Chapter 372 Return to Africa
Port of Dar es Salaam.
Ernst set foot on this land again, his heart filled with mixed emotions, "It's different!" It is different. The Dar es Salaam in his previous life is completely different from the Dar es Salaam today.
In his previous life, Ernst’s first stop in East Africa was Dar es Salaam. At that time, Dar es Salaam, as the most developed city in Tanzania, was actually no different from most cities in developed countries in the world.
Most African countries are actually like this. Although they are very backward, they always have one or two big cities that can be shown as windows, which is not much different from the rest of the world. However, their urbanization rate is very low, and the rural areas are very poor. Some places should not even be considered rural areas, but rather reservations for indigenous peoples, where they live a primitive life.
The city of Dar es Salaam is such a typical example. Ernst's first impression of this place in his previous life was sunshine, beaches, coconut trees, modern ports, and modern high-rise buildings. Although it is slightly worse than Nairobi and Mombasa, it is still considered good in the world.
Of course, Tanzania is far from being comparable to the modernized Far East. Even a small county town in the Far East would be considered a big city in Europe, so Dar es Salaam, the most prosperous city in Tanzania, can only be compared with a county town in the Far East. In Ernst's previous life, the urbanization rate in the Far East was close to 70%, and with the exaggerated infrastructure, even in Tibet, the most sparsely populated area, the urban construction was very good.
Today's Dar es Salaam is completely different. If Ernst were asked to find a city that is most similar to it, it would probably be Trieste in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
It is around nine o'clock in the morning. The city of Dar es Salaam is quite lively. The passing ships have brought an economic prosperity that is even better than that of Trieste.
“Your Highness, the urban construction of Dar es Salaam is quite good. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought I had never left Africa.”
Ernst leaned on the railing of the boat, looked out at the city of Dar es Salaam and replied: "This shows that our efforts over the years have paid off. If the potential of East Africa can be developed in the future, it will be no worse than Europe."
Even replacing Europe is not impossible! Ernst added silently in his heart that this is not empty talk, but a real possibility.
What were the shortcomings of Africa compared to Europe in the past? It was not the population, resources, or system. Africa has more people than Europe, but Europe itself lacks resources, especially after the elimination of Russia. Ernst did not even attach much importance to the system. Africa has tried almost all the system models in the world. The United States and the Soviet Union promoted their own advanced systems here. But Africa is still backward, so the problem Africa faces is economic problems.
If you spread out the world map, you will find that Africa is almost parallel to Europe. Europe's advantage over Africa is that it is almost at the same latitude as North America and Asia. The only countries at the same latitude as Africa are South America, which is competing with Africa for backwardness, Oceania (Australia), which is not very large, and Southeast Asia, which is fragmented. It is unsparing to say that although Southeast Asia is fragmented, it is the region with the most potential.
As for the countries and regions in the north of the Indian Ocean, they will all be Africa's future competitors, with India being the worst. It is inevitable that East Africa will attack India in the future. Its location and size pose the biggest threat to East Africa's control of the Indian Ocean.
Africa has one thing in common with Europe, and that is that they share the same Indian Ocean waterway leading to Asia. Whoever can control this channel will basically have control over the code to the world's largest wealth flow.
There are no powerful countries around East Africa, and only colonies can be of great use. India is the most threatening colony and the biggest obstacle to controlling the Indian Ocean shipping lanes.
Assuming that Africa can develop, the Indian Ocean route, the most important trade route, will be driven by Africa. The impact on Europe will definitely be huge, and its impact will be no less than the impact of the new route on the Mediterranean coastal economy before the opening of the Suez Canal.
However, because Africa had the lowest economy in the world in the past, its foreign trade cannot be compared with that of Europe. Europe's location cannot compare with Africa. Africa is facing the Eastern trade route, while Europe also needs Suez and Cape Town and cannot bypass Africa. Otherwise, it can only rely on land or go the distance of the Pacific route.
The prerequisite for bringing out this locational advantage is that the size of Africa's economy can be compared with that of Europe. Even if it only reaches half of Europe's level, it will be enough to stimulate it.
However, all this is still a long way off from Africa today. We should first lay a solid foundation for the East African Kingdom so that there will be hope for the future.
Ernst's fleet passed along the coast of Dar es Salaam, but did not enter the port. Instead, it headed towards the new port southeast of Dar es Salaam.
The main function of the new port in Dar es Salaam is to share the pressure of the old port. It is considered a port for the East African Kingdom’s own use, so the new port has a small population, but the port area is larger than the old port, and the facilities are more complete and regular.
Soon the fleet entered the new port. The East African government had already prepared carriages and horses, waiting for Ernst, mainly to pull Ernst's "treasures".
Most of the people at the dock were port managers. Ernst came to East Africa in a low-key manner and there was no welcoming ceremony.
"If I remember correctly, this location should be the area of the Dar es Salaam Grand Mosque and a university in the past life," Ernst muttered to himself. Ernst judged it based on an island on the other side of the harbor. The island was a beach attraction in the past life, so Ernst remembered it clearly.
"Your Highness, welcome to Dar es Salaam. I am Mox, the manager of New Port and the regional director of Hexingen Ocean Trading Company in Dar es Salaam."
It turned out that he was a subordinate of his subordinate.
Ernst: "Very good. Next, you organize the people to unload the things on the ship. Be careful with the things on the Vostok and Chris. They are not big items, but be careful. If you hit a corner, I will hold you accountable!"
Mox said with shame: "Yes, Your Highness!"
After two days of hard work, all the items were finally moved down.
"Your Highness, should we take these things to the train station or take the highway directly?"
Ernst asked, "Is the railway to Soga completed?"
"Your Highness, the railway branch line in Soga has also been completed, but Soga has not yet been completed."
Ernst: "That doesn't matter. We'll go to Soga first, put some of the things there, and then go to the First Town."
It didn't matter that Soga City was not completed. Ernst knew that the National Library built there had been completed. It was one of the earliest buildings in Soga and also one of the buildings in Soga City that Ernst focused on.
Ernst went there to put the books he brought with him this time into the Soga National Library. These books covered everything, including astronomy, geography, biology, mathematics, chemistry, physics... In addition to books that can be bought on the market, there are also some books copied from various university libraries in Germany that are difficult to find on the market.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com