Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 169: Establishing a foothold in Kalimantan
Under Carlo's order, a beverage company branded Coca-Cola was officially established, and immediately began discussions on the production, packaging and transportation of Coca-Cola.

The most important aspects of this carbonated beverage are production and transportation. If the gas in the beverage leaks a little, the taste of the beverage may be very different.

The establishment of Coca-Cola was just a small episode. After all, Carlo's business empire was very large. Even if it could generate huge profits in the future, its importance was completely disproportionate to that of military enterprises and industrial enterprises such as automobiles.

Carlo's vacation had just ended, and in the East Indies, the colonial war that had been carefully planned for a long time finally came to an end.

This small-scale colonial war ended with a complete victory for the Spanish East Indies colonies.

First of all, in the Philippines, neither the local loose indigenous tribes nor the larger Maguindanao Sultanate had any ability to resist the Spanish army's guns and cannons.

These natives had never seen an army with such powerful firepower. Even the Dutch colonial army did not have such powerful firepower.

Faced with the Spanish army's bombardment, these indigenous troops quickly surrendered. Don't overestimate their hostility towards the Spanish colonial army. After all, fear of death is human instinct.

Compared to the relatively smooth conquest of the Maguindanao Sultanate, the conquest of the Sulu Sultanate seemed a little tortuous.

But the overall result was good. The British did express dissatisfaction with Spain's occupation of the Sulu Sultanate, but Spain had basically achieved its strategic goals at the time, and no matter how dissatisfied the British were, they could not threaten Spain with war.

In the final analysis, colonial competition exists in all countries. If a colonial competition escalates to confrontation or even all-out war between countries, it would be unnecessary.

Although the losses suffered by the UK in this economic crisis are not as severe as those of Germany and the US, this does not mean that the UK can sit back and relax.

Compared to the small Sulu Sultanate, the British were more concerned about competition in other regions and other powerful powers.

After occupying most of the land of the Sulu Sultanate, the Spanish army finally faced opposition from the British.

Or it could be said that it was the opposition of the British colonial forces in Kalimantan. But such opposition was not fierce, because the British had to report to the British government before they could finally decide on their attitude towards Spanish colonial actions.

In the end, the British government chose to give in and acquiesced to Spain's competition for the Sulu Sultanate on the condition that Spain promised not to interfere with Britain's actions in the Brunei Empire.

Not interfering with Britain's colonial activities in Brunei was actually a promise not to continue to colonize westward. From the current situation map of Kalimantan, it can be seen that if Spain does not continue to move westward, it can only choose to move southward.

The British intention was obvious, which was to provoke colonial competition between the Netherlands and Spain, and then control the situation in Kalimantan as a mediator, so that neither the Netherlands nor Spain could completely control Kalimantan.

Such tactics are actually a common practice of the British government, and their purpose is to confuse the situation in a region so that they can be independent of the situation and still control the situation in the region.

If Spain and the Netherlands had a colonial competition, the British would join the Netherlands without a second thought. After all, the Netherlands was the weaker party, and Spain's overall strength could be said to be that of a great power, albeit a relatively weak one.

The reason why the British gave in so quickly, in addition to the fact that the colonial competition in Kalimantan was not that important and they wanted to provoke colonial competition between Spain and the Netherlands, was another factor regarding India.

It was not bad news for the British, as they were preparing to establish an Indian Empire and crown Queen Victoria as the Empress of India.

This matter is also very complicated, but it has a lot to do with the establishment of the German Empire.

Before the establishment of the German Empire, there were three major empires on the European continent, namely the Second French Empire of Napoleon III, the Austro-Hungarian Empire of Francis I, and the Russian Empire of Alexander II.

The legal system of the Second French Empire came from the Napoleonic Empire, the legal system of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was inherited from the Holy Roman Empire, and the legal system of the Russian Empire claimed to be inherited from the Eastern Roman Empire, which is also reasonable.

The establishment of the German Empire broke this balance, but this was not the main point. More importantly, as the most powerful country in Europe and even the world, Britain was just a kingdom.

Looking closely at Britain's competitors in Europe, France was once an empire, Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary are currently empires, and only Italy and Spain are still kingdoms.

But Italy had just been unified, and Spain had been weak for a long time. They were naturally a kingdom, and had no qualifications to establish an empire.

Apart from the two undeserving ones, Italy and Spain, Britain's other major competitors in Europe were all empires, or had been empires.

This put the British in an awkward position. Should they follow suit and establish their own empire, or should they continue to maintain their kingdom status?

Although in Europe, kings and emperors are both the supreme rulers of independent countries and there is not much difference in their identities.

But it is undeniable that in most people's minds, the status of the emperor is always higher than that of the king. A kingdom may be a powerful country, but an empire is definitely a powerful country.

On this point, the attitudes of the British government and Queen Victoria became consistent.

Although she was a female king, Queen Victoria is very special in British history and is definitely one of the greatest monarchs in the UK.

The famous Victorian era was created by Queen Victoria. During the Victorian era, Queen Victoria enjoyed supreme influence and prestige in the British government and was able to have a huge impact on the constitutional monarchy of the British government.

This is also the most special point of the British constitutional monarchy, that is, the king’s power is not restricted too strictly.

A king with means can still gain a certain degree of voice through his own efforts and the support of the people, and even influence the government at a deeper level.

Especially after the decline of Britain, the king has become more important. Why is Britain still a constitutional monarchy? The biggest reason is that the British government wants to maintain its rule over Scotland and Northern Ireland, and of course Wales.

On this issue, Britain faces the same problem as Spain.

The United Kingdom looks strong, but the word "United" is its fatal flaw. It is indeed strong when united, but it also depends on whether other countries are willing to unite.

The United Kingdom is made up of four major regions: the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Wales, the Kingdom of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Of course, if it were now, Northern Ireland should be replaced by Ireland, after all, Ireland has not yet gained independence from British rule.

But the fact that Ireland was able to gain independence from the once-powerful British Empire has already revealed Britain's own problems, that is, non-English people, led by the Scots and Irish, are actually not that satisfied with England's rule.

When the British Empire was strong, they could only tolerate these opinions, but as the British Empire weakened, it was only a matter of time before the kingdom fell apart.

In this situation, the king becomes very important. Once the royal government does not exist, the legal basis of the United Kingdom will also cease to exist.

This is why Britain and Spain became kingdoms in later times. Only when the king exists can the legal basis for the country to be united exist. If the country becomes a republic, the only reason for national unity will disappear.

Queen Victoria was very supportive of the establishment of the Indian Empire because it was also beneficial to her.

Although the status of the Queen of India was not that high, she was still called an emperor. Moreover, the throne of India could strengthen Britain's rule over India, which was the most important thing for Britain.

After all, it is the jewel in the crown. If the jewel is gone, the crown will be covered in dust.

It is precisely because of the importance that Britain has attached to India during this period that the British did not take this incident in Kalimantan seriously.

Unless Spain and the Netherlands were officially at war over the colonization of Kalimantan, or Spain had already occupied most of Kalimantan, this would have been a minor matter, at least until the establishment of the Indian Empire.

In any case, it was a good thing for Spain that the British did not cause trouble.

After fully controlling the Maguindanao Sultanate and the Sulu Sultanate, the colonial government of the East Indies also began its own further actions. The first was to build a T-shaped railway in Mindanao, connecting the east and west and the north and south of Mindanao, and strengthening its rule over Mindanao.

The second is in Kalimantan. The land controlled by the Sulu Sultanate is indeed not large, at least compared to Kalimantan.

But the problem is that Kalimantan is not a small island. Even if the Sulu Sultanate controls only a small part of it, the total area is tens of thousands of square kilometers.

More importantly, after Spain has gained a foothold in this land, it still has hope of continuing to expand southwards and extending its reach into the Sultanate of Blongan in the south.

Although the Dutch also took action in the Sultanate of Brongan, their overall strength was not as good as that of Spain, and the East Indian colonial government was not too worried about this.

Therefore, when building the railway on the island of Kalimantan, an east-west railway was not adopted. Instead, a north-south railway was built so that it could be connected to the Sultanate of Burungan later.

What the Dutch think is not the East Indies colonial government's concern. Anyway, the Dutch do not have the courage to engage in a colonial war with Spain. At most, they are just engaging in a colonial competition over the issue of the Sultanate of Brongan. Will Spain be afraid? Of course not.

When the news that the colonial war in the East Indies had ended with a complete victory reached Spain, both Prime Minister Primo and Carlo breathed a sigh of relief.

This war brought great benefits to Spain, and the importance of the East Indies colonies to Spain was infinitely increased.

It is worth mentioning that after this war, the Sulu Sea also became the inland sea of ​​the East Indies, which also made the connection between the East Indies and Kalimantan closer.

Carlo had previously considered giving up the East Indies early, but now he has changed his mind.

When the future automobile era arrives, the rubber industry in Southeast Asia will definitely be one of the highly profitable industries, and giving up the East Indies now will definitely be a loss.

Another thing is that the East Indies has already taken shape among Spanish colonies, and it would take at least several decades for the African colonies to develop into the same size as the East Indies.

Spain does not have so much time to waste at the moment. Moreover, the East Indies can also be used as a nail inserted into Southeast Asia to gain more Asian interests for Spain.

The operation in the East Indies was going very smoothly, and the operation in Africa was not much different.

The main reason was that the Portuguese were kept in the dark, thus not alerting the British and French.

Although only two and a half months have passed, Spain has still made big moves in Africa.

First, the Guinean government and the Baka people developed deeper ties, albeit through the use of force.

Guinea's railways penetrate deep into the heartland of the Baka people, providing strong support for the army's logistical supplies.

After obtaining a batch of transport animals and carriages from the Guinea colony, the army could safely station in the upper reaches of the Congo River to ensure the safety of the colonial outposts in that plain.

Although only two and a half months have passed, the number of colonial outposts established by Spain here has increased from 20 to 30, and the scale of the colonial outposts is also growing steadily.

If nothing unexpected happens, Spain has the hope of declaring the establishment of the Congo territory before the railway construction is completed, bringing the land completely under Spanish rule.

But colonization was not all smooth sailing. As Spain increased its colonial investment, it also aroused resistance from local indigenous peoples.

The most fierce resistance came from the Bantu and Baka peoples, as Spanish colonialism invaded their territories and threatened their survival.

Although there are no large-scale indigenous countries in these areas, there are still many scattered indigenous tribes.

Some of the large tribes united together and gathered several thousand people, which was a very large scale.

But it is obvious that they underestimated the lethality of the Spanish army and also underestimated the cruelty of European colonists towards the African natives.

In other words, it does not refer to the indigenous people of Africa, but to all the indigenous populations in all colonies.

The British colonists and later the United States were able to carry out massacres against the Indians on the American continent, and of course the Spanish at that time were also able to carry out massacres against the African natives in the Congo River basin.

However, Spain considered more and, combined with the shortage of weapons and ammunition, did not launch too cruel revenge against the local indigenous people. It only used several indigenous tribes that participated in the resistance as a warning to others, and made them disappear from the land within a few days.

It turns out that friendly communication is far less effective than the use of force.

The Spanish colonists maintained a friendly attitude and communicated with them in a friendly manner, which instead aroused their suspicion and hostility.

But if you force them to speak with guns and cannons, they will not only listen with fear, but also listen very well and listen to every word without missing a single one.

As for those who were unwilling to listen, they had already been buried under this land along with the actions of the Spanish army.

The local natives must be buried promptly after being dealt with, which was also the order the army received before arriving in Africa.

The reason is very simple, that is to prevent the spread of plague. The temperature in Africa is still very dry and hot, and the vegetation in the Congo River basin is lush, and all kinds of unimaginable viruses exist in the dense forests.

If the army was accidentally infected with the plague, it would not only greatly affect the colonial development of the Congo River Basin, but might even attract the attention of the Portuguese, Britain and France.

After all, a large-scale infection of the army with the plague was no small matter, and the Spanish government could not just stand by and watch. Large-scale transportation of medicines to Africa would inevitably arouse suspicion from other countries, which would be very detrimental to the colonial development of the Congo River Basin.

Therefore, at the beginning, Carlo repeatedly emphasized the importance of preventing the plague. In this land, we must not only prevent local poisonous insects and poisons, but also prevent the birth of all possible viruses.

The natives who died of normal causes were buried in time, but if they died of abnormal causes, the entire tribe would be burned down.

Although treating the indigenous people in this way may be a bit cruel, some sacrifices are necessary for the safety of the Spanish army and the smooth progress of colonial development in the Congo River Basin.

As the Spanish government attached so much importance to the colonial development of the Congo River Basin, the colonial development of the entire Congo River Basin progressed very rapidly.

Of course, this is also inseparable from the sacrifice of the Guinea colony.

As a small colony, Guinea's population was not large. However, in order to develop the land in the Congo River Basin, the Guinea Colony had selected hundreds of trustworthy Spanish immigrants and followed the army into the upper reaches of the Congo River Basin.

The arrival of these people greatly increased the scale and number of colonial outposts and made Spain's rule in the region more stable.

Even if the Portuguese, Britain and France discovered this place, they could not declare their sovereignty over this land.

Because the Spanish had settled in this land on a large scale, the number of colonial settlements also proves this.

As long as the development of the Congo River basin continues to proceed smoothly, the establishment of a territory directly under the king may be in the not too distant future.

A two-in-one chapter of 5,000 words, please support!

I noticed that the extra chapter has reached 200, and I will complete the extra chapter with no less than words within three days. The maps of the other two colonies are being made and will be posted in the book review area tonight.

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(End of this chapter)