1794 - Summer
Kingdom of British North America
As the Americans crawled inexorably westward past the Appalachian Mountains towards the Mississippi, the rate of conflicts with the natives tribes of the region would intensify. In most cases, this violence would prove fleeting. The young King Frederick assumed the role of "Great White Father" that previous French monarchs had played in the past and took it as a matter of honor that the nation would meet its treaty obligations. Still, European immigration would continue to populate much of the west, sparking resentment. The "Four Civilized Nations" to the south and the Iroquois Confederacy to the north had ably negotiated their own land claims and, by 1794, few whites were inclined to challenge them. But smaller, less influential tribes would find the American encroachment too much to bear and many would cross the Mississippi in order to get away from them.
However, the wave of migration proved that even this great body of water could not stop the Americans and tens of thousands were settling on the western face of the Mississippi, even into the Spanish colony of Tejas. Here a few thousand settlers would "petition" to be allowed to remain. The Spanish governor far to the south was willing to consider the idea until it was pointed out that the settlers reportedly were engaging in slavery (though only in very small numbers). Thus, the Governor would reject any American settlement and demand that the interlopers depart. That the Americans brought a measure of development, resources and population that Spain had failed to provide in 300 years of colonization was troubling.
While the plains of Tejas were remote and considered impoverished, the first significant conflict between Spain and America since the defacto occupation of the Floridas was brewing.
Manhattan
George Vancouver in 1794
George Vancouver would kneel his head and humbly received the Gold Medal struck in his honor. King Frederick personally placed it around his neck and solemnly welcomed the explorer into the Knighthood of the Order of St. Patrick, St. Andrew and St. George, the honorary society created by the late King to recognize Americans whom had contributed much to science, technology, the military and civic services (a very, very broad category). As American politics meant raising peers was politically combustible (even if peerages had no official power), Knighthoods and Baronetcies were the best the King could do.
Having reached the Pacific, Vancouver's trek back to Manhattan had proven every bit as dangerous as the march out. In hindsight, the explorer was just happy that the Russians hadn't executed his party.
Most importantly, the English-born American of Dutch descent had closely surveyed the Rocky Mountains (as they were called) and determined a pair of viable passes through. The question remained if the King and his Ministers would somehow endorse Americans travelling thousands of miles west across Indian-plagued plains, cross the narrow trails and then argue with the Russians (and maybe the Spanish) if they would be allowed to stay.
The extensive line of supply and communication seemed to make any aggressive action on behalf of the Americans doomed to fail especially when one considered the vast lands still open to settlement within King Frederick's sphere and the inherent regional differences between the vast Kingdom of North America's Dominions.
But that wasn't Vancouver's problem. He received his recognition, a modest pension and a nifty medal. What more could one ask for?
Well, maybe a GENEROUS pension but the American government funding had never been known to be inclined towards generosity.
For his part, the young King was certainly not going to stick his head in such emotional matters. Sometimes it was best to leave well enough alone until the day came when one could actually DO something about it. Anything before then was a waste of time and effort.
The King's government would recommend more westward movement and worry when the Americans looked up and saw Spanish or Russian eyes staring back. Then they could decide what to do.
As it was, the King was too busy to care. Queen Louise had bourn him his first son the previous winter, named Henry in honor of his father. By fall of 1794, the Queen would be pregnant again (she WAS very pretty and the King didn't even bother with a mistress), this time with the couple's first princess. Unlike much of Europe, females were more than welcome to the succession in America where there was no Salic Law (though Heirs Male had precedence).
As both of the King's sisters also had heirs, the monarchy in America seemed more than stable.
Bourbonia (South Pacific)
The huge (but largely barren) island of Bourbonia would see a steady demand for the sugar, wool and whale oil produced along the southwest. Even some vineyards had been planted to support local French demand for wine.
Over the past decades, the remote French island had at least made itself self-sufficient in foodstuffs (the Bourbonians ate more lamb, beef and other meats than their cousins in the Old Country by an order of magnitude) as ranching, farming and fishing prospered along the fertile eastern and southeastern coasts. This allowed the Bourbonians to focus much effort on exports like sugar, wool, etc. Lacking a workforce for the sugar plantations, the French would "recruit" every Pacific Islander they could get their hands on as well as the native Bourbonians. When demand continued to outpace supply, the French looked elsewhere but the reports of harsh conditions had already made it to the courts of the Vietnamese Monarch and the Peshwa. They steadfastly refused to allow any form of recruitment of their peoples and the local French East India Company officials and French national officials would not argue as they knew their own position in the region was weak.
Instead, the French sought from further and further afield as far as Tahiti, the Soloman Islands and Guam for labor. By 1794, the vast Pacific Islands were being steadily emptied of humans, mostly dragged mercilessly towards the southwest Pacific. Polynesians mixed with Melanesians with even more exotic peoples.
With Russian influence in Hawaii, the French were unable to "recruit" among the Inuit or Siberians but anything south of that was fair game. On one memorable occasion, "recruiting" vessels even carried off 500 Easter Islanders.
So removed from Versailles was this colony that reports of this pseudo-slavery barely made a ripple in the Parisian social scene where once abolition had proven such a fashionable topic.
