Empire Rising: Spain

Although there are coal and iron mines within Spain, their overall scale is not vast, unable to sustain a very large industrial power.

This is also why Carlo wants to continually expand colonial territories, for the current scale and potential of Spain’s mainland cannot compete with super powers like the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

The scale of colonies that France can exchange with Spain is not much different from Portugal, and the probability of France giving up its West Africa Colony is extremely low, making collaboration with Spain almost impossible.

This actually means Spain has only two options: either collaborate with the British to obtain lands in West Africa and the Middle East, or collaborate with the Portuguese to gain control of the Congo Kingdom under Portuguese rule.

Although the Congo Kingdom can be connected to Spain’s Congo Territory, its actual value is certainly not as high as the British West Africa Colony combined with Middle Eastern lands.

Moreover, Portugal’s overall strength is weaker, which could possibly prompt the United States to launch a war against the Cuban Colony earlier.

Should the United States rise prematurely, dealing with this problem in the future would become even more difficult. It might be better to collaborate with the British, letting them take Cuba, forcing the Americans to reconsider if they have the courage to challenge the British Empire.

Without gaining the Cuban Colony, it would become more difficult for the United States to rise. Carlo isn’t afraid of the Americans eyeing the Philippines, as though the Philippines is miles away from Spain’s mainland, it is equally distant from the U.S. mainland.

The Philippine Colony is about 11,000 kilometers from the U.S. West Coast, and Borneo is also roughly 11,000 kilometers from Spain’s east coast.

This is not like Cuba at America’s doorstep. If the U.S. tries to cross the ocean to occupy the Philippine Colony, Carlo doesn’t mind letting the Americans experience the changes Spain has undergone since the Industrial Revolution.

After all, the current U.S. is still a soft target and poses little threat to the European Powers. But after World War I, if the U.S. gains certain benefits, it will not be so easy to treat them as a soft target anymore.

Upon comprehensive consideration, Carlo is more willing to collaborate with the British to complete the swap of colonies.

Historically, Britain’s colonial development shows that the British focus on the expansion of African Colonies mainly to complete the connection between Egypt and the South African Colony.

Ultimately, the British did indeed achieve the connection between the two blocks of African Colonies, but this large colony did not include West Africa, showing that in the eyes of the British, the West Africa Colony was not so important.

Though the likelihood of obtaining the British Colony in West Africa is high, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any drawbacks.

Currently, three major powers are colonizing in West Africa, which are the United Kingdom, France, and Spain.

If Spain fully takes over the British West Africa Colony, it indicates that in the future of colonizing competition in West Africa, only France and Spain remain.

The tripod situation might be more stable, but competition between two countries will surely bring injury to one. To integrate the West Africa Colony, Spain must directly face the pressure brought by the French.

Historically, the UK did achieve the connection from Egypt to the South African Colony, but the French also made some achievements.

France gained vast colonies in West Africa and North Africa, although much of those lands are desert, aside from the colonial area and mineral resources quantity surpassing what Britain obtained, it is significant enough to be second among the strong powers.

Notably, during the era of World War I, the German Empire, a world second strong nation, only gained a small piece of worthless colonies in Africa during the colonial competition.

This is ample evidence of the ferocity of African colonization; a slight mistake could lead to a colonial war between Spain and France.

Fortunately, before the Triple Alliance breaks, France would not dare to cut ties with Spain.

Once Spain is forced to align with the Triple Alliance, France faces complete blockade by the European Continent.

And the breakup of Triple Alliance, when precisely is that? Historically, the breakup was in 1887, but perhaps not so in this world.

The Russian-Turkish War severely damaged relations between Austria-Hungary and Russia, while post-war peace negotiations did significant harm to relations between Germany and Russia.

As treaties between Germany and Austria-Hungary were signed, Russia became an outsider to the Triple Alliance.

The French definitely noticed the potential of Triple Alliance disintegrating, and the French Government continually wooed Russia, attempting to form a Franco-Russian Alliance to counter the German-Austrian Alliance.

However, currently, the Russian Government has not yet made up its mind; they are engaging both with French capital and have not broken treaties with Germany and Austria, keeping so-called Triple Alliance still existent and preserving peace in Europe.

Since it’s confirmed to swap colonies with the British, naturally, the next steps involve strategic public opinion layout before the swap.

Spain couldn’t directly reach out to the British Government and discuss colony swapping; this would certainly arouse suspicion and alert the British Government.

If wishing to swap colonies, there must be a seeming reasonable cause. Not only would it allow the British to feel reassured when engaging in discussions with the Spanish Government, but also soothe the Spanish public, ensuring the loss of the Cuban Colony doesn’t trigger public outrage.