Empire Rising: Spain

For Carlo, the birth of little Juan Fernando was the final step in integrating himself into this world.

With his own child, Carlo felt a sense of recognition from the world and was genuinely willing to work hard for himself, his wife and child, his entire family, and also for all the Spaniards.

Making Spain great again was no longer just a slogan, but a goal that must be achieved, a milestone concerning the interests of the royal family itself.

In the first month after little Juan Fernando was born, Carlo stayed constantly by the side of Queen Sophie and the little one.

Thanks to Carlo’s and the servants’ meticulous care, Queen Sophie recovered her health. This was also the benefit of a natural birth, allowing for a quicker recovery.

However, recovery is one thing, and Carlo knew better than to impatiently engage in pleasurable activities with Sophie just one month after delivery.

In any case, Carlo had two young maidservants at his disposal, and naturally, Queen Sophie’s health had to be fully restored first.

For the development of the Spanish Royal Family itself, it was only beneficial for Carlo to have more children. This would not only prevent the royal family from facing extinction one day in the future but also allow the royal family to flourish and seize important positions through some of its members.

Currently, the royal family’s assets have reached billions of pesetas, and as long as they are not squandered recklessly, these assets are unlikely to be exhausted.

Under such circumstances, the more children Carlo had, the more hands there would be to effectively manage these assets. Compared to outsiders, it is evidently more reassuring for capable members of the royal family to oversee these enterprises.

In certain situations, Spanish princes even have the opportunity to become kings of other countries through election, allowing the Savoy Dynasty to spread its branches and leaves in more countries.

Previously, the Savoy family was just an ordinary royal family in Northern Italy, but now it holds sway over both Italy and Spain, becoming one of the most prominent noble families in Europe today.

Although it cannot compare to historically illustrious families like the Habsburgs or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, it has already gained considerable fame within the ranks of European royalty.

The birth of little Juan Fernando seemed to bring good fortune to Carlo, as Spain’s colonial actions in the Congo region also proceeded very smoothly, with colonial posts expanding to more than 150 in a short time, nearly covering the fertile Congo Plateau discovered.

The good news is that this plateau upstream of the Congo River is very suitable for planting crops and has certain development potential.

Currently, nearly a thousand Spaniards reside here, and if the military is included, about 3000 people live near the Congo Plateau.

The railroad connecting the Bakaa people has been completed, greatly facilitating the transportation of supplies from the Guinea Colony to the Congo Plateau.

The leaders of the Spanish colonial team sent to the Congo and the head of the Defense Corps stationed in the Congo, Manuel, discussed and unanimously agreed that the current Congo had the conditions to establish a territory, and Spain’s sovereignty over the Congo was well-established, incapable of being stripped by other countries, nor could any country rebut the fact that Spain had occupied the Congo.

This news reached Spain just one and a half months after Prince Juan Fernando was born.

Because the handling of the Congo region had already been agreed upon with the government, and currently, the colonization of the Congo was going exceptionally smoothly.

Thus, after consulting with the Cabinet, Carlo decided to openly declare Spain’s rule and sovereignty over the Congo as soon as possible and establish the Congo Territory, directly under Carlo’s rule.

On July 14, 1875, the Spanish Government officially announced that Spain had established over 150 colonial posts upstream of the Congo River Basin, completing the occupation of the upper plateau of the Congo River Basin.

Spain would rely on these over 100 colonial posts to establish the Congo Territory, with the ruler of the territory being King Carlo of Spain.

This news once again became the headline of Spanish news, second only to the birth of Carlo’s eldest son one and a half months prior.

Of course, this was within Spain. Outside of Spain, the fervor around this news was even more extreme than the birth of Carlo’s son, attracting close attention from various royal families and sparking discussion among many Europeans.

For Spaniards, their attitude was naturally one of approval. Although the establishment of the Congo Territory had little to do with them directly, who wouldn’t want to see their country expand its territory and its land area grow increasingly larger?

Additionally, the establishment of a colony also offered certain benefits for Spaniards.

The establishment of a colony represented an opportunity for the Spanish Government to obtain a large quantity of cheap raw materials from the colony and to make reasonable use of the local natives—after all, they were a rare source of free labor.

Although the Spanish Government had long abolished slavery, if the natives were given certain food and extremely low wages, what was the difference between them and slaves?

It’s just that the name sounds better, but for those capitalists, they had countless ways to exploit these natives, making them their free labor force.

Perhaps the most shocked by Spain’s establishment of the Congo Territory was Portugal, who had occupied the Congo Kingdom for a long time.