Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 25: Chapter 24: Italian Laborers

Upon hearing Prim explain the funding preparations for industrial construction, Carlo nodded and asked, “When do we plan to start the industrial construction? Where should we focus our initial construction goals?”

“I plan to establish a small industrial base in Seville, Andalusia, and increase our steel production.

After boosting steel production, we will invest in railroad construction, aiming to increase our railway mileage to over 6,000 kilometers in the next five years, connecting all regions of Spain,” Prim replied.

Although it is merely railroad construction, the boost to industry is significant.

The steel rails required by the railroads will necessitate factories to work overtime to boost steel output, which can drive the development of a series of subsidiary industries.

Spain has substantial coal and iron ore resources in Andalusia, which is quite convenient for industrial development.

Although most of Spain’s coal mines are of relatively poor quality, they are still sufficient for initial industrial production.

After all, the total steel production of various countries in this era is not much, not reaching the exaggerated levels of hundreds of millions of tons in later times.

Currently, the strongest industrially is the British Empire, yet the British steel production is only about 300,000 tons, not at such an exaggerated scale.

However, Spain produces even less steel. Due to the neglect of industrial construction during Queen Isabel’s reign, Spain’s current annual steel output is only at a paltry level of 2,000 tons.

While part of the reason is Spain’s lack of excellent iron and coal reserves, for a second-tier European country with a population of over 16 million, this industrial level is still quite humble.

“Once our steel plants are in full production, we hope to increase steel output to over 10,000 tons in the next five years. At the very least, our steel production must meet domestic industrial construction needs; a Spain without industry is incomplete,” Prim stated.

Building 1,000 kilometers of railway over five years seems slow, but for Spain, which has a pitiful steel output, it’s not easy.

Spain built only 5,000 kilometers of railway over the nearly 30 years from 1840 to 1869, a construction rate far behind that of countries like the UK, France, Germany, and America.

Spain, with its many mountainous areas, needs to build railways to better enhance connectivity between regions.

This will not only strengthen the Kingdom Government’s control over different areas but also accelerate the flow of people and economic interconnection between regions.

“I approve your plan, Prime Minister Prim.” Upon hearing Prim’s full explanation, Carlo nodded and without hesitation, approved Prime Minister Prim’s plan.

Clearly, this industrial plan is very necessary for Spain. Although the investment is not substantial, it is a good start for Spain’s industrial development.

“Your Majesty, there is something that perhaps only you can accomplish.” After Carlo approved the industrial plan, Prim first smiled and nodded, then hurriedly proposed another request to Carlo.

“Oh? What is it?” Carlo asked curiously.

“Whether it’s building industrial bases or laying railroads, we need a large labor force. But as Your Majesty knows, the African laborers we’ve bought are unreliable and also a destabilizing factor for Spain.

Compared to these lowly African laborers, I think importing foreign white laborers is a more suitable choice. When I went to Italy, I found there were many agricultural populations choosing to emigrate overseas.

If possible, can we establish contact with the Italian Government to bring in some Italian immigrants and laborers?

Doing so would not only solve our labor shortage problem but also speed up our industrial construction. I think it’s quite necessary to try,” Prim suggested.

To build industrial bases and lay tracks, a large labor force is needed.

This is difficult for Spain to achieve. Although Spain has a large agricultural population, they are dispersed over vast Spanish lands and have their own land, making it impossible for them to travel across Spain for such low labor wages.

However, these Italian farmers are different. They can hardly make a living in Italy, which is why they choose to emigrate overseas.

Given this, why not take the opportunity to attract some Italian immigrants to Spain, simultaneously filling the labor shortage gap?

It should be noted that most of Italy’s agricultural population is located in Southern Italy, which until recently was under the rule of the autocratic Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

These farmers have been under long-term autocratic monarchy rule, making them much easier to govern than those African laborers and republicans.

This is one of the reasons Prim targets Italian laborers, for diligent and non-troublesome workers are welcome everywhere.

Carlo was a bit surprised upon hearing Prim’s words.

Bringing in Italian laborers was already part of Carlo’s plan, as it was beneficial for his rule.

Given Carlo’s birth in the Italian Royal Family, these Italians coming to Spain would certainly not oppose Carlo’s rule, and compared to the native Spaniards, the Italians would feel closer to Carlo.

For a request so legally beneficial to him, Carlo naturally wouldn’t oppose it.

“For the development of Spain, of course, I’m willing to do this,” Carlo said with a smile. “If the government is ready, then our industrial construction can start immediately.

I will handle the labor issue, and I hope our industrial construction can progress smoothly as anticipated.”

Prim nodded and said respectfully, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

The issue comes down to Carlo having too few available people.

Currently, there are only Giotto and Loren at his disposal. Giotto needs to manage the Palace Guard, leaving only Loren to travel to Italy to discuss labor matters.

Fortunately, this isn’t a major issue as Italy isn’t short of several thousand laborers. Plus, with Carlo’s good father-son relationship with Vittorio Emanuele II, signing a labor import agreement with Italy poses no problem.

Sure enough, Loren spent only a little over ten days on the journey, returning to Carlo with an “Agreement on Labor Import.”

Carlo’s requirements aren’t high; being able to import thousands of laborers from Italy annually in the coming years would satisfy Spain’s development needs.

As Spain’s construction achieves certain results and the public’s living standards and income continue to rise, it will naturally attract some people from Europe who can’t make a living at home to immigrate to Spain.