Das Jahrbuch
des Königreich Preußens
im Jahre 1836
Almanac of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1836
des Königreich Preußens
im Jahre 1836
Almanac of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1836
The remainder of 1836 was focused on keeping the ship of state steady. One important thing to remember is that you need to be flexible in how you manage things with Victoria. Settings you make at one point may not be as helpful as you expect them to be, and you need to readjust levels in your budget to be certain the goals you want will be achieved.
By the summer of 1836, the tax settings I had made were not producing the income I had hoped for. In part this may have been due to initial POP reserves for the lower class POPs working down before building up as exports grew. In any case my income was falling to around 10/day and I felt it was time to re-examine my tax base.
Adjusting taxes on the rich to produce more income
Checking to see how my capitalists are doing, I notice they are making about 4.25/day, in part due to more factories via event (more on that in a second). As a result, I decide to adjust rich taxes up a bit, so that my capis in Berlin average around 3.80-4.00/day or so. That came to about 18% tax rate. Note, to those who think you have to completely coddle your capis to get them to produce - it all depends on your nation. Prussia is a high income, moderate population country, so capis do very well and can handle taxes and tariffs more than countries will less exports would be able to. In the end it always pays to test different combinations and finding a combination that allows your capis to build up reserves while also bringing in income for yourself.
In terms of economic development, two further factory build events came up, one to build a fertilizer factory in Silesia and a Lumber Mill in Pomerania. I went yes with both. Fertilizer will be needed as the basis for building up the explosives needed to eventually produce artillery, while lumber is always good to have not only for construction (expanding factories, forts) but will be needed for when Prussia finally gains a furniture factory.
For now though this means that Prussia will be exporting more fertilizer and lumber, while importing a bit more sulphur and now importing lumber. But as both factories are profitable, the extra export income our POPs are gaining is a good use of the cost of the imports to keep the factories going.
Overall, by the end of the year, our overall production numbers looked like this :
Good-Produce-Use-Balance (red number means we need to import to maintain production, green number means we export that)
Cotton-0.00-4.03-4.03
Dye-0.00-2.43-2.43
Sulphur-0.00-2.08-2.08
Wool-0.00-0.27-0.27
Timber-1.18-1.76-0.58
Iron-2.31-1.70-0.61
Coal-20.60-1.90-18.70
Cattle-7.25-0.36-6.89
Grain-5.92-0.36-5.564
Fish-1.34-0.36-0.98
Fruit-3.19-1.20-1.99
Ammunition-0.24-0.40-0.16
Cement-0.16-0.00-0.16
Lumber-0.53-0.00-0.53
Small Arms-0.21-0.00-0.21
Steel-0.52-0.40-0.12
Wine-0.19-0.00-0.19
Canned Food-0.16-0.00-0.16
Glass-0.20-0.13-0.07
Fertilizer-0.31-0.00-0.31
Fabric-0.64-0.40-0.24
Regular Clothes-0.18-0.00-0.18
Our first capitalist-built railways begin construction in Silesia.
That the economy was keeping Priussia's capitalist POPs happy was further validated when at the start of November 1836 capitalists began construction on two new railroads in Silesia, at Breslau and Kattowitz. Now I was under the impression that capitalists began building railways in their home state first, and Silesia, while having 2 capitalist POPs, only had one that was at a level of reserves to construct railways, so I may be mistaken in my belief. Either that or there was a hiccup in the engine. Either way I will benefit from that for improving the efficiency of my factories in Silesia.
Meanwhile my POPs are settling into a nice mellowness. In June the highest level of MIL growth was -0.04, and this was how that was compiled
by the end of the year the MIL con levels looked like this
Highest Militancy : 4
Lowest Militancy : 3
Highest Rate of MIL growth : -0.03
Lowest Rate of MIL growth : -0.83
Highest Consciousness : 8
Lowest Militancy : 6
Highest Rate of MIL growth : 0.50
Lowest Rate of MIL growth : -0.50
So overall a good year to start the game with. Here is where I stand on 1 January 1837 :
and here is how I compare with other nations :
International Events In 1836
Besides the conflict in the Low Countries discussed earlier, the other major conflict to attract European attention was the Civil War between the Regency for the child queen Isabella II and the pretender Don Carlos. Prussia is very interested in the outcome of this conflict, and have decided to help the legitimate government of the young queen.
The situation in Spain in mid-1836, and Prussia's decision to send aid to Madrid.
The Carlists appeal for aid for their cause. Prussia refuses.
The Carlists made appeals to the great powers for aid. As we have cast our support for Isabella, we turn the Carlists down, however the Russians and Austrians decide to send support, in theory secret but well known to all the great powers, to aid the Carlist cause.
The military situation in Spain, Jan 1837
As a result a stalemate was beginning to develop in the North of Spain. The Regency forces had cleared Catalonia and were threatening the center of the revolt in Vizcaya, however the Carlist forces have made a daring rush westward towards Asturias and Galicia to draw the Spanish off.
Meanwhile, the Texas revolutionaries, reportedly with the support of elements within the United States, humiliated the Mexicans when they defeated a force under the personal leadership of Mexico's president Santa Ana. The result of the victory at San Jacinto was the Mexican leader recognizing Texas' independence in exchange for his freedom. The government back in Mexico City refused to recognize Texas' independence de jure, but the ignominious defeat of Santa Ana has led the Mexicans to withdraw from Texas, at least for now.
The situation in Texas in wake of the Texan victory at San Jacinto.
Southern Africa at the start of 1837
Another area of conflict was in Southern Africa, where the descendents of the original Dutch settlers at the Cape, the Boers, decided to migrate inland to escape what they considered the hostile intentions of the British colonial authorities towards their traditional way of life, especially with regard to the forced use of African labour, which Britian's recent decision to abolish slavery appeared to threaten. Calling their migration the Great Trek, the Boers began to move northward, first across the Oranje River and then, increasingly, across the Vaal River into the lands of the Sotho. At Vechtkop in late 1836 the Boers defeated a large Sotho force, securing their control over the lands immediately along the north bank of the Vaal.
Though the British did not attempt to halt the Great Trek, our consul in Cape Town reports the British are worried that Boer expansionism could draw the British into conflicts in the interior at a time when their own borders with the Xhosa remain unstable as conflicts between British settlers and Xhosa communities continued to produce heightened fears of full war in the Eastern Cape.
