The Faraway Kingdom

[Wigmaster999]

Bad Bavaria, BAD!

I hope the Habsburgs manage to sort out the Hungarians in good order, even if it means granting them more autonomy.

Why is Bavaria bad? ;-;

 

[Analytical Engine]

Why is Bavaria bad? ;-;

I like Habsburg Austria. I think you can work it out from there.

 

[fernerdave]

The label for the United Protectorate on that last map could use a little help. Keep up the good work!

 

[Steve Brinson]

I don't know how I missed this, but I won't make that mistake again. This is awesome!

Comments:
-New England looks much bigger than Carolina at the beginning, although probably Carolina is denser.
-Jean de Lauzon looks like he's wearing fake facial hair.
-

June of 1949

Jumping a bit far into the future, are we?
-Georgia in PA, Bakersfield in NC, Charleston in VA - you enjoy using OTL place names in alternate locations, don't you?
-The alternate internal borders look quite cool - I especially like Sideways NH.
-The use of the surviving Protectorate here is interesting - I haven't seen it used this way before, although I'll admit I haven't read much in this time period.
-

The Kingdom of the Valley, unlike Trans-Ohio, was quite insane.

Well, that's certainly a way to start a description.
-Gentlemen's Country - the name really says it all.
-

peacefully keeping away from conflict

Well, they're Quakers, after all...
-It's always cool to see alternate dialect development.
-Woo, Carolinian (Carolingian?) India.
-I haven't seen a map like the culture one, and it looks difficult and time-consuming, but it's also really cool! I wonder how much crossover there would be with a purely linguistic version.
-Warble Pink is a great name.
-Woo, debates! Woo, democracy! ...Woo, corruption!
-Again, alternate music is an underutilized field.
-The Ormonde-Booth thing seems very plausible and realistic.
-That map (first on Page 14) is awesome, although the Carolina and New England colors look a little too similar.
-God's Town, Georgia. Seems fairly presumptuous, though plausible

 

[Upvoteanthology]

Chapter Thirty-Eight - It’s A Qing Thing
Written by Wigmaster999
(1760's-1790's)​

The world, which was a mercurial collection of shaky lines on a map in 1650, was finally beginning to be uncovered. From the Spanish expansion west to reveal the great interior of the American continent to the very first settlement of New Holland in 1772, all of Planet Earth was gradually being revealed to the enterprising minds and outstretched arms reaching ever farther from Europe. There was still one place yet tantalizingly closed to the colonial powers of the West: the Orient. Ever since the Ming Dynasty had secluded itself from the rest of the world and long-lost Cipangu had shut itself off, access to the legendary wealth of the kingdoms of the East had been the final goal of every nation. And so, when the Orient reopened its doors, it found an entire new world eagerly waiting to do business.

Ming Lung, Emperor of Qing China, saw his country as it really was. The once proud Empire now seemed weak in the face of the warships in the Indies, and its rotted bureaucracy was filled with corruption and decay. The Emperor, while still all powerful over his own people, was practically a lesser to the likes of the King of France or the Lord Protector of England. This was partly due to his education; unlike his predecessors, Ming Lung had been partially tutored by Portuguese merchants from Macao, not by court eunuchs and other officials.

In 1755, the Emperor was approached by the British. They had heard of Ming Lung’s desire to rebuild China’s glory, and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity before it slipped away. The British proposed a deal to the Emperor: the British would supply European weaponry to the Chinese army, in exchange for permission to trade with Chinese merchants in the port of Hong Kong. The art of this deal is not often appreciated: the British made the deal in good faith, with no guarantee that the trade in Hong Kong would even be profitable (the British had yet to find anything the Chinese wanted to buy except for cannons, which unfortunately were prohibited by the Chinese court. However, the British required huge quantities of tea, porcelain and silk for their own trade) The Qing, on the other hand, gained a tremendous amount of weaponry that could quickly be used to rearm their decadent armies. It was a deal forged in trust, which would lead to British support of the Qing later on.

The Twenty Great Campaigns​

By 1760, the British were extracting massive profits from Hong Kong. They had found a lucrative substance to trade: furs. Though the Chinese did have limited amounts of the stuff, British furs obtained in New England and Canada sold for incredible profits after being sailed around most of the known world. The Protectorate’s growing income only helped to bolster the Age of Opulence. In the meantime, the Qing under Ming Lung put the weapons to good use. Armies bolstered by Protectorate cannon and steel quickly subdued the murmurs of revolt still being roused in the southern provinces. Two campaigns were lead against rebel insurrections on the islands of Taiwan and Hainan, squashing them quickly.

“Two Campaigns to Taiwan and Hainan,

Three to annex Joseon,

One Campaign in Turkestan,

One in old Bhutan.

Seven Campaigns against the Mongol tribes,

One to coldest Sakhalin,

Four Campaigns in fair Annam,

A Last to protect the Cham.”​

Military planners in Peking, 1781​

Over the course of the next three decades, more campaigns followed. Rebellious provinces were contained or resubjugated, powerful lords were reigned in, and most of all everything between the Himalayas and the Gobi were put under the green dragon’s banner. Armies marched north and south to the Mongols and remaining Jurchens, to the lands of Annam and Dai Viet.

China’s doors were well and truly open, now.

Maybe Should Have Kept the Doors Shut, After All​

The Qing Dynasty ran into some issues immediately. Controlling the new lands was relatively simple with the massive Qing armies, but maintaining a grasp on the people that the dynasty already had was difficult. The nation was by far the most populous in the world. Before Ming Lung had bravely bared his nation to the world, control of the populace was easier. Since trade and movement was all controlled by the administrative bureaucracy, rebellious ideas could be contained. Now that China was subject to foreign merchants, it was also subject to foreign influences.​

Thus, the seeds of revolt began to grow. Aided by the French, who openly worked against the British in every possible way, the seeds soon sprouted.

 

[Upvoteanthology]

The label for the United Protectorate on that last map could use a little help. Keep up the good work!

Haha, very true. I took it from a weirdly curvy United Kingdom label, but mine turned out to be even more undiscernable than the original. Thank you!

I don't know how I missed this, but I won't make that mistake again. This is awesome!

That means a lot coming from you, thanks so much!

New England looks much bigger than Carolina at the beginning, although probably Carolina is denser.

Yes, true. I believe, at the time, both Carolina and New England had very similar populations. With Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, I think New England might have had the slightest edge over them at the time. I tried to show that the demographics shifted differently in ATL, though, since there were so many loyalists fleeing to Carolina after its foundation.

Jumping a bit far into the future, are we?

Haha, fixed. Thanks for fixing my grammar mistakes, it's very much appreciated considering the frequency.

Georgia in PA, Bakersfield in NC, Charleston in VA - you enjoy using OTL place names in alternate locations, don't you?

To be honest? Not really. Georgia was only named Georgia because of George Fox, I would have named it something else if I could (Foxlvania doesn't have the same ring to it). Charleston was definitely inspired by the OTL city, but it was only because I was looking for a potential root name for a city involving Charles that wasn't "Carolina City".

The alternate internal borders look quite cool - I especially like Sideways NH.

Ooh, thank you! Sometimes I worry I haven't done enough in the changes front, I feel like I wasted a large part of the late-1600's and early-1700's.

Well, that's certainly a way to start a description.
Gentlemen's Country - the name really says it all.

Oh yeah, that update. I wrote it because I felt like, in a world where a colony gained its independence 150 years earlier than OTL, there were too few attempted nations. I still feel that way, honestly. I wish I had some more breakaway states earlier on. Champlain was going to be one of the earlier adopters of colonial independence, but it ended up breaking away at basically the same time the US did. Considering I reprimand early-US TLs for doing the exact same thing I did here, I wish I added more variety earlier on. But yeah, Gentlemen's Country is pretty cool, I think I made a few references to it in the city names from the map on page 14.

Again, alternate music is an underutilized field.

Ah, thank you! Although those are arguably my most embarrassing updates...

God's Town, Georgia. Seems fairly presumptuous, though plausible

Well, they ARE Quakers.

 

[HonestAbe1809]

If the area's anything like OTL it'll be corrupted into something like "Gawdston" very quickly.

 

[Wigmaster999]

What area of the world do you guys want covered next?

 

[ramones1986]

the rest of Asia

 

[AlternateAmerican]

Wow, I just read through this whole thread, and I'm very impressed! There are so many possibilities with this TL.

Questions:
-Christina and Kaarmark: On the culture map, it showed a population of Swedes. Does this mean language or ancestry? Is Swedish still spoken?
-What's the status of slavery in North America? I'm guessing, like in OTL, that the southern part has more need for slaves.
-Carolina has a colony in India, right? Do you plan on more imperialism from them?

Some thoughts:
-I love New Netherlands! It seems pretty stable, so I could see an independence similar to OTL Canada, with gradually more autonomy.
-I'd love to see what the butterflies have done with pre-colonial Africa (assuming it even gets colonized in this TL.)
-I agree with ramones1986, I'd love to see more of East and Southeast Asia.

Thanks. I can't wait to see where this TL goes.

 

[Upvoteanthology]

Chapter Thirty-Nine - The Many Dynasties
Written by Wigmaster999
(1786-1795)

Between Two Economies​

The United Protectorate’s economic advantage in China was not to last. While the Portuguese and Dutch both competed for Eastern trade, it was the Kingdom of France that truly fought the Protectorate’s influence. Agitating rebellion and interfering with trade as much as possible, the French sought to undermine the balance of all of China and tip the scales once again into their favor. For more than ten years, the French carefully spread a web of dissent against the Qing Dynasty in Southern China. Emperor Ming Lung of the Qing Dynasty soon found that his own country, once the most powerful in the world and thought to be rising once again under the British, was practically bankrupt. His Twenty Great Campaigns, while widely successful, had cost far more in men and weaponry than they had provided in wealth. In order to resolve this issue, he sought guidance with his British protectors and allies.

The British pointed to the French influences as the source of many of Ming Lung’s problems. They said, perhaps rightly, that the French were restricting trade and stopping gold and silver from entering China. Thus, in 1790 new levies were placed upon, specifically, French endeavors. Immediately, rebellion widely supported by the French rose up throughout Southern China. Insurrection spread like wildfire under the leadership of a young peasant-rebel-turned-hero named Zhang Xi. This is the most often cited beginning of the First Qing Civil War: June 11, 1790.

The Xi Rebellion​

The Xi Rebellion quickly gained traction. Starting in the south in newly-conquered Annam, Hainan and Bhutan, it quickly swept north. Claiming much of the southern coastline in a series of skirmishes, the rebels established their own government in Canton. Using arms provided by the French, rebels quickly seized control of the mountainous Tibetan region. Valiant defences on behalf of the Qing were staged, especially to protect the critical port city Fuzhou. However, after two grueling years of siege during which more than a third of the city starved or fled, the city fell. Zhang Xi himself was said to be the first man to enter the city, riding atop his legendary war horse, bearing the flag of rebellion against “Qing oppression.” He claimed the Mandate of Heaven itself after seizing the Fuzhou.​

The British were slow to react to the rise of the Xi. For a year, only minimal assistance was provided to Ming Lung, who despaired as his empire fell apart before him. However, when it became clear that Xi’s interests were with the French, the British too poured what revenue they had into the area. Militias were raised in India and sent north to fight under British command, arms flooded the entire country, and ultimately the Protectorate navy was sent to preserve British interests. After halting the Xi just south of the Yangtze River, the Qing began a massive offensive with British guns to provide aid. During the spring of 1793, the Xi were defeated at two critical battles. However, both times the Xi forces escaped only battered, with the Qing taking heavy losses as well. As the Qing ventured further from their supply lines, with the majority of peasants south of the Yangtze on the side of the Xi, they found that the situation was unwinnable.

After four and a half years of civil war that crippled the jewel of the East, Xi Zhang and Ming Lung met for a peace conference hosted on the Protectorate flagship H.M.S. Oliver Cromwell acting as the ‘neutral’ moderator. The two warring nations found themselves to be in a deadlock; neither could advance without crippling their ability to wage war in the future. The same could be said for the French and the British; no advances were possible without a direct war between the two.

The Treaty of the Yangtze River in 1794 was by no means a fair deal, or even a good one, for either side. It ceded much of Annam and Southern China to the fledgling Xi Dynasty, along with granting the small city of Hong Kong to the French and the port of Qingdao to the British. The Treaty was only a small step to creating new peace in the region: more conflict would follow soon.

Map of the Xi Dynasty in 1795.​

Cipangu​

Cipangu, a chain of vast volcanic islands to the east of Korea and China, maintained a similar system to China throughout the 18th Century; that is, one of isolationism. However, just like the states of the Maori, and like China, Cipangu’s time to awaken drew near in the latter half of the 18th Century. Cipangu had been ruled by an incredibly isolationist Shogunate since 1603. The Shogun, always keen to keep a firm control over his country, limited the amount of foreigners within the country and heavily restricted freedom of movement and of trade. It seemed that this ironclad control could not be shaken; in fact, by 1750, even the Dutch were getting diminishing returns from their sales of goods in the island of Kyushu.​

Many point to the Portuguese being the nation that modernized Cipangu. However, the modern convention is that it was the Chinese-- and therefore, by extension, the United Protectorate. It was the Chinese invasion of the Sakhalin Peninsula during the Twenty Great Campaigns that terrified the Nipponese. The Peninsula, just to the north of Cipangu, could be used for a much more easy form of invasion into Cipangu. This was something that had not been attempted since the Mongols, but with Ming Lung being ever-expansionist, the Shogunate was not certain in its security. The Shogun first turned to the Dutch, whose East India company still had a base in Hirado, for armaments to defend against the Qing Dynasty. However, the Dutch had already overstretched their resources, especially in their investments in the Spice Islands and later New Holland, and refused the offer.

This is where the Portuguese entered the picture. The Shogun invited a delegation of Portuguese merchants and officials, captained by a man named Diogo Salgado, to meet with his own cabinet. The negotiations, which began in 1784, quickly became deadlocked, and for two years no headway was made. For two years they went on, until finally in 1786 a deal was struck: A ready supply of weapons would be sold to the Nipponese for a large sum of money, in exchange for exclusive Portuguese rights to trade.

For the next ten years, the Shogunate gradually traded more and more with the Portuguese. Even though the Qing had been vastly weakened by the rise of the Xi, it was still found to be beneficial to trade. The weaponry could be used to rearm the military, which could in turn to be used to fuel further… endeavors.

It is also worth noting that the Nipponese were one of the principal funders of the creation of the Maori state. The Maori navy used to invade the Solomon Islands was partially provided by Cipangu. The two island nations would become close, unbroken allies for decades to come.

Painting of Maori Chief Akenehi visiting Japan in 1804.​

 

[Upvoteanthology]

Chapter Forty - New Netherlands: Heartland of Innovation
Written by Wigmaster999
(Early 1790's)​

The Netherlands was a unique case in Europe: a secular, benevolent republic with no true enemies. While not always prosperous, the Netherlands was always stable. Rare were the political revolts that regularly overtook the United Protectorate, the Spanish Empire and more. The Dutch government was hugely in favor of freedom of ideas, speech, and especially trade. All of the benefits of Dutch governance in the Netherlands was carried over to the Dutch colony of New Netherlands; in fact, the benefits were magnified. Removed from the difficult and archaic political structures of Europe, New Netherlands experienced all of the benefits of empirical protection with none of its downsides.

By 1790, New Netherlands had become a haven of free-thinkers and intellectuals. Home of the oldest college in the New World (Harvard University was forced to shut down and was later destroyed during the upheavals in New England), New Netherlands was also the birthplace of many ideas that shape modern society.

The Grand New World Dutch Menagerie ​

Near the center of New Amsterdam was the Grand New World Dutch Menagerie. It housed all manner creatures taken from the New World: a wide variety of birds, massive snakes taken from the Amazon rainforest, rodents, piranhas, llamas, and more. It was the first public menagerie to be opened in the Americas. Working at the menagerie in 1795 was a young man named Jan Schroder. Born in Milan (to Austrian parents) in 1776, Schroder had been forced to flee his home country after it was discovered his parents were funding rebels. After travelling to Spain and later Spanish Florida (where he discovered his love for animals and zoology), he ended up in New Netherlands.​

Schroder was also a prolific artist and writer. He quickly began drawings of many of the most famous animals: grizzly bears, toucans, etc. Many think this was the time when he began writing down observations he made of the characteristics of the creatures. Creating his now famous chart of similarities between creatures, Schroder quickly gained preeminence in the Dutch scientific community.

“It is a beautiful, simplistic concept, unlike the thoughts of Aristotle or the like. I shall call it Biological Progression.” - Leven, by Jan Schroder​

Schroder became one of a community of scientists, colloquially called the Menagerie Society. With the Austrian/Milanese/Dutchman at its head, they pioneered many discoveries: the greatest of which was the idea of Biological Progression. Biological Progression is the idea that all manners of life began with a single, basic lifeform. All life, through manners of mutation and thus progression, share a common ancestor with at least this basic creature. This, of course, went against the teachings of practically every religion the world over.

The government of New Netherlands knew how important matters of religious security were. Thus, they took no part in discouraging or encouraging the spread of the insidious idea. The Menagerie Society stayed at work, and would play another great part in the future. In the meantime, ideas spread.

The "Early Fish", first theorized in Leven​

Colonial Independence​

All colonies seek independence from masters far away. New Netherlands was no exception, even with the light hand of the Dutch. It was natural for the academics of the colony to want independence, away from any prying eyes whatsoever and completely free from foreign taxes. However, it was also logical to seek independence without war. The United Netherlands government was equally wise; war was bad for business, but the colony would rise whether they liked it or not. Already, meetings conducted in part by the Menagerie Society roused discontent and peaceful protest erupted in the streets of New Amsterdam. Thus, an emissary was sent: Christian Scheffer.​

Scheffer, a lawyer, quickly negotiated an agreement between the rebellious colonial assembly of New Netherlands and the United Netherlands back in Europe: an eighty-year long charter that outlined the gradual granting of independence to the colony. Things would proceed slowly, with gradual lifts on minor tariffs and greater freedoms for the colonial populace.

The deal was ratified almost immediately. Though Scheffer was scorned in Europe for letting go of a rich portion of the Dutch Empire, he is widely considered to be a hero. The first peaceful independence agreement, something that other colonies could only wish for.

"Statenvlag" of the New Netherland Independence Movement, 1744-1797​

 

[Upvoteanthology]

Wow, I just read through this whole thread, and I'm very impressed! There are so many possibilities with this TL.

Questions:
-Christina and Kaarmark: On the culture map, it showed a population of Swedes. Does this mean language or ancestry? Is Swedish still spoken?
-What's the status of slavery in North America? I'm guessing, like in OTL, that the southern part has more need for slaves.
-Carolina has a colony in India, right? Do you plan on more imperialism from them?

Some thoughts:
-I love New Netherlands! It seems pretty stable, so I could see an independence similar to OTL Canada, with gradually more autonomy.
-I'd love to see what the butterflies have done with pre-colonial Africa (assuming it even gets colonized in this TL.)
-I agree with ramones1986, I'd love to see more of East and Southeast Asia.

Thanks. I can't wait to see where this TL goes.

-In the time the map took place, it was just ancestry. Although, if there were to be a language map, there'd still be tiny bits of Swedish spoken in the smaller cities.
-Carolina still has legalized slavery, and probably won't abolish it for a while. Georgia banned it early on in their history, even though the King specifically made a decree saying individual provinces don't have the right to ban things like slavery. Upper Ohio and Christiana also have little to no slaves (2-5% for each at the most), while places like Bakersfield and Catawba have far higher.
-Carolina does indeed! They also took over the Kingdom of Abomey, which is in West Africa. Expect to see more colonialism from them soon.

-In the chapter I end up writing (hopefully I do one soon), I'll probably cover Africa in more detail.

 

[Wigmaster999]

1800 is getting mighty close... perhaps this could mean another interlude?

Expect the next fifty years to be the most eventful yet.

 

[Upvoteanthology]

Interlude Five - Carolina in 1800

Population: 1,679,870

• Virginia: 472,440
• Bakersfield: 401,250
  
• Maryland: 245,100
• Catawba: 193,350
  
• Christina: 170,750
  
• Georgia: 115,060
• Karrmark: 64,660
• Upper Ohio: 41,800
• Appalachia: 32,150
• Cherokee Territory: 31,000
  
• Lower Ohio Territory: 21,010

Capital: Charleston
Largest Cities:

1. Bakersfield (51,000)
2. Charleston (42,500)
3. Wissax (32,250)
4. Jamestown (18,810)
5. St. Mary's (17,500)
6. New Jamestown (10,750)
   
7. Jamestown (9,500)
8. Virolle (8,110)
9. New Stockholm (7,020)
   
10. Nedapan (6,735)

Current Leader: King Dominick II Stuart
Leader of Parliament: Sir Nattaniel Smyth
National Anthem: "Republick Across 'e Shore"
Official Language: Carolinian English (now substantially different from regular English)

Cultural Groups:

• Major cultural groups: English, Irish, German (including Dutch), African, Native American
• Groups with a plurality: Swedish, Scottish, Appalachian
• Groups with a minority: French, Danish, Spanish

Current Relations:

• Good: Louisiana, Brandenburg, Sweden
• Neutral: Spain, New England, France
• Bad: Netherlands, United Protectorate, Dunhythe [still unrecognized]

 

[Upvoteanthology]

I'm working on a chapter, check my test thread for more details/progress.

 

[Upvoteanthology]

Chapter Forty-One - The Great Amerikan Prepand [1]
(1799-1805)

The Duke of Blackbrook​

After only twelve years on the Carolinian throne, King Dominick II had done more for the country than his father; he'd accepted refugees from New England, invaded the Ashanti Kingdom to start a race for Africa, and promoted the growth of stagnating Charleston and Jamestown. However, his economic and political spread had only took place outside of North America, and the home country was almost stagnating. Even with a forty years long series of wars in New England, Carolina only just outnumbered them on population. Growth had been good in the more religious states, but that meant that towns like Bakersfield and Wissax were surpassing even the capital in population. Dominick had plans to take over Louisiana from his French allies, but that couldn’t happen if there were no colonists actually moving west. The only people who were living in the frigid Appalachians were the descendents of the crazies who were exiled there two generations before. The original settlers’ grandchildren still seemed to hold a grudge towards the Carolian government for taking over the “Furorem Country” (Madness Country), but Dominick only intended to use that to his advantage.

For most of his reign, Dominick had lived in the Charles Palace, the castle first built by Charles’ slaves when he moved to the New World. It paled in comparison to the growing Parliamentary building half a mile down the royal road, where thirty of the three hundred and thirty-five delegates lived permanently in their lavish plantations. After the population of Carolina broke 300,000 and the number of delegates passed six hundred, Dominick’s grandfather had changed the system so that every member of Parliament represented five thousand people each instead of five hundred. But even in the sixty-odd years since the change, the number of delegates had once again jumped from sixty back to over three hundred, and Dominick was annoyed to see representatives from Appalachia going and walking around on his gardens. However, Parliament wasn’t his concern on that bright, spring morning; it wasn’t even on his mind. He left the royal promenade at around noon on April 14th, 1799, and, after a small march through the marketplace as a show of power, rode out of the capital with four guards and a small battalion.

Dominick's plan was to march his small army from Virginia to Lower Ohio, where some pretty shady individuals resided. In his mind, Appalachia and Upper Ohio had both been “pacified” since the Mountain Wars generations before. While the original settlers’ descendants still hated the King, the Furorem Country had mellowed to a degree, and while the anger was a core part of Appalachian culture, the people actually willing to fight against the government that gave them food and guns slowly went down. However, Upper Ohio was the only place where armed resistance was still prevalent, and that was due to one family; the Winchesters. The Winchesters were the family that took over the Carolinian monarchy after King Charles died without an heir, and while the majority of the family still stayed in Charleston after they were kicked from the throne, some decided to move west to spread chaos in the 1720's. And, after the wars in the Applachians finally came to a close, some of their descendants begrudgingly moved even further west to settle in the Ohio Territory. At the time, not much came of it, and the first wave of Winchesters only set up the infrastructure necessary for the Icelandic families that ended up settling there in 1740.

Wikipedia article about the Icelandic colonization of Lower Ohio.
Teensy Little Note: In the first sentence, "covering a bend in the Ohio River" should be changed to "covering a swath of the River Rothbury (which is, in OTL, the Clinch River)".​

However, in 1769, a government-hating member of the family named Niklas Winchester moved from Jeffersonia (a town in Appalachia) to Blackbrook, which was a small but prosperous fort built by rebels during the Mountain Wars. In the winter, he coaxed King Dominick I to create the Upper Ohio Territory by splitting up Ohio and rearranging Appalachia, then proclaimed himself King of the Ohio River (and, by extent, King of Carolina-in-Exile) in 1770. The two "duchies" under his rule, Blackbrook and Westhaven, were both too small to be recognized and fought against by the Carolinian government, so the people under Niklas' rule listened to him. Eventually, he even convinced the Icelandic families in the south of the territory to "secede" as well, leading to a stalemate that both Dominick I and his son both chose to ignore, even after the "kingdom"'s raids on Virolle and Birchhey (the latter being a part of French Ouisconsin). Decades later, at least according to the sources Dominick II had heard, the aging Niklas had started to resent his kingdom, and could be paid off to do anything. Since the Winchesters and their pretender kingdom had militarized themselves, Dominick wanted to use their weapons for the benefit of Carolinian expansion by secretly bribing Niklas and his subjects to move into French territory.

Map of the Lower Ohio Territory during the Winchester Era (1770-1799)
​

Dominick and his legion stopped first in the sliver of land known as “Appalachian Virginia”; a region in far eastern Appalachia and western Virginia. With the area being known for its moderate conservatism and lowland farms, the king saw it perfect to quarter his troops there for a little while. Soon after, he crossed the Appalachian mountains by horseback, briefly crossing over the Cherokee Territory before reaching the Lower Ohio Territory just short of four weeks after leaving Charleston. Surprisingly enough for Dominick, he found himself faced with little resistance during his first few days marching north. Even the bigger towns, while only having populations in the hundreds, didn’t seem to care about the person many recognized to be the king. The first actual confrontation he was forced to make didn’t even come until after he left the majorly-Icelandic regions of Lower Ohio, and even that battle only killed one of the men on each side. When Dominick reached Blackbrook, the self-proclaimed capital of Niklas’ empire, he found himself surprised to find the “emperor” living in an actual castle. The Winchesters apparently built the so-called “Stronghold of Zion” in 1791, opting to not turn any of the abandoned French forts in the area into their fixer-upper. The Stronghold was built three miles outside of Blackbrook, nestled in-between two large farming plots and surrounded in luxurious gardens. What was even more surprising to Dominick was the fact that he wasn’t faced with an army at the doorstep to the castle. Instead, he was welcomed with open arms.

As it turned out, Niklas wasn’t quite as inept as Dominick first thought. He was definitely a bit eccentric in his old age, but hadn’t gone off the deep end like the rumors had suggested. He talked to Dominick about how the whole purpose for his rebellion was to get a response from the government, which would cause the soldiers sent to fight to settle in the Lower Ohio territory and beyond. Then, if he were to be exiled, he could lead the new settlers to form a stronger kingdom in French Louisiana. To Dominick, it was clear Niklas still wanted to rule as an emperor, but he didn’t hate the Stuart branch as much as some of the members of his castle. In his thirty years as leader of an unrecognized state, he had resigned himself to the belief that he’d never rule over Carolina. And, with the king standing right in front of him, he was scared that he'd be sentenced to death in front of his own followers. However, what he didn’t know during his conversation with Dominick is that they had the exact same goal. Both hoped to find some way to spread the Anglo-Saxon ideal into Louisiana, both hoped to overthrow the colonial government, and both wanted to provoke a takeover of the entire continent under a Christian empire. So, on August 2nd, 1799, the Treaty of Blackbrook was signed, and Niklas I and Dominick II began to work together.

Niklas and his troops were sent to Quaparie (Iowa) with Carolinian support, aided a Carolinian legion. It was all a play Dominick put on for the French; he told the leaders of Haute-Louisianne that the prisoners just needed to be exiled from the kingdom, never alluding to the fact that it was basically an invasion. Dominick didn't just get away with manipulating the French, he also manipulated the party he'd signed a treaty with. Niklas was told the Carolinian troops were meant as extra settlers, while Dominick had told the leader of the troop to overthrow him when they got the chance to. That way, the Carolinian army could easily invade the entirety of Louisiana, while French troops were busy fighting the two factions that had settled years before. Dominick stayed in Zion for three weeks, before trotting back to Charleston with a smile on his face.

The "Stronghold of Zion" as it stands in the present day.
​

[1] - The term "Prepand" was the Carolinian English term for what we'd call an expanse.

 

[Upvoteanthology]

Interlude Six - The Era of Conflict
Written by Wigmaster999
​

On December 31, 1799, the world was quiet. Peace reigned supreme across every continent; from the vast tracts of untamed wilderness in the Americas to the ancient kingdoms of the Orient, from the deserts of Africa to the forests of Europe, the world slept fitfully. All nations lay at rest, unaware that the turn of the century would signify greater change than any could imagine. In Europe, nations maintained an uneasy truce. Europe’s legacy had spread across the globe, yet now cracks were beginning to appear in the ancient foundations of society. Long-held positions of power wavered, and countries once the most powerful of all now found themselves on unstable thrones. Yet, for now, the balance of power remained intact. Europe still lay at the center of the world, its vast empires reaching to every corner of the globe.

In the East, the kingdoms of the Orient found themselves in an in-between state. Nations once bound by the shackles of Chinese influence now found that the balance had shifted. As kingdoms awoke and Europeans stretched ever further in pursuit of profit, every country found itself at a crossroads; modernize, or be consumed. Some nations, such as Cipangu and the fledgling Maori, were just beginning their rise to new heights. Others would not be so lucky. Yet, here too, an uneasy peace reigned. And, in the New World, there was something else entirely. The brilliant ideas of Europe, combined with the hope and spirit of a new start, had given birth to something entirely new. There was no delicate balance of power in the Americas; the rise of the Kingdom of Carolina had thrown balance out of the window long ago, and the European nation’s differing reactions to King Charles I’s flight had only helped to add to the chaos. From the Fur Revolution to the establishment of Orihuela, The New World was only beginning to find a sense of order once again.

And so, on December 31, 1799, the world was quiet. Not a single nation across the globe had any idea that the coming years would destroy the balance that all had grown so comfortable with. Not a single nation, not a single man, knew that the entire world’s fate rested in the hands of just a few men.

One of those men was named Ferdinand Guerrero.

The world trundled on, blissfully ignorant of the future, into a new age full of faraway kingdoms and places.
​

Map of the World in 1800 (credit to B_Munro for the map).​

 

[Upvoteanthology]

Chapter Forty-Two - The Road to Revolt
Written by Wigmaster999
(1800-1801)​

In 1783, the “Gold Rebellion” in New Spain lead the Spanish monarchy to realize quite how important the colonies had become. After the Rebellion’s primary perpetrators, including Carlos Mandira, were executed or exiled, the Spanish began to maximize profits while they still could. The Spanish were not stupid. They knew that New Spain and its constituent peoples held great influence over the economy of the Empire. They knew that they had to clamp down on the people, and the resources, of the region before dissent began anew. Thousands of soldiers were sent to New Spain to control the gold supply and reduce unrest in major cities.

One might argue that the Spanish had not been harsh enough. In order to show a sign of goodwill, Carlos Mandira’s designated successor and rebel leader was allowed to live; he was exiled to Bajio Norte instead of executed. There, he laid low for two decades, gradually gathering the support of the people in the process.

1800 was the year. The year of progress, of hope, of change. The year of the Second Mexican Revolution, or as it is better known, “La Revolución.”

Gold!​

One last burst of propaganda, one more heinous Spanish offense, was necessary to launch Ferdinand Guerrero’s unrest into full on revolution. It was found in the hills and hinterlands of Bajio Norte. Gold began arriving on the New Spanish market from miners, who told the tale of a new mountain of wealth in the hills. Naturally, the miners did not sell to the Spanish government; the government already controlled practically all wealth in the colonies. They gave the gold to the “common” people, in exchange for equipment, housing, anything they could want.

Exact estimates are unclear, but it is thought that the Spanish tax collectors, colonial magistrates, and the Crown found out about the gold within two months. Immediately, the “miners” were interrogated. Two-thousand troops marched into Bajio Norte in July. In their wake they left the common people; the Spanish had come and seized yet another source of wealth in the colonies, leaving nothing for the farmers on which the Empire was built.

This was what Ferdinand Guerrero needed. Posters and fliers spread across the land. Popular headlines [translated] included “Greedy Bourbons Steal Yet Again!” and “No more! Our money is our own!” The open revolution rose quickly in the north, Spanish soldiers vastly outnumbered in all but the most occupied of cities.

La Revolución!​

Ferdinand Guerrero’s call to arms roused thousands of people. Militias formed in every town and city. Guerrero greatest appeal to the people was not that of independence of Spain, it was the creation of an independent, democratic nation. Inspired by the republican ideals of the Dutch Revolts or the English Civil War, but far more radical; there would be no single, ultimate ruler. Merely an elected president, controlled by the cabinet but chosen by the people. Equal votes for men and women. The greatest advantage for the Guatemalan people, as they were beginning to be called, was the vast size of their nation. Larger than the Roman Empire itself at its greatest extent, the combined territories of New Spain and Bajio Norte were sparsely populated. It was impossible for soldiers to control all the colonists; seven to eight million people, rarely concentrated in major cities, lived in the northern Spanish colonies.

Large distances also meant long communication times. Guerrero proved himself to be a communications genius; using a system of relays and horseback messengers, he could outpace an army or even Spanish messengers and provide warning before troops entered towns. Whenever the Spanish armies arrived to engage a rebel militia, the militia would have disappeared into the wilderness. If the Spanish pursued them, they would suddenly find themselves being constantly harassed, troops being picked off one by one, as they marched after an elusive foe.

We have the large distances to thank for our lack of initial information. The “first shot” of La Revolución was fired in Santa Rosa, or in Albuquerque, or in Mexico City. It does not really matter; La Revolución began on August 2 or 3, 1800.

Fall of Bajio Norte​

Bajio Norte had a Spanish colonial regiment of 10,000. It is estimated that militias swelled to 20,000 or even 25,000 during the revolution. The fighting was brutal, and quick. Ferdinand Guerrero, veteran of the Gold Revolution, proved to be an extremely skilled general. His militia stormed first his exiled town of Albuquerque, then quickly capturing the Spanish tercios in Santa Rosa and the surrounding countryside. There were three decisive battles along the banks of tributaries and the Rio Grande itself, each ending in Guatemalan victory. The Spanish troops were disorganized and poorly equipped; they were still sorted in tercios, which were terribly ineffective against Guerrero’s guerrilla tactics.​

The Spanish colonial regiment of 10,000 in Bajio Norte was cut in half by 1801. Guerrero’s troops, bearing the proud flag of the Guatemalan People’s Protectorate, marched into the colonial capital of Florencia.

Guerrero's march on Florencia, July 1801.​

The revolution created a state of chaos within the Spanish Empire. The entire foundation of the government was based off of a supply of gold and silver that simply stopped coming. Furthermore, the revolution showed quite how weak the Spanish had become. When empires weaken, their rivals close in. Spain was no exception. Rumbles of revolution arose in New Granada, and both the United Protectorate and France were eager to gain a greater portion of the spoils. Guerrero’s talk of true democracy was scary, but likely untrue. Meanwhile, New Spain suddenly found itself cut off from its northern extension. Though there were many, many men keeping the peace in the major cities and ports, the administration could do little more than keep the mines running. Messengers were found dead on the roadside, supply wagons for armies wrecked in the night. Patriots, or “republicans,” were everywhere.

A month passed before the second advance began. Mexico city would fall.

 

[Sceonn]

An even larger Latino United States of America? Me Liky!