Chapter 298: The Portuguese-British Crisis

As time reached 1884, the Spanish colonization of the southern Congo gradually began to yield results.

The Portuguese successively occupied the Lunda Kingdom and the Buunda Kingdom, and with their own strength, pushed their sphere of influence to the Barotseland Kingdom.

In terms of distance, the gap between the Portuguese West African colony and the Mozambique colony was less than 500 kilometers; the Great African colony envisioned by Portugal seemed soon to be realized.

Just as the Portuguese were daydreaming about it, reality soon gave them a slap in the face.

The Portuguese colonial actions in the southern Congo had long attracted the attention of the British, and the prospect of the Portuguese East and West African colonies merging made the British feel a hint of a threat.

If Portugal successfully merged the West African colony and the Mozambique colony, the Cairo-to-Cape Town colonial link planned within the British government would be severed.

Faced with the Portuguese behavior that almost directly sabotaged their own colonial plans, even knowing that Portugal was their ally, the British could not remain indifferent.

On February 22, 1884, the British government officially announced the Cairo-Cape Town link plan to the public and contacted the Portuguese ambassador to the UK, demanding that Portugal abandon the colonization of the Barotseland Kingdom and the Mwata Kazembe Kingdom, leaving a 500-kilometer-wide corridor to help Britain complete the link between its North and South African colonies.

When the Portuguese government received the British government's demand, King Luis I of Portugal was completely stunned.

He did not expect that the Spanish, whom he had been guarding against, had not hindered his colonial plan, but rather the British, who had always considered themselves Portugal's allies, had stood up to stop him at the critical moment when the Portuguese East and West African colonies were about to merge.

Sharing the same sentiment as King Luis were the officials who had worked hard for Portugal for so long.

One must know that the Great African colony plan was a political achievement for King Luis, and it was likewise a political achievement for the Portuguese cabinet government.

In order to make this so-called political achievement have the best effect, Portugal had already promoted the Pink Map plan and the Great African colony plan multiple times years ago, and the merger of the East and West African colonies was not unfamiliar to the Portuguese.

If they told all the Portuguese at this time that the Great African colony plan was ultimately just a fantasy and completely impossible to achieve, the emotions that would erupt from the Portuguese go without saying.

By then, let alone accumulating some merits for themselves, even keeping their current positions would be difficult.

Agreeing to the British demands meant facing the anger of the Portuguese at home. Refusing the British demands meant facing the anger of the British government.

How to choose left King Luis I and the Portuguese government in great distress; King Luis I convened cabinet meetings multiple times to discuss solutions, but in the end, they could not come to any conclusion.

With no other choice, the Portuguese government finally decided to use a delaying tactic.

If they could stall the British government on one hand, they could accelerate the colonization of the land in the southern Congo on the other.

Whether it was the Barotseland Kingdom or the Mwata Kazembe Kingdom, occupying either one would connect the Portuguese West African colony and the Mozambique colony.

As long as the connection between the two colonies was completed, King Luis I and the Portuguese government would have fulfilled their original promise to the people.

As for the subsequent forced transfer of sovereignty over the Barotseland Kingdom and the Mwata Kazembe Kingdom, that would be due to the pressure from the British government, not because the Portuguese government failed to deliver on its promises.

By then, even if the Portuguese were angry, it would be transferred to the British. After all, it was the British who shattered Portugal's Great African colony plan, and it was impossible for the Portuguese government to contend with Britain.

The delaying tactic adopted by the Portuguese government did indeed have some effect. Because the Portuguese government ordered the ambassador to the UK to initiate negotiations with the British government, the British government thought that Portugal was only seeking compensation.

But what the British did not expect was that while the Portuguese were negotiating with them, they were accelerating the colonization of the southern Congo region.

By the time the British realized it, more than a week had already been delayed.

During this week or more, the Portuguese offensive against the Barotseland Kingdom had never stopped.

They successfully pushed the occupied area forward by hundreds of kilometers, which also meant that the Portuguese army was less than 400 kilometers away from the Mozambique colony on the East African coast.

According to this progress, it would take at most one month for Portugal to break through the entire Barotseland Kingdom and reach the Mozambique colony.

On the British government's side, when the time was delayed for a week, the British also sensed something was wrong.

The Barotseland Kingdom was not far from the British Cape Colony, and news of the Portuguese continuously attacking the Barotseland Kingdom reached the Cape Colony.

The British, realizing they had been deceived, were shocked and angry; they could not believe that a small Portugal would dare to defy their demands.

The British government contacted the Portuguese ambassador to the UK again, demanding an explanation from the Portuguese ambassador.

But unexpectedly, the Portuguese ambassador still beat around the bush, seemingly wanting to use this method to delay for some time.

At this point, the British government could no longer tolerate it. British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone personally summoned the Portuguese ambassador and issued his ultimatum.

Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone angrily stated that if Portugal did not intend to stop the colonial offensive, then the British would obtain a buffer zone in their own way to ensure that British colonial actions would not be affected.

Such words were already an open threat. The Portuguese ambassador's face changed immediately; he did not expect the British to be so serious, nor did he expect Britain to issue an ultimatum to its own ally.

The meaning of an ultimatum is very simple: either comply with the contents of the ultimatum, or face war.

War with the British was something the Portuguese had never thought of; the Portuguese ambassador was finally anxious, and he tried to communicate with Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, but the angry Prime Minister Gladstone ignored the Portuguese ambassador's explanation and instead reiterated his demand: "If Portugal does not stop its war actions, then Britain will launch a war."

After saying this, Prime Minister Gladstone slammed the door and left in anger, clearly angered by the Portuguese delaying tactic.

When the Portuguese ambassador sent this bad news back to the country, everyone from King Luis I of Portugal down to the Portuguese government sighed.

The tough stance of the British government was something the Portuguese had not expected; faced with such a tough British government, the Portuguese government seemed to have no choice.

Just as King Luis I was about to give up, an official suddenly made a proposal, suggesting that the Portuguese side could inquire about the attitude of the Spanish government.

One must know that when reaching the colonial exchange agreement, Portugal had requested that Spain provide strong support for Portuguese colonial actions.

Although these indigenous countries in the southern Congo were not powerful, their combined population was still quite considerable.

Because of Portugal's limited population, it was difficult to complete the colonization of these indigenous countries by their own strength.

Although the expected enemy had changed from indigenous countries to the British Empire, this did not mean that Portugal could not obtain support from Spain.

If they could obtain the support of the Spanish government, Portugal still had hope of completing its Great African colony plan.

Of course, if the British still maintained a tough stance even with Spain's support for Portugal, then Portugal could respond flexibly; at worst, they could give up then, which would not be a waste of their efforts during this period.

Upon hearing this proposal, a glimmer of hope appeared in the eyes of King Luis I.

Spain, which was usually guarded against in every way, had now become the only hope for Portugal to complete the Great African colony plan.

Besides Spain, it was even more impossible for other European powers to risk offending the British to support Portugal.

The question is, is Spain really willing to risk offending the British, or even starting a war with Britain, to support Portugal for the sake of a promise made back then?

King Luis I was not sure about the thoughts of his brother-in-law, Carlos. In his view, Carlos was a king with great ambition, which was also the reason he had always guarded against Spain.

Under the leadership of Carlos, Spain achieved reform and completed a great revival. This was what King Luis I dreamed of, but Portugal's national conditions simply did not allow for reform, because King Luis I could not suppress the opposition at all.

If he insisted on pushing for reform, the government would be reformed before the reform was completed.

The reason why Spain was able to complete the reform back then was also because the revolutionary faction controlled the government and the army. This made King Luis I envious but helpless, because the same path was something he could not replicate.

After all, to let the Portuguese revolutionary faction control the government, he as the King of Portugal would have to give up his throne; the best result would be to become a mascot king without real power, which was something King Luis I absolutely could not accept.

Sighing, King Luis I gave his order, letting the Portuguese ambassador to Spain inquire about the attitude of the Spanish government.

If the Spanish government was willing to support Portugal, then Portugal still had room to delay. If even Spain was unwilling to support Portugal, then the Portuguese government would have to accept its fate.

March 3, 1884, Spanish Wang Gong.

When Carlos learned that the Portuguese ambassador was requesting an urgent meeting, Carlos knew that something major must have happened to Portugal.

As early as when conducting the colonial exchange with Portugal, Carlos had considered that Britain would definitely interfere with Portugal's colonial actions.

The reason why Carlos was willing to pay for the land in the southern Congo, the most essential part of the Congo Basin, was precisely because Carlos knew that Portugal could not occupy this region.

This also meant that the colonial exchange between Spain and Portugal was more like a "white wolf with empty gloves," and it was even possible to "trap" Portugal's own territory back.

Sure enough, after the Portuguese ambassador met Carlos, he first bowed respectfully, and then stated the dilemma currently faced by the Portuguese government with a panicked expression.

He mentioned the kinship between King Luis I of Portugal and Carlos, and also mentioned that Portugal and the Spanish government had signed a colonial exchange treaty years ago, which included clauses that Spain should support Portugal's colonial plans.

After telling everything, the Portuguese ambassador sincerely requested Carlos to support Portugal, requesting the Spanish government to support Portugal's colonial actions and resist the diplomatic pressure exerted by Britain.

Looking at the panicked Portuguese ambassador, Carlos did not rush to express his attitude.

Although in Carlos's plan, Spain would definitely declare its support for Portugal, as this was the only way to further damage the relationship between Portugal and Britain.

But the attitude of supporting Portugal did not need to be expressed too early; after all, the easier it is to obtain, the less valuable it will be.

Only after letting the Portuguese side feel the urgent situation and letting the Portuguese government and King Luis I fall into a state of panic, would Carlos then express his support for the Portuguese government, which would maximize the emotional value.

Of course, the support from Carlos and the Spanish government for Portugal would also be widely reported by the Spanish media and even forwarded to Portugal.

Only by letting the Portuguese understand the support from Spain and Carlos, and then comparing it with the British obstruction, could Carlos achieve his initial goal, which was to destroy the relationship between Portugal and Britain and force Portugal to lean toward Spain.

For the small countries of this era, their situation is quite difficult. Especially for a country like Portugal that only has one neighbor, they must either obediently lean toward Spain or seek external factors to preserve their sovereignty.

Obviously, Portugal chose to rely on Britain to protect its independence. But if Britain stood on the opposite side of Portugal, then Portugal would have no choice but to lean toward Spain.

After a long silence, waiting for the Portuguese ambassador's facial expression to become increasingly panicked, Carlos nodded with a smile, showing an appearance of being very concerned about the situation in Portugal, and said: "Whether it is because of the good relationship with the Portuguese royal family or because of the agreement during the previous colonial exchange treaty, Spain should stand on Portugal's side.

Mr. Ambassador, please tell your government that Spain is willing to stand on Portugal's side and support your country's colonial actions in the southern Congo.

If Britain does not hesitate to use force to interfere, Spain will fulfill its promise and stand with Portugal to resist British armed interference.

May the friendship of the Iberian Peninsula last forever; we should join hands to fight against the dirty hands reaching out to the Iberian Peninsula from the outside.

This is my attitude, and it is also the attitude of the Spanish government. If your country wants the Great African colony, then take action.

Once Britain shows a posture of declaring war, Spain will immediately carry out armed mobilization and use steel guns and cannons to let the British understand that the dignity of the countries on the Iberian Peninsula cannot be trampled upon!"

(End of chapter)