Chapter 583: Ranks and Grades
At Kivitt Palace, Ernst was also planning how to improve Hesse Province's transportation issues. This time, however, it wasn't something Ernst thought of himself—it came up during a conversation with Prince Karl.
With East Africa's support, Sigmaringen had now firmly established itself in Africa, and at year's end, Ernst visited Prince Karl to ask about the progress of Sigmaringen's colonial development.
Because of their familial relationship, conversations between Ernst's family and Prince Karl were always warm and informal—even when discussing colonial matters.
Ernst asked, "Uncle Karl, how are things going with your colony now?"
"Very well so far," replied Prince Karl enthusiastically. "Thanks to your help, we've already settled over 40,000 people in Chad—that would've been unimaginable for me in the past!"
Ernst just smiled. During East Africa's migration peak in 1874–75, over 4 million people migrated in just two years. In regular years, annual migration still exceeded a million. Even now, with migration sharply declining, East Africa still sent over 300,000 settlers per year. So Sigmaringen's number was just a drop in the bucket.
After sipping his tea, Ernst asked, "And what about the territory we planned for you—are you able to maintain control?"
Prince Karl replied excitedly, "Absolutely! Two million square kilometers—who wouldn't be thrilled? We've secured many key regions already. Other powers won't be able to squeeze in now!"
Ernst understood the joy of staking a claim in Africa. "Once you've stabilized in Chad, you can expand westward—after all, the coastline lies to the west. That would make it the next India. And even India is only about 3 million square kilometers."
Of course, Ernst was only talking about size. India's advantages were many—especially its fertile land. Even its driest regions, like Pakistan, could support tens of millions along the Indus River.
And considering Somalia had sustained over 10 million in Ernst's past life, it made sense.
India had another clear edge over East Africa—rainfall. Tropical monsoon regions received 1,500–2,000 mm annually, while East Africa's tropical savannas only got 750–1,000 mm. That was a huge difference. Still, Ernst believed East Africa's rainfall was just at the right threshold.
Other countries with similar climates included Brazil, Mexico, and Australia. In his past life, Mexico focused on drugs, but Brazil and Australia had strong agriculture.
Brazil, for example, had a 90% urbanization rate—fewer rural residents than even many Western countries. That spoke volumes about its agricultural efficiency. Hunger in Brazil was more a problem of distribution.
Australia's agriculture was the weakest of the group. About 40% of its land was desert or semi-desert. Over 70% of its territory was classified as arid or semi-arid.
Its main wheat belt, the Murray–Darling Basin, had only 200–500 mm of rainfall per year—less than most of East Africa. Even East Africa's driest region, western Matabele Province, still got over 400 mm annually.
In the Kalahari and Namib Deserts, rainfall sometimes exceeded 200–300 mm.
East Africa's tropical savanna climate, unlike Australia's, was shaped by highland terrain. Australia's was mostly flat.
Australia's poor rainfall was largely due to the Great Dividing Range, which blocked moisture from the east, and the influence of the subtropical high-pressure zone.
Most of East Africa lay between the tropics, while half of Australia's savannas were south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Northern Australia's savannas were mainly used for grazing.
Ernst believed Australia's dryness was largely due to its unfortunate position—caught in the subtropical high-pressure belt, which suppressed rainfall.
This high-pressure system typically ranges between 20–40° latitude north and south—perfectly covering much of Australia.
Parts of East Africa's southern territory fell into this zone too—Botswana and Namibia were extremely arid. If Africa weren't so narrow in the south, East Africa's southern deserts would've been even larger. Even so, southwestern Africa already had nearly a million square kilometers of desert and semi-desert.
All this was to highlight East Africa's climate advantages. Not all tropical savannas are equal. Brazil had great climate—but its most livable tropical highlands were less than half of Africa's.
So East Africa beat Brazil, Mexico, and Australia in both land and climate.
Prince Karl said, "This year, East Africa gave us over 30,000 migrants. Meanwhile, we in Sigmaringen could barely recruit 3,000 from Europe."
Ernst chuckled inwardly but advised, "Uncle Karl, you shouldn't focus on German migration. Try Romania or Austria-Hungary instead. Germany's industrial boom has ended the era of excess population. Now, people are migrating to Germany for work. Central and Eastern Europe offer better prospects for recruitment."
He didn't mention another key reason—East Africa dominated German migration. Competing with it was nearly impossible.
Prince Karl sighed, "If only we had started earlier—especially during the economic crisis, when so many lost their jobs."
Still, Ernst wasn't so sure. Sigmaringen's success was due to East African support. A few years ago, East Africa didn't even have enough people for itself—there was no way it could've spared any.
Without East African help, Sigmaringen could've only sent a few thousand settlers—just like most colonies. Only East Africa and Italy were real exceptions.
East Africa used mass migration to develop Africa. Italy did so out of desperation—relieving domestic population pressure. According to East Africa's National Security Bureau, Italy had already settled over 300,000 people in Ethiopia—surpassing Cape Town's century-long totals in just a few years.
Thus, Italian Africa was now the third-largest white population colony (or country) in Africa—after East Africa and Cape Town. Other colonies had pitiful numbers. Some had only dozens or hundreds of whites. Any colony with over 10,000 was already considered a major power.
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