East Afrios ] IV. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS EAST AFRICA PROTECTORATE AND UGANDA (A) MEANS OF COMMUNICATION ( 1 ) INTERNAL (a) Roads and Paths In the Arab trading days of last century certain clearly defined routes led from the ports of Eastern Africa into the heart of the continent, and were usually followed by the Arab and Swahili expeditions in quest of slaves and ivory . Such caravan routes were never more than mere tracks, sufficient for the passage of porters and traders marching in single file. One of them led north -west from Mombasa, and pointed the way for the railway which has superseded it. In the central and northern portions of the East Africa Pro tectorate the trade routes are still for the most part caravan tracks , but roads are now being pushed out to connect the chief Government stations. Further south the tendency is to throw out new roads from the rail way into the districts which are being settled and developed. As traffic increases, the necessity arises to give the roada metalled surface ; eventually thegrowing trade of a particular district warrants the construction of a branch railway. Further from the railway the roads are sometimes engineered and surfaced , but are generally of the nature of paths and tracks . Of roads 1 For the sake of convenience, the economic conditions of the two contiguous mainland Protectorates are discussed together, while the Zanzibar Protectorate receives separate treatment.

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