The Development of Africa ... Second edition, revised, etc

Preface

TO THE SECOND EDITION. The awakening of Africa to a new life is one of the most notable events of our times. In consequence of its recogni tion as a factor in international politics, the continent has assumed a position which, though imperfectly understood, is not the less characteristic and definite. This result is due to the combined action of Europe. We must assume that the European Powers in Africa have ac cepted their self-imposed and responsible task of reclaiming the continent with a full knowledge of its extent and difficulty. The development of Africa, however, if it is to be profitable to those who have undertaken it, and not merely a fetish for philanthropic parade, involves far more than blind enthusiasts would have us to believe. It is one of the colonial problems of the next century.

The factors that compose it are many and varied, and, it must be confessed, appear to be scarcely known to the majority of those who without hesitation register their vote in favour of unlimited territorial acquisitions. We have been accustomed to enter upon African campaigns with a light heart, neither reckoning the cost nor foreseeing the end ; and the experience thereby gained has been dearly bought. Nevertheless, we are now in a position to formulate a programme based on the general principles that must, in a greater or lesser degree, regulate the advance of Europe into Africa. VI

PREFACE.

. The African Question is in the main a geographical problem. In its initial stage — the conquest and development of African lands — we have to deal not so much with political as with geographical conditions. It is only after the latter are understood that we can effectually control the former. I have consequently attempted in the present treatise to elucidate the political problems of Africa by the application of the principles of geography : in effect, it is a study in Applied Geography. From an examination of the physical and political pheno mena of Africa I have sought to deduce the general laws that should govern its development. Each phase of my subject has been made to illustrate its practical bearing. Thus, from a survey of the mountains, lakes, and rivers of Africa, we discover the lines of least physical resistance to the migrations of men ; whilst the consideration of political relations assists us in understanding the movements of commerce.

Again, it is necessary for us to know the climatic conditions of the various regions before we are in a position to judge of their suitability for commercial enterprise or as European colonial settlements. Upon the distinctive character and resources of those regions must depend the nature and direction of their political development. The plan of the book has been to proceed step by step, as far as possible in natural sequence, and to build up Africa under the eyes of the reader, so to speak. Within reasonable limits, and not forgetting the due proportion of their com ponent parts, I have endeavoured to give complete pictures of Africa, by dealing successively with the various aspects under which the continent is known to Europe. I travel again and again over the same ground, but each stage of the survey is undertaken with a different object in view. In the treatment of detail I have proceeded from the general

PREFACE.

. VII to the particular, every fresh departure being marked by a closer inspection. The first edition of this book was published in October 1890. In the present edition, effect has been given to the subsequent treaties between the European Powers in Africa, and notice has been taken of the progress of geographical exploration and political settlement. All the political chapters have undergone extensive revision. Mr. E. G. Ravenstein has specially designed a very com plete and valuable series of maps to illustrate the volume. By a study of them the reader will not only be aided in understanding the text, but will also discover a vast amount of detail ignored in my descriptions. Mr. Ravenstein has himself supplied a Note at the end of the volume, discussing the data upon which his maps have been constructed. A. S. W. Edinbup.oh, April 1892. PAGE CONTENTS.

Chapter I

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. Preliminary survey of the continent — Its geological and physical structure — Oceanic and inland drainage-basins — Coincidence of political settlement with Oceanic drainage-areas ...... i Illustrative Maps. — Plate I. Height of Land. Plate II. River- Basins, &c. Plate VI. Geology.

Chapter II. Mountains, Lakes, And Rivers

Geographical distribution of the chief mountain-systems, and consequent development of the great river-systems, in relation to accessibility from the sea and internal communications . . . . .12 Illustrative Maps. — Plate I. Height of Land. Plate IT. River- Basins, &c.

Chapter III. Climate And Cognate Phenomena

Distribution of temperature — Actual temperatures — Distribution of atmospheric pressure, and prevailing winds — Annual rainfall — Distribution of soils — Zones of vegetation — Distribution of animals — Classification of climates — Acclimatisation ..... 43 Illustrative Maps. — Plate III. Mean Annual Temperature (Actual). Plate IV. Mean Annual Range of Temperature. Plate V. Annual Rainfall. Plate VI. Geology. Plate VII. Zones of Vegetation. CONTENTS. X

Chapter IV. The Indigenous Populations

PAGE General considerations — Linguistic groups and their geographical distribution — Characteristics of Negroes and of native life — Survey of the indigenous populations : their mental, moral, and material culture ; their political organisations and social development — Capacity of the Negro for developing higher forms of culture — Non-resistance, from the comparative absence of political cohesion in Bantu Africa, again.st the European domination — Native rights and European responsibilities ........ 74 Illustrative Maps. — Plate X. Languages. Plate XIV. Forms of Government. Plate IX. Density of Population.

Chapter V. Islam And Christianity

Historical sketch of the progress of Islam and the extension of Arab influence — The border-land of Islam in the south — Signs of the times — Historical sketch of the progress of Chri-tian missions — Results of missionary enterprise — Methods of Mohammedan propagandism and Arab rule, as compared with those adopted by Christian missions and European rule : in their effect upon the Pagan populations — Conclusions . . . . . . .115 Illustrative Map. — Plate XL Religions, and Missionary Stations.

Chapter VI. The Traffic In Slaves

The sources, conditions, and extent of the Slave Trade — Discussion of remedial measures . . . . . . . . .144 Illustrative Map. — Plate VIII. Commercial Products.

Chapter VII. Progress Of Exploration

Historical sketch of the progress of discovery and of exploratory work in Africa — Limits to our present knowledge — The task of the CONTENTS. XI PAGE 225 253 future, its probable direction, and the spirit in which it should be undertaken ........... 164 Illustrative Map. — Plate XII. Progress of Exploration.

Chapter VIII. Commercial Resources

Progress of exploitation — Commerce, the most important initial factor in African politics — Commercial supremacy rather than empire the underlying motive of European enterprise — The reign of commerce — The value of African lands — Geographical distribution of products, and the movements of commerce — Geographical distribution of ivory — Coincidence of slave-routes with trade-routes, ivory being the principal article of export — The liquor-traffic — The Labour Problem — Colonisation — Chartered Companies — "Robber-economy" — Honesty the best policy ........ 195 Illustrative Map. — Plate VIII. Commercial Products.

Chapter IX. The European Domination

Relative absence of native political rule — Survey of the European colonies, protectorates, and spheres of influence — The political situation — Comparative absence of effective occupation by the European Powers — Obstacles to European political settlement not necessarily insuperable, but limitations to be observed Illustrative Maps. — Plate XIII. Political Partition (showing Territorial Boundaries). Plate XI V. Forms of Government.

Chapter X. Political Partition

Cause and effect — Methods — Definitions — The Berlin Conference of 1884-85 — Territorial boundaries in Africa before the Conference, and those settled at or immediately after the Conference — Progress of the partition of Africa — Diplomatic negotiations, treaties, conventions, &c. — Fixed boundaries — Undefined territorial limits Illustrative Map. — Plate XIII. Political Partition. CONTENTS. XII

CHAPTER XL SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.

PAGE General principles underlying the development of Africa along natural lines, derived from an examination of the various aspects under which the continent is known to Europe at the present day . 282

Appendix

.-—NOTES ON THE MAPS, BY E. G. RAVEN- STEIN, F.R.G.S 292 INDEX LIST OF MAPS BY E. G. RAVENSTEIN, F.R.G.S. Height of Land Plate I River-Basins and Ocean Currents . . . . „ II. Mean Annual Temperature „ III, Mean Annual Range op Temperature . . . ,, IV. Annual Rainfall „ V. Geology „ VI Zones of Vegetation „ VII. Commercial Products „ VIII. Density of Population „ IX. Languages .......... X, Religions, and Missionary Stations . . . . „ XI Progress of Exploration ,, XII Political Partition „ XIII Forms of Government , THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA.

Chapter I

a bird's-eye view. The Pariah Continent — Its geological antiquity — Continental plateau — Absence of gulfs, &c— Geological systems — Conformity to continental type — Characteristic physical features — Coastal zone — Inland plateau — Continental axis — Elevation of land-masses — General laws of structure — Vast size of Africa — Embossment — Cataracts — Drainage-areas — Oceanic drainage basins — Enclosed basins — River-systems — Discharge of rivers — Lakes— Coincidence of political settlement with drainage-areas — Physical obstacles against political expansion. Africa is the Pariah of Continents. Nature, whilst lavish ing on her the most bounteous gifts, has, at the same time, imposed certain barriers and restrictions to their enjoyment which hamper no other continent. Although Egypt and the Mediterranean Littoral saw the dawn of the earliest civilisation, circumstances, chiefly of a geographical char acter, have been against the development of Africa.

Hence it has happened that, at the present day, we have been called upon to re-discover the continent and to exploit its natural resources. We are told that Africa is a continental area of im mense antiquity, a large portion of it being built up of rocks belonging to Archæan, Palæozoic, and early Mesozoic times. These, it is true, are geological terms that may fail A to convince the lay reader. Should, however, any further proof of the extreme antiquity of the continent be required, it is afforded by the singular uniformity and simplicity of its coast-line. Therein lies a phenomenon that at once arrests attention. Geologists regard as the continental plateau, not only the great mass of the dry land, but also its extension under the sea to a depth of one thousand fathoms. Now, this so-called continental plateau very closely corresponds in its direction with the present trend of the coast-line on the east, the south, the west, and the north-west.

The dry land of Africa, in brief, occupies almost the entire area of the continental plateau. The coast-line exhibits a general absence of large estuaries, deep bays, narrow gulfs, firths and fiords, all of which are such characteristic features of the much younger coast-line of North- Western Europe. We miss also the graceful peninsular forms which differentiate the continent of Eurasia. Hence it is that, though Africa is three times greater in area than Europe, its coast-line measures only about 17,700 miles, whilst that of Europe is over 2000 miles longer. This remarkable absence of bays and gulfs in Africa, or of any large indentations in its coast-line, is explained by the washings of the continent — the immense amount of detritus brought down by the rivers — having, in the course of ages, gradually filled them up.

The Gulf of Guinea, so called, is not a true gulf ; while the Gulf of Aden and the Eed Sea, with which it communicates, belong as much to Asia as to Africa : they simply separate the two continents, and constitute Africa an immense island — for the Suez Canal, 78 miles in length, gives it an ipso facto existence as such. Only in the Mediterranean, in the ancient Syrtes, do we recognise something like a true gulf. To the south of this small gulf, and, indeed, at many localities along the shores of the Mediterranean and the Pied Sea, are actual GEOLOGY. 3 depressions below the sea -level, which, at some remote period, must have been the heads of gulfs and straits that have gradually disappeared as the land was elevated : raised beaches, far inland, now mark spots upon which the sea once broke in waves.

Of geological systems in Africa very little need be said. All the greater divisions are represented ; but it is to be noted that Archæan, Palæozoic, and Mesozoic strata occupy the major portion of the surface. Eocks of later Mesozoic age extend over large tracts in the northern portion of the continent, while Tertiary deposits are similarly developed across wide regions which drain towards the Mediterranean. The West Coast — in contradistinction to the North and East Coasts — has shown a remarkable persistency throughout an immense lapse of time, for it seems to have been outlined as far back as in the Palæozoic era; and the general dis tribution of rocks of this age and of the older Archæan schists throughout the continent would appear to indicate that in Palæozoic times the major portion of what is now land was then under water.

Numerous small islands com posed of Archæan rocks must in those times have dotted this sea, not only on the West Coast, but also along the main continental axis and elsewhere. In Mesozoic times, the land in the west and in the south and east had considerably increased in extent ; but vast areas in the Interior would appear to have been occupied by shallow seas. Within those areas we now find : in Northern Africa, Jurassic and Cretaceous, and in Southern and Central Africa, Triassic strata. The major portion of the continent would thus appear to have been dry land after Mesozoic times. In late Mesozoic times considerable volcanic outpourings took place in Eastern Africa ; and it is probable that these volcanic eruptions were connected with the movement that resulted in the intensification of the main continental axis — that large backbone of elevated land which traverses the continent in a N.E. — S.W. direction — and in the accompanying deformations of the Earth's crust along the tract within which we now find the great lakes.

The only deposits of Quaternary and later age we need refer to here are the enormous alluvial accumulations met with along the courses of the principal rivers and their tributaries, and the drifting sands which overspread such wide regions in the desiccated areas of Northern Africa. In its general configuration, Africa conforms to the conti nental type. Its highest elevations are found, in accordance with the general law, on that side which faces the deepest sea : next the Indian Ocean. Its land-sculpture is due prin cipally to the action of denudation, guided and controlled by the geological character and structure of the rocks. We have, then, these characteristic physical features to start with : that the dry land of Africa occupies the greater portion of the continental plateau, and that the shore-line is almost without any great indentations.

This absence of spacious bays and protected roadsteads has, it is evident, played an important part in the political development of Africa. The plateau character of the continent has, in like manner, been the means of excluding European enterprise from the interior lands, and has constituted Africa the out east she now is. From the abysmal depths of the surrounding seas the continent rises by terrace upon terrace. A narrow coastal zone, from 100 to 300 miles in width, and not exceeding, say, 600 feet in elevation, girdles the greater part of the continent. Here the seafaring nations of Europe have timorously planted their colonies, for the expansion of which a seaboard as a base is so absolutely essential. This coastal zone penetrates most deeply into the Mediterranean lands, to the east of the Algerian highlands, into the Western Sahara, and along the valleys of the Lower Niger and of other large rivers.

OROGRAPHY. 5 The great inland plateau rises abruptly from the coastal belt, for the most part step-like, in a succession of terraces, its highest elevations being attained in the north-east. As this vast inland plateau, varying between 600 and 3000 feet in elevation above the sea-level, composes the greater part of Africa, and includes very many subsidiary plateaus, it may perhaps be convenient to distinguish it from its com ponent parts by applying to it the term I have already used in its strict geological sense — that of the continental plateau. It is, however, to be observed that the more we learn of Northern Africa, particularly of the Saharan regions, the less we notice the permanence of the plateau type, though in the southern half of Africa it is well defined. The main axis of this continental plateau, as we shall henceforth call it, extends like a backbone in a S.W. — N.E. direction from the South-West Coast to the shores of the Eed Sea, near which we find its most important nucleus, the volcanic mountain region of Abyssinia.

From this main axis three subsidiary axes * strike transversely, like ribs, in a north-westerly direction : one follows the shores of the Eed Sea, separating them from the basin of the Nile ; another runs parallel to the West Coast, more or less con tinuously ; and the third takes a middle direction, dividing the catchment-basins of the Nile and Congo, and stretching a mighty arm, as it were, across the Sahara to within a com paratively short distance of the Mediterranean. The mean altitude of Africa, taken roughly at 2000 feet, conforms very nearly to the mean elevation of the land of the globe. Africa may, therefore, be regarded as a plateau of moderate elevation.- Its mean altitude, however, is very greatly exceeded by that of Asia. As far as is known, its highest summits are reached in Kenia, which lies on the * The contours selected for the map illustrating this chapter do not, how ever, distinctly bring out these transverse subsidiary axes of the continent.

Equator, and in Kilima-njaro, a little to the south. The latter is estimated to be 19,720 feet above the sea-level, whilst the former is about 18,400 feet. Mr. Stanley, in the year 1889, discovered in the Euwenzori group, situated in the source-region of the Nile, snow-clad peaks which cannot be much under 18,000 feet in elevation. High mountains occur also in South Africa, in Abyssinia, on the Guinea coast, in Morocco, and in the Sahara, the enumera tion of which is here unnecessary, because later on we shall encounter them again. At present we are concerned only with distributions and generalisations. From this distribution of the great mountain-systems of Africa, it will be seen that they do not exactly follow the law that holds good in regard to other continents : that the main continental axis coincides with its greatest length ; although, if we regard the subsidiary axes above referred to, we see in them only a variation of this physical law.

There is another general law, which, on the other hand, is well exemplified in Africa : that the chief island-masses occur to the south and east of continents. Thus, we find Madagascar — which at one time, however remote, formed part of the mainland — situated, in accordance with this law, to the south and east. Madagascar itself, built up in terraces just like the parent mass, is, it is true, the only African island of any size. In the Gulf of Guinea there are a few small volcanic islands, stretching in a south westerly direction from Mount Cameroons ; and small groups of volcanic islands appear off the North-West Coast ; but they are comparatively insignificant. It is difficult to realise the immense size of Africa. Its simplicity of form imposes upon the mind of the casual observer. Many people, in fact, regard it as a country, and not as a vast continent.

Yet, if we seek its continental centre, or that point in the Interior which is most remote from the surrounding coasts, we find that, in order to reach HYDROGRAPHY. 7 it, we should require to travel a distance of over i ioo miles. Only in Asia, whose continental centre is as remote as 1600 miles, should we require to travel a greater distance ; but then Asia is one-third larger than Africa.* The exterior margins of the broad plateaus of Africa will generally be found, as in those of other continents, to be higher than their central portions, thus presenting toward the sea a sort of natural rampart. This peculiar emboss ment of the continent, whilst determining its river-systems, has formed one of the most hostile impediments in regard to the accessibility of the interior lands. The rivers and lakes are, of course, the true natural highways ; but all the large rivers, not only in their upper, but also in their middle and lower courses, where they break through the margins of the plateaus, have, in consequence, their beds filled with all sorts of rocky obstructions ; and so great is their incli nation that the accelerated waters become rapids, or break into cataracts, or fall down sheer heights, in their eager passage to the sea.

And unfortunately, from the fact of the inland or continental plateau approaching so near to the coasts, all the great rivers have their navigation obstructed at relatively short distances from their mouths. Serious obstacles are thus placed in the way of free com mercial intercourse between Inner Africa and the outside world. In order better to realise the physical relief of Africa, let us endeavour to picture the disposition of its oceanic * Dr. Rohrbach, in Pctcrmann's Mittcilunrjen (Bd. 36, Nos. 3 and 4), at tempted a new method of estimating the accessibility of continents. By taking the mean coast-distance (1416 miles) in a calotte of area equal to that of the five continents, or the actual mean distance, as unity, he arrived at the following results :— Europe . . .1.83 Asia .... 0.79 Eurasia . . .0.88 Africa . . . 0.91 Australia . . .1.78 North America . . 1.30 South America . .

I. II The five Continents . 1.00 and inland drainage-basins* thus illustrating in the most forcible manner possible the chief slopes of the continent towards the surrounding seas, or into those enclosed basins whose drainage-waters never reach the Ocean at all. Of these catchment-basins, by far the most important is that draining into the Atlantic Ocean. In this respect Africa agrees with Europe and the Americas: about half of the land of the globe drains into the Atlantic. The following are the drainage-areas of Africa : — i. Atlantic Ocean. 2. Mediterranean Sea. 3. Indian Ocean. («..) Madagascar. 4. Three Inland drainage-areas : — (a.) Sahara Desert. (b.) Kalahari Desert. (c.) Eastern Horn. By consulting the map, it will be seen at a glance how greatly the Atlantic Ocean drainage-area is in excess of the other drainage-areas of the African continent.

It includes, of course, the mighty river-systems of the Niger and Congo, besides all the river-basins of the West Coast. The Congo alone discharges as great a volume of water as probably all the rivers of Africa taken together, the Niger in this respect coming next, and the dissipated Nile taking only a fourth place. The Nile, originating below the Equator, is the only river of importance in the Mediterraiiean drainage-basin, its magnificent system extending like a tongue far into the interior of Africa, The Indian Ocean drainage-basin in cludes, besides Madagascar, all the rivers of the East Coast, of which the Zambezi and Limpopo are the chief, from the Cape up to the Eastern Horn. Of the enclosed basins, or those basins having a self- * By drainage-basins I refer to surface drainage only, — more correctly speaking, catchment-basins.

HYDROGRAPHY. 9 contained hydrographical system, by far the most extensive is that of the Sahara, which in the south impinges on the Sudan. Lake Tsad lies in a trough, but not by any means, as was at one time supposed, in the lowest part of the Saharan plateau. Besides the remarkable enclosed basin between the Abyssinian highlands and the sea, in which there are restricted areas of absolute depression, there is a third, surrounding the Kalahari desert and holding Lake N'gami. These are all more or less desert or riverless regions, in which the annual rainfall is under five or ten inches ; and the explanation of their origin, though partly due to the configuration of the land, will be given when we come to consider the meteorological conditions of Africa. If we compare the chief rivers of Africa with the great rivers of the world, the Congo will be found to rank. second only to the Amazons in those respects which constitute an important river, namely, in point of drainage-area and annual discharge of water.

The fact of their mouths being situated on or near the Equator, and their catchment-basins receiving in consequence an excessive rainfall, sufficiently accounts for their abnormal volumes of discharge. But in regard to mere length, the Congo is exceeded by six of the great rivers of the world. Of these, the Mississippi- Missouri heads the list with a course of 4192 miles, and the Nile comes next with 4018 miles (though some day it may establish even a closer contest). In its lengthy course through desert lands the Nile, however, loses more water by evaporation than any other river of the same or of much lesser importance : hence the comparatively small volume of its discharge. The discharge of a river may, roughly speaking, be said to equal the excess of rainfall over evaporation in its basin.

The usual discharge of Tropical or sub-Tropical rivers is calculated by Dr. John Murray to be about one-fifth of the rainfall on the river's basin ; but the Nile discharges only about one-thirty-seventh. European rivers discharge between one-third and one-fourth of the rainfall on their catchment-basins. The lakes of Africa, which play so important a part in the accessibility of the continent, conform to the general law as regards the salinity or freshness of their waters; that is to say, those not provided with outlets have, for the most part, salt or brackish water, unless submarine outlets carry off the salts held in solution. Lakes thus fall under two comprehensive divisions. All the great lakes of Africa, except Tsad, are situated along the continental axis, in areas of relative depression, or along the line of great faults or fractures in the Earth's crust.

Though most of them fluctuate in level, they are all very different in character to lakes like Tsad and N'gami, which, being situated in low, swampy ground, expand and contract enormously, in accordance with the seasons. Another class of lake is to be found in those expansions of a river's course in low or " spongy " ground, such as are common in the basin of the Congo. But all of these lakes are formed in areas of relative depression, and are, therefore, to be again differentiated from the lakelets or marshes bordering the shores of the Mediterranean and Eed Seas, where there are small areas of absolute depression — that is to say, localities lying below the sea-level. One might go on multiplying instances of dissimilarity in the characteristics of the various lakes of Africa, but our present purpose has been served in what has already been said in regard to them.

We have completed our preliminary survey of the con tinent in its orographical and hydrographical relations — sketched, it is true, in broad outlines ; but, before proceeding in the next chapter to fill in detads, attention should be directed to a very striking fact. It will be found, on com paring the maps, that what may be called political settle- APPLIED GEOGRAPHY. 11 ment in Africa has coincided very closely with the oceanic drainage-areas, while the inland drainage-areas have been practically deserted by man, as they have been paralysed by Nature. This phenomenon illustrates in a very lucid manner how political settlement is controlled by physical obstacles. European settlement in Africa, after first finding a footing on the coasts, has endeavoured to penetrate into the Interior by the most natural highways — those afforded by the great river-systems.

Bearing this parallel in mind, we have at once some explanation of the fact that, for instance, the Mediterranean Littoral has from time immemorial been European rather than African. The Sahara desert has proved an impassable barrier against any considerable political ex pansion southwards. In practical politics, therefore, Africa may be said to be limited on the north by the Sahara-Mediterranean water parting. Elsewhere we shall show how, in a far greater degree, physical obstacles of one kind or another have con trolled or limited the expansion of political power in Africa, which, in its natural course, by following the lines of least resistance, would endeavour to proceed along the fluvial highways of the continent.

Chapter II. Mountains, Lakes, And Rivers

Mediterranean seaboard— Absence of large rivers— Atlas Mountains- Sahara region— Physical features— Water-supply— Desert streams— Tsad basin— Means of communication— Nile valley— Source-streams and lake-reservoirs— Source-country— Upper Nile system— Blue and White Niles— Confluences— The united Nile— Abyssinia— Means of communication — Red Sea drainage-basin— Enclosed basin of Eastern Horn— Atlantic drainage-basin— Gulf of Guinea — Atlantic drainage-area denned— Senegal and Gambia Rivers— River Niger— River Benue— Physical features between the Niger and Congo— Congo basin— Obstructions in river-bed— Bird's-eye view of Congo basin- Congo : tributary systems— Orographical features — Lake Tanganyika — Congo: northern arm — Congo: southern arm — Lower Congo — Congo estuary — Submarine canon — Its origin — Means of communication — Between the Congo and Orange Rivers — Orographical features — Absence of harbours — Orange River — Communications — Lake N'gami — Indian Ocean drainage-basin — Cape rivers — Limpopo River — Zambezi River : comparison with the Congo — Course of the Zambezi — Zambezi Delta — Navigable channels — Kwakwa River — Shire River — Means of communication — A highway across Africa — Lake Nyasa : comparative view — East Coast — Rovuma River — Zanzibar mainland — Tana River — Sonuiland Galla-lands — Accessibility of African lands.