African Entrepreneurship Record

Of course, the coastal regions of East Africa represent an outward-oriented economy and cannot fully represent the entirety of East Africa, especially since the situations inland are vastly different. Fernandez had only observed the rapid development and prosperity on the surface of East Africa, and it will take some time and immersion to deeply understand the actual circumstances.

...

City of Maputo.

”Currently, we have resumed production at seventy-one plantations around Maputo. Originally, there were four to five hundred plantations of varying sizes around Maputo. After we took over, we did a comprehensive integration of the local plantations, resulting in seventy-one mega plantations.”

”The main workforce in the plantations consists of Black slaves left by the Portuguese. The Portuguese had more than 40,000 Black slaves in Maputo and during wartime, they conscripted many Black people. These can maintain the development of the plantations before eastern livestock and machinery arrive. However, by then the plantations will need to transform into large farms.”

Tropical plantations are typically labor-intensive industries. For example, in the 19th century, achieving mechanization for cotton harvesting was very difficult.

The world’s three major cotton-producing regions—the United States, India, and the Far East Empire—are all densely populated areas. In the United States, for instance, the shortage of manpower for cotton plantations led to the introduction of a large number of Black slaves. During the Civil War, the southern plantations were filled with Black people, and Northern capitalists were undoubtedly envious.

In contrast, East Africa’s positioning for southern Mozambique clearly is not for cotton or other tropical cash crops but rather for cereal cultivation.

For regions like southern Mozambique with high-quality black soil and extensive plains, not cultivating grains would be a pity. Here, the land is even more fertile than in the Great Lakes Region, with moderate rainfall and temperatures, perfectly situated near the Tropic of Capricorn.

Most of East Africa’s territory falls between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, especially in the north, which extends only to the southern regions of the Sultanate, still some distance from the Tropic of Cancer.

Hence, the South African region plays a significant role in enriching East Africa’s climatic environment. The southernmost Orange River basin has already crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, reaching about 30 degrees south latitude.

Naturally, much of East Africa is influenced by its topography, resulting in a tropical savanna climate. Due to high altitudes, the temperatures are relatively low, resembling subtropical climates in characteristics.

Do not underestimate this seemingly small plain in southern Mozambique as seen on the map; its area reaches 330,000 square kilometers, making it one of the largest plains in Africa, while the largest Northeast Plain of the Far East Empire is just 350,000 square kilometers.

Yet, compared to East Africa’s vast territory, this area of plains is hardly significant. East Africa’s plains are mainly concentrated along the eastern coast, and while the northern Somali plains are plains, they are characterized by a tropical desert climate. The plains between Mombasa and Kismayo are predominantly arid grasslands due to sparse rainfall.

Mozambique, however, is different. It has an average annual rainfall ranging from 750mm to 1200mm, with numerous rivers and dense river networks. The upstream regions are mostly highland and mountainous, creating extensive alluvial plains downstream. In such conditions, Mozambique’s lands are naturally very fertile.

”According to news from Dar es Salaam City, the first batch of agricultural tractors will not arrive in Maputo until the end of this year at the earliest because they have never produced so many tractors on such a large scale. As for livestock from the northern pastures, they’ll probably arrive by August, mainly dispatched from Mombasa Port. Meanwhile, New Hamburg Port City can temporarily allocate a batch to help us develop southern Mozambique.”

New Hamburg Port City falls under the domain of East Africa’s southern pastures, an area where the livestock industry is quite developed, second only to the northern pastures. It is likely to surpass the northern pastures in the future, so New Hamburg Port City has the capacity to allocate a batch of livestock to support Maputo.

Of course, the livestock industry at New Hamburg Port suffered great damage due to the war. Before the war broke out, a large number of livestock were relocated to Heixinggen Province.

However, there’s a railway connection between Heixinggen Province and New Hamburg Port City, so the recovery has been swift post-war.

”Once the railway from New Hamburg Port City to Maputo is opened, it will significantly alleviate our issues. New Hamburg Port City is already an industrial city and can effectively provide basic agricultural tools to assist Maputo. However, since the Southern Border Province is also recovering, we will likely have to wait until after the new year to receive comprehensive support from New Hamburg Port City.”

For the Maputo government, the shortages of manpower, tools, and power are quite dire... but this is the case across other regions of East Africa as well.

However, the Mozambique region is particularly serious, having been integrated into East Africa too late. Coupled with the Portuguese’s ”efficiency,” Mozambique and Angola lag far behind other parts of East Africa.

Take for instance Heixinggen Province and the Southern Border Province, where development is restricted; their agriculture is essentially on par with the two territories, and industry is even less comparable.

Under Portuguese rule, Mozambique had zero industrial foundations, with only a few ship repair yards and three makeshift arsenals established due to the war.

These three arsenals are essentially large-scale firearm repair shops, lacking real weapon production capabilities. Moreover, with the departure of Portuguese technicians, they have now fallen into a state of paralysis, although the machines are well-preserved. This differentiates it from Angola, where the Portuguese military, upon withdrawing by sea, almost entirely destroyed production and living facilities in Luanda and Benguela.

In contrast, Maputo was blockaded by East Africa in the later stages of the war and eventually completely fell into East African hands, so Maputo is relatively well-preserved among former Portuguese colonial cities.

To be sure, according to standards, the Portuguese colonies in South Africa only include these three barely city-like locations: Luanda, Benguela, and Maputo.

”Besides integrating Mozambique’s agriculture, the development in Maputo City should also return to its regular course. Currently, many places in the city are vacant; hotels, inns, ship repair yards, and workshops have all basically come to a halt. Help must be sought from other cities; all of this needs to be included in the government report.”

Before the war, Maputo’s commerce was quite prosperous, with numerous foreign traders operating local businesses and exporting Mozambique’s resources.

But with the outbreak of the war, Maputo fell into a stagnant state. After the war ended, the withdrawal of the Portuguese government and many civilians resulted in the complete collapse of Maputo’s administrative structure.

If it were only a government issue, it would be easily resolved, but the mass departure of Portuguese civilians led to the destruction of the local grassroots system. So when the East African-appointed government for Maputo arrived, Maputo’s situation saw no improvement.

Previously, Maputo was under military control, and even now, Maputo has more soldiers than civilians. Of course, this does not include the Black people.

Admittedly, a fair number of Portuguese were left in Mozambique, but they have been temporarily requisitioned by the East African government to manage the Black people and maintain Mozambique’s production activities.

This mainly pertains to the local plantation industry, preventing the land from being abandoned again. As for Maputo’s commerce, it can be considered completely ruined. In the short term, merchant ships from various countries will bypass here, opting instead for New Hamburg Port or Durban Port in the UK’s Natal colony.

Simultaneously, the Portuguese took with them their traditional business routes. For example, now that the plantations have been nationalized by East Africa, the commercial channels of the original Portuguese plantation owners have also been severed.

The Maputo city government will need to handle all of this in the future. However, given Maputo’s geographical location and conditions, a return to prosperity is merely a matter of time.