Fenians, Brits, Mexicans, Canucks and Frenchies....OH, MY! An alternate American Civil War

I think that Mexico is going to be a lot more stable and prosperous thanks for the fact that there isn’t going to be one or two people in power for multiple decades.The country could still go down a bad path but I am very optimistic that this Will not happen.
 
I'm just rereading your chapter and I realized Grant had the title of Secretary of Defense, shouldn't it be Secretary of War? Did you change the Secretary title in another chapter?
 
Chapter 149
September, 1875

Mexico City


President Lerdo de Tejada had followed Benito Juarez into the Presidency. In many ways, Lerdo had been more successful returning Mexico to normalcy than Juarez. He gave up the extraordinary powers assumed by Juarez (and never relinquished during his presidency) and tried to normalize relations with Congress.

Five years in power in Mexico. Now THAT was an accomplishment.

Lerdo was now ready to cede that awesome responsibility to someone else. But he needed someone trustworthy. Given the swarms of ambitious men festering in Congress, there were few enough trustworthy men to choose from.

In the end, he could think of only one name: General Ignazio Zaragoza.

The man could have led a revolt a dozen times. Instead, he did everything possible to reduce the power of the army. When he retired, he let it be known that he could only be enticed back into uniform if some General decided to achieve power by dint of Coup.

No one ever did.

Thus, when Lerdo was ready to return to the less stressful life of Congress.

Zaragoza had long stated that he could not imagine himself in public office. But he would have to learn. Five years prior, the General had convinced Juarez to retire in order to set an example for the Mexican people that politics was not intended to be dominated by one man. Zaragoza now would be put in the position of acting in the public good, not his own desires.

Batavia


Though it took months, a combined Dutch and Spanish squadron managed to stumble across the Indian Ocean to reach Batavia. By this point, the Japanese had long since crushed the local resistance on the island and also seized key ports on southern Sumatra.

The Japanese had estimated how long it would take for the European nations to learn of the attack on their far-off colonies and how long it would take to organize a counterstrike. They'd estimated that the earliest the Europeans could make it to Batavia was July, with late August at the latest.

When September finally brought the long-awaited smoke on the western horizon off of the Sunda Straight between Sumatra and Java, the Japanese were actually relieved.

The Japanese gambled the entirety of their fleet on this battle. Their instructions were:

1. If the Europeans (Spanish and/or Dutch) arrive alone, then face them in battle.

2. If they arrive with British or even French support.....retreat.

The latter would have been unthinkable and the Japanese sailors were infinitely grateful for the opportunity to serve the Emperor.

The allied fleet was nothing short of ramshackle as neither the Netherlands nor Spain had updated their ships in years. It had been a struggle to even manage to gather 16 warships between them that could reach the East Indies.

And six of these had suffered mechanical failure and were forced to be left behind at various ports along the way (Bordeaux, Lisbon, Rio de Janeiro, Durban and even Madras). One of the six actually sank off the coast of Sri Lanka.

The ten warships which arrived were obsolete and in pitiful condition. The Japanese Forces, led by two Kalamazoo-class warships, one old French broadside purchased eight years prior and five assorted vessels fitted with iron armor in Japan. Another 6 wooden vessels (wind) completed the fleet.

In 2 hours, the European fleet was annihilated. Eight of the ten vessels were sunk or captured. It was obvious that neither Spain nor the Netherlands possessed the power to maintain an Empire in the face of any significant opposition from eight thousand miles away.
 
New Dehli

The Viceroy of India, having enough trouble with his own posting and the cancellation of British Concessions in China, was not prepared to intervene in Dutch problems. Instead, he dispatched a message to London asking for instructions....with the point that he didn't feel that the Raj could spare the resources in the near term.
Calcutta was the capital of British India until 1911. New Delhi was built to be the new capital. It doesn't exist at this point in time.
Napoleon IV would publicly stated that the endless expansion of colonialism almost always cost more than it was worth (British India was, of course, a significant exception).
I'll think you find that the British made more money out of Malaya than all the rest of the empire put together.

You seemed to have jumped ahead of history in many ways. The Germans only took NE New Guinea in 1884. An 1885 agreement between the British, Americans and Germans divided Samoa into American and German Samoa, gave the British the Solomon Islands, but left the North Solomons with Germany. (Bouganville & Buka) Extraordinary Australian racism extended well into the mid-20th century. IOTL, in the 1880s, the Dutch had West New Guinea, the Germans the NE and the Australian colonies desperately wanted Britain to take SE New Guinea. Queensland sent a party up and claimed it in the name of the British crown but the British disavowed the claim, although they eventually agreed to claim it if the Australian colonies paid for it. If the Japanese are running around annexing islands to Australia's North, there would be panic, and if the Germans or Americans were holding something the Australians would have been likely very pleased. Very likely, the Australians, Americans and Germans to the extent they were there, would have divided up the region. With a much more independent Australia, the British would have likely taken the attitude to Australian annexations the way they eventually did with Papua- It's now the Aussies problem.

Racism in Australia at that time was awful, but variable. Some of the colonies were likely vehemently anti-German, but South Australia in particular had a significant German population. Adelaide would have likely had a very conciliatory attitude to Germans. Perhaps a South Australian could become PM? The colonial government would pass a parliamentary motion every years listing Germans to whom they had granted British subject status. South Australia granted aboriginal Australians the right to vote with women in 1894. They were specifically excluded from voting in Queensland and Western Australia. I think you've said New Zealand is part of this Greater Australia. The 1902 voting act in Australia limited the vote to whites & Maori- they wanted NZ to join, and the Maori could vote in NZ.
 
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Calcutta was the capital of British India until 1911. New Delhi was built to be the new capital. It doesn't exist at this point in time.

I'll think you find that the British made more money out of Malaya than all the rest of the empire put together.

You seemed to have jumped ahead of history in many ways. The Germans only took NE New Guinea in 1884. An 1885 agreement between the British, Americans and Germans divided Samoa into American and German Samoa, gave the British the Solomon Islands, but left the North Solomons with Germany. (Bouganville & Buka) Extraordinary Australian racism extended well into the mid-20th century. IOTL, in the 1880s, the Dutch had West New Guinea, the Germans the NE and the Australian colonies desperately wanted Britain to take SE New Guinea. Queensland sent a party up and claimed it in the name of the British crown but the British disavowed the claim, although they eventually agreed to claim it if the Australian colonies paid for it. If the Japanese are running around annexing islands to Australia's North, there would be panic, and if the Germans or Americans were holding something the Australians would have been likely very pleased. Very likely, the Australians, Americans and Germans to the extent they were there, would have divided up the region. With a much more independent Australia, the British would have likely taken the attitude to Australian annexations the way they eventually did with Papua- It's now the Aussies problem.

Racism in Australia at that time was awful, but variable. Some of the colonies were likely vehemently anti-German, but South Australia in particular had a significant German population. Adelaide would have likely had a very conciliatory attitude to Germans. Perhaps a South Australian could become PM? The colonial government would pass a parliamentary motion every years listing Germans to whom they had granted British subject status. South Australia granted aboriginal Australians the right to vote with women in 1894. They were specifically excluded from voting in Queensland and Western Australia. I think you've said New Zealand is part of this Greater Australia. The 1902 voting act in Australia limited the vote to whites & Maori- they wanted NZ to join, and the Maori could vote in NZ.

Thanks for the New Delhi point. For some reason, I thought it had been switched over in the early 19th century as capital rather than the early 20th.

In this TL, I had New Guinea and the Solomon Islands seized by Britain years earlier. Thus far, there are no German colonies as Germany was not unified under Prussian leadership. The Prussians lost this TL's war in the early 1860's and the balance of power in Germany was restored.

I'm not sure how likely it would be for Germany to seek out colonies without a single powerful leader but I'll be exploring that in future chapters. At the moment, there is not yet any British-German rivalry and actually perhaps potential for an alliance.
 
In this TL, I had New Guinea and the Solomon Islands seized by Britain years earlier. Thus far, there are no German colonies as Germany was not unified under Prussian leadership. The Prussians lost this TL's war in the early 1860's and the balance of power in Germany was restored.
Interesting scenario. The Greater Aussies, which include the New Zealanders and the white elite in the pacific are going to be disappointed at the Americans dismembering Canada but much more scared about the Japanese. The Eureka rebellion in Ballarat in the 1850s certainly had parallels with the ARW, but the British compromised and allowed home rule. Perhaps a sluggish British response to the issue would have increased anger in Australia, leading to earlier federation & independence (even under the crown) and more common cause with the US. Had federation occurred in the 1860s, I think Melbourne would have been the permanent capital.
 
Chapter 150
December, 1875

Mexico City


The fall election in Mexico City went as well as one might imagine. General Zaragoza was the greatest war hero since the Victoria Guadeloupe. What was more, the man had the charm of never having sought to overthrow the government. That mattered a great deal in a nation in which, until Lerdo, no sitting President had lasted a full term without a coup d'etat disrupting his Presidency since Guadeloupe Victoria himself.

Over the past five years, President Lerdo had restored democracy, continued to centralize the bureaucracy, reduced the power of the military and brought the national budget under control. Investment was entering the country in large amounts (mainly American).

Of course, things were not terribly well throughout the ENTIRE country as a series of raids by the Apache and other northwestern tribes would decimate the Sonora and Chihuahua regions.

The Mexican army had slowly evolved (under Zaragoza's helm, into a smaller, more efficient unit based upon loyalty to the central government and speed of maneuver, with a particular emphasis on cavalry. Zaragoza had reformed the Mexican Military Academy to emphasis the fealty to the nation, not politics. Younger officers who barely remembered the last coup which led to the French conquest would be taught on a daily basis that this disunity was the source of the nation's ills and weaknesses.

In the 1870's several Yaquis rebellions would cause chaos as well.

But Zaragoza would nevertheless inherit a relatively peaceful, viable nation.

Madrid

King Alfonso IV was already proving to the Cabinet and the Cortes to be a far more attentive to their needs. What was more, the King was actually driving reform.

In 1875, the young monarch publicly gave a speech condemning the continued existence of slavery in Spanish colonies. This echoed what many Cabinet ministers had been stating for years as Europe had largely left this institution behind. The previous summer, the King had supported calls to emancipate in four years. However, the strikers, riots and rebellions that erupted in throughout the colonies would bring this issue to the forefront.

While most of the country was distantly following the conflict in the Philippines (news of the grievous defeat to the Japanese would not arrive until January), the unrest in the colonies would be among the primary concerns of the government. With agreement with his cabinet, the King would formally declare Manumission of the slaves effective immediately.

Mosquito Coast, Nicaragua

For years, the old hardwood logging region of the "Moskito" people had been exploited by Britain via black slaves. Contracts with the Miskito called for this but the independence of most of Spanish America would lead to the new country of Nicaragua demanding that Great Britain hand over these regions to their authority.

In truth, Britain was more than happy to do so. It was no longer profitable in any particular measure and costly to administrate (pestilential rainforests were NOT popular posts in the Foreign Ministry of Ministry of Colonial Affairs). However, Britain DID feel honor bound not to hand over the territory unless it was sure that the long-time British clients, the Moskito people, and the freedmen which had worked the hardwood forests would have their territorial rights ensured.

Secretary of State Hamilton Fish would sail for Great Britain on a "goodwill tour" of various European countries and was courteously received by Queen Victoria, First Lord of the Treasury Gladstone and his Foreign Minister, Lord Granville.

After the obligatory series of flattering words spewed back and forth with the doughy little Queen (still bedecked in black in mourning for her late husband), the Queen excused herself and left the mundane discussions to the men. In truth, both parties were quite refreshingly candid and Fish would later point to this meeting as the first step in improved relations.

Gladstone and his old friend Granville would express their concerns about their allies and assure Fish that they had no intention of expanding into the Americas any further. However, they could not allow the Miskito people to be overrun by Nicaragua's government (not a terribly efficient or effective one given the poverty of the region).

Fish, of course, had his own ulterior agenda and, believing that the British were being honest, came clean as well. America had been considering investing in a canal through Central America. In 1859, the plans for a canal across Mexico had been agreed by then-President Juarez but Congress never ratified it. Such a venture was later reduced to mere railroads along the same route.

Plans for a canal across Panama had also been bandied about for decades, even centuries, but it did not seem likely that the political situation would allow this in the near future.

But Nicaragua had some promise on that matter and the leverage held by the British could be key to developing a canal across that nation. With the San Juan river and Lake Nicaragua already present to form most of the route, it seemed quite possible that a viable canal could be constructed. Fish and Granville agreed to discuss the matter more deeply at a later date. Rumor had it that the French were already planning an expedition across Panama and neither Great Britain nor the United States were keen on another country dominating such a key asset (if it proved feasible).

Overall, the trip would prove quite worthwhile for Fish as he came back with an improved trade treaty with Britain and assurances that Britain had no intention of expanding into the former Spanish Empire.

Another proposal would be to extend a sort of "Joint Protectorate" over Liberia (created by America as a home for freed slaves) and Sierra Leone (created by the British for the same reason). Instead of creating colonies in Africa, this would allow for joint rights and use and avoid the competitive costs of a fight for influence. Of course, America had no interest whatsoever in Africa and only kept an eye on Liberia out of obligation (some still hoped than large numbers of Freedmen would migrate there).

Great Britain, seeing the destruction of the French Empire and no other colonial powers of note remaining (Spain, Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark, etc) saw no reason to expend massive sums to conquer African tribes. As long as British traders and manufacturers were granted equal access to whatever the hell happened to be in central Africa, there was little reason for aggression.

Fish agreed to return to Washington with this in mind.

After bidding London adieu, the Secretary of State would visit King Willem III of the Netherlands (who concerned the American as possible being insane), as well as the new Kings of France and Spain. Both seemed intelligent young men who greeted him cordially.

Finally, Fish would arrive in Morocco, the first nation to ever recognize the United States as a sovereign country. The King of Morocco was plainly busy trying to exert control over Algeria, Tunisia and Tripolitania (all newly freed from France's colonial grip). The ambitious Khedive of Egypt was also trying to exert his influence by laying claim to the title of "Leader of Modern Arabian peoples". Both Morocco and Egypt had been allied to Britain against France but were not allies themselves. Indeed, the two nations were rivals seeking to dominate North Africa.

In a cunning move, the King of Morocco would instead play up the Maghreb's "Berber" heritage which also gained him the support of the Berber-speaking peoples of the interior. Both Egypt and Morocco would continued this tug of war for years. Egypt's Khedive sought to make his country a Muslim European nation while the King of Morocco sought to honor its ethnic Berber past. The King even went so far as to make Berber equal to Arabic in government and ensured that the rapidly expanding school system of the Maghreb would be taught in "indigenous" Berber languages first. As far as the King was concerned, Arabic was but a liturgical language, not a common language. This was a calculated political act intended to reduce the influence of the "Arab Egyptians".

But the American Secretary of State was surprised to hear that the King of Morocco already knew about the proposal for a "Joint Protectorate" of Liberia and Sierra Leone and inquired why no African nations were to be part of this theoretical governance. In truth, Fish had never considered that Morocco or Egypt or Ethiopia or any other polity in Africa may desire a say in the less developed Central African region.

Again, Fish could not find a reason why their opinions should not be heard. The Secretary of State ALSO knew that Great Britain's history as a colonial power would likely lead to them more actively expand into Africa than the United States. Adding a few more voices to that table may prove wise. Though it would take many years, the Secretary of State would eventually call for a Conference to debate the matter.
 
Chapter 151
April, 1876

Boston


The Republican Party Caucus had been carefully prepared by Hamlin's allies of the "Stalwart" faction of the Party. While a number of candidates put themselves forward or had proxies do so for them, it was painfully obvious by April that Secretary of War Ulysses S. Grant would be the chosen candidate. This was supported even by many members of the "Half-Breeds" Or "Half-Republicans" who were less supportive of Reconstruction or Freedmen's rights. Though they may not agree with his politics, Grant's predicated vote-getting capabilities would be welcomed by all those down-ticket.

Baltimore

Seeing to win the Presidency for the first time since 1856, the Democrats would put together a ticket of Samuel Tilden of New York (a respected governor) for President and General Winfield Scott Hancock for Vice-President. Tilden had a reputation for anti-corruption (he sent Boss Tweed to prison) and Hancock was one of the few highly-ranked Democratic soldiers in the Union Army. It was as strong a ticket as could be imagined and hoped to be the first competitive election since 1860.

Madrid

After months of debate amongst his government, King Alfonzo XII stepped in and announced that he would not contest further the dismal war against Japan. Spain lacked the capacity to fight further. The best anyone could come up with was an alliance with France and the Netherlands (and perhaps Great Britain) in a war of reconquest of Southeast Asia (French Indochina, Spanish Philippines and Dutch East Indies). Since only France had a fleet of substance, inquiries were made of why France would fight for the East Indies or the Philippines. Why not simply conquer them for France and not bother pretending that Spain or the Netherlands mattered?

No one had a good answer for this.

Paris

As it was, France, still in the midst of reorganizing her government, wasn't interested at the moment of colonial matters. Indochina had cost hundreds of millions of francs to take and no one had ever proven to Napoleon IV that there had been any return on that investment. With rebellion so recent in the past, the new Emperor was concentrating entirely on getting his bickering collection of administrators to work in conjunction.

Reforms were needed in France as well and Prime Minister MacMahan was, at Imperial prodding, willing to accept Parliament's demands.

Lisbon

Portugal had not been any more fortunate that Spain or France over the past fifty years in her monarchy. The current King of Portugal, Luis I, was a somewhat weak man of a scientific bent. His wife, Maria Pia of Savoy, held little interest in politics and was known best for her extravagance in dress and charity towards the poor.

In May of 1875, the nation which had been quietly falling further and further behind the rest of Europe in education, manufacturing and military development. Much of this would be attributed to the policy of "Rotatavism" which would see the Liberals and Progressives alternate in power. Viewed as idiotic by Europe, this predictably ensured nothing would come of reform.

The little nation would be rocked when an assassin fired three bullets into King Luis' chest at close range as he visited his aquarium. The assassin was immediately killed by police but an investigation of his belongings would lead to close connections to the Conservatives. As it so happened, the Liberals were in command of the government at the time and led a significant crackdown on any potential insurgents. This included the elderly Duke of Saldanha, who had participated in at least seven coups over the past fifty years. Saldanha would die in prison the following winter, making him a martyr to the cause.

Queen-Dowager Maria Pia would be placed as Regent for her twelve-year-old son and order her government to hunt down any dangers to the still-uncrowned King Carlos I of Portugal.
 
Chapter 152
November, 1876

Bombay


After years of unrest, India was only starting to return to some semblance of normalcy. The last of the outright martial defiance had been brought under control but demands for political change were emerging from all corners of society. The newly founded (with the Viceroy's permission) the Indian National Congress spent as much time arguing with one another as preparing to confront the Viceroy over various reform issues.

To be fair, the Viceroy had made great strides in attempting to keep the peace. He'd extended the hand of friendship and most of the educated classes were adamant that a unified India based on modern governmental principles was the only conceivable path forward. These were opposed by many of the traditionalists in the Princely states who jealously guarded their status.

Having faced two Mutinies in the past two decades, the British Raj was not inclined to do anything to incense the Indian people. But so diverse a region in language, religion and culture would be a struggle for any government to please everyone.

Among the latest reforms (concessions as some Britons would call it), the Viceroy John Lawrence would agree to form Asia's first stock market in Bombay (one of the financial capitals of the subcontinent).

Naples

Over the past fourteen years, the newly unified Kingdom of Italy had sought to keep pace with the British, French, Americans and Russians in armored vessels. By 1875, no fewer than 14 warships had been commissioned into the Regia Marina (Italian Navy). Most of the early ships had been purchased from France or America. However, the new dockyards of Naples in particular were producing the newer Roma-class, Prince Amadeo-class and now the first ship of the Duilio-class which would bear the largest cannon ever mounted on a ship (the guns were purchased from America).

As most of the ships built in the 1860's were already obsolete (and perhaps not the best their American and French builders could produce even then), the King of Italy was unwilling to fall further behind. With a developing domestic shipbuilding industry, Italy was intent on retaining its independence in a European environment in which Britain had once again assumed ascendancy.

France's attempts to modernize her fleets had been stalled during the war and now budget problems were further slowing the French shipbuilding. Who knew what Russia was building and it was unlikely the Czar would ever again put his nation out for others. He'd learned THAT lesson in the Crimean War just a few years after he'd helped many European monarchs retain their thrones in the Revolutions of 1848.

There seemed to be no realistic opportunity for a strong ally in the near future thus Italy's King wanted to exert all effort to protect her own shores.

Washington

For a short period, President Hamlin and General Grant were concerned about the 1876 election as several key eastern states, including vital New York and Pennsylvania (the home states of the Democratic President and Vice-Presidential candidates). The Democrats also carried New Jersey, the "border states" of Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland and Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina and Cahaba.

Fortunately for Grant, the Grant/Wheeler ticket would carry all of New England, all of the Midwest (though some states just barely), Calusa, Kanawha, Nickajack, Washington, Mississippi and all of the Western states except for Texas.

While the electoral votes were relatively close (185 to 140), the General did win the overall popular vote with 55%. Had the Democratic ticket not represented New York and Pennsylvania, both of which just barely were carried, the election may have been a rout.

But the Republicans would, once again, carry the day against the strongest Democratic ticket in 20 years (by a wide margin).

Though the Republicans had won, the Democrats were heartened to have been in the race for real. They could not claim this since 1860. The Democrats were also aided Tilden and Hancock's assurance that they would not end Reconstruction in states which had not come to terms with the Civil Rights Bill. While some (mainly Republicans) doubted they meant it and it was only a sop to northern and western voters, this would certainly increase Democratic votes in those regions. It also alienated many southerners (though most of these states would still vote reliably Democrat).

The Republicans maintained their large majority in the Senate 45 to 30 but only barely kept a 28 seat lead in the House. Had the economy been weaker or the remaining Confederate states returned to the Union, things may have been very different.
 
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How will that happen?
Nations that have watched colonialism become a financial drain on their coffers with little to no direct profit to national treasuries. The big players are trying to fix their internal issues and capitalize on what gains they do have. Africa is a wildcard that quite a few can't afford with the endless bloodshed that has occurred over the past few decades.
 
Chapter 153
February, 1877

Washington


Secretary of War and Presidential-elect Ulysses S. Grant had spent the much of the winter preparing his Cabinet for their new positions. In truth, the 1876 Republican Caucus had been among the first where large numbers of Cabinet positions were NOT promised in order to gain votes.

Grant saw no reason to relieve Secretary of State Hamilton Fish or Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman. Both were quite bluntly exceptional in their respective offices and Grant could not imagine better men for the jobs.

Secretary of Reconstruction, Frederick Douglass would announce his retirement and Grant swiftly determined that Senator Frederick Douglass Jr. of Washington would make a more than acceptable replacement. Controlling the "unredeemed" Confederate states and their Reconstruction meant fighting the toughest battle their was....getting the Southerners to accept Black Suffrage and Equality.

As for the new Secretary of War, Grant leaned towards Henry Hunt, the current leader of the Board of Ordnance. Grant and Hunt had worked closely together on upgrading the munitions and armaments of the Army. Given the rapid change of weapons over the past two decades, Grant wanted a man who looked to the future, not the past.

With the death of Admiral Dahlgren in 1876, the Assistants had carried the load for several months. That left a major position open. Grant wanted someone who knew the job and would push for continued modernization of the fleet. He would go with Assistant Secretary Robeson. For Robeson's old position, Grant was pleased to select Robert Lincoln.

Grant also had to nominate a new Secretary of the Interior and Indian Affairs, a key position given that Grant had many internal improvements as well as a firm but supportive hand for the Indians. Grant had personally promised Chieftains like Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Bigfoot and others that their rights would remain inviolable.

To be fair, for the first time in American history, most recent agreements between the Federal Government and the Indians had been upheld on the part of the White Man. There remained some controversy regarding the sale of land by certain tribes in Wichita...but that had not been pressured by the government. Various lawsuits promised to clog the courts for years.

For the Attorney General position, Grant had selected a rather controversial figure given his past history as a Democrat but Edwards Pierrepont was a ruthless hunter of corruption and Grant needed someone without a hint of scandal in that position.

Mexico City


Having served as President of Mexico for over a year, President Ignacio Zaragoza knew he would never congratulate a friend for achieving such a position. The unspeakable levels of paperwork (he had no idea how Juarez or Lerdo did it) were matched only by the constant, self-interested bickering in Congress.

Thank God he was a believer in the single term limit.

Zaragoza had maintained the peace in the nation (except for some Indian trouble which did not threaten the government directly) for over a year after an easy transition from Lerdo.

What was more, the Mexican budget was balanced for the first time in years and the debt was being pushed down a bit. Exports were up and imports (tariffs being a key source of funds for the government) were up as well.

America had been a staunch ally despite claims from some quarters that Lincoln or Seward or Hamlin would attempt to conquer Mexico at various points over the years. This never occurred and the United States had been instrumental in both evicting the French and regaining a good financial footing. Investment was up, mainly from America in recent years, but more from Europe with the peace across the seas.

Railroads were rapidly expanding as was mining and manufacturing.

Unfortunately, an old American plan for a canal across Mexico had been cancelled, no doubt for cause as even Zaragoza could look at a map and figure out there were easier places to cross the Atlantic to the Pacific.

President-Elect Grant had proposed a meeting over the summer. Apparently, the General was planning on travelling up the Mississippi and would sail down to Veracruz if Zaragoza would meet him. The American Ambassador had implied that Grant wanted to forge an Agreement with various Central and South America countries to create a unified from European colonialism.

By 1877, it was apparent that "European Colonialism" was Britain as France was apparently out of the game and most of the other European colonial powers no longer mattered.

Could a regional association not only limit further foreign interference but act to prevent local disputes?

Zaragoza knew he could not come up with a reason to say "no". The Ambassador also commented that it was important that a strong "Spanish" voice be the first heard by the other Nations of the Americans. This made sense. Though America had rarely had any negative relations with various Latin Nations (barring a few "filibusters"), a predominantly Protestant-English speaking nation could hardly expect to entice a regional confederation alone.

But the Mexican President, with his own set of problems, was not sure if he could also try to play peacekeeper with the United States for the rest of the Americas.
 
Nations that have watched colonialism become a financial drain on their coffers with little to no direct profit to national treasuries. The big players are trying to fix their internal issues and capitalize on what gains they do have. Africa is a wildcard that quite a few can't afford with the endless bloodshed that has occurred over the past few decades.


My long-standing position was that colonialism was a fad, a game of one-upsmanship and fear.

For example, Great Britain cared deeply about India. Therefore, to protect India, they had to control Egypt (Suez Canal). To protect Egypt, they had to have Sudan. To have Sudan, they had to seize Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, etc.

Much of Africa was seized by European nations solely for ego purposes.

In this TL, I have China and Japan rapidly modernizing and combining (indirectly) their forces to effectively wipe out the remnants of two Empires (Spain and Netherlands).

With Britain tied up in a restive India, there would likely be no further moves in that direction in the near future.

France's OTL seizure of much of Saharan Africa and Subsaharan Africa was largely attempting to regain glory after being crushed by Prussia. But France maintained some profitable colonies in the Maghreb and there was reason to believe that Indochina would pan out.

My TL has a new Emperor disinterested in this. I also have Germany as a Confederation, not a Prussia-dominated state. This would reduce any real chance of German colonialism. Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, etc were no longer likely candidates for future colonialism. Italy probably was but not quite yet. Belgium's OTL colonialism in the Congo was only due to a freak set of circumstances brought about by greater powers willing to let Belgium have it to keep it away from somewhat dangerous.

If there was no threat to India, I doubt that Britain would seek to conquer every piece of desert and mountain in Africa. With no Anglo-French rivalry, I find it unlike that Cameroon or Botswana or Mali were going to terribly interesting Britain. Very few of the Subsaharan colonies in Africa ever paid their own way (maybe Ghana in chocolate, Congo in rubber, etc).

I believe that Great Britain would be happy to consider a "co-protectorate" idea in some places if it meant they could have access to markets without having the expense of controlling them.
 
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