Chapter 125: The Coming Economic Crisis

After this economic crisis, the industry and economy of various countries will be sluggish for a period of time, and this period is precisely a good opportunity for Spain's industry and economy to catch up.

Catch up to whom? In reality, Spain's current industry is at a mediocre level.

It is somewhat difficult to catch up to the great powers, and it has some advantages compared to countries like Belgium and the Netherlands; it is difficult to choose a target to catch up to.

But as the saying goes, slogans are meant to be shouted; whether one can actually catch up is not important, what is important is that the slogan must be shouted.

Setting a relatively difficult goal for the Spanish public can also unite the people, working together to strive for this goal.

Before the outbreak of the economic crisis, the European and American securities trading markets had a period of prosperity.

Yu Kaluo naturally would not let this opportunity pass; this period of prosperity was also a great time for the royal family to make money.

The period of prosperity was quite long. If one looks at the development of history, this period of prosperity would last for at least another year or more.

During this time, as long as a company was registered and listed on the stock exchange, it could make a fortune.

As long as it was an enterprise related to railways and industry, it could easily borrow large amounts of funds from banks for construction.

During this period, many countries did not have a national bank to manage the banking industry; they basically relied on private banks to issue government bonds.

Although this also promoted economic prosperity, this kind of prosperity was too free and loose, and it was clearly not under the control of various countries.

The economic crisis broke out precisely during this high-speed development of uncontrolled economic industry, and because it was difficult for state power to control it in the early stages, the resulting impact was also relatively severe.

The reason why the National Bank of Spain was established so early was to timely control the development of the Spanish economy and let Spain avoid the impact of the economic crisis as much as possible.

Of course, it is impossible to avoid it completely. But every bit of impact reduced will increase the possibility of Spain becoming strong by a few points.

After all, an economic crisis is unavoidable for every country. If Spain can still develop steadily while other countries are suffering from the impact of the economic crisis, the gap will be further narrowed.

Since entering 1872, Yu Kaluo had people enter the London Stock Exchange and the Vienna Stock Exchange to purchase a large number of stocks of those newly registered companies.

During the stage of economic prosperity, the value of these stocks would maintain a relatively stable growth. Basically, as long as you bought them, you wouldn't lose money, which is also the reason why many capitals were crazy.

Of course, it was precisely this madness that accelerated the outbreak of the economic crisis. To ensure that the royal family's money could be safely withdrawn from the stock exchange, Yu Kaluo ordered the Royal Security Intelligence Agency to investigate the situation in the United States and various European countries.

As long as the industrial and railway construction of various countries entered a stagnant stage, whether it was an accident or a precursor to the outbreak of an economic crisis, the royal family's capital must be withdrawn from the major stock exchanges in Europe.

Although a temporary withdrawal might lead to a decrease in income, it is still better than having that money rot in the stock exchange after the economic crisis breaks out.

It is worth mentioning that after the alliance treaty between Spain and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was signed, Spain not only welcomed some Austrian capital but also welcomed many immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In any case, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was a populous country in Europe. In 1872, the population of the Austro-Hungarian Empire had exceeded 37 million, a figure more than double the total population of Spain.

Although the relatively stable environment allowed Spain's population growth to have some progress compared to the period of Queen Isabella, due to the small total population size, the current total population of Spain is about 16. million.

After welcoming a certain number of immigrants from Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it is expected that the growth of Spain's population will improve in the future.

However, to see Spain's population exceed 20 million, it might take at least a dozen years.

Currently, the Spanish government does not have a plan to introduce immigrants on a large scale, and most of the immigrants introduced are technical talents, including talents in education and medical fields.

This is also something that cannot be helped. Spain is originally a multi-ethnic country; if more people of other ethnic groups were introduced, it would definitely affect the stability of Spain.

Although Spaniards account for the majority of Spain's total population, Spaniards are also composed of Castilians and Aragonese.

Before completely assimilating the Catalans and Basques, Spain will not carry out large-scale immigration.

Of course, the population of those former Spanish colonies in Latin America is an exception. Theoretically, those people also have Spanish blood, and they also speak Spanish, making them easier to be assimilated into Spaniards.

Currently, among the immigrants Spain receives each year, more than 30% come from Italy, and nearly 20% come from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In addition, about 30% come from other parts of Europe, and only 20% of immigrants come from former colonies in Latin America.

Although the colonies in Latin America have declared independence one after another, it is also very necessary to maintain good relations with these independent American countries.

Spain has a natural advantage among these countries, and these countries will naturally be closer to Spain. Yu Kaluo's goal is not to turn these countries back into colonies, but to expand more markets for the future industrialized Spain through cooperation with these countries.

As long as the influence on these American countries remains, Spain is still the third-largest colonial power after Britain and France.

This is precisely the reason why the United States launched the Spanish-American War in history. Although Spain lost most of its colonies in the Americas, this does not mean that Spain's influence has disappeared.

The United States' dream is to build the entire Americas into the backyard of the United States, so it is naturally impossible to allow a country with such great influence as Spain to stand behind South American countries.

However, Yu Kaluo will not give the United States so many opportunities. After Spain becomes strong in the future, it will not fear the threats of the Americans.

If the Americans dare to challenge Spain's status, then Yu Kaluo would not mind using the Americans to show Spain's strength again.

Spain's weakness is relative; the current Spain is not a weak country, let alone the Spain after completing reforms and building a more powerful industry and economy.

Yu Kaluo has the confidence to let Spain regain the military strength of a great power within 10 years and return to the throne of a great power within 20 years.

And there are still 40 years until the outbreak of World War I. By the time the World War I of this world breaks out, perhaps Spain will have grown into a top-tier great power second only to Britain, France, and Germany, and will naturally have the qualifications to play chess on the world chessboard.

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(End of this chapter)