Letter to a friend Letter to a friend from Jean JeanDevos Devos
My friend,
Zanzibar and Fachoda. The recent signature of the EASSy supply contract is yet another step toward the implementation of one or several optical cables along the coast of East Africa. I remember something like it 25 years ago, when I was in charge of Alcatel’s submarine cable business. A “Botany Bay” visitor from the Middle East was introduced to me by the chairman of the company. He was bringing to us an opportunity should not miss I published recently a modestone novel, whose title -isthe design and construction of an Oman Zanzibar Botany Bay. It is the place in Australia where submarine cable. While he was developing all its Alcatel established a arguments about this project, which according to him submarine cable fachad a lot of regional political support and was already tory 1989 as on part fully financed, I had to glance to thein world map theof wall of my office and locate properly Zanzibar. for the its contract This cable never happened and only In now Tasman it2 is link. this that the East coast of Africa which was left out of the same bay, where two recent boom will see one of several modern cables centuries being finally built. But it will not be the firstbefore cable the along the east coast of Africa. French expedition If one looks at the submarine cable network “La Pérouse” made of map of 1901, one can see a telegraph cable coming two ships, La Boussole
My Dear Friend
from Durban, serving Ste Lorenço Marques, Dar as Salaam, Mombassa and Zanzibar and connected to the England - Australia backbone in Aden. This network was also landing in Seychelles and Mauritius! The last segment of this British Empire backbone, Bombayand(4.398 l’Astrolabe, discover Aden km) waslanded laid by in the 1788 Great to Eastern in that CaptainAden Cook already around bearing 1870. The to was Durban cable was installed aroundthe 1880. Thisflag. “Eastern” programBay wasisnamed British So Botany now“The for All me the Red Route”. In 1877, the size of the global telegraph symbol of a dream which becomes a reality! submarine cable network was 118,500 Km; in 1901, Tasman 2 has been yet another chapter 357,800 Km and 657,900 Km in 1928! Impressive! thisoutlong competition! The Inin 1901, of theAnglo-French 357,800 Km, 220,400 Km was award to Alcatel came out as a big surprise to “British”! school the famous was many,I remember, includinglearning inside at Alcatel. Everybody Franco-English story of Fachoda, a small place on batnaturally expecting the British to win that the White Nile. The English had occupied Egypt in tle, and such an expectation was at that time 1882. This was difficult to swallow for the French veryNapoleon logical.Bonaparte’s expedition in Egypt, but since even more, since were the construction of the Suez Canal by There so many difficulties and Ferdinand de Lesseps, “Thebetween great Frenchman,” whichand misunderstanding Australia was inaugurated in 1869 with even the creation of France, the main one being the French presence Aïda by Verdi for that circumstance. in theEngland Pacifichad area, being the nuclear thethe clearworse ambition to create an bomb experiment in Tahiti! The sad Rainbow
axis of Cairoevent to Capwas Town andinprevent the French Warrior still everyone’s memory. It from any influence on the Red Sea coast. This why (UK) is for these reasons among others thatisSTC the French authorities decided in 1893 to create their rejected the Alcatel‘s suggestion to come with a axis of presence linking Dakar on the Atlantic, to joint on bid, offerOcean. The a “European” solution. Djibouti theto Indian “mission Congo of the winning been the Nil” was One sent there, nothing more factors than 250has people on Port-Botany a small steamer on the Congo River, then the Nile. cable factory. Such a factory was a They had settled in Fachoda, Sudan where they raised strong requirement from OTC (now Telstra) and the French flag on July 12 1898 after 2 years of slow the Australian Government. progression through the continent. They even renamed Alcatel was the motivated. Such a the place “Fort Saint Louis,” most but at the same time an army of hercould Majesty was moving toward thein high factory expand its influence theNile Pacific andwhere put thethe Egyptian flag on Fachoda on September 18 three other players were historically 1898. well established in this region, which represents Big incident! a large of their market. They saw this Bothpart governments became hysterical! Both factory started as a risk for their existing facilities! parliaments speaking of a new war! In front of theSubOptic British determination the French finally gave up. ‘87 in Versailles came at the right time. TheIthistorian’s now made clear thatdiscovered the British the is where have the Australian teams had the big advantage of being able to communicate French model, close cooperation between with their people in thea field, thanks to their submarine Alcatel andthe FT, exactly what they to esnetwork, when French government was wanted completely in the dark. Fachoda has been a trigger in the tablish in their country. fact that the French have then developed their own My friend, things are changed since, but network. Around 1900 there was even a plan to one thing stays true: When you offer something, construct a cable from Dakar to Saigon through La the reader can see between the lines if you are Réunion! not genuinely motivated and sincere. Then Myor friend, this is all history. world, even though unperfected, looks yourThe offer becomes really attractive and this much better today. The world is a community of opens the route to “Botany Bay.” countries dealing with each other. The East Africa modern network will be Seewith younosoon. constructed other intention than the good development of the region. See you at SubOptic 07.
Jean Devos
Submarcom Consulting
Jean Devos
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