December 28, 1868.
This year, East Africa's statistics had also slowly dragged themselves out. With growth across every category, territorial expansion, population growth, and the addition of new industries, the statistical process was much slower than in the previous two years.
In the past, the immigrant population could be calculated simply from the records in the port regions, because every immigrant was registered upon landing.
This year, however, that model no longer worked. The explosion in the number of newborns required reports from every part of East Africa and verification by relevant personnel.
By the end of November 1868, the entire East African colony had a population of more than 1.75 million, nearing two million.
Reaching this level in less than three years was exaggerated, but East Africa had truly done it. After all, no one in this era went to such lengths, spent such effort, and poured in such money to actively recruit immigrants as East Africa did.
From the moment immigrants set out until they reached East Africa, nearly the entire journey was covered by the East African colony. The Hohenzollern Conglomerate provided all transportation costs and food.
The 1.75 million figure included all East African immigrants and newborns, but not the indigenous people. The indigenous population should have hovered between 1.3 and 1.5 million. When East Africa had many projects and high labor demand, it went west to capture more people. When there were fewer projects, the number of slaves remained in continual decline. Every day, Dar es Salaam Port sent off a batch.
With so many slaves, their numbers had nearly reached a one-to-one ratio with the local population. Even the American South had never seen such a terrifying proportion. Worrying that the East African colony lacked labor was simply laughable; East Africa was not stupid.