CHAPTER 547: CHAPTER 225: THE BATTLE FOR THE WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN PORTS

"Starting from February this year, ships on the East African routes of Britain and other countries are advised to stop at Natal Port or Maputo Port as much as possible. The government has already collaborated with eleven major international shipping companies to ensure the safety of the property of British and other countries’ citizens in anticipation of potential regional conflicts."

"The British Madim Construction Company plans to invest 120,000 British Pounds in the first phase of Maputo Port to improve the service level and docking capacity for passing ships, aspiring for Maputo to become a top-tier emerging port in Africa, replacing the position of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa in the region, and constructing the most world-class port in ’East Africa’."

At the end of 1879, Britain had shifted its attention to Afghanistan, yet still did not forget to dig a pit for East Africa, unable to rely on military means, naturally seeking economic compensation.

It is undoubtedly said that the eastern routes of the East Continent, excluding the Red Sea and Aden Bay, have seventy percent of the value monopolized by the two ports of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, and the newly proposed New Hamburg Port is also planning to follow the model of the two open ports, and the infrastructure of New Hamburg Port already has the capability to compare with Maputo and Natal, with a trend to surpass them.

Originally, Britain intended to bring the French into the fold, because France’s Madagascar colony also has considerable influence in the Mozambique Channel.

However, the French did not fall for it. There is no direct conflict of interest between East Africa and France, as long as East Africa does not have ambitions for Madagascar, they have the basis for cooperation.

France did provide support to the Americans against Britain, so it was already fortunate that France did not provide support to East Africa; of course, France could not have too good a relationship with East Africa. The reason is simple, East Africa is a German state, and Germany is France’s greatest enemy, making the relationship between East Africa and Germany a major hindrance to French-Eastern relations.

In the end, it is still about interests. France cannot gain anything substantial in East Africa; even if it acts as a henchman for Britain, the benefits will ultimately fall into British hands. With that energy, it is better to develop West Africa into France’s own version of ’East Africa’. The emergence of East Africa has set a template for France, which is the West African version of France.

"There is a direct competitive relationship between New Hamburg Port and Maputo, Natal, so to respond to this British plan, we should focus on developing the geographical advantages of New Hamburg Port and building it into an excellent port in the southern African region, differentiating the advantages of Maputo and Natal."

In colonial investments, for many sovereign countries, it indeed is a burden, especially projects like Maputo and Natal that may result in loss.

East Africa, building New Hamburg Port, does not worry about such concerns. After all, the South Africa region can leverage New Hamburg Port’s advantages to promote various developments in the region, including population, industries, wool textile, and mining industries.

After all, it is East African soil, bound to develop sooner or later, so initial losses are irrelevant; ultimately, it will be more beneficial than detrimental to East Africa.

"Although the British said they want to develop Maputo and Natal to dilute the economic value of our East African ports, from Britain’s actual actions, their main goal is still to focus on supporting Maputo."

"Maputo should be considered the port with the highest potential in South Africa; its scale and natural conditions surpass other ports, which is also the reason Britain supports Maputo."

"Another reason is, with British investment in Maputo, its sovereign country, Portugal, will have to follow up with investments to share part of the funding for port construction. Now that Britain’s attention is focused on Afghanistan, and money needs to be spent in other global regions, co-developing Maputo Port with Portugal is the most cost-effective plan."

"Britain’s plan can indeed impact our economy to a certain extent, but port construction takes time, so in the short term, Maputo and Natal cannot threaten the East African ports."

"Among them, the advantageous positions of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa ports cannot be replaced by other ports; we still have this confidence."

The economic hinterland of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa ports is quite extensive, even New Hamburg Port’s economic hinterland reaches that of the former Transvaal Republic’s hinterland, so post-construction of Maputo and Natal cannot surpass East Africa.

And the main function of Maputo and Natal ports is to provide services to passing ships, but some ships’ destination is Africa itself, requiring African resources and goods, something Maputo and Natal cannot compare to.

For example, animal skins, ivory, mineral resources, etc., are more accessible in the vast East African region, and the cost is intrinsically much lower than that of England and Portugal. Moreover, East Africa’s railway system can transport these resources from the inland to East African ports.

This is the confidence in East African ports competing against foreign ports like Maputo, and the construction levels of East African ports like Dar es Salaam and Mombasa are a decade ahead of Maputo and Natal. Without substantial investment, there’s no chance for Maputo to replace Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.

Another aspect is historical reasons; Dar es Salaam and Mombasa have been evergreens on the Western Indian Ocean routes, important port cities in Africa since ancient times, comparable only to Mogadishu, but due to Mogadishu’s environmental limits by the desert, its development is far inferior to Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.

Many ships and sailors who have long been involved in the Western Indian Ocean routes are undoubtedly more familiar with Dar es Salaam and Mombasa. Although these years, Dar es Salaam and Mombasa have developed rapidly, having undergone tremendous changes compared to ten years ago, these changes are positive for passing ships. The service level has improved, the hardware facilities of the port are more complete, and the variety and quantity of goods have increased.

"We cannot let Britain and Portugal continue actions that harm others without benefiting themselves. Since they want to confront us, we should make a statement as well. In the north, we have Mogadishu, Mombasa, and Dar es Salaam; in the south, we have New Hamburg Port, so the Soko Port in the middle can also be opened to foreign ships. The railway from Soko to Lake Malawi is now complete, so it can serve some functions," Ernst finally decided.

Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, having operated as open ports for over a decade, have accumulated considerable experience, and this model can be applied to other East African ports as well.

The future of East Africa is to be open, and now establishing New Hamburg Port and Soko Port is to follow this trend.

One must eat one bite at a time, walk one step at a time, manage the pace well, and the initiative from seclusion to open-door policies should be in East Africa’s own hands.

And not be forcibly opened by powers like Britain. In fact, if East Africa hadn’t adopted a seclusion policy, Britain wouldn’t react so strongly to East Africa.

In fact, during the same period, both the United States and Germany followed a path similar to East Africa; neither country was a free market, but relied on high tariff barriers to counter countries like Britain and France.

But the United States and Germany have already risen, Britain can’t suppress them, so it can only squeeze East Africa, this ’soft target’.

Yet the real soft targets are countries like Brazil. If they opened up immediately, then East Africa would become a chaotic place susceptible to foreign capital control, just like Brazil.

Under East Africa’s closed policy, all policies can be steadily advanced without interference from foreign forces. Under this protection, once East Africa opens, indeed it may initially struggle to compete globally, but it will not collapse, and as long as it doesn’t collapse, East Africa has the potential to become a global power.