Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 111 Barcelona Industrial Zone

Since industrial and financial assistance were obtained from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the next thing to happen was predictable, which was to rely on this assistance to build a larger industrial zone.

The Seville Industrial Zone in the Andalusia region was planned earlier, but it now seems that the geographical location is not as good as imagined.

The most important thing is that Seville is located in the southernmost part of Spain, and it takes longer to transport industrial products here to northern Spain.

According to the government’s industrial zone construction plan, it is necessary to build another industrial zone in the north to achieve the goal of echoing Seville in the north and south.

The reason why we chose Barcelona is that it is an industrial city. Although the scale of industry is not large, the advantage is that it is close to the sea, which makes the transportation of industrial materials more convenient.

In addition, there is another major reason why the industrial base was chosen in Barcelona, ​​and that is the government's control over Catalonia.

After the industrial base is established, a large number of industrial jobs will be created. Some of these industrial jobs will be provided to Catalans, but the requirement is that they must be proficient in Spanish.

Another part of the jobs will attract some Spaniards to come to Catalonia, which will be used to reduce the proportion of Catalans in Catalonia.

Although the majority of Catalonia's population is Catalan, the overall size of the Catalan population is not high either.

By diluting the proportion of Catalans in Catalonia, the goal of stabilizing Catalonia can also be achieved.

After all, not all ethnic groups want to seek more autonomy or even independence like Catalonia. There are still many ethnic groups that are willing to obey Spanish rule and support this country.

Moreover, the Catalans are not monolithic. Most of the Catalans, led by Prime Minister Primo, do not have the idea of ​​independence. They quite agree with the concept of Spain and firmly believe that they are Spanish.

The Catalan region can be stabilized by influencing and assimilating the Catalans and diluting the proportion of Catalans.

Catalonia is still very important to Spain. Only when this region is stable can the Spanish government form a line of defense through the Pyrenees to resist attacks from the European continent.

The industrial zone is located in the suburbs north of Barcelona. The investment in the construction of the first phase of the industrial base exceeded 1500 million pesetas.

After the completion of the first phase of the industrial base, it is expected to provide at least 2 jobs in Catalonia and increase Spain's steel production by 1 tons and 10 tons respectively.

The steel production of 1 tons is naturally very small compared to later generations, and even compared to the First World War, it is just a drop in the bucket.

But the problem is that it is 1870, when steelmaking technology is not very advanced. Although the steel production of various countries is not very specific, the annual steel production of the British Empire, the most powerful industrial country, is only a little over 30 tons.

The United States, which is often considered an industrial power, produced only about 25 tons of steel last year. The newly unified superpower Germany, the entire German Empire, produced only tons of steel.

Under such circumstances, the first phase of industrial construction of a Barcelona industrial base can provide at least 1 tons of steel production and 10 tons of pig iron production, which is already a very good level.

The construction of the first phase alone will take at least two years, and it may take another three years before it can be put into production.

And this was with the assistance of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If Spain had developed its industrial base on its own, it would have taken twice as long to complete the construction.

After all, the most difficult thing now is not the construction of industrial bases, but the steelmaking technology of various countries. Without relatively advanced steelmaking technology, even if a large industrial base is built, the backward technology will result in the production of steel not only in small scale but also in poor quality.

Carlo also attached great importance to the construction of Barcelona's industrial base. Although the scale of the industrial base is generally small, it is a significant improvement for Spain.

By the time the industrial base was completed three years later, Spain's industry had been strengthened to a certain extent, at least ranking among the great powers.

Even if the subsequent construction goes smoothly, Spain's industrial scale can catch up with Italy and Russia.

Southern Italy is not very suitable for industrial development, and Russia, due to its late start and chaotic domestic economy, did not gradually increase its industrial scale until the end of the century.

Tsarist Russia's steel production remained below 1878 tons before , which was a bit too low compared with other powers.

During the same period, steel production in Britain, France and Germany had increased to hundreds of thousands of tons, with France, which had the lowest steel production, remaining at around 30 tons.

But the country with the most rapid growth is actually the United States, which is far away from the European continent. The current steel production of the United States is only about 30 tons, but in ten years, the steel production will increase to more than one million tons. Such a growth rate is simply exaggerated. And years later, the steel production of the United States has exceeded million tons, and it is also the first among all the powerful countries to exceed million tons of steel production.

There is a particularly important reason for the explosive growth in steel production in various countries, and that is the improvement in steelmaking level, which is why Carlo pays great attention to the construction of industrial bases.

It is not too late to develop industry now, and even some countries are still in the initial stage of industrial construction. Carlo does not require Spain's industry to achieve amazing results in a short period of time, as long as it can achieve stable growth in a steady and solid manner and lay a good foundation.

Spain's colonial history in Latin American countries can help it to build closer ties with these countries and, through economic alliances, allow these countries to open their markets and dump Spanish industrial products.

Coupled with Spain's plans to expand colonies in Africa and cooperate with neighboring countries like Portugal, there will be no shortage of markets in the future.

As long as we do not develop industry blindly, do not pursue the overall scale of industry, and proceed steadily, a serious economic crisis will not break out.

The economic crisis in the United States was caused by the blind growth of American industry. It took only 20 to 30 years for the industry to grow from hundreds of thousands of tons to tens of millions of tons, which plunged the United States into the vortex of economic crisis.

As long as Spain's industry maintains steady and stable development, even if it is affected by the economic crisis in other countries, only the import and export trade will be affected.

Along with the construction of the industrial base, one thing must be put on the agenda, and that is the rectification of the banking industry.

In addition to the Royal United Bank founded by Carlo, Spain also has other banks.

But these banks were either small private banks established by aristocrats or capitalists, or semi-official banks established by local governments.

But no matter what kind of bank it is, the government lacks control over these banks, which has led to the corruption of some banking systems.

The reason why Carlo's Royal United Bank was popular among the people was not only because of the good impression and support Carlo had previously established, but also because Carlo personally promised that he would never let the Royal United Bank go bankrupt and would protect the savings of all depositors in the bank.

The king’s promise is still very useful in this era. Unless the king doesn’t want to do it anymore, he still has to fulfill his promise.

The reason for reorganizing the banking industry is to prepare for the future industrial development of Spain. Industrial development certainly cannot rely solely on the royal family's property, but also requires a large number of private enterprises and factories.

Carlo's plan is to rectify the banking industry and raise sufficient funds to support the development of private enterprises.

Spain is a small country, so it certainly doesn't need so many banks. In addition to the Royal United Bank of the royal family, the Spanish government will also establish a national bank.

With the addition of several large banks after integration, the needs of Spanish banks are basically met. Citizens can freely choose which bank to store their money in, and competition between banks will lead to development.

By integrating these banks, the royal family and the government can invest in Spanish private banks. In this way, there is no need to worry that these private capitals will affect the government in turn after they become bigger. After all, the government and the royal family will only make more money.

In addition, the government and the royal family will have their own banks. Doing so will not only make Spanish capital stronger, but also control capital and allow it to be used for their own purposes, rather than the government being enslaved by capital.

Another benefit of reorganizing the banks is that when the country needs funds, these integrated large banks alone will be able to provide part of the funds.

There is no doubt that banks in this era are definitely making money. With the development of Spain's industry and economy, Spanish banks will have a golden period of development in the future.

Spanish banks were also able to infiltrate nearby neighboring Portugal and African colonies, including some countries in Latin America, and exert their influence.

Industry and finance are not only the most profitable industries of this era, but also industries that a country must develop. By vigorously developing the financial industry, Spain can also achieve economic control over Portugal and exert more economic influence on Latin American countries.

Although it is impossible to restore the territory of the British Empire, Spain still has the hope of becoming a great power and making a push for the top five in Europe.

Since it is a plan to rectify the banks, it would be best if the government took the initiative.

If the royal family launched the action, it would not only be unjustifiable, but also create a bad impression among the public that the Royal United Bank was being targeted at other banks.

If the government initiated it, the dissatisfaction of the private banks would be directed at the government, and naturally it would have nothing to do with Carlo.

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(End of this chapter)