Chapter 651 Southwest Africa
Walvis Bay.
It is the only excellent deep-water port on the Atlantic coast of East Africa. To the north is the East African Naval Port Swakopmund. It is also the most isolated base of the East African Navy on the mainland.
"Today is the official completion day of the Walvis Bay Highway. This is of great significance to Walvis Bay Port. It means that the traffic between Walvis Bay Port and the interior of East Africa will be smoother. The development of Walvis Bay Port will also be further improved in the future. .”
The mayor of Walvis Bay, Yasold, is most happy about the opening of the Whale Highway. This also ends the history of no road from the interior of East Africa to Southwest Africa.
The Mungu Highway starts from the western part of the Hohenzollern Province, which is the end of the western section of the East Africa Central Railway, from the city of Mongu, passes through the Province of Letania, and finally enters Southwest Africa and reaches the city of Walvis Bay. It is more than 1,300 kilometers long and more than 20,000 people participated in its construction.
There are currently no plans to build a railway between Mongu City and Walvis Bay in East Africa, mainly because the route is too empty. Although other areas in East Africa are also vast and sparsely populated, they pale in comparison to Southwest Africa, which was Namibia in the previous life.
Although the East African Railway has not made much money in recent years, food, specialties, minerals, and even industrial products and people have moved along the route.
However, if a railway is built between Mongu City and Walvis Bay City, this effect will not be achieved, because there is no population, let alone industry and agriculture between the two cities.
Therefore, the East African government only decided to build a road to connect Walvis Bay and the interior of East Africa, which was the most cost-effective and hassle-free.
Although the road condition of the Mount Whale Highway is very poor compared to other roads in East Africa, it is better than nothing. In the past, reaching Walvis Bay from the interior could only pass through forests, grasslands, deserts, plateaus and mountains, and there were no obvious landmarks. , so there is always a risk of getting lost.
With the Mangwhale Highway, most of these problems have been solved. In addition, there is not much precipitation in Southwest Africa, so the roads are not maintained as frequently as in East Africa. The only sections that need to be taken care of are the sections passing through desert areas.
"Mayor Yasold, congratulations. I'm afraid we in Swakopmund will have to use your way to communicate with the interior in the future. Alas, I'm afraid Walvis Bay will be number one in Southwest Africa in the future!" There was a sour smell in it.
It was Swakopmund Mayor Val who said this. Swakopmund is only 30 kilometers away from Walvis Bay, and the end point of the Whale Bay Highway is established in Walvis Bay. Swakopmund is naturally only If you can accept your fate, who can make the conditions of Walvis Bay Port more superior than Swakopmund Port? It will definitely be an important economic center for the development of Southwest Africa in the future.
Moreover, Swakopmund Port is still a military port, which further limits the future development of Swakopmund. Therefore, Val is very envious of Yasold, but not jealous. After all, the division of labor between the two cities is different.
"Haha, Mayor Val is joking. The two of us are brothers in need. We came here to endure hardships together. After all, who doesn't know that Southwest Africa has the worst conditions in East Africa? What's the difference between being here and being exiled? You said it's the same Desert, how come Northern Province and Juba are so good at saving lives!" Yasold changed the subject.
If there is a real distinction between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, it is that Swakopmund is essentially the knife-wielding guard of Walvis Bay.
Of course, the entire 2,000-kilometer coastline of Southwest Africa is within the patrol range of the Swakopmund Navy, but Walvis Bay is right next to Swakopmund.
There are only four settlements along the coast of Southwest Africa. If Walvis Bay and Swakopmund are considered as a whole, there are only two immigrant settlements left along the coast.
They are the mouth of the Orange River and Lüderitz in the south. Lüderitz is more desolate, so it is only a stronghold for a few hundred people to prevent anyone from landing in the Lüderitz Bay.
The combined population of these four places is basically 60% of the total immigrant population in Southwest Africa and East Africa, which is more than 13,000 people, of which there are more than 1,000 in the navy, more than 2,000 in the army, and less than 1,000 ordinary people. About 10,000 people.
There are not many people in Southwest Africa and East Africa, and there are also quite a few indigenous people. There may have been tens to hundreds of thousands in the past, but now there may only be more than 10,000, and these remaining indigenous people should live in oases in the desert in the hinterland. Not captured in East Africa.
There are two places in East Africa where you can never run out of natives. One is the Congo rainforest, and the other is Southwest Africa (including the Kalahari Basin). Because of its vast territory and harsh environment, East Africa can only capture those who are more conspicuous or unlucky. of indigenous tribes were cleared.
But this is not a big deal. The number of indigenous people who can survive in such a dangerous environment is not very large. Just like the Eskimos in the Arctic or the Indians in the Amazon rainforest, the fertility rate is very low.
Just like Namibia in its previous life, the country's population is only over 2 million in the 21st century. Compared with neighboring African countries with explosive population growth, it seems out of place. No matter how many children it has, it will not be able to feed itself.
Moreover, the indigenous people of Southwest Africa are somewhat different from the Bantu people, the mainstream black people in Africa. Many indigenous people in Southwest Africa belong to the Khoisan people, an independent ancient race.
Many of the Khoisan people captured in East Africa were mixed with Bantu ancestry. After all, the Khoisan people were at a disadvantage in the competition with black Africans and were driven to South Africa.
Even in Southwest Africa, it is inevitable that the more advanced Bantu people will occupy some better places. Now that East Africa has eliminated them, the remaining fish that have slipped through the net are basically pure-blood Khoisan people.
This has been scientifically proven in previous lives, that is, about 60%-71% of the black population in South Africa have maternal ancestry from the Khoisan people. As for why it is matrilineal ancestry, it is naturally because the males were eliminated by the Bantu people.
In Ernst's view, the remaining Khoisan people in East Africa will be fine as long as they stay in the harsh environment of Southwest Africa, just like the Serengeti Nature Reserve in East Africa.
Or to put it more harshly, it is similar to the Indian reservations in the United States, or the "laws to protect indigenous living habits" like those in Canada and Brazil.
Of course, the main reason is still the remaining small fish and shrimps. It is impossible to clean up East Africa. Even with the help of satellites in the 21st century, I am afraid that this cannot be done. So as long as they are not allowed to integrate into modern society, there will be no serious problem. , after all, it is impossible for the indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest and the Eskimos of the Arctic to flood. Under such productivity conditions, they do not have the conditions to achieve a population explosion.
In fact, there was no European colonization of Africa in the previous life, so the number of black people would probably have remained at a certain number, rather than doubling. After all, Africa is the only continent that is connected to Eurasia but has not made any progress for thousands of years.
Going back to Swakopmund Port, the main role of its garrisoned navy is to prevent colonists from other countries from landing in Southwest Africa. The entire Southwest Africa is more than 100 square kilometers and has a population of only tens of thousands. This makes the coast of Southwest Africa full of loopholes. , in case an enemy lands and attacks the interior of East Africa from here, it is indeed easy to catch East Africa by surprise.
Therefore, the purpose of the Swakopmund Navy is to prevent anyone from building strongholds on the coast of Southwest Africa, and then transport supplies inland through the coastal strongholds. In this way, even if they enter the hinterland of Southwest Africa, it will be a dead end.