Colonial propaganda promised African wealth directly tied to railway construction.

Evidence

The colonial lobby was responsible for promoting the notion that the West African colonies were an imperial treasure-house, waiting to yield its bounty in direct proportion to the kilometers of railway laid across the great African expanses. This propaganda created unrealistic expectations from the outset about the ease with which the African interior could be rationally exploited. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 992

Categorization

• SEED: An article angle: how infrastructure propaganda creates systematic policy expectations that reality cannot meet — railway miles as proxy for imperial success.