Cinco de Mayo

[KingSweden24]

"...slight improvements in the situation in the East Indies had, by the end of the year, largely reversed themselves; the ground regained had been lost, and once again Bonifacio's Kelangan sat at Manila's gates, now threatening the crown jewel of the Philippines itself, with forces scattered around the bay. Outside of Manila, Spain perhaps held as little as a dozen square miles of territory; it had been a remarkable collapse, and conspiracy theories and accusations abounded in Madrid.

Leopold was thus able to impress upon Weyler just how desperate the conditions were and that the famed general was needed back in the Philippines; the Sagasta government had spent the year cobbling together the funds for a major expeditionary force for precisely that purpose, much larger than the beleaguered garrisons into which fresh conscripts, typically Porto Ricans, were thrown in with minimal training. Weyler, comfortable as Captain-General of Madrid, agreed effusively in his private meeting with the King but when speaking later to Sagasta made plain that he expected full autonomy and to "not have to respond to politicians regarding how I fight my war." And so, with a substantial reinforcement at his back, Weyler set off for what Madrid hoped would be a his successful "New Start Strategy" to coincide with a new year and new century and bring the rebellious Indios to heel..."

- The German on the Spanish Throne: The Reign of Leopold I

 

[KingSweden24]

Once again the Empire proves that the greatest threat to the Empire's continued existence is itself. And Cixi proves that she holds her needs above the needs of the country as a whole.

Quite frankly I want to see Cixi face suitable punishment for what she's done. It's such a shame that China has a woman whose only priorities were "me, myself, and I" with such power in the government.

Presumably, Cixi controlling the only modern Army in China means that the Empire won't collapse. It'd just culturally and politically stagnate under the tyrannical regent's selfish regime. Here's hoping that it survives the damage Cixi will do before she goes.

She really was the worst, both OTL and here. As for the Empire's fate, we'll see... but there's a reason the book is called "Last Days of the Qing Dynasty."

Nice hint of things to come at the end there 🤔👀

Need something to serve up in the upcoming Part VI

 

[Kennedy Forever]

Can't wait

 

[HonestAbe1809]

She really was the worst, both OTL and here. As for the Empire's fate, we'll see... but there's a reason the book is called "Last Days of the Qing Dynasty."

I really love the hint that things come back to bite the Dowager Empress in the butt in the end.

Presumably, it means that the dynasty is overthrown but the Chinese Empire itself isn't? I'm hoping that the next dynasty to receive the Mandate of Heaven would be more receptive to progressive reform.

 

[Curtain Jerker]

Always fun to wake up to a bunch of updates. Makes the train ride that much more bearable.

The theme of this set of updates is "progress." Some countries - Britain, France, to a lesser extent the US - are navigating choppy waters more or less ok in the long run. Others, like Russia and China, are being torn apart by the forces of reactionary-ism. Meanwhile the CSA is sort of a middle ground. They're clearly reactionary/conservative but nowhere near as heavy-handed at fighting back against modernity as China/Russia are, at least at the moment,

I would argue that Britain's overseas setbacks have actually helped stabilize the domestic situation. With fewer overseas adventures taking British men and coin and no Disraeli/Gladstone rivalry sucking all the oxygen out of the room the country can modernize quicker and more seamlessly here than in OTL.

 

[KingSweden24]

Always fun to wake up to a bunch of updates. Makes the train ride that much more bearable.

The theme of this set of updates is "progress." Some countries - Britain, France, to a lesser extent the US - are navigating choppy waters more or less ok in the long run. Others, like Russia and China, are being torn apart by the forces of reactionary-ism. Meanwhile the CSA is sort of a middle ground. They're clearly reactionary/conservative but nowhere near as heavy-handed at fighting back against modernity as China/Russia are, at least at the moment,

I would argue that Britain's overseas setbacks have actually helped stabilize the domestic situation. With fewer overseas adventures taking British men and coin and no Disraeli/Gladstone rivalry sucking all the oxygen out of the room the country can modernize quicker and more seamlessly here than in OTL.

That’s probably an accurate summation, especially re: Gladstone. He sucked up a lot of oxygen just by being who he was and being all-in on whatever mercurial project of the day caught his muse.

Of course, Chamberlain is already in year 7 and just won another mandate and he sucks up plenty of oxygen, too. And we haven’t even really started seeing his mercurial stubborn bastard side either!

I really love the hint that things come back to bite the Dowager Empress in the butt in the end.

Presumably, it means that the dynasty is overthrown but the Chinese Empire itself isn't? I'm hoping that the next dynasty to receive the Mandate of Heaven would be more receptive to progressive reform.

Don’t want to tip my hand on what the post-Boxer China will look like; but whatever comes after will definitely not have that utterly blinkered Qing stubbornness, no

 

[KingSweden24]

"...Debs' time in prison had imbued in him a deeper empathy for not just workers but "all others in the oppressed classes;" his experiences in Pullman and at the mercy of the federal government had thoroughly radicalized him, filling him with all matter of Marxist theory and ideas. One advantage that Debs held upon his release over other American socialists was that he was born in the United States; in the late 19th century, socialism on American shores was very much an imported product along with the immigrants arriving from Europe, where such ideas had percolated for years. To most American laborers, the great strikes of the 1870s and 1880s, while certainly leftist in their character, had been narrow and targeted direct actions to secure tangible goals - to Debs, that was a lie, wool pulled over their eyes by "incrementality" and the conservative, status quo-favoring bulwark of the labor movement as personified by Samuel Gompers, a man so establishment he regularly endorsed AFL members vote Liberal.

The foundation of the Social Democratic Party in 1899 - to be renamed the Socialist Party two years later, after Debs' first taste of electoral action - thus represented a push against this mentality, of not fighting strike by strike but of true worker cooperation and solidarity, and of forming a European-style socialist party that would seize the government via the ballot box on the backs of genuine popular appeal and legitimacy. That the People's Party that had infused Plains Populism into the US political discourse was in sharp decline at this point and would within years vanish was timed perfectly; the Democratic Party (and, to a lesser extent, the Liberals) were about to take a great tack left as the Overton window of the Union's politics shifted sharply in the burgeoning Progressive Era, and there at the very edge of that window as the new century beckoned would be a new type of radicalism pushed by men like Debs, Job Harriman, Ben Hanford, and before long, Bill Haywood..."

- Brothers in Arms: Trade Unionism in the United States

 

[KingSweden24]

"...Hearst's first year wound up being more impactful than any would have guessed; his promise of a genuine break from the Liberal oligarchy and the Democratic machines of the old school was borne out. It helped immensely that the Fassett administration that came before him had tilled the ground of expectations of rigor and public service with the increasingly activist middle class; it helped further that the New York Liberals were caught in an ugly, remarkably personal internecine feud between Fassett and the state's senior Senator Warner Miller, and their respective party factions. For that matter, opposition among more conservative Democrats quickly vanished. David Hill's indictment for tax fraud by the state consumed the former President's time and prevented him from building an anti-Hearst bloc, while Tammany's hammering by the outgoing Liberal trifecta had left the machine creaky and in need of a facelift; as one of many vehicles for Hearst's reforms, it could find new, less corrupt life, especially after the pioneering Charles Murphy took over as Grand Sachem - a figure who would define the first quarter century of New York politics and emerge as one of the most important unknown figures in American history, helping make multiple Presidents possible. The young Governor's personal wealth insulated him from needing "favors" from the usual suspects, and in record time he had effectively reshaped the New York Democratic Party in his image as he became its intellectual and financial heart.

Hearst's biggest achievement within the year of his inauguration was bringing New York into the 1890s at last by passing a Board of Labor. By 1899, New York was one of only four states - the others Liberal New England strongholds Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island - not to have a state labor board to solve arbitration, hear disputes, certify unions and generally intervene to cool passions. The state's Liberals had been atypically and ferociously anti-labor, in all likelihood due to their history of being creatures of Wall Street; it was the first act Hearst signed into office, and having observed what worked and what didn't in other states, New York was able to implement the most modern and progressive set of labor laws in the country in one swoop. The state went from being possibly the most hostile to trade unions to the friendliest seemingly overnight, and organized labor never forgot that it was Hearst who pushed it through, emerging as one of the core blocs of his base in the future.

For all his pro-union reforms (Hearst also signed a maximum hours law early in his administration), Hearst was not a union man but rather a son of the middle class and his progressive instincts led him to paths that would soon be familiar across the country. State legislative committees were formed not to investigate Tammany Hall's corruption but to investigate the public utilities, insurance companies, and state railroads. Rather than stock such committees with patronage appointments Hearst encouraged the green-eared Democratic leaders in Albany to find the best men available who they could trust to carry out their task; in a stroke of historical irony, Charles Evans Hughes, Hearst's future friend-cum-rival and his successor both as Governor and President, got his start in politics on one of the Hearst sponsored committees as chief counsel, and met the hard-charging, crusading Governor more than once during his early career in New York politics..."

- Citizen Hearst

 

[KingSweden24]

"...the culture of the fin de siecle was not uniformly positive; in contrast to the ebullient optimism coursing across American shores as a new century dawned, in Europe there was a more pessimistic, melancholy take, the feeling that the 19th century was as good as it was going to get, that civilization was headed for degeneracy as materialism, decadence and cynicism threatened that which was known. The new century thus took on an almost spiritual meaning. Possibility was paired with fear, progress was paired with reaction. The 19th century's close marked one of the most remarkable periods in human history, where the world was, by the stroke of midnight on December 31st, 1899, virtually unrecognizable from that which had greeted the citizens of 1800. Wars and revolutions had reshaped borders over and over; new empires had emerged and supplanted old ones; new technologies had connected the world and isolated it further, radically transforming the way people traveled, communicated, and saw themselves. What lurked across the abyss? What was on the other side, after such a cataclysmic - for good and ill - century such as the 19th...?"

- The Long 19th Century

 

[KingSweden24]

"...Carlota and the rest of the family were on a different patio that night, and Maximilian would join them for more fireworks later. But for a few moments on New Years' Eve, he stood alongside his old reliable Miramon, watching the eruption of color over the capital, and he mused over what Mexico City, and all of Mexico really, had been like nearly forty years earlier when he had taken the throne. No, it had not become the burgeoning industrial powerhouse he had hoped, but what a change nonetheless! What a strange mix of optimism and dread he felt, standing beside his Prime Minister, two men nearly seventy years of age who had worked closely together for four decades and together transformed the New World's basket case into one of its most solid, steady powers.

New Years Eve, 1899 was important to Maximilian not only for the remarkable achievement of seeing a new century dawn as Emperor but that it was the night Miramon informed him that he intended to resign in the coming weeks. His health had almost completely failed him at this point, and he was using a cane at the Chapultepec when he came for his weekly audiences with his sovereign. It was as much the end of an era in Mexico as the end of the 19th century represented. Miramon had been just one of a rotating cast of provisional presidents and conservative caudillos before Maximilian's arrival on Mexican shores, and who knows how long Maximilian's Empire would have survived without Miramon's influence. Their relationship had been one of ups and downs, peaks and valleys, friendship and rivalry, success and failure, glory and mediocrity. Maximilian had anticipated the coming retirement, and assured Miramon that after nearly eight years in charge after his long stints as War Minister, general, and other positions, he had served Mexico well.

"It is all I ever sought to do, serving Mexico," Maximilian recorded Miramon as saying. "I did so by serving you, my Emperor and my friend. But we are old now, and the future is not ours." Whatever else was said between the two old friends, Maximilian kept private; Miramon retired for the evening soon thereafter and from Mexican politics less than a week later, and would die less than a year later at his estate in the north of Texcoco of renal failure. An era had ended in Mexico in tandem with the old century, and Maximilian mourned it. But as he walked down to join Carlota and the others, he reminded himself - a new century was dawning, and though he was old, and the future was not his, perhaps it was Mexico's..."

- Maximilian of Mexico

End of Part V: Fin de Siecle​

 

[KingSweden24]

And with that, we tie off the 19th century with a bow and look ahead to the 20th!

Some housekeeping notes:

1) Updates are likely to be sporadic over the next few weeks; the CFP exam is November 4 so that’s getting most of my attention (also why my other TLs, which have longer updates rather than the easy to quickly write snippets here, have been on hiatus).

2) The various Parts are likely to be shorter but more detailed moving forward. Parts IV and V stretching out as long as they did was probably unnecessary

3) I’m still plotting out Parts VI and VII to make sure the story is thorough and exciting; does anybody have any requests, or things they’d like updates or are curious about being included? We’re still going to have mostly OTL figures without strict birth butterflies so anybody is fairly game

 

[Curtain Jerker]

The foundation of the Social Democratic Party in 1899 - to be renamed the Socialist Party two years later, after Debs' first taste of electoral action - thus represented a push against this mentality, of not fighting strike by strike but of true worker cooperation and solidarity, and of forming a European-style socialist party that would seize the government via the ballot box on the backs of genuine popular appeal and legitimacy.

Great, more electoral fragmentation on the left. No wonder everything is smooth sailing for the Liberals til 1920 - you've got spoilers like Debs peeling votes away from the Democrats, which will matter greatly in low-voter state legislature races where a couple thousand votes can and will make a difference. Which, you know, makes it significantly easier for Liberals (who have no spoilers on the right) to get their men appointed to the Senate.

The left in this United States is equal parts unlucky and incompetent and has been for at least a decade at this point.

 

[KingSweden24]

Great, more electoral fragmentation on the left. No wonder everything is smooth sailing for the Liberals til 1920 - you've got spoilers like Debs peeling votes away from the Democrats, which will matter greatly in low-voter state legislature races where a couple thousand votes can and will make a difference. Which, you know, makes it significantly easier for Liberals (who have no spoilers on the right) to get their men appointed to the Senate.

The left in this United States is equal parts unlucky and incompetent and has been for at least a decade at this point.

While this is definitely true regarding the 1890s, it did take Debs’ gang about a decade to start actually winning anything OTL and it’ll be a while before they genuinely siphon off votes here too, at least compared to the quick Populist impact. The 1900s Democratic breakthrough is nigh, I promise! Haha

 

[Curtain Jerker]

The 1900s Democratic breakthrough is nigh, I promise! Haha

But what difference does it actually make when you've said this just last week:

I guess the 1880-1920 period in-universe is called the Liberal Dynasty for a reason!

Hearst is shaping up to be Woodrow Wilson (minus the virulent racism); a Democratic president who's term is sandwiched by multiple GOP/Liberal presidents who quickly steer the country back on track to suit them and their interests.

 

[Darth_Kiryan]

Charles Evans Hughes, Hearst's future friend-cum-rival and his successor both as Governor and President,

Oh yeah. Excellent.

 

[KingSweden24]

But what difference does it actually make when you've said this just last week:


Hearst is shaping up to be Woodrow Wilson (minus the virulent racism); a Democratic president who's term is sandwiched by multiple GOP/Liberal presidents who quickly steer the country back on track to suit them and their interests.

Well, fair, though the plan is for Hearst to have more domestic accomplishments than Wilson (the benefits of not having his second term consumed by war) and his successor will not be a Harding-type conservative. Hearst’s Presidency and Debs’ Socialists rising moves the Overton window quite a bit (a benefit of Hearst having New York and the West as a base rather than the Solid South).

But I’m giving too much away! Ah!

 

[pathfinder]

3) I’m still plotting out Parts VI and VII to make sure the story is thorough and exciting; does anybody have any requests, or things they’d like updates or are curious about being included? We’re still going to have mostly OTL figures without strict birth butterflies so anybody is fairly game

What's the Mexican labor movement looking like at this point, and is it being more or less influenced by their counterparts in Europe and elsewhere in the Americas compared to our timeline?

 

[Reisen Storm]

I’m still plotting out Parts VI and VII to make sure the story is thorough and exciting; does anybody have any requests, or things they’d like updates or are curious about being included?

I actually wouldn't mind a more closer view on the relationship and diplomacy between the Mexican Empire and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, or how the monarchies of old view Maximillian and his Mexican "Empire".

A deeper look at the CSA interrelationship between the states it composes of.

 

[dcharles]

I actually wouldn't mind a more closer view on the relationship and diplomacy between the Mexican Empire and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, or how the monarchies of old view Maximillian and his Mexican "Empire".

A deeper look at the CSA interrelationship between the states it composes of.

I too, would like a bit more CSA content. The CSA you've conceived of is very interesting and somewhat unique. I think it deserves a bit more "screentime."

 

[Capibara]

Kudos on finishing part V, KingSweden! Really enjoyed the scene of Maximilian and Miramón at Chapultepec Castle. Keep the great work. As for things I'd like to see, perhaps small snippets about countries we haven't heard that much throughout the timeline, just to get an even broader outlook of the world in general (something that you've done superbly so far).