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

[Alt History Buff]

Fall, 1838

Ireland

Over the course of the past several years, the Potato Blight had brought terrible pain to the rural peoples of Ireland. The government and clergy attempted to react as best they could but the dimensions of the natural disaster would exceed their capability to confront. Exports were, if not totally halted, certainly heavily limited. The loss of this export capital would severely strain the economy.

When the Spanish Ambassador inquired about hiring Irish regiments to assist in their "Civil War", the government was happy to see the potential of any influx of specie. The Irish Army was relatively small but enough officers were willing to serve in hastily formed "hired" regiments that leadership was not a problem. Spain and France remained revered for their role in freeing Ireland from the British yoke and volunteers for command were not in short supply. Paired with the over-abundance of Irish male laborers, this almost seemed too good to be true.

As no one in their right mind would accept Spanish credit (the Spanish banks had failed again and again while, despite being victorious in most wars, the Spanish government was broke more often than not), the Irish government agreed to hire troops to Carlos V. The government of Ireland, of course, received the bulk of the fees, but the individual soldiers would receive what was to the average Irish peasant a huge bonus given to their families. This served the Irish government threefold: it got thousands of men off their welfare coffers, it paid thousands of families enough to eat and it was a pleasant bump to the beleaguered national finances. All costs for the soldiers in America would be bourn by the Spanish. There seemed to be no downside.

Over 10,000 Irish men would be transported to New Spain in 1838 alone to fight for Carlos V. More would follow in 1839 and 1840.

The Spanish King, finding the Spanish regulars dismally inadequate and enthusiasm for enlistment at low levels, opted to seek soldiers elsewhere. The age-old practice had often found Germany to be ideal recruiting grounds. However, many of the states which had commonly provided mercenaries over the centuries (Hesse, for example) to the highest bidder were Protestant and the Spanish King was loath to take such an expedient measure. His ministers conquered that an army of Protestants would likely turn even ardent Royalists in New Spain away from the King.

Instead, only a few regiments of German Catholics (though many would turn out to be Protestant) from various German Catholic sovereigns were "leased" and sent to New Spain. The Gaelic-Speaking Irish would prove the most numerous and capable warriors for the crown in the early years of the New Spain Rebellion (and attempted reconquest of Anahuac).

Manhattan

King Henry II of British North America (though some still insisted on calling him Henry X) would see three new Dominions created from Thracia, Marquette and Mauretania in 1838-39. These new Dominions were on the west side of the mighty Mississippi River and proved that the power of the nation was permanently spreading west.

The King would also welcome in 1838 his first son by his beautiful Welsh-born wife, baptized Frederick after his late father.

New Orleans, Hanover Dominion

Always a mish-mash of ethnicities and faith, the city of New Orleans was perhaps the most diverse and raucous town its size throughout the nation. By 1838, an influx of peoples from the Spanish and French Caribbean arrived bringing ever more unique peoples.

Among these were the Copts, Roma and Jews evicted from Europe and Africa to the French and Spanish West Indies. Finding the climate and other hindrances of the West Indies unbearable, these peoples would arrive in East Florida, West Florida, Hanover, Caledonia and Aethiopia in large numbers, founding communities in the coastal towns before migrating inland.

 

[Israel_Dan the Man]

I have a question: will there be a Great War in the early 1900's?

Also, will France have 80 million people by 1900 and will Ireland have 10-15 million people by 1900?

 

[Gendarmerie]

How exactly is Carlos V paying for the Irish soldiers if he broke?credit?

 

[pattontank12]

Promises of food and land grants to any soldiers willing to fight for New Spain?

 

[Alt History Buff]

I have a question: will there be a Great War in the early 1900's?

Also, will France have 80 million people by 1900 and will Ireland have 10-15 million people by 1900?

I haven't thought that far ahead and may not continue the TL to the 20th century.

I think 80 million people in France by 1900 is probably too high.

Same with Ireland. Even without the huge losses of the Famine (offset in this TL by the Protestant exodus), I think that emigration to the New World (though higher in this TL to the Spanish Empire) would be somewhat similar to OTL though perhaps not as high during the 1840/50's. If Ireland prospers, I would suggest that the birthrate would go down from OTL.

 

[Alt History Buff]

How exactly is Carlos V paying for the Irish soldiers if he broke?credit?

I probably should have inserted something about Carlos V borrowing from his own people. Certainly no foreign nation would extend him credit. The Irish would only take cash. The Irish mercenaries will be a key part of future chapters and I'll be expanding on this a great deal. This is a somewhat less than veiled comparison to the Hessian mercenaries of the OTL American revolution (with a twist).

 

[Alt History Buff]

Promises of food and land grants to any soldiers willing to fight for New Spain?

I hadn't thought about land grants and am not sure that so much land would be available in Mexico at this time. But I'll expand on the Irish later.

 

[dakkafex]

I hadn't thought about land grants and am not sure that so much land would be available in Mexico at this time. But I'll expand on the Irish later.

You've mentioned the Valley of Mexico being largely abandoned, and with the campaign into Anahuac New Spain/Mexico should be in control of all of it - could grants there be given to soldiers on condition that they 'improve' their parcel (and act as frontier militia in what would still be an area close to a conflict zone), in order to restore the productivity it enjoyed before?

 

[Alt History Buff]

1839

Manhattan

King Henry II of British North America received the Spanish Ambassador within days of the request for an audience. He'd actually liked the fellow, who seemed to follow the standard diplomatic protocols and held an open respect for Royalty. Indeed, the man had been instrumental in the improving relations between British North America (more and more commonly just reduced to "America") and the Spanish Empire. Thus when the Ambassador "requested" to speak, the King did not keep him waiting for long.

With atypical emotion, though always in the most respectful of terms, the Ambassador would remind the King of the treaties recently signed between America and Spain in which America promised to remain neutral in Spain's internal matters. This was signed in good faith and the Spanish Empire ensured that America's trade privileges with the Empire remained intact.

Yet Carlos V's government had discovered repeated examples of Americans near the border selling munitions and even opening aiding the rebels. In truth, Henry II was embarrassed. He had no intention of bringing his nation into the quagmire of New Spain (despite a few Parliamentarians jingoistically calling for invading all of New Spain and absorbing tens of millions of Catholics into the "American Empire").

Henry II would consult with his First Lord, Joel Poinsett, and ensure that the Ministry had no intention of taking advantage of their neighbors' misfortune. It seemed dishonorable for America to launch an unprovoked war of attrition and Poinsett assured the King that he would do all he could to halt any American involvement in the matter. That was the most that either the King or the First Lord could offer the Ambassador and the man accepted it for what it was. If a few smugglers or mercenaries crossed the border....well....that was life. But as long as the American government remained aloof, the effect would not be pivotal in a widespread war.

Puebla, New Spain

Over the course of the past year, Governor-General Zumalacorregui had successfully defeated every rebel force he had encountered. However, the resistance in the mountains proved more than troublesome as it prevented a serious thrust back towards Anahuac, though the Spanish did manage to seize several towns on the road to Guadalajara.

Instead, the 12,000 Irish and German mercenaries arriving in New Spain would be dispatched towards the remote north and south, where the rebellion was strongest. Rebel towns were put to the torch while key sources of supplies and funds were seized. This included retaking the city of Zacatecas, where the silver mines had largely shut down due to the war, thus making them worthless to the possessor. Ordered by a strapped Spanish government to use recently mined silver to pay the mercenaries, the governor attempted to get the skilled miners back into the mines but violence in the area scared too many off. Then, Zumalacorregui came up with an alternative labor force: the captured rebels. While some in Spain's government desired to execute every man the Royal Army captured, Zumalcorregui was willing to allow the men to live provided they labored in the silver mines. This brought several thousand rebels back to useful productivity though it cost him hundred of soldiers to guard the men (and mass escapes became common).

Despite winning every fixed battle of the Anahuac War and the rebellion, Zumalacorregui would be frustrated to find that he simply could not hold large amounts of territory. Whenever his forces departed an area, he left Royalists in charge. But, bereft of strong garrisons, these abandoned regions would swiftly fall back under rebel control and the Royalists were forced to flee or be massacred.

In frustration, the Spanish Imperial forces and their allies would resort to ever harsher methods to maintain control...which only served to drive more rebellion.

The Governor-General, though always reporting victories, was forced to request more and more troops to assist his war effort. In an attempt to convey that this was still a war of conquest rather than just putting down a rebellion, the Governor-General dispatched another force to seize Guadalajara ,which was achieved in late 1839.

This, and Zumalacorregui's victories over the northern rebels of the arid deserts near the American border, would placate the King enough not to replace him and a few thousands more Irish and Spanish troops were sent.

Meanwhile, in 1840, the Governor-General would receive the first reinforcements from the rest of the Spanish Empire. Demanding colonial troops to put down rebellions in other colonies was hardly a popular request in the New World. Most regions were facing political turmoil as demands for delegation of political authority grew in all corners of society. Localization of offices had been a constant demand and, to be fair, King Carlos V had granted the local Governors the power to grant profitable offices like Judiciary Seats, Customs positions, etc to "proper Loyal subjects". Even some of Carlos IV's actions to restrict local militia officer positions to Peninsulares had been repealed to a large extent.

In conjunction with "Colony Requested" Decrees to remove ever more barriers on internal and external trade, ownership of land, encouragement of Catholic migration to labor-needy areas (like Brazil where Iberians, Italians, Irish, Germans, etc were encouraged to migrate to support local labor requirements) etc, the King was a relatively popular figure. Criticisms would be restricted to the King's advisors.

But any attempt to "impress" an army was immediately rejected by the colonial governors who feared an uprising. instead, they called for "Patriotic volunteers" to flock to the colors in support of the King. In truth, these people did exist among the more adventurous, ambitious (men who hoped this would support political careers at home) or just generally bored colonials. But this only sufficed to form a handful of regiments. In the end, the colonial governors, again disregarding the King's "permission" to impress "volunteers", would instead opt to forge regiments out of the scum of the colonies, usually vagrants, unemployed foreigners with no one to vouch for them and, of course, prisoners.

While several of the Regiments reaching New Spain in 1840 would be enthusiastic Royalist colonials, several others would be utterly worthless to the Crown and Governor Zumalacorregui would, in fact, order two such formations back to where they came from.

Still, between the Spanish Regiments, the foreign "hired" regiments (mostly Irish and German) and the few colonial regiments worth the name, Zumalacorregui had at his disposal 35,000 useful men. Even removing 15,000 restricted to garrison duty, this left a force of 20,000 to crush the southern rebels AND invade Anahuac once again.

Zumalacorregui, still seeking glory of reconquering Anahuac, took direct command of his forces marching west while leaving southern New Spain to his subordinates. In order to reinforce the "Spanish nature" of his reconquest, most of his force marching on Anahuac would be Spanish imperial and Loyalist forces. On Christmas day, 10,000 men crossed the border of Anahuac to link with the Spanish forces already possessing the Anahuacan capital. From Guadalajara, he intended to spread out throughout the vast area, crushing the pitiful Kingdom once and for all.

Springfield, Shawnee Dominion

Abraham Lincoln, despite a prospering law practice and an expanding farmstead (purchased from his legal fees and manned by hired labor) growing tobacco and raising horses, would follow his ambition and be elected to the Shawnee Dominion Legislature in 1836. By 1839, there was already talk of him being put up for election for a Parliamentary seat in Manhattan. Lincoln was flattered but feared that this would risk the financial well-being of his family.

Decades before, there had been a great debate as to whether Parliamentarians should be paid. Some thought no. But others pointed out that this left the political realm entirely in the hands of the wealthy, who could afford not to have any income. Naturally, many thought this was perfectly fine but eventually a compromise was reached. Parliament would be granted a subsidy to at least pay for a house and family. Thus, this brought many men who could otherwise not run for office into the great game of politics.

Though a Parliamentary "stipend" (no one could stand the idea of calling it a "salary") did not match what he made annually from his legal fees, Lincoln could not resist. His farm was profitable and his wife Sarah encouraged him to run. Plus, Lincoln had always felt that he did not quite reach the standards his father-in-law, Zackary Taylor, had expected for his daughter. Perhaps earning a seat in Parliament would change Taylor's mind.

Despite having a young family, Lincoln called upon his many clients over the past years to support his run and received even more support than he expected. As with any sane candidate, he pandered to local demands, including improvements along the Mississippi river to expand exports from the landlocked Dominion. A well-respected name, Lincoln would win election in 1840 and take his family to Manhattan, leaving his sister Sarah in command of his farmstead (her husband had proved incapable of making a good living and was forced to accept charity from family). j

Unfortunately, just a week before his departure, his step-mother Sarah would die of a fever. In what would be the last time Lincoln ever saw his father, the family would bury her in the local graveyard, oddly near Lincoln's other (whom he did not recall overly well). Far more grieved than if his father died, Lincoln wept openly at the funeral.

With a broken heart, the Lincoln's travelled north to the Great Lakes in 1841 and travelled around Michigan to the newly completed Erie Canal and onward to Manhattan. Ironically, on the voyage, he would meet another western Parliamentarian, Stephen A. Douglas, and make a lifelong friendship. On the long days of the journey at sea, the two would discuss how their western constituents would best be helped. While Douglas was obviously ambitious, perhaps too much so, Lincoln knew this was a man who could help the people who elected him.

 

[Alt History Buff]

You've mentioned the Valley of Mexico being largely abandoned, and with the campaign into Anahuac New Spain/Mexico should be in control of all of it - could grants there be given to soldiers on condition that they 'improve' their parcel (and act as frontier militia in what would still be an area close to a conflict zone), in order to restore the productivity it enjoyed before?

That is a good idea. With your permission, I may incorporate this idea as a Spanish promise but I think I'll be taking the Irish soldiers in a different direction.

 

[dakkafex]

That is a good idea. With your permission, I may incorporate this idea as a Spanish promise but I think I'll be taking the Irish soldiers in a different direction.

Absolutely, go for it, I wouldn't have suggested the idea if I wasn't okay with you using it. Settling veterans after their term is up is a time-honored way to make sure you have a core of loyal population with military experience in a potentially unstable area (doubly so if those people aren't local and so have no other loyalties except to you), take big tracts of land off your books and make them other people's problem (especially helpful when you're broke and can't pay those people in cash), and invest in your future economy via land that otherwise would go to relative waste.

 

[pattontank12]

I wonder if they'll be any political marriages between British North America and New Spain in the future.

 

[Alt History Buff]

1840/41

Anahuac

With 10,000 Spanish troops under his command, Governar Zumalacorregui would march from Guadalajara into the Anahuac hinterlands assuming that the Anahuac army was crushed. To an extent, this was true, however he would discover that the remnants of the army, leading a mass of armed peasants were waiting for him in the hills north of Guadalajara.

For weeks, the Spanish sought a decisive engagement, but the rebels kept retreating. Too late he realized the trap he'd allowed himself to spring. With the bulk of his army trapped in a valley, the mass of Anahuacan soldiers and militia cut off his retreat. Attempts to push the enemy north were partially successful but the rebels just took up stronger positions.

Meanwhile the southern flank was completely cut off to the flow of supplies from Guadalajara. Running low on powder, Zumalacorregui was forced to turn south and return to Guadalajara. Unfortunately, the enemy took strong positions to the south. Having won every set battle, the Governor-General assumed he could easily push the enemy from the heights unfortunately, after days of battle, this proved incorrect.

Now low on both powder and food, and increasingly sensing the desperation of his position, Zumalacorregui would throw the bulk of his forces against the hills of the enemy, taking large numbers of casualties. He managed to take the heights....only to find the enemy had been reinforced and positioned on the next set of heights.

The General would press forward with all he had only to be, to his shock, repulsed, again taking large casualties. The General had expended virtually all his ammunition and suffered 2000 casualties in the campaign thus far. With 3000 men back in Guadalajara, he dispatched messengers for his second in command to march to his aid. Unfortunately, his timid second would receive this only a week later and determine that he could not reach Zumalacorregui in time. He never marched to support his commander.

Now effectively out of food and ammunition and belatedly sensing his peril, Zumalacorregui would personally lead the next assault on the enemy position. If he failed, at least he could count upon an honorable death. The final charge would prove a failure, though the bayonet wielding Spanish troops would fight with atypical courage. Suffering hundreds more casualties, the Spanish were forced to retreat.

This time, they left their commander upon the battlefield, a bullet shattering his shin. Within hours the Spanish troops effectively revolted and demanded a surrender, one which was agreed by the nominal commander, King Augustine II of Anahuac. Though he promised "parole", the King would send the Spanish to the coast into makeshift prison camps.

When world arrived in Guadalajara, the remaining Spanish occupational forces retreated back to New Spain for fear of reprisal. By September, the capital would see the King return in full glory.

Oaxaca

Southern New Spain would prove a terrible distraction as many of the best Irish and German hirelings would be ordered into "occupational" duties in which they were ill-suited. The Irish would effectively pillage towns of all food sources, leaving the inhabitants, rebel or Royalist, livid at the offense.

Hundreds of Irish and Germans would be killing in skirmishes (though few set battles) and others die in great numbers of dysentery, heat exhaustion or outright murder. This caused them to act with greater violence against the southerners. Whole cities were torched against the express orders of the nominal Spanish commanders. On one notable occasion, three Spanish and Royalist Criollo Generals were murdered when they attempted to halt the looting of a southern town.

It was at this point that the new second-in-command to Zumalacorregui arrived in New Spain, Prince Sebastian of Spain and Portugal. Though not a realistic candidate for ever inheriting a throne, the Prince was of sufficient lineage to merit a position as General in a colonial Army at the tender age of 27.

Within days of arriving in Puebla, the Prince would learn of the crushing defeat of Zumalacorregui in Anahuac and the hapless flight of what was left of the Spanish forces. Raised as a soldier, the Prince knew the poor quality of the ill-paid and fed Spanish forces in the Iberian Peninsula and did not doubt that colonial troops were of ever worse quality.

In short order, the practical Prince would realize that the Irish were less than trustworthy. Between the hired Irish regiments and the regiments of Irish raised in New Spain, this amounted to nearly half his forces, not exactly the best situation.

Worse, the Irish Regiments (including the colonial regiments both Irish and Criollo) had not been paid in months, ensuring low morale and high rates of desertion.

The Prince would recall several southern units to protect the border from Anahuac. He even promised all soldiers, both Spanish, "hired" and local, land in the Valley of Mexico. Unfortunately, this was already too late. By late 1840 and early 1841, the Irish units, often led by their officers, would rise up and march upon Puebla. The city would be sacked by the mercenary units in January of 1841. Promises had been made to pay the mercenaries by the Spanish government. However, this had been delegated to the Colonial Governor-General to pay with silver mined from Zacatecas and other regions. Unfortunately, silver production declined to a fraction of previous levels by 1840 and no serious funds arrived to pay the starving soldiers. Military rations were of poor quality, low quantity and only intermittent in delivery, thus provoking food riots and strikes among the men hired to save the Empire.

Only the Imperial troops from South America, mainly stationed in the eastern seaboard, managed to dislodge the Irish from Puebla. Over the course of the next six months, a mob of Irish under the young twenty-six year old Major John Blake Dillon (who was promoted by acclamation to General) would wander New Spain, sacking town after town for supplies.

In frustration, Prince Sebastian would summon a parley with his rebel enemies in New Spain. As a rather ostentatious show of good faith, the Prince vowed that he would be unarmed and without bodyguards. If the rebel commanders sought his death, he could do nothing to stop them. Over the winter of 1840, the Prince sought an armistice with the rebels over the governance of New Spain. They presented their grievances and demands while the Prince listened without comment.

The Constitution of 1840 was presented to the Prince. Seeing that the Spanish Army was incompetent, the colonial troops were scarce, the New Spain militia of uncertain loyalty and hired troops to be mutinous, the Prince saw no other option but to negotiate an armistice where several rebel commanders were given powerful positions both in the civilian government and the military as a sign of good faith. A "Corte" of New Spain was to be devised naturally under a Royal Viceroy with the Corte maintaining far greater power than previously held.

The Prince would write his cousin, the King of Spain, that this was the best he could hope for. As a show of good faith, the Prince was left as nominal Viceroy under the proposed constitution until word arrived from Spain as to the King's response. The Prince vowed that he would not take up arms against the rebels for the rest of his life regardless of the King's response. He promised to turn himself over to the rebels should the King reject the negotiated agreement.

To the surprise of few, the King did not accept the radical settlement which embodied a truly powerful Corte in New Spain. Prince Sebastian was ordered to continue the war without regard to this agreement. This Sebastian could not do and subsequently surrendered himself to the rebel commanders without any hindrance upon their penalty upon him.

The Spanish, as much as any Christian nation, still adhered to the ancient principle of chivalry. Though they may have hanged him without abridging any agreement, the rebels could not in good conscience execute a man who had negotiated in good faith from the moment of his arrival in America. The Prince was given a lenient term of arrest in an isolated city while the war threatened to resume.

In 1841, the garrison of Puebla threatened to revolt, pushing the nominal Viceroy to agree to abide by previous agreements. By summer of 1841, only the city of Veracruz was truly under Spanish control. It would not be until Christmas of 1841 that word arrived from Madrid in which King Carlos V agreed to abide by the terms of the agreement. By this time, the terms of the rebels had been amended. In addition to the formation of a strong regional Corte, the rebels would "request" that their own candidate be pronounced as the new Viceroy.

Naturally, this was Prince Sebastian, who had been held in captivity for months. By 1842, the frustrated King would agree to this and Sebastian was nominally freed to take up the largely ceremonial position of Viceroy.

He would remain in the position for the next 52 years.

Almost ignored in these events were the peace treaties with Anahuac. While reparations were demanded for the invasion, no one expected them. First Lord Poinsett would "volunteer" to mediate and only later would both Spain and Anahuac realize the man had his own agenda.

Considerably more importantly, the other Viceroyalties of Spain (Brazil, Rio Plata and Peru) would see the developments and swiftly begin to agitate for similar consideration.

In the meantime in 1840 and 1841, the Irish soldiers, a force of 10,000 Irish hirelings and Irish immigrants to New Spain, marched northwards with 15,000 Spanish colonials (mainly wives, mistresses and hangers-on) through the northern provinces towards British North America.

 

[Alt History Buff]

I wonder if they'll be any political marriages between British North America and New Spain in the future.

I can't imagine this would be possible given the religious divide. If my TL's King Henry II or his immediate family married a Catholic, they'd probably be stoned in the street. It would be worse in New Spain.

 

[Kaiko]

Great to see you so active with this thread, the past few days of updates really did answer some of the questions I've had about domestic and colonial affairs of the world and regional powers.

Hell, you even updated while I was typing the last sentence.

I just wonder why I never seem to get update notifications.

I know that the Irish and Catholic German immigration into the Spanish Empire is a great boon for Spain itself but I can't help both think about lingering resentment against "Los Irlandeses" and "Los Alemanes" for being foreigners oppressing Spaniards even if they are Catholic.

Regarding New Spain, Spain, and Zumalacorregui, are any of them dumb enough to try to attack the South West coast of the KBA? They would definitely earn some early victories considering how far and remote it is, bit that would just lead up to a Spanish-American war that could leave tens or hundreds of thousands dead for no meaningful reason.

I'm surprised that Russian America stretches so low into OTL California. With the favorable land and climate, I wouldn't be surprised if the Russian Empire moves the capital of their colonial empire further south and treat California and Oregon like European Russia and Alaska like Siberia.

Hope to read more.

 

[Alt History Buff]

1841

Manhattan

First Lord Joel Poinsett was perhaps the reigning expert on the affairs of Spanish America and thus saw opportunity in the rebellion to the south. While not at all willing to insert the nation INTO the civil war, he was certainly looking to profit by it. He knew that the incident that precipitated this conflict, the invasion of Anahuac by Spain, had left the former's government in tatters and desperate for funds. He also knew that the actual border between Anahuac and New Spain had been more theoretical than "official".

With the destruction of the northern provinces of New Spain and the weakness of central authority in Anahuac, there seemed opportunity.

Poinsett would offered to "mediate" between the warring parties. By supporting the claims of the rebels, he could ensure a division of power between colonial and Imperial authorities, thus reducing the risk of aggression by the Spanish Empire against British North America in the future. The First Lord knew better than any American the weakness of the Spanish Empire, the resentment against the metropolis by the colonials, the racial imbalances between Criollo (white Spanish colonials), Indian and Mestizo.

He didn't just want peace along his southern border...he wanted to expand. While, if given the choice, Poinsett would vastly prefer to annex California or Russian America, he knew that such acquisitions were the stuff of dreams. The rocky mountains stood between America and these lands and this would prevent any realistic military action.

However, the northern regions of New Spain (the northern arid region) and Anahuac (north of the Sinaloa River) were lightly populated and not as easily blocked off by mountains. Poinsett determined to utilize the vague borders to his advantage. While Anahuac was hopelessly bankrupt and perhaps susceptible to another "purchase" of northern lands, New Spain had the minor problem of an army of Irishmen pillaging their northern regions.

Poinsett would use this little issue to his advantage and dispatched his best negotiator to Spain to seal a deal in which America profited.

Manhattan

The winter of 1840 would be a bitter one for the Royal Family as Queen Louisa (the Queen Mother) died after a lingering illness. Bright, beautiful, compassionate and courageous, the Queen was perhaps the most beloved member of the British North American family since the monarchy was incepted.

Almost without demure, the Parliament approved a mausoleum for the Queen, something they continued to bicker over for the late King Frederick. In 1841, designs were approved for the monument and, in 1844, the King and Queen were reinterred on Broad Street in the "Frederick and Louisa Monument".

The Queen would donate much of her personal art collection to the nation (which she announced decades before) and several museums would be opened in various cities to host them.

Dobunni Territory, British North America

After years as military governor of British North America, Sam Houston was recalled to Manhattan for "consultation". In his place, the surprisingly young Major Robert E. Lee was promoted in his place as governor-general (he would receive a military promotion to Colonel the next year). His aid Jefferson Davis, still smarting from losing Sarah Taylor to his closest friend Abraham Lincoln years before, had dedicated himself to a military career and remained as Lee's adjutant.

The following year both would be reassigned to new territories gained by First Lord Poinsett in the negotiations of 1841/2.

 

[Irvine]

I realized that the Americans could use Baetica to transport and land an army into Russian North America by boat. No need to cross the mountains.

The reasons for refraining from an invasion are becoming weaker. Russia simply can't protect RNA from invasion effectively, and they are probably going to get themselves into problem with the Chinese very soon.

Honestly, this whole affair with the Russians sending that many people to America is bullshit. They are still trying to conquer Central Asia, Siberia is barely populated, and they also have to contend with rebellious European ethnicities like the Poles. Unless they are sending mostly Poles, Finns and Baltic Germans to America, Moscow must be full of stupid people in this TL. Not totally implausible I would say, considering the Romanov standards.

 

[zeppelin247]

Loving this timeline but I really America finally gets to annex the territory on the Pacific! I really think now they have a pacific port, such a large population and increasing infrastructure there is nothing stopping them taking this sparsely populated territory

 

[Alt History Buff]

I realized that the Americans could use Baetica to transport and land an army into Russian North America by boat. No need to cross the mountains.

The reasons for refraining from an invasion are becoming weaker. Russia simply can't protect RNA from invasion effectively, and they are probably going to get themselves into problem with the Chinese very soon.

Honestly, this whole affair with the Russians sending that many people to America is bullshit. They are still trying to conquer Central Asia, Siberia is barely populated, and they also have to contend with rebellious European ethnicities like the Poles. Unless they are sending mostly Poles, Finns and Baltic Germans to America, Moscow must be full of stupid people in this TL. Not totally implausible I would say, considering the Romanov standards.

Note that the topography of the southwest is scarcely less difficult taking the route through Sonora. And those regions are still unpopulated by Americans but have a great deal of less than friendly Indian tribes. Dispatching and supplying an army through this region seems difficult.

Note that Russia didn't technically "send" these people. These were allowed to emigrate. And the route from Russia to the West Coast wasn't much longer than the OTL American route to the west.

Most Americans during the 1849 gold rush travelled via boat either around South America or via Panama or some Central American shortcut. At most, the Russians would only take another 6-8 weeks onto the already 6-8 month sailing.

Relatively few Americans reached California by land so the advantage was hardly monumental. And America, which had a lower population than Russia, sent over 300,000 people west in just a few years. Russia doing the same over three or four decades was hardly impossible or improbably.

 

[Alt History Buff]

Loving this timeline but I really America finally gets to annex the territory on the Pacific! I really think now they have a pacific port, such a large population and increasing infrastructure there is nothing stopping them taking this sparsely populated territory

I think that America would not be able to annex 1,000,000+ Anahuacans, 300,000+ Californians and 300,000+ Russians across the Rocky Mountains and 2000 miles from the American demographic center. In this TL, the region is considerably more heavily populated and American aggression would face 2 great Empires (Russia and Spain).

This was not the moderately easy conquest of California in OTL which was very, very lightly populated. Less than 3% of New Spain's population was in the lands taken by the US in the Mexican-American War and a disproportionate number of that was Indians and peoples which had rebelled frequently against the Mexican government in the past.

Here, I have local peoples who would fight for their country.