Chapter 101: Recruiting
Prince Konstantin, a prominent figure in southern Germany, quickly garnered the support of the southern principalities simply by communicating with the regional nobility.
For southern German aristocrats, overseas emigration was actually a good thing.
Southern Germany was primarily agricultural, and farmers were known for high birth rates.
Thanks to the region's fertile land, peasants lived relatively well and tended to have many children during good years—but in times of famine, things fell apart.
Southern Germany already had a high population density. The noble estates didn't lack people, so they naturally didn't care about the fate of displaced peasants.
After all, the land was in aristocratic hands. If you didn't work it, someone else would.
Unlike Prussia or Austria, southern Germany lacked industrial development, and therefore couldn't absorb the surplus population.
Unemployed farmers had no choice but to find their own path. Most ended up in America.
This wasn't because conditions in the U.S. were particularly good, but rather because German migrants had nowhere else to go.
European countries rejected immigrants due to religion and demographic pressures.
Britain, on the other hand, had once encouraged German migration to North America to help populate its colonies.
While a few German migrants in America made something of themselves, most didn't see much improvement in their lives.
In fact, the earlier they arrived, the worse their conditions tended to be.
Many German migrants essentially became "indentured slaves"—only marginally better off than actual slaves.
Still, due to historical inertia and America's gradually more welcoming stance (even slaves had been emancipated), the U.S. remained the first choice for most German migrants.
Recently, however, Prussia had stabilized and consolidated its control over northern Germany, greatly reducing northern emigration.
But the south, which hadn't yet been absorbed by Prussia, continued to see growing emigration—especially during poor harvests (1866–1869 was a peak period for southern German emigration, according to historical data).
Meanwhile, post–Civil War America had resumed western expansion and was hungry for immigrants.
Ernst now aimed to snatch those migrants from under America's nose.
And this time, the odds of success were in his favor.
Historically, Germans had no colonies of their own (Prussia and Austria tried but failed, usually relying on private merchants).
German emigrants had no choice but to settle in British territories.
Now, the East African colony was being developed by Germans themselves.
The Hohenzollern family—though formally integrated into Prussia—still retained its princely status and political standing.
The territory was vast and already partially developed, offering Germans a new choice.
But the real advantage was that Hohenzollern was one of the local power players in southern Germany.
Its ties to the regional aristocracy meant everyone was part of the same network.
And the people of southern Germany were still heavily influenced by their nobles.
Serfdom had only recently been abolished (e.g., Bavaria abolished it in 1808), and noble influence over the rural population remained strong.
So once Ernst secured the support of local nobles, he could redirect massive numbers of migrants who would otherwise have gone to America.
German migrants had historically shown little interest in politics—much like East Asian migrants—which made them easier for Ernst to manage.
Of course, not all would come. Some would still prefer to join family or friends in America.
But those were a minority—Ernst didn't mind losing a few.
...
Kingdom of Württemberg
A crowd gathered around the Hohenzollern Consortium's recruitment booth. It was little more than a wooden platform in the village square.
Most of the people asking questions were poorly dressed German peasants.
"Sir, we've never even heard of this East African colony. Can we really live and work there safely?" asked Oruc Reis, a farmer from Württemberg, speaking to Hohenzollern agent Eric Knight.
"Don't worry," Eric said. "East Africa is German land—our own overseas colony.
It's bigger than two Germanies put together. Over a million Germans already live there.
It's just that most were recruited from Austria-Hungary, so you haven't heard about it until now."
He greatly exaggerated, counting the entire East African population (including natives) as Germans to reassure the villagers.
"Uh… how much is a million? I can only count to ten," one peasant asked shyly.
"Could you give us an example?"
Eric Knight was momentarily embarrassed.
But determined to close the deal, he replied gently, "Your village is just a speck on the Württemberg map.
There are hundreds, thousands of villages like this in Württemberg.
All of them combined would still only match the population of East Africa."
"Wow! So East Africa has as many people as all of Württemberg—why do they still need us?" another farmer asked in confusion.
Apparently, everything he'd said earlier went over their heads.
Still, Eric didn't give up. These villagers' lack of education made them easier to persuade—he just had to work harder.
"Okay, let me show you."
He picked up a stick and cleared a patch of ground.
"This is Württemberg." He drew a small circle the size of a thumbnail.
"And this is East Africa." He drew a large circle about a meter wide.
"You see the difference? That's the gap between Württemberg and East Africa.
So even if East Africa has as many people as Württemberg, it still needs more people to develop all that land."
"What's East Africa like? Is it like Württemberg? Is the land fertile? What about the rain?" one villager asked.
"East Africa is similar. The climate isn't too hot or cold.
The land is flat, rainfall is decent, and there are plenty of rivers—great for farming.
There are a few downsides—too few people, and lots of wild animals.
But don't worry. The government sends soldiers to clear out the beasts before letting you work the land. It's completely safe," Eric said, mixing truth with half-lies.
In reality, German migrants in East Africa rarely settled in the wild.
To balance the influence of Chinese immigrants, Ernst scattered German migrants across existing towns and settlements.
At worst, they'd be placed in already-developed villages.
Forget about forming their own enclaves.
If Ernst wanted Chinese immigrants to assimilate, he couldn't allow ethnic clusters like future Chinatowns to form.
Living separately meant no integration.
As for why Eric chose to "lie" to these villagers, it was to ease their concerns.
If he painted East Africa as a paradise, they'd grow suspicious.
But if he admitted to a few minor flaws—like wild animals—they'd trust him more.
Plus, the idea that soldiers would handle the danger reassured them: no beast could survive against a rifle.
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