For the time being, Franz took Ferdinand's words as true. But he could not lightly agree to have the Austro-Hungarian Empire protect East Africa—not even if East Africa had sent his own brother.
"Population does not equal national strength. Though East Africa's territory is not small, that does not change its status as a small country," Franz said.
There was nothing wrong with that statement. In the present world, a country could not be considered a great power merely because it had people and land. If that were the measure, the Far East and India would have stood at the very front.
Franz's understanding of East Africa's territory remained stuck in the past. Even if East Africa had expanded without restraint over the years, it could at most have exceeded three million square kilometers.
That was the power of ingrained assumptions. In Franz's eyes, Africa still had other players—Portugal, Britain, France, and other powers. No matter how poorly they performed, they would not simply stand by and watch East Africa feast on meat. And however useless the natives might be, East Africa would need time to digest them. Even the United States had not completed its slaughter of the Indians within ten years; in fact, Americans were still persecuting the remaining Indians in the west.
"East Africa as a whole is indeed not a strong country, and its geographical position is not particularly important. But East Africa's strategic position is extremely important to the Austro-Hungarian Empire!" Ferdinand said. "The Austro-Hungarian Navy's reach lies in the Mediterranean Sea; one could even say it can only project power across the Eastern Mediterranean. Now the Suez Canal has linked the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, while control of the Suez Canal lies in British and French hands. This is also the predicament