Chapter 501: Four Seas, Two Lakes, and Two Inland Regions
"On March 2, 1498, Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama led his fleet toward India, passing by 'Mozambique Port' along the way. He was warmly received by the local sultan, whose name was Musa Al Muibek. The Portuguese misheard it as 'Mozambique,' which later became the name of the country. Mozambique still exists today, but its origin—Mozambique Port—is now in our hands. I wonder what the Portuguese in the city must be thinking right now."
East African Navy Major Roald said proudly to his subordinates. Like the former Sultanate of Zanzibar, Mozambique Port was in fact an offshore island. East Africa's Mombasa and Mozambique Port had much in common.
Ernst never quite understood why the Arabs were so fond of occupying islands along the East African coast, rather than expanding inland. It wasn't like those islands were more habitable—their climate was hot and humid, hardly ideal for settlement. Still, they had historically been well-positioned to control Indian Ocean trade routes.
But Mozambique Port had fallen into steep decline. That was largely due to the collapse of the slave trade and the opening of the Suez Canal, which severely reduced the port's economic relevance. The navy, however, saw value in the location, converting it into a new naval base.
The Dutch once fought Portugal for control of the area, which is why the island had well-fortified defenses. With minimal adjustments, the East African navy could move in directly.
Ernst had little interest in developing Mozambique Island. In the newly occupied northern territories, several coastal bays offered much better conditions for building ports.
The most important of these were Nacala and Pemba. Both were undeveloped, but in Ernst's previous life they had surpassed Mozambique Island to become the third and fifth largest ports in the country. By the 20th century, Mozambique Island had dropped out of the rankings entirely.
Nacala Port sits on the southern end of the Memba Peninsula in northern Mozambique. It boasted the best deep-water harbor in southern Africa, with an 800-meter-wide, 60-meter-deep channel.
Pemba Port—also known as Pemba Bay—shared its name with East Africa's Pemba Island. The bay it sat in was actually called Pemba Bay.
Pemba Port had developed late in the Portuguese colonial era, founded in 1904. It eventually grew into a full port named Port Amelia—after the Americas. The name "Pemba Port" was newly coined by Ernst.
In Ernst's previous life, Pemba Port ranked fifth among Mozambique's ports. But he believed it could rank higher. The location had excellent conditions—its underdevelopment was due only to Mozambique's weak economy, limited urbanization, and low trade demand. It had potential.
If the same port had existed in the Far East, Ernst thought, it could've become a major hub—no less than Jiaozhou. Pemba Bay was about the same size as Jiaozhou Bay, perhaps a bit smaller, but offered better water conditions. Both were natural harbors with narrow mouths and wide interiors.
Pemba's economic hinterland was actually broader than Jiaozhou's. While mountains in Shandong limited access to Jiaozhou's interior, Pemba had flat highlands stretching westward to Lake Malawi.
The only drawback was that Nacala and Pemba were in competition. Ernst found it hard to choose which to prioritize. It reminded him of the rivalry between Lianyungang and Jiaozhou—though Lianyungang had never matched Jiaozhou's scale.
Both East African ports were still undeveloped. Left to grow naturally, it would be hard to tell which would dominate.
But East Africa was a highly planned economy. It wouldn't allow two ports to grow unchecked. Which one emerged first depended entirely on how Ernst chose to position them.
For example, First Town had once been just a satellite to Dar es Salaam. Now, it was East Africa's political hub.
After some thought, Ernst had an idea: Why not develop Nacala and Pemba as twin cities? His main concern had been resource waste, but given East Africa's growth pace, that worry was unnecessary.
East Africa's future economic core would surely be its eastern region. Coastal growth would continue, especially with a robust immigration policy. The economy of northern Mozambique would rise naturally.
Central Province already had the beginnings of a city cluster. Mozambique could develop similarly. In his previous life, China had the Bohai Rim, Yangtze Delta, and Pearl River Delta. East Africa could mirror these with its own coastal economic zones.
Once Maputo was secured, it too could serve such a role. With South African mineral resources and the transport links of Maputo and New Hamburg Port, it could become East Africa's Pearl River Delta.
In the center would be a city cluster led by Pemba and Nacala—East Africa's version of the Yangtze River Delta. If the Zambezi River had better navigability, Ernst might've relied more on it instead.
His coastal city planning considered many factors. For example, East Africa's far north had low environmental carrying capacity. Otherwise, Ernst would've focused more on Mombasa. As things stood, Mombasa's development was supported by the northern industrial belt, with ties to Nairobi and the Great Lakes. It would become a major northern city, but never a full city cluster.
The three areas Ernst chose all had common traits: multiple ports, flat terrain, large economic hinterlands, and favorable climate. These regions could support multiple urban centers.
In fact, Angola could also be developed similarly in the future. But while these plans focused on the coast, Ernst wasn't ignoring inland regions. The Great Lakes had excellent potential, and the Matabeleland Province (Zimbabwe) followed the same logic. Provinces like Swabia and Hohenzollern (Zambia and southern Congo) could also be developed in tandem.
Ernst named this development strategy East Africa's "Four Seas, Two Lakes, and Two Inland Regions" economic layout—four coastal clusters, two lake-based economies, and two inland city zones.
In his previous life, East Africa (in its broader regional sense) had already followed a similar structure. The biggest difference? South Africa no longer existed.
In the past, South Africa was the most developed region in sub-Saharan Africa—especially the old Transvaal Republic around Johannesburg and Pretoria.
Ernst now divided that area between Zimbabwe and the southern coastal zone (mainly southern Mozambique), turning it into a raw materials supply base for industrial growth.
He didn't plan to heavily industrialize the area due to water scarcity and fragile ecosystems. Overdevelopment could push the Kalahari Desert eastward. Ernst didn't want to drain the land dry.
He wasn't an environmentalist, but he was extremely wary of desertification. Grasslands were particularly vulnerable to human activity.
Mining already consumed a lot of water. Add industry on top of that, and demand would be too high. In the past, South Africa tried to fix its water issues with a massive diversion project from Lesotho. East Africa, however, didn't need that. It had more land and far more options than South Africa ever did.
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