In a manor on the outskirts of Brussels, the current Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Juan Gonzalez de Filippo Spinola, was meeting with the visiting Dutch Speaker from afar.
The Marquis of Spinola was the former governor of New Spain who recommended Garcia to Don Juan Jose. Because New Spain was converted into a kingdom, there was no governor anymore, so he replaced Don Juan Jose's original governor. Que, became governor of the Spanish Netherlands.
After he took over the Spanish Netherlands, he discovered that the Dutch Republic, the enemy he had fought with for most of his life, had become Spain's only friend in the Netherlands that he could rely on!
Because the Spanish Netherlands is a buffer between the Netherlands and France. If France takes away the Spanish Netherlands, then the Dutch Republic will have to be a neighbor to France, the overlord on land... This This is not a good thing!
In addition, after the fall of Manila, the Netherlands and Spain had a common enemy-the Eastern world empire Ming Dynasty.
Now the Ming Dynasty can move south to seize the Dutch-controlled Spice Islands, Batavia and the Strait of Malacca. To the east, you can compete with Spain for the west coast of the New World.
Therefore, curbing the expansion momentum of the Ming Empire became the common goal of Spain and the Netherlands.
But unlike Spain, the country of heaven, the Dutch Republic is ultimately a country of profiteers.
And profiteers are reluctant to fight a war that is destined to lose money... So John de Wit, who visited Brussels, proposed a very "smart" plan.
First, the Grand Council of the Dutch Republic will convince the banks in Amsterdam to grant a huge loan to the Kingdom of New Spain - note, the Kingdom of New Spain, not the Kingdom of Spain whose credit has long been bankrupt!
Although the Kingdom of New Spain provides huge "protection fees" to the Kingdom of Spain every year, the Kingdom of New Spain itself does not have any debts. Therefore, the possibility of bad debts from the Dutch loan to New Spain is not too high... Even if the loan is not repaid, the Netherlands can still cut off a piece of land in the Kingdom of New Spain, so it will not get nothing.
Secondly, the Kingdom of New Spain should open the port of Acapulco to the Dutch East India Company! Now with the fall of Manila the galleon trade was completely suspended. But the demand for trade still exists, and this is a big business of more than one million pesos a year - not including the amount of smuggling trade!
In addition, the Dutch East India Company also has the power to trade with Japan, and the ships of the Dutch East India Company can also enter the American Gulf... The American Gulf controlled by the Ming Dynasty does not implement a lock-down port, but opens its arms to welcome all countries. Trade ships come and go.
Therefore, as long as the Dutch East India Company gained the right to enter the Port of Acapulco, it could establish a large circular trade line from Manila to Shanghai to Japan to the Gulf of America to the Port of Acapulco to Manila.
Third, the Kingdom of New Spain was also supposed to provide collateral for the loan! The collateral the Dutch Republic wanted was Saipan, which was to be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch East India Company hoped to turn it into a naval base, which could be used to deploy privateers when necessary...
Fourth, the Dutch Republic also requires an arms order from the Kingdom of New Spain. The amount of the order should reach more than 50% of the loan amount provided by the Netherlands.
"Your Majesty the Speaker, you Dutch people really, really love God! On behalf of the Catholics of the Kingdom of Spain and the Philippines, I would like to express my most sincere thanks for your generosity..." Marquis Spinola said. He said thanks, but the contempt in his eyes could not be concealed.
When has it been? You profiteers are still thinking about making money! Are you really not afraid that your soul will fall into hell after death?
Now they don’t even sell good things like indulgences!
John de Wit nodded with a smile and said: "You are right, we Dutch also believe in God! In order to protect God's faith, we are willing to lend money to the Kingdom of New Spain."
"What if," Marquis Spinola asked tentatively, "what if the country that borrowed the money was replaced by the Kingdom of Spain?"
"Marquis," John de Wit looked at the Marquis, "I think you can distinguish the difference between lending and giving? If...if King Philip really needs it, the Great Council can give him 500,000 Eju’s silver will allow him to pay off the dowry of Her Royal Highness the Princess.”
This is not a dig at the Spanish people, but I really want to help!
As an honest and trustworthy businessman, he could certainly see the loopholes in the "prenuptial agreement" reached by France and Spain - the inheritance rights given up by Maria Theresa were linked to the compensation received. If Philip IV cannot pay compensation, then this "prenuptial agreement" will be invalid.
"President!" Marquis Spinola glanced at John de Wit and said angrily, "Do you think the majestic Kingdom of Spain can't even afford 500,000 ecu?"
John DeWitt breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good... That's good. May God bless the newlyweds."
...
"Mr. Ambassador, there is good news! The Spanish have allowed the East India Company's sailing ships to enter the port of Acapulco!"
On the outskirts of Paris, in the Ming Dynasty embassy in the town of Versailles, Li Shaoyou, the Ming Dynasty ambassador to France, the Netherlands, and England, immediately received news from Bruce Dimen, director of the Dutch East India Company, that the Netherlands had opened the Pacific route.
In the past two or three years, Ming Dynasty has been trying to get Dutch profiteers to participate in Pacific shipping.
Although Ming Dynasty had its own Pacific Shipping Company and Pacific Passenger Company, there were also some small shipowners engaged in Pacific shipping.
However, the shipping capacity in the Pacific is still not large enough, and there are two bottlenecks in shipping capacity. One is insufficient escort power - the Ming Dynasty's Pacific shipping cannot be without escort, because returning from the Gulf of America has to take the equatorial warm current belt, which means It had to pass through the waters near New Spain. It was too unsafe without escort.
The second is the lack of captains and senior seamen who can sail in the Pacific - it is one thing to sail offshore, but it is another thing to sail in the Pacific! To run in the Pacific, you must master dimensional navigation, be able to use various navigation instruments for measurement and navigation, and have experience in dealing with various severe weather.
Excellent captains and sailors are not just available. Even if Emperor Zhu established a naval martial arts hall, it would not be able to meet the huge demand.
Therefore, Zhu Cixi could only ask the British and Dutch to join the Pacific Shipping business.
There are now small British shipowners "running single gangs" in the Pacific, but the Dutch shipping business in the East is exclusively monopolized by the East India Company, and the Dutch East India Company was unwilling to engage in Pacific shipping before Spain opened the port of Acapulco. , because it is unprofitable for them - the current Dutch East India Company has long been affected by the "big company disease", with a bloated organization and high costs. It is used to monopolizing profits and is reluctant to cooperate with small shipowners. They competed...
"Mr. Dimen, did I hear you correctly?" Li Shaoyou had already realized what was wrong. "Why are the Spaniards willing to develop the Port of Acapulco? They have locked it up for a hundred years, why are they opening it now?"
"Isn't that because Manila was occupied by you?" Bruce Dimen laughed. "They no longer have a stronghold in the Far East for the sailing trade, so they have to open up."
"Really?" Li Shaoyou said with a smile, "Spanish people care so much about those small coins?"
“It’s not just for money.” Bruce Dimen said, “They also hope that our ships can evacuate Catholic Filipinos, Japanese, and Koreans to the New World.
I think China won’t object to us doing this, right? "
"Of course not," Li Shaoyou said doubtfully, "Although the Ming Dynasty banned Catholicism, they would not be punished for believing in religion."
The reason for banning Catholicism was the "battle for patronage." Due to the obstruction of Spain, the negotiations between the Ming Dynasty and the Roman Church were never able to achieve a breakthrough. However, Zhu Cixiang did not strictly prohibit it, but relaxed it.
