Recaps

The Second Peace Conference brought Britain, France, Germany, and Austria close to ending the war, while European governments redirected public anger toward scapegoats. In Germany, wounded corporal Adolf vowed to enter politics and take revenge, and President Wilson suspected East Africa of arranging peace behind America’s back.

• Dutch Prime Minister Keppel recalled the violent first peace conference, and Lord Freer praised the Netherlands for helping bring the war toward an end.
• German hospital patients Valenfels and Adolf discussed the war’s costs as newspapers blamed merchants, the Labour Party, and other groups for Germany’s setbacks.
• Adolf blamed Jews, East Africa, and other alleged enemies, then declared that he would enter politics and become a German leader once his eyes recovered.
• Valenfels hoped for a ceasefire and planned to return to Szczecin to inherit his father’s cobbler shop, while Adolf planned to go to Munich.
• President Wilson learned that Europe’s public opinion was shifting toward peace and feared that America’s investment in the war would be wasted.
• Wilson’s advisers urged him to investigate whether Britain and France had negotiated with the Central Powers, and Wilson blamed East Africa for secretly steering events.

Wilhelm II explained to the Ottoman Empire’s Foreign Minister why Germany had secretly negotiated peace with Britain and France, arguing that continued war threatened their economies and strengthened the Labor Party. On Christmas Eve 1919, public peace negotiations began in Paris as the armies halted operations, while European governments launched a campaign of arrests to redirect popular anger.

• The Ottoman Empire’s Foreign Minister questioned Wilhelm II about Germany’s secret understandings with Britain and France, and Wilhelm said East Africa had invited only the four major powers to negotiate.
• Wilhelm argued that the Ottoman Empire and the other European powers could not afford to continue the war, warning that the Labor Party posed a growing threat to their domestic stability.
• The Ottoman Empire’s Foreign Minister accepted Wilhelm’s explanation and agreed that the Labor Party’s influence near Russia was dangerous.
• On Christmas Eve 1919, Britain, France, Germany, and Austria opened public peace negotiations in Paris after settling the broad framework in secret conferences.
• The European armies ended military operations as people celebrated the war’s approaching end, and governments began arresting people labeled Labor Party members, traitors, or Jews.

In late 1919, Director Borner and Deputy Director Lishel discussed Cabinda City’s rapid growth and East Africa’s transformation from a colony into a world power. Borner reflected on his military family, his missed chance at university, and the changing value of education as East Africa controlled higher education enrollment.

• The chapter described Congo Province’s rainforest climate, East Africa’s land development, and Cabinda City’s rise to a population of 830,000.
• Borner admired Cabinda Port and recalled how East Africa had grown from a poor colony into a global power.
• Borner recounted his father’s military service, his own childhood in East Africa, and his failure to pass the national unified examination for university.
• Lishel praised Borner’s father and argued that Borner’s middle-school education had still been an impressive qualification for his era.
• The chapter explained that East Africa limited university enrollment to avoid producing graduates without suitable work.

East African officials discovered a fast-spreading plague aboard ships from Europe, and Ernst ordered nationwide precautions after experts confirmed the outbreak. The disease had already reached France, where Clemenceau prepared to take decisive action despite the political cost.

• Borner’s secretary reported suspected plague cases on six ships arriving from Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal, and Borner ordered inspections, isolation, and coordination with local agencies.
• Garrove confirmed to Ernst that a plague from Europe had reached East Africa, prompting Ernst to activate the 1917 emergency plan and impose strict port monitoring.
• East Africa warned European governments that the outbreak could cause devastation, while officials in Le Havre told residents to stay home as hundreds of cases appeared.
• Clemenceau learned that France and other European countries faced a severe influenza outbreak and decided he had to act to protect French citizens, even if it further damaged his reputation.

Clemenceau rejected calls to moderate his response to the epidemic and ordered France into a nationwide emergency, accepting responsibility for the consequences. As East Africa and France prepared for the outbreak in early 1920, other countries dismissed the danger despite the risk that modern international travel could spread it worldwide.

• Clemenceau argued that France had to protect its surviving population and said he could not accept further deaths from the epidemic.
• Clemenceau declared a state of emergency and ordered wartime control of supplies, isolation of affected areas, and coordinated sanitation and medical measures.
• Clemenceau ordered officials to clear battlefield corpses and ruins, regulate medicines, investigate stolen supplies, and enforce isolation and government distribution of necessities.
• When an official warned that the measures might exceed the government's control, Clemenceau insisted he would bear the consequences himself.
• At the beginning of 1920, East Africa prepared to confront the epidemic while France imposed nationwide martial law, drawing attention and skepticism from other countries.

Ernst named the outbreak the European Great Flu and directed East Africa to shape public messaging around its European origin. The story left the epidemic still underestimated, while Ernst anticipated that its later spread would lead European countries to accuse one another.

• East African epidemic experts told Ernst that the flu’s origin was impossible to trace, and he approved the name European Great Flu.
• Ernst ordered officials to publicize how East Africa had detected the outbreak and to prevent Europe and America from blaming East Africa.
• East African media spread the name and reported that the first detected cases had arrived aboard European ships, but most countries dismissed the threat.
• Months later, as the epidemic devastated Europe, countries accused one another of being the source, with France, Germany, and Britain naming rival suspects.
• Serbia accused Bulgaria despite evidence that the flu had spread first through Western Europe.

Prime Minister David delayed epidemic controls to avoid public backlash before the London World Naval Conference, while Wilhelm II agreed to adopt some French measures after Hermann linked border restrictions to both disease prevention and arrests. The conference opened in London, where Bruce and the East African delegation wore masks and were mocked by other attendees.

• Prime Minister David rejected major epidemic measures before the naval conference, citing a lack of reports of a widespread outbreak in Britain and the need to avoid unpopular restrictions.
• Wilhelm II prioritized suppressing the Labor Party and addressing Germany’s financial crisis, but Hermann persuaded him to consider epidemic controls that could also prevent people and assets from leaving the country.
• The London World Naval Conference convened on January 15, 1920, with Britain, France, Germany, Austria, East Africa, the United States, and Japan among the attendees.
• Bruce kept the East African delegation masked despite a reception staff member’s objections, explaining that their medical personnel had recommended it.
• Other delegations mocked the East Africans, but Bruce urged his colleagues to follow medical advice based on his past experience with epidemics.

At the London Naval Conference, Britain worked with East Africa to press the United States and Japan to accept limits on their fleets while negotiating a postwar naval order. The conference ended with Britain holding the largest capital-ship share, East Africa and the United States tied behind it, and all three receiving the highest aircraft-carrier allowances.

• Prime Minister David argued that Europe’s powers should limit their navies and called for Britain and France to receive Europe’s largest shares.
• General Bruce announced East Africa’s support for naval restrictions, leaving the United States and Japan under pressure to negotiate.
• Secretary of State Henry secured David’s assurance that the United States would receive the same naval share as East Africa.
• Kato Tomosaburo defended Japan’s need for a strong fleet, and David promised support for a reasonable Japanese Navy in East Asia.
• At the second round on January 22, 1920, the countries set capital-ship ratios of 6:3:3:2.5:2.5:1.25:1.25:1.25, with Britain first, East Africa and the United States tied second, and France and Japan tied third.
• East Africa, Britain, and the United States received equal top authorization for aircraft carriers, while a separate Paris conference focused on the European armies.

General Bruce noticed signs of a spreading influenza epidemic in London and rushed his party back to East Africa, where two travelers were isolated for abnormal temperatures. By February 1920, the European Great Flu had spread worldwide, killing large numbers of people and forcing governments to adopt stricter controls.

• General Bruce and Kovaye saw signs of an epidemic in outer London, and Kovaye said intelligence showed the quarantined patients had a mortality rate above four percent.
• Bruce ordered the East African convoy to the docks, where two people with abnormal temperatures were isolated and the ship's doctor placed the others under observation.
• A day after Bruce left, London's epidemic surged, and Bowers avoided his sick acquaintance Josen before warning Alice that the European Great Flu might be real.
• Bowers and Alice discussed avoiding crowds and stockpiling food, though Bowers still had to work at the factory and Alice had to buy supplies.
• By late January 1920, the epidemic had spread across Britain, Europe, and coastal cities in the United States, while East Africa contained its own cases through preparations and prevention.
• In February, deaths peaked in cities including London and New York, and France and other countries introduced stricter epidemic-control measures.

Ernst ordered Rhine City to tighten inspections and promote epidemic prevention while keeping society and production operating, then used the crisis to advance East Africa’s economic transformation. He left the government focused on upgrading light industry, especially textiles, to compete with foreign producers.

• Ernst reviewed the rising epidemic figures and ordered martial law in Rhine City, with strict monitoring and inspections for everyone entering the capital.
• Wolnitz asked whether Rhine City would be cut off, and Ernst rejected a complete closure, calling instead for broad prevention measures that preserved daily life and production.
• Ernst argued that epidemic safety and the economy should receive equal weight and proposed using the crisis to encourage domestic transformation and improve services and economic circulation.
• Ernst identified East African light industry, particularly textiles and food, as a weak point and said the Fifth Five-Year Plan should upgrade equipment, technology, management, and production efficiency.
• Ernst noted that East Africa had abundant textile raw materials but lagged in technology and promotion, and called for policies that encouraged innovation and eliminated outdated equipment.

As the European flu spread through Cabinda City, Rabe and his family tried to stay safe while the city’s businesses continued operating. After learning that a coworker had fallen ill, Rabe considered sending his children to stay with his brother in the countryside and passed the factory’s health screening on his way to work.

• Rabe and his wife discussed Cabinda’s outbreak, the strain on hospitals, and the precautions their family could take.
• Rabe and Vlad worried that factory work put them at risk after Hans was infected, and they agreed that rural areas were safer.
• Conrad suggested that Rabe send his three children to the countryside, and Rabe decided they could stay with his older brother.
• Rabe drove to the furniture factory, where Crus sprayed him with alcohol and recorded his normal temperature.

The influenza epidemic devastated Europe and North America, while East Africa contained its outbreak and supplied medical products to a growing global market. The chapter ended with East Africa’s pharmaceutical industry profiting from worldwide demand and emerging as the world’s leading producer.

• The London government closed public gathering places as deaths and hospital overcrowding soared, and Prime Minister David ordered strict precautions against what Britain called French influenza.
• British officials reported that the epidemic had spread across Europe and North America, while East Africa had largely contained it to coastal regions.
• President Wilson faced public anger over the war, the epidemic, and military conditions, then ordered states to follow federal instructions and promoted hygiene education.
• Governments worldwide adopted measures tested in France, including mask-wearing, disinfection, and isolation, driving a surge in global demand for East African supplies.
• East Africa’s medical and pharmaceutical industries expanded through wartime production, foreign technology, and government investment, establishing a leading global position.

In March 1920, Kitwe Mayor Debern warned that the city's dependence on copper mining and growing competition threatened its long-term economic position. He called for diversification into agriculture, energy, and manufacturing, and urged cooperation with stronger cities to obtain technology and talent.

• Mayor Debern convened city officials and local businesses to discuss Kitwe's economic bottlenecks.
• Debern and attendees identified Kitwe's narrow reliance on copper and competition from overseas producers and coastal East African processors as major problems.
• Debern argued that Kitwe lacked political, transport, resource, and research advantages that could secure its future growth.
• Debern proposed diversifying Kitwe's economy toward agriculture, energy, and manufacturing, including electric power, automobile components, and household appliances.
• Debern called for cooperation with Rhine City, Mbeya City, and New Frankfurt City to bring Kitwe new technology, talent, and ideas.

Mayor Debern traveled from Kitwe to Lubumbashi to propose cooperation among Copperbelt cities in response to growing competition from imported copper. Mayor Boke agreed to support integrating the region’s mining and related industries, with Lubumbashi positioned to lead the effort.

• Mayor Debern and Secretary Baya discussed Lubumbashi’s advantages over Kitwe, including its provincial resources, larger population, and role as the Central Railway hub.
• At the Lubumbashi City government, Debern told Mayor Boke that Kitwe wanted an economic cooperation agreement and broader coordination among Copperbelt cities.
• Debern explained that imported copper and competing production threatened the Copperbelt’s copper-dependent economy, while the Central Government was unlikely to restrict imports.
• Debern proposed coordinating mining quotas and prices, merging similar companies, and assigning cities complementary industries according to their strengths.
• Boke welcomed the plan, and Debern’s proposal put Lubumbashi in a position to lead the Copperbelt’s economic integration.

Kitwe Mayor Debern negotiated a Copperbelt-wide copper industry plan led by Lubumbashi, while preparing Kitwe to diversify beyond mining. After East Africa approved the plan, Lubumbashi began integrating the region’s copper industry and Kitwe shifted investment toward research, manufacturing, services, and environmental restoration.

• Debern and Lubumbashi Mayor Boke bargained over regional cooperation, with Debern securing guarantees for Kitwe’s interests.
• Debern told his secretary Baya that Kitwe should join Lubumbashi’s copper industry effort and seek a stake in its gains rather than compete directly.
• Lubumbashi and Kitwe reached a preliminary agreement and invited other Copperbelt towns to join the cooperative development plan.
• Ernst approved the plan and directed officials to pair regional cooperation with environmental protections, efficiency improvements, and industrial restructuring.
• In April 1920, the East African government approved the Copperbelt Economic Cooperation and Development Zone Plan, and regional enterprises began merging and adopting shared standards.
• Debern announced that Kitwe would focus on scientific research, manufacturing, services, and ecological restoration while Lubumbashi concentrated on integrating the copper industry.

Debern laid out a plan to reduce Kitwe City's dependence on copper mining by restoring its environment, diversifying industry, and improving city life and services. Less than three months later, Kitwe City began a comprehensive environmental campaign.

• Debern called for protecting the Kafue River's source, treating wastewater, restoring riverside vegetation, and preventing soil erosion.
• Debern argued that pollution and reliance on copper threatened Kitwe City's agriculture, services, and ability to attract residents and businesses.
• Debern proposed regulating mines and factories, restoring polluted land and waterways, improving urban amenities, and attracting consumer and research-oriented enterprises.
• Debern called for better transportation, education, and healthcare to make Kitwe City more livable and less dependent on mining.
• The Kitwe City government launched a comprehensive environmental campaign less than three months after Debern decided to change the city's development direction.

As the European flu and postwar depression crippled East Africa’s economy, Ernst and his ministers assessed the damage and the worsening outlook in America, Europe, and Russia. Ernst ordered stronger epidemic controls and economic restructuring, while warning that instability in Eastern Europe could soon emerge.

• East Africa’s Minister of Industry told Ernst that the flu and weak demand could halve steel output, reducing it to just over thirty million tons or less.
• Ernst and Met discussed how the epidemic and economic crisis had damaged East Africa and were likely harming the United States, Europe, and Russia even more.
• Ernst warned that the crisis had disrupted plans for intervention against Russia and could give the Russian Labor Party time to strengthen its position.
• Ernst ordered the government to contain the flu, restore economic growth, and advance the stalled Fifth Five-Year Plan.
• Ernst instructed officials to monitor Europe and America closely, especially Eastern Europe, where he expected problems to arise.

Crown Prince Rudolf discussed Vienna’s devastating flu outbreak and the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s ethnic and population problems with Chancellor Conrad. He proposed using Dalmatia’s high-birth-rate mixed-blood Germans to strengthen German influence in Venice, Croatia, and Bosnia, leaving the plan for Conrad to consider.

• Rudolf asked Conrad about Vienna’s epidemic, and Conrad reported that more than 170,000 people had died there.
• Rudolf and Conrad discussed the epidemic’s toll and the empire’s growing ethnic tensions, including Austria’s low German birth rate and the increased Slavic population.
• Rudolf ordered the empire to accelerate de-Slavization in newly acquired territories and encourage the growth of mixed-blood Germans.
• Rudolf argued that the empire should accept Dalmatia’s mixed-blood Germans as Germans, and Conrad raised concerns about their origins.
• After Conrad noted that Dalmatia had limited room for population growth, Rudolf proposed supporting Dalmatian Germans’ settlement in Venice, Croatia, and Bosnia.
• Rudolf described turning Dalmatia into a German population base to increase German-speaking numbers in Venice and secure the empire’s access to the Adriatic, and Conrad considered the plan.

Rudolf and Chancellor Conrad considered recruiting German descendants from the United States and East Africa to strengthen the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In Turin, Benito rallied supporters to his Italian Combat League as it expanded across the Italian Peninsula.

• Conrad proposed recruiting German descendants from the United States, and Rudolf warned that American political ideas could create instability.
• Conrad argued that the United States was the best available source of German immigrants, while Rudolf accepted that the Empire could attract discriminated German descendants.
• Conrad also suggested seeking immigrants from East Africa and reflected on the Empire’s missed opportunity to expand in Africa.
• In a Turin beer hall, Benito denounced Italy’s leaders and called for unification and national power.
• Benito recruited new followers, and his Italian Combat League grew across the Italian Peninsula as the Italian Labor Party faced attacks.

East African officials assessed the European flu and decided to begin the Fifth Five-Year Plan with agriculture while postponing industrial and service projects. The agricultural departments proposed land consolidation and water-saving agriculture to address uneven water supplies, leaving the government focused on improving agricultural resilience.

• Lorrant and Shefchi discussed Benito’s Italian Combat League and concluded that it was separate from the Italian Labor Party and not an immediate concern for East African intelligence.
• Health officials reported that the European flu had infected tens of millions in East Africa but that its lethality had declined, while countries with poor sanitation and medical care suffered heavily.
• Ernst directed the government to begin the Fifth Five-Year Plan with agricultural projects and decide later whether epidemic conditions permitted work in other sectors.
• Agricultural officials reported East Africa’s vast cultivated area, high mechanization, and leading grain output, then identified uneven water distribution as a key limit on production.
• The agricultural departments proposed promoting water-saving agriculture in drought-prone and climatically unstable regions to keep production reliable.

Ernst and Yalstede outlined East Africa’s plan to address southern water shortages by diverting water from the Drakensberg Mountains westward through the Orange River system. The project was set to become the Ministry of Water Conservancy’s flagship undertaking, though its construction would take up to twenty years.

• Ernst said water-saving agriculture should improve the efficient use of water and sustain agricultural, industrial, social, and residential needs.
• Yalstede identified Orange, Baden, and Hechingen Provinces as pilot regions and explained that the south’s main water problem came from uneven rainfall distribution.
• Yalstede proposed diverting rivers from the Lesotho and Swaziland mountains into the Orange River’s Vaal tributary, then using dams and canals to supply the surrounding plains.
• Yalstede said the project would help the southern provinces expand agriculture and livestock raising and become a major economic bloc.
• Yalstede named the East-to-West Water Diversion the Ministry of Water Conservancy’s signature project for the Fifth Five-Year Plan and estimated completion within twenty years.
• The chapter noted that abolishing slavery had raised labor costs, while mechanization, subsidies, contracting, and colonial production helped East Africa adapt.

As East Africa began its Fifth Five-Year Plan, the government outlined agricultural reforms focused on soil improvement, water management, and sustainable land use. Plains Province official Setlhu defended the province’s role as a mechanized grain-producing region and described plans to balance agriculture with urban industry and environmental protection.

• Yalstede proposed regional water transfers and water-saving measures to support agriculture and a southern city cluster.
• Minister Berkeley called for restoring unsuitable farmland, improving soil fertility, and managing land according to local conditions, while Ernst urged a shift toward refined economic development.
• East Africa began its Fifth Five-Year Plan in rural areas, retaining state control of land while relying on a mix of state farms and contracted private production.
• Setlhu told reporters that Plains Province’s state farms, black soil, coastal access, and mechanization made it a major commercial grain base despite its agricultural focus.
• Setlhu said Plains Province would promote industry in Xinxing and Inhambane while expanding water infrastructure and restoring the Limpopo River basin’s ecology.

In March 1921, European leaders met in Berlin to plan a response to the Russian Labor Party, whose government had consolidated power and alarmed neighboring states. They agreed against a direct invasion and instead chose to arm Poland and Ukraine and blockade Russia economically.

• German Prime Minister Hermann and Austro-Hungarian Prime Minister Conrad urged the assembled powers to destroy the Russian Labor Party, citing its reforms, European influence, and support for revolutionary groups.
• French President Clemenceau and British Prime Minister David backed action against Russia, while David accused East Africa of allowing the Labor Party to rise.
• Freer rejected David's accusation, defended East Africa's support for Russian resistance forces, and pointed to Britain's Suez Canal blockade as an obstacle to intervention.
• Clemenceau proposed arming Poland and Ukraine rather than sending troops directly into Russia, and David supported the plan.
• Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire agreed to support Poland and Ukraine, and the participants settled on weakening Russia through military aid to its neighbors and a harsh economic blockade.

Vladimir directed Russia to expand its influence in Eastern Europe and support revolutionary movements abroad as the country prepared to confront the Imperialist powers. In March 1921, East African envoy Major General Kabriel arrived in Tehran to secure Persia’s cooperation against Russia and establish East African influence there.

• Vladimir told senior Russian Labor Party officials to expand support in Ukraine and Poland and prepare to reclaim lost territory.
• Vladimir ordered the Party to encourage armed movements in other European countries and regions, including Persia, India, and the Ottoman Empire.
• Britain and East Africa coordinated support for countries opposing Russia and assigned East Africa responsibility for the Persian direction.
• Major General Kabriel warned King Ahmad and Persian officials to end internal conflicts and focus on resisting Russia.
• Kabriel offered Persia military, economic, and public-opinion assistance, while explaining that East Africa and Britain had divided their spheres of influence in Persia.

East Africa used Persia’s fear of Russia and the Qajar royal house’s insecurity to negotiate broad economic and military cooperation. Two months later, the countries signed the East Persia Friendly Mutual Assistance Treaty, formalizing East African influence in Persia as Britain’s regional power waned.

• General Kabriel urged King Ahmad to end cooperation with Russia and replace Russian-standard railways with routes built toward the Persian Gulf, financed by Persia with East African support and loans.
• Kabriel promised to develop Persia’s mineral resources and support the Qajar royal house, persuading Ahmad that cooperation with East Africa could protect the dynasty from Russia and domestic opposition.
• Ahmad agreed to East African troop deployments, port leases, and the creation of a military force loyal to the royal house.
• Kabriel proposed making the Rheinland Shield Persia’s principal currency, encouraging Persian investment in East Africa, establishing universities, and developing agriculture, mining, and industry.
• East Africa and Persia signed the East Persia Friendly Mutual Assistance Treaty two months later, while Britain did not intervene.