Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 449 Iberian Alliance Treaty
Besides trying to force the British to back down as soon as possible, Carlo was also making arrangements to target the Portuguese.

The military parade in Cádiz was very effective. Even though the parade ended several days ago, news related to it remains the hottest topic on the Iberian Peninsula.

Many Spanish and Portuguese people are discussing the impressive performance of the Spanish military in the parade, and they are also curious about the air force and navy units that Spain showcased in the parade.

Based on the Spanish Navy's record of defeating the British Navy, the Spanish Navy can certainly be considered one of the most powerful navies in Europe.

The concept of an air force was first proposed by Spain, which means that Spain is undoubtedly a world leader in both the navy and air force.

In terms of the army, although the Spanish army does not have enough combat achievements to establish its status as a top-tier army, the performance of various Spanish army units in the parade shows that the Spanish army's combat effectiveness is absolutely reliable and is definitely on par with the armies of the two major European army powers, Germany and France.

From this perspective, Spain is at the top level in terms of its army, navy, and air force. No other country currently possesses this achievement.

Of course, Spain has taken a somewhat opportunistic approach. Currently, Spain is practically the only country with an air force. While other European countries are also developing airships, they haven't yet reached the point of arming their armies with airships and forming air forces.

Even ignoring the air force, which is merely a concept, there are actually only three countries that can rank at the top in both the army and navy.

While the British army is not bad, it is by no means top-tier compared to the three major land powers of France, Germany, and Russia.

Not to mention powerful nations like Austria-Hungary, Italy, and the United States. Both Austria-Hungary and Italy were severely unbalanced in their military capabilities, while the United States' military strength was abysmal, with its army and navy being the smallest among the major powers.

While a large part of this was because the United States faced no external threats, it's no wonder that European countries would take the United States seriously given its pitifully small military size.

Carlo wasn't sure how people in other countries would react, but he was very clear about the reaction in Portugal. Currently, a wave of envy towards the Spanish has swept through Portugal.

The Portuguese people greatly envied the Spanish because Spain possessed an extremely powerful army, navy, and air force, which had even defeated the once invincible British Empire.

And what about Portugal? If it weren't for Spain's help, the Portuguese Republican Party would still be in power, and the Portuguese people would be forced to submit to the Republican Party's dictatorship.

If Spain only possessed military power, that would be one thing, but today's Spain, in addition to its strong military, has also made great achievements in industry and economy.

Spain's current industrial scale is second only to the three major powers of Britain, Germany and the United States among the great powers, and is roughly at the same level as that of France and Russia.

Spain's economy is also growing rapidly. Spain, which was once a fellow countryman with Portugal in its struggles, now has a per capita annual income that has increased several times over.

This resulted in Spaniards, who also lived on the Iberian Peninsula, earning more than half as much as the Portuguese. Spaniards were able to live a well-fed and prosperous life, while many Portuguese could not even afford to eat their fill.

The vast disparity between Portugal and Spain not only fueled Portuguese envy of the Spanish but also contributed to the rise of Pan-Iberianism.

Many Portuguese people are wondering if they could enjoy everything that the Spanish enjoy if Portugal and Spain were to become a unified country again.

Developed industry, a prosperous economy, a powerful military, and a peaceful and stable political environment—these were unprecedented golden ages for the Portuguese.

Of course, most of the time these people only thought about it. After all, if they actually did that, Portugal would be annexed by Spain again, which was unacceptable to many Portuguese.

But at least for now, Carlo has achieved the desired public opinion effect. If Portugal is annexed at this time through relatively peaceful means, even if some people oppose it, there will definitely be others who support the merger of the two countries.

The opposition from some Portuguese people meant little to Carlo. Portugal's population was already small; if only a portion opposed the merger, they could simply disperse those people to other regions, reducing the Portuguese population in Portugal itself.

As long as the Portuguese population in the Portuguese region is less than half, even if a significant portion of them oppose the merger of the two countries, they will not be able to cause any significant trouble.

The Spanish government is already in discussions with the Portuguese government regarding the merger of Spain and Portugal.

Carlo preferred to annex Portugal peacefully. If that were possible, he would not mind allowing the existing Portuguese government to retain some power, and for a short period, Portugal and Spain would coexist in a manner similar to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In short, it was about establishing a dual monarchy, with Spain and Portugal each having their own governments, and Carlos serving as the common monarch of both countries, thus achieving both unification and division.

Whether the Portuguese government continued to exist was not important to Carlo. As long as he could bring Portugal under his rule, it was only a matter of time before he completely controlled it.

The consultations with the Portuguese government were essentially a negotiation. The Portuguese government understood that being annexed by Spain was an inevitable trend, and the Iberian Party's founding ideology was based on Pan-Iberianism, which promoted the unification of Spain and Portugal.

The current Portuguese Iberian Party has been infiltrated by Spain in many high-ranking positions, and under these circumstances, the existing Portuguese government is unable to prevent Portugal from annexing Spain.

Spain defeated England on the main battlefield, which can be said to have cleared away all external obstacles to the annexation of Portugal.

Germany and France could not afford to offend Spain for the sake of a small country like Portugal, since Spain at that time needed the full respect and attention of every major European power.

On February 11, 1905, Spain and Portugal formally signed the Treaty of the Iberian Union, agreeing that the two countries should work together to deal with enemies outside the Iberian Peninsula and protect peace and stability within the Iberian Peninsula.

According to this alliance treaty, the Spanish Navy will have the right to call at and be stationed in all Portuguese ports, and the Portuguese Navy will also have the right to call at and be stationed in all Spanish ports.

Spain generously promised that all Portuguese warships and merchant ships could pass through the Strait of Gibraltar without any hindrance, just like Spanish ships.

In return, the Portuguese government should also permit the Spanish army to use Portuguese roads and railways for rapid evacuation under certain circumstances.

Under the provisions of this alliance treaty, Spain's army and navy undertook almost all the defense tasks of the Iberian Peninsula, and Portugal no longer had to worry about threats from the outside world.

But for Portugal, this also means that Portugal has completely sided with Spain, and Spain has become the only threat to the Portuguese government now, and one that it cannot confront.

In addition to various military collaborations, the Spanish and Portuguese governments have also agreed to further cooperation in the economic and industrial sectors. Spain will encourage domestic investment in Portugal and will also encourage factories near Portuguese states to recruit Portuguese workers, thus providing jobs for Portugal through Spain's industrial environment.

With Spanish funding, Portugal's vast plains could be utilized. Whether for grain cultivation or livestock farming, this would significantly expand the scale of Portuguese agriculture.

This economic cooperation was an open secret of Spain's annexation of Portugal, a tactic the Portuguese were completely unprepared for.

The Portuguese, of course, wouldn't object to seeking employment in factories across Spain. After all, Spanish workers earn very high annual incomes, several times higher than the average Portuguese citizen.

In this situation, most Portuguese people would be tempted by the high-paying jobs in Spain, and even if Portugal did not lift similar restrictions, many Portuguese would still choose to illegally cross into Spain, risking their lives to earn higher incomes.

Now that the Portuguese government has chosen to lift the relevant restrictions, it is foreseeable that more and more Portuguese will choose to go to Spain to make big money.

As Portuguese people continued to pour into Spain and economic ties between the two countries deepened, it became increasingly difficult for Portugal to break free from Spanish control.

In terms of culture, Carlo also decided to make some integration to make the Iberian Peninsula look more like a whole.

The most famous cultural activity that can be effectively utilized at present is bullfighting in Spain. Over a long period of time, bullfighting has become a symbol of Spanish culture, and the annual bullfighting competition attracts a large number of Spaniards.

The person who ultimately becomes the strongest bullfighter will not only be received by Carlo personally, but will also be awarded the title of Royal Spanish Bullfighter, an honor that is unimaginable for ordinary people.

This is just the gain in terms of reputation. The financial benefits are even greater, and everyone gets a share.

Apart from the bullfighters who were eliminated in the preliminary rounds in each state, anyone who made it to Madrid for the second round of the competition could earn a considerable amount of prize money and extra income.

The bullfighters who are able to travel to Madrid for the second round of the competition are basically star players in their respective states. Their fame alone can bring in a lot of income. In addition, with their cooperation with the bullrings of the state governments, their annual income is at least tens of thousands of pesetas.

That's still relatively low. Those bullfighters who perform exceptionally well in the second round and achieve a ranking earn several times more than those who don't.

Especially the top ten bullfighters, even the lowest-ranked one, can earn over 100,000 pesetas a year.

If you can become the strongest bullfighter of the year, the prize money alone will be as high as 100,000 pesetas. In addition to Carlo's rewards and a series of other benefits brought by fame, it is easy to earn hundreds of thousands of pesetas every year.

Because of the popularity of bullfighting and the extremely high income of bullfighters, a large number of daring individuals are attracted to become bullfighters and sign up for the competition every year.

From Spanish nobles to ordinary people, everyone is very interested in bullfighting. Several nobles or their sons have already registered to participate in bullfighting, and some of them have performed quite well, achieving final rankings in the annual bullfighting competition.

Carlos was pleased to see the public's enthusiastic participation in bullfighting. The bravery and fearlessness symbolized by the bullfighters were a huge boost to Spain, which was vividly reflected in the fighting power of the Spanish army.

Although bullfighting brings huge casualties every year, with an average of dozens of people dying in bullfighting each year, the number of people injured in bullfighting is countless, easily reaching four figures.

But these are clearly insignificant compared to the boost that the spirit of bravery and fearlessness brought to the Spanish army's combat effectiveness.

Carlo was willing to make such a sacrifice to strengthen the Spanish army's fighting power. As for those brave people who joined the bullfighting competition, the high income of the bullfighters was a reward for them.

For any bullfighter who can participate in bullfighting competitions, earning several times more than the average person is effortless.

Of course, becoming a bullfighter who can register to compete is not easy. Bullfighting is not a one-person affair; a complete bullfighting team consists of several people.

The bullfighter is simply the one who ultimately kills the bull, which means that ordinary people who want to participate in bullfighting need to find a few like-minded friends to form a complete team.

For those from noble families and those with considerable wealth, this is relatively easy to achieve. With just a small investment, they can easily assemble an excellent bullfighting team.

However, becoming the best bullfighter isn't something that can be achieved simply by throwing money at it. Besides a fearless spirit, one also needs highly skilled bullfighting techniques and a remarkably strong physique.

This is why bullfighting is considered beneficial to Spain. It not only cultivates the Spanish people's bravery and fighting spirit but also strengthens their physique and helps them acquire certain fighting skills.

The nationwide bullfighting competition is not only a major event for the Spanish people, but also a means to promote the Spanish economy and increase the revenue of the royal family and the government.

Don't underestimate the seemingly small bullfighting event. Currently, Spain earns tens of millions of pesetas annually from bullfighting events, and the economic growth boosted by bullfighting is several times greater. Even the government can gain millions of pesetas in direct fiscal revenue as a result.

The combination of these favorable factors has not only made bullfighting one of the most popular cultural events in Spain, but also a symbol of the Spanish nation and people.

The so-called deeper cultural cooperation with Portugal actually means including the Portuguese region in Spain's annual bullfighting competition.

Since there aren't many people in Portugal anyway, roughly dividing Portugal into three regions—north, central, and south—allows it to be included in the second round of the annual bullfighting competition in Spain.

As for the bullfighters who win in the three regions of Portugal, they are also eligible to go to Madrid for the second round of the competition, and the top ten outstanding bullfighters will be selected in the end.

Including Portugal in the scope of Spanish bullfighting would not only increase the attention given to bullfighting in Portugal, but also, to some extent, bring the Spanish and Portuguese people closer together.

When the Portuguese eagerly participated in Spanish bullfighting, Carlo's plan had already been accomplished.

As bullfighting has become a cultural symbol of Portugal, the substantial revenue generated from bullfighting alone is enough to ensure that the Portuguese, who benefit from these industries, will never turn away from Spain.

(End of this chapter)