Chapter 25: Italian Laborers

Upon hearing Primo explain the financial preparations for industrial construction, Carlo nodded and asked, "When will the industrial construction begin? What direction are we setting for our initial construction goals?"

"I plan to establish a small industrial base in Seville, Andalusia, and increase our steel production."

"After increasing steel production, we will invest in railway construction, with the expectation of increasing the railway mileage to over 6, 00 kilometers within the next five years, connecting the various regions of Spain from east to west and north to south," Primo replied.

Do not underestimate the construction of railways; the boost it provides to industry is immense.

The steel rails required for railways necessitate that steel mills work overtime to increase production, which can drive the development of a series of auxiliary industries.

Spain possesses significant reserves of coal and iron ore in Andalusia, which is quite convenient for industrial development.

Although most of Spain's coal is of relatively poor quality, it is still sufficient for initial industrial production.

After all, in this era, the total steel production of various countries is not high; it has not reached the exaggerated levels of tens of millions of tons seen in later generations.

Currently, the strongest industrial power is the British Empire, but even the British steel production is only around 300, 00 tons, not yet at such an exaggerated scale.

However, Spain's steel production is even lower. Because industrial construction was neglected during the previous reign of Queen Isabella, Spain's annual steel production to date is only in the thousands—a pathetic 2, 00 tons.

Although part of this is due to Spain lacking excellent iron and coal reserves, as a second-rate European country with a population of over 16 million, this level of industrialization is still too dismal.

"Once our steel mills go into mass production, we hope to increase steel production to over 10, 00 tons within the next five years. At the very least, our steel production must meet the needs of domestic industrial construction; a Spain without industry is incomplete," Primo said.

Building 1, 00 kilometers of railway in five years seems slow, but for a Spain with such pathetic steel production, it is not easy.

In the nearly 30 years from 1840 to 1869, Spain only built 5, 00 kilometers of railway, a construction speed that has fallen far behind countries like Britain, France, Germany, and the United States.

Spain is mountainous, and to better strengthen the connections between various regions, building railways is absolutely necessary.

This will not only strengthen the Kingdom government's control over various regions but also accelerate the movement of people and economic exchange between them.

"I approve your plan, Prime Minister Primo." Upon hearing Primo's full explanation, Carlo nodded and approved Prime Minister Primo's plan without the slightest hesitation.

Clearly, this industrial plan is very necessary for Spain. Although the investment is not that large, it is a good start for industrial development for Spain.

"Your Majesty, there is a matter that perhaps only you can handle." Hearing that Carlo had approved the industrial plan, Primo first smiled and nodded, then hurriedly proposed another request to Carlo.

"Oh? What is it?" Carlo asked curiously.

"Whether it is building industrial bases or laying railways, we need a large number of laborers. But as Your Majesty knows, those black laborers we purchased from Africa are not very settled; they are also a source of instability for Spain."

"Compared to these lowly black laborers, I think introducing foreign white laborers is a more suitable choice. When I went to Italy before, I discovered that Italy has a large agricultural population choosing to emigrate overseas."

"If possible, could we establish contact with the Italian government and introduce a portion of Italian immigrants and laborers?"

"Doing this can not only solve our labor shortage problem but also accelerate our industrial construction; I think it is very necessary to give it a try," Primo said.

To carry out the construction of industrial bases and the laying of railways, one must prepare a large number of laborers as a workforce.

This is very difficult for Spain to achieve. Although Spain has a large agricultural population, these people are scattered across the vast Spanish territory and all own their own land; it is impossible for them to cross half of Spain for the meager income of a laborer.

But these Italian farmers are different. They can barely survive in Italy anymore, which is why they choose to emigrate overseas.

Since that is the case, why not find an opportunity to attract a portion of Italian immigrants to come to Spain and fill the gap in Spain's labor shortage?

One must know that most of Italy's agricultural population is located in Southern Italy, which until recently was the territory ruled by the despotic Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

These farmers have experienced long-term rule by a despotic monarchy and are much easier to govern than those black laborers and republicans.

This is one of the reasons why Primo has his eyes on Italian laborers; laborers who are steady, hardworking, and do not cause trouble are welcomed everywhere.

Hearing Primo say this, Carlo was somewhat surprised.

Because introducing Italian laborers was already in Carlo's plan, and this is also beneficial to Carlo's rule.

After all, Carlo was born into the Italian royal family; these Italians coming to Spain would certainly not oppose Carlo's rule, and compared to the native Spaniards, the Italians would also feel closer to Carlo.

For a request that is completely beneficial to himself, Carlo would certainly not object.

"For the development of Spain, I am of course willing to do this," Carlo said with a smile: "If the government is ready, then our industrial construction can begin immediately."

"I will handle the matter of the laborers; I hope our industrial construction can also proceed as smoothly as expected."

Primo nodded and said very respectfully: "As you command, Your Majesty."

When it comes down to it, the number of people Carlo has at his disposal is still too small.

Currently, the only ones he can use are Qiaodi and Luo Lun. Qiaodi needs to be in charge of the Palace Guard, so the only one who can go to Italy to negotiate the labor matter is Luo Lun.

Fortunately, this is not a major affair; Italy is not short of a few thousand or ten thousand laborers. Plus, with the good father-son relationship between Carlo and Victor Emmanuel II, signing an agreement with Italy to introduce laborers is not a problem.

Sure enough, the entire trip only took Luo Lun ten-plus days to bring back an "Agreement on the Introduction of Laborers" for Carlo.

Carlo's requirements were not high; being able to introduce several thousand to ten thousand laborers from Italy each year for the first few years would satisfy Spain's development needs.

Once Spain's construction has achieved certain results and the people's living standards and income continue to rise, it will naturally attract some people in Europe who cannot survive in their hometowns to immigrate to Spain.

Second update, asking for support!

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(End of chapter)