So...they are going to try and kill Seward and other members of the Union government.
The South is going to burn...
The South is going to burn...
Diary of the Doofus King II (1850 - )
- Thread starter Alt History Buff
- Start date
October, 1856
Northern China
For all the Nian rebel bands, Russian forces, their mercenaries and Manchu and Joseon hirelings in the Russian employ, it was a petty coup d'état that brought the Emperor down. Rival factions had existed for years but one particularly intrepid group of courtiers of the 25-year-old Xianfeng Emperor's younger half-brother decided to try to put their man on the throne. They believed that the late Emperor's choice of his fourth son as the new Emperor was inappropriate and an affront to their candidate.
Elsewhere the rebellion of the Yunnan Muslims, the Miao, the Taiping fanatics, the French and British invasions.
The nation was already in chaos. The murder of the young Emperor eliminated the final thread tying China together. Over a half-dozen Mandarin Royals claimed the throne. None ever received a significant amount of support from anyone. The remnants of China not under foreign control continued to collapse into anarchy or warlord domination. The western and southwestern Muslim states emerged, even as the Taiping rebels prospered without internal opposition.
The Mongolian Bannerman, lacking a natural leader around whom to converge, opted for opposing sides, some even serving the Russians. Ironically, the most loyal of the Bannermen, the Mongolian Sengge Richon, made the situation worse by killing two of the murdered Emperor's supposed successors in retaliation for the Emperor's assassination. Other (Mainly Manchu) Bannermen turned on Richon as China's once-vaunted bureaucracy utterly fell apart. By 1857, there was no true central authority in China beyond the province level. The new powers, the French, Russians, British, Taiping and local warlords now ruled what was once the greatest Empire on earth.
Philadelphia
President William Seward, exhausted after yet another long day, ordered his carriage made up to return home. His rented lodgings, hardly suitable for a President, were only a few blocks away but it seemed...below the office...for a President to walk home.
Leaving the makeshift capital building, the President entered his carriage, with two Union soldiers driving the horses.
Though only a few minutes away, the President's eyes closed until a racket opened them. One of his guards was shouting at a fellow to "get on off". This was hardly unique. More than a few Americans would be happy to waste the President's time regardless of his state of exhaustion, often pestering him about one thing or another.
Now a fellow was riding astride a charger looking into his carriage. This was embarrassing and a bit low class, the President mused...until the fellow threw a package into the carriage. The object slapped Seward in the face.
What the hell...were the President's last thoughts as the bomb exploded, killing him instantly and throwing both his drivers off the carriage. The panicked horsed dragged the shattered carriage through the streets until it upended, casting the President's body out into the muck.
Oddly, the two shaken but generally unhurt soldiers would never be able to swear to the identity of the assassin himself. However, the brilliant white charger was well known throughout the city as belonging to the former Federal General, Nathanial Bedford Forrest.
Secretary of State Charles Sumner was getting ready for bed when he heard a knock on his door. Like many members of the government, the Massachusetts man was forced into less than stellar quarter after the burning of Washington left thousands of government employees to their own devices in Philadelphia. He wasn't looking forward to finding quarters in St. Louis any more.
Why could the capital just remain in Philadelphia?
Sumner answered the door and, to his shock, there stood the former Representative from South Carolina, Preston Brooks.
A shot rang out. The South Carolinian ran out the door only to bump into several of his old colleagues from the House of Representatives, whom also lived in the townhouse. He ran out, ignoring their hails.
Abraham Lincoln was taking Mrs. Lincoln to a showing of MacBeth in the largest theater in Philadelphia. Mary had been nagging him for weeks to do something with her. As Vice-President, Lincoln could hardly claim to be overly busy with his job. Only that morning, he had overseen the official approval by the Senate to reinstate several Federal officials to nominal citizenship via a pardon (endorsed grudgingly by President Seward).
Only a few months after the execution of Mirabeau Lamar, a blanket pardon had been issued to all exiled Federals (with a few exceptions, Bonham being prominant) willing to live within the newly re-United States. Given how many thousands of men had opted to flee, mainly for Cuba, where disease had cost hundreds their lives. Many of those had served under Beauregard, whom had not deigned to return to the "Yankee Tyranny".
Among those whom had returned to swear their loyalty to the country was Lincoln's unexpected companion tonight, Jefferson Davis, the Mississippi Militia commander and son-in-law of the late General Zachary Taylor, murdered by Virginia militiamen. Davis' wife had pleaded for her husband's pardon to her uncle, General Joseph Taylor, claiming he only raised arms when his home was invaded. The returning Robert E. Lee, a Virginian whom had fought for the Union in the Republic of Mexico (lamentably reconquered by Spain), had also recently spoken in Congress in favor of reconciliation and personally vouched for Davis, whom he'd known for some time. Given that much of the Virginia Loyalist's farm had been despoiled by the Federals as they retreated, Lee's personal word was held in high regard. Lincoln found the Virginian quite charming as was his wife and invited the two southerners to a production of Macbeth, starring the three Booth brothers, the finest actors in America.
The three men and their wives were going to enjoy a splendid evening of entertainment when a fellow entered their private box, silently as a mouse...until he tripped over one of the ladies' petticoats and tumbled headfirst over the railing, striking the handsome lead, John Wilkes Booth, sending both men into the orchestra. Landing at an awkward angle, the man's neck snapped instantly. Booth was impaled upon an unfortunately sharp pillar. A small pistol fell from former's pocket into the pits of the orchestra.
"My god!" Lincoln cried. "Who was that?"
Jefferson Davis squinted below into the suddenly hysterical mass.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was General William Travis!"
Northern China
For all the Nian rebel bands, Russian forces, their mercenaries and Manchu and Joseon hirelings in the Russian employ, it was a petty coup d'état that brought the Emperor down. Rival factions had existed for years but one particularly intrepid group of courtiers of the 25-year-old Xianfeng Emperor's younger half-brother decided to try to put their man on the throne. They believed that the late Emperor's choice of his fourth son as the new Emperor was inappropriate and an affront to their candidate.
Elsewhere the rebellion of the Yunnan Muslims, the Miao, the Taiping fanatics, the French and British invasions.
The nation was already in chaos. The murder of the young Emperor eliminated the final thread tying China together. Over a half-dozen Mandarin Royals claimed the throne. None ever received a significant amount of support from anyone. The remnants of China not under foreign control continued to collapse into anarchy or warlord domination. The western and southwestern Muslim states emerged, even as the Taiping rebels prospered without internal opposition.
The Mongolian Bannerman, lacking a natural leader around whom to converge, opted for opposing sides, some even serving the Russians. Ironically, the most loyal of the Bannermen, the Mongolian Sengge Richon, made the situation worse by killing two of the murdered Emperor's supposed successors in retaliation for the Emperor's assassination. Other (Mainly Manchu) Bannermen turned on Richon as China's once-vaunted bureaucracy utterly fell apart. By 1857, there was no true central authority in China beyond the province level. The new powers, the French, Russians, British, Taiping and local warlords now ruled what was once the greatest Empire on earth.
Philadelphia
President William Seward, exhausted after yet another long day, ordered his carriage made up to return home. His rented lodgings, hardly suitable for a President, were only a few blocks away but it seemed...below the office...for a President to walk home.
Leaving the makeshift capital building, the President entered his carriage, with two Union soldiers driving the horses.
Though only a few minutes away, the President's eyes closed until a racket opened them. One of his guards was shouting at a fellow to "get on off". This was hardly unique. More than a few Americans would be happy to waste the President's time regardless of his state of exhaustion, often pestering him about one thing or another.
Now a fellow was riding astride a charger looking into his carriage. This was embarrassing and a bit low class, the President mused...until the fellow threw a package into the carriage. The object slapped Seward in the face.
What the hell...were the President's last thoughts as the bomb exploded, killing him instantly and throwing both his drivers off the carriage. The panicked horsed dragged the shattered carriage through the streets until it upended, casting the President's body out into the muck.
Oddly, the two shaken but generally unhurt soldiers would never be able to swear to the identity of the assassin himself. However, the brilliant white charger was well known throughout the city as belonging to the former Federal General, Nathanial Bedford Forrest.
Secretary of State Charles Sumner was getting ready for bed when he heard a knock on his door. Like many members of the government, the Massachusetts man was forced into less than stellar quarter after the burning of Washington left thousands of government employees to their own devices in Philadelphia. He wasn't looking forward to finding quarters in St. Louis any more.
Why could the capital just remain in Philadelphia?
Sumner answered the door and, to his shock, there stood the former Representative from South Carolina, Preston Brooks.
A shot rang out. The South Carolinian ran out the door only to bump into several of his old colleagues from the House of Representatives, whom also lived in the townhouse. He ran out, ignoring their hails.
Abraham Lincoln was taking Mrs. Lincoln to a showing of MacBeth in the largest theater in Philadelphia. Mary had been nagging him for weeks to do something with her. As Vice-President, Lincoln could hardly claim to be overly busy with his job. Only that morning, he had overseen the official approval by the Senate to reinstate several Federal officials to nominal citizenship via a pardon (endorsed grudgingly by President Seward).
Only a few months after the execution of Mirabeau Lamar, a blanket pardon had been issued to all exiled Federals (with a few exceptions, Bonham being prominant) willing to live within the newly re-United States. Given how many thousands of men had opted to flee, mainly for Cuba, where disease had cost hundreds their lives. Many of those had served under Beauregard, whom had not deigned to return to the "Yankee Tyranny".
Among those whom had returned to swear their loyalty to the country was Lincoln's unexpected companion tonight, Jefferson Davis, the Mississippi Militia commander and son-in-law of the late General Zachary Taylor, murdered by Virginia militiamen. Davis' wife had pleaded for her husband's pardon to her uncle, General Joseph Taylor, claiming he only raised arms when his home was invaded. The returning Robert E. Lee, a Virginian whom had fought for the Union in the Republic of Mexico (lamentably reconquered by Spain), had also recently spoken in Congress in favor of reconciliation and personally vouched for Davis, whom he'd known for some time. Given that much of the Virginia Loyalist's farm had been despoiled by the Federals as they retreated, Lee's personal word was held in high regard. Lincoln found the Virginian quite charming as was his wife and invited the two southerners to a production of Macbeth, starring the three Booth brothers, the finest actors in America.
The three men and their wives were going to enjoy a splendid evening of entertainment when a fellow entered their private box, silently as a mouse...until he tripped over one of the ladies' petticoats and tumbled headfirst over the railing, striking the handsome lead, John Wilkes Booth, sending both men into the orchestra. Landing at an awkward angle, the man's neck snapped instantly. Booth was impaled upon an unfortunately sharp pillar. A small pistol fell from former's pocket into the pits of the orchestra.
"My god!" Lincoln cried. "Who was that?"
Jefferson Davis squinted below into the suddenly hysterical mass.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was General William Travis!"
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Man, that really sucks for Seward, but unfortunately, assassination does seem like a fitting end for the guy who was hell bent on subjugating the slaver class, regardless of how justified it was.
Now, we've got Lincoln as President, and while he might not be as radical as Seward, there is still going to be hell to pay. Quite the irony that its John Wilkes Booth who ends up getting killed instead of Lincoln, and that he and the OTL Confederate President are best buds. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Jefferson Davis ends up becoming Lincoln's VP.
Now, we've got Lincoln as President, and while he might not be as radical as Seward, there is still going to be hell to pay. Quite the irony that its John Wilkes Booth who ends up getting killed instead of Lincoln, and that he and the OTL Confederate President are best buds. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Jefferson Davis ends up becoming Lincoln's VP.
Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, and Robert E. Lee walk go to see a play together. God that sounds like the beginning of a joke.
Annnndddd Shit just hit the fan. By God is this situation worse than I thought. Seward and Sumner are dead, with the first form of fucking domestic terrorism seen in American history. You know I could expect this shit from both Forrest and Brooks, but Travis? Really Travis?! There is nothing from his OTL personality that suggested he was a diehard supporter of slavery or that he would've been a zealout for the Confederacy. He treated his slave Joe like an actual person and had him protect his wife and child when the Alamo fell. Travis hardly seems like the type of man who would go along with this Illuminati Bullshit. In fact, I think he would report it to the North to prevent the upcoming chaos from happening. Once again I cannot help but draw parallels to my TL where Travis is a war hero and head of the Texan Army as a Major General. Now he's entered into the ranks of history as the worst assassin of all time. I can see several TTL memes being made about how Mrs. Lincoln's clothes kiled Travis. This is what should be on his graveston, "Here lies William Barrett Travis. He lived like a gentlemen, died like a dumbass."
Back on topic, the South is Fucked! Even Lincoln the great forgiver will never let this down when his own boss got killed by a bomb. Sure Lincoln may not go all Himmler on the Federals, but he damn sure is going to continue reconstruction or face impeachment. I can see also how the black soldiers are going to go on a rampage against the whites of the south in order to avenge their savior. Whatever comes out of this Dixie is sure to burn and I'll gladly bring my popcorn to watch. Fuck the Federal States! I'm a Texan and I consider myself separate from that shitfest that was 19th century Dixieland. At least TTL Texas had the brains not to get involved in this epic failure of a rebellion. #DontFuckWithSeward
P.S I support @Bmao idea of Davis becoming Lincoln's VP. Why not for the comedic effect itself?
Also as an obligatory post:
Annnndddd Shit just hit the fan. By God is this situation worse than I thought. Seward and Sumner are dead, with the first form of fucking domestic terrorism seen in American history. You know I could expect this shit from both Forrest and Brooks, but Travis? Really Travis?! There is nothing from his OTL personality that suggested he was a diehard supporter of slavery or that he would've been a zealout for the Confederacy. He treated his slave Joe like an actual person and had him protect his wife and child when the Alamo fell. Travis hardly seems like the type of man who would go along with this Illuminati Bullshit. In fact, I think he would report it to the North to prevent the upcoming chaos from happening. Once again I cannot help but draw parallels to my TL where Travis is a war hero and head of the Texan Army as a Major General. Now he's entered into the ranks of history as the worst assassin of all time. I can see several TTL memes being made about how Mrs. Lincoln's clothes kiled Travis. This is what should be on his graveston, "Here lies William Barrett Travis. He lived like a gentlemen, died like a dumbass."
Back on topic, the South is Fucked! Even Lincoln the great forgiver will never let this down when his own boss got killed by a bomb. Sure Lincoln may not go all Himmler on the Federals, but he damn sure is going to continue reconstruction or face impeachment. I can see also how the black soldiers are going to go on a rampage against the whites of the south in order to avenge their savior. Whatever comes out of this Dixie is sure to burn and I'll gladly bring my popcorn to watch. Fuck the Federal States! I'm a Texan and I consider myself separate from that shitfest that was 19th century Dixieland. At least TTL Texas had the brains not to get involved in this epic failure of a rebellion. #DontFuckWithSeward
P.S I support @Bmao idea of Davis becoming Lincoln's VP. Why not for the comedic effect itself?
Also as an obligatory post:
November, 1856
New York City
Newly sworn in "President" Abraham Lincoln's visit to New York altered no assumptions that he had previously made. Many in his own party, particularly the "Radical" Whigs, were not happy with his ascension to the office. Some assumed that either there would be a new candidate selected by the party (there was no legal basis for this) or that, as he was not the named Presidential Candidate for the Whigs in 1856, that he would no assume (again) the powers of the Presidency when (certainly not if) he was elected on the Seward/Lincoln ticket.
As best the finest lawyers in America could determine, there was not reason to expect that anyone would call for another election in 1857 to select a new president. The Constitution was, in their eyes, clear.
It helped that the opposition, the Democrats, were utterly in disarray after southern madmen assassinated the President and Secretary of State. Anyone that had supported returning the south to Congress would be forced into silence for the foreseeable future. While few people would have preferred Lincoln for President, President he was and, for the next four years, President he would be.
The truth was that Lincoln was not, in fact, so terribly far from Seward's political views as so many Radical Whigs feared. He was happy enough supporting the Freedman's Bureau, building up the navy, supporting the railroads, etc. He would have voted in favor of greater land distribution among the vast plains of America and the underpopulated south and west.
And he certainly would not have brought the southern states back into the Union until these waves of violence ended and the south agreed to abide by the new reality. Nothing Lincoln had ever known about the southern mind led him to believe that the southern elites did not believe that, somehow, the old order would be restored. Indeed, this was a main reason why he supported mass land grants to the Negroes. Best move them on before their newfound freedom is defacto turned back into serfdom.
Indeed, while Lincoln awaited the outcome of the 1856 election, he was able to turn his attention to two tasks:
1. Hunting down the conspirators of Seward's murder. Nathanial Bedford Forrest, the alleged murderer of President Seward, remained at large. Secretary of War Chase was hunting him down like a dog as the man fled south. Former Congressman Preston Brooks was captured hiding in a friend's cellar within hours of his assassination of the Secretary of State. It was later learned, to Lincoln's astonishment, that General Travis, whom fell to his death in the theater, crushing poor John Wilkes Booth, had intended mortal harm to Lincoln himself!
Tens of thousands of men were hunting Forrest. It was only a matter of time.
2. In his trip to New York, Lincoln noted the poverty of the Irish and Germans in the city had been joined by the latest immigrants to America: Russians, Slavs, Jews and migrant blacks from the south. These men and women required assistance every bit as direly as the Negroes of the south. He was determined, by the end of the election (and hopefully the capture of Nathaniel Bedford Forrest), to expand the landgrant system to these vast numbers of farmers whom fled their homelands. Lincoln knew few Jews, Charleston being the preeminent Jewish population in the Americas, but had learned that the Jews were being oppressed in Russian and Poland, especially since the assassination of Nicholas I. New York now held 50,000 Jews and another 5000 were reportedly arriving each week.
Seward wanted their votes and Lincoln saw no reason to alter that policy.
Lincoln knew their ancestors had made the deserts of the Holy Lands a paradise. Maybe the Jews could do this again in the southwest.
New York City
Newly sworn in "President" Abraham Lincoln's visit to New York altered no assumptions that he had previously made. Many in his own party, particularly the "Radical" Whigs, were not happy with his ascension to the office. Some assumed that either there would be a new candidate selected by the party (there was no legal basis for this) or that, as he was not the named Presidential Candidate for the Whigs in 1856, that he would no assume (again) the powers of the Presidency when (certainly not if) he was elected on the Seward/Lincoln ticket.
As best the finest lawyers in America could determine, there was not reason to expect that anyone would call for another election in 1857 to select a new president. The Constitution was, in their eyes, clear.
It helped that the opposition, the Democrats, were utterly in disarray after southern madmen assassinated the President and Secretary of State. Anyone that had supported returning the south to Congress would be forced into silence for the foreseeable future. While few people would have preferred Lincoln for President, President he was and, for the next four years, President he would be.
The truth was that Lincoln was not, in fact, so terribly far from Seward's political views as so many Radical Whigs feared. He was happy enough supporting the Freedman's Bureau, building up the navy, supporting the railroads, etc. He would have voted in favor of greater land distribution among the vast plains of America and the underpopulated south and west.
And he certainly would not have brought the southern states back into the Union until these waves of violence ended and the south agreed to abide by the new reality. Nothing Lincoln had ever known about the southern mind led him to believe that the southern elites did not believe that, somehow, the old order would be restored. Indeed, this was a main reason why he supported mass land grants to the Negroes. Best move them on before their newfound freedom is defacto turned back into serfdom.
Indeed, while Lincoln awaited the outcome of the 1856 election, he was able to turn his attention to two tasks:
1. Hunting down the conspirators of Seward's murder. Nathanial Bedford Forrest, the alleged murderer of President Seward, remained at large. Secretary of War Chase was hunting him down like a dog as the man fled south. Former Congressman Preston Brooks was captured hiding in a friend's cellar within hours of his assassination of the Secretary of State. It was later learned, to Lincoln's astonishment, that General Travis, whom fell to his death in the theater, crushing poor John Wilkes Booth, had intended mortal harm to Lincoln himself!
Tens of thousands of men were hunting Forrest. It was only a matter of time.
2. In his trip to New York, Lincoln noted the poverty of the Irish and Germans in the city had been joined by the latest immigrants to America: Russians, Slavs, Jews and migrant blacks from the south. These men and women required assistance every bit as direly as the Negroes of the south. He was determined, by the end of the election (and hopefully the capture of Nathaniel Bedford Forrest), to expand the landgrant system to these vast numbers of farmers whom fled their homelands. Lincoln knew few Jews, Charleston being the preeminent Jewish population in the Americas, but had learned that the Jews were being oppressed in Russian and Poland, especially since the assassination of Nicholas I. New York now held 50,000 Jews and another 5000 were reportedly arriving each week.
Seward wanted their votes and Lincoln saw no reason to alter that policy.
Lincoln knew their ancestors had made the deserts of the Holy Lands a paradise. Maybe the Jews could do this again in the southwest.
December, 1856
Philadelphia
President Abraham Lincoln was getting a little anxious regarding the capture of Nathaniel Bedford Forrest. One cannot be allowing to kill a sitting President and get away with it. Now over a month had gone by (and the election) without success in bringing the perpetrator to justice.
Lincoln was already dealing with conspiracy theories that he had plotted Seward's death in order to steal the Presidency. The Illinoisan had been forced to give speech after speech supporting Seward's policies (which he, in all honesty, usually did. It was Seward's acerbic personality that Lincoln had detested).
However, the President would soon receive good news.
Charleston
General James Longstreet (retired) of the Federal Army had been aghast at the assassination of President Seward. Though a radical Whig, that was no reason for blatant murder. In defense of his fellow southerners, most had spoken against the act despite the fact that Seward was often compared to Lucifer.
Certainly, it would not reignite the war as some believed. Indeed, most violence, in Longstreet's opinion, was motivated after the high-handed search for the damned Nathaniel Bedford Forrest. Black soldiers were particularly distraught over the death of "Papa Seward" and, for once, white northern officers were not in the mood to reign in their rage.
Known Federal supporters were ruthlessly interrogated and any resistance was met with brutal force. Sabotage and arson of property of Federal leaders was on the upswing. The southern whites retaliated with Raiders. Black soldiers lynched their leaders without apparent retribution by their officers.
Charleston was a powder keg and Longstreet did not like what he saw. Many Freedmen had taken to fleeing the dangerous countryside for the cities (often en route to the west or north) and black faces often outnumbered white in these areas. Having been given modern muskets and rifles to defend themselves, gangs of Negroes terrorized the urban gentry.
Having been employed by the railroad company of Charleston, Longstreet knew many of the old guard. Rumors swirled that Forrest had fled the country, others stated they were sure he was in hiding. Longstreet ignored most until he learned some old friends of Forrest had a secret guest. He didn't particularly believe it but sent a black servant to investigate with the gentlemen's staffs (many still the old house servants of old, lacking any place to go). Sure enough, a white man was in hiding in one particular home.
Though uncertain of his actions, Longstreet quietly alerted a local officer in command of the outer ring of Charleston Harbor.
Nathanial Bedford Forrest was captured that night.
Philadelphia
Elated by the capture of Forrest, Congress almost casually passed the "Open Lands Bill" that authorized vast swathes of western land to be opened to migration. Intended to be primarily utilized by Negroes, even the Freedmen's Bureau admitted that the vast amount of land would be five times more than necessary than if every Negro East of the Mississippi were to want to move west (they didn't).
As this was all Federal Land, huge swathes of Idaho and Utah were mapped out by hundreds of surveyors (Mainly ex-army) into townships, often over the objection of local tribes. This was in addition to previously approved lands in Kiowa, Minnesota, Cascadia, Nevado, California, Albuquerque, Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango and Vizcaya. The surveyors struggled to keep up with finding and cordoning off useful land (not always a guarantee). The former Latin states were a bit more complex as old land grants had been agreed to be respected provided they were "currently occupied and utilized".
Negroes were given free transportation and as many supplies as could be gathered by governmental or private interests. The Freedman's Bureau stepped in in cases of obvious preferential treatment to whites over blacks as many white Americans took to the western lands as well. In the ensuing years, this was extended as possible to the hordes of Irish populating the northeastern cities, the Russians, Poles, Jews, Germans and Fernandans flowing into the country. Some were fully equipped with the necessities of frontier life, others not so much. However, this did not stop the radically speedy population of the frontier by an incredibly diverse cross-section of the nation's society.
Philadelphia
President Abraham Lincoln was getting a little anxious regarding the capture of Nathaniel Bedford Forrest. One cannot be allowing to kill a sitting President and get away with it. Now over a month had gone by (and the election) without success in bringing the perpetrator to justice.
Lincoln was already dealing with conspiracy theories that he had plotted Seward's death in order to steal the Presidency. The Illinoisan had been forced to give speech after speech supporting Seward's policies (which he, in all honesty, usually did. It was Seward's acerbic personality that Lincoln had detested).
However, the President would soon receive good news.
Charleston
General James Longstreet (retired) of the Federal Army had been aghast at the assassination of President Seward. Though a radical Whig, that was no reason for blatant murder. In defense of his fellow southerners, most had spoken against the act despite the fact that Seward was often compared to Lucifer.
Certainly, it would not reignite the war as some believed. Indeed, most violence, in Longstreet's opinion, was motivated after the high-handed search for the damned Nathaniel Bedford Forrest. Black soldiers were particularly distraught over the death of "Papa Seward" and, for once, white northern officers were not in the mood to reign in their rage.
Known Federal supporters were ruthlessly interrogated and any resistance was met with brutal force. Sabotage and arson of property of Federal leaders was on the upswing. The southern whites retaliated with Raiders. Black soldiers lynched their leaders without apparent retribution by their officers.
Charleston was a powder keg and Longstreet did not like what he saw. Many Freedmen had taken to fleeing the dangerous countryside for the cities (often en route to the west or north) and black faces often outnumbered white in these areas. Having been given modern muskets and rifles to defend themselves, gangs of Negroes terrorized the urban gentry.
Having been employed by the railroad company of Charleston, Longstreet knew many of the old guard. Rumors swirled that Forrest had fled the country, others stated they were sure he was in hiding. Longstreet ignored most until he learned some old friends of Forrest had a secret guest. He didn't particularly believe it but sent a black servant to investigate with the gentlemen's staffs (many still the old house servants of old, lacking any place to go). Sure enough, a white man was in hiding in one particular home.
Though uncertain of his actions, Longstreet quietly alerted a local officer in command of the outer ring of Charleston Harbor.
Nathanial Bedford Forrest was captured that night.
Philadelphia
Elated by the capture of Forrest, Congress almost casually passed the "Open Lands Bill" that authorized vast swathes of western land to be opened to migration. Intended to be primarily utilized by Negroes, even the Freedmen's Bureau admitted that the vast amount of land would be five times more than necessary than if every Negro East of the Mississippi were to want to move west (they didn't).
As this was all Federal Land, huge swathes of Idaho and Utah were mapped out by hundreds of surveyors (Mainly ex-army) into townships, often over the objection of local tribes. This was in addition to previously approved lands in Kiowa, Minnesota, Cascadia, Nevado, California, Albuquerque, Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango and Vizcaya. The surveyors struggled to keep up with finding and cordoning off useful land (not always a guarantee). The former Latin states were a bit more complex as old land grants had been agreed to be respected provided they were "currently occupied and utilized".
Negroes were given free transportation and as many supplies as could be gathered by governmental or private interests. The Freedman's Bureau stepped in in cases of obvious preferential treatment to whites over blacks as many white Americans took to the western lands as well. In the ensuing years, this was extended as possible to the hordes of Irish populating the northeastern cities, the Russians, Poles, Jews, Germans and Fernandans flowing into the country. Some were fully equipped with the necessities of frontier life, others not so much. However, this did not stop the radically speedy population of the frontier by an incredibly diverse cross-section of the nation's society.
This is my favorite post of your timeline thus far. The scene in the theater is an instant classic. Well-done!
Guess the trope of 'the Jews owning Hollywood' might actually become a literal fact ITTL.
I'm actually very intrigued at the development of the American West and the great racial diversity that is going to come as a result, and the challenges as well. I don't know if this has already been discussed in an earlier post, but has gold been discovered in California already? If it has, it would greatly accelerate the immigration west that the congress wants to achieve.
Ironically, Jefferson Davis could serve as a unifying figure for both north and south; again, the idea of him being Lincoln's vice president would not only be poetic justice, but it would actually make sense politically as well - Lincoln can continue Seward's policies which would keep the Radical Whigs in line, but having a prominent Southerner that both the North and the South respect would help reunite the country. He can't be any worse than Andrew Johnson.
I think Davis was an important history in the era even before the OTL Civil War. However, afterwards, I think it would probably be impossible for anyone whom fought for the south to be elected to nation office and no one from the south could be for over a generation (and again never fought for the south like Davis did).
I have read a number of TL's in which the occupation of the southern states got ever tougher than OTL. I don't think Lincoln would be intentionally harsh but he would not allow the occupation to end until all the objectives were met.
February 1857
The Amazon Basin, British Brazil
The rubber boom was well on its way to replacing sugar as the most profitable crop in the Americas, exceeding even the continued precious metal trade (Peru, Fernanda and Brazil were seeing a resurgence in extraction of gold and silver due to new techniques that remove more metals from the soil that previously possible). Labor had become a premium again. Slaves (due for liberation in only two years in the British and French colonies in the Americas) had been freed at a higher percentage for years in Brazil than the West Indies (of any nation) but there remained a large number that were being transferred from the coffee, sugar and tea fields of Brazil to the Amazon basin.
This did little to meet the demand. Some British officials recommended "impressing" the natives but this was rejected. Britain had made the commitment to abolish slavery, not add more. Many of the West Indian slaves, particularly the recent arrivals from the United States, were being sold to Brazil (the interior slave trade still acceptable) to work the rubber plantations. Still, more bodies were needed. Britain ended virtually any barriers to Brazilian immigration, even began subsidizing manpower transfers from any corner of the earth to satiate demand. Wages rose. This brought migrants from Germany, China, the Italian Peninsula, India, etc and Brazil's diversity would continue to grow.
Peru, Granada and Chile
While, unlike New Spain (now Tierra Fernanda) and Cuba, the Spanish grip had been lightening for years in terms of trade barriers and local autonomy, all the Spanish King had really accomplished was turn power over to local lords rather than Peninsulars. Local resentment increased among the population, especially the Mestizos and Indians of the south, which comprised a large portion of the population.
Just as in the Philippines, unrest continued.
Cuba
Few nations (or colonies as the case may be) could see the face of their territory change so quickly. Unlike the well-run colonies of the British, French, Dutch and Portuguese over the centuries, the Spanish were infamous for inept administration. It was said that the Entire Spanish Empire in 1630 (which for a time included the Portuguese throne and therefore Brazil) did less trade by volume from California to Argentina than Britain did with the tiny sugar island of Barbados. Two hundred years later, little had changed.
Spain didn't even run its own slave trade for centuries. While Hispaniola (France, then Britain), Martinique/Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Barbados, etc, were well-known sugar exporters for centuries, Cuba was really the best island in the West Indies for cultivation. However, the lax Spaniards never truly developed it and the island was best known for having a well-protected harbor (probably the one reason it remained Spanish for so long). Underpopulated and economically held back due to restrictions on trade and incompetent governance, Cuba languished until the past few decades when the Americans suddenly didn't want their slaves anymore as tobacco farming exhausted their best lands and the replacement crop of cotton suffered a terribly pest.
The American surplus slaves were sent to Cuba where (usually using British investment), new sugar plantations at last proved profitable. Even as Britain, France, Denmark, the Dutch and eventually American worked to manumit their slaves, the Spanish government did no such thing. Slaves poured in at rock-bottom prices, European investors happy to supply capital. The West Indies population had languished with the end of the African trade over half a century earlier. The pox-infested West Indies meeting with the harsh and back-breaking sugar plantation work left the islands with a negative replacement rate. From 1800 (generally when the trans-Atlantic slave trade ended) to 1830 (when the Americans started selling slaves en masse after the failure of repeated cotton crops), the island populations actually contracted by nearly 60% to 75% on average over half a century. At best, the healthy Negro bodies from the American south (the only place slaves reproduced faster than they died), kept the population levels steady for a decade or two. In most places, it didn't even do that.
Only Cuba really increased in population and that was mainly due to the huge influx of slaves during the American Southern Rebellion (as it was commonly known in Europe). Over 200,000 slaves were sold south to the West Indies over a 2 year period. With most colonial powers setting a date for manumission, only a portion of this demand went to British, French, etc islands, perhaps 1/3rd at most. Purchasing a slave in such conditions often still made sense as it was long held that if one got 5 years of work before a slave died, then it was a bargain. The well-broken and healthy American slaves were preferred to raw African material.
Still, Cuba and New Spain (now Tierra Fernanda) acquired over 2/3's the 200,000 strong fire-sale slaves during the war. Cuba alone received over 80,000 slaves for itself permanently (it was also the main depot for exports to the rest of the Caribbean). From 1830 to 1856, the Cuban population more than doubled, mainly due to the American slaves, in spite of the unhealthy climate. Unfortunately, the demographics did not lead to a long term advantage as a disproportionate number were males without suitable females to reproduce.
As the slaves continued to die throughout the rest of the Caribbean, many plantations became moribund for lack of labor. Cuba, Hispaniola and Brazil soon became the sugar powerhouses and the once-wealthy islands of the West Indies started to die. The brutal conditions of Cuba continued to take their toll on Cuba's slave population and the island's advantage proved transitory. Soon Brazil would become the dominant sugar producer.
In the final years before the end of slavery, there was a mass selling of slaves to Brazil's Amazon Basin. Rubber had been the temporary king and labor was best used there anyway. This emptied out the West Indies even more, leaving the once-richest lands on earth destitute of a population. The minor islands were nearly abandoned as more and more population, in the Age of Freedom, moved to a handful of islands (or Brazil) where there was a critical mass of labor which could compete with other sources of sugar, the crop that would dominate the West Indies for nearly another century.
Eventually, it would become almost a cliché, black and mulatto families moving to Brazil for work, escaping the beautiful islands that had killed so may of their forebearers.
The Amazon Basin, British Brazil
The rubber boom was well on its way to replacing sugar as the most profitable crop in the Americas, exceeding even the continued precious metal trade (Peru, Fernanda and Brazil were seeing a resurgence in extraction of gold and silver due to new techniques that remove more metals from the soil that previously possible). Labor had become a premium again. Slaves (due for liberation in only two years in the British and French colonies in the Americas) had been freed at a higher percentage for years in Brazil than the West Indies (of any nation) but there remained a large number that were being transferred from the coffee, sugar and tea fields of Brazil to the Amazon basin.
This did little to meet the demand. Some British officials recommended "impressing" the natives but this was rejected. Britain had made the commitment to abolish slavery, not add more. Many of the West Indian slaves, particularly the recent arrivals from the United States, were being sold to Brazil (the interior slave trade still acceptable) to work the rubber plantations. Still, more bodies were needed. Britain ended virtually any barriers to Brazilian immigration, even began subsidizing manpower transfers from any corner of the earth to satiate demand. Wages rose. This brought migrants from Germany, China, the Italian Peninsula, India, etc and Brazil's diversity would continue to grow.
Peru, Granada and Chile
While, unlike New Spain (now Tierra Fernanda) and Cuba, the Spanish grip had been lightening for years in terms of trade barriers and local autonomy, all the Spanish King had really accomplished was turn power over to local lords rather than Peninsulars. Local resentment increased among the population, especially the Mestizos and Indians of the south, which comprised a large portion of the population.
Just as in the Philippines, unrest continued.
Cuba
Few nations (or colonies as the case may be) could see the face of their territory change so quickly. Unlike the well-run colonies of the British, French, Dutch and Portuguese over the centuries, the Spanish were infamous for inept administration. It was said that the Entire Spanish Empire in 1630 (which for a time included the Portuguese throne and therefore Brazil) did less trade by volume from California to Argentina than Britain did with the tiny sugar island of Barbados. Two hundred years later, little had changed.
Spain didn't even run its own slave trade for centuries. While Hispaniola (France, then Britain), Martinique/Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Barbados, etc, were well-known sugar exporters for centuries, Cuba was really the best island in the West Indies for cultivation. However, the lax Spaniards never truly developed it and the island was best known for having a well-protected harbor (probably the one reason it remained Spanish for so long). Underpopulated and economically held back due to restrictions on trade and incompetent governance, Cuba languished until the past few decades when the Americans suddenly didn't want their slaves anymore as tobacco farming exhausted their best lands and the replacement crop of cotton suffered a terribly pest.
The American surplus slaves were sent to Cuba where (usually using British investment), new sugar plantations at last proved profitable. Even as Britain, France, Denmark, the Dutch and eventually American worked to manumit their slaves, the Spanish government did no such thing. Slaves poured in at rock-bottom prices, European investors happy to supply capital. The West Indies population had languished with the end of the African trade over half a century earlier. The pox-infested West Indies meeting with the harsh and back-breaking sugar plantation work left the islands with a negative replacement rate. From 1800 (generally when the trans-Atlantic slave trade ended) to 1830 (when the Americans started selling slaves en masse after the failure of repeated cotton crops), the island populations actually contracted by nearly 60% to 75% on average over half a century. At best, the healthy Negro bodies from the American south (the only place slaves reproduced faster than they died), kept the population levels steady for a decade or two. In most places, it didn't even do that.
Only Cuba really increased in population and that was mainly due to the huge influx of slaves during the American Southern Rebellion (as it was commonly known in Europe). Over 200,000 slaves were sold south to the West Indies over a 2 year period. With most colonial powers setting a date for manumission, only a portion of this demand went to British, French, etc islands, perhaps 1/3rd at most. Purchasing a slave in such conditions often still made sense as it was long held that if one got 5 years of work before a slave died, then it was a bargain. The well-broken and healthy American slaves were preferred to raw African material.
Still, Cuba and New Spain (now Tierra Fernanda) acquired over 2/3's the 200,000 strong fire-sale slaves during the war. Cuba alone received over 80,000 slaves for itself permanently (it was also the main depot for exports to the rest of the Caribbean). From 1830 to 1856, the Cuban population more than doubled, mainly due to the American slaves, in spite of the unhealthy climate. Unfortunately, the demographics did not lead to a long term advantage as a disproportionate number were males without suitable females to reproduce.
As the slaves continued to die throughout the rest of the Caribbean, many plantations became moribund for lack of labor. Cuba, Hispaniola and Brazil soon became the sugar powerhouses and the once-wealthy islands of the West Indies started to die. The brutal conditions of Cuba continued to take their toll on Cuba's slave population and the island's advantage proved transitory. Soon Brazil would become the dominant sugar producer.
In the final years before the end of slavery, there was a mass selling of slaves to Brazil's Amazon Basin. Rubber had been the temporary king and labor was best used there anyway. This emptied out the West Indies even more, leaving the once-richest lands on earth destitute of a population. The minor islands were nearly abandoned as more and more population, in the Age of Freedom, moved to a handful of islands (or Brazil) where there was a critical mass of labor which could compete with other sources of sugar, the crop that would dominate the West Indies for nearly another century.
Eventually, it would become almost a cliché, black and mulatto families moving to Brazil for work, escaping the beautiful islands that had killed so may of their forebearers.
March 1857
Canton, "British China"
Brigadier Louis Nolan of the British Army led three Regiments from the newly "pacified" islands of the Yamato to Cathay. The official status of the Yamato people would be up for debate for years before settling on a proper term for their subjugation. In the meantime, resources were now open to be reissued to China. It seemed the colonial wars never ended.
If anything, Nolan was shocked that the British, French and Russians were able to set up spheres of influence without making war upon one another. In the end, the Chinese Empire was so huge that there was more than enough to go around, especially given that the three powers combined could only marshal a hundred thousand or so troops to invade. If they had to fight each other to GET to China...well, it would not work.
Rumor had it that several European nations were considering expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa. Nolan could not comprehend why, there was so little there beyond ivory and a bit of gold. Certainly Africa did not offer a fiftieth the amount of trade opportunities as China. So why bother?
Only French North Africa and the tip of Dutch South Africa were worth anything but what did Nolan know?
Right now, there were warlords of some kind in the interior of the "British Concession". The Yamato had been crushed, now it was the time of the Han.
Philadelphia
President Abraham Lincoln was uncertain of what to do.
Technically, there was no law establishing the domination of the English language at the state level (or national for that matter), the demand that local courts in the new states of Tamaulipas and Leon were to be bi-lingual brought up some new problems. Oh, there were laws in Louisiana regarding the French language but this was a new problem.
In the end, Lincoln approved local bi-lingualism in state affairs and assured proper translation for Federal courts. That seemed a reasonable compromise. Of course, this opened the door to Durango, Sinaloa, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Mojave and Vizcaya in the future and perhaps even Coahuila and Texas. The latter two had as many or more English-speakers these days and may not take that road.
How this would affect the nation in the future was uncertain. But the United States, wounded after years of war, was not inclined to wage a war of suppression with those whom had joined (more or less) willingly.
Besides, the Whigs wanted their votes.
Lincoln reminded himself to send more Whig operatives to bring them into the party.
St. Louis, future Capital of the United States
A huge swath of land had been selected for the future capital. Much of it was forest, owned by the state or federal governments, but it also included numerous large farms or cattle stations. These were bought up (for a premium) and the first cornerstones were put in place for the future central government's Capital Building and Presidential Mansion (both were largely destroyed in Washington, anyway).
It would be the work of years but well worth it.
Canton, "British China"
Brigadier Louis Nolan of the British Army led three Regiments from the newly "pacified" islands of the Yamato to Cathay. The official status of the Yamato people would be up for debate for years before settling on a proper term for their subjugation. In the meantime, resources were now open to be reissued to China. It seemed the colonial wars never ended.
If anything, Nolan was shocked that the British, French and Russians were able to set up spheres of influence without making war upon one another. In the end, the Chinese Empire was so huge that there was more than enough to go around, especially given that the three powers combined could only marshal a hundred thousand or so troops to invade. If they had to fight each other to GET to China...well, it would not work.
Rumor had it that several European nations were considering expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa. Nolan could not comprehend why, there was so little there beyond ivory and a bit of gold. Certainly Africa did not offer a fiftieth the amount of trade opportunities as China. So why bother?
Only French North Africa and the tip of Dutch South Africa were worth anything but what did Nolan know?
Right now, there were warlords of some kind in the interior of the "British Concession". The Yamato had been crushed, now it was the time of the Han.
Philadelphia
President Abraham Lincoln was uncertain of what to do.
Technically, there was no law establishing the domination of the English language at the state level (or national for that matter), the demand that local courts in the new states of Tamaulipas and Leon were to be bi-lingual brought up some new problems. Oh, there were laws in Louisiana regarding the French language but this was a new problem.
In the end, Lincoln approved local bi-lingualism in state affairs and assured proper translation for Federal courts. That seemed a reasonable compromise. Of course, this opened the door to Durango, Sinaloa, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Mojave and Vizcaya in the future and perhaps even Coahuila and Texas. The latter two had as many or more English-speakers these days and may not take that road.
How this would affect the nation in the future was uncertain. But the United States, wounded after years of war, was not inclined to wage a war of suppression with those whom had joined (more or less) willingly.
Besides, the Whigs wanted their votes.
Lincoln reminded himself to send more Whig operatives to bring them into the party.
St. Louis, future Capital of the United States
A huge swath of land had been selected for the future capital. Much of it was forest, owned by the state or federal governments, but it also included numerous large farms or cattle stations. These were bought up (for a premium) and the first cornerstones were put in place for the future central government's Capital Building and Presidential Mansion (both were largely destroyed in Washington, anyway).
It would be the work of years but well worth it.
America is certainly get to become more socially progressive earlier, though it might result in headaches in the future.
For Brazil, I think that the political reform is inevitable. The political influence wielded by Anglo immigrants will push towards a parliamentary government and I doubt that the British will commit the same mistakes they did with the thirteen colonies. That also means that British capital and investment will flow into Brazil, helping the economy to industrialize. It's already happening and, once slavery ends and there's a massive influx of new labor into the economy, Brazilian capitalism will certainly blossom.
That however means that the US will industrialize slowly compared to OTL but it will industrialize but it will happen- it's too late right now to prevent (unless I am mistaken the US kept the Central Bank and that means it's more financially stable). But the USA will become a industrial powerhouse twenty years later.
For Brazil, I think that the political reform is inevitable. The political influence wielded by Anglo immigrants will push towards a parliamentary government and I doubt that the British will commit the same mistakes they did with the thirteen colonies. That also means that British capital and investment will flow into Brazil, helping the economy to industrialize. It's already happening and, once slavery ends and there's a massive influx of new labor into the economy, Brazilian capitalism will certainly blossom.
That however means that the US will industrialize slowly compared to OTL but it will industrialize but it will happen- it's too late right now to prevent (unless I am mistaken the US kept the Central Bank and that means it's more financially stable). But the USA will become a industrial powerhouse twenty years later.
On the same token, the US West Coast is likely to develop a lot faster than OTL because of the greater amount of immigration west, and that the US social fabric is going to be healthier and generally more progressive since there will be no Jim Crow holding the US back anymore, not to mention the Southern gentry now completely discredited and dismantled as a political force. Since the US already had its Civil War, full on Industrialization to one of the leading, if not the leading, economic power in the world is pretty much inevitable by the end of the 19th, beginning of the 20th century. Even if Britain invests comparatively less, there will still be others like France who would be more than happy to take the investment opportunities available.
I agree that Britain's capital will be less important in this TL as Britain's economy, at home anyway, is weaker due to the loss of Ireland, less of a textile industry, loss of population to the colonies and the stronger position of France.
Here a stronger French economy dominates the Dutch Republic, the Germanies and the Italies.
In the end, capital always follows the most profitable path. If the USA has a well-run development, they will get the investment they need regardless of the source, even with some additional competition with a more developed Brazil (note that the occupation of China will have major effects as well on the global flow of capital). Economics isn't strictly a zero-sum game.
Note the US will also be severely affected by the loss of the cotton industry (most of their exports in this era) and then the redistribution of their labor force prior and after the Civil War. The end of the cotton weevil will have some positive effects but actual harvesters will be tough to come by until technology provides an answer. I rather suspect that the US will have to turn to luring as many immigrants as possible to the south in order to make use of this treasure.
That will be difficult. I know the South wasn't very immigrant friendly before. Now, even less friendly.
I'm not sure if was necessarily not immigrant friendly. The south was reportedly less anti-Catholic than the north, though that may have been because they had significantly fewer Catholics.
In the end, the south was simply not the preferred destination of immigrants. In the north, even the masses thronging to the slums believed they may leave it someday for a better life.
I'm not sure that was possible in the south as migrant seasonal cotton-pickers. In many ways, the post-Civil War Freedmen served the needs of the southern plantations even better than before as farm work was seasonal and hiring cheap large numbers of desperate migrants was cost-effective. The north was not eager to accept 4-5 million blacks nor did the OTL Union do much to resettle them in the west or on confiscated southern land. This more than anything kept the black population from prosperity.
Oddly, the removal of the Freedmen in this scenario to the west and north (along with those sold to the West Indies over the past 30 years or so) would create conditions for immigrants to move to the south for the only conceivable reason: rising wages paid by necessity by southern landowners.
August, 1857
Philadelphia
The Grand Jury verdict was swift and decisive. Nathaniel Bedford Forrest and Preston Brooks were sentenced to death for conspiracy and, respectively, the murder of President Seward and Secretary of State Sumner. They were hanged four days later before a crowd of 1000 (the most allowed within the fortification) and another 20,000 waiting outside for news that the necks had been properly stretched. Forrest, a stout man, died instantly when his neck was broken. The slimmer Brooks twitched for 15 minutes.
Twenty-one other men and two women, whom had directly or indirectly aided the planning or flight, were similarly arrested and convicted. All but four of the men were hanged, those being given prison terms as they were not aware of the full intentions of the assassins. One man, a Mr. Amos Butt-Swett, protested his ten-year sentence as he claimed he had no idea anyone was hiding in his barn when Forrest had slept there one night. Later, President Lincoln would commute his sentence but the poor gentleman would go down in history with the phrase "Your name is Butt-Swett".
It was an unfortunate expression on many levels.
Great Salt Lake, Utah Territory
Many people had passed through this lovely but harsh land without stopping. God knows no one with any sense drank of the waters. But the first wave of Jews, mainly Russian with some Poles, to alight from the trains (the middle route of the three westerly railroads headed west was to San Francisco Bay, city of Yerba Buena, Nevada, the others were to Seattle, Cascadia, the third to San Diego, California) got off in a dusty high desert and beheld the Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake.
They beheld the valley and named it Zion.
Over the next 60 years, nearly 5 million Eastern European Jews would migrate to America (the city of Zion alone would have 250,000 with 1.2 million between Idaho and Utah territories). Zion (the territories would often be called Zion rather than just the city by the Salt Lake) would become the 2nd largest population of Jews on Earth, after New York (2 million alone and fully a third of the population). With the increased Pograms in the Russian Empire and blatant anti-Semiticism in Poland, the source of most of the world's Jews, this largely downtrodden race of farmers would soon form new communities in New York, Zion, Detroit, Dearborn, Chicago, Boise, Provo and Yerba Buena. Soon America would have more Jews than Europe.
But Zion would be considered the true spiritual home short of the Holy Lands themselves.
Manila
Andres and Mariano Novales proved the true leaders of the rebellion. Within twelve hours, they'd seized the governor's mansion and the primary fortifications of Manila. The handful of Spanish officials were easily cowed into submission and allowed to depart. This did not bother Andres Novales. He knew they were not the danger. The danger was when the Spanish fleet arrived to retake the capital of the Philippines. Then the true battle would begin.
In the meantime, Novales worked tirelessly to bring the island of Luzon fully under his control. He didn't bother with the other islands as they secondary to the proposed new nation and ungovernable even after 350 years of nominal Spanish rule, especially the Moros of Muslim Mindanao. Manila mattered. Everything else could be dealt with later.
Taipai
This was among the first major disagreements between France and Britain over the spoils of China. Both wanted the island of Taipai as it was off the coast of the Taiping-dominated central coast of China. Both nations had made settlements on opposite sides of the island.
France pointed out that that Britain had not reason to be there as their "Sphere of Influence" was to the south anyway and it was far enough away from Nippon not to have any significant strategic value. Well, no defensive value.
The matter was brought up by the diplomats, eventually becoming a fully-blown crisis as yellow newspapers blew it out of proportion. When some started calling for war, the sensible Ministers decided to put a stop to it and put the matter up for arbitration. A committee led by Austria ruled Taipai to be a French property but the island to the south, Hainan, to be British. The French had long claimed this to be part of Indochina. It was an awkward settlement but one that most were happy to make given war had briefly become possible over a couple of islands without any real resources in an area of adequate if not abundant naval harbors. A war would be stupid and it would not be the first or last time that the great powers came to blows of a minor outpost even as all were scrambling to assert their power over far greater and more important colonies.
Lima, Vice-Royalty of Peru
The "Council", the defacto ruling body of the Vice-Royalty, had had quite enough. Now the mother country wanted direct taxation, something they gave up decades ago, to pay for their war in "Fernanda". The Oligarchy would not tolerate this. As it was, the metropolis had abandoned Lima in a craven sellout to Britain over the border disputes, as if Spain had any right to hold back the real power of their Empire.
The gold shipments, still formidable after all these centuries, had been increasingly lately with the new processes.
Those would be cut off without delay.
A new day would soon arrive for the Americas.
"Seward", new United States Territory
"We paid good money for this?!!!" the soldier cried, as he reviewed the map of the massive swath of tundra he had marched for so long.
John Mosby, former Federal cavalry General, was aghast. The Virginian had seen no point in fighting the Union any longer and gratefully accepted terms of surrender after the war. He even solicited a government position.
Dispatched to Russian America, he spent six months exploring the area. When he returned to Sitka, he learned that it had been split into two territories: Yukon, to the east, and Seward, representing the peninsula in the west.
Well, a martyr demands proper representation, Mosby supposed.
In the end, Mosby had updated a number of poorly drawn Russian maps to precise coordinates (well, his subordinates did, numbers never being Mosby's strong point) and ordered his geologists to dispatch their samples to the new government offices being built in St. Louis.
They would sit on the shelf for nearly two decades before someone bothered looking at them. In truth, Seward and Yukon would be barely different in 20 years than in 1857.
The metals within the samples would lead to a second Gold Rush, rivaling the one originating in Yerba Buena, Nevada in 1847 and American Australia in 1860. The liquidity would provide well-needed capital for America's development in the 1880's as would the silver and gold found in the Rocky Mountain chain over the course of the next few decades.
Philadelphia
The Grand Jury verdict was swift and decisive. Nathaniel Bedford Forrest and Preston Brooks were sentenced to death for conspiracy and, respectively, the murder of President Seward and Secretary of State Sumner. They were hanged four days later before a crowd of 1000 (the most allowed within the fortification) and another 20,000 waiting outside for news that the necks had been properly stretched. Forrest, a stout man, died instantly when his neck was broken. The slimmer Brooks twitched for 15 minutes.
Twenty-one other men and two women, whom had directly or indirectly aided the planning or flight, were similarly arrested and convicted. All but four of the men were hanged, those being given prison terms as they were not aware of the full intentions of the assassins. One man, a Mr. Amos Butt-Swett, protested his ten-year sentence as he claimed he had no idea anyone was hiding in his barn when Forrest had slept there one night. Later, President Lincoln would commute his sentence but the poor gentleman would go down in history with the phrase "Your name is Butt-Swett".
It was an unfortunate expression on many levels.
Great Salt Lake, Utah Territory
Many people had passed through this lovely but harsh land without stopping. God knows no one with any sense drank of the waters. But the first wave of Jews, mainly Russian with some Poles, to alight from the trains (the middle route of the three westerly railroads headed west was to San Francisco Bay, city of Yerba Buena, Nevada, the others were to Seattle, Cascadia, the third to San Diego, California) got off in a dusty high desert and beheld the Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake.
They beheld the valley and named it Zion.
Over the next 60 years, nearly 5 million Eastern European Jews would migrate to America (the city of Zion alone would have 250,000 with 1.2 million between Idaho and Utah territories). Zion (the territories would often be called Zion rather than just the city by the Salt Lake) would become the 2nd largest population of Jews on Earth, after New York (2 million alone and fully a third of the population). With the increased Pograms in the Russian Empire and blatant anti-Semiticism in Poland, the source of most of the world's Jews, this largely downtrodden race of farmers would soon form new communities in New York, Zion, Detroit, Dearborn, Chicago, Boise, Provo and Yerba Buena. Soon America would have more Jews than Europe.
But Zion would be considered the true spiritual home short of the Holy Lands themselves.
Manila
Andres and Mariano Novales proved the true leaders of the rebellion. Within twelve hours, they'd seized the governor's mansion and the primary fortifications of Manila. The handful of Spanish officials were easily cowed into submission and allowed to depart. This did not bother Andres Novales. He knew they were not the danger. The danger was when the Spanish fleet arrived to retake the capital of the Philippines. Then the true battle would begin.
In the meantime, Novales worked tirelessly to bring the island of Luzon fully under his control. He didn't bother with the other islands as they secondary to the proposed new nation and ungovernable even after 350 years of nominal Spanish rule, especially the Moros of Muslim Mindanao. Manila mattered. Everything else could be dealt with later.
Taipai
This was among the first major disagreements between France and Britain over the spoils of China. Both wanted the island of Taipai as it was off the coast of the Taiping-dominated central coast of China. Both nations had made settlements on opposite sides of the island.
France pointed out that that Britain had not reason to be there as their "Sphere of Influence" was to the south anyway and it was far enough away from Nippon not to have any significant strategic value. Well, no defensive value.
The matter was brought up by the diplomats, eventually becoming a fully-blown crisis as yellow newspapers blew it out of proportion. When some started calling for war, the sensible Ministers decided to put a stop to it and put the matter up for arbitration. A committee led by Austria ruled Taipai to be a French property but the island to the south, Hainan, to be British. The French had long claimed this to be part of Indochina. It was an awkward settlement but one that most were happy to make given war had briefly become possible over a couple of islands without any real resources in an area of adequate if not abundant naval harbors. A war would be stupid and it would not be the first or last time that the great powers came to blows of a minor outpost even as all were scrambling to assert their power over far greater and more important colonies.
Lima, Vice-Royalty of Peru
The "Council", the defacto ruling body of the Vice-Royalty, had had quite enough. Now the mother country wanted direct taxation, something they gave up decades ago, to pay for their war in "Fernanda". The Oligarchy would not tolerate this. As it was, the metropolis had abandoned Lima in a craven sellout to Britain over the border disputes, as if Spain had any right to hold back the real power of their Empire.
The gold shipments, still formidable after all these centuries, had been increasingly lately with the new processes.
Those would be cut off without delay.
A new day would soon arrive for the Americas.
"Seward", new United States Territory
"We paid good money for this?!!!" the soldier cried, as he reviewed the map of the massive swath of tundra he had marched for so long.
John Mosby, former Federal cavalry General, was aghast. The Virginian had seen no point in fighting the Union any longer and gratefully accepted terms of surrender after the war. He even solicited a government position.
Dispatched to Russian America, he spent six months exploring the area. When he returned to Sitka, he learned that it had been split into two territories: Yukon, to the east, and Seward, representing the peninsula in the west.
Well, a martyr demands proper representation, Mosby supposed.
In the end, Mosby had updated a number of poorly drawn Russian maps to precise coordinates (well, his subordinates did, numbers never being Mosby's strong point) and ordered his geologists to dispatch their samples to the new government offices being built in St. Louis.
They would sit on the shelf for nearly two decades before someone bothered looking at them. In truth, Seward and Yukon would be barely different in 20 years than in 1857.
The metals within the samples would lead to a second Gold Rush, rivaling the one originating in Yerba Buena, Nevada in 1847 and American Australia in 1860. The liquidity would provide well-needed capital for America's development in the 1880's as would the silver and gold found in the Rocky Mountain chain over the course of the next few decades.
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