Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 45: Winning over the Nobles (Seeking Follow-up Reading)

Carlo didn't have time to appreciate the bustle of Paris.

For Carlo, the most important industry in the future layout has not yet been established, and this must be put on the agenda.

What industry?

Of course, it is the banks related to finance.

Since the Industrial Revolution, industry and finance have replaced agriculture and become the two most profitable industries.

Carlo currently has more than ten factories. Now is the time to start his own financial institution and expand his money-making channels.

Carlo spent a long time preparing to establish his own bank.

The most important thing for a bank is to ensure its credibility. Only with credibility will people voluntarily deposit money in the bank. Banks can make money only when they have money, and then achieve a virtuous cycle of money making money and continuously generating income.

Carlo has also gained some good impression in the hearts of the people of Madrid through several tax reduction policies, but this good impression alone is not enough.

In order to reassure the people about the newly established bank, Carlo planned to win over the Spanish nobles to join his bank.

As the three most powerful classes in Spain (aristocrats, landowners and the church), the Spanish nobility were quite luxurious.

Previously, Carlo had not received strong support from the entire aristocracy because he was an outsider. Some of the nobles even chose to support the Carlos faction, and they were still devoted to the Bourbon family that had dominated Spain for hundreds of years.

After defeating the Carlists, there was no longer any obstacle for Carlo to exert his influence over the aristocracy.

He wanted to bring the aristocracy together to establish a bank because the aristocracy had more funds, which could help Carlo's bank gain greater advantages in the early stages, so that it could expand more quickly.

Secondly, it is to make money together with the aristocracy, so that the aristocracy can know clearly who the king above their heads is.

I believe that most of the nobles are still relatively wise. After all, Carlo is already the king recognized by the Spanish Constitution and the people, which is a fact that they cannot change at all.

Only by gaining sufficient influence and voice among the Spanish aristocracy could Carlo ensure that his position and power as king would not be shaken.

The Spanish monarchy has a long history, and the power of the royalists cannot be ignored. After gaining the full support of the royalists, the Republicans, who posed a major threat to the royal power, were no longer so fatal.

For the nobles, they certainly also need a capable monarch to lead them forward. The status of the nobles comes from the king, which is why Carlo is confident that he can gain the support of the nobles.

After all, if the king, the biggest noble leader, is gone, how can the remaining dukes and marquises exist?
Carlo's first target was Toledo, south of Madrid. In Toledo, there was a nobleman who was very influential in the Spanish aristocracy, the Duke of Alba.

The Alba family is one of the oldest families among all the Spanish nobles, with the most titles and lands, and their property is naturally the largest among the nobles.

To be honest, Carlo was a little envious of the Alba family's wealth.

As a foreign king, Carlo's current property is pitifully small. Apart from some castles left by the Bourbon family, Carlo does not have a large amount of land, which is the symbol of aristocracy.

It is said that the king is the largest landowner in a country, but here in Spain, Carlo's land holdings are not even as large as some of the Spanish dukes. The current Duke of Alba, Jacobo Louis Fitz-James Stuart-Bentimiglia, was born in 1835. It is worth mentioning that his wife and Napoleon III's wife are sisters, and he and Napoleon III are brothers-in-law.

To Carlo's relief, Duke Jacopo of Alba treated him with great respect, and expressed his intention to please Carlo in his words and deeds.

When Carlo proposed to jointly establish a bank with the nobles, Jacopo, Duke of Alba, immediately vowed that he would invest in Carlo's bank and become its first depositor.

Although the conversation with Duke Jacobo lasted only more than an hour, Carlo and Duke Jacobo quickly reached a consensus on the establishment of the bank and improved their relationship.

Duke Jacobo also invited Carlo to attend his private party, and his intention to surrender was self-evident.

Of course, Carlo nodded repeatedly. Through the introduction of Jacobo, Duke of Alba, Carlo could easily gather this group of nobles who were familiar with the Duke of Alba and exert his influence on the noble class.

Only when most of the nobles are loyal to themselves can the Spanish royal family be completely transformed and Spain can truly enter the era of Savoy.

Interestingly, both Queen Isabella and Charles VII of the Carlist Party chose to flee north to France after their defeat.

But France has now entered the republican era, and these nobles who fled to France for refuge might also be affected.

At least the life of refugees in France is not so comfortable. Before, they were protected by French Emperor Napoleon III, but now the French nobles are in trouble, and the status of these refugees from the Spanish Bourbon family in France will be even more embarrassing.

It turns out that most of these Spanish nobles are not fools.

After Primo put down the Carlist rebellion, these nobles had already expressed their intention to contact Carlo and pledge allegiance to him.

All the nobles that Carlo met agreed to his request to jointly establish a bank, and they all expressed their willingness to become depositors of the bank and save part of the funds.

Even Primo finally agreed to join United Bank after Carlo's repeated invitations, which made Carlo full of confidence in the development of the bank.

Of course, Duke Serrano, who was suppressing the rebellion in Cuba, was also included in Carlo's invitation plan. However, Serrano would have to wait until he returned to Madrid to join the bank, so there was no rush for the time being.

With the support of the nobles, the bank's preparations went very smoothly.

On April 1870, 4, the first Royal United Bank in Madrid officially opened, attracting a lot of attention.

On the first day of opening, a large number of nobles came to the Royal United Bank to deposit money. This grand occasion also aroused heated discussions among the people. The Royal United Bank became the most popular bank in Madrid in a short period of time.

On the first day of the bank's establishment, it welcomed hundreds of depositors, most of whom were nobles who wanted to show their support for Carlo.

Especially for those dukes, the deposit unit was calculated in 10 pesetas, and some of them even had deposits exceeding 100 million pesetas.

Although 100 million pesetas is worth less than 4 pounds, this amount of money is definitely a large amount of savings for any bank in Spain.

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(End of this chapter)