Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 618 The chaotic world

The final wave of the American flu pandemic began in the winter of 1919. Compared to the second wave that broke out in August 1918, the third wave was not as severe, and the mortality rate was relatively lower.

In more developed European countries, most have already implemented measures to isolate infected individuals, thus limiting the spread of influenza to the greatest extent possible.

Masks and alcohol-based hand sanitizers that have been proven effective in Spain are being manufactured and purchased in large quantities by various European countries for use in disinfecting potentially high-risk locations.

In Europe today, face masks have become an essential part of daily life and outings. Whether in Spain or other European countries, the wearing of face masks is strictly required in public places.

All public transportation, including trams, subways, and trains, refuse entry to those not wearing masks.

While mandatory mask-wearing may cause discontent among some people, most are quite rational.

After all, the flu has killed at least millions of people in Europe. Anyone who isn't stupid should understand that wearing masks is for the good of all people.

Among European countries, Spaniards were the quickest to accept masks and have basically achieved universal mask-wearing when going out.

On the one hand, it is due to the high level of trust that the Spanish people have in the royal family and the government; on the other hand, it is because the royal family has donated a large amount of medical supplies, including masks that are very effective in preventing the flu.

Spanish citizens receive free face masks every so often. Although the quantity is limited, there are no restrictions. All citizens can collect them at local clinics, government buildings, and other designated public places.

If you feel you don't have enough masks, you can buy them at local clinics and pharmacies. These masks are almost sold to the public at cost price, so cheap that people are not averse to using them.

Of course, the royal family is undoubtedly the biggest contributor to this achievement.

On the one hand, this is due to the 5 million pesetas in relief funds donated by Carlo on behalf of the royal family; on the other hand, it is because Carlo had already ordered the royal family's mask factory to produce a large number of masks, and the number of masks currently stockpiled is enough for the Spanish people to use for a period of time.

Even while ensuring the domestic demand for masks in Spain, they were also able to export a batch of their inventory abroad.

Other countries have no countermeasures against this flu, which means that even if they know that masks can protect against the flu, they cannot produce a large number of masks for the public to use in a short period of time.

The masks manufactured in the royal family's mask factory are sold at cost price in Spain, but their price would be several times higher in other European countries.

Even so, masks in Spain remain in short supply. Only a state capitalist country like Spain can achieve this; in any country under a free capitalist system, the price of masks would be several times higher.

The prices of face masks and hand sanitizers in Europe have increased several times over in an instant, but this is not entirely bad news for Europeans.

Despite the significant price increase, most Europeans can still easily purchase face masks and hand sanitizer if they are willing to pay.

For countries outside Europe, even if they are willing to pay, these two medical supplies are not so easy to buy during the flu season.

This is also why the third wave of influenza was not severe in Europe.

Most of the countries suffering from the third wave of influenza are in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Only a very few European countries, such as Russia with its poor medical conditions, are still unable to stop the spread of the flu.

Although the worst of the flu season has passed, this does not mean that the negative effects of the flu have been eliminated.

In fact, quite the opposite, the days after the flu season ended were the most difficult, and people could truly feel the stagnation of the country's industry and economy.

During flu outbreaks, people's attention is mostly focused on the flu itself, and they rarely pay attention to the development of industry and the economy.

Even if the country's industry and agriculture are paralyzed at this time, the public will only think that it is temporary and that things will return to normal once the flu is over.

But the reality is quite different, and the recovery of industry and agriculture will not be easy. With the flu killing a large portion of the workforce, the coming years are destined to be difficult for European countries, and the scale of industry and the economy is bound to shrink again.

Nowadays, apart from Spain, most other European countries are not doing well. France's industry is sluggish, and its population has declined in recent years due to the double blow of world war and influenza, making it an exception among the major European powers.

Britain was certainly not in much better shape. The loss of Ireland resulted in a reduction of millions of people in the British mainland population, a significant blow to the country.

The flu did not cause severe damage to Britain, but it kept the British government preoccupied and further disrupted its colonial system.

In early 1919, large-scale demonstrations broke out in British Egypt. Extensive protests and uprisings occurred in Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez, major Egyptian cities.

This anti-British uprising was launched by Egyptian nationalist organizations, the most famous of which was the Egyptian National Movement Association.

This widespread anti-British uprising in Egypt had many causes. One reason was the brutality of British colonial rule in Egypt, leading Egyptians to desire independence.

On the other hand, the British government did not treat the Egyptians who had served Britain in the World Wars well. Egyptian soldiers were used as cannon fodder by the British, and those who died in battle did not receive any pensions or compensation.

Such brutality aroused widespread discontent among the Egyptian people, with a large number of workers, students, merchants and farmers actively participating in anti-British demonstrations, and even going so far as to launch an armed uprising to end British colonial rule in Egypt.

The uprising broke out when Europe was in the transition between the second and third waves of influenza.

Although the flu did not cause too much damage to Britain, the British government was indeed unable to attend to other matters and could not send troops to intervene in the armed uprising in Egypt at such a critical juncture.

Although the British government attempted to suppress the large-scale armed uprising by stationing troops in Egypt, it proved that the uprisings that were widespread in Egypt could not be suppressed by a small number of troops.

On the contrary, the British troops stationed in Egypt suffered heavy casualties due to a serious conflict with the Egyptians, which further fueled the Egyptians' anger.

Even after Britain arrested several organizers of the Egyptian protests, it failed to quell the frequent demonstrations and armed uprisings within the country. Seeing that a hardline approach was no longer effective, the British government had no choice but to adopt a softer strategy.

Following the third wave of the flu outbreak, the British government realized that it was unable to resolve the Egyptian crisis in the short term.

To avoid complications and attract the attention of hostile countries like Spain, Britain chose to negotiate with local forces in Egypt to end the farce peacefully.

After more than a month of negotiations, in the last month of 1919, the British government formally signed an agreement with several local powers in Egypt, recognizing Egypt's autonomous status and allowing the establishment of a provisional government.

Of course, this did not mean that Egypt had become independent from British rule. Although a provisional government had been established in Egypt, apart from the power to handle domestic affairs, military and diplomatic powers were entirely in the hands of the British colonial government.

This is more like the British disguising their colonial rule. Although it appears that Egyptians are ruling Egypt, the Egyptian government is actually backed by the British colonial government.

Although this could only temporarily appease the Egyptians, it did effectively resolve the predicament currently facing the British government. After the establishment of the Egyptian provisional government, the Egyptians ceased organizing demonstrations and armed uprisings, and instead happily devoted themselves to building their own government.

The British government breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that the unrest in Egypt had finally subsided. They were unwilling to intervene militarily in Egypt at this time, as it would likely drag them into another quagmire.

Britain's troubles didn't stop with Egypt. In Asia, Afghanistan also gained independence from British colonial rule in the same year.

It can only be said that these countries did pick a good time. Britain was too busy to attend to anything else at the time and could only allow these colonies to temporarily gain independence.

For the British government, as long as it can preserve its strength during the flu pandemic, it will still have a chance to reclaim these formerly independent colonies in the future.

Focusing solely on short-term gains and losses could backfire on Britain. After all, the threat of influenza is very real, and if it is not properly prevented, Britain could fall from its position as a global superpower and never have the chance to regain that status.

In the same year, Kemal led the Turks in a national liberation movement, and demonstrations or revolutions broke out in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Japan, making the world situation even more chaotic.

The colonies under French control were not so stable either, but compared to Britain, the French colonies were not as conspicuous.

Most of France's colonies were in Africa, where the resistance of the inhabitants was limited, and France was able to maintain its colonial rule with difficulty.

Spain was in a similar situation. Although Spain also had a large colony in Asia, the Philippines, the situation there was relatively stable.

Although the Philippine colonies did not implement the same strict control measures as mainland Spain, they did close their ports after the flu outbreak.

For an island nation, as long as the ports are completely closed, it is difficult for the virus to spread from the outside to the island.

Except for medical supplies and food shipped from other Spanish colonies to the Philippines, other ships are prohibited from docking at Philippine ports.

While this limited the development of the Philippine colony to some extent, it also limited the spread of influenza in the Philippines.

Based on the data reported from the Philippine colonies, the infection and mortality rates of influenza in the Philippines are relatively low, which is good news for Spain.

The present-day Philippine colony is arguably one of Spain's oldest existing colonies. Carlo was unwilling to easily relinquish this land, even though it was thousands of miles away from Spain.

Carlo's future plan for the Philippine colony was to make it part of a larger Spanish federation, serving as a springboard for Spain's strategic maneuvering in the Asia-Pacific region.

Without the Philippine colony, Spain's influence would have been limited to Europe and Africa, making it difficult to expand beyond those regions.

If possible, in addition to the Philippines, Argentina and other South American countries are also Carlo's targets.

If all of Spain's original colonies could be brought into the Spanish Federation, even if it were just a loose alliance, it would be a great benefit to Spain.

The Spanish Federation was similar to the later British Commonwealth, but the relationships between its members were certainly much closer than those in the later British Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth in later generations appeared very loose for two reasons: firstly, Britain's strength was insufficient to support the unity of the Commonwealth; secondly, the rise of the United States undermined Britain's control over the Commonwealth.

This is actually why Carlos tried everything to weaken the United States. Even if Carlos successfully formed the Spanish Federation, the US would still pose a significant threat to the future Spanish Federation if the US wasn't weakened.

The threat posed by a country with a powerful industry and economy, and whose territory and population far exceed those of Spain, is immeasurable.

Even if Spain integrated the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco, what difference would it make? In terms of both land area and population, it is still far inferior to the United States.

Even if Spain controls Europe through the EU, it would only have a relatively loose cooperative relationship with European countries. Unless Spain's overall strength can overwhelmingly surpass that of other European countries, it cannot achieve complete control over Europe.

It's clear that Spain cannot completely dominate other European countries. Maintaining a slight advantage over other European nations is already quite an achievement; it's simply impossible for them to create a significant gap with countries like Britain, France, and Germany.

If foreign countries were to instigate conflict at this juncture, it could easily lead to internal divisions within the EU. For Spain right now, the United States has become its biggest threat.

With the Russian Civil War still raging, Carlo's only perceived enemy was the United States. While the flu did not destroy the United States, it severely impacted its situation.

Regardless of whether World War II breaks out in the future, Carlo will look for opportunities to create more trouble for the Americans and take the opportunity to dismember the United States.

The United States is still too large; no European country can compete with it. In Carlo's plan, the United States must be broken up into several, or even more than a dozen, countries to reduce the threat posed by the US and ensure European dominance.

(End of this chapter)