Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 405 Great Industrial Development

As the year 1900 approached, Carlos intended to completely remove the shackles on Spain's industrial development.

In this era, many factors determine a nation's strength, and industry is undoubtedly a crucial one. The strength of a nation's industry is often measured by its total steel production.

The reason is simple: the greater the total steel production, the greater the country's demand for steel. Steel is used in large-scale projects such as railways or urban infrastructure, as well as in machinery manufacturing and other heavy industries.

In this context, the idea that the more steel a country produces, the stronger its industry becomes holds true.

In 1895, Spain's steel production ranked fourth in the world, after Britain, the United States, and Germany.

At that time, the steel production of France and Russia was less than 90 tons, while Spain's annual steel production reached an astonishing 96.77 tons, which established its status as a superpower.

However, in the five years from 1895 to 1899, Spain's steel production was once again surpassed by France and Russia.

According to data disclosed by various countries and Spain's own statistics, Spain's annual steel production is around 147 million tons.

Although it has maintained steady growth every year, it is undeniable that Spain's current steel production is still far behind that of industrial powerhouses such as Britain, Germany and the United States, and has even been surpassed by France and Russia by a considerable margin.

In 1895, Spain's annual steel production was tens of thousands of tons higher than that of France and Russia. But by 1900, Spain's steel production had fallen behind France by more than 10 tons and behind Russia by nearly 80 tons.

This only refers to France and Russia, whose industries are not as strong. The steel production of the three more industrialized countries, Britain, the United States and Germany, has exceeded 500 million tons. Britain's steel production reached 527.6 million tons, Germany's steel production reached 640.1 million tons, and the United States' steel production reached an astonishing 1030.5 million tons.

Compared to these three countries, Spain's steel production was truly pitiful. This was also the reason why Carlos decided to remove the shackles on Spain's industrial development, allowing Spain to rapidly develop its industry before World War I.

Only by fully catching up in terms of industrial scale could Spain have lasted longer in World War I and had a better chance of becoming the ultimate victor.

The good news is that although France and Russia once again surpassed Spain in steel production, Austria-Hungary and Italy had no chance of surpassing Spain's steel production.

Austro-Hungarian steel production has declined again since 1898, currently standing at only around 86 tons. Italy's steel production is even more meager, remaining at around 11 tons for several years, a mere fraction of other European countries' output.

Of course, this is not because countries like Austria-Hungary and Italy had small industrial scales. The main reason is that the industrial scales of countries like Britain, the United States, and Germany were so enormous that the industrial scales of Austria-Hungary and Italy appeared smaller.

It should be noted that the total industrial output of European powers has always accounted for the vast majority of the world's total industrial output.

Just how exaggerated was it? In 1871, the world's total steel production was only 85 tons, while the combined steel production of the major powers reached 83 tons, accounting for a staggering 97.6%.

By 1900, global steel production had increased to 2962.7 million tons, with the major powers producing an astonishing 2827 million tons, still accounting for a staggering 95.4% of the total.

It is no exaggeration to say that even Italy, with its weakest industrial sector, is still a strong industrial nation compared to other non-powerful countries.

A certain country, which was considered a great power after the Russo-Japanese War, currently has a meager steel production of only 0.2 tons, which is not even a fraction of that of the major European powers.

This also shows how big the gap is between the great powers and the non-great powers. Even the weakest of the great powers is still far ahead of the strongest non-great powers.

Compared to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, and other non-powerful nations, Spain's current industrial scale is more than sufficient.

It is no exaggeration to say that Spain's current industrial scale is larger than the combined industrial scale of all non-powerful countries, and in terms of national power, it can easily crush any non-powerful country.

But Carlo's goal was to recapture Gibraltar and annex Portugal, which meant that Spain's only enemy would be England.

Compared to Britain, Spain's current industrial scale is rather small.

Britain's steel production reached a staggering 527 million tons, and its pig iron production a staggering 910 million tons. In contrast, Spain's steel production was only 147.2 million tons, and its pig iron production was a mere 242.6 million tons, with its total steel production being only a fraction of Britain's.

Under such circumstances, if the relatively slow and stable growth continues, the gap between Spain and the UK will only widen, which is bad news for Carlo.

Spain's total steel production is currently less than 400 million tons, which is far from enough to meet the needs of a future super war.

Only by loosening the shackles on industrial development could Spain's total steel production exceed 1000 million tons before the outbreak of World War I.

Only if Spain's total steel production exceeds 1000 million tons will it have a chance to directly challenge Britain.

To accelerate Spain's industrial development, Carlos also summoned the current Minister of Industry, Roger Wells, and Prime Minister Angelo Orcajo, asking them to come up with an industrial development plan to rapidly increase Spain's total industrial scale and steel production over the next five years.

Both Prime Minister Angelo Olcajo and Industry Minister Roger Wells strongly support Carlos's idea of ​​rapidly expanding Spain's industrial scale.

Since the Industrial Revolution, the strength of a country's industry has largely determined its overall national strength.

While industry doesn't represent everything, it's simply unrealistic for a country aspiring to become a superpower to lack a strong industrial foundation.

This is why there are currently only five superpowers: Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Spain, and only the United States has the potential to become a superpower in the future.

Countries like Austria-Hungary and Italy, no matter how much time they are given, will never become superpowers.

Although the Austro-Hungarian Empire had industry, its ethnic composition was too chaotic, and the country could not be united as a whole, so it was naturally unable to qualify as a superpower.

Italy needs no further explanation. Its industry has always been its biggest problem, which means that Italy will never become a superpower unless it can completely transform its industry.

However, Italy's own mineral resources limit the development of its industry. Unless it can occupy a region rich in coal and iron ore outside its own territory, Italy's own industry cannot develop.

In less than a week, Prime Minister Angelo Orcajo and Minister Roger Wells produced an industrial development plan that satisfied Carlo.

To boost Spain's steel production, it is essential to promote the development of heavy industry. Only when domestic demand for steel in Spain increases will its steel production rise further.

Demand and output are directly proportional. If domestic demand is ignored and steel production is prioritized over supply, it will not only cause the Spanish steel market to collapse but also severely damage Spain's heavy industry.

Steel is a fundamental component of heavy industry, and the price of steel is crucial to the rational development of heavy industry.

Therefore, no matter how eager Carlos is to increase Spanish steel production, he must prioritize the growth in domestic demand for steel in Spain.

How can Spain stimulate domestic demand for steel?
The simplest way is to build a large number of railways.

Railways require a large number of steel rails, and once a large-scale railway construction project is launched, the domestic demand for steel in Spain will increase significantly in a short period of time.

This industrial development plan includes a proposal to promote railway construction to increase domestic steel demand in Spain.

Although Spain's existing railways were sufficient, there was still considerable room for expansion in its vast colonies and the newly conquered Moroccan region.

Furthermore, Spain's railway network has not yet reached its limit, and railway lines can continue to be expanded in densely populated areas.

Because Spain builds broad-gauge railways, double-track railways require at least 120 tons of steel per kilometer on average, while single-track railways require at least 60 tons of steel per kilometer on average.

If 1000 kilometers of railway are built in a year, and assuming a 50/50 split between single-track and double-track railways, the steel consumption for the rails alone would be at least 90,000 tons.

In addition to the consumption of other miscellaneous parts, it takes at least 10 tons of steel to build 1000 kilometers of railway on average.

This is why Germany and the United States built a large number of railways, and their industries developed rapidly at the same time. The more railways built, the faster heavy industries, especially the steel industry, developed.

The faster heavy industry develops, the greater the resulting industrial growth and economic improvement. During the period immediately following Carlos's ascension to the throne of Spain, the average annual railway construction in Spain was only about 300 to 400 kilometers.

But now, Spain can easily build thousands of kilometers of railway every year, and even double that number.

However, considering that there is not such a large demand for railways in Spain, the transportation sector has not been building railways as frequently since the country's railway system has been gradually improved.

The need to rapidly expand Spain's heavy industry naturally requires the transportation sector to also play a role in continuously increasing demand for steel.

The construction of 1000 kilometers of railways alone can increase steel consumption by nearly 10 tons per year, not to mention the large amounts of steel consumed by various other industrial sectors and industries.

With just a slight expansion of production, the demand for steel from these Spanish companies will continue to grow.

It was for this reason that Baron Angelo Orcajo stated his goals at the end of the industrial plan.

Currently, Spain's annual steel production is 147.2 million tons, and its annual pig iron production is 242 million tons. Prime Minister Angelo Orcajo's goal is to increase Spain's annual steel production to 270 million tons and its annual pig iron production to 400 million tons within five years.

In this way, Spain's total steel production will reach 6.7 million tons, which is not far from Carlo's target of 10 million tons.

If development proceeds smoothly, Spain has a chance to achieve its goal of producing over ten million tons of steel by around 1910, thus fully joining the ranks of industrial powers.

After the industrial development plan was finalized, various departments in Spain gradually became busy.

In particular, the transportation sector needs to transform from a lazy, unambitious entity into a hardworking, dedicated force. After all, building thousands of kilometers of railway every year is no easy task, and the location of the railway is also a matter of great importance.

Building railways is necessary, but it cannot be done blindly. Before determining the construction plan, it is necessary to conduct an on-site survey of the railway line and select a route that can both serve its purpose and avoid terrain with high construction difficulty.

If unavoidable mountains and rivers are encountered, the transportation department also needs to design tunnels and bridges, and ensure that the designed tunnels and bridges are safe and reliable.

Although the transportation department builds railways to serve industrial development plans, Carlo does not want the railways built by the transportation department to be mere showpieces.

Carlo has clear quality standards for all projects constructed by various government departments.

Once quality problems are found in the projects constructed by various departments, not only will the person in charge of the project be held accountable, but the specific person in charge of the problematic link will also be held accountable at a deeper level.

Carlos allowed corruption to exist in Spain, but he would never allow officials to be both corrupt and incompetent.

If someone is capable, Carlo will give them a chance. But if someone is incompetent and still likes to embezzle, their final fate is to go to a Spanish prison and spend the rest of their life there.

Of course, life imprisonment is only for officials whose corruption is relatively minor. If the corruption is more serious, Carlo will use the death penalty.

At least during his reign, Carlo did not intend to abolish the death penalty. He even advised his successor against it, arguing that its existence served as the ultimate deterrent to criminals and the greatest compensation to victims.

If the death penalty is abolished, criminals will have no psychological burden when committing crimes, since they won't die no matter what, which is something Carlo doesn't want to see.

Spain not only did not abolish the death penalty, but also had various methods of execution. The most famous of these was the guillotine, the same one used by King Louis XVI of France.

There are also different methods of execution, such as hanging and firing squad, which are used to carry out death sentences for prisoners whose crimes are of different degrees.

Carlo certainly didn't want to see those heinous death row inmates leave this world too easily.

Because of the need to expand Spain's total steel production, it is certain that a new steel plant will need to be built.

Carlo has no plans to further expand the Barcelona industrial base, as it is already large enough, at least for the city of Barcelona.

Barcelona surpassed Madrid several years ago to become the largest city in Spain.

Barcelona currently has a population of 152 million, slightly ahead of Madrid's 144 million.

Because of Barcelona's superior geographical location and the advantage of maritime transport, there are no restrictions on its population growth.

But Madrid is different. Located in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and surrounded by mountains, Madrid's urban development has always been constrained.

Although Madrid can accommodate a larger population, Carlos does not want the city's environment to be damaged too much.

Since 1890, the Madrid city government has gradually reduced its acceptance of immigrants and encouraged them to move to other major cities such as Barcelona.

This is why Barcelona's population officially surpassed Madrid's in 1898, making it the most populous city in Spain.

Barcelona has now become the most prosperous city in Spain, the country's most populous city, an industrial center, an economic center, a maritime center, and a transportation hub.

Madrid is more of a political and cultural center, but it has fallen behind Barcelona in terms of industry, economy and population.

Of course, if we're talking about the status of city mayors, then the mayor of Madrid is definitely superior.

However, given that the current Prime Minister, Baron Angelo Orcajo, has served as the mayor of Barcelona, ​​the Spanish political establishment also highly values ​​the mayor of Barcelona.

To some extent, the mayors of these two special cities wield even more influence than the governors of the states.

The governors of the various states are not necessarily Carlo's confidants, but those who can serve as mayors of Madrid and Barcelona are definitely Carlo's confidants.

Regarding the location of the new industrial zone, Carlo does not intend to choose a location near Madrid, nor does he intend to continue expanding the industrial zone in Barcelona.

On the Spanish mainland, there is a better option: the merged state of Asturias.

There are many advantages to choosing this location for the industrial zone.

Firstly, Asturias is rich in iron ore, making it naturally suitable for industrial development.

Secondly, the state of Asturias has a large population, which can provide more workers for the industrial zone.

Thirdly, Asturias is close to the Atlantic Ocean, with convenient sea transport and a well-developed railway system, making transportation relatively easy.

It was for these three reasons that Carlo decided to locate the new industrial zone in the state of Asturias.

Although it would require rebuilding an industrial base, Spain's current infrastructure capabilities allow for the construction of a complete small industrial base in just a few months.

Even a large industrial area like the Barcelona Industrial Complex could be replicated in Spain within a few years.

Of course, building an industrial base is not that simple.

The most important issues are attracting businesses and recruiting workers. Only after these two issues are resolved can the completed industrial base begin operation and be put into industrial production.

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(End of this chapter)