Chapter 372: Return to Africa
Port of Dar es Salaam.
Ernst once again set foot on this land, filled with complex emotions. "It's different now!" Indeed, it is. The Dar es Salaam of his previous life and the Dar es Salaam of today are completely different.
In Ernst's previous life, Dar es Salaam was the first city he visited upon arriving in East Africa. At that time, it was Tanzania's most developed city and wasn't too different from cities in many developed countries around the world. Most African countries are like that—though they're generally underdeveloped, they usually have one or two major cities that serve as modern windows to the outside world and don't look much different from anywhere else. But they have a very low urbanization rate, and rural areas can be quite poor. Some places can't even be considered rural—they're more like reserves where indigenous people still live in a primitive state.
Dar es Salaam was a typical example. Ernst's first impression in his previous life was sunshine, beaches, palm trees, a modern port, and modern buildings. Though it was a bit behind Nairobi or Mombasa, on a global scale it was still a decent city.
Of course, modern-day Tanzania couldn't compare to the Far East after its modernization. Even a small county in the Far East, ranked 18th tier, would still be considered a larger city in Europe. In Ernst's previous life, the Far East had a nearly 70% urbanization rate, along with extensive infrastructure. Even in Tibet, which had vast areas with a sparse population, urban construction was still quite impressive.
But today's Dar es Salaam is entirely different. If Ernst had to pick the city it most resembled, he'd choose Trieste in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It's about nine in the morning, and Dar es Salaam is full of energy. The ships passing by have brought economic prosperity that even surpasses Trieste in some ways.
"Your Highness, the city planning in Dar es Salaam is quite good. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd have thought I'd never left Africa," someone commented.
Leaning on the ship's railing, looking out at Dar es Salaam, Ernst replied, "This shows our efforts over the years have paid off. If the future potential of East Africa can be tapped, it won't be inferior to Europe at all."
It might even replace Europe one day! Ernst silently added in his mind. That's not mere talk; it could truly happen.
In his previous life, what was Africa's shortcoming compared to Europe? It wasn't population, resources, or even its system. Africa has more people than Europe. Europe itself is short on resources, and even more so if you exclude Russia. As for political systems—Ernst doesn't give that too much weight. Africa has tried virtually every type of system under the sun. Both the Americans and the Soviets tried to introduce what they believed were the best systems, yet Africa still lagged behind. Ultimately, the problem lies in economic development.
If you look at a world map, you'll see that Africa and Europe basically lie side by side. Europe's advantage is its proximity to North America and Asia on roughly the same latitudes. Meanwhile, Africa is at the same latitudes as regions that are either equally underdeveloped, like parts of South America, or places with smaller populations, like Oceania (Australia), and the fragmented nations of Southeast Asia. Of those, Southeast Asia—though fragmented—arguably has the most potential.
As for countries and regions north of the Indian Ocean, those will be Africa's future competition; among them, India stands out the most. In the future, East Africa will inevitably have to deal with India, because its location and scale pose the greatest threat to East African control of the Indian Ocean.
Africa does have something in common with Europe: they share the same route leading to Asia across the Indian Ocean. Whoever controls that route basically holds one of the world's biggest "wealth secrets" in terms of trade flow. East Africa has no strong neighbors nearby, only colonies that can be useful. But India, a colony itself, is the biggest obstacle on the Indian Ocean shipping route.
If Africa could develop, then the vital trade route across the Indian Ocean would develop along with it. The impact on Europe would be massive—comparable to the shock of the new sea routes before the Suez Canal, which devastated the economies around the Mediterranean. However, in Ernst's previous life, Africa was the world's economic bottom rung, so its external trade never matched Europe's. Geographically, Europe is less ideally located than Africa. For goods traveling to the East, Europe must rely on Suez or round the Cape of Good Hope—there's no avoiding Africa—otherwise they'd have to rely on land routes or add the extra distance of a Pacific route.
To capitalize on this geographical advantage, Africa's economy would need to be comparable to Europe's, or at least reach half its level to unleash its potential. But all of that is still distant for present-day Africa. Right now, the priority is laying a solid foundation for the East African Kingdom so there's hope for the future.
Ernst's fleet sailed along the shoreline of Dar es Salaam without docking at the old port, continuing on to the new port southeast of the city. The new port's main function is to alleviate congestion at the old port; it essentially serves as the East African Kingdom's own harbor. The new port doesn't have a large population, but it covers a bigger area than the old port and has more complete, well-organized facilities.
Soon, the fleet entered the new port. The East African government had already prepared vehicles and horses to wait for Ernst, primarily to transport his "treasures."
Only port administrators were on the docks; Ernst's arrival in East Africa was relatively low-key, with no welcome ceremony.
"If I remember correctly," Ernst murmured to himself, "this spot here in my previous life was where Dar es Salaam's Grand Mosque and a university once stood." Ernst recognized it by an island across from the port, which had been a beach attraction in his past life. The memory was vivid.
A man stepped forward. "Your Highness, welcome to Dar es Salaam. I'm the local representative here for the Hechingen Ocean Trading Company in the city's new port. My name is Mox."
It turned out to be a subordinate of a subordinate.
Ernst said, "Excellent. Next, gather your people to unload everything from the ships. Pay special attention to the cargo on the 'Dongfang' and 'Chris.' They aren't bulky items, but you must handle them carefully. If even one corner is damaged, I'll hold you responsible!"
Mox, sweating a bit, replied, "Yes, Your Highness!"
It took two days to unload all the cargo.
"Your Highness, should we transport these items by train or by road?"
Ernst asked, "Is the railway to Soga complete?"
"Yes, Your Highness. The branch line to Soga has been finished, though construction in Soga itself is still ongoing."
Ernst said, "That doesn't matter. We'll go to Soga first; some items will be stored there, and then we'll continue on to First Town."
It doesn't matter that Soga City isn't finished. Ernst knows the National Library under construction there has been completed—one of Soga's earliest buildings and among the projects Ernst personally prioritized.
Ernst's purpose for going is to house the books he brought this time in the Soga National Library. Those books cover everything from astronomy, geography, biology, mathematics, chemistry, and physics to other subjects. Aside from what's available on the market, he also has copies of rare academic works from major German university libraries that aren't easily found elsewhere.
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