Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2285 Europa Universalis ([-])

"Gentlemen, it's time to toast. Last year's financial situation was very good, and I hope it can continue like this." On August 1695, 8, a group of well-dressed gentlemen were having a meeting in Wendao Port, the largest seaport and the largest city in the Principality of Courland discuss.

The speaker was Archduke Frederick, the supreme ruler of the Principality, a middle-aged man who was sick and unsightly.Thanks to the people on the east coast, Archduke Frederick's reputation in the Baltic Sea has grown day by day over the years. He has not only become a guest of honor in the courts of many city-states in Sweden, Denmark, Poland and Germany, but also a famous moneylender and art investor. .Many countries, including the Swedish royal family, borrowed money from him, and artists from England, France and Germany also followed the Grand Duke and created various works of art with his funding.

The most famous of them are the two palaces located in Mitao, the principality's capital, and Wendao, the commercial city.These two palaces cost the Grand Duke more than 300 million yuan in total (half of which was loaned to the East Bank Bank), and their magnificence amazed everyone who saw them.In particular, many bumpkin lords in the German region often travel here to see the palace by the way, and they will inevitably brag when they go back, which makes Archduke Frederick's reputation even higher.

In addition, the Grand Duke is also a person who likes lively scenes.Just the year before last, he also paid a lot of money to invite the troupe that had performed at various celebrations of Louis XIV to Wendao, and performed for three consecutive months.During the three months, the Grand Duke himself not only came to watch the performance frequently, but also rewarded a lot of property at every turn.The most exaggerated, he even invited the people of Port Wendao to dinner, and set off fireworks wantonly at night. The level of extravagance made the French who are used to such scenes speechless.

There is no doubt that these will cost a lot of money!Although Courland is in a good financial situation, it cannot afford such a prodigal Duke Frederick.You know, their country now owes the people on the east coast a total of 220 million yuan in loans with principal and interest. Most of the money was used by the Grand Duke himself for pleasure, and only a small part was used to improve the sanitation facilities of the Principality, build roads, Relief for the poor shows the degree of waste.

This year, Grand Duke Frederick even planned to build a luxurious manor for his mistress.Naturally, in addition to embezzling state treasury funds (the funds were originally used to establish a university), he also planned to borrow 20 yuan from the East Coast Agricultural Bank.At this time, even the people on the east bank couldn't stand it anymore. They had to come forward to warn that the debt of the Principality of Courland had reached the verge of danger, and reasonable financial control methods must be implemented.

Subsequently, with the support of some principality officials, the East Coast people sent a sophisticated working group to review the principality's financial situation.The results of the review are mixed. The good news is that the country has a good cash flow. By exporting commodities such as tobacco, sugar, pepper, timber and even slave labor to the east coast, it can obtain huge trade income every year.Although the merchants have to share a large part of these incomes, and the colonial government has to collect part of it for its own construction, the principality itself has also obtained considerable fiscal revenue through shareholding, dividends, and tax collection.

In addition, the Principality of Courland acted as an agent for goods on the east coast, and also gained considerable income.They still have a way. After getting the goods from Riga and Wendau, they sold the goods to Poland, Livonia and some German territories through various methods that people on the east coast could not do, and they made a lot of money. The principality has a very stable financial income.

Therefore, the Principality of Courland is still rich, provided that expenditures are controlled, and Grand Duke Frederick's extravagance is the largest item in his expenditures, which must be greatly reduced.What the East Coast people put forward is not a suggestion, but a warning as its largest creditor. If Your Excellency still insists on going his own way, the East Coast Bank Group may ask him to repay the loan in advance and put his various assets in custody until he repays the loan. until the debt is cleared.

Unlike the Genoese bankers who lent money to the Spanish royal family and never returned, the debt collection ability of the people on the east coast is still remarkable.Therefore, Grand Duke Frederick had to summon several ministers to his holiday estate to discuss how to arrange the national financial expenditure for the next year.

"Your Majesty, last year's financial situation was good. We received a total of 48 Ducats in financial revenue including dividends, taxes, and aid for merchants and nobles. However, we need to pay attention to the debt principal and interest of about 17 Ducats. According to regulations, we need to deposit this money into a special account of the East Coast Agricultural Bank before the end of December. If you don’t want to lose your glory, it’s best not to move this money.” Stefan Hayne, the chancellor of the exchequer, was serious replied.He is a Pomeranian. Because he was dissatisfied with the rule of the Swedes, he came to the Principality of Courland, which has a relatively strong German atmosphere. His ability is not bad, and he has worked as the Minister of Finance for five years. .

He had always been a strong supporter of the Grand Duke before, and he did not stop the king's extravagant actions.However, after the Agricultural Bank of the East Bank pressed for debts, and several capable subordinates who had studied in the East Bank also questioned him, he quickly changed his attitude and tended to austerity in order to save the financial crisis that was on the verge of collapse.

"Your Majesty, our ships need to be repaired, the port needs to be dredged, the city needs to be governed, the schools need funding, and the army needs to be built. These all require a lot of expenses. The allocation of [-] ducats a year is too little. Many soldiers Hungry. And you have disbanded more than [-] soldiers in the past two years, and the remaining regiment can no longer owe wages, otherwise the security of the principality cannot be guaranteed.” Maximilian, the minister in charge of defense expenditures Harman also spoke.This is also a German, born in Lübeck, served on a warship when he was young, and is now in charge of the entire country's navy and army. He is an old man who came from the time of Grand Duke Frederick's father, and has a high prestige.

There was a lot of helplessness in Haman's words.To be honest, the Principality of Courland is a small country, with only 30 citizens in Europe so far, it is a country that cannot be smaller.However, such a small country is very rich, and its income exceeds that of many surrounding countries.This, combined with the unbridled extravagance of their monarch, made it coveted by many countries, including Sweden, Poland, Russia, Brandenburg-Prussia.

Before Moscow wanted to marry Grand Duke Frederick, it had already shown some intention of the Russians.They are very jealous that the small principality of Courland can master such a huge amount of wealth. At the same time, they covet a large number of professional shipbuilding professionals in it, trying to recruit them to improve the Russian shipbuilding technology, so as to lay a good foundation for entering the Black Sea in the future. ——The Russian Empire has obtained the first batch of technical personnel through cooperation with the people on the east coast (Little Star Shipyard), but it is not enough, and now a second batch of personnel is urgently needed to supplement the shortage.

Grand Duke Frederick was very close to Moscow at one time, and he also liked the Russian lady very much, but the people on the east coast "beat the mandarin ducks" forcibly extinguished the Duke's fantasy, and finally forced him to marry a Polish noble lady .And marrying a Pole doesn't mean staying out of trouble ever since!Although the main energy of the Poles is now involved in the south, they have always been entangled with the Crimean Tatars and the Ottoman Turks, but for their huge size, if they want to interfere with a wealthy small country with a population of less than 30 It couldn't be easier.Moreover, there are not many Latvians, the main ethnic group in this country, in Livonia. It is difficult for Courland to find foreign aid for its own ethnic group, so it may only take some small actions and pay a small price to deeply understand. It will have a profound impact on this country, and even annexation is not out of the question.

In addition, we also cannot ignore the Prussians around Königsberg.The Hohenzollern family, which owns this land, are not easy-going. They also covet the relatively wealthy Duchy of Courland and want to swallow it quickly.After all, their country is undergoing vigorous construction from top to bottom, and the military expenditure is also very large. If the Principality of Courland can be incorporated, it will be a great supplement to their finances.

With the same motivation as Prussia, there is poor Sweden, and even some German states are thinking about how to make money. Therefore, the Principality of Courland is really very dangerous, and the surrounding countries have become a delicate balance. , At the same time, the people on the east coast are also supporting, so they didn't crash down.But their monarchs are so fucked up, they don't understand the principle of not revealing their wealth, and a country the size of a booger is actually as flamboyant as Louis XIV, and it is their own fault to be targeted.

The people on the East Coast have also carefully discussed the issue of the Principality of Courland before, and the conclusion is that this country cannot be allowed to fall.Moreover, they also discovered that Archduke Frederick had some problems with his health, but he was not restrained at all, and continued to wander around, further deepening his physical deficit.The doctor who had been sent to Mitau to examine Archduke Frederick was worried that if the situation continued to deteriorate, the Grand Duke might die within a few years, and the future of the Principality would also be uncertain.

For this reason, the people on the east coast have already formulated a plan, that is, once Grand Duke Frederick passes away, they will immediately use all resources to support the young heir of the Grand Duke, and take the opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the two countries, so as to better connect this country with the The east coast is tied together.And if this plan fails, then they will no longer invest resources in futile work, but will directly instigate the independence of New Courland to maximize the protection of the interests of the east coast.

It should be said that there is no way around this.New Courland must exist, and must continue to develop in a healthy way, to attract more European immigrants, build a solid wall for the east bank, and prevent blacks from the Congo River Basin from going south.This is a century-old plan, and no one can destroy it!Of course, if the Principality of Courland can be preserved, it is better to preserve it, which is more beneficial to the plans of the people on the east coast.For this reason, they plan to take action for a while, and contact the Dutch, the largest force in the Baltic Sea, to see if they can use their influence to operate.

(End of this chapter)