Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 297 Population Issues
After the cabinet report meeting, Carlo had a clearer understanding of the current development of Spain.

In terms of industry, although Spain's industrial scale is not as large as that of major countries such as Britain, France and Germany, it can be compared with old powers such as Austria-Hungary and Russia, and its comprehensive strength should not be underestimated.

In terms of population, Spain's total population is also rising steadily. Although the total population size is not as large as that of European powers, it is slightly ahead in terms of population growth rate, and sooner or later it will be able to further narrow the gap with European powers.

It is worth mentioning that several of Spain's colonies in Africa also showed their appeal.

The population of the West African colonies, the Gold Coast and the Congo Territory is constantly growing, with tens or even hundreds of thousands of immigrants coming to these areas every year in search of more opportunities to make a fortune and survive.

In order to attract immigrants, these colonies went all out and offered a variety of conditions to bring in population.

All Europeans who were willing to go to these colonies could get a large piece of land for free. As long as they cultivated the land for three consecutive years, they could obtain the sovereignty of the land.

Of course, you can choose not to give up the land and convert it into other conditions. In addition to welcoming ordinary immigrants, the colony also welcomes domestic and foreign capital and companies to settle in.

In addition to agricultural cultivation on African soil, Spain also grows large amounts of tobacco, sugarcane, rubber and other crops on African soil.

Needless to say, tobacco and sugarcane were Cuba's characteristic industries when they were first discovered in Cuba, and they also made Cuba one of the most developed regions in the Americas.

The rubber industry is also beginning to take shape. Royal Benz has already sold its products to major European countries, which has led to a significant increase in rubber consumption in various countries.

At present, countries still mainly rely on natural rubber trees to obtain rubber, but in the future, as the demand for rubber increases, it will also be necessary to artificially plant rubber trees and establish rubber industrial parks.

After the report on the third five-year development plan, the Spanish cabinet government is also discussing the goals of the fourth five-year development plan.

In addition to the regular local development, the development of each Spanish colony also has its own tasks.

The West African colonies focused on developing agriculture, with tobacco being grown in Guinea and rubber being harvested in the Congo territory.

These three industries are what Spain needs, and colonial planting is basically a sure way to make a profit.

Carlo also attended the cabinet government's meeting on the formulation of the fourth five-year development plan and put forward several of his own requirements.

First of all, in terms of population, Carlo hopes that Spain's population will increase further in the next five years, and it would be best if it can exceed the threshold of 2500 million.

2500 million people is not much compared to other European countries, but it is definitely not a small number. Even if a war breaks out with other European powers, 2500 million people can allow Spain to mobilize nearly 200 million troops, which is enough for an army of this size to participate in a world war.

What's more, in addition to the army that can be armed by native Spaniards, Spain can also form colonial armies from the colonies.

If the indigenous peoples of the colonies that can be utilized are included, the army that Spain can mobilize will reach 300 to 500 million, which is almost the number of troops dispatched by various countries during World War I.

This also means that even if a conflict or even a war breaks out with other European powers, Spain has enough confidence to win the war.

Unless it faces a one-on-two or even one-on-three situation, Spain is not afraid of any great power now.

Of course, in terms of naval warfare, the powerful navy of the British Empire must be taken into account. But if it is on land, Spain is not afraid of either Britain or France.

Carlo’s second request was that he hoped the cabinet government could enrich Spain’s industries, comprehensively build an industrial system, and comprehensively promote Spain’s economic development.

Building industry does not mean only heavy industry, light industry and chemical industry must also be improved simultaneously. Steel production represents heavy industry, but it is not the whole of industry.

There is still a big gap in per-acre yield of arable land in Spain compared with countries like Britain, France and Germany that have large plains. In order to make up for this gap, Spain can only make more efforts in fertilizers and mechanization.

Carlo’s request to the Spanish government is to use chemical fertilizers as much as possible to increase Spain’s grain yield per mu and indirectly increase the income of Spanish farmers.

Coupled with Spain's agricultural layout in its West African colonies, it can ensure that Spain will not lack food under any circumstances.

In the future, whether it is war or economic crisis, as long as there is enough food, the Spanish government can deal with it calmly.

At the meeting, William, Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs, also mentioned the issue of how to deal with the numerous African natives in the Spanish colonies.

If the old Spanish colonial tradition was followed, the first choice for these indigenous people who were neither obedient nor able to assimilate would definitely be massacre.

But the problem is that Africa is an extremely vast land with countless indigenous people.

It would be difficult to completely solve the problem of the indigenous people in the colonies by massacre alone. It would also lead to hatred between the Spaniards and these indigenous peoples, and arouse more intense resistance from the local indigenous peoples.

It would be best to find a way that would not cause serious dissatisfaction among the local natives while at the same time reducing the number of these natives as much as possible.

After discussions among cabinet ministers, the Spanish government finally adopted the method of population export to solve the indigenous problem in the colonies.

The so-called population export is actually trying every possible means to transport these indigenous people out.

Where to ship to? There are many destinations. Whether it is other parts of the African continent or other parts outside Africa, Spain can choose.

Anyway, as long as they are not in Spanish colonies, Spain will accept these natives no matter where they are.

Because Carlo expressed his disgust for black very early on, all the ministers of the Spanish government also shared the same disgust for black.

After the population export plan was proposed, no cabinet minister objected, and they all agreed to transfer these native Africans to other areas.

Of course, population export cannot be rushed. Some colonies still need to retain a large number of indigenous laborers to ensure that the development of the colonies will not be restricted by the lack of labor.

At that time, after utilizing this labor force, they can simply slaughter them or drive them to a farther place.

Anyway, no one cares about the lives of these indigenous people. As long as they don't go too far, other countries will not offend the Spanish government for these indigenous people.

Like the Belgian king in history who was forcibly interfered by European countries, the reason was not only that what he did was indeed too cruel, but also that Belgium itself was not strong, which led to the intervention of European countries.

Belgian King Leopold's rule in Congo was extremely cruel. Not only did he not treat the local natives as human beings, he also massacred millions of Congolese and cut off the hands of millions of Congolese without ever setting foot in Congo in his entire life.

In just a few years after Belgium acquired Congo, the population of Congo dropped by one third, which is why European powers intervened. After all, as Europe gradually developed, the powers pretended to be gentlemen. The cruel behavior of the Belgians would remind people all over the world of the cruel side of European powers. Wouldn't this destroy the disguise of other countries?

After determining the immigration plan for population outflow, Carlo came up with an idea, which was to transport population to the United States across the ocean.

Compared with other European countries, the United States is definitely a special existence. After the end of the Civil War, the United States has nominally recognized the human rights of black people, and all black people living in the United States are also Americans.

This also leads to many black people still yearning for the United States, but when they arrive in the United States, they realize that the so-called human rights are just empty words.

The top officials of any organization or institution are all white people. Even most black people are racially segregated in a small area and cannot even set foot in the city where white people live.

The reason why Carlo proposed to send a large number of blacks to the United States was to completely disrupt the situation in the United States.

At this time in the United States, white people still firmly hold the right to speak. However, as the number of black people increases, the conflicts in the United States are bound to become more and more intense.

You know, black people are not a trouble-free race. This race is lazy and always wants to earn money in a more convenient way.

The so-called convenient way is robbery and theft, which is also an important reason why blacks are unpopular until later generations.

Once the number of black people in the United States increases, similar robberies and thefts will increase. As an immigrant country, the United States gathers three major races: black, white and yellow, and each race has a considerable number of people.

Once the conflict between blacks and whites triggers more intense racial discrimination, it is very likely that another civil war will come.

Regardless of whether a civil war breaks out in the United States as a result, as long as the political situation in the United States becomes worse, it is worth it for Carlo.

Although the British do not regard the United States as a major threat, if a civil war breaks out in the United States, I believe the British would not mind taking advantage of the situation.

If the Americans themselves gave him the opportunity, Carlo would try every possible means to promote a war of intervention against the United States and strive to split the United States into several countries.

Of course, even if there was no division and civil war within the United States, the chaotic political situation alone would leave them no time to take care of other things.

As long as the United States had not intervened in World War I and World War II, Carlo would have had enough time to plan for World War I. Without the United States' intervention in World War I, Spain would have become the biggest winner.

After all, compared with the powerful countries in the two major military groups in history, Spain is the one that has no fierce conflicts with both sides.

This also gave Spain more possibilities. For Carlo and Spain, the best situation was to remain neutral in the early stages, make a fortune by selling food and arms, and then stand on the side that was about to win in the later stages of the war and enjoy the fruits of victory.

Although this was somewhat dishonorable, it would ensure that Spain gained the most from the war.

As all European countries have suffered heavy losses, it is natural for Spain to have more say as long as its losses are not too great.

This is simply a perfect script. Now all we have to do is wait for France and Russia to react to the formation of the Triple Alliance, and then, under the pressure of the Triple Alliance, conclude the Franco-Russian Entente, thus creating a situation of confrontation between the two major military groups in Europe.

Speaking of the indigenous issues in Africa, Carlo also raised a question that he was more interested in, which was about the assimilation of Moroccans in the southern Moroccan colony.

When the South Morocco Colony was first established, the entire colony had a population of nearly one million, all of whom were Moroccans, or white people.

After eliminating the extreme rebels among the Moroccans, the remaining people were all targets for assimilation by Spain.

Now that so many years have passed, Carlo is curious about the situation in the southern Moroccan colonies and where the remaining Moroccans have gone.

Hearing Carlo's question, Colonial Secretary William was obviously well prepared and answered without any hesitation: "Your Majesty, at present, our assimilation of Moroccans in the southern Moroccan colony is going quite smoothly.

More than 50 Moroccans left the southern Moroccan colonies and became naturalized in our country in various ways. They generally mastered Spanish and believed in Catholicism.

Nearly 10 of them were transferred to the mainland and dispersed across various regions, while the remaining 40 were transferred to various colonies, including more than 20 Moroccans in the Congo Territory.

According to our observation of these Moroccans who obtained nationality, they did not show any rebellious attitude or thoughts after entering their new life.

From this we can infer that our assimilation of the Moroccans was quite successful. When these Moroccans give birth to the next generation, those children will be pure Spanish. "

Carlo nodded, quite satisfied with the data.

After the extremist rebels were eliminated, the population of the southern Moroccan colony was reduced to less than 80.

Of the 80 people, 50 have been assimilated, which is a pretty good result. If we look at this data, Spain can assimilate at least half of the remaining millions of people in the Kingdom of Morocco.

This is actually why Spain wanted to colonize Morocco. In addition to being able to obtain large tracts of Moroccan land, it could also obtain millions of Moroccans.

As long as they are taught Spanish and forced to believe in Catholicism, they will not be much different from real Spaniards.

If these Moroccans who converted to Catholicism were dispersed to Spain and the colonies, even if they still had rebellious sentiments, they would not be able to have any impact on the situation in Spain.

"How is our population introduction plan going in the Americas?" Carlo continued to ask.

Due to the lack of population at that time, Spain formulated two major plans to increase the local population.

The first plan was to assimilate as many hundreds of thousands of Moroccans as possible in the southern Moroccan colonies, and the second plan was to introduce a large number of Hispanic and mixed-race immigrants to Spain from the Americas that Spain had once colonized.

Mexico, Argentina, Chile and other large and medium-sized countries in the Americas were once colonies of Spain. Even some parts of the United States once belonged to Spain, and these places also have a large number of Hispanic immigrants and mixed-race populations.

As long as they offer more generous conditions, some of these people are willing to return to Spain. After all, after independence from Spain, although some countries have indeed embarked on a path of rapid development, some countries' economies are in a mess and the political situation is quite chaotic, which is not necessarily much better than the Spanish colonial period.

William, the Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs, was also in charge of the population introduction. William continued to report: "Your Majesty, so far, we have introduced about 20 immigrants from the Americas.

If we include Cuba, we have received more than 40 immigrants from the Americas. Given the willingness of the American population to immigrate to Spain, we can still receive immigrants from the American countries, which will also be an important source of our population growth. "

(End of this chapter)