Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 125: Pleasant Economic Data

The good news is that the current Spanish government is not short of money for the time being.

The economic growth brought by industry and infrastructure is unpredictable, which has also enabled Spain's economy to take off rapidly.

It was not until April 1872 that Carlo received the Spanish economic forecast data given by the Spanish Finance Department, which showed a significant increase compared with the previous year.

Seeing such exaggerated economic data, Carlo finally realized how harmful the Bourbon dynasty's foolish rule was to Spain.

It can even be said without hesitation that Spain declined under the Bourbon dynasty. Although Spain was also weakening during the Habsburg dynasty, its overall strength was still at the level of a European hegemon.

After the Bourbon dynasty came to power through the War of Succession, Spain began a long period of decline. Both Queen Isabella and her father, Ferdinand VII, were notorious incompetent kings in Spanish history.

There is no need to say more about Queen Isabel. She was so lewd and immoral that even her own son Alfonso had blood problems.

Queen Isabel's father, Ferdinand VII, was the most infamous king in Spanish history. Napoleon once supported his brother Joseph Bonaparte to become the King of Spain, but was strongly opposed by the Spanish.

Finally, Ferdinand VII was restored to the throne with the permission of Napoleon, and the Bourbon dynasty resumed its rule in Spain. Ferdinand VII, who regained the throne, suppressed the Spanish revolutionaries extremely brutally and called his reign after restoration the Dark Decade.

What is more worth mentioning is that the independence of the Spanish American colonies took place under the rule of Ferdinand VII.

In addition, he forcibly violated the rules of the Bourbon dynasty and appointed his daughter Isabella as the heir to the throne instead of his original brother Carlos, which led to the Carlist War that plagued Spain for decades.

It can be said that the decline of the Spanish dynasty is inseparable from the Bourbon family, and even more so from Ferdinand VII and Queen Isabella.

The father and daughter ruled Spain for 54 years, turning Spain from a great power into a second-strongest country in Europe.

If it weren't for the accident of Carlo, the two mediocre kings Alfonso XII and XIII would have come to power one after another, making Spain completely lose hope of revival.

However, this also shows the Spanish people's support and love for the monarchy. The extremely incompetent Bourbon dynasty in Spain persisted in its rule until later generations.

Although Spain became a republic many times in the middle, the fact that it was eventually restored has already proved the status of the Bourbon dynasty in the hearts of the Spaniards.

In other words, the Spaniards of this era still quite recognized the monarchy. It was just that the Bourbon dynasty had ruled Spain for nearly a hundred years, so the Spaniards' recognition of the monarchy was transferred to the Bourbon dynasty.

But now with the unexpected arrival of Carlo, the Spaniards naturally have different options.

One of the reasons why King Amadeo failed in history was that he lost Prime Minister Primo, the biggest supporter of his kingship, before he arrived in Spain.

The second reason was that Amadeo did not fully face up to his responsibilities as the King of Spain. His Italian identity meant that he did not have much support in Spain. Coupled with the joint opposition of the Republicans and the Carlists, the Savoy dynasty only lasted a few years in Spain.

But now it was different. With the support of Prime Minister Primo, Carlo's throne was quite stable.

In addition, the Carlos faction had been eliminated, and the Bourbon dynasty could no longer pose much of a threat to Carlo. Under Carlo's propaganda, even the uneducated Spanish peasants knew the pain that the corrupt and ignorant Bourbon dynasty had brought them.

Reducing agricultural taxes and exempting tithes are the gifts that Carlo brings to all Spanish farmers, and are also the best way to improve their favorability.

Due to the propaganda of a large number of newspapers, people may not know what Carlo looks like, but they must know that this young king from Italy issued a policy of reducing agricultural taxes and abolishing tithes.

Compared with the previous reign of Queen Isabella, the conservative Spanish peasants naturally knew who to support.

At least their taxes were actually reduced, which was also Carlo's best way to win the hearts of the people. Only when the peasants tasted the actual sweetness would they know who they should be loyal to.

As long as he could gain the support of these conservative peasants, Carlo's rule in Spain would be irreplaceable. The reason why Spain remained a monarchy in later generations was because of the support of so many conservatives for the monarchy.

The peasants, who currently make up the majority of the population, support Carlo’s rule in Spain, which is actually equivalent to most of Spain supporting Carlo’s rule.

With the support of these farmers, the remaining opposition, including from the church and the republicans, could be easily dealt with.

Moreover, the current church is by no means a monolithic entity. The church is definitely one of the major forces in Spain, and its status and influence are no less than those of the Spanish nobility.

But the problem is that the Spanish church now has no real military power, all they have is countless land and wealth. It's like a fat sheep, in front of a butcher holding a knife, in addition to fleeing in panic, perhaps all they can do is close their eyes and wait for the knife to come.

It is impossible for the Pope to support them. Although the church is powerful in Spain, it is the least likely to influence or threaten the government.

Of course, it would be a good thing if the church dared to incite rebellion. Carlo and Prime Minister Primo were trying to find a suitable excuse to take action against the church.

Carlo's idea of ​​establishing the Spanish Archbishop was not just an idea, but something he really wanted to do. The title of Spanish Archbishop was precisely what Carlo used to win over the loyalists in the church and divide the church.

If Pedro, Archbishop of Toledo, was unwilling to swear allegiance to Carlo for the title of Archbishop of Spain, there would naturally be other bishops willing to swear allegiance to Carlo for the title.

After all, this is the true Spanish Archbishop, who has the power to control all Catholic churches and bishops in Spain.

As for whether the Pope is willing to see an archbishopric established in Spain to control the Catholic Church in Spain, that is not something the Pope himself can decide.

After all, the Pope is still in the Vatican, and the Catholic Church is a lamb to be slaughtered, not to mention the Spanish church.

Although Spain has not yet reached Carlo's ideal state, it has made great progress compared to the reign of Queen Isabella.

The people trust the government. After all, various policies are promulgated by the current government, and the current government is a new government formed after the revolution. The people's hatred for the royal government during the Bourbon dynasty will naturally not be transferred to the current government.

Thanks to the fact that Carlo was the king elected by the new government, the people's hatred towards the original king will not be transferred to Carlo.

This is also the advantage of electing a king. The disadvantage is that it is difficult for the elected king to grasp power, but Carlo's influence has been increasing in his own layout, and there is hope that he will gain more power in the future.

With the people's trust in the government, government construction and reform have been much smoother.

In 1871, Spain's GDP reached 66.778 billion pesetas, an increase of more than 1870% compared to 8.

This growth rate is quite normal. After all, there was war in Spain in 1870, but Spain spent 1871 in a peaceful development.

In 1871, Spain also received assistance from Italy and Austria-Hungary, and the government also received a large amount of low-interest loans, which is why the economic development was so strong.

Fiscal revenue also rarely exceeded 4 million pesetas, which was more than last year's fiscal expenditure, reaching a new high in fiscal revenue for the Spanish government, totaling 4.753 million pesetas.

However, due to more industrial construction and the construction of railways and roads, Spain's total fiscal expenditure in 1871 also reached a new high of 5.125 million pesetas.

The good news was that the fiscal deficit in 1871 was only 3720 million pesetas, a decrease of more than 1870 million from 2200.

The increase in fiscal revenue was mainly due to the restoration of order in Cuba, which provided Spain with a large amount of income.

In addition, the increase in people's actual income and the increase in jobs brought about by a large number of infrastructure and industrial bases have led to a continuous increase in government tax revenue.

A few years ago, agricultural taxes accounted for the majority of the Spanish government's fiscal revenue. But now, industrial and financial taxes have also reached a considerable scale, which also means that Spain is transforming from an agricultural country to an industrial country.

However, such a transformation cannot be completed in a few years. According to Spain's current progress, it can be built into an agricultural industrial country in the next ten years.

Perhaps after more than 20 years of struggle, Spain will have the hope of completely getting rid of its identity as an agricultural country and becoming a powerful industrial country.

Most of the fiscal expenditure in 1871, which increased by more than 1870 million pesetas compared to 1, was invested in the construction of railways and roads and the development of industry.

Such an investment is obviously not a loss, and the funds will be fed back into the future economy and income of the Spanish government in various ways.

Moreover, based on the current economic development of the Spanish government, both total fiscal expenditure and fiscal revenue in 1872 will increase significantly, thereby further narrowing the gap with the great powers.

In fact, the biggest gap is still population and colonies. The reason why Spain's fiscal revenue is so small is largely due to the fact that Spain has a population of less than 1700 million.

Such a population is less than half of that of Germany, Austria-Hungary and France, nearly half of that of the United Kingdom, and more than half of that of Italy. Naturally, the government's total fiscal revenue cannot catch up with these powerful countries.

The first update of 3,000 words, please support!


(End of this chapter)