"Uncle Karl, look—this area is Lake Chad. Its vast expanse is obvious even from the map. It would not be an exaggeration to say that among Africa's lakes, it may be second only to Great Lake (Lake Victoria) and Lake Tanganyika."
Lake Chad had not yet dried up as it would in later generations. Its waters likely covered around thirty to forty thousand square kilometers, expanding dramatically during the rainy season, which made it especially conspicuous on the African maps drawn by East Africa.
Prince Karl was indeed tempted. Such an immense lake would make anyone's heart stir. Lakes and rivers represented civilization, especially a lake of this size bordering the Sahara Desert.
"Ernst, does this so-called Lake Chad truly exist?"
It was no wonder Prince Karl asked. Lake Chad had actually been discovered as early as the Early 19th century, but map updates and dissemination could not keep pace. Only recently had European nations begun exploring Africa on a large scale.
But unfortunately, East Africa alone occupied nearly a third of Africa, and even two-thirds of the continent had little pioneering value beyond West Africa. Those destitute households in North Africa had declined alongside the Arab Empire and Ottoman Empire, but even a rotten ship still had three pounds of nails. Cultural imprints were not so easily erased. That was one reason Algeria had broken away from France in his previous life.
"Uncle Karl, rest assured. If any country understands Africa best, it is undoubtedly East Africa. The British discovered Lake Chad as early as 1822, intending to investigate the relationship between the Niger River and Lake Chad. Later, our own expedition teams surveyed the area as well, and our data is even more detailed."
To be precise, the first European to discover Lake Chad was a Scotsman. Lake