Chapter 971 Economic Situation
The data standards focused on are different, and the conclusions drawn are also different, but no matter how they are ranked, East Africa is firmly in the top five. As for Tsarist Russia, although the total is higher than that of East Africa, in Ernst's view, comparing the two countries, Tsarist Russia has already Far inferior to East Africa, especially given the general trend of rapid population growth in East Africa, Tsarist Russia's demographic advantage will also be replaced by East Africa.
After all, Tsarist Russia has a large population, but Poland, Ukraine, Central Asia and other territories are not stable. There are many ethnic groups in the country and conflicts are prominent. These populations will even have negative effects during war.
Tsarist Russia's millions of "grey animals" look very oppressive, but with the current total population of East Africa, it is relatively easy to form an army of millions. At the same time, East Africa does not have the harsh geographical environment and outstanding conflicts like Tsarist Russia, so East Africa Only in this way can we vigorously develop the economy and have the confidence to overtake Tsarist Russia in all aspects in the next decade.
In fact, in the future, the key task of the East African government is to bridge the gap in science, technology and culture with the first-mover countries. After making up for this shortcoming, East Africa is almost in an invincible position.
This is not to say that East Africa’s current technological and cultural development level is relatively poor. On the contrary, East Africa’s technological and cultural fields are rapidly catching up with European and American countries.
At the end of the 19th century, East Africa's domestic technological breakthroughs were no less impressive. However, due to institutional and political reasons, the talents cultivated in East Africa were not active in the international community. This made it easy for people to ignore the development of East Africa's education and technological fields.
Many talents are trapped by the East African government or scientific research institutions, the most typical of which are in the fields of electricity and internal combustion engines. East Africa is as outstanding as the United States and Germany. However, in contrast, East African scientific researchers in these two fields have a higher reputation in the international community. Relatively unknown.
"Our country is still in a leading position in emerging industries such as electricity, automobiles, and oil. Most of the important export products in our economy come from these emerging industries. At the same time, in 1889, a new round of oil and natural gas exploration was launched, which provided a new source of energy for our country. Domain security is guaranteed.”
Compared with Europe, the railway construction in the Americas ranks first in the world. The United States and Canada have many railways. The United States ranks first in the world's railway mileage, with a total mileage of 300,000 kilometers. , the railways of the United States alone are comparable to those of the entire country, and there are also countries in the Americas such as Canada and Mexico, especially Canada, which is no worse than European countries, reaching nearly 30,000 kilometers.
“As of last year, my country’s steel production has exceeded 3.2 million tons, pig iron production has exceeded 1.9 million tons, and coal production has exceeded 30 million tons. It has achieved leapfrog development in the steel industry and is also at a leading level in the world. "Forefront."
"The textile industry has also experienced tremendous development. Compared with 1890, our textile industry has nearly tripled its output. We are also at the forefront of the world and have become the world's second largest cotton producer. This has provided opportunities for the development of our country's textile industry. Basic raw materials are exported to Europe and other regions at the same time.”
However, in addition to meeting domestic needs, East African cotton is mainly exported to the markets of Central and Eastern European countries such as Germany. Among them, the German cotton textile industry is developing rapidly, and Germany is not a major cotton producing area. Therefore, East Africa has become Germany’s main cotton supplier, and East Africa has almost Can meet all cotton needs in Germany, both in quality and quantity.
Moreover, U.S. railroads are still in a stage of rapid development. Before the opening of the Panama Canal and the popularity of automobiles, railroads will still be the main method of transporting goods between the east and west coasts of the United States.
For example, the construction of the Upington Railway made the iron mines in southwestern East Africa provide new sources of raw materials for Bulawayo's steel plants, further increasing Bulawayo's steel production.
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Of course, Ernst does not want to activate the oil resources in the Nile Basin and the oil resources near Cabinda in northern East Africa yet. These two areas are both in border areas and are more likely to cause disputes.
The development of the steel industry in East Africa is inseparable from the rapid development of infrastructure construction such as transportation in East Africa. Transportation construction itself has a huge demand for basic raw materials such as steel, and transportation development provides conditions for the integration of the steel industry.
East Africa has a natural advantage in developing the textile industry, because most areas in East Africa are suitable for cotton cultivation, including Kisan City in the Congo Basin, which is one of the important cotton textile industry centers. After the South African War, East Africa also took over from the Portuguese Lots of cotton plantations.
This data exceeds the Planning Commission's plan, but does not reach the 100,000 kilometers level mentioned by the Ministry of Railways. However, it still reflects the rapid progress in railway construction in East Africa. In the field of railways, a single European country cannot compare with East Africa, but East Africa covers an area of more than 13 million square kilometers, which is nearly an area larger than the entire Europe. Therefore, although East Africa ranks second in the world A large railway network, but far from dense enough.
There is no doubt that the rapidly developing automobile, petroleum, chemical and other industries in East Africa require petroleum as a basic guarantee. Therefore, under the instruction of Ernst, the East African government has begun a new round of energy survey work.
The development of East African railways is an important factor in promoting the expansion of the steel industry. Similarly, the development of shipbuilding, roads, bridges and other transportation have greatly promoted the development of the country's high-speed rail industry.
Among them, the Lake Albert (called Lake Constantine in East Africa) basin in Uganda was the focus of this round of oil exploration. The oil resources here are enough to support the needs of East Africa in the next fifty years.
Therefore, it is impossible for East Africa to surpass the United States in terms of railway mileage. Ernst did not have this idea, but this does not change the fact that the total railway mileage in East Africa ranks second in the world, while Tsarist Russia, which has the largest land area, only has 50,000 kilometers. about.
“In 1900, my country’s total railway mileage reached 90,000 kilometers, making it the third largest railway network in the world after Europe and the United States.”
Of course, it is undeniable that there is still a significant gap between East Africa and other major countries in the world in terms of cutting-edge basic theoretical talents. However, as time goes by, similar talents will emerge as the quality of higher education in East Africa improves.
Although there are no specific data from other countries, the East African government can roughly judge that the East African steel industry is at the forefront of the world, because the East African steel industry has achieved a technological update and there is no obvious technological gap with other major countries in the world.
Subsequently, the industrial data of East Africa in 1900 was released by the State Planning Commission, and Sweet made a more detailed report.
In fact, this is also true. In 1900, East Africa's steel production lagged only three countries: the United States, Germany, and Britain. The United Kingdom ranked third, with a production of nearly 5 million tons, while East Africa ranked fourth, and Tsarist Russia ranked fifth. Just over two million tons.
As for the oil near the Lake Albert Basin, there is no such concern. It is located in the Great Lakes region, the core territory of East Africa, and is very safe.
"...As of 1900, the number of enterprises above designated size in my country has reached more than 3,000. These enterprises account for more than 65% of my country's total economic output, and other enterprises, including local small and micro enterprises, joint ventures, etc. etc., forming the overall economic pattern of East Africa.”
(End of this chapter)