Empire Rising: Spain

This Cabinet meeting naturally focused on more than just the issue of technical schools. The execution status of two previously announced bills was also within the scope of discussion of this Cabinet meeting.

Of course, there were also newly arisen issues in the colonies, including railway construction and so on. In short, the meeting lasted a very long time, and the number of issues discussed reached dozens.

Carlo listened to the entire Cabinet Government meeting, but rarely expressed his own opinions. After all, the current Cabinet Government is still dominated by Prime Minister Prim, who, although pleased to see Carlo participate in that meeting, would not necessarily be pleased to see Carlo dictating at the government meetings.

To promote reforms in the Spanish Government, Prime Minister Prim certainly has his own plans. Whether such plans align with the future development of Spain, at present, it is not the time for Carlo to intervene in government reforms.

When Carlo gradually gains certain authority in the future, he will participate more in governmental decisions and make broader modifications to the reforms initiated by Prime Minister Prim and earlier Kingdom of Spain’s systems, ensuring that Spain, this great ship, moves forward at a stable pace.

Apart from Spain’s domestic development and reforms, the Cabinet meeting revolved most around current issues within the colonies.

The Cuban Colony indeed succeeded in quelling the rebellion, but the Spanish Government also conceded a significant step to the Cuban Government. The Cuban Government now holds more power, and the large number of Cubans hostile toward Spain means the Cuban situation is not very stable.

It may be possible to rely on this calm for several years, but new issues will inevitably arise in the future of Cuba, and another outbreak of rebellion several years later is not impossible.

Compared to Cuba, Carlo actually cares more about the newly established South Morocco Colony in Spain.

Though Cuba provides the Spanish Government with an income dozens of times greater than the South Morocco Colony, internal issues are also frequent in Cuba.

No matter how big the problems in the South Morocco Colony, because of its proximity to Spain’s mainland, the cost of quelling a rebellion is relatively low.

But the Cuban Colony is different. Even if Cuba’s issues are internal rebellions, it still requires the Spanish Army to cross the ocean and the Atlantic Ocean to quell the rebellion.

The transportation cost over the ocean is enough to give the Spanish Government a headache, not to mention that there is another country on the other side of the ocean coveting Cuba.

Even just dealing with the internal rebellions in Cuba is enough to lead the Spanish Government to waste a large amount of funds and resources, which is not beneficial for Spain’s development.

If Americans get involved, the cost for Spain to quell the rebellion will increase exponentially, and the difficulty will grow geometrically.

For Carlo, the issue with the Cuban Colony is not whether it can be maintained but whether it is necessary to maintain it.

The Cuban Colony’s significance to Spain is as the remaining American Colonies, and it is the only colony capable of generating positive returns, with not low income.

The Cuban Colony has only one economic pillar—that is the sugar industry. According to intelligence from the Spanish Government on the Cuban Colony, Cuba’s current annual sugar production is about 600,000 tons, with over 2,500 factories dedicated to sugar production.

It should be noted that Cuba’s total population is only about 1 million, among which the core population, namely Spanish descendants and Spanish mestizos, accounts for only about 55%.

With the population of merely hundreds of thousands supporting over 2,000 sugar production factories, this is a testament to the importance of the sugar industry to Cuba.

The sugar industry not only creates enormous wealth for Cuba but also allows Spain, as Cuba’s suzerain, to receive a substantial annual income.

However, regardless, the size of the Cuban Colony and its economic pillar industry ultimately have their limits.

Moreover, as many Cubans desire independence, it will become increasingly difficult for Spain to control Cuba in the future.

Rather than being trapped in such a small place like Cuba, it’s better to find an appropriate opportunity to let go of Cuba while maximizing expansion in the African Colony for a new round of colonial exploitation.

The era of the Spanish Empire is quite distant, which makes many unfamiliar with Spain’s colonial policy.

People only know about the brutal exploitation by European Powers of African Colonies in the 18th and 19th centuries but are unaware that in the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain’s exploitation of colonies was far more brutal than that of the later European Powers.

While Europeans generally despise the lives of indigenous people in colonies, they would not be as cruel as to kill indiscriminately.

Take, for example, the Belgian King later in Congo, whose brutal colonial policy eventually led to Congo transitioning from the Belgian King’s private domain to a Belgian government-controlled colony under intervention from the Powers, ending the brutal colonial regime of Belgian King Leopold II.

Spain’s rule in American Colonies is analogous to Leopold II’s rule in Congo, primarily focusing on four things: mining, establishing plantations, capturing slaves, and racial genocide.

The native people of Cuba are Indians, but up till now, Spaniards, Spanish mestizos, and blacks are the three main ethnic groups in Cuba, followed by Asians, and lastly, the original inhabitants, Indians.

The fact that native Indians have become one of the least populous ethnicities in Cuba is inextricably linked to the brutal colonial policies carried out by Spain during its rule over Cuba.

Spain implemented a large-scale racial genocide in Cuba, slaughtering the vast majority of Indians, forcibly making whites the predominant nationality in Cuba.

As for why there is such a large population of blacks, actually, most of these blacks were plantation slaves without human rights, akin to livestock raised by the whites.

Despite the Spanish Government having long issued decrees abolishing slavery during the Provisional Government era, that is in 1869, these decrees were ineffective for colonies, and slavery still exists in the Cuban Colony where the majority of blacks are white men’s slaves with only a small number having freedom rights.

However, this does not mean that blacks with freedom rights can become normal Cuban citizens. Whether in colonies like Cuba or in Europe, blacks face discrimination from whites regardless of whether they have so-called freedom rights.

This phenomenon is equally prevalent and common in the United States. Although the United States abolished slavery through the Civil War, liberating blacks, their actual human rights have not been effectively improved.

The blacks in the United States only enjoy legal freedom, but politically, economically, and socially, they remain at the bottom layer of American society.

The so-called black citizens in the United States face extremely strict restrictions in terms of voting and eligibility for elections, leading to the rarity of black-origin officials in the United States.

Those lighter factory and company positions generally do not hire blacks, and blacks can only apply for those that are arduous and low-paying.

Aside from these, blacks and their children face significant restrictions in education and healthcare.

Although they are also American citizens, it is entirely impossible for blacks and their children to attend school with whites; they can only crowd into poorer-conditioned black schools, unable even to complete a full elementary education.

A large number of blacks are confined to a certain area and cannot move freely within the United States. The areas where blacks congregate gradually evolve into the slums of the United States, where order is chaotic, and crime incidents occasionally occur.

In existence seemingly endless till later generations, the United States still harbors black slums. Along with the fact that the United States does not ban firearms, these slums frequently witness various criminal activities, occasionally involving homicides.

In this era, racial discrimination by whites against blacks is unparalleled. Since most police officers in the United States are white, when blacks encounter white police officers, their life or death is determined by that police officer’s discretion.

However, white police officers generally do not venture into black gathering areas since those blacks, when pushed, are capable of anything.

However, if any blacks are found leaving their designated area unauthorized, they might be met with empty magazines.

Returning to Spain’s colonial situation.

Compared to African Colonies, Cuba and Puerto Rico, including past independents like Mexico and Argentina, have more white population, and they are mainly Spaniards or Spanish descendants.

But due to the brutal exploitation by the Spanish Government of these colonies, these colonies have a strong inclination towards independence, with many Spanish mestizos holding little goodwill toward Spain.

Those who truly still love this nation are those of pure lineage and have not been in the colony for a long period, the Spaniards themselves.

But the fact these individuals immigrated abroad demonstrates their inability to sustain themselves in the Spanish mainland or that abroad offers higher incomes and opportunities.

It is very difficult to get them to return to Spain, at least not achievable in the short term. Since many population cannot be absorbed from Latin America, it is better to focus currently on assimilating the Moroccan population.

Moroccans are also white, and their appearances are quite similar to that of Spaniards.

The key differences between Spaniards and Moroccans are language and religious discrepancies, which can be eradicated through long-term assimilation.

Compared to the distant American colony, Cuba, which is separated by only a strait from Spain’s mainland, Morocco is clearly the better choice.

Anyhow, Morocco’s development potential is still larger than Cuba’s. The population of Morocco is several times that of Cuba, and the land area is more than ten times that of Cuba.

Although currently Cuba can generate economic value unmatched by Morocco, if discussing future influences and contributions to Spain, even two Cubas might not equal one Morocco.