Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 263 Colonial Replacement (Part )
In the two years from 1878 to 1880, the British Empire was definitely the busiest country in the world.

Britain first intervened in the Russo-Turkish War with a strong attitude, ensuring the security of Constantinople and the stability of the Straits.

Subsequently, Britain launched the Anglo-Afghan War and the Zulu War, continuously expanding Britain's colonial scope, which was a considerable gain.

But it was precisely the continuous wars that put Britain's finances under some pressure, forcing it to increase income tax on the bourgeoisie.

This caused the British government to instantly lose the support of the bourgeoisie. The once popular Prime Minister Disraeli was also condemned for his aggressive foreign policy and eventually lost the new round of cabinet elections.

In mid-1880, former Prime Minister Gladstone, who had packaged himself as an ardent protector of weak nations and used every opportunity to accuse and oppose Prime Minister Disraeli, finally seized the opportunity, won the general election and ascended the prime minister's throne again.

During the general election, Gladstone made the persuasive question "Do you agree with or condemn Disraeli's aggressive policy?", which helped his Liberal Party win a large number of votes.

Gladstone, who opposed the aggressive policy, was also regarded by the British people as a hero who opposed Disraeli's conservative and aggressive government, and was also known as a friend of the Balkan Slavs.

After becoming British Prime Minister, Gladstone realized that he could no longer continue the war launched by Disraeli's government.

These wars not only plunged the British government into a fiscal deficit, but also aroused anti-war sentiment among the British people.

Ending the war in a timely manner was the slogan put forward by Gladstone during the general election. He should not go back on his word just because he successfully became prime minister.

Under the order of the new Prime Minister Gladstone, Britain quickly ended the Anglo-Afghan War and announced that the British Empire would usher in a long-awaited period of peace.

Peace is peace, but Gladstone's ambitions were no less than Disraeli's. Since it was impossible to expand colonies through war, the British Empire's goal could only change from aggression to colonization. In any case, the final results would be the same.

In mid-August 1880, as news about the Cuban colony spread, the British government also paid attention to news about the Spanish colonies.

Having said that, the UK has always been paying close attention to Spain. Even during Spain's weakest period, the British government did not reduce its attention to Spain.

The reason is naturally that Spain’s geographical location is too important. It is the only outlet to the western Mediterranean and an important transportation route connecting Europe and Africa.

Spain's geographical location is similar to that of the Ottoman Empire. Both are connecting points between Europe and Africa, and both have access to the sea on both sides of the Mediterranean.

Through operations, the United Kingdom acquired a majority stake in the Suez Canal, which also allowed the United Kingdom to actually control the Suez Canal, a very important transportation route.

But Britain was not without opponents. Many European countries, including France, needed to pass through the Suez Canal to reach their colonies.

In other words, France is still in an isolated state, otherwise it would have raised objections to the Suez Canal long ago.

This is also the reason why France was isolated by the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria and Russia, and Britain still did not take any action. The conflict between Britain and France is still a relatively fierce conflict, and the hatred between Britain and France is no less than that between Germany and France.

If it was just a simple colonial rebellion, the British government would not have paid too much attention to it. But along with the news of the Cuban colonial rebellion, there were also rumors that the Spanish government might be forced to abandon the Cuban colony.

Although it is just a rumor, it does make sense if you think about it carefully.

Even a powerful empire like the British Empire would eventually be dragged down by war. Although the Anglo-Afghan War and the Zulu War were both small-scale wars, they also caused the British Empire to face serious financial losses, and it was eventually forced to increase corporate income tax, which also made Prime Minister Disraeli completely offend the capitalist class.

It was easier for Spain to suppress the rebellion in Cuba, but the bad thing was that Cuba was thousands of miles away from mainland Spain.

Perhaps the military expenditure required by Spain to quell the rebellion in its Cuban colony was much less than the military expenditure required by Britain to start a war, but don't forget that the comprehensive national strength and economic size between Spain and Britain are not proportional.

Military spending that could bring down Spain might not be a big deal for the British Empire, but military spending that could bring down the British Empire might cause Spain to go bankrupt or experience a more serious economic crisis.

"Everyone, tell me what you think. The Spanish may abandon their Cuban colony. What attitude should we take in this incident?" The new Prime Minister Gladstone looked at the cabinet ministers with his sharp eyes and raised the first question of this cabinet meeting.

Gladstone was the leader of the Liberal Party, and the Liberal government he formed was a government that was completely pro-bourgeois.

In order to gain the support of the bourgeoisie, Gladstone announced the repeal of the decree of former Prime Minister Disraeli on the first day of his inauguration as Prime Minister, abolishing the additional income tax levied on capitalists.

Although this caused the British government to lose a large amount of income, it did win the favor of the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie reciprocated by launching a public opinion offensive, and soon Gladstone won the support of a large number of people and workers.

Since it is a government formed by the Liberal Party, the government is naturally most concerned about interests related to capital.

There is nothing special about Spain's colonies, but Cuba, as the world's largest sugar producer, has one of the highest economic values ​​among all the colonies in the world.

The income brought by the sugar industry alone is a considerable figure, not to mention that Cuba's geographical location is also very important. It can contain the United States to the north and clamp down on South America to the south. It was a battleground in the colonial American era.

"Your Excellency, this may be an opportunity for us." As Prime Minister Gladstone's confidant, the British Foreign Secretary was the first to stand up and put forward his own point of view:

If Spain is unwilling to give up Cuba, it would be fine. But if they are willing to give up Cuba, I think it is very necessary for us to get this colony.

Cuba is the world's largest producer of sugar cane. The sugar it produces is not only sold well in America, but is also shipped to Europe in large quantities every year.

If we can control the Cuban colony, we can control the sugar trade in America and earn a lot of income from the sugar trade to make up for the fiscal revenue we lose after abolishing the additional income tax bill.

In addition, Cuba's strategic location is also very important. Cuba can be connected to our colonies of the Bahamas and Jamaica, and if necessary, it can block the Gulf of Mexico to curb the expansion of the United States.

If the United States gets this land, it will be difficult to stop its southward expansion. Although the United States does not pose much of a threat at present, there is no country of the same level in the Americas that can threaten the security of the United States. If we do not curb the expansion of the United States, in the next few decades or hundreds of years, a superpower that we can hardly imagine may be born in the Americas. "

Gladstone nodded, but did not express his opinion. Instead, he looked at other cabinet ministers.

A few seconds later, another cabinet minister stood up and expressed his own completely opposite view: "Mr. Foreign Minister, I completely disagree with your point of view.

First, whether the Spanish would abandon their Cuban colony is a question worth considering.

Given the income and importance of the Cuban colony, I think it is unlikely that the Spanish would give up this land.

Even if they are willing to give up their Cuban colony, what price should we pay to obtain this land?
With the exception of India, Canada, Australia and South Africa, we have no colonies that can match the economic value of the Cuban colony.

The importance of the Straits Settlements is comparable to that of the Cuban colony, but are we really willing to give up the entire Straits Settlements for Cuba?
If we want the Spanish to agree to give up their Cuban colony, we have to pay the same price. Such an exchange condition may not be beneficial to us. It is better to wait for the attitude of other countries. Anyway, the Spanish government has not made any relevant statement. "

Although the British Empire was the most powerful colonial empire in the world, it did not have many large colonies.

Of course, the main reason for this is that the British Empire's colonies were too large. Canada, India and Australia all had land areas of millions or even tens of millions of square kilometers, and the Indian colony had a population of hundreds of millions.

These colonies would definitely not be exchanged with Spain, let alone a small Cuba. Even the Spanish mainland, for the British Empire, would definitely not be worth as much as what India could bring.

Apart from the three large colonies of Canada, India and Australia, the only colonies that Britain could boast of were the Cape Colony and the Straits Settlements.

The Cape Colony is located at the southernmost tip of Africa, which is later known as South Africa. It is impossible for Britain to give up the Cape Colony, which is not only related to Britain's plan to connect African colonies, but also to Britain's deployment in South Africa.

Compared with South Africa, the Straits Settlements are not as important, but because of their important geographical location, they also play a very important role at the strategic level.

These colonies were not something the British Empire could easily give up. Even if they were to be exchanged for the Cuban colony, the British were not very willing to do so.

Apart from these large colonies and colonies of high strategic value, the remaining colonies of Britain were relatively small and not of very high value.

Representatives of these colonies include the Bahamas near Cuba, Jamaica, Honduras, Guyana, and Africa's Gold Coast, Gambia, Sierra Leone, etc.

The number of these small colonies is innumerable. Some colonies have a population of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, while some colonies are simply archipelagos consisting of one or several small islands, with a population of only a few thousand at most, or even only a few hundred people.

It was obviously a pipe dream for such a small colony to exchange for Spain's Cuban colony.

The British government itself thought it was impossible, so how could the Spanish agree to such conditions?

Hearing the completely different rebuttal, British Prime Minister Gladstone also nodded, and his enthusiasm was slightly dampened.

If you want to get the Cuban colony, you must pay the same amount of benefits, or at least the difference cannot be too big.

After all, Spain is also a powerful country, and Britain's methods of robbery and plunder will not work on Spain.

If Spain was weak, it would be fine. The worst that could happen was that the Spaniards would be offended. But now, Britain did not want to offend Spain. Spain had good diplomatic relations with Austria-Hungary and Italy, and France also relied on Spain to break through the German blockade.

Under such circumstances, Spain is not afraid of the threat from Britain. Britain's gradual control of the Mediterranean Sea has already caused dissatisfaction among European countries. If the situation continues to be unscrupulous, it will be liquidated sooner or later.

Although Britain is the world's most powerful country, its strength is obviously not strong enough to compete with all European countries.

Especially when the British people are tired of war, how to obtain the Cuban colony in a peaceful environment is the issue that the British government needs to consider.

Although the opposing party’s point of view is also reasonable, the Foreign Minister also put forward a new opinion: “

We do not know Spain's attitude, but Spain's attitude can be manipulated by us.

If we add fuel to the fire of the Cuban colony, even if Spain does not want to give up Cuba, it will have to consider the dangers of continuing to control Cuba.

Ladies and gentlemen, in the final analysis, Spain's industry and economy are still at the bottom of the list among the great powers. A Cuba that is constantly in rebellion is a quagmire that Spain can never get out of. They also have to consider the normal development of the country, right?

Madrid, a city that never sleeps, and its trams may look glorious, but this was only possible with the Spanish royal family's heavy investment in scientific research.

It took a lot of money for our government to build London, a city that never sleeps, and Spain will invest even more in Madrid, a city that never sleeps and trams.

Under such circumstances, the Spaniards are certainly unwilling to invest too much money in military expenditures, and they certainly do not have much money to use for military expenditures.

If the Spanish are unwilling to give up their Cuban colony, we can simply make the Cuban colony even more chaotic so that the Spanish will have to give up their Cuban colony.

The value of a Cuban colony that has been out of control will certainly drop a lot. When the day comes when Spain is unable to quell the Cuban rebellion, we will negotiate with Spain about the exchange of colonies at a much lower price.

For us, this is a good opportunity that we absolutely cannot give up. If we can obtain a larger colony in a peaceful way, it will not only avoid the dissatisfaction of the people, but also improve our achievements, right? "

(End of this chapter)