Empire Rising: Spain

It is worth mentioning that after this war, the Sulu Sea also became an inland sea of the East Indies, which also made the connection between the East Indies and Kalimantan even closer.

Carlo had previously considered abandoning the East Indies early, but now Carlo has changed his mind.

With the upcoming era of automobiles, the rubber industry in Southeast Asia is bound to be one of the immensely profitable industries. Abandoning the East Indies now would definitely be a loss.

Moreover, the East Indies have already developed on a scale among Spain’s colonies, whereas developing Africa’s colonies to the same extent as the East Indies would take at least several decades.

Currently, Spain does not have that much time to waste. Besides, the East Indies can also serve as a nail driven into Southeast Asia, securing more Asian interests for Spain.

The operations over in the East Indies are going very smoothly, and the operations in Africa are not much different.

The main point was to keep it hidden from the Portuguese, avoiding drawing the attention of the British and the French.

Although only two and a half months have passed, Spain has still made significant moves in Africa.

Firstly, the Guinea People’s Government has established deeper connections with the Baka people, although achieved through military means.

The railroad in Guinea has penetrated deep into the heart of the Baka people, providing strong support for the army’s logistics supply.

After acquiring a batch of transport animals and carts from the Guinea Colony, the army could safely station upstream of the Congo River Basin, ensuring the security of colonial settlements on that plain.

Although only two and a half months have passed, the colonial settlements established by Spain here have increased from over 20 to over 30, with the scale of the settlements continuing to grow steadily.

If nothing goes wrong, Spain hopes to announce the establishment of the Congo Territory before the completion of the railway, fully incorporating this land under Spanish rule.

However, colonization was not all smooth sailing, and during the increased colonial investment by Spain, it also provoked local indigenous resistance.

The Bantu and Baka peoples offered the most intense resistance. The Spanish colonial action encroached on their territory and threatened their very survival.

Although these areas did not have large-scale indigenous states, there were still many dispersed indigenous tribes.

Among them, some large tribes joined together, and surprisingly gathered several thousand people, forming a grand scale.

But it was very clear that they underestimated the destructive power of the Spanish Army and likewise underestimated the cruelty of European colonists toward African natives.

Or perhaps it was not only African natives but all indigenous peoples of all colonies.

British colonists and later the United States could carry out large-scale massacres of Indians on the United States Continent; likewise, Spain at this time could conduct large-scale massacres of African natives in the Congo River Basin.

It’s just that Spain was more considerate, considering the shortage of weapons and ammunition, they did not take excessively cruel reprisals against the local natives. They only took a few of the rebellious indigenous tribes as examples, using them like the proverbial “killing the chicken to scare the monkey,” and took only a few days to make them disappear from this land.

The fact proved that friendly communication was far less effective than violence.

Spanish colonists maintaining a friendly attitude and their amiable communication instead provoked suspicion and hostility.

But if you spoke to them forcibly with rifles and cannons, not only would they listen with fear and trepidation, but they would also listen very well, not missing a word.

As for those who were unwilling to listen, they had long since slumbered beneath this land, accompanying the Spanish Army’s actions.

After dealing with the local natives, burial had to be timely, which was also an order the army received before arriving in Africa.

The reason was simple, it was to prevent the spread of pandemics. The climate in Africa remained quite dry and hot, coupled with the dense vegetation of the Congo River Basin, unimaginable viruses existed within the dense forests.

If the army was inadvertently infected with the plague, it would not only greatly impact the colonial development of the Congo River Basin, but it might also attract the attention of the Portuguese and the countries of England and France.

After all, a large-scale outbreak of disease among the army was no small matter, and the Spanish Government could not possibly sit idly by. Mass transportation of medicine to Africa would surely arouse the suspicion of other countries, which would be very detrimental to the colonial development of the Congo River Basin.

So right from the start, Carlo repeatedly emphasized the importance of disease prevention. On this land, one had to prevent not only local poisonous insects and creatures but also prevent the emergence of any potential viruses.

For natives who died naturally, timely burial was required, but for those who died under abnormal circumstances, the way to handle it was to burn the entire tribe to the ground.

Although treating natives in this way might be somewhat cruel, for the safety of the Spanish Army and for the smooth progress of the colonial development of the Congo River Basin, some sacrifices were absolutely necessary.

In light of the Spanish Government’s significant emphasis on the colonial development of the Congo River Basin, the progress of the colonial development across the entire Congo River Basin has been very rapid.

Of course, this also could not have happened without the sacrifices made by the Guinea Colony.

As a relatively small colony, the population of Guinea was not large. But to develop the Congo River Basin’s lands, the Guinea Colony had already selected hundreds of trustworthy Spanish immigrants to follow the army’s footsteps, first entering the upstream of the Congo River Basin.

The arrival of these people greatly enhanced the scale and number of colonial settlements and also made Spain’s control over this region more stable.

Even if the Portuguese or England and France discovered this place, they could not claim sovereignty over the land.

Because Spaniards have already settled here on a large scale, the number of colonial settlements also testified to this fact.

As long as the development of the Congo River Basin continues to proceed smoothly, the establishment of a territory directly under the King may not be far off.