OOC: With European history recently rewritten, this is a new Spanish history as a number of existing Spanish posts and storylines have been drastically affected by the new "Red Zone". 

This post has been reviewed and approved by [@Dinh AaronMk]

[center][h3]The Spanish Empire - History Reimagined[/h3][/center]

The First World War was the catalyst for the rebirth of the Spanish Empire. Balancing a precarious diplomatic tightrope, they promised everything and yet delivered nothing, in finest Spanish style. Industry flourished as both sides sought Spanish goods and materials to fuel their own war machines.

When the the Great War finally came to a close Spain emerged from the cloud of war staunchly neutral and the most powerful nation in Europe. As the only major surviving European economy still intact, Spain soon saw massive economic success. Perhaps not surprisingly this brought unrest among the peasants in the countryside as they demanded their share of the new prosperity. Prosperity that had somehow made its way into the coffers of the wealthy landowners and failed to trickle down to those who had actually done the work. 

Violence broke out in several regions, notably Catalan and Andalusia. The Conservative Government ordered troops deployed to quell the uprisings when local police forces refused to engage with the protestors which only served to fuel their determination to get what was owed to them. Soldiers deployed across the country as the Government screamed for drastic measures to be taken. It looked as though Spain would follow in the steps of other post-war European powers and shed the blood of its own people.

In a move that stunned the nation, the current King, His Majesty Alfonso XIII, left his crown in Madrid, walked out of the city, passed through the line of soldiers and linked arms with the angry mob marching on the city. On that day, he won the undying love of the common Spaniard, and the soldiers refused to fire on their King, instead turning on their officers and, in some cases, shooting them on the spot.

The King immediately ordered the military leadership, and the Government, arrested for trying to destabilize the regime. Some shots were fired between the Guardia Civil and Royalist army units loyal to the King as soldiers stormed Parliament and military headquarters. Two Guardsmen were killed and the rest surrendered when the Royalist forces brought up artillery. 

Hundreds of millions of peseta were "donated" by wealthy landowners when given the choice between making the donations, or losing everything. The money was poured back into the country by the King, who quickly became the most popular leader in the last century. So popular in fact that he dissolved the Parliament and few said a word, he replaced military leaders with those loyal to him and nary a peep was heard, he crushed the Moroccan revolt and the country cheered him.

When Communist forces seemed to be gaining the upper hand in France, now a shell of its former self, he offered Spanish assistance to bedraggled government forces. Desperate for any help they could get, the French Government hurriedly accepted the Spanish intervention. Tens of thousands of Spanish troops poured across the border and occupied much of the southern half of the country. The French realized far to late that the Spanish saying, "Revenge is a dish best served cold", was not empty words. Spanish forces quickly annihilated Communist, Anarchist and Royalist forces alike. 

The French people, starving, decimated, and bleeding, surrendered with only a few gasps of resistance as the Spanish flag broke out over the south. Further north the massive devastation, the scattered mines, unexploded shells, and so much more, had turned what remained of France into a series of smaller warring city states reminiscent of Russia. 

Buoyed by the success of their French campaign, the Spanish turned south. A British Government, faced with another major war, quietly sold Gibraltar the the Spanish Crown. Italian forces, trying to claim their own piece of France, ran full tilt into the Spanish army and a short battle later the Spanish were advancing into Italy. Rather than losing their northern territories, the Italians ceded all control of Corsica and Sardinia to the Spanish. 

Then, tragically, in 1948, the King was killed while learning how to fly. His plane plunging into the Sierra Nevada, the body recovered after a frantic six day search. His throne passed to his ten year old son son, Juan Carlos I.

Juan Carlos I inherited a Spanish state that was economically powerful, boasted a massive modern military, and had peace within her borders. As is often the case with young regents however, new forces with their own interests at heart began to try and sway the young royal one way or the other. Royalists, supported by the Catholic Church, sought to retain their current power, Nobles and Land Owners to regain some of their lost wealth, and the middle and lower class were quietly being infiltrated by Communist and Democratic forces. 

For the next twelve years these various forces gently pushed, then began to shove, at the young King. Unable to completely trust anyone around him, he withdrew into his own household, leaving the day to day operation of the country to his advisors, the majority of whom were Royalist supporters. Tax reform slowly began to favour the wealthy once again, peasants began to see their rights being chipped away at, and a slow return to feudal ways began. 

In 1960 everything changed once again as a coup d'État, led by Colonel De La Cal Delgado of the Elite Cazadores and supported by the Navy, ousted the young King and saw the execution of many of his supporters. A short but vicious war followed with Portugal that saw the use of a new type of warfare that combined the speed of motorized vehicles and fighter bombers.    

Then came the Algerian Campaign as Delgado sought to secure a permanent oil supply for the growing Spanish Empire. The Muslims of Algeria, much as the French had before them, learnt of the long Spanish memory as the ghost of the Reconquista reared its head. Muslims were slaughtered in their thousands as deadly poison gas was unleashed indiscriminately against civilian populations and military targets alike. When Algeria eventually surrendered it was little more than a shell of a nation.

Spanish gold is reappearing in former colonies as pro-Spanish factions at long last find themselves a financial backer with deep pockets. While the great guns have fallen silent in Algeria, the intrigues that surround the Spanish leadership continue unabated and a reckoning is coming with various factions seeking to make their final play for control.