In the entire North American continent, in terms of wealth, in addition to the Xuanzhou Governorate of Qi, it should be Massachusetts. However, the former's sudden riches were entirely based on the discovery and mining of gold, and may not be sustainable. The latter, on the other hand, relied on step-by-step "hard work" and shrewd business acumen, and slowly accumulated countless wealth, thus living a rich life far beyond that of England.

After more than 100 years of painstaking management, the Massachusetts people not only achieved self-sufficiency in food, but also established their own "sugar triangle" trade circle by actively exploring overseas markets.

The so-called "sugar triangle" trade, that is, the New England dried fish, grain, timber, and livestock were transported to the West Indies (i.e., the Caribbean Islands), and sugar products were transported to Europe after unloading, and industrial goods, cotton textiles, wine, etc. were unloaded in Europe and returned to New England, so that when the economic engine of the Atlantic market gradually moved from Brazil to the West Indies, the Puritan immigrants in Massachusetts became the biggest beneficiary.

It is important to know that the West Indies, which is engaged in the sugar industry, cannot or rarely produce enough agricultural and sideline products, and needs to import a large number of livestock to supply the power and transportation of sugar extraction machinery.

Thus, the Massachusetts had the safe and secure business of exporting grain, fish, livestock, and barrels to the West Indies, so that when their ships came out and went to the West Indies, they did not have to carry ballast, so they could load local products at a lower cost than their competitors.

Of course, this was due to the strength of England itself, and London was determined to challenge the Dutch sea coachmen, passing the Navigation Regulations, which excluded the powerful Dutch shipowners from the English commercial system, freed them from the competition of the "free-flying Dutchman", won a lot of business opportunities for the owners of the ships in England and Massachusetts, and also stimulated the demand for "Made in England" ships.

Massachusetts' shipbuilding industry started with simple fishing boats and then moved on to larger ships, and although labor was more expensive than in England, the cost of shipbuilding was lower than in England because of the abundance of cheap and high-quality wood, and shipbuilding soon became one of Massachusetts' pillar industries.

In addition to shipbuilding, Massachusetts also has an extremely important industry, and that is winemaking.

The sugarcane wine brewing process of Qi had already spread to the Caribbean and Brazil through the Dutch East India Company more than 50 years ago, and then to Massachusetts.

During this period, European countries encouraged their own imports of raw sugar to be refined locally in order to compete for this high value-added industry, and Massachusetts was undoubtedly a strong competitor in the cane refining industry, including England's own industry.

Sugar production is a high energy consumption industry (mainly wood-based fuel), and the same is true for sugar cane liquor (i.e. rum), and the advantage of establishing a sugar factory on the island is that it is easy to ship by sea and can prevent slaves from escaping, but the disadvantage is also obvious, so the fuel supply is insufficient, so the West Indies need to import a large amount of timber.

Compared with wood, transporting molasses can save the space of ships, so Massachusetts imports a large amount of molasses to make wine, which is more cost-effective than importing wood from the West Indies.

As a result, more than 30 years ago, Massachusetts became the most competitive rum making center at the time, importing tens of thousands of barrels of molasses from the West Indies every year. In addition to being consumed in the North American colonies, it was also used in the fur trade with the Indians and for export to Africa for slavery. After being sold in the West Indies, the exchanged African slaves were used to continue purchasing molasses and granulated sugar, in addition to earning money directly, which were then brought back to Massachusetts for brewing and refining. It was also another form of "triangular trade" of the time, which brought a lot of profit to Massachusetts merchants.

Because local consumption was very limited, Massachusetts shipowners began to take a business approach, with flour and meat from the Central Colonies, tobacco from Virginia, rice and indigo from the Southern Colonies all dependent on Massachusetts for transportation to Europe or the West Indies, and Massachusetts shipowners soon developed second only to the Dutch as coachmen at sea, with hundreds of ships to and from North America, the West Indies, Southern Europe, Britain, and Africa (not counting part-time fishing boats).

In addition, the Massachusetts also undertook the business of selling stolen goods by land and sea, and in the late 17th century, the understanding between England, France and Spain made pirates less popular in the Caribbean (before all countries recruited pirates to strengthen their armed forces), and the pirates here began to look for safer and more reliable habitats and channels for selling stolen goods, so Massachusetts successfully recruited these "gray" businesses.

Because of the development of commerce here, it is convenient for the sale of stolen goods and the purchase of nautical supplies, and there is a lot of rum; At the same time, it is also a center of shipbuilding, where ships can be repaired and re-equipped. As a result, a large number of pirates came here to repair ships and trade, and even pirates from the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans (because of the strength of the Qi navy, the pirates in the region could not carry out decent business at all) came from thousands of miles away.

Of course, the fly in the ointment was that the Massachusetts legislators at the time were still affected by the Puritan precepts and were slow to pass laws allowing the opening of technical institutes, so Rhode Island, which had more lenient laws, began to steal the business of the Massachusetts, and the economy began to rise—it became almost a pirate vacation destination in the late last century and the beginning of this century.

With five pillar industries – fishing, shipping, shipbuilding, winemaking, and specialty industry services – Massachusetts became the "prettiest boy" in the Atlantic Economic Circle during this period.

At this time, there are two economic models in the theory of international trade, one is the "free trade" proposed by Qi State, which requires countries around the world to cancel many trade restriction policies, reduce various trade obstacles, open their own countries and markets, implement free trade, and do not pursue absolute trade surplus.

There is also the mercantilism that prevails in Europe, in the eyes of the government and businessmen, the wealth in the world is limited, and the more you have, the less I will have, in order to compete for wealth, a country must export more goods than the value of imported goods, and strive to make its business occupy a central position in the international entrepot trade.

In such competition, the southern colonies of British North America mainly produced raw materials and cash crops that Britain urgently needed, and there were economic complementarities, but several colonial territories in the north were more economically confrontational.

Especially in New England, where the main products are fishery products and wool, and the native products of England are also fishery products and wool; England itself is developing commerce, industry and shipping, and New England is also developing industry, commerce and shipping; England itself needed raw materials and markets from the Southern and Caribbean colonies, and New England's industry and commerce competed for raw materials and markets.

New England seems to have been born an enemy of old England, and was called "the most pernicious colony" by native English politicians and businessmen.

"I heard that General James Edward Oglethorpe has received a charter from His Majesty the King to establish a new colonial territory in the southern part of South Carolina."

In the Governor's Palace in Boston City, the political and economic center of the "most pernicious colony," Massachusetts Governor Viscount Mitch McConnell was entertaining a big man from London, Raphael Warnock, Earl of Connar, vice chairman of the Cabinet Finance Committee.

After chatting for a while, Viscount McConnell naturally turned the topic to the affairs of the North American colonies, wanting to find out from the other party what new colonial policy London would introduce and what impact it would have on New England and even Massachusetts.

As one of the decision-makers in the financial affairs of the Kingdom of England, the Earl of Kornal personally visited Boston, despite the stormy waves in the Atlantic, not to "travel at public expense", but to bring with him the latest directives of His Majesty and the Cabinet.

Admiral Oglethorpe didn't seem to like the rainy weather in London, and with the defeat of the Qi Navy two years earlier, he was inevitably a little disheartened by the politics and military at home. Therefore, he wished to come to North America and establish a new territory for His Majesty, so as to consolidate and strengthen the overseas colonial power of our Kingdom of England. Count Cornard put down the wine glass in his hand, picked up the cloth on the table, wiped the corners of his mouth elegantly, and said with a smile: "For this reason, the cabinet has awarded the area south of South Carolina to General Oglethorpe." In this way, it is just right to prevent and curb the infiltration of the Spanish in the Florida region into the north. ”

"After the Spanish truce with our Kingdom of England, they also maintained rare restraint, and did not continue to infiltrate the north and encroach on our North American colonial territories." Viscount McConnell said: "In recent years, they have had an unusually close relationship with the Qi people on the west coast, and have not only ceded many disputed territories very generously, but also deepened their cooperation in trade and military affairs. Oh, by the way, the Panama Isthmus Railroad, which was jointly built by the two countries, after overcoming all the initial adverse conditions, began to gradually accelerate as the number of Indian laborers requisitioned increased, and it may be successfully completed within two years, thus opening up the land link between the two oceans. ”

"Why, you New England want to build railroads too?"

"If we can build a number of railroads connecting the port to the hinterland, it will greatly facilitate the movement of people and goods throughout New England." Viscount McConnell said: "Of course, the construction of the railroad will also help us better control the colonial territory. However, the construction of the railroad must have been very expensive, and New England may not be able to afford it. ”

"The riches of New England are known even to the beggars on the streets of London." Count Kornar took a deep look at the local governor and said with a smile: "Even if it is to raise funds to build a large railway connecting the north and the south, it is not difficult to think of it, right?" ”

"Count Kornal, although the standard of living in the North American colonial territories is higher than that of England itself, it is unrealistic for everyone to take out their own purses and contribute a lot of money to build a railroad across several territories. After all, the needs of each Governor's domain are different, and the interests are not the same. ”

"Oh?" Earl Cornard leaned back gently in his chair, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the dining table, "If the Native were to enact a tax on New England, do you think it could be enforced?" ”

"Taxing?" Viscount McConnell looked at each other in surprise, "Why did the Native suddenly think of taxing New England?" ”

It has been more than 120 years since Britain established its first colony in North America in 1607, during which time the twelve colonial territories in North America (Georgia had not yet been established) have always been nominally part of the Kingdom of England, but they have always been in a highly autonomous environment, and the colonies and Britain have maintained a state of peace and security.

As for paying taxes, they didn't exist, and the colonists had never paid a penny tax to their homeland, and they had become accustomed to the model of self-government with no one on their heads, and enjoyed the good life of living and working in peace and contentment.

Speaking of the high degree of autonomy of the colonies, it was actually the English government that was too lazy to manage the colonies, because this could save a lot of administrative and military expenses, and even the appointed governor's salary was paid from the taxes of the colonies, and England could win the nominal rule of the colonies without spending a penny, which was certainly more worthwhile.

Compared with those colonists, they were willing to leave their homeland to settle in North America, and many of them came for freedom, just like the "Mayflower", which took such a big risk to come to North America to pursue freedom, and the colony has a high degree of autonomy, which is very much in line with the requirements of the colonists.

Why, the big men of London are going to tax us!?

"Our Kingdom of England has been at war with Qi for three years, and the local economy has been devastated, the market has withered, and thousands of factories and trading companies have gone bankrupt and closed down. The streets of cities like London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, and others are crowded with beggars and homeless. In addition, the government was also burdened with a heavy debt of more than £32 million, with an annual interest of £1.5 million, which, together with the £7 million paid by the Alignment State, put the Cabinet's finances under great pressure and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Count Cornard said in a rather heavy tone: "Therefore, as a subject of the kingdom, the overseas colonial territories of Great Britain, including all North America, including New England, should contribute to the mother country as much as they can." ”

The war is over, but the government has no money.

Therefore, it is time for you overseas colonial territories to "honor" your mother country.

However, if you want to collect taxes, how much you need to pay for them, you still need to carefully consider and consider. His Majesty the King, as well as the Prime Minister and the Parliamentarians, many of them have never been to North America, so they have no understanding of the customs there.

North America had not been taxed for more than a hundred and twenty years, and suddenly it was time to collect a tax, and of course it was necessary to send a minister to the North American colonies to investigate it on the ground.

It was against this backdrop that the Earl of Conard, on behalf of His Majesty the King, the Cabinet and the Parliament, braved the dangerous Atlantic Sea to come to Boston by boat.

"If there is a tax on colonial land, I am afraid that it will provoke protests from local merchants and residents." Viscount McConnell said worriedly: "So, I hope that the Cabinet Government and Parliament must be more cautious about this. ”

"I have only come here to inspect and study, and to provide a detailed and reliable report to the Cabinet and the Parliament." Count Cornard said solemnly: "Therefore, the matter of taxation has not yet been formally decided. In this regard, I hope that Sir McConnell will block this news as much as possible, so as not to cause unnecessary commotion in the colony. ”

"I'll do my best to block this news." Viscount McConnell nodded, and then said with some embarrassment: "But I still hope that the interests of the colony will be fully considered by the locals, and the suggestions of the local councillors will be sincerely listened to." ”

"Speaking of local councillors, I need to give them some advice." Count Cornar said with a serious expression: "The interests of the North American colonial territories and the mainland should be the same, and they need to help each other, without the support and protection of the homeland, the interests of all people will not be able to be properly protected." Oh, by the way, how did you Massachusetts local legislature come up with a trade restriction policy to boycott the Qi people of Nova Scotia? …… The people of Qi are not something we can easily provoke! ”

(End of chapter)