Chapter 280: Encouraging Immigration
After eagerly awaiting news, reports of the Indian rebellion finally reached Vienna in July. Franz knew that trouble was brewing for the British.
During this period, 40,000 British troops and 230,000 Indian soldiers controlled the Indian subcontinent. Since early 1857, there had been reports of mutinies within the Indian army, all of which were suppressed by the British.
On May 10, three Indian regiments launched a rebellion, occupying the ancient capital city of Delhi and declaring the restoration of the Mughal Empire, sending shockwaves through India as the rebellion quickly spread across the country.
Without delay, Franz fulfilled his obligations as an ally and immediately informed the Russian government of the news. What would happen next remained uncertain.
If the negotiations between Britain and Austria went smoothly, the Austrian government would remain very quiet and do nothing in the future. However, if the negotiations failed, it wouldnt hurt to show some support for the Indian peoples independence movement.
Prime Minister Felix said with a fierce tone, Your Majesty, the time has come. The British war with Persia isnt over yet, and now the Indian rebellion has broken out. Russias ambitions for India will likely be uncontrollable.
With Britain preoccupied, its essential for us to make a friendly state visit to the Ottoman Empire and strengthen mutual friendship.
Friendship? When did the Habsburg dynasty ever have a friendship with the Ottoman Empire?
Looking through the family history, it was a blood and tears history with the Ottoman Empire, with not just one ancestor wanting to bring down the Ottoman Empire completely.
In Franzs generation, they finally saw a glimmer of hope as the Ottoman Empire was driven away from the Balkans. The once formidable threat to the survival of the Habsburg dynasty had become a feeble shrimp.
Franz smiled and said, Then lets choose a nice sunny day for a state visit to the Ottoman government!
Given the long-standing traditional friendship between the two countries, kicking the Ottoman Empire while it was down was a sacred responsibility that the heirs of the Habsburgs could not shirk. It must be carried out without any compromise.
Colonial Minister Josip Jelai suggested: Your Majesty, we should also make a move in Africa. The French have accelerated their expansion on the continent, and if we wait any longer, well fall behind.
Interests have always been the best catalysts. Only three years before, the Austrian government, with Franzs support, had barely passed the national policy of overseas colonization.
By now, even the traditional conservatives no longer oppose overseas colonial activities.
Officially, Austrias colonies are still operating at a loss, but thats not the whole story. The colonies expanded the domestic market for industrial and commercial products, and the gold extracted resolved Austrias shortage of gold reserves.
The gold mines discovered during this period were rich and easily exploited. Dozens of tons of gold flow into Austria each year, stabilizing the value of the currency.
It can be said that without the gold from the Gulf of Guinea, Austrias gold standard reform would not have gone so smoothly.
In addition, there are fewer destabilizing elements domestically, as colonies provide opportunities for ambitious individuals to prosper and have made many people wealthy.
Franz thought for a moment and said, Thats fine, but the ambitious Tukulor Empire in the Nigeria region wants to expand its empire by starting a so-called Jihad (holy war). It might be best for us not to rush into involvement.
Let the locals fight among themselves first. When theyve weakened each other enough, then we can step in. We could even sell them some obsolete weapons.
Aside from underground resources, the Nigeria region near the equator has fertile soil and abundant rainfall, suitable for growing tropical crops such as peanuts, palm trees, cocoa, rubber, etc.
For those who want to start farms, its a real paradise. The available arable land extends up to sixty million hectares, enough to support over a hundred million people.
At the time, the push to move into Nigeria came from the domestic nobility. Many who had lost land in the revolution wanted to make up for it overseas.
This was the result of the guidance of the Austrian government. Its example inspired action at all levels, as it does in every country. The Austrian government has excelled in this area.
High-ranking government officials have opened plantations overseas, enticing many to see it as profitable and encouraging them to join the effort.
The royal family was among the first to stake out land in the colonies of Guinea and Congo, planning seven or eight plantations, including rubber, cotton, coffee, cocoa, and more, totaling more than 1.5 million hectares.
Of course, this is only a preliminary plan. It remains to be seen when it will be completed.
So far, the royal family has only developed over 15,000 hectares of land. The rest is still being worked on by a group of lumberjacks.
First, the trees must be cut down, the grass burned, the water drained from the swamps, and the local pests eradicated before agricultural development can begin.
Without enough workers, they were forced to use locals as laborers. In this situation, it was difficult to improve efficiency.
Franz has sent people to bring in labor from East Asia. Farming required skills, especially land clearing, which required technical expertise. The indigenous people are clearly not suited for this work.
Austria banned the use of slaves, and to ensure the long-term stability of the colonies, the colonial government also banned the use of slaves. Even labor protection laws are strictly enforced.
Of course, strict enforcement varies depending on the situation. Protection is certainly strict for immigrants from the homeland because they are valuable assets.
Supervision of local laborers was, of course, less strict, with fines for violations at most. Unless someone produced mixed-race children, they would not be imprisoned.
In essence, this is also to limit the capitalists dependence on local labor and the spread of disease.
By making it clear through labor protection laws that once the problem of labor shortages in the colonies is solved, strict enforcement of labor protection laws will be enforced, its better to use local labor as little as possible.
To reduce conflicts between the colonial government and indigenous tribes, the colonial government implemented a policy of encouraging immigration. This included two parts: encouraging domestic citizens to migrate to the colonies and encouraging local indigenous peoples to migrate to the Americas.
On this issue, the Austrian government had made immigration agreements with the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, and others.
The treaties stipulate that each country is free to introduce indigenous immigrants into the Austrian colonies and that the colonial government does not impose any restrictions.
The Austrian government also offers rewards to individuals or organizations that excel in their immigration efforts. The current standard is: for every ten local immigrants taken away, a reward of two guilders is given.
Under these favorable conditions, hundreds of thousands of black immigrants left the Austrian colonies each year, significantly reducing conflicts between the colonial government and local indigenous tribes.
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