African Business Chronicles

Chapter 43 – Administrative Divisions

The increasing number of immigrants had undeniably boosted the development potential of the East African colony, but it also brought growing administrative challenges—especially given the chaotic state of the current colonial structure.

To address this, Ernst found it necessary to systematize and reorganize the colony's administration, setting up a new framework of territorial governance. Only with clearly defined divisions could the colony properly collect data and implement plans based on actual conditions.

Take the Coastal District, for example. It was initially created on a whim after the population and land area reached a certain scale. It became the highest administrative unit in the colony.

Later, the Soren Lake District (Tanganyika) and the Great Lakes District (Victoria) were modeled after the Coastal District, though at the time they were only the size of a single town.

In the early days, there were only a few outposts and settlers, making everything easy to track. But now, the population had grown significantly, and some regions had developed quickly. The Coastal District alone now had more people than all other parts of the colony combined.

The district had since evolved into a three-tier system:

Top level – Coastal District, with its capital in First Town (also the colony's seat of government).Mid level – Small towns like First Town, Second Town, etc., where populations were concentrated.Base level – Villages, recently established and spread around the towns.

In other areas, administrative lines were messy. Places like Karonga and Mbeya were essentially equal in status to the aforementioned districts but lacked formal classification.

Ernst spent a long time with a pencil and ruler redrawing the map. Eventually, a rough draft of East Africa's new administrative divisions took shape.

First, the colonial government's highest authority remained in First Town, which was removed from the Coastal District and elevated to its own separate zone. Second Town was incorporated into this zone.

Next, Ernst divided the colony into ten province-level regions, referred to as Great Districts:

Upper Coastal District – Capital: Third Town (Kitonga)Central Coastal District – Capital: Rusendei (on the Rufiji River)Lower Coastal District – Capital: Ruonluoda

These three districts stretched from north to south along the Indian Ocean, bordering Zanzibar in the north and Portugal in the south.

Then came the interior regions:

Northern Highlands – Capital: Karatu (west of Upper Coastal)Central Highlands – Capital: Dodoma (west of Central Coastal)Eastern Lake Malawi District – Capital: Songea (west of Lower Coastal)Upper Lake Malawi District – Capital: Mbeya (north of Lake Malawi)Great Lakes District (Victoria) – Capital: MwanzaSoren District (Tanganyika) – Capital: KigomaSavanna District – Capital: Tabora (between Soren and Central Highlands)

These ten districts became the colony's provincial framework.

For urban planning, any place with concentrated populations outside of district capitals would be designated as a city. For instance, Karonga (on Lake Malawi) was classified as a city since Mbeya already served as the regional capital.

At the grassroots level were natural villages, managed by nearby towns or cities.

The colony had no county system. Instead, towns and cities served the same function as counties in Germany, while Great Districts were modeled after German federal states.

This administrative structure would serve as a transitional system. In time, it would expand beyond the Tanganyika region.

Currently, three new regions—Central Coastal, Lower Coastal, and Eastern Lake Malawi—had yet to be brought under full control. They were now targets for further expansion.

…

Two kilometers north of Manda (Upper Coastal's northernmost town), a new village was established: Longka Village, under Manda's jurisdiction.

With around 400 residents, Longka Village was the most northerly settlement in the Upper Coastal District. It included a five-man security team made up of Chinese settlers, stationed to prevent attacks from northern tribal groups.

Although a previous sweep had cleared most of the tribes, limited manpower had prevented a full purge, and some threats remained.

Displaced natives, now landless, were likely to venture into Upper Coastal territory in search of resources.

To ensure the settlers' safety, each village was assigned a five-to-six-man security team. The team leader—a German—also served as village chief, overseeing daily production and security.

One such settler, Liu Damao, was a plain farmer from North China. He once owned two or three mu of land, and in good years he could eat decently.

This year, drought struck. His crops failed, and he had to borrow grain from a landlord. When he couldn't repay it, the landlord took back his land.

Just then, fellow villager Zhang Gensheng returned from East Africa recruiting. Desperate, Liu signed up.

After arriving at First Town and completing registration, he was assigned to Longka Village. Led by the colonial security team, he journeyed to Manda, where he received basic supplies and tools.

Liu found Longka's terrain open and green, with rich farmland lying idle.

Under the German village chief's guidance, Liu and other settlers began development—digging canals, building waterwheels, and irrigating fields.

The soil was untouched, accumulated over centuries, and highly fertile. Crops thrived.

Since food and shelter were provided, settlers could focus on their tasks—but they had quotas. Failing to meet them meant reduced rations or punishment.

German supervisors monitored their work, and Chinese security teams patrolled the village. Their weapons and ammo were stored in Manda and only issued in emergencies.

There were over 100 such villages in the Upper Coastal District, each managed by one of four major towns.

Manda's population was slightly larger due to its favorable geography, offering more reliable water supplies.

Some towns served as transport hubs, less dependent on local conditions, but still vital to the colony's road network.

While Upper Coastal pushed forward with agricultural expansion, a new exploration team set out—this time heading south, toward Central and Lower Coastal Districts.

Initially, the colony had focused on the western interior—Victoria Lake, Tanganyika, Lake Malawi, and cities like Dodoma.

This spread colonial forces thin, and the southern coast had been neglected. But now, with Ernst's new administrative plan, the south—closer to Zanzibar—was back on the agenda.

And so, the colony turned south once more.

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