((There aren't that many rocks in the middle of the Atlantic, and if somebody's going to bomb something, they have better targets than a large cruise liner.))
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((Well both laws did fail, after all. You may find support from the population lacking though if your party favours policies that most people on the left don't support. Both the appointed seats and the Cortz are increasingly disliked by the left, at least in their current form.))
((I don't picture there being many rocks or bombs in the middle of the Atlantic, unless the ship is travelling somewhere else. I suppose you could change the route and have it go somewhere more dangerous like Cape Horn. A ship would be far more likely to encounter dangerous conditions and potentially an iceberg on that route.))
((Maybe a Terrorist plot by some separatists ? Communists ? Or the remnants of the Nexus Force ?))
((My point was that the people you are mentioning would probably have an easier and closer target to attack.))
1900-1904 – Epilogue (Part XI)
The new governing coalition was presented with many challenges following its formation. It had lost some of its socialist supporters and the number of seats it held in the Assembly had dropped significantly. Its ability to legislate was limited, meaning that its success was entirely dependant on government policy, held separate from the actions of Parliament. The first task it would need to do was turn the Second Zazzau around before the government’s popularity dropped even further.
The first troops finally arrived in January, too late to impact the election but soon enough to turn things around. Not wanting to underestimate Zazzau this time, well over 100,000 men were sent to Africa to put an end to this nuisance once and for all. Despite more troops in the area, the first month or two of the campaign went poorly for Hispania. Zazzau had managed to grab the best defensive positions and warded off disorganized Hispanian attacks. This did not guarantee that Zazzau could hold out though. They had failed to capture the major settlements in the area, having to resort to sieges that made them vulnerable to Hispanian attacks. Faced with growing Hispanian numbers, the tides turned in favour of Hispania.
After failing to dislodge Zazzau positions early in the year, by Spring most of the major sieges had been lifted and Zazzau’s army forced into retreat. Many men were lost in the push, but eventually momentum was gained for Hispania to press into Zazzau’s homeland. By June, Zazzau’s capital had fallen, proving an easy capture since Zazzau had removed all artillery protecting the city to use in the field. After one last effort to engage Zazzau’s army in the field, capturing most of their artillery and their leader, Hispania declared in September that Zazzau would be annexed.
Those who thought the war would end with Zazzau’s annexation would be sorely disappointed. Despite losing their capital and half their army, the Zazzau commanders adopted guerilla tactics, raiding supply trains and railways while avoiding pitched battles. They relied on the assistance of the sympathetic locals for food and supplies, all while keeping constantly on the move so the Hispanian army could not track them down. While an effective method of harassment, it did little to actually push forward the cause, lacking proper planning or coordination.
A change in strategy was needed for Hispania. Attempting to chase or pursue these guerillas usually failed, and Hispania’s supply lines kept getting hit. Defensive positions were set up along key railways to protect supply routes from raiders. Efforts were also made to pin the guerillas in to places where it was possible to lessen their mobility. Knowing that the guerillas relied on local support, a scorched earth policy was adopted, with Hispanian troops burning crops and homes, as well as placing Zazzau women and children into camps to force the guerillas to capitulate.
The Zazzau guerillas became bolder near the end of 1901, engaging in open battles where they thought they had the advantage. Several battles were fought between September of 1901 and April of 1902. The guerillas managed to capture a large amount of ammunition and several Hispanian commanders. Eventually as more Hispanian troops arrived, the guerillas were finally caught when they attempted to attack a force with superior numbers. The guerillas were dealt significant casualties, essentially ending the resistance.
Hispanian strategy eventually won out. The scorched earth policy forced locals to compete with guerillas for food, turning them against each other. The fortified defensive positions guarding supply routes also helped keep track of guerilla movements, limiting their mobility. The fact that Zazzau women and children were being held prisoner sapped the will out of the remaining resistors. Finally, in May of 1902, the last of the Zazzau guerillas surrendered. Hispania formally annexed Zazzau, issuing promises of funds for reconstruction and limited self-government once things had calmed down.
The Second Zazzau proved an unpopular affair. Those who had not favoured the war blamed the government for pursuing it in the first place, while those in support of it blamed the government for its poor execution. It was usually beneficial for the government to draw attention elsewhere and hope everyone forgot about the conflict going on in Africa. At least in 1900, there was the distraction of the Olympics.
After the previous Games in Athens, it was decided that the next Olympics would be held in Paris. While the nations of Europe went into it with high expectations, they were to find the event to be much less spectacular than the Games held in Athens. The 1900 Paris Games occurred at the same time as the Paris Exposition, a world fair similar to that held by Hispania years ago as an avenue to display new innovations and ideas. The Olympics thus became relegated to a sideshow, drawing less attention than expected. It did not help that Paris lacked a proper stadium. There was a great change in the Games though as this proved the first Olympics where women were permitted to participate, and Hispania permitted its colonial nations to form their own teams. While support dropped for the Olympics, Hispanians were enthusiastic for the next games, which were scheduled to be held in Rome, setting Hispania to be the host of the 1904 Games.
The Hispanian government was not just relying on the Olympics to distract the public from the Second Zazzau War. They made strives in foreign affairs to better reassure the right. There had been great concern when France and the Commonwealth had forged an alliance. Many believed something needed to be done to counter this threat. Hispania thus sought out Byzantium, hoping to rekindle the old alliance that had lapsed over the years.
It was not a difficult endeavour to arrange such an alliance. Byzantium was quite open to the proposed alliance, seeing it as a deterrent to Lithuanian aggression. Both benefited from the ability to essentially control the Mediterranean by uniting forces. This didn’t even take into account the centuries of positive relations between the two powers. With Germany pressuring its mutual allies to align, this eased the process towards reforming the Hispanian-Byzantine alliance.
As Hispania and Byzantium drew closer together to contest the might of France and the Commonwealth, both faced a period of great turmoil. In France, the greatest problem proved the English. They had grown silent after the minimal success of their Plan of Campaign. Now, however, they came back with a vengeance. Demands for self-government became widespread, calling for a government based on the same terms as that in the Netherlands. The Emperor and his advisors were hesitant to approve of such an approach. With the Dutch, the encouragement of a national identity was believed to prevent any possible reunification with Germany. As for the English, a national identity was considered disadvantageous since it would encourage cooperation with their fellow English in Scotland and likely lead to a cross-boundary separatist movement or possible unification with Scotland. It seemed better to crush such nationalist sentiment when possible.
Fuelled on by prominent English politicians, English farmers agitated for concessions from their landlords, viewing their control of the land as legalized robbery. In general, the Emperor and his court tried to avoid the issue, giving implicit support to the usually French landlords. A large group of English farmers even crossed the Channel to seek redress, protesting outside Versailles for change. They were ignored by those in power and dispersed by French troops.
As it became clear that change would not be forthcoming from above, the disgruntled farmers turned to violence. Several French government buildings were vandalized or bombed. Prominent French politicians who dared venture into public in England were often booed or even assaulted. Attempts to put down this activity met with minimal success due to the sheer number of English farmers. Whenever one man was locked up for an action taken for the cause, three more were spurred on by his arrest to join the resistance. Attempts to put it down by force were not working.
After nearly three years of protests and attacks of French buildings and officials, Emperor Charles IX decided to act. Despite protests from his advisors, the Emperor ruled in favour of the English farmers. He enacted what was known as the Land Purchase Act, allowing for tenants to purchase their holdings from the landlords by having the government pay the difference between the price offered by the tenants and that demanded by the landlord, with the tenant repaying the government-provided amount over a period of time. While it was not compulsory, and thus did not force landlords to sell their land, it did ease the process for English farmers who wished to own the land they worked and helped end the problem of absentee landlords.
The Emperor’s decree greatly helped the English farmers. Thousands of acres of land were bought by tenants through the Land Purchase Act, seeing more land in the hands of those who worked them. While this went a long way to appease the English farmers, it ignored the issue of self-government. Many English politicians still called for some form of self-rule, although they found support weakened after the Emperor’s intervention in the landlord issue. For now, it was swept under the rug, but inevitably would make an appearance again.
While the English were certainly problematic, there were still problems to deal with on the French mainland. The Dreyfus Affair was rearing its ugly head yet again. The attempted coverup had elicited angry responses from the press, although the government did a fine job to censor such articles. Public opinion still strongly urged for something to be done.
In 1902, Dreyfus was put on trail again, hoping to finally put this issue to rest. Just like the earlier trial of Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy, it seemed clear that the verdict was being rigged. Members of the General Staff presented testimonies lacking the support of any real evidence. Evidence that proved Esterhazy’s guilt instead of Dreyfus’s was ignored or considered ineligible for consideration, while those that supported Dreyfus’s guilt seemed fabricated at best. After being shot by an extremist and threatened by the military, one of Dreyfus’s lawyers pressed for conciliation with the prosecution in exchange for acquittal.
In the end, the defence could not stop the inevitable. Dreyfus was found guilty and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment. The guilty verdict was one vote away from acquittal. This led to an explosive reaction, turning Dreyfus’s supporters and opponents against each other and splitting the nation. The Emperor, hoping to reconcile things before they went too far, offered Dreyfus a pardon. However, accepting meant admitting his guilt. Eventually, Dreyfus agreed, freeing him from his sentence but angering his supporters by implying his guilt. It would not be until 1909 that Dreyfus would be exonerated and reinstated in the military after all evidence against him was proven baseless. Until that time, resentment and anger plagued the French population for years.
What was going on in France was child’s play compared to events in the Commonwealth. Near the end of 1899, Emperor Vladislovas II Giedraiciai passed away, with his son Jonas II Giedraiciai crowned Emperor. Vladislovas had been a fairly popular emperor, mostly due to his more tolerant approach to the many minorities in the Commonwealth. Indeed, the name Commonwealth had been formally adopted as his title to represent that the nation was not just Poland and Lithuania. Under Vladislovas’s rule, the Commonwealth parliament saw its powers increased and better representation given to the various cultural groups within the Commonwealth.
Jonas was not like his father. Plagued with a sense of entitlement, the early stages of his reign consisted of disputes with parliament as he attempted to strengthen the position of the Crown. He also threatened the peace with the minorities when before his ascension he requested to be bestowed with the title of Emperor of Poland-Lithuania, believing that the title would better show the prominence of the monarchy as the unifier of the two kingdoms. Parliament rejected this demand, refusing to recognize him as anything other than Emperor of the Commonwealth. While acknowledging the title in public, the Emperor was oft to refer to himself as Emperor of Poland-Lithuania in private, much to the chagrin of parliament.
The timing of Jonas’s ascension and his inflammatory decisions did not earn him much support from the public. The Commonwealth was going through a period of agricultural decline. Production had dropped as most agricultural land remained in the hands of large landowners and was underutilized, while peasant farmers saw their measly pieces of land broken further apart when split between their sons upon inheritance. In the west, rural overpopulation proved a problem, with peasants unable to grow enough food to feed or support their families. In the east, where the land was less populated and owners held larger tracks of land, an inability to properly mechanize led to underproduction, while a lack of proper infrastructure made it difficult to transport goods. The mass trend of agricultural mismanagement was bound to cause problems.
After a particularly bad harvest, food became scarce across the Commonwealth, with the lower classes left scrounging for food. Food riots occurred in several major cities in 1901. Farmers protested, demanding land reform to keep them from going destitute. The government, struggling financially, could not effectively import food to feed the people. Many of the early riots were dispersed with force when they didn’t disband peacefully. The Commonwealth was a powder keg ready to explode.
Combined with the food situation and Jonas’s actions, the minorities of the Commonwealth started growing more agitated. The Scandinavians, who had mostly remained dormant after their previous rebellion had been put down by force, started becoming more vocal and called for electoral reform to give them proper representation in government. The bolder called for unification with Scandinavia, often prompting a heavy-handed reaction from the government. This did little to win them over.
The Scandinavians were not the only ones to make themselves heard. The Muscovites, an often-ignored segment of the population, were becoming increasingly disgruntled with their station in the Commonwealth. They had done fairly well under Lithuanian rule, but things had changed recently. They were hit hardest by the agricultural failure, but they were also increasingly persecuted for their religious beliefs.
The Commonwealth had long pursued a policy of religious tolerance, a result of being a Catholic nation with a large Orthodox population. For centuries, they had lived in harmony. However, as the Polish and Lithuanian Catholics became more prominent and the Commonwealth saw increasing heathen populations due to expansion in Asia, measures were taken to press for religious uniformity. While the focus was on the Muslims of Central Asia, the Orthodox Muscovites were equally targeted. Constantly pressured to adopt the Catholic faith, their complacency in the face of Lithuanian rule was beginning to evaporate.
The situation was made even direr by the fact that the Commonwealth had gone into massive debt. Industrialization had faltered in the Commonwealth in the latter half of the 19th Century. While they had a strong industry early on, they failed to keep up with recent innovations and fell behind most of Europe. The rail system proved inadequate to support the Commonwealth’s trade networks, and they failed to properly build up infrastructure in Siberia. Agricultural production was not as high as it could be. All of this was a result of the failure of the government to pursue industrialization.
The lack of focus on industrialization was partially a result of the heavy focus on the military. The Commonwealth had been engaged in a state of war for most of the past three decades. The 1870s had been dominated by major wars with Hispania and Byzantium, perhaps the root cause for the Commonwealth falling behind industrially as an entire generation became a victim of war. The 1880s and part of the 1890s had featured a struggle to claim parts of Central Asia, conflicts that were less damaging but proved long-lasting. The recent Sino-Commonwealth War had the greatest aftershocks, showing to the world the Commonwealth’s inadequacies and damaging the nation’s morale. All these wars had cost the nation greatly, in both men and money.
In this state of disorder, it was no surprise that dissent spread to the ranks of the army. Their failure in the Sino-Commonwealth War had left many soldiers feeling bitter and blaming the General Staff and government for the army’s failure. Morale was at an all-time low, with mutinies becoming widespread. No one wanted to serve in an army that had failed against an Asian nation, and calls for massive military reforms were made, one of many demands being made to the government at this time.
This all culminated in a manifesto to be presented to the Emperor. A group of radicalized farmers, soldiers, and nationalists gathered to present a petition demanding improved working conditions and wages for industrial workers and soldiers, land reform, greater representation for minorities in parliament, greater autonomy for local governments, and other liberal reforms. Hoping to appease them, the Emperor appointed some liberal-minded ministers, who were instructed to initiate financial and agricultural reforms, as well as to grant local governments more power.
This proved only a temporary measure. In early 1902, disgruntled soldiers rose up in the capital of Vilnius, shutting down the city. This proved a much greater threat than a few rioters and angry farmers. Faced with a large-scale mutiny in the army if not stopped, the Emperor called upon loyalist soldiers to take out these traitors, turning soldiers against soldiers. The capital was reclaimed, but it sparked off country-wide revolts as Scandinavian and Muscovite nationalists reared their heads. Mutinies increased in number as soldiers were appalled at their compatriots being turned against each other. The farmers, still starving and unable to make a living, refused to remain quiet either.
Seeing how badly things were going, the Emperor promised to pass the necessary reforms. While a promising step forward, some did not believe him to be earnest. When a separatist assassin killed his uncle, the Emperor vacillated, less willing to give in to such radicals. The group mostly consisting of farmers and soldiers presented another manifesto, this time demanding basic civil rights, while the nationalists continued to press for greater autonomy. Fearing that he might be targeted next, but also hoping to divide his opposition, the Emperor gave in to the demands of the farmers and soldiers, promising widespread reform and a bill of rights. As for the nationalists, he outright refused to support their demands, which combined with him agreeing to the demands of the others only encouraged them to strengthen their efforts.
It proved a wise choice to agree to some of the demands. The farmers quieted down, and an opportunity was given to weed out the mutineers and disloyal men within the military, allowing for the Emperor to unify the army behind him. With the military finally having his back, the Emperor unleashed them on the separatists, putting down their rebellions by force. They would not be shown the mercy given to the farmers and soldiers.
By the end of 1902, most of the violence had subsided and order was restored. The separatist uprisings were brought to an end, and all calls for greater autonomy were dashed aside. Now the Emperor had to make do on his promises. The Commonwealth parliament was to be reformed to better represent the population. Soldiers were given a pay raise, industrial workers better working conditions, and farmers the land reform they so desired. A bill of rights was to be created granting freedom of speech and assembly. It was a major step forward and would surely keep a large segment of the population happy.
However, key issues were ignored or even pulled back. Local governments lost the autonomy previously promised to them during the height of the revolution, and instead efforts were increased to stamp out the culture, language, and religion of various minorities. Uniformity, breaking down the regional identities, was seen as the best way to prevent a repeat of events. Jonas officially adopted the title of Emperor of the Commonwealth he had hesitated to claim earlier, although this time calling the Commonwealth an empire with a single identity rather than a group of several equals. This might appeal to some but left a large portion of the population dissatisfied. The Commonwealth had just barely avoided descending into anarchy, but it was now on shakier ground.
On the other side of the world, Hispania’s colonial nations were contemplating a massive undertaking. The Nicaraguan Conflict had exposed vulnerabilities in the Colonial Congress and there was a growing desire for a show of unity. Nueva Granada was also feeling especially vulnerable and something needed to be done to prevent further conflict with Nova Hispania. In an attempt to deflect away from their recent troubles, the Colonial Congress proposed the idea of a canal through Panama.
It was an idea that had been contemplated before, but never truly pursued. Travel between the Pacific and Atlantic was arduous and a shortcut through the isthmus of Panama was ideal. A canal would speed up travel and serve as a valuable source of income, with Nueva Granada expected to be the main beneficiary. This would go a long way towards assuaging Nueva Granada’s ego. The Colonial Congress thus proposed a joint effort to construct the canal, with all members providing funds to construct it and receiving part of the revenue once it was up and running.
This idea was met with great support from Hispania. The government pledged to provide funds and assist in construction. With Hispania and all its colonial nations chipping in, including Nova Hispania, the Colonial Congress set forth to build the most ambitious canal seen so far. Construction commenced in 1901, with it expected to take over a decade to complete. While still a long way off, the effort was serving its purpose as a unifier, bringing together Hispania’s colonial nations in a joint effort that benefited them all.
As Hispania and its colonies embarked on one of the largest construction projects in history, it also had to contend with some unexpected financial troubles. In May of 1901, several railroad tycoons started vying for financial control of the Northern Mediterranean Railway, a railroad company spanning most of Italy. During a battle over control by two of Hispania’s most powerful industrialists, one began buying up all of NMR’s stocks, sparking an unexpected panic in the market as other railroad stocks plummet in price. Fearing that the prices would keep falling, investors started selling their stocks out of pure panic. Those who caught on to what was happening quickly bought up these cheap stocks. It was complete and utter chaos at the Valencia Stock Market.
By the end of the day, many railroad companies had their stocks made worthless, while smaller companies and investors went bankrupt. The industrialists who had been attempting to corner the stock market agreed to arrange a compromise to prevent another crash, forming a holding company known as Northern Securities Company to merge their rail companies. Three of the largest rail companies in Hispania were now held by one company, creating a near monopoly in certain regions. Conservatives demanded that measures be put in place to prevent capitalists from crashing the market again and destroying the livelihood of small businesses, but the liberals hesitated to act for now, with the Comercio unwilling to alienate their prime support base.
Hispania was to face more than just financial troubles. Early in 1901, Emperor Martí II suffered a stroke, leaving him bedridden for weeks. Even after he recovered enough to resume his duties, he was left physically weakened, requiring a cane to walk. Reminiscent of Emperor Pere VI, the stroke left Martí with a speech impediment and difficulty speaking. He also became increasingly depressed, leading to him becoming often irritable and withdrawn. However, most concerning were the seizures he developed, with the Emperor experiencing an episode about once every few weeks. He had to be accompanied by a doctor at all times to ensure he did not harm himself during an episode and there were growing concerns that it would eventually kill him.
Faced with his own mortality, and perhaps fuelled by the effects of the stroke, Emperor Martí became fixated on succession. He expressed great regret that once he was gone, his sole child, Princess Victòria, would be looked over and his brother Sanç would succeed him. In passing conversations he would repeatedly go on about how he should change the succession laws so his daughter could inherit the throne. This was met with great apprehension by most, since if the Emperor passed away soon and his daughter was his heir, that would leave Hispania not only with a female monarch, but a child. No one wanted a regency, let alone one made weaker by the gender of the one on the throne. Seeing as the Emperor was the only one who could change the succession laws, opponents to the idea tried persuading him to leave the laws be with limited success.
As the year went on, the Emperor became increasingly paranoid about his daughter’s fate. This all came to a head when he went before Parliament and declared that he would be working on possible changes to the succession laws. The new laws would be presented before Parliament upon completion to ensure they would be accepted upon his eventual death. Politicians of all persuasions waited on the Emperor’s actions, knowing that what he was about to do would have a lasting impact on Hispania.
In the end, the Emperor never managed to implement his desired changes for succession. Shortly after speaking before Parliament, Emperor Martí II passed away before he could act on his intentions. He never managed to implement the changes to Hispania’s succession laws, or at least never presented them before Parliament. The succession laws thus remained as they were, meaning the throne passed to Martí’s brother seeing as he had no sons. Hispania went into mourning at the loss of their Emperor just as they crowned the new one, Emperor Sanç II de Trastámara.
The ascension of Sanç to the throne was met with great trepidation from the left. Almost all of his successors had been liberal-minded, content to let Parliament govern while they performed their duties as head of state. Sanç differed greatly from these men. For the first time since Regent Joan, a known conservative held the powers of the Crown. One of his first actions upon ascending to the Cortz had been to join the Imperials, throwing off the Trastámara practice of remaining neutral in politics. The question now was how such a conservative monarch would act now that he was in power, and if that would lead to conflict with Parliament.
One of his first acts as Emperor was to formally endorse the liberal-socialist coalition currently forming the government, since it was customary for an emperor to confirm the government upon ascension. Sanç stated that while he disagreed with their policies, he would permit his brother’s ministry to finish out its full term in the interest of stability. This proved a conciliatory gesture towards the left and was perhaps the only one they would receive for some time.
As the rest of the electoral term played it, it became more and more clear that Sanç was not afraid to intervene in parliamentary affairs. While his predecessors had interpreted their role as a guardian and mediator, meant to preserve Hispania’s institutions and ensure the rule of law was respected, Sanç took a more literal approach. He saw the full powers of the Crown and felt it was his duty to utilize them, even if it went against established precedents to the contrary. Why would the Crown possess such powers if they were not to be used, after all.
The first test of the Crown’s powers came in the form of the appointed seats. Shortly after ascending to the throne, Sanç announced that he would be assessing the qualifications of each of the appointed members of the Assembly and replacing those deemed unsatisfactory. Within the first six months, all appointed members who were part of the Progressives or Phoenixes were dismissed and replaced with conservatives. After that, he started reviewing all the liberal ones. It seemed blatantly obvious that the Emperor had a political agenda and intended on filling the appointed seats with men more fitting his sensibilities, mainly meaning good conservative men.
Technically though, the choice of appointments was the prerogative of the Emperor, so nothing could be done about it. This did raise support for their abolition, with the Phoenixes presenting a bill to abolish them once again. Seeing that the seats were soon to be turned against them, the liberals and socialists united to remove them once and for all. Members of the Reconquista even went against their party leadership and voted in support of abolishing the appointed seats. The nationalists joined the cause since they had never been recipients of them throughout their existence. This rally of support managed to just barely achieve the necessary majority in the Assembly, showing just how annoyed the Assembly members were with the Emperor’s change in appointments. However, when the vote went before the Cortz, it understandably failed, with the conservatives voting against it. The Emperor congratulated the Cortz on preserving part of Hispania’s institutions and proceeded with reshuffling the appointments to fit his conservative agenda.
The Emperor’s reliance on the Cortz was to be a strong part of Sanç’s rule. Due to its more conservative nature, Sanç could trust it to support his agenda. The Assembly was unpredictable and subject to change based on the current political trends in Hispania. The Cortz gave him control, where the Assembly remained outside his ability to effectively tame. It did not help the current liberal-socialist government that the Emperor was actively supporting conservative elements in the Cortz to weaken their ability to govern. The Cortz’s image was damaged by this collusion, now seen as an undemocratic stooge of the Emperor.
When it came to legislation, the Emperor was not above dipping his hands into that as well. This came to light when the liberals presented a bill to provide some standardization for the education system. It was a simple bill, mostly focused on ensuring curriculum was the same across the Empire, while still allowing for locals to learn in their own language provided they were also taught Hispanian. It established the type of education children would receive, the general age ranges each type of school would teach, and how curriculum would be determined. There was very little controversial about it that would lead to opposition.
However, there were a few things that caught the Emperor’s attention. The bill established standards for teachers, setting up a system to train teachers to educate children. All teachers in Hispanian schools would be required to receive the proper credentials from a Hispanian university before they could teach. This was meant to ensure only qualified educated individuals could teach in Hispanian schools. It also implicitly barred priests from serving as teachers unless they had the proper credentials. While priests did not play as important a role in the education system as they once did, they still helped provide education for rural students who often did not live near a school. The listed curriculum also failed to include any form of religious education. This was not intended as a way to keep priests out of the education system, but it sure seemed that way to Sanç.
After the bill made its way through the Assembly and the Cortz, it finally came before the Emperor for signing. When presented with the bill, rather than signing it as every other emperor would have done, Sanç refused. He stated that he could not in good conscious as a Christian monarch sign a bill that would remove priests and religious instruction from schools. For the first time in Hispanian history, the Emperor refused to sign a law that was passed by Parliament. The law technically held no validity unless signed by the Emperor, rendering it useless. The conservatives, hoping to win the Emperor’s support, proposed an adjusted law, one that allowed priests to retain their roles as educators in regions that lacked an accredited teacher, as well as permitting for optional religious instruction in schools. This was enough to appease the Emperor, although the left was not too pleased with the changes. The law passed, but the original’s refusal was not forgotten.
Sanç’s tendency to decide the fate of legislation extended beyond that proposed just by Parliament. Shortly after the education bill debacle, the Emperor proposed a bill that would make it illegal for businesses to be open on Sunday unless they obtained a special permit from their local government. All those businesses found operating on Sunday would be subjected to a fine. The idea behind this was a religious one. Sunday was the Lord’s day, and in Sanç’s eyes, it was a sin to work on that day. All good Christians should be attending Mass.
Now, rather than presenting this law to Parliament to approve, he simply enacted it on his own. While this had been done before with royal decrees, usually those only pertained to the royal family, were of paramount importance, or had obtained parliamentary support first. For the Emperor to simply enact such a law on his own was unheard. It would have been as simple as presenting it before Parliament, but Sanç likely feared its failure and decided to do it himself.
It was especially controversial due to its religious connotations. The liberals were outright furious that such a restriction was being placed on businesses. Surprisingly, the socialists were mixed. Some did not like the religious elements, while others praised it for ensuring a day off for workers. The latter also claimed that it set a precedent that the government could dictate limits of work days and work hours in the private sector.
Not wanting to aid the socialists, the Emperor amended his own law. An additional clause was added declaring that Sunday was to be dedicated to religious pursuits and granting additional powers to the Inquisition, who this day and age had been relegated to investigating religious crimes and educating the masses on the Christian faith. The Inquisition would be charged with investigating the employees of any business closed during Sunday to determine if they were using the day off for religious purposes. Any workplace who the majority of employees were not taking part in Christian ceremonies or activities, such as Mass, on that Sunday were to be fined.
This sparked a mass outrage. Not only did it penalize those who were not religious, but through the threat of fines, it encouraged employers to hire pious Christians. This especially hit hard in North Africa where some business hired Muslims, who even if they took the Sunday off would earn their employer a fine for not participating in Christian activities. This seemed a great injustice and earned the ire of the left, but there was nothing they could do. The Emperor had enacted the law in the hopes of inspiring religious unity and adherence, but instead had only angered the impious.
The liberals made one final move to weaken the conservative hold before it was too late. First, they targeted the Mediterranean Clause, hoping that African and Asian voters would bolster their numbers. Predictably, this got nowhere. The Italians abandoned the liberals the moment they announced their intentions, dooming the attempt before it got off the ground. Their second attempt was to win the nationalists over with legislation granting greater powers to state governments. Before this could even go before Parliament, Sanç made use of his veto power, preventing it from even being considered by stating that it would only aid separatist movement. The left was once again thwarted and left thoroughly frustrated.
As Parliament struggled to deal with new conservative Emperor, another nationalist movement was to appear on the world stage. Africa had long been dormant as a nationalist force. The full participation of North Africa in Parliament had appeased the vast majority of Hispanians living in Africa. However, that did not disallow for dissent to grow. The Mediterranean Clause had been specific in that it only aided North Africa, not the states farther south. Most of these states had too small a population to make us much noise as Asia or were still colonies, but they were still not happy about the discrimination they faced.
Many also questioned Parliament’s seemingly arbitrary decision to grant scattered African colonies statehood decades ago, picking and choosing the colonies based on the percentage of Europeans living there without taking into consideration location or total population. Those still living in the older African colonies felt excluded based on culture or race. Despite all this, any attempts to form an organized group to represent these interests had failed due either to a lack of political awareness amongst the vast majority of the African population or the general scattered nature of the states and their populations. Hispania’s much stronger presence in the continent than Asia also prevented any regional movement from gaining traction.
There was one region of Africa that had a sizeable population in a concentrated area of states, that being South Africa. While many Africans were disgruntled about the colonial situation or discrimination, the sentiment in South Africa was different. South Africa, unlike most of Hispania’s African states, possessed a large Aragonese population, a result of early colonization to create a port on the way to Asia. These Aragonese identified more with Europe than Africa, and thus felt deep resentment at being unfairly lumped in with the rest of Africa under the Mediterranean Clause. They felt that as good Christian Europeans, they deserved fair representation in Parliament.
For the most part, the South Africans had failed to organize, their dissent remaining latent. The Second Zazzau War changed things. The war showed Hispania’s willingness to intervene on behalf of Hispanian settlers in Africa, raising the question of why Hispania defended these new settlers while ignoring some of the original Aragonese settlements. Attempts to seek redress from Parliament failed, with most European-based politicians fearing that granting greater representation to any part of Africa would weaken the Hispanian core and start a chain reaction. Their position had been strengthened by the Mediterranean Clause and now they were unwilling to relinquish that advantage.
After failing to gain the attention they desired for their cause, the European-descended people of South Africa joined together to forge their own party, calling it the Unión Africana. Their goal was to seek greater representation in Parliament, or if that failed achieve greater autonomy for the states in Africa. The Africana differed from the other nationalist parties in one major regard. While the Italian and Asian movements were focused on enhancing the voice or autonomy of all people in their region, the Africana was specifically targeted at the white population. The Africana associated itself with strong Christian values and did its best to tie itself to the European population in Africa, reaching out to all those living in West, East, and South Africa. Racism was quite common amongst its members, who were not fond of the local Africans and often blamed them for exclusion from the Europeans-only club that politics had become. If they somehow managed to push forward their agenda in Parliament, it was obviously only going to be to the benefit of a select portion of the population of Hispanian Africa.
As the white Africans organized in Hispania, Scandinavia made its first major move to repair relations with one of its former allies following the Scandinavian Revolution. Following the Revolution, Scandinavia had been focused on repairing the damage caused by decades of absolutist rule. The creation of democratic institutions allowed for more efficient governments responsible to the people, and those people were enthusiastic to see their nation thrive now that they had a voice. The economy was turned around and a mass industrialization program begun. The sudden intervention in Africa that had revived Scandinavia’s colonial empire had been one of their greatest successes. The rest of Europe watched with apprehension, fearing that this new republic might descend into chaos and violence.
It was quite clear by 1902 that this was not to be the case. The Scandinavian Republic seemed far more stable than it had been under the monarchy. In under two decades, they had gone from a backwater to a growing power that could one day reclaim its long-lost role as a great power. This stability also reassured some of the other nations of Europe enough to begin working with it. One of these first nations was France.
When the Scandinavian Revolution had happened, France had not been happy with the results. They had lost not only an ally, but a fellow Valois monarch. The execution of a Valois monarch had not sat well with the French. Only the possibility of German intervention kept the French from getting directly involved. The two kept out of things to avoid pulling each other into war over Scandinavia. As time passed though, realization set in that the monarchy was unlikely to come back except by force. It was better to work with this young republic and reap the rewards.
Scandinavia was the first to reach out. The government of Scandinavia issued a formal apology to both the Emperor of France and the King Germany for the death of their relative, Karl de Valois-Södermanland. His body was recovered from the makeshift grave it had been tossed in as an insult during the Revolution and interred with his family. Emperor Charles IX de Valois-Orléans accepted the apology, enough time having passed to remove any hard feelings. King Karl VI de Valois-Münster was less forgiving, for his sister Sophie had been King Gustav VII’s wife at the time of the Revolution. She had been executed shortly after her son and her body had never been recovered. Blaming the Scandinavians for her death, the German King was less willing to forgive.
Despite tensions with Germany, Scandinavia and France were set to achieve an entente. The two had a history of friendship, one only damaged by the French Succession War, something to be blamed on the monarchy rather than the republic. Despite the obvious tensions that would exist between Scandinavia and the Commonwealth, France sought closer relations with them. Scandinavia could prove another bulwark against Germany if necessary. Also, with the Commonwealth growing increasingly unstable, another ally would be beneficial. As for Scandinavia, they felt that they needed someone to ward off potential threats, having been left alone since the Revolution. The French were best suited to ensure the Lithuanians kept in line. There was also the matter of Africa. Scandinavia had risked Hispania’s ire with their rapid expansion, and an ally with colonies in Africa could help ensure their own position wasn’t threatened. An alliance would be beneficial to both parties.
Once negotiations began, it became clear that the Scandinavians wanted a specific type of alliance. The Republic, due to its nature, was wary of pursuing any aggressive wars, feeling that they would lead to whomever is in power at the time losing public support. They more needed protection and a trade partner than someone who would drag them into wars with other states. It was thus made clear from the start that an alliance between Scandinavia and France would be purely defensive. Scandinavia would only come to France’s defence if they were the one being attacked, and vice-versa. This was satisfactory to the French, leading to the restoration of the French-Scandinavian alliance.
Over in the Americas, Nova Hispania had long been the largest of Hispania’s colonies. When the UKA collapsed, it also become arguably the most powerful nation on the continent, possessing a rapidly growing industry and large population. In 1903, it was set for its economy to take off again. Up in northern Nova Hispania, a lucky prospector struck black gold. Oil was discovered and soon companies started moving in to tap into the massive oil reserve. This set off an oil boom known as the Gusher Age. The discovery of oil saw the development of Nova Hispania’s oil industry, fuelling its already impressive economic growth. With the amount of oil discovered, it was set to become the world’s major oil producer in the coming decades.
Developments in Nova Hispania contrasted with those in Hispania. Following the crash in the Valencia Stock Market, there was growing concern about the influence of the capitalists and their ability to potentially damage the economy in their pursuit of greed. The government, however, was both unwilling and unable to do anything about it, with the capitalist-dominated Comercio serving as their backbone. That did not mean nothing could be done.
In 1903, in perhaps the most unexpected cross-party effort in Parliament yet, the conservatives and socialists banded together to present a series of anti-trust and anti-monopoly legislation to Parliament. The conservatives saw it as the state’s duty to intervene to keep these companies from growing powerful to not only risk the stability of the economy but prevent fair competition with smaller companies. The socialists felt that allowing larger companies to build up monopolies would allow them to dictate unfair terms to the workers due to few alternate workplaces, as well as opposing the massing of wealth in so few hands. It was an odd alliance, but one with a common cause.
Together the conservatives and socialists had the necessary numbers to push their legislation through Parliament. Their bills were designed to break up holding companies controlling several large companies, as well as break up larger companies that dominated specific industries to allow for greater competition. The liberals in government were powerless to stop it, and the success of the anti-trust and anti-monopoly bills proved how ineffective the minority government was.
Once the laws were put into place, the liberals had to watch in humiliation as they were put to use. One of the first companies to be broken up was the Northern Securities Company, the holding company formed following the 1901 Valencia Stock Market Crash that contained the three largest rail companies in Hispania. Several more rail companies were split up into smaller ones. Other industries were targeted as well. Many capitalists who had built up an empire based on a single industry found their businesses split apart as their monopolies were broken. Those who had diversified managed to remain relatively unscathed. It was clear though that now the industrial giants would have to be careful not to stand too tall or they would be knocked down.
The implementation of these anti-trust and anti-monopoly laws against the governing coalition’s wishes was not a good thing for them as they went into the 1904 election. All of Hispania had been shown just how weak they were. This was just one blow of many to their reputation. The Second Zazzau War, despite ending at last in 1902, still lingered in the public memory, a taint on the liberals’ image. The stock market crash in 1901, brought back to the surface by the recent laws, only served to discredit liberal economic policies. The final nail in the coffin was the lack of support from the Emperor. Sanç had no interest in working with the liberals, and his announcement prior to the election that he would be reassessing the remaining appointed seats only reinforced their weakened position. It seemed clear to everyone that the liberals were a sinking ship.
In the wake of the liberal collapse, the socialists attempted to siphon up what seats they could, but found it harder to gain ground now that there was an Emperor in power who would likely oppose them. The Reconquista was too closely associated with the failed government, while the Progressives struggled to make up the ground they lost over the last decade. This was also combined with the slowing down of the nationalist parties. For the first time since its creation, the Partito Nazionalista Italiano failed to gain any seats, showing that they may have finally reached their peak. The Pan-Asian Alliance was still growing, but only gaining a few seats each election. The newest arrival though was the Unión Africana, making an appearance with five seats.
All factors combined to set the path for a conservative revival. All the conservative parties came into the election with rising support, untainted by the mistakes of the liberal-socialist regime and with the open support of the Emperor. They saw a massive rise in seats, and only some of those from the election. Following the announcement of the results, the Emperor made a public statement releasing the names of new appointed members of the Assembly. Everyone knew that the Emperor was conservative, but most failed to realize how far that bias went. Out of the 100 appointed seats, all but four of them were held by a reactionary or conservative party. Two seats each were tossed to the League and Comercio, while the socialists and nationalists were completely ignored. With the rise in seats from the election and the change in appointed seats, the conservatives nearly obtained a supermajority in the Assembly. The Emperor’s support in the Cortz also saw a reverse in the liberal trend, seeing the conservatives make gains for the first time in decades. A conservative government was imminent.
The election also presented a surprising first. Not everyone had been happy with the new Emperor’s conservative leanings, including members of his own family. For reasons known only to himself, Prince Lluís de Trastámara announced that he would be running for election as a member of the League. While one of the rare times a member of the royal family openly endorsed a political party, it was the first time any Trastámara had run for election in the Assembly. Many questioned whether a member of the royal family could even run. However, since he was not a member of the Cortz and the Assembly was technically open to all Christian Hispanian men, there was nothing stopping him. When he then won a seat, he became the first Trastámara to ever serve as an elected member of the Assembly. When asked why he had run, especially with a party that seemed doomed going into the election, he had merely said that he wished to serve as a counter to his brother’s domineering attitude and use his name and influence to give the people of Hispania a voice.
The presence of his brother in the Assembly did not deter Emperor Sanç from his duties. A new government needed to be formed. There was no question that the conservative parties would answer their Emperor’s call, but a Prime Minister needed to be chosen. The Emperor naturally looked to his old allies in the Imperials and picked a candidate with previous experience in the role. Miguel de Villanova had once served as Prime Minister in the 1880s during the height of conservative rule. While he had been dismissed by the increasingly irritable Emperor Alfons X at the time, Sanç saw the value of having a hardline conservative Prime Minister in power. Thus after a break of nearly 20 years, Miguel de Villanova took up the mantle of Prime Minister once again.
Assembly
Partido Reformista Monárquica - 10+4
Unió Conservador-Imperial - 138+55
Partit Caballeresca - 80+23
Hispania's Moderates - 32+14
Liga Liberal de Hispania - 24+2
Alianza de Libre Comercio - 40+2
Partido Reconquista - 32
Partido Popular Progresista - 50
Partido Fénix - 10
Partito Nazionalista Italiano - 39
Pan-Asian Alliance - 40
Unión Africana - 5
Cortz
Partido Reformista Monárquica - 2
Unió Conservador-Imperial - 28
Partit Caballeresca - 11
Hispania's Moderates - 16
Liga Liberal de Hispania - 22
Alianza de Libre Comercio - 5
Partido Reconquista - 11
Partito Nazionalista Italiano - 5
North Africa in 1904
* * * * *
((The Emperor is dead! Long live the Emperor!
It's about time we had a conservative emperor. I always make them so liberal, so this makes it much more interesting. The appointed seats continue to be a point of contention, especially now that the one appointing them is clearly biased. I'm sure the left is wishing Marti had managed to change the succession laws before he died.
I'm still thinking about what to do for the post-1910 part of the epilogue. I've written 10 pages for one of the timelines and haven't even reached WWI. I'm worrying that it may take a much longer time than I anticipated to actually write these things, especially now that work has picked up again. I may keep writing or I might go with notes like I originally intended. We'll see.))
((I wanted an Empress, but I suppose this is more interesting. Time to prepare another contingency plan...))
))
((Short live the Emperor !))
The diversity of their company, shrewd business practices, as well as excellent juridical advice, proved the Faixòns' saving grace as the anti-monopoly and anti-trust laws hit. They didn't appear out of nowhere, and so necessary steps were taken to mostly circumvent its effects. The market for newer products, such as cars and electric wares, was one of innovations and thus was quick to come up with competition. Elsewhere, the company sold some of its assets before the laws were enacted, thus no longer falling under them and making a nice profit. In a few instances, smaller companies were split up from the main one, to be held by a separate member of the family, entering competition with the main one - clearly no longer a monopoly, at least as long as they weren't working together. Still, the outrage of the Faixòns at the new legislation was a prominent voice.
And contributed to the return of what the conservatives likely wouldn't ever have wanted to see again. While Francesc's eldest son Alfons was working closely with his aunt as the designated heir of their business empire, Felipe Faixòn became increasingly politically active. Hispania definitely had to change. Felipe had no sympathies for neither the nobility nor the "plight of the workers". His predecessors had been right - maximal freedom was what would strengthen the nation, the chance to determine yourself the path you wanted to take. So obviously his way led to the Phoenixes, who gladly welcomed a descendant of their founder amongst them again. Felipe's name alone strengthened their presence.
But unlike his predecessors, Felipe's ideals went further. Sanç's actions were only further confirming him on his path. The Hispanian monarchy had gone well past its prime. Appointed seats and the Cortz were his public enemies, but the young man had more in mind. Scandinavia's success was one they could build on here. Felipe dreamt of a republic, though he very well knew it was a long way to go and it needed a lot of plotting to get there. With the widespread acceptance of the Crown in the empire, perhaps it may remain (powerless). Or Sanç could destroy that acceptance, and a direct removal possible. He would need to bide his time for now, prepare his move.
!))The diversity of their company, shrewd business practices, as well as excellent juridical advice, proved the Faixòns' saving grace as the anti-monopoly and anti-trust laws hit. They didn't appear out of nowhere, and so necessary steps were taken to mostly circumvent its effects. The market for newer products, such as cars and electric wares, was one of innovations and thus was quick to come up with competition. Elsewhere, the company sold some of its assets before the laws were enacted, thus no longer falling under them and making a nice profit. In a few instances, smaller companies were split up from the main one, to be held by a separate member of the family, entering competition with the main one - clearly no longer a monopoly, at least as long as they weren't working together. Still, the outrage of the Faixòns at the new legislation was a prominent voice.
And contributed to the return of what the conservatives likely wouldn't ever have wanted to see again. While Francesc's eldest son Alfons was working closely with his aunt as the designated heir of their business empire, Felipe Faixòn became increasingly politically active. Hispania definitely had to change. Felipe had no sympathies for neither the nobility nor the "plight of the workers". His predecessors had been right - maximal freedom was what would strengthen the nation, the chance to determine yourself the path you wanted to take. So obviously his way led to the Phoenixes, who gladly welcomed a descendant of their founder amongst them again. Felipe's name alone strengthened their presence.
But unlike his predecessors, Felipe's ideals went further. Sanç's actions were only further confirming him on his path. The Hispanian monarchy had gone well past its prime. Appointed seats and the Cortz were his public enemies, but the young man had more in mind. Scandinavia's success was one they could build on here. Felipe dreamt of a republic, though he very well knew it was a long way to go and it needed a lot of plotting to get there. With the widespread acceptance of the Crown in the empire, perhaps it may remain (powerless). Or Sanç could destroy that acceptance, and a direct removal possible. He would need to bide his time for now, prepare his move.
The Leons had entered the new century in relatively stable condition, though they were not without tragedy. The Empress Dowager Maria Luisa, who had been a constant through the last eight decades, passed away in her sleep in 1901, several weeks before Emperor Marti II also passed away. Her death sent shockwaves through the Leon family. Many generations of Leons and Trastamaras had grown up with her guidance, and now she was gone. The growing women’s rights movement was also dealt a harsh blow, especially after Sanc ascended to the throne. Juan Felipe and his children and grandchildren now had many challenges facing them.
As he grew older and recognized he would also die soon, Juan Felipe de Leon grew more and more cynical, though he continued going to church regularly. The collapse of the Fraternidad and its successor coalition’s difficulties in forming and leading a government did nothing to allay his fears. His contingency plans weren’t working, and the Reconquista still did not reach the heights it did decades ago. He needed to move the party down a new path, especially with a hostile Emperor. In light of the politicization of the appointed seats, he amended the party’s platform to call for their abolition and to ban their return. He pushed the Reconquista in favor of an end to the Mediterranean Clause, with substantial concessions of autonomy for the nationalists and Italians, and sent representatives to meet with the major parties operating outside of Europe, hoping to form an alliance with them in case the social liberal coalition fell apart. And he rewrote the rest of the Reconquista’s platform in such a way as to disavow true socialism and promote a more moderate ideology: social democracy. The Reconquista would remain focused on social welfare and reforms for the common people, but they would also protect Hispania’s economic institutions and free market. This meant throwing their full support behind antitrust legislation and financial regulations but also providing safety nets for both workers and small businesses in case the regulations failed. And hearing rumors that the Phoenixes were drifting towards republicanism, Juan Felipe took steps to introduce even more laws protecting the institution of the monarchy. While he did support the Crown, he was also in favor of laws amending the imperial succession to include women, one of the Empress Dowager’s last wishes.
At home, Juan Felipe prepared his family for his coming death. His eldest son, Hernando, was now in his sixties and an experienced politician in his own right. He ran a charity in downtown Valencia catering to the poor and homeless, earning him the respect and admiration of the working poor throughout Hispania, though he would need to do more if he was going to revive the Reconquista.
Juan Felipe’s second son, Francisco, was just entering his fortieth year in the military. Francisco had always been eager to serve his country…sometimes too eager. He constantly begged his father to get him deployed to places with the heaviest fighting, where he would always volunteer to fight at the frontlines. And despite this recklessness, he always came back in one piece. Forty years of service in every engagement the Hispanian army had fought, and he emerged without a single scratch. In the last war with Zazzau, he even ran through heavy artillery fire to rescue a battalion of surrounded Hispanian soldiers, inadvertently breaking the Zazzau lines and giving Hispania the upper hand. For that, he was promoted several times and given several medals. However, he turned down a promotion to general, as that would mean transferring away from the fighting and to a desk job. He truly wanted to die on the battlefield. With the Zazzau war over and Hispania at peace, Francisco came home and immediately clashed with his other brothers, whom he saw as too cowardly and pacifistic. Despite this, he remains on good terms with the rest of his family and still campaigns for the Reconquista, hoping to sway his fellow veterans toward the party.
Elias de Leon, Juan Felipe’s third son, was now in his sixties. After the death of his cousin Luis Emiliano de Leon in a workplace accident, Elias inherited the Leon business empire in 1873, just as the Long Depression hit. Using the skills he picked up as a low-level clerk, he quickly reorganized his many holdings, cutting enterprises that weren’t profiting enough and moving their employees to other ones. He took steps to keep both wages and profit margins high, even as his rivals struggled. When the Long Depression finally ended, Leon Enterprises had remained stable and prosperous, and Elias’ employees remained happy and productive. Determined to never be caught off-guard by another crisis again, Elias convinced his father to support legislation protecting Hispania’s financial institutions from another crash. As Leon Enterprises grew over the next few decades, Elias drew up more and more contingency plans and safety nets in case another crash came, which of course it did. When the stock market crashed in 1901, Elias was ready. He used his own money as capital to keep his companies and employees afloat and weather the storm. He cut back on production in some companies and increased production in other ones while shifting his focuses to areas least affected by the crisis. He had also bought up most of the railroads in northwestern Hispania, especially around Leon, which would insulate the region against any changes in the railroad industry. Furthermore, he had built up his reputation by massively investing into the Panama Canal. He used this reputation to lobby in favor of antitrust regulations in 1903, where he brokered an unholy alliance of conservatives and socialists to get them passed. The immediate effects of these regulations was many corporations were broken up. Coincidentally, most of these were Elias’s biggest rivals in certain industries, such as arms production, railroad building, oil drilling, coal mining, steel smelting, industrial agriculture, and automobile manufacturing. As Leon Enterprises had diversified into almost every profitable industry, it was largely unaffected by the regulations and indeed had vastly benefited from them, as its biggest opponents had been eliminated. To keep the antitrust regulators away, just before the laws went into force Elias made sure to sell off unprofitable assets of Leon Enterprises so he wouldn’t have a monopoly in any industry (technically, 49% wasn’t a monopoly). All of the newly spun-off companies created as the result of this sell-off were headed by close friends and distant family. However, this success was tempered by the fall of the social liberal coalition in the 1904 elections. Juan Felipe and Hernando blamed Elias for pushing through the antitrust legislation which torpedoed their campaign, though Elias complained it was the Comercio who were to blame for refusing to support the bills. As a new conservative coalition assumed power, Elias found he was in trouble. Politically and privately, his father and brothers were now angry with him, though his brothers were all angry at him for different reasons (Hernando blamed him for the Reconquista’s election loss, Francisco wanted him to invest more in arms production, and Daniel straight-up hated everybody, especially him). Economically, while most of Elias’ rivals had been decimated by the new regulations, his biggest rival survived almost intact: Faixon Industries. The Faixon family had been a thorn in his side since he took over Leon Enterprises, always challenging him for dominance over every market. He had intended the antitrust bill to hit them as well, but they took the same steps he did. Aurora Faixon was smart. He’d known this since they met at Senor de Alejandria’s party back when he was a young man heading off to university. They could’ve been unstoppable as allies, but where’d the fun in that be? At least now there would be competition, and Elias knew the market thrived on competition. So he drew up his war plans. Instead of them challenging Leon Enterprises’ dominance, he would take the fight to them. He ordered his lawyers and bankers to draw up plans to acquire as many independent car companies as he could without attracting the attention of the antitrust regulators. He also began looking at what he called “emerging industries” for potential future opportunities. Ten years ago, an Italian had invented something akin to a wireless telegraph, while last year two brothers from somewhere had invented and successfully tested a flying machine. And two years ago, Elias had attended a screening for what was billed as a “motion picture.” While the plot of this motion picture obviously couldn’t match anything produced by the great opera companies of Italy and Bavaria, Elias saw promise and immediately offered a large sum to acquire the company. With any luck, as old industries died out and took the Faixons down with them (hopefully), Leon Enterprises would remain relevant.
Daniel de Leon, Juan Felipe’s youngest son, meanwhile continued his descent into insanity. After washing out of the Hispanian army in his youth, he fell in with various anarchist and far left revolutionary groups, all of which had been banned at least three times over through laws introduced by his own father. This didn’t deter Daniel from adopting their ideology. He tried joining the Popular, but he found they were too moderate and quickly quit. He tried joining the few revolutionary organizations that hadn’t been banned yet, but he found they were also too moderate for his own tastes, and the rest were soon banned. Finally, he decided to create his own revolutionary party, the Partido Neuva Popular Fratnernidad (PNPF), which was immediately banned by the government. For good measure, Juan Felipe disowned him, publicly declared he was no longer part of the Leon family, and then called for his arrest, which the Ministry of Justice eagerly pursued. However, Daniel evaded the forces of justice and fled to the deserts of North Africa, where he built up a substantial following in hiding. About fifty, Daniel plotted revolution against the Hispanian monarchy, hoping to establish a republic like in Scandinavia. After hearing rumors that Felipe Faixon was flirting with republicanism, he sent out a coded unsigned message to him, hoping he would be a valuable asset to the cause of overthrowing the Hispanian monarchy ((@alscon)).
Esperanza Isabella de Leon, Juan Felipe’s youngest child and only daughter, was, like many previous Leon women, too strong and independent for her own good, especially with the current Emperor in power. Despite her talents in many subjects, her political activism, and unwavering support from her husband and the male Leons, she was shut out from many social opportunities which defaulted to her brothers (which didn’t want them). The progress she made pushing for women’s suffrage, after successfully lobbying for more women’s property rights, was dealt a crushing blow by the death of the Empress Dowager and ended for good with the ascension of Sanc to the throne. Despite this, she refused to give up and instead rallied her followers to protest and demonstrate in major cities for equal voting rights and a fair share in inheritance. She didn’t care if Sanc sent the police after her. She was a Leon. Leons weren’t scared easily.
Juan Carlos, Hernando de Leon’s oldest son, had just turned 33 and was raising a thirteen-year-old boy, Alexander, alone. His wife had died of tuberculosis soon after Alexander’s birth, which convinced Juan Carlos to volunteer frequently at a local hospital and lobby his grandfather to support healthcare reform. Meanwhile, young Alexander’s experiences volunteering at a Hispanian military field hospital in Zazzau led him to consider joining the military and serving his country just as those wounded men had.
Solon, Daniel de Leon’s son, turned 21 in 1904. For his entire childhood, Daniel had forced his atheist and communist views upon Solon, hoping he would be the next leader of the PNPF. However, Solon wanted none of that. As soon as he became an adult, he took his few possessions and fled Daniel’s secret lair in North Africa, wandering Hispania’s empire as a homeless vagrant for several years before a kind Italian monk came across him. The monk invited Solon to join him at a local monastery, and Solon accepted. Reading the Bible, Solon found his true calling and began studying theology. He hoped to be ordained as a priest before he reached 30.
As he grew older and recognized he would also die soon, Juan Felipe de Leon grew more and more cynical, though he continued going to church regularly. The collapse of the Fraternidad and its successor coalition’s difficulties in forming and leading a government did nothing to allay his fears. His contingency plans weren’t working, and the Reconquista still did not reach the heights it did decades ago. He needed to move the party down a new path, especially with a hostile Emperor. In light of the politicization of the appointed seats, he amended the party’s platform to call for their abolition and to ban their return. He pushed the Reconquista in favor of an end to the Mediterranean Clause, with substantial concessions of autonomy for the nationalists and Italians, and sent representatives to meet with the major parties operating outside of Europe, hoping to form an alliance with them in case the social liberal coalition fell apart. And he rewrote the rest of the Reconquista’s platform in such a way as to disavow true socialism and promote a more moderate ideology: social democracy. The Reconquista would remain focused on social welfare and reforms for the common people, but they would also protect Hispania’s economic institutions and free market. This meant throwing their full support behind antitrust legislation and financial regulations but also providing safety nets for both workers and small businesses in case the regulations failed. And hearing rumors that the Phoenixes were drifting towards republicanism, Juan Felipe took steps to introduce even more laws protecting the institution of the monarchy. While he did support the Crown, he was also in favor of laws amending the imperial succession to include women, one of the Empress Dowager’s last wishes.
At home, Juan Felipe prepared his family for his coming death. His eldest son, Hernando, was now in his sixties and an experienced politician in his own right. He ran a charity in downtown Valencia catering to the poor and homeless, earning him the respect and admiration of the working poor throughout Hispania, though he would need to do more if he was going to revive the Reconquista.
Juan Felipe’s second son, Francisco, was just entering his fortieth year in the military. Francisco had always been eager to serve his country…sometimes too eager. He constantly begged his father to get him deployed to places with the heaviest fighting, where he would always volunteer to fight at the frontlines. And despite this recklessness, he always came back in one piece. Forty years of service in every engagement the Hispanian army had fought, and he emerged without a single scratch. In the last war with Zazzau, he even ran through heavy artillery fire to rescue a battalion of surrounded Hispanian soldiers, inadvertently breaking the Zazzau lines and giving Hispania the upper hand. For that, he was promoted several times and given several medals. However, he turned down a promotion to general, as that would mean transferring away from the fighting and to a desk job. He truly wanted to die on the battlefield. With the Zazzau war over and Hispania at peace, Francisco came home and immediately clashed with his other brothers, whom he saw as too cowardly and pacifistic. Despite this, he remains on good terms with the rest of his family and still campaigns for the Reconquista, hoping to sway his fellow veterans toward the party.
Elias de Leon, Juan Felipe’s third son, was now in his sixties. After the death of his cousin Luis Emiliano de Leon in a workplace accident, Elias inherited the Leon business empire in 1873, just as the Long Depression hit. Using the skills he picked up as a low-level clerk, he quickly reorganized his many holdings, cutting enterprises that weren’t profiting enough and moving their employees to other ones. He took steps to keep both wages and profit margins high, even as his rivals struggled. When the Long Depression finally ended, Leon Enterprises had remained stable and prosperous, and Elias’ employees remained happy and productive. Determined to never be caught off-guard by another crisis again, Elias convinced his father to support legislation protecting Hispania’s financial institutions from another crash. As Leon Enterprises grew over the next few decades, Elias drew up more and more contingency plans and safety nets in case another crash came, which of course it did. When the stock market crashed in 1901, Elias was ready. He used his own money as capital to keep his companies and employees afloat and weather the storm. He cut back on production in some companies and increased production in other ones while shifting his focuses to areas least affected by the crisis. He had also bought up most of the railroads in northwestern Hispania, especially around Leon, which would insulate the region against any changes in the railroad industry. Furthermore, he had built up his reputation by massively investing into the Panama Canal. He used this reputation to lobby in favor of antitrust regulations in 1903, where he brokered an unholy alliance of conservatives and socialists to get them passed. The immediate effects of these regulations was many corporations were broken up. Coincidentally, most of these were Elias’s biggest rivals in certain industries, such as arms production, railroad building, oil drilling, coal mining, steel smelting, industrial agriculture, and automobile manufacturing. As Leon Enterprises had diversified into almost every profitable industry, it was largely unaffected by the regulations and indeed had vastly benefited from them, as its biggest opponents had been eliminated. To keep the antitrust regulators away, just before the laws went into force Elias made sure to sell off unprofitable assets of Leon Enterprises so he wouldn’t have a monopoly in any industry (technically, 49% wasn’t a monopoly). All of the newly spun-off companies created as the result of this sell-off were headed by close friends and distant family. However, this success was tempered by the fall of the social liberal coalition in the 1904 elections. Juan Felipe and Hernando blamed Elias for pushing through the antitrust legislation which torpedoed their campaign, though Elias complained it was the Comercio who were to blame for refusing to support the bills. As a new conservative coalition assumed power, Elias found he was in trouble. Politically and privately, his father and brothers were now angry with him, though his brothers were all angry at him for different reasons (Hernando blamed him for the Reconquista’s election loss, Francisco wanted him to invest more in arms production, and Daniel straight-up hated everybody, especially him). Economically, while most of Elias’ rivals had been decimated by the new regulations, his biggest rival survived almost intact: Faixon Industries. The Faixon family had been a thorn in his side since he took over Leon Enterprises, always challenging him for dominance over every market. He had intended the antitrust bill to hit them as well, but they took the same steps he did. Aurora Faixon was smart. He’d known this since they met at Senor de Alejandria’s party back when he was a young man heading off to university. They could’ve been unstoppable as allies, but where’d the fun in that be? At least now there would be competition, and Elias knew the market thrived on competition. So he drew up his war plans. Instead of them challenging Leon Enterprises’ dominance, he would take the fight to them. He ordered his lawyers and bankers to draw up plans to acquire as many independent car companies as he could without attracting the attention of the antitrust regulators. He also began looking at what he called “emerging industries” for potential future opportunities. Ten years ago, an Italian had invented something akin to a wireless telegraph, while last year two brothers from somewhere had invented and successfully tested a flying machine. And two years ago, Elias had attended a screening for what was billed as a “motion picture.” While the plot of this motion picture obviously couldn’t match anything produced by the great opera companies of Italy and Bavaria, Elias saw promise and immediately offered a large sum to acquire the company. With any luck, as old industries died out and took the Faixons down with them (hopefully), Leon Enterprises would remain relevant.
Daniel de Leon, Juan Felipe’s youngest son, meanwhile continued his descent into insanity. After washing out of the Hispanian army in his youth, he fell in with various anarchist and far left revolutionary groups, all of which had been banned at least three times over through laws introduced by his own father. This didn’t deter Daniel from adopting their ideology. He tried joining the Popular, but he found they were too moderate and quickly quit. He tried joining the few revolutionary organizations that hadn’t been banned yet, but he found they were also too moderate for his own tastes, and the rest were soon banned. Finally, he decided to create his own revolutionary party, the Partido Neuva Popular Fratnernidad (PNPF), which was immediately banned by the government. For good measure, Juan Felipe disowned him, publicly declared he was no longer part of the Leon family, and then called for his arrest, which the Ministry of Justice eagerly pursued. However, Daniel evaded the forces of justice and fled to the deserts of North Africa, where he built up a substantial following in hiding. About fifty, Daniel plotted revolution against the Hispanian monarchy, hoping to establish a republic like in Scandinavia. After hearing rumors that Felipe Faixon was flirting with republicanism, he sent out a coded unsigned message to him, hoping he would be a valuable asset to the cause of overthrowing the Hispanian monarchy ((@alscon)).
Esperanza Isabella de Leon, Juan Felipe’s youngest child and only daughter, was, like many previous Leon women, too strong and independent for her own good, especially with the current Emperor in power. Despite her talents in many subjects, her political activism, and unwavering support from her husband and the male Leons, she was shut out from many social opportunities which defaulted to her brothers (which didn’t want them). The progress she made pushing for women’s suffrage, after successfully lobbying for more women’s property rights, was dealt a crushing blow by the death of the Empress Dowager and ended for good with the ascension of Sanc to the throne. Despite this, she refused to give up and instead rallied her followers to protest and demonstrate in major cities for equal voting rights and a fair share in inheritance. She didn’t care if Sanc sent the police after her. She was a Leon. Leons weren’t scared easily.
Juan Carlos, Hernando de Leon’s oldest son, had just turned 33 and was raising a thirteen-year-old boy, Alexander, alone. His wife had died of tuberculosis soon after Alexander’s birth, which convinced Juan Carlos to volunteer frequently at a local hospital and lobby his grandfather to support healthcare reform. Meanwhile, young Alexander’s experiences volunteering at a Hispanian military field hospital in Zazzau led him to consider joining the military and serving his country just as those wounded men had.
Solon, Daniel de Leon’s son, turned 21 in 1904. For his entire childhood, Daniel had forced his atheist and communist views upon Solon, hoping he would be the next leader of the PNPF. However, Solon wanted none of that. As soon as he became an adult, he took his few possessions and fled Daniel’s secret lair in North Africa, wandering Hispania’s empire as a homeless vagrant for several years before a kind Italian monk came across him. The monk invited Solon to join him at a local monastery, and Solon accepted. Reading the Bible, Solon found his true calling and began studying theology. He hoped to be ordained as a priest before he reached 30.
The outrage at the anti-trust laws would not stay without consequences. This legislation "enacted by idiotic, braindead partisans" changed the aims of the Gryphon's investment policy. The Faixòns would keep pointing out the obvious flaws in the laws, in the meantime building up their investments around the world in countries with no communist tendencies and favourable laws. Such as Scandinavia, Germany, the nations and colonies in America (except Nuevas Baleares, with special focus on Nova Hispania). They argued that it was both a natural goal as well as sometimes a natural consequence of a business to reach a monopoly, and that this alone wouldn't harm anyone. If any such legislation would need to be enacted, then it should aim at prohibiting abuses. They could provide a fairly simple example: Let's say ten companies produce X. Then demand falls. Only the X from company A would be bought, for it has the best quality. It would thus reach a monopoly. Only to be broken up. Leaving the market with worse quality goods with absolutely no gain. Intervention should be possible in cases such as if A drastically raised the price of X once they noticed they were the only one left, but the current laws only had negative effect and would only turn off investors instead of promoting competition.
As expected, the name Faixòn alone associated with the Phoenixes brought up quite some attention, and the young Felipe basked in it, although he hadn't done anything yet. He even received some kind of coded message for whatever reason. Seeking aid in overthrowing the monarchy, with quite a lot of communist filth between the lines. Felipe couldn't risk aligning himself with this cause - publicly -, and he definitely wasn't interested in a deal with the devil. Contemplating to just put it in the trash where it belonged, he came to the conclusion that it would be better off in the hands of the justice, clearing himself of any suspicion people may unjustly have.
As expected, the name Faixòn alone associated with the Phoenixes brought up quite some attention, and the young Felipe basked in it, although he hadn't done anything yet. He even received some kind of coded message for whatever reason. Seeking aid in overthrowing the monarchy, with quite a lot of communist filth between the lines. Felipe couldn't risk aligning himself with this cause - publicly -, and he definitely wasn't interested in a deal with the devil. Contemplating to just put it in the trash where it belonged, he came to the conclusion that it would be better off in the hands of the justice, clearing himself of any suspicion people may unjustly have.
Carlos was finally having big successes: his White Star company was growing and he waited until the 1901 stock crisis to open his stocks. He had 29 ships of all sizes traveling to the far corners of the world, but he had something special for the 30th ship: He planed the "Titan", the only fitting name for it, the largest ship ever created, so big that would be unsinkable. He put forward the project and gave green light, his Maiden Voyaje would never be forgotten.
In politics it was finally a great time to be a Conservative: Finally a non-liberal Emperor was sitting on the throne, finally the Cortz was reversed and the Conservatives had a supermajority. Maybe it was time to put forward some ideas like the weighted system restoration, the anti-alcohol laws, the furher centralization of the electoral votes in the Mediterranean, and the banishment of those separatists.
Meanwhile, his son Antonio, was reaching his teen years, to say that he was reactionary would be an understatement. He was fanatically religious (Avoiding alcohol, and brothel parties that are so common with people of his age), a fervent Monarchist Autocrat, a anti-communist, and a Ultranationalist. His ideas intensified with his age and even some reactionaries thought he was too radical, he was probably going to cause some problems in the future.
In politics it was finally a great time to be a Conservative: Finally a non-liberal Emperor was sitting on the throne, finally the Cortz was reversed and the Conservatives had a supermajority. Maybe it was time to put forward some ideas like the weighted system restoration, the anti-alcohol laws, the furher centralization of the electoral votes in the Mediterranean, and the banishment of those separatists.
Meanwhile, his son Antonio, was reaching his teen years, to say that he was reactionary would be an understatement. He was fanatically religious (Avoiding alcohol, and brothel parties that are so common with people of his age), a fervent Monarchist Autocrat, a anti-communist, and a Ultranationalist. His ideas intensified with his age and even some reactionaries thought he was too radical, he was probably going to cause some problems in the future.
Duke Carlos de Garcia e Silva is hosting a banquet at his Estate in Galicia, several illustrious figures of Hispania are invited.
((Time for another banquet guys, I cannot wait to see a meeting of Sanç and Antonio.))
((Time for another banquet guys, I cannot wait to see a meeting of Sanç and Antonio.))
Hearing that a banquet would be organized, general Berenguer Faixòn immediately sent word that he would appear. It would be good if more people could profit from his greatness. His enemies (and own men...) were not so impressed, but clearly Hispania's most illustrious figures would recognize his genius.
He was the only Faixòn, though. Francesc was "in a creative period, near a breakthrough". Aurora and Alfons made clear that they would not socialize with the morons behind the anti-trust legislation. And Felipe, abhorring the very idea, excused himself by being busy organizing a party meeting at around the same time.
He was the only Faixòn, though. Francesc was "in a creative period, near a breakthrough". Aurora and Alfons made clear that they would not socialize with the morons behind the anti-trust legislation. And Felipe, abhorring the very idea, excused himself by being busy organizing a party meeting at around the same time.
Alfonso de Alejandría, now almost 100 years old, sent word that he would appear with his grandson, Joan.
((Alfonso is pretty old now. Maybe he’ll end up dying at the party, give the guests something to talk about. ))
((Alfonso is pretty old now. Maybe he’ll end up dying at the party, give the guests something to talk about.
))
Juan Felipe received his invitation and immediately tossed it away. In an official statement, he stated he and his families had other more important things to do.
Glad of her grandfather's efforts to maintain a diverse business that weathered the anti-trust laws, Shingai Mwenemutapa decided that she would not only accept the invitation to Duke Carlos de Garcia e Silva's banquet but would also generously offer the use of considerable stocks of the best Mwenemutapa liquors, decorations and wines from her industrial empire.
Although she decided to leave her children in Valencia in the care of her servants, she responded that she would be accompanied by her husband, Vitelio Mwenemutapa (although born Bandrés, he'd taken his wife's name given her relatively considerable wealth compared to the small winery business that he inherited) to the banquet.
Although she decided to leave her children in Valencia in the care of her servants, she responded that she would be accompanied by her husband, Vitelio Mwenemutapa (although born Bandrés, he'd taken his wife's name given her relatively considerable wealth compared to the small winery business that he inherited) to the banquet.
((So is this banquet actually happening? I delayed the update, if anyone has noticed, so everyone would have time to IC. Perhaps it would be a good time to actually start it up. ))
))
Carlos had to delay the banquet for some time to finish preparations but it was finally ready, his family was in the great hall of his estate and were waiting the guests.
((I forgot this banquet even existed because of the whole war in the Discord, but it is finally here and anyone can come.))
((I forgot this banquet even existed because of the whole war in the Discord, but it is finally here and anyone can come.))