Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 94 Talks (Subscribe!)
"What are the plans for the future development of the Royal Academy of Physics and Chemistry?" Echegaray did not rush to answer Carlo's question. Instead, he thought carefully and organized his words before answering: "Your Majesty's purpose in establishing the Royal Academy of Physics and Chemistry should be based on Spain's thirst for physics and chemistry talents.

Physics and chemistry majors are not highly valued in Spanish universities, which has led to a lack of outstanding graduates in physics and chemistry in Spain.

I have three considerations for the future development plans of the Royal Institute of Physical Chemistry.

First, we will hire as many outstanding professors and experts in physics and chemistry as possible from all over Europe and use their professional knowledge to train more outstanding graduates for us.

Second, the education situation in Spain means that the number of students in our school will be limited in the future. I think the scale of the college cannot be large, at least until the education situation in Spain improves.

I suggest limiting the number of students admitted to the Royal Institute of Physical Chemistry to about 400 per year. Although 400 places are not many, if we focus on training these 400 people, perhaps the level of graduates from the Royal Institute of Physical Chemistry will be higher than that of ordinary universities.

After the educational situation in Spain improves, it will not be too late to increase the number of admissions each year in stages so that Spain has more talents.

The third point is to provide certain subsidies and attention to the students of the college.

In fact, it is not just Spain. In many countries and universities, students cannot afford tuition and are forced to drop out.

If this happens, we are likely to miss out on a potential physical and chemical scientist. It would be better to directly subsidize students in the college and reduce their tuition fees to ensure that talented students can be better trained. "

After listening to Echegaray's opinions, Carlo was more satisfied with appointing him as the president of the Royal Institute of Physics and Chemistry.

Today's universities are not like the universities of the future. They cover a terrifyingly large area and have countless graduates every year.

Today's universities tend to be smaller in scale. The average number of students enrolled in Spanish universities each year is around 200-500. There are even very few universities in the world that enroll more than a thousand students each year.

Why is Carlo so eager and eager to train college students? Because a college diploma in this era is almost the top academic qualification.

Not to mention a university diploma, people with only primary school education are considered educated and cultured in Spain, and people with only secondary school education are the group that some factories and companies give priority to recruiting.

As for university graduates, they generally have no trouble finding a job. After graduating from university, including Echegaray himself, current university graduates can choose to stay on as professors, continue to conduct research related to their majors, or find a higher-paying job. It is still easy to become a member of the middle class.

As for why there are so few college students, for countries with a relatively high level of education, the high tuition fees for colleges are the main reason.

For a country like Spain with a relatively low level of education, in addition to the high tuition fees for universities, another reason is that most of the people are illiterate or have only primary school education. Can we expect these illiterate people and those with only primary school education to apply for university?

What Echegaray said about the Royal Institute of Physical Chemistry initially limiting the number of students to 400 was actually not much different from the 500 that Carlo was considering, and this was something Carlo was quite satisfied with.

If Echegaray boasted that the school would enroll thousands of students, Carlo would be skeptical and question it.

It is best to limit the number of students admitted to the Royal Institute of Physics and Chemistry to less than 500. For a university that is still under construction, enrolling too many students would be an additional burden.

What Carlo wants is talent in physical chemistry who has graduated from university and has a rich knowledge base and certain hands-on skills, rather than college students who only have academic qualifications.

The most important thing is to have rich knowledge reserves and hands-on ability. As for college students' academic qualifications, they are just an add-on to their studies in college.

"Very good." Carlo nodded with satisfaction, and said to Echegaray with a smile on his face: "From now on, you are the president of the Royal Institute of Physics and Chemistry. I hope that under your leadership, this institute can become the highest institution of physics and chemistry in Spain and a holy place for physics and chemistry talents in the whole of Europe.

If you have any funding issues in the construction of the college, you can apply for more funding from Mr. Luo Lun. I look forward to the results of the college's construction and to the heights that the Royal Institute of Physical Chemistry can reach under your leadership. "

"It is my honor, Your Majesty." Echegaray stood up and said with a look of honor and excitement, "I will never let you down. The Royal Institute of Physics and Chemistry will become the cradle of Spanish scientists and provide you with a steady stream of scientific talents."

A pleasant meeting ended just like that. After enjoying a not-so-luxurious but very rich breakfast in Carlo's private restaurant, Echegaray said goodbye to Carlo and went back to prepare for the construction of the Royal Institute of Physics and Chemistry.

After all, it is a newly built university, and serving as the president of the Royal Institute of Physical Chemistry is more difficult than serving as the president of other universities.

But there are also many benefits. After completing the task well and gaining Carlo's trust, Echegaray will also get more rewards.

Not long after Echegaray left, Prime Minister Primo came to see Carlo to report on the construction of the colony in southern Morocco.

After the signing of the peace treaty, the Spanish army began to take over all the land south of the line from Agadir to Tata. With the British government as a witness, the Moroccan government was very sensible. Although it was painful, it obediently withdrew from these areas and handed over control to the Spanish army and government.

Now that the Spanish army has successfully taken over the area, it is time to discuss the establishment of the South Morocco colony and the selection of the colonial governor.

Prime Minister Primo still remembered that Carlo had previously intended to let Primo recommend the candidate for the colonial governor himself.

This time I came to report on my work and also wanted to test Carlo's intentions to see what Carlo's purpose was so that I could decide my next move.

Carlo was also looking forward to the establishment of the southern Morocco colony. The history of the Spanish Empire is long gone, and currently Spain has only two relatively large colonies, Cuba and the Philippines, and the remaining colonies are all small-scale territories.

After the establishment of the South Morocco Colony, Carlo not only did not cause the Spanish government to lose a colony, but instead gained a colony very close to home.

Although Agadir is of a certain size in this colony, the other lands are basically uninhabited, but at least it is still a colony.

More importantly, the establishment of the colony of southern Morocco also meant that during Carlo's reign, the focus of Spanish colonial development officially came to Africa.

In the future, once the situation stabilizes and there is a suitable opportunity, Carlo will consider selling Cuba and the Philippines to other countries in exchange for some other benefits.

In fact, according to the current situation in Spain, there are still nearly 30 years before the Spanish-American War. Spain has every opportunity to develop into a great power before the Spanish-American War.

As long as Spain had the strength of a great power, the United States in 1898 would not have the courage to go to war with Spain.

But if it’s just Cuba, is it necessary to fight with the United States?
This is a question worth considering.

Cuba can indeed bring positive benefits to the Spanish government, but the problem is that Cubans are restless. Although Cuba's population is small, its desire for independence is not much different from that of Catalonia and the Basque region.

What's more, there is the Atlantic Ocean between it and Spain, but it is only a few dozen kilometers away from the mainland of the United States.

Rather than having conflicts with the Americans over Cuba, it would be better to sell Cuba earlier in exchange for some colonies that can also generate profits, while also provoking relations between other countries and the United States.

Whether it is sold to the United States or other countries, in theory, it is not a big loss. After all, Cuba is a land that is difficult to localize, and Spain may not be able to defend it for a lifetime even if it can defend it for a day.

Carlo remembered that before the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, the United States had proposed to the Spanish government to purchase the Cuban colony for $100 million.

But how could the proud Spanish government agree to the US request? In the eyes of Europeans, the US was just an upstart, whose status as a great power was entirely based on its economy and industry, and its military was weak.

But the Spaniards did not expect that after the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, not only would they lose the Cuban colony worth $100 million, but also another larger colony, the Philippines.

Spain's glory has completely become a thing of the past. After this war, Spain has completely become a second-rate country in Europe and no longer has the qualifications to become a great power.

Although the Spain in this world is not afraid of the threat from the United States, it is not cost-effective to continue to fight with the United States.

If the costs spent on fighting the United States had been invested in seizing African colonies, it might have been possible to capture some colonies that were more profitable than Congo.

Morocco will not dare to provoke in the short term, but we can still make some plans for Guinea and Congo regions.

Carlo had even made a plan for the future development of Spain. By using the vast resources of the colonies to build Spain's industry and economy, the industrial products produced could be shipped to Central and South America for sale.

Although most of Spain's colonies in the Americas have been lost, a large number of countries in Central and South America, including Mexico, still have a large Spanish-mixed population who also speak Spanish.

A considerable number of these people remain close to Spain. If economic actions are taken, it should be possible to win over some countries to form a customs alliance to dump Spanish industrial products.

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(End of this chapter)