1855-1856 – The Election of 1856
The mid-year session of Parliament in 1855 saw several acts pass greatly reshaping the Empire’s colonies. The Imperial Commonwealth was established, officially designating the various levels of integration with Hispania for its colonies and spherelings. Guangdong and Shaozhou, the newest acquisitions from Ming, were granted official state status, giving those living there all the rights and privileges afforded to other Hispanians. This greatly pleased those Chinese who had not viewed the conquest too favourably. Hispania had once owned the region and had lost it by ignoring those living there. This time they seemed much more willing to listen.
The new Chinese states were a significant addition to the Empire, but it was the Government of India Act that proved most problematic, and not for the reasons expected. When the law was put before the Emperor, he refused to sign it. The first clause stated that the Hispanian Indian Trading Company would be broken up and privatized, and the Emperor made it clear that since the HITC was a Crown company, Parliament had no jurisdiction over it. It was not Parliament’s place to dictate what the Crown did with its own finances and possessions. Rather than casting down the bill entirely, the Emperor rewrote the first clause, rewording it so that the HITC would remain as a Crown company but with the monopoly ended. Thus India would become a free market and the miniscule security forces remaining to the company were still disbanded as planned, but the Crown’s finances would remain untouched. The line between what constituted the Crown and the State was murky at best, but it was now clear that touching the Emperor’s finances was not going to be allowed in the future.
On the domestic front, further reforms were passed for trade unions. Improvements were devised for artillery, developing breech-loaded models for use by the army. Now with the major wars against Ming done with, focus could be shifted back to industrial pursuits, mainly the expansion and improvement of Hispania’s railroads. Such railroads might be needed to allow travel across the more remote of Hispania’s colonies. Settlements were established in the far north of Siberia, securing the coastline for Hispania. The last bit of the Amazon was at last settled, and the Colonial Congress was already petitioning the Crown and Parliament to transfer the colonies to one of the colonial nations, with the general opinion being that Sanchonia should receive the bulk.
Hispania’s diplomatic troubles continued. In early July, Dai Nam broke its alliance with Hispania. No explanation was given, although it was assumed that Hispania’s aggressive moves made against Malwa had alarmed the other Asian nations. Attempts to expand Hispania’s presence abroad also met with roadblocks, as France refused to give up Mali so easily. Likewise, attempts to reconcile with Persia were thwarted when Byzantium broadened the rift.
Zazzau proved the turning point. Troops finally reached the first of Zazzau’s provinces in August, and by mid-October Abeche had fallen. No more was needed to convince the tiny African state of their folly. They humbly accepted Hispanian dominance once more, and the war was at an end with minimal casualties.
The victory against Zazzau proved a symbol to some of Hispania’s former allies in Asia that had tried to distance themselves from their sphere leader. A week after the Zazzau war was concluded, a delegation arrived form Dai Nam requesting a restoration of the alliance, an offer that was accepted after much groveling. A month later, Malacca did the same thing. Both had come to realize it was better to accept Hispanian hegemony than get on her bad side. Zazzau had shown what happened when a nation tried to cast off Hispanian influence. This proved a diplomatic victory, for Hispania had regained two of her lost allies without losing face, although there remained some noticeable absentees.
Relations with Byzantium remained mixed. In early July, the Byzantine Parliament went behind the Basileus’s back and commenced negotiations to restore the alliance with Hispania in secret, as well as handing over what documents in had regarding the Bosphorus Incident. A few discrepancies appeared regarding the latter, for the records Byzantium had of who boarded the ship did not match those listed who were expected to be onboard according to Hispania. Neither would have noticed without comparing each other’s records. What immediately raised red flags was that the mechanical crew expected to be on board by Hispania was different from what Byzantium had recorded. Greek mechanics had been the ones to work on the ship on its final sailing, and Byzantium had it recorded as such. They had no record of there ever being any Hispanian mechanics associated with the ship. So what had happened to the Hispanian mechanics and why had these Greeks taken over for them? Preliminary investigations revealed little, for it seemed any critical evidence had gone down with the ship. Perhaps it was just a clerical error.
There was one person who was absolutely convinced something was not right. Emperor Ferran VI took personal interest in the investigation, since he had lost his daughter in the tragic incident. Even though the two governments were now cooperating on some level, they were getting nowhere. Hispania could only take what information was given to it by Byzantium. The Emperor, whose trust in the Greeks had been shattered, was not satisfied with this arrangement. He thus hired a team of private investigators and sent them to Byzantium to find whatever information they could. What they found, or if they found anything at all, was debatable, but what was certain was their activity did not go unnoticed. Basileus Adrianos II caught wind of the investigation and went into a rage. Such actions were a blatant violation of Byzantium’s sovereignty. Either Hispania could accept Byzantium’s explanations and information or they could receive nothing at all. With pressure now put on the Byzantine Parliament, the alliance negotiations collapsed and the hopes of a revival of the alliance died for the time being.
((I have to bring this up, since it was the strangest thing. When I loaded the save, for some reason we still had our alliance with Byzantium. I have no idea how it revived without an actual offer, but I just went with it. They broke it again anyway, but it’s a complete mystery why it was ever restored in the first place.))
Byzantium would soon come to regret the loss of the Hispanian alliance. With their largest ally gone, they could only rely on their own strength to persevere on the international stage. A lonely Byzantium was a prime target, especially for a nation such as Poland-Lithuania. It had not escaped the Commonwealth’s notice that Byzantium had taken lands once belonging to Poland from Transdacia. With Hispania now out of the picture, it was time to reclaim them. With the aid of Bavaria, Poland-Lithuania could overwhelm Byzantium and squeeze Hungary between them. Perhaps this was punishment for so callously breaking the Hispanian alliance.
All these international troubles fell to the wayside as the election raged on. This time it proved incredibly contentious, with parties relentlessly attacking their rivals, coalitions breaking and forming in wild abandon, and rapid-fire campaign speeches and debates. Hispanians were given quite a show as each party trumpeted its policies and informed all those who listened why they deserved to win and why the other parties would destroy Hispania.
However, there were always policies that most parties could agree on. General tolerance towards religion was gaining support, with a growing portion of the population in favour of allowing all religions a place in society. When it came to trade, most believed the freer the better. The protectionist movement was still gaining ground though, albeit slowly, as Hispania’s trade relations were potentially jeopardized by the Zazzau troubles.
The many debates, speeches, and actions taken over the last while left their impact. As the election neared, the Fraternidad managed to solidify their position. The loss of Byzantium was a sore issue, but could be pushed aside as Hispania reasserted its position in Zazzau and cowed those who considered distancing themselves from Hispania. The war against Ming remained largely popular, and the new citizens in China appreciated their chance to vote. Even the shrinking treasury and struggling surplus were overshadowed by the nearly nonexistent taxes on the lower and middle class. Leon and Medrana went on the campaign trail throughout the six months, highlighting their successes and downplaying their failures. Their active campaigning gave the Fraternidad staying power as 1856 approached.
Yet there was a growing threat on the right. Where once the conservatives were scattered and lacking vision, they had now gathered under one banner to provide a united front. The Coalició Caballeresca borrowed those ideas from the left that worked while retaining a distinct conservative character. There were still those out there that had not forgotten how the Fraternidad had lost several Hispanian allies, including Byzantium, plundered the treasury, and sent men unprepared against Malwa in the first war against them. They rallied to the Caballeresca in the hopes that a conservative revival could at last be possible.
While the Fraternidad and Caballeresca were set to dominate the Assembly, the remaining parties floundered for various reasons. Both the Partido Reformista Monárquica and Partido Fénix managed to convey the most consistent image during the campaign and present a coherent party policy, but they were increasingly being viewed as fringe parties and found it more and more difficult to hold their ground. The Partido Popular lacked energy and remained aloof during the entire campaign season, with most people wondering if it was even still running. As for the Coalicion Social Moderada, it seemed to have an identity crisis. While it served as an advocate for unity, it also had difficult reconciling its conservative and liberal halves. Some of its conservative supporters considered it too liberal while the liberals thought it to conservative. These parties lost ground as the Fraternidad and Caballeresca faced off for supremacy.
When the election finally arrived, the results were just as contentious as the entire election season. The Coalició Caballeresca managed to make the most gains, but the dream of a conservative revival faltered, for they lacked the numbers to stand alone. The Fraternidad, mostly due to hard campaigning, held on to what they had after the Cruzada broke away with some minor gains. As for the other parties, they all saw their numbers dwindle, each clinging to what it could with little success. It was clear that to hold the Assembly, a coalition was needed.
It was the Cortz though that proved an upset. The nobility had been paying attention to the events of the last four years. Although the Emperor had forbid presenting any law on franchise or Cortz reform, the talk that had occurred on it did not favour them. The weighted system was likely to be removed if the Assembly had its way, and their position in the Cortz was threatened. Talk of abolishing the Cortz came up far too often, even if its support was limited. Something needed to be done not only to save their positions, but to prevent Hispania was slipping too fast down the slippery slope of reform. Just four years ago, the conservative movement had fallen apart, and many of the nobles had drifted to the Fraternidad. Now there was a unified conservative party to band behind. Over the months leading up to the election, more and more members of the Fraternidad crossed the floor and joined the Caballeresca. By the start of 1856, 20 men had made the decision to join the conservatives. The liberal majority had been broken.
As the new year began, a great dilemma was to be presented to the various parties. No one could control the Cortz without the Caballeresca. No one could control the Assembly without at least one of the liberal parties. Either the liberals would have to convince the Emperor that control of the Cortz was not necessary, or the conservatives would have to find those amongst the liberals willing to work with them. The coalition negotiations were surely not going to disappoint.
Assembly
Partido Reformista Monárquica - 4
Coalició Caballeresca - 177
Coalicion Social Moderada - 50
Coalición Fraternidad - 207
Partido Popular - 58
Partido Fénix - 4
Cortz
Independent - 1
Coalició Caballeresca - 54
Coalicion Social Moderada - 3
Coalición Fraternidad - 42
((It seems we have another split Parliament. I imagine arranging a coalition might be tricky then, so I’ll leave plenty of time to do that. I’ll be busy the next two days anyway, so no rush figuring things out. Players just need to draft up a Cabinet and present it to the Emperor for approval. Players should not propose any laws or reforms until a government is formed.
Also, if anyone is wondering, I shoved the in-game election results in with the spam, seeing as people seemed to get confused all the time and wonder why the results didn’t match the in-game stuff. I only use it as a baseline and manipulate it based on player votes. I’m also considering a few minor mechanic changes for AP, but it’s all theoretical at the moment. Just need time to write some things down.))
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