Chapter 467: Welcome to the Jungle
Germany had inherited a large portion of Africa following the central powers victory during the war, and what did they decide to do with it? Immediately announce an era of transition from colonial rule to local independent governance.
How was this possible, and when would it be achieved? Through much effort to leave a semi-functional state in their departure, basic education of how to maintain what was left behind, and a how to guide on ruling a semi-modern nation was a good start.
As for the second question, the answer to this was somewhere between five and twenty-five years.. The period was to be determined, as the Germans tried their best to help the locals, who had never crafted a functional and lasting civilization fill the gaps in their limited understanding of governance.
Creating a nation-state from nothing was hard work, and a lot of investment. And it was because of this that the Germans approached this not as some missionary conversion goal, nor some method of retaining control over former borders.
Instead, they educated local and powerful tribal figures, who already had the people’s ears, and got them together in a way where borders could be redrawn that were agreed upon different tribal identities, religions ,and their needs as communities.
In other words, Germany was orchestrating the formation of a very, very primitive government, one more in line with ancient Mesopotamia than modern industrial civilized nations.
After all, one simply could sustain what had already been built in the region, it was 5,000 years too advanced for the locals who had never domesticated livestock, dug irrigation, or sewn a field to manage without the thousands of years of collective knowledge and experience to do on their own.
So the Germans had to educate a generation in basic civilized concepts such as written language, arithmetic, and science. Hoping they would be the torchbearers for whatever came after they left.
And if the locals crashed and burned even after all that the Germans had done? Welp, their hands were washed clean of the failures of those who came after. No guilt would be had for the failures of others, who were given every opportunity to succeed and still managed to fuck it all up.
Nor would any animosity remain from the German perspective for past grievances with the locals. But the Germans would, of course maintain mercenary presence, to act as a stability for those who would pay for it, preferably the local governments they left behind.