Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 422 British Deterrence

When other European countries learned that the Portuguese civil war had broken out again, Portugal was already in complete chaos.

Initially, it was the Iberian Party that initiated the armed uprising, which the Portuguese Republican government was not afraid of. After all, this was the path they had taken to power, and since the Republicans had seized power through an armed uprising, they naturally couldn't afford not to be wary of armed uprisings.

Even before declaring the Iberian Party illegal, the Portuguese Republican government had mobilized tens of thousands of troops to defend towns east and north of Lisbon.

Lisbon, as the capital of Portugal, is firmly controlled by the Republican Party. As long as the enemy is not allowed to enter Lisbon, these armed uprisings, large and small, will naturally not amount to much.

But what the Republicans never expected was that before Iberia and other countries decided to launch an armed uprising, they actually published a news article entitled "To All Portuguese People".

In this news report, the Iberian Party called on all Portuguese people to resist the Republican Party's dictatorial rule. Before ordinary people could react, opposition parties of all sizes in Portugal began to stir.

Although the combined military strength of these opposition parties is no match for that of the Republicans, this could lead to a problem: armed uprisings could break out throughout Portugal.

Although the Republican Party is powerful, it cannot completely control all parts of Portugal. If these opposition parties were to launch an armed rebellion and seize control of the cities they occupy, Portugal would descend into a chaotic civil war, and ending the civil war would not be easy.

The initial stage of an armed uprising is when these opposition parties are at their weakest. Once they control the city, they will have a large number of men at their disposal.

Don't underestimate the ability of these opposition parties to control people's hearts and minds. Even in cities that the Republicans have painstakingly built up, once these opposition parties take control, the local people's hearts and minds will no longer be with the Republicans.

Less than a week after the Iberian Party published its "Address to All Portuguese People," armed uprisings have spread to dozens of cities across Portugal, involving several opposition parties and hundreds of thousands of people.

Braga and Porto in the north of Portugal, and Orléans and Lagos in the south, were quickly occupied by the Iberian Party and other opposition parties. Even Setúbal, near Lisbon, saw a medium-sized armed uprising.

If the Republican army had not swiftly suppressed the uprising in Setúbal, this southeastern gateway to Lisbon would likely have been lost.

On July 12, 1904, after several days of development, the situation in Portugal had changed from an armed uprising in Iberia and other countries to a civil war between two parties led by the Republican Party and the Iberian Party respectively.

The Republican Party controls most of the armed forces that were originally part of the Portuguese government, with around 8 troops available for mobilization within the country.

The Iberian Party has expanded its army to 2 men, and with the addition of other opposition parties' scattered expansions, the total number of troops is approximately 4.

Although the Republicans have a numerical advantage, not all 7 troops can be used to quell the rebellion. The Republican government also needs to worry about Spain, which is watching closely from the sidelines, and at least tens of thousands of troops need to be stationed on the Portuguese-Spanish border.

This has created an awkward situation where the number of troops controlled by the Republican government and the parties that launched the armed uprisings is roughly the same.

The Portuguese army is not very strong, which is why these regular troops and the armed insurgents of the opposition have fought back and forth.

The Republican army was unable to quickly quell the armed rebellions in various regions, and the opposition army was also unable to quickly defeat the Republican army and seize power from the Portuguese government.

Although the Portuguese civil war appears to be evenly matched, it is not good news for the Portuguese Republican government.

To reiterate, in the early stages of this war, the Republican government held a significant advantage. They controlled most of Portugal, had tens of thousands of troops at their disposal, and could even draw troops from Portugal's African colonies.

Before launching their armed uprising, these opposition parties did not have substantial control over any city in Portugal. If the Republican government can leverage its initial advantage to quickly resolve the rebellious opposition, they can easily weather this crisis.

However, the fact that these opposition parties echoed the actions of the Iberian Party thwarted the Republican government's plan to quickly resolve the Iberian Party's armed uprising forces in the early stages of the civil war.

Unable to quickly resolve the armed uprising of the Iberian Party in the early stages of the war, the Portuguese Republican government had no choice but to accept the fact that its territory was being continuously eroded by the enemy.

The Republicans know that continuing to drag things out is not in their best interest, and the fact that the Iberian Party has been able to generate such a large following suggests that it likely has the support of the Spanish government.

Twelve years ago, the Republican Party defeated the Portuguese government with the support of Spain, and they were well aware that with Spain's support, the Iberian Party had become their biggest threat.

In order to retain their power, the Republican Party decided to find an ally comparable to Spain so that it could compete fairly with the Iberian Party.

Who is this ally? Judging from the economic alliance treaty previously signed between the Portuguese Republican government and the United Kingdom, the only ally the Republicans can seek is the United Kingdom.

The British government was certainly paying close attention to the situation in the Portuguese civil war, and they were well aware that the Iberian Party was definitely backed by Spain.

Britain was deeply wary of the rising power of Spain. Spain's annexation of Morocco during the Boer War further heightened the British government's perception of Spain as a threat.

In an effort to stabilize the situation in the Strait of Gibraltar, Britain intensified its efforts to win over the Portuguese Republican government. This is why the Republican Party, which was initially supported by Spain, ultimately sided with Britain.

For the Republicans, Spain is clearly the biggest threat. Their neighbor is simply too powerful, and even though they are supported by Spain, they cannot afford to abandon their defenses against it.

Portugal needed to guard against Spain, while Britain needed Portugal to help maintain the balance of power in the Strait of Gibraltar. The two countries were a perfect match, quickly abandoning their antagonistic relationship and establishing a series of economic collaborations.

After the Portuguese Republican government appealed to Britain for help, the British government immediately decided to intervene in the Portuguese civil war and help the Portuguese Republican government win the war.

During the last revolution in Portugal, the British government ultimately did not directly intervene in the revolution for various reasons.

This led to the overthrow of the pro-British Portuguese monarchy, and the Spanish-backed Republicans took control of the situation in Portugal, and for the first few years of their rule, they consistently opposed Britain.

If the Republican Party is overthrown by the Iberian Party, Britain will not only lose a pro-British ally in Portugal, but it will also make Portuguese political parties more attentive to Spanish opinions. How do these Portuguese political parties feel about Britain's repeated defeats in its competition with Spain?
Since uniting with the British wouldn't change their fate anyway, they might as well be obedient and cooperate with Spain, at least that way they could guarantee their political status and the power they held.

Whether for the sake of its current allies or for the future situation on the Iberian Peninsula, Britain will never back down in this Portuguese civil war.

On July 16, the British government issued a public statement condemning the Spanish government for repeatedly interfering in Portugal's internal affairs, inciting the Iberian Party to launch an armed uprising against the Portuguese Republican government, and dragging more than five million innocent Portuguese people into a war that should never have happened, forcing the Portuguese to kill each other.

The British government's statement caused a huge uproar in Europe. Some people who were curious about how a civil war could suddenly break out in Portugal chose to believe the British government's statement and regarded Spain as the culprit for interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and causing their people to kill each other.

Faced with this public opinion crisis, Prime Ministers Carlo and Olcajo immediately ordered the foreign ministry to respond in order to prevent Spain's international reputation from being seriously affected.

On July 17, Spanish Foreign Minister Willem held a press conference to explain in detail the British government's statement, saying that the Spanish and Portuguese civil wars had nothing to do with each other and that Spain had no intention of participating in the Portuguese civil war.

At the same time, Minister William also stated that it was Britain that was truly interfering in Portugal's domestic situation. The Iberian Party has gained significant popular support in Portugal, while their enemy, the Republican Party, has lost its popular base and is no longer trusted by the Portuguese people.

For its own interests, the British government disregarded the wishes of the Portuguese people and forcibly supported the Republican government in the Portuguese civil war. This was a barbaric act of interfering in the internal affairs of another country.

Minister William demanded that the British government cease its baseless accusations, which he argued would severely damage relations between Spain and the UK and cause the Spanish people to lose trust in Britain.

To make his explanation more convincing, Minister William also produced some written materials to prove that what he said was not fabricated.

Because of the outbreak of the Portuguese civil war, European governments and newspapers were somewhat aware of the situation in Portugal.

Regardless of whether the Spanish government is behind the Iberian Party, at least Minister William's statement that the Portuguese Republican Party has lost its popular support and that the Iberian Party is the party with higher popular support is true.

Even if Spain is backing the Iberian Party, Spain's support for the Iberian Party is interference in Portugal's internal affairs and incitement to civil war in Portugal.

Is the British government, which has cooperated with the Republican Party (which is not supported by the public) and even directly expressed its support, also interfering in Portugal's internal affairs and instigating a civil war in Portugal?
The British government claims there is no concrete evidence that Spain supported Iberia and others in planning the Portuguese civil war, but the Spanish government's claim that Britain supported the Republican Party and interfered in the Portuguese civil war is supported by evidence.

The British government recently provided a low-interest loan to the Republican Party and has also reached a series of trade agreements with the Portuguese Republican Party regarding arms purchases, food imports, and other areas.

Surely these weapons couldn't have been distributed to Portuguese civilians? It's safe to say that most of them would have been used by the Republicans in this civil war.

This actually confirms the claim that Britain interfered in Portugal's internal affairs and participated in the Portuguese civil war, after all, this is not something a neutral country should do.

With the Spanish Foreign Ministry's swift response, the focus of European citizens and newspapers has shifted back to the cooperation agreement reached between the British and Portuguese governments.

After the fact that Britain interfered in Portugal's internal affairs was confirmed, Britain's claim that Spain interfered in Portugal's internal affairs lost credibility.

After all, Britain did not provide any evidence. If a superpower could be falsely accused based on mere words, then European countries would not need to equip themselves with armies and could simply hold diplomatic press conferences every day.

Seeing that its public opinion strategy had not affected Spain, but instead had backfired, the British government was starting to get restless.

They were indeed unable to provide evidence of Spanish support for the Iberian Party, partly due to the advantage of Portugal and Spain being neighbors.

If Britain wanted to transport goods to Portugal, it had to do so by sea, which would inevitably attract the attention of other European countries.

However, if Spain wants to transport goods to Portugal, it only needs to do so by land, thus avoiding the attention of other countries.

The Spanish government was also clever, providing the Iberian Party with a wide variety of weapons, only a small portion of which were genuinely Spanish-made. The majority of the weapons came from various European countries, making it undoubtedly difficult to determine the true supporters of the Iberian Party based solely on these weapons.

Seeing that it could not put pressure on Spain diplomatically, the British government decided to show the Spanish government the strength of the world's leading naval power and make them understand that the British Empire was not so easily provoked.

How to demonstrate the strength of the British Imperial Navy? The simplest way is to send warships to Spain's doorstep, completely overwhelming the Spanish fleet in both quality and quantity, forcing them to submit.

The British Empire had great confidence in its navy.

After a period of discussion, the British Cabinet decided to deploy a cruise fleet consisting of 5 battleships, 12 cruisers, and more than 20 other types of warships to launch a circumnavigation of the Mediterranean.

The fleet will depart from the British mainland, sail south to Gibraltar, then circumnavigate the Mediterranean before returning to the British mainland.

Although the fleet was nominally there for a patrol in the Mediterranean, Britain had a Mediterranean Fleet, so the decision to send this fleet from the mainland clearly indicated that its purpose was not pure.

On July 18, 1904, the British government officially announced the decision and stated that the fleet's trip to the Mediterranean was only for normal patrol exercises and would not approach the coasts of other countries. It would only resupply at specific ports and would notify the countries where the ports were located in advance.

Britain's decision immediately drew the attention of other European countries. Everyone knew that Britain's purpose was not simple and was most likely to deter the Spanish government.

As expected, the fleet sailed south without stopping on the French coast or the Portuguese coast.

Upon reaching the southern coast of Spain, the British fleet suddenly approached the port and requested to stop at the port of Cádiz to replenish fuel and supplies.

(End of this chapter)