Kingdom of Spain

The Kingdom of Spain is a European country situated on the Iberian peninsula between the nations of Portugal and France. The country also controls a vast colonial empire in America spanning from Tejas to to Chile, with a break in Uruguay which is separated by the Argentine Corridor. Its overseas dominions in the Americas include New Spain, the Grand Domain of Sonora, Tejas, Uruguay, Peru-Bolivia, and New Granada. It also owns a less significant colonial empire in Africa, including the regions of Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Cameroon. Government-wise, the country acts as a semi-constitutional monarchy ruled by Emperor Alfonso XIII. The country is a fierce competitor to the British Empire militarily and industrially, with a longstanding rivalry caused by the Anglo-Spanish Wars.

The Kingdom of Spain and her subjects have a combined population of approximately 132,329,932 according to the 1935 Imperial Census. A revanchist attitude exists among the Kingdom's leadership due to countless losses to Britain and other associated powers.

History
By 1776, Spain saw over one of the world's largest empires in history. Having largely recovered from the Spanish War of Succession, Spain was doing quite well under the Bourbon leadership. It had much rebounded from its economic depression of the mid 17th century to the beginning of the 18th, and was starting to grow once more. Spain regained its footing in international trade by 1800 with the recovery of its fleet, which was used to impede smuggling of foreign consumer goods to the colonies. In 1814, the Spanish signed an official alliance with France called the Bourbon Treaty of Alliance.

The Great Colonial Rebellion
Spain during the Great Colonial Rebellion was on the fence about supporting the American revolutionaries. Though never actually sending in directly, they approved a plan with the King of France to create a "private" company called Rodrigue Hortalez et Cie. This firm sold military goods to the continentals through most of the war due to its disguise as a civilian company. Since this was mostly a French funded venture, Spain was left unscathed economically by its failure.

La Grande Paz (1778-1860)
The period of peace following the Great Colonial Rebellion was known in Spain as the Great Peace, during which Spain experienced great economic growth and political stability. In 1788, Charles III died, and Charles IV succeeded him to the throne. He was simply a "do-nothing king," and left most government to his wife and his prime minister, Manuel de Godoy. His reign was ended with a scandal in 1808, perpetrating the idea of an affair between his the queen and Godoy. This led to a coup by his son in 1809, forcing him to abdicate. Ferdinand VII became King of Spain that year. His reign was marked by a period of economic expansion in collaboration with the French, along with a recuperating of the Spanish navy with training from French admirals. When Ferdinand VII died in 1833, he was succeeded by Isabella II, and her regent, Maria Christina.

Queen Isabella II's reign is marked by a series of liberal economic reforms, collectively known as the Mendizabal Reforms, named for prime minister and economist Juan Alvarez Mendizabal. These reforms brought about rapid Spanish industrialization, bringing it among the world's global competition for industry, almost being neck and neck with France industrially for most of La Grande Paz. Historians now believe, however, that these overly-ambitions reforms are what led to the Spanish Fiscal Crisis of 1895.

La Grande Paz came to an end in 1860, when war broke out between the great Spanish and British empires. A fight between the old order and the new order.

2nd Anglo-Spanish War (1860-1867)
Spanish performance in the 2nd Anglo-Spanish War can only be described as mediocre. Though seeing initial gains in the form of British Caribbean and South American holdings, the Spaniards soon found themselves retreating on all fronts by 1864 after General Sherman's daring operation to split California. The Great Battle of Biscay was the first real fight in which ironclads participated in (If you ignore French use of them against Algerian frigates), with the famous HMS Cornwallis and HMS Georgetown decimating a Spanish fleet of ships of the line. News of this shocked Queen Isabella II, who initiated plans for a massive post-war naval overhaul, with new ironclad designs entering production immediately. This was too little too late, as the first Spanish ironclad, the ISN Tejas, wasn't deployed until 1865. Much too late to change the war. By 1867 the Spanish were forced to open peace talks with London as the war got increasingly unpopular at home. Spain was humiliated internationally. The treaty forced them to free the rich territory of California under a new republic, with Spain being forced to cover the cost of damage done to Californian cities during the war. Spain was forced to pay a grand sum of £30,000,000 to the British Empire, it was a recipe for economic disaster. Spain was also forced to give autonomy to the Berber people, however this ended up being unenforced as the British too realized it was against their interest to allow freedom to the Native Africans.

The Spanish people responded to this horrid treaty by participating in Anti-British riots. The hyper-nationalist PSN (Party of National Salvation) was founded in response to the growing resentment against Britannia. Sir Jose de El Elduayen y Gorriti came up with the political theory called Gorritism, the idea that Spain was so ineffective in war due to its obvious technological deficiencies, using the use of ironclads as an example. This led to the PSN taking on a stance of rapid development, fanatic militarism, and revanchist hatred for anything British, beginning the Nationalist Era in the country.

Age of Extremism (1867-1904)
Under pressure from her advisors and a person distaste towards England, Isabella II appointed the first PSN prime minister in 1872. This was met by widespread celebrations across the nation, with hopeful people eager to begin Spain's path towards the sun. The celebrations however, were cut short by a joint republican-communist counter-march in major cities. This led to mass political unrest, as political factions battled it out on the streets. The pro-PSN military soon stepped in to quell liberal dissent, in what became known as the Blood Week. This led to an organized liberal resistance in 1873 in what became known as the Red Revolution. This was crushed within days due to disagreements among moderates and extremists within the liberal ranks.

The new nationalist government began its work at destroying obligations to Britain and restoring Spanish prestige. On February 2nd, 1874, it issued the Barcelona Proclamation, stating all war reparation payments to Britain would be halted. This outraged the government at London, but they were dealing with a political crisis of their own, and thus could not retaliate. Isabella II herself appeared to become more fanatical as time went on, often giving impassioned speeches to the Cortes, thunderously stating her ideas of a Greater Spanish Empire and her theory of Vivospacio, the promotion of the conquest of much of Africa to take pressure off of overpopulated Spanish city-centers by forced resettlement into the colonies which could act as a breadbasket for mainland Spain. She also popularized use of the Roman Salute in Spain, which is still used to this day. As Portugal descended into chaos with a liberal revolution of their own, Isabella II herself gave the order to invade Portugal to "stop the Portuguese influenza of liberalism from spreading" on April 3rd, 1876. Armies were quickly assembled, and they easily tore through the poorly equipped and equally poorly trained Portuguese liberal militias. Lisbon fell by October 4th. Brazil fell after a swift naval and land campaign in spring of next year. Isabella II wanted to annex Portugal as part of her vision of a Greater Spain, but she was vetoed by the Cortes, who were uneager to deal with an unhappy Portuguese population along with the large potential for British retaliation. Instead they opted to restore Pedro V to the throne.

On January 3rd, 1881, likely in collaboration with the Portuguese Republican Movement, Spanish liberals rose up in Catalonia and Galicia in the Great Republican War. What should have been an easy triumph for the PSN led to a long and dragged out guerrilla war against the liberals. Meanwhile, with Spanish focus on tramping out revolutionaries, Portugal was finally able to establish a free republic, much to the displeasure of Madrid which issued a diplomatic protest on Christmas of 1882. The Great Republican War came to an end in 1885. Following this the PSN sponsored a massive military buildup in competition with Britain. Historians believe this contributed to the Spanish Fiscal Crisis of 1895.

Spain flourished from 1885 to 1895, and it seemed the country had nowhere to go but up economically. This could not last forever, and it came to an end with the Spanish Fiscal Crisis of 1895, which was a major wake-up call to even the most hidebound PSN members. Not to Isabella II, however, who blamed the crisis on British smuggling to the colonies and currency manipulation, a claim which very well may be true. Most modern historians, however, say that the crash was caused by excessive spending on the military and industry, which gave Spain the facade of an invigorated nation, but this was only caused by the massive subsides coming out of Spanish coffers. Spain recovered by 1896, but the damage to the reputation of the PSN remained. Isabella II herself seemed to go back to her liberal monarchist ways, likely due to her weak ideological virtue, much to the dismay of hardline PSN members in government. She was kept from passing any meaningful legislation however, by PSN member and royal family member, Don Carlos, who according to Isabella's diaries, "Held me [Isabella] as gunpoint, threatening my life and all of Espana if I should announce any pretense of revoking my support of the Party of National Salvation." Following the death of Isabella II in 1904, the PSN simply disintegrated as a party without a major figurehead like the Queen of Spain. Don Carlos was later tried for crimes of treason for his poor treatment of his great niece. The pre-war status quo had returned to Spain. During this time, Spain also participated in the Conference of Brussels to divide Africa, and acquired the regions of Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Cameroon, Gabon, Somalia, and Tanganyika.

Age of Alfonso XII (1904-)
Alfonso XII came to the Spanish throne at the age of 18 years old, making him resented by much of the conservative and reactionary Cortes. However, this charming young man was very popular among liberals and reformers, and his charismatic personality could make even the most hidebound Spaniards respect him dearly. Due to his liberal sympathies, on July 4th of 1905 he ratified the Barcelona Constitution, which established an official Spanish parliament, limiting his own power. His popularity surged, and the Spanish Liberal Party won the first parliamentary election of the Spanish Empire on November 1st, 1905. A new landmark legislation was passed, granting representation to the colonies in America, allowing them seats in the Cortes. These reforms turned Alfonso into a celebrity across the empire, and to restore faith in the crown after the Isabella-PSN Scandal, he engaged on a royal tour across the country starting March 2, 1906. During Alfonso XII's tour while he was stopped in Seville on July 2, 1906, an assassin attempted to shoot Alfonso in the head. The assassin missed, hitting his hat instead. Alfonso XII responded by pulling out his staff and striking the assassin in the head, knocking him to the ground unconscious.

Alfonso XII also enacted the famous Liberal Economic Plan, in which he put large subsides into key Spanish industries to support their growth. This brought great growth to the Spanish industry all the way up until the Great London Stock Market crash, which threw the Spanish economy into a crisis. Alfonso XII oversaw the Spanish Empire during the third Anglo-Spanish war against Britain, Italy, and Japan, and later became a fervent supporter of the Liberal National Party of Spain. His reign is marked by political stability known as the Era of Good Feelings among the political parties, likely caused by hatred towards Britain. After the 3rd Anglo-Spanish War, Alfonso XII radicalized as a liberal, incorporating highly nationalist elements into his political beliefs. He officially endorsed the LNPS (Liberal National Party of Spain) on December 17, 1918, and adopted the policy of Gorritism, investing heavily in new military technologies for Spain. On January 7, 1919, the Madrid Tank Institute was founded and became one of the most advanced tank research centers on the planet. Spain during this era achieved great internal stability, fueled by hate for anything English. Italiphobia also became prominent due to Italian seizure of the Baleric Islands and the subsequent humanitarian disaster on said islands. Alfonso also initiated a major rearmament program for Spain, with very heavy spending into the navy and army to prevent another loss like that to the awful Italian fleet.

3rd Anglo-Spanish War (1911-1915)
In 1911, Spain was brought into another war with their longtime rival, the British Empire. France decided to stay neutral due to little popular support for war. The war began when the Japanese attacked a Spanish fleet at Manila Bay, and the complex series of alliances at play soon brought Russia, Britain, and Italy into the war. Spain performed poorly in this war as well. Notably, the war introduced the tank into warfare, and encouraged another wave of fervent anti-British and Anglophobic rhetoric sweeping the nation. The war ended in a "stalemate," but Spain mostly lost lands such as Tanganyika, Somalia, the Baleric Islands, and the north of the Philippines. Touted at home as a horrid failure, nationalism struck. In response, the Liberal National Party of Spain was founded on October 2, 1916.

Politics
The politics of Spain are fueled by a sheer hatred towards Britain and Italy, dominating both domestic and foreign policy of the empire. The country is split between two main parties: the Liberal National Party of Spain and the Spanish Traditional Party. Both parties have the same attitude towards the British, however they really differ politically. The Liberal National Party of Spain is endorsed by the king, and is the more popular of the two. They believe in a limited monarchy and support rapid industrialization to compete with Britain. Some radicals in the party also advocate for civil rights in the colonies. The Spanish Traditional Party is made up of conservatives and reactionaries who seek a return to absolutism and Catholic fundamentalism, arguing that Spain has been corrupted by degeneracy.

In the colonies several other parties exist, but the Latin American sections of the two main Spanish colonies tend to dominate. In New Spain, the country is ruled by the Liberal National Party. This is reflected in New Granada, Peru-Bolivia, and Uruguay, but Sonora and Tejas are dominated by the Spanish Traditional Party. Independence parties exist, but none have ever won more than 10% of the vote since the 1906 Parliamentary elections in New Granada with the Bolivarian Party.

France
Spain and France stand close as brothers on the world stage.