alternatehistory.com

Wider World Gazett

Edition 1, 1815-1865 in Europe

The WWG will be issued periodically to catch the readers of AH.com up with what is going in the rest of the world of Washington Lost, which is going to remain fairly American focused. It will be written “out of timeline,” meaning it will make references to OTL and making comparisons between ITTL events and real events.


The United Kingdom - The future Queen Victoria was born os per OTL on May 24, 1819. However, unlike in our world, her father, Prince Edward the Duke of Kent, did not die in 1820, leaving her to the care of her mother. Instead, Prince Edward took a keen interest in his daughter and her upbringing. He said many times that, “my daughter will be the Queen, and I will make sure she is the best Queen England has ever had.” Private tutors, professors, no expense was spared. The young Princess learned German and French, philosophy and mathematics, and politics too. In 1820, King George III died, and his brother the Duke of York became King George IV. He died in 1831, and his brother, William the Duke of Clarence, became King William IV. In 1836, William IV passed away as well, making Victoria’s father the sovereign, King Edward VII. At that point, Victoria and her family moved into the nearly completed Buckingham Palace, the project of Kings George IV and William IV. Edward VII’s health was not well by this point, so the King instructed that his daugher be made ready and aware of the affairs of the Kingdom before his death. Edward died on July 9, 1841, making the 22 year old Victoria ruler of the kingdom, Britain’s first sovereign Queen in generations. Following arrangements made by her father and uncles, Victoria married Prince Alexander of the Netherlands on May 2, 1843. Victoria and Alexander’s first child, Princess Victoria Alexandra Maria, was born on October 1, 1844. Her second child, Princess Elizabeth Gloria, was born on April 19, 1846. A third daugher came along in 1849, Princess Juliana Francesca. In 1856, a surprise son was born on September 9, Prince Edward Alexander Michael.

Queen Victoria is often called the Reformer Queen, and this moniker came about rather early in her reign. Upon visiting a mining town in Wales in 1844, she saw the conditions of the worker’s villages, and was appalled. “No British subject, no subject of mine, should live in such squalor.” She began to work with members of the government to pass laws requiring better working conditions and living conditions for workers across Britain. By 1850, a slew of new labor laws mandating safety, better water, more space for housing, and other regulations were enacted. Victoria, whose father had ensured she had the best education possible, and one far better than those most women received in that day and age, championed establishing proper public education for all children in Britain, something achieved by the end of the 1870s. Her biggest, often called most radical reform, came after her son was born in 1856. She loved her son, and was overjoyed at his birth. However, by that time she had already begun to prepare her daughter, Princess Victoria Alexandra, to become the next queen, as she was 12 by the time her brother came along. Soon after his birth, the government reminded their sovereign that her son was now heir. The queen balked at this idea, that her daughter suddenly lost her place because of her brother. She told the government that her heir would remain her daughter. The government ministers balked, and the fight was on. It would take 6 years, but finally the laws were changed, and not just for the Royals, but for all British women. Daughters, if they were first born, could inherit their father’s titles and fortunes.

Victoria was also an early champion of British support for the northern rebels in the American War Between the States, long before intervention was even possible. Victoria detested slavery, and made sure that, even though the British government could not act on the requests made by the Northerners at first, the representatives of the two rebel groups were welcomed and taken care of while in London, much to the chagrin of the “official” American ambassador representing the Hawthorne government. When, in the Summer of 1861 the Bombay Incident finally dragged Britain into the fight, the queen was reportedly elated at the chance to help in the fight against slavery.


France - The Bourbon Restoration occurred as per OTL. However, Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, died in 1822, so his brother King Louis XVIII outlived him. During a bout of illness where it looked like King Louis XVIII looked close to death in 1824, the heir, Charles Philippe’s son Louis Antoine, attempted to prematurely take the reigns of control to “alleviate” the stresses on his ailing Uncle. Both liberals and supporters of Louis were appalled, and thousands took to the street in protest. Unfortunately for Antoine, Louis XVIII rebounded, and had his”power hungry ingrate of a nephew,” expelled from the country, and declared Henri, son of Louis Antoine, would become king when he died, and set up an regency since the boy was only 4 years old at the time. In 1825, Louis XVIII died, and Henri became King Henry V at 5 years old. Louis made sure that his heir was surrounded by a wide variety of men, both liberal and conservative, to bring him up. The Duke of Orleans became the regent until Henry would come of age in 1838. While not as reform minded or liberal as Queen Victoria gained the reputation for being, Henry was considered a fair, moderate monarch, and helped strengthen the durability and stability of the restored French Monarchy. Henry supported the free press, and more often than not the Prime Minister of France was a moderate liberal under Henry’s reign. In 1840, due in part to mounting liberal pressures thanks to the revolts gripping the German states, King Henry V signed a new Constitution granting many more powers to the people and the legislature, and greatly expanding the electorate. One major act in the 1840 constitution was restoring a modified version of of the Tricolor Flag as the national flag. This modified version added a gold fleur de lis in the white center stripe.

When the short-lived liberal-leaning German Republic collapsed and was overrun by the Prussians, Bavarians, and Austrians, in 1841, tens of thousands of German liberals of all walks of life flooded over the border into France seeking refuge. And for a short while, most were allowed to stay. However, by 1845, political pressure from Austria and Prussia forced Henry to require the majority of the emigres to seek a new life in the Americas or England. This created the “45ers,” tens of thousands of German immigrants that fled to the United States and Texas.


Germany - King Frederick William III of Prussia died in 1839, a year earlier than OTL. His son was very ill at the time, and so the liberal opposition in Berlin went to work. The new King is too ill to rule, they claimed. Prussia must modernize, adopt a new constitution, allow freedom of the Press like in France, etc. Protests spread across the northern German states and into Bavaria throughout 1839, especially as it seemed that the liberals would be successful. Then, King Frederick William IV recovered and rallied his conservative supporters, and began to “put the liberals back in their place.” Hundreds fled Berlin. But instead of going into hiding, they coalesced around the city of Frankfurt, where on October 3, 1839, the so-called German Republic was proclaimed, becoming a magnet and haven for liberals all over the German states.

For nearly three years, the Republic flourished. Frederick William IV was reportedly okay with the whole thing, as he would rather the liberals in Prussia leave and go somewhere else. However, Austria felt differently. Austria and Bavaria launched an invasion of the “German Republic” in early 1841. Prussia jumped on board, worried that Austria would gain too much power if it crushed the liberal enclave on its own. The Republican Army put up quite a defense, but was overwhelmed. Tens of thousands fled to France, and after the Germans put pressure on France, those emigres found themselves bound for the United States and the Texas Federation. In the US, the 45ers mostly made their way to Ohio and points westward. Some joined the already sizeable Germantown district in Franklin. In Texas, about two thirds of the Germans settle in “Mexican Texas,” settling not too far from Franklin-on-the-Bravos, establishing the town of New Frankfurt, the remainder settling in the Republic of Texas, establishing the community of New Koln. During the Second Mexican War, Germans were quick to defend both Texases, and several of the liberal leaders helped create the constitution for the new Texas Federation that was established in 1848. Back in Europe, Prussia solidifies control over the northern German states, and Austria and Bavaria grow closer together and control the south of Germany. Liberalism is strictly monitored and suppressed wherever possible.

In 1861, King Frederick William IV died, and his son took the throne as King Frederick William V (OTL, FWIV was childless, not so here, his son being born in 1827). The 34 year old King is a political moderate, and believes reforms must come to Prussia if it is every to become the most dominant German state. Tensions are starting to flare on the frontiers with Austria and Bavaria (which are now looking seriously at a dynastic union).