The Backbone of Africa Author(s): Alfred Sharpe Source: The Geographical Journal, Vol. 52, No. 3 (Sep., 1918), pp. 141-154 Published by: geographicalj Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1779585 Accessed: 21-06-2016 00:13 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Wiley, The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Geographical Journal This content downloaded from 128.143.23.241 on Tue, 21 Jun 2016 00:13:53 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms The Geographical Journal Vol. LII No. 3 September 1918 THE BACKBONE OF AFRICA Sir Alfred Sharpe, K.C.M.G., C.B. (Read at the Meeting of the Society, 10 June 1918.) SOME Central thirty Africa, years zrid ago the therivers "African Zambezi Lakes and Shire Route" and intoLakes Eastern Nyasa and Tanganyika, figured largely as an alternative to suggested- raiiways from the East Coast to Lakes Victoria or Tanganyika. Since the eighties, however, many things have happened in this part of the continent, and owing to rapid progress in British East Africa, Uganda, and ex-German East Africa, and to political re-arrangements, the southern route as a trunk line of communication has fallen out of consideration. Future and further re-arrangements make it worth while to consider the line as a whole; and I propose to give a rapid survey of an imaginary journey through Africa from the Southern Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean, with such remarks on the various territories bordering on this line as time will allow. From the mouth of the Zambezi to the mouth of the Nile is a long line of water communication, interrupted here and there by land portages. Of the whole distance?something over 4000 miles, measured in straight sections?3400 can be done by water, following the Zambezi and Shire, Lakes Nyasa, Tanganyika, Kivu, Edward, Albert, and the River Nile. A curious feature of this line is that the central portion through the great western rift of Africa lies upon the actual watershed of the continent east and west, yet it is also more or less the dividing line between the mountainous countries of Eastern Africa and the lower-lying Congo basin. It is also a division between the Belgian Congo colony on the one hand and Colonies and Protectorates of Germany and Britain on the other. This rift, which may be said to begin in the south in the Shire valley, is bordered throughout its length by high-lying districts with compara- tively cool and healthy climates, its highest point being just north of Lake Kivu. A certain proportion of the high country lying along the great western rift is " colonizable," i.e. it can be occupied permanently by settlers of European blood without need for periodical change to a European climate. On the other hand, a vast extent, of course, of these M This content downloaded from 128.143.23.241 on Tue, 21 Jun 2016 00:13:53 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms M2 THE BACKBONE OF AFRICA countries is only colonizable to the same degree as are tropical colonies, such as Ceylon. Any one desiring to make a through journey from the Zambezi to Cairo can do so in these days with comparative ease and no great amount of discomfort. If it were desired to make use of every yard of water communication, this could be done by carrying sectional steel boats, easily taken to pieces and put together, and transported over the various portages by natives; though, as a matter of fact, a great part of the journey can be done either in steamers or by rail. At Sofala, the old port for country lying immediately south of the Zambezi, and at Sena on the Zambezi, are buildings still in existence erected by the Portuguese in the seventeenth century. Sofala was pro? bably the port used by the ancient people who worked the gold-mines of Rhodesia. I use the word " ancient" with some hesitation, as there are some who would tell us that the Zimbabwe ruins are comparatively modern. That, however, is a question which I need not enter into now. The only port at the actual mouth of the Zambezi, Chinde, situated on the Chinde branch of the great river, has no outside harbour, and vessels of over iooo tons have to tranship their cargo and passengers into lighters and tugs for transport over the bar, or must carry them on to Beira, whence small steamers trade up the coast. From Chinde the voyage up the Zambezi to Chindio is made in shallow-draught steamers of the usual type, similar to those which navigate the Nile; two or three- deckers, pushing or pulling their cargo in barges. The trip is of much interest for those undertaking it for the first time. The delta of the Zambezi contains some of the richest alluvial lands in Africa, and is capable of much development, especially in the cultivation of sugar. This district already exports 25,000 tons of sugar annually. From Chindio?the present southern terminus of the Nyasaland railway?one travels in ten or twelve hours to Blantyre, the chief settlement in Nyasa? land, a Protectorate which has been under development for over thirty years and has many European settlers, mostly British; also, before the war, a sprinkling of Germans, Dutch and other nationalities. There are only a few limited areas in Nyasaland which come under my designation of " permanently colonizable," but as practically the whole Protectorate has a very fair and pleasant climate, Europeans can spend periods of four, five and six years in the country without much chance of suffering in heaith. Nyasaland has already made great strides in the way of supplying Great Britain with valuable agricultural products, such as cotton, coffee, tea, oils, and foodstuffs. It is essential, however, that the existing rail? way should be carried north to tap the south end of Lake Nyasa, and in a southerly direction to the port of Beira in Portuguese East Africa. When this has been done there should be great progress in this small Protectorate. These two] extensions of the Nyasaland railway have been under consideration for some years, and arrangements had been This content downloaded from 128.143.23.241 on Tue, 21 Jun 2016 00:13:53 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms THE BACKBONE OF AFRICA 143 practically completed for their construction when war broke out. Formerly the Zambezi and Shire Rivers were looked on as providing a more or less practicable water route to Nyasaland, but owing to the diminishing over- flow from Lake Nyasa and the consequent shrinkage in water supply to the two rivers it is useless to rely on them, and the only wise course is to have a through rail connection with Beira, the best port on the East Coast between Lorengo Marques and Mozambique. When I left Nyasaland in 1910 the Protectorate was slowly but steadily developing. Since then the war in East Africa has brought about a sudden and extraordinary change. One of our forces fighting against the Germans ? General Northey's column ? has operated almost entirely through Nyasaland, with the result that the amount of transport in the country has been multiplied many times. When I left there was only one metalled road, 42 miles in length, from Blantyre to Zomba. This has since been carried on to Fort Johnston on Lake Nyasa, and for three years past has been constantly used by fleets of cars and three-ton lorries, while every steamer on Lake Nyasa has been busy carrying military stores and men. Planters and farmers in the Protectorate have done well, and their crops of cotton, coffee, tobacco, and tea have fetched remunerative prices. The only fly in the ointment has been want of ocean freightage during the last three years. There is a large population of fine sturdy natives of various tribes, good and willing workers. These Nyasaland men make excellent soldiers, many of them having served in the King's African Rifles. I remember once when a batch of them who had returned from the Somaliland expedi? tion had just been paid off, and had spent most of their money buying all sorts of things in the local stores. I met a party of them on the road; one young man, clothed in a pair of corderoy breeches, shooting boots, shirt, felt hat, Norfolk jacket, and a double-breasted canary-coloured waistcoat, dragged out of his large waistcoat pocket a round alarum clock. He stopped in front of me, held it out, and said, " Adafa dzulu," which means, " It died last night." He expected me to mend it for him on the spot. North-Eastern Rhodesia, bordering on Nyasaland, would naturally and geographically form part of the Protectorate, but is at present under the administration of the Chartered British South Africa Company. Portu? guese and German territory east of Nyasa contains some excellent high- lying districts, especially at the north end of the lake where the Konde country is situated. This was formerly entirely under British influence; in fact, in 1887, 1888, and 1889.a lengthy war was waged by European settlers of Nyasaland against the Arabs, who were endeavouring to obtain possession of Kondeland, a full account of which is given in * The Rise of the East African Empire/ by Sir Frederick Lugard, who himself took part in it.