Chapter 317
In John's opinion, it was good enough that he could ensure that Florence would not be plundered by the enemy. As a result, he was attacked because of this, and he still colluded with the enemy. Their collusion was almost the same.
We can't stay in Florence anymore. Let's move. Let's move to Constantinople. The market there is recovering and it shouldn't be difficult to do business again.
There are too many political families in Northern Italy, and they rely on the so-called ancient Greek system to change too quickly. Some families can control the government for a long time, while some are forced to go into exile, and some rely on a big country to safely transform this place. It became a hereditary system, as was the case with the Della Rovere family in Romagna.
After relying on Rome to obtain the Romagna region, the Duke began to eradicate local forces. With the help of Rome, centralization of power near Ancona was completed. And relying on the port, agricultural products produced in Romagna can be shipped to other places.
After the Black Sea, the Adriatic Sea was also controlled by Rome and its allies. As long as we rely on natural barriers such as the Alps, Carpathian Mountains and Danube River, there will be no problem in protecting the main body of the east.
In the vast overseas areas, the East India Company began to vigorously recruit immigrants to overseas colonies. According to the report of Mason, the governor of the East, there are currently less than 1,200 natives in the place they rule, and the vast majority are men.
It's not like they haven't thought about assimilating the local residents, but except for the Aden colony, the people in other countries are somewhat unsightly. Therefore, the policy is still to support local local snakes, but if we don't protect everything, we will be bitten back.
Not to mention immigrants, even the local population is not enough. The last census conducted showed that there were nearly 7 million people in Rome. With this territorial expansion, the population could reach 8 million.
There are 8 million people living in an area of one million square kilometers, which seems a bit sparse. The central and local governments of Rome carried out various measures to encourage fertility, and also vigorously built hospitals to improve the social status of doctors. However, population growth did not happen overnight. It was a long-term process.
Let alone Rome at this time, all European countries want to increase their population. The Black Death a few decades ago directly took away a quarter to a third of Europe's population. In some countries, the population loss exceeded 60%. However, due to the impact of war and local policies, some populations moved again.
The East India Company attempted to recruit immigrants from Naples and Poland to fill the population, and also used the Arab slave trade to purchase slaves from the Caucasus to expand its workforce. As for the pirate from the east, the colonies are working hard to expand their armaments, and at worst they can stick to the current scope of expansion.
"Everyone, it has been two years since the company was established. We have achieved great success, and the spice trade is firmly in the hands of the company."
Kadajiu told the directors of the company about their achievements, because the monopoly on Eastern trade was enough to make everyone here rich. As long as they want, they can live their own lives without the company at any time.
Other ministries may be like this, but the missionary ministry has no interest in profit. They are ministries selected from various religious orders and churches and are dedicated to spreading the gospel of God.
An idea that combines factors such as expansion and religion is widely circulated in the Orthodox Church. Influenced by the Iberian Reconquista, the Orthodox Church strongly supported missionary and military expansion after being oppressed for centuries. They targeted Anatolia and Jerusalem and supported the restoration of the empire's original borders.
As the scope of the colony became larger and larger, Mason also established five local institutions in the eastern colonies: Aden, Andronico, North India, South India and Ceylon. Each place is managed by the personnel of the trading station. In addition to trade and missionary work, they also negotiate and expand with local snakes in various places.
Ceylon Province should be the easiest because it is an island. The forces on the island are complex, and the company takes this opportunity to expand its power. After Aden was captured, those Arab merchants could only trade from Muscat, and there was less trade with Ceylon.
The Arab merchants who stayed here also moved to other places, and their business stations were sold to the company at low prices. After gaining more trading places, the governor of Ceylon Province began to gradually encroach on the island. Use differentiation and weapons to expand your scope of control.
Such colonial expansion began to lead to a trade. First, slaves were purchased from the Golden Horde and the Caucasus, and then brought to Aden for trade. Some were left behind to go to India and Ceylon, and then the slaves were traded for spices and gems. Such a small The triangular trade is complete.
However, it is still a bit far to buy slaves from the Golden Horde. In the Port of Andronico, the locals prefer to use black slaves, and those who want to serve will be castrated first. The rest went to work on plantations or elsewhere.
The king of Abyssinia looked at the East India Company's money and already ruled most of East Africa. The king began to move a step closer, granting more privileges to the company.
Dawit planned to rebuild a capital on this plateau, but he had no money, so he sent someone to the East India Company to see if they could borrow more.
Since building the capital is a huge project, the company has to be cautious. According to Minister Davit, it will take 400,000 lei and ten years to be completely completed. This is still a preliminary estimate. The more money you need in the future, the more money you will need.
"Special envoy, the empire is in urgent need of this money now. Your Majesty hopes to demonstrate its national strength. Besides, our country has always been your collaborator. As long as we can borrow money, we can negotiate anything except ceding land."
Upon hearing this, the senior official Androniko was moved. However, he still had to report it to the Governor. In order to retain the other party, he first said that he could solve part of the funds, and then needed a long period of negotiation before concluding a contract.
Abyssinia was now inseparable from the Roman colony, and the port of Andronico exported a large number of the kingdom's products. After coffee sales surged in Constantinople, port merchants began buying up the red fruit in large quantities. Local farmers benefited from this business model to make money, and Dawit also saw an opportunity and directly announced a tax on coffee nationwide. This gives him a long-term income.
In addition, the East India Company also had exclusive trading rights in wine, ivory, etc. Some prisoners of war could also be sold to Rome, and Abyssinia began to be involved in the Roman Empire's market.
There were good things but bad things. Those local rulers who lost their land hated the East India Company. If they could come back, they would burn this place to the ground.