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A Soldier's Country: History of the American Stratocracy
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Chapter Seven: No Such Thing As Peace
Chapter Seven: No Such Thing As Peace
"The King is dead! Forever and ever!" - Last words of Manuel José Quintana before being executed
Francisco Javier Castaños, Prime Minister of Spain
Manuel José Quintana, murderer of King Charles IV of Spain
After the Battle of the Alboran, the Spanish-French relationship would crumble, as it was seen by Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy that it wasn't beneficial to Spain to continue this alliance with Napoleon and Spain would leave France's alliance and align with the British. However, Godoy underestimated the militaristic influence that France had over Spain. With the beginning of the War of the Fifth Coalition, a cabal of Spanish generals led by Francisco Javier Castaños overthrew the Spanish government with the support of the military and King Charles IV, who sought to mend French-Spanish relations after the Battle of Austerlitz. Francisco had grown ambitious, knowing of the military success the French army had in influencing their government, and so he would form a secret cabal of like-minded Spanish generals after Spanish-French relations broke down. Castaños would be made the Prime Minister of Spain and changed the government how he saw fit. The King of Spain would do nothing, and Castaños would align Spain with France once more during the War of the Fifth Coalition, and the actions made by Godoy were made as independent from Spain's actions, so Napoleon largely forgave Spain under the new government."The King is dead! Forever and ever!" - Last words of Manuel José Quintana before being executed
Francisco Javier Castaños, Prime Minister of Spain
Manuel José Quintana, murderer of King Charles IV of Spain
However, the militaristic shift in government had many in Spain angered, with the Enlightenment in Spain showing its force to the militaristic government. Crown Prince Ferdinand would ally with members of the previous government and notable liberals, and he would attempt to lead a coup against his father and the Castaños government. He would fail spectacularly, with word coming out to the government a week beforehand and having the Crown Prince placed under house arrest. The Prime Minister would "physically pressure" Ferdinand to renounce his claim to the Spanish throne in favor of his younger brother, Carlos and King Charles IV would agree to this happening, considering it a major stab in the back from his son. Although Ferdinand was gone, his supporters largely still remained and the controversy over Ferdinand led to more liberals and moderates working together to defeat the Castaños government.
The Spanish had planned with the French of invading Portugal, being defiant to the Continental System. However, those plans had been postponed by the French due to an Ottoman conflict in the Balkans, eventually leading to the French signing a white peace in 1808 with the Turks. Not only that but a Danish uprising occurred around the same time, being against conscription for the French and supported by the British, being put down in December of 1807. With the Spanish army having to wait, it lent to for something big to happen. That would be the assassination of King Charles IV when Manuel José Quintana shot the King of Spain while he was riding in his carriage. Quintana would represent a small, extremist sect of the Enlightenment, inspired by French extremists during the French Revolution, who were very anti-monarchy and anti-Catholic. Manuel could not complete his education in Salamanca after his parents died, so he used his partial education on poetry to be a failed poet, eventually getting involved with this extremism. He had thought if King Charles IV was dead, a revolution would occur similar to the French Revolution. However, that did not happen.
King Charles V of Spain
After Quintana would be executed for his crimes, Charles IV would be succeeded by his second son, becoming King Charles V. Although unprepared to take on the role of monarch, King Charles would be more involved with government than his father, claiming divine rule to pressure the military government for more monarchal power, which splintered the Militarists, with those who sided with the King being Carlists and those siding with Castaños remaining to be the Militarists. While the French-Spanish force was invading Portugal during 1808, Charles V led a brutal campaign to squash any defiance of his rule, under the jurisdiction of "to find the conspirators of his father's murder". Napoleon would even help King Charles, seeing the clear distinction between the conservatives and militarists against the moderates and liberals as a breeding ground for instability, not only in Spain but in Europe. Charles would also mend any relations with Napoleon ruined by his father, and by the end of the Portuguese conquest, the French-Spanish alliance was stable. However, Spain itself was nowhere near stable. Charles had arrested members of the former government for "conspiring against the monarchy" as if they were aligned with extremists. Clearly seeing that if they did nothing, they would slowly be all put to jail, desperation from them led to the declaration that Charles V of Spain was a puppet of Napoleon and the army and needed to be deposed to safeguard the sovereignty of Spain.
The Spanish Civil War would begin in 1809, just a month after the Austrians declared war on the French Empire, joining Britain for the War of the Fifth Coalition. Although Napoleon knew of the risk of Spain's civil strife, he did not expect the uprising to be so big. The new government had the Spanish military practically act however they wished, hoping that the privileges that soldiers had during peacetime would invite men to join the Spanish Army, but it only made those men resent the military, as they stole their livestock and kidnapped women, which went under a blind eye. This happened more in the western lands of Spain, which influenced the uprising to pop up there. However, the military would push the rebels all the way to Galicia and Asturias. Aragon would be taken by a Spanish general, José de Palafox, who did not support King Charles V, and would side with the rebels. The Balearic Islands and lands near Gibraltar would be taken by the rebels with British support. The east would become the main rebel-controlled lands but wouldn't be a united front due to stiff military control in some areas.
"General Winfield Scott fends off the tenacious Canadian secessionists!" - New York newspaper months after the end of the War for the Canadas
Guy Carleton, founder of the Canadian Society
Winfield Scott would crackdown on any dissent within the Canadian Territory. Canadian uprisings sprung up constantly and they had to be quickly put down in the eyes of Winfield Scott, or they would unify. One man would seek to have revenge on the Americans. Guy Carleton, the Baron of Dorchester, was an old man. He was out of his military prime, having fought in the American Revolution for the British side. He had repelled the American invasion of Quebec in 1775 but was said to be too old to participate in the War for the Canadas. Resentful of the British government for excluding him and in his words "failed the Canadas", he would play a major role in the Canadian fight for secession from the United States. The Canadian plots and cabals had many different goals and opinions, Carleton, a hero of the Canadas, unified them under one clique, the Canadian Society. They would organize militias under their Constitutional rights, but Congress would sign the Canadian Act of 1808, making the former British subjects not recognized as citizens until 1813, so the Canadians would be considered subjects or immigrants rather than citizens, which some Americans saw as counterintuitive and going against American ideals.
Canadian rebels fighting American forces
Consul John Marshall, Vice Consul George R. Clark
Although the Canadians had no rights under the Constitution, the Canadians would continue to arm themselves through illegal means, often smuggling weapons and even artillery across the Quebecian border. Carleton would organize all of this, but wouldn't be able to see it through, as he would die before 1809 came. He would be succeeded by his younger brother, Thomas Carleton, influential in New Brunswick, but less of a figure than his older brother. Thomas would launch a series of uprisings, not meant to oust the Americans from Canada but to wear them down. The Canadian Uprisings of 1809-1811 would be three years of utter torture for the Americans and a political nightmare for Consul Thomas Pinckney. Pinckney was passive in Canada, believing Scott could handle it. However, Scott's youth made him rush to things, often leading to whole squads of men killed.
Although Winfield Scott's commanders kept Scott under control, the overwhelming amount of soldiers that was requested was denied, not wanting to make it seem that America aggressively invaded the Canadas, but liberated them. However, that message was already clear. It was so detrimental that he would lose his attempt to be elected for his fourth term in the Election of 1810, losing to John Marshall, who connected with the voting populace over the uprisings, having served in Aaron Burr and Pinckney's cabinets, excelled as a politician and was a veteran of the American Revolution. However, there would be some clear interference with the election. Columbia Hall had greatly supported John Marshall, who seemed like a good way to nudge the country away from those military-focused Consuls like Burr and Pinckney. There's even proof that Columbia Hall organized the assassination of James T. Callender, a journalist who was a bombastic supporter and pawn of Burr, then Pinckney, by faking that he drowned in the James River while intoxicated. Marshall would be the clear winner when he would make the retired George R. Clark his running-mate, with Clark joking "I was born to hope for a fight when idle and hope to be idle when in a fight". Clark would be the Vice Consul completely nominally, having no responsibilities during Marshall's term and only having to be present during important events.
Premier Gabriel-Elzéar Taschereau of Quebec, Governor Jacob Brown of the Canadian Territory
Marshall would work hard to fix the situation in the Canadian Territory. He replaced Winfield Scott with Jacob Brown as Governor of the Canadian Territory and allowing martial law to be in place. The smuggling over the Quebec border was discovered, so the border was heavily watched by the American forces. Although this practically cut off the Canadian supply of weapons, this brought strain with the American-Quebecois relations, with the first Premier of Quebec, Gabriel-Elzéar Taschereau, demanding the Americans provide more aid to their government in return, which Marshall agreed to. The uprisings were dying down, as the military capability the Canadian Society had died down and in hopes to preserve their strength, the Canadian Society ordered the end of these attacks, which seemed like a huge win for Consul Marshall. However, martial law would stay in place until 1813, leading to some incidents that assured there would be further issues between the Canadians and the Americans.
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Great to see another update to this great TL! The situation in conquered Canada reminds me of Turtledove's Southern Victory series where the United States conquers Canada and has to deal with constant uprisings. Anyways, great update!
I hope you have something new for the Ottomans in this new world, other than the clichéd collapse that is.
Definitely an inspiration I had. Glad to see some old faces still interested in this timeline! Thanks a bunch.
Its an interesting approach... I am drawing similar plans for a more Roman esque America, complete with mandatory conscription tied to voting rights, for my Communist Confederacy works.
With Canada looking secure, I do wonder how America will handle Western expansion... I wafer they will eventually bite off a chunk of Spanish North America, but having all of OTL Canada sans Quebec to digest may have some effect.
With Canada looking secure, I do wonder how America will handle Western expansion... I wafer they will eventually bite off a chunk of Spanish North America, but having all of OTL Canada sans Quebec to digest may have some effect.
Chapter Eight: End of An Era
Chapter Eight: End of An Era
King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden being arrested
King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden being arrested
King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden was not cut out to be King of Sweden. He lacked the diplomatic and martial qualities in a King, and that soon led to his downfall. Gustav had called Napoleon the "Antichrist" and with him unable to budge with a British alliance due to the Pomeranian War, Gustav only had enemies, which made the Swedish people fear a two-front war. With everything to lose, the Swedish Riksdag, which had been dominated by the army for a long time, led a coup against Gustav in 1807, after the War of the Fourth Coalition ended. Sweden would change quickly, moving away from enlightened despotism to a liberal constitution. Gustav IV Adolf would be forced to abdicate, and his entire family would be declared forfeit to the throne by the Riksdag, electing Gustav's uncle, Prince Charles, as he was old and wouldn't be able to do much to fight against the liberal constitution, even if he wanted to. Sweden would align with the British, eventually leading to the Finnish War, an undeclared war where the Russians would invade Finland and take it from Sweden domain, forcing Sweden to align with France instead, which had the liberal government very unpopular with the people and some aristocrats and military officials planned for the end of the unpopular liberal government with the return to former policies, hoping for Gustav's son, Gustav, to be named heir to King Charles XIII.
The French Revolution would show their effects upon some members of the Riksdag and Napoleon planned with the Swedes to invade Norway, to kick out the last vestige of resistance to him in Scandanavia. Swedish forces were waiting for the French to arrive, with a Dutch-French force meant to enter Sweden through Denmark. However, that would be when the War of the Fifth Coalition would begin as the Austrians would declare war upon the French Empire. The British Navy would put great focus in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, forcing the Dutch-French force unable to ferry through the Danish islands. The French situation would prove worse, as the British would open another front in the War of the Fifth Coalition with the Holland Campaign, where a British force of 40,000 would bombard the capital of Holland, The Hague, and take control of the Dutch islands, before landing and taking nearly all of the Holland. The Dutch forces that left their homeland were replaced by some French soldiers, but these men were way less experienced with war compared to the rest of Napoleon's army and without clear French leadership, the French would face a major embarrassment at the Battle of Utrecht. The British would ravage the Dutch lands, although not by British orders. However, this would only foster more anti-British sentiment with the Dutch and the feeling would soon be mutual with the British, as the conflict in Cape Colony had opened up these poor Dutch-British relations. The French would eventually drive out the British from Holland, but the British casualties from their retreat would be light, the whole campaign being pyrrhic for the French, with 10,000 French and Dutch casualties.
Bombardment of Stockholm
The Holland Campaign would leave the Swedish out in the dry, with Norway predicting of a Swedish invasion. Realizing their situation, Sweden would attempt to back out of the invasion, but Napoleon would not have it that way. Napoleon called for the Russians to assist the Swedes, but the two nations had tense relations after the Finnish War and Russia had grown less and less obedient to the French Empire, sending only some thousands of men. It would only prove worse when the attack began. The British fleet bombarded Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. With no navy able to challenge the British, they bombarded Stockholm with brutal efficiency and when the Swedish attempted to control the situation as the British bombarded more coastal regions, a united Norwegian-British force would march into Sweden. The British, most of them veterans from the War for the Canadas or just from the Netherlands, pulled their own weight in the fighting, beating the Swedish-Russian force at the Battle of Trollhättan, where the Norweigan and British eventually fought their way to the steps of Stockholm. Defeated decisively, the Swedish surrendered, much to the anger of Napoleon. The Treaty of Oslo had it so King Charles XIII would leave his throne to King Frederick VI of Norway, who was the first King of Denmark-Norway to descend from Gustav I of Sweden until he lost his Kingship in Denmark, but either way, the people saw Frederick as legitimate and were willing to ally with the Coalition after their embarrassing defeat in the Finnish War. Napoleon would face even more shame when the British would bombard his homeland of Corsica to show how feeble he was to fight the British at sea.
"He's no Emperor, he's an utter self-absorbed buffoon." - Emperor Alexander I privately speaking with his wife, Louise of Baden
King Frederick Augustus I of Austria, King Joseph I of Hungary
King Frederick Augustus I of Austria, King Joseph I of Hungary
Napoleon would be busy defeating the Austrians at the Battle of Wagram, with Archduke Charles of Austria desiring a ceasefire. However, Napoleon had no intention of calling a ceasefire. His capture of Vienna after the Battle of Austerlitz was his retribution, his justice for the men that he had lost under the French Directory. However, now, the Austrians had proved themselves to be an eternal thorn on his back. He had destroyed the Holy Roman Empire and made an empire of his own. He couldn't let the Austrians just come back when he was weak. He needed to show a lesson of strength, especially after his failures in Scandinavia and his embarrassment at Corsica. He would capture Vienna, taking Emperor Francis I of Austria and try to force him to renounce his claim to Austria. When the Austrian Emperor refused, even unable to shake most of his family, only able to get his brothers, Johann and Rudolf to leave their claims. He would attempt to declare that Francis and his family members were illegitimate, as Francis's grandfather Emperor Francis I of the Holy Roman Empire had multiple mistresses, his offspring likely being covered up as the children of his mistresses and making House Habsburg-Lorraine illegitimate itself. Using that rationale, Napoleon declared that King Frederick Augustus of Saxony was the legitimate ruler of Austria through his grandmother, Maria Josepha of Austria. Frederick Augustus was not the Austrian Emperor, however. Napoleon would break up the empire into the Kingdom of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary, while Tyrol was given to Bavaria and the remaining Serbian and Croat lands were united with the Illyrian Province. Joseph Napoleon would become King Joseph I of Hungary, and King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony became King Frederick Augustus I of Hungary. Napoleon, to strengthen his alliance with Bavaria and Austria, as well as produce an heir, would divorce his wife, Joséphine, to marry Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, who divorced her husband the Crown Prince of Württemberg to marry Napoleon.
The French takeover from the carcass of the Austrian Empire was a big shot in the foot for Napoleon as well. He had forced himself to maintain a fair-sized army within Austria and Hungary, as well as the Illyrian Province, as the French were tight-fisted overlords. As soon as the War of the Fifth Coalition ended with the fall of the Austrian Empire and the end of Holstein-Gottorp rule over Sweden, the French were still dealing with the messy and brutal Spanish Civil War, as the Spanish Coalition or Coalitionists, making up of turncoat generals, conservatives, radicals and many others that opposed the dictatorial rule of King Charles V of Spain. The war was going poorly for the King of Spain, as the militarists decide to no longer cooperate with the King and found it better that he be deposed from power. Soon, the militarist Spanish garrison would turn on the King and capture Madrid for the Coalition after King Charles V supposedly assassinated Prime Minister Castaños. Charles V's power would collapse as the Coalitionists had him in their custody, setting up a regency for the Kingdom of Spain under a council, recognizing Prince Ferdinand as the rightful monarch of Spain. The Spanish Civil War effectively ended in July 1810. Portugal would be liberated in the Great Portuguese Insurrection after the Siege of Lisbon in September 1810, as some of the French army stationed in Iberia were cut off from France and of the 50,000-strong force stationed, the French sustained 24,000 casualties in Iberia. Generals Junot and Victor-Perrin, both died during the Siege of Lisbon, and Marshal Ney, Ney dying from injuries while retreating to France, were also killed during the Spanish Civil War, which was a blow to France's military leadership.
"To hell with the Spaniards, like all they shall soon bow." - Napoleon before the Battle of Zaragoza
French soldiers storming Zaragoza after the victorious Battle of Zaragoza
French soldiers storming Zaragoza after the victorious Battle of Zaragoza
Although Napoleon was in a very favorable situation acknowledging his defeats, Napoleon refused to allow such a world to exist where Great Britain was on the map. The Russians and Polish, as well as a French force of around 100,000, would lead an invasion into Norway-Denmark and to kick out the British presence there. Napoleon, in turn, would march into Iberia and avenge the French of the Spanish Civil War in May 1811. Napoleon carved his way towards Madrid with a 300,000-strong force. The Spanish Army was experienced from the Civil War, but political infighting and disagreements led to a disastrous Battle of Zaragoza. What wrecked the French Grande Armée were the Spanish guerrillas, constantly harassing the French. While the government was at the whim of Napoleon, the people of Spain were not and were very adamant against the French Emperor. Portugal was the same thing, taking the Spanish's idea and the French were constantly harassed. Napoleon would find Gibraltar abandoned and the ports burned. Any attempts to rebuild them were keenly watched by the British, only for them to sail back and burn Napoleon's construction.
French soldiers celebrating in the Alexandrian Celebration
Emperor Alexander of Russia would, in turn, masterminded the defeat of 100,000 French soldiers. Before the march to Scandanavia, the French-Polish force would meet the Russians in Moscow. Although it didn't make much sense why they couldn't just meet up at St. Petersburg, the Russian offer would not be refused by Napoleon, as the French and Russians were growing poor relations and the visit could possibly help fix their alliance and maintain Napoleon's control over Europe. However, Alexander and the Russians have already had enough of Napoleon. The Emperor of Russia saw it as a great insult to invade Scandinavia as if he was a subject of Napoleon, with Napoleon not even guaranteeing any Scandinavian lands to Russia. When the French and Polish arrived, they were greeted graciously. Duke Louis-Nicholas Davout of Poland and Marshal Oudinot, as well as their lower Generals, personally met the Emperor and toured Moscow and it's beauty. Alexander declared a day of feasting and drinking and soon the armies celebrated while the higher-ups had dinner with the Emperor. Soon, Emperor Alexander called for the arrest of Davout, Oudinot, and their generals while they slept after the festivities. The French and the Polish, very drowsy from their celebrating, had their weapons removed and themselves captured. Soldiers surrounded the entire camp around Moscow, making sure no man could flee, although a few sober tens of thousands were able to escape, but were soon harassed by militias to the point where it was said only 7,000 soldiers made it back to Poland. Roughly 88,000 soldiers surrendered or were killed, with around 30,000 French and Polish soldiers killed at the Alexandrian Celebration, as it was soon called. To assure they wouldn't be a threat, the prisoners were dispersed not near to Europe and the commanders were isolated. Although some debate by the Europeans on the honor of the Alexandrian Celebration, with Emperor Alexander nicknamed "The Sober Tsar", the cunning of the Russian Emperor led to a great victory with minimal casualties for Russia.
From here, Napoleon found himself in a very unfavorable position. He was in Iberia, far from his eastern lands and allies, with Russia now an enemy of the French Empire. He tried to rally some forces to face the Russians, who would invade Poland soon after the Alexandrian Celebration, and the cracks of Napoleon's domain began to show. The Serbians and Croats would be incited to rise up against France to fight against conscription, the Hungarians very much disliked their Bonaparte king, and Archduke Charles of Austria, who was able to avoid being arrested by laying low in Russia would soon return and declare Napoleon's claims on Austria as ludicrous and King Frederick Augustus as the false monarch of Austria. As the Russians entered the Kingdom of Austria, several Austrian soldiers would desert and join Archduke Charles and many Austrians would flock to liberate their nation. French prisoners would rise up when the winter came, but Russians militias and some garrisons held them back, as the winter killed many of the prisoners and they really weren't easily able to arm themselves. Although there were some radicals that desired an independent Hungary, they did not hold power as opposed to the Hungarian nobility, who had no intention of possibly fighting the Russians or British. The Kingdom of Hungary would be liberated by the Hungarians and soon, they recognized the rule of Francis I of Austria, although not without terms, giving some more power to the Hungarian Diet in the Hungarian Constitution. Not only that but a new issue of Italy, who was a good bulk of the conscription at the request of Napoleon's Marshals. This came to bite them back when Sicily would liberate themselves with British assistance, sparking some Italian regions to rise up against Napoleon.
Napoleon would leave 100,000 in Spanish to occupy it while he worked on gathering his forces, able to a 400,000-strong army to face not only the Austrians and Russians but the Kingdom of Prussia as well, who was sour from their defeat in the War of the Fourth Coalition. Napoleon thought it was best to march into Italy, not only to quell the uprisings but to meet an Austrian-Russian contingent meant to conquer Italy while the main Coalition force slogged through Germany to get to France. Napoleon moved with speed similar to the maneuvers of his younger years, breaking his forces to have speed only for them to unite for battle. The Battle of Rome would be a massive victory for Napoleon, defeating a 75,000-strong force, however, he had made some missteps. The British had launched a second Holland Campaign, able to push through and defeat the Dutch with 35,000 British troops. 20,000 British troops would also join the Spanish and hold up a good number of troops in the cities while the others were forced to flee or be crushed. Around 40,000 French would be killed and around 20,000 would be captured in cities, with 9,000 captured at Madrid in October 1811.
"Do not dare disgrace my name by saying I am mortal." - Last words of Napoleon
The Immortal Emperor by Horace Vernet
The Immortal Emperor by Horace Vernet
Napoleon, surrounded at all sides, would return to France, hoping to crush the British force in the Netherlands, then put some of his Marshals up to establish French militias, to hopefully slow down either the Prussian or the Austrian-Russian force, to hopefully defeat each one by one. However, fate had other plans. Napoleon would be shot by a stray Italian rebel on his way back to France. He would be shot in the leg, and while some desired to see if they should continue with the fight, Napoleon did not waver and his heart pushed on out of full spite for all those that have wronged him. However, the wound would be of an issue with Napoleon and when he prepared to face the British near the town of Waterloo, it was soon discovered that shrapnel had further torn his leg and made it infected. He would die on the 5th of December, 1811. His last words were "Do not disgrace my name by saying I am mortal". Grande Armée hit a major blow in morale and many of the Marshals did as well. Some desired to continue the fight under an infant Emperor Napoleon II, however, most were broken, a man who's last battle was the namesake of the second greatest empire, with Napoleon's empire surpassing it in their eyes. The clear motivation mix-up was enough to show that they would not be able to win this war and to spare the mainland of invasion, who had never been invaded in the reign of Napoleon, the Marshals of France would sign an armistice.
The nations of Europe would convene at the Congress of Nuremberg. The Bourbons would be restored as monarchs of the Kingdom of France, however, maintaining a strong-military after the Napoleonic Wars, they were able to place themselves as part of the Great Powers of the Congress with Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Britain. The Foreign Minister of France, Talleyrand, would work in a way to ensure nobility in the defeat of France. He would succeed in claiming the southern half of the lowlands for France, excluding Luxembourg, justifying it with the French-speaking populace of Wallonia. The new King of the Netherlands, King William I, was angered by this, seeing this as Europe taking advantage of his weakness, having no allies to work with. Talleyrand worked with more minor powers, even the Netherlands, to reach his ambitions. Talleyrand most of all wanted to maintain French control over Piedmont, which was opposed by the other Great Powers. The Treaty of Paris was signed, but the French army would not budge on certain borders until the Congress of Nuremberg. It had become heated, to the point where Alexander desired to capture Paris and force whatever will the Coalition had, but the other powers had exhausted much of their strength in the other Coalition wars and desired a peaceful resolution. Talleyrand would achieve his goal when Russia and Prussia were against Britain and Austria in the Polish-Saxon Crisis, where Russia taking Poland seemed like too much power for Russia, Talleyrand would negotiate with Prussia, where they would get a part of Saxony and return the borders where Poland is to its originality if Prussia was willing to go to war with Russia if they were to disagree. The Prussians would agree and the other Great Powers would make an ultimatum to Russia for them to accept the former borders of 1803 within Poland, which Emperor Alexander accepted, but felt very much betrayed by the other Great Powers. Alexander would receive hefty monetary compensation, but he was still bitter. With the Napoleonic Wars over, the ripple effects could still be felt across the world. Especially in Latin America.
Map of Europe, 1812
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