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"Act and God will Act" — Joan of Arc
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Newport, United Kingdom
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The city of Newport, situated snuggly on the Isle of Wight south of the Hampshire coast, was not a bustling city in 1779 nor was it a quiet one. At least normally. But on this day, July 9, it was devoid of merchants and workers. Instead it was filled with men in blue coats preparing for battle. The French Army had arrived only yesterday but had quickly thrown the militia and few regulars stationed there back to Portsmouth across the narrow channel to England. Here in Newport, now the heart of the French Invasion of Great Britain, three men met to determine the plans to attack the once impenetrable island.

In Paris Louis Guillouet, comte d'Orvilliers, was already being hailed as a hero for defeating Admiral Charles Hardy at the Battle of La Manche, to be called by English history as the Battle of Cornwall. A few British ships still lurked, but for the first time in living memory the Marine Royale held away over the Channel.

The next man was in control of the troops that had driven the British off of the Isle of Wight, becoming the first Frenchmen to hold British soil since Louis VIII had surrendered his claim to the throne in 1217. He was the Comte de Vaux, his name was Noël Jourda. As the men sat thousands French Soldiers sailed across the channel to organize an invasion of Great Britain itself. When the city of Portsmouth fell the numbers would swell to 20,000.

The third man was not French at all, his name was Luis de Córdova y Córdova. While the Comte d'Orvilliers had commanded the allied fleet Córdova had brought a Spanish fleet that had ensured victory over the British.

The three men now met in Newport, or Nouveau Port, to carefully determine their next move.

D'Orvilliers spoke first, "Your Army must move more quickly. The British Fleet spans the globe and should they assemble to wrest control of La Manche I do not know if we can hold, much less should the Spaniards depart for Gibraltar."

De Vaux replied swiftly but politely. "The Army must organize. Amherst marches south, mustering many thousand regulars and lord knows how many militia men. To simply dump them on the coast would doom our endeavor. We need time. Will it not take time for the British to hear word of their defeat and turn towards Europe? And…" the French General turned toward Córdova, "Our Spanish allies have assured us that they can regain Gibraltar with ease. Surely a few more ships of the line are not necessary."

"A few?" The Spaniard grumbled. "We brought forth thirty six ships of the line, more then you have brought to bear."

Ignoring Còrdova, D'Orvilliers replied, "It will take time, but so will subduing Amherst. You must at least seize Portsmouth and Southampton. They will provide a better port for the fleet and a larger city to disembark to. We should strike soon."

De Vaux nodded. "An assault will indeed be organized, but time is needed. Once we are firmly ashore it will not take long. One swift defeat and Lord North will tumble to the chaos in Westminster."

"Fair enough," replied D'Orvilliers "But we must have better ports, sickness will set in if we cannot dock many of our ships for long. And I still fear for attack, so the Spanish must stay."

Córdova huffed again. "Can you not get the American fleet led by that Scotsman, Jones, to assist you?"

D'Orvilliers sighed. "Jones is a raider, and his ships and crew are French no matter the flag they fly. They are more useful terrifying the northern English then anywhere else. Our Kings have given me command of our fleet, and you shall stay with us."

Córdova retorted "His majesty Charles the Third entered this North American adventure for three reasons. Florida, Minorca and Gibraltar. I see…"

De Vaux interrupted him and said "Do you not see, if we decisively defeat the British in battle then they will be forced to bow to our demands, regardless of how strong Gibraltar holds at the time. Now," he turned back to D'Orvilliers, "should we proceed for Portsmouth or Southampton first?"
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Though the number of men in arms in Britain far outnumbered that of the invading French the vast majority were militiamen, who refused to go very far from their homes. Combine this with panic in the north about John Paul Jones and concerns in London about an assault up the Thames and Lord Jeffrey Amherst, commander of the Home Army faced many issues as the army hurried south. As he approached Southampton he received the dire news that Portsmouth had fallen on July 13, and that De Vaux was now closer to Southampton then he was. Faced with a race to the city that he knew he would loose Amherst decided to halt his march and find out De Vaux's next move in order to counter it, a fact that incited anger from many. As soon as De Vaux arrived in Southampton he turned north. He'd heard that Amherst had marched south and wished to pursue the General. De Vaux's plan to defeat the British hinged on a quick and large victory over the British to force them to the negotiating table. So the French Army advanced quickly up the River Test hoping to catch Amherst off of his guard.

The Battle of the River Test saw 25,000 French forces engage the forces under the command of Lord Amherst, 16,000 Regulars and a few hundred militia men from around the River Test. The battle was short but indecisive. De Vaux ordered a straight on assault and Amherst decided to try and hold the line. However both sides were disorganized and Amherst quickly reconsidered, desiring to pick his battle ground. De Vaux did not wish to sustain too many casualties on his limited force and so when Amherst ordered a withdrawal he did not press.

In London, voices opposed to the war, led by Lord Rockingham, raised higher and higher, demanding peace be reached. The old Lord North desperately pulled strings to keep his Government in power. After the retreat from the Battle of the River Test North was forced to use the last of his political capital to stay in power. He sent word to Amherst and ordered the General to face De Vaux before the French reached the Thames or be sacked. Amherst had hoped to drag out the campaign to bleed the French and hold out for reinforcements from abroad but Lord North's desperate message forced his hand. He began to prepare for battle.

The French never really "occupied" any area of Great Britain aside from the Isle of Wight, instead forging from town to town. This did not endear them to the British, but on the whole they were no particularly violent to the populace. Mobs attacked Catholics across England, despite very few joining the French invasion.

After his "victory" at the River Test De Vaux made a quick pace towards the Thames, hoping to threaten London. In response Amherst positioned himself near the town of Streatley, on the south bank of the Thames, the closest town in the path of De Vaux.

De Vaux then turned towards Amherst to give battle. On July 20 the two armies clashed outside of Streatley to determine the fate of the invasion.

The battle was between around 25,000 French and 18,000 British regulars, with a few hundred militia men on the British side. Amherst positioned himself with his back towards Streatley and the Thames, with ferries ready if restore at became necessary. Amherst's plan was to hold his ground and force the French to withdraw, giving him a bit of breathing space. De Vaux's plan was to simply smash the British Army.

The armies met early in the morning an the limited French Artillery pounded at the British lines before a full assault began. The British, defending their homeland, held strong throughout the morning. However in the early afternoon the French began to attempt an assault on the British left flank, forcing Amherst to extend his line. Just as the attack began to be contained the assault on the British center resumed at full force. The British line began to bend. The French were emboldened and attacked even harder. The British line began to break and Amherst, blocked by the French to his East, was forced to retreat northwards, towards Oxford. De Vaux pressed him and sent him into full retreat. The British casualties outnumbered the French, however the Army, though badly wounded, was far from gone. Had they given battle at Oxford they might have won.

But Streatley had been a decisive defeat, and in Westminster Lord North's government came tumbling down.

The New Prime Minister ended up being Lord Rockingham, an opponent of the war. His new government soon opened up negotiations with the French about a peace conference in Paris. De Vaux, upon receiving the armistice, withdrew south, though he remained sitting in Portsmouth and Southampton.

In 1779 it took 5 weeks for a ship to cross the Atlantic. The United States of America did not know it yet, but their independence had been won.

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Philadelphia, United States of America
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The Continental Congress was in a state of hurry and confusion. The shocking news of the British making peace with France and Spain after the invasion still hung in the air, days after it had arrived. The exact details remained fuzzy, some rumors said that the French had burned London, but that was rightly determined to be hearsay.

Samuel Huntington, the President of the Continental Congress desperately tried to keep order. The Congress was waiting for a reply to return from Maryland about ratifying the Articles of Confederation, formally uniting the states and allowing official diplomatic activity for Peace in Paris. Despite no session currently being in session debate still trembled the halls of the Pennsylvania State House. With so little to know about the exact situation in Europe and how it might change what were they to request at the hypothetical peace conference? Could they get Ohio Country and access to the fabled Mississippi? Could the get Canada?

"Surely!" Cried a delegate from Massachusetts, "We can agree that we must have fishing rights off the coast of Newfoundland?"

A general murmur of assent.

Another voice rose. "Who is to say we cannot drive the British out of Newfoundland and rid this continent on imperial ambitions?"

More cheers but also some catcalls.

"We already are demanding Quebec! Do we need more Catholics?"

More shouting erupted.

"Perhaps." A Marylander delegate said cautiously. "We should wait for word from Annapolis, they may still reject ratification as certain states refuse to release their claims in Ohio."

Another round of chaos.

A new voice, perhaps seeking to avoid the touchy subject of land claims, asked "What word do we have from General Washington on actions in New York?"

"Not much, he does not want to risk lives for a war soon over. We do however have word from General Arnold," Boos at the mention of the unpopular General. "that West Point remains secure and praising a new dawn of freedom!"

The hall quieted down after that and the delegates returned to their different debates. As soon as the reports from Maryland returned it would rise again in uproar.
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Against their better judgment the Maryland Legislature ratified the Articles of Confederation in order to allow for negotiation with Britain. This ratification formally brought the Articles into effect, Samuel Huntington became the "President of the United States in Congress Assembled" and the newly renamed Congress of Confederation began to draw up a delegation for a conference in Paris, to be held in 1780. The delegation was lead by John Jay, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. War with British backed tribes in the west continued and minor skirmished still ensued between the British and militias, but a sense of calm descended as the conference began.

Despite being on the same side France and Spain had very different goals from the United States. France just wanted to humiliate Britain while Spain had no interest in the idea of independence spreading to their colonies. Spain laid out three simple demands: Minorca, Florida and Gibraltar, which they received. France dithered about what to demand, eventually settling on some Caribbean Islands and the Isle of Wight. Charles Fox, the new British Foreign Minister, was no friend to the war (he'd shown up to parliament in an American uniform) but recognized that such a thing would be impossible. Eventually the French accepted the Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly instead. Virtually all of the British residents there ended up fleeing. The French also nagged some land in Senegal. The issue now turned to America.

With the French Navy in control of the channel and the Army in Portsmouth the British delegation was quickly forced to accept the independence of America. When the American delegation insisted Spain begrudgingly accepted American expansion to the Mississippi. The issue soon became the British possessions north of the St. Lawrence. Franklin in particular saw the Provence of Quebec as a useful buffer for American interests in America. Vague French support for keeping Frenchmen out of British friends helped the Americans negotiate a strong position there. But they pressed their luck too far in requesting the valuable fur trading area of Rupert's Land. France and Spain, the later had claims in the hinterland areas of Rupert's Land, balked at the idea of such a valuable resource moving into unfamiliar hands and the already huge size of the United States. Britain also drew the line at places it possessed before the Seven Years war, seeing them as vital to their fleet. In the end John Jay agreed to leave Rupert's Land and Nova Scotia to the British in exchange for favorable fishing rights off Newfoundland and New Brunswick. The former irked the French a bit, since it meant competition on the Grand Banks.

The Dutch, who had been fighting a separate war against the British worldwide, also showed up. The British, already facing internal troubles agreed to a return to pre-war holdings.

A new future lie ahead for the world.
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Terms of the Treaty of Paris (1780):

- Britain Recognizes the Independence of the United States of America
- Britain cedes all land east of the Mississippi to the United States
- Britain cedes the Provence of Quebec to the United States
- Britain cedes New Brunswick to the United States
- The United States receive fishing rights to the Grand Banks, similar to the French

- Great Britain cedes East and West Florida to the Kingdom of Spain
- Britain cedes Minorca to Spain
- Britain cedes Gibraltar to Spain

- Great Britain cedes Senegal to the Kingdom of France
- Britain cedes the Channel Islands to France
- Britain ceded the Isles of Scilly to France
- Britain cedes Tobogo to France
- Britain ceded Dominica

-Status quo antebellum between the Dutch Republic and Great Britain
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