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193 The end of the road

 During World War I, the British government ordered the South African Union to send troops to German South-West Africa. After the war, German South-West Africa became the mandate of the South African Union.

In 1922, the Union of South Africa passed a decree defining Walvis Bay, also known as Walvis Bay, as part of German South-West Africa.

This laid the foundation for the future ownership of Walvis Bay. In the 1970s, German South-West Africa no longer recognized the rule of the Union of South Africa, and the struggle for national independence became increasingly fierce. The Republic of South Africa at that time was unable to maintain the old

In accordance with the colonial order, it was stipulated that from September 1, 1977, Walvis Bay would no longer belong to South West Africa and would be reclassified to the Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa.

In 1978, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 432, affirming that Walvis Bay belongs to Namibia.

On March 21, 1990, Namibia officially declared independence and claimed sovereignty over Walvis Bay.

Namibia insists that it has never signed any treaty or agreement with any foreign colonizer on the issue of sovereignty over Walvis Bay, and that the British colonization was entirely based on force and had no legal effect.

From the perspective of international law, the Republic of South Africa's occupation of Walvis Bay has no basis in any international treaty, not even the unequal treaties common in the colonial era.

Therefore, South Africa’s occupation is illegal!

After Namibia becomes independent, the recovery of Walvis Bay will be the top diplomatic priority of the new Namibian government.

On February 28, 1994, the Republic of South Africa handed over Walvis Bay to Namibia.

With the lessons learned from the Republic of South Africa, Rock will definitely not make similar mistakes, so the Yao people have reached an agreement with the Terrala people early on. If the Yao people can help the Terrala people drive away the Belgians and establish an independent Congo Free State, then

The Congo Free State does not mind sharing power with the Yao people.

In other words, the Terrala people do not mind giving part of the Congo Free State, or most of the Congo Free State, to the Yao people.

If you think about it, you can understand that the Terrala people have never controlled the entire Congo Free State, so the Terrala people have no ambitions for the entire Congo Free State. The Terrala people only hope to get their own traditional sphere of influence, which is Lomami.

River Basin, as for other areas of the Congo Free State, to be honest, the people of Tetera may not even know how big the Congo Free State is now.

Therefore, if Lala attacks Congolese people other than the Tetera people, the Tetera people will not mind, and even the Tetera people will help. Africans have such a clear distinction between love and hate on this issue.
In the next few days, the "East Lake" circled around Lake Mweru and sank all the Belgian fishing boats. In Kilua, south of Lake Mweru, the "East Lake" sank the fishing boats at the same time.

It caused a fire and had a certain impact on Kilwadu.

In 1981, Kiluwa and Kiluwa Island were designated as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites. From about the 13th to the 16th century, Kiluwa merchants began to engage in gold, silver, pearls, perfume, Arabic porcelain, and Persian pottery.

The trade of goods and other items, many trades in the Indian Ocean have passed through the hands of these merchants.

Regrettably, the Kiluwa people have disappeared now, and only some scattered ruins on Kiluwa and Kiluwa Island can show that the Kiluwa people existed and how glorious they were.

After inspecting Kilua Island, Anton and Martin decided to place the shipyard on Kilua Island, which covers an area of ​​about 35 square kilometers.

The ownership of Kiluwa Island is now controversial. Kiluwa Island is less than six kilometers away from Kiluwa. Although Kiluwa was determined to be the territory of the Congo Free State after the Berlin Conference, this

Whether there were remote sensing satellites at that time, the division of the territory was not clear, so Anton and Martin simply occupied Kiluwa Island in advance, creating a fait accompli. This way, even if there were disputes in the future, Nyasaland would already have the upper hand.<

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Rock learned about the situation in Lake Mweru the day after the "East Lake" started cleaning Lake Mweru, and then Rock waited for Leopold II's protest.

As a result, even until mid-June, Rock didn't wait.

Leopold II now had a headache and couldn't care less about Lake Mweru. International condemnation of Leopold II's atrocities was intensifying, and there were repeated domestic objections to Leopold II's monopoly on the Congo Free State.

, the Belgian government’s attitude on this issue is ambiguous. Not only did it not defend Leopold II, but it supported the establishment of a joint investigation team to investigate the actual situation in the Congo Free State.

Faced with internal and external troubles, Leopold II had to form a multi-national investigation team to go to the Congo Free State. The investigation team is still conducting investigations in the Congo Free State, and it is estimated that it will take some time to draw conclusions.

If Leopold II operates properly during this period of time, as long as he gets rid of the joint investigation team, he might still be able to escape.

Unfortunately, in mid-May, a number of articles appeared in British and French newspapers again. This time there were not only words, but also photos. In the photos, Congolese people who had their hands cut off were forced to work. There was one picture.

In the photo, a child who is obviously not yet an adult even smiles and raises his severed hand to say hello to the camera.

God knows how many people this photo touched the softest part of their hearts. In just a few days, the condemnation of Leopold II became overwhelming. This time it was not just newspapers, churches, governments, civil society groups, and the public.

Organizations, countless people came forward to demand an end to Leopold II's brutal rule in the Congo Free State. A demonstration against Leopold II even broke out in Brussels, the capital of Belgium.

Faced with the turbulent public opinion, Leopold II finally felt scared. If he did not give an explanation to the people, let alone the Congo Free State, he might not be able to keep the throne.

So now Leopold II really doesn't care about the Congo Free State, and how to keep his throne is the most serious thing.

Leopold II was not in a hurry, and Roque was certainly not in a hurry. He just sank a few fishing boats. This kind of thing happens every day around the world. Anton and Martin were quite restrained and did not harm Belgium.

People, even if Leopold II pursued it, it would be a matter of paying some money, but the objective consequences would be very serious.

Without the boats, the colonists and the Congolese could not fish, and then their obsession with Lake Mweru would slowly begin to fade. When the colonists realized that Lake Mweru could not provide them with benefits, the colonists would

Leave, and then Nyasaland can naturally occupy the entire Lake Mweru.

As for the Berlin Conference, who cares? The "Two C Plan" was launched after the Berlin Conference. Germany's "Teutonic Africa Plan" was also launched after the Berlin Conference. France's "Two S Plan" was also launched after the Berlin Conference.

It was introduced later.

All the big countries are ambitious and completely ignore the "General Resolution" signed at the Berlin Conference. Countries such as Portugal and Belgium are clinging to the "General Resolution" because they know very well that once the big powers tear up the "General Resolution"

, then their overseas colonies will be wiped out.

Therefore, when Rock was so tormented by the Congo Free State, Britain, France and Germany did not express clear objections.

Nyasaland is now a British territory. The expansion of Nyasaland is equivalent to the expansion of the United Kingdom, so the United Kingdom has no reason to object.

The Germans have no objection. The chief of the Terrala people is still in Tanganyika. Germany has no clear position to support the Terrala people in resisting the Belgians. It has no position to express an opinion on this matter.
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France will not object even more. The core article in the "General Resolution" of the Berlin Conference is Article 36. The content of this article is: after 1884, when the great powers occupy land or establish a protectorate on the African coast, they must notify other countries in the country.

Countries that signed the agreement so that these countries can put forward their own demands when necessary.

This clause fully shows that once Belgium loses control of the Congo Free State, France will also be able to get a share of the pie without firing a shot.

The relationship between European countries is like this: the weak and the strong.

At the end of May, the Belgian Parliament passed a bill for the state to take over the Congo Free State.

Before the bill was passed, Leopold II leased all the land in the Congo Free State to five private companies in which he owned shares. The Belgian government was surprised to find that although the Congo Free State ended Leopold II's

rule, but the Belgian government only got an empty shell. Apart from raising the Belgian flag in the Congo Free State, the Belgian government can do nothing.

It cannot be said that, at least the tax power now belongs to the Belgian government. In the past, it was Leopold II who had the final say on how much tax private companies in the Congo Free State paid. Now the Belgian government is finally qualified to issue its own statement on this matter.

Sound.

Unfortunately, with tax power, it is not the Belgian government that has the final say on how much tax can be collected. Even if the Belgian government has the power to determine the tax rate, the Belgian government does not have the power to determine the profits of private enterprises, so how much tax should be paid mainly depends on

Rely on the consciousness of private enterprises.

If private enterprises can take the initiative to pay taxes consciously, sows can climb trees.

Roque ignored the intrigue between Leopold II and the Belgian government. After Leopold II leased the entire Congo Free State to five private companies, Roque was surprised to find that within the Congo Free State, and

The lands bordering Nyasaland territory all belong to the Antwerp Company.

Very well, Rock still remembers that it was the employees of the Antwerp Company who randomly shot fishermen in Nyasaland, which led to the conflict between Nyasaland and the Congo Free State.

After the conflict, the shareholders of the Antwerp Company were furious and changed the management of the Antwerp Company from top to bottom. This was certainly not enough to quell Roque's anger. In the past, the Antwerp Company hid behind Leopold II, and Roque wanted to

I still have some scruples about revenge.

No need to do that now, the new and old accounts will be settled together.


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