WI Leopold II buys Portugal's west african colonies ?

[Hecatee]

A question I asked myself as I played a game as Belgium in Victoria was what would the world have been had Belgium somehow bought Angola from Portugal in the 1880's or 1890's ? At that date Portugal lacked money and they were under heavy british pressure, especially in the 1890's when the British forbade them to join the territories of western and eastern Africa ( Angola and Mozambique ).

So first could Belgium buy it someway ( building railroads in Portugal for payment ? Paying cash money ? Money that'd come from the King's own treasury or the state's treasury as a way to counterbalance the King's efforts ? ... ) ?

Second what would the changes be for WW1 ?

Third what would the changes be for WW2 ?

Fourth what would the changes be for the post-war and decolonization period ? What would it mean for Africa ? Would Angola go red ? Would the war with South Africa happen ? Would the area still be a powder cask today ?

 

[Tocomocho]

The hard thing is that while Leopold wanted a colony, Portugal wanted a colonial empire (they were the nation who opposed more Lepold's project) and when Portugal was considering to sell her colonies, Leopold had already one. The challenge would be to do something to stop Leopold taking the Congo.

 

[Othniel]

The hard thing is that while Leopold wanted a colony, Portugal wanted a colonial empire (they were the nation who opposed more Lepold's project) and when Portugal was considering to sell her colonies, Leopold had already one. The challenge would be to do something to stop Leopold taking the Congo.

The reason they were so opposesd to Leopold taking the Congo was that it emcompassed some of their claims. Angola was suppose to go farther North but they exbitied no control over the area so the legitmatisy of their claims were overlooked.

 

[Hecatee]

Indeed they wanted an empire but lacked what was needed to really get one. The idea here would be to give Leopold both Congo and Angola, so we'd need to find a way other than war ( for Belgium would not have accepted one for Leopold's sake and neither would the UK ) so we need to find a way to weaken the Portuguese and make them want the Belgian money before Leopold gets almost pennyless.

 

[TotrueTufaar]

While a civil war might have been a good debt maker, colonies were good for propaganda, if nothing else. The Flemish and Walloons could united in interest over the Congo Free State. Though the Portuguese wouldn't need to worry about conflicting ethnicities in their homeland... Before the First World War, Germany and Britain were discussing partitioning Portugal's colonies. They might be considered an acceptable holder of Angola, considering it's financial and military vulnerabilities to most concerned parties.

 

[Wendell]

Assuming that Leopold was able to acquire Angola, would he be pressured to give up parts of his Congolese claims?

 

[TotrueTufaar]

If Britain got a the Western Congo, or at least land for a permanent railroad, they might be able to get the British help in that. And If Germany got the strip of Land that connected French Central Africa and French Congo, the might be able to take the Northern Congo as payment. But I spill believe partitioning is the best bet.

 

[sunsurf]

Why is there that little strip of land separating Cabinda from Angola? Thanks.

 

[TotrueTufaar]

The Portuguese used to control nearly the entirety of the non Arab African Coast. The Belgians then got the mouth of the Congo.

 

[Fenwick]

Also it's not really Belguim getting a colony it is Leopold. He wanted an Empire, and much of Belguims monuments and landmarks where built thanks to the money he made. So for this to happen you need two things...

1.) Protugal needs to have a serious economic problem to want to sell off its colonies. Flooding, fire, heck disease could do the trick.

2.) Leopold needs a spin for this.The Association Internationale Africaine would easily be able to take over the region, and give out similar treatment that the Congo recieved. So if done udner the guise of creating a African nation Belgium may slip past larger nations colonial interests.

 

[TotrueTufaar]

Also it's not really Belguim getting a colony it is Leopold. He wanted an Empire, and much of Belguims monuments and landmarks where built thanks to the money he made. So for this to happen you need two things...

1.) Protugal needs to have a serious economic problem to want to sell off its colonies. Flooding, fire, heck disease could do the trick.

2.) Leopold needs a spin for this.The Association Internationale Africaine would easily be able to take over the region, and give out similar treatment that the Congo recieved. So if done udner the guise of creating a African nation Belgium may slip past larger nations colonial interests.

Accept the other countries didn't want the Africans creating their own countries. Everyone would want to do so. Besides, Leopold II's current empire used to be the Congo Free State.

 

[Fenwick]

Accept the other countries didn't want the Africans creating their own countries. Everyone would want to do so. Besides, Leopold II's current empire used to be the Congo Free State.

Which is why one would need the right spin to take over European colonial holdings. Plus the Congo Free State said it had the goal for African statehood, but in public practice it was simply europeans holding Africans under the lofty goal of civilizing them. So Leopold would just need to expand upon this idea, and the major powers would let everything be. Belgium wasn't that pwerful, and under the colors of humanitarian work it would be bad PR to say no to such a thing.

 

[Hecatee]

Also, even if Leopold II was no Leopold I he was especially well connected in the places that mattered with rather good relations with every important royalty of the time