Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 553 War Years ([-])

April 1646, 12, sunny.

Captain Ventura was sitting bored on the stone railing at the pier of Rocha Port, beside the spacious and magnificent deep-water trestle of Rocha Port, moored several merchant ships flying the flag of the United Provinces (that is, the Netherlands).But don't get me wrong, these merchant ships did not come from the mainland of the Netherlands, but from the ports of Dutch Brazil.These ships are loaded with cane sugar, Brazilian sumac, tropical dried fruits and crucial cotton, which can be said to be urgently needed materials on the east coast.

"The Dutch really got into the eyes of the money. They are everywhere, what a hell!" Captain Ventura squinted his eyes at the busy German sailors on the ships, and muttered: "It's all A bunch of poor people!"

"So, our country's business has been taken over by the Dutch, right? They have become our stewards since then?" A man in a gray uniform suddenly said behind Captain Ventura.

"Damn, Silvio, I can see you everywhere!" Captain Ventura was startled, and almost fell into the harbor with floating vegetables, rotten wood, and rotten fish and shrimp. The fellow said resentfully: "Aren't you an investigator in the Mei Agency? Why did you come here? On vacation? It's not like..."

"Don't guess." Silvio said somewhat unnaturally, "My head committed a crime and was dispatched to the Far East. The new head is Putin, the former gendarmerie commander who was dismissed, but it seems that I don't recruit He liked it, so I was purged, and now I am working in the customs of Luocha port. Well, I am still in my old job, counting import and export materials."

"Unlucky guy." Captain Ventura gave him a sympathetic look, and then said: "But seriously, Silvio, do you also think that our country's economy is going to be taken over by the Dutch? It's incredible Bar?"

"I was joking." Silvio continued, ignoring Captain Ventura's white eyes, "But in fact, our country sent people to Fort Good Hope and Recife immediately after the war broke out, and they were with the Netherlands respectively. The East India Company and the West India Company started negotiations, hoping that the two of them could increase the export of materials to the east coast. The Dutch East India Company was noncommittal, but the West India Company agreed and signed a trade agreement with us. We Conceded some steps in terms of price, and gave them a ten-year monopoly in Dutch Brazil, Guyana, West Indies, West Africa, British North American colonies, etc. At the same time, they completely cut off the supply of weapons to the Brazilians; in exchange, they agreed to transport all kinds of materials needed on the east coast to the port of Rocha for sale. This was mentioned by the leader when we had a meeting a while ago, the newspaper It is also reported in the Internet that neutral ships are used to transport supplies during the war, which is to our advantage."

In fact, strictly speaking, the Netherlands and Spain have not yet ended the state of war in name at this time, but in fact the war between the two countries has basically ceased.The Spaniards also began to gradually return the large sums of cash owed to Dutch lenders. Many silver bars from Spanish America were shipped back to Amsterdam by Dutch ships to mint silver dollars. The silver dollars procured supplies on the spot, and then transported them to the port of Santander in northern Spain to support the ongoing Spanish war.

The current economic situation of the Dutch West India Company is not very optimistic.The Dutch company based in the province of Zeeland (the East India Company was based in the province of Holland) was a complete failure economically in terms of their operations in America and Africa.They spent tens of millions of ducats for the protracted war with the Spanish and Portuguese, but the income was very limited. Now they have to maintain an increasingly large control area, and the money is flowing like water. This makes the company's The financial situation has never been better.

In fact, in the final analysis, it is their own problem that the Dutch are in trouble in the Americas.Unlike the British and the Spaniards, the colonies of the Dutch are generally only commercial colonies, not so-called development colonies.That is to say, the Dutch only focus on how to quickly grab local business interests, instead of making a huge upfront investment and then discussing the benefits like the British. Failed in America.

Now that a war broke out between the east coast and Spain, this group of businessmen who were in financial trouble immediately seized this rare opportunity, and within a short period of time, they hit it off with the people on the east coast and reached a cooperation agreement.You know, East Coast products are very popular in the New World, and they are also famous for their high quality and low price.If they have franchise rights in some areas, it is still very profitable, at least they don't have to go to the Amsterdam market to buy those high-priced inferior goods.

And the people on the east coast also wish for the cooperation of the Dutch West India Company.Although it is much more expensive than buying goods in Europe with your own money, the Dutch, who sit in Amsterdam, the largest commodity distribution market in the world, are absolutely indisputable in terms of collecting goods. If you can afford it, they will find it for you as soon as possible.

The international trade and even the coastal shipping business of most European countries are taken over by the Dutch. Even in the Baltic Sea, Sweden, Poland, North Germany and other regions, the merchants responsible for collecting local specialties such as grain, timber, mast, flax, and tar are all Dutch. .They control all trade, and even when Britain exports a batch of materials to France, it must be shipped to Amsterdam first, bought by the Dutch and then shipped to France through the Rhine.This made the French furious and helpless at the same time, because the Dutch could threaten them too much, such as embargoing goods, stopping loans, and so on.In this era, only people from the east coast who have not yet fully integrated into the European market dare to look coldly at the Netherlands, because they do not need to obtain loans from the Netherlands.

In addition, letting big businessmen with huge influence in The Hague (the capital of the Netherlands) handle import trade for the east coast is tantamount to imposing a commercial bribe on the Dutch in disguise, which should play a role in maintaining their neutrality in this war. A certain role-although they may not necessarily see this "little money".

"Look, these Dutch ships have brought in the ship materials and cotton we urgently need. These goods are all tax-free!" Silvio watched his men check and register on the Dutch ship, and said slowly: "They are returning From time to time, the ship will be filled with grain. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn and other miscellaneous grains are 30 yuan/ton, and the price of wheat is negotiated once a year. This year, it is only 50 yuan/ton. We don’t even have pricing power. The Dutch control more than 70% of Europe They bought grain from the ports of Danzig and Arkhangelsk, and then transported it to Amsterdam for trading. They controlled the price and at the same time controlled the flow of grain. The countries where the famine spread to get their goods or loans Kneeling, the Dutch have used their food weapon so well to knock some countries off, it's enviable."

"With so much grain exported, will our domestic grain prices rise significantly?" Captain Ventura suddenly sat up straight and asked worriedly.

"No!" Silvio said without hesitation, "This is a wartime system, and many commodities are subject to price controls, and grain happens to be one of them. In addition, China (including South Africa, New Zealand) last year Huaxia) has harvested more than 3.2 tons of various grains. Although most of them are high-yield but not very delicious sweet potatoes, corn and potatoes, they are still grains, and they can make a lot of money selling them in Europe. Besides, The country's grain export quota for this year is only 3000 or 6000 tons, accounting for only one-tenth of the grain harvest. In addition, the number of cattle and sheep we snatched back from La Plata has reached an astonishing [-] head. Such a small amount of grain exports will not have any impact in the country, at least the national grain reserves are still full of more than [-] tons of new grains that have just been harvested this year."

"I don't like the Dutch." Captain Ventura looked at the German sailors chatting and laughing on the pier for a long time, and said sourly: "Should we rely on the Dutch to survive the difficult war years? They are all profiteers, Just like those Jews who deserve hell!"

"Don't be stupid, my friend." Silvio sneered and said, "Look at the ships from various countries entering the port. The proportion of Dutch ships has been increasing over the years. Just wait and see , as the war between our country and the Kingdom of Spain continues to ferment, there will be fewer and fewer ships from other European countries such as Portugal, France, England, and Germany in the future, because they are not sure whether their ships will be attacked in the coastal waters of our country. Interception. At this time, only the fearless Dutch have the courage to break through all obstacles, sometimes you have to admire them, their success is justified."

"Open your eyes and see that a total of 27 Dutch fishing boats entered the port of Rocha last month to sell their goods, seven of which were whaling ships. The Spanish and Portuguese fishermen who used to sell seafood to us have disappeared without a trace. But the Dutch have filled the gap well. Last month’s data, the supply of cod was only reduced by 10%, the supply of squid was reduced by 15%, and even the supply of red shrimp, which had the largest decline, was also reduced. Only a 20% reduction, and there is no large-scale shortage of goods in the market. Although the price has indeed increased a little, it is still within a manageable range. Without the Dutch, we can't even eat a single kelp And, you see, the German sailors on the Dutch ships live in the port of Rocha. They spend their days and drinks, and the silver coins they earn from us are quickly used to buy wine, bacon, leather shoes, leather clothes, etc. They are back in our hands. Their presence does us no harm, on the contrary, it is of great benefit, and some of these sailors even asked to be naturalized in our country, which is definitely a good thing for us.”

"Maybe." Captain Ventura jumped onto the stone permanent trestle, glanced at the steamship "Heyun 007" moored in the port, and said, "They have already filled my ship with timber, I have to I’m going back, I hope I can reach West Lake Castle tonight. Goodbye, my friend.”

(End of this chapter)