1796:
Talleyrand has himself appointed as Chief Regent, thus becoming the de facto ruler of France. While he enjoys the ability to generate wealth and attract women (not that he needed much help in that regard), he has no thought whatsoever of securing permanent political control over the country. For all his decadence and corruption, he is a French patriot and sees his rule as guiding the country wisely until Louis XVII comes of age.
In the meantime, he takes over direction of the young king’s education. Louis XVII spends most of the year traveling throughout Europe, learning languages and making connections, all while going through a rigorous course of study. To the confusion of the other members of the Regency Council, who would prefer Louis to spend his time engaging in the frivolous activities traditionally associated with the French royalty, Louis is made to learn law, economics, science and philosophy.
In a naval action against the Barbary pirates of North Africa, Royal Navy captain Horatio Nelson sinks of captures several enemy vessels, becoming a hero in Britain.
The French Reformists are getting increasing attention within France, as their writings spread throughout the middle class. Many nobles and clergy, jealous of their positions and especially their exemption from taxation, are pressuring Talleyrand to crack down on them, but he believes such an effort would only increase the Reformists’ influence and hence by counterproductive.
Austria inflicts a major defeat upon the Turks and captures much territory in the Balkans. Russia enters the war and launches a major campaign to seize territory before the Austrians can reach it.
The Republic of Venice joins the Holy Alliance.
1797:
Under pressure from other members of the Regency Council, Talleyrand issues a protest to Britain regarding the construction of warships in the Dominion of America. The British stall, citing various legal ambiguities regarding whether warships built in the Dominion of America are to be considered part of the Royal Navy. It is hoped that by the time the French force the issue, British naval strength will again be a match for French strength.
The French population explosion spurns colonization efforts. The colony in Australia continues to grow, and an effort to colonize New Zealand is also being considered. In North America, the population of New France is now nearly as large as that of the Dominion of America. Additionally, an increasingly large number of Frenchmen are immigrating to French India, which is increasing in size every year.
Austria and Russia continue to enjoy military successes against the Turks, and the Christian population in the Balkans secretly prepare for the end of Turkish rule.
In response to the British economic revival, Flanders (correctly seen as a French puppet state) passes significant tariffs on British goods passing through Antwerp. While not high enough to prevent British profits, they do siphon off a great deal of British specie into Flemish coffers and make it far easier for French goods to compete with British goods.
1798:
In response to Flemish trade barriers, the British shift their export trade almost entirely to Dutch and Baltic ports, bringing those areas greater prosperity. Furthermore, in order to hurt French trade with other European nations, the British commence “dumping” of various finished goods, which can be produced more cheaply in Britain than in France on account of superior British industrial technology.
French and Flemish merchants are outraged but rather powerless. Their economic prosperity is increasingly dependent on the re-export of luxury items from India and China. The British, for their part, are increasingly reliant on textile goods made in British factories from cotton grown in the southern states of the Dominion of America. The use of slave labor to grow the cotton is increasingly unpopular with many reformist elements in Britain, however.
In August, a petition signed by a large number of prominent Reformists, including several distinguished legal and business leaders, is printed in Paris. It calls for the creation of a “popular assembly” made up of “elected representatives” similar to the institutions in Britain and the Dominion of America. In addition, it calls for an end to the tax exemption of nobles and the Church.
Talleyrand is caught between two fires. On one hand, the conservative nobility wants the petitions arrested and tried. But Talleyrand also knows the increasing importance of the merchant classes to the prosperity of France and hesitates to move against them.
The situation is made worse when low-class citizens of Paris demonstrate in the street in favor of the Petitioners (as the signers immediately become known). The local authorities are terrified and, in breaking up the protest, several people are killed. Things quiet down shortly thereafter, but the situation is tense.
