Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 364: Warship Orders and Coca-Cola Development

During the time that the Portuguese royal family was in Spain, they first visited Spain's urban construction and then visited the Spanish battleship construction site.

Princess Maria Pia was amazed at the rapid development of Spain. The last time she visited Spain, Madrid was not as prosperous as it is today.

Today, according to Spanish reception officials, Madrid's population has reached nearly 110 million, making it the most populous city in the entire Iberian Peninsula.

You know, the population of Portugal is less than 500 million. A small city like Madrid has more than one-fifth of Portugal's population, which also represents the huge gap between Spain and Portugal.

The loss of the Portuguese throne may be a good thing for Princess Maria Pia. Without the Portuguese throne, her family is still a distinguished aristocratic family in Europe, with close relatives to the Italian and Spanish royal families, so there is no problem for them to live the rest of their lives in wealth.

However, Carlos I, who had tasted the sweetness of the throne, did not think so. He believed that the Republican rebellion in Portugal was too sudden, and the Portuguese government was not prepared at all, so the Republicans stole power.

As long as he could get support from external forces, Portugal could still restore the monarchy and the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha could still be restored.

Carlos I was quite confident about the restoration of the throne. His two uncles were the kings of Spain and Italy, both of which were powerful European powers.

In addition, the Portuguese royal family belongs to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a prominent family that also controls the thrones of Belgium and Bulgaria.

With the help from Britain, defeating the small Portuguese Republican Party would be easy.

After seeing the strength of Spain's economy and industry, Carlos I could not wait to make a request to his uncle Carlo, hoping that his uncle could help him return to the throne.

Carlo did not explicitly refuse Carlos I's request.

After all, Carlo had no reason to refuse. If he refused too decisively, it would seem that Carlo had other desires in the turmoil in Portugal.

Of course, Carlo would never express his clear support.

Spain has previously stated that it will remain neutral during the unrest in Portugal. It is impossible for Carlo to go back on his word, let alone violate the regulations he had previously stated.

Carlos I was a little disappointed that he did not get Carlo's clear support. He could also feel Carlo's indifference towards him, as if the two were just strangers.

This was true for Carlo, who had never met his nephew, Carlos I, before this meeting.

Compared with the national interests of Spain, this family relationship is not that important. What's more, Carlos I has already chosen Britain between Spain and Britain, so Carlo naturally has no need to consider any family relationship.

If annexing Portugal would make Spain stronger, Carlo would annex Portugal without hesitation.

As for people like Carlos I, if they are sensible, Carlo will ensure that they will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of their lives.

But if they don't know what's good for them, they will become enemies to Carlo, and naturally there will be no need to consider their attitude.

Carlos I, knowing that it was hopeless to gain support from Spain, felt that there was no need to stay in Spain any longer.

A week after arriving in Spain, he bid farewell to Carlo and planned to head east to Italy to seek the support of his other uncle, Umberto I.

It just so happened that Princess Maria Pia could return to Italy, firstly to pay tribute to her father Vittorio Emanuele II, and secondly to visit most of her relatives in Victoria.

Carlo naturally would not stop them. He arranged a luxurious cruise ship to take the whole family to Italy.

Carlo did not prohibit Spanish newspapers from reporting related news about the Portuguese royal family seeking refuge in Spain.

On the one hand, the act of taking in the royal families of neighboring countries can also add some prestige to the Spanish royal family. Although most countries in Europe are monarchies, some kings cannot guarantee that their thrones can be stable.

If they encounter any crisis in the future, they can choose to seek refuge in powerful countries such as Spain. This is definitely a good thing for those European kings whose thrones are not stable.

As expected, when such news was gradually reported by newspapers in other European countries, Spain's acceptance of the Portuguese royal family was also praised by European aristocrats.

Although this increase in fame cannot bring Carlo any practical benefits, it can play an unexpected role in some cases.

By August 1892, Spain and Austria-Hungary reached a new agreement.

This agreement was related to the navy, and the most important content of the agreement was the three battleships purchased by the Austro-Hungarian Empire from Spain.

Ever since the theory of sea power won the support of European countries, the major powers have attached unparalleled importance to naval construction.

The same is true for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They also have a long coastline and naturally want to develop and build their own navy.

However, the current main naval warships have been changing with each passing day, ironclad ships are already outdated, and European countries are developing their own battleships.

In terms of warship design and construction, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was inferior to Italy and Spain.

Considering that the Austro-Hungarian Empire's coastline was at risk of being blockaded by Italy, if the Austro-Hungarian Empire's main warships were built in Italy, this risk would probably increase. Therefore, the Austro-Hungarian Empire approached Spain and planned to purchase the Monarch-class battleships, which were now in the limelight, from Spain.

Of course, Spain's progress in battleships was also the reason why the Austro-Hungarian Empire set its sights on the Monarch-class battleships.

Because the Monarch-class battleship has been improved in all aspects compared to the ironclad ship, the cost price of such a battleship is also quite expensive.

According to the cost estimates given by the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard and the Valencia United Shipyard, the cost of building a Monarch-class battleship is approximately 2075 million pesetas, and the internal price given by the shipyard to the Spanish government is as high as 2250 million pesetas.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire would have to pay a higher price to buy the Monarch-class battleships. After many consultations between the diplomatic delegations of both sides, it was finally decided that the price of each Monarch-class battleship would be 2325 million pesetas.

The Spanish shipyard only earned 250 million pesetas, or about 10 pounds, for a battleship. This price was indeed quite favorable.

After all, the scarcity of battleships must be taken into consideration. Although European countries are busy building battleships, there are actually only three countries that can build battleships for the Austro-Hungarian Empire: Britain, France and Spain.

Germany and Italy might be able to build battleships, but their own navies did not yet have battleships, so naturally they could not spare the energy to build battleships for the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire ordered three battleships at once, which meant that the Royal Guarnizo Shipyard and the Valencia United Shipyard would not be short of orders in the next few years.

Based on the construction progress of the Spanish Navy, Spain and Austria-Hungary finally agreed that the first of the three battleships would be officially started at the end of this year and was expected to be completed in mid-1894. The remaining two battleships would be started in 1893 and officially completed before 1895.

According to this construction schedule, these three battleships could be put into service into the Austro-Hungarian Navy as early as 1896, or at the latest in 1897.

This progress cannot be said to be very fast, but it is definitely not slow.

After all, the French have been developing their own battleships for several years but have not yet been put into service. The Austro-Hungarian Empire definitely had battleships no later than other powers, so it would be no problem for it to maintain its status as a naval power.

Yes, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's naval construction plan only included these three battleships.

The remaining small and medium-sized auxiliary warships can be built in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These warships can be put together to keep the Austro-Hungarian Empire's navy among the top eight in the world.

As for a higher naval rank, this was not what the Austro-Hungarian Empire was pursuing.

At present, the main contradiction and competition with Austria-Hungary is Russia, and Russia's army is extremely powerful. Austria-Hungary must focus on the development of the army in order to match the threat posed by Russia.

In terms of navy, the Austro-Hungarian navy was not that important since they had Italy as an ally.

After all, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had no overseas colonies, and its basic base only included Austria, Bohemia, Hungary and other regions located in its homeland.

For the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the demand for the army was indeed greater than the demand for the navy, which was a special case among the major European powers.

Germany was in the same situation before, but as Germany's overseas colonies grew larger and larger, coupled with Germany's own strength considerations, their demand for the navy was also expanding.

The order signed with the Austro-Hungarian Empire was also Spain's only order for battleships.

There is no way. Countries that have a demand for battleships basically have the ability to build battleships themselves. And those countries that do not have the ability to build battleships themselves do not have much demand for battleships.

Take Portugal for example. Even if Portugal purchased one or two battleships, it would not make their navy rank among the top eight in the world.

Once the navy commissions two battleships, the annual military expenditure of the navy will also increase significantly. One or two battleships are not very useful, and they also cost a huge amount of money to operate and maintain. This is not a good deal for small and medium-sized countries.

Italy might be the country most likely to buy battleships from Spain, but King Umberto I of Italy clearly had greater ambitions. He rejected the navy's request to buy warships from Spain and said that Italy should develop its own shipbuilding industry and should have the ability to build battleships on its own rather than buying them from other countries.

Several major naval shipyards in Italy are also developing their own battleships. According to some intelligence reported by the National Security Intelligence Agency, Italy's battleships seem to be under construction.

However, compared with Spain, Italy's battleship construction progress was much slower. It was already good enough that Italy's first battleship was officially completed at the end of 1893. It might not be officially put into service until 1894 or even 1895, which was almost the same time as the battleships built by Spain for the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

You know, Spain was building several battleships at the same time, which forced the battleship's service time to be postponed to 1895.

This also shows Spain's current experience in naval construction. Due to several previous naval development plans, Spain's naval shipyards are indeed at a very good level.

As time came to the summer of 1892, the Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola companies founded by Carlo earlier became the biggest beneficiaries of this season.

According to a recent report by Butler Lauren, these two cola companies have become the most famous beverage companies in Spain. They have also sponsored bullfighting competitions in different cities and sold them together with tickets for local bullfighting competitions, winning the favor of many audiences.

In Madrid alone, 20 bottles of Coke are sold every day.

Currently, the cost of a cup of Coke has been reduced to about 0.12 pesetas, and the selling price has been reduced to 0.2 pesetas a cup, making it affordable for almost everyone.

Even though the profit from a cup of Coke was only 0.08 pesetas, the total sales in Madrid alone in one day was more than 4 pesetas, and the net profit reached 1.6 pesetas.

Don’t think 1.6 pesetas is not much, it is just the sales volume of a city in one day. Although summer is the hottest season, the sales volume in other seasons can be maintained at at least 10 bottles, which is also a pretty good scale.

At present, in the city of Madrid alone, the combined annual net profit of the two major cola companies exceeds 300 million pesetas.

Expanding the scope to the whole of Spain, the combined net profit of the two cola companies has exceeded 1200 million pesetas, equivalent to a 7000-ton cruiser.

This is not the end. Coke, a beverage with a unique taste, is bound to be favored by young people.

In this era, there were no other beverages, nor was there any common sense that carbonated drinks were harmful to health.

For most young people, having a glass of iced cola in the hot summer is an unimaginable happy time.

It is also because of this that Coca-Cola and Pepsi have also been warmly welcomed in the international market.

Both cola companies have established branches in countries such as Britain, France, Germany, Austria and Russia, and have marketed their products across Europe and even the world.

The United States also has two cola branches. It is worth mentioning that similar drinks have also been born in the United States, but the names are no longer Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

For the two cola companies that have become giants, similar local beverage companies in the United States are naturally just small ants.

Through price competition, the two cola companies quickly occupied most of the U.S. beverage market and successfully forced similar local beverage companies to go bankrupt.

Although these branches opened in different countries have different capitals and noble partners, the headquarters of the two cola companies can still occupy nearly half of the shares.

Although Coca-Cola's annual revenue in Spain of more than 1200 million pesetas is already exaggerated, in fact, the revenue brought in by foreign markets is even greater.

The revenue brought by foreign markets has exceeded 2500 million pesetas, which also means that the two major cola companies bring the Spanish royal family an exaggerated annual net income of 3700 million pesetas.

Of course, since they are two cola companies with different flavors, there is bound to be competition.

For the Spanish market, Coca-Cola with more bubbles is more popular. For every 100 bottles of Coke sold in the Spanish market, at least 60 bottles are produced by Coca-Cola Company.

Of course, the remaining nearly 40 bottles of Coke were also produced by PepsiCo.

Under the price competition of these two major beverage companies, even if a similar cola company is established, it is destined to not be able to persist in the price war for too long.

(End of this chapter)