Chapter 787 The Beacon of the Land of Peace
So if the British government continues to "do nothing" this year, the number of people dying of starvation will increase exponentially.
Even with the guarantee of O'Connell, a banner figure, the vast majority of Irish people are still doubtful.
This has to be said that the British propaganda machine was quite successful. They successfully discredited Austria as an Arab country more barbaric than Russia.
However, with the help of O'Connell, the Irish national leader, Franz believed that the locals' image of the Austrian Empire would be greatly improved.
The 8.5 million Irish people were less than 6 million after the famine. Taking into account the natural increase in the population, 3 million was a reasonable number.
If one-sixth of the three million people who disappeared could go to the Austrian colony, it would greatly alleviate the problem of insufficient manpower for land reclamation. As long as one-quarter could come to Franz, the infrastructure project of the colony could be completed.
If he could get one-third, Franz could recreate a medium-strength country in Central America.
If it could send one-half of them (1.5 million people) to West Africa, Austria could connect all its West African colonies together.
Under ideal circumstances, if all three million people immigrated to the Americas, within twenty years Franz would dare to push the Americans east of the Mississippi River, completely insulating them from the Pacific Ocean.
But this is naturally impossible.
In fact, the first group of people to set foot on the road to Austria were the girls who were used by the British government as reproductive machines in the colonies, also known as "famine orphans."
Because most of these people were lonely or had no contact with their families, their desire to leave Ireland was very strong.
Moreover, the British Parliament and the Anglican Church are also very willing to see that O'Connell, the national leader and spiritual leader of Ireland, has to defile himself as a "pimp."
No matter how low the moral bottom line of British politicians is, they will know what it means to send a group of young girls to a foreign country.
As long as O'Connell does this, his entire life will be ruined, and this stain will be constantly mentioned even hundreds of years after his death.
There is no escape from the crime of trafficking domestic women abroad for entertainment.
At the same time, this will also put huge moral pressure on the Austrian side who accepts it. However, at this point, there is no room for change. Every step back is a bigger whirlpool.
At this moment, Austria's top leaders hope that O'Connell can cherish his reputation. After all, he is old and it would not be good to lose his reputation at the end of the year.
But O'Connell did it anyway, and the Austrian side could only accept the move. Fortunately, this is a stubborn problem for most countries in the world, and it is not difficult to solve in Austria.
Franz can directly build a girls' school in Venice, a German school where all teachers and students are female.
This is completely unthinkable for other countries at this time, but it is completely feasible in Austria.
Because girls' schools in Austria have been running for several years, only a few outstanding or well-connected graduates can join the government, scientific research institutions and business.
The vast majority of them can only look after their husbands and raise their children or have nothing to do, and opening a girls' school with this level of literacy is a great thing for them. After all, teaching in this era is a very respectable job.
At the same time, with his backing to the royal family, his status has gone up. With the church and newspapers advocating from the side, they naturally had no reason not to go.
certainly! Although Franz was tricked by the British, his original purpose was not to invite Ireland to enjoy the blessings.
The agriculture and industry in the Venetian region are relatively developed, so it is not difficult to find some jobs for them.
In fact, only some of the famine orphans who could reach the Austrian mainland were sent directly to the colonies. Some of them were too strange or too difficult to maintain.
Therefore, when the upper class of the Austrian Empire visited the girls' school, they saw some gentle, considerate, and well-educated women. This would at least not make the nobles feel disadvantaged.
At the same time, the power of role models also helps to plan for those who come after.
The cost of transporting refugees is not high, because all the ships transporting refugees are actually merchant ships. After selling Austrian goods at high prices, some of the needed goods are purchased, and the remaining space is used to transport people.
In fact, this is mainly because the vast majority of British goods are not attractive in Austria. Rather than running on empty, it is better to bring some people with you, so that you can not only gain a good reputation but also make a little money.
For the Austrian side, as long as the price of British food does not drop, there will always be money to be made in this life-saving business.
Once again, although France and Spain were also hit by disasters and the price of food was very high, the tariffs were higher and they would lose money if they sold there.
January 1847, Swiss Confederation.
At the Federal Congress in Geneva, the Free Alliance and the Orthodox Union were at loggerheads. As a country with 11 units of length, 82 units of grain measurement, 50 units of weight, and more than a dozen currencies, it would be abnormal for them not to fight. .
In fact, Lucerne is nominally the capital of the Swiss Confederation. However, due to the opposition of the Free Alliance, the Orthodox Alliance agreed to hold a federal conference in Geneva (on the territory of the Free Alliance).
It is naturally difficult to gain the respect of the other party for being so weak. At this time, the representative of the Free Alliance, Joseph Loy (later President of the Swiss Confederation), just threw a document on the desk of the representative of the Orthodox Alliance, without even bothering to say a word.
The representative of the Swiss Orthodox Union, a very senior mayor, stood up with great difficulty and leaned forward to get the document that was thrown a little far away in his hand.
The mayor was immediately shocked after seeing it and almost fell from his seat to the ground. It took him a long time to stammer out a few words.
"Our power is guaranteed... by Austria, Prussia, France, and Sardinia.
You are a challenge to the European order.”
The mayor didn't stutter, but he was so frightened that he couldn't speak clearly.
Not to mention the existence of the orthodox alliance in the Swiss Confederation, even if the entire Swiss Confederation is assembled, it is impossible to defeat the three powers.
He felt that the person in front of him was crazy.
But Joseph Loy sneered.
"Idiot! We already have the support of the British Empire! If any country dares to interfere in our internal affairs, it is an enemy of the British Empire! Do your masters have the guts?"
"You are crazy! Britain is far away, but the great powers are right next to you! If you fight a civil war, you will destroy yourself!"
The representative of the Orthodox Alliance was still trembling with fear, but he still managed to speak.
"Mr. Representative, Switzerland is easy to defend but difficult to attack. What if Austria, Prussia, France, and Sardinia join forces? As long as we block the mountain pass, they can't attack!"
"Blocking the mountain pass? You are really crazy! How can we survive if the mountain pass is blocked?"
"That won't bother you. If you don't sign the document now, you won't even be able to leave this room."
Joseph Loy gracefully lit the cigar in his mouth with a candle, took a nice puff and then blew out a few smoke rings leisurely.
"Hurry up, okay? If you don't sign your name before I finish smoking this cigar, you won't be needed here."