Empire Rising: Spain

In order to seize the West Africa region before the Germans, as soon as Giotto and a group of officers safely reached the Congo Territory, they immediately began planning the war against the local indigenous people.

Although the Congo Territory had not yet expanded its military, it was Spain’s largest colony, naturally hosting the largest number of colonial troops.

Upon arriving at the Congo Territory, Giotto found that aside from being able to mobilize one Colonial Division, he could also deploy three Colonial Defense Corps to cooperate in combat.

The combined forces already exceeded 25,000 men, not to mention the possibility of attacking one indigenous power within the region, but also sweeping away several indigenous states in the western part of the Congo Territory.

Giotto understood the importance of quickly occupying West Africa for Spain, and without any hesitation, he issued his orders on the second day after reaching the Congo Territory.

The Colonial Division swiftly assembled in the Guinea region as the main force. This operation targeted the Bam Kingdom in northern Guinea, a historical indigenous state founded nearly 500 years ago.

Of course, regardless of how long-standing, such indigenous states stood no chance against the Spanish colonial troops.

Although the colonial troops were also composed of indigenous people, they were a qualified force with certain training. The soldiers all used rifles uniformly supplied by Spain, making their overall combat strength several levels above these untrained indigenous armies.

The Bam Kingdom was part of the Cameroon Region, naturally rich in resources and populated densely by indigenous people.

Unlike historical precedent, due to the expansion of the Congo Territory, Spain increased its investment in the Guinea Colony.

This also led Germany to penetrate the Cameroon Region later than historically, failing to seize Cameroon in 1884.

Because this land was part of the colonial consolidation plan devised by Carlo, Carlo would never allow Cameroon to be taken by the Germans.

The reason Giotto was so eager to launch the war was precisely to establish Spain’s ruling position in the Cameroon Region before the Germans.

In fact, a map would reveal that Spain already occupied most of the Cameroon Region. The only area outside Spanish control was just the Bam Kingdom.

Unlike the indigenous people in the areas already occupied by Spain, the Bam Kingdom’s level of civilization was higher than in the eastern region.

As early as the 15th century, Portuguese missionaries had arrived in this region, initiating a vigorous slave trade.

Although slave systems were abolished globally, the Bam Kingdom’s connections with European countries remained uninterrupted. Many missionaries opted to spread Christianity in this land while bringing advanced firearms and cannons to the indigenous people.

Of course, these missionaries and explorers were not disadvantaged. They took back gold and silver, along with vast quantities of ivory, palm oil, and timber.

Long-term trade with European missionaries and explorers had given the Bam Kingdom a certain military prowess. The kingdom had approximately 2 million people and had armed an army of over 30,000.

This army had more than 5,000 personnel equipped with various firearms and dozens of cannons of varying calibers.

Though the styles of firearms and cannons varied, it was undeniable that such an indigenous army equipped with advanced weapons posed a greater threat than other indigenous armies lacking firearms, even potentially causing significant casualties to the Spanish colonial troops.

Since Spain had more war plans to follow, the conflict with the Bam Kingdom could not afford excessive casualties.

Giotto sketched on maps and finally drew up a detailed attack plan against the Bam Kingdom.

The Bam Kingdom had no coastline, and most of the nation was mountainous. To the west of the Bam Kingdom was the Alo Alliance, a federation composed of many indigenous states.

Like the Bam Kingdom, the Alo Alliance generated some revenue through slave trade and export of palm oil and ivory, purchasing some weapons from missionaries and explorers.

To the north of the Bam Kingdom was the Sokoto Caliphate, the largest and most powerful indigenous power in the vicinity.

The Sokoto Caliphate was similarly a loose federation formed by many indigenous chiefdoms, with its supreme leader being the Caliph of Sokoto.

As the most powerful indigenous nation in West Africa, the Sokoto Caliphate had tens of millions of indigenous people and millions of non-Muslim slaves.

In theory, the Bam Kingdom, Alo Alliance, and Sokoto Caliphate all shared a common enemy, namely the European colonizers wanting to conquer this region.

However, the ethnic and religious differences among these three nations meant their relationships were not particularly favorable.

Giotto’s attack plan actually involved exploiting the conflicts among the indigenous people, ensuring other indigenous nations remained neutral while Spain attacked the Bam Kingdom, thus allowing Spain to conquer the Bam Kingdom unhurriedly.

Theoretically, it was very promising to maintain neutrality, with the Alo Alliance and Sokoto Caliphate.

As long as Spain did not wage war against them, these federations formed by multiple indigenous tribes were unlikely to unite as a force, given that indigenous people were not harmonious neighbors with one another.