Chapter 313: Global Voyage
It must be said that the Colonial Ministry chose good timing. The struggle for Central America between the British and Americans had dragged on for a decade, with neither side gaining an advantage as they mutually restrained each other.
To completely suppress the Indian rebellion, the British strategically reduced their overseas presence. In 1859, the British government made concessions and relinquished its sphere of influence in Central America.
Originally, the radical southerners in America wanted to incorporate Central America as slave states. However, this was opposed by northern industrialists and businessmen.
The origins of the North-South conflict can be traced back to the Mexican-American War, which was sparked by the annexation of large portions of Mexican land.
The plantation owners in the South wanted to turn these areas into slave states, while the industrialists in the North demanded that they be turned into free states.
The dispute over interests escalated into open conflict between the North and the South.
The economic crisis of 1857 exacerbated these tensions. Northern capitalists demanded higher tariffs to protect their markets, while Southern plantation owners wanted lower tariffs to facilitate the export of agricultural goods.
Make no mistake, the tariffs the Northern capitalists wanted to raise werent just on manufactured goods; they also wanted to raise tariffs on agricultural exports to get cheap raw materials.
Cutting off someones source of income was akin to killing their parents. Of course, the Southern plantation owners could not tolerate this. It was cutting meat off their bones to subsidize Northern industries by exploiting agriculture.
In reality, the abolition of slavery was merely a pretext for war. If the government had offered adequate compensation, most slave owners would have accepted it.
Contract labor was not much more expensive than slaves anyway. Many labor export companies were already operating in America at that time, and they could still easily obtain enough cheap labor.
Of course, the Northern capitalists did not go to all this trouble just to emancipate the slaves. Everyones moral standards werent that high yet.
Turning the South into a source of raw materials and a dumping ground for manufactured goods was their ultimate goal.
Since both sides knew that tensions could not be defused, the Southern plantation owners chose to strike first, having learned the lessons of past political defeats.
Now, both the North and the South were striving for the election, and things have escalated to the point where they do not even have the energy to deal with Central America.
Against this backdrop, Austria dug its claws deeper into the region. Of course, the extent was still very small and limited to commercial activities.
If the American Civil War does not occur, there is no doubt that Austrias influence, still in its infancy, will not stand a chance against the Americans. The Colonial Ministry would essentially be taking a gamble.
Unlike Britain and France, Austria had no foothold in the Americas. To intervene in the American Civil War, Austria had to prepare in advance.
The army could wait, but the navy absolutely could not be absent.
Southern plantation owners would never surrender to Northern capitalists. As long as the maritime supply lines remained open and the Europeans visibly supported them from behind, the Southerners would not easily surrender.
Although there was a huge disparity in strength between the North and the South, this gap can be narrowed. With logistical support from various European countries, they could gain an advantage in weapons and equipment.
Frankly, we were already in the Age of Discovery. A single ship could transport thousands of tons. It would only take a few months to sail between North America and Europe.
As long as they had the support of the major European powers, replenishing tens of thousands of tons of weapons and ammunition every month was not a problem.
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America was not yet the superpower it would become later on. They could not simply produce tens of thousands of tons of ammunition every month.
If the Europeans also blockaded the supply of material to the Northern government, all they would have left was manpower superiority.
Even that could be dealt with if the Southerners had money. They could mortgage cotton and tobacco to take out loans from Europe and hire mercenaries.
If everyone was shameless enough, they could first impersonate the Southern Navy, cripple the Northern Navy, and then launch surprise attacks on Northern coastal cities from time to time.
There would be no need for landings. Just bombarding the cities with several tons of shells every day would cripple the Northern economy in no time.
What the outcome would be, Franz was no prophet and could not say with certainty. But the longer the war dragged on, the greater its impact, and the harder it would be for the United States to recover after the war.
The power of hatred should never be underestimated. Once the North and the South are covered in each others blood, even if they are forcibly unified in the end, it wont be stable.
Franz asked, How much longer until the newly built ships Bavaria, Lombardy, Wrttemberg, Hesse, and Saxony are ready for service?
The naming rights for these warships were also sold by the Navy Ministry; each state government contributed one-third of the shipbuilding funds to purchase the naming rights.
Franz even encouraged each state government to form their own navy, but unfortunately, no one took the bait. They were all landlubbers, without even access to the sea, so how could they possibly be interested?
The only reason they coughed up extra money to sponsor the Navy was to save face. They could not let other states have warships named after them while they lacked their own.
Fortunately, none of these New Holy Roman Empire states were poor. They could easily raise hundreds of thousands of guilders.
So, under the persuasion of the Navy Ministry, these state governments coughed up some sponsorship money to make the Navy of the New Holy Roman Empire even bigger.
Once these ironclad warships were commissioned, Austria would leap to become the worlds third-largest naval power right behind Britain and France.
The total tonnage of the navy now exceeded 100,000 tons, and Austria also possessed ten ironclads, making it the country with the largest number of such vessels in the world.
Of course, this advantage wouldnt last long. After a few months at most, the British would likely surpass them again, followed by the French within 1-2 years.
Naval arms race? Franz wasnt prepared to continue playing that game. The primary purpose of building these ships was to sell them.
Once the American Civil War erupts, he will sell parts of the fleet to the Confederacy at high prices. Selling to the Union was possible too.
Favoring one side was only when the Confederacy was at a disadvantage. The optimal play was still to let the Americans butcher one another, maintaining a balance of power on both sides.
As for the claims that the Unions advantages would ensure victory no matter what, that was pure nonsense. Just look at how long the Civil War lasted. If there really was an overwhelming gap in strength, how could the fighting have gone on for 4 years?
The Unions advantages were in industry and population; the Confederacys advantages were in the military. The capitalists did not have the guts to personally shoulder rifles and take to the battlefields, but the plantation owners did.
America was a country of immigrants without much national cohesion. The propagandized tales of mass voluntary enlistment were in reality mostly involuntary conscription.
Especially for new immigrants who had originally fled war during the revolutions and were now being asked to go to war, it would be strange if they would be willing!
Your Majesty, the Bavaria is expected to be completed by the end of this year, and the remaining ships will likely be finished by early next year. It will take until around May of next year for all these warships to be fully commissioned, Minister of the Navy, Filkos replied.
After some calculations, Franz found that there was still plenty of time. No matter how much the butterfly effect played out, the American Civil War wouldnt possibly be over in just a few months. The Austrian Navy would still have time to intervene.
The global voyage plan of the Navy Department can be initiated now. We can dispatch seven ironclad ships to visit all corners of the world, starting with Asia, then proceeding to the Americas, and finally returning to visit European countries.
It was best to flaunt their presence overseas to avoid provoking the sensitive nerves of European nations.
By the end of the voyage, most of these ships would have been sold off too. Heading back to Europe then would avoid drawing excessive attention.
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