Chapter 863 Three Verticals and Three Horizontals
The Hawaiian coup was just an episode for East Africa. In the past few years since the end of the South African War, East Africa has invested in the major construction of the south and west.
Since the end of the South African War, the average annual railway construction mileage in East Africa has increased from about 1,500 kilometers to an average of 3,000 kilometers per year, nearly doubling.
At the same time, this data is still increasing, and many railways are being planned and designed. In addition to several main line railways in the south and west, the central and eastern areas are also accelerating the popularization of railway networks.
“According to the preliminary plan of the Ministry of Railways, we will complete the construction of three longitudinal railways before 1900. Among them, the Central Railway has been completed. In recent years, our country will build the other two most important railways after the Central Railway. The Great North-South Railway Corridor starts from Mogadishu in the north, passes through Kismayo, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Beira, Maputo, and finally reaches the eastern coastal railway in the new port city of Hamburg in the south, ending with Cabin The Western Coast Railway starts from Darfur and ends at Alexandria.”
This Alexandria is a natural harbor in southwestern Angola, not Alexandria in Egypt.
Alexandria is in a desert area, but it relies on a natural bay and has excellent port construction conditions. To the north is the Mousamidish Port, which has similar conditions to the Pressure Mountain Port. If it were not for the restrictions of the desert, the conditions would be no better than those of Luanda and this city. Gracha is even much stronger.
Further south, the East African Ministry of Railways has no plans for railway construction. Originally, this section of the railway covered a lot of desert areas. Further south, the more than 800 kilometers from Walvis Bay to Walvis Bay are uninhabited. area, there is no need to build railways.
The Eastern Coastal Railway is another national strategic railway project after the Central Railway and the Northern Railway. The eastern coast of East Africa is the economically developed region of East Africa in the future. This is foreseeable, so the eastern coast Railways are also the first priority for the East African railway in the future. Once completed, this railway will exceed more than 4,000 kilometers and cover the major port cities in eastern East Africa.
“We call them the three verticals, which are the three main arteries of north-south transportation in our country in the next ten years. In addition to the longitudinal railway, we will also build three east-west horizontal railways, including the northern railway and the central railway. In the south, we start from Walvis Bay, pass through the edge of the Okavango Delta, and end at Bulawayo and Inhambane Port. These three railways are called the Three Crossings.”
"In this way, we can basically establish the three-vertical and three-horizontal pattern of my country's railways, and at the same time complete the preliminary network of railways in East African countries, opening up various regions across the country, including Southwest Africa and Somalia."
Focus on the southwest Africa and Somalia, because these are the two major desert areas in East Africa, and it will also end the history of no railways in the desert areas of East Africa. Of course, although the environments of the two are poor, one is located in the northeast of East Africa and the other is in the southwest of East Africa, and their national defense status is also extremely important.
“On the basis of three vertical and three horizontal lines, we will build new branch railways, especially in the central, eastern and Mozambique regions. Before 1900, our country’s railways reached at least 100,000 kilometers.”
This The East African railway is required to quadruple in the next few years, but it is completely feasible according to the current economic trends in East Africa.
Apart from the initial national basic railway pattern of three verticals and three horizontals, the East African Railway focuses on the Mozambique region in order to open up economic connections between central and eastern East Africa and Mozambique.
In the past, the economic and population structure of East Africa was "shoulder pole-shaped". The two major economic zones in the east and central part were connected by the central railway and separated by Lake Malawi and Tanganyika, as well as the Mitumba Mountains, and the development of Mozambique was completed. After that, East Africa’s major economies will be able to be connected.
Form a large economic core area that can effectively radiate the whole country and enhance the economic competitiveness of East Africa.
Of course, according to Ernst’s idea, this “central economic sector” will definitely include northern Angola in the future, so that it can better play its leading role.
Take the United States as an example. The economic core of the United States is now in the Northeastern Great Lakes and coastal areas. It is not in a central position. However, the northern part of the United States is Canada, which does not pose a threat to the United States and is conducive to the United States' use of Canada's economy. and resources. There are no strong economies around East Africa, but resources are concentrated in the central and southern parts, and shipping advantages are concentrated on the east and west coasts. This is very different from the United States.
There is a huge difference between the east and west coasts of the United States. The western coast has poor climate conditions and is blocked by the Rocky Mountains. The East African Plateau extends from the center to the east and west coasts. Except for a few lakes in the east, there is basically no terrain barrier. The climate conditions are not much different and relatively similar. It is suitable and has good agricultural conditions, which is conducive to population concentration and industrial concentration.
Of course, East Africa now has limited capabilities and can only prioritize the development of the central and eastern economies. It is worth noting that Mozambique also belongs to the east in the territory of East African countries, and is due east of the Matabele Plateau, directly east of the East African Plateau. South, this will further enhance the future development potential of eastern East Africa.
The west is subject to certain natural conditions. First of all, it is the territory. The northwest region of East Africa does not extend to the west coast of Africa, but ends abruptly near the Azande Plateau. This makes the northwest corner of East Africa look like There's a piece missing.
However, the area that is lacking is mainly a tropical rainforest area with limited potential. This can be seen from the population distribution of Africa in previous generations.
The southwest region also has a tropical desert climate, so the only area in the west that can be vigorously developed and constructed is actually Angola. However, the area of Angola is not small, so the difference between the east and west coasts of East Africa is actually smaller than that of the east and west coasts of the United States. .
Therefore, after the initial development of Mozambique is completed, East Africa is bound to continue to develop westward. In this way, in addition to the north and south, the future economic entities of East Africa will also be clear.
However, New Hamburg Port and Maputo actually belong to the southern part of East Africa, and Somalia in the north is also a key development area in East Africa, so the future economy of East Africa will generally remain balanced.
Although it will not be as balanced as Germany and other European countries, it will be more balanced compared with the territorial powers of the same level, that is, the Far Eastern Empire, Tsarist Russia and the United States.
After the three-vertical and three-horizontal railway network is formed, the gap between the regional economies in East Africa will be further narrowed. After all, the conditions in the new territories of Angola and Mozambique are no worse than those in the original central and eastern regions of East Africa. As long as the basic foundation is completed Facilities, population, and industrial relocation can quickly close the gap.
Of course, the Ministry of Railways’ plan also further encouraged Ernst’s idea of locating the capital in the interior of East Africa. It is naturally safer to place the capital in the interior.
At the same time, administrative and other resources can be used to accelerate the development of central East Africa. Compared with coastal areas, it is naturally more popular to develop heavy industry based on resources in the central region. However, once a global market like the 21st century is formed, ore will mainly be lower-cost. Regional imports have rapidly widened the economic gap between the coastal and inland areas.
Although Ernst may not see that day, he still has to prepare for a rainy day, and placing the capital in the center of the country is more conducive to maintaining the rule of the Hechingen royal family. For example, the Far Eastern Empire was the capital during the era of sea power. Being too close to the sea and lacking a strong navy has resulted in the capital being threatened several times by external forces.
The first town in East Africa is obviously also facing this problem. Of course, this is only possible. After all, no country dares to attack the East African mainland. But this is just the reason why East Africa has strong military strength. If the national power If you descend to the level of the Far Eastern Empire, you may also face this problem.
At this time, the location of the capital becomes more important. If the capital is inland, even in the face of invaders like Britain and France, as long as the monarch has a little courage, he will not compromise with the invaders. After all, deep Located inland, the enemy will not be able to attack for a while, and will not threaten the life safety of the ruling group.
(End of this chapter)