Chapter 534: The Battle for the Western Indian Ocean Port
"From February this year, British and other countries' ships on the East African route are advised to stop at Natal or Maputo as much as possible. The government has cooperated with 11 major shipping companies in the world to deal with possible regional conflicts and ensure the safety of property of British and other citizens."
"The British company Madim Construction plans to invest 120,000 pounds in the first phase of Maputo Port to improve the service level and port berthing capacity of Maputo Port for passing ships. Maputo is expected to become an emerging port with first-class construction level in Africa, replacing Dar es Salaam and Mombasa in the region and building the best world-class seaport in East Africa."
At the end of 1879, Britain had shifted its attention to Afghanistan, but it did not forget to dig a hole in East Africa. Since it could not be relied upon militarily, it naturally wanted to make up for it economically.
It can be said without a doubt that the remaining 70% of the value of the eastern route of East Asia, excluding the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, is monopolized by the two ports of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, and the latest New Hamburg Port is also planning to adopt the model of two open ports. The infrastructure of the New Hamburg Port is already comparable to Maputo and Natal, and has a trend of surpassing them.
Originally, Britain wanted to bring the French into the alliance because France's Madagascar colony also had considerable influence in the Mozambique Channel.
But the French were not fooled. There was no direct conflict of interest between East Africa and France. As long as East Africa did not have any ideas about Madagascar, there was a basis for cooperation.
France does have a record of aiding the United States in its fight against Britain, so it is good enough that the French did not provide support to East Africa. Of course, it is impossible for France to have very good relations with East Africa. There is one reason for this. East Africa is a German country, Germany is France's biggest enemy, and the relationship between East Africa and Germany is a major obstacle to the relationship between East Africa and France.
Of course, it all comes down to interests. France cannot gain anything in East Africa. Even if it acts as a thug for Britain, in the end, the benefits will fall into the hands of the British. With this energy, it is better to turn West Africa into France's own "East Africa". The emergence of East Africa has set a template for France, that is, the West African version of France.
“There is a direct competitive relationship between the New Hamburg Port and Maputo and Natal. So in response to the British plan, we should focus on developing the geographical advantages of the New Hamburg Port and build it into an excellent port in southern Africa, thereby dividing the advantages of Maputo and Natal.”
Investing in colonies is actually a burden for many colonial powers, especially the two potential loss-making projects in Maputo and Natal.
East Africa does not have such concerns about the construction of the New Hamburg Port. After all, South Africa can leverage the advantages of the New Hamburg Port to drive the development of East Africa in all aspects of the region, including population, industry, wool textile industry, and mining industry.
After all, it is East Africa and will be developed sooner or later, so the initial losses don’t matter. In the end, the benefits to East Africa will always outweigh the disadvantages.
“Although the British said they wanted to develop Maputo and Natal to differentiate the economic value of our East African ports, judging from their actual actions, their main goal is to focus on supporting Maputo.”
"Maputo should be the port with the highest ceiling in South Africa. Its scale and natural conditions are better than other ports, so this is why the UK supports Maputo."
"Another reason is that if Britain invests in Maputo, then Portugal, the sovereign state of Mozambique, will certainly follow suit and invest, and can share part of the funds for building the port. Now Britain is focusing on Afghanistan, and other parts of the world also need to spend money, so jointly developing the Maputo Port with Portugal is the most cost-effective solution."
"The British plan will indeed have a certain impact on our economy, but port construction takes time. Maputo and Natal will not pose a threat to East African ports in the short term."
"The dominant position of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa ports cannot be replaced by other ports. We are confident in this."
The economic hinterland of the Port of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa is quite vast. Even the economic hinterland of the new Port of Hamburg can reach the hinterland of the original Transvaal Republic, so after Maputo and Natal are built, they will not be able to surpass East Africa.
The main function of the ports of Maputo and Natal is to provide services to passing ships, but some ships' destination is Africa and they need African resources and goods, which Maputo and Natal cannot compare with.
For example, animal leather, ivory, mineral resources, etc. are easier to obtain due to the vast territory of East Africa, and the cost is much lower than that of Britain and Portugal. The railway system in East Africa can transport these resources from the inland to the port areas of East Africa.
This is the confidence of East African ports in competing with foreign ports such as Maputo. Moreover, the construction level of East African ports such as Dar es Salaam and Mombasa is ten years ahead of Maputo and Natal. Without high investment, it is impossible for Maputo to replace Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.
Another reason is historical reasons. Dar es Salaam and Mombasa are evergreens on the western Indian Ocean route and have been important port cities in Africa since ancient times. Only Mogadishu can be compared to this. However, Mogadishu's environment is restricted by the desert, so its development is far less than that of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.
Many ships and sailors who have been sailing on the West Indian Ocean route for many years are undoubtedly more familiar with Dar es Salaam and Mombasa. Although Dar es Salaam and Mombasa have developed rapidly in recent years, and it can be said that they have undergone earth-shaking changes compared with more than a decade ago, this change is benign for passing ships. The service level has been improved, the port's hardware facilities have become more complete, and the types of goods have become more complete and the volume has increased.
"We can't just let Britain and Portugal do something that hurts others and does not benefit ourselves. Since they want to confront us, we should also show our support. In the north we have Mogadishu, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, in the south we have the Port of New Hamburg, and the Soko Port in the middle can also be opened to foreign ships. Now the railway from Soko to Lake Malawi has been completed, so it can take on some of the functions." Ernst finally made the decision.
Dar es Salaam and Mombasa have been open ports for more than ten years and have accumulated considerable experience, so the models of these two ports can also be applied to other ports in East Africa.
East Africa will be open in the future, and the establishment of the new Hamburg Port and Soko Port is in line with this trend.
We must eat our meals bite by bite, walk one step at a time, and control the rhythm well. The initiative of moving from a closed-door policy to an open one must also be in East Africa's own hands.
Instead of having its doors forced open by powers such as Britain, in fact, if East Africa had not adopted a closed-door policy, Britain would not have reacted so strongly to East Africa.
In fact, the paths taken by the United States and Germany during the same period were similar to those of East Africa. The two countries did not have free markets, but instead had high tariff barriers to deal with countries such as Britain and France.
But the United States and Germany have already risen up, and Britain can no longer suppress them, so it can only squeeze the "soft persimmon" of East Africa first.
The real soft persimmon is actually countries like Brazil. If they open their doors wide from the beginning, East Africa will become a place of chaos like Brazil, and there is a risk of being controlled by foreign capital.
Under East Africa's closed policy, various policies in East Africa can be steadily promoted without interference from foreign forces. Under this protection, it may be difficult for East Africa to compete with foreign countries if it opens up in the future, but it will not die suddenly. As long as it does not die suddenly, East Africa has the possibility of becoming a world power.
(End of this chapter)
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