The same telegram also fell into Spanish hands. By then, Ferdinand II and Spain's upper echelons were already preparing to publish screeds condemning the Americans' despicable conduct.
But he soon received a telegram from Franz. The Austrian Empire hoped Spain would delay making its position known.
And so, the Americans' wild boasts were grandly ignored by the governments of every European nation; not even the Austrian Empire made any clear statement.
The matter did spread like wildfire among the common people, especially in the German regions, where many took it as a joke. After all, in the eyes of the Germans at the time, the Austrian Empire was truly formidable and, in a sense, the embodiment of the German Nation.
As for the Americans' threats, few people paid them much heed. To Europeans of the time, American so-called humanitarianism carried more than a hint of deceiving themselves.
After all, most of what the Americans themselves did had nothing to do with humanitarianism. Their mouths were full of righteousness, but their hearts were full of business.
That was Franz's assessment of the Americans. He would not surrender the battlefield of public opinion without a fight.
With Franz personally taking the field to set the tone, the effect was naturally extraordinary, and many people's stereotypes of the Americans grew even deeper.
Millard Fillmore's speech, meanwhile, caused an extraordinary stir within the United States.
Washington. The renowned abolitionist Frederick Douglass climbed atop a streetlamp and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Brothers and sisters! Have you ever seen true hell? It is not in Dante's poetry, but on Cuba Island, less than two hundred kilometers from Florida!
"The cruel Spaniards torture innocent people day and night. Some of our own countrymen have even been tricked into going to Cuba Island.
"In the