Chapter 361: The Most Valuable and the Least Valuable
Chapter 351 – The Most Valuable and the Least Valuable
In Central America, after three years of operation, Governor Hummel had pretty much cleaned up the local powerhouses.
Willing to accept the integration of nature is to continue to be in a high position, resistance to the generation of nature was harmonized away, this aspect of Austria has accumulated a wealth of experience.
Take Nicaragua as an example, the whole country has more than 300,000 people, most of them are still Indians, and the white immigrants plus mestizos are only a few tens of thousands of people, so what can we do to fight against Austria?
The countries of Central America are similar, and the land is not extensive, but also sparsely populated. If you run to the guerrilla, do not need Austria to fight, the local Indian tribes will click them.
The Habsburgs were also their co-owners, and their ancestors pledged allegiance to Charles V. The Habsburgs were also their co-owners. A little bit far-fetched to say, but also barely a little bit of legal system, coupled with a strong fist has suppressed the disobedience, the rest of the people have been embracing the rule of Franz the Great.
The interests of the general public had not been jeopardized, so naturally there was no talk of hatred.
The main reason for the independence of the year, or because Spain was crippled by the French, mine owners and capitalists do not want to pay taxes to Spain, the bureaucrats want more power, followed the tide of independence.
Perhaps it is not possible to use “we”, how could there be so many capitalists and mine owners in a small country? In fact, it was one or a few families that wanted independence, otherwise Central America would not have split into so many countries.
It doesn’t matter now, with the influx of immigrants, even if there are people who are not willing, they can’t make a big wave.
Inside the Central American Governor’s Mansion in San Jose, John Radford, Foreign Affairs Officer of the Immigration Bureau, reported, “His Excellency the Governor, Colombia has refused to allow immigrants to enter the Panama region, and they have also demanded that the immigrants be broken up and resettled, and that they not be grouped together.”
There is no doubt that since Mexico paid an IQ tax to the Americans, everyone has learned their lesson and is wary of foreign immigrants.
Colombia is naturally short of immigrants, and Panama, which is not yet independent, now covers a whopping 1.2 million square kilometers of territory and has a population of just over two million, including about 100,000 in the Panama region.
If immigration is not restricted, who knows when the Republic of Colombia will change masters?
This is the reason why South American countries have not developed. It is because the native population is simply too small to risk taking in a large number of immigrants.
In the case of the Republic of Colombia, for example, it would only take 400,000 to 500,000 immigrants to turn them into a nation of German descent.
In this context, of course, everyone should be wary. The refusal to allow German immigrants into the Panama area was a fear that Austria would colonize the area that day.
There is nothing to blame for this, Governor Hummel was indeed hitting the Panama region, and you can’t still keep people from resisting, can you?
Central America is the most suitable for digging the canal is the Panama region, this is Austria’s strategy in the Americas is an essential link, must be in the hands.
Governor Hummel asked, “We bought the parliamentarians, did not help to speak?”
In this day and age, corruption is a common feature of all countries, especially in an emerging republic like Colombia, which is a mixed bag.
John Radford, the immigration officer, explained, “Our public relations campaign was resisted by foreign forces, and the initial judgment was that the British were behind it, and the French may also be involved.
A number of pro-British parliamentarians have spoken out against it, citing the Austrian threat theory that once we get a foothold in Latin America, we will inevitably have to expand, with Colombia bearing the brunt of it.”
Hummel was left speechless, admitting that his interest in Colombia existed, and although there were no definite plans yet, voices had been raised for expansion into the Colombian region.
For no other reason than Colombia is too weak. In this age of weakness, there is nothing surprising about being a target for everyone’s prey.
Of course, a direct attack on the Republic of Colombia is out of the question. The high cost of war would be enough to discourage the Vienna government from laboring to fight such a battle in South America.
Austria is not Spain, and if Franz is the King of Spain, then there is no doubt that he will have to go back to South America.
This era of feudal tumor has not been eliminated clean, South American countries exist royalist forces, there are these people in as long as the military take out the enemy, you can re-establish the rule.
Then even if the cost of the war is a little bit higher, in exchange for a larger space for development, it is still worth it.
Austria or forget about it, Hispanics and Germans are two different peoples altogether, want to get their approval unless it’s like dealing with the Central American countries.
First, they are crippled by force, forcibly establish their rule, and then a large number of immigrants are organized to dilute them into minorities before they can be dealt with.
After hesitating for a few moments of effort, Governor Hummel made a decision: “Bribe the local officials in Panama to create an established fact of immigration.
Fake immigrant identities, France, England, Spain, Belgium, Holland, etc., can be sent to make some arrangements, it is necessary to resettle these immigrants.
If they can’t be resettled in Panama, they can be resettled in the interior of Colombia, and the government will pay for the purchase of land for them.
If anyone messes with us, find a way to get rid of them. This is about our future national policy, and we can’t allow anyone to jeopardize it.”
This wasn’t the first batch of immigrants Austria had sent to Colombia. It was only that the previous ones had been small, sending 10,000 or so people each year, and because of the American Civil War, everyone just thought of them as normal immigrants and didn’t draw the attention of the Colombian government.
With the passage of time, the number of immigrants increased dramatically, and this kind of covert immigration activities, or exposed.
The number of ethnic Germans increased dramatically, occupying one-fifth of the white population, and if left unchecked, over half of the population was just around the corner.
Oh, and don’t look at one-fifth as a big number, it’s actually just a few tens of thousands. There’s no way around a small population base.
In Panama alone, there are now 20,000 ethnic Germans, and the reacting Colombian government is naturally trying to stop it.
You know the total population of the Panama region is only about 100,000, and the ethnic Germans are almost one-fifth of that. That’s one-fifth of the total population of the region, not just one-fifth of the white immigrants, it’s already more than the rest of the white immigrants combined.
Theoretically, it won’t take ten years for the local rule to fall into the hands of ethnic Germans. This is a characteristic of democratically elected countries, where the ethnic group with the most votes will naturally dominate.
John Radford replied, “Yes, Your Excellency the Governor, we in the Immigration Department will do our best to accomplish that.”
Governor Hummel nodded and sighed again. If the American Civil War wasn’t about to end, he wouldn’t have wanted to make such a big move.
Immigration is easy and resettlement is difficult, the land in the Americas is not worth much, but according to can not only just divide a piece of land on it, but also must guarantee the normal life of the immigrants.
In less than four years, the Central American region to settle three hundred and eighty thousand immigrants, and to Colombia to send immigrants more than 60,000 people, this is a remarkable achievement.
Now comes the last wave of immigrants. Once the Civil War is over, the United States will be in a state of disarray in all walks of life, and everyone’s opportunity will come, and the number of people who want to leave will surely be drastically reduced.
Forced to make a big move, Hummel had no choice but to make a big move. It didn’t just start, it was discovered by the Colombian government.
In any case, the emigration strategy worked. Austrian rule in Central America was established, and the people who got the land became the basis of the rule.
By the time the last wave of immigration was over, the number of Germans in the area would exceed half a million. This number was already more than twenty percent of the total population and one and a half times the number of other white immigrants in the region.
If the Vienna government wanted to, it could pound a Central American kingdom out in no time.
Of course Franz certainly wouldn’t do that, and even if he wanted to support a kingdom, that would be in the future.
Having just gone through a civil war was enough to make the American people reflect for twenty years, during which time they should be fairly peaceful.
……
Governor Hummel asked, “Mr. Krauss, how much revenue do we have this year and how much will the deficit increase?”
Strategically successful, economically it was a serious loss. Even though the colonial government is working very hard and Central America is quite wealthy, with the bottomless pit of immigrants, government revenues are really not enough to fill it.
Financial Administrator Klaus did some calculations and said, “This year’s revenue, about seven million Shendian, an increase of twenty-one percent from last year, the main revenue is still minerals and tariffs, in addition to the transaction tax is growing at a fast rate.
This year’s fiscal deficit will depend on the number of immigrants in the back. Basically all the immigrants have applied for an interest-free consideration, and although the money is paid back by them, the interest is still borne by us.
Initial estimates say that this year’s fiscal deficit will be between 6 to 7 million God’s Guilders, with another 700,000 God’s Guilders in military expenses if we want to launch an attack on the indigenous tribes.”
With a fiscal deficit of up to one hundred percent, such a colony, it was estimated that not many countries would dare to take it. There was no way around it, this was the price of a big migration.
An interest-free loan of 200 God’s rupees per person, 100,000 immigrants that’s 20 million God’s rupees, even if the bank gives face to the government to accrue interest at 3% per annum, it’s still 600,000 God’s rupees of interest per year.
Other expenses do not count, just the interest cost is an astronomical figure, good thing as long as two years, if the time is longer, the colonial government certainly can not stand.
Hummel calculated and said: “large-scale immigration is also the last year, the loan interest expenses up to two years.
From next year onwards, there will be no more immigration or resettlement expenses. Mr. Krauss, you calculate when we can break even and how long it will take to recoup our investment.”
No wonder Governor Hummel was not concerned, for the sake of the Central American colonies, the Vienna government had invested tens of millions of guilders before and after, and was still in the process of continuing to invest.
It was arguably the most expensive colony opened by Austria, however the returns were not that optimistic.
In addition to a few tons of gold can be mined every year, and a hundred and eighty tons of silver, it can only sell timber, export some agricultural products.
Resources like copper, iron, lead, zinc, aluminum, etc., are not worth much to mine now, and the raw ores are hard to sell at a good price on the international market.
To refine finished industrial products, forget it. This in turn requires a large investment of money, and the colonial government is not that generous.
Growing cash crops, mining precious metals and selling industrial raw materials is the right path for the colonial economy.
Klaus thought for a moment and said, “After the immigration work is over, another five years will be enough to initially break even.
Wanting to recover the cost of the capital invested, this time will be a bit longer, it may take twenty years, or even longer is possible.”
This was the big problem faced by the colonial government, the high investment in the Central American colonies had already triggered a lot of opposition in the country.
Unlike the development of the African colonies, there were many beneficiaries at home, and the losses were not as severe.
The Central American colonies had only a small number of immigrants from the mainland, mostly absorbed from the United States, and it was this group of people who were the beneficiaries.
Many within the government railed against the Central American strategy and demanded that the forces invested in the Central American region be pulled back and invested in the African continent.
But it was silenced by Franz’s strong demands. But the voices attacking the colonial government of Central America had never stopped, and Hummel desperately needed to make a mark and prove to everyone that the opening of the Central American colonies was the right thing to do.
To do this is very difficult, first of all, the strategic value, in the short term can not be reflected, otherwise there will not be so many people have opinions.
The economic value, unfortunately, is still a net loss. Even after calculating the hidden gains, the colonial government is still in the red.
Even to provide industrial raw materials to the country can not do, these areas produce industrial raw materials, Austria domestic is not in short supply.
(End of chapter)