I know you didn't. I see some gradual liberalizing and secularizing reforms over the 19th and 20th centuries, but Christianity will still be a major force in the western world, perhaps there'd be some pendulum swinging back and forth between secularism and religiosity in the modern west ITTL.
English Canada/French Carolina: A Timeline
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I can see somewhere like the Netherlands being pretty secular ITTL, but even then they'd still have significant Christian influence, unlike OTL when Christians aren't even the majority of Dutchmen anymore.
Maybe black influenced music from La Floride will play a similar role in America ITTL to what Latin American music does OTL
I could see an ATL Jazz developing, as New Orleans still has many French influences IOTL.
The Netherlands always has been a conservative and very christian country. Probably one of the most conservative and christian countries on Europe. Only around the 1960-70 this changed. And even now the Netherlands is a pretty right winged (although still liberal, at least in the original sense) country, which it has been since at least the 1980's. Very little is needed for the Netherlands to be an even more conservative country.
My bad, I didn't know this. I'd assumed that the Dutch had always been more liberal than other European countries, considering that they had significant religious freedom as the rest of Europe fought religious wars. I think the Netherlands were the first country to legalize same-sex marriage as well, and Amsterdam is well known for it's drug culture.
Part 25: Commonwealth In The Early 19th Century
Part 25: Commonwealth In The Early 19th Century
After a few updates away, it’s finally time to return to the Commonwealth of America. By 1800, the Commonwealth had a population of 5.5 Million (if there was no immigration, the population would grow to 87 Million by 1900 if it doubled every 25 years). The population continued to grow rapidly due to the high birth rates and low death rates when compared to the old world, as well as the steady stream of immigrants from Europe (mainly Britain). Settlers were pouring across the Appalachians by the wagonload, with new Commonwealth Provinces such as Ohio (same as OTL’s state of Ohio), Niagara (OTL Southern Ontario) and Kentucky (most of OTL’s Kentucky) being proclaimed during the first quarter of the 19th Century. The Industrial Revolution that had began in Britain in the Late 18th Century was beginning to make its way across the pond, with the Royal Navy basing much of it’s shipbuilding efforts out of New York, Boston and Kirkeston. Mount Royal really begins to boom in this era, as grain being sent upstream from Niagara and wood being sent upstream from the forests to the northwest end up in Mount Royal’s grain or lumber mills, with Mount Royal growing from a population of 24,000 in 1800 to 65,000 in 1825. Kirkeston had grown from 52,000 in 1800 to 79,000 in 1825, not as rapid growth as Mount Royal, but still the larger city. New York still reigned supreme, with over 175,000 people by 1825.
In order to organize settlement west of the Appalachians, the American Commonwealth government began giving out land grants to settlers moving west, making deals with the natives and encouraging infrastructure such as canals and roads. The White population of Niagara, for example soared from around 60,000 in 1800 to 540,000 in 1825, and would only continue to surge from there as settlers from Laurentia, New Scotland and New England and immigrants from Britain and Northern Europe poured in to grab their piece of the land. The Five Nations of Upper New York were granted their own autonomous region along Lake Ontario, leaving it as the only majority Native region east of the Appalachians. Speaking of Upper New York, the Erie Canal from the growing city of Buffalo to the Hudson River in the nation’s capital of Albany was constructed during this time period, being completed in 1825 and solidifying New York’s position as America’s premier city. Despite massive out-migration to the western territories, Laurentia’s population grew from 960,000 in 1800 to 1,825,000 in 1825, and New Scotland’s population grew from 690,000 in 1800 to 1,310,000 in 1825. The Western Territory that had been proclaimed after the formation of the Commonwealth was now being carved up into smaller Commonwealth Provinces, with the provinces of Ohio, Niagara, Michigan, Wabash (basically OTL Indiana) and Illinois all being proclaimed by 1825.
Unlike IOTL where the institution of Slavery was expanding rapidly across the South, by 1825, Slavery was clearly on it’s way out in America, as the only place west of the Appalachians where the Peculiar Institution was present was the new province of Kentucky. Meanwhile, the public perception of Slavery in both Britain and the majority of the country that didn’t have Slavery was becoming increasingly negative. Even with the cotton boom, the institution was quickly being viewed as a dinosaur that had no place in a civilized society (the main source of cotton for European textile mills was La Floride, after all, not The Commonwealth). The Atlantic Slave Trade was being cracked down upon by the Royal Navy by this time, and several economists argued that Slavery was actually an economic detriment that stifled innovation and discouraged hard work. Meanwhile, out west, cities like Toronto, Stuarton (formerly Fort Stuart), and Chicago were growing quickly as trade centers for the new western territories. Investors from out east quickly saw the potential for these burgeoning towns to grow into new metropoli, which would only be accelerated by a new innovation that I will get to in a coming update (hint: choo choo).
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The name Stuarton reminds me: Do the Stuarts still rule Britain or did the Hanoverian transition still occur?
In Part 4 of this series, one of the British forts that was founded was Fort Stuart on the site of OTL Detroit, eventually it was renamed Stuarton.
I know that. I'm just asking if the house of Stuart is still in charge.
So what is the American Commonwealth's total population in 1825? I see the figures for selected provinces and cities then, but only ones for 1800 and projected figures way into the future for said Commonwealth as a whole.
No, I know the name would have likely been changed, but I'm too lazy to do that.
While not Christian there as previously mentioned is still a lot of traditions and values taken over from that. In the modern day it’s lore that most don’t necessarily believe in god or that does the latest census say at least
The Dutch fought a religious war for 80 years: The Eighty year war. The Dutch republic was in some ways more liberal than other countries. There was more religious freedom, more personal freedom, more political freedom and more economic freedom. But the Netherlands in the 19th and early 20th century certainly was not as liberal as France or Britain or even Germany in some ways. The thing is, countries change over the centuries. Sometimes The Netherlands was more liberal, sometimes it was more conservative. This is true for all countries. You can see the same thing for the USA.
When we are talking about Alternate History, everything is possible. The Netherlands could end up as a very liberal country, or as a very conservative country. It depends on what happens to it. And to the rest of the world.
In short, you can decide.
One of my next updates will be on a war between France and Austria over the Austrian Netherlands (I.E. Belgium) and influence in Northern Italy. Got any suggestions?
https://www.strawpoll.me/17908814
A poll on if Alaska is acquired by Britain or if it remains Russian.
A poll on if Alaska is acquired by Britain or if it remains Russian.
Well, I'm gonna delete this post, because my next update will be on Spanish and Portuguese America.
What direction could you see Spain (and her colonies by extension) going in this ATL 19th Century? I feel like Spain will for the most part be propped up by their fellow Bourbons in France, and nudged towards a more liberal framework over time, but I'd like to see your suggestions as well.
I believe that with the butterflying of the United States and the French Revolution (and therefore no Napoleonic wars), Spain and Portugal could hold on to their colonies for atleast a few more decades. Spain might also try to become more liberal if it means keeping their colonies, but this may result in another Carlist war.
It's a possibility IMO that France props up Spain enough that Spain keeps it's colonies (or at least some of them) until the 20th Century.