Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 598 Spanish Empire

After attending the coronation ceremonies of his son, Prince Alexandre, and his nephew, Prince Vittorio Emanuele, Carlo returned to Spain at the end of October.

Although Christmas is still two months away, a wave of festive celebrations has swept across Spain. This isn't actually for Christmas itself, but rather for the upcoming grand ceremony a month later, marking the establishment of the Spanish Empire and the formal coronation of King Juan Carlos as Emperor of Spain, thus beginning the Spanish Imperial era.

After a long period of public opinion preparation, both the Spanish and the Portuguese had accepted the fact that Spain was about to become an empire.

Clearly, for most Portuguese people, Carlos's promise has ultimately been broken.

When Portugal and Spain formed the United Kingdom, Carlos and the Spanish government promised to retain an independent Portuguese government. While foreign affairs and military powers would be under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom government, most other powers would be delegated to the regional governments of Portugal to ensure Portugal's independence.

In the early days of the United Kingdom of Spain and Portugal, Carlos and the Spanish government did indeed achieve this.

Although diplomatic and military powers were under the unified jurisdiction of the United Kingdom government, the Spanish and Portuguese governments still enjoyed a great deal of autonomy, and the Spanish government did not interfere too much in the affairs of the Portuguese government.

The turning point came after Portugal and Spain became highly integrated in areas such as industry and economy.

Although the Spanish government has not interfered much in the affairs of the Portuguese government, the Portuguese people still can't help but compare themselves to the Spanish.

After all, we are all subjects under the rule of the great monarch Carlo. Even if there are some differences, the general conditions should be roughly the same.

However, the reality is that the standard of living, happiness index, and per capita annual income of Spaniards far exceed those of Portuguese.

Most Portuguese people work hard all year round and can barely make ends meet. Only a small middle-class group can afford to eat well, in addition to being able to eat their fill.

In contrast, Spaniards, despite having a larger population, have managed to ensure their entire family goes hungry even after a year's work. If a family of four has two able-bodied members, they can afford to eat well occasionally, provided they are well-fed.

The income disparity among the middle class is even more striking. Because Spain's education level far exceeds Portugal's per capita level, this not only results in a larger middle class in Spain compared to Portugal, but also in a significantly higher income and standard of living for the Spanish middle class.

The only comparable aspect between Portugal and Spain is probably their per capita arable land area. Portugal, after all, has a larger plain area and a smaller population, making it easy for it to surpass Spain in per capita arable land area.

However, the land in Spain had already undergone reforms, and large tracts of land that originally belonged to the nobility and the church had been returned to the farmers through leasing or selling at a fair price.

Although Spain has less arable land per capita than Portugal, it actually outperforms Portugal in terms of the average land area owned by farmers per capita.

After comparing for a long time, the Portuguese were surprised to find that Portugal was inferior to Spain in every aspect, and the Portuguese standard of living was far behind that of Spain.

While Spain's electricity and industry were booming, Portugal's industry remained relatively backward, and its electricity sector showed no signs of taking off.

Whether it's products representing a strong industrial sector like automobiles and airships, or items like soft drinks and canned goods that have become part of people's daily lives, Spain has covered everything, while Portugal has nothing.

The Portuguese are dissatisfied with the huge gap between Portugal and Spain, which is also the first step in Portugal's gradual integration into Spain.

The subsequent developments need no further explanation. At the urging of many Portuguese, Carlos also implemented reforms to Portugal's agriculture, industry, economy, and even its political system.

Portugal has undergone rapid changes since the reforms, and its development speed has also changed dramatically. However, the Portuguese government no longer has autonomy after the reforms, and from that time onwards, Portugal's complete integration into Spain and becoming part of Spain has become a reality in the not-too-distant future.

Frankly speaking, even if Portugal were to hold an independence referendum now, many Portuguese people would probably not want Portugal to regain its independence.

The reason is simple: Spanish capital has been integrated into every aspect of Portuguese society, and the Spanish system has been integrated into every aspect of the Portuguese government.

If Spanish capital were to completely withdraw from Portugal at this time, most Portuguese people would lose their high-paying jobs, and they would instantly fall from grace.

This is actually why many Portuguese did not oppose the imminent establishment of the Spanish Empire. Completely abandoning their Portuguese identity and fully integrating into Spain would actually be a good thing for some Portuguese.

Those Portuguese who did not want to see Portugal completely annexed could not voice their grievances at this time, even if they were dissatisfied.

Spain's assimilation efforts in Portugal were not in vain, nor was the large-scale Spanish immigration to Portugal a random migration.

With the Spanish government having prepared for this for many years, the complete annexation of Portugal to Spain is not a possibility, but a reality that is about to be realized.

After another month of preparation, the day quickly came to November 23, 1917.

The square in front of the Royal Palace of Madrid was packed with people that day. If you could take a blimp to get a glimpse of the crowd, you would know the terrifying fact that at least hundreds of thousands of people had gathered in the square and the surrounding streets and alleys.

Reporters and filming crews from major newspapers and media outlets were frantically capturing the grand occasion of the founding ceremony of the Spanish Empire and the coronation of Carlos as Emperor of Spain.

This marks the establishment of a new empire after decades. The last time a new empire was established in Europe was during the time of the founding of the German Empire.

It is worth mentioning that the soon-to-be-established Spanish Empire, like the German Empire, was founded after a major war victory. And it can be predicted that, like the early stages of the German Empire, the soon-to-be-established Spanish Empire will experience a period of rapid economic and industrial development.

Amid cheers from a large crowd, the attention of numerous domestic and international newspapers and media outlets, and the gaze of diplomatic representatives and ambassadors from various countries, the celebration of the founding of the Spanish Empire and the coronation of Carlos as Emperor of Spain officially began.

Because this was also Carlos's coronation ceremony, the celebration was presided over by the current Spanish Prime Minister, Orl Acosta.

The Spanish cabinet election held at the beginning of this year was quite competitive. After several rounds of campaigning and lobbying, former Deputy Prime Minister Orr Acosta ultimately won out over several prime ministerial candidates.

It is worth mentioning that the current Prime Minister, Orléans Acosta, still belongs to the Progressive Party, which once again proves the Progressive Party's glory in Spain.

Despite the Progressive Party's slight decline in the competition among the three major parties, it still holds a significant lead over the Conservative Party in terms of the number of prime ministers it has served, and completely overwhelms the Socialist Workers Party.

Despite its current strong momentum, the Socialist Workers' Party is the only one of Spain's three major parties that has never produced a prime minister.

Of course, this doesn't mean the Socialist Workers' Party (SWP) is uncompetitive in the prime ministerial race. In this cabinet election, former Industry Secretary Roger Wells, a member of the SWP, was one of the most popular candidates before the election.

Although he lost this year's prime ministerial election, Roger Wells will have a better chance of winning the prime ministership in the next cabinet election five years from now, based on the experience gained.

It was a great pity for former Prime Minister André Andrew that he was unable to personally preside over the ceremony of the founding of the Spanish Empire. However, the good news is that Prime Minister Andrew made outstanding contributions to the formation of the Spanish Empire.

It was under his leadership that Spain won the World War. As seen in Prime Minister Orr Acosta's speech, as the new prime minister, he thanked each of Spain's previous prime ministers for their contributions, specifically mentioning two: Prime Minister Primo, who spearheaded reforms in Spain, and Prime Minister Andreu, who led Spain to victory in the World War.

In addition to thanking previous Spanish prime ministers for their contributions to Spain, Prime Minister Orr Acosta also expressed his gratitude on behalf of the current Spanish cabinet to the Spanish people for their efforts in the revival of Spain.

Whether it was the Spanish people's enthusiastic participation in the military and their active engagement in production to serve the country during the war, or their compliance with national political reforms and response to the national call for production during peacetime, the Spanish government deserves to express its gratitude to the people.

Of course, lastly, and most importantly, is the gratitude expressed by the current Prime Minister, Orl Acosta, on behalf of the Spanish government to Carlo.

All of the above was achieved under Carlo's leadership. Without Carlo's provision of assistance to successive Spanish cabinet governments and his efforts to ensure a long-term stable political environment, Spain would not have been able to achieve such a great revival.

Even if successive cabinet governments can propose policies that can revitalize Spain, there is one prerequisite: that the Spanish government must adhere to such policies in the long term.

If Spain's political environment remains turbulent and each cabinet government is short-lived, even if each prime minister is exceptionally capable, it will be impossible to lead Spain back to the ranks of the great powers.

Such outcomes have occurred repeatedly in European countries. This is why the newly appointed Prime Minister, Orr Acosta, is so sincerely grateful to Carlo.

Both the Spanish government and the people genuinely acknowledge Carlos's importance to Spain.

Before Carlos, the Spanish people had experienced firsthand the immense destruction that a corrupt and incompetent monarch could bring.

It is no exaggeration to say that one of the main reasons for Spain's decline was the incompetence and corruption of several Bourbon kings.

To the Spanish people, the current King Juan Carlos is, in some respects, a flawless and great monarch in the truest sense.

When facing the Spanish people, Carlos was able to maintain his mystique while remaining close to them, appropriately displaying his benevolence, love for the people, and impartiality.

While retaining his own voice, Carlos was able to delegate as much power as possible to the Spanish government and support its various decisions, which led to the great success of Spain's numerous reforms and developments.

When facing political factions within Spain, Carlos is able to treat them all equally, without favoring any one side.

Whether it's the Conservative Party, which was originally close to the King, the Progressive Party, which was promoted by Prime Minister Primo, or even the Liberal Party, which once opposed the monarchy, all have achieved good development within the Spanish political system.

After the Workers' Party and the Liberal Party merged to form the Socialist Workers' Party, the Socialist Workers' Party quickly became the third largest party in Spain and is now an extremely important political force in the country.

In the eyes of the Spanish people, Carlos, who has accomplished all this, has become Spain's greatest king and the most important factor in Spain's revival.

Carlos's coronation as Emperor of Spain was seen as a matter of course by all Spaniards, and the timing should even have been brought forward.

As for the glory and joy that came with Spain's elevation to an empire, it was naturally supreme.

Amid the expectant gazes of many Spaniards, Prime Minister Orléans Acosta finally completed his summary of the achievements of previous cabinet governments and officially announced the formal establishment of the Spanish Empire from that day forward.

The Imperial Government will completely replace the original United Kingdom Government, and the regional governments of Spain and Portugal will be abolished. There will only be one government in the Iberian Peninsula, namely the Spanish Imperial Government.

The original Portuguese and Spanish parliaments were completely merged into the Spanish Imperial Parliament, which was also divided into an upper house and a lower house, with little difference from before except for the number of members.

From then on, there would be no longer a distinction between Spain and Portugal on the Iberian Peninsula; there would be only one country on the entire peninsula, and that was the Spanish Empire.

From the Spanish government's perspective, Portugal will be a branch of Spanish history, and the difference between the Portuguese and Spaniards will not be greater than the difference between the Catalans and Spaniards.

The Spanish Empire thereafter consisted of only one country, one government, and one nation, and of course, only one emperor, Carlos.

After Prime Minister Orr Acosta announced the establishment of the Spanish Empire, Madrid Square immediately erupted in prolonged applause and cheers.

The people were eager to celebrate the founding of the empire, and even more so to celebrate the great monarch in their hearts who was about to be crowned the first emperor of the Spanish Empire.

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(End of this chapter)