Chapter 465

Negotiations between the three countries soon came to a deadlock. The French demanded the annexation of the Italian region, and Austria proposed to annex the German Confederation, which were not acceptable to the British.

In this way, it is equivalent to releasing two great empires at the same time. Although France and Austria were originally great empires, the British still did not want to see the two countries continue to grow.

If France and Austria are allowed to complete their respective strategic plans, Britain's world hegemony will be unstable.

You know, France and Austria have never officially recognized the British hegemony, and there have always been voices within the two countries challenging the British maritime hegemony.

It is not 20 years ago. At that time, the total industrial volume of the British exceeded that of Europe. The absolute disparity in national strength made the British a hegemon.

However, with the completion of the Industrial Revolution, this gap gradually narrowed. Relying on the advantages of human resources, Austria's annual industrial output is almost on par with that of the British.

The French are also not much worse than the British. It is estimated that after the annexation of the Italian region, in three or five years, the total industrial volume of France will be able to surpass the British.

This is the advantage of a large local area and a large population. Although the per capita is still incomparable, but there are too many people!

Austria's native population is already as high as 69.76 million, and it will pass the 70 million mark within this year; once France annexes the Italian region, the total population will exceed 54 million.

The total population of the British Isles is only more than 32 million, and their birth rate is about 3.5%, far exceeding that of France, but lower than that of Austria.

This gap is not visible in the short term, but over time, the consequences are catastrophic.

There will never be a shortage of smart people in this world. Naturally, some people see the impact of population on the strength of a country.

It's just that many people in the London government have been led astray by Malthus's "Theory of Population", ignoring the progress of productivity in the industrial age and the increase in population capacity with the advent of the colonial age.

It was under this theory that the Great Irish Famine occurred, and government bureaucrats thought the British Isles were overpopulated to deliberately sit by and watch the Great Famine happen.

This theory is actually correct, the population that the land can accommodate is indeed limited, but Malthus is a person from the last century, calculated according to the standards of the feudal era.

The industrial age is different. According to the estimates of Austrian population experts, the population that can be accommodated in the mainland can be doubled, and the colony can also support 200 million people.

Franz does not know whether it is scientific or not. Anyway, he used this number directly. Otherwise, how to encourage fertility?

Of course, there are few British people, mainly because the native population is small, not to say that there are few British people. There are still a lot of English people overseas, otherwise the colonial empire would not be able to support it.

Negotiations stalled, as everyone expected. The alliance between major powers involves too many interests, and it cannot be sorted out in a short time. It is normal to drag on for a few years.

The Fao alliance actually dragged on for many years, and both sides were discussing the issue as early as after the French Revolution in 1848.

The alliance was also interrupted for a while because of the French regime change. In the late 1860s, with the continuous changes in the international situation, it provided an opportunity for France and Austria to move closer.

Negotiation is a negotiation, and the black hand that should be taken is still to be taken, but everyone has tacitly restrained.

Franz cancelled plans to occupy British South Africa, and the British abandoned their strategy of uniting Portugal and expelling Austria from South Africa.

However, the battle over the two Boer republics continued. It can no longer be said that it is a Boer republic, and before you know it, German has become the local mainstream.

There is no need to promote it, if there are more people who say it, it will be mainstream. The two Boer Republic governments were also very helpless. They didn't want this either, but there was no way.

Since the birth of the Boer people, it has been full of a strong German flavor, which cannot be washed away at all.

There is no way, even the Netherlands in this era is deeply influenced by Germanic culture, not to mention their mixed race?

In 1830, about 12,000 Dutch people were unwilling to accept British rule and relocated to establish two Boer republics.

To increase the population, they accepted European immigrants. In more than ten years, about 8,000 immigrants from the German region arrived, and some French missionaries came, and the Boer nation was born.

By the mid-19th century, the combined population of the two Boer republics exceeded 30,000.

Beginning in 1856, the history of the Boer Republic changed with the influx of German immigrants, which changed the demographics of the two countries.

It was impossible to exclude German immigrants. At that time, half of the Boers were of German descent.

Then assimilation is good, despite the efforts of the two Boer republic governments, they still can't stand the large number of immigrants from the German region.

The final assimilation was successful, but contrary to the original plan. As the Anglo-Boer conflict increased, the two Boer republics that needed to hug their thighs had to move closer to Austria.

Political changes, the direct two Boer republican governments abandoned their original plans, and German became the mainstream.

The situation has developed to this point, the two Boer republics have become German states, and the Austrian river is a matter of time.

Franz attaches great importance to the South African region. Putting aside the fertile land, the gold underground is an indispensable part of Austria's future strategy.

No one will give up monetary hegemony, the British are tinkering with the "pound-gold system"

, the French are building the "French System", and Austria is no exception, and is building the "Aegis-Gold System".

Who can become the final winner depends not only on industry, but also on who has the most gold stored in their hands. If there is not enough gold, what is the competition for gold standard hegemony?

This has nothing to do with ambition. Franz was not prepared to compete with the British for currency hegemony at first, but as his strength grew, interests were forcing Austria to rush forward.

Even if the government does not move, capital will move on its own. Now that the struggle for international currency hegemony has not yet reached the end of the dagger, the financial capital of the three countries is about to see red with a bayonet.

Unlike the battle for world hegemony, the battle for currency hegemony is much more obscure, and the battle has already begun before ordinary people realize it.

In this round of struggle, the British took advantage of the opportunity of the Franco-Prussian War to hit France and won the final victory.

Of course, the French who were the losers also got a piece of meat, and the franc became the international hard currency second only to the British pound, and the rest of the countries were struggling.

As an emerging power, the German Empire did not receive enough gold when reforming the gold standard, and was finally forced to compromise with the British.

In the battle for currency hegemony among the three countries of Britain, France and Austria, the French who lacked gold have already taken the lead. Although they wooed Switzerland, Belgium, and Italy to form a Latin currency union, this has not changed all of this.

John Bull already owns gold in Australia and Canada, Austria has most of the gold in West Africa, and the French do not have enough gold, and they are still adhering to the gold and silver standard system.

If it wasn't for the French, and there was nothing worthy of Franz's peeping, he would have to consider exposing Alaska's gold and make a deal with Napoleon III.

After all, after mastering South Africa's gold, Austria's "Aegis-Gold System" has stabilized. To enjoy exclusive currency hegemony, Austria's strength is not enough.

No, it should be said that Franz likes it, and the French will not give it; France can give it, but Franz doesn't like it.

There is no way to do this, and the transaction cannot go on. If there are travelers who look at the map, they will find that the world's top ten gold mines, more than half of which are in the Austrian control area.

...

After the new rain, the air is extraordinarily fresh. The dark clouds on the head of the little President Pretorius did not dissipate, and the wrinkles on his forehead increased a few more.

He was also an influential figure in Africa in this era. He became the President of the Transvaal Republic in 1857, and was elected as the President of the Orange Free State in 1859. He also served as the President of two countries, which is also a historical precedent.

Little Pretorius, born in 1819, became the president before he was thirty years old and reached the pinnacle of his life. Now he should be in high spirits.

However, the opposite is true. The young President Pretorius, who has been elected for the third time, has long lost his high spirits, and only has a sad face.

The merger of the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State he led failed again. Unlike before, this time it was a complete failure, and there will be no next chance.

No way, the Vienna government opposed the establishment of the Republic of South Africa. The Boer Republic dignitaries who had already hooked up with Austria did not hesitate to sell the government.

Now the two sides are negotiating the price, as long as the interests are right, the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State will soon become history, and his presidency will end prematurely.

Little Pretorius planned to merge the Transvaal and Okanji Free States to create the Republic of South Africa, and then join the Shinra Empire as a country.

Unfortunately, this plan was opposed by the Vienna government. The emperor did not want to see the Republic appear, and for this reason, he had nothing to say about his preparations.

If nothing else, the Transvaal and Orange Free States would become members of Austrian Africa and then become members of the Empire through indigenization.

People are selfish, and the Transvaal and the Orange Free State are both small countries with no bargaining power at all.

As an emerging country, everyone's sense of identity is not strong, especially the newly joined German immigrants, who have a higher degree of identity with Shinra than the Republic.

There are too many smart people, and everyone knows that instead of fighting for the interests of the new country, it is better to fight for their own interests, so that they can get more benefits.

There are not many opportunities to step into the noble class, and such an opportunity must not be missed. As for the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, can the two grassroots teams be compared with the Shinra Empire?

Do not agree? Then you don't need to agree, and the following people will take your place.

"Public opinion" is not a problem. Now the parade outside the petition team proves that joining Shinra is in line with the wishes of the public.

The wise little Pretorius wouldn't do anything to stop the car with his arm. With Austria's influence in the Transvaal and Orange, it is too easy to change the president.

It's not that he didn't work hard. In order to reduce Austria's influence, after Pretorius Jr. came to power, he also worked very hard to introduce Dutch immigrants, but he was opposed by the Dutch government.

The reason is very simple. The Netherlands is only a small country with a limited population. The government is busy expanding in the Southeast Asian region. There are not enough immigrants to Indonesia. How can it be possible to support them?

In this case, little Pretorius could do nothing. Investing in them is obviously unrewarding. The Boer Republic, sandwiched between Britain and Austria, was doomed from the beginning.

Questions Concerned by President Pretorius Jr.

Said: "Karen, how are they negotiating with the Austrians?"

As a president, he is not qualified to be at the negotiating table. It must be said that this is a tragedy.

There is no way, who will let President Pretorius Jr. advocate: first merge the Transvaal and Orange Free State to establish the Republic of South Africa, and then negotiate with the Austrians.

The Vienna government ignored him at all, bypassed the president directly, and sent people to negotiate with the powerful factions within the Boer Republic.

There is no way to do this, including the cronies of President Pretorius Jr., who did not refuse Austria's wooing.

In the face of interests, everyone's morals have been lowered. Those who cooperate actively have the opportunity to become nobles, and in the new era in the future, they can continue to be in a dominant position.

If you are on the wrong side, you will be marginalized in a new round of power shuffling.

In this era of the weak, once they are eliminated from the game, Yuhi's companions will devour their interests without the need for others to do anything.

Little Pretorius is the president anyway. As a banner figure, as long as he does not openly oppose it, he will be properly placed by the Vienna government in order to look after him. This is the reason why he can do it.

You must know that little Pretorius can become the president, not only because of his father's political heritage, but also because of his own political ability.

He still understands the reason why his arms can't twist his thighs. Since it cannot be stopped, we must find a way to participate, and it is necessary to pay attention to the negotiation process.