Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 363 The End of the Civil War
It turns out that although Britain was very powerful at this time, it did make too many enemies around the world.

The British position became awkward when Spain, together with Austria-Hungary and Italy, issued an advisory advocating neutrality in the Portuguese Civil War.

France and Russia, which had bad relations with Britain, soon added insult to injury. Although they did not say it explicitly, they also more or less condemned Britain's interference in the Portuguese Civil War.

The only country that did not make a statement was Germany. Unlike during World War I, the relationship between Germany and Britain was relatively good at this time.

Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, came from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a family from the German region, which also made the relationship between Britain and Germany relatively good.

Before Germany was unified, Britain had always stood on the side of Prussia. After Germany was unified, the relationship between Britain and Germany did not deteriorate.

After all, France is still very powerful on the surface, and the threat posed by Germany to Britain in terms of colonial expansion is far less than that posed by France. This is also the reason why Anglo-German relations have not deteriorated.

Although Germany currently attaches importance to the development of its navy, according to the current construction speed of the German navy, it will take several years for them to reach the level of Italy and Spain, let alone catch up with naval powers such as France and Britain.

Seeing that its international reputation had become extremely bad due to its interference in the Portuguese Civil War, the British government finally decided to give up interfering in the Portuguese Civil War and withdraw its troops in Portugal.

At the same time, in order to restore its reputation, the British government decided to compensate Portuguese civilians who were accidentally injured by the British army.

Although it was impossible to restore the Portuguese people's broken hearts caused by Britain, it could at least save its international reputation.

Without the support of Britain, the Portuguese government quickly fell into a disadvantage in the face of the fierce offensive of the Republicans.

What’s even worse is that before the Portuguese government had time to mobilize colonial troops, the Republicans had already planned several large-scale resistance uprisings in the colonies.

Large tracts of land in Portugal's West African colonies were controlled by the Republicans. If the Portuguese government wanted to mobilize troops from the colonies, it could only find a way from the more distant East African colonies.

In July 1892, the reorganized Portuguese Republic engaged in a fierce battle with the Portuguese Royal Army in Coimbra.

The Republic, which had already gained the support of the ordinary people, mobilized a large number of troops. They seized the arsenals in Porto and surrounding areas, and gathered all kinds of weapons together, mobilizing an army of more than 2 people.

Together with the troops that originally participated in the uprising, the number of troops under the control of the Portuguese Republic now exceeds 3.

On the other hand, the Kingdom of Portugal has an open army of more than 4 people, which is more than the army of the Portuguese Republic.

But the problem is that these troops of the Kingdom of Portugal need to guard the border areas with Spain, and the number of troops that can actually be mobilized is less than 3.

The war between the two sides in Coimbra attracted the attention of many European countries, and the war ended with the victory of the Portuguese Republic.

Although the Kingdom of Portugal has a more elite army, in terms of fighting will, the army of the Kingdom of Portugal cannot compare with the army of the Republic.

The Republicans already have a clear program. They want to establish a country where the Portuguese truly have the final say and get rid of the king's ignorant rule.

With the support of this idea, the combat effectiveness of the army of the Portuguese Republic far exceeded that of the army of the Kingdom of Portugal, which ultimately led to the balance of victory tilting towards the Portuguese Republic.

After the Battle of Coimbra, the Kingdom of Portugal was actually in a weak position.

Carlo's sister, Princess Maria Pia, contacted Carlo again, seeking asylum from Spain.

Carlo also sent a telegram to the Spanish ambassador to Portugal, asking the Spanish embassy to provide asylum to the Portuguese royal family when necessary and to transfer them safely to Spain.

The embassy has a certain number of garrisons, which is not large but enough to ensure the safety of the Portuguese royal family.

After all, the Republicans also understand whose support enabled them to win, and they will not take the initiative to turn against Spain.

Princess Maria Pia finally felt relieved after receiving Carlo's safety assurance again.

At this time, the Portuguese royal government had fallen into chaos. Prime Minister João Franco, who was deeply trusted by Carlos I, was dismissed by Carlos I not long ago and replaced by an unknown new prime minister.

The new prime minister obviously did not have much ability. He could only gather troops around Lisbon and try to protect the Portuguese capital and prevent Republican forces from continuing to infiltrate southward.

I don’t know whether the Republicans are anxious at this moment, but the Portuguese people in Lisbon are quite anxious.

After this series of events, almost all Portuguese people were disappointed with the current royal government and king.

Regarding the Portuguese Republic that was born in Porto not long ago, many Portuguese people expressed that they saw new hope for the country's rise.

They have long been eager to welcome the rule of the Portuguese Republic and sweep the corrupt, autocratic, brutal and ignorant Kingdom of Portugal into the dust of history.

On July 1892, 7, large-scale riots broke out in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.

Thousands of Lisbon citizens spontaneously organized themselves and attacked the building where the Portuguese cabinet government was located, and even almost broke into the royal palace.

The riot frightened Carlos I, and he finally listened to his mother's advice and chose to temporarily seek refuge in Spain while the situation could still be controlled.

While the army of the Kingdom of Portugal was still fighting bravely, King Carlos I of Portugal was already packing his bags and preparing to flee.

Although the troops on the front lines were unaware of the king's cowardice, the cabinet government appointed by Carlos I himself was aware of it.

Since the king himself wanted to escape, there was naturally no need for them to resist resolutely.

Anyway, the Republicans are against monarchical government, and for those cabinet members who are not aristocrats, a republic does not have much disadvantages for them.

They can even join the Republican Party and continue to serve as senior officials in the Portuguese government under a different identity.

The ones who really can't escape are the king and the nobles. As long as the kingdom no longer exists, the throne and title will be abolished.

Compared to the king, the Portuguese nobles were more determined to resist the Republican attack.

But the problem was that the Portuguese nobles had not experienced a large-scale war for decades, and their military capabilities were a mess.

Even though the military ranks of these nobles are higher than one another, their military abilities are not even as good as those of ordinary graduates from the Royal Military Academy of Spain.

For these nobles, farming and collecting rent were their strengths. Marching and fighting were very unfamiliar topics to them, and discussing this was not as interesting as discussing which noble's mistress was more interesting. On July 1892, 7, the Portuguese capital of Lisbon was officially captured.

The day before Lisbon was captured, King Carlos I of Portugal and all his family were arranged by the Spanish Embassy to board a ship to Barcelona, ​​and they were able to travel to Spain safely.

When the Republicans stormed the palace, they were surprised to find it was empty.

But this may also be good news for the Republican Party. After all, how to deal with these royal members is a rather troublesome issue.

The French revolutionaries once radically sent King Louis XVI to the guillotine, which caused an uproar throughout Europe and eventually led to the formation of the anti-French alliance.

Most of the current powers are monarchies. If the European royal families were massacred too openly, it would only arouse the fear and even counterattack of all European countries.

It was no longer important to the Portuguese Republic whether the Portuguese royal family survived or not. As long as they controlled Lisbon, they were the only legitimate government in Portugal.

As long as they were supported by the Portuguese people, no one could overthrow their rule.

As the Portuguese royal family fled to Spain, Portugal officially entered the republican era.

As the Portuguese Republic took control of the situation in Portugal, the biggest change it brought to Portugal was that it changed from a pro-British party to its original neutral party.

Although it is a neutral party, the Portuguese Republic is actually more inclined towards Spain.

However, considering that the Republic was close to Spain right after its establishment, other countries would doubt whether Spain was really the supporter behind the Republican Party, so it pretended to be neutral in the early stage.

Of course, being close to Spain is one thing, but it is basically impossible to make the Portuguese Republic completely side with Spain.

After all, the Portuguese Republicans are not stupid. They would not allow Portugal to become a puppet of Spain just after the establishment of the Republic.

The idea of ​​the Portuguese Republican Party is to establish a republic where the Portuguese have the final say, and they also have extremely huge ambitions.

They may lean towards Spain for their own development, but they will never become Spain's puppets.

In any case, Portugal becoming a republic was a good thing for Carlo. The nobles who wanted to maintain Portugal's independence had been eliminated, and the remaining ordinary civilians were assimilated by Spain.

In August 1892, the border railway between Spain and Portugal was reopened, and on that same day a large amount of goods was transported to Portugal by train.

The Portuguese were also delighted to find that they could buy supplies from Spain from a variety of outlets.

Whether it is grain, vegetables, fruits, or various industrial products, the transportation cost is actually relatively low because Portugal and Spain are closely connected.

In addition, the tariffs in the cooperation between Portugal and Spain were very low, which resulted in the Portuguese buying Spanish goods at a lower price than British goods.

It took longer to transport British goods to Portugal and the tariffs were higher, so capitalists naturally could not sell British goods at the same price.

It is definitely a good thing for the Portuguese that they can finally enjoy cheap Spanish goods again.

While the Portuguese were rejoicing over the return of Spanish goods, Carlo was already meeting his relatives in Spain.

After many years, Carlo finally met his sister, Princess Maria Pia, again.

We have to admit that time flies by quickly. When they first met, Carlo and Princess Maria Pia were both very young, but now Princess Maria Pia has aged visibly.

Carlo's nephew, Carlos I, is about the same age as Carlo, which also shows how old Carlo's sister Maria Pia is.

After the Portuguese royal family came to Spain, they were quite friendly towards Carlo.

There was no other way to avoid being close to them. At this time, the Portuguese throne had been lost. If Carlo had not protected them during the turmoil in Portugal, they could not even guarantee their own safety.

Although Carlos I also suspected that his uncle was the one who planned the Portuguese Republican uprising, he would never dare to say it out loud without any evidence.

After all, they were his relatives, so Carlo arranged a luxurious manor for the Portuguese royal family, and also arranged Portuguese chefs and some personal servants for them.

Compared to King Carlos I, who had just lost the throne, his mother, Princess Maria Pia, was obviously in a better mood.

Although the throne of Portugal was lost, the House of Savoy, to which Princess Maria Pia belonged, was not affected.

Reuniting with her younger brother is a rare warm moment in the life of Princess Maria Pia, who lost her husband.

Since marrying into the Portuguese royal family, Princess Maria Pia has had fewer opportunities to see her family.

Come to think of it, the last time I met Carlo was at the funeral of his father, Vittorio Emanuele II.

This was a joyful reunion for the brother and sister who had a relatively good relationship.

On the day the Portuguese royal family arrived in Spain, Carlo held a small welcome banquet for them.

The reason why it was not large in scale was that the Portuguese royal family's asylum was not glorious. To put it bluntly, the Portuguese royal family gave up their country and came to Spain for asylum, which was shameful for European aristocrats.

Carlo's close attitude towards the Portuguese royal family also reassured these people that at least their lives in Spain could be colorful.

Carlo is also very generous to his relatives.

Not only was each person given a newest car from Mercedes-Benz, they were also given a large sum of money to use as they pleased.

To put it bluntly, Carlo had indeed screwed them over in this matter. Although they didn't know it, making up for it in some ways would make Carlo's behavior not so bad.

On the second day after the Portuguese royal family arrived in Spain, Carlo invited them to watch a Spanish bullfighting show, which was admired by the Portuguese royal family.

Although there are similar bullfighting performances in Portugal, they are far inferior to those in Spain in terms of scale and popularity among the public.

(End of this chapter)