Chapter 399: Still Have to Ask Daddy
Because of the series of wars the East African Kingdom launched in South Africa, from May to July the Cape Colony was overwhelmed. With delays in transportation and information, news took over ten days to reach Cape Town, so by the time Cape Town learned in July that Basutoland (Lesotho) was half-crippled and the Zulu Kingdom had been destroyed, the fighting along East Africa's southern defense line had already ended in June.
Cape Colony Parliament
"Gentlemen! This is news we've just received from north of the Orange River. According to the Natal Colony's report, a remnant of the Zulu Kingdom fled into the Natal Colony about half a month ago. They say their king died in battle, and their homeland is completely lost. Meanwhile, practically at the same time, the German forces attacked the Griqualand Republic, plus the Kingdom of Swaziland fell. Then the Transvaal Republic's main force was defeated. Right after that, the Germans also invaded Basutoland, taking the Basutoland capital of Maseru and forcing its people south. Now, before we continue, we'll hold the previously scheduled secret ballot regarding whether to establish a Responsible Cabinet in Cape Town, as was proposed last February," announced Speaker Ang Olsson of the Cape Colony Parliament.
After that, the members of Parliament began voting. Fifteen minutes later…
"One nay... two nays… The result of this vote: the proposal to form a Responsible Cabinet in Cape Town is unanimously rejected."
As Ang Olsson declared the results, there was applause in the chamber. The major step toward autonomy in Cape Town went completely down the drain due to the East African Kingdom's invasion of South Africa.
Ang Olsson said, "Now we'll have His Excellency the Governor speak about the situation with the East African Kingdom invading South Africa."
Henry Barkly, the Cape Colony governor, was quite pleased with this outcome. The Germans had helped him out a lot. But he still had to harshly criticize the East African Kingdom, so that the parliament members would grasp how serious the problem was.
Henry Barkly said, "Gentlemen, I imagine all of you have, through various channels, heard something about the East African Kingdom's invasion of South Africa. Some of you may personally have been victims of this war. The signs show that the East African Kingdom is an extremely aggressive state—just like Prussia, at heart they carry a belligerent spirit.
"Starting in March, the East African Kingdom suddenly attacked the Transvaal Republic. With the Transvaal utterly unprepared, it took less than a month for them to occupy the entire republic. Shortly afterward, for no reason at all, they invaded the Griqualand Republic, and at virtually the same time Swaziland fell, the Transvaal's main force was crushed, and then it was the Zulu Kingdom and Basutoland. In under four months, the East African Kingdom destroyed three sovereign states and also seized half the territory of Basutoland."
Henry Barkly's words made the parliament members sink into thought—this was far too quick!
One parliamentarian asked, "Governor, I'd like to know: where on earth did this East African Kingdom come from? Why have we never heard of them before?"
Henry Barkly responded, "That's an excellent question. Precisely because of our delayed intelligence, we failed to recognize the danger posed by the East African Kingdom, which allowed them to rampage through South Africa. Let me briefly introduce what we know about them:
"The East African Kingdom originated from the old East Africa Colony, established by Germans in the Tanganyika region sometime around 1865, though the exact date of landing is unclear. We don't know much about how they developed in East Africa either.
"But from the Portuguese, we learned that in 1867, the Zanzibar Sultanate lost a war and became a protectorate of East Africa. That made East Africa inherit the Sultanate's mainland territory; present-day Dar es Salaam and Mombasa were incorporated back then. Also, the Portuguese faced stiff competition from the Germans. According to Portugal, East Africa has stationed a few thousand soldiers at their border and wiped out various native states. The ones we know of are the Kingdom of Malawi, the Kazembe Kingdom, the Matabele Kingdom, and so on."
Another parliamentarian interrupted, "Governor, we just want to know how many troops the East African Kingdom has now in South Africa, how many more they can mobilize, whether they harbor designs on the Cape Colony, and what happens if they suddenly attack us here in Cape Town?"
That question stumped Henry Barkly. "Uh… well, how should I put it? Our estimate is that East Africa's forces in South Africa number somewhere between thirty and fifty thousand."
He hadn't even finished before the parliament members erupted:
"My God! Thirty to fifty thousand? That's enough to fight a low-level war in Europe."
"Cape Town's (city) population is smaller than that. The 1865 census says we only had 15,118 whites, 13,065 colored or Asian residents, plus 274 black natives. Even now, if we add in the suburbs, it's just around the same number as East Africa's army."
"Why have we never heard of these Germans in East Africa until they just quietly appeared here in South Africa? The government must explain!"
"We don't even know anything about the East African Kingdom—we have to learn from the Portuguese? That's too ridiculous."
"We can't comment when we don't have the full picture."
"Someone shoot that idiot in front!"
…
"Order, order! Let's hear the Governor out first," Ang Olsson said, trying to restore order.
Henry Barkly continued, "There's no need to panic. True, the Germans are formidable, but our British Empire is still number one. Under British protection, even if it were Germany and Austria-Hungary working together, they'd have to think twice. Let alone some small East African Kingdom. Still, that said, we must stay wary of East Africa's ambitions.
"Look at Griqualand—the place is already ours, part of Cape Town—but the East African Kingdom hasn't given any reply or shown readiness to return it. Perhaps that's because they see Griqualand as a minor state, not worth caring about. Yet it's only one river away from our Kimberley diamond mines.
"This is a huge threat for us, though fortunately the East Africans don't know about Kimberley's diamond fields. Otherwise, they'd probably cross the river and take the mines for themselves."
"Damn it, do we have no way to counter these Germans? Governor, where did all our tax money go each year? Why is our army doing nothing?"
Henry Barkly said, "Sir, please watch your tone. We must realize that the only competent armed force we have in Cape Town is the navy, and they can't come inland. Our ground force—I'm sure you know—barely qualifies as an army and is pitifully small. If all of you are willing to hand over your own mercenaries, perhaps we could match East Africa. Or if you hadn't blocked the military budget in the past, London might have sent more troops here."
Of course, no one wanted to adopt the Governor's proposal. Extra money? No chance. Everyone came to Cape Town to get rich. It was no paradise; they could farm or do some mining, but revenues were meager while expenses were high. How could they afford an army? Besides, paying the military budget would just let London skim off the top anyway. London decides how many soldiers to send based on its own whim. And the reason they keep pushing for autonomy in Cape Town is so they can pay fewer taxes. Now that the German threat looms, not making trouble is itself progress.
Arguing back and forth, no one found a better plan. So they concluded that the best course was to appeal to London. After all, the Cape Colony itself can't handle the East African Kingdom.
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