When it came to horse exports, East Africa found itself in an awkward position. For a brief period from the end of the last century to the beginning of this one, East Africa had once become one of the world's largest horse-breeding nations.
According to East Africa's figures from 1900, the country's horse stock had reached roughly twenty-one million. Among the world's great powers, only Russia and the United States had attained that level.
Russia had long ranked first in the world in horse numbers. Before the First World War, for instance, its horse stock may have stood at around thirty million, followed by the United States with roughly twenty million.
Freer said to Thomson with a face full of regret, "Ambassador Thomson, why not choose more automobiles? East Africa does not lack horses, but in recent years, the development of the automobile industry has brought major changes to East African transportation. Horse breeding has already dropped by a whole tier."
"Our current horse stock is only a little over ten million, far behind Tsarist Russia and the United States. So why not order more of our automobiles? East Africa's automobile manufacturing industry is already quite advanced and can fully meet part of your country's needs."
East Africa had once stood alongside Russia and the United States as a great horse-breeding power. After all, in ancient times and even during the early stages of industrialization, horses had been an extremely important source of power.
Armies needed horses, widespread horse plowing meant agriculture needed vast numbers of horses as well, and then there was transportation. Even now, most European countries still relied on horse-drawn carriages as their most important means of transport. Whether in the countryside or the cities, carriages were everywhere.
At present, only East Africa and the United States