African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1219: Chapter 228: Brotherhood

December 5, 1915.

Benguela Port.

With the development of the economy and the stimulation of the European war, the economy of the entire West Coast region of East Africa took advantage of this historical opportunity to reach new heights.

In Falta New District of Benguela, trains and trucks were loading and unloading goods and containers departing from inland or domestically.

At eight in the evening, dockworker Anton and his coworkers finally completed the loading of the last container onto the ship. After wiping the sweat off his face with a towel, Anton sat on the concrete ground and said to Mars, ”There’s so much more work this year compared to last year, I wonder how long Europe will keep fighting.”

Mars took a sip of cold tea from his large mug and said, ”The longer they fight, the better. Although it’s not decent to say so, without the European war, we wouldn’t have so many trade orders now.”

”I don’t care how the Europeans are doing now, as long as we live well, that’s enough. After all, the European powers are nothing good either. If they decline, it’s a benefit for the whole world.”

The world has suffered under Europe for too long, of course, this isn’t something that should be said by East Africans, as East Africa is also just another imperialist power and one of the oppressors.

Reflecting on East Africa’s history, it is entirely the path of an imperialist nation rising to power, built on the blood, sweat, and bones of millions of Black people, brown people, and some yellow and white people.

The countries in Europe and East Africa that had past conflicts were mainly the United Kingdom and Portugal, but when it comes to discussing who truly benefited, it’s clear that East Africa is not the beneficiary.

Most countries in Europe may look down on East Africa in their hearts, but at the government level, relations with East Africa are quite good. Even the United Kingdom and Portugal have ”set aside their past grievances” over the years and ”reconciled” with East Africa.

The United Kingdom needs no further mention; after the reconciliation with East England, the two countries have reached a temporary compromise at the official level, while the relationship with Portugal has completely shifted as East Africa’s power grows, forcing the Portuguese government to make new choices.

Clearly, the Portuguese people’s aversion and hatred for East Africa cannot disappear, but the Portuguese government has to be ”practical.” In 1902, the new Portuguese government began changing its rhetoric.

The government no longer promoted ideas such as ”hatred for East Africa” or ”the threat of East Africa,” which were not conducive to ”friendly” relations between the two countries, as the new government was clear about its position.

The previous Portuguese government came to power by riding on anti-East Africa sentiment after the South African war, but after a long accumulation of social conflicts, the hatred for East Africa could no longer satisfy the public’s emotional venting.

The East Africa card was no longer an excuse for the government to shift conflicts, and the Portuguese government understood that continuing to provoke East Africa would not only fail to solve problems but would further offend East Africa.

After entering the 20th century, East Africa had secured its position as one of the world imperialist members, while Portugal went into a complete decline.

The Portuguese government certainly wouldn’t further offend East Africa just because of public sentiment. After all, with the rise of East Africa’s Atlantic Fleet, East African warships could potentially sail into Lisbon.

Therefore, after the new Portuguese government took office, it naturally chose to ”reconcile” with East Africa. When East Africa began its initial colonization of Africa without direct conflict with Portugal, their relationship was quite decent, so the reconciliation was justified.

Even Portugal, a country that once had deep hatred towards East Africa, could ”reconcile,” so it’s no surprise that other European countries have maintained good relations with East Africa, including ”brotherly” nations like Germany and Austria-Hungary.

So Anton said, ”You’re a bit extreme, Mars. While it’s true that the European war has brought us tremendous benefits, the wars between European countries cannot continue indefinitely. So this period of economic development dividends will ultimately end with the conclusion of the European war.”

”I believe East Africa’s development ultimately relies on its own efforts and progress rather than the actions of other countries. As long as we surpass Europe in industry and economy, even if they recover, they won’t pose too much of a threat to us.”

Mars replied, ”You’re right, developing ourselves is the key principle, but what I said isn’t wrong either. The industrial countries of Europe and America are our competitors. If a competitor falls, it’s definitely not a bad thing for us. So the longer the European war continues, the more it benefits us, although this is just an ideal scenario.”

”Look at our Benguela City. Its development over the years can be described as changing annually, with each day bringing new progress. This is closely related to the government’s grasp of opportunities.”

”Developing the West Coast is one aspect, but trading with South America, Europe, and America further stimulated the rapid rise of cities like Benguela on the West Coast, while the outbreak of the European war provided a huge historical opportunity for today’s Benguela.”

”Just our workload this year is probably more than the last two or three years combined. A large number of orders are coming from Europe and America, factories are operating around the clock, and the railways work day and night. This means we have more salary to take home.”

The outbreak of the European war brought visible changes to Benguela City, which is the main reason Mars supports the continuation of the European war.

After all, the entire East Africa is too far from Mars, but the development of Benguela City is closely related to him.

He continued, ”Back when it all started, our Falta New District really developed from nothing to its current scale.”

”Those who haven’t experienced it can’t imagine that six years ago, this was just a large construction site, but now it’s a new district that stands on equal footing with the old town. The port, docks, roads, and buildings are all top-notch. Aside from the relatively monotonous environment, you can hardly find any flaws compared to the old district.”

Anton agreed wholeheartedly, saying, ”That’s right, back then, you and I were just two young guys from the countryside of Salzburg, and now we’re bona fide city residents.”

”I still remember when we first came to Benguela, we were quite excited. After all, Benguela was considered one of the more famous large cities in the Empire at the time.”

Benguela does have a certain level of fame in East Africa, although Anton and Mars hail from rural areas inland from East Africa, Benguela, as a significant base for the Portuguese in Angola, is quite well-known in Angola.

Of course, what’s most famous is the Benguela current, which shares its name with Benguela City. Benguela current is a key topic in East African geography textbooks, so anyone who pays a bit of attention in class or flips through books is likely to remember the term Benguela current.

Undoubtedly, the Benguela current is an important topic among ocean currents and, being situated on the West Coast of East Africa, it is naturally highlighted by East African teachers and often compared with the Peru current.

Coupled with the East African Railway mainline, the Central Railway’s important westward extension, the Benguela Railway, this geographical term Benguela appears frequently in East Africa.

And Benguela City itself holds an important place in East African history, and it is also one of the provinces of East Africa, with Benguela City serving as the capital. Therefore, Benguela City’s economic foundation couldn’t be weak, nor could its fame be low.

This is also the main reason why Anton was so excited when he was assigned to work in Benguela, as a city that was quite well-known clearly wouldn’t have bad economic conditions.

Although Anton’s and Mars’ hometown, Salzburg Province, had much better conditions than Benguela Province, and Mbeya City, the capital of Salzburg Province, is one of the top ten well-known cities in East Africa, these didn’t have much to do with Anton and Mars of rural Salzburg.