Chapter 271: Secondary Colonial Exchange

The Pink Map plan was not something the Portuguese suddenly proposed; rather, it was a Greater Africa colonization plan put forward by Portugal based on the conditions of its own African colonies after the Great Powers accelerated their colonization of Africa.

The establishment of Portugal's West African colonies and the Mozambique colony had been a long time ago, and the merger of these two colonies had always been a topic secretly plotted by the Portuguese government and the royal family.

The Portuguese were also exploring the geographical environment of the Congo Basin, but unfortunately, Spain had completely outpaced them, establishing the Congo Territory before Portugal could.

This severely disrupted the Portuguese plans. Portugal had no choice but to settle for second best, conducting colonial development in the south of the Congo Basin, attempting to establish a Greater Africa colony for Portugal between the Spanish and British colonies.

The difficulty of doing this was imaginable. Spain's Congo Territory had been expanding southward, and Britain's Cape Colony had also been expanding northward.

Portugal's target lay between the Spanish and British colonies, which was instead the most awkward position. A slight carelessness would offend both Spain and Britain simultaneously, which also caused Portugal's colonial progress to remain very slow, and the proposal regarding the merger of the West African colonies and the Mozambique colony had almost fallen into stagnation.

Upon hearing Prime Minister Canovas's proposal, the Portuguese diplomatic ambassador was stunned at first, and then felt some surprise and unexpected joy in his heart.

The plan that Portugal itself was about to give up on, he had not expected the Spanish government to actually bring it up proactively, and was even willing to help Portugal complete the merger of the two colonies.

Although he was joyful inside, the Portuguese ambassador did not show it; instead, he displayed an attitude of refusal: "Please forgive me, Mr. Prime Minister. Matters regarding colonies are of great importance; I need to consult my home country."

Prime Minister Canovas was not in a hurry and nodded, saying: "That is natural. This is just an idea of mine, after all. Whether this idea can be realized or not will not affect the relationship between our two governments."

In order not to let the Portuguese discover that Spain's goal was to obtain Portugal's West African colonies, Prime Minister Canovas, after pausing for a short while, immediately proposed other suggestions, namely a customs union between Spain and Portugal.

So-called customs duties are actually the taxes on import and export trade between countries and regions. Because the Iberian Peninsula is relatively closed, if Portugal wants to obtain material supplies, besides relying on the supply from its colonies, it has to import from Spain most of the time, with only a small portion imported from other European countries.

If a customs union could be established between Portugal and Spain, it would have advantages and disadvantages for both countries.

For Spain, Spain's industrial products and agricultural products could enter Portugal at lower prices, and it could even achieve economic control over Portugal.

Because Spain occupies an advantage in industrial output and agricultural output, the customs union is far more beneficial than harmful for Spain.

As for Portugal, establishing a customs union would also allow it to continuously import cheaper industrial products and agricultural products from Spain.

The disadvantages are also very obvious, which is that Portugal's industrial development and agricultural development would be subject to relevant restrictions. The lower the price of products imported from Spain, the more it affects Portugal's domestic market environment.

Agriculture is fine; Portugal's grain output is not high, but its own population is also not large, so it does not need to import too much grain.

What needs to be imported are vegetables and fruits; Portugal's output in this regard is not high, and it basically would not affect the income of farmers and related growers.

But in terms of industry, the impact of a customs union is relatively large. Once a large amount of cheap industrial products from Spain floods the Portuguese market, Portugal's industry would have no possibility of rising.

More importantly, Portugal and Spain are neighboring countries, and such an economic shock would be even more fatal. Once Spain's industrial products completely fill the Portuguese market, wouldn't Spain have disguisedly controlled Portugal's economy?

It is precisely because of this that when Prime Minister Canovas mentioned the customs union between the two countries, the Portuguese diplomatic ambassador displayed a more explicit attitude of refusal.

Although a customs union also has benefits for Portugal, Portugal does not want to be led by the nose by Spain. Portugal has a large number of colonies and can also import materials from other European countries; materials are not as scarce as imagined.

This also means that the benefits of a customs union with Spain are limited, while the disadvantages are quite obvious and limitless.

After the Portuguese diplomatic ambassador refused Prime Minister Canovas's proposal, the two discussed some unimportant topics, and then quickly ended this meeting.

When the Portuguese diplomatic ambassador left, he was expressionless, but once he sat back in his carriage, his mood immediately became excited.

"Return to the embassy quickly; I have important news to report to the home country," the Portuguese diplomatic ambassador ordered hurriedly.

The attendant responsible for driving the carriage nodded respectfully, and with a wave of the leather whip in his hand, the entire carriage began to move.

On the Spanish side, after Prime Minister Canovas proposed the suggestion regarding colonial exchange, the Spanish government no longer paid attention to Portugal's movements.

If the Portuguese government intended to exchange colonies, they would naturally take the initiative to propose relevant suggestions. If the Portuguese side had no thoughts for the time being, the Spanish government being anxious would be of no use.

As time reached 1881, the Spanish government's work, besides carrying out the West Africa development plan, also included continuing to conduct large-scale construction on the Spanish mainland.

Ever since the last Ma Deli City That Never Sleeps, the importance European countries attach to the electric power industry has clearly increased.

As the current leader in the electric power industry, Spain naturally could not lag behind in this regard.

A year has passed since the Ma Deli City That Never Sleeps, so what achievements has Spain made in the electric power industry?

First is the popularization of electricity. As of now, the two power companies in Ma Deli and Barcelona have expanded to a considerable scale.

The cumulative users of the Ma Deli Power Company have exceeded 7,200, among which 4,200 are enterprise users and about 3,000 are residential users.

Simply put, about 4,200 factories and enterprises in Ma Deli have been connected to electricity, and 3,000 households have been connected to electricity.

Looking at the quantity alone, the achievements made by the Ma Deli Power Company are quite good. But in reality, among the 3,000 households connected to electricity, nobles, capitalists, and dignitaries occupy the majority; the number of commoners who truly actively connected to electricity is less than 300, which is one-tenth.

The situation in Barcelona is even worse. Although the Barcelona Power Company also has 6,500 users, the vast majority of these users are enterprise users, that is, factories and related enterprises in industrial zones.

There are less than 1,000 households connected to electricity, and those true commoners who enjoy electricity are even less than one-tenth.

The good news is that the power development situation in other European countries is not much different from Spain, and some countries are even worse than Spain.

Although this era is the era of Europe, for most European commoners, this era can be considered very terrible.

The Industrial Revolution drove the development of capital, and the development of capital intensified the exploitation of commoners. While the industries of various countries developed rapidly, workers and farmers were exploited more and more severely.

This has also led to a common phenomenon in various European countries, which is that ordinary people cannot afford electricity. Those who can afford electricity are only factories and enterprises, or the capitalists behind the factories.

But not all capitalists are willing to use electricity on a large scale; after all, the cost of electricity at this time is not small, let alone fully popularizing electricity within factories.

If we talk about the fastest speed of electricity popularization, besides Spain, perhaps only Germany, which has a keen sense of smell for electricity, can compare.

As early as the middle of last year, Germany built a large number of street lamps in Berlin and announced that Berlin had entered the era of the city that never sleeps.

On the night of the news report, one street lamp after another lit up in the urban area of Berlin, reflecting the faces of the proud Germans under the street lamps.

Germany's power development advanced at a surprisingly fast speed. If Spain had not been prepared, perhaps Germany could have surpassed Spain in just one year.

Regarding the development of electricity, Gao Da is extremely serious.

Half of the funds obtained from the power company selling technology are used to popularize Spain's electricity, and the other half is used to research more advanced power technologies.

Currently, the main research direction of the Spanish Power Laboratory is higher-power generators and electric motors. If this can be realized, perhaps electric machinery can be used to replace part of the steam machinery, thereby allowing Spain to officially enter the era of the electric power industry.

After a year of development, Spain's rail transit system can be considered to have some progress.

Currently, both Ma Deli and Barcelona have built two tram tracks. It is worth mentioning that the first track built in both cities is the road responsible for connecting the city and the industrial zone.

From this aspect, one can also see the importance both cities attach to industry. In this era, the stronger a country's industry, the stronger its comprehensive strength.

Although this statement is not absolute, the currently relatively strong Britain, France, and Germany are also leading in industry across the entire world.

The only exception is the United States, the main reason being that the United States does not attach importance to the development of the military.

In the final analysis, it is because the geographical location of the United States is too superior. In the absence of strong enemies, it naturally neglects the development of the military.

But European countries are different. The competition among European countries has always existed, and many countries are still in a relationship of mortal enemies.

Under such circumstances, if European countries abandon the development of the military, it is equivalent to abandoning national security and national independence.

About a week or more later, the Portuguese government finally took the initiative to contact the Spanish government.

This also made Prime Minister Canovas breathe a sigh of relief. The Spanish side was almost about to give up the idea of exchanging colonies with Portugal. If the Portuguese side did not take the initiative to contact Spain, Spain might have had to continue colonizing the southern land of the Congo Territory.

Although Spain currently already possesses enough land, one can never have too many colonies.

If Spain does not colonize, this piece of land will sooner or later be colonized by other countries. Even if Spain does not need this land, holding it in its hands allows for interest exchanges.

After the Portuguese government took the initiative to contact the Spanish government, it immediately expressed Portugal's interest in the colonial exchange proposal put forward by the Spanish government.

It is undeniable that the entire nation of Portugal is very interested in establishing a horizontal large colony connecting West Africa and Mozambique.

If this plan can be established, the total area of the new African colony will reach millions of square kilometers; the Brazil colony that Portugal once controlled was of such an area.

As a colonial empire that has already declined, Portugal is very eager for a new large colony and is willing to pay great efforts for it.

Right now, Spain's proposal is a good opportunity. Even if they know that the Spanish will not be so kind, the Portuguese government and the Portuguese King Luis are unwilling to give up such a good opportunity.

From the diplomatic representatives sent by Portugal, one can also see the importance Portugal attaches to it.

This time, the diplomatic representative is not a diplomatic ambassador, but a cabinet minister in charge of colonial affairs in Portugal. As a former colonial empire, Portugal also has cabinet ministers similar to Spain's Minister of Colonial Affairs.

Moreover, the status and power of such cabinet ministers are not low; in Portugal, they can even rank in the top three of the cabinet.

The Portuguese diplomatic mission is led by the Minister of Colonial Affairs, plus the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the diplomatic ambassador, and a group of Portuguese officials.

It is worth mentioning that this is the second colonial exchange negotiation conducted by Spain in less than half a year.

However, the previous colonial exchange negotiation was a proposal put forward by the British to get something for nothing, which was to allow Spain to conquer the Oman region as a condition; Britain itself did not pay anything for this condition.

And now, it is the Spanish side that has proposed a similar suggestion. Spain allows Portugal to colonize the land south of the Congo Territory; the Spanish side has no payment, except for not being able to colonize the land south of the Congo.

Considering that Spain has already established a territory of millions of square kilometers in the Congo, giving up the land south of the Congo Territory is not a loss.

After all, the larger the colony, the more troops are needed to guard the colony. Before Spain has enough population and financial resources to develop the colony, the larger the area of the colony, the more corresponding expenditures there will be, and the smaller the return the colony brings to Spain.

The main topic of discussion between the Portuguese government and the Spanish government is the respective conditions for the two countries to conduct relevant exchanges.

Although Portugal is very interested in the land south of the Congo Territory, they are unwilling to pay all the colonies in West Africa.

After all, on the surface, Portugal still possesses colonies in West Africa, including Portuguese Guinea, Portuguese Jin Shaoer, Portuguese Cape Verde, Portuguese Weida, and Portuguese Sao Tome and Principe.

Let alone the area, population, and economic value of these colonies, just looking at the quantity, possessing these colonies can also boost momentum, right?

The sovereignty of these colonies is not what the Portuguese government cares about most; what the Portuguese government truly cares about is the land that Spain is willing to let Portugal colonize. They hope that after Portugal fully colonizes these lands, the Portuguese government will then hand over the sovereignty of the West African colonies.

But Spain would certainly not accept such conditions. This is equivalent to the Spanish government having no harvest over a long period of time.

Although Spain allows Portugal to colonize the land south of the Congo, Gao Da and the Spanish government both know that it is very difficult for Portugal to fully colonize the land south of the Congo.

From Britain's actions in South Africa, one can also see that the British also have considerable ambitions for the land north of South Africa.

The British would certainly not be willing to let Portugal stand in front of Britain, blocking the northward expansion of the South Africa colony.

If Britain prevents Portugal's colonial expansion, wouldn't that mean that Portugal would never be able to fully colonize the land south of the Congo?

By then, Portugal would have obtained part of the land south of the Congo, and Britain would have obtained the rest of the land, while Spain would have had no harvest at all. Who would one go to to reason with then?

The attitude of the Spanish side is also very clear: they can allow Portugal to colonize a portion of the land first, and then hand over the sovereignty of the West African colonies to Spain.

Spain can even provide Portugal with support including weapons, equipment, and grain supplies to help Portugal colonize the land south of the Congo faster.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 272 =====