Ich Bin Ein Frankfurter - The Revolution of 1848 Unites Germany (actual timeline)
- Thread starter Aussie Guy
- Start date
[FONT="]More timeline. This section focuses on what almost all of the European powers are doing. Tell me if my adaptation of the British Ultimatum makes any sense. Just so you know, my overall aim with this timeline is to make the relations between the Western Entente and the Berlin Treaty alliances resemble the Cold War politics of American-Soviet relations. Competition for economic and political influence around the world, brief sessions of armed conflict between major powers and minor allies (or minor allies against one another), internal factional splits, cross-alliance co-operation or pressure leading to temporary detentes, and all the while a spectre of global war hangs overhead.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]...[/FONT][FONT="]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The war with Japan showed the need for territories in more equatorial regions in the area. The first of these acquisitions was in the south Pacific, with the annexation of the island of New Guinea, in addition to the Bismarck Archipelago. The first formal settlement was established by the colonists in early 1876. Originally, the German colonists were expected to set up roughly on the site of OTL Daru or Port Moresby, but former Chancellor Otto von Bismarck personally disapproved of the location, believing that the move would look aggressive to the British due to the proximity of these proposed settlements to the British colony of Queensland. The settlement was instead established on the site of OTL Wewak, on the north shore of the New Guinea mainland.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Over the next few years, Germany would also attempt to establish itself in the China area. Knowing that Japan was likely to have some sort of interest in Formosa, and sensing hostility between the Japanese and Chinese, they negotiated with the Qing Dynasty Chinese over the possible leasing of ports or land on the island. Portraying themselves as potential benefactors and guardians to China against potential Japanese aggression, the Germans successfully negotiated the lease of the Formosan port town of Hsinchu for a period of no less than 50 years. They also work on their coastal colonies in West Africa, with ports and townships dotting the coast from Namibia to Senegal.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Much like Germany, the other great powers of Europe are also each seeking out ways in which to further establish or solidify themselves colonially. France and Britain assisted Japan in establishing itself as a powerful country (the main aim being to prevent German or Russian annexation of Hokkaido). In the wake of the Kuril War, and with Germany now clearly seen by both France and Britain as a severe threat, a formalized alliance between the two countries was fast-tracked. The “Western Entente” was finally established and signed by representatives from both countries in 1875.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Individually, Britain maintained its grip on India, New Zealand, Canada and Australia while France solidified its hold on Indochina. France tried to expand further southwards into Sub-Saharan Africa, but was blocked by German claims. On the other hand, Britain had, by 1884, established a contiguous chain of colonies from Cape York to Cairo, and was beginning to establish railroads and telecommunications lines, spanning the continent. However, the Orange Free State and South African Republic posed certain problems for the route.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Following an unsuccessful attempt at annexation (resulting in the First Boer War of Independence) in the late 1870s, the two Boer countries (the Orange Free State and the South African Republic) agreed to a political union and sought to establish favorable ties with Portugal (an effort which met with somewhat mixed results). Faced with the now-united Boer state, the British opted to instead go around, directing their Cape-to-Cairo route through Bechuanaland instead of Southern Rhodesia (via the Boer territories).[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Dutch expanded their claims in the East Indies, taking in all of OTL Indonesia (except West Papua). Both Italy and Russia further warmed their ties with the United States, highlighting their involvement in the American Civil War and Russia’s discounted sale of Alaska. However, whilst America is now quite friendly with the members of the Berlin Treaty alliance, the Americans refuse to consider any formal alliances with any of the European powers.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Italy has the Carthaginian Territories as its main overseas investment, as well as control over most of the Horn of Africa in addition to a single Pacific base in Hainan (they also have agreements for mutual use of German ports such as in New Guinea and Formosa), but has otherwise disregarded colonialism – their efforts have instead become focused on the Balkans, exercising their influence in Albania and Montenegro in an attempt to further stoke nationalist sentiment and destabilize the Ottoman-dominated region. The Russians, also mostly free from colonial ambitions, chose to exercise their influence in Bulgaria, while the Germans, though occupied with colonial efforts, manages to make an effort to draw in Romania – the collective aim of the three allied nations is the maximum destabilization of Ottoman interests in the Balkans and, eventually, the elimination of all Ottoman control on European soil. To the Russians, this also means claiming the ultimate prize - Constantinople itself.
Finally, Portugal maintained its hold its African colonies of Mozambique and Angola for the most part, but were thwarted in their attempts of trans-African expansion. With Mozambique, the Portugese established lukewarm relations with the Boer state. The Boers, being almost perpetually in conflict with British interests, were not the most appealing ally (the Portugese did, after all, have an alliance with Britain going back to the 1300s), but they did agree to a neutrality pact in 1881. On the west coast of the continent, Angola and its expansion inland in order to link up with Mozambique (known as the Pink Map proposal) was posing problems for both the British and Germans.
The Portugese west-to-east colonial drive conflicted with British Cape to Cairo route, while the centuries-old Portugese coastal settlements blocked Germany's West Coast campaign. When Portugal began sending its troops into British-claimed territories (mainly Rhodesia), the British issued an ultimatum to the Portugese - withdraw their troops from British-claimed lands. At this point, Bismarck (then the Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Foreign Affairs) saw an opening. With the British and Portugese, age-old allies, now at odds with one another, he believed that the Germans could more effectively put pressure on the Portugese while at the same time not harming the already-tense relations with Britain.
He gave his own ultimatum to Portugal, asking for them to cede the eastern half of the pre-Pink Map Angola colony. The concept behind this was twofold - one, complete the West Coast route in order to satisfy the colonial ambitions of most of the parties currently in the Reichstag, and two, attempt to warm relations with Britain in the wake of the signing of the Western Entente treaty. Germany also openly supported the British position on the issue and denounced the Portugese interference with Britain's ambitions.
By going against Portugal (and with Britain) at this point, German authorities hoped they could portray themselves as a buffer between Britain's Cape-to-Cairo route and Portugal's own colonial ambitions, basically guaranteeing the security of the British route from westward Portugese expansion. It worked to a degree. Germany acquired its newest colony, East Angola, with little fuss; tensions between the Western Entente and the Berlin Treaty alliances, meanwhile, entered a mild detente. However, tensions between the two blocs were still rife and any gains here were soon to be reversed with Bismarck's retirement from federal German politics in 1888.
[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]...[/FONT][FONT="]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The war with Japan showed the need for territories in more equatorial regions in the area. The first of these acquisitions was in the south Pacific, with the annexation of the island of New Guinea, in addition to the Bismarck Archipelago. The first formal settlement was established by the colonists in early 1876. Originally, the German colonists were expected to set up roughly on the site of OTL Daru or Port Moresby, but former Chancellor Otto von Bismarck personally disapproved of the location, believing that the move would look aggressive to the British due to the proximity of these proposed settlements to the British colony of Queensland. The settlement was instead established on the site of OTL Wewak, on the north shore of the New Guinea mainland.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Over the next few years, Germany would also attempt to establish itself in the China area. Knowing that Japan was likely to have some sort of interest in Formosa, and sensing hostility between the Japanese and Chinese, they negotiated with the Qing Dynasty Chinese over the possible leasing of ports or land on the island. Portraying themselves as potential benefactors and guardians to China against potential Japanese aggression, the Germans successfully negotiated the lease of the Formosan port town of Hsinchu for a period of no less than 50 years. They also work on their coastal colonies in West Africa, with ports and townships dotting the coast from Namibia to Senegal.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Much like Germany, the other great powers of Europe are also each seeking out ways in which to further establish or solidify themselves colonially. France and Britain assisted Japan in establishing itself as a powerful country (the main aim being to prevent German or Russian annexation of Hokkaido). In the wake of the Kuril War, and with Germany now clearly seen by both France and Britain as a severe threat, a formalized alliance between the two countries was fast-tracked. The “Western Entente” was finally established and signed by representatives from both countries in 1875.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Individually, Britain maintained its grip on India, New Zealand, Canada and Australia while France solidified its hold on Indochina. France tried to expand further southwards into Sub-Saharan Africa, but was blocked by German claims. On the other hand, Britain had, by 1884, established a contiguous chain of colonies from Cape York to Cairo, and was beginning to establish railroads and telecommunications lines, spanning the continent. However, the Orange Free State and South African Republic posed certain problems for the route.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Following an unsuccessful attempt at annexation (resulting in the First Boer War of Independence) in the late 1870s, the two Boer countries (the Orange Free State and the South African Republic) agreed to a political union and sought to establish favorable ties with Portugal (an effort which met with somewhat mixed results). Faced with the now-united Boer state, the British opted to instead go around, directing their Cape-to-Cairo route through Bechuanaland instead of Southern Rhodesia (via the Boer territories).[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Dutch expanded their claims in the East Indies, taking in all of OTL Indonesia (except West Papua). Both Italy and Russia further warmed their ties with the United States, highlighting their involvement in the American Civil War and Russia’s discounted sale of Alaska. However, whilst America is now quite friendly with the members of the Berlin Treaty alliance, the Americans refuse to consider any formal alliances with any of the European powers.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Italy has the Carthaginian Territories as its main overseas investment, as well as control over most of the Horn of Africa in addition to a single Pacific base in Hainan (they also have agreements for mutual use of German ports such as in New Guinea and Formosa), but has otherwise disregarded colonialism – their efforts have instead become focused on the Balkans, exercising their influence in Albania and Montenegro in an attempt to further stoke nationalist sentiment and destabilize the Ottoman-dominated region. The Russians, also mostly free from colonial ambitions, chose to exercise their influence in Bulgaria, while the Germans, though occupied with colonial efforts, manages to make an effort to draw in Romania – the collective aim of the three allied nations is the maximum destabilization of Ottoman interests in the Balkans and, eventually, the elimination of all Ottoman control on European soil. To the Russians, this also means claiming the ultimate prize - Constantinople itself.
Finally, Portugal maintained its hold its African colonies of Mozambique and Angola for the most part, but were thwarted in their attempts of trans-African expansion. With Mozambique, the Portugese established lukewarm relations with the Boer state. The Boers, being almost perpetually in conflict with British interests, were not the most appealing ally (the Portugese did, after all, have an alliance with Britain going back to the 1300s), but they did agree to a neutrality pact in 1881. On the west coast of the continent, Angola and its expansion inland in order to link up with Mozambique (known as the Pink Map proposal) was posing problems for both the British and Germans.
The Portugese west-to-east colonial drive conflicted with British Cape to Cairo route, while the centuries-old Portugese coastal settlements blocked Germany's West Coast campaign. When Portugal began sending its troops into British-claimed territories (mainly Rhodesia), the British issued an ultimatum to the Portugese - withdraw their troops from British-claimed lands. At this point, Bismarck (then the Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Foreign Affairs) saw an opening. With the British and Portugese, age-old allies, now at odds with one another, he believed that the Germans could more effectively put pressure on the Portugese while at the same time not harming the already-tense relations with Britain.
He gave his own ultimatum to Portugal, asking for them to cede the eastern half of the pre-Pink Map Angola colony. The concept behind this was twofold - one, complete the West Coast route in order to satisfy the colonial ambitions of most of the parties currently in the Reichstag, and two, attempt to warm relations with Britain in the wake of the signing of the Western Entente treaty. Germany also openly supported the British position on the issue and denounced the Portugese interference with Britain's ambitions.
By going against Portugal (and with Britain) at this point, German authorities hoped they could portray themselves as a buffer between Britain's Cape-to-Cairo route and Portugal's own colonial ambitions, basically guaranteeing the security of the British route from westward Portugese expansion. It worked to a degree. Germany acquired its newest colony, East Angola, with little fuss; tensions between the Western Entente and the Berlin Treaty alliances, meanwhile, entered a mild detente. However, tensions between the two blocs were still rife and any gains here were soon to be reversed with Bismarck's retirement from federal German politics in 1888.
[/FONT]
Last edited:
LittleSpeer
Monthly Donor
this is fast becoming a really good TL as much as it already is. You update it frequently so you can keep people hooked.
I updated the previous post. And yes, I'm trying to go for a ye-olde-Cold-War sort of thing. Tell me if it makes sense (I never had anyone review the Portugese section before now, just so you know).
By any chance do you have a map coming up? Africa is carving up in interesting ways and I am dying to see "German Siberia". That unique-yet-plausible twist of colonialism is what got me hooked on this TL.
LittleSpeer
Monthly Donor
the Portuguese twist is a nice one considering how no one would expect that small of a country would do so much damage.
Unfortunately, I'm really bad at maps. Sorry. Though, if you know anyone who's good with cartography and willing to lend a hand, I might be able to get them the technical information needed to make the maps.
[FONT="]More techno-babble and stuff. Enjoy!
...
On the technological front, Zeppelin’s balloons are picking up in popularity amongst the German government and military. By the mid 1880s, the German Army has a fleet of 24 full-sized zeppelins, which are operated under the authority of the German Army Air Corps. They are used mainly for transport and surveillance, the latter giving German colonial forces a huge advantage over African forces in the 1880s and 1890s.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The French are also working on aviation technology at this time, but have focused much more on heavier-than-air designs than the Germans. After the showing of Felix du Temple’s monoplane (the first ever heavier-than-air vehicle capable of powered flight [4]) at the 1878 World Fair, as well as Zeppelin’s public demonstrations of his rigid airship the year before, there was a much more fierce competition between heavier-than-air and lighter-than-air designs.[/FONT]
[FONT="]By the mid-1880s, French and British scientists, led by an aging du Temple and a more experienced Grieves, had succeeded in developing a workable aircraft design which was powered, heavier than air, controllable and capable of sustained flight. The first flight took place on June 16, 1886. It featured two pairs of wings in a standard biplane setup, and employed a very small steam engine, adopting features from the engines of both the Grieves Hexamotive and the original du Temple Monoplane, as its power source. It flew for 600 meters before making a rough landing in a shrubbery.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The British have been hard at work experimenting with the Hexamotives purchased from Grieves Engines Co., adapting them for a variety of purposes. Most of these vehicles ended up being used to substitute for horses in towing heavy equipment (especially artillery). However, a large number of them were converted into fighting machines, clad in simple steel armor and with a Maxim gun mounted on top. These mobile fighting platforms, in tandem with fixed machine-gun and artillery setups, allowed the British to crush native fighting forces in colonial battles with ease – the machine guns could tear through any tribal army, whilst the armor could deflect any spear, blade or musket ball (such as those employed by firearm-equipped Zulus, amongst others). However, the use of wheels (combined with a poor suspension system) meant that the vehicles were poor performers on rough, muddy or otherwise unstable ground. The boilers, prone to catastrophic explosion under certain circumstances, were also a noted flaw.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Germans and Italians, seeing the British progress with the Hexamotive, attempt to build a similar fighting machine based off of later versions of Benz’s Motorwagen. Starting in 1889, the German Army attempted to outfit the vehicle with armor plating and a Maxim gun, much like the British counterpart. It met with many of the same kinds of success and drawbacks as the armored Hexamotives used by the British. However, the adoption and use of the Motorwagen by the German Army led to one unusual consequence - the greater availability of petroleum on the civilian market in the period between the wind-down of the Scramble for Africa and the beginning of the First World War due to increased petroleum output to support the German colonial effort. This, combined with mass production techniques based on those used by the British, the vehicle became both practical and affordable on both the German and international markets.[/FONT]
[FONT="] In the cases of both, the vehicles came to be both respected and feared on the battlefield. Some colonial soldiers, after seeing some of the better performances of these fighting machines in the drier, less rugged portions of Africa, made the comparison between their vehicles ripping though the enemy like wet tissue and the ironclads of the sea tearing wooden ships to shreds during their debut a few decades earlier. This led to the fighting machines being dubbed "Land Ironclads", "Landships", or, most commonly, "Landirons".[/FONT]
[FONT="]Both vehicles (the Hexamotive and Motorwagen), along with their derivatives, would become standard amongst the armed forces of France, Britain, Italy and Germany (and, to a lesser extent, Russia), but would be operated alongside standard horse-mounted cavalry units well into the early decades of the 20th century. As for the aircraft, the lighter-than-air Zeppelin airships and the heavier-than-air du Temple aeroplanes, both sides would eventually come to adopt one another's technology to an extent, with the Germans and Italians building a limited number of aeroplanes and the French and British making a low-level investment in rigid airships.
[/FONT][FONT="]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][4] - IOTL, Felix du Temple really did make a functional monoplane which took off under its own power in the 1870s. And yes, it really did debut at the World's Fair in France. And yes, he was born before the PoD, meaning his character doesn't get butterflied due to my strict butterfly definition ITTL.
[/FONT]
...
On the technological front, Zeppelin’s balloons are picking up in popularity amongst the German government and military. By the mid 1880s, the German Army has a fleet of 24 full-sized zeppelins, which are operated under the authority of the German Army Air Corps. They are used mainly for transport and surveillance, the latter giving German colonial forces a huge advantage over African forces in the 1880s and 1890s.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The French are also working on aviation technology at this time, but have focused much more on heavier-than-air designs than the Germans. After the showing of Felix du Temple’s monoplane (the first ever heavier-than-air vehicle capable of powered flight [4]) at the 1878 World Fair, as well as Zeppelin’s public demonstrations of his rigid airship the year before, there was a much more fierce competition between heavier-than-air and lighter-than-air designs.[/FONT]
[FONT="]By the mid-1880s, French and British scientists, led by an aging du Temple and a more experienced Grieves, had succeeded in developing a workable aircraft design which was powered, heavier than air, controllable and capable of sustained flight. The first flight took place on June 16, 1886. It featured two pairs of wings in a standard biplane setup, and employed a very small steam engine, adopting features from the engines of both the Grieves Hexamotive and the original du Temple Monoplane, as its power source. It flew for 600 meters before making a rough landing in a shrubbery.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The British have been hard at work experimenting with the Hexamotives purchased from Grieves Engines Co., adapting them for a variety of purposes. Most of these vehicles ended up being used to substitute for horses in towing heavy equipment (especially artillery). However, a large number of them were converted into fighting machines, clad in simple steel armor and with a Maxim gun mounted on top. These mobile fighting platforms, in tandem with fixed machine-gun and artillery setups, allowed the British to crush native fighting forces in colonial battles with ease – the machine guns could tear through any tribal army, whilst the armor could deflect any spear, blade or musket ball (such as those employed by firearm-equipped Zulus, amongst others). However, the use of wheels (combined with a poor suspension system) meant that the vehicles were poor performers on rough, muddy or otherwise unstable ground. The boilers, prone to catastrophic explosion under certain circumstances, were also a noted flaw.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Germans and Italians, seeing the British progress with the Hexamotive, attempt to build a similar fighting machine based off of later versions of Benz’s Motorwagen. Starting in 1889, the German Army attempted to outfit the vehicle with armor plating and a Maxim gun, much like the British counterpart. It met with many of the same kinds of success and drawbacks as the armored Hexamotives used by the British. However, the adoption and use of the Motorwagen by the German Army led to one unusual consequence - the greater availability of petroleum on the civilian market in the period between the wind-down of the Scramble for Africa and the beginning of the First World War due to increased petroleum output to support the German colonial effort. This, combined with mass production techniques based on those used by the British, the vehicle became both practical and affordable on both the German and international markets.[/FONT]
[FONT="] In the cases of both, the vehicles came to be both respected and feared on the battlefield. Some colonial soldiers, after seeing some of the better performances of these fighting machines in the drier, less rugged portions of Africa, made the comparison between their vehicles ripping though the enemy like wet tissue and the ironclads of the sea tearing wooden ships to shreds during their debut a few decades earlier. This led to the fighting machines being dubbed "Land Ironclads", "Landships", or, most commonly, "Landirons".[/FONT]
[FONT="]Both vehicles (the Hexamotive and Motorwagen), along with their derivatives, would become standard amongst the armed forces of France, Britain, Italy and Germany (and, to a lesser extent, Russia), but would be operated alongside standard horse-mounted cavalry units well into the early decades of the 20th century. As for the aircraft, the lighter-than-air Zeppelin airships and the heavier-than-air du Temple aeroplanes, both sides would eventually come to adopt one another's technology to an extent, with the Germans and Italians building a limited number of aeroplanes and the French and British making a low-level investment in rigid airships.
[/FONT][FONT="]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][4] - IOTL, Felix du Temple really did make a functional monoplane which took off under its own power in the 1870s. And yes, it really did debut at the World's Fair in France. And yes, he was born before the PoD, meaning his character doesn't get butterflied due to my strict butterfly definition ITTL.
[/FONT]
Last edited:
LittleSpeer
Monthly Donor
this better not turn out to be another TL where in the end, the Germans get raped again.
LittleSpeer
Monthly Donor
good cuz i would just stop reading right now if Germany was didnt turn out to be a super power into the 20th century.
I just realised something, though - if Germany and Russia, fighting on the same side, are both victorious in the First World War and remain stable entities afterwards, there is no opportunity for Poland to gain independence. in the post-war period. If Germanification/Russification were to continue after the war, Poland (as a nation/ethnicity/culture) may be deleted from existence permanently...
yourworstnightmare
Banned
Bah, Russia will sooner or later collapse, and the Russian Poles will at least be free.
[FONT="]The detente between Germany and England,[/FONT][FONT="] earned by Bismarck's masterful politics during the Scramble for Africa, [/FONT][FONT="]came to an end soon after his retirement from politics in 1888. Upon his retirement, the conservative parties of the Reichstag plummeted. The liberal parties, the Republicans and Social-Democrats, formed a coalition government following the elections later that year. Frederick III, the most liberal monarch since German unification, had also ascended to the throne that year. His reign would last only three years, however. Suffering from an inoperable cancer of the larynx, [/FONT][FONT="]he died in 1891[5]. Nonetheless, some of the more naive policies of the inexperienced liberal govenrment led to a number of gaffes between Germany and the Western Entente, leading to increased tensions and hostility on both sides.
Speaking of liberal monarchs, Alexander II has officially become the longest-lived and longest-reigning Emperor of Russia in history. The year of 1888 marked his 70th birthday and 38th anniversary of his ascension to the throne. 20 years earlier, he had established the first democratic parliament in the Russian Empire. His admiration for the German and Italian successes in liberalism during the very beginning of his reign led to him basing the new constitution and parliament on their systems.
Starting in the mid 1880s, Alexander II even began to allot the many minority regions of the empire, such as Poland, the Baltic areas, Ukraine, the Central Asian possessions and the Caucasian territories more autonomy, even their own democratically-elected regional parliaments (though still subject to oversight by the Russian parliament). This was a popular move at the time which endeared Alexander II to his people, solidifying even further his reputation as "Alexander the Liberator" (a title referring to his earlier emancipation of the serfs in 1860). By his death in 1900 (at the age of 92), there were even those who called for his immediate canonization by the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The opposite process is manifesting itself in France, however. Faced with an increase of Communist threats and terrorist attacks around the country, the country's rulers, have become increasingly strict and authoritarian (not to mention revanchist). Whilst elections are still taking place, allegations of vote rigging are becoming much more common, which, in turn, led to more violent protests. This vicious cycle perpetuated itself for three decades after the end of the Luxembourg War, from 1867 to until 1897. It even led to the emergence of a new, counter-Communist radical political party, the National Revanchist Party of France, colloquially known as the "revanchists". Their ideology resembled something akin to Fascism or Nazism.
The final straw came when a band of three anarchists, taking a page from the book of Guy Fawkes, successfully blew up the Chamber of Deputies, one of the houses of the French parliament. However, an attempt to blow up the Senate at the same time was thwarted. Nonetheless, the conspiracy against French power was enough to allow France's government to establish itself as truly totalitarian. New powers for the president were ratified, with more and more political power being focused into his hands. Then, political parties and organisations were gradually deemed "threats to the security and wellbeing of France" before being banned. Eventually, by 1900, only the National Revanchist Party remained legal.
Britain, though dismayed by events in France, maintained their alliance in order to preserve some semblance of power balance on the European continent. While pseudo-fascist parties began to take root in Britain as well, they weren't nearly as popular due to the fact that the British Empire still remained strong - for now, at least.
[5] - He actually died in 1888. Blame the butterflies.
[/FONT]
Speaking of liberal monarchs, Alexander II has officially become the longest-lived and longest-reigning Emperor of Russia in history. The year of 1888 marked his 70th birthday and 38th anniversary of his ascension to the throne. 20 years earlier, he had established the first democratic parliament in the Russian Empire. His admiration for the German and Italian successes in liberalism during the very beginning of his reign led to him basing the new constitution and parliament on their systems.
Starting in the mid 1880s, Alexander II even began to allot the many minority regions of the empire, such as Poland, the Baltic areas, Ukraine, the Central Asian possessions and the Caucasian territories more autonomy, even their own democratically-elected regional parliaments (though still subject to oversight by the Russian parliament). This was a popular move at the time which endeared Alexander II to his people, solidifying even further his reputation as "Alexander the Liberator" (a title referring to his earlier emancipation of the serfs in 1860). By his death in 1900 (at the age of 92), there were even those who called for his immediate canonization by the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The opposite process is manifesting itself in France, however. Faced with an increase of Communist threats and terrorist attacks around the country, the country's rulers, have become increasingly strict and authoritarian (not to mention revanchist). Whilst elections are still taking place, allegations of vote rigging are becoming much more common, which, in turn, led to more violent protests. This vicious cycle perpetuated itself for three decades after the end of the Luxembourg War, from 1867 to until 1897. It even led to the emergence of a new, counter-Communist radical political party, the National Revanchist Party of France, colloquially known as the "revanchists". Their ideology resembled something akin to Fascism or Nazism.
The final straw came when a band of three anarchists, taking a page from the book of Guy Fawkes, successfully blew up the Chamber of Deputies, one of the houses of the French parliament. However, an attempt to blow up the Senate at the same time was thwarted. Nonetheless, the conspiracy against French power was enough to allow France's government to establish itself as truly totalitarian. New powers for the president were ratified, with more and more political power being focused into his hands. Then, political parties and organisations were gradually deemed "threats to the security and wellbeing of France" before being banned. Eventually, by 1900, only the National Revanchist Party remained legal.
Britain, though dismayed by events in France, maintained their alliance in order to preserve some semblance of power balance on the European continent. While pseudo-fascist parties began to take root in Britain as well, they weren't nearly as popular due to the fact that the British Empire still remained strong - for now, at least.
[5] - He actually died in 1888. Blame the butterflies.
[/FONT]
Last edited:
We're getting close to the beginning of WWI now. Want to vote for a casus belli?
1) Ottoman sultan assassinated by Hungarians
2) Border dispute in Africa
3) German incursions on Japanese territory
4) Japanese incursions in German Siberia
5) Japanese attack on Taiwan/China
6) Albania declaring independence
7) France invading Alsace-Lorraine
8) Other
1) Ottoman sultan assassinated by Hungarians
2) Border dispute in Africa
3) German incursions on Japanese territory
4) Japanese incursions in German Siberia
5) Japanese attack on Taiwan/China
6) Albania declaring independence
7) France invading Alsace-Lorraine
8) Other
Bright day
So fundamentaly united that Bohemian representatives refused to attend Frankfurt diet
?