Empire Rise: Spain

Chapter 220: Cuban Rebellion And Colonial Substitution

In July 1877, just as the development of various departments in Spain was thriving, news from across the Atlantic Ocean immediately wiped the smiles off the faces of the Spanish Government.

Shortly after Carlo was crowned King of Spain, the Spanish Government had dispatched an expeditionary army to Cuba to quell the rebellion.

At that time, Cuba was not only one of Spain’s few large colonies, but also the Spanish Government’s treasure trove.

The territory of the Cuban Colony was less than 110,000 square kilometers, with a population of just over 1 million.

But it was this land of modest area that provided the Spanish Government with substantial fiscal revenue every year.

With the development of the Industrial Revolution, the demand for cane sugar from countries in Europe and America continued to increase. In 1840 alone, the total cane sugar production in Cuba exceeded the combined output of the British West Indies.

By around 1860, Cuba’s annual cane sugar production had broken through 500,000 tons, accounting for more than one-third of the world’s annual cane sugar output.

It was precisely because of Cuba’s enormous cane sugar production that it earned the title of the world’s sugar bowl. Relying solely on cane sugar exports brought massive profits each year, not to mention the large amounts of tobacco and coffee planted in Cuba.

It is well known that Western countries’ colonialism was accompanied by brutal oppression and exploitation. Spain gained massive interests from Cuba every year, which caused some dissatisfaction among the native-born whites in Cuba.

Although they also had Spanish bloodlines, they had no deep connections with Spain. Their ancestors had crossed the ocean to come to Cuba, not so that after finally becoming prosperous, they would still suffer exploitation by the Spanish Government. Precisely because of this, the native whites in Cuba grew increasingly dissatisfied with the Spanish Colonial Government, and they were one of the main culprits behind the constant planning of independence movements in Cuba.

But the population of these whites was just over 450,000; they were merely one of the ethnic groups on this land in Cuba opposing Spanish colonial rule.

In addition to these whites born in Cuba, the black slaves who had already gained free civilian status and the indigenous people of Cuba were also opponents of Spanish colonial rule.

Apart from the blacks who were still slaves, almost all residents on this land in Cuba opposed Spain’s colonial rule.

In history, Spain consumed too much energy and funds in quelling the rebellion in Cuba, which not only caused Spain to miss its golden development window, but also depleted Spain’s national strength.

Carlo naturally knew that the complex situation in Cuba was not just a natural evolution; behind it were the machinations of the British and Americans.

The British reputation as European shit-stirrers in Europe was beyond doubt, and Cuba was originally a land of immense value; it would be strange if the British did not pay attention to Cuba.

For the United States, this land of Cuba was a colony right at their doorstep; it was impossible for them not to have ideas about it.

It was just that Spain’s strength had previously been too powerful, giving the Americans no desire to oppose Spain. During Queen Isabella’s rule, Spain’s overall strength continued to weaken, naturally leading the Americans to develop other ideas.

Even though Spain had achieved some recovery under Carlo’s rule, the Americans had also made certain developments during this period.

For the Americans, this land of Cuba had become an indispensable territory. Whenever Spain fell into chaos again, that might be the time for the Americans to make their move on Cuba.

Although Carlo was well aware of the chaotic situation in Cuba at this time, for him, this was also the opportunity he had painstakingly awaited.

What opportunity? Of course, the opportunity to exchange Cuba for other colonies with greater utility.

Cuba was naturally an excellent colony, providing far more interests to Spain each year than underdeveloped colonies like the Philippine Colony and Congo Territory.

But Cuba’s flaw was its location right at the doorstep of the United States. Because it was separated from the Spanish Mainland by an entire Atlantic Ocean, and Spain had already lost most of its colonies in America, Spain found it difficult to exert sufficient influence over Cuba.

The whites and blacks in Cuba were both resisting Spanish colonial rule; one reason was that Spain’s colonial rule was too cruel, and another was that Spain was too far away to effectively control Cuba.

For Carlo, Cuba had already become a colony not worth investing in. With both Britain and the United States coveting Cuba, it would be very difficult for Spain to hold onto it.

Even if they could win the Spanish-American War against the United States in the future, it would seem somewhat unnecessary. If they could exchange Cuba for other more valuable colonies and invest the time and funds into those more valuable colonies, wouldn’t that be more beneficial for Spain?

They could even achieve some of Carlo’s purposes through the exchange of the Cuban Colony. The United States had long coveted Cuba; if they traded Cuba to superpowers like Britain and France, would the Americans still dare to launch a war to seize Cuba?

The answer was, of course, no.

What great power would the United States be without colonies? At best, just an upstart with relatively developed industry and economy.

As long as the United States did not take the first step toward expansion, it would be difficult for them to exert influence on the international stage.

Despite the United States currently having a population and industrial economy far surpassing Spain’s, in terms of international influence and status, the United States was far inferior to Europe’s five traditional great powers, only slightly better than Spain and Italy.

After learning that another rebellion against colonial rule had erupted in Cuba, Carlo immediately convened a cabinet meeting, demanding that the cabinet ministers come up with a solution.

The rebellion in Cuba had drawn the highest attention from the Spanish Government, as Cuba was still of great importance to Spain at this time.

Although Spain had acquired several colonies through multiple expansions, the ones actually generating positive returns were only the Cuban Colony and the Philippine Colony.

The positive returns from the Philippine Colony were obtained by the Spanish Government continuously exploiting the local indigenous population, and this return was not much; most of it was reinvested into the expansion of the colony.

Only the Cuban Colony, relying on the cane sugar trade, became Spain’s most profitable colony, which was also why the Spanish Government in history was willing to invest 700 million pesos in the Cuban War of Independence.

This military expense amounted to 27 million pounds sterling, enough to build nearly 50 ironclad ships. The Spanish Government poured all this military expense into the Cuban War of Independence, only to gain a decade-plus of calm in Cuba.

After the Ten Years’ War, the local whites in Cuba still remained dissatisfied with Spanish colonial rule, ultimately calling for another uprising in January 1895, forcing Spain to agree to Cuban autonomy.

Spain now was much stronger and had the ability to suppress the rebellion in Cuba. But the problem was, one could be a thief for a thousand days, but who could guard against thieves for a thousand days?

The problem in Cuba was very difficult to deal with; its root was the conflict between the native whites in Cuba and the Spanish Colonial Government.

Unless Spain was willing to give up some interests and allow Cuba to achieve autonomy, perhaps it could calm Cuba for a period.

But the question was, what value would an autonomous Cuba have for Spain? An autonomous Cuba would definitely keep most of its interests domestically, and Spain would earn no money, naturally having no reason to continue holding this colony.

If it were the blacks in the colony opposing Spanish colonial rule, the problem would be easy to solve—just eliminate those blacks.

As long as the blacks were gone, the problem would be gone.

But the problem was that those opposing Spanish colonial rule in Cuba currently were not just the blacks, but also the whites born in Cuba and the local indigenous people.

Perhaps the only ones not strongly opposing the Spanish Colonial Government were the small number of indentured Han Chinese laborers in Cuba. These laborers had the lowest status in Cuba; the ones enslaving and oppressing them were the local white plantation owners, and the ones bullying them were the local black free civilians and black slaves, so they naturally harbored no deep hatred toward the Spanish Colonial Government.

They couldn’t possibly eliminate all these whites opposing the Spanish Colonial Government as well, could they? Cuba was already coveted by Britain and the United States; if Spain made a big show of dealing with the whites, it would inevitably provoke intervention from Britain and the United States.

But if these white populations could not be dealt with, the resistance in the Cuban Colony against Spain would persist, forming a vicious cycle.

The more white population in Cuba, the stronger the force resisting Spanish colonial rule. Therefore, for Spain now, there was actually no choice.

If Spain had a population of tens of millions, it could dilute Cuba’s population through mass immigration, allowing true Spaniards to take charge in Cuba and thereby alter the will of the Cuban Colony.

But the problem was that Spain’s population was only at the level of less than 20 million, making large-scale immigration to Cuba impossible.

To dilute the population opposing the Spanish Colonial Government in Cuba, at least a million immigrants to Cuba would be needed.

The Spanish Government lacked such strength; losing a million people would cause heavy losses to the Spanish Mainland, and even if they could control Cuba, it wouldn’t be worth it.

Moreover, Spain’s mass immigration would certainly provoke hostility from the native whites in Cuba. They already opposed Spanish colonial rule; if Spain aggressively immigrated, it would definitely lead them to plan larger-scale rebellions, making the current situation in Cuba even more chaotic.

Looking at the cabinet members before him, Carlo’s expression was grave as he spoke first: “Everyone, speak up—what should be done about the Cuban rebellion?”

Grand Duke Serrano spoke first: “Your Majesty, give me one more chance, and I will thoroughly stabilize the situation in Cuba.

Perhaps we should also strengthen the garrison in Cuba; as long as we have enough troops guarding Cuba, there will be no need to worry about problems in Cuba.”

The last time the rebellion in Cuba was quelled, it was Grand Duke Serrano who led the army there, so after this new rebellion in Cuba, Grand Duke Serrano was the first to step forward with his opinion.

Only seven years had passed since the last quelling of the rebellion, which made Grand Duke Serrano, who had previously returned in triumph and sworn that Cuba would never have problems again, lose all face.

For Grand Duke Serrano, he needed an opportunity to prove his ability again, such as quelling the rebellion in Cuba in even less time while ensuring it would not happen again, and so on.

Carlo nodded. Regardless of what Carlo truly thought, the rebellion in Cuba definitely needed to be quelled.

Even if they wanted to exchange colonies, a stable Cuba could command a high price. If Cuba continued to be so chaotic, the overall value of the colony would certainly plummet.

However, Carlo did not rush to state his position, instead turning his gaze to Minister of Colonial Affairs Count Frank beside him.

Even before convening this cabinet meeting, Carlo had had a brief meeting with Minister of Colonial Affairs Count Frank and issued him an order.

What order? Naturally, to propose the idea of colonial exchange at this cabinet meeting.

Although Carlo wanted to exchange the Cuban Colony out of consideration for Spain’s interests, it was undeniable that the Cuban Colony was still Spain’s most valuable colony at this time, far surpassing the value of other colonies compared to a small Cuba.

Proposing the exchange of the Cuban Colony at this time would, in the eyes of ordinary civilians, amount to abandoning Spain’s colonial system with their own hands.

Would Spain without the Cuban Colony still be the third largest colonial empire? Were they to rely on colonies like the Philippines, South Morocco, and Guinea to serve as facades?

Without exaggeration, the combined income of the Philippine, South Morocco, and Guinea colonies did not match that of a small Cuban Colony.

The person who first proposed the colonial exchange would absolutely face a storm of public opinion from Spanish civilians. If not handled well, this proposer could face backlash from the public, completely ending their political career.

For Carlo, the one proposing this could certainly not be himself. Even if the exchanged colonies would have immense value in the future, at this time their value was definitely not as high as the Cuban Colony.

Before the truth came out, whoever proposed the colonial exchange would face attacks from public opinion.

Even if the proposer of the colonial exchange was King Carlo, he could still be besieged by the furious public.

Therefore, for the stability of the throne, the proposal for colonial exchange could only be led by other officials.

Among the cabinet departments, there were three cabinet ministers to whom Carlo could issue orders: Cánovas, as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry; Hovelial as Minister of Agriculture; and Count Frank as Minister of Colonial Affairs.

Why did Carlo ultimately choose Count Frank?

First, Cánovas was Carlo’s selected candidate for the next Prime Minister, so he was definitely not suitable to propose the colonial exchange.

If Cánovas were to face public dissatisfaction for proposing the colonial exchange, Carlo’s entire layout in the cabinet would be wasted. And Carlo had no other sufficiently senior candidate for the next Prime Minister; if the new Prime Minister could not suppress the cabinet and other parties, Spain could very well fall into chaos again.

Why not have Minister Hovelial propose the colonial exchange? Because Minister Hovelial was the Minister of Agriculture and had no connection to the Cuban Colony.

Count Frank, as Minister of Colonial Affairs, proposing something related to colonies was perfectly natural.

Even if he were swept up in public anger for proposing colonial exchange, he could at least defend himself from the perspective of Spain’s interests.

The position of Minister of Colonial Affairs was one added to the cabinet by Carlo during the interim cabinet period; originally, the Minister of Colonial Affairs was a departmental minister under the Prime Minister and had no qualification to join the Spanish Cabinet.

For Count Frank, his entry into the Spanish Cabinet was entirely due to Carlo’s promotion, which was also why Carlo decided to have him propose the colonial exchange.

If the colonial exchange proposal ultimately failed, Carlo would not mistreat Frank. It would just mean sidelining Frank for a while until the public’s dissatisfaction subsided, then transferring Frank to another important position.

Moreover, Count Frank stepping forward for Carlo was not without reward; during their previous brief meeting, Carlo had promised that as long as he proposed the colonial exchange at this cabinet meeting, regardless of whether it succeeded or failed, he would receive a ducal title in the future.

A ducal title as reward also led Count Frank to ultimately agree to Carlo’s proposal.

Seeing Carlo’s gaze, Minister of Colonial Affairs Count Frank knew it was time for him to perform.

Count Frank slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over the cabinet ministers, then slowly said: “Everyone, I have an idea.

The Cuban Colony is very important to us, but is it worth us repeatedly investing massive military expenses to quell the rebellion in Cuba?

Only seven years have passed since the last quelling of the rebellion in Cuba, and the military expenses last time exceeded 50 million pesetas.

If we cannot ensure the long-term stability of the Cuban Colony, forgive my bluntness, but the Cuban Colony is not that important to us.”

Count Frank’s words were shocking; upon hearing them, the cabinet ministers all turned surprised gazes toward him.

Regardless of the cabinet ministers’ attitudes toward Count Frank’s words, the fact that Count Frank could say such things in this setting was enough to surprise the cabinet ministers.

This was a meeting of the Spanish Cabinet Government, with King Carlo of Spain also participating. Without exaggeration, saying even one wrong sentence in such a meeting could end one’s political career.

What Count Frank said was not just enough to end his political career; it could even turn him into the public enemy of all Spaniards.

There was no need to elaborate on how important the Cuban Colony was; if even the Cuban Colony was not important, wouldn’t that mean all the other colonies were worthless wastelands?

“Minister Frank, what exactly are you saying?” Grand Duke Serrano could not hold back first and stood up to ask.

Everyone was equally a noble; Grand Duke Serrano did not want to see Minister Frank make such shocking statements in this setting.

After all, not everyone in the cabinet meeting was a noble; there were also members of the Progressive Party and Liberal Party. Even if Carlo did not blame him for it, wouldn’t those Progressive Party and Liberal Party members launch an impeachment?

As a cabinet minister, how could Minister Frank fail to exercise caution in speech?

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