Empire Rising: Spain

But the overall national strength of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was clearly below that of England and France, one of the main reasons being the complex ethnic distribution within the empire, with the Austrians, or Southern Germans, not occupying a very high proportion.

And one of the main reasons for the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I was precisely because other ethnic groups had gained considerable power of discourse.

Although the estimated population growth is only around 1.5 million, Spain still hopes to reach a population of about 19.25 million by 1879.

Although Spain cannot absorb too many immigrants, there is an exception, and that is the immigrants from countries that once belonged to the Spanish Colony.

Mexico, Argentina, and Chile, among other American countries, are included. Despite these countries’ populations not being purely Spaniards, they definitely have Spanish blood.

Plus, speaking Spanish and adhering to Catholicism make assimilation into Spain easier.

Attracting and accepting more immigrants from former American colonies, and assimilating them into Spaniards, might be Spain’s only way to rapidly increase its population in a short time.

Unfortunately, the populations of these American countries are not very large either, so the number of immigrants Spain can absorb has its limits.

Carlo looked at Prime Minister Prim sitting respectfully on the luxurious sofa ever since handing over the five-year development plan, and asked with a smile, “Prime Minister Prim, how is the government’s work on external migration going?”

This is not conventional external migration; it is incentivized external migration in Catalonia, the Basque Region, and other areas with non-Spaniard populations.

Simply put, it’s encouraging these non-Spaniards to migrate to regions outside Spain through asset conversion methods.

After Spain issued a bill on unifying national religion and language, these other ethnic groups, who daily shouted they were not Spaniards, did not have a very good living environment in Spain.

According to Spanish law, those who do not recognize themselves as Spaniards are not recognized by the Spanish Government as citizens.

Without Spanish citizenship, they cannot work in government or Royal Family enterprises. Although Spain does guarantee a minimum income, government and Royal Family enterprise pay and benefits are clearly higher.

Not being able to enter these enterprises equates to losing many welfare policies. Some private enterprises also mimic this refusal to hire non-Spaniards, making it difficult for these groups who don’t recognize themselves as Spaniards to find high-paying jobs.

For most civilians, they already recognize themselves as Spaniards. For those who have been severely brainwashed, even to the point of becoming radical nationalist elements, they certainly do not wish to recognize themselves as Spaniards.

However, this is just as well, as Spain does not welcome these radical nationalist elements either.

The policy incentivizing external migration is specifically targeted at these radical nationalist elements, using relatively gentle means to persuade them to migrate abroad.

At this point, a problem arises: what should be done with those radical nationalist elements who are unwilling to accept gentle persuasion and do not want to migrate to regions outside Spain?

This problem is also easy to solve, which is to use more forceful means to compel them to immigrate or rebel.

“Your Majesty, the external migration in the Catalonia Region is proceeding smoothly. Since we issued the policy on national unification, at least tens of thousands have chosen to migrate abroad.

Currently, the radical nationalist elements in Catalonia have mostly migrated, and it is estimated that within the next five years, most of the more radical Catalans can be migrated abroad,” Prime Minister Prim reported.

As a Catalan, Prime Minister Prim is quite familiar with the situation in Catalonia.

Now, most Catalans still recognize themselves as Spaniards. As for why Catalonia’s independence tendency becomes so severe in later generations, the main reasons are long-term nationalist brainwashing coupled with Spain’s exploitation of Catalonia.

Yes, for quite a long time in later generations, Spain exploited Catalonia.

Speaking of responsibility, it actually pertains to the Bourbon Royal Family. Why did Spain weaken? There are many reasons, one of the main reasons being the instability of the situation since the industrial revolution and missing out on two very important industrial revolutions.

The Carlos Faction wars, which plagued Spain for decades, were actually triggered by Queen Isabel’s succession to the throne.

And the incompetent rule of Queen Isabel also led Spain to completely fall from the ranks of major powers. The industry and economy of other regions in Spain did not develop much; on the contrary, the Catalonia Region became, under the development of the Republican Faction and nationalists, one of the most developed regions in Spain.

The developed Catalonia and Barcelona naturally became the targets of exploitation by all of Spain. Catalans were already quite dissatisfied with this, and under the instigation of radical nationalists, the emotion for independence surged, which was entirely understandable.

Upon hearing that tens of thousands of Catalans had migrated out, Carlo was fairly satisfied with the government’s progress.

Don’t look at the total population of the entire Catalonia Region being over a million; the more radical nationalist elements number at most tens of thousands.

As long as most of them can be sent out, the problem with the Catalonia Region is half solved. Without radical nationalist elements, assimilation in Catalonia becomes relatively simple.

Although it may not reach the depth of other regions, ensuring the vast majority of Catalans recognize themselves as Spaniards and take pride in being Spaniards is still feasible.