Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 596 The Empire in Progress

Even after the Olympics ended, the excitement in Madrid continued for a long time.

Some foreign tourists who arrive in Spain are attracted by the country's unique culture and stay there for longer, effectively contributing to Spain's economic development.

As these foreign tourists return to their respective countries, their word-of-mouth recommendations will likely spark greater interest in Spain and lead to more people choosing to travel there.

Spain's tourism industry was booming as a result, but Carlo had no time to pay attention to that. After six months of planning in 1917, Finland and Estonia were finally about to welcome their monarchs.

The story goes back to early 1917. Because the Finnish government had promised Spain that it would complete the coronation of Prince Alexander within a year, the Finnish government began making preparations very early on.

The Finnish government first used public opinion propaganda, repeatedly mentioning the history of the monarchy in Finland. Then it blamed the terrible experiences Finland suffered during the Russian period on the Tsarist government and Nicholas II to prevent the public from venting their anger on the monarchy.

In the subsequent Finnish referendum, the vote in favor of the monarchy was a commanding 72.1% majority, successfully ensuring that Finland would continue to be a monarchy.

Next came the selection of the Grand Duke of Finland. Before being annexed by Tsarist Russia, Finland had its own monarch.

The problem is that Finland has been annexed by Russia for too long, and the original Grand Duke of Finland has long since disappeared.

As for the Grand Duke of Finland under Tsarist Russia, the Finns were destined never to recognize him. After all, in the Finns' view, it was precisely because Finland was occupied by Russia that the Finns suffered so much pain.

Under such circumstances, if Finland wanted a Grand Duke, it would have no choice but to hold a royal election within a European royal family.

The process of electing a king has little to do with the public; the Finnish government is responsible for choosing the Grand Duke of Finland, and the people can only wait for the final result.

After a month-long, arduous and lengthy process of selecting a new king, the Finnish government unanimously decided that Prince Alexander of Spain would become the new Grand Duke of Finland and formally extended an invitation to him.

After the Finnish people learned that Prince Alexander of Spain was about to become the Grand Duke of Finland, they first learned about Prince Alexander's story through various means, and then they accepted the Finnish government's choice.

After all, the Finnish people have very few options. With so many princes in European royal families, choosing a Grand Duke who can truly lead Finland to strength is no easy task.

While the Finns are uncertain about Prince Alexander's abilities, he at least has an excellent father. If he can inherit some of his father's talents, he might very well lead Finland to greater strength.

Upon receiving the invitation from the Grand Duchy of Finland, Prince Alexander did not hesitate and immediately sent a reply to the government of the Grand Duchy of Finland, expressing his willingness to become the Grand Duke of Finland and that he would officially travel to Finland a week later.

By this time, Alexander becoming Grand Duke of Finland was a foregone conclusion. Meanwhile, things went even more smoothly in Estonia. Almost simultaneously, the Estonian government extended an invitation to Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Italy, hoping he would become King of Estonia and lead the millions of Estonians to rebuild the kingdom.

The coronation of Prince Alexander as Grand Duke of Finland took place in September 1917. The coronation of Prince Vittorio Emanuele as King of Estonia took place in October 1917.

To support his son, Carlo decided to personally travel to Finland in September to attend Prince Alexander's coronation. After spending some time in Finland, he will then travel to Estonia in October to attend Prince Vittorio Emanuele's coronation.

After all, Prince Vittorio Emanuele was a king installed by Spain, so Carlo still needed to provide him with some support.

If Carlos cannot secure his throne even with strong support from Spain, then he will have no choice but to select a new successor.

However, judging from Prince Vittorio Emanuele's performance so far, even if he is not an excellent monarch, he is at least above average.

Estonia doesn't need a monarch with great talent and ambition; a capable ruler who can maintain the status quo is more than enough for Estonia.

After all, Estonia is a small country with only a million people. It has little presence in Europe and has no chance of developing or growing stronger.

In fact, the second half of 1917 should have been quite busy.

In addition to attending the coronation ceremonies of the two men in Finland and Estonia, Carlo also needs to prepare for his own coronation ceremony.

Yes, Carlos was also to be formally crowned Emperor of the Spanish Empire at the end of 1917.

The Spanish government had been preparing for the formation of the Spanish Empire for a long time. Even most of the Spanish people were aware that the empire would be established in the coming years.

The only uncertainty was the timing of the empire's establishment and its name: would it be the Iberian Empire, the Spanish Empire, or perhaps, like the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Spanish-Portuguese Empire?

The general public is completely unaware of this, but high-ranking Spanish officials can actually see the empire's name in some top-secret government documents.

The Spanish Empire.

The new empire will continue to use the name Spain, because Spain is a broad, general term rather than a specific regional designation.

Centuries ago, Castile and Aragon united to form Spain, which in turn annexed many other states on the Iberian Peninsula.

Centuries later, it was perfectly normal for Spain to continue annexing Portugal and Morocco.

Even most Portuguese people have no objection to this, after all, they have long been deeply integrated into the Spanish family during the long process of Portugal being assimilated by Spain.

Unfortunately, if the Portuguese could learn Spanish, their income would increase significantly.

After learning Spanish, they naturally integrated into Spanish society. After all, the differences between the two ethnic groups are not significant, and for a Portuguese person surrounded by Spaniards, integrating into the Spanish family is not actually a difficult task.

With no obstacles to the establishment of the Spanish Empire, it is a foregone conclusion that Carlos will be crowned Emperor of Spain at the end of this year.

The Spanish government is currently preparing for the coronation ceremony to be held at the end of the year, and it is expected that the world will be notified to attend Carlos's coronation ceremony soon.

In fact, not only the Spanish people, but also other European countries had long anticipated the establishment of the Spanish Empire.

Even when the Spanish government was merely hinting at it, European governments had already keenly sensed its intentions. Forming a complete and unified empire was indeed far more stable than maintaining the so-called Spanish-Portuguese union.

Although doing so would sacrifice the interests of some Portuguese, the interests of a small group were clearly insignificant in the face of the greater interests of the empire.

Ultimately, for Carlos and the Spanish government, the attitude of the Spanish people is the most important factor. As long as the Spanish people support it, even if all the Portuguese oppose it, the Spanish government will not give up its decision.

Both Carlos's influence in European royalty and Spain's status in Europe were enough to support the establishment of such an empire.

European governments and royal families are somewhat moved, never expecting that an ordinary Italian prince could have achieved this.

After the establishment of the Spanish Empire, Carlo's authority in Spain will be greatly strengthened, and his position in the hearts of the Spanish people will be more stable.

If Carlos was merely one of the greatest monarchs in Spanish history before the establishment of the empire, then after the formation of the Spanish Empire, he was undoubtedly the greatest Spanish monarch, surpassing even the two protagonists of the Iberian Wedding.

More importantly, with the establishment of the Spanish Empire, the Savoy dynasty's position in Spain will be greatly strengthened.

Before the establishment of the empire, Carlos was merely a king of Spain. Spain has had countless kings, and the House of Savoy is just one page in the long history of Spain, and a very short one at that.

However, after the establishment of the Spanish Empire, Carlos became the first emperor of the Spanish Empire, and the House of Savoy became the founding dynasty of the Spanish Empire, thus becoming the legitimate dynasty of Spain.

Neither the Habsburg family, which forged a glorious Spain, nor the Bourbon family, which ruled for a long time, could compare with the House of Savoy after the establishment of the Spanish Empire.

Even if the Savoy dynasty is overthrown in the future, when the Spanish throne is restored, the people will only choose the Savoy prince.

Regardless of how the outside world views the soon-to-be-established Spanish Empire, the Spanish people are quite happy to see it.

Carlos was well aware that the people were very supportive of him. With their support, Carlos could easily become a well-regarded King of Spain without worrying about his position.

More importantly, modern Spain no longer needs to seek legal justification from the Roman Empire for the soon-to-be-established Spanish Empire.

In the past in Europe, to establish an empire, one had to inherit the legal principles of the Roman Empire.

With the division of the Roman Empire, its legal system was passed down to the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire respectively.

The Eastern Roman Empire, also known as Byzantium, was ultimately controlled by the Russians, which is why Russian emperors were called Tsars.

The legal authority of the Western Roman Empire fell into the hands of the Holy Roman Empire. Although the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy nor Roman, the legal authority derived from the Western Roman Empire was still recognized.

The legitimacy of the Holy Roman Empire was transferred to the Austrian Empire. The Austrian imperial family, the Habsburgs, was the former imperial family of the Holy Roman Empire, which is why the Austrian Empire did not face much opposition after its establishment.

Because Austria lost the struggle for supremacy in the German region, a country even more powerful than Austria rose in the German region, namely the German Empire.

Although the legal authority of the Western Roman Empire fell into Austrian hands, Germany managed to establish a completely new empire by stepping on both Austria and France.

Will anyone question the legal basis of Germany? Of course not.

After all, Germany possessed imperial-level power, a fact that no one can deny.

Before Germany, there was another empire that was established without relying on legal principles: the Napoleonic Empire, founded by the famous French emperor Napoleon.

Compared to the German Empire he later established, Napoleon's style was even more audacious. He established the French Empire without legal legitimacy and refused the Pope's coronation, crowning himself Emperor of the French Empire.

Although this seemed somewhat unorthodox at the time, due to the strength of the Napoleonic Empire, no one opposed the Napoleonic Empire's legal system.

Such examples fully illustrate the fact that when the military power at one's disposal is sufficient to threaten other countries, legal principles are merely a non-essential factor in the establishment of an empire.

If a country with a legitimate legal system is not powerful, other countries will not consider it a genuine empire.

To put it bluntly, everything still comes down to military strength.

When Spain is strong, it is undoubtedly an empire. When Spain is weak, even if its monarchy lasts for over a thousand years, it will eventually be annexed or abolished by other countries.

In this regard, Carlo also comforted his son Alexander.

Although Finland is much stronger than Estonia overall, Finland is only a Grand Duchy, while Estonia is a newly established kingdom.

Prince Alexander and Prince Vittorio Emanuele were both rulers of the same country, but the Grand Duke was naturally one rank lower than the King.

Carlo was worried that Prince Alexander would be unhappy about this, so he told Prince Alexander a truth: status is determined by the size of one's fist.

In terms of titles, King Vittorio Emanuele was of higher status than Prince Alexandre, the Grand Duke.

In reality, whether considering Finland's overall strength or his status as a Spanish prince, Prince Alexander's position is higher than Vittorio Emanuele's.

More importantly, the status of the Grand Duchy of Finland is not immutable. Once Finland, under Prince Alexander's leadership, becomes stronger, the Finns will naturally desire the Grand Duke to be crowned King, and Finland to be elevated to a kingdom.

Before that, Alexander had only one thing to do: to treat all the Finns as his own people, to cherish them, and to protect their rights.

　Happy New Year holiday everyone!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)