Chapter 506: A Thief's Heart Never Dies
After the East Africa–Portugal War, East Africa seemed to have returned to a path of stability. But letting East Africa off the hook so easily was clearly not in line with Britain's usual cunning. The British Prime Minister, Benjamin, felt that Britain had been outmaneuvered by East Africa—and for someone as proud as he was, that was unacceptable.
"East Africa's momentum has become unstoppable. It's clear now that we can't defeat them by force, nor even weaken them. In fact, this war has only made them stronger," Benjamin said gloomily.
Since the war, East Africa's prestige had soared. Many countries were now actively seeking contact with it—a fact not lost on the British. It felt like a case of trying to steal a chicken and losing the rice.
"Prime Minister, it's true—we intervened in Africa too late. If the previous administration had moved to block East Africa before it annexed the Transvaal Republic, the African situation might not have become such a mess."
"Hmph, who could've imagined that one day the British Empire would be so focused on Africa? We should have taken action as soon as quinine was invented."
"It's just historical inertia. Before quinine, only the Portuguese dared to colonize Africa. Malaria held us back for centuries. By the time the path was clear, people had stopped paying attention. That gave the Germans a chance to swoop in."
Quinine was invented in 1826. Britain didn't need to act immediately, but had it begun large-scale African expansion by the mid-19th century, Ernst would've never had a foothold.
Of course, at the height of its power, Britain never imagined it would need Africa. Similarly, the Portuguese colonial empire never expected to one day be reduced to this state.
But Ernst would say it all came down to greed. Britain had more colonies than it could manage, yet still set its sights on Africa. If they wanted suffering, they could've kept it for themselves.
Benjamin said, "Now then—what can we do about East Africa? Military options are off the table for now. But can we use other means to limit their development?"
"Prime Minister, if we exclude military force, that leaves political and economic tools. Politically, we can isolate East Africa—sever its ties with other nations, or at least enlist its neighbors to contain it. Economically, we can impose sanctions, cut off trade and communication. But these methods won't solve the root issue. East Africa's territory is vast—its domestic economy alone could keep it afloat."
Benjamin nodded. "Yes, that's exactly my thinking. We can't take East Africa down now—they're not like our colonies in India. The best we can do is stall their development until we're ready to strike."
His strategy was to weaken East Africa through containment first, then return to military options later. While East Africa had performed admirably against Portugal, Benjamin wasn't about to give up.
With India as a staging ground, Britain could continue building up its military in Cape Town. East Africa had Germans; Britain could bring in troops from home. Historically, during the Boer War, Britain fielded 400,000 soldiers. They could do the same here—so military superiority wasn't the issue, only the cost.
Benjamin said, "That's settled. Reach out to East Africa's neighbors and form an anti-East Africa alliance. We'll also impose economic sanctions to cut off its trade."
With that, Britain's foreign office began investigating and contacting nations bordering East Africa.
But there were only a few relevant powers in the region. Portugal was already tightly bound to Britain. So Britain decided to increase its support.
Portugal, for its part, had already come knocking. After all, the war had been sparked by British encouragement—and had ended with Portugal losing land and prestige. Lisbon now blamed Britain for its humiliation.
"Ambassador Williams, you can't just walk away from this. Portugal paid a heavy price! We stepped in on your behalf, and you failed to uphold your end. We've lost face internationally," said Duke Verus.
"Duke Verus, you're being unfair. Before the war, we promised to preserve your colonies in Africa—but we never promised to keep them whole. Besides, had we not called off the war when we did, you might've lost everything."
"You're splitting hairs! You misled us—used tricky wording, and now you're denying everything. Are your diplomats all this deceitful?"
"Ahem. Please mind your tone, Duke Verus. Our diplomats are professionals. If your government misunderstood, perhaps your diplomats need better training."
Seeing Verus grow more agitated, the flustered Williams tried to calm him: "Yes, the war caused you trouble. But thanks to our intervention, you still hold your core colonies. The land you lost—southern Angola and northern Mozambique—was barely developed and sparsely populated. Besides, East Africa was always going to threaten your colonies. All we did was expose their true intentions early."
"Trouble?" Verus nearly snapped. His government had fallen over this. The war's impact on Portugal had been catastrophic.
"Ambassador, regardless of what you say, Portugal suffered—and your government is partly responsible. You must take action."
"Of course, Duke Verus. The British Empire is a responsible power. We won't abandon Portugal. I'm here under Prime Minister Benjamin's orders to discuss how we can counter East Africa."
At the mention of "countering East Africa," Verus's alarm bells rang. "You want us to fight East Africa again?"
"That's not what we mean. Not in the short term…"
Verus interrupted, "Then we're not facing them alone again, are we?"
"Certainly not. We're allies. Last time, our intelligence underestimated East Africa's strength—that's why things went wrong. This time, we're committed. We'll not only fight alongside you, but we'll also supply you with the best weapons available."
Britain was determined to pull Portugal back onto its war wagon. They now believed Portugal's defeat stemmed from inadequate British military support. This time, they would send modern weaponry: artillery, machine guns, and more.
In British eyes, the last war had merely been a probe. Their military observers believed they now understood East Africa's true strength. With proper preparation, they were confident they could win.
Mozambique's troops, they believed, had performed decently. If not for the crisis in Angola, the colony could have held out several more months.
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