To strengthen Mozambique's military power, Britain and France planned to have the Mozambique colony recruit local Black people to form a military force. Though the Portuguese were reluctant, with an aggressively expansionist regime like East Africa at their side, they could accept it.
East Africa's image in Southern Africa was almost no different from the Russian Empire's image in Europe. Of course, the Russian Empire was a cut above—it was the same way in Asia as well, so its international reputation was known throughout the world. East Africa, at most, had some presence in Southern Africa; once one reached West Africa or North Africa, its name carried little weight. For instance, Egypt had a fairly favorable impression of the East African government, while other countries generally did not even know East Africa existed, apart from those fallen regimes East Africa had driven into North Africa.
Mozambique's use of Black people to form an army actually suited its national conditions quite well. This had to do with Portugal's colonial methods. The Portuguese were unlike the British: they could not keep their trousers buttoned, nor could they be as cold-blooded as the Anglo-Saxons. Thus, like Brazil, the Mozambique colony had a large number of mixed-race descendants with Portuguese fathers and native African mothers.
These mixed-race descendants remained an effective means for Portugal to maintain control over its colonies even after Portuguese national strength had declined. Frankly speaking, Portugal's current national strength probably was not much different from that of certain small East Asian countries. Ernst even doubted Portugal could defeat the Kingdom of Italy.
After being weakened by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Italy was now huddled in the northwest of the Apennine Peninsula, along with several Italian islands, yet its population and industry still surpassed Portugal's.
Therefore, if Mozambique selected