Chapter 89 The British Response (Please subscribe!)

This was the end of the colonial war initiated by the Spanish government.

Even before the war started, Prime Minister Primo had considered what the purpose of the war was, that is, what Spain wanted to gain in this war.

Now that the British government has agreed to Spain's occupation of the coastline near Agadir in southern Morocco, and has also agreed to the Moroccan government's compensation to the Spanish government, the war can naturally be ended.

It's a pity that such a thing is destined to be impossible to do again. Otherwise, if it comes once a year, the Spanish government's lack of industrial development funds will be clear.

On October 2, 1870, under the witness of the British ambassador, the Spanish government and the Moroccan government launched peace negotiations in Ceuta to end the war.

Unlike the previous brief talks between British Ambassador William and Prime Minister Primo, this peace talk is related to the interests between Spain and Morocco, and is destined to be a wrangling.

The duration of peace talks can range from a few days to a dozen days or even a month. Only when a peace agreement is agreed upon that is acceptable to both parties can the peace talks be truly concluded.

After reaching a compromise with the British Ambassador William, Prime Minister Primo reported to Carlo to inform him of the peace talks and the imminent end of the war.

Carlo still felt a little regretful. It had only been a few days since the war broke out. Kaman and Andrew had just rushed to the battlefield, and it was obvious that they would not get any honors.

But as long as it is guaranteed that the Spanish government can harvest more land and compensation in this war, it is also good news.

On October 2, peace negotiations in Ceuta officially began.

Spain's diplomatic representatives put forward Spain's two demands from the beginning, one is land and the other is funds.

The Spanish government requires that all Moroccan areas south of the line from Agadir to Tata belong to the Spanish government as compensation from the Moroccan government to the Spanish government and civilians.

Secondly, the Moroccan government needs to pay 350 million pesetas in compensation to the Spanish government. Among them, 200 million pesetas are the cost of Spain's military operation, which should be borne by the Moroccan government.

The remaining 150 million pesetas were used to compensate Spanish civilians and soldiers who were injured or killed in the war, as well as to pay for the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Morocco.

There is an additional requirement that the Moroccan government establishes a demilitarized zone within the triangle area of ​​Tangier, Tetouan and Ceuta, and the Moroccan army is not allowed to enter, to prevent conflicts like this from happening again.

At this time, the representatives of the Moroccan government were completely unable to sit still.

Each of the three conditions is more outrageous than the last, and it is almost like putting the representatives of the Moroccan government on the fire.

Although Agadir is known as the largest city in southern Morocco, Agadir's geographical location is more central.

There is a lot of land south of the line from Agadir to Tata. For Morocco, it is close to one-sixth of the country.

Although the population here is not large compared to the northern region, the Moroccan government will never agree to cede nearly one-sixth of the land at once.

Next is the compensation of 350 million pesetas.

This compensation is an astronomical figure for the Moroccan government, and it is impossible to get it out even if it involves selling people off.

Coupled with the demilitarized zone required by the last condition, the Moroccan government did not become a Spanish colony, but what is the difference between this and becoming a Spanish colony?

"No, this is simply impossible." The Moroccan government representative stood up in surprise, looked at the Spanish government representative with angry eyes, and directly refused: "It is impossible for us to agree to such a request, absolutely."

"That's easy to handle." The Spanish government representative smiled and nodded, not caring at all about the Moroccan government representative: "Then let the war continue and let the outcome of the war speak for itself.

However, I would like to remind your country in a friendly way that when we invest more money in this war, your country will pay more compensation after its defeat. "

Upon hearing Spain's threat, representatives of the Moroccan government quickly turned their attention to the British Ambassador William, seeking British help.

Naturally, the British cannot sit back and watch this negotiation break down. If the war is allowed to continue, the development of the situation will be beyond the control of the British.

"Both of you, since you are here together, it proves that everyone is willing to negotiate peace.

I propose that both of you take a step back and strive to reach a peace agreement acceptable to both parties.

Considering the specific economic situation of the Moroccan government, I think the compensation of 350 million pesetas is unreasonable and an unbearable burden for the Moroccan government. "British Ambassador William stood up and tried to get the peace talks back on track:"

That's it, today's negotiation ends here. How about you both formulate a more reasonable demand for peace talks, and we can discuss it tomorrow? "

The first day of peace talks ended with no progress.

The expression of the Spanish representative is still very relaxed. Morocco is now like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. It is impossible not to pay a heavy price.

This is also a characteristic of this era. Countries with backward development must be prepared to be invaded and robbed by more powerful countries at any time.

The saying that those who fall behind will be beaten is very reasonable. The law of the jungle is the only truth in this era.

On the Moroccan side, after the first day of negotiations, the Moroccan representative immediately approached the British Ambassador William and sought help from the British Ambassador.

"Dear British Ambassador, Spain's request is totally unacceptable to Morocco. We ask for the help of the powerful British government, and we are willing to pay the corresponding price." The Moroccan Ambassador said to William straight to the point.

"Sir, I sympathize with your government's experience." British Ambassador William first looked helpless, and said to the representative of the Moroccan government with great regret: "But you know, even if the British Empire is extremely powerful, it cannot interfere with the decisions of other countries at will.

Let Spain give up its claim to the land of northern Morocco is the limit of what we can do for your country. The Spanish will never give up the idea of ​​colonizing Morocco. We apologize for this."

Although the British government can accept Spain's annexation of the land of southern Morocco, it does not mean that the British will not find something for Spain.

Through this incident, Moroccans were incited to resist Spain more fiercely, which was also something that the British government had planned long ago.

Since Spain has the courage to launch a war against Morocco and occupy Moroccan land as a colony, Spain should also bear the resistance of Moroccans to Spain and the hatred of their land being occupied.

In this way, even if Spain can obtain a large colony through this war, they will be exhausted by the long-term suppression of the Moroccan resistance, and even the cost will be greater than the benefits.

The Spanish are busy suppressing the rebellion in Morocco, so naturally they have no time to think about the British Gibraltar.

Together with the rebels in Cuba and the Philippines, the rebellion of these three colonies is enough to make the Spanish government anxious, and it may even make Spain spend a lot of money and manpower for a long time, and eventually the national strength will become weaker and weaker, and it will completely become a country that cannot pose any threat to Britain.

I am not feeling well today, so I will take a day off and update once. I will continue to update 10,000 tomorrow!