African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 111: Chapter 106 Turkana Lake

December 5, 1867.

As the end of the year approaches, the workload in the colony begins to lighten. The East African colony is no longer in the impoverished stage it was two years ago (February 1, 1865, when they first landed at Dar es Salaam port).

Procedures have matured, greatly reducing unnecessary troubles, and immigration work has become more efficient, simply replicating past experiences.

So at the end of the year, the East African colony once again has the capacity to make moves. Although the southern part of Kenya had been occupied, the northern part of Kenya was still left untouched.

In the northwest region, this year they can only watch, as the local epidemic has not ended, and the most optimistic estimate is that they will have to wait until next year to take action.

Northern Kenya’s natural conditions are far inferior to the south, mainly due to less rainfall, presenting a mixed state of desert and grassland.

However, the East African colony is not picky. Grassland means decent rainfall, and a small amount of desert is not completely unacceptable.

The average annual rainfall in the north is about 300mm to 400mm, with some areas reaching 500mm to 600mm. Some desert areas don’t even reach 200mm.

These rainfall conditions aren’t too bad. Drought-resistant crops can be grown, or livestock farming can be developed.

Of course, the premise is to avoid those desert and arid areas, mainly close to the northeastern part of Somali, the driest region in all of Kenya.

This is mainly influenced by terrain and ocean currents. The northwest is flat, while southeast trade winds carry Indian Ocean moisture inland to East Africa, forming high rainfall in the highland areas of southwestern Kenya when lifted by terrain in the Great Lake (Lake Victoria) region.

As the southeast trade winds cross the equator, affected by the Coriolis effect, they turn into southwest winds. When blowing northeast to Kenya, little rain is left.

The northeast trade winds blow from the Arabian Peninsula, mainly across the continent, making it difficult to carry much moisture.

In addition, the coastal plain in the northeast is flat, which weakens moisture interception, and summer cold currents reduce humidity, forming a non-zonal tropical desert.

The influence of terrain on rainfall can be seen from Ethiopia neighboring Somali. The Ethiopian highlands intercept the moisture from the southwest monsoon, making the southwestern Ethiopian highlands have more rainfall, even forming large wetlands in the river’s lower reaches.

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Turkana Lake.

The border lake between Kenya and Ethiopia, located in the northwest of Kenya.

Turkana Lake is the fourth largest lake in Africa, only smaller than the Great Lake (Lake Victoria), Soron Lake (Tanganyika Lake), and Lake Malawi.

This time Henriette (character introduced in Chapter 57), leads a team to survey northwestern Kenya. The conditions this time are much better compared to a year ago.

In the coffee planting area at the foothills of Kenya, supplies were replenished, and Henriette and her teammates embarked on the journey to conquer northwestern Kenya.

Now Henriette sees the azure Turkana Lake ahead.

”What a beautiful lake, even more magnificent than the Soron Lake (Tanganyika Lake)!” Henriette exclaimed.

The shock of Turkana Lake comes from its unique azure-green color and the stark contrast formed by the surrounding desert and grassland, providing a visual impact.

”Captain, we should continue. Looking from south to north, the lake clearly doesn’t end here. What we see might just be a corner, and heading further north, this might be a large lake comparable to the three great lakes,” Andy, a member of the exploration team, said to Henriette.

”Yes, we need to keep striving, this time might be a major discovery sufficient to etch our names in history,” Henriette replied.

Andy made a very valid point. The north-south length of Turkana Lake is about two hundred kilometers. Even at the fastest speed, it would take several days to reach the northern end.

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In the following days, Henriette and her team headed north along Turkana Lake, simultaneously recording the ecological, climatic, and hydrological characteristics of the lakeside areas.

Locals call this lake Turkana Lake. The lake water is alkaline, home to a large number of algae (blue-green algae), giving it the blue-green hue.

Living within the lake are Nile Crocodiles, hippopotamuses, and some fish species, while the lake shores house various wildlife. Many dried-up riverbeds can be seen nearby, uncertain if they’ll hold water in the rainy season. Over a hundred bird species are observed, although there are actually over three hundred species.

On the seventh day, Henriette and her team reached the northern part of Turkana Lake. Along the lakeside, they discovered the main water source of Turkana Lake—the Omo River.

The Omo River originates in Ethiopia, flowing through the rainy highlands upstream, abundant in water, tightly packed in the riverbed. Downstream, the river is as wide as 150-200 meters, a rarely seen large river in East Africa.

Ninety percent of Turkana Lake’s water comes from the Omo River, which helps prevent the lake from shrinking amid deserts.

Henriette and her team meticulously documented the hydrological and geographical conditions along the Omo River banks, which contains rare fertile land.

Compared with the dry desert and grasslands surrounding Turkana Lake, downstream of the Omo River, the river is wide and water-rich, capable of supporting at least twenty thousand people.

The downstream along the Omo River can be a key development area for northern Kenya, and indeed some areas around Turkana Lake can be utilized to grow drought-resistant crops.

Since then, downstream of the Omo River and Turkana have been considered part of the East African colony’s territory, and likely in the future, the colony might encroach on upstream lands to ensure the security of the Omo River and Turkana Lake.

This isn’t some trivial matter. Ethiopia has precedent from the past life; Ethiopia built a series of hydroelectric stations upstream of the Omo River for power generation in the past.

This led to reduced downstream river flow and the gradual shrinking of Turkana Lake. However, Turkana Lake mainly resides within the Kenyan territory.

The Ethiopian government doesn’t care about the Kenyans relying on Turkana Lake for survival; reduced river flow results in lake shrinkage, causes reduced fish production, leading to intra-tribal conflicts in Kenya over fishing rights.

Therefore, Ernst requires that at least most of the Omo River basin remain under the control of the East African colony government to ensure water security.

Currently, Ethiopia is still in the Abysinnia Empire era, its control over the south isn’t very tight, moreover it’s threatened by Britain and other Western colonizers.

In 1863, Theodore II of the Abysinnia Empire committed a foolish act, just because the British Foreign Office did not reply to him (he wrote a letter to Queen Victoria asking Britain to cooperate with him against Egypt and the Ottoman Empire), so in 1864 he kidnapped British diplomats in Ethiopia along with 58 Europeans as hostages.

Ernst even had to admire this guy’s courage, yet the ensuing actions are even more unexpected.

After the British Foreign Office sent a letter through an Iraqi serving Britain to Theodore II, Theodore II released the hostages.

However, soon Theodore II reneged, re-arresting British diplomatic personnel in the Abysinnia Empire, and extorted a batch of craftsmen and machinery from the British government.

The British, at the peak of their power, couldn’t endure such humiliation, and coincidentally in the same month (December 1867) when Henriette and others were exploring Turkana Lake and the Omo River.

The British expeditionary force for Abysinnia had already gathered in Mumbai, India, preparing to show this reckless Theodore II a lesson.

The fate of Theodore II and the Abysinnia Empire had become foreseeable (the British seized numerous artifacts and treasures, including Theodore II’s crown, Theodore II committed suicide after defeat).

Next year, when Ethiopia and the British start fighting, that will be just the right time for East Africa to expand in the Omo River Basin, creating conditions for Ernst and the East African colony to annex the Omo River Basin.

After Theodore II’s death, the Abysinnia Empire (Ethiopia) fell into a brief era of feudal disputes, for at least three or four years posing no threat to the East African colony.