rHE GERMAN EMPIRE OF CENTRAL AFRICA

the Cameroons 3, German East Africa 8 millions. With parts of Angola and portions of the British possessions which belong to Central Africa, we shall reach a total of at least 30 million inhabitants.

The most valuable African territories lie, of course, in the bend of the Niger and south of Senegal. They are Sene- gambia, Guinea, the Ivory and Gold Coasts, Togo, Dahomey and Nigeria. These countries contain at least 32 million comparatively highly civilized inhabitants and they are already well developed. If these colonies could be united, there is no doubt that they would be of great importance from the political, economic and also military point of view. But in political and military value they will certainly be surpassed by Central Africa, which equals them in population and surpasses them many times over in extent of territory.

V.— The White Man in Central Africa.

When we spoke of attracting tens of thousands of Germans to Central Africa we were counting, above all—as may be gathered from the estimate of Central Africa as a compara­tively well-populated country, given in the previous chapter— on the Germans organizingvthe 30 million negro inhabitants to supply from the tropics German requirements in the matter of the products of the soil, and directing their labour to a great end. This end is our acquisition of the raw materials which we lack.

The proof that the white man can live in Central Africa as an official and organizer, has already been given. We can even assert to-day that in most parts of Central Africa the white man, and even women and children, can quite well stand four to five years on end, and that he will keep his health, if he has the opportunity of recuperating his strength every two or three years in a temperate climate. It only remains for us to show that Central Africa can very soon give a home to 50,000 Germans, and after a few years even to 100,000.

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