Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 32: Chapter 31: Capitalist Uprising

“Very good.” Carlos VII nodded with considerable satisfaction. The eagerness in his eyes was almost overflowing: “Now we just wait for those disgruntled factory owners to jump out and deliver a fatal blow to that guy Prim who disrespects the Bourbon Dynasty.

Only the Bourbon family is the master of Spain, and the Savoy should stay in Italy; they are not fit to meddle in Iberia.”

The situation in Spain is already very clear. Everyone believes that those capitalists who treasure money as their lives could never give up resisting, and they will stop at nothing for the money in their hands.

And indeed, this is the case.

The counterattack from the factory owners and capitalists came swiftly.

On January 19, 1870, the Madrid Workers’ Newspaper published an article criticizing the government.

This article did not mention the purpose of labor law to guarantee workers’ income but condemned the government for disregarding the income of factories and enterprises, blindly demanding them to bear extra expenses.

At the end of this article, it also mentioned that if the government did not promptly revoke such erroneous decrees, it could lead to the bankruptcy of a large number of factories and enterprises throughout Spain, thereby causing mass unemployment and affecting workers’ income.

This article seemed reasonable but could not withstand scrutiny at all.

The so-called extra expenses for factories and enterprises mentioned in the article were actually the wages they were supposed to pay to the workers.

If paying their workers the due wages leads to the bankruptcy of factories and enterprises, then what is the necessity for such factories and enterprises to exist?

Before Carlo could use his means of public opinion to counterattack, the capitalists’ second move came.

On January 20, the Spanish Sun, which was in the limelight, was attacked.

The attackers first smashed the newspaper’s windows with hard objects like stones, then infiltrated the office to destroy some newspaper printing equipment.

The capitalists’ fearless disregard for the government and royal power made Carlo a bit angry, and he determined to exclude big capital from Spain’s ruling class.

On January 21, the Spanish Government swiftly passed the “Spanish Labor Law” bill, and announced the immediate strict enforcement of the labor law, requiring all factories and enterprises within Spain to pay workers’ wages on a weekly or monthly basis, with a tenfold fine for those who default, and severe cases to have their factories or enterprises sealed off.

Such a decree, once announced, immediately sparked a storm among the capitalist class.

The capitalists originally thought Prim and Carlo would back down, but unexpectedly, they chose to resolutely oppose capitalism.

To guard their wallets, the capitalists chose to unite, intending to emulate Prim’s previous actions and reignite a revolution in the Kingdom of Spain.

On January 22, factory and enterprise owners around Madrid united, inciting some workers and radical Republican Faction members, launching a massive march in the streets of Madrid.

One must admit, the capitalists’ brainwashing of the workers was still effective. Some workers, after hearing the newspapers say the factories would close due to bearing extra expenses, began to worry about losing their jobs.

Though most workers were rational, a small portion of them chose to side with the capitalists under such concerns.

After the outbreak of the march, Prim ordered the army to suppress this march while secretly mobilizing the army to control the order in Madrid.

The goals of these capitalists were certainly not just a march, and Prim’s attention could not be entirely diverted by these marching contingents.

For someone as skilled in military affairs as Prim, these petty tricks of the capitalists would not escape his eyes.

Sure enough, as the march was being suppressed, another smaller contingent of marchers, equipped with various weapons, marched grandly towards the Madrid Palace and Parliament.

In the eyes of these capitalists who had participated in the Spanish Revolution, a revolution was still very simple. Just seize the Spanish Royal Palace and government amidst the chaos, and the King and government officials would be seized without resistance.

They did not even need to take action themselves, as the palace guard and the Spanish Army would willingly join them.

When these people grandly approached the palace, they were completely dumbfounded.

The palace was not in disarray like in the last revolution, and they were not greeted by surrendering Spanish troops.

Seeing the well-prepared Palace Guard in the distance, many people in the riot squad swallowed hard, as if realizing the situation.

“By His Majesty’s order, if you lay down your weapons and surrender now, His Majesty will only hold those who instigated the rebellion accountable. Anyone who dares to step forward will be considered rebellious against His Majesty and Spain and will be executed on the spot!” Captain of the Palace Guard Giotto, sitting astride a black steed with an Italian-made spear in hand, shouted to the rebellious team not far ahead.

“Do not be deceived by him; no one will forgive us, not even God. Our only choice is to storm the palace and make Spain a true republic, and God will bless us!” The leader of the rebellious team, seeing the unfavorable situation, hurriedly incited the crowd’s emotions, trying to salvage the morale that was about to dissipate.

“The labor law is aimed at protecting your interests, and those greedy factory owners will not go bankrupt from paying your wages. Wake up, people, look behind you, those greedy capitalists are the enemies of all Spaniards!

In the name of God, and in the name of the King of Spain, I assure you that you will not lose your jobs nor be held accountable for today’s events.

You have been deceived, blinded by the evil capitalists. But now is not the time to repent to God; we need to defeat all the enemies of Spain, those insatiable capitalists, and then discuss other matters.

Please believe me, for Spain, put down your weapons.” Seeing the rebellious team’s morale somewhat disintegrating, Carlo naturally wouldn’t miss this good opportunity, shouting towards the nearby crowd.

Hearing Carlo’s call, many people in the rebellious crowd were somewhat moved.

Not many in the rebellious team were wholeheartedly working for the capitalists. The workers’ concern was whether they would lose their jobs; if their jobs were guaranteed, why would they stand against the government and the King?

As for those radical Republicans, they wouldn’t switch sides just because of a few words from Carlo.

But this was good for Carlo; those who refused to lay down their weapons were best sent to meet God immediately.

After a moment of careful thought, many workers were still willing to believe in their King. After all, the few actions of this new King since his reign had been beneficial to them, much more trustworthy than those wage-cutting capitalists, wouldn’t you say?

With this thought, many of the deceived workers began to lay down their weapons and naturally distanced themselves from the lackeys of the capitalists and radical Republicans.

“Very good, people. Those who have laid down their weapons can come over, I assure you before God, you will still be citizens of Spain, and this has nothing to do with you.” Seeing many people opposite had laid down their weapons, Carlo nodded with satisfaction and spoke with a smile to the crowd opposite.

Hearing Carlo’s words, the workers on the opposite side quickly walked towards the Palace Guard. Some of the capitalists’ lackeys, seeing no chance of victory, also abandoned their weapons, disguised themselves as ordinary workers, and surrendered to the Palace Guard.