We Want Bread, Not Republicanism

As Queen Isabella, whose private life was notoriously chaotic, saw the Spanish Revolution spread like wildfire towards Madrid, she finally panicked.

Faced with the choice between resistance and flight, Queen Isabella didn't hesitate for a moment, hastily fleeing north to France with her family.

The Queen's escape also accelerated the Spanish Revolution. The revolutionary army entered Madrid effortlessly and declared the demise of the Kingdom of Spain.

On October 8, 1868, Francisco Serrano appointed himself president of the provisional government, with Juan Prim, who held considerable prestige among the revolutionary army, serving as the provisional government's Minister of the Army. Spain officially entered a state of extreme chaos.

Whether this grand revolution would be the savior of the Spanish people remained to be seen, but the chaotic situation in Spain created an opportunity for Cuba, far away in the Americas, to strive for independence.

On October 10, the renowned Cuban plantation owner and great lawyer, Cespedes Borja del Castillo, led a group of Cuban patriots in an uprising near Yara in the eastern province of Oliante. He then issued a call to all of Cuba, urging all Cubans to fight for freedom, equality, and independence.

This was a heavy blow to the hastily established Spanish provisional government, as Cuba was one of the few profitable regions among Spain's remaining colonies.

The Cuban War of Independence not only forced the Spanish provisional government to dispatch troops to suppress it but also led to enormous military expenditures for the nascent government, which was already facing severe financial difficulties.

But this was not the only problem facing the provisional government. The revolution had succeeded, but the provisional government had not yet gained control of all of Spain.

At the same time, the biggest challenge was how to stabilize the provisional government's rule and establish an administrative system entirely different from the former absolute monarchy.

Furthermore, the provisional government was far from unified. The relationships between the various classes and factions were irreconcilably hostile, and the chaotic situation within the provisional government was no better than that of the former Kingdom of Spain.

The instigators of this revolution were the Spanish upper bourgeoisie and liberal intellectuals, whose original intention was to overthrow the former absolute monarchy and establish a democratic monarchy with power concentrated in the national government.

However, the Spanish petty bourgeoisie, workers, and peasants had had enough of the oppression by the monarchy and aristocracy. They desired a federal republic with decentralized power but unified management, and they supported replacing the king with a president to govern all of Spain.

Carlo was also closely monitoring the situation in Spain. The good news was that Italy and Spain faced each other across the sea, separated by only France on land, so news traveled quickly.

At this moment, the last thing Carlo wanted to hear was that the Spanish provisional government had decided to abolish the monarchy, as that would mean Carlo would be completely cut off from the Spanish throne.

Time moved to November 9, when the Spanish provisional government finally issued a decree on the establishment of a parliament and announced that parliamentary elections would be held next year, in February 1869.

Although this decree did not mention the composition of Spain's future government, everyone following Spanish news understood that the outcome of the parliamentary elections would determine Spain's fate.

If the big capitalists and liberal reformers secured a majority in parliament, the new parliament would have the power to enact legislation on a constitutional monarchy.

Similarly, if the workers or peasants secured a majority in parliament, the Spanish monarchy might be completely abolished, and republicanism could very well emerge on the Spanish stage.

As it stood, it was highly probable that the situation in Spain would unfold as it did in history.

Primo, who supported a constitutional monarchy, still held great power in the Spanish government and was likely to gain an advantage in the parliamentary elections a few months later.

The timing of the parliamentary elections was also worth pondering. It was only four months from the establishment of the provisional government to the parliamentary elections, and less than three months from the promulgation of the decree to the elections.

These three months were insufficient to change the attitude of the Italian people, nor the influence of the aristocrats and big capitalists in Spain.

However, to make his plan more secure, Carlo decided to sway public opinion in Spain.

Sway it with what? Naturally, with the advocacy of monarchy.

As for the harm caused to the Spanish people by the Spanish Bourbon Dynasty, it could all be attributed to the rule of the dissolute and tyrannical Queen Isabella.

Carlo had grounds for advocating monarchy.

Currently, the world's strongest navy was undoubtedly the United Kingdom, which was a constitutional monarchy. The world's strongest army was likely France (the lingering prestige of Napoleon), which was also a monarchy.

The old European powers like Russia, the Austrian Empire, and the emerging power, the Kingdom of Prussia, were all monarchies. Even Italy, which had just achieved unification and joined the ranks of the great powers, was a monarchy.

Looking at the entire world, the only non-monarchical great power at present was the United States, and the US was not considered that powerful by Europeans at this time.

The rise of the United States would come after World War I and World War II. In this era, the United States did not yet possess such an exaggerated industrial and economic scale.

Since the vast majority of European great powers were monarchies, what reason did the Spanish people have to voluntarily abandon such an advanced system?

As for the failures of the past monarchy, they were entirely the fault of the Bourbon family and Queen Isabella. Blame Queen Isabella for everything.

Carlo's actions were intended not only to preserve a sliver of trust in monarchy among the Spanish people but also to make them detest the Bourbon Dynasty and Queen Isabella as much as possible.

Only in this way would the Spanish people be less resistant to an external dynasty, and Carlo's hope of ruling Spain would be much greater.

As for the Bourbon family, Queen Isabella, and the famous Alfonso XII, they had already bled Spain for decades; it was time for them to contribute something to the Spanish people.

Moreover, this was not exactly smearing the Bourbon family. Queen Isabella's reign in Spain was well-known for its debauchery and tyrannical chaos.

If the Spanish people could be made to lose faith in the Bourbon Dynasty, the long-standing Carlist rebellions plaguing Spain could also be resolved appropriately.

After all, the Carlists were also part of the Bourbon family, and their actions contributed to Spain's chaos.

On November 27, 1868, the already popular "24 Hours Sun Newspaper of Italy" published an article titled "We Want Bread, Not a Republic," which quickly spread throughout northern and southern Italy.

The main content of this article discussed the superiority of monarchy and the success of various European monarchies, asserting that monarchy was the most rational choice for European countries and that republicanism was a distorted evolution for Europe.

Regardless of whether the article had any merit, for the monarchical countries of Europe at that time, such an article was certainly better than none.

Publishing such an article in the newspaper was preferable to publishing those advocating for republicanism, freedom, and democracy. At least such reporting would not cause the public to become dissatisfied with the monarch's throne.

With no country objecting, this report began to spread on a small scale along the Mediterranean coast, especially in the Mediterranean countries centered around Italy.

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