Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 152 One Country, One Nation, One Language
What is a more forceful approach?

In fact, it is to unify the languages, writings, customs, religious beliefs, etc. of various regions of Spain through strong laws, expel all heretics who reject Spanish culture, and be prepared to fight against radical nationalists in Catalonia and the Basque region at any time.

This would certainly not be feasible in later times, because nationalism has been deeply rooted in people's hearts, and everyone is happy to see the support of Catalans and Basques for national autonomy and independence.

But in this era, even the concepts of Catalans and Basques were not so clear. Catalan farmers could not even tell what nationality they were. They only knew that they lived in Catalonia, which was the only proof that they were Catalans.

These people who can't even tell what nationality they are naturally unlikely to support Catalonia's independence. In fact, most of Catalonia's farmers are very supportive of Spain. Those who really oppose Spain and want to seek Catalonia's autonomy and independence are extremely radical nationalists and republicans, and before that there were also Carlos factions.

After all, these people are a minority, and even if they are treated more radically, it will not destroy the good relationship between Catalan farmers and the Spanish government.

In fact, there is a third option that is more cruel than the second option. If the second option is to use the law to enforce it, then the third option is very simple and straightforward, which is to eliminate heretics and alien races by force.

However, it is obviously not the time to use the third option yet, and such cruel measures are completely unnecessary in Spain.

After deciding to take the second approach, Prime Minister Primo's first step was to contact Carlo and seek support from the royal family.

Why seek the support of the royal family? Because the royal family controls a large number of media organizations, that is, newspapers, which can effectively improve the direction of public opinion in Spain.

Although Carlo had disguised the newspapers under his control in various ways, on the surface the royal family only controlled one newspaper, El Sol de España.

But in fact, the number of newspapers controlled by the royal family is at least dozens, which has formed a very terrifying scale in Spain.

To a certain extent, this is a good thing for Spain. After all, the public opinion environment that was originally out of control can now be effectively controlled, and the news that can be released is also conducive to controlling the situation.

But it is also bad news, because such means of public opinion are in the hands of the royal family, which is like a sword of Damocles hanging over the government's head.

Although Prime Minister Primo saw the threat of the royal family controlling public opinion, he did not want to interfere.

The reason is very simple, that is, the royal family's public opinion empire has already formed a scale and it is not so easy to restrict it.

The government can only support more newspapers that do not belong to the royal family to fight against each other, but since the royal family already controls most of the newspapers in the Spanish news industry, it is obviously impossible to resist.

News, for example, needs more credibility. The royal newspapers, led by El Sol, have been rooted in the Spanish news industry for several years, and there have been no major errors in their reports.

Unless the Spanish government establishes an official newspaper, it will not be able to compete with El Sol in terms of credibility.

But what is the difference between an official newspaper and an official statement of the Spanish government? Moreover, Prime Minister Primo himself has more considerations.

Prime Minister Primo certainly understands the current power structure of the Spanish government and understands that the power of the prime minister is greater than that of the king.

At present, he, Carlo and Archduke Serrano have a good understanding with each other, and the overall situation in Spain is naturally developing in a good direction.

But if the future Spanish prime minister is a power-hungry guy, or even makes a mess of national development, some power balance must be done in advance.

Naturally, the power of the monarch cannot be strengthened openly, as this would most likely undermine Spain's existing constitutional system and reshape an absolute monarchy.

It is a better way to let the royal family control public opinion. Under normal circumstances, such public opinion will not have much influence on the government. Unless the government itself has major problems, public opinion can only play a role in fanning the flames.

If there is no spark in the first place, no matter how much public opinion is fanned, it will actually have little impact on the government.

In February 1873, the Spanish newspaper El Sol published a piece of news that attracted the attention of many Spaniards. The title of the news was "Un país, un pueblo, un idioma!" (One country, one nation, one language!)
Of course, the report in The Sun was not so direct and straightforward. Instead, it used a more euphemistic way to convey the good changes that this system has brought to Spain.

For example, if Spanish is used everywhere, communication among factory workers will be simpler and clearer, and the factory's production efficiency will also be improved.

Also, if everyone is Spanish, the government's tax and welfare policies will be more fair. Since everyone is Spanish, they will naturally enjoy the same tax policies and welfare benefits.

With the influence of the royal family, this report from The Sun was forwarded and published crazily by other newspapers, and through the royal family's empire of public opinion, it quickly aroused discussion among the Spanish people.

For most Spaniards, this report does not have much impact on them. After all, they consider themselves to be Spaniards and speak Spanish.

But for Catalans and Basques, there is definitely an impact. Although Catalans also speak Spanish, under the insistence of some radical nationalists with ulterior motives, many factories and newspapers in Catalonia require employees to communicate in Catalan, and even the news is in Catalan.

If the government is really determined to ban the use of other languages ​​completely as this report suggests, and only allow Spanish to be used in public, the radical nationalists and their plans will be the most affected.

This report only opened up a discussion on national language and religious issues, but what really caused the uproar was the actions of Prime Minister Primo.

A few days after this report fermented, under the order of Prime Minister Primo, a member of the Progressive Party submitted a "Proposal on the Comprehensive Unification of Nationalities, Religions and Languages" to the Spanish House of Representatives.

The proposal cited the benefits that the full unification of nationalities, religions and languages ​​would bring to Spain as reported by The Sun, and stated that only by fully unifying nationalities, religions and languages ​​could Spain truly become a strong country.

This proposal quickly sparked a heated discussion in the parliament. There was no way it would be heated, because the member who proposed the proposal was from the Progressive Party.

This is the party that Prime Minister Primo belongs to. Who would believe that this member of parliament did not obtain Prime Minister Primo's permission when he proposed the bill?
One could even think that the proposal might have been put forward by Prime Minister Primo himself, and this MP was merely submitting it on his behalf.

Although there are many conservatives in the parliament, the vast majority of parliamentarians are Spanish. There are only a very small number of Catalans and Basques in the parliament, and the highest-ranking Catalan, Prime Minister Primo, seems to support the proposal of a unified Spanish nation.

Because of this, the parliamentary discussion was very quick, and it even took only a few days to draft a fresh bill, the Spanish National, Religious and Language Law.

The main contents include three points, which correspond to the requirements of nationality, religion and language unity.

First, the Spanish nation is the legal name of all Spanish citizens and no modification is allowed. Spaniards are great and supreme, extremely glorious, and a symbol of honor.

Anyone who refers to Spanish citizens as people of other nationalities discriminates against Spanish citizens and violates the legal provisions on the concept of the Spanish nation in the Spanish National, Religious and Language Law and will be sentenced to imprisonment and a fine.

Second, Catholicism is the national religion of Spain, but the Spanish government also accepts all Christian dogmas of God.

Only Spanish citizens who believe in Christianity have the right to join governments and parliaments at all levels, the military and other official departments. (including state-owned and royal enterprises)
Third, in any public place in Spain, Spanish and Spanish must and can only be used. (such as schools, governments, parliaments, hospitals and train stations)
In some special places, the four languages ​​of English, French, German, Italian and Russian may be used as appropriate, but they must be reported to the local government and may not be used privately.

Spanish must be used as the only language within the government and royal enterprises. Private enterprises can use other languages, but there will be no tax breaks.

In other words, if private companies want to receive government tax subsidies and exemptions, they must require all employees within the company to communicate in Spanish.

Of course, foreign experts are not included in this scope. This regulation only applies to employees with Spanish nationality, and the main purpose is to unify the language.

Although private enterprises are not forced to use Spanish, capitalists will certainly take the initiative to ban other languages ​​in their companies in order to obtain tax breaks and subsidies from the government. Private entrepreneurs taking the initiative to do so can also shift the conflict. At least entrepreneurs also bear part of the hatred. After all, the government does not enforce it, and the corresponding language regulations are made by the companies themselves.

In fact, when it comes down to it, this bill mainly affects Catalans and Basques.

However, Spain has a long history, and its history of unification has lasted for hundreds of years. During such a long period of time, although Spain did not completely assimilate Catalonia and the Basque region, it also made the people in these regions generally use Spanish.

The current revival of Catalan and Basque is nothing more than a covert scheme by some radical nationalists with ulterior motives.

Most people are not averse to using Spanish, just as they are not averse to being Spanish.

Prime Minister Primo was born in Catalonia, so he is very familiar with the situation in Catalonia. Unifying the nation, religion and language may seem difficult, but it is actually very easy to do.

Especially since some of the Catalan and Basque radicals have been eliminated, it will be easier to promote linguistic and national unification.

Again, the lower-class people don't have that many bad intentions. They still quite recognize the concept of Spain as a large nation. When Spain is getting better and better overall, there is naturally not much reason to oppose it.

Although the concept of nationalism had already sprouted earlier, it was during this period that it really began to rise.

In other words, the independence issues of Catalonia and the Basque Country, which plagued Spain for a long time in later generations, were just beginning at this point in time.

The fledgling nationalism was doomed to fail to gain the support of the majority of the common people, whose concept of nation was rather vague.

There is actually not much difference between the current Spaniards and Catalans. The biggest difference is where they live.

The concept of Catalans proposed by some radical nationalists is even more nonsense because it includes all Spaniards living in Catalonia.

Logically speaking, the differences between the two ethnic groups should come from language, culture, customs and habits, and there are even obvious differences in other small aspects such as diet.

But there are not many differences between the Spanish and Catalans. Both use Spanish as the main language of communication, their food culture is not much different, and even their appearance is not much different.

On the contrary, the people in the Basque region are quite different from the Spanish, and assimilation is much more difficult than in Catalonia.

Prime Minister Primo has a completely different attitude towards Catalonia and the Basque Country, two regions with more serious nationalism.

Prime Minister Primo was born in Catalonia and has a very thorough understanding of Catalonia. Most people in Catalonia do not have much nationalist sentiment and are relatively supportive of the Spanish government.

As long as there is no instigation from radical nationalists, it is only a matter of time before Catalonia is fully incorporated into Spain.

Therefore, in terms of policy towards Catalonia, Prime Minister Primo advocates using legal means to subtly influence the situation and to use strong suppression against some more radical elements.

As for policy toward the Basque region, Prime Minister Primo advocates stronger laws and more forceful repression.

Even when it is determined that the Basque region cannot be assimilated, the use of force to force the Basques to migrate to other areas should be considered as appropriate.

Anyway, there are only a few hundred thousand Basques in Spain, so even if they all migrate out of the country, the impact on Spain will not be that great.

Even after the Basques are relocated, the northern region of Spain will become more stable and the country's development will be more efficient.

There are more Catalans than Basques, so if assimilation is possible, they will naturally be given priority.

After all, Spain itself has a small population. If Catalonia loses its population, Spain’s hope for a revival in the future will be even smaller.

Carlo is also keeping an eye on the parliamentary votes and the final laws that are formed.

For Carlo, it is naturally the best thing that Prime Minister Primo can take the initiative to promote the unification of national languages ​​and religions.

Because this matter now seems to have only benefits and no harm, at most it will only offend the radical Catalans and Basques.

But when nationalism has spread all over the world in the future, will these nations that were once expelled from Spain, or those that were unified under high pressure, consider the harm this incident has brought them?
Strictly speaking, this could become a stain. Carlo naturally did not want to bear this stain. After all, as a king under a constitutional monarchy, it is best to keep himself away from a bad reputation, so as to facilitate the inheritance of the throne and the stability of the royal status.

It is no exaggeration to say that once this bill, which has been discussed and passed by parliament, is promulgated, tens of thousands of Catalans and Basques will be forced to leave Spain or fall under the government's armed suppression.

This is no joke. After the bill is enacted, the government will definitely enforce it more forcefully.

Most of the more radical nationalists could not survive in such a harsh environment. They either directly launched a rebellion or had no choice but to leave their homes and leave Spain, which was a hellish environment for them.

Perhaps in order to show its firm attitude to the outside world, after the House of Representatives completed the first draft of the bill, the cabinet government immediately published the entire bill and announced that it would be officially implemented nationwide three days after the publication.

Such a fast speed is somewhat unreasonable, because generally speaking, a bill will be published for a period of time to give the Senate enough time to review and make recommendations, and then it will be submitted to the cabinet government for execution.

Although his actions were somewhat drastic, Prime Minister Primo had prepared various countermeasures.

The two already formed Spanish divisions are stationed not far from Catalonia and the Basque Country, and can travel to the two regions by rail at any time.

Judging from the current weapons and equipment of the Spanish army, even if there is another Carlos rebellion, the Spanish army will be able to resolve it calmly.

The artillery equipped by these two divisions was not just for show. As soon as the army was formed, they began long-term target practice and artillery training.

The amount of bullets and artillery shells consumed every day was simply beyond the imagination of the previous Spanish army. Under the premise of such a powerful supply of bullets and artillery shells, the combat effectiveness of these two already fully staffed Spanish infantry divisions naturally continued to rise.

It may sound a bit exaggerated, but since Prime Minister Primo witnessed the training of the two infantry divisions with his own eyes, he has been confident that he can use the two divisions, which have just reached a strength of 2.5 soldiers, to resist the previous attack of 7 Spanish native troops.

There is no way. We are so confident that we have completely replaced our equipment with rifles and greatly increased the number of artillery weapons.

Moreover, the quality of the current Spanish army, both soldiers and officers, has been improved, which was not possessed by the previous Spanish army.

The infantry divisions that were being formed later were fine. The first two infantry divisions to be formed were the Spanish First Infantry Division and the Second Infantry Division, and the soldiers were all veterans who had been carefully selected and retained.

With two infantry divisions watching closely, Prime Minister Primo did not panic at all, let alone dealing with some more radical nationalists. Even if he really had to face the Carlos rebellion that had swept across several regions of Spain, he would not be able to deal with it at all.

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(End of this chapter)