I guess he listens to Josephine this time around?
Thats true, he IS a sore loser
Clipping The Eagle's Wings: A Failed Continental Congress
- Thread starter AltoRegnant
- Start date
I thought about that being a factor too but he isn't (fully) a fool, considering the fact he managed to get the Iberian countries back into the continental system after facing off yet another coalition (where he was Spainless and fighting mutiple fronts) I would say he at least managed to save face and make France (himself) still seem like the biggest kid of the playground, so while he would definitely sulk around for a while but I don't think he would be harsh enough to attempt an invasion of Russia, definitely try another route as to not get another Spain situation and take a high risk for low reward.
Probably, she would be there to sooth him while his ego is reeling and hopefully can make him calmer.
What about breaking it up and selling to different nations?
Has anyone in New England suggested rejoining Britain?
They're already dominated by them.
The problem is that Georgia probably doesnt have the capital for it, virginia gains little from chunking it, and the northwest Indians are british protectorates.
No, I doubt that idea has come up, especially in Massachusetts for the land grab
Part Three: The Congress of Vienna and the Erie War
In the early 19th century, one fact above all else was clear: Napoleon was the master of Europe and held the fate of millions in his hand from Brittany to Warsaw. However, by 1811, that grip, once thought to be made of steel and unbreakable, was loosening. While Russia, Austria and Spain had all nominally agreed to join the continental system the year prior, they did very little to combat the rising black markets or stop colonies from trading with Britain. While Spain and Portugal were the most obvious about this, they had also proven viable defensive warriors and made it difficult for Napoleon to advance, and time would allow them to compound that fact and make the situation more difficult for the Emperor. No, instead he would target Russia.
At first glance, the idea made sense. Tsar Alexander was agitated at Napoleon’s Polish march, the Duchy of Warsaw, and actively sought to reconquer the territory. Plus, Russia was simply further from Britain than Spain or Portugal, trapped in the Black and Baltic Seas, or across all of Central Asia. Moreover, Napoleon’s planned invasion also intended to make use of the Prussian and Dano-Norwegian navies to pin in the Russian Baltic Fleet and undermine British aid to the nation. It was to be a masterstroke- a swift ride into Moscow, forcing the surrender of the second largest army in Europe to enlarge the Emperor’s client state in Warsaw and put an end to Russia’s skirting of their treaties. Napoleon’s rule would be absolute once more.
However, Russia- and all of Europe- had learned. They had wised up to Napolone’s mobility-based tactics. As a result, the invasion was humiliating. While France did ultimately take most of its strategic objectives, the Russians didn’t care. they had adopted Napoleon’s own “live off the land and raze the leftovers” model of logistics, and they naturally had the home-field advantage in that regard. As a result, within a few months, while Napoleon had taken Moscow, he found no delegation from the city and no supplies to loot. Eventually, this forced Napoleon’s hand, leading to his retreat.
This led to the war of the Sixth Coalition, wherein Prussia and Austria turned on Napoleon, as did other, minor German states. During this war, Spain remained neutral, as Godoy did not want to risk his power and the Royal Family was still erring on the side of caution. Regardless, the war of the 6th coalition was an embarrassing loss for Napoleon, as ally after ally turned on him and he was forced back into France over the next several months. The Battle of Lezpieg was perhaps the French Empire's greatest defeat since Agincourt- at least if one were to ask Napoleon himself about it. Interestingly, various American republics in the south declared war shortly after the British declaration. This was the Louisianna Rush, an attempt by the various powers to seize the large French colony, so as to prevent Britain or their regional rivals from gaining the rich port of New Orleans or command of the Louisana River. Virginia, Carolina, and even Georgia all saw it as a potentially vital means of power projection into the Caribbean and as an economic center, and generally an important region to control. A similar development occurred between New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, who were all trying to cement themselves as the regional leader of the North. However, while all of them would’ve gladly taken a colony in Louisiana, none of them presently had the navy to launch ayntthing in a way that would matter. However, unfortunately for the American states, it would ultimately be the British who took the city.
Importantly, this did mean the various republics were still invited to the peace conference at the end of the war in 1814, the Congress of Vienna, which was meant to restore the natural order of the European Continent and prevent further wars. As expected as the major leaders of the various coalitions, Austria, Britain, and Russia were invited, as were Prussia and the restored government of the Dutch Republic. Other major participants were Spain, Portugal, and the Scandinavian states of Denmark-Norway and Sweden. Finally, the smaller Italian state of Savoy, as well as Switzerland, rounded out the primary Euroepan attendants. The six American delegations- that being the Commonwealth of Virginia, Caroline Republic, and Republic of Georgia of the south, compared to the Northern Republics of New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, all received very minor fanfare but were still given proper respect at least.
One of the first matters of the conference was not actually to do with the nations present, but with a former leader. Napoleon had been deposed by the French government and was not able to be a negotiating party. The Prussians, Spanish, and Russians wanted him dead for his various betrayals, while the Austrians and the British were more hesitant, both being wary of making him a martyr. Ultimately, Carolina was the one that raised the prospect of exiling him to the New World. Specifically, Carolina thought exiling him to New England would be the best fit since the British could still keep an eye on him, though several New Englander republics thought this was just a ploy so London’s attention would be on them rather than the southern slave trade. Eventually, it was decided that it would be the Commonwealth of Virginia that took him, seeing as they were the most powerful state in the Americas anyway.
Napoleon being left on the Virginia Shore
Secondly, the American republics, as well as Spain, Britain, and to an extent France, sought to pen a new order for North America. The biggest concern was Louisiana, not for its relevance, but for its irrelevance. Britain was becoming more against slavery, almost by the day, and that was the main purpose of the colony, so they were not too keen on the territory. Spain also did not want it, because it had barely been managed prior to returning it to Napoleon anyway, and was of little use to them. Most of the southern republics wanted it in some capacity, but Britian was apprehensive about turning over the colony to a region so full of slavery-based economies. While France would certainly keep it tied to slavery, Britian fully expected that the southern states would try to expand the institution. As a result, Britain ultimately reached a deal with France: London would take the northern part of the territory, while France could keep the southern remainder. While borders would be negotiated, it wound up being that the southernmost point of the Northwest Confederate Protectorate would be the unofficial border, codified by the 1820s.
After this, the Europeans largely ignored the American delegations, since they were mostly secondary powers at best. Despite ostensibly being the defeated party, the French quickly found themselves in a good position, as Talleyrand was quick to point out that a strong France was the logical counterweight each power had to their main rival. Austria and Prussia would both want a strong France in case their rival grew too strong in Germany, no? And surely Spain or Britain would enjoy the French navy should war break out. As a result of this, Talleyrand managed to secure the territory ceded to France in the 1814 Treaty of Paris, giving France more land in Germany. Talleyrand was able to get both German powers to accede to the matter on the same basis as his counterweight notion- after all, if Prussia tried to dominate western Germany, then surely Austria would want French aid, and this would give them skin in the game, or if Austria wanted to push north, then surely Prussia would appreciate the aid French ability to put a dagger to the south, no?
However, there were other disputes to address. Firstly, the Austrian Netherlands; Britain was in no mood to entertain the idea of France retaining it, while the Austrians did not want it. Eventually, it was decided it would go to the new Kingdom of the Netherlands under the House of Orange. Part of this was at the British request, as London wanted the Dutch to be powerful enough to be a nuisance for a French incursion into Northern Germany, while also not intent on returning back large parts of the Dutch Empire- the Cape, as well as Dutch Guiana or Malacca. Next was the issue of Poland, which the Austrian diplomat, Klemens von Metternich was hopeful would see either Prussian annexation or an Austrian puppet state as opposed to the Russian dreams of conquest.
It was this crisis that allowed France to fully integrate itself into the core of the Congress system, as they vowed to support Austria and Britain against the Russo-Prussian Plan. While Talleyrand had managed to secure the Treaty of Paris, to this point it had quietly been agreed that the new balance of power would be decided without France. Eventually, the French-Austrian-British bloc formulated a secondary plan. The King of Saxony (and ostensibly, Poland-Lithuania,) would receive most of the Rhineland and part of Westphalia, while Prussia would receive a sizeable part of Saxony proper as planned. Importantly, the Kingdom of Hannover would be left intact, to appease King George III (though by now, George IV was doing almost all monarchical duties due to his father’s ill health and mental issues.)
The creation of what was hoped to be a third German power was based on Talleyrand’s goals of presenting France as a counter to most, if not all, aggressive powers on the continent. This new Kingdom of Saxony-Rhineland was centered in two wealthy parts of Germany, and it was hoped would become a viable buffer state between Austria and Prussia, much like how the Netherlands and Savoy were meant to buffer France and Prussia or Austria, respectfully. While there were complaints from Prussia about being denied their prize, the French and Austrian politicking won out.
With Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands addressed, attention turned south, to the Italian Peninsula. Originally, the Congress planned fairly minor changes: expand the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, give Austria the province of Lombardy-Venetia, and restore the old aristocracies and leadership. However, the Spanish crown decided to press for concessions in this region, as the only Great Power not acquiring new territory. Namely, King Charles IV attempted to regain the Island of Sicily, and perhaps even part of the Kingdom of Naples. While originally this was dismissed, the Spanish managed to make a compelling spin. Namely, with the island of Sicily, they would have the capacity to be the strongest fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, a vital role in keeping the balance of power, especially since the other options were Britian, France, or perhaps the Ottoman Empire. As a result, because neither France, Britain, or Austria wanted either of the other two to rule the waves in the area, Spain was successful in getting not only Sicily but Sardinia back.
Europe after the Congress of Vienna. Prussia received more of Poland
so as to justify limiting their Saxon expansion which worried Austria.
Britain and Austria’s support was conditional, however. Both parties knew that the Bourbon Monarchy would favor the Bourbon French, so Spain was forced to sign a treaty promising not to enter into an alliance with France for ten years unless the same force attacked both parties. Ultimately, King Charles IV saw this as a relatively minor thing, as Spain was mainly concerned with being seen as a great power despite the relative humiliation it had been dealing with since the American Revolution. Britain’s aid in acquiring Sardinia also required Spain to commit to the end of the Slave Trade by 1825, ten years from the congress.
Spain was not without problems, however. King Charles IV had disinherited his oldest son, Ferdinand, due to a coup d’tat and conspiracy that seemed to be a betrayal to Napoleon’s side during the invasion. As a result, he now had to pick between one of his two other sons, Carlos and Francisco. While this in of itself was not a hard choice, as he figured that Francisco would be more reasonable, the fact is it made Carlos a dangerous force in Spanish affairs. Regardless, Franssicos would quickly become active in the Spanish government, exploiting Godoy’s ever-shaky popularity. While Godoy had managed to retain some influence at court due to the Napoleonic Wars, with him across the sea in Virginia, things became much shakier for him. Eventually, in 1817, Charles IV exiled Godoy after a personal clash, sending him to Rome where the pope would monitor him. By this point, Francisco was a stronger voice in government, his primary rival exiled and his father disinterested and elderly, before becoming King in 1821. While Francisco did not formalize a constitution until 1833, much of the precedent that he would eventually adopt did come into practice during this period.
Prince Francisco, later King.
Typically titled King Francis I of Spain.
However, the Spanish Empire itself was in a state of unrest, not just the peninsula. Despite his defeat, Napoleon had emboldened liberalism in the Spanish Empire, especially the Mestizos and Criollos. The Spanish Empire had a complex and rigid caste system even for a European empire, one which favored peninsula-born whites over any other group, while the majority of elites were colonail-born elites and even of mixed race. In 1821, newly crowned King Francisco I was convinced to level a new tax code that prioritized domestic goods over those in the colonies. This naturally sparked massive outrage in the major colonies. This unrest would last in some form for a bit more than a decade, as the Spanish government attempted to fund reforms throughout the Empire.
While Europe was trying to settle its new order, crafted deliberately by the Great Powers, the North American order was changing, and in a more organic way. New York had traditionally been a wealthy, but not populous, nation on the edge of New England. However, in part due to their trade deals with the Spanish and due to immigration from other states to capitalize on that, their population had begun to surge. As a result, they were becoming a bit more nationalistic, as the people wanted to prove thier dominance over their neighbors. However, the matter of where to expand was up for debate. Massachusetts was a threat, but the leadership of New York was also confident that they were contained by Britain, or by the NY and Vermontian bloc. As a result, the expansionist policy was not based on defensive need, but instead on imperial aims. Pennsylvania and New Jersey were the most logical choice in this regard, as one would allow them greater access to the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River (as well as a more defensible frontier,) while New Jersey would extend the coast, and given that was where much of New York’s power came from, there was a compelling argument.
Eventually, the side in favor of attacking Pennsylvania won out, and New York launched the Eerie War in the summer of 1823. Officially the war was declared in response to the mistreatment of fishermen and New York citizens, but everyone knew its real cause. The city of Erie was the first and primary offensive target in the war, as New York wanted a strong position to negotiate a coastal expansion. However, while the New York Republican Army was pushing south, they did not expect their Pennsylvanian counterparts to push through northern New Jersey in order to siege New York more effectively. However, when they received news from the smaller republic that the Pennyslavanian force had gotten bogged down, they certainly appreciated the failed countermeasure. As a result of this, a small contingent was sent to pressure the Pennsylvania forces along with the Jerseyites.
All in all the war was brief, due to the small populations and economies of the parties involved. New York was able to absorb northern Pennsylvania, which became the Erie Province, while New Jersey was content with reparations and a large part of the Pennsylvanian navy. New York generally favored a decisive, but lenient, peace so that Pennsylvania would be a reasonable buffer state between New York and Virginia, as politicians in Albany were well aware that confrontation would not currently go well for them and they did not want to risk agitating it sooner.
However, New York’s nationalistic public was not sated by their expansion. Thankfully, however, it did turn into a more political matter. Many in New York felt that the name was inappropriate, feeling it was a declaration of subservience to still be named after a town in England despite being a regional power that was no longer part of the British Empire. As a result, there was an outcry to change the name from many patriotic citizens. While originally this was seen as a minor concern not worth the government’s time to humor, a petition of several leading figures did eventually reach the Republican House. The most common names were Ontaria (which did not solve the problem…) West New England (which was a mouthful and also did not solve the problem,) Albanland (which had some approval by people who lived in Albany for no particular reason), and Columbia, which quickly became popular. The government ultimately decided to put it on the ballot in the 1824 election, and the proposal narrowly passed. New York was now the Republic of Columbia, though it remained centered on Albany.
Massachusetts was watching the Columbian actions carefully. It was clear that they were the two strongest parts of New England, especially after the humiliation of Pennslyvania. The two states seemed to be of equal power, but ultimately it was hard to gauge. As a result, when they went to war- and it was clear they would, by now- it would come down to allies. While Columbia had Vermont, Massachusetts was more isolated, having fully annexed its main target, whereas Columbia had simply made Pennsylvania a nonthreat. Eventually, Massachusetts reached a shaky agreement with New Jersey. In the event of war, Massachusetts would receive everything north of Kingston, while Jersey would gain New York City itself. Of course, Massachusetts had no real intention of giving up the prize that easily, nor did it honestly expect it could defeat Columbia that totally, but that was beside the point by now.
Post Erie War North America
At first glance, the idea made sense. Tsar Alexander was agitated at Napoleon’s Polish march, the Duchy of Warsaw, and actively sought to reconquer the territory. Plus, Russia was simply further from Britain than Spain or Portugal, trapped in the Black and Baltic Seas, or across all of Central Asia. Moreover, Napoleon’s planned invasion also intended to make use of the Prussian and Dano-Norwegian navies to pin in the Russian Baltic Fleet and undermine British aid to the nation. It was to be a masterstroke- a swift ride into Moscow, forcing the surrender of the second largest army in Europe to enlarge the Emperor’s client state in Warsaw and put an end to Russia’s skirting of their treaties. Napoleon’s rule would be absolute once more.
However, Russia- and all of Europe- had learned. They had wised up to Napolone’s mobility-based tactics. As a result, the invasion was humiliating. While France did ultimately take most of its strategic objectives, the Russians didn’t care. they had adopted Napoleon’s own “live off the land and raze the leftovers” model of logistics, and they naturally had the home-field advantage in that regard. As a result, within a few months, while Napoleon had taken Moscow, he found no delegation from the city and no supplies to loot. Eventually, this forced Napoleon’s hand, leading to his retreat.
This led to the war of the Sixth Coalition, wherein Prussia and Austria turned on Napoleon, as did other, minor German states. During this war, Spain remained neutral, as Godoy did not want to risk his power and the Royal Family was still erring on the side of caution. Regardless, the war of the 6th coalition was an embarrassing loss for Napoleon, as ally after ally turned on him and he was forced back into France over the next several months. The Battle of Lezpieg was perhaps the French Empire's greatest defeat since Agincourt- at least if one were to ask Napoleon himself about it. Interestingly, various American republics in the south declared war shortly after the British declaration. This was the Louisianna Rush, an attempt by the various powers to seize the large French colony, so as to prevent Britain or their regional rivals from gaining the rich port of New Orleans or command of the Louisana River. Virginia, Carolina, and even Georgia all saw it as a potentially vital means of power projection into the Caribbean and as an economic center, and generally an important region to control. A similar development occurred between New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, who were all trying to cement themselves as the regional leader of the North. However, while all of them would’ve gladly taken a colony in Louisiana, none of them presently had the navy to launch ayntthing in a way that would matter. However, unfortunately for the American states, it would ultimately be the British who took the city.
Importantly, this did mean the various republics were still invited to the peace conference at the end of the war in 1814, the Congress of Vienna, which was meant to restore the natural order of the European Continent and prevent further wars. As expected as the major leaders of the various coalitions, Austria, Britain, and Russia were invited, as were Prussia and the restored government of the Dutch Republic. Other major participants were Spain, Portugal, and the Scandinavian states of Denmark-Norway and Sweden. Finally, the smaller Italian state of Savoy, as well as Switzerland, rounded out the primary Euroepan attendants. The six American delegations- that being the Commonwealth of Virginia, Caroline Republic, and Republic of Georgia of the south, compared to the Northern Republics of New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, all received very minor fanfare but were still given proper respect at least.
One of the first matters of the conference was not actually to do with the nations present, but with a former leader. Napoleon had been deposed by the French government and was not able to be a negotiating party. The Prussians, Spanish, and Russians wanted him dead for his various betrayals, while the Austrians and the British were more hesitant, both being wary of making him a martyr. Ultimately, Carolina was the one that raised the prospect of exiling him to the New World. Specifically, Carolina thought exiling him to New England would be the best fit since the British could still keep an eye on him, though several New Englander republics thought this was just a ploy so London’s attention would be on them rather than the southern slave trade. Eventually, it was decided that it would be the Commonwealth of Virginia that took him, seeing as they were the most powerful state in the Americas anyway.
Napoleon being left on the Virginia Shore
Secondly, the American republics, as well as Spain, Britain, and to an extent France, sought to pen a new order for North America. The biggest concern was Louisiana, not for its relevance, but for its irrelevance. Britain was becoming more against slavery, almost by the day, and that was the main purpose of the colony, so they were not too keen on the territory. Spain also did not want it, because it had barely been managed prior to returning it to Napoleon anyway, and was of little use to them. Most of the southern republics wanted it in some capacity, but Britian was apprehensive about turning over the colony to a region so full of slavery-based economies. While France would certainly keep it tied to slavery, Britian fully expected that the southern states would try to expand the institution. As a result, Britain ultimately reached a deal with France: London would take the northern part of the territory, while France could keep the southern remainder. While borders would be negotiated, it wound up being that the southernmost point of the Northwest Confederate Protectorate would be the unofficial border, codified by the 1820s.
After this, the Europeans largely ignored the American delegations, since they were mostly secondary powers at best. Despite ostensibly being the defeated party, the French quickly found themselves in a good position, as Talleyrand was quick to point out that a strong France was the logical counterweight each power had to their main rival. Austria and Prussia would both want a strong France in case their rival grew too strong in Germany, no? And surely Spain or Britain would enjoy the French navy should war break out. As a result of this, Talleyrand managed to secure the territory ceded to France in the 1814 Treaty of Paris, giving France more land in Germany. Talleyrand was able to get both German powers to accede to the matter on the same basis as his counterweight notion- after all, if Prussia tried to dominate western Germany, then surely Austria would want French aid, and this would give them skin in the game, or if Austria wanted to push north, then surely Prussia would appreciate the aid French ability to put a dagger to the south, no?
However, there were other disputes to address. Firstly, the Austrian Netherlands; Britain was in no mood to entertain the idea of France retaining it, while the Austrians did not want it. Eventually, it was decided it would go to the new Kingdom of the Netherlands under the House of Orange. Part of this was at the British request, as London wanted the Dutch to be powerful enough to be a nuisance for a French incursion into Northern Germany, while also not intent on returning back large parts of the Dutch Empire- the Cape, as well as Dutch Guiana or Malacca. Next was the issue of Poland, which the Austrian diplomat, Klemens von Metternich was hopeful would see either Prussian annexation or an Austrian puppet state as opposed to the Russian dreams of conquest.
It was this crisis that allowed France to fully integrate itself into the core of the Congress system, as they vowed to support Austria and Britain against the Russo-Prussian Plan. While Talleyrand had managed to secure the Treaty of Paris, to this point it had quietly been agreed that the new balance of power would be decided without France. Eventually, the French-Austrian-British bloc formulated a secondary plan. The King of Saxony (and ostensibly, Poland-Lithuania,) would receive most of the Rhineland and part of Westphalia, while Prussia would receive a sizeable part of Saxony proper as planned. Importantly, the Kingdom of Hannover would be left intact, to appease King George III (though by now, George IV was doing almost all monarchical duties due to his father’s ill health and mental issues.)
The creation of what was hoped to be a third German power was based on Talleyrand’s goals of presenting France as a counter to most, if not all, aggressive powers on the continent. This new Kingdom of Saxony-Rhineland was centered in two wealthy parts of Germany, and it was hoped would become a viable buffer state between Austria and Prussia, much like how the Netherlands and Savoy were meant to buffer France and Prussia or Austria, respectfully. While there were complaints from Prussia about being denied their prize, the French and Austrian politicking won out.
With Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands addressed, attention turned south, to the Italian Peninsula. Originally, the Congress planned fairly minor changes: expand the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, give Austria the province of Lombardy-Venetia, and restore the old aristocracies and leadership. However, the Spanish crown decided to press for concessions in this region, as the only Great Power not acquiring new territory. Namely, King Charles IV attempted to regain the Island of Sicily, and perhaps even part of the Kingdom of Naples. While originally this was dismissed, the Spanish managed to make a compelling spin. Namely, with the island of Sicily, they would have the capacity to be the strongest fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, a vital role in keeping the balance of power, especially since the other options were Britian, France, or perhaps the Ottoman Empire. As a result, because neither France, Britain, or Austria wanted either of the other two to rule the waves in the area, Spain was successful in getting not only Sicily but Sardinia back.
Europe after the Congress of Vienna. Prussia received more of Poland
so as to justify limiting their Saxon expansion which worried Austria.
Britain and Austria’s support was conditional, however. Both parties knew that the Bourbon Monarchy would favor the Bourbon French, so Spain was forced to sign a treaty promising not to enter into an alliance with France for ten years unless the same force attacked both parties. Ultimately, King Charles IV saw this as a relatively minor thing, as Spain was mainly concerned with being seen as a great power despite the relative humiliation it had been dealing with since the American Revolution. Britain’s aid in acquiring Sardinia also required Spain to commit to the end of the Slave Trade by 1825, ten years from the congress.
Spain was not without problems, however. King Charles IV had disinherited his oldest son, Ferdinand, due to a coup d’tat and conspiracy that seemed to be a betrayal to Napoleon’s side during the invasion. As a result, he now had to pick between one of his two other sons, Carlos and Francisco. While this in of itself was not a hard choice, as he figured that Francisco would be more reasonable, the fact is it made Carlos a dangerous force in Spanish affairs. Regardless, Franssicos would quickly become active in the Spanish government, exploiting Godoy’s ever-shaky popularity. While Godoy had managed to retain some influence at court due to the Napoleonic Wars, with him across the sea in Virginia, things became much shakier for him. Eventually, in 1817, Charles IV exiled Godoy after a personal clash, sending him to Rome where the pope would monitor him. By this point, Francisco was a stronger voice in government, his primary rival exiled and his father disinterested and elderly, before becoming King in 1821. While Francisco did not formalize a constitution until 1833, much of the precedent that he would eventually adopt did come into practice during this period.
Prince Francisco, later King.
Typically titled King Francis I of Spain.
However, the Spanish Empire itself was in a state of unrest, not just the peninsula. Despite his defeat, Napoleon had emboldened liberalism in the Spanish Empire, especially the Mestizos and Criollos. The Spanish Empire had a complex and rigid caste system even for a European empire, one which favored peninsula-born whites over any other group, while the majority of elites were colonail-born elites and even of mixed race. In 1821, newly crowned King Francisco I was convinced to level a new tax code that prioritized domestic goods over those in the colonies. This naturally sparked massive outrage in the major colonies. This unrest would last in some form for a bit more than a decade, as the Spanish government attempted to fund reforms throughout the Empire.
While Europe was trying to settle its new order, crafted deliberately by the Great Powers, the North American order was changing, and in a more organic way. New York had traditionally been a wealthy, but not populous, nation on the edge of New England. However, in part due to their trade deals with the Spanish and due to immigration from other states to capitalize on that, their population had begun to surge. As a result, they were becoming a bit more nationalistic, as the people wanted to prove thier dominance over their neighbors. However, the matter of where to expand was up for debate. Massachusetts was a threat, but the leadership of New York was also confident that they were contained by Britain, or by the NY and Vermontian bloc. As a result, the expansionist policy was not based on defensive need, but instead on imperial aims. Pennsylvania and New Jersey were the most logical choice in this regard, as one would allow them greater access to the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River (as well as a more defensible frontier,) while New Jersey would extend the coast, and given that was where much of New York’s power came from, there was a compelling argument.
Eventually, the side in favor of attacking Pennsylvania won out, and New York launched the Eerie War in the summer of 1823. Officially the war was declared in response to the mistreatment of fishermen and New York citizens, but everyone knew its real cause. The city of Erie was the first and primary offensive target in the war, as New York wanted a strong position to negotiate a coastal expansion. However, while the New York Republican Army was pushing south, they did not expect their Pennsylvanian counterparts to push through northern New Jersey in order to siege New York more effectively. However, when they received news from the smaller republic that the Pennyslavanian force had gotten bogged down, they certainly appreciated the failed countermeasure. As a result of this, a small contingent was sent to pressure the Pennsylvania forces along with the Jerseyites.
All in all the war was brief, due to the small populations and economies of the parties involved. New York was able to absorb northern Pennsylvania, which became the Erie Province, while New Jersey was content with reparations and a large part of the Pennsylvanian navy. New York generally favored a decisive, but lenient, peace so that Pennsylvania would be a reasonable buffer state between New York and Virginia, as politicians in Albany were well aware that confrontation would not currently go well for them and they did not want to risk agitating it sooner.
However, New York’s nationalistic public was not sated by their expansion. Thankfully, however, it did turn into a more political matter. Many in New York felt that the name was inappropriate, feeling it was a declaration of subservience to still be named after a town in England despite being a regional power that was no longer part of the British Empire. As a result, there was an outcry to change the name from many patriotic citizens. While originally this was seen as a minor concern not worth the government’s time to humor, a petition of several leading figures did eventually reach the Republican House. The most common names were Ontaria (which did not solve the problem…) West New England (which was a mouthful and also did not solve the problem,) Albanland (which had some approval by people who lived in Albany for no particular reason), and Columbia, which quickly became popular. The government ultimately decided to put it on the ballot in the 1824 election, and the proposal narrowly passed. New York was now the Republic of Columbia, though it remained centered on Albany.
Massachusetts was watching the Columbian actions carefully. It was clear that they were the two strongest parts of New England, especially after the humiliation of Pennslyvania. The two states seemed to be of equal power, but ultimately it was hard to gauge. As a result, when they went to war- and it was clear they would, by now- it would come down to allies. While Columbia had Vermont, Massachusetts was more isolated, having fully annexed its main target, whereas Columbia had simply made Pennsylvania a nonthreat. Eventually, Massachusetts reached a shaky agreement with New Jersey. In the event of war, Massachusetts would receive everything north of Kingston, while Jersey would gain New York City itself. Of course, Massachusetts had no real intention of giving up the prize that easily, nor did it honestly expect it could defeat Columbia that totally, but that was beside the point by now.
Post Erie War North America
i did not mean to abandon this TL, i just had pretty bad writers block for narrative AH
so i'm toying with how i want germany to develop. namely, would you guys be interested in Saxony-Rhineland uniting it, or should it be one of the pre-existing powers?
Honestly I'm down with anyone other than Prussia. They do it in pretty much every TL.
On the other hand, you could have it where Germant never unifies and remains divided under many German kingdoms.
Perhaps Germany is unified under the political and customs union between the different German states. It would be interesting in the long term would be the alliance between the future German Union and the Spanish Empire.
Will the Northwestern Confederacy succeed where the United States had failed and form its own nation?
it won't go manifesting destiny or anything, and for all intents and purposes is part of the British empire, but it and the natives will enjoy more autonomy TTL- Georgia certainly doesn't have the manpower for something like the Trail of Tears