Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 262 Colonial Replacement (Part )
From 1869 to 1880, Cuba's colonial status underwent tremendous changes.

During the Bourbon dynasty, Cuba was Spain's most important colony and one of the main sources of Spain's fiscal revenue.

At that time, mainland Spain was not developed. Although it had a certain industrial and economic scale, most of the tax revenue was intercepted by the nobles and lower-level governments.

A large number of farmers were dependent on the land of the nobles, and the nobles directly collected land rent and agricultural taxes from these farmers, and the church also collected an additional one-tenth of the tithe.

The consequence of this is not only that the Spanish government is unable to obtain sufficient fiscal revenue, but also that the Spanish people have to bear several heavy burdens, their living conditions are miserable, and their living standards are extremely poor.

Since Prime Minister Primo's reforms and two five-year plans, the situation in mainland Spain has been greatly improved, and the financial revenue of the Cuban colony has become less important.

Some time has passed since the last proposal to exchange the Cuban colony was made, but judging by the reaction of government officials and Congress, it is not impossible to accomplish this.

As long as the Cuban colony can be exchanged for some valuable land, or land with strategic value, the people's emotions can be appeased.

As for the opinions of government officials and parliamentarians, they can be ignored in some cases. After all, when Prime Minister Canovas and King Carlo agree completely, other officials and parliamentarians are not qualified to have other opinions.

With the popularization of electricity and the construction of trams, the second industrial revolution is also in full swing. The emerging powers led by Germany and the United States will rapidly improve their comprehensive national strength during the second industrial revolution, and the United States' ambitions for Cuba will continue to expand.

Although Spain's comprehensive national strength is constantly growing, its potential is still not as good as that of the United States, a country with an area of ​​millions of square kilometers and a population of tens of millions.

Although Carlo is not afraid of the Americans' coveting of Cuba, as the saying goes, you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days. When it comes to letting go of the hot potato of Cuba, he has to let it go.

More importantly, this was still the early stages of the European powers’ division of Africa, and there were many extremely valuable colonies around the world whose value had not yet been discovered.

If the Cuban colony could be exchanged at this time, Spain would have the hope of exchanging it for some important colonies in Africa and some land in the Middle East.

Africa is relatively close to the Spanish mainland, and some colonies have the potential to be connected with Spain's existing colonies in southern Morocco, Congo territory and Guinea colonies, which is also a good choice for Spain.

Needless to say, the land in the Middle East is the most oil-rich land in the world. As long as Spain can obtain a piece of land in the Middle East, it will not have any trouble with oil in the future.

Oil is the most important strategic material in the next 100 or even 200 years. The more oil Spain has, the more initiative it will have in the future international situation.

Of course, there must be enough military strength to defend these lands with oil. After all, there is a famous saying in later generations that oil breeds the US military.

If a small country discovers an oil field, it is usually not a good thing. Not only will the oil field be occupied by powerful countries, but even the country's internal affairs will be interfered with by other powerful countries.

If the Cuban colony was to be replaced, Carlo's only targets would be Africa and the Middle East.

There are not many countries that have colonies in Africa and the Middle East. In fact, the only countries that can reach a deal with Spain are the two colonial powers of Britain and France, plus the already weakened colonial empire of Portugal.

Although Britain had large colonies in Africa, there was no way the British would let go of such an important colonial area as the Cape Colony.

Although the Cuban colony has certain economic value, it is obviously not worthy of the British. If they were to exchange colonies with the British, the areas that could be exchanged would basically be concentrated in West Africa, including the British Gambia colony, the British Sierra Leone colony and the British Gold Coast.

Of course, what the British could give up was not only these small colonies, but also the Middle East, which also had high economic value.

Theoretically, the Middle East was still in the hands of the Ottoman Empire, but Britain's penetration into the Middle East had already begun to take shape.

As early as 1861, Britain signed a treaty with Bahrain in the Middle East, making Bahrain a British protectorate.

With Bahrain as a transit point, Britain can exert greater influence on the Middle East and has the hope of fully taking over the Ottoman Empire's sphere of influence in the Middle East after the Ottoman Empire has completely weakened.

No country in the Middle East could compete with Britain for colonies. After all, this land was not far from Britain's core colony, India.

France, Germany and Russia, which have the strength to compete with Britain, are obviously out of reach and cannot even reach here.

If we consider the benefits from the Middle East, it is obviously more beneficial to exchange with the British. The British can offer more conditions, even including mining rights in Australia.

Australia has extremely rich mineral resources, including coal, iron ore and other metal minerals that are needed by industry.

Although Spain also has coal and iron mines, the overall scale is not large and cannot support an industrial power with huge output.

This is also the reason why Carlo wanted to continue to expand colonies, because the current scale and potential of Spain could not compete with superpowers such as Britain, France and Germany.

The scale of colonies that France could exchange with Spain was not much different from that of Portugal, and the probability of France giving up its West African colonies was extremely low, so it was basically impossible to reach cooperation with Spain.

This actually means that Spain has only two choices: either cooperate with the British to obtain land in West Africa and the Middle East, or cooperate with the Portuguese to obtain the Kingdom of Congo under Portuguese control.

Although the Kingdom of Kongo could be connected to Spain's Congo territory, its actual value was certainly not as high as the combined value of Britain's West African colonies and Middle Eastern lands.

Moreover, Portugal's overall strength is weaker, which may prompt the United States to launch a war against its Cuban colony earlier.

If the United States rises too early, it will be even more difficult to solve this problem in the future. It is better to reach a cooperation with the British and let the British obtain Cuba. The United States will also have to consider whether it has the confidence to challenge the British Empire.

Without the ability to acquire the Cuban colony, it would be more difficult for the United States to rise. Carlo was not afraid that the Americans would target the Philippines. Although the Philippines was thousands of miles away from the Spanish mainland, it was also not close to the United States.

The Philippine colony is about 1.1 kilometers away from the west coast of the United States, and the island of Kalimantan is also only about 1.1 kilometers away from the east coast of Spain.

This is not like Cuba, which is on the doorstep of Americans. If the United States wants to invade the Philippine colonies across the ocean, Carlo doesn't mind letting Americans feel the changes in Spain since the Industrial Revolution.

Anyway, the United States is still a soft persimmon now, and it does not pose much threat to the European powers. It will not be so easy to treat it as a soft persimmon after the First World War, when the United States has gained certain benefits.

After comprehensive consideration, Carlo was more willing to cooperate with the British to complete the exchange of colonies.

It can also be seen from the historical development of British colonies that the main purpose of the British development of African colonies was to complete the connection between the Egyptian and South African colonies.

Eventually, the British did complete the connection of the two African colonies in the north and south. This huge colony did not include West Africa, which also meant that in the eyes of the British, the colonies in West Africa were not that important.

Although there is a high probability of obtaining British colonies in West Africa, it does not mean that there are no disadvantages.

There are currently three major powers colonizing West Africa, namely Britain, France and Spain.

If Spain takes over all of Britain's West African colonies, it means that in the future, only France and Spain will be left to compete for colonies in West Africa.

A three-way balance of power might be relatively stable, but a conflict between two countries would inevitably hurt one of them. If Spain wanted to complete the integration of its West African colonies, it had to face the pressure from the French.

In history, Britain did complete the connection from Egypt to South Africa, but the French also achieved something. France acquired large colonies in West Africa and North Africa. Although large tracts of land here are desert areas, the total area of ​​the colonies and the amount of mineral resources are enough to rank second among the great powers, except for the colonies acquired by Britain.

You know, the German Empire, which was the second most powerful country in the world during World War I, only gained a small and worthless colony in the competition for African colonies.

This is enough to prove the intensity of African colonization. If we are not careful, it may lead to a colonial war between Spain and France.

The good news is that France would not dare to break off relations with Spain before the Triple Alliance broke down.

Once Spain was forced to side with the Triple Alliance, France would face a complete blockade of France by continental Europe.

How long did the Three Emperors' Alliance break up? Historically, the Three Emperors' Alliance broke up in 1887, but this may not be the case in this world.

The Russo-Turkish War greatly damaged the relationship between Austria-Hungary and Russia, and the post-war peace negotiations greatly damaged the relationship between Germany and Russia.

With the signing of the alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary, Russia became an outsider in the Triple Alliance.

The French naturally saw the possibility of the collapse of the Triple Alliance. The French government was constantly wooing Russia and trying to form a Franco-Russian alliance to confront the German-Austrian alliance.

However, the current Russian government has obviously not made any plans. On the one hand, they are in contact with French capital, and on the other hand, they have not broken the treaties with Germany and Austria. This also allows the so-called Triple Alliance to still exist and the situation in Europe to be peaceful.

Since it has been decided to exchange colonies with the British, the next thing to do is naturally to make some public opinion arrangements before the exchange of colonies.

Spain could not directly approach the British government to negotiate a colonial exchange, as this would certainly arouse the British government's vigilance and suspicion.

If you want to exchange colonies, you must have a seemingly reasonable reason. This will not only allow the British to negotiate with the Spanish government at ease, but also appease the Spanish people and ensure that the loss of the Cuban colony will not cause public outrage.

The best reason that prompted the Spanish government to abandon its Cuban colony was that the constant rebellions in the Cuban colony overwhelmed the Spanish government and it chose to give up on its own initiative.

Although this is a good reason, you also need to strike a balance when spreading the news.

Spain originally voluntarily gave up its Cuban colony. If the news spread too seriously, it would inevitably cause the British government to raise the price, resulting in Spain gaining less benefits.

In order to ensure the smooth exchange of colonies, Carlo took the initiative to convene a cabinet meeting, requiring close cooperation between the diplomatic department and the colonial affairs department to promote the exchange of the Cuban colony.

Of course, before replacing the Cuban colony, what Spain had to do was to absorb as many people who supported Spain as possible from the Cuban colony.

Although most people in the Cuban colony wanted independence, there were still a small number of Spanish immigrants willing to continue to submit to Spanish rule.

Under Spanish rule, Cuba's security was still guaranteed, but if it became independent, Cuba, with a population of just over a million, would have no power to resist other powers.

Spain’s colonial rule was indeed cruel, but that doesn’t mean the colonial rule of other European countries was kind.

If Cuba's complete independence cannot be guaranteed, a considerable number of Hispanic immigrants would rather continue to stay in the embrace of Spain. At least they can become first-class citizens in the Spanish colonial system and their interests can be adequately guaranteed.

Although they are all European immigrants, different immigrants are treated differently in different countries.

Take the United States as an example. In peacetime, whether immigrants are from Britain, Germany, France, Russia, or Italy, they are all white and are naturally treated equally.

But during wartime, immigrants from countries at war with the United States will also face certain discrimination and targeting in the United States.

The Germans who immigrated to the United States during World War I and World War II were treated like this, and their situation was miserable compared to that of other white immigrants.

Of course, no matter what period, white people are always treated better than people of other races.

Some white people chose to immigrate abroad because they could enjoy the treatment of superior citizens in foreign countries. This era was quite cruel for black people, and even the laws of colonies and immigrant countries basically did not protect the interests of black people.

Even if black slaves were granted free citizen status, their interests would still not be protected.

This can also be seen from later generations. Even in the 21st century, white policemen can still shoot black people with impunity.

As long as the incident does not ferment with public opinion, the white policeman will not only not receive any punishment, but will also have the hope of getting a few days of paid leave.

The situation is completely different for black police officers. Whenever a black police officer shoots a white person, it quickly turns into a political event that sweeps across the United States.

This is true even in later generations, not to mention this chaotic era. In 1880, it was common for white Americans to shoot black people, especially those powerful white families, who would not be punished for killing a few black people.

As for blacks killing whites, that was absolutely impossible because at that time in the United States, the government from top to bottom was pursuing a policy of racial segregation.

Blacks can only live in remote countryside and chaotic slums, and are rarely seen in prosperous cities.

Even if you can see black people in the prosperous New York, these black people are definitely the lowest status group. Compared with those with the highest status in the black community, it is easier for slaves who work like cattle and horses for white people to enter big cities.

Given that American lawmakers, capitalists, and government officials are basically all white, one can imagine the treatment and conditions of black Americans.

When Carlo and Prime Minister Canovas determined the policy of exchanging the Cuban colony, no cabinet official stood up to oppose it.

They are not stupid, they know who gave them the power. If such a proposal was made by a cabinet member, it would be fine, at least it proves that they are qualified to refute and debate.

But this proposal was made by the Prime Minister and the King himself. Even if other members of the cabinet do not support this idea, they cannot prevent it from happening.

What's more, as early as the last discussion, the Spanish cabinet government maintained a rather ambiguous attitude towards the exchange of the Cuban colony.

There were indeed some cabinet members who clearly opposed it, but they were not many. More cabinet ministers maintained an ambiguous attitude, and as long as they were not responsible for the matter, they did not mind going along with the decision of the prime minister and the king.

After the Spanish government made the decision, various public opinion organizations also took action.

First of all, the Cuban government needs to allow some of Spain's opponents to plan resistance activities.

Of course, such resistance activities need to be kept to a certain scale, at least not to have an impact on the Cuban colony.

If a large-scale rebellion broke out in Cuba during this period, even if the colony could be successfully replaced in the end, the value of the Cuban colony would certainly be greatly reduced.

(End of this chapter)