Chapter 3101 The Road to War (1)

In the book "Gone with the Wind", Ashley seems to be a graceful gentleman, even though he is the son of a southern plantation owner, and Scarlett is also raised as a "lady".

All in all, the sons of the manor owners will not hold whips and watch the slaves work in the cotton fields like the overseers. And these overseers come from many places. Maybe some of them are immigrants and they have not received education. , can only do this kind of work.

"Lawyers" like Jim can continue to practice their old profession in the New World. At least American law has many similarities with British law.

The other ones are priests, doctors, etc. Anyway, even if the southerners abolish property restrictions, these illiterate people will still not be able to become officials. Instead, they will have to accept the management of various rules in the manor.

Being an overseer is also "going to work". You have to get up at dawn every day and blow the morning bugle to summon the slaves to assemble. Why can't this be left to the chickens?

The overseers got up earlier than the slaves and could not take naps during the day. After the slaves finished their work, he had to go to check. It was basically lunch time. He had to watch the cotton fields pick in the scorching sun. No. Although the slave made a mistake and the overseer had to let the slave pick the unfinished cotton, he could not hide in the shade of a tree to avoid the sun, and he could not talk to passers-by during working hours. The manor owner who set the rules believed that this was very important to a "serious man" Do” people are a disgrace.

It's different when you go to the West to go gold hunting. If you're unlucky, you'll never have any income. If you're lucky, even if you don't get rich overnight, you can squander the gold for a while, go to a bar to drink, sleep until you wake up naturally the next day, and then do what you want. thing.

Of course, he can also be a cowboy and follow the cattle all the way to see the magnificent scenery of America without having to crowd into the crowded and dirty slums of European cities. Otherwise, why would he come all the way from Europe to the New World?

Growing cotton requires climate and soil. The area from North Carolina to the south to 91 degrees west longitude is the cotton growing belt in the United States, but the Appalachian Mountains are not included. Due to differences in natural geographical conditions, Maybe every place in the south is suitable for cotton cultivation. After the initial pioneering, the southern part of the mountainous area was dominated by homesteaders. They did not enslave anyone, and no one should enslave them. They lived a self-sufficient life.

 This also resulted in that even in the southern slave-holding states, only about 43% of households owned slaves, and most of them were unable to keep more than 20 slaves. Only less than one in 1,000 slave owners had more than 300 slaves.

  George Washington owned about 500 slaves in his lifetime. Although he was born on a wealthy plantation in Virginia, he did not inherit everything his father left him smoothly.

 Between 1772 and 1773, due to the bankruptcy of the Bank of England and the Bank of Scotland, tobacco prices fell by nearly 50%, which directly led to heavy losses for tobacco plantations in the United States.

At that time, the business model of the Anglo-American plantation owners was to borrow money from British banks to use for tobacco cultivation such as land development, and then the British would sell the tobacco on their behalf and repay the loan with profits.

However, George Washington was more flexible in his thinking. He did not grow tobacco alone, but also planted other cash crops, so that his plantations became more prosperous after this crisis.

At that time, Virginia passed a law that stopped the importation of slaves, so that the planters could sell their surplus slaves at a good price and at least get rid of their financial debt.

However, London did not agree. Stopping the import of slaves meant less income from the slave trade. The continuous import of slaves to Anglo-America would affect the "supply and demand relationship" and the price of slaves would drop. Even if tobacco plantation owners sold their own slaves, Unable to get out of debt.

As a result of the Seven Years' War, France lost all its North American colonies, and Britain gained French colonies. Some of these colonies were west of the Appalachian Mountains, but England did not allow the colonists to expand westward.

 It was impossible to get into manufacturing. In 1801, Jefferson even wrote a "roaring letter" to Napoleon, complaining that the British did not allow Americans to process the iron bars they mined. In 1772, the Navigation Regulations were still in effect, and colonial products could only be transported to Britain on British ships.

Eventually the tobacco planters came to the conclusion that as long as they remained under British hegemony, they would ride on the back of a tiger to their destruction.

 Then on the issue of the tea tax, the wealthy planters stood together with the poor. They said in their speeches, "We are all oppressed." Then there was the Boston Tea Party.

The most tragic bank bankruptcy in Scotland's history in 1773 had nothing to do with the war. There were two major shareholders of the East India Company. They established the Bank of Ayr, which was originally mainly engaged in discounting bills of exchange. Adam Smith said that the loans of this bank It is wider than other banks, and regardless of whether the draft is a real draft or a circulating draft, it will always be discounted.

If the Bank of Ayr does this, the gold reserves of the Bank of England will not be enough. However, the Bank of Ayr issues banknotes, and the guarantee for them is another company called Fordis opened by the shareholders of the East India Company. This company specializes in buying bills of exchange from the Bank of Ayr.

Anyway, in the end, two-thirds of Scotland's banknotes were issued by this bank. During that time, Scotland's industry developed rapidly, with steel plants, glass factories, shipyards, etc. developing rapidly. Among them, the linen industry developed particularly rapidly. The main bank of Ayr Bank The customers are all from the linen industry.

First, bad news came in 1772. The supply of flax exceeded demand, but everyone did not panic at this time. It was not until June 8, 1772 that the news came that the East India Company was in trouble. The two shareholders of the East India Company ran away overnight. Went to France.

 Overnight the banknotes issued by Ayr Bank became useless paper, and then there was a run on Ayr Bank, which also affected other banks.

It's like setting a fire in a coalfield. Turkmenistan's "Gate to Hell" has been burning for decades. It is impossible to put it out. The fire will only be extinguished when it burns out.

And the Bank of Scotland happened to mainly provide loans to tobacco planters in the New World, and its share of the total tobacco trade in North America even exceeded the Bank of England.

Adam Smith called it a "social disaster". He himself suffered no losses, but several of his friends were involved, and he wanted to help them out in the "most honorable way".

If Georgiana encountered this situation, she would advise her friends to quickly pack up the valuable things at home and run away. Don't wait for the bank people to come and take away all the valuable things. There will be nothing left at home. When I arrived in the New World, I changed my identity and started all over again using gold candlesticks and silver tableware as starting materials.

It is useless to shout "Oh my God" or "My God" at this time. When you have money, all doors are open. At this time, which church dares to accommodate these people? Aren't you afraid that the creditor will tear down the golden cross to pay off the debt?

With a "bang" sound, after Matilda got into the carriage, the door of the carriage was closed from the outside. Matilda first helped Georgiana get the snow off her body, and then patted it off herself.

 “Have you paid back the money you owed from your last gambling debt?” Georgiana said suddenly.

Matilda glanced at the people in the car. They were all "acquaintances". Edgeworth was in another carriage. "It's all returned." Matilda looked into Georgiana's eyes and said, "I can't..."

"Women are not like men. Good credit and good reputation are very important." Georgiana interrupted Matilda, "You have to remember this."

"Yes ma'am, I won't dare next time." Matilda said softly.

 “What are you afraid of?” Georgiana asked.

 “Gamble,” Matilda muttered, like a fish blowing bubbles.

“I’m not lecturing you.” Georgiana smiled, “If you didn’t have the courage, I wouldn’t dare leave this matter to you.”

 Matilda was confused.

At this time, the carriage trembled slightly and then set off.

 “Tell me, do you want to be rich?” Georgiana asked with a smile.

 “Think!” Matilda said seriously.

 “Like Jeanne?” Georgiana asked again.

 “No.” Matilda shook her head quickly, not daring to look into Georgiana’s eyes.

 Georgiana lifted Matilda's chin and asked her to look at her.

"If you dare to betray me, I will not just whip you, but also give you the opportunity to write a biography." Georgiana said fiercely, "I will throw you into a steel-making furnace. Not to mention the bones, the iron will melt." Become water.”

 “I can’t,” Matilda trembled.

"You will disappear, no one will look for you, and there will be no trace." Georgiana said still sinisterly.

Matilda stopped talking, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I don't want to do that, don't force me." After Georgiana said that, she let go of her hand, and Matilda suddenly fell into the arms of the other maids.

Georgiana felt that she must have looked like a bad woman or a villain just now.

 She turned her head and leaned on the backrest of the carriage to adjust her mood.

 In fact, it is no wonder that Severus loves Lily, and Lily will not become like she just did.

 Although she died young, Pomona wanted to trade with her.

"What's the point of getting rich? I want to be a little girl all my life." Georgiana said calmly.

 “Little girls without money are also unhappy,” Matilda said.

 Georgiana smiled.

 “I’ll give you such a small salary, why don’t you leave?”

"Isn't it lucky that I didn't leave?" Matilda stared at her and said, "How can I make a fortune if I can't withstand this test?"

Georgiana laughed.

 “Interesting, really interesting.” She said with a smile, but felt like crying.

This crying and laughing look is so crazy that I don’t know how many people will be frightened.

 (End of this chapter)