Recaps

Lorraine Town began replacing old farm paths with mechanized farm roads as East Africa expanded its high-standard farmland program. In First Town, Agriculture Minister Gölweistein reported on the country’s agricultural regions and identified the fastest-growing ones.

• Wang Weimo lamented that Lorraine Town was destroying farmland to build roads, while Wang Lun argued that tractors required wider, stronger routes.
• Wang Weimo criticized the tractors as unreliable, and Wang Lun pointed to improving technology and the benefits of electricity and education.
• The chapter explained that East Africa’s second-generation high-standard farmland program merged fields, upgraded irrigation, and reinforced roads for machinery, while fertilizer and pesticide supplies remained limited.
• Gölweistein reported that East Africa had established nine major agricultural regions and that the Central Plateau and Mozambique regions were developing fastest, with the potential to surpass the Great Lakes Region.

Ernst outlined East Africa’s agricultural reforms and industrial goals, then proposed a rapid expansion of higher education to support the country’s development. The chapter ended with plans to build at least one hundred institutions of higher learning over three years, despite concerns about maintaining quality and cultivating top scientific talent.

• Ernst explained how East Africa would focus mechanized farming and supporting industries on nine agricultural zones, including the Central Agricultural Zone and the Mozambique Region.
• Ernst described East Africa’s industrialization challenges, noting that rapid population growth had reduced urbanization to about seventeen percent by the early 1890s.
• Ernst set goals to raise urbanization above twenty percent by the end of the century and strengthen industries such as electricity, automobiles, petroleum, steel, and shipbuilding.
• Ernst announced that East Africa would build at least one hundred institutions of higher learning within three years, with provinces prioritizing agriculture, industry, medicine, and teacher training.
• Ernst called for specialized institutions in key technical and scientific fields as East Africa sought to expand higher education while developing more top-tier scientific talent.

New Frankfurt City gained four universities and a key vocational school as East Africa launched a sweeping education reform. Ernst approved a plan for 172 universities and directed the government to slow military spending so education could receive more funding.

• Logens announced that New Frankfurt City would gain four universities and the New Frankfurt City Institute of Automotive Repair.
• The education reform assigned universities across East Africa according to cities, industries, and government departments, with Rhine City slated to receive twenty schools in its first batch.
• The government presented a plan listing 172 universities, including 129 newly established institutions, and quadrupled higher education funding.
• Ernst approved the plan and said East Africa should limit military development and mechanization to prioritize education.

Ernst defended cuts to East Africa’s military budget as Archduke Ferdinand and Constantin pressed him to expand the navy amid a global battleship buildup. He promised four new battleships before 1905 and larger naval expansion in the next decade, while delaying major spending until the economy improved.

• Archduke Ferdinand confronted Ernst over another naval budget cut and argued that Britain’s new HMS Monarch marked a crucial shift toward battleships.
• Ernst said the army faced cuts too and refused to reduce its automobile-powered mobile units because military orders supported East Africa’s automobile industry.
• Archduke Ferdinand argued that East Africa’s expanded territory and coastal defenses demanded more warships, and Ernst agreed to build four new battleships before 1905.
• Constantin called for at least seven battleships, but Ernst cited submarine development and promised to prioritize naval expansion once the economy improved.

In October 1897, Hansa Province planned to develop Maputo City as a major port and economic center alongside New Hamburg City. The chapter outlined investments in agriculture, industry, and port services as the province sought to strengthen its position against Bella City.

• The Hansa Provincial Government incorporated Maputo City into Hansa Province and chose it as a center for foreign economic exchange while keeping New Hamburg City as the provincial capital.
• The government allocated Maputo Agricultural College to Maputo and prioritized eighteen industrial projects there for 1898.
• Mayor Hans Leighton explained that Maputo would develop hotels, restaurants, ship repair yards, and other services for vessels and travelers.
• Hansa Province pursued a twin-city strategy for Maputo and New Hamburg City, linked by railway, to reinforce its southern economic position against Bella City.
• Hans Leighton proposed reorganizing Maputo's Portuguese-era handicraft workshops and upgrading its port district to support the city's early growth.

In November 1897, Mayor Hans Leighton proposed reorganizing Maputo’s economy by finding export markets and consolidating municipally owned workshops. He left the meeting seeking to build larger, better-equipped enterprises that could produce beyond state-plan quotas.

• Hans Leighton convened Maputo factory directors and workshop managers to discuss the city’s economic development.
• Hans Leighton introduced Portuguese merchants and foreign-trade representatives who would help secure markets and raw materials for local producers.
• Hans Leighton proposed creating a municipal economic office to negotiate with domestic and foreign businesses and arrange production outside planned quotas.
• Hans Leighton announced that the city would merge municipally owned workshops, use a Hechingen Bank loan to buy equipment, and have the merchants find buyers.

Ernst decided to let Maputo City test Hans Leighton's local-government proposal before considering wider reforms. As France and Spain sought East African support amid rising tensions with the United States, the French and Spanish ambassadors requested an audience, leaving Ernst to weigh their appeal.

• Ernst told Svit that Maputo City would serve as an experimental field and that the government would assess Hans Leighton's results after his term ended.
• Ernst reflected on balancing the Hechingen Royal Family's authority with East Africa's political system to preserve the monarchy.
• On February 17, 1898, the French ambassador Glaide and the Spanish ambassador William requested an audience with Ernst.
• Glaide told William that France would support Spain and urged him to win East African backing against American pressure.
• William worried privately that France might not be a reliable lobbyist, while Spain hoped international mediation could avert war with the United States.

Ernst met French ambassador Glaide and Spanish ambassador William to discuss the USS Maine sinking and the rising tensions between Spain and the United States. East Africa offered Spain verbal support while leaving France to lead any diplomatic effort, and the chapter ended with Ernst asking what plan France had.

• Glaide and William asked Ernst to have East Africa support Spain and help preserve peace after the Maine sank near Cuba.
• Ernst pretended not to know the details, then said East Africa could offer Spain support in words but could not easily intervene.
• William accused the American government of plotting against Spain, and Ernst warned that Spain risked losing its colonies, including the Philippines.
• Ernst said East Africa's position matched France's and asked Glaide what specific plan France intended to pursue.

Ernst saw Spain’s Pacific colonies as a way to limit American expansion and preserve East Africa’s position in Nanyang. He privately won France’s support for advocating restraint toward Spain, while urging Glaide to warn France that the United States might seize Spanish possessions in the Pacific.

• Ernst judged that East Africa and the United States would eventually compete over Nanyang and South America, and that keeping Spain in Nanyang could complicate American expansion.
• Ernst met privately with Glaide after William departed and asked what France planned to do for Spain.
• Glaide admitted France expected Spain to lose and hoped East Africa would help prevent the United States from imposing excessive losses.
• Ernst agreed East Africa would support France’s efforts and warned that the United States might target Spain’s Pacific colonies, especially the Philippines.
• Glaide said he would report Ernst’s concerns to the French government but noted that France could not decide the outcome.

Ernst warned Spanish Ambassador William that war with the United States was imminent and urged Spain to prepare, offering East African weapons, supplies, and port access in Southeast Asia. William accepted the offer of friendship and planned to inform his government, while Ernst’s warnings focused Spain’s attention on a possible American attack on the Philippines.

• Ernst told William that American policy and public opinion pointed toward war, and that Spain should prepare rather than hope diplomacy would prevent it.
• Ernst argued that Spain could still resist through naval strength and careful preparations, especially in the Philippines and Pacific.
• Ernst offered East African supplies, military equipment, shipping, and access to Southeast Asian ports for Spanish naval resupply and maintenance.
• William accepted East Africa’s offer on behalf of Spain and said he would report it to his government.

East African arms salesman Manske tried to sell Spain the Model 1895C Mauser Rifle, arguing that it suited the tropical jungles of Cuba and the Philippines better than Spain’s existing weapons. Crus agreed to evaluate it firsthand, and Manske offered to take him to simulated terrain before they decided how many rifles to buy.

• Manske explained to Crus that East Africa had already exported rifles and machine guns to Spain and presented the tropical-adapted Model 1895C Mauser Rifle.
• Manske argued that hot, humid jungle conditions in Cuba and the Philippines called for weapons suited to restricted visibility and close-range fighting.
• Crus noted that Spain understood its colonies better than the Americans, but Manske warned that colonial uprisings and American support could bring fighting into the jungles.
• Manske cited the Model 1895C’s development and East African battlefield record to persuade Crus of its performance.
• Crus proposed buying five hundred rifles for testing, but Manske offered to demonstrate the rifle in simulated terrain before Crus decided on the order.

Manske and Falkid showed Crus East African weapons and supplies, prompting him to increase Spain’s rifle order and request a uniform. As the United States and Spain moved closer to war, East Africa helped Spain prepare in the Philippines while persuading it to delay declaring war until mid-May.

• Manske led Crus and his party to a Guard Division training base, where Falkid introduced the army and its disciplined soldiers.
• Guard Division soldiers demonstrated M1895C jungle rifles in simulated rainforest conditions as Manske promoted other military supplies.
• Crus approved raising the rifle order to two thousand and asked for an East African uniform, while explaining he lacked authority over other purchases.
• Spain ordered weapons and supplies from East Africa, with most shipments bound for the Philippines.
• The United States pressured Spain over the Philippines, and Spain’s planned declaration of war was postponed from April to mid-May after East Africa urged it to buy time.
• East Africa shipped military supplies and more than a dozen coastal defense guns to the Philippines to support Spain’s preparations.

Spanish forces in Manila received East African weapons and instructors as East African General Bruce warned General Anthony that the United States might attack the Philippines. Anthony recognized that Manila’s garrison was unprepared and that he would face blame if he failed to act.

• Greslin and Gorkas examined the new Model 1895C Mauser Rifles, and Verika explained that East African instructors would train the unit to use them.
• Bruce told Anthony that Manila Bay’s terrain could support a defense combining naval forces and land-based strikes.
• Bruce argued that the American Pacific Fleet’s presence near Hong Kong and its preparations made the Philippines a likely target.
• Anthony accepted that the warning was credible and realized the idle Manila garrison needed to prepare for a possible American attack.

Bruce and the East Africa Military Advisory Group urged Spain to fortify Manila Bay and modernize Corregidor Island before war with the United States. The chapter ended with Spanish forces preparing the defenses using manpower freed by a successful campaign against local resistance.

• Bruce told Anthony that Spain should lay mines in Manila Bay, repair its coastal guns, and modernize Corregidor Island within three months.
• Bruce explained that negotiations could buy Spain time because war would likely begin with Cuba, while Manila’s defenses were strengthened.
• Lieutenant Karen led Spanish troops and Filipino informants to destroy nine resistance hideouts in the rainforest.
• Karen praised the M1895C jungle combat rifle, and Spanish forces approved of the East African weapon after using it in combat.
• The Spanish Colonial Government mobilized civilians to build Manila Bay’s defenses, including laying mines to impede the American Navy.

East Africa began moving its government and institutions from First Town to the newly developed Rhine City, making the city the country’s new political center. Ernst also told Constantin that he planned to elevate the kingdom to an empire after the relocation, and Constantin remained hesitant about the title and ceremony.

• On April 1, 1898, the East African government approved moving the capital to Rhine City in three stages, with the city set to become the political center before 1900.
• Government departments began sending personnel, files, and equipment to Rhine City as its railway network linked it more directly to First Town and the wider country.
• Kron described plans for the Rhine City National Library to replace the First Town library, expand toward five million volumes, and anchor a district of educational and research institutions.
• Rhine City’s completed framework could accommodate First Town’s population, though the new capital still felt empty outside its construction sites.
• Ernst told Constantin he wanted to turn East Africa from a kingdom into an empire after the relocation, but Constantin questioned the importance of the title and worried about enduring a coronation.
• Ernst argued that the change would separate East Africa’s colonial past from its later history and that the country could create its own simplified imperial customs.

Ernst and Constantin debated a new name and imperial title for East Africa, settling on the Rhine Empire. Constantin resisted Ernst’s offer to become its first emperor, while Ernst argued for a simple coronation and a monarchy that stayed close to the people.

• Constantin warned that the title East African Empire might invite ridicule and suggested using a German cultural name instead.
• Constantin proposed Rhine and Swabia as possible names, and Ernst chose the Rhine Empire.
• Ernst offered Constantin the first imperial title, but Constantin said he planned to abdicate and wanted Ernst to take over.
• Ernst insisted Constantin should remain the nation’s ballast stone through the change and outlined a streamlined coronation without foreign guests.
• Ernst argued that the royal family should stay integrated with the people and adapt as monarchy declined, while Constantin agreed and reflected on the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s weakening military.

The Spanish-American War began after the Spanish government and the American government failed to reach an agreement. Before the declaration, East Africa helped the Spanish warships Saragossa and Sagunto prepare at Pontianak Port before they sailed for Manila Bay.

• Ernst considered how Germany's growing strength and the Austro-Hungarian Empire's decline could alter the alliances and course of a likely European war.
• The Spanish ironclads Saragossa and Sagunto arrived at Pontianak Port to refit before reinforcing the Philippines.
• Captain Yar asked Major General Herson to repair a boiler problem aboard the Sagunto, and Herson agreed to provide East African facilities.
• East Africa supplied the two ships' crews with food and medical care during their stay at Pontianak Port.
• After more than ten days, the Saragossa and Sagunto sailed for Manila Bay, and on May 27, 1898, Spain and the United States formally declared war.

Ernst and his advisers discussed the Spanish-American War and East Africa’s economic and military position as the American fleet confronted Spain’s Philippine fleet at Manila Bay. Spain’s ships retreated into the bay after heavy losses, and an American warship struck a mine, leaving the battle’s outcome unsettled.

• Ernst, Archduke Ferdinand, and Constantin discussed how rising powers challenged established powers and why East Africa needed decades of further development.
• Ernst explained that East Africa’s economy and state-owned industries still needed strengthening before the country could compete more effectively internationally.
• After the United States and Spain declared war, the American Asian Fleet sailed from Hong Kong toward the Philippines, while Spain prepared to defend Manila Bay.
• On June 3, the American Navy badly damaged the Spanish fleet, sinking or damaging several ships and forcing the Spanish commander to retreat into Manila Bay.
• Dewey ordered the Americans to pursue, but an American warship struck a Spanish mine near the bay entrance and became the first American Navy vessel lost in the war.

Liu Laide and the Bulawayo City Aircraft Research Institute demonstrated the successful flight of East Africa’s Sail, an aircraft built with extensive government support. The flight left Ernst planning for an air force and greater military spending.

• Ernst stopped following the Battle of Manila Bay after the American blockade made Spain’s defeat in the Philippines likely.
• Liu Laide led his research team and reporters through a prepared demonstration of the Sail at the Bulawayo experimental grounds.
• A military representative doubted the aircraft could fly, but the Sail took off, climbed into the sky, flew for nearly eight minutes, and landed safely.
• The East African researchers celebrated the successful flight, which encouraged local talent and showcased the strength of East Africa’s research program.
• Ernst learned that the flight experiment had succeeded and began considering preparations for an air force and future military uses for aircraft.

Ernst ordered nationwide publicity and rewards for the Bulawayo City Aircraft Research Institute, then laid the groundwork for an East African Air Force. He left Merke and Felix to begin building its framework, with the force expected to take shape gradually over the next decade.

• Ernst ordered the aircraft news published nationwide, the Bulawayo City Aircraft Research Institute rewarded, and its research shared with other institutes.
• Ernst called Merke and Felix to Svit Palace and showed them footage of the new aircraft.
• Felix and Merke discussed aircraft capabilities and compared them with airships as Ernst explained aircraft’s future military uses.
• Ernst declared that an independent air force would become the third major service alongside the army and navy.
• Ernst instructed Merke and Felix to select technically capable officers and establish the air force’s basic framework, while warning that its development would take years.

Nares’s reports and diary revealed to Ernst and the East African government that Belgian rule had nearly exterminated the Belgian Congo’s native population, while Chinese laborers and Black people brought from Angola endured harsh conditions. The chapter left the Belgian Congo’s population crisis exposed, with its remaining Black workers dwindling and East Africa no longer exporting laborers.

• Nares reported his findings from the Belgian Congo, prompting East Africa to organize a secret investigation that confirmed no natives had been found there in 1897 or 1898.
• East Africa had previously transported more than a hundred thousand Portuguese loyalists from Angola into the Belgian Congo, but their numbers had fallen to twenty or thirty thousand.
• Nares’s February diary entries described empty mines, the disappearance of local Black workers, and the brutal conditions imposed on Chinese laborers.
• Nares’s June entry recorded that fewer than twenty thousand of the more than one hundred thousand Black people supplied by East Africa remained at Black Point.
• Ernst reviewed Nares’s account and judged that the Belgian Congo’s original native population had been too small to withstand Belgian exploitation.

Ernst assessed East Africa’s effects on Africa’s population and called for new censuses as 1900 approached. The chapter then reported East Africa’s rapid expansion of higher education, which had made it the world leader in university enrollment and education spending.

• Ernst estimated that East Africa held about fifteen million Black people and that West Africa’s Black population likely stood between twenty and thirty million.
• Ernst concluded that East Africa should conduct new population censuses and track populations across West Africa and other regions.
• East Africa’s universities nearly doubled in number in 1898, while university enrollment rose above fifty-two thousand and higher-education enrollment exceeded one hundred thousand.
• East African officials projected that university enrollment would pass one hundred and sixty thousand before 1900 as every province completed university construction.
• East Africa’s education spending ranked first in the world, surpassing Germany.

East Africa’s military and education spending was discussed as the American fleet prepared to break into Manila Bay. Dewey’s fleet forced its way past Spanish mines and shore guns, destroyed the Spanish Philippine fleet, and moved the Philippine War into its next stage.

• East African officials noted that education and research received nearly as much funding as the military, while army equipment remained outdated in areas such as artillery.
• Dewey ordered the Raleigh to lead an assault through Manila Bay’s minefield while American ships suppressed Spanish coastal guns.
• Spanish artillery initially missed the Raleigh, and American return fire threw the defenders into confusion and silenced several positions.
• The American fleet entered Manila Bay, losing one ship and suffering damage to four others as Spanish guns and torpedoes struck back.
• By three o’clock, Dewey’s Asian Fleet had annihilated the Spanish Philippine colonial navy.

The United States defeated Spain in the Philippines and Cuba, destroying the Spanish fleets and forcing the colonial garrisons to surrender. The East Africa Military Advisory Group left Manila before the Philippine surrender, while East African intelligence remained active in the strategically important islands.

• American forces blockaded Manila Bay after wiping out its coastal defenses, trapping the Spanish garrison without hope of relief.
• On June 8, 1898, American troops landed at Guantanamo Bay and advanced through Cuba, steadily forcing the Spanish garrison back.
• On July 4, the Spanish fleet at Santiago Harbor attempted to break the blockade, but the American Navy sank every Spanish warship in less than three hours.
• The East Africa Military Advisory Group passed American inspections at Manila Harbor and returned safely to East Africa, leaving future Philippine intelligence work to the East African National Security Bureau.
• After running out of ammunition and food, the Spanish Colonial Army in the Philippines surrendered to the United States in mid-August, ending the war between Spain and the United States.

Ernst learned that Spain was seeking peace with the United States and expected France to help secure favorable terms. At the Paris Conference, East Africa’s ambassador Lawrence backed Spain and challenged the United States’ demands, especially its claim to the Philippines.

• Hermann told Ernst that Spain had lost confidence in continuing the war and wanted peace talks with the United States.
• French, Spanish, and American diplomats gathered in Paris on November 2, 1898, to negotiate an end to the Spanish-American War.
• Lawrence argued that Spain was the victim of the war and questioned the American account of the USS Maine’s destruction.
• The United States demanded that Spain relinquish Cuba, the Philippines, and other colonies and pay compensation, while Spain rejected the terms.
• Lawrence accepted that Cuba could pass to the United States but urged Spain to resist ceding the Philippines, arguing that it was an innocent party and should remain under Spanish sovereignty.