America - Albion's Orphan - A history of the conquest of Britain - 1760

[Alt History Buff]

1806

Madrid

King Carlos IV waited patiently as his ministers consulted, his wife at his side. Even if the King had known that the Queen had already determined the policy and the Ministers (whom had only recently come under her sway) were merely settling on details. It had taken years for the Queen to get over the betrayal by her favorite, De Godoy, whom was now reportedly living in India with his stolen Spanish gold. Finally, she'd managed to get the Ministers under her thumb though she had to compromise more than in the past. This latest bunch continued to want reform (the heirs to Floridablanca and Aranda).

In truth, the Queen had no particular grievance with the Americans. Did she really object that some American traitor was captured on Spanish territory and then executed?

The peace between America and Spain for the past forty years had been modestly profitable for both (more for America which desperately needed Spanish gold for economic liquidity). The Spanish had benefited by access to American traders along the Main whom provided goods for the Spanish West Indies which Spain either did not produce or the Spanish Merchant Marine was inadequate to supply.

The Spanish Empire had always been a multi-national entity, supported by the old Spanish Habsburgs other realms in the Netherlands, Italy, etc. Always, the Spanish needed foreign capital (Germany, the Netherlands and Italy), foreign manufactured goods (Germany, France and Britain), foreign traders (French, Dutch, British, Portuguese) and foreign labor (Indian levies, Black slaves, etc) to maintain the Empire.

With the collapse of the British Empire, the slow degeneration of the Dutch and Portuguese Empires and the distant relations with France, Spain was forced to do more of the gruntwork in maintaining the vast North and South American Empire. Spanish banks were established to provide access to capital though they hardly provided with ALL the Empire's needs.

Americans provided more and more supplies to the Empire, mainly returning only with silver and occasionally sugar or coffee. In truth, the Empire was stronger than ever...though perhaps less "Spanish" than before. Conquest could be a double-edged sword. Managing Brazil had forced Spain to compromise on issues as diverse as slavery to language. The gained British island in the West Indies remained underdeveloped. The reforms intended to add necessary capital and goods to the Empire only encouraged more demands for local autonomy.

The Queen cared little for any of this. She was a woman of court and cared about the status of the crown even as she dominated her husband.

Spain could not afford to look weak before this little former colonial power led by a usurper (ironic as she'd been usurping her husband's authority for years).

By 1806, the Infante was angling for more power. She'd never particularly liked the prince and feared that should the 22 year old ascend to power, it would be the end of her influence.

By taking a position of strength against the Americans in this meaningless colonial squabble, she would prevent Ferdinand from taking a popular position himself and gaining favor at court. An ill-tempered letter was dispatched to the American King Frederick I.

 

[TimTurner]

good TL. binge-read it all.

 

[Kaiko]

What she doesn't know is that Americans asking permission to settle is just a formality.

Well, it's time to make your bets on how much longer the Spanish Empire is going to last. Probably longer than OTL but not by much.

 

[5000 Cows]

I have a feeling Spain is going to get hit in the Americas and in Italy simultaneously

 

[Shevek23]

and the distant relations with France

Aha, I read that to mean that 1) I expected a closer relationship because of the efforts previous kings of France in the mid-18th century made to capture Spain to the Bourbon dynastic system. But I suppose a lot of water has flowed under the bridges since then, and France has had bigger fish to fry, and whether these folks in Madrid are in some soap opera ancestry sense intertwined with the French dynasty, that doesn't have a lot of bearing on present day French policy one way or the other. Any more than the American king being a Hanover means any Hanovers in England would automatically harmonize with American policy.

So 2) I was angling for this information, the status of Franco-Hispanic relations, and you've given it--and had it been "France has always been very close" I'd be looking for some French envoy at the court being consulted to coordinate this policy; had it been "they are hostile!" I'd write off French support.

But this is perfect for you as a storyteller as well as plausible; I'm sitting here trying to guess whether the French will see war on Hanoverian America as an opportunity, or a tangled mess to stay out of, and all I can come up with now "it depends!" and "wait and see!"

Without France in the mix, I suspect Adams, except for the part about betting on no war at all, is probably right...it will be difficult for the "Jonathans" as I am calling them to project power to really hurt Spanish core holdings, and difficult for the Spanish to project power to really hurt either the core of English speaking American power or even do a whole lot beyond encouraging a few more Native raids against its frontier periphery. The naval duel has Spain holding the advantage...on paper, but most of those hulls are rotten and old.

If somehow the war starts and then drags on, over time I expect the American Royal Navy to grow rapidly into a serious force to be reckoned with, what with all the shipbuilding capability of American yards from New England to at least the Chesapeake--certainly Baltimore. Not sure about Charleston as a shipyard, and possibly there is stuff happening in East Florida and even West Florida that did not OTL.

Does the American based kingdom still hold Bermuda and the Bahamas? Or were any of those included in the islands the post mentions Spain getting from Britain's collapse?

I think possibly the hottest front in such a war might not be Tejas, actually, but perhaps Cuba, and if the Spanish are aggressive enough, those islands off Florida and south Florida itself. And of course if the Jonathans (I keep saying that because I can't say "Americans," the Spanish Empire is largely American too) do make a lot of warships they will probably include loads of commerce raiders, who can range all over the world attacking Spanish shipping and God knows who else.

 

[luis3007]

None of the Caribbean islands were inherited by the Kingdom of America. All are colonial property of France, Spain or the Dutch.

 

[Shevek23]

None of the Caribbean islands were inherited by the Kingdom of America. All are colonial property of France, Spain or the Dutch.

But Bermuda and the Bahamas are not Caribbean. Well maybe the latter are, there is also Barbados and I'd have to remind myself where that is and whether it is out of the Caribbean or not.

Honestly, I don't see why the American kingdom would not have been able to hang on to more, even in the Caribbean. The heart of the Royal Navy was broken, but the ships still existed, so did the crews. Given the fact that they still had
North America nearby for resupply and repairs, I don't see why they couldn't assert the king's claim to hold them in continuity.

So between the ascendency of France and the fact England was overrun and subjugated, surely the RN remnants would be weak, and the American king might waive his claim to some islands, and simply be unable to back his claim to others.

But the nearer to those North American ports, the more the remnant of the RN could congregate and concentrate on these fewer islands.

So I ask about the mid Atlantic islands, not the Caribbean--I did ask about all of them, Caribbean is asked and answered and that is plausible though it would hardly have been crazy for some outposts in the Caribbean and all around the world to hold to Hanoverian claims.

But Bermuda? Barbados? Bahamas? These are all close to OTL US shores and therefore to Hanoverian American ones. I'd think it would have been deemed worthwhile to hang on to what shards of empire were left, at least those nearby.

 

[Alt History Buff]

1806


Manhattan

First Lord John Adams was slowly realizing that the Spanish truly were up in arms (literally) over the “invasion” of some petty town of a few hundred people hundreds of miles inland from the sea. This San Antonio de Bexar was one of a handful of Spanish settlements north of the Rio Grande apparently (Adams had never heard of the place until word of General Dearborn’s “invasion” reached Manhattan). While it had taken nearly a year for word to reach Madrid, the government there to determine a response and a message to be sent to Manhattan, the sting of the language directed towards King Frederick could not be denied.


Wisely, the King had kept the peremptory language of the note from King Carlos IV (no doubt penned by his advisors and only signed by the dimwit) from reaching the public and only a general sense of Spanish displeasure made it to the British North American public (more and more, simply “American” was utilized by the government, the press and common language as the “British North” was typically left out as redundant). The last thing King Frederick or his government wanted was for jingoism to take control of the public. In truth, the relations between British North America and the Spanish Empire had been peaceful if not necessarily friendly since the formation of the new Kingdom in the Americas. Spain had quietly rejoiced at the breaking of the British Empire which had preyed upon the expansive Spanish holdings for generations (along with Dutch, Portuguese and French, of course).

Fragmentation of Great Britain and Ireland into over half a dozen new states (a process called “Britainization” among some scholars) and the independence of the former Britain colonies under their own monarch certainly eased Spanish concerns over the years which even the loss of East Florida (with which Spain had done nothing over the course of three centuries) did little to blemish Spanish fears of a renewed enemy. However, the American incursions west across the Mississippi to the admittedly ill-defined and virtually unpopulated (by Europeans) expanses of the prairie were more disconcerting. Indeed, the sheer pace of American settlement west of the Mississippi astounded the Spanish colonial authorities whom usually governed from hundreds of miles south in Monterey…or even as far south as the Ciudad de Mexico. By 1805, the Americans outnumbered the Spanish north of the Rio Grande all the way to Gulf of California by an estimated five times according to the local Viceroy (in reality, it was by more than 10 times but the Spanish colonial service was notoriously ill-informed, thus prompting the hiring of spies like the late and unlamented James Wilkinson).

Adams hoped the whole episode would blow over as other events – a riot in Barcelona or a personal feud between Spanish ministers – would take up Spanish governmental attention. After all, the borders did not change by the American “incursion” into San Antonio de Bexar. America did not conquer the town or directly harm any Spanish citizens. Surely, a quiet apology and a promise to avoid such “incursions” in the future would be best for all.

Wouldn’t it?


However, the Spanish reputation for pride (the stereotypical “Proud Spaniard”) would not allow such an affront to be brushed aside so easily. The Spanish government was even more wary of the noisy “British American” democracy more than the old British Parliament which was, at least, stacked to ensure the aristocracy was in command. Some feared that the restive Spanish colonies would take heart from the American Dominions which offered from 35% to 80% suffrage among adult males (depending upon the Dominion). Spain had already ceded a number of reforms to the colonials, including allowing colonial participation in government (previously restricted to only Peninsulars for high-office to ensure Spanish supremacy over the colonies). Ever greater offices from customs inspectors to militia commissions to local councilors to even a handful of Governors were being handed to Colonials, something unheard of in previous generations. But the massive concessions necessary to govern the conquered Brazilian territories had led, as expected, the Spanish colonies to ask why the former Portuguese colonies were granted greater political and social rights than those long loyal to the Spanish Crown.


King Carlos III could not find a good answer for that and launched a series of gradual reforms which led to greater prosperity…but also greater autonomy, something which Spanish officials feared could only lead to further demands.


By 1805, the number of Carlos IV’s subjects in America exceeded those of Spain and Southern Italy, a ratio that was becoming more skewed by the year. Surely, government MUST change…but by how much?

Despite emerging on the “winning” side of past wars since mid-century (including the reunification of the crown of Aragon’s Italian domains to the Spanish Crown, the conquest of Brazil and large numbers of islands of the former British, Danish and Dutch Caribbean), Spain still lagged behind much of Europe economically, technologically, socially and, most importantly, militarily.

The Spanish Navy lacked any immediate threats and therefore languished. The greatest navy in Europe, France, seemed unlikely to challenge Spain in the Americas (France only controlled a few sugar islands in the Caribbean which were less profitable with the abolition of slavery and France’s government appeared to lost most interest in them). While the Bourbon cousins had grown apart since partnering to dismantle the Protestant British Empire, they had no particular grievances either. Neither appeared to covet the other’s territories. Spain certainly wasn’t going to offend King Louis by invading Saint Domingue or Barbados and France had never hinted at expanding their New World Empire (quite the opposite given the move to abolish slavery removed most of the value of what they DID have).

The two Bourbon powers got along well enough after that, keeping a polite distance. Spain allowed French merchants access to the Empire, which actually went a long way to keeping the peace as it created a large power bloc in Versailles to encourage good relations between the Empires in order to maintain their profits.

Spain had done little to nothing to expand into Africa or Asia. Indeed, the Empire even quietly wrote off the loss of the Philippines after China’s fleet captured the islands which had long been the jumping off point for the Asian trade. Indeed, many economists in Spain (as such as they were) would point out the benefits of keeping the American silver “in house” rather than sending it to China for perishables like silk, porcelain or tea. The embryonic Spanish banking system could use a stable influx of coinage which could be expanded to add liquidity to the growing population of the Americans whom seldom enjoyed having much currency in the local economy (this had long been a complaint in most of the colonial Empires including the British).

Therefore, with more important things to worry about, it seemed unlikely either Spain or the Americans would seek to pick a fight over some obscure border town which neither King could even hope to spot on a map. First Lord Adams certainly thought so.

But Spanish “Pride” could not be easily forgotten. The new Ministers of Spain would dispatch an even more incendiary letter to King Frederick in the fall of 1806…via three Spanish ships of the line and one large frigate as escorts. Unfortunately, the initial Spanish display would backfire when two of the ships would be blown off course and severely damaged. They would limp into Baltimore Bay rather than New York. The local governor, oblivious to the intent of the Spanish, would take the opportunity to welcome the Spanish officers at a formal ball and offer them the use of Baltimore’s shipyards for repair. The individual Captains, only dimly aware that a note of some offense was being carried to New York, wisely kept their mouths shut and accepted the hospitality with chivalry. Given hard American feelings at learning that a Spanish colonial official had placed bounties on American scalps in Tejas, they determined not to offend their hosts. Perhaps another American harbor, one bearing fewer native Catholics, may have reacted quite differently from historically tolerant Baltimore.

The other two Spanish ships did manage to reach New York Harbor with little damage. However, their intent of providing an intimidating presence, perhaps even hinting at a blockade of the primary American harbor, would be stillborn when half the Spanish force was laid up in repairs in Baltimore. Moreover, New York Harbor was a primary American naval base and, at the time of the Spanish arrival, eight American warships including two ships of the line, two heavy frigates, two light frigates and two corvettes were at anchor nearby.

The sensible Spanish commander would opt against threatening the locals and instead merely delivered the renewed Spanish list of accusations to King Frederick (whom, as before, did not release the details to the American public whom would be affronted by the language). Instead, the Spanish captains would wait a week for their colleagues to show (which they didn’t), decline the offer for a formal ball and sailed for home without further word. Only the following Spring did the Spanish Admiralty see the other two Spanish ships safely back at Cadiz Harbor, their commanders sheepishly explaining their tardiness.

As it was, official communications between Crowned Heads would not be what would eventually lead the two nations to blows but the actions of minor local officials in obscure areas.

 

[Alt History Buff]

1806

Rome

Pope Pius VII would not prove to be the capable administrator that his predecessor had been. In truth, the central Italians under control of the Papacy continued to be highly taxed and struggled under a combination of lack of infrastructure and investment in educational institutions. This would prove particularly upsetting for those regions in the western Papal States acquired in the past 40 years. Though their former Princes were hardly shining examples of good governance, the Papal rule proved even worse.

Pius VI would be remembered as a good man whom did his best to modernize the bureaucracy and tax system. His successor would not have such a good reputation. Instead, Pius VII would attempt to recapture some sort of semblance of the Papal States’ former political power despite over three centuries of steady decline of authority and economic suzerainty over much of Europe. First the Protestant Reformation had stripped much of the Holy Roman Empire and Northern Europe from the Catholic ranks and then even the remaining Catholic Crowns would steadily seek to obtain for themselves the wealth of the church within their lands. By the turn of the 19th century, church revenues were a fraction of past eras and it seemed impossible to believe this could be overturned. Instead, Popes increasingly demanded more contributions from the Papal citizens to compensate for the loss of tithes and other long-time sources of income.

Pius was less concerned with his temporal authority and instead sought to position the church at the head of recent social trends. This included encouraging reform throughout Europe for milder capital punishment standards (Pius VI had done much of this in the Papal States).

But Pius VII in particular was interested in slavery. Both France and Spain, the only Catholic colonial powers left, had both already manumitted their slaves. Seeking the high-road among Europe’s intellectual elites, the Pope would formally issue an Edict stating forced servitude was a sin and contrary to Catholic beliefs. The fact that slavery remained tolerated in the Kingdom of British North America was dismissed as a “Protestant Institution”, a gross rewriting of history as over 80% of the slaves taken from Africa were taken by Catholic nations over the past three hundred years (mainly Portugal and France, the largest overall importers). But Pius VII wanted to score political points in Europe.

However, while Pius was attempting to play continental politics, his lack of attention to his own domains would rise its ugly head. By 1805, the people of the Papal States were fed up and riots soon became common place. The former Princely regions like Tuscany often took the lead. They may have hated their former rulers but they hated the Papacy more. Even Rome itself saw unrest.

Threats to excommunicate any involved in the insurrections would be largely ignored, just as such threats had been ignored by the crowned heads of Spain, France, Portugal and Austria over the years when local monarchs didn’t wish to remit proper funds and authority to the Papacy. The movement towards every greater autonomy of the Churches by the Spanish, Portuguese, French, Austrians, etc, was worrisome at best. Even the assorted Prince-Bishops of the Empire were demanding greater autonomy. Who the hell did they think they were?!

Pius would make the terrible error of judgement by underestimating the depth of anger by the residents of the Papal States. The riots would soon turn to outright revolution. In time, the rebels would call for support from King Victor of Italy (northern). His primary advisor, the coarse Corsican Napoleon Bonaparte had spent years preparing the Italian Army for this opportunity. However, the increasingly irritated Bonaparte would spend precious months attempting to spur the simpering King Victor to action.

Pope Pius VII



Serbia

Just as the Habsburg Emperor was becoming confident that the insurrection in Serbia had been put down, a new peasant rebellion rose up in force. This time, portions of the local gentry and nobility would realize that the Serb people were not willing to remain under Habsburg rule. The very same nobles whom had once aided the House of Habsburg to suppress the peasant revolts were starting to consider independence as inevitable.

However, the Serbs remembered the harsh suppression of the previous rebellions and cast about for support abroad. Other regional orthodox nations like Greece, Bulgaria, Wallachia, Moldavia, etc were sympathetic to their co-religionists but were unwilling to take on even a wounded Habsburg Empire. Besides, there was a history of ethnic rivalry in the Balkans that had only been slowed (but not halted) by the conquest of the region hundreds of years prior by the Turks. Old border conflicts resumed and outright war was often only stayed by Austrian and/or Russian diplomatic intervention.

Therefore, the Serbs sent emissaries to the only power likely to help them in any meaningful way: the Czar Paul I of Russia. The Czar had never been particularly happy with the Serbian, Transylvanian and other Orthodox peoples under a Catholic monarch. However, the Czar did not wish to involve Russian in further expensive conflicts on the Continent. He deemed gains in the east far easier to make and less expensive at that.

But, by 1806, the Czar was perhaps bored with the steady and gradual expansion east and began to see his role as the protector of Orthodox peoples in the Balkans and western Asia.

 

[Alt History Buff]

1806

London

King William IV was facing ever greater internal opposition for his autocratic methods in governing “England”, i.e. what was left of the old House of Hanover on Britain (Wessex). For the past forty years, the Kings of France (and Ireland) had invested much in maintaining the status quote in the island for their own purposes.

But both France and Ireland gradually allowed the situation on Britain to evolve to the point that the new trade confederation between most of Britain was formed almost without even informing the King of France.

William IV, now aging and bitter, would refuse to relinquish his power to his abler and more popular son whom encouraged the reformation of Parliament. Instead the old King would spend more time plotting a reconquest of Britain in his lifetime.

As it so happened, the cassis belli of war would occur without his intervention. In 1806, a random firefight between gangs operating out of England/Wessex and Anglia would draw the attention of official forces of both nations. These forces would forge an even more confusing scene when a four-way battle promptly ensued. By the end of the week, England/Wessex and Anglia were at war.

King William would order his son, Prince William, north into Anglian territory. Though the Heir to the Kingdom actively opposed the declaration of war, Prince William felt obligated to obey his King and Father.

Paris

The aging Louis XVI of France would receive the latest dispatches from Asia almost a year after the events in question. By 1805, it was apparent that the Chinese forces which had gained Vietnam and the Philippines could not be shifted from the South China Sea. Even the regional alliance with the BEIC did little to even the odds. In the meantime, resources had been wasted by France including an entire squadron of French Naval vessels dispatched from Europe which had been battered by repeated storms (to the loss of two ships of the line before even reaching India) and a general wasting of the crews via malaria and hardship. Seeing nothing further to gain and more gold to lose, the French King (via his ministers) agreed to cede the region to China in hopes that a trade agreement could be forged.

The BEIC, which had still bourn hopes of regaining the precious opium trade, would be devasted and forced to return to their base in Batavia, having lost its greatest profit maker. Going forward, the BEIC would spend more time trying to squeeze revenues out of the East Indies and via trade with the Maratha Empire (and other South Asia nations). If anything, the BEIC feared the Chinese would cast a covetous gaze upon the East Indies while the FEIC and the French Government were concerned with possible Chinese encroachment upon Bourbonia.

As it was, neither had much to worry about in the short term. The Chinese Emperor had instead begun to consider returning Nippon to its past (largely fictitious) subordination to China. By 1807, Chinese forces would sail from the ports of China and Korea into the northern island the Nipponese called “Hokkaido” and the southern islands as well. Only Honshu, the main island would be immune for the moment.

Nipponese resistance on these lesser populated islands would be fierce but shortlived. With superior naval forces on hand, the Chinese easily gained control over the waves and cut off the secondary islands from Honshu. The Emperor would demand that the Shogun “do something” about the situation, wryly inquiring what the hell the Shogunate was for if not defending the islands. Humiliated, the true power in Nippon formed his armies only to find passage to the other island difficult to impossible.

It seemed that the Empire of Nippon could do little other than wait for the primary invasion…assuming it came at all.

 

[generalurist]

Peasant revolution in the Papacy? THIS is new.

 

[Alt History Buff]

1806

Commonwealth of Virginia

Unlike most of the Dominions of the Kingdom of British North America, Virginia preferred the term “Commonwealth”. Exactly why, no one knew. There was no real difference in regional government compared to their neighbors. Many suspected it was just an affectation by Virginian gentry whom sought to differentiate themselves from what they considered the ignobility of other, lesser…Americans.

By 1806, it was apparent that the battle to extend slavery outside of the core regions was lost as abolitionism had become the trendy cause of the day. Even the King was openly supportive of the movement despite the theory that Kings are not intended to participate in political discourse.

Indeed, many Virginians of the highest gentry had supported the idea of gradual manumission from the late George Mason and Thomas Jefferson (a martyr to the movement) to the aging and toothless George Washington. Even James Madison, whom owned slaves himself still, would publicly state that the institution had run its course and was inconsistent with long term national goals.

The Methodists and Quakers had long opposed slavery and now, with the Pope formally condemning all Catholics whom practiced the trade (a surprisingly high 5% of the population in tolerant Virginia), yet another faith lined up against slavery. Abolition societies, blaming the secession of western counties into new Dominions upon the handful of gentrified slave-owners, sprung up even in the remaining slave dominions openly preaching their cause. In retaliation, nightriders would strike at the homes of these people, often killing or humiliating them.

The “Slave Power” would find another way to slow the process. By 1806, all of the “Slave Dominions” would pass laws banning the liberation of slaves within their borders. As the national Government had already condemned this practice as illegal in court, the southerners found another way to avoid dealing with freedmen running about Virginia, South Carolina, etc encouraging slaves to flee or rebel.

Local laws demanded that any freedman be forced out of Dominion shores…in contravention of overall British North American edicts. Yet few to any slaveowners bothered to follow American law. Instead, the Dominion (or “Commonwealth” as Virginia insisted) would refuse to recognize any liberation of slaves whom resided within their borders. This would see a modest bump in emigration from these Dominions to the French-run African colonies. But this only amounted to, at best, two to three percent of the slave population in the early 19th century. While liberations continued, they usually involved the former chattel owner personally escorting the freedmen and freedwomen across Dominion borders to freedom.

The Nightriders would not only terrorize resident (and long time) free Negroes with violence but any slave-owners whom opted to manumit their own property. These latter were viewed as traitors to their “way of life” and were subject to harassment or even murder.

This continued wave of violence would turn even moderate men like James Monroe and James Madison away from the pro-slavery radicals. If the death of Thomas Jefferson was not enough to convince many Virginians of the need to rein in these brigands, the act committed in Baltimore’s Royal Theater would turn more heads.

While on the Summer Procession of 1806, King Frederick would take in a play with his longtime military advisor, the aged and toothless (but still vital) General George Washington. A pro-slavery fanatic named Armstrong Hyman Thruston (the man would live in infamy as much for his name as his actions) would determine that King Frederick’s support for prohibiting the expansion of slavery rendered him a tyrant and opted to assassinate him.

King Frederick and General Washington, both tall statuesque men, would be seated in the owners box admiring the skill of the young Lewis Hallam Jr, the foremost Shakespearean actor in America (the Old American Company) when Thruston crept past the oblivious Royal Guards (more interested in the ladies present) and fired his pistol into the powdered wig only a few inches away. The noise startled the guards into action and they managed to catch a glimpse of the assassin as he leapt out the second floor window. Thruston landed awkwardly, his fall broken by the hapless Lewis Hallam Jr. (whom suffered a fractured arm) but badly spraining his ankle. Thruston nevertheless limped to a nearby mount he’d paid a boy to keep ready.

The assassin escaped secure in the knowledge that he’d slain a tyrant.

Unfortunately for him, he hadn’t. For while King Frederick was known to always wear his wig at court, General Washington famously only powdered his own hair. However, in the event of King Frederick’s invitation to the theater, the General pulled out an old wig he’d not worn for years. King Frederick, finding the wig hot in the Baltimore summer, opted against wearing his own (despite his receding hairline). Thus, the assassin mistakenly fired his bullet into the wrong skull, killing the General within minutes.

Embarrassingly, the bullet would pass through the back of the old General’s head and through his pallet. His false teeth (a mix of human and animal teeth) would shoot forward from his mouth in a spray of blood and splatter the injured actor upon the stage below. Later, these teeth would be valuable mementos to members of the crowd.

Thruston would should out the words “Yeah, ut quod” (“Yeah, take that!”) in the excitement rather than the sophisticated pronouncement he’d prepared.

The King…as was the entire country…would be horrified by the event and personally dragged the local Mayor, Sheriff, Army officers, militia, etc and spurred them into action to find the assailant.

But Thruston had escaped into the mist, outrunning the news of the murder.

 

[Alt History Buff]

1806

Austin

General Henry Dearborn would receive word from His Majesty that his actions had been approved after the fact. Given how long ago the capture and execution of James Wilkerson had taken place, Dearborn was confused at the belated recognition. He’d assumed that a Knighthood or Baronetcy would be forthcoming rather than agreement that his actions were justified.

How kind of the King.

After the initial excitement of the raid into San Antonio de Bexar, the concentrated American forces would scatter back to individual garrisons from New Orleans to the Rocky Mountains of the west. With only 1000 American regulars across the settlements along the “contested region” of Spanish Tejas, Dearborn was getting rather bored.

In 1806, the most excitement he’d see was a band of Comanches whom arrived in Austin, not to attack, but to beg the General to kill off those growling, spitting Camels which had been introduced and were now running wild as far west as Santa Fe. Even the Apaches to the west had not caused much in the way of problems.

Then, a Spanish force of 3000 men routed a small troop of American scouts 20 miles south of Austin, something that Dearborn missed as he was sailing north up the Mississippi River to inspect local fortifications.

Africa

In an odd reversal of history, the African freedmen of the Spanish, French and British North American Empires had been encouraged to resettle back in the region of Senegambia, where many of their fore-bearers had been enslaved by rival tribes and then sold to the vast sugar plantations of the Americas.

The once-tentative settlements had expanded over the decades, reaching a population which was stable enough to not only protect themselves but actively expanded into the interior by seizing land once dominated by local tribes. Though Senegambia was hardly a vital resource-providing region, there were exports and, under nominal French authority, the Senegambia “Creoles” would soon dominate the entire region.

Supported by French Catholic priests, the faith would halt the steady encroachment west of Islam. In short order, smaller settlements further south along the coast of west Africa would prosper in similar ways and the Catholic faith would come to dominate most of coastal west Africa.

Pune

The Peshwa would receive a number of petitions from the assorted European companies which maintained trade privileges or land rights within the Maratha Empire. Apparently, the Europeans were worried about China encroaching upon their lands to the east. In truth, the Peshwa was not terribly sympathetic to European feelings about anything. Unlike his father, the current Peshwa did not coddle the Muslims, Christians, foreigners, etc despite the Empire still being reliant (per his ministers of War, the Navy and assorted Economic activities) upon the trading companies or foreign nations for certain manufacturers.

Did not his father make a point to catching up to the west in metallurgy, ship-building, etc?

How was the Empire still behind?

Now some radicals even felt the Middle Kingdom had eclipsed the Martha Empire. The Peshwa was uncertain about this but the calls for some reform remained loud. For years, the Peshwas had fought to restore authority over the local Princes. It seemed foolish to relinquish the advantage to a foreign power.

The Peshwa dispatched a new set of demands to the assorted East India Companies which detailed the type of new manufacturing facilities his Ministers desired. Given the poor performance the assorted Companies had against China, it seemed unlikely they would seek to displease the Peshwa himself.


The Kingdom of Anglia

Despite threats from France, the king of “England” (Wessex) would march the bulk of his army north into Anglia. With surprisingly rapidity, most of the realm fell.

Only the intervention of the King of England’s traitorous son, the King of Northumberland, would keep the whole of Anglia from falling. The German-born King of Anglia (a son of one of the King of England’s sisters) would retreat to his cousin’s Kingdom in Mercia where yet another cousin of the House of Hanover reigned (another of King William IV"s nephews).

All agreed that King William IV must be stopped. However, French intervention must be sought. To their delight, four regiments of French forces arrived in Northumberland prepared to put a stop to this.

 

[Alt History Buff]

1806

Papal States

After over two years of prodding, General Bonaparte finally received approval from King Victor to “assist the revolutionaries” of the Papal States. Constantly fearing for his immortal soul, the King of “Italy” would hesitate at the moment of his potential greatest triumph.

France was a bit busy with their war in Asia (and now England though Bonaparte did not know if the events in England until months later) while Austria faced a new rebellion in Serbia and Transylvania.

The Italian Army would do the unthinkable: invade the very seat of the Catholic Church.

So irate was the overtaxed Italian countryside that the central Italians were simply tired of the temporal power of the Church and revolted en masse against the Pope’s authority. Despite the Pope’s open threat to excommunicate Victor, Bonaparte and anyone whom supported them, the armies of Italy encircled Rome and effectively placed the Pontiff under house arrest.

Cries for aid from the powerful Catholic Nations of Europe – Austria, France and Spain – would draw a surprising lack of interest.


Vienna

The Habsburg Emperor would reply to the impudent Russian Ambassador’s demand to “recognize the independence of Serbia and Transylvania as a matter of fact” by dismissing him from court and ordering the man expelled from the Habsburg lands.

NO ONE made such a command to an Emperor….not even a Czar.

If Paul wanted a damn fight, Francis would give him one.

What he didn’t realize was the Russia had already moved 50,000 men to the borders of Europe and made an alliance with Wallachia and Moldavia.

The Serbs were aggressively assaulting the Bozniaks and Muslim Albanians whom had long deemed the Habsburg crown their best hope of peace. In retaliation for this “betrayal”, entire villages were wiped out and tens of thousands of Bosnian and Albanian Muslims slaughtered.

Despite a mixture of co-religionist entreaties and outright threats, the Kingdoms of Bulgaria and Greece would remain distant to the conflict, the intellectual classes as wear of Russian domination as Habsburg. Indeed, the Habsburg control over Serbia had ensured that the diverse Kingdom spent more time oppressing the Serbs than threatening the other Balkan States. The balance of power between Orthodox Russia and Catholic Vienna had worked out quite well for the small nations of the southern Balkans.

But all of that seemed to be coming to an end. It was quite possible that Bulgaria and Greece may be forced to choose between two very, very bad options. The last thing either nation wanted was an all-powerful Austria or Russia dominating the Balkans.

But that may very well happen no matter their opinions.


Manhattan

The morning correspondence for King Frederick I of British North America was usually a monotonous sequence of reports from the First Lord (John Adams was nothing if not diligent in his communication with the King) as well as reports from the assorted Dominion Governors. Why they felt they needed to report everything directly to the King was a mystery. Frederick suspected that it had more to do with the fact that, as the local Dominion Governors did not report to the national government (Adams), that they felt that entitled/obligated them to take up the King’s time.

Oh, how vital! A bunch of Boston prisoners rioted because the Dominion government keeps feeding them buttered lobster for dinner instead of the more expensive salted pork. Naturally, the King’s attention must be drawn.

Just give the criminals some salted pork and be done with it!

Apparently the dregs of New England’s fishing industry tended to concentrate on the cheap but easy to harvest lobster instead of north Atlantic salmon and other fish which actual human beings WANTED to eat. But should it be Royal Policy to ensure a market for their disgusting harvest?

Most lobster tended to be fed to dogs, ground into meal for export to the slave Dominions or just dumped into fields as fertilizer.

Frederick didn’t understand the need to communicate everything to the crown. Granted, he hated lobster and all shellfish as much as those prisoners probably did but….really?

With another sigh, the King turned to his enormous pile of correspondence. His aides had already separated them into assorted piles: government communiques, foreign correspondence and the inevitable series of private citizen letters wishing the King good health, congratulating the King on his middle child’s 10th birthday and, of course, the multitude of job seekers.

Fortunately for the latter, the King had few offices to give away. In previous generations, his ancestors the Kings of England would utilize large numbers of prestigious and profitable offices to buy the votes in Parliament necessary to push their agendas. From the start, King Frederick and his late father Henry IX had never possessed such a gift of the crown and that both reduced the crown’s political power…as well as gave them a respite from the endless grasping favor-seekers.

Just when the piles of letters looked to be getting a bit more manageable, one of his aides brought in another mound. The aide wisely retreated from the King’s withering glare. This latest packet was international dispatches from other crowned heads. Here, even the First Lord dared not demand to see such letters prior to the King himself, even when the content was related to government. John Adams may be an officious meddler but even he knew his place (and it was not between monarchs).

This letter was from the King of Spain, Carlos IV. Frederick wondered whom had penned it for the dimwit. Clearly the letter itself was written in a different hand than the signature at the bottom. The letter was in French. Despite most nations in the past century or so moving the court language from French to the local tongue, such correspondence continued to be routinely exchanged in French. God knew Carlos IV probably didn’t speak a word of English while Frederick only spoke and read a bit of Spanish, perhaps enough to get the gist of a note. But both men spoke, wrote and read perfect French.

The content of the letter soon became apparent. As was the implied threat.

Immediately, the King sent a message to First Lord Adams to convene a meeting of the government Ministers.

For all intents and purposes, Spain was declaring war.

The Algarve, Southwest province of Spain

In the previous war, Spain had not only taken Brazil from Portugal but the southern province of the Algarve. The Portuguese residents of the region had never been happy with the situation. When the regional privileges of the people slowly eroded over time, a sense of nostalgia for the old order would revive nationalist pride and a sense of revanchism.

A spontaneous rebellion rose up among the peasants, taking the Crown entirely by surprise.

 

[Alt History Buff]

1806

Moscow

Isambard Brunel was considered one of the leading engineers of the age. By 1806, the engineer had already designed several bridges, provided prototypes for new steam-powered vehicles and a host of other innovations. Unfortunately, the engineer was not quite as accomplished at finance and ran into debt, ending up in a Paris debtor’s prison. Eventually, he was released but opted to go abroad to escape his creditors.

With his fame internationally, the engineer found lucrative employment with the Czar whom was desirous of exploring the idea of steam-driven shipping. The massive distances necessary to sail to eastern Siberia and Russian North America was making settlement expensive and problematic. With American and Spanish settlement of Western America encroaching upon the fringes of what the Czar claimed as his own domain, any way to expedite Russian settlement would be welcomed.

Both Brunel and his young son would be put to work on the project. Both Brunels would point out that, even if the experiments with steam-power were successful in the coming years, the sheer distance of sailing from St. Petersburg or the Black Sea around Africa, along the southern Coast of Asia and then northwards to eastern Siberia or Western America would be problematic.

They proposed a pair of solutions:

1. A shortcut through the Suez region of Egypt where the distance between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean was both brief and relatively flat, thus making a Canal quite possible. This alone would cut months off any naval journey by steam or sail.
   
   
2. The potential for steam-engines by rail (already being experimented on in Germany, France and Scotland) was remarkable and, if the Czar would only provide the resources, it was possible to envision a network spanning the nation.
   
   

The second of these ideas was largely laughed at as the pathetically weak steam “trains” could barely make a mile before they ruptured and exploded. A train across Siberia? Absurd.

Still, the Czar granted the Brunel’s huge resources to design steam-driven ships and trains (along with other applications for steam) while dispatching other engineers to Egypt to review the potential for a canal.

Fort Wilkinson, Aethiopia Territory, Kingdom of British North America

The city at the mouth of the Buffalo River (or Bayou) had been named Fort Wilkinson after the founder of the first major American settlement in the region, the late James Wilkinson, perhaps the arch-traitor of American history (more hated than William IV). The execution of Wilkinson (which had helped spark the conflict in process) made the nomenclature of the town somewhat embarrassing but no word had come back to the local officials to change it. Presumably, it would become yet another "Fredericksburg" or something.

But that wasn’t the immediate concern of the local Americans. Rather, the Spanish invasion of the border town of Austin…and its subsequent razing…would be the primary focus of local American attention. Henry Dearborn, at that point in St. Louis, would sail south along the Mississippi when he learned of the Spanish incursion. Fortunately, the ensuing weeks had not been wasted as his able young subordinate, the Virginian Winfield Scott, worked rapidly to gather up as many regulars available from local Dominions and Territories.

By the time Dearborn entered New Orleans, Scott had managed to move over 1250 regulars and 1500 volunteers from east of the Mississippi Delta to Fort Wilkinson. Here, he recruited another 500 volunteers in addition to the local garrison of 250 regulars.

Dearborn would be pleased with the assemblage of forces though he knew that further reinforcements would probably be months away and the volunteers could hardly be counted to stay indefinitely. From the supply standpoint, the massed American forces were perhaps not as bad off as one might expect as large quantities of powder, shot and some other materials had been stored along the frontier to fight off the regular Indian raids. While these munitions were hardly expected to carry an army of 4500 for long, at least it was something.

Other items of concern was a lack of artillery (only four small and four medium mobile cannon were available, hardly ideal for a major battle). Horses were in adequate supply but even the most rigorous “acquisition” of wagons, mules, camels and other logistical necessities never brought the total to acceptable levels.

This left Dearborn and Scott in a precarious position. Initial reports led the Americans to believe that the town of Austin had been abandoned after it was burned (otherwise, why would the Spanish burn it if they'd intended to stay?). The only other reasonable target for the Spanish in the weeks since the grandiose (and largely bloodless) “Battle of Austin” was Fort Wilkinson. Since the Spanish hadn’t, in fact, arrived at Fort Wilkinson, the assumption must be that they had opted to return home to San Antonio de Bexar.

In its own way, Dearborn’s decision process was easy: he could march on San Antonio de Bexar.

Or not.

There didn’t appear to be much else he could do with his army as his supply situation mixed with the rugged terrain of the region ensured he wouldn’t make it to Monterrey (the closest Spanish city of note) even without battle.

Though Dearborn was perhaps not the most jingoistic of American Generals, he knew that it was difficult to explain to his men just why he’d assembled them all with so much effort and personal sacrifice only to sit them in Fort Wilkinson for weeks to months and then discharging them having accomplished nothing. Moreover, it was highly possible that the war may continue for quite some time. Failing to act now may cripple America’s war effort in the West. He could not imagine too many of these patriotic volunteers offering there services again after he wasted their time.

Seeing no point in “reconquering” the flattened Austin, Dearborn loaded up his personnel as best he could and marched west towards San Antonia de Bexar, the site of the “Wilkinson’s Last Stand”, or “Wilkinson’s Swing”.

 

[Alt History Buff]

good TL. binge-read it all.

Much appreciated. I've been out on vacation a week and am just now getting to posting my latest chapters. Thanks for reading.

 

[Alt History Buff]

What she doesn't know is that Americans asking permission to settle is just a formality.

Well, it's time to make your bets on how much longer the Spanish Empire is going to last. Probably longer than OTL but not by much.

I agree that the Queen of Spain probably doesn't have a good grasp on the scene on the ground. But her concern is political. The empty borderlands probably don't matter directly to Spain's economy or military situation but pride is a problem in its own right.

 

[dakkafex]

Aw man, Isambard Brunel's back in action, and working for the Russians this time. If it's anything like his performance in the Quasi-War series, I fully expect Tsarist steamships blockading the Adriatic Hapsburg ports within six months.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Aha, I read that to mean that 1) I expected a closer relationship because of the efforts previous kings of France in the mid-18th century made to capture Spain to the Bourbon dynastic system. But I suppose a lot of water has flowed under the bridges since then, and France has had bigger fish to fry, and whether these folks in Madrid are in some soap opera ancestry sense intertwined with the French dynasty, that doesn't have a lot of bearing on present day French policy one way or the other. Any more than the American king being a Hanover means any Hanovers in England would automatically harmonize with American policy.

So 2) I was angling for this information, the status of Franco-Hispanic relations, and you've given it--and had it been "France has always been very close" I'd be looking for some French envoy at the court being consulted to coordinate this policy; had it been "they are hostile!" I'd write off French support.

But this is perfect for you as a storyteller as well as plausible; I'm sitting here trying to guess whether the French will see war on Hanoverian America as an opportunity, or a tangled mess to stay out of, and all I can come up with now "it depends!" and "wait and see!"

Without France in the mix, I suspect Adams, except for the part about betting on no war at all, is probably right...it will be difficult for the "Jonathans" as I am calling them to project power to really hurt Spanish core holdings, and difficult for the Spanish to project power to really hurt either the core of English speaking American power or even do a whole lot beyond encouraging a few more Native raids against its frontier periphery. The naval duel has Spain holding the advantage...on paper, but most of those hulls are rotten and old.

If somehow the war starts and then drags on, over time I expect the American Royal Navy to grow rapidly into a serious force to be reckoned with, what with all the shipbuilding capability of American yards from New England to at least the Chesapeake--certainly Baltimore. Not sure about Charleston as a shipyard, and possibly there is stuff happening in East Florida and even West Florida that did not OTL.

Does the American based kingdom still hold Bermuda and the Bahamas? Or were any of those included in the islands the post mentions Spain getting from Britain's collapse?

I think possibly the hottest front in such a war might not be Tejas, actually, but perhaps Cuba, and if the Spanish are aggressive enough, those islands off Florida and south Florida itself. And of course if the Jonathans (I keep saying that because I can't say "Americans," the Spanish Empire is largely American too) do make a lot of warships they will probably include loads of commerce raiders, who can range all over the world attacking Spanish shipping and God knows who else.

Good points, I think that both America and Spain may have trouble projecting power.

This is similar to an short alternative history story I once read called the "Whale and the Wolf" regarding a war in the 1890's between America and Britain.

 

[Alt History Buff]

But Bermuda and the Bahamas are not Caribbean. Well maybe the latter are, there is also Barbados and I'd have to remind myself where that is and whether it is out of the Caribbean or not.

Honestly, I don't see why the American kingdom would not have been able to hang on to more, even in the Caribbean. The heart of the Royal Navy was broken, but the ships still existed, so did the crews. Given the fact that they still had
North America nearby for resupply and repairs, I don't see why they couldn't assert the king's claim to hold them in continuity.

So between the ascendency of France and the fact England was overrun and subjugated, surely the RN remnants would be weak, and the American king might waive his claim to some islands, and simply be unable to back his claim to others.

But the nearer to those North American ports, the more the remnant of the RN could congregate and concentrate on these fewer islands.

So I ask about the mid Atlantic islands, not the Caribbean--I did ask about all of them, Caribbean is asked and answered and that is plausible though it would hardly have been crazy for some outposts in the Caribbean and all around the world to hold to Hanoverian claims.

But Bermuda? Barbados? Bahamas? These are all close to OTL US shores and therefore to Hanoverian American ones. I'd think it would have been deemed worthwhile to hang on to what shards of empire were left, at least those nearby.

Thanks for replying, you are right about Bermuda and the Bahamas not being technically Caribbean though I don't think anyone in the early 19th century would know much about tectonic plates.

Early in this TL, I went into detail about the weakness of the initial Kingdom of British North America. Indeed, that weakness actually HELPED maintain control over French Louisiana as a bankrupt France expended so much effort, resources and funding to assume control over the British Caribbean that literally years passed before France even bothered looking at the comparably valueless Louisiana. By that time peace was necessary for France to stave off bankruptcy.

But the American Kingdom effectively lost all Caribbean/North Atlantic islands except Grand Bahama itself. Spain and France control the rest of the Caribbean. Though America's naval power in this TL is stronger than OTL 1806, I don't see the resources or political will to launch in invasion of Cuba or any other major islands (Jamaica, Santo Domingo, etc).