African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 1337 Strait of Magellan

Although railway construction in East Africa has slowed down, every time the East African government puts railways first in the transportation field, which fully illustrates the importance of railways to the domestic economy of East Africa.

Although it was said before that Russia is very dependent on railways, in fact, East Africa and the United States are not far behind, and East Africa and the United States have done better than Russia in railway construction.

In addition to Russia's lack of high-quality sea outlets and relatively harsh climate and environment, Russia, East Africa and the United States are all facing an important problem, which is the poor condition of domestic rivers. This means that railways must occupy an important position in the economic development of the three countries.

The main problem between the United States and Russia is the direction of the river. Although the United States has the Mississippi River, a "golden waterway" that flows through the Central Plains and into the Caribbean Sea, which can connect the inland and coastal economies, the economic center of the United States is On the eastern coast and the Great Lakes region, if the Mississippi River flows east-west and flows into the east coast, it will really have a huge impact on the U.S. economy.

This is especially the case in Russia. Russia's major rivers basically run north-south, and are affected by the freezing of the rivers when temperatures drop in winter. However, Russia's land is distributed in a narrow and east-west distribution. Therefore, the Russian government led the construction of the Siberian Railway to connect the country's Eastern and Western regions.

The situation of rivers in East Africa is more complicated. Compared with the United States and Russia, the Congo River and Zambezi River in East Africa run east-west and flow into the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean respectively. They basically overlap with or are very close to the economically developed areas of East Africa.

However, East African rivers are not only restricted by topography, with large terrain differences, many waterfalls, canyons and rapids, but also restricted by precipitation conditions, especially the Zambezi River, which has large seasonal changes in rivers.

So throughout the world, the regions with the best inland shipping conditions are Europe and the Far East.

Although East Africa has actively improved inland shipping conditions and built a large number of artificial canals over the years, the problem with these artificial canals is that their transportation capacity is limited, and their timeliness and stability cannot be compared with railways. This makes railways in The status of domestic transportation in East Africa is almost unshakable.

Of course, from a factual point of view, only road transportation can pose a threat to the status of railways. Even in terms of volume and importance, road transportation ranks first. However, railways have advantages that cannot be completely replaced by roads, especially It is of great significance to the fields of national defense, people's livelihood and economy.

Especially in the field of national defense, railways are more important than roads and waterways. This is also one of the important reasons for moving the capital of East Africa to the Rhine City. Through the two major railway hubs, namely the Rhine City and New Frankfurt City, the central government of East Africa can achieve nationwide control. For strong regional control, especially large-scale military mobilization, railways not only have the advantage of transportation capacity, but also have timeliness and stability.

It is said that soldiers are expensive and fast. Although highway speeds are also very fast, the unit transportation capacity cannot be compared with railways, and they are easily interfered by external factors. As for waterways, there is no need to say more. If soldiers and strategic materials are transported through rivers, it will be difficult to transport soldiers and strategic materials. The dishes are cold.

The population and railway data in 1918 have met the psychological expectations of the East African government. In terms of population, despite rapid urbanization, East Africa still maintains rapid population growth, which also indicates the vitality of the East African economy.

As for railways, East Africa has now built a highly developed railway network, which has greatly improved the transportation level in East Africa and is enough to support the needs of East Africa's future economic development.

As for other data, the East African government will have to wait for a while. However, with East Africa's exaggerated economic growth, it is absolutely certain that the development data of other fields during the Fourth Five-Year Plan period will not be too bad.

…

March 1919.

The focus shifts to Luanda on the west coast of East Africa. As a large city in western East Africa, Luanda officially became a "sister city" with the Chilean city of Punta Arenas at the beginning of this year.

City Hall of Luanda.

At the dinner organized by the East African government, East African government personnel and Chilean officials had a friendly and harmonious exchange.

In this event, not only the Luanda City Government participated, but also the Central Government of East Africa and the West Coast Provincial Government sent and organized personnel to hold relevant discussions with Chilean representatives at the City Hall.

There were countless East African and Chilean companies attending the banquet, but the most eye-catching ones were some mining giants from East Africa.

"Welcome the friendly cooperation between your country and the Empire. I hope that through this cooperation between the two countries, the Strait of Magellan route can regain its former vitality, thereby playing a huge role in the economic development of your country." Minister of Transportation of East Africa Reni raised his glass and congratulated Chilean Foreign Minister Rigal.

Rigardo responded: "Shipping in the Strait of Magellan is not only related to the needs of our people, but also a choice for the common interests of the two peoples. We in Chile also hope to use this as an opportunity to promote the cooperation between the two countries in the economic, cultural and other fields." Exchange, progress and prosperity together.”

Both Reni and Riccardo mentioned the Strait of Magellan, which is also the focus of this cooperation between the two countries. The reason why Luanda and Punta Arenas are so-called "sister cities" is also due to the fact that Punta Arenas, Chile The city of Ta Arenas is the only city located on the Strait of Magellan.

Reni said: “Over the years, our trade volume with Chile has increased year by year, and the cultural, talent and trade exchanges between the two countries have become more frequent. However, Chile is mainly located on the Pacific coast, while East Africa is located on the Atlantic coast. This has a great impact on the relationship between the two countries. Communication had a detrimental effect.”

“The Strait of Magellan is the only transportation artery directly connecting our two countries. It is even an exaggeration to say that the Strait of Magellan is the lifeline of trade between the two countries. Therefore, the development, construction and maintenance of the Strait of Magellan waterway is of great significance to our two countries. significance."

Chile is located on the west side of South America. It is a Pacific country. In addition to being separated from East Africa by the Atlantic Ocean, it is also separated by Argentina. Therefore, theoretically, exchanges between East Africa and Chile cannot bypass Argentina.

However, the reality is that exchanges between East Africa and Chile do not need to be transited through Argentina, and all of this originates from the Strait of Magellan route, which is fully controlled by Chile.

The Magellan Route is located between the southern territories of Chile and Argentina, but the Strait of Magellan and the land along the strait are completely in Chilean hands.

The Strait of Magellan is an important route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, which means that Chile controls the sea channel to the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, although Chile is a Pacific country, its exchanges with Atlantic countries are not restricted by Argentina.

Argentina and Chile have always had a bad relationship, especially regarding the territorial issue of Tierra del Fuego. There have been frequent conflicts between the two countries, and Tierra del Fuego is on the southern shore of the Strait of Magellan.

In the last century, Argentina and Chile fought over the sovereignty of Tierra del Fuego. In the end, Chile came out on top, so Chile occupied two-thirds of the land in Tierra del Fuego. It was this two-thirds of the land that allowed Chile to Unimpeded access to the eastern outlet of the Strait of Magellan.

Before World War I, the Strait of Magellan was also the most important sea channel on the east and west coasts of the entire America. Whether North American or South American ships wanted to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or from the Pacific to the Atlantic, they needed to detour through the Strait of Magellan.

However, this period lasted until 1914. After the opening of the Panama Canal, the Strait of Magellan, the only sea channel between the two sides of the Americas in the past, also declined rapidly.

This undoubtedly has a certain impact on the Chilean economy, especially on Punta Arenas, the only city located on the Strait of Magellan.

Punta Arenas is located in the middle of the Strait of Magellan. It was built in 1843. It was originally mainly used to add coal to passing ships. Later, because the Chilean government continued to deport criminals to the local area, it gradually developed into a larger settlement. The real development of Punta Arenas was mainly due to gold mines and wool. In the 1990s, Punta Arenas had become an important wool processing center.

The good days of Punta Arenas ended in 1914, with the official completion of the Panama Canal led by the Americans, which greatly reduced the status of the Strait of Magellan.

This impact even exceeds the impact of the Suez Canal on the Cape of Good Hope, because South America, where the Strait of Magellan is located, is itself a remote area of ​​the world, and this is especially true for the Strait of Magellan, which is located at the southern tip of South America.

Although the Strait of Magellan was the only sea passage between the two sides of the American continent for a long time, the number of ships passing through it was not large.

Even in its heyday, it was far behind the Cape of Good Hope in the same period. You must know that in its most developed period, the Suez Canal had been opened, and the status of the Cape of Good Hope plummeted.

There are various reasons for this situation. One is that the rise of railways has completely changed the main transportation pattern on both sides of the Americas. The most typical ones are the United States, Canada and other countries, which have built railways connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

Therefore, even if there is no Panama Canal, the status of the Strait of Magellan is not irreplaceable.

Compared with North America, the economy of South America is almost a backward region, and cross-strait trade volume is almost negligible.

In addition to economic problems, the natural conditions of the Strait of Magellan are also worrying. The latitude of the Strait of Magellan is too high, the climate is cold, and it is located in the westerly belt. The winds are high and the waves are strong and there are ice floes. The entire strait is 500 kilometers long. The coastal terrain is complex and sparsely populated. This is relatively rare in major maritime traffic arteries around the world.

Take the Cape of Good Hope as an example. Although the Cape of Good Hope is more dangerous because of the many storms, it pales in comparison to the Strait of Magellan.

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The latitude of the Cape of Good Hope is about 34 degrees south latitude, while the Strait of Magellan is at more than 50 degrees south latitude, so the climate in the Strait of Magellan is even worse, and the waters of the Cape of Good Hope are relatively open, while the Strait of Magellan is not only relatively narrow, but its channel length is even more A slot, a distance of 500 kilometers, and complex terrain require even experienced sailors to have a certain amount of courage if they want to pass here safely.

Therefore, if the opening of the Panama Canal follows the original historical development, it will almost be a death sentence for the Strait of Magellan.

This is also the main reason why the Chilean government actively cooperates with East Africa on the resumption of navigation in the Strait of Magellan.

Chilean Foreign Minister Riccardo said to Reni: "It is true. The opening of the Panama Canal has almost paralyzed the Strait of Magellan route. Therefore, our country attaches great importance to your proposal for the Strait of Magellan and is willing to actively cooperate with your plan."

"We hope that the future Strait of Magellan route will be like the Cape of Good Hope today. Although its status has declined due to the emergence of the Suez Canal, it has been revived because of the rise of your country."

The status of the Cape of Good Hope once plummeted due to the opening of the Suez Canal. At that time, although East Africa was emerging on the African continent, its economic level was not high.

The turning point came in the 1990s. As East Africa snatched a large amount of land on the west coast from Portugal, in order to develop the west, the Cape of Good Hope became the main channel for ships between East Africa and the two sides. This once again led to the revival of shipping on the Cape of Good Hope.

After entering the 20th century, the trade demand between the two sides of East Africa has further increased, and the cost advantage of shipping has made East African ships pass through the Cape of Good Hope more and more frequently. Now the Cape of Good Hope route has become more prosperous and has even regained some of its former glory.

Minister Rennie said: "This is natural. The empire attaches great importance to trade with American countries, and Chile is an important country on the Pacific coast of America. In the past few years, we have imported a large amount of minerals and agricultural products from your country, so for the sake of trade between the two countries, demand, restarting the Strait of Magellan route has become a top priority.”

"Even, if possible, we hope that your country can provide us with a stronghold in the Strait of Magellan to serve as a haven and maintenance base for our ships."

Regarding Reni's proposal, Rigardo delayed: "This matter involves territorial issues after all, so our government needs to do more research. It is not something that a small person like me can decide."

For Riccardo, Reni's request was Xiangzhuang's sword dance, intended for Peigong. It was not cooperation in the economic field, but preparation for the East African Navy.

The economic value of the Strait of Magellan is actually just that, but the strategic value is quite high. If the East African government and Chile reach an agreement, then the East African navy may be able to use the Strait of Magellan to directly enter the Pacific from the Atlantic in the future.

In addition to the Strait of Magellan, the East African Navy has only two other options if it wants to do this. One is to pass through the Panama Canal under US control, and the other is to risk passing through the Drake Strait.

The former is almost impossible to achieve. After all, the only country that can threaten East Africa's interests in the Pacific is the United States, so how can the Americans let East Africa go?

As for the latter, although the Drake Strait is high seas, its environment is even worse than the Strait of Magellan. Ships almost die if they want to pass through. Even the name of the Drake Strait, Drake himself, has never crossed the Drake Passage. Strait, if the East African navy ventures through the Drake Strait, it may be able to repeat the tragedy of the Yuan Dynasty navy attacking Japan and being swallowed up by strong winds and huge waves.

Of course, there is no room for negotiation regarding the East African government's intention to use the Drake Strait for military purposes, which is why Rigardo said the Chilean government is studying it.

We must know that the overall length of the Strait of Magellan is more than 500 kilometers. If East Africa only builds one or two military bases, it will not mean much unless East Africa controls the entire land on both sides of the Strait of Magellan like Chile.

Reni did not show any disappointment at Rijaldo's polite refusal. After all, he was just mentioning it.

Rennie said: "If your country wants to do something good, you can contact us and we can provide rent according to normal standards."

"However. If your country has no ideas now, let's talk about the economic development of the Strait of Magellan. Now the Empire is Chile's second largest trading country, and we hope to further expand the scale of trade with your country."

"Especially building a stable transportation channel for copper ore and saltpeter is a good thing for both countries."

As early as 1908, Chile had become the largest importer of copper ore in East Africa. East Africa itself was the largest producer of copper ore. However, the development of East African electricity and other industries still made the demand for copper ore in East Africa exceed the supply.

There is no need to say more about saltpeter. Now during World War I, the world's demand for saltpeter is huge. After East Africa imports saltpeter from Chile, it is then processed into industrial products such as explosives and exported to Europe to earn good profits.

(End of chapter)