Chapter 344: Dar es Salaam, the Capital of the Indian Ocean

August.

Dar es Salaam.

Today, the whole of Dar es Salaam is as busy as usual, although most ships choose to go directly to the Far East via the Suez Canal, posing a serious challenge to the strategic position of the East African coast.

However, the Suez Canal also shortened the distance from Europe to the East African coast, and with the launch of ships under the Hechingen Ocean Trading Company, the waterways along the East African coast continued to prosper.

With the help of five fulcrums: the Far East, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Central and Eastern Europe, and East Africa, Hexingen Ocean Trading Company has developed into one of the world's leading shipping companies.

With the four major businesses of food, industrial raw materials, industrial products and immigration, the Hechingen Ocean Trading Company has become the largest shipping company in Germany and even the world. It owns four independent large shipyards (including the Trieste Shipyard, the Hamburg Shipyard, the Venice Shipyard, and the Bagamoyo Shipyard which has just been put into production), 73 ocean-going ships and 254 sailing ships. In terms of tonnage alone, it exceeds that of most countries.

Although the Hechingen Ocean Trading Company should be split into two parts, one belonging to Germany and the other to Austria, its actual service target is East Africa.

The civilian ship sector in East Africa is basically non-existent, so the Hechingen royal enterprise is the only one in the market and is a large-scale monopoly organization that has developed ahead of its time.

Most of the world's monopoly companies have just taken shape, such as the Standard Oil Company of America established last year, which completely broke out after the economic crisis of 1873. The Hechingen Consortium has become the most unique existence at present because of its monopoly on East Africa and the monopoly of Germany's trade with the Far East.

In fact, the Hexingen Group has a predecessor, which is the British East India Company, which is quite similar to the Hexingen Group, but the Hexingen Group is more comprehensive.

From its establishment to the present day, the Heixingen Ocean Trading Company has not actually made much money, and sometimes even made losses. On the one hand, it has been continuously investing money in shipbuilding and acquisitions, and on the other hand, due to the need for immigration from East Africa, it often operates at a loss.

However, there is no doubt that without the Hechingen Trading Company there would be no East African Kingdom today, and even the fact that East Africa could become the leader of German business in the Far East was due to the Hechingen Trading Company.

A large number of German merchants established connections with the Far Eastern government through the Hechingen Ocean Trading Company, and German capital developed rapidly in the northeastern Far East.

After all, the Heixingen Group still has a local area in East Africa to develop, and its main focus is also on East Africa. The Far East market will fall sooner or later, so it is better to let their own people control the market.

Among them, Austrian businessmen were the most active. Ernst got angry when he thought of this. When they were asked to invest in East Africa, they were so picky that they only invested in a few small factories in the Northern Industrial Belt, which were mainly distributed in Mombasa. Only one medium-sized textile company settled in Nairobi. East Africa's fantasy of having Austria drive the Northern Industrial Belt was basically dead in name only, and in the end it was the Hexingen Consortium itself that took over.

However, their attitude towards the Far East immediately changed. Everyone knew that the Far East was a good place, but the Austrian government had neither the ability nor the energy or willingness to support its own businessmen in developing in the Far East.

Therefore, when East Africa gained a foothold in the Far East, many Austrian businessmen gathered around the Hechingen Group. When they needed official support, they would first choose the East African Embassy. After all, their own minister was in Japan and they could not even see his shadow.

The same is true for the Germans. Although Germany attaches importance to the Far East, its interests there are too small, so it is difficult to compete with Britain, France, the United States, and even the Netherlands.

Many Germans in the Far East were from the former northern German states, where power was dispersed. Only now that Germany is unified have they become a whole.

This is also the reason why the Heixingen Group became the business leader of the three countries in the Far East, and the foreign capital injected into the Huaihai Economic Zone was also jointly funded by the business groups of the three countries.

The Hexingen Consortium actually accounts for less than 20%, of which the Far East government and its civil groups account for 40%, and the rest is divided between Austria and Germany, about 45%. Austrian businessmen alone account for more than 30%, making them the largest investment group in the Huaihai Economic Zone.

During the Westernization Movement, the Far Eastern government also actively invested in state-owned enterprises, but it was basically concentrated along the Yangtze River and the southeastern coastal areas. The north was forced to establish the "Huaihai Economic Zone" under the pressure of the East African Kingdom.

In fact, the best conditions in the north are in Zhili area. Its economy, population and transportation are more advantageous than those of Huaihai Economic Zone, but it is an important place for the royal family and even Britain and France cannot squeeze in now.

…

With the completion of the urban transformation, the entire city of Dar es Salaam has a new look. Although many merchant ships no longer pass through Dar es Salaam due to changes in the world's main shipping routes, some sailors and merchants operating along the Indian Ocean coast still choose to consume in Dar es Salaam due to consumption inertia, and will even call friends to come to Dar es Salaam to consume.

In addition to the beautiful environment and the most complete infrastructure, the Dar es Salaam Casino has won unanimous praise from gamblers for its reputation for fairness and justice. Gambling here can avoid being robbed by cheaters. At the same time, the personal safety of the vast majority of winners is guaranteed because of the responsible attitude of the police station.

Personal needs can also be greatly met. Japanese dance halls and foot massage parlors are everywhere, but it is hard to say whether they are formal or not.

The only drawback is that psychotropic contraband is not sold here, but sailors can bring it with them. As long as they are within the foreign commercial area (formerly the open area) and are not spread to East Africans, no one will care.

There is a saying in the past: "The most profitable businesses are written in the Constitution." Dar es Salaam is involved in two of the most profitable businesses at once.

In addition to the above businesses, the barber industry in Dar es Salaam is unique in the Indian Ocean. After Ernst awakened, he felt deeply the backwardness of the European barber industry, so he specially developed a manual hair clipper. This is also the only two patents registered by Ernst himself (Gillian razor).

East Africa carries out cleaning and disinfection measures on immigrants who disembark every day, including hair care.

Therefore, East African barbers are experienced and equipped with advanced tools, making the barber industry in Dar es Salaam and Mombasa very developed. Sailors from the Indian Ocean would go to barbershops to get their hair and beards done every time they came to East Africa.

The barbers in Dar es Salaam have become recognized world-class Tony teachers by Indian Ocean sailors, with a professional level far exceeding that of Europe and the United States.

At the same time, Dar es Salaam is also the commodity capital of the Indian Ocean coast, where a wide range of goods are gathered, including food, clothing, housing and transportation.

People from surrounding regions and countries such as the French colony of Madagascar, the British Cape Town Colony, the Portuguese colony of Mozambique, and the Sultanate of Zanzibar would choose to shop in Dar es Salaam or Mombasa.

The catering, hotels and hotel services in Dar es Salaam are also the best and most high-quality in the entire Indian Ocean coast.

The combination of Eastern and Western cuisine, European-style architecture, complete and top-notch living environment, and elegant service attracted many wealthy Arab businessmen and colonial officials to gather here.

Pubs are also one of the most popular places in Dar es Salaam, selling white wine, yellow wine, red wine, and East African banana beer. The white wine in Dar es Salaam includes vodka from the cold zone, Fenjiu from the East, Huadiao (Nürhong, Zhuangyuanhong), brandy and whiskey... The red wines mainly come from Austrian and South German brands, and there are fewer types of beer.

The wide range of alcoholic beverages and the large number of pubs make Dar es Salaam a veritable wine capital on the Indian Ocean coast.

However, this has also increased the frequency of police dispatch in East Africa and the workload of East African health workers. Drunkards, bottles and barrels everywhere are also a feature of Dar es Salaam.

The quality of tourists who come to Dar es Salaam to spend money is generally low. The garbage pools that can be seen everywhere are ignored, and fruit peels, wine bottles and other garbage are thrown on the streets. The density of public toilets in East African cities is the highest in the world, but urinating and defecating in public is still rampant.

Because it is an external commercial area, it is difficult for the East African government to stop it by force. After all, they are all here to contribute to the East African economy. As long as they are willing to spend money, they are the "bosses", so the health security personnel can only work hard.

Fortunately, the roads along the coast of Dar es Salaam are paved straight and flat with large stone slabs, and a complete drainage system has been built on both sides of the road. As long as there is a heavy rain, stains and dust will flow into the sea through the drainage system.

Therefore, there is no lingering smell on the streets and fresh air is the norm. In addition, the city’s greening is good. Even if the quality of tourists is low, Dar es Salaam has still become a garden city on the Indian Ocean coast.

In addition to these, Dar es Salaam is also a communications center on the Indian Ocean coast, and its main service objects are Europeans in the western Indian Ocean. In Dar es Salaam, they can use telegraph to contact their families in Europe faster and cheaper.

The most outrageous thing is that the Mozambique colony also communicated with the Portuguese mainland through the East African telegraph system. Although the telegraph charges were very expensive, it was still much cheaper and more convenient than communicating by sea vessels.

The above advantages are only part of Dar es Salaam. For example, it is also a financial center, trade center, and shipping center on the Indian Ocean coast...

The above conditions combined have made Dar es Salaam, with a permanent population of only more than 80,000, the most developed city on the Indian Ocean coast.

Dar es Salaam has become the most developed city on the Indian Ocean coast, which is inseparable from its geographical advantages.

For example, Dar es Salaam’s main competitor is Mombasa. Compared to Mombasa, the Sultanate of Zanzibar is across the river from Dar es Salaam. Arab merchants there are relatively wealthy and have outstanding spending power. The colonies of various European countries south of the East African Kingdom are also closest to Dar es Salaam, and their consumption is also concentrated in Dar es Salaam.

Dar es Salaam can be said to be the only world-class commercial city in sub-Saharan Africa, and it is also a major financial and tax center for the East African government.

(End of this chapter)