1757-1763
Battle of Plassey- Mir Jafar, who in OTL kept his 35000 troops from fighting and became puppet Nawab for the British as a reward, decides against betraying Siraj ud Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal (POD). Siraj and his French allies overrun the British position, killing Robert Clive in the process. French control and influence in the Bengal becomes established. The Seige of Madras is successful in the next year and with British power in India effectively broken, the French Compagnie des Indes Orientales (CIO), under Dupleix, becomes the predominant European power in South Asia. Other theatres of the Seven Years' War go much as OTL. Treaty of Paris 1763 confirms French hegemony in India, allowing the EIC to retain Calcutta and Madras as demilitarized trading posts and former British sepoys having the option of enlisting with the French. The Great Mughal, Shah Alam II revokes his ancestor's farman to the EIC, awarding a similiar document to the COI, granting them offically recognised status and trade privileges in the, now mostly theoretical, Mughal Empire. Proclamation of 1763 forbids European settlement in the newly conquered areas of America, rankling settlers.
1764-1769
British attempts to regain influence in India are rebuffed, and results in the loss of Bombay to the French. EIC headquarters transferred to Malacca, attempting to gain a stranglehold on the Straights trade. Napoleone Buonaparte, a man who will later become famous in Indian and Italian history is born in Ajaccio, Corsica. Pasquale Paoli recognized as Prince of Corsica by France and Britain. (In OTL, 1769 was the year French troops finally subdued Corsica. In TTL, Genoa decided not to sell rights to Corsica in addition to de facto recognizing its independence by not sending any more soldiers.In addition, Carlo Buonaparte, Napoleone's father is one of Paole's lieutenents.) French Navy and merchant ships undergo a rapid expansion, with dozens of new keels laid each month, stimulating a growing middle class of artisans and merchants in the process. At this point there are two routes to India from France: The Atlantic route, depending on Portuguese and Dutch ports in Africa for water and supply; and the Med route, typically from Marseilles or another French Mediterranean port, to Alexandria, Egypt, overland and -river to one of several Red Sea ports and from there to India. Both of these routes were regarded, and rightfully so, as quite unreliable, facing dangers from pirates, hostile natives and having to rely on foreigners for required supplies. COI officials would soon realize that something would need to be done to remedy this situation. The Great Mughal inducts the COI, in the person of Dupleix, into the Mughal hierarchy as diwan (chancellor) of Bengal. This, together with the earlier farman, provided the legal basis for French presence and rule (raj) in India. EIC gains interests in Annam, with a factory in Saigon.
1770-1779
British attempts to assert more direct control of its North American colonies leads to outright rebellion in southern New England and Virginia. Sympathisers and loyalists in other colonies spread the rebellion, which is also encouraged by heavy-handed British treatment of innocents, including the use of native allies and German mercenaries. Iroquois League dissolves as member tribes take sides in the rebellion. French support of the Continentals (as they become known) takes the form of money, ships, soldiers and advisors to help train the Continental Army. Meanwhile, back in Corsica, a fifteen year old Napoleone Buonaparte enlists aboard a COI ship to India and accords himself well in battles against Algerian and Egyptian pirates before reaching Alexandria. He then boards another ship from Suez to Bombay, where he finds himself a position as an artilleryman in the Company army.
Excerpt from "Napoleone Buonaparte: Un Grande Uomo", M. Naccio, 1964, Royal Presses, Rome:
"The young Napoleone was a curious soul, often venturing, against his parents' wishes it should be added, to the Ajaccio docks, learning French from the sailors and wondering at the majesty of their ships, wondering at the might of their nation, wondering why Corsica hadn't achieved anything of its like. Even in his youth, he realized the importance of France's size and trade and desired the same for his country, preferably with him at its head. To this end, he set out to make his name and his fortune, his goal always being to return to his homeland and make it as strong and wealthy as possible, as strong as France."
_________________________
Well, that's Part 1. Any comments, questions, corrections and nitpicks are welcome and encouraged.
Also, link to the original discussion thread.
Battle of Plassey- Mir Jafar, who in OTL kept his 35000 troops from fighting and became puppet Nawab for the British as a reward, decides against betraying Siraj ud Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal (POD). Siraj and his French allies overrun the British position, killing Robert Clive in the process. French control and influence in the Bengal becomes established. The Seige of Madras is successful in the next year and with British power in India effectively broken, the French Compagnie des Indes Orientales (CIO), under Dupleix, becomes the predominant European power in South Asia. Other theatres of the Seven Years' War go much as OTL. Treaty of Paris 1763 confirms French hegemony in India, allowing the EIC to retain Calcutta and Madras as demilitarized trading posts and former British sepoys having the option of enlisting with the French. The Great Mughal, Shah Alam II revokes his ancestor's farman to the EIC, awarding a similiar document to the COI, granting them offically recognised status and trade privileges in the, now mostly theoretical, Mughal Empire. Proclamation of 1763 forbids European settlement in the newly conquered areas of America, rankling settlers.
1764-1769
British attempts to regain influence in India are rebuffed, and results in the loss of Bombay to the French. EIC headquarters transferred to Malacca, attempting to gain a stranglehold on the Straights trade. Napoleone Buonaparte, a man who will later become famous in Indian and Italian history is born in Ajaccio, Corsica. Pasquale Paoli recognized as Prince of Corsica by France and Britain. (In OTL, 1769 was the year French troops finally subdued Corsica. In TTL, Genoa decided not to sell rights to Corsica in addition to de facto recognizing its independence by not sending any more soldiers.In addition, Carlo Buonaparte, Napoleone's father is one of Paole's lieutenents.) French Navy and merchant ships undergo a rapid expansion, with dozens of new keels laid each month, stimulating a growing middle class of artisans and merchants in the process. At this point there are two routes to India from France: The Atlantic route, depending on Portuguese and Dutch ports in Africa for water and supply; and the Med route, typically from Marseilles or another French Mediterranean port, to Alexandria, Egypt, overland and -river to one of several Red Sea ports and from there to India. Both of these routes were regarded, and rightfully so, as quite unreliable, facing dangers from pirates, hostile natives and having to rely on foreigners for required supplies. COI officials would soon realize that something would need to be done to remedy this situation. The Great Mughal inducts the COI, in the person of Dupleix, into the Mughal hierarchy as diwan (chancellor) of Bengal. This, together with the earlier farman, provided the legal basis for French presence and rule (raj) in India. EIC gains interests in Annam, with a factory in Saigon.
1770-1779
British attempts to assert more direct control of its North American colonies leads to outright rebellion in southern New England and Virginia. Sympathisers and loyalists in other colonies spread the rebellion, which is also encouraged by heavy-handed British treatment of innocents, including the use of native allies and German mercenaries. Iroquois League dissolves as member tribes take sides in the rebellion. French support of the Continentals (as they become known) takes the form of money, ships, soldiers and advisors to help train the Continental Army. Meanwhile, back in Corsica, a fifteen year old Napoleone Buonaparte enlists aboard a COI ship to India and accords himself well in battles against Algerian and Egyptian pirates before reaching Alexandria. He then boards another ship from Suez to Bombay, where he finds himself a position as an artilleryman in the Company army.
Excerpt from "Napoleone Buonaparte: Un Grande Uomo", M. Naccio, 1964, Royal Presses, Rome:
"The young Napoleone was a curious soul, often venturing, against his parents' wishes it should be added, to the Ajaccio docks, learning French from the sailors and wondering at the majesty of their ships, wondering at the might of their nation, wondering why Corsica hadn't achieved anything of its like. Even in his youth, he realized the importance of France's size and trade and desired the same for his country, preferably with him at its head. To this end, he set out to make his name and his fortune, his goal always being to return to his homeland and make it as strong and wealthy as possible, as strong as France."
_________________________
Well, that's Part 1. Any comments, questions, corrections and nitpicks are welcome and encouraged.
Also, link to the original discussion thread.
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