Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 137: Chapter 122: The Impending Economic Crisis

After this economic crisis, the industries and economies of various countries will be sluggish for a period of time, and this period will be a good opportunity for Spain’s industrial and economic catch-up.

Catch up with whom? Actually, Spain’s industry is currently at a middling level.

It’s a bit difficult to catch up with the great powers, but comparing with countries like Belgium and Netherlands, Spain has some advantages, so it’s a bit difficult to choose a target to catch up with.

But as the saying goes, slogans are meant to be shouted; whether or not you can catch up doesn’t matter, what’s important is to shout out the slogan.

Establishing a relatively challenging goal for the Spanish people can also unite the people to strive together towards this goal.

Before the outbreak of the economic crisis, the securities trading markets of Europe and America enjoyed a period of prosperity.

Carlo certainly wouldn’t miss this opportunity; this period of prosperity was also a great time for the Royal Family to earn money.

The period of prosperity was quite long. According to historical development, this period of prosperity still has at least more than a year left.

During this time, as long as companies are registered and listed on the stock exchange, they can make a fortune.

Any enterprise involved in railroads and industry can easily borrow large amounts of funds from banks for construction.

During this period, many countries did not have a National Bank to manage the banking industry, basically relying on private banks to issue national debts.

Although this contributed to the prosperity of the economy, this prosperity was too free and unruly, clearly not controlled by national governments.

The economic crisis erupted amidst the uncontrolled industrial and economic rapid growth, and the impact was severe due to the difficulty in controlling national power in the early stages.

The Spanish National Bank was established early precisely to control the development of the Spanish economy in a timely manner, allowing Spain to minimize the impact of the economic crisis.

Of course, completely avoiding the crisis is impossible. But every reduction in impact increases the possibility of Spain becoming stronger.

After all, economic crises are unavoidable for every country. When other countries are suffering from the economic crisis, if Spain can still develop stably, the gap will further close.

Since entering 1872, Carlo has had people enter the London Stock Exchange and the Vienna Stock Exchange to purchase large amounts of stocks from newly registered companies.

During the economic prosperity phase, the value of these stocks will maintain relatively stable growth. Basically, buying them won’t result in a loss, which is the reason for the madness of many capitals.

Of course, this madness also accelerated the outbreak of the economic crisis. To ensure the Royal Family’s money can safely withdraw from the stock exchange, Carlo instructed the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau to investigate situations in the United States and European countries.

As long as the industrial and railway construction of various countries enters a stagnant phase, whether due to an accident or as a precursor to an economic crisis, the Royal Family’s capital must withdraw from major stock exchanges in Europe.

Even though temporarily withdrawing might reduce revenue, it’s better than having money stuck in the stock exchange after the crisis breaks out.

Notably, after the signing of the alliance treaty with Austria-Hungary, Spain not only ushered in some Austrian capital but also many immigrants from Austria-Hungary.

In any case, Austria-Hungary is a major population country in Europe. By 1872, Austria-Hungary’s population had surpassed 37 million, more than double Spain’s total population.

Although a relatively stable environment has enabled Spain’s population growth to show some progress compared to the era of Queen Isabella, due to the limited total population size, Spain’s total population is currently around 16.9 million.

After ushering in certain Italian and Austria-Hungarian immigrants, Spain’s population growth is expected to increase in the future.

However, to see Spain’s population break the 20 million mark, it may take at least another decade or so.

Currently, the Spanish Government has no plans for large-scale immigration introduction; most of the immigrants brought in are skilled talents, including those in education and healthcare.

This is inevitable. Spain itself is a multinational country, and introducing more populations from other ethnic groups will certainly affect Spain’s stability.

Although Spaniards make up the majority of Spain’s total population, Spaniards are composed of Castilians and Aragonese.

Before completely assimilating Catalans and Basque, Spain will not conduct large-scale immigration.

Of course, excluding those from former Spanish colonies in Latin America. These people theoretically also have Spanish blood, they speak Spanish, and are easier to assimilate as Spaniards.

Currently, among the immigrants Spain receives annually, over thirty percent come from Italy, nearly twenty percent from Austria-Hungary. In addition to this, about thirty percent come from other regions in Europe, with only twenty percent immigrants from former colonies in Latin America.

Although the colonies in Latin America have declared independence, maintaining good relations with these independent American countries is still very necessary.

Spain has a natural advantage among these countries, which inherently have close ties with Spain. Carlo’s goal is not to convert these countries back into colonies but to expand more markets for future industrialized Spain through cooperation with these countries.

As long as Spain’s influence over these American countries remains, Spain is still the third largest colonial power next to England and France.

This was the reason the United States historically launched the Spanish-American War. Although Spain lost most of its colonies in America, this does not mean Spain’s influence disappeared.

The dream of the United States is to make the whole of America its backyard, and naturally, it can’t allow a country like Spain, with relatively large influence, to stand behind the South American countries.

However, Carlo would not give the United States so many opportunities. Once Spain becomes strong in the future, it won’t fear the threats from Americans.

If the Americans dare to challenge Spain’s position, Carlo wouldn’t mind using Americans to re-show Spain’s strength.

Spain’s weakness is relative; the current Spain is not a weak country, let alone Spain after completing reforms and building a stronger industrial and economic foundation.

Carlo is confident that Spain can regain great power military strength within 10 years and return to the ranks of great powers within 20 years.

And with 40 years until the outbreak of World War I, when this world’s world war breaks out, perhaps Spain will have grown to become a top great power, second only to the UK, France, and Germany, naturally possessing the qualification to play on the world chessboard.