I re-posted the map and edited the western border to be more southwards.
Miranda's Dream. ¡Por una Latino América fuerte!.- A Gran Colombia TL
- Thread starter Red_Galiray
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I re-posted the map and edited the western border to be more southwards.
Looks great. Again, thanks for the map. It's fantastic, and I really appreciate your effort.
Chapter 49: A divided world
The Revolutions of 1850 changed Europe and the world. Europe, because they toppled the governments of several nations, including Great Powers, or at the very least forced major changes; furthermore, the Revolutions lit a flame of nationalism that would burn the Austrian Empire and the rest of Central Europe, on its ashes appearing new nations such as Hungary, the South German Confederation (or Germany), the North German Confederation (or Prussia), North Italy (Piedmont), South Italy (Italian Republic), and Romania. New ideologies also appeared, chiefly laborism, a pro-working class set of political ideas with religious undertones. And in the immediate aftermath other new ideas would rise, the most important example being Karl Marx’s and Friedrich Engels’ scientific socialism, which took laborism and stripped it of its religious past and peaceful democratic objectives, transforming it into a secular and revolutionary current that struck fear into the rulers of Europe.
France was the big winner of the Revolutions. The French Empire, headed now by Napoleon III, had won an important war against Prussia and confirmed its position as the greatest land power of the continent and perhaps the world. Just three years later his Empire would prove its naval prowess by defeating the US Navy in the Mexican-American War. This alarmed Britain, which after the brief détente of previous years that saw cooperation in Greece and Egypt, decided to assert itself again. This Cold War between the two old rivals was to be waged with new technologies and methods, such as ironclads and gunboat diplomacy. The battlefield would be a new one as well: Japan.
The proud Japanese nation had been following the principle of international isolation known as sakoku. The only foreigners allowed to enter the country were Dutch merchants, who were limited to a few ports. From there new technologies and knowledge entered the country, but the island lagged behind the times, similarly to China. Politically, Japan was under the control of the Shogun and his Daimyos, with the Emperor a figurehead. The samurai remained as the Shogun’s army, but they were falling behind socially inferior but more prosperous merchants. The country as a whole fiercely opposed change, but things were about to change. The first sign was the arrival of Father Forcade, a French missionary.
Father Forcade arrived to Okinawa, Japan in 1844. The Japanese allowed him and a Chinese translator to stay in a closed-off temple, where the priest learned Japanese. Two years later, a French ship came, announcing that the Pope had named Forcade the archbishop of Japan. But the Japanese refused to let them enter the mainland, and turned them away. Things remained quiet for the following years. The US was planning its own expedition, when the start of the Mexican-American War in 1851 interfered with their plans. The French Navy would join the war later that year. During this Second Quasi-War, the French develop a new experimental kind of warship – the ironclad. The first two French ironclads, La Gloire and La Victoire, struck fear into the hearts of the British and the Americans. The British started to develop their own ironclads, the first being the HMS Invincible. For their part, the American-built Pook’s Turtles were unable to face the French ships, but they were still better than other navy ships. In the following years, many nations more would build their own ironclads: Colombia’s ARC Hispaniola, Chile’s Esmeralda, Russia’s Don Bass class, Prussia’s Frederick the Great, and Spain’s Santa María.
Tokugawa Iemochi
But the French once again got a head start by being the first ones to use them in gunboat diplomacy. In 1853, the fourth French ironclad, Cléopatre, arrived to Japan. The Japanese were terrified of the giant beast of steam and iron, and acquiesced to Captain Rassiat’s demands for an audience with the Shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi. Iemochi recognized that he couldn’t defeat the French, who had far more advanced ships and arms. Rassiat forced them to sign an Unequal Treaty, which opened the country to commerce with France. France, for her part, vowed in the Treaty to protect Japan from British imperialism.
There was backlash by the Daimyos against Iemochi’s actions. The Shogun was know seen as weak. His main opposition were the Shishi, southern samurai who loather Iemochi and foreign influence. They started to use terrorism in an attempt to expel the “barbarians”, such as assassinations and firing on merchant ships from other nations. And the number of nations influencing Japan was increasing: in 1855, the British ironclad HMS Dauntless arrived and forced another Unequal Treaty. One of the clauses of the Treaty was a renouncement of France and her influence. But Iemochi still allowed the French to train and arm his troops. He also founded many new schools of learning, all staffed by Frenchmen. This was part of Napoleon III’s objective to “pull an Egypt” in Japan. Like in the African nation, France hoped to establish her influence and take control of trade and resources in exchange of military and geopolitical aid. Iemochi preferred them because he was afraid of suffering the same humiliation as the Chinese at the hands of the hands of the same Empire.
In 1856 Russia and Japan signed a Treaty. Japan signed another with the US in 1858. The same year, the Three Flag Expedition (Expedición de las Tres Banderas), a multinational Mexican, Colombian and Chilean Armada led by the Chilean Admiral Patricio Lynch, forced Japan to sign a Treaty opening the country to Latin American trade.
The country continued to descend into chaos and civil war. The Emperor Komei, around whom the Shishi and opposition Daimyos rallied, broke the traditional regal silence by speaking against the Shogun’s actions. The British, seeing an opportunity, offered to arm and train the Shishis. These samurai had just been defeated by Iemochi’s brand new police force. They changed their message to “Western Technology, Japanese Spirit”, and they started a rebellion in their southern domains, Choshu and Satsuma. The leadership of both sides was shaken when Iemochi died and was succeeded by Yoshinobu, and Emperor Komei was succeeded by his son, Meiji. Compromise could not be reached, and the factions descended into the Boshin War. Yoshinobu and his daimyos, supported by the French, now wanted a Japanese Revolution, which would keep the Emperor as a figurehead with Yoshinobu as Head of the Council, an analogue to Prime Minister in other countries. Emperor Meiji and the Shishi wanted a Japanese Restauration of Imperial power.
Emperor Meiji
The Shogun had the advantage in that the French were willing to get much more involved much earlier. His French trained forces, the Denshutai, were able to defeat the Imperialist Satcho alliance in the first few battles. A massive Imperial attack against Osaka was thwarted by the Denshutai, who managed to hold the city under the Shogunate’s control. This allowed Yoshinobu to keep control of several domains and daimyos, especially those who had their families trapped in Edo under the “hostage system”. The British tried to supply and train the Imperial forces, but since Britain was mainly a naval power, they had problems creating an army from scratch. France, the world’s greatest land power, was much more capable when it came to arming and training the Denshutai. A British informal blockade prevented the bringing of more supplies from France, which caused several incidents. First, there was the sinking of the French Notre Dame by the HMS Undaunted, which caused a panic in Europe. Of far lesser international importance there was the “Selling of the Flag”, when Colombian President Cristian Hurtado allowed a French vessel to flow the Colombian tricolor to try and evade the British blockade. This incident embarrassed the French and caused a national crisis in Colombia.
Ultimately, in 1868, the Emperor would issue a proclamation of surrender, accepting Yoshinobu’s terms in what came to be known as the Osaka Protocol. The Emperor would remain in power as a figurehead, and Yoshinobu would be head of his council. In exchange, Yoshinobu promised to protect the samurai’s form of life, and fully adopt the principle of “Western Technology, Japanese Spirit”. The Boshin War had ended in a Shogunate Victory, but for Europe it was a French victory. Japan started to modernize quickly after that, adopting technology and industry from France. The European nation, for its part, began to cast covetous eyes in China and Korea. For her part, Britain continued consolidating and expanding control in North America and the Pacific.
Tokugawa Yoshinobu
Colombia and Chile both joined the colonizing efforts together by making an attempt to establish influence in Sarawak. The attempt was disastrous, and it only helped to convince the population to continue under the control of the James Brooke’s dynasty started back in 1841. The Latino-Americans had more luck in the Philippines, which had stagnated under Spanish rule. The rise of Philippine nationalism, represented by Insulares who started calling themselves Hijos del País (Sons of the Country), seemed to represent a fertile ground for future revolution, especially after a couple of revolts were brutally suppressed and their leaders exiled. Talks between Philippine Revolutionaries and Colombo-Chilean agents were held in secret, with the promise of help if a Spanish-Colombian War was ever to start.
In Paris, France, the First Worker’s International was opened in 1864. The French Social Republicans had an active participation in it. By then, Emperor Napoleon III’s health seemed to worsen, and there were talks about where France was headed, the two options clear: continue being an Empire or become a Republic. Napoleon III muddled the waters by accepting Socialist demands and creating a more democratic France.
In the middle east, there were fears of war due to Russian ambitions over the Ottoman lands, but Emperor Constantin declined to pursue an aggressive foreign policy for the moment, deciding to focus on liberalizing and modernizing their Empire. The Ottomans breathed a sight of relief, but they also started their own attempts of westernization, which lead to the Tanzimat reforms. But fears of French influence in nearby Egypt and of the Russian bear in Romania and Hungary led to a botched implementation that would cause chaos in what remained of Ottoman Syria, leading to a Levant Christian Diaspora.
Altogether, the world continued changing. New social movements, revolutions and reforms, new technologies and weapons, all affected how the world evolved. But Europe was still a continent filled with tensions. The powder-keg of Europe had exploded in 1850. Was it filled and ready for another explosion? If so, what would cause the spark?
France was the big winner of the Revolutions. The French Empire, headed now by Napoleon III, had won an important war against Prussia and confirmed its position as the greatest land power of the continent and perhaps the world. Just three years later his Empire would prove its naval prowess by defeating the US Navy in the Mexican-American War. This alarmed Britain, which after the brief détente of previous years that saw cooperation in Greece and Egypt, decided to assert itself again. This Cold War between the two old rivals was to be waged with new technologies and methods, such as ironclads and gunboat diplomacy. The battlefield would be a new one as well: Japan.
The proud Japanese nation had been following the principle of international isolation known as sakoku. The only foreigners allowed to enter the country were Dutch merchants, who were limited to a few ports. From there new technologies and knowledge entered the country, but the island lagged behind the times, similarly to China. Politically, Japan was under the control of the Shogun and his Daimyos, with the Emperor a figurehead. The samurai remained as the Shogun’s army, but they were falling behind socially inferior but more prosperous merchants. The country as a whole fiercely opposed change, but things were about to change. The first sign was the arrival of Father Forcade, a French missionary.
Father Forcade arrived to Okinawa, Japan in 1844. The Japanese allowed him and a Chinese translator to stay in a closed-off temple, where the priest learned Japanese. Two years later, a French ship came, announcing that the Pope had named Forcade the archbishop of Japan. But the Japanese refused to let them enter the mainland, and turned them away. Things remained quiet for the following years. The US was planning its own expedition, when the start of the Mexican-American War in 1851 interfered with their plans. The French Navy would join the war later that year. During this Second Quasi-War, the French develop a new experimental kind of warship – the ironclad. The first two French ironclads, La Gloire and La Victoire, struck fear into the hearts of the British and the Americans. The British started to develop their own ironclads, the first being the HMS Invincible. For their part, the American-built Pook’s Turtles were unable to face the French ships, but they were still better than other navy ships. In the following years, many nations more would build their own ironclads: Colombia’s ARC Hispaniola, Chile’s Esmeralda, Russia’s Don Bass class, Prussia’s Frederick the Great, and Spain’s Santa María.
Tokugawa Iemochi
But the French once again got a head start by being the first ones to use them in gunboat diplomacy. In 1853, the fourth French ironclad, Cléopatre, arrived to Japan. The Japanese were terrified of the giant beast of steam and iron, and acquiesced to Captain Rassiat’s demands for an audience with the Shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi. Iemochi recognized that he couldn’t defeat the French, who had far more advanced ships and arms. Rassiat forced them to sign an Unequal Treaty, which opened the country to commerce with France. France, for her part, vowed in the Treaty to protect Japan from British imperialism.
There was backlash by the Daimyos against Iemochi’s actions. The Shogun was know seen as weak. His main opposition were the Shishi, southern samurai who loather Iemochi and foreign influence. They started to use terrorism in an attempt to expel the “barbarians”, such as assassinations and firing on merchant ships from other nations. And the number of nations influencing Japan was increasing: in 1855, the British ironclad HMS Dauntless arrived and forced another Unequal Treaty. One of the clauses of the Treaty was a renouncement of France and her influence. But Iemochi still allowed the French to train and arm his troops. He also founded many new schools of learning, all staffed by Frenchmen. This was part of Napoleon III’s objective to “pull an Egypt” in Japan. Like in the African nation, France hoped to establish her influence and take control of trade and resources in exchange of military and geopolitical aid. Iemochi preferred them because he was afraid of suffering the same humiliation as the Chinese at the hands of the hands of the same Empire.
In 1856 Russia and Japan signed a Treaty. Japan signed another with the US in 1858. The same year, the Three Flag Expedition (Expedición de las Tres Banderas), a multinational Mexican, Colombian and Chilean Armada led by the Chilean Admiral Patricio Lynch, forced Japan to sign a Treaty opening the country to Latin American trade.
The country continued to descend into chaos and civil war. The Emperor Komei, around whom the Shishi and opposition Daimyos rallied, broke the traditional regal silence by speaking against the Shogun’s actions. The British, seeing an opportunity, offered to arm and train the Shishis. These samurai had just been defeated by Iemochi’s brand new police force. They changed their message to “Western Technology, Japanese Spirit”, and they started a rebellion in their southern domains, Choshu and Satsuma. The leadership of both sides was shaken when Iemochi died and was succeeded by Yoshinobu, and Emperor Komei was succeeded by his son, Meiji. Compromise could not be reached, and the factions descended into the Boshin War. Yoshinobu and his daimyos, supported by the French, now wanted a Japanese Revolution, which would keep the Emperor as a figurehead with Yoshinobu as Head of the Council, an analogue to Prime Minister in other countries. Emperor Meiji and the Shishi wanted a Japanese Restauration of Imperial power.
Emperor Meiji
The Shogun had the advantage in that the French were willing to get much more involved much earlier. His French trained forces, the Denshutai, were able to defeat the Imperialist Satcho alliance in the first few battles. A massive Imperial attack against Osaka was thwarted by the Denshutai, who managed to hold the city under the Shogunate’s control. This allowed Yoshinobu to keep control of several domains and daimyos, especially those who had their families trapped in Edo under the “hostage system”. The British tried to supply and train the Imperial forces, but since Britain was mainly a naval power, they had problems creating an army from scratch. France, the world’s greatest land power, was much more capable when it came to arming and training the Denshutai. A British informal blockade prevented the bringing of more supplies from France, which caused several incidents. First, there was the sinking of the French Notre Dame by the HMS Undaunted, which caused a panic in Europe. Of far lesser international importance there was the “Selling of the Flag”, when Colombian President Cristian Hurtado allowed a French vessel to flow the Colombian tricolor to try and evade the British blockade. This incident embarrassed the French and caused a national crisis in Colombia.
Ultimately, in 1868, the Emperor would issue a proclamation of surrender, accepting Yoshinobu’s terms in what came to be known as the Osaka Protocol. The Emperor would remain in power as a figurehead, and Yoshinobu would be head of his council. In exchange, Yoshinobu promised to protect the samurai’s form of life, and fully adopt the principle of “Western Technology, Japanese Spirit”. The Boshin War had ended in a Shogunate Victory, but for Europe it was a French victory. Japan started to modernize quickly after that, adopting technology and industry from France. The European nation, for its part, began to cast covetous eyes in China and Korea. For her part, Britain continued consolidating and expanding control in North America and the Pacific.
Tokugawa Yoshinobu
Colombia and Chile both joined the colonizing efforts together by making an attempt to establish influence in Sarawak. The attempt was disastrous, and it only helped to convince the population to continue under the control of the James Brooke’s dynasty started back in 1841. The Latino-Americans had more luck in the Philippines, which had stagnated under Spanish rule. The rise of Philippine nationalism, represented by Insulares who started calling themselves Hijos del País (Sons of the Country), seemed to represent a fertile ground for future revolution, especially after a couple of revolts were brutally suppressed and their leaders exiled. Talks between Philippine Revolutionaries and Colombo-Chilean agents were held in secret, with the promise of help if a Spanish-Colombian War was ever to start.
In Paris, France, the First Worker’s International was opened in 1864. The French Social Republicans had an active participation in it. By then, Emperor Napoleon III’s health seemed to worsen, and there were talks about where France was headed, the two options clear: continue being an Empire or become a Republic. Napoleon III muddled the waters by accepting Socialist demands and creating a more democratic France.
In the middle east, there were fears of war due to Russian ambitions over the Ottoman lands, but Emperor Constantin declined to pursue an aggressive foreign policy for the moment, deciding to focus on liberalizing and modernizing their Empire. The Ottomans breathed a sight of relief, but they also started their own attempts of westernization, which lead to the Tanzimat reforms. But fears of French influence in nearby Egypt and of the Russian bear in Romania and Hungary led to a botched implementation that would cause chaos in what remained of Ottoman Syria, leading to a Levant Christian Diaspora.
Altogether, the world continued changing. New social movements, revolutions and reforms, new technologies and weapons, all affected how the world evolved. But Europe was still a continent filled with tensions. The powder-keg of Europe had exploded in 1850. Was it filled and ready for another explosion? If so, what would cause the spark?
Colombia and Chile: Mine your antimony. We want it.
Sarawak: no.
With that said, I can see a Latin American / American / European / what-have-you adventurer (or two) trying to make his own colony in Borneo in the near-future. The sultan of Brunei still wants a friendly geopolitical counterweight to the expansionist Brooke family, and as the Yankee Consul Affairs of 1866 showed, he wasn't above giving Rajah titles to foreign adventurers.
Why on earth did Sultan Abdul Mo'mein continue this policy when it could lead to Brunei being carved up, I have no idea.
Alternatively, Chile and Colombia could try colonizing Papua / New Guinea. The Dutch during the period aren't too concerned with the land during this time, and Australia's invasion paranoia (or rather, Queensland's paranoia) wasn't as developed as the later 1880's and 1890's. There was even an attempt by a French adventurer to make his own kingdom there in 1879.
Colombia and Chile: Mine your antimony. We want it.
Sarawak: no.
With that said, I can see a Latin American / American / European / what-have-you adventurer (or two) trying to make his own colony in Borneo in the near-future. The sultan of Brunei still wants a friendly geopolitical counterweight to the expansionist Brooke family, and as the Yankee Consul Affairs of 1866 showed, he wasn't above giving Rajah titles to foreign adventurers.
Why on earth did Sultan Abdul Mo'mein continue this policy when it could lead to Brunei being carved up, I have no idea.
Alternatively, Chile and Colombia could try colonizing Papua / New Guinea. The Dutch during the period aren't too concerned with the land during this time, and Australia's invasion paranoia (or rather, Queensland's paranoia) wasn't as developed as the later 1880's and 1890's. There was even an attempt by a French adventurer to make his own kingdom there in 1879.
Thanks for the suggestions! They seem very interesting.
You're welcome. Southeast Asia was a hotbed of intrepid, bold, and stupid adventurers during the 19th century, and there's a lot of potential for getting things to go weird down here.
And they don't necessarily have to be men. For instance, Emma Forsayth was the largest landowner of German New Guinea to the point that the press sometimes called her "Queen Emma of the South Seas." How's that for (shady) business acumen?
You're welcome. Southeast Asia was a hotbed of intrepid, bold, and stupid adventurers during the 19th century, and there's a lot of potential for getting things to go weird down here.
And they don't necessarily have to be men. For instance, Emma Forsayth was the largest landowner of German New Guinea to the point that the press sometimes called her "Queen Emma of the South Seas." How's that for (shady) business acumen?
I need more important women for sure, so I'm sure she'd be a nice addition to the TL!
Specially because France is also meddling there!
How's Charkas doing? I notice you have posted little information about it. How's the situation going on over there? No chance of a Peruvian Charkean confederation? Is Melgarejo around already? Also, why not Charcas? It would seem unlikely to me for criollo elites to choose to spell the name of their new nation with a k instead of a c.
Charkas has the Charkean corridor thanks to Colombian meddling, so it has access to the sea but no navy. Guano and mining projects by the Colombo-Peruvian Guano Company and the Colombian Steel Company are under way. It's economy is largely extractive. It's technically a democracy, in the form that Colombia forced elections, but is practically a single-party state with the military having great power. Not too oppressive though. The indigenous population is restive because Peru has instituted massive reforms, and there is no reform afan yet there. And no, there's no chance. Too much animosity between Peru and Charkas, and also Chile and Colombia would have a joint heart attack if that happened. And there is a reason: Charkas is the English spelling, while Charcas is the Spanish one. There are other differences ITTL: it's Platinean in English but Platense in Spanish for example. Another one is that Colombian lawmakers, not wanting the state to have the same name as the capital, and not wanting to name it "La Española" either, named the state "Hispaniola" in both Spanish and English. They believe the latin name is more distinguished.
Maybe I am being a pain in the ass, but I think an update on literature and art would be interesting. At least the influence the events since the POD have had on Western Culture. For instance, Byron becoming a politician might have a huge impact on the romantinc movement, with a more politcally engaged version of Romanticism or Napoleon having died mysteriously in battle and allegedly "undefeated" should have made of him even a greater cult figure.
I do want to write an update on culture, with an emphasis on Latin American culture and art. It's just that I haven't had the time.
Summary, end of the second part.
Following the Colombian victory in the Colombo-Peruvian War, President of the Republic Francisco de Paula Santander decided to start what is known as the Great Reforms, a series of decrees that transformed the Colombian republic by promoting education, immigration and reforming land ownership. He would also approve the Second National Constitution. Santander’s presidency would be a peaceful time of grow for Colombia. He handed the presidency to Marshal Antonio Jose de Sucre, the victor of Tarqui.
Sucre was faced with a first great challenge when the puppet dictator of Haiti, Leroy, died, starting a rebellion that threatened to break the Colombian hold of the little nation. This Caribbean Crisis shook Colombian prestige and power, but Sucre was eventually able to restore control and calm the situation for the time being. But his greatest test came when a great earthquake hit Caracas, starting a period known as La Violencia. The Federal government tried to dissolve the Venezuela state government to deal with the crisis, but the Centralist Party opposed the effort. This cleaved the opposition in two, with Esteban Cruz’s moderate faction, the Marchitos, leaving and becoming the National Conservative Party or PCN, while Juan Jose Flores’ reactionary Espinas remained.
When the 1840 elections returned a divided result, Cruz and his men elected Sucre again. But the government was powerless due to a divided Congress. The situation only took a turn for the worse after Sucre was assassinated by far-right guerrillas. When Congress rejected his Vice-president, Colombia was left without a leader. After a second election returned the same divided result, Flores launched a coup attempt, which failed to gather enough support. In response, Cruz and the remaining members of Congress formed a National Emergency Government or GEN. Prestigious General Lorenzo Rodriguez was elected as Provisional President due to his popularity with the troops, especially the men of the Southern District Army, the only effective command in Colombia.
Rodriguez and Cruz defeated Flores and his rival government in Maracay. They were aided by Bolivar, who wrote a letter disowning Flores and his government from Paraguay. After this, the government passed emergency decrees to reconstruct Caracas and amend several points of the National Constitution. Cruz would be elected president in the elections of 1842, and reelected in 1850. Like Santander, he would be a hugely important figure in Colombian history, with his presence channeling the Colombian Conservatives into an effort for building industry and modernizing the country. Several companies such as the Andean Railway Company, the Colombian Arms Manufacturer and the Colombo-Peruvian Guano Company were funded under Cruz, who also massively expanded Colombia’s railways and education system.
Cruz would also mark a shift towards a more aggressive and imperialistic Colombian foreign policy. He meddled in the Pacific War, and the Triple War. The first was a war between the Peruvian-Charkean alliance and Chile. Chile had just gone through a civil war, the War of the Colors, which ended with a Liberal victory. But this convinced Charkas, under a dictatorship, and Peru, to try and wage war for Chile’s coastline, more specifically their guano. With Colombia distracted due to the Great Crisis, the alliance declared war. Colombia, as soon as it recovered, meddled by selling weapons to both sides, before intervening in the peace process once Charkas lost the war military and Peru fell victim to its own revolution. Chile expanded, taking most of the coast, but Charkas retained a small strip of land known as the Charkean corridor.
Esteban Cruz
The revolution that forced Peru out of the war was called La Gloriosa. It was started by Juan Carlos Medina, a veteran soldier who took advantage of indigenous discontent to form an army that eventually defeated the dictator Santa Cruz. Medina’s new regime started several massive social reforms, though he fell short in some aspects. He also allied the country with Colombia, providing for Colombian domination of the South American pacific. Chile, for her part, went through political turmoil which divided the conservative sides. The addition of laborism as a pro-worker ideology further muddled the questions that faced the nation, including the Cuestion del Sacristan, which led to a conservative alliance in the form of the Mott-Varista Party. Mott, the new president, would similarly to Cruz led Chile in a new imperialistic and industrialist path.
The Triple War was a conflict between Imperial Brazil, La Plata and Paraguay for domination of the Southern Cone’s politics, the basin of the Rio de la Plata, and more importantly, Oriental Provinces. The campaign for Oriental Provinces was characterized by a back and forth, with neither Brazil nor La Plata being able to establish dominance. Paraguay held steady, defeating invasions by both thanks in part to Simon Bolivar, who had gone to the nation and now offered it its services as commander of the army. The lengthening war eventually led to the Farrapos Revolution in Rio Grande do Sul. Esteban Cruz took advantage of it by organizing the Oriental Mission to supply the rebels. Brazil would eventually admit defeat after a coup d’état forced Emperor Dom Pedro II to abdicate, leaving the country under the control of a military junta headed by the Monarchist Marques de Sousa. La Plata maintained control of Oriental Provinces, but the national government was overthrown by the governor of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de Rosas, who installed himself as dictator.
South America was not the only zone under conflict. Tensions between Mexico and the US increased throughout the years due to American ambition on the great Mexican north. The government of Lewis Cass was belligerent, but it didn’t act upon these threats, while Mexico lived a peaceful era under the leadership of Emperor Agustin II. But Cass was assassinated, and the US was unable to determine who was going to be president. The Vice-president was selected as provisional president only, and elections were called. The populist Democrat James K. Polk, who promised war against Mexico, won. True to his words, he declared war on the Mexican Empire in 1851, starting the Mexican-American War.
The first campaign of the war took place in Louisiana, where Mexican General Luis Guillermo Ruiz was able to push the Americans back and, in a masterful campaign, he started an invasion of the US state. Mexico was aided by France, which, now under the lead of Napoleon III, was looking for ways of increasing its prestige and world standing. The French Navy defeated the Americans and prevented them from supplying New Orleans, forcing American General Zachary Taylor to surrender the city and his army. Ruiz would occupy Louisiana for a year in what the Americans called the Rape of Louisiana.
Decided to find another way of ending the war, Polk approved an amphibious invasion of Veracruz. Simultaneously, an invasion of California took place. The California invasion would be successful, with the Americans taking the territory, including the capital of Yerba Buena. General Lombardini’s attempt to defeat the Commodore McLain was a disaster, his army dissolving after their defeat at Mount Diablo. But Veracruz turned into an American disaster due to a falling supply. At first, the situation seemed promising, with the invading Frog Army being able to make a beachhead. General Zapatero resisted valiantly, but he felt in battle, and his successor, Veintimilla, suffered a nervous breakdown. General Marco Antonio Salazar took command and would eventually force the American commander, Robert Patterson, to surrender. A part of the Frog Army managed to evacuate thanks to the daring efforts of Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan.
American morale was preserved only thanks to General Winfield Scott, who managed to vanquish Ruiz. This came after a series of failures, such as General Butler’s First Battle of the Mississippi, which was a bloody disaster. Scott, however, learned, and he was able to defeat Ruiz in the battles of Avoyelles Courthouse and Baton Rouge. Ruiz evacuated Louisiana, but he would fall in battle. The second in command, General Valencia, would take over and lead the army back to Texas, which was under a state of upheaval.
Mexico was in a similar state. The death of Emperor Agustin II, and the fall of the government of Eduardo Castillo sowed confusion. A Mayan rebellion joined economic collapse, and eventually threatened political turmoil. Salazar, now a Marshal of Mexico, led a coup under the terms of his Plan of Veracruz. This installed Princess Isabel as Regent and created a Council, headed, of course, by Salazar. Parliament was dissolved for the moment. Meanwhile, the pro-peace Liberal opposition won the midterms in the US. Scott continued advancing in Texas, but was eventually stopped in El Alamo. This was the final straw for the Americans, who demanded peace. Reluctantly, Polk agreed and both nations signed the Treaty of la Habana. Mexico ceded the land in exchange of payment.
Marco Antonio Salazar
Mexico lost the war, but won the peace. Salazar’s new government was stable, and after some time he called for elections. His government passed significative reforms that advanced the modernization of the Mexican state. He granted independence to the Central Americans, who, unhappy with Mexican control, revolted at the same time as the Mayans. The new Central American Republic would quickly fall under Colombian domination. Similarly, Rosas’ dictatorship fell in La Plata, leading to the Federal Compromise that restored democracy as a federal republic, while the Braganzas returned to Brazil, restoring the monarchy and opening the path for progress. The US lost the peace, with the new lands putting the dangerous slavery question at the front of the national stage. Civil War seemed to be in the horizon.
While this took place in the Americas, Europe went through the 1850 Revolutions. Started by discontent, new laborist, liberal and national ideas and notions, these revolutions led to several heavy changes. In France, the Citizen King fell and Louis Napoleon Bonaparte took his place as head of state, becoming Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. The Hungarian Revolution led to the collapse of the Hapsburg Empire, but this opened the door for unification with Southern Germany. Prussia resisted the liberal reforms, but it managed to unify with Northern Germany, thus creating two German nations. A similar split happened in Italy between a monarchical Northern Italy and a Southern Italy republic, one heavily influenced by the Pope. Russia watched over these revolutions, supporting Hungary, and also intervening to liberate Romania. Tsar Constantin would join France’s and South Germany’s war against North Germany, resulting in a French victory that confirmed French dominance in continental Europe, something that alarmed Britain.
France and Britain would then start a kind of cold war, including proxy wars, such as the Japanese Revolution that pitied the Shogun and the Emperor. The Shogun, supported by France, won the war and started to modernize the country. Britain had, many years before, extended its influence in Asia by winning the Opium War and taking Hong Kong.
Returning to Colombia, Juan Roberto Diaz, from the PCN, was elected President of the Republic. But the Federalist controlled Congress opposed his every move. A big economic crash due to a bank failure and low sugar prices in Hispaniola devolved into a political crisis, known as the Decade of Sorrow. The emergence of the social movement known as Young Colombia, which clamored for rights and reform, further hindered the Diaz administration.
Diaz would lose reelection to the Federalist Luis Bonifaz. But Bonifaz was a weak leader who couldn’t maintain his party united. The Federalists would split between the conservative Democrats and the reform-oriented Liberals after several events, such as the execution of Chiluisa in Quito and the famed attempt to defend him by a group of lawyers known as the Quito Five. This event would bring indigenous rights to the forefront of national politics. The issue only grew when an indigenous man, Ordoñez, challenged the state for his voting rights in the case Ordoñez v. Ecuador, which reached the supreme court. Right now Colombia is headed for elections in 1858, with an air of uncertainty enveloping the nation.
The World in 1858
Sucre was faced with a first great challenge when the puppet dictator of Haiti, Leroy, died, starting a rebellion that threatened to break the Colombian hold of the little nation. This Caribbean Crisis shook Colombian prestige and power, but Sucre was eventually able to restore control and calm the situation for the time being. But his greatest test came when a great earthquake hit Caracas, starting a period known as La Violencia. The Federal government tried to dissolve the Venezuela state government to deal with the crisis, but the Centralist Party opposed the effort. This cleaved the opposition in two, with Esteban Cruz’s moderate faction, the Marchitos, leaving and becoming the National Conservative Party or PCN, while Juan Jose Flores’ reactionary Espinas remained.
When the 1840 elections returned a divided result, Cruz and his men elected Sucre again. But the government was powerless due to a divided Congress. The situation only took a turn for the worse after Sucre was assassinated by far-right guerrillas. When Congress rejected his Vice-president, Colombia was left without a leader. After a second election returned the same divided result, Flores launched a coup attempt, which failed to gather enough support. In response, Cruz and the remaining members of Congress formed a National Emergency Government or GEN. Prestigious General Lorenzo Rodriguez was elected as Provisional President due to his popularity with the troops, especially the men of the Southern District Army, the only effective command in Colombia.
Rodriguez and Cruz defeated Flores and his rival government in Maracay. They were aided by Bolivar, who wrote a letter disowning Flores and his government from Paraguay. After this, the government passed emergency decrees to reconstruct Caracas and amend several points of the National Constitution. Cruz would be elected president in the elections of 1842, and reelected in 1850. Like Santander, he would be a hugely important figure in Colombian history, with his presence channeling the Colombian Conservatives into an effort for building industry and modernizing the country. Several companies such as the Andean Railway Company, the Colombian Arms Manufacturer and the Colombo-Peruvian Guano Company were funded under Cruz, who also massively expanded Colombia’s railways and education system.
Cruz would also mark a shift towards a more aggressive and imperialistic Colombian foreign policy. He meddled in the Pacific War, and the Triple War. The first was a war between the Peruvian-Charkean alliance and Chile. Chile had just gone through a civil war, the War of the Colors, which ended with a Liberal victory. But this convinced Charkas, under a dictatorship, and Peru, to try and wage war for Chile’s coastline, more specifically their guano. With Colombia distracted due to the Great Crisis, the alliance declared war. Colombia, as soon as it recovered, meddled by selling weapons to both sides, before intervening in the peace process once Charkas lost the war military and Peru fell victim to its own revolution. Chile expanded, taking most of the coast, but Charkas retained a small strip of land known as the Charkean corridor.
Esteban Cruz
The revolution that forced Peru out of the war was called La Gloriosa. It was started by Juan Carlos Medina, a veteran soldier who took advantage of indigenous discontent to form an army that eventually defeated the dictator Santa Cruz. Medina’s new regime started several massive social reforms, though he fell short in some aspects. He also allied the country with Colombia, providing for Colombian domination of the South American pacific. Chile, for her part, went through political turmoil which divided the conservative sides. The addition of laborism as a pro-worker ideology further muddled the questions that faced the nation, including the Cuestion del Sacristan, which led to a conservative alliance in the form of the Mott-Varista Party. Mott, the new president, would similarly to Cruz led Chile in a new imperialistic and industrialist path.
The Triple War was a conflict between Imperial Brazil, La Plata and Paraguay for domination of the Southern Cone’s politics, the basin of the Rio de la Plata, and more importantly, Oriental Provinces. The campaign for Oriental Provinces was characterized by a back and forth, with neither Brazil nor La Plata being able to establish dominance. Paraguay held steady, defeating invasions by both thanks in part to Simon Bolivar, who had gone to the nation and now offered it its services as commander of the army. The lengthening war eventually led to the Farrapos Revolution in Rio Grande do Sul. Esteban Cruz took advantage of it by organizing the Oriental Mission to supply the rebels. Brazil would eventually admit defeat after a coup d’état forced Emperor Dom Pedro II to abdicate, leaving the country under the control of a military junta headed by the Monarchist Marques de Sousa. La Plata maintained control of Oriental Provinces, but the national government was overthrown by the governor of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de Rosas, who installed himself as dictator.
South America was not the only zone under conflict. Tensions between Mexico and the US increased throughout the years due to American ambition on the great Mexican north. The government of Lewis Cass was belligerent, but it didn’t act upon these threats, while Mexico lived a peaceful era under the leadership of Emperor Agustin II. But Cass was assassinated, and the US was unable to determine who was going to be president. The Vice-president was selected as provisional president only, and elections were called. The populist Democrat James K. Polk, who promised war against Mexico, won. True to his words, he declared war on the Mexican Empire in 1851, starting the Mexican-American War.
The first campaign of the war took place in Louisiana, where Mexican General Luis Guillermo Ruiz was able to push the Americans back and, in a masterful campaign, he started an invasion of the US state. Mexico was aided by France, which, now under the lead of Napoleon III, was looking for ways of increasing its prestige and world standing. The French Navy defeated the Americans and prevented them from supplying New Orleans, forcing American General Zachary Taylor to surrender the city and his army. Ruiz would occupy Louisiana for a year in what the Americans called the Rape of Louisiana.
Decided to find another way of ending the war, Polk approved an amphibious invasion of Veracruz. Simultaneously, an invasion of California took place. The California invasion would be successful, with the Americans taking the territory, including the capital of Yerba Buena. General Lombardini’s attempt to defeat the Commodore McLain was a disaster, his army dissolving after their defeat at Mount Diablo. But Veracruz turned into an American disaster due to a falling supply. At first, the situation seemed promising, with the invading Frog Army being able to make a beachhead. General Zapatero resisted valiantly, but he felt in battle, and his successor, Veintimilla, suffered a nervous breakdown. General Marco Antonio Salazar took command and would eventually force the American commander, Robert Patterson, to surrender. A part of the Frog Army managed to evacuate thanks to the daring efforts of Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan.
American morale was preserved only thanks to General Winfield Scott, who managed to vanquish Ruiz. This came after a series of failures, such as General Butler’s First Battle of the Mississippi, which was a bloody disaster. Scott, however, learned, and he was able to defeat Ruiz in the battles of Avoyelles Courthouse and Baton Rouge. Ruiz evacuated Louisiana, but he would fall in battle. The second in command, General Valencia, would take over and lead the army back to Texas, which was under a state of upheaval.
Mexico was in a similar state. The death of Emperor Agustin II, and the fall of the government of Eduardo Castillo sowed confusion. A Mayan rebellion joined economic collapse, and eventually threatened political turmoil. Salazar, now a Marshal of Mexico, led a coup under the terms of his Plan of Veracruz. This installed Princess Isabel as Regent and created a Council, headed, of course, by Salazar. Parliament was dissolved for the moment. Meanwhile, the pro-peace Liberal opposition won the midterms in the US. Scott continued advancing in Texas, but was eventually stopped in El Alamo. This was the final straw for the Americans, who demanded peace. Reluctantly, Polk agreed and both nations signed the Treaty of la Habana. Mexico ceded the land in exchange of payment.
Marco Antonio Salazar
Mexico lost the war, but won the peace. Salazar’s new government was stable, and after some time he called for elections. His government passed significative reforms that advanced the modernization of the Mexican state. He granted independence to the Central Americans, who, unhappy with Mexican control, revolted at the same time as the Mayans. The new Central American Republic would quickly fall under Colombian domination. Similarly, Rosas’ dictatorship fell in La Plata, leading to the Federal Compromise that restored democracy as a federal republic, while the Braganzas returned to Brazil, restoring the monarchy and opening the path for progress. The US lost the peace, with the new lands putting the dangerous slavery question at the front of the national stage. Civil War seemed to be in the horizon.
While this took place in the Americas, Europe went through the 1850 Revolutions. Started by discontent, new laborist, liberal and national ideas and notions, these revolutions led to several heavy changes. In France, the Citizen King fell and Louis Napoleon Bonaparte took his place as head of state, becoming Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. The Hungarian Revolution led to the collapse of the Hapsburg Empire, but this opened the door for unification with Southern Germany. Prussia resisted the liberal reforms, but it managed to unify with Northern Germany, thus creating two German nations. A similar split happened in Italy between a monarchical Northern Italy and a Southern Italy republic, one heavily influenced by the Pope. Russia watched over these revolutions, supporting Hungary, and also intervening to liberate Romania. Tsar Constantin would join France’s and South Germany’s war against North Germany, resulting in a French victory that confirmed French dominance in continental Europe, something that alarmed Britain.
France and Britain would then start a kind of cold war, including proxy wars, such as the Japanese Revolution that pitied the Shogun and the Emperor. The Shogun, supported by France, won the war and started to modernize the country. Britain had, many years before, extended its influence in Asia by winning the Opium War and taking Hong Kong.
Returning to Colombia, Juan Roberto Diaz, from the PCN, was elected President of the Republic. But the Federalist controlled Congress opposed his every move. A big economic crash due to a bank failure and low sugar prices in Hispaniola devolved into a political crisis, known as the Decade of Sorrow. The emergence of the social movement known as Young Colombia, which clamored for rights and reform, further hindered the Diaz administration.
Diaz would lose reelection to the Federalist Luis Bonifaz. But Bonifaz was a weak leader who couldn’t maintain his party united. The Federalists would split between the conservative Democrats and the reform-oriented Liberals after several events, such as the execution of Chiluisa in Quito and the famed attempt to defend him by a group of lawyers known as the Quito Five. This event would bring indigenous rights to the forefront of national politics. The issue only grew when an indigenous man, Ordoñez, challenged the state for his voting rights in the case Ordoñez v. Ecuador, which reached the supreme court. Right now Colombia is headed for elections in 1858, with an air of uncertainty enveloping the nation.
The World in 1858
Looking closer at the map, I see Egypt controlling the Levant all the way up to Syria. That's going to raise some in-TL questions as to the nature of Jerusalem, the Suez Canal, and future Arab nationalism.
Besides that, Sikh Punjab still exists, Afghanistan is still large and wonky, and Aceh is still independent. The Acehnese sultan would begin to feel pressure from the Dutch to accept their sovereignty soon, so he's probably looking out for any nation that can guarantee his independence ITTL. He even married off one of his daughters to an Italian figure, just to spearhead a possible Italian protection of the state.
Besides that, Sikh Punjab still exists, Afghanistan is still large and wonky, and Aceh is still independent. The Acehnese sultan would begin to feel pressure from the Dutch to accept their sovereignty soon, so he's probably looking out for any nation that can guarantee his independence ITTL. He even married off one of his daughters to an Italian figure, just to spearhead a possible Italian protection of the state.
Egypt is mostly under French control. They will probably build and retain control of the Suez Canal ITTL. Arab nationalism is interesting, because the Ottomans are doing worse.
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