Chapter 1418 Alexandria
Population is the most fundamental condition for the formation of a market. The larger the population of a country or region, the greater the foundation and potential of this market.
In the past, traditional colonizers such as Britain and France were able to quickly utilize the local population to form their vassal markets during the process of colonial expansion. However, every time they occupied a place in East Africa, they cleansed the indigenous people, which naturally destroyed the original market.
Therefore, although the scale of East Africa's overseas colonies seems large, their market value is far from comparable to that of other countries' colonies.
However, this situation has improved in recent years, especially in East Africa's colonies in the Southeast Asia region, where the population has recovered the fastest.
This also means that in the future, the world's third largest German-speaking area will be formed in Southeast Asia, second only to Africa and Europe. In fact, the German-speaking population in the United States is not small, but the development of German in the United States is restricted. In recent years, the US government has vigorously promoted de-Germanization with remarkable results. In the future, German is unlikely to have much future in the United States.
At present, Africa is the world's largest German-speaking region, even surpassing the German region in Europe. The combined population of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the two major German-speaking countries in Europe, is smaller than that of East Africa, not to mention that the German-speaking population in the Austro-Hungarian Empire was less than one-third.
In addition to the German-speaking country of East Africa, the official language of the Kingdom of South Germany is also German. In the Belgian Congo colony and the Abyssinian Empire, German is also one of the official languages.
The expansion of German around the world is also conducive to the expansion of East Africa's overseas markets. In 1920, the size of the German-speaking population in the world was about 250 million. There is no doubt that the same language is more conducive to the circulation of East African goods.
…
November 4, 1924.
Province of Leitania.
The East African port of Alexandria is located in the Leithania Province. It is one of the most important sea outlets in the Leithania Province and the third largest city in the Leithania Province.
The largest city in the province of Letania is the inland provincial capital of Lubango, and the second largest city is Mussamides.
Lubango is the capital of Letania Province. During the period of Portuguese rule in Angola, it had become the most important economic and political center in the region.
At that time, there were more than a thousand Portuguese in Lubango, making it the city with the largest number of white people in southern Angola. Of course, according to East African standards, Lubango at that time was only the size of an ordinary township, let alone a city.
The demographic situation of Lubango at the time also largely explains why East Africa was able to easily snatch this area from the Portuguese.
After occupying Lubango, the East African government naturally continued to use Lubango as the local seat of government. With the influx of a large number of East African immigrants, Lubango developed rapidly.
Lubango is located on a plateau more than 1,000 meters above sea level, with a good climate, fertile land and a solid foundation for agricultural development.
The second-ranked city, Mussamides, like Alexandria, is a coastal port city in the province of Leithania.
Its basic conditions are similar to those of Alexandria, but its economy is much better than that of Alexandria. The main reason for this result is that Alexandria is a dual-use military and civilian port, and Alexandria is more remote from the economic hinterland of the province of Leithania.
Even so, Alexandria's development is one of the best in the entire South Atlantic coast.
Of course, as the only industrial country on the South Atlantic coast, urban development on the west coast of East Africa is generally at the forefront of the region.
Steel accounted for a large share of Alexandria's main exports, but Alexandria itself did not produce steel.
Its steel products mainly come from inland areas, are transported here by rail, and then sent to other western coastal areas of East Africa, or to West Africa and South America.
In addition to steel, some agricultural and pastoral products from the inland are also exported through the Port of Alexandria, but on a much smaller scale than the Port of Mussammedes in the north.
Bessehofen is a dock worker at the port of Alexandria, and he is now operating the crane to move cargo as usual.
His co-worker Michel was standing in front of the warehouse with a big loudspeaker, directing him to complete the last lifting operation of the day.
"Left, left, stop, down, reel in the hook." Michelle gave instructions loudly while using his right hand to give hints to Bessehofen.
Bessihofen skillfully fiddled with the push and pull rods in the cockpit, placing the cargo tied with thick iron chains firmly in the last position of the cargo hold.
"Finally done!" Bessihofen picked up the sweat towel around his neck and wiped the sweat off his face.
The temperature in Alexandria Port was still relatively high, and the lifting operation was very stressful and nerve-wracking, so even though the small fan in the cockpit was blowing hard, Bessehofen still felt a little stuffy and irritable.
However, now that the work is finished, Bessehofen can't wait to get off work as soon as possible. He continues to operate the crane and parks it in the special parking space at the dock according to the procedures.
After a round of modernization and upgrading, the mechanization efficiency of East African ports has been greatly improved, which has greatly reduced the investment in labor costs and greatly improved the safety of operations.
If it were in the past, it would take who knows how many days to load and unload this shipload of cargo, and more manpower would have to be deployed.
In most other countries, port operating efficiency is far lower than that in East Africa, where mechanization has been initially popularized. The loading and unloading of cargo ships takes a long time, and by the time they are full of cargo, the cargo ships departing from East African ports may almost reach their destination.
After an unknown amount of time, Michel also got off the boat. He came to Bessihoven, put his arm on Bessihoven's shoulders and said, "You have nothing else to do after get off work. Do you want to go for a drink?"
Bessihofen replied cheerfully, "Of course. The weather is so hot right now. I feel like a steamed bun in a steamer sitting in that damn cockpit. My butt is almost burned. I wish I could have a cold beer right away to cool off."
November is the time when spring and summer alternate in the southern hemisphere, so the temperature in Alexandria has also increased accordingly. Fortunately, the Benguela cold current passes by Alexandria, which can play a certain role in cooling down the temperature.
However, Alexandria is far less livable than west coast cities such as Benguela or Luanda, mainly because the topography of Alexandria is somewhat special and the entire city of Alexandria is built in the coastal desert.
Therefore, the temperature of Alexandria during the day, coupled with the direct sunlight, made it very uncomfortable for Bessihofen as a driver. His driving seat was actually wrapped in a layer of iron sheet, and under the scorching sun, it was naturally impossible to work in this position comfortably, not to mention sitting for several hours.
Therefore, Bessihofen said to Michel with some envy: "Your job is still easy. You can just make a few gestures and enjoy the sea breeze."
Michel was speechless about what Bessihofen said: "Don't say that. My throat is almost smoking every day, and I have to stand under the sun. Not to mention that your salary is much higher than mine."
Bessihofen explained: "My job seems to be very easy, as I sit all the time, but the chair is very hard and I have to sit there for six or seven hours. My butt is not made of iron and a normal person can't stand it, so it is only natural that I get more hard-earned money."
"Of course, more importantly, my job is a technical one, not something that ordinary people can do. Can I just find an ordinary person to operate the crane?"
Michel did not deny this explanation, but he also said: "My job cannot be replaced by just anyone. After all, I need to have a certain understanding of various ships and have command capabilities."
"Think about it, if you find someone who is slurred and has a clumsy mind, can you still complete the task so smoothly?"
What Michelle said was true. To a certain extent, he was the eyes and brain of the crane. After all, the cargo hoisted by the crane was generally very dangerous. With tons of cargo, one mistake could lead to a disaster.
Bessihofen also praised: "I really admire you for this. I still remember the last conductor. That guy just knew how to shout and was very impatient. Sometimes I couldn't understand his specific meaning at all."
Michelle said proudly: "So my work is equally important. Well, it's time to get off work, so let's hurry up and grab a seat!"
After hearing Michelle's reminder, Bessihofen suddenly realized that when the two of them got off work, the work of others would also be finished, so even if they went out for a drink, they had to find a good seat before others.
After all, although the business in Alexandria is relatively prosperous, there are only a few stores with a really good reputation, and these stores with a good reputation are naturally prone to being crowded.
So, Michelle and Bessehofen rushed to their favorite barbecue restaurant.
It is called a barbecue restaurant, but it is actually a stall with a storefront. Most of the customers sit on the road in front of the store under a tarpaulin, which is also to save operating costs as much as possible.
Because work ended early, there were not many customers in the barbecue restaurant when Michelle and Bessehofen arrived. If it were a normal day, it would have been crowded.
Bessihofen said to the proprietress skillfully, "Give me four bottles of beer, cold, six servings of lamb skewers, four servings of beef, and two cold dishes."
As a major livestock-raising province, the prices of beef and mutton in Letania are not high, and the export of dairy and livestock products is also one of the important economic pillars of Letania.
Of course, the prices in Alexandria are relatively high compared to other places in the province of Leithania, because it is located in the coastal desert and its own resources are not abundant.
However, the environment of Alexandria is not representative of the province of Leithania, which is mainly dominated by savanna climate, with only some deserts distributed along the western coast and in the south.
For example, Lubango, the capital of Letania Province, has a very good climate and environment, and the conditions for the development of both agriculture and animal husbandry are relatively outstanding.
Most of the food and other agricultural products needed by the city of Alexandria were basically transported from inland areas.
The distance from Lubango to Alexandria Port is only more than 200 kilometers. With the support of railways and highways, the transportation of materials within the province is very convenient.
So, even though prices in Alexandria are a bit high, they are not that much higher, and the wage level in Alexandria is better than other places.
Regarding this point, another important seaport city in the province of Leithania, Musamidish, is actually similar to Alexandria. The difference is that the income of the residents of Alexandria is more stable. In addition to the workers, there is also a navy stationed here, and naval officers and soldiers are undoubtedly big consumers.
After all, the treatment of navies all over the world is much higher than that of the army, and East Africa is no exception, which has also promoted the economic prosperity of the city of Alexandria.
Soon, Bessehofen and Michel put their mouths to the beer bottles and started drinking heartily. In the hot weather, the cold beer flowed down their throats into their stomachs, making Bessehofen feel instantly refreshed.
Bessihofen said: "Sure enough, ice-cold beer is still comfortable to drink. Every day after get off work, I can come here, drink a sip of ice-cold beer, and eat skewers. This life is also good."
Michelle burped, patted his belly and said, "The economy has obviously improved this year. Now the number of ships coming and going in Alexandria has recovered a lot. Although it is not as busy as during the European war, it is not much different."
"Only when the economy improves can ordinary people like us live a better life. You know, I was still worried about my job before!"
While chewing on a skewer of beef, Bessihoven said: "Today, the province's steel orders have increased significantly compared to the past few years, especially in big cities like Luanda and Cabinda, where orders have grown the fastest."
"Besides that, there are foreign countries, Argentina and Brazil, which shows that the recovery speed of the Empire's economy is also faster than that of foreign countries."
Of course, this is just Bessehofen's personal feeling. In fact, the economic recovery speed in East Africa is not fast among the major industrial countries. Many European and American countries are ahead of East Africa.
Of course, from a global perspective, East Africa is also among the top. After all, the advantages brought by industrial countries mean that no matter how badly they are doing, they are not worse than those agricultural countries and backward regions.
Places like South America and West Africa basically belong to the latter. Except for Argentina, the development levels of other countries are not high.
Argentina's development mainly benefits from its superior natural conditions, with its highly developed agriculture and animal husbandry. However, when it comes to the industrial sector, its performance can only be described as mediocre.
Although Argentina's industry has developed the fastest in South America in recent years, it is mainly because agriculture earns too much money, so it can benefit industrial development.
However, although the funding problem of Argentina's industry has been solved to a certain extent, its autonomy is not high, and its development in important basic industrial fields is not satisfactory. Once problems arise in Argentina's agriculture and foreign trade, its industry will most likely be reduced to its original state.
After all, Argentina's development is mainly driven by foreign capital, especially the United Kingdom. Although the United Kingdom's influence in South America has declined significantly, a lean camel is bigger than a horse, and it still has an important influence on many South American countries. Next, under the squeeze from East Africa and the United States, the United Kingdom will further withdraw from Argentina and other countries.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
