22 Chapter 22
---- pov Miguel Nikolaevich of Russia, the Grand Duke of Russia
The convoy was already prepared to dock at the port of Rio de Janeiro, and a ship had arrived ahead of time to inform the ruler of the Empire of Brazil Dom Peter Alcantara of Braganza from Brazil of my arrival,It was of utmost importance to notify them in advance of my arrival due to the issues the country is currently facing.
The Brazil had recently achieved its sovereignty from the Portuguese crown, but unlike its counterparts in the Americas, who had gained their freedom and becoming republics, the Brazil had remained a constitutional monarchy, with its ruler being the son of the current king of Portugal.
This arrangement was made to appease the elites of both countries and maintain the same ruler, which in my opinion, was a wise decision, and however it also contributed to some of the main issues the country is facing today.
The King of Portugal had just passed away, and the Emperor had to return to Portugal to assume his throne, but however the Brazil was facing a major revolt in the southern part of the empire known as the Cisplatin Revolt (that historically resulted in the country of Uruguay).
This massive rebellion sought independence and was supported by a rival power in the region, the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata (former name of Argentina).
The Brazilian rivals saw in this widespread revolt an opportunity to diminish Brazilian influence in the River Plate basin and, consequently, in the southern part of the continent, and the creation of a buffer state would provide greater security against their more populous and powerful rival.
The strategy of maintaining the same monarch was a good approach, but without the support of a powerful army, it would inevitably fail, and In Portuguese lands, a pretender to usurp the throne of Dom Peter was already rising, and his uncle was accumulating great influence among the Portuguese nobility, and the Portuguese nobles were not pleased with having lost their power over Brazil, and they did not want their future ruler to remain in Brazil while reigning in Portugal.
Michael of Portugal also had the help of external powers, mainly the Spanish King who, with the loss of his colonies in America, was afraid that his neighbor would become very powerful to the point of threatening him in his mainland, and the British who were dissatisfied with the Portuguese for carrying out a large amount of slave trade, and the port of rio de janeiro was the largest warehouse and consumer of this ''product''.
The young Emperor of Brazil needed, at this moment, a powerful ally who could deter anyone trying to interfere in his rule. What I came to seek in these lands was, seemingly, to cultivate some special plants for my nephew and gain access to one of the most profitable ports in the East: the port of Macau in the Qing Dynasty.
I was received with all possible honors at the court of Dom Peter I, and the Emperor seemed to have a glimmer of hope in his eyes. The monarch was approximately my age and quite sociable, and I believed that we could cultivate a great friendship.
This guy knew how to throw a great party, and he was almost as much of a womanizer as I was, I had to be careful not to let the parties and fun influence my negotiations, I planned to spend some time in this tropical land, and the climate and the ambiance here were incredible, I could indulge in the pleasures of life after taking care of business.
Two days after my arrival, we gathered in a separate room to discuss our future partnerships, and my new friend was very clear about what he wanted in this agreement. He wanted a powerful great power that could provide protection against external influences when he assumed both crowns simultaneously, he also sought assistance in containing ongoing revolts and potential uprisings within the empire.
The Brazilian army was relatively large for the region, with 30.000 soldiers, however, it was poorly trained and poorly equipped compared to the European nations, and It would be insufficient to take control of Portugal and defeat the Cisplatin (Uruguay) revolt simultaneously, and let alone maintain control over the territories once conquered.
As the emperor was so clear and open about his demands, I decided to discuss with him the steps we would take to consolidate our alliance and secure the future influence that the Russian Empire could gain in the region.
With the recent loss of his wife, Mary Leopoldine of Austria, giving birth to his only male heir, his alliance with the Austrians began to rapidly deteriorate, and he tried to remedy this by trying to send his eldest daughter to Austrian court, but the Austrians decided to remain neutral in the conflicts in Portugal.
It became more evident to the emperor how necessary the international support of a powerful ally was, and Dom Peter had little to bargain with to secure a powerful ally, but much to suffer without foreign assistance.
So we began developing our plan, firstly, the Empire of Brazil would enter into a customs union with the Russian Empire. And It would be the second country to publicly sign such a significant economic agreement, alongside the United Kingdom of Sweden and Norway.
The customs union would be solely for trade related matters, aiming to integrate and facilitate commerce among the member countries by implementing uniform tariffs, a preferred currency, and levying additional taxes on products from other markets.
This action would provide a foundation of support through Russia, particularly with the establishment of the Blackwater Company in Rio de Janeiro, serving as a legal base for Dom Pedro to gain military strength to support his claim to the Portuguese crown.
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Some historical facts to complement
This customs union would serve as a way to appease the Brazilian nobility, who had concerns about the reintegration of the two countries, and after all the Brazilian nobles were already much more powerful than the Portuguese nobles and would not accept being subjugated again. The Portuguese nobles, on the other hand, viewed the Brazilian nobility as inferior due to their distance from Europe and their presence in a distant and uncivilized land.
This entire movement took place when Napoleon Bonaparte established the Continental Blockade, prohibiting all countries from trading with the British, and however countries like Spain, Russia, and Portugal refused to comply with the blockade and were attacked by Napoleon.
The Spain was the first to suffer, with the loss of the Spanish fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar and the capture of Madrid, and the Spanish king was forced to sign the Continental Blockade, leading to the forced abdication of King Charles IV of Spain and the ascent of Napoleon's brother Joseph to the Spanish throne, but however this did not dissuade the Portuguese.
King Dom John of Portugal decided to come to Brazil with his family and a retinue of over 20,000 people, including nobles, wealthy bourgeoisie, artists, and more. This was one of the key factors in keeping Brazil with its current territory, suppressing revolts and elevating the status and culture of the country as a whole. And the Braganza royal family invested heavily in this country during their stay, and Rio de Janeiro became the capital of the entire Portuguese Empire during the French occupation.
The deep rooted animosity between these two groups dated back a long time, on one side, there were the new Brazilian nobles who had become wealthier and more powerful than the Portuguese nobility.
On the other side, there was a profound resentment over the loss of a vast territory and the prestigious title of Emperor, which elevated Portugal's international standing,which lost its status after the loss of the title of Emperor of Brazil.
After all, this coveted title was sought after by all major countries, including the British, the dominant power of the time, who only acquired the title through the integration of the East India Company after deposing the Mughal Emperor in 1854.
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After the signing of the Customs Union, Dom Peter would embark on a convoy of Brazilian and Russian ships, accompanied by 30,000 soldiers from the private security company Blackwater, who would assist him in consolidating his power in Portugal and completing his coronation.
The strategy was simple: some commanders, along with a detachment of mercenaries, would remain with me here in Brazil to train the Brazilian army and provide support in quelling the revolt in Cisplatin. And with the signing of the agreement with Dom Peter, the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata (Argentina) would be forced to withdraw their support for the rebels and adopt a more passive stance to avoid an all-out war with a major power.
Meanwhile, the Emperor of Brazil would use his force to crush the noble revolt in Portugal and eliminate any opposition to his new government, It was difficult to convince him to be ruthless with his uncle, but it was a decision that needed to be made.
The plan after the conquest was to, keep the two countries separate to avoid similar conflicts in the future and temporarily exile the rebellious nobles from Portugal to Brazil while confiscating their properties in Portugal.
Later on, encourage Brazilian nobles to acquire properties in Portugal, which would increase their prestige, after all the Brazilian nobles only sought recognition and prestige to flaunt their wealth, and by spending more time in European soil, their influence over their respective countries' armies would be reduced.
And the exiled Portuguese nobles would have no influence over the Brazilian army; on the contrary, they would harbor accumulated resentments from the war for independence.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian nobles spending their time in Europe would diminish their influence over the Brazilian army and make it nearly impossible to gain influence over the Portuguese army.
This strategy would ensure that Dom Peter has the greatest share of influence in both armies, solidifying his power and reducing the probability of nobles challenging his authority.
In the entourage with Dom Peter would also be his eldest daughter, 9 year old Mary Leopoldine of Braganza from Brazil, he wanted her to grow up in the court of my brother, the Tsar, in order to improve our bilateral diplomatic relations.
After all, he didn't care much for his daughters, poor girl, If we didn't support Dom Peter's government, she would be forced to marry Dom Peter's uncle to appease the rebellious situation, I can't even bear to imagine such a young child being married off to an old man.
I would stay in Brazil for some time to establish and manage a branch of my nephew's company here and implement some of his ideas. One of my requests to my friend Dom Peter was the right to establish a camp in the north of the country as a base of operations for an expedition that my nephew's explorer wanted to undertake, I didn't quite understand what my nephew's explorer was seeking, these mercenaries were true barbarians.
The camp would be located near an existing military fortress, the Fortress of Saint Joseph of Black River (future city of Manaus), It was easy to obtain the emperor's authorization due to the proximity to the fortress, I explained to him that it was for an expedition in search of the lost city of El Dorado, but in truth, I didn't even know exactly what the explorer was looking for.
Accompanying the mercenaries were some Orthodox priests, although I didn't quite understand why these priests had joined my journey. And however the Orthodox Church had become much happier and more receptive after my brother and nephew met with the Patriarch of Moscow before my journey.
The Orthodox Church had been expressing dissatisfaction with the decisions of my late older brother, the former Tsar Alexander, for not supporting the faithful Greek brothers in their revolt against the Ottomans.
This dissatisfaction only grew when Nicholas decided to remain neutral in the revolt and even sold weapons to the great enemy of the Orthodox, the Ottomans, but after the meeting with the Patriarch, this dissatisfaction completely dissipated.
The Patriarch was even happy, it was rare to see that old fox laugh with joy and shed tears of happiness at my brother's coronation, with this newfound love, all the churches were idolizing my brother, he was revered by the clergy like the ancient Dinasty Rurik's, and I believe he may even become a saint when he dies.
I didn't know what those fanatics, along with the barbaric mercenaries, would do in that vast scary forest, but I can guarantee it wouldn't be anything good.
