Chapter 960 Opening up new markets
The geographical location of these five countries can be said to be "excellent". The southern hemisphere is already relatively remote. It is still in the Americas and is further away from the Eurasian continent. Although the main body of East Africa's land is located in the southern hemisphere, East Africa relies on the Indian Ocean to connect with the Eurasian continent. It is still relatively close, and it is more convenient to go to Europe and Asia.
But these countries are different, and this is also true. After all, they are places that can be avoided in both world wars. Even Africa, the most backward place in the world in the previous life, was one of the battlefields of World War II, that place in Oceania. The Japanese have also coveted it, and South America's indifference to the world also illustrates South America's disadvantage in global trade.
Of course, this disadvantage is an advantage for East Africa. The route between Africa and South America is also the most convenient, so South American countries occupy an important position in the economy of the west coast of East Africa.
“Krid, what good things have you brought this time? Is there any tea and coffee?”
The quality of tea and coffee in East Africa is excellent, so domestic products are better for the two beverages, especially exported coffee and tea.
Creed shook his head and said: "This time our ship brought over all industrial products. After all, South America also produces coffee. Although the taste may be a little worse, I still have some stock. I will ask someone to send some over later. , As for tea, I don’t drink it myself, but others on the boat may like it, but I brought some mosquito coils for you this time, after all, there are a lot of mosquitoes in Paraguay.”
"That's great. There are more mosquitoes here than in East Africa. Although mosquito repellent products like mosquito coils can be bought locally, they are much more expensive than in our country. Many mosquito repellent products here are exported by us." Luo Lee complained.
…
Rhine City.
Secretary of Commerce John Lear is reporting to Ernst on the relations between various countries in East Africa and South America in the past few years.
"We have officially established diplomatic relations with Brazil since 1891, but Argentina, Peru, and Uruguay did not establish diplomatic relations with us until 1892. The main reason why these countries did not accept our olive branch immediately was because Because its economy relies on the support of British capital."
"Especially for Argentina, Argentina's economy is currently mainly cooperating with the British. The British import Argentine wool, beef and other agricultural products, and then Argentina hands over its own railway, port and other infrastructure construction to the British. The two companies have achieved complementary interests. "
“So after the South African War, Argentina was relatively restrained in establishing diplomatic relations with East Africa at that time. As for Peru and Uruguay, they probably also had this consideration.”
“However, since we established diplomatic relations with Argentina and other South American countries, the economic cooperation between the two sides has developed rapidly, especially Argentina’s demand for East African industrial products.”
East Africa has no choice but to look at Argentina in a different light in the 19th century. This country with a population of only four million ranked among the top ten economies in the world, so you can imagine how wealthy Argentina is today.
The key to this is naturally the United Kingdom. Currently, Argentina’s wool export volume ranks first in the world, and the destination is naturally the United Kingdom. Although other industries are also developing, the status of the textile industry remains unshakable. In the 19th century, the textile industry remained It is the world's largest industry, and as the country with the most developed textile industry, Britain has extremely strong demand for wool.
Compared with this, Brazil is not good enough in this era. In the competition with Argentina, Brazil today is completely at a disadvantage.
Geographically speaking, Argentina has a suitable climate and is easier to absorb European immigrants. It has a vast plain area and a dense river network, making it easier to develop than Brazil. Don’t look at the fact that Brazil’s territory is far larger than that of Argentina. However, due to transportation reasons, the interior of Brazil has not been effectively developed, and the Amazon rainforest is in the north, so the economic population is concentrated in the southeastern coastal areas.
However, the existence of the Brazilian Shield has caused many steep cliffs along the coast of Brazil. When the transportation problem is difficult to solve, it is difficult for the port to drive inland development and form an economic core. On the other hand, Argentina’s coastline is not inferior to Brazil’s, and its terrain is flat and there are many rivers. , it is easy to interact between the inland and the coast, so it was easier for Argentina to develop than Brazil in the early days.
· In other aspects, Brazil’s original suzerainty was Portugal, while Argentina’s suzerainty was Spain. Spain’s control over Argentina was weak, which also led to Argentina’s independence earlier than Brazil and its exploitation by the suzerainty for a shorter period of time.
There is also a political ecology that has an important impact on the two countries. During the South African War, a revolution also broke out in Brazil. After Brazil abolished slavery in 1888, the Republicans were inspired and overthrew it in 1889. Brazilian royal family.
The political turmoil in Brazil also affected East Africa, which further promoted the end of the slave trade in East Africa. For some time, Brazil had been the largest destination for black people in East Africa.
When Brazil no longer has slaves, the slave trade in East Africa will naturally become more difficult to maintain. This is also an important reason why East Africa simply stopped the slave trade.
Of course, Brazil, which abolished the imperial system, did not realize the rapid development of the Brazilian economy as imagined by the republicans. Instead, it became more politically unstable. The first president resigned after less than one year in office. Therefore, under the unstable political situation in Brazil, The economy is naturally even worse.
Therefore, in the trade between East Africa and South America, Argentina and Paraguay are ranked ahead of Brazil. Argentina is rich and has strong spending power, while Paraguay has the best relationship with East Africa. Before East Africa established diplomatic relations with other South American countries, East Africa Trade with South America is mainly transited through Paraguay, through which East African goods can be indirectly sold to Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia.
Of course, as time progresses and East Africa’s international status becomes more stable, it is naturally impossible for East Africa to rely solely on Paraguay. Therefore, starting in the 1990s, East Africa began to strengthen its relations with other South American countries.
Not only the five South American countries, but other South American countries also have exchanges with East Africa. However, due to geographical location and economic reasons, other countries are not the focus of East Africa.
In fact, from various perspectives, trade and exchanges between East African and South American countries are a relatively slow process, far inferior to those between East Africa and Eurasian countries.
However, in the international environment, East Africa has to take the initiative to win over these countries. After all, the global market is so big, and East Africa's industrial development can only continue to open up new markets. Although South American countries are deeply involved with the United Kingdom, at least they are relatively similar. independent.
Therefore, although exchanges with these countries are thankless, they are not completely ineffective. This is also the process of expanding East Africa's foreign economic influence. Without the use of war, this process will only be very slow.
After all, war is the most effective way to open the door to the other side. At the end of the 19th century, East Africa's strength was far from enough. In terms of naval strength alone, East Africa ranked behind Britain, the United States, Russia, Germany, and France.
Therefore, the object of study for East Africa can naturally only be the United States. As the world's largest industrial country, the United States does not have the right to speak in the world. Naturally, American products cannot sell well around the world and must be constrained by rule makers such as Britain and France. .
(End of this chapter)