Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 330: The French Are Good At Learning

It was not just the British who were affected by the cotton crisis; the French were also having a hard time. As a major industrialized nation, France had a very high demand for cotton.

The cotton textile industry was also an important part of the French economy. Napoleon III, who attached great importance to developing the domestic economy, naturally could not ignore this issue.

Seeing the success of the Austrians in promoting cotton cultivation in Africa, Napoleon III also wanted to follow suit and even chose a location.

At the Palace of Versailles, Colonial Minister Stern expressed his dilemma, Your Majesty, in our colonial territories in West Africa, we lack sufficient immigrants, making it very difficult to promote cotton cultivation.

Cotton is a labor-intensive industry, especially during harvesting which requires a large number of people.

The population growth rate in France is slower than the pace of a snail, almost stagnant. If they were to organize internal migration to develop the African continent, the domestic population might even experience negative growth.

This is clearly not feasible; a population decline would lead to a shortage of labor, inevitably causing an increase in labor costs, which domestic capitalists surely cannot tolerate.

Napoleon III inquired, If we were to implement preferential policies to attract immigrants from European regions, could this solve the problem?

Your Majesty, most immigrants leaving Europe annually come from Germany. Since Austria began colonizing Africa, most of these immigrants have entered Austrian colonial territories.

From 1854 to the present, the Austrian colonies in Africa have absorbed 1.4 million immigrants in just seven years.

Relying on these immigrants, the development pace of the Austrian African colonies far exceeds that of any other region on the continent. They promote the idea of recreating a second German homeland, making it difficult for us to compete with them.

Foreign Minister Auvergne directly shattered Napoleon IIIs illusions. Since the beginning of the 19th century, Germany had been the main source of immigrants in Europe, accounting for half of European immigrants.

This was followed by Ireland, Italy, and Southern Europe. Ireland was experiencing a peak in emigration, which had now passed.

Southern Europe was Austrias base, and even if there were immigrants, they would all go to the more developed Austrian colonies.

Because France invaded the Kingdom of Sardinia, it caused resistance from the people in Italy, and few immigrants went to French territories in Africa.

Napoleon III nodded; this was an undeniable fact. With a limited population, engaging in overseas colonization naturally poses significant challenges.

These difficulties did not scare Napoleon III but instead sparked his ambition to annex Italy. The Napoleon family originated from the Italian region and had a special affection for Italy.

Returning home in glory was a dream for many, and Napoleon III was no exception. Returning as the Emperor of France would certainly be prestigious. If he were to also assume the title of King of Italy, it would be even more perfect.

Finance Minister Pelissier spoke up, Your Majesty, if you wish to address the shortage of labor in Africa, there is a solution.

Napoleon III asked eagerly, Do tell me, what solution do you propose?

Pelissier suggested, Your Majesty, as far as I know, when Austria first began colonizing Africa, the earliest immigrants were refugees from the Balkans.

Although there may not be refugees now, we can still explore options in the Balkans to address the shortage of immigrants.

The Balkan Peninsula colony is also considered one of the best-developed French colonies. After years of recovery, the population of the French-controlled parts of the Balkans has reached 3.8 million.

However, due to its geographical proximity to Russia and Austria, it faces significant military pressure.

Russia and Austria were also secretly stabbing them in the back and the local people often revolted, making French rule in the area extremely challenging.

Previously, some in the French government proposed selling the French Balkan Peninsula colony, keeping only the Dardanelles Strait.

Unfortunately, no buyer could be found internationally. The British didnt want to be neighbors with Russia and Austria on land, Russia couldnt afford to buy it, and Franz thought the French were asking for too high a price and it might trigger a backlash from Russia.

After going around in circles, it eventually remained in the hands of the French. To hold on to this rich colony, the French government stationed 80,000 troops in the Balkans.

The huge military expenditure offset the income the French government gained from the Balkan Peninsula. This seemingly delicious piece of land had long since become a burden.

Napoleon III hesitated and said, The Balkan Peninsula is known for its fierce people, and the Russians are promoting Pan-Slavism. The locals may not be willing to go to the colonies.

This also reflects a mistake in the French governments colonial strategy. They failed to conduct a thorough purge at the start and didnt send immigrants to the Balkan Peninsula for ethnic integration.

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If there had been no external interference, relying on Frances past experience, ruling the Balkan Peninsula wouldnt have been a problem.

Unfortunately, Russia and Austria are formidable neighbors and happen to be allies. This makes life difficult for the French colonial government.

Fortunately, they were all imperial countries and did not promote any ethnic republican ideas; otherwise, the French would have had even more trouble.

Now, Pan-Slavism was the most popular ideology in the French Balkan Peninsula. Originally, Franz was also prepared to engage in cultural export, but the cruel reality told him that Germanic culture really had no market here.

Finance Minister Pelissier confidently said, We can impose a head tax and introduce immigration incentives. All we need is cheap labor and not local intellectuals.

For the colonys stability, we can start with a thorough purge, eliminating all the stubborn elements, and then slowly organize immigration.

Now is the best opportunity, with Alexander II and the nobility embroiled in internal struggles, they have no time to interfere with us.

Austrians also dislike Pan-Slavism; if we suppress these heretical ideas, the Austrian government will not intervene.

The starting points were different, and land-based countries looked at issues differently from maritime countries. Initially, everyone looked down on Austrias colonial policies.

By now, just because of cotton self-sufficiency, the French, also a land-based country, have come to understand Austrias approach.

Vigorously organizing immigrants to open up colonies, although it increases costs, strengthens control over colonies, and provides raw materials and markets for domestic industrial production.

The French originally aimed for direct control over African colonies, hoping to assimilate North Africa. Austrias approach has opened up new avenues for them.

The literacy rate among the Balkan Peninsula population is very low. If it werent for the Near East War, these people would still be serfs with no cultural tradition to speak of.

If industrial development were pursued, these people would be considered low-quality labor. But if agriculture were developed primarily, they would become high-quality labor.

Due to their limited awareness, hiring these people only requires paying wages equivalent to those in the Balkan Peninsula, which is less than half of the French wage level. This much would already make them work hard.

Due to the lack of cultural heritage and their lack of awareness of their own ethnicity, after entering French colonies, it wouldnt take long for these people to become French.

The previous batch of refugees organized by Austria is an example. After arriving in the African colonies, it only took a few years for them to be initially Germanized.

Even if there are still differences in their behavior and actions, these people identify themselves as Austrian. So why fear that they wont integrate?

Napoleon III made a decision: Lets give it a try. Order the Governor-General of the Balkan Peninsula to conduct a thorough purge, eliminating all our enemies and potential enemies.

I remember that when the Austrians annexed the Balkan Peninsula, they turned one-tenth of the local population into laborers which led to the stability we see now. We can follow suit.

As he said this, Napoleon III felt somewhat regretful.

The Kingdom of Sardinia had not yet been swallowed up. Otherwise, there would be more regions that could provide immigrants.

However, Italy is different from the Balkan Peninsula. It has a complete cultural heritage and wields much greater influence in the world. They must tread carefully and not act recklessly.

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