Empire Rise: Spain

Chapter 167: East Indies Islands In Action

Time came to August 1874, and the atmosphere in the Spanish East Indies Colony felt somewhat unusual compared to before.

Navy Lieutenant Colonel Pascual Cervera arrived at the Presidential Palace of the East Indies early in the morning, accompanied by several regimental commanders of the garrison regiment.

“Are you all prepared, gentlemen?” Marquis Rogers, then the Governor of the East Indies, stared at the map of the East Indies hanging in the office, saying with a smile on his face.

“The navy is fully prepared and can assist the army in landing at any time.” Navy Lieutenant Colonel Pascual nodded and replied.

“We are all prepared too. It’s time to let these damned indigenous people know who the true master of the East Indies is.” Several regimental commanders of the colonial defense regiment also nodded, their faces showing excitement.

Although the main purpose of the Spanish government’s troop transport last time was to send reinforcements to the Congo River Basin, since some soldiers had arrived in the East Indies, their role could not be wasted.

The East Indies, as Spain’s largest existing colony by scale, still had great potential for expansion.

Currently, the southern part of the East Indies, that is, Mindanao, still had several indigenous forces that did not submit to Spanish colonial rule, with the largest being the Sultanate of Maguindanao.

In addition, not far to the west of Mindanao, the Sultanate of Sulu was also a place Spain could colonize.

Further west of the Sulu Archipelago was the much larger Borneo, which had multiple indigenous tribes and nations, with the south under Dutch colonial control. In terms of Spain’s overall strength, there was no need to fear the Dutch at all. In fact, the main reason the Dutch could colonize this land was that the Netherlands’ overall strength was not strong, which made Britain, France, and Spain feel at ease.

“Very good.” Marquis Rogers nodded in satisfaction, placing his baton on the southwestern part of Mindanao on the map, and said with a cold smile: “From today onward, the indigenous nations here no longer need to exist. There is only one master of the East Indies, and that is the great Kingdom of Spain.

First and Second Garrison Regiments’ task is to head south to Mindanao and annihilate all the indigenous nations there. If anyone dares to resist, execute them all.

Third and Fourth Garrison Regiments, with the help of the navy, will land on the Sulu Archipelago first and annihilate the indigenous forces there.

After controlling the situation in the Sulu Archipelago, leave a portion to defend the archipelago, and the remaining troops continue westward to control the Sultanate of Sulu’s territory in the Borneo region.

Third and Fourth Garrison Regiments have a heavier task, so ensure a swift victory and occupy the Sultanate of Sulu’s land as quickly as possible.

If we wait for the British to react and mediate, some land might be partitioned by the British. The faster we move, the more land we can obtain.

I hope we can take a complete Sultanate of Sulu, not just the small Sulu Archipelago. Do you all understand your tasks?”

Relatively speaking, the attack on Mindanao would be smoother. This area was already within Spain’s colonial scope, so no matter how aggressive Spain’s colonial actions were, other great powers had no right to interfere.

But Borneo was different. The southern region of Borneo was occupied by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while the northern and western regions had numerous indigenous nations and other forces.

Although the British had not yet established a North Borneo colony, they had already occupied a port in the Brunei Empire.

The Sultanate of Sulu bordered the Brunei Empire, so Spain’s forceful military action against the Sultanate of Sulu was likely to attract the British’ attention.

This was not good for Spain, so they could only try to increase the speed of action and first seize a piece of land on Borneo.

Being able to expand the colony to Borneo would prove Spain’s right to partition Borneo. But if they could not land on Borneo, then in the future when Britain and the Netherlands partitioned Borneo, Spain would have nothing to do with it.

Although Spain already had the Philippines, Borneo’s attractiveness was no less. As the world’s third largest island, Borneo had an area of 740,000 square kilometers, while the Spanish Mainland and the Philippines combined were just over 800,000 square kilometers.

Spain definitely wanted to participate in partitioning such vast territory, especially since Borneo’s resources were also very rich—seizing any piece would not be a loss.

“Understood, Your Excellency the Governor.” The regimental commanders of the colonial defense regiment and Navy Lieutenant Colonel Pascual nodded together, confidently accepting the orders.

For the Spanish army, attacking these indigenous nations and forces posed no difficulty. Although the colonial defense regiment was Spain’s lowest-level troop, with many local indigenous soldiers.

But after upgrading their weapons and equipment, the colonial defense regiment’s combat effectiveness was at a certain level. The soldiers in the garrison regiment, though called local indigenous people, were actually many mixed-race descendants of Spaniards, quite loyal to Spain.

With the supervision of a large number of young officers, the army’s loyalty and combat effectiveness could be guaranteed. As long as there was no large-scale collapse, even the colonial defense regiment was unlikely to mutiny.

The East Indies being far from the Spanish Mainland also had its advantages, such as news taking a long time to spread.

Although British colonies were spread across the globe, the connection between the British government and the colonies was not that swift and effective.

News from around the Philippines had to be telegraphed first to the Indian Colony government, then forwarded by the Indian Colony government to the British government.

This relay would delay things even more, which was the reason Marquis Rogers mentioned for striking a time difference. From reporting the news to the British government reacting and issuing orders, round trip would take at least several days.

Spain had a good chance of occupying the entire Sultanate of Sulu before the British government’s orders arrived, and once achieved, the British government could only grudgingly accept it.

After all, at this time, the British government’s main goal was not Borneo. Even if Spain occupied some land, there were still Dutch colonies on Borneo.

It might even provoke colonial competition between Spain and the Netherlands, allowing the British to stay out of it and watch the show.

Following the principle that speed is of the essence, the four colonial defense regiments moved out quite rapidly.

Third and Fourth Garrison Regiments, with naval assistance, crossed the Sulu Sea directly to the Sulu Archipelago, while First and Second Garrison Regiments were pre-deployed on the eastern part of Mindanao and advanced directly westward toward the indigenous forces upon receiving orders.

In this era, there were no radars; detecting enemies relied entirely on the naked eye.

The Spanish army showed no mercy to these indigenous forces. During the westward advance, First and Second Garrison Regiments immediately suppressed any discovered indigenous forces with force.

The first to suffer were the more loosely organized indigenous tribes. They existed in tribal forms, independent of each other, posing little threat to the Spanish army.

They were not unfamiliar with Spanish colonizers, and when facing the Spanish army’s steel guns and cannons, all they could do was surrender their weapons.

Of course, there were those who resisted stubbornly, but their fates were usually not good. To make an example, during the suppression of these indigenous tribes, any tribe not very obedient was basically annihilated entirely.

As Spain’s largest colony, the East Indies had ample reserves of weapons and ammunition. During troop transport, the transport fleet also brought a large stock of weapons, equipment, and ammunition.

In this process of annihilating indigenous forces, these transported weapons and ammunition played a tremendous role.

Faced with the most advanced steel guns and cannons, these indigenous people had no room to resist. Their weapons were mostly cold weapons; even if they had muskets, the numbers were few and very outdated.

These loosely organized tribes had no firearms, so annihilating them was obviously much simpler. It was not really annihilation, more like using force to suppress and forcibly incorporating them into Spanish colonial rule.

In just half a day, the indigenous tribes in western Mindanao were basically occupied. However, the land they occupied was only a small portion; more land was held by the Sultanate of Maguindanao.

Although the Sultanate of Maguindanao was also a small indigenous nation, this indigenous force had certain ties with the British and the Dutch.

Unlike the previous indigenous tribes, the Sultanate of Maguindanao possessed firearms, obtained from British and Dutch merchants.

It was obvious that Britain and the Netherlands provided these indigenous people with firearms precisely to hinder Spanish colonial expansion.

Colonies were ultimately limited; the more land Spain occupied, the less there was for Britain and the Netherlands to partition.

Confining Spain to Mindanao gave Britain and the Netherlands enough time to partition Borneo.

In fact, according to the original situation, the actions of Britain and the Netherlands were very successful. The Kingdom of Spain’s weakness continued until the Spanish-American War, during which Spain barely maintained control over Mindanao’s situation.

Meanwhile, Borneo’s vast lands were jointly partitioned by Britain and the Netherlands over a long time. The Dutch thereby established the Dutch East Indies Colony, a massive territory totaling 91 million square kilometers.

Only a homeland like the Netherlands, not strong in strength, could obtain such a vast colony under British scrutiny.

If the Netherlands’ overall strength were even slightly stronger, gaining such extensive colonies would be difficult.

For Spain, engaging in colonial competition with the Dutch in Borneo was, to some extent, not something to fear from the British.

If Spain were a powerful great power like Germany, France, or Russia, the British would naturally not want Spain to gain more colonies.

But Spain’s overall strength was not strong—full count, it was just like Italy, the gatekeeper of the great powers. Spain turning its gaze to Southeast Asian lands was actually a good thing for the British.

After all, the British were more concerned with the eastern and western gates of the Mediterranean, Africa, and India.

Whether Southeast Asia was controlled by the Dutch or Spain made no difference to the British. Neither country’s strength was enough to threaten Britain, which was far better than being occupied by France or Germany.

Back to Spain’s action in suppressing indigenous forces.

The actions of First and Second Garrison Regiments were quite rapid; in just one day, they annihilated Mindanao’s loose indigenous tribes and engaged the Sultanate of Maguindanao in battle.

Although the Sultanate of Maguindanao also had firearms, the quantity was not large, and they had no cannons.

The British and Dutch were not fools. They could trip up Spain, and Spain could similarly cause them trouble.

The Netherlands, a small country, was already strained controlling the vast Dutch East Indies; if Spain specialized in sabotage from behind, it would inevitably make the Dutch government even more uncomfortable.

Although Britain was much stronger, if Spain was bent on sabotage, even the British could not endure it.

After all, the larger the colony, the greater the crisis of colonial rebellion. Leaving aside other regions, just India alone was enough to give the British a headache.

The Indian people’s independence struggle never stopped, and the British colonial government could only force Indian submission through constant military suppression.

But military suppression could only address surface issues, not the root problems.

When nationalism gradually awakened, combined with Britain’s declining strength, India would eventually gain independence from British colonial rule.

While First and Second Garrison Regiments were battling the Sultanate of Maguindanao, on the other side, Third and Fourth Garrison Regiments had already landed on the Sulu Archipelago.

The Sulu Archipelago was controlled by the Sultanate of Sulu, which was the most powerful indigenous force in the Sulu Sea.

To control the Sulu Sea, the Sultanate of Sulu had to be controlled first. To control the Sultanate of Sulu, its core region, the Sulu Archipelago, had to be seized.

If the Sultanate of Maguindanao maintained good relations with the British and Dutch, then the Sultanate of Sulu was the opposite extreme.

As early as hundreds of years ago, Britain and Spain had carried out colonial aggression against the Sultanate of Sulu.

The Sultanate of Sulu’s territory had been continuously eroded and annexed by other indigenous forces on Borneo.

This once-dominant power in the Sulu Sea was now no different from other small indigenous forces.

The only concern for the Spanish army was that attacking the Sultanate of Sulu might attract British attention, leading the British to take a share.

The British target would definitely be the Sultanate of Sulu’s territory on Borneo. If the British succeeded, it would be hard for Spain to enter Borneo again.

They must occupy the Sulu Archipelago first before the British reacted and transfer troops to Borneo.

Even if negotiations with the British followed, Spain could ensure an invincible position and participate in the partition of Borneo.

Besides a few indigenous forces, Borneo also had two rather special nations: the Lanfang Republic and the Sarawak Kingdom.

The Sarawak Kingdom was founded by a British explorer. After discovering this land, he used various means to conquer the local indigenous people and established his own kingdom.

Because the king of the Sarawak Kingdom was British, the British attitude toward this country was quite friendly.

As for the Lanfang Republic, it was a well-known nation. Its establishment was nearly a century old, and it enjoyed high prestige locally.

However, the population of the Lanfang Republic consisted of immigrants from the northern Qing Dynasty, so the British and Dutch had low favor toward this country.

For Spain to get a share in Borneo, the Lanfang Republic could be utilized.

It could even cultivate the Lanfang Republic to prevent the Dutch from advancing an inch on Borneo.

The Spanish army was quite familiar with the Sultanate of Sulu. In fact, these indigenous nations posed little threat to Spain; even the colonial defense regiment could easily crush them.

The defense forces of the Sulu Archipelago were not strong. The two garrison regiments landed quietly at night and soon completely controlled the archipelago’s situation.

While the Sultanate of Sulu’s leadership was still in sweet dreams, their capital had been occupied by the Spanish army, and they quickly became prisoners.

The attack on the Sulu Archipelago was unbelievably smooth, allowing the landing on Borneo earlier than expected.

But in any case, the earlier the landing on Borneo, the greater the hope for Spain to annex the Sultanate of Sulu.

With naval assistance, Third and Fourth Garrison Regiments left a small defensive force, and the remaining troops all headed to Borneo.

If the Sulu Archipelago’s defense was very loose, then the Sultanate of Sulu’s defensive arrangements on Borneo were utterly arbitrary.

Perhaps because Spain and Britain’s colonial appetites had not been large before, giving the Sultanate of Sulu a false sense of security. Or maybe the recent economic crisis in Europe had let the Sultanate of Sulu’s leadership breathe a sigh of relief.

In short, the Sultanate of Sulu’s defensive arrangements were a complete mess, and the army’s quality was appallingly poor.

On Borneo, Third Garrison Regiment finally encountered a scaled force of the Sultanate of Sulu army.

But after just one round of fire suppression from Third Garrison Regiment, the indigenous army scattered and fled, as if the god of death were chasing them.

This scene left the Spanish soldiers dumbfounded, even forgetting to pursue the victory.

However, driving away these indigenous troops had achieved the Spanish army’s purpose; after all, the most urgent matter now was to quickly occupy the Sultanate of Sulu’s land and turn Spain’s foothold on Borneo into fact.

The four garrison regiments’ offensives were all very smooth; in less than a week, they had basically fully occupied the lands of the two sultanates and some indigenous tribes.

To ensure local stability and prevent trouble from the British and Dutch, Marquis Rogers ordered the four garrison regiments to temporarily garrison locally to maintain order, awaiting colonial officials from the East Indies colonial government to take over those lands.

Five thousand words two-in-one chapter, seeking support!