Chapter 136: Roads
Taking advantage of the wartime lull, the East African colony strengthened the roads within its territory.
Starting from nothing was no exaggeration. Other countries that want to industrialize, at least have some legacy from their agricultural era, or a major power supporting them. Roads, bridges, irrigation systems—even canals—elsewhere have at least a century of accumulated effort, whether in nations or developed colonies.
But before the colonizers arrived, East Africa truly had nothing—not even rudimentary dirt roads. One can imagine the colony's transportation situation. After a rainfall, roads turned to muddy swamps. Fortunately, the East African grasslands are wide and flat, so roadwork isn't too difficult.
Fighting on the front lines of East Africa's road-building was the captured native workforce, while the colonial government served as overseers. Tens of thousands of people toiled day after day, and although their tools were crude, sheer numbers meant the colony's roads stretched at speeds visible to the naked eye.
By local standards, rations in East Africa weren't bad—high in salt and fat to keep the natives strong daily. The portions weren't large, yet they were more reliable than living by the hunt. And from time to time the colony's game animals were used to give the natives extra meals.
Because of such intense daily labor, the natives, rather than collapsing with exhaustion, actually looked healthier than before.
In this era, whether in colonies or elsewhere, laborers were worked to the bone, especially outside Europe. The building of the Suez Canal, the transcontinental railway in the United States—both were founded on countless bones. The workload was intense, and to cut costs, the workers' food was often poor, sometimes spoiled, and frequently shorted.
Why does East Africa "fatten up" its natives, so different from elsewhere? Not because the colonial government suddenly grew a conscience. Rather, it's so that when these native laborers retire from East Africa's use, they'll fetch a better price. Such slaves are used for a while, then passed along to Zanzibar's slave traders. Meanwhile, East Africa first harvests their labor value. For steep or perilous construction projects, the colony simply uses large numbers of natives to get the job done.
If a few die by accidents on any East African construction site, the government feels no remorse. Yet it must ensure they don't eat too badly. Once night falls, the entire colony is dark, so it's impossible to force them to work around the clock. Combined with not-too-bad food and sufficient sleep, the natives actually live more comfortably than they did hunting on the savanna—only now they have no freedom and rank below others.
It's well known that strength is developed by training. Previously these natives weren't weak, but they lacked staying power for heavy labor. Long used to hunting, they had good bursts of speed yet lacked the endurance and patience required for serious physical work. Now, trained in the colony and working on construction sites daily, they greatly improved both their obedience and stamina.
Hence, once the colony sold these "retired" natives to Zanzibar's slave merchants, the reviews were glowing. Clients in the Ottoman Empire discovered they were more obedient and healthier than earlier slaves, less likely to die prematurely.
Of course, to ensure the roads in East Africa meet minimal quality—so they're not awful—natives alone are not enough. As mentioned, natives lack patience for fine-detail tasks. On stretches requiring certain technical skills, the colony depends on immigrants.
Bridges and such, which need reinforcing and must be durable, require immigrants with relevant experience, beyond ordinary settlers.
By combining native and immigrant labor, the colony managed to link its various towns with roads. These dirt roads serve, among other things, to prevent immigrants from losing their way. The East African grasslands stretch on endlessly, with scarcely a soul in sight, so it's easy to get lost. Meanwhile, immigrants must continue arriving inland, so connecting colonial strongholds by roads ensures that anyone who does become lost can follow a road until they reach a settlement.
For now, using these roads to transport goods has pros and cons. They're decent when the weather's clear, certainly better than bare grass, but if it rains, the surrounding grass might prove easier going. In any case, it rarely rains when large-scale transfers are happening, so the roads do need to be built. Later, they can be upgraded; the road from Mbeya to Dar es Salaam, for example, is undergoing a gravel upgrade. Mbeya's coal mines require vehicle transport to feed energy to the colony's few factories, so the foundations of that road must be sturdier than average.
Beyond that, the Upper Coastal District and Central District—developed earlier—are also upgrading their roads. As for other regions, they must first address the question of having roads at all.
During this truce, the colony focuses mainly on reinforcing the road from the coast to Mwanza and hastening a simple dirt road from the Great Lakes District to the newly occupied area. Throughout the war, that long supply line and poor road conditions caused East Africa endless headaches. And the war's only half done; more powerful northern states still lie ahead, so the colony must be fully prepared to avoid a fiasco.
While Ernst looks down on the natives, he knows they can sometimes erupt with surprising power. History contains many cases in which less advanced powers defeated more advanced ones. Hence, every battle should be approached with care. If Britain or Portugal were fighting this war, they surely wouldn't be as methodical as Ernst. A force of over ten thousand East African troops (including militia) armed with modern weapons is enough to wage a small war in Europe, or to threaten minor states such as Greece or certain Balkan countries with around a million inhabitants and only a few tens of thousands in their armies—let alone even weaker lands, such as many little principalities in German territory.
Therefore, East Africa really has given these native states great attention. Zanzibar Sultanate never enjoyed such courtesy. The sultanate's population was only some tens of thousands; deploying the same army that now invades the northwest in front of them would have been more than enough to intimidate. In a short time, the colony can raise a temporary force of seventy or eighty thousand from among its settlers—something only Egypt might match in Africa right now.
This is why Ernst dares speak of firmly establishing himself in Africa. As for why it hasn't drawn others' notice, it's because foreign colonizers haven't penetrated the interior to learn East Africa's true situation. Also, East Africa is currently the main route for Europe heading to India and the Far East. In Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, many merchant ships call daily. The comings and goings look normal, and the arrival of immigrants thus doesn't stand out. Apart from East Africa itself, nobody else bothers tracking how many settlers have landed. After all, each colonizer recruits for their own colony. East Africa just takes on a bit more, and since the colony is run in closed fashion—Zanzibar merchants can only do business at Dar es Salaam's marketplace—no other power has ventured into East Africa's interior to investigate. At most, they can make a rough guess from a few ports. From the coast alone, East Africa seems comparable to Portugal's Mozambique, so apparently not worth worrying about.
Even Portugal, which borders East Africa, has only glimpsed a few villages. Their colony's western edge is native territory, and mostly separated from East Africa by the Ruvuma River; they have no clear sense of the colony's actual strength. As for the Arabs, only the Sultanate of Zanzibar knows East Africa well, yet that sultanate remains confined to its island.
Egypt's southern Sudan, near Omerate in East Africa, remains separated by many tribes of nomads. Moreover, Egypt's hold on South Sudan is quite weak (that region is all black African). Admittedly, East Africa's geography is advantageous—Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean is an important port. But Britain and France both foresee the near completion of the Suez Canal, plus Britain has Cape Town and France has Madagascar, each with its own Indian Ocean stronghold. Consequently, Dar es Salaam is less crucial to them. Besides, Dar es Salaam and other ports are now well fortified with artillery, making them tough nuts to crack. Thus East Africa can stay unruffled for many reasons.
If East Africa truly wanted foreign powers' attention, there's an easy way: vigorously develop its mineral resources and convert them to cash—clearly impossible. Ernst intends to keep them concealed as long as he can.
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