ps: I haven’t updated for more than a month, and I’m embarrassed to say sorry. I’ll try my best to keep updating during the winter vacation. If I have time, I’ll update two or three times... the number of words is endless.
The world situation in August 1869 was relatively calm, but on the South American continent, as two ironclad ships with a displacement of 3,500 tons entered the Rio Grande do Sul naval sequence, new changes occurred in the turbulent South American countries.
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Before the Paraguay War, the Imperial Brazilian Navy had five ironclads with a displacement of more than 3,000 tons. During the war, three ironclads fell into the hands of the Chinese troops one after another, leaving the Brazilian Navy with only two large ironclads to support its appearance.
Brazil's land area is close to that of the mainland. Its coastal areas span thousands of miles from north to south. Its territorial sea and actual controlled sea area are about twice that of the mainland.
The defense of five to six million square kilometers of sea territory with only two large ironclad ships is obviously insufficient. Pedro II, the head of the Brazilian Empire, and many noble bureaucrats naturally noticed this problem. However, the negative impact of the failure of the Paraguay War was
Far-reachingly, one year after the war ended, the Brazilian Empire not only lost the two southern states, but also ceded more than 100,000 square kilometers of land to Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru and other countries.
The area at the junction of the Three Kingdoms and the Brazilian Empire belongs to the tropical rainforest area. The weather is hot, high and rainy, and most of the areas are not suitable for human habitation. Moreover, all the land ceded to the Three Kingdoms was illegally taken by the Brazilian Empire in the past few decades and returned to them.
After the Three Kingdoms, the price was not small but acceptable. The two southern states occupied by the Principality of Rio Grande do Sul had a superior natural environment. However, due to the lack of local mineral resources, they accounted for a smaller economic proportion in the overall composition of the Brazilian Empire and lost the largest share of the two states.
The harm was that it affected the authority of the Brazilian Imperial Government, and its impact on economic interests was limited.
After the defeat of the war and the humiliating cession of territory, the Brazilian Empire was peaceful externally, but drastic changes occurred internally. The white landowners in Fortaleza, Recife and other places in the north, far away from the core of the Brazilian Empire, were dissatisfied with Pedro.
II's decree to pardon black slaves. Taking advantage of the failure of the Paraguay War and the weak central rule of the empire, Pedro II continued to put pressure on Pedro II. He first fought for the economic autonomy of the local states, and then after his interests were satisfied, he took advantage of it and offered to grant it.
With the military rights of local states, the Brazilian Empire modeled itself on the Holy Roman Empire system in Europe, replacing the federal system with a loose confederal system.
The words "Confederation" and "Federation" are just a simple reversal of positions, but the actual meanings are completely different. The federal states have a certain degree of autonomy in the economic and political fields. Local residents can choose parliaments that represent local interests to implement internal governance. But what about the Confederation?
In name, the states of the Confederation constitute a country. In fact, the state governments have the same power as ordinary countries. They can establish their own armies and implement independent foreign policies. The central government of the Confederation has no power to interfere with local states and can only act as a superficial center.
government.
After the independence of the United States, a loose confederation system was implemented. Then the north and south split and civil war broke out. There were hundreds of large and small states in the Holy Roman Empire. After the rise of Napoleon, the scattered German regions were defeated by the French army one by one, and the Holy Roman Empire came to an end.
Not long after the American Civil War, the German Confederation, an important part of Europe, was the focus of Pedro II's understanding. The harm caused by the two countries' confederacy was very obvious. Even if Pedro II behaved
He showed an enlightened and democratic monarchy and did not allow the Brazilian Empire to be divided in his hands.
After completing the transaction with the Chinese National Defense Force to transport immigrants and redeeming more than 20,000 captured Brazilian soldiers, Pedro II immediately resolutely rejected the demands of the northern forces represented by the white landowners of Recife, and at the same time stepped up encirclement and suppression.
Rebel forces in various places deter local forces that do not obey the jurisdiction of the central government.
The return of more than 20,000 soldiers with combat experience greatly eased the tension in the Brazilian Empire's military strength. In addition, in order to reduce the adverse effects of the Paraguay War, Pedro II decided to completely abolish slavery and reestablish himself as a wise king.
image of.
In March 1869, Pedro II ignored the opposition of Duke Florentine and other big nobles and insisted on issuing a decree abolishing all slaves in the Brazilian Empire.
The law stipulates that black slaves in Brazil can obtain freedom from their slave owners as long as they pay a ransom.
The ransom amount for black slaves is about fifty taels of silver when converted into silver, which is the annual salary for ordinary soldiers of the National Defense Force. The land in the Principality of Rio Grande do Sul is fertile, and the price of food is about half of that in the Central Plains. In addition, there is no one in the National Defense Force who deducts the military salary of soldiers.
Bad habits, fifty taels of silver is enough for Chinese soldiers to live above the food and clothing line, but fifty taels of silver is a lot of money for penniless black slaves. They need to wait for three or four years after the decree is issued.
Work there to earn ransom in exchange for freedom.
Pedro II wanted to abolish slavery for a long time. In 1850, he announced a ban on the continued trade of slaves from Africa into Brazil. The abolition decree promulgated in March drew on the abolition of serfdom in Tsarist Russia.
Some changes were made to adapt to the local situation in Brazil. For example, in order to take care of the interests of white slave owners and prevent most white slave owners from being forced into the opposite direction, the law stipulated that slave owners could give priority to recruiting slaves who originally belonged to them to work, and the wages of slaves could be adjusted according to the situation.
Appropriate reduction, on the other hand, except for blacks who join the army, blacks who are ordinary slaves will still retain their status as slaves before paying the ransom. The slave owners still have control over the slaves during this period...
Tsarist Russia's serf-abolition decree itself had huge loopholes and shortcomings. In Russia, a large number of serfs became cheap labor for capitalists due to lack of money in exchange for freedom. The living environment of many serfs not only did not improve, but became more difficult.
The weather in Russia was extremely cold, and the serfs were hard-working and able to endure a hard life. However, black people living in tropical areas were unable to work efficiently for a long time due to environmental effects. The ransom of fifty taels of silver may become an expense that black slaves would find difficult to repay.
Although the abolition of slavery made many provisions that took care of the interests of slave owners, white slave owners who focused on their own actual interests still regarded Peter II's behavior as a betrayal of them. Some slave owners openly opposed the abolition of slavery.
Most people are observing secretly and preparing to make corresponding countermeasures according to changes in Brazil's domestic situation.
The abolition of slavery laws continued to be implemented despite the opposition of white slave owners and manor owners. Hundreds of small rebel forces opposed to abolition were suppressed by the army. The first batch of 30,000 black slaves entered the army, and Pedro II was added.
world's military strength.
More than five months passed during the rebellion and repression. The abolition of slavery was ostensibly implemented in Brazil, and the reputation of Pedro II spread again in Europe and the United States, followed by the British country, which advocated the abolition of the slave trade.
Because of this, European monarchs have praised Pedro II as a powerful reformer who stood side by side with Russian Czar Alexander II and as a model monarch of a civilized country. The United States, located on the other side of the continent, also praised Pedro II as a benevolent person.
Enlightened monarch.
The reputation brought by the abolition of slavery ostensibly suppressed the impact of the failure of the Paraguay War. The domestic comprador bourgeoisie made profits by hiring cheap black slaves to make up for the losses suffered in the war. Therefore, the public opinion controlled by the comprador bourgeoisie
The newspapers drowned out the objections of white slave owners, causing Pedro II to make a wrong judgment. He believed that after the abolition of slavery and the promulgation of reform laws, the country's situation was stabilizing. At this time, military power should be deployed to contain Paraguay and Paraguay.
The development of Chinese power.
After a year of recovery, the Brazilian regular army returned to a size of more than 100,000 people. Pedro II originally planned to recruit 50,000 black slaves again at low military expenses to form a black army under the orders of trusted generals. However, the British built it for the Chinese
After two ironclad ships passed near the coast of Brazil, he had to change his plan.
With the addition of two new ironclads, the number of main ironclads in the Rio Grande do Sul Navy has reached five. The National Defense Forces Navy has surpassed the Brazilian Navy in both the number and tonnage of main warships.
The major cities in Brazil are located along the Atlantic coast. Brazil, which does not have adequate naval protection, is like a girl with her clothes open in front of the Chinese navy. During the war, it will be randomly attacked by the Chinese navy, which will affect the entire course of the war.
The size of the National Defense Force's naval fleet exceeded Pedro II's bottom line. After learning the news, he did not summon Duke Ott and Garcia, who were at odds over the abolition of slavery, but privately sent someone to contact the British Minister in Brazil.
, preparing to purchase larger-tonnage ironclad ships from the United Kingdom to maintain its advantage over the Wehrmacht Navy.
