Arc 34Building the Southern Territories

East Africa expanded farms, railways, roads, and settlement across its southern territories while negotiating economic ties with Germany and Austria-Hungary. The arc ended with Wang Desen’s family receiving visas to join Wang Defeng in East Africa, where they might be assigned to a distant region.

  • Fernandes and other newly naturalized workers were assigned to farms around Maputo and began German lessons as officials planned to rebuild the city and its agricultural economy.
  • Ernst designated Kimberley a priority, ordered experienced miners to restart diamond production, and planned to recruit immigrants from underdeveloped Austro-Hungarian regions.
  • Ernst approved major railway and road expansion, including routes through Mozambique and the Kalahari, while East African officials began the Habe Railway after a typhoon damaged Bella City.
  • Saul’s tractors reached Shaoqui Town, where they plowed fields and demonstrated how mechanized farms could develop the southern Mozambique Plains.
  • Caprivi negotiated with Ernst, and Germany and East Africa signed an economic cooperation agreement, while Rudolf later signed a separate investment agreement for the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
  • Ernst proposed organizing rural education around towns and expanding traditional Chinese medicine clinics, training, and local medicinal production.
  • Wang Defeng guaranteed Wang Desen’s family at the East African Consulate, and they passed their checks and received visas that also served as ship tickets.
Chapters 831–855 Vol. 9 Read

Ch. 831Fernandes the German

Fernandes and other Portuguese plantation workers in Mozambique became German citizens under East African rule and were assigned to farms near Maputo. As they began compulsory German lessons, Fernandes and his colleagues wondered whether they had made the right choice, though East Africa’s rapid development gave them some hope.

  • Prust questioned Fernandes about his work and family before stamping his name and declaring him a German.
  • The newly naturalized Portuguese workers were assigned to plantations and farms around former Maputo and required to attend daily German lessons.
  • An East African instructor told the workers to abandon their Portuguese identity and learn German as the language of their new country.
  • Fernandes and his colleagues complained that German was difficult but acknowledged they could not leave and had been treated fairly by the East African government.
  • Fernandes hoped their choice would prove right as he and his colleagues recalled East Africa’s fast-growing cities.

Ch. 832Plantations Become Farms

Fernandes’s officials assessed Maputo’s plantations, fertile land, and shortages as East Africa began reorganizing Mozambique’s economy after the Portuguese withdrawal. The city remained stagnant and understaffed, and its government planned to seek outside assistance while awaiting livestock, machinery, and railway links.

  • Maputo officials reported that they had consolidated hundreds of former plantations into seventy-one large plantations worked mainly by Black slaves left behind by the Portuguese.
  • The officials said southern Mozambique’s fertile plains, rivers, and rainfall made grain farming a better goal than labor-intensive cash crops.
  • They explained that tractors from Dar es Salaam and livestock from the Northern Pastures would arrive slowly, while New Hamburg City could provide limited interim support.
  • The officials noted that Portuguese rule had left Mozambique with little industry and that the departure of Portuguese civilians had crippled Maputo’s administration and commerce.
  • The Maputo government decided to include plans to restore the city and request assistance from other cities in its government report.

Ch. 833Orange Population Crisis

Yulta and Helvishin discussed Orange’s severe labor shortage and Kimberley’s stalled economy. They agreed that Kimberley’s mines and British-built infrastructure had to be preserved, and Helvishin offered to seek workers from other provinces.

  • Yulta complained that Kimberley’s mines and construction had stopped because Orange lacked people.
  • Helvishin explained that Bloemfontein was also nearly empty and depended on a small population borrowed from New Baden Province.
  • Yulta argued that restarting Kimberley’s diamond industry was the best way to make the central government recognize Orange’s value.
  • Helvishin proposed requesting black workers from other provinces and offered a few dozen additional workers to help maintain Kimberley’s mines.
  • Yulta insisted that several hundred workers were needed to protect and operate the machinery left behind in Kimberley.
  • Helvishin agreed that Kimberley’s machinery and railway were vital and told Yulta to prioritize safeguarding them.

Ch. 834Catching One Sheep and Shearing It Bare

Ernst and Von der Leyen discussed East Africa’s growing labor shortages and how to repopulate newly incorporated regions. Ernst approved restoring Kimberley’s diamond industry and ordered a plan to recruit immigrants from underdeveloped parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, leaving local citizens free to move west and south.

  • Von der Leyen told Ernst that Orange needed at least thirty thousand Black people and skilled workers to restore Kimberley, whose population and infrastructure had been depleted.
  • Ernst designated Kimberley a priority development area and ordered diamond-mining regions in eastern East Africa to send experienced workers to restart its diamond production.
  • Von der Leyen proposed loosening immigration restrictions because East Africa’s German cultural identity was established, and suggested recruiting from underdeveloped Austro-Hungarian regions, especially Hungary.
  • Ernst ordered the Immigration Office and other departments to plan for Austro-Hungarian immigrants, who would fill jobs in established areas while local residents moved west and south.

Ch. 835Reservoir

Ernst discussed the Sigmaringen Royal Territory’s rapid growth and its shortages of German immigrants and access to the sea with Prince Karl. He advised Karl to pursue a connection through German Cameroon, while Ernst viewed Sigmaringen as a population buffer protecting East Africa.

  • Prince Karl complained that Sigmaringen could attract few German migrants and had to rely on Chinese immigrants and East African support.
  • Ernst said Sigmaringen had grown substantially through the Northern Railway and East Africa’s backing, though it had entered colonial development too late to rival East Africa.
  • Prince Karl identified Chad’s inland location, desert terrain, and weak transportation as major problems for the territory.
  • Ernst urged Sigmaringen to establish contact with Germany’s Cameroon colony to seek access to the sea.
  • Ernst reflected that Sigmaringen and other colonies north of East Africa could serve as population buffers, limiting direct contact between East Africa and other regions.

Ch. 836The Great Wall of Population

Ernst considered how East Africa could secure future population growth by developing compatible immigrant reservoirs, while discussing with Prince Karl a future land connection between East Africa, the Sigmaringen Royal Territory, and German Cameroon. He left the question of East Africa’s expansion toward Cameroon unresolved, citing the population and development needs of the newly occupied southern territories.

  • Ernst reasoned that East Africa would need carefully chosen population reservoirs to limit future reliance on immigrants from North and West Africa.
  • Ernst told Prince Karl that connecting East Africa, the Sigmaringen Royal Territory, and German Cameroon could give the royal territory access to the sea.
  • Prince Karl said Leopold had discussed a shared outlet to the sea with Wilhelm II, who supported the idea.
  • Prince Karl asked whether Ernst wanted to develop a route through Cameroon to the Atlantic coast.
  • Ernst said East Africa was focused on developing its southern territories and lacked the population and resources to take on more projects.
  • Prince Karl reflected that East Africa’s population exceeded seventy million, while Ernst doubted it would reach one hundred million by the end of the century.

Ch. 837Escort

East African soldiers escorted more than a thousand Black people in crowded, filthy train carriages from Angola toward Sigmaringen, where they would be transferred across the border for export to West Africa. After a stop in Kisangani, the train resumed its journey, leaving the captives with more than ten days of travel ahead.

  • Squad leader Li Senluo De ordered El to inspect the rear carriages and warned him to fire a shot if anything happened.
  • El counted the captives, ordered them to clean a filthy carriage, and left after the train staff disinfected and cleaned the cars.
  • The train reached Kisangani city three days later, where its passengers briefly got to touch the ground while supplies were replenished.
  • The train headed toward the border again, carrying people East Africa planned to force on West African tribes.

Ch. 838Tractor

East Africa sent eight experimental internal-combustion-engine tractors from Maputo Port to the First State-Run Farm in Shaoqui Town to develop the Limpopo River plain. The tractors traveled under military escort, beginning a trial that could advance East African agricultural mechanization despite the machines’ technical shortcomings.

  • The East African National Defense Army sealed off Maputo Port as Saul’s eight tractors were unloaded.
  • Saul explained to Commander Kols that the tractors were bound for Shaoqui Town and needed transport by vehicle because they were valuable.
  • Kols arranged for the army to haul the tractors on heavy vehicles, and Saul’s mechanics, engineers, and drivers helped load and cover them.
  • The chapter described East Africa’s early tractor and track research, noting that the internal-combustion tractors remained immature and would likely suffer frequent minor problems.
  • Saul and his party set out for Shaoqui Town under Defense Force escort, carrying the tractors to the newly established First State-Run Farm.

Ch. 839Railway Conditions in Various Countries in 1890

Minister of Transportation Liu Yideweil and Minister of Railways Andre proposed building the Habe Railway to connect Harare with Beira, and Ernst approved its importance while demanding broader railway planning for East Africa’s newly acquired territories. Andre compared East Africa’s 19,000 kilometers of railway with networks around the world, showing that its system was extensive but less dense than Argentina’s and modest beside the great powers’.

  • Adelichi explained that Harare lagged behind Mbeya in research and education, and Liu Yideweil argued that better access to the coast would help develop the inland city.
  • Liu Yideweil proposed constructing the roughly 450-kilometer Habe Railway from Harare to Beira, and Andre said it would make the journey possible in less than a day.
  • Ernst endorsed the railway and directed the Ministry of Railways to plan future lines across Mozambique, Angola, and the Boer Republic, especially in East Africa’s underserved western and southern regions.
  • Andre reported that East Africa had 19,000 kilometers of railway in 1889 and said construction had been slowed by the war, while more than seventy percent of railway production had become localized.
  • Andre compared railway networks worldwide, noting that the United States, Russia, Germany, Britain, France, and Austria-Hungary had longer systems, while East Africa had twice Argentina’s mileage but far lower railway density.

Ch. 840Blueprint for the Great Railway

Ernst and Andre discussed East Africa’s technological dependence and the need to expand its railway network, with Ernst setting an ambitious national construction agenda. The chapter ended with officials confident that East Africa could build a railway system on a scale comparable to the United States.

  • Andre said East Africa’s railways were extensive but technologically weak, and estimated that catching up with international standards would take twenty to thirty years.
  • Ernst urged the railway sector to build domestic expertise instead of relying on purchases, and said the country needed to construct at least forty thousand kilometers of railway over the next decade.
  • Ernst argued that railway construction should increase each year and outlined trunk routes for Southwest Africa, the Central Railway, the Kalahari Basin, the Azande Plateau, the Great Lakes Region, and Somalia.
  • Ernst called for a denser network in the central and eastern regions and a north-south railway along East Africa’s eastern coast.
  • East African officials believed the country could achieve the railway expansion because its territory, population, and reliance on rail transport justified a network comparable to that of the United States.

Ch. 841Traffic Conditions

Ernst discussed East Africa’s transportation priorities with Andre and Liu Yideweil, stressing that railways and roads had to serve defense, economic growth, and people’s livelihoods rather than profitability alone. He urged faster road construction as the automobile industry grew, while noting that East Africa’s lakes supported regional shipping but did not form an interconnected network.

  • Ernst told Andre that railway planning had to account for national defense, economic development, livelihoods, and environmental effects, and recalled that the Central Railway had helped secure southern territories.
  • Ernst instructed Liu Yideweil’s Ministry of Transportation to cooperate with railway departments and expand roads that connected cities, villages, and railway hubs.
  • Liu Yideweil reported that Hesse Province had completed 20,000 kilometers of road surfacing and that East Africa’s hardened roads exceeded 200,000 kilometers nationwide.
  • Ernst called for accelerating road construction, noting that future automobile growth could allow roads to replace some railway functions.
  • Ernst described East Africa’s lake shipping and freshwater fisheries, while noting that Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika constrained overland routes and would require ferries between their shores.

Ch. 842Typhoon

A powerful typhoon struck Bella City, damaging its hastily built structures and causing casualties after a second wave caught rescuers off guard. The East African government later aided reconstruction, and construction of the Habe Railway began in April despite lingering effects from the storm.

  • Mayor Burleyland learned that the harbor had suffered limited damage, while Bella City's buildings and trees had been badly battered by the typhoon.
  • After the first lull, residents and officials began rescue work, but a second wave struck and raised the death toll in Bella City from four to twelve.
  • Captain John Dehr explained that the storm's calm eye was followed by another dangerous wall of wind.
  • Officials recorded forty-three dead, injured, or missing, more than two hundred destroyed houses, and economic losses exceeding thirteen thousand Rheinland Shield.
  • The storm brought rain to the Matabele Plateau but disrupted railway surveys, and construction of the Habe Railway began in April as Bella City received aid for rebuilding.

Ch. 843Steel "Monster"

East African tractors arrived in Shaoqui Town, startling residents who mistook them for monsters or trains. After officials calmed the crowd, the tractors plowed the fields, and Lunwell and Mars discussed mechanizing agriculture across the region.

  • Andor and Hannah Montana heard tractors approaching and went outside to find frightened residents fleeing from the machines.
  • Andor mistook the tractors for small trains, while Hannah Montana recognized them as the machines brought into town under cover a few days earlier.
  • East African soldiers and government personnel restored order and explained that the machines were tractors.
  • Tractor drivers attached mechanical plows and worked the fields for three hours, with a mechanic quickly repairing the one tractor that broke down.
  • Lunwell praised the tractors’ efficiency, and Mars described plans for large mechanized farms across the southern Mozambique Plains.

Ch. 844East African Power's Strength

The chapter described Shaoqui Town’s postwar labor and land-clearing needs, then showed East Africa’s early wired broadcasting and its growing dominance in the power industry. It left East Africa facing the challenge of expanding its industrial base beyond the sectors where it had already excelled.

  • Shaoqui Town relied on twenty thousand Black residents and an East African regiment while clearing trenches, shell casings, and other obstacles to agricultural development.
  • Ernst’s family listened to East Africa’s first wired radio broadcast, and Princess Lina asked Ernst what a broadcast was.
  • Ernst explained the technology to Lina and reflected on how East Africa had introduced wired broadcasting ahead of its historical adoption in Europe.
  • Hechingen Electric Company and East African state power enterprises dominated East Africa’s electricity market and held major influence abroad.
  • The chapter noted that East Africa still lagged in many industrial fields and needed to expand production in areas such as chemicals, petroleum, textiles, and medicine.

Ch. 845Chapter 840

Upington welcomed plans for the Bua Railway, which would connect the city to Bulawayo through Gaborone and Katu. The railway was intended to develop New Baden Province’s mineral resources and strengthen East Africa’s defenses, while Upington’s strategic importance remained central to the route.

  • Upington residents heard that a railway would be built from Bulawayo through Gaborone and Katu to Upington.
  • East Africa planned the Bua Railway to carry minerals from New Baden Province to industrial centers, especially iron ore for Matabele Province.
  • The railway’s route through New Baden Province and part of Matabele Province was presented as a way to develop the Kalahari region.
  • Upington’s location near the Orange River made it a valuable settlement and a potential military position on East Africa’s southern frontier.
  • The railway was intended to move troops and supplies toward Upington and reduce the risk of Britain seizing the city in a future conflict.

Ch. 846Great Power Delegation

German Chancellor Caprivi visited East Africa to strengthen economic cooperation and seek an alliance, while Ernst welcomed him and rejected the alliance proposal. The two countries were left to pursue cooperation without a formal military pact.

  • Svit welcomed Caprivi and led the German delegation on a tour of Dar es Salaam, where Caprivi praised the city's development.
  • Caprivi reflected that Germany had missed its chance to claim East Africa and hoped to improve German access to its markets through cooperation.
  • The German delegation traveled to First Town, where Ernst received Caprivi at a grand ceremony and held negotiations.
  • Caprivi raised the prospect of an alliance, but Ernst declined, citing East Africa's desire to preserve peace and avoid provoking other powers.

Ch. 847Complementary Advantages

Ernst and Caprivi discussed East Africa and Germany’s shared interests, with East Africa rejecting an alliance but welcoming economic cooperation. The chapter left them focused on a partnership that would exchange German expertise and capital for East African markets and raw materials.

  • Ernst told Caprivi that East Africa wanted economic cooperation but had no desire to join an alliance or involve itself in international affairs.
  • Caprivi argued that Germany and East Africa were the only significant German states and said cooperation between them was inevitable.
  • Ernst explained that East Africa needed German talent, technology, and financial support, while Germany could benefit from East African markets and raw materials.
  • German assessments of East Africa’s trade and cities, including Dar es Salaam, Mombasa, and Nairobi, showed the scale of its economic potential.

Ch. 848"German-East African Economic Cooperation and Development Agreement"

Ernst and Caprivi negotiated economic cooperation between Germany and East Africa, with Germany seeking help to develop Cameroon and East Africa seeking German technology and expertise. On December 13, 1891, the two countries signed a limited agreement despite disagreements over politics and agricultural competition.

  • The chapter explained that Cameroon's rainforest coast and difficult conditions made it harder to develop than East Africa or the Sigmaringen Royal Territory.
  • Caprivi viewed cooperation with East Africa as the key to breaking Cameroon's development deadlock and pursued it during his visit to East Africa.
  • East Africa sought German chemical, steel, railway, and academic support, while offering access to parts of its market and exports of industrial raw materials.
  • East Africa and Germany signed the "German-East African Economic Cooperation and Development Agreement" on December 13, 1891.
  • The agreement remained limited because of political differences and competition between East African agricultural exports and Germany's Junker interests.

Ch. 849Rudolf

In early 1892, Crown Prince Rudolf visited East Africa to negotiate deeper cooperation, and Ernst offered preferential terms to Austrian enterprises despite Rudolf’s concerns about East Africa’s restrictive business environment. Their talks focused on developing East Africa’s newly acquired coastal territories, and the negotiations were left to continue.

  • Ernst welcomed Rudolf and asked about his family, and Rudolf said his relationship with his father remained strained.
  • Ernst consoled Rudolf and reflected that he was grateful Rudolf had survived and was still alive in 1892.
  • Ernst explained that East Africa wanted Austrian support to develop its newly acquired territories and deepen cooperation beyond their earlier coastal investments.
  • Rudolf said Austrian enterprises struggled with East Africa’s strict laws, closed business environment, and high labor costs.
  • Ernst offered Austro-Hungarian enterprises five years of preferential terms, including tax exemptions and reduced factory construction expenses, to encourage investment along the coasts of Mozambique and Angola.

Ch. 850Northern Mozambique

Ernst explained East Africa’s development strategy and convinced Rudolf to sign an investment agreement with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The chapter then described northern Mozambique’s ports and their roles in East Africa’s economy and control of the Mozambique Channel.

  • Ernst told Rudolf that Matabele Province was East Africa’s leading industrial province and that Port of Beira could become its vital sea outlet.
  • Ernst explained that East Africa welcomed German and Austrian coastal investment while developing its interior industries and defenses itself.
  • Rudolf signed an agreement with East Africa on behalf of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
  • In February 1892, East Africa’s northern Mozambique ports were described: Pemba and Mozambique Island served civilian trade, while Nacala was a strategic naval base.
  • East Africa’s position in the Mozambique Channel gave northern Mozambique growing importance, with future development planned for its ports and connections.

Ch. 851East African Cowboy

East African Cowboys Lawns and Boris led a large herd toward Northern Mozambique to deliver draft cattle for clearing new land. After reaching Malingen Town, Lawns discussed the journey with Mayor Wald, who recalled helping transport supplies across the Ruvuma River during the war.

  • Lawns told Boris to procure supplies in Malingen Town while he arranged lodging with the local government.
  • The cattle-driving team camped near Malingen Town after traveling through a region transformed by East Africa’s growing settlements and improved roads.
  • Mayor Wald recognized Lawns from a cattle delivery five years earlier and asked where his large herd was headed.
  • Lawns explained that the team would take the cattle to Northern Mozambique to support local land-clearing efforts.
  • Wald recalled crossing the Ruvuma River during wartime, and Lawns confirmed that the team would cross it before handing over the cattle.

Ch. 852Livestock Industry

Launce’s livestock convoy rested at an abandoned cavalry camp near Malingen after Mayor Val recommended it. The chapter explained East Africa’s livestock industry and its domestic importance, while noting that refrigeration technology and future breeding improvements could eventually strengthen its export prospects.

  • Launce asked Mayor Val where his cattle convoy could rest, and Val directed him to an abandoned cavalry camp south of town.
  • Launce inspected the camp’s intact stables and buildings and found them suitable for housing his cattle and men.
  • The chapter described how East Africa’s growing population and construction projects created strong domestic demand for meat and draft cattle.
  • East Africa’s livestock exports remained limited compared with Argentina’s and the United States’, partly because local livestock quality and breeding expertise were still developing.
  • Lind and other technicians helped East Africa advance refrigeration technology, which supported food exports and services such as medicine storage.

Ch. 853Centralization of Educational Resources

Ernst outlined plans to make towns the centers of rural education and development in East Africa, concentrating basic schools at town level while allowing larger settlements to build their own. The chapter ended with the government preparing to reorganize compulsory education as better roads, public security, and future transport made travel easier.

  • Gels described how China organized thousands of town-level administrative units, prompting discussion of East Africa’s concentrated rural settlements.
  • Ernst argued that towns should drive rural development and that education and medical resources should be allocated according to local needs.
  • The chapter described East Africa’s unsettled administrative divisions and the varied historical origins of its towns and cities.
  • Ernst proposed that every town establish at least two middle schools and place primary schools near population centers and convenient transport.
  • The government’s education model shifted away from village-level compulsory schooling toward town-level resources, supported by improving transport and public security.

Ch. 854East African Medicine

Ernst explained East Africa’s plans to strengthen rural education and healthcare, promoting traditional Chinese medicine while gradually building modern medical research. East African medicine had developed into a hybrid system, but it still lacked experienced practitioners and recognition beyond the country.

  • Ernst argued that nearby village schools should be merged into town schools when local conditions allowed, while remote schools could retain their operating status.
  • Ernst said East Africa should expand rural traditional Chinese medicine clinics and cultivate local medicinal ingredients because modern drugs were costly and difficult to develop independently.
  • The East African Traditional Chinese Medicine Association institutionalized medical training, while local practitioners adapted prescriptions and discovered new medicines suited to Africa.
  • East African traditional Chinese medicine adopted modern instruments and anatomy research, and East Africa acquired and patented medical knowledge from regions across Asia and beyond.
  • Ernst welcomed cooperation between traditional and modern medicine, though East African medicine still lagged in cutting-edge Western drugs and needed decades to train experienced practitioners.

Ch. 855Immigration

In Jiaozhou, East African citizen Wang Defeng helped his younger brother Wang Desen’s family obtain visas to immigrate to East Africa. The family prepared to leave for an uncertain destination, while Wang Defeng considered accompanying them to help them settle.

  • Wang Defeng recalled how difficult and crowded the voyage to East Africa had been when he first immigrated as a teenager.
  • Wang Defeng told his nephew that East Africa had improved and that the family could seek citizenship after arriving.
  • Wang Defeng presented his documents at the East African Consulate, and Wilson required him to sign a guarantee for Wang Desen’s family.
  • Wang Desen’s family passed medical and identity checks and received visas that also served as ship tickets.
  • Wang Defeng warned that the family might be sent to Mozambique, Angola, or Orange, and offered to accompany them while his leave lasted.
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