Congo Lake created

Could Belgium during its colonial rule of the Congo create a mega dam near Kinshasa and flood the Congo basin.

What would be the Effects of Lake Congo.


Lake+Congo+Dam+copy.jpg
 

Deleted member 94680

Belgium as in the government of Belgium and its rule of the Belgian Congo or King Leopold and his rule of the Congo Free State?

It’d destroy most of the rubber producing areas and that was a hefty chunk of the Congo’s economy.
 

destiple

Banned
WE MIght see some great lake naval battles in this , I can see all the major powers competing for influence and a regional arms race starting
 
I doubt the Belgians would want to make the lake that big, however, a much smaller lake seems possible. On the other hand, while I am certainly not an architect and have no expertise on this subject whatsoever, such a project seems a bit too advanced for the era of European colonialism, especially if a minor nation like Belgium if building it rather than the British and French, who would have more resources at their disposal to be utilized in such a project. Maybe with either US or Soviet backing (I think the DRC used to be a Soviet ally around the time of independence) the dam could be built once the DRC achieves independence, thus turning the nation into a regional economic powerhouse that would have plenty of electricity.
 
Recall, as a kid, reading a lengthy article in Mechanics Illustrated dealing with NAZI post victory plans. Discussed damming the Congo River to create an inland sea which, according to prevailing winds, would result in a well watered and fertile Sahara, Also covered a Gibraltar Dam, which would limit Atlantic inflow to the Mediterranean. Huge power generation as Med shrank via evaporation and rewarded Italy with more land. Gigantic system of locks to handle shipping.

Anyone know how to access back issues of this magazine?

Dynasoar
 
Recall, as a kid, reading a lengthy article in Mechanics Illustrated dealing with NAZI post victory plans. Discussed damming the Congo River to create an inland sea which, according to prevailing winds, would result in a well watered and fertile Sahara, Also covered a Gibraltar Dam, which would limit Atlantic inflow to the Mediterranean. Huge power generation as Med shrank via evaporation and rewarded Italy with more land. Gigantic system of locks to handle shipping.

Anyone know how to access back issues of this magazine?

Dynasoar
This makes me wonder, would it be possible to block Gibraltar and flood the Med with enough water from the Congo to turn it Fresh? I would think no, and it would kill tens of millions trying, but maybe?
 
This makes me wonder, would it be possible to block Gibraltar and flood the Med with enough water from the Congo to turn it Fresh? I would think no, and it would kill tens of millions trying, but maybe?
From what I've heard it would take up a ridiculous amount of resources and basically turn Europe into an extension of the Sahara Desert.
 

Deleted member 94680

Either one

In that case it's not going to happen.

Leopold and the CFS won't want to lose the land this Lake covers - loss of income from Rubber (pretty much the only thing making the Congo financially viable) and IIRC there were plans to try and clear land for farming.

Belgium can't afford to do this and the benefits seem... hazy, at best. Also, they were more interested in taking out of the Congo as opposed to spending what must be billions putting in.
 
King Leopold II has a different personality than OTL and gets massively interested in civil engineering, in particular dams. When he gains the Congo, he decides that in order to "civilise" the inhabitants, they need a dam on the Congo. Such a dam would bring enormous prestige to Leopold II as well. So King Leopold has plans drawn up to dam the Congo River and use it for hydroelectricity. The workforce is largely people conscripted from various villages in the Congo working in conditions akin to slavery.

Although it would make among the largest power stations in the world, the side-effects would be an insane carbon footprint (from drowning all that rainforest), an increase of malaria and earlier spread of HIV, a likely increase in ethnic tensions and internal conflict in Central Africa, and the potential of the dam being a target for terrorism (although nothing short of a nuclear bomb could possibly break the dam) with extreme consequences. The Congo Dam and the lake it creates would be one of the greatest symbols of colonialism and its impact on Africa.

On the bright side, the fact it generates so much power could be beneficial for the economy, and a canal connecting it to Lake Chad would refill that lake and be a good transport corridor, preventing the real threat of Lake Chad drying out which would have serious consequences. However, you could do both without needing such a massive lake.

Mass genocide, as they have no way to move the millions of people in the area of the lake. Nor have they any place to put the ones that do flee.

The lake would take almost a century to fill IIRC, so few people would drown. The displacement of millions would occur over generations.

I doubt the Belgians would want to make the lake that big, however, a much smaller lake seems possible. On the other hand, while I am certainly not an architect and have no expertise on this subject whatsoever, such a project seems a bit too advanced for the era of European colonialism, especially if a minor nation like Belgium if building it rather than the British and French, who would have more resources at their disposal to be utilized in such a project. Maybe with either US or Soviet backing (I think the DRC used to be a Soviet ally around the time of independence) the dam could be built once the DRC achieves independence, thus turning the nation into a regional economic powerhouse that would have plenty of electricity.

See the Grand Inga Dam project, which goes for a much saner hydro scheme which won't drown the entire area. That would be a highly beneficial project for Congo-Kinshasa.
 
I don't think Malaria would be much of an issue, since that requires shallow, stagnant water which this lake would likely not have much of as compared to jungle puddles. HIV would also likely be removed, given its source point is now under a massive amount of water. Also, given it would take the basin 150 years to fill up, drowning would be an extremely unlikely occurrence.

For those interested, here's an earlier thread on the matter and ultimate plan of what was to happen in Africa:

Atlantropa_Part_Two.jpg
 
I don't think Malaria would be much of an issue, since that requires shallow, stagnant water which this lake would likely not have much of as compared to jungle puddles. HIV would also likely be removed, given its source point is now under a massive amount of water. Also, given it would take the basin 150 years to fill up, drowning would be an extremely unlikely occurrence.

For those interested, here's an earlier thread on the matter and ultimate plan of what was to happen in Africa:

Atlantropa_Part_Two.jpg

The lake would affect the climate in the nearby area and cause more rain, leading to more swamps, leading to more mosquito breeding grounds. And HIV was around since the early 20th century, and all the people (and animals) being displaced from the rising waters would just move the disease around earlier and faster. Even if construction begins on the dam in the late 19th century, HIV will still almost certainly evolve given the consumption of bushmeat and widespread nature of the related SIV found in monkeys, and of course the dam taking over a century to fill up when it's finally complete (and it will take a while for late 19th century tech and African slave labour to build such a massive dam).
 
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