Napoleon's Victory [LONG]

[Kriegdämmerung]

I have to agree with Zach here. We like Morchenko so far, but he hasn't tried to wipe anyone of the face of the earth yet. We would have probably liked Hitler in 1922, before he tried to kill anyone. The point is, what Morchenko will, most likely be remembered for is the atrocities he commits, and th war he starts.

Which asks the question, supposing Morchenko loses his war, what happens to Russia? It's too big to divide into occupational zones, so what, is the monarchy fully restored or...

And updates, those are awesome too!

[Sir John A.]

Originally Posted by Zach

Wow! Thank you! And major props/kudos/praise to you for recognizing who he really is

OK, Ilyukihn is Felix Dzerzhinsky and Borazovsky is Lev Kamenev but who are Putzkanner (or Putzkammer?), Fedorov and Vlasov?

[Zach]

Post-WWII Russia is far too in advance for me to foresee! Currently, I am catching up on the Americas because it has been too long since I visited that hemisphere. It's turning out to be boring.

Wow, Hamburger you are quite good.

Putzkammer: August Bebel
Fedorov: Anton Chekhov
Vlasov: Alexander Blok

Not all of the people I chose had to be actual communists

Here are some graphics I made while I was bored at work:

It is supposed to read (via unreliable online translator): STRONGER TOMORROW


And there's that poster on a wall! What?!?! It's like this guy is famous even in small villages!

[Titus_Pullo]

Originally Posted by Kriegdämmerung

I have to agree with Zach here. We like Morchenko so far, but he hasn't tried to wipe anyone of the face of the earth yet. We would have probably liked Hitler in 1922, before he tried to kill anyone. The point is, what Morchenko will, most likely be remembered for is the atrocities he commits, and th war he starts.

Which asks the question, supposing Morchenko loses his war, what happens to Russia? It's too big to divide into occupational zones, so what, is the monarchy fully restored or...

And updates, those are awesome too!

What happens to Russia if it loses the war? We'll let the Germans have their "lebensraum", and the French their "Surface habitable" in the east.

[Herr Frage]

Whoa, timeout have the Habsburgs lost Vienna?! Tell the Bonapartes to get their grubby hands off the city of the grand dyansty!

[Zach]

Here is a catch-up on Latin America which I have largely neglected in this TL. It is without pictures or maps or flags but I will work on those when I get home! I admit, my knowledge of Latin America is pretty thin, so if there are any problems, let me know.

Coming soon: USA and CSA from the same time period.

Lastly, I did this without spellcheck or grammar check so forgive me in advance.

The Americas: 1880-1920

While Europe and Asia embroiled itself in war and the rise of authoritarian states, the Western Hemisphere remained relatively peaceful and isolated from the Great War and its aftermath. With the small exception of French Guiana, there was no major violence in the hemiphere between the end of the Spanish empire and the mid twentieth century. In North America, the "brother countries" of the United States and Confederate States enjoyed close economic cooperation because of the close ties. In Latin America, the situation was quite similar between the new countries of Mexico and the Republic of Central America in North America and Gran Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Paraguay in South America. These nations, following independence, were blessed with stable leaders and economic cooperation and the new countries flourished with their favorable markets.

Brazil

Brazil during the late nineteenth century was a largely agrarian monarchy, still stuck in the ancien regime mindset of pre-Revolution France. In the early 1800s, many of Portugal’s nobles and upper class, as well as its entire royal family, fled to Brazil from Napoleon’s liberal ideas and established a strong aristocracy in the New World. They were the old world aristocracy transplanted in the New World. Throughout the nineteenth century and early twentieth century, series of conservative monarchs ruled Brazil. Pedro I, Pedro II and Alfonso I all had similar pro-business, pro-landowner, pro-nobility policies that favored the status quo and the large sugar and coffee plantations that had characterized Brazil for so long. Of course, Brazil modernized and created industries but not the extent of nearby Mexico or the American countries to the north. It was a largely static, bureaucratic, conservative monarchy with very little liberal outlets.

There were few attempts to change the order of the country with a handful of small-farmer revolts, student demonstrations for increased civil liberties, and even a few successful slave rebellions that established small freed-slave communities deep in the interior. The successful resurrections in the 1860s, 1870s and 1880s inspired the young Emperor Alfonso I to abolish the institution as soon as he came to the throne. He was also an opponent of slavery but was also stifled by the feeling that it must be continued by his father Pedro II and the imperial court. The manumission of slaves in the Confederate States, the only other slave-holding country in the world, further motivated Alfonso I to push this legislation through the Brazilian bureaucracy and assembly. This was very pleasing to nearly everyone in Brazil from liberals to even the clergy. It was most unpopular among landowners who depended on slave labor. However, it became known that the surplus capital from landowners could be used for investment in railroads, infrastructure, etc. As talk of abolition increased, the number of escaped slaves also increased and soon the military was even refusing to go after the slaves. Thus, slavery was officially abolished on April 1st 1892. Few planters went bankrupt and the basic class structure of Brazil continued on. Many freed slaves stayed on the plantations and received little to no wages for their labor while the planters remained the cream of society.

During the Great War Brazil contributed heavily to the Coalition cause in terms of raw material and a few thousand volunteers who served with distinction in the Peninsular War. Brazil was also heavily involved in the Guiana campaign in which it nearly conquered the entire French territory, although those conquests were later revoked at the Congress of Copenhagen. Brazil was fined lightly by the postwar peace settlements, at least compared to other Coalition members. Nevertheless, its loss in the war and even the relatively small amount of reparations it had to pay, led to popular revolts against the government and specifically the monarchy.

The Brazilian Revolution was a brief effort and nearly destined to fail. Fueled by backers of Putzkanner and other communist thinkers and inspired by the initial success of the Russian communists, numerous “revolutionary committees” were formed in April of 1906 in order to “protect the citizens of Brazil” but in reality to overthrow the monarchy and form a communist-style government. These committees had sprung up in the larger cities of the empire but failed to coordinate with each other and also failed to cooperate with rural communist cells that were highly enthusiastic about the effort. Indeed, a huge percentage of Brazil’s revolutionary movement was ex-slaves who wanted immediate change from their squalid lives. The revolutionary movement reached its high point in May 1906 when the various committees sent out a call for armed violence and was met with general enthusiasm from thousands of angry citizens. However, they lacked cohesiveness and organization and instead of a general uprising, the revolution merely caused a large degree of chaos. Brazil’s army was reluctant about crushing the rebellion initially but as violence spread and many cities started to burn, they soon crushed the rebellion. Almost unilaterally, the United States and Confederate States each sent a battalion of marines to aid the Brazilian Empire in defeating the communist rebels, much to the displeasure of Alfonso I who assured his North American neighbors he had everything under control. While he had not rejected offers of aid, he had not accepted either. After a few weeks, the American and Confederates withdrew their soldiers as the rebellion quieted down but the animosity between Brazil and the North American countries remained. The Brazilian Revolution was nearly over by September 1906 but bands of rural communists terrorized the countryside for the next decade, even long after the fall of the People’s Republic of Russia.

The ascension of the liberal “Empress of the People” Isabel I in 1910 led to the initiation of many liberal reforms, in part a response to the general displeasure lingering from the revolution. However, her untimely death two years later put a halt to many of the more liberal reforms. Her brother, Joseph I who became the next emperor, was more moderate but favored many reforms that would help the lower classes. For the next thirteen years, he ruled Brazil with a moderate, firm and just hand and led Brazil toward increasing modernization and industrialization.

Mexico

Mexico officially gained independence from Spain on December 17th, 1881. It was immediately onset by a variety of problems, including the structure of government, the role of indigenous people and the influence of the nearby United States and Confederate States. For the next fifteen years, liberals and conservatives traded power in the powerful legislature and the weak presidency as created by the 1881 constitution. Liberals were supporters of a strong central government and the constitution of 1881 which gave more power to the legislature and indirectly the people. The conservatives supported a stronger presidential figure but also believed in delegating much more power to the various states that comprised Mexico. They supported this federalist approach to power because it would give more power to the wealthy land-owners that comprised a lot of the conservative base.

The constant squabbling and the weakness of central authority in Mexico was a constant source of conflict within the government. For most of the fifteen years of the Republic, the legislature remained evenly divided between liberals and conservatives so very little legislation was ever passed without a fight. The environment was thus favorable for army general Hector Luis Guerrero to launch a coup in 1896. He did this with the support of elements of both liberals and conservatives as well as the backing of the clergy (and naturally the military). The sitting president, liberal Antonio Reyes, resigned in the face of wide-spread pressure from Guerrero's wide coalition. Once in power, Guerrero suspended the constitution and declared martial law but declared these measures to be merely temporary until "a new and better constitution can be formed to fulfill the needs of the Mexican people".

True to his word, martial law was ended and a constitutional convention called in November, 1896. Simultaneously, Guerrero had plans to create a monarchy with himself as the head and on January 1, 1897 the general proclaimed himself Emperor Hector I of Mexico in a simple ceremony in Mexico City. A new constitution was drafted in March that placed a lot of authority in the emperor's hands but still established a two house legislative body: the General Assembly and the Senate. The former would be directly elected by the people and the Senate would be comprised of senators appointed by the emperor and then confirmed by the lower house. One clause of the constitution, however, gave the emperor the right to dissolve the legislature thus ensuring final power in him.

Hector I provided the stability and lack of partisanship that Mexico required to move forward. He promoted industry and railroads to the great interest of the United States and the Confederate States. They began investing heavily in Mexican infrastructure and took a keen interest in oil. He openly invited American business interests to invest in the American economy and modernization became a reality in early 1900s Mexico. Although American businessmen were often at odds with traditional Mexican haciendas, both co-existed in an atmosphere between the old system and the rising capitalist system. The Mexicans also expanded upon the growing airship industry, providing world-class service all around the globe.

During the Great War Mexico was neutral but leaned to the Allies, trading with France and Spain but refused to trade with Britain. A small contingent of Mexican volunteers fought with the French in Germany and gained fame for their bravery. One sore spot in the war occurred when a Brazilian cruiser, the Sao Paolo, entered Mexican waters and was fire upon by a Mexican destroyer. The incident caused a sore spot between the two countries but quickly blew away when both issued apologies to each other.

The brief success of the Russian communists brought about a similar interest in left-wing parties in Mexico and they gained several seats in the General Assembly in 1906 and 1908 elections. However, the country remained largely conservative, although it continued to progress toward capitalistic industry. The reign of Hector I was characterized by rapid growth at the expense of large foreign investment. He was sure, however, to maintain Mexican national integrity in the face of increasing foreign power. Hector was a shrewd politician and successfully gave each interest enough to satisfy them. His opponents were mainly reform-minded ex-liberals who wanted changes from the hacienda system that Hector supported. Mexico remained under the steady and modernizing reign of Hector I into the 1920s and was a stable and emergent country in the region. This was a sharp contrast to the country to the south.

Republic of Central America

The Republic of Central America was founded on January 4th, 1882 and quickly set about forming a federal government like that of the United States and Confederate States to the north. Its founders felt that the multitude of local interests could be best fit in a federalist form of government. Unfortunately, for the first five years of its existence the six states of the republic – Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras and Nicaragua and El Salvador – squabbled in the legislature and on the borders. The states each had separate currencies and the Republic of Central America possessed very little central authority. It was very much akin to the United States under the Articles of Confederation. In 1884 alone, there were four presidents who each fell due to natural causes, an accident, a resignation and then an assassination. In 1887, the country was nearly fallen apart and each state was prepared to declare independence. The presidential election of that year changed all that when Pedro de Villanueva won election. He was subsequently elected every five years until his death in 1910.

Villanueva was an able administrator, compromiser and true believer in democracy. He was able to effectively cajole the states into staying in the Republic. By appealing to the clergy and Catholic Church, Villanueva effectively won over the broad masses of people in all states. He also opened the country up to foreign investment and amassed great wealth for the treasury through profits made from a diverse selection of crops. Wealth was also amassed from a half-dozen or so different companies that provided transportation across the narrow strips of land that separate the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Central America prospered, grew and unified under his watch.

The most important event was the building of the Trans-American Canal from 1898-1913 by a joint American-Confederate venture. The newly formed American-Confederate-Panamanian Company (ACPC) commissioned the canal in 1897 with the approval of the Central American, American and Confederate governments. It was a triumph for the American governments to act peacefully together and was symbolic of the closer relationship between the two large North American countries. Prior to 1898, each country had shown specific interest in creating a canal but was threatened by the other. Cooperation became necessary and succeeded especially due to the efforts of American president Alexander Mills. The work was rough and took a long time. It cost hundreds of lives from the large workforce, which was comprised mainly of cheap black labor from the Confederate States and the Caribbean. When it was completed successfully in 1913 after millions of dollars and hundreds of lives, it was hailed as an engineering triumph and soon brought in millions in revenue to the three nations. They would control it in a joint Canal Zone which would be militarily occupied by a single member every three years.

Republic of Gran Colombia

The Republic of Gran Colombia was established on January 29th, 1882 and was initially one of the strongest of the new Latin American nations. It had established a strong executive head and this position was filled with the venerable freedom fighter Augustus Modero who ruled as a stable, comprising president until is 1888 death. Bernardo Reyes easily replaced Modero in very smooth elections and he ruled until his death in 1904, setting a precedence for ruling until death. The two men were popular among major elements of society but Reyes’ successor, Raul Castillo, was a weak ruler who could not appease all regional interests. Modero and Reyes had ruled with a federalist state of mind, sharing power between their federal governments and the local provincial governments. Castillo, however, took a more laissez-faire approach and delegated more power to the three major states of Gran Colombia: Central Colombia, Venezuela and Quito. When the three states started to threaten secession from the other two, the federal government under Castillo looked toward a unifying force that would unite the whole country of Gran Colombia.

The border between neighboring Peru and Gran Colombia had been established three degrees south of the equator even before Spain gave their colonies independence in order to ensure a smooth transition. However, the state of Quito, formerly the Audencia of Quito under the Viceroyalty of New Granada, claimed that the southern border of Quito was much southern than the actual border, deep into Peruvian territory. President Castillo was highly supportive of the Quito state government because he was from Quito himself, but the other states, Central Colombia and Venezuela, were lukewarm to the idea of war. In 1909, Castillo sent a demand to the Peruvian government saying the territory north of the Maranon River would be ceded to Gran Colombia effective of 1910. He also ordered the mobilization of the Colombian military although the state of Venezuela and Central Colombia refused. Of course, Peru rejected the demands and in turn mobilized its military and by October, 1909 the war was in full swing. The Colombian military was made up of federal and Quito troops because the other states did not send soldiers. They far outclassed the Peruvian military and minor victories came relatively easily. The largest victory came when the Peruvian city of Paita was captured in the Battle of Paita from February 26-27th 1910. The Peruvians admitted defeat in this quick, imperialist war and succumbed to Colombian demands the following month. The Treaty of Bogota established the border between the two countries at the Rio Maranon until six degrees south of the equator and this line of latitude provided the rest of the border.

Although victorious, the war was taxing upon the country especially on the two larger states of Central Colombia and Venezuela who had hardly taken part in the war. Quito got nearly all the benefits from the war while the other states were forced to pay for an equal share of the war despite not being a part of it. The states refused to pay for the war. The weak federal government under Castillo was increasingly under attack by the two state governments. Castillo's attempts to break away from his laissez-faire style of governing and increasing his own power at the expense of states was met with fierce resistance. The governors of the two states ordered their state delegations in the federal legislature (who made the majority of the legislature) to vote Castillo out of power and this was done on November 6th, 1910. When he refused to leave, the same legislators (added by the legislators from Quito) unanimously voted to dissolve the federal government and establish three seperate republics: Quito, Colombia and Venezuela. All three states were generally pleased at this agreement and there were few attempts to stop the dissolution or try and compromise. It was clear from the power of the respective state governments that this was almost inevitable.

The establishent of Quito in late 1910 as a seperate state was pleasing to Castillo who was sworn in as its new president in 1911. Unlike his approach to governing as leader of Gran Colombia, Castillo ruled with a heavy fist in Quito. Under his long presidency, Quito became a militaristic state where the only political party that mattered was Castillo's National Party. In the 1910s, Castillo flirted with Zavtraism and became the first foreign government to recognize Morchenko's regime in Russia. Quito took a rapid industrialization approach and made great economic gains in its first years at the expense of civil liberties and civil rights.

Colombia and Venezuela were more democratic in their independence from Gran Colombia, although in 1917 the two countries merged after seven years of independence. Sovereignty had not been kind to Venezuela which had been struck with famine and poverty due to inept leadership and economic policies. The combination of the two countries was peaceful and welcomed by both sides, each of whom viewed the merger as beneficial to each others economy because a larger market was created. Venezuela's merger with Colombia re-established a smaller Gran Colombia which was renamed the Republic of Venelumbia in 1920.

Republics of Peru, Argentina and Paraguay

Peru was probably the least stable country in South America during this time period. It was plagued by an unusually high number of presidents in the 1880s (twelve), 1890s (nine) and 1900s (ten). From 1909-1910 it fought a losing war against Gran Colombia which led to the collapse of the current government and to the rise of General Enrico Campero. He established a hard-handed military government similar to neighboring Quito's but he was less willing to solve social problems. His regime lasted five years and he was replaced by his hand-picked successor, General Pablo Uriarte. He continued the same oppressive, corrupt style of rule. Peru was plagued with poverty and a lack of civil rights under the military rule.

Argentina established itself as the most progressive country in South America following its independence. It formed strong trade bonds with the Brazil, the United States, the Confederate States as well as Britain, France and other European countries. During the Great War it remained staunchly neutral against all-belligerants because it wished to remain a free market for all ships. Foreign investment into Argentina, especially after the increased irrigation of the country via modern agricultural techniques, allowed the treasury to grow. The leaders of Argentina were fiscal conservatives which meant that the treasury continued to grow as the country modernize. Argentina also attracted a large number of European immigrants, particularly Germans who fled from Europe during the Great War which ravaged their country. An estimated 80,000 Germans moved to Argentina between 1900-1905. The country continued to prosper after the Great War with its export-led economy, led by agricultural commodities such as beef and wheat.

Politically, Argentina was a stable democracy with power shifting between three major parties - Traditionalists, made up of conservatives but also appealing to the growing middle class, the Labor, appealing to legal unions and industrial workers, and Popular People's Movement, a left-wing party appealing to many of the lower classes. All parties were relatively moderate and proposed many of the same moderate economic policies.

In 1905, inspired by the success of the Mexican Emperor Hector I, a monarchist movement started in Argentina with the objective of creating a constitutional monarchy. The monarch would be little more than a figurehead but serve to unite various elements of the country. The idea gained traction in the following couple years and in 1907 the proposal was put to the polls. The establishment of a constitutional monarchy passed with 61% approving and 28% disapproving. The choice for the monarch was difficult but soon the powers that be settled upon the daughter of Hector I, who was crowned Empress of the Argentinian People Carlota I on December 25th 1907.

The Republic of Paraguay was formed on June 22 1887 after a brief war of independence from Brazil and Argentina. It quickly became the homeland for millions of Guarani Indians, the eldest of whom had survived the Spanish genocide of them in the 1810s and 1820s and had lived and prospered afterwards. Paraguay was also a stable democracy with the brief military leader every now and then. It was landlocked and depended on Argentina for outlet to the sea, but the two countries had a good relationship and trade flowed freely. Paraguay underwent massive modernization after the Great War and bought surplus military material from France to help modernize the Paraguayan military.

[corourke]

Good, really interesting!

[Herr Frage]

Fascinating, it would seem a longer colonization has lead to more governmental sense. Brazil in particular is shaping up to be a fine country and an unexpected Mexican Empire.

Say what happened to Haiti in this TL?

[Sir John A.]

Pretty good update! Keep up the excellence!

[Lord Grattan]

Very thorough update Zach; nicely done. I like what you've done thus far w/South America.

[Zach]

Thanks everyone!

You know how I like to keep the TL pleasing to the eye.....



Empire of Argentina


Empire of Brazil


Republic of Central America


Empire of Mexico


Republic of Paraguay (date of independence)


Republic of Peru


Republic of Quito


Republic of Gran Colombia

[Zach]

Originally Posted by Herr Frage

Say what happened to Haiti in this TL?

It is remains independent and quite unstable, unfortunately.

[Kriegdämmerung]

So a Latin America without the countless civil wars, revolutions and military dictatorships? Combined with a British Canada and American "brother republics"? Are we seeing the beginning of a Pax Pan-Americana here?

Here's a question, as well as a second to the fate of Haiti. Can we expect to find out about the possibilities and whatnot of the Arab nationalities in the Ottoman Empire? Will Russia possibly assail the Ottoman Empire using these Arab factions as puppets?

[Thande]

Thande approves.

[Zach]

Yessssssssss I was waiting for that!

[Kriegdämmerung]

Originally Posted by Zach

Yessssssssss I was waiting for that!

Guess you can stop writing now

[Zach]

Originally Posted by Kriegdämmerung

Guess you can stop writing now

Haha, not till I'm done!

Originally Posted by Kriegdämmerung

So a Latin America without the countless civil wars, revolutions and military dictatorships? Combined with a British Canada and American "brother republics"? Are we seeing the beginning of a Pax Pan-Americana here?

Here's a question, as well as a second to the fate of Haiti. Can we expect to find out about the possibilities and whatnot of the Arab nationalities in the Ottoman Empire? Will Russia possibly assail the Ottoman Empire using these Arab factions as puppets?

Pax Pan-Americana sounds good, but I foresee future conflict. There were some here that advocated an American invasion of Canada, although I haven't thought of a reasonable way to make that happen. But it is certainly a possibility, especially in Peru which is pretty weak and unstable compared to the rest of the continent.

You will definitely hear about the sad, sad, but briefly glorious fate of the Ottoman Empire and it might involve Byzantines just because everyone loves them. The Ottoman Empire will be really interesting in the coming years, in my opinion. But I can't bring myself to write about when I still haven't written about North America! Then post-war Europe like German unification, Morchenko's Russia and also the Far East. My love for detail is also a hindrance sometimes.

But I have all summer to write this and my job is incredibly boring and computer accessible so I will have plenty of time

[Herr Frage]

Its the Yankees they do not need excuses to start wars. Either the Confederates try to grab Cuba or the Union decides that Britain weakened means Canada is up for grabs. When all else fails they could always beat the drum of Anti Imperialism.

I know I sound like a broken record.

Not to be a nitpicker but should not the Gran Columbia read Venezulmbia?

[Zach]

The fellows in the flag thread convinced me to change it to Gran Colombia.

Its the Yankees they do not need excuses to start wars.

As a Yank, I resent that! But our track record proves you're right, I suppose.

[corourke]

You could call it New Grenada, I think that was a name for it for a while and that might be more acceptable to the Venezuelans.