African Entrepreneurship Records

  Chapter 71 Submarine Cables

   March 22, 1867.

   On the wide surface of the Indian Ocean.

  An ocean-going submarine cable laying ship flying the German flag is about to set off from the port of Mombasa and head north towards the Red Sea.

  The sudden outbreak and end of the Dongsan War made Ernst believe that the current information communication between the East African colonies and Europe was too backward.

  Even from the outbreak to the end of the Eastern Sang War, the colonies made their own decisions. After all, it was only too late to report to Europe, which is understandable.

  The colonies are far away from Europe, so they are relatively independent and have relatively high authority. Under some special circumstances, they can decide their own countermeasures.

  However, the East Sang War still sounded the alarm to Ernst, who was already cautious, and could not allow the East African colonial government to gain more independent powers.

   Therefore, in order to strengthen the connection and control of the East African colonies, Ernst invested heavily in laying a telegraph line from East Africa to Europe to direct the development of the East African colonies.

  As early as 1858, the world had the first transoceanic submarine cable, the Atlantic submarine cable from Newfoundland to Ireland laid by the United Kingdom and the United States.

  After so many years of development, the laying of submarine cables has not been a major technical problem for a long time, and this time Ernst chose to cooperate with Siemens in Germany.

  Siemens laid the underground telegraph line from Berlin to Frankfurt in 1848, which was also the first telegraph line in the world.

  So it has relatively rich experience, but most of Siemens' business is on land. Ernst is not clear about whether there is a spectrum for submarine cable laying.

  However, as the only two well-known Berlin power company in Germany, it has a good cooperative relationship with Siemens, and has been in contact with Siemens since its establishment.

  For example, in the field of generators, the lighting system of Berlin Electric Power Company is the product of Siemens.

  After Ernst's Berlin Power Company proposed a cooperation intention, Siemens engineers calculated that the technical conditions for this cooperation were mature.

  Siemens is not completely without experience in laying offshore lines, and it also has business around the Baltic Sea.

   Ernst wants to lay four main routes. One is from East Africa to Egypt, passing through the Somali waters of the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea, and landing in Egypt. This route is the longest and most difficult.

  The second is the line on land in Egypt. This section is short, and Egypt is an important transportation node. The infrastructure is not bad at the same time, so there is nothing to say.

  The third is to cross the Mediterranean Sea, pass through the Adriatic Sea, and land from Trieste. This section is all on the sea, but it is less difficult.

  Fourth is the European section, from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to Berlin.

  Egypt itself has a telegraph line laid by the French to communicate with the mainland, but Ernst cannot directly connect it due to the direction problem.

  European lines can rely on existing mature lines. For example, the telegraph lines in Germany can be directly built by the two countries.

  During the last Prussian-Austro-Prussian War, Prussia built a large number of telegraph lines. After the war, Austria also learned a lesson and followed up a lot.

  So Ernst can use these mature lines to complete the transmission of information, but he has to pay some fees.

   "Woo..."

  The steam ship roared on the sea, and the cable laying workers stood at the stern, carefully uncoiled the coiled cables, and slowly sank into the sea water.

  Cables are provided by Berlin Power Company, while other facilities, including engineers and workers, are mostly provided by Siemens. As a well-deserved leader in the power industry in Germany, Siemens is not something that Berlin Power Company can touch.

   That is, the recent invention of the electric light made the Berlin Electric Power Company a smash hit, but if you look at the entire electric power field, Siemens is undoubtedly full of dominance.

  Especially wires, generators, basic components... Siemens has an absolute advantage.

  Before the invention of the electric light, the Berlin Electricity Company was actually an OEM factory of Siemens AG, producing products through patent authorization.

  The pitch-black cable slides down with the stern and slowly submerges into the sea. Too much force may tear the cable, so experienced workers must keep an eye on it and adjust it at any time according to the speed of the ship.

  Due to the limitations of the times, the laying of submarine cables is relatively simple and rough, almost by skilled workers relying on the power of "I think about it".

  The world's first submarine cable was cut off by French fishermen.

  In this era, it is impossible to dig a hole for the cable on the seabed. At most, it is successful if the cable is sunk into the seabed.

  Seafarers carefully manipulate the ship to create a good working environment for submarine cable layers. The wind and waves in the Indian Ocean are the biggest obstacle to the laying work.

  …

   "Frank, speed up the thread, don't let the thread get pulled together." Duden, an engineer from Siemens, directed the workers.

   "Turn the handle faster, so that the gear speed increases evenly." Duden said to the worker who controlled the pulley.

   "In the back, install all the counterweights, don't cut corners, if these lines can't sink to the bottom of the sea, then there will be no wages."

  Durden commanded the workers in an orderly manner to sink the cable into the sea, and at the same time strictly followed the procedures to supervise the work of the workers.

  This work must not be sloppy, and a mistake in detail may lead to wasted efforts.

   This ship traveled all the way from the German region to the Indian Ocean. Because, to circumvent the west coast of Africa, it has been resting in the port of Dar es Salaam before.

  This work will take at least one or two months, and all crew members must be on board for basic necessities of life.

   And a ship of cables can just complete the laying work from East Africa to Egypt, so there is no ship to follow.

  At the same time, there is also a ship of the Hechingen Consortium in the Mediterranean Sea responsible for this work, but their conditions are much better. The laying distance is short, the workload is small, and the supplies are easier to obtain.

  So the ocean-going submarine cable laying ship in the Indian Ocean must strive for a one-time success, and finally it can dock in Egypt to rest.

  …

  The laying of submarine cables from East Africa to Europe has been quite smooth, and basically no major accidents and mistakes have been encountered.

  After three months, the entire line was laid, and the information sent from Berlin to the East African colonies passed through Trieste and Egypt, and was finally transmitted to the colonial government.

  The communication time between the two places is greatly reduced, and any situation that occurs in the East African colony that day can be reported to the telegraph center in Berlin through the submarine cable.

  Ernst's ability to remotely command the East African colonies has been greatly enhanced, which facilitates the arrangement and decision-making of the daily work and affairs of the colonies.

  (end of this chapter)