At the root of every contradiction and dispute lay the struggle for interests. The British Government's meddling had indeed brought trouble to the negotiations.
But that did not change the nature of British empty talk. They kept proclaiming their support for the Spanish Government, yet when it came to real action, they had every excuse to stall.
That was the inevitable outcome. Moral support was no problem, but asking them to produce real gold and silver to support Spain was practically asking for their lives.
Ever since the Russians set the precedent of defaulting on debts, Britain had encountered no shortage of debt defaults in recent years.
Although the debtors who came afterward had not brazenly repudiated their debts as directly as the Russians, they truly had no money. London's financial institutions were helpless as well.
Either accept an extension on the debt, or accept debt restructuring—normal repayment was out of the question. If they could recover their costs from these bad loans, it would already be God's blessing; making a profit was nothing but a dream.
With that cautionary example before them, British capital had grown wiser. When lending internationally, they were cautious, cautious, and cautious again.
Given Spain's current financial situation, it clearly did not meet the conditions for receiving loans. Unless the British Government was willing to guarantee them, no one would wade into those muddy waters.
Even the audacious capitalists feared the risks, to say nothing of the London Government. The opposition was not blind; if they dared give Britain's money away for nothing, they would be handing their rivals a weapon.
After more than half a year of tug-of-war negotiations, the Spanish Government, trapped in a fiscal crisis, finally faced reality.
On June 6, 1898, Holy Roman Empire Foreign Minister Wessenberg and Spanish representatives signed