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Chapter 146 - Boulanger-Hohenlohe (July-September, 1897)

Post-Ottoman World]

The Russian division of the Ottoman territories (the creation of independent states more specifically), had various intentions behind it:

* If a country was economically viable, it was militarily too weak to defend itself, so it needed the protection of Russia and her allies to maintain "her independence."

* If a country had the capabilities (more or less) to defend itself, it needed financial help from Russia, something that was not going to be free of course.

* Some countries needed both aid (economic and military-political).

* Some of the states were created to be led by Russian collaborators, therefore the support of Russia was vital to maintain these elites or the stability of these states.

For example, Kurdistan united various Kurdish territories to its country (although most of the world's Kurdish population lives in Russia), which was very useful for the population and resources available to the country, but it was still landlocked and depended on of Russia for many aspects of its economy (in addition to the notable Russian influence in the economy, army and other aspects of the Kurdish state).

Assyria was a similar case, the independence of the Assyrian state gained them territory and population (counting not only the Assyrians, but also Kurds and other Ottoman Christians who went to the country), but they were poor in economic development, available markets or access to the sea.

Russia was simply the bastion that Assyria needed, a country that could diplomatically resolve any problems with Assyria's neighbors, a country with the strength and influence to defend Assyrian independence, developed capital and economy, etc.

In summary, that Assyria simply fell under Russian influence due to power dynamics, they orbited very close to Russia and after Russia secured Assyrian independence, they did not have many options (and the rest of the options were not very good).

Although the Alawite State was economically viable (to pass products from the Middle East to the Mediterranean), it did not have the population or capabilities to defend itself.

That is why Russia, as hegemon of the region, was necessary to maintain the existence of said state, the Alawite government only had to listen to the Russian designs when they arrived.

Druzia was simply not economically or militarily viable, a very small state, surrounded by chaotic Arabia to the south and Syria to the north.

Russia was the guarantor of the independence of the small state in exchange for allowing a great Russian influence in the government of the Druzes.

Greater Lebanon was a very particular case, through displacement it had an almost even population of Christians and Muslims (with Christians dominating for a bit).

Russia now as a new bastion of Christianity had good relations with Lebanon, in addition to being a similar situation to the Alawite state, economically in a good position but not in a good political-military position, so they needed a great power watching their backs.

The Republic of Baghdad was poorly developed economically, had no access to the sea and had population density problems (especially in the more desert or western regions).

Russia offered many markets for the products of Baghdad, and through its influence it was able to allow products of the republic to do maritime trade.

They were also Sunni, and Russia had a large Sunni population.

The State of Mesopotamia, although it was predominantly Shiite, was strongly linked to Russia. Although a rapprochement with Persia was possible (especially for religious issues), there were other problems, such as diplomatic relations between Russia and the country's new elites, Russia's superior economic-military power over Persia, etc.

Russia could also guarantee Mesopotamia's independence and economic success better than Persia, with the United Kingdom having interests in southern Persia, it was obvious that Mesopotamia could be in the line of fire, and what better balance than Russia to counter the British.

It was only necessary to implement even more Russian influence in the political and military affairs of the Mesopotamian state, and Tsar Augustus Alexander III was already planning this.

Kuwait, which was nominally an Ottoman vassal, simply began to orbit around Russia due to the large number of states in the nearby Russian sphere, the diplomatic relations between the two countries and also the Arab chaos in the south of the country that tilted Kuwait towards Russia.

Syria had possible economic and military resources, but it lacked the technical development to fully exploit them, and they also did not have an outlet to the sea to be able to obtain the maximum benefit.

So they needed relations with Russia and allies, which opened the way for Russian influence in the Syrian state.

*******

All these conditions meant that the new post-Ottoman states, rather than fighting each other, needed each other and had no choice but to create a network of economic cooperation between themselves and Russia (as economic participant, guarantor, lender, military leader, etc. ).

The landlocked states (which may or may not be militarily capable) still needed technical assistance, military upgrades, and diplomatic-economic assistance, so they had to behave well to their smaller, landlocked neighbors.

The economically viable states or those with more development potential also needed this influence, but they also needed military-diplomatic-political protection from Russia and good relations with their neighbors, which were integrated into the Russosphere.

*******

* Republic of Cilicia.

The Republic of Cilicia was a particular case, it could be economically and militarily viable but the politics were very complicated. It was not made up of "Turkish" citizens, it was made up of Turkish-speaking Muslim citizens (or so they saw themselves), opponents of nationalist or monarchical policies.

The problem is that they did not have the development or culture of democratic traditions, and they had many other social problems (displaced from wars, poverty, lack of educational institutions, technical problems, etc.).

The government, a popular election samblea, was calling in Ottoman expatriates (liberal-moderates of course) and Russian help for important developments.

This in particular results in expansions of Russian influence in the region (also states like Kurdistan, in the Russian sphere, could pass their products through Cilicia, which benefited the Russosphere).

One of the particular and notable first politicians of Cilicia, was Ahmet Rıza (Bey) who left France to return to the former Ottoman territories, he was elected as the first president according to the constitution of 1897.

With this the Parliament of Cilicia was created, and some timid first freedoms of assembly, press and beliefs.

President Ahmet Riza Bey condemned the activities of the Committee on Union and Progress, which in his opinion had deviated from the right path. The Cilician government condemned the Armenian genocide and any of the other Ottoman crimes against religious-ethnic-cultural minorities.

Obviously, positive relations were also established with Russia.

* State of Ionia.

Although the State of Ionia could be economically and militarily viable (the same as Cilicia), it had serious problems in many other aspects, for example the Greek irredentist wishes in its commercial coastal regions or other world powers, it had serious problems of corruption within the oligarchy, and also had problems in many of their social conditions, poverty, corruption, illiteracy, the displaced Turkish-Ottomans hitting the streets, etc.

In addition, the leaders of that state were Ottoman deserters to the Russian forces and the coalition, in short there were beneficial deals with Russia in exchange for a strong Russian influence in the state.

Russia only needed to start certain programs to keep Ionia in the fold of Russian political influence and the elites (who wanted to maintain their power) with the rest of citizens (who wanted to fulfill their basic needs) would follow suit.

*******

[Alexandrian reconstruction plan]

The death of the Ottoman Empire meant that the Russian Empire had to take the authority to be the rightful heirs of the Byzantine Empire and Ottoman influence in the post-Ottoman states of the northern Middle East and Anatolia.

This is why Tsar Augustus, Alexander III, called delegates from Kurdistan, Cilicia, Ionia, Syria, Druzia, Baghdad, Mesopotamia, the Alawite State and Lebanon. At this great diplomatic meeting the Tsar proposed a great program of political-economic-military cooperation.

What some historians call the Alexandrian Reconstruction Plan of 1897, but which was officially the Plan for International Cooperation (Russia-Near East).

The plan included a diplomatic rapprochement, the investment of Russian capital in the participating states (of course guaranteeing particular rights for said investors ...), joint military-technical training, and the migration of these countries to Russia, among other aspects.

This allowed Russia to fully embed her influence through different modalities in its relations with the post-Ottoman states.

* Establish military bases at strategic points, both for the navy and the army. Forming all the necessary infrastructure.

* Get new markets and resources for the capitalist system in Russia, of course with a winning hand. Russia in return would supply the countries with rubles, machinery and manufactured products, and weapons (among other things).

* Russia could send its trained workforce to train the population and institutions in the countries, to help the educational system, medical, engineering training, etc. And Russia could also receive a lot of talent from these countries (basically directing any brain drain to Russia).

* Establish contacts between present and future elites with Russia through programs of joint activities in the economic-military-diplomatic-political sphere. Through the Russian instructors in the state armies, just to give an example.

* Establish beneficial public relations campaigns for Russia and its allied elites, and expand Russian culture through the cooperation of the Russian Red Cross, other charities, and joint cultural programs (including expanding the Russian language as a business language, diplomacy, etc).

* Nations would get Russia's protection in international-diplomatic affairs and certain vital infrastructure developments, in exchange for the obvious Russian influence in the region.

This was a very clear example of imperialism, but it was too good at that time. In addition, some of the countries had lost what little infrastructure they had in the war.

Kurdistan already had similar dealings, and this only broadened its relationship with Russia within the Russosphere.

Assyria, the Republic of Baghdad, Syria, Druzia, Lebanon and the Alawite State accepted quite simply because they needed a lot of that help.

Ionia accepted the dealings of the state's military elites with Russia. Cilicia and Mesopotamia hesitated a bit but finally accepted, being practically surrounded by possible Russian enemies and allies, and also they still needed a lot of help.

Cilicia held a vote that accepted the deal.

The Alexandrian hand was imperialist but enlightened, it also seemed soft but would never allow a rebellion against its primary interests in the region.

*******

[Post-Ottoman world: Turkey]

Ionia and Cilicia were Turkish states, well, more or less, there were other minorities like Greeks, but they were accepted into the Turkish states in 1897.

The point is that they were Turkish states, but they were not called "Turkey" and there was a third Turkish state, which was left, by the way, outside the Russian sphere, the Republic of Turkey, centered around Ankara in central Anatolia, with a single maritime border (the Black Sea).

Turkey was a reminder, there poverty and population displacement reached much higher levels than in Cilicia and Ionia, the extremism of the CUP was still running, there was violence among the Turks themselves, lack of vital services, brain drain, capital, and hand of skilled work.

It was mostly a patchwork of crop and livestock farms, with little industry, little international trade, destroyed armed forces, without a diplomatic service capable of doing much, and without a stable government in any sense.

The Ottoman radicalisms could end there, further moderating Ionia and Cilicia, also exemplifying that it would be theirs without Russia and the Alexandrian reconstruction program ...

*******

[Programs in the Balkans]

Tsar Augustus Alexander III offered himself to the Balkan countries to mediate the situation in the Macedonian War, which involved Bulgarian, Slavic Macedonian, and Greek interests.

But they all believed they could handle the matter, and the tsar accepted this to move aside on the matter.

But diplomatically speaking Tsar Alexander III offered some agreements to the members of the coalition, the Russian programs in the Balkans were intended to continue to maintain the Russian diplomatic-economic power base in the region, and prevent the meddling of other powers in the region. Russian countryside.

This entailed creating deals with Albania, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Serbia in the first place.

Serbia, Bosnia and Albania in particular needed help in their economic-military development, while the point in Bulgaria and Montenegro was joint cooperation and maintaining Russian influence in those countries.

Not only that but also the Alexandrian government planned to feed on the brain drain and Bulgarian-Montenegrin specialized manpower to direct it to Russia with such programs.

If the projects were successful then Russia could move on to programs with Romania and Greece.

The programs included deals similar to the first deals between Russia and Kurdistan, making it easier for Russians to invest and help in specialized projects, while Russian machinery was brought to Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania to mechanize agriculture (from the which in particular depended on Serbia, Bosnia and Albania) or other primary tasks.

In addition to influencing the educational and military system, and getting scientists, engineers and other brilliant natives to work in Russia, in exchange for everything Russia is offering.

This left the countries more open to cooperation with Russia and the Alexandrian plans.

*******

[Italian service in Russia]

The Tsarist authorities of Tsar Alexander III (Tsar Augustus) presented service decorations to the various Italian volunteers in the Russian service, as mentioned above, curiously many of these were socialist-anarchists (but not all).

The list included:

* Ricciotti Garibaldi, son of the famous Italian leader, Giuseppe Garibaldi.

* Andrea Antonio Baldassarre Costa, married to Anna Moisejevna Rozenštejn (a Russian Jew who, like her husband, went from anarchism to Marxism).

* Giuseppe De Felice Giuffrida, leader of the Fasci Siciliani.

* Nicola Barbato, doctor and socialist.

* Rosario Garibaldi Bosco, socialist and Fasci Siciliani.

* Bernardino Verro, Sicilian trade unionist.

* And many other Italians.

The point is that the Russo-Turkish war of 96-97 was the basis for much radicalization among the Italian volunteers on the Russian and coalition fronts, and their leaders gained more popularity.

When they returned, the powerful Italian leftist movements only grew in popularity much more during the conservative rule of Umberto I and Italian Prime Minister Luigi Gerolamo Pelloux.

Some who once again started certain politico-social activities in the south and north of Italy.

(OOC: Pelloux is sooner in Italian power due to Crispi's assassination).

*******

[New Golden Age of Christianity]

The Long 20th Century or the late 19th century were ... complicated, to put it simply. The traditional order of European power had gone from decay to being destroyed, and we can see various reasons why, and consequences that last to this day.

Similar to the French Revolution, there are thinkers (eg, Orientals, from China) who believe that it is "too early" to distinguish whether the consequences are primarily positive, negative, or mixed.

For some it was an era of pure violence that left nothing good, imperialism and capitalism in decline, the destruction of the social order, political turns, destruction of romanticism and traditional European political order, etc.

Caused by the inconsistencies of national policies, economic problems, imperialist wars, the rise and fall of certain states or ideologies and more.

For others it was an economic and cultural rebirth, an era that was chaotic, full of potential and with its positive points.

For example, various Christian authors consider this the beginning of a Golden Age of Christianity (comparable to the Golden Age of Islam or Islamic Golden Age).

And there are several reasons, the twentieth century was approaching and with it (Christian) humanity was approaching the 2000s, with beliefs that Jesus could reign on Earth.

Just before these years, the Turkish-Muslim power was driven out of Second Rome by Orthodox Christians, Italy was expanding into Africa (and therefore could expand Catholic Christianity), and France, a Catholic Christian nation, had retaken the land. holy (Jerusalem, Palestine, Acre, etc).

This inspired a cultural revival in the Christian world, especially among the Catholic and Orthodox spheres, with France and Russia at the head of such "hegemonic" spheres (it is debatable within France, but Russia certainly had greater dominance in the Orthodox world. than France in the Roman Catholic world).

Literature, poetry and art around the Christian world began to explode, pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Constantinople (Tsargrad) and other holy sites, religious authorities in favor of the government of Napoleon IV and Georges Boulanger in France, and Alexander III in Russia.

And this rebirth was a double-edged sword, it was not only a cultural growth, but also a growth of fanaticism, many Christians began to join the French ranks or give support to the Second French Empire to fight against the British Empire.

After all, the British had cut ties with Rome centuries ago, while obviously France was a just country chosen by God to hold the Holy Land.

This marked a re-rapprochement between France and the South German Catholics, continued the positive Franco-Italian relations, support from various citizens and ethnic groups of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to France, Irish support, etc.

*******

Of course this Golden Age of Christianity did not necessarily involve violence against the Islamic world on the part of Russia or France.

Russia had a countable Muslim population that was in fairly good shape, and many new petty-partners who were Sunni or Shiite Muslims.

On the other hand, France, under Georges Boulanger, began talks with the Arab-Palestinians and other Muslim inhabitants of the Holy Land to obtain their support in the war against the British Empire (which was fighting and allying with different Arab tribes).

France would keep the Jews (part of anti-Semitic policies) from the Holy Land and give Muslims certain autonomies in exchange for participation in the French army.

The Muslims agreed, and soon began adding Muslim-Arab allies to the French troops to defend the French Colonial Empire and fight in Arabia against the "English Zionists" (quite far from the truth but the French managed to convince the Muslim-Arabs of that the British would bring many more Jews to Israel, when in reality Albert Victor was not the biggest fan of Jews ...).

*******

[International]

*[UK: Politics]

The voting in the United Kingdom ended up in July 11th, choosing one of the favorites of the Social Aristocrats of King Victor I (Albert Victor), this was Rear Admiral Mountbatten ... a recent title, said man already had the rank of captain, and together with the rank of rear admiral received the job of deputy secretary of the naval and military defense committee, and aide of the field of the king.

Louis Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, an Austrian born in the Austrian Empire but who became a British citizen (and a very helpful king's favorite), linked to various royals in Europe, and a history in the navy pretty decent-remarkable British.

Prime Minister Mountbatten (born Prince Louis of Battenberg) won by eliminating political opponents among the Liberals, Moderate Conservatives, Labor and others, and by the support of the King, the other Social Aristocrats, the press, etc.

The propaganda image helped a lot, the captain was not only a noble aristocrat, but he was also one of the survivors of the battle of Suez in the Fashoda war, which forced him to retire from active service in the combat line, and then enter the political scene.

Some were concerned about the prime minister's Austrian ancestry, but precisely such personalities as the king, the dominated London press, and other social aristocrats, and thinkers of the time, eradicated these fears.

"As my father taught me, we are derived from the same race, with the blood of the Huns flowing through our veins."

-King Victor of the United Kingdom.

*[1-Some says that Albert Victor and the Prime Minister were lovers, but it falls under conspiracy theories.]

During this time from Vienna, the Anglo-German thinker Houston Stewart Chamberlain also returned to the UK, having "seen the degeneration of French culture" (... curiously, he was a Francophile early in his life) and he returned a notable Germanophile, who had attracted the interest of Albert Victor and finally returned to his home country to support the Social Aristocracy as a politician and diplomat.

As a group and ideology, the Social Aristocracy had strong irredentist, pan-Germanic, and Germanophile / Francophobic elements that appealed to Chamberlain.

But in reality, with the arrival and rise of Chamberlain, different circles of the Social Aristocracy also began to have another influence, the anti-Semitic (like Chamberlain) and racist circles (particularly those that supported an "Aryan race" like Chamberlain himself). .

There were also some occult circles but these were not very successful.

*******

* The rise of the Social Aristocracy.

The rise of the Social Aristocracy seemed natural to some, particularly Marxist analysts, others questioned more how British democracy degenerated into said movement.

By the late 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, the British aristocracy owned up to four-fifths of all land in the United Kingdom.

A landowning class dating back to the 13th century onwards, they had helped deepen the power of the nobility in British society. This class that fervently opposed autonomy, reforms and democratization (extending the right to vote to the working class).

Today it is estimated that one third of the large estates held by the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty (founded in 1895) as 'historic homes' are linked to colonialism and the slave trade.

There are other developments to watch out for, capitalism, wars, international politics and the industrial revolution put the nobility in survival mode.

The French betrayal, the Russian victories, the naval race against Germany, the creation of rival capitalist barons in economic and political power, and socialists (among other progressive-revolutionary policies) pushed the aristocracy to the founding of the Social Aristocracy to survive.

Aristocratic politics is radicalized towards conservative, restorationist and authoritarian positions. It represents the idea of renouncing and opposing the foundations and characteristics of the democratic state in favor of some authoritarian alternative.

And Boulangisme was perfect for this, it was a "revolutionary" conservatism, which adopted populist and nationalist tactics to degenerate the democratic or pseudo-democratic power towards the civic-military dictatorship.

The Social Aristocracy found its division of the French road with politicians and ideologists such as Louis Alexander Mountbatten, Houston Stewart Chamberlain, Harold Sidney Harmsworth, David Bertram Ogilvy Freeman-Mitford, etc.

Chamberlain in particular begins it with "The Foundations of the 19th Century" which give Social Aristocratic perspectives on the Aryan race, Jewish conspiracy theories, white-European-Germanic supremacism, and so on.

If the aristocracy has a nucleus, it is the preservation and perpetuation of a lineage, an elite and a name, which is ultimately a manifestation of "purity of blood" and "upper class."

Just to give examples of this, in the 19th century (when the Social Aristocracy emerged), individuals adopted into aristocratic families in the UK were not eligible to inherit titles or property, a fact that is not widely recognized.

*******

* [Fashoda War.]

From July 26 onwards, King Albert Victor and his Prime Minister Louis Alexander Mountbatten attempt to start recruiting Sikh troops from the British Raj, but are forced to redirect resources away from Fashoda when he starts a rebellion of the Pashtun tribes in the northwest of the British Raj, involving more than 10,000 rebels.

There are no foreign countries involved, it's just that the Pashtuns got fed up with British rule and the Raj-Afghanistan borders.

Meanwhile the war continues its main focus in Africa.

On July 31, both the British and the French began to make incursions in the use of airplanes and zeppelins as scouts, cargo transporters and bombers, as various observers reported in the last Russo-Turkish war.

By August 21, both states begin to produce more or less correctly their first models of airships for transport and observation, and airplanes, destined for Fashoda.

*******

On August 10, pharmacist Felix Hoffmann synthesizes acetylsalicylic acid, through the compound of a plant of the Spiraea family.

The Bayer company, for which Hoffmann works, later brands it "Aspirin."

On August 29, with the rise of anti-Semitism in the United Kingdom, anti-Semitism in France and the loss of support for Zionist movements in Russia, the First Zionist Congress is convened in Basel, Switzerland.

The delegates arrived at the following program for August 31st.

1- Promoting the settlement of Jewish farmers, artisans, and merchants in Palestine.

2- The federation of all Jews into local or general groups, in accordance with the laws of the different countries.

3- The strengthening of Jewish sentiment and conscience (with the Yiddish language mainly).

4- Preparatory steps for the achievement of government grants that are necessary for the achievement of the Zionist purpose.

The problem was not so much the decline of the idea of Zionism internationally, but the lack of press coverage (the Fashora war was much more important) and the victory of Christendom in the holy land, the presence of the French government and their relationship with the Arabs.

*******

* [Zimmerwald session]

With the fourth congress of the Second International having been held in London (which was no longer so safe for socialists) as early as 1896, it was surprising that they met again in 1897.

But Zimmerwald was not a congress, it was a meeting of theorists and authorities of the lax international socialist organization. Many important members, delegates, etc. were missing. It was also very informal.

But there was a reason, as mentioned, Europe was no longer so safe for socialist movements, Macedonian socialists lost their way, Paris and London were no longer safe, etc.

Furthermore, the Fashoda war, understood as a capitalist war of the decaying bourgeoisie, had not ended as quickly as everyone expected.

For example there were many English socialists concerned about the Social Aristocracy, many French socialists in lockdown, some German socialists suffering violence and the socialists in Eastern Europe became quite revisionist (especially in Russia and Macedonia).

The Second International showed cracks, there were revisionists of the socialist right in favor of imperialist war and patriotism, defending the gradual evolution towards socialism within the framework of the nation-state, even advocating European colonialism.

There were those in the center who rejected these positions but supported forms of patriotism.

And there was the left, anti-militarist and imperialist, and against the defense of the nation, because the Marxist explanations of the war showed that this was a consequence of imperialism, and Marx and Engels defended that the workers have no country.

In the end, the session reached the same conclusions as the previous congress, anti-war positions, but there were already cracks and some clear divisions.

Reformists and nationalists against internationalists and revolutionaries.

*******

On September 10, the Lattimer massacre occurs, when an American sheriff and his deputies from Pennsylvania kill 49 striking miners unarmed immigrants of Polish, Slovak, German and Turkish origin.

The massacre provokes various riots and other strikes in the area, which required the intervention of more than 2,000 agents of the federal forces. The native and immigrant miners were not docile, they proved it, but they were shot in the back and those responsible for the massacre were acquitted by the authorities.

With this the United Mine Workers (UMW), the American union that was struggling to establish itself in Pennsylvania, now receives more than 20,000 members (out of a population of 5-6 million).

(OOC: OTL the murdered were 19 and of Polish, Lithuanian, Slovak and Lithuanian origin, ITL is only a detail because Lithuanians have less reason to immigrate and there are more Turks in the United States).

September 11-12, 3,000 Sikh soldiers are defeated by 10,000 to 12,000 Afghan-Pashtuns from the Orakzai tribe in the northwestern British Raj.

*******

* [Secret international diplomacy]

September 20.

The Fashoda war has lasted a year, and has had many curious developments ... The fall of Edward VII also altered any possibility of an Anglo-French re-rapprochement, but Italy and France have drawn closer to each other and saved the Austro alliance. -English.

That left Russia and Germany in difficult positions, and very interesting for the time. Russia had defeated the Ottoman Empire once more in time, I remember, what's more, she had finally destroyed the Ottoman Empire, and now the European armies had observed that.

They could adapt the technological advance, but they questioned why Fashoda was such a slow war. Unfortunately Europe still did not pay attention to the Bloch report and did not understand the industrial war.

The higher ups thought more in Napoleonic or even older terms, more bodies, money and resources had to be thrown at the problem.

And in the midst of all this, Georges Boulanger and Napoleon IV make a proposal to Kaiser Wilhelm II (since Alexander III was very neutral regarding the formation of alliances with other great powers).

Boulanger offered Wilhelm II something, France was going to let Germany annex the Netherlands and Flanders, the Germanic part of Belgium, in exchange for leaving Wallonia for French occupation.

Kaiser Wilhelm II was certainly intrigued, he was interested in finally annexing the Dutch colonial empire and the Netherlands to the German Empire, not only that but they could get one of the Belgium halves.

Boulanger insisted that the British were pursuing a pro-German policy and were too busy to interfere in the Netherlands, leaving a door open for Wilhelm.

It was a very generous offer ...

The French had betrayed Britain, but Wilhelm II rushed to sign such an agreement with France to divide Belgium.

After all, precisely if France betrayed them, Germany obtained the economic and strategic resources to launch a successful offensive in northern France.

Wilhelm II believed that he could outsmart Boulanger and Napoleon IV by signing the partition agreements for Belgium, but in reality there was much more.

This became known as the Boulanger-Hohenlohe Pact. Named after Georges Boulanger and the Chancellor of Germany, Chlodwig Carl Viktor, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Prince of Ratibor and Corvey.

The nature of the 1890s after Fashoda just became extraordinarily chaotic.

*******

* [Iberian Revolution]

September 21.

The news of the defeat in the Philippines fell very badly, reached months ago, and caused obvious discontent, the Spanish Empire had lost Cuba, the Philippines and many other large territories, only the African colonies, Puerto Rico and Guam remained.

The Carlist government had promised that it would end corruption, drugs and degeneration (liberalism, pornography, etc.), but now there was widespread poverty, a weak central authority and therefore regional corruption, scandals, military losses, etc.

People went to sleep as monarchists and woke up as republicans.

People got fed up with the Carlists, especially in Madrid and other regions like Aragon.

In this precarious situation, and with the Portuguese socialist-republican revolution (brutalized by the British military forces and the Portuguese police), the people of Madrid began their propaganda revolution against the authority of King Carlos VII.

It all started when the natives of Madrid elected Pablo Iglesias Posse, Francisco Largo Caballero and Rafael García Ormaechea and Mendoza were elected as councilors, even despite the opposition of the conservative authorities.

Pablo Iglesias was the leader and founder of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español, PSOE, for its acronym in Spanish), Caballero was a socialist-syndicalist and Ormaechea was a socialist attorney.

Originally this trio were pretty much moderates, but the persecution of the authorities and the violence between the Madrid socialists and the conservative authorities forced the PSOE to start the Spanish Revolution, which proposed to end the Spanish monarchy and establish a republican government once again in Spain.

The Madrid fire only rekindled the flames in Lisbon even more, with more attacks against the Portuguese civil and military authorities, and the British present.

King Carlos I of Portugal and the British were losing popularity and control, forcing the British to put more weight on Portugal to avoid losing an ally.

Victor I and other monarchs like Napoleon IV insisted to Carlos VII that he had to put order in his country, but the situation became difficult when the revolt in Madrid was not crushed, the leaders of the rebellion survived and managed to spread through the center and east of Spain (between Catalonia and Andalusia).

Due to the beginnings of the Portuguese revolution and the Spanish revolution, these events also receive the titles of Iberian Revolution or Iberian Revolutions.