The Rise of Australasia

The first day of negotiations was destined to be difficult, and it seemed that the Portuguese side had no intention of negotiating, with their demands even more shocking.

Despite being the losing side in the war, the Portuguese insisted on war reparations from Australasia and demanded an apology from the Australasian government and people for starting the war.

Moreover, Australasia must release all captured Portuguese prisoners without any compensation and provide high compensation for all killed Portuguese soldiers.

This did not even take into account the property losses in the occupied Portuguese colonies. If these were included, the Portuguese would demand at least 40 million Australian dollars in compensation from Australasia.

These conditions were met with sneers from Chief David and silence from the representatives of the British, German, and Russian countries.

It was unknown how confident the Portuguese were to make such an astronomical offer in this situation.

In response, Chief David presented Australasia’s position. First, the Portuguese government must compensate for the war, including the losses incurred by Australasia in the war, the casualties in the Australasian army, the loss of people’s property, etc. The Portuguese government needs to compensate the Australasian government with £100 million, to be paid off in five years.

Any compensation not paid off annually would be calculated with a 15% interest rate.

Since the Portuguese were demanding exorbitant prices, Chief David naturally wasn’t polite either.

Beyond these astronomical indemnities, Portugal needed to cede Portuguese Timor and Portuguese India to Australasia, and Australasia would gain joint control of Portuguese East Asia Colonies.

Last but not least, for the over one thousand captured Portuguese prisoners, they only needed to pay 5,000 pounds each to safely return to Portugal.

These conditions are very harsh. With the financial compensation alone, the Portuguese government may face bankruptcy, let alone losing two colonies and being unable to keep the remaining East Asian colonies.

If they agreed to these conditions, Ambassador Herbert Simon felt he could escape the punishment of Carlos I, but he would still be torn apart by the angry Portuguese citizens.

However, Australasia’s attitude made Herbert Simon understand that Australasia was not a target to be manipulated by Portugal.

Moreover, Britain, Germany, and Russia were all present here, and Portugal’s continued wrangling could risk offending these three powerful countries.

After the first day of negotiations ended, Ambassador Herbert Simon sent a telegram to Portugal seeking Carlos I’s opinion.

Neither Australasia nor the three countries of Britain, Germany, and Russia were foolish.

The attempt to stall the progress of negotiations with such tactics was too naive.

The next day, Ambassador Herbert Simon’s attitude changed drastically. He gave up on the idea of ​​war reparations from Australasia and only asked for compensation for the deaths of Portuguese soldiers.

At the same time, Australasia should withdraw from the three Portuguese colonies, and the spheres of influence between the two sides should return to the pre-war status.

Australasia naturally could not accept these conditions, and Chief David could not help but directly convey Arthur’s words to Ambassador Herbert Simon: “If the Portuguese don’t accept the negotiations within a short period of time, Australasia will lease warships from Russia at any cost, annihilate Portugal’s army, and sign contracts on Portuguese territory.”

Considering the current military strength of Portugal and Australasia, the only advantage that Australasia lacked was in the navy.

However, if Australasia successfully leased warships from Russia, even directly renting a battleship, the naval superiority between Portugal and Australasia would be directly wiped out or even reversed.

By then, Australasia could not only easily complete defensive wars, but also land on Portugal’s African colonies.

However, Portugal had no good solutions for this. Europeans generally supported Australasia in the current war, which meant that European countries basically would not lease ships to the Portuguese.

Ambassador Herbert Simon could not refute Chief David’s threat and could only send a report to Carlos I about what had happened in the negotiations with a heavy heart.

On October 13, 1907, an ominous day, an important event occurred in the Kingdom of Portugal.

The then reigning King Carlos I, together with his Crown Prince Louise, went to the government to attend a meeting to discuss the ongoing negotiations with Australasia.

As they drove along, two black-clad men approached and fired two shots at Carlos I’s convoy with handguns from their pockets.

Due to being closer to the assassins, Crown Prince Louise was hit directly in the chest by a bullet, while King Carlos I, who was sitting further away, was grazed by a stray bullet on his shoulder.

It took several seconds after the shooting for the King’s guards to react. They immediately shouted to protect His Majesty the King and quickly chased the assassins.

Meanwhile, the injured King Carlos I and Crown Prince Louise were escorted to the nearest hospital for treatment under the protection of the remaining guards.

King Carlos I’s injuries were not severe, and after the bullet was removed, there was no longer any danger to his life.

However, Crown Prince Louise was injured very close to the heart, and due to the large amount of bleeding, it was very difficult to save him.

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