African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1197 God rewards you with food
For example, 52% of Dar es Salaam's coal comes from the Port of New Hamburg, 31% comes from India, and the rest comes from the Middle East or other parts of East Africa. However, in the past two years, Russia's imported coal in Dar es Salaam has grown rapidly, mainly from Russia's eastern Ukraine.

The source of iron ore is even more exaggerated. Forty-seven percent of Dar es Salaam's iron ore comes from India and 13 percent comes from the Middle East. The two together exceed the local supply in East Africa.

This also shows the huge shipping advantages of Dar es Salaam, and also shows the prosperous trade between India and Dar es Salaam.

Most cities along the eastern coast of East Africa attach importance to trade relations with India. After all, a huge market with a population of nearly 300 million, coupled with India's rich mineral resources, is extremely attractive to East African companies, even with the British colonial government as a middleman to make a profit.

India's conditions are absolutely unique. In the agricultural era, India was the world's agricultural and handicraft center second only to the Far Eastern Empire.

In ancient times, India’s ability to become the world’s handicraft center was naturally inseparable from its rich natural resources. For example, India has considerable reserves of basic industrial minerals such as coal and iron ore. The fact that India, as the most populous country in the world in the past, still maintained huge iron ore exports is very telling.

Moreover, East Africa's maritime transport advantages with India are very significant. With the triple advantages of transportation, resources and market combined, it is impossible for East-India trade not to prosper.

After 1914, trade between East Africa and India reached a record high, and there was even a situation where Indian businessmen and bureaucrats placed large orders for East African industrial products and resold them in Britain.

Today's Indian bureaucrats are naturally the bureaucrats of the British colonial government. As Britain's richest colony, India is also a place where British bureaucrats make a lot of money.

This kind of parasites are obviously one of the most abstract groups in the UK. Even after the South African War, when Britain imposed the most severe sanctions on East Africa, British bureaucrats in India continued to do as they pleased. So East Africa also invited India to this World Expo.

Of course, the main targets of trade with East Africa were still the princes and nobles of India. Although Britain was the suzerain state of India, these princes and nobles were the de facto foundation of Britain's rule over India.

In fact, Britain was in cahoots with these princes and nobles, and naturally enjoyed full benefits. In the early 20th century, there were few internal reforms in the Indian princely states, corruption of princes was a common phenomenon, and the princely state system became a major cancer on India's body.

However, this is obviously also beneficial to East Africa. Most of the trade between East Africa and India is directly concluded with these princes and nobles.

If feasible, Ernst would like India to maintain this institutional model of rampant princely states. After all, there is no need for another world power to emerge along the Indian Ocean coast to threaten East Africa's interests in the region. Therefore, Ernst and the East African government absolutely do not want to see a unified India.

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"Vietnam?" Howard immediately thought of this country. After all, Vietnam should be regarded as the essence of France's colonies in the South Seas.

Pasteur nodded and said, "That should be the case! I don't know much about it, and I don't do business in this area."

Howard said: "When I return to Australia, I think I may be able to make some connections. I remember that Australia also has bauxite mines."

From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, Australia discovered other important mineral resources, such as coal, iron ore, copper, aluminum, zinc, etc. So after recognizing the strong demand in the emerging industrial market in East Africa, Howard now felt that he had a great opportunity to get a share of the trade between East Africa and Australia.

After all, he is the president of the Western Australian and East African Business Association, and the advantage of being close to the water is not small.

In fact, in the past few years, the export growth of mineral resources to East Africa in Western Australia's economy has been very dazzling. The natural conditions of Western Australia are obviously not as good as those in eastern Australia, but Western Australia is rich in mineral resources. In addition, the transportation between Western Australia and East Africa can be said to be the most convenient. Australia's location can be said to be quite remote, which can be said to be the worst except for Antarctica.

Slightly closer to Australia are Asia, South America and Africa, but the level of industrial development in Asia and South America is quite low today.

Only in the African continent has East Africa, a super-large industrial country, emerged. Therefore, it would be best if Australia's rich mineral resources could catch up with the express train of East African economy.

Take Canada for example. As British colonies, Canada and Australia have many things in common.

Canada and Australia are both large countries with vast areas, abundant mineral resources and sparse populations, but their destinies are very different.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Canada had completed preliminary industrialization and had a very prominent position among the British colonies. As early as 1867, it signed the British North America Act with Britain and obtained the status of a dominion, which was actually equivalent to de facto independence.

Australia did not gain dominion status until 1901 at the beginning of this century, and because of its economic and military weakness, Australia had to follow Britain in all aspects.

This is obviously not because the Australian government is too loyal, but because its economic strength and military capabilities do not allow it.

The main reason for the different fates of Canada and Australia is that Canada is adjacent to the United States. Canada can be said to be the only American country that enjoys the economic dividends of the United States. Its mineral resource advantages can be quickly realized with the help of American industry. This is also the main reason for the rapid development of Canada's economy from the mid-to-late 19th century to the early 20th century.

Australia, which enjoys resource advantages that are no less than those of Canada, is in urgent need of a big moneymaker like the United States. Obviously, East Africa has the ability to play such a role.

So after seeing the strong industrial capacity of East Africa, Howard believed that Australia should strengthen its economic cooperation with East Africa in the next step.

Of course, because of the old feud between East Africa and Britain, the Australian government may be unable to save face and thus hinder the development of trade between the two countries.

However, Western Australia obviously does not need to be consistent with the Australian government located in the east. The connection between Western Australia and the east has never been close. In particular, the Australian government's long-term neglect of Western Australia has caused many people in Western Australia to lack a sense of identity.

Howard is one of them. The Western Australia and East Africa Business Association, which he leads, has little intersection with the East. So now that he knows that cooperation with East Africa can bring huge benefits to himself and the association, it is natural to further strengthen trade relations with East Africa.

Howard further told Pasteur: "Western Australia has rich mineral resources, and East Africa has the world's most powerful industry. The two countries can complement each other's advantages, so next I will urge the association to reach some agreements and consensus directly with the East African government."

For a country like Australia, selling mines is just like selling the mud in front of its own doorstep. It is not worth feeling bad about at all. In the past, oil sellers in the Gulf countries might have worried about energy depletion, but Australia does not need to worry about this at all. Not to mention its huge resource reserves, even if they are really exhausted, it can just switch to another mine and continue selling. This is truly a gift from God.

This was once the case in East Africa, but now the population in East Africa is growing too fast and the industry is developing too fast, so East Africa must be prepared for danger in times of peace, unless the Rhine royal family just wants to stay in Africa and be the chief of Africa. In that case, East Africa does not need as many people as it does now. If it maintains a population of tens of millions, East Africa can live comfortably.

(End of this chapter)