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The World in a New Century, Section X: Southern Africa
Published by the McNally Corporation in Chicago, 1901.

Central Africa: Most of equatorial Africa is made up of a dense jungle centered around the Congo River basin. The Congo has become an important trading route in recent decades as it has opened up the dark interior of the African continent to European colonization. Particularly, the Congo serves as the main route for raw rubber production in the interior of the country. In the past decade, the Congo basin was divided between Great Britain, France, and Germany, with the Belgians and the United States receiving small pieces of the coastline near the river mouth. South of the Congo basin, the Portuguese have claimed land further inland from their coastal territory in Angola and Mozambique. There have been recent tensions between the British and Portuguese over competing claims for the upper Zambezi River in Portuguese efforts to create a continuous territory to join their two colonies[1].

In eastern Africa, German colonization efforts have made it the dominant colonial power on the Indian Ocean coast of the continent. The Germans have laid claim to much of the eastern highlands of the continent, stretching from Abyssinia to the border of Mozambique in the south, as well as the island of Madagaskar. The German colonial administration is the most centralized of the European powers on the continent, with the entire mainland territory being governed from the island of Zanzibar. Ostafrika, as the colony is called, is the most developed of all the colonial possessions on the continent except the British Cape Colony. The more temperate climate of Ostafrika and the recent discovery of gold in the mountains have spurred the construction of railroads connecting the major cities of the colony.


The Cape: The area at the southern tip of the African continent is the most advanced part of the continent. The British control the area around the Cape of Good Hope and much of the western half of southern Africa. The eastern half of the region was settled by the Voortrekkers, descendants of Dutch colonists of the Cape who went east to escape the British after they took the Cape of Good Hope. The British Cape Colony has a fair manufacturing base and plays an important role in the British Empire. Because so little British shipping runs through the Suez Canal[2], the city of Cape Town serves as the main halfway point for transportation between the British Isles and India. The importance of Cape Town has led to several heavy industries starting in the city. The primary industry is in textiles and the processing of Indian cotton before it arrives in Britain.

The South African or Voortrekker Republic is a federation of the Voortrekker republics that were created by the Dutch settlers in the 1830s and 1840s. The hardiness and good character of the Voortrekkers, much like those pioneers who have settled in the western United States, have led them to success in the rugged region of southeastern Africa and have allowed the Voortrekkers to remain independent from encroaching British influence. Recently, the discovery of gold and diamonds in South Africa has led to an economic boom and an influx of settlers. However, tensions have arisen with the Cape Colony over competing claims to the mining lands and there have been clashes in the border region in the past few years.

[1] While the Congo Conference mostly settled it, Portugal still grumbles about not getting the Pink Map.
[2] The British government does not support the use of the canal controlled by the French puppet in Egypt!