ps: Thank you to fellow book friends 2017...205 for their reward support, as well as all the students who voted for me monthly and recommended.
After the war in Paraguay, the Brazilian Empire's domestic economy was in a slump and national fiscal revenue was tight. Not only did Pedro II not have the extra funds to buy warships, but he owed a large foreign debt to the British. Therefore, he could only choose to borrow money from the British to buy warships.
ship.
In the evening, Flores, the finance minister in charge of the economy of the Brazilian Empire, rode a tricycle to the door of the British Embassy in the Brazilian Empire.
The matter of borrowing money from British businessmen was generally in charge of Edmund, the minister in Brazil. As the financial director of the Brazilian Empire, Flores had to deal with Edmund. Therefore, the British guards guarding the embassy gate also had an impression of Flores.
After seeing the other party get out of the car, he quickly ran into the gate to report.
Flores and his attendants waited outside the door for a few minutes, and then saw a fat man in his forties walking out with a smile: "I'm busy with business, so I couldn't greet Count Flores in front of the door. I'd be sorry to invite the Count."
Please forgive me."
After the collapse of the British Prime Minister, the former Minister to Brazil was dismissed by the new Prime Minister Gladstone for dereliction of duty, and replaced by Edmond, who was also from the Liberal Party, as Minister to Brazil, and was also responsible for handling British commercial interests in South America.
Edmond was born in a family of emerging capitalist merchants. He has been working in the diplomatic system since he entered politics. He has twenty years of diplomatic work experience. After arriving in Brazil in mid-February, Edmond changed from the arrogant and loose work attitude of his former minister and visited the door in person.
Visited the main officials and ministers of the Brazilian Empire, and used a gentle and equal attitude to squeeze out competitors from France, the United States, Prussia, the Netherlands and other countries, allowing British financiers and businessmen to obtain approximately 70% of Brazilian loan shares and a large number of industrial and commercial orders.
Received recognition and praise from the London Government.
Although he knew that Edmund's courtesy to him was due to his status as the Minister of Finance of the Brazilian Empire, Flores still felt that it was very helpful. He immediately replied with a smile: "I have something important to do when I come late at night, so I can't inform the Minister in advance.
Next time we meet, I will invite the minister to come together to apologize."
Edmond was fat but not clumsy in his movements. He took the initiative to greet Flores and the Brazilian soldiers accompanying him. He said nonchalantly: "It's cold in the night. It's better for the count to come in early. If you have anything important to do, I'll wait inside."
Discuss in detail."
As Edmond spoke, he instructed the embassy staff to arrange for Flores and others to enter.
In the hall, the embassy staff brought two cups of cocoa tea, and then they were sent away by Edmund.
"The count is here under the orders of His Majesty Pedro II?" Edmund asked.
"Your Excellency, the Minister, is as expected." Flores took a sip of cocoa tea with the etiquette of a nobleman and said calmly: "The Imperial Navy lost more than half of its main force in the battle with Paraguay. Rio Grande do Sul purchased it two days ago.
Since your country's two ironclad ships were put into service, Rio Grande do Sul's maritime power has surpassed that of the Imperial Navy. His Majesty Pedro II is deeply worried about this situation, so he sent me to the embassy to discuss a solution with the Minister.
"
"Flores, as a friend of the Brazilian Empire, I feel very sorry for your country's failure in the Paraguay War, but Rio Grande do Sul's purchase of British Empire warships is a normal business transaction, and I cannot make it based on personal emotional tendencies.
Something detrimental to the interests of the British Empire."
"The good intentions of the Minister, His Majesty Pedro II, and I both understand that my coming this time is not to interfere with British commercial transactions, but to conduct another transaction with your country on behalf of His Majesty."
"Count Flores, as far as I know, your country suffered huge losses in the Paraguay War, and the foreign debt owed by your country has been deferred for two years. Under such circumstances, your country can still use the money for transactions.
?"
Edmund asked deliberately.
"Well, the financial gap of the empire is gradually easing, and we will fulfill our commitments to pay the foreign debt we owe when due. Minister, you don't have to worry about the Brazilian Empire's ability to pay."
The Brazilian Empire was riddled with debt, and Flores shouldered the important responsibilities assigned by Pedro II. Even though he was embarrassed, he had to continue: "The funds in Brazil are mainly used to restore the domestic economy and industrial production. Pedro II
Your Majesty is temporarily unable to get the cash to trade with your country, so your Majesty wants to borrow another loan from your banker to purchase warships to offset the threat of Rio Grande do Sul to our country's sea."
"The difficulties in the Brazilian Empire are temporary. I believe that under the wise leadership of His Majesty Pedro II, your country will soon overcome the current difficulties."
After understanding Flores's intention, Edmund's mood immediately improved.
From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, when asked what the great powers were most happy to do, the first thing on the list was undoubtedly borrowing money. By exporting funds to the borrowing country, the great powers penetrated into the other country's economy and at the same time used
The conditions attached to the loan itself include controlling the other party's mineral resources and political trends, and eventually turning it into a dumping ground for raw materials for the country's commercial capitalists, achieving the goal of controlling a country without spending a single soldier.
The Paraguay War was a battle for interests provoked by the British behind the scenes. Although the joining of Chinese troops midway changed the direction of the war and did not achieve the goal of defeating Lopez Jr., in terms of economic interests, Paraguay, Brazil, and South America
The three Oglan countries signed a contract and approved the British's navigation and business rights on the Paraguay River. This not only achieved control of the commercial interests of the large river in the La Plata region of South America, but also deepened the penetration of British capital into Brazil.
The Brazilian Empire is rich in mineral resources. The failure of the Paraguay War gave the British the first favorable opportunity to penetrate the Brazilian economy. The request made by Flores is another great opportunity to further expand British commercial interests in Brazil.
Ten years of army, one hundred years of navy. Developing the navy and conducting maritime military competitions are very expensive activities. The maintenance and installation of supporting weapons after purchasing the ship are also a large amount of expenditure, so Edmund will not let this go for several years.
Instead, he planned to take advantage of Pedro II's urgent need for ironclads to make Brazil pay more for the transfer of economic benefits.
Edmund quickly calculated in his mind how to get the maximum benefit from the British transaction, and then quickly presented the ship purchase plan he had selected for the Brazilians.
The first option is to customize a "Monarch" class ironclad ship
The Monarch-class battleship is a first-class ironclad ship with a displacement of 8,455 tons. Its main weapons and equipment are: 4 305mm guns, a crew of 430, and a price of 400,000 pounds.
The second option is to purchase two third-class ironclad ships similar to Rio Grande do Sul. The ships have a unified displacement of 3,500 tons and are equipped with four 228mm guns. The price of a single ship is 130,000 pounds. The total payment for the two ships is 250,000 pounds.
Can.
The price of the two ironclads sold by the British to the Chinese was 265,000 pounds, which was 15,000 pounds more expensive than the Brazilians. It can still be seen that the British paid more attention to Brazil than Rio Grande do Sul. However, even if the price was 15,000 pounds less,
At a selling price, Flores gave up the second plan for selling the ship and chose the first one instead.
From an economic point of view, adding two ironclad ships of the same level can already suppress the still novice Rio Grande do Sul navy. However, Pedro II appreciated the sense of security brought by the big cannon ships, so he directly ordered Flores to purchase them.
Large ironclad ships and small and medium-sized ironclad ships will not be considered for the time being.
After choosing the type of warship to buy, Flores directly followed Pedro II's order and stated his goal of customizing a "Monarch" class ironclad. However, at this time, Edmund stopped him: "Your Excellency, Count, I
I need to remind you in advance that 400,000 pounds is only the cost of a bare ship, and the weapons and equipment installed on the warship need to be calculated separately."
"Your Excellency, Minister, when your country trades with the Chinese, it does not calculate the additional cost of weapons and equipment. Why does Brazil have to pay extra money?"
Flores said with some dissatisfaction.
"You misunderstood. If your country purchases ships according to the second plan, the cost of artillery and equipment can be waived. However, the Sovereign-class battleship is the new main model of warship in service of the British Empire Navy. Currently, this type of warship is in active service in the Empire Navy.
There is only one ship, and the naval shipyard needs to make improvements based on actual needs in the construction of new warships, so there will be additional expenses."
“How much will the extra cost be approximately?”
"The amount is uncertain, but a warship requires a total improvement cost of about 100,000 pounds."
Edmund observed Flores's expression and considered giving a reasonably reasonable number.
"Sorry, Mr. Minister, the warship transaction amount exceeds your Majesty's maximum authorized price. I need to go back and ask for your Majesty's instructions before I get back to you."
"The Sovereign-class battleship is the most advanced ironclad ship in the world. I believe His Majesty Pedro II will realize its value." Edmund smiled calmly, without the slightest expression of a failed transaction.
"I hope so." Flores was not very interested. After saying a polite word, he quickly left.
After Flores left, Edmund's face immediately became solemn. The Monarch-class ironclad was a new type of warship that was just launched in May last year. Its technical performance was not perfect and it had not yet been truly included in the navy. The reason why he had just designated the Monarch-class
Listed as the first ship purchase plan, I wanted to take advantage of the high construction cost of the Monarch class to fend off the Brazilians' intention to purchase ships and instead choose the second ship purchase plan. Unexpectedly, Pedro II rushed to buy it.
The purpose of the giant ship's cannon was to trade with the British.
Selling new main battleships to foreign countries was beyond Edmond's authority. In order to avoid the embarrassment of the Brazilians actually being willing to pay the price to purchase the Monarch-class battleships, Edmond quickly used telegraphs to deliver the news to the British mainland.
Telegraph messages from Brazil passed through relay stations set up throughout the Americas and soon reached the hands of important cabinet officials in London.
After receiving the news, the British cabinet officials reached a consensus after a half-day discussion and agreed to build a Monarch-class ironclad for Brazil.
Generally speaking, a democratic government's decision on a matter requires a long period of wrangling and bargaining. However, the decision to build a new ironclad ship for Brazil is rarely passed efficiently, driven by emerging capitalists and naval forces.
Emerging capitalists and industrial owners promote warship transactions, undoubtedly because of the economic benefits attached to the transaction, while the naval forces proceed from their own economic interests. Because the navy in the steam era developed too fast in science and technology, it took a long time to replace the ironclad ships.
It has been greatly shortened. In the decades since the ironclads were built, a new model of ironclads will be produced every few years. However, the old ironclads will fall behind in area and be eliminated in just five or six years after they are built. Therefore,
, in order to save research funds and profit from helping other countries build warships, it is a more reasonable choice to accumulate warship construction technology.
The UK is not the first country to choose to do this. The Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships built by Germany for the Manchus a little later were like this. Germany experimented with new warship construction technology on the two ships, and the costs incurred by the continuous improvements were borne by Manchuria.
Clearing the bill has resulted in increasing purchase costs for the two ships, which eventually exceeded the cost of building similar warships by countries such as Britain and France.
The British wasted several days sending news back and forth from the mainland. After Edmund received a clear reply from London, the ministers from France, the United States, Prussia and other countries who had received the news from other channels took the initiative to visit Peter II, hoping that they would
Providing loans and responsible for warship transactions.
If it were just the British, Pedro II would have gritted his teeth and would have increased the loan amount and admitted more additional conditions to obtain the Monarch-class ironclads. However, after the French and American ministers entered Rio de Janeiro one after another, his mind changed.
Among France and the United States, France was the first country to build ironclads, and its naval strength was comparable to that of the United Kingdom. However, the loan benefits provided by the French were too high, and the additional conditions were no less than those of the British.
The Americans are much more sincere. They not only promise to provide low-interest loans, but also have no harsh political and economic conditions. They just hope to conduct business and trade with Brazil as an equal economic partnership.
Britain, France and the United States all have the funds and capabilities to build ironclads, but due to various concerns, Pedro II has never made up his mind to make a choice.
Britain and France are the two major hegemons in the current world. The introduction of French influence will help balance the British influence on Brazil. It may also cause a rift in the relationship between Brazil and the United Kingdom. Americans are rich, but Pedro
However, II did not believe in the technology of Americans in building warships.
In comparison, it was difficult for Pedro II to make the final choice. During this period, when Edmond and Flores met again, the other party hesitated and did not give a clear answer.
The setback in the warship deal between Brazil and the United Kingdom gave the ministers of France and the United States confidence. While lobbying important Brazilian officials, the two ministers frequently communicated information with their own governments. A competition for the Brazilian industrial and commercial market centered on the warship transaction took place between the United Kingdom, France, and the United States.