I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 145

British Canada (2)

“Boo! The incompetent president should step down immediately!”

“The South should abolish slavery!”

“The North should guarantee the freedom of each state!”

“All of this is because of barbaric slavery! Abolish slavery immediately!”

“Slavery is a tradition of the Union! Let’s protect our traditions!”

The number of protesters making noise on the streets day after day was constantly increasing, not decreasing.

The Union was unable to properly cope with this unprecedented political crisis.

John Tyler was about to leave a shocking record in history as the first vice president who was promoted to president but failed to complete his term.

And if even the vice president who was promoted to president quit, how could this chaos be resolved?

Of course, there was the law.

According to the law enacted in 1792, the line of succession after the vice president was the Speaker of the Senate, but no one had ever anticipated this situation, so there was not a single person properly handling the matter.

Since the vice president became president due to the president’s absence, does that mean the Speaker of the Senate now becomes president?

Or is the Speaker of the Senate only acting president and should not be called president?

No one was giving a clear answer, and everyone was blaming each other instead of thinking about how to fix the country, failing to present a future blueprint.

It’s understandable.

The United States had suffered a tremendous loss of prestige due to this incident, and a deep emotional divide had formed between the North and the South that could not be bridged.

But that’s why. Isn’t it precisely in this situation that a leader with a firm belief to protect the center of this country is needed?

Abraham Lincoln, who had instantly risen to become the most influential politician in the North and the most hated figure in the South because of this turmoil, watched the citizens and congressmen fighting on opposite sides and made a resolution.

He had thought it was still a distant future, but now that he had caught a favorable wind, it was no longer such an unreasonable dream.

As quickly as possible.

He would become the president of this country and reunite the divided Union.

* * *

The agreement that would later be called the Kingston Treaty was signed, and the long and arduous territorial dispute in the New World came to a temporary lull.

I used the term “temporary lull” because, unlike others, I knew that this was not the end.

It wasn’t just because Canada had swallowed up all of California and Oregon, unlike in the original history.

Texas, which should have joined the United States, was still maintaining its independence as a republic, and parts of New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado were still in the hands of Mexico.

The United States, which would grow even stronger in the future, would never let these areas go.

In fact, the reason I didn’t buy those additional areas from Mexico was to create a buffer zone against the United States, which was obsessed with territorial expansion.

Even if the Americans, who are crazy about land, had to choose between going to war with Great Britain or Mexico, it was obvious which one they would pick.

They might be busy cleaning up their own house for the time being, but once they were done, there was a 100 percent chance they would turn their eyes outward.

If I threw Mexico to the hungry United States at that time, I could buy myself some more time.

In other words, no matter how you looked at it, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas were destined to fall into the hands of the United States.

But for me, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

In fact, there was no problem now, but in the distant future, as our economic power grew, having a wide border with Mexico would not be a pleasant situation.

We would inevitably experience the same problems with illegal immigrants crossing the border that the United States faced in the 21st century.

So, if the United States were to take land from Mexico in this current situation and border Mexico, all the refugees pouring in would primarily flow towards the United States.

The United States would take care of the illegal immigration problem, so Great Britain and Canada could rest assured.

Anyway… looking at the map, I couldn’t help but smile at the enormous size I was feeling.

“…Looking at it like this, it’s gotten unbelievably big.”

“Yes. In addition to purchasing Alaska and the California area, it was also decided to purchase Rupert’s Land [a vast territory in northern Canada controlled by the Hudson’s Bay Company] in the north. Looking at it this way, Canada has become incredibly large. Isn’t it much larger than India?”

“It’s incomparably larger. Of course, if you cut out the useless frozen land in the north, the actual usable territory will be much smaller, but most of the land we acquired this time is suitable for people to live in, so it can be said to be larger than India in a practical sense.”

Disraeli and Palmerston were looking at the world map recently created at the request of the British royal family and navy, with Canada’s territory, which I had obtained through negotiations, marked on it, and they kept exclaiming in admiration.

Even I thought it was a large and beautiful territory, so how much more would they think of it?

The existing Canada, plus Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, and Utah, was an imposing sight just to look at on the map.

“The territory that Your Highness has incorporated into the British Empire this time is much larger than the British mainland, including Ireland. And if you add Alaska, it seems that British Canada has become larger than the British mainland and all other colonies combined.”

“I didn’t expect it to go this well either.”

“Looking at it this way, it seems like we did a really good job buying Alaska. This has made the western part of North America completely British. And I’ve heard that various underground resources are being discovered in Alaska recently. Did Your Highness foresee all of that…?”

“No. I’m not a god, so how could I know all that and proceed with the work? I was just dedicated to the national interests of the British Empire, and perhaps God saw my heart and rewarded me with abundant resources.”

Although it was not yet known to the British mainland, the fact that a huge amount of coal was buried in Alaska was slowly spreading throughout Canada.

However, when buying the land from Russia, most of the resources from here were attributed to the royal family and civilians who spent money to purchase this land, so the beneficiaries were already determined.

Of course, the citizens did not criticize me or the royal family for this.

Rather, most people regarded it as a blessing from God to the royal family, who had even spent their own money to drive out Russia, and congratulated them.

However, Palmerston also voiced some concern about Canada continuing to grow without brakes.

“Your Highness, if Canada continues to grow like this for 10 or 20 years, Canada will undoubtedly become the most prominent of the British colonies. And if 50 or 100 years pass, Canada alone may have an economic scale almost equal to that of the home country.”

“Wouldn’t that be the case?”

“Then there may be controversy over how the home country should treat Canada. Within Canada, there may be voices saying that it should become independent, given the precedent of the Union [referring to the American Revolution].”

If a colony grows so large that it slaps the home country in the face, there will inevitably be a lot of talk.

Moreover, Canada was increasingly taking on the form of a multi-ethnic, immigrant nation, with Irish and black immigrants continuing to arrive rather than just British immigrants.

To cover that ridiculously large land now, we would inevitably have to attract immigrants from Asia, so this trend would only intensify in the future.

In other words, if this trend continues, Canada is likely to become a very heterogeneous colony that the British Empire has never managed before.

In fact, that’s what I’m deliberately trying to create.

“It’s still a distant future, but as the congressman said, we need to think about it from now on. But you don’t have to worry too much. I will do my best to lay the foundation while I am the plenipotentiary ambassador to Canada.”

“But when Your Highness’s term ends, the person who will take over Your Highness…”

Palmerston showed a troubled reaction, and Disraeli, who had been listening quietly, chuckled and interjected.

“Why are you worried about that? Just extend His Highness’s plenipotentiary ambassadorship to Canada indefinitely. I will submit a bill as soon as I return.”

“Indefinitely? Does that mean His Highness will continue to stay in Canada?”

“No. The important thing is to put someone who can be the center of Canada in a position to do so. If the position is well established, Canada will run on its own. All we have to do is make them feel that this country exists as part of the British Empire, right?”

“So, you’re saying we should set up His Royal Highness as a symbolic presence.”

“Or we could consider creating titles in the colonies like other countries. If we treat His Royal Highness as the Grand Duke of Canada, the Canadians will like it, we will be relieved, and everyone will have a happy ending, right?”

Unlike other countries, the current British peerage system does not have titles named after colonial regions.

So, if we grant the title of Grand Duke of Canada, the first in the British Empire to be named after a colony, it would definitely create a distinction from other places, and the locals would see it as something special.

As expected, he was the one who made Victoria the Empress of India in the original history, so he was good at this kind of thing.

“But if you give one, they want two, and if special treatment continues, Canada may make more and more excessive demands.”

“Excessive demands like what?”

“For example, they may demand the right to vote or to be incorporated into the home country.”

“That will be when Canada has at least the same economic power as the home country. At that time, we will have to look back at the colonial policy from a more diverse perspective, but I don’t think we need to be afraid from the start. Besides, although it is an unintended situation, the heir to the British Empire is scheduled to be born in Canada, isn’t he? If we use this, we can form a deeper bond between Canada and the home country.”

Palmerston eventually closed his mouth without raising any further objections to Disraeli’s eloquent arguments.

Um, very good. He said exactly what I wanted to say.

In fact, it would be too embarrassing for me to come forward and ask for this directly, so someone had to step up, and it couldn’t be more convenient that Disraeli was taking the lead.

Canada’s status will continue to rise endlessly in the future, so my influence, which will be the face of Canada, will also rise in direct proportion to it.

Whether it’s a lifetime plenipotentiary ambassador to Canada or the Grand Duke of Canada, any name is fine.

Canada was now an inseparable relationship with the British royal family and me, and I would soon become the face of this Canada.

And that position will be inherited by my and Victoria’s child, who will be born here.

The moment that child ascends to the throne of the British Empire, Great Britain, Ireland, and Canada will be completely united in the truest sense.

Then, should I go and hear the doctor’s opinion on how healthy our child, who will be born with this important mission, is growing?

Now that I was well past the stable period, and Victoria’s belly was getting bigger than I thought, I was regularly listening to the doctor’s opinion.

I had already decided what names to give depending on whether the baby was a son or a daughter, and now all I had to do was be born healthy.

That’s what it would have been….

“Your Majesty, and Your Highness. Well… I can’t say for sure yet, and I’m hesitant to say this because we’ll have to see when it’s born…”

“…?”

One day, after finishing a regular checkup, the doctor hesitated and looked around, and my and Victoria’s faces darkened heavily.

What, is there something wrong with the baby in the womb?

Is this what I was worried about? No. With the technology of this era, there’s no way to know exactly what condition the baby in the womb is in.

Or is it possible that an experienced doctor can tell whether a fetus has a disability or not?

“Is there something wrong with the baby in the womb…?”

“Ah, no. That’s not it, so you don’t have to worry. However, I’m hesitant to tell you because it’s not certain in the current state…”

The doctor, who was again hesitant to speak, scratched his head and continued in a somewhat unsure tone.

“It seems that there is more than one fetus in the womb.”

“…Hmm?”

“So, what you’re saying now is…”

“Yes.”

The doctor glanced at Victoria’s belly and nodded.

“I asked other doctors for their opinions just in case, and most of them agreed. It seems to be twins.”

Me and Victoria looked at each other as if we had promised and blinked our eyes.

Does that mean that not one, but two members of this country’s royal family will be born in Canada?

I had never thought about this situation.

I was only thinking about the case of a son or a daughter, but in this case, I have to think about the case of twin sons or twin daughters.

Me and Victoria immediately put our heads together and started a discussion to name the newborn baby.

In this way, Canada suddenly faced an unexpected double blessing.