Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1697: New Situation in Diplomacy ([-])

"The rare peace in the past few years has brought great benefits to Granada's agricultural production." On June 1675, 6, on the outskirts of a town in the north of Cadiz, the Kingdom of Spain, the East Coast Plenipotentiary Envoy to Europe Li Qing was visiting a farm, looking at the lush orchards and fields around the farm, he sighed sincerely.

These orchards and fields are becoming less and less common in the southern part of Granada.Spain has a dry climate, and it is inherently more difficult to develop agriculture than other countries. However, if there are farmers who are good at management and develop well, it may not be possible to develop characteristic agriculture according to the situation.

For example, in the era when the Moors ruled southern Spain in history, they carried out large-scale transformation of the dry land in the south.To be honest, these prostitutes from arid areas are still very good at running water-saving irrigation agriculture, and they are still hardworking, transforming the originally less developed southern Spain to almost unrecognizable: Valencia The plain has been built into a model garden, and the irrigation technology is almost perfect; the water in Guadalavia is used extremely frugally and economically, and even once can meet the needs of sugarcane cultivation, not to mention oranges, olives and other common crops in the Mediterranean ; Andalusia, which was once extremely arid, has been transformed into a first-class pastoral area, which is fertile and productive, and olive plantations flourished; in Seville, even after the Spaniards occupied it and drove out the Moors twice, the oil crop The tithe collected reached 3.2 ducats (approximately 8 East Coast silver dollars) per year, and its output could fully meet the soap-making industry of the Moors at that time.

But the Castilians, the Catalans screwed it all up!Especially the former, after recovering Andalusia, Granada and other areas, they expelled more than 40 industrious Moors (not to mention killing and burning to death, there are many), but they couldn't do well It inherited the industrial and agricultural foundation laid by the Moors.The Spaniards who are only good at fighting and killing are not good at all, and the social atmosphere also despises this kind of behavior. They worship brave and good soldiers. Therefore, the foundation left by the Moors is not as good as each year. Only some Spanish farmers or nobles who are good at management can still maintain good agricultural facilities and output.

In this way, you can understand why Spain, a bird country, imports a lot of food every year!Moreover, they still import with real gold and silver, instead of exchanging a large amount of wool, livestock, olive oil, wine, cheese, flax, and salted fish as they did one or two centuries ago. It can be seen that the material production capacity of this country has been "steadily "Reduced", it can be regarded as a wonderful one.

The place where Li Qing is now is a farm bought by the Doria family in Spain. There are dozens of farmers from southern Italy living in it, helping to take care of the orchards and wheat fields.These people have basically married and settled in the local area and have become standard Spaniards. There is no legal obstacle to this, because Naples is also a territory under the rule of King Carlos.

Paul of the Doria family is now a person specially arranged by the family to contact the East Bank. This time, he has been instructed by the upper echelons of the family to invite Li Qing to visit the farm and discuss some business cooperation by the way.After hearing Li Qing lamenting the benefits that peace brought to Spain, she immediately understood the elegant meaning of the string song, and echoed: "Yes, years of peace have given this country a precious respite. Money no longer flows out at will. , the people live and work in peace and contentment, the only ones who are dissatisfied are probably some nobles and usury merchants who regard war as a romantic action."

"In recent years, the number of ships in Spain has increased a lot, and more and more people have immigrated to the New World to do business. In some northern cities, because of peace with France and Portugal, the wine and wool textile industries have recovered somewhat. Bilba E also has a whaling ship heading north again after many years, which is really not easy." Paul Doria said: "Of course, the burden on this country is still very heavy, the tax of the church, the annuity of the nobles (Spain has More than 60 aristocrats, more than four times that of France, most of them are military aristocrats, no land, but they also have to pay annuities) and the interest paid for excessive debts in previous years have made this country quite breathless Come on, but it’s much better than it was ten or twenty years ago, isn’t it?”

"But this time they made another serious mistake. They actually joined the war in a daze, and once again stood in a hostile position with the French. What does King Carlos think? Or, the regent Anna What are the queen mother and military commander Don Juan thinking? Are they all crazy? Why didn’t they consult the government of our country before signing the alliance treaty with the United Provinces?” Although it has been a long time, every time Li Qing thinks of this, Li Qing Still a little annoyed.Spain, a bird country, has such a big alliance with the United Provinces, Austria and other countries. It didn't ask for the opinions of the East Bank in advance. It just stepped into this huge pit again, which made Li Qing is slightly dissatisfied, what is this Spaniard thinking about?Haven't been beaten enough by the French?Why can't you live in peace?Anyway, it was difficult for Li Qing to understand the so-called great ambitions of the Spaniards.

Paul Doria naturally empathizes with the Spaniards for being so pitiful, because it brings a lot of uncertainty to their family that has invested a lot of resources in the south and north of Spain.What if the French army breaks through the main force of Spain and breaks into the hinterland of Spain?Do you still want to do business like that?

In addition, wealthy businessmen in northern Italy like the Doria family have always been extremely wary of the French, for fear that they would annex Spain or northern Italy, and their lives would be difficult.After all, in the current era, they are relatively free and have gained a lot of benefits as they move among various countries.However, if they are ruled by the political power Louis XIV, then they will become those big merchants in France who are blackmailed and exploited at will. No one wants to see such an end.

Therefore, after listening to Li Qing's words, he immediately said: "The United Provinces have forgiven a considerable part of their debts, many of which have tortured the Spaniards for 30 years, and the gold and silver brought back every year are only enough to repay the interests. The province is in a great crisis. Their government raised huge funds through public issuance of bonds, and then bought a lot of bonds, including those owed by the Kingdom of Spain. Use money to get other countries to stand on their side. Fighting is what the Dutch are best at. The Kingdom of Spain plunged into a bigger debt trap for the money. It is really hard to understand why. Even, I doubt that the decision was made this time. It was Queen Mother Anna alone, King Carlos and Prince Don Juan (this king was the illegitimate son of the former king, who had defeated the French army in the war, Philip IV urgently transferred him back to Madrid before his death, and recognized his prince's identity) has no say at all.”

Li Qing smiled and didn't make any comments.However, in his view, the Dutch side participating in the Franco-Dutch War was actually the collective will of the Royal Palace and the Privy Council of the Kingdom of Spain, not someone like the Queen Mother who could make decisions with one hand. Although King Carlos II was indeed a puppet, And Prince Don Juan has no right to speak.

In the final analysis, the Spaniards still haven't completely identified their own position and put themselves in the right position. They still fantasize that they are a big and powerful country in their hearts, and they are unwilling to develop agriculture, industry and commerce in a down-to-earth manner. Still a huge colony, it would be unwise to try to restore it to its former glory.

But the Spaniards insist on being stupid, and the East Coasters have nothing to say.It’s only been a few years since the Legacy War, and the Spaniards are rushing to give the French an excuse to seize the Southern Netherlands. To deal with this kind of idiot, it’s true that no matter how much you help, it’s time for the people on the east coast to think about it. Yes, how to deal with the aftermath of the Spaniards and see if they can gain enough benefits in this war is the serious matter.

Therefore, after talking about the strategy of the Kingdom of Spain with Paul Doria, they tacitly stopped this topic and turned to talking about commercial affairs in the Western Mediterranean.According to the plan of the people on the east coast, the Mediterranean Sea is a business circle that needs to be focused on. Among them, the market in the West Mediterranean Sea is mainly entrusted to Genoese merchants to take advantage of their ready-made sales network and bank settlement system.This market roughly includes southern France, Spain, southern Italy, and the Moroccan market that is currently being developed by the Genoese.

In the Eastern Mediterranean, the people on the east coast have decided to be represented by Venetian merchants. They also take advantage of their deep local connections and influence, mainly including the fertile areas in central and northern Italy, Austria and parts of Ottomans. Although the size and market capacity It seems a bit inferior to the Western Mediterranean, but it is quite large, and the growth potential seems to be quite large. Once the Venetian straightens out many relationships in the future, there may not be no possibility of further progress.

As for most of the Ottoman region and the markets around the Black Sea, they are either self-operated on the east coast or handed over to local agents. There is nothing wrong with these two, except that they have to buy from the Crimean Khanate every year. And Ottoman Egypt imported a large amount of agricultural products such as wheat and rye.

Basically, such a division can justly allow the Italians who have been in the Mediterranean business circle for hundreds of years to exert their subjective initiative, continuously expand and consolidate the existing market, and at the same time allow the people on the east coast to retain a huge market. At the same time, the market of a country with a large population has maintained its considerable influence through commercial and trade connections, and has played an inestimable role in the country's grand strategy.

The Genoese came to Li Qing this time mainly because they wanted to ask the east bank for assistance in developing the market in the Kingdom of Morocco.After carefully listening to the Genoese's request, Li Qing readily agreed, expressing that she would definitely assist with all her strength.After all, it is not easy for the Genoese to "run sales" outside, and it is only right for such "manufacturers" on the east coast to provide help, isn't it just sending some warships from the Cape Verde Islands to join the Genoese " How easy it is to visit Morocco!

After talking about these business matters, Li Qing lived in the farm for a few more days, and went hunting in the suburbs with the young people of the Doria family. Returned to the port of Cadiz under escort.At this time, a merchant ship sailing from London brought him an unexpected guest, the Marquis of Montespan of the Kingdom of France.

The Marquis of Montespan is really proud now. His wife Francesus has become the mistress of Louis XIV. It was not a good thing to be greened, but because Louis XIV gave him several fat positions, so of course he He easily chose to forgive his wife (of course he is divorced now, and the certificate was signed by Louis XIV himself).The last time he was in the United Provinces, he had tentative contact with people from the east coast. This time, because of the protracted French-Dutch war, he was sent out by Louis XIV and chased all the way to Cadiz Port ( In view of the hostile relationship between Spain and France, he can only come to Spain with the help of ships from England, a neutral country in the war), in order to test the current attitude of the East Coast Republic.

As we all know, because of the "good deeds" done by the East Coast mercenaries in The Hague, the relationship between the East Coast and the United Provinces has plummeted. Many people are familiar with it. The French who have been paying close attention to the development of the situation are no exception.No, because there are more and more enemies - the United Provinces, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia, Austria, etc. add up to hundreds of thousands of troops, and their allies Münster and the Bishop of Cologne announced their withdrawal from the war one after another. Sweden was also dragged in the Baltic Sea - the financial resources were getting more and more exhausted, and Louis XIV, who was a little anxious, even thought of the people on the east coast!This time, the Marquis of Montespan secretly came to Cadiz to meet with Li Qing, just to see if there was any possibility of an alliance between the two countries.

After Li Qing understood the intention of the other party's visit, she was a little stunned at first, and then relieved. In fact, this is very normal. The two countries have a falling out today, make up tomorrow, form an alliance the day after tomorrow, and then go to war the day after tomorrow. Europeans have long been accustomed to it. .Louis XIV saw that the relationship between the East Bank and the United Provinces was very tense, so it was not uncommon for Louis XIV to send people to make tentative contacts to win them over.

Li Qing is very interested in improving relations with the Kingdom of France and strengthening commercial ties, but she expresses lack of quality in forming a military alliance because the east coast is not yet ready for war.The Marquis of Montespan was naturally disappointed by this, but he was also mentally prepared before coming, so he didn't seem particularly frustrated. He just kept asking Li Qing to think about it, and don't rush to give an answer. After a while, he might Will come again, when the two sides can completely talk again.

The attitude of the French, Li Qing is really a little speechless, and at the same time a little dark, the feeling of watching the fire from the other side is really cool. This is probably how the US emperors felt during World War I and World War II...

(End of this chapter)