Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 24: Chapter 23: Suppressing the Cuban Rebellion

As soon as the two decrees of free literacy education and agricultural tax reduction were issued, the Spaniards were surprised to find that the king above their heads didn’t seem so obnoxious.

At least during the time of Queen Isabel, the government would not have proactively proposed agricultural tax reductions, let alone initiated any free literacy education.

But for Carlo at this moment, the troublesome matters were just beginning to be addressed.

Back during the Spanish revolution, the Cuban Colony seized the opportunity to launch a war for independence, occupying multiple cities, and convening a so-called constitutional convention and even electing a president.

This was unacceptable to Spain because Cuba was the most valuable of all Spanish colonies and one of the few that generated positive income.

If the Cuban Colony were to be lost, not only would the Spanish Government lose a significant portion of its annual revenue, but it would also be a blow to the prestige of Carlo, the new king, and the new cabinet.

Currently, as the Government of the Kingdom of Spain gradually gets back on track, it’s time to handle the restless Cuban Colony and create more revenue for the Spanish Government.

At this time, the Cuban rebels were not many, and they didn’t have any advanced weaponry. For the Spanish Government, apart from the need to fight a long-distance war across the Atlantic Ocean, there were no major obstacles to overcome.

Thus, the first large-scale war since Carlo assumed the throne was officially launched.

The Secretary of State for War, Serrano, led 5,500 soldiers in a grand expedition to Cuba to suppress the rebellion, striving to eliminate Cuban insurgents as much as possible.

Though this rebellion suppression war was not very large in scale, it presented an opportunity for Carlo. Kaman Esposito and Andrew Russo would both join this rebellion suppression war as junior officers.

Carlo’s hope was that they could establish some merits in this suppression campaign, which would facilitate their promotion and appointment by him afterwards.

The more capable Giotto was left in Madrid by Carlo to command the 500-person Palace Guard. After all, Carlo’s safety required greater assurance, and a reliable subordinate was needed to take charge of the Royal Palace’s security.

Carlo still trusted Serrano’s military capabilities. More importantly, Serrano had served as the Governor of Cuba from 1859 to 1862, giving him a relatively good understanding of the Cuban situation.

Dispatching him to Cuba for rebellion suppression was deemed the most appropriate choice, with the greatest hope of resolving the Cuban issue in a short time, ensuring that Cuba would not rebel again for the foreseeable future.

As for the matters far into the future, those were not within Carlo’s considerations.

For Carlo, these scattered colonies around the world were instead a burden to Spain.

Cuba was a whole Atlantic Ocean away from Spain, but only separated from the United States by the Florida Strait.

The United States, having won the Civil War, already had the potential to become a global hegemon, with its comprehensive national power continually increasing.

For Spain, the most valuable colony was on the doorstep of the Americans, which doomed Spain to be unable to hold onto Cuba.

Instead, it would be better to voluntarily give up Cuba at a suitable moment, in exchange for other colonies that were less valuable but could be firmly controlled.

The Philippines was the same. In Carlo’s future plans for Spain, both Cuba and the Philippines needed to be abandoned, with the basic foundation of Spanish colonies located in Africa.

However, because Cuba was one of the few colonies bringing positive returns to Spain, gaining public agreement to lose Cuba would be challenging.

At least until Carlo had enough prestige to withstand such a loss, or until a good opportunity arose, Spain would not undergo a colonial exchange.

On September 22, 1869, Carlo bid farewell to the expedition to Cuba led by Serrano in Madrid, personally promising all Spanish soldiers that he would host a celebration banquet upon their triumphant return to Madrid, and award land and titles to those with significant merits.

The attraction of military merit granting titles was substantial for the soldiers, and it was one of the most effective ways for the common people to ascend the social ladder.

Both Serrano and Prim were typical examples of individuals awarded titles for military merits. Although Spanish soldiers didn’t have ambitions as grand as becoming dukes and marquises, striving for land and monetary rewards as much as possible was certainly not an issue.

After sending off Serrano and just having returned to the Royal Palace, Carlo soon received a report from a guard that Prime Minister Prim requested an audience.

Since Carlo fulfilled his promises and firmly supported the reforms, Prim’s attitude towards Carlo became exceedingly respectful and he was willing to cultivate a praised monarch-minister relationship with Carlo.

This was also good news for Carlo because, as it was now, Prim would consult his opinions on many occasions and was willing to entrust Carlo with some decisions.

Even though Prim was not entirely without ambition for power and position like Garibaldi, he was not an autocratic individual either.

Carlo was also pleased with this collaborative relationship, following Prim to gain some reform prestige, slowly nurturing his confidants in both the government and military in preparation to take over the country after Prim, which was part of Carlo’s plan.

“Your Majesty, here’s the proposal for industrial construction, please approve it.” Upon meeting Carlo, Prim immediately presented a well-prepared industrial plan, getting straight to the point.

“We need to start industrial construction now? Prime Minister Prim, if I remember correctly, it seems our government doesn’t have enough funds for industrial construction, right?” Carlo was somewhat surprised at the speed of Prim’s reforms.

The reforms in education and agriculture had been ongoing for less than a month, so why jump into industrial construction so quickly?

For Spain, which was currently in dire need of funds, launching so many projects at once was not advisable. Carlo could understand Prim’s eagerness, but if merely prioritizing speed led to a risk of governmental bankruptcy, that would indeed be counterproductive.

“The first phase of industrial construction is expected to require 55 million Pessetas. I plan to issue industrial bonds in batches worth about 25 million Pessetas, and obtain the remaining 30 million Pessetas by borrowing from foreign capital.

As long as we can promote industrial construction, our economic situation in the coming years will improve, and Spain’s dire situation can be comprehensively ameliorated,” Prim explained.

The government of Queen Isabella indulged in enjoyment without regard for national development, causing various sectors in Spain to stagnate for a long time and even regress.

The only silver lining was that the previous government, disregarding development, did not recklessly issue external debts, allowing the current Spanish government to secure a portion of project startup funds through borrowing.