Chapter 263: Colony Swap
From 1878 to 1880, these two years, the British Empire was absolutely the busiest country in the world.
Britain first intervened in the Russo-Turkish War with a strong stance, ensuring the safety of Constantinople and the stability of the Straits.
Subsequently, Britain successively launched the Anglo-Afghan War and the Zulu War, continuously expanding the scope of British colonies, which could be considered to have yielded considerable results.
But it was precisely these successive wars that put British finances under strain, forcing an increase in income tax on the bourgeoisie.
This caused the British Government to instantly lose the support of the bourgeoisie, and the once extremely popular Prime Minister Disraeli was also severely condemned for his aggressive diplomatic policy, ultimately losing the new round of cabinet elections.
In mid-1880, packaging himself as a zealous protector of weak ethnic groups and seizing every opportunity to accuse and oppose Prime Minister Disraeli, former Prime Minister Gladstone finally seized the chance, winning the election in one fell swoop and ascending to the Prime Minister’s throne once again.
During the election, Gladstone provocatively proposed, “Do you endorse or condemn Disraeli’s aggressive policy?”, which earned his Liberal Party a large number of votes.
And Gladstone, who opposed the aggressive policy, was also regarded by the British public as a hero opposing Disraeli’s conservative aggressive government, and even earned the reputation of being a friend of the Balkan Slavs.
After taking office as British Prime Minister, Gladstone was also well aware that he could no longer continue the wars launched by the Disraeli government.
These wars not only plunged the British Government into the quagmire of fiscal deficit, but also aroused anti-war sentiments among the British public.
Timely ending the wars was the slogan Gladstone proposed during the election; he could not go back on his word just because he had successfully become Prime Minister.
Under the orders of the new Prime Minister Gladstone, Britain soon ended the Anglo-Afghan War and announced that the British Empire would usher in a long-absent period of peace.
Peace is peace, but Gladstone’s ambition was in no way smaller than Disraeli’s. Since colonies could no longer be expanded through war, the goal of the British Empire could only shift from aggression to colonialism; after all, the final results obtained would be no different.
In mid-August 1880, as news of the Cuban Colony fermented, the British Government also paid attention to news of Spanish colonies.
That said, Britain had always been in a state of high attention toward Spain; even during Spain’s most weakened period, the British Government had not reduced its attention to Spain.
The reason was naturally that Spain’s geographical position was too important—it was the only estuary in the western Mediterranean Sea and also a traffic artery connecting Europe and Africa.
Spain’s geographical position was similar to that of the Ottoman Empire; both were connection points between Europe and Africa and possessed estuaries on both shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Britain had obtained the majority of shares in the Suez Canal through operations, which also allowed Britain to effectively control this extremely important traffic artery, the Suez Canal.
But Britain was not without opponents. Many European countries, including France, needed to pass through the Suez Canal to reach their various colonies.
It was only because France was still in a state of isolation that France had not yet raised objections regarding the Suez Canal.
This was also the reason why Britain took no action despite France being isolated by the Three Emperors Alliance of Germany, Austria, and Russia. The conflict between Britain and France remained quite intense, and the hatred between Britain and France was in no way less than that between Germany and France.
If it were merely a simple colonial rebellion, the British Government would not pay excessive attention. But along with the news of the Cuban Colony rebellion, there were also rumors that the Spanish Government might be forced to abandon the Cuban Colony.
Although it was just a rumor, upon careful thought, it did make some sense.
Even a power like the British Empire would have a day when it was dragged down by war. Although the Anglo-Afghan War and the Zulu War were both small-scale wars, they still caused the British Empire to face serious financial losses, ultimately forcing an increase in income tax on enterprises, which thoroughly offended the capitalist class to Prime Minister Disraeli.
The difficulty for Spain in suppressing the rebellion in Cuba was even lower, but the problem was that Cuba was separated from the Spanish Mainland by tens of thousands of miles.
Perhaps the military expenses Spain needed to suppress the Cuban Colony were much less than those Britain needed to launch wars, but do not forget that the comprehensive national strength and economic volume between Spain and Britain were not at all comparable.
Military expenses that could drag Spain down might not amount to much for the British Empire. Military expenses that could drag down the British Empire might directly cause Spain’s national bankruptcy or trigger a relatively serious economic crisis.
“Gentlemen, what do you think? If the Spaniards might abandon the Cuban Colony, what attitude should we maintain in this matter?” The new Prime Minister Gladstone’s sharp eyes turned to the cabinet ministers, posing the first question of this cabinet meeting.
Gladstone was the Liberal Party Leader; the Liberal Party government he formed was completely biased toward the bourgeoisie.
To gain the support of the bourgeoisie, Gladstone announced on his first day as Prime Minister the abolition of the decree by former Prime Minister Disraeli, canceling the additional income tax levied on capitalists.
Although this reduced the British Government’s income by a large amount, it did win the favor of the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie reciprocated by launching a public opinion offensive, quickly earning Gladstone the support of a large number of the public and workers.
Since it was a government formed by the Liberal Party, what the government cared about most was naturally interests related to capital.
Spain’s colonies were nothing special, but Cuba, as the world’s largest sugar producing region, had relatively high economic value among all colonies in the world.
The income brought by the sugar industry alone was a considerable figure, not to mention that Cuba’s geographical position was also very important—it could check the United States to the north and clamp down on South America to the south, making it a coveted strategic position in the era of colonial America.
“Prime Minister, this may be an opportunity for us.” As Prime Minister Gladstone’s confidant, the British Foreign Secretary stood up first and expressed his view: “
If Spain is unwilling to abandon Cuba, so be it; but if they are willing to abandon Cuba, I believe we have every reason to take this colony.
Cuba is the world’s largest cane sugar producing region; the cane sugar produced not only sells well in America but is also shipped in large quantities to Europe for sales every year.
If we can control the Cuban Colony, we can control the cane sugar trade in America, earn large revenues through the cane sugar trade, and compensate for the fiscal revenue lost after abolishing the additional income tax legislation.
In addition, Cuba’s strategic position is also very important. Cuba can connect with our Bahamas archipelago colony and Jamaican Colony, and when necessary, blockade the Gulf of Mexico to achieve the purpose of containing American expansion.
If the United States obtains this land, we will find it difficult to stop America’s southward expansion. Although the United States currently shows no great threat, on this land of America, no country of the same level can threaten America’s security.
If we do not contain America’s expansion, decades or even centuries from now, the American continent may give birth to a superpower beyond our imagination.”
Gladstone nodded but did not express his own view, instead turning his gaze to the other cabinet ministers.
A few seconds later, another cabinet minister stood up and expressed a completely opposite view: “Foreign Secretary, I completely oppose your view.
First of all, whether the Spaniards will abandon the Cuban Colony is a question worth considering.
Given the income and importance generated by the Cuban Colony, I believe the Spaniards are highly unlikely to abandon this land.
Even if they are willing to abandon the Cuban Colony, what price should we pay to obtain this land?
Apart from India, Canada, Australia, and South Africa, we have no colonies that can match the economic value of the Cuban Colony.
The importance of the Straits Settlements can rival the Cuban Colony, but are we really willing to give up the entire Straits Settlements for a Cuba?
To make the Spaniards agree to abandon the Cuban Colony, we must pay an equivalent price. Such an exchange condition may not be advantageous for us; it would be better to wait and see the attitudes of other countries for now, as the Spanish Government has not made any relevant statements anyway.”
Although the British Empire was the world’s most powerful colonial empire, the British Empire did not have many large colonies.
Of course, the main reason among these was still that the British Empire’s colonies were too vast. Canada, India, and Australia were all lands with areas of millions or even tens of millions of square kilometers, and the Indian Colony even had a population of hundreds of millions.
These colonies were certainly impossible to exchange with Spain; let alone a small Cuba—even Spain’s mainland would absolutely not match the value of the harvest brought by one India to the British Empire.
Apart from these three large colonies—Canada, India, and Australia—the colonies Britain could offer were only the Cape Colony and the Straits Settlements.
The Cape Colony is located at the southernmost tip of Africa, that is, South Africa in posterity. Britain could not possibly abandon the Cape Colony; this not only concerned Britain’s plans for connecting African colonies but also Britain’s deployments in the South Africa region.
The Straits Settlements were not as important as South Africa, but due to their important geographical position, they also played a considerable role at the strategic level.
These colonies were not easily abandonable for the British Empire; even if used to exchange for the Cuban Colony, the British were not very willing.
Apart from these large colonies and those with high strategic value, the remaining British colonies were relatively small, and their value was not too high either.
Representatives of these colonies included the Bahamas archipelago near Cuba, Jamaica, Honduras, Guyana, and Africa’s Gold Coast, Gambia, Sierra Leone, and so on.
There were countless such small colonies; some had populations of tens to hundreds of thousands, while others were directly archipelagos composed of one or a few small islands, with populations at most a few thousand, or even just a few hundred.
It was obviously wishful thinking to exchange such small colonies for Spain’s Cuban Colony.
The British Government itself thought it impossible upon reflection; how could the Spaniards agree to such conditions?
Hearing the completely different rebuttal, British Prime Minister Gladstone also nodded, and the enthusiasm in his heart was somewhat extinguished.
To obtain the Cuban Colony, equivalent interests had to be paid—at least not differing too much.
Spain was a great power nation after all; Britain’s tactics of strong-arm seizure would not work on Spain.
If it were Spain’s weakened period, it would be fine—even offending the Spaniards would be acceptable. But the current Spain was one the British did not want to offend; Spain had good diplomatic relations with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, and France also relied on Spain to break through Germany’s blockade.
In such a situation, Spain was not very afraid of Britain’s threats. Britain’s gradual control of the Mediterranean shores’ estuaries had already aroused dissatisfaction among European countries; if it became even more unrestrained, there would inevitably come a day of reckoning.
Although Britain was the world’s number one great power, Britain’s strength was clearly not strong enough to confront all European countries.
Especially when the British public was already weary of war, how to obtain the Cuban Colony in a peaceful environment was the problem the British Government needed to consider.
Although the rebuttal side’s view was also very reasonable, the Foreign Secretary also raised new opinions: “
We indeed do not know Spain’s attitude, but Spain’s attitude can be manipulated by us.
If we add fuel to the fire in the Cuban Colony, even if Spain does not want to abandon Cuba, it must consider the harm brought by continuing to control Cuba.
Gentlemen, in the end, Spain’s industry and economy remain at the bottom among the great powers. A frequently rebelling Cuba is a quagmire Spain can never escape for Spain; they also have to consider the normal development of the country, right?
Madrid’s Nightless City and trams look brilliant, but this was born under the Spanish Royal Family’s massive investment in research.
Our government needs large funds to build London’s Nightless City; the funds Spain invested in Madrid’s Nightless City and trams would only be more.
In such a situation, the Spaniards definitely would not want to invest too much funds into military expenses, and they certainly do not have too much funds available for military expenses.
If the Spaniards are unwilling to abandon the Cuban Colony, we can simply make the Cuban Colony even more chaotic, forcing the Spaniards to abandon the Cuban Colony.
For a Cuban Colony already out of control, its value will definitely drop significantly. When Spain can no longer suppress the Cuban rebellion, we can then negotiate colony exchange with Spain, and the price to pay will be much less.
For us, this is an opportunity that absolutely cannot be abandoned. If we can obtain a relatively large-scale colony through peaceful means, it can not only avoid public dissatisfaction but also enhance our achievements, right?”
