Chapter 111 Barcelona Industrial Zone

Since industrial and financial assistance have been obtained from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the next thing is predictable, that is, to rely on these assistance to build a larger industrial zone.

The Seville Industrial Zone in the Andalusia region was planned before, and it seems that the geographical location is not as good as expected.

The most important thing is that Seville is located in the southernmost part of Spain, and it takes a longer time to transport industrial products here to the northern part of Spain.

In the government's industrial zone construction plan, it is necessary to build another industrial zone in the north to achieve the purpose of echoing with Seville in the north and south.

The reason for choosing Barcelona is that Barcelona is originally an industrial city. Although the scale of industry is not large, the advantage is that it is close to the sea, and the transportation of industrial materials will be more convenient.

In addition, there is another major reason for the industrial base to be located in Barcelona, ​​that is, the government's control over Catalonia.

After the industrial base is established, a large number of industrial jobs will be created. Some of these industrial jobs will be provided to Catalans, but the requirement is that they must be proficient in Spanish.

Another part of the jobs will attract some Spaniards to come to Catalonia to reduce the proportion of Catalans in Catalonia.

Although most of the population of Catalonia is Catalan, the overall size of the Catalan population is not high.

By diluting the proportion of Catalans in Catalonia, the goal of stabilizing Catalonia can also be achieved.

After all, not all ethnic groups want to seek more autonomy or even independence like Catalonia. There are still many ethnic groups willing to obey the rule of Spain and support this country.

What's more, the Catalans are not monolithic. Most Catalans, led by Prime Minister Primo, do not have the idea of ​​independence. They are quite recognized by the concept of Spain and firmly believe that they are Spanish.

By influencing and assimilating the Catalans and diluting the proportion of Catalans, the Catalonia region can be stabilized.

Catalonia is still very important to Spain. Only when this area is stable can the Spanish government form a line of defense through the Pyrenees to resist attacks from the European continent.

The industrial zone is located in the suburbs north of Barcelona. The investment in the construction of the first phase of the industrial base exceeded 15 million pesetas.

After the completion of the first phase of the industrial base, it is expected to provide at least 20,000 jobs in Catalonia and increase Spain's steel production by 10,000 tons and 100,000 tons respectively.

10,000 tons of steel production is naturally very little compared to later generations, and even compared to the First World War, it is just a drop in the bucket.

But the problem is that it is 1870 when steelmaking technology is not very developed. Although the steel production of various countries is not very specific, the annual steel production of the British Empire, which is currently the most powerful industrial country, is only over 300,000 tons.

The United States, an industrial power in people's impression, only produced about 60,000 tons of steel last year. The newly unified superpower Germany, the total steel production of the entire German Empire only exceeded 250,000 tons.

Under such circumstances, the first phase of industrial construction of a Barcelona industrial base can provide at least 10,000 tons of steel production and 100,000 tons of pig iron production, which is already a very good level.

The construction of the first phase alone will take at least 2 years, and it may take three years before the production can be realized.

And this is still with the assistance of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If Spain develops the industrial base on its own, the time it takes to build the industrial base may have to double again.

After all, the most difficult thing now is not the construction of the industrial base, but the steel smelting technology of each country. If there is no more advanced steelmaking technology, even if a larger industrial base is built, the steel produced will not only be small in scale but also of poor quality due to the backward technology level.

Carlo also attaches great importance to the construction of the Barcelona industrial base. Although the scale of the industrial base is not large overall, it is a significant improvement for Spain.

When the industrial base is completed three years later, Spain's industry has been strengthened to a certain extent, at least it ranks among the best among the great powers.

Even if the subsequent construction goes smoothly, Spain's industrial scale can catch up with Italy and Russia.

Southern Italy is not suitable for industrial development, while Russia, because of its late start and the chaotic domestic economy, did not gradually increase its industrial scale until the end of the century.

The steel production of Tsarist Russia remained below 100,000 tons before 1878, which is a bit too low compared with other great powers.

During the same period, the steel production of Britain, France and Germany has increased to hundreds of thousands of tons, and the lowest steel production in France has remained at around 300,000 tons.

But the country with the most rapid growth is actually the United States, which is far away from the European continent. The current steel production of the United States is only about 70,000 tons, but the steel production will increase to more than one million tons in ten years. Such a growth rate is simply exaggerated.

And 30 years later, the steel production of the United States has exceeded 10 million tons, and it is also the first among all the powerful countries to exceed 10 million tons.

There is a particularly important reason for the explosive growth of steel production in various countries, that is, the growth of steelmaking level, which is also the reason why Carlo pays great attention to the construction of industrial bases.

It is not too late to develop industry now, and even some countries' industrial construction is still in its infancy. Carlo does not require Spain's industry to achieve amazing results in a short period of time, as long as it can achieve stable growth in a steady and solid manner and lay a good foundation.

Spain's colonial history in Latin American countries can bring it closer to these countries, and through economic alliances, these countries can open their markets and dump Spanish industrial products.

In addition, Spain plans to expand its colonies in Africa and cooperate with neighboring countries like Portugal, so there will be no shortage of markets in the future.

As long as we do not blindly develop industry and do not pursue the overall scale of industry, there will not be a serious economic crisis if we take a steady and solid approach.

The economic crisis in the United States is precisely because of the blind growth of the US industry. It took only 20 to 30 years from hundreds of thousands of tons to tens of millions of tons, which made the United States deeply trapped in the vortex of the economic crisis.

As long as Spain's industry takes a steady and solid approach, even if it is affected by the economic crisis in other countries, it will only affect import and export trade.

Along with the construction of industrial bases, there is one thing that must be put on the agenda, that is, the rectification of the banking industry.

In addition to the Royal United Bank established by Carlo, Spain also has other banks.

But these banks are either small private banks established by nobles or capitalists, or semi-official banks established by local governments.

But no matter what kind of bank it is, the government lacks control over these banks, which also makes some banking systems corrupt.

The reason why Carlo's Royal United Bank is popular with the people is not only because of the good impression and support Carlo has established before, but also because Carlo personally promised that he would never let the Royal United Bank go bankrupt and protect the savings of all depositors in the bank.

The promise of the king in this era is still very useful. Unless the king doesn't want to do it, he still has to fulfill his promise.

The reason for preparing to rectify the banking industry is to prepare for the future industrial development of Spain. Industrial development certainly cannot rely solely on the property of the royal family, but also requires a large number of private enterprises and factories.

Carlo's plan is to rectify the banking industry and raise enough funds to support the development of private enterprises.

Spain is originally a small country, and of course it doesn't need so many banks. In addition to the royal Royal United Bank, the Spanish government will also establish a national bank.

Adding several large integrated banks, it is basically enough to meet the needs of Spanish banks. People can freely choose which bank to store their money, and there will be development only when there is competition between banks.

By integrating these banks, the royal family and the government can invest in private banks in Spain. In this way, there is no need to worry that these private capitals will affect the government in turn after they become bigger, after all, the government and the royal family will only make more money.

In addition, the government and the royal family will have their own banks. Doing so will not only make Spanish capital stronger, but also control capital and make capital for their own use, rather than the government being enslaved by capital.

Another benefit of rectifying banks is that when the country needs funds, these large integrated banks alone can provide part of the funds.

Banks in this era are definitely making money, there is no doubt about it. With the development of Spain's industry and economy, Spanish banks will have a golden period of development in the future.

Spanish banks can also penetrate into nearby neighboring countries Portugal and African colonies, including some countries in Latin America, and can exert their influence.

Industry and finance are not only the most profitable industries in this era, but also industries that a country must develop. By vigorously developing the financial industry, Spain can also achieve economic control over Portugal and exert more economic influence on Latin American countries.

Although it is impossible to restore the territory of the British Empire, Spain still has the hope of becoming a country at the level of a great power and making an impact on the top five thrones in Europe.

Since it is a plan to rectify the banks, it is naturally better for the government to take the initiative.

If the royal family initiates it, it will not be justified, and it will create a bad impression in the eyes of the people that the Royal United Bank is targeting other banks.

If the government initiates it, the dissatisfaction of those private banks will be on the government, and naturally it will have nothing to do with Carlo.

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