African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 19: Chapter 16: Venice, the Water City

The weather in Venice in December is somewhat desolate. In the early morning, there are few people on either bank, and mist hovers over the water’s surface. The Gothic-style buildings on both sides of the canal appear poetic and picturesque in the mist, as if entering a dreamlike world.

Ernst is most interested in the occasional arch bridges that appear on the water connecting the two banks, which remind him of the small bridges and flowing water in Jiangnan from literary works of his previous life. The arch bridges of Venice have a unique charm, yet there are similarities that resonate.

Sitting in the unique Venetian ”Gondola,” Ernst admires this ancient city that retains a thick medieval style, as the buildings on both sides swiftly recede with the progression of the boat.

These exquisite houses, tightly leaning against each other and arranged in an orderly disorder, along with elegant and magnificent churches, towering mottled bell towers, and splendid palaces... all tell of her former glory.

In the Middle Ages, Venice held an incomparably glorious history in Europe. Its unique geographical location and naturally excellent harbor shaped the character of the city of Venice. At that time, Venetians, like the Dutch today, were full of desire and pursuit of wealth.

By monopolizing the East-West maritime trade routes along the Adriatic Sea, Venetians established a prosperous commercial republic, with goods from the East transiting through Venice. Venetian merchants’ footprints were all over Europe, and wealth flowed into their pockets.

The thriving commerce and trade brought prosperity to the city of Venice. The wealthy Venetian merchants built numerous churches and palaces, many of the buildings Ernst saw could be traced back to that period.

The economic prosperity drove cultural prosperity, the rise of citizens, coupled with the gathering of literati and artists, turned Venice into one of the important cultural centers in Europe.

A large number of writers and painters recorded the wealth and freedom of Venice in words and paintings. The contemporary Englishman Shakespeare also set Venice as the backdrop for his classic work ”The Merchant of Venice.”

However, since the Age of Exploration began in Europe, with the continuous opening of new routes, the changes in the world’s major trade routes accelerated the decline of port cities along the Mediterranean coast, and Venice was no exception.

The skinny camel is bigger than the horse; the declining Venice could not escape the coveting of ambitious individuals, eventually falling into the hands of France and the Austrian Empire one after another.

Currently, as one of the many regions under the rule of the Austrian Empire, Venice evidently hasn’t received much attention. The European continental hegemony is the main direction of the Austrian Empire, and Venice is more like a buffer zone managed by Austria.

In fact, Ernst also feels regret about the history of the Austrian Empire. The Habsburg family’s efforts on the European continent over hundreds of years, producing endless heroes, and extending countless cultures and arts, ultimately could not resist the progress of time. They did not change direction in time when the tide of nationalism arrived, ending in fragmentation, with past glories turning to nothing.

Ernst believes that Austria paid too many ineffective costs for continental hegemony. As a typical sandwich, Austria was feared by Britain, France, and Russia. By comparison, Prussia, while ambitious, could not restore the glory of the Holy Roman Empire because the size of Austria was too great. They could only kick Austria out; without Austria, Germany is not complete.

If Austria were to unify Germany, it would create a terrifying nation stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean, crossing the entire central Europe, making all of Europe tremble.

Thus, Britain, France, and Russia would rather let the Prussians implement a small German plan than make any concessions to Austria.

And if Austria aimed to maintain the balance of the continent and joined the colonial endeavor, it would certainly be much more comfortable than now, and a sea access point like Venice could benefit from it.

It was rather unlucky for Austria; if the Suez Canal had opened ten years earlier, leveraging Austria’s size and Venice’s geographical location, Venice might not restore the achievements of its ancestors but at least could develop into Austria’s largest port city.

But history does not allow for ifs. In the future, Venice will return to Italy, and the Austrian Empire will become Austria-Hungary until its demise.

Compared to Venice returning to Italy, Ernst is more optimistic about Venice remaining within Austria-Hungary’s borders. Italy, with three sides facing the sea, has more than a hundred ports, whereas Austria-Hungary will have only one Adriatic sea exit in the future.

Italy also caught the right timing. Just a few years after retaking Venice, the Suez Canal opened, and the Mediterranean’s importance increased again.

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At the Venice Martin Shipyard, Ernst has now taken over. This is a historically long-standing family shipyard which has fallen into loss due to poor management in recent years. Inheritor Fodits Martin is looking for a buyer to take over, and Ernst has invested in purchasing it.

As for Fodits Martin, he intends to take the money from selling the shipyard to venture into the textile industry. In recent years, Martin has earned a lot of money in textiles and is about to increase his investment. Luckily, the shipyard he owned was always in a state of loss, a proper negative asset, so he sold it to Ernst to convert it to cash.

Ernst plans to upgrade the site, expand the shipyard’s scale, and assemble his own ocean trading fleet once the Suez Canal opens.

This family shipyard does not have any particular advantages, but its age has a batch of experienced shipbuilders, and its covering scale is moderately above the average in the Venice area.

This provides Ernst with the convenience to upgrade the shipyard. He plans to recruit some Austrian workers to work in the shipyard to buffer the number of Italians.

Of course, he is also planning to cultivate a group of German workers for future technical and employee reserves for the Hamburg branch. Ernst cannot just trick a group of Italians to work in the North German region, while Austrians themselves are of the German nation, so future personnel transfers won’t have much psychological pressure, suitably and skillfully.

Now that the shipyard has been acquired, continuing to use the original name is naturally impossible. The usual practice is that the Heixinggen Shipyard is unveiled; Ernst does not like to use personal names for factories and companies, so he frequently uses the place name Heixinggen.

Regarding the shipyard’s management personnel, apart from continuing to employ the original management staff, Ernst will transfer some capable personnel from Berlin to assist in management and supervision.

As a small Heixinggen region deep in the European inland, it unexpectedly owns a coastal shipyard while having a bank, a company, and a research center in Berlin.

The concept of Heixinggen being one’s own has already taken shape in Ernst’s mind, influenced by Prince Constantine, Ernst autonomously becomes the spokesperson for Heixinggen.