alternatehistory.com

Hello everyone. I've decided that I don't have the time to develop and cultivate a proper timeline from the ground up right now, so I have revised my only truly adequate TL instead. The results are a bit more plausible, a bit slower, and resulting in a global war between several interesting states. Please enjoy and feel free to compliment, I should be able to update the thread at least once a week from now on. Thanks and God bless!
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Espadas y Mariposas


· December 6, 1820-Point of Divergence: Agustín de Iturbide, formerly a Colonel in the New Spanish Army, is promoted to the rank of Capitán General del Ejército (Supreme Commander of the Army) in recognition of his outstanding military service against insurgents in Mexico.

· December 12, 1820: Don Agustín, a Criollo, declares to the populace that all insurgents who lay down their arms and join the New Spanish cause will be pardoned for their actions against the crown. This causes a change in heart for many Criollos, who see the appointment of Iturbide as a harbinger for their future involvement in government.

· December 16, 1820: Don Agustín intercepts the rebel forces of Vicente Guerrero, and in a display of military elegance, routs the force into the Mexican desert.

· December 30, 1820: With the loyalties of Criollos gravitating towards the Viceroyal government, the rebellion begins to rapidly radicalize, drawing recruits primarily from Mechica populations. The rebels begin to terrorize Criollo and Peninsulare populations throughout Mexico, as well as those Mestizos and Amerindians who support the New Spanish.

· February 5, 1821: As rebel forces continue to kill white soldiers and civilians alike, moderates in the rebel camp begin to doubt their leaders. Weathered and war-weary, the moderates approach Capitán Iturbide and Viceroy Juan O'Donojú for peace talks.

· February 30, 1821: The peace talks between New Spain and the moderates, overseen by the Spanish King Ferdinand VII (acting as the representative of the Cortes in Madrid), results in a large power shift in the region, as the moderates and loyalists are united under Iturbide’s “Writ of Three Guarantees”. The three guarantees promised to the united New Spanish cause are announced as follows:

The Catholic Church, and tradition in the Country, will remain central to the state of New Spain.
The newly created government position of Presidente del Gobierno will be decided by popular election, and will hold power of veto over the Viceroy, although no official may contradict the will of the monarch of Spain.
New Spain will act independently of Spain, unless that independence contradicts the policies of Spain herself.

· May 3, 1821: The conflict in New Spain continues as rebel forces under Mestizo leader Guadalupe Victoria unite with those of Guerrero against New Spain.

· August 10, 1821: After over ten years of conflict, the Mexican Rebels meet with New Spanish leaders in order to discuss a resolution to the issue. The talks are again led by King Ferdinand.

· August 15, 1821: King Ferdinand and Viceroy O'Donojú, both desperate to reestablish the vital trade between America and Iberia, settle with the Mexican rebels to the Treaty of Córdoba, in which the King introduced the process of advancement:

Any Amerindian or Mestizo may become a full citizen of New Spain after serving 20 years or until death in government service. Once ‘citizenship’ is gained, a person and their descendants may vote in the elections for Presidente.

The New Class structure is as follows:
§ La Nobleza: Peninsulares and Criollos, must serve in the government for ten years in order to claim their position. Can be appointed (or elected in the absence of a King in Spain) Viceroy. Can vote to elect the Viceroy in the absence of a King in Spain.
§ Los Ciudadanos: Anyone of lower birth who has served 20 years of government service. (If their parent served 20 years, they need only serve 10). Vote for the Presidente.

· August 18, 1821: Several rebel leaders reveal that Iturbide had contacted them in the past (before his reinstatement and promotion in late 1820), and present evidence to the Viceroy that Iturbide committed several crimes against the people of New Spain. This and his sway over the military combine to convince Ruiz that Iturbide is a threat to his rule.

· August 30, 1821: The New Spanish Secret Police abduct Iturbide from his home in Vera Cruz and execute him for trumped up charges of blasphemy. The news of his fabricated sexual deviancy and heresy are released to the news outlets of New Spain, and support for the late General dissipates.

· October 5, 1821: The first election for Presidente is held. Antonio López de Santa Anna, a hero of the war against the Mexican rebels, is elected Presidente and appointed Supreme Commander by Viceroy Ruiz.
· January 16, 1822: After less than a year in office, Santa Anna conspires with a rebel faction to overthrow the royalist government. The people of New Spain, tired of war and secure in the rights given to them by the government of the Viceroy, do not support him.

· January 26, 1822: After ten days of conflict, the abortive coup attempt ends in a total failure for Santa Anna.

· January 30, 1822: Santa Anna is executed after being judged guilty by the Judicial Cortes. King Ferdinand, along with the Cortes in Mexico City and Madrid, declare that the office of Presidente will no longer be available to officers in the military.

· March 1, 1822: The United States and New Spain begin negotiations to join in a trade agreement, and New Spain sells the US Florida as a sign of good faith.

· March 2, 1822-June 10, 1840: After 38 years of development under two more Viceroys and four more Presidentes, New Spain has been largely reformed under Iturbide’s three guarantee system, and is a stable and prospering country. Its wealth has rejuvenated Spain via trade, and the European state begins to reassert itself on the regional stage under Queen Isabella II. Spain, however, faces a seething movement to liberalize the empire. Wilhelm I Hohenzollern becomes the King of Prussia after the death of his brother Friedrich Wilhelm IV.

· June 11, 1840: The United States, after years of peace with New Spain, is forced into conflict after a minor border incident results in a large skirmish between New Spanish and American troops. The US raids and pirates those ships attempting to trade with New Spain, including many British Ships. When Britain orders the US to cease their privateering, the US refuses, citing impressment during the Napoleonic Wars. Britain begins to see issue in the growing strength of the US.

· June 12, 1840-August 3, 1840: The US and New Spain enter into an intense series of diplomatic sessions, with neither side willing to consolidate with the other. New Spain seeks a diplomatic resolution, but the US is intent on expansion and regional hegemony. Tension increases dramatically as both factions rapidly develop their militaries.

·August 8, 1840: Costa Rica, a state of New Spain, and Nueva Grenada successfully revolt and unite as the State of Gran Colombia. New Spain refuses to send military force to the south, concerned over its border to the north. The Jinetes Reales, a semi-secret paramilitary unit, are sent instead to ensure the integrity of New Spain's southern provinces.

· September 8, 1840: The United States, pressured by a growing population and a need for natural resources, makes the first move against Spain during the (relatively) cool month of September. At first, the US makes rapid gains, but finds itself bogged down in California and Texas by both the New Spanish Cavalry and Native tribes. The US forces, largely composed of infantry, find movement and occupation difficult.

· September 15, 1840: New Spain reaches out to Great Britain and peninsular Spain for assistance against the United States, which is able to field more soldiers. Great Britain, Spain, and New Spain form the Pact of September and the two European states deploy expeditionary forces and cease trade.

· October 16, 1840: As New Spain’s European allies begin to arrive on the US east coasts of Carolina and Florida; the September Pact’s Naval forces (based at Havana and Vera Cruz) forge a blockade of US trade.

· November 2, 1840: British and Spanish forces begin to make minor inroads in Florida and Louisiana, but their greatest contribution is their involvement in the diversion of American troops from the Mexican front.

· November 20, 1840: British and Spanish troops manage to seize New Orleans after a lengthy siege. US forces are forced to attempt to retake the Mississippi River from the invaders.

· December 3, 1840: New Spain launches a major offensive composed primarily of cavalry and artillery forces. The so-called Battle of the Desert begins.

· December 4, 1840-January 12, 1841: The Battle of the Desert rages on continually, and ends with the US forces being repulsed back across the Rio Grande at a great cost to Spanish manpower. Anglo-Spanish forces continue their assault through Carolina, and besiege Richmond successfully. The United States, sensing the growing momentum against their cause, surrender to the Pact of September.

· January 31, 1841: The ‘September War’ as it is known (also later known as the First Spanish-American War) ends with the signing of the Treaty of Madrid. The major concessions are as follows:

The US cedes Florida and part of Louisiana to Great Britain to be governed as the Province of New Orleans.

The US is to pay large reparations to Spain and New Spain.

The US is to no longer expand its contiguous border.

· March 16, 1841: New Spain, having found its infantry forces to be sub-par, expands its line infantry and skirmishing forces. Unfortunately for the Spanish Commonwealth and Empire, several independence movements in South America had erupted during the September War, and come to fruition at this time. The Republics of Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and Gran Peru successfully triumph against the royalists.

· June 5, 1842: A small revolt arises in Philippines, and New Spain sends an expeditionary force to silence it.

· June 6, 1842-September 12, 1846: New Spanish envoys manage to incite a Catholic uprising against the Tokugawa Shogunate under the leadership of Omura Yukinaga. The Catholic Daimyo soon receives military support from the New Spanish Philippines, and a reluctant and ashamed Shogun agrees to allow the formation of the new Protectorate under the administration of Omura as Viceroy. The Dominion of Nagasaki is steadily fortified over the years.

· September 30, 1846-January 8, 1847: Spanish forces stationed in Nagasaki begin to establish trading outposts in China and Indochina of increased size and importance. The wealth entering the Spanish Empire swells as their presence increases.

· January 26, 1847: Don Carlos Ruiz de Castile, a minor New Spanish governor in Texas, is murdered by a group of Texans pressing for more independence. The Jinetes Reales are dispatched to the area, and rapidly kill the collaborators.

· March 4, 1847-May 27, 1847: The Jinetes Reales determine that the rebels hail primarily from the United States. Those who have recently immigrated to New Spain from the US are encouraged to emigrate to California and Sonora, and are effectively dispersed throughout the country. A new election is successfully held in Texas and a new governor rises to the occasion.

· June 12, 1847: Spain, emboldened by their recent military successes in America, pursues an invasion and colonization of Morocco, much to the chagrin of France. The invasion begins with the battle of Ceuta, in which Moroccan troops were routed utterly.

· June 13, 1847-January 4, 1848: The Spanish colonization of Morocco and the western Saharan coast is successful, and the Captaincy General of Sahara is established.

· January 5, 1848-February 4, 1848: Many native tribes (primarily the Comanche) begin to increase military pressure against the New Spanish border regions. New Spain, in order to protect their hard-won border with the US, commits several military units to Texas, New Mexico, and California.

· April 16, 1848: Britain faces a rebellion of former US citizens in Louisiana and Florida, and rapidly deploys several troops to the region to put it down.

· August 12, 1848-January 2, 1849: The Tokugawa Shogunate, having attempted to modernize with Dutch assistance, attempts to drive New Spain out of Nagasaki. The attempt, however, fails to drive Capitan General Omura out of the city. He soon finds New Spanish military forces arriving from the Philippines. Within several months, the Shogun is besieged at his capitol of Edo, and surrenders on behalf of the Emperor.

· January 3, 1849: The Japanese Empire, under the mandate of Shogun Tokugawa, allows the Captaincy General of Nagasaki to control the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku.

· February 10, 1849-October 5, 1849: The Captaincy General of Nagasaki begins to establish a formal colonial presence in China, in order to better maintain their trade holdings there.

· November 10, 1849-November 25, 1849: British forces face down the ‘First Rebellion of Flowers’ in Louisiana and Florida. The rebels are put down brutally, but the British face more casualties than they expected. There is serious debate in Parliament over the destiny of the Territory of New Orleans.

· November 30, 1849: After crushing a second revolt by former-US Citizens in Texas, the New Spanish government ceases to allow immigration from the US.

· December 25, 1849: A Mestizo farmer in California stumbles upon a shiny rock while searching for escaped livestock. He soon discovers that the area is rich in gold, and event to be known in the future as the ‘Christmas Find’ and ‘California Scramble’. Thousands of Prospectors from throughout New Spain and the Iberian peninsula rush to claim the precious metals. The Prospectors of New Spanish descent come primarily from New Spain’s oriental territories and members of the Mexican lower class.

· December 26, 1849-April 13, 1851: Using the vast sums of wealth excavated from the hills of California, the Government of New Spain focuses on modernizing its infrastructure. Railroads, steamships, and state-of-the-art military and industrial technology floods to the region, and factories become much more common. In response to this, many people of lower class rise to middle-class status by virtue of wealth. Large finds are uncommon, with many people unearthing only moderate amounts of Gold. Of particular benefit to the aftermath of the Scramble are the people of Puerto Rico and Cuba, who find a sharp increase in quality of life. The United States tries desperately to advance its technological level, but is plagued by deep social divisions. After US President Lewis Cass launches a desperate and disastrous attempt to seize land in Western Africa- known bitterly as ‘Cass’s Asshole’ by modern Americans, he is impeached by a flabbergasted Congress. The US scrambles as it sees its opportunities for power slipping from them rapidly, and holds an emergency election for President. The election is found later to be fraudulent, and the state devolves into chaos and rebellion. In late 1850, a young, charismatic, and obscure politician rises from the maelstrom. A veteran of the War with New Spain and a devout, hard-working Christian, Joseph Samson makes many speeches in cities across the US, and wins the second emergency by a landslide. Samson makes a point to unite the nation behind his view of the US as the ‘Sleeping Giant’ or ‘Victorious Underdog’. Britain and Spain are demonized in American writings of the time.

· May 5, 1851: The Second Rebellion of Flowers begins in Louisiana and Florida.

· May 14, 1851: Spurred on by the massive profit attained by the fabrication industry in New Spain, Spain founds a Royal Academy for Art and Fabrication, pouring money into industrializing their obsolete domestic economy.

· May 18, 1851: The Second Rebellion of Flowers is vanquished.

· July 4, 1851: After quelling yet another rebellion in New Orleans, Parliament finally grants the Dominion independence that they desire, with the understanding that the newly-formed republic will never rejoin the United States.

· July 5, 1851: A new Spanish Merchant ship is sunk off the coast of Japan by an unknown cause. Anglo-Spanish media blame the US. Tensions between the Pact of September and USA increase, but the US is not confrontational.

· August 30, 1851: Hapsburg Austria, noticing the rise in power and affluence of their enemies in Prussia, reaches out to Catholic Spain for an alliance. Spain agrees, and Austria becomes part of the Pact of September.

· September 2, 1851: Trade opens between the newly-independent Dominion of New Orleans and the United States, the US benefits greatly from the Mississippi Trade.

· September 11, 1851: Spain’s attempts to industrialize finally begin to yield results, and the Colony of Sahara is greatly improved by the addition of railroads and improved infrastructure. The Spanish use this strengthened foothold to expand further south.

· October 8, 1851: As the US finally begins to industrialize its military and commercial sectors; an unexpected civil war breaks out between Conservatives (in favor of the recapture of Florida and New Orleans through force) and everyone else (who understands the US currently lacks the military capacity to win a war with the September Pact). The combat is hectic and geographically sporadic.

· December 14, 1851: After over two months of bloody combat, the Loyalist US forces finally begin to achieve a slight advantage over the highly militant Conservatives. It is on this day that the President is approached by British envoys. The envoys threaten to covertly intervene on behalf of the Rebels unless the United States submits to their demands. The US grudgingly begins discussion with Britain.

· December 24, 1851: After ten days of deliberation, it is agreed that the United States will agree to surrender their territorial claims to the pacific northwest for a large sum of money (2,000,000 Pounds to be exact) and the guaruntee that the September Pact will not interfere in the conflict Britain and New Spain also supply the Loyalists with some equipment and support for the remainder of the war.

· December 30, 1851: The Loyalists win the decisive Battle of Fayetteville during which the Conservative leader, Senator Jefferson Johnston, is killed. The leaderless rebels soon surrender without condition, and reparation begins.

· January 1, 1852: The New Year’s Treaty is signed, the US agreeing to partially demilitarize and surrender territorial claims to the pacific territories in exchange for two million Pounds Sterling. The US population is shocked and outraged by the event, and those who support the Government’s decision are known derisively as ‘Doves’.

· February 5, 1852: After a minor border conflict, New Spain and Britain declare war on the Republic of Colombia.

· February 6, 1852-April 3, 1852: After a small and one-sided conflict, Colombia loses her war with the September Pact miserably. Britain seizes Panama as a prize and begins work on a daring engineering plan to create a canal across the territory to link the Atlantic and Pacific. The project will continue off and on for over half a decade before completion.

· April 10, 1852: Unbeknownst to the world, a revolutionary republican group begins to form in Spain with a headquarters in Bilbao. Dubbed the ‘Abrilistas’ (in contrast to loyalist ‘Septiembristas’) they begin to work towards inciting a revolution against the monarchy.

· June 23, 1852: After a long period of peace and inactivity, New Spain feels comfortable enough in America to expand upon its activities in the orient. It launches a large invasion force from bases in the Philippines and Taiwan (Formosa) towards Hainan.

· July 10, 1852: Haikou is taken, and Hainan Island officially surrenders to New Spain. Haikou is renamed San Ignacio, and becomes the base of operations for the invasion.

· August 5, 1852: New Spanish troops from San Ignacio arrive in Indochina on the Cochinchinese east coast.

· August 30, 1852: New Spanish envoys, in the form of the Captains-General Omura and Eguía of Nagasaki and the Philippines, respectively, meet with Emperor Tu Duc of Viet Nam. The Emperor is convinced into becoming the Captain-General of Saigon, and ruling in the name of the Spanish King rather than being overthrown.

· September 2, 1852: The Captaincy-General of Saigon, known worldwide as the Spanish Orient, is officially declared with Emperor Tu Duc as Captain-General.

· September 17, 1852: New Spanish forces under the command of Emperor Tu Duc invade the neighboring state of Laos.

· September 18, 1852-February 3, 1853: New Spanish forces successfully conquer Laos, and the territory is added to the Spanish Orient.

· February 24, 1853: New Spanish forces invade Cambodia from Laos and Viet Nam.

· March 4, 1853: Franklin Pierce becomes President of the United States on a platform of reunification with Florida and Louisiana, now known as ‘Gran Floridia’. This further galvanizes the US Conservative movement, led by Representative John C. Breckinridge, which wishes to re-take Gran Floridia. His opponents in the north of the country claim that he merely wants to increase slavery’s hold in the country.

· August 13, 1853: Anglo-Spanish diplomats arrive with Pierce in Washington to inform him that any act to annex the former US territory of Gran Floridia will lead to war. Pierce passes this on Congress.

· August 14, 1853-July 2, 1853: The US Congress debates furiously over whether to annex Gran Floridia. Many votes are held, and are always tied or against annexation. Pierce himself soon decides to not support the war declaration, and the bill dies in Congress.

· July 3, 1853: President Pierce is assassinated whilst giving a speech in Washington DC. His assassin is soon caught, and is found to have been hired by a major Dove organization. A riot ensues, and a massive crowd storms Washington. Many Doves in Congress flee north to where the Pro-Unification movement is less powerful.

· July 4, 1853: The peace movement, having the support of most of the northern states and against slavery and the south, secedes from the US, forming the Sovereign States of America.

· July 16, 1853: The United States, under acting President William King, declares war on the traitorous Sovereign States. The Pact of September agrees not to get involved.

· July 28, 1853: The US holds an emergency election. The results stand pending for nearly a month.

· July 30, 1853: SSA troops amass on their southern border with loyal Maryland.

· September 7, 1853: The Volcanic Arms Company, based in the Sovereign States of America, introduces lever-action repeating firearms into the international market. The weapons begin to be tested by major powers, particularly the British, Spanish, French, and Prussian Empires. The SSA finds itself increasingly wealthy due to the sale of these weapons. The first US forces invade the northern rebels. One Colonel Robert E. Lee is entrusted with the command of the US Army of the Chesapeake.

· February 12, 1853: The world barely avoids disaster after US and New Spanish forces engage in an accidental skirmish on the former’s Pacific border. Crack diplomats successfully talk down the various powers.

· April 3, 1853: Napoleon III is declared Emperor of France.

· May 8, 1853-June 12, 1855: During a lull in international affairs, secret meetings are held by the Spanish Empire with the leaders of Britain, Prussia, Austria, Portugal and Russia over the issue of future succession to the throne of the still childless Isabella II. After months of discussion, the powers agree that a Hohenzollern, particularly Prince Leopold I, will take power after the death of Isabella after abandoning any rights to the Prussian throne. The Hapsburgs are disgusted by the decision, and withdraw from the September Pact in protest. The powers also discuss growing concern over Napoleon III in France, who is actively interfering with affairs in Italy and is acting in the guise of his uncle Napoleon Bonaparte. The Napoleonic Wars are still fresh in the mind of the powers, and the powers agree to create a failsafe against French aggression in the future. The American Civil War continues in earnest, with General R.E. Lee striking well into the north. Philadelphia falls, as does New York City. The campaign in New England, however, proves a disastrous bloodbath, with the US paying dearly for every inch of territory. Lee retreats back into occupied New York.

· September 24, 1855-November 30, 1855: A meeting of the September Pact takes place in London, with Prussia sitting as a potential member. The parties agree that, with the overall lack of power in the former US; the Pact should rededicate itself to its original purpose: defense against French aggression. Prussia joins the pact as a full member, but receives little support from the other German states, which fear Prussia’s rising prominence. The Army of the Chesapeake is driven out of New York by a surprise attack. He regroups in Pennsylvania and launches another counterattack on the North.

· March 2, 1856-November 6, 1864: A series of conflicts known to posterity as the Incendiary Wars erupt in Europe, Asia, and America. In America, a large resurgence by Plains Indians erupts, forcing New Spain and the USA to quell it. During the rebellion (which lasts throughout the Incendiary Wars), American and New Spanish forces both heavily employ the lever-action rifle/carbine. The weapon becomes the standard cavalry firearm in both states, and begins to be utilized by the other European powers as well. By 1857, the US endeavor against the North begins to lose favor with the citizenry of the Union, wheo increasingly begin to feel beset on all sides by enemies and are weary of war. The US, despite winning several major battles and losing none, are forced to declare a truce with the SSA in order to deal with their problems in the plains. The SSA declares this a victory, and the Sovereign Revolution (known eventually as the War of the Northern Treason in the US) ends with Spain, Prussia, and Britain recognizing the independdence of the Sovereign States. In Europe, the Italian Unification rages on. The Unionist forces under Victor Emmanuel (with extensive assistance from Austria and France) work desperately to unite the country with as little international disturbance as possible, but the redshirted Italian Legion (leaderless after the death of Garibaldi himself in Brazil in 1848) are controversial and brazen. The Legion soon clearly advertised motives of unifying the entire peninsula-at the expense of the Holy See-much to the chagrin of Emmanuel and his people. Ultimately, the Legion’s influence in Italy was inferior to that of the Sardino-Piedmontian King, who made a point of agreeing to a non-aggression pact with Pope Pius IX in 1861. By January of 1862, The Kingdom of Italy was founded, owning all of the peninsula save for the Papal States. Venice, however, was ceded to the Austrian Empire in retribution for their large role in the unification. The final series of troubles stemmed from Asia, and centered around the Imperial Conflict in Japan. In the Conflict, New Spanish forces worked with reformationist Japanese forces to depose the hostile and ineffective Tokugawa Shogunate in favor of direct rule by the Emperor of Japan. The Conflict rages from 1860 until 1864, and resulted in the founding of the Empire of Japan as a state allied to Spain.

· November 10, 1864-August 5, 1865: Prussia and Denmark clash in the Second Schleswig War. Prussian forces, equipped with breech-loading Dreyse Needle Guns, successfully rout the Danish forces. The conflict is settled in the Treaty of Santiago de Compostela, and Prussia gains dominion over Schleswig-Holstein. The more vital effect, however, is the wide adoption of the Needle Gun by the states of the September Pact, who were impressed by its blistering fire rate.

· August 18, 1865: The Fusil Automatique 1865 is invented by Belgian scientist Claude Sucaet. The weapon is a carriage-mounted, crank-operated, multi-barrel, weapon firing 13mm center-fire cartridges. The gun is touted as a glaring improvement to the poorly-executed Mitrailleuse gun of the past decade, and is widely adopted in Europe as a support weapon.

· August 20, 1865: The Sovereign States of America pass the Decree and Law of Emancipation, by which slavery is officially abolished as illegal. The USA, however, does not free its slaves.

· November 30, 1868: A secret gathering of states is held in Saint Petersburg, Russia to discuss opposition to the September Pact. The meeting is chaired by Napoleon III of France, and is attended by Russia, Austria, many minor German States, Italy, the USA, and the Netherlands. The group eventually agrees to a mutual defense agreement, and is dubbed the Silent Coalition.

· March 14, 1869: New Spain, encouraged by the excellent performance of its forces against Russia, deploys an expeditionary force to Persia in response to a trumped-up (or possibly forged) letter detailing Persian plans to attack Anglo-Spanish shipping in the Persian Gulf.

· March 15, 1869-May 6, 1869: In less than two months of combat, Persia surrenders to Spain and sues for peace. Spain then forges a small colony out of the southern coast of the country. The colony is dubbed Spanish Medea, and serves as a boon to Anglo-Spanish trade.
· July 10, 1869: Queen Isabella II of Spain dies of a heart attack in the Royal Palace in Madrid. Word rapidly spreads of her demise, and Prince Leopold Hohenzollern travels to Spain for his ascension to the throne.

· July 20, 1869: At a crowded ceremony for the ascension of the Prince to the Spanish throne, several Republican rebels attempt to shoot and kill Leopold in rapid succession. The civilian crowds are expelled from the square, and Prince Leopold Hohenzollern becomes King Carlos Fernando I of Spain.

· September 21, 1869: In the early hour of the morning, Republican rebels (largely financed and trained by the Silent Coalition) storm the Royal Palace in Madrid with the support of some military and political leaders. Some conflict ensues, but King Carlos Fernando escapes with loyalist leaders to Spanish Sahara, where loyalist troops are stationed. He is sent in short order to the New Spanish Capital at Ciudad de Mexico, where the September Pact believes he is safest.

· September 30, 1869: The states of the Silent Coalition recognize the authenticity of the newly formed Spanish Republic. The act of recognition is denounced by the September Pact, which threatens war if the Coalition continues to support the rebels. The Coalition remains defiant.

· October 5, 1869-October 17,1869: French troops invade Spain in support of the Spanish Republic, and Austria (and her German allies) invades Prussia. Britain declares war on Austria and France, as do Portugal and New Spain. Russia invades the Japanese Empire over the Manchurian border, and Prussia from Poland, declaring war upon the entirety of the September Pact in the process. The USA officially annexes Gran Floridia and invades that country, while Floridian rebels (supported by New Spain) resist them. New Spain declares war on the US for the invasion and allows the SSA into the September Pact as a temporary member. The Kingdom of Italy and Sovereign States of America remain neutral for the time. Despite the efforts of several member states (notably the Grand Duchy of Hesse, Principality of Liechtenstein, and the Kingdom of Wurttemberg) the German Confederation is dissolved.
_____

The War of 1869
The War of 1869, officially beginning with the skirmish dubbed the First Battle of Alsace on the 1st of November, was among the bloodiest and most revolutionary conflicts in history. Battles raged on between nearly every major power of Europe and all of the major Factions in North America. When the dust settled in the year 1877, the old order was gone. The mighty Hapsburg Crown was driven from holy Austria, with the foundations for German Unification standing proudly in the ash-filled breeze. The United States emerged from the War deeply divided and in turmoil, while the lands of the Sovereign States stood barren and battle-scarred. New Spain was forced to bear the shame of failing to restore the Spanish Crown in Madrid, and most of Morocco was lost to the hated French. Portugal was again a Kingdom in exile, cowering in its African colonies for the loss of its continental land to the newly-formed United Republic of Iberia. Russia found herself trounced at nearly every moment, losing her entire European fleet to the might of the British Royal Navy. The Treaty of Geneva that ended the conflict saw the birth of the United Kingdom of Southern Germany, the new Habsburg Realm centered in Budapest, and the previously mentioned Iberian Republic. It also oversaw the rebirth of the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Gran Floridia. Great Britain and France found themselves largely intact for their part. The war will, for simplicity’s sake, be categorized into two Theatres of War (American and European) and each of the eight years of the conflict.

The First Year (November 1869-November 1870)
The American Theatre
The War began in America with the invasion of the S.S.A. by the U.S. General Robert Edward Lee and his Army of the Chesapeake. Once again, Lee made outstanding gains in the North, trouncing Sovereign and Canadian forces in the Battles of Buffalo (New York) and Albany. Lee ended the first year in effective control of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Lee fared much better with guerilla resistance in this conflict than in the North’s War of Succession, and his actions bisected the territory of the Sovereign States, worsening their already troubled supply issues. The U.S. Army of Kentucky under the command of General William T. Sherman, drove west through New Spanish territory in a clever ‘March to the Pacific’. Sherman was tasked with keeping New Spanish forces tied down in the Western frontier so as to improve their chances of success against the S.S.A. and Britain. In this effort he was largely successful. Despite Sherman’s antics in the west, a New Spanish army (El Ejercito del Rio) under the command of Commandante Rodrigo Ruiz de Vera Cruz besieged New Orleans (occupied by the U.S. Army of Williamsburg under the command of General Thomas Jackson) with great success. Ruiz was forced to retreat when disease catastrophically spread through the New Spanish camp, leaving New Orleans in the hands of the United States. General Jackson, for his stalwart defense against great odds, earned the famous moniker ‘Stonewall’ from his troops and became a centerpiece of U.S. Propaganda. Upon hearing of the New Spanish retreat during a meeting of the War Ministry with the King, Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck is famously recorded to have said with much frustration that “Luck, it seems, always favors the drunk, the miscreant, and the United States of America.” It is a sad fact that the Map of North America had changed quite little in the first year of conflict, despite the deaths of nearly fifty-thousand soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians.

The European Theatre
In Europe, the first action of the War was the rapid invasion and conquest of Portugal by the armies of the newborn Spanish Republic with some minor assistance from the French. When Lisbon fell, the Republic declared to the world that the Kingdom was disestablished and incorporated Portugal as a province of the newly-declared United Republic of Iberia. Many Portuguese openly embraced the Republic, which promised them low taxes and representation in government, but others fled to Africa or worked openly resisted the new govenrment. Austria and her German allies set out against their archrival Prussia with the assistance of the French. Despite a sizeable numerical advantage, the Franco-Austrian forces’ outdated long-rifles (largely still muzzle-loading and less accurate than rifles based on the Dreyse design) and outdated tactics resulted in a series of brutal defeats at the hands of the mighty Prussian army. British troops landed in Prussian territory on the 15th of November, and rapidly set about reinforcing their allies. The Anglo-Prussian forces produced extensive fortifications along the frontline against their French, Dutch, and Austrian enemies, Trench Warfare having been put to great use by the S.S.A. in their Revolution. By April of 1870, rudimentary trench systems stretched along the Anglo-Prussian portion of the Front Line. The Russians, facing the true extent of their military system’s inefficiency and regretfully taking note of their lack of rail systems and underdeveloped infrastructure, spend the vast majority of the first year simply mobilizing their armies. The Tsar, desperate to aid in the war effort, ordered an assault on Prussian Waters by his Baltic Fleet. The Baltic Fleet is succinctly routed by the British Royal Navy and fledgling Prussian Kriegsmarine. A combined Franco-Dutch invasion results in the fall of Belgium and the abdication of the King. Plans are already made for France to annex Wallonia and the Netherlands to annex Flanders after the end of the War. The Battle of Hohenzollern, wherein twenty-thousand British soldiers and fifty-thousand Prussian soldiers won a decisive victory over an Franco-Austrian force numbering between one-hundred and twenty (according to the Silent Coalition) and two-hundred thousand (according to the September Pact) troops. The Battle of Hohenzollern becomes a byword for the triumph of modern discipline and technology over the older Napoleonic systems. After the first year, nearly eighty-thousand European soldiers had lost their lives. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl, son of King Wilhelm I, proves to be a great leader of men and is praised for his chivalrous behavior towards his men and his enemies alike. ‘Papa Fritz’ as he is known by his men, will emerge from the War with a deep hatred of battle and bloodshed despite his skill. Historians end the First Year with the Winter Truce, a period of diplomacy and relative peace lasting from the tenth of November until the twenty-sixth of December.

Casualties: Approximately 120,000 soldiers killed, captured, and missing.

The Great Vow
Among the more striking documents to come out of the war is the conclusion to a speech by the Spanish King Carlos Fernando to his subjects guaranteeing the restoration of the crown and praising their loyalty. Standing on the balcony of the Palacio de la Corona (dubbed the ‘Palacio del Rey for the duration of the King’s exile) the fiery speech ended with a bold claim:
Mis hijos. Mis hermanos. Of all the words that I speak today, I pray that you remember these the most: I swear by Our Lord God that Madrid will be restored to Our great nation. I will not rest, nor will my family in Prussia or our British Allies, until Our throne is restored to Us. The traitorous republic will fall before our steel, as will her dastardly allies. It is said that the Sun never sets on the Spanish Empire, and I tell you now that our time is not yet over! The Sun has not yet set on us, for as long as there is a single loyal Spaniard, God Himself is with us. The trials of this War are merely the foundations of a new dawn for Our glorious Empire, one that will make Us feel as if We are seeing light for the first time. We will pray, We will suffer, We will bleed, and when Our time has finally come, We will stand before our fallen foe and shout in triumph:Este es el nuevo amanecer del Imperio Español, y Dios está con nosotros!”*
*This is the new dawn of the Spanish Empire, and God is with us!
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