[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rise-of-the-empire-spain":3,"chapter-rise-of-the-empire-spain-rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-387":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Rise of the Empire: Spain",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2365315,4632,"Chapter 387: Trading Company","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-387",387,"\u003Cp>The first major event of 1897, the cabinet election, had already been completed; the second major event was naturally the wedding ceremony of Prince Hu An of Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The date for their wedding was set for June 12, 1897. Spain invited royal families and government representatives from countries all over the world to gather in Ma Deli to attend this grand wedding ceremony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Spain was a powerful great power, the royal families and high-level government officials of countries around the world were very willing to show their respect. European countries, regardless of their strength, all sent their own diplomatic representatives to attend this wedding ceremony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>European royal families also turned out in force, causing the scale of this seemingly ordinary wedding ceremony to instantly multiply several times over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon learning that European countries were all sending diplomatic representatives to attend this wedding, Luo Lun immediately issued an order to further raise the hospitality standards for this wedding, and not to be stingy with the money spent on upgrading those standards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, for the current Spanish royal family, they lacked everything except money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since it was a marriage between two parties, there naturally had to be betrothal gifts and dowries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, betrothal gifts and dowries are more Eastern terms. Marriages between European royal families also have similar gift-giving segments; after all, a marriage between two countries is essentially a combination of a political alliance and an economic transaction. Gift-giving can not only demonstrate one's own financial strength but also effectively bring one closer to the relationship with the allied in-laws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prince Hu An was his eldest son, so Luo Lun naturally would not be stingy with the expenses for the betrothal gifts. He gifted the Danish royal family property worth nearly 2 million pesetas, including a large amount of precious gold and jewelry, 1 million pesetas in cash, and 20 cars newly produced by the Royal Mercedes-Benz Automobile Company.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The property gifted to Prince Hu An's wife, Princess Louise, included: a specially customized car worth as much as 30,000 pesetas, jewelry worth 200,000 pesetas, a jewelry company worth 300,000 pesetas, and 100,000 pesetas in cash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The total value of the betrothal gifts presented to the Danish royal family and Princess Louise added up to over 3 million pesetas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a share of betrothal gifts is definitely considered a lot when looking across the whole of Europe. Except for those weddings that involved the direct gifting of territory or other rights, the scale of this wedding in terms of betrothal gifts had already reached the highest level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the day of the wedding, Luo Lun also learned of the dowry share from the Danish royal family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the dowry of the Danish royal family, it could also be seen that the entire Danish royal family attached considerable importance to this marriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their dowry share was also close to a value of 1 million pesetas. In addition to various common precious jewels and gold and silver, the Danish royal family also directly gifted the sovereignty of the Danish West Indies to Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Danish West Indies were actually what later became the U.S. Virgin Islands, located to the east of Spain's American colony of Puerto Rico, with a total area of 344 square kilometers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 1917 in history, Denmark sold this colony to the United States, and it eventually evolved into the U.S. Virgin Islands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The value of this colony for Denmark was indeed not great. It had an area of only 344 square kilometers, and the entire colony was composed of three large islands and dozens of small islands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether it was the three large islands or those dozens of small islands, their development value was very limited. More importantly, the straight-line distance from this place to the Danish mainland was as high as over seven thousand kilometers, and the shipping route from the Danish mainland to this place was even as long as ten thousand kilometers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Denmark, the West Indies were indeed a \"chicken rib\"—tasteless to eat, but a pity to discard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for Spain, the Danish West Indies colony was only a few dozen kilometers away from its own Puerto Rico colony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The closest point between Puerto Rico and the West Indies was even only a dozen or so kilometers apart; this could simply be described as being right on one's doorstep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was likely the reason why Denmark gifted the sovereignty of the West Indies to Spain. Using a piece of land that had little value to them in exchange for the firm support of a powerful ally like Spain—this deal, no matter how one thought about it, was cost-effective for Denmark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if they gave up the sovereignty of the West Indies, it would not be a great loss for Denmark. After all, Denmark's core region was its own mainland; the importance of the two positions of Bingdao and Gelinglandao was not very high, let alone the West Indies, which had an area of only 344 square kilometers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Luo Lun learned that the Danish dowry, in addition to the normal cash and gold and jewelry, actually included the sovereignty of a colony, Luo Lun was somewhat surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But soon, Luo Lun also understood the Danish people's intentions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was like letting Luo Lun use the sovereignty of the Sao Tome and Principe islands in exchange for the help of a super-power of equal strength when Spain was recovering Gibraltar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if it were Luo Lun making the choice, he would still consider this deal to be quite cost-effective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Denmark had already shown enough sincerity, Luo Lun naturally also had to show Spain's sincerity to pull Denmark to his side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The day after the wedding ended, Luo Lun summoned the Danish Crown Prince, Frederik, at the Fanersaigong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Crown Prince Frederik was eight years older than Luo Lun, his attitude during his conversation with Luo Lun was still quite respectful. This was also the confidence brought to Luo Lun by national strength; even when facing Queen Victoria, who was known as the grandmother of Europe, Luo Lun would still not fall behind in status and position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After several hours of friendly conversation between the two, the direction for good cooperation between Denmark and Spain in the next few years was finally determined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last time, the two sides only had relevant cooperation in the import and export of agricultural products and the import of military industrial products, but this time, Luo Lun and Crown Prince Frederik directly represented their respective countries and signed an economic alliance treaty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This economic alliance treaty stipulated that both sides should achieve closer cooperation in the economic field. Denmark and Spain would each lower their respective tariffs to promote closer import and export cooperation between Denmark and Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This economic cooperation, in addition to including their respective mainlands, also included economic cooperation within their respective colonies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Denmark's colony on the Huang Jinhaian had already been annexed, but they also had many trading posts on the Huang Jinhaian. Luo Lun waved his hand and allowed the Danes to carry out various economic activities in Spain's Guinea colony, including agricultural planting and mineral exploration and mining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as Denmark complied with the local laws and regulations of the Spanish colony and paid taxes legally, all their economic actions were legal in the Spanish colonies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, Spain's colonies were vast and rich in resources, with countless types of mineral resources. Under such circumstances, giving the Danes a small piece of the cake was completely acceptable to Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they could make Denmark a loyal little brother by letting the Danes have a sip of soup, this was definitely a very cost-effective deal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Denmark's overall strength was not strong, it was also one of the monarchical countries in Europe with a deep foundation. More importantly, Denmark's geographical location was still relatively important.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the completion of the Kiel Canal in Germany, Denmark was always the only outlet to the sea for the Baltic Sea, and could even hold the German and Russian coasts of the Baltic Sea in check.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Germany built the Kiel Canal, which greatly reduced Denmark's influence on the Baltic Sea, this could not completely eliminate the importance of Denmark's geographical location.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they could make Denmark a firm ally, it would also be a certain help to Spain. Although Denmark's strength in military terms was not considered powerful, in terms of diplomacy, it could still provide Spain with a certain amount of support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One can never have too many allies, especially an ally like Denmark, which was very far from the Spanish mainland and had basically no conflict of interest with the two sides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Spain took over the Danish West Indies, Luo Lun had been paying attention to one thing: whether the United States would launch a war plan against Spain's American colonies as it did in history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facts proved that history had indeed changed significantly here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spain had long since swapped Cuba to the British, and its own strength had become very powerful. Even though Spain still held Puerto Rico and had also acquired the sovereignty of the Danish West Indies, the United States did not set its sights on Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the United States did not have the guts to snatch the British colony of Cuba either. Although the United States did have the ambition to declare its strength, this ambition also had to find the right time to be released.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Being enemies with the British—even if the Americans had lost their minds, they could not possibly do such a thing at this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since they could not annex the land of the West Indies right on their doorstep, the United States could only set its sights on the more distant regions of Zhongmeizhou and Ladingmeizhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention Ladingmeizhou, the region of Zhongmeizhou was quite important to the United States. Why say that? At this time, the Banamayunhe had not yet started construction, and although the United States possessed both the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast, communication between the two coasts had to go around the entire Ladingmeizhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One must know that the straight-line distance between the east and west coasts of the United States was only over four thousand kilometers. But if they went by sea, the mileage required for sea transport between the east and west coasts was as high as over twenty thousand kilometers; if the northeast and northwest wanted to communicate by sea, the distance they had to travel even exceeded thirty thousand kilometers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a long shipping route destined that for the United States before the opening of the Banamayunhe, land transport between the east and west coasts was more cost-effective than sea transport.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The time cost required for sea transport was immeasurable; the distance of sea transport between the east and west coasts of the United States was even further than the distance of sea transport between Spain and the Philippines, which was also the reason why the United States had always wanted to open the Banamayunhe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The good news was that because the Boer War broke out four years early, the United States at this time could not exchange support for the British in the Boer War for British support for its construction of the Banamayunhe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without British support, it was difficult for the United States to build the Banamayunhe alone. Even if they could build the Banamayunhe, the sovereignty of the canal could not possibly belong to the United States.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, the Banama region belonged to the Republic of Colombia, and the Banama region was also the narrowest of all regions suitable for building a canal, the region with the shortest canal construction mileage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although some regions in Zhongmeizhou were also suitable for building a canal, these regions were wider, which also meant that the canal would need a longer construction mileage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the United States, the prerequisite for building the canal was to ensure that it could obtain control of the canal. The prerequisite for obtaining control of the canal was to incite the independence of Banama as much as possible, letting its enemy change from a huge Colombia to a narrow Banama.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a reason why the United States was able to incite Banama's independence in history. Not to mention the previous history of the Republic of Colombia, this place was once a Spanish colony and eventually became independent and established its own country.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Colombia's independence, the political situation in Ladingmeizhou had been relatively chaotic. First, the Republic of Gran Colombia ruled the northern part of Ladingmeizhou; today's Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador were all part of the Republic of Gran Colombia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But because of the fierce conflict between centralization and federalism, this huge centralized federal country only lasted for a short time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the Republic of Gran Colombia, the new arrival was the Republic of New Granada. One could see the extremely strong Spanish color from this name; New Granada was once a Spanish colony and now had become the name of the local country.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the Republic of New Granada was established, Santander, as the first president, implemented a dictatorship, which eventually led to the power struggle between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party, causing long-term internal strife and political turmoil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 1861, the Republic of New Granada was renamed the United States of Colombia. This country name only lasted for more than 20 years and was eventually changed to the Republic of Colombia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason for renaming it the Republic of Colombia was the constitution formulated in 1886 by the Conservative government to consolidate the dictatorship of the Colombian large landowners and restore the legal power of the Catholic Church.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This constitution not only declared Catholicism as the state religion of Colombia but also greatly strengthened the power of the president, causing strong dissatisfaction among the people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the establishment of the Republic of Colombia, the Conservative government had cruelly persecuted dissidents and suppressed the uprisings of the Colombian people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was precisely because of this reason that the United States in history was able to incite the Banama region to become independent again and successfully controlled Banama, indirectly controlling the Banamayunhe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regarding the actions of the Americans in the Ladingmeizhou region, the Spanish side was naturally aware.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although these countries in Ladingmeizhou had fought a war with Spain in the process of striving for independence, this did not mean that the current Spain and they were still in a hostile relationship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the contrary, because the political situation in the countries of Ladingmeizhou was relatively chaotic and turbulent, they instead needed a powerful external ally to help them stabilize order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the period of Spain's gradual revival, Spain and the Ladingmeizhou countries had already established close economic cooperation relations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many Ladingmeizhou residents had immigrated to Spain, and many Spanish people had traveled far to Ladingmeizhou, carrying out their own economic activities in Ladingmeizhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the economic activities was about the development of the black soil in Argentina. Argentina possessed one of the world's four major black soils and was a natural granary and pastoral land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facts were indeed so. Argentina in history did prosper for a period of time, relying on the export of agricultural and pastoral products.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in later generations, one of Argentina's important sources of income was the export of agriculture and animal husbandry. Spain's agricultural product import and export company had already set foot in Ladingmeizhou, especially in Argentina, where relevant Spanish import and export companies had already controlled nearly one-third of Argentina's grain and meat import and export trade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A considerable portion of the meat supplied to the Spanish army and schools came from Argentina. It was precisely because of this trade relationship that among these countries in Ladingmeizhou, Argentina could be considered to have the best relationship with Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These economic activities of Spain in Ladingmeizhou were actually somewhat similar to the famous United Fruit Company of the United States.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The United Fruit Company could be said to be the largest force in Ladingmeizhou in history, which could easily manipulate the political situation of the countries in Ladingmeizhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The process of the rise of the United Fruit Company was also very simple: it was to first purchase cheap land in the surrounding area through exclusive construction and operation rights of railways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After building all these cheap lands into banana plantations, they then exchanged them for a large amount of income through the export of fruits, and then repeated the process of laying railways, purchasing land, and building banana plantations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of the rapid accumulation of capital, the United Fruit Company soon monopolized the banana plantations in Ladingmeizhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When a business reached a monopoly position, even the smallest business could earn a huge amount of income.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In history, after the United States' United Fruit Company achieved a monopoly position in the banana trade, it soon changed from a simple banana enterprise into a giant comprehensive enterprise integrating production, processing, transportation, and sales.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because there was no restraint on the early development of the United Fruit Company, by the time the governments of the countries in Ladingmeizhou discovered that this company already possessed an extremely strong capital background, it was already too late to regulate it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The United Fruit Company had already colluded with the opposition forces of various countries, plus the number of employees possessed by a large number of banana plantations and other industries; a slight carelessness could cause strikes and parades of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was also the reason why the United Fruit Company, as a single enterprise, could control the governments of the countries in Ladingmeizhou, because this was no longer a simple capital, but a huge force colluding with political parties, the military, and the people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it was only 1897 at this time, and the United Fruit Company had not yet been established. Its predecessor, a banana enterprise founded by an American capitalist, was currently still staying in the Zhongmeizhou region.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This banana enterprise did indeed possess a certain influence in the Zhongmeizhou region, but compared with Spain's layout in Ladingmeizhou, the influence was obviously still much worse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least in the southern region of Ladingmeizhou, Spain's trading company had already completed a comprehensive layout. In the regions of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, Spain's trading company also had some involvement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the United States' United Fruit Company were established at this moment, they would not be able to win in the competition by relying on their own strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In terms of assets, Luo Lun's assets at this time were unknown, and even American financial groups could not compare with the wealth Luo Lun held in his hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it were about political ability, Luo Lun's trading company was not afraid at all. Spain's trading company was flying Luo Lun's banner, and the two words \"Royal\" could already reflect the actual background of this company.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under such circumstances, unless the United States could support the United Fruit Company at the national level, otherwise even if the United Fruit Company were established, it would not be able to compete with Spain's trading company.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After confirming that the United States had set its sights on Zhongmeizhou and Ladingmeizhou, Luo Lun immediately ordered the trading company to deploy in Colombia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the United States could control the situation in Ladingmeizhou through the United Fruit Company, then Spain could also influence the various countries in Ladingmeizhou through the trading company.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention controlling the political situation of these countries, at least they had to be able to influence the choices of various countries, making it impossible for the Americans to achieve their goals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of this chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",3294,"2026-06-25T09:27:14.599Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","9a8553f1f2201f46a45762cf4a2c991b18bb9e265d7805a43a4a25c6c8145369","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-388","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-386",493,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frise-of-the-empire-spain-cover.jpg"]