Chapter 552: Tested by Time
Nile River Province.
Rowinard Village.
Claire and his team were self-isolating without external supervision, but East Africa wasn't worried about people from Rowinard Village running around. As a relatively underdeveloped area, the Nile River Province had low population density and poor transportation infrastructure—wandering around could be deadly.
Rowinard Village had only one path to the city, and it wasn't even built by East Africa—it was originally a footpath created by the local Black population. The condition of the road was self-explanatory. Of course, it wasn't that East Africa didn't intend to build roads, but Rowinard was still a new immigrant village and hadn't yet received attention.
Roads were built for people, and Rowinard had previously been uninhabited, so there was no need for roads. They wouldn't build a road just for wild animals to use.
In fact, Rowinard Village wasn't unique. Every year, East Africa developed many new inland villages, all of which lacked basic infrastructure—including roads.
There were exceptions, such as settlers placed near existing roads or railways. In Matabele Province (Zimbabwe), for example, many immigrants lived along the Central Railway.
"This reminds me of when I first arrived in East Africa. Conditions for new immigrants are much better now," Claire remarked to his assistant while temporarily staying in Rowinard.
Rowinard's condition reminded him of the second place he had lived after arriving in East Africa. He had landed in Mombasa and was later sent to a village near Kisumu. At that time, conditions were very poor—even Mombasa was nothing more than an obscure African port.
Now Mombasa had developed tremendously, with infrastructure better than most global ports. Because it was developed later, the city had newer buildings, better planning, and more advanced facilities.
Even Kisumu had seen great progress. In terms of city construction, it was on par with many small- and medium-sized European cities. Eastern East Africa had become unrecognizable compared to the past.
It was hard to find areas as underdeveloped as old East Africa. Western immigrant settlements came close, but even they were far better off than Claire's early experience—thanks to improved productivity.
"Director, did you live in rooms like this when you first came to East Africa?" the assistant asked.
Claire shook his head. "Conditions back then were worse than Rowinard Village. Overall, though, not too different. How did you get from Mombasa to Kisumu?"
"By train, of course. It took about three days."
"See? You had railroads and roads to choose from. Back then, we had to walk. Stop and go—it took me a whole month to cover that same distance. And once you got to Kisumu, you took a boat, right?"
"Of course."
"Back then, we didn't have that luxury. We had to keep walking inland along the lakeshore. Luckily, I was settled near Kisumu. Later immigrants had it even worse. Only a few stayed in the east—most had to head inland."
Claire added, "Especially before railways, I can't imagine how much people in the Hohenzollern and Swabia Provinces (Zambia and southern Congo) had to endure—it was thousands of kilometers."
He may have exaggerated slightly. Later immigrants spent more time reaching the interior, but coastal development eventually provided supply stations, making colonization easier.
Even with a few words, the assistant could imagine how hard early life in East Africa had been.
Seeing him deep in thought, Claire smiled and said, "The more you've experienced East Africa's rapid rise, the more you appreciate its potential. Europeans used to describe Africa harshly, and they weren't wrong—but you newcomers didn't witness the worst. By the time you arrived, East Africa had been reborn."
The assistant nodded in agreement. "Yes, Director. I arrived in 1876, and even then, Mombasa was already thriving. Compared to many European cities, it was just as impressive—maybe more so."
That made sense. Every East African city had been thoughtfully planned. This avoided the common flaws found in European urban development—especially in architecture and road design.
Of course, East Africa had its own shortcoming: few cities. Many administrative "cities" weren't truly urban by European standards. In East Africa, a village designated as a city hall seat could be called a city.
Rowinard's administrative center was just a township. Including surrounding villages, the population barely exceeded 4,000—that was typical of Nile River Province.
Claire explained, "East Africa is constantly evolving. Don't underestimate Rowinard just because it's a small village now. One day, it might become a local administrative center—or at the very least, a township. It's one of the earliest settlements in the province. I've seen plenty of villages turn into towns. First Town, for example, was once an obscure outpost—it's now the capital."
"Take Nairobi—it used to be wilderness. Now it's East Africa's textile hub, with a population in the tens of thousands."
"There are many such examples. Rowinard has that same potential. It started early in a vast, empty province—Nile River Province is bigger than many European countries. Rowinard has a promising future."
East African immigrant settlements were intentionally scattered. During the early colonial period, many cities developed throughout the Tanganyika region.
This was partly for strategic reasons—Ernst's plan of cities surrounding villages, or immigrants surrounding native populations. It helped suppress native resistance while expanding East African territory.
This slowed the growth of port cities like Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, as resources were divided among many inland cities.
But in the long run, the benefit became clear. Once the interior developed, it boosted coastal cities by supplying them with resources—helping them join global trade and even contributing during the agricultural economic crisis.
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