EDIT: I guess another version was done. I've done my version independently, and it seems there are noteable differences.
(After doing some research, I've discovered that the joint European force of Spanish, British and French didn't land at Veracruz until December of 1861, after which Napoleon III's Mexican adventure followed.)
1860:
November 17: A French national named Antoine-Orllie de Touneins proclaims the foundation of a constitutional hereditary monarchy in Araucania with the support of the local Mapuche chiefs. He takes the royal title of Orllie-Antoine I, King of Araucania. His capital is the settlement of Perquenco, which is barely a decade old.
November 20: Patagonia is added to Orllie-Antoine I's claim, renaming the state the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia.
1861:
March: (POD) At the right time, word of the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia, led by a French national, reaches French Emperor Napoleon III. Well enough pleased with the recent acquisition of Savoy and Nice and successful involvement in the Second Opium War in China, Napoleon III feels up to expanding French influence to the Americas and this new kingdom seems as good a place as any, especially considering that the locals already support a Frenchman. The territory itself may seem raw, but with the French stake in the Suez Canal, still under contruction, as well as French influence over a kingdom that controls the Strait of Magellan, the transit of French commerce and naval forces around the world would be assured; the territory itself could also prove profitable with French investment. Napoleon III begins assembling a suitable force with which to aid the kingdom.
May: A French envoy reaches Orllie-Antoine I and offers Imperial French assistance in securing the kingdom's independence from Chile and, if need be, Argentina. Orllie-Antoine I agrees, knowing that while his Mapuche subjects have spirit, they lack the materiel needed to wage war in the modern age. He knows that means the kingdom will be beholden to France, but he sees nothing wrong in that.
After much discussion, it was agreed by Orllie-Antoine I and the commander of the French force that the current claims of the kingdom couldn't stand, as they effectively cut Chile in half and left a significant southern portion; to assert the kingdom's independence, it would have to be a clean break, as well as proof of the might of Araucanian arms. As such, Chile's two strongpoints south of Mapuche territory, going back to the days of the Spanish Empire, are the city of Valdivia and Chiloé Island. They would have to be seized before attempting to bring Chile to the negotiating table.
October 14-16: A preplanned attack by Araucanian and French forces upon the city of Valdivia is carried out; Araucanian forces, assisted by some French forces, move on Valdivia and capture many of the surrounding towns, drawing Chilean forces towards them. Soon after, the French fleet moves on the fortified port of Corral downriver from Valdivia and sends launches towards the outer forts. The superior French forces overrun the Chilean defenders of several of the aging forts and soon control enough of the bay to bring in French warships to fire upon the remaining forts. Soon the entire bay is under French control and French forces capture Corral Castle. Chilean soldiers flee inland to Valdivia where they bring word of the landing of French forces. The Chilean force that went after the Araucanians is forced to withdraw towards Valdivia to try and hold off the French. The Araucanians pursue, however, and manage to turn their retreat into a rout. With most of the garrison killed or captured when both French and Araucanian forces reach Valdivia, the city is soon surrendered and the rich area around it is annexed to the kingdom.
October 19-25: Hoping to keep the initiative and take the Chilean defenders by surprise, the French fleet, which helps to transport additional Araucanian soldiers, moves on Chiloé Island. The well-equipped French-Araucanian force lands and quickly defeats the Chilean forces sent against them and seizes the island's forts, as well as the cities of Castro and Ancud. Chiloé Island is also annexed to the kingdom and, by extension, the entire, largely unsettled southern claims of Chile.
November 3: The naval Battle of the Bio-Bio, named for the nearby river, is fought between the French fleet and Chilean ships. The Chileans manage to sink a couple of French vessels, but take heavy casualties themselves and are soon forced to withdraw to Concepcion. After this defeat, Orllie-Antoine I attempts to bring Chile to the negotiating table, but they refuse to sign away approximately half of their country.
1862:
January 3-6: Arauco-French forces cross the Bio-Bio River, the traditional boundary between Mapuche and Chilean territory, and defeat a Chilean force outside of Concepcion, seizing the city afterwards. Once again, Orllie-Antoine I offers peace before the force moves on Santiago itself. He wants to set the border between Chile and the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia at the Bio-Bio River with Valdivia, Chiloé Island and all the territory south of Araucania ceded to the kingdom. France sends their political recognition of the independence of the kingdom via their ambassador in Santiago, as well as their willingness to continue to assist the kingdom in maintaining their independence.
January 10: A ceasefire is agreed to by Chilean President José Joaquín Pérez.
February 1: The Treaty of Valdivia is signed. Chile recognizes the independence of the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia and cedes the south of Mapuche territory; the border is set at the Bio-Bio River.
The treaty will prove a fatal blow to Pérez's Conservative government, which will soon lead to his ousting and replacement by a Liberal government. It also, understandably, leads to resentment against France and against Araucania-Patagonia. The border between Araucania-Patagonia and Argentina isn't set, with the kingdom claiming a line roughly along the Colorado and Negro Rivers while Argentina maintains an unofficial claim over all of Patagonia, an issue that will cause problems later.
February-May: Orllie-Antoine I tours through Araucania and Patagonia and manages to obtain the loyalty of all the chiefs of the two regions of the kingdom before returning to Perquenco to draft a constitution.
September 5: The first constitution of the Kingdom of Araucania-Patagonia is put into effect. It's base is influenced heavily by the government of the Second French Empire; the Executive power is entrusted to the head of state, the King; a Council of the Kingdom is formed, made up of all the chiefs of the tribes of Araucania-Patagonia with which the King will consult; the King appoints his Ministers; the Legislative Body to be elected by universal suffrage; the Council of State, whose members are nominated by the King, which is responsible for putting together bills, etc.; the constitution guarantees with respect to human and civil rights and the freedom and equality of individuals before the law. The capital is set at Perquenco; the French had recommended moving the kingdom's capital to Valdivia, the kingdom's only real city, but Orllie-Antoine I doesn't want to reign from a symbol of Chile, and Spain before it, and sticks with the settlement deep inside Mapuche territory. Mapudungun, the language of the Mapuche, is the official language of the kingdom with French a distant second.
1863: Orllie-Antoine I knows that the light population Araucania-Patagonia is far from enough to either develop the kingdom or maintain an army capable of defending the country without French assistance, which could be withdrawn at Napoleon III's whim. With the support of the Council of the Kingom, after he's assured them that those lands owned by the Mapuche will not be taken, he offers an open invitation to Europeans to immigrate to the kingdom:
"What I ask, not to assure my power, but to complete the work of civilization that I have undertaken, is an immigration of honest people. I appeal to all the disinherited of old Europe, those whose intelligence or arms are unfortunately idle, to come have a place in the sun. To the one, I offer administrative functions which will not be sinecures; to the other, I offer the earth which will become their property and the money needed to cover initial expenses of becoming established. This is a crusade worthy of the 19th century, a crusade of the idea and of work against ignorance -- on what the brave have loaned of themselves: I will not default. The journey is long -- it is sad to leave the motherland, without doubt, but what a compensation in exchange! There, workers pass their whole lives in struggle against misery; here, they are assured of well-being. If the former lawyer has astonished the world by the suddenness of his enthronement, he will astonish it again all the more by the superiority of the colonization plan that he proposes to begin."
1864-1869: Immigration into Araucania-Patagonia begins in earnest, especially in the Chubut River valley. At the mouth of the Chubut on the Atlantic, the port of Touneins (OTL's Rawson) is formed by immigrants with government assistance and its prosperity leads to the foundation of other settlements in the valley, which has begun to produce fine wheat. Coal deposits in Araucania are discovered and begin to be developed with foreign investment. Iron ore is also discovered south of the Rio Negro, leading to the quiet occupation of the city of Viedma on the southern bank of the Negro to secure the site, an occupation that goes largely unnoticed by Argentina that has bigger problems at the moment.
The War of the Triple Alliance is fought between Paraguay and the allied nations of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. It becomes one of the bloodiest conflicts in Latin American history and Paraguay is finally defeated in 1870, over half of its population killed, 55,000 square miles of its territory ceded to Argentina and Brazil and the country is occupied until 1876. The outcome of the war, as well as the war itself, alarms Orllie-Antoine and he begins considering forming local (South American) alliances to further guarantee Araucania-Patagonia's independence from Chile and Argentina.
1870-1871: The Franco-Prussian War is fought as proceeds largely as per OTL. Napoleon III flees into exile to Britain where he'll live out his days, despite invitations from Orllie-Antoine I. The German Empire is proclaimed from Versailles and Italy quickly moves into the Papal States after the French garrison is removed and moves its capital to Rome.
With the fall of the Second French Empire and the chaos that follows in France for the next several years, Orllie-Antoine is given yet another reason to form local alliances. He also begins a program of military modernization to help make up for technology what the kingdom's military may lack in numbers in the event of any wars with Chile or Argentina. Among the innovations that will be adopted are Gatling guns imported from the United States later in the decade.
1872-1877: Railroads are built in Araucania, linking the Mapuche territory with Valdivia in the south along the Pacific coast. Orllie-Antoine would like nothing better than to build a transcontinental railroad within the kingdom, but the Andes prove to have no easy passes with which to build one, let alone even a road. As an expedient to increase transportion between Araucania and Patagonia, Punta Arenas on the Strait of Magellan becomes an important transportation hub for ships passing through the Strait, as well as a railroad that begins to be pushed north from it along the Atlantic coast towards Touneins. Another railroad begins construction that will link Viedma with the iron-mining regions south of it and then push on to Touneins itself, eventually linking Patagonia's entire Atlantic coast. The kingdom begins importing cheap labor from East Asia, primarily Chinese, to assist in the construction.
1878: King Orllie-Antoine I dies in Perquenco and is succeeded by Antoine II, his son by a
mestizo wife of both Mapuche and Chilean descent.
Bolivia attempts to increase the taxes of the Chilean Antofagasta Nitrate Company that operates in Bolivia's coastal province of Antofagasta. Chile protests and Bolivia threatens to confiscate the company's property.
The Argentine Minister of War, General Julio Argentino Roca, launches an 'expedition' south of the Rio Negro to subdue Patagonia for Argentine colonization. Having expected this, Arauco-Patagonian forces are quick to react to the move on Viedma and defend the city with modern artillery from France, as well as Gatling guns imported from the US. Though the forces of General Roca outnumber those of the Arauco-Patagonians, their firepower manages to decimate the Argentines enough to force them to withdraw back north of the Negro to reconsider their strategy. The Argentines had known the kingdom had been busy since France helped them defeat Chile, but they hadn't expected quite so stiff a defense. The kingdom move reinforcements to the area, including French 'advisors' for the Arauco-Patagonian forces even though France remains officially neutral. When word reaches London, the British decide to remain neutral for the time being despite their extensive investment in Argentina. They don't want to embroil themselves in a war with France over their respective 'investments' in South America.
1879: Chilean forces occupy the Bolivian port city of Antofagasta in February. Bolivia invokes its secret alliance with Peru, the Treaty of 1873. Peru, concerned that their allied armies are not in any shape to face the Chilean Army, even bereft of the south, attempts to mediate the dispute by sending a top diplomat to negotiate with Chile. Chile considers it an offense and responds by breaking diplomatic contact and declaring war in April. Peru and Bolivia immedately offer Araucania-Patagonia membership in the alliance, considering the kingdom's stake in making sure Chile doesn't gain enough strength to turn back south. Though facing a conflict with Argentine forces in Patagonia, the kingdom's government does recognize the need to prevent any imperial desires of Chile and reaches a settlement with the allies. Arauco-Patagonian forces are immediately moved to the Bio-Bio River to establish defensive positions and begin shelling Chilean positions north of the river, the shells from Arauco-Patagonian rifled artillery reaching as far as the southern outskirts of Concepcion.
Faced with a two-front war, Chile attempts to divide its more modern navy to blockade the Bolivian coast, the Peruvian port of Iquique and the Arauco-Patagonian port of Lebu. That proves to be too much for the Chilean Navy which, while modern, isn't able to take on three other navies, even if each is weaker. In May, Chile loses both naval battles off of Iquique and Lebu and is forced to withdraw to its blockade of the Bolivian coast and to defend Concepcion from Arauco-Patagonian warships. While Peruvian and Bolivian forces prepare themselves to try and break the blockade, Chile attempts to knock the kingdom out of the war by seizing Perquenco with ground forces, after which they would turn back north and concentrate on Bolivia and Peru. In October, Chile attempts to cross the Bio-Bio River in the face of rifled artillery and Gatling fire. The Chileans make a few landings on the southern bank, but they're soon contained and the fighting devolves into trench warfare.
In Antofagasta, with Peru under no current thread at the moment, a Bolivian-Peruvian force moves into the province in December. The Chilean Army possesses the advantage of modern artillery and better rifles and manages to hold off the allied attack, but is beginning to have problems trying to push south against Araucania-Patagonia and defend against Bolivia and Peru at the same time.
In Patagonia, an Argentine force moves towards the Andes and manages to seize the kingdom's claimed territory between the Colorado and Neuquen Rivers. When they attempt to cross the Neuquen, the mostly Mapuche soldiers manage to use the rough terrain to their advantage and hold the Argentines off of the southern bank. An Arauco-Patagonian counterattack is pushed back in turn by the Argentine force. For the next several months, there are raids back and forth along the Neuquen and Negro Rivers that don't manage to establish any beachheads. In July, both Britain and France offer to mediate the dispute between Argentina and Araucania-Patagonia and Argentine President Nicolas Avellaneda agrees over General Roca's protests; a ceasefire is soon established. In November, the Treaty of Paris is signed; the frontier between Argentina and the Kingdom of Araucania-Patagonia is established along the Neuquen and Negro Rivers, gaining Argentina some small amount of territory that lets Roca declare it a victory.
1880: An International Canal Congress is held in London. The Suez Canal being such a success, the British are interested in constructing a new canal to connect the Atlantic and the Pacific in Central America; the French, with the Strait of Magellan within their sphere of influence, are less concerned over constructing such a canal. Several sites are considered, including Panama in Colombia and Nicaragua. However, the British have maintained a puppet government in Mexico ever since their intervention there in 1862 despite the efforts of the United States who continue to provide support to rebels in northern Mexico. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is eventually decided upon, despite its longer length than either Panama or Nicaragua, and construction begins in 1881.
With the conflict with Argentina resolved, the kingdom transports reinforcements from Patagonia to Araucania and, in addition, receives new ironclads they had purchased from France, largely on credit, the previous year. In late January, Arauco-Patagonian forces launch an assault on the Chilean positions south of the Bio-Bio with their reinforcements and manage to destroy their lines and push back to the riverbank, taking numerous Chilean prisoners. In mid February, the kingdom follows up by moving its fleet northwards and the naval Battle of Concepcion is fought in which the Chilean ships left to defend the port are mostly sunk with the remnants forced to flee further north towards Valparaiso. Chilean ground forces are forced to withdraw from the Bio-Bio to Concepcion itself to defend it against any possible landings and Arauco-Patagonian forces move to the north bank of the river, putting Concepcion within range of their artillery. The city undergoes a massive bombardment that burns out a good portion of it.
In the north, the Bolivian-Peruvian force moves into Antofagasta again in April and, with Chilean forces drawn south to reinforce the defenders of Concepcion, the allied force manages to retake most of the province, including the port of Antofagasta itself. Chilean forces manage to stop their advance in the extreme south of the province, but many in Santiago are beginning to see that they've completely lost the initiative in the war and have even lost most of the province they were out to conquer, as well as having Arauco-Patagonian forces in their territory and destroying Concepcion.
The United States, not sorry to see Chile's imperial ambitions fall on its face, sends the corvette USS Lackawanna to the area in August to attempt to mediate the conflict. Representatives from Chile, Araucania-Patagonia, Peru and Bolivia meet on the American ship to discuss the territorial dispute. The allies agree that Antofagasta will remain Bolivian; moreover, for the damage that Chile has caused through its hostility, Bolivia will be able to confiscate the property of the Chilean Antofagasta Nitrate Company in addition to an indemnity to be paid to all three allied nations. No territory will change hands.
Chile balks at the offer but doesn't give any solid answer one way or the other and the conference falls apart. The US begins covertly helping to arm Peruvian and Bolivian forces to put them on a more equal footing with Chilean forces.
In December, Bolivian-Peruvian forces once again attack southwards and retake the final portion of Antofagasta and enter Chilean Atacama. Further south, Arauco-Patagonian forces reach Concepcion and complete the destruction of the city as Chilean forces defend the rubble. As allied naval forces begin to converge towards Valparaiso, Chile calls for a ceasefire.
1881: The allies, rather generously, keep the same terms as they did before and, this time, Chile agrees, putting an end to the Antofagasta War. The allies have already taken many casualties in the war and realize that even if Chile had finally overextended itself, it had still been a close fight. Chile is forced to hand over a portion of its navy to both Bolivia, who had no navy before the war, and to Araucania-Patagonia. Arauco-Patagonian forces continue to sit outside of Concepcion and Bolivian-Peruvian forces sit in northern Atacama until Chile pays the indemnity in 1888. The British continue to invest in the nitrate producing regions of Bolivia and Peru and even help finance the construction of a railroad between Bolivia proper and their primary port of Antofagasta; the British will also meddle in Bolivian politics to try and establish a stable government in La Paz.
1885: Argentina and Chile, having no dispute over Patagonia as in OTL and having common enemies, forms an alliance. In response, the Kingdom of Araucania-Patagonia, Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay form their own alliance the next year. Before too long, the kingdom will introduce conscription in an effort to keep itself militarily ready in the event of a rematch with Chile and Argentina.
1888: A drilling crew searching for water at the settlement of Nouvelle Chourngac (OTL's Comodoro Rivadavia) along the Atlantic railroad, strikes oil and soon becomes a boomtown.
1892: The Atlantic Railroad is finished, linking Punta Arenas on the Strait of Magellan with Viedma on the south bank of the Rio Negro. Spur lines are already under construction towards settlements on the Patagonian side of the Andes.
1895: Explorers from the far west Chubut River valley discover gold and silver deposits. There is a 'rush' of immigration as thousands of would-be prospectors head for the region.
1899: The Tehuantepec Canal is completed in Mexico. It's a lock canal and, though much more difficult to construct than OTL's Panama Canal, its proximity to the axis of international trade makes it a much shorter route in the end. Though joint British-Mexican forces maintain military bases all along the Canal, the Americans lease naval bases at Coatzacoalcos and Juchitan de Zacagoza at the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific ends of the Canal respectively.
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Orllie-Antoine I, first King of Araucania-Patagonia
Flag of the Kingdom of Araucania-Patagonia
