African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 456: Chapter 134: Keeping a Low Profile and Biding Time

Ernst and his party disembarked at the New Port of Dar es Salaam and then took a train to First Town, where the First Railway was already quite busy at this time.

As part of the Central Railway, the First Railway was responsible for continuously transporting imported railway construction materials to the frontline of construction.

Incidentally, the New Port area of Dar es Salaam received significant development. A series of steel processing plants were established here, and East Africa’s independently constructed locomotive factory was also established in the New Port area.

Towering chimneys rose one after another in the New Port. A large number of industries provided jobs and homes for many residents, making the prosperity of the New Port area almost rival the economic open area of Dar es Salaam. Because the two places were closely connected, some uninformed merchant ships often mistook the New Port for the original Dar es Salaam Port. As a result, the East African Navy also began to intensify efforts to guide merchant ships correctly into the old port.

Although it was visibly clear that the New Port was developing well, the actual data could not be easily obtained. This was also a way East Africa impeded the spread of information.

East Africa had already passed the precarious development stage. Next would be the strategy of concealing strength and accumulating wealth quietly—this was the mindset Ernst was most familiar with.

”It’s much more prosperous than when I left!” Ferdinand exclaimed on the side.

Ernst said, ”It’s all thanks to the construction of the Central Railway. The Central Railway has three main points of strength: one is the Malawian Industrial Zone, another is the starting point in Dar es Salaam, and the last is the endpoint at New Hamburg Port. The construction of New Hamburg Port still requires time, so we can only first develop the New Port in Dar es Salaam, which has good basic conditions.”

The steel needed for railway construction could be obtained in two ways: one was to purchase it from abroad, and the other was to produce it in East Africa itself. Currently, the only two places capable of independently producing steel in East Africa are the Malawian Industrial Zone and the Northern Industrial Belt. The Northern Industrial Belt is responsible for the construction of the northern railway line, while the more extensive Central Railway can only rely on the Malawian Industrial Zone.

The initial conditions for establishing the Malawian Industrial Zone in East Africa could be considered extremely poor, mainly referring to transportation conditions.

Large equipment had to be hauled manually, and the roads in the Malawian Industrial Zone were also unfavorable. It was only with the increase in East African cement production in recent years that the traffic conditions of the Malawian Industrial Zone began to improve.

In fact, the Malawian Industrial Zone was considered a strategic industrial zone. At that time, Ernst considered that if the East African coast were lost, the Heixinggen royal family could still retreat inland to lead a counterattack.

So, although Mbeya is deep inland, its development is no worse than the coastal cities of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa. It was developed to serve as a secondary capital.

However, with the rise of East African national strength, this consideration has now ceased. But Mbeya’s position as the center of heavy industry in East Africa has been established and will continue to maintain this advantage until the heavy industry in the Zimbabwe region develops.

The current development challenge in Zimbabwe is similar to the challenges the Malawian Industrial Zone faced initially—that is, transportation difficulties, and it is even more severe than in the Malawian Industrial Zone. The Malawian Industrial Zone can still rely on downstream shipping of the Lufuma River to reduce some journey, but Zimbabwe does not have this condition at all, so without a railway, Zimbabwe’s potential cannot be realized.

Karina, who was new to East Africa, said on the side, ”It seems East Africa is developing well. Apart from having fewer people, it’s not much different from Austria.”

”This comparison is actually incorrect. Take Vienna for example, its population exceeds five hundred thousand, almost comparable to some small countries. The economic value of Vienna alone might even be higher than the entire economic output of East Africa. So, our East Africa still lags far behind Austria,” Ernst explained on the side.

Ernst’s explanation essentially separates the value created by the Heixinggen consortium in East Africa from East Africa itself. With the Heixinggen consortium, East Africa is like having a cheat code. Without the Heixinggen consortium, the Kingdom of East Africa would just be a large-looking colony.

”You should feel fortunate! Such a good piece of land wasn’t noticed by others, allowing you to seize the opportunity. If Austria had avoided competing with Prussia and chosen to develop Africa instead, what do you think would have happened?” mused Grand Duke Ferdinand.

”Not much would have changed. If Austria were to develop Africa, I dare bet it would at most reach the standards of the neighboring Portuguese. Developing a colony requires courage, and to develop Africa to the level of current East Africa requires upfront investment without regard for cost and a long-term vision for operating at a loss. And it’s not just about pouring in funds; it also requires strong organizational capabilities, of which Austria lacks.”

”Moreover, Austria is not like an individual entrepreneur like me. All its actions would attract the attention of various European countries. If Austria officially took action, other countries would not stay indifferent. At least Britain and France would not sit idly.”

Ernst’s claim of being an individual entrepreneur is an exaggeration. However, it was commonplace for colonial companies and individuals to independently carry out colonial ventures overseas during this era.

For instance, many British colonies came about this way. India was developed by the East India Company and then taken over by Britain.

Historically, many German colonies also came about this way. The East African colonies and the Southwest African colonies were developed by private companies and then petitioned for homeland protection, eventually being integrated into the German colonial system.

The biggest difference between Ernst’s development of Africa and those colonial merchants, companies, and teams is that he genuinely developed East Africa as his own industry and took a long-term development route. In this regard, Ernst and Belgium’s Leopold II have some similarities.

However, Leopold II’s ultimate goal was still to make money from Africa, which fundamentally differs from Ernst’s idea of an independent country. It can only be said that everyone has different pursuits.

Of course, this also has to do with different starting points. From Ernst’s perspective, the Heixinggen Principality is just a small town. Even if Germany did not collapse like in history, at most Ernst could only be a mayor in Germany. So, it’s better to venture in Africa than to compete in Germany. Only someone like Ernst, who has lived and worked in Africa, can understand how favorable the natural conditions in Africa are—something people of that era couldn’t see.

For example, given the choice, European nobility would certainly prefer to be nobility in Europe rather than a chieftain in Africa. A small noble might think differently, but their economic power can’t compare to a grand noble like Ernst.

”Well, no matter how you see it, developing in East Africa is better than when I was an emperor in Mexico. Sitting in that position, it seemed glorious, but it was actually just a puppet manipulated by various forces. Even if you wanted to accomplish something, you weren’t understood and faced obstruction on all fronts. In contrast, East Africa is like a blank sheet where you can doodle whatever you want. Perhaps that’s the difference between starting your own business and working for someone else,” Ferdinand implied by working for someone else meant working for Napoleon III and various forces in Mexico.

”That’s because Mexicans are short-sighted. In reality, if Mexicans don’t shake off their dependency on America, they will suffer in the future. Currently, Americans are still pretending because the forces balancing America, like Britain and France, haven’t completely withdrawn from the Americas. Once these forces withdraw, America will show its claws, and by then, the entire Americas will merely be playthings of the Americans, with no room for maneuver.”

Currently, Americans enjoy a good reputation in the Americas, with the Monroe Doctrine sounding impressive—’America for Americans’—encouraging North and South American countries to tell European colonizers to leave. However, once they truly achieve this, they will have no more opportunities.

Of course, Ernst’s words were to console Grand Duke Ferdinand. Grand Duke Ferdinand was actually quite capable, just too naive and overly soft-hearted. He genuinely wanted to develop Mexico, but Mexicans only wanted to vie for power and profit, so the emperor had to be overthrown first.

After all, the mindset of Mexican politicians is ’I can do it too,’ but Mexicans have proven over hundreds of years that they really can’t.