Chapter 190: Loan Game 3

While the US and French envoys tried to encourage Brazil to accept the loan, the British envoy Edmond repeatedly sent telegrams to the London government to report changes in Brazil, and asked the London government to give the embassy in Brazil greater autonomy.
Edmond called again and asked for the request without the same consent as the first time. After two days of discussion, the London government's telegram to the embassy in Brazil stated that the United Kingdom must maintain the status of Brazil's largest trading country, and the embassy was responsible for negotiating with the Brazilian government. Established a British-led "Management of the Brazilian Debt Commission to handle exclusively Brazil's external debt and loan transactions." ...
Monopolizing Brazil's external debt market and loan business is the transaction bottom line set by the London government to the Embassy in Brazil. Although on this basis, the London government agreed to coordinate with the Brazilian government on the issue of warship defects, but Edmond was still very disappointed.
Before the Paraguayan War, Britain played the role of Brazil's exclusive debt broker. Most of the Brazilian army ’s army and naval equipment were provided by the United Kingdom, and various industrial facilities established in Brazil were mostly purchased from the United Kingdom.
But now, joining the two powerful competitors, the London government, without really understanding the situation in Brazil, still has the mentality of eating alone to trade with Brazil, sooner or later, it will suffer a lot.
Edmond's dissatisfaction with the bureaucratic men who flooded the diplomatic service has a long history. After no fruitful communication with the local community, at noon on August 22, Edmond was invited to enter the palace to meet with Pedro II.
In terms of the two major principles of the negotiation between the two parties, although Edmond deliberately downplayed the emphasis of the London government, Pedro II politely refused to agree with the British after verifying the authenticity of Witt's statement. transaction.
In the afternoon, Bernard and Vitus, who re-entered the Royal Palace of Rio de Janeiro, had an open and frank negotiation with Pedro II.
French envoy Bernard promised to reduce the price of warships from 400,000 to 370,000 pounds at the request of Pedro, while U.S. envoy Vette took the opportunity to sell surplus warships at half the price, and he will serve in the Civil War. Anok's Iron Armor
A low price of 180,000 pounds was sold to the Brazilian Navy.
The Roanoke armored ship has a displacement of 6,300 tons,
With a speed of 8.5 knots and a standard configuration of 340 navy soldiers, it is a relatively complete warship.
The service life of Roanoke is only six years, and the time to retire has not yet reached. According to the normal warship trading procedures, the price of Roanoke iron armored ship is about 300,000 pounds, and Americans would rather sell at a loss to achieve a deal. There are other areas of compensation.
The matter did not exceed the estimate of the U.S. Minister Witte. After seeing the offer and warship performance proposed by the other party, Pedro II was very moved, but he was deceived once by the British. He was more cautious this time, and asked beforehand, "Sir, Lord Roanoke, will there not be all kinds of defects like the monarch class iron armored ship?"
"Her Majesty, please rest assured that the Roanoke has superior performance. In the battle with the Southern Navy in 1865, the Roanoke successfully sunk a southern iron armored ship, the warship itself, with its flexible mobility and powerful artillery weapons. Suffered only minor trauma. "
Roanoke has undergone actual combat tests and has had the results of sinking enemy ships. In the mind of Pedro II, the combat effectiveness of the warships of most concern has been basically guaranteed. Therefore, his attitude is much easier and he directly throws out The last condition, I hope the United States allows the Brazilian Navy to send specialized personnel to the United States to check the performance of warships. If Wit agrees to this condition, all the remaining commodity transactions can be discussed slowly.
It is not too much of a requirement to pay for the goods after the inspection, and Wirt thinks about it for a while and then agrees.
American products have some shortcomings in the initial stage, but for the Roanoke known in advance, Witt is still more confident. The Roanoke is made of all steel. Two 15-inch Dalgrens are installed on the upper part of the warship. Smoothbore guns, two 11-inch Dahlgren smoothbore guns, and two 150-pound Parrott rifled guns. The entire warship not only has strong armor protection, but also has a strong artillery attack system.
The United States lags behind the British, French, and Austrian countries in the development of iron armored ships. However, in modern warship manufacturing, the United States was the first country to try to make all-steel warships. Therefore, the American-made iron armored ships are closest to the main battleships of the twentieth century.
U.S. warships have their advantages and specific disadvantages. For example, the biggest disadvantage of the Roanoke armored ship is its short range, which makes it impossible to conduct ocean navigation and perform deep-sea combat missions. Of course, in Wit ’s eyes, this shortcoming is not a big issue. The Brazilian Navy and the Chinese newly established navy are both novices. It is already good for both parties to perform regular maritime operations in the offshore field. As for ocean operations, only English and French are available. Issues that the established maritime powers should consider.
After successfully marketing his short-legged warship, Witter first reached a preliminary consensus with Pedro II on the three major aspects of loans, mining rights and railway construction rights.
In terms of loans, the United States provided Brazil with a total of 7 million U.S. dollars in two instalments, with the first loan of 2 million U.S. dollars being delivered within one month of signing the contract, and the second batch of 5 million U.S. dollars was delivered in one year.
The US $ 7 million loan interest is calculated based on the low interest rate standard of three percent a year, and the repayment period is extended to ten years.
In terms of minerals, the Brazilian government authorizes U.S. businessmen to have the right to explore mineral resources in Mato Grosso do Sul and Para in the north ~ EbookFREE.me ~ and at the same time value a state-owned iron mine in Minas Gerais 200,000 pounds sold to American merchants, the mine is jointly funded by three US banks.
In terms of railways, American and French businessmen will jointly prepare for the construction of the railway from Sao Paulo to Ribeirao Punas. After the construction of the railway is completed, the three countries set up the Sao Paulo-Ribera Punas railway management company, which is owned by Brazil. Forty-five, France has 25% of the shares and the United States has 20%.
French and American businessmen obtained a large amount of commercial contracts during the transaction, but within Brazil, British companies still have the advantage of controlling the economic interests of Brazil.
Brazil's iron ore resources are mainly distributed in the state of Minas Gerais, accounting for 70%, the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, 21.5%, the northern state of Para, 7.3%, and other states, 1.2%.
Among the three major iron ore producing regions, American and French merchants have only obtained exploration and iron ore mining rights in the states of Para and Mato Grosso do Sul, and Minasgui has the largest iron ore reserves. The iron ore exploration and mining rights in Las Vegas are mainly concentrated in the hands of British merchants. The French and Americans can only rely on the executive order of Pedro II to accept several state-owned mines that have been mined for many years. In the competition of businessmen, the United States and France have temporarily won a victory, and they are still at a disadvantage in the overall situation. Find this site Please search for "" or enter the URL: