Chapter 140: 《The Morocco Agreement》 (Two-in-One)

Gao Da did not pay too much attention to the talks with French President Thiers, but he still took time to meet with Thiers and had a friendly exchange for a short while.

Although the Spanish royal family consisted only of Gao Da and Queen Sofia, it was closely linked to the Italian royal family and the Austro-Hungarian imperial family.

Therefore, even though Gao Da was a young man who had not yet grasped real power, President Thiers had to maintain sufficient respect for him.

However, because Gao Da had no interest in interfering too much in diplomatic affairs, after a brief meeting and greeting with him, President Thiers left the Wang Gong to continue long-term negotiations with the Spanish government.

For the French government, Spain was a country that had to be won over. Even at a certain cost, they had to ensure that Spain leaned more toward France between Germany and France.

Because only in this way could they ensure that France would not be completely isolated; this concerned the situation of future hegemony between Germany and France, and the French government would not make any concessions or compromises.

President Thiers had long anticipated the difficulty of negotiating with the Spanish government. Diplomatic negotiations are never achieved overnight, especially when it comes to the negotiation process involving the future national policies and strategic routes of France and Spain, which would take at least several weeks to complete.

However, President Thiers did not intend to negotiate the entire cooperation agreement personally. As the head of state of France, what he needed to do was to negotiate a charter for cooperation between the French government and the Spanish government, and then the two governments would formulate more detailed cooperation based on the charter agreed upon by the high-level officials.

After confirming that the Spanish government had no intention of completely leaning toward the Germans, President Thiers's mood finally became pleasant.

At least France would not face the worst-case scenario, which was what President Thiers really wanted to know and ensure.

Although Spain's land environment is the worst in Europe, in terms of tourism resources, Spain still has quite a few landscapes worth visiting.

This diplomatic negotiation lasted for a long time, and President Thiers also stayed in Madrid for nearly ten days.

The good news was that before President Thiers left Madrid, he and Prime Minister Primo finally signed a draft cooperation agreement between the two governments.

Among them, some key contents regarding the cooperation between the two sides were discussed further, such as the amount of funds Spain could borrow from the French financial industry, and so on.

According to the draft of this cooperation agreement, the French government was willing to provide Spain with a low-interest loan of at least 500 million francs.

If the Spanish government borrowed more than 500 million francs at one time, the French government would issue all the loans to the Spanish government over a period of five years.

Because the lending period was long, the Spanish government had a full 20-year repayment period. It only needed to pay off the principal of 500 million francs plus 100 million francs in interest within the 20th year after the loan.

Although the 100 million francs in interest seemed a bit high, spread over 20 years, the interest that needed to be repaid each year was only 5 million francs, which was 1% of the principal.

Of course, such low interest also had additional conditions. First, at least 300 million francs of the 500 million franc loan could only be used to purchase materials from France, and the remaining 200 million francs could be freely allocated by the Spanish government.

In other words, the Spanish government could only actually receive 200 million francs of the 500 million franc loan. The remaining 300 million franc share was more like a virtual currency promised by the French, which could only be used to import materials from France and could not be used in other countries.

However, Spain could accept this. France was also a powerful industrial country, and Spain could import a large amount of industrial equipment and technical data from France.

Currently, the value of the franc and the peseta is not much different. According to the latest exchange rate, the value of 500 million francs is equivalent to 516. 5 million pesetas, which is equivalent to Spain's total fiscal expenditure for the entire last year.

It must be admitted that even after bearing the 5 billion franc indemnity, the French could still provide Spain with a 500 million franc loan within 5 years; such an economic scale and volume are quite exaggerated.

Spain's total fiscal revenue last year was less than 500 million francs, which also proves the current gap between Spain and France. Spain is still a long way from being a true great power, at least in terms of industry and economy.

For this low-interest loan that the French were willing to provide, Prime Minister Primo naturally accepted it with peace of mind. The French would not dare to have any harsh additional conditions for this loan; after all, they sincerely wanted to win over Spain.

Even if they could not make Spain and France sign an alliance treaty, they at least had to ensure that Spain leaned more toward France and stayed away from Germany.

In addition to financial assistance, the French would also provide their own industrial technology to help Spain better develop and build.

Apart from some industrial equipment and technologies with a high degree of importance, other more common industrial technologies could be sold to Spain.

This includes not only heavy industry and chemical industry, but also military industry and mechanical design and manufacturing.

With the loans provided by the French, Spain did not have to worry about having no money to use when purchasing equipment and technology. Although 500 million francs is not an astronomical figure for a great power, for Spain, which is not large in size, it is already enough to purchase a large amount of industrial equipment and related means of production to help Spain better build heavy industry, chemical industry, as well as military industry and other industrial sectors.

In order to ensure that France and Spain would not cause conflicts at the strategic level, President Thiers and Prime Minister Primo also agreed to sign the "Morocco Agreement" on African colonization after reaching a consensus through friendly consultations between the two governments.

The main purpose of this agreement was to avoid conflicts between Spain and France in African colonization. As long as Spain would not stand on the opposite side of France and maintained a neutral or pro-French attitude in the competition between Germany and France, the French would not interfere with the colonization of Morocco for the time being and would support Spain's colonial actions in Morocco.

In other words, France was temporarily using Morocco to stabilize Spain, and by giving up colonization in Morocco for a short time, it exchanged for Spain's neutral or more friendly attitude in the competition between Germany and France.

At first glance, one might be surprised that the French were so yielding, and even willing to let Spain colonize Morocco unscrupulously.

But in reality, if you think about it, this is actually a naked conspiracy by the French.

If Spain wants to colonize Morocco, it means that it will inevitably conflict with the British Empire. Even if the French do not participate in the colonial competition for Morocco, Spain may not be able to annex the entire Morocco under the pressure of the British.

As long as Spain cannot annex the entire Morocco, France still has the possibility of colonizing Morocco after the treaty ends in the future.

After the relationship between Britain and Spain becomes worse, Spain will definitely need a great power of sufficient level to protect itself.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire is clearly not enough. After all, the opponent is the British Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire's naval strength is not much different from that of Italy, and it cannot pose a major threat to the British Empire.

Although France's navy is not as good as the British Empire's, it is closer to Spain and can provide more support.

As for Germany, although Germany defeated France, Germany can be said to be penniless in terms of the navy.

Coupled with the fact that Germany and Spain are separated by France, the help it can provide to Spain is even more limited than that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Under such a conspiracy by the French government, even if Spain annexes the entire Morocco, it will have to face the strong pressure of the British.

In order to resist the British, no matter how unwilling Spain is, it must constantly move closer to the French, and even conclude a relevant military alliance with France to ensure its own safety.

If Spain cannot even annex Morocco, that is even better. France can not only plan to colonize Morocco again after the agreement ends, but also confirm again that Spain does not pose a major threat to itself.

At the same time, it can use Morocco, which the Spanish cannot get at all, to keep the Spanish hanging. During the entire period of signing the agreement, the relationship between France and Spain will be relatively friendly, and the French can make their diplomatic situation not so bad without spending much cost.

Simply put, it was because the French saw that the British would not allow Spain to annex the entire Morocco that this Morocco Agreement was born.

In fact, Prime Minister Primo also understood the French's intentions, because the British's thoughts were completely laid out in the open.

Perhaps this is the pride of the Empire on which the sun never sets; the British Empire never concealed their precautions against Spain, and would even actively interfere with Spain's colonization of Morocco.

Even though Spain has a gap in strength with the great powers, it is far stronger than Morocco, an African indigenous country. But Spain has never occupied Morocco, which is only separated from it by a strait, and even eventually divided Morocco by cooperating with the French.

The British are also the biggest obstacle to Spain's current expansion. They are even more worried about Spain's strength than the French, because the first goal after Spain becomes strong is to recover Gibraltar.

The contradiction between Spain and Britain is irreconcilable, unless Spain is willing to give up the hope of national rejuvenation and is willing to become a second-rate European country.

In later generations, there are various disputes and conflicts between the two countries regarding Gibraltar. From this aspect, one can also see the hatred of the Spanish for the British occupation of Gibraltar, and how hateful the British were in this era.

The reason why Prime Minister Primo agreed to sign the "Morocco Agreement" was also to let President Thiers and the French government set their minds at ease completely.

However, the Spanish government had no plans to colonize Morocco again in the short term; after all, the British were not so easy to deal with.

Maintaining the existing scope of the South Morocco colony and stabilizing the colonies of Cuba and the Philippines was already all that Prime Minister Primo thought about for Spain's existing colonies.

For Spain to achieve rejuvenation, the most important thing is the construction of local industry and economy. Although Spain's land environment is a bit worse than other great powers, the scale of its territory is there after all.

Spain's land area exceeds 500, 00 square kilometers, which is considered a large land country in Europe. Britain's mainland is only 240, 00 square kilometers, and Italy is only a little over 300, 00 square kilometers.

Possessing an area of more than 500, 00 square kilometers has also significantly increased Spain's development potential. Even if it cannot accommodate hundreds of millions or even hundreds of millions of people, it is no problem to support a population of about 50 million.

But this population milestone has not been achieved by Spain even until 2024 in later generations. For the current Spain, population is the most lacking, and it is also the biggest gap between it and other great powers.

Why are countries like Britain, France, and Germany so powerful? In addition to their huge industry and economy, their population of tens of millions is also a major factor in their strength.

Among the current population rankings of European countries, except for Russia, which is a relatively special existence, the country with the largest population is Germany, with a population of nearly 42 million.

France and the Austro-Hungarian Empire both have populations of more than 36 million, which are also the closest to Germany in terms of population.

The reason why Germany's population is so large is actually because Germany has integrated most of the German region. Bavaria, the largest state in Southern Germany, was once a medium-sized country, and now it has become a part of the German Empire, which shows how huge this integrated empire is.

Excluding Russia, whose population is too exaggerated, Germany is in a class of its own in terms of population, France and the Austro-Hungarian Empire are one class weaker, and then Britain and Italy are in the third class.

However, because Britain promoted the First Industrial Revolution, it is actually the most advanced in terms of industry and economy among all countries.

But from the above data, one can also see the problem of the British. Both the land area and population scale of the British mainland have gaps compared to other countries.

And the lead brought by the First Industrial Revolution is constantly being caught up by other countries, and the influence of the Second Industrial Revolution will become stronger and stronger.

The reason why the British Empire is so powerful is that they have maintained a huge naval scale capable of crushing other countries.

But the powerful Royal Navy is supported by all the colonies of the Empire on which the sun never sets. The moment the colonial system collapses, all the glory of the British Empire will vanish in an instant.

This is why Morocco is so important to Spain. Morocco and Spain are only separated by a strait, which is a region that can be completely localized.

Once the localization of Morocco is realized, Spain will become a country spanning the European and African continents, and the total land area will exceed 770, 00 square kilometers.

If the Western Sahara region in southern Morocco is included, the land area can even exceed 960, 00 square kilometers, which is not too far from one million square kilometers.

Although Morocco's land environment is not very good, it can also accommodate tens of millions of people. The population capacity limit of Spain and Morocco combined will be close to 100 million, which is the greatest hope for Spain's future rejuvenation.

Before technology completely replaces human labor, population is the most important thing for a country. Although the strength of a country cannot be fully reflected by population, countries with larger populations definitely have greater development potential.

Of course, if we have to say it, Spain has another target that can be annexed, and that is its neighbor Portugal, which is also in Iberia.

Portugal's land area exceeds 90, 00 square kilometers, and it is also on the Iberian Peninsula, making it the best target for Spain's expansion.

However, the Portuguese have a better relationship with the British. The British do not agree with Spain annexing Morocco, and it is even more impossible for them to agree with Spain annexing Portugal.

Although both are countries on the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal is located in the southwest corner of Iberia, and its land environment is much better than Spain's.

If there were an Iberian topographic map, one could see that the more fertile land of the entire Iberian Peninsula is distributed around the peninsula, and the most dense area is the southwest corner where Portugal is located.

It can be said that the most fertile land in Iberia is in Portugal, while most of Spain's land is desert and mountainous, and the soil fertility is far lower than that of Portugal.

Although Portugal's land area is only 92, 00 square kilometers, the food that can be produced on this 92, 00 square kilometers of land is more than what can be produced on Spain's 200, 00 square kilometers.

Of course, this is compared to those areas with relatively poor soil fertility. If only comparing the plains with relatively fertile land, there is basically not much difference.

But the plain area of Spain, which is 500, 00 square kilometers, is smaller than that of Portugal, and the terrain gap between Portugal and Spain is evident.

However, Portugal's land is not all advantages. Because it faces the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the westerlies, the wind in the Portugal region is too strong, and the temperature difference between day and night is small, which is not suitable for the growth of crops.

There is also the reason for soil salinization, which makes the food production of Portugal, whose plain area is larger than Spain's, less than one-twentieth of Spain's in later generations.

But if Portugal can be taken, the Iberian Peninsula will form a whole. If Gibraltar can be taken, and the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco in the northwest corner of Africa can be connected, Spain will have the potential to become a top great power and become the hegemon of the western Mediterranean.

The integrated Iberian Peninsula is definitely easy to defend and difficult to attack. The only northern region connected to the European continent is blocked by the Pyrenees, and only the gaps in the east and west can be easily passed through.

Spain only needs to build military fortresses in these two gaps to easily resist the army coming from the French direction in the north.

However, it is very difficult to achieve such a strategic goal. Morocco and Portugal are the objects of British protection, and it is very difficult for Spain to annex these two countries.

Gibraltar has even become the land of the British, and wanting to take Gibraltar means having to fight the British.

But it is precisely because such a goal is difficult that it aroused Gao Da's interest. If it can be completed, Gao Da will become the greatest monarch in Spanish history, making this long-declined Empire on which the sun never sets reappear in glory.

Even without annexing Portugal, just recovering Gibraltar and colonizing Morocco would infinitely increase the favor of the Spanish people and make him a candidate for the greatest monarch in the hearts of the Spanish people.

President Thiers left Madrid under the farewell ceremony organized by Prime Minister Primo and embarked on the journey back to Paris.

He left with a smile, and it was clear that this trip had achieved the purpose of his arrival.

Prime Minister Primo also had a smile on his face. This meeting with President Thiers had only benefits for Spain.

The financial loans and industrial assistance provided by the French could effectively help Spain's industrial and economic construction.

The amount of the loan was more than Spain's total fiscal revenue for the entire last year. Investing all these funds into Spain's development would naturally bring obvious results.

One also has to sigh at the strength of the French economy. Being able to become the usury empire that is talked about in later generations also proves how powerful the French's economic strength was in this era.

If nothing else, if the Spanish government had to scrape together 500 million francs, it would definitely have to smash pots and sell iron.

Even if this sum only needed to be provided over a period of five years, it would absolutely plunge the finances of the Spanish government into a massive crisis.

This also allowed Prime Minister Primo and Yu Kaluo to see the benefits of cooperating with the French; at the very least, the French were truly wealthy, and they were truly capable of providing the money to help Spain.

Of course, the French were not making a losing deal. This capital would ultimately still collect 100 million francs in interest, and since the exchange rate fluctuations of various countries were currently small, the private capital of France was basically guaranteed to make a profit without loss.

Although the earnings were relatively small, such loans between nations were also difficult to default on. After all, countries capable of lending were powerful; for any country to default, they would have to offend not only the private capital of the lending country but also the state that issued the loan.

Therefore, unless it truly reached a point of absolute necessity, such loans between foreign nations were relatively stable.

A 5, 00-character two-in-one chapter, please support!

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(End of chapter)