Chapter 316: Global Cruise
It had to be said that the Colonial Ministry had chosen an excellent time. The Anglo-American struggle over Central America could be traced back a decade. With both sides restraining and stabbing at each other, neither had gained any advantage.
In order to fully suppress the Indian rebellion, the United Kingdom carried out a limited strategic contraction overseas. In 1859, the London Government made concessions and abandoned its sphere of influence in Central America.
The radical faction in the American South had originally planned to incorporate Central America into the country as slave states, but this was opposed by Northern industrial and commercial interests.
The North-South conflict had to be traced back to the Mexican-American War. It was the seizure of vast Mexican territories that ignited the conflict between North and South.
Southern plantation owners wanted to turn these regions into states that kept slaves, while Northern industrialists demanded they become free states.
Unable to reconcile their conflicting interests, the North-South contradiction became public.
The economic crisis of 1857 further intensified this contradiction. Northern capitalists demanded higher tariffs to protect their markets, while Southern plantation owners demanded lower tariffs to facilitate agricultural exports.
Make no mistake: Northern capitalists did not merely want to raise import duties on industrial and commercial goods. They also demanded higher export duties on agricultural products, so they could obtain cheap raw materials.
To cut off a man's livelihood was like murdering his parents. Naturally, the Southern plantation owners could not endure it. This was carving flesh directly from their bodies, exploiting agriculture to subsidize industry.
As for abolishing slavery, that was actually just a pretext for the outbreak of war. If it had only been about emancipation, so long as the government was willing to provide compensation, most slaveowners could have