Exploration Log

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Archduke Franz looked at the two reports on his desk. Although he felt a twinge of regret, he was not surprised.

At this time, the African interior was still considered a forbidden zone for white men. The Congo and East African expeditions commissioned by Franz had been wiped out once again, with only the guides managing to bring back their exploration logs.

Poisonous insects, plagues, prowling wild beasts, hostile indigenous tribes, complex terrain, and long-term mental and psychological stress were all reasons for the repeated failures of these expeditions.

Thanks to the ample supply of allicin and quinine, the number of total losses caused by disease had been greatly reduced.

Historically, the price of quinine remained very high globally until before 1870; it would not truly reach every household until around 1900.

However, Franz had long since planted quinine in Chenla and Kalimantan Island, so the Austrian Empire's reserves were quite abundant.

As for why he did not plant them in West Africa or East Africa, it was because the Cinchona tree was incredibly delicate; the slightest negligence would lead to mass die-offs.

Given the level of agricultural technology at the time, this could only be compensated for by a large number of skilled workers.

Yet, in his West and East African colonies, Franz simply could not find enough skilled agricultural laborers to tend to such delicate plants.

As for training the African natives, the cost would likely be similar to transporting people from the homeland, and the latter would be more reliable.

Even today, the crudeness of agricultural technology in Africa remains appalling.

An even more troublesome point was the saying, "Oranges grown north of the Huai River are trifoliate oranges, while those grown south of it are sweet oranges." The quinine content of Cinchona trees