Chapter 446: Disaster and Profiteering
As a neighboring state of East Africa, the Sultanate of Warsangali sat along the Maakhir Coast on the Gulf of Aden. Compared to its eastern neighbor, the Sultanate of Majeerteen, Warsangali was relatively fortunate.
To ensure so-called national defense, East Africa had annexed part of southern Majeerteen territory back in 1869. The Sultanate of Warsangali, however, was spared—mainly because its territory was too small. Had East Africa made a move, it would've meant total annexation, not just territorial seizure. At present, East Africa had no urgent strategic interests in the Gulf of Aden.
As for the Majeerteen Sultanate, which had lost territory, there was nothing it could do but suffer in silence.
Controlling the Gulf of Aden made East Africa stand out in the region, but offered little actual benefit. In contrast, the Sultanate of Geledi had fertile land along the Shebelle and Juba Rivers for oasis development. Warsangali and Majeerteen had no such assets.
Moreover, Majeerteen was nominally a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, which made it somewhat useful to East Africa—as a key link in maintaining trade relations with the broader Middle East.
On the East Africa–Warsangali border:
Tens of thousands of locusts were rapidly breeding. Since April, the Somali desert had experienced a rare rainfall, briefly turning arid land green—a perfect breeding ground for desert locusts.
Unlike other locust species that thrive after droughts, desert locust outbreaks almost always follow unusual rains in desert regions. That's what makes them unique: in perpetually dry deserts, rare rains actually create favorable conditions for reproduction by greening the terrain and providing food.
In this respect, desert locusts actually pose less threat to agriculture than other locusts—since they don't usually invade crop-rich areas. But the people living in those barren regions suffer the most.
With infertile soil and underdeveloped farming, even minimal locust damage can mean total crop failure—without any alternatives.
Fighting a locust plague requires a unified national effort—essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul, just to keep people alive in affected areas. The fractured Ottoman Empire was clearly incapable of that.
East Africa, however, was different. Its "east wall" was so thick that losses like this weren't even scary.
"Locusts are already flying in. Per higher-level directives, we must not sit idly by. Along the Shebelle River and in various oases, we must thoroughly investigate potential invasion routes and destroy egg-laying zones to prevent second-generation breeding, which could threaten our southern ranches and farms," the Northern Province Pest Control Center ordered its subordinate agencies.
The provincial government then mobilized citizens to eliminate desert locusts within the region.
"This banana grove is done for—the leaves are all chewed up, and the stalks are shredded."
"Forget it—burn it down!"
Desert locusts are incredibly mobile and can fly over 150 kilometers in a day with the wind. Fortunately, northern East Africa is dominated by southwest monsoons, so the locusts' speed was somewhat limited.
By the time they reached the Shebelle River basin, days had passed. The northernmost swarms had already crossed the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden into Yemen, moving toward Oman and the Qajar Dynasty (Iran).
Don't underestimate those few days of delay—desert locusts only live a few months. That's enough time for East Africa to thoroughly overturn and sterilize every riverbank and wasteland that could harbor eggs.
Since the outbreak started in the Sultanate of Warsangali, East Africa had no way to control foreign swarms crossing the border.
However, East Africa's north was also part of the natural range for desert locusts. The native swarms were harmless—until they mingled with the foreign swarms and became aggressive and destructive.
Thus, this extermination campaign had two main objectives: first, destroy local locusts in their early stages; second, prevent foreign locusts from reproducing inside East Africa.
By May, the anti-locust operation along the Shebelle River had blocked at least 30% of the incoming swarms. The price was a 40% drop in banana output due to both the plague and delayed harvesting.
In mid-May, a large-scale cleanup was launched along the Juba River, reducing the swarm population by another 40%. By the time the locusts reached the northern pasturelands, their momentum had broken. Only small areas were affected. The swarm stopped at the edge of Kenya's southern plateau.
Saving the northern pasturelands was vital. These were East Africa's largest source of livestock, providing horses and cattle for construction, farming, and also for live export to the Arab world.
"After this locust disaster, we need to accelerate the development of new pasturelands in the former Transvaal Republic to diversify risk," Ernst said at a government meeting.
South Africa and the northern pastures both represented large-scale grazing systems, which contrasted sharply with Europe's urban-adjacent dairy industries.
In his previous life, the countries known for large-scale ranching were the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
That highlighted South Africa's natural advantage in developing ranching. The Boer people had historically been herders.
South African grasslands had a climate similar to Argentina's Pampas (due to latitude) and weren't as vulnerable to locusts—making them ideal for grazing.
South Africa's biggest advantage, though, lay in sheep. Historically, it was the world's fourth-largest exporter of wool.
In East Africa, wool textile production was still a blank slate—a promising area for growth. In the late 18th century, Merino sheep were introduced to the Cape, and Cape Town became the first place in South Africa to produce refined garments. From there, the region developed a notable wool industry.
South Africa's wool was collectively known as "South African wool," famous for its variety of fiber fineness. Though less elastic than Australian wool, it was ideal for shawls and socks—making it highly desirable in global markets.
Introducing Merino sheep wasn't hard. Even in Ernst's previous life, countries like Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Far East had all bred region-specific Merino variants.
After East Africa pacified the former Transvaal Republic, most of the Boer people relocated to the Orange Free State with their livestock.
To rebuild the South African ranching industry, East Africa would need to ship livestock from the northern pastures down to the south to reestablish scale quickly.
South Africa still had animals, of course. While East Africa hadn't looted the Boers, the Zulu certainly had. Their livestock was confiscated, and the Zulu themselves were registered as "laborers"—effectively turned into tools for developing New Hamburg Port.
Once the port was completed, both rail construction and livestock shipments from the northern pastures could commence from there in tandem.
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