Time for another update. Probably will be a while before the next one, since I'm going back to DC for school on Friday and I'll need to get settled in.
Part Twenty-Seven: The Game is Afoot
Final Collapse of Mexico:
Mexico had been dealing with internal strife almost constantly since the revolts that sparked the Texas Rebellion in 1835 and 1836. Struggles continued between centralists and federalists and other divisions in the country through the following decades as the government changed hands a number of times. In the 1850s, the government in Mexico City began to lose authority over the edges of the country. In 1858, the northern cities of Tuscon and Chihuahua kicked out federal officials. This proved to be prophetic for the history of Mexico, and within five years the country fell into anarchy and a full scale collapse of authority from the capital.
The chaos in Mexico lasted the better part of a decade. The many rebelling groups were mostly in the south of the country, however, and did not affect the north as much. The northern states quickly organized into the republics of Sonora and Chihuahua. In the south, unrest continued as federal soldiers quickly lost to rebel groups and goberitos[1]. After almost five years, southern Mexico finally organized itself into a group of smaller nations, roughly corresponding with states or groups of states from before the collapse. In the aftermath nine countries were created from Mexico: Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Queretaro, Granidalgo, Tlaxcala, Jalisco, and Oaxaca. The federal government remained in Mexico City and retained control over the federal district as well as the states of Morelos, Mexico, and Guerrero. The short-lived Maya Republic of Chiapas was soon divided between Oaxaca and Guatemala, which annexed the region of Los Altos, which had been part of the Federal Republic of Central America before that country's breakup.
With all the confusion, a group of Southern filibusters took advantage of the situation and made a landing in the village of Rio Banderas outside of Veracruz. The filibusters, led by former vice president Jefferson Davis, moved north and captured Veracruz in two months. Davis soon proclaimed himself Alcalde-General and made Laurence T. Buford his Tenente-Alcalde[2]. Veracruz was later caught in a dispute between Oaxaca and Tlaxcala and after mediation by the United States, the city became independent, and continued to be an important port in the Gulf of Mexico.
Beginnings of Colonialism:
The 1860s saw the beginning of a new wave of colonialism and imperialism for many European nations, this time focused on Asia and Africa. While the United States did not get involved aside from its good relations with Liberia, many European nations did. The initial wave of colonialism was led by the Belgians, the French, and the British.
Belgium had a history of colonies almost since the country first gained independence. As Borneo had been ceded to Belgium upon peace with the Netherlands, during the first half of the nineteenth century Leopold I focused on obtaining safe shipping routes between Belgium and its East Indian colony. To secure the route, Leopold negotiated naval rights with the United Kingdom and annexed the region around Erasme Bay[3] as a waystation. These colonies were all Belgium had until the succession of Leopold's son as Ludwig I of Belgium in 1859. Ludwig came to power at a young age, and was eager to pursue expansion of Belgium's overseas possessions.
In the early 1860s, Belgium gradually moved in from Borneo to the mainland of southeast Asia. Belgian forces embarked from Borneo and in a two year struggle, entered the city of Saigon and conquered Quinam. Soon after, Belgium also took the port of Da Nang and the ancient city of Hue, causing unrest in the Tonkin lands. After the Tonkin lords collapsed, Belgium moved in to annex the entire area aside from a few isolated local tribes which held out for a few more decades. During this period, the Belgians also established the kingdom of Cambodia as a protectorate in exchange for defense against Siam, but this would turn into colonial domination in later decades.
Other colonization efforts were taken by the United Kingdom and France during the 1850s and 1860s. Great Britain expanded its presence in the Gold Coast and north of the Cape Colony. After the Ganges Revolt settled down, Britain also sent an expedition led by the Great Eastern, a grand steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, to Japan. This expedition was ultimately successful at achieving diplomatic relations with Japan, and culminated with the Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty signed by Lord Elgin who accompanied the expedition and representatives of the Shogunate in 1861.
Meanwhile, the French also sought more colonies after the full annexation of Algeria and the accession of Louis-Napoleon to the French presidency. In 1856, France purchased the anchorage of Obock in the Gulf of Tajdoura. With concessions made by Sa'id Pasha of Egypt three years later, France's interest in the Red Sea grew. The French government soon expanded their colony in Obock to include the nearby town of Assab, and established a hold over the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea and the area surrounding the port town of Mocha on the Arabian Peninsula. Around 1865, the French government also sent a naval and trade expedition to Korea. This expedition obtained a French base in Ganghwa Island similar to the situation of the Dutch in Dejima, and allowed French missionaries limited freedoms in the city of Incheon.
[1] Warlords; the term comes from the shortening of the term for 'little governor'
[2] Mayor-General and Lieutenant Mayor, respectively
[3] Walvis Bay
