A Looser Union

[Mumby]

Lets Divert the Action Elsewhere

British India

Distraction in Europe and the Americas did not mean that the British had let their eye off the ball in India. However, the East India Company and its managers worked to absorb the Indian states largely unharmed into a federation of 'Princely States' under British hegemony with various areas of direct Company control. The mastermind behind this system of management was Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings. The Mysore, Marathas, Gurkhas and other groups were brought into the British sphere in a series of wars that ensured loyalty but prevented the kings from feeling humiliated.

What also began to emerge during this period was an interest in an effort to industrialise loyal areas of India, to incentivise loyalty to Britain. It was believed that if some of the kigdomd saw a material economic benefit in being tied to Britain then they would behave better within the Empire. It was also hoped that if the East India Company diversified its economic output beyond cash crops like tea and spices then they would be more capable of funding themselves without heavy government subsidisation.

With rising profits, a vast empire, and long periods of peace, the East India Company began seeking new areas of investment. And they chose East Africa. They had come to realise the importance of an African stop-over station while on the way to India from Britain during the Napoleonic Wars when Britain had been in control of the Dutch Cape Colony. Now that that colony had reverted to Dutch control, they sought their own African trade station in either the southeast or east of Africa. They decided not to actually choose a trading station on the continent itself due to the possibility of Omani or Portuguese involvement, in favour of building a trade station on the island of Madagascar. The island was ideally situated in the Indian Ocean to facilitate healthy trade between India and Europe.

Through King Radama I, the slave-trade on the island was abolished allowing the import of cheap Indian labour tied to the East India Company to make up for the inevitable labour shortfall. Radama used British arms and money to conquer the island, establishing the Merina as the governing clique by 1828, leaving only a small portion in the south. With EIC money, he scured the island under his rule establishing an efficient civil service, an indiginous industry, and some education. Despite these great gains, Radama did suffer from a dependency on alcohol, and from 1828 to 1831, he remained in his palace largely in an alcoholic stupor. Fortunately with medical aid from Britain Radama was able to recover and break his dependency on the bottle. From 1831 onwards he established an efficient government, and built Madagascar into the most advanced nation in Eastern Africa. However his time of alcoholic dependency had largely been covered by the EIC and the civil service he had constructed was firmly under the thumb of the British. Even at the height of his powers, Radama was no more an independent king than the Maharajah of Mysore, and his nation was an Indian Princely State in all respects excepting its geographical position.

 

[PulkitNahata]

How about letting some Indian kingdom be free from British yoke.

 

[Mumby]

The Mexican Civil War

From the end of the Burr Conquest, through to the late 1820s, Mexico had been in a self-repeating cycle of civil war. Finally the Americans and British intervened. They could deal with the Mexicans killing each other, after all it provided a market for their weapons. But by 1826, reprisals and killings were spreading into British Mesoamerica and the Confederation of Louisiana. And that simply wouldn't do. British and American troops marched in and forced the three sides to the negotiating table.

The three chunks which had emerged were to recognise one another as independent nations: California, Nuevizcaya, and the Mexican Empire. Nuevizcaya was the only one to establish itself as a truly democratic republic, aligning itself as an ally of Tejas.

California established an aristocratic republic, drawing upon the state of Virginia as an example. Because of this, it wasn't long before the Virginians and the other aristocratic states of the union were looking to marry into the wealthy families of hazendadoes. The hacienda system of peons tied to the land fitted in nicely with the manorial system of slavery as practised in the Upper South. The only issue is that the Californians were really only on the coast with little in the interior of economic interest and between Virginia and them was the Indian Territory and the aggressive natives of New Mexico themselves. But the relations between America and California remained warm particularly in the Upper South which increasingly adopted Californian fashions and pretences much to the disgust of the staunchly 'English-American' Lower South.

The last nation was the Mexican Empire, which became aligned with Britain and adopted a limited parliament as in Britain with its Bourbon Emperor Francisco I a constitutional monarch. With the Empire established, the Caribbean was a virtually British lake surrounded by British colonies, protectorates, puppets and allies. Only Cadianna, and the Franco-Spanish colonies spoilt the new order.

Francisco's story is relatively interesting. He was Ferdinand's youngest brother, and relatively unknown. With Mexico collapsing, and the threat of Napoleonic conquest, Ferdinand had little interest in claiming the throne of Mexico. His brother however, had little chance to become king of anywhere, and quickly accepted the throne of Mexico in 1811. He arrived in his adoptive homeland in 1813, and lead a fairly competent administration, with the help of his chief advisor Agustin de Iturbide. Francisco would have a number of successes against Nuevizcaya, ensuring that the young republic would not acquire the Rio Grande provinces.

 

[Utgard96]

A thing to consider is whether de Iturbide would still be elected Emperor. Historically, the Mexican rebels wanted to invite a European royal to become Emperor; however, no one wanted to accept the crown of a nation in active revolt against Spain. ITTL, with Mexican independence a fait accompli, we might see someone accepting. My guess would be that getting a minor Habsburg prince to be Emperor would be the Mexicans' first choice.

 

[Mumby]

A thing to consider is whether de Iturbide would still be elected Emperor. Historically, the Mexican rebels wanted to invite a European royal to become Emperor; however, no one wanted to accept the crown of a nation in active revolt against Spain. ITTL, with Mexican independence a fait accompli, we might see someone accepting. My guess would be that getting a minor Habsburg prince to be Emperor would be the Mexicans' first choice.

Didn't know that. Will change accordingly

 

[Mumby]

Immigration to the United States

With the ultimate downfall of European radical republicanism of the late 18th, early 19th century, many men and women who held such convictions saw no future for a republic in Europe at that present time. But at the same time, they could not simply put up with it and live in a continent of monarchs. So they emigrated to the United States, the most prominent of the continents republics.

Most migrants to the United States were of northern or eastern European origin. Any Spanish, Portuguese or Italian republicans tended to choose Nuevizcaya, Dorado or Equador as destinations. Thats not to say significant numbers of these groups didn't choose the United States as their new home.

The other Europeans tended to gravitate towards similar areas, and this accentuated over time, as new migrants sought people they were comfortable around inevitably those people who were most similar to them in terms of language, culture, religion and other factors. In an extremely simplified form here is a map showing concentrations of ethnic groups at the end of the First Migration Period in 1826. It shows the largest quantity of a single ethnic group to enter the state from outside the Union between the years of 1816 to 1826.

 

[Mumby]

State of Missouri

In 1825, land was taken from the Missouri Territory and organised into the State of Missouri. The borders were to be bound by the Jeffersonian border, and the Mississippi, Missouri, Kansas and Neosho Rivers. Missouri was the first 'Virginian' state west of the Mississippi and followed the position of its parent states closely. They had received a lot of immigration from Irish Catholics as well as English-speaking Virginians and like Virginia had received a thick layer of hazendado nobles, an aristocracy of mixed Virginian and Californio descent. Many of the nobles born of these diplomatic marriages had been granted land in Missouri.

Missouri was unusual in that the broad population of serfs were white, being Irish rather than the predominantly black serf populations of the Columbian Upper South. The use of 'White Slaves' was broadly condemned by the North, but there was little they could do about it.

Aside from the plantation owning Anglo-Hispanic overlords and their Irish serfs, the movers and shakers of Missorit society was the French population. Ever since the Revolution had failed, and the Louisiana Confederacy had been left to its own devices the French population of the Confederacy as a whole had boomed. Just as the Columbians were largely defined by its English-speaking original colonial inhabitants, Louisiana owed a large debt to the descendants of the original colonial French and their brethren.

 

[Mumby]

George IV's Enlightenment

George IV had begun his Indian studies while overseeing the construction of the Brighton Palace. However, it was only in 1815 with its extension that George's interest in India took a more esoteric turn. For five years, George found a new obsession that distracted him from his malice towards his wife, food and laudanum. He learned of the religions of India, Mahometism, Hindooism and Bhuudism. He read tracts of holy scriptures and consumed whole tomes on the topic of India. The result of this was a personal enlightenment. He lost many stones in weight, attempted a rapprochement with his wife (which failed) and tried to reform his life. By the time George III had died, many in the kingdom were surprised at the famously corpulent Prince's turn around. However deep down, the new King George IV no longer considered himself an Anglican. The part of him which had chosen to keep his marriage to Mrs Fitzherbert remained and kept his new Sikh faith entirely secret to all but a select circle of close friends. This new faith brought him into great conflict with the Prime Minister. George wished to emancipate the Catholics, driven by a great tolerance for different faiths. Lord Liverpool was bitterly opposed. His success at the election of 1822 sent George into a deep depression in which he barely left the 'Brighton Palace' for five years. Possibly the best thing he did during these years was to rebuild the emotional bridges with his daughter, who had managed to deliver a healthy boy despite some difficulties. He also accepted Prince Leopold who became a close friend and ally, one of the few who knew of the King's true faith.

 

[Mumby]

Late 1820s and Early 1830s: Rebellions in Europe.

The Ottomans had emerged from the Revolutionary Wars relatively unscathed, but that was to end in 1825. Greece, the Danubian protectorates, Egypt and other areas were to burst into revolution. Despite the presence of significant rebellions elsewhere, these became known as the Balkan Rebellions.

These rebellions may have ended quietly if the French, British and Russians hadn't felt the need to stick their oar in. The British wished to detach Egypt from the Ottomans to gain a larger sphere of influence in East Africa to support their Madagascar venture, the Russians wanted estend their sphere into Romania, and the French wanted to add Greece to a growing Mediterranean sphere of influence.

A Congress was called, and the borders of the Ottoman Empire redrawn. The three Great Powers got their demands. Egypt was to be detached as a Khedivate under nominal Ottoman suzerainty but under de facto British protection. The Kingdom of Greece under a Bonaparte was established, and the Grand Duchy of Rumania established under Russian patronage.

Elsewhere, the Rhenish nations of Rhineland and Westphalia began agitating. For union with France. The British had feared this eventuality. They had tried to palm the Prussians off with the territory but ultimately that kingdom was more interested in Poland and Saxony than the Frankish Rhinelanders. And France's influence was beginning to bear fruit. But there would have been no need to worry if the French-speaking denizens of the southern Netherlands hadn't also begun agitating for union with France. A clumsy attempt to intervene in the crisis almost shattered the goodwill between the two nations that had existed since the Balkan Congress. This intervention was condemned in the British press, and the two kingdoms were established as French 'Principalities'. They became protectorates of the French Empire and remained in the German Confederation. The southern Netherlands was completely integrated into France. The Austrians and Prussians pulled up against this, and attempted to force France to back down, but France promised Austria concessions in the Balkans at the expense of the Ottomans. The Prussians were ignored as irrelevant, and with the rest of Europe quiet they could do nothing about it.No-one was under any dissillusions though. France was back and bigger than ever.

These nationalist uprisings would contribute to an even larger conflagration at the end of the decade.

 

[Utgard96]

I don't think the Rhenish and the Westphalians would want union with France. They'd probably be pretty happy with independence if that is given to them, and so would France, probably. In any case, anything hinting at expansion would never be accepted by the Great Powers, not what with Napoleon II being Emperor.

 

[Mumby]

The Indian Removal and the Trails of Tears

In the aftermath of the British-American War, Jackson wished to remove large populations of Native Americans from east of the Mississippi. And it had to be done quickly, before the Louisianans had numbers in the Federal Committee enough to prevent such a scheme. Jackson's plan was to create two Indian Territories in the vast swathes of the unsettled Great Plains. Depending on where you were, the Native Americans suffered very different fates.

In the Lower South, relations with the Five Civilised Tribes were relatively good. Their position was vital in the racial caste system that had emerged. Hence, those that were moved were the more aristocratic, traditional tribesmen who were less comfortable with the system that had at least partially integrated their brethren. Even so, these people were transported to the Southern Indian Territory or Tsalahi Territory in relative comfort and only a few died. These groups soon became the most powerful and populace in the territory and more than a few in the Lower South hoped to integrate them as a state in a similar fashion to the Protectorate of Shawnee.

In the Upper South, relations with the natives were a lot worse. Settlers frequently clashed with natives in Vandalia, and there had been a number of unrecorded massacres in the Missouri Territory. Much of the native population was transported. However, only a third of these ended up the Tsalahi Territory. The remainder ended up in the Northern Indian Territory or Lhakota Territory.

The North had in comparison amicable relations, but the existance of Shawnee leant a bias to different groups. The tribal rivals of the Shawnee were shipped out, as were a number of other groups. These ended up in the Lhakota Territory.

Those who went to Lhakota invariably met an unpleasant fate. Either frozen, taken by disease, starved or slaughtered by the regions own natives who perceived the newcomers as invading whites a huge proportion died. Those who remained became largely integrated into the horse-riders of the Great Plains.

 

[Mumby]

I don't think the Rhenish and the Westphalians would want union with France. They'd probably be pretty happy with independence if that is given to them, and so would France, probably. In any case, anything hinting at expansion would never be accepted by the Great Powers, not what with Napoleon II being Emperor.

According to the AJP Taylor book I've got, the Rhenish remnants who had been part of either France or Westphalia were in serious danger of French integration. And they haven't been completely annexed. They've been vassalised (or sumting) and it was a damn near thing with the whole Belgium thing.

 

[Mumby]

To be honest Ares, I'm surprised you're not gnawing my eyes out for making George IV a Sikh.

 

[Utgard96]

According to the AJP Taylor book I've got, the Rhenish remnants who had been part of either France or Westphalia were in serious danger of French integration. And they haven't been completely annexed. They've been vassalised (or sumting) and it was a damn near thing with the whole Belgium thing.

Well, I still don't think the Prussians and Austrians would have been able to live with it.

To be honest Ares, I'm surprised you're not gnawing my eyes out for making George IV a Sikh.

I'm leaving that for the collective rest of the British membership to do.

 

[Mumby]

Well, I still don't think the Prussians and Austrians would have been able to live with it.



I'm leaving that for the collective rest of the British membership to do.

I was thinking about the French sweetening the deal for the Austrians by adjusting their border with the Ottomans southwards. The Prussians can hopefully be dealt with by their relative dislike of the culture obsessed Rhinelanders and their focus on the efficient use of Slavic land.

And I thought that my idea for George was quite the stroke of a Muse. Its kinda neat.

 

[Utgard96]

And I thought that my idea for George was quite the stroke of a Muse. Its kinda neat.

Yes, but although he keeps it private, wouldn't never shaving and carrying a kirpan about with him cause suspicion?

 

[Mumby]

Yes, but although he keeps it private, wouldn't never shaving and carrying a kirpan about with him cause suspicion?

There are some ways to get round those. Technically he is allowed to trim his hair and beard and hairy monarchs are not unknown. If his hair is just long, then he won't require a turban. And the kirpan tends to be a small ceremonial knife that can be easily concealed. And if not he could cover up the sword by wearing military attire. A lot.

 

[Mumby]

Britain and India

With the more Enlightened policies of industrialisation and a light hand on native rule, along with George's secret faith, India quickly became a British obsession. When the King was seen, he had a long beard, flowing locks and Europeanised robes. He did not look out of place as such, as much as eccentric. The King's example was taken up by the upper classes, who invested in the EIC and received great revenues in return. They also took to wearing Europeanised Indian dress.

Through George, a new theme also began to emerge within British politics. Religious tolerance. It has been theorised that after the First Revolutionary Period, Britain could easily have turned into an extremely religious, sternly Christian nation. While Christianity did remain the moral firmament of Britain, a greater tolerance of religious diversity emerged, particularly towards the Eastern religions of Hindooism and Bhuudism. It is ironic perhaps that in religious terms, Catholics were far more frowned upon than Hindoos or Bhuudists in George's England.

 

[Mumby]

President Jackson's Third Term (1826-1830)

Jackson had substantially reformed the nation and guided the United States towards a more centralised solution. However, a vocal group of Republicans did not sit well with Jackson's reforms. Most notably, one John C Calhoun a South Carolinian Senator and a man who deeply opposed the Jackson Consensus. He believed in states rights and argued that if the Federal Government abused them they had every right to secede and follow their chosen destiny as New England had.

Other issues that Jackson faced were the latent sense of Manifest Destiny, the growing division over slavery and a new way of stimulating America's otherwise stagnant economy.

His solutions and Calhoun's strident opposition fed together to form America's greatest obstacle since the war.

 

[Utgard96]

Hubert Calhoun? John Calhoun was born pre-PoD, so I don't see why his name would change. Also, are you going to write about the New England Presidents as well?