Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 814 Decline and Adjustment ([-])

(I want to hear more of your voices and receive more of your suggestions. Search and pay attention to the WeChat public account "qdread" now, and give more support to "The Rise of South America Through 1630"!) "Look at your None of the clothes on the entourage are from the East Coast..." Baron Angel Bravo from Lima complained to his cousin Baron Raul Bravo on the banks of the Maolin River, "Leather boots, saddles , spurs, girdles, horseshoes, horse bits, the clothes on the body, the rapiers on the waist, and even the water jugs for drinking water are all made by the damn east coast! Look at the skirts on the women , tablecloths and curtains at home, stoves and iron pots for cooking, even bricks and tiles for house repairs, and gravel for paving (broken by steam breakers) all have to be imported from the east coast. The goods of the heathen have entered Every aspect of our lives, they control everything, we can't live without them, it's horrible!"

What Angel Bravo didn't say was that although the Spanish kings banned it in every possible way, there were still handicraft industries of a certain scale in cities such as Mexico City, Veracruz, Lima, Cochabamba, and Santiago.These industries are generally controlled by native white aristocratic families, and the local colonial officials turn a blind eye or take part in a share. With the vast market demand, the development of these industries is relatively rapid, bringing operators A small profit was made.However, with the impact of foreign smuggled goods (mainly from Britain, France, Genoa and Germany), these local industries began to shrink gradually, and only some industries that enslaved Indians were still struggling because of cost advantages.

What gave them a fatal blow was the goods that also came from the New World. Since October 1649, the Southern Railway Company organized a number of ships to transport a large amount of smuggled goods to the Maolin River Basin—almost all produced by the people on the east coast. Yes, the influx of these lower-cost commodities immediately destroyed the last trace of vitality of the local industry in the Viceroyalty of Peru, and the only remaining industrial workshops in the area began to close down gradually, and at an increasing speed.There are more and more East Coast commodities on the market, from metal farm tools, hardware utensils, and textiles at the beginning to iron pans, coal stoves, briquettes, medicines, glassware, wooden furniture, and a series of commodities. It covers a large part of the daily life of Peruvians.

This tide of goods from the outside world has been going on for eight months now. Under such a tide, a handicraft workshop of Baron Angel Bravo was forced to close down, and some Indians who were forced to be hired were also arrested. dissolve.But he found that he couldn't hate the East Coast people at all, because as a major agent of East Coast commodities, he made more money here than before.However, although he earned more money, as a subject of the Lord and a Spanish gentleman, he still felt that his behavior "sullied his noble soul", and he became a "slave of money" and a He was greatly dismayed to be the accomplice of the yellow-skinned heretics in extending their influence.But if you want him to give up his lucrative status as a commodity agent on the east coast, he can’t do it. Therefore, the sense of tearing between ideal and reality seems to make this baron fall into mania. In the midst of anger, complaining about the attire of his cousin's servant is an example.

His cousin spent most of the year in Porto Oriental, acting as a special envoy between the Governor of Peru and the people on the east coast, coordinating the relationship between the two parties and handling various emergencies.It can be said that Baron Raul Bravo is actually the one who knows the inside story of the Eastern Republic among the many gentlemen in the Viceroyalty of Peru.And it is precisely because he knows so much that the little Baron Bravo understands the strength of the people on the east coast better than others, so he not only ordered his servants to set up a business station in Port Maolin to act as a wholesaler for the people on the east coast, Then he used the mule gang he controlled to transport the goods all over Chile, and his cousin, the Baron Bravo, also persuaded him to join the trend.

According to what he said, since they can't stop this general trend, they might as well follow the trend and make more money by taking advantage of this shareholder wind.Anyway, the king doesn't love New Spain, Peru, or the people living here. The king only cares about the gold and silver mines here, so they have no reason to worry about the king's interests all day long. They might as well think about the family and earn more money. Forget it.Once there are changes in Peru or New Spain in the future, they can still do some important things by virtue of their financial advantages, such as contacting some native white elite families to jointly safeguard their own interests.

"Stop complaining, dear cousin, the ships from the East Coast have already arrived." The little Baron Bravo looked at his cousin with a helpless look, and then said: "I can't stay here for too long , I have to rush back to Lima before June 6th. I have to help people get a lot of things done before then, which is annoying! Mr. Paletta is not sure if he can buy enough large square bricks from the east coast people, he He built a new villa in Lima for himself and his family that occupies a very large area, and there is still a lot of building materials missing; Mr. García ordered 20 pieces of metal farm tools for his estate. He really wants to buy it this time, because the farm is in a hurry to use it; Mr. Leon plans to refit a few of his ships, you know, many transport ships along the Pacific coast were destroyed by the East Coast during the war, and now The coasting business is profitable, but Mr. Leon suddenly finds himself short of a lot of strong canvas..."

As soon as Baron Angel Bravo heard what his cousin said, he understood that it was a lot of trouble to refuse him. He asked his cousin to help him through the back door—because the gentlemen in Lima always thought that Bravo Jr. The Baron is a man of means, and he has good friendships with people from the East Coast.Of course, this is indeed the case. This time, the little Baron Bravo asked the Southern Railway Company to reserve some goods for him in advance through some connections. He rushed to the Maolin River area just to pick up the goods.

Of course, with what status he is, he doesn't need to do these things himself, he just needs to arrange his own servants to pick up the goods.But out of curiosity about the increasingly prosperous smuggling trade, Baron Bravo decided to stay here temporarily for a few days, and took the goods away with his own boat before leaving.

"Even noble gentlemen are scrambling to buy goods from the east coast..." This realization made Baron Bravo a little uncomfortable and even a little confused, but he couldn't do anything about it, because this trend was not even a trend. Two people can turn it around.He is just a mere baron, unable to affect the overall situation, and can only passively follow the trend, acting as a "comprador" businessman who is in pain and happiness, saving funds for himself-of course, the huge business capital he has accumulated may never have a chance transformed into industrial capital.

"Nantieyu-004" and "Nantieyu-005", two ships with a full load displacement of 580 tons, were fully loaded with cargo, and they swaggered and moored in the sea off the Maolin River during the conversation between the two barons.Not far from them, there are two "Madao" class escort gunships with their gun doors open, guarding the side to prevent any unscrupulous pirate ships from coming to rob.

As time passed, soon some small boats loaded with a large amount of cargo approached the coast driven by the sailors, and then the Indian laborers who had been waiting on the shore for a long time swarmed up and unloaded the cargo with all their might.And their owners are conducting cash transactions with the trade officials of the Southern Railway Company.Paying the money with one hand and delivering the goods with the other hand is the most suitable way when both parties have not yet established enough trust.

After these goods were unloaded, some Indian servants, driven by the mixed-race foreman, pulled some donkeys and mules over, and then sorted the goods into different categories, and put them on the backs of the animals to fix them.Next, these goods will be carried by horses, donkeys, mules, camels, alpacas and other pack animals, and transported along the ancient commercial roads to various colonial points for sale.The respective markets of these Spanish comprador merchants have been negotiated internally in advance. Generally speaking, no one will cross the border without following the rules, and this is also the best way to ensure that each agent can obtain sufficient profits.

Of course, there are also some small-tonnage offshore transport ships berthed in Maolin Hanoi, which were temporarily collected by some Spanish businessmen or colonial officials.Their sales market is in the north, and it is too troublesome to transport them by pack animals, and it is very unrealistic to have to cross the seaside desert of the Chalcas Prosecutor's Court area, which may be the driest desert in the world.Therefore, they decided to use these small boats with a tonnage of less than a hundred tons to transship the goods, transport the goods back to some remote small ports in Peru, and then distribute them to various places for sale for profit.Who allowed the ships of the people on the east coast to sail as far as this sea area (as stipulated in the "Valladolid Treaty"), and the rest of the journey can only be completed by the Spanish agents themselves.

"Every month, a large number of ships or mule gangs bring various commodities from all over Peru, or simply bring huge cash boxes to trade directly. In short, in the past eight months, the Maolin River Basin has It has gradually transformed from a wild land full of forests and rivers into a rich town flowing with gold. The people on the east bank will bring in a large amount of goods every month, and then buy a large amount of livestock, leather, tallow, and bird droppings , cane sugar, tobacco leaves, cocoa, cinchona bark, giant logs, sulfur, and various ores. According to estimates from the information I have received, the Southern Railway Company of the East Coasters has swept away more than With 40 pesos in cash and a large amount of various materials, the profits are so huge that it is unimaginable.” Looking at the trade officials of the people on the east bank, they have begun to discuss the import trade of materials with the Spanish “compradors” on the river bank, Anhe Baron Bravo couldn't help lamenting: "The wealth of Peru just flowed into the pockets of yellow-skinned pagans..." (My novel "The Rise of South America through 1630" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform Oh, and there is also a 100% lottery gift for everyone! Open WeChat now, click the "+" sign on the top right "add friend", search the official account "qdread" and pay attention, hurry up!)

(End of this chapter)