Rise of Empires: Spain

By 1880, it was not just the two big cities of Madrid and Barcelona that were busy in Spain.

As the most populous region in Spain, Andalusia has had a birth rate of over 5% for two consecutive years, topping the list of both birth population and birth rate among Spanish regions.

Andalusia has a population of over 3.5 million, nearly 700,000 more than the second-ranked Castile and León region.

With a birth rate as high as 5%, Andalusia had 170,000 births in 1879, and the total number of births was far higher than that of León and Catalonia, which ranked second and third in population.

However, Andalucia's mortality rate is as high as 2.5%. While it has 170,000 newborns, Andalucia also lost more than 80,000 people last year.

Among the 16 regions of Spain, Andalucia has a population of 3.5 million, far ahead of other regions.

The second-ranked Castile and León region has a population of only about 2.8 million, followed closely by Catalonia with a population of about 2.63 million.

Catalonia has achieved rapid development after the construction of the Barcelona industrial base, and its population has rapidly increased from just over 1.8 million to more than 2.6 million. The vast majority of the 800,000 people who have increased are workers in the industrial zone and their families, and only a small number are immigrants other than workers.

Judging from Catalonia's current rate of development, it is only a matter of time before its population surpasses that of Castile and León, and it may even happen within the next one or two years.

The fourth most populous region is Galicia, with a population of approximately 1.92 million by the beginning of 1880. The fifth most populous region is Valencia, with a population of approximately 1.74 million.

Next is the La Mancha region in the south of Madrid, with a population of just over 1.5 million. Apart from these six regions, the population of other regions in Spain has not reached the million level, and many regions even have a population of only 100,000 or 200,000.

The population of Extremadura and Aragon both remain at just over 900,000, making them the two regions in Spain, besides Madrid, with the greatest potential for a population of over one million.

Madrid's population currently exceeds 650,000, with a birth rate of 4.3% and more than 27,000 newborns each year.

Adding in some immigrants, Madrid's population increases by about 30,000 to 40,000 people each year (decimated by deaths).

At this rate of growth, it will take at least 10 years for the population of the Madrid region to exceed one million.

But the reality is definitely not like that. As Madrid, the city that never sleeps, becomes famous in Europe, more and more European immigrants will come to Madrid to travel and settle down.

Coupled with the increase in births brought about by the growth of Madrid's population, it may be possible for Madrid's population to exceed one million within the next 5 to 8 years.

Below Madrid, the populations of Asturias, Basque Country and Murcia are all around 600,000.

Originally, the population of the Basque Region was not so large, but the Spanish government transferred a part of the population from other regions and immigrants to the Basque Region, which successfully diluted the proportion of Basques and also increased the population of the Basque Region.

Below these three regions with a population of over 600,000, the Canary Islands located outside the mainland have a population of nearly 400,000.

The Canary Islands have a special location and are considered a transit point for the transportation of materials between Spain and its African colonies. Because of this, the population of the Canary Islands has also seen rapid growth in recent years, and the economy of the island is also relatively prosperous.

The population of the Canary Islands is at least close to 400,000, while the population of the three regions of Navarre, Cantabria and Baleares is only about 300,000. The total population of the three regions has not yet exceeded one million, which also proves that the population of these three regions is really pitifully small.

Of course, these three regions are not the least populated regions in Spain. The least populated region in mainland Spain is La Rioja, with a population of just over 150,000. Most of the region is in a deserted area with few people and has been basically abandoned by the Spanish government.

The combined population of these regions exceeds 19.8 million, accounting for the vast majority of the Spanish population. There are also about 200,000 people distributed in various colonies of Spain, most of whom are colonial populations who have just obtained Spanish nationality and have not yet had time to migrate to mainland Spain.

It is worth mentioning that when calculating the Spanish population, more than 600,000 Cubans were not counted. The vast majority of these Cubans have no good feelings towards Spain, so the Spanish government naturally does not count them when calculating the population.

Of course, since they are not Spanish citizens, they naturally will not enjoy any relevant welfare benefits and policies.

Carlo even decided to abandon the Cuban colony in the next few years and use all the funds obtained to develop African colonies.

If there was any hope, Carlo would even prefer to sell the Cuban colony to the British in exchange for the opportunity for Spain to fully colonize Morocco.

Among all the colonies of Spain, investing in Morocco is the most valuable because Morocco is a colony that can be localized and investments here will never lose money because the land will always be in the hands of Spain.

By the beginning of 1880, the population of Spain had officially exceeded 20 million. This was very important for Spain, as it also represented a major step towards becoming a European power.

A European country with a population of less than 10 million cannot be considered a great power, and a European country with a population of less than 20 million cannot be considered a strong power.

With a population exceeding 20 million, Spain has truly secured its place among the great powers, and has the hope of moving further up the rankings and expanding its international influence and status.

Throughout 1879, the birth rate in Spain's major regions was only around 2%, and this figure still had a lot of room for improvement.

Even if it does not reach the more exaggerated 5% in Andalucia, it can be increased to more than 3%, thereby significantly increasing the scale of Spain's population growth.

With a population of more than 20 million and a birth rate of 3%, more than 600,000 children will be born each year. Even if some of these children die prematurely, after deducting those deaths, Spain's annual net population growth is still expected to remain at 200,000 to 300,000.

Coupled with the scale of foreign immigration, Spain's annual population growth is expected to remain at around 350,000 to 400,000 people. This population growth rate is quite exaggerated.

More importantly, among the more than 20 million Spanish citizens, Spaniards still account for the majority, with a total proportion as high as an exaggerated 89.5%, and the population of the main ethnic group is as high as 18 million.

The exaggerated proportion of Spaniards is actually quite normal. This era is the process of national consciousness formation. Due to the intervention of the Spanish government, except for the Catalans and Basques who have a clearer understanding of themselves, most of the Spanish population regard themselves as pure Spaniards, and they do not think of themselves as a minority in Spain.

After more than half of the radical elements in Catalonia were eliminated, a considerable number of Catalans also considered themselves Spanish. The fact that they simply lived in Catalonia did not mean that they had Catalan blood.

There are only about 2 million people who truly feel that they are not Spanish, among whom the larger populations are Catalans, Basques and Galicians.

With the exception of the Basques, both Catalans and Galicians have the hope of being completely assimilated into Spain.

And after the complete assimilation of the Catalans and Galicians, it will no longer matter whether the Basques can be completely assimilated.

After all, there are only a few hundred thousand Basques in the two regions together. If they do not accept Spanish rule, the worst that can happen is that they will all be expelled from Spain.

Although the Basques were brave and good at fighting, their population greatly limited their threat. For Spain at this time, the initiative was completely in its own hands.

Especially after the population exceeds 20 million, Spain has enough capital to take action against the Basques. Even if all the Basques are driven out of Spain, the population of Spain will not decrease too much, and it will not have much impact on the development of the country.

Spain's birth rate is not outstanding in the whole of Europe, and is not even ranked among the top.

As the most populous country in Europe, Russia also has a rather exaggerated birth rate. The birth rate in Russia is generally over 5%, which means that there are more than 5 million newborns in Russia every year.

Of course, as one of the countries with the worst basic environment among the great powers, Russia's population mortality rate is also high.

Russia's mortality rate is also hovering around 3.5% to 4%, which means that the number of deaths in Russia each year is also as high as more than 3 million to nearly 4 million.

The birth rate minus the death rate means that Russia's population is increasing by only 1 million people each year. Of course, this number is also increasing.

After all, Tsar Alexander II's abolition of serfdom did have an effect. Although the effect was not great, at least Russian peasants could breathe a sigh of relief.

Looking at the birth rate in Europe as a whole, it actually shows that the birth rate in Central and Western Europe is lower, while the birth rate in Southern and Eastern Europe is higher.

France, with a relatively prosperous economy, has a birth rate below 3%, rarely exceeding 3%. Although France's death rate is only around 2%, this actually means that France's net population growth remains at a relatively slow level.

The birth rates in European countries are generally over 2%. The main reason is that the medical technology of this era is too poor. If people don't try their best to have children, it is not an exaggeration to say that their country will be destroyed.

Although many children are born, many people die each year in European countries. In addition, a large proportion of newborns die in infancy, which leads to a low population growth rate in European countries despite a relatively high birth rate.

Russia, with a population of over 100 million, had an annual population growth of only a little over a million, not to mention the European powers with a population of only 20 to 30 million, whose net population growth was only 200,000 to 300,000 people each year, which was completely disproportionate to the population growth rate in later generations.

Although the birth rate in later countries was relatively low, the death rate and infant mortality rate were also very low.

Perhaps only when medical technology is greatly improved, thereby significantly reducing the number of deaths and neonatal mortality rates, can Europe's population usher in a new round of explosion.

Before this, the population of European countries will not have much growth rate changes. After all, many people in European countries choose to immigrate abroad, and population loss is also a problem that European countries need to consider.

That is, Spain achieved rapid development during the 11 years from 1869 to 1880, thereby indirectly reducing the number of Spanish immigrants.

After all, if they can live in their hometown, most people would not want to leave their homes and go to a strange land to start a new life.

It is worth mentioning that in late 1879, Carlo also welcomed his third child, his second son Martin.

After Princess Sofia was born, Carlo decided to let Queen Sophie take a break for a while before considering having more children.

Although it was important to expand the royal family, it was equally important to ensure the health of Queen Sophie. The medical technology of the time was limited, and all Carlo could do was to try his best to ensure the health of Queen Sophie so that she would not have any accidents during the delivery process.

After two years of careful cultivation, Carlo and Queen Sophie continued their life of having children.

Prince Martin was also born a year later. As Carlo's second son, Prince Martin was awarded the title of Duke of Alcobendas at birth, which was the pinnacle of most Spanish nobles.

The birth of little Martin made Prince Juan Fernando and Princess Sofia very excited, and they both doted on this little brother very much.

The two little ones would stay with little Martin whenever they were free. Queen Sophie would often look at Carlo with satisfaction when she saw the deep brotherly love between her children.

As Carlo's eldest son, Prince Juan Fernando is 5 years old this year.

The elite aristocratic education that Carlo specially customized for him will also begin this year. As the heir to the Spanish throne, Prince Juan Fernando must be a crown prince with outstanding abilities, and Carlo is full of expectations for him.

Compared with her brother, Princess Sophia was much more relaxed. Firstly, she was too young. Born in November 1876, Sophia was actually only three and a half years old.

Naturally, at this age, she doesn't need any overly strict education. Apart from learning some Spanish words and etiquette in advance, Princess Sofia still has plenty of free time.

After Prince Martin was born, Carlo and Queen Sophie implemented Spain's policy of encouraging childbirth and set an example for the Spanish people.

Under Carlo's leadership, the Spanish are still quite willing to have children. However, Spain's birth rate also shows a trend of being higher in rural areas and lower in cities, which is also something the Spanish government needs to pay attention to and improve.

It is actually easy to understand why the birth rate is higher in rural areas and lower in cities.

Against the backdrop of Spain's rising per capita annual income, Spaniards are not averse to having children. Some couples are even keen on having children. After all, if they have more children, the state will bear part of the expenses.

The main reason is that the rural population has more disposable time than the urban population. A considerable part of the urban population are workers, and the working hours of workers are generally more than ten hours.

In addition, most of the current workers do tiring physical work, which means that after working for more than ten hours, they don’t have much energy to have children.

Although workers can get one day off every month, who would use this precious vacation to have children? In addition to taking a rest, most people choose to go to the city to experience a completely different life, and experience some newly opened shops and more prosperous streets.

It is also for this reason that the Spanish government decided to focus its promotion of fertility policies on the working group and urban population.

As long as these people can be encouraged to actively have children, Spain's birth rate will naturally increase further, and the population growth rate will also continue to rise.

Of course, publicity policies are publicity policies, and appropriate subsidies and welfare incentives are also necessary.

Carlo also read the report submitted by the Andalusia Region. There is a reason why the birth rate in the Andalusia Region has been as high as 5% for two consecutive years.

As the most populous region in Spain, Andalusia is in a relatively good financial situation. The regional government has formulated welfare policies to encourage population fertility, including but not limited to:

Parents who have children are eligible to receive government unemployment benefits after becoming unemployed. The rate of unemployment benefits increases by 15% for each additional child, up to a maximum of 60%.

If both spouses are unemployed, the ratio increases to 30%, and the upper limit increases to 150%.

In addition, parents who have children can enjoy certain tax and rent reduction policies. The Andalusia region will provide some houses with relatively cheap rents to the public. Couples who have children can further reduce their rents on the basis of relatively low rents to reduce their expenses.

Of course, such discounts also apply when buying a house. For each child born, you can enjoy a 15% discount when buying a house, with a maximum discount of 60%.

This also means that families with four or more children can buy a house in the city center in Andalucia at a price below cost.

Although there are no large cities in Andalucia, the houses that are sold at prices lower than cost are definitely very attractive.

Add to that a series of other subsidies, although the amount of each subsidy is not much, the total is not a small number.

Under such policies and welfare benefits, the increase in Andalusia's birth rate is natural.

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