Chapter 324 Exploration Colonization Profit
Rome is very attractive to people from other countries, and the exploration activities led by Peter also made some people feel that they had a place to play. Others feel that they have been treated unfairly and want to gain glory in the East.
"Are you De La Salle?"
"Yes, Your Highness"
Peter looked at the gray-haired old man in front of him. He was older than his father. Why did he ask him to let him explore?
This De La Salle was not a simple figure. He participated in the Anglo-French war and made outstanding achievements in this war. More than ten years ago, he went on an expedition against Tunisian pirates. During this period, he met a Frenchman named Jean de Bettencourt. Betancourt introduced him to the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean that had not yet been conquered by Europeans. and tried to persuade him to sponsor and take part in the conquest of the Canary Islands which he was preparing. After receiving assurances that he would receive his territory at the end of the conquest, he joined Bettencourt's expedition and provided financial support.
Later, according to the aid contract signed by Betancourt and King Enrique III of Castile, Betancourt received the title of "King of Canaria", but he received nothing. He felt unfair and returned to Europe to protest to the Castilian royal family and demand an apology and compensation. But in the end, his protests had no effect, and he had to give up. Hearing that the Roman Empire in the East was also exploring, he wanted to take one last chance.
Peter naturally refuses anyone who comes, but this one is a bit too old. It's not that he doesn't want to give up money, but he is worried that this person is a liar.
"Your Highness, I have a map of the Canary Islands and letters with other people as proof. What I said is true. Please give me a chance."
Seeing that this man was so sincere and that the map he was holding did not look fake, Peter decided to give him a chance.
"If you can really bring land to the empire, I will give you the title and land without any regrets."
After hearing Peter's words, De La Salle felt hopeful. Peter gave him some money, and the next step was to explore. Fortunately, he had previously bought a travel record of Ibn Battuta from a Crescent Sect merchant. With the current map, it might be a good choice to go to the East African Plateau.
There were many adventurers like De La Salle, and they were all sent to the East by Peter. Some died there, some became famous, and some became officials like Mason.
Herbert Henry was Rome's diplomat in Abyssinia, responsible for negotiating with the king and maximizing Roman interests. Many conversations with Davit ended in his victory, as no country could be a substitute for Rome.
Davit obtained some obsolete artillery and muskets from the port of Androniko, and used them to form a guard army that was invincible on the battlefield. Most of the separatist regimes were eliminated and the country became unified.
At the same time, Abyssinia's foreign trade and commerce must rely on Roman merchants. Coffee, ivory, slaves, gold nuggets, and grain are their main export products. Their imports include textiles, glass, etc., and Androniko Port arrived at Witte's palace. A road is being built to make trade smoother.
Here in the new capital, Roman merchants had planned famous trading houses and invested in the construction of blacksmith shops. This was requested by King David, who hoped that Rome could provide more armaments and that he would also grant part of the land to the other party.
This also needs to be approved by the Governor. If it is anything else, they have other options. This is also the reason for investing in the blacksmith shop, because the local technology is too backward, and you can make money back quickly by investing in this.
Henry also bought some land here, but instead of growing coffee, he grew sugar cane. The local climate was also suitable for the cultivation of sugar cane, and sugar cane plantations were developed.
The first batch of loans had been received, and Dawit decided to go one step further and use half of it to build the army, in order to suppress the heretics.
Compared with later countries with strong financial strength such as Britain and France, Rome's finance was relatively backward, but it was already advanced in this era.
Today's Roman colonial studies are actually the same as those of the Genoese and Venetians in the Mediterranean. One of the core elements of this model is the commercial center, which is to establish small-scale trade strongholds in coastal areas to control minimum costs and maximize profits.
This was true even for Spain later. For more than 20 years after the discovery of the Americas, the Spaniards' positioning of the Americas has always been African. It is okay to conduct trade on the coast, but the inland is full of jungles, mosquitoes and raw meat. Asking for trouble and destruction.
The most typical case is Cuba. Until three hundred years later, Cuba was an island with a very low degree of development. Except for the port and administrative center of Havana, the interior was basically jungle.
Rome currently does not have the ability to colonize inland areas on a large scale, so it can only use port colonies + vassal states. Relying on the current colonial ports, Rome can monopolize the spice trade and be full of oil.
----Dividing line----
The wealth brought by colonization made up for a large amount of expenses during this year of tax exemption across the country. The empire also launched many large projects, such as the large-scale road from Castle to Constanta, the horse racing arena in Castle, and Anse In addition, military training, recruitment, and armament all cost money, and mercenaries are no longer needed.
Baptiste was also a financial genius. With a true work ethic, a clear and steady mind, and a spirit of loyalty and patriotism, he worked hard to increase fiscal revenue to make the country self-sufficient. He proposed building a canal at Constanta and building a series of roads and stations throughout the country to streamline transportation, which were approved and implemented.
Of course, some of his policies also offended the church and the nobility. For example, he prohibited the construction of too many monasteries, believing that too many monasteries would reduce the empire's human resources. He also proposed to introduce a law prohibiting land annexation, which offended some big nobles. But because he was appointed by the emperor, they couldn't do anything to him.
He also monopolized some important industries in the empire, including military industry, iron ore, etc. These must be controlled by the state and would be in big trouble in private hands.
As for the rest, we still use methods such as cultivating land and encouraging foreign immigrants to increase population. Population is the greatest wealth. Whether they are immigrants or slaves, they can all bring out their greatest value.
Didn't Shinra engage in eastbound immigration? Then just immigrate, but your language and beliefs must be replaced by theirs. The great heresy of God cannot exist in the pure country of Orthodox Christianity.