Congrats on 100 chapters, here's to 100 more...I'd raise a beer for ya, but that does make me wonder, and it is a bit mundane. What would be the history of alcohol brewing in the Lone Star Republic?
Now there is an ominous hint at the future. It's hard to speculate on what it'll lead to, but it is something we'd all be well advised to remember.Poverty skyrocketed to rates that would not be repeated until the Britannia Recession
That's a heck of an exodus. What'll that bring the population of Texas up to?an estimated total of 1.16 million Southern Americans
Congrats on 100 chapters, here's to 100 more...I'd raise a beer for ya, but that does make me wonder, and it is a bit mundane. What would be the history of alcohol brewing in the Lone Star Republic?
Guess these refugees are gonna help keep the union bell alive. Guess this also explains how the Democrats are stunted for the next 70 or so years till Huey Long makes them populist.
Congratulations on reaching 100 chapters, and writing quite possibly one of the best Texas timelines on the site!
Congrats, @Kaiser Chris, at reaching 100 chapters (107 or 108 if you count the interludes and vignettes) and over 300k words and making possibly the best Texas TL on this board. BTW, if you want another story that focuses on Texas, read Forget the Alamo by @drewmc2001 (the link is here for the story: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/forget-the-alamo.418815/.). That's a good one, too...
Here's hoping this continues on for 100 more chapters and many more words, and waiting for more, of course...
Those Southerners are about to receive a rude awakening, courtesy of the Lone Star Republic, of course (it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch, methinks)...
A hundred chapters, a few vignettes, sixty seven pages, and not a one of them a waste of time. Thank you for all the hard work you've put into this Chris. It has been enjoyable all the way so far, and I am sure it'll be the same right up until we get to 2036 and the end of the road.
That said, I've been looking forward to the Southern Exodus update for awhile now, and it was worth the wait. I look forward to seeing the cultural effects down the road, but two things from the update I want to lightly touch on...
Now there is an ominous hint at the future. It's hard to speculate on what it'll lead to, but it is something we'd all be well advised to remember.
That's a heck of an exodus. What'll that bring the population of Texas up to?
I've already read it. It's a good contrast to my work and does a whole lot better in character chapters than I ever could. Also has slightly more realism and goes greater in depth for the initial politics.
Bismarck's main plan for complete and total unification was to act aggressive on Germany's western borders and make it look like they were going for a play at Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. Such an audacious move would encourage Austria to jump in a possible war against Germany while they would be distracted on the western front, the Austrians believing it would be the ripe moment to take back their rightful lands and leadership position in Germany. This was the ploy that Bismarck wanted Austria to believe so that they would declare war on Germany and give Kaiser Wilhelm the complete casus belli to invade and annex Austria into the Empire, all the while Bismarck would actually be acting diplomatically to acquire the Western German territories without a single shot. Throughout 1862 and 1863 Bismarck worked to make sure that his master plan would unfold behind the scenes, most of Europe's attention shifted to North America with their ongoing wars. Bismarck's first steps was to recruit as many possible allies in the future war against Austria and ensure that no great power would go to their side in the war. First he focused on Austria's neighbors; Bismarck traveling to St. Petersburg, Budapest, and Rome in 1862. He shared his plans with Tsar Alexander, President Kossuth, and Prime Minister Garibaldi. Once revealed Bismarck drew them all in with promises of a "Partition of Austria", one that would result in all three of the Great Powers receiving territory. Russia would receive Galicia, Hungary Bukovina, and Italy would receive the remainder of Tyrol and most of Trieste. All three powers were enticed since for Russia it would be another easy expansion and further unify all Slavs under Russia, Hungary would see the end of Austria as a sovereign nation, and Italy would finish their unification. With that out of the way Bismarck would turn attentions west and begin the second part of his plan, to complete Western German Unification and draw Austria into attacking Germany. For the Netherlands it was an easy move as the populations of both Limburg and Luxembourg were near revolt at times in their desire to get away from the rule of Amsterdam and become states of Germany. Not wanting to face another war similar to the Belgian war of Independence that would destroy the Netherlands, King William III agreed to annexation of the two states in the German Empire in return for a favorable trade agreement, 3 million Reichsmarks in compensation, and William's sons Prince's Maurice and Alexander being installed as the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg and Limburg respectively. Bismarck returned the deal to the German Reichstag in February with a supermajority passing the treaty. Thus allowing the Duchies of Luxembourg and Limburg to enter into the German Empire on March 7th.
Yeah, @MagicalPhantom345, Bismarck is the epitome of the trope Magnificent Bastard, IMO...
On a side note, @Kaiser Chris, you gonna watch the Super Bowl?
The Southern migrants would not go to Europe as they would never willingly live under a monarchy. Latin America was not acceptable as they were inhabited by "lesser" races of Hispanics, Indians, and Blacks.
When election time came there was little doubt on what would happen. Abraham Lincoln announced in early Spring that he would seek for reelection as the GOP candidate, riding to the National Convention virtually unopposed and winning the delegate vote in a landslide, keeping Vice President William Seward on the ticket. As the sitting president who kept the nation together and rode the Union to victory in the Civil War in only two short years, Lincoln became one of the most popular presidents of all time (with the exception of the South) only Washington and possibly Harrison being able to eclipse Lincoln's achievements. The only question of the race was just how the Democrats would nominate and what they could salvage from defeat, as there was little realistic chance of them taking a victory unless the Lincoln campaign and the Republican Party somehow acted in a manner that was worse than Toombs. For the Democrats it was a matter of life or death not centered on winning the White House, but simply staying relevant and alive as a party. In their short history the Democrats only had their founder Andrew Jackson to call upon as a great president (even Jackson though was unable to stand the test of time as reevaluation in the 20th century places him as one of the worst presidents), the others being the mediocre Johnson, the well-intentioned Douglas who drove the nation further to Civil War, and lastly Toombs. In many respects the Toombs administration virtually killed the Democrats standing in national politics for seven decades as the Americans who experienced the Civil War as well as the generations that followed equated Toombs with the Democratic party. In their eyes the Democrats were traitors with much of their establishment seceding in the Confederacy and their sitting president defecting to the Rebels. In the North the Republicans milked this in every election, equating any of their Democratic opponents no matter their character as being sympathetic with slavery scum. Worse of all was how two traditional pillars of the Democratic Party, the Immigrants and Catholics, were defecting to the Republicans in droves due to successful national propaganda that depicted the Democrats as fighting only for Anglo-Saxon Protestant supremacy. With many of their leaders either being Confederates or lackluster in performance, the Democrats were forced to nominate the Seymour/Johnson ticket that had been wiped out electorally in the last election. Practically the only reason that the Democrats managed to continue to exist was due to the party seemingly embracing total social conservatism along with economic liberalism in order to act as an alternative to the socially liberal and protectionist policies of the Republicans. On election day the results were a virtual red wipeout as Lincoln and won 192 electoral votes to 48 (Seymour only winning the border states) and a landslide of the popular vote. The Republican hold on congress became a supermajority with the Democrats holding only a fraction of the total seats. Thus began the Third Party System that would last until 1932.
......The Great Prohibition of 1920 its likely to make EVERY Texan outside of the Deseret Mormons to gape to the Americans and say "Are they NUTS!?"Brewing in the Republic consists of a mix of German and Czech beer, French and Californian wine, and Tejano tequila. Besides a small alcohol tax there is not problems with brewing and you can make anything you want so long as you have a license. The only Commonwealth that would heavily support a prohibition would be Deseret.
And their leader is in Cuba which is currently ruled by a European monarchy.
Congratulations on 100 chapters!
Interesting that this major influx of American immigrants is what will lead to the final break with American culture being the 'dominant' force.
What was Breckenridge doing during the war OTL?
Just wondering but will there be any political earthquakes to note in the future of this timeline?
......The Great Prohibition of 1920 its likely to make EVERY Texan outside of the Deseret Mormons to gape to the Americans and say "Are they NUTS!?"
That and even the MENTION of Prohibition its more likely to get the guy who dared to mention it in the Texan Senate or Representatives Chamber to be tarred, Feathered then thrown in the nearest water mass, a consequence of having a far higher influence of European, and Tejano groups what would see the Prohibition as an act of utter sanctimonious stupidity not based in any historical or logical basis but blind fanatism
Hmm....It wouldn't be rare and ironical that the Prohibition while it near killed the Spirits and liqueurs business in the US, it would literally mark the "Second Great Boom of the Liqueur Industry" for Texas, the coastal Cities of the Pacific and Atlantic growing with Casinos and such, as they become highly popular vacation sites for the American population what flounted the Prohibition by the simple expedient of taking vacations or a weekend in Texas.
I say the "Second Great Boom of the Liqueur Industry" because the first will be linked to the disaster known as the Great Wine Blight that JUST started in 1863, and pretty much Killed the ENTIRETY of the French and European Wine Grape Plantations across 15 Years, until ironically someone discovered that only using the method of Grafting the Wine plants to the Roots of a TEXAN Native Grape Wine, resistent to the American originated Phylloxera, you could replant wine in lands infected by Phylloxera without the plant dying.
Its likely that this will kick off the Texas/California Wine industry when the grafting method its discovered earlier for the French Texan Colonists who were dealing with the issue of Grape Wines dying for an unknown reason in Texan Lands until someone got the clue that Native Grape Wines Survived what it killed European Plants , grafting being an agricultural technique quite old.....
Ironically you known from WHERE it was practically replanted the near entirety of the Wine plants for grafting? from the Wine plantatons from Chile that the Cousiño family imported during the 1850's.
Here ITTL its likely to not be a total destruction of the Wine Plantations, the knowledge of the Grafting technique arriving earlier and making the Wineyards from Texas grow immensely in fortune and name as they literally had to supply France AND the rest of the World during nearly the entire decade that took to replacing the roots of Wine Plantations in France and most of Europe to allow the Wineyards to regrow...Texan Wine would be a term as common as Meat and other stuff for the world after that date....
What exactly do you mean?