Chapter 455: The United Kingdom of Spain and Portugal

Forming a personal union with Spain was, after all, a major event for Portugal; regardless of the outcome, the Portuguese government did not want to bear the blame of the public in the end.

It is simple enough to avoid taking the blame: just make this event something driven by all the Portuguese people. If forming a personal union with Spain is something all Portuguese people are willing to strive for, then no matter what the future of this personal union holds, the current Portuguese government will not bear any responsibility.

Obtaining the support of the public is also simple: hold referendums in all major Portuguese cities, allowing the people to choose whether to form a personal union with Spain or to maintain Portugal's independent status.

On February 7, 1906, the government of the Portuguese Republic officially issued a public announcement stating that it would hold a referendum in all major Portuguese cities, allowing the Portuguese people to choose their own destiny.

Any citizen holding Portuguese nationality may participate in this vote; if the number of people supporting the formation of a personal union with Spain exceeds 55% of the total number of votes, the Portuguese government will officially initiate the process of forming a personal union with Spain.

If the number of people wishing for Portugal to maintain its independent status exceeds 55% of the total number of votes, Portugal will continue to maintain its independent status and completely reject the proposal to form a personal union with Spain.

If neither option receives more than 55% of the vote, Portugal will continue to hold national referendums one year later until one of the options gains the support of the public.

The referendum will officially begin on February 12 and continue until March 11, using one month to decide the final fate of Portugal.

Upon learning of the government's decision to use a referendum to determine the fate of Portugal, most Portuguese people were relatively satisfied.

At the very least, on this point, the Portuguese government truly fulfilled the promise made when the republic was established: to build a Portuguese Republic where the Portuguese people are the masters of their own affairs.

Although it was applied to a choice that might end the history of the Portuguese Republic, for Portugal, it could at least be considered a step forward.

When the Portuguese government officially announced the referendum plan, in addition to the Portuguese public focusing on the upcoming vote, the Spanish public and the people of various European countries were also watching this referendum.

With five days left until the start of the referendum, for a country with a relatively small population like Portugal, it was enough time to carry out the various preparations for the vote.

In reality, it was just a matter of setting up ballot boxes in major Portuguese cities, where citizens could collect one ballot per person in their respective cities and then cast their votes for the option they supported.

To prevent cheating, every person had to register in their city when collecting a ballot, and each city would screen those collecting ballots to ensure that no fraudulent or multiple claims occurred.

As time arrived at February 12, 1906, the national referendum in Portugal officially began.

Because this referendum determined the fate of a country, this rare moment attracted newspaper media from all over Europe to observe, and they also filmed many scenes of the voting process.

For the Portuguese government, they hoped that the more foreign newspapers that came, the better. The arrival of these newspapers could also help the Portuguese public supervise the fairness of the government in the referendum; no matter what the result of the vote was, the government would not be responsible, as everything was the choice of the people.

From the number of people participating in the referendum in each city, it could be seen that the Portuguese people were quite interested in this moment where they could personally decide the fate of Portugal.

To reflect the fairness of the referendum, while counting the votes, the Portuguese government also invited some Portuguese citizens as well as domestic and foreign media to act as supervisors.

Through the joint efforts of many, the number of votes for the first week of the referendum was finally tallied.

In the first week of the referendum, the seven days from February 12 to February 18, the Portuguese government tallied a total of 871, 00 votes, with the number of voters accounting for 16. 4% of the total Portuguese population.

Among these 871, 00 votes, the number of votes supporting the formation of a personal union with Spain reached as high as 600, 00, accounting for 68. 2% of the total votes.

Although the first week's voting could not represent the final result of the referendum, it could be seen from the choices of the Portuguese people that the majority were still willing to support the formation of a personal union with Spain.

Subsequent voting results also proved this point.

The number of people participating in the referendum in the second week was much lower; the Portuguese government tallied a total of 756, 00 votes, of which the votes supporting the formation of a personal union with Spain reached 462, 00, accounting for as much as 61. 1%.

Although the percentage had dropped, compared to the 55% passing threshold set by the Portuguese government, the voting result was still far above it.

The number of people participating in the referendum in the third and fourth weeks became fewer and fewer, with the Portuguese government tallying only 521, 00 votes and 594, 00 votes respectively.

The votes from the last two days were also counted in the fourth week's total, which is why the fourth week's count was able to surpass the third week's.

After the Portuguese government's summary and calculation, a total of 2, 43, 00 Portuguese people participated in this referendum, accounting for approximately 51. 7% of Portugal's total population; it could be said that the whole nation participated in this vote.

After all, there were still a large number of elderly and children in Portugal who were unable to participate in the voting process.

It can be said that the majority of adult citizens in Portugal participated in this vote, and the result of the vote could fully reflect the attitude of the Portuguese public toward forming a personal union with Spain.

After the final tally, out of 2, 43, 00 votes, the total number of votes supporting the formation of a personal union with Spain was 1, 24, 00, accounting for as high as 59. 9%, which already met the 55% passing threshold set by the Portuguese government.

After confirming that there were no errors in the voting and counting process, the Portuguese government officially announced on March 17, 1906, that it would follow the final result of the referendum and initiate negotiations on forming a personal union with Spain.

On that same day, Yu Kaluo also received an invitation from the Portuguese government, hoping that Yu Kaluo would personally travel to Lisbon for the coronation ceremony to become the new King of the Kingdom of Portugal.

Europe did not have any process of "declining three times and yielding three times"; Yu Kaluo's own ability and prestige were already sufficient, so naturally, there was no need for any superficial pageantry.

Upon receiving the invitation from the Portuguese government, Yu Kaluo immediately agreed to be crowned King of Portugal and immediately summoned the Portuguese ambassador to Madrid, holding a meeting with the Portuguese ambassador that lasted for several hours.

The Portuguese government had fully accepted the idea of forming a personal union with Spain, and the Portuguese ambassador to Madrid's attitude toward Yu Kaluo was also quite respectful; it could be said that the Portuguese government already viewed Yu Kaluo as the new King of Portugal.

According to the agreement between Yu Kaluo and the Portuguese ambassador to Lisbon, Portugal would hold a coronation ceremony for Yu Kaluo in the near future, and Yu Kaluo would be officially crowned King of Portugal.

Once Yu Kaluo was crowned King of Portugal, he would have sufficient legal authority to establish this personal union. It could be said that at this point, Portugal could no longer escape Yu Kaluo's grasp; since he was destined to rule Portugal, Yu Kaluo was also willing to give the current Portuguese government more benefits so that they could work for him with peace of mind.

After the Portuguese referendum ended, the consultations between Spain and Portugal regarding the personal union were also completely brought into the open.

After more than a month of negotiations, the Portuguese government finally reached a compromise with Spain regarding the union, and both sides agreed to officially push forward the formation of the new union after Yu Kaluo was crowned King of Portugal.

The name of the new country was determined to be the United Kingdom of Spain and Portugal, with the purpose of respecting the two parts that made up the new country: Portugal and Spain.

Regarding this new name, both the Spanish government and the Portuguese government were able to accept it.

After more than a month of preparations by the Portuguese government, on April 15, 1906, in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, the Portuguese government held a grand coronation ceremony for Yu Kaluo, and Yu Kaluo officially declared his coronation as King Yu Kaluo I of Portugal.

On April 16, the Spanish and Portuguese governments jointly issued a statement, indicating that they would form a United Kingdom led by the same royal family with the other party; the politics and economy of Spain and Portugal would be managed by their respective governments, while military and diplomatic affairs would be handed over to the United Kingdom government for unified management.

Yu Kaluo also officially changed from the King of Spain to the King of the United Kingdom of Spain and Portugal, and the territory he held expanded from the original Spain to the entire Iberian Peninsula, also connecting a vast territory in Africa.