Late 1879.
The little rainy season that should have arrived was long overdue. As expected, it triggered a drought in eastern East Africa, affecting two of East Africa's major agricultural regions: the coastal plains and the dryland farming areas of the East African Highlands.
The Great Lakes Region was not greatly affected. Thanks to its geographical location, it could draw some benefit from the residual moisture drifting from the Congo Basin. Coupled with its already abundant water resources, the drought had little impact there.
"This rainy season has been delayed for special reasons, so water allocation must be handled properly. At the same time, reservoir releases must be carried out promptly to ensure agricultural work proceeds steadily."
"According to local reports, five eastern provinces will be affected: Central Province, Eastern Province, New Württemberg Province, Plateau Province, and South Salzburg Province. The drought therefore covers a considerable area. Parts of the west and south will also be affected, but since those regions were developed later and remain vast and sparsely populated, the impact is not especially severe."
Faced with the drought, East Africa was able to respond calmly, with the entire state apparatus operating smoothly. It was only because the drought covered such a broad area that it drew the central government's close attention.
After more than a decade of development, excluding the Black population, eastern East Africa's population had in fact reached the level of an ordinary country, setting it clearly apart from vast but sparsely populated nations such as Australia, Canada, and Argentina.
Brazil was also a vast and sparsely populated country, but it at least had a population of over ten million, which was still passable. East Africa was more exaggerated: migrant population in the Tanganyika region alone had surpassed ten million, and that did not even include