Empire Rising: Spain

If Spain’s land could be like that of the UK, France, and Germany, Spain’s per capita income could at least increase by over thirty percent.

Fortunately, the Spanish Government has expanded quite a few colonies over these years, allowing for large-scale agricultural development on colonial lands to compensate for the shortcomings of Spain’s homeland.

Throughout 1883, the Spanish Government’s annual fiscal revenue reached an exaggerated 1.1927 billion pesetas, marking a new high for Spain’s fiscal income.

It’s important to note that this achievement was made after the loss of the Cuban Colony. If the Cuban Colony were still under the Spanish Government’s control, fiscal revenue would certainly have exceeded 1.2 billion pesetas.

On the expenditure side, Spain’s fiscal spending also reached a scale of 1.0738 billion pesetas, showing that the Spanish Government invests considerably in various constructions every year.

The good news is that after various expenses, the Spanish Government’s fiscal surplus for the entire year of 1883 still exceeded 100 million pesetas, reaching a new high of 118.9 million pesetas.

However, except for a portion kept as the government’s reserve fund, most of this money must be used to repay foreign debts.

It has been mentioned before that Spain’s fiscal deficits over the previous decade were mostly covered by debts.

This has led to Spain incurring debts with Italy, Austria-Hungary, and France over these 15 years.

This debt is actually not very large, amounting roughly to the current annual fiscal income of the Spanish Government.

In previous years, about one-third has already been repaid, and the Spanish Government only needs to allocate around 100 million pesetas annually for debt repayment over the next few years to clear most of its debt.

Another noteworthy aspect of the government report is Spain’s steel production and industrial scale situation.

Currently, the three-phase construction of the Barcelona Industrial Base has been fully completed, officially making the Barcelona Industrial Base Spain’s largest industrial base and the undeniable industrial heart of Spain.

Thanks to the increase in industrial scale brought by the complete Barcelona Industrial Base, Spain’s steel production has reached a new level and has thoroughly stabilized.

According to the data reported by the Ministry of Industry, last year Spain’s steel production exceeded 400,000 tons, a level sufficient to rank within the world’s top five among the data published by European countries.

Based on the rankings published by European countries, the country with the highest steel production currently is the British Empire, with production approaching 2 million tons.

The United States follows closely, with steel production also exceeding 1.5 million tons.

Germany ranks third in the world, though somewhat behind the previous two countries. Germany’s annual steel production is only about 1 million tons, still far ahead of other countries worldwide.

France is fourth in the world, with steel production nearing 500,000 tons. Spain is ranked fifth in the world, with steel production surpassing Austria-Hungary’s 300,000 tons and Russia’s 250,000 tons, and this level of industrialization is already taking shape.

Of course, steel production cannot fully represent industrial level. Simply speaking of steel production, Spain’s industrial scale should be on par with France, slightly ahead of Austria-Hungary and Russia.

But the actual situation is that Spain’s industrial scale is lagging behind France and is about on the same level as Austria-Hungary and Russia, possibly even somewhat behind.

The primary reason for this phenomenon is Spain’s insufficient population, leading to an industrial product market inferior to Austria-Hungary and Russia.

In the international market, Spanish industrial products do not have much competitiveness. Apart from capturing the Portuguese market, Spanish industrial products struggle to penetrate other countries’ markets, considering other powers are also dumping industrial goods.

Without sufficient markets, Spain naturally will not develop larger-scale industries. This has also led to Spain’s industrial scale being persistently restricted. Keeping up with, let alone surpassing France, seems quite difficult.

Of course, having industrial scale close to that of Austria-Hungary and Russia is already a considerable achievement.

After all, Spain’s industrial development has only spanned a dozen years, and its land and population are significantly lesser compared to Austria-Hungary and Russia.

These two countries have clearer advantages in developing industries than Spain.

Spain’s ability to catch up and be on par with these two countries actually showcases Spain’s phenomenal development speed.

Looking at Italy’s steel production at this moment, one can appreciate how challenging industrial development can be. According to data released by the Italian Government, Italy’s steel production amounts to only a few tens of thousands of tons.

Of course, Italy’s situation is somewhat unique. With industry widespread in northern Italy, coupled with Italy’s lack of colonies, insufficient steel production is quite normal.

Because of Spain’s relatively rapid development, some data previously focused on can now be essentially disregarded.

For instance, during Spain’s first five-year development plan, the Spanish Government emphasized railway mileage construction.

But after two five-year development plans, Spain’s total railway mileage has exceeded 10,000 kilometers, which is an outstanding achievement.