Although the evolution of various political systems seems complex, it fundamentally stems from the dissatisfaction of the populace with those in power.
This means there is fundamentally no difference between a monarchy and a parliamentary republic in terms of quality.
The most fundamental issue is whether the needs of the people can be met. This dissatisfaction with the authorities and the government is what led to revolutions in Europe and is the true reason for their outbreak.
If the Spanish government had paid attention to the current situation of its people and introduced policies to improve their lives as much as possible, perhaps such a revolution would not have occurred, and the Spanish absolute monarchy could have continued to exist.
This also indicates that Spain's problems were already very serious; the people were starving and unable to make a living, which is why the revolution broke out.
Carlo's article published in the newspaper delved into the core of the Spanish problem, which is the most fundamental demand of the Spanish people: improving their quality of life.
Eating bread and drinking milk, while seemingly normal requests, were very difficult to achieve in 1868, over 100 years ago.
Even simplifying it by two levels to the most basic need of being fed and watered was something the Spanish Kingdom government could not satisfy.
What Carlo had to do was place all the blame on Queen Isabella II and the Bourbon dynasty, doing his best to whitewash the monarchy.
Later, on November 30, 1868, in Madrid, Spain.
"General, there's a report from Italy that requires your attention."
Prim, who had been busy all day, was just about to finish his work when he was interrupted by a subordinate's words.
"A report? From Italy?" Prim was a little surprised and asked, "What wind could blow a report from Italy to Spain?"
"It's a report about monarchy and republicanism, General." The subordinate handed over a newspaper. Printed clearly in the center of the paper was a headline: "We Need Bread, Not Republicanism."
"Interesting." Prim hadn't intended to take the newspaper, but after seeing the headline, he took it and opened it to read.
This report was reprinted by a small newspaper in Madrid, and translated from Italian into Spanish so that Spaniards could understand it.
"How widely has this report been circulated elsewhere?" After reading the entire report, Prim suddenly asked a strange question.
"Besides limited circulation in Madrid, there has also been limited circulation in Barcelona, Valencia, and Valladolid, and newspapers in those cities have also reported this news."
Prim smiled, a hint of deep meaning in his eyes, and said mockingly, "It seems someone deliberately arranged for this report to appear on my desk."
"General, I..." Just as the subordinate was about to explain, Prim interrupted him and said with a smile, "Alright, I naturally believe in your loyalty.
What I mean is, that someone is likely already eyeing Spain. The fact that an Italian report can circulate widely in so many cities in a short period proves that the enemy is prepared.
If it's just a coincidence that it happened during this revolution, then so be it. But if this revolution was anticipated by the people behind this, then it's truly worrying."
Seeing his subordinate's worried expression, Prim patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Alright, I don't doubt you at all. Now I'm giving you a task: go to Italy and investigate the source of this report, and find out everything about the owner of the newspaper."
Although he wondered who might want to use this report and for what purpose, for now, the report was quite useful to Prim.
The simple examples cited in it were irrefutable, as the powerful European countries at the time were all monarchies.
This also helped Prim guide the new government towards a constitutional monarchy, realizing his vision for reforming Spain by centralizing power in the national government.
Why did Prim oppose republicanism?
Because the republican system proposed by the peasants and workers was a loose Spanish federation. This would not only trigger waves of independence movements in regions of Spain that already had separatist tendencies but also cause the Spanish government to lose control over these areas.
The reformers wanted a stable government capable of implementing reforms, not a fragmented and chaotic one. This was why Prim ultimately chose a constitutional monarchy.
As one of the most powerful figures in the Spanish revolutionary movement, Prim's opinion held considerable influence.
The Spanish Provisional Government did not prevent the spread of this report; in fact, the big capitalists even helped it circulate to more Spanish cities.
Thanks to the heated debate sparked by this report, Spaniards also began discussing the merits and demerits of monarchy and the responsibility of the overthrown Queen Isabella II.
Saving the country in a crisis was impossible, but those capitalists were certainly skilled at wildly shifting blame and avoiding responsibility.
Since Queen Isabella had lost her throne, and the Provisional Government had no intention of welcoming back Queen Isabella or Prince Alfonso,
then why not kick her while she's down? Should they wait until others shifted all the blame onto themselves and the damned queen before giving up?
For their interests, the capitalists would not show any mercy.
Starting in December, the climate in Madrid became colder, at least for the Bourbon loyalists.
Queen Isabella II's reputation could no longer be described as merely 'bad,' as it was already quite poor before.
The public's anger was redirected towards Queen Isabella by capitalists and some ill-intentioned nobles. At least the factory owners and nobles who had brutally exploited the Spanish people no longer had to worry about being shot in the back.
But this was not good news for Queen Isabella, who was far away in France, as she was still thinking of finding an opportunity to restore the monarchy.
However, not all nobles were happy at this time. The Carlists, who belonged to the same family as Queen Isabella, were not in a good mood.
Queen Isabella's terrible reputation affected the Bourbon dynasty. As a member of the Bourbon dynasty, "Carlos VII" had just as many troubles as Queen Isabella at this time.
After several generations, the Carlist faction was largely unrecognized.
Especially after the Second Carlist War, "Carlos VI" came to power, becoming the leader of the Carlist faction.
But after only a few years, this self-proclaimed King of Spain was arrested by government forces, and "Carlos VI" was forced to abdicate his claim to the throne.
"Carlos VI"'s brother, Juan, benefited from the situation, unexpectedly becoming the Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne, "Juan III."
However, the Carlists did not strongly support this "king" who had stumbled upon the crown. Furthermore, "Carlos VI" was quickly released after being forced to give up his claim, leading to a situation where the Carlist faction had two kings.
They were already kings who were self-proclaimed and not recognized by the majority, and now they had this situation of two kings existing simultaneously, causing the support for the Carlist faction to decline repeatedly.
Although the childless "Carlos VI" died soon after, "Juan III," the so-called claimant to the throne, still did not receive strong support from the Carlist faction. This also meant that the Carlists were powerless to stop this Spanish Revolution and lacked the strength to place "Juan III" on the throne.
Since starting his public opinion campaign, Carlo had been keeping a close eye on the situation in Spain.
After learning that the report had been widely reprinted and circulated throughout Spain, Carlo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But soon, Carlo began to worry again.
This action was completely different from history, and the widespread circulation of that report in Spain certainly wasn't solely due to Carlo's efforts.
It would be good if it had a positive effect, but if it influenced the situation in Spain and pushed the country towards a republic, Carlo would regret it so much it would make his teeth ache.
However, Carlo had no better solution at the moment. He could only pray that General Prim, who historically supported the monarchy, would be as effective as he was in history, winning the majority of seats in the Spanish parliament and becoming the Prime Minister of the Spanish government, thus controlling the entire Spanish government.
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