Allah, Glory, and Empire: The Tale of an African Empire in the New World

[Odinson]

1780-1784
An excerpt from The Memoirs of a Lousiana Bushwacker by Nathaniel Block, pages 15-25, published 1836.

... I was full for the first time in weeks, having plundered a Torie farm. We got two healthy bulls and a handful of goats. The British had been hunting us through these swamps since early '79. Them lobster backs thought they're so great, or at least they did til they discovered what kind of man François Marwan is. I never imagined fighting under a black, but he and the others from Lousiana seemed to be made of different stock than the slaves up in Carolina. How though, I don't know.

Nonetheless, Marwan proved worthy of name "Swamp Fox". He was a master of hit and run tactics. He befuddled the English for years, never facing them in the open. He hit small groups, nipping at the Red coats' ankles, bleeding 'em dry. It seemed they had lost the will to fight by 1782. If not for Marwan, I fear we would have lost the war in the southern theater of the Revolution.
[End excerpt.]

 

[Odinson]

And Just to be clear, yes, François Marwan is this timeline's version of Francis Marion, aka the Swamp Fox

 

[Odinson]

1784-1789

The United States discovered something in the years after the revolution: they had chosen a flawed system of government. The Articles of Confederation had reduced Congress to an ineffective body. 9/13 States had to agree to pass a law, and 13/13 had to agree to add an amendment. Congress could not collect taxes, nor could the regulate the currency. Each state, though officially not allowed to, created it's own currency.

The United States also had another serious issue: they could not afford to maintain a large standing army, leaving the defense of the nation in the hands of volunteer militia. This was proven to be an issue when the militia was forced to put down Shay's rebellion.

In 1788, a convention was called to amend the articles. In the end it was decided that a entirely new system of government was needed. Windows and doors were shut as the old government was dismantled. The convention dealt with several issues, such as state representation. There was a hotly contested argument between two plans, the Virginia plan and the New Jersey plan. One called for representation based on size, the other for equal share of power.

An agreement was made for a bicameral legislature, two houses to balance the opposing views.

The United States Senate: two representatives called senators from each state. Each served for 3 years, with 4 consecutive terms allowed. Must be 25 to be elected.

The American Assembly: each state received a number of representatives based on their population.

A judicial branch was also adopted. The executive branch was headed by a Consul of the American Republic. The consul's term would last four years. There was not a term limit, however. George Washington was elected first Consul in a landslide, taking office in 1789. He only served two terms, setting an unbroken/unspoken custom.

 

[Odinson]

1803

It was a somber occasion in Louisiana. A few days prior, François Marwan had died an old man. Marwan, the Swamp Fox, was a great hero in the state. Griots across Louisiana sang songs of his courage in the face of adversity.

Women wove appliques that depicted him. 40,000 people came to his funeral to see him laid to rest in le Mausolée des Héros, just outside of Saint Denis. As he was placed in his tomb, Azlan Barakat was reported to have said " every time an old man dies, it is as if a library has burned down"

The state militia gave a 21 gun salute. A statue of Marwan was erected in the cemetery. It depicted him in his uniform while leaning against his musket. At the entrance to his tomb was a small sculpture of a fox.

Marwan's fortune was passed down to his former slave Blaise, who was freed upon his master's death.

 

[Odinson]

1060-1803

Morocco, a sultanate in northern Africa, was a minor power in the grand scheme of things. It couldn't exactly conquer Europe, like some feared the Ottomans of doing. But it was powerful enough that Spain didn't want to risk it's irritation.

Spain, the holder of an Empire that stretches from San Francisco to Lima, was a major power. But it was also distracted by the twin Islamic nations that strayed so close to it. The Ottoman Empire, though it had lost its territory in the lower portion of the Italian peninsula in the early 1700s, still held modern day Lybia.

Morocco, ruled (mostly) wisley by the Berber dynasties since 1060. It was during this period that the confederation founded the modern Moroccan nation state, a unified empire made up of a tightly knit Confederacy of tribes in the maghreb. During the late 1400s, the Sultan of Morocco began expanding the lackluster navy to keep up with it's northern neighbors, not wanting to fall behind.
"We are one of the dominant powers in the region economically. I refuse to take the chance that it will be taken from us by the Ottomans of the east, nor the Europeans of the north."

Morocco, a rich nation, made sure never to fall too far behind. However, Morocco was not the only nation to build a navy. In 1478, the Songhai began building it's own navy, even if it had little coast. Their idea, which the Moroccans copied thereafter, was to use this navy to bring northern Europe into it's economic sphere of influence more directly, knowing they couldn't fight a major power at sea and win. "Victory through gold".

When it was learned that the Songhai of all people had founded a colony in the New World, the Berbers felt that it was time that they carved their own territory in the great beyond. A small fleet of six ships departed in 1526 from the north African nation. They made landfall at a large island that the natives called Inagua. The explorers, however, named it Mamul, or "hope" in English (this is OTL Great Inagua). Two ships were left to establish an outpost on the island while the others went on to stake out new claims. They claimed a nearby smaller island which they named Atlas Island, after the familiar mountains of home. By the 1540s, the two islands were sparsely settled by Moroccans, mostly living in the regional capital, the port of New Rabat (OTL Matthews Town). By the 1600s, the colonies were profitable salt centers and jumping off points for traders to the rest of the continent. In 1667, the emperor of Morocco ordered a summer home to be built on the Island of Mamul. It would be completed in 1674.

During the American Revolution, Morocco was one of the first nations to recognize the United States as a nation, and used it's islands as a underhanded route to give the Americans funding. The British caught on and shelled New Rabat in 1779. The islands were never invaded however. A more imposing fort was constructed in the harbor, work lasting from 1786 to 1798.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ok, so another POD has been reveled. Yay!
So Morroco was unified by the Berbers of all people as a strong Confederacy much earlier than in our timeline. Also, I more or less explained why these two African nations had stronger navies: they were a little more ahead then OTL tech wise, and they had a hunger for trade. I hope everyone likes reading the timeline as much as I like writing it.

 

[Odinson]

An example of a ship used by both Morocco and Songhai.

Morocco also used a variant of a Hulk type ship.

 

[Odinson]

1803

France offered Consul Jefferson a curious proposition: the purchase of Messipienne (credit for the name goes to Skallagrim). Jefferson, aware of just how much land the purchase would give, was hesitant. He and others of similar views were against using powers not in expressed constitution. Who was he, Alexander Hamilton? But... the purchase would give him control of the Mississippi river. What to do....

Jefferson eventually, after much deliberation, turned down the offer. What Jefferson did do was secure the ability for the United States to operate on the rivers and to use the port of New Orleans.

 

[Odinson]

1776-1805

Slavery. A single word that brings forth a wide range of problems and arguments. While debate on whether it was morally wrong continued across the then 13 States, the institution persisted, particularly in the deep South.

In the immediate aftermath of the American Revolution, many patriots found themselves freeing their slaves. The founding fathers believed that slavery was on the decline. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 threw a wrench into the gears of that plan.

But there was hope, for the abolitionist movement had one strong argument to make on behalf of the enslaved black community: Louisiana.

"How can one own a slave in bondage? How can one decry that we are above the negro, when the negroes of Louisiana stand as our equals? What difference is there between them, except that one was here before 1619! How can you say that we are above slaves, when a black man from Louisiana serves as a senator or a member of the assembly? The answer is obvious; we are all equal, and equal men do not live to serve others!" - Member of the Assembly Robert Turtledove [1]. Turtledove, a politician from Massachusetts, gave the speech in 1803 in an effort to introduce a bill to grant mandatory gradual emancipation. A noted abolitionist, the speech was circulated through the United States, attracting both praise and criticism.

Governor Khalid al-Zarzisi of Louisiana publicly attacked AM Turtledove, accusing him of being a fool who understood little of economics, as did the senator of Georgia.

However, the argument had truth to it. Many louisianans had mixed views on the practice of owning their fellow Africans, even if it was not the same people as their ancestors.

The argument was well received in the north. But for many, it was for more pragmatic reasons. The South had an unfair advantage in representation in the form of the 3/5ths compromise. Northern politicians hoped that they found a way to permanently remove the clause. Consul Thomas Jefferson supported the measure of gradual emancipation.

The battle for the law was waged, and in 1804, it passed in the American Assembly. The battle was no less fiercely fought in the Senate. Some tried to talk the bill to death, others calling it "A dangerous proposal." However, by this time the support for owning Africans in bondage was corroding as many in Louisiana and the States they had migrated to thought about the implications of such servitude.

The bill was passed on the Senate floor in early 1805. The bill set the date of emancipation on June 13th, 1820. The bill was signed into law by Consul Jefferson.

[1] fictional person

 

[Odinson]

1765-1806

The flag of Louisiana has a long and vibrant history. After the British annexation at the end of the 7 years war, a flag was drawn up by a professor from Oxford while living in area to study the local wild life.
The flag included the Union Jack and a collection of moons and gorget. Two variants were created, one with a red background and one with orange.

During the American Revolution, Patriots would roughly cut out the Union Jack and use the remnants.

In 1802, a convention was held to formally create a state flag. Mortimer Gabingston, the great grandson of the original designer of the then colony of Louisiana's flag, proposed to make the rebel flag the official flag of the state. The delegation voted yes overwhelmingly.

__________________________________________
I would like to thank @The Professor for his wonderful work on the flags.

 

[Haileselassiethetrapgawd]

Such a good idea messed up by lack of interest in historical accuracy or real sense.

 

[Odinson]

Such a good idea messed up by lack of interest in historical accuracy or real sense.

Yeah, hence why I abandoned it...
I got in a little over my head.
EDIT: So, what inaccuracy irritated you the most?

 

[Odinson]

*snip*.

What do you suggest I could do to improve the timeline? Or any suggestions if i restart it?

 

[Haileselassiethetrapgawd]

What do you suggest I could do to improve the timeline? Or any suggestions if i restart it?

Just accuracy mostly. What u want could possibly happen if handled better. The getting over there part starts with the Songhai surviving. irl the Songhai were obsessed with navy and traveling. In reality they never had a coastline and entered decline followed by collapse. If they can take the Jolof coast and avoid collapse(say Askia the great steps down when his age withers). They’d likely keep looking for ways to improve technology and trade with Morocco directly which inevitably leads to a further culture of trade and exploration. Canary currents are gonna be a problem just like they were for mali(Mali tried to trade deep sea to Morocco and failed three times.) possibly getting the technology from the Islamic world on a hajj they could overcome the hurdle of currents. I think you do these your on the track for a plausible Songhai American Colonisation.