Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 605 Free America

As the saying goes, when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down. For the United States at that time, this major flu was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, causing the already suppressed situation in the United States to erupt instantly.

British and German immigrants, who had nowhere to voice their anger due to the US government's repressive policies, took the opportunity to vent their anger on the government.

Amidst the prevailing opinion, a large number of Americans began to be influenced by the media reports from newspapers across Europe and the United States, believing that the US government was behind the pandemic.

If the flu had only affected Europe, Americans, even if dissatisfied with the government's actions, would not have reacted so strongly.

The real reason for Americans' dissatisfaction is that the damage this flu has caused to the United States is already evident. Europe, as one of the hardest-hit areas, currently has more than ten million people infected with the flu and more than one million deaths.

The situation in the United States is not much different from that in Europe. The number of infections has reached millions, and at least hundreds of thousands of Americans have died from the flu. Hundreds of thousands of families have been torn apart by the flu.

British and German immigrants, relatives of Americans who died from the flu, and the Black community—these people combined could create enormous trouble for the current US government.

Starting in New York, protests were seen everywhere in the streets and alleys of major American cities. People held up all sorts of banners, condemning the US government's inaction during the flu outbreak and listing various culpability of the government.

Those Americans who harbored extreme hatred for President Wilson held up banners that read "Wilson out!" and wished they could impeach the president right now and end Wilson's era of rule.

Whether these protests had any impact on the US government is another matter, but they certainly played a very important role in promoting the spread of the flu.

Starting in mid-September 1918, the number of influenza infections in the United States increased dramatically in a short period of time, and the death toll also multiplied several times over in a short period of time.

For the United States, whether or not it bears the blame for contributing to the spread of the flu is no longer important. This flu is destined to cause immense damage to American industrial production and economic development, and it will take a long time for the US to recover to its pre-flu-era industrial and economic scale after the flu season ends.

If the United States is notorious for its influenza outbreaks, then Spain is infamous worldwide for its influenza outbreaks.

Originally, Spain's flu control policy was seen by other European countries as a complete farce, an overreaction by the Spanish government.

However, after the flu showed an extremely high mortality rate, Europeans remembered Spain's rather strict flu control measures and, in hindsight, believed that such control measures were the only way to effectively prevent the spread of the flu.

Europeans were particularly envious when they learned that tourists stranded in Spain were not only not forcibly evicted, but were also provided with long-term accommodation and food supplies under the arrangement of the Spanish government.

Compared to their respective domestic situations, Spain's actions can no longer be described as acts of kindness, but rather as acts of compassion and salvation.

Looking at how European governments handled the flu, it becomes clear why people across Europe are so envious of the Spanish.

Currently, the most effective measures to limit the spread of influenza in Europe, besides Spain, are those of a number of small European countries.

Small countries also have advantages over large countries, namely that the voices of various political factions are not as loud and they do not excessively interfere with government decision-making.

Countries like the UK and France would have to go through several rounds of discussions and gain the support of the public and parliament before they could implement strict lockdown measures like those in Spain.

This is also why the UK and France have not made much progress in controlling the flu so far.

The constant illness and death of their loved ones from the flu has put pressure on many Europeans, making them acutely aware of the immense courage and determination behind the Spanish government's actions.

The stark contrast between Spain's infection and death rates and those of other European countries underscores just how effective Spain's lockdown measures have been.

As long as the flu exists, Europeans will inevitably compare Spain's response with their own governments', then envy the Spanish and be dissatisfied with their own governments.

Although European governments subsequently invested heavily in trying to save lives, these measures were not very effective given the widespread spread of the flu.

Even worse, despite the government's massive investment of supplies, a large portion of these supplies were snapped up by middle- and high-income earners, leaving low-income earners unable to purchase supplies at the original price.

People are forced to buy emergency supplies at higher prices, which turns supplies meant to help the people into accomplices in the exploitation of the people.

Governments around the world are also in a difficult position. Although their original intention was to help the people, the current result is that most people cannot obtain enough supplies, and those who do obtain supplies have to pay a higher price. The people are not grateful for the government's efforts at all, but instead accuse the government of helping capitalists exploit the people.

Faced with public criticism, what can European governments do? Do they really have to follow the example of the Spanish government and provide supplies to the public on a large scale and without conditions? Putting aside whether each government has enough financial resources to provide supplies to the entire nation, the mere requirement of transporting large quantities of supplies to all parts of the country is enough to deter most European countries.

Keep in mind that this was after a world war. Countries had already suffered enormous human losses, not to mention the threat posed by influenza.

With people around the world aware of the extremely high mortality rate of influenza, governments are simply unable to mobilize enough manpower to transport supplies.

The people are unwilling to risk their lives, and neither is the military. Even if the military is forced to transport supplies, it will only result in a lose-lose situation.

It was only then that European governments realized just how important it was to have someone like Carlo in their countries.

Because of Carlo's extremely high personal prestige, he was able to influence nationwide lockdown measures based solely on his personal prestige, and the public did not show any strong resistance.

Thanks to the army's absolute loyalty to Carlo, a large number of troops can be easily mobilized to transport supplies to various cities, ensuring the supply of materials to the cities.

These two points are something that European governments cannot do at all, and they are also factors that directly determine whether flu control measures are effective.

For a time, due to the lack of effective control over the flu, governments across Europe were thrown into chaos, and some cities even saw widespread riots.

Of course, compared to the United States, the riots in various European cities are ultimately child's play.

Unlike Europe, the United States has a more complex population structure, and the chaos in its cities is naturally more diverse.

For the US government, only white people were considered Americans. Relief supplies were also distributed directly to white people in an attempt to save their lives during the pandemic.

But it was clear that Black people wouldn't be so obedient. After large numbers of Black people discovered that the U.S. government was unwilling to provide them with food relief, the Black community became thoroughly enraged.

They took to the streets where white people lived, vandalizing and looting their property.

The white shop owners, naturally unwilling to have their goods stolen by the blacks, picked up their weapons to defend themselves.

Suddenly, the streets and alleys of America became incredibly lively. Because guns are not prohibited in the United States, the conflict between whites and blacks quickly escalated into a free-for-all gunfight between the two sides.

As the saying goes, in free America, gunfights happen every day. Enraged white and black communities engage in daily, intense gun battles.

Suddenly, the number of Americans dying from the flu was less than the number dying from the gunfights. This widespread gun battle also drew the attention of the US government, and when they tried to quell the conflict between white and black communities, they were surprised to find that it seemed too late.

Because of the lack of resources among the Black community, the Black riots were not limited to a few cities, but evolved into a nationwide Black riot movement.

Low-income groups, led by Black people, engaged in rampant looting and vandalism in major shopping malls and department stores across the United States, stealing large quantities of goods from white shop owners.

During the looting and vandalism by Black people, a violent clash broke out between them and the white shop owners, turning the robbery into a bloody and violent incident.

Large numbers of American police officers are patrolling the streets and alleys of the city, but they have found that such violent incidents cannot be completely eradicated.

Numerous white police officers in the United States have even been killed in the process of quelling the riots, which has further deepened the hatred between white and black people in the United States.

How deep is the hatred between the two?

If a white American sees a Black person on the street, their first reaction is not to question them, but to pull out a gun and aim it at the Black person.

If a Black person is observed behaving suspiciously, a white police officer will immediately open fire. This is no longer discrimination against Black people, but rather an act of protecting one's own life.

With things having escalated to this point, even the US government could no longer mediate the conflict between whites and blacks.

(End of this chapter)