Dominion of Southern America

[Glen]

POD: 1766 - Josiah Martin becomes Governor of Quebec instead of Carleton, who instead becomes Governor of North Carolina in 1771. Much frivolity ensues....If you have just stumbled upon this thread, you may want to read the compiled timeline then come back to comment.
Dominion of Southern America Timeline Part I
Dominion of Southern America Timeline Part II
Dominion of Southern America Timeline Part III
Dominion of Southern America Timeline Part IV

If you would like to add your name to the pool of names that will crop up in the timeline, read here.

It should surprise no one that Quebec, recently taken into the British fold as a result of the British victory in the French and Indian War, would be a hotbed of sedition and join the list of colonies rebelling against the British Crown in the 1770s. The only surprise was how long it took for the French of Quebec to do so. Many have attributed this to the lenient policies of the first British Governor of the Province of Quebec, James Murray.


James Murray

So concilliatory were his actions towards the French there, that he alienated many of the British merchants who came to the area, leading to his recall from the office in 1766. His replacement, Josiah Martin, while much more palatable to British merchants, was much less so to the French of this province. Despite his best efforts, and the largesse of the Quebec Act which increased the territory of the Province by including Labrador and all land north to meet the holdings of the Hudson Bay Company (though not including any accomodations for the Catholics of the province) he was unable to hold down the predominantly French and Catholic population, and was forced to flee the province for New York.

[Glen]

Originally Posted by Glen

It should surprise no one that Quebec, recently taken into the British fold as a result of the British victory in the French and Indian War, would be a hotbed of sedition and join the list of colonies rebelling against the British Crown in the 1770s. The only surprise was how long it took for the French of Quebec to do so. Many have attributed this to the lenient policies of the first British Governor of the Province of Quebec, James Murray.


James Murray

So concilliatory were his actions towards the French there, that he alienated many of the British merchants who came to the area, leading to his recall from the office in 1766. His replacement, Josiah Martin, while much more palatable to British merchants, was much less so to the French of this province. Despite his best efforts, and the largesse of the Quebec Act which increased the territory of the Province by including Labrador and all land north to meet the holdings of the Hudson Bay Company (though not including any accomodations for the Catholics of the province) he was unable to hold down the predominantly French and Catholic population, and was forced to flee the province for New York.

Quite in contrary to the general spirit of rebellion in the North, the Southern colonies (with the noteable exception of South Carolina) were more loyal to the British Crown. The Southern colonies were blessed with able governors such as James Wright of Georgia and Guy Carleton of North Carolina.


Sir Guy Carleton

Upon his appointment in 1771, Sir Guy (later Baron Dorchester) was particularly effective at calming tensions in North Carolina after the previous governor, William Tryon had been forced to suppress the Regulator Movement. Not only did Sir Guy bring a steadying influence to the North Carolina Colony, but his observations, and entreaties to Parliament to provide favorable treatment to the Southern colonies in order to engender their loyalty to the crown are directly credited with the formulation of the Southern America Act of 1774, which shielded the Southern colonies from many of the punitive actions taken against rebellious Massachussetts and her neighbors, as well as rescinding the Proclamation Line from the Gulf Coast all the way to the Ohio, allowing for commerce and settlement to the West. This is credited with limiting the South's participation in the American Revolutionary War to more of a failed civil war as rebel factions fought loyalists but the governments of these states in general remained in control and loyal to the crown.

[Glen]

Originally Posted by Glen

Quite in contrary to the general spirit of rebellion in the North, the Southern colonies (with the notable exception of South Carolina) were more loyal to the British Crown. The Southern colonies were blessed with able governors such as James Wright of Georgia and Guy Carleton of North Carolina.


Sir Guy Carleton

Upon his appointment in 1771, Sir Guy (later Baron Dorchester) was particularly effective at calming tensions in North Carolina after the previous governor, William Tryon had been forced to suppress the Regulator Movement. Not only did Sir Guy bring a steadying influence to the North Carolina Colony, but his observations, and entreaties to Parliament to provide favorable treatment to the Southern colonies in order to engender their loyalty to the crown are directly credited with the formulation of the Southern America Act of 1774, which shielded the Southern colonies from many of the punitive actions taken against rebellious Massachusetts and her neighbors, as well as rescinding the Proclamation Line from the Gulf Coast all the way to the Ohio, allowing for commerce and settlement to the West. This is credited with limiting the South's participation in the American Revolutionary War to more of a failed civil war as rebel factions fought loyalists but the governments of these states in general remained in control and loyal to the crown.

Though Virginia had gained with the Southern America Act access all the way to the Juncture of the Ohio and Mississippi, it was not enough for the ironically named 'Old Dominion'. Virginians also wanted access to the Ohio Country. The Crown, however, had designated the lands south of the Great Lakes between the Ohio and Mississippi as a refuge for the indigenous tribes.

Richard Henry Lee

But instead of gratitude for the extension of settlement South of the Ohio, the Virginians not only sided with the rebellious colonies to the north, but it was Virginian Richard Henry Lee who made the motion to declare independence from Britain, another Virginian who penned the Declaration of Independence, and a third, George Washington, who would lead the Rebel army.

[Glen]

Originally Posted by Glen

Though Virginia had gained with the Southern America Act access all the way to the Juncture of the Ohio and Mississippi, it was not enough for the ironically named 'Old Dominion'. Virginians also wanted access to the Ohio Country. The Crown, however, had designated the lands south of the Great Lakes between the Ohio and Mississippi as a refuge for the indigenous tribes.

Richard Henry Lee

But instead of gratitude for the extension of settlement South of the Ohio, the Virginians not only sided with the rebellious colonies to the north, but it was Virginian Richard Henry Lee who made the motion to declare independence from Britain, another Virginian who penned the Declaration of Independence, and a third, George Washington, who would lead the Rebel army.

Early in the course of the American Revolutionary War, the Siege of Boston had the war stalled in the North. Looking for a victory, Washington sent a relief mission up to Quebec. Under the command of Schuyler and Montgomery, the American force made contact with local forces which were constituted into the Canadian Regiment. The Canadian Regiment would serve side by side with the forces sent by Washington in securing Montreal and Quebec City.


Flag of the Congress' Own Canadian Regiment.

With the major cities of Quebec, at least for the time being, in the hands of the rebels, Quebec sent its first delegation to the Second Continental Congress, already in progress. A relief force of British and Hessian soldiers attempted to land in Quebec City in May 1776, but were repulsed by the rebel defenders.

[Glen]

Originally Posted by Glen

Early in the course of the American Revolutionary War, the Siege of Boston had the war stalled in the North. Looking for a victory, Washington sent a relief mission up to Quebec. Under the command of Schuyler and Montgomery, the American force made contact with local forces which were constituted into the Canadian Regiment. The Canadian Regiment would serve side by side with the forces sent by Washington in securing Montreal and Quebec City.


Flag of the Congress' Own Canadian Regiment.

With the major cities of Quebec, at least for the time being, in the hands of the rebels, Quebec sent its first delegation to the Second Continental Congress, already in progress. A relief force of British and Hessian soldiers attempted to land in Quebec City in May 1776, but were repulsed by the rebel defenders.

Benedict Arnold

Ambitious rebel officer Benedict Arnold convinced General Washington to send him at the head of a supporting force to supplement to relief of Quebec. Arnold joined Ethan Allen and his forces. While they had significant successes, news soon reached them that Quebec City was in rebel hands and their mission superfluous. At that point, Arnold convinced Allen and his men to join him on a raid into Nova Scotia to inspire rebellious forces in the region.

Nova Scotia had developed a large Yankee population, but politics were still mostly ruled by the merchant oligarchs of Halifax. Somehow, Governor Frances Legge managed to alienate both with his staunch pro-British stance and attempt to audit the oligarchs. He was to be recalled to London in 1776, which may have resolved the situation except that at that same time Arnold and Allen launched raids into Nova Scotia proper, inspiring Yankees in the region to join their forces. The oligarchs took the opportunity to throw out Legge and declare for the rebellion. Admiral Arbuthnot, on station at Halifax, was able to take command of the port and hold it for the crown, but not to suppress the new rebel legislature. Nova Scotia thus became the last colony to send representatives to the Continental Congress.

[Glen]

The Flag of the United States of America was set in its essential pattern by 1777, though many variations would occur throughout the American Revolutionary War and even after. Initially George Washington preferred the use of six pointed stars, but in the end the five pointed star won out. The twelve stripes on the flag alternating red, white, and blue stand for the twelve founding colonies of the United States of America. There had also been red and white alternating stripes early on, but the tricolor stripe pattern won out in the end. Also featured was a blue field with a star for each new state, replacing the Union Jack that had been displayed in the original flag.

[Glen]

Originally Posted by Glen

Benedict Arnold

Ambitious rebel officer Benedict Arnold convinced General Washington to send him at the head of a supporting force to supplement to relief of Quebec. Arnold joined Ethan Allen and his forces. While they had significant successes, news soon reached them that Quebec City was in rebel hands and their mission superfluous. At that point, Arnold convinced Allen and his men to join him on a raid into Nova Scotia to inspire rebellious forces in the region.

Nova Scotia had developed a large Yankee population, but politics were still mostly ruled by the merchant oligarchs of Halifax. Somehow, Governor Frances Legge managed to alienate both with his staunch pro-British stance and attempt to audit the oligarchs. He was to be recalled to London in 1776, which may have resolved the situation except that at that same time Arnold and Allen launched raids into Nova Scotia proper, inspiring Yankees in the region to join their forces. The oligarchs took the opportunity to throw out Legge and declare for the rebellion. Admiral Arbuthnot, on station at Halifax, was able to take command of the port and hold it for the crown, but not to suppress the new rebel legislature. Nova Scotia thus became the last colony to send representatives to the Continental Congress.

The British force (actually mixed British and Hessian forces) sent to Quebec had been met by the unwelcome vision of rebels in command of Quebec City. Rather than offer siege to the city, the commanding general John Burgoyne decided to continue with his original plan that he had concocted before ever leaving London. He landed his forces on the southern bank of the Saint Lawrence River and started his army moving south towards Albany, New York, where he expected to be met by British forces marching up from New York City and thus cut off New England from the rest of the colonies.


John Burgoyne

However, without a friendly port to disembark and revictual, Burgoyne's forces were forced to forage in force on their route. This effort slowed their initial advance to a crawl, and did much to alienate further Canadians who otherwise might have remained neutral or even loyal to the crown. The march south was hard on his men, with little in the way of forage available once they penetrated to Lake Champlain. Despite this deficiency, his forces were able to drive the small garrison force out of Fort Ticonderoga and continue south towards Albany. However, in the summer of 1777 his men were in worse shape and no relief was coming from the south when he was forced to battle and subsequent surrender at Saratoga. He had to surrender his entire army and admit abject defeat. This victory proved the tipping point to France's entry into the war.

[Beedok]

Good work, keep it up.

[Glen]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Good work, keep it up.

Thanks! And keep up the support!

[IchBinDieKaiser]

looks good

[Glen]

Originally Posted by IchBinDieKaiser

looks good

Thanks, but this ARW is about the same length as OTL.

[Arachnid]

What is the nature of the *Reconstruction going on in the South compared to OTL post the ACW? Harsher or lighter in terms of fundamentally shaking up Southern society.

[Glen]

Thomas Cochrane was born at Annsfield, near Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, the son of Archibald Cochrane, 9th Earl of Dundonald and Anna Gilchrist. She was the daughter of Captain James Gilchrist and Ann Roberton, the daughter of Major John Roberton, 16th Laird of Earnock.

Cochrane was descended from lines of Scottish aristocracy and military service on both sides of his family. Through his uncle, Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane the sixth son of the 8th Earl of Dundonald, Cochrane was cousin to his namesake Sir Thomas John Cochrane who also pursued a naval career and became Governor of Louisiana. The family fortune had been spent by 1793 and the family estate was sold to cover debts. Cochrane spent much of his early life in Culross, Fife, where his family had an estate. There is now a bust in his honour outside the Culross Town House.

Through the influence of his uncle, Alexander Cochrane, he was listed as a member of the crew on the books of four Royal Navy ships starting when he was five years old. This common, though unlawful practice (called false muster), was a tactic to have on record some of the length of service necessary before he could be made an officer, if and when he joined the Navy. His father secured him a commission in the British Army at an early age, but Cochrane preferred the Navy, which he joined upon the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars.

Cochrane had a rather mixed record during the wars with the French. On the one hand, he was recognized as serving with bravery and panache, and his daring helped win many a prize for the ships he served upon. On the other hand, he often came into conflict with other officers and was seen as impertinent, disrespectful, and insubordinate. He was reprimanded about as often as he was commended.



He managed through luck (and the favor of Admiral Nelson, who admired his daring), to remain in service throughout the wars until the death of Napoleon. He then went on half-pay and ran for Parliament as a Radical, winning a seat where he served in the opposition until the outbreak of the Hellas Revolution, when he took leave of politics to fight in the war. After the Hellene victory, he was lauded by both Hellenes and British for his heroism and was quickly returned to Parliament upon his triumphal return.

Upon Cochrane's father's death in 1830, he resigned from Commons to take his father's seat in the House of Lords, but soon was in conflict with that reactionary group until the Reform Revolution of 1832, when new liberal lords were appointed. Then Cochrane became a prominent leader in that august house.

The outbreak of the Slaver Revolt in the mid 1830s was particularly galling to Cochrane, who felt the initial stages of the war were bumbled. Thus, when approached to resume active service and take command as Admiral, he jumped at the chance. As history knows, his aggressive and innovative leadership turned the tide of the war against Farragut's Confederationist navy and help bring the war to a swift conclusion.

[Glen]

Originally Posted by Aracnid

What is the nature of the *Reconstruction going on in the South compared to OTL post the ACW? Harsher or lighter in terms of fundamentally shaking up Southern society.

Different. Think about what we've already learned. There's more of the 'rebel' South under self rule than OTL, but provinces have actually been carved up (as opposed to most states remaining intact OTL). You will see how things play out over time.

[Plumber]

Keep up the good work!

I wonder who will become the first PM of the DSA... a small part of me thinks it will be Thomas Cochrane, a small part of me thinks it will be John Brown, and a large part of me thinks that I am completely wrong.

Updated map, now with subdivisions of relevant areas. In BSA, areas with responsible government are shaded appropriately, and areas under military occupation are shaded with the OTL territory of dominions color, to highlight their lower status. The territories of the USA are probably off in some areas.

[Glen]

Originally Posted by Plumber

Keep up the good work!

I wonder who will become the first PM of the DSA... a small part of me thinks it will be Thomas Cochrane, a small part of me thinks it will be John Brown, and a large part of me thinks that I am completely wrong.

Updated map, now with subdivisions of relevant areas. In BSA, areas with responsible government are shaded appropriately, and areas under military occupation are shaded with the OTL territory of dominions color, to highlight their lower status. The territories of the USA are probably off in some areas.
Attachment 101751

Very nice map, but if you're going to color the sections differently, I might suggest that you make the responsible government provinces the same color as dominions in UCS, and keep the ones under military rule just British empire color. Might want to do something different than the white borders to show that New Mexico and California are under Texan administration, not sure what, though (british color with dominion outline?). Yes, the borders for American California Oregon and that strange one crossing the Missouri (what is that?) are off. The states themselves look pretty good, though I need to figure out when the analogue of Iowa gets statehood (probably should be before TTL's Michigan (ie Wisconsin plus UP).

I'd show a bit more of Patagonia as British at this point, and we probably ought to retcon Australia to show less clear British presence to match (still need to flesh that out, though, so don't leap to change yet).

Overall fabulous work, Plumber. You really ought to showcase it in the Map thread as well!

[DuQuense]

?I'm wondering if British control of California/Baja will mean more Asiatics on the West Coast?
?And what more Japanese in Baja would mean to the Pearl Industry?

[Plumber]

As a native Southern Californian (not ITTL though, a stable Mexico will probably prevent an analog of my grandpa from immigrating to New Mexico, and even if that does happen, my *mom probably will never meet my *dad since she will be in the DSA and he will be in the USA. Congratulations, even an analog of me has little possibility of even remotely existing ), something I was wondering was are both the American and British Californias called California? I think it would make more sense if American California was called "Alta California," and British California called "Baja California" (would be better names than Upper/Lower or North/South California IMO).

Originally Posted by Glen

Very nice map, but if you're going to color the sections differently, I might suggest that you make the responsible government provinces the same color as dominions in UCS, and keep the ones under military rule just British empire color. Might want to do something different than the white borders to show that New Mexico and California are under Texan administration, not sure what, though (british color with dominion outline?). Yes, the borders for American California Oregon and that strange one crossing the Missouri (what is that?) are off. The states themselves look pretty good, though I need to figure out when the analogue of Iowa gets statehood (probably should be before TTL's Michigan (ie Wisconsin plus UP).

I'd show a bit more of Patagonia as British at this point, and we probably ought to retcon Australia to show less clear British presence to match (still need to flesh that out, though, so don't leap to change yet).

Overall fabulous work, Plumber. You really ought to showcase it in the Map thread as well!

Thanks!
I have adjusted the map now. The self-government provinces still have the new Dominion province coloring, while New Mexico and California now get the Dominion territory coloring (I think that's the old Dominion coloring) to show that they are Texan. Don't know if the British colonization of Australasia is off now.

[Glen]

The use of indentured servants from India began in the 1830s, with the first workers going to labor starved British Australia. Even before the end of the Slaver Uprising, the practice spread to British Guyana and nearby islands. The practice would explode in the 1840s and 1850s, being seen as a viable alternative to now defunct slave labor.

Plantations in the Dominion had undergone a transformation in the aftermath of the Southern Civil War. Loyalist planters by and large converted their slave plantations to neo-manorial systems similar to those of the Virginians (who themselves had borrowed the practice from the seguerial system of Quebec). Many of the freedmen stayed on working the plantations much as they had before in return for a share of the crop, which often they sold back to their landlords who would act as a broker to sell the crops on the market. While this still left many freedmen dependent on their landlords, those who abused the relationship often found themselves without tenants, who could find places on other plantations for their labor. Indeed, several Loyalists who had not been planters prior to the war had taken advantage of bankrupt Slavocrats who had sided with the rebellion to buy their plantations become planters themselves, though these holdings were much less likely to still have the majority of their former slaves still in situ, as they often had abandoned the holdings of those who would have kept them property for greener pastures out west or on established Loyalist plantations. Other slaver plantations were bought out by British investors, who served as absentee landlords.

It was these newer planters who often turned to Indian indentured workers to man their new found property. Ironically, it would as often as not be freed blacks who only years before were the workers on these fields to whom the new planters would turn to as overseers of these new Indian workers.

Of course, the start of construction on the Dominion's transcontinental railroad would demand much more manual labor, which while in the East many blacks would work on, in the West far more of the labor would come from India.

[Glen]

Race, Religion, and Class in the early Dominion were complex in their effects on society and politics.

As with the Mother Country, Class was the dominating factor in Southern society, albeit moving between classes was easier than in the UK, if not as fluid as in the USA.

Loyalist Planter families and British officials were at the top of the class pyramid. Most of these were of the Anglo-Saxon, Welsh, or Scottish race and the Anglican religion, though in Louisiana and the Caribbean Provinces the Latin (French and Spanish descent) and Catholic members of the upper echelon existed, and of course in Indiana the Civilized Indian (though often admixtured with one of the white races) were prominent, though even in these other groups the key to greater position was to speak educated English and some would convert to Anglican for ease of advancement at the Federal level. Though rare, some Blacks had reached this level of prominence even in the early days of the Dominion, though it was more often those of mixed blood who would reach this rarified height of the social strata.

Tradesmen and small farmers comprised the middle class, and had a more diverse racial and religious background, with Scottish, Scots-Irish, Irish, Welsh, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, French, Spanish, and Civilized Indian and Free Black, though it was more common to see these last two races mixed with white races in this class. While Anglican in the north and Catholic in the south were the most common religions, there were also Baptists, Methodists, and others seen in this group, even the occasional Deist, especially in Texas and the western territories.

The lower class was comprised of laborers and tenent farmers. The majority of this class were Black, but there were significant numbers of Civilized Indians and various members of the white races, and many mixed race members of this class as well. Their religions ran the spectrum of Christian denominations and even some nativist beliefs! Also in this class would be those Eastern Indians who ended their indenture, and practiced the Hindu religion. However, in the decades to come, Eastern Indians would begin to work their way up the social strata.

Outside of the class system in a way were the indentured servants of India, who tended to be looked down upon by all the members of Dominion society, and the Wild Indians of the Western frontier, who were locked upon in various ways, but in general were looked down upon, especially by the Civilized Indian who saw them as an unreformed reminder of the past.

If one imagines the wealthy, landed, educated, Anglo-Saxon Anglican man as the epitome of Dominion society, it is easy to see how the variations in social standing related to how many degrees of separation one was from this theoretical ideal of Southern society.