¡La Constitución Vive! - A Spanish parliamentary monarchy

[Kurt_Steiner]

131. The Rise of a Giant: China (1957-1960)

In early 1955, although American advisors encouraged the Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diệm to negotiate with the leaders of the political-religious forces who threatened his position and to forge an anti-communist bloc with them, he was determined to attack his enemies to consolidate his power. An anti-government uprising in Hue was to provide him with an useful excuse. The revolt was violently suppressed and left hundreds of civilians dead on the streets (February 28, 1957). That same day the government enacted martial law in northern provinces. The number of deaths was estimated to be between 500 and 3,000. The massacre marked the beginning of the White Terror, in which tens of thousands of Vietnamese went missing, died or were imprisoned. The first declaration of nationwide martial law was enacted by President Diệm on 10 December 1957. The Mekong area (V Corps) was declared as a War Zone, and the rest of the country was declared as an Alert Zone. The nationwide martial law was lifted on 24 January 1958 to ease the situation to conduct peace negotiations with Hanoi. When they failed, the second declaration of nationwide martial law was enacted July 7, 1958. This declaration kept the V Corps as a War Zone.

Diem announced that his country would be cancelling the nationwide elections to determine the future government and national unification of the two Vietnams mandated by the Geneva Conference. Diem argued that the elections were useless due to the Communist regime in North Vietnam. The announcement caused an uproar in Washington and Eisenhower sent his Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, to lecture Diem, who defended himself by playing the Communist card. If elections went forward, the Communists could very likely win. Did Washington want that? Diem asked. Thus, the meeting became deadlocked and the meeting ended in failure. Then Diem deployed his US-trained troops to attack the opposition: the Caodaists (a monotheistic syncretic religion) and the Hoahaoists (a quasi-Buddhist religion). The result was a month-long battle waged in the streets of Saigon, Long Xuyên and Tây Ninh (April-May 1959). The bitter house-to-house fighting killed over six hundred people, but Diem crushed the opposition. To win over public support, Diem employed the controlled press to portray his actions as an effort to remove the final remnant of French influence in South Vietnam.

On March 6, 1960, Diem announced that elections would be held two weeks later. As he wanted absolute power, Diem resorted to electoral fraud to rig the elections to produce a favorable outcome; thus, he used the army to intimidate those thinking about voting for any other candidate into voting for Diem. It goes without saying that Diem won by a landslide: Out of 5,335,668 people eligible to vote, Diem won an astonishing 5,784,752 ballots. Three days later, Diem proclaimed himself as the President of the Republic of (South) Vietnam. In Washington, Eisenhower had another reason not to like Diem. However, with Diem’s hold on power validated by the election process, he had no choice but to continue assisting Saigon with advisers and other military aid.

Hardly eight months later, Diem would be deposed and killed by the Vietnamese military. In Vietnam, the coup was referred to as Cách mạng 11-11-60 ("11 November 1960 Revolution"). The coup was led by General Dương Văn Minh and started on 11 November. The coup began at 07:00 and proceeded smoothly as many loyalist leaders were captured after being caught off-guard and casualties were initially light. The headquarters of the IV Corps (in Cần Thơ ) and the 7th Division (in Mỹ Tho) were quickly captured and the loyalist officers arrested without too much ado. The rebels quickly took control of Tân Sơn Nhứt to control air traffic, and of Radio Saigon. Four RVNAF A-1 fighter-bombers roared above the city centre, adding to the confusion and threatening loyalist positions. By 09:00 the ARVN controlled Vietnam, except for the city centre of the capital, Saigon. Diem refused to surrender, despite the military's declaring they would bomb the Gia Long Palace, the presidential mansion, if he resisted being deposed.

Neither Diệm nor his brother Ngô Đình Nhu. were able to contact any military leader, but troops from the 5th and 7th Divisions refused to join the coup and had to be neutralized by the plotters, who were not shy of using the A-1 fighter-bombers to attack the loyalist barracks. Once the last Diệmists redoubt surrendered, Minh ordered an armoured column commanded by Colonel Thiệu to advance upon the presidential palace. When the troops moved forward, they were forced to retreat after coming under fire from snipers perched on rooftops. Thiệu called for air support and the fighter-bombers attacked the palace. After that, the troops were able to advance again. However, the defenders did not surrender until nearly 2:30 pm. The corpses of Diệm and his brother were found among the ruins of the Presidential Office.

Lieutenant General Duong Van (Big) Minh
(1916-2003)​

Even before the coup, the generals had been in contact with civilian opposition figures and more moderate members of Diệm's regime. Once the coup was over, all of Diệm's ministers were forced to resign, and no further reprisals were taken. The Vice President, Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ, discussed with Minh over the interim government. Washington, on its part, pressured the generals to give Thơ a prominent role so as to give the impression of civilian rule. The Military Revolutionary Council (MRC) dissolved Diệm's National Assembly and the constitution of 1956 and promised free elections, unhindered political opposition, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and an end to discrimination. They also imposed martial law and ordered the release of political prisoners. Eventually, the generals decided on a two-tier government structure with a military committee overseen by Minh presiding over a regular cabinet that would be predominantly civilian with Thơ as Prime Minister. The new government was announced on 5 November. Minh was named President and Chief of the Military Committee; Thơ was listed as Prime Minister. The cabinet of 15 ministers was dominated by bureaucrats and civilians with no previous political experience and no connections to the fallen regime. This was followed by the release of Provisional Constitutional Act No. 1, formally suspending the 1956 constitution and detailing the structure and duty of the interim government. On 6 November, Saigon radio announced the composition of the Executive Committee of the MRC. It was made up by twelve generals, with Minh acting as the Chairman. The Americans recognized the new government on 8 November.



(1) In OTL 1955 referendum, 450,000 voters were registered in Saigon, but 605,025 were said to have voted for Diệm.

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

132. Football in Spain (1923-1932)

The Campeonato Nacional de Liga ( "National League Championship", commonly known as La Liga ("The League") is the men's top professional football division of the Spanish football league system. Administered by the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (English: National Professional Football League), also known as the Liga de Fútbol Profesional, nowadays it's played by 20 teams. It has suffered two main transformations, when the notion of professionalism was applied to the First Division (1963) and then to the Second Division (1991).

A total of 62 teams have competed in La Liga since its inception. Nine teams have been crowned champions, with FC Barcelona winning the title a record 35 times and Real Madrid 14 times. As we shall see, during the 1940s, Valencia, Atlético Madrid and Sevilla FC emerged as the strongest clubs, winning several titles; in the 1950s, Barcelona and Real Madrid began to defy the dominance of the three big clubs, but La Liga championship remained quite disputed during the 1950s until the late 1960s and early 1970s, when it was dominated by the legendary Barcelona-Madrid "feud", when the two teams won for and five tittles each in nine years. After this, the Basque clubs, which had dominated the beginning of La Liga, would make a comeback, defying the dominance of Barcelona in the 1980s, as Madrid plunged into a crisis that would last until the 1990s; from then on, La Liga became quite disputed again, with Atlético Madrid, Bilbao, Valencia Sevilla, Real Betis, Real Sociedad and Deportivo de La Coruña entering into the halls of the Spanish League until the complete dominance of Barcelona in the 21st Century,

La Liga is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 26,933 for league matches in the 2018–19 season. This is the sixth-highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the third-highest of any professional association football league in the world, behind the Bundesliga and the Premier League.

However, in its beginnings, La Liga was quite different from the present model. To begin with, it was a smaller thing born out of an idea of José María Acha, a director at Arenas Club de Getxo, first proposed the idea of a national league in Spain. After much debate about the size of the league and who would take part, the Real Federación Española de Fútbol eventually agreed on the ten teams who would form the first Primera División in 1929 (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Arenas Club de Getxo, Real Unión, Atlético Madrid, R.C.D Espanyol, Europa and Racing de Santander). Only two of the founding clubs, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, have never been relegated from the Primera División.

From 1923 to 1929, la Liga was marked by the dominance of the Basque teams, mainly Arenas Getxo and Real Sociedad, along with the Catalan team R.C.D Espanyol. It also witnessed the sudden rise and fall of Real Madrid FC, that won Primera División in 1930 and 1931 and then spent most of the 1930s and 1940s going up and down from the First to the Second Division. 1932 would be the last tournament with ten teams, as they would become 12 in 1933.

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

The new Spanish flag​

133. Second Esplà Ministry (1963-1967) -1-

The second term of Esplà saw a new style of government. The prime minister was determined to reform the country upside down. And the first question was to change the Spanish flag. The new one was approved by a referendum (November 11, 1964). Then, Esplà faced increasing political unrest and the largest crises involved provincial rights, especially in Catalonia and the Basque Country, where nationalism had been increasing and was on the verge of violent explosion, especially in the latter. The "Quiet Revolution" that took place in Catalonia began with the government of Corand Crespí (1), president of the Generalitat since June 1962.

Prior to the 1960s, the Catalan government was controlled by Josep Tarradellas. Under him, Catalonia had experienced a conservative turn that had made the country to rise economically over the average national level. However, the most nationalist wing of Taradellas' party, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC - Republican Left of Catalonia) criticized him for not doing enough to expand the Catalan autonomy. A critical group developed around Narcís Jubany, Bishop of Girona, a nationalist newspaper, Foment Republicà (Republican development), and a small group of intellectual individuals, who began to include small worker's associations which developed to a small Catalanist trade union. The rise of Crespí in the ranks of ERC triggered the "Quiet Revolution". The Catalan branch of the Liberal Party campaigned under the slogan "Això ha de canviar" ("Things have to change") while Crespí, who had unexpectedly defeated Tarradellas in the contest for the leadership of ERC, picked up "Mestres de casa nostra" ("Masters of our own house"), a phrase which was made hugely popular by newspapers Foment Republicà and La Vanguardia, and then he was voted into power. Thus began the "Quiet Revolution", that would last until 1970. By then the Catalan society had changed and the increased strength of the sovereignty movement would be proved on the national level when ERC joined the Basque and Galician nationalist parties (PNV and BNG) in the Unión de los Pueblos (People's Union) in 1991, and in the 1980 and 1995 sovereignty referendums.

Between 1962 and 1964, the Crespí administration managed to carry out or plan many reforms: amongst others, the establishment of a public hospital network (1963), the creation of local ministries of cultural affairs and of federal-provincial relations (1964), and the foundation of the Societat Catalana de Finançament (Catalan Investment Corporation) in 1962. A new age began as every aspect of society came under scrutiny. The government attacked political patronage and changed the electoral map to provide better representation for urban areas. To reduce the size of secret electoral funds, it limited authorized expenditures during election periods, something that would be introduced in Spanish politics in the 1970s. Crespí attempted to put the public purse in order by promoting a dynamic provincial budget and by raising loans. From 1963 to 1969, the budget grew from $745 million to $2.1 billion. The rapid and dramatic development of government institutions and the vastly increased role of the state in the province's economic, social and cultural life unleashed forces that would have major consequences: nationalist consciousness greatly expanded.

Then the Generalitat began a process of nationalization of private electricity companies in 1966, an idea promoted by the youngest minister in Catalan (and Spanish) history, Ernest Lluch, minister of the treasury. Esplà attempted to curb the Catalan process and, after a series of heated debates in the Spanish Cortes, the government decided to go to the Catalan electorate on this issue. On November 8, 1967, the platform for the nationalization of power won with 56.6% of the vote. By 1968, private hydroelectric companies in Catalonia were nationalized. As a result, la Compañía Catalana de Electricitat (CCE - Catalan Electric Company) became one of the largest corporations in Spain. Furthermore, Catalan speakers were able to work entirely in Catalan and to develop their technical, scientific, and managerial skills. Such "Catalanization" also extended to education, social welfare, and health services, as well as in all levels and departments of government bureaucracy. The Generalitat also sought to stake out diplomatic ties. In 1967, it opened the "Casals de Cultura" in Paris, London and New York, which were small embassies in all but name disguised as apolitical institutions to promote Catalan culture in those countries. Then Madrid cut short the attempt, asserting that there could be only one interlocutor with foreign countries.

To pacify and win back Catalonia, Esplà attempted to win back the Catalans by recognizing Catalonia to be a "nation within the nation", something had little effect in Catalonia but that caused an upheaval among the Spanish nationalists, both to the left and to the right. Then, protests began in Galicia, too. Since 1945, Spain had enjoyed a long period of prosperity and modernization. However, economic growth was slower in Galicia, which had been ruled by the Conservative party from 1929 to 1955 and were again doing so again since 1959. However, the defeat of the Conservative Mariano Navarro Rubio led to a complete upheaval in Galicia. The level of formal schooling in the region was then quite low: only 36% finished their studies, as opposed to 54% of Spanish students. Thus, just as Catalonia underwent its "Quiet Revolution", Galicia demanded a reform of its education system, which would take place from 1964 onwards as the local Conservative government demurred and Esplà pressed them for action. In the whole country, the age for compulsory schooling was raised from 14 to 16 while school boards were reorganized, school curricula were standardized; in Catalonia, the first locally funded pre‑university colleges were created in 1965, followed by Universidad Autónoma de Catalunya (National University of Catalonia) in 1969. Similar efforts would take place in the 1970s in the Basque Country and in Galicia in the 1980s. This was also imitated by Esplà's government with a limited reform education in Castille, Andalucia and Extremadura enacted in 1966, followed by the creation of more job opportunities in those areas, to avoid the inhabitants of those provinces to leave them in order to find jobs. In addition to this, the Catalan "Quiet Revolution" led to a declericalization of the Spanish educational system. This also had a dramatic change in the role of nuns and priests. In 1966, for the first time in Spanish history, more women and men left the convents while very few young women and men entered to replace them. This helped to further reduce the role of the church as a provider of educational and social services in Spain. Often ex-nuns and priests continued the same roles in civilian dress.

 

[ramones1986]

I smell of OTL Québec in every corner of Catalonia...

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

I smell of OTL Québec in every corner of Catalonia...

That's quite an inspiration for me, and also some kind of an internal and wicked joke about some Spanish and Catalan politicians.

However, there'll be a typically Catalan twist, of course.

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

Minsk Hotel, L. Tolstoi Street
Moscow, 1965
​

134. News of the World (1955-1965): Russia

The late 1950s saw Russia opening ways into Europe and America. The British and German reconstruction plan helped to modernize Russia's economy, while having a devastating effect upon the Russian society built which had to cope with the challenge presented by the nation's development during the next decades. Western Europe offered a vision of modernization that was unprecedented in Russian history since the days of Peter the Great. The old vision of the country rooted in Cazrist traditional ideas haad to compete with the dynamism seen in automobiles and fashion. Furthermore, the Russian industry and business were anxious to leave behind the protectionism of the last Czarist times to take advantage of the opportunities offered by rapidly expanding world trade.

By 1958, industrial production had doubled compared with 1938 and the annual rate of productivity increase was 6.4%, twice the British rate. At GAZ, automobile production per employee quadrupled between 1958 and 1965, the fruit of the British help, greatly helped by the Russian landing in the Chinese market, which was flooded with the GAZ-21 and -13 models along with the GAZ-51 truck, that was built under Chinese license as the Yuejin NJ-130. However, when the Russian trade barriers blocked the arrival to Russia of English, French and German cars, along with the aggressive export strategy, the foreign support to the Russian automobile industry was dramatically reduced, even if by then the modern plants built with the help of Western funds were producing cars as if there was no tomorrow for the growing domestic market, where GAZ was without serious competition, although UAZ would become a bitter rival in the late 1960s.

This "Russian economic miracle" saw a prolonged economic boom in the 1950s and the 1960s that was supported by a great rise in the standard of living of the citizens. The Russian economy experienced an average rate of growth of GDP of 5.8% per year between 1955–67, and 5.0% per year between 1968–73, only behind Germany's rates and quite close to the British and French ones. This economic growth created an impressive inter-regional migration in Russia as between 1955 and 1975, around 55 million people moved towards the industrial areas, uprooting entire communities, most of them settling in Moscow and Saint Petersburg and in the Caucasus, for its huge oil industry. This expansion of the economy and this massive migration was helped by the new transport and energy infrastructures demanded by the growing industry. Thousands of miles of railways and highways were completed in record times to connect the main urban areas, while dams and power plants were built all over Russia, often without regard for geological and environmental conditions. This would have dire consequences, as we shall see.

Meanwhile, Russia was led, again, by a Liberal-SocialDemocratic-Socialist coalition government from 1954 to 1959. Then, in 1960, the Liberal prime minister Nabokov broke his alliance with the Socialist (SP) and the Social-DemocraticParty (SDP) to join hands with the Monarchist National Party (MNP), which had close links to neo-fascist groups. This would, eventually, bring down Nabokov and force his resignation from politics in February 1962. The new Liberal leader, Alexander Poniatoff, returned to the Liberal-SocialDemocratic-Socialist pact, settling the bases for a continued coalition government that would last until 1982. This political stability would greatly help the "Russian economic miracle", even if from 1955 to 1965 Russia had twelve different governments. Most of those cabinets were dominated by the Liberal party, even if this supremacy was broken by the center-left government (SDP-SP-Liberals) led by Lev Nikolayevich Gumilyov from December 4, 1963 to June 24, 1968, with Nikolai Podgorny briefly acting as Minister of the Interior.

At the same time, the economic growth saw, from 1955 to 1971, a significant improvement in consumption trends and living conditions. In 1950, for instance, only 9% of the Russian households owned refrigerators and 3% washing machines, while by 1965 the respective figures were 56% and 41%. In addition, 56% of all homes had come to possess cars.

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

That's quite an inspiration for me, and also some kind of an internal and wicked joke about some Spanish and Catalan politicians.

However, there'll be a typically Catalan twist, of course.

Will there be an equivalent to the October Crisis?

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

​

Will there be an equivalent to the October Crisis?

There will be something similar to that event, but without any violent or traumatic event.

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

​

135. News of the World (1955-1965): Germany

Adenauer's ways eventually came to an end when he was defeated by Kurt Sieveking in the contest for the leadership of the CDU, to the surprise of many Germans. Sieveking, who valso won the elections of 1955, however, would not enjoy his victory for too much as history repeated itself again in 1959 and by was replaced by Gerhard Schröder. Amazingly, the unstabilty of the Christian-Democrats did not helped the SPD. By then, the German economy was on the verge of disaster, the rate of infation was out of control, the payments balance was broken and the over-valued currency had to be adjusted once and for all. In a word, the German economy was close to recession by 1959. Schröder's admited defeat and called fro new elections in 1961, being defeated by Willy Brandt. While attempting to improve the German relations with the United States, Brandt placed the bulkf of his effort in rebuilding the German economy. He also put forward a broad range of social reforms, rising the education budget and the welfare expending. Meanwhile, prices came under control, the German Mark was stabilized and the boom of German exportation of goods gave a repiste to Brandt. This trend would give rise to the "German economic miracle" (1959-1974). Social expenditure was increased, health care coverage was extended and the welfare state was significantly and constantly expanded until 1975.

The new foreign policy implemented by Brandt increased the German standard of living, the higher in Europe but for Belgium. It was 50% higher than the French standard of living,. By the earlier Seventies, however, the German standard of living began to stagnate, even if unemployment was reduced during the 60s to a barely 2%. From 1960 to 1973 the German economy rose 7% per year (the industry rose 10%). Between 1964 and 1968, the percentage of households with a television set rose from 68.5% to 77.5%, a washing machine from 51% to 63%, a refrigerator from 35% to 55%, a car from 41% to 48%, a telephone from 25% to 31%, and central heating from 17% to 28%. Between 1955 and 1968, wages rose by 72% while prices rose by 45%, enabling people to afford more consumer goods than ever before. This "German miracle" was supported by sustained full employment and a dramatic rise in workers' wages. As a result of this last issue, consumer spending also increased by about 24% during this same period, while economic growth remained at about 5%.

By the end of the 1970s, as we shall see, Germany was again one of the biggest economic powers of the world. This would give Brandt an unbroken chain of electoral success in the following that followed the SPD's victory in the 1964 elections that was to last for ten years, as we shall see. He had set up as his main object to increase the welfare state and the economic level of the Germans, but also increased the control upon their lives with the Public Order Law of 1959, which hardened the German Law Code and aimed directly against all threaths towards the "social, political and national unity of Germany".

Meanwhile, in the local elections of 1964, the Monarchists made a serious come back. However, they were divided between two candidates: Ernst August IV of Hannover or Phillipp of Hesse, as the Hohenzollern were completely out of the question since the end of the Great War. However, Brandt just repeated what Schumacher had done in his time: a press campaign comparing the situation of Germany under the Kaiser and during the Republic. Also in the local elctions Willi Ankermüller,rose from being the the Bavarian Interior Minister to its first Bavarian nationalist, prime minister. Ankermüller tried to reform the system and give a greater autonomy to Bavaria, but his negotations with Berlin failed. He was blocked both by Adenauer and Brandt, but the increasing pressure from Bavarian nationalists for reform and from German unionists to resist reform led tsmall clashes between followers of both sides on the streets of Münich and Nüremberg as a radical wing of the Bavarian nationalist party under Volkmar Gabert began to parade in Münich demanding more autonomy powers to the Bavarian government and regarded the conservative media as biased.

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

​

136. News of the World (1955-1965): France

The first nine months of the Fourth French Republic were marked by the eventful time in office of the conservative Michel Debré, who, after the Constitution of the Republic was written, called for new elections. the new Liberal party, led by Félix Gaillard, the dark horse of the 1956 General Election, even if his victory was not unexpected. The party had run a tight and effective campaign that hammered his opponents without mercy. Furthermore, Gaillard's victory had seen the Liberal conquering most of the local government both in the south and in the north the party and many in the departments of the centre. The achievements of his Government between 1958 and 1966 were remarkable. Some of the super-structures of France were pruned, even if the denationalization was quite limited, as most of Gaillard's attention was devoted to support emerging industries in the Chemical and Automobile sectors.

In International politics, Gaillard improved the relations with the Communist block and eased tensions with Rome while, at the same time, signing a defense agreement with Germany. Events in Africa put his Government on the verge of disaster. The developing civil war in Algeria, forced the French army to take part in another war while the Indochina fiasco came to an end. attack. Thus, Gaillard resurrected the idea of creating a French Union that had been weakly attempted. This time, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia agreed to join it in 1958, followed, in 1962, Guinea, Senegal, West Africa and Equatorial Africa. However, the Algerian events, that forced the French army to patrol the streets of Alger, harmed Gaillard's reputation, as many Frenchmen had Indochina still fresh in their minds. Although events proved him right, Gaillard's stubbornness on the issue cost him many voters in the elections of January 1961. However, the failure of the first elections in the former colonies and in Metropolitan France (1962), marred by violence and riots and allegations of voter intimidation were to cast a long shadow over the French Union.

The trouble of the Union laid in favouring the pieds-noirs and French business interests at the expense of the natives. The pieds-noirs in north Africa were source of a formidable problem as they attempted to reduce to a minimun the Arab turnout first with sheer violence and then with bureaucratic maneuvering. Violence would remain in the foreseeable future, as during the "Black Week" of April 1961, when 156 Muslims and 33 pieds-noir were killed in Oran and Algiers during seven days of violent clashes between the two communities. Gaillard's attempt to transform the empire into a democratic union had ended with increased French military commitments in his former colonies while the conservatives in Metropolitan France abhored his name for giving voting rights to the non-whites. This would result in Gaillard's defeat in the elections of 1963, the crisis within the Liberal Party that would lead to its dissolution in 1969, and the creation of a minority coalition under Edmond Jouhaud.

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

​

137. News of the World (1955-1965): United Kingdom

Gaitskell's premiership was marked by the deep conflict caused by the clash between the prime minister's ideas and reality. With the economy continuing to grow and no threats emerging from the domestic front. the Laborist government . While Gaitskell's cabinet worked hard to reinforce the close economic links between the Commonwealth member states, at the same time was launched a reform program to improve health and the environment in Britain, the genesis of a process that would overcome Britain's borders and became a Commonwealth feature in the 1960s. The British infrastructure also underwent a considerable modernisation program from 1958 onwards in an ambitious program that included the whole country. However, a foreign development meant unexpected troubles to London when the Iranian Revolution gave rise to a government headed by Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953 that not only did not prove friendly to the Commonwealth but also was close to the Communist Italian Block. The answer to this trouble was twofold: first, the nuclear industry suffered a considerable investment from 1956 onwards and, second, to get rid of Mosaddegh, a task accomplished by 1954, when the Iranian prime minister was deposed and killed and Iran was ran by a more pro-British government. Thus, the good intentions of Gaitskell were defeated by the hard and pitiless realpolitik.

Furthermore, the decolonization process would also deeply mark Gaitskell's foreign agenda. After the bloody failure of the decolonization plan in India, which had ended up with the breaking up of the continent between Pakistan, India (1950) and Bengal (1952), Gaitskell acted more carefully than the previous governments. First, Singapore, Malacca, Brunei and Penang became independent within the Federation of the East Indies in 1955, which was created as a direct answer to the aggressive attitude of Indonesia. Then came its Caribbean twin, the Federation of the West Indies, which gathered in its bosom the Anglophone colonies in the Caribbean. However, the Federation of the South Seas, made up by the British possessions in the Pacific, was quietly abandoned by the Foreign Office towards the end of the 1960s, along with the Federation of East Africa, which was defeated by the pan-African movement of Uganda, leaving only Kenya, Zanzibar and Tanganyika keen to join the project. However, the fierce opposition of South Africa, afraid and angered by the creation of another racially mixed African Commonwealth member state, and the withdrawal of Uganda by the Federation, marked its end and the creation of four different states by the beginning of the 1960s, even if the last three countries indeed joined the Commonwealth, much to the changrin of Pretoria.

When in the Gold Coast the pro-independence politicians alliance led by Kwame Nkrumah won the referendum of 1957, the Commonwealth began to fade. When Nkumah threatened with passing a unilateral declaration of independence if the Commonwealth didn’t agree to independence within a year, Gaitksell was forced to swallow his pride and face the facts and the Gold Coast became independent as the Republic of Ghana on January 1, 1958 and walked out of the Commonwealth. This example would be followed by Nigeria, Gambia and Sierra Leone (in 1965, 1969 and 1971), even if the new countries kept closer links to Britain than Ghana, although they did not initially join the Commonwealth. In spite of this, with the economy performing well and people happy with the government, Gaitskell's victory in the General Elections of 1960 with a majority strong enough to pass most of his domestic agenda, as the education reform, carried out by Barbara Castle. Other important reforms undertaken during this period included the introduction of guaranteed maternity leave. However, for most of this second tenure, Gaitskell was mostly busy with the many African crisis, centered in the several independence process of former British colonies and the bloody civil war in the Congo, plus the minor sideshows in Rhodesia and South Africa, which kept causing troubles to London, something that would eventually end in a traumatic way for Pretoria and Salisbury.

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

One of the B-26 used during the feint attack against Pig's Bay (1962)​

138. News of the World (1955-1965): the United States

Henry Cabot Lodge Jr's tenure was marked by Nixon's legacy, but, in general lines, he had a quiet time until the summer and fall of 1957 when a major domestic issue popped up: civil rights. The Deep South was marked by the Jim Crow system in which African-Americans were segregated and oppressed by whites. However, with a considerable part of the Republican party unwilling to move against the "white majority", the president maintained a simple policy in regards to civil rights: to ignore it. Civil rights were such a toxic issue for him that he simply wanted to avoid it at all cost. However, he would be forced to deal with it in 1957. Jacob K. Javits, a Republican from New York and a strong opponent of discrimination, wrote a letter to every member of the Senate urging the immediate passage of a civil rights bill. Such an audacious move found an ally in Hubert Humphrey, the leading Democratic voice for civil rights. Respected even by his Southerner colleagues for his integrity and given his record, it should be no surprise that Humphrey endorsed Javits’ call and worked with him on a bipartisan plan to force a civil rights bill through Congress. Humphrey asked Lyndon B. Johnson, the top Democratic leader in the Senate, to write the civil rights bill, even if LBJ had voted against civil rights in order to please his constituents at home. However, Humphrey knew what was truly in LBJ's heart and went with Javits to Johnson’s office. Seduced by being remembered as the man who made not only the bill to be successful but the one who bridged the ideological divide and moved the country forwards, LBJ's ego took the best part of him and, thinking in the 1960's elections, he agreed to write the bill.

It goes without saying that Cabot Lodge winced upon hearing what was going on. He still remembered the beating received for his New York speech on civil rights and wanted to keep quiet on the issue. Now, however, his hand was forced and he had to act against his wishes on this very sensitive issue. In the end, he wouldn’t support the bill publically, but he wouldn't veto it either. When Johnson submitted the Civil Rights Act of 1957 to the Senate for approval, the bill wass passed the Senate by a large margin, and, two weeks later, by the House of Representatives. On September 14, Cabot Lodge Jr signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 into law. Of course, segregationists tried to stop it and several schools were bombed in Tennessee. In Arkansas, nine African-American students were to attend the formerly all-white Little Rock Central High School, but something unexpected happened. Soldiers of the Arkansas National Guard blocked the students' way. The soldiers had been sent by Governor Orval Faubus. He was moderate on racial issues, but he wanted to be governor for a third term in 1958; he knew too well that both his nomination was in the hands of segregationists. Thus, Faubus ordered the National Guard to deploy at the Central High School and shook the nation as the photos of soldiers telling teenagers to go home appeared on all the front pages. However, the White House remained silent until the Attorney General reminded Cabot Lodge Jr that it was his job to enforce Federal court orders no matter what (that or be impeached). Thus, the president, ordered the Attorney General to act against Faubus: he was to recall the National Guard and allow integration to proceed or he would be thrown in jail for contempt of the law. On September 21, with Faubus having failed to comply with the injunction by the due date, he was arrested by a group of U.S. Marshals while, using his authority as commander in chief, the President removed the National Guard from Faubus' control. Despite all of this, the black students of Little Rock still found themselves targeted by harassing whites both inside and outside the school.

And then, after months of satellite testing (which included sending mice and a monkey into space), the United States launched the first passive communications satellite into orbit on January 9, 1958. Although it qas quite a simplistic design (it was a big metalized balloon), this satellite successfully demonstrated that a ground station could transmit a message through the upper atmosphere to another ground station by bouncing the message off this satellite. Shortly thereafter, NASA informed the President that they had a new $384 million project on the drawing board: Project Mercury. Named after a Roman mythological god, Mercury would be America’s effort to put a human into orbit around the Earth. Then, on April 4, the British launched their first artificial satellite into space, the Megaroc 6 and, on month later, the first animal (a dog named 'Lucky') in orbit with the Megaroc 7. It was the beginning of the race for the Moon. However, Cabot Lodge would not take the United States to the Moon, as he was defeated by the Democratic Henry M. Jackson in the Elections of 1960.

​

Jackson's had a hard beginning. In 1959, pro-American Dictator Fulgencio Batista had been deposed by Fidel Castro. Cabot Lodge Jr had been concerned about the direction the country was headed. However, nothing happened, initially. Initially, Castro refused he had any Communist sympathies. Furthermore, Castro promised to Jackson that Cuba would never slide into the Communist sphere before too long. Thus, as Jackson considered that the island nation was still free and that the Cuban people were "much better off not living under the Batista dictatorship which had killed over twenty thousand Cubans before being overthrown”, he claimed that, by supporting Castro, Cuba would remain within the American sphere and that wouldn’t change any time soon.

However, by late 1960 American business interests suddenly evaporated, Communist aid began to reach the island and ties with Rome as Castro began to transform Cuba into a socialist state. Jackson felt cheated, even worse, betrayed. Castro had made him look as a complete fool and the US president reacted fast, determined to crush the Communist regime born so close to the American coast. CIA Director John A. McCone (who succeeded Alan Dulles) began to work with the Cuban exiles to plan the overthrow of Castro. Soon an Anti-Communist force was trained and armed by the US military, but by then Jackson had begun to distance himself from the operation. Thus, when on April 19, 1961 twelve B-26 Invader bombers bombed Cuban military airfields, destroying the few MiG jets before they could take off and five more attacked the area of Pig's Bay to pretend that the main landing was going to take there. However, it was not to happen: the real landing of the forces of the "República Cubana" was in the Manzanillo area, signalling the beginning of the Cuban Civil War, as the anti-Communist invasion caused a partial uprising in the island and planes from the USS Essex wiped out the remnats of the Cuban air force.

Soon the war became stalemated, as the rebels were unable to incite a countrywide insurrection against Castro, while the Cuban leader, fearing an inminent US invasion, following the Essex raid, deprived the frontline of the very much needed reinforcements as Castro kept them as a reserve to fight an enemy landing that was to happen within a few hours. However, Jackson was unwilling to go beyond the air strikes. The war, that would to last for six months, ended with the Caracas Treaty (October 29, 1961) and the division of Cuba in two countries, with a Liberal democracy ruling the Eastern part of the island as the "República Federal de Cuba" and, the Communist regime of Castro in the Western side. On March 2, 1962, Castro began the construction of a wall along the border with the RFC, running from Júcaro to Morón and, from there, to the sea. Along the 90 km border, a wall, with a height of four meters, was built, with 250 towers, 40 bunkers and mazes of barbed wire, machine gun nests and minefields. This "little war" would mark the first term of Jackson in the White House and would bring him to victory in the elections of 1964, when he defeated the Republican Nelson Rockefeller.

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

the division of Cuba in two countries, with a Liberal democracy ruling the Western part of the island as the "República Federal de Cuba" and, the Communist regime of Castro in the Eastern side.

How is the US backed state in the west, when the stated landing site (and Gitmo, although it seems to have been uninvolved in the fighting) are in the east, and Havana (where Castro was presumably holding the reserve force) is in the west?

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

How is the US backed state in the west, when the stated landing site (and Gitmo, although it seems to have been uninvolved in the fighting) are in the east, and Havana (where Castro was presumably holding the reserve force) is in the west?

Because I'm a fool and changed East and West from their original places... Sorry...

 

[Archangel]

Henry M. Jackson will mean a slightly better path for OTL world.

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

Henry M. Jackson will mean a slightly better path for OTL world.

Some years ago I read a TL (dunno where) about Scoop Jackson and I was impressed by him. A pity that the TL was left unfinished, because it was very good.

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

A Breda-Zappata BZ.152 in Nanking.
​

139. The Rise of a Giant: China (1960-1965)

To understand why Chiang behaved the way he did, we must understand the fate of China since the downfall of the Qing Dynasty and the rise of the Republic to the humiliating defeat in the war against Japan, that reduced China to mere puppet regime until it was liberated by the Western Allies. After this, China was on the verge of being divided against with the resurrection of Sinkiang and Xibei San Ma as warlord states loyal to the foreign powers, until Chiang managed to crush them, getting rid of Mao along the way. Somehow, Chiang won the sympathies of Washington and London, who supposed that the Generalissimo would provide an useful Democratic, pro-West bulwark against any Communist influence in Asia. However, Chiang had a quite different project in mind. To modern historians, the American and British trust in Chiang seems to be one of the great blunders of history. He despised democracy and liberalism as he considered them too weak and divisive to grant the survival of an united China. Having been reduced to nothingness by Japan, Chiang was determined never to be weak ever again. Above everything else, Chiang considered his hold on power to be of utmost importance for China. Thus, he reinforced his personal power and his status as leader of the country to levels never dreamt even by the Qing emperors. He was lucky as the average Chinese did not mind this at all. They were tired of being kicked and humiliated around by foreign powers. Thus, Chiang had little trouble to build a socially-conservative government that rejected Western-style democracy in favor of authoritarian nationalism, accepting only a limited amount of foreign financial aid. However, the Chinese economy was hampered by inflation and corruption in the 1950s. By the mid-1950s, Chiang reacted and reformed the country while cracking down on corruption and lowering inflation. However, to go even further, China needed help. And the Chinese Generalissimo turned to the most unlikely ally ever.

Benito Mussolini was quite interested in China, as it offered Italy a possibility of expansion and influence that was precluded in Europe. He also turned China to his side, thus opening the gateway to the South (South Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Thailand, and even India). When the Italian ambassador in Nanjing wrote to Rome that Chiang had no love for the Americans, Mussolini knew he had a chance there. The country’s poor economy gave him an opening to make inroads with Chiang. Thus, from the late 1950s onwards, Rome had begun to court Nanjing. Recognizing the financial benefits of having a close cooperation with the Communists, Chiang let them attempt to charm him. Small trade deals were reached to test the water. Once those were successful, there came larger trade deals (exchanging Italian early jet technology for Chinese valuable resources). Rome even invested in Chinese businesses, sending them experts to help build new factories and develop new technology. Also, China became a wonderful place for Communist tourism and weapons. The main Italian airline company, AeroItalia, sent some of their representatives to Nanjing to discuss setting up a joint-venture with China, an idea that Chiang loved at once as it was a way to inject cash into the Chinese economy. Thus, AeroItalia would operate local and internal flights from Shanghai and would also help to finance upgrades to the country’s aerial infrastructure. The Italy-China route was inaugurated on November 20th, 1961 with a flight from Rome to Nanjing that leaped its’ way to Sofia and Chongqing with the Breda-Zappata BZ.152 (1) (capable of carrying 220 passengers over a distance of 3,900 miles), which replaced the Agusta AZ.14L (2) in 1958. The Chinese "AeroItalia" had less successful beginnings, as local flights were not too popular in China in that time. However, tourism wasn't the only reason Mussolinni was interested in doing aerial business with China. It was also a way to reinforce the Communist supply line into Vietnam, and some BZ.152 were modified to smuggle weapons and supplies into Hanoi through China. This line would be reinforced in 1961 with the opening of the Rome-Hanoi line. Ironically, the BZ.152 would eventually become the first Chinese airliner. From there, it would be developed by the air force to develop the first Chinese jet bomber, the Harbin H-1, which was built in a very limited numbers as it was clearly outdated. Nevertheless, it provided the Chinese aircraft companies with very valuable information and experience.

The Harbin H-1​

Prior to that, in South Vietnam, the Communist Viet Cong that had opposed Diem, kept on fighting after his death. Operating out of remote bases, the Viet Cong guerrilla waged a low-level insurgency against Saigon. With limited arms and supplies, the Viet Cong could do little to harass the South Vietnamese government. From Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh was determined to support the Southern Communists to achieve his goal of unifying Vietnam. To do so, Hanoi began to move manpower and material to South Vietnam through neighboring Laos using ancient footpaths thus avoiding the Demilitarized Zone near the 17th Parallel. However, the social democratic government in Laos was in no way ready to support this and closed her border with North Vietnam. With Laos out of the question, Chiang came to the rescue. In his efforts to expand the Chineses economy, the Chinese government decided to devote resources to expand the fishing industry. Thus, the Chinese Fishing Corporation (CFC) steadily grew and expanded until its operations covered from Dalian to Haiphong. Since 1959, thus, to see Chinese fishing boats hauling in their catch off the Vietnamese coastline became a normal thing. This perfectly fit Chiang and Mussolinni’s strategy of using clandestine methods to arm North Vietnam and the CFC became part of the logistical system to smuggle supplies and men into South Vietnam. By 1965, the Viet Cong had built up a huge stockpile of weapons and were ready to use it in a big uprising against Saigon.



(1) An Italian Tupolev Tu-114 ITTL
(2) An Italian Ilyushin Il-18 ITTL.

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

​

140. Football in Spain (1933-1943)

After the domination of the Basque teams during the beginning of the Campeonato Nacional de Liga the 1930s were marked by the sudden rise of the Real Betis, the early 1940s for the twin championship of the Valencia CF and for the end of the crisis of the Bilbao, that took the best spart of those ten years to overcome.

The success of the Betis during the second half of the 1930s was based on its coach, Andrés Aranda (1934-1940), and his ace striker, José González Caballero, who would score 49 times in the first two championships of the team, and added 33 goals to his tail in the two following seasons. History would repeat itself in the 1940s with its coach, Ramón Encinas, and his two ace strikers, Jaime Domenech and Epifanio Fernández. When Fernández went to play with the Real sociedad in 1949, the "golden age" of the Valencia Club de Futbol came to an end.

Meanwhile, the Catalan clubs underwent a mediocre time from 1933 to 1943. F.C Barcelona suffered economic hardships which hit hard the team. Attendance at matches dropped and, although the team won the Campionat de Catalunya (Championship of Catalonia) in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936 and 1938, success at a national level evaded them (but for the 1938 disputed title). The RCD Espanyol was, on its part, a victim of itself. While Barcelona was seen as a symbol of Catalan identity, RCD Espanyol (named then Español) cultivated a kind of compliance with the central authority. Thus, the hot Catalan political scene of the 1930s also hit the team, that, from 1940 onwards, would attempt to dissociate itself from politics. However, it would take the best part of the decade for the team to recover, as the 1940 disputed title proves.

Something quite similar happened to Real Madrid, as the "new" team in two, Atlético Aviación (the future Atlético de Madrid) fought with them for the attention of inhabitants of the capital of Spain. Furthermore, the minor crisis suffered by the Real Madrid (from 1937 to 1940) happened at the same time that their rival enjoyed two great seasons.

Today, the 1933-1943 seasons are considered as the time when Valencia, Atlético Madrid and Sevilla FC built the teams that were to shine during the 1940s, creating the legend of the "Three Big Clubs".

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

A Lockheed F-104G Starfighter of the Spanish Air Force, where it was called C-8.
The Ala (Wing) 12 was the first unit to be equipped the C-8. All in all, Spain bought 18 F-104G and 3 TF-104G
which remained in service until 1972, when they were replaced by 36 F-4C Phantom II.​

141. Second Esplà Ministry (1963-1967) -2-

The death of King Federico I (February 6, 1965) and the smooth succession of his elder son to the throne as Federico II of Spain, the last monarch of the country, would have gone unnoticed but for the coverage of the press. Federico, who had reigned for almost 40 years (since March 14, 1925), had been the almost invisible head of the state and had remained outside from the public eye but for the most important official ceremonies, like the opening of the Cortes. However, his son was not to be so measured and cautious. However, nothing of that was obvious in 1965 and the rise of the new king to the throne was widely celebrated all over the country.

It was around this time when Esplà opened his new international policy by visiting the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia and the United States, which led the Spanish Prime Minister to state in the press the full support of his government to London and Washington in their fights for freedom, both in Africa and Asia, which signalled a new stage in the Spanish international policies. from 1965 onwards. Esplà was also to increase his efforts to create legal equality for women and to bring official bilingualism in the Basque Country and Catalonia into being. In 1967, just before the General Elections, both Basque and Catalan were made official language in their respective areas, and the Spanish government provided services in both Spanish and Basque/Catalan, something that raised a great controversy in the right wing of the conservative party.

In addition to this, Esplà made another effort to bring back to life the Mancomunidad Hispana. This time, he included in his proposal a single currency to all the members of the Union, a measure that was not too liked by the Latin-American presidents which were invited to discuss the topic in Madrid during the Spring of 1966. Eventually, only the Argentinian and Chilean prime ministers, Arturo U. Illia and Eduardo Frei Montalva, supported Esplà. Over the course of a meeting celebrated at Buenos Aires (1967), the three governments agreed to fix their exchange rates during ten years before launching the new common currency. However, the establishment of a single currency caused a political storm in Spain as it was against the Spanish economic orthodoxy, which stressed the importance of national control over monetary supply; thus, the common currency was inmediately and bitterly opposed by the conservative Democratic Party (PDE).

Sensing some disconfort about this issue in the Spanish society and fuelling with claims that the Liberal Party was giving too much privileges to the local Catalan and Basque governments, Martínez's PDE, hoping to capitalize the social unrest in the incomming elctions of 1967, pressed the government and accused Esplà of surrendering the intertnational independence of Spain, as it would be tied by her compromisese in the Mancomunidad Hispana. It was then when the Catalan and Basque leaders (Tarradellas and Ajuriaguerra) annouced the creation of the Alianza Democrática (AD - Democratic Alliance), a federation of the Nationalist Catalan, Basque and Gallician parties: ERC, PNV and BNG, which would join forces and take part together in the next General Elections.

 

[Wendell]

Did you intend for Lodge to be from California in this timeline?