African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 827 Plantation converted into farm

Of course, the coastal areas of East Africa are export-oriented economies and do not represent the whole picture of East Africa. In particular, the national conditions in the inland areas are very different. In the past, Fernandez only saw the rapid development and prosperity of East Africa on the surface. It will take some time to experience the specific situation. In-depth understanding.

 …

 City of Maputo.

“At present, we have restored production in 71 plantations around Maputo. Originally, there were 400 to 500 large and small plantations around Maputo. After we took over, we fully integrated the local plantations. Eventually, seventy-one large plantations were formed.”

“The main force working on the plantations were black slaves left by the Portuguese. The Portuguese had more than 40,000 black slaves in Maputo. During the war, they forced many black people. These can be used for livestock and machinery in the east. Until then, the plantations will be developed, but then they will turn into large farms.”

 Tropical plantations are typically labor-intensive industries, such as cotton harvesting, which were difficult to mechanize in the 19th century.

The world's three major cotton producing areas, the United States, India and the Far Eastern Empire are all densely populated areas. For example, the United States introduced a large number of black slaves because of the shortage of manpower in cotton plantations. During the Civil War, there were a large number of black people in southern plantations. Northern capitalists were sure be envious.

 The positioning of South Mozambique in East Africa is obviously not the cultivation of tropical cash crops such as cotton, but the cultivation of grain.

With high-quality black soil and vast plains like southern Mozambique, it would be a pity not to grow food. It can be said that it is more fertile than the land in the Great Lakes region, and the rainwater temperature is just right. It is near the Tropic of Capricorn, so it is not biased. .

Most of the land in East Africa is between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Cancer, especially in the north. It reaches as far as southern Sudan and is still some distance away from the Tropic of Cancer.

 So the South African region plays a huge role in enriching the climate environment of East Africa. The southernmost Orange River Basin has crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and reached about 30 degrees south latitude.

Of course, most parts of East Africa are affected by the topography and form a savanna climate. At the same time, due to the high altitude, the temperature is low, which is similar to a subtropical climate in characteristics.

Don’t underestimate the plain in southern Mozambique, which looks small on the map. Its area reaches 330,000 square kilometers, making it one of the largest plains in Africa. The largest northeastern plain in the Far Eastern Empire is only 350,000 square kilometers.

Of course, compared to the vast land of East Africa, this plain area is simply not enough to see. The plains of East Africa are basically concentrated on the eastern coast, and although northern Somalia is a plain, it has a tropical desert climate. Between Mombasa and Kismayo The plains are also dominated by dry grasslands due to scarce rainfall.

But Mozambique is different. The average annual precipitation fluctuates between 750mm and 1200mm, and there are many rivers and dense river networks. The upper reaches are mostly plateaus and mountains, and vast alluvial plains are formed in the lower reaches. In this case, the land of Mozambique Nature is very fertile.

"According to news from the city of Dar es Salaam, their first batch of agricultural tractors will not arrive in Maputo until at least the end of this year, because they have not mass-produced so many tractors on such a large scale before. As for the livestock in the northern pastures It may have to wait until August to arrive here, and it will mainly be dispatched from the Port of Mombasa. Instead, the New Hamburg Port City can temporarily dispatch a batch to help us develop southern Mozambique.”

The New Hamburg Port City belongs to the southern pastures of East Africa. The southern pastures are a relatively developed area of ​​animal husbandry in East Africa, second only to the northern pastures, and may surpass the northern pastures in the future. Therefore, the New Hamburg Port City has the ability to allocate a group of livestock to Maputo. Provide support.

Of course, affected by the war, the livestock industry in New Hamburg Port was greatly damaged, and a large number of livestock were transferred to the province of Hechingen before the war.

However, there is a railway connection between the province of Hechingen and the port city of New Hamburg, so the recovery after the war was very fast.

"When the railway from the New Hamburg Port City to Maputo is opened, it will greatly alleviate our problems. The New Hamburg Port City is originally a large industrial city, and basic agricultural tools can also effectively help Maputo, but now the Southern Frontier Province also It is recovering, so we want to get full support from the new Hamburg Port City until at least the end of the year. "For the Maputo government, it is now short of people, lacks tools, and lacks motivation... But this is the case for other regions in East Africa.

 But the Mozambique region is particularly serious. It was incorporated into East Africa too late. Coupled with the impressive "efficiency" of the Portuguese, Mozambique and Angola lag far behind other regions in East Africa.

For example, the Hechingen Province and the Southern Frontier Province in East Africa where development is restricted, their agriculture is basically the same as the two places, and their industry is even more incomparable.

 Under Portuguese rule, Mozambique had no industrial base at all, with only a few ship repair shops and three arsenals temporarily built due to the war.

These three arsenals are actually large firearms repair shops with no weapons production capabilities at all. Moreover, with the withdrawal of Portuguese technical personnel, they are now in a state of paralysis. However, the machines are well preserved. This is different from Angola. The Portuguese army in Angola finally came from the sea. The withdrawal almost completely destroyed the production and living facilities in Luanda and Benguela.

 Maputo was blockaded by East Africa in the middle and late stages of the war, and finally fell completely into the hands of East Africa. Therefore, Maputo is relatively well-preserved among the former Portuguese colonial cities.

Of course, according to standards, the only Portuguese colonies in South Africa are Luanda, Benguela and Maputo, which can barely be called cities.

“In addition to integrating Mozambique’s agriculture, the development of Maputo city should also get back on track. Now many places in the city are empty, hotels and hostels, ship repair yards, handicraft workshops, etc. are basically shut down. This requires help from other cities. , must be written into the government report.”

Before the war, Maputo’s business was relatively prosperous, and there were a large number of businessmen from various countries operating local businesses in the city, exporting Mozambique’s resources.

However, as the war started, Maputo came to a standstill. After the war, due to the withdrawal of the Portuguese government and a large number of civilians, the entire Maputo management system collapsed directly.

If it were just a problem with the government, it would be easy to solve. However, the departure of a large number of Portuguese civilians directly led to the destruction of the local grassroots system. Therefore, the situation in Maputo did not improve after the arrival of the Maputo government appointed by East Africa.

 In the past, Maputo was under military control. Today, Maputo also has more soldiers than civilians. Of course, this is without counting black people.

Of course, there are not many Portuguese people left in Mozambique, but they have been temporarily requisitioned by the East African government to temporarily manage black people to maintain production activities in Mozambique.

That is to say, the local plantation industry prevents the land from being abandoned again. As for Maputo's business, it is completely finished. Merchant ships from all over the world will avoid it in a short time. Instead, it will be at the New Hamburg Port or the German colony of British Natal. Dock at Bangkok.

At the same time, the Portuguese also took away their traditional business routes. For example, after the plantations were nationalized in East Africa, the business channels of the original Portuguese plantation owners were also cut off.

These will need to be dealt with by the Maputo Municipal Government in the future, but according to Maputo’s geographical location and conditions, it is only a matter of time before it prospers again.

 (End of this chapter)