Chapter 1481 London Foreign Merchants
October 1929.
The economic crisis in the United States eventually spread to other parts of the world. The first to be affected was the United Kingdom. This was not surprising. The British economy is highly correlated with the United States, so when a crisis occurs in the US economy, it will inevitably affect the United Kingdom first.
For a long time, the United States has been Britain's largest trading partner. American industrial products and agricultural products are exported in large quantities to Britain and its colonies. In turn, Britain exports technology and capital to the United States. At the same time, as the world's largest colonial power, Britain also sells large quantities of agricultural and mining raw materials to the United States.
The relationship between the United States and Britain at this time was very similar to the relationship between the United States and the Far East Empire in the previous life, except that now the United States is an industrial producer and Britain is a consumer country. When the American economic crisis broke out and the industry collapsed, Britain naturally suffered.
In terms of finance, the UK has invested the most in the United States. Now that the US financial industry has collapsed, the UK stock market, banks and other financial institutions have also gone bankrupt due to broken capital chains.
In terms of industry, a large number of American factories went bankrupt and reduced production capacity. Many upstream British raw material suppliers were unable to get orders and their operations fell into difficulties.
Now, the situation in the UK is very bad, but in fact, the UK’s economic difficulties did not come “suddenly” but rather “adding insult to injury”.
Since the end of World War I, the British economy has been in a "weak" state throughout the 1920s, and until the outbreak of the economic crisis, the British economy had not recovered to its pre-World War I level.
Britain's industry is extremely dependent on traditional industries, such as coal, steel, textiles and shipbuilding. However, as is conceivable, with the development of other countries in the world, especially East Africa, the United States and Germany, the traditional industries that Britain was once proud of have completely lost their market competitiveness and can only maintain their survival through colonies and trade protection.
Therefore, the arrival of the economic crisis is like adding insult to injury to the already bleak economy of the United Kingdom.
In a street cafe in London.
"The British economy is completely hopeless. Although it hasn't been doing well in the past decade, it's been recovering slowly. Now there are a large number of unemployed people on the streets. In a few months, the problem may become even more serious." Dreman, president of the London Chamber of Commerce in Libreville, said with emotion while lying in a recliner.
"Business in the UK is not going well right now. Yesterday, three London customers went bankrupt, and our factory's orders were also wiped out."
Libreville is the capital of Gabon Province in East Africa. As a city on the west coast of East Africa, it naturally attaches importance to trade with countries along the Atlantic coast.
However, the Libreville London Chamber of Commerce is a relatively young organization founded by East Africans in London. It was officially established only three years ago. After all, East Africa officially took over Gabon before World War I.
It was not until the northern railway was completely built connecting the east and west coasts of East Africa that the population of Gabon Province began to grow on a large scale, but the gap with other regions in East Africa is still huge.
However, Libreville is not without its advantages. As an important port city in northwest East Africa, its geographical location determines that Libreville gives priority to the development of trade with Western Europe and North America, that is, trade with countries and regions along the North Atlantic coast.
The Libreville London Chamber of Commerce, which was established just three years ago, has just encountered the British economic crisis. This is naturally terrible news for President Dreman.
Sitting opposite him, Tambor, director of the Cabinda British Trade Association, sipped the coffee in his cup while listening to Deliman's complaints.
"Alas, life is not easy!" Deliman sighed and asked, "Mr. Tambor, your Cabinda British Trade Association has a much longer history in London than us and has more experience. Aren't you worried about the outbreak of this crisis?"
Tambor seemed calm and composed, which made Deliman think that he was confident.
However, Tambor said, "We don't have any experience. When the economic crisis broke out, all the bullshit economics and economic experts were useless. What solutions can crude businessmen like us have?"
"At this time, it would be better to spend more money to bribe British officials and ask them to give us more green lights so that we can get some government projects and orders. This would be more reliable. After all, the economy is uncertain, but politics is very stable."
Hearing this, Deliman was speechless. Of course he also wanted to find a way, but he also needed to know where the door was!
He said to Tambor: "Mr. Tambor, you know that our city of Libreville has only been established for a few years, and the Libreville Chamber of Commerce has only a three-year history. It is completely incomparable to your Cabinda British Trade Association."
"From an economic point of view, Cabinda is a big city in the Empire, so the people in your association are basically all well-known figures. Libreville is just known as the capital of Gabon, but in fact, the population of Gabon is probably not much larger than that of Cabinda. The economy and industry of the two cities are even more different."
"So, the Cabinda British Trade Association has the ability and capital to thrive in the UK and has opened up various connections. Directors like you are guests of honor of many British dignitaries."
"Although I hold the title of President of the Libreville London Chamber of Commerce, in fact many people may not even know where Libreville is, and there are only a few British officials I can contact."
The Cabinda British Trade Association and the Libreville London Chamber of Commerce are completely on different levels, so even though Tambor is a director of the association, the resources and connections he has are beyond the reach of the Libreville London Chamber of Commerce.
Ultimately, it is because the city of Libreville lacks heritage. Libreville is one of the youngest provincial capitals in East Africa. Although its economic growth has been rapid in recent years, it cannot be compared with major East African cities such as Cabinda.
Cabinda is one of the leaders on the west coast of East Africa. Only Luanda can compete with Cabinda, and Libreville, let alone being on par with these two "big guys", has a certain gap with Lobito, Benguela, Soyo and so on.
Its economy may be only one level stronger than Windhoek in the southwest. Windhoek is the capital of the Southwest Province of East Africa. However, the conditions in the Southwest Province of East Africa are not suitable for large-scale economic construction and development. Windhoek is an inland city and naturally does not have much economic scale.
Tambor said, "Okay, no matter how you complain to me, I can't do anything. If it were normal, I might be able to use my connections to help you get orders and business, but now, the British economy is ruined. There are too many wolves and too little meat in the market. It's impossible to allocate more resources."
"If you listen to my advice, then quickly let the members of your Chamber of Commerce cut off their tails and survive! If they don't run away now, when the London economy completely collapses, it will be extremely difficult to get back some of the principal."
"As for those who invested in the London stock market, they are completely hopeless. By the way, you didn't do that, did you?"
Tambor's words were like a sharp sword piercing Deliman's heart. The corners of his mouth turned bitter and he stammered, "Well, it would be better if you didn't mention it. I had forgotten this sad thing because of the bad news these days."
"Before, the London stock market was doing very well, and the domestic stock market was in such a mess, I was somewhat tempted and invested a lot, but it all went down the drain. Now that I think about it, I might as well invest in the Luanda stock market, so that I won't lose all my capital."
After hearing his "tragic" experience, Tambor was not as calm as before. He sighed and said, "It's not your fault. The stock markets in London and New York before were so prosperous that anyone would be jealous. But it turns out that this abnormal prosperity was just a huge scam. I also lost some money. But fortunately, I am busy with a lot of things every day, so I don't spend too much energy on the stock market."
"After all, if you can't keep an eye on stocks all the time, it's hard to feel at ease. I didn't expect this to be the reason I escaped a disaster. It's really unpredictable."
"Many people in our association have lost all their money. I heard that some of them have joined the Tiantai Army. Compared with them, we are just unable to make any money now. We are lucky to be able to sit here and drink coffee."
Deliman nodded in agreement and said, "That's true. Fortunately, I still focus on industry. Although it's not easy to do business now, it's still much better than those people who speculate in stocks."
Tambor said: "You are in the timber business, so you should not be the most affected this time. If you have sufficient funds, you can wait until the crisis is over and then slowly ship out the goods. After all, timber has a long shelf life."
"However, the best way is to open up sales channels and establish stable connections with high-end furniture and building materials manufacturers. In the UK, only the rich have spare money to spend."
The social division in the UK is very serious, with wealth concentrated in the hands of a few people. Especially after the outbreak of the economic crisis, the British middle class suffered large-scale bankruptcies or reduced incomes. But when it comes to the rich group, they cannot avoid dealing with the British upper class, such as big capitalists, aristocrats, and officials. This is why Temple persuaded Derryman to bribe British officials.
However, it is difficult to do this. After all, Tambor has a deep understanding of how greedy British officials are. When he was as "weak" as Deliman, he suffered a lot.
Deliman said in a timid tone, "Forget it! I feel it's safer to do business in China now. The competitive pressure in the UK is much higher than in China. Back then, I came here with great ambitions, but I didn't make much money. Now that the economic crisis has broken out, I've lost a lot."
"From this perspective, although the domestic market is also highly competitive, it is at least much more stable. In addition, the development of Gabon Province has also been good in recent years, so we still have to focus on the domestic market in the future."
According to Deriman, he was going to return to his country for development. Tambor asked, "If you plan to leave, what about the Libreville Chamber of Commerce? You are the president?"
Deliman said dimly, "What else can I do? This Chamber of Commerce has a lot of problems. It's nothing compared to your Cabinda British Trade Association. It's just a makeshift team. I have spent a lot of my personal energy for this Chamber of Commerce. Now it seems that these past few years have been a complete waste of time."
Tambor asked, "So you are going to give up your overseas business completely?"
Drieman said: "In today's economic situation, if you don't have capital and connections, you can't survive in such developed overseas markets. If I had gone to South America, I might have been able to make a living. After all, in London, I was just an unknown small businessman, but in those backward areas, I was considered a 'capitalist' in the Soviet Union."
"I have a colleague who made a fortune in Argentina. He advised me that although London is a developed city, it is not a place where people like us can make a living. It is better to develop in smaller countries with better market prospects."
"Now it has been proven that what he said is right. The consumption level of Argentines is not worse than that of British people. We can be treated as honored guests there, and the government can provide help if we encounter troubles. On the contrary, in London, it is difficult for me to make money even if I humble myself."
"So, this time I plan to sell my assets in the UK, return to China to make some adjustments, and never come back to this place again."
In fact, before the economic crisis, Deliman did make some money, but after the crisis, he lost it all, which completely dampened his spirit.
Tambor could only say, "Then I can only wish you good luck. Maybe you can make a comeback in the future. At least staying in London now is really like walking on thin ice."
Deliman said, "Then I also wish you good luck in your business in the UK! After this departure, it may be difficult for us to meet again. And I have long wanted to say that British chefs are really bad. They have so many colonies, can't they even get a decent cookbook?"
Before leaving, Driemann humorously disparaged British food. At least in the past few years in London, Driemann felt that he had lost a lot of weight.
…
The outbreak of the economic crisis in the UK is closely related to the US economy. After all, the ties between the two countries are too deep.
This connection is not just economic, but also includes culture, history, geography, connections and so on.
Culturally, the United States and Britain share the same origin and race, so the British and Americans can communicate, live, invest, build factories, travel in each other's countries... There is no discomfort at all. Historically, the United States was once a British colony. Although the United States has long been independent, it is still connected. Geographically, the two countries are only separated by the Atlantic Ocean. In this era dominated by shipping, trade is very convenient, and personal connections...
Therefore, if an economic crisis breaks out in the United States, the British will have no chance of being immune and will definitely be affected.
There are also countries with similar relations in East Africa, namely Germany and Austria. The economic crisis in Germany and East Africa has not yet broken out, but the Austro-Hungarian Empire, led by Austria, is doomed.
October 27, 1929.
Following the stock market crashes in New York and London, Vienna lived up to expectations and once again became the center of the storm for the financial industry crisis on the European continent, ahead of cities such as Paris, Berlin, and Frankfurt, and was the first to be affected by the economic crisis.
Since the 19th century, Vienna can be regarded as the "pioneer" of European economic crises. For example, the economic crisis in 1873 first broke out in Vienna. The reason why Vienna is always at the forefront is the fragility of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's economy.
(End of this chapter)
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