administration in Mozambique.

• Leon told Vandermeer that East Africa needed cattle, sheep, and horses and offered to have the government buy them through Hechingen Bank.
• Vandermeer departed for the Republic of the Transvaal, and Yuri reassured Leon that Bains Ferry’s trade would take time to grow.
• Governor Cabral rejected East Africa’s request to borrow a southern Mozambican port and ordered its diplomats sent away without meeting him.
• Cabral’s reforms restored Mozambique’s military morale and equipment, and he conquered the Kingdom of Malawi a month earlier.

Archduke Albrecht launched the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s final offensive against Italy, while British aid bolstered Italy’s forces. Venice fell after its citizens aided the invading Austro-Hungarian troops, leaving Italy under pressure on several fronts.

• Mozambique refused East Africa’s request to lease a port, and the diplomats returned to report the governor’s decision.
• Archduke Albrecht ordered an attack along the entire front, as Austro-Hungarian forces bombarded Venice and advanced elsewhere in Italy.
• Britain sent military aid to Italy, which had raised a new army of one hundred thousand men during the lull in fighting.
• Austro-Hungarian forces opened breaches in Venice’s defenses and entered the city, where local citizens helped them fight the Italian Army.
• Venice’s residents turned against the Italian soldiers, whose morale collapsed, and the city fell on the first day of the assault.

Ernst sent the Hechingen Military Academy’s 1870 graduates to East Africa to modernize its army, while Constantin prepared to make room for them by retiring older officers. The chapter left East Africa on alert after learning that Mozambique’s new governor was a capable former Portuguese general.

• Ernst warned the departing graduates to adapt their military knowledge to East Africa’s terrain and guerrilla warfare before they sailed from Trieste.
• Yalman gave Constantin a list of 407 officers seeking retirement, and Constantin promised veterans fair compensation, extra bonuses, and support for disabled retirees.
• East Africa cleared additional positions by transferring incompetent officers to civilian work so the incoming academy graduates could fill military vacancies.
• Yalman reported that Mozambique had turned away East African diplomats and that its new governor, Cabral, had defeated the remnants of the Kingdom of Malawi.
• Constantin ordered the troops on the Mozambique border to increase their vigilance and report any unusual movements.

In Northern Province, Akili guided Bal Village in establishing banana plantations along the Shebelle River, explaining how Somalia’s climate and irrigation could support the crop. East Africa expanded cash-crop cultivation while limiting agricultural development to protect the region’s fragile ecology and keep it reliant on grain from the south.

• Akili told Yann that Somalia’s warm climate and river water made it suitable for growing Big Mac bananas.
• Akili explained that Somalia needed irrigation canals but little drainage because its climate was dry and stable.
• Villagers in Bal Village dug canals from the Shebelle River and prepared former Geleidi Sultanate land for banana cultivation.
• East Africa directed the Benadir Plain’s irrigable land toward cash crops rather than grain, with grain supplied from the south.
• East Africa planned to expand cultivation in Somalia by only 20 percent to limit ecological damage and desertification.

British envoy Edward arrived in Zanzibar to demand an end to the slave trade, but Sultan Sayyid revealed that Zanzibar had already outlawed it. East African envoy Lemons mediated the confrontation, and Edward accepted a large payment before departing with a warning about future slave ships.

• Edward arrived at Zanzibar and questioned Akaram about East Africa's flags and troops at the port.
• Amani reported the British visit to Sultan Sayyid and the East African forces, prompting Lemons to head to the palace.
• Edward accused Zanzibar of continuing the slave trade, but Sayyid said the sultanate had banned it by law the previous month.
• Lemons arrived and helped Sayyid present the ban as a misunderstanding, then pressed Sayyid to compensate Edward for his journey.
• Sayyid paid Edward a large sum to settle the matter, and Edward warned him against allowing slave trading to continue.

After Austria captured Venice, its forces and the Hohenzollern Conglomerate removed machinery from factories, while Anthony paid General Adelmundst for help securing equipment. The chapter ended with Venice losing population and industry as East Africa acquired workers and machinery for Nairobi.

• Constantin ordered heightened coastal vigilance after Lemons reported the British presence near Zanzibar Island.
• Albrecht left Venice to continue his campaign against the Kingdom of Italy, while Lieutenant General Adelmundst took charge of the city and began screening its residents.
• Austrian soldiers transported factory machinery to the docks, where Hohenzollern Conglomerate staff inspected and catalogued it.
• Anthony gave Adelmundst a Hechingen Bank check in thanks for helping the conglomerate obtain equipment, and Adelmundst offered to secure more.
• The Hohenzollern Conglomerate sent machinery from three Venetian textile factories to East Africa to support Nairobi's textile industry.