69-739: The Cairo–Cape Town Highway is Trans-African Highway 4 in the transcontinental road network being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the African Union . The route has a length of 10,228 km (6,355 mi) and links Cairo in Egypt to Cape Town in South Africa. The British Empire had long proposed
138-562: A certain humour. Kitchener toasted Marchand with whisky, the drinking of which the French officer described as "one of the greatest sacrifices I ever made for my country". Kitchener inspected a French garden commenting "Flowers at Fashoda. Oh these Frenchmen!" More seriously the British distributed French newspapers detailing the political chaos caused by the Dreyfus affair , warning that France
207-530: A collapsible steel steamboat with a one-ton boiler ) through jungle and scrub to the deserts of Sudan. They travelled across Sudan to the Nile. They were to be met there by two expeditions coming from the east across Ethiopia , one of which, from Djibouti , was led by Christian de Bonchamps , veteran of the Stairs Expedition to Katanga . Following a difficult 14-month trek across the heart of Africa,
276-677: A column of 5,000 Congolese troops , with artillery, towards the White Nile from Stanleyville on the Upper Congo River. After five months they reached Lake Albert , about 800 kilometres (500 mi) from Fashoda. The soldiers were upset at their treatment and mutinied on 18 March 1897. Many of the Belgian officers were killed and the rest fled. France made its move by sending Captain Jean-Baptiste Marchand ,
345-494: A high national priority as opposed to a regional or transcontinental priority. As a result of missing links, of the five major regions— North , West , Central , East , and Southern Africa —road travel in all weather is only relatively easy between East and Southern Africa, and that relies on a single paved road through southwestern Tanzania (the Tanzam Highway ). While North Africa and West Africa are linked across
414-680: A natural ally. Shortly before his death he had persuaded the German Kaiser to allow access through his colony for the Cape to Cairo telegraph line (which was built as far north as Ujiji but never completed). In 1918 German East Africa became the Tanganyika Territory administered by the United Kingdom and the gap was thus filled. France had a rival strategy in the late 1890s to link its colonies from west to east across
483-619: A paved road on the west side of the Nile, Dongola to Abu Simbel Junction to Aswan . Tarred highways continue the route to Cairo. Trans-African Highway The Trans-African Highway network comprises transcontinental road projects in Africa being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (ADB), and the African Union in conjunction with regional international communities. They aim to promote trade and alleviate poverty in Africa through highway infrastructure development and
552-583: A problem. There are numerous missing links in the network where tracks are impassable after rain or hazardous due to rocks, sand, and sandstorms. In a few cases, there has never been a road of any sort, such as the 200 km gap between Salo in the Central African Republic and Ouésso in the Republic of the Congo on highway 3. The missing links arise mainly because the section does not have
621-437: A proposed railway or road, see Cape to Cairo Railway ) through Africa was made famous by the British diamond magnate and politician Cecil Rhodes , who wanted Africa "painted Red" (meaning under British control, since territories which were part of Britain were often coloured red on maps). If one draws a line from Cape Town to Cairo (Rhodes's dream) and another line from Dakar to French Somaliland (now Djibouti ) by
690-631: A road through the Cape to Cairo Red Line of British colonies. The road was variously known as the Cape to Cairo Road , Pan-African Highway , or, in sub-Saharan Africa , the Great North Road . Like the Cape to Cairo Railway , the road was not completed before the end of British colonial rule. In the 1980s, a modified version of the plan was revived as part of the Trans-African Highway, a transcontinental road network developed by
759-516: A teacher named Dyé, doctor Jules Emily Major, Warrant Officer De Prat, Sergeant George Dat, Sergeant Bernard, Sergeant Venail and the military interpreter Landerouin. Marchand's force set out from Brazzaville in a borrowed Belgian steamer with orders to secure the area around Fashoda and make it a French protectorate. They steamed up the Ubangi River to its head of navigation and then marched overland (carrying 100 tons of supplies, including
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#1732791766543828-771: A veteran of the conquest of French Sudan , back to West Africa. He embarked a force composed mostly of West African colonial troops from Senegal on a ship for central Africa. On 20 June 1896, he reached Libreville in the colony of Gabon with a force of only 120 tirailleurs plus 12 French officers, non-commissioned officers and support staff—Captain Marcel Joseph Germain, Captain Albert Baratier, Captain Charles Mangin , Captain Victor Emmanuel Largeau, Lieutenant Félix Fouqué,
897-469: A war with the British, especially since he was keen to gain their friendship in case of any future conflict with Germany. He therefore pressed hard for a peaceful resolution of the crisis although it encouraged a tide of nationalism and anglophobia . In an editorial published in L'Intransigeant on 13 October Victor Henri Rochefort wrote, "Germany keeps slapping us in the face. Let's not offer our cheek to England." As Professor P. H. Bell writes, Between
966-437: A way of protecting internal trade, as a weapon in border disputes, and to increase the opportunities for official corruption. The development of trans-African highways and associated road infrastructure is aimed at combating poverty in Africa by increasing interstate and domestic trade, revitalizing small and medium-sized businesses, reducing prices for goods and improving living conditions. Thanks to highways, Africa's population
1035-753: Is completely paved, first going south from the Ramatlabama Border through Mahikeng to Warrenton as the N18 route , then from Warrenton through Kimberley to Beaufort West as the N12 route , then from Beaufort West to Cape Town as the N1 route . At Cape Town, it meets the southern terminus of the Tripoli–Cape Town Highway , where it ends. The proposed route by the British Empire was known as
1104-597: Is considered by most historians to be the precursor of the Entente Cordiale of 1904. The same year, Fashoda was officially renamed Kodok . It is located in modern-day South Sudan . A French colonial officer George de Villebois-Mareuil saw the Anglo-Boer War as a chance to avenge the French humiliation at Fashoda - he was however killed at the Battle of Boshof . The two main individuals involved in
1173-444: Is finally being served by ambulances , police , fire protection , rescue , repair and construction services. The agencies developing the highway network are influenced by the idea that road infrastructure stimulates trade and so alleviates poverty, as well as benefiting health and education since they allow medical and educational services to be distributed to previously inaccessible areas. On 1 July 1971 Robert K. A. Gardiner ,
1242-688: Is usually termed the Scramble for Africa by modern historiography. The principal powers involved in this scramble were Britain, France, Germany , Belgium , Italy , Portugal , and Spain . The French thrust into the African interior was mainly from the continent's Atlantic coast (modern-day Senegal ) eastward, through the Sahel along the southern border of the Sahara , a territory covering modern-day Senegal, Mali , Niger , and Chad . Their ultimate goal
1311-658: The A1 road (R3 road) to Chirundu Border Post on the Zambezi River thereafter, continuing as the T2 road in Zambia to Lusaka . From Lusaka, Zambia's Great North Road continues the route to Tanzania as the T2 road . This route from Lusaka to Taznania is also known as the Tanzam Highway . In Tanzania there are a number of roads could be deemed to be part of the route; the clear definitions and markings that are characteristic of
1380-555: The A8 road , then shifting south-west as the A7 road , crossing the border with Botswana after Plumtree ( Ramokgwebana River ), to the city of Francistown . The road section through Botswana is paved, going from the border with Zimbabwe as one road (the A1 road ) through Francistown, Palapye , Gaborone and Lobatse to the Ramatlabama border with South Africa. In South Africa, the road
1449-718: The Cape to Cairo Road or the Pan-African Highway . In sub-Saharan Africa, it was also known as the Great North Road . The Cairo–Cape Town Highway follows much of the route that makes up the proposed Cape to Cairo Road but it has a few differences. Firstly, the Cairo–Cape Town Highway passes through Addis Ababa , Ethiopia while the Cape-to-Cairo Road goes directly through South Sudan from Kenya when heading northwards. Secondly, in Tanzania ,
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#17327917665431518-665: The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola are all in rebuilding phases after war. Wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo set back road infrastructure in that country by decades and cut the principal route between East and West Africa. In recent years, security considerations have restricted road travel in the southern parts of Morocco , Algeria , Libya and Egypt as well as in northern Chad and much of Sudan . Trans-African highways can only develop in times of peace and stability, and in 2007
1587-649: The Dreyfus affair in January the following year had done much to distract French public opinion from events in Sudan and people increasingly questioned the wisdom of a war over such a remote part of Africa. Nevertheless it put paid to French ambitions of an equatorial empire stretching from the West coast to the East. Britain meanwhile relished in the success, and although wary of French retaliation her coercive policy had resolved
1656-648: The Fashoda Crisis ( French : Crise de Fachoda ), was the climax of imperialist territorial disputes between Britain and France in East Africa , occurring between 10 July to 3 November 1898. A French expedition to Fashoda on the White Nile sought to gain control of the Upper Nile river basin and thereby exclude Britain from Sudan . The French party and a British-Egyptian force (outnumbering
1725-694: The Kafue River Bridge, where it becomes the south-westerly Lusaka–Livingstone Road , through Mazabuka and Choma to Livingstone and the Victoria Falls , where the road crosses the Zambezi River and enters Zimbabwe. The section from Kapiri Mposhi to the Kafue Bridge is shared with the Beira-Lobito Highway . The road section through Zimbabwe is paved, firstly going south-east from Victoria Falls to Bulawayo as
1794-592: The Mombasa – Nairobi – Kampala – Fort Portal section (or the Kampala– Kigali feeder road) of Trans-African Highway 8 is sometimes referred to as the "Trans-Africa Highway". Colonial powers and, later, competing superpowers and regional powers , generally did not encourage road links between their respective spheres except where absolutely necessary (i.e. trade), and in newly independent African states, border restrictions were often tightened rather than relaxed as
1863-469: The Sahara , the main deficiency of the network is that there are no paved highways across Central Africa. Not only does this prevent road trade between East and West Africa, or between West and Southern Africa, but it restricts trade within Central Africa. Although there may be paved links from West, East, or Southern Africa to the fringes of Central Africa, those links do not penetrate very far into
1932-547: The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (ADB), and the African Union , named the Cairo-Cape Town Highway. While it uses most of the same roads as the original Cape to Cairo Road, it uses different routes in a few places. The original proposal for a North South Red Line route was made in 1874 by Edwin Arnold , then the editor of The Daily Telegraph , which
2001-407: The continental African nations except Burundi , Eritrea , Eswatini , Somalia , Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni), Lesotho , Malawi , Rwanda and South Sudan . Of these, Rwanda , Malawi , Lesotho and Eswatini have paved highways connecting to the network, and the network reaches almost to the border of the others. More than half of the network has been paved, though maintenance remains
2070-462: The parti colonial , had come to regret France's decision not to join with Britain in occupying the country. They hoped to force Britain to leave, and thought that a colonial outpost on the Upper Nile could serve as a base for French gunboats. These in turn were expected to make the British abandon Egypt. Another proposed scheme involved a massive dam, cutting off the Nile's water supply and forcing
2139-454: The British colonies of the time, such as the Union of South Africa , Southern and Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland , Kenya , Sudan and Egypt . The road would create cohesion between the British colonies of Africa, it was thought, and give Britain dominant political and economic influence over the continent, securing its position as a global colonial power. The road would also link some of
Cairo–Cape Town Highway - Misplaced Pages Continue
2208-649: The British out. These ideas were highly impractical, but they succeeded in alarming many British officials. Other European nations were also interested in controlling the upper Nile valley. The Italians who had an outpost at Massawa on the Red Sea, made an attempt but their defeat at the Battle of Adwa in March 1896 ended it. In September 1896, King Leopold II , the Sovereign of the Congo Free State , sent
2277-411: The Cairo–Cape Town Highway passes as the shortcut through Dodoma and Babati (The T5 ) when travelling from Iringa to Arusha and not as the longer route through Chalinze. Thirdly, the Cairo–Cape Town Highway passes through Livingstone ( Victoria Falls ), Bulawayo , Francistown and Gaborone and not through Harare , Pretoria and Johannesburg . Starting from the south, the first section of
2346-798: The Egypt-Sudan border are now accessible by road through the Qastal-Ashkeet border post. Between Wad Madani in Sudan and Wereta in Ethiopia, the route is shared with the Ndjamena-Djibouti Highway . The Ethiopian section is all tarmac road, although much of the Ethiopian section passes through mountainous terrain and parts of the road may be hazardous as a result. In northern Kenya the section has been hazardous due to
2415-533: The Egyptian army in 1855 in a boggy area and was situated at one of the only places where a boat could unload. The area was inhabited by the Shilluk people , and by the mid-1870s, Fashoda was a market town. Wilhelm Junker , one of the first Europeans to arrive in the region described the town in 1876 as "a considerable trading place ... the last outpost of civilization, where travelers plunging into or returning from
2484-520: The Ethiopian border through the northern Kenyan desert has sometimes been dangerous due to bandits, but is now paved . Through Ethiopia the route is tarred but some sections may have deteriorated severely. A paved road from Lake Tana to Gedaref takes the route into Sudan. The most difficult section in the whole Cape to Cairo journey was across the Nubian Desert in northern Sudan between Atbara and Wadi Halfa , but this has been bypassed by
2553-566: The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), established the Trans-African Highway Bureau to oversee the development of a continental road network. As well as preventing progress in road construction, wars and conflicts have led to the destruction of roads and river crossings, have prevented maintenance and have often closed vital links. Sierra Leone , Liberia ,
2622-747: The French by 10 to 1) met on friendly terms. However, in Europe, it became a war scare. Both empires stood on the verge of war with heated rhetoric on both sides. Under heavy pressure, the French withdrew, ensuring Anglo-Egyptian control over the area. During the late-19th century, Africa was rapidly being claimed and colonised by European colonial powers. After the 1885 Berlin Conference regarding West Africa , Europe's great powers went after any remaining lands in Africa that were not already under another European nation's influence. This period in African history
2691-498: The French flag. In naval terms, the situation was heavily in Britain's favour, a fact that French deputies acknowledged in the aftermath of the crisis. Several historians have given credit to Marchand for remaining calm. The military facts were undoubtedly important to Théophile Delcassé , the newly appointed French foreign minister. "They have soldiers. We only have arguments," he said resignedly. In addition, he saw no advantage in
2760-700: The Marchand Expedition arrived on 10 July 1898, but the de Bonchamps Expedition failed to make it after being ordered by the Ethiopians to halt, and then suffering accidents in the Baro Gorge. Marchand's small force found itself alone, hundreds of miles from any support. The British, meanwhile, were engaged in the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan , moving upriver from Egypt. On 18 September a flotilla of five British gunboats arrived at
2829-726: The Pan-African Highway do not apply here. Most would consider it to be the road from Tunduma on the Tanzania-Zambia border, through Iringa and Morogoro to the Arusha turnoff at Chalinze, and north to Arusha (although there is now a shorter route from Iringa to Arusha through Dodoma and Babati ), then to Nairobi in Kenya . This route is now all paved. There was a marker in the 1930s in Arusha, Tanzania, to indicate
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2898-408: The Red Sea in the Horn (the French ambition), these two lines intersect in eastern South Sudan near the town of Fashoda (present-day Kodok ), explaining its strategic importance. The French east–west axis and the British north–south axis could not co-exist; the nation that could occupy and hold the crossing of the two axes would be the only one able to proceed with its plan. Fashoda was founded by
2967-478: The activities of armed bandits. The road has been dubbed "Hell's Road" by overland travellers, but it is completely paved. In Nairobi, the Cairo-Cape Town Highway intersects with the Lagos–Mombasa Highway . The road section from Arusha through Babati and Dodoma to Iringa in central Tanzania (the T5 road ) has been completely paved, and passable throughout most of the year. Between Iringa in Tanzania and Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia via Tunduma & Mpika ,
3036-422: The commander of the Anglo-Egyptian army that had just defeated the forces of the Mahdi at the Battle of Omdurman , Kitchener was in the process of reconquering the Sudan in the name of the Egyptian Khedive , and after the battle he opened sealed orders to investigate the French expedition. Kitchener landed at Fashoda wearing an Egyptian Army uniform and insisted in raising the Egyptian flag at some distance from
3105-501: The continent, Senegal to Djibouti . Sudan and Ethiopia were in the way, but France sent expeditions in 1897 to establish a protectorate in southern Sudan and to find a route across Ethiopia. The scheme foundered when a British flotilla on the Nile confronted the French expedition at the point of intersection between the French and British routes, leading to the Fashoda Incident and eventual diplomatic defeat for France. Even though Egypt became independent in 1922, British influence
3174-455: The continent. The British, on the other hand, wanted to link their possessions in Southern Africa ( South Africa , Bechuanaland and Rhodesia ), with their territories in East Africa (modern-day Kenya ), and these two areas with the Nile basin. Sudan , which then included modern-day South Sudan and Uganda , was the key to the fulfilment of these ambitions, especially since Egypt was already under British control. This 'red line' (i.e.
3243-469: The crisis. The French also realized that in the long run they needed the friendship of Britain in case of a war between France and Germany. In March 1899, the Anglo-French Convention of 1898 was signed and it was agreed that the source of the Nile and the Congo rivers should mark the frontier between their spheres of influence . The Fashoda Incident was the last serious colonial dispute between Britain and France, and its classic diplomatic solution
3312-402: The east–west direction (highways 6, 8, and 9) while one will cross north to south (highway 3). As of 2014, all have substantial missing links in Central Africa. Nine highways have been designated, in a rough grid of six mainly east–west routes and three mainly north–south routes. A fourth north–south route is formed from the extremities of two east–west routes. Starting with the most northerly,
3381-450: The east–west routes are: Starting with the most westerly, these are: As noted above, TAH 1 and TAH 7 join to form an additional north–south route around the western extremity of the continent between Monrovia and Rabat. Regional international communities are heavily involved in trans-African highway development and work in conjunction with the ADB and UNECA. For example: Fashoda Incident The Fashoda Incident , also known as
3450-435: The future looks brighter, with the southern Sudan conflict being the only one currently affecting development of the network (highway 6). Lawlessness rather than war hampers progress in developing highway 3 between Libya and Chad, and though economic instability could affect maintenance of paved highways 4 and 9 though Zimbabwe , there are practical alternatives through neighbouring countries. Conflicts in Somalia do not affect
3519-423: The highway uses an important regional route, the Tanzam Highway (linking East Africa to Southern Africa ). The Tanzanian section is designated as the T1 road while the Zambian section is called the Great North Road ( T2 road ). From Kapiri Mposhi, the road is completely paved, mostly in good condition and continues southwards as the T2 road (still called Great North Road ), through Kabwe and Lusaka to
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#17327917665433588-430: The incident are commemorated in the Pont Kitchener-Marchand, a 116-metre (381 ft) road bridge over the Saône , completed in 1959 in the French city of Lyon . The incident gave rise to the ' Fashoda syndrome ' in French foreign policy, or seeking to assert French influence in areas which might be becoming susceptible to British influence. As such it was used as a comparison to other later crises or conflicts such as
3657-492: The isolated Fashoda fort. They carried 1,500 British, Egyptian and Sudanese soldiers, led by Sir Herbert Kitchener and including Lieutenant-Colonel Horace Smith-Dorrien . Marchand had received incorrect reports that the approaching force consisted of Dervishes ; he found himself facing a diplomatic rather than a military crisis. Both sides insisted on their right to Fashoda but agreed to wait for further instructions from home. The two commanders behaved with restraint and even
3726-494: The management of road-based trade corridors . The total length of the nine highways in the network is 56,683 km (35,221 mi). In some documents the highways are referred to as "Trans-African Corridors" or "Road Corridors" rather than highways. The name Trans-African Highway and its variants are not in wide common usage outside of planning and development circles, and as of 2014 one does not see them signposted as such or labelled on maps, except in Kenya and Uganda where
3795-436: The midpoint of the road. Kenya has a tarred highway to its border with Sudan but the roads in southern Sudan are very poor and made frequently impassable, so that even without the conflicts that have afflicted Sudan, the route through Ethiopia is generally preferred by overland travellers. Also, the border between Sudan and South Sudan was closed in 2011, but was reopened in 2022. The route from Isiolo in Kenya to Moyale on
3864-479: The most important cities of Africa, including Cape Town , Johannesburg , Pretoria , Salisbury , Lusaka , Nairobi , Khartoum and Cairo . The main street through the centre of Lusaka was part of this route and is how it got its name, Cairo Road . One of the main proponents of the route was Cecil John Rhodes , though his preference was for a railway . German East Africa was a gap in the British territories, but Rhodes, in particular, felt that Germany ought to be
3933-440: The network as that is the largest African country with no trans-African highways, but they will affect the development of feeder roads to the network. Using existing national highways as much as possible, the aim of the development agencies is to identify priorities in relation to trade, to plan the highways, and to seek financing for the construction of missing links and bridges, the paving of sections of earth and gravel roads, and
4002-519: The region. The terrain, rainforest, and climate of Central Africa, particularly in the catchments of the lower and middle Congo River and the Ubangui , Sangha , and Sanaga Rivers , present formidable obstacles to highway engineers, and paved roads there have short lifespans. Further north in Cameroon and Chad , hilly terrain or plains prone to flooding have restricted the development of local paved road networks. Through this forbidding environment, three Trans-African Highways are planned to cross in
4071-550: The rehabilitation of deteriorated paved sections. The need to reduce delays caused by highway checkpoints and border controls or to ease travel restrictions has also been identified, but so far solutions have not been forthcoming. Rather than just having international highways over which each country maintains its regulations and practices, there is a need for transnational highways over which regulations and practices are simplified, unified and implemented without causing delays to goods and travellers. The network as planned reaches all
4140-423: The relatively quick journey by steamer down the Nile. Fashoda was a major diplomatic defeat and a national humiliation for France. According to French nationalists , the capitulation was clear evidence that the army had been severely weakened by the traitors who supported Dreyfus . It also inspired intense anti-British sentiment, and some voiced that England might be preparing to attack France. The reopening of
4209-435: The road that runs through South Africa is called the N1 , linking Cape Town in the south with Beit Bridge on the Limpopo River between South Africa and Zimbabwe . It passes through Johannesburg and Pretoria . There are numerous alternative routes in South Africa. In Zimbabwe, the road continues from Beit Bridge as the Chirundu-Beitbridge Regional Road Corridor , which consists of the A4 road (R1 road) to Harare and
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#17327917665434278-454: The two governments there was a brief battle of wills, with the British insisting on immediate and unconditional French withdrawal from Fashoda. The French had to accept these terms, amounting to a public humiliation. The French government quietly ordered its soldiers to withdraw on 3 November and the crisis ended peacefully. Marchand chose to withdraw his small force by way of Abyssinia and Djibouti, rather than cross Egyptian territory by taking
4347-422: The wilds of equatorial Africa could procure a few indispensable European wares from the local Greek traders." When Jean-Baptiste Marchand came to the town in 1898, he found the fort deserted and in ruins. Fashoda was also bound up in the Egyptian Question, a long-running dispute between the United Kingdom and France over the British occupation of Egypt . Since 1882 many French politicians, particularly those of
4416-411: Was in no condition to provide serious support for Marchand and his party. News of the meeting was relayed to Paris and London , where it inflamed the pride of both nations. Widespread popular outrage followed, each side accusing the other of naked expansionism and aggression. The crisis continued throughout September and October 1898. The Royal Navy drafted war orders and mobilized its reserves. As
4485-405: Was joint sponsor of the expedition by Henry Morton Stanley to Africa to discover the course of the Congo River . The proposed route involved a mixture of railway and river transport between Elizabethville in the Belgian Congo and Sennar in the Sudan rather than a full length rail line. In comparison, the Red Line road would stretch across the continent from south to north, running through
4554-416: Was killed by a leopard in Rhodesia. The first successful journey was the Court Treatt expedition of 1924 led by Major Chaplin Court Treatt and described by his wife Stella Court Treatt in Cape to Cairo (1927), which drove two Crossley light trucks leaving Cape Town on 23 September 1924 and arriving in Cairo on 24 January 1926. The plan was revived in the 1980s. At the time the Republic of South Africa
4623-464: Was not included in the planned route but this changed with the end of the Apartheid . A consultants' report suggested Pretoria as end, but as a major port, Cape Town is regarded as the southern end of regional highways in Southern African Development Community countries. The highway may be referred to in documents as the Cairo–Gaborone Highway or Cairo–Pretoria Highway . The stretch of highway between Dongola and Wadi Halfa in Northern Sudan and
4692-443: Was still strong enough for Cairo to be viewed as part of the British sphere of interest, and the idea of a road remained alive. After the Second World War , the British Empire disintegrated; Sudan was the next to become independent in 1956, putting an end to the colonial motivation of the dream. The first known attempt to drive a vehicle from Cape Town to Cairo was by a Captain Kelsey in 1913-14 but this came to an untimely end when he
4761-402: Was to have an uninterrupted link between the Niger River and the Nile , hence controlling all trade to and from the Sahel region, by virtue of their existing control over the caravan routes through the Sahara. France also had an outpost near the mouth of the Red Sea in French Somaliland (now Djibouti ), which could serve as an eastern anchor to an east–west belt of French territory across
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