Chapter 629 - 297: Public Endorsement

After receiving Carlo’s clear stance, the Portuguese Government breathed a sigh of relief; at least Portugal would not find itself in the worst predicament.

Even if they are ultimately forced by the British Government to abandon the merger of the East and West Africa Colony, the British must offer compensation, unless they are willing to let Portugal fall into Spain’s embrace.

Although the support of Spaniards provided some confidence, the Portuguese Government was also prepared for a final concession.

After all, the enemy they face is the British Empire, undoubtedly the strongest nation of this era.

Just as the Portuguese were planning to reopen negotiations with the British, seeking compensation through concession, news about the British Empire issuing an ultimatum to the Portuguese Government leaked within Portugal.

The news was reported by a newspaper of low popularity, with a pitiful daily circulation of only about a thousand copies, barely making ends meet.

No one knows how such a small newspaper acquired such secret news, but the Portuguese people’s focus was not on this point.

The British Empire’s ultimatum was what concerned the Portuguese, its arrogant stance above the Portuguese severely trampling their pride.

As more Portuguese learned of the news, many spontaneously took to the streets, demanding that the government not be weak, arguing that the British have no right to interfere with Portugal’s colonies.

Although Portugal is a small country, as a former colonial empire, the Portuguese still possess their own pride.

For the Portuguese, they can accept the government’s failure in colonial pursuits, they can accept Portugal’s increasing weakness, but they cannot accept other nations standing above Portugal.

Under the influence of such patriotic sentiment, the number of Portuguese participating in demonstrations grew, gradually attracting the attention of the Portuguese Government.

There’s no way around it; any public demonstration cannot be ignored.

Because most revolutions begin from demonstrations, if not handled properly, it could lead to larger-scale resistance or even uprising, pushing the country towards civil war and chaos.

Regarding the leaked British ultimatum, there were speculations within the Portuguese Government.

Currently, only three parties knew about the message: the British Government, the Portuguese Government, and the Spanish Government.

The Portuguese Government could not have leaked the news actively, letting the public know about such circumstances would only cause self-inflicted chaos.

After all, the Portuguese Government was already prepared to concede, while the Portuguese wouldn’t easily opt for concession under British pressure.

The British Government likely wouldn’t take the initiative to disclose such news either, as fundamentally it’s oppression of a weaker nation, not looking very honorable.

Though the British Empire is indeed powerful, it has numerous enemies.

While these countries are unlikely to directly help Portugal, if Britain finds itself on the wrong side of international opinion, these adversarial nations wouldn’t mind kicking Britain while it’s down, facing Britain with larger issues.

After ruling out the Portuguese and British Governments, only the Spanish Government remains as likely to leak the news.

However, given the significant disparity in strength between the two countries, even if knowing the leak came from the Spanish Government, the Portuguese Government has no means to retaliate.

Moreover, the Portuguese Government does not have sufficient evidence to prove it was leaked by the Spanish Government.

Besides, the biggest problem at the moment is not the leak, but how to handle the Portuguese people who are already closely watching the colonial issue.

In circumstances unknowable to the Portuguese, the Portuguese Government could decide the course of this incident autonomously. Yet after a large number of Portuguese took interest, public opinion became something the Portuguese Government couldn’t overlook.

Offending the British Government may result in failure, but wouldn’t offending numerous Portuguese citizens also mean failure?

For the Portuguese Government at this time, they truly found themselves in a dilemma, one misstep and they would fall into an abyss.

As the fervent demonstrations unfolded in Portugal, the media outlets in Spain also reported related events.

The Spanish Sun went as far as to critically label the behavior of the British Government as trampling the sovereignty of a nation, claiming it wasn’t conduct befitting a civilized European country.

Britain’s actions were not for the first or second time; even Gibraltar, which was supposed to be part of Spain, was forcibly taken by Britain through warfare.

This instantly provoked the Spaniards’ hatred towards the British, triggering the Spaniards’ empathy towards the Portuguese.

For a time, many Spaniards also took to the streets, expressing various protests against the British Government. Some more extreme Spaniards even hoped the Spanish Government could send troops to recapture Gibraltar, asserting that Spain possessing Gibraltar would be complete.

After Britain’s ultimatum issue caught the attention of Spaniards, the Spanish Government officially issued a statement, expressing that Spain does not acknowledge the British Government’s offensive behavior, hoping the British Government could approach from a civilized and friendly perspective, respecting the sovereignty of other nations.

During a diplomatic event, Carlo publicly appeared, and when related questions were raised by the media, Carlo also expressed his position, stating that Spain is willing to stand with the Portuguese, that Iberians should jointly guard their national sovereignty and maintain the dignity of the Iberian Peninsula.