Holy Roman Empire
Chapter 287: Great Immigration

Franz was credible. After signing the treaty with the Ottoman Empire, he immediately paid in supplies worth 10 million guilders.

This time, the Austrian government did not reduce the amount at all. With the lingering effects of overproduction, there were too many stockpiles that could not be sold. Franz was not so wasteful as to destroy them directly.

Selling these surplus goods to the Ottoman government was an ideal solution. If possible, he even hoped to make a similar deal with the Russians. Anything was better than letting these goods rot in warehouses.

These processed goods, especially perishable agricultural products, had a short shelf life. At the time, preservatives were crappy, and using too much could be deadly.

Even if food safety wasn’t a priority, poisoning people was out of the question. How could they do such things that could destroy their reputation?

When it came to reputation, the Austrian government maintained very strict controls. Not poisoning people was the bottom line for food safety, even for exported products.

Of course, this is only the basic standard. Higher standards belong to high-end foods, such as those labeled exclusively for the nobility. The quality of these products is not much lower than later generations.

The price difference between the two tiers of goods was usually many times, even dozens of times, proving that cheap goods are not good stuff.

In the Vienna Palace, after listening to the Minister of Agriculture’s report, Franz pondered and said, “Since agricultural exports are declining, let’s create an artificial market. Didn’t we just make an agreement with the Ottoman Empire to take the population out of these lands?

Well, let’s organize ship transport immediately. At worst, we can offer them a year’s supply of provisions as compensation for their early resettlement. I believe the Ottoman government won't refuse such a good deal.

Once the Ottomans are gone, we can organize immigrants to fill the void and completely control these areas.

In this way, shipping companies will have a new business, and we can also reduce the pressure of food surplus and help stabilize domestic food prices.”

The Mediterranean was different from other overseas colonies. The Austrian government could control it directly. Even without the transoceanic telegraph, the delivery of messages was only a matter of a week.

As long as the local Ottomans have all been evacuated and replaced by domestic immigrants, there will be no concern about governance.

Minister of Agriculture Christian replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

After a pause, Franz added, “Remember to ship out the population of the Ionian Islands and the Sinai Peninsula along with the Ottomans. If there are any problems, bribe the officials of the Ottoman government.

After all, the Ottoman Empire did not keep detailed records of its population, so it should be relatively easy to manipulate the numbers.

The immigration issue must be resolved as soon as possible. During an economic crisis, this is the most cost-effective task. It can even alleviate the crisis, killing two birds with one stone.”

This was not speculation. At that time, the Ottoman Empire was known as the most corrupt empire in the world. As long as you paid, there was nothing these bureaucrats would not dare to do.

When Colonial Minister Josip Jelačić heard about the need to speed up the immigration process, he felt a headache coming on. The demand for immigrants this time is considerable. To maintain control over these newly acquired territories indefinitely, a significant influx of people is necessary.

Crete needed at least 30,000-40,000 immigrants, Cyprus 30,000-40,000, the Ionian Islands 20,000-30,000, Libya over 100,000, and the Sinai Peninsula just 5,000. In total, that was another 200,000 people.

These regions needed people, and the African colonies still needed people. The Congo and the Gulf of Guinea could be put on hold for now, their populations were already substantial.

But the newly acquired Nigeria and the currently being infiltrated Cameroon and Benin were in dire need of immigrants.

Otherwise, as soon as John Bull had caught his breath, they would make trouble again. The best example was what is now the Gulf of Guinea. Although the British coveted it, they lost interest after seeing the masses of German immigrants moving in.

In this era, no one who immigrated to the colonies for profit was easy to bully. Especially the nobles who opened farms and plantations were all gentlemen who could ride a horse with a rifle.

On land, the British simply could not compete with them. If a colony had only tens of thousands of people, if relations with Britain and France soured one day, the colony would change hands immediately.

The Austrian government was thinking not only about establishing colonies but also about how to retain them. Without 100,000 to 200,000 immigrants, it was really not possible.

In addition to these regions, the Balkan Peninsula had to be considered. To control Wallachia, Moldavia, Serbia and Bosnia, the Austrian government had also formulated a plan for 1 million immigrants.

This immigration can only come from the German region to ensure the smooth progress of ethnic integration, which is also an urgent task.

To avoid contradictory policies competing for immigrants, all immigration work was entrusted to the Colonial Ministry for unified administration.

Josip Jelačić explained: “Your Majesty, as the domestic economy improves, the number of people willing to immigrate overseas is decreasing. We won’t be able to attract enough immigrants in the short term.

As you know, to facilitate assimilation, whenever we organize immigration, we have to scatter and disperse them, not allowing minority groups to gather in one region.

Including refugees resettled from the Balkans, they are all distributed in fixed proportions to ensure that they cannot form a dominant advantage locally.

This has created difficulties for the immigration work. At present, the number of people who are willing to apply for immigration is less than 200,000, and together with the total number of applicants from all over Germany, it does not exceed 550,000.

Most people prefer to emigrate to the Balkans. Civilians willing to go overseas make up less than half.”

Franz nodded. That was quite normal. How could ordinary people be willing to leave their hometowns unless it was absolutely necessary?

Immigrating to the Balkan Peninsula might be tolerable because it’s still within the country and you can travel back and forth along the Danube River in just a month. However, it’s different overseas.

Even though the Austrian government offers favorable conditions, such as opening farms and plantations in overseas colonies, direct recognition of land ownership, and even policy loans, many people still have concerns.

“The economic impact has only recently reached the German region and will continue for some time. The number of bankrupt citizens will increase in the future, and that’s our opportunity.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already contacted the governments of several countries, and they won’t interfere with your actions. Before the economic crisis ends, it’s the peak period for immigration.

You must now race against time and send the immigrants away as quickly as possible. Those who cannot go overseas are to be sent to the Balkans. When the economic crisis ends and people replace employment again, the situation will be different.”

Reality is that cruel. In an economic crisis, the unemployed are seen not as an asset but as a social liability. Governments of various countries are eager to see them go.

In this context, the Austrian Foreign Ministry has also coordinated its efforts with countries in the German cultural circle, such as Switzerland and Belgium. The governments of these countries have welcomed Austria’s recruitment of immigrants.

Of course, this is only possible during economic crises. Once the economy returns to normal, even if other governments don’t oppose it, local capitalists won’t agree to it.

Only when labor was abundant would it be cheap. This was also the reason why European governments found it difficult to organize large-scale immigration.

If the Austrian government was not powerful enough, and unable to coerce domestic capitalists, Franz could not have organized immigration with such fanfare.