Carlo’s current power within the Spanish Governnt is not substantial, as the administrative, legislative, and military powers of Spain are primarily concentrated within the Governnt and Parliant.
This has its pros and cons for Carlo as a monarch. The downside is evident. Carlo won’t have much power, nor can he develop Spain as per his own desires.
However, there are also advantages. Firstly, Carlo can remain independent from the Governnt and Parliant, avoiding being unexpectedly implicated.
Whether it’s a reform or a victorious war, Carlo, as King, can claim so credit. But if a reform or war fails, the main responsibility naturally falls on the Governnt and Parliant, having little to do with Carlo and the Royal Family.
Even if the Royal Family makes gestures appropriately, those unforeseen events will hardly affect the Royal Family’s status, and the public naturally won’t bla the powerless Royal Family that doesn’t influence the Governnt.
For monarchs who prefer stability and lack great ambitions, having no power is indeed quite favorable.
But for a highly ambitious monarch like Carlo, such a situation might not be good.
More importantly, the current developnt of the Spanish Governnt is sowhat deford.
During Queen Isabel’s era, although power was concentrated in the Pri Minister’s hands, the King had the power to appoint or dismiss the Pri Minister, greatly limiting his power.
However, in the present Spanish Governnt, although it seems like the Cabinet Governnt and Parliant hold dual powers, in reality, Parliant cannot supervise or restrict the Cabinet Governnt effectively.
The party that gains the majority of seats in Parliant has the power to form the Spanish Cabinet Governnt, which results in Pri Minister Prim controlling both the entire Cabinet Governnt and the majority of seats in the Spanish Parliant.
It is no exaggeration to say that the current Spanish Governnt is entirely controlled by Pri Minister Prim. Any policy decided by the Cabinet Governnt encounters little opposition in Parliant, and the laws made by Parliant are quickly implented by the Cabinet Governnt.
If it weren’t for Minister of Defense Serrano controlling Spain’s military forces, Serrano might achieve the rare feat of holding both military and political power.
This is also why Pri Minister Prim’s reforms have progressed so smoothly so far. The Cabinet Governnt is composed of Reform Faction mbers promoted by Pri Minister Prim, and most of them belong to the Progressive Party of which Prim is a mber.
Within Parliant, the Progressive Party also holds the majority seats, and the Liberal Party strongly supports the reforms. Although the Conservative Party opposes the reforms, the problem is that they are not in power, and with Carlo’s public support for reforms, there are no obstacles to reform within the Governnt and Parliant.
However, such a situation is bound to change eventually. Pri Minister Prim is capable and loyal to the Royal Family.
His rise to power was primarily to promote Spain’s reforms. But such a vast amount of power is not fit to be bestowed upon every Spanish Pri Minister.
Carlo is keen to see the reforms succeed, and that’s why he’s allowed Pri Minister Prim to hold such great power.
No successor to Pri Minister Prim can possibly wield such great power, and even after the reforms succeed, Pri Minister Prim will have to relinquish so of his power.
Pri Minister Prim is, of course, aware of his situation, and the saying "achieve great accomplishnts at the cost of overshadowing the master" is not just a re saying. Although Carlo, by publicly supporting the reforms, can gain so credit and public goodwill after reform success, it still pales compared to the imnse prestige that Pri Minister Prim will gain for actually driving the reforms.
If a successful reform-driving Pri Minister Prim were to retain significant power, even if Carlo could remain composed, the Royalist Party mbers would likely not.
However, successful reforms are still quite distant for Spain. Through this honeymoon trip, Carlo has witnessed the changes across various parts of Spain with his own eyes, and although things are generally improving, there’s still a substantial gap compared to other European Powers.
One of the main goals of this trip is the Seville Industrial Base, established by the Spanish Governnt earlier.
Although the importance of the Seville Industrial Base currently ranks lower than the Barcelona Industrial Base, it remains one of the few dium-to-large industrial bases in Spain to date.
More importantly, the Seville Industrial Base is the first industrial base officially launched and built under Carlo’s reign, and it holds commorative significance for him.
Of course, besides inspecting the construction and production of the industrial base, another purpose of visiting the Seville Industrial Base is to check on the construction situation of the Royal Family’s steel mill and other factories within the industrial base.
Speaking of the Royal Family’s industries, the initial person in charge was only Steward Loren. But up to now, Steward Loren has several talents under him responsible for managing the Royal Family’s properties, holding various industries and assets, which collectively form the total wealth of the Royal Family.
It would be difficult for Carlo to directly state the total wealth of the Royal Family, as even within just two or three years of arriving in Spain, the developnt of the Royal Family’s assets can no longer be described as anything less than rapid.
The Royal United Bank alone is enough to place the Spanish Royal Family among the top five wealthiest families in Spain, not to ntion having a 45% stake in the National Bank established a year ago.
These two banks have ensured that the developnt of Royal Family industries is never short of funds and can easily borrow sufficient funds from both banks for developnt.
The two super large official banks have also directly revamped the banking industry in Spain. While they haven’t directly targeted those smaller banks for suppression, these smaller banks simply cannot withstand the expansion of the two large banks.
Currently, the Royal United Bank has established a total of 26 branches across 15 dostic regions in Spain, with total depositors exceeding 310,000 at the beginning of the year and total savings of over 85 million.
Of course, with the expansion of the banks and the continuous increase in users, the average deposit per user is bound to decrease significantly.
Currently, the average deposit in the Royal Bank is only about 270 pesetas, while the governnt-calculated average annual inco in 1872 has exceeded 107 pesetas, with the average deposit being roughly equivalent to two and a half years of average annual inco.
These figures indicate two things: first, Spain’s per capita annual inco is continually growing. Policies like agricultural tax reduction and the abolition of tithes are certainly important reasons, and the increase in inco for the farrs, who make up the majority of Spain’s population, is truly good news for Spain.
Moreover, with the subsequent construction of industrial bases, national factories, and civilian factories, the number of workers and their inco will also rise.
This will also drive the growth of Spain’s per capita inco and, at the sa ti, serve as a booster for Spain’s economic growth.
As long as Spain’s infrastructure and other industrial constructions do not cease, its corresponding per capita annual inco and economic growth will similarly not halt.
Though it cannot catch up with the footsteps of other European Powers in the short term, compared to a few years ago, Spain has already significantly improved.
Before the revolution, Spain’s per capita inco was less than 87 pesetas, and there was a large low-inco population not accounted for in this figure, making the actual situation even lower.
Now, the per capita inco has exceeded 107 pesetas, whereas it has only been four years since 1868, but the per capita inco has risen by at least 23%.
The growth rate remains relatively slow, primarily driven by the increase in farrs’ incos in boosting per capita inco.
Next, the rise in workers’ incos is the greater driving force behind the increase in per capita inco, and the changes it can bring are even more apparent.
Based on the Spanish Governnt’s estimation, by around 1875, Spain’s per capita inco is expected to rise to at least 145 pesetas. By 1880, it should exceed 160 pesetas, which is roughly double that of 1868.
By around 1880, the various reforms propelled by the Spanish Governnt are also essentially complete, enabling Spain to proudly claim the title of the foremost nation below the European Powers, in other words, the gatekeeper of the Powers.
Those stronger than Spain naturally have the qualifications to ascend among the Powers. Those weaker than Spain naturally are not worthy of being called a Power.
The good news is that Carlo has already started planning for the African colonies, indicating that Spain will seize the golden opportunity to partition Africa post-reform completion, preventing delays due to slow reform progress.
African colonies are indeed crucial. Not only can the large indigenous population serve as free labor, but the vast resources in the colonies can also be utilized by Spain.
Apart from the larger issue of most Africans being black, the African colonies virtually bring all benefits.
After all, the African indigenous people remain very backward, and most African tribes are unable to resist the colonization of European Powers at all.
Italy’s colonization of the Abyssinian Empire is ultimately an exception, and they did indeed succeed in the end. As for other regions in Africa, those tribes can only helplessly tremble before the European Powers’ guns and cannons.
Carlo’s arrival caused a sensation in the entire Seville Industrial Base. Over one-third of the factories in this industrial base were established by the Royal Family, and naturally, the factories would publicize events related to Carlo.
The workers in the Royal Family’s factories enjoy a more relaxed workload than other factories and receive higher pay, naturally earning these workers’ gratitude towards their actual master, Carlo.
While working hours in other factories generally exceed 14 hours, the working hours in the Royal Family’s factories usually remain around 12 hours, with one fixed day off per month—dreamlike working conditions for other workers outside.
As for Carlo, who provides such a working environnt, the workers naturally have no other thoughts but endless gratitude and curiosity towards this young King.
User Comments
0 comments from readers