Chapter 348: The Most Valuable and The Least Valuable


    In Central America, after three years of operations, Governor Hmmel had more or less dealt with the local power brokers.


    Those willing to ept incorporation naturally remained in high positions, while those who resisted obstinately were naturally harmoniously dealt with. Austria had already umted rich experience in this regard.


    Take Nicaragua as an example. The country has a total poption of 300,000, with the majority being indigenous people. There are only tens of thousands of white immigrants and mestizos. What do they have to resist against Austria?


    The other Central American countries arergely simr, not veryrge geographically, yet sparsely popted. If they tried to go to the mountains for guerri warfare, Austria wouldnt even need to act. The local Native American tribes would simply crush them.


    The Habsburg monarchy used to be their co-rulers as well; their ancestors had even sworn allegiance to Charles V. Stretching the point a bit, they can just about im some legitimacy, coupled with the iron fist that could suppress dissent, the remaining people simply supported Emperor Franzs rule.


    Since the interests of themon people have not been harmed, there is naturally no resentment.


    The main reason for the independence movement back then was because Spain was weakened by the French, and mine owners and capitalists didnt want to pay taxes to Spain. Bureaucrats wanted more power, so they went along with the independence movement.


    Perhaps its not appropriate to use they; how could small countries have so many capitalists and mine owners? In reality, it was one or a few families who wanted independence. Otherwise, Central America wouldnt have split into so many countries.


    It is all irrelevant now. With the influx of immigrants, even if some are discontent, they cannot make big waves.


    Within the Governors Pce of San Jos, Central America, Foreign Affairs Officer John Radford of the Immigration Bureau reported: Governor, Colombia has rejected immigrants from entering the Panama region. They also require immigrants to be dispersed and not concentrated in one ce.


    Undoubtedly, ever since Mexico paid an intelligence tax to the Americans, everyone has learned their lesson and be cautious of iing immigrants.


    Colombia naturallycks immigrants, and Panama has not yet be independent. Its current territory covers an area of 1,200,000 square kilometers, with a poption of just over two million including around 100,000 people in Panama.


    If there were no restrictions on immigrants, who knows when the Republic of Colombia might change hands?


    This is also the reason why the various South American countries have not developed. Because the native poption is simply too small, they dare not rashly eptrge numbers of immigrants.


    Taking the Republic of Colombia as an example, only 400,000 to 500,000 immigrants are needed to turn them into a German country.


    In this context, its natural for everyone to be cautious. Rejecting German immigrants from entering Panama is a concern that one day Austria might turn this area into a colony.


    Theres nothing to criticize about this; Governor Hmmel indeed has given attention to Panama. He cant expect them not to resist, right?


    The Panama region is the most suitable for digging a canal in Central America. This is an essential part of Austrias strategy for America and must be kept in their grasp.


    Governor Hmmel asked, Did the congressmen we bribed not help speak up?


    In this era, corruption wasmon in all countries, especially the emerging republics like Colombia which were truly a confusing mess.


    Immigration official John Radford exined, Our public rtions activities have been met with interference from external forces. Its been preliminarily assessed that the British are behind this, and the French may also be involved.


    Many pro-British congressmen openly opposed it, putting forth the Austrian threat theory, arguing that once we gain a foothold in Latin America, we will inevitably seek to expand, with Colombia being the first target.


    Hmmel had nothing to say. He admitted to having an interest in Colombia. Although there were no definite ns yet, the voices for expansion into the Colombian region had already emerged.


    There was no other reason than Colombias weakness. In this era of the strong preying on the weak, it was no surprise that they became everyones target.


    Of course, directly attacking the Republic of Colombia was impossible. For Austria to send an expedition force all the way to South America and wage such a war, the exorbitant war costs alone would deter the Austrian government.


    Austria is not Spain. If Franz were the King of Spain, then there would be no question that he would definitely try to reconquer South America.


    In this era, the feudal remnants have not beenpletely eradicated yet. Pro-monarchy factions exist in various South American countries. With these people in ce, as long as the enemy is defeated militarily, they can re-establish their rule.


    So even if the war costs were a bit high, it would be worth it to gain greater development space.


    But Austria should forget about it. Hispanics and Germans arepletely different ethnicities. To gain their eptance, it would require the same approach used in Central America.


    First, cripple them by force, establish control forcibly, and then organize arge number of immigrants to dilute them into minority groups to manage them.


    After hesitating for a moment, Governor Hmmel made a decision: Bribe local officials in Panama to create a fait apli for immigration.


    Forge immigrant identities. It can be from France, Ennd, Spain, Belgium, the Nethends, and so on. Send someone to arrange it. These immigrants must be settled.


    If Panama cannot amodate them, then settle them ind in Colombia. The government will fund the purchase ofnd for them.


    If anyone tries to disrupt our ns, find a way to deal with them. This concerns our future national policy, and no one should be allowed to sabotage it.


    This isnt Austrias first batch of immigrants sent to Colombia. However, previously it was a minor activity, with a few thousand sent each year. Due to the American Civil War, everyone treated it as normal immigration, and it didnt attract the attention of the Colombian government.


    With time passing, the number of immigrants sharply increased, and this covert immigration activity was eventually exposed.


    The number of Germans has sharply increased, upying one-fifth of the white poption. If not restricted, they will soon outnumber the rest.


    Oh, dont be misled by the one-fifth figure; in reality, its just a few tens of thousands. With such a small poption base, theres no other way around it.


    In just the Panama region, there are now twenty thousand Germans, prompting the Colombian government to intervene.


    You see, the total poption of the Panama region is only a hundred thousand, and Germans make up nearly one-fifth. This represents one-fifth of the total poption, not just one-fifth of the white immigrant poption, but surpassing the sum of other white immigrants.


    In theory, local power will fall into German hands within a decade. This is a characteristic of democratic countries; the ethnic group with the most votes naturally has the advantage.


    John Radford replied: Understood, Governor. The immigration bureau will go all out toplete this mission.


    Governor Hmmel nodded and sighed. If it werent for the fact that the American Civil War was nearing its end, he wouldnt have wanted to make such a big move.


    Immigration was easy to arrange but difficult to settle. Land in the Americas wasnt valuable, but it wasnt just a matter of dividing a piece ofnd; it was also necessary to ensure the normal lives of the immigrants.


    In less than four years, 380,000 immigrants were settled in Central America, with over 60,000 more sent to Colombia. This was a remarkable achievement.


    Now it was thest wave of immigration. Once the Civil War ended, with various industries in the United States ready to flourish, opportunities would arise, and the desire to leave would undoubtedly decrease significantly.


    Forced by circumstances, Hmmel had to make a big move. But just as it started, it was discovered by the Colombian government.


    Nevertheless, the immigration strategy was sessful. Austria established its rule in Central America, and the settled poption became the foundation of its governance.


    After the final wave of immigration ends, the local German poption will exceed half a million. This figure already surpasses 20% of the total poption and is 1.5 times the number of other white immigrant poptions.


    If the Austrian government was willing, they could immediately establish a Central American kingdom.


    Of course, Franz would definitely not do such a thing. Even if he were to support a kingdom, it would be a matter for the future.


    Having just experienced a civil war, its enough to make the American people reflect for twenty years. During this period, they should remain quite subdued.


    Governor Hmmel asked, Mr. us, how much is our fiscal revenue this year, and how much will the fiscal deficit increase?


    Strategically sessful yet economically a heavy loss. Even though the colonial government was very hardworking and Central America was quite prosperous, the bottomless pit of immigration meant government annual revenues were simply inadequate.


    Finance Minister us calcted and replied, This years revenue is approximately 7 million guilders, which is a 21% increasepared tost year. The main sources of revenue are still minerals and tariffs, with transaction taxes also showing rapid growth.


    As for this years deficit, it depends on the number of immigrants going forward. Essentially, all immigrants have applied for interest-free terms, and although they repay the principal, we still bear the interest.


    Preliminary estimates suggest that this years fiscal deficit will be between 6 to 7 million guilders. If we are tounch an attack on the indigenous tribes, there will be an additional military expenditure of 700,000 guilders.


    With a fiscal deficit as high as a hundred percent, there are probably not many countries willing to take on such a colony. Unfortunately, this is the cost of mass immigration.


    An interest-free loan of 200 guilders per person, would be 20 million guilders for 100,000 immigrants. Even if the banks cut the government some ck with a three-year interest calction, thats still 600,000 guilders in interest expenses per year.


    Without considering other expenses, the interest costs alone are astronomical. Fortunately, its only for two years. If it were any longer, the colonial government would certainly not be able to bear it.


    Hmmel calcted and said, Large-scale immigration will onlyst for this final year, and the loan interest expense will be at most two years.


    Starting next year, there will be no more expenses for immigration and settlement. Mr. us, please calcte when we can break even and how long it will take to recoup our investment.


    Hmmel could not help but be concerned. For the sake of the Central American colony, the Austrian government had invested tens of millions of guilders and was still investing more.


    It could be considered Austrias most expensive colony established, yet the returns were not so optimistic.


    Apart from being able to extract a few tons of gold and about a hundred tons of silver each year, the only other viable option is to sell timber and export some agricultural products.


    Resources like copper, iron, lead, zinc, aluminum, and others dont hold much value in extraction currently, as raw ore is difficult to sell at a good price on the international market.


    As for refining industrial products, its better to forget about it. It would require substantial capital investment, something the colonial government cannot afford.


    The correct path for the colonial economy lies in cultivating cash crops, extracting precious metals, and selling industrial raw materials.


    us thought for a moment and said, After the immigration work ispleted, it will take another five years to achieve a preliminary bnce between ie and expenditure.


    However, to recover the cost of investment, it will take quite a long time. It may require twenty years, or even longer.


    This is a major dilemma facing the colonial government. The high investment in the Central American colonies has sparked a lot of opposition domestically.


    Unlike developing African colonies where there were many domestic beneficiaries and losses were not so severe, in the Central American colonies, only a minority of immigrants came from Austria, with mosting from the United States. These immigrants are the ones benefiting.


    Many within the government were criticizing the Central American strategy, demanding that forces invested in Central America be withdrawn and redirected to the African continent instead.


    However, under Franzs insistence, these voices were suppressed. But attacks on the Central American colonial government never ceased. Hmmel urgently needed to produce results to prove to everyone the correctness of establishing the Central American colonies.


    This is extremely difficult to achieve. Firstly, the strategic value is not yet evident in the short term; otherwise, there wouldnt be so many dissenting voices.


    Economically, its still unfortunately a loss situation. Even after calcting the implicit benefits, the colonial government is still in a deficit.


    It could not even provide industrial raw materials to Austria, as the industrial raw materials produced in these regions were notcking in Austria itself.