Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 275: Chapter 24, The Birth of the Eldest Son
Wave after wave, one never fully subsides before another rises.

Entering the 19th century, the major powers fiercely competed for the North African market, increasingly placing the Moroccan Government in an unfavorable international position.

In the 1840s and 50s, an influx of cheap European goods flooded into Morocco, impacting the economy of the Kingdom of Morocco.

In an attempt to reverse this trend, the Moroccan Government raised tariffs, and in 1852, the average import tariff in the Kingdom of Morocco increased by 20%, with the intention of protecting the local market through high duties.

Clearly, this damaged the interests of the major European powers. In December 1856, the British forced the Moroccan Government to sign the “Anglo-Moroccan Treaty”.

Through the treaty, the British obtained extraterritorial rights, trade rights throughout Morocco, and reduced tariffs to 10% of the commodity prices.

Once Pandora’s box had been opened, the situation spiraled out of control as the powers rushed in, each one eager to secure the same rights.

Believing itself to be backed by the British, the Moroccan Government unhesitatingly rejected the demands of other nations, causing intense dissatisfaction among them.

Colonial Minister Yosip Jelacic proposed, “Your Majesty, the Moroccan Government has rejected the proposals of various countries, and both the French and Spanish could send troops to Morocco at any time. Should we not also take action?”

The main reason Morocco attracted the attention of so many countries was its fertility; not only did it possess rich mineral resources, but it also had 220,000 square kilometers of arable land suitable for agriculture. It was a major agricultural exporter in Africa, and the climate conditions were very favorable.

A man is not guilty for carrying jade, but the jade itself brings the trouble. Without venomous insects or ferocious animals to protect itself, the Kingdom of Morocco became a fat lamb in everyone’s eyes.

Franz shook his head and said, “We have too little interest in the Kingdom of Morocco; there is no necessity to get involved.

In recent years, we have already acquired too many benefits, eliciting dissatisfaction among nations across Europe. What we need now is digestion.”

While Morocco is appealing, it faces the management of England, France and Spain. Rather than wasting time here, it would be better to develop the unclaimed African Continent.

Austria too has followed in the footsteps of other nations, continuously dispatching exploration teams to Africa in preparation for colonization. Many civil colonial teams have already established colonial footholds autonomously.

There are also colonial teams from the German Federation and the Kingdom of Prussia that have affiliated themselves under the flag of the New Holy Roman Empire, to which Franz was not opposed.

They are all Germans, so why distinguish so clearly between them? As long as everyone recognizes him as Emperor, then everything is negotiable.

Take, for instance, the colonial foothold in Cameroon which was initially developed by Prussian nobility, but now the Berlin Government is “reluctant” to show any interest in colonization.

Without any alternative, in an era of great colonization without the support of the nation, individual efforts in overseas colonization are extremely perilous. In order to combat the British colonists, they naturally joined under the flag of the New Holy Roman Empire.

Or take, for example, Hamburg capitalists established a foothold in the Comoros Islands, and the German Federation, preoccupied with internal consolidation, had to neglect overseas colonization, eventually flying the flag of the New Holy Roman Empire.

In summary, the Colonial Department had tallied the overseas colonies at a total of forty-one, of which twenty-seven were established under the direction of the Vienna Government, establishing dominance over the local areas.

The remaining footholds were nominally existing, civil colonial teams had limited strength, and often they merely circled a piece of land and established so-called footholds or casually cheated a native tribe into signing a purported protection treaty.

According to current international standards, with no conflicts of interest, mutual recognition is the default position.

Even in cases of territorial disputes over colonies, negotiations usually occur first, and most settlements involve paying a sum of money to buy the foothold; it’s only when these fail that force is used. Without national support, most are directly exterminated as pirates.

For capitalists engaged in international trade in this era, occasionally moonlighting as pirates was a common occurrence and not necessarily unjust.

When compared to great colonial powers like England and France, Austria can only be classified as a minor player, even Portugal and the Netherlands, smaller nations, start with triple-digit figures for their overseas colonies.

Many cannot be called colonial footholds; trade outposts would be more fitting. These outposts have, at most, more than a thousand people, and at least no one at all.

It’s nothing strange; without sufficient benefits, it’s normal for civil colonial teams to abandon these outposts, and they can also be sold if someone is willing to pay.

If colonization were solely officially driven, with colonial outposts managed by bureaucrats, the financially mighty British would be the first Colonial Empire to go bankrupt. Who would have thought they controlled such a vast expanse and had so many colonies?

Naturally, Franz wanted to learn from everyone’s successful experiences, while also guiding the domestic careerists overseas. There was no European saying that there are no kings or generals who would rather be farmers, but that did not preclude the possibility some might have a lapse in judgment.

Even if there were opportunities for advancement within the country, Franz would never allow them to establish independent kingdoms; but it was different with the overseas colonies—there, they could roam freely.

As long as one had the capability, if anyone could conquer a kingdom, Franz would recognize it. It was just another throne, after all—the New Holy Roman Empire already had several, and he didn’t mind adding another one.

He was not afraid of anyone declaring independence overseas. In the European cultural system, claiming authority was not a matter of brute force but of lineage. Without a noble bloodline, there was no legal succession. Even the powerful Napoleon was plagued by this issue.

Even now, the legitimacy of Napoleon III’s throne was being questioned, and while the French government appeared stable on the surface, its foundations were incredibly fragile.

No matter how impressively one might develop overseas, without the Emperor’s investiture, a government could never be stable.

Franz didn’t believe that, given the chance to be a king, there were many who would prefer to be presidents. And even if there truly were, wouldn’t his subordinates still aspire to become nobility?

At dusk, Belvedere Palace was brightly lit. The important members of the Habsburg Family in Vienna had gathered, and the great Austrian nobles had also come in droves, awaiting the arrival of new life.

Amid the anxious wait, Franz, usually so composed, began to pace back and forth, and sweat unconsciously beaded his forehead despite it being winter in Vienna now.

“Franz, go back and sit down. Don’t pace in front of me; you’re making me restless,” someone chided.

There were only four people in the Vienna Court who dared to admonish Emperor Franz like this, and it was clearly not the retired couple, Ferdinand I and his wife. Thus, the culprit was rather obvious.

“Yes, Mother!” Franz replied casually, then uneasily returned to his seat.

“The Empress is giving birth!”

The doctor’s voice was heard, and the crowd surged into the birthing room. It was custom: ensuring the legality of the prince’s lineage was essential, and supervision was indispensable.

This kind of supervision was directly related to the legitimacy of the next generation’s lineage. Without any witnesses, the legitimacy would be called into question.

Given the limited medical technology of the era, many nobles lost their ability to have children, or they finally had an heir only for it to be stillborn.

To preserve family succession, the European nobility had not infrequently borrowed seed from outside to replace their lacking heirs.

However, such operations were seldom successful—without proof of bloodline, inheritance rights were directly forfeited.

If the descendents of the nobility were subject to supervision, then the Emperor’s offspring were all the more so. If it were a prince, he would be the heir to the Habsburg dynasty, and there would be no chance of slipping anything past scrutiny.

Amid everyone’s anticipation, the sounds of “wah, wah, wah…” rang out. Without waiting to confirm the gender, Franz charged out.

Unfortunately, he was immediately pulled back by Archduke Carl, who said sternly, “Don’t cause a fuss!”

Coming to his senses, Franz immediately halted. This really wasn’t the time for him to be of any help.

“It’s a healthy prince!”

The doctor’s voice rose again, and joy appeared on everyone’s faces—this meant the next generation of the Habsburg dynasty had arrived.

Then, one by one, the people stepped forward to confirm the presence of male genitals, concluding the matter. By this time, a wet nurse had already stepped forward to nurse, and Franz continued to watch from the sidelines.

After receiving congratulations from everyone and dismissing the supervisory group, and after greeting the Empress who had suffered through labor, Franz finally had the chance to interact with the little fellow.

Unfortunately, he was deemed too clumsy and was unanimously banned from holding the child by both hostesses. Not just him—his father, Archduke Carl, faced the same rebuff.

It couldn’t be helped; he was the firstborn son, and everyone was extraordinarily careful. For the most part, the little prince was held by an experienced nurse, and even Empress Sophie, after holding him once, was extremely nervous, dreadfully afraid of harming the little one.