Empire Rising: Spain

After inspecting the construction of the Barcelona Industrial Base, Carlo took a train from Barcelona, passing through Zaragoza, back to the capital, Madrid.

The railway construction in Spain has been quite smooth so far; important cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Zaragoza, and Valencia have all been connected by railway. The railway between Madrid and Barcelona even uses a double-track system for greater transport capacity.

Although this increased Spain’s railway costs, the results have been quite favorable. Trains depart regularly from Madrid to Barcelona, and after a short wait, trains from Barcelona to Madrid make the return trip.

The train route from Madrid to Barcelona is currently Spain’s busiest train route, praised by the Spanish Government as the bridge of economic exchange in Spain.

Due to the influence of the Meseta Plateau in northern Spain, constructing railways in Spain has become more challenging. Spain’s railway network must bypass towering mountains and highlands, passing through valleys amid the mountains.

This not only increased the difficulty of constructing railways in Spain, but also heightened the casualty rate of railway construction in Spain.

In this era, constructing railways is crucial for industrial development, but it also signifies the death of many workers.

In an age where all transport relies on human labor, railway construction has never been gentle. In recent years, Spain has built a substantial number of railways and also borne a significant number of worker casualties.

The primary reason for annually introducing some immigrants from abroad is to use these foreign immigrants to build railways.

Spain’s domestic population is not large, and avoiding casualties in railway construction is crucial. These foreign immigrants, lacking Spanish nationality, can only earn enough money by building railways or working as miners.

Though the work is rather tiring, the Spanish government has explicitly prohibited the deduction of workers’ wages at these sites. As long as they are willing to labor in these places, they can indeed earn money.

For this reason, Spain’s mines and railway construction sites have attracted a large number of laborers, quite a few of whom are foreign laborers.

Spaniards have more opportunities; they can work in factories or other enterprises and are naturally not competing with these foreign laborers for these high-risk jobs.

Carlo and the Spanish Government also limit the number of foreign laborers to a certain ratio, ensuring these workers do not severely impact Spain’s unemployment rate.

While using foreign laborers to fill the gap in railway construction casualties is a good option, if too many foreign laborers are employed, thus impacting job opportunities for Spaniards, it could be counterproductive.

This is also why Spain strictly limits the number of foreign immigrants. If the number of foreign immigrants becomes too large, real Spaniards would find it difficult to find work.

Carlo is the King of Spain, so naturally, he should prioritize the interests of the Spaniards. As for these foreign immigrants, unless they quickly convert to Catholicism and recognize themselves as Spaniards, who would care about their feelings?

Although Carlo has signed related population introduction agreements with Italy and Russia, these introduced Italians and Russians are all doing menial labor.

Carlo will not allow them to compete with Spaniards for jobs, as this would not only aggravate conflicts between native Spaniards and foreign immigrants, but also make Carlo’s position more awkward as a foreigner himself.

In his position, attending to his duties is a principle Carlo understands. The moment he became King of Spain, Carlo should have forgotten his Italian identity and considered the interests of the Spaniards as much as possible, thereby securing his throne.

The railway from Barcelona to Zaragoza is mostly flat terrain and low hills, so the train advances quickly.

However, after reaching Zaragoza, the railway enters the Iberian Mountains, and the train’s speed slows down somewhat.

Upon entering the Iberian Mountains, Carlo frequently saw workers constructing and repairing railways along the route. A small portion of these workers were Spaniards, but the majority were foreign immigrants and laborers.

Although building railways is arduous and has a high casualty rate, the wages for railway workers are quite high.

The average annual income in Spain is only 131 Pesseta, but the average salary for railway workers has reached around 145 Pesseta, which is why these foreign immigrants and laborers are willing to become railway workers.

If injured or killed in railway construction, their families could receive some compensation. Although the compensation is not substantial, it is far better than those capitalists who only exploit without offering any compensation.

The overarching theme of this era is exploitation and enslavement; for these foreign immigrants and laborers, being a railway worker is already the highest-income job they can find.

Unless they have a high level of education and knowledge, or possess some unique ability in a particular area, they can only rely on hard labor to make a living.

Carlo would still treat genuine talents well, whether they are scientists or technical experts. As long as they have a skill, Carlo would place them in suitable positions, allowing them to utilize their abilities.