African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 526: Lighthouse of Civilization

 “Ernst!”

As soon as he got home, Ernst was heading to the office to work when he was stopped by his old father who had just returned from Bagamoyo.

 “What’s wrong, father?”

"Yesterday I went to Bagamoyo. Walking on the road, I was very pleased to see the urban development in East Africa. However, I heard in the newspaper that the city of Chicago has built a high-rise building tens of meters high. It plans to complete the construction in the next few years. , I want to know if we can create one in East Africa. The cities in East Africa are almost exactly the same as those in Europe, without any characteristics.”

Ernst knew what his father had planned as soon as he heard it. If he guessed correctly, the tall building Constantine mentioned was the Chicago Home Insurance Building—the world's first skyscraper.

"Father, I feel that the buildings in East Africa are very good. There is no need to pursue height. Moreover, the buildings in East Africa are also ornamental and artistic."

"What do you know? I just feel that East Africa lacks iconic buildings that make people shine. This is not a tall building that Chicago wants to build to attract people's attention. I just remembered that there is no Statue of Liberty. New York also has one. They are really a bunch of nouveau riche who pile up bulky buildings.”

　　Listening to the old man’s sour tone, Ernst couldn’t help but feel amused.

 “Why are you laughing? I’m asking you something!”

“Okay, I almost know what you mean, father. Don’t you just want to build a landmark building? If you have any specific ideas, tell me. If you can do it, I will definitely do it for you.”

 For Ernst, as long as Constantine is happy, it doesn't matter if he spends some money. Is Ernst short of money? There is definitely a shortage, but what rich people like Ernst lack is big money, and building wonders is just small money.

Of course, some wonders are expensive and can even hinder the development of a country. Ernst and Constantine are not the kind of people who are greedy for pleasure, so they have a sense of proportion.

As expected, Constantine was in a good mood after hearing Ernst’s words, and he started to consult carefully: “We definitely can’t learn from the upstarts in the United States.”

After careful consideration, he said: "First of all, our building should have extremely high artistic quality and ornamental value. It cannot be worse than other countries, otherwise it will be the same whether it is built or not. Secondly, it must have historical and cultural elements. , this must be distinguished from the nouveau riche in the United States. Finally, it is best to have some practicality, and the price is best not to be too high."

Constantine These requirements may not seem high, but in fact they are quite high, especially the second one, historical and cultural elements. This is exactly what East Africa lacks, and it is not as good as most countries in this regard.

Ernst thought about it carefully. The most representative thing about East Africa is the pile of lions on the grassland. This is probably the first impression of Africa for most people.

The original design of the East African flag took this into consideration. After so many years of development, East Africa has been a learner. There is no innovation in the cultural field, and what is unique is its natural heritage. Black people have some civilizations of their own, but they are not elegant.

So Ernst said: "What we lack most in East Africa is historical and cultural heritage, so it is better to use world civilization as a perspective and mix in some unique cultural symbols of East Africa as a reference in this regard."

Constantine nodded and said: "That's right. How about adding it to the national history?"

According to Constantine's thinking, although East Africa has a relatively short history, it has still developed over more than ten years, and a country with such a large area can leave a significant mark in human history in the future.

But Ernst didn’t think so. Isn’t the history of East African countries the history of a feudal slavery country? This happens to be the biggest stain on East Africa, so much so that Ernst did not even establish a national holiday in East Africa, which is as ironic as Thanksgiving.

In the future, all black people will disappear in East Africa and after the abolition of slavery, Ernst plans to separate the future East Africa from the current East African Kingdom. The fact that the Kingdom is a slave country cannot be changed, and the Empire can be a brand new Empire.

So Ernst shook his head and said: "That's not necessary. In terms of national history, I am not very optimistic. Our East African system is not in line with the mainstream international public opinion. Starting from this aspect may attract some criticism."

Feudal autocracy, slavery, closed markets... are not good words, so it is better to use world civilization as the perspective to build the main body of this landmark building.

Ernst's words also awakened Constantine: "You are right, I do have concerns in this regard." Even Constantine felt that his East Africa was all black and had no advantages. In fact, there were advantages, so It is through the accumulation of these stains that the national power and royal status of East Africa are built.

Seeing that his father was a little depressed, Ernst consoled him: "Taking world civilization as a perspective may not be a bad thing for us. We say it is based on world civilization, but as long as this landmark ends up in East Africa, that is From East Africa, no one can move it away.”

"Right? You are still smart, I almost went into a misunderstanding." Constantine reacted.

 Culture belongs to the world, but ultimately it depends on the region. For example, the Great Wall stands on the land of the East, so it belongs to the Far Eastern Empire first, and then to the world.

In the same way, things built on East African soil are inseparable from East Africa, and they can also forcibly bind East Africa to world civilization with the help of the righteousness of world civilization.

 Suddenly an idea flashed through Ernst's head.

 “Father, how about we build a lighthouse!”

 “Lighthouse?”

"Yes."

“Lighthouse, I feel like there’s nothing new?”

 Speaking of lighthouses, this kind of thing is too common, especially after the West entered the Age of Discovery.

Many lighthouses have been built in East Africa, especially since many new ports were opened in East Africa. In terms of size alone, some of them are even ranked among the best in the world.

After all, Dar es Salaam and Mombasa are also world-class ports. Although they are not as good as cities with a population of one million like New York and London, cities with a population of hundreds of thousands are not too common in this era, not to mention The combined population of the old and new urban areas of Dar es Salaam has exceeded 200,000, and is expected to reach more than 300,000 in the next few years.

“Lighthouses are common landmarks, especially for port cities. One of the seven wonders of history is Alexandria, so as long as this material is built, it will have great potential.”

“What do you want to do? Mombasa or Dar es Salaam?” Constantine asked.

The lighthouse is naturally built in the port, and the landmark is for people to see, so Constantine naturally thought of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, the two East African international ports. These two cities are the only two cities in East Africa that display the style of East African countries to the outside world. city ​​of.

 “Just choose Dar es Salaam! Mombasa still has a worse climate.”

If it were in the previous life, Mombasa would definitely be more developed than Dar es Salaam, but in this life everything has fallen behind. Especially after the Central Railway was completed ahead of schedule, Dar es Salaam was far ahead in development, and the Central Other cities in the province will provide support.

“We will build a ‘civilized lighthouse’ this time!”

 “Lighthouse of civilization?”

This is a good name, Constantine murmured to himself.

　　In fact, Ernst had an idea before and what he thought of was the name Lighthouse of Civilization. In previous lives, the West always liked to label the United States as a lighthouse of civilization.

 What if there really is a "lighthouse of civilization" in East Africa? Ernst found it very interesting when he thought about it. If someone mentions the concept of civilization lighthouse again, they cannot avoid the "civilization lighthouse" in East Africa. It is just different from the symbolic lighthouse of civilization. East Africa is really A lighthouse, in the physical sense, is this considered a ploy?

 (End of this chapter)