Chapter 90:


    14. End of the SecondHundred Years War  6


    Thedemands of theFrench side, represented by Armand Augustin de Caincourt, wereclearand simple. This confused Viscount Charlton, Husley Collins, who wasordered to stop the Frenchexpansion by all means.


    There areexactly four Spanishterritoriesthat HisMajesty theEmperor wants. Sardinia, Sicily, the Basque Country and Catalonia.


    Thats toomuch to ask! Youre tryingtotake away one-sixth of theterritory of the Kingdom! Besides, Sicilyand Sardinia are inds where you havent evenset footin!


    If thind cannotbeobtainedbecause theEmpire has notupiedit Then, may I imownership of thisceasthe Empire nowupiesMadrid?


    There wasnothing forBritain to opposetothis demand, as the Frenchside said thatthis wasa reasonable condition, asking for concessions in exchange forrecognizingthe Spanishthrone.


    No rather, this isnt bad.


    Husley Collinsnotedthat FrancedemandedSardiniaand Sicily. The membersofthe WhigParty, which tookpowerwith peoples anger, were also not fools. Sooner orter, theday would surelye whenFrance and Britain faced eachotheragain.


    Thesea belonged to Britainafterall. TheBritish could alwaysupy moreterritories. It was never reallya loss if an enemy acquired indsthat could becoastal bases. Itwas heartbreakingtogive up theBasque Countryand Catalonia to France, but there wasnojustification to prevent it.


    The Kingdom supports the Frenchdemand. This seems to be areasonable enoughdecision.


    The Portuguese sideagrees as well.


    Spaiined, but in fact, it was only to takethe upper handinthe negotiations, and the Frenchdemand was notsobad in exchange for protecting their throne.


    Theythought that sellingout one sixth of thecountry waseptable to stop thiswar in which theywere on thevergeopletedefeat. As such, Francegained fourregions without muchresistance from the other countries.


    Frances diplomatic officials held on to the position of makinggenerousconcessions.


    Theofficials fromSpain, Portugal and Britain weed the winners tolerance. Thanks to this, thenegotiations wereable to proceed swiftly.


    ===


    April 19, 1813, at 3 p.m. I would like to announce the Treaty of Madrid, which was signedunderconsultation withthe French Empire, the Kingdom of Spain and theKingdom of Portugal, underthe observation of the UnitedKingdom.


    Thefinaltext of theagreement, issuedbythe French judge with the assistance of the clerk, was as follows.


    1. Francewithdraws its troopsfrom theupiedSpanish andPortuguese territories. This will be doneassoon as thetreaty is signed.


    2. Joseph I renounces thethrone of Spain. FrancesupportsFernandoVII as KingofSpainand legitimateleader and will not im thethrone.


    3. Inreturn, Spain cedes theind of Sardinia, andthe territories of Catalonia andofthe Basque Country to France. Spainalso gives theeconomicand developmentalrights on the indofSicily for 100 yearstoFrance.


    4. France guaranteesPortugals independence. In return, Portugnd its Braziliancolony willhave a minimumtariff policy forFrench-madetradegoodsfor 50 years.


    Innegotiations concludinganend-of-war agreement, winnersand losers were usuallyclearly distinguished fromeach other.


    But at theMadrid Pce, wherethe Treaty of Madridwas signed, not onlythe French, Spanish andPortuguese, but alsothe Britishobservers wereall trying to hide asatisfying smile.


    Whatwas the reasonfor thissituation thatcouldnot happen in a zero-sum game? Napoleon somehowseemed to knowthat.


    Everyones having a daydream.


    Every one of them was confidentofhaving won thenegotiations and wasnot showingany signofstruggle. Who actually wonthesenegotiations would onlybedecided after a longtime. Napoleonwas surethat it would be France. He thoughtthat Britain would especiallyregret it.


    Itwas no exaggeration to saythat Spain andPortugalhad beenindanger of being expelled fromthe entire peninswhen Britain withdrew fromthe war.


    As France hadsufferedhuge financind human losses in theprolonged war, itwouldsurely havesought away to makeupfor it, andSpainand Portugal would havebeen forcedtopay for it.


    Especially, the Spanish thoughtthat they would havetoendure any harsh demandtoprotect their king, Fernando VII, and thedecisionofthe Britishtoobserve wastoprevent such excessive greed from the French.


    Thedemands that France made in thistensed rtionship were muchunexpected forthem. Sardinia, Sicily, Catalonia, theBasque Country.


    Andfor Portugal, thelowest tariffsfor imported goods. At that moment, Spanish andPortuguese diplomatsthought.


    Thesituation on the Frenchside wasnot verygood either. The British pressure worked.


    British diplomats also thought.


    France was strongly consciousofthe Easterncountries (Austria, Prussia, Russia, etc.).


    At Frances proposal, which wasmore generous than expected, theBritish changed their minds and urged theSpanish andPortuguese officialstomake peace as soon as possible. That was howthe talks wereable to be concludedsofast.


    Originally, it was usual forend-of-war agreements to end after difficultpush-and-pull negotiationsbetween countries, thatcoulst forseveral days, weeks, oreven a month.


    However, the MadridConference was concluded withina dayandsted just afew hours, with Frances generous concessions and thecoalition thatdid not trytocut further.


    Itwas an opportunity to confirmthe sincerity of Your Majestyaboutthe bnce, stability andsecurityofEurope, on which youinsistedthe other day. Thanks to the Emperorsbroadconcessions, the Iberian Penins will enjoy truepeaceand harmony!


    ViscountCharlton, Husley Collins, encouraged by the reductionofFrancesrequirements and rightsbeyond his expectation, praised Napoleon in a delighted voice. From hispointofview, hemust be excited to makeanachievementthat could appealtothe prime minister and thecab.


    In addition, theSpanish andPortuguese diplomatsseemed to agree withthe factthat Napoleon made concessions, although they may have animosity against him. However, Napoleons thoughts when hearingthosewordswere different.


    Wetook everything we could.


    The waronthe IberianPenins began whenNabotappointed his brother Joseph BonaparteasKing of Spain.


    Perhapsifhehad insisted on this, Portugal and Britain would havetriedtoresume war. Napoleonhad no intention of doing such amisguided thing fromthe start.


    Hehad aroughidea of what kindofagreement Nabot madewith Joseph. But it wasnone of hisbusiness. Napoleon, as theEmperor of France, was only interestedinpromoting the nations interest.


    TheBasque Countryand Catalonia, whichhave been dominated by pro-France and anti-Castilian peoplesincethe beginning of theIberian Peninsr War, are areas thatcan jointhe French society withouttaking muchadministrativepower. Thisisthe kindond we shouldtake.


    Basqueand Catalonia were the ceswherethe division operation secretly led by Napoleon hadthe greatest effect, with thrgest numberondowners andlocalnobles joiningthe IberianStandingOrganization.


    Inaddition, mostofthe poptionoftheseprovinces could speak French. Inotherwords, evenifFrance ruled themdirectly, the risk of awide resistance was very small.


    Moreover, bothprovinces could bring manystrategic and economic benefits to France. First of all, they were the centeroftradebetween theWestern Mediterranean Sea andthe North Antic.


    Afterthe liftingofthe trade blockade againstBritain, France wouldpeteortradewith Britain, increasing its share of foreign trade.


    Commercial andindustrial workers in Basque Country and Cataloniawouldgreatly help France grow its foreign tradework.


    These twoprovinces could alsoserveasa major stronghold for France, south of the Pyrenees.


    By seizingthem, France was nowable to send troops into the Iberian Penins through thematany time.


    This meant thatthe entire peninswouldbewithin the range of Franceand thatSpainand Portugal would not be able to easily express their rejection of Frenchoppression.


    This certainly strengthens theleashonthe IberianPenins.


    Themeeting with YourMajesty wasa very pleasant and glorious time. I hopetosee you again someday. Although such meetingwill alwaysbeweedina party venue, not on the battlefield.


    It wasthe words of the Marquis of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, who broke Napoleons thoughts. He seemedtohave gotteneven brighter as he thought the Frenchhad madea lotofconcessions.


    Wecan lookforward to theMarquis dancing skillsthen. I enjoyed meetingyou today. Have asafe trip.


    MarquisWellington made his farewell to theFrench side. In addition, Napoleon left the conference hallwhilereceiving the courtesy andgreetings of manyothers.


    The Treaty of Madrid, which had causeda stir in the world, was signed in a single dayand ended the Iberian PeninsrWar at once.


    Francewouldnow set up newadministrativebodies in the BasqueCountry, Catalonia, Sardinia andSicily, while Spain andPortugalwouldbetroubledtorestore their war-torn countries.


    Thewar was over, butanother meaningful war to managethe aftermath andprepare forthe future hadjust begun.


    ===


    After theMadrid Conference, Armand Augustin de Caincourt wascriticized by several figures, including theheadsofthe Empire. The French dered victory in the warand almost dominatedthe entire penins.


    They had such an overwhelming position, and all they had taken from the negotiationswere twoinds in theMediterranean Sea, the BasqueCountry andCatalonia. In thePeninsr War, the Spanish territory upied by theFrench alone was 450,000 kilometerssquare.


    But thend gained wasatmost 90,000 kilometers square. Thiswas the reasonwhy suspicionswere inevitable thatthey hadbeenpletely pushed back in negotiating power.


    How canI make an arrangement on my own without the ordersofHis Majestythe Emperor? The consequencesofthe Treaty of Madridwere asHis Majestyintended. If youd liketodiscuss this, pleaseask him directly.


    They tried to hidetheirdissatisfaction and didnot say more, as they could not argue with the Emperor. Perhaps officials in theParisCab andthe media on the streetwouldbeangry, saying that thipensation did notpay the price forall the bloodshed. But Caincourt, who knew the essence of the negotiations, was notafraid of their criticism at all.


    Sardiniaand Sicily arethe bestthings we can getwithout rming theBritish. They think these twoinds cant bring much benefittothe Empire, sothey will ept to give themtous. But thereality is different.


    The Emperorkindly exined to himwhy. In thedark forests of Sardinia and Sicily, there weremany robur oaktreesgrowing naturally, which wereessential for theconstruction of sailingboats. Thatwas right. It wasfor the navy.


    Inthe future of Francethat theEmperor wasseeing after the war, it was clear that the restoration of naval forceswas deeply engraved. Sardiniaand Sicily were necessities for that purpose.


    Theminimum tarifftreaty withPortugnd its Braziliancolony alsoharboredthe sameshadiness and sharpnessasa poisoned apple.


    As the Foreign Minister, Caincourtwas wewareofthe new revolution thatNapoleons government was currentlycarryingout.


    Usingmachinesthat could exceedhumaborefficiency, they were steadily preparing facilities to mass-produce uniformlysizedproducts.


    This would enable Francetostartexplosive productionand order hugevolumes just as Britaindid in the past.


    Portugnd Brazil, wherethe minimumtariff treaty hadbeen signed, would be the best marketstosell such French products with highmargins.


    Wherever yougoinPortugnd Brazil, youll see plentyofFrench-madeproducts. Itsmyidea to destroy their hand-made markets andpletely subordinate themtothe Empires economy. Isnt the UnitedKingdom, whichcan be astrongpetitor, alsostruggling through an economic crisis? Startingwith Portugal andBrazil, theEmpiresproductswill steadily eatupthe Britishvacancy.


    When he heard the Emperorswords, Caincourt felt goosebumpsall overhis body. It meant using the enemy ignorance, blocking information to induce misjudgment, and bringing the best cards for thebest situationthe French side could make.


    Feeling the best catharsis to enjoy in thenegotiations, Caincourtwas greatlydelighted.


    When Britain realized all this, Francewouldhave built a castle that would never copse. Caincourtwas verycurious about that timeand looked forward to it.