Chapter 291: The Death Of Prime Minister Primo
Facts have proven that Umberto I indeed made a good move regarding Garibaldi’s funeral.
As a nationally renowned hero in Europe and America, news of Garibaldi’s death shocked all of Europe and also attracted attention from many countries in America.
Due to distance reasons, American countries could only have their ambassadors stationed in Rome fully represent them to attend Garibaldi’s funeral and commemorate this famous classical hero in Europe and America.
Countries that were relatively close all dispatched their own representatives, without exception even for great powers such as France and Germany.
It is not common in Europe for a funeral to attract attention from so many countries. Aside from those long-standing great nobles and the rulers of various countries, few people’s funerals could attract attention from so many countries.
Thanks to the generous donation from the Italian Royal Family, Garibaldi’s funeral became even more grand and luxurious.
Although Garibaldi’s last wish was to be buried in the family cemetery on Caprera Island, this did not mean that the entire funeral process needed to take place on Caprera Island.
In fact, the funeral was held at the San Lorenzo Cathedral in Genoa. Garibaldi’s body would be kept here for a few days for the public to pay respects and mourn.
On June 3, 1882, Italy dispatched naval warships to transport Garibaldi’s body from Caprera Island to Genoa.
Behind the warships, civilian ships of various sizes spontaneously followed, forming an extremely spectacular funeral fleet.
Italians spontaneously stopped work and classes, rushing to Genoa to pay respects to this national hero. The Italian Government simply announced a nationwide suspension of work and classes, gaining another wave of goodwill.
The funeral process was not much different from the funeral processes of European nobles. Garibaldi’s body was transported successively through the Genoa port and the dockyard where he worked in his youth, then arrived at the San Lorenzo Cathedral.
After being kept for three days, Garibaldi’s body was hurriedly transported back to Caprera Island nonstop and buried in the family cemetery after the funeral was completed.
After the entire funeral process ended, many Italian people were still unwilling to leave. Caprera Island, with an area of only 16 square kilometers, almost instantly became a famous attraction in Italy, with dozens or hundreds of people landing on the island every day to commemorate Garibaldi.
If not for the small island area and the relatively small port, there would probably be even more Italians coming to Caprera Island every day.
When Butler Loren returned to Spain, it was already several days later.
Giuseppe stayed in Italy, planning to spend more time with his mother before returning to Spain.
Originally, Giuseppe planned to invite his mother and his sister’s family to live in Spain. Being in Spain, they could look after each other, and his position as Commander-in-Chief of the Guard was sufficient to support a large family.
But Giuseppe’s proposal was quickly rejected by his mother. She and Garibaldi had lived in seclusion on this island for more than ten years, so naturally she did not want to move to Spain again.
Moreover, with Garibaldi already buried on Caprera Island, she did not plan to leave her husband.
Giuseppe was helpless and could only spend as much time as possible with his mother and sister, leaving them a sum of money to ensure their livelihood.
In fact, Garibaldi’s later years were not as destitute as in history. Because as early as more than ten years ago, Garibaldi had published articles in newspapers, he had earned a lot of royalties over these years.
The royalties Garibaldi earned added up to at least one million lira, which was no small amount.
Just this money alone was enough for Giuseppe’s mother and sister to live well. Giuseppe knew they were not short of money, but he still left a large sum.
This could also be seen as Giuseppe’s guilt and compensation. After going to Spain to take office, Giuseppe had almost no chance to stay by his family’s side.
Since the last time Carlo moved to Spain and Giuseppe met Garibaldi, Garibaldi had not seen his two sons again until his death.
For Carlo, Garibaldi’s funeral, which had already passed, was no longer important.
Because on the day Butler Loren returned, Primó’s doctor reported to Carlo that Prime Minister Primó was critically ill and could pass away from illness at any time.
Although Carlo had long been prepared, when he learned that Prime Minister Primó was critically ill, he still could not help but sigh.
In recent years, people familiar to Carlo had been leaving him one after another.
Vittorio Emanuele II was the first, Garibaldi the second, and now it was Prime Minister Primó’s turn.
However, to put it another way, in this era with extremely poor medical conditions, being able to live this long was fortunate for them.
Even the youngest among them, Vittorio Emanuele II, was nearly 58 years old when he died. It was not a ripe old age, but nor could it be considered dying young.
The arrival of bad news is very sudden.
On the third day after the doctor notified Carlo that Prime Minister Primó was critically ill, that is, June 13, 1882, Prime Minister Primó had already stopped breathing.
After learning of Prime Minister Primó’s death, Carlo immediately rushed to the hospital where Prime Minister Primó was. This former prime minister’s death also alarmed the Spanish Government, and most officials of the cabinet government went to pay respects.
Looking at Prime Minister Primó, who had already stopped breathing on the hospital bed, Carlo sighed helplessly again, then discussed the details of Prime Minister Primó’s funeral with Prime Minister Cánovas.
As Spain’s former prime minister, Prime Minister Primó’s funeral would certainly be held grandly. Like Garibaldi, Prime Minister Primó was also Spain’s national hero, and he naturally qualified for the highest level of funeral treatment.
Carlo specifically instructed Prime Minister Cánovas that when holding the funeral for Prime Minister Primó, there was no need to worry about expenses.
Carlo planned to donate 500,000 pesetas for the funeral expenses, and the government only needed to cover the remaining shortfall.
Prime Minister Cánovas naturally had no objection. Both emotionally and rationally, he had to strongly support holding a grand funeral for Prime Minister Primó.
More than ten years had passed since Carlo ascended the throne, yet Spain had only produced three prime ministers so far.
Grand Duke Serrano, who served as prime minister during the interim cabinet period, was a special case; he served as prime minister only to transition between Prime Minister Primó and Prime Minister Cánovas.
This actually meant that the power in Prime Minister Cánovas’s hands had been inherited from Prime Minister Primó.
As early as during Prime Minister Primó’s tenure, Count Cánovas had successively served as Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Industry, and Prime Minister Primó had taught him a great deal at that time.
It was precisely because of Prime Minister Primó’s guidance that Cánovas honed sufficient ability, ultimately smoothly taking over the authority of prime minister and becoming an existence in Spain second only to one man but above ten thousand.
For Prime Minister Cánovas, holding a grand funeral for Prime Minister Primó was also good for himself.
The extent to which Spain valued its former prime ministers meant the extent to which the future Spanish government would value him after Prime Minister Cánovas retired.
Although Prime Minister Cánovas currently enjoyed Carlo’s deep trust, who could guarantee that he would always remain seated on the prime minister’s throne?
For Prime Minister Cánovas, ensuring a good end after retirement was as important as staying in office.
After Carlo and Cánovas reached a consensus, there was no longer any suspense regarding the expenses for Prime Minister Primó’s funeral.
This funeral would be held to an extremely high specification, and Prime Minister Primó was about to become the first person buried in the Iberian Cathedral.
The Iberian Cathedral was the church ordered to be built by Carlo and was also the cathedral directly under Spain’s archbishop.
In Carlo’s plan, future coronation ceremonies for Spanish kings, as well as weddings and funerals for royal family members, would all be held at the Iberian Cathedral, which also showed Carlo’s emphasis on Prime Minister Primó from this aspect.
The Iberian Cathedral would bury meritorious officials who had made outstanding contributions to Spain. After Prime Minister Primó, there would be more people buried in the Iberian Cathedral.
Of course, to highlight the merits of those buried in the cathedral, the final number of people buried there would not be too many—full count just over a hundred.
To plan for the future, during Carlo’s reign, he would only select a dozen or so meritorious officials with outstanding contributions to be buried in the Iberian Cathedral.
This also meant that whoever could ultimately receive this honor would be remembered by history and become Spain’s most outstanding politician or general during Carlo’s rule.
When they learned that Prime Minister Primó would be buried in the Iberian Cathedral, neither Grand Duke Serrano nor Prime Minister Cánovas showed the slightest surprise.
Both emotionally and rationally, Prime Minister Primó was the most qualified to be buried in the Iberian Cathedral.
It was precisely because Prime Minister Primó died the earliest that the order of those buried in the Iberian Cathedral became reasonable.
In the entire Spanish political arena and military, there was no longer anyone whose merits could compare to Prime Minister Primó.
Spain’s ability to achieve revival was absolutely due in great part to the reforms promoted by Prime Minister Primó. This also made Prime Minister Primó’s merits far exceed those of Grand Duke Serrano, truly the number one civil and military official in Spain.
According to the Spanish Government’s plan, Prime Minister Primó’s funeral would be held on June 17,
This included three days to notify various countries. After all, Prime Minister Primó was Spain’s former prime minister, and countries with relations to Spain would definitely dispatch representatives to attend Prime Minister Primó’s funeral.
These three days were also the time for Spain to prepare the funeral. Prime Minister Primó’s funeral was destined to be very grand, and without sufficient preparation time, an anticlimactic funeral would be a joke.
Whether out of respect for Prime Minister Primó or to maintain national prestige, no problems were allowed in any part of Prime Minister Primó’s funeral process, and security during the funeral would also be strictly controlled.
When Spain announced Prime Minister Primó’s death to the outside world, the Spanish Government immediately received replies from European countries.
Although both were national heroes, Prime Minister Primó and Garibaldi were different. Garibaldi also enjoyed enormous prestige in Europe and America, which was why those American countries took the initiative to dispatch representatives to attend Garibaldi’s funeral.
Prime Minister Primó’s merits were basically all devoted to Spain, so his international fame was not as high as Garibaldi’s.
However, Prime Minister Primó was after all a politician who promoted Spain’s reforms, so the European Powers would naturally not be absent from Prime Minister Primó’s funeral.
On the day Spain announced Prime Minister Primó’s death, Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire sent telegrams to the Spanish Government, indicating they would dispatch envoys to attend Prime Minister Primó’s funeral.
In the following three days, basically all European countries promised to attend Prime Minister Primó’s funeral.
Spain at this time had after all returned to the seat of great powers, and ordinary countries really did not dare to ignore Spain’s major events.
Even great power countries like Britain, France, and Germany generally had to give Spain some face. After all, they were all European countries, and there was no need to fall out without conflicts of interest.
Domestically in Spain, when the Spanish people learned of Prime Minister Primó’s death, their reaction was no less intense than that of the Italian people.
Many Spaniards spontaneously took to the streets, commemorating Prime Minister Primó in various ways.
Prime Minister Primó’s reforms had only been in place for ten years, and most Spaniards knew what Spain was like ten years ago.
It could be said that it was Prime Minister Primó’s reforms that brought Spain the hope of returning to the ranks of great powers. Without the foundation of comprehensive strength from the reforms, Spain could not have returned to the seat of great powers through two five-year plans.
For such a prime minister with outstanding merits, Spaniards felt only gratitude and nostalgia.
Many Spaniards spontaneously offered their best wishes to Prime Minister Primó, hoping he could enter heaven.
Three days later, Prime Minister Primó’s funeral was formally held.
Carlo attended Prime Minister Primó’s funeral and delivered a short speech on site, stating Prime Minister Primó’s achievements and praising him as Spain’s most outstanding politician and the greatest contributor to Spain’s revival.
After a series of tedious funeral procedures ended, Prime Minister Primó was transported to the Iberian Cathedral amid the public’s reluctant gazes, where he would be eternally buried in the Iberian Cathedral, remembered and honored by every Spaniard who came to the cathedral.
Prime Minister Primó had already been granted the title of duke by Carlo beforehand, so there was no need to grant him another nobility title.
To commend Prime Minister Primó’s contributions to Spain, Carlo decided to donate 1 million pesetas to Prime Minister Primó’s family and resolve their worries for the future.
His children would be cultivated by the royal family and, if all went smoothly, could enter the political arena in the future.
Prime Minister Primó’s wife would also receive an annual allowance from the government, allowing the whole family to enjoy a prosperous life.
