Chapter 452: On the Future of Portugal

Although the Anglo-Spanish War only lasted for a few months, and both Britain and Spain tacitly limited the scale of the war.

This war still caused Spain's total fiscal expenditure for the entire year of 1904 to climb continuously, very rarely far exceeding the total fiscal revenue for the year.

This phenomenon has been very rare for the current Spain. Ever since Prime Minister Primo completed his reforms, the Spanish government's total fiscal revenue has always been greater than its expenditure; in other words, Spain's finances have been in surplus every year.

According to statistics from the finance department, Spain's total fiscal revenue for the entire year of 1904 was approximately 1. 109 billion pesetas, while the total fiscal expenditure reached as high as 1. 864 billion pesetas, with the fiscal deficit reaching a staggering 175. million pesetas.

Although the fiscal deficit looks somewhat staggering, neither Carlos nor the Spanish government felt any worry about last year's fiscal situation.

On one hand, Spain received huge reparations after the war, and the share of these reparations was far lower than the expenses Spain invested into the war.

On the other hand, the military spending Spain paid out could also effectively stimulate economic growth. Whether it was the funds invested in the navy for building battleships, or the funds invested in the army for purchasing weapons and equipment and distributing them to soldiers, they would eventually flow back into society.

Whether it was the navy's battleships or the army's weapons and ammunition, both would increase the consumption of steel. Steel would in turn affect more industries, capable of promoting the prosperous growth of all walks of life in Spain.

The money distributed into the hands of soldiers naturally goes without saying; this money would eventually be spent, and would likewise stimulate the growth of the Spanish economy.

Do not look at the fact that the total fiscal revenue in 1904 was lower compared to 1903; the portion that decreased will certainly be made up for this year.

Currently, several months have already passed in 1905, and the Spanish finance department also has a certain estimate for the total fiscal revenue for the entire year.

According to the finance department's estimates, the total fiscal revenue for the entire year should hit a new high, and the total fiscal expenditure will also decrease significantly; after all, the war already ended at the end of last year.

Although the war affected the Spanish government's fiscal revenue and expenditure, this war did not cause any impact on the per capita annual income of the Spanish public.

Within the year 1904, Spain's per capita annual income officially broke through 400 pesetas. By the beginning of 1905, Spain's per capita annual income had already reached approximately 406 pesetas, and it is still growing continuously.

Although it is still insufficient compared to those old-established powers that achieved success during the First Industrial Revolution, as the saying goes, "not enough to compare with the top, but more than enough to compare with the bottom." For those countries among the powers with relatively poor economies, or countries that cannot be counted as powers, Spain's per capita annual income is already quite good.

At the very least, the neighbors, the Portuguese, are already very envious; their original per capita annual income level was only less than half of Spain's, and currently, it has even dropped to nearly one-third.

Coupled with the fact that last year's war affected the lives of the majority of the Portuguese population, if it were not for the large amount of grain and other supplies that Spain exported to Portugal, I am afraid that the majority of Portuguese people would still be unable to eat their fill, let alone other material needs.

Currently, the Portuguese public can only pin their hopes on the cooperation between the Spanish and Portuguese governments. According to disclosed news, capital led by the Spanish royal family will invest in building factories in many regions of Portugal, helping Portugal better build its economy and expand the scale of its industries.

Portugal's land area is not small, but there are not many that can serve as pillar industries. Although Portugal possesses large stretches of plains, Portugal's grain output is only a fraction of Spain's.

There are three goals for Spanish capital heading to Portugal for investment. The first goal is to invest in the textile industry, which can be considered the only industry in Portugal with a bit of a foundation.

The second goal is to invest in the grape industry, including wine production, assembly, sales, and so on, all of which are counted within the grape industry.

The third goal is Portugal's timber industry. These are the only three industries that are barely suitable for investment; the remaining industries do not have much investment value, and Portugal's population is not enough to support more industries.

Spanish capital heading to Portugal for investment is not without a price. First, to facilitate the investment of these Spanish capitals, the Portuguese government also needs to open up authorizations regarding railway operation and construction.

These railways connecting the newly invested industries are almost all built by Spanish capital, and in the long time to come, these railways will naturally also be operated by Spanish capital.

This method is a bit like the United Fruit Company of the United States; in reality, it is achieving disguised economic infiltration through the method of controlling industries plus railways.

Although this method is placed out in the open, the Portuguese government has no way to deal with it. If they refuse Spain's investment, they are in reality harming the interests of the Portuguese people.

After all, these invested enterprises will prioritize hiring Portuguese people in the future; for the Portuguese, this is not only a large number of job opportunities, but it can also significantly increase their own work income.

The uninterrupted growth of Spain's per capita annual income was achieved precisely because of the continuous investment and construction of various types of enterprises and factories, giving Spaniards sufficient job positions and more income than they originally had.

Currently, the Portuguese also have the opportunity to realize the goals that the Spaniards once realized; the Portuguese naturally do not want their beautiful life to be blocked, even if the one blocking it is the Portuguese government.

Spain only used more than half a year to make the Portuguese successfully realize just how happy the Spaniards are.

With a large amount of capital pouring into Portugal, Portugal's economic environment has also received very good improvement. In these past six months or so, many factories invested in by Spanish capital have been successfully built and have recruited a large number of Portuguese workers.

Because they carry political missions, Spanish capital is also quite generous. These Portuguese who successfully entered Spanish factories can easily double their annual income, which also makes those Portuguese who did not enter Spanish factories envious.

Especially after a large number of factories invested in by Spanish capital were built, how to be able to enter these factories to work has already become a problem that many Portuguese are distressed about.

Fortunately, the recruitment requirements for Spanish factories are not strict; for the majority of Portuguese, they can still easily meet the recruitment requirements of Spanish factories.

These Spanish factories also do not have any requirements for the workers' educational background. After these workers officially enter the factories, regarding the problem of their relatively low educational background, the factories can also send them to Spain for short-term technical training to help them master some technical knowledge related to their own positions more quickly.

Of course, because the training is in the country, the training process certainly uses the Spanish language. In order to master these technologies more quickly, these workers certainly also have to learn Spanish.

The gap between Portuguese and Spanish is not large, and many Portuguese can understand what Spaniards say. Under these circumstances, it is very easy to make these Portuguese learn Spanish; even an illiterate person can easily master Spanish for communication.

In these past six months or so, Spanish factories have successfully recruited tens of thousands of Portuguese workers. At the same time, tens of thousands of Spanish workers have also headed to Portugal to take up positions in these newly established Portuguese factories.

These Portuguese workers still need more skilled Spanish workers to train and teach them knowledge, which can also disguisedly transport some Spaniards to the Portuguese region.

Throughout the entire year of 1905, the factories built by Spanish capital investment and those Portuguese workers who successfully entered Spanish factories to work became the hottest news topic in all of Portugal.

A large number of Portuguese poured into the cities where Spanish factories are located; they also hope to be selected by Spanish factories, enter these factories to work, and earn several times their usual income.

Unfortunately, the number of recruits for each factory is limited. Although Spanish factories have cumulatively recruited tens of thousands of Portuguese workers, for Portugal, which has a population of millions, these job positions are ultimately just a drop in the bucket.

In a situation where there are many wolves and little meat, many Portuguese people have also developed complaints against the government. If the Portuguese government were just a bit more capable, they would not have to count on factories invested in by foreign capital to provide them with job positions.

The complaints about the current situation in Portugal and the envy of the Spaniards caused a large number of Portuguese people to develop more fantasies.

If the Portuguese people could also give birth to a monarch like Carlos, could Portugal also realize a revival similar to Spain's?

The Portuguese people's demands are not excessive; as long as this king can stabilize Portugal's political environment, let Portugal usher in a golden period of development similar to what Spain previously possessed, and let the Portuguese people's per capita annual income double several times, the Portuguese people would be satisfied.