Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1873 Countermeasures and helplessness

"These fishing boats of the people on the east coast!" Standing in the newly built Cathedral of the Assumption in the outer port of Callao, Father DeSantis held a silver cross in one hand and pointed to the dots of fishing sails in the distant sea with the other.

Father DeSantis was an Italian, or more precisely, a clergyman of Sicily origin under the Spanish Habsburgs.After working hard in the church for many years, with his tenacious will and some little luck, he gradually climbed to a high position, and then became the current bishop of Lima. The newly built Cathedral of the Assumption is the most outstanding in his tenure. Thanks to the achievements, this magnificent church has strengthened the authority of the church and attracted more believers.

I have to say one more thing here.In addition to the appropriation from the Governor of Peru and donations from local believers, the huge cost of the construction of the magnificent Cathedral of the Assumption, which uses exquisite materials and luxurious decoration, is also one of the sources of customs revenue handed over by people from the east coast.Of course, it is said that the Southern Railway Company, which originally managed customs and monopolized trade, also donated [-] pesos in cash and some building materials under the government's instigation, which can be regarded as contributing to the construction of the Cathedral of the Assumption. No longer specifically targeting East Coast trade merchants, allowing trade between the two countries to proceed more efficiently.

However, although the people on the east coast have benefited a lot from the construction of the church, this cannot change the bad impression that the Spanish religious circles have on the pagans on the east coast.Especially after Father Ramos was assassinated by an unknown person in Mar del Plata—even so, Spain has already determined that it was the east bank—the bad impression reached its peak, almost making the east bank The "affection" earned by people donating money to build churches has been exhausted.

Even if Father DeSantis is not considered a radical in the Diocese of Lima, he still has a very negative impression of people on the east coast. If you consider Spain's strong religious atmosphere and special social system, then this negative impression is very fatal. Well, Gein's words at a critical moment may affect the choices of many Spanish businessmen, causing the east coast to lose a lot of trade profits in vain-you can't underestimate the energy of the magic stick, and many businessmen will be in front of this moment. In the age when they donated a considerable part of their property to the church, it is not surprising that they really have the ability to call the wind and rain.

"Your Excellency, why can't our people go out to sea to fish? You see, there are so many poor and losers in Lima. They came from the old continent, but they got into trouble because of business failure or other reasons. , it is difficult to even get married, and they come to the church to beg for food every now and then. For these people, why not send them out to sea to fish? I firmly believe that the fishery resources off the coast of Lima are very rich, and people from the east coast come out every year Many fishing boats come to fish, from Chile to Lima, everywhere, it can be seen that this is a rich sea area. I have talked with some people, many of them have fishing experience in the old world, and now Life is in trouble, and they don't mind returning to their old jobs, but some outdated and pedantic policies hinder their further actions." Father DeSantis turned around and looked at the new Governor of Peru, Aaron, who had just finished praying Go, said worriedly.

"Father, your news is still so well informed." Governor Arango and De Santis have worked together for a long time in a parish in the countryside of Madrid, and the relationship is quite good, so they can discuss some more in-depth topics. This will only listen to him Said: "King Carlos has officially agreed to the new colonial trade decree, which means that some previous decrees have been abolished. This is the news I heard when I left Madrid. At that time, the decree had been officially passed to the West Indian Affairs Council. With the efficiency of those bureaucrats, it should take some time to spread here. But no matter what, a new era is coming, there is no doubt about it!"

It is said that the Kingdom of Spain originally had very strict control over trade in overseas colonies. There were fixed trade routes planned by the country, and no one was allowed to violate them without authorization.For example, it was originally stipulated that Buenos Aires could only trade with Lima, and it was not allowed to trade with other cities—even if they were also other cities in the Viceroyalty of Peru. The punishment ranging from hanging the head is extremely harsh.

The reason for this is, to put it bluntly, to protect the interests of local Spanish businessmen.To be more precise, it is to ensure that the two treasure fleets, the Flota Fleet and the Gaya Anes Fleet, can obtain sufficient profits. Therefore, the trade routes between the cities are strictly regulated, and no one is allowed to violate them without authorization.

It is fair to say that in the early days of the colonization (that is, the last century), the Spaniards' set of rules worked a little bit.Although it greatly damaged the interests of the colonial cities and their native white class, the nobles and businessmen from Spain made a lot of money and made a lot of money.It's just that the good times didn't last long. Many English businessmen came to the door and joined the treasure fleet under the name of "Spanish relatives".The English were followed by the Dutch, the French and even the Portuguese. These people joined the trade by finding agents in the Spanish mainland, which greatly squeezed the profit margins of the Spanish local merchants.

And now, as the customs of the top ten port cities in the two governorships of New Spain and Peru are controlled by the East Coasters, a large number of East Coast goods flood into the Spanish colonies like a tide, and this outdated trade policy is even more ineffective. It is necessary to maintain it, because it is only harmful and has no benefits. It can neither bring benefits to Spanish merchants or nobles. On the contrary, it makes the colonial elites very dissatisfied and alienated. Therefore, it is a very wise thing to abolish it. .

Oh, yes, it probably hasn't been explained what effect the trade restrictive laws have on fishing.In fact, it is very simple, that is, the governor of the colony, under the instructions of the Madrid court, did not even allow any boats to go fishing in the sea, to prevent them from secretly carrying out smuggling trade (in fact, this is inevitable), so for many years the Spaniards in Peru except for a few official authorizations Except for the seafood caught by the fishing boats, most of them need to be imported from the east coast.The Spaniards, who are guarding the great treasure of the Peruvian fishing ground, want to import seafood. They are also drunk and don't know what to say.

"It's a late and correct decision." Father DeSantis didn't mind commenting on the Madrid court and the West Indian Affairs Council at all, only to hear him say again: "Once the original decree is abolished, anyone who is willing to go fishing can go to sea to catch fish." Fish, those who are willing to go to sea to do business can go to sea for trade, and even those who are willing to go to sea to explore can freely decide their own voyage. In this way, the two viceroyalties of Peru and New Spain will be closer and closer, and local exchanges will be stronger Frequently, this is of great benefit to the development of society. In fact, are we really much worse than the people on the east coast? They can establish such a huge business network in a short period of time, so naturally we can also try.”

The priest said all this, but he seemed to have forgotten that the reason why the East Coast merchants were able to succeed in Peru and New Spain was mainly due to their strong local industrial production capacity!The many factories, workshops and trading enterprises in the prairie on the east coast and the Duck Lake basin are the most important factors that make the goods on the east coast so popular.To put it bluntly, although the success of the East Coast merchants has their own factors of hard work, they must not forget the huge competitiveness of the East Coast commodities themselves.

Therefore, the government of the Kingdom of Spain has now relaxed its control over colonial trade, making the exchanges between cities closer. It is really hard to say who will benefit more from this.You must know that with the current degree of penetration of east coast commodities in Peru, New Spain and other places, more comprador merchants will appear to help large wholesalers in large ports deliver all kinds of east coast commodities to various places, and go further effectively squeeze the market for Spanish or other national goods.

"Let's not talk about this, let's talk about other things. What are you going to do with the Chilean matter?" Father DeSantis asked suddenly.It is actually inappropriate for him to ask this question, but in Spain, where theocracy is very powerful, it is not a big deal for a senior clergyman at the bishop level to ask. You must know that it is very common for bishops in Catholic countries to participate in state affairs. What's more, he and Governor Arango are close friends, so it doesn't hurt to ask where they come from.

Sure enough, Governor Arango did not hide his intentions from Father De Santis. He sighed softly and said in a slightly melancholy tone: "What else can I do? I can only retreat step by step. Southern Chile , it is a sparsely populated place. If there were not some small silver mines, I am afraid that there would not even be towns. Now the people on the east coast have promised not to touch our mines, and they have helped us increase the production of silver mines and build roads. Then What else is there to say, I can only promise them, otherwise I'm afraid something bigger will happen. And—”

Having said that, Governor Arango paused for a moment, seeing that Father De Santis was still listening, he continued: "Before leaving, Your Majesty asked me to discuss the purchase of weapons and equipment with the people on the east coast, and even It also includes the employment of soldiers from the east coast to help improve the combat effectiveness of the local army. Now the situation is getting tense. After the Turks won the victory in Hungary, they even gave up. There is a big sign of marching into Austria, so His Majesty the King asked me Negotiate the arms purchase trade with the people on the east bank as soon as possible, just in case. Under such a situation, how can I offend the people on the east coast?"

"Could it be that His Majesty has plans to get involved in a new war?" DeSantis was surprised when he heard the words, and asked.With the current financial situation of the Kingdom of Spain full of holes, it is indeed inappropriate to get involved in a new war, which will only lead to the tragic situation of financial bankruptcy.

"Of course not." Governor Arango waved his hand and said, "Procuring weapons is just a normal measure to deal with the increasingly serious threat from the French. The French have recently frequently dispatched troops near the Rhine River and the Pyrenees Mountains." General, it has restrained a large number of troops of the Kingdom of Austria, and at the same time made us feel more pressure. In order to prevent some young people in Catalonia from being inspired by the French and have some bad ideas, His Majesty decided to allocate funds to further strengthen the strength of the army. Actively respond to the severe external situation, and at the same time suppress possible internal rebellions. Of course, this is only the part that everyone can see. I privately think that the number of weapons His Majesty requested to import is quite a lot, and these may not all be used I should not be surprised at all if a considerable part of ourselves should go to the Austrians."

Father DeSantis nodded silently upon hearing this.This Frenchman is very hateful. For more than a century, he has openly flirted with the Ottoman Empire, and has not even made an open alliance (the Ottoman fleet was stationed in Marseilles in large numbers, and used it as a base to attack the coasts of Spain and Italy). Up and down very disappointed.This time, they helped the Ottomans contain some of the armies of the Kingdom of Austria and the German princes, which made many people in the Christian world unhappy. They began to use their own methods to support the Kingdom of Austria, either explicitly or implicitly, such as the Spaniards. one of them.

Father DeSantis is also sympathetic to the Kingdom of Austria. This country now has a very high prestige in the Catholic world, and a group of generals who can fight well have emerged in the country. Compared with the weak Spanish army The difference between cloud and mud.Therefore, it is not too much for Father De Santis to support the relatives of the Habsburgs in Spain. Just be careful not to get involved in the war. It is said that this time the Ottomans mobilized another 20 troops. Then it's okay to support some weapons and supplies behind the scenes, but it's too stupid to force it on the front.

"People on the east coast are really lucky, or over the years, their luck is a little too good." In the Middle Ages), the Spanish land or commercial interests they have seized are quite a lot. This may be related to their geographical location. No one can force them to be involved in conflicts or wars that they do not want to be involved in.

"This time Chile is going to give them another part of the land, and this should not satisfy their appetite for a long time. Maybe next time, what they want is not those uninhabited wastelands or forests, but land like Coral Rich urban areas like Valdivia, Villarrica." Father DeSantis said with a sigh.

"Yes, so we must try to maintain a tough attitude in this negotiation. We cannot make concessions at the beginning. This will only fuel their ambitions, and then develop to the point where even Santiago, Valparaiso and other places are coveted. This is What we cannot tolerate." Governor Arango said: "Even if we are finally forced by the pressure of reality, we still have to agree to their request, but after a tragic and soul-stirring negotiation process, we must let them know our patience. It's almost exhausted, and the people of the East Coast must restrain their appetites, or I'm afraid everything will be screwed up."

(End of this chapter)