A Plethora of Princes (11b) - A Shock to the System (continued)

[Grey Wolf]

I've decided to carve this off as a sub-thread as the multitude of maps in the very valuable discussion on the new US Southern states could well slow up the loading of the thread for people. Also, I think that the original 11 thread could well be best served by beng US-centric from now on.

This thread will catch up on Europe and provide some of the overview that has frequently been asked for in this ATL

Grey Wolf

 

[Grey Wolf]

Europe 1882 - Part 1

Europe 1882

The Europe of 1882 consisted of 2 empires, a multitude of kingdoms, principalities, some free cities and the Papacy, however one decided what type of realm that was. The only republics by name were the Swiss Confederation and the tiny Italian state of San Marino. The German Confederation remained in existence, though weakened significantly by the Prussian war with Denmark in the mid 1860s, and by the Prussian annexation of Schleswig-Holstein in 1881.

A brief summary of the situation of the major states of Europe follows below :-

The Kingdom of Great Britain

The Kingdom of Great Britain, comprising England, Scotland, Wales and crown dependencies was ruled by King George V, son of the usurper Duke of Cumberland, known to history as King Ernest Augustus I, though the validity of his rule was disputed by historians. King George was in his sixty-second year and had ruled Great Britain since the compromise of 1836. He had been largely content to take a back seat, only occasionally intervening in state affairs.

In 1882 the government is a majority Moderate administration, headed by Prime Minister Spencer Walpole. With majorities in both the Commons and the Senate, this is the first Moderate-only government, and this mandate has given Walpole the freedom to act vigorously in defence of Britain's interests overseas. For the first time, the British mercantile class, alarmed at the assertiveness of President Sherman's USA, has thrown its weight behind the Moderate Party. In return, Walpole's government is promoting their interests as the primary motivation in international affairs.

The opposition Reform and Radical parties are going through a transitional stage. The veteran parliamentarian William E. Gladstone still leads the Reform Party, but after their recent election defeat, the larger Radical Party has dropped the ageing John Sketchley as leader, and has gone for a younger man with the sort of vigour believed to be needed to reinvigorate the party and re-engage the electorate.


The Kingdom of France

The Orleans dynasty has ruled in France since 1830 and the overthrow of King Charles X. The first Orleans king, King Louis Philippe I was forced to abdicate in 1848, his son King Ferdinand taking over until his sudden decline and death in 1875. Since then the monarch has been King Louis Philippe II, eldest son of the late Ferdinand.

The generally conservative make-up of French governments was rocked by a Radical uprising in Paris in 1876, protesting the compact of princes, as the Protocol of Saint Petersburg was known. The Radicals had no interest in seeing France dragged into a war with Britain and the USA over the defence of Russia's interests in the Klondike, and the first act of the new Radical government was to repudiate the compact. A new more democratic constitution was promulgated, and slavery banned across the French Empire.

The Radicals remain in power in 1882, in an uneasy co-existence with the king. The Italian War of 1879-1881 showed just how difficult this relationship was. Many among the Radicals wanted to intervene in Italy in support of Piedmont-Sardinia and the nationalist ideal, but King Louis Philippe II fighting a desperate rearguard action managed to prevent direct French entry into the conflict. The subsequent defeat of Piedmont-Sardinia brought little peace to Paris, and recriminations and accusations have become the order of the day. Politics in France has become a dangerous business, with mob rule and assassinations on the rise as the two incompatible factions face off in the streets.


The Empire of Austria

Emperor Franz III Josef has not had an easy time of it since succeeding his father, Emperor Franz II Karl to the throne in 1878. The death of the emperor, coming at the same time as the death of Pope Pius IX opened the gates of uncertainty inside Italy, and the accession of King Umberto I of Piedmont-Sardinia set off the war that has to date taken up all of Franz III's attention.

The Austrian tradition of not getting directly involved in European conflicts was no longer tenable, with their Italian dynastic allies in Tuscany under direct attack, and the Austrian holdings in Lombardy and Venetia looking likely to be next on the acquisition list of the Piedmontese and their nationalist allies. Franz III's entry into the war proved decisive in terms of the immediate conflict. With France dragged back from the brink of involvement by King Louis Philippe II, Piedmont-Sardinia could not stand alone against the might of Austria. The Two Sicilies and Austria joined forces to drive the Piedmontese back to their homeland, and to crush the nationalist risings across the peninsular, but most especially within Rome itself where the new Pope has his hands full dealing with the aftermath of the conflict.

But the end of the war has not been the end of the issue for Austria. Nationalist risings occurred in Milan and in Venice, and despite their being militarily put down the provinces of Lombardy and Venetia remain in tumult. Military operations continue in the countryside, and the towns and cities are under martial law.

Vienna's sense of crisis was compounded by the death of Duke Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein. Since the mid 1860s war, Schleswig-Holstein has been in an anomalous position. Prussia's action without waiting for the support of the German Confederation had created a situation for which there was little precedent. The separation of the duchies from Denmark, and the installation of Duke Frederick as ruler under Prussian suzerainty was also not a position recognised by the Confederation. The death of the duke, and the outright annexation of the duchies by Prussia has torn asunder the thin remnants of any pretence at German political unity under the Confederation.


The Kingdom of Spain

King Carlos VII has recently succeeded his father, King Carlos VI after the latter's abdication in the face of humiliation by the USA over the Chincha Islands off the coast of Peru. The conservative Spanish state was rocked back on its heels by President Sherman's actions and the threat of war. The voices being raised about Cuba in the US Senate added to Spanish alarm, and the goodwill visit of a US ironclad to Havana seemed a blatant attempt to browbeat the Spanish. Great Britain's actions with regard to showing that they would brook no US intervention in Cuba helped to stabilise the situation, but there was no hiding the loss of face off the coast of Peru, and in order to assuage the demands that something must be done, that change must come to Madrid, the sixty-three year old King Carlos VI abdicated and his son ascended the throne as King Carlos VII.

Tensions with the USA look set to continue for the indefinite future, however. The Spanish Empire still possesses the institution of slavery, and the presence of this on the island of Cuba so close to the US coast is seen as anathema by the abolitionists who now control US policy. Celebrating the French abolition within their empire in 1876, the US lobby has turned its attention on this matter fully upon Spain and on the Empire of Brazil. The additional presence of Confederate refugees within Cuba (as well as within Spain itself), some of whom on the island practice slavery, is viewed in Washington DC as an additional provocation.


Grey Wolf

 

[Grey Wolf]

Europe 1882 - Part 2

This thread is both summative and also formative, in that it allows me to continue moving at the same time as providing information to people who have not followed the thread as avidly as, er, I have...lol

The Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia

King Umberto I acceded to the throne in 1878, the same year that saw the death of Emperor Franz II Karl of Austria, and the long-reigning Pope Pius IX, head of both the Catholic Church and the League of Italy, as well as temporal ruler of Rome and the Papal States. This combination of events was to propel Umberto to take a massive gamble, reckoning that the time could not be more propitious. He pressed the case for a secular head of the League of Italy, for closer union, playing to the nationalists at the same time as he prepared to push the ambitions of the Savoyard dynasty.

The Italian War of 1879-1881 saw the fates of victory swing first one way then the other. Initially, Piedmontese armies over-ran the central Italian states of Parma, Modena and Tuscany and up to the walls of Rome. Nationalist risings breaking out in cities across the peninsular provided allies in all places, not least within Rome itself. But Austrian intervention cut the Piedmontese armies in half, and with French aid blocked by the desperate actions of King Louis Philippe II in reining back his Radical government, the writing was on the wall for Piedmont-Sardinia. Despite risings in Milan and Venice, Austria remained focused on defeating the Piedmontese, whilst armies from the Two Sicilies relieved Rome from the South.

The defeat, and the acceptance of that defeat in 1881 was a major blow to Piedmont-Sardinia. Despite the difficulties persisting in Lombardy and Venetia for the Austrians, and with Sicily for King Francesco II, both of those countries could at least point to overall victory in the war. The conservative approach to government in Turin has been shaken apart, and King Umberto I has been forced to admit opposition parties into a government aimed at national unity and stabilising the economy.


The Kingdom of Prussia

King Wilhelm I has ruled in Prussia since the death of his brother, Friedrich Wilhelm IV in 1861, after having exercised the role of Regent during his brother's mental incapacity for the preceding couple of years. It has been a period where the steady and conservative rule of his predecessor has been replaced by a strong Prussian growth, and a particularism as Prussia increasingly breaks with the political idea of the German Confederation.

The mid 1860s with the death of King Frederick VII in 1863 saw Prussia become involved, ostensibly for the interests of the ducal claimant Duke Frederick, but mainly for reasons of national prestige. An alliance with France, an ignoring of the German Confederation, and a war with Denmark which saw its utter conquest and defeat gave Prussia the duchies as a protectorate under Duke Frederick's direct rule. This war, termed the General European War, also saw the establishment of an independent Poland under the Austrian Archduke Maximilian, a settlement which assuaged Prussian fears for their own Polish provinces.

The death of Duke Frederick, in the middle of the Italian War, offered Prussia an opportunity to intervene to seize the duchies as an integral part of the kingdom. Protests from the German Confederation were brushed aside, and Austria being militarily involved in the South no direct challenge was made to Prussia's actions except with words.

In the year or so of Prussian rule, naval facilities have been built up at the port of Kiel, and plans for a canal across the isthmus have been unveiled.

King Wilhelm I, despite his advanced age of eighty-four, remains in good health and well in control of his kingdom. His son and heir, Crown Prince Friedrich is wed to Princess Eleanor, oldest daughter of King George V of Great Britain. They have several children, including two sons, Prince Wilhelm and Prince Georg Friedrich.


The Kingdom of Poland

King Maximilian has ruled Poland since its rebirth as an independent state in the mid 1860s as a result of the General European War. The brother of Emperor Franz III Josef of Austria, Maximilian retains close ties with the land of his birth.

Married to Princess Maria of Portugal (daughter of King Miguel I and his niece/wife Maria de Gloria, Princess Maria was born in 1840), King Maximilian has sired five children, including two sons to ensure the Polish succession.

The Polish state is at heart a conservative one, but a number of liberal reforms have been instigated at Maximilian's inception. The constitution remains a balance between that imposed by Austria, and desired by Prussia, not to create difficulties in their realms, and a more liberal trend evinced by the king himself.


The Kingdom of Belgium

Under King Louis I, Belgium has grown to be an economic powerhouse of Western Europe. Second son of the late King Louis Philippe I of France, King Louis was born in 1814, and is thus in his late sixties. Married to Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, they have two sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Prince Gaston, heir to the throne, is wed to Princess Isabel Cristina of the Empire of Brazil, sister of the Prince Imperial Afonso Pedro and second child of Emperor Pedro II. Prince Gaston and Princess Isabel Cristina have ensured the succession with a number of children, including sons.

Belgium's birth in the early 1830s brought with it the provinces of Luxembourg and Limburg in their entirety, as well as a lasting emnity with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. These provinces have helped Belgium's growth to one of the primary economic powers in Europe at the dawn of the 1880s. Belgian industry is booming, and Belgian enterprise owns businesses in several other countries, most especially within the smaller states, neighbours of Belgium within the German Confederation.


Grey Wolf

 

[Othniel]

Ok, so there is still a Prussia and a Denmark. Whom controls Balvaria and Bohemia?

 

[Grey Wolf]

Ok, so there is still a Prussia and a Denmark. Whom controls Balvaria and Bohemia?

After defeating Denmark, Prussia took its prize then withdrew so sure, Denmark still exists

Not sure what you're asking about Prussia given the detail below

Bavaria is independent, a kingdom within the German Confederation. Think pre-1866 for the make-up of the German states

Bohemia is part of Austria

Grey Wolf

 

[Othniel]

Here's one that looks better 18-15-1905, just tell me what changes you'd have. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/europe1815_1905.jpg

 

[Grey Wolf]

Funny map for 1905, where's Greece ?

From OTL the following changes in 1882 can be noted :-

1) Greece includes Epirus but not Thessaly

2) Belgium includes all of Luxembourg and Limburg (the dangly bit)

3) Finland is now part of Sweden

4) Congress Poland plus Krakow-Galicia is an independent kingdom under Maximilian

5) Schleswig-Holstein is part of Prussia now

6) The rest of the German Confederation is as per pre-1866

7) Italy remains disunited as per the early 1850s

8) Sicily is held as a personal union with Naples by the King of the Two Sicilies, thus the map would show them both as separate and as joined

9) Serbia and Montenegro should show as independent principalities with pre-1878 borders

10) Austria is Austria as per pre-1848 (minus Krakow and Galicia) and is not Austria-Hungary etc

11) Ireland is independent under a son of Louis Philippe I (*the whole island not just OTL Eire)

12) Moldavia and Wallachia are autonomous under Ottoman suzerainty, with Russia having been dominant until the mid 1860s defeat

13) Russia includes Southern Azerbaijan and the Southern shore of the Caspian Sea

14) The Ottoman Empire sort of stops with Syria... Lebanon, Palestine and Transjordan-Hejaz are parts of the independent sultanate of Egypt

Grey Wolf

 

[Othniel]

ok ok, it's just 1815. but the best map they had.

 

[Othniel]

Here is a better one of Germany http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/german_unified_1815_1871.jpg

 

[Grey Wolf]

Europe 1882 - Part 3

The Kingdom of the Netherlands

King Willem III is the third monarch of the Orange dynasty, grandson of the first Willem who reigned during the secession war with Belgium (and France) in the early 1830s, and son of Willem II who died in 1849.

The history of the Netherlands since that period has been defined by rivalry with and hatred of Belgium and France. This has been marked by a militarisation of Dutch society, the maintenance of strong border fortifications, especially in Northern Brabant which Belgian nationalists often name as their aim for the fulfillment of their national ambitions.

The Netherlands navy has remained at a strong level, and a focus has continued on imperial ambitions. King Willem III's rule has seen the Netherlands remain uninvolved in various European wars, the king exerting an influence over his ministers to ensure that if the Netherlands were to involve itself in a war of revenge it would be in advantageous circumstances.

King Willem has had three sons, one of whom died young, but the heir in Prince Willem and his brother Prince Alexander remain in the line of succession. The relationship between King Willem III and Crown Prince Willem is a very acrimonious one and they are barely on speaking terms. Prince Willem maintains his own mini-court and has been quoted as saying that he is simply waiting for his father to die so to take over the reins of power. Recently married to Princess Sophia of Great Britain (the eldest daughter of Prince George, Prince of Wales), Crown Prince Willem seems to be looking to ensure his own dynastic line and deny his brother the succession.

Prince Alexander remains closer to his father, and were the Crown Prince to die before fathering an heir, Dutch society believes that King Willem III would smile on the succession of his youngest son.


The Russian Empire

Tsar Aleksandr II has ruled since the unpleasantness of the mid 1860s which ended with the death of his father, Tsar Nicholas I. Aleksandr II's reign has thus seen the peace treaty that ceded Poland to independence under a Habsburg Archduke and Finland to the crown of Sweden, as well as seeing Russia's influence in the (Rumanian) Principalities cut back.

This Russian Empire includes South Azerbaijan and the Southern shore of the Caspian Sea, as well as Herat, but the states of Khokand, Khiva, Bokhara and Kashgaria remain independent in Central Asia, as do Afghanistan and the Sikh state of Lahore-Punjab. The Dzungarian mini-states are all largely fallen under Russian influence, with Kuldja directly annexed. Russia and Kashgaria continue to contest some of the border Dzungarian states whose rulers attempt to retain independence by playing one off against the other.

In the East, Russia gained the Northern area of disputed territory from China, but failed to prise the Maritime Province from the Chi'ing. Alaska remains Russian, with the mid 1870s Klondike Crisis having stabilised the region despite almost landing the Russian Empire in war against the USA and Great Britain. The abortive Protocol of Saint Petersburg with France nevertheless had the result of defusing the crisis, and the 1876 settlement recognised Russian claims in part of the disputed territory. The US presence in Northern Oregon (OTL British Columbia) continues to be seen as a danger in Saint Petersburg, though the Anglo-US tensions since the election of President Sherman has given some cheer to the Russian position.

The mid 1870s crisis gave an additional impetus to Russian naval construction, and both the Baltic and Mediterranean fleets now boast a number of modern ironclads. The largest base in the East remains New Archangel near to the island of Kodiak.

Within Russia, a long-term result of the mid 1860s war has been the emancipation of the serfs across Russia. The eventual result of this policy is not yet clear, and Tsar Aleksandr II contiinues to rule mostly upon autocratic principles. His eldest son and heir is the Tsesarevitch Nicholas, married to Princess Dagmar of Denmark.


Grey Wolf

 

[Othniel]

Would this one be easier to edit?

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/europe_1911.jpg

 

[Grey Wolf]

Would this one be easier to edit?

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/europe_1911.jpg

No, or well I am pretty sure not

An 1848 map might be best

The previous one you posted at least has the advantage of showing a divided Italy and a divided Germany, as well as the boundary of Congress Poland plus where Galicia is

Although Serbia and Montenegro and Greece don't show on it, their showing on any 20th century map is no use as they cover quite different, or at least smaller areas than in that later period. The main difference that is not in size is that Greece has all of Epirus

Belgium should include Luxembourg and Limburg which may be obvious on any map showing Belgium of OTL, just add the grand duchy and the dangly bit

Grey Wolf

 

[Othniel]

The Kingdom of the Netherlands

King Willem III is the third monarch of the Orange dynasty, grandson of the first Willem who reigned during the secession war with Belgium (and France) in the early 1830s, and son of Willem II who died in 1849.

[...]

King Willem has had three sons, one of whom died young, but the heir in Prince Willem and his brother Prince Alexander remain in the line of succession. Prince Willem maintains his own mini-court and has been quoted as saying that he is simply waiting for his father to die so to take over the reins of power. Recently married to Princess Sophia of Great Britain (the eldest daughter of Prince George, Prince of Wales), Crown Prince Willem seems to be looking to ensure his own dynastic line and deny his brother the succession.

Prince Alexander remains closer to his father, and were the Crown Prince to die before fathering an heir, Dutch society believes that King Willem III would smile on the succession of his youngest son.


The Russian Empire

Tsar Aleksandr II has ruled since the unpleasantness of the mid 1860s which ended with the death of his father, Tsar Nicholas I. Aleksandr II's reign has thus seen the peace treaty that ceded Poland to independence under a Habsburg Archduke and Finland to the crown of Sweden, as well as seeing Russia's influence in the (Rumanian) Principalities cut back.
[...]

His eldest son and heir is the Tsesarevitch Nicholas, married to Princess Dagmar of Denmark.

Well for one there is a huge change here. Before there was an economically minded girl in line for the crown of the Dutch. Not only might this lead to betrayal (I just have this feeling about that.) but I think you may end up with the Netherlands, Russia, Denmark and GB as a Quadrple Ententate unless one of these pulls out. France and the US seem to be drawing closer while Spain is getting the brunt of US hatred. Germany may be forced into an allience with France, might as well through in Austria. A late French Revolution ending with a bloody coup. Truely you will have a great war with this increased instablity.

 

[Grey Wolf]

Well for one there is a huge change here. Before there was an economically minded girl in line for the crown of the Dutch. Not only might this lead to betrayal (I just have this feeling about that.) but I think you may end up with the Netherlands, Russia, Denmark and GB as a Quadrple Ententate unless one of these pulls out. France and the US seem to be drawing closer while Spain is getting the brunt of US hatred. Germany may be forced into an allience with France, might as well through in Austria. A late French Revolution ending with a bloody coup. Truely you will have a great war with this increased instablity.

The thing is if you look at the OTL history of the world 1870-1900 it really negates all these views with which we come to international history with. Firm alliances, lasting decades and leading to war, were not a thing of those times. True, it was a period when SOME of the alliances made then would lead to war 40+ years down the line, but it was all a new idea and one which is far from inevitable.

I'll again stress that the timeline moves a couple of years at a time, so I have no real idea at all what will happen in the near future.

OTL is full of almost wars, but most of these almost wars cannot be seen as a part of a pattern for the future. Look at all the war scares between Britain and Russia, or between France and Italy. None of these came to anything. They massively influenced naval construction, army budgets, politics at home and international relations. But they did not lead inexorably to anything

So, I'd be very wary of making any grand pronouncements

Grey Wolf

 

[Othniel]

Would this work? http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/central_europe_1812.jpg

 

[Othniel]

The thing is if you look at the OTL history of the world 1870-1900 it really negates all these views with which we come to international history with. Firm alliances, lasting decades and leading to war, were not a thing of those times. True, it was a period when SOME of the alliances made then would lead to war 40+ years down the line, but it was all a new idea and one which is far from inevitable.

I'll again stress that the timeline moves a couple of years at a time, so I have no real idea at all what will happen in the near future.

OTL is full of almost wars, but most of these almost wars cannot be seen as a part of a pattern for the future. Look at all the war scares between Britain and Russia, or between France and Italy. None of these came to anything. They massively influenced naval construction, army budgets, politics at home and international relations. But they did not lead inexorably to anything

So, I'd be very wary of making any grand pronouncements

Grey Wolf

I'm not saying its firm, I'm saying that from their prospective if a war broke out within 3 years that's how it would line up. Almost. From the point of a speculator looking at this in a short term certainity (we all certainly do that.) It looks like the conditions are right for a war to begin, almost anywhere in the world could set off a stance of alliances and increase the instablity present. Wars and rumours of wars my friend make for tension, lots of tension.

 

[Grey Wolf]

Would this work? http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/central_europe_1812.jpg

I can say a definite no on that one - any map before the Congress of Vienna's final ruling in 1815 is of no use. Napoleon changed far too much, and Vienna set a load of it back again, and then altered other bits to fit the new reality. But anything pre-1815 is of no use here.

I'll hunt a few maps myself when I've finished the country profiles. For now I'd say look for something from 1848 as a good reference point.

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

 

[Grey Wolf]

Europe 1882 - Part 4

The Kingdom of Greece

King George I of the Mecklenburg dynasty has ruled in person since the 1840s. His first venture into foreign affairs was in the later 1850s' Eastern Mediterranean War where in alliance with France, and chiefly due to French aid, Greece defeated an Ottoman army and gained the provinces of Epirus and Thessaly in the peace. During the General European War of the mid 1860s, Greece tried again, this time with disastrous results. The Greek army was annihilated by the Ottomans, and the province of Thessaly lost in the peace. Only the landing of French marines at Piraeus prevented the success of a republican rising in Athens.

King George I continued to reign. But the French remained in Piraeus/Athens until the late 1870s when the Radical government in Paris withdrew them.

Politics in Greece is wracked by factionalism. The king's party is but one of several in the Athens assembly, and his writ depends on the party able to form a majority at the time. The politicalisation of the monarchy has weakened the parliamentary system and it has become very much a question of the king against the opposition.


The Kingdom of Sweden

King Oscar II acceded to the throne in 1872, upon the death of his predecessor King Carl XV who had reigned during the General European War in the mid 1860s. King Carl XV had allied with France, seen off Denmark in alliance with Prussia, then defeated Russia over Poland, and in the peace regained the Grand Duchy of Finland as a prize.

Sweden has thus retained close ties with France, Prussia and Poland since the war, the spectre of a resurgent vengeful Russia very stark within the minds of her government ministers.


The Kingdom of Portugal

Since the civil war of the late 1820s-early 1830s, Portugal has been ruled by the Miguelista branch of the Braganza dynasty. With the Empire of Brazil under the senior Pedro line, Portugal saw the brother of Emperor Pedro I, Prince Miguel seize power, defeat his brother and the liberal opposition in a civil war, and anchor his rule upon the kingdom.

After the death of his brother in the mid 1830s, King Miguel I married his niece the young Maria de Gloria, daughter of Pedro I. He aided King Carlos V in his brief struggle for the crown within Spain, defeating the daughter of Ferdinand VII. With Iberia united in a conservative religious sentiment, Portugal proceded through the following decades with little impact on world affairs.

The death of Miguel I in 1866 was followed by the succession of his son, King Miguel II. Portugal continues to be a conservative Catholic country with little involvement in great power affairs. The eldest daughter of Miguel I, Princess Maria was taken as a bride by Archduke Maximilian of Austria, later King of Poland, so thus the sister of King Miguel II is King of Poland.


The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

Since 1848, the Two Sicilies has been a dual monarchy under a personal union. Sicily and Naples have had their own separate legislatures and been united only in the person of the King of the Two Sicilies, and in membership of the League of Italy.

King Francesco II was very much aware of this when in 1879 King Umberto I of Piedmont-Sardinia plunged the Italian peninsular into war. His dominions had been free of strife since the settlement under the League of Italy, but the breaking apart of this settlement, starting with the death of Pope Pius IX and continuing with King Umberto I's military advance into central Italy, seemed to presage disaster for the Two Sicilies.

Nationalist uprisings affected Italian cities outside the Two Sicilies more than within, and there seemed to be a moment of victory when King Francesco II's armies marched to the relief of Rome in 1881, in concert with their Austrian allies from the North.

But the League of Italy was dead, and Francesco II had to deal with a renewal of the Sicilian revolt. Content to be seen as equals within Italy under the League, the Sicilians had no wish to return to being subordinated to the King in Naples. The war continues in 1882, and if Francesco II is to regain control of the island he will need a military solution


Grey Wolf

 

[Oddball]

I might have missed it, but as far as I have read Norway is still Danish?

If so, have the borders with Sweden and Russia/Finland been agreed on? If not you atleast have a angel there...

In the late 19th century the Norwegian merchant marine wastly expanded. That was the primary reason for the independence movement from Sweden. IMHO Norway and Denmark had more in common commercial than Norway and Sweden. Not given that Norway goes independent.

 

[Grey Wolf]

I might have missed it, but as far as I have read Norway is still Danish?

If so, have the borders with Sweden and Russia/Finland been agreed on? If not you atleast have a angel there...

In the late 19th century the Norwegian merchant marine wastly expanded. That was the primary reason for the independence movement from Sweden. IMHO Norway and Denmark had more in common commercial than Norway and Sweden. Not given that Norway goes independent.

Norway is Swedish, I guess I should have mentioned it and probably need to look into the early independence movements. The POD for the timeline is not till the mid 1820s and begins to impact places only as the waves of alternateness wash over them.

Now that Sweden has Finland, the border question with Russia is not so difficult as the Finmark border is interior. The borders of Finland itself with Russia will presumably be what they were in 1815

Grey Wolf