New Albion: A Different Division of North America

[Codae]

[FONT=&quot][If you’ve followed this far, now the butterfly’s wings begin to beat- Yep, it's the American Revolution] [/FONT]

And with Clive antagonizing the Russians so greatly, the anti-British alliance certainly has an opportunity to grow.

One point: your explorers seem to have an awfully easy time traipsing about the uncharted expanse of North America. I'm not noticing any objection by the locals, for instance.

 

[galanx]

Interesting TL!

Just to make sure - this Western America business is almost entirely separate from British North America on the East Coast, right? There's no keen-eyed Yankee sailors plying the waters for fish and furs, no industrious Pennsylvania Dutch trying to establish farms around Byron Bay, nothing like that?

Yeah- the distances are too great; the rewards too small. The North West Company has a monopoly on the fur trade and keeps Yankees out (another minor grievance for the American Revolution); and this is still too early for fishing or even whaling to be profitable- though there will be clashes with theAmericans coming in the 19th C.

By 1775 Clive has been advertising for settlers in the Thirteen Colonies, but it's a tough proposition- why haul up your roots and take a year-long voyage around Cape Horn when you can just move a little further west?

 

[galanx]

And with Clive antagonizing the Russians so greatly, the anti-British alliance certainly has an opportunity to grow.

Yes; the Russians will play a (small) part in the course of the American Revolution

One point: your explorers seem to have an awfully easy time traipsing about the uncharted expanse of North America. I'm not noticing any objection by the locals, for instance.

Well, as it happens they're all nice guys.

Seriously, it tends to be forgotten how early the French had entered this country. Pierre La Verendrye had already established a trading post on Lake Manitoba and relations with the Mandan in 1739; his sons reached the Rockies in 1743.

By the time Rogers gets there, there are French-Canadian trappers all over the territory who have established friendly relations with the natives (sometimes very friendly, see "Metis"). They're just not writing their stories down- plus, they're there on business; nobody's paying them to boldly go etc. If anybody in New France had been interested, it's possible that the French could have made it to the Pacific even earlier than this TL.

Alexander Mackenzie crossed the continent in 1793 without much trouble from the locals; he was followed by Fraser and Thompson a couple of years later.

These are not settlers; they're just passing through.

But, all that said, they may be a little lucky.

 

[galanx]

Seriously, it tends to be forgotten how early the French had entered this country. Pierre La Verendrye had already established a trading post on Lake Manitoba and relations with the Mandan in 1739; his sons reached the Rockies in 1743.

...
Alexander Mackenzie crossed the continent in 1793 without much trouble from the locals; he was followed by Fraser and Thompson a couple of years later.
.

Leading me to muse on the nationalisms embedded in educational systems. Thinking about this, I just realised that as a boy studying history in English-Canadian schools, we paid very little attention to French explorers after Cartier and Champlain; we spent more time on the English (mostly Scots) like Hearne, Mackenzie, Thompson and Fraser.

The major exception was Radisson and Groseillieres, who, by what I now suspect was not a coincidence, just happened to be the two guys who quit the French and started working for the Brits.

And if Lewis and Clark were mentioned at all, they were dismissed as Johnny-come-latelies that had a fuss made over them just because they were Americans (usually with a reminder tossed in that Lindbergh was not the first to fly across the Atlantic).

 

[galanx]

Part 9: The American Revolutionary War: Rogers of Quebec

1775- Rogers has been released, with his tale of reaching the Pacific confirmed, to find himself a hero in a country on the edge of rebellion. He has written a popular book about his expedition, and is regarded as a daring colonial unjustly condemned by the British.

His mistreatment he blames on Thomas Gage and George III, and he wants vengeance, so comes out on the side of the Patriots. He re-forms the Rangers, with recruits flocking to join the famous hero. He decides to relive dreams of past glory, and seize the weapons and supplies at largely undefended Fort Ticonderoga.

Great minds think alike- he meets up with Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, and they are soon joined by Benedict Arnold and his troops from Massachusetts and Connecticut. There’s a little jockeying for command- this is a serious collection of prima donnas- but the prestige of the great Captain Rogers gives him the edge. The Fort is successfully taken in May.

A Colonel Hinman arrived in June with orders from Washington (who always distrusted Rogers) placing him in command. All three commanders feel slighted; they’re the ones who took the fort, after all.

That summer, Schuyler launches his expedition for the conquest of Canada, but plagued by ill-health, hands command over to Richard Montgomery, who settles in for the siege of Fort St. Jean (August-November 1775). Impatient and slighted, Rogers decides to follow the route of his old expedition against St. Francis (midway between Montreal and Quebec) during the French and Indian Wars. Irked by being beaten in an election for command of the Green River Boys by his cousin Seth Warner[OTL], Ethan brings some of his supporters over to Rogers, and is appointed second-in-command.

Meanwhile Arnold has returned to Boston having obtained a commission from Washington for a second expedition heading north through Maine, and solicits support for men, money and supplies. Slightly exaggerating, he urges the need for speed so he can spring the other jaw of the trap with the storied Captain Rogers (the exaggeration is Rogers has no idea what Arnold is up to, which is trying to beat him to Quebec and glory). Arnold leaves in late August, and, after a horrendous journey, arrives on the St. Lawrence in October.

The British learn Arnold is coming, but only have a single sloop to patrol the St. Lawence (the frigate ‘Lizard’ having been previously sent to Francistown, New Albion, to guard against Spanish attacks)
Arnold manages to cross the river, but realize he is not strong enough to take the citadel himself. The defenders, while aware Montgomery has taken Montreal, are completely surprised by the sudden appearance of Rogers’ force out of the forest. Rogers and Allen attack, with Arnold’s force coming in for the kill- and Quebec is taken.
[OTL the Lizard contributed greatly to the defence of Quebec; as did the arrival of Carleton, who is here kept in Montreal by the threat of Rogers' name, the British not knowing he has been denied command]

There are few casualties, but unfortunately –though probably luckily for his future reputation- one of them is Robert Rogers. Ethan Allen takes command, and attempts to capture Governor Carleton, who escapes to Halifax.

The news of this victory, with the inspiring death of the great frontiersman Robert Rogers, sends a thrill through the Rebels in the thirteen colonies. With Thomas Jefferson's support-he remembers the western explorations of Rogers- men, money, and supplies are gathered for the support of Quebec, though with winter closing in it will be some time until they get there.

[OTL Rogers is first arrested as a spy by the Patriots, then is offered a commission which he turns down. Later he asks to join the Rebels but this time they turn him down, so he joins the British for whom he plays a minor role as a leader of the King's Rangers, since he's drunk most of the time.

(I was tempted to title this section "Rogers: He's Back and He's Pissed, in Both American and British Usages of The Word.")


[Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, roughly as in our time and of course in this ATL Carleton is still in Montreal.]

 

[galanx]

Part 9: The Taking of Canada: French and Canadian Reactions

The British are determined to retake the citadel in the spring, of course, but the news is also received with great interest in Paris. Since the loss of New France in 1763, there has been a bit of a revaluation of that “few acres of snow”. The size and potential wealth of North America has come to be somewhat more appreciated- still nothing compared to France’s gains in India or the Caribbean, of course- but the British possession of both east and west coasts, and possibly everything between, is looking a little more ominous.

The news that the Americans are in revolt is looked on as an opportunity to take the British down a notch, and of course this victory in taking Quebec makes the rebellion look like a more serious prospect. There comes to mind the possibility that, by helping the Americans, New France may be regained- or at least the British will be forced to make concessions elsewhere.

In England at this time is Michel Chartier, [OTL future Marquis de Lotbiniere], once an important figure in New France, related to most of the other important families; now a British subject, who has been frustrated in lobbying to get back some lands lost in the British Conquest in 1763. Through grandiosity and mismanagement he has had to hand over most of his property in Quebec to his son, Alain Chartiere. This younger Chartiere, who has loyally fought for the British, has been captured by the Americans and sent to Boston. Michel hurries to Paris, offering his services. He is sent back to investigate the situation in Quebec, slipping through Boston where he stops to visit (gloat over) his imprisoned son, then heads to Canada.

The seigneurs are fairly united in opposition to the Americans with their rantings about rights and democracy; the Church knows of the anti-Catholicism present in the Colonies and as well resolutely oppose the anti-clerical Enlightenment ideals of the Revolution. If it’s a choice between the Americans and the British, they’ll choose the British- but what if there’s a third option: return to the embrace of Catholic France- or even the new idea of independence? The Marquis claims to be an official agent of Foreign Minister Gravier, and urges the seigneury and Church to support the Americans in order to restore French rule. His listeners are torn- for one thing no one really trusts or respects him- but in the end they are so undecided that they neutralize themselves.

[Everything about Michel and Alain as in OTL up to 1775, including' Alain's fighting for the British and being captured and Michel volunteering as an agent for France (though mostly for himself) ]

 

[galanx]

Part 10: The American Revolutionary War 1775-1780

Further south, a bunch of stuff happens and there are some battles and in 1778 the British are defeated by a combined American-French army on land and a French-Spanish naval force at sea, forcing them to give up their colonial possessions in North America

[“Are you kidding? That’s it?” No, I’m not kidding, and yes, that’s it- I don’t know enough about the AWR to invent a plausible series of events, other than very roughly following OTL- the Americans have setbacks, win a big battle, the French and Spanish join the war]

[Think of it as an AHC: It’s 1775, the Americans have Quebec, Spain is eager to follow France into war with Britain, while the Netherlands and Russia are also more hostile. How can Britain lose her American colonies- including Quebec and the Maritimes (she can keep Newfoundland, and nobody’s even talking about Rupert’s Land -yet)without losing New Albion- that’s the whole point.]

[Okay, here’s a go, up to a point]

Howe thinks his first priority is to retake Quebec, to rally the support of the French-Canadians and take the colonials down a peg (he knew Roberts and was not impressed). Having retreated from Boston he arrives in Halifax in March. In May, he has Burgoyne launch a quick strike with 3000 men against Quebec, while expecting reinforcements. The defenders are outnumbered and undersupplied, but resist the first few attacks, though it’s obvious what the end result will be.

Until news comes that the French fleet has sortied into the Atlantic. With the prospect of the rock of Quebec in front and the French fleet behind, the British beat a retreat to Halifax, leaving a small force behind in case the French don’t show up. The Rebels respond by launching a quick attack, capturing or dispersing the remaining British foes.

Retcon:
Arnold has spent the winter quarreling with Montgomery, and though has won praise in the defense, does not get offered the high position he thinks he deserves. He once again returns in a huff to Massachusetts where he meets a Nova Scotian farmer named Jonathan Eddy, who is trying to raise money and men for a takeover of the province. Convinced by Eddy that both the whites and Indians are on the verge of rebellion, Benedict finds that as ‘Arnold of Quebec’ he has a much easier time raising an invasion force.

Easily taking Fort Cumberland, they head to Halifax, hoping to raise the countryside. The Indians tribes’ reactions are tepid, and while the whites, being mostly transplanted New Englanders, are sympathetic, there aren’t very many of them. Still, they take Halifax by sheer audacity, in August, 1776, before being quickly driven out by troops from British ships. Still, Howe is forced to send some of Burgoyne's troops back to guard Halifax , less from Arnold than the French fleet.

Now comes a long seesaw campaign- the Rebels are too weak to take Halifax, the British can’t corner them in the surrounding countryside. Still, they are a nuisance more than anything else.

Faced with the reinforcements from Burgoyne, George Washington is finally convinced he has no choice- defying Congress, he retreats from New York, burning the city in the process. This leads to bitter feelings among the refugee New Yorkers; many join Loyalist partisan groups.
(Washington denies blame; he puts it down to either the British, Loyalists trying to trap his troops, or inflamed Patriots. However, since his defence is
a) I didn't do it; and
b) they were a bunch of degenerates and Loyalist traitors anyway, who deserved it

many New Yorkers are less than convinced.)

After continued fighting, with battles and campaigns going either way, an American victory at the Battle of Delaware leads France to recognize the United States in 1777 and declare war on Britain. Spain follows in declaring war (but not recognizing the new nation- don’t want to give anyone in New Spain ideas.) Both Russia and the Netherlands also give tacit support, while proclaiming neutrality and urging negotiations. By 1778 Holland has started to take actions against Britain in the East Indies, and Russia has formed the “League of Armed Neutrality” which is starting to look more armed than neutral, and is pushing for a Conference of Nations to settle things- obviously on terms that will be bad for Britain.

In 1778 the combined French and Spanish fleets obtain a victory over Admiral Howe, while on land the French and Americans defeat a large British army
[https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=242645&highlight=annus+mirabilis]
[direct all complaints to Faeelin, not me ]

Meanwhile Benedict Arnold has spent a lot of the intervening time in Boston and elsewhere canvassing everyone he meets for either a higher position or assistance for his attempt to take Nova Scotia. There is even a rumour that he tried to go over to the British, but wasn’t offered enough by them either. With the British desperately pulling ships out to meet the French and Spanish(see below) Arnold finally gets reinforcements and in 1779 is able to make one last glorious assault, finally taking and holding Halifax- but getting killed in the process, another posthumous hero.

Retcon: Spain launches an attack on Francistown from Baja California, but it is beaten off by the Seaboys, the mostly Hydah troops of
New Hibernia recruited by Robert Clive; they are widely hailed as heroes.

 

[galanx]

Part 11: The Armada of 1779



With their defeat in 1778 and the prospect of facing a Europe largely united against them, the British are anxious to make a deal to end the war, if possible on grounds less than full independence- including recognition of the American claim to Canada, (though not yet Nova Scotia). Independence is a deal-breaker for the Americans, and so the negotiations drag on.

The French and Spanish now begin to suspect that their American allies will cut a deal and leave them in the lurch- possibly even changing sides to support their Anglo cousins against them in the Caribbean. They decide to strike the ultimate blow against Britain- invasion.



[Most of this is drawn from these two threads. Taking a middle course over the effectiveness of the invasion leading to the most convenient outcome for this ATL
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=331561

www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=129804 ]

After the Battle of Ushante, in which the French defeat the British under Admiral Keppel (another of Hanson’s boys), England seems to be ripe for invasion. The French and Spanish fleets combine successfully, having had more practise in co-ordinated movements over the last two years, but are still delayed and weakened by disease. Thus they are able to land a formidable but not necessarily overwhelming force.

Hardy’s fleet has returned and basically fights to a draw but still remains a threat. The British have withdrawn some troops from Ireland, where panic is rising over the actually not-too-plausible danger from John Paul Jones.

The French forces attack General Amherst, who is pushed back but keeps his force between the invaders and London. Needless to say, panic is spreading, especially since the invaders are not only French but also Spanish, invoking old fears fanned by “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs” and tales of Bloody Mary and the original Armada.

Fighting halts for the winter; meanwhile peace talks are going on in the Austrian Netherlands- and Philadelphia.

A split has occurred among the Continental allies- the Spanish are happy with what has happened so far, but don’t want to push the British too far. The French Army wants to push on and crush the English once and for all. The French Navy however is more anxious- it not only has to be prepared to fight the British Fleet, but also ensure supplies get across the Channel.

After a few clashes on both land and sea in the spring show it’s not going to be an easy victory for anyone, a deal is reached- in which the British are the big losers.

 

[galanx]

Part 12:The Treaties of Antwerp and Philadelphia : 1780-1781

France gets Guernsey and Jersey- possessions of the Crown, but not part of Britain; Barbados and Grenada; Bombay and a slice of the British possessions in Bengal; and a big chunk of money.

Spain gets Gibraltar, Minorca, the Caymans and Florida- east and west. The British acknowledge Spanish sovereignty over New Mexico and California- significantly, not “the Californias”- but leave their borders undefined, to the fury of the Spanish authorities in Mexico.

The Dutch get Singa Pura and acknowledgement of their claims to the east coast of New Holland- they are already starting to look askance at the growing power of their French allies.

Russia gets an apology from Britain for Clive’s actions, indemnity , and a restoration of fur trading rights in the Aleutians and the along the Gulf of Alyeska, though with the sea otters being hunted to near extinction this is quietly dropped later for a further payment. More importantly to Catherine, she gets the British to pressure their Prussian allies to keep quiet while she takes another slice of Poland: the Duchy of Courland.

The Treaty of Philadelphia recognises the establishment of the new nation of the United States of North America (name chosen to placate both the Canadiens and more importantly, the Spanish).

The Treaty between the British and Americans leaves the new nation in control of the Thirteen Colonies; the adjoining lands west to the Mississippi; Nova Scotia [including OTL New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island] and Canada to the western tip of Lake Superior.

The British keep Newfoundland, Rupert’s Land and “His Majesty’s possessions on the Western coast of North America”. Again, nobody defines how far east those extend, but with Spanish Luisiana and New Spain in the middle, it doesn’t seem that important- for the moment.

 

[galanx]

Part 13-The Consequences of the Invasion:"No Popery!"-1780-1783


As mentioned, the invasion had started mass panics, especially in southern England, stirring up deep-rooted fears of Papism going back to the Spanish Armada. When the French and Spanish armies leave, they leave a pent-up explosion of fear and rage behind.

In 1778 the Government, desperate for manpower, passes the Papist Acts, which among other liberties exempts Catholics from having to renounce their religion to take the oath to serve in the armed forces[OTL]. This leads to a great outcry after the invasion, with the Government accused of being too considerate of, and even in cahoots with, British Catholics who are in turn accused of aiding and abetting the foreign enemy.

The leader of the movement is the eccentric George Gordon, third son of the Duke of Gordon. Supported by many influential preachers, he leads the Protestant League in anti-Catholic agitation [OTL].
During, and especially following, the Invasion, his extremism leads him, like many a rabble-rouser after, to a position of great political influence.

After the departure of the French and Spanish, Admiral Keppel, an ardent Whig, makes a sensational charge against his subordinate at the Battle of Ushant, Vice-Admiral Hugh Palliser, accusing him of allowing the French victory by failing to come to Keppel’s support. This adds to the dark rumors flying that the Earl of Sandwich, Palliser’s patron, had deliberately neglected the Navy and possibly even tried to betray the country to the enemy.

Gordon, who was denied a commission by Sandwich before the war, is only to happy to fan the flames of these rumors (if indeed he is not the source). This leads to further accusations from Whig supporters of the Colonies, such as the Duke of Richmond, that the Quebec Acts themselves had been designed to inflame the colonials into rebellion to allow them to be crushed. From there it is just a step to see a massive conspiracy of Tory Jacobites (the almost obsolete term brought back to life) to throw the country under the Catholic boot- despite these same men also being labeled the “King’s Men” of a Hanoverian monarch.

In the fall of 1780, when the terms of the Treaty of Antwerp become known, an outburst of rage brings on the “Gordon Insurrection”. Rioters surge through the streets of London and other cities as well, attacking the properties of British Catholics and supporters of the government.

There are plenty of troops available to crush the rioters, but near-mutinies break out as several regiments refuse the orders to fire- and it is spread on the rumor-mill that one regiment that does, killing numerous members of the crowd, is composed of Irish Catholics specially recruited for the purpose (another rumor is they are Catholic Highlanders).

Lord North is forced to resign, and his position is taken over by the Marquess of Rockingham, a Whig noted for his opposition to the war.

Unfortunately he is riding the tiger, with Gordon now spreading his accusations to include the Whigs, accusing them of colluding with the Americans to support the Invasion, and also of the Americans of being willing to impose the chains of Papacy on Britain if it furthered their own ends. Such alienation of both sides would probably have brought Gordon crashing down, except for…Ireland.



[Events roughly the same as OTL- the Papist Acts, the quarrel between Keppel and Paliser/Sandwich; Gordon and the riots- but everything intensified by the Invasion.]

 

[galanx]

Part 13- Consequences: Ireland.

During the Invasion, the American Commander John Paul Jones commands a squadron what is supposed to be a diversionary feint against Ireland. However, flushed with the success from the destruction he has caused among the merchant fleet in Whitehaven while in command of the heavy frigate “L’Indien”-released to him by the French in 1777- he actually lands on the Irish Coast, but is forced to leave when he hears news of a British naval force following him.

Nonetheless, the landing, plus reports of the French and Spanish Armada’s landing in England, sets off a burst of insurrection among the Catholic peasantry, led by the ‘secret societies’. Though some more enlightened members of the Protestant Ascendancy had originally been lobbying for some form of local control for Ireland, including easing of restrictions for the Catholics, the rebellion quickly spins out of control, as the peasants rise up to attack the landlords, and the Protestant ‘Volunteers’ militia responded with fierce repression. The spiraling violence leads to massacres and counter-massacres; during the time of the Invasion many Protestants flee to England spreading tales of horrific murder, plunder, and rapine. This in turn fuels violence against Catholics in England and Scotland, particularly the Irish, culminating in an equally horrific massacre in Moorfields, a poor Irish district in London.

Rockingham himself has his coach attacked by a mob; his death several weeks later is blamed on this, and is the beginning of Gordon’s downfall. Having alienated every faction of established power, he has no-one to fall back on when the government finally regains control. He is captured, tried, and executed for rebellion in 1782- but most of his followers are pardoned, or at most transported.

English and Scottish Catholics have been forced or have chosen to flee in significant numbers- mostly to France as the first stop. They are later joined by Irish refugees, both Catholics and those Protestants who had been trying to help enact reforms- including the writer and MP Edmund Burke.

France proves less than amenable for all save the very rich. Many of the refugees move on to Spanish America, mostly ending up in the temperate climates of the newly-established (1776) Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata [OTL Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia].

Others flee to the new nation of the United States, where they are variously welcomed. Some, like Edmund Burke- Protestant, educated, a supporter of colonial grievances- are warmly received, and establish themselves easily in their new country. Many others- in descending order English, Scottish, and Irish Catholics- have a more difficult time, with the Irish in particular being subject to racialist and anti-Catholic prejudice.

 

[galanx]

Part 13- Consequences: Reactions in the United States

The news hits the Thirteen Colonies strongly. While the most ardent supporters of the Revolution rejoice, other reaction are more mixed. After all, most of these people had been loyal subjects of the King a short few years ago. They are of the same ancestry, and have been raised on the same traditions: anti-French, anti-Spanish, anti-Catholic. Now the place many still think of as the Mother Country has been invaded- and to some, it is the fault of the Rebels.

Supporters of the Crown who have been subject to harassment and accusations of treason for years now have a chance to get their own back. Revolutionaries and atheists have sold their Protestant homeland to Catholic despots! A wave of reaction sweeps the country, with calumny being hurled at the leaders of the rebellion. John Paul Jones in particular divides opinions, with supporters hailing him as a hero against the British, while others rail against him for his role in inciting the Irish rebellions.

More moderate Patriots, while still supportive of the Revolution, now begin to question of cutting all ties with Britain in the face of what seems unstoppable French and Spanish power. Wouldn’t the fledgling United States be more secure in some kind of looser confederation with Britain?

Washington, Adams, Jefferson and other leading Patriots become worried about what seems to be an attempt to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. At the same time, they are also uneasy with their allies’ power. Might France try and regain Canada, or the Spanish make claims on the Mississippi?

In particular, in 1779 Washington beefs up an expedition led by John Sullivan against the Loyalists and Iroquois fighting in central New York, where a group of Rangers under John Butler and his son Walter, allied with Mohawk leader Joseph Brant, have been accused of horrible massacres Another force under Daniel Brodhead is also strengthened . The two forces cause devastation amongst the Iroquois, who give Washington the soubriquet “Burner of Villages”[OTL]. The two forces link up and capture Ft. Niagara from the British- leading to counterattacks under Butler and Brant. With a secure base in Fort Niagara, the following spring (1780) Sullivan’s second-in-command Brodhead leads an even more devastating attack against the Iroquois, driving many out of New York altogether.

Things begin to quiet down with the news of the evacuation of the French and Spanish armies, and the release of the details of the Treaties of Antwerp and New York. However, as mentioned, there is a good deal of hostility to Catholic refugees entering the new country Many of course go to Baltimore, Maryland, and Philadelphia, but the Irish tend to end up in Boston, New York, or Montreal.

This leaves the fledgling Republic facing two particularly pressing issues: Canada, and the Loyalists

 

[galanx]

Problems in the New Republic: Canadiens and Loyalists


Canada:


"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

And therein lies the rub. Canada has been conquered by what is essentially a foreign army of differing nationality, language, and religion. It is pretty certain that a great majority of the population of Canada do not consent to joining the new country of the United States.

If asked their choice would probably be
1) France
2) Britain
3) The intriguing new idea of independence

That is why it is essential to make sure that nobody asks the governed for their consent, for the new republic is not about to allow any of these possibilities to happen.

After 1776 Canada has been pretty well left out of the war, with both sides willing to leave its fate to be decided elsewhere. The British make one desultory naval attack on Quebec, and there are plans mooted for a march up the Hudson to attack Montreal, but nothing comes of either. There has been some fighting in the Great Lakes region- now starting to be referred to as Upper Canada- against French-Canadians loyal to Britain, and their Indian allies, but that was it. A couple of regiments have been raised among the Canadians, officered by local supporters of the Revolution, but generally wait-and-see has been the main response.

Now the waiting is over, and there are factions fighting for control of the newly-acquired…state?

The Colonists who had taken Montreal and Quebec City are loud in their demand for a say- after all, it was their efforts that had beaten the British. They propose an English-language requirement, and an oath abjuring allegiance to any foreign ruler- including the Pope.

They have been joined by others flocking in since the victory over the, British, all of whom claim some part in it , leading Ben Franklin to remark that if all the Patriots in Quebec who claimed to have marched with Rogers had actually done so, “he must have led an army unmatched in size since Xerxes crossed the Hellespont.”

The traders and speculators who have been flocking to Montreal since the ‘Liberation’ are vociferous in their support- though some of the established ones who moved in under the British are anxious to keep the riff-raff out- or at least down.

They form an organisation called the “Sons of the Revolution” to lobby for their cause, leading to some unkind remarks about Prodigal Sons; it is changed to “Friends of the Revolution”, and “Les Amis” is adopted in French first as a sarcastic reference to the American "charognards" (scavengers).
(It gradually loses its sting to become the generic term for an American-Canadian, and in the end is proudly claimed as a distinction by the descendants of those who took part in the "Liberation".)

The seignury are opposed to all this talk of democracy, but realize they have to do something in support of their rights against both the Americans and their own tenants. The Catholic clergy are anxious to keep the privileges granted under the Quebec Act- especially tithing.

In the middle of all this is Michel Chartier. As an agent for both France and the Colonies he has been meddling in affairs since the occupation of Quebec. Friends with Benjamin Franklin and other leading Patriots, he has managed to restore his fortunes, by both dealing in war supplies- thus forging relations among the American traders in Montreal- and managing to take back most of the lands he signed over to his Loyalist son- who is still enjoying a rather comfortable confinement in Boston, where he is making his own friends among influential Patriots.

And of course he is from one of the most prominent seigneural families in New France, related to two former Gouvernors-General.
Furthermore, he has previously championed the use of the French language, French civil law, and the rights of the seigneurs when speaking in the British Parliament in 1774 against the Quebec Act, proposing powers be given to a council of prominent landowners both Catholic and Protestant.

Now he sets the compromise. A high qualification for the franchise: either in taxes, satisfying the Montreal traders; or in land, satisfying the seigneurs, many of whom are land-rich but cash-poor. To satisfy the Church he gives the clergy a vote based on the wealth of their holding. This mollifies the hierarchy, since it excludes the humble who might be too close to their flocks, and keeps the power in the hands of the Bishops- they’re the ones who make the appointments. A sting in this is that it only applies to the two Established Churches: Roman Catholic, and that which is transforming itself from the Anglican to the Episcopalian.

The compromise is generally accepted, and Michel Chartier becomes the first Gouvernor/Governor of the State of Canada.

 

[galanx]

Loyalists

A more intractable problem awaits. It is estimated that approximately 500,000 Loyalists remaining after the War of whom possibly 10% wish to remove themselves from the jurisdiction of the new United States- but to where?

Some, particularly among the well-off, return to Britain- but to most that’s a place you come from, not go to, not even considering that many are colonial born and bred, and Britain has been torn by invasion, riot, and rebellion. Some go to the Caribbean, especially Southerners with their slaves, but it’s not a good place for less well-to-do white men- especially now that Britain has lost some of her former possessions.

Others move to Nova Scotia, which the new state tries to prevent. Several thousand move into the lightly-populated former Acadia (now Sunbury County, Nova Scotia), where they are scrutinized with suspicion by the Patriots in Nova Scotia proper.
Still others attempt to move to Canada, causing the Americans there to be suspicious of the Canadiens' intentions- do they want the Loyalists to move in to help restore British rule? The refugees threaten to disturb the delicate negotiations ongoing (see above); thus their paths are blocked.

While Newfoundland and Rupert’s Land are generally out of the question, there is another British territory on the North America landmass: a place of temperate climate and green valleys with fertile land available for the taking (before the war Robert Clive has been busy propagandizing in the Thirteen Colonies as well as in the Mother Country)

The problem is that it’s a damn long way away- a year by sea around Cape Horn; even longer, if somewhat less rough, around the Cape of Good Hope. Still, Loyalists start to leave on the perilous voyage- but in hundreds, when there are thousands who wish to do so. It seems inevitable that most will be forced to remain where they are, suffering whatever slights and deprivations their neighbors choose to inflict.
Or themselves move west, where they hope to flee those persecutions.

 

[galanx]

Part 14-The Loyalists Resist: Drums Along the Mohawk 1776-1781 There were two groups who can’t count on the Patriots’ toleration. One was those ex-slaves who had fought for the British in exchange for the promise of freedom (see below); the other was those who had been accused of murders and massacres, especially those who fought alongside “the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions".

Among this group two stood out- John Butler and Joseph Brant.

In 1775 John Butler, a farmer and trader in western New York who has fought in the French and Indian Wars, heads up to Quebec to help fight the Rebels.[OTL] With the capture of Carleton and Quebec, he returns to New York and recruits a group of Loyalist Rangers; using his close connections with the Iroquois to recruit allies.
Retcon:With the burning of New York City by George Washington, he is joined by many angry refugees, eager for vengeance.The fighting in New York takes an especially bitter turn.
During the course of the Revolution he and his ally John Brant, an Iroquois war leader, fight through New York State. They are accused of instituting or condoning massacres, which leads to the expeditions against the Iroquois under Sullivan in 1779 and Clinton in 1780.

With peace coming, there are distinctly unpacific calls for both these man and many of their followers, to be hanged, as well as other Loyalist connected with the Iroquois such as Matthew Elliot, Alexander Mackee and John Girty, “the White Savage”, all of Pennsylvania.

Butler and Brant and their followers flee New York, and feel it wiser to continue through Pennsylvania into the Ohio Country.

Some of the Iroquois had fought for the Patriots during the Revolution, but now, with no fear of them allying with the British, it was felt by many Americans to be better to drive them out altogether- not-so-incidentally making available valuable land for settlement.

In 1783 a joint punitive expedition by Pennsylvania and Virginia militias drives the Loyalist remnants out of Ohio- still claimed by both states- and into the “Indian Country” beyond.

 

[galanx]

Part 14-Black Loyalists

The British had offered freedom to slaves who fought for them, and many did. However, the newly-signed Treaty of New York (1781) stipulated that

“All prisoners on both sides shall be set at liberty, and his Brittanic Majesty shall with all convenient speed, and without causing any destruction, or carrying away any Negroes or other property of the American inhabitants, withdraw all his armies, garrisons, and fleets from the said United States” [OTL Treaty of Paris 1783]

While Guy Carleton and other British officers raged at this breach of honour, there was little they could do. Available ships in New York were already crowded to overflowing with white Loyalists. All they could do was watch in anger as slave-owners and their agents rounded up the Negroes- often grabbing any who happened to be conveniently by, slave or freeman.


George Washington was adamant on this point, saying

: ““…I find it my duty to signify my readiness in conjunction with you to enter into agreements, or take any measures which may be deemed expedient to prevent the future carrying away any Negroes or other property of the American people.”[OTL]

Said property often has other ideas; some in the South flee to Florida, others try to go west. Among them is ‘Colonel’ Tye, a former slave and leader of the Black Brigade, a group of black Loyalist Rangers who fought in central New Jersey[OTL]. Defying Washington’s description of him as ‘property’ he leads his Rangers, and other blacks- men, women, and children-who join him on the way, in an incredible journey across New York and Pennsylvania to meet up with Butler and Brant in Ohio- and get chased with them into Indian country.

 

[galanx]

Part 14-Sic Semper Tyrannis: The Assassination of George Washington


With the above exceptions, things seem to be settling down for the remaining Loyalists. Some are still returning to Britain, while those moving to New Albion continue to slowly increase in number as the voyages get more organised.

Then, in 1785, disaster strikes. Faced with the problems of Canada, the Loyalists, and others, Congress has called a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, and unanimously selects George Washington as President. A few days later heading for his carriage, he is approached by a limping young man carrying what appears to be a petition. While those around him try to move him on, Washington somewhat uncharacteristically stops. It is a fatal mistake- the young man drops his limp and his petition, pulls out a brace of pistols and crying “Sic Semper Tyrannis” shoots the new President in the chest. The assassin is immediately cut down; Washington dies two days later.

After searching the papers found in his rented room it appears that the young man is a fervent anti-Catholic as well as a hater of the Tidewater Gentry. His father, a Scottish Presbyterian, had been a small planter during the Regulator rebellion in North Carolina.

The 18-year-old son drifted north through the backcountry, and was inspired to join the Patriot movement by the Quebec Act, which he, like many others, saw not only as promoting Papism but also an attempt to crush the liberties Americans had inherited as free-born Britons. He joined the expedition to Quebec, but is angered by Washington’s order in 1775 condemning Guy Fawkes’ Day and also any action insulting the French-Canadians’ Catholic religion[OTL] He is furthered angered by the demands on the occupiers of Quebec to show toleration. The alliance with the French and Spanish alarms him, and the Invasion of Britain confirms his worst Gordonite-inspired fears of a Catholic/Tory/Tidewater /High-Anglican conspiracy to highjack the Revolution and hand the Colonies over to the Spanish and French, using the Canadian peasantry in the North and slave-power in the South to crush honest Protestant free-holders.

His solutions are to expel all the French-Canadians from Quebec, as well as all the new Catholic refugees; abolish slavery and colonise the newly-freed blacks in Africa; establish universal (Protestant, white, male) suffrage. As well, he proposes a (re)union of an independent United States under the British Crown, but not ruled by Parliament.

Though not a typical Loyalist, he is convenient for the Revolutionary leaders, who are glad to divert those who might be tempted by some of his pro-British, anti-elitist, anti-slavery views, into a witch-hunt against Loyalist conspirators. The feelings against Loyalists are re-ignited by grief and anger over Washington's death, and a frenzy of killings, burnings, expulsions and riots sweeps the nation.


The new President Adams, no friend of the mob, tries to prevent the worst excesses, but at first there is little he can do- the Revolutionary Army has been largely disbanded. Gradually he is able to establish camps near the major cities to protect the terrified refugees, but there is little he can do for those in the backwoods- there only choice is to flee further west and hope they don’t get killed or enslaved by the Indians- which happens often enough. Blacks are specially subject to abuse, being accused of wanting to bring the British back to gain their freedom (though the British never objected to Negro slavery in general)

The camps are rife with hunger and disease: thousands die from cold in the winter. The reputation of the United States and democracy in general is severely blackened. The British are outraged, and no longer having to fight the French and Spanish or worry about colonial sensibilities, there are angry demands to send the navy to burn down every settlement on the American coast.

Adams and his Vice-President Thomas Jefferson are driven to unpopular measures. The money vaguely promised for Loyalist reparations in the treaty of New York will now be delivered to transport the Loyalists away. This is sold to the recalcitrant states as “draining the infection”, and with their cities under threat of bombardment they reluctantly cough up. They do object to this being used to transport the Loyalists to New Albion, with the Governor of New Jersey objecting that it’s just transferring the disease from the right side of the body to the left. A tacit agreement is reached- return to Britain will be paid for by American money; transport to new Albion by the British.

Thus both Britain and especially New Albion receive new injections of extremely anti-American populations. In Britain they are compensated with lands taken from other refugees: British and Irish Catholics driven out during the Gordon Rebellion, as it’s now remembered. In New Albion they establish new colonies, but always with apprehensive eyes turned to the expanding new nation in the east.

 

[galanx]

Part 15- Now the West Gets Weird: Smoking Out the Hornet’s Nest

If those Patriots looking for revenge for George Washington are to be restrained from more vengeance in the east, there’s still one outlet available, far from both inquisitive writers and Royal Navy guns. And besides, who can object to wiping out renegade Indians, runaway Africans, and the type of outlaws who associate with them?

The holdout Loyalist settlements in the Indian Country [Indiana] commanded by Butler and Brent now come under the gun. Due to the acts of repression against the Loyalists, there has been a steady trickle of refugees making the arduous journeys through the backwoods of Virginia, Kentuckee, and Ohio. By 1788 their numbers have grown to about 5,000 whites, 2,000 Iroquois and 1,000 blacks, leaving them with about 4,000 fighters. Unfortunately they are cut-off from supplies, relying on Canadian fur-trappers and traders for what they can smuggle in.

However, they have gained a powerful ally: the Shawnee leader Blue Jacket, who fought alongside the British during the Revolution, and was subsequently forced to cede tribal lands in Ohio.

In 1788 the newly-appointed Governor of the North-West Territory, General Arthur St.Clair, decides to lead a militia force in attacking the Loyalists and their Shawnee and Miami allies. Though he manages to raise two thousand men (including 600 Regulars), he meets a devastating military disaster, and most of his force is wiped out. This leads to investigations in Congress, and President Adams decides to appoint Washinton’s old colleague General “Mad Anthony” Wayne to lead a newly- formed “Legion of the United States” a self-composed force trained to fight irregular forces in wooded country.

[Blue Jacket, St.Clair, Wayne and the Legion as in OTL, just advanced a few years].

After two years training, the Legion is ready. They press into western Ohio, where they are met by the Shawnee, Loyalists and Iroquois. The first battle is a defeat for the Legion; they retreat, but Butler and Brant argue against Blue Jacket that they don’t have enough supplies, especially gunpowder, to drive the retreating enemy out completely.

The next year (1791) the Legion returns, re-supplied and reinforced. This time they inflict a decisive defeat on the alliance in north-western Ohio. The Shawnee are forced to open their lands in Ohio for settlement, and are pushed back into “Indian Country” [Indiana]. Another proviso says they must expel their allies, which Blue Jacket is happy to do, still blaming them for their lack of zeal in the follow-up.

The defeat comes heavy for the Loyalists, as among their many dead is John Butler, aged 62, after a lifetime of fighting. The weary ‘Loyal Company’, reinforced by disgruntled Shawnee, is pushed into the Illinois country. Some desert, but most stay loyal to their leaders (the blacks and Iroquois basically having no choice).

As it turns out, John Butler’s death and the magnitude of their defeat earns them some respite. General Wayne reports his overwhelming victory, helped by the belief that he has not only killed the ‘Butcher’ ( John Butler) and Girty ‘the White Savage’, but also ‘Monster’ Brant, which is not true, though Brant is badly wounded. Wayne goes on to describe the survivors, including "the Young Pretender" as he derisively labels Walter Butler (John’s son and the new leader) as “ squalid savages, starving in ragged scraps of buckskin” which, as Walter later notes, “was near enough right”.
They thus drop off the American’s notice, including the new settlers who have enough on their plate in Ohio and eastern Indiana. For now.

 

[galanx]

Part 15-The Clash of the Prophets: Joseph Brant vs. Tenskwatwa: Tecumseh’s Uprising 1792-1812
[Will continue on with this, though it gets ahead of the rest of the Timeline, as it’s pretty self-contained.]
***[RETCON ALERT!!! ( posted June 2016): Though the events will stay the same, they will be shifted 5-10 years into the future]

Fear of the French and Spanish at St. Louis (French settlement but now part of Spanish Louisiana) keeps the Loyalists far to the north in the Illinois territory, in the bend of the Illinois River where it turns from running west to running south [roughly OTL LaSalle].
This is close to Lake Michigan, where they establish trade with the Canadian fur trappers beginning to flood the area in response to the rapid expansion of the American trading companies in Montreal (see below)

For the next fifteen years the settlement at Fort Resolution, as they name it, is left in peace, apart from minor skirmishes with some of the neighboring tribes.

Joseph Brant has been raised as a Christian and educated at Elezear Wheelock’s “Moor’s Indian Charity School” (later to become Dartmouth College); he had also helped translate the Gospel of Mark into Mohawk [OTL]. Now Brant, deeply affected by the loss of his friend John Butler, as well the sorrows of his people, begins to reflect on his old teacher’s instruction, reading deeply in his Bible. He also discusses spiritual matters with a follower of the Lenape (Delaware) prophet Scattamak, whose tribe had been driven from the Atlantic Ocean to the further reaches of Ohio by the whites, and who preached a return to the old tribal ways, giving up alcohol, guns, and the white man’s clothing.

Brant knows it is pointless to try and fight the whites in the old Indian way; plus his experiences with Butler had led him to believe Indians and (some) Europeans could live in co-existence. He announces to Walter Butler he has had a vision. Butler is skeptical, having been educated as a lawyer. Nevertheless, the two men continue to talk about the experiences that have led them to this point. What, Brant asks, does it mean to be “loyal” to a country that neither of them have seen, and to a King and people who have abandoned them? Both of them, he says, must reflect on the wrongs they have done (for Walter the Cherry Valley Massacre [OTL]) as well as the wrongs done against them.

Brant begins to preach his message. The God of the Bible and the Great Spirit are the same; while some whites are devils, not all are; the Indians must adapt the good parts of the white way of life, just as the people of Fort Resolution and the Canadian voyageurs have adopted some of the ways of the Indian.

He attracts a following among both the Indians and some of the voyageurs, and particularly their mixed-blood descendants (among the ways of the Indians they have adopted are Indian wives, left behind when they returned to Montreal with their furs, though often reunited with on their next voyage)

Brant’s is not the only voice crying in the wilderness. A young Shawnee named Tenskwatwa, later known as The Prophet, has been rescued from alcoholism by Brant’s teachings; however he returns to the earlier message of Scattamak: the Indians must reject every aspect of the white man’s ways. Tenskwatwa too attracts a great following, backed by the Shawnee leader Blue Jacket, and also by his brother, a war leader named Tecumseh. After the defeat by Wayne, the Shawnee have watched more white settlers pour into the region; Testkwatwa founds his own settlement in northern Indiana, called Prophetstown by the whites.

These two conflicting messages are heard with great interest; finally in 1807 it is decided to hold a Great Council of the tribes of the Northwest. Tenskwatwa and others object to the presence of any white men, so Brant brings only some of his Iroquois and Shawnee followers. He pleads against any war with the Americans; he has seen the strength of the whites, their great cities and the weapons they can produce. Those calling for war have only seen the nose of the bear pushing under the tent flap; they don’t know the size of the beast. Tenskwatwa turns Brant’s analogy against him; if you don’t smack the nose, the whole bear will follow. He then points scornfully to Brant’s Iroquois warriors: he has heard they were once the mightiest of all Indian nations, now look at them, refugees living on sufferance - what good has Brant’s message done them? Look at Brant himself, obviously dying of the white man’s disease.

It is true- Brant has smallpox. The assembled tribes reject his message and choose to follow Tecumseh and Blue Jacket. Tenskwatwa gives a grim warning- after they defeat the Americans, they will turn their attention to the settlement at Resolution. All white men- including the black white men- will be killed, as will any Indian who stands with them

 

[galanx]

Part 15- The Prophet and the New Revelation: 1807
Returning to Resolution on the verge of death, Brant reveals his final message to the Loyalists. They had been chosen for testing for their loyalty, not to a King or Country, but to God, just as the Israelites had been, and God had promised them a land of milk and honey, where they would be safe under the flag they had fought for. He revealed his concept of “The Threefold Cord” from Ecclesiastes 4:9

“And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

The threefold cord was the union of white, black, and Indian, the sons of Noah: Japheth, Ham, and Shem respectively, based on the story of Noah in Genesis.

20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

In a feat of scientific anticipation, Brant explains how the descendants of Shem, the Asiatics, had crossed the Dezhnyev Straits [Bering Straits] and populated the Americas (he had seen Indonesian and other Lascar sailors in New York and speculated that they were related to the North American native peoples ). Thus the black descendents of Ham and his son Canaan had been enslaved by the whites, while the part about "enlarging Japheth" and “Japheth dwelling in the tents of Shem” was a foretelling of the expansion of the Europeans into Indian lands. He also lays the origin of the curse to the evils of drunkenness, and urges temperance.

Most radically, he has a solution to the curse. The descendants of the three sons must reunite and be mixed together. Since their defeat by Wayne had resulted in a large number of male fighters being killed, the survivors must marry the widows and single women unable to find a husband in order to ensure their survival, just as the Patriarchs had done to ensure the survival of the Hebrews.

He here again quotes Ecclesiastes 4:, the verse preceding the Three-Fold Cord

"Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?"

Arguing by the logic of the following verse, three (or more) together should be even warmer.

Walter Butler has for some years been a widower; Brant now urges him to marry Brant’s own wife Catherine, upon Brant's death. Catherine herself was mixed blood, born of a marriage between a prosperous Irish trader, George Croghan, and the daughter of a Mohawk chief , also named Catherine[OTL] , both killed supporting the Loyalist cause.

Not only that, Walter should marry one each of the Negro and Indian women of the settlement. Catherine announces her firm support for her soon-to-be–deceased- husband’s stand.

At this point the Black Loyalist commander Colonel Tye stands up. His wife, an escaped ex-slave, has died in childbirth, while Brant’s daughter from an earlier marriage, Christine, has been a widow for three years. (Her mother Peggy, Brant’s first wife, was the daughter of Virginia settlers, but she had been captured at a young age and raised in an Indian tribe.[ as in OTL])
He announces they wish to marry (they are 52 and 37 respectively); Brant gives his blessing.



Brant also gives his final prophecy. If the Indian Confederation wins victory, it can only be temporary, arousing the might of the United States. The Loyalists will still be attacked by either Tecumseh and Blue Jacket or the Americans. They must pull up stakes once again and cross the sea of grass to the west. There they will find a great salty lake, and the River of the Snake; they will see waving in the breeze the flag that they had fought so often for, and this would be the sign that they had reached the promised land and safety at last.

(Brant of course knew of the various trans-continental expeditions by Rogers and others, the discovery of the Bitter Sea [Great Salt Lake] and Serpentine River [Snake R], and that this area was claimed by the British.)

He then reveals their own new flag. It is the new Union flag of 1801, but with the blue background replaced by black, to represent the three races: white, black and red.