Chapter 381： Integration process (1/2)

The negotiations between the North and the South have not ended, but the American civil war has actually ended. Neither the European powers nor the American people want this war to continue.

This is not an individual's will to be reversed. The rest is nothing more than talking about conditions.

In order to demonstrate good faith, military operations have ceased on both the North and South sides, including ongoing military mobilizations.

Strategically, the goal of weakening the United States has basically been achieved. Now the last treaty is sent, which has divided the United States.

This is not only a good thing, it is also accompanied by a series of problems. For example: Austria's cotton and cotton spinning industries will be affected.

Taking advantage of the tight cotton supply in the international market during the American Civil War to reduce cotton production, the Austrian cotton spinning industry, which has sufficient cotton supply, has suddenly emerged, occupying the British market in Europe.

Now in Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, and Central Europe, British cotton products are gradually being squeezed out of the market.

Previously, because of insufficient cotton supply, there was a shortfall in demand for cotton spinning products, and the British were robbed of the market by Austria.

It's different now. With the end of the civil war, US cotton production will soon recover. With ample supply of raw materials, British capitalists will naturally make a comeback.

The market is the lifeblood of every industrial country. As the first country to complete the industrial revolution, the British have accumulated enough advantages. The industrial strength once exceeded half of the world.

With the completion of the industrialization of France and Austria, the proportion of British industry in the total global industry has declined, but it still ranks first in the world.

However, an embarrassing thing is that the British Empire, the world's factory, has been in a super state for a long time.

In 1864, British exports totaled 215 million pounds, while imports totaled 275 million pounds and a trade deficit of 60 million pounds.

During the same period, France's total foreign exports amounted to 2.963 billion francs, imports from the outside world totaled 2.523 billion francs, and its trade surplus reached 440 million francs. (Approximately £ 17.6 million)

The total value of Austria ’s foreign exports was 285 million Aegis, the total imports of Austria were 226 million Aegis, and the trade surplus was 59 million Aegis. (About 29.5 million pounds)

Not only France and Austria are in a super state, but even the Russians are also in a super state. In 1864, the total exports of the Russians were 187 million rubles, the total imports were 175 million rubles, and the trade surplus was 12 million rubles.

In this era, the international trade volume was small, and the Russians' grain exports exceeded half of the total exports. With this advantage, the trade surplus was realized.

Austria can have such a large surplus, and exports of agricultural products also occupy an important position. After all, people always have to eat, and the British are one of the major food importing countries in Europe.

In order to solve the trade deficit problem, successive British governments have broken their hearts. There is no way. Insufficient local resources have determined that the British are in a state of entry into the super league for a long time.

Fortunately, there are many colonies of John Bull, and this gap can be filled by plundering colonial wealth, otherwise ordinary countries will not be able to support it for a long time.

The Opium War in history was created by the British in order to smooth the trade deficit.

Now that the market has been robbed by Austrian capital, the British will certainly not give up. It's not enough to turn the table over. This conflict doesn't need to tear the faces of the two countries.

Of course it is not useful to turn your face, this is fair competition in business. At that time, the British had insufficient supplies of cotton textiles, so that Austria could take advantage of it, and John Bull had not the ability to wait for the market.

Now that the American Civil War is over, cotton production in the South may return to normal next year. Thanks to the labor output, this output may even increase further.

The geographical conditions of the Confederate States of America are unique. Their cotton acres are usually higher than in other regions.

Of course, the insufficient yield per mu can be made up by expanding the planting area, but the corresponding labor input has increased.

In history, the North won the victory. As the losers, the southern planters lost their cheap labor, cotton production was severely affected, and Indian and Egyptian cotton rushed to the market.

Of course, the most important thing is that northern capitalists need cheap industrial raw materials. Utilizing measures such as increasing tariffs and railway freight rates, American cotton has lost its market competitiveness.

At present, India's cotton production has not risen. In order to compete for labor to dig the Suez Canal, the British promote cotton cultivation in Egypt has also been blocked by France and Austria.

At this time, the only competitor of the U.S. alliance in the cotton market was West Africa.

There is no excess cotton supply in the international market. In the short term, this kind of competition is unwise, and Austria can digest most of West Africa's cotton capacity.

However, in the future, Indian cotton and Egyptian cotton will enter the market, and this competition will become fierce.

In the cotton textile industry, it is necessary to compete with the British, and the cotton market must compete with the United States, Egypt, and India. This series of economic issues, Franz had to consider in advance.

Schönbrunn Palace

”There are only two issues today. First, how can we keep our cotton textile products and market share on the European continent; second, how to protect the interests of cotton farmers?”

There were fewer industrial and commercial products in this era, and the textile industry's economy occupied a dominant position. The core industry of Austria does not include the cotton textile industry, but because of the civil war in the United States, the cotton textile industry has suddenly emerged, and this cannot be abandoned.

At present, there are more than 1.2 million workers in the cotton textile industry in Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Lombardy, and Venisi, and more than 2.5 million employees in the industrial chain.

So many people are pointing at the textile industry to eat, which directly determines that the Vienna government must protect this industry. This time the British-Austrian trade dispute is inevitable.

Not to mention the protection of the interests of cotton farmers, most of the current plantation owners in the colonies are nobles.

This is determined by Austria's national conditions. The ordinary people are limited by economic strength, and even if they open up plantations, the capitalists have no love for farming.