African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 532 - 210: One Million Black Slaves

In the following days, the students of the Second Middle School continued to participate in labor. According to the schedule, the practical courses in East Africa were divided into three categories: manual labor, equipment, and industry, each lasting one day, two days, and half a day respectively.

Manual labor referred to the work done by the East African Black Slaves, using relatively primitive tools to carry out a series of agricultural activities, mainly relying on human power to complete.

Equipment primarily involved work done using oxen and horses, or hand tools, which could greatly save human resources, but still relied on manual labor.

Finally, industry signified the mechanized era of agriculture. Currently, no country in the world had realized agricultural mechanization, so this area could only rely on imagination.

This meant that the last half-day course was still theoretical, and students had to go home for a holiday in the afternoon, hence this arrangement.

In the afternoon, students first returned to the school, where teachers summarized this activity.

"The practical course actually corresponded to the sequence of productivity development, showcasing the significant improvement in agricultural production efficiency brought by technological development..."

Allow East African students to personally experience the benefits of technological development, cultivate their interest in science and technology. Of course, Ernst expected that East African society would overall value science highly.

Currently, East Africans were not truly enthusiastic about science, especially the older generation and new immigrants, many of whom came from backward regions or religious countries. Instead of science, they might believe more in spirits and deities.

...

While the students of the Second Middle School were enjoying the practical courses on the farm, the East African water management construction project was also underway nationwide, with Mbeya City being no exception.

Mbeya City, located on the northern shore of Lake Malawi, could not avoid this nationwide coordinated water management project.

In the agricultural district south of Mbeya City, tens of thousands of Black people were building three canals stretching all the way to the outskirts of Mbeya.

German water expert Stephen remarked, looking at the tens of thousands of Black people digging canals, "East Africa, as the homeland of Black people, is now also conquered by the Germans, and the astonishing workload here is entirely imposed on these massive numbers of Black people. I suppose the East African Central Railway was built in the same way!"

His colleague Richard added, "Building railways actually doesn’t require that many workers. Of course, if you count the related industries, the number would certainly increase. However, as far as I know, East Africa’s steel was mainly imported from us and Austria-Hungary and other countries in previous years, including a large number of rails. Initially, those were all orders from major railway companies before the economic crisis, but after the crisis erupted, East Africa got them cheaply."

Stephen said, "You’re right. In fact, the number of railway workers cannot compare with the current nationwide water management construction in East Africa. I heard they plan to use millions of Black people to complete this plan, which is indeed somewhat crazy. But aren’t they afraid of a Black uprising?"

Richard replied, "Your stay in East Africa has been too short; your understanding is only superficial. In fact, the immigrant population in East Africa is not as small as outsiders think. I’ve worked in many places in East Africa, and in many regions, the population is quite considerable, like in several well-known cities in East Africa. But more of East Africa’s population resides in rural areas. I suspect the population of East Africa is at least over eight million, possibly exceeding ten million, which is not small even in Europe."

Stephen asked, "You’re not including Black people?"

Richard said, "Of course not. So East Africa has a sufficient white population to suppress the Black people. If these Black people were to revolt, they would have no chance of overthrowing their bondage."

Stephen remarked, "So East Africa is oppressing Black people as a whole society? All are villains?"

Richard replied, "Just like Black people in America back then."

Stephen said, "No, it’s very different from America. Black people in America have now been emancipated."

Richard countered, "You’re wrong there. The emancipation of Black people in America was a white people’s concession. Without Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, those Black slaves could never have opposed the southern plantation owners, nor could they have gained freedom. East Africa’s attitude towards slaves is completely different from America’s; they all take it for granted to enjoy the value created by Black people."

Stephen said, "This relates to the social atmosphere in this East African country. Most of the immigrants introduced to East Africa are people who haven’t abandoned feudal era thinking. This leads to their lack of interest in freedom, democracy, and fraternity. They only follow the orders of monarchs, namely the current Black royal family of East Africa, the Heixinggen family. I dare assert that East Africa is currently the world’s most autocratic and feudal country."

Richard joked, "Do you want to be the Voltaire of East Africa?"

Stephen laughed, "Haha, I’m not that great. I just want to earn the salary East Africa pays me and then enjoy life back in Europe. I wouldn’t want to live under such a system in East Africa."

Richard agreed, "You’re right. Unless they are East Africans, if intellectuals see the prosperity of European countries, most would likely prefer to develop in Europe."

This time, the number of Black slaves mobilized for the water management construction project nationwide exceeded 700,000, with Mbeya City also updating its irrigation facilities along the Malawian coast.

East Africa’s three great lakes, though large and rich in freshwater resources, are not easy to utilize.

These lakes are located in relatively low areas. Along the shore, due to proximity, drawing water is relatively straightforward, but it’s not feasible in remote areas, making it a challenge of concentrated resources in one location.

Adequate water resources are certainly beneficial, but you can’t look only at averages. The three great lakes hold most of East Africa’s freshwater resources, and since this era lacks water pumps and plastic hoses, it means these excellent resources are difficult to exploit.

Therefore, to fully utilize the lake water, it’s necessary to establish water lifting facilities and irrigation channels. There are three main methods for water lifting: manual, steam engine, and windmill, while constructing irrigation channels is not easy either. These channels must ascend from low to high, necessitating backward widening and deepening.

Manual labor is no longer considered in East Africa due to its low efficiency. As for steam engines, they are steam-based water pumps, and because of cost and fuel considerations, East Africa cannot equip them fully. Moreover, steam engines are more suitable for extracting groundwater in arid regions, so East Africa still chooses to build windmills on a large scale.

The three great lakes already have respective drainage basins, so the river systems that flow into the three great lakes can also be utilized.

In fact, these rivers conflict with East Africa’s irrigation projects. Rivers flow from high to low, while East Africa’s three great lakes irrigation system aims to use the lake water as a backup water source for the dry season. But the great lakes are originally depression areas, so East Africa’s irrigation system construction equates to channeling lake water from lowlands to higher farmland.

In Ernst’s previous life, most reservoirs were built at high points to release water when needed, utilizing the difference in altitude.

However, since the three great lakes are in the low-lying areas of the region, they cannot use this altitude difference for irrigation. Therefore, the German water experts proposed building irrigation channels that extend from the lakes inland, increasing the depth of the channels as the elevation rises, thereby transporting these lake waters inland.

In short, it’s about excavating an artificial canal network along the shores of the three great lakes, so the sheer scale of this project can be imagined. The million Black laborers in East Africa contributing to the water management project don’t even make a splash.

After this plan is completed, Ernst can be said to rival Emperor Yang of Sui in achievements, or even surpass him. However, Ernst doesn’t worry about meeting the same fate as Emperor Yang of Sui.

After all, Emperor Yang of Sui lost his throne mainly because of disagreements with aristocratic families and incapacity to suppress peasant uprisings. But East Africa has the backing of immigrant support, forcing the East African Black people to endure, as rebellion would yield no outcome.