Chapter 299: Public Endorsement
After receiving Carlo’s clear attitude, the Portuguese Government breathed a sigh of relief; at least Portugal would not fall into the worst predicament.
Even if they were ultimately forced to abandon the merger of the East and West African colonies due to pressure from the British Government, the British would have to provide compensation, unless they were willing to let Portugal fall into Spain’s arms.
Although they had gained some confidence from the Spaniards’ support, the Portuguese Government was also prepared for the final concession.
After all, the enemy they faced was the British Empire, the undisputed strongest nation of this era.
Just as the Portuguese planned to restart negotiations with the British and seek compensation through concessions, news in Portugal about the British Empire issuing an ultimatum to the Portuguese Government was leaked.
The newspaper office that reported this news was not well-known, with daily sales of only about a pitiful thousand copies, barely scraping by.
No one knew how such a small newspaper office learned of such secretive news, but the Portuguese focus was not on that.
The British Empire’s ultimatum was what the Portuguese cared about; this arrogant attitude overriding the Portuguese severely trampled their dignity.
As more Portuguese learned of the news, many spontaneously took to the streets, demanding that the government not be weak and that Britain had no right to interfere in Portugal’s colonies.
Although Portugal was a small country, as a former colonial empire, the Portuguese still had their own dignity.
For the Portuguese, they could accept the government’s failure in colonial action and Portugal’s increasing weakness, but they could not accept other countries overriding Portugal.
Under the influence of this patriotic sentiment, more and more Portuguese joined the parades, gradually attracting the attention of the Portuguese Government.
There was no way around it; any public parade could not be ignored.
Because most revolutions started from parades, and if not handled well, they would lead to larger-scale resistance or even uprisings, plunging the country into civil war and chaos.
Regarding the leak of Britain’s ultimatum, the Portuguese Government internally had their guesses.
Currently, only three parties knew of the news: the British Government, the Portuguese Government, and the Spanish Government.
The Portuguese Government could not possibly leak the news voluntarily; letting the public know would only create trouble for themselves.
After all, the Portuguese Government was already prepared to concede, but the Portuguese would not easily concede due to British pressure.
The British Government was also unlikely to reveal such news voluntarily; after all, it was oppression of a weak country and did not look glorious.
Although the British Empire was indeed powerful, Britain had many enemies.
Although these countries were unlikely to directly help Portugal, if Britain was at a disadvantage in international public opinion, these countries hostile to Britain would not mind piling on, creating bigger problems for the British.
After excluding the Portuguese and British Governments, the only possibility left for leaking the news was the Spanish Government.
But there was no way around it; the strength gap between the two countries was too great. Even if they knew it was the Spanish Government that leaked it, the Portuguese Government had no means to resist.
Moreover, the Portuguese Government lacked sufficient evidence to prove that the Spanish Government leaked it.
Besides, the biggest problem now was not the leak, but how to handle the Portuguese who were closely following the colony events.
When the Portuguese were unaware, the Portuguese Government could decide the direction of this matter on its own. But after many Portuguese paid attention, public opinion was something the Portuguese Government had to consider.
Offending the British Government would lead to failure; offending the masses of Portuguese would it not also lead to failure?
For the Portuguese Government at this time, they had truly entered a dilemma; a slight misstep would plunge them into the abyss.
While parades in Portugal were unfolding vigorously, the newspaper and media in Spain also reported on the related events.
The Spanish Sun Newspaper critically described the British Government’s actions as trampling on national sovereignty, believing this was not behavior befitting a civilized European country.
Britain had done this not just once or twice; even Gibraltar, which should belong to Spain, was forcibly seized by Britain through war.
This instantly ignited Spaniards’ hatred for the British and aroused their empathy for the Portuguese.
For a time, Spaniards also took to the streets one after another, expressing various protests against the British Government. Some more extreme Spaniards even hoped that the Spanish Government could send troops to recapture Gibraltar, believing that Spain possessing Gibraltar would be complete.
After the British ultimatum incident attracted Spaniards’ attention, the Spanish Government formally issued an announcement externally, stating that Spain did not recognize the British Government’s robber behavior and hoped the British Government could respect other countries’ sovereignty from the perspectives of civilization and friendliness.
During a diplomatic event, Carlo also appeared publicly. After the media raised related questions, Carlo expressed his attitude: Spain was willing to stand with the Portuguese, Iberians should jointly safeguard their national sovereignty and jointly maintain the dignity of the Iberian Peninsula.
As expected, the Spanish Government and Carlo’s statements were once again forwarded to Portuguese newspapers, sparking widespread discussion among the Portuguese.
Previously, the Portuguese were fighting alone; although they were very angry about the British behavior, they also knew the government had no good solution.
Now with the public support from the Spanish Government and King Carlo of Spain, Portugal had no worries and no longer needed to bow to the aggressive British.
On the British Government side, Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone naturally also noticed the public opinion situation in the two Iberian Peninsula countries.
Upon learning the news, Prime Minister Gladstone angrily smashed several of his cherished collections; he did not expect Portugal to gain Spain’s support, nor that this matter would be leaked to the Portuguese, arousing widespread public outrage among them.
If it were just Portugal, even offending all Portuguese would actually be nothing.
But including Spain would form a very strong opposing force. Although this force was still no match for the mighty British Empire, for the British who already had many enemies, it would also be considerable trouble.
However, trouble was trouble; for Britain’s colonial plan, Prime Minister Gladstone could not concede in the slightest.
Portugal’s concession would arouse Portuguese public outrage; would Prime Minister Gladstone’s concession not arouse British public outrage?
As the world’s most powerful nation today, if the British Empire chose to concede when facing Portugal and Spain, the fallout would be huge.
The British would not consider the diplomatic implications; they would only care that their Prime Minister chose to shrink back when in an advantageous position, then furiously denounce this weak Prime Minister.
The furious Prime Minister Gladstone summoned the Portuguese Ambassador again; his face was ashen, his gaze fiercely glaring at the Portuguese Ambassador, trying to see the panic in his eyes: “Mr. Ambassador, please tell me what your country’s choice is.
If Portugal wants to abandon Britain’s friendship, we do not mind having one more hostile country. The glory of the British Empire will not be trampled; if your country is determined to oppose us, then please prepare for war!”
The Portuguese Ambassador sighed, quite helplessly saying: “Please forgive us, Prime Minister. Our government has no intention of opposing your country, but due to the leak of the news, this matter has already attracted much public attention.
If we publicly abandon the colonies at this time, it will cause great upheaval. So please wait a little longer; Portugal is willing to make corresponding efforts to maintain our friendship.”
“The news was leaked?” Prime Minister Gladstone snorted coldly, mockingly saying: “This matter is known only to our two governments; we could not possibly leak it. If anyone leaked it, would it not only be possible for your government?”
“No, Prime Minister.” The Portuguese Ambassador shook his head, with a bitter smile and helplessness on his face, explaining: “When we received your country’s request at the time, we had no intention of abandoning the colonies, so we sought help from Spain.
This led to Spain obtaining the news, and it was they who leaked it.
The development exceeded our estimates, but Portugal has no intention of abandoning friendship with your country. Give us some more time; once public opinion calms, we are willing to restart negotiations with your country.”
For Portugal, regardless of whether Spain leaked the news, at this point it had to be the Spanish Government that leaked it.
This way, they could shift responsibility from themselves while buying more time to calm domestic public opinion.
The Portuguese Ambassador was also quite resentful toward the Spanish Government that might have leaked the news. If not for the Spanish Government leaking it, the Portuguese Government would not have fallen into such a dilemma.
As long as they could keep it from the Portuguese, even if they ultimately abandoned the colonies, they could negotiate some compensation to appease the public.
But now, with the attention of many Portuguese focused on whether the government would concede under British pressure, the Portuguese Government could not proceed according to the original plan.
In the current public opinion environment, if news broke that the Portuguese Government chose to concede and Britain took over the Southern Congo colony, Portugal would likely see various rebellions and uprisings erupt the next day, and the Portuguese Kingdom would not be far from destruction.
“Spain?” Prime Minister Gladstone thought of the Spanish Government and King Carlo of Spain’s reactions after the news was exposed, then snorted coldly, looking at the Portuguese Ambassador and saying: “Regardless of whether Spain was the leaker, the leak is related to your government.
If your country does not want to destroy friendship with Britain, I hope to see more concrete actions. During this time, your country must completely halt colonization of the Southern Congo land, and prepare for handover of the colonies in Barotseland and the Mwata Kazembe Kingdom.
Once public opinion calms, I hope for immediate handover of the colonies. If there are any more accidents, I do not mind using military means to obtain this land.”
The Portuguese Ambassador nodded repeatedly; gaining time to calm domestic public opinion was already a quite good outcome.
He feared the British would not give Portugal time to calm public opinion at all; under the dual pressure from the British Government and domestic public opinion, any step by the Portuguese Government could be wrong, with devastating consequences.
“Additionally, is the trade relationship between your country and Spain not too intimate? If there are overly close economic ties with Spain, your economy is susceptible to Spanish influence.
I suggest cutting off railway connections with Spain; only railways with different track gauges can ensure Portugal’s homeland security.
Of course, the British Empire will also protect all its allies. If Portugal truly faces war, we will deploy troops to protect Portugal; this is also the best reciprocation of our friendship to your country.” Seeing the Portuguese Ambassador agree to his demands, Prime Minister Gladstone’s expression improved somewhat, then he raised additional demands.
For Britain, Portugal and Spain being too close was absolutely unacceptable. If the two Iberian Peninsula countries had too good relations, they would unite against Britain invading the Iberian Peninsula.
Britain did not want to lose Gibraltar, so it could only do everything to sabotage relations between Portugal and Spain.
Regardless of whether the Portuguese Government was willing, as long as Portugal was an ally of the British Empire, Britain would absolutely not allow Portugal and Spain to have overly close relations.
“The railway synchronized tracks were required by the Spanish Government back then; if Spain is willing not to pursue us for tearing up the treaty, we are of course willing to rebuild railways with different track gauges.
Thank you for Prime Minister’s concern; Portugal will be the eternal ally of the British Empire, may the friendship between Portugal and the British Empire endure.” Although quite dissatisfied with Prime Minister Gladstone’s commanding tone, the Portuguese Ambassador knew he had no ability to resist.
However, he had made it clear: the synchronized tracks were an agreement reached jointly by the Portuguese Government and Spanish Government back then; for Portugal to break the agreement, they still had to consider the Spanish Government’s attitude.
This level of breach was equivalent to a public slap in the face; if Britain could not resolve Spain’s possible accountability, the Portuguese Government would not offend Spain for nothing.
Of course, the Portuguese Ambassador’s words were very clear: as long as the British Government could resolve Spain’s possible accountability, Portugal was willing to adjust the railway track gauges at any time and sever railway connections with Spain.
Speaking of which, after connecting railways with Spain, Portugal also benefited from Spain’s rapidly developing economy, accelerating its own development somewhat.
Particularly the several border cities adjacent to Spain saw rapid development speeds due to frequent trade with Spain.
Although Portugal had more plain area than Spain, in grain yield, Portugal was only a fraction of Spain’s.
Portugal imported large amounts of agricultural products from Spain every year, the main ones being olives, fruits, and some vegetables.
Grain imports were not much, after all Portugal’s own population was not large, and its grain yield could fully support domestic grain consumption.
Besides agricultural products, the most imported from Spain by Portugal were industrial products.
Cars naturally went without saying; currently, among Portugal’s noble class, there was great enthusiasm for cars, with basically all Portuguese nobles owning at least one car.
Besides cars, various industrial manufactured goods and machining products were also import targets for Portugal.
Because Spain’s industrial scale was larger, Spanish industrial products had lower selling prices.
Moreover, Portugal had only Spain as its neighbor, so choices for importing industrial products were basically only Spain.
Although imports from other European countries via sea transport were possible, sea transport was slower than trains and had higher transportation costs.
If they rashly cut off train lines with Spain, the impact on import and export trade alone would be enough to make Portugal’s economy slump for a while.
This was also why the Portuguese Ambassador did not directly agree to Prime Minister Gladstone’s proposal; after all, Portugal was not the British’s dog and could not listen to the British on everything.
While the British Prime Minister urgently summoned the Portuguese Ambassador, on the Spanish side, Carlo had made further preparations.
According to historical trends, the Portuguese Government would likely still choose to concede, which was naturally within Carlo’s plan.
But unlike history, Carlo wanted the Portuguese Government’s concession to be publicized and transparent, so all Portuguese could see it clearly and understand it.
Only by making all Portuguese disappointed in the current government and king could Carlo find an opportunity.
Additionally, Carlo wanted to severely damage relations between Portugal and the British through this incident.
If Britain remained aggressive, it would definitely face backlash from European countries. Such a Britain could still make the Portuguese Government concede, deepening Portuguese disappointment in the government.
To bolster his momentum, Carlo contacted the Italian Royal Family and the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Family in the name of the royal family, seeking help from the two royal families.
Of course, Carlo did not expect military assistance from them. As long as the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy stood with Spain diplomatically, their momentum would at least surpass Britain’s.
Spain, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Italy—this added up to three great power countries. The remaining three major European great powers, France, Germany, and Russia, more or less had conflicts with Britain and were basically unlikely to side with Britain.
This left Britain isolated in this incident; even if it could not sabotage Britain’s plans, tarnishing Britain’s international reputation was still a gain.
At this time, Spain publicly siding with Portugal on colony matters meant that when Spain launched a war to recapture Gibraltar in the future, the Portuguese would remember Spain’s past help and might choose to side with Spain.
As long as it could destroy Portuguese trust in their government and royal family, while also damaging relations between Portugal and Britain, Carlo’s goal would be achieved.
As for the rest, it was no longer so important to Carlo.
