Chapter 414: New Hamburg Port
November 12, 1872
East African Navy Commander Julian and East African port designer Royavis set off aboard two navy warships for Richard's Bay. Julian was a proper Austrian naval officer. Given how distant Richard's Bay was from East Africa, Archduke Ferdinand couldn't personally be there to supervise, so he assigned Julian instead.
Julian stood proudly on the bow deck, watching his little "fleet" sail the high seas—an entirely new sensation he never experienced back in the Adriatic. Billowing black smoke trailed off to the north with the sea breeze.
"In a navy, one should roam the open ocean," he thought, "not remain cooped up in the 'big bathtub' that is the Austrian Navy's Adriatic base." Julian was still eager for more—if only he could captain an ironclad, to showcase even more of a sailor's romance on the high seas.
Richard's Bay is on the east coast of southern Africa, with Maputo to the north and Durban to the south. East Africa's defensive pressure in this region is self-evident.
So Archduke Ferdinand handed over two of East Africa's currently active warships to Julian's command. For a newly promoted officer like him, this was a pleasant surprise. Back in the Austrian Navy, he hadn't even reached ship-captain rank, but in East Africa, not only was he promoted—he had direct command of two warships.
More importantly, East Africa's Navy never defaulted on wages, and its benefits surpassed those in Austria. Though the salary was lower than in the Austrian Navy, East Africa's cost of living was also lower.
East Africa's Navy totals only eight main warships, two of which are about to retire to Haiti—meaning East Africa effectively has just six ships available. The two warships Julian commanded were the same ones transferred from the Austrian Navy to East Africa, so for him, they felt like old comrades.
Had it been earlier, splitting off two warships for South Africa would have made Archduke Ferdinand's heart ache. But ever since the kingdom decided to buy new ships, he'd become more generous. If the new warships were already in place, he'd have been happy to send the entire East African Navy to South Africa.
Because East Africa took control of that territory, the name "Richard's Bay" no longer existed. The kingdom calls it "New Hamburg Bay," and the planned port there is similarly named "New Hamburg Port."
New Hamburg Port's naming differs from ports like Dar es Salaam or Mombasa, since it's built wholly by the East African Kingdom with no historical baggage. Meanwhile, Hamburg has great significance in German history, especially from the Hanseatic League era.
The Zulu people, who once migrated from the interior, were pastoral nomads who never had the concept of a port, so the entire Zulu coastline was desolate.
Royavis: "We're designating New Hamburg as a dual-use port. Based on the bay's geography, we can build two separate harbors—one at the bay's mouth for civilian use, and one inland on the south side for military purposes. That lets the naval base enjoy a double layer of security."
New Hamburg Bay is shaped roughly like a funnel, but there are two narrow areas: one is an 800-meter-wide mouth, and further in, a five-hundred-meter-wide channel. That's not very wide, but it's better than Durban's conditions, whose entrance is barely four hundred meters.
In effect, this creates a natural division between an outer harbor and inner harbor—somewhat like Durban in a future timeline, except Durban's partition was achieved by constructing dikes.
Julian: "Wouldn't it be better to put the naval base near the bay's mouth? Setting it further in seems unnecessary. Also, the north side of the inner harbor appears well-suited for development—maybe even better than the two spots you selected. Why not use that?"
Royavis: "Because there's no need. Before we came, I spoke privately with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Initially, I too wanted to build it on the north side of the inner harbor, but the Prince explained that southern Africa isn't yet a development priority, so there's no need for an oversized facility. We just want something adequate."
Ernst was mindful that in the future, New Hamburg Port might become East Africa's largest export gateway for coal and other minerals, so he left room for expansion.
Historically, the place was called Richards Bay—one of the world's largest coal-exporting ports. In a future timeline, South Africa produced over 200 million tons of coal annually, most of it shipped out via Richards Bay. As of now, only Ernst knows about the region's huge coal reserves. For the moment, he has no intention of exploiting it. East Africa (chiefly Tanganyika and Kenya) already has enough coal for present needs. The main reason for New Hamburg's development is to better ship supplies from East Africa to southern Africa at lower cost.
Because South Africa borders Britain's Cape Colony and Natal, it's also East Africa's biggest defense concern. East Africa will likely keep a sizeable army here for a long time, and those forces need resupply. Sea transport is obviously cheapest, whereas land transport is costly—unless Zimbabwe is developed so local agriculture can support southern Africa.
Julian: "In that case, it makes sense. But the trouble is, this place is so empty—no sign of human life."
Royavis: "The Zulus typically lived inland; they never bothered with the coast. I've been in East Africa a while and, except for a few Black Africans in the Zanzibar Sultanate who practice Islam, I've never seen Black fisherfolk. But don't worry—the local East African Army in southern Africa will help with port construction, and they happen to hold many slaves."
Within the old Zulu Kingdom's land, East African troops guard north of the Tugela River, facing British Natal across the water. Southern Africa's army HQ is in Pretoria.
Julian: "The map shows two large lakes north and south of New Hamburg. Could they be utilized somehow?"
Royavis: "The southern lake? No way. That area's basically a huge marsh, too shallow. The northern one is possible—its surface area is bigger than the entire bay. Best of all, a natural river links it to New Hamburg Bay."
In the historical timeline, the population around Richards Bay lived mainly along the northern lake. That natural channel only needs some modification to connect more effectively to the new port. Its entrance is just seven meters wide, but if you widen it by around eight hundred meters, you'll have a waterway at least twenty meters wide, broadening to over a hundred meters downstream. Properly harnessed, it could dramatically raise New Hamburg's value.
Julian: "Indeed, southern Africa's lakes are peculiar. They're quite large, strung close to the shore. Just in the New Hamburg region, there are three big lakes, plus that 300 km² Lake St. Lucia further north, all hugging the coastline."
All these lakes form a string of pearls along the southern African coastline. The nearest lake in some spots lies no more than two kilometers from the sea. On the map, the strip of land between them is narrow—opposite to East Africa's nearshore coral-island chains.
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