Chapter 21 Portuguese Goa

"Yes, yes." Pedro quickly took over the words, and some took advantage of the slope to go down the donkey road, "Portugal has always been very friendly to Britain, and has never wanted to change this harmonious relationship."

"Alan is a bit young, and he is not yet able to objectively understand the relationship between countries." John suppressed his smile and said softly, "I personally believe in Portugal's friendly stance, but in fact, there are still many differences between our two countries. common interests, otherwise we would not have invited Mr. to such an informal and important private gathering like today."

Several modifiers were used in a row, indicating the purpose of today's meeting. The subtext was to tell Pedro that the two of them might not admit to having such a meeting after today.

Obviously Pedro understood, nodded solemnly and said, "It is my wish to establish a precious friendship with the two of you."

Portugal is also a dictator-like leader? Ambiguity with Italy and Germany? so what?

As we all know, the British Empire never used moral standards to distinguish between friends and foes. It is the tradition of the British Empire to unite with the Dutch to fight the Spaniards, unite with Germany to counterbalance France, and unite with France to counterbalance Germany.

Portugal is not strong enough to be valued by Britain, just because Salazar is a dictator? Will Britain find trouble with Portugal? Those old men in London don't have such high moral standards.

So after a brief attack, John felt that the atmosphere was almost over, and went directly to the topic, expressing that he was very willing to maintain the current relationship with the Portuguese, especially on the issue of the subcontinent.

"Here in South Asia, in fact, we, Britain and Portugal, have common interests. In the final analysis, we are a European country. The colonial empire in the world is not only the British Empire, more or less, in addition to Germany and Italy, many countries There are still many colonies, where will these colonies be in the future!" Allen Wilson tilted his head and looked at John, nodded, "This is a very important issue, and we also hope to maintain the current harmonious relationship."

"The British Empire has always adopted a tacit attitude towards Portuguese Goa, and has never paid Goa's attention, but if it were replaced by Indian politicians, they would not think so." John shrugged and spread his hands helplessly, "National University It is a well-known fact that the party means to want the suzerainty of the entire British India.”

"Another fact is that Portuguese Goa also seems to have a grassroots organization of the Congress Party." Alan Wilson said with a wry smile, "This will be more difficult. Right doesn't seem like a small issue."

"Goa is a part of Portugal, this is a well-known fact." Pedro's expression became solemn, and he frowned, "Goa has been a Portuguese territory for nearly five hundred years. where?"

Alan Wilson shook his hand, signaling to be calm, and said with regret, "This kind of rhetoric is useful to us gentlemen, but it is of limited use to nationalists. The real well-known thing is that the nation Nationalists are usually unreasonable, they only believe what is good for them, and they turn a deaf ear to objective and neutral facts, and based on my many years of working in India, this is especially true of Indian nationalists."

While the two state commissioners and the representative of the Portuguese governor were chatting and laughing, the representatives of the state in another place also had a good chat.

For the major sub-continental states, the promises of the Congress Party did not have much appeal. These big land-states will not be attracted by petty profits. No matter how nice the National Congress Party says, how can the monarchs of these land-states be as good as they say?

There has always been a sovereign state alliance between the states, which is like the relationship between the suzerain state and the vassal state. The situation in the South Asian subcontinent is very similar to the Spring and Autumn Period of China. The hegemony state led the small states to jointly deal with everyone's problems.

These alliances are generally conducted in private,

But it is extremely rare that most of the big states appeared this time.

But this time is different from the previous situation, because the representative of the Portuguese Governor's Palace appeared.

"Actually, I'm a little puzzled. What can Goa help the UK?" Pedro asked a little puzzled. "With the capabilities of the British Empire, we don't need our help."

"Some things may not be easy for us to do in the future." Alan Wilson said with a stylized smile, "If there is Goa in the hands of Portugal, things may be much easier. This is not just helping us , which is also good for Portugal."

The glory of Portugal's great voyage period has completely become history, replaced by backwardness and poverty. Although centuries of overseas trade and colonization brought countless wealth to Portugal, it did not translate into real development in the end. The concentration of wealth in the hands of the royal family, nobles and priests is similar to that of Spain, another neighboring country that had a civil war that brought Franco to power.

Most of them are used for luxury consumption rather than production, so the actual living standards of the people have not improved much. To make matters worse, the inflow of wealth also led to inflation, making Portuguese products uncompetitive in the European market, resulting in a serious trade deficit, and Portugal became the most backward country in Europe.

The fact that the republicans came to power did not change this situation. Salazar took advantage of the momentum to step onto the stage of history and carried out difficult reforms through dictatorship. Portugal improved slightly, but it was still the most backward country in Europe.

But it depends on who is compared. Portugal's backwardness refers to the backwardness within Europe. Does the British India? The level is not as good as that of Portugal. British India is defined as a dumping ground for British industrial products. The first step is to kill India’s traditional textile industry. Most of the South Asian market is occupied by the United Kingdom. However, because of the relationship between Goa and Portugal, the total It is possible to share some benefits.

At present, Portugal is also a vested interest in the South Asian subcontinent. This is what Alan Wilson said, Portugal and the United Kingdom share common interests.

It is not a bad thing to think about the cooperation of Portugal in India and the United Kingdom to some extent.

"To be honest, do you value the Portuguese? How much can Portugal's national strength help us?" John asked his own question after Pedro went to the Tubang representative. Obviously, he was not as calm as he appeared on the surface.

"Portugal is a country with strongman politics, while we are a British-style democracy. Democracy is discussed and discussed, and it is too late to come up with any opinions." Alan Wilson asked with a smile, "Do you think this is true? If so Ah is in our hands, Britain is in the position of the Portuguese, what should we do if the Indians attack us?"