African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 180: Chapter 169: Development Situation in 1868

December 28, 1868.

This year, East Africa’s statistical data slowly trickled in. Due to factors like increases across various data points, territorial expansion, population growth, and additional industries, the statistical process was much slower compared to the previous two years.

Previously, the immigrant population could be simply calculated from the archives at the coastal ports, as each immigrant was registered upon arrival.

However, this year, that method was not feasible due to the explosion in the number of newborns, requiring reports from each area in East Africa for verification by relevant personnel.

By the end of November 1868, the population of the entire East African colony was over 1.75 million, nearing 2 million.

Reaching this level in nearly three years is indeed remarkable, but East Africa achieved it. After all, in this era, no one else went to such great lengths and expense to actively recruit immigrants like East Africa did.

The journey from the immigrants’ point of origin to East Africa was almost completely covered by the East African colony, with all transportation and food expenses provided by the Heixinggen consortium.

The 1.75 million represents the total number of immigrants and newborns in East Africa, excluding the indigenous population, which should be between 1.3 and 1.5 million. During periods of intense engineering in East Africa, the demand for labor is high, hence more are captured from the west. When projects are fewer, the number of slaves continuously decreases, with a batch sent away daily from the port of Dar es Salaam.

The number of slaves is so large, almost matching the native population on a one-to-one basis. Not even the southern United States has such a terrifying ratio, so worrying about a labor shortage in the East African colony is simply laughable; East Africa is not foolish.

Even so, Ernst exercised restraint. After all, East Africa recruited immigrants from around the world to strengthen its capabilities, not to support a group of aristocrats. Therefore, the East African colony still tries to maximize the value of immigrants, rather than letting Black slaves do all the work.

Throughout 1868, the expansion of the East African colony was not very remarkable because its opponents were too weak and the northwestern area was small compared to East Africa. As for northern Kenya, although newly developed this year, it posed a lower challenge.

This is because the area falls under the influence of the Zanzibar Sultanate. Although it did not rule this place directly, the local tribes and northern powers have essentially been heavily beaten by the Zanzibar Sultanate.

This includes the Gledi Sultanate in the Somali region, which was once a small follower during the Omani Empire, only breaking away from Omani control a few decades ago.

According to the usual historical trajectory, within a few years, the Zanzibar Sultanate (the Omani Empire was comprised of Muscat and Zanzibar, with the Zanzibar Sultanate later gaining independence as a branch of the royal family) would reinstate the Gledi Sultanate into its vassalage.

It could be said that the emergence of the East African colony temporarily rescued the Gledi Sultanate from its predicament, preventing its annexation by the Zanzibar Sultanate.

In northern East Africa, aside from the Gledi Sultanate, there is also the traditional Overlord, Ethiopia. However, this year the Abyssinian Empire was heavily defeated by the British, and the emperor committed suicide, making it unable to uphold its prestige.

Therefore, the development of the northern Kenya region went very smoothly, especially since it was less populated than the south, making it more conducive for colonial development.

The northwest region and northern Kenya brought East Africa’s territory to over 2 million square kilometers (excluding the area of bodies of water like Lake Victoria).

In terms of industry, East Africa is still negligible. Honestly, the few dozen factories and workshops in East Africa would barely register in a feudal state, let alone compare with European nations.

Take Prussia from 20 years ago as an example, with more than 78,000 small and large workshops and factories, employing over 550,000 workers. With the integration of the North German Federation, Prussia’s formidable state is imaginable.

Hence, agriculture still stands solid in the industrial structure of the East African colony.

As of November 26, 1868, the East African colony had developed around 20.4 million acres of arable land, with an average area of about 12.75 acres per capita (excluding slaves and recent immigrants to East Africa).

Of this, the area for rice cultivation saw little increase, totaling 1.1 million acres. The new developments were mainly in eastern Kenya and near the Great Lake (Lake Victoria), with an estimated yield of 220 million catties.

Wheat cultivation covered about 6.6 million acres, approximately 440,000 hectares, nearly quadrupling in scale, with an estimated yield of over 1 billion catties, which is around one million tons.

This year, maize planting achieved a significant breakthrough, serving as a primary staple for livestock and slaves, with more than 5 million acres planted, approximately over 300,000 hectares.

Additionally, regions for sorghum and millet cultivation also reached over 2 million acres.

In particular, sorghum, originally an African crop, is very suitable for planting and serves mainly as a supplement to maize.

Corn, millet, and sorghum are relatively easier to manage compared to rice and wheat. Especially sorghum, in East Africa, it is planted extensively and harvested sparsely; you just scatter it in the field, and that’s nearly enough.

The above are the main staple crops of East Africa, among which rice, wheat, and millet are the main food sources for East Africans, while corn and sorghum are mainly used for locals and livestock. Apart from these crops, the remaining land is used for planting cash crops.

Sisal remains the largest cash crop in East Africa, followed by soybeans and then coffee. Other large-scale crops include peanuts, sesame, rubber, cloves, cotton, tea, and others.

The status of sisal is being overtaken by soybeans because soybeans, being nitrogen-fixing plants, are used for crop rotation and mixed planting with wheat and others.

Although the coffee plantation area is not small, the harvest is still far away.

Interestingly, many cash crops are mainly concentrated in the Great Lakes Region. For example, rubber is currently distributed near the shores of the Great Lake and the rivers in the Great Lake basin.

Tanzania, being in a tropical region, is suitable for rubber planting, provided the water supply is ensured. Although East Africa is not short of water, it has less compared to tropical rainforest areas.

Historically, Africa was the second largest rubber producer after Southeast Asia, and Tanzania’s rubber plantation scale was among the top ten in Africa.

However, due to the Tanzanian government’s lack of attention to rubber planting, slow technology updates, and local people not being enthusiastic about managing the labor-intensive crop, East Africa’s rubber production cost is far higher than regions like Southeast Asia. It even requires imports from Southeast Asia, although Tanzania can entirely reach self-sufficiency in rubber planting. (This information is based on the data report from 1978 to 1991 by East Africa General Tire, which had a direct rubber plantation in Tanzania.)

Therefore, the main factor restricting East African agriculture is still the uneven distribution of rainfall in time and space. For example, in East African wheat planting areas, water sources are primarily used to ensure the priority of wheat and other grain crops, while in the drier northern regions, millet and sorghum are widely planted.

Many cash crops require a large amount of water to grow, and the Great Lakes Region and the eastern coastal plains are the places with the most abundant rainfall in East Africa.

Especially the newly occupied lands in the Great Lakes Region, the west side of the Mitumba Mountains is the Congo Basin, with even more abundant rainfall.

Of course, some cash crops do not require much water and are suitable for dryland farming, such as cotton, sesame, etc.

The development of so much land is inseparable from the extensive use of slaves and advanced iron tools. Although East Africa cannot achieve the level of mechanization in Europe, it is still quite good compared to other regions.

Importing iron agricultural tools from Europe is a significant expense for the East African colony, which also leads to East Africa prioritizing all available funds on iron imports. So much so that many East African families don’t even have an iron pot, with earthen cookware and stoves prevalent, and most utensils are wooden.

The amount of East African iron ore mining is quite small, only an accessory product to coal mining. East Africa doesn’t even have a modern steel plant, relying merely on the traditional kilns and a few small blacksmith shops left by the Zanzibar Sultanate in the east.

Of course, East Africa does not want to build a steel plant. The problem is how to bring in machinery, and during this era, a steel plant was definitely a crucial industry, determining a country’s development level.

Introducing it is very costly, and most frustrating is that East African transportation conditions are still stuck at the level of human pull and donkey haul.

Moreover, East Africa’s coal and iron resources are located inland. In this era, steel plants were built near resource areas, oriented by resources. Just like the Ruhr region was built on coal mines.

Unlike the past life, the 21st century is market-oriented, with the Far East countries building many large steel plants in coastal areas, relying on maritime imports for coal and iron resources, and conveniently shipping products worldwide via maritime routes.

Therefore, Ernst has not yet constructed a steel plant in East Africa at all. The coal produced by slaves in East Africa is only supplied to a few steam-powered factories, with plenty to spare. Regarding the little amount the factory requires, it could be supported even by pushing handcarts, let alone with carriages available.

The only industrial advantage that East Africa has over other contemporarily underdeveloped countries is having a few steam engine-driven factories located along the coast, including East Africa’s sole steam engine for drainage at the Mwanza coal mine.

Except for a few primary agricultural product processing plants (sisal, tobacco, flour, etc.), the rest in East Africa are somewhat larger ”workshops” and workshops purely relying on human labor, such as the Mwanza shipyard which uses ship engines imported from Germany, while the rest of the hull is purely handmade.

In other words, the extent of East African handicrafts entirely depends on how developed the Zanzibar Sultanate is along the East African coast. Unfortunately, the economic focus of the Zanzibar Sultanate has always been on Zanzibar Island, and Ernst, adhering to leaving room for conduct, didn’t wipe out Zanzibar Island after all, aiming to leave a way out for the Zanzibar Sultanate (mainly because the Zanzibar Sultanate has ties with Britain, as during the Oman Empire era, the British supported Oman in competing against countries like Portugal).

Of course, East Africa also has an arms factory, which is considered the most advanced industry in East Africa, but even it remains at the stage of repairing East African defective guns and producing simple explosives and bullets.

Compared to industry, East Africa’s agriculture is truly impressive. It can meet local demands and export externally simultaneously.

But this is based on the premise of East Africa’s vast land with sparse population and thriving slave-based economy, not on how high East Africa’s agricultural productivity level is. East Africa’s agricultural productivity level ranks just above the global average, with comprehensive applications of windmills, advanced agricultural tools, fertilizers, and scientific cultivation methods allowing East Africa to stand out among backward countries and regions.