Kuando el Rey Nimrod (When King Nimrod)

Dan1988

Dan1988

Dan1988's first proper TL, and it's about time! :D But be warned - it is NOT going to be what you expect.

Kuando el Rey Nimrod (When King Nimrod)
Traditional Sephardic Jewish folk song

Kuando el Rey Nimrod al kampo salia
Mirava en el sielo i en la estreyeria
Vido luz santa el la Djuderia
Ke avia de naser Avraam Avinu.

Avraam Avinu, padre kerido, padre bendicho, luz de Israel.

La mujer de Térah kedó prenyada
De dia en dia él le preguntava
Deké tenésh la kara demudada
Eya ya savia el bien ke tenia.

Avraam Avinu, padre kerido, padre bendicho, luz de Israel.

Luego a las komadres enkomendava
Ke toda mujer ke prenyada kedara
La ke pariera ijo al punto lo matara
Ke avia de naser Avraam Avinu.

Avraam Avinu, padre kerido, padre bendicho, luz de Israel.

Source: Koén-Sarano, Matilda. Kurso de Djudeo-Espanyol (Ladino) para Prinsipiantes. 1999: Ben-Guiron University of the Negev, Beersheva, Israel, First edition, pg. 120

Translation:

When King Nimrod went out to the fields
Looked at the heavens and at the stars
He saw a holy light at the Jewish quarter
A sign that Abraham, our father, was about to be born.

Abraham Avinu, dear father
Father who blessed the light of Israel.

Terach's woman was pregnant
and each day he asked her
Why do you look so distraught?
She already knew very well what she had.

Abraham Avinu, dear father
Father who blessed the light of Israel.

Then he told all the mothers
That every pregnant woman
Who did not give birth to her baby was going to be killed
Because Abraham our father was going to be born.

Abraham Avinu, dear father
Father who blessed the light of Israel.

(A huge thank you to Leo Caesius for the English translation.)


PART I: THE LIBERATION AND REVOLUTION

Introduction
June 27, 2006 - Early morning
City of Buenos Aires

As the sun was rising from the east towards this corner, it would seem that this would be an ordinary day. People woke themselves up and got themselves ready for another new day. The autovías, or motorways, were already packed with gridlock due to the morning rush hour. Also packed were the commuter trains and subway cars heading towards Buenos Aires. However, something different was taking place this time. Roadblocks were set up around an area spanning an area of about 5-10 km around the Plaza Mayor [1], where cars were banned. The same was true for the Avenida Guillermo Beresford [2], one of the main arteries of Buenos Aires and often nicknamed as “Buenos Aires’s Champs-Élysées”, and several other streets. The Gendarmería was present, as one would never expect it. In addition, many different flags were flying on this day, the Union Flag among them, whilst church bells were ringing along the muezzins reciting the Muslim call to prayer. However, the church bells and the muezzins sounded different today - they seemed to be more joyful than they would normally be. The bells from the churches sounded like wedding bells; the muezzin in the Grand Mosque sounded like the man who ran to Athens from Marathon to bring forth news of a great victory.

This was because this day was no ordinary day. It was the national holiday of the Dia de la Liberación, or Liberation Day. This day commemorates the day that the city was liberated by the British, thus beginning what is now called la Revolución - the Revolution, when the area became independent from Spain. However, the Revolution was not as violent as it would normally have been, many porteños would say - rather, the Revolution was a peaceful experiment that became successful. After all, the foundations of the Nation were laid during this. Among them, it is said, was the proclamation of “the Three Guarantees” of Peace, Order, and Liberty.

Liberation Day is usually a big day, with the biggest festivities taking place in Buenos Aires itself, however this Liberation Day was special, for two reasons. Traditionally, the 27th of June also doubles as Inauguration Day if an election is held that same year. In addition, 2006 marked the 200th anniversary of the Liberation of Buenos Aires. As such, this day was expected to be the biggest Liberation Day in living memory. A good deal of the festivities for any normal Liberation Day, including the parade from the Port of Buenos Aires to the Plaza Mayor (and, by extension, to the old City Hall) via the Avenida Guillermo Beresford, would be retained, as would the Buenos Aires Marathon (held two days earlier) from Quilmes to the city centre of Buenos Aires, but new festivities would be taking place because of the Bicentennial.

To Catholics, the 27th of June is also special. On this day, it is believed that the Nativity of St John the Baptist took place. To some people outside of Buenos Aires, it would be just another feast day. However, although the location of Liberation Day on top of the Feast Day of the Nativity of St John the Baptist might have been entirely coincidental, this adds on significance to the day. What that significance is, I leave entirely up to you.

With Liberation Day such a big deal, since so much rests on the Liberation of Buenos Aires and the subsequent Revolution, it would seem to be a perfect opportunity to review the Liberation, along with the subsequent Revolution. Thus, we will begin this narrative at the time of the Liberation, two hundred years ago, when Buenos Aires was Spanish territory and a small (by modern standards) but thriving port town. A lot can happen in two hundred years, and such is the case with Buenos Aires and the area of the Rio de la Plata estuary, as a whole.

OOC Notes:
[1] The Plaza Mayor is the name, in TTL, of the Plaza del Mayo in Buenos Aires.
[2] The Avenida Guillermo Beresford is a boulevard from the Plaza del Mayo to the Port of Buenos Aires, in TTL.
 
Tobit

Tobit

The more long timelines the better!

Will this one be less distopic than the others though?
 
Dan1988

Dan1988

One of two posts for tonight, and that will be all. Update planned for tomorrow.

Chapter 1
The Liberation of Buenos Aires

June 27, 1806
Buenos Aires, Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata

Buenos Aires in 1806 looked very different from the Buenos Aires of today, in many ways. By modern standards, it would be just another small town; however, the thriving Port of Buenos Aires - the town’s lifeline - was still busy as usual. In addition, Buenos Aires’s status as the capital of the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata, created just barely 30 years ago, and the adjoining audiencia [1], meant that this bustling town was a centre of much activity.

All of that changed dramatically during the latter days of the month of June. Without warning, an expedition of British ships had arrived in the area. However, they were not here to trade. These ships, loaded with thousands of soldiers and lots of ammunition, were out on “a viking” and make war. The fighting that followed was brief, but in a short amount of time, the British had made some headway and the Spanish forces in the area were quickly overwhelmed. Just two days prior, a key town – Quilmes – was taken by the British, under the command of General William Carr Beresford and Sir Home Popham. Now, on this day, Buenos Aires had been taken by the British.

The viceroy of that time, the Marquis de Sobremonte, was caught off-guard, and attempted to flee to Córdoba, in the interior, with the entire Treasury. He eventually made it, but without the Treasury, as he was caught and subsequently pursued by a few British soldiers. For years, he had repeatedly asked the Spanish to allow him to form militia among the people as a means of defending the city. His requests had a grain of truth - because of the location of Buenos Aires, with its easy access to the Atlantic, the town was exposed if something like what just happened took place. However, his requests went unheeded. To an extent, the Marquis felt vindicated. Now, hiding out in Córdoba, the Marquis was plotting and planning for the day when Buenos Aires would be back in Spanish hands. Time, however, would eventually prove the Marquis wrong - he would eventually die without ever setting foot in Buenos Aires again.

The onus now fell on General Beresford. Like his now-vanquished Spanish foes, he too was surprised by how quick events had been. However, he was equally surprised by the response from the porteños - the residents of Buenos Aires. General Beresford probably expected getting a harsh treatment from the residents. In this, he had precedent for this - every other time the British invaded other bits and pieces of Spain’s huge American empire, they got harsh treatment from the residents and were eventually forced out via a combination of bad planning, disease, help from the Spanish, and local resistance. [2] This time, however, the situation was different. The surprised and helpless porteños jubilantly greeted the British as “liberators”. The porteños had already dealt with British people before, when these were mainly merchants. Now, as “good merchants”, they were willing to do some trade with the British.

As in any new relationship, first impressions are always important. Such was the case with the Liberation of Buenos Aires, and General Beresford, as commander of the land forces, probably knew it. He also probably knew that the porteños probably wanted some things from the British, even though he essentially came with no instructions. Of course, these are all modern ways of trying to General Beresford’s thinking process that took place when, as one of his first moves, he announced that a meeting of the Cabildo [3] would take place. [4] What happened afterwards would change the face of Latin America forever.

OOC Notes:
[1] Court of appeal in Spanish America, with some administrative functions
[2] Some of these factors will show up again here. In addition, there is a bit of relevance here, as during the same year there was an attempt to invade Caracas, which also failed.
[3] Town Council - more on that in the next chapter
[4] This is one of three POD’s that is in this timeline.
 
Dan1988

Dan1988

Now, for a few visuals:

Argentinain1806-Invasion.png


Map of the Rio de la Plata estuary, with the British invasion route shown

Argentinain1806.png


Map of the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata

untitled.png


Map of the central area of the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata, with OTL modern boundaries included; here, you can see the modern-day borders of (clockwise) Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia. This is going to be one map you’re going to see over and over again, as a base map. (From: Vázquez de Fernández, Silvia. Historia 2. De la modernidad a los tiempos modernos. Buenos Aires: Kapeluz, pg. 206)


Below: Portrait of General William Carr Beresford

Marechal_Beresford-Coudelaria_de_Alter_%28Pt_%29.jpg
 

maverick

Banned
What the hell is this crap? it sucks...;):p

Good job with the maps...I was fearing nobody would know how to find the place without a couple of them...
 

Dathi THorfinnsson

Dan1988 said:
To Catholics, the 27th of June is also special. On this day, it is believed that the Nativity of St John the Baptist took place. To some people outside of Buenos Aires, it would be just another feast day. However, although the location of Liberation Day on top of the Feast Day of the Nativity of St John the Baptist might have been entirely coincidental, this adds on significance to the day. What that significance is, I leave entirely up to you.
Click to expand...
Mais, la StJean Baptiste, c'est le 24e Juin, pas le 27e!

La St Jean Baptiste / Johannestag / etc. was a huge festival in much of Europe, often including pre-christian mid-summer/solstice celebrations. No way, no how are they going to move it 3 days!
 
Dan1988

Dan1988

Dathi THorfinnsson said:
Mais, la StJean Baptiste, c'est le 24e Juin, pas le 27e!

La St Jean Baptiste / Johannestag / etc. was a huge festival in much of Europe, often including pre-christian mid-summer/solstice celebrations. No way, no how are they going to move it 3 days!
Click to expand...

Sorry about that. :eek:

And if you were looking forward to an update yesterday: I'm sorry, but a little thing called "real life" intervened. To compensate, I will do a double update tonight.
 
Dan1988

Dan1988

Chapter 2
The “Cabildo Abierto” of 1806

June 29, 1806
Buenos Aires, Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata

In the governmental structure of Spanish America, at the time of the Liberation, every town [1] - at least, in theory - had a form of council that dealt with local affairs. Although nowadays the word cabildo has a general meaning of a “council”, around the time of the Liberation it had a more specific meaning of a “Town Council”. Originally, officeholders were elected, but over time, these officeholders were appointed by the viceroy. However, there existed a provision where the landholding population of a town could seek to influence the way local affairs were handled. By means of a special session called a “cabildo abierto”, the (mainly white) landholding population would be convened to debate matters of common public interest. [2]

Such was the case with this meeting of the cabildo of Buenos Aires. When news came to the porteños that the cabildo was going to meet, naturally they wanted to participate in the process. After all, the future of the town (and, by extension, the entire Viceroyalty) was a matter of common public interest, so therefore they would want to have some say in its future. Though the porteños were jubilant regarding the arrival of the “liberators”, there was probably some concern that Buenos Aires might become a British colony. Though the élite in Buenos Aires were merchants, not landowners (as was the case elsewhere), they still believed that they should have a say. In addition, the criollos, in general, wanted to participate more in local affairs. As such, the meeting of the cabildo ended up becoming a “cabildo abierto”, with a good deal of the criollos and the élite talking to General Beresford and vice versa.

Being new to the whole idea, General Beresford was most likely unfamiliar with the entire procedure. That, however, was the least of his worries. He probably wanted to negotiate terms of surrender, as is the case with being a military man. However, at the same time, he also wanted to hear what the porteños wanted and needed.

In that latter measure, General Beresford succeeded. As is usual, the porteños wanted and needed many things. However, there were two basic demands that the porteños wanted. They wanted guarantees that the porteños would be able to govern their own affairs - a thin veil for Buenos Aires not being a colony. They also wanted to be able to practice their religion freely. What General Beresford actually said has been lost to time, but the modern-day popular version (which sometimes never matches reality) of what General Beresford said amounted to both guaranteeing both the continued functioning of the cabildo and - it is said - something along the lines of “we do not come as invaders seeking conquest, but as Allies offering you the benefits of British protection”. [3] In addition, he also strongly assured them that they would be able to have religious freedom. Whether General Beresford actually believed these things we are not sure, but apparently, those assurances was enough and satisfactory.

Writing to his superiors back in London, Beresford asked for more supplies and reinforcements in case of a Spanish counter-attack. He also gave them news of the invasion of Buenos Aires and the subsequent victory, whilst also mentioning some of the needs of the local people - including the demand for local autonomy. If the news made it to London, that would have been an accomplishment unto itself. In the meantime, all he could do was to wait and see.

OOC Notes:
[1] “Town” in British local government terminology of the time. In Spanish America of OTL, it was actually cities, hence cabildo actually means something like “city council”. Except in a few areas (such as the Canary Islands), the term in OTL is largely obsolete in Spanish.
[2] Based on pp. 14-15 of David Rock’s Argentina 1516-1987: From Spanish Colonization to Alfonsín (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987, Revised edition), which I highly recommend for anyone interested in Argentine history.
[3] In OTL, according to Wiki, when the British arrived at the island of Cephalonia, the British forces there used these same exact words to let the local Greek population join their side. From this auspicious start, they were able to conquer the whole of the Ionian Islands.

Below: The Cabildo building in Buenos Aires, which is still used today for its original purpose

399px-Cabildo-Buenos-Aires.jpg
 
Dan1988

Dan1988

Chapter 3
The British South America, or Constitution, Act of 1806

August 30-October 9, 1806
London, England, UK

When the news arrived of the victory in the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata, there was a bit of shock. After all, the Government, for the most part, had not heard of this operation. After all, it was, more or less, an unauthorized operation. However, once the news arrived, there was some jubilation. At last, following the victory of the Battle of Trafalgar some two years before, that Napoleonic ally, Spain, had suffered yet another crushing defeat. In addition, it was a bit of a welcome reprieve.

Most importantly, though, it certainly helped to fulfill a long-standing goal of Britain - and before that, England - to gain a foothold in Spanish territory. This had long-standing roots, dating back to Sir Francis Drake’s ill-fated invasion of San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the late 1590’s. However, the inclusion of Buenos Aires as a target of invasion was a recent idea, with plans to invade the Southern Cone stretching as far back as the 18th century. Yet, the talk of invading Buenos Aires, for the most part, had been just that - talk. The idea, however, was floated around because of a plan made by that famous Latin American revolutionary, Francisco de Miranda, to unite all of Spanish America into one independent country. Although later admitting that it was unrealistic, he did suggest striking some of Spanish America’s main coastal commercial centres as a way of weakening Spanish power. Among these were Caracas (a natural choice, since Sr. Miranda was Venezuelan) and Buenos Aires. Invasions for both of these took place during 1806, but unlike the invasion of Buenos Aires, the invasion of Caracas (as with the invasion of San Juan just a little over 10 years prior) was a failure. So why did the invasion of Buenos Aires succeed?

Two basic factors have been identified as contributing to the success of the invasion of Buenos Aires. The first factor was military. Around the beginning of the 19th century, the British Army began creating what were known as “disposable” units. By 1806, two basic ones were formed - the Army of the South Atlantic [1] and the Army of the Low Countries. Though the eventual makeup of the Army of the South Atlantic was small, it functioned as intended. This was partly because of the plan devised by Sir Home Popham and Francisco de Miranda (and accepted, on Sir Popham’s own initiative), which called for at least 3,000 men for an invasion of Buenos Aires. The invasion of Caracas, by contrast, never got more than just a few “volunteers”, which obviously disappointed Sr. Miranda.

However, another basic factor that was achieved with the invasion of Buenos Aires, and never with the invasion of Caracas, was political. A big reason why the operation planned by Sir Popham was unauthorized was several factors. Other than general incompetence, there was disinterest in Spain’s American colonies (especially when the immediate threat to British sovereignty, at the time, was Napoleon Bonaparte). Hence, priority was given to campaigns in Continental Europe, at the expense of other theatres that the British could have used to strike at the French. [2]

The invasion of Buenos Aires, as such, threw a monkey wrench into plans that had already been carefully laid out for Continental Europe. Success in faraway lands now screamed the basic question of “what to do next?” and in this, opinion was divided. Some members of the British government wanted to make the whole Rio de la Plata area yet another British colony, whilst others wanted a British-backed independent country with trading rights. For a few weeks, agreement could not be reached on this issue. Eventually, a compromise was reached. [3] The areas already occupied by British troops, including any future areas of the Rio de la Plata estuary [4] was to become an independent state, with the temporary name of “British South America”, under an amical protectorate with provisions for preferential trading rights and a permanent British military presence. British South America would therefore establish a government of its own choosing, whilst Britain would be represented in British South America by a Lord High Commissioner. [5] Still, although it eventually became government policy, it did not become an official Act of Parliament until later. This Act of Parliament, known as the British South America Act, 1806 (though nowadays referred to among anglophone porteños as the Constitution Act, 1806), was pretty much “rubber stamp” legislation containing the compromise that was unusually fast-tracked through Parliament.

The decision regarding the compromise was sent immediately after the decision was made, but before the Act of Parliament was given Royal Assent. In the meantime, it would start planning another expedition to the Rio de la Plata estuary, including General Beresford’s needed reinforcements. They couldn’t come sooner enough.

OOC Notes:
[1] In OTL, the Peninsula Army, which was the primary “disposable” force used in the Peninsular War. Originally, this was intended to be for South America (whether it was for Buenos Aires or Caracas is in a bit of a dispute - I’m assuming here the former). This is the second of the three POD’s in this timeline.
[2] Hence why, as with the War of 1812 in OTL, the invasion of the Rio de la Plata was nothing more than a sideshow, when placed in the context of the Napoleonic Wars.
[3] The last of the three POD’s in this timeline
[4] Though not mentioned in the compromise and the eventual British South America Act, this would technically include (by extension) the entire Viceroyalty, especially those areas under the jurisdiction of the audiencia of Buenos Aires
[5] Although a representative of the British government, the Lord High Commissioner is really another way of saying an “ambassador”.
 
Dan1988

Dan1988

Merci très beaucoup, mes amis! :cool:

Hopefully, I should give you all an update tonight (I might resort to just weekly updates, since that's easier for me than daily updates).
 
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