Chapter Summaries

Belton and Green read East Africa’s first public peace initiative, which urged the belligerents to end the World War and blamed Jewish influence for the conflict. The article left Belton shaken by the war’s scale, while the chapter explained East Africa’s political motives for casting Jews as a scapegoat.

• Green offered Belton a Rhine News Agency paper and explained that it was an official East African newspaper, not a German one.
• Belton suspected East Africa might join the Central Powers, but Green pointed to its call for the war to end.
• Belton read East Africa’s peace initiative, which described the conflict as a World War and cited its vast reach, casualties, and suffering.
• Belton and Green agreed that the figures made the war’s cost horrifying, while discussing the article’s claims about Jewish influence.
• The chapter explained that East Africa blamed Jews to give European governments a pretext for ending the war and preserving the old aristocratic order.

East Africa launched a European diplomatic and propaganda campaign to secure an armistice, arguing that the war threatened Germany and the continent with unrest. Wilhelm II remained undecided but agreed to consider peace if Britain and France could also be persuaded.

• East Africa began lobbying European governments for an armistice and blamed the war’s devastation on competing capital groups, especially Jewish capital.
• Ambassador Kobelin urged Wilhelm II to end the war, warning that German exhaustion and Labor Party activity could threaten the Empire.
• Kobelin proposed blaming the Jews and the Labor Party for Germany’s troubles to redirect public anger and ease the government’s postwar burden.
• Wilhelm II considered an armistice but told Kobelin that Britain and France had to be persuaded first.
• Germany’s leaders debated whether to accept an armistice as East African diplomats and the National Security Bureau spread anti-war propaganda across Europe.

East Africa's ambassador Lipovitz persuaded French leaders that the war threatened France's population and future, and Clemenceau and Marshal Pétain backed seeking peace negotiations. France agreed to pursue talks, leaving Lipovitz to secure German cooperation and encourage sincere terms.

• Lipovitz warned French officials that casualties and continued fighting could leave France unable to remain a great power.
• Clemenceau accepted that the war was destroying France's future, while Joffre questioned whether France would be surrendering to Germany.
• Marshal Pétain supported Clemenceau and argued that France should withdraw from the war before its national strength was ruined.
• France's leaders decided to seek peace negotiations, and Clemenceau asked Lipovitz to persuade Germany to show sincerity.
• Lipovitz agreed and invoked the threat of the Labor Parties as a reason for European nations to end the war.

East Africa intensified its European propaganda campaign to pressure Germany and Britain into peace, exploiting anti-war and anti-Semitic sentiment. The campaign stirred unrest across Britain and helped persuade European governments to begin preliminary negotiations.

• Friel told Ernst that France, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and smaller European nations supported ending the war, while Germany and Britain remained reluctant.
• Ernst ordered officials to direct public anger away from European governments and toward Jews and the Labor Party, while preventing a revolutionary red tide.
• Ernst instructed East African intelligence agencies to restrain their operations in Germany and increase pressure on Britain.
• Balerton rejected radio and leaflet campaigns in Edinburgh and used small newspapers to spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and anti-war rhetoric.
• Rumors spread through Edinburgh and other British cities, fueling anti-Semitism and renewed opposition to the war.
• European governments came under public pressure and became willing to begin preliminary peace negotiations.

East African officials reviewed the Empire’s 1918 energy production and outlined plans to diversify supplies, improve efficiency, and strengthen energy security. The chapter ended with ministries agreeing to expand mechanization, oil exploration, hydropower, and fuel pipelines.

• East African and Dutch mediators urged European representatives to negotiate calmly, but the belligerents continued arguing and repeatedly interrupted their first meeting.
• Minister Mette reported that East Africa produced over 230 million tons of coal in 1918, while its proven reserves reached 60 billion tons and imports and colonial production supplemented domestic supply.
• Mette described coal’s continuing role in industry and the government’s plans to advance coal chemicals and coal-to-oil research.
• Mette reported that East Africa produced over 300 million barrels of refined petroleum in 1918 and explained how petroleum supported transport, automobiles, and petrochemicals.
• Mette stated that hydropower supplied over 30 percent of East Africa’s electricity and reduced reliance on fossil fuels.
• Mette proposed mechanizing coal mines, searching for domestic and overseas oilfields, expanding water projects, and building large fuel pipeline networks.

In July 1919, officials from Bohemia Province visited Mbeya city to study how it had transformed its heavy-industrial economy while improving its environment. Mayor Ikuti and Mayor Valenc returned their attention to the risks facing resource-dependent cities such as Gweru and the need to build sustainable industries.

• Mayor Ikuti praised Mbeya city’s urban planning and environmental quality, while acknowledging that Harare city had much to learn despite its larger population.
• Mayor Valenc explained that Mbeya city benefited from its early development, established industries, and transportation position, and said Bohemia Province wanted to learn from its industrial transformation.
• Ikuti described the pollution and heavy-industry dependence affecting Harare city, while Valenc warned that Gweru relied too heavily on mining and metal smelting.
• Ikuti warned that towns unable to find sustainable industries could be eliminated during Bohemia Province’s restructuring and urged cities to avoid a cycle of closures and population loss.
• Valenc resolved to reorganize Gweru’s resources, preserve viable enterprises and public institutions, and seek policies that would support ordinary businesses and emerging industries.

Ernst warned East African officials that wartime industrial expansion and Europe’s postwar debts could lead to a global economic crisis after 1925. He called for restructuring industry, tightening financial and market oversight, and building protections for East Africa’s economy before the crisis arrived.

• Ernst told government officials that wartime demand had fueled industrial overcapacity and that Europe’s postwar recovery could trigger a severe global downturn.
• Hans Leighton warned that Europe’s debts created risks for East African trade, and Ernst urged officials to limit European debt exposure and seek hard currency, equipment, or technology in payment.
• Ernst called for a gradual shift toward economic conservatism, including tariff protections and policies to stabilize domestic industry and prepare for a crisis.
• Ernst used steel production to illustrate overcapacity and urged the government to close inefficient mills while supporting innovative enterprises and emerging industries.
• Ernst called for stronger financial supervision, market regulation, and action against private businesses that undermined market rules.

In October 1919, East African Foreign Minister Freer returned to The Hague to mediate a second peace conference between Britain, France, Germany, and Austria. He argued that the battlefield stalemate and rising unrest made continuing the war dangerous, leaving the great powers to confront the need for negotiations.

• Freer arrived in the Netherlands and discussed peace and closer cooperation with Dutch Prime Minister Keppel.
• Representatives of Britain, France, Germany, and Austria gathered for a secret conference, while the United States and Ottoman Empire remained excluded.
• Freer urged the delegates to calm their tempers and warned that the war would bring more slaughter and worsen domestic unrest.
• Freer described how the Central Powers and Entente Powers had offset each other's gains, leaving the war deadlocked and without a clear end.

Minister Friel’s peace proposal gained support, but the delegates argued over who bore responsibility for the war and what Serbia should lose. Britain negotiated to preserve Serbia while offering territorial concessions and reparations to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Bulgaria.

• Mautendorf supported Friel’s proposal to end the war, while Fromm accused the Austro-Hungarian Empire of triggering it by attacking Serbia.
• Mautendorf retorted that Britain had backed Serbia and challenged Fromm over Scotland, Ireland, and Wales; Keppel and Friel redirected the discussion.
• Friel blamed Serbia’s militarism and Greater Serbia ambitions for the war, while acknowledging that Russia had backed it.
• Fromm proposed recognizing Austro-Hungarian sovereignty over Bosnia and having Serbia pay reparations, cede territory, and surrender war criminals.
• Mautendorf demanded compensation for Bulgaria as well, and Fromm agreed that Bulgaria could reclaim lands lost in the previous Balkan Wars.

At the peace conference, Britain, France, Germany, and Austria-Hungary negotiated territorial settlements in Eastern Europe and agreed on naval disarmament. East Africa accepted limits on its navy provided the United States and Japan were also bound, and the conference moved toward a postwar order shaped by the great powers.

• Frier declared the Serbian issue resolved, and the powers began bargaining over the lands and interests of weaker nations.
• Fromm and Bettmann agreed that Germany would gain territory east of Warsaw while Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania became independent states.
• Fromm proposed an independent Ukraine and reparations for Austria-Hungary, while Moldova was divided among Austria-Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria.
• Germany and France agreed to keep troops out of the Lorraine and Alsace border regions after the armistice.
• Fromm called for naval reductions and proposed that no other country's fleet exceed Britain's Royal Navy.
• Frier accepted naval limits on condition that the United States and Japan also comply and that East Africa retain at least the world's third-largest navy.

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.