Chapter 306: The Handover of Mayotte Island
On the Indian Ocean, a fleet sailed along the eastern coast of Africa, heading south. A flag with the eagle emblem of the Germanic region fluttered in the sea breeze. This flag, the famous Prussian Black Eagle, had its origins tracing back to the Frankish Kingdom and even Ancient Rome.
The Black Eagle flag later became widely spread as Germany grew in power, eventually becoming one of the representative symbols of the German Empire. However, the Black Eagle was not exclusive to Prussia. For instance, the flag of the Hechingen Principality also featured the Black Eagle, and the fleet flying the Hechingen flag was the East African Navy under the leadership of Archduke Ferdinand.
The East African Navy usually flew the East African national flag during training and outings, but today was a special day. To avoid any misunderstandings with major world powers, the East African royal family had decided to raise the Hechingen flag.
On the deck, Archduke Ferdinand was conversing with a young man. This young man was Rear Admiral Brommel of the Prussian Navy, who had been commissioned by the Prussian government to assist the East African Navy in taking over the French colony of Mayotte.
Archduke Ferdinand: "Brommel, it is now certain that the unification of Germany is a done deal. I imagine the Prussian Navy will undergo significant development soon. How many warships are they planning to build?"
Brommel: "Your Highness, please don't tease me. The naval department in our kingdom has never been valued. Even after unification, we will likely remain under the army's control. Compared to us, I envy your East African Navy. Though the hardware is lacking, your navy's status is much higher than ours."
So far, the Federal Navy (the Prussian Navy) was still subordinated to the Federal Army (the Prussian Army) and had not yet become an independent branch. In contrast, the East African Navy had been an equal branch alongside the East African Army from its inception, despite the East African Navy's military strength being far weaker than the army's.
Archduke Ferdinand chuckled and said: "That's just in name. It doesn't make the King give us more funds or ships."
Brommel: "At least the East African Navy has a higher starting point than the Prussian Navy. Its future potential is promising."
The Prussian Navy began in 1815 after the victory of the anti-French coalition. Sweden ceded Western Pomerania to Prussia, which subsequently took over the Swedish Pomeranian Navy. This was a militia-based navy with six unusable 65-ton single-mast gunboats and two naval officers. Prussia selected a lieutenant named Dietrich Johann Lange from the two naval officers and made him the first naval officer of Prussia.
Archduke Ferdinand: "Haha, that's all in the past. No major nation can develop without a navy. Even a newcomer like Prussia cannot avoid the issue of naval power. At least you're much more promising than the Austro-Hungarian Empire."
Brommel shook his head: "That may not be true! The Austro-Hungarian Empire has reclaimed Venice, and their naval strength will certainly rise to the next level."
Archduke Ferdinand: "Venice is important, but the Austro-Hungarian Navy is still confined to the Adriatic Sea. Whether they can expand further into the Mediterranean is still uncertain. As for the unified Germany, there is still potential to make progress in the Atlantic."
Brommel nodded: "In that regard, Prussia does have an advantage, but it's only when compared to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Both countries' navies are limited by geography. In contrast, East Africa doesn't face these same geographic constraints."
Archduke Ferdinand shook his head: "East Africa has some advantage in its coastline compared to Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but our naval power is still constrained by the strength of our nation. This is far worse than your situation. Having the sea without the defense is the worst."
Brommel: "But no country would attack East Africa from across the Indian Ocean, right? There are no major naval powers around the Indian Ocean. So, your ability to defend yourselves is sufficient, and as the East African Navy develops, that will only improve."
Ferdinand: "Although there are no major powers nearby, there are still their colonies. Even Egypt's navy is much stronger than ours."
Despite these concerns, Archduke Ferdinand was still content as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. While Constantino and Ernst had made big promises, they weren't empty words. Just half a month ago, Ernst had promised that after the completion of the Bagamojo Shipyard, the Venice Shipyard would prioritize building two new steam warships for the navy. The reason wasn't a lack of trust in the Bagamojo Shipyard, but Venice had more advantages in this field.
Although the Bagamojo Shipyard was modeled after the Venice Shipyard, it couldn't replicate Venice's entire industrial chain. The Venice Shipyard struggled with local competition, and the Bagamojo Shipyard was no different. Many parts and key technologies had to be imported from Europe. So, it was more cost-effective to have the East African Navy's warships built in Venice, while Bagamojo would gain experience in constructing civilian ships.
...
"Commander-in-Chief! We've arrived at Mayotte Island. We are at our destination," the guard reported to Archduke Ferdinand.
"Enter the port!" Ferdinand commanded.
At this point, the French on Mayotte Island also saw the flag of the East African Navy.
"It's the Prussian Navy," they said.
The Black Eagle flag had served its purpose. The French, unfamiliar with the Hechingen Principality, mistakenly assumed that the fleet was the Prussian Navy here for the handover.
Before long, Archduke Ferdinand and Rear Admiral Brommel disembarked on Mayotte Island, where the French government had long been waiting for them.
Two months ago, they received orders from the Republican government. Mayotte Island had been ceded to Prussia after France's defeat. Although reluctant, there was no choice. Mayotte Island held little value for France, and when Prussia mentioned it, most of the Republican officials had never even heard of it. Once they realized it was just a small island near Madagascar, the French government swiftly handed it over to Prussia.
Mayotte Island was too remote. Especially after the Suez Canal opened, its value dropped to almost nothing. With Madagascar nearby, France didn't care about losing it.
"I am Altier, the official in charge of Mayotte Island," said the French representative.
"I am Rear Admiral Brommel of the Prussian Navy," Brommel replied.
Altier: "Rear Admiral Brommel, all the officials of Mayotte Island are present. In accordance with the instructions from the French central government, we are transferring Mayotte Island to your country. However, as per the agreement between our two countries, your country must guarantee the safety of our personnel and property and ensure we can carry out the transfer of personnel and assets without interference during the evacuation."
Brommel: "Of course!"
After a simple handover ceremony, Mayotte Island officially fell into the hands of the East African Navy. Ferdinand noticed that the French had left quickly and thoroughly. Apart from houses they couldn't destroy in time, they had taken everything they could, leaving nothing behind for East Africa. The French had even evacuated the local African population.
In the past, to develop Mayotte Island, the French had brought a large number of Africans from Réunion. These Africans had been an important labor force and asset for the French, and they didn't want to leave them behind for the Prussians. However, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise for East Africa, saving them much trouble.
The handover was officially done with Prussia, which was why Rear Admiral Brommel had come all the way here to formalize the process. According to the agreements between the Prussian and Hechingen royal families, the ownership of the island was then transferred to East Africa.
Brommel's role was simply to inform the French that the island had been taken by Prussia, and any subsequent actions regarding Mayotte Island were Prussia's responsibility. As for how the East African Kingdom handled it, that was a different matter entirely.
The East African Kingdom did not conduct the handover themselves to spare France's pride. After all, losing to Prussia was one thing, but having a "colony" taken by East Africa was a whole different matter. Mayotte Island was considered war booty, so it couldn't be directly handed over to East Africa without going through Prussia.
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