Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 753 Travel to the Netherlands ([-])

March is still a bit cold in the northern hemisphere.Especially on Tethyr Island near the sea, the cold wind blowing from the North Atlantic Ocean made passers-by on the street wrap their clothes tightly for fear of being frozen in the cold wind.

The streets by the pier are full of sailors from all over the world with red noses from the cold, and in the harbor not far away, there are German ships with intersecting flags of red straight stripes and golden stripes, and silver flags with patterns of eagles flapping their wings. Ships from various countries such as the famous Brandenburg ship, the golden sun Stralsund ship, and the silver shield-patterned Ragusa ship abound, indicating the extraordinary prosperity of Amsterdam, a large international port.

All kinds of commodities are gathered here, the largest of which are grains, ores, timber, fishery products, and livestock.In addition, as the economic influence of the Netherlands has become stronger in recent years, and the Dutch shipping industry has spread more and more everywhere, a large number of monopoly syndicates have emerged in Amsterdam (the only trust company that is barely qualified is the Saldan Shipyard, and the Concern There is not a single enterprise), among which the twelve largest wholesalers in the grain industry are the most famous.Grains from Poland and Moscow were first purchased by local Dutch dealers, and then transported back to Amsterdam by Dutch ships, and finally transported by Dutch ships to various ports in Europe for sale.In this process, it is naturally the twelve main grain wholesalers in Amsterdam who have grabbed the greatest profit.

The Dutch control most of the profits in this commercial chain. Whether it is grain producers (the lords of the Eastern European Plains) or retailers in the terminal market, their profits are pitifully small, and naturally they have accumulated a lot of resentment. .It was only because of the strength of the Dutch economy at this time that they had to swallow their anger.But as long as there is a chance, I believe they will not be stingy in getting back their own interests from the Dutch.

The strength of the Dutch economy is undoubted at this time, thanks to their huge distribution network, developed shipping business and convenient financing.Among them, the development of the shipping industry played a decisive role.For example, since the Dutch monopolize most of the trade in the Baltic Sea, the countries or merchants along the coast can only sell their goods to the Dutch - often not at a price that they are satisfied with, otherwise their goods may be lost. Unable to ship out.

Then some people will say that these countries can develop their own shipping business and then sell their products.In theory, it is true, but the problem is that the Dutch cannot sit back and watch this happen.They will use various means (such as financing, trade embargo, etc.) to restrict every country or organization that wants to develop shipping and commerce, just like they and the British teamed up to suppress the Hanseatic League (the commercial power of the Hanseatic League was gradually driven out away from Britain, Norway, etc.), the businesses of these countries will gradually shrink under the squeeze of Dutch capital, and eventually succumb.

The Dutch are undoubtedly capable of this.Not to mention Poland, Sweden, and the German states in the Baltic Sea (these countries’ economic strength is really not very strong), even the countries with stronger economies in Western Europe such as Britain and France are suffering from the exploitation of the Dutch all the time. .For example, the British exported a batch of woolen fabrics to France. Britain was the producing country and France was the consuming country. It was an extremely simple transaction (the British shipped the woolen fabrics from London or Bristol to Calais), but because the Dutch The reason for this is a side issue: these woolen fabrics must first be transported by Dutch sea ships to Amsterdam, and then transported by Dutch barges from the Rhine River system to eastern France, and finally enter the final consumption area of ​​​​France by land.This kind of cheating business operation method made a piece of woolen cloth that was less than [-] pounds offshore in the UK, after going around like this, it finally reached more than [-] pounds per piece. The huge cost incurred in the middle is obviously the profit of the Dutch. .

And wool is obviously only a microcosm of the Netherlands' manipulation of commodity trade. In fact, the Dutch have intervened in almost all profitable businesses, relying on their huge sea transportation power and strong ability to organize goods sources.And this further strengthened their ability to control the commodity trade. At this time, any inconspicuous trade broker or commodity broker on the Amsterdam wharf can find the goods they want for customers in a very short period of time.This is not an exaggeration, the Dutch have this ability, and there are such a large and rich commodity flowing in the Amsterdam market.

Therefore, with such an explanation, maybe you can understand why Zheng Yong came to Amsterdam.In fact, he came to the front for the commercial interests of the East Coast Republic. If the products of the East Coast want to enter the European market more easily, besides finding local powerful nobles as agents, the best and most convenient way is actually to find the Dutch.Anyway, it is necessary to share profits with others. It is a way to share the profits of commodities with local nobles, priests, and guild leaders, and it is also a way to share profits of commodities with powerful Dutch businessmen.

Thanks to the "friendship" accumulated by Thomas and the West India Company within two years, the goods of the East Coast people are now struggling to squeeze into the Amsterdam market.And entering here means that these commodities have begun to enter the Baltic Sea (the area where the Dutch have the greatest influence, half of their profits come from here), the North Sea (Norway, Britain, Denmark, etc.), eastern France and the Rhine region.Especially at a time when mercantilism is prevalent, and European countries represented by France have repeatedly raised tariffs on goods from the east coast, creating trade frictions, it is undoubtedly precious that goods from the east coast can enter Amsterdam.

Of course, not all goods from the east coast can enter this place.According to the preliminary agreement with the Dutch, grain from the east coast (a commodity in short supply in Europe at this time), steel bars (popular with European blacksmiths because of their better quality), medicines (aspirin is already used in the treatment of rheumatism, etc.) recognized by some merchants), knitted lace textiles (a commodity that does not compete with the Dutch textile industry), soda ash (this business is currently mainly done by the Venetians, who control the natural soda lake in Hungary) and These six commodities, dyed leather goods, will be publicly sold wholesale in Amsterdam by chartered merchants of the Dutch West India Company.

From now on, thousands of active brokers in Amsterdam will start to include these five commodities in their sales catalogues, and make key recommendations to businessmen from various countries who need them. It is undoubtedly extremely beneficial to promote goods on the east coast.

The reason why the Dutch are so "righteous" is very complicated, but the most important thing is that these goods on the east coast are indeed cheap and good, and the sales volume is very promising.Secondly, there are also reasons why the people on the east coast performed well in the war with Spain, especially their large scale (seventeen or eighteen warships including sail frigates were dispatched to escort at one time. You must know that there were only more than 20 professional warships in Britain in this era , during the war, civilian ships should be recruited), and the escort fleet with impressive combat power, let the Dutch see the qualifications to talk to themselves.

In addition, over the years, the Dutch East India Company, which has far-reaching influence in Amsterdam, has understood that the people on the east coast have no intention of entering the East Indies, and they have never crossed the Strait of Malacca. The ongoing war between the Netherlands and Portugal ( Brazil, Ceylon, India, and the East Indies) also maintained their apparent neutrality, so they were relieved that they began to show enough goodwill to the people on the east coast.Even, to a certain extent, they intend to win over the people on the east coast, and intend to coordinate their respective commercial interests with the people on the east coast, so as to further consolidate their commercial hegemony.

People from the east coast, who are temporarily unable to intervene in the European market, of course readily agree to this.The Dutch are willing to help them promote their products, which is a great thing. Although it is very likely that they have taken most of the profits, the people on the east coast have at least expanded the market for their products and prospered the domestic industry. He Le Why not?Moreover, lasting business ties will undoubtedly deepen the relationship between the two countries. A few years ago, the relationship between the East Bank and the Netherlands was at a standstill due to various reasons (the East Bank even attacked an armed merchant ship of the East India Company), which is obviously not in line with the East Bank. of national interest.Under the international situation at this time, cooperation between the East Bank and the Netherlands is greater than competition, and it is time to maintain a relatively good relationship.

Zheng Yong and others stayed in Amsterdam for about half a month. During this period, they visited some franchised merchants of the West India Company who acted as commodity agents on the east coast, and signed some commercial agreements (entrusting these merchants to purchase commodities needed by the east coast).The prosperity of Amsterdam surprised Zheng Yong, who is a traveler, and he has a deeper understanding of the Dutch business model. He is also deeply impressed by the style of the Dutch who like to eat alone (controlling almost all businesses). Now France in Europe Powerful countries such as China, the United Kingdom, and Sweden have become increasingly dissatisfied with this.

Especially in the UK, the sales channel of woolen cloth, their largest export commodity, is tightly held by the Dutch. At the same time, the herring resources in their offshore are also fished by the Dutch (and then dumped back to the UK). The route was also quickly occupied by the Dutch.All in all, the relationship between Britain and the Netherlands is deteriorating rapidly, especially after the regime representing the interests of the bourgeoisie came to power, this deterioration has become more and more obvious.

Originally, Zheng Yong was skeptical about whether war would break out between Britain and the Netherlands (because of the butterfly factor of the people on the east coast), but after understanding the commercial hegemony of the Dutch in this era, he understood the contradiction between Britain and the Netherlands is irreconcilable, war is inevitable unless one side makes substantive concessions, which currently looks bleak.

But then again, what does the east coast have to do with the fierce fighting between the UK and the Netherlands?I just need to sell goods, transport immigrants, and practice my internal skills in peace and comfort. If you fight hard, maybe I can get some benefits, right?

(End of this chapter)