Chapter 405: Behind the Canal
October 4, 1872
King Constantino arrived in Third Town to inspect the East African Kingdom's canal project. Once the capital of the East Africa colonial administration (in the Upper Coastal Region), Third Town had once rivaled First Town in status. Thanks to its head start, it remained the second-largest city in Coastal Province, second only to the provincial capital and port city of Tanga.
With the Ndebele people now relocated en masse to the Central Province by the East African Kingdom, excavation of the Central Canal had been underway for some time. Of the three segments, Canal No. 1—linking the lower Little Rhine River and the Wami River—had progressed the fastest.
Canal No. 1 starts in Third Town (Kitonga), less than eight kilometers from First Town, and ends at Mvomero Village on the Wami River.
Since East Africa's administrative reorganization, the status gap between First Town and Third Town had widened rapidly. Like Second Town (Lufu), Third Town would likely be absorbed into First Town in the future. First Town's development focus was north and west, intentionally diverging from Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo.
"Canal No. 1 is 44 kilometers long, 20 meters wide, and six meters deep. We need to clear over five million cubic meters of earth. The total labor force is 50,000 men. Based on current progress, it should be completed within six months," reported the canal's chief engineer.
Constantino didn't have a clear sense of what those numbers meant, but he knew the Suez Canal had taken ten years to complete. So he asked, "East Africa's canal is being built in three segments. You said its total length will rival that of the Suez Canal. But from what I understand, the Suez took ten years to build. Why can we finish ours in just a few months?"
The engineer replied, "Your Majesty, our Central Canal is only similar to the Suez Canal in terms of length. In other aspects, the difference is enormous. For example, our design width is 20 meters, whereas the Suez Canal is more than 200 meters wide—ten times ours. Its depth is also more than double ours. That means the Suez Canal required at least twenty times more earth to be moved. And those are just Canal No. 1's numbers. Due to terrain, Canals No. 2 and 3 won't even meet these dimensions."
That made sense. But Constantino still thought the pace was too fast. "At this intensity, won't the laborers break down?" he asked.
The engineer replied, "Your Majesty, our team has calculated everything. Each worker is expected to clear at least five cubic meters of earth per day. For those skilled in using shovels and hoes, that's quite manageable. The strongest can clear up to ten cubic meters a day. With 50,000 workers, that means 250,000 cubic meters per day, at minimum."
Constantino frowned. "Surely some will fall ill or be injured? I've heard the Suez Canal project killed a lot of people."
The engineer explained, "Your Majesty, if you studied how the Suez Canal was built, you'd understand why. That project treated Egyptian laborers worse than animals—more like disposable tools. The Suez passed through desert, with unbearable heat and water shortages. Many died of thirst. That would be unthinkable for us.
They were denied drinking water, and their food supply was even worse. The meals provided weren't enough to feed a child, and the workers labored under constant hunger. In that environment, death was inevitable. Egypt lost 120,000 lives building the Suez, which averages out to 783 deaths per kilometer."
Constantino asked, "So how are we doing in this respect?"
Although the canal had been his original idea, the project was handled entirely by Ernst, so Constantino wasn't clear on the details.
The engineer answered, "Drinking water is plentiful, and we pre-treat it with alum to make it safe. In terms of food, we use a performance-based allocation system, but even those with the lowest contribution still receive enough to meet their daily needs."
The engineer took Constantino to the worksite's mess halls. There were two sections: one for East African citizens (mostly foremen) and one for native laborers.
The supervisors' mess wasn't anything fancy—essentially the same as East Africa's standard public canteens, just with more basic facilities since this was a temporary worksite.
The native laborers' canteen was a different story. No tables or benches—just a large open space where workers sat wherever they liked.
Constantino pointed to a giant pot of mushy-looking food. "What's in this pot?"
The cook replied, "Cassava fried rice."
"Fried rice?" If he hadn't been told, Constantino would've guessed it was porridge. But the smell was surprisingly appetizing.
"How did you make it smell so good?" he asked.
"Your Majesty," the cook replied, "once the pot gets hot, we pour in a lot of oil, plus some spices for flavor. Then we add soaked cassava, and finally, salt."
"I see… but isn't that a bit extravagant?" Constantino winced—this was all money!
The engineer added, "We can't feed the native workers too poorly. His Highness Ernst personally emphasized this. He specifically instructed us to use extra oil and salt to help the workers bulk up, since we plan to sell them as labor to other countries in the future."
"Well, in that case—maximize their value. Feeding them better is understandable," Constantino immediately changed his tune. After all, even pigs are fattened before market—feed costs are unavoidable.
"Do they eat this every day?"
"Of course not, Your Majesty. We rotate between cassava, corn, and soybeans. On weekends, we even provide a vegetable and fish stew."
Some of East Africa's native laborers didn't eat poorly at all—better than working-class people in most other countries. For those digging the Central Canal, their standard of living far exceeded that of ordinary Japanese citizens. As for East African nationals, though their incomes were low, their living conditions could compare to those in Britain or America.
It's no surprise. In colonies, the colonizers' living standards were usually quite good. Just look at nearby Mozambique: the Portuguese never lacked food, clothing, or shelter—they were just looking to squeeze profits and return home to spend them.
The East African Kingdom, though now an independent country, still had a vast Black population and was, in essence, half a colonial state. Its citizens were essentially living off the backs of the natives.
That said, the reason East Africa's economy hadn't taken off was that it invested heavily in long-term projects. The upfront costs outweighed short-term returns, and results wouldn't show for many years.
The Central Canal was a classic example. The Little Rhine River hardly had any traffic; East Africa's internal water transport was nearly nonexistent. Natural waterways hadn't been effectively used. Even once completed, the Central Canal might sit idle for several years. Profitability wouldn't come until at least a decade later.
Fortunately, the native laborers didn't require wages. As long as their basic needs were met—handled by the East African government—they were fine. East Africa had no agricultural taxes, but all food was distributed by the state. East Africa also had better farmland resources than most countries. Even with low productivity, crop output was still substantial. Just a portion could feed the native laborers. After meeting the needs of East African citizens and native workers, there was still surplus grain for export.
Today, global grain production is massively oversupplied. Since exports might be difficult, East Africa wouldn't raise food distribution standards further. That would just breed laziness, undermining productivity.
So in the future, projects like the Central Canal would become more common. Rather than let food rot in warehouses, why not use it to build massive infrastructure?
Such projects would be harder in market economies, where the lower classes still hold some bargaining power—even if minimal. But in East Africa, an autocratic monarchy more extreme than even Prussia, none of that matters. As long as it maintains a large army and keeps its native population under pressure, East Africa can enjoy an almost endless supply of free labor for the next ten years or more.
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