L’Aigle Triomphant: A Napoleonic Victory TL

Been thinking about what you said for a light punishment for the Austrian empire, and as far as changing territories that Russia would accept, increasing the size of the illyrian provinces to go all the way to the Drava River is an option. And maybe Russia wouldn't mind breaking off Galicia into another Russian satellite kingdom/duchy?

Both options would have interesting effects on the future of the Austrian empire and actually reduce the ethnic tensions within it.
 
Been thinking about what you said for a light punishment for the Austrian empire, and as far as changing territories that Russia would accept, increasing the size of the illyrian provinces to go all the way to the Drava River is an option. And maybe Russia wouldn't mind breaking off Galicia into another Russian satellite kingdom/duchy?

Both options would have interesting effects on the future of the Austrian empire and actually reduce the ethnic tensions within it.
France never broke Illyria off in 1809 as IOTL but tossing Petrograd some of Galicia (the southern bit at least) would certainly be an option
 
A Gambit Ends
A Gambit Ends

The British attempt to impose the disgraced Spanish heir as a King-in-exile in Mexico City, with their successful move of the Braganza Court of Portgual to Brazil serving as an inspiration, ended in the autumn of 1814 as a complete and utter failure. Notwithstanding the key differences between the circumstances of the Portuguese nobility's flight to Rio de Janeiro and London whisking away Infante Ferdinand to have him crowned in Spanish America as a "rightful" King, the relationship between Brazil and Lisbon had already for decades been better than that between the Spanish colonies and Madrid. Revolts had rocked New Spain, Peru, La Plata and New Granada repeatedly throughout the back half of the 1700s to the point that after the American Revolution there were European statesmen openly questioning if Spain could hang on to its American possessions; Britain attempting to impose Ferdinand as king was a step too far for a criollo middle and upper class that held tremendous sway and already deeply resented the peninsulare arrogance and refusal to promote from within.

By 1814, then, the simmering revolts and rebellions against Ferdinand had turned to a full boil - ostensibly in the name of Charles IV of Spain but, in reality, designed to grow local power for the various juntas and leaders with names such as Bolivar, Iturbide, and San Martin, men who shared many of the Enlightenment ideas of the founders of the United States but with a Spanish spin on them. The biggest constituency in opposition to Ferdinand, however, had been the masses; his autocratic misrule of New Spain in particular had severed a number of ties between it and the other major viceroyalties (a major factor in the formation of the governing juntas to its south) and also inspired deep loathing in the general population, which by late 1814 had organized so many peasant militias and ad hoc armies that they controlled effectively the entire countryside. Few if any criollo officers remained to head of Ferdinand's small contingent of loyalists and British soldiers were few and far between. On September 20, 1814, a large peasant army of nearly 150,000 persons led by the priest Father Miguel Hidalgo overran Mexico City, captured Ferdinand, and hung up in the main plaza before the Cathedral along with a dozen peninsulare officials and six British officers. The British gambit in the Spanish Americas had utterly failed, and a handful of remaining British soldiers who were not murdered in the ensuing riots and counterattacks were quickly evacuated from Veracruz.

The collapse of the Fernandine Americas had two immediate effects. It plunged the Spanish Americas into chaos, for though Madrid's authority was now ostensibly on paper restored in the name of the rightful king, Hidalgo was a populist revolutionary who held contempt for the criollos as much as the British and New Spain in particular seemed to be tottering on the edge of civil war; the other major viceroyalties were, for now, more stable but now tethered to Madrid effectively only on paper, and Spain's ability to bring them back into the fold was still virtually nonexistent with aggressive British moves at sea.

The second move was that, in a similar vein, it badly damaged Britain's hand just before the Congress of Aix was set to begin; the collapse of order in New Spain was well known to the other countries there but the violent murder of Ferdinand and revolutionary atmosphere that followed was news received essentially as the Congress began. Britain now had no leverage in the colonial sphere other than its direct seizures of Dutch territory in the Cape and East Indies and had only served to anger Spain further. It was hard to think of a weaker hand that London had held in decades...
 
Yeah. Britain will not be having a good century in this tl.

Also, bye Ferdinand. We hardly knew ye.
At least he might serve as inspiration for in-universe british SIs wanting to save the British Empire and show how New Spain could've been ruled much better by them while the french-speaking users exclaim how ASB that is even for an ASB scenario
 
Honestly a pretty good chapter despite being so short, Spain will have a much harder and brutal time if they somehow try and take back control of the colonies, simply because they'll now be facing troops who not only are burning with patriotic revolutionary fervor but also have a great deal of experience in fighting the British inside their terrain, and while Spain is definitely in a better shape in all matters, I don't see them succeeding here even more than in otl.

Here's tl Hidalgo and hopefully he can make mexico a better place than Santa Anna ever did.

I'm also curious to see how the treaty will affect the British, because outside of the Channel Islands there's no territorial ambitions to be captured, and I don't think any of the countries in Europe are in a position to enforce a treaty of Britain abandoning It's colonies as well the captured ones, although considering how Napoleon will ask for a crippling amount of reparations, enforced military neutrality and neutering alongside general British exhaustion of it's resources and people, Britain might not be able to defend their far flung empire, especially if a certain USA decides to "review borders" with Canada.
 
Honestly a pretty good chapter despite being so short, Spain will have a much harder and brutal time if they somehow try and take back control of the colonies, simply because they'll now be facing troops who not only are burning with patriotic revolutionary fervor but also have a great deal of experience in fighting the British inside their terrain, and while Spain is definitely in a better shape in all matters, I don't see them succeeding here even more than in otl.

Here's tl Hidalgo and hopefully he can make mexico a better place than Santa Anna ever did.

I'm also curious to see how the treaty will affect the British, because outside of the Channel Islands there's no territorial ambitions to be captured, and I don't think any of the countries in Europe are in a position to enforce a treaty of Britain abandoning It's colonies as well the captured ones, although considering how Napoleon will ask for a crippling amount of reparations, enforced military neutrality and neutering alongside general British exhaustion of it's resources and people, Britain might not be able to defend their far flung empire, especially if a certain USA decides to "review borders" with Canada.
Thanks! If Spain is smart they’ll “Canadize” the New World, a lot of the OTL revolutionaries were after all monarchists up until the very end.

Britain might find itself in a position where reentry to continental trade is contingent on repatriating stolen colonies and other such concessions. Only Austria doesn’t detest them at this point and Austria will retreat and concede to Napoleon’s line on London if they can get off easily on territorial concessions
 
Britain might find itself in a position where reentry to continental trade is contingent on repatriating stolen colonies and other such concessions. Only Austria doesn’t detest them at this point and Austria will retreat and concede to Napoleon’s line on London if they can get off easily on territorial concessions
Don't you just hate to see it? 🤣
 
Thanks! If Spain is smart they’ll “Canadize” the New World, a lot of the OTL revolutionaries were after all monarchists up until the very end.

Britain might find itself in a position where reentry to continental trade is contingent on repatriating stolen colonies and other such concessions. Only Austria doesn’t detest them at this point and Austria will retreat and concede to Napoleon’s line on London if they can get off easily on territorial concessions
That could have a interesting effect of the colonies being basically independent de facto while de jure being "His Most Catholic Majesty faithful Servants", with Spain having a preferential trading benefits (alongside the French of course) and defending their colonies on military and diplomatic levels, something that would definitely get on the nerves of the US and Brazil depending on how serious and willing the Spanish are to it.
 
Boy Britain’s really screwed the Spaniards over. Also Napoleon is probably laughing his ass off at what’s happening to Britain.
 
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1. I'm wondering if/when the Irish will revolt against the Brits since they have a somewhat weaker army.

2. I hope Napoleon mends France relationship with the Ottomans so they can have control of the Mediterranean so Russia doesn't betray him.

3. I want to see a 'Hispanic Alliance' between the former viceroyalties of Spain against both the Brits and Brazil.
 
That could have a interesting effect of the colonies being basically independent de facto while de jure being "His Most Catholic Majesty faithful Servants", with Spain having a preferential trading benefits (alongside the French of course) and defending their colonies on military and diplomatic levels, something that would definitely get on the nerves of the US and Brazil depending on how serious and willing the Spanish are to it.
This is sort of what I've had in mind; Infante Carlos was rigid about divine right and his own Catholic faith but other than that didn't have very well-developed political views. That said, I'm skeptical he'd budge much from the Bourbon approach to colonial governance, IOW extract extract extract and oppress violently when there's pushback.

1. I'm wondering if/when the Irish will revolt against the Brits since they have a somewhat weaker army.

2. I hope Napoleon mends France relationship with the Ottomans so they can have control of the Mediterranean so Russia doesn't betray him.

3. I want to see a 'Hispanic Alliance' between the former viceroyalties of Spain against both the Brits and Brazil.
Ireland's push for, at minimum, Grattan's Parliament - which was established in 1782 and only abrogated under the Act of Union as recently as 1800 - will be covered soon.

And Napoleon will have some interesting foreign policy decisions to make post-1815 once Aix is all wrapped up, that's for sure.

Brazil: oh no im in danger
Their one advantage is that there's a lot of "soft" land north of La Plata and Spain will have its hands full elsewhere, but yeah
 
This is sort of what I've had in mind; Infante Carlos was rigid about divine right and his own Catholic faith but other than that didn't have very well-developed political views. That said, I'm skeptical he'd budge much from the Bourbon approach to colonial governance, IOW extract extract extract and oppress violently when there's pushback.


Ireland's push for, at minimum, Grattan's Parliament - which was established in 1782 and only abrogated under the Act of Union as recently as 1800 - will be covered soon.

And Napoleon will have some interesting foreign policy decisions to make post-1815 once Aix is all wrapped up, that's for sure.


Their one advantage is that there's a lot of "soft" land north of La Plata and Spain will have its hands full elsewhere, but yeah
Yeah, worth reminding the Spanish didn't have as strong reaction to the independence of la Plata, Chile and Paraguay, they were much more keen on trying to retain Peru alongside Venezuela and Colombia, and that's not even mentioning Mexico's war of independence being the bloodiest compared to other Hispanic countries, the Spain were THAT determined to keep it as New Spain. Meaning that they'll take the loss of Plata to instead focus on their actual profitable colonies.

And yes, as Sarthaka mentioned in the post, even with massive and radical changes to Spanish conduct in it's colonies... The damage would've gone untreated for very long to actually make a difference, especially now that the colonies are not only burning with patriotism but also have repelled British invasion thrice on the continent as well as still having the success of the US and a still powerful and living French empire with it's inspiring Napoleonic code. While Spain will certainly try and impose their ruleship , I still see them only retaining the Caribbean.
 
Yeah, worth reminding the Spanish didn't have as strong reaction to the independence of la Plata, Chile and Paraguay, they were much more keen on trying to retain Peru alongside Venezuela and Colombia, and that's not even mentioning Mexico's war of independence being the bloodiest compared to other Hispanic countries, the Spain were THAT determined to keep it as New Spain. Meaning that they'll take the loss of Plata to instead focus on their actual profitable colonies.

And yes, as Sarthaka mentioned in the post, even with massive and radical changes to Spanish conduct in it's colonies... The damage would've gone untreated for very long to actually make a difference, especially now that the colonies are not only burning with patriotism but also have repelled British invasion thrice on the continent as well as still having the success of the US and a still powerful and living French empire with it's inspiring Napoleonic code. While Spain will certainly try and impose their ruleship , I still see them only retaining the Caribbean.
I have some decisions to make on how, exactly, Spain’s colonies evolve moving forward, that’s for sure
 
People like to point to the War of 1812 as what killed the Federalists but the truth is that they had been limping along since the Alien and Sedition Acts destroyed their reputation in the eyes of the public. Their most impressive showing since Adams was the result of a renegade D-R being elected. Though while the Federalists as a party might be dead their philosophy could receive greater interest.

Monroe would still likely get the D-R nomination and win, though I could see him being overpowered by the coalition of anti-‘Virginian Dynasts’ led by William Crawford. If Crawford’s bid succeeds he’ll probably keep Tompkins as VP since he provides natural balance, and who might actually be an effective administrator since no war means no debt and descent into alcoholism.
 
The Congress of Aix - Part II
The Congress of Aix - Part II

The ministers who arrived at Aix in November of 1814 were surprised, even if perhaps they should not have been, that Napoleon had come first and was waiting as a dutiful if smug host. Every manor house in the vicinity would within weeks be full of statesmen and their courtiers as all of Europe seemed to gather around to hash out the continent's future over the next six months.

First things were first. Austria had already braced itself for some territorial losses; the only question became where, and how severe. The answer did not please Vienna. Napoleon did not extend the influence of Confederate Germany any further beyond securing Austria's recognition of the Frankfurt Diet and the terms of the Treaty of Potsdam, but rather settled on helping his satellites that had been formally attacked by Austria instead. Almost the entirely of Austrian Poland was ceded to the Duchy of Warsaw, and with that stroke of the pen essentially the entire Partition sans Russia's chunk had been undone. This move, in adding Krakow and Lwow to the Duchy, was not well-received in Russia, and so a good potion of southernmost Galicia in the districts of Ternopil and Brody as well as the whole of the Bukovina was rotated to Russia, despite their non-participation in the conflict, to mollify them and give them even more of a perch near the Danube. This choice was one Napoleon was not happy with, but accepted at Talleyrand's urging. The Congress of Aix thus effectively ended Austrian influence east of the Carpathians and nearly restored the old Polish Commonwealth as a power in its own right, even if the Congress never used such terms.

The dramatic in crease in Warsaw's power between Potsdam and Aix precluded much other territorial concessions by Austria, however. Suggestions of carving up Salzburg, Carinthia and all of Dalmatia fell on deaf years; Trieste and parts of western Istria were attached to the Kingdom of Italy and western Carinthia added to Bavaria's Tyrolean province, but otherwise most the Austrian core held, especially in the Adriatic, with the understanding between Talleyrand and Metternich that Austria would abide the terms of the revised Continental System Napoleon had laid out in Rome five years prior. With that, the most pressing territorial adjustments in the Continent were done, and Europe's map reshaped. The Bourbon and Savoyard remnant states in Sicily and Sardinia respectively were levied indemnities, and it was understood that they would shift to a Neapolitan and Spanish sphere of influence, respectively.

Most crucially, however, was Austria and Russia signing to the treaty their recognition of the new political settlement in Europe, France's territorial expansion up to the Rhine, and their acquiescence to the Napoleonic order, including its inspirational legal code and fundamental rights. This was not particularly popular in the courts of either state, and though there would be no Sixth Coalition statesmen in both empires set to work undermining this plank of the System of Aix before long.

With Austria settled, the attention would next have to turn to the thorniest issue of all - how exactly to deal with Britain and her recent, decade-long campaign of terror on the high seas...
 
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