Chapter 2685 The North’s Plan (Part 1)

Pomerania has been a large grain production market since the 13th century. However, the arrival of the Black Death not only caused a sharp decline in the population, but also caused a large number of farmers to immigrate to Prussia and Poland, making these two countries gradually become large-scale grain production markets.

Cereal production center.

After the Battle of Grinwald in 1410, thousands of soldiers fought for seven hours, finally freeing Prussia from the control of the Teutonic Knights, allowing Danzig, located on the Vistula River, to develop.

By 1464, there were no tariff barriers in Danzig, and local commerce developed rapidly. Until the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, Danzig exported 200,000 tons of grain. Later, it and Lübeck became

Center of the Hanseatic League.

In the Mediterranean, items that can be transported by ship are worth a lot of money, even to the point where they are not worth mentioning compared to their selling prices.

But if grain is transported through Mediterranean ships, the price of grain will generally increase by about four times. Just like in ancient Greek legends, the heroes who sailed to Troy to recapture Helen sometimes encountered windless weather, so that

In addition to sails, merchant ships in the Mediterranean at that time also had to have oars.

There is no shortage of wind in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The Kirk ships used by the Hanseatic League not only have super carrying capacity, but also only require a few sailors to operate. The cost of transportation is not worth mentioning compared to the value of the goods.

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In addition to climatic conditions that affect the European grain market, the war will also have an adverse impact. The grains that were supposed to be harvested were left in the fields because the farmers ran away, or they wanted to wait until the war was over to return to continue farming, or even simply farmed elsewhere.

The place was settled.

Portugal and Spain did not rely on Hanseatic food. They would trade with the Ottoman Empire. Unless there was a problem with the Nile River, the Ottoman Empire would generally not ban food exports.

When Italy and the Mediterranean countries tried to get involved in Hanseatic trade, the Hanseatic League also tried to get involved in Mediterranean trade, but they never succeeded.

One is because with the discovery of the New World, corn was introduced into Europe, which seriously affected the Hanseatic grain trade and caused the trade center to move from Denmark to the western coast. The other was because of the grain support from Egypt. However, when problems arose in both

, then famine will be inevitable again. Corn requires a lot of heat, and the continuous rain and cold in the 16th century seriously damaged the corn harvest. The people were so desperate that they would eat any animal. The Committee of Ten in Venice sent people to urgently purchase Poland.

Wheat, intends to ensure food supply at all costs.

This batch of wheat was transported by sea and land. The road conditions on the land route were very bad, so the price more than quadrupled after arriving in Venice. The cost of traveling by sea was slightly cheaper, but a ship sank, causing huge losses.

As for the Genoese, at that time they were busy transporting silver coins from South America back to Europe with the Spanish. Since the Venetians united with the Ottoman Empire, they drove the Genoese out of the east-west trade, allowing Venice to monopolize its benefits, and there were

Hanseatic League, they could only develop westward.

However, the large amounts of precious metals shipped from the Americas did not bring huge wealth. The reduction in food production was met by excessive currency, which would cause inflation even if it was silver dollars rather than paper money.

But that's not the worst. As Pope Alexander VI granted the King of Spain the title of "Catholic King", they began to expel the pagans in the territory. The properties of these pagans were seized to ensure that their debts could be paid off.

On the surface it looks like a good deal.

These expelled people include many water conservancy elites, who are often intellectuals dedicated to spreading Arab civilization, as well as businessmen and bankers with international networks, and even small businessmen operating silk, ceramics and other handicrafts.

The loss of money also had a considerable impact on the lending business of Genoese bankers, but these losses were overshadowed by the discovery of gold and silver on the American continent.

All conquerors will take the opportunity to plunder other people's wealth. The wealth here refers not only to gold, silver and jewelry, but also to those extremely smart talents.

If Louis XIV had reused Prince Eugen instead of letting him go to Austria, perhaps France would not have lost the Spanish Succession War and the territory of Italy, completely disintegrating France's power in Italy that had been operating for hundreds of years.

A wise monarch should cherish talents and not hesitate to give honors and rewards to those who have outstanding achievements in a skill.

Look at those Guardsmen, they were like beggars when they crossed the Alps, but now they are more dignified and energetic.

There was also Napoleon's survey of the Suez Canal. If this could be done, ships going to Europe would not have to go around the Cape of Good Hope. Its impact on the world would be comparable to Columbus's discovery of the New World.

If Georgiana hadn't experienced this before, she would have almost thought that these Genoese people were "really" enthusiastic and hearty, and they couldn't stop praising others.

Feryl stood aside, her face cold and silent. Others pretended that she did not exist and continued to praise Georgiana. First, they praised her beauty as usual, and then said that she was a generous person.

Sponsor, help young people realize their dreams.

Ah, who is Miss Campini? I don’t know her, and then I followed this topic and talked about Miss Georgiana helping Miss Chevigny to retain the first chair of the Paris Opera House, and praised her as a person who truly knows how to appreciate art.

No matter what Georgiana's mood was before, she couldn't help laughing at this moment.

For Genoese people, there are almost no stereotypes. Making money is the first priority.

In order to avoid internal strife, the Genoese would hire outsiders as governors, judges, and administrators, while the affairs of the Venetian Republic, which was also dominated by merchants, had to be participated by members of the local aristocracy.

This is like a family business hiring a CEO. In order not to hurt the harmony of the family, if irreconcilable conflicts occur, the external CEO will be fired. Of course, it is basically difficult for the external CEO to communicate with other people in the family business.

, worked for a year and then left.

Although it is a small country, Genoa is also a country of immigrants, and Greeks, Armenians, and Tatars can all become their citizens.

At present, there are still many French people in France who cannot speak French. These Genoese people spoke like their mother tongue, and later even spoke English to Georgiana.

In short, Genoese people have the habit of absorbing successful or promising newcomers. Honor is gained by success, and they will do everything possible to achieve success.

Unlike the Venetians, they were only in the sailing business.

Unlike the Florentines, who rode horses to every city in Western Europe.

They engaged in maritime trade because sea transportation was cheaper, but they still established the oldest and most powerful mule driver guild in Europe on land to collect intelligence while doing business.

Commerce has always been inseparable from espionage activities. Whether it is silk or the Spanish cochineal, they were once secrets and were not deciphered in the end.

The word patent comes from the Latin "litterae patentes", which means public letters and documents. It was a certificate used by medieval monarchs to issue various privileges, and later became a certificate of exclusive rights signed by the King of England himself.

Then it was introduced to Venice, Italy, which promulgated the world's first patent law. After that, the patent system began to consolidate and develop, becoming a world-wide intellectual property protection system.

But how “protective” is this thing?

Voltaire once said: Although doubting is an unpleasant experience, it is at least not as absurd as believing in it.

She didn't believe that the Genoese people were really monolithic. With so many people involved in the conspiracy, no one tipped off the news and reaped the benefits?

The premise is that these people don't believe in magic and have collectively forgotten about witnessing the Sphinx. Otherwise, other than someone betraying her, what reason would there be for Feryl to stand here?
Chapter completed!