Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 377 Education
Regardless of how troubled the British were, Spain was in a state of great excitement because of the recent conquest of Morocco.

In order to better localize Morocco, after discussions, the Spanish government decided to rename all cities in Morocco.

These Moroccan cities will see the construction of numerous Spanish-style buildings, attracting large numbers of people from Spain and other European countries.

In addition, the city's name will be changed to a Spanish-style name, completely removing the previous Moroccan style.

After this process, the localization work in Morocco is almost complete. All that remains is to thoroughly implement the plan to halve Morocco's population and relocate more Europeans to the country, and the entire localization process can be completed systematically.

Aside from personally appointing governors of the Moroccan colonies, Carlo did not pay much attention to the localization of the Moroccan colonies.

Carlo had considerable trust in the current Minister of Colonial Affairs, Count Menotti, and the Governor of the Moroccan colony whom he had appointed.

The localization of the Moroccan colonies was not a difficult task, and it was a good opportunity to test their abilities.

Compared to these tasks, Carlo is more concerned with the development and progress of science and technology in Europe.

It was already 1896, and the 20th century was about to begin.

What technologies were most important for the military in the 20th century? Among them, tanks and airplanes are probably the most noteworthy.

Although the era when tanks and airplanes truly displayed their power did not arrive until World War II, in fact, tanks and airplanes already had their prototypes before World War I or even earlier.

No scientific or technological invention is achieved overnight. It is only after generations of pioneers have explored these areas that later generations stand on the shoulders of giants to realize them.

For example, the Wright brothers, who were later known as the fathers of modern airplanes, achieved their first real flight experiment in 1903.

Aircraft technology was not mature at the time, and airplanes did not show their power until World War II, which was a gap of thirty or forty years.

The renowned father of the airplane was not the originator of the technology. Thousands of years ago, people had all sorts of ideas about flight.

The design principles of modern aircraft were proposed by British scientist George Kelly. He clearly defined the design concept of separating lift from power and is hailed as the father of aeronautics.

George Kelly's design ideas were proposed at the beginning of this century, which is now several decades ago.

It is clear that various other scientific and technological advancements, including airplanes, evolved step by step through exploration.

This also means that developing a technology requires a long period of exploration, a large amount of funding, and the investment of scientists.

Carlo certainly knew when airplanes and tanks were invented, but he wouldn't wait until then to study the relevant technologies.

Several years ago, Carlo had already established research projects on airplanes and tanks at the Royal Academy of Sciences.

To maintain secrecy, research projects related to airplanes were called "Sky," while those related to tanks were called "Water Tanks."

After several years of research, both research projects have made some progress.

Of course, it is still quite difficult to manufacture finished airplanes and tanks based on this.

Tanks are relatively simple; the earliest tanks were nothing more than vehicles covered with a layer of sheet metal. Now that we have cars, with just a thin layer of sheet metal armor, it's not entirely wrong to call such products primitive tanks.

But airplanes are different. Regardless of their primitive origins, a finished airplane is destined to fly in a controlled manner into the sky.

If this cannot be achieved, no matter what materials make up an airplane, it cannot be called a complete airplane.

In this era, the scientific and technological advancements make it extremely difficult to create a controllable airplane that can fly into the sky.

Carlo has visited the Sky Project team multiple times and, based on their research and development progress, has appropriately lowered his requirements.

Carlo suggested that the Sky Project team first build an aircraft that can glide using wind power, and then build a glider that can be controlled in direction after that.

After another success, it's not too late to consider adding power to the glider. There are simply too many factors to consider with aircraft, and this kind of technology can't be rushed.

Carlo also encouraged the experts in these project teams and personally promised that no matter how much research funding was available, they would never be shortchanged during their research and development.

And it must be said, Carlo has never been stingy with his research on these projects of the Royal Academy of Sciences.

Since its inception, the Royal Society has established one research group after another. Initially, due to the small number of members, the annual research funding allocated to the Royal Society was only a few million pesetas.

However, as the number of members of the Royal Society continues to increase, research and development funding also keeps doubling.

The Royal Society now has more than 2000 members, making it a truly massive scientific research association.

It's important to know that there are only two ways to join the Royal Academy of Sciences of Spain. One is to receive an invitation from the Royal Academy of Sciences based on your own research achievements, and the other is to be recommended by an academician of the Royal Academy of Sciences, and then enter after a series of reviews.

Regardless of the method of admission to the Royal Academy of Sciences, the Academy's review process is extremely rigorous. This is to ensure that those admitted to the Royal Academy of Sciences are top talents from Europe and even the world, and that no experts who are just coasting along are allowed to slip in.

This is why Carlo is so generous to the members of the Royal Academy of Sciences. Knowing that these scientists are all capable, Carlo naturally doesn't mind using funds to help them with their research.

Over the years, the Royal Society has developed into various departments. The most important of these is the Physics and Chemistry department, while others include the Geology department, the Life Sciences and Medicine department, and so on, each overseeing different types of fellows and research projects.

Now that there are departments, there are naturally heads of each department.

Whether it's the head of each department or the head of a research project, they can receive an additional salary on top of their original academician's salary.

This serves as an incentive for these scientists. As long as they can join the Royal Academy of Sciences of Spain, even if they don't make any major breakthroughs in scientific research for the rest of their lives, they can live a life free from financial worries.

Spain treats these scientists very well, which is why the Royal Academy of Sciences has continued to expand over the years.

Apart from a small number of those trained domestically in Spain, most of the academicians were recruited by Spain from other European countries through awards and other incentives.

To put it nicely, it's called winning people over; to put it bluntly, it's actually poaching talent.

However, this phenomenon is actually quite common in European countries as well. After all, European countries are relatively small in size, and coupled with their relatively developed economies, immigration is quite normal.

Spain was not very attractive to Europeans before, given its remote location, underdeveloped economy, and poor education and healthcare.

However, after several reforms and developments, Spain's industry and economy have reached the level of an upper-middle-class power, and its education and medical environment have also greatly improved.

For many Europeans, Spain is a popular destination. While Spain has its drawbacks, it also possesses its own advantages.

Compared to popular immigration destinations like the United States, Spain also offers a way to escape war and is located in Europe, not too far from home.

Going to the United States might be safer, but the problem is that the United States and Europe are separated by the Atlantic Ocean, which is equivalent to being permanently separated from home, and it would be virtually impossible to return to Europe.

The Royal Academy of Sciences of Spain has a total of 2224 members, of which 972 are first-class members, accounting for 43.7%.

There are 772 second-level academicians, accounting for 34.7%. There are also a significant number of third-level academicians, with 480, accounting for 21.6%. Whether they are heads of departments or research project leaders of the Royal Society, their primary status is that of academicians of the Royal Society.

First-class academicians are the most basic title of the Royal Academy of Sciences, while third-class academicians are the highest title of the Royal Academy of Sciences.

All scientists who have been awarded the rank of Third-Class Fellowship are selected by the Royal Academy of Sciences, and they are considered top scientists in Europe.

These individuals must either possess extremely rich theoretical knowledge and practical experience, or have developed significant scientific inventions; otherwise, they are not qualified to be promoted to the rank of third-level academician.

Spain's ability to have 480 Level 3 academicians demonstrates Carlos's tireless efforts in talent scouting over the years.

To attract these talents, Carlo offered salaries that were enough to draw the attention of scientists worldwide.

The salary of a first-class academician of the Royal Academy of Sciences is as high as 3500 pesetas. With the addition of income from other part-time jobs, the annual income of a first-class academician is at least five or six thousand pesetas.

A second-level academician's income is as high as 7500 pesetas, and with other part-time income, it can easily exceed 10,000. If they make progress on important research projects, whether it is the income from the research projects themselves or Carlo's rewards, it is enough to make these second-level academicians' income several times higher.

As for the highest-ranking third-level academicians, their basic income is already as high as 1.25 pesetas. Third-level academicians often hold important positions, such as honorary professors, deans, and vice deans at some Spanish universities.

These part-time jobs at universities can earn them income comparable to a basic salary, not to mention the income from leading a major research project, which can multiply their income several times over.

This has led to members of the Royal Academy of Sciences constantly wanting to be promoted to Level 3, because the income of Level 3 members is really high; the basic income alone is equivalent to several or even more than a decade's income for a Spanish family.

Among the academicians of the Spanish Academy of Sciences, the most famous are probably Benz, the general manager of Royal Mercedes-Benz, and Gram, the general manager of Royal Electricity of Spain.

Carlo personally promised these members of the Royal Academy of Sciences that if the research project was successful, the project team would receive 5% of the profits generated.

Whether it's revenue from cars or revenue from electricity, a 5% share represents an astronomical figure.

This is also why Benz and Gram are famous; they have become well-known multimillionaires, a level of wealth that other academicians in Spain aspire to achieve.

While many scientists don't prioritize fame and fortune, quite a few still value money. After all, money not only improves their own standard of living but also allows their families to live better lives.

At the same time, having more money can make one's research projects go more smoothly. There are a large number of unknown talents throughout Europe, whose reasons for not being known are either bad luck or a lack of financial resources to support their research projects.

Take, for example, the famous Wright brothers, the fathers of the airplane. Their early airplane experiments did not bring them much income, and the Wright brothers even became impoverished as a result.

If it weren't for the funding they ultimately received from the U.S. military, the Wright brothers would likely have gone bankrupt long before the invention of the actual airplane, and naturally, no legend about the Wright brothers would have been left behind.

The current situation in Europe can be aptly summarized by the saying, "Talented horses are common, but discerning judges are rare."

Because Europe values ​​education, it has no shortage of talent. Besides the historically renowned scientists, Europe boasts many other highly capable scientific workers.

Carlo doesn't have any bias towards these historical figures, nor does he simply believe that all historical figures are necessarily exceptionally capable.

Besides their exceptional talent, the learning and life experiences of these historically renowned scientists also contributed to their brilliance.

It was precisely because Carlo knew this that he did not disrupt the life trajectories of some famous scientists who were currently teenagers.

In any case, Carlo already had a large number of famous scientists in mind, and it wouldn't be too late to win them over after they had grown up.

Spain's primary target for attracting talent is already highly capable scientists. Regardless of their historical achievements, as long as their scientific research abilities are proven, they are Spain's primary objective.

Even if these experts are not yet qualified to join the Royal Academy of Sciences, they could still be invited to Spain to serve as visiting professors at some universities.

Besides university professorships, there are other positions available; in short, Spain warmly welcomes any talented person.

It is precisely because of the addition of these pillars of talent that Spain's reforms and development have proceeded so smoothly.

After more than 20 years of development, Spain has caught up with European countries in education.

Apart from the elderly and disabled who are truly unable to escape illiteracy, the vast majority of Spaniards have completed at least primary school education.

The pilot programs for nine-year compulsory education in Madrid and Barcelona went quite smoothly. According to Education Minister Alan Carleton, in the new year of 1896, the education department will try to promote nine-year compulsory education in more cities.

In 1895, Spain's annual fiscal revenue reached a new high of 14.462 billion pesetas. Total fiscal expenditure that year was only 13.964 billion pesetas, and this was due to Spain's involvement in the Moroccan War.

If the war with Morocco had not been launched, the fiscal expenditure would have been even less, at least 2000 million pesetas, which proves that Spain's current financial situation is indeed quite good.

The foreign debts that Carlos incurred in the years following his ascension to the throne of Spain have now been largely repaid.

The Spanish government only has the debt to the royal family left to repay, but Carlos doesn't care about this small amount of money. He specifically instructed the government to repay it slowly so as not to affect the financial budgets of various departments.

It is precisely because of this that the education authorities have such confidence in promoting the implementation of nine-year compulsory education nationwide.

The impact of nine-year compulsory education is far-reaching. Although the difference between nine-year and six-year compulsory education is only three years of junior high school, it can actually affect the number of students in high school and even university.

With the government covering primary and secondary school tuition for Spaniards, poorer families now have more funds to send their children to high school.

It's a very simple principle: the more elementary school students there are, the more middle school students will naturally follow. And the more middle school students there are, the more high school students will naturally follow.

With more high school students, there will naturally be more college students every year.

Education is inherently interconnected, starting with primary school education at the most basic level, influencing junior and senior high school education, and then reaching higher-level university education.

If Spain can achieve universal nine-year compulsory education, it will be a significant milestone in the history of education.

Having achieved universal nine-year compulsory education, Spain, if not the world's best in education, is certainly among the top in Europe, easily ranking in the top three and striving for first place.

Knowing the importance of education to the country, Carlo immediately summoned Education Minister Alan Carlton after seeing his report and inquired about the problems the education department encountered in promoting nine-year compulsory education in Madrid and Barcelona, ​​as well as what proactive measures the education department should take for the nationwide rollout of nine-year compulsory education.

After a discussion that lasted nearly two hours, Carlo discovered that the education minister was well-prepared to promote nine-year compulsory education nationwide.

Now that the education department had made ample preparations, Carlo naturally would not obstruct it any further.

In any case, Spain currently has enough funds to promote nine-year compulsory education, and its colonies in Africa provide Spain with a large amount of fiscal revenue every year.

These funds would be wasted anywhere, so it's better to use them in education and healthcare, allowing Spaniards to truly feel the difference between Spain today and Spain before.

If Spain, during the period when the British Empire never set, had been able to dedicate a significant portion of its wealth to domestic development, the driving force behind the First Industrial Revolution might have been Spain, not Britain.

　I made it despite rushing, thank you everyone for your support!
　　Today's daily task of 10,000 units was successfully completed; two more days of 10,000 units are needed!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)