Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2345 Trivia in South Africa ([-])

On June 1698, 6, south of Yicheng County, it was sunny.

"The production of cotton, sugar, tea, tobacco, cashew nuts, coconuts, certain mining sectors, and some timber production are all export sectors. Their development depends on the needs and interests of the other side of the Atlantic. Some of these sectors (such as cotton, sugar production ) has a direct relationship with the local economy and has a certain quota of output. The main purpose of other sectors is to provide income and solve employment. Although the development of the export sector has great ups and downs, the speed is quite fast, and the sector that supplies local consumption did not until the 80s In fact, it was not fully developed at the beginning. Therefore, many local counties and townships had to pay a lot of money for imported food. It is because of this, and not because the sectors that supply local consumption are particularly backward, that the local governments are forced to pay special attention to such sectors.”

"The regional economic structure that has been formed is determined by the geographical location and structure of the Nghe Seng area. First, the planting of export crops such as coconut palms, cashew nut trees, sugar cane, and sisal tends to be along the coast or in large river valleys. The specialization of each area depends on Due to natural characteristics. Coconut and sisal are the main crops in the northern part of the coast near the Portuguese colony. Sugar cane is planted in the valley, and cashew nuts are less planted, because the most suitable land for planting is in the hands of the Portuguese. Occasionally, there are some food farms ( Rice, corn, wheat) are mostly operated by local state grain storage companies, generally located in the south of Chenggao County.”

"Industry only occupies a part in the formation of the regional structure. Except for the state-owned Chenggao Coal Mine and Yicheng Iron Works, other industrial economies are relatively bleak, and generally exist as export processing of agricultural, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery products in specialized coastal areas. Ngee Seng Port accounts for more than 60% of the industrial output value of the region, and most of the ports are not industrial cities, but exist as distribution centers for the export of agricultural products.”

"The coastal location of the Nghe Seng area results in a specific transport area structure that reflects the general characteristics of the production layout. This structure is characterized by the development of a large-scale seaport industry in a harbor (Gui Seng Bay) that is favorable in terms of natural conditions and economics. , while the development of other ports with good geographical location is restrained. The well-developed port is also the distribution center of the main railway line. Both sides of the mainline."

"It can be seen that the characteristics of the economic regional structure are: the priority development of coastal areas and export distribution areas, while the development of inland areas far away from the main transport lines is suppressed. This kind of economic development to the coast is the case for most countries that are close to the sea or The characteristics of the region are the reflection of its economic colonial nature and export-oriented business direction."

"Ahem, Secretary Wu, this is a heartbreaking statement. You dare to say the term "colonial", are you still a government cadre?" Huang Chao, the commissioner of the Yicheng District Administrative Office, looked at it in a tone of hatred. His secretary said: "How many times have I told you? Or from the mouth! Your grandfather was a big mouth back then, and your father is not far behind, and you still have this kind of virtue. Alas, the three generations of this family, grandparents and grandchildren, all It must be destroyed on this. Our Yicheng area is a local area, you have to figure it out!"

Of course, Huang Chao was a little modest when he said this.The Yicheng area—even including the Hezhong area in the west—although it is legally the official territory of the East China Republic, but what is the actual situation?As the saying goes, "there is a difference between closeness and estrangement", there are still certain differences between them and the New World on the other side of the Atlantic, mainly in the amount of transfer payments from the central government, the number of landing projects, and restrictions on immigration quotas.In addition, due to the policy inertia implemented in the past, the colonial economic color of Hezhong and Yicheng is still somewhat strong, which makes people feel helpless.

Officials at the Nghe Seng District Administrative Office do not seem to take local considerations too seriously.Starting from Qiu Haiyang, the first dispatched commissioner, through Xiao Jingzong and now Huang Chao, although it cannot be said that they did not consider the local area at all—for example, they won the Yicheng Iron Works project despite all difficulties—but they are really more willing to follow the central government Take the baton, even temporarily sacrifice the interests of the region.

When Xiao Jingzong was in power, because the "March of Suffering" plan had not yet started, the development of the Yicheng area was still impressive.At that time, food planting and cash crops were developed simultaneously, coal mines and ironworks projects were booming, Yicheng Highway and Railway projects were carried out despite hardships, and many reservoirs and irrigation canals were built in the south and west of Chenggao County to serve the region. A good foundation is typically laid for development in the coming decades.But now?In order to quickly raise funds and make quick money to make up for the financial hole, the grain planting area in Yicheng area has been decreasing year by year, and the output of cash crops has been increasing year by year. Although it has indeed earned a lot of money, the economic structure of the entire area has gradually become deformed. It is no exaggeration to say that the economy has a colonial structure.

After Huang Chao came to power, he continued to follow the central government unwaveringly.In addition to suspending the follow-up development projects in the Yiyang Bay area that had already opened up the situation, he also canceled the plan to clear the black aborigines from Chenggao County to the west and expand the new territory. The people in Yicheng, Chenggao, and Yiyang counties have been criticized for their old life, and they feel that their own interests have been ignored and damaged.

Huang Chao himself naturally felt the pressure.So, after working on the marching railway for a whole year—he even moved the regional administrative office from Yicheng Port to Chenggao Town—he finally returned to the coastline to attend the inauguration ceremony of a timber processing factory here. .

The wood processing factory is located in Ganling Township (near the small town of Ponta Do Ouro in later generations), a small town near the sea. It currently has a population of more than 2000. It was established a few years ago. The economy is tepid. Aspects of development.In fact, this place shouldn’t have only this small population, but the higher-ups don’t like to cram people here, but instead send them to several settlements along the marching railway, such as Sishui, Guangwu, Zhige, Guanghui, etc., to enrich the local area. population so as to be able to provide as many food supplies as possible.

Similar to Ganling Township, there are two settlements, namely Xincheng Township (located near the small town of Jiaojini in later generations) and Liting Township (located near the small town of Hluhluwe in later generations). It's very worrying, it can be said that they are already in a state of being neglected, even if the regional administration wants to compensate them, it is impossible to build a separate county for them, and there is no one.

Huang Chao came to Ganling Township today, not empty-handed, but with a cash check of [-] yuan, intending to hand it over to the township government to let them set up the shelf of the township Quanquan Primary School first.I'm really ashamed. It has been several years since the settlement was established, and there is not even a school. This is also a state of poverty.No matter how worried Huang Chao was about the marching railway, he would not be able to sit and watch this kind of thing happen for a long time. Ganling Township is still a town under the administration of Yicheng District Administrative Office, so don't be too biased!

Xincheng Township and Liting Township will each have [-] French currency allocations, but Yiyang County to the south will not have it.Because Huang Chao believes that they have already made considerable profits by capturing slaves, exchanging dog head gold with blacks, and hunting ivory and high-grade furs, and it is not a poor area, so the regional administration will no longer allocate sponsorship.

If the local area wants to really develop, it is better to consider the model of the Tuanjiehe area. Relying on gold to attract a large number of gold diggers who dream of getting rich overnight-there are already quite a few of them. They use Yiyang County as their base camp and spontaneously Go west for gold - there doesn't seem to be any better way to rely on these people to expand the frontiers west and find riches.

From this, we can also see that compared with the Hezhong area next door, Yicheng area is not of the same order of magnitude in terms of manpower, material resources and financial resources.After paying the apportioned marching and immigration expenses, people still have the energy to set up new settlements and build railways. Is this kind of courage comparable to that of Yicheng, which is bitter and stingy?The only pride of the Yicheng area is probably the iron and steel smelting and forging industry established under the guidance of local technical experts (now it can produce its own rails). This is really something that the Hezhong area has been seeking for many years. In the future, it will definitely stimulate the rapid development of industries in an entire region and provide a large amount of fiscal revenue.

Currently, according to the statistics of Yicheng District Administrative Office, Yicheng and Chenggao counties can attract more than [-] businessmen, technicians and other service talents from Hezhong area every year, forming a certain siphon effect on the society of Hezhong area.The future is likely to be an important factor for them to come from behind and surpass the economy of the middle of the river.However, holding a hen that lays golden eggs like Cape Town Freeport in the middle of the river may not be much worse than you.It is still hard to say who will be strong and who will be weak in the future. It depends on the development of both parties.

All in all, the Ue Seng area developed late, with a small population and a relatively weak economy. Unfortunately, it bears the heavy burden imposed on them by marching immigrants, so it may be adversely affected in the next few decades.Unless the central government feels "guilt" about this and gives a lot of extra help in terms of technology, capital and manpower, otherwise this is a delayed area, and it is no wonder that their cadres and people are dissatisfied.But there are also opportunities in it, that is, in order to support the construction of railways, industries such as coal, metallurgy, machinery manufacturing, and building materials will get "distorted prosperity". This is also a fortune, and it all depends on how you look at it.

After eating a tasteless "big meal" of coarse grains in the Ganling Township Government, the Commissioner of the Administrative Office Huang Chao took his entourage "fleeing in a hurry" and boarded the carriage back to Yicheng Port.In the next few days, he will meet with the envoys from the New China Pioneering Team and discuss some important matters with them.

I just got back from a business trip and I'm too busy.

(End of this chapter)