Chapter 318: Juba Town
In March, during South Sudan's dry season, the scorching weather bakes the earth of Juba Town (formerly the future capital of South Sudan). Its name here is "Juba Town" to distinguish it from the Juba Province in Somalia.
Juba Town is a small settlement on the western bank of the White Nile, and it is currently the most "prosperous" place in South Sudan. It was once a stronghold used by the Ottoman Empire for missionary work and slave raids. Later, due to the conflict with its rebellious vassal, Egypt, the Ottoman Empire withdrew. Gradually, the area became home to local tribes. Before those tribes could enjoy a few peaceful days, the East Africans arrived.
At this moment, Juba Town's mayor, Andrei, is huddled under the shade of a tree, fanning himself furiously, hoping to cool down a bit.
Andrei says to the town's military officer, Levins, "We're not that far from the North Great Lakes Province, yet it's so hot here it could kill someone!"
Levins replies, "Don't worry. In just over a month, the rainy season will arrive, and then it'll be cooler."
Though he says that, Levins knows in his heart it's just a comforting remark. Even in the rainy season, South Sudan's temperature doesn't improve much.
Compared to its northern neighbor, Sudan proper, South Sudan's climate is far better. Although it borders the Sahara, more than 95% of South Sudan's land is in humid or semi-humid zones. However, because of its lower altitude, it's much hotter than the East African highlands; it's even hotter than East Africa's coastal areas. Daytime highs can surpass 40 degrees Celsius, and it's a muggy heat, in stark contrast to the dry heat of the Sahara.
Levins continues, "Now we're practically lying around here every day with no real work—just overseeing the Black slaves. You can't be too dissatisfied. It's certainly better than being an ordinary villager back in North Great Lakes Province."
Andrei responds, "I fought hard to earn this title of mayor. Besides, I might be the most miserable mayor in East Africa. If you discount the one or two hundred soldiers under your command, our entire town doesn't even have as many people as a single village in the east."
Levins says, "Heh, you should be grateful. Remember that immigrant team that passed by here the other day? They had only a little over forty people—fewer than we do here. If all goes as expected, eventually they'll come under your administration too."
The group he mentions is headed about forty kilometers west of Juba Town. Unlike Juba Town, which was once an Ottoman outpost, that location is purely a local tribal settlement, meaning it will likely become a newly built village.
Andrei remarks, "Forty or fifty kilometers away…just delivering a message would take at least two or three days. Better for them to look out for themselves."
While the two chat, Black natives—working under the aim of East African rifles—have just cleared another patch of vegetation using stone tools to chop down the trees and brush.
Because of such low-efficiency productivity, developing Juba Town has been very slow. Up to now, they're still in the process of clearing land. Using over two thousand local slaves that were captured in the region, they gradually remove plants and collect stones from the fields.
After countless slaves worked day and night, Juba Town's arable land area is now more than six times what it was when East Africa first took over. Of course, more than a few batches of slaves have been replaced in the process.
The slaves pile the stones on one side, and the felled trees and brush are collected into piles. After two or three days of sun drying, the East Africans set them ablaze. The ensuing smoke gives way to abundant ash, which East African settlers then spread across the fields.
As the natives reclaim the land, they also drive away wildlife—especially snakes—removing obstacles for the East African settlers' agricultural production and ensuring their safety.
Land clearing in South Sudan proceeds with a highly "primitive" style—a genuine form of "slash-and-burn." Because there isn't enough iron to go around, developing South Sudan's farmland depends on enslaved labor. There's no shortage of local slaves. Every so often, the East African army goes out along the Nile to capture a new batch of slaves and replenish their losses.
Only the East African settlers have access to iron tools. Currently, the supply of iron tools is prioritized for the southern regions of Zambia and Zimbabwe. As a result, the people of South Sudan have to make do.
Andrei sighs, "We have to open another seven hundred acres before the rainy season, or it'll be too late once the rains come. So for the next month, we'll be working overtime to get it done."
As Andrei plans Juba Town's next tasks, a Black native who has been working in the heat for over five hours suddenly blacks out and collapses in the field.
An East African soldier goes to check. The man is still breathing, likely suffering from heatstroke. They drag him over to a nearby waterhole to cool him off. Such occurrences no longer raise eyebrows among the soldiers.
With plenty of rainfall and water from the Great Lakes (Lake Victoria), the upper White Nile region in South Sudan abounds in wetlands, marshes, and forests. This climate and the abundant water supply make South Sudan excellent for growing rice—conditions are perfect for it.
Of course, they must develop the land first, and that's the hardest part. If South Sudan had been in East Asia, it might have been settled ages ago.
But here in Africa, for centuries, the local tribes never formed an agrarian civilization. Meanwhile, neighboring Sudan and Egypt in the deserts and semi-deserts, as well as the Abyssinians in the highlands, achieved some level of farming technology. Ironically, South Sudan has the best conditions for agriculture yet never developed it; the locals depended on pastoralism, wasting their resources of water, heat, and fertile land.
In particular, in the modern era (of the previous timeline), South Sudan even had to import fruits and vegetables—unheard of for a country in Africa so rich in natural resources. Their staple crops were already inefficient, but the fact that fruits and vegetables also had to be imported was downright shocking.
Even now, there are plenty of wild fruits growing in South Sudan's forests—enough for people to eat without exhausting them—yet in the 21st century they ended up importing. The region's slow, inefficient agricultural development doomed South Sudan to remain poor. Or, put another way, their inertia and desire for ease meant they had a treasure trove that ended up being squandered. Various armed factions only cared about controlling the oil fields so they could sit back and collect foreign money. That revenue was used up buying food, weapons, and luxury goods, while South Sudan made no progress in its utilities, infrastructure, or roads. Despite being an oil producer, it remained one of Africa's poorest. In fact, South Sudan was not only rich in oil—its other resources were also abundant.
Frankly, back when it was still part of Sudan, the South spent every day complaining that the Arab rulers in the north exploited them, hindering development. Yet after independence, almost every day was consumed by warfare, making it even more chaotic than neighboring Sudan; ordinary people were worse off than before. In Africa, perhaps only the warlord-torn Somalia could compare to South Sudan. Now, it's almost certain that these two previous "failed states," so often cited by the international community, will no longer exist in this timeline. In that regard, East Africa has at least done something good.
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