Empire Rising: Spain

In August 1874, the atmosphere in the Spanish East Indies Colony was somewhat unusual compared to the past.

Navy Major Pasqual Sevilla arrived at the President’s Mansion of the East Indies early in the morning, accompanied by several Defense Corps colonels.

“Are you all ready, gentlemen?” asked Marquis Rogers, the then Governor of the East Indies, as he smiled and gazed at the map of the East Indies hanging in his office.

“The Navy is fully prepared and can support the Army’s landing at any time,” Major Pasqual nodded and replied.

“We are all ready too. It’s time to let these damn natives understand who the real master of the East Indies is,” several colonels of the Colonial Defense Corps nodded with excitement on their faces.

Although the main purpose of the last troop movement by the Spanish Government was to reinforce the Congo River Basin, some soldiers had reached the East Indies, and naturally, their roles could not be wasted.

The East Indies, as Spain’s largest existing colony, still had great potential for expansion.

Currently, in the southern part of the East Indies, namely Mindanao, there are several indigenous forces that do not submit to Spanish colonial rule, the largest being the Magindanao Sultanate.

Additionally, not far from the western part of Mindanao, the Sulu Sultanate is also a place that Spain can colonize.

West of the Sulu Archipelago is the significantly larger island of Borneo, home to multiple indigenous tribes and nations, with the south being the Dutch colonial area.

From Spain’s comprehensive strength, there is absolutely no need to fear the Dutch. The primary reason the Dutch were able to colonize this land is because the Netherlands’ comprehensive strength is not strong, reassuring England and France and Spain.

“Very good,” Marquis Rogers nodded with satisfaction, placing his baton on the southwest part of Mindanao on the map, and said with a cold smile, “From today, the indigenous nations here have no reason to exist. There is only one master of the East Indies, and that is the great Kingdom of Spain.

The mission of the First and Second Defense Corps is to move south to Mindanao and completely eliminate the indigenous nations here. If anyone dares to resist, execute them all.

The Third and Fourth Defense Corps, with the help of the Navy, will first land on the Sulu Archipelago and eliminate the indigenous forces there.

After controlling the situation in the Sulu Archipelago, leave some troops to defend the archipelago, and the remaining forces will continue west to control the lands of the Sulu Sultanate in the Kalimantan region.

The mission of the Third and Fourth Defense Corps is relatively heavy, and they must conduct a blitzkrieg to quickly occupy the land of the Sulu Sultanate.

If the British react and intervene by then, a portion of the land may be partitioned by the British. The sooner we act, the more land we can acquire.

I hope we can take over a complete Sulu Sultanate, not just the small Sulu Archipelago. Have you all understood your duties?”

Relatively speaking, attacking Mindanao would proceed more smoothly. This area is already part of the Spanish colonial territory, and regardless of how aggressive Spain’s colonial actions are, other powers have no right to interfere.

But Borneo is different. The southern area of Borneo is occupied by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while the north and west regions are home to numerous indigenous states and other forces.

Although the British have not yet established a North Kalimantan Colony, they have already occupied a port in the Brunei Empire.

The Sulu Sultanate borders the Brunei Empire, and Spain’s forced attack on the Sulu Sultanate might catch the attention of the British.

This would not be good for Spain, so they must try to act quickly and seize a piece of land on Borneo first.

To be able to expand the colony to Borneo would prove that Spain has the right to partition Borneo. But if they cannot land on Borneo, then a future partition of Borneo by the British and the Dutch would have nothing to do with Spain.

Although Spain already has the Philippines, the attraction of Borneo is equally significant. As the world’s third largest island, Borneo covers an area of 740,000 square kilometers, while the combined area of mainland Spain and the Philippines is barely 800,000 square kilometers.

Such a vast territory is surely something Spain wants to participate in partitioning, especially since the resources on Borneo are abundant, so taking even a small piece would not be a loss.

“As you command, Your Excellency Governor,” the colonels of the Colonial Defense Corps and Navy Major Pasqual nodded and confidently accepted the order.

For the Spanish Army, attacking these indigenous nations and forces poses no difficulty. Even though the Colonial Defense Corps is the lowest-ranked unit in Spain and many soldiers are local indigenous people.

But after upgrading their weapons and equipment, the combat capability of the Colonial Defense Corps is at a certain level. While the soldiers of the Defense Corps are said to be local indigenous, many are actually mixed Spanish descent and fairly loyal to Spain.

With the supervision of numerous young officers, the loyalty and combat effectiveness of the army can be ensured. As long as there is no extensive collapse, even the Colonial Defense Corps would hardly have a chance of mutiny.

The East Indies’ distance from mainland Spain also has certain advantages, such as the fact that information takes a long time to spread.