Chapter 242： Why Mayotte?

Chapter 242 Why Mayotte?

Mayotte is located in the Mozambique Strait, and together with Grand Comore Island, Anjouan Island and Moheli Island, it forms the Comoros Islands. The area is 374 square kilometers. The economy is mainly based on agriculture. It mainly produces spices such as vanilla.

In 1870, there were 6 key areas in the French colony. The first is North Africa (French Algeria).

The second is West Africa (French Seychelles-Gambia, Guinea, etc. Ivory Coast-Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, etc. Gabon, Equatorial Guinea-later developed into the French Congo). In terms of quantity and quality, it can be regarded as France's most Economically valuable colonies. At the same time, the latter two are located in the Gulf of Guinea, and the French mainland navy can easily support these areas.

The third is Madagascar, which together with the French Comoros (Mayotte) and French Reunion constitutes its strategic fulcrum in the Indian Ocean.

The fourth is Southeast Asia (Cambodia, southern Vietnam), and the Far East.

The fifth is French Guiana, South America.

Finally, add the Djibouti area that controls the Suez Canal. After all, the importance of the Mandeb Strait is self-evident. Without the Mandeb Strait, the Suez Canal is a dead end. Both Britain and France have deployed troops near this area.

These areas constitute the main body of the French colonies, plus the mainland of France, which can radiate the whole world, so none of the above-mentioned areas can be moved.

Furthermore, Africa accounts for 4 of these 6 regions, which is enough to show that France attaches great importance to Africa. After all, according to the European version of the world map, Africa is the real geographic center of the world, and the junction of latitude and longitude 0 degrees is in the Gulf of Guinea.

So Ernst can only think of a way from the islands controlled by France, and those that are too far away will definitely not work, and Mayotte is the closest to East Africa, and at the same time is located in the center of the Mozambique Strait, its strategic position is very important for East Africa.

At the same time, the island's agricultural conditions are good, and it is no problem to feed tens of thousands of people. In addition to the entire Comoros Islands, there are hundreds of thousands of people. No Man's Land (actually there are two indigenous kingdoms, among which the Swahili language of the Greater Comore Island is the same as that of the East African indigenous people), but Mayotte Island, which is occupied by France alone, is very conspicuous, so Ernst is very concerned about the island. more attention.

The inhabitants of Mayotte are the Malagasy people. The southern part of Madagascar is a tribe composed of Malagasy people, and the northern part is the French colony of Madagascar and the Kingdom of Imerina.

It is definitely impossible to say that Ernst is not interested in Madagascar, but the French colony of Madagascar can't beat it, and the four ships of the East African Navy can't stand the toss.

The Kingdom of Imerina is obviously not the current East African dish. Not to mention the large size, it is not the uninformed, unarmed and disunified tribal group of East African indigenous people. Ernst’s criteria for judging indigenous civilizations are very simple. Primitive , slave, semi-feudal, half-slave, feudal.

The expansion of East Africa in Africa has also verified this statement. The best place to fight is primitive tribes, followed by slave kingdoms, then semi-feudal kingdoms, and finally feudal kingdoms.

The higher the level, the higher the degree of centralization and the stronger the organizational ability. So far, the most difficult countries to fight in East Africa are the group of semi-feudal and semi-slavery kingdoms in the Great Lakes region and the Sultanate of Gradi. As for the Sultanate of Zanzibar It was a complete accident. After all, Felix, who did not speak martial arts, controlled its top management. If East Africa chose to wipe out the top management of the Sultanate of Zanzibar at that time, I am afraid that there will be subsequent fights with the Sultanate of Zanzibar. The main body is in the Zanzibar Island, and East Africa didn't even have its own ships at that time, so it was impossible to attack across the sea.

The Kingdom of Imerina is a very difficult nut to crack. Among African natives, it is at the same level as the Abyssinian Empire.

It can only be said that Malagasy, like Abyssinians, are not pure African natives. One is deeply influenced by Middle Eastern civilization, and the other is mostly brown people from the Far East. The two countries are just at the intersection of civilizations, so they are more civilized.

Britain signed a treaty with the Kingdom of Madagascar as early as 1817, recognizing Radama I as the king of Madagascar, and promised to provide weapons and advisors and prohibit the slave trade. The London Mission was allowed to join the missionary work in Madagascar.

Its ruler, Radama I, was also a generation of heroes, who abolished the slave trade and carried out modernization reforms. His successors, Ranavalona II and Ranavalona III, clashed with and were eventually overthrown by France. After the failure of the Anti-French War in 1896, Immerina was destroyed and became a French colony.

Even so, the kingdom of Emerina will continue to revolt, so it is impossible to take Madagascar without a sufficient population.

Judging from the time of its fall, it is clear that the Kingdom of Imerina is not a good country. Belgium is a small country, and it has only been a few years since the entire Congo was annexed, but the Kingdom of Imerina has fought against France for nearly a century.

So Ernst is more interested in the tribes in southern Madagascar than in the Kingdom of Imrina.

Now the center of gravity of East Africa is on the mainland, so it is impossible to go to Madagascar for expansion, but if it doesn’t work now, it doesn’t mean it won’t work in the future, and the south of Madagascar is far from East Africa, and the Comoros Islands in the middle can just be used as a transit point.

The biggest problem in obtaining the Comoros Islands is the island of Mayotte controlled by France. Mayotte is very important, but it is the same for France, because there are already Madagascar colonies and Reunion colonies. The Madagascar colony must be a key area of ​​concern to the French, which is related to its global strategy (threats to the Cape of Good Hope and the Indian Ocean route).

The only colony that can be obtained through the Franco-Prussian War is Mayotte. The other French colonies are powerful, far away, and have strong autonomy. They may not obediently listen to the central government. To be precise They have a cooperative relationship with the French central government.

So don’t think about those colonies with large areas and large populations. Even if France agrees, East Africa will have to fight a second war.

Mayotte has no such concerns. It is sparsely populated, small in size, and of low value.

As for the issue of competition, it is not the turn of East Africa. The British in this area are the French's confidantes. For example, the Seychelles Islands were snatched from the French by the British. At the same time, the British navy is stronger than the French. It is also an important reason.

(end of this chapter)