Chapter 770 Angola Inheritance

Luanda city.

After the baptism of war, Luanda had already become devastated. East Africa took over Luanda and began to rebuild the local area.

"The size of Luanda's port is somewhat substandard, but it is not worth renovating now. After all, no one can guarantee whether the enemy will harass it. It is very likely that they will bombard it. Our naval power is very weak in the South Atlantic now, so there is no need to carry out large-scale repairs on cities in Angola. We may have to completely overthrow and rebuild the area after the war," said engineer John Lowell.

For East Africa, Luanda's port conditions are better than most ports on the east coast of East Africa. First of all, it has a large area. Ports like Dar es Salaam and Mombasa are actually ports extending inland, while Luanda has a naturally formed giant sandbar extending to the open sea, which makes Luanda more flexible than the former two.

Of course, the disadvantages are also obvious, that is, this place is far away from the main commercial routes, and the world's main trade is still concentrated in the exchanges between Asia and Europe. Even the current America cannot break this monopoly in a short time.

The cities of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa are naturally close to the main shipping routes. In contrast, Angola under Portuguese rule was far inferior to East Africa in terms of population and productivity, so Luanda's foreign trade was also very backward.

The important role of a colony is to provide markets and raw materials to the mother country. Angola obviously has its natural disadvantages in the market. The first is its small population. Of course, if the blacks are included, the population is probably comparable to that of Portugal.

But their consumption capacity was too poor. The value created by the local blacks was far less than that of the plantations and mines built by Portugal in Angola. Moreover, due to the low level of civilization, the original Kingdom of Congo was not as populous as the Abyssinian Empire.

In front of the Abyssinian Empire, an ancient country with a truly native African civilization, other indigenous African countries can only be regarded as uncivilized areas.

Of course, although Egypt in North Africa has had a glorious history and is relatively developed today, the ancient Egyptian civilization has long been replaced by Arab civilization, and the same is true for other North African countries in Africa.

Some ancient countries in West Africa did have some civilization, but they were also seriously influenced by Arab civilization. So it seems that the Abyssinian Empire is more representative of African civilization.

Of course, the level of civilization is only one indicator that determines Angola's prosperity. If this indicator is not up to standard, Angola's development will naturally be unsatisfactory.

As for the advanced civilization brought by the Portuguese, it was actually a colonial culture based on exploitation. As one of the earliest colonial empires, Portugal's methods were far behind those of Britain and France.

The British and French colonies were able to develop to a certain extent, but Angola under Portuguese rule did not change much for hundreds of years.

However, this is a good thing for East Africa. If Portugal really completes the transformation and construction of Angola, it will be difficult for East Africa to take over this place smoothly.

"As for the planning of Luanda, it will definitely be one of the most important cities on the west coast in the future, and its future development prospects may not be much inferior to those of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa."

"We lack a direct sea route connecting the North Atlantic and the South Atlantic. Although Southwest Africa existed before, the conditions of Walvis Bay were somewhat poor. The natural conditions of several ports in Angola are even better than those on the east coast, and the climate is also very good. This place will definitely be the focus of the kingdom's construction in the future."

Eugene believed John Lowell's words without a doubt. After all, the arrival of John Lowell's team here was proof of this.

John Lowell has participated in the construction of many East African cities and is a famous urban designer in East Africa. Before Angola was completely settled, the royal government sent him to Luanda for survey and planning. The purpose is naturally self-evident.

He said: "Mr. John Lowell, it is a great honor that another great city will be designed under your hands."

John Lowell was very pleased with the compliment from the government security guard. He said: "This is why I chose to work in East Africa. There are so many opportunities here. In Europe, where people are more concerned with connections and seniority, I would not have achieved such great success."

After all, most of the cities in Europe have already been established, and the competition among European peers is very fierce. Although John Lowell, who was born as a commoner, is talented, he is naturally at a disadvantage compared to those nobles who have connections or family support. However, there is no such concern in East Africa.

John Rowell came to East Africa about thirteen years ago. There are not many people like John Rowell who go to East Africa to seek development opportunities, but there are quite a few, which tests their level more.

John Lowell was able to gain official support from East Africa because his several works were very satisfying, including the two masterpieces, Kisan and New Frankfurt. He also participated in the construction of East African cities, led by Dar es Salaam.

There are new cities being built in East Africa, as well as expansion of old cities. There is also a large amount of engineering construction, all of which provide a large number of employment opportunities for practitioners from Europe.

John Rowell said: "Luanda was originally planned by the Portuguese to be a small or medium-sized city. According to the current residential area, it can accommodate a maximum of 30,000 people. However, according to the traces of life in Luanda, at least 70,000 to 80,000 people live in the whole city, which is quite unreasonable."

Eugene: "Mr. John Rowell, apart from the military fortress, the Portuguese may not have carefully planned the construction of Luanda. These buildings in the city should have been accumulated slowly."

John Lowell looked at Eugene approvingly and said, "You have made a good observation. This chaotic urban layout and dirty and poor environment clearly show that the Portuguese did not put in enough effort from the beginning. Their cities developed more freely, so they are extremely crowded and the living environment was sacrificed."

"My blueprint is to demolish all these rubbish and design urban space more rationally, just like other cities in East Africa."

"Especially the port area and water source are the key points. Luanda was favored by the Portuguese because of its geographical location and port conditions. Similarly, it will also be an important port city in East Africa in the future. Therefore, how to make the port area and the city more closely connected is an important direction in the design."

"As for the water problem, the rainfall in Luanda is only average in East Africa, so the rational use of rivers and lakes can solve the production and living problems in Luanda."

The annual rainfall in Luanda is only around 500 mm, but this rainfall is far more advantageous than that in Walvis Bay and can meet basic agricultural and industrial production needs.

Of course, the most important thing is that Luanda does not lack water resources. The upper reaches of the river are areas with relatively abundant rainfall, which can better alleviate the needs of Luanda.

However, the reason why the precipitation in Luanda is far less than that in the west coast of East Africa is mainly due to the influence of the Benguela Current. This is somewhat similar to the Somalia region, but the ocean currents in the Somalia region change with the seasons, while the Benguela Current only has a difference in strength.

However, even affected by the cold wave, the rainfall in Luanda is enough to satisfy East Africa. This is not the 21st century. The huge industrial production in the 21st century is an important reason for the shortage of water resources, while the industrial scale of the 19th century naturally does not consume much water.

(End of this chapter)