In fact, Marin has deep considerations about supporting the independence of the Swedes. The Swedes' independence will not only attract the full attention of Denmark, the big backer of the Earl of Oldenburg, but also allow Marin to take back control of the Jever area calmly, and allow Marin to obtain minerals from Sweden.
When it comes to Swedish minerals, we have to mention the famous super-large copper mine Falun Copper Mine in Sweden. People in later generations only know about Sweden's high-quality high-grade iron ore, but they don't know that as early as the Middle Ages, Sweden's Falun Copper Mine was well-known in Europe.
In the 17th century, when copper mines were the most popular, the Falun Copper Mine in Sweden produced an average of 3,500 tons of copper per year, twice the total copper production of all other European countries during the same period. Moreover, this copper mine has been mined for hundreds of years.
More importantly, before the Japanese copper in Asia was sold to Europe by the Dutch, the price of copper in Europe was very expensive. Before the large-scale development of the Falun Copper Mine, the price of copper in Europe was extremely expensive, and the price ratio of silver to copper was between 1:15 and 1:20. After the large-scale development of the Falun Copper Mine in the 17th century, even because of excessive production, the price of copper in Europe fell sharply.
In Europe at that time, copper was an extremely important resource. In addition to being used to cast coins and other utensils, it was also used on a large scale to cast bronze cannons. Especially the artillery used by the army is mainly made of bronze. Because, before the mid-19th century, steel technology was backward, and steel-cast artillery was too bulky to carry on land marches. Therefore, before the mid-19th century and until the Civil War, most infantry artillery in Europe and the United States were made of copper.
But before the large-scale development of the Falun Copper Mine, because copper was too expensive, 15 catties of copper could be exchanged for a catty of silver. As a result, ordinary small countries could not afford artillery. Only a rich country like France has the capital to dispatch hundreds of artillery pieces in a single battle. In addition, only the army of the Holy Roman Empire and some wealthy nobles (such as the King of Denmark, the Duke of Saxony and other local tyrants) have the financial resources to form large-scale artillery units. Generally, small countries can't afford to equip copper cannons, or they can only equip one or two or a few guns.
It is precisely because of the high price of copper that mining copper mines is very profitable. When Gustav II, the most promising king in the history of Sweden in the 17th century, was in power, he relied on the huge profits of the Falun Copper Mine to support a powerful army. The war gave Sweden a great reputation. It can be said that without the Falun copper mine, Sweden would not rise. Because, in the Gustav line, the musketeers can fire guns without money, because Sweden believes that the Falun Copper Mine provides profits and funds for the Swedish musketeers and gunners to squander.
You know, there are two-thirds of the musketeers in the Gustav line, and there are also a large number of three-pound guns. Once fighting, the consumption of gunpowder is very alarming. And the price of gunpowder is so expensive, so the army of Gustav II cost a lot. However, relying on the huge profits from the Falun Copper Mine, Gu Erye has enough confidence to support 20,000 elites and spread across Germany.
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Marin wants to support old Sten. Sturey, but it is impossible to support him and Denmark to fight to the end with his own money. This is a loss. After all, the War of Independence was not settled in one or two battles, it could be fought for many years. Because the Danes are willing to lose Sweden, and will definitely send troops to fight for it many times. Therefore, the consumption of the War of Independence is greater than the conflict between countries. After all, the conflict between countries may stop after one or two fights, but the two sides in the War of Independence are fighting to the death...
Therefore, Marin planned to send someone to help Old Sten. Sturley developed the Falun copper mine, which made Sweden believe that it had enough funds to support the war with the Danes. After all, these days, the price of copper is too high. If you produce 15 tons of copper, you can exchange it for a ton of silver, which is worth about 23,000 gold coins.
And, support old Sten. It is not bad for Marin to develop the Falun Copper Mine by Sturley. He could have signed a contract in advance, requesting to underwrite the copper from the Falun Copper Mine. Even, because of the investment in development funds, Marin can also take shares in the copper mine and make huge profits.
In fact, the Falun Copper Mine began to have copper mining as early as the 13th century. However, Sweden is in Northern Europe, an underdeveloped region of Europe, at least for now. Therefore, the Falun Copper Mine lacks professional craftsmen, and the process of smelting copper ore into copper is very backward. It is almost a primitive way of open-pit operation, and the scale is very small.
What Marin has to do is to recruit a group of powerful craftsmen from areas with experience in copper mining and smelting such as Austria or Bohemia in the German region to guide the local Swedes and direct them to open the case reasonably. Mine, and use advanced smelting methods to smelt copper ore to get more copper. In addition, some prospecting craftsmen can also explore more copper veins in the Falun Copper Mine area, and can dig mines according to the direction of the veins. Unlike now, the Swedes only mine some copper ore out of the ground, which is very primitive and backward, and the output is not high.
Although it is said that Marin can buy cheap copper by sending a fleet to India. But right now, the Swedes just need enough funds to help them develop the Falun Copper Mine, which will not only allow them to have enough funds to fight against the Danes, but also allow them to live profitably and get a large amount of copper nearby.
You know, going to India to buy copper is really a waste of time. It takes almost two years to go back and forth. Although cheap, it is inconvenient.
Marin is more inclined to buy more saltpeter on the ship going to India, because saltpeter is very short in Europe. As for copper, with the development of the Falun Copper Mine, enough cheap copper can be bought. After all, Marin intends to act as a shareholder of Falun Copper Mine. Shareholders buy copper at their own copper mines, will they buy at the market price? Naturally, I bought it at cost price...
In this way, Marin can load more saltpeter on ships going to India in the future, so as not to waste on loading copper. After all, it was a round-trip trade every two years, which was too inefficient.
Moreover, Marin supports old Sten. Sturey, and not just for the Falun Copper Mine. In Kiruna, north of the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden, there are top-grade high-grade iron ores with an iron content of more than 70%, with reserves of several billion tons.
As long as Marin supports old Sten. Sturey made Sweden independent, so Marin can rely on the friendly relationship between the two parties to send craftsmen to explore iron ore in northern Sweden.
Marin remembered that the northern iron mine in Sweden in later generations was near Kiruna, and it was an open-pit iron mine. However, in this era, the city of Kiruna may not have appeared yet. However, Marin remembers that Kiruna is 145 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.
As long as you remember this data, Marin can use a sextant to measure latitude in northern Sweden, and then survey east-west at a latitude of 145 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.
Anyway, the Kiruna Iron Mine is open-pit, and it is easy to find as long as you look at those mountains. As long as the Kiruna iron ore is found, Marin can organize the excavation of high-quality iron ore here, and then transport it to East Frisia, smelt it into steel, and use it to cast artillery.
As for the local climate, it is not a problem. Because, although Kiruna is north of the Arctic Circle, it is not very cold. Because Kiruna is not far from the Atlantic Ocean, and affected by the North Atlantic warm current, the climate here is much warmer than that of Siberia at the same latitude. Even, because of the North Atlantic warm current, Murmansk, which is at a higher latitude than Kiruna, is still an ice-free port. Probably, only in winter will it be colder here. In other seasons, the operation of the iron mine will not be greatly affected. And if mine mining is developed, even in winter, iron ore can be continuously mined from mines with relatively constant temperature.
In order to obtain Kiruna's high-quality iron ore, Marin even considered whether to send troops directly to the war, cripple Denmark, and then seek to cede the northern part of Norway, and then find a way to get the Kiruna region from the Swedes . In this way, the Kiruna iron ore can go directly to the Atlantic Ocean through the northern part of Norway, and it can be easily transported back to East Frisia (in fact, the later generations of Kiruna iron ore are also exported through the Norwegian port of Narvik ). If northern Norway is not captured, iron ore will need to go to the Baltic Sea, and when it leaves the Baltic Sea, it will be restrained by the Danes. Now, neither the Swedes nor the Danes pay much attention to the northern region. Because, although the northern area is not too cold, the temperature is not too high, which is not suitable for the growth of crops. Only the Lapps (a polar ethnic group, but not the Eskimos) herd reindeer there...
However, if he really participated in the war against Denmark, if Denmark was not destroyed, Marin's merchant ships would definitely be embarrassed by the Danes and even blocked when they entered and exited the Danish Strait to trade in the Baltic Sea. Therefore, for this matter, Marin also had a headache and didn't know how to choose.
Of course, the question of whether to participate in the war can be put aside first, and the development of the Falun Copper Mine is not a big problem. Moreover, Marin can develop the Falun Copper Mine directly in the name of a pseudonym businessman without directly coming forward. In this way, it is also convenient to keep it secret, so as not to be hated by the Danes.
For this reason, Marin ordered to send people to Austria and Bohemia in the south to find high-level craftsmen who explore and smelt copper ore, hire them in the name of the chamber of commerce, and then send them to Falun, Sweden...