Empire Rising: Spain

Whether in the era of ironclads or sailing warships, building a large ship has never been easy.

As warship technology advanced into the ironclad era, the complexity of the technology and the large amount of steel required meant that the cost and time needed to build an ironclad were constantly increasing.

The keel laying stage of a Bullfighter-class Ironclad alone would take at least a month and a half, which also indicated the vast size of the Bullfighter-class Ironclad.

When the Italian ship-purchasing delegation saw with their own eyes the workers at the shipyard laying the keel of the Bullfighter-class Ironclad, even though they were prepared for Spain’s formidable shipbuilding capabilities, they couldn’t help but express their admiration.

"Oh my God, how gigantic must this warship be?" The leader of the Italian purchasing team, an admiral in the Italian Navy, looked with amazement at the keel that was already more than halfway laid in the dock, with excitement written all over his face.

"Sir, may I ask about the displacement of this warship your country is building?" One of the Italian purchasing delegation’s generals looked curiously at the Spanish diplomatic official next to him and inquired.

"Of course, General." The Italian Government had long expressed to Spain their interest in purchasing warships, and the basic data of these ships had to be shown to the Italians.

As a result, the diplomatic official promptly responded to the inquiry of the Italian Navy general with the pre-acquired information: "According to design estimates, the standard displacement of the Bullfighter-class Ironclad is approximately 9,552 tons, and the full load displacement is about 10,700 tons, making it a true ten-thousand-ton giant."

Upon hearing that the full load displacement of Spain’s Bullfighter-class Ironclad could exceed ten thousand tons, the naval leaders of the purchasing delegation glanced at each other with excitement in their eyes.

As for the other officials from the Italian Government, especially those from the finance department, their expressions were not so positive.

The larger the displacement of an ironclad, the more expensive it becomes. After all, apart from the thickness and coverage area of the steel plates, the caliber of the naval guns and the size of turrets also affect the weight of the ironclad.

Spain’s previous generation of ironclads, the Rejuvenation-class, had an external sale price as high as 600,000 Pounds. With the even more powerful Bullfighter-class Ironclad, its external sale price would surely exceed 700,000 Pounds, wouldn’t it?

Italy plans to order two ironclads, which means Italy would need to spend over 1.4 million Pounds, equating to 35 million Lira in funds.

Since its unification, Italy has maintained a relatively good financial status. Yet the military expansion ambitions of Umberto I were clearly not limited to this, causing some officials in the Italian Government to feel torn, as with an increase in military expenditure, the budget for other departments would inevitably be reduced.

Full of anticipation, the Italian ship-purchasing delegation’s naval leaders eagerly began negotiations with the Royal Guanizuo Shipyard following their visit to the Bullfighter Ironclad’s keel laying.

They wanted to quickly discuss the details of purchasing warships from the Royal Guanizuo Shipyard so that the Italian Navy could acquire such formidable ironclads as soon as possible.

Unlike the eager naval leaders, the Italian Government’s officials were not as hasty. When they learned that a Bullfighter-class Ironclad was priced at a staggering 800,000 Pounds, they even considered returning to Italy immediately.

The price of 800,000 Pounds was indeed exceedingly expensive, and such an amount was enough for Italy’s own shipyards to build an ironclad with some funds to spare.

Even if Spain’s warships were designed to be stronger than Italy’s, there was no justification for such an exorbitant price.

After much haggling, the Royal Guanizuo Shipyard eventually offered Italy a friendship price, providing a 5% discount off the 800,000 Pounds price, thus selling the ironclad to Italy at an internal price of 760,000 Pounds each.

If Italy were to order two ironclads at once, the Royal Guanizuo Shipyard would also provide some complimentary shells and torpedoes, further reducing expenditures for Italy.

Although the 760,000 Pounds price was still more expensive than the internal price given to the Spanish Government, the Royal Guanizuo Shipyard had indeed demonstrated sincere goodwill.

After all, the Royal Guanizuo Shipyard needed to make a profit, and refraining from making a significant gain from Italy’s order already showed respect to the Italian Government.

The ship-purchasing delegation held the right to decide on the purchase of warships, meaning they only needed internal discussion and did not require the approval of the Italian Government.

After several days of continuous meetings within the Italian purchasing delegation, and with the persistent argument from the Italian Navy generals, the delegation finally agreed to the Royal Guanizuo Shipyard’s offered price of 760,000 Pounds, deciding to purchase two ironclads at once.

The total cost of 1.52 million Pounds for purchasing the warships would be paid in three installments. The first payment was to be executed immediately after signing the order, with Italy required to pay the Royal Guanizuo Shipyard a deposit of 300,000 Pounds, while Spain was obliged to commence construction of the two Italian warships within three months following payment.

The second and third payments would occur at the launch and delivery stages of the two warships, respectively. Once all three payments were completed, the purchase of the warships would be formally concluded, and the warships would officially belong to the Italian Navy, having no further relation with Spain.

When the representatives of the Italian purchasing group and the Spanish Royal Guanizuo Shipyard signed the order documents and took commemorative photos, the deal was thereby officially concluded.

The news of Italy purchasing two ironclads from Spain quickly became headline news across various European nations, and Spain’s newly developed Bullfighter-class Ironclad immediately attracted the attention of European countries.

Upon learning that Spain’s ironclad was a true ten-thousand-ton giant, the British did not rashly amend their shipbuilding plans, but instead ordered shipyards to accelerate the construction speed of the warships.

After all, the British also possessed ten-thousand-ton giants. As long as Spain’s ironclad’s overall performance did not far surpass the British ironclad, or as long as the number of Spain’s main warships couldn’t threaten the British Fleet, the British response wouldn’t be too intense.

Though the British did not have an overly intense reaction, the French response was significantly stronger.

France had already experienced a colonial conflict with Spain and Italy, and their relations had not been fully repaired.

With both Spain and Italy announcing naval expansions, the French could no longer hold back and announced their own shipbuilding plans for the next five years.

Spain and Italy planned to build a total of six ironclads over the next five years, prompting the French Government to immediately decide to build six more ironclads in the same period in response.

This was not only to assert themselves but also to reduce the influence of Spain and Italy in the western Mediterranean.

France’s naval power was quite formidable, surpassing both Italy and Spain. However, like the United States, France faced the problem of being bordered by two seas, with a significant distance between the two coastlines.

Certainly, France’s situation was significantly better than that of the United States. The connection between the U.S.’s east and west coasts required traveling around all of South America, a distance close to 20,000 kilometers.

Meanwhile, only around 3,000 kilometers were needed to travel around the Iberian Peninsula between France’s western and southern coasts.

The existence of two non-adjacent coastlines led France to establish two fleets to ensure the security of its coasts.

France stationed the Channel Fleet in the English Channel and also deployed the Mediterranean Fleet in the Mediterranean. Although this effectively protected the security of both French coasts, it also dispersed France’s naval power.

Globally, France’s navy far exceeds those of Spain and Italy, but if comparing solely within the Mediterranean, neither Spain’s nor Italy’s forces have a significant strength gap with France.

Particularly if the two countries joined forces, even France’s Mediterranean Fleet would be hard-pressed to contend with their combined fleet.

This is why France decided to construct six ironclads, to bolster the strength of the Mediterranean Fleet and safeguard the security of France’s North African colonies.

Moreover, an important reason was to recover its prestige since failing to completely occupy Tunisia during the Tunisian War.

Prime Minister Rufelli’s ambition to build six ironclads in the next five years clearly demonstrated his intention. He aimed to assure all French citizens that France remains the strong and powerful nation it once was, still a dominant force in Europe, and that no country should provoke France, confident in its ability to counter any nation’s provocations.