Chapter 1206 "Sympathy for Brothers"
December 5, 1915.
Benguela Port.
With the development of the economy and the stimulation of the European War, the economy of the entire west coast of East Africa has taken advantage of this historical opportunity to reach a higher level.
In the new Falta district of Benguela, trains and cars are loading and unloading goods and containers from inland or local areas.
At eight o'clock in the afternoon, dock worker Anton and his co-workers finally completed the loading of the last container. After wiping the sweat on his face with a towel, Anton sat on the cement floor and said to Mars: "This year's work is going to be great." But there are too many more than last year, and I don’t know how long Europe will continue to fight.”
After taking a sip of herbal tea from his thick water cup, Mars said: “The longer the fight, the better. Although it is unreasonable to say this, without the European War, there would be no There are so many trade orders now.”
“I don’t care how the Europeans are living now. It’s good to live a good life. After all, the European powers are not a good thing. If they decline like this, That is a good thing for the whole world. "
People in the world have been suffering from Europe for a long time. Of course, this kind of thing is definitely not the turn of East Africans. After all, East Africa is just a member of the world's great powers. Also one of the persecutors.
Looking at the history of East Africa, it is entirely the rise of an imperialist country, a country built on the blood, sweat and bones of tens of millions of blacks, browns, and some yellows and whites.
The countries in Europe and East Africa that have experienced bad behavior are the UK and Portugal. But if we really discuss who is the victim, from the perspective of who is the beneficiary in the end, it is obvious that East Africa is definitely not the one.
Most European countries may look down on East Africa in their hearts, but the relationship with East Africa at the government level is good. Even the United Kingdom and Portugal have "put aside their past grievances" and "reconciled" with East Africa in recent years.
Needless to say, the United Kingdom naturally reached a temporary compromise at the official level after the East-British reconciliation. However, the relationship between Portugal and East Africa has completely increased with the increase of East Africa’s national power, which has led to the Portuguese government having to Make new choices.
Obviously, the Portuguese's disgust and hatred for East Africa cannot be obvious, but the Portuguese government must be "pragmatic". In 1902, the new Portuguese government had already begun to change its tone.
No longer promote "East African hatred theory", "East African threat theory" and other remarks that are not conducive to the "friendly" relations between the two countries. After all, the new Portuguese government has a very clear positioning of itself.
The last Portuguese government came to power based on the anti-East African sentiment of the people after the failure of the South African War. However, after a long period of accumulation of social conflicts, the theory of East African hatred can no longer satisfy the catharsis of public sentiment.
The East Africa card is obviously no longer an excuse for the government to deflect conflicts, and the Portuguese government is very clear that continuing to touch upon East Africa will not only fail to solve the problem, but will further offend East Africa.
After entering the 20th century, East Africa has firmly established itself as a member of world imperialism. On the contrary, Portugal has completely declined.
The Portuguese government will not further offend East Africa because of the public sentiment. After all, with the rise of the East African Atlantic Fleet, it is really possible for East African warships to enter Lisbon.
So after the new Portuguese government came to power, it was a natural choice to "reconcile" with East Africa. When East Africa initially colonized Africa and had no direct contact with Portugal, the relationship between the two parties was actually good, so the two countries "reconnected" "Reconciliation" is also justified.
Even countries like Portugal, which had an "immortal" feud with East Africa, can "reconcile themselves". The relationship between other European countries and East Africa is basically very good, and there are even "siblings" such as Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A country of deep love.
So Anton said: "You are a little extreme Mars. Although the European war has indeed brought huge benefits to us in East Africa, the wars in European countries cannot last forever, so this period of economic development dividends , and eventually with the war in Europe "I would like to say that the development of East Africa ultimately depends on its own efforts and progress, rather than the implementation of other countries. As long as we surpass Europe industrially and economically, even if they really recover, they will not It will have a big impact on us.”
Mars said: "You are right, developing yourself is the last word, but there is no problem with what I said. The industrial countries in Europe and the United States are our competitors. If the competitors fall, it will be very difficult for us. It's definitely not a bad thing, so the war in Europe continues, The advantages for us definitely outweigh the disadvantages, but this is really just an ideal state.”
“Look at the development of our city in Benguela over the years, it can be said that it is the same every year, and it is changing with each passing day. Seizing opportunities is closely related. ”
"The development of the West Coast is one aspect, and trade with South America and Europe and the United States has stimulated the rapid rise of Benguela and other West Coast cities. The outbreak of the European War is a huge historical opportunity for Benguela today."< br>
“Our workload this year alone is probably more than the previous two or three years combined. A large number of orders have been sent from Europe and the United States, factories are working day and night, railways are running day and night, and we are also Only then can more wages be obtained. ”
The outbreak of the European War has caused visible changes to the city of Benguela, which is also the main reason why Mars supports the continuation of the European War.
After all, the whole of East Africa is too far away from Mars, but the development of Benguela City is closely related to Mars.
He continued: "Back then, our Falta New District really developed from poverty to the scale it is today."
"Those who have not experienced it will definitely not be able to imagine that six years ago this was just a large construction site, but now it has developed into a new area on par with the old city. The ports, docks, roads, and buildings are all good, except that the environment is relatively monotonous. , Comparing the new district with the old city, there are almost no shortcomings.”
Anton also agreed very much with this, he said: “That’s true, I thought you and I were just walking in the countryside of Salzburg. The two young men who came out now We have become serious city residents.”
“I still remember that when we first came to Benguela, we were quite excited. After all, Benguela should have been relatively famous in the empire at that time. "
Benguela is still well-known in East Africa. Although Anton and Mars were born in rural areas in the interior of East Africa, Benguela was once an important stronghold of the Portuguese in Angola. , which itself is relatively famous in Angola.
Of course, the most famous one is the Benguela Cold Current, which has the same name as Benguela City. The Benguela Cold Current is an important part of East African geography textbooks, so as long as you pay more attention in class or read more books, you will see many things in East Africa. Everyone can remember the term Benguela Cold Current.
There is no doubt that the Benguela Current is an important part of the ocean current, and because it is located on the west coast of East Africa, it is naturally mentioned by East African teachers and is often compared with the Peruvian Cold Current.
Coupled with the East African Railway Artery, the important western branch of the Central Railway, and the geographical term Benguela Railway, the frequency of the word Benguela in East Africa cannot be too low.
Benguela City originally occupies an important position in the history of East Africa. It is also one of the provinces in East Africa, and Benguela City is the provincial capital, so the economic foundation of Benguela City cannot be too poor and its popularity It can't be too low.
This is also the main reason why Anton was so excited when his job was assigned to Benguela. It is a relatively familiar city, and its economic situation is obviously not that bad.
Although the conditions in Salzburg Province, the hometown of Anton and Mars, are much better than those in Benguela Province, Mbeya, the capital of Salzburg Province, is one of the top ten famous cities in East Africa. One, but these have nothing to do with Anton and Mars in rural Salzburg.
(End of this chapter)