Chapter 624 - 295: The Population Issue

After the cabinet report meeting, Carlo also gained a clearer understanding of Spain’s current development.

In terms of industry, although Spain’s industrial scale cannot compare with major powers like the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, it can still be on par with old powers like Austria-Hungary and Russia, and its comprehensive strength should not be underestimated.

Regarding population, Spain’s total population is continuously increasing. Although the total population size is not comparable to the European Powers, the rate of population growth is slightly ahead, and sooner or later it will further bridge the gap with the European Powers.

It is worth mentioning that several of Spain’s colonies in Africa have also shown their own attractiveness.

The populations of the West Africa Colony, the Gold Coast, and the Congo Territory are continuously growing, with tens of thousands, even tens of thousands of immigrants coming to these areas every year, seeking more opportunities for wealth and survival.

These colonies have made considerable efforts to attract immigrants, offering various terms to introduce population.

All Europeans willing to move to these colonies can receive a large tract of land for free. As long as they continuously farm on their allocated land for three years, they can obtain ownership of these lands.

Of course, they can also choose not to take land and have it converted into other conditions. In addition to welcoming ordinary immigrants, the colonies also welcome domestic and international capital and the entry of various companies and enterprises.

In addition to agricultural cultivation on the lands in Africa, Spain is also extensively planting tobacco, sugarcane, rubber, and other crops on African soil.

Tobacco and sugarcane naturally need no further elaboration; back in Cuba, these two items were Cuba’s specialty industries and made Cuba one of the most developed regions in America.

The rubber industry is also beginning to take shape. Since the Royal Mercedes-Benz Company has already been selling to major powers in Europe, the consumption of rubber in each country has been significantly increasing.

Currently, most countries still rely on natural rubber trees for rubber, but in the future, as rubber demand increases, it will be necessary to artificially plant rubber trees and establish rubber industrial parks.

After the conclusion of the third five-year development plan report, the Spanish Cabinet Government is discussing the goals for the fourth five-year development plan.

Apart from the conventional domestic development, each of Spain’s colonies also has its own developmental tasks.

The West Africa Colony is focusing on agricultural development, Guinea is planting tobacco, and the Congo Territory is harvesting rubber.

These three industries are all needed by Spain and are essentially guaranteed to be profitable when cultivated in the colonies.

Carlo also participated in the cabinet government’s meeting on formulating the fourth five-year development plan and put forward several requirements.

First is regarding the population; Carlo hopes that in the next five years, Spain’s population can further increase, ideally surpassing the 25 million mark.

Although 25 million is not much compared to other European countries, it is certainly not a small number. Even if a war breaks out with other European Powers, 25 million people can allow Spain to mobilize nearly 2 million troops, which is sufficient for participation in a world war of this scale.

Moreover, in addition to the military that native Spaniards can field, Spain can also form colonial troops from its colonies.

Counting the colonial natives that can be utilized, the troops Spain can mobilize will reach between 3 million and 5 million, which is almost the number of troops countries deployed during World War I.

This also means that even if a conflict or even war breaks out with other European Powers, Spain has enough confidence to win the war.

Unless faced with a one-on-two or even one-on-three situation, Spain today is not afraid of any of the major powers.

Of course, in naval warfare, it is still necessary to consider the powerful navy of the British Empire. But if it’s on land, whether it’s the United Kingdom or France, Spain is not afraid in the slightest.

Carlo’s second requirement is to hope that the cabinet government can diversify Spain’s industries, build a comprehensive industrial system, and comprehensively promote Spain’s economic advancement.

Establishing an industry does not mean just developing heavy industry; light industry and chemical industry must also be upgraded simultaneously. Steel production represents heavy industry, but it is not the entirety of industry.

Spain’s agricultural output per acre still has a significant gap compared to countries like the UK, France, and Germany, which have vast plains. To bridge this gap, Spain can only make more efforts in fertilizers and mechanization.

Carlo’s requirement for the Spanish Government is to make the most of fertilizers to increase Spain’s grain yield per acre, indirectly raising the income of Spanish farmers.

In addition, with Spain’s agricultural layout in the West Africa Colony, it can ensure that Spain will never lack food under any circumstances.

In the future, regardless of war or economic crisis, as long as there is enough food, the Spanish government can deal with it with ease.

At the meeting, the Minister of Colonial Affairs, William, also raised a question, which is how to deal with the countless African natives in Spanish colonies.

According to the old Spanish colonial tradition, for these natives who are disobedient and cannot be assimilated, the preferred method would undoubtedly be to resort to massacre.

But the issue is that Africa is an extremely vast land, with countless natives on it.

Relying solely on massacre will make it challenging to completely resolve the native issue in the colonies and will also fill the Spaniards with hatred towards these natives, inciting even fiercer resistance sentiments among the local natives.