Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 392 Commerce and Diplomacy ([-])

Livonia was originally an inconspicuous small area on the European continent—in fact, it is also very inconspicuous now, but in the eyes of people on the east coast, the name of this area is very popular.This is due to the existence of more than [-] Livonian immigrants in the country. Ordinary people on the east coast are already familiar with this term.

Riga, a city founded in 1201, is located at the mouth of the Daugava River and is the pearl city of Livonia.The more famous buildings in the city include the St. Peter's Basilica built in the 13th century, the Domsky Cathedral built in 1211, and the symbol of the former rulers - the Knights Fortress.

Goods from all parties gathered in this city with an area of ​​only 0.5 square kilometers, such as local timber and grain, Russian fur, honey, wax, rope, Prussian amber, Dutch cloth, British wool, German wine, Scandic Navian fish, etc., and sometimes even goods from the East were carried by Arab merchants in this city.Then, these goods were transported to Sweden, Poland, Denmark, Germany, France, England and other places through the ships of the Netherlands or the Hanseatic League for sale, and the local merchants and feudal lords enjoyed huge profits in the process.

The merchants of the people from the east bank are located on the banks of the beautiful Daowa River in the city.Since the Livonia region was annexed by Sweden more than a decade ago, local development has been rather slow.Heavy taxes and endless wars have greatly destroyed the local economic foundation, and men have also been conscripted by the Swedish army in large numbers, and many of them have never returned.

But all this has nothing to do with the East Coast people.Thanks to the relatively good relationship with Sweden, the people on the east coast have set up a business here, but the business scope of this business is quite narrow-in order not to offend England, the Netherlands and Han who have major commercial interests here. SA League.The commercial halls of the people on the east bank are mainly engaged in import business, importing goods such as wax, copper, lead, graphite, and livestock; while exporting is much less, mainly some dyed leather goods and a small amount of high-grade dyed cloth and calico.It can be said that in terms of efficacy alone, there is absolutely no need for people from the east coast to set up such a tasteless trading house in Riga, but if you know the most important function of this trading house, you may understand why it has always existed up to now.

Since its establishment more than three years ago, the main task of the Riga Merchant Station has never been to conduct trade, but to collect people!It is well known that neither neighboring Pomerania, Prussia, Lithuania, nor Livonia itself has a very long history.As early as the 12th century, the Teutonic Knights colonized east of Germany with the support of the Pope. Their main task was to conquer the alien tribes east of Germany, such as Pomeranians and Prussians.After conquering these two regions, in the first half of the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights entered the Livonia region at the invitation of the Knights of the Holy Sword founded by the Archbishop Albert of Riga, and then began a series of wars of conquest ; Later Denmark and some Swedish Catholic lords also joined in the colonization.

After more than 300 years of colonial development, the Teutonic Knights have successfully Germanized Pomerania and Prussia and converted them to Catholicism.However, since the Livonia region has changed hands many times in history, whether it is Germans, Danes, Swedes, Poles, Lithuanians or Russians, they have all ruled some or all of the areas here, so the Germans have no control over Livonia. Colonization and assimilation here have been repeatedly interrupted and never succeeded.The various tribes living here, such as the early Levi, the later Kuronians, Samogitians, Smegalians, and the current Estonians and Latvians, have always had a low level of civilization.For example, the Samogitians and Estonians basically have no religious beliefs. Although many Latvians believe in Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity, they have been converted for a short time and their beliefs are very impious. An excellent object of absorption and assimilation for the people of the shore.

With a low level of civilization and no religious belief, where can you find such a person in today's Europe?Only in Livonia, a barren region in the northeast corner of Europe, there are still hundreds of thousands of such tribesmen.Moreover, there are many states in these areas, and they have been invaded and ruled by foreigners many times in history, so there is no complete country at all.The local residents don't have this national awareness, and many people even don't know which nationality they are. If such people don't make great efforts to attract such people from the East Bank, can it be impossible to introduce those French with strong national pride?

The streets of Riga are a bit cramped to be honest, but the flow of people is really not small.Gamo stood at the window on the second floor of the commercial station and looked down. The narrow streets were full of Leto (Latvians) walking around in national costumes. Their men wore sackcloth trousers. and blouses with flowers embroidered on the breast, while the women wore long skirts, embroidered blouses and beautiful shawls, some with little white hats on their heads.

"It's very different from the clothing style and national culture of the Latin world in Western Europe." Gao Mo muttered softly, then turned around, looked at Schneider who was standing respectfully at the door, and asked, "How are you getting along with the local Swedish officials?" ?”

"It's not bad. These Swedish officials don't care about anything else. As long as we pay taxes on time and don't do anything against the Kingdom of Sweden, they don't bother to pay attention to us." Schneider replied, "In fact, these Swedes are against Liwo Niah doesn't care too much, they will only do two things here, that is taxation and conscription. This is Sweden's front line against Poland. The Swedes have occupied a large area of ​​land along the Baltic Sea, and Poland has almost become a landlocked country. The contradiction between these two countries is quite large. Livonia’s front line against Poland is naturally hostile to the Poles and Lithuanians. It seems that there will be no large-scale war at present, but the small Large-scale cross-border attacks are inevitable, so the lives of these local people are not easy. Coupled with the excessive taxation of the Swedes, we can easily collect a large number of immigrants who are willing to go to the east coast every year."

"Don't get involved in the mess between these northern countries. Whether it's the Danes, the Swedes, the Poles or the Russians, it has nothing to do with us. Our core interest here is the population. Livonia is a republic on the east coast of China The most important source of obtaining population, as long as this is ensured, others such as commercial interests can be abandoned at critical moments. What is the image of our country here?"

"Very good." Schneider said a little happily, "Since the Northwest Reclamation Bank set up a branch here the year before last, some nationals from Livonia in China have been going here through our banking network. According to statistics, the total amount of remittances sent by domestic residents to Livonia through the Northwest Bank in 43 has reached more than [-] yuan, and overseas remittances have become an important local income. Many local residents in After receiving the remittance or letter from the east coast, immediately use the remittance as the ship's fare, and then board our immigration ship with my family and go to the local Dongfang Port, Zhenhai Port or Luocha Port. Even, Many times, they don’t have to wait for our ship to arrive, they will contact the ship themselves, and then organize a group to go to the east coast.”

"I'm glad to hear that, Carl." Gaumo said with a smile on his face, "Your work seems to be doing very well. In the next step, you will have to make some minor adjustments to your work. In addition to organizing immigration, you also need to receive some cotton cloth from the local area on a regular basis. Of course, you don’t need to sell these cotton cloth yourself. Our old friends—the merchants of the Hanseatic League will come here to buy all our goods, and then Depending on the situation, they will choose to sell it locally, or transport it back to nearby cities such as Lübeck, Bremen, Hamburg, etc. for sale. Up front. All you need to do is settle a deal with them and then put the resulting profits back into another endeavor which is finding ways to source women in the neighborhood, especially those 15-35 who are fertile Women. As long as these people are willing to go to the east bank, give them a generous dowry. Money, livestock, fields, etc. are not a problem! Don’t be afraid to spend money. Value. Of course, every expenditure must be recorded in detail, every year someone will come to the Bordeaux station to audit the accounts, I don't want to see any trouble on your side."

"Don't worry, I will pay attention." Carl Schneider nodded and said.

"How is the matter with the Polish mercenaries going?" Gao Mo asked after thinking for a while, almost forgetting this important event.

"Two batches of more than 300 people have been recruited, all of whom are cavalry. They went to the east coast by boat more than two months ago." Schneider said, "There are so many people like this in Poland, it can be said how many How many. At present, there are still a group of about [-] people who have assembled in the port of Gdansk (Danzig), waiting for our ships to pick them up when they return. The Polish government is very friendly to us, probably because they are trying to find a way to buy They also introduced me to some infantry officers for the sake of our cheap army weapons and asked me if I needed to hire some infantry, I couldn't make up my mind so there was no positive response. But I think it's worth it, these guys are proficient with firearms, The will to fight is not bad, and more importantly, the employment price is quite low, which is suitable for use in the Far East."

"Well, in two days I will go to Danzig Port to have a look." Gao Mo said immediately.

(End of this chapter)