Chapter 106: The "East Africa–Mozambique Non-Aggression Treaty"
"Stop! Who goes there?" a militiaman raised his rifle, cautiously aiming at the approaching figures.
Tulio Penili stepped forward, handing his weapon to a comrade and raising both hands. In Portuguese, he called out to the Mitomoni village militia: "I am Tulio Penili, an officer of the Portuguese Mozambique colony. I wish to speak with your commander."
A flurry of Portuguese fell on deaf ears—Mitomoni's militiamen were even more confused and gripped their weapons tighter.
At that moment, the village chief, Gilles Qioni, arrived at the front of the village. Seeing the group before him, he addressed them in German: "Who are you?"
Seeing that Tulio Penili looked utterly confused, Qioni, a native of the Franco-Prussian borderlands, tried again in French.
One of Tulio's men, whose mother was French, finally understood and translated Qioni's question.
With a translator bridging the gap, communication was finally possible.
Once Qioni understood the group's intent, he didn't make things difficult.
For now, East Africa maintained a policy of non-aggression with the Portuguese and had restrained its expansion southward at the Ruvuma River.
Unlike the clearly defined coastlines, the western border between the colonies was more ambiguous—no natural features like mountains or rivers marked it. The eastern shore of Lake Malawi was a flat expanse.
Qioni agreed to receive the Portuguese, but only a few were allowed inside unarmed. The rest had to remain outside the village.
...
One month after Qioni saw Tulio Penili off, the Portuguese high command in Maputo—capital of Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique)—received his report.
The Portuguese were surprised by the speed of German East Africa's expansion. Mozambique had taken centuries to reach its current scale, while the Germans had only been present for a few years.
Even so, the Portuguese took no action. As long as the Germans didn't meddle in Mozambique, the Portuguese had no desire to strike first.
After all, a force capable of defeating the Zanzibar Sultanate was not to be underestimated on the western Indian Ocean. Moreover, East Africa had no resources Portugal urgently needed.
Still, they acted diplomatically. To avoid conflict, the Portuguese sent envoys to Dar es Salaam to negotiate with the East African colonial government—hoping to establish borders and clarify spheres of influence.
East Africa accepted. For now, its primary expansion targets were north and west. It had no interest in the south.
Ernst's colonization plans had evolved.
Initially, he aimed to take the Tanganyika region.
In phase two, it was all of Tanzania.
Now, he was targeting the territories that would become the East African Community in the future.
In his previous life, the EAC consisted of six members: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, and South Sudan.
The current campaign focused on Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda, along with northern Kenya.
As for South Sudan—it was then part of Sudan and under Ottoman influence, so it wasn't in the plan.
Ernst always advocated caution in colonization.
Don't provoke powerful locals until a strong foothold is secured.
Grow quietly, then expand once the population was strong enough.
This strategy applied to Arab and European colonial powers.
Against native tribes, however, East Africa was always aggressive.
It seemed simple, but in that era, restraint was rare.
With the Industrial Revolution in full swing, Europe and America plundered other continents with little regard.
If a valuable resource was spotted, they'd send a ship, plant a flag, and claim the land—self-proclaimed colonies.
Unless other powers recognized it, such claims were worthless. But if gold or rare minerals were found, the major powers would come sniffing around.
East Africa was officially recognized as a colony.
Though the Hohenzollern state had become part of Prussia, it still existed in name, which made everything easier.
Legally, the East African colony belonged to the Hohenzollern royal house—not Prussia directly.
But everyone assumed it was Prussia's colony anyway.
Since Hohenzollern had merged with Prussia, who could say it wasn't just a shell operation?
Prussia showed little interest in overseas affairs and didn't need to explain anything to other powers.
Thus, East Africa was effectively borrowing Prussia's name.
If the Portuguese in Mozambique figured this out, things might get ugly.
December 3, 1867
The colonies of East Africa and Mozambique signed the "East Africa–Mozambique Non-Aggression Treaty."
The treaty defined a border starting from the Ruvuma River's mouth and ending at Aedira village on the eastern shore of Lake Malawi—a stretch of over 700 kilometers.
North of this line was East Africa's sphere; south belonged to Mozambique.
Neither side would cross into the other's zone without permission.
Both agreed to respect one another's interests along the western Indian Ocean and to jointly maintain the region's traditional trade routes.
The treaty primarily addressed two points of contact:
— The land border
— Maritime trade corridors
However, its limitation was that it only covered the current areas of contact—from Lake Malawi to the Indian Ocean.
It didn't define control over the many other parts of East and southern Africa.
This left the door open for future conflicts along Lake Malawi's western shore.
For now, though, it was a solid agreement.
East Africa had no interest in expanding west of the lake yet, and Mozambique had no inland ambitions either.
Neither side would meet in the west. In the east, both needed stability to protect their respective interests.
As the year drew to a close, East Africa's immigration target was nearly met.
Its population was reaching new heights.
The war with the natives in the northwest was already over.
Once the plague passed, the colony would claim the entire region in one swift move.
Along with northern Kenya, the core of the future East African Community was already within the colony's grasp.
And the non-aggression treaty with Mozambique added a layer of security—ensuring East Africa didn't have to waste resources watching the Portuguese.
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