Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 710 - 619: The Great US-France Alliance!

Chapter 710 -619: The Great US-France Alliance!

London.

At the easternmost end of Downing Street, in a high-end café run by the French.

Count Saigul gestured forcefully, his voice tinged with anger as he said to Tristan, “England is disrupting the order of North America and the Caribbean Sea Region!”

He had intended to lodge a diplomatic protest against England, but he fortuitously encountered an American envoy and thus invited the latter for an informal meeting.

However, the American envoy appeared more restrained, “Count Saigul, I think this might just be the act of individual British abolitionists.”

As a senior diplomat, he knew that the Duke of Leeds had recently conveyed to the American Government a desire to strengthen the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The British would support the United States’ territorial claims in the Indian settlements, which was essentially conceding their support for the Indians, as well as enhancing trade between the two countries by opening up more British markets to the United States.

Logically, they shouldn’t stab the United States in the back so soon.

Count Saigul sneered, “The whole world can see what the British are up to. Your country’s cotton output is rising rapidly, which will seriously depress the price of cotton in British colonies in the Far East. So they choose to use black slave thugs to destroy your plantations.”

Tristan couldn’t help but frown slightly. He had to admit that the French envoy’s words weren’t without merit. Therefore, the actions of the Duke of Leeds during his previous visit to Philadelphia were to lull the American Government.

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He decided in his heart that he would submit a report to Congress upon his return, to signal the risk coming from England.

Count Saigul said with a slightly pressing tone, “So, how does your country plan to punish England’s actions?”

“This… I have already lodged a formal protest with Lord Grenville,” Tristan replied.

Count Saigul shook his head, “Listen, your country is just too dependent on trade with England, which is why they dare to endanger your interests so brazenly.

“As allies, we should do something to change this situation. Yes, our country has also suffered a great loss, with Santo Domingo being thrown into utter chaos by the British. We must band together!”

Tristan immediately showed interest.

He belonged to the hawks in America; otherwise, Washington wouldn’t have tasked him with holding England accountable. However, he also knew that as a small nation, America did not have the power to retaliate against England. But if they could use France’s hand to discipline England, that would be a good choice.

“What do you suggest?”

“Start by improving your trade reliance on England,” replied Count Saigul. “Our country can significantly increase its imports of cotton and timber from the American market. This will allow you to speak with more confidence when negotiating with the British.”

Tristan hesitated, “If I may speak frankly, Count, France’s import capacity is already saturated, you can’t consume that much cotton and timber.”

“You’re right,” Count Saigul nodded gravely, “but in order to support our ally in raising their diplomatic voice, and to vent our own frustration, our government will provide a special grant to purchase a large batch of cotton and invest in your country, to help those damaged cotton plantations recover as quickly as possible.”

Tristan was overjoyed, “Thank you to our closest ally!

“Then, could you disclose the scale of the special loan?”

Count Saigul immediately replied, “At least over eight million francs.”

He had already been instructed by the Crown Prince to lodge a diplomatic protest against England and immediately proceed to the United States to discuss cotton purchases; he was merely warming up the conversation with Tristan in advance.

Joseph knew that the Book movement would severely impact cotton production, and he wanted to stock up on as much cotton as possible before the market could react, to ensure that France’s textile industry had sufficient raw materials.

Even if the textile factories couldn’t use up all the cotton, when the price soared due to reduced American production, selling it off would lead to a tidy profit.

As for investing in American cotton plantations, that was even more profitable.

Those plantations severely damaged faced the risk of bankruptcy; at such a time, plantation owners would be willing to sell shares for a small amount of capital.

This would not only increase France’s source of raw materials but also could help pull America away from the British market as much as possible.

If it weren’t for the historical debts of enormous aid from France during America’s fight for independence, from an economic standpoint, America would have already aligned with the British.

That is also why, as soon as the French Revolution broke out, America was quick to sever the alliance with France and throw themselves into the embrace of England.

Logically, as a congressional republic, America should have wholeheartedly supported the French abolishment of the monarchy to establish a republic.

Essentially, everything was decided by America’s trade dependency on England.

Therefore, it was very important to push for America’s trade realignment. And America’s dissatisfaction with England now was a rare opportunity.

Tristan’s face was indiscreetly beaming with joy, “I will report this good news to Congress as soon as possible. Long live the US and France alliance!”

“Long live the US and France alliance,” Count Saigul echoed, then added with a smile, “Of course, if your country could offer some concessions, I might be able to obtain more funding from Archbishop Brienne.”

“I assure you, I will do my best to argue this point with the Trade Commission.”

…

In the west of the Caribbean Sea, Jamaica.

At twilight, the bustle of Kingston Port had ceased for the day, and the black slaves were being driven back to the slave quarters by supervisors with whips, looking listless.

Yet, on an inconspicuous shallows to the north of the dock, over thirty slaves were, under the watchful eyes of five or six white men and mixed-race people, continuously unloading wooden crates from a single-masted sailboat.

Those “supervisors” appeared to hold whips, yet they were not paying attention to the slaves’ work; instead, they kept a vigilant watch around them.

One of the mixed-race men lit his pipe, took a strong puff, and whispered to a “supervisor” beside him, “The Governor summoned more than a thousand soldiers last week. Even with these guns, there’s no way we can oppose them.”

Indeed, the crates being moved by the black men behind him contained Brown Bess flintlock guns—ones that the Duke of Leeds had taken to Santo Domingo two months earlier.

A tall, middle-aged man beside him replied calmly, “There are 300,000 black slaves on this island, and I’ve brought guns; thus, our soldiers will always outnumber plantation owners.”

Another white man retorted immediately, “Major Aureol, those blacks only know how to cultivate sugarcane; we can’t possibly count on them.”

“Yes, the slave uprising two years ago had more than 3,000 participants, and yet they were still suppressed by 600 British soldiers.”

Major Aureol smiled, “Then let’s join forces with the ‘Dignity Movement’ in the uprising. Their ‘Patrol Team’ has more than 400 people.”

The “Dignity Movement” he referred to was the Abolitionist Organization in Jamaica, but most of its members were white.