Chapter 43 Economic Pillar

Constantine, who had gotten up in the morning and had breakfast, met the Capetian steward who was walking in the garden.

"Good morning, Your Excellency the Duke, have you heard? Nina has completed her studies and graduated from the University of Athens," Butler Capet said happily.

"Ah? Nina has completed her studies?" Constantine said in surprise.

In the recent period, Constantine has been focusing on colonial matters, and he really did not expect that Nina was about to graduate.

"Also, Prime Minister Trikupis sent an invitation letter yesterday, inviting you to attend a meeting today. It is said to be a meeting with business people."

Steward Capet was also a little surprised when he received this invitation. You must know that Constantine had hardly been involved in political matters in the past, and few government officials had contact with Constantine.

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Sitting in a royal carriage, walking slowly on the forest path leading to the city in the north of Athens, the shadows of the trees quickly passed by the car window.

Constantine sat in the carriage, thinking about his meeting with Tricupis.

The reason why Constantine had little contact with politics before was because he understood that he could not do anything.

First of all, he was still young and had just left school.

Secondly, King George is now in his prime, so it is no longer his turn to worry about political affairs, and there is little room for maneuver.

As for third, Greece’s chaotic politics and frequent changes of prime ministers are just superficial. The real underlying problem is the sluggish economy. If there is no way out economically, even Constantine, a time traveler, can’t do anything.

It's hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice.

Therefore, he seldom interferes with politics and has no solution to the fundamental problems. He avoids the quagmire of Greek politics.

This scene reflected in the eyes of Capetian steward that Constantine seemed not very interested in politics.

But now, the Congolese Commission's acquisition of management rights for the Congo River Basin must have caused a stir.

This is a clear signal that Constantine will definitely be involved in politics and there is no way to avoid it.

Such a large territory, not to mention other things, just those ivory, in the eyes of Greek businessmen, is a good piece of fat.

Congo's management and business issues, Constantine's inevitable involvement in Greece's political economy.

As for Greece's economic problems, it is really frustrating to say that 65% of Greeks are engaged in agriculture, and the mainstay of Greece's economy now is the export of raisins.

Raisins from Peloponnese are Greece's main export.

The reason is that in the 1860s, the world wine industry experienced an unprecedented catastrophe - phylloxera.

This major event that affected the world's wine landscape almost completely changed future wine cultivation, and its profound impact is still felt even today.

Phylloxera originated in eastern North America and destroyed most of Europe's vineyards at the end of the nineteenth century, with the greatest losses in France.

French wine is even divided into the "pre-phylloxera" and "post-phylloxera" eras because of the disease.

It is said that a British botanist brought back a bunch of grapevines infected with phylloxera from the United States in 1858.

Due to the long-term human cultivation activities, the genetic diversity of European grapes has been severely damaged, making them defenseless against these exotic pests.

Moreover, phylloxera is so contagious that it can even be transmitted to other vineyards through the soles of growers' shoes.

The grape disaster raged across Europe for decades.

It first spread in England, then landed in France and spread throughout the European continent.

Phylloxera became the world's first quarantine pest through its powerful destructive power.

Its spread and damage led to the emergence of the world's first international treaty to prevent the spread of dangerous pests, the Phylloxera Convention, in 1881.

However, although the grape disaster affected the entire European continent, some vineyards were favored by the goddess of luck and were able to escape the disaster.

And Greece is such a lucky person.

For a time, the export of raisins from Greece became popular, and growing grapes became a profitable business.

However, such grapes are not the common fruit grapes in life, but dried wine grapes.

The dried wine grapes have rich flavor and are very suitable for brewing some unique wines.

For example, Vin de Paille is the French name for air-dry wine.

The reason why the word straw is used is because the grapes for this type of wine are usually placed indoors on straw mats to dry after being picked.

Wine is widely consumed in Europe, especially wealthy Western Europe, and is a common drink on the table.

In the Christian tradition, wine and bread are regarded as the blood and flesh of Christ, and are things that Europeans cannot live without.

The grape disaster caused a shortage of grapes in Europe, and the price of raisins soared. People in Greece rushed into grape planting and started business.

The land in Greece is barren and suitable for growing grapes.

And vineyards are also suitable for planting on small plots of land like Greece.

In 1860, Greece's raisin output was about 40,000 tons.

By the 1880s, guided by the external market, this output reached 120,000 tons.

Originally, farmers made money, and Greece exported raisins to earn foreign exchange. This was a good thing.

But everything goes too far.

No matter how powerful the phylloxera is, and how serious a blow it has caused to grape cultivation in Western Europe, it cannot continue forever.

Once they find a way to deal with the phylloxera, they will immediately impose high tariffs on raisins from foreign countries to protect the smooth recovery of their own grape market.

Greece's land is originally barren, and the grain yield from wheat planting is extremely low, so a large amount of wheat needs to be imported.

Grapevines, unlike wheat, are not annual plants. They need a certain number of years to grow grapes.

Farmers spend several years carefully caring for the planted grapevines to produce grapes normally.

Once the raisin market goes wrong, it means that the grape growers' years of hard work have been wasted.

Faced with this situation, there is no doubt that what awaits them will be the tragic fate of bankruptcy.

Once grape farmers go bankrupt on a large scale, Greece's economic pillar will collapse, and the Greek economy will also experience twists and turns.

Greece, which cannot find a way out economically, is helpless no matter how clever its politicians are.

Thinking about Greece's headache-inducing economic problems, the carriage gradually came to the streets of Athens.

The carriage stopped in front of a cafe, and four fully armed knights guarded the four corners of the carriage.

Constantine walked into the gate with his attendant Schmidt. The waiter who came to them respectfully guided them, "Your Excellency the Duke, the Prime Minister and other distinguished guests are waiting in the box."

Nodding and motioning him to lead the way, the three of them walked through the garden at the back and came to the door of a small building.

After entering, they saw a group of men and women dressed in fancy clothes, chatting and laughing.

Seeing Constantine coming in, everyone restrained their expressions and stood up in panic and solemnity.