Chapter 367

The busiest agency in the economic crisis was the Colonial Department's Immigration Department. From the end of 1857 to the beginning of 1859, in just over a year, the Immigration Department's achievements exceeded the sum of the previous years.

In the face of survival, many people chose to leave their homes. Among them, the The Balkans accounted for the most, accounting for 40% of the total number of immigrants.

This was the result of the government's deliberate control. Otherwise, more than 80% of the immigrants would choose to go to the The Balkans.

There were only two kinds of people who volunteered to go to the African colonies: those who were ambitious and wanted to make a fortune, and those who were so poor that they could not even survive and had to go.

Immigrants to the African continent could sign employment contracts with the government, plantation owners, or mine owners. They had a stable income and did not have to worry about their family's livelihood.

Many people directly regarded the African continent as going out to work. After all, immigration was not mandatory. When the contract expired, if they wanted to stay, they could stay. If they did not want to stay, they could come back.

For people who did not know the next meal, as long as they could have an income to support their family, it was good enough. It did not matter if the place was far away.

After completing the personnel adjustment, Franz said, "Department of Colonization, talk about the development of the colonies."

The Colonial Minister, Josip Jelačić, replied, "Your Majesty, at present, we have opened up colonies in the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria, Congo, Cameroon, Libya, and other areas.

We have established 68 colonial strongholds with 18 cities. More than one million people have migrated to the colonies, and the territory under our direct control is more than three million square kilometers.

Among them, there are 25 colonial strongholds in the Gulf of Guinea, including eight cities, with a territory of about 700,000 square kilometers. The total local population is 1.848 million, of which 284,000 are immigrants, and the rest are indigenous people.

The Congo region has 14 colonial strongholds, including four cities, with a territory of about 680,000 square kilometers. The total local population is about 3 million, of which 318,000 are immigrants, and the rest are indigenous people.

The Nigerian colony has just been established, and we have only established eight colonial strongholds, including three cities, with a territory of about 280,000 square kilometers. The total local population is about 2.18 million, of which about 185,000 are immigrants.

The Cameroon region was developed even later. At present, there are only five colonial strongholds, including two cities, with a territory of more than 100,000 square kilometers. The total local population is about 560,000, and there are only 58,000 immigrants.

The Libyan region is still implementing the strategy of changing the cages. Because of the resistance of the locals, progress is much slower than expected. About 150,000 people are still there, and it may take until next year to complete the plan.

"We have controlled all the cities in the area, sending 86,000 immigrants, and controlling all the coastal oases. We have also controlled more than one million square kilometers of desert.

"The resources in the Sinai Peninsula are too barren, and we did not develop it. We only sent 2,000 immigrants. and ruled the 60,000 square kilometers in Peninsula in name.

"The European islands were directly under the mainland, and they were not.

Further overseas, the colonial strongholds were all established by the people and had not yet been brought under the management of the government.

Up until now, other than the Gulf of Guinea Colony, which had achieved a balance of payments due to the excavation of gold mines and even had a small surplus, the other areas were in a state of loss.

Overall, our colony's total income in 1858 was a negative 9.85 million DND. The expenditure on immigration and military expenditure on foreign troops still accounted for the majority of it.

. of. of.. in the next three of of the three years. in.. The rest of the colonization will take some time, at least five years later, before we can replenish our finances. "

Franz nodded. Obviously, the Austrian colony still had a lot of potential. Now, the colonial government only controlled a small part of it. There was still a lot of land waiting for them to occupy.

Franz was not that optimistic about relying on the colonial income to supplement the central government's finances. Franz was not optimistic about the income from the colony.

After hesitating for a moment, Franz said, "The population ratio of the colony is a big problem. There are too many aborigines, which is not good for our long-term rule.

After hesitating, Franz said, "The population ratio is a big problem. There are too many natives, which is not good for our long-term rule.

If things don't go well, then banish them. You have to control how far you go.

In any case, I don't care what method you use. Within five years, the native population must be reduced by 30%, and within ten years, the number of immigrants must exceed the native population. "

Under normal circumstances, this was an almost impossible task. Even if they did not know what to do, they could learn from their British and French counterparts. The British, in particular, had the most experience in this area.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Josip Jelačić, the Colonial Minister, replied.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Josip Jelačić, the Colonial Minister, replied.

Even though he knew that the task would not be easy, the Emperor had already given the order, so Josip Yelačić would not refuse. Just because it was not easy, it did not mean it was impossible. How would they know it was impossible if they did not try?

Franz did not know whether to laugh or cry. After the economic crisis, the nobles became more enthusiastic about investing in plantations.

Compared to unfamiliar industries and finance, people were more willing to invest in industries they were familiar with. After all, the income from plantations was stable, and the risk was not as high.

Now that there were so many immigrants on the African continent, it wasn't just because of the government's organization. Many of them were recruited by these plantation owners.

The royal family was one of the best. As the first to invest in the colony, they had developed tens of thousands of hectares of plantations.

Everyone was keen on wheat, cotton, cocoa, and coffee. They were all industries that could see returns in the short term.

In contrast, Franz, who focused on investing in rubber plantations, was the odd one out. The use of rubber was not as widespread as in the future, and the investment cycle was long, so it was not popular.

If there were enough people, Franz would also be willing to grow cotton and coffee, which were more profitable. Unfortunately, there was a shortage of people. In a hurry, they could only plant rubber trees.

At present, the royal plantation had recruited more than 30,000 workers, but it was still a drop in the bucket. They had to use some local indigenous labor.

The recruitment of quality labor from overseas was still in progress. In this era, a trip to Asia took more than half a year. It was difficult to be fast.

Franz was now very worried that if there were no restrictions, the plantation owners and mine owners would soon become addicted to using cheap local labor. He did not want to see the revival of slavery in the colony.

Now, because people had no experience, and these indigenous people were not domesticated, there were often incidents of violence, injury, and escape. This made the farmers and plantation owners suspicious of using a large number of indigenous labor.

The gold mine owners had begun to use local labor on a large scale, suppressing the resistance with their powerful force.

Franz did not believe that in the face of profit, people's moral integrity would be so high. Those who paid attention to table manners were nothing more than learning from the royal plantation, using salt, cloth, and other supplies to hire native tribal chiefs.

Those who were ruthless would directly send people to capture slaves. The African continent was so chaotic, and there were many places that the colonial government could not control. Gold mine owners, slave owners, and slave traders could be found everywhere.

In the short term, this was indeed a good thing. It reduced production costs and could obtain more benefits.

In the long run, the large use of slave labor would occupy the jobs of immigrants. Not only would it seriously hinder the economic development of the colony, but it would also increase social conflicts.

There was another reason that could not be said, and that was that Franz wanted to cheat his biggest competitors and weaken their development potential.

Historically, nearly half of the immigrants who went to the United States during this period came from the German Region, Regions of Italy, and southern Europe. Now, most of these immigrants were diverted by Franz.

The labor shortage in the United States was more serious than in history. In this context, the conflict between the industrial owners in the north and the plantation owners in the south was even greater.

Franz, who was always ready to help, naturally wanted to help them. If there were not enough white immigrants, they would use black immigrants to make up for it. If the quality was poor, they would use quantity to make up for it.

Just think about it, half of the immigrants to the United States every year were black. The future must be very interesting. For this, what was a small price to pay?