Chapter 700 Yin and Yang Imbalance
California was the fastest growing of all the colonies in the Austrian Empire at this time. The power of gold attracted countless gold prospectors, like Jason in search of the golden fleece, who came from all over the German Confederation.
(Jason, the hero who found the Golden Fleece in Greek legend.)
At this time, the Panama Canal had not yet been opened. If you wanted to reach California from Europe, you had to disembark at the Central American colonies of the Austrian Empire, then transfer to the inland river to reach the Pacific Ocean, and then take the sea route to San Francisco (San Francisco).
The Central American colonies mainly refer to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Nicaragua has a canal that leads directly to Lake Managua, which can greatly shorten the distance and save a lot of time.
It was not the Grand Canal planned by later generations to drill through the isthmus of Central America and connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to Lake Nicaragua. The main reason was that the amount of work for this canal was too large and it was difficult to complete with the equipment at this time.
Since the Austrian Empire acquired the colony of Nicaragua, it has been digging canals to connect it to the Pacific Ocean.
However, this canal is not deep enough to pass sea-going ships. Even large cargo ships cannot pass through many narrow mouths, but small and medium-sized passenger ships can still pass through.
Or go directly around South America and go to California via the Strait of Magellan, which requires almost half a journey around the world but cannot stop the enthusiasm of the gold diggers.
In history, many gold prospectors died before arriving in California. Although the mortality rate was greatly reduced under Franz's leadership, they generally incurred huge debts before arriving.
Because whether you choose to bypass South America or take a shortcut through the Nicaragua canal, you will need a lot of transportation expenses.
As we all know, except for a small number of professional teams, gold diggers are usually composed of people who are not very happy with their lives, or who are about to die.
Others, such as gamblers who dream of getting rich, businessmen who owe huge debts, and gangsters who want to rob and cause trouble, are not good people, but they also have one common characteristic: poverty.
There is a reason why gold prospectors in history would rather cross Death Canyon than march on land. Although land is more dangerous than sea, and it will delay several months more, the cost is less than that of sea. one third.
Even though the difference is only three times, many people can still afford a caravan and several horses even if they lose their money, but one person can't afford the passage to California even if he loses his money.
In fact, most of the gold diggers couldn't even afford horses, so they used ox carts. The advantage of using oxen to pull a cart is that it can be used to pull the cart and also be used for food.
But the disadvantage is also very obvious, that is, slowness. The longer you stay in the Death Zone before reaching California, the more dangerous it becomes. Most of the tragedies of the gold rush era are related to the Death Zone.
However, Franz still provided many discounts in order to attract people to California, especially the fact that the boat tickets could be paid in installments, which made the gold diggers call it "conscience"!
However, those gold diggers armed with simple gold mining tools only discovered when they arrived in California that almost all large and rich mines were included in the scope of national management, and other small mines also required fees to enter.
And their rudimentary tools simply cannot compete with advanced mechanical and scientific screening processes.
The machines of the so-called professional teams are even more ridiculous. Most of them are designed by laymen, so they are not practical at all. The results of these people are not even as good as those gold diggers holding simple tools.
The gold in California is not fake. Many people have made money that they would never have earned in their lifetime through their own efforts.
But the prices in California are not generally high. After all, the O-M United Development Company has monopolized all local resources, even the return ticket.
Therefore, the cost of living in the local area is also very alarming. However, the greedy nature of human beings defeated rationality at this time. Most people did not choose to leave with the gold they dug, but chose to settle down and continue digging.
Of course, there are also some smart people who see the opportunity and become farmers or small shopkeepers. But even so, they still need to pay various taxes, and it is impossible to recreate the lawless place in history.
Although there are many pitfalls, life in California is still much better than life in continental Europe, which is why it attracts so many immigrants.
Namibia was also a gold mining destination promoted by the Austrian Empire, and it was closer to the European continent than California.
However, both the reputation of the gate to hell and the harsh natural environment make it prohibitive.
Although the Karst Plateau, Homas Plateau, and Schwarzland Mountains have been penetrated by colonists for hundreds of years, the indigenous people are still fierce, and there are a large number of unexplored areas.
At the same time, because transportation costs are relatively low, many people choose to leave after making a fortune. The population is very mobile, and Franz doesn't have much to do about it.
The several settlements established by the Austrian Empire in the interior have never been able to attract a large number of immigrants. Some immigrants even gave up agriculture and started herding like the local indigenous people.
In comparison, the environment in California is much superior. With flat land, endless fertile fields, abundant rivers, abundant but not harsh sunshine, and distinct four seasons, it is simply a paradise for agriculture.
However, California, which has no worries about food and clothing and can still make a lot of money, actually has some problems.
The first is the threat from the United States and France. If it were not for the barrier of the Nevada desert and mountains, the Americans' guns would have been pressed against California's forehead.
The second and most important problem is the extreme imbalance in the ratio of men to women.
There are less than 8,000 Hispanic natives and 25,000 Austrian Empire soldiers, 80% of whom are veterans and mercenaries recruited by Umbrella Company.
There are 200,000 immigrants from the German region, 150,000 immigrants from Central America, 30,000 US military prisoners and surrendered soldiers, and 20,000 private soldiers of several Mexican warlords (those who invaded California privately and those who wanted to take advantage of the situation).
There are about 50,000 Indians, 20,000 to 30,000 Mexican immigrants, and some Americans who were deceived by smugglers. The total number of gold diggers from other countries is about 20,000.
Among the total population of more than 500,000, there are less than 100,000 women, which means that the male population exceeds the female population by a full 300,000.
These 300,000 bachelors have brought extremely unstable influence to the local area, and at the same time, they have also spawned an industry that is more profitable than gold mining.
That is one of the oldest professions of mankind. Although Mexico tried its best to cooperate, even the local Indian women were not enough.
Las Novias, in which Tasan Anna and a group of senior Mexican officials are shareholders, has grown from one company to fifty companies in just a few years, but it still cannot meet local needs.
(Spanish for bride.)