Empire Rise: Spain

Chapter 33: Carlists' Rebellion

The capitalists’ incited rebellion ended just like that, fizzling out anticlimactically.

Although the entire process was somewhat unexpected, upon careful reflection, it seemed entirely natural.

Even such events often occur in posterity. Parades seemingly composed entirely of workers may not have been voluntarily initiated by the workers; they could have been launched by the factory owners behind the scenes who united to oppress, brainwash, and intimidate the workers.

Because capitalists as a group are a minority in any country, they can only rely on the majority groups like workers and farmers to achieve their purposes.

But in today’s Spain, it is not so easy for capitalists to incite large numbers of workers and farmers.

Farmers are the most supportive of autocracy and monarchy; farmers in any country are like this. Because farmers’ needs are very low—as long as they are fed and not starving, they will be satisfied with their current lives.

The agricultural tax reduction policy promulgated by Spain is the best means to win over farmers. For farmers who already support monarchy, they are of course willing to obey orders from Carlo and the Spanish Government.

Compared to farmers, the workers in factories have more complex compositions. Worker parades are an important means for capitalists to achieve their purposes, so capitalists naturally will not miss the opportunity to oppress and brainwash workers.

This is also why a considerable portion of the capitalist rebellion forces are workers—because not everyone can see through the domestic situation, and not everyone can ignore the capitalists’ sugar-coated cannonballs combined with intimidation tactics.

However, parades and rebellions of this scale no longer threaten Carlo and the Spanish Government. For Carlo, the greatest threat within Spain is not the insignificant capitalists, but the independence forces in Catalonia and the Basque Country, as well as the Carlist faction supported by Catalan separatists. Although this parade and rebellion were easily dealt with, the army under the control of the Spanish Government still remains stationed around Madrid, ready at any moment for news from the Catalan region and Basque Country.

For Carlo, he instead hopes that the Carlist faction and those regional separatist factions will take this opportunity to come out and stir up trouble.

Only if they proactively come out will Carlo have the chance to deal with them once and for all.

Otherwise, allowing these opposition factions to silently develop in Catalonia and the Basque Country will only continuously intensify the sense of division between the two regions and Spain.

This is also why, in posterity, Catalonia and the Basque Country have always been clamoring for independence.

Catalonia’s parliament even held an independence referendum and announced independence from Spain based on the voting results. If the Spanish Government had not determined that the Catalan region’s referendum violated the Spanish Constitution and forcefully suppressed it, the world map would probably have one more country.

The Basque Country is no less fervent. Although it has not gone so far as to directly hold a referendum to announce independence, the independence sentiment in the Basque Country is more radical than in Catalonia.

After the Spanish dictator Franco died, a terrorist organization named ETA even emerged in the Basque Country, and it even assassinated the King of Spain multiple times.

If these two regions’ independence issues cannot be dealt with once and for all, Spain’s future is destined to be unstable, and there will be more opposition parties opposing the Spanish Government by supporting independence in Catalonia and the Basque Country.

The good news is that at this time, the populations of Catalonia and the Basque Country have not yet reached a level that threatens Spain.

Spain’s population is approximately 6 million, with the dominant ethnic group Spaniards comprising the majority. Catalonia’s population is only about 3 million, and the Basque Country’s population is just over 300,

The combined population of the two regions is only 6 million, less than one-tenth of Spain’s total population—this is also why Carlo has the confidence to deal with these two regions’ independence issues once and for all.

The Carlist faction ultimately did not disappoint Carlo.

On January 25, 1870, “Carlos VII,” who considered himself a man of great talent and bold vision, decided to take the initiative while the Madrid government was still in chaos.

The Carlist faction published a large number of news articles through Barcelona’s newspaper office claiming that Carlos VII was the legitimate King of Spain, and stated that the policies promulgated by the current Spanish Government would severely damage Barcelona’s economy, setting Barcelona’s economy back at least 20 years.

The Carlist faction also greatly exaggerated in the news the harm of labor law to factories and enterprises in the Catalan region, even claiming that it would cause Spain to lose all its industry and factories, making all workers in the Catalan region lose their jobs.

Under the influence of widespread news, many Catalans believed it to be true and expressed willingness to join Carlos VII’s legitimate government to resist the rule of the Spanish Government.

After organizing an army of tens of thousands in just a few days, Carlos VII publicly delivered a speech in Barcelona, stating that he would expel King Carlo and restart the rule of the Bourbon Dynasty.

In the midst of chaos, the new Carlist Wars officially broke out.

Although the participants had changed from Queen Isabella to Carlo, the purpose of the Carlist faction remained the same: to place their ruler, Carlos VII, on the throne of Spain.

Upon hearing the news of the war’s outbreak, Carlo in Madrid instead breathed a sigh of relief.

When he heard that the Catalan region had organized an army of tens of thousands, Carlo felt not the slightest panic; instead, he looked down even more on the so-called Carlos VII.

Why?

Although Catalonia’s independence issue has always been one of Spain’s most vexing problems, at least for now, most Catalans still recognize Spain.

Moreover, an even more important point is that the current Prime Minister Primó is a Catalan, and even the previous revolution was launched by Prime Minister Primó in the Catalan region.

There are quite a few Catalan soldiers in the current Spanish Army. Under such circumstances, it seems utterly impossible for Carlos VII to assemble an army of tens of thousands, no matter how one thinks about it.

Considering that Catalonia, as one of Spain’s most economically and industrially developed regions, has a large number of workers.

Perhaps the Carlist faction and Catalan separatists precisely coerced these brainwashed and threatened workers to assemble this so-called army of tens of thousands.

The reason Carlo wanted to laugh was exactly this. The Carlist faction kept claiming that Primó’s reforms made Catalonia’s workers lose their jobs, but isn’t what they are doing now making these workers lose their jobs?

Excluding these workers, the Carlist faction has at most just over 10,000 troops. To think of attacking Madrid with this army of 10,000—is this treating Carlo as Queen Isabella from two years ago?

Second update, seeking support!