God is a Frenchman - a Timeline (Seven Yrs War POD)

[George_Apley]

Here we gooo back into war. Some tedious naval conflict in this one, but hopefully it still holds your interest! As always, questions, comments and suggestions are welcome! I like the engagement and it inspires me to keep working!

God is a Frenchman: Talleyrand's War Begins (1814)​

1814

22 Apr, 1814-11 Oct, 1817	Talleyrand's War In late April, 1814 France finally makes its move against the Dutch, crossing from Flanders and moving against Dutch fortifications. Talleyrand has sent word to the colonies that Britain is expected to come the Netherlands' aid and that preemptive action is encouraged against the Dominion of America and West Australia. Britain joins the Dutch side in May, with Prime Minister Pitt staking his long premiership on Britain managing a victory at least on par with the Restitution War of 1800. A growing faction of isolationist Whigs, including members of his own government decry his decision, questioning why British men must die for the stubbornness of Dutch merchants. By late-fall, Austria too joins the British and Dutch alliance in a Grand Coalition against France and its Holy Alliance of southern Europe. Talleyrand confides to King Louis XVII that this war must be a decisive French victory. France, he says, must gain hegemony over the Netherlands and sideline Austria and Britain by making the war so costly that France can lead Europe into an era of peace and enable the reforms of Premier Malreaux to take root and prosper. Of paramount importance to accomplish this is keeping Russia from joining the Coalition. Throughout 1814 and 1815, Louis engages in correspondence with Tsar Alexander attempting to highlight their common personal interests as well as their aligned national ones. Both Britain and Austria also court Alexander, whose inclusion in the Coalition would be what breaks French power over the continent.
22 Apr-13 Jul, 1814	Kellermann Offensive Talleyrand's War: The French begin their campaign against the Dutch following the plan of Marshal Kellermann, the Duc de Valmy. Kellermann begins the offensive with a two-pronged attack on the isolated Dutch cities of Terneuzen in the west and Maastricht in the east. Both rapidly fall to the French advance. In May, the French focus on dealing with the numerous border fortifications the Dutch have built since King Louis's War. Kellermann surprises the Dutch by opting to split his army into divisions that each advance into Dutch territory at different locations on the long border with Flanders. Some fortifications are bypassed by the French while others are besieged. At one fortress near Nieuwkerk, the French utilize a hot-air balloon to drop explosives on the Dutch within. The border defenses are mostly dealt with by mid-May and Kellermann's forces rapidly advance through North Brabant capturing Breda, Eindhoven, and Tilburg within ten days. The rapid French advance stuns the Dutch who by early-June are rushing to activate their waterline defenses around Holland and Utrecht. Kellermann smashes a Dutch force at Den Bosch on 15 June and spends two days crossing the Meuse. Encountering the Dutch flood zones in the west, Kellermann's divisions converge on Nijmegen, capturing it on 2 July. The opening offensive then grinds to a halt as the French test the Dutch defenses on the north side of the Waal. Encountering stiffer defenses, Kellermann decides to pause and has his army consolidate control of North Brabant and Zeeland. Kellermann headquarters in Den Bosch and begins drawing up plans for pressing beyond the Dutch waterline.
25 Apr-Oct, 1814	1814 Brant New England Raids Talleyrand's War: The Iroquois receive the blessing from the French to incur into New England in late-April. The first war party, led by Etienne Brant, penetrates the northern Berkshire Mountains and attacks Greeneburg, Massachusetts, exploding the powder house and engaging the militia from Fort Greene before retreating into the woods. In Mid-May, Brant's war party makes their most significant attack on Rockingham, the largest settlement in the Berkshires. Brant's forces spend several days slaughtering livestock in the farms around Rockingham and avoiding retaliatory patrols by the local militia. Then for six nights Brant's forces raid the town, successfully evading capture and significant engagement with local militiamen. Memories of the "Red Phantoms" from the 1800 War flood back to the New Englanders, and panic grips the alpine communities of the Berkshires. By this point an alarm has gone out in the Housatonic Valley and hundreds of militiamen are converging on Rockingham. Brant retreats from the town leaving little trace for the Massachusetts men to track. His party moves into New York causing some chaos in the town of Canaan. Brant decides that avoiding English settlements on his way back to Iroquois land is his best course of action and his war party crosses the Hudson undetected on 25 May. *Greeneburg=OTL North Adams *Rockingham=OTL Pittsfield
1 May, 1814	Battle of Domburg Talleyrand's War: French naval victory. A French squadron under Admiral Leissègues clashes with a Dutch defensive flotilla off the coast of Zeeland. Four Dutch ships are sunk and two are captured. Leissègues loses one ship in battle and later has to scuttle a second. His squadron, led by the 80-gun Ulysse, continues to patrol the waters off Zeeland and southern Holland.
May, 1814-Dec, 1816	Penobscot War Talleyrand's War: The multi-generational conflict between coastal New England and Acadia continues as the settlements on either side of the Penobscot River launch a brutal series of raids against one another. The primary aim of the raids is no longer territorial acquisition, but rather causing discord and making life untenable. Longstanding grudges between Acadian and New Englander families make these raids and confrontations highly personal. In some cases only the home of a militia officer's hated nemesis will be targeted. In others, whole settlements are razed, with its residents either killed or displaced. By 1816 the people of Penobscot Bay are concentrated in a few heavily fortified settlements, such as Castine in Acadia and Belfast in Maine.
17 June, 1814	Battle of Cape Neddick Talleyrand's War: Dominion naval victory. A flotilla of the Continental Navy under Commodore Pennington intercepts a French Acadian force under Admiral Goulette. Goulette's goal is the fortified bay at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. On 17 June, Pennington meets Goulette five miles off the coast of Cape Neddick in the town of York, Massachusetts. Strong northeasterly winds favor the Americans in the engagement, and Goulette is forced to quit and sail out to sea after losing three frigates.
27 June, 1814	Battle of Monster Talleyrand's War: British naval victory. Admiral Leissègues meets a British armed convoy en route to Rotterdam. The British escorts under Admiral Thornbrough skillfully crosses the French line, weaving his vessels between French ships. Leissègues's formation breaks to engage British ships at close range. France loses one frigate, while Thornbrough's ships disengage and suffer no losses. The supply convoy successfully reaches Rotterdam. The British are unable to break Leissègues's subsequent blockade to get the ships back out, but the initial mission is a success.
29 June, 1814	Battle of Fort Allen Talleyrand's War: Dominion victory. A force of French Quebecois, led by Marshal La Trémoille marches, from Fort Bourlamaque at the southern end of St. Sacrement Lake and enters the far north of New York crossing the Battenkill River. La Trémoille aims for the garrison at Fort Allen. A victory for the French at Allen would allow the French to penetrate deep into the interior of New Hampshire and bypass the larger forts in western Massachusetts. General Thomas Hale, commanding Fort Allen, receives word from hunters about the French march from the northwest. He orders the civilians in the surrounding town to take refuge within the fort and makes plans to meet La Trémoille's division. Hale has several artillery positions built into a precarious hillside across the Hoosac River. He then places his garrison just east of the heights Fort Allen is built into, allowing La Trémoille to cross the Walloomsac River. At 10:00 on 29 June, La Trémoille's 13,000 men face Hale's 9,000. Hale arranges his lines to be more spread out to fill the field and orders his men to superpose their muskets with two balls. La Trémoille advances in standard formations, planning to punch through the spread out British-American lines. Both sides hold fire during the advance. The French fire a pair of volleys after closing to 50 meters, but Hale's men do not blink. Once the French close to 30 meters the Americans fire with devastating effect. The front lines of La Trémoille's formations crumble. Hale then has the cannons from Fort Allen and the hillside across the Hoosac fire onto the French. From both the front and rear the artillery shreds their formations as they seek an escape route. By 10:15 La Trémoille surrenders, having lost nearly 2200 men in less than ten minutes. The battle ends French ambitions against northern New England. Hale is celebrated as the Guardian of the Green Mountains. *Lac Saint-Sacrement=Lake George
10 July, 1814	Battle of Den Helder Talleyrand's War: French naval victory. Admiral Brueys's fleet trolls the North Sea with the goal of intercepting any British attempts to reach the Netherlands. Brueys receives notice that a British convoy has slipped through the French blockade and reached Amsterdam and lays a trap for the return trip. The British flotilla under Admiral Nugent has a window with fair winds to traverse the Marsdiep Channel, not knowing that Brueys's ships are just west of Noordenhaaks Island. With no room to maneuver, Nugent realizes his predicament too late to avoid engagement. Nugent's 50-gun HMS Bristol goes toe-to-toe with the 74-gun French flagship Annibal, and as each British ship clears the Marsdiep, they are engaged by well-positioned French ships. Nugent loses six ships including Bristol and is captured by Brueys. The French lose two frigates.
27, July, 1814	Battle of Terschelling Talleyrand's War: French naval victory. Admiral Brueys encounters a large British convoy en route to Amsterdam off the coast of Terschelling. Engaging in low-winds favors the French as it makes it difficult for supply ships to break away from the fighting. Fourteen merchantmen are lost along with five British warships. All of Brueys' ships survive the action.
July-September, 1814	Conquest of Dutch India Talleyrand's War: The French in India siege and claim all of the Dutch trading posts on mainland India by the end of September, 1814. The numerous positions on the southeastern Coromandel coast are the first to fall to the French although the fortress at Pulicat only capitulates after a two month siege. French and Bengali forces easily overwhelm the Dutch positions of inland Bengal. Tipu Sultan's forces in Mysore hammer Dutch positions on the southwestern Malabar coast with the support of French warships. The French naval detachment at Bombay blockades Suratte in Gujarat and fights the largest naval battle of the Indian theater of the war against the Dutch at the Battle of Hazira before achieving victory. In just three months, the 200 year Dutch presence on the subcontinent is erased.
Aug-Sep, 1814	New Richmond Uprising Talleyrand's War: In the decade since the War of 1800 the steady flow of illegal settlers from British-America to Quebec has continued. French and native patrols along the Appalachians do turn back many prospective pioneers, but several thousand Americans have made their way into the interior of Quebec by 1814. The vast majority of these settlers make their way to the Huguenot settlements based around New-Lyons. The Huguenots generally are tolerant and welcoming of the Anglo-Americans, with whom they share protestant religion. Officials in New-Lyons allow Anglo-Americans to settle in Huguenot communities as well as settling several towns of their own, so long as they follow the law and do not take any actions that would bring the governor-general's attention to the pastoral Huguenot colony. The most prominent Anglo-American town in the region is New Richmond, about 20 miles south of New Lyons. When war breaks out between France and Britain, the Mayor of New Richmond John McClurg rallies the men of the town. He argues that Kentucky is so sparsely occupied by the French that a small force could overwhelm the several forts in the region, making it ripe for annexation by the Dominion in a favorable treaty settlement. In mid-August McClurg gathers 600 men from several Anglo communities and march north to New Lyons. The armed Anglos petition the Huguenots to join them and fight against the King's forces. McClurg meets with the Mayor Charles LeBlanc, but is disappointed to receive a lecture that the Anglos are putting the entire region into a dangerous position. McClurg says that his 600 men can take Kentucky with or without Huguenot help and storms out of the town hall. As the Anglo militia make ready to depart LeBlanc musters New Lyon's militia, over 500 men, and moves against McClurg. Militia captain Andrieu tells McClurg that the people of New Lyons cannot allow the Anglos to put the freedom of the Huguenot at risk by provoking the government in Quebec. The Anglos are given the opportunity to return to New Richmond in peace, or face battle with their hitherto generous hosts. While several hotheaded officers want a fight, McClurg fears that a battle with his hoped for allies will not only make the conquest of Kentucky impossible, but also put the Anglo settlements themselves at risk. He agrees to lay down arms with a Huguenot commitment to shield the Anglos from any violence by the Quebec government. *Nouvelle-Lyons=~OTL Louisville, KY *New Richmond=~OTL Shepherdsville, KY
13 August, 1814	Battle of Ramsgate Talleyrand's War: British naval victory. A large British convoy departs London with a significant naval escort under Admiral Raeburn bound for Rotterdam. By late-summer 1814 the French blockade of the Netherlands is strengthening and most Dutch Navy ships are outside of Europe in the Indian Ocean. This leaves the British to do the bulk of the heavy lifting in the English Channel and the North Sea. Raeburn’s flagship, the 104-gun HMS Queen Charlotte, leads the fleet of 18 ships-of-the-line and 15 other warships escorting 37 merchantmen. As the convoy leaves the mouth of the Thames they are sighted by the fleet of Admiral Picard sailing on the 98-gun Île de France, leading 20 ships-of-the-line and 13 lighter warships. The French aim to pin the British convoy on the Kent coast off of Ramsgate. Raeburn directs the merchantmen to fly south with the sloops and corvettes and splits his highly rated ships into two lines that will funnel the French fleet down the middle. Picard recognizes the tactic and angles his lines at the last moment, with some of his trailing ships nearly colliding with one of the British lines. Even with half of the British fleet out of range, Raeburn’s northerly line manages to savage elements of Picard's fleet. Five of the French ships are sunk to three British ones. The southerly British line joins the convoy and continues to Rotterdam, while Cockburn covers them from the north in case Picard's fleet gives chase.
1-3 September, 1814	Battle of the Waal Talleyrand's War: French victory. Marshal Kellermann decides on a course of action with his staff by the end of summer. The Dutch have destroyed all bridges over the Waal River and Kellermann wants to get French divisions across before the end of the year, rather than holding out hope for a winter freeze. Dutch defenders are prepared for the assault, which is coming opposite from Nijmegen, amassing nearly 80,000 soldiers and militiamen between the Waal River and the Lower Rhine between Nijmegen and Arnhem. French forces cross the Waal overnight from 1-2 September as French artillery fires overhead keeping the north bank clear for soldiers to muster. On the 2nd, the forward French units engage the Dutch in harsh fighting for most of the day while more French forces continue to cross the Waal. The mass of French forces gradually leads the Dutch to retreat north. Tens of thousands of Dutch forces cross the Lower Rhine to defend Arnhem, while a rearguard of about 25,000 men work to slow the French advance.
16 September, 1814	Brunswick Pact in Effect Talleyrand's War: The Austrians have been carefully following French progress in the Netherlands since the outbreak of the war and envoys in Amsterdam and London monitor news on conditions in Holland and within the British Navy. After the French invasion, Austria musters its armies though takes no official action to declare war. In late May, ambassadors from the three nations meet in Brunswick and Austria is enticed to join the Anglo-Dutch alliance. The Kaiser's envoys pledge to form a grand coalition if the French are able to cross the Waal and makes moves against Arnhem. This pledge becomes known as the Brunswick Pact. Austria wants time to gauge the intentions of the German states before planning any campaigns. For most of the summer, Austria makes many diplomatic moves across the Holy Roman Empire, in which autonomy from Vienna has increased dramatically since the Cologne Conference in 1808. In the intervening decade, several of the west German states have become wary of increasing French hegemony over them and are turning back towards Austria. In addition to British Hanover, Austria gets pledges of support from Bavaria, Franconia, Hessia, Oldenburg, Württemberg and the northern city states. Prussia and Saxony frustratingly stonewall Austria's efforts to unite the German kingdoms, as they view the French threat over them to be more distant and theoretical rather than pressing. Baden and the Palatinate fear French annexation if they risk war, while Cologne and Westphalia have become increasingly francophile in their orientation. Austria's Foreign Minister Trautmannsdorf also engages in a flurry of correspondence with Talleyrand, warning France that the sovereignty of the Netherlands must be maintained, while also writing to the Dutch imploring them to make a deal with France. The ease with which the French swept Austria aside in 1807 clearly has them spooked. Despite these diplomatic efforts, the Kaiser and Trautmannsdorf know the battle lines are drawn. In mid-September, word arrives in Vienna that the French have moved against Arnhem. Austrian armies move into place in the allied German states in October and November, and planning for early spring campaigns begins.
24 Oct, 1814-24 May, 1815	Siege of Arnhem Talleyrand's War: French forces close in on Arnhem by late October. The rear guard of Dutch defenders and the Lower Rhine River standing between them and the city, heavily occupied by the bulk of Dutch forces. By mid-November the Dutch rear has retreated across the Rhine under heavy fire. The French begin crossing the Rhine on 20 November by which time many of the Dutch defenders are retreating towards Holland, leaving about 30,000 men entrenched in and around Arnhem. The winter progresses slowly as the French implement a siege. Occasional probing attacks against the defenders and artillery barrages by cannon and rockets make life in Arnhem trying. Food store dwindle by April but the city does not concede. Kellerman becomes frustrated, wanting to make moves toward Utrecht before summer. He sends his cavalry on raids in the meantime but their effectiveness is limited with the widespread flooding of the countryside. He mounts a massive artillery assault on Arnhem on 18 May followed by a ferocious assault by infantry. Malnourished and fatigued Dutch defenders put up a brave effort, but are overrun by the British; the city surrenders on 20 May, 1815.

 

[George_Apley]

Another year of war... enjoy! Not as much discussion of the North Sea naval engagements, but I assure you... they're still happening. Nothing notable just more blockade running convoys having mixed success... Onward to the campaigns! Any questions about the war or goings on elsewhere that I've left out let me know!

God is a Frenchman: Talleyrand's War, Year 2 (1815)​

1815

7 January-9 February, 1815 19 June, 1815-14 January, 1817	1815 Campaign for West Australia Talleyrand's War: French victory. In mid-November, 1814, Governor-General Condé of French India dispatches Admiral Dordelin and the Marquis de Valoris on an expedition to conquest the British colony in West Australia. Twelve warships, led by the 74-gun Dupleix, escort twelve troop transports from Pondicherry on 12 December. The force arrives on 7 January and encounters a flotilla of British frigates and privateers led by one third-rate warship, HMS Persephone. Known as the Battle of Point Stirling, the British ferociously give battle to the French, but are hopelessly outgunned by Dordelin's fleet. All but two British ships are sunk, scuttled, or captured; the Dupleix itself sinks six British vessels, one by ramming. Sailing north, Dordelin refuses to enter the narrows leading to New Edinburgh's harbor, leaving the Marquis de Valoris to land his troops on the coast west of New Edinburgh. A bluff stands between his 2400 men and the British settlement; a fortress known as Holyrood Heights sits atop the bluff. The French have poor intelligence overall on the conditions of the New Edinburgh colony. Since they last captured it, New Edinburgh has exploded in population. In 1800 colony hosted only 9,000 settlers; in 1815 there are over 20,000. In the town and across the countryside most settlers (male and female) are well-acquainted with firearms, due to frequent combat with the aboriginal people. This lack of intelligence backfires on Valoris. As the French march up the bluff at the Battle of Holyrood Heights, British militia keep reinforcing the fortress. Valoris's men climb the bluff three times, each time being forced back by incessant fire by the militia in the fortress. After losing over 1,000 men, Valoris retreats back to his boats. The Anglo-Australians, led by Owen Bennion, lose 550 men. Thousands of miles away from reinforcements, Valoris and Dordelin accept their miscalculation. Rather than admit defeat, Dordelin leads his squadron into Cook Bay and firebombs the settlement for two hours. Thousands of settlers are displaced as the town burns to the ground. Dordelin delivers a shipment of provisions to the settlers before setting sails for a return to India. The French return in late-June with 4,000 soldiers, engineers, and provisions. They find the settlers have abandoned the site of New Edinburgh, consolidating in several outlying villages in the vicinity, rationing the limited food stores they still have. Long having since run out of ammunition for their muskets, the settlers are malnourished of meat, with limited grain and fruit provisions sustaining them along with infrequent fish plates. Several merchant ships from the Dominion of America had arrived in May, but hadn't carried significant provisions. The French, again led by the Marquis de Valoris, are not viewed with warm hearts by the settlers; nevertheless the settlers have no fight in them and are in great want of the provisions the French bear. With suspicious and begrudging acceptance, Owen Bennion and several other notables among the settlers meet with the French to discuss terms. The French relay that they're impressed with the Anglo-Australian tenacity and resilience in the face of hardship. Bennion reminds them that the hardship is due to French tyrannies. Valoris lays such actions at the feet of Admiral Dordelin, who is not present, and insists that the colony need not be left to ruin. French engineers from India are prepared to assist in rebuilding the town and that they will generally be left to self-govern with a token French administrator and a garrison of troops. Trade and provisions will be more abundant under French rule, Valoris insists, as French outposts are far nearer to New Edinburgh than any other existing British outposts. The French will help rebuild and govern as occupiers until a treaty settlement in the current war, which Valoris assures the Anglo-Australians will grant their settlement to France. All things considered, the settlers accept the French offer to help rebuild and give provisions. If the French are correct about the eventual outcome, all the better to be in their good graces; if the British prevail, the colony will be ceded back and they will have been able to take advantage of French overconfidence. The coming two years in West Australia feel less like wartime and more like progressing colonization expedition. New Edinburgh=~OTL Perth, WA
21 January, 1815	Battle of Cayman Brac Talleyrand's War: Alliance naval victory. Spanish admiral MacDonnell leading a fleet of French and Spanish ships encounters the main body of the British Caribbean fleet under Admiral Somerville off the coast of the Cayman Islands. MacDonnell's flagship, the 104-gun Cartagena, goes head-to-head with Somerville's 94-gun HMS Marlborough; both ships are heavily damaged in the engagement. The two fleets savage each other but the Alliance fleet comes out on top. Half the Alliance fleet is sunk or out of commission; two-thirds of the British fleet founder or are unable to remain in service. Somerville's fleet limps towards friendly ports in the Dominion, while McDonnells' damaged ships head for Havana. McDonnell moves to the 74-gun San Sebastian, and sails for Jamaica with a dozen ships.
21 February-14 August 1815	Occupation of Kingston Talleyrand's War: Spanish Admiral McDonnell sails into Kingston Harbor with the remains of his Alliance fleet. A flotilla of merchant ships, holds full of sugar for export, sits in the harbor. McDonnell keeps far enough away to avoid the guns of Fort Charles, but threatens to destroy any ships that attempt to leave the harbor. The Alliance fleet holds in place for six months greatly disrupting the sugar trade between Jamaica and the Dominion of America. McDonnell leaves Jamaica for Louisbourg at the onset of hurricane season.
28 February, 1815	Battle of Ede Talleyrand's War: Dutch forces from Amersfoort, led by General van Bylandt, attempt to break the siege around Arnhem and bring in needed supplies. A French rear brigade under the Marquis d'Osmond moves to intercept them at Ede, northeast of Arnhem. The Dutch fight valiantly but are unable to push past d'Osmond's forces. Van Bylandt is forced to retreat back to Amersfoort.
13 March, 1815	Battle of Trincomalee Talleyrand's War: French victory. A French fleet under Admiral Troude attacks the main Dutch force on Ceylon at Trincomalee. France had been negotiating with the King of Kandy for several years and had received a guarantee that no native forces would aid the Dutch in a conflict. The majority of remaining Dutch warships in the Indian Ocean is destroyed or captured at Trincomalee, with sixteen ships lost. Following Trincomalee, French forces move from port to port around the perimeter of Ceylon. By the end of summer, the Dutch are defeated all around the island.
23 March, 1815	Battle of Canajoharie Talleyrand's War: Continental Army general Charles Devens assembles his force of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York men in early March for an expedition against the Iroquois. New Englanders are angry about the Iroquois incursion into the Berkshires and are eager to exact a toll against them. Since the devastation of the War of 1800, the Haudenosaunee central government in Onondaga has welcomed an increased French presence in Iroquois territory. While settlers are still highly regulated by Onondaga, over a dozen significant fortifications have been built between the Hudson Valley, the Catskills, and the Great Lakes. Any expedition against the Iroquois must deal with these forts as well as highly skilled and well-equipped Iroquois militias. Devens believes that his his collection of men are up to the task. He has among his number the famed Queen's Rangers, well-known for their ferocity against Acadians and Indians over the decades. Leaving Fort Hunter on 17 March, Devens's army must first confront the formidable fortification at Canajoharie. Once the center of Mohawk life, Canajoharie has transformed into a garrison town with crack French troops and the most experienced Mohawk fighters. A victory for the Continental Army would open the way to push deeper into Iroquois country, no easy task. For the French and Iroquois, decisively wrecking the Americans is a ticket to preventing the violence and destruction of the Dearborn Expedition a decade before. With such high stakes, both sides are prepared for a brutal and bloody engagement at Canajoharie. Devens faces a French force commanded by Richard de Chartreville and Thomas Brant. Seeking to avoid placing his army under the fort's guns over the Mohawk River, Devens lands his boats southeast of Canajoharie, and mounts the heights to approach from the west on more level ground. Informed of the Continentals' movements by scouts, Chartreville is not the sort to wait out a siege. He tells Brant, "you know what to do and how to win," and shifts to his company commanders. Brant leads his Mohawk riflemen into the forested hills north of the battlefield planning to ambush Devens's flanks. As they lay in position they are themselves flanked by the Queen's Rangers. Vicious at-will volleys and close-range combat ensues in the woods between the Rangers and the Mohawk as Devens and Chartreville begin their more traditional engagement on the field below. The Mohawk get the best of the Rangers, driving them down into the field of battle. The accuracy of their rifles contributes to the collapse of the American left flank just as his forward formations charge the French. Both generals are wounded and Devens orders a general retreat back to the boats. The French and Iroquois suffer 2900 casualties, while the Continentals lose 4400. Though both sides have been savaged, the American push into Iroquois country has been successfully halted, bringing great relief to the Iroquois.
6 April-18 July, 1815	Auger Quebec Campaign Talleyrand's War: On 6 April, Continental Army general Samuel Auger is dispatched from Fort Greene with 18,000 men to push up through Lake Champlain and invade the heart of Quebec. The French commander-in-chief, the Comte de Guichen knows that with so many defensive positions, France can choose the field of battle. Guichen leaves only a token rear guard at Fort Bourlamaque to force Auger's forces into an engagement and slow their progress; the Battle of Lac Saint-Sacrement on 14 April is an easy victory for the Continentals. Local Quebecois in the nearby town view the Americans with great suspicion, but do not act with overt hostility, mostly being women and children. Auger has his army halt at the bottom of Saint-Sacrement to construct a fleet of bateau, and canoes, and several larger sailing vessels for transporting horses and cannon. During the pause in the campaign, the French continue their strategic withdrawal of the southern Lake Champlain region, consolidating their forces at Saint-Frederic. On 31 May, Auger's army departs Fort Bourlamaque and travels up Lac Saint-Sacrement. They have to portage to reach Lake Champlain but before they can do so they must deal with the garrison left behind by the French at Fort Carillon. Despite not having significant numbers, the French artillery positions are still well-supplied and manned. It takes the Americans two weeks to capture Carillon, upon which they put their boats in at Lake Champlain and travel towards Saint-Frederic, fourteen miles up the lake. Auger's force again finds that the bulk of Guichen's forces have retreated, leaving a small garrison behind to delay the Americans. On 6 July at Saint-Frederic, Auger's explosive artillery ordinance is used to great effect, weakening the old stone walls of the fortress, but the barricade of trees makes for long work for his men to take advantage of it. When the French cannons stay quiet on 10 July, the Americans realize that the garrison abandoned the fort in the night, leaving by boat. Several American companies enter the fortress and conduct a search for usable supplies and intelligence. They don't know that the French have left their powder stores in shallow pits around the fortress's perimeter, rigged to time bombs. Massive explosions wreck the fortress and the three hundred Americans inside. Furious at the cowardly deception, Auger directs his army to make haste north into the open waters of Lake Champlain. Guichen has set a trap there as well, dispatching three corvettes from Abenaki to hinder Auger's progress. On 12 July, the french warships sink or capture whole sections of bateaux, an equine vessel, and an artillery vessel before the Americans are able to reach the shallows of the western banks. From the waterline, Mohawk and Quebecois militia harass Auger's men with musket and rifle shots. Pinned between the French corvettes and the militias, several sections of Auger's convoy are driven to shore where they fight the militia. Most who venture on land do not return to the boats. Now with 14,000 men, General Auger presses north as fast as possible given French countermeasures. On 15 July, the Americans finally land south of Nouvelle-Genéve, forming up and taking the Quebec town with little action against the local militia. Auger's plan requires a march of 45 miles to reach Richelieu. Now deliberately avoiding the lake, the Continentals march 20 miles north and on 17 July cross the Chézy River. Scouts bring word that the Comte de Guichen is on the move with his own force of 18,000 men, finally liking the ground for a fight. Meeting on the 18th, the two armies slug out the battle, but Guichen is able to best Auger when the American cavalry is neutralized by French box formations and artillery barrages. Additionally, the French reposition their right flank to box the American left and pin them between the Chézy and Lake Champlain; this leads Auger to order a charge, which breaks like waves against the French formations. The whole campaign is a storied but costly failure for the Americans, who penetrate the deepest into Quebec since the 1770s, but similarly face defeat. Guichen controversially adopts the growing European consensus on prisoners of war and escorts the captured Americans to Richelieu. Officers are paroled within the city, while soldiers are housed in a series of encampments nearby, where they are held for the remainder of the war. Fort Bourlamaque=OTL Fort William Henry Lac Saint-Sacrement=OTL Lake George Fort Carillon=OTL Fort Ticonderoga Abenaki=OTL Burlington Nouvelle-Genéve=OTL Plattsburgh
8 April-14 August, 1815	1815 Italian Campaign Talleyrand's War: Austria's armies enter combat in the spring campaign of 1815. General Alois von Metternich is at the helm of the force that pushes into Venice on 8 April with 60,000 men. The allied Italians who face them have difficulty holding back against Metternich's tactics. Between April and June the Austrians advance west with major engagements at Pordenone, Fontaniva, Mantua, and Pavia. At each engagement Metternich's army outmaneuvers the Italians, changing his formation tactical moves as the Italians attempt to adapt. He receives acclaim in Vienna for his skill. During July his army supplies and convalesces in Milan before a planned thrust into Lower Savoy and ultimately a push into southeastern France. That month the French respond to the floundering Italians and dispatch reinforcements to take command of the Alliance efforts. By early August French Marshal Absalon du Motier, the son of the Marquis de Lafayette, arrives with 40,000 fresh troops, uniting with 30,000 Italians at Turin. The Austrians cross the Sesia and the Allied force meets them on 14 August outside of Vercelli. Finally, Metternich miscalculates the tactics of his opponent; Motier is able to encircle Metternich's right flank causing his center to collapse. The amazing victory for the Alliance at Vercelli halts the Austrian advance in its tracks as Metternich retreats across the Sesia. He never regains the initiative during the campaign and the campaigning halts as the armies make camp at Turin and Milan respectively.
10 April, 1815	Tambora Eruption A massive volcanic eruption occurs in April in the East Indies; the largest of a series of blasts in Southeast Asia in recent years. The eruption shoots large amounts of ash and gas clouds into the atmosphere that spreads over the globe and creates severe weather impacts over late 1815 and 1816. 1816 becomes known as the l'Année sans Été (the Year without Summer). Temperatures stay low throughout the spring and summer of 1816 leading to poor harvests across the northern hemisphere. This severely taxes many countries and colonies in Europe and North America, in particular affecting the course of the ongoing war between France and the Coalition. The Year without Summer is responsible for much social unrest and hardship across the globe in 1816 and 1817.
22 April-2 May, 1815	Battle of Apeldoorn Talleyrand's War: French victory. As it becomes evident that Arnhem will soon capitulate, Marshal Kellermann feels comfortable to dispatch divisions to soften up other Dutch targets in anticipation of his move against the cities west of the waterline defenses. In late April the Marquis de Wargnie is sent north with a division of 13,000 infantry and 1600 cavalrymen to Apeldoorn. Most Dutch forces have been moved to Utrecht and Holland, leaving only light defenses behind east of the waterline. The defenders hold out in Apeldoorn for almost two weeks before breaking and pulling northward. It's the last significant action of the war east of the Dutch waterline. Wargnie meets with a Westphalian force arriving from the east and together the Alliance force finishes the rest of the inland Netherlands by October, 1815.
9 May-15 September, 1815	Rhine Campaign Talleyrand's War: Leading an Austrian and Hessian army from Frankfurt, General Knyphausen pushes across the Rhine into the Palatinate on 3 May, 1815, smashing the defenses arrayed against them at Frankental. Knyphausen's army easily moves towards the French border meeting the bulk of the Palatinate army on 9 May at Freckenfeld just south of Landau. General Zweibrücken is forced to fall back across the Lauterbach and into France, meeting up with Marshal Broglie north of Strasbourg and creating an Alliance army number over 70,000. Knyphausen is reinforced from Württemberg before crossing into France, giving the Coalition forces 64,000 men. The Coalition enters France with much fanfare; this marks the first time France has been invaded since the 1770s. Knyphausen moves with little opposition down the Rhine Valley towards Strasbourg, for which he credits his orderly formations, impressing the German locals who are being "liberated" from French dominion. The Alliance chooses the village of Hœnheim, just north of Strasbourg, as the field of battle, waiting for the Coalition forces who arrive on 18 May. This time the battle is fought in several locales around Strasbourg and Knyphausen keeps maneuvering his forces to the southwest, attempting to encircle the Alliance army. In the end the Coalition's right flank gets too far ahead of the center and is itself encircled by Broglie's cavalry. The remainder of the Coalition army quits the field and retreats, pursued by Zweibrücken's divisions. Knyphausen's retreating army is pinned at the Rhine on 22 May between Zweibrücken's force and an army across the Rhine led by the Duke of Baden. The Coalition attempts to break out at Drusenheim, but only three brigades manage to escape north, with the bulk of Knyphausen's divisions, including the General himself are captured by the Alliance. To rescue the wayward brigades under Brigadier Ricker, A Württemberger army under General Leuchtenburg moved into northern Baden, occupying it for the Coalition and fighting off Baden at Weinheim on 28 May. After a month of planning, Broglie and Zweibrücken lead the Alliance army to Mannheim, capturing it from Leuchtenberg on 30 June. Retreating Coalition forces are pursued by the Alliance into Hessia. Leuchtenburg successfully crosses the Rhine at Mainz and determines to hold and reinforce at Wiesbaden, to prevent ceding more ground to the Alliance. The Alliance forces attempt to take Wiesbaden on 15 July but suffer a dramatic defeat after miscalculating the Coalition's strength. The campaign slows for the summer as opposing brigades shadow one another across the Rhine, hoping to find a good location to push across. The bulk of the armies remain in Wiesbaden and Mainz. The Coalition fails to cross Rhine on 16 August at Bodenheim, famously losing hundreds of cavalrymen to capture after the horses are stuck in unexpectedly thick mud. Alliance finally manages to defeat a Coalition brigade at Nierstein and crosses the river. Zweibrücken feints towards Frankfurt, enticing Leuchtenburg to leave his encampment at Wiesbaden and give chase. The Alliance doubles back and entraps Coalition forces as they cross the Main River at Rüsselheim on 12 September. With Leuchtenburg's surrender, the campaign ends with an Alliance success.
3 June, 1815	Battle of Pelagosa Talleyrand's War: Austrian naval victory. The Austrian Adriatic fleet encounters the Naples fleet off the Pelagosa Islands. It is the largest naval battle to take place in the Mediterranean during Talleyrand's War and it features no French ships at all. The Austrians defeat the Neapolitans and maintain their supremacy in the Adriatic Sea.
4 June, 1815	Battle of Amersfoort Talleyrand's War: French victory. With the capitulation of Arnhem, Kellermann makes his opening moves in the campaign to capture Holland. There are two waterlines between the French and allied armies and the main Dutch cities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The two biggest obstacles ahead of them are the cities of Amersfoort and Utrecht, which the eastern waterline lies between. Kellermann moves against Amersfoort first, so that the full eastern edge of the waterline is under French control. On 4 June the French forces engage the Dutch garrison. It's hardly the battle Kellermann expects, as most of the Dutch fighters load into boats and fleet for Utrecht rather than make a stand at Amersfoort. With the city captured and pacified, Kellermann turns his full attention to the amphibious operations that will be required for the next phase of the in the Netherlands.
5-21 June, 1816	Battle of Carillon Talleyrand's War: The Continental Army's General Auger seeks to continue his trek north into Quebec by capturing the old fortress at Carillon. Since the French withdrawal to fairer battlegrounds, the leading companies of Auger's army are caught off guard by barrages from Carillon's cannons. The fort itself is barricaded with large masses of fallen trees, branches broken off and sharpened to points. Bypassing Carillon will be no easy task for the Americans, but General Auger has a trick up his sleeve. The Continental Army has requisitioned a number of observation balloons made by engineer John Figulus of New Jersey, and Auger has brought one of these "Figulus Platforms" along. Though intended for observation and reconnaissance, Auger sends up his balloon manned by Sergeant David Yardley and Private Andrew Price with a stockpile of grenades. The balloonists manage to maneuver the balloon over the fortress with some difficulty and lob several grenade into the fortress below. While they do manage to detonate a powder store near an artillery emplacement, the balloon is not as effective as Auger had hoped. Still the action marks the first use of military balloons in North America. Ultimately the fort is taken by old-fashioned time and brute force, as the French gunners run low on powder and American cannons breach the fortress walls. Despite the American victory, the French skeleton crew in Carillon successfully delays Auger's progress for two weeks.
31 May-22 August, 1815	Ruhr Campaign Talleyrand's War: The Ruhr Campaign of 1815 becomes one of the most storied military adventures of the early-19th Century. Coalition forces under British General Henry Wellesley & the Duke of Brunswick enter Westphalia in late-May. Westphalia is a vital French ally in the war, serving as a buffer preventing Coalition reinforcements from Hanover relieving the besieged Dutch. The Westphalian army under General Wittelsbach stands to deter any such moves by the Coalition. The Coalition forces march across much of eastern Westphalia without significant opposition and on 16 June, Wellesley and Brunswick defeat Wittelsbach's forces at the Battle of Warendorf, about halfway between Bielefeld and Münster. Fearing a Coalition breakthrough across the Rhine, France calls in the celebrated Marshal Napoleon Bonaparte who arrives at Münster with French reinforcements on 20 June. Bonaparte is known as a pioneer of the more fast-paced warfare that has become increasingly common in European campaigns. He moves to confront the Coalition, drawing them into an engagement at Bochum on 27 June. For both Bonaparte and Wellesley the battle tests the waters. Both generals are similar in their battlefield demeanor and tactical instincts and at Bochum, Bonaparte drives back Wellesley. This sparks a famous chase across the Ruhr Valley in the Rhineland between Bonaparte and Wellesley, as each attempts to get the better of the other. Wellesley bests Bonaparte at Sauerland on 4 July, but is unable to prevent the French from retreating. Bonaparte holds off Wellesley at 1st Raesfeld on 19 July and successfully counter attacks at Borken on 24 July. Wellesley pushes back at 2nd Raesfeld on 1 August and breaks through Bonaparte's formations. Brunswick detains the French left division forcing Bonaparte to come to their aid while Wellesley disengages and moves to the west. Wellesley's three divisions move to cross the Rhine at Wesel, pausing to assess the strength of Cologne forces on the west side. The pause gives Bonaparte's army time to catch up to Wellesley by 12 August. Bonaparte's 50,000 men pin Wellesley's 35,000 against the Rhine at their backs. Wellesley determines to stand and fight. The Battle of Wesel begins orderly but breaks down as elements of both armies break formations and charge one another; ferocious Coalition soldiers fight hand-to-hand but French reserve forces means that French lines can keep reinforcing themselves. Coalition artillery are fired in parabolic arcs, savaging the French lines. Both Wellesley and Bonaparte die in the battle, which is ultimately won by the Alliance. After Wesel, the Duke of Brunswick retreats with his remaining 25,000 men to Hanover, ending the campaign. The back-and-forth campaign between Wellesley and Bonaparte culminating in both general's deaths becomes legendary in Europe.
20 June, 1815	Malreaux Reforms Announced in France After several years of development and planning in the French Cabinet, Premier Malreaux announces a major package of reforms in the midst of the Coalition's offensive campaigns in Germany and Italy. For the first time, Malreaux announces regular taxes on the aristocracy as a wartime measure. While the duties are relatively low, the symbolism of requiring tax payment from the nobility is recognized among the middle and lower classes. The taxes are framed as a wartime measure that all French people must contribute to the defense of the nation; after the war's end, the tax reforms are made permanent, causing outrage from elements of the aristocracy. For the Church, the government does not directly tax, but requires each diocese organize and fund social programs for communes in their ecclesiastical jurisdiction and makes the diocese accountable to the government to cut down on graft in the clergy. Reforms are also made to local government, with a uniform structure imposed and a bureaucracy established that is directly accountable to the central government in Paris. For the first time property owners will be able to elect local candidates to serve on communal councils with limited legislative powers and serving as advisors to an intendant appointed by the Maison de Roi, recently a department that is a bastion of liberal thought. Malreaux also announces new guarantees for the press in France. Censorship is rolled back, particularly for purveyors of the news. The limits of these new press freedoms are greatly tested in the coming years.
12 July, 1815	Battle of Shawnee Springs Talleyrand's War: French/Shawnee victory. In early June General Francis Lloyd Porter of the Continental Army musters a division of men from Maryland and Virginia to penetrate the Appalachian Mountains and seize as much territory as possible. The Americans know that the French are too well entrenched to claim the Ohio Country outright, but anticipate positive adjustments to their border in a favorable treaty negotiation, particularly in the sparsely populated plateau south of the Ohio River, a region still mostly controlled by the semi-nomadic Shawnee. Porter's Brigade makes slow progress after leaving Fort Devonshire in the Shenandoah Valley. His 12,800 men successfully clash with the French garrison at Fort Tonnetuit, guarding one of the passes through the mountains. Porter has brought provisions for two months and then plans on living off the land; he hopes that they will be able to strip resources from French trading posts in Shawnee territory and then French towns off of the Ohio River. After capturing Fort Tonnetuit, Porter's plan is to raid Shawnee camps and march to the Ohio River and begin raiding settlements. Marshal Phélipeaux, the commander at Duquesne, dispatches 8,000 troops stationed in and around the Forks of the Ohio to travel down the Monongahela and draw additional troops from garrisons at forts Marron and Macron in order to intercept General Porter's expedition. The French division numbers nearly 11,000 men who are joined by almost a thousand Shawnee militia, who are experts on navigating the mountainous terrain. The two armies meet on 12 July at a narrow floodplain in the valley of the Conti River, an area the Americans call "Shawnee Rapids." Porter's men have no room to maneuver as the French block the way forward with a broader formation. Porter attempts to use a column formation to punch through the French lines, but the Shawnee flank the Americans from positions on a steep hillside to the southwest. Shortly before he's shot, General Porter is heard saying, "this terrain is not suited for field tactics." The French lines close around the American columns, devolving into close quarters combat that only becomes more ferocious when elements of the Shawnee militia descend into the battle. The Americans surrender and the Battle of Shawnee Rapids marks yet another failure by the Americans to make a significant push into French America. Fort Devonshire=near OTL New Market, VA Fort Tonnetuit=near OTL Seneca Rocks, WV Fort de Longueuil=near OTL St. George WV Fort Marron=OTL Blainsburg, PA Fort Macron=OTL Point Marion, PA Rivière Conti=OTL Tygart Valley River
	Battle of Chézy Talleyrand's War: on 17 July General Auger's American remaining army of 14,000 crosses the Chézy River on the northwestern bank of Lake Champlain. Scouts bring word that the Comte de Guichen, finally liking the ground for a fight, is on the move from Richelieu with his own force of 18,000 men. The Americans, exhausted and depleted, move into their formations, still itching for a chance to exact a large victory against the French on their own turf. Auger confers with his generals on tactics; he still has cavalry and artillery at his disposal and leveraging both with skill will be needed to defeat Guichen's larger force. Guichen managed to neutralize Auger's cavalry by organizing his infantry battalions into square formations and his artillery battalions to corral the horses around the battlefield. The training discipline of the Quebecois soldiers is clearly outmatches the Americans. Auger orders his battalion commanders to charge the French when he realizes that his force is losing. The charging Americans largely break like waves against the French formations, leading to an ignominious end to Auger's campaign into Quebec.
31 July-8 August, 1815	Battle of Utrecht Talleyrand's War: French victory. Finally consolidating control over the Dutch countryside, Marshal Kellerman and his French divisions are ready to deal with the core of Holland itself. In late July, five French and allied divisions load into boats and cross the first defensive waterline, cutting off Utrecht from the eastern Netherlands. Dutch defenders await them on the western banks and the landing is a bloody affair as Dutch artillery crashes into the flood plains and skips across the water into boats filled with men. French numbers overwhelm the bankside defenses and Dutch armies withdraw north to guard Utrecht itself. For every withdrawal, the Dutch release more dams and levies, hindering the French advance. French cannon are much slower to transport through the mire, as are cavalry horses. Kellermann is prepared for this event and has plans to rely on his infantry and specialized artillery units. These specialized units are not made up of traditional cannon batteries, but by fusées Dumaurier, artillery rockets modeled after those used in the Mysorean army. These weapons are easier and faster to transport than traditional cannon, making them valuable to the French advance in the flooded plains of the Netherlands, raining fire and explosions down on retreating Dutch formations. Utrecht itself is ringed by a series of moats carved into the outskirts of the city and defended by over 60,000 soldiers and militia, many of whom have already faced the French in other engagements over the previous year. Kellermann wins an initial engagement outside Utrecht on 31 July, scattering or capturing over 30,000 defenders, and settles in for a siege. As at Arnhem, the French roam the countryside offering privileges to any citizens who pledge cooperation with France and raiding and foraging from any who refuse. The French artillery commander, the Comte de Lariboisière, positions batteries of fusées Dumaurier behind embankments out of reach of the Dutch cannon defenses. The rockets are able to cover infantry advances along the causeways between flood plains, though their accuracy is less impressive than the traditional fieldpieces. As more artillery units arrive the first week of August, Kellermann pushes his cordon closer to Utrecht, bringing the city in range of his rockets and cannons. Explosive and incendiary ordinance is used to cause much fear and discord, although their effect is lessened by the damp conditions. The civilian administration of the city pressures the Dutch military commanders to relent to French occupation lest the city be destroyed. French triumphs over Utrecht on 8 August, 1815.
October, 1815-May, 1816	Prusso-Swedish War In the midst of Talleyrand's War, Prussia takes advantage of regional distractions and moves to occupy Mecklenburg in August, 1815 after a breakdown in relations between the Prussian King and the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The expedition is Prussia's first significant military adventure since the Six Years War crushed the kingdom's military spirit. King Friedrich Wilhelm III has spent over a decade building back Prussia's army and military capacity, admiring the history of his kingdom and wanting to reassert Prussian power in the region. Sweden views the Prussia invasion of Mecklenburg as threatening to Swedish Pomerania. King Gustaf Adolf has similarly wanted to bring Sweden to more glory on the European continent and moves a large army to Swedish Pomerania, declaring war in October, 1815. While Sweden ostensibly is allied with Mecklenburg to support its independence, Sweden hopes to bring the duchy under Swedish hegemony and expand their footprint in northern Europe. British-Hanover warily watches as Prussian and Swedish forces clash in Mecklenburg, anxious of any hints that either power will enter the conflict in Western Europe. Prussia assigns the von Rauch brothers, both generals, to handle the Swedish in Mecklenburg. Brilliant maneuvers by the Rauchs manage to rout the Swedish forces outside of Neubrandenburg and at Görmin in November. Crown Prince Ferdinand is tasked with defending Prussia's homeland. He successfully protects Stettin from a large-scale Swedish assault in March, 1816. Ultimately the Prussians succeed at occupying Mecklenburg and holding back the Swedes.
6 October-1 November, 1815	1815 Stuttgart Campaign Marshal Broglie and the Duke of Zweibrücken launch an Alliance campaign against the Coalition in Württemberg. General Anton von Quosdanovich leads the Coalition forces facing them. The Coalition is forced to retreat at Mannheim on 6 October, abandoning 15,000 soldiers to capture. The Alliance then splits their force of 55,000 into two corps, all with the goal of capturing Stuttgart before the winter. Broglie's force marches south toward Karlsruhe while Zweibrücken heads southeast to take Heilbronn. Quosdanovich neglects to place significant obstacles in Broglie's path, focusing on defending Stuttgart from northerly attacks by Zweibrücken; as a result, Alliance forces sweet through Karlsruhe and Pforzheim by 19 October. Coalition reinforcements finally arrive near Pforzheim on the 21st. While the Alliance is defeated near Heilbronn on 14 October, Zweibrücken crosses the Necker and outmaneuvers Quosdanovich, clashing again Marbach where the Coalition force is shattered on 27 October. The final battle of the 1815 campaign occurs just northwest of Stuttgart, and Quosdanovich is forced to surrender. Alliance forces sweep through Stuttgart on 1 November.

 

[George_Apley]

1816 is a doozy. Sorry all you poor Europeans and New Englanders.

God is a Frenchman: The Year with no Summer - Talleyrand's War, Year 3 (1816)
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3 March-16 December, 1816	Holland Campaign Talleyrand's War: From Utrecht, Marshal Kellermann moves his forces across the west waterline in winter, taking advantage of the frozen conditions. It's slow going as the Dutch fire artillery at the ice ahead of French columns, forcing them to adjust their movements and tactically pull back to avoid falling into the freezing flooded marshes. The French close on Rotterdam and Amsterdam by early March. Dutch defenses of the cities are formidable. Numerous rings of fortification make frontal assaults difficult and costly. French forces split between Rotterdam and Amsterdam, limiting their ability to call upon reinforcements for large-scale assaults, a problem that increases as the ice gradually thaws, locking the French and Dutch in Holland. Kellermann has planned for long sieges of the two biggest Dutch cities, and the French are forced to make good on that planning. Kellermann coordinates with admiral Leissègues and Brueys, who manage the blockades of the numerous flows of the Rhine River delta and IJsselmeer. Wet, cold weather into the spring and summer makes life miserable for the French soldiers, with many taken out of commission due to injuries and illnesses caused by the perpetual damp chill. Conditions similarly cause the Dutch to suffer. Food stores begin to run low by late summer, 1816, and some of what remains is compromised by mold and fungi. Both cities also host thousands of additional refugees from the countryside, further straining resources. Famine conditions take hold by late autumn. French foraging parties lay waste to much of the Netherlands' agricultural sector, already suffering from the poor climate conditions. Amsterdam capitulates on 12 October. Rotterdam lasts longer, until 16 December. The "Siege of Holland" has lasting memory for all who suffered in the Netherlands during the "Year with no Summer."
15 March, 1816	Oldenburg Accord Talleyrand's War: By the end of campaigning in 1815, Foreign Minister Talleyrand is frustrated. He's staked French power for the coming decades and his own reputation's rehabilitation on France prevailing in this war. While France is not losing, the development of an anti-French coalition with Austria has complicated the war effort. Talleyrand spends much of 1815 bickering with LaFayette, the War Minister, about launching a strong offensive against Austria. LaFayette refuses to counsel redirecting resources to more fully confront the Austrians. France, LaFayette says, cannot capture Holland, hold back the British in Hanover, and advance on Austria. For him, the primary goal of the war is to pacify Holland and bring it under French hegemony, therefore playing effective defense against the Habsburgs is acceptable. Talleyrand's broader view of European struggle strongly disagrees with the War Minister's assessment. The King however, is inclined to agree with LaFayette, leading Talleyrand to get creative with solutions to his Austria problem. Talleyrand convinces Louis that he can get the best of both worlds if he can exert more pressure on Austria from another source: Russia. Ever since Tsar Alexander's state visit the two monarchs have enjoyed friendly relations; and the Russians have remained almost suspiciously neutral in the ongoing conflict; demuring overtures from both the Alliance and Coalition. He has Louis write to Alexander offering a meeting of envoys to "discuss matters of mutual import on the ongoing conflict," which is delivered by the French ambassador in St. Petersburg. Russia agrees to a secret summit in Oldenburg, a neutral German state with dynastic ties to Russia. Meeting in Oldenburg in February, 1816, France finds the Russians highly prepared for the negotiations, bluntly questioning why Russia would benefitted from siding with France rather than the coalition. Russia, the French reply, has the power to decide the outcome of this conflict, but only stands to strongly benefit from the peace if they side with France. If Russia opens another front against Austria in the east, France will allow them to deal with Austria in a treaty of their own, decoupled from a treaty between Austria and France, potentially allowing Russia to claim more territory from the Habsburgs. France also commits that Russia will enjoy greater access to produce from the Americas. Russia demands an additional term before making any agreement: France will not interfere if Russian troops enter Poland to maintain their control of the Commonwealth government, essentially nullifying the Treaty of Warsaw. France agrees, and the Russians commit to launching a campaign against the Austrians before the end of summer.
16 April, 1816	Battle of Mellum Talleyrand's War: British naval victory. 1815 was a year of relatively minor and indecisive naval operations in the Channel and North Sea, mostly convoy actions and minor raids on one another's seaside towns. After their defeat in the Ruhr Campaign, the British intend to again invade west from Hanover, but must deliver more divisions of redcoats to the Continent to reinforce the Duke of Brunswick. A large armada of troop carriers escorted by the Royal Navy sails for Bremerhaven in April, 1816. The French fleet of Admiral Brueys blockades the entrances to both the Weser and Elbe rivers. The French misjudge British intentions, thinking they're making for the Elbe and reinforce the blockade there. The Weser is left more lightly covered and that is where the engagement occurs, off Mellum Island. The Royal Navy is able to sink thirteen French ships while losing only five of their own warships plus a troop transport. The success of the blockade run ensures a strong campaign season for the Coalition in northern Germany.
5 May-8 July, 1816	Weser Campaign Talleyrand's War: The Duke of Brunswick and his British counterpart, General John Baskerville, plan a fresh campaign against the Alliance forces in Rhineland in the late-spring of 1816. They are surprised by news that the Duke of Oldenburg has joined the Alliance, potentially opening a new front against Hanover and forcing them to change their calculations for the season's campaigning. This delay gives France time to get more troops in place in Westphalia setting up another clash. The Alliance forces are commanded by Marshal Montmorency. The armies first meet at Petershagen on 17 May, where the cold, muddy conditions impact the Coalition's cavalry to the point of uselessness. Montmorency bypasses Baskerville's army by pressing north into Oldenburg and then invading into western Hanover. On 29 May Baskerville forces an engagement at Sachsenhagen, driving back the French. Montmorency then attempts to evade the Coalition by rounding north of Lake Steinhuder, but is intercepted by Brunswick's divisions at the swollen Leine River near Neustadt on 8 June. Unable to get across the river, Montmorency retreats to higher ground, meeting additional brigades from Oldenburg at his camp at Steimbke. His primary task is to lead the Coalition forces on a chase and avoid getting drawn into any punishing battles. The longer Coalition forces are worried about his army, the less ability they'll have to push into the Netherlands and threaten French operations there. Montmorency's Alliance forces then push further east, crossing the Leine at Schwarmstedt on 16 June and maneuvers south towards the city of Hanover. On 24 June Coalition forces again seek an engagement at Wedemark, but only manage to engage the Alliance left flank in dense fog before Montmorency again slips away from a decisive engagement. Frustrated, Baskerville makes the risky choice to end his chase and make for Westphalia, hoping to draw the French "Ghost Army" into battle. Coalition forces cross the Weser at Minden with Montmorency on their tails. The Battle of the Bastau is the largest engagement of the campaign, as Montmorency finally faces his adversaries. Again, damp conditions make for a muddy and chaotic battle once central formations charge. Montmorency is able to sweep his left division around, forcing Baskerville's to break formation to meet them, opening up a gap and allowing French forces to attack the British left-center. Baskerville withdraws to Minden and Montmorency decides not to pursue, satisfied with his performance preventing a Coalition invasion.
29 May-9 August, 1816	1816 Italy Campaign Talleyrand's War: Metternich preempts the campaign season in mid-May by abandoning Milan and moving east, forcing Motier's Alliance force to make up ground. The two armies tangle at Crema on 29 May, Castelleone on 9 June, and Pontevico on 21 June. None of the engagements are decisive. Metternich pushes back against Motier's advance on 2 July at Bozzolo. Motier drives Metternich north towards the Alps planning to take advantage of the terrain to force the Austrians to surrender in the face of the larger Alliance army. Metternich hits the foothills of the Alps at Bardolino on the eastern shore of Lago di Garda and decides to stand against Motier's superior force. On 14 July, the Austrians act quickly as the Alliance approaches, marching in parallel columns that split the allied army. Austrian rear formations swing wide and pinch closed on the Allied rearm collapsing the block formations and forcing Motier to signal a general retreat. They regroup in Mantua while Metternich moves his army to Verona. Austrian confidence is boosted by the victory at Bardolino and they move out to confront the French again at the end of the month. On 9 August the two armies clash at Marsiletti, with the Alliance again being bested. As many Italian divisions resolve to leave Motier's force and guard their population centers, Motier is left with a much smaller force. For both armies, provisions are running low by late-summer and foraging yields disappointing quantities. Neither France nor Austria will spare reinforcements for operations in Italy. France is overcommitted as it is between the Siege of Holland and actions in Bavaria. Austria is rushing soldiers to the east to face a Russian invasion and are more likely to recall Metternich's army completely than offer him reinforcements. The campaign fizzles to an end in mid-August.
1816-1856	Reign of Jose II of Portugal Reign marked by continued development in Brazil that causes the colony deepen its reliance on slavery. By the end of Jose's rule, Portuguese Brazil is the most dependent of all New World colonies on the continued trade of enslaved Africans. A growing liberal movement puts pressure on the monarchy to make concessions. The end of his reign is consumed by conflict in Iberia as a consequence of the upheaval in France.
18 June, 1816	Battle of Pensacola Talleyrand's War: Dominion naval victory. In early-1816, Dominion President-General Richard Wellesley and Vice-Admiral Robert Harrelson of the Continental Navy receive word from the Pitt government and the Admiralty to launch a campaign against Spanish and French targets. The Continental Navy is not a particularly formidable force compared to those of Europe, but they are considered auxiliaries of the British Royal Navy and have built up considerable projection capabilities in the decade since the War of 1800. Harrelson assembles two fleets at Norfolk, Virginia. He commands one that sails south in June. The other sails across the Atlantic. Harrelson's fleet targets the redoubt at Pensacola, the main western settlement in Spanish Florida and much sought after by the Americans. Harrelson's flagship is the 74-gun HMDS Connecticut. Elements of the Spanish fleet are in Pensacola for repairs since the engagement at Cayman Brac the previous year. Several ships are easily targeted by the Americans, while the fortress's cannons exchange ordinance with the American warships. Spanish Admiral McDonnell is not present, supervising a merchant convoy from Pensacola to Havana, and his absence is felt. Harrelson's raid of Pensacola costs him two sloops, but none of the Dominion's valuable warships.
22 June, 1816	Battle of Mobile Bay Talleyrand's War: Alliance naval victory. French ships guarding Mobile set sails after hearing of the raid at Pensacola. The 86-gun d'Estaing leads the French warships to intercept the Americans as they sail towards New-Orleans. Admiral Harrelson's fleet is crossed to the rear by the French ships; three ships caught in French fire and sinking immediately. Harrelson is unable to form a line as the French sail alongside the disorganized American fleet, firing broadsides into their hulls and rigging. In 45 minutes of fighting the rout of the Americans is complete. HMDS Connecticut is boarded and captured. Harrelson is taken as the highest ranking prisoner captured in the Americas during the war. The defeat of the fleet has major consequences for the Dominion's war effort later that summer.
26 June-10 August, 1816	Iller Campaign Talleyrand's War: Under pressure from Paris to bring the fight to the Coalition, Marshal Broglie plans a summer campaign against Bavaria. Broglie has a worthy opponent in Bavarian General Thalfingen, who leads the Coalition defense. Broglie struggles to establish a foothold across the Iller River. Between June and August Broglie and Thalfingen engage at Ulm, Altenstadt, Buxheim, Legau, and Kempten. Each time the Bavarians hold back the Alliance army. Finally on 10 August, Broglie bests Thalfingen by splitting his forces and making for several bridges around Memmingen while also building floating bridges. While several of his divisions are driven back, Broglie is able to outflank the Bavarians. The harsh fighting on the banks of the Iller ultimately leads to a Bavarian surrender. Broglie pauses in Memmingen, planning his next campaign with his commanders. Crop failures in France and Bavaria make advancing a risky proposition, if the army should run out of provisions. But Broglie believes, with a wide open field to Austria that he has a responsibility to France to press onwards.
21 July-15 August, 1816	Chesapeake Campaign Talleyrand's War: In June, the French receive intelligence that the Dominion's naval forces are dispersed, leaving the heart of British-America under-defended. A fleet of ships escorting a division of soldiers is dispatched from Lafayette in July aiming for the Chesapeake Bay commanded by Admiral Doiron. In the many decades of on-again, off-again fighting between New France and British-America, the mid-Atlantic has never been successfully targeted by French forces. Only four warships guard the entrance to the James River, dwarfed by Doiron's fleet, which makes short work of them at the Battle of Hampton Roads on 19 July. Doiron avoids the guns of Fort Washington, navigating to Norfolks where he demands the surrender of the important merchant city. Officials in Norfolk refuse and fire is traded between fortifications on the shore and Doiron's ships. This action culminates in the Burning of Norfolk on 21 July, leaving Virginia's largest commercial center in ruins. Doiron navigates north into the Chesapeake, leading his fleet toward Baltimore. At Annapolis the French encounter a half-dozen Dominion warships under Commodore Hughes, engaging in a ferocious battle that disproportionately damages the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake on 3 August. News spreads rapidly of the French campaign against coastal Virginia and Maryland leading to panic as troop ships are identified. Doiron engages the redoubt at Fort McHenry, guarding Baltimore, on 9 August. No Dominion support allows the French free reign in the waters around the fortress pouring heavy fire into it while firing rockets down upon them. The Fort holds for four days until a battalion of French soldiers is able to land on Point Locust and storm the fortress, opening the way for a mass landing at Baltimore. After putting up a spirited defense from the shore, Continentals and Maryland militiamen retreat through the city making for some brutal street fighting as the French pursue with bayonets fixed. Hundreds of civilians either join in or are caught up in the fray. The Mayor of Baltimore, Levin Winder, formally surrenders the city on 15 August, horrifying the people of the Dominion.
19-26 July, 1816	Battle of Barbados Spanish Admiral McDonnell and French Admiral Rigaud combine their forces at Saint-Domingue and sail for the Lesser Antilles. Transport ships pick up additional marines in Martinique and Dominique and set course for Barbados. Only Bridgetown's redoubts, two warships, and the garrison of Royal Marines guard the island. While the French marines land north of the town while the French warships wreck the British ships at anchor and bombard the redoubt just south of town. The garrison scrambles to defend the town but are met with well prepared and fierce French combatants. Alliance warships threaten the town if they do not surrender and submit to occupation. Governor Fellowes concedes, allowing occupation and negotiating with Rigaud and McDonnell over economic impact. Importation of grains from French and Spanish colonies is guaranteed as is the fair purchase of sugar crop for export. The occupation is understood to be a bargaining chip rather than a permanent seizure.
31 July, 1816	Gorée Raid Talleyrand's War: British-American naval victory. Unaware of what's happening at their home base in the Dominion, the second Continental Navy fleet under Commodore Philips sails for the west African coast to target French factories in Senegal. The fleet successfully hits Gorée Island causing much discord and torching all docking facilities before being driven off by the redoubt on the island. The action is the largest actions by the Continental Navy outside of North America.
August, 1816-July, 1817	Great Gain Crisis of 1816 The climate shift resulting from the volcanic activity in the East Indies makes the suffering of people in Europe and North America intensify. While effects vary, the general impact of the eruption is that the warmth of summer never arrives and precipitation does not fall as expected leading to crop failures. With the powers of Europe at war, this had even more pronounced effects on the availability of food, impacting politics as well as the course of the war itself. Farmers begin sounding the alarm in May as weather stays chilly and wet, spoiling their seeds. Many are unable to plant anything with success until late July, greatly shortening the growing season. Food prices are already high due to war rationing and blockades, particularly in Britain, which has become increasingly reliant on imports from Ireland and the American provinces to supply needed grains. As the summer turns to fall, famine conditions emerge in New England, Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, southern Germany, and parts of Austria. France and Spain are able to increase their food imports from Louisiana and New Spain, staving off famine conditions, though food prices remain extremely high and the policy creates tensions, particularly in the heart of Mexico. The high price and relative scarcity of food causes King Louis's Cabinet to rethink extending the war into 1817. In New England many small farms are abandoned as families seek refuge in larger towns and cities, exacerbating food shortages there. Riots break out in many New England communities as people fight over grain allotments. Concerns are also high among the families of war prisoners in Quebec, fearing that French authorities watching over them will allow them to waste away amid the grain shortages. All thought of additional campaigning between Quebec and New England disappears as the grain crisis worsens. In Great Britain conditions are dismal. The French blockade, while not complete, prevents even limited shipments of foot from America. As hunger and unrest worsen, the wisdom of joining this war seems increasingly misguided. Prime Minister Pitt resigns in late November and is replaced by the young Lord de Grey, a Tory who nevertheless knows that things cannot continue as they are. With the full support of the Prince of Wales, the government reaches out to France to end the fighting. What limited harvest is had in Ireland is largely shipped out to Britain, worsening famine conditions for Irish Catholics, who live under the heavy yoke of British rule, thousands will die by the end of 1817 and riots break out in the winter and spring of that year. The conditions on the island become a major topic at treaty negotiations between France and Britain over the winter. In the Netherlands both the people and the occupying soldiers are in poor condition. After Amsterdam and Rotterdam capitulate, the devastation in the cities due to food shortages is heartbreaking. France quickly reverses course from their siege and ships in what food they can, though famine conditions continue into 1817. Similar conditions exist in the Danubian Plains, which heightens Austrian concerns leading to peace talks. Following the war's conclusion, the Grain Crisis leads to a number of policy changes, particularly regarding colonization. France determines that development of their nascent colony in southeast Australia must be accelerated to ensure that food crops are growing in the northern and southern hemispheres. Britain resolves to deal with their population and food production problem, leading to colonies in North Australia and an expanding presence on the Gold Coast of Africa. Countries without colonies realize that they need to foster positive relations with potential food suppliers in the event of a similar climatic disturbance in the future. Fortunately, the environmental effects of the Tambora Eruption prove temporary, with a normal growing season returning in 1817, but its political and policy effects subtly impact the globe for decades.
15 August, 1816-28 February, 1817	Occupation of Baltimore Talleyrand's War: After the capitulation of Baltimore, the Marquis de Verchamps settles in for a long occupation. He sets up his headquarters in the city hall and works with Mayor Winder to ensure peaceful, cordial relations between the Marylanders and the French soldiers. Verchamps orders frequent patrols of the surrounding countryside and repurposes coastal defenses. Food is brought in from Louisiana and New Spain, providing ample food supplies to Baltimore at a time when much of British-America faces food shortages. French patrols invariably find engagements with American militias, but no major counterattack presents itself. Philadelphia is panicked and the Congress orders Continental Army divisions to fortify in place. The Susquehanna River is heavily guarded in case of a French overland move against Pennsylvania as are the commercial centers on the Potomac. French warships continue to rule in the Chesapeake, making business-as-usual impossible. The inability to get produce shipped between the southern provinces and the northern ones contributes to famine conditions in New England, where crops failed due to the cold. Verchamps does dispatch a number of raiding parties throughout the occupation, though they are almost universally in response to an American action against his men. To the south, raids are carried out against Georgetown, MD and Alexandria, VA; to the north, York, PA fights off a French attack. Dominion fears of an attack on Philadelphia never materialize and planning for a counterattack against Verchamps forces fizzles by the winter. When fighting in western Europe mostly ends in December an unhappy truce in put in place. Both French and Dominion forces are instructed that no actions should be taken that would jeopardize diplomatic negotiations. Fresh provisions continue to be shipped into Baltimore from Spanish colonies; residents quickly resell many items at price-gouging rates. The French leave Baltimore in an orderly manner once word arrives of a Treaty between Britain and France.
20 August-13 October, 1816	Salzburg Campaign Talleyrand's War: Marshal Broglie embarks on a campaign towards Austria in late August. He already is aware of the food shortages given how difficult it was for him to receive needed provisions from France for his campaign. But what he sees in Bavaria shocks him; sopping fields devoid of any growing crops and largely abandoned towns and villages. As his army approaches Munich in early September they receive only token opposition and a messenger from King Karl Wilhelm offers safe passage so long as the French do not disrupt the already scant supply of food into Bavaria. A stunned Broglie accepts the offer, continuing east. Broglie first encounters true opposition from Austrians in the hills of eastern Bavaria. On 18 September, Austrians stand across the Inn River at Gars forcing the French into an engagement in order to cross the river. The bridge at Gar is detonated and French artillery is needed to scatter the Austrians and allow a new one to be constructed, causing several day's delay. Broglie next engages the Austrians on 1 October at Freilassing outside of Salzburg where Austrian defenders successfully divery the French to the northeast around the city. On unfamiliar ground, Broglie allows the Austrians to pursue while he seeks suitable ground for a decisive engagement. He settles on the Traun River valley near the town of Gmunden. Broglie is heard to comment that "never have seen so beautiful a landscape prepare to be sullied by the bloody disagreements of men." On 13 October he engages the Austrians north of Gmunden. The Austrians display great zeal in their effort, but are clearly more fatigued than their French opponents. The Austrian commander, Graf Schönborn surrenders after an hour of fighting. Broglie decides not to continue his advance and returns toward Salzburg, making camp in the village of Bergheim, sending messengers back to France to relay his success.
21 October, 1816-5 June, 1817	Galicia Campaign Talleyrand's War: In keeping with the Oldenburg Accord, Russia spends months mobilizing and planning their attack on Austrian Galicia. Their goal is the seizure of lands east of the Carpathian Mountains. Count Nikolai Miloradovich is tasked with leading the campaign. The Austrians are not caught completely off-guard as the Russians push into Galicia, but Austrian Graf Apponye does not have the resources to perform any more than a delaying action at the Battle of Tarnopol on 27 August. Russian divisions sweep northwest to encircle Lemberg, while a second force pushes into Galicia from the north. Austrians are swept aside at Krisnipolye on 8 September and Drohobitz 14 September. Apponye's divisions move to defend Lemberg, which has been busily fortifying since word arrived of Russia's mobilization. Thousands more Austrian troops make it to the city before the Russians link their forces surrounding it. The Siege of Lemberg begins on 3 October and lasts until the end of the war. For both sides, Lemberg is the prize; if Russia can take it, all of eastern Galicia will fall under their dominion; if Austria can hold it, they can limit Russian seizures in negotiations. Miloradovich smashes an Austria relief mission at Vorderberg on 16 October. A Russian attempt to push deeper into western Galicia is halted by Austrian General Radivojevich at Premissel on 30 October. On 29 November, Radivojovich attempts to break the Russian siege of Lemberg at Jaworow but is forced to retreat. While Jaworow is a heartening victory for the Russians, Count Miloradovich is frustrated by the stubbornness of the Austrian forces in Lemberg. As winter sets in, operations die down. Cossack raiders penetrate Lemberg's defenses on a number of occasions, but the status quo continues until winter begins to gradually thaw. With ample snow still on the ground, the Austrians send an army from the south that the Russians march to meet, smashing them at Kolomea on 23 March. By this point fighting in western Europe has ceased, but Russia wants to hold out, expecting a weakening Austria to give up the fight. Kaiser Franz is mindful of the near famine conditions in much of his realm, but authorizes a final campaign to aid Lemberg before committing to a peace conference with the Russians. General Radivojovich, reinforced with more than 80,000 men, stuns Russia by capturing more than 50,000 troops at Jaroslau on 4 April, opening the road to the Russian force surrounding Lemberg. On 12 April, the Austrians and Russians fight themselves to exhaustion at Komarno. Tactically a Russian victory, Komarno ultimately proves to be a strategic Austrian one. Several wagon trains make it to Lemberg when the Austrians temporarily clear an important roadway. With the soldiers and residents in Lemberg on the brink of starvation, the provision delivery could help the city survive some time more. Austria seeks a peace conferences after Komarno, and a ceasefire is called in mid-April that allows the people of Lemberg to get relief from the six month siege.
6 September, 1816	Battle of Brighton Talleyrand's War: French naval victory. By late August, France is frustrated by the length of the sieges in Holland and the continued British ability to occasionally run French blockades. Louis's Navy Minister the Comte de la Pérouse, aging yet spry, alongside Talleyrand and LaFayette, advises drawing the Royal Navy into a large action they cannot avoid, pulling attention away from the Dutch and towards defending Britain itself. France superficially makes moves designed to convince British spies that an invasion force is massing in Normandy, a ruse backed up by the consolidation of French naval forces in the Channel. The French fleet under Admiral Picard sets sail on 4 September with thirty ships-of-the-line and nearly two dozen escort ships along with a number of merchantmen loaded down with crates of earth. The British fleet under Admiral Raeburn faces them with slightly smaller force sailing off the coast of Sussex. The two fleets engage on 6 September about seven miles off the coast of Brighton. It is the largest naval clash in over a decade and a rematch between Picard and Raeburn. Civilians on the shore in Brighton can hear the rumbling of the cannons and see the billowing smoke over the horizon. Forming several lines of battle, the fleets hammer each other for some time, performing multiple tacks in southwesterly winds. The lines beat to windward for nearly an hour, all the while blasting away at one another. Several ships break away into point blank duels and crews board their opponents as riggings become entangled. Admiral Picard however, is not satisfied with fighting to a draw. Picard signals his ships to perform a downwind turn directly into the British sail lines. This maneuver throws the battle into chaos as ships split off into dueling groups and run downwind. Picard's Île de France blasts the deck off of the HMS Dauntless and sinks several smaller vessels despite sustaining serious damage itself. Raeburn's HMS Queen Charlotte ends up surrounded by a flotilla of French warships, most notably the Côte d'Azur, and is unable to effectively direct his fleet. Raeburn rams the Côte d'Azur in a maneuver that wrecks Queen Charlotte's forecastle but allows him to break from his French harassers. Still flying his flag, Raeburn signals any ships that can spy him to break away from the engagement and form on Queen Charlotte. Picard also signals his own fleet to return to Île de France, ending the main action. Several duels continue among ships whose captains could not observe the flag signals. One such fight between the HMS Charybdis and the Sauvage gets within a mile of Brighton before Charybdis's masts are brought down and she's left adrift. Sauvage, listing but fully sheeted, peels away from the British coast to run for open waters. She's later captured by elements of Raeburn's fleet. Picard's daring maneuver has paid off. More British vessels have suffered crippling damage than French and he is satisfied with the outcome. The battle is not a knockout blow against the Royal Navy, but it did not need to be. The British fleet has been sufficiently savaged that it will less capable of significant action going forward. The Battle of Brighton is one of the growing number of factors that creates dissention in the British government, ultimately leading to Pitt's resignation and suing for peace talks.
11 September, 1816	Capture of the Channel Islands The French conspicuously avoid any engagement on the Channel Islands in the war other than maintaining a blockade against British trade. By late-summer 1816 the people of Jersey and Guernsey are suffering with shortages of food and other basic needs. When French navy ships sail past the islands triumphant after the Battle of Brighton, they are signalled by people on shore. The French who arrive find the towns filled with famished people. Provisions are quickly brought over from France and arrive with Marine escorts. The Marines do not leave the islands, and French flags replace the Union Jacks over the main towns of the islands. Officials protest but are in no position to fight back or bargain otherwise. Without firing a shot, and indeed by bring bread, France has captured the Channel Islands once again.
October, 1816-June, 1818	Cambodian War Cambodian factions loyal to Siam attempt to gain control over the kingdom with Siamese aid. Cambodia, which is officially allied to Vietnam turns to the Ngyuen emperor for assistance. Ultimately the King's pro-Vietnam faction succeeds at ending the rebellion and halting the Siamese advance into Cambodia. The Kingdom is under a Vietnamese suzerainty for several decades, which also opens the region up to increased contact with the French.
16 December, 1816	Armistice of 16.12 Talleyrand's War: By mid-December, the Coalition countries are in crisis due to the effects of the Grain Crisis and are increasingly unable to continue prosecuting the war, especially on multiple fronts. After consulting with one another in November, Britain, the Netherlands, and Austria approach France requesting an immediate armistice and negotiations for peace. Despite the dire circumstances that led to this outcome, Talleyrand is practically gleeful with the request. France should consent to the armistice, Talleyrand advises, but should deal with each member of the Coalition separately, refusing to allow a united negotiating front. King Louis agrees and Talleyrand puts together hand-picked teams of envoys to handle each of France's opponents. The fighting in what becomes known as Talleyrand's War ends in western Europe as soon as word arrives on the front. The official armistice date is 16 December, 1816. The armistice does not affect fighting in the east between Russia and Austria.
19 December, 1816	Treaty of Stockholm Prusso-Swedish War: After a successful campaign, Prussian negotiators travel to Stockholm to end their war against Sweden. The Swedes fear that Prussia could annex Swedish Pomerania outright if war continues into a new campaign season and so is generous in the negotiation. Prussia outright annexes Mecklenburg, while both Sweden and Prussia commit to demilitarizing their shared border for ten years subject to renegotiation. France and Russia are signatories marking them as enforcers of the treaty. Russia secretly sidebars with Prussia that it will support any future Prussian action against Sweden if Prussia assents to Russian annexation of Poland in the coming years.

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[George_Apley]

Before we move on to the rest of the 1810s, here are the treaties that conclude the recent war.

1817 Treaties (Talleyrand's War)​

2 February, 1817	Treaty of Amsterdam Talleyrand's War: French envoys are sent to Amsterdam to meet with representatives of the Dutch government. The war has proven to be devastating for the Netherlands and the Republic is on the verge of collapse. Accordingly, the Dutch Republic is disbanded in favor of a monarchy under the House of Orange. Under the treaty: Stadtholder Willem VI steps aside and his son is crowned King Willem I Orange of the Netherlands. Terneuzen and Maastricht are ceded to Flanders. Flanders will once again be integrated with France without military restrictions. The trade terms of the Treaty of Calais are maintained and the Netherlands will enjoy free trade with France. The Netherlands is barred from entering into alliances other than with France. France commits to delivering shipments of food and trading other commodities to the Netherlands to assist with recovery after the war and famine. Aruba, Dutch Guiana, Dutch Cape Town, & trade outposts in India and Ceylon are granted to France. The East Indies are kept by the Netherlands but will have perpetual free trade with French East India Company. The India Company may build coastal fortifications at select sites in the East Indies to protect and promote trade. The treaty is quickly ratified by 2 February. The Netherlands officially maintains its independence as a kingdom, but is entirely cast under the long shadow of France.
20 February, 1817	Treaty of Heidelberg Talleyrand's War: France, Austria, and a number of German states hold a conference in Heidelberg in the winter of 1817. There are few matters of territorial importance, but the matter of dynastic control is very much on the table. The Grand Duchy of Hessia passes from the House of Hessen-Kassel to the House of Hessen-Darmstadt. The Grand Duchy of Württemberg passes to the House of Baden by way of a marriage between Württemberg's eldest daughter to the second son of Baden. The Prince Electors of the Holy Roman Empire will call for an unprecedented 'no confidence vote' in the Habsburg Emperor and, should he lose, elect a new Emperor from their number. Throughout the Imperial realm, tariffs on French manufactures will be lowered, opening up more markets for French products. The treaty is ratified by all parties by 20 February. By May, Franz of Austria has been removed as Holy Roman Emperor, replaced with Friedrich August of Saxony, rewarded for his steadfast neutrality in recent years. For the Habsburgs, the war against France is a brutal blow to their prestige in the German-speaking world, but Austria performs well enough in its campaigns that no territory is lost to French-allied Italian and German states.
17 March, 1817	Treaty of Dunkirk Talleyrand's War: Envoys from France and Britain meet in the Channelside French town of Dunkirk. Britain finds itself in the midst of a campaign, but Prime Minister de Grey insists on sending handpicked envoys ahead of the election. This severely hampers the negotiations as France calculates if stonewalling until the new government is in place will lead to more productive outcomes. The Pittist coalition is voted out in early February and a new Whig government forms headed by Lord Bedford. Many of the provisions worked out with with the Tory delegation remain including: The colony at New Edinburgh in west Australia is transferred to France with British settlers being guaranteed rights. The British receive a commitment that France will not interfere in any colonization efforts Britain makes on Australia's northern coast, hitherto unsettled by Europeans except for abandoned stopovers used by the Dutch. Of particular priority to the Spanish, the British relinquish all claims to mainland Central America, settling decades of uncertainty on the eastern Yucatan and Mosquito coasts. Restrictions are imposed on the size of the Continental forces of the Dominion for ten years. Jersey and Guernsey are once again transferred to France, the price for the return of Barbados to Britain. High tariffs are imposed on the import of British manufactures into French and Spanish colonies. Other provisions are freshly negotiated with the Whigs: Britain will waive the Corn Laws on French and Spanish foodstuffs for at least two years. On the topic of Ireland, Britain will repeal the century-old oppressive penal laws targeting Catholics within two years. France demands that Catholics receive equal treatment in Britain or else France will appoint itself as their protector. France commits to strengthening its own protections of protestants in its own territories. The treaty is finally ratified in mid-March, 1817. The Dunkirk treaty officially ends the war that is credited to Foreign Minister Talleyrand and his reputation, tarnished from the Restitution War of 1800, is fully restored. Talleyrand remains a national hero for France well into the future.
5 June, 1817	Treaty of Krakow Talleyrand's War: The war between Austria and Russia proceeds into the spring of 1817. Only the strategic Austrian victory at the Battle of Komarno convinces Russia to agree to an armistice. The Austrian-Polish city of Krakow is chosen to host the negotiation summit. Under the terms of the treaty: Tarnopol is ceded to Russia. Austria recognizes Russian supremacy in the Commonwealth of Poland and secretly agrees to not interfere in any Russian actions in Poland. Coal quotas from Austrian Silesia will be exported to Russia. All in all, the war is a disappointment for Russia, which had hoped to capture Lemberg and wrest northeastern Galicia away from Austria. The Austrian army's heroic performance at the Siege of Lemberg gave enough of a bargaining chip to Foreign Minister Trautmannsdorf to avoid that outcome. In the end, Austria's fortunes are not as dire as the Kaiser anticipated when the December Armistice was called against France, and the Habsburg realm rebounds from the war loss and famine by 1820.

As always, questions are welcome. I've gotten some feedback on the next Personal Profiles survey too! If you want input in the next one, here is the link: God is a Frenchman: Personal Profiles Survey

 

[George_Apley]

Wrapping up the 1810s.

God is a Frenchman: 1817-1819​

1817

1817-1843	Reign of Willem I of the Netherlands Inheriting a devastated country, the twenty-five year old King Willem busies the early years of his reign rebuilding from the the war and famine. He cuts many of the leading politicians of the late-Republic out of his circle of advisers, blaming them for instigating the 1814 War for no reason other than their own mercantile profits. The Netherlands experiences major industrial development during Willem's reign, benefitting from becoming an integral trade partner with France. He avoids foreign intrigues, keeping his country firmly in France's orbit through the succession crisis after King Louis XVII's death. His rule is cut short by an aggressive cancer that claims his life at forty-one.
February, 1817	"Nebuchadnezzar" Poem Published In the midst of the 1814 War and the Year with no Summer, a number of literary movements based on German romanticism burst into popular culture with major publications. In Britain, the Enlightened Mythos movement takes root after a series of works by several young writers who spent the Year with no Summer convalescing together in the Scottish Highlands. In poetry, the seminal work of the genre is credited to Henry "Fox" Fitzcharles, the illegitimate son of Whig politician Charles Fox. He insists on being called "Fox" by his peers, a permanent dig at his late father, who largely left his bastard son to his own devices. Highly gifted with language, Fox writes a series of poems in the cold wet summer of 1816. The most famous, published the following year is a sonnet called "Nebuchadnezzar" about the Babylonian king of antiquity. With beautiful and innovative language in iambic pentameter Fox's poem is interpreted as an allegory against the venality and aggression of unchecked kings. Many view it variably as a dig against France or against the Prince of Wales, regent of Great Britain. The poem sets a stylistic standard for several decades in English poetry.
March-August, 1817	Polish Uprising of 1817 Rumblings of discontent begin in the Polish Commonwealth during 1816 as government mismanagement exacerbated the climate difficulties and affected food availability. This intensifies in the late-winter as Commonwealth officials begin a conscription drive for a planned action with Russia to seize Silesia and Galicia from Austria. The campaign never occurs but the resentment towards the pro-Russian Commonwealth is strong in many corners of Polish society. In late-March 1817 a number of militias in central Poland refuse mustering orders and elect their own officers. This disobedience spreads across the commonwealth and the countryside rapidly falls out of the government's control. Tax revenue falls and desertion rates in loyal militia forces is high. By May the situation teeters on the edge of violence as pro-Commonwealth officers begin accompanying state agents to collect taxes and demand pledges of loyalty to the Sejm. The Russians cast a wary and interested eye towards Poland during their negotiations with Austria, which is the last domino of major signatories to the Warsaw Treaty of 1793 to fall. Unrest in Poland will do wonders to legitimize Russian action. In June, a congress of elected militia officers meets in Poznan and drafts demands to the Commonwealth government in Warsaw. The demands include increased representation in the Sejm and more democracy in its selection and independence from Russian interference in Polish foreign policy and military policy. On 9 July Commonwealth agents attempt to arrest the "illegally appointed captains" of the militia, which leads to shots fired between factions. Poznan's local government is quickly that week and militias rise up throughout Poland, throwing Commonwealth officials out of office in towns and cities. An militia army of over 30,000 moves to converge on Warsaw in late-July and the Sejm formally requests Russian assistance. Russian forces, expecting this outcome for weeks rapidly pour over the eastern Polish border. Russian soldiers clash with the militia at Brest, Lublin, and Siedlce; all three bloody engagements that force the militiamen to retreat. As Russian troops march into Warsaw, officials from the Commonwealth greet General Petrov with a parade and shower his officers with banquets and gratitude. Petrov gives a speech to the Sejm on 26 July effectively disbanding the body, saying that the Commonwealth has continuously proven itself unable to govern the restive provinces of Poland and therefore has lost the privilege. Stunned officials listen in horror as Petrov announces that the Polish Commonwealth will be annexed into the Russian Empire. The annexation announcement inspires more Poles to rally to the militias consolidating around Poznan. The appointed militia commander Bogdan Zuraw calls on the signatories of the Treaty of Warsaw to defend Poland's sovereignty, but Russian and Commonwealth envoys in European capitals deflect the pleas and it becomes clear that Russia has neutralized the old Treaty's terms. The militia form themselves into the Sovereign Polish Army and prepare to do battle against General Petrov's Russians. The Battle of Konin on 10 August is as large as any fought in Talleyrand's War and even more devastating. Over 58,000 casualties result from the battle of about 120,000 combatants. The Polish casualties are nearly 35,000–particularly those recent recruits not experienced in modern war tactics. In addition to the casualties, there are numerous reports of mass executions of captured men by the Russians. Thousands of Poles flee into Prussia and Silesia, some of whom remain, while others make their way to France. Nearly 8,000 Polish refugees emigrate to Quebec by 1821. Poland itself is completely annexed by the Russian Empire by the end of August. Russian administrators are installed in Warsaw to oversee the transition and Russian troops continue to occupy Poland into the 1820s.
March-September, 1817	New Spain Uprisings An important policy impact of the famine conditions in Europe is the redirection of crops from New Spain and other Spanish American colonies to Europe, inadvertently leading to food shortages in Spanish colonies. These food shortages exacerbate simmering discontent in certain sections of society in Spanish America. The food shortage impacts are mostly felt by the peasant mestizo and native classes of people in Spanish America. The largest uprising begins as bread riots in March, 1817 in Guanajuato, New Spain. A number of liberal Catholic priests have been preaching among the lower classes in the countryside of New Spain for nearly a decade seeding beliefs on justice in God's kingdom on Earth. In May, the bread riots organize around the priest Don Armando Castellano, a Criollo advocate for peasant elevation and rights. The local garrison in Guanajuato is overwhelmed by the end of the month, with more people joining the uprising after a number of peasants are shot by soldiers on 24 May. Over 20 soldiers are killed by the mob in subsequent days. Viceroy Venegas dispatches royal troops from Mexico to quell the revolt and has the full support of the criollo elites in the capital. The Spanish soldiers show little mercy to the uprising, and over 600 are killed in Guanajuato from 1-3 June. The Guanajuato Massacre counterproductively inspires uprisings in other regions of New Spain, all of which are brutally put down by the colonial government.
April, 1817	"With the Lotus Eaters" Poem Published A close personal friend of Fox Fitzcharles, Sir Hugh Palliser is the nonconformist heir to a line of Royal Navy officers. He bucks the family tradition and joins his friends on a writing retreat and holiday in the Scottish Highlands in 1816. Influenced by his surroundings, company, and library, he pens a foundational work of English Enlightened Mythic literature: "With the Lotus Eaters," a lengthy, lyric poem inspired by Homer's Odyssey. The poem captures the pleasurable doldrums of the British upper classes while criticizing its vapid nature. It brings Sir Hugh popular acclaim alongside the frequent intrigue and scandal of his personal life. "With the Lotus Eaters" remains a staple of English literature for well over a century.
May, 1817	La Grâce de Dieu Published As romanticism in Britain reaches into the "enlightened mythos," in France it takes on other forms driven by displays of optimism and power. In 1817 writer Armand Barre publishes The Grace of God, a collection of poems & short stories about life, faith, love, and country. The book is widely distributed and favored by people across France's stratified class structure. It is viewed as a foundational example of the triomphaliste (triumphant) and émerveillement (wonderment) traditions of 19th Century French literature.
June, 1817-May, 1818	Second Paris Parlement Crisis Following the conclusion of Talleyrand's War, Premier Malreaux controversially extends the tax reforms indefinitely with Louis XVII's support. Conservative nobles are aghast by the decision and resist implementing the ruling, using their influence in their locales to avoid the levy. The reaction is stronger than anticipated due to previously apolitical nobles joining the conservative reactionaries in anger. The Paris Parliament forms again in June, 1817 and by July announces a return to their positive certification for royal laws and decrees to be implemented. Such a move is a direct challenge to the power of the throne and causes great political drama in the aftermath of France's triumph in the recent war. The relaxation of press regulations gives the public a broad swath of opinions reacting to the intrigue in Paris. Most of the French people fall on the side of the King and his government, both of which enjoy high popularity in the late 1810s. The people recognize how Talleyrand and Lafayette expertly navigated the war while Malreaux and Chambray made strides towards making France a more balanced society. This is contrasted with the conservative Parlement, which is viewed as old-fashioned and out-of-touch. Despite their relative unpopularity, the Parliamentarians resolutely use their power and influence in French society to impede Malreaux's reform agenda. The King's instinct is to send in marshals to arrest the offending nobles in the Parliament, but the Marquis de Chambray, the head of the Maison de Roi domestic policy portfolios, advocates leveraging popular opinion to take care of the situation. Reformist groups such as the Tricolor Society write pamphlets and articles ridiculing the "Parliament of Fools" holding court in Paris. In winter of 1818 crowds begin to form outside the Parliament as well as outside the estates of many conservative nobles. The crowds are almost universally peaceful with slogans such as "pas de taxes? Pas de chateau," and "un pour tous, tous pour un," chanted by the crowds and waved on signs. The royal flag is waved alongside the tricolor banner that had come to represent the liberal movement in Paris. The Parliament denounces the protests and demands action to arrest or disperse them. The government is unmoved by the conservative pleas and when several nobles attempt to use private forces to assault the protests, government troops step in to defend the people. Delighted shouts of "le roi Louis du peuple!" echo through the streets of Paris. The conservatives in the self-appointed Parliament are increasingly backed into a corner as the masses fall firmly onto the side of reform and the government prevents any state sanctioned violence against the raucous crowds. They need to force their way through the shouting throngs to enter the Palais de la Cité. Even the famously conservative Church refuses to speak out in support of the Parliament. The actions of the Parliament are seen as ridiculously self-indulgent. Sufficiently mocked, several members of the Parliament quit by late summer. Chambray's plan to use the voice of the people to neuter the Parlement has worked–and not a moment too soon as King Louis's patience has long since waned since the Marquis de l'Arc scandal. The holdout conservatives who continue to refuse to pay their tax levy are ultimately arrested by mid-May. The government has survived its first direct political combat with the reactionaries delivering another victory to King Louis.

1818

17 January, 1818	Queen Marie Joachime of France Dies After the birth of Dauphin Louis-Henri, Queen Marie Joachime of France suffers a series of miscarriages between 1813 and 1816. She successfully carries a child to term in January 1818, much to the excitement of King Louis. Princess Marie Zéphyrine is born on 16 January. After the birth the Queen begins to hemorrhage and the King is removed from the room by the royal physicians. Despite their efforts into the night, the Queen succumbs and passes away in the early morning on 17 January. Louis and the young Dauphin are both devastated by the loss, which throws the King into a months long depression. During this time the Dauphin is sent to live in Madrid in his grandfather's household while the King dotes on his infant daughter, who he sees as his living connection to her mother. In subsequent years, Louis faces pressure to remarry from different quarters but he never does, remaining loyal to Marie Joachime for the rest of his life.
February-April, 1818	Trial of the Marquis du l'Arc After Talleyrand's War, the Marquis du l'Arc is one of the many conservative nobles who disputes Royal prerogative and attempts to stop enforcement of tax provisions against the nobility. L'Arc becomes a leading reactionary voice at the Paris Parliament, known for his strong rhetoric against Premier Malreaux and other liberals in the King's government. He founds a newspaper in mid-1817 called "le Défenseur de la France" that espouses conservative thought and rehashes recent decades in French politics, blaming enlightenment liberals and reforms for alleged "societal decay." L'Arc takes full advantage of new press freedoms in France to launch attacks against the government that previously would have been persecuted. He continues to push the limits and in November, 1817 he releases "la Tragédie du Tsar." The pamphlet is ostensibly a retelling and analysis of the reign and downfall of Tsar Paul I of Russia, however a comparison to Louis XVII is only thinly veiled. The pamphlet clearly suggests that a monarch who moves against his own class will suffer and that coup or assassination are not illegitimate means of handling such disagreements over governance. L'Arc's writing throws French popular culture into a frenzy. Even among the conservatives in the Paris Parliament the pamphlet proves greatly controversial. The question on everyone's mind is whether the recent press freedom law shields the Marquis du l'Arc's allegedly anti-Bourbon rhetoric from prosecution. For weeks, Louis instructs his Minister of Justice Donatien Robespierre to demure from making any official moves against l'Arc, believing as his ministers do that such rhetoric is a consequence of allowing increased freedom of expression. However, as the Queen's health deteriorates in her pregnancy, ending in her death, l'Arc's attacks cross a line. In his "Pleurer notre Reine" (Mourning our Queen) letter, he flippantly questions if her untimely demise is divine retribution for upsetting the ordained social order. It sends Louis XVII into a rage and l'Arc is finally arrested and charged with lèse-majesté. His trial is considered a major test of new speech freedoms in France and testimony is wide-ranging. The Marquis speaks on his own behalf and it is not without irony that he leans into the liberal reforms of Malreaux's administration as his primary defense. The prosecutors pull from much of l'Arc's writings since the Défenseur started publication. The outcome of the case is understood to determine the future of France's revolutionary speech protections. Ultimately the panel of judge in the case navigates the politics by finding l'Arc guilty of lèse-majesté only for his writings in his letter on the Queen and dismissing the other charges. The verdict preserves the long legal tradition of preventing personal attacks against the monarchy, while supporting the general thread of the new laws protecting expression.
March, 1818	Swedish Parliamentary Revolution of 1818 After Sweden's poor showing in the Prusso-Swedish War, elements of the military work with Members of Parliament to impose a new Constitution of Government onto King Gustaf Adolf restoring the legislative prerogative on most matters to Parliament.
June, 1818	Grendel's Father Published Claire Godwin Fitzcharles is the daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and novelist Elizabeth Austen and the wife of poet Fox Fitzcharles. An accomplished writer in her own right Claire Fitzcharles finishes the draft of her first novel, which fits the Enlightened Mythic and Gothic Wonderment genres. The novel, Grendel's Father is initially set in the Scottish Highlands and revolves around a man discovering his monstrous heritage and actualizing his latent qualities as he navigates modern British society, and raises a very peculiar son of his own. The book astounds and disturbs audiences in Britain and it's banned in much of Catholic Europe, though it's rumored to be a favorite of King Louis XVII. The story of Grendel's Father has staying power in British literature far beyond Claire Fitzcharles's lifetime, being republished multiple times and adapted to the stage as well as other media as the entertainment industry develops in the future.
September, 1818-May, 1819	Renard War Tensions in the Illinois Country of Quebec Sud du Lac intensify between the Meskwaki, or Lenard, people and the increasingly Métis cultures developing among the adjacent Illinois and Potawatomie peoples. The Meskwaki are highly resistant to assimilation and adaptation into French society. Ten his tension ignites into war in late-summer 1818 when Épervier, a Meskwaki chieftain, has a confrontation with Jean Piedfroid Fontaine, the Métis leader of the Potawatomi from Pimiteoui. The dispute is over control of farmland and hunting grounds and Épervier kills one of Fontaine's cows. This sparks a series of skirmishes between the Potawatomie and Meskwaki that gradually escalates to real violence. This leads to soldiers from the local garrison to be called for in the early winter of 1819. A snowy campaign is conducted against the Meskwaki with Quebecois troops and local militias tracking the Meskwaki as far as the Mississippi River. There are no major battles during the "Renard War," but the non-conformist Meskwaki ultimately relocate to Louisiana, on the west side of the river.

1819

1819-1823

Russian Kazakh Wars Tsar Alexander, frustrated and bored with the news about the dealings of Russian-occupied Poland, turns his gaze to the steppes. In 1819 Russia embarks on a war to conquer the vast Kazakh Khanate northeast of the Caspian Sea. The Kazakhs do not roll over easily and the war drags on for four years before the bulk of Kazakh territory is under Russian control and the Khan relents to the onslaught of Russia. The region is mostly left as Russia found it with the addition of trading posts and garrisons to keep the Kazakh's in line.

1819-1821

Mysore Civil War Tipu Sultan of Mysore dies in early 1819. Since the 1790s, Sultan had effectively replaced the Wadiyar Maharajas, and planned to establish his own dynastic rule. Upon his death his wishes are for his son Shezada Ali to take his place. The long-sidelined Hindu Wadiyar family, hopes to take the death of Tipu Sultan as an opportunity to reclaim power for themselves. The young Chamarajendra Wadiyar, a cousin of the last Maharaja who was suspiciously killed in 1810, asserts his claim to the throne of Mysore and denies the Muslim "usurper" Shezada Ali. Soldiers loyal to Ali move to arrest Wadiyar sparking a fight that builds into outright civil war. Forces from Maratha move to support Wadiyar while the French administration in Pondicherry supports Ali. He bases his administration in Covai and Wadiyar occupies the main capital of the kingdom at Bangalore. The countryside is savaged in the course of the fighting. Apart from French support, Ali receives treasure and supplies from the Ottomans once his forces secure control of Mangalore on the western coast. The foreign support and Ali's loyal contingent of elite soldiers ultimately secures victory for Shezada Ali. Chamarajendra Wadiyar is exiled to Oudh in the north where he's kept under house arrest by the Mughals. The conflict further ties the French in east India together with the Ali dynasty in Mysore.

 

[George_Apley]

Here are a few maps from 1820. Questions/comments are encouraged!

 

[George_Apley]

can be the names of each country of India especially the one that is not in blue otherwise look forward to the next update

Certainly. Here's the 1820 India map again and I'll give some annotations.

Dark Blue territories are either directly controlled by France or are so strongly controlled that they are not functionally independent in a meaningful way. This area is known as Inde Française. This includes the entire eastern coast as well as interior Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. France has the most direct control over the southeastern coast including their colonial capital at Pondicherry. French India also include the port enclaves at Bombay and Suratte.

Light Blue territories are strongly connected with France through alliances or punitive treaties and are heavily involved in trade with Inde Française.

• In the southwest is the Kingdom of Mysore, which is the oldest French ally in India and has maintained its independence while being a strong supporter of French expansion elsewhere in India as long as Mysore sees the benefits as well.
• North of Mysore is the State of Hyderabad, which had previously been a member of the Maratha, but was wrested away during the Second Maratha War in 1806.
• In the northeast is the small State of Manipur which has grown larger than OTL, consolidating lands north and south due to France's desire to have a strong neighbor between French India and the Kingdom of Burma, which has recently become more hostile towards France.
• Similarly, the larger northeastern Kingdom of Ahom is an ally and trade partner of France.
• In the north, the Mughals still exist due to being propped up by France. While the Mughal Emperor is essentially a French puppet, France has no direct administrative control of the region. Technically, the Emperor remains sovereign over even French India, but it's mostly ceremonial and used as a political tool by the French to maintain their own power. The alliance between the Mughals and France was cemented in the Third Maratha War, which saw the Maratha try to place their own power over the Emperor. France successfully defeated that plan and took their place in the Emperor's court.
• Ceylon is mostly controlled by the French-allied Kandy Kingdom, which was instrumental to aiding the French victory over the Dutch on the island.

Light Yellow territory represents the states of the Maratha. As in OTL this is a confederacy of allied states that sometimes follow the lead of a central authority but mostly act as independent agents. They are the main holdout against the French but were severely weakened in the Third Maratha War which saw the central administration of the confederacy hollowed out. Several states within the Maratha have started to move closer to France by 1820, but are not yet formal tributary states.

Purple territory is Portuguese Goa, which mainly serves as a trade outpost. Portugal's presence in the Indian Ocean is relatively minor and non-threatening to France, so it's left alone.

Dark Grey territory is Bhutan, which has had a roughly similar history since the POD as OTL. France gained the loyalty of regional Bengali leaders in the late-18th Century by pushing back the expansion of the theocratic Bhutan, but thus far that's all I've got for it. France-aligned Ahom might lead to more tensions in the future.

Green territory is the Gorkha Kingdom of Nepal. It's a fair bit larger than OTL due to France's differing behavior compared with the BEIC. While France has worked to prevent the Gorkha from invading Mughal territory in the late-18th Century, relations have warmed into the 19th Century, particularly after the growing power of the Sikhs leads them to take most of the Punjab from Persian Afghanistan. While not formally allied, France has used Nepal as a distractor against the Sikhs, hoping to keep them preoccupied in the mountains and push off any direct confrontation in Mughal territory.

Dark Yellow territory is the Sikh Empire, which recently rose to prominence in the Kashmir and Punjab regions and is viewed as a growing regional power. France has little formal relations with the Sikhs, but does not want to lose their access in western India, so views them as a threat.

 

[George_Apley]

what kind of culture will emerge from French-Canadians ittl : without the pressure of the British and English-Canadians, without their nationalism of survival, what kind of artistic expression would become dominant?

https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/attachments/new-france-1740-png.237465/

my own idea about the administration of the new France
(map not updated)

I would like to know if there is a lot a french emigration to the americas ? what is the population of french america , white and native ?

Okay, let's dive into New France. The last time I mentioned organization ITTL was when Québec and Louisiane were split into two colonies. I also gave this bit of info around 1810:

Spoiler: New France c. 1810 info

By 1810 the population of New France is still smaller and more diffuse than British-America, but there's a very strong military presence and higher rates of natural population increase than in British-America, which is facing some population pressures as land for new farms becomes scarce, leading to smaller families in the recent generation. The Dominion of America is urbanizing more rapidly and maritime trade is increasingly important. There is some flow of settlers from the Dominion to New France, but it's not supported by the government and there's the potential for arrest or worse. There's even some flow of settlers from British-America to West Australia. Not a ton, but such settlers exists. You can count on immigration being much more strict in 19th century (British) America than OTL.

Much of New France's interior is still largely controlled by natives, but there's an increasing amount of mixing between French settlers and natives and Metis cultures are becoming increasingly prominent in native regions. Down the Ohio River, there are prospering communities of Huguenots who, thus far, have managed to live mostly without much interference from colonial officials. Most of the British-Americans who do venture to New France settle in the Huguenot areas.

We also got some integrated info about what's going on down the Ohio River and in Iroquois Country during Talleyrand's War. But let's structure this some more.

---

New France circa 1820 - Québec
​

French Canada is starting to develop quite differently in different pockets. Let's start with Québec.

By 1820 the overall colony of Québec (points east of the Mississippi River and north of the Tennessee River, plus the Canadian Shield) has been subdivided into several Départements, which you can see defined on the attached map.

• Québec au Nord du Lacs
• Québec au Sud du Lacs
• Pays Iroquois
• Acadie
• Pays d'en Haut Canada

The string of settlements that are strongly controlled by the administration in Quebec run in a line from the capital down the St. Lawrence and ring the Great Lakes. Nord du Lacs, is the main population center of Quebec, with over three million living in the region between Ville de Québec and Detroit. Montréal is the largest city. In this region there is some congruence with culture and art movements in France, though somewhat more conservative. The heart of Québec au Nord du Lacs has not culturally liberalized as much as France itself has, and while the Catholic Church remains a big player in France, it really is dominant in the core of French America, driving a lot of new settlement patterns, particularly in the upper Great Lakes and around the headwaters of the Mississippi. Most native peoples in Nord du Lacs, particularly the Algonquin and Ojibwe are strongly christianized Catholics whose cultures are increasingly blended with French customs alongside local traditions. French immigration is not incredibly high, but it is steady as legal incentives for migration remain in place, as the bourgeoisie grows in France, inheritance laws encourage movement among parts of the middle class. By 1820 a small flow has also occurred from Catholic Germany and Ireland. The bulk of the 8,000 Polish immigrants who arrive by the early-1820s settle in Nord du Lacs as well and play a role in altering culture and arts moving into the mid-19th Century.

In most interior areas of Sud du Lacs west of the city of Montcalm culture is developing quite differently. The overall population of Sud du Lacs is close to two million in 1820. It has a lot more diversity between the type of settlers and native peoples than does Nord du Lacs. There are several anchors of civilization in the Sud du Lacs interior, centered around the river networks that drain into the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, including:

• Montcalm (~OTL Cincinnati) is a growing community in Sud du Lacs and is the westernmost interior cultural outpost of the Governor-General and Archdiocese. It anchors the southern Ohio Country and has become a crossroads of different developing cultures (Quebecois, Huguenot, native/Métis). Montcalm is the seat of one of several Intendants in Sud du Lacs who administer on behalf the Superintendent (Intendant-Général) in Detroit. The Superintendent in turn reports to the Governor-General in Quebec. Montcalm is the center of Catholic French settlement on the Ohio River and the lands to the northeast that are opened to settlement have developed a combination of family farms, small towns, and manor-tenant farms. Goods are brought to market either at Montcalm to be shipped downriver to the Mississippi, or to Sandoské (~OTL Sandusky) or Maumie (~OTL Toledo) for shipment northeast into Québec au Nord du Lacs. The Diocese of Montcalm covers much of the Ohio Country north and east of the town and in 1818 the Bishop authorizes the construction of a stone cathedral, which is well underway by 1820.
• Kequiongué: (OTL Fort Wayne, IN) The largest settlement and center of the Grande Miaumie people who are christianized and by 1820 are highly mixed with French trappers, soldiers, and settlers. Culture has gradually become more sedentary, though communal use of resources and hunting parties remain a staple. Many growing Miaumie-Métis communities like Kequiongué exist, particularly up and down the Wabash River. They maintain mostly positive relations with the more culturally European settlements to the south. Artistic traditions blend native material arts with those of Europe. Other native peoples to the north and west such as the Potawatomi and Odawa have their own population centers, but trends are largely similar to those at Kequiongué.
• Nouvelle-Lyons: (~OTL Louisville, KY) The largest settlement and center of Huguenot culture in New France. Since its founding in the 1760s, more than 16,000 Huguenots have immigrated to the lower Ohio River Valley and birth rates are high. Huguenot towns are largely autonomous from the government in Quebec so long as they pay their taxes and organize and drill their militias according to instructions from the administrative Surveillant in Montcalm. A number of other protestant settlers arrive in Huguenot Country from Germany and the British Dominion. Upwards of 60,000, mostly Anglo-Americans live mostly southwest of Nouvelle-Lyons by 1820. The largest Anglo settlement is New Richmond. Culturally, this region is distinct from others in New France, with local democratic traditions. Little in terms of art and literature is produced so far, but folk art is common. A number of vineyards are established by 1820 to the east of the town, which have some conflict with vineyards set up by Catholic gentry from Montcalm.
• Cahokia: Standing opposite the Mississippi from Vainqueur (OTL St. Louis), Cahokia is the largest settlement on the eastern side of the Mississippi in the Illinois Country. Despite officially being in Quebec, Cahokia's economic life is centered around the Mississippi Trade in Louisiana. Heavily Catholic Illinois-Métis and soldiery live in Cahokia, which anchors southwestern Quebec. In an effort to integrate southern Illinois Country into greater-Quebec, by 1820 a canal is completed connecting the Illinois River with Lake Michigan. This eases Quebec market access for resources and produce from the Mississippi Valley and encourages further growth on both sides of the Mississippi.

Pays Iroquois is the northern borderlands between the British Dominion and Quebec between New York and the Great Lakes. By treaty, this land is self-governed by the Haudenosaunee in Onondaga. French settlement is relatively small mostly in and around fortifications along the lake shores and river banks along the western boundary of the territory including at Oswego, Niagara, and Duquesne. These French settlements do grow their permanent populations, but are mainly trade centers and garrisons. Despite frequent raids from British America over the decades, the distribution of smallpox vaccines around the turn of the century has done wonders for boosting the native population, not only for the Haudenosaunee peoples, but for associated tribes all across New France. The Métis population does grow in the early-19th Century, but the lack of large numbers of settlers means that the native culture predominates, albeit with many changes driven by affiliation with France. The Haudenosaunee, by historical right and their proximity to French population centers, also hold great sway over the native groups to their south. The Shawnee and Cherokee are technically under their own jurisdiction in Sud du Lacs but tend to take their cues from Onondaga. The population of Pays Iroquois is over 100,000 by 1820. Iroquois-style of homesteads, the longhouse, is incorporated into the building style of many settler towns, especially Sud du Lacs. Iroquois material art is particularly popular back in France between the 1810s and 1830s. The Haudenosaunee themselves do not convert to Catholicism in high rates compared to most other associated tribes.

Acadie is the oldest and most fraught of the French-American settlements. With the deportation and resettlement of original families from 1755-1780, the slow influx of new migrants (particularly from Normandy), and the close integration of the Micmac people, Acadia sports a distinctive culture compared with the rest of New France. Acadian French, Catholicism, food, and literature are all unique in French America. The economy is highly maritime, with fishing, shellfishing, and whaling being major drivers. Small subsistence farms do the best they can, while logging is prevalent in the interior. The population is relatively small compared to the rest of Quebec, with less than 150,000 by 1820. The largest population centers in Acadia are LaFayette (OTL Halifax), Louisbourg, LeLoutre (OTL Saint-Jean), Port-Royal, and Sainte-Anne (OTL Fredericton). The island of Terre-Neuve is an outpost of Acadian culture, with most settlements on the southern coast of the island being founded by Acadians. The Atlantic coast of Labrador to the north is also organized in the Acadian department, with fishing villages on the coast predominating.

Pays d'en Haut Canada makes up the vast, remote interior of the Canadian Shield to the Baie de Bourbon (OTL Hudson's Bay). While much of the northern interior was already claimed by France via a system of trading posts, the remainder was claimed from the Hudson's Bay Company after King Louis' War. The region is largely controlled by the Compagnie Pays d'en Haut, based in Montréal. The Surveillant-Général of Pays d'en Haut is also the Director of the Company. The fur trade with the Cris people drives the economy in the region, which sees negligible settlement.

Overall, the population of Quebec by 1820 is over five million.

I'm gonna tackle Louisiana in a separate post, since this one's gotten a bit long.

 

[George_Apley]

New France circa 1820 - Louisiane
​

Moving on to Louisiana...

By 1820 Louisiana has been divided into two Départements only.

Basse Louisiane is governed from Nouvelle-Orléans, the largest city in French America. It is dominated by a French gentry who manage plantations of cotton and sugar, most of which is shipped to France and Quebec for manufacture. There is a large bourgeois colored population in New Orleans that lives in theoretical equality of the law, but discrimination is common. Outside of New Orleans, the lowlands are used for plantations and the uplands are shared between small settlements and native reserved land, mainly Choctaw and Muscogee. By 1820 a number of natives have begun to grow cash crops themselves, integrating into the colonial economy. While there is a landed gentry in Quebec, particularly in the upper Ohio Valley and along the Ottawa River, the Louisiana gentry dominates culture similarly to their strength as patrons in provincial France. The large population of enslaved black workers have been Christianized and given religious rites, as ordered by the Crown and enforced by agents from Rome. Matrilineal slavery being banned, as the population of slaves procreates, the children are legally free, though abuse of free-blacks and manipulation back into slavery is common and new slaves continue to arrive from Africa. There are several sizable communities of formerly enslaved blacks living among the Muscogee and Choctaw. Upriver at Vainqueur (OTL St. Louis, MO), the seat of the Governor-General, a large and growing population of German immigrants alongside French settlers set up farms in the countryside. Culturally, the region around Vainqueur is more similar to Québec au Sud du Lacs, with populations of European migrants, Métis and natives, soldiers, and government administrators. It is also the gateway to Haute Louisiane. The department's population is nearly three million.

Haute Louisiane is governed from Fort Oumohon (OTL Omaha, NE), a garrison and trading post on the Missouri River, upriver from Vainqueur. The vast plains make the majority of the land of Haute Louisiane, and very little is practically controlled by the French. The interior is dominated by various native peoples, most of whom are friendly or cordial to French fur trappers and scouts who traverse it. Farther north, where the lands of Louisiana and Quebec blur, administration of French posts is increasingly personalized, with each fort's commander like a king in his post, with little oversight unless a crisis draws attention from downriver. Fighting between native groups is common and often mediated by French. Tensions begin to rise as France attempts to establish more permanent postings to the west along the Missouri River and other tributaries of the Mississippi. Population count is not well known, but French authorities estimate that over 125,000 natives live in the plains.

 

[George_Apley]

God is a Frenchman: 1820-1823​

1820

1820-1838	Reign of King George IV King George III has been sequestered with dementia for nearly a decade by the time he dies in February, 1820. George Augustus, the Prince of Wales, has served as regent in his father's stead. The Prince is controversial in Britain and had a very public rift with Prime Minister Pitt as his father descended into madness over the terms of his regency. Pitt's popularity prevents the Prince of Wales from dismissing him; he is advised that to do so when his own popularity is middling would do permanent damage to the Crown. The public tends to view him as an envious and petty man, jealous of other men of national affairs such as Pitt and Lord Nelson. Prince George finds opportunity to turn the tables on the Prime Minister in the 1814 War, in which he vocally questions Britain's involvement before fighting begins. As anti-war and isolationist sentiments take hold in Britain, Prince George rides the wave politically maneuvering the Prime Minister to take the fall. Though not traditionally friendly with the Whigs, he finds himself aligned with their isolationist wing upon the election of Lord Bedford as Prime Minister. His reign is marked by Britain's moves away from continental affairs and competition with France, shifting towards internal developments and building on their relationships with existing colonial possessions.
February, 1820	L'Ère des Grandes Bêtes Reptiliennes Published Georges Piaget, a student of biology and ancient fossils, publishes this catalogue of findings about ancient reptiles of ancient eras in Earth's history. The Era of Great Reptilian Beasts produces much chatter in the both the scientific community and the public at large. Piaget refers to controversial theories by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck on the gradual change and adaptation of animal forms into others, which sees him targeted with some conservative rhetoric accusing him of blasphemy.
March-November, 1820	Arochukwu War By the 1820s the British have begun sending some number of permanent settlers West Africa, particularly the mouth of the Niger River. 12,000 live in the region in 1820 and this creates tensions with the Arochukwu people. Already burdened by the closure of the slave trade, the encroachment of British settlers throws the native people into anger. The British garrison and militiamen of the main settlement at Kitsontown defend against several attacks by the Arochukwu and send punitive missions inland to deter future raids. By November the British are able to extract a treaty confirming settlement rights at Kitsontown and settlement increases into the 1820s. Kitsontown=~OTL Port Harcourt, Nigeria
20 April, 1820	"On British Distinctiveness" Speech Delivered in Parliament David Campbell, a Whig MP and political philosopher, delivers this speech in Parliament later reprinted as a pamphlet entitled “On British Distinctiveness.” The speech argues that, in light of the losses against France and due to Britain’s geographic isolation, the country should adopt a foreign policy turning away from Europe that concerns mainly with trade and industrial development. Numerous references to the Scottish Enlightenment philosophers are scattered throughout the speech. Britain, Campbell argues, need not bother itself with quarrels on the Continent so long as Britain's sovereignty is respected and defended. Campbell is careful to reference Hanover multiple times as "essential to British sovereign interests" to placate the Hanoverians, who also rule over the German country. Campbell argues that Hanover ought to become closely tied with Britain and serve as as Britain's link to Europe, while allowing Britain itself to "turn her gaze away from the petty destruction that so easily takes hold" on the Continent. The speech is viewed as the unofficial beginning of a decades-long shift in foreign policy away from belligerence with France.
June-December, 1820	Spanish Reform Crisis Spanish reformists are emboldened by the recent successes in France and many in the bourgeoisie and some liberal nobles begin agitating for similar reforms in Spain as well. Similar strategies are utilized as in France, including publications and protests. The Valencia Petition is sent to the Crown in June, 1820, highlighting the successes of reform in France and listing desired changes to Spanish governance, including equitable taxation, abolition of serfdom, and relaxation of censorship. Unlike in France, King Carlos VI is neither liberal nor interested in the policy aspects of governance. Since the early 1810s, Carlos's advisers have been almost exclusively from a more reactionary school of thought, seeking out the Spanish king's favor in light of the growing disfavor of the French king towards the nobility. The government in Spain acts swiftly to squash the nascent reform movement. Publishing houses are shuttered, crowds are beaten, and petitioners are arrested. In October, an assassin is caught attempting to infiltrate the Madrid apartments of the Duke of Bivona, the Prime Minister to the King. Following this incident, government crackdowns on reformers only become more harsh. Many liberals who avoid arrest flee to France or Britain. The young Infante Luis-Enrique (Louis-Henri), living in Madrid after his mother's death in Versailles, bears witness to the crisis and is guided through it by the conservatives in Spanish government. The assassination plot against Bivona leaves Enrique shaken and the Duke weaves tales of terror in the prince's mind about the violent nature of the people, who can only be held back through strong guidance and leadership with a firm hand. The events of the failed reform movement in 1820 Spain prove to be formative for Luis-Enrique.
July, 1820-1823	Nubia War The Sultan's brother Samir has governed Egypt for a decade when he makes his first major move, which proves to challenge the hierarchy of the Ottoman Empire. Exiled Mamluks residing upriver continue to be a problem for agriculture and trade for the Ottomans, just as native groups create similar headaches for the administration in Cairo. Samir is intent on dealing with the matter himself, avoiding the need to request troops from his brother in Constantinople, particularly the ambitious and free-minded officers of Albania who are beginning to dominate the Ottoman military in light of the Empire's ambitious military reforms. Samir arranges mass conscription of the peasant class for a large expedition south to stamp out resistance to Ottoman suzerainty in Nubia. He embarks on this mission without consulting Constantinople, which infuriates his brother, Sultan Mahmud. The anger is difficult to maintain as reports from the war front arrive in the capital; Samir's Egyptian army bests the Mamluk remnants and mounts several successful campaigns against regional players. By 1823, Samir's generals have conquered or gained suzerainty over vast areas of Nubian Sudan and are establishing extensive inland trade networks as far south as the lake country. While the success is presented to Constantinople as a gift in honor of the Sultan, Mahmud and his advisers are fearful of the power play by Samir. Concerns are voiced in court that the Sultan's brother means to claim the throne for himself using his African armies. The Sultan's armies in Anatolia, Syria, and Rumelia begin preparations for a potential conflict within the empire itself.

1821

16 February, 1821	Manteaurouj's Speech "Concernant le Grand Esprit et Dieu" The great Seneca orator and leader known best as Manteaurouj delivers an address to the French Intendant and Bishop in Duquesne in early 1821. His speech is entitled "Concerning the Great Spirit and God," and it is a plea for increased and continued tolerance towards the Haudenosaunee religion in their traditional lands. Manteaurouj determines the need for such an overture after increasing missionary expeditions into Pays Iroquois, discouraging traditional religious practices in favor of conversation to Roman Catholicism. The nations of the Haudenosaunee greatly fear losing their cultures as the French presence continues to increase and Manteaurouj's address lays out their grievances. He expounds on the universal themes of their respective faith traditions and how the Christian God and Jesus fit within the narrative of the Great Spirit. While his words do not exactly move the conservative French officials in Duquesne, they serve the purpose of disarming gradually rising tensions between his people and the Quebecois.
May, 1821	Monfrère Iroquois Writing System Developed An Onondaga oral poet and educator named Blaise Monfrère develops a writing system for the Iroquois languages based on the latin alphabet in 1820. He borrows characters from both traditional and Cyrillic alphabets and repurposes accent marks from French. The Système Monfrère is quickly adopted by Haudenosaunee leadership, who have sought a usable method to write their language without translating into French. Over the coming years, it will also be picked up by the Cherokee to the south who speak a similar tongue, as well as by Algonquian-speaking peoples who adapt it for their own languages.
August, 1821	Castillon Proclamations of 1821 In 1821, the Marquis de Castillon, Governor-General of Quebec, changes decades of French policy on settlers and government organization. Ever since the first large-scale settlement of Huguenots from France arrived in Quebec the policy was to turn a blind eye so long as they settled in the hinterlands away from main population centers. By the 1820s the Huguenot Country down the Ohio River has grown and become prosperous, necessitating a more formal policy than that used in previous decades. Quebec's Departments are organized into Provinces by Castillon, with the colony itself being denoted as le Grande Québec. Three of the new provinces are specifically designated pays de culte libre, where non-Catholic churches are officially permitted; these provinces are Kentaké, Ouabache, and Illinois. Each province is entitled its own governor (intendant) and three delegates to the Conseil du Québec, which formally advises the Governor-General. Castillon also grants protection to native religious practices of Affiliated Indians on their preserved land, including all of Pays Iroquois, as well as Shawnee and Cherokee lands, which, thus far, are the least impacted by European settlement and cultural blending. These protections come with the condition that Catholic missionaries must be allowed into the territories to complete their work. Affiliated Indians are also entitled to delegates, as their lands are officially considered as outside the control of the provincial system. Castillon also turns his attention to the growing presence of Anglo-Americans in southern Quebec. Ever since King Louis's War, Anglo-American settlement has been officially illegal, with settlers at the mercy of native chieftains and local French commanders. By the 1820s this policy is seen as an overall failure that has led to frequent violence and disorder in French territory, raised tensions between French and British provinces, and straining relations with the natives. After correspondence with King Louis XVII and consulting with advisors, Castillon orders that settlers from the British Dominion of America may come to Quebec. To manage this, French commanders of forts on the Anglo-American frontier must process settlers with clear record-keeping. Settlers from British America will be required to answer a French-language questionnaire, pledge allegiance to the King of France, and either convert to Catholicism or settle in pays de culte libre. Available plots of land in various sectors of the French realm can be purchased at French points of entry. As with French colonists, settlers from British America are under strict instructions to respect Affiliated Indian territorial claims.
October, 1821	Hausmärchen für die Moderne Published German romanticism continues to develop following the Sturm und Drang movement popularized by Goethe and Schiller. One acquaintance of both great writers is Andreas Schedel, a linguist and editor from Frankfurt. Schedel is fascinated by fairy tales, old wives tales, and other oral tradition. He spends much of his time from 1805 to 1820 researching stories from the German, French, British, Polish, and Scandinavian traditions, and in 1822 releases the first volume of his magnum opus, "Fairytales for the Modern Age." Schedel compiles and retells dozens of stories steeped in moral lessons and emotional impact. In the Catholic world the book is greatly criticized as a glorification of witchcraft, sexual deviancy, and violence. But it is translated into more than eight different languages by 1840 and becomes a fixture on many family bookshelves across Europe and the Americas. Subsequent volumes are released in 1825, 1827, and 1832.

1822

22 March, 1822-1826	Algerian War As France enters the 1820s, Talleyrand retires for the last time. He is ably replaced by his young protege Fabrice le Vicomte de Marçeau, and French foreign policy largely mirrors that of the old "roi des diplomates." Louis XVII has internalized Talleyrand's old advice about distracting conservative elements with foreign adventures. With Europe back at peace and little desire for further war on the continent, Marçeau advises looking across the Mediterranean. With the Ottoman's focused on the Egyptian campaign in Nubia they neglect the quasi-independent regimes in Algiers and Tunis. Louis is eager to give French soldiers another outlet to showcase their prowess and directs his military to prepare an invasion of North Africa. French forces invade the Algerian coast on 22 March, 1822. The war is launched ostensibly due to increasing piracy from Algiers and Tunis. The goal of France is to be able to colonize coastal North Africa, while having enough control over the nomadic Berbers in the desert to keep them in line and hold back the Turks. For the Ottoman's part, loud protests are lodged against France's invasion of a tributary state, but the Sublime Porte is concerned with Egyptian developments and knows that the French Navy vastly outmatches the forces Constantinople can muster, so they do little. France ultimately will pay the Sultan a sum of thirteen million livres in recompense. After conquering the population centers on the coast, France spends several years fighting the Berbers and other nomads in the interior.
22-28 March, 1822	Battle of Algiers Algerian War: The French invasion force departs from Marseilles in late-March, 1822 for the North African coast, targeting Algiers. The massed French Navy makes short work of Algerian corsairs and the modern French cannons prove capable of breaching the city's fortifications. French soldiers land amid surprisingly heavy fire and the Algerians fight with extreme tenacity. Irregular warfare through the streets of Algiers ensues for several days even after the Dey is captured. The French advantages in technology and tactics ultimately prevail on 28 March and Algiers becomes the base of French operations in North Africa.
September, 1822	Pest Reforms After the recent wars, Austria faces something of an identity crisis. Having lost the imperial seat to Saxony and with Russia looming to the north and east, Archduke Franz sees the importance of consolidating the Habsburg realm and preventing the Russians from fomenting a pan-Slavic movement against Habsburg rule. As the Archduke ponders his options, a number of peasant rebellions are sparked in Hungary, due to increasingly poor conditions that essentially maintains them in serfdom despite the official abolition of the practice decades before. Liberals in Vienna, Krakau, Pressburg, Breslau, Buda, and other cities in the Habsburg realm also begin agitating for reforms akin to those of France. Franz sees an opportunity to gain the favor of the Slav and Hungarian peasants as well as the liberal bourgeoisie by making some mild reforms, certainly of the sort that would have Austria compare positively with Russia. With the advice of his main counselor, Ulrich von Neuhaus, Franz convenes a diet of noble representatives at Pest on the Danube in Hungary. He announces increased integration of the Habsburg realm and that regional councils will advise the Habsburg monarch. He orders a series of land reforms that will gradually end the conditions of ex-serfs, particularly in Hungarian lands. The nobility will no longer be exempt from tax levies and some forms of censorship will be relaxed. Hungarian nobles, the group most negatively impacted by the reforms, are promised increased representation in the Habsburg court. Importantly, Poles in Silesia and Galicia are pleased with the reforms, which are far more permissive than the harsh rule of the Russians in the heart of old Poland.
16 April, 1822	Occupation of Tunis Algerian War: The city of Tunis had been under the control of the Dey of Algiers since the mid-18th Century, but the populace is restive, with several rebellions after the Dey's use of the city as a pirate base draws the ire of the Neapolitan fleet in 1810. When the Dey capitulates in late March, the people of Tunis rise up against the Algiers-appointed Bey. French ships arrive at Tunis in mid-April and marines land bringing order to the city. The Bey is arrested and brought to Algiers for detention and local officials welcome the French, expressing an interest in entering the legitimate Mediterranean trade.

1823

1823

Rhineland Guild Uprisings As industrialists in the Rhineland attempt to catch up with their counterparts in France and Britain, the old guilds aim to protect their interests, greatly affecting the ability to find labor sources. Unlike in France, where in the early-1800s the guilds still had ample power to force negotiation, the German guilds are mostly broken up in Cologne, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart. Many guildsmen are enticed away with well-compensated positions as trainers and managers of new factory sites. As time goes on into the mid-19th Century, trade barriers between the German states frustrate growth and business profits. Some states in the Rhineland have free trade with France, while others ease trade with Hanover, Saxony, or Austria.

July, 1823

La Sublime Histoire des Gaulois Published French historian Trophime Florentine releases this important historical study called The Sublime History of the Gauls. The multi-volume work relies on numerous sources from Roman antiquity on forward and is considered a comprehensive academic telling of the history of the people of France. From their Celtic and pre-Celtic origins to the Romans, to the Franks, and into the modern era. The history is celebrated in France as an achievement of research and analysis. Florentine anchors Gallic culture as one that "founded the western world from antiquity to Christendom, to modernity."

 

[George_Apley]

Just a onefer...

Questions/comments are welcome! Engagement keeps me interested! Talking to myself is what I do when I’m writing, sharing it is for the fun of other voices!

God is a Frenchman: A New King in Spain (1824)​

1824

January, 1824	Monsieur Baltasar Published Monsieur Baltasar is another major contribution to the French Triomphaliste genre of the Romantic Era. Author Antoine Guise has served as a tavern keeper and is also a veteran of the Italian campaigns in Talleyrand's War and he leverages his experiences into the book. His title character, Lucien Baltasar, is an adventurer who likewise served in Italy during the war. The book deals with his rise out of poverty and competition with a nobleman for the hand of a girl from his childhood. Baltasar's exploits lead him to a Venetian gambling house, an Austrian prison, and a French dueling field. The most controversial adventure of Baltasar involves a corrupt French priest in league with the antagonist, whose inclusion in the book leads to requests from the Church to have it banned. Louis XVII's government denies the petition and Guise is able to remain in France and publish the book under his own name.
17 February, 1824	Laghouat Massacre Algerian War: A brigade of French troops is dispatched to pacify Berbers in the northern reaches of the Sahara. Brigadier Grignard is lured into an ambush by the rebels in the southern Atlas Mountains. Nearly the entire French force is massacred at Laghouat. When the incident is reported on in France, it causes much furor and the French Army vows vengeance against the Berbers.
14 March, 1824	Nelsontown Founded in Northern Australia After the loss of the settlement at New Edinburgh in western Australia, the British seek new ground for a colony that can absorb population and participate in the East Indies Trade. The Treaty of Dunkirk established that France has no claim to the northern coast of Australia and the British send expeditions to chart the waters and coastline in 1819 and 1821. The second expedition under Admiral Raeburn selects a sheltered harbor as the site of the first settlement. In 1824 a government sponsored settlement expedition under the new British Australian Company arrives at the site with over 800 settlers, mostly farmers and artisans with a number of surveyors, engineers and some naturalists who have visited the region before. Among their number are also more than 200 convicts, who will serve indentures with freeholders before being granted clemency and their own land. The official leader of the expedition is General William Sackville, Lord Dorset appointed governor by George IV. He christens a settlement in 1824, naming it after his childhood hero Admiral Horatio Nelson. By 1826 Nelsontown is laid out and municipal buildings, markets, and dock facilities are built. Outlying settlements and farms are built with roads connecting them to the main town. By the end of the 1820s, several attacks and counter attacks against local aborigines have past, in which the settlers successfully establish themselves. By 1830 a number of migrants from New Edinburgh arrive and a significant number of settlers from the Dominion of America. The Americans bring military frontier knowledge and militia training that helps with the future defense of the growing colony. Nelsontown=~OTL Darwin, NT
June, 1824-May, 1826	Gruzdev Affair In 1824 a Russian Navy captain named Alexey Gruzdev sails into Matsumae harbor on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. He has been dispatched by the Russian government to attempt to make friendly contact with the Japanese and negotiate a sea boundary between Japanese and Russian island possessions, after some misunderstandings the previous decade over Sakhalin Island. His ship Dionysis carries European luxuries and tidings from the Russian Tsar. He and his crew are initially welcomed by the governors of Matsumae, but are arrested upon their arrival. The Dionysus is impounded before it can set sail and word is sent to the Shogun, Tokugawa Toshinori, of the foreign incursion. Gruzdev and his officers are moved to Hakodate in July where they are interrogated, but the language barrier makes the exchange of information difficult. Imperial officials arrive in Hokkaido to review the ship's inventory and add the knowledge to the Japanese Rangaku. They are accompanied by a Japanese scholar who speaks Dutch who attempts to communicate more successfully with the Russian captives. One Russian officer of German descent, Hussenbach, is able to speak well-enough with the Japanese scholar and treatment of the captives soon becomes more lenient and communication more productive. Dionysus is allowed to depart with letters to Russia, which are delivered in Okhotsk the isolated Russian outpost on the mainland. In October, Gruzdev debates with his officers about plotting an escape, but Hussenbach convinces otherwise, noting their improved treatment and success in getting a message delivered to Russia. Correspondence is forwarded to St. Petersburg and a Russian packet arrives in Japan to share that news will be forthcoming in several months. Gruzdev and his men are held in relative comfort in that time. In April, 1825, the governor of Okhotsk receives permission from St. Petersburg to launch a rescue mission and to secure Japanese hostages of his own. The rescue mission, led in June by Dionysus, fails to make any landing but a later raid on a Hokkaido fishing town secures several Japanese and Ainu prisoners. Negotiations are slow and drag out for months. The Russians in Okhotsk attempt to place more demands on the Japanese, including opening further negotiations over the status of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, which greatly escalates the stakes of the negotiations, causing them to stall. Finally, word arrives from Tsar Alexander in January, 1826 that the only priority is to exchange the hostages, returning the negotiations to a very narrow scope. In the interlude time, Gruzdev and his men are well mingled their hosts; Hussenbach in particular having learned adequate Japanese. When the hostage exchange is finally held in May, parties are held on Dionysus and the Russians and Japanese socialize together. The affair ends by diffusing tensions between Russia and Japan for the time being. Gruzdev and his men are greeted as heroes on their return to St. Petersburg in 1827. The captain spends much of his return voyage writing a history of his experiences in Japan, which becomes popular in Europe. Hussenbach remains in Okhotsk, where he becomes one of Russia's primary merchants to Nagasaki, the only Japanese port open to western traders.
July, 1824	Spanish Succession Crisis King Carlos IV dies in Madrid in July, 1824. His grandson, is in line for the throne and his coronation occurs that month. Consternation in Europe erupts as the Dauphin of France is crowned Enrique I of Spain setting up a potential violation of the Treaty of Utrecht. A flurry of letters are sent from Vienna and Berlin requesting clarification on the future of the French throne and the independence of Spain from France as the former is ruled by the son of the latter. Even Russia, which has been friendly to France makes reference to the Treaty of Utrecht in its congratulatory correspondence to Madrid. London is a notable absence from the concern-mongering, with King George IV distaining the continental squabbling and his government working to open up trade with France in the East Indies. King Louis XVII successfully diffuses anxieties by giving an address congratulating his son on his coronation, announcing that he will step back from the tutelage of his son to prevent any perception that the young Spanish king is being unduly influenced by his father. This is the biggest concession King Louis has made on the topic of succession so far. Privately, Louis writes his son that he has no intention to assign any other to the French throne and that he hopes to maintain a robust correspondence on matters of state, but that they must both be cautious to keep the mood of their European counterparts calmed. He writes that this moment is just the latest of rumblings over the Treaty of Utrecht and that when the time comes, France's adversaries will "fold like a bad hand of cards."
July, 1824-June, 1860	Reign of Enrique I of Spain Young Louis-Henri is only thirteen when he is crowned Enrique I of Spain. He has spent most of his life in Versailles under the care of his mother and a small army of nannies, tutors. His relationship with his father has never been particularly close, given the responsibilities of the king and the high level of interest Louis takes in governance. After the death of his mother, Louis is sent to Madrid and is a fixture in the Spanish court. When his father is forced to give up any say over his upbringing and regency, conservatives in the Spanish court are able to take the lead in the young King's education. The Conde de Aranda is appointed as the chair of the regency council and the remaining eight seats are held by other conservative officials of church and state. The early years of his reign are run by the regency while he receives his education and tours the Spanish realm. Once he reaches his majority, his reign focuses on integrating France and Spain more closely and holding back liberal elements while fighting off European opponents of a Franco-Spanish union.
12 December, 1824	Battle of Biskra Algerian War: French Marshal Motier is tasked with achieving France's revenge against the Berbers in the eastern Aurès Mountains. He embarks from the city of Constantine, secured by France in the spring, with a division of well provisioned troops, heading to the oasis at Biskra. French cavalry has trained in desert conditions all summer with requisitioned Arabian horses and a number of camels. The French division arrives at Biskra facing several thousand Berbers and engage in intense hand-to-hand combat that sees the Berber fighters crushed. The French show no quarter to the Berber soldiers and lay claim to the settlement at Biskra, using it as a base of operations for further missions into Berber territory.
October, 1824	British Workers Compact Released Written by a committee of Birmingham miners led by Neil Gammell, the Compact sparks the early labour rights movement in Britain. It captures the sentiments of the British working classes, which have been simmering for decades as Britain industrializes and the glut of workers makes for low-wages and exploitative practices. Gammell's Compact makes a clear list of demands for the Parliament, for employers, and expectations for workers. Its release leads to several years of unrest in Britain's burgeoning industrial economy that periodically impacts industrial output. Controversially, the Compact simply advocates for workers in general with no specification for sex, which concerns cultural conservatives and ultimately limits the movement's breadth. Moving deeper into the 19th Century, the Compact remains the basis for labor political activism.

 

[George_Apley]

There's more of 1825 to come, but this looong entry gets its own post that covers the mindset of the young King of Spain (and Dauphin of France) as well as some tidbits on Spanish and French America. Hope you enjoy! Questions/comments are welcome!

King Enrique's America Tour (1825-1826)​

The young King of Spain makes history by becoming the first reigning monarch to tour the New World. Enrique's tour generates a fount of goodwill among the creole elites in the Spanish colonies, securing their loyalty for more than two decades. He departs from Cádiz in April, 1825 just before his fourteenth birthday aboard the Fernando y Isabela, a 104-gun flagship, with a fleet of a dozen other Spanish ships-of-the-line. He is accompanied by his favorite tutor, Vicente de Goya, son of the famed Spanish painter. Goya, a priest, spent his early career as an agent of the Church in Spanish America and played no small role in the suppression of the peasant uprisings in the previous decade. His presence on the trip is intended to continue Enrique's religious education as well as learning the importance of Spanish America to the nation's continued success.

Enrique's fleet arrives in Rio de la Plata in May. He tours the city of Buenos Aires and the surrounding countryside and is told about increasing unrest among peasants in the region's north around the city of Ausunción. Criollo elites in Buenos Aires also inform the King's entourage of the economic difficulties of the region stemming from Spain's relative paucity of industry and reliance on French and British imports, which makes costs in the colonies prohibitive, while natural resources extracted from the colonies for Spain provide little benefit for most of the people.

From Buenos Aires the King's fleet navigates the Strait of Magellan and enters the Pacific. Goya tells him that "God has long gifted the Pacific to Spain" and with Enrique's future rule of France as well, the Pacific "will be a shining sea entirely of your own." In late-July he arrives in Valdivia in Chile. Local officials show the King maps of the expanding road system to settlements in the south and tells him of ongoing efforts to pacify native peoples to the north, which makes travel to Santiago de Chile hazardous. In mid-August, the King's entourage meets the Governor of Chile at the growing port town of Valparaíso.

By late-August, Enrique arrives in Lima, the largest urban center on the Pacific coast. The King is impressed by the architecture as much of the city has been rebuilt since a mid-18th Century earthquake. The reception in Lima is a lavish affair hosted by the Viceroy, but the mood sours when an older boy from a family of some standing in Lima society boldly solicits Enrique to join him with some female company, an offer that stuns and angers the devout young King. He later confesses the interaction to Goya who praises his steadiness in the face of temptation.

After a week in Lima he travels north to Guayaquil, where officials attempt to hide the destitution of the city's population behind the port’s impressive shipyard facilities. Enrique sees through the provincial charade and makes note in his writings of the worrisome conditions in much of Spanish America. Goya affirms these fears, telling the young king that "people with declining fortunes will sooner or later reach for the sword."

Between September and November, the King briefly visits Panamá, Chinandega, and San Salvador, before landing in Acapulco on All Saints Day. The King attends mass with the criollo leadership of the port city and witnesses a large festival infused with the local brand of Catholic celebration. Enrique is startled by some of the visual displays but is impressed by the devotion of the people, particularly the lower-class mestizos, and he pointedly walks among common supplicants and allows hands to be laid upon him. The scene is immortalized on canvas by Spanish court painter Porfirio Delfín.

At Acapulco, the Royal entourage leaves their naval escort behind, which will carry on as a imperial trade expedition across the Pacific. The King will travel inland from Acapulco to the city of México, the capital of New Spain. The King's path along the road to México is nearly continuously lined with onlookers and admirers, even along the mountainous roads north of Acapulco. The crowds grow as Enrique approaches the city and soldiers hold back the throngs as the carriage train becomes a festive parade. The young King leaves his carriage and rides his stallion into the city, escorted by his honor guard. He is joined by the Viceroy and his own guard at the entrance to the city and they ride together to the Viceregal Palace.

While in México Enrique falls ill and must adjust his itinerary so he can convalesce in the city through the beginning of the new year. He is doted upon by the Viceroy’s household and enjoys many long discussions with government officials about the problems in New Spain and makes note of the large disagreements he hears between them. He questions Goya about the racial hierarchy of New Spain and insists on audiences with officials of many backgrounds and regions to determine the truth and godliness of such separation. He makes a friendly acquaintance of a young Dragoon Captain named Armando Pico, a man of afromestizo descent. Based on his friendship with Pico and study of scripture, Enrique rejects inherent racial deficiencies. Pico ultimately joins Enrique’s personal guard and becomes a trusted confidant for years.

In early February, the King’s entourage meets a Spanish fleet at Veracrúz, led by the 98-gun María Joaquina, named for his late mother. He continues his tour into the spring of 1826 visiting Havana and Santo Domingo by his fifteenth birthday. Enrique is increasingly disturbed by the reality of slavery in the Caribbean colonies and reportedly rages to Goya several times on the topic. He dispatches a rare letter to his father, Louis XVII, on the matter, quoting multiple lines of scripture he believes support his position. He spends a week in May in Caracas, his final stop in South America. He finds it pleasant but hears much the same from local officials as he’s heard elsewhere in the Spanish realm. In Caracas, he solidifies his opinion that significant changes are necessary to keep the colonies productive, peaceful, and loyal; sentiments that he records in his writings.

Enrique has one more leg planned for his journey, which will inspire much controversy: traveling through New France, the realm of his father and someday his own. After a visit to Pensacola, Enrique sails into New Orleans on 24 June. The Superintendent of Lower Louisiana greets him with a large parade on Rue Bourbon. He is greeted not as Enrique the King of Spain, but as Henri the Dauphin of France. He enjoys the reception at the Government Palace and notes that some of the city dignitaries present are of Afro-French descent.

His entourage then boards a new model of steam riverboat escorted by a pair of gunships and they make their way north up the Mississippi River. While they make some minor layovers in Lower Louisiana, the first stayover is in early-July at Vainqueur, named for Henri’s second great-grandfather Louis XV. Here he encounters a well-drilled demonstration of Louisiana regulars and attends a banquet and ball put on by the Governor General. On the suggestion of Goya, Henri keeps a detailed journal of his travels through New France to send to his father. Goya makes this assignment a part of his studies, including matters of state, economy, nature, and agriculture in his reporting.

The Dauphin leaves Vainqueur and heads for the Ohio River. The tour pointedly bypasses New Lyons, bastion of the Huguenots in New France and Henri openly questions why protestants have been allowed to achieve such levels of autonomy from the colonial administration. He is pleased by the development in Montcalm and worships at the under-construction cathedral of Saint-Blaise. By the first week of August, he has laid-over at Duquesne and met with leaders of Iroquois Country, whom he notes do not take the eucharist with him. Goya later tells him that the Iroquois are resistant to traditional Catholic teachings, which concerns him.

They then enter a new canal linking Duquesne with the Lake Erie port of Cuyahoga and make their way to the heart of French Quebec. Significant parades are held in Montreal and Quebec City in August and early-September. He meets the Archbishop and the Governor General and shares some of his thoughts on his tour of the New World, emphasizing his belief that doctrinal Catholicism must continue to be spread as well as his distaste for slavery. At Quebec City he is met by the same fleet that transported him through the Caribbean and he boards María Joaquina to make the return trip to Spain.

The King is welcomed back to Spain in mid-October 1826 to adulation. Newspapers and diplomatic communiques are filled with chatter about his tour of New France, the latest quaking over his potential union of Spain and France. Enrique returns to Madrid eager to develop a program for economic reforms in Spanish America and to borrow French strategies for industrialization in Spain. His strong feelings on slavery are deflected by the regency council, some of whom are invested in the trade, but the King promises that he will not forget his convictions on the matter. He also develops a regular correspondence with his father, who is pleased by his son’s interest in matters of state, even if he does not share his son’s strong devotion to the Church. Apart from the King’s development and preparation for rule, the tour also produces important works of art and science that themselves create a commotion in Europe. His tour of the Americas proves to be highly formative for him as he approaches his majority in 1829.

 

[George_Apley]

I am still thinking and working on this... promise! A war update is in the works, but in the meantime, here's a long overdue alt bio on Don Miguel Hidalgo of New Spain!

Personal Profiles: Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753-1826)​

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was born on May 8, 1753 in the viceroyalty of New Spain. As a criollo, he was a child of Spanish descent born in the colonies, a status that would come to define much of his life's work building bridges between the classes. Despite the privileges afforded by his birth, young Miguel's heart lay with the oppressed mestizo and indigenous populations whose struggles he witnessed in his youth. As he matured, Hidalgo excelled in academia, showcasing an early aptitude for theology and philosophy. By 1773, his intellectual pursuits had led him to become a professor at the prestigious Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo in Valladolid. However, his engagement with Enlightenment thinking, particularly the works advocating for rationalism, self-determination, and human rights, drew the ire of conservative ecclesiastical authorities. In 1782, this resulted in his removal from the teaching post, a pivotal moment that redirected his path toward ministry and social advocacy.

Appointed as the parish priest of Dolores in 1802, Hidalgo found his true calling among the mestizos and indigenous peoples he served. His sermons, brimming with the spirit of the Enlightenment, questioned the rigid hierarchies that kept these communities in bondage. He spoke of self-determination, a concept that resonated deeply with those who had long been marginalized by the colonial regime. His zeal for reform translated into concrete action as he supported local agricultural initiatives that defied the restrictive Spanish mercantilist policies. These ventures sought to empower the local community through economic independence. His defiance of the established order, while celebrated by the common people, inevitably caught the attention of the colonial authorities.

In 1808, the growing tension came to a head when Hidalgo was arrested on orders from the diocesan overseer, a young, zealous Peninsular priest named Vicente de Goya. A staunch conservative, Goya viewed Hidalgo's ideas as dangerous and his actions as direct affronts to Spanish colonial law. Goya's oversight of the region was marked by his rigid enforcement of Peninsular interests, often at the expense of criollo and indigenous rights. However, the respect and affection Hidalgo had cultivated in the hearts of his parishioners ignited a fervent outcry for his release. The city of Leon, where he was detained, became the epicenter of mass demonstrations calling for his freedom. The local authorities, fearing that Goya's hardline approach might incite violent unrest, decided to release Hidalgo and drop the charges, reluctantly acknowledging his influential status among the people. Through this ordeal, Hidalgo emerged not just unscathed but galvanized. He became an even more significant symbol of resistance against Peninsular dominance—a champion for the rights of all New Spaniards, irrespective of their birth or color. Meanwhile, Goya, chafing at this affront to his authority, would become increasingly intertwined with Hidalgo's career, representing the conservative voice of colonial power to Hidalgo's the winds of change.

In the early 1810s New Spain was marred by what became known as the guerra campesina or "Peasant War," a series of insurrections that swept across the rural heartlands. Starting in 1811, the simmering discontent among the peasantry, exacerbated by years of exploitation and neglect, erupted into open conflict. The indigenous and mestizo communities, emboldened by Hidalgo's earlier defiance, now saw him as the embodiment of their aspirations. Despite his avowed loyalty to the Spanish monarchy, Hidalgo could not control the tide of rebellion that had claimed his image and teachings as its standard. The colonial authorities, in their bid to quell the unrest, dispatched a sizable contingent of troops to the region. The peasant armies, ill-equipped and loosely organized, faced a disciplined colonial force. At Valladolid, in a confrontation marked by both its brutality and brevity, the peasant armies were decisively routed in the spring of 1813. Nearly 100 peasants were killed and many more arrested by colonial authorities.

The aftermath saw a widespread crackdown on the insurrection's sympathizers and, even though he hadn't had anything to do with the peasant army that marched on Valladolid, Hidalgo once again found himself arrested. He was brought to trial in Leon on charges of sedition and incitement to treason with the grim shadow of the gallows looming over him. Throughout the trial, his defense eloquently argued for his unswerving fidelity to the king, positioning his calls for reform as attempts to strengthen, not sever, the bonds with the motherland and pointing out his calls for peace as the Peasant War spread. Despite this, his trial was swift and, to many, a foregone conclusion: the death sentence was pronounced in late 1813.

The news of his impending execution sent shockwaves through the social fabric of New Spain and beyond. As had happened years before, crowds began to form outside the courthouse in Leon and the guard was reinforced. Vicente de Goya, who now held a significant position within the diocese, recognized the potential for a dangerous backlash if the beloved priest were martyred. Although Goya was a staunch opponent of Hidalgo's theology and methodology, he sent a clandestine missive appealing to King Carlos IV urging clemency on the grounds of Hidalgo's loyal service to the Crown and his ability to quell further insurrection through peace rather than bloodshed. He managed to convince the Viceroy to stay Hidalgo’s execution until the king’s reply was received from Spain. The king, swayed by the argument that mercy could prove more powerful than the sword, granted a Royal Decree of pardon to Hidalgo early in 1814. This act of royal grace was intended to pacify the restive colony and signal the benevolence of the crown.

In the years that followed his pardon, Don Miguel dedicated himself with renewed vigor to his ministry, channeling his energies into the promotion of a compassionate Catholicism that prioritized social justice and the wellbeing of the disenfranchised. His pastoral work was deeply rooted in the daily realities of his parishioners, who faced persistent hardships under the colonial regime. His approach to faith was hands-on and practical. In 1814, he established a network of albergues, shelters for the homeless and travelers, throughout the central region of New Spain. He organized community farms where the poor could work for their sustenance and gain a sense of autonomy. Hidalgo's efforts extended to education as well, founding several escuelas de las Américas, which provided basic education and trade skills, particularly to the children of the mestizo and indigenous communities.

Don Miguel's influence inevitably brought him back into contact with Vicente de Goya, who had been appointed as an overseer of ecclesiastical matters in the same region and made a point to keep an eye on the popular Hidalgo. Goya, who had climbed the ranks of the church hierarchy, was a complex figure—traditional yet pragmatic, a man of the cloth who understood the intricacies of colonial power. Their relationship, although strained by past events and differing philosophies, developed a certain mutual respect. Their interactions were often a balancing act between cooperation and conflict. In 1815, a dispute arose over the management of church lands—Goya supported their continued control by the church hierarchy, while Hidalgo advocated for a distribution that benefited the local populace. Goya faced down more than one angry crowd when he refused to acquiesce to Hidalgo's preferred policy. Yet, when it came to the implementation of charity works and the establishment of new parishes, they found common ground.

The catastrophic volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 precipitated a global climate anomaly known as the Year Without a Summer. In 1816, this led to widespread crop failures and a devastating famine across the northern hemisphere. Spain, already strained by the long-running Talleyrand's War against Austria, Britain, and their allies, was in dire need of sustenance. As a principal combatant allied with France, Spain felt the crushing need to feed its population and troops. As a result, the Crown’s requisition of grain from its colonies, particularly in New Spain, intensified.

Hidalgo, ever th

e advocate for his people, recognized the looming disaster. As the Spanish authorities began to extract more grain from the Mexican territories, Hidalgo foresaw the suffering this would inflict upon the local populations. Granaries were emptied and harvests were confiscated, bringing the countryside to the brink of famine. In response, Hidalgo launched a comprehensive relief operation. He began by persuading his parishioners to donate a portion of the limited harvests they were allowed to keep to communal granaries. These granaries would later serve as a lifeline for the poorest who had nothing to spare. Hidalgo also appealed to the wealthier criollo landowners, many of whom he had aided or influenced in the past, to contribute to the relief efforts. His persuasive sermons and tireless campaigning led to an unprecedented mobilization of resources within the local communities. While the Crown focused on the war effort, Hidalgo's grassroots initiatives provided a buffer against the worst of the famine.

At this critical juncture, Vicente de Goya found himself in a moral quandary. As a man of the church and overseer of the region's ecclesiastical resources, he was caught between his obligations to the Spanish Crown and his duty to the people he served. Hidalgo's passionate entreaties and the dire situation compelled Goya to act. Behind the scenes, he redirected a portion of the harvest on church lands—all of which was meant to be requisitioned by the army—to bolster the supply in Hidalgo's ganaries. While such actions were risky, potentially bordering on sedition, Goya's discreet yet effective measures were instrumental in alleviating the suffering of many. The relief efforts culminated in a vast distribution of grain and funds throughout the central and northern provinces of New Spain. Hidalgo, supported by Goya's quiet assistance, managed to prevent a looming calamity that could well have resulted in thousands of deaths and political unrest in the Spanish Empire. The clergyman's untiring work during this year of hardship sealed his legacy as "el padre del pueblo,” or the people's priest, a title of affection and respect bestowed upon him by a grateful populace.

Despite Hidalgo’s herculean efforts to alleviate famine in New Spain, the Crown’s demands for New World grain to support war-ravaged Europe did not abate. As the Spanish authorities persisted in their confiscation of harvests into 1817, the resentment among the people of New Spain smoldered into flames of rebellion. Hidalgo’s protégés, younger priests who had imbibed his ideals of compassion and justice, now found themselves in the throes of revolutionary fervor. Among them was Don Armando Castellano, a fervent pupil of Hidalgo's teachings, who became an unexpected torchbearer for the people’s discontent. His impassioned sermons in Guanajuato, echoing Hidalgo's calls for reform a decade before, drew large crowds and stoked the fires of dissent.

The bubbling tension came to a head in March 1817 with the infamous grain riots of Guanajuato. A confrontation between hungry citizens demanding fair distribution of flour and the local garrison erupted in violence. When a protester was killed by the troops, the outrage spilled over. The mob, incensed by the death, exacted a brutal retribution, resulting in the slaying of twenty soldiers and over two-dozen protesters. Castellano, present at the riot, was seen by many as the spiritual leader of this burgeoning movement. In Mexico City, Viceroy Venegas, alarmed by the breakdown of order, dispatched troops to Guanajuato. Between the 1st and 3rd of June, what began as a punitive expedition escalated into a bloodbath, now grimly remembered as the Guanajuato Massacre. The merciless suppression of the protest led to the deaths of over 600 people, marking a dark chapter in the history of New Spain.

As the news of the massacre spread, similar

uprisings erupted in other regions, only to be met with equal violence from the colonial authorities. During that summer the Great Revolts of 1817 saw more than 1300 killed in the violence across New Spain. Hidalgo was stricken with grief. The man who had sought to heal and unite found himself in the midst of a conflict that was tearing his country apart. His attempts to quell the violence were marked by a profound despondency, and a fallout with Castellano, who had strayed from the path of peace that Hidalgo had championed. Despite his pleadings for peace, the crackdown was swift and unsparing. Don Armando Castellano was arrested, tried, and executed, sending a clear message to any who dared challenge the established order. During these turbulent times, Vincente de Goya emerged as a voice of cautious wisdom. He implored Hidalgo not to take any action that might again draw the ire of the law, fearing he could suffer the same fate as the younger, more radical priests.

By the autumn of 1817, the violent storm had passed, grain confiscations had ceased, and a calm settled over New Spain. Hidalgo, now more a symbol of spiritual guidance than political activism, focused on rebuilding the trust and faith of his parishioners, seeking to mend the tears in the fabric of his community. Goya, meanwhile, worked within the system to soothe the lingering resentments among the elite, using his position to shield Hidalgo from further political entanglement. The peace that returned was fragile, an uneasy truce between a weary populace and a wary administration, but it was peace nonetheless. Don Miguel Hidalgo, once the potential leader of a revolution, remained in the hearts of many the people's priest.

In the years following the Great Grain Crisis and the Revolts of 1817, Don Miguel continued his ministry with renewed fervor. Through to 1825, he established a series of charities that not only solidified his position as a spiritual leader but also as a progressive thinker in the realms of education and social welfare. His efforts resulted in the foundation of several almshouses, schools for the poor, and even rudimentary clinics where medicine and food were distributed without cost, particularly to the indigenous and mestizo communities. Hidalgo's advocacy for the rights of these disenfranchised groups never waned, and he often found himself in the pulpit, speaking on issues of moral and civic duty, much to the admiration of his followers and the consternation of more conservative factions.

In 1818 Vicente de Goya, having garnered recognition for years of service, was recalled to Spain. His assignment was none other than to tutor the young Infante of Spain, Enrique, born in 1811 to King Louis XVII of France and Maria Joaquina of Spain. By the time Enrique ascended to the Spanish throne as a teenager in 1824, he had absorbed Goya's teachings but was yet to be tested in the crucible of real-world leadership. The following year, in December of 1825, King Enrique I embarked on a grand tour of Spanish America, a journey prompted by Goya and meant to acquaint him with the vast and varied lands he now ruled over and further heal the wounds of 1817. His tour brought him to Mexico City, where his visit was celebrated with adulation by the locals.

During this visit, an unfortunate bout of yellow fever befell the young king, delaying his travels. It was during this convalescence in Mexico that Hidalgo, now an elder statesman of the church and a symbol of compassionate leadership, was summoned to minister to the ailing monarch by none other than Goya himself. As the aging Hidalgo tended to the king's spirit, a memorable debate unfolded before the young king between the two priests. Goya posited his belief that, while the people's contentment was essential to stave off rebellion, it was imperative for a monarch to stand above the populace, guiding them with a firm hand. He argued that if the people were to rule, chaos would ensue. Hidalgo, with the gentle certainty of a man who had spent his life in service to the least of his brethren, countered. He maintained that a king must always heed the voice of his people, for their collective clamor was the very voice of God's children, expressing the divine will through their earthly needs and hopes. The needs of the people were not just paramount; they were sacred. Enrique, who had been steeped in conservative stewardship for years, listened with rapt attention as the men talked. It was a meeting that the king would reference frequently in his writings for years to come.

Don Miguel Hidalgo's life journey reached its earthly end on July 30, 1826, when at the venerable age of 73, he succumbed to a brief but intense illness, a fever that swept through the region with impartial virulence. In his final days, he was surrounded by those he had served—the poor, the mestizo, the native, and the creole alike—all united in their grief for the passing of a man who had been their shepherd, advocate, and voice. His legacy, carved through the decades of his service, was marked by the breadth of his efforts, which sought to infuse the rigid structures of colonial society with the enlightening principles of fairness and justice. He had navigated the tumultuous waters between fealty to the distant Spanish throne and an unyielding commitment to the rights and welfare of the local populations of New Spain.

In the wake of his death, the cities and villages of New Spain entered a period of profound mourning. Bells tolled not just in Dolores but also in the grand cathedrals of Mexico City and far beyond, reflecting the widespread respect he had earned across the social spectrum. Stories of his compassion and the echoes of his sermons spread through the spoken word, immortalizing his vision for a society that valued each of its members. Even the king himself sent a recognition in his honor. Hidalgo's ideas did not perish with him; they permeated the consciousness of the creole elites and the indigenous leaders, kindling a flame that would, in time, illuminate paths to Mexico's future. His emphasis on education and welfare inspired the establishment of more inclusive institutions and policies in the years that followed, ensuring that his influence would be felt long into the future. The Spanish empire, vast and varied, would continue to evolve, and the seeds sown by Don Miguel would grow into movements that shaped the continent. His memory was enshrined not only in the annals of history but in the very fabric of society, a society that, due to his efforts, dared to dream of justice for all its children.

 

[George_Apley]

Here's the rest of 1825:

God is a Frenchman: 1825​

1825

April, 1825	Admiral Hobart of Clyde Published Written by John Arthur Anderson, Admiral Hobart of Clyde is a parody adventure and dramatic fiction novel in the Enlightened Mythos genre of British romanticism. The story follows the adventures of Admiral Banner Hobart, a highly insubordinate yet heroic Scotsman who campaigns against the French, the Spanish, and his own superiors in the Admiralty. Admiral Hobart is adapted into a stage play in 1827 by William French, which expands its popularity, particularly among the working class.
May, 1825-1828	Teton Sioux War By the mid-1820s, French expansion west along the Missouri River has accelerated. Several permanent trading forts hosting French soldiers stand watch over small but growing farming settlements that ring them. The Santee Sioux have developed friendly relations with the French over the 1810s, but their kin the Yankton and the Teton further west are increasingly annoyed by French increasing French demands for pelts, hides, game, and land. Particularly for the Yankton Sioux, the French settlements disrupt their travel patterns. Some violence breaks out between Sioux hunting parties and French settlers outside Fort de Manneville in 1824, but further escalation is avoided when the fort's commander doubles the trade allotment for the Yankton Sioux. The following spring a party of French settlers hunting bison along the Platte River is set upon by the Teton Sioux. All eighteen of the Frenchmen are killed and their bodies dumped outside Fort Rambaut. This incident, apparently unprovoked, becomes known as the Platte River Massacre and Captain Legrande writes to the Superintendent at Fort Oumohon, who in turn requests support from the Governor-General in Vainqueur. Additional cavalry are dispatched from Lower Louisiana in late May planning a punitive mission against the Teton Sioux. The Battle of Platte Forks is the first encounter with the French cavalry and a band of Teton Sioux. The skirmish ends after several are lost on both sides and the Sioux ride northward with the French opting not to pursue. The battle leads to a meeting of the Seven Council Fires, a confederation of the Sioux peoples of the northern plains. The Santee refuse to take part in war against France, but the Yankton and Teton pledge to prepare and make war against French fortifications and settlements. The widespread Teton Sioux hit multiple targets during the summer of 1825 between the Platte and Missouri river, most significantly at forts Chouteau and Bonvillain. By the autumn, almost all permanent French settlers have withdrawn to the east. The French target the more easily accessible Yankton, forcing them to retreat from their traditional homelands further west. The French receive aid from Ojibwe militias, which ends up widening the war by bringing the Santee Sioux in on the side of their kin due to the long standing bad blood between the Santee and Ojibwe. The fighting continues into 1826 and 1827 with little conclusive engagements. The Santee and Yankton flee westward in the face of increasing French assault, but the Teton Sioux are able to halt French settlement along the Missouri River and its tributaries, with even trappers and traders unable to travel the territory safely. In August, 1827 a large mounted force of 3,500 Sioux raids the departmental capital at Fort Oumohon, routing the garrison's cavalry and riding circles around the infantry. The departmental commander, Marshal Vizet, is killed in the raid, leading to great alarm in Vainqueur that the fighting is getting out of hand. By October, Louisiana Governor-General Pamier plans a diplomatic mission for the new year to reach a settlement with the Sioux. A smallpox outbreak among the Teton also incentivises the Sioux to make a deal with the French. The fighting ends with the Treaty of Fort Chouteau in June, 1828.
1825-1829	Papacy of Pius VIII Short papacy deals with the reintroduction of the Jesuits, particularly in French and Spanish colonies, as well as nascent attempts by the Vatican to assert itself more strongly in the Catholic world. Increasing unrest in Italy over papal control does not boil over in this time, but is growing in strength.
April, 1825-November, 1826	Finland War (Year One) A much vaunted marriage between the Russian Tsar and a Swedish princess has served as a diplomatic tie keeping the traditionally hostile powers at peace for many decades. Tsar Alexander though, has long coveted the Swedish territory of Finland and in 1824 and 1825 he manipulates a confrontation with Sweden. Nikolai Sinebrychoff is a prominent businessman in Vyborg who becomes heavily involved in the illicit trade between Finland and St. Petersburg. In late-1824 Swedish authorities arrest and ultimately hang Sinebrychoff for smuggling, creating outrage in Russia that state propaganda takes full advantage of. Additionally the Russian Navy ship Rodislav founders in ice off the Finland coast in early 1825. The ice flows push the ship towards the Swedish fortress at Hamina and Russia demands overland access to Finland to recover the crew and any sensitive materials and documents aboard the ship. Stockholm, predictably, refuses St. Petersburg's demands, offering instead to impound the vessel and host the officers and crew in a guesthouse without any formal interrogation until the ship can be repaired and return to Russia. Russia rejects the offer and begins massing troops at St. Petersburg. Sweden sends divisions of troops to Finland to counter Russia, but progress is slow due to the ice flows in the Gulf of Finland. Russia takes the Swedish troop movements as an excuse to declare war in mid-April and crosses the border in Karelia. Swedish and Finnish defenders fight ferociously at the battles of Hamina and Kouvola in the second week of May, slowing down the Russians long enough to get their armies in place defending Helsingfors. Through the summer the Russians engage the Swedes at Aquilopolis, Borgå, Hyvinge, and Tavastehus with mixed results. The Swedish Royal Navy scores an important victory over the Russian Baltic Fleet off the coast of Ormsö island, which delays any ability of the Russians to assault Helsingfors by sea. The campaigning ends in early December, with the Russians controlling much of Finland east and north of the Helsingfors. Although Russia makes overtures to Prussia and Denmark, but neither county opts to join the conflict. Sweden decries Russia's actions as an unjustified invasion deserving of international condemnation and calls for aid from Europe's powers. Britain demures involvement, the government stating simply that "the conflict in the Baltic Sea should contain itself therein until the belligerents are satisfied." France expresses its concerns with stronger language, but essentially takes the same position as Britain. The powers are content to let Russia and Sweden duke it out over Finland, not finding it significant enough to warrant intervention.
June, 1825-1829	Greek Uprising (Year One) Tensions simmer after the Ottoman's put down a decade of unrest in their European Rumelian territories in the 1810s. In June, 1825 Albanian cavalry summarily execute Konstantinos Manos, a prominent Greek Orthodox noble of a Phanariot family. The killing is the spark that ignites regional unrest that spreads down the Peloponnese and soon to Greeks throughout the Ottoman Empire. Several By the end of the year, Greek expatriate societies in Russia, Austria, and France agitate for foreign support that could "finally free Europe of Mohammedan despotism."
27 August-6 October, 1825	Gabe Dacy's Rebellion A large slave uprising in spreads in South Carolina and Georgia. The uprising controversially credits an enslaved man named Gabe Dacy on the Sea Cloud Plantation on coastal South Carolina, although the breadth of the revolts evinces many leaders. According to jailhouse interviews, Dacy is a literate man who builds a group of followers based on his interpretation of scripture that mark slavery as abominable to God. He claims that an eclipse he witnessed in August of 1821 is a sign from God to begin enacting his plan. For four years, he not only organizes a rebellion on his own plantation, but has followers who work as shiphands on packets running up and down the coast serve as messengers with memorized speeches to proselytize elsewhere. While several of these messengers are found out, captured, and brutally interrogated, none spill the origin of their teachings. Through the summer of 1825 word spreads through a trusted network that the enslaved should rise up on the fourth anniversary of the eclipse, 27 August. While several plantations successfully uncover the plot, they are seen as isolated incidents, and no connection between the schemes is ever made. Whites are largely unable to conceive of a networked plan being successfully carried out by slaves. On the night of 27 August slaves rise up on more than three dozen plantations, mostly in South Carolina and Georgia with several in North Carolina as well. While a number of the nascent risings are almost immediately crushed, many see initial success. In the first days of the rebellion, records show that at least 800 whites are killed. Area militias initially struggle to respond effectively due to the wide reports received from riders across the countryside. Gabe Dacy and his followers successfully claim the entirety of Edisto Island, which their home plantation stands on. They hold it for several weeks before militia arrive at the only bridge to the mainland and successfully break the poorly armed rebels facing them. Dacy himself had left the island with a coterie of followers by the time the Battle of Edisto is fought on 22 September. Several plantations around Charleston and Savannah are set ablaze by the first week in September and the slaves, disorganized and armed mostly with melee weapons, move in mobs towards the respective cities. In Athens, Georgia, slaves successfully take the Dominion Armory on 12 September and distribute arms and ammunition among their compatriots. A lack of training with the weapons is evident when the Georgia militia confronts them, but the sight of heavily armed slaves terrifies many in Georgia. The militia steadily gain control of the situation and by the first week in October, the fighting has been stamped out and plantations are secured. In the end, over 3,800 whites are killed in the uprising along with 9,000 slaves killed during and afterwards. Many of the slaves killed have nothing to do with the rebels. In the Dominion South, it's the most devastating fighting since the Restitution War in 1800. Many participants in the rebellion flee west or south to French and Spanish territory. More than a dozen ships are hijacked by enslaved sailors, several of which reappear in ports in the Spanish Caribbean. Gabe Dacy himself is never found and his story becomes legend. The rebellion is seen as a final blow to Dominion slavery as plantation owners no longer feel secure.
November, 1825	Fort Zéphyrine Founded in Singapore As French trade directly with the East Indies has increased since Talleyrand's War, France seeks more ports of call under its direct control, rather than by the Dutch or local power brokers. For their primary outpost the French choose a cluster of islands on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula known as Singapore. The fortress the French build on the main island is christened as Fort Zéphyrine after the King's daughter and it quickly grows in importance as a layover and hub for merchants traveling between India, China, Australia, and the spice islands.
11 December, 1825	Battle of the M'zab Algerian War: The French move to conquer Berber land deeper in the Sahara with a campaign against the towns of the M'zab Valley. The campaign, led by Marshal Agassiz relies on camel mounted cavalry armed with modern rifles and cutlasses. During the second week of December, Agassiz's force encounters strong resistance at Ghardaia, while many of the Berber fighters are killed and the town is occupied, many Berbers escape into the surrounding landscape. This pattern is repeated elsewhere in the Algerian desert as parched games of cat-and-mouse play out between the French and their Berber opponents.

​

 

[George_Apley]

Been busy, but here's 1826.

God is a Frenchman: 1826​

June, 1825-1829	Greek Uprising, Year Two In 1826 the rebellion in Peloponnese Greece ramps up, and many regions in southern Greece are effectively inaccessible to Turkish forces. By the end of the year many Ottoman Greeks have coalesced around a goal for an independent homeland from the Turks. Greek expatriates continue to agitate in Vienna, Paris, and St. Petersburg for foreign assistance. Neither France nor Austria are eager for a protracted campaign against the Turks, and while Tsar Alexander dispatches a division of soldiers to the border at the Danubian delta, the bulk of Russia's divisions are engaging in the eastern steppes and massing in Finland. For now, the Greeks settle for financial aid and some young foreign fighters from Europe, eager to beat the Turks back from the Catholic world.
March, 1825-November, 1826	Finland War, Year 2 In February the Swedes gamble by staging a winter attack against the Russians encamped at Hyvinge. The attack turns into a disaster when a blizzard blankets the region when the Swedes are mere miles from the Russian camp. several Swedish units blindly stumble into the Russians and are captured. Others wander down the incorrect road. Ultimately the Russians capture more than a third of the Swedish division sent against them and the Swedes retreat toward Helsingfors. In the spring, the Russians tighten a cordon around the city and begin a siege. Through the spring and into the summer the Swedes are able to continue resupplying the city by sea and are able to secure a friendly agreement with Denmark that grants more open trade to Sweden in return for acknowledging Norway as an integral part of Denmark. Hopes of turning the fighting around are dashed when the Russian Baltic Fleet breaks through the Swedish warship and battery defenses around Helsingfors at the Battle of Skanslandet on 2 August. Swedish soldiers are forced to abandon the city as Russians advance from the north and east. Remaining Swedish vessels evacuate large numbers of soldiers from the city's west, leaving a rearguard to hold off the Russians. The Swede's sue for peace later that month and Russian delegates are dispatched to Stockholm. In November both nations finalize the Treaty of Stockholm, which transfers Finland to Russia.
March-April, 1826	Searstown Walkouts One of the first instances of its kind, factory workers at the Searstown textile mills in Massachusetts stage walkouts protesting working conditions, living conditions, and low wages. In particular the young workers want adjustments to the draconian social policies of the factory town, put in place by Henry Sears Cabot. Minor concessions are granted to the workers and Searstown soon develops the first professional police force in Massachusetts in 1827. The tension between the younger more liberal workers and the older conservative management reveals an increasing split within New England society itself that will grow more pronounced in the coming years.
28 February, 1826	General Emancipation Act in Parliament In the aftermath of the Dacey Rebellion, the question of slavery leaps to the front of Dominion and British politics. As slavery disappears in the northern provinces and rapidly declines in the Chesapeake, only the Carolinas and Georgia are still heavily invested in slave labor by the mid-1820s. The Dominion Congress takes up a number of bills seeking to end the practice through the early-1820s, but none gain traction due to disagreements over the particulars. Ultimately the British Parliament takes the decision out of Congress's hands in early 1826, formally abolishing slavery in British American and Caribbean possessions. This is accomplished through a leveraged buyout of human property through annuity payments in a trust established by Parliament and managed by the Exchequer. Emancipation causes some consternation about Parliament's role in legislating on behalf of the Dominion, but the Congress narrowly ratifies the law satisfying constitutional concerns. There is some unrest in the American South and in the British Caribbean among the planter class, but overall emancipation proceeds according to the law's parameters. Despite the buyout, emancipation generates enormous financial losses for slave-holders and greatly increases Britain's sovereign debt load, which both become a contributing factor the the economic turmoil of the Panic of 1826. Additionally, the law fails to solve big questions surrounding the future of free blacks in the provinces.
July, 1826	Saintilus Revolt In the wake of British abolition a number of slaves on Saint-Domingue organize a revolt. The revolt begins in the urban center of Cap-Français and spreads to neighboring plantations. Pierre Saintilus, believed to be the instigator of the revolt, is an enslaved smith at the foundry in the city and quietly begins stockpiling forged melée weapons and distributing them to his compatriots. The violence begins on 5 July with Saintilus and a mob of his supporters targeting white and colored elites, including priests. Many retreat to the garrison or to the Citadel in the mountains beyond. The garrison busies itself with quelling the rural plantation revolts outside of Cap-Français, leaving the city to be occupied by the rebels until elements of the French Caribbean fleet arrive five days later. Marines are able to secure the city and Saintilus and his followed are shot or hanged. Santilus's revolt fails largely due to a lack of buy-in from many enslaved plantation workers, the bulk of the population as well as eased conditions that have allowed for the slaves to put down family roots and build communities in the church. By targeting Marianist priests, Saintilus all but guaranteed his failure.
September, 1826	Proclamation on the African Trade King Louis XVII admires the British moves to end slavery in their colonies and is covetous of their national resolve to do so. In September, 1826 he uses his royal authority to ban French ports and ships from participating in the slave trade. While an important symbol and of great importance to the King, the void of French slave ships is filled by Spanish vessels, as King Enrique's regency council does not follow his father's lead, despite Enrique's strong feelings on the matter. Louis' advisers also warn of considerable unrest in Louisiana and Saint-Domingue if slavery is ended outright without careful consideration. He orders his economists to prepare a detailed study on slavery in the French colonies and to provide him with recommendations for how to end the practice. Substantial smuggling of human cargo via Spanish ships occurs for years, particularly into the port of Biloxi and a number of unauthorized raids against free black towns in the interior force some into slavery. By the mid-1830s, deep corruption has set in among the plantation lords of Louisiana that greatly undermine many of King Louis' reforms over the early-19th Century.
October, 1826-1831	Panic of 1826 Fallout from bad central bank investments on the continent and the abolition of slavery in British America lead to a credit crunch and shortage of specie. The crisis leads to several years of anemic growth across the west, which contributes to tensions between industrial workers and their employers.

 

[George_Apley]

Pretty rough, but enjoy!

God is a Frenchman: Notes on British American Slavery​

As slavery disappeared in the northern provinces and rapidly declined in the Chesapeake, only the Carolinas and Georgia remained heavily invested in slave labor by the mid-1820s.

In the north, the New England provinces, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania outlawed the institution of slavery from 1791 (Massachusetts) through 1809 (New York) by legislation. In Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania emancipation was immediate and slave owners were compensated by the provincial government. In provinces with less financial flexibility and/or larger numbers of slaves, such as, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, slavery was phased out at varying rates, being totally gone from these provinces by 1819.

In the Chesapeake colonies of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, slavery peaked in 1770s and gradually declined due first to the Virginia debt crisis and later to the falling price of slaves and the rising number of plantations that are broken up for sale or lease to land-hungry Americans. Pioneering changes to land and labor practices between 1790 and 1810 further reduced the incentive to own and perpetuate slavery. In 1819 all three provinces passed laws amending the slave codes to end matrilineal status and the most draconian restrictions against the enslaved.

Similar pressures existed in the Carolinas and Georgia, but political institutions were much more tightly controlled by the small planter class and the institution of slavery maintained a semblance of strength moving into the 1820s. The legislative houses and governors offices were wholly dominated by the gentry who were enriched by the plantation economy. Cotton, rice, and indigo plantations in the lowlands maintained their wealth and the relatively low price of enslaved labor allowed it to perpetuate.

Compared with the coastal plain, the uplands in the west gradually filled with thriving communities of settlers from the overpopulated north. Backcountry towns of New Englander and Pennsylvanian migrants form among the existing Scots-Irish towns and by the mid-1820s have developed a distinctive culture, not wholly cohesive, but also mostly independent of the planter/gentry-driven culture. A near permanent state of tension exists between the planters and the backcountry settlers. They resent their exclusion from political institutions and periodic temporary tax laws that target their activities specifically. Between 1765 and 1825 two large uprisings occurred despite the need for protection from French and Indian raiders keeping the western settlers mostly under sway.

Small numbers of free blacks existed in the backcountry, but most fled northward into free provinces or southward to Spanish Florida. There was much land competition in the west abutting the Appalachians and the race factor meant that blacks were mostly excluded from living equally alongside whites in the otherwise egalitarian backcountry towns. When slavery is outlawed in 1826, the Parliament leaves it to the Dominion and individual provinces to manage the aftermath and consequences of over 800,000 people being freed from slavery and in need of money, land, food, and housing.

 

[George_Apley]

God is a Frenchman: 1827​

June, 1825-1829	Greek Revolt (Year 3) As fighting continues in the Peloponnese, the Ottomans become increasingly impatient with the Greek elites in Constantinople. Officially the Orthodox Church is under the protection of the Sultan, and the Patriarchs are careful to toe the line and condemn the efforts of the Greeks to break away from Constantinople. Still many of the Phanariot Greek families in the Ottoman capital surreptitiously support their comrades in Rumelia. The arrest and execution of several prominent Greeks in Constantinople has a strong affect in the rest of Ottoman Europe, as many of the noble Boyars in Moldavia, Wallachia, and Bulgaria join the revolt against the Ottomans. Most of these elites share Greek heritage with the Phanariots of the capital and several prominent Boyards issue proclamations seeking to unite with the people of Rumelia to create a Greek Orthodox state. In the fall of 1827, mostly uninvited, Russian troops cross into Moldavia, claiming their actions are just to protect the orthodox Christians. The Russian move creates great rumblings in the rest of Europe leading into the winter.
1827-1830	Fourth Maratha War By the mid-1820s the French presence in eastern India has become more cemented and the Mughal court is increasingly suborned by the French envoy from Pondicherry. The constituent states of the Maratha become increasingly divided as smuggled goods from French outposts in Bombay and Surat become a major political issue for the Maratha central government, which seeks to maintain the beneficial trade relationship with Portuguese Goa. In 1826 the ruling Peshwa attempts to crack down on smuggling operations, many which are tacitly approved by local leaders. These political pressures lead to violence between several leading princes. When the Peshwa, supposedly the unifying figure across the Maratha states, condemns those fighting against the taxation of French goods, the conflict spreads. Soon all of west-central India is engulfed in civil war with states and princes fighting for the Peshwa fighting against those who want closer economic ties with France. France happily smuggles weapons and supplies to the rebels, but otherwise remains aloof from the conflict. A defining moment of the war occurs in 1828 when the sovereign Chhatrapati of Maratha endorses the rebellion against the Peshwa, leading to his arrest and confinement in Satara by the Peshwa's forces. This action impels the Chhatrapati cousin, the Maharaja of Nagpur, to enter the conflict. Nagpur had previously avoided involvement in the war among its fellow Maratha states and its involvement turns the tides as other princes in the north begin to switch sides against the Peshwa. The civil war proves to be the end of the Maratha union, which breaks apart in 1830. By the mid-1830s, Pondicherry has multiple alliances of protection with formerly Maratha states. The aftermath of the civil war greatly expands France's reach into India's interior and eliminates the largest competitor to French power on the subcontinent.
1827-1889	Reign of Maximilian I of Saxony Rising to the throne upon the death of his grandfather, Maximilian's reign is long and covers the turmoil of the mid-19th Century as the long tradition of Saxon neutrality fails to survive beyond the 1830s.
August, 1827-September, 1828	Pinishwa's War By the late-1820s the population of the Quebec province of Ouabache is growing rapidly. Between the rising numbers of Métis and an influx of new settlers from Europe, the lifestyle of the region has shifted relatively quickly from the traditional model of the native Miaumie people to a more sedentary and blended one. For the bands of Miaumie who have pushed to keep to their traditional lifestyles, life is increasingly difficult, as disconnected territory and the increasing shortage of game harms their success. In 1827 a faction of Miaumie led by Chief Pinshiwa revolt, raiding towns and villages and stealing livestock and crops. Several farmers are killed in these raids and Pinishwa becomes one of the most wanted men in Quebec. Militia in the province muster throughout the fall and winter, trying to hunt down raiding parties with little success. Moving his village of nearly 400 proves difficult for Pinishwa to manage in the cold of winter and the militia attack there in mid-February, 1828. Pinishwa's scouts and traps are able to provide enough warning and disruption for the attacking militia that they are able to escape into Illinois and take refuge with a like-minded band of Potawatomie people. Raids and skirmishes continue into the spring and summer of 1828 until Pinishwa is assassinated by one of his hosts among the Potawatomie. A summit is agreed to by the government in Quebec in September held in the lake port town of Checagou and government officials commit to providing meat and vegetables as tribute for dwindling wild resources to the more traditional native peoples. Though a concession from the Quebecois to the natives, the Chegacou Treaty is later viewed as a dirge for traditionalism among Quebec native peoples, who gradually adopt the prevailing sedentary culture of their Métis and French neighbors. N.B. Ouabache includes OTL Indiana and western Ohio
1827-1855	Reign of Frederik VI of Denmark Early reign is marked by prosperity from the East India trade and minor rebellions in Norway. Denmark attempts to navigate the mid-century crises with mixed success under Frederick VI's leadership, which leads to growing efforts by liberals in Denmark and Norway to enact constitutional reform.
September-December 1827	Tisserand Revolt The first large scale labor revolt in industrial France. Weavers in the Lyons area walk out and in some cases destroy machinery in protest of working conditions and pay. The leaders of the effort are either executed or transported to the French colony in western Australia.
September, 1827-March, 1829	Bukhara War After successfully sweeping the Kazakh steppes Russia sets its sight on the other countries of central, first Bukhara. After several Russian envoys are tortured and beheaded by the Emir Russian cavalry sweeps into the region. Over a year and a half of vicious fighting leads to a treaty subordinating the Emirate of Bukhara to the Russian Empire.
October, 1827-1830	English Compactor Crisis The industrial labor crisis in Britain escalates in 1827 as the Compactor movement revolts in factory towns and cities across the kingdom. The compactors smash up factories and dump debris into several canals. The Workers Compact by this point is widely distributed and Britain's swollen working class and many bourgeoisie are sympathetic towards the increasingly dismal conditions in urban Britain. The Compactors demand increased political and economic rights for the common man and reforms beneficial to the laborer. While movement results are varied, by 1830 several significant reforms are instituted by London designed to placate the Compactors.

 

[George_Apley]

Another short update. Enjoy and any questions, comments, and feedback is welcome!

God is a Frenchman: 1828​

1828-1850	Repatriation Movement In the wake of emancipation in the Dominion of America, political difficulties begin almost immediately. Nearly 800,000 newly freed people from Maryland to Georgia quickly find themselves in hardship as they have few opportunities to receive land in the Dominion, have no real estate or financial resources, and face prejudice when moving to new communities. Many freemen find themselves coerced into exploitive labor contracts with their former owners and remain on plantations. Others begin to migrate into urban areas seeking work. Two incidents occur in 1827 in Norfolk, Virginia and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that spark racial violence in the cities. Several parallel movements form in 1828 based on ideas from earlier in the 1800s to transport blacks from America to the British outposts on the West African coast at Sierra Leone. Factions of black Americans, led prominently by Jackson Taylor, advocate for transportation so that blacks can thrive in an environment separate from structures of white prejudice. Alongside are white advocates who fear racial integration and economic competition, such as statesmen James Monroe of Virginia and Gerard Axtel de Peyster of New York. The strange alliance between blacks seeking separation from white prejudice and elite whites who want to remove blacks from Dominion society leads to the creation of the Dominion Repatriation Society. The Repatriation Society is funded by elite white benefactors though the public face of the organization is often black. The Society campaigned in black communities encouraging transportation from the Dominion provinces to Sierra Leone. Benefactors in the British Parliament also support the effort leading to increasing resources put into colonizing the Sierra Leone coast. The movement gains popularity during the 1830s and by 1850 nearly 100,000 blacks are transported, though not all do so willingly.
June, 1825-1829	Balkans Crisis/Greek Revolt (Year 4) The crisis in Ottoman Europe escalates with Russia's occupation of areas of Moldavia. The Boyars in the principality are not welcoming and fear outright annexation by Russia or the Ottomans. Ottoman forces from Albania begin to mass along the Danube as the Boyars in Wallachia largely stand down in their rebellion. Meanwhile the Sublime Porte requests support from the Sultan's brother Samir in Egypt, a move that he has eagerly awaited as an opportunity to showcase the prowess and skill of his African forces. Egyptian divisions begin arriving in Selânik by mid-summer. Austria, fearing a regional war on their southeastern border and eager to reassert itself as a continental leader moves an army into Wallachia standing between the Russians and the Ottomans. The Austrian government proclaims that they have mustered to protect the peace of Europe and that any aggressive moves into Wallachia by either side will be met by Austrian force of arms. France signals its support for Austrian action and announces that war in the Balkans between the powers will not be tolerated by France, though Paris fails to make clear whether France would intervene on behalf of the Ottomans or the Russians were war to break out. Ultimately, neither the Russians nor Ottomans want a multi-front, multi-polar war and by October a conference is agreed with the purpose of de-escalating the conflict and settling the Greek revolt. While the high level diplomacy is occurring, Ottoman-Egyptian forces attempt to make headway against the rebels in Greece with mixed results.
September, 1828	Les Écrits Hindous Traduits Published A French-Indian scholar from Pondicherry, Corentin Dumas, releases The Translated Hindu Texts which are published in France leading to great interest towards the subcontinent in European popular culture. An artistic and literary movement, l'indianisme romantique, gains popularity in the 1830s. The anthology also created controversy with the Church finding elements of the writings to be blasphemous or obscene, particularly the Kama Sutra. Spain outright bans the entire anthology, while France's more liberal censorship laws allowed the volume to be published, albeit with the Kama Sutra omitted. Uncensored copies are highly coveted and several public scandals occur when well-regarded nobles are found to be in possession of the Kama Sutra.
November, 1828	Treaty of Königsberg Prussia and Russia cement their increasingly friendly relations at a summit in Königsberg in 1828. The two countries were unofficial allies against Sweden in 1817 and Prussia informally aided Russia in the Finland War in the mid-1820s. Tsar Alexander also wed two of his sons, Paul and Constantine to the daughters of King Frederick William in the 1810s. Austrian assertion in the Balkans crisis creates further urgency for St. Petersburg, which wants to further isolate Austria as a regional power. The treaty provides for mutual drilling and sharing of training, equipment, and coordinated command. It also includes a defensive alliance. Austria looks on with concern as it is increasingly isolated diplomatically with Russia looming in the east and France dominating in the west.
Oct, 1828-Nov, 1829	First Khiva War The Khan of Khiva whose lands lie to the east of the Caspian Sea, is angered by the low quality of Russian tribute and he launches a preemptive campaign against Russian forces in Bukhara. The Russians have few resources available to launch an effective punitive campaign and Khiva raids continue until the Russians deliver suitable tribute to satisfy the Khan. in St. Petersburg the Russian government plots additional advances into central Asia and revenge against the Khan of Khiva.

 

[George_Apley]

Still managing a year at a time. Questions, comments, feedback welcome.

God is a Frenchman: 1829​

Feb, 1829-July, 1831	Laos War Years of tension between Siam and Vietnam lead to a land war over control of the interior plateau of Laos. After more than two years of fighting in the forests, Vietnam successfully claims dominion over the northern highlands. The French East India Company stands by as it attempts to maintain positive relations with both countries. Vietnam's success leads some in the imperial court to begin discussing pushing back against the gradually growing French influence in Vietnam, particularly the Catholic Church.
April-June, 1829	Congress of Vienna Brokered by Austria and France, this peace deal ends the Balkans crisis and settles the Greek Revolt. Multiple parties meet in Vienna in the spring of 1829. The Austrian and French foreign ministers, Graf von Buol and Vicomte de Bugey respectively, manage to dominate the proceedings and leverage their status as neutral parties to the Balkans conflict to their advantage with the stated goal of keeping Europe out of war. Austria scores a coup against Russia when Moldavia officially protests the Russian occupation of their country and Congress requires Russia to withdraw to its previous borders. Russia insists upon an official provision that it serve as the protector of Moldavia's independence against Ottoman aggression. Austria will serve in the same role for Wallachia. The Congress also tackles the matter of Ottoman Greeks. The Turks are unwilling to grant independence to a Greek state, fearing a general collapse of their control of Rumelia. They make clear that further war is preferred over the parceling off of their European territories. Still, the Christian parties insist upon some concessions in the Peloponnese given the Ottoman's repeated inability to reconquer and control the region. The ultimate compromise of the Congress of Vienna is that Peloponnesian Greece will comprise an autonomous and self-governed principality with a Christian Orthodox government under Phanariots appointed by Ottoman authorities in Constantinople. The Ottomans refuse to countenance any use of "Hellenic" or other Greek-identifying terms to denominate the new territory. The new Peloponnesian Principality claims traditionally Greek lands south of the Gulf of Atra in the west and to the northeast expanding to include much of historic Thessaly. The autonomous Greek principality will be subordinate to the Ottomans in matters of imperial taxation and foreign policy and trade, making it distinct from other Ottoman vassal states such as Moldavia and Wallachia. Pantaleon Levidis is named the first Prince of the Peloponnese and his family will hold control of the region long into the future. For elite Greeks elsewhere in the Ottoman Empire, privileges are lost and they are given the choice to either lose their wealth and prestige or move to the Peloponnese, which most opt to do. The exception is Orthodox Church officials who remain based in Constantinople as the center of Orthodox religious society. The Phanariot boyars also lose power in Moldavia and Wallachia, where they are replaced by Romanian boyars. Other Christian groups in Ottoman Europe, mainly Serbs and Bulgars, receive little from the arrangement, and Austria assents to the Ottoman's demand that their mutual border remain closed to Serbian migrants. For Ottoman Serbs this is the second abandonment by Austria within forty years. By mid-summer 1829 Ottoman military forces have withdrawn from their campaigns in Greece, though Prince Samir's Egyptian troops remain in Rumelia, setting up some tensions between them and the elite Albanian forces that see Ottoman Europe as their realm. The settlement at the Congress of Vienna governs geo-political relations in southeastern Europe for nearly fifty years.
6 May, 1829	Lyons-Mâcon Railway Opens After several years of small-scale experimentation across France, the Saône Railroad Company opens its first intercity commercial line connecting the cities of Lyons and Mâcon with a railway that carries steam-powered locomotives. Though loud, noisy, and expensive the vehicles are viewed by many in France as the future of transportation. King Louis insists on visiting Lyons to observe the vehicle in action and commits royal funds to other nascent railway projects.
October, 1829	Treaty of Fort Oumohon Following the conclusion of the Sioux War, French Louisiana is eager to resume trade and settlement in the vast lands of Upper Louisiana. Prior to the fighting with the Sioux the French had also begun having problems with a number of other native peoples in the west including the Cheyenne and Arikara. Seeking to leverage peace with the Sioux nations into an alliance, Governor-General Louis-André de Pichon calls for a council at Fort Oumohon (OTL Omaha) which he personally attends alongside the leaders of the Sioux nations. He offers ample tribute as well as vaccinations to the Sioux and vowing to respect their autonomy, hunting grounds and game. In return he expects safe passage for French travelers as well as permission for French outposts and settlements. The Sioux agree and also pledge mutual support with France in any conflicts with other native peoples in Upper Louisiana. The treaty also provides for the mutual cooperation of the Sioux in the development of a Louisianan brigade of "Plains Hussars," which will intersect continental Europe and Plains Indian tactics and grow into a formidable fighting force in French America. The alliance proves to be lasting and secures Siouan supremacy in the region as well as France's expansionist goals.

 

[George_Apley]

God is a Frenchman: 1830​

January, 1830	Webster-Fairchild Pact The British Parliament and Dominion Congress sign an agreement to settle economic disputes that have developed as both sides of the Atlantic industrialize and cannibalize each other's markets. The Pact alters the remaining domestic tariffs to allow general free trade with mutual tariffs on particular manufactures designed to promote growth in both Britain and America. The agreement is the brainchild of recently appointed British Chancellor Raphael Fairchild and America Treasury Minister Simeon Webster who symbolically meet both in both Plymouth, England and Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1829 to work on the pact. Fairchild, working under newly elected Whig Prime Minister Lucas Cameron, is part of the economically liberal wing of the party that supports increased free trade, but more protectionist members of his own party as well as among the Americans leads to a relatively complicated system of product-specific tariffs between British and Dominion goods. In particular, duties on machinery and textiles are maintained as a concession to the Compactor Movement in Britain. Additionally, all tariffs on grains are lifted by the pact, a move supported by both the liberal and protectionist wings of the Whig Party and a major plank in the Worker's Compact, but that had been staunchly opposed by the Tories. The pact also sets new enforcement standards for stifling smuggling between French and British territory in the Appalachians and off the New England coast.
March-May, 1830	Rome Uprising Nationalist sentiments in Rome have been festering since the early 1820s as other Italian states begin to progress while the Papal States remain stagnant. Many in Rome and the surrounding countryside rise up against Papal control, seeking either autonomy or to join the Kingdom of Naples. The lack of unity in vision as well as conflicts between moderates and radicals within the movement spell disaster. An ad hoc assembly of moderate reformers meets at the villa of Camilo Borghese, a nobleman who is well-regarded not only by the Bourbon regimes of Naples and France, but also by Church officials. Borghese is seen as a figurehead that can promote compromise between the disparate factions of Roman and Italian activists. He promotes a form of Italian unity under a loose confederation with special privileges for the Holy See. By late-April, 1830 the Casino Borghese Assembly is preparing a document to present to Vatican officials as well as leaders throughout the Italian peninsula. Meanwhile, more radical forces led by men such as Oreste Fusco and Pietro Pierleoni, whip up a fervor in Rome against the exclusive enclave at the Borghese villa. In particular low-born men harmed by a loss of work resulting from cheaply imported manufactures from France form street mobs which converge on the assembly on 29 April. Assemblymen, led by Borghese, emerge from their conclave to meet the demonstrators but are quickly overwhelmed by the agitated mob. Borghese himself is killed in the confusion and in the following days Rome is overwhelmed by violent agitators. Pope Pius VIII, bedridden with severe gout and other ailments, calls on the elite Avignon Guard to muster from their garrison and put down the revolt. Barracked in Rome since the creation of the Holy Alliance, the Avignon Guard are a French unit tasked and drilled to defend the Vatican from any threats to its supremacy in Rome. The guardsmen quickly and violently quell the uprising causing an estimated death toll over over 110. The Uprising has long term consequences on political movements in Italy, leading to a more conservative Church administration, deeper divisions in Italian society, particularly in Rome, and increasing anti-French sentiments among segments of radical reformers driven by the role of the Avignon Guard in the 1830 Uprising.
April, 1830	Japanese Edict on Foreigners Several years after the conclusion of the Gruzdev Affair, Japan's shogunate issues an edict that tightens its controls on foreign trade and admittance to the island nation. While trade had already restricted to Nagasaki, new law demands only permitted vessels be allowed to unload wares and that only permitted Japanese be allowed to interact with foreigners in port. Foreign travel beyond Nagasaki is banned in all circumstances except by special order of the government. The edict also intensifies Japan's own development of its rangaku, or foreign knowledge, insisting on the receipt of particular texts and technologies from foreign merchants for the privilege of trade with Japan.
1830-1849	Papacy of Leo VII Papacy notable for its reactionary retrenchment in the face of Italian nationalism and liberal political movements in the Catholic world. Leo VII claims the moniker after the Rome Uprising and anoints himself defender of the faith and the sovereignty of the Church in Italy. Early reign characterized by several public spats with King Louis over state control of the clergy and education systems. Later forms a strong alliance with King Henri.
July, 1830	Liverpool, Manchester & Birmingham Railway Opens Britain strides into a new era of transportation after several years of smaller-scale experimentation. A railway line connecting Liverpool with the burgeoning industrial centers at Manchester and Birmingham opens in the summer of 1830. The LM&B Railway Company is formed in 1822 by engineer William Lawrence and financed by many merchants and industrialists in the Midlands cities. Over the years of experimentation, testing and surveying the company begins construction on the Liverpool-Manchester leg of the railway in 1826 and the Manchester-Birmingham leg in 1827. By 1830 the three cities are linked and freight and passenger service begins in July, 1830. The government of Prime Minister Cameron is eager to see the further expansion of this game-changing mode of transportation.
September, 1830	Pellicule Photography Presented French artist Florent Pellicule and chemist/inventor Pascal Fontaine publicize their years-long collaboration on printing images on plates by using a light capturing chamber. An image of the industrial cityscape of Lyons is revealed in the salon of the Lyons Society of the Worthy Arts in late-1830. While some critics find the work a "perverse industrial facsimile disguised as fine art," word of Pellicule's images reaches King Louis XVII, who invites the artist to Paris to exhibit a series of his images of urban scenery to Paris's elite, which is exhibited at the Louvre Palace in the spring of 1831. So-called 'pellicules' become popular by the mid-1830s and other artists adapt the technology with new methods and styles moving into mid-century. It becomes in vogue for those with means begin commissioning portraits and King Louis himself becomes the first monarch to sit for a "portrait de lumière" in early-1834.
November, 1830	Sovereignty of the Nation Published Following the suppression of the Rome Uprising a malaise spreads through liberal movements across the countries of the Holy Alliance, particularly the Italian states. Notably, some members of the nobility of the region become increasingly resentful of the dominance of the Church in domestic affairs and France in foreign affairs. The highly publicized role of the Avignon Guard in suppressing the uprising in Rome increases the perception that French meddling pervades the alliance members. In late 1830 a young Genoese nobleman Cesare Cybo Malaspina publishes Souveraineté de la Nation in French and Italian. Writing under the pen name Lysias, his work becomes foundational to what becomes known as the sovereign nationalist movement. The short book makes the argument that people, places, and customs bound together by history and leadership form the sovereign nation, which must determine its own course without undue influence from distant, foreign influences. The recent war in Greece is highlighted in the text and the countries of Europe are scolded for failing to lend further support to the Greeks for fear of, in Lysias's view, inspiring pockets of their own realms to reach for their sovereignty. Though controversial and suppressed in much of the continent, sovereign nationalism becomes a significant undercurrent in European political thought through the rest of the 19th Century.