Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 167 East Indies in Action
It was August 1874, and the atmosphere in the Spanish East Indies colonies seemed somewhat unusual compared to the past.

Lieutenant Colonel Pascual Severa arrived at the Presidential Palace of the East Indies early in the morning, along with several commanders of the garrison regiment.

"Are you all ready, guys?" The Marquis of Rogers, then Governor of the East Indies, was staring at the map of the East Indies hanging in his office and said with a smile on his face.

"The navy is ready and can assist the army in landing at any time." Lieutenant Colonel Pascual nodded and replied.

"We are all ready. It's time to let these damn natives know who is the real master of the East Indies." The commanders of several colonial garrison regiments also nodded, with excitement on their faces.

Although the main purpose of the Spanish government's last troop transport was to reinforce the Congo River Basin, now that some soldiers have arrived in the East Indies, their role naturally cannot be wasted.

As Spain's largest existing colony, the East Indies still has great potential for expansion.

At present, there are still several indigenous forces in the southern part of the East Indies, that is, on the island of Mindanao, which do not submit to Spanish colonial rule. The largest indigenous force among them is the Sultanate of Maguindanao.

In addition, not far to the west of Mindanao, the Sulu Sultanate is also a place that Spain can colonize.

Further west of the Sulu Archipelago is the even larger island of Kalimantan, which is home to many indigenous tribes and countries, and the southern part is the Dutch colonial sphere.

Judging from Spain's overall strength, it had nothing to fear from the Dutch. In fact, the biggest reason why the Dutch were able to colonize this land was because the Netherlands' overall strength was not strong, which made Britain, France and Spain feel more at ease.

"Very good." Marquis Rogers nodded with satisfaction, placed his baton in the southwest of Mindanao on the map, and said with a sneer: "From today on, the indigenous countries here are no longer necessary. There is only one owner of the East Indies, and that is the great Kingdom of Spain.

The mission of the First and Second Garrison Regiments was to march south to Mindanao and wipe out the indigenous nations there. Anyone who dared to resist would be executed.

With the help of the navy, the 3rd and 4th garrison regiments landed on the Sulu Islands first and wiped out the indigenous forces there.

After taking control of the situation in the Sulu Archipelago, a part of the troops were left to garrison the archipelago, while the rest of the army continued westward to control the territory of the Sulu Sultanate in the Kalimantan region.

Third, the Fourth Garrison Regiment had a heavier task and must win quickly and occupy the land of the Sulu Sultanate as soon as possible.

If we wait until the British react and mediate, I'm afraid some of the land will be divided up by the British. The faster we act, the more land we can get.

I hope we can take over the entire Sulu Sultanate, not just the small Sulu Archipelago. Do you all understand your mission?"

Relatively speaking, attacking Mindanao would be smoother. This is already a Spanish colony, and no matter how fierce Spain's colonial actions are, other powers have no right to interfere.

But Kalimantan is different. The southern part of Kalimantan is occupied by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while the northern and western parts have a large number of indigenous countries and other forces.

Although the British had not yet established a colony in North Kalimantan, they had already occupied a port in the Brunei Empire.

The Sulu Sultanate borders the Brunei Empire, and Spain's military action of forcibly attacking the Sulu Sultanate is likely to attract the attention of the British.

This is not a good thing for Spain. It can only speed up its actions as much as possible and grab a piece of land in Borneo first.

Being able to expand the colony to Kalimantan Island also proves that Spain has the right to divide Kalimantan Island. But if it cannot land on Kalimantan Island, the future division of Kalimantan by Britain and the Netherlands will have nothing to do with Spain.

Although Spain already has the Philippines, Kalimantan is equally attractive. As the third largest island in the world, Kalimantan covers an area of ​​74 square kilometers, while the combined area of ​​Spain and the Philippines is only 80 square kilometers.

Spain would certainly participate in the division of such a vast territory. Moreover, the resources on the island of Kalimantan are also very rich, so it would not be a loss to take any piece of it.

"Yes, Governor." The commanders of several colonial garrison regiments and Lieutenant Colonel Pascual nodded together and accepted the order confidently.

It was not difficult for the Spanish army to attack these indigenous countries and forces. Although the colonial garrison was only the lowest-level Spanish force, many of its soldiers were local indigenous people.

But after upgrading their weapons and equipment, the colonial garrison's combat effectiveness is also at a certain level. The soldiers of the garrison are said to be local natives, but in fact many of them are of mixed Spanish descent and are relatively loyal to Spain.

With the supervision of a large number of young officers, the loyalty and combat effectiveness of the army can be guaranteed. As long as there is no large-scale defeat, even the colonial garrison regiment will basically not have the possibility of mutiny.

The East Indies being far away from mainland Spain also has certain advantages, for example, it takes a long time for news to spread.

Although the British had colonies all over the world, the communication between the British government and the colonies was not so quick and effective.

News around the Philippines had to be telegraphed to the Indian colonial government first, which would then forward the telegram to the British government.

This transfer would delay the process even longer, which was also the reason for the time difference mentioned by Marquis Rogers. From the news report to the British government's response and order, it would take at least several days to go back and forth.

Spain had every hope of occupying the entire Sulu Sultanate before the British government issued an order. As long as the goal was achieved, the British government would have no choice but to accept it.

After all, the British government’s main target at that time was not Kalimantan. Even if Spain could occupy part of the land, there were still Dutch colonies on Kalimantan Island.

It might even provoke colonial competition between the Spanish and the Dutch, and the British would not only be able to stay out of it, but also enjoy the show.

In line with the principle of speed being the essence of war, the four colonial garrison regiments attacked quite quickly.

With the help of the navy, the 3rd and 4th garrison regiments crossed the Sulu Sea and headed directly to the Sulu Islands, while the 1st and 2nd garrison regiments were deployed in advance in the eastern part of Mindanao and moved directly to the indigenous forces in the west with orders.

There was no radar in this era, and detecting the enemy depended entirely on the naked eye.

The Spanish army was ruthless towards these indigenous forces. As the First and Second Garrison Regiments advanced westward, they would immediately suppress any indigenous forces they discovered by force.

The first to suffer were the more loosely organized indigenous tribes, which existed in the form of tribes and were independent of each other, posing little threat to the Spanish army.

They were no strangers to the Spanish colonists, and when faced with the Spanish army's guns and cannons, all they could do was to surrender.

Of course, there were also those who resisted stubbornly, but their endings were usually not very good. In order to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, in the process of suppressing these indigenous tribes, once a tribe was found to be not obedient, the ending was basically to be completely wiped out.

As Spain's largest colony, the East Indies had a large reserve of weapons and ammunition. In the process of transporting troops, the transport fleet also brought a large number of weapons, equipment and ammunition reserves.

In the process of eliminating the indigenous forces, these transported weapons and ammunition played a huge role.

Faced with the most advanced steel guns and cannons, these natives had no room for resistance. Most of the weapons in their hands were cold weapons, and even if they had muskets, there were not many of them, and they were very backward muskets.

These loose tribes did not have any firearms, so it was much easier to destroy them. In fact, it was not really destruction, but more like using force to suppress them and forcibly bring them under Spanish colonial rule.

It took only half a day to basically occupy the indigenous tribes in western Mindanao. However, these indigenous tribes only occupied a small part of the land, and more land was occupied by the Maguindanao Sultanate.

Although the Maguindanao Sultanate is also a small indigenous country, this indigenous force has certain connections with the British and the Dutch.

Unlike previous indigenous tribes, the Maguindanao Sultanate possessed thermal weapons, which came from British and Dutch merchants.

In fact, if you think about it, the reason why the British and the Dutch were willing to provide these natives with thermal weapons was precisely to prevent Spain's colonial expansion.

After all, colonies are limited. The more land Spain occupies, the less land Britain and the Netherlands can divide up.

By trapping Spain in Mindanao, the British and the Dutch had enough time to carve up Kalimantan.

In fact, according to the original situation, the actions of the British and Dutch were very successful. The decline of the Kingdom of Spain continued until the Spanish-American War. During these decades, Spain only barely managed to control the situation in Mindanao. The vast land of Kalimantan was divided up by the British and the Dutch for a long time. The Dutch therefore established the Dutch East Indies colony, which is a huge land with a total area of ​​191 million square kilometers.

Only the Netherlands, which did not have strong local strength, could obtain such a large colony under the attention of the British.

If the Netherlands' overall strength was a little stronger, it would not be easy to obtain such a vast colony.

For Spain, to a certain extent, it did not have to fear the British when engaging in colonial competition with the Netherlands in Kalimantan.

If Spain was a powerful country like Germany, France and Russia, the British would naturally be unwilling to allow Spain to acquire more colonies.

But Spain's overall strength is not strong, and it is only a goalkeeper for powers like Italy. Spain's focus on Southeast Asia is also a good thing for the British.

After all, the British were more concerned about the eastern and western gateways of the Mediterranean, Africa and India.

Whether Southeast Asia is controlled by the Dutch or the Spanish, it makes no difference to the British, because the strength of these two countries is not enough to threaten Britain, and it is much better than being occupied by France or Germany.

Let’s talk about Spain’s actions to suppress indigenous forces.

The 1st and 2nd Garrison Regiments acted quite quickly, and in just one day they eliminated the loose indigenous tribes in Mindanao and started a battle with the Sultanate of Maguindanao.

Although the Maguindanao Sultanate also possesses thermal weapons, they are not numerous and have no artillery.

The British and Dutch are not stupid. They can make trouble for Spain, and Spain can also make trouble for them.

It is already a lot of trouble for a small country like the Netherlands to control such a vast land of the Dutch East Indies. If Spain is deliberately sabotaging from behind, it will inevitably make the Dutch government even more uncomfortable.

Although Britain is more powerful, it will not be able to withstand Spain's destructive actions.

After all, the larger the colony, the more serious the crisis of colonial rebellion it faces. Let alone other regions, India alone is enough to give the British a headache.

The Indians' struggle for independence has never stopped, and the British colonial government could only force the Indians to surrender through continuous suppression by force.

However, the use of force can only solve superficial problems, but cannot solve the fundamental problems.

As nationalism gradually awakens and the British power continues to weaken, India will eventually gain independence from British colonies.

While the 1st and 2nd Garrison Regiments were fighting the Sultanate of Maguindanao, the 3rd and 4th Garrison Regiments had also landed in the Sulu Islands.

The Sulu Archipelago is controlled by the Sulu Sultanate, which is the most powerful indigenous force in the Sulu Sea.

Therefore, if you want to control the Sulu Sea, you must first control the Sulu Sultanate. If you want to control the Sulu Sultanate, you must control the core area of ​​the Sulu Sultanate, the Sulu Islands.

If the Maguindanao Sultanate maintained good relations with the British and the Dutch, the Sulu Sultanate was at the other extreme.

Hundreds of years ago, Britain and Spain carried out colonial invasions on the Sulu Sultanate.

The territory of the Sulu Sultanate was also being eroded and annexed by other indigenous forces in Kalimantan.

This powerful sultanate that once dominated the Sulu Sea is now no different from other small indigenous forces.

The only thing the Spanish army was worried about was that the attack on the Sulu Sultanate would attract the attention of the British, thus allowing the British to come and get a piece of the pie.

The British were definitely targeting the territory of the Sulu Sultanate on the island of Kalimantan. If the British succeeded, it would be difficult for Spain to enter Kalimantan again.

Therefore, it was necessary to occupy the Sulu Islands and transfer the troops to Kalimantan before the British could react.

Even if negotiations with the British were to take place later, Spain could ensure that it would remain invincible and thus participate in the division of Borneo.

In addition to several indigenous forces, there are also two relatively special countries in Kalimantan, namely the Lan Fang Republic and the Kingdom of Sarawak.

The Kingdom of Sarawak was founded by a British explorer. After discovering this land, he used various means to conquer the local indigenous people and established his own kingdom.

Because the king of the Kingdom of Sarawak is British, the British are relatively friendly towards this country.

As for the Lan Fang Republic, it is a well-known country. This country has been established for nearly a hundred years and has a high reputation in the local area.

However, the population of the Lan Fang Republic was composed of immigrants from the Qing Dynasty in the north, so the British and the Dutch did not have a very favorable impression of this country.

Spain wants to get a piece of the pie in Kalimantan, and the Lan Fang Republic can take advantage of this.

It was even possible to cultivate the Lan Fang Republic to prevent the Dutch from making any progress on the island of Kalimantan.

The Spanish army was very familiar with the Sulu Sultanate. In fact, these indigenous countries did not pose much of a threat to Spain, and even the colonial garrison could easily crush them.

The garrison of the Sulu Islands was not strong. Two garrison regiments landed quietly under the cover of night and quickly took complete control of the situation in the islands.

While the top leaders of the Sulu Sultanate were still in sweet dreams, their capital was occupied by the Spanish army and they were quickly taken prisoners.

The attack on the Sulu Archipelago was incredibly smooth, which allowed the landing in Kalimantan to take place earlier than expected.

But no matter what, the sooner Spain lands in Kalimantan, the greater hope it has of annexing the Sulu Sultanate.

With the help of the navy, the 3rd and 4th garrison regiments left a small amount of defensive forces, and the rest of the troops all went to Kalimantan.

If the defense of the Sulu Islands is very loose, then the defense deployment of the Sulu Sultanate in Kalimantan is mainly arbitrary.

Perhaps the fact that Spain and Britain did not have a big appetite for colonization before gave the Sulu Sultanate an illusion. Or perhaps the recent economic crisis in Europe gave the top leaders of the Sulu Sultanate a sigh of relief.

In short, the Sulu Sultanate's defensive arrangements were a complete mess, and the quality of its military was extremely poor.

On the island of Kalimantan, the 3rd Garrison Regiment finally encountered a large-scale army of the Sulu Sultanate.

But the Third Garrison Regiment only carried out a round of fire suppression, and the indigenous troops over there fled in all directions, as if there was a god of death taking their lives from behind.

The Spanish soldiers were so stunned by this scene that they even forgot to pursue the victory.

However, driving away these indigenous troops has achieved the goal of the Spanish army. After all, the most important thing now is to quickly occupy the land of the Sulu Sultanate and make Spain's presence in Kalimantan a reality.

The attacks of the four garrison regiments were very successful. In less than a week, they basically occupied the lands of the two sultanates and some indigenous tribes.

In order to ensure the stability of the local situation and prevent the British and Dutch from causing trouble, the Marquis of Rogers ordered four garrison regiments to be temporarily stationed there to maintain order and wait for the colonial government of the East Indies to send colonial officials to take over the lands.

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(End of this chapter)