Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1720 Business Adjustment

Governor Hubert de Beveren arrived at the Port of Oriental with two merchant ships full of Congolese slaves, and a middle-aged man named Leon Wolfgang Wagner disembarked with him, It looks like he looks like he is looking forward to himself.

The Congolese black slaves were ordered by various construction teams under the Ministry of Transport on the East Bank. There were more than [-] of them in total. They would mainly go to the construction site of the Central Railway to contribute to the construction of the East Bank.

To be honest, if it weren't for the strong request of the people on the east coast, the colony of New Courland really didn't intend to sell too many black slaves to the people on the east coast. There are two reasons for this.One is that the plantations run by the Kurlanders themselves—at present it seems that they are mainly tobacco plantations, but in recent years there have been some plantations of sugar cane, indigo and other tropical cash crops, but they do not account for the mainstream—need to A large number of laborers are working. Logging camps, docks, construction teams, etc. also need a large number of black laborers. I often feel that I am in short supply. How can I have a large surplus to sell to the east coast?

These two are naturally also related to the cost of arresting people.Because of the vague involvement of Portuguese missionaries and even the colonial government, the cost of capturing Congolese slaves in the Congo River Basin by the Courlandians has greatly increased. The war with the local Congolese Kingdom was not only protracted, but often even required a lot of money. It is very uncomfortable for them to catch a sufficient number of blacks at a high price.You must know that the price of the blacks they sell to the east coast is basically fixed, and the price cannot be adjusted upwards without the consent of the people on the east coast. But it has increased so much that this business is regarded by the Courlands as a disguised "tribute" to the East Bank.

Of course, the Kurlanders naturally did not dare to cut off this "tribute", because they are now too dependent on the Eastern China Republic.Not only people (generally nobles or knights, tantamount to the preparatory bureaucracy of New Courland) learn finance, management, business and some basic industrial and agricultural technologies here, but also all kinds of materials they need for daily production and life. Import from the east coast, because importing from the old continent is not only far away and expensive, but even the goods are not complete enough.

In addition, the most important point is that the New Courland colony is located in the tropics, with hot and humid climate. The Livonians and Poles from the Baltic Sea are naturally very uncomfortable to live in, so they need to import a lot from the east coast, including golden rooster. Nashuang, Fengyoujing, safflower oil, cooling oil, Huoluo oil, carminative oil, ipecac, 108 medicinal wine, opium wine, aspirin, senna leaf, foxglove preparation, aloe vera oil and a large number of proven products are still sold in South America. Effective traditional Chinese medicine.These things are even more important than all other commodities, because they are obviously directly related to the health of the local colonists. Ireland is basically inseparable from the east coast at all, otherwise life will be much more difficult. It is common for a large number of colonial populations to die. white colonists lived.

Therefore, we can see that the Kurlanders really dare not go against the will of the people on the east coast at all. Also try to pick the best quality and export to the east coast (the second-class ones will be brought back to Europe for sale). During the East-Portuguese War, troops were even sent to attack Portugal's Angola colony, and they brought a "good dog".

Today, Governor Beveren brought two boats to the east bank to deliver black slaves and some tobacco leaves. The empty cabins after the delivery will naturally be filled with various goods from the east coast.However, this time it's a little different!An official from the foreign affairs department on the east coast held a letter written by Minister Zheng Yong and told Governor Beveren on the pier that the situation had changed. Their two ships could no longer carry barreled flour, wine, metal tools, cloth, salt and medicines. , but to load a large number of rifles, artillery, spears, sabers, armor and accompanying ammunition, and the destination will no longer be Jakobshaven in New Courland, but Amsterdam in the United Provinces, where it will be There were people from the Tripp family who had been waiting for a long time to make a delivery with them.

Governor Beveren, who was over sixty years old, was naturally very surprised by this, because it was not in line with common sense, and it also disrupted their plans.However, with a high emotional intelligence, of course he did not show his true emotions. Instead, after a little complaint, he agreed to the request to transport these two ships of weapons to Amsterdam for the people on the east bank—of course, to express his gratitude, Dong The shore people paid 30% of the shipping fee higher than the market price, and the east coast insurance company also gave them two marine insurances for free. The sincerity cannot be said to be insufficient.

In addition, in response to Governor Beveren's complaints, diplomats on the East Coast also stated that the two 650-ton flute-shaped ships ordered by New Courland at the Great Fish River Naval Shipyard will be delivered ahead of schedule The ships that should be delivered to the South China Sea Transportation Company in the near future) will be available at the beginning of next month. They can wait for about 20 days on the east coast, and then purchase all kinds of required materials, and then put the two new ships The boat sailed back to Jakobshavn.

Governor Beveren was a little surprised when he heard about it, because it meant that Courland had no loss at all, so he happily said that he would inform the captains of the two ships and let them cross the Atlantic Ocean after replenishing and return to the Old Continent as soon as possible.Seeing that they had achieved their goal, the diplomats on the east coast left with a smile on their faces, while Beveren and Wagner also left the wharf yard and stayed in a nearby business house (also used as a diplomatic liaison place) in Courland. down.

In the next one or two weeks, Governor Beveren has been relatively busy. It seems that he has visited many government officials on the east coast, and also met with some friends in the business community, and determined the direction of cooperation between the two parties in the next few years.At this time, he often brought Wagner with him, introduced them to many officials and businessmen on the east coast, and said that the knight Wagner would be in charge of contacting them in the future, and he would retire honorably and enjoy his life.

Yes, that's right, after serving Grand Duke Jacob for most of his life, Governor Beveren, who is already in his 60s, is increasingly feeling exhausted, and is no longer competent for a series of colonial affairs in terms of diplomacy, security, and commerce.After reporting this idea to the Grand Duke Jacob, the Grand Duke first made some reservations, but after finding that Governor Beveren was more determined, he also agreed to his request to retire, and then appointed Leon Wall Fugang Wagner - a Germanized Latvian, a general under Archduke Jacob, knightly - served as the second governor of the colony of New Courland.

At present, the two have not officially handed over, and they have taken their family members to Governor Beveren, who lives in New Courland. In fact, after the death of his old wife, there are only one son and one daughter. He is a knight with a fief, and his son is studying financial knowledge at the accounting school in Qingdao Port. During this period of time, he basically took Wagner to familiarize himself with various affairs. Given the opportunity, he arrived on the east coast by boat and took him to visit some old relationships accumulated over the years.

There is no doubt that this step is crucial, because the basis of the existence of the New Courland Colony is the east bank, and the most important job of the governor is to maintain a good relationship with the east bank, and then use it to obtain various Commodities and aid, deeply cultivate the colony, develop a tropical plantation economy, and bring benefits to the Grand Duke family and investors.To put it more clearly, the New Courland Colony is a money-making machine for the Grand Duke family, Wendao, Mitao and many dignitaries. In order to make this money-making machine run smoothly, it is the first priority to please the people on the east coast.

Of course, after entrusting many meritorious ministers, the local forces in New Courland have gradually formed over the years. Some farmers, forest owners, businessmen and even bureaucrats who are rooted in the local area are naturally not interested in the blood-sucking and exploitation of Mitao. Probably not a shred of thought.It's just that their current strength is still relatively weak, and they can't make their voices more smoothly.However, as batches of children from local aristocratic families trained by people from the east coast return to work in New Courland, and there are more and more white yeoman farmers in the Congo River Basin, this local power will eventually become stronger one day, and it is conceivable that by then How influential will the East Coast Republic of China be!It’s good that Courland doesn’t betray the east bank. If there is any disagreement, the people on the east bank will encourage the locals to become independent every minute, establish a new country, and break away from the control of the Principality of Courland. If you haven't reached this point, it's just a backhand.

After Beveren and Wagner had been active in the capital Dongfang Port for almost half a month—the two ships had already set off with weapons and military supplies for a long time—the East Coast Foreign Minister Zheng Yong met them in his own courtyard. , Zheng Yong did not intend to conceal his intentions and ideas, but directly asked Governor Beveren: Is the Principality of Courland interested in acting as an agent for goods on the east coast in the Baltic Sea.

This pie that fell from the sky made Governor Beveren a little dizzy. Of course he knew what it meant: the east coast has a wide variety of goods, high quality and low price. The Dutch make a lot of money (the profit is much higher than that of the East Coast producers), and the Courlandians have long been jealous, but they do not have as wide a sales channel as the Dutch, so they can only Asia and neighboring Poland and Prussia.

It's just that what do people from the east coast mean this time?Isn't it ready to cooperate with the East Coast people and let the Courlandians act as agents?Governor Beveren felt a little unbelievable when he heard the news at first, but after careful consideration, he felt that this possibility is still very high, because the relationship between the United Provinces and the East Coast is very bad now!

Although Governor Beveren has lived in New Courland all year round, he is naturally not ignorant of news from the Old Continent. Moreover, after Wagner arrived in Jakobshaven, he also had an in-depth discussion on the recent past few days during the chat with him. The details of the situation in Europe in [-], of course, some of the frictions that had occurred between the people on the east coast and the Dutch would not be missed.

Governor Beveren later learned that the people on the east coast had officially sent troops to take down the Dutch Cape Town colony and brought it into their own rule, and the news that it has not been returned has not yet spread. The Dutch were angered, and it is probably impossible for the relationship between the two countries to improve in the short term!If you think about it this way, it seems normal for people on the east coast to hand over their commodity agency rights to the Principality of Courland. This means that they have completely abandoned the Baltic Sea, a market that can be called the back garden of the Dutch, and instead focus on operating in the Netherlands. Areas where the human power is not so strong, such as the Mediterranean Sea!

This is definitely a historic opportunity for the Principality of Courland!Governor Beveren knows how to act as an agent of goods on the east coast—more precisely, the only agent, because even the east coast tried to cultivate Courland merchants in the past, but they were too weak and were crushed by the Dutch ——The huge benefits and massive benefits that can be brought, so I am very excited. I didn't expect that the things that people on the east coast had hinted several times before were officially completed this time. He felt that he must write to Jacob as soon as possible. The Grand Duke and Prince Frederick, let them cheer up and handle this matter seriously. The rise of the Courland merchant group in the Baltic Sea will completely determine whether they can successfully open up goods for the people on the east coast in the next few years. The market is up!

At this time, Governor Beveren was even a little thankful that the conflict between the East Bank and the Netherlands gave the Courlandians a chance to rise—at least they could make an attempt—it just depended on whether they could seize it.From the perspective of people on the east coast, after losing the help of Dutch agents, the people on the east coast are blind in the Baltic Sea market. Except for the Riga trading station that can barely sell some goods to maintain its own operations, Sweden, Poland, The big markets in North Germany, which can be called fat, can only be thrown to the Courlandians, and let them toss and try on their own.At least, the family of Grand Duke Jacob still has a considerable network of contacts in northern Germany, and intermarriages are relatively frequent, which can be seen from the fact that Prince Frederick ran to Lübeck, Hamburg, Rostock and other places twice in three days.

After handing over the Baltic Sea, the people on the east coast can concentrate on investing all their resources in the Mediterranean area, and use the two fulcrums of Genoa and Venice to sell their goods to the Apennine Peninsula and southern Germany.In addition, Southern Europe under the rule of the Ottoman Empire needs to focus on intensive cultivation. If it is done well, there is still great potential to be tapped.

People on the east coast just want to see the proud Prince of Orange. Without you, wouldn't we still be in business!

(End of this chapter)