Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 479 Crazy Cotton

On May 1645, 5, it was sunny.In this season, Luocha Port has gradually entered the late autumn, and the workers on the dock put on thick coats.It's very windy here, they don't want to catch a cold because of the cold wind blowing after sweating during work, they have to pay attention to their health, no, we are not those poor central and southern European homeless people.

Recently, the port of Rocha has been very busy with ships from New World regions such as La Plata, Brazil, Florida, Georgia, and the New Indies, as well as Old World countries such as France, Poland, and Portugal.Some of them came to buy cotton cloth, leather goods, or grain, and others came to sell goods: livestock, minerals, cotton, wool, and even slaves.In this season, Luocha Port has to load and unload more than ten large ships almost every day. The dock workers who are paid according to the piece system are very busy, but they are also very satisfied.Because they can finally no longer have to receive the pitiful basic salary of four yuan a month, and now they have at least two yuan in extra bonus income every month, which makes them happy.

George Hampton once again landed on the land of the East Coasters. This is the third time he has come to the East Coast.The first time I came to sell cotton cloth, the second time I came to sell cotton, and this time, I came to sell cotton.His loyal butler has already rushed to the big blackboard in front of the Luocha Bulk Trade Center to check various market conditions, so although he is eager to know a lot of first-hand news, he still decides to go to the tavern for a drink first. .

In front of the black building decorated with a large spire in the distance, no less than a hundred people were already crowded. These are businessmen from various countries and their entourages who came to trade.Among them, New World merchants only accounted for about half, and the rest were Old World merchants, mainly from France, Portugal and England.Although England suffered from wars, it was this kind of endless war damage that caused the normal woolen textile industry to suffer from a cold current. Many merchants chose to sell wool to the Dutch, and then went to Massachusetts or Virginia to develop themselves.However, Hampton himself had a bad impression of the Dutch. He decided to sell the wool to the East Coasters. Although he also fought with the East Coasters, his dislike for the Dutch overwhelmed all of them. He and his old friends A total of more than 2 bags of John Hill's wool will be sold to people on the east coast.

As for John Hill, this fellow, persuaded by Hampton, decided to follow his example and invest the vast sums of money from the sale of the wool in plantations in Virginia.George Hampton has a large area of ​​newly opened cotton plantations there. He is very optimistic about the cotton market in the next few years or even more than ten years, so he invested a huge amount of money in Virginia. He raised a total of more than 6 pounds by means of joint ventures and the sale of old continent properties, all of which were invested in those plantations.From the second half of last year to the beginning of this year, he has been looking for land locally, buying seeds and farm tools, and buying slaves. He has been very busy. Finally, he planted the first crop of cotton seedlings in the field last month.

He was quite confident about it, and expected the cotton plantations to bring him a good income, so that the return on his once-disgustedly daring investment looked pretty good.Seeing that he was so confident, John Hill decided to invest part of the funds that would have been invested in Massachusetts' shipbuilding and fishing industries here to open up plantations.But he was more or less careful, because half of his plantation is tobacco.Tobacco was a good business ten years ago, but now the price has fallen sharply, and it is no longer so profitable. However, the demand is high and the profit is still stable. Most planters in Virginia still grow this kind of tobacco. thing.

The tavern set up by the East Coasters on the pier seems to have been renovated, and the business area has been at least doubled. It seems that the business is quite good.The owner of the tavern is a limping middle-aged retired soldier. He seems to have quite a background to open a tavern near this bustling pier.There are a lot of decorations on the walls of the newly renovated tavern. Hampton looked around and saw a majestic oil painting in his eyes.

On the oil painting are countless soldiers with guns lined up, and a handsome officer riding a tall horse. There seems to be a title on it.Hampton carefully identified it with the Chinese he had learned for several years. Maybe the name was "Marshal Mo Yantai Military Parade"?What a strange name.

The food and service provided in the tavern is still very disappointing.The black waiter with a straight face all day puts the Xiangshan dry red that Hampton ordered heavily on the thick dining table made of Parana pine, as if Hampton is his enemy.Hampton shrugged incomprehensibly, feeling that barbarians really lack education, and sometimes they really need someone to teach them how to respect guests from the civilized world.

The tavern was crowded with rough sailors for the most part.They talked and laughed loudly, drank cheap spicy liquor, and spittled about their past, maybe it was a battle with pirates, maybe it was a love affair, maybe it was a big fortune gambling, in short some very boring things.

Hampton's servant Jill hurried back just as he had finished his second glass.He took two young helpers, and then said with an excited expression: "Sir, your judgment is correct. The price of cotton has risen again, and now it is 180 yuan per bag, and each bag is one metric ton. The cotton that Granada buys can make a fortune!"

"It's really good news." George Hampton said happily, and then he poured a glass of wine for his old servant Jill himself: "Then, for the crazy cotton price, let's have a drink!"

"Cheers!" Jill took a sip of Xiangshan dry red wine, and then continued: "But there is still some unfortunate news. People on the east coast have adjusted the exchange rate again, and this time it is very unfavorable to us."

"How did you adjust it?" Hampton was a little nervous. He had at least [-] pounds of coins on hand, all of which were new mints with poor quality.It seems that the people on the east coast have already known the fact that the fineness of various coins in the Old World has generally declined, so they adjusted the exchange rate in time.That's not surprising, but Hampton really wants to know what the east coast thinks of the shilling now as it relates to the value of the money he has on hand.

"One dollar for 7 shillings." The figure that Jill spit out made Hampton a little dizzy. It's not because he lost his composure.Half a year ago, 1 East Bank dollar could only be exchanged for 5 shillings and 7 pence, but now it can suddenly be exchanged for 7 shillings, which means that the coins worth [-] pounds he brought have shrunk by a quarter, which makes him How can it be accepted.

"It's unreasonable!" He immediately yelled loudly, causing all the businessmen and sailors who were talking loudly to look this way, even the lame boss on the counter who was dozing off looked this way a few more times .

"They can't set this kind of price for no reason. It's unreasonable. He devalued my money!" George Hampton lowered his voice, but was still very angry: "They can't do this."

"But if we don't want the ship to run empty on the return trip, it's better to accept the foreign exchange price they give. After all, only in this way can the transaction continue." Jill calmly pointed out the situation they are facing now.

Jill's words made Hampton a little silent.Yes, running empty is the greatest sin!Compared with the terrible consequences that may be brought about by an empty ship, what is the loss in the exchange rate at present?Moreover, his and Hill's manor now needs a large amount of high-quality metal farm tools, cotton or dyed leather goods from the east coast, and food for the slaves on the plantation.These things are not cheap in the Old Continent, and there are not many of them, so it is more cost-effective to buy them from people on the east coast.Especially those exquisite printed cloths and dyed leather goods that look very high-end at first glance. These are very popular commodities in Virginia, Georgia or Massachusetts. It would be a pity not to buy some on the return trip.

After thinking about it, in the face of real interests, Hampton finally compromised.After a terrible lunch with the servants, in the afternoon they went to the dock warehouse to deliver the wool brought from England by the East Coasters and the cotton bought in New Granada.The total income of more than 1 pounds and the cash he brought were all exchanged for agricultural tools and grains urgently needed by the plantation, as well as exquisite cloth and leather goods.

Cotton prices are really crazy!I remember that it was only 120 yuan/ton more than two years ago, but now it has directly reached 180 yuan/ton, which is a full increase of half!Such a price is unknown in other places. Anyway, the few cotton textile factories in England must not be able to operate.For no other reason, the cost is simply too high!

Not only England, Hampton estimated that among the Old Continent countries that started the idea of ​​cotton textile industry and put it into action, it is estimated that Sweden, a country with weak economic strength, will find it difficult to persist, and Venice, a country that has not adopted new textile machines The country will also face losses, and now it depends on whether France and the Netherlands can hold on.France has the largest consumer group in Europe at this time. If she increases the import tariffs on cotton textiles for trade protection, she may be able to continue to support herself by relying on the domestic market; With a population of 80 million and a very small market, it may be difficult for the Dutch, who are extremely dependent on overseas markets, to compete with the East Coasters.

The Dutch have clearly felt the crisis.They know that the cost of the people on the east coast is still only a fraction or even one-tenth of their own even with the expensive shipping costs. The increase in the price of cotton raw materials is more like a conspiracy by the people on the east coast.Therefore, they began to offer rewards to the whole of Europe, soliciting any ideas that can improve the existing textile machinery, in order to rely on technological innovation to compete with the people on the east coast.

(End of this chapter)