Empire 1898

European Empires in 1898

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I can't imagine how South Africa and Brazil have ended up as part of the same polity...?

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
My guess would be some sort of Dutch dominions.

Oh I see! A graduated colour. I was thinking either the Boers had conquered Northern Brazil, or the Brazilians had conquered South Africa, neither of which seemed very likely!

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Looks like OTL but with a smaller Dutch East Indies (to the benefit of Britain) but the Netherlands includes Belgium and has got the Congo, Rhodesia and Zambia, plus Dutch "Dominions" in Brazil and South Africa.
 
Dutch Brasil, Guyana and New Walcheren (Tobago)

Dutch Brasil is an Dominion, administrative independent.
It proclaimed independence when the Batavian Repubic was proclaimed in the United Provinces in 1795.
The Batavian Republic was very pro French while Dutch Brasil was pro Orange.
With the proclamation of independence it gradual moved to the side of the English and took active side of the English during the reign of Napoleon. During this period the Guyana colonies were a part of Dutch Brasil.
The origins of Dutch Brasil are well known but the Dominion start a prosperous growth after the return of Maurice of Nassau Siegen in 1650. This was made possible due to several factors. Admiral Witte de With joint his sailors, very reluctant, with the Dutch WIC mercenaries who defeated in a series of battles and campaigns the Brazilian insurgents. The Final blow came when the Dutch Republic signed a peace treaty in 1649 with Portugal which mean that the land North of the river Sao Francesco were Dutch and South were Portuguese and Portugal denied support to any rebels. By this time the WIC lost its licnece for monopolizing any trade or shipment to these coasts.
Even it took several years and many mercenary armies, manly from Germany to pacify the whole new colony the influx of colonist and accumulation of wealth increased with a modest but steady flow.
Maurtits of Nassau Siegen not only created one of the most splendid Baroque and Classicism cities of the Southern Hemisphere, Mauricio polis or Recife, he also was the father of a colored branch of the Nassau three and father of a nation.
After the defeat of Napoleon dutch Brasil returned back in to the new created Kingdom of the Netherlands but with a ''status apparte'' which resulted in 1840 in an independence with mutual support between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Mauricio as it is called. It ceded the Guyana colonies back to the Kingdom of the Netherlands when it received its autonomy.

The main religion if the Roman Catholic church followed by the Jewish church and after that the Protestant church. Since the 1870 there are also many migrant workers from the South of India, who have the Hindu believe, and Muslims from Java.
Mauricio is a ruled by parliament with the constitutional head of state Casimir III of Nassau Siegen.

The Guyana colonies and New Walcheren are typical sugar colonies, producing sugar, cacao, wood, and rum. Since the ban on slave trade in 1814 these colonies saw as well a vast influx of workers from Java and Southern India.
The colonies had several ups and downs in the 17th century especial New Walcheren which was more than once the victim of attacks of English or french pirates or direct attacks from English or French invasion fleets. Never the less the colonies survived. The European population of New Walcheren is a mix of Dutch (Zeeland) Courland and French.
 
Kaap Kolonie or ZuidAfrika

This is the 2nd autonomous dominion within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Established in 1652 as a refreshing station by the VOC it slowly grew in a colony around the main settlement Kaapstad (Capetown) During the 18th century several other hamlets were established. How ever colonization was discouraged by the VOC numerous ways. The influx of colonist there for was limited and the wealth of the settlers remained low.
In 1689 a second colony was founded in Terra Natal, after a difficult start this fort Stavenisse grew to a significant trading settlement but like theCape colony was hampered in it growth and prosperity by the rules and regulations of the VOC
The real growth came when VOC came in financial problems during the4th Anglo-Dutch war and as a sort of government support sold their Cape colony and Stavenisse colony to the State General of the United Provinces.
The price the Dutch Republic paid was not significant but it relieved the VOC of the cost of defending and maintenance
The State General rewarded the settlements of the Cape Colony and the Stavenisse colony with several charters and raised Cape town to Kaap stad. The charters give the settlement the right for several privileges like right of (city0 government, making laws, raising taxes etc. and the right to call them city.
All settlements united them selves in a counsel of cities which formed the basis for future government. With the barriers of the VOC gone, the colonies saw an increased economical growth an with that an increase flow of immigrants. Due to the trading with India, Arabia and East Africa the immigrants were not only from Europe. This in turn was reason for several families to move ever further inland, a way from what they called strangers. Never the less the number of this families was low but, they were the fore runners and scouts of interior.
When the Dutch Republic became the Batavian Republic and defacto a vassal of France, the Cape colony was occupied by the United Kingdom in 1799. After improving relations between the UK and France the colony was given back to the Dutch. The first occupation of the English went almost without resistance. When tensions and finaly open war between France and the UK came the British invaded the colony again in 1806. Mean while military reinforcements arrived from the Netherlands and the former neutral attitude towards the English of the Cape colonist changed toward hostile the English experienced an armed resistance. This resistance was not met in open battles but in guerrilla kind of assaults. When Napoleon left the stage and Europe tried to restore the old order the Cape colony was returned back to the new Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The colony had given the United Kingdom to much troubles and it was found easier to govern the own refreshing station and colony East of the Cape colony.
This was confirmed it the Treaty of London in 1814, in which also the slave trade was forbidden. This last gave some stir in the Cape colony but only a hand full of families joined the small group of ''voortrekkers'' in to the ''veld".
Like all trading post or colonies of the Dutch, Dutch was the ''lingua franca '' of the administration and trade, but it was not propagated as the official laguage. So the Dutch of Zuid Africa developed like the Dutch of Brasil and Guyana and Gold Coast as a "Dutch" with multiple loan words form other languages. This also reflecting the numerous origins of the people living there. The cape colony was not only in habit by immigrants from the Netherlands but as well, French Huguenots, German from Rhineland, Flemish, Walon, Scots, Indians from Kerala and Tamil Nadu and Omani, and Khoisan and Xhosa.

One significant boast for the economy and immigration was the discovery of gold around 1870 and diamonds.
 
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