Chapter 328: International recognition

  Chapter 318 International Recognition

By the end of 1860, the total population of the United States had reached 31.6 million. Among them, the northern free states had a population of about 18.7 million, and the southern slave states possessed a population of 12.9 million, of which the slaves alone amounted to 5 million.

Franz’s butterfly effect still played a role, the power contrast between the North and the South changed slightly, but it could not change the fact that the North was strong and the South was weak.

In the Austrian embassy in Washington, representatives of Britain, France, Austria and Spain gathered. The Austrian ambassador to the United States, Drucker, took the lead and said, “Today, I invite you all to come here, mainly to discuss the issue of southern independence.

At this critical moment of change, it is necessary for us to remain united in order to better safeguard the interests of all.”

I don’t know when everyone discovered the benefits of the principle of unanimity among the powers, and usually whenever this was done, everyone could make a lot of money.

The crowd fell into deep thought, as if weighing whether it was more profitable to join forces or to go it alone.

As for the abolition of slavery or not, simply not in the scope of everyone’s consideration. Don’t look at the European countries “abolition” slogan shouted shocking, in fact, everyone is holding the mind of watching.

In recent years, the U.S. has expanded at a balloon-like pace, which is still a cause for concern for many people, and the U.S. threat theory is also a hot topic in Europe.

In order to attract immigrants, the propaganda that the Americans have come up with, under the guidance of people who have the intention to do so, are turned into evidence of the U.S. threat.

Because the communication remains unchanged, the adverse effects brought about by public opinion, the U.S. government simply can’t whip it. Several times it has tried to steer public opinion, but instead it has been caught in the act and made a mess of things.

British representative Mark Oliver spoke up, “All four of our countries have huge trade deals with the United States, and a stable America is more in our interest.

Everyone joining hands to intervene to avoid the outbreak of a civil war in the United States will be conducive to world peace and stability.”

British attitude this is not surprising, the British Empire can not be separated from the Americans to provide cheap industrial raw materials, especially cotton.

Not only the British, the three countries of France, Austria and West Africa are all big importers of cotton. Even with the bumper cotton harvest in West Africa, Austria was just barely self-sufficient.

Francisco, the Spanish representative, added: “A divided America is necessary for the preservation of world peace.

From 1783 to the present, the territory of the United States has expanded from more than 800,000 square kilometers to nearly 8 million square kilometers, and if it is not curbed, it won’t be long before the whole of the Americas will be gradually eaten up by them.

We are all Americans and should be clear about the development potential of this country. According to their speed of development, they will catch up with Europe in less than fifty years, and then surpass us by their huge volume.

You should know that our four countries together are less than one-third the size of the United States on the mainland. They have almost no shortage of resources, and they can’t even find a place to start if they want to limit them.

Now is the only chance, if we let America solve its internal problems, the future world hegemony will be booked.”

Francisco’s statement is almost a rehash of the American threat theory. As the U.S. has grown and expanded abroad in recent years, Spain has been the biggest victim.

Especially with the Americans reaching back into Cuba in an attempt to seize yet another Spanish colony, it has inspired hatred among the Spanish.

The expansionist movement of the Americans had little effect on Austria, except that Britain and France were likewise the losers of interest. The French were forced to buy the Louisiana region, and the British lost even more ground.

French delegate Alfred sneered, “This is too alarmist, isn’t it, that the United States can become the hegemon of the world?”

Austrian delegate Drucker smirked, “Who knows about that? But the speed at which the Americans have developed over the years is obvious to all, and they are constantly sucking the blood out of Europe.

Everyone who wanted to send immigrants to the colonies were intercepted by the Americans quite a bit, right? Hundreds of thousands of Europeans immigrate to the United States every year, and everyone knows what that means, right?

Had the Northern government been allowed to succeed, they would have had the richest resources in the world, the cheapest raw materials for industry, and a large labor force that would have completed industrialization in no time.

We’d have added another competitor in the commodity market. It may not be long before the Americas are filled with American-made goods.

Capital knows no borders, and perhaps many capitalists are already thinking of moving to America. If these people run over here too, then our technological advantage will be gone.

Mind you, they’re also stuck with our industrial raw materials like – cotton.

Even if people find a new source of raw materials, it’s hard to beat the U.S. in terms of production costs, and it makes sense for capitalists to run to the U.S. to build factories.”

Drucker’s words were clearly intended, the few people sitting here were the ruling class of each country, belonging to vested interests, and no one wanted to watch their national interests suffer.

Mark Oliver’s face changed greatly, he could guarantee that if he did nothing this time, after returning home, he decided that he would be retaliated by the domestic capitalists.

Capitalists emigrating to the United States? This is actually only the patent of large capitalists and consortiums, small and medium-sized capitalists run to an unfamiliar place, not to be devoured cleanly even if it is lucky.

The real capital without borders will be realized only after the order is established and everyone becomes aware of what they are eating.

Drucker’s purpose is still to remind everyone to sit up straight and not to take money from the northern government and lean toward the Americans in their political stance.

Calming down, Mark Oliver said smilingly, “The United States is indeed a little too powerful, it’s better to weaken it a little.

I remember the Declaration of Independence on the United States Confederate States have the right to withdraw, since the seven southern states have now become independent, then let’s recognize their status!”

That’s what killed it, once the European nations recognized the independent status of the Southern government. The Civil War would no longer be an American Civil War, but a war between two independent states.

Politically, it was undoubtedly a fatal blow to the Northern government. Once the legitimacy of the Southern government is established, the future excuse for countries wanting to intervene in this war will be good.

If people wanted to, they could intervene by force to mediate if the Southern government sent an invitation.

The northern government’s plan to use abolition to create pressure on public opinion and cut off European countries’ support for the southern government failed just at the beginning.

The British made this decision, and the Canadian issue was also involved behind it. The British had long been dissatisfied with the constant expansion of the United States. After the War of Independence, the Anglo-American conflict did not stop.

In 1812, President Jefferson, who had already left office, made a bold statement, “This year, the Canadian region will be annexed …… and finally the British power will be completely expelled from the American continent!”

Soon the Americans launched an attack on the Canadian region in an attempt to monopolize the American continent.

Angry John Bull, immediately took military action, let the Americans feel what is called the iron fist of the British Empire. Beat the Americans on the battlefield, and also burned the White House.

Time is the best weapon, the British terror was gradually forgotten by the Americans. 1844, the eleventh President James Polk’s campaign slogan was: “(Britain) either surrender Oregon or go to war!”

By this time the United States was no longer weak and not so well fought.

The government in London weighed the pros and cons and then conceded to give up the Oregon region, but the breath was held.

But the threat of the United States was also felt by the British. Only the capitalists, for their own interests, exerted influence on Congress, reconciled the British and American conflicts.

Either way, the vendetta was still taken. Immediately after discovering the anti-American stance of the Austro-Spanish countries, Mark Oliver decided to knock the Americans down a peg.

The French representative, Alfred, objected, “It is not good to interfere directly in the internal affairs of the United States, European public opinion is in favor of the abolition of slavery, and it is easy for us to cause trouble by doing so.”

Interest determines position, the French already have very little interest in North America, they naturally do not mind if the United States gets bigger. Anyway, after the U.S. gets bigger, it is the British who will bear the brunt.

Austrian representative Drucker righteously explained, “This is only a small problem, the southern government can likewise abolish slavery, and now they are protecting the sanctity of private property.

Withdrawal from the American Union is also a perfectly legal act. There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution that prohibits states from withdrawing, and we have to honor the spirit of the compact!

To be clear, the main cause of the conflict between the North and the South was still the tariff issue. The Northern government’s claim to raise tariffs has seriously jeopardized the principle of fairness in trade!”

Trade fairness is false, though damaging everyone’s interests is true. Once the Americans raised their tariffs, everyone not only lost their cheap source of raw materials, but also lost a market for their goods.

Even the French, who supported the U.S. in giving the British a hard time, had to admit that the Northern government’s approach had damaged their interests.

This was also the reason why there were changes of policy from time to time within the French government on the question of the United States. Very often, they themselves did not know what to do.

French delegate Alfred asked incredulously, “Your Excellency is not joking, is he, that the Southern government would abolish slavery?”

After all the propaganda from the Northern government, it seemed to many that the Southern government was the evil slave trader. How could the plantation owners, who had profited from the exploitation of slaves, give up the wealth in their hands?

Drucker replied with confidence, “There is nothing impossible; the plantation owners could just as well learn the business model of the capitalists.

In this world, there are quite a few black-hearted capitalists who only pay a small amount of salary, or even no salary, right?

Nominally, they do give slaves free status, but in reality, the salaries they pay are just enough for these people to survive.

If they are old or sick, they will also be driven out to fend for themselves. Could it be that by converting a way, the cost would actually increase?

The plantation owners were worried about nothing more than the fact that after the slaves had gained their free status, these people would leave. This problem can be solved by contracts of employment.”

Drucker was speaking of the social reality of the age, which was true of all European countries. Nominally everyone had abolished serfdom, but in reality the lives of the lower classes had not improved much.

On the surface, after becoming workers, everyone got a salary and their living standard improved. In reality, this was the result of an increase in the amount of labor they had to do.

When there is an economic crisis, people lose their jobs as soon as they say they are unemployed. Workers cannot be cured when they are sick, and when they are cured, their families are destroyed, and there is no security at all.

Mark Oliver concurred, “Good, cost-wise, a different way of using labor is also a good choice. With so many labor export companies in the United States, plantation owners will not be short of labor at all.

As leaders of the civilized world, we have an obligation to help the Southern government, gradually abolish the evil slavery and join the big family of civilized society.”

The question of slavery was settled, and the French delegates were not in opposition. It didn’t matter whether the southern government abolished slavery or not, as long as they made a gesture of intent to abolish slavery.

The Spanish representative proposed, “In order to abolish the evil slavery system at an early date, and for the sake of peace and stability in the world, then we need to persuade more animal-slave states to join the Southern government now.”

What was clearly meant to balance the strength of the North and the South became grandiose when it came out of the mouths of politicians.

As for whether or not the southern government would accept everyone’s good intentions, there was no need to even think about it, they had to.

It’s just a political gesture, it’s not like action is going to be taken right away. Who would have the courage to refuse when international recognition can be gained by merely putting on a show?

France’s representative, Alfred, said, “It’s a good offer, and France is willing to help these slaves gain their freedom.”

……

On February 11, 1861, the four nations of Britain, France, Austria, and Spain issued a joint diplomatic proclamation recognizing the independence of the Southern government and establishing formal diplomatic relations, despite the opposition of the Northern government.

(End of chapter)