African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 418: Chapter 95: Behind the Canal

October 4, 1872.

King Constantine visited the Third Town for canal inspection. As the former capital of the East African district during colonial times (Upper Marine District), it remains the second-largest city in Marine Province, second only to the provincial capital and port city of Tanga.

With the Ndebele people being transferred to the Central Province, the digging of the Central Canal has been underway for some time, with Segment One, connecting the Lower Rhine River and Wami River, progressing the fastest.

Segment One of the canal starts at Third Town (Kitong’a), less than eight kilometers from First Town, and ends at Mvome Village on the Wami River.

Since the administrative restructuring of East Africa, Third Town, once on par with First Town, has widened the gap rapidly, and it is likely to become a part of First Town, much like Second Town (Ruvu).

The development direction of First Town is also similar, mainly focusing west and north, opting to develop in different directions from Dar es Salaam and Bajamojo.

”Segment One of the canal is 44 kilometers long, 20 meters wide, and 6 meters deep, requiring over five million cubic meters of soil to be cleared. The total number of laborers is fifty thousand, and based on the current progress, it should be completed within six months.” The person in charge of Segment One explained to Constantine.

Constantine had no concept of these numbers, but he knew that the construction of the Suez Canal took ten years, so he asked, ”The East African canal is being constructed in three segments simultaneously. You mentioned that upon completion, the Central Canal would be comparable in length to the Suez Canal, but as far as I know, the Suez Canal took ten years to build. Why does our canal only require a few months?”

The engineer replied, ”Your Majesty, the Central Canal is only comparable in length to the Suez Canal, but other parameters differ greatly. For example, our canal’s width is designed at 20 meters, while the Suez Canal is over 200 meters wide, which is ten times ours. Additionally, the Suez Canal’s depth is more than twice that of the Central Canal, so the total volume of soil and rock to be cleared for the Suez Canal is at least twenty times more than ours. And this is just Segement One’s data; Segment Two and Segment Three, due to the terrain, undoubtedly require compromises, not meeting these width and depth standards.”

So that’s how it is, but Constantine still thought the speed of the project was too fast, so he asked, ”Wouldn’t such high-intensity work be unbearable for the laborers?”

”Your Majesty, our team has thoroughly calculated that each laborer needs to clear at least five cubic meters of soil and rock every day, which is not difficult for those who are proficient with shovels and hoes. Some strong laborers can even complete ten cubic meters a day. With fifty thousand laborers, they can complete at least two hundred and fifty thousand cubic meters of work daily.”

Constantine: ”Won’t they incur injuries and illnesses? I’ve heard that many people died during the excavation of the Suez Canal.”

”Your Majesty, if you understand the digging process of the Suez Canal in detail, you will know why.

The construction of the Suez Canal showed no regard for Egyptian laborers, treating them as disposable commodities entirely. The canal traverses desert regions, where the heat is unbearable, and there is an extreme lack of water, with many laborers dying of thirst daily, something unimaginable for us.

Not willing to supply drinking water, the food conditions can be imagined to be much worse. The Suez Canal Company provided laborers with food that wasn’t enough to fill a child’s stomach, leaving them in a constant state of hunger during high-intensity labor. Under such conditions, it’s not surprising that people died during the construction of the Suez Canal. Egypt sacrificed 120,000 lives for it, averaging 783 deaths per kilometer.”

Constantine: ”Then how are our conditions?”

Though the canal was Constantine’s proposal, its specific operation was executed by Ernst, so Constantine was not fully aware of the canal’s specifics.

”We provide ample drinking water, always pre-treating it with alum for basic purification.

We also excel in food provision, distributing food according to contribution rate. Even those with the lowest contribution, the natives, receive a full day’s worth of food.”

The engineer led Constantine to inspect the worksite canteen, which was divided into two parts: one for East African nationals (mainly overseers) and another for native laborers.

The overseers’ canteen had no special features; it was akin to a public canteen in East Africa but with worse construction, as it was a temporary worksite.

The native canteen was novel, with no tables or benches, just a large area where workers found spaces at meal times.

”What’s cooking in this pot?” asked Constantine, pointing at something that looked like mush.

The cook: ”Cassava fry.”

”Fry!” Constantine thought it looked like porridge but smelled quite fragrant.

Constantine: ”What method do you use to make these things so fragrant?”

The cook: ”Your Majesty, the key is using a lot of oil once the pot is hot and adding some spices for base flavor, then throwing in soaked cassava and finally adding salt.”

”I see! But isn’t it a bit excessive?” Constantine felt a bit distressed, as this all cost money!

The engineer beside him said, ”The food for the native laborers must not be too poor. His Highness Ernst specifically instructed us to use plenty of salt and oil to make the natives robust, as these laborers will later be sold to other countries.”

”In that case, make full use of the resources, so better food is understandable.” Constantine’s demeanor changed instantly; just like pigs had to be fattened before sale, thus feed costs were unavoidable.

”Do they eat this every day?”

”Your Majesty, of course not. There are also corn, soybeans, and other rotations, with occasional vegetable and fish soup provided on weekends.”

Some native laborers in East Africa didn’t eat too poorly; their living standards were better than most countries worldwide. Regarding the native laborers digging the Central Canal, their living standards far exceeded those of common Japanese people. As for East African nationals, though their income wasn’t high, their living standards could be compared to those in the UK and the US.

In fact, colonizers’ living standards in colonies weren’t too bad; take Mozambique next door, where Portuguese didn’t worry about basic living needs. They just aimed to make more money to spend back home. Though the East African Kingdom had become an independent nation, with a large black population, it essentially remained a semi-colonial state with East African citizens exploiting the natives.

And under such circumstances, the lack of economic growth in East Africa was mainly because it engaged in long-term investments, with input exceeding output, requiring decades to see results.

The Central Canal is a prime example; there’s hardly any shipping along the small Rhine River, with inland navigation in East Africa virtually nonexistent. Natural waterways hadn’t been effectively utilized, and the Central Canal, once developed, would be idle for years, with profitability expected after decades.

Luckily, native laborers didn’t need wages; meeting basic survival needs sufficed, covered by the East African government. While there were no agricultural taxes, grain production was entirely distributed by the state. East African arable land resources were higher than in most countries, so even with low productivity, agricultural output was impressive, with the government needing only a portion to satisfy native laborers’ needs. Excluding demands from East African citizens and native laborers’ basic needs, substantial grain surpluses remained for export.

Currently, with international grain overproduction causing potential export barriers, the East African Kingdom couldn’t continue providing higher distribution standards for its citizens, as that would foster laziness, hindering societal operations.

So going forward, projects like the Central Canal will increase, with grain better used for extensive projects and infrastructure, unlike in other countries where the free market essentially affords the lowest classes some negotiating power, albeit limited.

But in East Africa, a more extremely monarchic autocracy than Prussia, such considerations were unnecessary. Maintaining the military’s size, ruling the natives with constant high pressure, East Africa ensured a virtually inexhaustible supply of free labor for years.