Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 298: Portuguese-British Crisis
By 1884, the Spanish colonization of southern Congo had gradually yielded results.

The Portuguese successively occupied the Kingdom of Ruanda and the Kingdom of Buunda, and single-handedly expanded their sphere of influence to the Kingdom of Barotseran.

In terms of distance, the distance between Portugal's West African colonies and its Mozambique colony was less than 500 kilometers, and Portugal's vision of a large African colony seemed to be about to be realized.

Just as the Portuguese were dreaming about it, reality soon slapped them in the face.

Portugal's colonial activities in southern Congo had long attracted the attention of the British, and the impending merger of Portugal's East and West African colonies also made the British feel a little threatened.

If Portugal succeeded in merging its West African colonies with the Mozambique colony, the planned connection between the Cairo and Cape Town colonies within the British government would be severed.

Faced with the Portuguese actions that almost directly undermined their colonial plans, the British could not remain indifferent even though they knew that Portugal was their ally.

On February 1884, 2, the British government officially announced the Cairo-Cape Town connection plan and contacted the Portuguese ambassador to the UK, demanding that Portugal abandon its colonization of the Kingdom of Barotseran and the Kingdom of Mwatakazembe and leave a 22-kilometer-wide channel to help Britain complete the connection of its colonies in North and South Africa.

When the Portuguese government received the request from the British government, King Louis I of Portugal was completely stunned.

He did not expect that the Spaniards, whom he had always been on guard against, did not stop his colonization plan. Instead, it was the British, who had always regarded themselves as Portugal's allies, who stood up to stop him at the critical moment when Portugal's East and West African colonies were about to merge.

Sharing the same sentiments as King Louis were the Portuguese officials who had been working hard for a long time.

You know, the Greater African Colony Plan was a political achievement for King Louis and also for the Portuguese cabinet government.

In order to make this so-called political achievement have the best effect, Portugal had promoted the Pink Map Plan and the Greater Africa Colony Plan many times a few years ago. The merger of East and West African colonies was not unfamiliar to the Portuguese.

If you tell all the Portuguese at this time that the Greater African Colony Plan is ultimately just a fantasy and completely impossible to achieve, it goes without saying what kind of emotions the Portuguese would erupt in.

By that time, let alone accumulating some merits for himself, it would be difficult to even keep his current position.

If they agreed to the British demands, they would have to face the anger of the Portuguese at home. If they refused the British demands, they would have to face the anger of the British government.

How to choose troubled Louis I and the Portuguese government. Louis I held several cabinet meetings to discuss solutions, but in the end they could not come to a conclusion.

In desperation, the Portuguese government finally decided to use the strategy of procrastination.

If we could delay the British government on the one hand, and speed up the colonization of the land in southern Congo on the other.

Whether it is the Kingdom of Barotheram or the Kingdom of Mwatakazembe, occupying either one would connect Portugal's West African colonies with the Mozambique colony.

As long as the connection between the two colonies was completed, Louis I and the Portuguese government would have fulfilled their original promise to the people.

As for the subsequent forced transfer of sovereignty of the Kingdom of Barotheran and the Kingdom of Muwatakazembe, it was also due to pressure from the British government, not that the Portuguese government just made empty promises.

By then, even if the Portuguese were angry, they would transfer their anger to the British. After all, it was the British who crushed Portugal's plan for a large African colony, and the Portuguese government would not be able to compete with the British.

The Portuguese government's procrastination strategy did have a certain effect, because the Portuguese government ordered its ambassador to the UK to negotiate with the British government, making the British government think that Portugal only wanted to seek compensation.

But what the British did not expect was that while the Portuguese were negotiating with them, they were also accelerating their colonization of southern Congo.

By the time the British reacted, it had been delayed for more than a week.

For more than a week, the Portuguese never stopped their attack on the Kingdom of Barotseran.

They successfully advanced the occupied area by hundreds of kilometers, which meant that the Portuguese army was less than 400 kilometers away from the Mozambique colony on the coast of East Africa.

At this rate of progress, it would only take Portugal a month at most to conquer the entire Kingdom of Barotseran and reach the Mozambique colony.

On the British government side, when the time was delayed to a week, the British also realized that something was wrong.

The Kingdom of Barrowtherland was not far from the British Cape Colony, and the news of the Portuguese's continuous attacks on the Kingdom of Barrowtherland eventually reached the Cape Colony.

The British, realizing that they had been deceived, were shocked and angry. They couldn't believe that a small country like Portugal would dare to disobey their demands.

The British government contacted the Portuguese ambassador to the UK again and asked the Portuguese ambassador to give an explanation.

But what was unexpected was that the Portuguese ambassador continued to dodge the question, as if he wanted to delay for a certain period of time in this way.

The British government could no longer tolerate this. British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone personally summoned the Portuguese ambassador and issued his ultimatum.

Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone angrily stated that if Portugal did not intend to stop its colonial offensive, the British would find their own way to obtain a buffer zone to ensure that Britain's colonial operations would not be affected.

Such words were already a blatant threat. The Portuguese ambassador's face changed immediately. He did not expect the British to be so serious, and he did not expect Britain to issue an ultimatum to its ally.

The meaning of the ultimatum is simple: either comply with the contents of the ultimatum or face war.

The Portuguese had never thought of a war with the British. The Portuguese ambassador finally became anxious and tried to communicate with Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, but the angry Prime Minister Gladstone ignored the Portuguese ambassador's explanation and reiterated his request: "If Portugal does not stop its war, then Britain will go to war."

After saying this, Prime Minister Gladstone slammed the door and left angrily, obviously annoyed by the Portuguese's procrastination tactics.

When the Portuguese ambassador brought the bad news back home, everyone from King Louis I of Portugal to the Portuguese government sighed.

The Portuguese did not expect the British government's tough attitude. Faced with such a tough British government, the Portuguese government seemed to have no choice.

Just when Louis I was about to give up, an official suddenly proposed that Portugal could ask the Spanish government for its attitude. You know, when reaching the colonial exchange agreement, Portugal asked Spain to strongly support Portugal's colonial actions.

Although these indigenous countries in southern Congo are not very powerful, their combined population size is still considerable.

Due to its limited population, it was difficult for Portugal to complete the colonization of these indigenous countries on its own.

Although the expected enemy changed from indigenous countries to the British Empire, this did not mean that Portugal could not get support from Spain.

If Portugal could obtain the support of the Spanish government, it would still have hope of completing its Greater Africa colonial plan.

Of course, if the British still maintain a tough attitude when Portugal obtains the support of Spain, Portugal can respond flexibly at that time. At worst, it can give up at that time, which means that its efforts during this period have not been wasted.

When he heard this proposal, hope flashed in Louis I's eyes.

Spain, which was usually on high alert, now became Portugal's only hope to complete its plan for a greater African colony.

Apart from Spain, other European powers were even less likely to support Portugal at the risk of offending the British.

The question is, is Spain really willing to support Portugal for the sake of a promise it made, risking offending the British or even going to war with Britain?

Louis I was not sure what his brother-in-law Carlo thought. In his opinion, Carlo was an extremely ambitious king, which was why he was always on guard against Spain.

Under Carlo's leadership, Spain achieved reform and a great revival, which was what Louis I had dreamed of, but Portugal's national conditions did not allow for reform at all, because Louis I was unable to suppress the opposition.

If he insists on pushing forward reforms, the government will be reformed before the reforms are completed.

Spain was able to complete the reform because the revolutionaries controlled the government and the army. This made Louis I envious but helpless because he could not replicate the same route.

After all, if he wanted the Portuguese revolutionaries to take control of the government, he, as the King of Portugal, would have to give up his throne. The best outcome would be to become a mascot king without real power, which was something Louis I absolutely could not accept.

With a sigh, Louis I issued his own order, asking the Portuguese ambassador to Spain to inquire about the attitude of the Spanish government.

If the Spanish government is willing to support Portugal, then Portugal still has room to delay. If even Spain is unwilling to support Portugal, then the Portuguese government can only accept its fate.

March 1884, 3, Royal Palace of Madrid, Spain.

When Carlo learned that the Portuguese ambassador urgently requested a meeting, he knew that something big must be happening in Portugal.

As early as when Carlo was carrying out the colonial exchange with Portugal, he had taken into account that Britain would definitely interfere with Portugal's colonial activities.

The reason why Carlo was willing to give up the most prime land in the Congo Basin in southern Congo was because he knew that Portugal could not occupy this area.

This also means that the colonial exchange between Spain and Portugal is more like getting something for nothing, and it is even possible that Portugal's homeland will be taken back as well.

As expected, when the Portuguese ambassador met Carlo, he first saluted respectfully, and then, with a panicked look, he stated the difficulties the Portuguese government was currently facing.

He mentioned the family relationship between King Louis I of Portugal and Carlo, and also mentioned the colonial exchange treaty signed by the Portuguese and Spanish governments a few years ago, which included a clause that Spain should support Portugal's colonial plan.

After telling everything, the Portuguese ambassador sincerely asked Carlo to support Portugal and asked the Spanish government to support Portugal's colonial actions to counter the diplomatic pressure exerted by Britain.

Looking at the panic-looking Portuguese ambassador, Carlo was not in a hurry to express his attitude.

Although in Carlo's plan, Spain must declare its support for Portugal in order to further undermine the relationship between Portugal and Britain.

But there is no need to express support for Portugal too early. After all, the easier it is to get, the less valuable it will be.

Only after making the Portuguese side feel the urgency of the situation and causing the Portuguese government and Louis I to panic, Carlo could express his support for the Portuguese government, thus gaining emotional value to the greatest extent.

Of course, Carlo and the Spanish government’s support for Portugal will also be widely reported by the Spanish media and even forwarded to Portugal.

Only by making the Portuguese understand the support of Spain and Carlo for them, and then comparing it with the British interference, can Carlo achieve his original goal, which is to destroy the relationship between Portugal and Britain and force Portugal to move closer to Spain.

For small countries in this era, their situation was quite difficult. Especially for a country like Portugal, which only had one neighbor, it could either move closer to Spain or seek external factors to preserve its sovereignty.

Obviously, Portugal chose to rely on Britain to protect its independence. But if Britain stood against Portugal, Portugal would have no choice but to move closer to Spain.

After a long silence, when the Portuguese ambassador's facial expression became more and more panicked, Carlo nodded with a smile, showing that he was very concerned about the situation in Portugal, and said: "Whether it is because of the good relationship with the Portuguese royal family or because of the agreement in the previous colonial exchange treaty, Spain should stand on the side of Portugal.

Mr. Ambassador, please tell your government that Spain is willing to stand on the side of Portugal and support your country's colonization of the southern Congolese land.

If Britain is willing to use force to intervene, Spain will fulfill its promise and join Portugal in resisting Britain's armed intervention.

May the friendship on the Iberian Peninsula last forever. We should join hands to fight against the dirty hands of the outside world reaching out to the Iberian Peninsula.

This is my attitude and the attitude of the Spanish government. If your country wants a large African colony, then take action.

Once Britain shows a gesture of declaring war, Spain will immediately mobilize its forces and use steel guns and cannons to let the British know that the dignity of the Iberian Peninsula countries cannot be trampled on! "

(End of this chapter)