"What? France is willing to give Madagascar!"
Pedro III asked in disbelief.
"Yes, Your Majesty. This is how Jean Bell expressed the French government's secret negotiation conditions. They believe that the population of Madagascar is urgently needed by the Portuguese colony.
The French government said that if we joined the Entente, French Morocco, the French Pacific Islands, and Madagascar could be sold to our Portuguese Empire for 100 million francs."
Henderson, truthfully conveyed the words of the French secret envoy.
Tangning said with emotion: "France has really made a big move. I thought it would only betray Morocco, but now it also adds Madagascar with a population of more than 3 million."
That's more than 3 million people, and they are not black people.
These 3 million people believe in Christianity, primitive polytheism, or have no faith, and they do not have a deep history. It is very easy for them to wash away their culture. It is easier than for people in East Asia and Southeast Asia to wash away their culture.
The Malagasy people are not a whole, but are composed of many tribes.
Before the French colonization, a tribe from the plateau of Madagascar had just unified the archipelago, and its cultural and historical foundation was weak and its sense of identity was not strong.
It can be said that for Portugal, the Malagasy people are civilized to a certain extent, but they also have the right kind of people. They are the group of people that Portugal needs most and can be best assimilated.
They are basically the same type as the descendants of the Incas. As long as they sincerely assimilate, they will definitely be the best friends of the empire.
The Portuguese are not as arrogant as the United Kingdom and the United States. They are superior to others and discriminate against other races.
In the Portuguese Empire, everything could be united into one race except black and black.
Under Tangning Pedro's clear and planned propaganda and legal protection, as long as he speaks Portuguese, identifies with Portuguese culture, and is loyal to the Portuguese Emperor, he is unquestionably Portuguese.
In fact, the original Portuguese were a mixture of Romans, Celts, Suebi, Goths, and North Africans. They were a veritable mixed race.
Although the Portuguese are considered white, they are actually relatively close to the yellow race. Their skin is not too white, and their hair is mainly black. If they are confused, they can actually be the same race.
Under Pedro's policy, in addition to introducing Italians and Latins from the Iberian Peninsula to Europe, Portugal also received a large portion of its population as immigrants from East Asia, Southeast Asia, and now Christians from the Middle East.
If Madagascar can be swallowed up, Portugal will increase its effective population by more than 3 million. Moreover, these people are very adapted to the tropical climate and can move half of them to the African continent, increasing Portugal's effective population there.
"It seems that France has understood some of our national policies!" Pedro III said.
"However, it is not the time to end now and delay France any longer. Negotiations take time anyway, and France took a long time to get the British to join the Allied Powers.
We can give France some friendly information appropriately so that they can pursue us with more confidence and sincerity."
In Tangning Pedro's view, Madagascar's priority is now higher than that of French Morocco. There is a population that Portugal urgently needs there, and it will greatly increase the development progress of Portuguese Africa.
As for French Morocco, it is a piece of cake. France will give it to Portugal for free when the First World War starts. Moreover, Portugal is still exchanging blood and race in northern Morocco, and there are constant riots.
If we take over French Morocco now, it will simply cause trouble. This area is too big, and there is a guarantee that there will be a rebellion as soon as we take over.
Pedro III said: "Tell the French that we will cancel the Germans' preferential status at the end of the year and will not renew the contract.
At the same time, the Karume Iron Mine, Nimba Mountain Iron Mine, and Simandou Iron Mine that we discovered but have not yet developed in Guinea can now accept investment from the French, and this cooperation can be extended to all aspects of Guinea.
Make it clear to France that foreign investment in Guinea’s iron ore and other mineral deposits can reach 50%, and Portugal will exclude investment from other countries. The premise for all this needs to be exchanged for a colony, and the best colony is Madagascar.”
Portugal and France had great conflicts in the Guinea region in the past, and France's Guinea was completely taken over by Portugal.
After Brazil and Portugal formed the United Empire of Portugal, Brazil and Algarve, in order to please Portugal and to prevent Germany from provoking conflicts between the French and Portuguese colonies, Portugal was directed to Germany.
France quickly ceded more than half, about 3/5, of its Guinea colony to Portugal.
At that time, France was thinking that Guinea was just a rainforest area anyway, and it was snatched away from the declining Portugal. After snatching it, there was no time to develop it. Now that it is returned to the original owner, it is not a loss.
However, France never expected that this would be a huge loss.
During the next year's exploration of the newly acquired Guinea, Portugal announced that they had discovered three high-quality iron ore deposits with a total reserve of more than 5 billion tons.
Karume Iron Mine: The mine is located on the entire Karume Peninsula between the Port of Conakry and the interior. It is 30 kilometers long and 6 kilometers wide, with reserves of 2 to 3 billion tons and a grade of 40 to 56%.
Nimba Mountain Iron Ore: The mine is located in southeastern Guinea, more than 1,000 kilometers away from the Port of Conakry. The mining area includes a 40-kilometer-long steep mountain range running from southwest to northeast, located in the original three countries of Guinea, Li, and Guinea.
At the junction, the total reserves of the mining area are about 2 billion tons, the length of the ore body is 40 kilometers, and the ore types are hematite and goethite, with a grade of 60 to 69%.
Simandou Iron Ore: The mine is located in southeastern Guinea, 100 kilometers south of the Nimba Iron Ore, 330 kilometers away from the coast of Liberia, and 900 kilometers away from the Port of Conakry. The vein is 115 kilometers long, runs north-south, and has reserves of more than 1.5 billion.
tons, rich iron ore with a content of 65-68%.
When Portugal announced the news, the French went numb. France closed down a cabinet on the spot, and the people wailed. Germany laughed, and cursed France as a fool, unable to see the treasure.
France is in urgent need of coal and iron resources, especially iron ore resources. The major European countries actually have a lot of local coal mines, but the main shortage is iron ore.
France is in urgent need of iron ore. It would really regret losing a piece of Guinea, which is rich in iron ore.
France has actually been exploring mines, but the focus of French colonial operations is in North Africa, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, and it has not conducted large-scale exploration in other regions.
And North Africa and Southeast Asia did not disappoint France. Large amounts of coal and iron ore were discovered in Algeria and Vietnam.
It’s just that most of the coal and iron ore deposits are in Vietnam. Although these places are found close to the sea and can be easily developed, Vietnam is too far from France, and the combined cost of development and transportation is too expensive. It is far less close than Guinea.
France really didn't expect that Guinea, a piece of rainforest, had iron mines. They established a colonial settlement in Guinea, the Port of Conakry, which was built in 1895. It had a pitifully small population and not much ability to conduct a census.
In fact, most countries in the world have never paid much attention to exploring rainforest areas. Rainforests are so dangerous, and sending exploration teams in this era requires taking great risks.
Only Portugal is special. After all, they have experience in operating in the tropics, and this is how Brazilian iron ore came from. Several iron ore mines in Brazil are located in the rainforest, so they have rich exploration experience.
After discovering three iron mines, Portugal has not developed them and is not in a hurry to attract investment.
The reason for not being in a hurry is that Portugal has too many iron ore mines and there are many places waiting for it. There is no need to develop rainforests without infrastructure, and it is not like Brazil which has a good foundation.
Of these three iron mines, the one with the most development advantages is the Karume Iron Mine, because it is located on the entire Karume Peninsula between the Port of Conakry and the inland, with reserves of 2 to 3 billion tons and a grade of
At 40~56%.
However, although Calum is good, of course it is still not ranked high in Portugal. How can Grape Oil have so much energy to build an industrial base? How much manpower and financial resources will be needed? Construction in South America and Europe is the priority.
Portugal was not in a hurry, but France was very enthusiastic. It not only lobbied the Portuguese government for cooperative development, but also sent a group of people to the Port of Conakry to conduct an on-site inspection of the iron ore in the peninsula. The results found that it was true.
Portugal has always been indifferent to France's enthusiasm, but now it is time to respond.
"By the way, you can tell France that Portugal will not prevent the countries of the Iberian League from joining the Entente.
But whether we can convince them depends on France's ability."
Tangning finally added that this was already a considerable degree of goodwill, and I believe the French government will appreciate it.
Everyone knows that the Iberian League is Portugal's military ally. If they all end up participating in a war, Portugal will probably follow.
However, this persuasion will be very difficult, because except for Navarre, who is easy to persuade because of France's past, the other two are Portugal's hardcore and blood allies. Portugal can drag them to keep France from starting a war.
If you are trying to slander France, give them some sweetness. How can France be willing to bleed if you just slander France and not give them any benefits?
This chapter has been completed!