Chapter 87: Hurry and Invite the British Government (Please Subscribe!)

Long before the Spanish government declared war on Morocco, it had already received a warning from the Italian government.

The Italian government stated that it would provide diplomatic support to Spain during this military operation, but if it attracted the attention of other great powers, Italy would not intervene.

Primo naturally understood that the Italian government could not possibly oppose the British for the sake of Spain. As long as they were willing to express support for Spain in the military operation against Morocco, that was enough.

At 4: 0 PM on September 28, 1870, two and a half hours had passed since Spain declared war on the Moroccan government, and fourteen and a half hours had passed since the Spanish military's official operation began.

Facing the sudden attack by the Spanish military, the indigenous Moroccan tribes were completely unprepared and were beaten until they threw away their helmets and armor—though they had neither helmets nor armor to begin with.

The country of Morocco is quite unique in Africa. The population of Morocco is mostly Arab and Berber, belonging to the European and Mediterranean races, which is to say, white people.

However, unlike white European nations, Morocco is an Arab country and follows the Islamic faith.

As the most unique African country, Morocco is clearly distinct from those indigenous African peoples; they are more like the indigenous people of the Middle East.

But indigenous is indigenous after all; compared to Spain, Morocco is undoubtedly far too backward.

Moreover, Morocco is not a monolith. There are numerous tribes within Morocco, and not everyone supports the Moroccan Sultan government under the rule of the Alaouite dynasty.

Another reason why Morocco is more suitable for localization is precisely because of this white population in Morocco. Kaluo does not consider himself a racist, but Kaluo's dislike for black people comes from the heart.

However, such thoughts are not strange in Europe at this time. Although the abolitionist movements of various countries are being carried out vigorously, no white person has ever sincerely acknowledged the human rights of black people.

In the hearts of white people, black people should be slaves on plantations; what do human rights have to do with them? Are they even human?

The colonial policies of various countries in Africa have never regarded the local indigenous people as human beings; the cumulative number of black people slaughtered by European countries is at least in the tens of millions.

Of course, this is mainly because the various countries have not explored Africa deeply. By the time the various countries have basically finished partitioning Africa, the number of African indigenous people who die as a result will only increase.

As a white country, incorporating Morocco into Spain's sphere of rule will not stain Spain black.

Speaking of which, the current Sultan of Morocco is also an old acquaintance. Mohammed IV succeeded as Sultan in 1859; as soon as he took office, he faced the war between Spain and Morocco and suffered the bitter fruit of defeat.

After this setback, Mohammed IV decided to reform Morocco, introduce powerful European industry, and improve Morocco's military strength to cope with the colonial invasions of European powers.

But Mohammed IV overestimated the Moroccan people's level of acceptance for advanced industrial technology. When he went to great lengths to have the British bring a steam engine to the Wang Gong in Marrakesh, he found that the ministers were all frightened by such a behemoth they had never seen before, and they did not even dare to approach it.

Even though Mohammed IV ordered the printing of a large number of scriptures regarding the promotion of steam engines, it could not arouse the curiosity of the Moroccans.

In the end, the reforms came to nothing, and Morocco ultimately did not move toward industrialization.

Seeing that industrialization had failed, Mohammed IV had another good idea, which was to strengthen Morocco's military power.

He formed a new army, the Askar-i Nizam, and spent a great price to equip the new army with muskets and conduct Western-style training.

Upon learning that the Spanish were invading in large numbers from northern Morocco, Mohammed was furious and ordered the newly formed army, the Askar-i Nizam, to head north to resist the invasion of the Spanish military.

This Moroccan Sultan, born in 1802, held great confidence in his newly formed army at this time.

Even at the Moroccan Sultan government meeting that day, Mohammed IV said quite confidently: "My army will easily crush the Spanish army; the days of Morocco being invaded by European countries are gone forever."

But soon, reality dealt this elderly Sultan a heavy blow.

Not long after sending out his new army, intelligence came from the south that the Spanish military was advancing north in large numbers from Sidi Ifni and was heading toward Agadir, a key town in southern Morocco.

Mohammed IV was dumbfounded. The number of his new army was not large, and it was clear they could not handle the Spanish military from both the north and south directions simultaneously.

But if he let the Spanish military attack Agadir, it seemed that Marrakesh would also be in danger.

The confidence that Mohammed IV had just ignited because of the new army was instantly extinguished; his whole person was filled with a sense of frustration, and his already aged face looked even older.

"Damn it, is Morocco unable to escape the fate of being colonized?" Mohammed IV looked up at the sky, filled with despair at Morocco's situation.

At this time, the Moroccan ministers offered their opinions one after another.

Among them, the more unified opinion was: hurry to the West, ah no, hurry to Western Europe to invite the British government.

The last war between Spain and Morocco was only because of the intervention of the British government that Morocco was able to keep most of its territory.

Otherwise, given the turbulent domestic situation and poor military strength of Morocco at that time, it was completely a plaything at the mercy of Spain.

The current Moroccan government really had no better way; apart from inviting the British government to intervene, it seemed there was no other effective solution.

As for fighting a battle with the Spanish, the Moroccan ministers had never thought of it.

Ten years ago, there was indeed such an idea, but they were beaten by the Spanish until they couldn't tell north from south. The domestic situation in Spain at that time was no better; it was entirely a gap in weapons, equipment, and comprehensive strength.

Although the current Morocco has formed a new army, the number of troops in the new army is only about 20, 00.

Moreover, the Moroccan ministers themselves were clear about the situation of the new army; with the Moroccan army as a foil within Morocco, its combat effectiveness was still quite strong.

But if compared with European countries, it was completely out of proportion.

The Moroccan people's level of acceptance for advanced weapons and technology is not high, and furthermore, Morocco's weapons and equipment all rely on purchases from European countries, so it is naturally impossible to allow the soldiers of the new army to conduct target practice for long periods.

It is no exaggeration to say that in the few years since the new army was formed, the total number of target practice sessions organized did not exceed ten, and each time, each person was only allocated three bullets; basically, there would be no effect.

Counting on such a new army to block the Spanish military's attack is not as reliable as counting on the British to have mercy and save their lives.

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(End of this chapter)