Chapter 693: The Precarious South American War

  Chapter 678 The Precarious South American War

Interests move people’s hearts, Austria is not willing to give in to the British on the issue of South America, France is equally unwilling to see their own interests damaged.

After Peru and Bolivia decided to continue the war, the government of Paris was very quick to agree.

As time went on, the French empire continued to grow and nationalism flourished at home.

The rising nationalists were naturally unwilling to submit to the British, and with the power of centuries-old hatreds and conflicting interests, the French public was very antipathetic to the pro-British wing of the government.

In the time of Napoleon III, with the credit of annexing the Italian regions, it was still possible to suppress the conflicts.

By the time of Napoleon IV, the situation had changed. Just after his accession to the throne, the government was in turmoil, and the pro-British faction, which dominated the government, was under siege from all sides.

Politicians are the most realistic, choosing to be pro-British is just a matter of interest, now it is no longer necessary, and even become a burden, trouble, change political position is also a natural thing.

Not only to the British, the foreign policy of the Paris government in these recent years has been much tougher than in the time of Napoleon III.

In this era of the weak and the strong, diplomatic toughness is naturally based on the possession of strong power.

It has to be admitted that the recent dozens of France’s strength grew very quickly, and along with it there was also a high level of nationalism. Especially after the annexation of the Italian region, France’s internal expansionist thinking also intensified.

When Napoleon III was on the throne, capital was restrained, and interest groups still knew to restrain a few points. After Napoleon IV succeeded to the throne, the government was caught up in internal strife and the restraint of capital slowed down.

As the saying goes, “three days without a fight, the roof is uncovered”. After a few years of freedom, the capitalists were gradually blinded by their interests, wishfully believing that the French army was the best in the world in terms of combat power.

With such a powerful strength, it is natural to get the matching benefits. Perhaps the war against France has left a shadow on them, worrying about triggering public anger and being besieged, and now remains in the stage of diplomatic probing.

Three big countries have their own thoughts, mediation naturally became “flowers in the mirror, the moon in the water”.

From the “guano war” into the British, French and Austrian games, the war is not just the three South American territories, the interests of the dispute.

……

London

Foreign Secretary Edward slowly put down the coffee in his hand and said, “Our two allies are restless again. It seems that the Russo-Prussian War has not been able to put enough pressure on them, and they still have the energy to make small moves in South America.”

“This is an inevitable result, in the last twenty years the strength of France and Austria has grown rapidly, and ambitions have naturally festered.

As long as France and Austria do not directly confront each other, the situation in Europe will not get out of control. With the lessons of the Prussian-Russian War in place, the decision makers of France and Austria will have to think twice before acting, even if their ambitions are great.” Chancellor of the Exchequer Garfield laughed

Apparently, the changes that occurred in South America were not enough to move the London government.

As rivals, making small moves against each other is normal operation. It would be a problem if there were no movement for several years in a row.

The British are not worried about France and Austria to do things overseas, with the strength of the Royal Navy is enough to suppress all the storm, as long as the balance of power in Europe is not broken, Britain is not in danger.

The tragedy of the Russo-Prussian War was bound to affect the strategic decisions of the European countries. No one wants to have a lose-lose war, cheap look at the third party.

Now on the European continent, the main contradiction is the Prussian-Russian conflict. Although there are many contradictions between Britain, France and Austria, but not to the point of the outbreak of war.

There is no war to reshuffle the cards, the European continent’s balance of power will not be broken, the London government will be able to sit tight.

Britannia’s world hegemony is after the war against France, Metternich led the establishment of the Vienna system of the European continent to obtain thirty years of balance, only to let the British have the energy to build a world empire.

Prime Minister Benjamin: “Since France and Austria want to play, then we will accompany them to the end. It’s just the right time to use this opportunity to sober them up before they continue to do stupid things.”

Just because there is no threat to strategic security does not mean that the London government is going to let this happen. The small actions of France and Austria still harmed Britain’s interests.

International struggles are never about you and me, stabbing each other is a given, and the British have the most experience in this area.

Although the South American countries have become independent, but because of their own strength, not completely free from the influence of Europe.

In the world has been divided up in the background, the strength of the weak South American countries, has also become the object of Britain, France and Austria.

Can not be established in the local colonial rule, South America into an economic colony, is also a good choice.

In addition to the interests of Chile, Bolivia and Peru, the South American War was also a game in which Britain, France and Austria put their tentacles deep into South America.

In this respect, both France and Austria lagged behind. The Austrian colonial empire started too late, while France was affected by the war against France and missed the best time to expand its power.

If there had been no South American wars and the British had not supported Chile, I am afraid that Peru and Bolivia would not have fallen to France and Austria.

……

The Vienna Palace, the news of the British strike, had already reached Franz.

Franz was not at all surprised that this happened. What surprised him was that the British reacted too violently, with the intention of ostracizing France and Austria from South America.

On February 11, 1880, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and Ecuador declared a material embargo against the three belligerents, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru, under the pretext of maintaining world peace.

It seemed that the embargo was imposed on all three belligerents at the same time, but in fact only Peru and Bolivia were embargoed. As for Chile, transportation by sea is much easier than by land.

After the embargo was imposed on four countries, the last “lifeline” for the Union was the Republic of Colombia.

However, this “lifeline” is also in a precarious state and could be broken at any time.

In recent times, Colombia has been in frequent contact with the British. If it were not for the influence of France and Austria in Colombia, the Colombian Government would probably have joined the embargo coalition because of the fear of the reaction of the two countries.

The reasons for the four-country embargo are manifold, and apart from the influence exerted by the British, it is more because of interests.

This needs to be traced back to the time of the War of Independence, when an alliance was created to fight against Spanish colonial rule and to act jointly.

“It’s easy to share the pain, but hard to share the wealth.” When dividing up the spoils of war after driving out the Spaniards, this was the time when everyone felt that they had contributed the most and should take the biggest share.

In the face of profit, former allies became today’s enemies. These conflicts laid the groundwork for the ensuing melee in South America.

The “Guano War” was just one of them, including the Paraguayan War, which was part of it.

Franz was no longer interested in finding out what was right and what was wrong. In this age of the law of the jungle, the victor is not to be blamed.

Franz asked, “Judging from the current situation, what is the likelihood that Colombia will fall to Chile?”

After a little thought, Foreign Minister Weissenberg replied, “If neither we nor the French intervene, Colombia’s entry into the embargo is almost 100 percent.”

This answer caused Franz to frown; apparently he had underestimated the influence of the British in South America, taking for granted that if France and Austria came together, the South American countries would stand aloof.

After hesitating for a moment’s effort, Franz slowly said, “Test the attitude of the French, with our power alone, there is no way to fight the British in South America.”

Despite not wanting to admit it, the reality is so cruel. The British have been operating in South America for many years, and their potential influence is not something Austria can compare to.

If not for the presence of the Austrian colonies in Central America, even the Colombian government in Vienna would not have been able to influence. To put it bluntly, the main force that determines international influence in the age of sea power is the navy.

Although the Austrian navy is quite a lot, but its own colonies are also quite a lot, want to spread the net all over the world, simply can not do.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Weissenberg replied

……

France and Austria have a big family, even if they withdraw from South America now, they can’t hurt their energy and can make a comeback at any time.

Peru and Bolivia are miserable, they are both agricultural countries, once they lose the foreign material supplement, it will be difficult to continue this war.

Unlike big countries, small countries don’t have a chance to start over. If you lose a war, you lose everything.

While the Vienna government reacted, the new Peruvian and Bolivian governments, which had just come to power, could not be bothered to liquidate the losers and rushed to take diplomatic action.

A diplomatic war that would determine the direction of the situation in South America began.

(End of chapter)