African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 363: Chapter 42: Sea Carriage Driver of the Eastern Indian Ocean

Although the enemy is merely native, Samuel remains committed to taking them seriously. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will be invincible in a hundred battles. Samuel has a thorough understanding of his troops, but he lacks full knowledge of the enemy, so gathering intelligence is crucial to understanding them.

However, before gathering intelligence on the Abyssinian Empire, Samuel still has two things to do.

One is to solve the problem of the troops’ accommodation, which isn’t difficult. Although Asab City is small, it can still accommodate one of his divisions by squeezing in. The first batch of the Italian Kingdom’s expeditionary army’s first division consists of only three thousand people, not a large scale.

By utilizing the existing infrastructure of Asab Port and building some more houses, the accommodation problem can be solved. But where to find building materials?

Samuel looked at the barren desert outside the city; wood was out of the question, and there wasn’t even much grass. The buildings in Asab City were mostly mud houses, and the tropical desert climate alleviated concerns about rain.

If you set aside the strategic value close to the Mand Strait, Asab Port has only slight commercial value. It is one of the Arab commercial bases, but Arab merchants only view it as a stopover. When the number increases, even getting water becomes a problem.

Fortunately, it is close to the Ethiopian Plateau. Although the rainfall from the Ethiopian Plateau doesn’t flow here, it can replenish the underground water along the terrain, so the underground water resources are relatively abundant. It’s just necessary to dig more wells.

”Mr. Sapetto, how do you and your company staff usually solve the supply problem?” Samuel asked. This was the second issue Samuel needed to address.

The population of Eritrea is mainly concentrated in the northern mountainous and hilly areas, where the terrain can block some rainfall. Some areas even have abundant rainfall like the Ethiopian Plateau, but the coastal plains are even drier than Somali.

The eastern lowlands in southern Eritrea, where Asab Port is located, are even worse, facing the arid Arabian Peninsula. The northeast trade winds bring in the dry monsoon of the Arabian Desert, while the southwestern monsoon from the Indian Ocean (southeastern trade winds crossing the equator shifted by the Coriolis force) is mostly intercepted by the rising Ethiopian Plateau.

Combined with the terrain of the eastern lowlands of Asab, even the remaining moisture can’t be retained, making the area around Asab a true wasteland.

A barren wasteland is an exaggerated term but an objective description of Asab and its surroundings. The most arid Somali region of the East African Kingdom still has tropical savannah and two major rivers passing through, while the Asab area has nothing.

Sapetto: ”The most important thing about Asab Port is its strategic position. It is one of the excellent ports near the Mand Strait, but it’s far worse compared to the southern Somali region. The southern climate is much better, especially with the British protectorate of Somaliland that can produce some grain, whereas Asab can only acquire grain through external trade.”

Samuel: ”So you’re purchasing grain as well?”

Sapetto: ”Yes, particularly when we first arrived. Our company bought grain from Arab Yemeni caravans. At that time, the Suez Canal had just opened, and although European ships passed through here, they mostly would not stop but headed towards the Far East instead.”

Samuel: ”If we rely on buying grain, the burden will be heavy. The kingdom asked me to come up with a solution to arrange grain locally, easing the pressure on homeland supplies. I haven’t even touched the border of the Abyssinian Empire yet; how am I supposed to solve this problem.”

Sapetto: ”General Samuel, I do have a suggestion. It won’t solve the root issue but can greatly alleviate the army’s grain supply problem in the short term.”

Samuel hurriedly asked, ”What’s the solution?”

Sapetto: ”You can order grain from the Zanzibar Sultanate.”

Samuel: ”The Zanzibar Sultanate?”

Sapetto: ”Yes, your Excellency may not have heard of this country in Europe, but it is quite famous within the Indian Ocean region. It originally formed on Zanzibar Island in the eastern part of East African Tanganyika after the breakup of the Omani Empire, which was once the dominant power of the Indian Ocean. At its peak power, it influenced the entire Western Indian Ocean region, but later its mainland territory was occupied by the German Kingdom.”

Samuel: ”What does this have to do with us! The kingdom’s goal is to spend as little money as possible, or none at all, to solve the army’s grain supply problem. If we still have to buy, we might as well spend it at home to bring more income to the kingdom’s farmers.”

Sapetto: ”Your Excellency, it’s indeed a money issue. The kingdom is economically strained now, lacking both money and grain, but Zanzibar merchants can offer the cheapest grain for the entire Indian Ocean area, and they even deliver, saving a significant amount on expenses.”

Samuel: ”You just mentioned, the Zanzibar Sultanate is merely an island nation! Could an island supply the cheapest grain to the entire Indian Ocean coast?”

It wasn’t that Samuel was skeptical. He’d seen the map of Africa, and he knew Zanzibar Sultanate wasn’t large and had even lost its mainland part. Unless Zanzibar had mastered the technology of growing grain in the sea and had its grain cultivation base, it wouldn’t be able to lower grain prices to the point cheaper than India. But obviously, that’s impossible.

Indian grain prices aren’t cheap. Although India has the best conditions for grain cultivation along the Indian Ocean coast, there are too many Indians, and the British masters couldn’t possibly starve them directly. Combined with low productivity levels of this era, India’s grain output can at most supply the British mainland, with a slight surplus for export. For profit, the British are more keen on growing cash crops in India, like tea, jute, and cotton.

During the period of East India Company rule, tea gardens used up large amounts of arable land. After the American Civil War ended, Britain further promoted large-scale cotton plantations to replace American southern plantations in India. Therefore, in recent years, India’s grain output has actually decreased further.

Sapetto: ”Your Excellency, don’t misunderstand; though Zanzibar Sultan’s land size and grain output are small, behind them are the Germans. German farmers in the East African Kingdom are skilled agriculturists. In recent years, the Zanzibar Sultanate has been the most active in the grain trade along the Indian Ocean, mainly relying on ships to sell East African grain to various parts along the Indian Ocean coast, especially supplying rice to North Africa and the Middle East. Most of the rice is supplied by the Zanzibar Sultanate’s commercial fleet. We also started purchasing grain from Zanzibar Sultanate merchants starting last year.”

Samuel: ”Rice, but I’m worried the soldiers won’t be accustomed to it.”

Sapetto: ”Low cost is the truth. Just like my company, naturally, we buy the cheapest grain to generate profit. The staff might not be used to it initially, but they’ll adapt over time. Besides, you just need to resolve the initial grain supply issue. The Abyssinian Empire can produce wheat, and once the kingdom occupies the Abyssinian Empire, wheat can be grown on a large scale.”

Samuel: ”What about the price?”

Sapetto: ”The grain price plus freight is still cheaper than shipping from the homeland. The kingdom itself is short of grain and imports quite a bit from Heixinggen Food Company. Actually, most of Heixinggen Food Company’s grain is imported from East Africa rather than from Germany and Hungary as they claim. I know this sort of secret; two years ago, when I returned to Italy, I saw a Heixinggen Ocean Trade Company’s ship enter the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal and directly unload at La Spezia, Italy. It was the type of cheap flour very popular in Italy, but the packaging listed Hungary as the origin.”

Samuel: ”Can we buy flour directly from the East African Kingdom then? After all, pasta and pizza are more suited to our tastes.”

Sapetto: ”Your Excellency, East African rice is two-tenths cheaper than flour.”

Samuel paused for a moment and said: ”Then let’s go with rice! The soldiers will get used to it. But why don’t we directly purchase from the East African Kingdom instead of paying extra through the Zanzibar Sultanate?”

Sapetto: ”The reasoning is simple; East African ships are lacking, so they can only prioritize the European market. In contrast, the Zanzibar Sultanate has amassed a large number of Arab merchants. I estimate that Arab-registered ships under the Zanzibar Sultanate now account for over fifty percent of the entire Western Indian Ocean. All of them conduct trade under the Zanzibar Sultanate’s flag; Zanzibar merchants are now called the sea carriage drivers of the Western Indian Ocean.”