Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 558 The Gaze of the Genoese ([-])

At the port of Messina, Alessandro Motta de Doria was silently watching a fleet of ships passing through the strait one by one.This fleet is huge in scale, and among them is a rare and powerful warship with 66 large-caliber naval guns. There is no doubt that this is the fleet of the East Coast Republic of China.They went to the port of Smyrna in the Ottoman Empire for trading, and before that, they had just had a tragic confrontation with part of the Mediterranean Fleet of the Spanish Royal Navy in the Tyrrhenian Sea.The result of the confrontation ended with a complete victory for the East Coasters, which surprised many people, and Doria was one of them.

Alessandro couldn't imagine that the extremely powerful Spanish fleet in his memory would be defeated by an unknown small country in the New World, which even made Doria feel a little unreal.But the fact is that the family's eyeliner in Naples spread the news that the "San Diego" was injured and returned as quickly as possible.At the same time, a ship transporting supplies of their family passed the battlefield on the day of the battle, and brought similar news to Alessandro.This puzzled him, but also made him a little excited. Maybe he found a new investment channel for the family?

In this era, as Amsterdam in the north became more and more powerful, Genoa, which once succeeded Antwerp as the short-term European economic center from 1557 to 1627, began to gradually decline.At that time, the Kingdom of Spain, which was heavily invested by Genoese bankers, experienced terrible financial bankruptcy. Although the Genoese had withdrawn a large sum of money in time before the bankruptcy, there is no doubt that the financial turmoil still caused the Genoese a lot of losses.

Although the King of Spain still transported silver bars from Cadiz to Genoa to repay part of the debt after bankruptcy, the country's finances and finances have gradually been controlled by Jewish merchants from its neighboring Portugal.And according to some secret and hard-to-tell gossip, these Jewish merchants seem to have inextricable relationships with bankers and large wholesalers in Amsterdam.All in all, the Genoese have lost the largest market they have worked so hard for over the past 100 years.So far, the most lucrative banking industry has basically nothing to do with them. Judging from the trend of the past 1627 years after 20, the Genoese bankers have actively or passively withdrawn from the circle of financial advisors of the Catholic king, only retaining Commercial network for wholesale Spanish American goods in the port of Cadiz.The re-export trade of these commodities, they have been maintained until the 19th century.

All in all, this small country with no strategic depth and a population of only 50 including territories has lost the largest investment market in the past. The commercial capital accumulated in the country is extremely impulsive to find the next worthy investment object.In fact, the capitalists in Genoa are also very "aggressive". In the early years, they took risks in the Black Sea and the White Sea, occupied Feodosia, Chios Island and other places, and carried out trade; Antwerp, the European economic center in Antwerp, and had many business contacts with the Welser and Fugger families from Germany; after 1557, they began to lend money to the King of Spain on a large scale, with an annual interest rate often above 20%, and at the same time, they contributed funds to finance the Spanish mainland and the Business exchanges between the Americas and deep participation in it.At the same time, they even invested in the United States, and at the same time invested a small amount in France (the economy of France was controlled by another Italian capital, Florence in the early stage), and the Netherlands.

In a sense, the Republic of Genoa, a country filled with a huge amount of commercial capital, and the East Coast Republic, which is completely dominated by industrial capital, are natural partners for cooperation, not to mention that Genoa still has invaluable treasures all over Europe at this time. The banking network and distribution system of the commercial city-although this system is currently slowly shrinking and disintegrating under the continuous impact of the fast-rising Amsterdam merchants after 1585.

Of course, the Genoese businessmen with a strong sense of crisis will not let go of every worthy investment object.Historically, Europeans commented on them as "they will always invest in countries that are on the rise", and the small waves that the East Coast Republic has caused in the European textile market over the years have begun to be included in the eyes of the Genoese, and they also Already a little bit interested in this remote country in the New World.If this country can properly show some of its own strength, then the generous Genoese bankers don’t mind investing part of their funds in this country to help them achieve faster development—just like when Venetian capital entered Antwerp and Amsterdam, Florentine capital entered France in a large scale.

Back then, the Republic of Venetia (the capital of Venice, with a population of about 200 million at this time), which fell into a long-term economic depression due to the rise of the Ottoman Empire, began to invest capital in the increasingly active northern markets: Antwerp, Bruges, and cooperation with Germany and Austria. Together the bankers of Gersburg catapulted Antwerp into the economic center of Europe. In 1557, Spain went bankrupt, and the Augsburg bankers (headed by the Fugger family) who lent money to the Kingdom of Spain also went bankrupt and withdrew from the European economic stage. Capital began to enter Amsterdam on a large scale, and jointly created the rapid rise of Amsterdam with Jewish capital, Genoese capital, Florentine capital and local Dutch capital.According to statistics, one-third of the residents in Amsterdam at that time had foreign blood or were simply descendants of foreigners. Most of these people were capitalists from Italy and the merchants, employees and helpers who followed them into the northern market in large numbers.

"The interest rate of St. George's Life Annuity Bonds has been reduced to 2%. The domestic capital is seriously oversupplied. It seems that people from the east coast are a better investment target." Behind Alessandro, a vigorous voice suddenly sounded Middle-aged voice, just listen to him continue to say: "At present, the domestic funds in stores and bank outlets in Spain, France, Venice, the Netherlands, Ottomans, Morocco and other countries have reached 1.8 million bank lire (Genoa unit of account, the value is fixed at 0.328 grams of gold, 1.8 million bank lire is equivalent to 59 tons of gold), everyone does not know what to do with the money. Invest in Amsterdam? It is controlled by the Venetians and the Dutch! Reinvest in Spain? It is controlled by the Portuguese and the Jews Invest in France? No, no, no, that won't work either, it's the place of Florentine bankers! Maybe you want to try your luck in England and Sweden? There are also Venetians and Jews there. Oh, my dear Don Brother, are we going to invest this huge amount of money in wheat cultivation in Sicily? Haha, well, this is a joke! Maybe you feel right this time, investing in the new continent has a bright future, and the people on the east coast are also in good time Demonstrating their strength and proving their ability to withstand our 'special care'. This naval battle says a lot, doesn't it?"

"Mario, haven't you always wanted to re-enter the Spanish market?" Alessandro turned around and said to his cousin: "Your father still lends money in Cadiz and runs the wholesale of American goods, he is The few Genoese who went on to succeed in Spain after 1627 are the pride of the Doria family and you should emulate him."

"You don't make money wholesale, my dear cousin." Mario took off his hat, stroked his curly hair, and said, "Cadiz alum, Castile wool, Tortoise Ledo’s woolen fabrics and a small amount of mining machines imported from the Netherlands, these are all the businesses my father can get involved in, and he is not exclusive to them. I don’t know how long this business can last, maybe one day it will be destroyed by those hateful The Jewish people took it away. So I want to spread the funds while the market is good. I have drawn up several projects, and the East Coast people are one of my targets. Cousin, you think the same way, right? ?”

"War has broken out between the East Coasters and the Spaniards, but it is hard to say what the outcome of this war is. From what I have seen, it seems that the Spaniards' main energy is still on the land battlefield with France. At first they were only stunned and angry at the war in the far New World. But I don't expect them to let it go easily, because there are rumors of gold mines found there, which makes it difficult for the Spaniards, whose finances are on the verge of collapse. Therefore, in this I don’t want to make a decision lightly before a war is decided.” Alessandro said a lot at first, and then changed the subject and said: “But I also plan to mobilize 10 bank lire from the Amsterdam market. I am trying to invest in the east coast market. Anyway, it is not a big money, but if you are lucky, it may be a big opportunity. We seem to lack friendship with people on the east coast. Dear cousin, maybe the one you know The East Coast diplomatic envoy Mr. Mo San is a good springboard, we should talk to him, he is currently staying in Marseille."

"Mr. Mo San is a funny person, but also a capable businessman and a responsible diplomat." Mario replied immediately after hearing this: "He has a lot of skills in the Ottoman Empire, he knows a lot of people, and he really Very generous, many people like him. I will go back to Genoa tomorrow, and then I will go to Lyon, maybe I will find time to go to Marseilles to talk to him. He seems to be going north to Paris to meet some big names in France. I may be able to give him some help on this point, after all, our family still has some old relationships in France. I think I can use this as a starting point to communicate with him, and he should like it very much.”

"Of course, the Doria family shouldn't give up every potential investment opportunity." Alessandro said immediately with interest.

(End of this chapter)