Best Plan for Imperial Germany?

Were the African colonies really magnets for European settlement though? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always been under the impression that the equatorial/tropical colonies never really attracted many settlers (Something about unpleasant humidity and proliferation of illness, I gather). Even if there's no active colonization via government policy or preferential treatment, I imagine Germans looking for a better life would be more likely to move into Poland of their own initiative than attempt to strike it out in the Sudafrikan jungle.

Euro settlement is possible in the high areas. That is why the highlands of Kilimanjaro were popular, higher up a little lower temperature and Southwest Africa was at least dry. However air conditioning and good anti-malaria drugs are currently at that time being invented so that could change quickly to allow more areas to be accessible.

The central part of Angola is pretty high up, hilly and mountain areas, drier, that could be attractive for settlement. If war between Germany and Britain does not happen and Germany settles this conflict reasonably soon with reasonable terms, Germany will find some excuse to just take Angola with Britain's acceptance which will initiate the split of the Portuguese colonies. It makes too much sense. Developing these colonies will keep Germany busy for a long time.

220px-Angola_Topography.png
 
There was a political block in Germany via a colonialist organization that pushed for emigration to the colonies and championed their cause. The colonies for the most part never generated enough profit to offset their cost. Most Germans didn't want the often spartan planters life, so while they had a very vocal minority, the idea wasn't very popular, at least not popular enough to move there. Much of the desire for colonies was driven by that minority, and the prestige that having colonies brought to nations in that time. Given time, there was always the possibility that colonies could become profitable, so between that and the prestige issue I don't believe any European nation would willingly part with them, at least not without some s
 
There was a political block in Germany via a colonialist organization that pushed for emigration to the colonies and championed their cause. The colonies for the most part never generated enough profit to offset their cost. Most Germans didn't want the often spartan planters life, so while they had a very vocal minority, the idea wasn't very popular, at least not popular enough to move there. Much of the desire for colonies was driven by that minority, and the prestige that having colonies brought to nations in that time. Given time, there was always the possibility that colonies could become profitable, so between that and the prestige issue I don't believe any European nation would willingly part with them, at least not without some s

Angolan oil will draw settlers as will other commercial opportunities...
 
Euro settlement is possible in the high areas. That is why the highlands of Kilimanjaro were popular, higher up a little lower temperature and Southwest Africa was at least dry. However air conditioning and good anti-malaria drugs are currently at that time being invented so that could change quickly to allow more areas to be accessible.

The central part of Angola is pretty high up, hilly and mountain areas, drier, that could be attractive for settlement. If war between Germany and Britain does not happen and Germany settles this conflict reasonably soon with reasonable terms, Germany will find some excuse to just take Angola with Britain's acceptance which will initiate the split of the Portuguese colonies. It makes too much sense. Developing these colonies will keep Germany busy for a long time.

220px-Angola_Topography.png

Possible, yes. What I'm asking is what would motivate any substantial number of Germans to prefer settling in the Angolian highlands compared to Poland or the Baltics; which are much closer, better developed, contain connections back to home, ect., or even moving overseas to America. Its not as though Germany is facing a population density/labor oversupply crisis.
 
Reference: Mozambique was to be divided at the Zambezi River (northern half to German East Africa, southern half to Union of South Africa) while Angola was to be divided into roughly quarters, southern half and northern quarter to Germany with the middle/upper quarter to Britain (from just north of Egito along latitude line to Rhodesia and from just south of Ambris inland with a mild turn south then due east to Congo Free State).

I imagine that could have been rearranged when the time came if needed for Angola's division...
 

BlondieBC

Banned
Were the African colonies really magnets for European settlement though? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always been under the impression that the equatorial/tropical colonies never really attracted many settlers (Something about unpleasant humidity and proliferation of illness, I gather). Even if there's no active colonization via government policy or preferential treatment, I imagine Germans looking for a better life would be more likely to move into Poland of their own initiative than attempt to strike it out in the Sudafrikan jungle.

They were magnets for colonists in the grandiose plans of the Colonial Leagues.

There are few areas interesting to Europeans. You first must find an area that is free of Malaria and Sleeping Sickness. So you have to avoid swamps and areas with a winter ground temperature above a certain level. South Africa and most of Zimbabwe meet this criteria. Other areas that meet this criteria is SWA, Mountains of Angola, some small areas on the mountains of Cameroon, and a few other places like this. With the right amount of subsidies, these colonies could have taken off in small areas. The maximum sustainable area for a white settler colony in Africa is probably the size of Switzerland.
 

BlondieBC

Banned
It was? Really?

Yes it was. When the A-H government/universities/local-poles began to standardize Polish, they did it in a different manner than the Poles in the Congress of Poland. Given a scenario where Austrian Galicia remains in the A-H empire, this trend will continue. It is the same process that happened to Dutch and Swiss German.
 

BlondieBC

Banned
I feel Tirpitz overplayed his hand to get the fleet he desired, a fleet that filled his and Wilhelm's boyhood egos, not a fully useless fleet but after 1905 mismatched to the actual enemies of France and Russia, by 1914 looking more rational yet in between giving the Admiralty ecuse to over buy and inflate the budget for new toys too. The biggest misstep was not building the fleet but Wilhelm's hamfisted diplomacy and bragging about usurping the RN, his insecurity and envy made the fleet a threat far more than its hulls. And to the extent I see arguments of its use to actually defeat Britain, the more I must concede the wartime propaganda won. At best it could have forced a stronger stalemate at sea and leveraged a better armistice, and in any scenario with it performing better versus the RN that is about all it could actually accomplish. The best route to break the blockade was to buy American and set Hamburg as delivery under the Stars and Stripes.

Agreed that the Diplomatic was more problematic than the actual fleet.

IMO, Tirpitz greatest issue was not building a balanced fleet. While I spend a lot of time with U-boats, the greatest needs was for cruisers followed by better port defenses to free up the fleet (mines, older cannon, etc.) You get a huge bang for the buck if you convert about every 4th or 5th battleship to cruisers, destroyers, U-boats, or marines. And you greatly lower tensions with the UK. One gets about 5 cruisers or 20 destroyers or overseas naval bases, measured in terms of marks. So start the war with say 4 fewer BB, 10 more cruisers, 20 more smaller surface ships, and 20 U-boats; and the German Navy does a lot better regardless of what bone headed mistakes the admirals also make. I just happen to avoid these type of POD because they have a good chance of lower tension with the UK enough to keep the UK out of the Entente. And the Central Powers versus Russia/France alone is a short, boring war.
 

BlondieBC

Banned
Possible, yes. What I'm asking is what would motivate any substantial number of Germans to prefer settling in the Angolian highlands compared to Poland or the Baltics; which are much closer, better developed, contain connections back to home, ect., or even moving overseas to America. Its not as though Germany is facing a population density/labor oversupply crisis.

Immigrants follow economic self interests. They will go where there is a job/land at the destination and passage is free. So it just requires funding.
 
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