Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 238 Political Parties
After staying in France for a few days, Carlo's visit ended successfully.

Although France's industrial development has shown signs of decline, its economy is still very strong. Under the premise of ensuring that Spain will not turn to Germany, the French are also happy to invest more in Spain.

After negotiations between the two governments, Carlo finally obtained another 5 million franc loan from France.

Of this, 1 million francs came from the French government in return for Spain's neutrality or even leaning towards France. The loan was interest-free and Spain only needed to repay it within five years without any additional conditions.

The remaining 4 million francs in loans all came from French private banks and consortiums, but they were all low-interest loans.

These low-interest loans have a longer repayment period, and the Spanish government only needs to pay them off within 10 years.

Of course, like the loans provided by France before, these loans from French private banks and consortiums are subject to certain requirements.

For example, 4% of the 60 million francs can only be used to purchase supplies in France, and the remaining 40% can be freely allocated by the Spanish government.

This also means that the Spanish government only has 1.6 million francs of free funds available, and the remaining 2.4 million francs can only be used for imports from France.

The good news is that due to various restrictions, the interest on this loan is not high. The Spanish government only needs to repay the principal and interest of 4.8 million francs in ten years, and the total annual interest is only 2% of the principal.

Since 2.4 million francs could only be used to purchase things in France, Carlo was naturally not polite and immediately signed a large order with France.

The items purchased this time mainly include various industrial equipment, some technical data and shares of some French factories and enterprises.

This large purchase cost more than 1 million francs, making French officials and the owners of factories and companies that received the orders smile with joy.

These orders will not only alleviate the economic crisis faced by these factories and enterprises, but also promote the growth of the French economy.

After this round of transfer of hands, the money returned to France and had no impact on France at all.

Spain also obtained the necessary industrial equipment and related technical information through large-scale purchases. In short, such cooperation is beneficial to both Spain and France.

This large purchase was also the last thing Carlo did in France. After the large purchase order was signed, Carlo took a train with a group of Spanish government officials back to Spain.

This visit took nearly two months. Carlo left Spain just after Christmas and returned to Spain in February.

The first thing I did when I returned to Spain was to spend some time with Juan Fernando and Sofia, and of course, Queen Sofia and her two little maids.

After resting for a few days, Carlo turned his attention back to the development of Spain and began to attend meetings one after another to discuss Spain's next development plan.

Since the last cabinet meeting proposed the exchange of the Cuban colony, the Spanish government has determined a basic strategy, which is to give priority to the development of African colonies.

Among Spain's three African colonies, the highest priority was the colony of southern Morocco, followed by the Congo territory, and finally the colony of Guinea.

With the exception of the colony of southern Morocco, the development of the Congo Territory and the Guinea colony faced a problem: insufficient population in the colonies.

The resident population here refers to the population recognized by Spain, that is, legal citizens who have obtained Spanish nationality.

Currently, the entire Congo territory has a resident population of less than 20,000 people, which is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket for a territory covering millions of square kilometers. It also limits the development speed of the Congo territory.

The same is true for the Guinea colony. The area of ​​the Guinea colony is also as high as tens of thousands of square kilometers, but the population of the Guinea colony is less than 10,000.

Therefore, the purpose of Carlo's cabinet meeting was to find ways to further solve the population problems of these colonies.

The efforts of the cabinet government last year were very effective. Through trade with Russia in exchange for population, Spain obtained a total of about 2.5 people from Russia, and at least half of them were dispersed to various colonies.

This also led to a rapid growth in the population of several major Spanish colonies, and the Congo territory began to take shape, at least no longer as simple as before.

But it is obvious that this population alone is not enough to meet the needs of the Spanish colonies. In order to get the African colonies on track as soon as possible, the Spanish government needs to get more people from other places.

Currently, there is only one country that can allow Spain to import a large number of immigrants, and that is Russia, the most populous country in Europe.

For Russia, a country with a very large population, the loss of tens of thousands of immigrants every year is not a big deal and will not make the Russian top leaders feel distressed at all.

Currently, the proportion of Russian population in the Congo territory has accounted for about half. According to Carlo's idea, the proportion of Russian population needs to be maintained at around 50%, or even reduced to below 50%.

Fortunately, Spain can also obtain population from its southern Moroccan colony. Together with a small number of domestic immigrants, it can ensure that the Russian population in the Congolese territory will not be too large and will not affect the stability of the Congolese territory.

Carlo had only one plan for the South Morocco colony, which was to assimilate or eliminate all Moroccans in the South Morocco colony.

These Moroccans only had two choices: either work until death in Spanish plantations and mines as Moroccans, or go to mainland Spain or other colonies to live as Spanish citizens.

As long as they obtain Spanish citizenship, they will become free citizens and can find jobs of their dreams like ordinary Spaniards, instead of being forced to work in more dangerous workplaces.

The Moroccan population in the southern Moroccan colonies is currently decreasing, and it is estimated that the number of Moroccans is less than 75.

This has facilitated Spain's assimilation process. These Moroccans obviously cannot make any waves, they can only choose their own future under the rules set by the Spanish government.

Obviously, most Moroccans are smart. They may not be willing to join Spanish nationality, but faced with the choice of either joining Spanish nationality or being a slave for life, they all wisely chose the first one.

If the Spanish nationality review system had not been so strict and had not required a probation period of several months or even a year, the number of Moroccans who became Spanish citizens every year would probably have been as high as tens of thousands.

After developing the Congolese territory, Spain gradually opened up the number of naturalizations. Currently, more than 100,000 Moroccans have entered the inspection stage. If all goes well, Spain hopes to receive more than 100,000 immigrants within half a year.

Most of these 100,000 Moroccan immigrants will be sent to the colonies of Guinea and the Congo, and only a small number will have the opportunity to go to mainland Spain.

If the Guinea colony and the Congo territory were divided, they would basically be able to obtain about 30,000 immigrants.

These immigrants could help Spain develop colonies and territories more quickly without having to send large numbers of immigrants from the country.

This is the best good news for Spain, which already has an insufficient population. The local population development will not be restricted and can even achieve rapid growth with the continuous influx of immigrants.

Speaking of population, after Carlo returned to Spain after his visit, the cabinet government also reported to Carlo on the growth of Spain's population last year.

截止1878年1月，西班牙的总人口已经突破了1900万，达到了1912万人。按照目前人口增长的速度来看，西班牙很有希望在1880年将人口提升到2000万以上。

In addition to the sharp increase in the birth rate of the local population, another major reason for the rapid population growth is the large number of immigrants that Spain received last year.

There are more than 2.5 immigrants from Russia alone, not to mention about 1.5 immigrants from Italy and Portugal.

The total number of immigrants from various European countries and regions has also provided Spain with a population increase of more than 5 people, which is quite good. It is expected that Spain will receive a considerable number of immigrants from Russia and Italy every year for a long time to come.

Coupled with the high birth rate in Spain, Spain can ensure that the population can achieve higher growth while the proportion of the main ethnic group does not decrease.

Only by increasing the population to more than 3000 million can China be qualified to challenge the five traditional European powers. Only by increasing the population to more than 5000 million can China hope to surpass the five traditional European powers.

In addition to making more detailed plans for the colonial population, the Spanish government also officially began its plans for Portugal.

The history of Spain and Portugal is a constant cycle of love and hate. The Kingdom of Portugal was first separated from Spain, which also led to the deep connection between the two countries.

In addition, there are only two countries that have sovereignty over the Iberian Peninsula: Portugal and Spain. This has led to the poor relationship between the two sides, and Spain has never given up its covetousness of Portugal.

The so-called plot against Portugal was actually some small strategies to make Portugal more chaotic.

Compared with Spain, which is gradually recovering, Portugal, which is still in a period of decline, is obviously more chaotic. Chaotic order is more likely to cause problems. For Spain, there are various ways to make the problems in Portugal more acute and intense.

Portugal owned two large colonies in Africa, but these two colonies did not bring much benefits to Portugal.

Historically, Portugal maintained too many colonies, which led to domestic financial difficulties and eventually led to two bankruptcy declarations within ten years.

The economic collapse caused a serious social crisis and shook the foundations of Portugal's historic monarchy. Eventually, King Carlos I of Portugal and Crown Prince Luis were assassinated, and the Portuguese throne was overthrown a few years later.

What Carlo wanted to do was to accelerate Portugal's economic collapse, plunge the country into chaos, and create a crisis of confidence in the monarchy among the people.

Although the 19th century was an era of industrial revolution, it was also an era of great revolution. As long as Portugal fell into chaos, a great revolution was inevitable.

History has also proven that the first republic established by most countries after overthrowing the monarchy is not so reliable, just like Spain in history.

In history, Spain established the Spanish Republic after overthrowing the Bourbon dynasty. However, the hasty establishment of the republic did not slow down Spain's decline. Instead, due to the frequent changes of the republican regime, Spain fell into more serious chaos, which eventually led to the restoration of the monarchy.

What Carlo had to do was to push the Portuguese to launch a revolution, overthrow the royal family and establish the Portuguese Republic.

The republic hastily established by the Portuguese was destined to be unable to rule the country perfectly. With Spain adding obstacles from the sidelines, Portugal's economy was destined to fall into a more serious collapse.

At this time, the Portuguese people would also think of the good of the monarchy. But Portugal's own royal family had been overthrown, so they could only restore the monarchy by electing a king or nominating a nobleman to become king.

As Portugal's neighbor, if Spain had developed rapidly and entered a prosperous period during this period, it would certainly have attracted the attention of most Portuguese people.

By gaining favor in Portugal and guiding Portuguese public opinion, Carlo may be able to promote the reunification of Spain and Portugal.

As long as Portugal can be annexed peacefully, the next thing will become quite simple. After all, Portugal's population is only more than 400 million, so it is relatively easy to assimilate.

Spain could disperse the Portuguese population by recruiting workers through its industrial bases, while at the same time immigrating some Spaniards to Portugal.

If the proportion of Portuguese people in the Portuguese region is reduced to below 50%, it will not be so easy for Portugal to gain independence from Spain.

Carlo wanted to eat the tempting piece of fat meat of Portugal as soon as possible. If the population of Portugal was added, the population of Spain would have increased to 400 million around 1890, and to more than 3000 million before the outbreak of World War I. Only in this way could Spain have enough self-protection power in World War I, and even decide the outcome of World War I at a critical moment.

Spain would not even have to wait until World War I. In some small-scale wars and conflicts before World War I, Spain would have had enough strength to intervene and fight for more benefits for itself.

Some of the more covert means are to support some political parties in Portugal and use these parties to completely confuse the political situation in Portugal.

For a monarchy, parties advocating freedom and democracy will endanger its own interests. However, most countries do not have a good way to deal with this. They either choose to give in to these parties or use force to suppress them.

No matter which approach the Portuguese government chooses, Spain can use this method to confuse the political situation in Portugal.

Once Portugal resorts to force to suppress the rebellion, it will inevitably provoke more intense resistance from the Portuguese.

If a civil war breaks out in Portugal, Spain, as Portugal's only neighbor, will have a more far-reaching impact on the situation in Portugal.

Of course, it would be best to ignite the domestic conflict in Portugal at a time when the British are too busy to take care of other things, such as during the Boer War.

These actions against Portugal have to be left to the government, at least Carlo cannot participate in them openly.

After all, King Louis of Portugal is Carlo's brother-in-law, and the Queen of Portugal is Carlo's sister. It is a bit embarrassing to attack your own relatives.

If a rebellion broke out in Portugal and overthrew the royal family, then this problem could be easily solved.

Even Carlo could avoid damage to his reputation by gaining the favor of the Portuguese royalists by offering asylum to the Portuguese royal family.

When it comes to supporting political parties in Portugal to disrupt the political situation in Portugal, Carlo suddenly has a new idea.

Since we can support foreign political parties to disrupt the situation, why can't we support domestic political parties to control the domestic situation?

There are currently three major political parties in Spain. The Royalist Party is a die-hard supporter of the monarchy, the Progressive Party also supports the monarchy, and only the Liberal Party has an ambiguous attitude.

Among these three major parties, there is no workers' party that focuses on workers' interests. If Carlo creates and supports a workers' party, it will not only improve Spain's party system, but also stabilize Spain's domestic situation by controlling the political parties.

As we all know, workers' power has been a relatively powerful force since the Industrial Revolution, and can even determine the fate of a country.

If Carlo could completely grasp the political power of the workers in his own hands by creating a workers' party, and with the support of the conservative peasant class, who else could destroy the Spanish monarchy?

A Spanish kingdom that had the support of the working class and peasant class could be said to be invincible to a certain extent.

Once the Spanish bourgeoisie has grown up, the bourgeoisie and the working class can be controlled to oppose each other. The royal family only needs to balance these two classes, and with the support of the aristocracy, it can achieve the goal of stabilizing the entire country.

If the working class is too powerful, the contradiction can be eased by pushing out a few capitalists. Capitalists are no good anyway, and for the stability of the country, it is necessary to appropriately sacrifice a few capitalists.

Thinking of this, Carlo was very satisfied with his plan and decided to give it a try.

Even if the plan does not work as well as expected, this workers' party, which is completely controlled by Carlo, can still play a certain role.

After all, compared to letting the political power of the working class grow wildly, proper guidance and control can make this power sharp without hurting themselves.

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(End of this chapter)