I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 180



Only Noblemtl

“The Pacific territory of the Mexican Empire, what is that···.”

George Nobbs racked his brain desperately.

‘If it’s the Mexican Empire…. I’m talking about an American nation that gained independence from Spain, and that nation is already projecting its fleet all the way to the Pacific Ocean?’

George Nobbs arrived in the Pitcairn Islands in 1828. As an educated man, he had some idea of ​​what was going on in the world.

‘Even so, their naval power is probably not as strong as that of the British Empire or France. So, is it because they are close to the American countries that they are being abusive?’

George Nobbs took courage once again.

“The Pitcairn Islands are part of the British Empire, and I am a priest officially appointed by the Church of England. Don’t you fear the wrath of the British Empire?”

George Nobbs’ voice was a mixture of anger and despair. The Mexican Imperial Marine commander snickered at the priest’s words as he brought up a subject that had already been ignored once.

“So how many years ago was it that a British Empire ship visited here? I don’t think they visit this remote island in the South Pacific very often.”

“···”

His point was true. The Pitcairn Islands were not a small town, and even the British Empire would not send ships there for a simple patrol without any business.

The distance between the Pitcairn Islands and the British mainland is 14,900 km in a straight line, and the actual distance by sea is a whopping 32,000 km. Considering that the west coast ports of the Mexican Empire are about 8,000 km away, it is a whopping four times longer.

The British Empire would only send ships to the Pitcairn Islands for very special purposes. And that meant that even if Mexico took over the Pitcairn Islands right away, it would be years before the British Empire discovered them.

The commander forced George Nobbs, who was speechless, to do so.

“Choose. Will you swear allegiance to His Majesty the Emperor right here and now, or will you refuse and become a prisoner?”

George Nobbs looked at the people standing behind him. Their faces were filled with fear. There was no choice but to fight. Fighting would only end in death.

So what would it be like to be a prisoner? The author was treating the British Empire like an enemy. He said it would take years to get caught, but that meant that they would eventually get caught. And yet he did this.

‘What on earth happened in the world? Could it be… the collapse of the British Empire?’

If not, how could Mexico, which has not even been independent for 30 years, have the courage to commit such an outrageous act? Assuming that is the case, his home country may not have the power to bring him and his people back who were captured by Mexico.

Nobbs, who had thought that far, spoke in a gloomy tone.

“I’ll make you swear allegiance… Then we can continue living here, right?”

“Yes. Later on, we may be dispatched as civil servants, but for the time being, we will live as we have always lived.”

There was no need to explain the situation to the residents. They all understood because they spoke English. Some people gritted their teeth and glared at the Mexican Empire’s troops, but no one opposed Noves’ decision.

While 150 Pitcairn Islanders knelt and swore an oath to the Emperor of the Mexican Empire, the naval captain on board the warship looked out over the Pitcairn Islands’ fantastic natural surroundings from the deck.

The Pitcairn Islands in March were like a painting. The warm equatorial sun enveloped the islands, and the clear sky met the deep blue southern sea.

The clear sea water surrounding the island sparkled with emerald color, and the white sandy beach created by the coral reef stretched out softly.

“I am glad to be able to present this to His Majesty the Emperor.”

***

The revolutionary leader, Antonio Marquez, and his adviser, Jose Ilario Lopez, were taken aback.

“You accepted those demands as they were?”

“This is certainly a surprising thing···.”

Lopez looked as if he had been hit in the head. In their view, the Emperor of Mexico had powers no less than an absolute monarch. And yet he accepted these reforms.

It was a determination that made me wonder, “Is this the determination that has developed Mexico?” It was a completely different course of action from his teacher, Simón Bolívar, who showed disgrace and lost power in his later years.

“I told you it was possible. His Majesty the Emperor truly loves his people.”

Santander smiled and praised His Majesty the Emperor.

Santander pushed for it, but even they thought it was excessive. They were prepared for long and difficult negotiations. However, the Emperor accepted it on the condition that it would proceed sequentially. Although he did not provide a specific time or plan for the sequential process, it was hard to believe since the Emperor said he would stake his honor on it.

It was a disconcerting yet delightful experience.

I wanted to brag to the entire nation right away that our choice was right. However, the merger demands were confidential. Reforms inevitably bring about opposition from certain classes, and it was impossible to disclose the contents of not one but several reforms to the public.

Marquez naturally gave his final approval for the merger, and the union of the two countries was realized.

The state of New Granada disappeared into history, and with it the Union of Free Citizens was happily dissolved.

The landowners and clergy who had pinned their last hope on the possibility that the Mexican emperor might reject the annexation were disheartened.

“···It’s over.”

“Was it wise for the Gutierrez gang to flee to Argentina with their fortune?”

“The clergy were already busy gathering their wealth and trying to emigrate.”

The landowners of New Granada were depressed, but the priests, who were about to lose all their property, had no time to be depressed.

“Haha, now that I think about it, is it okay for priests to act like that? They have a clearly given parish and church, but they want to run away with the property. If you look closely, isn’t it clearly church property?”

“Well, even so, I can’t take the entire farm with me, so I’ll probably just take a few valuables.”

“That’s true.”

Now there was no turning back. The Mexican Empire’s troops and officials were entering Colombia.

The execution of the merger resembled a military operation.

The Mexican Empire sent large numbers of troops and officials to three directions: the Atlantic ports of Carnagena and Santa Marta, the Pacific ports of Buenaventura, and the Panama region.

The Mexican central government’s law was applied immediately throughout Colombia. There was no grace period.

“Free all slaves in the Colombian territory immediately.”

In Mexico, except in Texas, blacks were a very small minority, but in the Colombian region, the situation was somewhat different. There was a large importation of black slaves, mainly along the eastern seaboard. Ten percent of the total population were black slaves.

“All church property, except the pastoral building and land, belongs to the Mexican Empire.”

The slave owners and the clergy felt like screaming. They were angry, but they did not feel like fighting back. How could they, having lost to the revolutionaries, fight against the central government of the Mexican Empire?

“The Mexican Empire’s troops will arrive here soon.”

“Well, is there a way? I have no choice but to accept it.”

“No, in that case, I should just liquidate my assets and move to another country.”

There were also many attempts to gather their wealth and emigrate to other countries. Immigration is not easy, but there were many countries in South America with similar cultures and languages. There were even Venezuela and Ecuador that were once one country and then became independent.

“where?”

“Argentina.”

Venezuela and Ecuador, right next door, were not so attractive options. Like New Granada, they were countries in political turmoil. South America was similar except for Chile. Argentina, on the other hand, was known to be economically prosperous.

“Ha, the port!”

The port they went to in an attempt to rescue the ship was blockaded by the Mexican Imperial Fleet. It was as if they had predicted that this would happen.

The landowners and priests looked at each other in bewilderment. It was a huge adventure to flee to Argentina, an already unstable new nation, and even this was not easy.

“It won’t be easy to go by land either. The Imperial Army will block us before we get there.”

The empire was a gigantic force, and it seized all of Colombia at once.

***

“That’s right, I didn’t tell you! What about a warning? There’s no way they’d listen to something like that!”

The Conservative Party of Great Britain took advantage of this moment to attack the Whig Party members.

“I should have taken more definitive action.”

“Even the retired Duke of Wellesley sent me an angry letter.”

The Duke of Wellesley, a hardliner against Mexico, had retired from politics due to his old age and was enjoying a leisurely life, but the news of Mexico’s annexation of Colombia enraged even the restless 80-year-old.

The Whigs weren’t the only ones who were hit.

“No, is this our fault? When you criticize, you agree with it and say it’s good!”

“Right! And what about definite action? Are you saying that we should have gone to war? Last year’s revolution left our allies in a terrible state, and now you’re talking nonsense based on the results!”

“What? Nonsense?”

Margrave Metternich, who had long held power in the Austrian Empire, was now in England.

He did not come for diplomacy. He came in exile.

Unlike Prussia, which suppressed the revolution in one fell swoop, Austria suffered greatly from the revolution that took place in Vienna in March 1848.

Metternich, who had established an empty system and protected absolute monarchy and conservative values, stepped down, and the emperor was forced to experience the humiliation of having to establish a constitution.

In this way, it was difficult for the Austrian Empire, whose internal situation was so dire, to help deal with the Mexican Empire. If such a decision were made, even the emperor’s throne would be in danger.

With neither Austria nor the United States able to help, Britain had no choice but to take a hard line, and eventually Mexico swallowed Colombia.

“···Let’s say it was inevitable this time. But it can’t be helped anymore. Look at this map.”

The territory of the Mexican Empire was so vast. Even that vast territory was not a colony, but all of the mainland. It was a scale that could threaten the hegemony of the British Empire. Each of the members of the House of Representatives had a serious expression on their faces.

“I agree. I think we need to be on par with Russia now, if not more so.”

“I agree.”

The Mexican Empire, which was huge at the time of independence, first took over the Caribbean, then the western United States, and now expanded its territory to the south.

The British sense of crisis was at its peak. Not only the members of parliament, but almost all the upper classes, including the royal family and the capitalists, were displeased with the rapid growth of Mexican territory.

***

When Venezuela’s powers-that-be heard the news of Colombia’s annexation, they felt more than just disgust; they felt horrified.

“It seems that the left and right sides became territories of the Mexican Empire.”

Venezuelan President José Tadeo Monagas said with a complicated look on his face.

The territory of the Mexican Empire, painted in green, loomed threateningly as if it were about to swallow up Venezuela. It was burdensome just to have the right border, but now even the left side was theirs. For a newly independent nation that had only recently achieved independence, it was a suffocating situation.

He, who had maintained his power relatively stably, was bewildered by this disaster that occurred just when the domestic situation seemed to be improving.

When British Guyana, which Britain had held, was transferred to the Mexican Empire, it was not considered a big deal.

In fact, the Mexican Empire did not care much about the land. It hardly developed the land and only managed the port. However, now that it was stuck between the Mexican Empire’s territories, it would be obvious to anyone that it wanted to covet the Venezuelan territory.

“You bring up the cause of Simon Bolívar? Does that mean that his ghost still lingers?”

The Mexican emperor was emphasizing the legitimacy of the annexation by bringing Jose Ilario Lopez, known as a disciple of Simón Bolívar, into his government.

“It’s just an excuse.”

Tadeo’s brother, Senator José Gregorio Monagas, answered. Present-day Venezuela was under the Monagas brothers’ rule.

“The Mexican Empire brought out Simón Bolívar, even though he had everything he wanted to gain by unifying Latin America. What does this mean?”

“This is an excuse to expand into South America.”

“Yes. And it is actually working. There are already reports that those who supported Simon Bolívar are starting to move.”

My brother handed me a report with several names in it.

As he read the names one by one, Tadeo’s face grew darker. Bolívar’s comrades, those who had dreamed of his ideals together, began to sympathize with the Mexican Empire one by one.

“These old people···.”

Did they fall for their propaganda and agitation that highlighted the heroes of the war of independence, or did they try to secure safety by clinging to a powerful force? Either way, it was an embarrassing situation for Venezuela.

“Tread on them all.”

***

While the world was shocked by the news of Colombia’s annexation, in the remote North Island of New Zealand, a Mexican imperial expedition made contact with the Maori after wandering for several days.

Their expressions and gazes could not be described as pretty even with kind words.

The Maori warriors glared at them with fierce eyes. Their appearance was dripping with wariness and hostility.

The expedition members involuntarily flinched whenever their eyes met. However, the mission given to them was clear. It was to somehow make this unknown land in the South Pacific an ally of the Empire.

End