African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1210: Chapter 219: Blessed by Heaven’s Gifts

For example, fifty-two percent of the coal in Dar es Salaam City comes from New Hamburg Port City, thirty-one percent originates from India, and the remaining portion comes from the Middle East or other regions within East Africa. However, in the past one or two years, Russian imported coal has quickly increased in Dar es Salaam City, mainly sourced from eastern Ukraine.

The sources of iron ore are even more exaggerated. Forty-seven percent of Dar es Salaam City’s iron ore comes from India, thirteen percent from the Middle East, and combined, they exceed the local supply from East Africa.

This also highlights the massive maritime transportation advantages of Dar es Salaam City, as well as the prosperity of trade between India and Dar es Salaam City.

Most cities along the eastern coast of East Africa emphasize trade relations with India. After all, a super large market with nearly 300 million people and India’s abundant mineral resources makes it highly attractive to East African companies, despite the British colonial government’s role as a middleman taking a cut of profits.

India’s advantages are absolutely exceptional. In the agricultural era, India was already second only to the Far East Empire as the world’s agricultural and handicraft center.

In ancient times, being able to become the world’s handicraft center was naturally due to India’s rich natural resources, such as coal and iron ore, which constitute basic industrial minerals, and India possesses considerable reserves. In previous generations, as the world’s most populous country, India maintained significant iron ore exports, which clearly illustrates the point.

Moreover, the maritime transportation advantages between East Africa and India are remarkably significant. With the combined advantages of transportation, resources, and market, it is impossible for the trade between East and India not to flourish.

After 1914, trade between East Africa and India also reached further historical highs, even witnessing the spectacle of Indian businessmen and bureaucrats making large orders of East African industrial products to sell in the United Kingdom itself.

Today’s Indian bureaucrats are naturally colonial government officials under British rule, and as Britain’s wealthiest colony, India is also where British bureaucrats profit greatly.

These parasites are clearly one of the United Kingdom’s most abstract groups. Even after the South African War, during the period when British sanctions against East Africa were most severe, Indian British bureaucrats continued their ways undisturbed, so East Africa equally issued an invitation to India for the Expo this time.

Of course, the main targets of trade with East Africa are still the princes and nobility of India. Although the United Kingdom is India’s sovereign country, these princes and nobles are the real foundations of Britain’s rule in India.

Britain essentially colludes with these princes and nobles, naturally enjoying ample benefits. In the early 20th century, Indian principalities rarely underwent any internal reforms. Noble corruption was widespread, and the princely state system became a major cancer on India’s body.

However, this is evidently also advantageous for East Africa. The vast majority of East African trade is directly conducted with these princes and nobles.

If feasible, Ernst would gladly see India maintain this rampant princely state model. After all, on the Indian Ocean Coast, there’s no need for another world power to appear, threatening East Africa’s regional interests. So Ernst and the East African Government absolutely do not wish to see a unified India.

...

”Vietnam?” Howard immediately thought of this country, after all, Vietnam should be considered the essence of French colonial presence in the South Sea Region.

Pasteur nodded and said, ”Probably! I’m not too familiar with it, and I don’t deal in this kind of business.”

Howard said, ”When we return to Australia, I think perhaps we can bridge the connections. I remember Australia also has bauxite deposits.”

From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, Australia successively discovered other important mineral resources such as coal, iron ore, copper, aluminum, and zinc. So upon realizing the booming demand of East Africa’s emerging industrial market, Howard now feels he has a great chance to grab a share of the trade between East Africa and Australia.

After all, he is the president of the Western Australia and East Africa Business Association, and the near water fishing advantage is not negligible.

In fact, over the past few years, the growth rate of Western Australia’s mineral exports to East Africa has been remarkable. Western Australia’s natural conditions are certainly less favorable compared to eastern Australia, but Western Australia happens to be rich in mineral resources.

Additionally, the transportation between Western Australia, the whole of Australia, and East Africa is very convenient. Australia’s location can be considered quite remote, arguably the worst apart from Antarctica.

The closest places to Australia’s location are Asia, South America, and Africa, but now the industrial development levels of Asia and South America are quite low.

Only on the African Continent has East Africa emerged as a super-sized industrial nation, so Australia’s abundant mineral resources, if able to hitch onto East Africa’s economic express, would be ideal.

For example, Canada. Canada and Australia, as British colonies, share many similarities.

Canada and Australia are both vast countries with rich mineral resources and spacious land with sparse populations, but their destinies are vastly different.

By the early 20th century, Canada had already achieved preliminary industrialization and held a very prominent position among British colonies, having signed the British North America Act with the United Kingdom as early as 1867, obtaining dominion status, which is essentially tantamount to actual independence.

However, Australia only achieved dominion status at the beginning of this century in 1901, and due to its economic and military weaknesses, Australia had to follow the United Kingdom in many aspects.

This clearly isn’t because the Australian government is too loyal, but because its economic strength and military capability don’t allow it.

The main reason for the different destinies of Canada and Australia lies in Canada being adjacent to the United States. Canada is the only American country enjoying the economic benefits of the United States. Its mineral resource advantages can rapidly materialize through U.S. industry, which is the main reason for Canada’s rapid economic development from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.

Australia, however, possessing resource advantages no less than Canada’s, is currently in urgent need of a wealthy benefactor similar to the United States. Evidently, East Africa has the ability to play such a role.

Thus, after witnessing East Africa’s formidable industrial capabilities, Howard believes the next step should be for Australia to strengthen economic cooperation with East Africa.

Of course, because of the bitter resentment between East Africa and the United Kingdom, the Australian government might avoid embarrassment, thus hindering the development of trade between the two countries.

However, Western Australia evidently doesn’t need to align with the government in the east; the connection between Western Australia and the eastern part hasn’t been close to begin with, especially given the Australian government’s longstanding neglect of Western Australia, resulting in many Western Australians lacking a sense of identification.

Howard is one such person, and the Western Australia and East Africa Business Association he leads rarely interacts with the east. So given the known huge benefits of cooperating with East Africa for himself and his association, he naturally seeks to further strengthen the trade relations with East Africa.

Howard further said to Pasteur, ”Western Australia has abundant mineral resources, and East Africa has the world’s most powerful industry. The two countries can complement each other advantageously. Therefore, I’ll urge the association to directly reach some agreements and consensus with the East African Government.”

For a country like Australia, selling minerals is akin to selling the mud in front of the house, entirely not worth feeling remorseful about. In previous generations, oil sellers in the Gulf countries might have worried about the exhaustion of energy resources, but Australia doesn’t need to worry about this at all. Not to mention its vast resource reserves, even if they ever run out, they can simply switch to selling another type of mineral - that’s truly the blessing of Mother Nature.

East Africa was once like this too, but now with its rapidly increasing population and swiftly growing industry, East Africa must remain vigilant, unless the Rhein Royal Family only ever wants to stay in Africa as a tribal chief. In such circumstances, East Africa wouldn’t need such a large population as it has now; maintaining a scale of ten million would allow East Africa to live comfortably.