Empire Rising: Spain

For the people of 1876, this era indeed lacked some fun. A major reason was the continuous exploitation by factory owners, leading workers to hardly have enough time to rest and entertain themselves.

But it is undeniable that the backwardness of technology and the lack of various entertainment activities also made people feel dull and tasteless.

Although Spain’s media industry also gave birth to entertainment newspapers specializing in gossip, not every Spaniard would buy newspapers.

Once the public does not have enough entertainment projects to vent their emotions, it will eventually lead to various voices and forces opposing the government.

This also means that Spain urgently lacks an entertainment project that can mobilize the emotions of the vast majority of the public, and this entertainment project must be warmly welcomed in Spain.

Throughout Spain, currently only one tradition meets these requirements, which is the bullfighting activity that has been popular in Spain for hundreds of years.

Spanish bullfighting originated from ancient religious activities, with a long history and tradition in the Iberian countries of Spain and Portugal.

According to historical records, the Ancient Roman Caesar who once ruled Spain was keen on bullfighting on horseback, and bullfighters were also seen as symbols of bravery and prowess in battle.

Originally, this sport was only popular among the Spanish nobility, after all, breeding bulls and preparing related activities all required a lot of funds.

But because bullfighting brought heavy casualties to the nobility, Philip V banned bullfighting activities among royal family members, which evolved bullfighting activities from a noble patent to a nationwide event that ordinary people could participate in.

After long developments, bullfighting has become an irreplaceable tradition in Spain and an activity that many Spaniards are crazy about.

Bullfighters are seen as brave and fearless men, admired and respected by all Spaniards.

To Carlo, there was no activity more worthy of praise than bullfighting. Bullfighters symbolized bravery and fearlessness, the more the Spanish people admired and respected this spirit, the more it represented the combat strength of the Spanish Army.

The influence of national spirit on the combat strength of an army is still great. The combat strength of the Italian Army is not considered very strong, but it is certainly not considered too weak either.

Why did Italy’s performance in World War I and World War II be so bad? The main reason is that the national spirit of Italy leans more towards freedom and enjoyment, while the sense of national concept and identity is weak, naturally unwilling to fight for the concept of the Italian state.

Spain, with a tradition of bullfighting, clearly does not have such shortcomings as Italy. As long as it can be cultivated properly, even if the population is not large, it can guarantee that the army organized by Spaniards has strong combat strength.

The brave and fearless spirit has a great impact on an army. When all Spaniards admire this spirit, what reason is there to doubt the combat strength of the Spanish Army?

If equipped with advanced rifles and cannons prepared by Carlo for his army, and the number is close, the Spanish Army has confidence to fight against the army of any country.

Even if the numbers are inferior to the enemy, as long as they rely on the Pyrenees Mountains for defense, Spain does not fear the attack of any country.

This is the belief brought by national spirit. When all Spaniards have sufficient national cohesion and identity, the Spanish Army will become an enemy that any country in the world is unwilling to encounter.

Promoting bullfighting not only cultivates brave and fearless national spirit, but also has the great advantage of promoting economic flow.

The public needs tickets to watch bullfighting performances, which will increase the probability of currency circulation and promote the growth of the Spanish economy.

Bullfighting is also a major feature of Spain, attracting a large number of Europeans to travel and watch every year. At this era, there are no football or basketball games, bullfighting is already one of the few large-scale events that can attract public attention.

Although bullfighting activities have many disadvantages too, compared to the benefits brought by bullfighting activities, these disadvantages are not so important.

Carlo decided to vigorously promote bullfighting activities, on one hand, to integrate the brave and fearless and combative character into the national spirit of Spain, on the other hand to let Spaniards have more entertainment activities to vent emotions and dissipate energy, while stimulating economic exchange.

The largest bullring in Spain currently is the Lereta Square located in the Madrid City Center. There is a circular bullring in the center of Lereta Square, and from March to October every year is the bullfighting season in Spain.

The Lereta Bullring can accommodate more than 3500 spectators, is the largest bullring in Madrid, attracting the attention of a large number of Spaniards from the surrounding area of Madrid.

The first step in Carlo’s vigorous promotion of bullfighting activities is to personally experience the charm of bullfighting activities and to feel the support of the public for bullfighting activities.

At the end of September 1876, Carlo personally arrived at the Lereta Bullring to watch the bullfighting performance specially prepared for him.

The loudly cheering crowd, the majestic bull, and the determined bullfighters holding red cloth, together formed the stunning scene inside the bullring.

Knowing that Carlo was going to personally watch the bullfighting performance, the bullring has been carefully prepared. The bullfighter performing for Carlo is the most famous bullfighter around Madrid, with no defeat record in recent years, easily defeating thousands of bulls.