Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 619 Britain's Perpetual Trouble

The American flu pandemic arrived in the world in mystery, and disappeared just as mysteriously. By 1920, news reports from various countries rarely showed new infection numbers, and even the number of confirmed cases and daily deaths continued to decline.

By March 1920, with the exception of a few regions, the number of influenza infections in most countries had been reduced to almost zero.

This does not mean that these infected people have died. On the contrary, they survived the flu unharmed and became the last group of flu patients.

Suddenly, the end of the flu became a hot topic of discussion among people in Europe and even around the world. Even in Spain, where the flu had not been a major problem, people were excitedly discussing the news of its end.

Unfortunately, the impact of this flu on Europe was simply too great. Before the flu outbreak, people didn't wear masks when they went out, and their daily lives were far removed from the pungent smell of disinfectant.

Now that the torment is finally over, most people are eager to return to the way things were before the flu, to breathe fresh air without restraint, instead of having to smell the pungent disinfectant through a mask.

In early 1920, Spain officially reopened all border crossings and resumed all immigration channels. On March 19, public places in Spanish cities reopened, and apart from the continued need for daily disinfection and mask-wearing, life seemed to have returned to what it was before the flu pandemic.

After confirming that the flu was over, the Spanish government finally lifted all restrictions, allowing people to use public transportation without wearing masks.

This also means that people's lives have officially returned to what they were before the flu outbreak, and the government's announcement unsurprisingly became the focus of the day's news, being reprinted by major newspapers and media outlets.

Other European countries are returning to normal life faster than Spain, not because the flu ended faster in those countries, but because their governments simply cannot fully control their populations.

Compared to people in other European countries, the Spanish people, after experiencing so much, have learned to trust the government and follow its arrangements.

This is also the situation Carlo hopes to achieve. Only when the Spanish people fully trust the government can its policies be effectively implemented.

Only when the government and the people are of one mind can they safely weather all kinds of accidents and crises.

This flu outbreak is the best proof of that. The Spanish people effectively implemented the government's policies, which is why Spain did not suffer heavy losses during the flu season.

The end of the flu is good news for European countries, but for the British, their troubles are just beginning.

Before the British government even had time to deal with the problems in Afghanistan and Egypt, protests broke out in India, Britain's most important colony.

If we were to say which of Britain's colonies suffered the most during the flu pandemic, it would undoubtedly be India, Britain's most important colony.

Although the Indian colony was very important, the British government was not foolish enough to pay too high a price for hundreds of millions of Indians.

This resulted in the Indian colonies lacking both medical supplies and food during the flu outbreak.

India, lacking everything, became a hellish place. The British brought the flu to India but did not provide any medical care to the Indians.

India's medical environment is also very poor, and Indians have no way of dealing with this flu, and there are no control measures during the flu outbreak.

By the time the British colonial government realized something was wrong, the situation had already collapsed. India's hundreds of millions of people, normally a huge advantage, became a huge disadvantage during the flu outbreak.

In just a few days, the number of people infected with the flu in India exceeded several million, and the death toll reached hundreds of thousands.

This was just the beginning of the flu in India. From September 1918 to April 1920, the flu infected at least tens of millions of people in India and killed millions, making it the deadliest and most devastating disease in modern Indian history.

Although in most countries of the world it was called the American flu, within the Indian colonies, Indians referred to it as the British flu, and most Indians believed it was brought by the British.

The British brought a severe flu pandemic to India but provided no medical supplies. They also failed to provide any food aid to India as its agricultural production teetered on the brink of collapse.

Indians believe that all the disasters India suffered during the flu season were inextricably linked to the British.

The Indian people were deeply dissatisfied with British colonial rule, and the fact that Indian soldiers were almost used as cannon fodder by the British government during the World Wars added to their grievances, leading to massive demonstrations across the country.

Initially, due to the ongoing flu outbreak, the protests only occurred in a few cities in India. Although they caused some disruption to British colonial rule, the British believed that as long as their colonies remained intact, the protests in India were still under British control.

But things changed quickly. With the arrival of 1920, the flu soon disappeared in European countries.

Although the flu outbreak in India lasted longer than in European countries, this does not change the fact that the number of daily infections and deaths in India is decreasing.

When the flu no longer threatened their lives, Indians had enough courage to participate in marches to resist British colonial rule.

Suddenly, the Indian marches became a massive event, with far more participants than the uprisings that broke out in Egypt.

The only good news for the British government was that the Indians were not as radical as the Egyptians; they participated more in marches than uprisings, which is why the situation in the Indian colony did not collapse.

The widespread protests in the Indian colonies threw the British government into a panic. If the Egyptian colonies were a crucial pawn in Britain's control of the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean, then the Indian colonies were a vital guarantee for Britain's continued global dominance.

The Indian colonies not only provided Britain with abundant food supplies but also generated substantial revenue. The population of the Indian colonies was also a vital source of labor for Britain, aiding in the development of its various colonies and ensuring its strength.

Once Britain loses its Indian colonies, even if the British mainland remains unaffected, its overall strength will be significantly diminished. More importantly, European nations are unlikely to remain indifferent to the chaos in India. If other European countries take advantage of the situation, Britain may face utter decline and decay.

The problems in the Indian colonies were clearly more pressing than those in Egypt. The British government was well aware of this, and immediately after the flu season ended, it sent troops to India in hopes of suppressing the protests and ensuring that no further problems arose in the region.

In fact, Carlo was aware of both the Egyptian uprising and the Indian protests. However, compared to the British concerns, Carlo was not actually interested in either region.

First and foremost was Britain's high regard for Egypt and India. For Spain to push for the independence of Egypt and India, it had to engage in a real military confrontation with Britain.

At this time, Britain was still very powerful, and a head-on confrontation with Britain did not align with Carlo's thinking. Spain also had no reason to waste its precious development time on the British.

More importantly, compared to Britain, Spain had more threatening enemies: the United States and Russia.

If Spain and Britain were locked in a life-or-death struggle, the United States would inevitably seize the opportunity to rise again. Soviet Russia might also seize the opportunity to win its civil war, which would cause the world situation to revert to its historical trajectory, something Carlo would not want to see.

Although Spain's military strength is no less than that of Britain, this does not mean that Spain is willing to fight Britain to the death regardless of the consequences.

If India and Egypt were truly used to weaken Britain, Britain might disregard everything and ally with France, ultimately leading to a situation where Britain and France joined forces against Spain.

Carlos might not care about Britain or France alone, but if Britain and France joined forces, even Spain would have to back down.

France was once the dominant power in Europe, and Britain is the current one. The combined strength of the two countries is enough to make Carlo absolutely wary.

Unless absolutely necessary, Carlo did not want Britain and France to unite. This also implied that maintaining Britain's current strength was essential.

As is well known, the Anglo-French conflict was not resolved during the World War; on the contrary, it intensified during the war.

Although France is quite wary of Spain today, Britain is the dominant power in Europe, and its navy is currently the strongest in the world.

France has consistently adopted a policy of siding with the weaker of either Britain or Spain. While this approach may seem somewhat distasteful, it is arguably the best option for France at present.

Carlos had no desire to disrupt the current balance of power in Europe. As long as Britain remained the most powerful nation in Europe, France would do everything in its power to oppose it.

Rather than letting Spain and England fight to the death, it would be better to use France to cause some trouble for the British. Although France's glory days are over, it is still one of the superpowers and has a certain voice in Europe and even the world.

Spain can wait until France loses out to Britain before making its move. This will also demonstrate Britain's strength, keeping the French government highly vigilant and preventing an Anglo-French alliance.

The British government was clearly unaware of Carlo's ideas. To guard against Spanish and French intervention, the British government was willing to spend considerable sums to move troops to India and Egypt.

Frequent conscription and troop movements fueled public discontent with the government in Britain. It's important to remember that less than five years had passed since the end of World War II, and the British people were still reeling from its trauma.

Moreover, the global flu pandemic has only just ended. With the public already quite exhausted and only wanting a peaceful and comfortable life, the British government's frequent relocations are undoubtedly a reminder to the British people that their imagined good life is ultimately just a pipe dream.

The once mighty British Empire never had to worry about its colonies seeking independence. What's wrong with Britain now? Why are minor uprisings in its Egyptian and Indian colonies causing such high alert from the British government?
In response to the questions raised by the British public, newspapers in Britain and even across Europe offered their own interpretations.

For the British government, what they feared most was not the independence movements in their Egyptian and Indian colonies. What they feared most was interference from other European countries, primarily Spain and France.

The Russian Civil War, due to intervention from European countries, was actually good news for Britain. If the Russian Civil War hadn't been ongoing, Russia would have been another country potentially interfering in British colonies.

This was not good news for Britain. Russia was closer to Britain's Egyptian and Indian colonies than Spain and France.

The Afghan colony, which had already gained independence, was also very close to Russia. If Russia were to reunify, whether under Tsarist Russia or Soviet Russia, Britain's future would be even worse, and the security of the colony would be significantly compromised.

Thinking about this, the British public was furious with the government. Although Britain had successfully extricated itself from the World War, the war was a disgrace to Britain.

Before and after World War II, Britain suffered two defeats at the hands of Spain. If the First Anglo-Spanish War merely shattered the Royal Navy's invincible image, then the naval battles between the Allied Fleet and the Royal Navy during World War II directly destroyed the glory of the British government and people.

Although the main force of the British Royal Fleet still exists, the British government and people have developed a fear of naval warfare.

The British government and public were worried that the navy would suffer a defeat in the next naval battle, and even more worried that the cunning Spanish might use unknown warship technology to once again crush Britain in the navy, just like the Dreadnoughts.

Spain's rapid advancement in dreadnought technology became a nightmare for the British government. Although the British government built dreadnoughts at an alarming pace before and after World War II, significantly surpassing Spain in the number of dreadnoughts they possessed, this was a major obstacle.

However, this has not lessened the British government's concerns about the development of the Spanish navy. The British Navy submits a warship construction plan to the government almost every year to ensure that Britain maintains its naval superiority over Spain at all times.

Fortunately, the British Navy has been building warships at a frenzied pace; otherwise, European newspapers and media outlets would have long ago revised their naval rankings, placing Spain ahead of Britain.

The Spanish Navy's performance in both naval battles was indeed impressive. Unless the British Royal Fleet can avenge its defeat in future naval battles, the Spanish Navy will have a psychological advantage when facing the British Navy, even if it is at a tonnage disadvantage.

　I'll only update once today, but I'll start posting 10,000 words a day from tomorrow!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)