Chapter 471: Vulnerabilities
British aggression in South Africa was becoming increasingly blatant, but the same could be said for virtually every other notable power around East Africa. Portugal had accelerated its actions in both of its colonies—Mozambique ramped up attacks on several indigenous kingdoms within its territory, while Angola intensified its invasion of the Kingdom of Kongo in the north. The Belgians had already established a foothold along the coast and turned the Kingdom of Ankuzi (a native kingdom west of the Ubangi River) into a protectorate. Italy was making progress too, now seriously threatening the security of the Ethiopian Empire, forcing its internal factions to pause their infighting and unite against Italy. Even Egypt had launched a war against the Sultanate of Darfur, attempting to bring this Ottoman vassal under its own control. In other parts of Africa, the French, Spanish, and Dutch were also actively expanding their colonial efforts. And all these expanding powers encountered one obstacle they couldn't ignore—East Africa.
At a national defense meeting, Minister of Defense Yarman summarized the recent East African and regional security situation:
"February 1876: A Dutch colonial ship attempted to land in the eastern bay of Jesna in the New Württemberg Province, east of Namwadu. Local residents spotted them and expelled this group of Dutch intruders."
"August 1876: A six-man French expedition was found in West Azande Province. They claimed to be separated from their main party and had entered the province unintentionally."
"November 1876: An expedition from British Natal tried to cross the Tugela River secretly. We intercepted and expelled them. Similar British attempts were detected at the Orange River."
"1877, this year: We encountered British ships during our colonization of Southwest Africa."
"Also in May this year, the Cape Colony absorbed the Orange Free State. Our buffer zone with Cape Colony has completely disappeared."
"Additionally, signs of British military activity have been observed in Djibouti, possibly targeting the Emirate of Harar near British Somaliland."
"There have also been minor clashes between our settler groups and Portuguese colonial teams in Angola and Southwest Africa."
This was just what East Africa had discovered in the past two years—many more infiltrations likely went unnoticed. It was a harsh reality: East Africa's territory was too vast. The Congo Rainforest alone covered over 10 million square kilometers. Including Southwest Africa, it totaled more than 11 million. Many border regions were deserts, rainforests, rivers, or mountains—unsuitable for habitation. Vast, sparsely populated, and difficult to monitor, foreign incursions were hard to detect.
Even in the more developed East African coast, such issues occurred. For example, it took 13 days for East Africa to discover the Dutch incursion into Jesna Bay—a considerable delay. Jesna Bay, located about 50 km south of Soko Port, was relatively large for East African standards. Since East Africa had only selectively developed its ports, underdeveloped bays were often overlooked.
This gave the Dutch an opportunity. From the sea, Jesna Bay looked unclaimed and completely undeveloped. It remained in a natural state. Ironically, it was an East African ship—transporting rails south to New Hamburg—that first spotted the Dutch. But it wasn't reported because Hechingen Overseas Trade Company and the East African government operated separately. The crew assumed the Dutch might be fellow East Africans—perhaps working on a new port that hadn't been officially announced.
In fact, Soko Port was exactly that—planned as part of the southern railway, it had been unknown to many. Jesna Bay, being unofficial and uninhabited, drew no attention.
The Dutch were discovered by accident. Had they stayed on the coast, they might have remained unnoticed. But they were here to colonize. Once ashore, they ventured inland seeking slaves to build a settlement.
After advancing over 10 km, they finally saw signs of life—and not just any life. Thanks to East Africa's development, they stumbled into vast farmlands and German-style villages. Alarm bells went off.
The East African farmers, noticing their mismatched clothes and weapons, quickly realized they weren't locals. Namwadu's police, mostly ex-soldiers, responded immediately. Many villagers were also militia members. The illegal settlers—over a hundred Dutch—were swiftly surrounded.
Questioning revealed they weren't backed by the Dutch government but by a recently registered private colonial company. Lacking experience, they had no idea they were on East African territory.
At the defense meeting, Ernst said: "The Jesna Bay incident shows we've neglected coastal security—especially at undeveloped natural harbors. Luckily, this was just a private expedition. If it had been a foreign government exploiting this gap to launch an attack, the consequences would've been dire. We must inspect every bay along the East African coast. Those suitable for development must be documented and used. Even if not developed immediately, we must set up military outposts and assign troops. Coastal patrols must become routine. Telegraph lines must be extended to prevent such farces from repeating."
Technically, East Africa already had a coastal telegraph line—but it stopped at Dar es Salaam. To the north, it reached the Northern Province border. The south had some telegraph coverage but not along the coast. With few port cities along southern Tanganyika (only Mtwara and Soko Port), the southern network ran inland through Ronloda, the former capital of the Lower Coastal Region. Thus, it didn't cover the southern coastline.
Though East Africa lacked world-class deep-water ports (excluding its islands), it had numerous small natural harbors. These were mostly ignored, left in a "wild" state. Because East Africa maintained a semi-isolationist policy, large-scale coastal development was avoided. The coastline resembled that of the Far Eastern Empire.
Ernst's coastal defense strategy had never included these smaller harbors. It focused on major developed ports—understandable, since most of the coast was once deserted. But now it was clear that even minor bays like Jesna needed attention. Jesna Bay wasn't even that small—but with no population or economy, it had been neglected. Ernst never expected anyone to land there—and even if he had, East Africa lacked the capacity to monitor it back then.
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