All Hail the Confederation

All Hail the Confederation: the Triumph of 1848

allhailtheconfederation.png


Firstly, hi. ;)

Secondly, the "Confederation" does not refer to the CSA.

This TL stipulates firstly that the 1848 Hungarian Revolution is able to triumph, and secondly that Count Laszlo Teleki's vision of a confederation of liberated peoples comes to fruition. The TL tracks the course of the rise and fall of this confederation from its birth in the 1840s-50s to its disintegration in the mid-20th century.

I'll start in a bit, but firstly I just wanted to ask: does anyone have any criticisms of the basic idea?
 
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Rise up, Magyar, the country calls!
It's 'now or never' what fate befalls...
Shall we live as slaves or free men?
That's the question - choose your 'Amen'!
God of Hungarians, we swear unto Thee,
We swear unto Thee - that slaves we shall no longer be!
- Sándor Petőfi
15 March 1848.

The clouds hung low on a fairly warm
, rainy, afternoon, and as far as days went, there was nothing naturally extraordinary about this one. The only omen of this day's nature was the electrified atmosphere in the Café Pilvax, where the young poet Sándor Petőfi had stood up to read his latest poem. This would have been a normal event -- on any other day. For it was towards this day that the news of the revolution in Vienna had reached Pest, and it was this news that had gathered the combination together in the Pilvax to hear the poet.

The poet cleared his throat
, and began to speak in a smooth, electrifying voice, his gaze piercing the people in front of him.

"Talpra magyar, hí a haza! Itt az idő, most vagy soha! Rabok legyünk vagy szabadok?"

The pressure growing in the audience was palpable
, but the silence that gave way to the poet was equally weighty.

"God of Hungarians
, we swear unto Thee, we swear unto Thee -- that slaves we shall no longer be!"

As he spoke
, people began to murmur, and this murmur soon built into a crescendo of wrath -- not against the poet, but against Austria, the Habsburgs, and the epitomizers of the absolutist regime: a nationalistic fervour that penetrated every member of the growing crowd's heart.

Only a few minutes later
, this crowd had moved to the nearby National Museum, where the poet began his violent call for an uprising. A revolution was being birthed.

And with the joining of the author
Jókai, this same crowd, grown to monumental proportions, stormed the University of Pest and the City Hall.

The revolution was born.

A revolution that would rock the foundations of society; a revolution that would become a beacon of light throughout the world; a revolution whose very name would strike fear into dictators and tyrants for dozens of years
to come.

[This is of course merely setting the scene. The actual AH will come in the next post.]
 
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All for the people and all by the people; nothing about the people without the people -- that is democracy.
- Louis Kossuth
8 April 1848.

500px-1848-as_orsz%C3%A1ggy%C5%B1l%C3%A9s.jpg


Ðorđe Stratimirović was a name unfamiliar to Kossuth -- and indeed to most of the other delegates to the recently convened National Assembly in Pozsony. But it was this man who led the Délvidék Serb delegation that had entered the Assembly, wearing prim suits and Hungarian cockades.

The Assembly had grown quiet
, the delegates' chat had turned to a murmur. Some of the deputies looked stonily at the delegation -- others smiled. Stratimirović's face was a picture of determination as he walked up to the lectern. He stopped as he reached it and turned to his colleagues, speaking quietly, rapidly in Serbian. They nodded back. Kossuth watched behind and above him. Prime Minister Batthyány watched with ambivalent interest. The Count turned to Kossuth, beside him.

"Who are these?" he asked.

"Serbian-speakers from the South." Kossuth was always careful to refer to them as Serbian-speakers rather than Serbians. There was
, after all, only one nationality under the Hungarian crown: that of the Hungarians. All those in Hungary were Hungarian. He looked back down as Stratimirović began to speak.

"Friends
," he began. "These glorious days are the building of a new era of freedom..."

"Quite
," muttered Kossuth to himself.

The Serb spoke in his cautious Hungarian for some half an hour before drawing to his conclusion.

"... The lands of the holy crown are on the road to liberation! We shall fight together for freedom!"

As he finished
, the Assembly rose, and applause tore through the crowded room. Kossuth stood up and joined in the applause. As the delegates began to sit back down, he looked at the Serbs. And their demands? he thought.

§ § §

Recognition of Serbians as a rightful nationality under the crown of Hungary.

The words stared up at Kossuth from the plain piece of paper he had been handed. He sat back in his armchair and sighed
, closing his eyes. He hadn't slept in days. The fireplace was crackling jovially, and the room was warm and comfortable. He suppressed the urge to fall asleep and spoke.

"We can't accept this
."

He turned to Count Teleki
, who was sitting across the oak table in another armchair. The Count was dressed -- as always -- in his favourite traditional brown noble dress. His fur coat had been draped haphazardly onto his chair.

"Well
," the Count began, and coughed, pouring himself another glass of brandy. "Does it not occur to you, Lajos, that these nationalities are precisely the people we need as allies?"

Kossuth looked at him
, and he downed the glass. "Not that we need to give in to everything they say. But we don't know what's going to happen. You know how close the Court is to Russia -- when they want to be, anyway. We need the help."

"What are you suggesting?" Kossuth asked
.

"The Serbian-speakers came wearing Hungarian cockades
, they spoke for Hungary, their demands are in the framework of Hungary. Surely there is nothing intrinsically wrong with providing them at least some of what they want? Serbian-language local government, Serbian-language schools. At least in the southernmost Délvidék."

"They want to split off from Hungary! They place demands for an independent Vajdaság
. Hungary is one and indivisible."

"Yes
, yes, but these people haven't demanded that. A temporary alliance, Lajos. If we don't do it, who knows..."

Kossuth sighed again. He was tired. Very tired. He stayed silent for some moments. "A temporary alliance."

And in several hours
, Kossuth found himself shaking the warm hand of Stratimirović.

____________

Profiles:

Ðorđe Stratimirović was born 7 February 1822 in Novi Sad. He studied at the Wiener Neustadt Theresianum military academy, before joining the imperial army in 1841. He retired from the military in 1844 as a master sergeant, and became an active participant in Vojvodinan political life. On 8 April 1848, he joined and led the Serb delegation to the National Assembly.

Count László Teleki was born 11 February 1810 in Pest. In 1830 he began a three-year trip around western Europe. He was first delegated to the National Assembly in 1837. In the 1847-48 National Assembly Teleki was a strong supporter of reforms. He was engaged in activity in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs from March '48
, and his primary goal was to have western Europe recognise Hungary's freedom. He was perhaps one of the more left-wing members of the liberal aristocracy, and he supported from the beginning moderated co-operation with the nationalities.*

Louis (Lajos) Kossuth was born 19 September 1802 in Monok. In 1821 he became steward to Countess Szapáry and thus became her voting representative. After his dismissal from this post
, he became a deputy to Count Hunyadi in the National Assembly. In this post he edited his parliamentary gazette, but this was soon banned by the Austrian government. It remained circulated in hand-written form. In 1837 the Austrian government brought him to trial on charges of high treason, and he became a national icon. After leaving prison in 1841 he took an active, high-profile part in the political life of Pest. In 1847 he was elected to the National Assembly as member for Pest. On March 3 1848 he gave a speech demanding parliamentary democracy for Hungary. It was he who took the lion's share in the initiative to restore Hungary's national idea, and his newspaper, Kossuth Hírlapja, and coinage helped to establish him, rather than Prime Minister Batthyány, as the prime representative of the government. Although an ardent nationalist, he came to realize after extensive discussions with intellectual friends such as Count Laszlo Teleki that giving in to some of the nationalities' demands would be the only way to strengthen Hungary's position against Austria, even if only a temporary measure.

____________

Timeline:

3 March -- Kossuth demands parliamentary democracy for Hungary.

13 March -- Chancellor Metternich is overthrown violently
, the revolution triumphs in Vienna.

15 March -- Revolution breaks out in Pest.

17 March -- Lajos Batthyány is selected as Prime Minister by the National Assembly.

23 March -- The first Cabinet is convened - Kossuth is Minister for National Finance.

March-April -- The National Assembly debates the reforms to be enacted.

9 April -- Kossuth agrees to most of the Serbian delegation's demands. (First POD)

11 April -- The Habsburg Emperor
, having fled with his court to Innsbruck, bows to pressure from revolutions across his empire and sanctifies the Hungarian reform package - the "April Laws". Widesweeping political reforms change the social landscape of Hungary.

_____________

* The basis for this is in his letter in May 1849 in which he urged the Hungarian government to give the nationalities all they want. This AH is based very much off some of the ideas in this letter
, particularly that a more co-operative Hungary would have opened the way to a Confederation composed not only of Hungary, but also of other liberated peoples. However, in order to realise this, this TL sets several PODs which enable this idea to be in the making much earlier in the revolution -- preventing the souring of Serb-Hungarian relations that in OTL was precipitated by Kossuth's arrogance towards Stratimirović ("the sword shall decide in this matter"). This idea that Teleki would want moderated co-operation from the beginning is in itself a POD, as is the idea that Kossuth would accept it. One could postulate a variety of different reasons for why they would (in particular I would assume that in this TL Kossuth has been discussing the idea at length already -- unlike OTL, where he was largely apathetic to the national movements and didn't think much of them till the last moment), but I believe it's best to leave these as axiomatic assumptions so that the TL can unfold. If anyone finds this a big problem then I'll be happy to do a prequel post explaining it.

As far as this TL is concerned, "Vajdaság" will be used to specifically refer to the idea of an autonomous Vojvodina governed by a Serbian Vojvod, and "Délvidék" and "Vojvodina" used interchangeably to refer to the geographical region.
 
The Origins of the World State
(A textbook for students of modern history)
© 2026, World Academy Press
Brian Winters
, First Historian, Globe Library

As we have seen
, the foundations of the World State were laid down considerably before the Planetary Constitution was even imaginable. The World State's history can perhaps be most essentially and ideologically traced to the history of two nations: the United States of America ("U.S.A.") and the Confederation of Peoples. We have already seen the role of the former in the years between its formation in the mid-to-late 18th century to the 1840s. The Confederation of Peoples is what we shall deal with in this chapter.

The Confederation of Peoples traces its history to 1848
, with the breakout of the Great Revolution in Hungary on March 15. It is important to note that the Great Revolution was, at its time, merely one in a series of uprisings that had broken out in the year. It was merely one star in a constellation of rebellion: the moniker of "Great" Revolution was afforded to it only in the 1920s by the historian Oswald Spengler (c.f.: History of the Confederation, 1923). Before it, it was known either as the "Fight for Liberation" among Confederate historians, or a series of uprisings beginning with the "1848 Hungarian Revolution" among Western European and American historians.

...

Without doubt the single most important event in determining the outcome of the Revolution was taken in its very beginnings
, in April. It was then that Kossuth reconciled himself with the concept of moderated national self-determination -- even if he then thought that it would be a temporary measure. Without this great realignment, the Revolution would have without doubt been smothered in blood by the beginning of 1849.
 
Many think: "Hungary was". I believe: "Hungary will be".
- Count István Széchenyi

16 April 1848.

"Mr. Kossuth." The words were heavy
and blunt. Walking down the stone corridors of the building temporarily serving as the scene for the National Assembly in Pozsony, Kossuth had failed to notice the other man catching up with him. He looked round, and saw the elaborately dressed figure of Count Széchenyi.

"Yes
, Count?" Kossuth replied, more snappily than he would have preferred.

"The news of your little deal has spread around the Assembly."

"I would expect so
," Kossuth responded, without slowing down.

"May I ask what exactly you
, sir, were doing without the sanction of the Assembly or the Government? You are, as far as I am aware, the Minister of Finance, not the Emperor."

Kossuth stopped.

"No official agreement was made
."

"In which case why was any agreement made? What purpose did agreeing to the Serbian-speakers' demands serve? You've opened the floodgates to the demands of all the other nationalists!"

Kossuth sighed
. He had sighed quite a lot recently. "No formal agreement was made, sir Count."

"That will most certainly serve as news to the separatists at Balázsfalva. You know
, I assume, sir, that a congress calling itself the 'Romanian National Assembly' has convened there and has submitted preposterous demands to the Government? They want to overrule the decisions to be taken by the legitimate Transylvanian Assembly! They are calling into question the union of Transylvania!"

"They are only words
."

"Words were enough for you to bow to Stratimirović and his band of serfs."

Kossuth smiled wryly. "Serfdom is abolished
, sir Count -- has the news not reached your household? I had begun to think I saw you at the Assembly that day."

"Perhaps it is the news of 'irony' that has not reached yours
, sir. Mr. Kossuth, you are angering a lot of respectable gentlemen with your unilateral decision-making."

"Then those are respectable gentlemen I have no business with
, sir Count. I have not taken any decisions, unilateral or otherwise, concerning this matter. The only agreement was an informal understanding -- quite different from an executive order."

"Then it was a very costly understanding
, sir. Are you aware of the piece of paper I hold right now in my hand?"

Kossuth realized that he had not
, in fact, been aware of it. The Count continued. "This is my letter of resignation to the good Prime Minister. Until this Government gets some sense into it and stops pursuing its socialist policies, I am not to have anything to do with it."

"I grieve for the loss
, sir. Farewell." Kossuth turned round, sighed once more and began walking. And this Count was the "greatest of the Magyars"?

____________

Profile:

Count István Széchenyi was born 21 September 1791 in Vienna
, descending from an old and prosperous line of nobles with traditional loyalties toward the Habsburg dynasty. In 1825, he donated the full annual income of his estates to the establishment of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He gained a reputation in politics as a "Great Reformer", although sitting decidedly on the right wing of the liberal aristocracy. His relations with Louis Kossuth were always decidedly strained, and he believed that Kossuth was an agitator and demagogue. It would be no understatement to say that he was backed by half the country, Kossuth by the other. He was labelled "greatest of the Magyars" by Kossuth. In early 1848 he became convinced in the goal of development of Hungary, and took up the post of Minister for Transport and Social Affairs. He quickly became disillusioned, however, by Kossuth's new-found radical politics towards the nationalities, and resigned from his post on 16 April.

____________

Timeline:

11 April -- The April Laws are sanctified.

13 April -- The date is set for the first elected Hungarian National Assembly in the summer.

15 April -- The 'Romanian National Assembly' at Blaj (Balázsfalva) issues a set of demands to the Hungarian Government
, demanding, among other things, the prevention of union of Transylvania with Hungary proper until Transylvania gains a properly elected assembly with Romanian representation.

16 April -- Count Széchenyi resigns from the Government
, and the Government shifts decidedly towards further radicalism.
 
Good timeline.One of reasons that the hungarian 1848 revolution failed was the armed and political conflict between the hungarian and romanian revolutionaries. In the OTL the hungarian revolutionaries were reluctantly to consider even minor compromises towards the romanian side. It also caused the hungarian revolutionary armies to be send toward Transylvania to fight the romanians and not toward Viena for most part of the war.
The romanians had enough of armed presence to caused major problems for the hungarians.
Only near the end of 1848 revolution an political accord between the romanian and the hungarian revolutionaries had been achieved.
That fight caused the austrian armies to gather enought strenght to begin an overwhelming counterattack and for russian help to arive. This caused the collapse of both the romanian and hungarian revolutions.
 
Good timeline.One of reasons that the hungarian 1848 revolution failed was the armed and political conflict between the hungarian and romanian revolutionaries. In the OTL the hungarian revolutionaries were reluctantly to consider even minor compromises towards the romanian side. It also caused the hungarian revolutionary armies to be send toward Transylvania to fight the romanians and not toward Viena for most part of the war.
The romanians had enough of armed presence to caused major problems for the hungarians.
Only near the end of 1848 revolution an political accord between the romanian and the hungarian revolutionaries had been achieved.
That fight caused the austrian armies to gather enought strenght to begin an overwhelming counterattack and for russian help to arive. This caused the collapse of both the romanian and hungarian revolutions.


Indeed -- and it's the Hungarians who must take the blame for that more than anyone else. The Hungarian Government was very narrow-minded about nationalities and that really spelt the end for the revolution. Ironically it was their temporary successes in 1849 that really put the nail in the coffin, because the Hungarian elite thought they had it all sorted and had no need to appease the nationalities. On top of the Romanians you shouldn't forget the Serbs (they really kicked off the war by nationalities against Hungary) and the Croatians (Jelačić). The Slovak national movement was the most low-profile, in fact many Slovaks were still fighting alongside the Hungarians when the revolution collapsed. The idea of this TL is of course basically that Hungary manages to appease, at least to a very high degree (I suspect people like Jelacic could never have been appeased) the national movements, and this precipitates a massively different outcome to the revolution.

I am
, by the way, half-Hungarian (although I consider myself British), which is why I have an interest in this.
 

Hnau

Banned
Excellent beginning, my friend, and welcome to the board! This looks like it will be a very interesting timeline. Your prose is also very good, I like that when such is incorporated into a timeline.
 
Interesting timeline, no doubt:)

Which will the russian posture in TTL?, in OTL it was the russian intervention that finally defeated militarly the Hungarian revolution.

The victory of Hungarian revolution could have some interesting effects in Italy also, could be butterflying the Sardinia-Piemonte defeat and the defeat of the venetian uprising under Daniele Manin.
 

Chilperic

Banned
Ah, 1848, a surprisingly underused PoD point considering all the changes that could have happened. Good luck :D
 
Thanks for the positive comments everyone :)
I do hope that the 'world state' is plausible however.

As far as I'm concerned the TL is finished when the Confederation ends (which is between the 1950s and 1970s -- of course I'm not entirely sure of the details yet), although I might still go on whenever that happens. I do have a rough idea of making it plausible, but I wouldn't spoil it :p (it'd be slightly like Wells' idea for the setting up of a World State, for comparison).

Which will the russian posture in TTL?, in OTL it was the russian intervention that finally defeated militarly the Hungarian revolution.

If I understand what you're getting at, there are several answers in TTL that I can think of. Firstly, a Hungary that isn't having to fight its own nationalities, and is in fact allied with them, at the same time of two large imperial armies might actually win out -- consider the tenacity of the revolution in OTL even though it had so much going against it (the ratio of Hungarian to Austrian/Russian deaths was still about 1:2 or maybe even 1:3). Secondly, perhaps the Russian intervention can be delayed and/or made smaller by a vigorous Polish uprising, although that will definitely need to be thought through carefully, as the Poles didn't have very much going for them (and Hungary needs Bem). I'll think it out in due course.

I'll post later today with the next "episode" in any case.
 
Originally posted by Dr Vince
If I understand what you're getting at, there are several answers in TTL that I can think of. Firstly, a Hungary that isn't having to fight its own nationalities, and is in fact allied with them, at the same time of two large imperial armies might actually win out -- consider the tenacity of the revolution in OTL even though it had so much going against it (the ratio of Hungarian to Austrian/Russian deaths was still about 1:2 or maybe even 1:3). Secondly, perhaps the Russian intervention can be delayed and/or made smaller by a vigorous Polish uprising, although that will definitely need to be thought through carefully, as the Poles didn't have very much going for them (and Hungary needs Bem). I'll think it out in due course.

I see, Yes, I remember that the last in fall was the Hungarian revolution and after a lot of fighting, without the need of fighting against serbs or rumanians the chances of wining rise considerably but the second movement: a delay or an smaller russian intervention would be decisive to made the chances decisively in favour of the hungarians.

By the way: Do you know that there is an an interesting freeware strategy game about Hungarian revolution of 1848-49.

http://www.download.com/1848/3000-7491_4-10539276.html?cdlPid=10539277
 
Neutrality, as a lasting principle, is an evidence of weakness.
- Louis Kossuth
13 May 1848.

majska.jpg


Josif Rajačić
watched with a smug feeling of gratitude as the congress of Serbs applauded him with a standing ovation, but his gaze could not help gravitating towards the glowering figure of Stratimirović. No matter. He was the Patriarch of Serbia now, and the people would, of course, follow the word of Christ, not that of a young , idealist agitator. The news of Stratimirović's deal with Kossuth had spread across Vojvodina. He was called a traitor by some, a hero by others. The Patriarch -- of course -- knew that he was the former.

§ § §

"You are a lucky man, your Holiness." Rajačić recognized the voice of Stratimirović as he walked towards his carriage, and slowed down. Indeed, there was the young man, in his slightly rumpled dress.

"I would say much the same of you
, President."

"And I would be much gratified
, your Holiness. I would also be much gratified if you would explain the meaning of your call to arms against Hungary."

"President
, that is a matter we shall discuss with the rest of the Odbor. The strategies are yet to be discussed--"

"The only strategy we can have is that of co-operation!" Stratimirović interjected.

"Because of your deal with Mr. Kossuth
, President? How much money did he offer for your co-operation?"

"No money and less gifts
. I am bribed only by the sense of the Hungarian Government -- and, your Holiness, if I may, I am highly disconcerted by the lack of that quality in this congress."

"Oh?"

The Patriarch stopped by his carriage.

"We have signed the death warrant for Serbian autonomy! The Emperor will give us far less than the Hungarians."

"The Magyars don't recognize us as a nationality. They think we are their servants."

"The Emperor won't give us anything
, which is several tiers less than what the Hungarians are prepared to give. If you were not an agent of God, I should very much say you had precipitated an act of the greatest demagoguery I have seen for a long time."

"The Emperor is the sole legitimate ruler of the Empire. That is a fact
; it is neither demagoguery, nor a subjective view. Now, if I may." The Patriarch stepped up into the carriage.

Stratimirović thought of something to write.

____________

Profile:

Josif Rajačić was born 20 July 1785 in Lučani (Croatia). He was part of the high Orthodox Serbo-Croat clergy
, and became a Bishop in Vojvodina. On 13 May 1848 he was elected Patriarch of Serbia at the Serbian National Congress at Sremski Karlovci (Karlóca). He became an enemy of Stratimirović following the latter's deal with Kossuth in March, leading to a split between Serbian conservative ultra-nationalists / Habsburg-supporters and the radical nationalists led by Stratimirović, and a schism in the High Odbor.

____________

Timeline:

19 April -- The Triune Kingdom of Croatia
, Slavonia and Dalmatia under Ban Josip Jelačić declares independence from Hungary, with encouragement from the Court.

10 May -- Serfdom abolished in the Triune Kingdom

13 May -- The Serbian National Congress at Sremski Karlovci elects the Serbian High Odbor
, and reveals split between radicals and conservatives over the Hungarians.

18 May -- Democratic elections held in the Triune Kingdom for the Sabor.
 
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