Chapter 308: Seizing the Cotton Market

Prime Minister Felix took out a document and handed it to Franz, and said, "Your Majesty, considering that the African colonies are rich in resources and there are many immigrants, we have formulated a set of colonial economic development plans, please take a look."

Colonial economic development plan? This statement is very avant-garde. In Franz's memory, it should be after the appearance of the Dominion that the Autonomous Government formulated a systematic economic development plan.

Now in everyone's consciousness, the purpose of establishing colonies is to plunder wealth. For the local economic development, it is basically laissez-faire and there is no long-term plan.

Doubts turned into doubts, Franz still took the document and looked at it seriously, and soon he knew why there was this plan.

It is not how far-sighted the Vienna government is, nor is it driven by interest groups, it is just an instinct of the ruling class.

When making policies as a ruling class, it will naturally tilt towards itself. The aristocracy now dominates the colonization of Africa, and it is also the aristocracy that dominates the Austrian government.

Before the successful establishment of farms and plantations, many people still have doubts. Now the early plantations have begun to make profits, and the successful examples are already in front of us, and everyone's attention has been greatly different.

In the eyes of many traditional nobles, these are the wealth bestowed upon them by God, and they can pass on the family business. The better the colony develops, the more everyone's wealth will increase.

The ruling class naturally wants to safeguard its own interests, and does not need to be pushed by others, so the Vienna government has formulated a colonial development plan.

Franz asked with concern: "Have you ever explored the terrain to build a railway from Guinea to Congo? Is there any technical difficulty? How to solve the funding problem?"

Well, he decisively ignored that there were many areas on the way that were not within Austria's control.

Anyway, in this era, it is only with fists to speak. Since Vienna has made this plan, it is naturally ready to seize these areas.

Prime Minister Felix explained: "The topography and topography have been preliminarily explored by the colonial government. In theory, our current railway construction technology is sufficient to complete the construction of this railway.

Considering the economic needs, this railway must run through most cities. With the addition of the branch railway, the total mileage may exceed 10,000 kilometers. We plan to construct it in sections, and the areas with poor geographical conditions can be placed in the back.

Construction funds are still mainly private equity offerings, and the insufficient part is supplemented by government funding. In order to stimulate everyone's enthusiasm for investment, we can allocate the unclaimed land within 20 kilometers on both sides of the railway to the railway company. "

Franz knew that this railway is definitely not so easy to complete, and many technologies that can be realized in theory will collapse due to the high cost of actual construction.

African colonies are not native, and most areas have not been effectively developed. Many raw materials have to be transported from China, and construction costs will definitely increase significantly.

Judging from the economic development of the African colonies, this railway with dual functions of strategy and economy may not be profitable for decades to come.

The profit point of the railway company lies in the land on both sides of the railway. Whoever undertakes this railway is the biggest landlord.

This is the way to learn from the construction of American railways. Now, the land is naturally worthless, but when the railway construction is completed, the land will increase in value.

The railway company can build a station every other area and radiate to the surrounding area. The traffic problem has been solved, and good returns can be obtained whether it is to open up plantations or mine in these areas.

If it is left in later generations, it is estimated that such a business will be crowded out. Twenty kilometers on both sides of the railway, that is, 40 kilometers. After the railway is built, more than 400,000 square kilometers of land can be obtained.

With such a large area, even if there are no resources, the construction cost can be recovered just by selling the wood.

It is a pity that now, whether it is wood or minerals buried in the ground, it is not worth much. Unless gold and silver mines are discovered, it remains to be seen whether the investment will be profitable.

After careful consideration, Franz found that this was actually a high-quality project.

In building a railway in Africa, labor costs can be saved first. Even if there is a labor protection law, the local indigenous people do not know where to complain.

Of course, even finding a place to complain is of no use. The complainant must learn German first, otherwise the case will not be accepted.

The natives who can learn German will not be low-level laborers. Such talents have long been promoted to supervisors. They are going to complain, and the first one to be unlucky is themselves.

Everyone wants to be embarrassed, and abusing workers must be supervisors. No high-level executive would surrender his identity and personally go to the railway construction site to whip someone with a whip.

Sand, gravel, sleepers and other basic raw materials can be collected by themselves, and cement does not need to be purchased from outside.

Even if it is mechanical equipment and rails, it needs to be transported from China, and the actual increase is the freight. Generally speaking, the construction cost is within the controllable range.

The railway company owns such a large area of ​​land, and even if the development is bad, it can still make a profit by just selling the resources.

Franz said calmly: "Since these problems have been solved, let's build this railway! But remember to control costs, the government cannot put a lot of financial resources into this railway.

Focusing on developing the plantation economy is a good idea, but it still needs to be focused.

The colonial government could organize experts to conduct on-the-spot inspections to see what crops are suitable for planting, and then guide everyone on what to plant.

The government will

, climate, hydrology and other data are sorted out, and then the economic crops suitable for planting are listed and distributed to the public.

What to plant, let everyone choose freely, and the government will not force it.

According to the current international situation, the US civil war is about to break out, and their cotton and tobacco exports will inevitably be affected. We can make preparations in this regard. "

This railway is in everyone's interests. Once the land transportation problem is solved, there will be more land that can be developed. There is no need to develop only coastal and riverside areas like now.

As a member of the vested interests, Franz will naturally not object. Even he has to participate in it and get a piece of the pie.

As for when the railway will be completed and whether it will become an unfinished project, Franz is not worried at all.

The colony is not a native land. If the construction cost is too high in areas with harsh terrain, it doesn’t matter if the construction is suspended for a few years. Anyway, the construction period is not urgent.

Focusing on the development of cotton cultivation is mainly to snatch the cotton market in the United States. Once the civil war breaks out, cotton exports will definitely be affected.

You must know that American cotton exports in this era are close to 190 million US dollars, accounting for two-thirds of the global cotton export market share.

Historically, the U.S. Civil War cut off cotton exports, and the British cotton textile industry was hit hard. To avoid getting stuck in the neck, John Bull directly enforced cotton cultivation in India.

By the time trade returned to normal after the war, U.S. cotton exports had fallen to $6 million, and U.S. cotton no longer dominated the market.

There are also many areas suitable for cotton cultivation in Austria's colonies. As long as they can take the opportunity to grab one-third of the American market share, the colony's finances will turn over.

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