African Entrepreneurship Records

  Chapter 107 Lake Turkana

   December 5, 1867.

  The end of the year is approaching, and the work of the colony has also begun to ease. The current East African colony is no longer the stage of being poor and empty two years ago (February 1, 1865, when it first landed in the port of Dar es Salaam.).

   There is already a set of mature procedures to do things, which greatly reduces unnecessary troubles, and the immigration work is more convenient, just copy and paste past experience.

  So at the end of the year, the East African colony was able to do things again. Although the southern part of Kenya was occupied before, the northern part of Kenya was still there.

  As for the Northwest region, this year we can only watch. The local epidemic is not over yet, and the most optimistic estimate is that we will wait until next year before we can make a move.

  In northern Kenya, the natural conditions are far inferior to those in the south. The main reason is that there is less precipitation, and the desert and grassland coexist.

  However, the East African colonies are not picky eaters. The presence of grasslands means that the precipitation is not bad, and a small amount of deserts is not completely unacceptable.

  The average precipitation in the north is about 300mm to 400mm, which means that some areas can reach about 500mm to 600mm. In some desert areas, 200mm cannot be reached.

  The precipitation conditions are not too bad. You can grow some drought-tolerant crops, or choose to develop animal husbandry.

   Of course, the premise is to avoid those deserts and arid areas, mainly near the northeastern part of Somalia, which is the driest area in Kenya.

  This is mainly due to the influence of terrain and ocean currents. There is a flat river in the northwest, while the southeast trade wind blows the water vapor from the Indian Ocean to the inland of East Africa. In the Great Lakes (Lake Victoria) area, affected by the uplift of the terrain, the southwestern plateau of Kenya has abundant precipitation.

   And when the southeast trade wind crosses the equator, it becomes a southwest wind due to the force of the geostrophic deflection. When it blows to the northeast of Kenya, there is not much rain.

  The northeast trade wind blows from the Arabian Peninsula and mainly passes through the mainland, so it is difficult to carry a large amount of water vapor.

  In addition, the Northeast Coastal Plain has a flat river, which has a weak interception effect on water vapor, and there is also a cold current in summer to reduce temperature and dehumidify, so a non-zonal tropical desert is formed.

  The impact of topography on precipitation can be seen from Ethiopia next door to Somalia. The Ethiopian plateau intercepts the water vapor of the southwest monsoon, which makes more precipitation in the southwest of the Ethiopian plateau, and even forms large-scale wetlands in the lower reaches of the river.

  …

  Lake Turkana.

  The boundary lake between Kenya and Ethiopia, located in the northwest of Kenya.

  Lake Turkana is the fourth largest lake in Africa, after the Great Lakes (Lake Victoria), Lake Solon (Lake Tanganyika) and Lake Malawi.

  This time Henriette (who appeared in Chapter 57) led a team to conduct a survey in the northwest of Kenya. The conditions this time were much better than a year ago.

  In the coffee-growing area at the foothills of Kenya, supplies were replenished, and Henriette and his team members embarked on a journey to conquer northwest Kenya.

  Now Henriette sees the blue Turkana Lake in front of him.

   "What a beautiful lake, even more magnificent than Lake Solon (Lake Tanganyika)!" Henriette said with emotion.

  The reason why Lake Turkana is so shocking is that apart from the unique emerald green color, the most important thing is that the surrounding desert and grasslands around the lake form a sharp contrast, giving people a visual impact.

"Captain, let's keep going. This lake is obviously not ending when viewed from south to north. This may be just a corner of it. Going north, maybe this is another large lake that can rival the three major lakes." The expedition team Member Andy said to Henriette.

   "Well, we still have to continue to work hard. This time it may be another major discovery, enough to make us famous in history." Henriette said.

  What Andy said is very reasonable. The length of Lake Turkana from north to north is about 200 kilometers. Even at the fastest speed, it will take a few days to reach the northernmost point.

  …

  In the next few days, Henriette and his team went north along Lake Turkana, while recording the ecological, climate and hydrological characteristics of the lake.

  The local indigenous people call this lake Turkana Lake. The lake water is alkaline and there are a lot of algae (cyanobacteria), so it is blue-green.

Nile crocodiles, hippos and some fish live in the lake. There are also many wild animals by the lake. There are many dry rivers by the lake. I don’t know if there is water in the rainy season. Henriette and others have seen hundreds of birds by the lake. species (actually there are more than 300 kinds).

  On the seventh day, Henriette and his party arrived at the northern part of Lake Turkana. Along the lakeside, Henriette and his party saw the main water source of Lake Turkana—the Omo River.

  The Omo River originates in Ethiopia and flows through the rainy plateau in the upper reaches.

  Ninety percent of the water source of Lake Turkana comes from the Omo River, which is why Lake Turkana can remain in the desert without shrinking.

  Henriette and others recorded in detail the hydrology and geography along the Omo River, which is a rare fertile land.

  Compared to the arid deserts and grasslands along Lake Turkana, the lower reaches of the Omo River have wide rivers and abundant water sources, which can support at least 200,000 people.

  The lower reaches of the Omo River can be used as a key area for the development of northern Kenya. Of course, some areas around Lake Turkana can also grow some drought-tolerant crops.

  Since then, the lower reaches of the Omo River and Turkana have been regarded as belongings by the East African colonies. Even in the future, the East African colonies will continue to erode the land of the upper reaches of the Omo River in order to ensure the safety of the Omo River and Lake Turkana.

   This is not a big deal, but Ethiopia had a criminal record in the previous life. In the previous life, Ethiopia built a series of hydropower stations on the upper reaches of the Omo River for power generation.

  resulted in the reduction of river water in the downstream area and the drying up of Lake Turkana, but Lake Turkana is mainly located in Kenya.

  The Ethiopian government does not care about the life and death of Kenyans who rely on Lake Turkana to survive. The reduction of river water and the shrinking of lakes have caused a reduction in fish production and triggered conflicts among tribes in Kenya over fishing rights for fishing resources.

  So Ernst requested that at least most of the Omo River Basin be in the hands of the East African colonial government to ensure the safety of water sources.

  At present, Ethiopia is still in the period of the Abyssinian Empire, and its control over the south is not very strict, and it also faces threats from Western colonists such as Britain.

Just in 1863, Theodoros II of the Abyssinian Empire did a stupid thing because the British Foreign Office did not reply to himself (he wrote a letter to Queen Victoria, asking Britain to cooperate with him against Egypt and the Ottoman Empire), and in 1864 kidnapped a British diplomat in Ethiopia and 58 Europeans as hostages.

   Ernst had to admire the courage of this old man, but the next operation was even more surprising.

   After the British Foreign Office entrusted an Iraqi serving the United Kingdom to bring a reply to Theodoros II, Theodoros II released the hostages.

  But soon, Theodoros II went back on his word and re-captured the British diplomats in the Abyssinian Empire, and at the same time blackmailed a group of craftsmen and machines from the British government.

   It is the British who are in full swing who have not suffered this kind of grievance, just in the same month (December 1867) when Henriette and others explored Lake Turkana and the Omo River.

  The British expedition to Abyssinia's army has assembled in Mumbai, India, and is ready to give this ignorant Theodoros II some color.

The fate of Theodorus II and the Abyssinian Empire is known (the British looted a large number of artifacts and treasures, including the crown of Theodorus II, who committed suicide after the defeat) .

  When Ethiopia and the British fight next year, it will also be the time for East Africa to expand in the Omo River Basin. This will create conditions for Ernst and the East African colonies to annex the Omo River Basin.

  After the death of Theodoros II, the Abyssinian Empire (Ethiopia) fell into a brief era of vassal disputes, and it would not pose a threat to the East African colonies for at least three or four years.

  (end of this chapter)