Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 507 Closure of Colonia

There is still no sign of heat in Colonia in midsummer. The "high temperature" of 27 degrees is just right for the people here. Coupled with the fresh air blowing from the Rio de la Plata, people who come here Merchants from various countries who conduct transactions in this trading city feel extraordinarily comfortable.

Thanks to the unique geographical environment and the only charter approved by the King of Spain and issued by the Governor of Peru that can legally trade with La Plata, this trading city jointly managed by the East Coast and Spain has been in the market for more than ten years. Has developed rapidly.By the beginning of February 1646, the permanent population of this trade-prospered city had reached more than 2, and the floating population was too large to be counted. However, its total population exceeded 600 during the hottest summer and autumn seasons. Unanimously recognized.

Every year, a large amount of goods flow from here to La Plata (including Paraguay), Chalkas, Chile and even Peru and New Spain.The Spanish rule that the number of trading ships from the east coast should not exceed 2 per year has long been a famous joke. People from the east coast sail here more than 20 times a year, not to mention there are many large and small Merchant ships from various European countries have arrived, and they have also brought a large amount of goods.

According to the joint statistics of the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Finance, the East Coast Republic of China earns more than 30 yuan in the Colonia free trade market every year, and it continues to increase. This has become a major interest that the country cannot give up .Not to mention the huge demand for high-quality coins on the east coast brought about by the huge amount of trade. This means that the people on the east coast have collected seigniorage in disguise from all merchants participating in the transaction, and they have gained a lot.

Colonia has become a paradise for merchants to revel in. The tightly controlled trade system of the Spaniards in the New World was opened by the East Coasters through the Colonia Free Trade Market, and then expanded rapidly. In the development of the year, it quickly occupied a large number of markets in the New World and achieved considerable economic benefits.The Spanish monopolies who were defeated in this economic contest naturally gritted their teeth against the people on the east coast. Over the years, they have been trying to find a way to completely close this so-called free trade market, making the vast and fertile New World once again theirs. cash cow.

It's a pity that most of the officials in La Plata have become slaves of money. They were dragged into the water by the merchants, and they turned a blind eye to the trade that exceeded the quota. There is a large backlog of goods, and I am very depressed.Later, some big businessmen simply joined the smuggling trade here and made a lot of money.And some other agents of the big nobles in Spain can't save face, or say that the small-scale smuggling trade can't make up for the losses caused by their loss of the monopoly market, so these people are still agitating the local West Indian Academy Even the Governor of Peru in the New World was determined to ban this "evil", "unruly" and "tradition-breaking" trade in order to protect the interests of the "peninsula people".

Their chatter seems to have had an effect last year.The efforts of the Jesuit priests formed a joint force with them. Coupled with the change in the king's attitude, the professional bureaucrats of the West Indian Academy immediately changed their procrastinating style of work and began to issue a series of instructions to the Governor of Peru. , the purpose is to curb the somewhat unscrupulous development momentum of the people on the east coast.

The Governor of Peru naturally understands the instructions from the Kingdom. As a devout Catholic, he has long been very dissatisfied with the outrageous religious policies implemented by the people on the east coast, and he has long wanted to clean up those increasingly presumptuous East coast pagans.But to be able to achieve the position of governor, he is naturally not an idiot who doesn't understand anything. Of course he is very aware of the reality between La Plata and the East Bank-that is, if the people of the East Coast are willing, they can be transferred within a week. The price of occupying Buenos Aires, and within a month Asuncion, threatening the silver mines of Potosí, was a price he was unwilling and unable to bear.

Faced with such a difficult situation, the Governor decided to give the people on the east coast one last chance. As long as they demolish the settlement buildings built across the border, stop persecuting Catholics, and ban smuggling trade, then everyone can still be good friends and do business happily. , and this is one of the main reasons why Baron Bravo went to the east coast.

Faced with the "unreasonable demands" of the Spaniards, the people on the east coast naturally refused, which made the governor feel a little humiliated.Coupled with the arrival of a special envoy of the king from the mainland—the Chief Inspector, the Governor finally resorted to real tough measures.He first replaced the previous Superintendent of La Plata who had a suspicious position, and replaced him with the hawkish admiral Garcia, who was born as a civilian, as the new Superintendent, and then helped Jesuits and other missionary groups recruit many mercenaries from the Old World to Paraná parish.And today, the governor's last move was finally revealed gradually.

"The Colonia trade market may be closed." This rumor that has been gradually spreading among merchants since the beginning of February seems to be finally becoming a reality today. On February 2, the well-known La Plata Rodriguez Chamber of Commerce suddenly closed its business hall in the city of Colonia without giving any convincing reason and time for its resumption.

Following the initiative of the Rodriguez Chamber of Commerce, many Spanish merchants from La Plata also began to sell off their backlog of goods, and then successively announced the temporary closure of the shops. The next opening time is yet to be determined.In short, these La Plata businessmen who used to be quite popular in the market seem to be collectively under a kind of pressure. Go home and watch the situation.

Outside the city of Colonia, some Shandong businessmen from the east coast felt a little helpless looking at the deserted market.The biggest customers, the La Plata people, are gone, and they still have a shit business.The large quantities of cotton cloth, woolen fabrics, hardware products, and leather goods bought from Dayuhe Machine Textile Factory, First Machinery Factory Comprehensive Workshop, and Luocha Leather Goods Factory are facing the dilemma of not being able to sell. Is it going to lose money this time?Some businessmen thought pessimistically.

Wearing a cotton shirt, Zhu Heng stood bored in the Qingzhou Guild Hall. Only a few Brazilian businessmen came to buy some cotton cloth and agricultural tools in the morning, and there was no one else to patronize. The business was extremely bleak.Qingzhou Guild Hall is a business house opened by several immigrants from Qingzhou, Shandong Province. It is considered to be a medium-sized business house among the private business houses on the east coast of Colonia City.Among them, the boss Zhu Hengzhu is the shareholder with the largest say because he has the largest amount of investment.

With the growing prosperity of Colonia's trade, the country has gradually released the restrictions on private people going to Colonia for trade.Any person or organization can go to Colonia to buy land and open a business office as long as they submit a deposit of 2000 yuan to the Ministry of Trade.To be honest, the threshold for a deposit of [-] yuan is actually not low, but this boss Zhu is also really powerful. He sold some jewelry and jewelry that are said to be family heirlooms and gave them to certain female cross-travelers, and then it was very easy. It raised more than [-] yuan in a short time, which caused a sensation in the small circle for a while.

According to some sources, the value of the jewelry that Boss Zhu sells is not worth 2000 yuan at all. In the East Coast, a place where there is no market, this kind of exquisite gold and silver jewelry, emeralds, etc. It's not a problem even if you sell jade for eight thousand—provided you meet someone who really likes this kind of thing.Boss Zhu's attitude obviously has the meaning of flattery in it.

After learning about the situation, Section Chief Wei of the Mei Agency immediately sent someone to "invite" Boss Zhu into the Mei Agency.After some simple questioning and interrogation, Boss Zhu immediately explained.It turned out that his family was originally a wealthy businessman in Qingzhou, because he hated some local gentry leaders, and at the same time he was unwilling to surrender to the Tartars. Many people in his family were killed when the Tartars entered Shandong in the 15th year of Chongzhen. Arrived in Yantai.If you stay in Shandong and Qingzhou, sooner or later you will either be played to death by those gentry or be killed by the Tartars.Therefore, they finally embarked on the road to Yantai.After recuperating for a few months, he was stuffed into another ship, wandered around for half a year, and finally came to the east bank.

Boss Zhu and a few entourages when he fled opened the Qingzhou Guild Hall in Colonia City, specializing in the export business of goods on the east coast, and sometimes bought some wool from some small La Plata merchants and then sold it. to the government for a small difference.In short, the business is neither bad nor bad, and they can fool around a thousand or several hundred yuan every year, and everyone shares a share, so they can make do with it.

Today, the last La Plata Chamber of Commerce cleared its inventory, then closed the shop and returned to Asunción.This greatly reduced the popularity of the entire Colonia market, and the business of Boss Zhu's Qingzhou store was greatly affected, so everyone was a little sad.What made them even more depressed was that several small merchants in La Plata who had already paid a deposit for the purchase of wool had disappeared for a long time, and it seemed that they would not reappear in the short term, which caused them a lot of losses.

"Forget it, let's go back too. The business can't continue, this is called... what is it called... yes, it's called systemic risk, force majeure, don't blame us. Seeing that our Dadong'an and today's Sparta The relationship between the two countries is becoming more and more tense, and it is hard to say when the war will start. Let’s withdraw, pay the servants’ wages in the store, and sell the remaining goods to those Brazilians, Dutchmen, and Englanders. People, it’s cheaper for them.” Boss Zhu looked at several partners with mournful faces, and said firmly: “The Colonia shopping mall is so yellow, the court will definitely not let it go, and we will come back here sooner or later. Brothers They cheered up and spent money to publish an article in the supplement of "Kommersant" after returning home, scolding these barbarian people who do business without credibility."

(End of this chapter)