Chapter 228 Fishermen's Conflict

If the first two cabinets focused on domestic development, then starting from the third cabinet, Australia will also develop its international influence and look abroad to seek more power and influence.

In July 1907, many Australasian artists and composers collaborated to create the national anthem of the Kingdom of Australasia, "Onward Australasia!" 》Officially born.

Although the name is somewhat similar to the original Australian national anthem in history, the content is completely different.

Historically, Australia's national anthem represented the relaxed beauty of Australia, which was far away from war and a paradise.

The national anthem of Australasia, while praising the merits of the royal family and Arthur, encourages Australasians to work together to jointly push Australasia to the top of the world.

The national anthem is divided into two versions. One is a purely musical version, which is used to be played on solemn occasions of the country.

The version with lyrics is used on occasions such as National Day. Both versions have a common Easter egg, which is that at the end of the music, Arthur himself shouted: "Australasia, move forward!"

Such a national anthem perfectly suits Arthur's purpose of bringing all Australasians together and cultivating their national consciousness and national cohesion.

When such national anthems and music are played on solemn occasions, how many patriots and nationalists will be stirred up in their hearts.

Especially when the national anthem is played and the slogan shouted by Arthur himself is played, it may cause many Australasians to shout uncontrollably.

July 1907, Timor Sea, northern Australasia.

The Timor Sea connects three countries and is an important transportation hub in northern Australasia.

This area is not only rich in oil and natural gas, it is also one of the areas in northern Australasia with natural fishing grounds.

This also results in this area being often filled with fishermen from three countries. Normally, fishermen from different regions and countries are basically unrelated to each other. Fishermen from the Dutch East Indies are located in the northwest, and fishermen from Portuguese Timor are located in the northeast. , while Australasian fishermen are located in the south.

But as the southern hemisphere enters winter (the season in the southern hemisphere is opposite to that in the northern hemisphere, June to August is the winter in the southern hemisphere), the location of the natural fishing grounds here will also shift, generally shifting some distance to the north.

Of course, the specific deviation depends on the movements of fish schools, and these fish schools are not restricted by humans. This also causes fishermen around the Timor Sea to be affected to a certain extent every year.

Judging from the previous situation, it is generally the fishermen in Australasia who suffer more. After all, after the fishing grounds were moved to the north, they were geographically closer to the Dutch East Indies and Portuguese Timor.

But since the last pirate incident, the national pride of Australasians has been mobilized, and their recognition of the royal family and the country has become higher.

In the past, Australasian fishermen did their duty, and even if the fish caught would be reduced, they would basically not get too close to the waters of other countries.

But now that winter has entered, Australasian fishermen have gradually spread further north, past Katje Island and Ashmore Reef in northwest Australasia, and have reached the exclusive areas of the Dutch and Portuguese.

Such outrageous behavior naturally caused dissatisfaction among some Dutch and Portuguese people.

We are all fishermen living nearby, and we usually just go about our duties. Now that our fishing area is occupied, isn't this a disguised deprivation of people and money?

For fishermen, the daily catch of fish sustains their livelihood and is the most fundamental means for them to survive.

Some people may be able to hold it back, but among these people there are also some who have a hot temper, and they just pick up the guy and start doing it.

The initial momentum could be contained, but this simple conflict has gradually evolved into a conflict between fishermen from three countries in the area.

It would be okay if it was a larger fishing boat, as it would still ensure your own peace.

Especially for small fishing boats, not only their own fishing will be damaged by fishing boats from other countries, but also some vicious attacks have occurred.

Regardless of the reaction of the Dutch East Indies and Portuguese Timor, a series of fishermen's conflicts attracted great attention from the Australasian government.

The government also held an emergency meeting to discuss how to deal with these conflicts.

Soon, Arthur conveyed his order, asking the government to call on the fishermen to exercise restraint among the people, but secretly supported more immigrants to go further north in the Timor Sea.

Common people may not understand this intention, but smart people in the government have already seen through it.

Although the fishermen were asked to exercise restraint on the surface, they secretly sent more immigrants to invade the fishing areas further north, with the purpose of arousing the anger of the Dutch and Portuguese.

If the Dutch and Portuguese took the initiative to provoke this conflict, Australasia would have more means at its disposal.

On July 27, 1907, the first conflict between fishermen officially broke out.

The cause of the matter was that the fishermen of Portuguese Timor were not satisfied with the rich harvest of Australasian fishermen, so they became jealous and privately provoked Australasian fishing boats.

After enduring to no avail, the Australasian fishermen finally decided to fight back with words and actions.

Because of the emotional conflict between the two sides, the Portuguese eventually became angry and chose to ram the fishing boat. After the fishing boat approached, they attacked the Australasian fishermen with native guns.

The attacked Australasians were seriously injured. Although they were not in danger of death, they would need to be treated at great cost and might even become disabled.

After the attack was successful, the Portuguese robbed the Australasian fishermen of their catch and left insulting words before leaving.

In the end, the seriously injured fishermen were found by the Australasian patrol fleet and luckily saved their lives.

Of course, the cause of the whole incident was the official statement of Australasia, which was published in the Victoria newspaper and the Australasian Daily.

But how true the specific details of the incident are, perhaps only those who have truly experienced the conflict know.

But in any case, this conflict incident, which seems to have only Australasians as victims, has indeed aroused the indignation of the Australasians.

In addition, Arthur mobilized a lot of public opinion, and David, the royal European affairs director, laid the groundwork for public opinion in Europe, so that in this conflict, most European people stood on the side of Australasia.

Although the Portuguese government explained and the Portuguese media published the official Portuguese statement on the conflict process, it was ultimately unable to withstand the photos released by Australasia.

After the Australasia government produced photos of the incident, all the Portuguese explanations were seen as quibbling by others.

In fact, the result of the conflict was not much different from Australasia's statement, but the process was a bit different.

The so-called fishermen in this conflict were actually intelligence officers from the Royal Security Intelligence Service.

After repeated provocations by intelligence officers, the Portuguese fishermen became angry.

But Arthur achieved the result he wanted, and the European people also saw the explanation and real photos of the incident. Who cares about the real process of the incident?

In other words, because there are real photos, and Australasia is in the position of a victim, this also makes the public generally more willing to believe in Australasia's statement.

At any time, ordinary people are very easy to guide. Public opinion has also become the best weapon to attack individuals and forces. As long as it is supported by public opinion, then right is wrong and wrong is right.

On July 29, 1907, after successfully rescuing the injured "fisherman" and getting the "real" conflict from him, Arthur was "furious" and publicly stated that he wanted the Portuguese to give an explanation to the injured fishermen and all the people.

On July 30, 1907, the Australasian government officially issued a notice to Portuguese Timor and the Kingdom of Portugal, demanding that Portuguese Timor hand over the murderer who attacked the Australasian fishermen and pay compensation to all Australasian fishermen affected by the conflict.

At the same time, the three countries around the Timor Sea should jointly divide specific spheres of influence to avoid more conflicts.

In fact, the requirements of Australasia are not high, at least from the perspective of Europeans who think they are "neutral".

Since the Portuguese made a mistake, it is also right to pay compensation.

It is normal for the three countries to divide their own detailed spheres of influence, which can indeed avoid more conflicts.

But the problem is complicated. In order to win the public opinion war, Portugal has been claiming that the fishermen are innocent, and domestic parties have also launched public opinion, saying that the country should support the fishermen of Portuguese Timor.

It has only been a few days since the incident. Isn't it a slap in the face of the Portuguese government to ask Portugal to hand over the fishermen directly?

Of course, for the national level, losing face is not a big deal.

The difficulty lies in the fact that the current situation in Portugal is not stable, and there are signs of domestic revolution.

The previous public opinion made most Portuguese people support the fishermen of their country. If the government rashly handed over the fishermen, what would the Portuguese think?

Did the fishermen really do something wrong? Or is it the incompetence of the government that has to wrongly accuse good people?

The current situation in Portugal is very unstable, and it all depends on the high-pressure policy of the contemporary King Carlos I.

Carlos I was a relatively autocratic monarch, but the Kingdom of Portugal had already established a dual constitutional monarchy in the civil war decades ago.

Carlos I's high-pressure policy in Portugal and his severe suppression of revolutionary activities made many Portuguese republicans and democrats very dissatisfied.

To what extent were they dissatisfied? In the original real history, Carlos I was assassinated by the Republican radicals a year later. His son Manuel II had just ascended the throne for two years when the revolution broke out and was deposed by the Portuguese.

This also means that the ruling life of the Braganza dynasty in Portugal was only three years, and the ups and downs within its king can be imagined.

It was precisely because of the turbulent political environment in the country that Carlos I was somewhat undecided.

Retreating to the Australasians was a good way to quickly resolve the conflict. Although it was detrimental to the country's face, the actual cost was not much.

It's just that the angry Portuguese people might join the revolutionary party and decide to overthrow the government's rule because of dissatisfaction.

This was unacceptable to Carlos I. In order to maintain the monarchy of the Kingdom of Portugal, and also to protect his own position, Carlos I directly abandoned the option of retreating.

The national government should be tougher and take real actions to safeguard the interests of its own people. At the same time, it can also win over the hearts of the people and increase the support for the monarchy in Portugal. This is a plan that Carlos I has decided on for a long time.

For this reason, Carlos I consulted many confidants and finally decided to express Portugal's firm attitude to Australasia, that is, to protect the interests of the people, never back down!

In fact, Carlos I also sent people to ask the British about their attitude in a subtle way.

After receiving the British hint that they would unite with France and mediate under certain circumstances, Carlos I was determined to take a tough attitude towards Australasia.

In Carlos I's view, Australasia is just a country that has just gained independence from the colonies not long ago, and the country's development relies heavily on resources and support from Europe.

Even if Portugal cannot compete with Australasia in Southeast Asia, Australasia will definitely back down after Britain and France intervene.

As long as you can withstand the first wave of public opinion and make yourself and the government have a reputation for being tough in protecting the people, there will be more diplomatic means in the future.

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