Chapter 169: Gaining a foothold in Kalimantan

Under Carlo's order, a beverage company with the brand name Coca-Cola was officially established, and immediately entered the discussion phase on the production, packaging and transportation of Coca-Cola.

For this kind of carbonated beverage, the most important part is the production and transportation. If the gas in the beverage leaks a little, the taste of the beverage may be very different.

The establishment of Coca-Cola Company is just a small episode. After all, Carlo's business empire is very large. Even if it can generate huge profits in the future, its importance is completely disproportionate compared with military enterprises and industrial enterprises such as automobiles.

Carlo's vacation has just ended. In the East Indies, the carefully planned colonial war has finally come to fruition.

This not-so-large-scale colonial war ended with the comprehensive victory of the Spanish East Indies colony.

First of all, in the Philippines, whether it is the local loose indigenous tribes or the larger Maguindanao Sultanate, they have no ability to resist the steel guns and cannons of the Spanish army.

Where have these natives seen such a powerful army? Even the Dutch colonial army does not have such powerful firepower.

Faced with the bombardment of the Spanish army, these indigenous troops quickly surrendered. Don't overestimate their hostility towards the Spanish colonial army. After all, fear of death is human instinct.

Compared with the relatively smooth Maguindanao Sultanate, the conquest of the Sulu Sultanate seemed a little tortuous.

But the overall result was also good. The British did express dissatisfaction with Spain's occupation of the Sulu Sultanate, but at that time Spain had basically completed its strategic goals. Even if the British were dissatisfied, they could not threaten Spain with war.

In the final analysis, all countries will have colonial competition. If a colonial competition rises to confrontation between countries or even a full-scale war, it would be unnecessary.

Although Britain's losses in this economic crisis were not as serious as those of Germany and the United States, it did not mean that Britain could rest easy.

Compared with a small Sulu Sultanate, the British were more concerned about competition between other regions and other powerful powers.

After occupying most of the land of the Sulu Sultanate, the Spanish army finally ushered in British opposition.

Or it was the opposition of Britain's colonial forces in Kalimantan. But such opposition was not fierce, because the British had to report to the British government layer by layer before they could finally decide on their attitude towards Spain's colonial actions.

In the end, the British government chose to give in and acquiesced to Spain's competition with the Sulu Sultanate on the condition that Spain promised not to interfere with Britain's actions in the Brunei Empire.

Not interfering with Britain's colonial actions in the Brunei Empire is actually a promise not to continue to colonize westward. It can also be seen from the current situation map of Kalimantan that if Spain does not continue to go west, it can only choose to go south.

Crossing the Sultanate of Burungan in the south, it will reach the Dutch colonial scope. The British's purpose is also very clear, that is, to provoke colonial competition between the Netherlands and Spain, and then control the situation in Kalimantan as a mediator, so that neither the Netherlands nor Spain can completely control Kalimantan.

Such means are actually the usual means of the British government, and the purpose is also to confuse the situation in a region so that it can be independent of the situation and control the situation in this region.

If Spain and the Netherlands break out in colonial competition, the British will join the Netherlands without thinking. After all, the Netherlands is the relatively weaker party, and Spain's comprehensive strength can be said to be a great power, although it is a relatively weak great power.

The reason why the British gave in so quickly, in addition to the fact that the colonial competition in Kalimantan was not that important and they wanted to provoke colonial competition between Spain and the Netherlands, there was another factor about India.

It was not bad news for the British, because the British were preparing to establish the Indian Empire and crown Queen Victoria as the Queen of India.

This matter is also very complicated, but it has a lot to do with the establishment of the German Empire.

Before the establishment of the German Empire, there were three major empires on the European continent, namely the Second French Empire of Napoleon III, the Austro-Hungarian Empire of Franz I, and the Russian Empire of Alexander II.

The legal basis of the Second French Empire came from the Napoleonic Empire, the legal basis of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was inherited from the Holy Roman Empire, and the legal basis of the Russian Empire claimed to be inherited from the Eastern Roman Empire, which was also reasonable.

The establishment of the German Empire broke this balance, but this was not the most important thing. More importantly, as the most powerful country in Europe and even the world, Britain was just a kingdom.

Looking closely at Britain's competitors in Europe, France was once an empire, Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary are all empires now, and only Italy and Spain are still kingdoms.

But Italy has just been unified, and Spain has been weak for a long time. They are kingdoms, and they are not qualified to establish an empire.

Apart from Italy and Spain, the other major competitors of Britain in Europe are all empires, or were empires.

This makes the British embarrassed. Should the British follow up and establish their own empire, or continue to maintain their status as a kingdom?

Although the king and the emperor in Europe are both the supreme rulers of independent countries, and their identities are not much different.

But it is undeniable that in most people's minds, the status of the emperor is always higher than that of the king. A kingdom may be a powerful country, but an empire must be a powerful country.

On this point, the attitudes of the British government and Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom have become consistent.

Although she is a female king, Queen Victoria is very special in British history and is definitely one of the greatest monarchs in the United Kingdom.

The famous Victorian era was created by Queen Victoria, and Queen Victoria in the Victorian era enjoyed supreme influence and prestige in the British government and could have a huge impact on the constitutional monarchy of the British government.

This is also the most special point of the British constitutional monarchy system, that is, the king's power is not too restricted.

A king with means can still have a certain voice through his various efforts and the support of the people, and can even affect the government at a deeper level.

Especially after the decline of Britain, the king has become more important. Why is Britain still a constitutional monarchy in later generations? The biggest reason is that the British government wants to maintain its rule over Scotland and Northern Ireland, and of course Wales.

On this issue, Britain faces the same problem as Spain.

The United Kingdom looks strong, but the word "union" is a fatal flaw. It is indeed strong to unite, but it also depends on whether other countries are willing to unite.

The United Kingdom is composed of four major regions, namely the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Wales, the Kingdom of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Of course, if it is now, Northern Ireland should be replaced by Ireland, after all, Ireland has not yet become independent from the rule of the United Kingdom.

But Ireland's independence from the once powerful British Empire has already revealed Britain's own problems, that is, non-English people, led by the Scots and Irish, are not so satisfied with England's rule.

When the British Empire was strong, these opinions were naturally dissatisfied and could only be endured. But with the weakening of the British Empire, it was only a matter of time before the kingdom fell apart.

In such a situation, the king became very important. Once the royal government no longer exists, the legal basis of the United Kingdom will no longer exist.

The reason why Britain and Spain in later generations are kingdoms is precisely because of this reason. Because only when the king exists, the legal basis for the country to unite will exist. If the country becomes a republic, the only reason for national unity will disappear.

Queen Victoria was very supportive of the establishment of the Indian Empire, because it was also good for her.

Although the Queen of India was not so high-profile, she was at least called an emperor. And the throne of India could strengthen Britain's rule over India, which was the most important thing for Britain.

After all, it was the jewel in the crown. If the jewel was gone, the crown would actually be covered in dust.

It was precisely because of Britain's attention to India during this period that the British did not take such a small episode in Kalimantan seriously.

Unless Spain and the Netherlands officially went to war over the colonization of Kalimantan, or Spain had occupied most of Kalimantan, otherwise it would be a small matter, at least before the establishment of the Indian Empire.

In any case, the British did not cause trouble, which was a good thing for Spain.

After fully controlling the Maguindanao Sultanate and the Sulu Sultanate, the colonial government of the East Indies also began its further actions.

The first was to build a T-shaped railway on Mindanao Island, connecting the east and west and the north and south of Mindanao Island, and strengthening the rule over Mindanao Island.

Secondly, it is on Kalimantan. The land controlled by the Sulu Sultanate is indeed not large, at least compared to Kalimantan.

But the problem is that the area of ​​Kalimantan is not small. Even if the Sulu Sultanate controls only a small part of it, the total area adds up to tens of thousands of square kilometers.

More importantly, after Spain has gained a foothold in this land, it still has the hope of continuing to expand southward and reaching out to the Sultanate of Burungan in the south.

Although the Dutch also made moves in the Sultanate of Burungan, the Dutch's overall strength is not as good as Spain, and the East Indian colonial government is not too worried about this.

Therefore, the construction of the railway on Kalimantan did not take the east-west railway, but chose to build a north-south railway so that it could be connected to the Sultanate of Burungan later.

What the Dutch think is not what the East Indian colonial government should consider. Anyway, the Dutch did not have the courage to fight a colonial war with Spain. At most, they would just have a colonial competition on the issue of the Sultanate of Burungan. Would Spain be afraid? Of course not.

When the news that the colonial war in the East Indies ended with a complete victory was reported back to Spain, Prime Minister Primo and Carlo were relieved.

This war brought great improvement to Spain, and the importance of the East Indies colony to Spain was infinitely increased.

It is worth mentioning that after this war, the Sulu Sea also became the inland sea of ​​the East Indies, which also made the connection between the East Indies and Kalimantan closer.

Carlo had considered giving up the East Indies in advance before, but now Carlo has changed his mind.

After the advent of the future automobile era, the rubber industry in Southeast Asia will definitely be one of the highly profitable industries. Giving up the East Indies now will definitely be a loss.

In addition, the East Indies has already formed a scale in the Spanish colonies. If the African colonies want to develop into the East Indies, it will take at least several decades.

Spain does not have so much time to waste at present. Moreover, the East Indies can also be used as a nail inserted into Southeast Asia to gain more Asian interests for Spain.

The actions in the East Indies were very smooth, and the actions in Africa were not much different.

The main reason was that the Portuguese were concealed, so as not to alert the British and French.

Although only two and a half months have passed, Spain still has a lot of actions in Africa.

First of all, the Guinean People's Government and the Baka people have developed a deeper connection, although it was achieved by force.

Guinea's railways penetrate deep into the hinterland of the Baka people, providing strong support for the army's logistics supply.

After getting a batch of transport animals and carriages from the Guinea colony, the army can also safely station in the upper reaches of the Congo River to ensure the safety of the colonial outposts in that plain.

Although only two and a half months have passed, the number of colonial outposts established by Spain here has increased from 20 to 30, and the scale of the colonial outposts is also growing steadily.

If nothing unexpected happens, Spain has the hope of announcing the establishment of the Congo territory before the completion of the railway construction, and completely bringing this land under the rule of the Spanish.

But colonization is not smooth sailing. In the process of Spain increasing its colonial investment, it also caused resistance from local indigenous people.

The most fierce resistance was from the Bantu and Baka people. Spain's colonial actions invaded their territories and threatened their survival.

Although there are no large-scale indigenous countries in these areas, there are still many scattered indigenous tribes.

Some of the large tribes united together and gathered several thousand people, which was very large in scale.

But obviously, they underestimated the lethality of the Spanish army and the cruelty of European colonists to African indigenous people.

Or it does not refer to the native Africans, but all the native populations in all colonies.

The British colonists and later the United States could massacre the Indians on the American continent, and Spain at this time could certainly massacre the native Africans in the Congo River Basin.

It's just that Spain considered more, combined with the shortage of weapons and ammunition, and did not retaliate too cruelly against the local natives. It just used several native tribes that participated in the resistance as the chicken to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, and made them disappear from this land in a few days.

Facts have proved that friendly communication is far less effective than force.

The Spanish colonists maintained a friendly attitude and communicated with them in a friendly manner, which would arouse their suspicion and hostility.

But if they were forced to talk to them with steel guns and cannons, they would not only listen with fear, but also listen very well, and listen to everything without missing a word.

As for those who were not willing to listen, they had already been sleeping under this land with the actions of the Spanish army.

The local natives should be buried in time after being dealt with, which was also the order the army received before arriving in Africa.

The reason is also very simple, that is to prevent the spread of plague. The temperature in this part of Africa is still very dry and hot. In addition, the vegetation in the Congo River Basin is lush, and all kinds of unimaginable viruses exist in the dense forests.

If the army is accidentally infected with the plague, it will not only greatly affect the colonial development of the Congo River Basin, but may even attract the attention of the Portuguese and the United Kingdom and France.

After all, it is not a trivial matter for the army to be infected with the plague on a large scale, and the Spanish government cannot stand by and watch. The large-scale transportation of drugs to Africa is bound to arouse suspicion from other countries, which is very unfavorable to the colonial development of the Congo River Basin.

So at the beginning, Carlo repeatedly emphasized the importance of preventing the plague. In this land, not only local poisonous insects and poisons should be prevented, but also all possible viruses should be prevented from being born.

The natives who died normally were buried in time. If they encountered abnormally dead natives, the solution was to burn the entire tribe.

Although it may be a bit cruel to treat the natives in this way, some sacrifices are very necessary for the safety of the Spanish army and the smooth progress of the colonial development of the Congo River Basin.

With the Spanish government attaching so much importance to the colonial development of the Congo River Basin, the colonial development of the entire Congo River Basin is progressing very rapidly.

Of course, this is also inseparable from the sacrifice of the Guinea colony.

As a small colony, Guinea's population is actually not large. But in order to develop the land in the Congo River Basin, the Guinea colony has selected hundreds of trusted Spanish immigrants and followed the army into the upper reaches of the Congo River Basin.

The arrival of these people greatly strengthened the scale and number of colonial outposts, and also made Spain's rule in this area more stable.

Even if the Portuguese and Britain and France discovered this place, they could not declare their sovereignty over this land.

Because the Spaniards have settled in this land on a large scale, the number of colonial outposts also proves this.

As long as the development of the Congo River Basin continues smoothly, the establishment of the king's direct territory may be in the not too distant future.

Five thousand words two-in-one chapter, please support!

I saw that the additional chapter has reached 200, and the additional chapter of no less than 3,000 words will be completed within three days. The maps of the other two colonies are being made and will be posted in the book review area tonight.