The Atlantic Pact
Everywhere on the world, nations either conjoined collectively to form an association, or fought together to devise a massive mess in the region. France, the Soviet Union, and the United States consolidate to gain influence. France holds his base indefinitely in most of the Middle East, Thailand, and North Africa. They also swayed Yugoslavia and some Warsaw Pact members, shown as more appealing rather than the authoritative Eastern brother. The United States controls the Pacific Sea, and attempting to securing the Indian Ocean from Indonesia and Australia, and securing the Atlantic from a network of influence to West African sovereigns. The 1970s was a time to pick a side for everyone, yet in several cases nations weren’t desired to be sided on. Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom were three particular nations. A mixture of ultra-nationalism and liberalism, these nations couldn’t find a superpower to befriend, so they befriend themselves.
The Spanish Civil War on 1936 resulted in a victory for Franco and his nationalist faction. Franco formed a Spanish State with himself as the dictator or
caudillo. The era of Franco meant extensive political repression, which shaped the dark history of Spanish State. By the start of the 1950s, Franco's state had become less violent. However, his rule was still strict and powerful, as almost all political oppositions were heavily suppressed with police enforcements.
As the nation was on the brink of bankruptcy after the civil war, Spain was convinced to adopt a free market economy. The United States threatened an economic embargo if the planned economy was adopted. As both France and the Soviet Union had sour ties with the Mediterranean nation, Spain finally relented and push for fewer regulations. At the end of the 50s, the Spanish State suffered massive inflation due to the free market. Franco decided that searching for allies in Europe was vital. West Germany was appealed with a Spanish market and opted to support the nation. From then on, Spain resumed on to an economic boom which was continuing until Franco’s death.
Another factor of why the Spanish State continued to survive was because of the Red Scare. Portugal on that time went communist in the early 50s. With France also went communist in the 60s, Spain was wedged by hostile neighbours. Franco, meanwhile, determined this as an opportunity. It was an opportunity to eradicate Spain’s entire communist sympathizers which still dominated Catalonia. Kennedy shrugged with Spain’s purges, and Nixon thoroughly supported in favour of a Spanish friend in Europe. Yet, as Shafer rose the presidency, everything would change for Spain.
Shafer’s radical democratic view changed Franco’s opinion about the US. Formerly, it was a hegemon that needed Spain to endure to maintain Europe’s fragile anti-communist nations. As Germany and her Central European allies kept on defending their grounds, Spain was a perfect tool to counterbalance the trend. Spain, deemed the US untrustworthy, decided to contact with a rival of the Empire, the United Kingdom. Upon the 60s, the United Kingdom was having his downturn. The Wars in Indonesia was not going in favour of the nation, let alone the US intervened against the UK. Indeed, by 1966, almost the entire Empire disintegrated. Leaving some dominions in America and Africa to cherish on. Prior's Cabinet, later on, proved to have a mutual interest in Spain, and the UK-Spanish relation blossoms.
Francisco Franco’s untimely death in 1978 forced Luis Carrero Blanco to succeed as the nation’s
Caudillo, requested by Franco itself. Blanco was a navy officer, and native to the Northern Regions, most loyal Franco supporters. However, upon rising as Franco’s second man, Blanco saw the heartbreaking atrocities which shouldn’t have happened and determined a slow change into democracy. Upon his rule, Blanco firstly appointed a Carlist claimant, Juan Carlos I, as Blanco’s successor. It fixed a Spanish transition into a monarchy one more, a perfect government system to preserve traditions and cultures adopted by Franco. Moreover, Blanco opened restrictions on political parties, opening them slowly by granting free speech and less police oversight.
Blanco promised his nation a general election by his projected abdication in 1988, ten years after the death of Franco. He opened restriction on political societies in universities, gaining favour in youths. He slowly cut extensive and destructive military influence in the bureaucracy, which formed corruption. Crooks which have proven to harm the Spanish administration are punished orderly, and Blanco persisted for a reliable government. Following the German Model, Blanco massively promotes a liberal governmental system, which silenced separatist groups in Catalan and Basque can finally express their ideas. His reformist attitude, ultimately, caused a swell in popularity among the youths, while causing a massive uproar to the elderly.
Recent developments around Morocco caused Blanco to pay attention to Spain’s colonial holdings. Still controlling Spanish Equatorial Guinea and Spanish Sahara, Spain went with France’s path on retaining all colonies. Equatorial Guinea was affected dearly on the Ebola epidemic happening in Congo and nearly devastated Spain if not for Franco’s immediate island quarantine. The native population struggled heavily from the pandemic. Yet, Spanish migrants entered on the aftermath of the epidemic, and the sole purpose of isolating Equatorial Guinea had been clear; wiping off the native population. Unfortunately, as the United Nations only noticed the virus on the continent, the native population can’t protest while the white percentage in Equatorial Guinea rises.
In the Sahara, Spain was lucky that France kept their colonies. The Moroccan separatists, and also irredentists, had been contained by the French communist government and was kept so that indirectly helped Spain’s control in Africa. However, as the United States started to fund Moroccan separatists by middle 70s, Franco has caught a fear that maybe this colony would not withstand the decolonization wave. Blanco, meanwhile, had already proclaimed that if Morocco is granted independence under the time of his administration, the Spanish State would negotiate with the Moroccans to give some unwanted lands.
The Spanish State announced a possible alliance with the UK and Portugal officially in 1978. They named the alliance ‘Atlantic Pact’, and their main purpose was to protect tradition and preserve the imperial legacy. Although Spain is the main character of this alliance, the formation would be impossible without the UK’s tumultuous road recently.
Richard Charles Edmonds was appointed Prime Minister after the British Unionist Party secured a majority in the snap-election of 1972. Barely thirty upon his ascension, he was dubbed as the youngest Prime Minister. However, he was not a politician, but an activist. His policies were decent, but as time progresses Parliament underestimated his leadership. Moreover, his ultra-nationalist stances got Britain to lost almost all of her colonies, a humiliation comparing to Communist France. Rather than plummeting the BUP’s popularity, his Cabinet was short-lived, and by 1974 he was ousted by his own party. The BUP was a young party, and have a sounding youth majority both in party seats and outside. However, juvenility was not a benefit. His contender, a former Conservative politician called James (Jim) Michael Leathes Prior, gained ranks inside the BUP. He later replaced Edmonds to rule the nation.
Jim Prior faced copious problems when ascended as Prime Minister. The country was in deep resentment, having lost the Empire and her dignity. Prior also faced with the nation’s economic downturn, as the United States provoke isolation to Britain, which only effective in American trading. Luckily, the United Kingdom forged a good relationship with the rising German power. The Queen had conversed with the Elected-King of Germany soundly, and a friendly relation ensues. Therefore, Jim Prior adopted a different path with Spain. Jim Prior reform the economy by maintaining the union powers. The government passed a planned economy for the first four years, effectively stomping British capitalism. Jim Prior passed more laws regarding monetary policy, devaluating the currency to appease foreign investors.
Jim Prior’s second tool was to use France as the driving spirit of Britain. Britain has protected France since the 1900s, but France decided to betray Britain’s democracy in the last few years. That alone, have provoked massive resentment, and late a spirit of revenge. Jim Prior exploited this spirit to push Britain to work harder, and cooperate better. The first four years proven to be a massive success, Britain had once again regained her economic health, and unemployment had shrunk into an all-time low.
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Trade Unions in Britain. Trade Unions in the 70s were somewhat bolstered by Prior's policies, gaining support from Labourers.
In foreign policy, Jim Prior was an ardent imperialist. He declared ‘Save the Empire at all cost, retreat not an inch’. He stubbornly kept Malta, Hong Kong, and some other British Overseas Territories. The US had seized all British possessions in the Pacific, except the Pitcairn Islands. Jim Prior worsened relations with the US after attempts of boosting the republican* movements in Canada and East Caribbean. Also, in 1975, the Irish Revolutionary Army surged guerilla warfare in Belfast, igniting the Ulster Crisis.
Jim Prior was fully committed to staging direct warfare with Ireland itself. But the UN was seeing Britain’s actions. The US, the Soviet Union and France all wished for not another imperialist Britain and passed extreme measures to stale Britain. The public in Britain saw this as a massive provocation, and Jim Prior had the perfect tool to maintain dominance in the Parliament. Although the Ulster Crisis continues even until the 1980s, the BUP’s popularity increased until a whopping 76.3% in the nearest 1984 election.
Britain’s oldest and most loyal ally is Portugal. Although Britain had undergone massive changes in politics, the kingdom of Portugal maintained its best relations. Therefore, Britain asked Spain to invade Portugal in 1978, which made King Duarte Nuno return to his homeland. Despite losing Angola and Mozambique, Portugal was happy in having her last colonial empire with Spain and Britain as friends. Portugal reestablished free elections, with the communist party banned and heavily oppressed. Recently, the Liberal government has been pushing for an Iberian Customs Union, securing a free-pass in Spain and Gibraltar, still under the UK.
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* Not to be confused with the US Republican party, this is a pro-republican, meaning pro-presidential and anti-imperial movements.
We'll stay in Europe for a few upcoming posts because it would be essential for an important event.
