TLIAD - "Butterfly Free" Dominion of Southern America

Really, your first TLIAD and you're going to rehash the idea of the DSA? Why don't you just finish your ginormous DSA timeline?

Well, while I was pondering all the many changes I've been able to explore in the larger timeline, it occurred to me that it would be rather fun to see what would happen if the ONLY major change was the DSA (well, and the USA, because you can't really extend the butterfly net at 36-30, but it will be a more 'normal' USA I'm thinking...).

Whatever, but why not do a fresh new idea?

Well, real life is really really busy but I wanted to try my hand at this (okay, I do have an idea for a Doctor Who one but it's more of a TLIAW rather than a day and I thought I'd do this to get in practice).

Whatever - bring it on, Glen!

Alrighty then....

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

The War of 1812



The War of 1812, sometimes referred to as the Second War of American Independence, pitted Great Britain against the United States once more. The inciting issues included interference in trade, impressment (especially of Virginian sailors who were often 'mistaken' for denizens of British Southern America), and the continued presence of British troops in forts in the 'Northwest'.

One of the most dramatic instances in the war was the sailing of a British force up the Hudson River to burn Washington, DC. New York City, while fired upon, was bypassed for the symbolic value of attacking the fledgling Republic's capital.

While the War would not result in any real exchange of territory between British Southern America and the United States of America, it would confirm the 36-30 dividing line between the Americas, seeing the final removal of British troops from the Northwest (as well as several of their Native American allies retreating to the South), and respect of American rights. While it came after the official halting of hostilities, the shocking capture of British New Orleans by troops led by Andrew Jackson (with help from the infamous pirate Jean Lefitte) would result in confirming the Mississippi as an international waterway as far as US shipping was concerned.

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

British North America & Texas in the 1840s



The 1840s south of 36-30 were a tulmultuous time, notable for the brief rise of the Republic of Texas and it's amazing victory in the Mexican-Texan War, followed by its merger with the rebellious colonies of British Southern America over the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.

There was fierce debate in the USA over whether to recognize the Confederation of Southern America. Many in the US wanted to see a new republic on the American continent (and the further erosion of British power in the region), but just as many were staunchly against the institution of slavery and wanted to see the Slaver's Rebellion quashed and the final ending of Slavery in North America (illegal in the USA and in Mexico).

In the end, the USA remained out of the war, and the CSA could not stand against the might of the British Empire, but from this conflict it would be seen that a new form of governance would be needed in British Southern America (which would now include Texas as well, much to the chagrin of both the USA and Mexico).

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

Impact of the Crimean War on British Southern America



The Crimean War which began in 1854 and dragged on for two years interrupted a half-century of peace between the European great powers, turning into a bitter and drawn-out war in the Near East focused on the Crimean peninsula which some historians consider a transitional war that would introduce some of the first elements of 'Modern' warfare.

While British Southern American played no direct role in the Crimean War, it was stripped of its occupational garrison of British troops (prominent since the end of the Slaver Rebellion) to supply the needs of the Crimean Expeditionary Force. This led in turn to the establishment of a permanent militia for British Southern America in 1855, including provisions for volunteer troops. The militia idea was so popular, especially among Empire Loyalist families, that recruiting far outstripped demand.

While no BSA units fought in the Crimean War, individuals did enlist and reach the battlefront. In fact, the first Southron (born to a Loyalist family from North Carolina) to win the Victoria Cross, Lieutenant Alexander Dunn of the 11th Hussars, gained this coveted honor for his participation in the ill-fated charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava on 25 October 1854, certainly the most famous single action of the war (if also one of the most fool-hardy). While of a Loyalist family, it was said that Dunn could be heard issuing the famed "Southron Yell" first heard issued by the forces of the defunct CSA, during the famed charge.

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

Indian Indentureds in British Southern America & the Sepoy Mutiny



In roughly the decade between the ending of the Slaver Rebellion (and thus the final end of slavery in North America and the Caribbean) and the regretable events of the Sepoy Mutiny in India, there was a large influx of Indians from the subcontinent as indentured laborers to fill the large need for field hands in the cotton fields of British Southern America, which provided the vast majority of cotton fiber for the growing industrial looms of Great Britain. These newcomers in some ways fit in Southron culture even less than African-descended former slaves in the South (who had been a presence in North American culture going as far back as th 1600s).

Mistrust rose to a high level with the news of the Sepoy Mutiny in India, and the rate of indentured labor being brought into the British South dropped dramatically. However, there were already enough Indians in British Southern America that they would be a continued new strand of Southron life, contributing espically to culinary dishes in the South.

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

The US Purchase of Alaska



In the wake of the Crimean War, Russia had need for further finances. Also, after the failed attempt by British naval personnel to claim Hawaii for the British, there were fears in Imperial Russia that Britain might try to press further claims to Alaska going back to the 1700s. With that in mind, and given US expansion in the North and West of the continent, it seemed a logical step to induce the Americans to pay for Alaska, completing American surzeinty (other than Greenland) above 36-30 as well as providing Russia with much needed capital.

While some Americans derided the purchase as a frigid folly, others saw it as a completion of American Manifest Destiny.

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

Founding of the Dominion of Southern America



After the turbulent 1840s & 1850s, the British Empire was looking for better ways to manage her far flung possessions such as India and British North America.

After a series of discussions and debates over nearly a decade, it was decided that the colonies of British Southern America should band together in a federated Dominion, and in 1867 by the Grace of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, the Dominion of Southern America came into being.

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

US looks to the Pacific



A growing America more and more saw herself as an emerging power, but had limited opportunities for growth. With her opportunities for growth to the South and in the Caribbean effectively blocked by the British (especially after the founding of the Dominion), US interests looked more and more to the Pacific. Many New England families were intrepid travelers of the era and ended up in the strategic Hawaiian islands as planters and traders. As their numbers and influence grew in Hawaii, so too did their sense that Hawaii should be the next great acquisition of America after the purchase of Alaska.

Starting in the 1870s the US entered into treaties with Hawaii giving America basing rights in Pearl Harbor as well as most favorable trade terms (with demonstrations against the treaties being put down by US Marines). The Hawaiian Royal government tried to resist being further ensnared by the ex-patriot American community and the US government, leading to friction in 1893 outright revolution, forming the short lived Hawaiian Republic, which was quickly annexed by the US government.

These actions were strenuously objected to by the British government.

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

The Spanish-American War



Shortly after annexation of Hawaii, America's attention turned to the Far East. The Philippine Revolution against the aging Spanish Empire was heavily publicized through American newpapers, raising indignation at the oppression by Spain of Filipino Freedum Fighters, who claimed to be inspired by the United States and to want to establish a Republic along democratic principles.

As the revolution continued, the American Far East Fleet sent ships to Manila Bay to guard American Interests in the region (which were few at the time). While to this day it remains unclear who or even if fired the first shot, US Naval personnel claimed to come under fire from the shore. What could have been a minor international incident snowballed rapidly into an outright war in the Pacific between Spain and the USA.

With both the US west coast and Hawaii, America was better placed to reinforce Naval operations than Spain, and within a year the 'war' was all but over. Spain was made to cede all her Pacific possessions to the United States (which Britain and France agreed with, fearing otherwise they would be snatched up by the growing powers of Germany or Japan).

By the turn of the century, the US had become a major player in the Pacific, if not on the global stage.

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

The Nicaragua Canal



There were many schemes over the centuries to construct a canal across Central America to link the routes from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Caribbean.

While many routes were suggested, including the Darien Route through the Isthmus of Panama (part of New Granada) and several through various parts of Nicaragua, forces conspired to align things such that the British would gain the canal via a Southern Nicaragua route.

Nicaragua and Costa Rica had bickered for decades over their Southern Border, and several treaties had been drafted and failed. Finally, almost reluctantly, they turned to the great power in the Caribbean for mediation when the British approached them about rights to the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua as part of a new canal project, in part sparked by the recent success of the Suez Canal in Egypt.

Eventually it was decided that the British would fund and protect the waterway, which would be managed via the Dominion (whose bureaocracy was much closer than London). The Canal Zone would encompass all the disputed regions between the two countries in return for a generous payment to both. The British would gain a 99 year lease on the Canal.

Good work. Interesting to see how the DSA and that northern USA react to the world stage IOTL.

SuperFrog said:

Good work. Interesting to see how the DSA and that northern USA react to the world stage IOTL.

Click to expand...

Yep, though these versions of the USA and DSA are somewhere between the full length DSA versions and OTL areas to which they correspond.

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

The Dominion of Southern America in the Boer War



While the first foray of Southrons into the international battles of the British was the Crimean War, it was the Boer War at the turn of the century which saw troops from throughout the British Empire mobilized to fight the fierce Boer resistance in Southern Africa.

While the majority of combatants for the British hailed from the United Kingdom, the Dominion of Southern America sent the next largest number to fight in the Boer War (followed by Australia). The supporters of the war claimed that it "pitted British Freedom, justice and civilization against Boer backwardness".

The Southern African climate and geography were far closer to that of Southern America and Australia than most other parts of the empire, so the Southrons and Australians adapted quickly to the environment, with troops from those two parts of the Empire serving mostly among the army's "mounted rifles."

The Boer War can be summarized into three parts. The first part was characterized by questionable decisions and blunders from the British leadership which affected its soldiers greatly. The Australian soldiers were shocked at the number of Afrikaner soldiers who were willing to oppose the British, whereas their Southron counterparts were less so, having been raised on stories of the Slaver Rebellion.

The Afrikaner troops were very willing to fight for their country, and were armed with modern weaponry and were highly mobile soldiers. This was one of the best examples of Guerrilla style warfare, which would be employed throughout the twentieth century. This first phase saw the British suffer several major defeats at the hands of the Boers. Afterwards, the British called upon more volunteers to take part in the war from throughout the British Empire.

The second part of the war was the opposite of the first. After the British reorganized and reinforced under new leadership, they began to experience success against the Boer soldiers. Southron forces, many of whom were led by officers and non-coms who had fought wild Indians in the western provinces of the Dominion, showed the most expertise in fighting against this new kind of warfare. British soldiers resorted to using blockhouses, farm burning and concentration camps to 'persuade' the resisting Boers into submission.

The final phase of the war saw an shift to a primarily guerrilla phase where many Boer soldiers turned to guerrilla tactics such as raiding infrastructure or communications lines, but this was in vain on the part of the Boers and the war eventually wound down with their defeat.

Enlistment in all official Southron contingents totalled over 25,000 and Australian contingents totalled over 16,000. Another eight thousand Southrons and six thousand Australians served in "irregular" regiments raised in South Africa.

While Loyal Black Southrons offered to form volunteer regiments to serve in the Boer War, the British politely declined the offer, though this would be remembered in future.

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

The Venezuelan Crisis



A prelude to the Venezuelan Crisis might be considered the territorial dispute between Venezuela and the British over the border with British Guiana (which a decade before had its administration handed over to the Dominion of Southern America). The Venezuelans tried to entice the USA into intervening, but the British very adroitly rebuffed the USA (and some say there was a quid pro quo over the US staying out of South American affairs in what the British more and more considered their back yard in the Western Hemisphere in return for British reluctant acquiescence over American actions in Hawaii and the Pacific). In the end, the Venezuelan government was forced to acceed entirely to the British view on the border.

This weakness on the part of Venezuela may have further undermined mainstream politics in the troubled nation and led to further civil war. By the early years of the 20th century, the Venezuelan government had suppressed the insurgents, but only at an exhorbitant cost and the European Great Powers began to press for payment. The British, French, and Germans instituted a blockade to demand payment, but a bankrupt Venezuela could not meet these demands.

It was then that the German Empire, looking to build a world-spanning empire like its European rivals, threatened invasion and occupation of Venezuela (essentially converting it into a German colony). However, rumor spread like wildfire about this German intent, and anti-German hysteria broke out in the Dominion of Southern America (and there was grave concern in London regarding German intentions as well). To forestall any further temptation on the part of the Germans, the British with a large contribution from the Dominion occupied Venezuela, guaranteeing that in doing so they would supervise the repayment of debts to France and Germany (and to British interests, of course). The German Kaiser was incensed by this outmaneuvering and called upon the German Navy and Army to start drawing up theoretical plans for the invasion of the Dominion (there was also a plan developed for a military adventure in the USA to force them out of the Pacific, though this was not felt to be a likely gambit).

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

The Oil Boom in the Dominion of Southern America



The beginning of the 20th century saw discovery of massive oil reserves in the Dominion, including the Provinces of Louisiana, Arkansaw, Albion, but especially Texas. While oil had been known to be present for quite some time, the combination of new exploration and the boom in demand as internal combustion engines, especially for increasingly inexpensive cars, drove demand to new heights. Big Oil joined the venerable Big Sugar and Big Cotton as the major exports of the Dominion. For most of the 20th Century, it would be the oil fields of the Dominion that would fuel the British Empire (as well as being a major supplier for their neighbor to the north, the USA).

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

Dominion of Southern America & World War I



World War One was one of the most pivotal events in the history of the world, and no less so for the Dominion of Southern America. Over 900,000 Southrons would serve in the war, from the invasion of Mexico early on when that troubled nation was colluding with Germany to invade the Dominion, to the fields of Europe, where so many young Southern men lost their lives.

The militias of the Dominion would make up the backbone of the Southron Expeditionary Force that would be sent to Europe to fight side by side with troops from the Mother Country. Early on though, Dominion leaders were able to negotiate for the Southrons to fight as a single unit under a Southron commander (much of their success in this regard was based off their exemplary record in the Boer War). Indeed, the Dominion was the only other forces of the Empire other than Australia to have its own independent air command, the Royal Southron Air Corps. Though the Southron airmen served mostly in the Mexican theatre, towards the end of the war they were deployed in Europe as well.

There was also a small but rapidly growing Royal Southron Navy that mostly saw service protecting the shores and shipping between the Dominion and the Mother Country, but also was heavily involved in the landings at Veracruz and the protection of the Nicaragua Canal. Light cruisers and destroyers such as HMSS Texas, HMSS Carleton, & HMSS Albion distinguished themselves during the war. The Dominion also deployed two submarines, SS1 & SS2 during the war.

Early on in the European theatre, the Southron fighting man earned a formidible reputation. In the first battle to see use of green chlorine gas, the Germans sought to eliminate resistance by using the poison gas. Following an intensive artillery bombardment, they released over 150 tons of said chlorine gas from cylinders dug into the forward edge of their trenches into a light wind - As thick clouds of yellow-green chlorine drifted over their trenches the French colonial defences and British colonial forces on either side of the Southrons crumbled, and the troops, completely overcome by this terrible weapon, died or broke and fled, leaving a gaping hole for several miles in the Allied line. The Southrons were the only division that were able to hold the line.

The Battle of the Somme claimed more than 30,000 Southron lives, but it also gave Southron units the reputation of a formidable assault force. As the wartime British Prime Minister, "The Southrons of our DSA played a part of such distinction that thenceforward they were marked out as shock troops; for the remainder of the war they were brought along to head the assault in one great battle after another. Whenever the Germans heard the Southron Corps coming into the line, announced by that distinctive Southron fighting yell, they prepared for the worst."

The World War saw many traditional barriers in the Dominion start to break down. Volunteer forces of Black and Civilized Indian Dominion subjects were allowed to form segregated units that fought with distinction next to their White counterparts in the trenches of Europe. There was even a small Dominion unit of subcontinental Indians in the war. The fields and factories of the Dominion needed more workers than ever at a time when many young able bodied White Southrons were serving, and thus Blacks found better options than they had since the beginning of the Dominion, and women of all colors for the first time entered the work force.

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

The Roaring 20s in North America



The Syncopated Age can be said to have been born in the Dominion of Southern America, where new music, new food, and a new attitude was birthed after the horrors of the World War. The DSA exported this vibrancy and energy to the Mother Country and to the tepid USA in the North. While the Provinces of the Dominion had had a daliance with Prohibition as a grain conserving measure during the war, shortly after its end the big business of alcohol in the Dominion was running once again, from Cuban Rum to Carleton Corn Bourbon to Albion Wine. In fact, many a Southron made a fast buck running Dominion spirits, beers, and wines across the border to the now dry USA.

There was also a thriving Southron expatriot community in Paris, a legacy of the World War. The writings of this generation would go on to become modern classics.

Of course, the party couldn't last forever, and the 1930s would be much less festive.

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

The Grim 30s



The 1930s saw the end of the party. With the collapse of stock markets across the world, the ravages of the dust storms in central North America which hit the Dominion Provinces of Texas and Arkansas particularly hard, and the rise of Communism in Russia and Fascism in Italy and Germany, and Militarism in Japan, it looked as if the world was spiraling into an abyss.

About the only bright spot of the era was the dawning of the Golden Age of the Motion Picture. The Province of Albion, with its temperate weather and diversity of biomes close together, made for an ideal area to film classics of the silver screen (London and New York also had thriving film industries).

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

The Americas in World War II



From the very moment of World War II, the Dominion of Southern America declared her support of the Mother Country against the German threat.

Southron fighters first distinguished themselves in the Air Battle over Britain that preserved the Mother Country against the Germans.

The progression the DSA made from the beginning to the end of the war was astonishing, going from the limited amount of warships they had to the third largest navy in the world was an achievement in itself. Their primary role in protecting merchant ships from North America to Britain was successful. By the end of the war, German documents state that the Royal Southern American Navy was responsible for the loss of over 50 submarines in the Atlantic. The British Admiralty stated, "Southrons solved the problem of the Atlantic convoys."

Southrons of all races would participate in and distinguish themselves in the liberation of Europe from German tyranny, albeit still in segregated units.

The other great Dominion of the Empire, Australia, had their most prominent role in the Pacific, Far East, and Near East.

However, perhaps the most important role of the Dominion was in the development of the Atom Bomb. The British led efforts in exploring the feasibility of such a weapon early in the course of the war, but it was feared that the British Empire didn't have the resources to both execute the war and engage in the massive undertaking of developing such a superweapon. However, a window of opportunity opened with the surprising entry of the United States of America into the war when Imperial Japan attacked the Philippines and Hawaii. The Dominion hosted a meeting between the American President and British Prime Minister which led to the New Bern Agreement to develop jointly between the three nations the atom bomb and to share any technology for peace or war that derived from this herculean effort. The first stages of development were performed in the Universities of the USA, with the involvement of British and European refugee scientists alongside their American colleagues. However, it was soon decided that for the industrial component of the mission to be moved to a remote location in the mountains of Eastern Carleton, and then later in the project a bomb testing site was designated in the wilds of the Province of New Mexico.

While many in Great Britain and the USA had sympathies for Communist Russia, the more conservative Southrons did not share this sentiment, and it was Dominion military security who discovered and broke the spy ring plaguing the Atom Bomb project before they could pass on the most critical secrets of the project to Moscow.

By the end of the war, there were three nuclear powers, Great Britain, the United States of America, and the Dominion of Southern America, and all three would benefit from the Atomic Age.

From Time-Life's Images of American Destiny

Founding of the United Nations



In the end days of World War Two, the Great Powers determined to forge a new international organization in order to prevent future world wars. As part of the plan was the concept of developing a guiding council for security. The major allied powers, China, France, Russia, the USA, and the UK were natural choices for permanent members of the council, but the Dominion of Southern America made a strong bid to also be counted in that number, especially as one of the new nuclear powers of the world. However, the DSA was opposed by other powers due to fears that since the DSA and UK shared a sovereign, it would essentially count as double representation for His Majesty's government.

However, as a consolation for not being named a permanent founding member of the council, the Dominion of Southern America was chosen as host nation for the headquarters of the United Nations, which was placed in that most international of Southron cities, New Orleans.