El Fenix Español

El Fenix Español

Wikipedia: The Napoleonic invasion of Spain, and the Peninsular war that followed (1808-1814) completely destroyed the economic, social, and political texture of Spain. The war against the French invaders and the intensity of subsequent political strife bred an unusual violence in Spanish politics. After the war neither the old social order nor its culture would survive. Upon the return of King Fernando VII to the throne in 1814, there ensued a bitter civil strife between absolutists and "liberals," a term that originated in Spain, used by partisans of freedom and democracy. In Spanish America the liberals won and 16 new republics gained their independence by 1824. Only Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and the Pacific Island chains of the Carolines, the Marianas, and the Marshalls remained of the once-great Spanish empire.

This timeline deals with an alternate history whereby Spain attempts to rise once again.


RED = Dominica
BLUE = South America
GREEN = Cuba



spanish1zf7.jpg

Spain possessions in the Caribbean

18th March 1861
President of the Dominican Republic Pedro Santana Familias invites Spain to retake control of the colony, granted independence only 17 years before. Santana is given the positions of Civil Governor, Captain-General of Dominica and Lietenant-General in the Spanish Army as well as the title Marquis de las Carreras.

4th July 1861
Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and General Gregorio Luperón are executed in Santo Domingo after leading an uprising against the new Spanish authorities.

15th November 1862
Isabel II of Spain despatches a scientific expedition to the South-Western Pacific. It is led by Admiral Luis Hernández Pinzón, a descendent of one of the men who accompanied Columbus when he discovered America. The expedition is escorted by the armoured frigates Triunfo and Resolucion and the schooner Virgen de Covadonga.

Resolucion, Triunfo: (Built 1861; Weight 3,100-tons; Speed 11 knots; weapons twenty 200-mm guns, fourteen 160-mm guns, one revolving 220-mm gun and two 150 mm-howitzers, two 120-mm guns and two 80-mm guns available for disembarkation).

Virgen de Covadonga: (Built 1864; Weight 445-tons; Speed 8 knots; Weapons two revolving 200-mm guns at the sides and one revolving 160-mm gun at the prow).

18th April 1863
The expedition reaches the port of Valparaiso, Chile. Luis Hernández Pinzón is cordially received by the Chilean authorities. After a short stay the squadron moves on to Callao in Peru.

6th July 1863
The expedition leaves Callao in order to continue its research further up the western American coast around California.

4th August 1863
In Lambayeque, Peru, fighting breaks out between Spaniards and Peruvians. One Spanish citizen is killed and several wounded. Luis Hernández Pinzón orders the expedition to return to Peru, seeking an official apology from the Peruvian government.

16th August 1863
Haitian-backed rebels attack Santo Domingo, and raise the Dominican flag. Despite this after an intense battle the rebels are beaten back and order restored. This marks the beginning of a period of guerrilla warfare against Spanish rule.

13th November 1863
The Spanish expedition once again reaches Peru, Luis Hernández Pinzón demands that reparations be made to the citizen’s of Spain affected by the violence. The Peruvian government responds that the incident is an internal matter, and declines to apologise.

30th November 1863
In response to the Peruvian refusal, the Spanish government demands the immediate payment of debts owed to Spain by Peru. A Spanish official - Eusebio de Salazar y Mazaredo – is sent to negotiate terms.

28th March 1864
Spanish representative Salazar arrives in Peru. However talks swiftly break down, as neither side is willing to compromise.

14th April 1864
Spanish ships attack the Chincha Islands, 13 miles off the southwest coast of Peru, as retaliation for Peruvian refusal to repay their debt. The islands are garrisoned with several companies of Spanish Marines and the Peruvian governor Ramón Valle Riestra is imprisoned on the Resolucion. The three Chincha Islands are a vital source of revenue for the Peruvian government, profit from their Guano accounting for more than half of total government income. The Spanish also begin to blockade Peruvian ports.

1st May 1864
As the Spanish begin to profit from the Chincha islands, the army in Dominica is expanded using new revenue. It begins an effective counter-insurgency, involving the widespread use of so-called ‘Concentration Camps.’

20th June 1864
The Spanish government is alarmed by the belligerent attitude of Admiral Luis Hernández Pinzón, on whose orders the Chincha Islands had been occupied. He is removed from his position and replaced with Vice-Admiral Juan Manuel Pareja.

27th January 1865
Juan Manuel Pareja completes the negotiation of a treaty that promises future compromise with Peru. However much of the Peruvian population sees the signing of the treaty as resulting in a loss of prestige, and anger grows towards the government.

17th September 1865
After Chilean authorities refuse to sell the Spanish coal, Admiral Pareja sails to Valparaiso. In an act designed to belittle Chilean independence, he demands that the Spanish flag be given official recognition. Chile refuses.

24th September 1865
Chile declares war on Spain. Pareja’s fleet immediately begins a blockade of Valparaiso.

7th November 1865
The Peruvian government falls, it is replaced by a more nationalist administration led by Mariano I. Prado.

26th November 1865
Mariano I. Prado, President of Peru, declares solidarity with Chile and informs Spain that a state of war now exists between them and Peru.

On the same day, at the Battle of Papudo, the Chilean corvette Esmeralda is destroyed by the Spanish schooner Virgen de Covadonga.

5th December 1865
Peru and Chile sign a formal alliance against Spain. Ecuador and Bolivia stay neutral in light of the devastating impact of the Spanish naval blockade on the Peruvian and Chilean economies.

January 1866
Armed resistance against Spanish rule effectively ends in Dominica after the last rebel strongholds are surrounded and destroyed.

31st January 1866
Admiral Pareja orders the Spanish Fleet to attack Valparaiso. The defenceless town is subjected to a three-hour bombardment, causing over $10,000,000 of damage and effectively destroying the Chileant merchant navy. British and American Squadrons nearby are unwilling to intervene, and leave the Chileans to their fate.

7th February 1866
A combined Peruvian-Chilean armada attacks the Spanish ships Villa de Madrid and Reina Blanca. The Spanish squadron is faced by the Peruvian and Chilean ships Apurímac, América and Unión. After Unión is rammed and sunk by Reina Blanca, the rest of the allied fleet is destroyed as it flees back towards Chile. The Reina Blanca founders in the pursuit, having sustained heavy structural damage, and sinks.

Reina Blanca: (Weighted 3,800-tons, 68 guns in total)

Villa de Madrid: (Built 1862; Weight 4,478-tons; Speed 15 knots; Weapons thirty 200-mm guns, fourteen 160 mm-guns, two 120-mm guns, plus two 150-mm howitzers and two 80-mm guns for disembarkation)

Apurímac: (Built UK, 1854; Weight 1,666-tons; Weapons forty four guns)

América: (Built France, 1864; Weight 1,600 tons; Speed 12.5 knots; Weapons two 100-pounder guns, two 68 pounders and 12 forty pounders)

Unión: (Built France, 1864; Weight 1,600 tons; Speed 12.5 knots; Weapons two 100-pounder guns, two 68 pounders and 12 forty pounders)

25th April 1866
The Spanish fleet, reinforced and now comprising the Numancia, Restauración, Berenguela, Villa de Madrid, Vencedora and the Almansa, reaches the important Peruvian port of Callao. The Squadron is the largest the nation has assembled since Trafalgar, 51 years before – with the Numancia one of the strongest ships in the world.

Almansa: (Built 1864; Weight 3,980-tons; Speed 12 knots; armament thirty 200-mm guns; fourteen 160-mm guns and two 120-mm guns. She also had two 150 mm-howitzers and two 80-mm guns for disembarkation)

Berenguela: See Reina Blanca, above

Numancia: (Built in France, 1863; Weight 7,500-tons; Speed 12 knots; weapons thirty-four 200-mm guns; Armour five and a half iron belt; Crew 620 men)

Vencedora: (Built 1861; Weight 778-tons; Speed 8 knots; weapons two 200-mm revolving guns and two 160-mm guns)

Villa de Madrid: See above

2nd May 1866
The Spanish squadron attacks Callao. Peruvian naval artillery batteries repel an initial assault, causing casualties on the Vencedora (12 killed, 7 wounded) and Almansa (5 killed, 23 wounded). Simultaneously five Peruvian gunboats sally forth out of the harbour, but are sunk by concentrated fire from the Numancia.

5th May 1866
In a second attack on Callao the Spanish destroy several naval batteries, killing around 250 Peruvian defenders and wounding a further 300. As dusk settles the Spanish squadron moves to within range of the port – now virtually undefended – and begins a two-hour bombardment.

6th May 1866
Peruvian officials estimate the damage caused by the Spanish bombardment to public and private property at $12,000,000.

10th May 1866
Two battalions of Spanish infantry are landed at Callao, supported by the Spanish fleet. However a tenacious Peruvian defence of the Royal Fortress Felipe leads them to retire after suffering a number of dead and wounded. In the evening the Fortress is subjected to a large-scale naval bombardment. A shot fired from the Numancia hits the fortress’ powder supply, resulting in a huge explosion that effectively renders the fortification useless. Peruvian casualties include the Minister of War Jose Galvez.

spanish2ci4.jpg

Spain possessions in the Caribbean
 

maverick

Banned
Wrong again...just plain wrong:p...

Oh, well...really...not bad actually...

Not sure about the plausibility, but I sure like it...:)
 
Admitely, a Spanish-wank starting in Isabella II's reign is not something common in Alternate History. The first part is well written and detailed, good job!

However, I don't think it's possible to have a Spanish reconquest in the continent at this point, excet for some islands and maybe a pair of outposts.
 
Wrong again...just plain wrong:p...

Maybe I should stop trying to be clever and just do it in English. :D

So far I haven't gone too far away from OTL. Spain did fight against Peru and Chile in the so-called Chincha Islands War, but did a bit worse than they do here.
 
Admitely, a Spanish-wank starting in Isabella II's reign is not something common in Alternate History. The first part is well written and detailed, good job!

However, I don't think it's possible to have a Spanish reconquest in the continent at this point, except for some islands and maybe a pair of outposts.
 
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It may seem to have an air of Spain-wankery about it at the moment, but the basis for everything in the first post did actually happen (and things won't carry on going so well for long!) - forget to say in my last post that they were invited back to Dominica in OTl as well. They just never really made the most of these oppostunities!
 
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