America - Albion's Orphan - A history of the conquest of Britain - 1760
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- Start date
Chapter 117: Blood and Kinship
1793 - February
"English Republic", (i.e. Mercia)
Yet another bitterly cold winter, though not nearly as bad as the nadir in 1788 and 1789, would combine with the political chaos of the island of Britain to create misery upon all the constituent elements. While the ERA still claimed all of England (and, somewhat openly, all of Britain) as their domain, in truth the Republican offensives were limited all winter and tended to resemble large-scale raiding than actual invasions. The most the ERA could accomplish is overrunning most of Somerset.
Other than that, there had been more ERA members killed fighting for supremacy in Manchester than trying to crush William IV in the south, the "Cavaliers" in the east and the upstart "King" George in the north.
Tens of thousands would die of hunger or exposure in the winter of 1792/1793 just in ERA-controlled territory. A second rush to the ports (though difficult for the ERA as their main port of Liverpool was a smoldering ruin) would lead over a hundred thousand Englishmen (nearly 1% of the population) to flee the island either across the Welsh, Cornish or Scottish borders or directly from their own pseudo-governments. Most were allowed to depart without any particular fuss. Occasionally the recruiting sergeants would raid the ports in order to impress good candidates for the army.
A patriotic people, all factions in Britain received a steady stream of volunteers. However, political quagmires, a near-complete lack of pay, inadequate provisions, violent treatment and other factors would lead to a remarkable desertion rate. Given the modest size of the island, it wasn't difficult to be far enough away from your regiment after a night of walking to be confident you would not be caught. Indeed, the border with an enemy was seldom far off.
Unfortunately, this often resulted in the same Englishmen being impressed into different armies. In one remarkably occasion, a single soldier from Yorkshire ended up serving in the Northumbrian, Parliamentary, Williamite and ERA armies within a six month period before he managed to cross into Cornwall and sail on to America.
To combat this problem, the ERA would come up with a novel solution. Their soldiers would be tattooed upon the wrist with the letters "E.R.A.". They would therefore be immediately known to the rival factions as having serving the Republicans and either executed, imprisoned or, if impressed in these other armies, would face execution for treason should they be captured again by the ERA. It did partially reduce the problem but desertion remained rife everywhere nevertheless by any standards.
Edinburgh
Though the nobles effectively run the "Republic" of Scotland as an oligarchy (the Parliament was little more than a House of Lords) had assumed the peasants would realize their superiority and leaving the governing to them, this proved incorrect. While meeting in their makeshift Parliamentary building, the "Governing Council" would find itself under attack by a hundred irate commoners whom brushed aside the handful of guards and massacred every nobleman they could get their hands on.
Roughly half managed to escape but usually fled for their own keeps. This prevented an effective response to the crisis as Glasgow and Edinburgh fell into wholesale rebellion. In the former city, the situation was made even worse when junior officers of the nearby regiments would arrest their aristocratic commanders and throw in with the rebels.
Kingdom of England (Williamite)
Still shocked and outraged by the betrayal of his second son whom set himself up as some sort of northern despot, King William IV would turn over the day to day running of the war to his Minister, Joseph Wall, whose excesses the King would ignore as the man got results.
Though Wall knew that the French were toasting the misfortune and splintering of England (and previously, Britain), he also knew damned well that the minions of Louis XVI were more than capable of sailing on Britain again. On the financial problems of Paris (though drastically improved from a generation before) and the potential for easy territorial gains in Europe with Austria's distraction would be too enticing to want to waste resources in England.
But even a modest blockade by the French navy would be enough to cripple King William's war effort. Thus Wall would grit his teeth and quietly sell off anything he could to purchase weapons, powder and, perhaps most importantly, grain. Cut off from the agricultural midlands and north, the heavily populated south was even more dependent upon imported grain than the rest of Britain. For years, King William and his ministers had made encouraging local production without cutting off imports a cornerstone of their policy.
Like his King's competitors for power in England, much of the "Royalists" in William's service were forced to spend as much time keeping an eye out for local rebellion as fighting neighbors. Still, the Royalist forces prepared for a major offensive in the Spring of 1793 though the target would remain something of a mystery even to the planners.
Kingdom of Northumberland
The first election in Britain in a generation would actually take place in Northumberland. Rather than form a new House of Lords, "King" George of Northumberland would determine a mixed Parliament which included 20 county-elected Parliamentarians, 60 "population-based" Parliamentarians and 20 noble/clergy/military Parliamentarians (the clergy and Admiralty had votes in the previous British Parliament). In order to gain public support, King George and his advisors Charles Fox and Edmund Burke would drastically lower the wealth threshold for the franchise which allowed 32% of adult males to vote.
"English Republic", (i.e. Mercia)
Yet another bitterly cold winter, though not nearly as bad as the nadir in 1788 and 1789, would combine with the political chaos of the island of Britain to create misery upon all the constituent elements. While the ERA still claimed all of England (and, somewhat openly, all of Britain) as their domain, in truth the Republican offensives were limited all winter and tended to resemble large-scale raiding than actual invasions. The most the ERA could accomplish is overrunning most of Somerset.
Other than that, there had been more ERA members killed fighting for supremacy in Manchester than trying to crush William IV in the south, the "Cavaliers" in the east and the upstart "King" George in the north.
Tens of thousands would die of hunger or exposure in the winter of 1792/1793 just in ERA-controlled territory. A second rush to the ports (though difficult for the ERA as their main port of Liverpool was a smoldering ruin) would lead over a hundred thousand Englishmen (nearly 1% of the population) to flee the island either across the Welsh, Cornish or Scottish borders or directly from their own pseudo-governments. Most were allowed to depart without any particular fuss. Occasionally the recruiting sergeants would raid the ports in order to impress good candidates for the army.
A patriotic people, all factions in Britain received a steady stream of volunteers. However, political quagmires, a near-complete lack of pay, inadequate provisions, violent treatment and other factors would lead to a remarkable desertion rate. Given the modest size of the island, it wasn't difficult to be far enough away from your regiment after a night of walking to be confident you would not be caught. Indeed, the border with an enemy was seldom far off.
Unfortunately, this often resulted in the same Englishmen being impressed into different armies. In one remarkably occasion, a single soldier from Yorkshire ended up serving in the Northumbrian, Parliamentary, Williamite and ERA armies within a six month period before he managed to cross into Cornwall and sail on to America.
To combat this problem, the ERA would come up with a novel solution. Their soldiers would be tattooed upon the wrist with the letters "E.R.A.". They would therefore be immediately known to the rival factions as having serving the Republicans and either executed, imprisoned or, if impressed in these other armies, would face execution for treason should they be captured again by the ERA. It did partially reduce the problem but desertion remained rife everywhere nevertheless by any standards.
Edinburgh
Though the nobles effectively run the "Republic" of Scotland as an oligarchy (the Parliament was little more than a House of Lords) had assumed the peasants would realize their superiority and leaving the governing to them, this proved incorrect. While meeting in their makeshift Parliamentary building, the "Governing Council" would find itself under attack by a hundred irate commoners whom brushed aside the handful of guards and massacred every nobleman they could get their hands on.
Roughly half managed to escape but usually fled for their own keeps. This prevented an effective response to the crisis as Glasgow and Edinburgh fell into wholesale rebellion. In the former city, the situation was made even worse when junior officers of the nearby regiments would arrest their aristocratic commanders and throw in with the rebels.
Kingdom of England (Williamite)
Still shocked and outraged by the betrayal of his second son whom set himself up as some sort of northern despot, King William IV would turn over the day to day running of the war to his Minister, Joseph Wall, whose excesses the King would ignore as the man got results.
Though Wall knew that the French were toasting the misfortune and splintering of England (and previously, Britain), he also knew damned well that the minions of Louis XVI were more than capable of sailing on Britain again. On the financial problems of Paris (though drastically improved from a generation before) and the potential for easy territorial gains in Europe with Austria's distraction would be too enticing to want to waste resources in England.
But even a modest blockade by the French navy would be enough to cripple King William's war effort. Thus Wall would grit his teeth and quietly sell off anything he could to purchase weapons, powder and, perhaps most importantly, grain. Cut off from the agricultural midlands and north, the heavily populated south was even more dependent upon imported grain than the rest of Britain. For years, King William and his ministers had made encouraging local production without cutting off imports a cornerstone of their policy.
Like his King's competitors for power in England, much of the "Royalists" in William's service were forced to spend as much time keeping an eye out for local rebellion as fighting neighbors. Still, the Royalist forces prepared for a major offensive in the Spring of 1793 though the target would remain something of a mystery even to the planners.
Kingdom of Northumberland
The first election in Britain in a generation would actually take place in Northumberland. Rather than form a new House of Lords, "King" George of Northumberland would determine a mixed Parliament which included 20 county-elected Parliamentarians, 60 "population-based" Parliamentarians and 20 noble/clergy/military Parliamentarians (the clergy and Admiralty had votes in the previous British Parliament). In order to gain public support, King George and his advisors Charles Fox and Edmund Burke would drastically lower the wealth threshold for the franchise which allowed 32% of adult males to vote.
If I knew what that meant, I'd probably do it. I'm not a computer guy.
I tried to answer this question in the chapter I just downloaded. If recruiting sergeants saw viable able-bodied men boarding a ship for America, they may try to impress them. But most would probably be allowed to leave if they wanted. Everyone had more important things to worry about than rats deserting a sinking ship.
Question: why's the unified Devon-Cornwall known as simply "Cornwall"?
Devon is bigger than Cornwall and has more people, so it seems odd that the whole polity would take on the "Cornwall" name.
An unknown soldier that is going to become some major figure later one in the Americas....
Going with my earlier theory about Britain collapsing back into it's constituents, the Duchy of Cornwall is basically the old Kingdom of Cornwall/Dumnonia, which included modern Cornwall and Devon.
You are right, I should probably called it the Duchy of Cornwall and Devon.
Oh, that's right, impressment. Yes, if there are half a dozen or more armies claiming to represent the British Isles, every one of them is going to think it has the right to impress anyone. The thing about the one man serving in several within 6 months is hilarioius.
I have never done timeliens in this style, I've preferred to do straight story lines, but if I had to do "The Mighty Houses Have Struck Out" again, with the Borbons and Hapsburgs both dying out in 1670, and lots of other royals dying, too as OTL or as could have happened, this would probably be the type. Just as your last one nerfed and splintered the French and this is doing that to the British, it would be interesting to do that to just plain royalty, as smallpox and such were huge scourges of it anyway.
(Feel free to use a similar idea for your next TL, Alt History Buff.)
I have never done timeliens in this style, I've preferred to do straight story lines, but if I had to do "The Mighty Houses Have Struck Out" again, with the Borbons and Hapsburgs both dying out in 1670, and lots of other royals dying, too as OTL or as could have happened, this would probably be the type. Just as your last one nerfed and splintered the French and this is doing that to the British, it would be interesting to do that to just plain royalty, as smallpox and such were huge scourges of it anyway.
(Feel free to use a similar idea for your next TL, Alt History Buff.)
Much appreciated. I've actually been thinking about a TL where both the Russian (Paul dies in childhood) and Austrian (Maria Theresa becomes infertile by catching VD from her husband) lines died out at roughly the same time.
I tend to do a bunch of Prussia and Ottoman screws as I've always believed that Prussia should not have survived the 7 Years War intact and only European politics kept the Ottoman from being destroyed by Russia and/or Austria by 1800.
Deleted member 67076
Oh basically to crop is to select the image in a certain shape and delete the rest of the image not covered by that selection.
In this case you would crop the map itself and remove the white spaces left leaving just an image of the map proper.
Chapter 118: Distant Shores
1793 - Spring
China
While the British East India Company lacked the resources to credibly invade China, they proved more than capable of harassing the Mandarin to no end. Chinese coastal trade (mainly internal to China) would be ravaged by BEIC raiders whom routinely sacked the treasuries of coastal cities. China was largely dependent upon the great rivers for east-west trade and the Blue Water routes for north-south. Treasury shipment bearing taxes, silk and tea cargo vessels, communications ships...all were fair game.
Men like Collingwood, Nelson, Smith and Howe would relentlessly punish the Chinese for refusing their opium. Indeed, so complete was the BEIC control over the region that British ships routinely went ashore for provisions and even stopped Chinese fishing vessels for fresh catch (bizarrely, they would usually PAY for the fish).
Worse for China, the opium trade barely slowed. When BEIC trading ships were banned from ports, they would simply wait out of cannon distance and their Chinese distributers would quietly row out at night to take possession.
In this, the BEIC would be aided by an unlikely ally. Earlier in the century, a great Maratha Admiral named Angre had greatly damaged British trade in the Indian Ocean, winning every battle in which he fought. His descendants remained Admirals in the Maratha Navy. Kolo Angre was the latest of this distinguished line. The Peshwa, though always preoccupied with the subcontinent, knew enough that the opium exports were bringing in a great amount of Chinese silver or at least tea and silks traded west. He would order the Maratha Navy to "aid" his subjects in the BEIC to ensure the flow of hard currency from China. This was not well received by the company but knew that their mainland possessions in India (to which they were a Maratha fief) would be in jeopardy should they refuse the Peshwa's "help". This was viewed by the Company as a thinly disguised investigation if Maratha influence can be extended east.
Here, the BEIC Directors would seek yet another ally, one even more unexpected than the Marathas. France had recently become the sponsors of the new Dynasty in Vietnam which had offended the Emperor with his defiance. Rumors of Chinese invasion were rampant in Vietnam. To the south, the French colony of Bourbonia continued to grow via the pseudo-slavery of the "Recruitment" of Pacific Islanders. The Company had long done business with the latter island's sugar, wool and whale oil trade. Indeed, the BEIC carried much of the product of Bourbonia to European customers.
The French, Vietnamese and even the Marathas were considered potential allies against the Chinese but all were a good distance away and their contribution may be limited. Concerned Company directors would even consider approaching the Nipponese Emperor but the Dutch East India Company would refuse given other Europeans access to their already slight trade with Nippon (Dejima).
Just when it became apparent that the BEIC would carry on the burden alone, a convoy of Russian ships from Europe bound for Hawaii and Russian America would remind the BEIC that another European power was nearby, one which possessed its own border with China. Over the past few decades, Russia's eyes had come to covet the northern shore of the Amur River, thus giving them a better outlet to the Northern Pacific. Huge numbers of peasants were moving ever further east through Siberia but the Russian Pacific shoreline was still lightly populated. Naturally, the Mandarin had no intention of allowing any further Russian aggrandizement.
As the BEIC also carried much of the Russian America fur trade, they had contacts in the north Pacific. Emissaries were sent to the Russian settlements in Siberia and America.
Brazil
Among the greatest changes of the past 30 years was the mass immigration of Europeans to Brazil. Previously, Portuguese filtered in slowly and African slaves in greater numbers (but lower survival rates). The past generation saw large numbers of Spanish, Italians and, yes, Portuguese migrate to the Spanish colony. The Crown of Spain did not object to Portuguese immigration as long as it was offset by others. Indeed, Portuguese immigration was becoming common throughout all of Spanish America. Impoverished Portuguese peasants didn't have much choice beyond starving in their poor, undeveloped homeland. Portuguese communities were evident as far off as Havana, Veracruz, Lima and Buenos Aires.
In addition to the southern Europeans, increasing numbers of Poles, Silesians, Germans and Irish were arriving as well. Even limited numbers of Protestants and Jews were welcomed...or at least tolerated if they brought capital or skills.
The colony of Brazil was soon known as the most diverse colony in the Spanish Empire. Desiring to limit any Portuguese resistance, the Spanish Crown would reorganize Brazil into several regional governments (the old Captaincies under the Portuguese had long since been abolished by the Spanish) in order to better serve local interests.
Saint Domingue
While slavery had officially been abolished, that did not necessarily relieve the slave-like condition of the sharecroppers of Saint Domingue. The descendants of the slaves were now rivaled demographically by the Roma whom had been evicted from Europe's alleys, ghettos and assorted outskirts. The white population of many French West Indian Islands continued to increase at a moderate pace as well. The burgeoning French population, with perhaps limited avenues for advancement, would need some outlet and the French colony of Bourbonia was so far afield that the modest annual migration would not even be noticed by the metropolis in general.
By the mid-1790's, the Roma population in those nations inclined to evict them would largely be exhausted. That meant that any further settlement of the French West Indies would have to be voluntary...or prison labor, but the latter was not seen as a good long-term solution. Yes, prisoners, orphans and vagrants continued to be rounded up and shipped across the Atlantic. But were these good colonizers? Generally no and they tended to be limited to special prison islands and not mixed with populations from which France expected to tax.
Thus the Ministers of King Louis XVI would encourage large-scale migration of farmers, skilled workers, doctors, millwrights, etc to the French colonies. That the West Indies was also known as a destination for prisoners and exiles didn't help and even the most advantageous of enticements - free or cheap land, free or cheap transportation - brought only the most adventurous...or desperate of colonists. Still, they came and would add much to the ethnic mix.
Ironically, the most successful of the exploiters in Saint Domingue were the mulatto gentry whom dominated the highland coffee plantations. With delight, they watched lowland sugar plantations crumble without a workforce. Many of these plantations, considered the most expensive real estate on the planet only a generation earlier, were abandoned and whole swathes of the lowlands were offered to French colonists for private farms. The freedmen, Roma and others were seldom extended this offer.
In an effort to increase the labor force, many sugar plantation owners sought and received permission to hire workers from the Spanish mainland. New Spain was experiencing something of a economic slowdown and it seemed reasonable for the French to try to recruit from the vast Spanish American population. The Spanish apparently did not mind...though why was soon proven apparent. No matter how poor, few of the Spanish, Mestizos or Indians of the mainland wanted to go work a sugar plantation and the quantity of laborers from the Spanish Main would be disappointing. However, some did come from the more impoverished regions of Spanish America, adding to the ethnic mix of Saint Domingue. By the end of the century, some of these diverse peoples would cross the border into Santo Domingo (2/3's of the island of Hispaniola).
In truth, there was a rich history between the French and Spanish sides of the island. Indeed, many of the "French" gentry whom had dominated Saint Domingue over the years were, in fact, Spanish or Spanish-descended. With more land and a lower population, the black, mulatto, Roma, mainland Spanish migrants and even French would slowly but surely cross the border into a similarly labor-needy region and found greater opportunity for land ownership and advancement.
Turin
King Victor Amadeus III of Corsica would nearly quiver in rage. Over the past year, the forces of Corsica-Piedmont had conquered most of Northern Italy including Genoa, Lucca and most of Venice. Under normal circumstances, this would have been impossible as Austria, Spanish or French threats would have been enough to forestall his hand.
However, Spain was decaying under a caricature of a King, Austria was under rebellion and France was more interested in conquest than keeping the peace of Europe.
But Victor Amadeus could only advance so far without at least the alliance of ONE great power. The cunning Vergennes would demand a price for French silence. Victor Amadeus would be welcome to conquer as much of Italy as he could manage...provided that the Duchy of Savoy and County of Nice were handed over to France.
The devil's bargain had been struck. Perhaps surprised by his own success, the King of Corsica would suddenly face giving up such important parts of his family patrimony (his family name was the House of SAVOY).
But a deal was a deal and the lands received greatly outweighed those lost.
As Victor Amadeus consolidated his new possessions, he reluctantly prepared for giving up some of his previous domains.
Paris
Vergennes sighed. Did not the damned King realize that he'd just been HANDED two important border regions his family had sought to conquer (and failed) for CENTURIES?!
But the Minister of State had received his King's approval to declare the annexation of the Principality of Liege, the French-speaking (but largely Protestant) Swiss Canton of Vaud and now the County of Nice and Duchy of Savoy.
Vergennes popularity would surge after acquiring such important lands with so little effort. The dimwitted King, of course, would barely register a "thank you" for Vergennes efforts.
Oh, well, at least the man doesn't interfere much with government affairs, Vergennes conceded. Maybe I can find him a new clock or something to keep the King's attention elsewhere.
China
While the British East India Company lacked the resources to credibly invade China, they proved more than capable of harassing the Mandarin to no end. Chinese coastal trade (mainly internal to China) would be ravaged by BEIC raiders whom routinely sacked the treasuries of coastal cities. China was largely dependent upon the great rivers for east-west trade and the Blue Water routes for north-south. Treasury shipment bearing taxes, silk and tea cargo vessels, communications ships...all were fair game.
Men like Collingwood, Nelson, Smith and Howe would relentlessly punish the Chinese for refusing their opium. Indeed, so complete was the BEIC control over the region that British ships routinely went ashore for provisions and even stopped Chinese fishing vessels for fresh catch (bizarrely, they would usually PAY for the fish).
Worse for China, the opium trade barely slowed. When BEIC trading ships were banned from ports, they would simply wait out of cannon distance and their Chinese distributers would quietly row out at night to take possession.
In this, the BEIC would be aided by an unlikely ally. Earlier in the century, a great Maratha Admiral named Angre had greatly damaged British trade in the Indian Ocean, winning every battle in which he fought. His descendants remained Admirals in the Maratha Navy. Kolo Angre was the latest of this distinguished line. The Peshwa, though always preoccupied with the subcontinent, knew enough that the opium exports were bringing in a great amount of Chinese silver or at least tea and silks traded west. He would order the Maratha Navy to "aid" his subjects in the BEIC to ensure the flow of hard currency from China. This was not well received by the company but knew that their mainland possessions in India (to which they were a Maratha fief) would be in jeopardy should they refuse the Peshwa's "help". This was viewed by the Company as a thinly disguised investigation if Maratha influence can be extended east.
Here, the BEIC Directors would seek yet another ally, one even more unexpected than the Marathas. France had recently become the sponsors of the new Dynasty in Vietnam which had offended the Emperor with his defiance. Rumors of Chinese invasion were rampant in Vietnam. To the south, the French colony of Bourbonia continued to grow via the pseudo-slavery of the "Recruitment" of Pacific Islanders. The Company had long done business with the latter island's sugar, wool and whale oil trade. Indeed, the BEIC carried much of the product of Bourbonia to European customers.
The French, Vietnamese and even the Marathas were considered potential allies against the Chinese but all were a good distance away and their contribution may be limited. Concerned Company directors would even consider approaching the Nipponese Emperor but the Dutch East India Company would refuse given other Europeans access to their already slight trade with Nippon (Dejima).
Just when it became apparent that the BEIC would carry on the burden alone, a convoy of Russian ships from Europe bound for Hawaii and Russian America would remind the BEIC that another European power was nearby, one which possessed its own border with China. Over the past few decades, Russia's eyes had come to covet the northern shore of the Amur River, thus giving them a better outlet to the Northern Pacific. Huge numbers of peasants were moving ever further east through Siberia but the Russian Pacific shoreline was still lightly populated. Naturally, the Mandarin had no intention of allowing any further Russian aggrandizement.
As the BEIC also carried much of the Russian America fur trade, they had contacts in the north Pacific. Emissaries were sent to the Russian settlements in Siberia and America.
Brazil
Among the greatest changes of the past 30 years was the mass immigration of Europeans to Brazil. Previously, Portuguese filtered in slowly and African slaves in greater numbers (but lower survival rates). The past generation saw large numbers of Spanish, Italians and, yes, Portuguese migrate to the Spanish colony. The Crown of Spain did not object to Portuguese immigration as long as it was offset by others. Indeed, Portuguese immigration was becoming common throughout all of Spanish America. Impoverished Portuguese peasants didn't have much choice beyond starving in their poor, undeveloped homeland. Portuguese communities were evident as far off as Havana, Veracruz, Lima and Buenos Aires.
In addition to the southern Europeans, increasing numbers of Poles, Silesians, Germans and Irish were arriving as well. Even limited numbers of Protestants and Jews were welcomed...or at least tolerated if they brought capital or skills.
The colony of Brazil was soon known as the most diverse colony in the Spanish Empire. Desiring to limit any Portuguese resistance, the Spanish Crown would reorganize Brazil into several regional governments (the old Captaincies under the Portuguese had long since been abolished by the Spanish) in order to better serve local interests.
Saint Domingue
While slavery had officially been abolished, that did not necessarily relieve the slave-like condition of the sharecroppers of Saint Domingue. The descendants of the slaves were now rivaled demographically by the Roma whom had been evicted from Europe's alleys, ghettos and assorted outskirts. The white population of many French West Indian Islands continued to increase at a moderate pace as well. The burgeoning French population, with perhaps limited avenues for advancement, would need some outlet and the French colony of Bourbonia was so far afield that the modest annual migration would not even be noticed by the metropolis in general.
By the mid-1790's, the Roma population in those nations inclined to evict them would largely be exhausted. That meant that any further settlement of the French West Indies would have to be voluntary...or prison labor, but the latter was not seen as a good long-term solution. Yes, prisoners, orphans and vagrants continued to be rounded up and shipped across the Atlantic. But were these good colonizers? Generally no and they tended to be limited to special prison islands and not mixed with populations from which France expected to tax.
Thus the Ministers of King Louis XVI would encourage large-scale migration of farmers, skilled workers, doctors, millwrights, etc to the French colonies. That the West Indies was also known as a destination for prisoners and exiles didn't help and even the most advantageous of enticements - free or cheap land, free or cheap transportation - brought only the most adventurous...or desperate of colonists. Still, they came and would add much to the ethnic mix.
Ironically, the most successful of the exploiters in Saint Domingue were the mulatto gentry whom dominated the highland coffee plantations. With delight, they watched lowland sugar plantations crumble without a workforce. Many of these plantations, considered the most expensive real estate on the planet only a generation earlier, were abandoned and whole swathes of the lowlands were offered to French colonists for private farms. The freedmen, Roma and others were seldom extended this offer.
In an effort to increase the labor force, many sugar plantation owners sought and received permission to hire workers from the Spanish mainland. New Spain was experiencing something of a economic slowdown and it seemed reasonable for the French to try to recruit from the vast Spanish American population. The Spanish apparently did not mind...though why was soon proven apparent. No matter how poor, few of the Spanish, Mestizos or Indians of the mainland wanted to go work a sugar plantation and the quantity of laborers from the Spanish Main would be disappointing. However, some did come from the more impoverished regions of Spanish America, adding to the ethnic mix of Saint Domingue. By the end of the century, some of these diverse peoples would cross the border into Santo Domingo (2/3's of the island of Hispaniola).
In truth, there was a rich history between the French and Spanish sides of the island. Indeed, many of the "French" gentry whom had dominated Saint Domingue over the years were, in fact, Spanish or Spanish-descended. With more land and a lower population, the black, mulatto, Roma, mainland Spanish migrants and even French would slowly but surely cross the border into a similarly labor-needy region and found greater opportunity for land ownership and advancement.
Turin
King Victor Amadeus III of Corsica would nearly quiver in rage. Over the past year, the forces of Corsica-Piedmont had conquered most of Northern Italy including Genoa, Lucca and most of Venice. Under normal circumstances, this would have been impossible as Austria, Spanish or French threats would have been enough to forestall his hand.
However, Spain was decaying under a caricature of a King, Austria was under rebellion and France was more interested in conquest than keeping the peace of Europe.
But Victor Amadeus could only advance so far without at least the alliance of ONE great power. The cunning Vergennes would demand a price for French silence. Victor Amadeus would be welcome to conquer as much of Italy as he could manage...provided that the Duchy of Savoy and County of Nice were handed over to France.
The devil's bargain had been struck. Perhaps surprised by his own success, the King of Corsica would suddenly face giving up such important parts of his family patrimony (his family name was the House of SAVOY).
But a deal was a deal and the lands received greatly outweighed those lost.
As Victor Amadeus consolidated his new possessions, he reluctantly prepared for giving up some of his previous domains.
Paris
Vergennes sighed. Did not the damned King realize that he'd just been HANDED two important border regions his family had sought to conquer (and failed) for CENTURIES?!
But the Minister of State had received his King's approval to declare the annexation of the Principality of Liege, the French-speaking (but largely Protestant) Swiss Canton of Vaud and now the County of Nice and Duchy of Savoy.
Vergennes popularity would surge after acquiring such important lands with so little effort. The dimwitted King, of course, would barely register a "thank you" for Vergennes efforts.
Oh, well, at least the man doesn't interfere much with government affairs, Vergennes conceded. Maybe I can find him a new clock or something to keep the King's attention elsewhere.
Chapter 119: The Isles
1793 - Summer
Duchy of Wales
A junior member of the House of Oldenburg had ascended a generation prior to the throne of the Duchy of Wales. Having spent so many years championing "Welsh Culture and Language" that, by 1793, the Duke had managed to get most of the Welsh Parliament on his side as the preeminent "Welsh Nationalist" (though he still barely spoke the incomprehensible language himself) in the land.
As France withdrew from England, it became apparent whichever party resumed control over England would seek to reconstruct the old Great Britain. As the English Civil War raged, many brigands and occasionally actual soldiers crossed into Wales. In 1792, receiving no real help from France, the Duke of Wales would reluctantly accept aid from the King of Ireland, whom didn't want to see Wales and the other nations of Britain united either.
The entirety of the Welsh border was controlled by the ERA, which appeared to be terrifyingly dysfunctional. The infighting caused greater famine than the external wars. Tens of thousands of English would cross the Welsh border and the Duke could not bring himself to expel refugees. Only a relatively low number of suspicious characters were forced back into England. Not particularly desiring large numbers of English migrants after years of championing the Welsh identity, the Duke would help subsidize (aided indirectly by Ireland and France) the transport of most of these English to America thus getting them off of his hands.
Seeking to put an end to this chaos, the Duke of Wales would try to entice Scotland and Cornwall/Devon to form an alliance. However, Cornwall/Devon was hardly in a position to participate in a military alliance and Scotland happened to be engaging in its own civil war. Thus the Irish was all the Welsh had to protect their borders.
The Duke of Wales intended to merely protect the border...however the Irish had other plans. Five thousand Irish troops would almost spontaneously (alcohol was a factor) march across the border in response to a minor incursion by the ERA. A battle outside of Manchester would repel the Irish in June but would forestall any real ERA invasion of the surrounding territories in 1793.
Suffolk
The Parliamentary forces would groan at the lost opportunity. Had Prince George, now calling himself "King" George of Northumbria, offered to assume the throne of the Parliamentary-controlled regions, they may have accepted and made him their puppet. Instead, "King" George sat to the north and let his new Parliament be effectively a new House of Commons.
What a waste.
Instead, the aristocrats of eastern England, having had a poor war thus far (they had lost several counties), decided to take advantage of the ERA distraction and marched south on London. The landlords of Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex would prod their tenants into rough formations and marched south in a surprisingly large army. Though the Parliamentary forces had few provisions to support the 18,000 man forces (logistics was not a specialty), the relatively short distances in England would allow for the army to reach southern Essex and the borders of London.
Here, King William IV and Prince William would gather up their regular forces and militia (as often as not, the Regular forces were spread throughout the countryside keeping a restraining hand on rebellious militia) and managed to summon 20,000.
In a single, catastrophic battle, the Parliamentary Cavaliers were routed. However, King William was unable to take advantage as rebellions sprung up as far as the Cornwall border. He was forced to dispatch most of his men throughout the country to restore his rule.
Scottish Republic
Though it had taken the winter, the surviving aristocrats of Scotland would manage to regain the major cities...at the cost of losing the countryside.
Scotland was a mix of three languages: Gaelic Scottish in the highlands, Scots (a Germanic language somewhat similar to English) in the middle regions and Scottish English in the lowlands. The latter had been in ascendance for the past century. Language tended to be political affiliation in Scotland and the divided nation was easy to control by the English over the years.
After the failed attempt to reclaim Britain by the Young Pretender in the 1740's, the life of Scottish commoners would get progressively harsher. The old clan system was effectively destroyed in the Highland Clearances. Many Scots would cross the ocean to America. Only the Scottish nobility loyal to the Hanoverians would profit in the past half-century.
This would bring great resentment but little organized resistance as the Scots had never possessed anything resembling a real democracy. They naturally deferred to their betters. But the shocking events of the previous war which saw the House of Hanover turned into subordinates to the French would embolden the Scottish commoners to rise up against the aristocrats. Having control of the artillery and fortifications of the cities, the aristocrats managed to regain and retain control over Glasgow and Edinburgh.
However, for the first time in half a century, the Highlanders would descend from the hills, their once-banned bagpipes blasting, to prove that the old Scotland remained in existence.
Duchy of Wales
A junior member of the House of Oldenburg had ascended a generation prior to the throne of the Duchy of Wales. Having spent so many years championing "Welsh Culture and Language" that, by 1793, the Duke had managed to get most of the Welsh Parliament on his side as the preeminent "Welsh Nationalist" (though he still barely spoke the incomprehensible language himself) in the land.
As France withdrew from England, it became apparent whichever party resumed control over England would seek to reconstruct the old Great Britain. As the English Civil War raged, many brigands and occasionally actual soldiers crossed into Wales. In 1792, receiving no real help from France, the Duke of Wales would reluctantly accept aid from the King of Ireland, whom didn't want to see Wales and the other nations of Britain united either.
The entirety of the Welsh border was controlled by the ERA, which appeared to be terrifyingly dysfunctional. The infighting caused greater famine than the external wars. Tens of thousands of English would cross the Welsh border and the Duke could not bring himself to expel refugees. Only a relatively low number of suspicious characters were forced back into England. Not particularly desiring large numbers of English migrants after years of championing the Welsh identity, the Duke would help subsidize (aided indirectly by Ireland and France) the transport of most of these English to America thus getting them off of his hands.
Seeking to put an end to this chaos, the Duke of Wales would try to entice Scotland and Cornwall/Devon to form an alliance. However, Cornwall/Devon was hardly in a position to participate in a military alliance and Scotland happened to be engaging in its own civil war. Thus the Irish was all the Welsh had to protect their borders.
The Duke of Wales intended to merely protect the border...however the Irish had other plans. Five thousand Irish troops would almost spontaneously (alcohol was a factor) march across the border in response to a minor incursion by the ERA. A battle outside of Manchester would repel the Irish in June but would forestall any real ERA invasion of the surrounding territories in 1793.
Suffolk
The Parliamentary forces would groan at the lost opportunity. Had Prince George, now calling himself "King" George of Northumbria, offered to assume the throne of the Parliamentary-controlled regions, they may have accepted and made him their puppet. Instead, "King" George sat to the north and let his new Parliament be effectively a new House of Commons.
What a waste.
Instead, the aristocrats of eastern England, having had a poor war thus far (they had lost several counties), decided to take advantage of the ERA distraction and marched south on London. The landlords of Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex would prod their tenants into rough formations and marched south in a surprisingly large army. Though the Parliamentary forces had few provisions to support the 18,000 man forces (logistics was not a specialty), the relatively short distances in England would allow for the army to reach southern Essex and the borders of London.
Here, King William IV and Prince William would gather up their regular forces and militia (as often as not, the Regular forces were spread throughout the countryside keeping a restraining hand on rebellious militia) and managed to summon 20,000.
In a single, catastrophic battle, the Parliamentary Cavaliers were routed. However, King William was unable to take advantage as rebellions sprung up as far as the Cornwall border. He was forced to dispatch most of his men throughout the country to restore his rule.
Scottish Republic
Though it had taken the winter, the surviving aristocrats of Scotland would manage to regain the major cities...at the cost of losing the countryside.
Scotland was a mix of three languages: Gaelic Scottish in the highlands, Scots (a Germanic language somewhat similar to English) in the middle regions and Scottish English in the lowlands. The latter had been in ascendance for the past century. Language tended to be political affiliation in Scotland and the divided nation was easy to control by the English over the years.
After the failed attempt to reclaim Britain by the Young Pretender in the 1740's, the life of Scottish commoners would get progressively harsher. The old clan system was effectively destroyed in the Highland Clearances. Many Scots would cross the ocean to America. Only the Scottish nobility loyal to the Hanoverians would profit in the past half-century.
This would bring great resentment but little organized resistance as the Scots had never possessed anything resembling a real democracy. They naturally deferred to their betters. But the shocking events of the previous war which saw the House of Hanover turned into subordinates to the French would embolden the Scottish commoners to rise up against the aristocrats. Having control of the artillery and fortifications of the cities, the aristocrats managed to regain and retain control over Glasgow and Edinburgh.
However, for the first time in half a century, the Highlanders would descend from the hills, their once-banned bagpipes blasting, to prove that the old Scotland remained in existence.
Chapter 120: American Drift
1793 - Summer
Brooklyn, Dominion of Long Island
In the burgeoning slums of Brooklyn, the growing American textile and lighting manufacturing sectors were fed by a steady diet of British migration. Each of the seven British polities would dispatch a steady stream of migrants seeking safety and employment would flood the American coastal cities. They would bring their feuds, vendettas and political debates with them. Republicans would jostle with Parliamentarians, Scots with "Georgian" Northumbrians, Cornish-Devon with Wiliamites...etc.
Native born Americans would just find this tiresome and wonder at how the alternately Radical or Reactionary Britons could not find inspiration in the occasionally staid but stable American Parliamentary Democracy. The raucous politics of Europe could stay in Europe for all Americans cared.
At least this was the theory. In reality, America had its own divisions.
Several Dominions allowed far greater electoral participation than others. Pennsylvania saw 43% adult male suffrage while South Carolina only permitted 14% (if that). Part of this was social. Other parts were purely economic. If land ownership was a decisive factor, then the plantation-dominated south would always possess fewer voters. However, this was somewhat reversing in the north where land had long been cheaper and broken up among larger numbers of farmers, thus had a greater electorate. Previously, it was expected that a young man could expect to own his own land for farming or his own tradesman shop (thus granting him the expected wealth for suffrage). Few expected to spend their lives as servants or menial laborers. The mass immigration to northern American cities and towns like Brooklyn would lead to a new class of day laborers whom owned neither land nor possessed the necessary wealth for the vote. Already Radicalized, this new economic class would cause ripples of discontent throughout the nation just as the young country was reeling from regional divisions.
Southern Dominions
While the nation had officially banned the slave trade, the local authorities had turned a blind eye to the occasional slaving ship which still plied the trade. However, as much of Africa's western coast was now controlled by France or Spain, the trade was effectively dead if not actually.
This would infuriate many members of the south-central (meaning the old slave Dominions) whom belatedly realized that this would eventually spell the death of their way of life. As slavery had been banned in the "territories" of the west, the Dominions of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina were soon surrounded by "free" Dominions to which large numbers of slaves could flee.
While, in any given year, this was only a small portion of the slaves, this would have a disproportionate affect on many landowners. Due to the expense of a slave, the loss of three or four prime field hands (and it was the healthy and most valuable slaves that tended to flee), could bankrupt even a prosperous plantation owner.
Many southern landowners would turn to another source of labor: indentured servants. This type of free/unfree labor had existed since the dawn of the old British Empire. The numbers of indentures would ebb and flow, usually in congress with the political-economic situation in Britain. As Britain was now divided into more than half a dozen warring and squabbling factions, poor Britons incapable of paying for their own transport would be forced to resurrect the dying institution once again.
Transport from Britain to America tended to cost in the realm of 8 American pounds sterling (the old "Dollar" currency was abandoned when the nation had received adequate hard silver and gold reserves and the American Pound Sterling was born) in the 1770's but, by the 1790's, this had dropped somewhat down to 5.5 to 6 pounds sterling due to the gradual increase in ship size and greater number of ships catering to this trade in human flesh. 5.5 to 6 pounds sterling was perhaps equal to four years of wages on a farm or shop, a number virtually impossible to save for most commoners. In contrast, the average healthy young slave in America went for auction at perhaps 45 pounds sterling in 1793.
Would a typical plantation owner risk 45 pounds sterling on a single prime field-hand whom may flee into the woods at the first opportunity or worse, expire, thus the farmer losing everything?
Or would that same land owner opt for 8 or 10 young Britons on five year contracts?
Here, there were runaway indenture laws which applied to all Dominions (as indentured servitude was legal in all Dominions and Territories, unlike slavery).
Yes, a native-born slave, accustomed to the climate, disease and harsh work of the south, was undoubtedly worth more than a single English indentured servant whom was not. Unlike other former slave regions in the Americas (notably the hellish West Indies), most American slaves would not die in the first five years of their captivity. There was even a moderate increase in slave demographics most regions of the Kingdom of North America (South Carolina being the lone exception).
But would eight or ten Britons for five years outweigh a single slave, even if their mortality rates were higher in the unaccustomed heat and exhausting labor of the south? One must assume yes and the face of the south would quickly change whenever political unrest occurred in Britain.
In 1793, nearly 100,000 Britons, nearly 1% of the island's population, would depart for America.
Over the past decade, concerned American Parliamentarians would seek to soften these terms and protect the indentured servants from exploitation. They received legal protections from overwork and often took their masters to court should violations of their contracts be committed. For example, many indentured servants would only agree to serve in the northern Dominions where, at worst, they worked a grain farm or even as an apprentice to a tradesman. Access to land and their own business after the terms of the contract expired were understood. However, many unscrupulous flesh-peddlers would promise anything and then drop the migrants off in the fetid port of Charlestown where they could expect to be purchased by rice or indigo farmers.
One particular champion of these oppressed people was a Yale-educated lawyer of modest origins named Eli Whitney. Despite not officially graduated from Yale or called to the bar, Whitney would nevertheless defend a escaped indentured servant from Virginia whom had fled his master after years of ill-treatment. He proved that the contract he'd signed in Liverpool expressly stated that he would be "sold" to a four year contract in either New York or New Jersey. Instead, the ship's master just dumped him off in Virginia to be sold to the highest bidder.
Whitney won the case and the servant his freedom. The notoriety would bring additional work and sponsors to allow the Connecticut born man to return to Yale and graduate. By 1793, Whitney had been elected to Parliament and would be a leading opponent of mistreatment of indentured servants and slaves throughout America.
In later years, many men of the southern Dominions called Whitney "the man whom destroyed the southern way of life" as the Connecticut man would turn his attention to the treatment of slaves as well.
Brooklyn, Dominion of Long Island
In the burgeoning slums of Brooklyn, the growing American textile and lighting manufacturing sectors were fed by a steady diet of British migration. Each of the seven British polities would dispatch a steady stream of migrants seeking safety and employment would flood the American coastal cities. They would bring their feuds, vendettas and political debates with them. Republicans would jostle with Parliamentarians, Scots with "Georgian" Northumbrians, Cornish-Devon with Wiliamites...etc.
Native born Americans would just find this tiresome and wonder at how the alternately Radical or Reactionary Britons could not find inspiration in the occasionally staid but stable American Parliamentary Democracy. The raucous politics of Europe could stay in Europe for all Americans cared.
At least this was the theory. In reality, America had its own divisions.
Several Dominions allowed far greater electoral participation than others. Pennsylvania saw 43% adult male suffrage while South Carolina only permitted 14% (if that). Part of this was social. Other parts were purely economic. If land ownership was a decisive factor, then the plantation-dominated south would always possess fewer voters. However, this was somewhat reversing in the north where land had long been cheaper and broken up among larger numbers of farmers, thus had a greater electorate. Previously, it was expected that a young man could expect to own his own land for farming or his own tradesman shop (thus granting him the expected wealth for suffrage). Few expected to spend their lives as servants or menial laborers. The mass immigration to northern American cities and towns like Brooklyn would lead to a new class of day laborers whom owned neither land nor possessed the necessary wealth for the vote. Already Radicalized, this new economic class would cause ripples of discontent throughout the nation just as the young country was reeling from regional divisions.
Southern Dominions
While the nation had officially banned the slave trade, the local authorities had turned a blind eye to the occasional slaving ship which still plied the trade. However, as much of Africa's western coast was now controlled by France or Spain, the trade was effectively dead if not actually.
This would infuriate many members of the south-central (meaning the old slave Dominions) whom belatedly realized that this would eventually spell the death of their way of life. As slavery had been banned in the "territories" of the west, the Dominions of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina were soon surrounded by "free" Dominions to which large numbers of slaves could flee.
While, in any given year, this was only a small portion of the slaves, this would have a disproportionate affect on many landowners. Due to the expense of a slave, the loss of three or four prime field hands (and it was the healthy and most valuable slaves that tended to flee), could bankrupt even a prosperous plantation owner.
Many southern landowners would turn to another source of labor: indentured servants. This type of free/unfree labor had existed since the dawn of the old British Empire. The numbers of indentures would ebb and flow, usually in congress with the political-economic situation in Britain. As Britain was now divided into more than half a dozen warring and squabbling factions, poor Britons incapable of paying for their own transport would be forced to resurrect the dying institution once again.
Transport from Britain to America tended to cost in the realm of 8 American pounds sterling (the old "Dollar" currency was abandoned when the nation had received adequate hard silver and gold reserves and the American Pound Sterling was born) in the 1770's but, by the 1790's, this had dropped somewhat down to 5.5 to 6 pounds sterling due to the gradual increase in ship size and greater number of ships catering to this trade in human flesh. 5.5 to 6 pounds sterling was perhaps equal to four years of wages on a farm or shop, a number virtually impossible to save for most commoners. In contrast, the average healthy young slave in America went for auction at perhaps 45 pounds sterling in 1793.
Would a typical plantation owner risk 45 pounds sterling on a single prime field-hand whom may flee into the woods at the first opportunity or worse, expire, thus the farmer losing everything?
Or would that same land owner opt for 8 or 10 young Britons on five year contracts?
Here, there were runaway indenture laws which applied to all Dominions (as indentured servitude was legal in all Dominions and Territories, unlike slavery).
Yes, a native-born slave, accustomed to the climate, disease and harsh work of the south, was undoubtedly worth more than a single English indentured servant whom was not. Unlike other former slave regions in the Americas (notably the hellish West Indies), most American slaves would not die in the first five years of their captivity. There was even a moderate increase in slave demographics most regions of the Kingdom of North America (South Carolina being the lone exception).
But would eight or ten Britons for five years outweigh a single slave, even if their mortality rates were higher in the unaccustomed heat and exhausting labor of the south? One must assume yes and the face of the south would quickly change whenever political unrest occurred in Britain.
In 1793, nearly 100,000 Britons, nearly 1% of the island's population, would depart for America.
Over the past decade, concerned American Parliamentarians would seek to soften these terms and protect the indentured servants from exploitation. They received legal protections from overwork and often took their masters to court should violations of their contracts be committed. For example, many indentured servants would only agree to serve in the northern Dominions where, at worst, they worked a grain farm or even as an apprentice to a tradesman. Access to land and their own business after the terms of the contract expired were understood. However, many unscrupulous flesh-peddlers would promise anything and then drop the migrants off in the fetid port of Charlestown where they could expect to be purchased by rice or indigo farmers.
One particular champion of these oppressed people was a Yale-educated lawyer of modest origins named Eli Whitney. Despite not officially graduated from Yale or called to the bar, Whitney would nevertheless defend a escaped indentured servant from Virginia whom had fled his master after years of ill-treatment. He proved that the contract he'd signed in Liverpool expressly stated that he would be "sold" to a four year contract in either New York or New Jersey. Instead, the ship's master just dumped him off in Virginia to be sold to the highest bidder.
Whitney won the case and the servant his freedom. The notoriety would bring additional work and sponsors to allow the Connecticut born man to return to Yale and graduate. By 1793, Whitney had been elected to Parliament and would be a leading opponent of mistreatment of indentured servants and slaves throughout America.
In later years, many men of the southern Dominions called Whitney "the man whom destroyed the southern way of life" as the Connecticut man would turn his attention to the treatment of slaves as well.
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Chapter 121: New Beginnings
1793 - Summer
Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
The Prince and Heir to Wolfenbüttel, Frederick William, was the son of the small German Duchy's Duke Charles William Ferdinand and his wife, Augusta of Great Britain (eldest child of the late Prince Frederick and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha). The younger Augusta had married her prince while in exile with her mother and sister in Saxe-Gotha. The House of Hanover and House of Brunswick were related by blood and old alliances. The pair had intended to be married prior to Britain's fall and the Prince saw no reason to change this.
Unfortunately, the three eldest sons Duke Charles and Augusta were mentally deficient and were removed from the succession. Thus, the youngest son, Frederick William, was the new heir. Only twenty-two, Frederick was considered quite promising as a future monarch. Indeed, the House of Wolfenbüttel had slowly regained its prosperity after the defeat in the previous war. The nation had been overrun by the French and occupied for two full years. Once the French withdrew, the old revenue generator of leasing her regiments had been forbidden by treaty. However, the lowered customs barriers and freer trade among the northern Germans (Denmark-Hanover, Brandenburg, Mecklengburg, Orange, Hesse, Waldeck, Lippe, Oldenburg and others) had allowed the petty state to recover. Legal and educational reforms also aided.
Still, it was unlikely that the future Duke would expect much to be made of his petty Duchy. Instead, he studied war as an honorable occupation (with the intent of probably serving in some foreign army, perhaps Denmark or Russia, until his father died and he could take over the Duchy) as well as serving as a quiet ambassador for his father. Indeed, the most pressing thing on his agenda in 1793 was finding a suitable bride. His cousins in Saxony were an option but his mother had fallen out with her younger sister Caroline Matilda, whom had married into even pettier German gentry than Augusta (Consort of Duke Karl Wilhelm of Saxe-Meiningen). Crossing them off the list was a relief as Caroline Matilda's daughters, while pretty, were as annoying as their mother.
However, the Prince would receive an unexpected visit in July. The Parliamentary leaders of eastern England, having experienced defeat outside of London, would seek any manner to regain the initiative. The great landowners whom controlled the region reasoned that the defeat was a function of lack of enthusiasm for Parliamentary (in this case, defacto House of Lords) rule. They felt that a King would encourage the people.
Obviously, none of the Children of King William IV of England or his brother the late King Henry of North America would make good candidates, the aristocrats looked to the continent for a Protestant King with some reasonable claim to the throne.
Duchess Augusta, whom had long desired to put a more "legitimate" line on the throne of England (and all of Britain, of course) than that of her younger brother William IV, urged her son to take the offer no matter the terms. In the best of circumstances, Frederick may reconquer the island of Britain one region at a time. At worst, he would be evicted and return to Brunswick.
Of course, that wasn't the WORST scenario. The worst was if Frederick was killed, leaving the House of Wolfenbüttel with no male heirs. Thus, prior to his dispatch to England, the Duchess would demand that the young Prince marry immediately. As finding a suitable princess on short notice was somewhat of a problem, Augusta would reluctantly contact her sister Caroline Matilda of whom agreed to send over one of her daughters, the somewhat shrill Princess Louise of Saxe-Meiningen.
Augusta didn't bother to ask her son's opinion. If she had, she may have saved a great deal of heartache as the young prince had his eye on the attractive Princess Louise of Orange (now in relative spinsterhood at the ripe age of 23). Instead, the Duke and Duchess would inform young Frederick of his new bride and that he would sail for Great Yarmouth, the primary port of East Anglia.
What Augusta didn't know was that her younger sister was playing her own game.
Liverpool, Western England (ERA-controlled territory)
Over the past years, the English Republican Army which controlled much of west-central England (Mercia) had spent more time fighting one another for control than actually "liberating" the rest of Britain from their aristocratic overlords. Eventually, the infighting took more an element of urban gang wars than between men of political differences. One coup followed another until many of the original leaders of the Republican movement were dead and the rest merely resorted to settling scores.
The humiliating invasion by the Welsh and Irish was the final straw as a group of moderates, whom had been pushed to the background in previous years (or massacred) by more Radical elements would assert control by gaining the loyalty of key high-ranking or fed-up military officers.
By 1793, it became apparent that the Republican movement had failed and the manufactures and farmers whom had the most to gain had actual paid the highest price for their "freedom".
Something had to change. Still having never seen a real election, the key power brokers assuming control over the riotous assembly would seek to entice many moderates or apolitical types to their banner by compromise.
In 1793, the first real vote was called by the Republicans...though many would be unable to reach the polls due to rampant crime. The army, controlled by sympathetic officers, would ensure a large turnout of their own to secure an agreeable assembly to the leadership proposals.
Against any expectation, the new Assembly (at least moderately legitimate) would moderate their stance enough to return Royalists to the fold by writing a new Constitution which ensured the supremacy of the Assembly (it was not called a Parliament)….over a King.
Exactly which King was to be determined. An emissary was sent to Saxe-Meiningen to inquire if a descendant of the House of Hanover would be willing to serve as King of "England". Duchess Caroline Matilda would quickly offer up her eldest son, Prince Ulrich of Saxe-Meiningen. Her husband, Karl Wilhelm, had died ten years prior (the married couple had been well apart in age) and her son Ulrich had, in Caroline's mind, as good a claim to Britain as any. Should the young man die...well, she had other sons.
As it was, the young Prince Ulrich, still unmarried, would formally demand the hand of the woman his cousin Frederick desired to marry: Louise of Orange. Prince William V of Orange would agree to hand her over in hopes that maybe one of his descendants may rule a wealthy nation as he once had as Stadtholder.
Less than a week after marriage, the young couple would sail for Liverpool.
The young Princesses Augusta (sitting) and Carolina Matilda (standing) of Great Britain in exile in Saxe-Gotha.
Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
The Prince and Heir to Wolfenbüttel, Frederick William, was the son of the small German Duchy's Duke Charles William Ferdinand and his wife, Augusta of Great Britain (eldest child of the late Prince Frederick and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha). The younger Augusta had married her prince while in exile with her mother and sister in Saxe-Gotha. The House of Hanover and House of Brunswick were related by blood and old alliances. The pair had intended to be married prior to Britain's fall and the Prince saw no reason to change this.
Unfortunately, the three eldest sons Duke Charles and Augusta were mentally deficient and were removed from the succession. Thus, the youngest son, Frederick William, was the new heir. Only twenty-two, Frederick was considered quite promising as a future monarch. Indeed, the House of Wolfenbüttel had slowly regained its prosperity after the defeat in the previous war. The nation had been overrun by the French and occupied for two full years. Once the French withdrew, the old revenue generator of leasing her regiments had been forbidden by treaty. However, the lowered customs barriers and freer trade among the northern Germans (Denmark-Hanover, Brandenburg, Mecklengburg, Orange, Hesse, Waldeck, Lippe, Oldenburg and others) had allowed the petty state to recover. Legal and educational reforms also aided.
Still, it was unlikely that the future Duke would expect much to be made of his petty Duchy. Instead, he studied war as an honorable occupation (with the intent of probably serving in some foreign army, perhaps Denmark or Russia, until his father died and he could take over the Duchy) as well as serving as a quiet ambassador for his father. Indeed, the most pressing thing on his agenda in 1793 was finding a suitable bride. His cousins in Saxony were an option but his mother had fallen out with her younger sister Caroline Matilda, whom had married into even pettier German gentry than Augusta (Consort of Duke Karl Wilhelm of Saxe-Meiningen). Crossing them off the list was a relief as Caroline Matilda's daughters, while pretty, were as annoying as their mother.
However, the Prince would receive an unexpected visit in July. The Parliamentary leaders of eastern England, having experienced defeat outside of London, would seek any manner to regain the initiative. The great landowners whom controlled the region reasoned that the defeat was a function of lack of enthusiasm for Parliamentary (in this case, defacto House of Lords) rule. They felt that a King would encourage the people.
Obviously, none of the Children of King William IV of England or his brother the late King Henry of North America would make good candidates, the aristocrats looked to the continent for a Protestant King with some reasonable claim to the throne.
Duchess Augusta, whom had long desired to put a more "legitimate" line on the throne of England (and all of Britain, of course) than that of her younger brother William IV, urged her son to take the offer no matter the terms. In the best of circumstances, Frederick may reconquer the island of Britain one region at a time. At worst, he would be evicted and return to Brunswick.
Of course, that wasn't the WORST scenario. The worst was if Frederick was killed, leaving the House of Wolfenbüttel with no male heirs. Thus, prior to his dispatch to England, the Duchess would demand that the young Prince marry immediately. As finding a suitable princess on short notice was somewhat of a problem, Augusta would reluctantly contact her sister Caroline Matilda of whom agreed to send over one of her daughters, the somewhat shrill Princess Louise of Saxe-Meiningen.
Augusta didn't bother to ask her son's opinion. If she had, she may have saved a great deal of heartache as the young prince had his eye on the attractive Princess Louise of Orange (now in relative spinsterhood at the ripe age of 23). Instead, the Duke and Duchess would inform young Frederick of his new bride and that he would sail for Great Yarmouth, the primary port of East Anglia.
What Augusta didn't know was that her younger sister was playing her own game.
Liverpool, Western England (ERA-controlled territory)
Over the past years, the English Republican Army which controlled much of west-central England (Mercia) had spent more time fighting one another for control than actually "liberating" the rest of Britain from their aristocratic overlords. Eventually, the infighting took more an element of urban gang wars than between men of political differences. One coup followed another until many of the original leaders of the Republican movement were dead and the rest merely resorted to settling scores.
The humiliating invasion by the Welsh and Irish was the final straw as a group of moderates, whom had been pushed to the background in previous years (or massacred) by more Radical elements would assert control by gaining the loyalty of key high-ranking or fed-up military officers.
By 1793, it became apparent that the Republican movement had failed and the manufactures and farmers whom had the most to gain had actual paid the highest price for their "freedom".
Something had to change. Still having never seen a real election, the key power brokers assuming control over the riotous assembly would seek to entice many moderates or apolitical types to their banner by compromise.
In 1793, the first real vote was called by the Republicans...though many would be unable to reach the polls due to rampant crime. The army, controlled by sympathetic officers, would ensure a large turnout of their own to secure an agreeable assembly to the leadership proposals.
Against any expectation, the new Assembly (at least moderately legitimate) would moderate their stance enough to return Royalists to the fold by writing a new Constitution which ensured the supremacy of the Assembly (it was not called a Parliament)….over a King.
Exactly which King was to be determined. An emissary was sent to Saxe-Meiningen to inquire if a descendant of the House of Hanover would be willing to serve as King of "England". Duchess Caroline Matilda would quickly offer up her eldest son, Prince Ulrich of Saxe-Meiningen. Her husband, Karl Wilhelm, had died ten years prior (the married couple had been well apart in age) and her son Ulrich had, in Caroline's mind, as good a claim to Britain as any. Should the young man die...well, she had other sons.
As it was, the young Prince Ulrich, still unmarried, would formally demand the hand of the woman his cousin Frederick desired to marry: Louise of Orange. Prince William V of Orange would agree to hand her over in hopes that maybe one of his descendants may rule a wealthy nation as he once had as Stadtholder.
Less than a week after marriage, the young couple would sail for Liverpool.
The young Princesses Augusta (sitting) and Carolina Matilda (standing) of Great Britain in exile in Saxe-Gotha.
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Caroline vs Augusta. A less pleasant relationship than I gave them in my own time line.
I like it.
I like it.
Mmm, I'm liking those French borders. OTOH, that Russian salient into Constantinopolis is ugly as heck.