On April 9, 1880, the Colombian government used the previous border conflict with Peru as an excuse to cut off trade with Peru.
After the news reached Vienna, the Government of Austria was in an uproar, clamoring to teach the Colombian government a lesson.
Anyone with a little political sense knew what Colombia's choice meant.
Prior to this, the Government of Austria could promise Peru and Colombia that they would keep their foreign trade lines open during the war.
The coastline was blocked by the British, but that was because the Royal Navy was too powerful. The Austrian Navy couldn't handle it, so there was no way to retreat.
Now that the land trade lines were lost, would the Government of Vienna still have any face?
The French also had this worry. The Government of Paris also made similar promises to Peru and Bolivia.
Now that they were slapped in the face by the Colombian government, if they didn't retaliate, how could they have the face to stay in the world?
It had to be said that the Colombian government made a wrong decision at the wrong time. If they hadn't announced that they would cut off trade lines, they probably wouldn't have attracted so much hatred.
Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Ecuador, which made similar decisions before them, also caused dissatisfaction in the Fao.
However, the Fao's influence in these countries was weak, and they jumped out at the same time. It would be troublesome to retaliate, so the grudge was temporarily put aside.
This wasn't President Rafael Nuñez's fault. It was the responsibility of the previous government that didn't act with the four countries until the end.
Everyone knew that making a choice between the Fao and the United Kingdom wasn't just a matter of offending people. Seeing that his term was coming to an end, the smart President Julián naturally wouldn't jump into the pit.
Relying on the relationship between the Fao and the United Kingdom, President Julián still won a lot of benefits for Colombia, but these benefits weren't so easy to get.
It didn't matter. Anyway, President Julián retired with a political achievement, and the trouble was the next government.
After Rafael Nuñez took office, this tightrope game couldn't continue. The patience of the Fao and the United Kingdom had reached the limit, and the Colombian government had to make a choice.
The tragedy was that no matter what choice Rafael Nuñez made, the final result would be the worst choice.
…
In the Vienna Palace, Franz held a government meeting as soon as he received the "good news."
Foreign Minister Wesenberg said, "It's not surprising that the Colombian government turned to the British. The pro-Austrian faction and the pro-French faction were also in conflict. They only began to cooperate after we joined forces with the French.
However, this cooperation was only in name. We can influence their decisions, but we cannot make them for them.
In the face of benefits, they would not give in. For example, the presidential election.
In a way, we have helped the English. If Raphael Nuñez hadn't forcefully brought the pro-Australia faction and the pro-law faction together and expended a lot of energy in the infighting, he wouldn't have won so easily.
Since it was the Anglophiles who came to power, it was not surprising that they would make decisions that were beneficial to the British.
The only thing worth noting is that the Colombian government's excuse was a border conflict. This excuse was very interesting. If they continued to extend it, the Colombian government could also make territorial claims against Peru.
According to the preliminary analysis, in order to win over the Colombian government, the British should have given them the promise of territory.
They did not directly make territorial claims against Peru. It is estimated that the Colombian government was afraid of our and the French's reaction. "
Bringing the pro-Austrian faction and the pro-French faction together was a political necessity. It didn't matter to Austria whether the Colombian government could win the election.
Supporting Peru and Bolivia to continue the war was just to make things difficult for the British. Franz wasn't confident that they could turn the tables with Austria's support.
In this rotten war, Peru and Bolivia were obviously better than Chile. They were rotten to the core.
Useless teammates were the most difficult to bring along. As long as he thought about the Bolivian army with bows and arrows on the battlefield, Franz didn't have the slightest confidence in them.
In this regard, the Colombian government's decision was nothing more than to speed up the end of the war and didn't really change the outcome of the war.
Prime Minister Felix said, "It doesn't matter what the Colombian government thinks. Since they made the wrong decision, they must pay the price for it.
It's just that we have a tacit understanding with the British. It's obviously not worth it to rashly send troops to break this tacit understanding for Colombia. "
This was the key to the problem. Since the alliance between the UK, Fao, and Russia, in the overseas struggle, everyone had a tacit understanding to support agents. There had been no precedent of personally going into battle.
"This problem is not difficult to solve. I believe the Central American colonial government can solve it. They have long wanted to annex the Panama region, but there has never been a suitable opportunity.
Now the French and we are in an awkward situation. Even for the sake of their own reputation, the Government of Paris can only support our actions, "Colonial Minister Stephen replied calmly.
The Department of Colonization had long wanted to take action. In recent years, Austria had not expanded outward. With the continuous advancement of African localization, the scope of the Department of Colonization became smaller and smaller.
The scope of jurisdiction was reduced, and the Department of Colonization's voice in the government was also weakened. If this situation didn't change, it was likely that the Colonial Minister would not be seen in future cabinet meetings.
African localization was Austria's national policy, and Stephen naturally wouldn't want to change it. It wasn't that there were no officials who resisted the colonial localization, but these people were sent home to farm.
In this context, if the Department of Colonization wanted to expand their voice, they could only continue to expand outward. It was not surprising that they had their eyes on the Panama region.
Not everyone had strategic vision, and Austria also had many short-sighted people.
There were many people in the Austrian Central American colonies who wanted to occupy the Panama region, kick the French out, develop the Panama Canal, and control a golden waterway like the Suez Canal.
Profit was the best motivation. For the sake of the Divine Shield, the seizure of the Panama region became the goal of many local colonial companies.
Almost every year, many people would lobby the Austrian Department of Colonization to occupy the Panama region. In order to seize the opportunity, some people even drew a detailed map of the Panama region.
Foreign Minister Wesenberg objected, "If it's just to beat the Colombian government, perhaps the Government of Paris will support us due to political pressure.
If we want to occupy the Panama region, there is no such good thing. The French will definitely take the opportunity to ask for a piece of the pie. Should we agree or not? "
There was nothing wrong with it. This was the essence of international diplomacy. Being angry was also for the sake of profit. As long as the profit was right, any anger could disappear immediately.
The French couldn't work for nothing and watch Austria get the benefits. Similarly, Austria couldn't share the Panama region with the French. Although the land was not valuable, its potential strategic position was very important.
The problem was that rashly attacking an independent country and seizing its territory would attract a lot of hatred.
Without the French to share the pressure, the Government of Vienna would have to think twice before acting.
After thinking for a while, Franz said, "Now is not the best time. We still have to take into account the international reaction. To attack the Panama region, it's best to instigate the local people to become independent first. "
Austria was indeed powerful, but it didn't have the strength of the United States in the future. They had to consider the reaction of the world.
Compared to directly sending troops to seize the Panama region and instigate the local people to become independent, it was much less of a problem for the new government to join the colonial system after independence.
This kind of thing was done by too many people. As long as they paid attention to their table manners and put on a little pretense, they would have a nominal legal basis.
Colonial Minister Stephen explained, "Your Majesty, the Colombian government stationed a division of heavy troops in the Panama region. With the strength of the local people alone, they were suppressed before they could cause trouble."
Compared to the pitiful population of Panama, a division of troops was indeed a gathering of heavy troops.
Franz was surprised and asked, "A division of troops? How many troops does Colombia have in total?"
Colombia was typically vast and sparsely populated. Including the Indians and blacks, there were only two to three million people in the whole country.
Anyone would be surprised to hear that a division of troops was stationed in the small Panama region.
Stephen replied directly, "The regular army is about a little more than 30,000, and the militia reserve is about 50,000. No one knows the limit of mobilization.
Because of the relationship between the Austrian Central American colonies, the Panama region is a key defense area for Colombia. They have stationed one-third of the domestic troops here.
The situation in Colombia is not very stable. As long as we take down the troops deployed in Panama, the internal conflicts in Colombia will intensify. "
It could be seen that the Department of Colonization was well prepared. They were very familiar with the situation in Colombia and had a clear understanding of their military strength.
After entering the era of firearms, "limit mobilization" became the patent of industrialized countries. Even if agricultural countries could organize themselves, they couldn't produce weapons and equipment.
If it were an ordinary country, faced with a foreign enemy invasion, it was likely that all parties would put aside their disputes and unite against the foreign enemy. But Colombia was an exception.
This problem could be traced back to the American Civil War. Austria once organized an immigration, and the Germans were actually the second largest ethnic group in Colombia, followed by the Indians.
Most of the Germans who immigrated to Colombia were ordinary people. Despite Austria's support, they were still at the bottom of society as the upper class had long been occupied by Hispanics.
Because of the fear of being subverted by Austria from within, the successive Colombian governments had intentionally or unintentionally suppressed the Germans. Even the pro-Austrian party maintained sufficient vigilance against Austria.
There was no targeted discrimination on the surface, just small actions in the dark. Even if it was discovered, it was only personal behavior, and the Government of Austria naturally could not interfere.
Not only Colombia, but in fact, any country that immigrated could have these problems. It was not gold, how could everyone like it?
In addition to this, ethnic conflicts were also long-term problems that plagued South American countries. The blood of the Indians had not yet dried up. If the government was strong, it could still be suppressed by force. Once there was a problem of decline, the conflict would erupt.
Franz never doubted the issue of whether the conflict in Colombia would erupt. Even if there was no conflict, it could be created, not to mention Colombia itself was full of conflicts.
After hesitating for a while, Franz nodded, "Since Colombia is prepared, then we don't have to be polite. We will find an excuse to take down this force.
But for the sake of international reputation, we can't directly occupy the Panama area. After the battle, immediately hand over the territory to the Panama Independence Organization and evacuate as soon as possible. "
The "Panama Independence Organization" did not exist before, at least not in the Government of Vienna, but now it was necessary.
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