Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

European Continent, Iberian Peninsula, the Spanish Empire, Salamanca City

September 28th, 1655

As the unification war in India unfolded, the Portuguese Restoration War reached its conclusion. This marked a significant deviation from the alternate timeline Vijay originally hailed from. The War of Restoration for the Portuguese Kingdom should have lasted until 1668. But in this timeline, it ended as soon as 1655.

This happened because of various factors, but the main factor was the involvement of the South Indian Empire, which had never existed in the past timeline.

In the city of Salamanca, located a mere 50 kilometres from the Portuguese defensive line, a historic political event was taking place. It marked the day when Philip IV de Habsburg conceded defeat to Portugal and agreed to sign a treaty acknowledging Portugal’s independence from the Habsburg Crown.

On a bright and sunny day, the city of Salamanca bustled with tension as it was heavily guarded by the armies of two nations. Amidst this atmosphere, a luxurious carriage adorned with the symbol of a Black Eagle flag bearing a golden crown between its two heads made its way through the streets. This was the carriage of His Majesty, Philip IV de Habsburg, the ruler of Spain.

Philip’s expression was sombre as he travelled in the carriage. He harboured reluctance towards signing the treaty, knowing it meant acknowledging Portugal’s independence—a concession he had hoped to avoid. Originally, he had believed in the might of his army, confident of quelling any challenges to his rule. However, events had unfolded differently.

The Franco-Spanish war, which commenced in 1635 due to French unease over Habsburg influence, had left Philip grappling with challenges on multiple fronts. He understood the predicament of the French, sandwiched between the Habsburg dynasties of Austria and Spain, leaving them in a delicate position.

Hence, Philip, who understood the crux of the French unease, decided to give in earlier than he did in the alternate timeline. In an effort to end the conflict, Philip engaged in negotiations in 1648, ultimately resulting in the war’s conclusion in 1650 with the Treaty of Pyrenees.

Additionally, he had sealed an alliance by marrying his only surviving daughter, Maria Teresa, to the French Louis XIV, further solidifying diplomatic ties.

The temporary improvement in diplomatic ties with France following the treaty brought some rationality to Philip’s disturbed mind. He had hoped for a period of recovery for the empire after the losses incurred during the Thirty Years’ War and the Treaty of Westphalia. However, his aspirations were dashed when the French exploited a loophole in the Treaty of Pyrenees.

While they didn’t directly wage war against Spain, they supported rebellions, making it hard for Philip to breathe. But he couldn’t entirely blame the French, as he had engaged in similar actions by funding rebels in France.

Amidst these challenges, the Portuguese Kingdom launched a rebellion led by the Braganza Ducal family, further draining Spanish resources. Additionally, dissatisfaction among Catalan nobles sparked the Catalan revolt, exacerbating Spain’s troubles.

The situation worsened as the French, having signed the Treaty of Pyrenees, began funding Catalonia, while the Dutch and English also lent support to the Portuguese cause. Spain was cornered by multiple nations.

* Sigh *

Philip couldn’t help but sigh. Despite all these troubles, the Empire persisted at the start of these wars. The battle had devolved into a battle of attrition at the beginning of the war. Philip, as the emperor of a nation with a larger population and resources, was confident of winning this battle of attrition against the Portuguese.

However, the support that came from the Bharatiya Empire overwhelmed the Spanish Empire due to the constant supply of cheap arms to the Portuguese. The level of combat effectiveness of the Portuguese increased severalfold. On average, two to three soldiers in a squad had a musket. Initially, he had ignored these weapons in war because they were dreadfully slow to load, and their aim was poor.

But with this war, he witnessed how devastating these weapons could be when used on a large scale, forming a line of fire in a phalanx, and pushing his kingdom’s soldiers to death.

Alongside the proliferation of weapons, the arms manufacturing industry in Portugal experienced a sudden boom. Their production surged by an astonishing 100 per cent just within a year. Moreover, they began exporting these arms to the Catalan rebels, further fueling their resistance. Concurrently, the iron production in Portugal witnessed a notable increase from 20,000 tonnes to 25,000 tonnes.

Taking advantage of friendly discounts on spices from India, they commenced exporting them to other European nations, fostering robust trade.

This trade boom catalyzed a notable upturn in the Portuguese economy. The gross domestic product soared from 13 million pounds in 1654 to 15.303 million pounds the current year, which makes its GDP growth 18%. With this newfound wealth, they embarked on expanding the navy, which had previously stood at 56,000 tonnes but now surged to 66,000 tonnes—an impressive 18% growth.

Although this increase does not seem too impressive on paper, when it comes to heavy industries, such things as growth above 5% are almost impossible without certain circumstances. Moreover, the increase of 10,000 tonnes in the naval tonnage was all contributed by the man-of-war battleships that were newly put into service.

Philip’s plan to blockade the Portuguese coast ended up Backfiring, primarily due to the secret deployment of the 10 battleships. Initially, both nations engaged in numerous skirmishes across the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, with battles yielding evenly matched outcomes.

However, Philip remained unaware of the activation of these ships, a detail undisclosed even to his intelligence apparatus. Consequently, he authorized his navy commander to assail the coast of Lisbon, aiming to deal a severe blow to Portugal’s economic hub. Unfortunately, this strategy backfired spectacularly.

Portuguese Admiral Antonio Teles De Silva skillfully marshalled the fleet of 10 battleships, supported by a multitude of frigates, sloops, and clippers, successfully defending the port of Lisbon. The counteroffensive resulted in Spain’s loss of eight battleships,

As Philip was unsuccessful in blockading the Portuguese coastline, the Portuguese continued to import necessary supplies from India and Brazil. Overall, without him realizing it, the Portuguese had achieved what he thought was impossible: a chance for them to last in a battle of attrition against the Spanish Empire. It was at that moment that he knew that this war could not go on any longer.

With internal troubles with the Catalan revolt, he could not expend any more resources on this senseless war. Moreover, the casualties of the empire were putting a lot of pressure on him.

Initially, when the Franco-Spanish wars started in 1635, around 100,000 to 120,000 troops were engaged in war with the French at different intervals. When the Portuguese resistance to Independence started in 1649, he had assigned 30,000 troops to fight the Portuguese, and when the Catalan revolt started, he assigned 23,000 troops.

This time was the most stressful for the empire as a total of 160,000 people were fighting in three wars simultaneously. Fortunately, this condition lasted for only a week as the negotiation with the French concluded, which led to the conclusion of the Franco-Spanish War in 1650. So Philip increased the amount of support on the Portuguese battlefront with a total of 100,000 soldiers fighting. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He had anticipated that winning was guaranteed. Unfortunately, things would not always go as planned, and numbers don’t mean anything when the opposition has 20,000 heavily armed soldiers for every 30,000 troops.

*Sigh*

Philip, thinking about all these incidents that happened in the past, couldn’t help but sigh again. This was already the second loss of the Spanish Empire in two major wars. Adding that to both wars lost under his rule, he couldn’t help but be disappointed.

"Your Majesty, you don’t have to be too disappointed. After ending our conflict with the Portuguese, we can put all our attention on the rebellion inside the empire. We can then rebuild a strong and new empire," the Prime Minister of the Spanish Empire, Tony Strubell, who was sitting in the carriage with His Majesty, comforted His Majesty Philip.

Hearing these comforting words, Philip’s frown and lifelessness in his eyes did not decrease as he did not have the energy to rebuild the empire or initiate any major reforms. He was already old, and the consistent losses had made him tired. All he desired was unity within the empire and an end to rebellions.

He was determined to achieve this goal at any cost—it was his sole purpose in life at present.

Seeing his Majesty’s expression, Tony couldn’t help but sigh. He knew that His Majesty had no more will in him to fight for the nation as he had in his youth. All he could do was put his hopes on the crown prince of the empire, the miracle child.

The carriage, after passing through various blockades, reached the University of Salamanca, the place where the treaty was to be signed. As the carriage of the House of Habsburg arrived, the carriage of the House of Braganza of Portugal also arrived. Getting out of the carriage was His Majesty, Alfonso IV Braganza, along with his trusted knight, Baron Olivera.

Seeing Alfonso’s face, Philip’s mouth was filled with distaste. He did not stop to greet Alfonso as he directly entered the university. Traditionally, nobles of Europe would greet each other in a cordial manner, even if they had disputes or wars among their kingdoms because the nobles of Europe were essentially one large family connected by blood.

What more is there to signify this than to take an example of the First World War from Vijay’s previous life, where the main participants of the war—the British, the Germans, and the Russians—were all led by emperors who were essentially cousins? It is for this very reason that nobles, whenever they meet each other, greet cordially, even if they have disputes between them.

But Philip had come to a point where he ignored all these connections and did not care anymore. He no longer cared for these customs, which he should have followed. After experiencing three major wars such as the 30-year War, the Franco-Spanish War, and the Portuguese Restoration War. —he had gone past the mindset that he should care for all these things.

Alfonso couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment as he observed the former supreme ruler of the Iberian league, the patriarch of the Spanish Habsburgs, acting in such a manner. He found Philip’s behaviour somewhat childish, causing a slight erosion of the reverence he once held for him.

With a heavy heart, Alfonso made his way to the University of Salamanca, one of the oldest universities in the world, where the treaty was to be signed.

The treaty, representing the culmination of negotiations between the respective delegations of both nations, was solemnly placed before the monarchs of Spain and Portugal. While monarchs typically don’t meet face-to-face to sign treaties, this occasion was an exception, as requested by Alfonso.

In order to continue to maintain good diplomatic relations with their Spanish neighbour, this gesture was important to Alfonso. This was one of the main reasons why Alfonso was very disappointed with how Philip treated him.

Although he was not worried that Philip’s behaviour would lead to war because treaties held significant weight in this era, he was concerned that Philip’s personal dislike and hatred towards him would cause some friction between the economies of the two countries, which were very much connected.

Philip, after a moment of hesitation, completed signing the treaty. Alfonso wasted no time and swiftly followed suit. However, as he prepared to exchange a few words with Philip as a courtesy, the elderly monarch abruptly rose from his seat and departed without uttering a word.

Alfonso had anticipated this outcome, considering Philip’s demeanour since their first encounter. However, he was still a little letdown. Overall, Alfonso’s primary objective had been achieved—his kingdom was finally free. Portugal stood liberated from the shackles of the Iberian League, granting Alfonso the authority to shape the fate of his realm as he saw fit.

This was the culmination of his aspirations, marking a significant victory for Portugal.

TO BE CONTINUED...