Chapter 218: Labor And Grain
After inspecting the construction of the Barcelona Industrial Base, Carlo took a train from Barcelona, passing through Zaragoza on his way back to the capital Madrid.
Spain’s railway construction has been quite smooth so far, with important cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Zaragoza, and Valencia all now connected by rail. The railway between Madrid and Barcelona even uses double-track railway with greater transport capacity.
Although this has increased Spain’s costs in terms of railways, the effects have been quite good. Every so often, a train departs from Madrid to Barcelona, and shortly after, another returns from Barcelona to Madrid.
The train line from Madrid to Barcelona is also currently Spain’s busiest train line, praised by the Spanish Government as the bridge for Spain’s economic exchanges.
Due to the influence of the Meseta Central in northern Spain, building railways in Spain has become more difficult. Spain’s railway network must bypass towering mountains and plateaus, passing through valleys in the middle of the mountains.
This not only increases the difficulty of building railways in Spain but also raises the casualty rate for railway construction in Spain.
In this era, building railways is extremely important for industrial development, but railway construction also means the death of a large number of workers.
In this era when all transportation relies on manpower, railway construction has never been so gentle. Spain has built a large number of railways in recent years, and has also suffered a large number of worker casualties.
The main reason for importing a portion of immigrants from abroad every year is to use these foreign immigrants for building railways.
Spain’s domestic population is not large, and railway construction casualties should be avoided if possible. These immigrants, because they lack Spanish nationality, can only build railways or work as miners to earn enough money.
Although these jobs are quite tiring, the Spanish Government has explicitly prohibited withholding workers’ salaries in these places. As long as they are willing to sell their labor there, they can definitely make money.
It is precisely because of this that Spain’s mines and railway construction sites attract a large number of laborers, a considerable portion of whom are foreign laborers.
Spaniards have more opportunities; they can enter factories or other enterprises and naturally will not compete with these foreign laborers for these high-mortality jobs.
Carlo and the Spanish Government also limit the number of foreign laborers to a certain proportion, ensuring that these laborers do not have too severe an impact on Spain’s unemployment rate.
Although using foreign laborers to fill the casualties in railway construction is a good choice, if too many foreign laborers affect the job opportunities for Spaniards, it would be somewhat counterproductive.
This is also the reason Spain strictly limits the number of foreign immigrants; if there are too many foreign immigrants, genuine Spaniards will have a hard time finding work.
As King of Spain, Carlo naturally should prioritize the interests of Spaniards. As for these foreign immigrants, unless they quickly convert to Catholicism and recognize themselves as Spaniards, who would care about their feelings?
Although Carlo has signed relevant population import agreements with Italy and Russia, the Italians and Russians imported do manual labor.
Carlo will not let them compete with Spaniards for jobs; this would not only provoke conflicts between native Spaniards and foreign immigrants but also make Carlo’s situation, as a foreigner, more awkward.
In his position, he should pursue his policies; Carlo still understands the meaning of this phrase. From the moment he became King of Spain, Carlo should forget the fact that he is Italian and consider the interests of Spaniards as much as possible, so that he can secure his throne.
The railway from Barcelona to Zaragoza is almost all plains and lower hills, and the train’s speed is still quite fast.
But after arriving in Zaragoza, the railway enters the Iberian Mountains, and the train’s speed slows somewhat.
After entering the Iberian Mountains, Carlo often sees workers building and repairing railways along the railway line. A small portion of these workers are Spaniards, while the majority are foreign immigrants and laborers.
Although building railways is hard work with a high casualty rate, railway workers’ wages are also quite high.
Spain’s average annual income is only 131 pesetas, but railway workers’ average salary has reached around 145 pesetas, which is also why these foreign immigrants and laborers are willing to work as railway workers.
If they are injured or die while building railways, their families can also receive some compensation. Although this compensation is not much, it is much better than those capitalists who only exploit without any compensation.
The big backdrop of this era is exploitation and enslavement; for these foreign immigrants and laborers, being a railway worker is already one of the higher-income jobs they can find.
Unless they have higher education and knowledge levels, or have special abilities in some aspect, they can only make a living by selling their labor.
Carlo still treats true talents well, whether scientists or technical talent; as long as they have a skill, Carlo will place them in suitable positions to utilize their abilities.
After entering the Iberian Mountains, it first passes through a valley, then the highest part of the Meseta Central, the Central System, and the Serranía de Cuenca, passing through these two great mountains before arriving at Spain’s capital Madrid.
From the terrain map alone, Madrid’s geographical limitations are not apparent, but taking a train from Barcelona to Madrid clearly shows the stark difference in geographical positions between these two cities.
The entire route from Barcelona to Zaragoza is quite flat plains and hills, advancing along the Ebro River, with the development of European countries on full display.
But after entering the Iberian Mountains from Zaragoza, it is hard to find such flat and prosperous areas again. Before reaching Madrid, most of this route is sparsely populated mountains and plateaus, without even a decent medium-to-large city.
This is not an exaggeration; between Zaragoza and Madrid lies a vast “no-man’s land.” Calling it no-man’s land is certainly somewhat exaggerated, as this mountainous area and plateau still has some resident population.
But compared to the southern Madrid and the line from northern Zaragoza to Barcelona, describing the middle mountainous areas as no-man’s land is not far off.
The area of this no-man’s land is not small; just the area from Zaragoza to Madrid covers tens of thousands of square kilometers of mountains, and the usable value of these lands is extremely low, which is also why Spain’s development potential is far below that of northern France.
Spain’s mainland area is as high as 506,000 square kilometers, while France’s mainland area is only 549,000 square kilometers; the gap between the two is not large.
What truly shows the gap between Spain and France is the types of land within their territories.
Northwestern France has an extremely vast Western European Plain, and the capital Paris is located in the Paris Basin, extremely suitable for agricultural and livestock development.
Although the south has the Central Plateau, its west is the Aquitaine Basin. Most of France’s land is plains and hills, with only a small portion being mountains.
Spain, however, has nearly half its land covered by the Meseta Central, and the south also has mountain ranges such as the Penivetico Mountains, Sierra Morena, and Toledo Mountains.
Plains and hills suitable for agricultural and livestock development occupy only a small portion, which also makes Spain lag far behind countries like Britain, France, and Germany in terms of potential.
Countries like Britain, France, and Germany, because they have large areas of plains, can achieve grain self-sufficiency even with tens of millions of population.
But for Spain, with tens of millions of population, it would be hard to achieve grain self-sufficiency.
Unless Spain can annex Portugal, reclaiming Portugal’s vast plain areas into arable land, or fully annex Morocco to expand its territory, it would be difficult to achieve grain self-sufficiency with tens of millions of population.
Whether grain yield can achieve self-sufficiency is extremely important for a country. Man cannot live by bread alone, but without food, one gets hungry quickly. Without grain, no matter how well the country is governed, it will eventually fall into chaos during shortages.
Although in peacetime, domestic grain needs can be met through grain imports, who can guarantee that one’s country will always be at peace?
When war comes, countries that normally need grain imports can only pay a higher price to buy expensive grain.
This also considers whether grain-exporting countries are willing to sell grain to one’s own country. Therefore, achieving self-sufficiency is also Carlo’s requirement for Spain’s development; no matter the time, Spain’s grain yield must keep up with population growth speed.
Fortunately, for current Spain, there is still a lot of land that can be reclaimed. Spain’s mainland also has large areas of land that can be reclaimed, after all, the current population is only over 18 million, not yet reaching the upper limit of what Spain’s mainland can accommodate.
Beyond Spain’s mainland, Guinea, Congo Territory, and Philippines can also be used for planting grain, so Spain has no problem achieving grain self-sufficiency.
In fact, far from just self-sufficiency, Spain is one of Europe’s grain export countries, exporting large amounts of grain every year to exchange for foreign exchange to purchase other industrial equipment or technical production materials.
According to estimates from Spain’s Agricultural Department, before Spain’s population reaches 25 million, maintaining grain self-sufficiency is completely no problem.
After the population reaches 25 million, either find ways to increase grain yield or reclaim more land.
The good news is that Spain is still a long way from the 25 million population level. To say when the population will reach 25 million, it will be at least when the 20th century arrives.
This intervening time is also the time for Spain to find more reclaimable land, as well as to research and develop more effective fertilizers and find ways to increase grain yield.
After the train exits the mountains and enters Madrid’s area, the frown that Carlo had been wearing finally eased somewhat.
The Meseta Central has always been Spain’s pain and one of the main factors affecting Spain’s development.
If this area could be turned into vast plains like the Western European Plain or Pomeranian Plain, Spain’s development potential would increase greatly, even giving it a chance to contend for world hegemon.
Unfortunately, this is ultimately just a dream; the Meseta Central completely blocks Spain’s possibility of becoming a world hegemon. After the 19th century, Spain is at most a regional great power, a mid-to-upper great power.
After returning to Madrid, Carlo summoned Minister of Agriculture Jovellar Soler to inquire about the current state of agricultural development in Spain.
Although most of Spain’s land is not suitable for agricultural development, there are still some areas that are excellent arable land, suitable for planting crops as well as vegetables and fruits.
Although Portugal has a larger plain area, Portugal’s grain yield is actually lower than Spain’s.
In posterity, Spain is one of Europe’s largest exporters of vegetables and fruits, with a grain self-sufficiency rate of around 70%, which is quite a good level.
Minister of Agriculture Jovellar Soler soon arrived at the Madrid Royal Palace, and Carlo received him in the palace’s meeting room.
“Minister Jovellar, how is our agricultural development situation now?” Before Jovellar could salute, Carlo impatiently asked his question.
For any country, agricultural development is absolutely one of the most important links. For Spain, where the majority are farmers, agriculture is a vital factor concerning the nation’s existence.
“Because we have extensively used chemical fertilizers on the arable land in Andalusia, grain yield per mu has increased considerably.
It is estimated that this year’s grain yield can rise by at least 5%, and vegetable and fruit yields can remain at about the same level as last year.” Minister of Agriculture Jovellar first saluted, then answered Carlo’s question.
Spain’s total grain yield is approximately 4 million tons, with the largest yields from wheat, corn, and rice respectively. Due to Spain’s complex geography and climate, Spain also produces other grains including barley, oats, rye, and potatoes, though they are planted in small quantities with low yields.
In addition to these 4 million tons of grain, Spain also produces large amounts of vegetables, fruits, and other crops, including olives, grapes, etc.
There are also many economic crops oriented toward industry, such as cotton, sugar beet, and tobacco, etc.
Although the grain yield is only 4 million tons, because it also produces many vegetables and fruits, it can barely meet the grain needs of Spain’s over 18 million domestic population.
To put it bluntly, this is not like posterity when food is so abundant that people can’t finish it and even waste it.
In this era, people’s food is relatively scarce, with basically no choice. Everyone basically eats whatever is available; being able to barely eat their fill is fine, and they won’t demand more.
4 million tons of grain in posterity can only support 15 to 18 million people, but in 1877, it can support nearly 20 million people.
Plus the domestically produced vegetables and fruits, just the food produced in Spain each year can ensure about 22 million people eat for a year.
Of course, although ordinary public do not waste, among nobles and capitalists, grain waste is still common.
This also means Spain’s grain yield can actually only guarantee consumption for about 20 million people, and must worry about large-scale famines caused by natural disasters destroying agricultural production.
The 5% increase in grain yield mentioned by Minister Jovellar is absolutely good news for Spain. Based on Spain’s total grain yield of about 4 million tons, a 5% increase equals 200,000 tons more grain, enough to feed 1 million people for a year.
Spain’s annual population increase is only about 300,000, which also means Spain’s grain self-sufficiency rate will become higher and higher, and less prone to famines and grain crises.
Hearing Minister Jovellar’s report, Carlo nodded, quite satisfied with agricultural development.
Although Spain’s grain yield is not much compared to countries like Britain, France, and Germany with large plains, fortunately Spain’s population is not large, and the demand for grain is not that massive.
Although it cannot reach the several-fold grain self-sufficiency rate of France and Germany, for Spain, maintaining a grain self-sufficiency rate around 100% is already quite a good achievement.
At least it ensures Spain does not rely on foreign grain imports, allowing more funds to be used in other more important areas.
Although importing grain in peacetime is not that expensive, the accumulated expenses each year are still a large expenditure.
Spain has four major grain-producing areas: the Seville grain area in western Andalusian region, the central grain area around the capital Madrid and Toledo, the Zaragoza grain area in Zaragoza, and the Leon grain area near Leon.
The place with the most grain production is definitely the most populous Andalusian region. Just the grain area near Seville contributes about 25% of Spain’s grain yield, which is already quite exaggerated.
Without exaggeration, the grain yield of the Andalusian region constantly affects Spain’s total grain yield and grain prices.
If the agriculture of the Andalusian region has problems, it will seriously affect Spain’s overall grain yield, triggering a nationwide grain crisis or even large-scale famine.
Unlike grain areas, livestock areas are generally concentrated on Spain’s western border, especially in the Extremadura region, which has Spain’s largest livestock area and is also the main supply source for Spain’s meat.
This also shows the superiority of Portugal’s geographical position. Spain’s largest grain and livestock areas are relatively close to the plains and hills near Portugal; inland mountains and plateaus are inferior to plains and hills in both grain production and livestock.
If Portugal can be taken, Spain will gain a large area of plains and hills for grain production or livestock, and the overall development potential of the entire Iberian Peninsula will far exceed previous Spain; this is also Spain’s opportunity to break through the mid-to-upper great power limit and become a regional hegemon or even a superpower.
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