A Cup of Tea:Good Ole Biology Mk.4

Spores drifted upon the wind, like smoke from a battlefield. Buffeting wind and howling rain neither impeded nor dampened the travels of the seed. They floated interminably, bobbing on zephyrs, even imaginary ones. The Spores came down upon The Land, consuming the Coffee where they could find it. They traveled across Oceans and Deserts, from the plateaus of Ethiopia, East to Ceylon. Her Majesty’s Raj also saw the seeds rain from Ethiopia. Asia was hit by the Seed as well.
No sooner had this happened, When the Seed was taken West, by traders and merchants across the World Ocean to The country of Redwood, burning through Coffee there. The Spores tore through Coffee like fire, leaving a crisis upon the World’s Hand. Assuredly, it would not seem too desperate to A World more apt to industrialize instead of basking in caffeinated beverages.
One with that mindset would be incorrect.

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Well, In all honesty, I am so dedicated to this TL, I will bump it a thousand time to get it a bit of attention, but I am looking for feedback from YOU. YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SCREEN! Flame, critique, spam, I don't care, just please give some feedback into this project.
 
Rust and Racism

Ignore this Post, for it was fatally flawed

And so begins


1869-1879
History: A Cup of Tea
 
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One problem you over looked is -- It take ten or more years for a tea Bush to Mature to the point of Harvest.
This is not a get rich quick plant for Carpetbaggers. By the time enuff plants start Maturing, reconstruction will be over.
 
One problem you over looked is -- It take ten or more years for a tea Bush to Mature to the point of Harvest.
This is not a get rich quick plant for Carpetbaggers. By the time enuff plants start Maturing, reconstruction will be over.

Ah yes, thank you. That fact I did overlook...
I'm not sure how to edit that...
 
can tea even grow that well in the south? IIRC attempts to do it in the Carolinas were pretty disastrous.
 
Final Draft: Rust and Rebellion

Rust and Rebellion



Hemileia Ventusemen was unwittingly a very big player on the international stage in the winter of 1867-1868. Coffee was quite nearly rendered extinct by this species of Rust. Whilst this allowed formerly Coffee dependent economies to expand, it caused the price of the caffeinated beverage to sky rocket, and a Recession struck the Western World. Countries on both sides of the Atlantic watched their pockets fill with dust, dragging on without aide from the marvelous beverage, coffee.
Great Britain, Surveyed her empire under the Sun, and found a surprising alternative to Coffee: Tea. It was an easy to cultivate shrub with taste, ‘Vital Amines’ as they were called by the scientists, and more importantly Caffeine. Soon, Ceylon and India were growing tea out the Wahoo (To use a more modern phrase).

Rubber was also taken up as a crop. Necessary for chemists and novelty collectors of the day, the new rubber plantations helped fuel a bike craze in Europe in the 1860s-1870s.

However, Tea became much more famous when America, a Country that split, and only just healed the wound, went down on its knees for Tea.

Coffee dominated the national flavor, and those diligent workers were quite unhappy there was no ‘cheer-up’ in the morning. Growing anything like cocoa and tea themselves would be expensive and end in disaster. So America money poured out to Spain, who gave too little to meet American ‘need’ (due to the Luzon Uprisings), and was promptly ignored by America once again. They turned to Britain for tea from Ceylon, and were met with pound signs in merchant eyes.

Tea, which used in an infamous act of rebellion during the American Revolutionary War, was now bringing America and Great Britain closer together.


Excerpt from Encyclopedia of Food and Beverage History pg.172
Richard H. Anderson had suffered much during the bloody Civil War. Images of dead men filled his head up to his death. Attempting to create a farm and make a profit off cotton, failed utterly. He was very close to Bankruptcy, when a Carpetbagger named ‘O’Reilly’ came and gave him some seeds to plant.
They soon emerged from the ground as a plant which could be used to make a new beverage. It was tea, delicious to the Yanks up North, but missing something for the Rebs.
After several months of tinkering with a tonic-concoction, he produced “The Tea for Men”: A Black Tea base, with a splash of whiskey and a hint of gunpowder, along with other flavoring additives.

Selling the Tea under the label ‘Andie O’Reillys’ in Stateburg, South Carolina, they became a common sight in Bars in The Carolinas. After reaching Savannah and Atlanta in 1879, the Tonics became a quick hit with locals. Soon enough, even the Union began drinking O’Reillys.

This immensely increased the popularity of Tea in America now that the fresh taste of Black Tea was down in the Local Pub. Future remedies soon became popular, using O’Reillys as a springboard for catapulting themselves into a national light.


Taken with permission from Hate Crimes of the past century by Richard Blakely, © HarperCollins Inc.

An obscure group founded by Former Confederate Soldier Eugene Dixon, the Supreme Society or S.S., quickly came to the foreground of Southern Groups. The Group was a ‘Gentleman’s Club, where ‘Nobis leges cognita Veraportentur, The Laws we know to be true are upheld.’ This reasonably calm society withheld a lot of dark secrets. Society members became vigilantes upholding Jim Crow laws which cruelly treated the black who had been emancipated by Abraham Lincoln. Based on the principles of Arthur Schopenhauer:

The highest civilization and culture, apart from the ancient Hindus and Egyptians, are found exclusively among the white races; and even with many dark peoples, the ruling caste or race is fairer in color than the rest and has, therefore, evidently immigrated, for example, the Brahmans, the Incas, and the rulers of the South Sea Islands. All this is due to the fact that necessity is the mother of invention because those tribes that emigrated early to the north, and there gradually became white, had to develop all their intellectual powers and invent and perfect all the arts in their struggle with need, want and misery, which in their many forms were brought about by the climate.

On occasion, due to this, the Society was referred to as the SSS (Schopenhauer Supreme Society), an acronym now synonymous with hate.

What made the SSS popular amongst not only confederate sympathizers, but amongst White people across the Western World, was the concept of Übermenschen, That the Anglo-Saxon Race was supreme over all, seeing as they had ‘conquered the known world’.

‘Acceptable targets’ for persecution included Blacks, Hispanic Whites, Italians, Slavs, Jews, and Catholics, all commonly persecuted during this day and age.

...

Goldschmidt, Edwin R. History of Invasive Species: Mammals. Boston: HarperCollins, 1997.

Pg. 38
Camels had established themselves in North America around the 1870s-1880s.
They actually originally arrived in 1836, with Major George H. Crosman suggesting camels for use against the Seminoles in Florida because of their hardy nature. This was approved by the Senator Jefferson Davis.
During the Mexican-American War in 1848, they were used in the arid deserts of the American Southwest. As the American Civil War came about, the U.S. Camel corps were cut, and the camels were either left loose or sold to private owners. However, the camels turned out to be too expensive for their owners during the Recession of 1867, and in turn, those camels ultimately turned feral in the Southwestern American states.

A several traits served of great use to Camels in the American southwest. Aggressive camels spat and kicked at coyotes and wolves, camel tolerance to drought proved essential during the critical dry season, and their ability to eat woody shrubs and other barely edible plants widened their diets compared to any other herbivore.


The Luzon Uprisings of 1872: The Independence of the Philippines without a fight.

The Philippines Uprisings started with the Cavite Mutiny, over the rising taxes and ill-treatment the laborers and soldiers received. Fernando La Madrid directed those under his authority to capture the Peninsulares in Cavite, Philippines. He then directed men to fire cannon shots into the air off the shores of Manila.

As it became more obvious the shots were not fireworks, Filipino soldiers stationed in Manila quickly followed suit. Chaos was sparked as the Creole, Mestizo, and Indio Soldiers over powered Peninsulares in the City.

Poor leadership from Rafael de Izquierdo and the late hours at which the Mutiny took place were factors in the Ousting of Spanish from Luzon, and eventually the entirety of the Philippines. De Izquierdo was once quoted to have said, “Damn it, what happened to the Good old days, when my army could accomplish something?”

As many in Luzon quickly gained awareness of what was occurring, Mariano Gómez y Guard, a priest and avid figure in Cavite, quickly rose to the forefront of the Revolution. With his Newspaper La Verdad, he spread the word of the revolution to even remote Indios villages. All of Luzon and some islands in between Luzon and Mindanao went up in full revolt against Spanish authorities. In many areas, the Spaniards simply gave up; they were the minority on the islands.

King Amadeo surrendered the island to these upstarts. The possible fight in mountainous islands, with well trained natives and tropical diseases would be grueling and too much of a strain upon the Spanish Economy. Luzon and several surrounding islands were given to the Rebels.

Mariano Gómez was quickly installed as president in a new government, centered in Manila, which was to negotiate the purchase of Mindanao and the remaining territory of the Philippines.

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Well, Critiques, comments, nitpicks, and flames are all welcome. I would just like some feedback.

Philippines COTTL.PNG
 
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Blood and Politics...excellent

Blood and Politics

Great Britain was now flexing its muscles in exporting tea. The Philippines has fallen to Rebels and is still in the process of drafting a constitution, which means tea is the only warm beverage any country could truly count upon.

America, which had bitterly fumed at the Trent Affair only a few years before, was the first to turn to Britain for a morning beverage. An average of $1.20 per Pound of tea was bought from Britain. While documents containing the exact amounts traded were destroyed in a fire, it is estimated 200,000 lbs of Tea was exported during the 1880s from The United Kingdom and her colonies.

Immediate neighbors had no interest in tea, however. The French had chocolate and wine, and the Germans simply put more dedication into the manufacture of Beer. The Spanish accepted some of the exports, but recovering from a revolution and in debt, they did not accept too much. The Portuguese gave feeble, petty money for even less tea. They had more interest in other foreign beverages. Russia, however, accepted diligently, and even lesser aristocrats could buy the liquid cheap. Tea was also trickling into the poor areas of West Russia. The Russians were now drinking like Brits, begging for tea from the British. In return, Great Britain gave Russia an exclusive trade rights to their tea exports



Bismarck, at the same time, did not avoid war with France. He believed that if the German states perceived France as the aggressor, they would unite behind the King of Prussia. In order to achieve this Bismarck kept Napoleon III involved in various intrigues whereby France might gain territory from Luxembourg or Belgium - France never achieved any such gain, but was made to look greedy and untrustworthy.
A suitable premise for war arose in 1870, when the German Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was offered the Spanish throne, which had been vacant since a revolution in 1868. France blocked the candidacy and demanded assurances that no member of the House of Hohenzollern could become King of Spain. Carefully written to provoke the French, Bismarck sent the Ems Dispatch blatantly into French hands. When the French declared war, Prussia rallied her German allies and set off into French territory. With sweeping successes in Sedan, Metz, and Paris even, the French were forced to surrender. With this, he negotiated with the fellow leaders of the German states, kingdoms, etc. to form The German Confederation with Wilhelm I at it’s helm. While one of the Agreements made in Versailles to negotiate the End of the Franco-Prussian War and the Beginning of German Confederation was for this united Germany to annex Alsace and part of Lorraine, Otto stubbornly refused, instead wanting a German controlled, but independent Alsace-Lorraine. While his request was initially denied, his years as Minister-President would see his dreams slowly come true.


Mariano Gómez was quick to create a government based after American laws. He knew little about the country, but he knew it was also a colony that rebelled against a colonial power. Off course, they had to fight a war to gain independence, but there were still similarities. Still, however, the Modern Philippines was far off during the reign of Prime Minister Gomez, as he advocated for a pastoral, simplistic existence.

Upon his death by Cholera*, Ferdinand La Madrid was ‘elected’ ** into the office of Prime Minister. Quickly, he was quick to open The Philippine’s eyes; Europe was industrializing, America was industrializing, even Japan, only years earlier was sitting with it’s back to the World, was now industrializing at rapid pace. He opened the doors to industrialization, including starting links to the New York Stock exchange, government loans for local businesses, and the exportation of remaining coffee from the island.

*Many are under the impression that Gomez was poisoned by La Madrid in an effort to create a power vacuum to fill.

**Elections were truly only open for the literate city folk.



Aleksandr Ulyanov, 'Alex Juliannov' as he was known in Great Britain, was born in the town of Simbirsk, Russia. His father, Ilya Ulyanov, an honorary noble in Russian society, decided it would be best for his children if they lived and studied in London, due to the Recession of 1867. In 1874, Alex left to enroll in several academic schools. Unfortunately, his harsh accent and paranoid exterior gave his chance to enroll into a proper education in Britain away. Instead of returning to Simbirsk, Alexander enrolled in an apprenticeship for Francis Galton.


The inventor of fingerprinting, eugenics, and meteorology, Francis Galton was interested in hiring Alex for purely scientific reasons. Julianov was not of Noble birth, yet nobility by the state. Alex was a unique opportunity to see if truly noble bloodlines differed from politically appointed. Alex was also quite athletic, a perfect example of Galton’s perfect man.


Alex became interested in being Francis Galton’s Apprentice was hoping to gain knowledge of the theory of Evolution, which was still young and controversial. Charles Darwin was Sir Galton’s cousin, after all. As Francis Galton’s Protégé, Alex Ulyanov learned about the Galtonian theory of Evolution, how gemmules were in fact not carried in the blood supply, as Darwin had speculated.

Alexander would often take Galton’s notes and examine them in each detail, along with more study material from several Libraries across Britain. He gradually began to develop theories diverging from Galton’s view. Alex developed his own ideas upon evolution, theorizing after Galton’s Death that Humans had been slowly diverging into different species, based on the Races.

When Alexander raised enough money, he had his Father, mother, Sister, Anna, and little brother Vladimir sent to London.



Watts, Geoffrey. African-American History Volume II. New York: Harper, 2004. Print
After the Emancipation, former Slaves had nowhere to go. Tossed from plantations with nothing but the clothes on their backs, black workers fell into hard economic times.

While all the White farmers had a surplus during the Recession of 1867, none of the blacks had enough to compensate for the bad times. President Thomas Black’s interference with the Freedman’s bureau meant little was done to help these poor men. Ulysses S. Grant could not revive the dying agency, but poured money into Anti-Supremacist Terrorist laws, and into Black pockets. It still failed to work.

Riots and lynching drove many of them away from previously familiar neighborhoods west. Mass Black migration to the states bordering slave states started in 1867, ending in 1875, with most blacks whom remained in the South too poor or too afraid of the wide open world to run. Those whom stayed behind were a target for persecution and violence.

Black communities in North swelled. Cities like Omaha, Philadelphia, and Washington saw a surge in new black neighborhoods and ghettos. California and Arizona also saw a rise in Black population as well.

Along with the African-Americans, came peanuts: They crop was denoted to be only useful as a food stock for livestock. In poverty, many had discovered its use as a quickly delicious food, easier to grow than many other things available to them. This new crop would ultimately lead to the derogatory term ‘Nut man’ as we know it in modern society.

…Tongs, a Chinese Immigrant version of the Italian Mafia, in San Francisco respond to the immigration with violence. When the individual groups began warring, blacks also became fair game. Both ethnicities began threatening each other’s families, quietly, as not to alert the White authorities.

Among the White Anglo Saxon Protestants (which were and are an overwhelming majority in America), encounters between both races resulted in skirmishes, often white police officers had to break them up before killings occurred. San Francisco quickly became a subtle race war, waiting to erupt into all out war.

The pot finally boiled when a Xinyi Li was killed by a Black gang on January 14th, 1876. That night, Chinese and Blacks filled the streets, beating each other. A white man, Dean Felix, was shot in the chaos, and White mobs ransacked both black and Chinese neighborhoods. When police came, nineteen people were dead and many others were injured. Many whom participated were denied medical care in prison due to ethnicity. Only 16 people were arrested, and of them, 14 had their sentence overturned. One trial ended when the defendant fled for Mexico.

This violent incident marked the city’s future. This and the Chinese Massacre of 1871 in Los Angeles marked the state with a racist violent edge.

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Again, feedback makes the Loop continue to spit out TL-or in simpler words, I would appreciate any critiques, comments, flames, any feedback from you on the other side of the computer screen.
 
Just a little bump of sorts showing the approximate spread of rust, and it's impact. Red is a signal of dire impact, and the closer it gets to yellow the less impact there was. Somalia-Ethiopia is approx. the epicenter.

Oh, and thank you for the kind bump, Strategos

blankmapcoffe Rust.PNG
 
Interesting. But why didn't you come up with a species name yourself? OTL's Hemileia vastatrix cannot infect Coffea canephora (well, it can. But the severity ranges from partial immunity ot full fledged immunity).

Anyhow, even if it's merely a small change in the genome of H. vastatrix that makes it that lethal (and able to infect C. canephora so easily), I still think it warrants a new name - mostly because the taxonomists of that era can't know how close both variants actually are.

Oh, and I don't know how much area H. vastatrix sporulation can cover, but (considering its apparent lethality) the whole world seems to be a bit far fetched.
 
Interesting. But why didn't you come up with a species name yourself? OTL's Hemileia vastatrix cannot infect Coffea canephora (well, it can. But the severity ranges from partial immunity ot full fledged immunity).

Anyhow, even if it's merely a small change in the genome of H. vastatrix that makes it that lethal (and able to infect C. canephora so easily), I still think it warrants a new name - mostly because the taxonomists of that era can't know how close both variants actually are.

Oh, and I don't know how much area H. vastatrix sporulation can cover, but (considering its apparent lethality) the whole world seems to be a bit far fetched.

Ah. You have great points...perhaps it was a bit ASB, considering H. Vastatrix did have some opprotunity to be spread to S. America, yet failed to do so.

Thank you kindly for your imput. It will be edited.
 
Ah. You have great points...perhaps it was a bit ASB, considering H. Vastatrix did have some opprotunity to be spread to S. America, yet failed to do so.

Thank you kindly for your imput. It will be edited.

You're welcome. It just seemed a bit unlikely. Not necessarily the lethality to C. arabica, mind. Just the fact that it suddenly wiped out C. canephora as well. Renaming it made it a lot more plausible. But then again, I'm no botanist.

If you have questions regarding the genetics and development of fruit flies, however, ask away ;)
 
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