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Part Sixty-Six: The Grand Peace

Money Matters:
After the European Wars, the late 19th century ushered in an unprecedented period of peace and extended cooperation between all countries in Europe and in North America. As Europe rebuilt from the war, most countries on the continent demonetized silver and adopted the gold standard. In an effort to keep up economic growth among the great powers, several attempts were made to coordinate international policy on gold reserves. The United States, meanwhile, kept to its own as one of the only countries to remain on a bimetallic standard for the dollar. The foremost cooperative effort in Europe was the creation of the European Monetary Standard[1].

The European Monetary Standard was developed after discussions between France and Germany over how to pursue the friendship between the two countries. In 1886, President Charles de Freycinet of France[2] and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck of Germany signed an agreement to set the standard weight of one unit of franc and the goldmark to one tenth of a troy ounce of gold. Moravia, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland joined the European Monetary Standard as they used the franc and goldmark as their currencies, and Baden put its thaler on the EMS in 1887. The Dutch guilder and the Belgian franc finalized the creation of the EMS and put their currencies on the Standard in 1890 and 1892 respectively.

The new coins of the European Monetary Standard were minted with the profile of a prominent figure of that country on the front and with the coat of arms of each country on the reverse. France's featured Louis Napoleon, who had served as the French president for over a quarter century. Germany's goldmark had Otto von Bismarck's profile on its front. The Belgian france featured King Ludwig I, while the Dutch guilder had King William III on the front. The Badener thaler had a portrait of Duke Frederick I.


The Sleeping Bear:
While most of the great powers of Europe had been posturing for dominance and squabbling amongst themselves, the Russian Empire had retreated into a policy of isolationism after the Napoleonic Wars. After the death of Czar Nicholas I in 1846, Alexader II focused on internal policy. As he possessed liberal-minded leanings, Alexander did much to reform the Russian political system. In 1861 he abolished serfdom throughout the Russian Empire. Alexander also supported the construction of railways for both military and economic purposes. The newly created Ministry of Railways and Communication oversaw a great expansion in the mileage of railways and telegraph lines to many cities in Russia proper.

Alexander I also encouraged development of the interior of the country and Siberia. During Czar Alexander's reign, cossack hosts were organized in the southern regions of the Russian expanse in Siberia, primarily around Lake Baikal and along the Amur River on the border between Russia and China. Along with the cossacks, migration eastward into Siberia increased greatly in the 19th century as mining facilities were constructed. The port cities of Magadan and Chumikan[3] developed into the primary Pacific shipping points for the Russian Empire. Further settlement in the farther reaches of Siberia was expedited by the discovery of gold in the mountains around Chumikan and in the Uda River.

Russian settlement of the Uda River region in the 1870s led to increased tensions with China when it was rediscovered that the Uda River had been intended as the boundary between Russia and China as defined by the Treaty of Nerchinsk. In 1885, an opportunity arose with the outbreak of the Sino-Korean War and France stepping in to aid Korea in their rebellion. The new Tsar, Nicholas II[4], was eager to expand Russian territory in Siberia and Central Asia and so Russia began pressuring the Chinese government to formalize a new treaty on the border of the two countries. Distracted by the Korean rebellion and the French invasion, China agreed to set up negotiations with Alexander Sibiryakov, Russian governor of the Far East. After weeks of negotiations in 1887, the Treaty of Chita formally marked the border with China giving numerous concessions. The new border in the Far East was generally established at the Amur River, then following the Ussuri and Khor Rivers up to where it reached the Pacific Ocean. This gave Russia full control of the Amur Delta while leaving parts of the Pacific coast of Manchuria in Chinese hands.

[1] Similar to OTL's Latin Monetary Union.
[2] Louis Napoleon died at age 73 in 1881.
[3] Chumikan is at the very western point of the Sea of Okhotsk.
[4] OTL Tsesarevich Nicholas, Alexander II's first son who died at age 21 in 1865.