Chapter 833 Tractor

The 19th century was a tragic century, especially for the indigenous people in colonial areas and countries. The United States and East Africa were both typical countries transformed from colonies. When East Africa persecuted the indigenous people of southern Africa, the Americans also Doing the same thing.

Also in 1890, the Battle of Ondideney, also known as the "Wounded Knee Massacre", broke out in the United States. On December 29, 1890, the Battle of Ondideney was a landmark event in American history. The last armed conflict in the United States against the Indians brought a tragic end to the Indian Wars that lasted for more than three hundred years.

Sure enough, with the support of his colleagues, Ernst's treatment of black people seemed extremely "merciful". After all, compared with massacre, it was always more "humanitarian".

However, this also means that it will be difficult for the Indians in the United States to become successful. The United States has completely eliminated the resistance of the native indigenous people, and East Africa will take longer.

…

Port of Maputo.

As in the past, an East African-flagged merchant ship docked at Maputo Port. This should not have caused any concern, but something different obviously appeared in Maputo Port today.

The East African National Defense Force blocked the port, and then moved a lot of big guys off the ship, or drove off a lot of big guys.

"Chu, tug, tug..." Thick black smoke accompanied by huge noises were arranged in a row on the pier. There were as many as eight tractors. If you are well-informed, you will definitely recognize them as "tractors."

It's just that this is the world's earliest internal combustion engine-powered tractor, not a traditional steam tractor. As East Africa's "cutting-edge technology", it makes sense for the military to escort it.

"Captain Coles, I'm going to trouble you in the next few days. The final transportation location of these tractors is Saukwe Town. They are used for farm development in the Limpopo River Plain. They are valuable items, so they cannot be driven directly there. Shaokui Town, must be sent to Shaokui Town by vehicle," the driver leading the team said to Captain Coles.

Looking at these "behemoths", Captain Coles was quite surprised. He had only seen tractors in newspapers before, and this was the first time he saw the real thing.

"Mr. Kessel, don't worry, we will use the army's heavy artillery vehicles to transport these big guns this time, and it will not delay your trip."

There are many people following Kessel. There are three repairmen alone, two engineers, a mechanical expert, and eight drivers. They are all going to the state-owned farm in Shaokui Town this time. Kessel He is a manager of a state-owned farm in Dar es Salaam.

In this era, drivers are definitely a scarce talent. Even the number of car drivers is very rare now, and drivers of "special vehicles" like tractors are even more scarce.

Subsequently, with the cooperation of the military and Kessel's team, the tractors were moved onto large vehicles that required eight horses to pull one.

Internal combustion engine tractors are much lighter than steam tractors. In 1890, that is, this year, Benjamin built a wheeled steam engine tractor with all-metal wheels, 7.3 meters long, 60 horsepower, and a vehicle weight of 22 tons. The light provided steam. of water weighs more than two tons.

Therefore, a steam tractor is basically no different from a locomotive. Even if the weight is reduced, it is still the weight of a "small locomotive". Such a tractor is naturally difficult to use for plowing.

Moreover, East African internal combustion engine-powered tractors use solid rubber-coated iron tires to achieve further weight reduction. As for hollow tires, it is obvious that the current technology is not adequate for the weight of the tractor. Of course, this is much lighter than all-iron wheels.

Of course, tractors also have crawler tractors. Unfortunately, the current technology does not meet the requirements. There are currently more than 100 invention patents related to crawler tractors in the world, but the prototypes have all failed in tests.

For example, Benjamin, the American tractor developer mentioned earlier, went to the United Kingdom, the pioneer country of the Industrial Revolution, in 1903 to investigate the development of crawler tractors, but he was disappointed. He did not see a successful example, so , he ended his trip to the UK hastily and returned to his factory in the United States to continue developing crawler tractors.

It is only 1890 now, so it is naturally impossible for East Africa to make a breakthrough in crawler technology in a short period of time. However, East Africa's current research on crawler tracks is considered to be at the forefront of the world.

Ernst knew that the historical success of tracked tractors, especially the later military application of this technology, led to the emergence of the "King of Land Warfare" tank.

So Ernst will naturally not ignore this issue. The current research on crawler structures in East Africa is mainly led by research institutes in several cities such as Dar es Salaam, Mbeya and Harare.

With direction and support, the progress is naturally not slow. Among them, the Mbeya City Mechanical Research Institute has taken the lead in achieving results, but it is still too early to apply crawler tracks to special vehicles.

After all, tractor technology is not very mature now, otherwise the East African government would not equip these eight tractors with such a luxurious team.

Rather than saying that these eight tractors are coming to develop the southern plains of Mozambique, it is better to say that these eight tractors are serving eight big men in East Africa.

The performance of the next eight tractors may be unsatisfactory. There should not be too many big problems, but there will definitely be too many small problems to cause headaches.

Because the Dar es Salaam Tractor Factory had only produced prototypes before, there were still many technical deficiencies, and the current main business of Dar es Salaam City is actually steam tractors.

As for the internal combustion engine-powered tractor, it is a new track opened in East Africa. The internal combustion engine-powered tractor performed well in the test field, but in "wild" areas like Mozambique, it may be difficult to satisfy people.

However, there is no way around this. If East Africa wants to gain something in the industrial field, it must dare to be the first, and slowly improve the technology when it is not mature. As long as there is enough time, East Africa will one day become a leader in this field.

In fact, East Africa is already far ahead. Although the technology of internal combustion engine-powered tractors is immature, it appeared nearly a decade earlier than in history.

The internationally recognized world's first gasoline tractor is the "No. 1" tractor manufactured by Hart and Parr in Charles City, Iowa, USA in the winter of 1901. The machine's serial number is 1205 and sold in July 1902. To farmers, successfully used for 17 years.

Although the technology of East African tractors is still questionable, they were researched early. As long as they can withstand the test, East Africa will be able to complete a roundabout overtaking in the agricultural field.

As the tractor was loaded, Kessel asked people to cover the vehicle with a tarpaulin. From a distance, people who didn't know the truth might just think that the troops were transporting confidential items such as artillery.

"Captain Coles, I'm sorry to trouble you now." After confirming that there was no problem, Kessel said to Coles.

"no problem!"

So under the escort of the National Defense Forces, Kessel and his party headed towards Shaokui Town with East Africa's "big country's important weapons".

The establishment of the first state-owned farm in Shaokwe Town also heralded the coming of an era of great changes in agriculture in East Africa and the world. It is destined to write an important chapter in the history of agriculture in East Africa. It is considered the starting point of agricultural mechanization in East Africa and will be remembered by East Africans. .