Ryan Thomas' RP Archives

h1]Madrid, 1936[/h1] Important breaking news reports have emerged from the north-east of Madrid, where a dastardly and unprovoked terrorist attack against Spanish prime minister José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones was carried out yesterday! The Prime Minister's train was headed north to tour Catalonia, where important new armaments for the Isabella-class battleship are under construction, as well as to see various new industrial plants. While traversing a bridge, the train was rocked by an explosion, and a sudden and devious ambush was carried out by unknown rebels, attacking with machine guns, rifles, and grenades. These rebel troops, according to government reports, came close to overwhelming the train, before an emergency patrol of Gendarmes managed to see the perfidious attackers off, saving the prime minister, who had been wounded in the incident. The attackers fled into disarray into the countryside, with some of their equipment being captured, as well as 3 men being taken pris...

1)The Spanish Republic, Argentine Republic, and the Republic of Peru, mutually bound together by the unbreakable ties of a mutual faith in The Lord, of the Spanish language, and the inseparable milieu of the Hispanic culture which traverses from the Pyrenees, to Cape Horn, to the Rio Grande, join together in a mutual defense pact, declaring that in the event of an attack upon any single member, followed thereafter by a request for assistance by the attacked party, the other members shall be obligated to come to its assistance. 2)The members party to this association declare it to be named the San Martin Pact, in recognition of the founder of Peru and Argentina, as a testament of the mutual heritage and the ties of comradeship and fraternity which unite the Hispanic nations in mutual friendship and independence. 3)Declaring the intent of all involved parties to act to reduce the mutual barriers to trade, commerce, and investment between the nations, for the mutual prosperity of the Hi...

Spain's important position in controlling both shores of the Straits of Gibraltar makes it a highly strategic nation, effectively capable of blocking off control of the Mediterranean. The Straits of Gibraltar is a narrow strait, less than 20 kilometers across, and at some places a bare 15 kilometers. This means that it is special in that it can be closed off with heavy artillery guns to a degree that other straits cannot - the English channel, at over 30 kilometers across even at the closest point, has different sides controlling the two flanks, making artillery fire from one side, even with very long ranged artillery guns, far less effective than can be desired. The Oresund would require three straits to be closed, although to be fair, it would be very easy to mine and any individual strait does not represent a significant engineering problem - although in any case, it is a far less consequential access point than the Mediterranean. Only the strait between French Somaliland and Ye...

In these trying times, it is of utmost importance to the state to ensure internal security against disruptive elements which undermine the stability of the nation. In Spain, this has been well shown by internal crises, attempts at rebellion, and the breakdown in law and order which has been at times a dismal and unfortunate result of this saddening situation. For the government to take in hand and ensure that the stability of the state and of the nation is not threatened, is without doubt the most high and important objective that any regime can declare. In order to ensure this internal stability, an appropriate strengthening of state institutions is required. Spanish current institutions to respond to the threat of internal disorder include of course, the army, as well as the civil guard, the carabineros, and the assault guard. These units are to be reviewed by the central government to ensure appropriate loyalty to their superiors, and more vigorous examinations put into place to m...

1)The French Republic and the Spanish Republic agree to enter into a mutual protection pact, forswearing war against each other, and stipulating that in the event of an attack by a third party member upon either France or Spain, in the event of a request for assistance by the attacked party, the other party shall come to its aid. a)Freedom of troop movement and naval bases shall in any case be granted in wartime regardless of whether either power requests the assistance of the other. 2)The French Navy shall be granted basing rights in the Spanish naval bases in Southern Spain, the Canaries, Balearic Islands, and Fernando Po. French and Spanish engineers shall cooperate together concerning the expansion of these bases or the construction of new ones (as will be necessary in Fernando Po), as well as for the construction of coastal defensive artillery, of particular import in southern Spain and Morocco. 3)France and Spain shall mutually agree to sharing of technical information and app...

It is of the utmost important for the Spanish government to resolve the internal problems which plague the nation, in regards to the disaffection of the Spanish working class with the regime and of the conflict existing between left and right. Certain groups have suggested the importance of pursuing a colonialist strategy, which may or may not be an effective way to curb internal tensions. But regardless of the possible fruit that it may bear, it is of the utmost importance to Spain to deal with the issue now, and it cannot seriously contemplate being able to gain any significant colonies in the immediate future. The various competing factions in Spain, peasants, landlords, the army, the navy, workers, and elites must be able to find some way to live in harmony. The Spanish government's efforts in this regards have focused upon a corporatist society, able to enable organic groupings between workers and industries, so that they can mutually resolve disputes and issues. This is a n...

The Spanish merchant marine suffered important damages in the Great War, with the loss of nearly 20% of its fleet to the effects of the German submarine war. Although it has somewhat recovered since then, this recovery has not been as much as one might have hoped. With the government's interest in securing broader Spanish economic prosperity, and reducing payments of foreign currency (which are sometimes spent on foreign merchant shipping), as well as its desires to increase its own shipping revenues (providing foreign currency through international shipping with its own fleet), it is important to expand the Spanish merchant marine. An expansion of it will also increase Spanish prestige, and provide for sailors who can be utilized in the Spanish navy. Part of the need for this expansion also is linked to strategic issues, as a large merchant marine is needed to support economic prosperity in time of war, even more than in times of peace. Furthermore in providing for overseas expe...

The SECP, or the Société Espagnole du Colonialism Patriotique, is a private Spanish association (with perhaps some secret assistance from the Spanish government), which encourages and supports the Spanish colonial mission, as a vital requirement for the return of Spanish power, internal peace, an intensification of colonial investment, and a vigorous strengthening of ties with the other members of the Hispanic civilization. The opening speech of the society is laid out below. [quote]What does the recent history of the world show us? It has shown that those nations which possess colonies are strong, stable, and peaceful internally, and those nations which do not, are bound to destruction and instability. Britain, France, now Italy, the great colonial powers, have managed to preserve social peace at home during this time of chaos. The Japanese, the Dutch, the Belgians, show themselves at peace or as strong and virile nations, expansionist and standing firm against decadence. Meanwhile ...

For Spain, it is of the utmost necessary to attempt to extricate the Spanish economy from the depths of the current world wide depression. The problems associated with this are numerous in nature, and ones which led to the fall of the Spanish government of the Primo de Rivera government in Spain - the ideological ancestor of the current conservative leadership in Spain - are still left unchecked in the nation. Unemployment, industrial under-production, agricultural hardship, a fall in living standards, decline in taxation, bankruptcy, all do challenge Spain - although it must be noted, given the relatively isolated nature of the Spanish economy, less than in other countries. By far the more dangerous aspect has been that Spain, heavily indebted, faces effective bankruptcy with the global economic collapse and the recall of foreign capital. Spain must thus confront a wide range of problems. It must resolve its internal problems related to the economic decline - especially the social one...

Isabella-Class Battleship It is perhaps an irony that what was still officially a Republican regime, even if it had long since ceased to be such in anything but name, would lay down battleships named after the most famous Spanish monarchs in the history of the nation - leaving asides perhaps, Philip V. But in the year of our lord, 1935, the Spanish government, pressing ahead with an ambitious program to remake the Spanish navy to fulfill a dream of regaining Spanish prestige and glory, decided to assign the name of the “Isabella-class”, to its new battleship design, named after the bringers of the “national-totalitarian monarchy” to quote the “prime minister” José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones, himself increasingly turning into a dictator. Before discussion of any aspects of the actual design of the ship class, firstly one must discuss what exactly the Spanish government hoped to achieve with a new battleship class. The Spanish had after all, made the decision to disarm their previou...