Empire Rising: Spain

Although Portugal and the United Kingdom have good relations, Spain so far is not without allies either. Italy needs little discussion; the relationship between Spain and Italy has improved a lot since Carlo came to power, and the two have signed defensive alliances based on cooperation treaties.

The cooperation between Austria-Hungary and Spain was something King Luis hadn’t foreseen. Initially, King Luis planned to select a suitable princess from the Portuguese Royal Family to marry Carlo, ensuring that Spain would not be hostile towards Portugal through marriage ties.

But Carlo clearly had a better choice; an ally like Austria-Hungary is far stronger than Portugal as an ally.

With the help of Austria-Hungary, could Spain defeat Portugal, assisted by the British? This question hardly requires thought; the answer is that Spain could easily defeat Portugal.

Unless the British are willing to intervene directly to help Portugal, Portugal has little capacity to resist a stronger nation like Spain.

Why say this? For a nation, strategic depth is most important. The territory of Portugal looks more like a rectangle, an upright rectangle.

If war breaks out between the two countries, the Spanish Army need only march westward from Badajoz to reach the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.

This would split Portugal’s territory, allowing Spain to easily consume it.

Faced with this issue, unless Portugal has a strong land army, there is no solution.

All the Portuguese territory either relies on the sea or borders Spain, leaving Portugal little room to retreat.

After losing the Brazilian colonies, Portugal has no hope of retreating to colonial land. The African colonies are small and cannot support a country, and the other colonies are too small, even struggling to be self-sufficient.

In this regard, Portugal has no choice. It must either improve relations with its neighbor Spain or cling tightly to the British, hoping Spain won’t risk offending the British by taking action against Portugal.

On these two fronts, what choice will the Portuguese Government make?

For most small countries, they lack the courage to make definitive choices, and the Portuguese Government is naturally the same.

The Portuguese Government’s choice is to insist on an alliance with the British as a strategic goal while striving to improve relations with Spain to ensure the security of its territory.

Simply put, they want both; betting on both the United Kingdom and Spain to secure their safety.

Regardless of whether this behavior might offend one or even both sides, for the current Portugal, this is indeed the best way to preserve its territory.

March 22, 1875, within the Madrid Royal Palace.

The sudden arrival of King Luis and Queen Maria of Portugal gave Carlo a bit of a surprise.

Queen Maria is Carlo’s sister; when Carlo came into this world, Queen Maria had already married King Luis.

This resulted in Carlo never having seen his sister, even though she appeared very happy and affectionate.

“Carlo, long time no see!” Queen Maria, upon seeing Carlo, happily walked forward, examining her brother with a gaze that revealed joy.

“Maria, long time no see. Your Majesty Luis.” Carlo nodded, first greeting his sister Maria, then reciprocally nodding in acknowledgment with King Luis of Portugal.

The nearby Queen Sophie also smiled, greeting Queen Maria and King Luis, then sat back down.

Ever since getting pregnant at the end of last October, Queen Sophie’s safety had become the Royal Family’s top priority. Carlo not only had the royal family’s private doctor move into the room adjacent to the Royal Palace but also increased Queen Sophie’s attendants.

This resulted in Queen Sophie being accompanied by over a hundred people whenever she went out, appearing rather grand.

Queen Sophie did complain that these people disturbed her interest in outings. But there was no choice, as a child, Carlo’s first, yet unborn, would be the first prince or princess of the Spanish Royal Family, deserving of great attention.

Even before the child’s birth, Carlo had begun choosing teachers for his son or daughter, preparing an extremely detailed elite aristocratic education.

If it’s a princess, the education won’t be as rigorous. After all, for Carlo, he should cherish his daughter. The wealth of the Spanish Royal Family is already abundant, with enough companies and businesses to ensure his child lives a very affluent life.

But if it’s a prince, then he shall be the primary heir to the throne. Including the subsequent princes, as long as they’re his sons, they must undergo a strict elite aristocratic education.

Even if not the king of Spain, they would certainly become highly noble Spanish aristocrats. There is also the possibility that, through certain opportunities, they may become a king of another country, much like how Carlo was elected king by another nation.

No matter the method, Carlo must ensure his child is an outstanding elite aristocrat, and not a wasteful spendthrift.

While Carlo acknowledges the stability brought by the primogeniture system, if his eldest son lacks exceptional ability, he would consider passing the throne to his other sons.

After all, this is not the era of autocratic monarchy, and even with a few incompetent kings, they could still maintain their throne. In the era of freedom and democracy, a king’s position itself is precarious.

If lacking ability, it is likely that a mistake could lead to the throne being abolished.

Carlo has no ambition for autocratic monarchy but also doesn’t want his hard-won stabilized throne wasted by his descendants.

Those who bear the crown must bear the weight. Without the ability, Carlo advises his descendants to enjoy aristocratic life safely rather than pursue the luxurious, noble yet risky crown that can lead to ruin.