Empire Rising: Spain

However, considering the current phase of economic crisis and the fact that cooperation with Spain would hardly affect the Krupp Company’s business in Germany, Alfred Krupp himself hesitated.

Ultimately, while the Krupp Company’s steelmaking method is advanced, it was learned and improved from the British steelmaking methods.

The Krupp Company hardly incurred any research and development costs; if disguising himself to enter British factories to learn steelmaking technology counts, that was perhaps the only cost for the Krupp Company.

If these steelmaking technologies could be exchanged for sufficient funds to help the company weather the economic crisis, it wouldn’t be too much of a loss for the Krupp Company.

After much consideration, Alfred Krupp still couldn’t make up his mind. He could only apologize to Carlo, indicating that such a significant matter required discussion with the company’s internal management and would take some time to get back to Carlo.

Carlo had no objections. During the discussion phase within the Krupp Company, Carlo once again toured some factories in the Ruhr Industrial Zone, and had Spanish officials document the planning of the Ruhr District in Germany and the advantages of some factories.

Alfred Krupp didn’t keep Carlo waiting for long. The very next day, he invited Carlo to visit the Krupp Company again and had lengthy negotiations about the cooperation they aimed to achieve.

Of course, the negotiations were handled by Carlo’s subordinates. Carlo’s main task was to tour the Krupp Company’s steel and military factories to see what unique features the famous Krupp Company had.

To welcome Carlo’s arrival, the Krupp Company was well-prepared. Perhaps it was also to showcase the company’s capabilities, hoping to secure more funds and benefits during the technology transfer.

The Krupp Company directly prepared a room over 300 square meters to showcase its achievements. The display for Carlo included models of pig iron and cast steel workshop production processes, steel ingots, train axles, and samples of the Krupp Cannon.

These products represent the most advanced steelmaking and artillery technologies of the Krupp Company, precisely the advanced technologies Carlo immensely desired to introduce to Spain.

Although these industrial products are not considered advanced compared to the industrial and military products of later generations, for Carlo, these were the things Spain dreamed of.

A room of only 300 square meters kept Carlo engaged for several hours until some compromise was reached regarding the cooperation content, concluding Carlo’s tour.

After firm advocacy from Spanish officials and the management of the steel and military factories, both parties finally reached a consensus on the cooperation.

Carlo’s Royal Steel Factory funded 12 million Pesseta to purchase a complete set of steelmaking equipment from the Krupp Company. This complete steelmaking equipment is expected to achieve an annual output of 10,000 tons of crude steel and 40,000 tons of pig iron.

Simultaneously, the Krupp Company dispatched at least 30 steelmaking technical experts to Spain. These technicians would stay in Spain for at least two years to help Spanish steel factories master the Krupp Company’s steelmaking technology.

Of course, all expenses for these experts in Spain would be borne by the Spanish side, and the Krupp Company would not pay a single penny for this.

Regarding artillery technology, the Krupp Company would not directly sell it. However, the Krupp Company could sell 500 cannons to Spain as part of normal trade and allow Spanish military factories to disassemble these cannons to learn the technology of the Krupp Cannon.

To make Krupp Company agree to transfer the steelmaking technology, Spain needed to pay an additional 20 million Pesseta as a learning fee.

In total, Spain needed to spend 32 million Pesseta to purchase the Krupp Company’s steelmaking technology, with the artillery requiring independent research and imitation.

Even though the outcome did not fully meet his expectations, it was still acceptable for Carlo.

With the Krupp Company’s steelmaking technology, Spain’s steel output could further increase. In the foreseeable future, the steel output of European countries would experience an explosive growth, and Europe, even the whole world, would truly enter the industrial era.

Carlo did not expect Spain to keep up with the industrial growth speed of the UK, Germany, and America, but hoped Spanish industrial development could be second only to France and, in some cases, even surpass France.

France’s comprehensive strength is not lacking, but compared to the UK and Germany, France doesn’t place as much emphasis on its own industrial development.

This has to do with the impact of the Franco-Prussian War on France. Although France had a large population, most were farmers.

The small-scale peasant economy hindered France’s industrial development, leading to a situation where France’s industry was mainly composed of small and medium-sized enterprises.

After the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, France faced substantial reparations. These reparations similarly restricted France’s industrial development, making it difficult for France’s small and medium enterprises to adopt new industrial technologies and equipment.

In this situation, France’s industrial development naturally lagged far behind countries like the UK, Germany, and America. This caused French private capital to be unwilling to invest their funds into domestic industrial development, preferring instead to invest in other countries to earn more profits through faster development speeds overseas.