Ian the Admin said:
November 1794: The Jay Treaty is signed by the US and Great Britain, laying a foundation for the future strengthening of diplomatic and trading ties between the two nations.
March 5, 1795: With the signing of the Peace of Basle, France ends hostilities with Prussia and Spain.
June 8, 1795: On the death of Louis XVII, the 10-year-old pretender to the throne of France, the child’s uncle issued a proclamation declaring himself Louis XVIII, and announcing his intention to restore the Old Regime and punish all involved in the Revolution back to 1789.
September 1795: Deputies of the French National Convention draft a new constitution which called for a bicameral legislature, supported property rights, and excluded the masses from political power. Executive power was to be placed in the hands of the Directory, consisting of five people elected by the legislature. A referendum was held to approve the new constitution, and the electoral assemblies voted favourably. In the days before the constitution was to come into effect, a coalition of deputies - determined to protect their position of power - forced through a law which stated that two thirds of the new government had to have been former members of the Convention.
October 5, 1795: The conservatives and moderates amongst the French people were far from impressed by this display of political opportunism by the deputies, and - with covert support from the British - mounted a rebellion against the Convention. Without the actions of Bonaparte, this constitutionalist-royalist onslaught leaves the republican defenders decimated, with fatalities including Guillaume Brune, Paul Barras and Joachim Murat. As the existing Convention is forcibly dissolved by the National Guard, existing plans for the reform of state apparatus are banished to the dustbin of history.
October 1795: With the National Convention dissolved, it quickly becomes clear that the rightist rebels and National Guard lack the expertise to maintain stability, and - after a brief but intense power struggle - the two largest remaining factions agree to invite General Jean-Charles Pichegru to act as 'gardien'. Pichegru is initially reluctant, having been on the verge of offering his resignation to the government, his plot for the return and crowning of Louis XVIII having been uncovered but a matter of weeks before. Eventually, having come to the realisation that France is, once again, teetering on the verge of a collapse into violence and anarchy, he relents. One of his first actions is the successful and rapid negotiation of a cease-fire with Great Britain, in a move which significantly boosts his popularity amongst the French people. In the US, however, this cease-fire is far less popular. There is much commentary in the US press as to how the cease-fire could be seen as an outright violation of the tenets of the 1778 Franco-American Alliance, which stipulated that neither America nor France would conclude treaties with other nations unless diplomats from both countries were in attendance. This popular sentiment radicalises many US senators, who call on the Washington administration to hold France to account. Initial attempts by the US to establish a dialogue are rebuffed by Pichegru, who claims to lack the legitimacy needed to engage in formal negotiations with foreign powers. The American diplomats cite the British cease-fire as a counter-example, but the French claim that this agreement was necessary, and emphasise the fact that it was not to be taken as a formal peace treaty. The US makes vague noises of discontent, but takes no further action.
November 1795: Under Pichegru's watchful gaze, many enemies of the former regime begin to return to France, and the initial stages of the drafting of a new constitution begins, with the specifics of the proposed French Directorate showing more of a commitment to the ideals of constitutional monarchy and the 1793 constitution (popular sovereignty, liberty, unicameralism, manhood suffrage, egalitarianism), as informed by the writings of Montesquieu, than to those of the National Convention. Attempts by opponents of the new constitution to destabilise Pichegru's rule by spreading rumours of foul play, casting 'le gardien' as little more than a British puppet, prove ultimately ineffectual as an increasingly war-weary French populace welcome the prospect of a return to stability.
December 1795: The first elections for the French Directorate clearly reflect the sentiments of the country, returning a narrow majority of moderates, constitutionalists, and those on the political right; a few royalists; and the remainder a mass of squabbling revolutionaries and leftists. The more moderate constitutionalist directuers end up relying on the support of several monarchists in order to ensure the selection of an executive council that was to their liking as a faction. In return for their support, the new executive agrees to dispatch an emissary to 'King' Louis XVIII in order to discuss the potential for his return to France as constitutional monarch. The dialogue proves fruitless, as it rapidly becomes clear that he is utterly unwilling to compromise. Despite this rebuff, morale remains high, as hostilities between the French and British are finally ended with the ratification of the Treaty of Paris by the new French Directorate. In the aftermath of ratification, the Kingdom of Great Britain extends formal recognition to the French Directorate.
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My questions:
- Do Pichelgru's actions as 'gardien' seem realistic?
- Which notable figures from OTL, if any, could end up in the First French Directorate, either in the legislature or even the executive? If there are any, would it be permissable for me to use a fictional character who supposedly may have remained in obscurity in OTL?
- Any other comments / ideas?
