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

[Alt History Buff]

Winter 1821 / 1822

Milwaking, Marquette Territory

Over the course of the winter of 1821/22, Brevet-Colonel Sam Houston (his "Brevet" designation would soon be removed by the King in the spring as a sign of His Majesty's favor) would see his "army" wither away to practically nothing as most of the volunteer militia and Indian allies went home.

He was pleased to see young Abraham return as promised. Evidently, the youth enjoyed his months with the Cahokia tribe to the west. Dozens of American soldiers and militia had spent the winter with the tribes without incident. Indeed, the assorted tribes of the Illini Confederation were grateful for the material assistance to rebuild their villages.

Abraham Lincoln was something of an exception. Though the offer of another bonus kept a few militia volunteers in arms, in reality all Houston had left was about 100 regulars barracked in Milwaking. Lincoln was among twenty or so militia to reelist for another season. Even the young man Houston would later learn was the boy's stepbrother, John Johnston, had gone home to Shawnee. Lincoln reminded the twenty-nine year old officer of himself. Houston had not come from wealth either and the Colonel had effectively educated himself for much of his childhood, as did apparently Lincoln.

Lincoln proved diligent and, unlike many of the other militia, was literate. Houston would make the gangly youth his secretary and form a strong bond. Indeed, he would allow Lincoln access to his small collection of books and inspire Lincoln's love of law (Houston was studying for the Bar when his King called him to service).

Manhattan

"What do you think of these reports of gold in Russian America?" King Frederick I of British North America inquired.

First Lord Eli Whitney was in favor with His Majesty, partially because he spoke plainly. He didn't mince his words, "I fear that our people may spill across the borders to Russian America, perhaps jeopardizing our relationship."

The King seemed concerned. "I don't wish our people to turn to burglary, sir."

"Nor I, Your Majesty. I'm sure that this gold rush will peter out quickly."

"Very well. In the meantime, do we recognize this new breakaway state in...what was it....California?"

Whitney shook his head, "I don't believe anyone knows what will happen in New Spain. Maybe Spain will reconquer it shortly. I see no reason to involve ourselves in a situation we don't understand."

"Mmmmmm," the King murmured. "Any likelihood that this Iturbide would let it rest if California broke away from New Spain......er.....Anahuac?"

"I doubt it, sir. I fear our neighbors are in for no end of turmoil."

"A pity. Now, on to the Negro settlements in the west, how is the funding for the planting of freedmen on the plains......"

Over the course of several hours, the King and his First Lord discussed a variety of issues facing Parliament, including the delays on the new canals in the north and west, the expansion up the Mississippi and rewarding that fellow Sam Houston for his victory in Marquette Territory.

 

[Alt History Buff]

I think you have the wrong period for the quote and the wrong family...
That quote of Napoleon is from the 100 Days as Marie Therese, then Duchesse d’Angouleme was the only member of the main House of Bourbon who had given him real trouble during his triumphal return from the island of Elba while her uncle the King, her other uncle/father-in-law, her cousin/husband and cousin/brother-in-law all had done much less against him.

Ah, that is right. It was the 100 days. Thanks.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Summer, 1822

Guadalajara, Kingdom of Anahuac

Though he longed to return to his home city of Valladolid, Congress had determined that Guadalajara...for the time being until the possession of the Valley of Mexico was determined...would remain the capital of the new Kingdom. Both New Spain and Anahuac continued to raid the region, both claiming it as their own. The result was the devastation of the lush valley while the city itself had been first torched to the ground, then inundated with water after the system of drainage tunnels and dykes keeping the city above water had collapsed for lack of maintenance. The ancient Mexico capital had effectively been erased with only the tops of certain buildings visible during the rainy season.

But the new Kingdom had other worries:

When would the inevitable attempt by New Spain to regain the region by force arrive?

Only the apparent war in Naples kept the Spanish Crown from launching a war of reconquest.

How would the nation expect to remain economically viable as the primary port to the world, Veracruz, upon which nearly 95% of all exports from New Spain sailed, would obviously be cut off to the new Kingdom which lacked an outlet to the Caribbean?

Without this, only shipping from the Pacific remained an option. Unfortunately, there were few customers for the assorted products produced by the Kingdom as the Spanish Empire, the runaway Kingdom of California and Russian America being their only neighbors. Poverty seemed granted.

Could the nation even survive as a viable entity as the war between centralism and regionalism was waged...and lost?

Already California had broken off from Anahuac and there was a fear that, bit by bit, the nation would tear itself into indefensible pieces.

Perhaps worst of all, the political infighting was almost intolerable and crippled the nation. Augustin de Iturbide was fighting Congress over control of the nation's meager financial and military resources. He often wondered just when the inevitable coup would arrive. Several Generals were already whispering in dark alcoves with key members of Congress.

As it would happen, Iturbide would not have to see this come to pass. As the sewage system of Guadalajara failed due to lack of investment and maintenance, an epidemic of cholera swept through the young nation, carrying away thousands of lives including Iturbide.

This left the nation in crisis. Would another General assume the throne? Or would Congress prefer to put the 15 year old Prince upon the throne?

As it turned out, Congress had had quite enough of military men in command after Iturbide had threatened constantly to assume a dictatorship. Would any of the other Generals act any differently?

In the end, the true decision by Congress was not so much between the teenager and another military man but between the teenager and a Republican form of government. By a close vote, it was determined that putting a weak teenager on the throne was better than the horrors of a democracy. Spaniards, both metropolitan and colonial, were inherently conservative in such matters and maintaining a monarchy just seemed safer than a more radical approach.

In September of 1822, Augustin II of Anahuac would be crowned King (nominally because they wanted to wait until his 15th birthday but really to give Congress time to decide what to do about the crown). It would be nearly a decade before the young King would serve as any more than a cipher to his Ministers.

In the meantime, the feuding Ministers would struggle to maintain a viable government. Virtually all of the silver and gold mines remained under Spanish control. Unfortunately, the lands to the north rumored to be producing gold had long since fallen to the Russians. Attempts to build export industries around tobacco, sugar, cocoa and other products (often produced along the eastern coasts) were stillborn for lack of viable ports. Even shipping from the Pacific was impossible as Spain would prevent virtually all shipping around South America simply by refusing neutral nations the use of their ports.

Eventually, the Kingdom of Anahuac would become ever more cut off from the world.

 

[Kaiko]

Just to clarify, the Kingdom of Anahuac is the pink section in the 1821 Map of North America right? If that's the case then a lack of access to the Atlantic is only one of their problems.

Even if Anahuac could make a deal to access the Atlantic for trading, they wouldn't have much to sell.

From that map it looks like Anahuac has the least populated states from OTL Mexico and contains the more drought prone land in the area. I'd be surprised if Anahuac could feed itself much less having an excess to sell.

The low population density also makes it difficult to industrialized and limits tax revenue.

The way I see it, Anahuac will have to annex the populous east for economic security or remain a poor unstable kingdom.

But then again OTL Mexico had these populated regions and was still an unstable mess up until the 20th century so anything could happen.

 

[Alt History Buff]

 

[Alt History Buff]

Just to clarify, the Kingdom of Anahuac is the pink section in the 1821 Map of North America right? If that's the case then a lack of access to the Atlantic is only one of their problems.

Even if Anahuac could make a deal to access the Atlantic for trading, they wouldn't have much to sell.

From that map it looks like Anahuac has the least populated states from OTL Mexico and contains the more drought prone land in the area. I'd be surprised if Anahuac could feed itself much less having an excess to sell.

The low population density also makes it difficult to industrialized and limits tax revenue.

The way I see it, Anahuac will have to annex the populous east for economic security or remain a poor unstable kingdom.

But then again OTL Mexico had these populated regions and was still an unstable mess up until the 20th century so anything could happen.

Yes, Anahuac received the less populous, less developed and less-resource bearing western "states".

I've attached a new map above to reflect the seperation of California.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Quebec
Montreal
Nova Scotia
Charlottia (New Brunswick, former Acadia west of the Isthmus of Chignecto)
Newfoundland
Vermont (including the contested Hampshire Grants and the western portion of the former district of Maine under the colony of Massachusetts)
Sagadahock (formerly the eastern portion of the district of Maine under the colony of Massachusetts)
Massachusetts
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Connecticut
New York
Long Island
Manhattan
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Delaware
Maryland
Virginia
Kanawha (West Virginia)
North Carolina
Catabwa (West North Carolina)
South Carolina
Wateree (West South Carolina)
Georgia
West Florida (South Alabama, South Mississippi and Florida Panhandle)
Mississauga (Peninsular Ontario)
Maumee (Western Kentucky)
Shawnee (Eastern Kentucky)
Westsylvania (Western Pennsylvania)
Watauga (Eastern Tennesee)
Tennessee (Western Tennesee)
Hanover (Louisiana)
Caledonia (Parts of Northern Texas and Oklahoma)
Aethiopia (Southern Texas and parts of northeast Mexico)
Arkansas
Miami (OTL Indian)
Ohio (Most of OTL Ohio)
Michigan (Lower Peninsula)
East Florida and the Bahama Islands (Florida minus Panhandle)
Indiana (northern Mississippi and Alabama)
Chicago (Illinois)

 

[Kaiko]

Since it is the early to mid 19th century, tensions within various Spanish viceroyalties are definitely present and are stirring trouble for the crown.

If homegrown movements for independence from Spain build in Latin America, how likely is it that the eastern of OTL Mexico would want to form their own country and not join Anahuac?

A separate, populated, and centrally organized Mexican kingdom could do well for itself, but Anahuac would definitely want to take over and incorporate the eastern land. A poor desperate kingdom looking at your land and saying "Soon..." is a cause for concern.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Since it is the early to mid 19th century, tensions within various Spanish viceroyalties are definitely present and are stirring trouble for the crown.

If homegrown movements for independence from Spain build in Latin America, how likely is it that the eastern of OTL Mexico would want to form their own country and not join Anahuac?

A separate, populated, and centrally organized Mexican kingdom could do well for itself, but Anahuac would definitely want to take over and incorporate the eastern land. A poor desperate kingdom looking at your land and saying "Soon..." is a cause for concern.

I'm not sure if this TL would necessarily follow the OTL cadence of Latin American independence movements. Here, there is no American Republic to inspire the Latins. Though I have a relative democracy in America, it is still a monarchy under a Protestant King. That probably would not inspire as much. Also, there was no jarring event like the Spanish loss of the 7 Years War, the defeats of the Napoleonic Wars, no Joseph Bonaparte to rebel against and no Carlist Civil War.

I think the Spanish Empire may last decades longer in this scenario, even without major reforms. New Spain in this scenario was somewhat of a unique situation as it was effected by the American war.

Barring some real intent to reform (something few monarchies or their European governments are inclined to do), i think the almost inevitable Revolutionary period and dissolution of the Spanish Empire may be closer to 50 years in coming rather than 10 years after the fall of Spain to Napoleonic France.

As for my Kingdom of Anahuac, I think it would like to invade New Spain but simply, as you stated, have the population or financial resources to do so. Only inciting rebellion within New Spain itself would accomplish that.

Also, the longer each of these new nations remains apart, the less powerful the pull of creating a single state would be. OTL Mexico had a long history of division between centralists and federalists. If Anahuac or California had been independent, self-governing entities for years or decades, how much more likely would they be to even WANT to be united with the rest of Mexico?

I've often had Mexico being divided up in my TL's as that always seemed a likely end to Mexico, much like Central America was divided up. Compared to the United States, Mexico lacked several unifying factors that the US had at the time:

1. A history of some level of democracy as opposed to the Strongman/Alcalde paradigm.
2. A common threat be it powerful Catholic nations like France/Spain on the borders or potential reconquest by Great Britain. Mexico, by 1821, had no realistic fear of being reconquered by Spain and had no immediate threats on the border (including the US which would be decades away from being a threat).

In my mind, if a few things went differently, Mexico could have Balkanized like Central America or like the Great Britain of this TL.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Fall 1822

Saint Domingue

Over the course of the past few decades as new waves of largely involuntary migrants arrived in Saint Domingue (and increasinly Santo Domingo as the line between the French and Spanish sides of the island blurred), certain groups would come to be identified with certain crops.

The French and Spanish old families remained attached to the declining sugar industry.
The Mulattos controlled the highland coffee plantations.
Newly freedmen would grow cotton.
Romani grew tobacco.
Jews grew indigo.

By the 1820's, Coptic Christians ejected from Egypt were being resettled in the Balkans, and facing resistance there, the Russian Czar would ship many to the French West Indies.

Arriving in Saint Domingue, the first Copts would, like other waves of migrants, be met with resistance by other groups despite adequate land being available for all. It would be left to the Copts to find their own niche.

They found an odd one. For over three hundred years after conquering most of North America, the Spanish Crown had spent most of their efforts in the extraction of precious metals from the colonies. However, there were the occasional attempt at finding profitable crops. One of these was the development of the cochineal dye industry. Cochineal were small insects which produced a vibrant and long-lasting dye. For nearly 200 years, Spain managed to keep the true secret of this sustainble crop to themselves and it usually was the second most profitable export from the New World for the Spanish Empire. However, in 1777, a handful of bugs were smuggled out upon the cactus leaves on which they spent their lives by a French planter from Saint Domingue. Assorted attempts to create a new industry were forestalled by the wars of the past 50 years.

When the initial Copts arrived on Saint Domingue, they were forced to find a new way to sustain themselves. The land they received was more barren (the best land long taken by others) but happened to have the plantations originally seeded by the cochineal bug. It had spread along the arid region and provided a ready-made crop much of Saint Domingue had ignored. For the next fifty years (when artificial dyes became available), the Copts would dominate this crop and reap great profits as the once-dominant cochineal production in New Spain would languish under local political unrest.

 

[Shevek23]

Compared to the United States, Mexico lacked several unifying factors that the US had at the time:

1. A history of some level of democracy as opposed to the Strongman/Alcalde paradigm.
2. A common threat be it powerful Catholic nations like France/Spain on the borders or potential reconquest by Great Britain. Mexico, by 1821, had no realistic fear of being reconquered by Spain and had no immediate threats on the border (including the US which would be decades away from being a threat).

You may recall I had some excitement at the idea that a more rational and flexible Spanish regime was evolving in this ATL, and that the outcome might be that the great Spanish empire might hold as a whole.

Now all those hopes have been well and truly dashed, but I do wonder if instead some of the things that looked to me like hopeful elements cementing the Empire as a whole might instead serve to empower specific dynasties of royal pretenders to define balkanized but by and large persistent, enduring Latin American successor kingdoms.

For instance, you mentioned a greater indulgence of colonists from other parts of (Catholic) Europe than Castile being allowed to develop moderate degrees of colonial industry--more advanced mining, various mill work, trade, etc. Could such enterprise, better established in some districts and cities, form the nuclei of a consensus in a region agreeing that a particular notable local person is in fact the natural regional leader and give such a person a solid basis of power to claim kingship on a fairly stable basis?

So, Spanish America might shatter much as OTL, and considerably earlier than the 1850s, but on the basis of various larger or smaller regions under kings who have no strongly contending rivals in their bailiwick. Then over years, decades and generations, some of these realms would hit upon a solution for stability and expansion--be it a strong dynasty, or a system for choosing successor kings aside from mere heredity that avoids splitting the realm into civil war--and these tend to eat up the weaker less stable neighbors, either by outright conquest or by hegemony.

Something like this seems to be happening in California already, and differently, in Anahuac--in the latter, it seems that local notables have decided to square the circle of which of many contending families will strive for the crown by agreeing to let Iturbide's minor son be the nominal king, and then I suppose evolve a more or less checked and balanced court power structure that will pull the heir's puppet strings by negotiated consensus of the important families. Whereas in California, there appears to be a single strong man that the various possible rivals all acknowledge is the most reasonable choice for single leader.

Either system could go down in shipwreck, and either could evolve into something that is fairly stable and capable.

 

[ShortsBelfast]

I think you have the wrong period for the quote and the wrong family...
That quote of Napoleon is from the 100 Days as Marie Therese, then Duchesse d’Angouleme was the only member of the main House of Bourbon who had given him real trouble during his triumphal return from the island of Elba while her uncle the King, her other uncle/father-in-law, her cousin/husband and cousin/brother-in-law all had done much less against him.

This is a common meme where a strong courageous woman shows up her male counterparts by contrast. Margaret Thatcher was described as the only man in the Conservative Party and, here in NI during the Troubles, the formidable head of St. Louise's Comprehensive School, the late Sister Genevieve who had a steely determination that the Troubles would not be allowed to affect the education of her pupils was known as the only man on the Falls Road.

 

[isabella]

This is a common meme where a strong courageous woman shows up her male counterparts by contrast. Margaret Thatcher was described as the only man in the Conservative Party and, here in NI during the Troubles, the formidable head of St. Louise's Comprehensive School, the late Sister Genevieve who had a steely determination that the Troubles would not be allowed to affect the education of her pupils was known as the only man on the Falls Road.

Look, I was just correcting the contest of Napoleon’s phrase about Marie Therese as he was thinking to both the wrong timeframe and the wrong relatives, but the attribution of the quote was correct

 

[ShortsBelfast]

Look, I was just correcting the contest of Napoleon’s phrase about Marie Therese as he was thinking to both the wrong timeframe and the wrong relatives, but the attribution of the quote was correct

And I was pointing out that it may have been stolen and reused by students of history down the generations and also spontaneously reinvented by wits who had studied no history down the generations as well. I wasn't in any way questioning your attribution.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Spring, 1823

Milwaking, Marquette Territory

In truth, Brevet-Lieutenant Abraham Lincoln had never expected to look upon the visage of a crowed head. He'd always just assumed that a King would somehow be otherworldly. However, the old man seated in Milwaking's most impressive house (not much competition there as only this one had two stories) was just that....an old man. Yet, there remained a cool aura of authority to King Frederick I of British North America.

No one really thought that the man would ever set foot in the embarrassingly backwater town of Milwaking. While His Majesty had long made a practice of visiting every new Dominion, usually within a year or two of its initiation into the brotherhood of Dominion, it was assumed that his belated Summer Tour through Chicago would end there. However, His Majesty, whom made good time via the new from the Hudson to the Great Lakes, would find himself with weeks to spare and opted to visit the battlegrounds of Marquette, eventually arriving in the desolate outpost of Milwaking where Governor Sam Houston struggled to maintain his authority over fractious settlers, obnoxious town residents and sullen local Indian tribes of the Illini Federation.

Still, nothing prepared the Governor for His Majesty's actual arrival despite word that Frederick I would, if he had time, make his way north.

Lacking any modern amenities, Houston did his best. His Breveted staff officers like Lincoln (really just "gentlemen volunteers" whom acted as clerks and messengers based upon their literacy) would scramble to clean up the town as best they could, often staying up late in the days preceding His Majesty's arrival covering up the town dump with a layer of soil (a failed endeavor as the smell proved unkillable in the late spring sunshine).

Having relatively few military heroes since the end of the Spanish War, His Majesty would take the time to Knight the stunned Governor and officially promote Sam Houston (only a month past thirty) top full Brigadier General in the American Army. His Majesty also brought with him approval for Houston to recruit a full Regiment to patrol the northern frontier. Honored beyond measure, the General could barely reply to Frederick's kind words.

His Majesty even deigned to offer regular army commissions to those "brave men whom led the battle against the Illini and, more importantly, won the peace". As most of the veteran officers had long since returned to their own posts and the militia volunteers similarly gone home, the King inquired if Houston had any recommendations for the battlefield commissions. It seemed that the handful of West Point graduates were not eager to be posted to such remote conditions and several flatly threatened to resign than be assigned to Milwaking. Two long-serving regular army sergeants and four militiamen whom had served with distinction were recommended by the new General, names which HIs Majesty promptly noted upon the official commissions.

Among these was young Abraham Lincoln, himself barely into the teens and could only with hesitation bring himself into the King's presence (and the loan of an old uniform of Sam Houston, one which comically draped over the fourteen year old's slender shoulders. Had the King bothered to ask the age of the gangly volunteer, it was likely that such a commission would not be approved. However, Frederick I did, in fact, not ask (perhaps due to his desire to escape the vile air of the little frontier town).

Manhattan

First Lord Eli Whitney, an ardent emancipationist, was himself getting tired of the radicals. In 1810, the Emancipation law went into effect in which slaves could be effectively "sold" to the government for the purpose of manumission. After that, no more Federal funds could be distributed for such a purpose from 1820 to 1830, the latter year being the official end of slavery in the Kingdom of British North America. Millions of American Pounds Sterling had been spent on manumissions and many in the government secretly rejoiced in 1820 that no further funds would be required.

With only seven years of slavery left to suffer, Whitney was willing to let the institution die a gradual death. There was the occasional pro-slavery radical proclaiming that forced emancipation was unjust but, even in the remaining slave dominions, this was but a vocal minority. The attempted regicide by Armstrong Hymen Thruston all those years ago put an end to much sympathy among the non-slave dominions. By 1823, there were nearly twice as many free blacks in America as enslaved and that ratio increased by the day as large numbers of slaves continued to escape to "free" dominions where slave-catching was illegal. Despite the end of paid emancipation, there was also a steady trickle of voluntary emancipations as slaves whom "did their years" were released at the Dominion borders by fair masters (though many of these were old and worn out slaves, useless in the fields and now just mouths to feed).

Despite the obvious dying breaths of the institution, Whitney continued to be harrassed by anti-slavery activists whom demanded an immediate end of the practice. While the periodic slave rebellions in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina had largely abated, the public had come to enjoy their moral superiority in denigrating the institution. It always made for good copy in the scandal rags.

Whitney, though he feared for the expense, quietly began to consult with his Ministers and with members of Parliament if it might not be practical to set aside the Manumission Act of 1810's provisions of a hard end to reparations to slave-owners by 1820 and moving up the 1830 deadline for the end of slavery by a few years.

Unfortunately, word swiftly reached the public and the institution was once again brought to the fore as slave owners in the slave Dominions decried the "theft" (though intended to be paid) while those in the rest of the nation flatly refused to pay another shilling for liberating men whom should always have been free.

Whitney was attacked by all sides and felt his majority in Parliament shudder.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Spring, 1823

Sicily

Having spent the winter of 1823 (which could get rather cool in the mountains of southern Italy, the former Kingdom of Naples), General Napoleon Bonaparte of Italy would not waste time fortifying Naples against an inevitable Spanish onslaught. Though the Regent of Italy, the Empress-Prince Maria Beatrice, was not as timid as her father, the woman was taken aback by Bonaparte's plans for the spring. She'd assumed that any further aggression was impossible given the presence of the Spanish Navy. However, Bonaparte had consulted with several naval officers of various nationalities and came to the conclusion that the Spanish Navy was at its nadir. Large numbers of ships had fallen into disuse for lack of crews and funds and rotted in various harbors. Only a handful of properly fitted and crewed ships were available in European waters (many of the best were in the Americas) and the reforms of Carlos III had faded under the long darkness under Carlos IV.

Carlos V, the new monarch, was attempting to reform (as so many had before) the navy, army, bureaucracy, economy, etc of Spain but every action was stymied by reactionary elements, stagnation and societal malaise.

Beyond the occasional foray by the Spanish navy into various Italian ports, as often as not ending in modest damage at best, the Spanish Navy had failed to do much at all, Even the Italian merchant trade had not been terribly impacted, much to general European amusement. The proud Spanish Navy which had helped conquer England and Brazil generations earlier had faded. Little to no investment had been made towards steam engine vessels.

Indeed, most of these ships remained at anchor in various Iberian ports. This left another Spanish Bourbon possession vulnerable: Sicily. While the island was "Italian" in nature, it remained geographically isolated from mainland Italy as well as culturally and politically (Sicily had a separate government from Naples, though Carlos V had proposed merged the two into a Kingdom of Naples and Sicily in the past). Sicily had long been the crossroads of the Mediterranean, a land of plenty coveted by many for its lush fields over the ages.

Here, Bonaparte would see his opportunity and take it. Hundreds of ships were assembled, almost without informing the Regent and the Italian Admiralty (success or failure would not be due to the Italian Navy but Spanish administrative incompetence), and sailed upon Bonaparte's order. Over 5,000 "Italian Volunteers" (really including about 2000 regulars and 3000 picked Neapolitan militia) would set sail west, uncertain of their fate for it was still feared that Spain would conjure up some great Armada from thin air. Indeed, the invasion force would face virtually no naval resistance with two out of the three Spanish capital ships in eastern Sicilian harbors would surrender without firing a shot at the invaders.

His army would disembark in assorted smaller harbors (believed to be less well defended) and rouse the countryside with calls for Italian patriotism and nationalism. In truth, the message found a mixed response. Sicily had quietly prospered by being unique. Would being a disconnected province of a greater Italy be particularly enticing to Sicilians?

As it was, the Sicilians had been dealing for years with a particularly disliked Spanish governor under Carlos IV. Riots took place as well as refusal to pay taxes. Under the semi-regency of then-Prince Carlos, the Spanish would take a hard line, irritating the Sicilians by arresting local leaders and punishing entire towns for their opposition. When Prince Carlos became Carlos V, he summarily ordered dozens of local officials replaced by Spaniards and mainland Italians, bringing local resentment against both Iberians and Italians to a boil.

Bonaparte's forces dispatched the modest Spanish garrison supporting the island's governor. Assuming this meant that his invasion was complete, Bonaparte pronounce Sicily as part of Italy....all without consulting any of the local notables or nobility. Almost without prompting, the island's population, fed up with all "foreigners" rose up and slaughtered hundreds of mainland Italians AND Spaniards. Within weeks, the Italians had fled to a handful of ports and opted to withdraw. Only then did the Spanish Navy arrive in any kind of force and scattered the Italian ships. Dozens of vessels were taken, other forced to flee, many remained in port facing a restive Sicilian population.

Eventually, the Spanish Navy were forced out by lack of provisions, poor weather and an outbreak of fevers. This allowed the remnants of the Italian force to negotiate a departure from Sicilian shores.

By the end of 1823, the island of Sicily was free of foreign forces and a lively debate was ongoing as to the future of the Kingdom, currently without an effective King. Under the former sailor, Ruggero Settimo, the Sicilians would argue back and forth, always fearful of an invasion from either east or west.

Throughout the entirety of this episode, the great powers of Europe - France, Austria and Russia - barely acknowledged the battle. Most assumed that either Spain or Italy would prevail quickly enough and were just as surprised as any when the Sicilians determined to choose their own destiny.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Fall, 1823

San Diego, Kingdom of California

"King" Jose Michelena still could not comprehend what was happening as he donned his silver (his people could not afford gold) crown and swore an oath to protect his nation. While not a radical democrat as others were, the politician and soldier would still feel awkward joining the ranks of monarchy (he was quite certain that his reign would be short). California had few goods worth trading and currently even fewer trading partners. Lacking an economic base, the nation's future seemed bleak and Michelena did not know how having a King would improve fortunes in a subsistence economy.

As it so happened, he was not the only one facing the dilemma.

Messina, Sicily

Ruggero Settimo was a former naval officer, a minor noble and the driving force behind the independence movement. Initial calls for Sicily, once it had driven the Spanish and Italians from their shores, to summon a King from the ranks of the House of Bourbon, swiftly were replaced by the debate between forming a Republic or looking in more obscure corners of the European ruling class for a new monarch.

Fearing the potential chaos would divide the nation, an agreement was reached for a constitutional monarchy akin to the Americans and a few other nations. Settimo was in his mid-forties and an impassioned advocate for Sicilian Independence (he had actually been part of the Republican faction) and deemed less threatening than other ambitious men.

Thus, to the general outrage and amusement of Europe, the central Mediterranean Island promote a minor noble to King. Both Crowns of Spain and Italy refused to acknowledge this and vowed to reconquer (or conquer, in the case of Maria Beatrice of Italy) the island. As it so happened, the Sicilians would call all able-bodied men to the militia in anticipation of the inevitable invasion.

They would wait...and wait...and then wait some more. Beyond some petty harrassment, no immediate attack presented itself.

Malta

Generations before, the Spanish Crown had seized Malta, then considered a vital possession in the Mediterranean. Though largely left to their own devices over the years, the local population nevertheless grew annoyed with the local Spanish overlords and, seeing the Spanish so easily ejected from New Spain (most Maltese did not realize that only a small portion of the vast Spanish Empire in America had rebelled), Naples and Sicily, they opted to revolt as well.

Like many other peoples, the Maltese did not have a set plan as to what path they desired their nation to pursue, only that they were not happy with the world as is.

 

[Tarabas]

So, Malta is ready for the taking. Any chance they join Sicily? I found rather amusing the turn of events in Sicily, I did not expect Napoleon to fail that miserably. By the way, I have some questions regarding Italy.
1) How is this Unification go? On the side of developing of National identity and so on. I imagine that it would be wildly different without the French Revolution and OTL Napoleon.
2) Will they develop a decent Navy? The decline of the Spanish and the lack of British makes the Mediterranean ripe of opportunity (I am unsure of the state of the French Mediterranean Navy, though).
As a side note, great updates!

 

[Alt History Buff]

So, Malta is ready for the taking. Any chance they join Sicily? I found rather amusing the turn of events in Sicily, I did not expect Napoleon to fail that miserably. By the way, I have some questions regarding Italy.
1) How is this Unification go? On the side of developing of National identity and so on. I imagine that it would be wildly different without the French Revolution and OTL Napoleon.
2) Will they develop a decent Navy? The decline of the Spanish and the lack of British makes the Mediterranean ripe of opportunity (I am unsure of the state of the French Mediterranean Navy, though).
As a side note, great updates!

Thanks, I haven't given much thought to Italy as of yet as true unification would take a long time. And, in this scenario, there is no democracy for the people to vent their frustrations. It would simply be another monarchy under ethnic lines. I suspect the Italians would eventually agitate for reform no less than Germans, French or Spaniards.

I would imagine that they would eventually form a decent navy.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Winter, 1823

Hamburg, Kingdom of Holstein

In the past few decades, the Kings of Denmark had quietly allowed their once-dominant position in northern Europe to fade as the Danish/Norwegian/Hanoverian/Schleswig/Holstein Kingdom would quietly scale back the army and navy for lack of immediate threats. When the Northern Confederation formed, the ministers controlling the King of Denmark saw this as an opportunity to reduce expenses as they reformed the economy, social system and legal system of their regions as they viewed the alliance to be evidence of no imminent threats.

This would frustrate their neighbors whom hoped that Denmark would take the lead in unifying the Protestant states of northern Europe against the hegemony of powerful Catholic states like France, Austria, Spain and now Italy. In each instance, the Confederation's more radical members (like Saxony) would encourage more decisive action. However, the near-collapse of the Habsburg Empire, the failure of first Spain and then Italy in defeating the island of Sicily in such a public manner would see the passive faction of the North Confederation (as well as those Catholic members) to prevent any further action against Austria or Italy after the previous unrest as each were proving as being less than a threat.

Madrid

King Carlos V was virtually apoplectic with rage. How could Naples, Sicily and Malta so easily cast off his God-Granted sovereignty. Both his army and navy had failed miserably. His Ministers, whom assured him that any rebellions would be swiftly put down, failed Carlos V as badly as their predecessors had failed Carlos IV in the colonial rebellion in New Spain.

Naturally, those Ministers had been replaced. But the new ones simply decried the poor state of the Army and Navy and quite openly stated that regaining Naples without the assistance of a major power (which they did not consider Spain to be despite having the grandest overseas Empire in history) such as France, then realistically there was no chance.

This was not what Carlos V wanted to hear...and he promptly dismissed these Ministers as well.

By 1824, there was chaos in Madrid and Carlos V was not equipped to fix the problem.

Vienna

Though he loathed to do so, Emperor Francis would reject his wife's "request" that he aid her in conquering Sicily. In truth, the Emperor was fearful that his motley colleciton of nations' participation in the war would bring France and possibly even the Northern Confederation in on the side of Spain. And given that Sicily was an island, the necessary war at sea would not go well for Austria and Italy (despite France and Spain's respective navies fading over the years, they still vastly outweighed an alliance of Austria and Italy).

The Habsburg Empire was also utterly bankrupt and gazing fearfully east at Russia, whom had handily defeated them in the Balkans, costing the Habsburgs Serbia and Transylvania. Neither of these were great losses...except for prestige.

Knowing that his son would someday inherit his Habsburg domains and the Kingdom of Italy, that was enough for Francis.