Empire Rising: Spain

In just a week’s time, more than half of the large tribes of the Asante Federation were conquered by Spain. The remaining tribes combined do not have as many people as the Ashanti Tribe.

This also signifies one thing: the full occupation of the Asante Federation’s land by Spain has become a not-too-distant future.

The remaining tribes staying on this land are destined for extinction sooner or later.

Among these indigenous peoples, there are indeed some wise individuals. In the face of the Federation’s continuous retreat, some tribes chose to escape directly to the northern forests to avoid the attack of the Spanish Army.

This is a difficult choice for the indigenous people. The Asante Federation is originally inland on the Gold Coast, and their tribes are located further north in the Federation. This is also the reason why the Spanish Army has not yet attacked the land where their tribe resides.

If they flee further north, there won’t be much land suitable for survival. Beyond lies the vast Sahara Desert, a sparsely populated area of more than 9 million square kilometers of desert wasteland.

However, they have no other choice but to escape. The Spanish Army will not give them more time, and apart from continuing to flee north, these tribes can only wait to perish.

As for heading east or west, these directions are not considered by the indigenous tribes either. Because in these directions there are also indigenous forces, leading the tribe there could very likely result in being swallowed by other indigenous forces.

Though European colonists are common enemies to the indigenous people of Africa, this does not mean different African peoples will join forces to resist them.

It’s not just different African peoples; even different tribes under the same ethnic group are unlikely to unite against foreign invasions.

We must admit, the choice of these tribes fleeing north has been successful. Although there are still indigenous forces north of the Asante Federation, compared to the ones on the east and west of the Asante Federation, the northern indigenous forces are not as strong.

The Spanish Army decided to quit while they were ahead, after fully occupying the land originally belonging to the Asante Federation, and did not plan to attack further north into the Gongga Kingdom.

Although the Gongga Kingdom is weaker than the Asante Federation, Spain’s continuous warfare is certainly likely to cause panic among these neighboring indigenous states.

Usually, they wouldn’t come together, but under the pressure of a powerful adversary like Spain, it’s possible these indigenous states might actually unite to resist Spain’s colonial expansion.

This is not advantageous for Spain. Moreover, dealing with the millions of people in the Asante Federation requires time, so the Spanish Army does not intend to step beyond the Asante Federation’s land, at least not in the short term.

The annexation of the Asante Federation has already doubled the land of Spain’s Gold Coast Colony, and the time ahead is needed to digest this expansion.

Of course, extensive mineral exploration on the land of the Asante Federation is also very necessary. Whether it’s gold mines or other mineral resources, Spain will not overlook them.

Finding one or two large gold mines would be even better, as gold not only holds immense value, but also represents the stability of Spain’s currency.

For dealing with the remaining population of other tribes in the Federation, the Gold Coast Colony Government still employs its old methods. Even the elderly and children of the entire Federation add up to hundreds of thousands. Spain will not show any mercy to those who do not provide economic value.

As for the remaining adult indigenous people, they still hold considerable economic value. As long as they do not act recklessly, the Gold Coast Colony Government is happy to retain this labor force to create greater value elsewhere.

Not long after the Spanish Government annexed the Asante Federation, two major international events occurred in succession.

The first major event was the re-signing of the Triple Alliance.

It was previously mentioned that since the Russian-Turkish War, the relations between Germany and Russia had plummeted to rock bottom. Alexander II had even almost torn up the Treaty of the Three Emperors Alliance, choosing to ally with France against Germany.

With the assassination of Alexander II, the Russian Government became more low-key on the diplomatic front. This gave the German Prime Minister, Bismarck, an opportunity. If possible, he wished to repair relations with Russia and continue to maintain the Triple Alliance.

Shortly after the assassination of Alexander II, the German Prime Minister Bismarck summoned the Russian ambassador to Germany and expressed Germany’s desire to maintain friendly relations with Russia.

At this time, the Russian Government, which needed stability, immediately seized the olive branch offered by Bismarck. The Russian Government did not want to tear up the Treaty of the Three Emperors Alliance; staying in the alliance was the only way Russia could ensure long-term stability.

With Germany being proactive and Russia responding favorably, the relations between Germany and Russia quickly improved.

The Austria-Hungary also saw the restoration of relations between Germany and Russia, and since Austria-Hungary had already acquired Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Russian-Turkish War, it was willing to repair relations with Russia. After all, Germany had clearly shown an intention to draw Russia closer.

Thus, the Triple Alliance was re-established once again.

The diplomatic envoys of Tsarist Russia and Austria-Hungary engaged in cordial talks with the German Prime Minister Bismarck in Berlin and re-signed an alliance agreement.