"Mary, you should know the importance of the Mediterranean.
Since ancient times, the Mediterranean Sea has been a key core area of Europe. Now with the opening of the Suez Canal, the importance of the Mediterranean Sea has now been elevated to the heart of Europe.
Italy's location in the Mediterranean is very advantageous. It is a country in the center of the Mediterranean. Compared with Italy, Portugal belongs to the outer corner of the Mediterranean.
We in Portugal want to increase our influence in the Mediterranean, and working closely with Italy is the shortest, most powerful and safest way.
Ottoman Turkey is a sick man in West Asia. Italy, because of its tragic lessons in East Africa, is now a little timid when facing him alone.
However, in my estimation, if there is a fight, Italy can actually defeat the Ottomans, although the victory process may not be pretty.
We in Portugal support Italy and are originally on the winning side. Supporting us with force when necessary will make Italy better understand our importance and make it more dependent on us in the future.
Ottoman Turkey is now the meat on the sticky board. Italy is just the first to jump out, and there are a bunch of Balkan countries behind it.
The Balkan countries have actually been eager to give the Ottoman Empire a try, but the disastrous defeat in Greece has made them very cautious.
The Ottomans are now in decline, but they occupy a large area, and they still have many valuable places in the Mediterranean.
I looked at the map of the Mediterranean before and discovered Rhodes Island. Although Rhodes Island is not as good as Crete, it has a good strategic location, and it is also the hometown of the Knights Hospitaller. Taking this place away will greatly improve Portugal's power.
Influence.
Portugal is famous in Europe for being the Sword of Christ that recovered the lost territory. When it comes to recovering the lost territory of Christianity from the MSL, we Portugal are experts."
Rhodes, the sovereignty of this place, is untenable to the Ottoman Turks from the European point of view, because its legal rights belong to the Knights Hospitaller.
Knights Sovereign Military Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta, look at the name.
Sovereign Military Hospitallers!
Isn’t this name and its connotation obvious?
How many Europeans don’t know about the relationship between the Teutonic Knights and the Kingdom of Prussia?
Legally speaking, Rhode Island has nothing to do with local chickens.
Rhode Island, it can be said clearly and unequivocally, is the lost land of Christianity. It is the territory of the Knights Hospitaller.
Today, the Knights Hospitallers are fragmented. In addition to the headquarters in Rome, several countries have their own Knights Hospitallers, including Germany, Russia, Spain, and Portugal.
All these countries can recover the sovereignty of Rhodes Island, but considering the national strength and political situation, Portugal has the most advantage.
Germany is working hard to improve relations with Turkey, and Britain, France, and even Italy do not want Germany to interfere in the Mediterranean, so Germany in Rhode Island has no chance.
Russia also has no chance of taking Rhode Island.
Historically, the Russian Czar Paul I took in the Knights Hospitallers who were expelled by Napoleon. The Czar also served as Grand Master for a period of time. Coupled with the Russian-Turkish feud and the so-called Third Rome, Russia's legal principles are extremely sufficient.
But what’s the use of legal principles? In fact, it’s difficult to operate.
Although Britain and Russia are allies, they have never wanted Russia to rush into the Mediterranean. Moreover, if Russia wants to occupy Rhodes Island, the first thing it must do is occupy the entire Ottoman Turkey, otherwise everything will be in vain.
Spain is a long-established Catholic country, the Sword of Christ that regained lost territory. The Catholic Church is deeply divided and there are a lot of Catholic organizations in the country.
Regarding Rhodes Island, Spain has legal principles, but now the national strength is obviously not on the table, and no country wants Spain to rise again.
Based on its strength and position, Spain cannot even pass the French test, so its legal rights to Rhode Island are in vain.
As for Portugal, if it followed the original historical trend, with a declining Portugal, domestic chaos, and barely controlling the colonies, how could it have any other ideas to do things in the Mediterranean?
But in this world, Portugal has returned to its glorious age.
Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarve are reunited. Apart from losing half of the pink map, the actual land they occupy has expanded much more than at its peak.
At its peak, when did Portugal own Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela? The current situation is that the Portuguese United Empire owns them.
The Portuguese United Empire has good relations with all European countries, except Spain.
Portugal is expanding in other places, but its influence is limited. It can only choose the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean is a big bathhouse with a lot of great powers. Portugal is now considered weak.
If Rhodes is recaptured by Portugal, it will probably just be Spain and Greece gossiping. What objections can other countries have?
Greece's sovereignty over Rhodes has not been widely recognized in Europe. After all, the Knights of Malta have existed longer than Greece today.
In history, if Italy had not been defeated in World War II, Greece would have never had the chance to acquire Rhodes and the nearby islands.
The most likely competition for the sovereignty of Rhodes Island is between Portugal and Italy.
As long as Italy has a good relationship with the Holy See and obtains authorization from the Knights Hospitallers under the control of the Holy See, it can acquire Rhodes Island in an open and honest manner.
At present, the relationship between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy is very tense. This delicate relationship has continued since the unification of the Kingdom of Italy.
Historically, after the Italian-Turkish War, Italy occupied Rhodes Island and the 12 nearby islands. The nature of the possession was trusteeship, not sovereign possession.
For the sake of Rhodes and the nearby islands, Greece kept clamoring at the lips of Italy. It only stopped during the Mussolini period, because Italy and the Holy See reconciled at that time, and Greece was occupied by Germany and Italy during World War II.
However, after World War II, as a defeated country, Italy no longer had any territory to talk about. It lost all its colonies, ceded a large piece of land in northern Italy to Yugoslavia, and pushed the national border to Trieste.
"My dear, after listening to your analysis, it does make sense. But when it comes to cooperation in the Mediterranean, why don't we choose France?"
In Mary's view, France is the most powerful among the countries in the Mediterranean. If Portugal wants to increase its influence, the most powerful way should be to establish a good relationship with France.
As both Mediterranean countries, Italy is obviously not as good as France. In the competition for North African forest land, especially in the battle for Tunisia, Italy lost miserably.
The essence of Ottoman Turkey in North Africa, Algeria and Tunisia were occupied by the French, and Egypt came under the influence of the British. In the end, only two garbage lands were left without even a regular river.
As for these two pieces of garbage, Italy's intention to occupy them is known to all of Europe. However, after waiting for so long, and now the second Moroccan crisis, Italy dares to take action.
As a European power, Italy's colonial standard is very poor in the eyes of many Europeans, not even comparable to Belgium. All Italian colonies combined are not even half of the value of Congo.
"France is too strong, and we in Portugal are not suitable to cooperate with them. We, Portugal, will not benefit much from cooperation with France." Tangning shook her head and said.
Although the United Kingdom of Portugal has a vast territory, its overall strength is actually worse than that of Austria-Hungary. Cooperating with France at this size will inevitably result in too little benefit.
"France is already very powerful in the Mediterranean. Even if it is willing to share some of its benefits with us, how much will it be?
It is best for Italy to cooperate with Portugal. Italy is not as strong as France. If we choose to cooperate with France, Portugal will definitely suffer.
Italy has always been very self-aware. They can recognize the situation clearly and know what to do and what not to do. Portugal will be very happy to cooperate with such a country.
And dear, you must not know that Italy is a very interesting country."
Italy is such an interesting country, and he is very good at the art of his team and establishing good relationships with strong players.
"Is Italy an interesting country? What's so interesting about it?" Mary couldn't figure out why her husband said that about Italy.
"Haha, I can't say this. I can only say that Italy is a country that can always make some shocking moves at critical moments."
This chapter has been completed!