Part #2: Rango
From “Peter the Great – Founding of a Modern Russia” by Trevor Marrid
At the beginning, Alexei's disappearance was not recognized; poor roads and communication could account for a delay of weeks. Nevertheless, it quickly became clear that the Peter had lost control of the heir to the throne. In January of 1717 he ordered Abraham Veselovsky, his ambassador to Great Britain, to search the country for Alexei[1].
Reinforcement for Veselovsky arrived in the form of the Captain of Peter's Guards, one Rumyantsov. Largely by bribery, they had discovered Alexei's hideout in a Scottish castle by March of 1717. Peter sent one Pyotr Tolstoy, a member of the Russian Senate and former ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, to retrieve Alexei.[2]
However, Alexei was then simply moved, resulting in a complicated cat-and-goose chase which ended with Tolstoy and Alexei seeing each other face-to-face in September of 1717; ironically, in the very same building Alexei had lived during the beginning of his exile.
Not only did Tolstoy's original beseechments[3] proved fruitless, but Alexei finally complained to the English[4] government. Although Parliament originally wanted to simply return him to Russia, King George I claimed that he would move him to Hanover before such a thing would occur.
When examining George I, one must always keep in mind that for him, England[5] was a tool with which to further Hanover; not the other way around; and the rise of Russia threatened Hanover's own position.
Defeated, Tolstoy returned to Russia, reporting to Peter that Alexei was being kept by the English[4] government.
From “The Diplomatic Revolution” by Alexander Hytten
George I's decision to continue to harbor Alexei, purposefully ruining relations with Russia, was met not without controversy. Considering previous Kings and their attempts to overrule Parliament (in the past century, the conflict had seen the death of one King and the overthrow of another), one might think George's successful attempt to use his absolute rule in Hanover to overrule Parliament might incur its wrath; however, opposition to the plan was led from outside the body.
The Prince of Wales had always been far more popular than the King; among other things, George spoke English. At the baptizing of George's second son, George William, the King insisted that the Duke of Newcastle be godfather. George (the son), who disliked Newcastle, insulted him at the ceremony. Newcastle misinterpreted the statements as an invitation to a duel. The angered King banished his heir from St. James's Palace and excluded him from all public ceremonies.[6]
The Prince of Wales, also angry at his father, became the centerpoint[7] of opposition to the King's policies. The King's decision to harbor Alexei incensed the Prince of Wales, who had his allies, Sir Robert Walpole and the Viscount Townshend, read his statements about it to Parliament; George pointed out, among other things, that a war with Russia would benefit only Hanover, and not England[5]; and then finally threatened (obviously hyperbolically) to flee to Russia himself and see if George liked it. Parliament applauded.
Soon after, in a near-unprecedented move, the King disinherited the Prince of Wales in favor of Wales's son, Frederick (who had been mostly raised by the King and had never before left Hanover). The legality of such a move was disputed by Parliament, who declared that George continued to be Prince of Wales and heir to the throne.
From “The War of the Spanish Succession - Epilogue” by Brendan Blanning
The Treaty of Utrecht had ceded the Spanish Netherlands, Milan, Naples, and Sardinia to Austria, whereas the Duke of Savoy was awarded the island of Sicily. By 1717, Britain, France, and Austria were planning to attempt to strengthen the Treaty by ceding Sicily to the Hapsburgs. Philip V of
Spain decided to use this a casus belli to attempt to recover Spain's Italian territories.
In 1717, Spain invaded Austrian Sardinia. Although Austria was at the moment otherwise busy with one of its perennial wars against the Ottomans, it concluded this war by 1718 with the Treaty of Passarowitz[8] and turned its attention to the Spanish invasion.
By then, the Spaniards had utterly subdued Sardinia, and Sicily except the city of Messina, to which they had laid siege.
The so-called War of the Quadruple Alliance began when France and the Netherlands entered the war on Austria's side. Great Britain had promised to do so, but they were distracted by a crisis in the Baltic.
The Austrians assembled an army in Naples, under Count Wirich Philipp von Daun, and sent it to relieve Messina; however, they were defeated by the Spaniards.
Two French attacks into northern Spain – one into the Basque provinces and one into Catalonia – were both successful, but forced to turn back due to disease.
The Austrians started a new offensive in Sicily, this time under Count Claude Florimond de Mercy, but they were defeated at the Battle of Francavilla and then failed in a second attempt to relieve Messina.[9]
At this point, however, Spanish fortunes began to decline, as Portugal declared war (the fourth member of the Quadruple Alliance). Unprepared for an attack on Galicia, the Portuguese captured Vigo (a small city on the border) as well as Pontevedra.[10]
There was a war in America as well. The French had captured Pensacola in May 1719, prompting a Spanish counterattack and retaking of the city in August of that year.
In March 1720, the French launched another assault into Catalonia, this one successful; with a decisive victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Sant Feliu.
A ceasefire was negotiated in April of 1720, after Philip dismissed his Prime Minister, Cardinal Alberoni.
The combatants met in the Hague to negotiate the end of the war. Spain agreed to give up Sardinia and Sicily, still under its control, in order to regain Catalonia; Sicily was given to Hapsburg Naples, while Sardinia was given to Savoy.
Portugal agreed to give up southern Galicia, which was under its control, for Spanish recognition of what the Portuguese claimed to be the boundaries of Brazil, including the disputed Misiones area. Also, France and Portugal's trading rights with Spain were greatly improved.[11]
[1] IOTL, Veselovsky was his ambassador to the Hapsburg dominions; however, ITTL he is unexpainably ambassador to Great Britain; it is one of the most obvious holes in Dr. Kellock's Schoenborn POD hypothesis.
[2] This closely matches the OTL sequence of events, when he was discovered in Italy and Tolstoy was sent to fetch him. IOTL, after his success in retrieving Alexei, Tolstoy became the head of the Torture Office and became well-known for his brutality, in spite of his advanced age (he was in his 80s).
[3] TTL term. 'Beseechments' – 'requests'.
[4] British.
[5] Britain.
[6] This paragraph is entirely OTL.
[7] Another TTL term. 'Centerpoint' refers to the center of a circle, but also to the most important person in any organization, or the most important part of anything generally.
[8] OTL.
[9] The war is going mostly OTL, but without Britain in it, there was no Battle of Cape Passaro, so the Spanish are having consequently more success.
[10] IOTL the Portuguese were neutral, and the British launched an attack into Galicia.
[11] This closely matches the OTL Treaty of the Hague (except for the Brazilian border disputes, of course).