The Carlist Wars

The rebellion stirred up by the capitalists ended with a whimper after such a grand opening.

Though the whole process had been somewhat unexpected, upon careful thought, it also seemed perfectly natural.

Such events even occurred frequently in later generations. A march that appeared to consist entirely of workers might not have been initiated voluntarily by the workers at all; it could have been launched by factory owners working together behind the scenes, oppressing, brainwashing, and threatening the workers.

As a group, capitalists were a minority in every country. They could only rely on majority groups such as workers and farmers to achieve their goals.

But in present-day Spain, it was not so easy for capitalists to incite large numbers of workers and farmers.

Farmers were the strongest supporters of autocracy and monarchy; farmers in every country were like this. Their demands were low—so long as they had enough to eat and did not go hungry, they would be satisfied with their current lives.

The agricultural tax-cut policies issued by Spain were the best means of winning over the farmers. Since they already supported the monarchy, the farmers were naturally willing to obey Carlo and the Spanish government's orders.

Compared to farmers, factory workers came from more complicated backgrounds. Workers' marches were an important means by which capitalists achieved their goals, so naturally they would not spare any effort in oppressing and brainwashing workers.

This was also why a considerable portion of the capitalists' rebel forces consisted of workers. Not everyone could see the domestic situation clearly, nor could everyone ignore the capitalists' sugar-coated bullets and threats.

However, marches and rebellions on this scale could no longer threaten Carlo or the Spanish government. To Carlo, the greatest internal threat to Spain was not its insignificant capitalists, but the separatist forces in Catalonia and the Basque Country, as well as the Carlists who had gained the support of Catalan separatists.

Though this march and rebellion had been resolved with ease, the army under the Spanish government's control remained stationed around Madrid, awaiting news from Catalonia and the Basque Country at any moment.

Carlo actually hoped that the Carlists and the separatist factions in those regions would use this opportunity to stir up some trouble.

Only if they stepped forward of their own accord would Carlo have the chance to settle them once and for all.

Otherwise, if these opposition factions were allowed to continue developing quietly in Catalonia and the Basque Country, they would only keep intensifying the sense of division between the two regions and Spain.

This was also why Catalonia and the Basque Country continued clamoring for independence even in later generations.

Catalonia's Parliament even held an independence referendum and declared independence from Spain based on its results. Had the Spanish government not ruled that Catalonia's regional referendum violated the Spanish constitution and forcefully suppressed it, the world map would likely have gained another country.

The Basque Country was no less intense. Though it had not gone so far as to hold a referendum and directly declare independence, separatist sentiment in the Basque Country was even more radical than in Catalonia.

After the death of Spain's dictator Franco, a terrorist organization called ETA emerged in the Basque Country and even attempted to assassinate the King of Spain multiple times.

If the separatist problems in these two regions could not be resolved once and for all, Spain was destined to remain unstable in the future. More opposition parties would also oppose the Spanish government by supporting the independence of Catalonia and the Basque Country.

The good news was that the populations of Catalonia and the Basque Country had not yet reached a level capable of threatening Spain.

Spain's population stood at roughly 16.6 million, with ethnic Spaniards, the main ethnic group, accounting for the overwhelming majority. Catalonia had only around 1.3 million people, while the Basque Country had barely over 300,000.

Together, the two regions had a population of only 1.6 million, less than one-tenth of the total population of Spain. This was also why Carlo was confident he could settle their separatist troubles once and for all.

The Carlists ultimately did not disappoint Carlo.

On January 25, 1870, Carlos VII, who considered himself a man of great talent and bold strategy, decided to seize the initiative while the Madrid government was still in chaos.

Through newspapers in Barcelona, the Carlists published large numbers of reports claiming that Carlos VII was Spain's rightful king. They also stated that the policies issued by the current Spanish government would severely damage Barcelona's economy and set it back by at least twenty years.

The Carlists also greatly exaggerated in these reports the harm the Labor Law would cause to factories and businesses throughout Catalonia, even claiming that it would cost Spain all its industry and factories, leaving every worker in Catalonia without a job.

Under the influence of this widespread news coverage, many Catalans believed it and declared their willingness to join Carlos VII's rightful government and resist the Spanish government's rule.

After organizing an army of tens of thousands in just a few days, Carlos VII delivered a public speech in Barcelona, declaring that he would drive out King Carlo and restore the rule of the Bourbon Dynasty.

Amid the chaos, a new round of the Carlist Wars officially erupted.

Though the combatants had changed from Queen Isabella to Carlo, the Carlists' objective remained the same: to place their ruler, Carlos VII, upon Spain's throne.

Upon hearing that war had broken out, Carlo instead breathed a sigh of relief in Madrid.

When he heard that an army of tens of thousands had been assembled in Catalonia, Carlo was not the least bit flustered. Instead, he looked down even more on the so-called Carlos VII.

Why?

Though Catalonia's independence issue had always been one of Spain's greatest headaches, at least for now, most Catalans still identified strongly with Spain.

Moreover, and more importantly, the current prime minister, Primo, was himself a Catalan. Even the previous revolution had been launched by Prime Minister Primo in Catalonia.

There were also quite a few Catalan soldiers in the present Spanish Army. Under such circumstances, how could Carlos VII possibly have assembled an army of tens of thousands?

Considering that Catalonia was one of Spain's most economically and industrially developed regions and had a vast number of workers,

perhaps the Carlists and Catalan separatists had coerced these brainwashed and threatened workers into forming this so-called army of tens of thousands.

This was precisely why Carlo wanted to laugh. The Carlists kept insisting that Primo's reforms had caused Catalan workers to lose their jobs, but were their present actions not making those workers lose their jobs as well?

Without counting those workers, the Carlists had at most a little over ten thousand troops in their hands. Did they think they could storm into Madrid with those ten thousand men? Did they take Carlo for Queen Isabella from two years ago?

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