How a bunch of fat guys falling off horses wrecked the British Empire
- Thread starter Alt History Buff
- Start date
Hmpf...those Shimazu...always looking for trouble.
And is Ryukyu going to continue paying tribute to both the Chinese and Satsuma, or will the Chinese Emperor bother intervening in the matter?
In other developments, I see we're finally getting the long-awaited Invasion of Russia by Napoleon!
OTL there were french trading posts in Algeria since the XVIth century (La Calle, Bastion de France). They were evacuated during the War of the Second Coalition and conquered by the Bey of Constantine.
What happened to these ITTL ? Why the French are not trying to get these back if they had lost them?
Updated Map of Europe, 1828
Note Kingdom of White Russia, Kingdom of Poland, Electorate of Saxony, etc.
Note Kingdom of White Russia, Kingdom of Poland, Electorate of Saxony, etc.
I'm not sure if they would be valuable enough to justify taking back. The French were in poor shape as the Civil Wars were mainly on French soil. Would a few trading posts be worth the effort given the destruction of the French Navy?
Chapter 202
May, 1830
Philadelphia
President Henry Clay was astounded. His own party had cast him aside in the Convention. He knew he was unpopular. The banking crisis of the past year had been blamed upon him. He'd ordered his Secretary of the Treasury to submit a plan to prevent a series of bank collapses, perhaps linking them to the Central Bank (which was holding up well). But the crisis continues and the President, rightly or wrongly, was blamed.
Further, the President's attempts at compromise regarding the freedmen solution merely alienated both sides. One can't straddle the fence on these issues, one must go one way or another. Unfortunately, a man whose primary talents involved legislative gymnastics was not particularly well suited for the more stark responsibilities of the Executive.
The Federationists opted for John Quincy Adams for President in November. Humiliated and betrayed, Clay refused to accept this. Feeling the people remained behind him, Clay announced he would run on an independent ticket. Aghast, his party members begged him not to do this. It would merely split the support and ensure Centralist victory. But Clay was adamant.
What no one knew was that a similar issue would soon emerge from the Centralist Convention. Daniel Webster, the loser of the 1825 convention, was expected to run again. An elitist snob whom made few personal friends, Webster was not exactly loved by the common man. He was also rather anti-Catholic. This cost the party dearly in 1825.
Instead, the Centralists selected Philip Hamilton, the popular General and former Secretary of War under President Copley. He had just been elected in 1828 to his first public office when the people of New York selected him as governor. Unlike many Centralists, Hamilton knew better than to alienate Catholics so openly. He was popular among the large German, French and Irish population of his diverse state. He made few major policy statements beyond a general support for stronger banking (who didn't now?) system, more land grants for freedmen and other westbound settlers (a cheap and easy offer) and a desire for "greater integration" between Brazil and America.
On the latter issue, Clay, as always, attempted to skirt the line. He placated the Brazilians with more local power...but did not offer further integration. Making a defacto colony more powerful while simultaneously separating them politically was not a good long term strategy. As a former governor of Brazil, Hamilton had a special knowledge of the people and felt he knew what they wanted.
Hamilton, however, soon found that Webster would run an independent ticket as well. The 1830 election would be a tavern brawl, not a duel.
August, 1830
Dzungaria
The Muslim peoples of central Asia had crushed a Chinese army generations ago and settled in the southern Mongolian border area. The Emperor found this fact humiliating and desired their expulsion. His victorious foreign General was granted a year to retrain fifty thousand soldiers in the European model and ordered west to deal with the matter. Huge numbers of Mongolian horsemen would join him there. An old man, General Bonaparte was uncertain if he could withstand the rigors of another campaign. But the Emperor had been generous with his rewards, almost lavish.
While in India, he'd started collecting Hindu and Mughal art. Indeed, when the Chinese offered a commission for his services, Bonaparte agreed only if the Chinese would pay for the transport of his art collection. In less than a year, he had nearly filled up a ship. This was taken to China, where the General began gathering up ever more Asian art. His was particularly interested in the old inscriptions chiseled out of stone. One referred to an ancient Emperor being interviewed by perhaps the first Christian in China and formally offering approval for the man to evangelize. Others were of similar interest. He had dozens, no, HUNDREDS of paintings and tapestries. It was traditional for the Emperor to reward generals with lavish officers, estates, etc. As a foreigner, this was unacceptable so the Emperor offered access to his vast forgotten stores of art, most of which had not been seen in decades or even centuries. Bonaparte was also given permission to "acquire" various things of interest around the country over the past few years. The Corsican took liberal advantage of this over the years and really honed his pilferage skill in Nippon. By his best estimates, his warehouses in Beijing probably would fill three or four ships. The Emperor didn't care as Bonaparte always took the treasury in the Emperor's name.
The Corsican employed (at the Emperor's expense) a vast array of translators, scientists, wise men, etc whom helped gather up whatever he wanted. As much of what he wanted did not have much interest to the Emperor, he was given free rein.
The boons would continue as long as Bonaparte continued to win battles. He felt quite confident about the Turkic peoples intruding upon Dzungaria.
In truth, Bonaparte was happier with this service than any other. The French people proved unfaithful to the Revolution. The Italians were weak. The Americans were lazy and entitled. The Marathas were decadent.
The Mandarin Emperor, for all his and his peoples' faults, at least knew his own mind and did not accept any nonsense. If Bonaparte had the good fortune to be born a King, he would have emulated the Emperor. Sadly, he was just a younger son of minor provincial aristocrat. Imagine what he might have been if circumstances had been different.
November, 1830
Philadelphia
The returns were in. America was split.
Philip Hamilton received 38% of the vote, Daniel Webster, 15%, Henry Clay, 23% and John Quincy Adams 24%. While receiving only a plurality of the popular vote, Hamilton did receive 55% of the electoral collage, ensuring that the election would not be thrown to the House of Representatives. He clearly had a mandate though no one understood how powerful.
The Centralists were back in power. Webster offered to "serve" as the President-Elect's Secretary of State but Hamilton pointed out that would be inappropriate as Webster had publicly rejected the Centralists and vowed that the man would never return to the Centralist Hierarchy while he held office.
Even before he took office the following April, Hamilton started working on two issues:
1. He found the best finance minds in the nation, including his retired father, the aged Alexander Hamilton, and asked how to ensure that the series of private bank failures would not be repeated. It had destroyed Clay's Presidency.
2. He dispatched a series of letters to the Brazilian territories to lay the foundation for their future. Thoughtfully worded, the letters presented to the Brazilian people that he viewed their destiny in their hands. He proposed a series of public referendums which would allow the Brazilians to debate and determine what direction they were going to take.
He pointed out that further integration into America, namely applying for statehood, was certainly possible but they would be giving up certain rights to which they had been accustomed as an autonomous territory. They would possess the right to vote for President and elect members to Congress but would be giving up some of their autonomies like taxation, sole control over their customs/tariffs as well as taking on all the rights and responsibilities of the American people at large (military service, etc). Their representatives would make laws that applied to all of America...but all of America would make laws that applied to Brazil. The appointed territorial governor would be replaced by a more powerful locally elected governor. If the Brazilians disliked any law legally passed, then they must endure them until the government and their representatives altered them.
They could not have their cake and eat it too.
Hamilton was a popular figure in Brazil, having supported virtually all local initiatives and desires after taking over for the great James Madison as Governor of Brazil. Had the letter been issued by literally any other American, it may have been received very differently, with more suspicion. Instead, the letter made the Brazilians think, feeling confident that this man had their best interests at heart and were giving them freedom to make their own decisions.
There were plenty of reasons to seek statehood...and plenty not to.
Hamilton vowed that the United States would not press the Brazilian people towards any decision: the status quo, statehood or independence. No bribery or government-sponsored campaign would press the Brazilians. Oh, he quietly and subtly would try to affect the outcome but refrained from public campaigning via the governors (he ordered them to remain aloof to the process provided everything remained peaceful). He ordered the Governors to answer any questions the Legislatures had, eventually this led to Conventions throughout the Brazilian territories.
"Hamilton's Address" would go down in Brazilian history. It was an odd document, a letter to the people, not a government. Modestly written, complimentary to the denizens of the land, it was intended to be understood by the common man. In a stark, military format, document logically and plainly laid out the options: continued "autonomous" governance, statehood and independence. He pointed out that there were advantages and drawbacks to all options.
It ended with a confession that Hamilton possessed a prejudice that the Brazilians seek statehood, not due to the wealth of the southerners but as he felt their collective industry, goodness and wisdom would make them ideal Americans. But always the President-Elect encouraged the people to make the decision among themselves in an open, legal and free manner. He vowed to respect all opinions and suppress none that did not endorse violence.
Some in America were outraged, feeling the Hamilton did not have the right to speak for the nation as a whole even when President, much less President-Elect.
Sadly, Hamilton's father died less than a month before his son's inauguration, fulfilling a dream of the elder man for decades.
May, 1830
Philadelphia
President Henry Clay was astounded. His own party had cast him aside in the Convention. He knew he was unpopular. The banking crisis of the past year had been blamed upon him. He'd ordered his Secretary of the Treasury to submit a plan to prevent a series of bank collapses, perhaps linking them to the Central Bank (which was holding up well). But the crisis continues and the President, rightly or wrongly, was blamed.
Further, the President's attempts at compromise regarding the freedmen solution merely alienated both sides. One can't straddle the fence on these issues, one must go one way or another. Unfortunately, a man whose primary talents involved legislative gymnastics was not particularly well suited for the more stark responsibilities of the Executive.
The Federationists opted for John Quincy Adams for President in November. Humiliated and betrayed, Clay refused to accept this. Feeling the people remained behind him, Clay announced he would run on an independent ticket. Aghast, his party members begged him not to do this. It would merely split the support and ensure Centralist victory. But Clay was adamant.
What no one knew was that a similar issue would soon emerge from the Centralist Convention. Daniel Webster, the loser of the 1825 convention, was expected to run again. An elitist snob whom made few personal friends, Webster was not exactly loved by the common man. He was also rather anti-Catholic. This cost the party dearly in 1825.
Instead, the Centralists selected Philip Hamilton, the popular General and former Secretary of War under President Copley. He had just been elected in 1828 to his first public office when the people of New York selected him as governor. Unlike many Centralists, Hamilton knew better than to alienate Catholics so openly. He was popular among the large German, French and Irish population of his diverse state. He made few major policy statements beyond a general support for stronger banking (who didn't now?) system, more land grants for freedmen and other westbound settlers (a cheap and easy offer) and a desire for "greater integration" between Brazil and America.
On the latter issue, Clay, as always, attempted to skirt the line. He placated the Brazilians with more local power...but did not offer further integration. Making a defacto colony more powerful while simultaneously separating them politically was not a good long term strategy. As a former governor of Brazil, Hamilton had a special knowledge of the people and felt he knew what they wanted.
Hamilton, however, soon found that Webster would run an independent ticket as well. The 1830 election would be a tavern brawl, not a duel.
August, 1830
Dzungaria
The Muslim peoples of central Asia had crushed a Chinese army generations ago and settled in the southern Mongolian border area. The Emperor found this fact humiliating and desired their expulsion. His victorious foreign General was granted a year to retrain fifty thousand soldiers in the European model and ordered west to deal with the matter. Huge numbers of Mongolian horsemen would join him there. An old man, General Bonaparte was uncertain if he could withstand the rigors of another campaign. But the Emperor had been generous with his rewards, almost lavish.
While in India, he'd started collecting Hindu and Mughal art. Indeed, when the Chinese offered a commission for his services, Bonaparte agreed only if the Chinese would pay for the transport of his art collection. In less than a year, he had nearly filled up a ship. This was taken to China, where the General began gathering up ever more Asian art. His was particularly interested in the old inscriptions chiseled out of stone. One referred to an ancient Emperor being interviewed by perhaps the first Christian in China and formally offering approval for the man to evangelize. Others were of similar interest. He had dozens, no, HUNDREDS of paintings and tapestries. It was traditional for the Emperor to reward generals with lavish officers, estates, etc. As a foreigner, this was unacceptable so the Emperor offered access to his vast forgotten stores of art, most of which had not been seen in decades or even centuries. Bonaparte was also given permission to "acquire" various things of interest around the country over the past few years. The Corsican took liberal advantage of this over the years and really honed his pilferage skill in Nippon. By his best estimates, his warehouses in Beijing probably would fill three or four ships. The Emperor didn't care as Bonaparte always took the treasury in the Emperor's name.
The Corsican employed (at the Emperor's expense) a vast array of translators, scientists, wise men, etc whom helped gather up whatever he wanted. As much of what he wanted did not have much interest to the Emperor, he was given free rein.
The boons would continue as long as Bonaparte continued to win battles. He felt quite confident about the Turkic peoples intruding upon Dzungaria.
In truth, Bonaparte was happier with this service than any other. The French people proved unfaithful to the Revolution. The Italians were weak. The Americans were lazy and entitled. The Marathas were decadent.
The Mandarin Emperor, for all his and his peoples' faults, at least knew his own mind and did not accept any nonsense. If Bonaparte had the good fortune to be born a King, he would have emulated the Emperor. Sadly, he was just a younger son of minor provincial aristocrat. Imagine what he might have been if circumstances had been different.
November, 1830
Philadelphia
The returns were in. America was split.
Philip Hamilton received 38% of the vote, Daniel Webster, 15%, Henry Clay, 23% and John Quincy Adams 24%. While receiving only a plurality of the popular vote, Hamilton did receive 55% of the electoral collage, ensuring that the election would not be thrown to the House of Representatives. He clearly had a mandate though no one understood how powerful.
The Centralists were back in power. Webster offered to "serve" as the President-Elect's Secretary of State but Hamilton pointed out that would be inappropriate as Webster had publicly rejected the Centralists and vowed that the man would never return to the Centralist Hierarchy while he held office.
Even before he took office the following April, Hamilton started working on two issues:
1. He found the best finance minds in the nation, including his retired father, the aged Alexander Hamilton, and asked how to ensure that the series of private bank failures would not be repeated. It had destroyed Clay's Presidency.
2. He dispatched a series of letters to the Brazilian territories to lay the foundation for their future. Thoughtfully worded, the letters presented to the Brazilian people that he viewed their destiny in their hands. He proposed a series of public referendums which would allow the Brazilians to debate and determine what direction they were going to take.
He pointed out that further integration into America, namely applying for statehood, was certainly possible but they would be giving up certain rights to which they had been accustomed as an autonomous territory. They would possess the right to vote for President and elect members to Congress but would be giving up some of their autonomies like taxation, sole control over their customs/tariffs as well as taking on all the rights and responsibilities of the American people at large (military service, etc). Their representatives would make laws that applied to all of America...but all of America would make laws that applied to Brazil. The appointed territorial governor would be replaced by a more powerful locally elected governor. If the Brazilians disliked any law legally passed, then they must endure them until the government and their representatives altered them.
They could not have their cake and eat it too.
Hamilton was a popular figure in Brazil, having supported virtually all local initiatives and desires after taking over for the great James Madison as Governor of Brazil. Had the letter been issued by literally any other American, it may have been received very differently, with more suspicion. Instead, the letter made the Brazilians think, feeling confident that this man had their best interests at heart and were giving them freedom to make their own decisions.
There were plenty of reasons to seek statehood...and plenty not to.
Hamilton vowed that the United States would not press the Brazilian people towards any decision: the status quo, statehood or independence. No bribery or government-sponsored campaign would press the Brazilians. Oh, he quietly and subtly would try to affect the outcome but refrained from public campaigning via the governors (he ordered them to remain aloof to the process provided everything remained peaceful). He ordered the Governors to answer any questions the Legislatures had, eventually this led to Conventions throughout the Brazilian territories.
"Hamilton's Address" would go down in Brazilian history. It was an odd document, a letter to the people, not a government. Modestly written, complimentary to the denizens of the land, it was intended to be understood by the common man. In a stark, military format, document logically and plainly laid out the options: continued "autonomous" governance, statehood and independence. He pointed out that there were advantages and drawbacks to all options.
It ended with a confession that Hamilton possessed a prejudice that the Brazilians seek statehood, not due to the wealth of the southerners but as he felt their collective industry, goodness and wisdom would make them ideal Americans. But always the President-Elect encouraged the people to make the decision among themselves in an open, legal and free manner. He vowed to respect all opinions and suppress none that did not endorse violence.
Some in America were outraged, feeling the Hamilton did not have the right to speak for the nation as a whole even when President, much less President-Elect.
Sadly, Hamilton's father died less than a month before his son's inauguration, fulfilling a dream of the elder man for decades.
Just a list of Presidents:
1781 to 1786, 1786 to 1791- Ben Franklin - no official party
1791 to 1796, 1796 to 1801 - George Washington - no official party, generally considered a Centralist
1801 to 1806, 1806 to 1811 - John Jay - Centralist
1811 to 1816 - James Madison - Federationist
1816 to 1821 - Aaron Burr - Federationist
1821 to 1826 - John Copley - Centralist
1826 to 1831 - Henry Clay - Federationist
1831 to ? - Philip Hamilton - Centralist
1781 to 1786, 1786 to 1791- Ben Franklin - no official party
1791 to 1796, 1796 to 1801 - George Washington - no official party, generally considered a Centralist
1801 to 1806, 1806 to 1811 - John Jay - Centralist
1811 to 1816 - James Madison - Federationist
1816 to 1821 - Aaron Burr - Federationist
1821 to 1826 - John Copley - Centralist
1826 to 1831 - Henry Clay - Federationist
1831 to ? - Philip Hamilton - Centralist
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List of British Monarchs of the House of Hanover:
George I - 1714 to 1727
George II - 1727 to 1768
Frederick I - 1768 to 1780
George III - 1780 to 1806
Frederica I - 1806 to present, Regency via Uncle William, Duke of Clarence until 1820, direct reign from 1820 to Present
George I - 1714 to 1727
George II - 1727 to 1768
Frederick I - 1768 to 1780
George III - 1780 to 1806
Frederica I - 1806 to present, Regency via Uncle William, Duke of Clarence until 1820, direct reign from 1820 to Present
OTL France conquered Algeria the same year as your TL intervention.
ITTL France has suffered a civil war, sure, but it was 15 years ago.
OTL they were 15 years after the end of Napoleonic Wars.
So, roughly the same lapse of time to recover from disaster.
Plys, here it's a larger France (+ Belgium and + Piedmont), which has just rebuilt a beginning of decent and modern navy.
I really don't see why they wouldn't attempt to conquer Algerian coast, or at least seize some coastal cities.
I'm not saying that France could not have conquered Algeria, or more, in this TL. However, I don't know if it would be a priority. There were a few reasons why France did what they did in 1830.
1. King Charles X lack of popularity spurred a desire for a war that would make him popular (the war turned out to be popular but not him).
2. A general malaise among the French.
3. A sense of "we have to conquer whatever we can in order to keep up with the hyperpower of the century, Britain" and that includes colonialism.
King Louis Philippe would not have the power or probably the desire to press a war for his own popularity as France, in this TL, is closer to a British constitutional parliamentary democracy. Bad economic times all entirely upon the shoulders of autocrats, not Kings that rubber stamp things.
The French may have a malaise but they would not have an inferiority complex to any European nation in this TL. Britain is weaker, Spain is weak (though they retain some of their colonies, France would not be intimidated), Prussia is broken, even Austria had taken several hits and faced trouble in the Empire.
France was looking pretty secure in this scenario and I don't think a conquer for the sake of conquering war would be a priority.
Also, what did France have to gain in the short term?
In OTL, France eventually exploited Algeria's natural wealth but it took decades, if not a century to do. It would probably take decades just to pay back the costs of the invasion, even accounting for a large amount of pillage. Algeria's population was pretty low at the time and the economy was still partially based upon piracy.
Chapter 203
August, 1831
Philadelphia
President Philip Hamilton faced his share of public resentment over his statements that Brazil would set their own destiny but shrugged his shoulders. He had been among those people. Like the Americans, the Brazilians would not accept foreign domination, not after two decades of democracy. For America to try to restrict this choice would be as futile and counterproductive as the British under Frederick I trying to suppress colonial dissent. Brazil may yet choose to depart America's orbit but it would not require a bloody and expensive war to accomplish. America never conquered Brazil. They helped the Brazilians liberate themselves. That why there were 2500 American soldiers from the Guianas to Bahia who were generally bored. The British had 20,000 from Rio to Buenos Aires and fought every damned day.
Fortunately, there were other things to concentrate on. The banks had ceased to fail shortly before he took office, too late to save Clay. Hamilton had nothing to do with this but reaped the benefits. His Treasury Secretary was working up a bill to prevent such losses in the future including maintaining a certain amount of hard currency on hand, better reporting, insurance paid to the central bank, stringent loaning laws, etc.
It appeared that Arkansaw, Caddo and West Florida had reached the necessary organization and population to achieve statehood. All would likely be approved in the coming months and hold special elections for their representatives. Hamilton had no idea what territory was next. Michigami? Winabago? Maybe later in his term.
There was trouble in politics, though. Neither Clay nor Webster had taken kindly to losing the election or their place in their respective parties. Both were trying to form new factions to challenge the traditional 2 parties. Oddly, their politics were terribly different. However, their personalities were so overwhelming that they could not possibly work together.
In truth, Hamilton did not see overly many truly contentious issues in politics that separated even the two current parties. While the matter of Freedmen's Rights, the Brazilian issue, large-scale immigration all caused significant debate, neither party truly fell on one side or the other of any of these. Hamilton's push for more Catholic grassroots support had broken the last major barrier between the Centralists and Federationists. Many people joked that they should just merge and be done with it.
Hell, maybe Clay and/or Webster SHOULD form a new party if only to keep politics from getting dull.
London
Queen Frederica of Great Britain sometimes took an unladylike interest in manly things. She knew more about rifles, cannon and cricket than most men. She delighted in correcting her ministers on some obscure or esoteric point.
Lately, she had taken a fascination to these new mechanical ships. An American named Isambard Brunel, son of the famous French architect, had built a ship that crossed from New York to London in less than nine days. The Queen was proud to hear her own nation's new steamships would beat that time by two days, if all went well. The HMS Saxon and Norman would sail within the week, spending most of their time under power while some of it only under sail.
If the voyage went well, Queen Frederica had a special plan for her 1832 procession.
Dzungaria
The combination of modern European tactics and weaponry with Mongol cavalry proved quite devastating to the Turkic tribes that had settled the Dzungaria Plain. The Chinese smashed through all defenses as if they were not there, putting the invaders to flight. The Bannermen of the Mongols all volunteered en masse, often ordering their tribes to follow by the tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands. After the Corsican's forces shattered the enemy armies, the Mongols fell upon the civilians and slaughtered without mercy, akin to the Great Khan's harsher campaign. Within a few short years, the invaders would be expelled back to the central Asian plains and Dzungaria returned to the Mongols, though with a large number of Han settlers as well. Over the decades and centuries, the Han would become demographically dominant.
After crushing the Kazaks and Uyghurs of Dzungaria, they turned south into the Tarim Basin, which had been controlled by the Uyghurs for centuries.
Napoleon Bonaparte would add a great deal of Muslim art and artifacts to his collection over the next few years.
August, 1831
Philadelphia
President Philip Hamilton faced his share of public resentment over his statements that Brazil would set their own destiny but shrugged his shoulders. He had been among those people. Like the Americans, the Brazilians would not accept foreign domination, not after two decades of democracy. For America to try to restrict this choice would be as futile and counterproductive as the British under Frederick I trying to suppress colonial dissent. Brazil may yet choose to depart America's orbit but it would not require a bloody and expensive war to accomplish. America never conquered Brazil. They helped the Brazilians liberate themselves. That why there were 2500 American soldiers from the Guianas to Bahia who were generally bored. The British had 20,000 from Rio to Buenos Aires and fought every damned day.
Fortunately, there were other things to concentrate on. The banks had ceased to fail shortly before he took office, too late to save Clay. Hamilton had nothing to do with this but reaped the benefits. His Treasury Secretary was working up a bill to prevent such losses in the future including maintaining a certain amount of hard currency on hand, better reporting, insurance paid to the central bank, stringent loaning laws, etc.
It appeared that Arkansaw, Caddo and West Florida had reached the necessary organization and population to achieve statehood. All would likely be approved in the coming months and hold special elections for their representatives. Hamilton had no idea what territory was next. Michigami? Winabago? Maybe later in his term.
There was trouble in politics, though. Neither Clay nor Webster had taken kindly to losing the election or their place in their respective parties. Both were trying to form new factions to challenge the traditional 2 parties. Oddly, their politics were terribly different. However, their personalities were so overwhelming that they could not possibly work together.
In truth, Hamilton did not see overly many truly contentious issues in politics that separated even the two current parties. While the matter of Freedmen's Rights, the Brazilian issue, large-scale immigration all caused significant debate, neither party truly fell on one side or the other of any of these. Hamilton's push for more Catholic grassroots support had broken the last major barrier between the Centralists and Federationists. Many people joked that they should just merge and be done with it.
Hell, maybe Clay and/or Webster SHOULD form a new party if only to keep politics from getting dull.
London
Queen Frederica of Great Britain sometimes took an unladylike interest in manly things. She knew more about rifles, cannon and cricket than most men. She delighted in correcting her ministers on some obscure or esoteric point.
Lately, she had taken a fascination to these new mechanical ships. An American named Isambard Brunel, son of the famous French architect, had built a ship that crossed from New York to London in less than nine days. The Queen was proud to hear her own nation's new steamships would beat that time by two days, if all went well. The HMS Saxon and Norman would sail within the week, spending most of their time under power while some of it only under sail.
If the voyage went well, Queen Frederica had a special plan for her 1832 procession.
Dzungaria
The combination of modern European tactics and weaponry with Mongol cavalry proved quite devastating to the Turkic tribes that had settled the Dzungaria Plain. The Chinese smashed through all defenses as if they were not there, putting the invaders to flight. The Bannermen of the Mongols all volunteered en masse, often ordering their tribes to follow by the tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands. After the Corsican's forces shattered the enemy armies, the Mongols fell upon the civilians and slaughtered without mercy, akin to the Great Khan's harsher campaign. Within a few short years, the invaders would be expelled back to the central Asian plains and Dzungaria returned to the Mongols, though with a large number of Han settlers as well. Over the decades and centuries, the Han would become demographically dominant.
After crushing the Kazaks and Uyghurs of Dzungaria, they turned south into the Tarim Basin, which had been controlled by the Uyghurs for centuries.
Napoleon Bonaparte would add a great deal of Muslim art and artifacts to his collection over the next few years.
Chapter 204
June, 1832
New York
After a short stay on Ile Royale, Queen Frederica proceeded to America, the first occasion when a visiting European monarch set foot upon western soil (excluding the recently promoted "Kings" of Chile, Peru and New Granada and the exiled Bourbon Kings in Canada).
Over the years, the Queen had managed to perfect her method of hiding the paralysis on the right side of her face. Her eye still drooped slightly but not terribly. She spoke without moving her mouth overly much, thus hiding that one corner never moved.
The people of the United States were enchanted with her genteel good manners and warm (if distant) countenance. She explored Kent Greens (named after her Uncle Edward) and travelled to Philadelphia where she toured the new Presidential Mansion and Halls of Congress (nothing on Westminster, she thought).
After New York, the Queen travelled to West Cuba and then Bermuda rounding out some the main British possessions in North America. Many people urged her to see Jamaica and Barbados, where slavery remained common in hopes that the Queen would vocally support the abolitionist faction in Parliament. However, this was deemed too dangerous. She may have liked to see Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires but her advisors pointed out that the distance would ensure far too many months away from home. No one mentioned the obvious, that rebel activity continued and the Queen's safety was hardly a given.
The Queen's entire trip took three months. It would leave an impression among the Americans, whom had grown distant of late. Nothing improved relations more than the best diplomat the British possessed.
Tarim Basin, northwest China
The Chinese assault on the Tarim Basin went nearly as well as in Dzungaria. The Uyghurs were routed again and again on the battlefield. Mongolian cavalry harried the unprotected villages and the entire west was soon afire. General Bonaparte did not entirely agree with the carnage, it seemed counterproductive, but admired the Emperor's decisiveness in eliminating enemies whom made the mistake of defeating the Chinese in the past. Such things made a bad precedent.
Honshu
While major battles were few, the constant rebellions had prevented regular crop plantings. Famine soon exceeded war as the predominant form of death in Nippon. With the Emperor and his Shogun in gilded Beijing prisons, the people were forced to fight for themselves. With an near inexhaustible supply of soldiers, the Chinese Emperor was willing to wait a few years until the Nipponese problem solved itself. They were dying at a rate so high that the islands would soon be ready for Han colonization.
Kingdom of Mysore, Tamil Empire
The King of Mysore, Emperor of Tamilstan, the head of the Wadiyar Dynasty, formally led the coalition of lesser princes against the Marathas. Of a different ethno-linguistic group, the Tamils and there related peoples had been dominated by the Indo-European speaking peoples for centuries. No more. They gathered in massive armies and battled the Marathas, whom continued to fight poor harvests and unseasonable rains in the north that led to various pestilential outbreaks.
Stockholm
Within three weeks of one another, the King and Queen of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Elector Hanover and Duke and Duchess of Pomerania, died. There were few more popular monarchs in Europe. They had brought a form of British democracy to the northern countries and would be well-remembered for it.
Their eldest son, now into his thirties, King Christian and his Russian wife (daughter of Czar Alexander), would continue many of his programs.
However, Christian would also have a strong interest in the goings-on in Germany. Brandenburg-Prussia had long resented the loss of Pomerania to the House of Hanover and their Mecklenburg cousins. Hanover, Pomerania and Mecklenburg would take the lead in supporting a more unified Germany...just not one under Prussian leadership. Elector Leopold of Saxony, son of Empress Maria Theresa II, would seek an alliance with the northern Protestant powers against Prussia. If there was one piece of territory that the King of Prussia desired (beyond the return of Pomerania and maybe not even that), it was Saxony. Contiguous and Protestant, the King desired this more than Silesia. With the Elector's mother, Maria Theresa, not entirely happy with her son's decision to raise his children Protestant and him backing the push for German unification, he could hardly count upon her support.
June, 1832
New York
After a short stay on Ile Royale, Queen Frederica proceeded to America, the first occasion when a visiting European monarch set foot upon western soil (excluding the recently promoted "Kings" of Chile, Peru and New Granada and the exiled Bourbon Kings in Canada).
Over the years, the Queen had managed to perfect her method of hiding the paralysis on the right side of her face. Her eye still drooped slightly but not terribly. She spoke without moving her mouth overly much, thus hiding that one corner never moved.
The people of the United States were enchanted with her genteel good manners and warm (if distant) countenance. She explored Kent Greens (named after her Uncle Edward) and travelled to Philadelphia where she toured the new Presidential Mansion and Halls of Congress (nothing on Westminster, she thought).
After New York, the Queen travelled to West Cuba and then Bermuda rounding out some the main British possessions in North America. Many people urged her to see Jamaica and Barbados, where slavery remained common in hopes that the Queen would vocally support the abolitionist faction in Parliament. However, this was deemed too dangerous. She may have liked to see Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires but her advisors pointed out that the distance would ensure far too many months away from home. No one mentioned the obvious, that rebel activity continued and the Queen's safety was hardly a given.
The Queen's entire trip took three months. It would leave an impression among the Americans, whom had grown distant of late. Nothing improved relations more than the best diplomat the British possessed.
Tarim Basin, northwest China
The Chinese assault on the Tarim Basin went nearly as well as in Dzungaria. The Uyghurs were routed again and again on the battlefield. Mongolian cavalry harried the unprotected villages and the entire west was soon afire. General Bonaparte did not entirely agree with the carnage, it seemed counterproductive, but admired the Emperor's decisiveness in eliminating enemies whom made the mistake of defeating the Chinese in the past. Such things made a bad precedent.
Honshu
While major battles were few, the constant rebellions had prevented regular crop plantings. Famine soon exceeded war as the predominant form of death in Nippon. With the Emperor and his Shogun in gilded Beijing prisons, the people were forced to fight for themselves. With an near inexhaustible supply of soldiers, the Chinese Emperor was willing to wait a few years until the Nipponese problem solved itself. They were dying at a rate so high that the islands would soon be ready for Han colonization.
Kingdom of Mysore, Tamil Empire
The King of Mysore, Emperor of Tamilstan, the head of the Wadiyar Dynasty, formally led the coalition of lesser princes against the Marathas. Of a different ethno-linguistic group, the Tamils and there related peoples had been dominated by the Indo-European speaking peoples for centuries. No more. They gathered in massive armies and battled the Marathas, whom continued to fight poor harvests and unseasonable rains in the north that led to various pestilential outbreaks.
Stockholm
Within three weeks of one another, the King and Queen of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Elector Hanover and Duke and Duchess of Pomerania, died. There were few more popular monarchs in Europe. They had brought a form of British democracy to the northern countries and would be well-remembered for it.
Their eldest son, now into his thirties, King Christian and his Russian wife (daughter of Czar Alexander), would continue many of his programs.
However, Christian would also have a strong interest in the goings-on in Germany. Brandenburg-Prussia had long resented the loss of Pomerania to the House of Hanover and their Mecklenburg cousins. Hanover, Pomerania and Mecklenburg would take the lead in supporting a more unified Germany...just not one under Prussian leadership. Elector Leopold of Saxony, son of Empress Maria Theresa II, would seek an alliance with the northern Protestant powers against Prussia. If there was one piece of territory that the King of Prussia desired (beyond the return of Pomerania and maybe not even that), it was Saxony. Contiguous and Protestant, the King desired this more than Silesia. With the Elector's mother, Maria Theresa, not entirely happy with her son's decision to raise his children Protestant and him backing the push for German unification, he could hardly count upon her support.
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You're right about the OTL reasons for the start of the war being absent in your TL.
However, here there is also a war (or at least an intervention), despite the lack of the previously mentioned justifications, and I hardly see why the French would walk away from it empty handed.
There is a power vacuum in Western Mediterranean, Algeria is ripe for the taking, France just defeated them with USA, and there is a precedent of French trading posts on the coast (their destiny remain unknown here).
I don't see any power opposing them seizing some ports in Algeria.
I don't see why they wouldn't take the benefit of it.
It is your TL and you lead it where you want, but this point doesn't seem very plausible with my understanding. Please explain me the motivations behind the French walking away empty-handed from the Algerian intervention, as you know it better than me.
Chapter 205
May, 1833
London
The people of Great Britain had largely given up on their Queen marrying. While her disfigurement was only moderate, Frederica stalwartly refused to seek a husband. Fortunately, she had heirs a plenty. Her sister Charlotte and niece Augusta repeatedly visited with the knowledge that they were next in line. Charlotte had failed to conceive again after a miscarriage over six years earlier despite repeated attempts between herself and her husband, Leopold of Lippe. Leopold was disappointed that he may not sire a legitimate heir for Lippe (Salic Law) but when his only child may inherit Great Britain and her sprawling Empire, that was a fine consolation. Eventually, by 1834, Princess Charlotte and Augusta would effectively move to Great Britain, returning only periodically to Lippe. This allowed Charlotte to avoid the embarrassment of seeing her husband with his mistress (and their four bastard sons).
Princess Elizabeth of Waldeck and her daughter Pauline would also frequently visit Britain. Both of the German-born girls were taught English on the chance that they would inherit (looking good for Augusta, unlikely for Pauline). Fortunately, Elizabeth's relationship with her husband, George of Waldeck, was better. He kept his mistresses away from the tiny Waldeck court.
Neither Prince particularly regretted their marriages. The stipend considered minor to the British taxpayer was a massive boon to the Princes of the little German nations.
Philadelphia
President Philip Hamilton was pleased with the latest dispatch. Though the more populous southern territories continued to debate their future, the Guianas bluntly pronounced that, upon reaching the necessary preparations, that they would seek American statehood. This did not necessarily guarantee that Ceara, Pernambuco, Amazonia and Bahia would eventually do the same but he understood the Brazilian mind. There was a certain element of the litter mentality between the territories and, what one wanted, the others would eventually demand. It would be embarrassing if Pernambuco's residents dispatched Senators and Congressmen, elected their own governor and mocked...say...Bahia for not possessing that right. It was human nature.
The Guianas were somewhat unique. They were bought from the Dutch but, within a decade, the lightly populated territory was settled heavily by tens of thousands of Brazilians. Most of the Brazilian peoples considered the territories an integral portion of their polity. This had some dangers but no problems had erupted as of yet and Hamilton thought this could be turned to his advantage.
Tamilstan
The Tamil Army won a shattering victory against the Marathas, sending the Emperor's forces back into headlong retreat back into Maratha territory. The Tamils had been armed to the teeth by British, Dutch, French and assorted other traders whom realized over the years that the hegemonic Maratha Empire would ensure only modest influence by foreigners over the massive population of the Indian subcontinent. This was perhaps the Europeans' (and perhaps Chinese) only chance to halt the continued rise of the Maratha Empire. As the Afghan and Bengal Kingdoms had been defeated and in chaos, only internal civil wars among the Marathas would prevent total control.
Rio Plata
The aging freedom fighter Simon Bolivar led yet another raid to the outskirts of Buenos Aires, disrupting any economic activity. While the British control of the waterway was absolute, the Spanish continued to resist, making the occupation an expensive act of futility. Trade with the region barely...if at all...paid for the cost of the occupation.
The British would march out of Buenos Aires and Montevideo to exact punishment. They won most of the battles but failed to accomplish much of anything.
This did not mean that the Rio Platans were doing well. Economic activity was nil, 600,000 Spanish colonists remained in a moribund, subsistence condition.
Sao Paulo
The British occupation of southern Brazil went nominally better. There was less violence and the British controlled the hinterlands to a better extent. However, that did not mean it was going well.
Southern Brazil was considered the real prize when America and Britain divided up Brazil after the Iberian Wars. Yes, historically, the northern portion, with its sugar plantations, had been the economic driver of Brazil. However, since the 1780's, it was obvious that the future was in the south. The gold, diamonds and metals of the Minas Gereis region would provide both capital and material for the industrial revolution. The global sugar industry had too many booms and busts and it looked like the coffee and cocoa plantations of the south would soon overcome the sugar plantations of the north in good time.
Already, from 1780 to 1812 (when the war occurred), slaves were starting to be sold from north to south where their labor could be used more profitably in the mines than on sugar plantations. Only the war, the cutoff of trade and the eventual end of slavery in the north halted further sales to the south.
This proved a boon to the slaves but destroyed the southern industry even more than the war. The ratio of slaves taken from Africa was always heavily skewed. When average lifespans of slaves in the tropics was about 7 years and it was unlikely that a female slave would live to have children or than the children would survive, no one bothered much with African women. Often the ratio of slaves taken was about 5 to 1.
When the mines of the south required labor, women were even less in demand. In the southern cities, Negro men outnumbered women by two to one. On the coffee plantations, it was four to one. In the mining areas, it was over ten to one.
This created a demographic time bomb. The labor system had been set up on the assumption that a virtual unbroken quantity of slaves may be acquired from either Africa (the Trans-Atlantic trade had been stopped for over twenty years) or from local sources (this had been halted with abolition in northern Brazil more than fifteen years ago). The men of the mines withered with overwork and cruelty, with no replacements in sight.
At the British conquest of southern Brazil in 1817, the demographics looked like this:
900,000 Portuguese (men outnumbered women by only 4 to 3 in this more healthy climate)
100,000 Free Pardo
300,000 Negro/Pardo slaves
100,000 Mestizo
200,000 Indians (estimate)
Total+: 1,600,000
By 1833, this had altered terribly.
700,000 Portuguese - many had returned to Portugal or emigrated to Portuguese Africa or "American Brazil" over the past fifteen years.
120,000 Free Negro/Pardo
130,000 Negro/Pardo slaves (reduction due to historical harsh life of slaves and lack of reproduction due to male/female demographic imbalance as well as some fleeing north)
100,00 Mestizo
180,000 Indians (estimate)
20,000 British
Total: 1,250,000
Unlike "American" Brazil, the British did not encourage immigration from any non-British sources. This would hinder the colony's growth greatly compared to American Brazil, which saw a 1,000,000 soul increase from 1818 to 1833 due to massive European and American immigration, a higher survival rate / birth rate among the Negro/Pardo population. Over 5 times as many Britons immigrated to American Brazil than British Brazil over this 15 year period.
By comparison the "American" Brazil numbers looked like this:
1818
600,000 Portuguese (men outnumbered women by 2 to 1 due to unhealthy climate)
600,000 Negro/Pardo Slaves
250,000 Negro/Pardo Freemen
300,000 Indians (estimate)
50,000 Mestizos
Total:1,800,000
1833
450,000 Portuguese (large number emigrated. Some immigrated from "British Brazil" to make up the numbers. Portuguese Male/female ratio was skewed)
800,000 Negro/Pardo free men (overall drop due to demographic imbalance that would effectively end by 1830's when male/female rations among reproductive age blacks/mulattos reached general equality, some additional immigration by free Negro/Pardo from south and slave escapes from south).
300,000 Indians (estimate)
75,000 Mestizos
650,000 "other" people of European descent (Americans, Cubans, French, British, Germans, Russians, Poles, Jews, Italians, etc. An estimated 50,000 immigrants per year would flock to "American" Brazil. Male/female ratio would remained skewed for several decades).
Total: 2,250,000
May, 1833
London
The people of Great Britain had largely given up on their Queen marrying. While her disfigurement was only moderate, Frederica stalwartly refused to seek a husband. Fortunately, she had heirs a plenty. Her sister Charlotte and niece Augusta repeatedly visited with the knowledge that they were next in line. Charlotte had failed to conceive again after a miscarriage over six years earlier despite repeated attempts between herself and her husband, Leopold of Lippe. Leopold was disappointed that he may not sire a legitimate heir for Lippe (Salic Law) but when his only child may inherit Great Britain and her sprawling Empire, that was a fine consolation. Eventually, by 1834, Princess Charlotte and Augusta would effectively move to Great Britain, returning only periodically to Lippe. This allowed Charlotte to avoid the embarrassment of seeing her husband with his mistress (and their four bastard sons).
Princess Elizabeth of Waldeck and her daughter Pauline would also frequently visit Britain. Both of the German-born girls were taught English on the chance that they would inherit (looking good for Augusta, unlikely for Pauline). Fortunately, Elizabeth's relationship with her husband, George of Waldeck, was better. He kept his mistresses away from the tiny Waldeck court.
Neither Prince particularly regretted their marriages. The stipend considered minor to the British taxpayer was a massive boon to the Princes of the little German nations.
Philadelphia
President Philip Hamilton was pleased with the latest dispatch. Though the more populous southern territories continued to debate their future, the Guianas bluntly pronounced that, upon reaching the necessary preparations, that they would seek American statehood. This did not necessarily guarantee that Ceara, Pernambuco, Amazonia and Bahia would eventually do the same but he understood the Brazilian mind. There was a certain element of the litter mentality between the territories and, what one wanted, the others would eventually demand. It would be embarrassing if Pernambuco's residents dispatched Senators and Congressmen, elected their own governor and mocked...say...Bahia for not possessing that right. It was human nature.
The Guianas were somewhat unique. They were bought from the Dutch but, within a decade, the lightly populated territory was settled heavily by tens of thousands of Brazilians. Most of the Brazilian peoples considered the territories an integral portion of their polity. This had some dangers but no problems had erupted as of yet and Hamilton thought this could be turned to his advantage.
Tamilstan
The Tamil Army won a shattering victory against the Marathas, sending the Emperor's forces back into headlong retreat back into Maratha territory. The Tamils had been armed to the teeth by British, Dutch, French and assorted other traders whom realized over the years that the hegemonic Maratha Empire would ensure only modest influence by foreigners over the massive population of the Indian subcontinent. This was perhaps the Europeans' (and perhaps Chinese) only chance to halt the continued rise of the Maratha Empire. As the Afghan and Bengal Kingdoms had been defeated and in chaos, only internal civil wars among the Marathas would prevent total control.
Rio Plata
The aging freedom fighter Simon Bolivar led yet another raid to the outskirts of Buenos Aires, disrupting any economic activity. While the British control of the waterway was absolute, the Spanish continued to resist, making the occupation an expensive act of futility. Trade with the region barely...if at all...paid for the cost of the occupation.
The British would march out of Buenos Aires and Montevideo to exact punishment. They won most of the battles but failed to accomplish much of anything.
This did not mean that the Rio Platans were doing well. Economic activity was nil, 600,000 Spanish colonists remained in a moribund, subsistence condition.
Sao Paulo
The British occupation of southern Brazil went nominally better. There was less violence and the British controlled the hinterlands to a better extent. However, that did not mean it was going well.
Southern Brazil was considered the real prize when America and Britain divided up Brazil after the Iberian Wars. Yes, historically, the northern portion, with its sugar plantations, had been the economic driver of Brazil. However, since the 1780's, it was obvious that the future was in the south. The gold, diamonds and metals of the Minas Gereis region would provide both capital and material for the industrial revolution. The global sugar industry had too many booms and busts and it looked like the coffee and cocoa plantations of the south would soon overcome the sugar plantations of the north in good time.
Already, from 1780 to 1812 (when the war occurred), slaves were starting to be sold from north to south where their labor could be used more profitably in the mines than on sugar plantations. Only the war, the cutoff of trade and the eventual end of slavery in the north halted further sales to the south.
This proved a boon to the slaves but destroyed the southern industry even more than the war. The ratio of slaves taken from Africa was always heavily skewed. When average lifespans of slaves in the tropics was about 7 years and it was unlikely that a female slave would live to have children or than the children would survive, no one bothered much with African women. Often the ratio of slaves taken was about 5 to 1.
When the mines of the south required labor, women were even less in demand. In the southern cities, Negro men outnumbered women by two to one. On the coffee plantations, it was four to one. In the mining areas, it was over ten to one.
This created a demographic time bomb. The labor system had been set up on the assumption that a virtual unbroken quantity of slaves may be acquired from either Africa (the Trans-Atlantic trade had been stopped for over twenty years) or from local sources (this had been halted with abolition in northern Brazil more than fifteen years ago). The men of the mines withered with overwork and cruelty, with no replacements in sight.
At the British conquest of southern Brazil in 1817, the demographics looked like this:
900,000 Portuguese (men outnumbered women by only 4 to 3 in this more healthy climate)
100,000 Free Pardo
300,000 Negro/Pardo slaves
100,000 Mestizo
200,000 Indians (estimate)
Total+: 1,600,000
By 1833, this had altered terribly.
700,000 Portuguese - many had returned to Portugal or emigrated to Portuguese Africa or "American Brazil" over the past fifteen years.
120,000 Free Negro/Pardo
130,000 Negro/Pardo slaves (reduction due to historical harsh life of slaves and lack of reproduction due to male/female demographic imbalance as well as some fleeing north)
100,00 Mestizo
180,000 Indians (estimate)
20,000 British
Total: 1,250,000
Unlike "American" Brazil, the British did not encourage immigration from any non-British sources. This would hinder the colony's growth greatly compared to American Brazil, which saw a 1,000,000 soul increase from 1818 to 1833 due to massive European and American immigration, a higher survival rate / birth rate among the Negro/Pardo population. Over 5 times as many Britons immigrated to American Brazil than British Brazil over this 15 year period.
By comparison the "American" Brazil numbers looked like this:
1818
600,000 Portuguese (men outnumbered women by 2 to 1 due to unhealthy climate)
600,000 Negro/Pardo Slaves
250,000 Negro/Pardo Freemen
300,000 Indians (estimate)
50,000 Mestizos
Total:1,800,000
1833
450,000 Portuguese (large number emigrated. Some immigrated from "British Brazil" to make up the numbers. Portuguese Male/female ratio was skewed)
800,000 Negro/Pardo free men (overall drop due to demographic imbalance that would effectively end by 1830's when male/female rations among reproductive age blacks/mulattos reached general equality, some additional immigration by free Negro/Pardo from south and slave escapes from south).
300,000 Indians (estimate)
75,000 Mestizos
650,000 "other" people of European descent (Americans, Cubans, French, British, Germans, Russians, Poles, Jews, Italians, etc. An estimated 50,000 immigrants per year would flock to "American" Brazil. Male/female ratio would remained skewed for several decades).
Total: 2,250,000
Chapter 206
May, 1834
London
After many fits and starts, the Tories admitted that they did not have an adequate command of the Commons to remain in power. Lord Grey had gone into retirement and was replaced by a young Whig named Melbourne. The Tories, believing that Melbourne would prove a weak leader, issued every effort to pry away members of his coalition. Still, the young Melbourne gripped the Commons by his fingernails.
The old guard of the Tories were either dying or retiring (Percival, Liverpool, Canning, Castlereigh). It would be a new generation to challenge the Whigs.
Philadelphia
President Hamilton read the latest dispatch with a hint of pleasure. Yes, the convention Pernambuco had presented a list of "requests" regarding information on statehood, most notably any exemptions regarding the normal powers between the national government and states. Hamilton would reply, with diplomacy, that certain terms could not be met related to unique tariff policies. This was a deal breaker for the United States and would never be agreed by Congress. He suspected they knew that well enough.
But other items were more vague. What of language? There was no mention of language in in the Constitution or any part of government. It was just assumed that English would be taught. However, the schools still arising in Brazil were teaching mainly Portuguese. He would reply that the primary language would be up to the states except those legal documents related to the national government (tax remittances, etc). He recommended that English be taught, at the very least, as a second language.
For the most part, these responses would be accepted. In the fall, during the local Brazilian territorial legislative elections, the formal ballets for statehood based upon these quiet negotiations would be placed before the voters.
Hamilton wanted Brazil as part of America but could not concede certain issues. He just hoped he offered enough.
North Africa
It had been decades since the Ottoman had any real authority in North Africa. While the Maghreb largely maintained at least the pretense, Egypt did not. After several failed attempts to pry the rebellious Levant from the Russians, the Egyptians soon sought to make themselves the true heirs to Islam. Nominally, Mecca and Medina retained loyalty to the Sultan. In all reality, the Egyptian military might ensured their control of the area.
Many centuries ago, the Arab cavalry spread across North Africa like wildfire, seizing Egypt and then moving all the way to Spain, converting the Berber-speaking Christian population in a generally short period of time. Arabic-speaking administrators would convert the educated classes and rule the cities. Eventually, the Ottoman Empire would rise and assume control over much of North Africa, though often only through validating local rulers and negotiating between factions. The Ottoman, for centuries, was unquestionably the leader of Islam.
The Egyptians similarly sought to unite the "Arab World" under their banner, pointing out that Turks are not Arabs: they spoke a different language, used a different script. The Turks were late comers to Islam, uncivilized thugs whom conquered other Muslims. Eventually, both the Sultan and the Dey of Egypt would seek to reestablish hegemony over North Africa from Tripoli to Marrakech. As the great cities fell one by one to rivalries, infighting and, finally, tribal rebellions, the Ottoman/Egyptian rivalry grew to such an extent that they started arming and funding various factions across North Africa, each claiming to be the real leaders of the Islamic World.
When the Ottoman was crushed by the Russians and Austrians, then faced defeat by Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt, their control over the Maghreb became entirely nominal. When the troubles of the 1830's occurred, the final nail was put in the coffin of Turkish Hegemony. While there were hundreds of thousands of Turks and their often mixed race descendants present in North Africa, they were usually ejected from power and often subjected to purges by Arab speaking gentry or dynastic claimants whom did not desire any potential rivals. Their remnant of power soon evaporated.
Eventually, the Ottomans would attempt to reestablish power by supporting various candidates in conflict with the Egyptians. The latter had the advantage of speaking a variety of Arabic, though they used a different script to write it. The Europeans, to a lesser extent, would also support various candidates. All foreign parties would occasionally blockade or attack a port city which had offended them. This kept the interior cut off to trade and maintain a system of chaos that went on for decades.
What no outside power, even the Muslim nations, understood was the majority of the North African population did not speak Arabic. Among the Berber peoples, the language was a symbol of "outsideness" regardless of the religious connotation.
Generally, the Berber languages were most often spoken in the country while Arabic was spoken in the cities. This greatly simplifies the matter. There were plenty of exceptions to this rule in either direction. But the Berbers started to think of their own language as the prime marker of their identity. The Ottoman, no less than Europeans or Egyptians, were foreigners and anathema to the locals whom blamed them for their regional troubles.
Now broken into over a dozen significant city states surrounded by increasingly restive country and mountain tribesmen, the bulk of North Africa descended into chaos in a multi-vector war that no one within or without North Africa understood.
May, 1834
London
After many fits and starts, the Tories admitted that they did not have an adequate command of the Commons to remain in power. Lord Grey had gone into retirement and was replaced by a young Whig named Melbourne. The Tories, believing that Melbourne would prove a weak leader, issued every effort to pry away members of his coalition. Still, the young Melbourne gripped the Commons by his fingernails.
The old guard of the Tories were either dying or retiring (Percival, Liverpool, Canning, Castlereigh). It would be a new generation to challenge the Whigs.
Philadelphia
President Hamilton read the latest dispatch with a hint of pleasure. Yes, the convention Pernambuco had presented a list of "requests" regarding information on statehood, most notably any exemptions regarding the normal powers between the national government and states. Hamilton would reply, with diplomacy, that certain terms could not be met related to unique tariff policies. This was a deal breaker for the United States and would never be agreed by Congress. He suspected they knew that well enough.
But other items were more vague. What of language? There was no mention of language in in the Constitution or any part of government. It was just assumed that English would be taught. However, the schools still arising in Brazil were teaching mainly Portuguese. He would reply that the primary language would be up to the states except those legal documents related to the national government (tax remittances, etc). He recommended that English be taught, at the very least, as a second language.
For the most part, these responses would be accepted. In the fall, during the local Brazilian territorial legislative elections, the formal ballets for statehood based upon these quiet negotiations would be placed before the voters.
Hamilton wanted Brazil as part of America but could not concede certain issues. He just hoped he offered enough.
North Africa
It had been decades since the Ottoman had any real authority in North Africa. While the Maghreb largely maintained at least the pretense, Egypt did not. After several failed attempts to pry the rebellious Levant from the Russians, the Egyptians soon sought to make themselves the true heirs to Islam. Nominally, Mecca and Medina retained loyalty to the Sultan. In all reality, the Egyptian military might ensured their control of the area.
Many centuries ago, the Arab cavalry spread across North Africa like wildfire, seizing Egypt and then moving all the way to Spain, converting the Berber-speaking Christian population in a generally short period of time. Arabic-speaking administrators would convert the educated classes and rule the cities. Eventually, the Ottoman Empire would rise and assume control over much of North Africa, though often only through validating local rulers and negotiating between factions. The Ottoman, for centuries, was unquestionably the leader of Islam.
The Egyptians similarly sought to unite the "Arab World" under their banner, pointing out that Turks are not Arabs: they spoke a different language, used a different script. The Turks were late comers to Islam, uncivilized thugs whom conquered other Muslims. Eventually, both the Sultan and the Dey of Egypt would seek to reestablish hegemony over North Africa from Tripoli to Marrakech. As the great cities fell one by one to rivalries, infighting and, finally, tribal rebellions, the Ottoman/Egyptian rivalry grew to such an extent that they started arming and funding various factions across North Africa, each claiming to be the real leaders of the Islamic World.
When the Ottoman was crushed by the Russians and Austrians, then faced defeat by Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt, their control over the Maghreb became entirely nominal. When the troubles of the 1830's occurred, the final nail was put in the coffin of Turkish Hegemony. While there were hundreds of thousands of Turks and their often mixed race descendants present in North Africa, they were usually ejected from power and often subjected to purges by Arab speaking gentry or dynastic claimants whom did not desire any potential rivals. Their remnant of power soon evaporated.
Eventually, the Ottomans would attempt to reestablish power by supporting various candidates in conflict with the Egyptians. The latter had the advantage of speaking a variety of Arabic, though they used a different script to write it. The Europeans, to a lesser extent, would also support various candidates. All foreign parties would occasionally blockade or attack a port city which had offended them. This kept the interior cut off to trade and maintain a system of chaos that went on for decades.
What no outside power, even the Muslim nations, understood was the majority of the North African population did not speak Arabic. Among the Berber peoples, the language was a symbol of "outsideness" regardless of the religious connotation.
Generally, the Berber languages were most often spoken in the country while Arabic was spoken in the cities. This greatly simplifies the matter. There were plenty of exceptions to this rule in either direction. But the Berbers started to think of their own language as the prime marker of their identity. The Ottoman, no less than Europeans or Egyptians, were foreigners and anathema to the locals whom blamed them for their regional troubles.
Now broken into over a dozen significant city states surrounded by increasingly restive country and mountain tribesmen, the bulk of North Africa descended into chaos in a multi-vector war that no one within or without North Africa understood.
Chapter 207
April, 1835
London
Queen Frederica nodded with regret as she accepted Lord Melbourne's seals of office. The Whigs had fallen, their majority in Parliament lost. Honestly, she was surprised it took so long.
It was the Corn Laws that did the Whigs in. Both parties were separated into Protectionist and Free Trade wings. The Tories had successful broken the Whigs in two. Now the question was if the Whigs would return the favor. Both wings were to be represented in the new Tory government.
The Queen also regretted that the proposed fall legislation would not see the light of day. Melbourne intended to propose an Emancipation Bill, which would phase out slavery in the colonies. Jamaica possessed only about 90,000 slaves these days, even with a minor number transported from Brazil and Rio Plata to augment the numbers. There was also a short term bump when several thousand slaves from Cuba were transported just after the conquest of the eastern third of that island from Spain. Most of the slaves remaining in British Western Cuba fled to the American Eastern Cuba, which had liberated their slaves at the conquest. It soon became apparent that it would be impossible to keep the remainder on the plantations so Britain eventually liberated theirs on that island. Barbados housed about 50,000 slaves. The population of both islands, Jamaica and Barbados, had been dropping for decades due to the end of the African trade. The only reason the populations remained as high as they were was the influx of American slaves privately exported from 1790 to 1820.
The Tories didn't seem to care overly much about the slave trade. William, Duke of Clarence, had been famously indifferent to the institution during his Regency.
Now it appeared that Slavery would endure a few years longer. Lord Aberdeen apparently did not consider it a priority.
Philadelphia
The Centralist Convention was merely a matter of form. Philip Hamilton was popular enough, the economy was in good shape. There was no reason to change horses.
The Federationists were in chaos. Few particularly strong candidates presented themselves. Henry Clay sought the nomination but would find himself snubbed due to his renegade solo run in 1830.
He had failed to form a third party as his political views did not vary greatly from the two major powers. Daniel Webster would find the same. In the end, parties were founded around issues, not men.
President Hamilton had received formal requests via the Conventions of Pernambuco and Ceara to join the Union as states. This would prove a primary issue in the upcoming campaign. There were objections to non-English, Catholic territories joining the nation on such an official basis. In truth, Van Buren did not oppose this but Hamilton was nevertheless attacked in the election.
Beijing
General Napoleon Bonaparte at last returned to the Capital to be honored by the Emperor. As usual, he had to bow and scrape but, fortunately, as a foreigner he did not have much direct access to the Emperor. His minions rewarded Bonaparte instead. As usual, the Chinese paid well for his services.
Now in his mid-sixties, the General was done. In poor health, he had nothing further to give to the Emperor. Fortunately, the Emperor offered several chestloads of gold, which Bonaparte accepted as his due. In truth, the Emperor would have given far more to a Chinese General but Bonaparte WAS a barbarian, after all. Best to reward the man and be rid of him. He'd done his job.
Perhaps more importantly, Bonaparte had...secured...an unfathomable amount of Indian, Chinese, Nipponese and Uyghur art, books and associated scrolls (literally tens of thousands). The Emperor, as agreed, allowed him to take them wherever he wanted.
The problem was, where to go?
Bonaparte was proscribed in France, his name still banned. His brother Lucien, a high government official, had never once attempted to request a pardon from the King of France, something probably easily given if requested.
Bonaparte had walked away from his command in New Spain while serving the Americans. Technically this was a crime but he doubted anyone in America would care after so long. Officers resigning their commissions was common, even when they did not follow the procedure. As a foreigner, Bonaparte should receive even more leeway. He doubted he would even be called before the General Staff should he retire to America.
There were still a number of traders attempting to ship goods into China. Bonaparte gathered up four promising, well-built ships and hired them to sail to America. He filled up much of the holds with his ill-gotten goods. He also purchased large quantities of Chinese porcelain with his gold, as well as some fine silks, tea, etc. Purchased with the gold provided by the Emperor, these could be sold for a high profit in America. Soon, it was realized that a mere four ships would not carry his vast collection of art and artifacts as well as his trade goods so he hired two more vessels.
In June of 1835, Napoleon Bonaparte departed for the only home he thought would take him.
April, 1835
London
Queen Frederica nodded with regret as she accepted Lord Melbourne's seals of office. The Whigs had fallen, their majority in Parliament lost. Honestly, she was surprised it took so long.
It was the Corn Laws that did the Whigs in. Both parties were separated into Protectionist and Free Trade wings. The Tories had successful broken the Whigs in two. Now the question was if the Whigs would return the favor. Both wings were to be represented in the new Tory government.
The Queen also regretted that the proposed fall legislation would not see the light of day. Melbourne intended to propose an Emancipation Bill, which would phase out slavery in the colonies. Jamaica possessed only about 90,000 slaves these days, even with a minor number transported from Brazil and Rio Plata to augment the numbers. There was also a short term bump when several thousand slaves from Cuba were transported just after the conquest of the eastern third of that island from Spain. Most of the slaves remaining in British Western Cuba fled to the American Eastern Cuba, which had liberated their slaves at the conquest. It soon became apparent that it would be impossible to keep the remainder on the plantations so Britain eventually liberated theirs on that island. Barbados housed about 50,000 slaves. The population of both islands, Jamaica and Barbados, had been dropping for decades due to the end of the African trade. The only reason the populations remained as high as they were was the influx of American slaves privately exported from 1790 to 1820.
The Tories didn't seem to care overly much about the slave trade. William, Duke of Clarence, had been famously indifferent to the institution during his Regency.
Now it appeared that Slavery would endure a few years longer. Lord Aberdeen apparently did not consider it a priority.
Philadelphia
The Centralist Convention was merely a matter of form. Philip Hamilton was popular enough, the economy was in good shape. There was no reason to change horses.
The Federationists were in chaos. Few particularly strong candidates presented themselves. Henry Clay sought the nomination but would find himself snubbed due to his renegade solo run in 1830.
He had failed to form a third party as his political views did not vary greatly from the two major powers. Daniel Webster would find the same. In the end, parties were founded around issues, not men.
President Hamilton had received formal requests via the Conventions of Pernambuco and Ceara to join the Union as states. This would prove a primary issue in the upcoming campaign. There were objections to non-English, Catholic territories joining the nation on such an official basis. In truth, Van Buren did not oppose this but Hamilton was nevertheless attacked in the election.
Beijing
General Napoleon Bonaparte at last returned to the Capital to be honored by the Emperor. As usual, he had to bow and scrape but, fortunately, as a foreigner he did not have much direct access to the Emperor. His minions rewarded Bonaparte instead. As usual, the Chinese paid well for his services.
Now in his mid-sixties, the General was done. In poor health, he had nothing further to give to the Emperor. Fortunately, the Emperor offered several chestloads of gold, which Bonaparte accepted as his due. In truth, the Emperor would have given far more to a Chinese General but Bonaparte WAS a barbarian, after all. Best to reward the man and be rid of him. He'd done his job.
Perhaps more importantly, Bonaparte had...secured...an unfathomable amount of Indian, Chinese, Nipponese and Uyghur art, books and associated scrolls (literally tens of thousands). The Emperor, as agreed, allowed him to take them wherever he wanted.
The problem was, where to go?
Bonaparte was proscribed in France, his name still banned. His brother Lucien, a high government official, had never once attempted to request a pardon from the King of France, something probably easily given if requested.
Bonaparte had walked away from his command in New Spain while serving the Americans. Technically this was a crime but he doubted anyone in America would care after so long. Officers resigning their commissions was common, even when they did not follow the procedure. As a foreigner, Bonaparte should receive even more leeway. He doubted he would even be called before the General Staff should he retire to America.
There were still a number of traders attempting to ship goods into China. Bonaparte gathered up four promising, well-built ships and hired them to sail to America. He filled up much of the holds with his ill-gotten goods. He also purchased large quantities of Chinese porcelain with his gold, as well as some fine silks, tea, etc. Purchased with the gold provided by the Emperor, these could be sold for a high profit in America. Soon, it was realized that a mere four ships would not carry his vast collection of art and artifacts as well as his trade goods so he hired two more vessels.
In June of 1835, Napoleon Bonaparte departed for the only home he thought would take him.
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Chapter 208
April, 1836
Philadelphia
President Philip Hamilton sat through the five year anniversary of his inauguration and looked forward to the next five years. He had been reelected with a large mandate.
Various members of Congress had filibustered the Brazilian admission until the previous election. Afterwards, no one bothered to oppose Pernambuco and Ceara's application for statehood. The new states would be holding special elections next month and seat their first representatives in Congress and the Senate in July. Bahia had a few hiccups in their own progression but there was the expectation that they would eventually formally request statehood.
This was driven home only weeks later when the largest rebellion in year erupted in Minas Gerais. Outraged when a British officer beat a Portuguese farmer, hundreds of inland planters rose up and were brutally put down by the British army. Only a few dozen lives were lost but refugees fled into Bahia, bringing the news (a big exaggerated).
Coincidently, a demonstration for expanded Legislative power was crushed by King Francisco of New Granada.
The people of Bahia realized the nature of their neighbors and America started to appear the lesser of multiple evils to even the most opposed to statehood.
Hamilton knew that nothing would be easy going forward. The distance and differences between the Brazilians and Americans were huge. No doubt there would be Negros and/or Pardos in Congress. The fall session would be interesting to say the least.
Baltimore
General Napoleon Bonaparte had been correct when he presumed no one in the American military would seek punishment for Bonaparte's abandoning his post all those years ago. He hadn't done it in combat so it was forgotten.
However, he had not been.
The soldier's odyssey throughout the world had become the stuff of legend. Reporters, young soldiers, etc flocked to his recently purchased home to hear stories of India and Nippon and China and even more exotic places. They ooooh'd and aaaaw'd over his vast collection of art, which took up three warehouses. He hired several educated men just to sort through it. Fortunately, his scientists and wise men from Asia had properly labeled everything...though sometimes in Chinese. He was forced to find someone who had studied the language.
Fortunately, the old man was not without relatives. Jerome, his youngest brother, had married an American woman when he was in exile after the failed republican revolution in France. A very WEALTHY American woman. They had six children and lived outside of Baltimore. For lack of any other reason, Bonaparte settled in the city. He grew quite fond of his nieces and nephews as the years went on.
In late 1836, it was announced that the Smithsonian Building in Philadelphia was nearing completion. Evidently, some wealthy Briton with no ties to America that anyone was aware of, opted to bequest his fortune to the United States for the purpose of creative a "Center for Knowledge". Maybe he thought they were stupid.
Bonaparte had just received bad news. His doctor believed he had some sort of cancer of the stomach and would not likely live overly long. Maybe months. Maybe a few years. It was impossible to tell.
Most of the General's money was left to his brother, Jerome, the only family member that apparently would speak to him. His elder brother Joseph had died years before and the two had never gotten along anyway. Louis had died in the Revolution. Lucien had taken the House of Bourbon's silver and returned to monarchy.
Bonaparte decided to leave his enormous art, historical artifacts and scientific goods to the nation. There had been a series of art museums created over the years by Mr. Brunel, who also designed the new Smithsonian institution.
April, 1836
Philadelphia
President Philip Hamilton sat through the five year anniversary of his inauguration and looked forward to the next five years. He had been reelected with a large mandate.
Various members of Congress had filibustered the Brazilian admission until the previous election. Afterwards, no one bothered to oppose Pernambuco and Ceara's application for statehood. The new states would be holding special elections next month and seat their first representatives in Congress and the Senate in July. Bahia had a few hiccups in their own progression but there was the expectation that they would eventually formally request statehood.
This was driven home only weeks later when the largest rebellion in year erupted in Minas Gerais. Outraged when a British officer beat a Portuguese farmer, hundreds of inland planters rose up and were brutally put down by the British army. Only a few dozen lives were lost but refugees fled into Bahia, bringing the news (a big exaggerated).
Coincidently, a demonstration for expanded Legislative power was crushed by King Francisco of New Granada.
The people of Bahia realized the nature of their neighbors and America started to appear the lesser of multiple evils to even the most opposed to statehood.
Hamilton knew that nothing would be easy going forward. The distance and differences between the Brazilians and Americans were huge. No doubt there would be Negros and/or Pardos in Congress. The fall session would be interesting to say the least.
Baltimore
General Napoleon Bonaparte had been correct when he presumed no one in the American military would seek punishment for Bonaparte's abandoning his post all those years ago. He hadn't done it in combat so it was forgotten.
However, he had not been.
The soldier's odyssey throughout the world had become the stuff of legend. Reporters, young soldiers, etc flocked to his recently purchased home to hear stories of India and Nippon and China and even more exotic places. They ooooh'd and aaaaw'd over his vast collection of art, which took up three warehouses. He hired several educated men just to sort through it. Fortunately, his scientists and wise men from Asia had properly labeled everything...though sometimes in Chinese. He was forced to find someone who had studied the language.
Fortunately, the old man was not without relatives. Jerome, his youngest brother, had married an American woman when he was in exile after the failed republican revolution in France. A very WEALTHY American woman. They had six children and lived outside of Baltimore. For lack of any other reason, Bonaparte settled in the city. He grew quite fond of his nieces and nephews as the years went on.
In late 1836, it was announced that the Smithsonian Building in Philadelphia was nearing completion. Evidently, some wealthy Briton with no ties to America that anyone was aware of, opted to bequest his fortune to the United States for the purpose of creative a "Center for Knowledge". Maybe he thought they were stupid.
Bonaparte had just received bad news. His doctor believed he had some sort of cancer of the stomach and would not likely live overly long. Maybe months. Maybe a few years. It was impossible to tell.
Most of the General's money was left to his brother, Jerome, the only family member that apparently would speak to him. His elder brother Joseph had died years before and the two had never gotten along anyway. Louis had died in the Revolution. Lucien had taken the House of Bourbon's silver and returned to monarchy.
Bonaparte decided to leave his enormous art, historical artifacts and scientific goods to the nation. There had been a series of art museums created over the years by Mr. Brunel, who also designed the new Smithsonian institution.