IBTCPOTME Novel - Chapter 108
Chapter 108
Key Cities and Capitalists (2)
News spread that the Comanche tribe had finally been defeated, suffering near-extinction.
The end of the Comanche War, much faster than in the original timeline.
‘Is this all the butterfly effect caused by that Carter Smith?’
I expected the war to last longer, but my expectations were completely wrong. It turned out that a certain Carter Smith, for some reason, had been spreading information about Mexico in America, raising the Americans’ already heightened vigilance due to the Mexican-French War.
Upon hearing about the information he was spreading, I was horrified and ordered his abduction, but Colonel Ricardo, commander of the intelligence unit, recommended assassination.
He argued that abduction would be riskier. I approved, and the operation was carried out. However, the influence he had left behind did not disappear, and ultimately led to a massive arms buildup and Comanche extermination campaign in America.
That much could be considered the Comanche’s karma for their plundering economy, but I received a report that bothered me.
“Ambassador Thompson. I hear that the second clause of the ‘Treaty on Indigenous Migration’ is not being followed at all.”
I said to the American ambassador, Waddy Thompson Jr.
“But Your Highness, those are not innocent Indians, they are savages who have killed thousands of our Americans. How can our soldiers be kind to such people?”
The ‘Trail of Tears’ that I had tried so hard to prevent was happening almost identically in this world. Of course, since there are so many indigenous people settled in Mexico, the number is smaller than in the previous life.
The problem is that the army responsible for transportation suffered heavy casualties in the battle, leading to resentment and hatred towards the indigenous people.
The Comanches and other tribes who lived off a plundering economy could be considered so, but many other tribes who did not were also involved in the battle and were exterminated.
The only reason those who lived off hunting and gathering fought was because they knew that if the Comanche tribe fell, they would be next.
“This is not about morality. This is a formal treaty between nations. Remember that if the American side does not uphold the second clause, our Mexican side may also not uphold the first clause.”
“That… Ahem, I understand. We will be careful to transport the indigenous people as safely as possible.”
“Yes. I heard that over 100,000 people will be coming in, so if they are in the same condition as the 20,000 who came this time, we will not accept them.”
“… I understand.”
It’s a warning to prevent the Trail of Tears.
By now, many people must already be suffering, but there are still many indigenous people left in North America.
America’s arrogant attitude, which would have been the case in the past, has changed considerably. They fought the Comanches and realized that our Mexican army is no pushover.
Ambassador Waddy Thompson, who had come to the palace at my summons, left, and I instructed Diego.
“Tell them to provide adequate treatment and transportation at the border. Feed them well, give them oranges.”
Many will still die. Those who died on the Trail of Tears died of hunger or overwork, but it is estimated that a significant percentage died of disease.
Many of them, having already come into close contact with Westerners, will be unable to escape death.
“Yes, I understand.”
“Send more medical personnel if needed.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Even though I had taken the necessary measures, I felt uneasy. Diego seemed to sense my mood and said.
“If at least 100,000 indigenous people come, the population growth rate will increase significantly this year.”
“… That’s true.”
It’s no exaggeration to say that Mexico’s population is exploding.
The birth rate is estimated to be higher than that of the United States and European countries, which were experiencing a population boom during this period, and the immigration system we have been building for the past 10 years is receiving immigrants at a rate several times that of the United States.
Even so, 100,000 is not a small number. Isn’t that the number of two medium-sized cities by the standards of this time?
The indigenous people sent from America, including the Comanche tribe, will be distributed evenly throughout the northern settlements, as well as the expanding Chihuahua City and the southern territories.
All I can do is ensure that they live well.
***
“There may be many doubts about the sewage system we are building in this city, but I am confident that this system will one day be implemented in cities all over the world. If we successfully build it this time, we will gain the honor of being the first to succeed.”
The sewage system.
One of the areas where I can use my expertise as a civil engineer specializing in infrastructure.
In the original timeline, in the modern sense, the sewage system was first built in the late 1850s after a massive cholera outbreak in England.
Thanks to the advancement of science and technology, basic knowledge of chemistry and biology was acquired, leading to the realization that cholera, along with many other diseases, was waterborne, meaning it was transmitted through water.
It hasn’t been discovered in this world yet, but it can prevent more diseases, and there’s no need to wait. I’m confident that I can build a sewage system better than what was built in England.
“Your Highness, I understand that this sewage system consists of a water supply system that provides clean water and a sewage system that treats dirty water. Most of the design was done by Your Highness, but we learned by watching. But as I understand it, to operate this facility, there must be a way to make dirty water clean, and is that possible?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. We’ve already developed a disinfectant in collaboration with the professors at the Imperial University. Of course, we will also be using chemical and physical treatment methods.”
“I see.”
It’s still far behind modern sewage facilities, but basic disinfectants can be made with current technology.
Chlorinated lime and aluminum sulfate are examples. Chlorinated lime could be mass-produced from the late 18th century, and aluminum sulfate is something I commissioned the professors at the Imperial University to research, and after a long wait, we finally achieved mass production.
The plan is to use these two disinfectants and a filter using various materials such as gravel, sand, charcoal, cloth, and activated carbon.
This sewage system, which ordinary people take for granted, is one of the key competitive advantages of this city and Mexico.
Sewage systems are expensive to build and operate, but they provide countless benefits that make the cost worthwhile.
Just the fact that it can prevent the spread of many waterborne diseases, including cholera, typhoid fever, and dysentery, is a benefit that outweighs the cost. This is because in this era, when medicine is not advanced, all of these diseases are life-threatening.
‘That’s not all.’
It means that there is a way to treat wastewater and sewage properly, improving sanitation and reducing the city’s stench.
It also has the advantage of protecting and recycling water resources, leading to sustainable water resource management, a crucial advantage in an arid region like Chihuahua, where it determines how far the city can expand.
This incredible sewage system is being built in Chihuahua City, the first in the world.
“Have the pipes been processed according to the design?”
“Yes, they were made and sent according to our order.”
“Have you checked the connections thoroughly?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Good, then let’s begin.”
I no longer need to supervise the construction of roads and buildings.
I led the architects and workers assigned to the sewage construction project and began to direct the work on site.
***
August 1842.
One day, as the hot summer in Chihuahua was coming to an end, a detailed report arrived.
“I thought something was fishy, but it’s worse than I thought.”
“It was using peones.”
Sigh-
As expected, the overwork deaths in the factory weren’t just a matter of working conditions. It was a case that revealed a much deeper, darker side of Mexico.
The ‘peon’ system, a system of debt slavery, originated in Latin America during the colonial period and has continued to this day.
After the Valladolid Debate (Junta de Valladolid), enslaving indigenous people was prohibited. But they couldn’t give up exploiting the indigenous people, so they created the peon system.
Peones were nominally free, but they could not leave their jobs until they paid off their debts.
Landowners often forced tenant farmers working on their farms to buy necessities, farming tools, seeds, etc. from their own stores at inflated prices, in order to increase the number of peones, who were essentially slaves. They would then have no choice but to go into debt to the landowner, and the interest rates on those debts were murderous.
“The factory owner wasn’t even a landowner. He bought bonds from the landowners and brought in peones, then forced them to work under harsh conditions. If this isn’t slavery, what is it?”
As I exploded with anger, Diego said.
“But peonage does not exist in Mexican law. Shouldn’t we outlaw the peon system now?”
“The peon system was not codified in law even during the colonial period. It was a practice that was done customarily over a very wide area. It won’t be easy to make it illegal. The political structure of Mexico is broadly divided into the Imperial faction, the landed gentry faction, and the Republican faction, but there is no one among them who is not a landowner.”
There are those who are not landowners in the Imperial and Republican factions, but even then, it’s less than one in ten.
“… The moment we legislate a law outlawing peonage, it will be like poking a hornet’s nest.”
“Yes. And while the peon system needs to be abolished, it’s not a fundamental solution. To truly liberate debt slaves, we need to break the inheritance of debt, but that would also cause a huge backlash.”
“It’s not easy either way.”
These two problems are not something we can simply give up on because of the voters. It’s something that will cause them, and countless supporters across the country, to rise up.
I believe that most of the Imperial faction will continue to support us, even if it means accepting losses, but not everyone will. Even within the Imperial faction, the amount of favors they have received from the royal family varies.
‘The landed gentry faction is a given.’
Republican members are mostly people of strong convictions, but that’s just the members. It’s not the same for the influential figures across the country who support the Republican faction. And even if they have strong convictions, you never know what will happen if their own interests and convictions clash head-on.
It will be a cause for lament from the many righteous priests who risked their lives to fight for indigenous rights and won the Valladolid Debate, but the Mexican Catholic Church will fiercely oppose the ‘outlawing of the peon system’ and the ‘inheritance waiver system’.
Even now, with the royal family’s immense prestige, I can’t do everything I want.
‘I’m confident that I can win if I’m prepared for a civil war…’
If things go well, the workers will all side with the royal family, and the civil war will end quickly, but we have to consider the possibility that things won’t go that smoothly.
With America’s expansionist ambitions growing stronger, a full-fledged civil war would be tantamount to suicide.
‘Let’s hold off on this one. But it won’t last long.’
I made that decision and told Diego.
“Instead of going straight for a solution to the peon problem right now, let’s try to solve it by improving working conditions. Punish that factory owner.”
“Improving working conditions will also face strong opposition, won’t it? It will be much less controversial than ‘outlawing the peon system’ and ‘inheritance waiver system’, but still.”
“That’s why I’m going to do it gradually. The media has spread the news of this incident, and the workers’ dissatisfaction has increased. The landowners and capitalists are aware of this atmosphere, so if we say we are going to conduct a ‘workplace conditions investigation’, they won’t be able to openly oppose it.”
“And if we announce that the results of the workplace conditions investigation are serious, it will be difficult for them to oppose the legislation of laws on improving working conditions.”
“That’s right. But we need to negotiate the level appropriately.”
Our Mexico is now in a position to create proper labor laws. I don’t want to create excessive labor laws that are out of place in this era. But we have to prevent overwork deaths, don’t we?
Even England passed the Health and Morals of Apprentices Act in the early 19th century, creating the first labor law in the world.
Following my orders, the ‘workplace conditions investigation’ was carried out.
It was a nationwide investigation that covered all types of jobs, including factories, farms, and mines.
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