Miranda's Dream. ¡Por una Latino América fuerte!.- A Gran Colombia TL
- Thread starter Red_Galiray
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Well, so far Independance and the Congress year have been one of ride for South America and Colombia, and yeah Santo Domingo Sugar Industry will be massive at the time and thanks to the localization, easier to be exported for europe(Both Cauca and Magdalena OTL Sugar Industries would be mostly for internal comsuption, for the West and Central Colombia and the long carribean respectly), there is other cash crop colombia can easily produce and will be a boom....Cotton, in Cesar(at the time part of Magdalena) and Old Caldas Cotton was in boom(in Venezuela too, so should be counted too now,xd) but after the secession war and the normalization of trade, the boom collapse, we did get another in 1960's when the crops in USA and Central America collapse but was too little too late. Cotton at the time will be the Cash Crop and Colombia would be in better position to sell it in europe, specially when Abolitionism hit Britain and europe, as colombia crop will be made by journeyman and laborees rather slaves and if USA Secession war happen as scheduele(or early) Colombia would hit the Jackpot OTL missed and goes to India.
Having Dominican Republic(Santo Domingo? Dominica?) would be important for the global affair, as carribean at the time is full but yet ripped for agricultural production would helped if we manage to take Cuba out of Spain as Ally or Vassal(state is pretty hard and Cuba would easily dominated a lot of early republic), still carribean is too crowed but the potential is endless.
Amazing Update Regardless, seems the future will be interesting, as USA is licking her wounds and Spain too stubborn to admit defeat and just avoid spend money they did not have, all latin america is pretty nice...why i think the peace will be broken by some folish thing in either mexico or peru?
Having Dominican Republic(Santo Domingo? Dominica?) would be important for the global affair, as carribean at the time is full but yet ripped for agricultural production would helped if we manage to take Cuba out of Spain as Ally or Vassal(state is pretty hard and Cuba would easily dominated a lot of early republic), still carribean is too crowed but the potential is endless.
Amazing Update Regardless, seems the future will be interesting, as USA is licking her wounds and Spain too stubborn to admit defeat and just avoid spend money they did not have, all latin america is pretty nice...why i think the peace will be broken by some folish thing in either mexico or peru?
Deleted member 67076
So Colombia is going the Argentine route with British capital providing the basis for most of its investments in exchange for being in the British orbit. Although, there is a bit of a problem with this in that the Brits are going to pressure for low tariffs to choke the Colombian industry. Last thing they want is another competitor in the region.
I foresee the Brits giving support to anti tariff, rural magnates who prefer to keep Colombia's economic policy liberal as its much easier for them to just by what they need abroad. Would form interesting political factions. That said, I do think there would be some industrialization. Not as much as in the US, given the smaller population, labor shortage and greater difficulty of transporting goods for the most part (If I'm remembering this correction most of the textile mills built during the Bourbon reforms were in Quito, which is well, across a mountain range)
Interestingly enough however, most of Santo Domingo's investors (along with some settlers) during this period (and arguably in the late colonial era given how neglectful the Spanish government was) were French. Now though the French might not have a naval base in Santo Domingo, through their merchants they will try to form a Pro French Faction in government, with its base in Hispaniola.
Also, restarting sugar so early in Santo Domingo will have interesting consequences, but won't be successful for quite a while. Ranching and Tobacco was the major economic activities at the time in the South and North and as both are less backbreaking than sugar (yet still paying decently) there's little incentive to switch over to sugar initially. Additionally, Santo Domingo lacks the population base to support mass sugar production at the scale seen in Haiti (compare S.D's 1750 population of ~120,000K to Haiti's ~400-500,000K). This will change after a few decades when the population grows big enough (which it will now that things are stable, infrastructure is better and immigration from abroad is more likely) and sugar prices surge like they did in the OTL 1860s, but I doubt the profit will be anything more than comparatively marginal for quite a while.
And we've got Haiti under a stable dictatorship propped up by an outside government instead of spiraling downwards into its decades of instability. Good in the short to mid term, bad in the long term and probably going to bubble into revolution later on.
I foresee the Brits giving support to anti tariff, rural magnates who prefer to keep Colombia's economic policy liberal as its much easier for them to just by what they need abroad. Would form interesting political factions. That said, I do think there would be some industrialization. Not as much as in the US, given the smaller population, labor shortage and greater difficulty of transporting goods for the most part (If I'm remembering this correction most of the textile mills built during the Bourbon reforms were in Quito, which is well, across a mountain range)
Interestingly enough however, most of Santo Domingo's investors (along with some settlers) during this period (and arguably in the late colonial era given how neglectful the Spanish government was) were French. Now though the French might not have a naval base in Santo Domingo, through their merchants they will try to form a Pro French Faction in government, with its base in Hispaniola.
Also, restarting sugar so early in Santo Domingo will have interesting consequences, but won't be successful for quite a while. Ranching and Tobacco was the major economic activities at the time in the South and North and as both are less backbreaking than sugar (yet still paying decently) there's little incentive to switch over to sugar initially. Additionally, Santo Domingo lacks the population base to support mass sugar production at the scale seen in Haiti (compare S.D's 1750 population of ~120,000K to Haiti's ~400-500,000K). This will change after a few decades when the population grows big enough (which it will now that things are stable, infrastructure is better and immigration from abroad is more likely) and sugar prices surge like they did in the OTL 1860s, but I doubt the profit will be anything more than comparatively marginal for quite a while.
And we've got Haiti under a stable dictatorship propped up by an outside government instead of spiraling downwards into its decades of instability. Good in the short to mid term, bad in the long term and probably going to bubble into revolution later on.
Thank you very much!
Yeah, having at least a decade of rebuild and consolidation will be an enourmous bost to Latin America, as in OTL wars started almost inmediatly. Thanks to the information about cotton, I'll put it to good use. As for Santo Domingo (possibily the Hispaniola State or something along these lines), I agree, the potential is great. While in OTL the Haitians destroyed that potentital, I'm sure Colombia will do a better job here.
Yes, Colombia will be in the British orbit for quite a good time, though they do a step further than Argentina due to giving Naval Bases to the British. Your ideas about the economic policies of the UK towards Latin America and Colombia more specifically are correct, but I'll explain the cunning plan Perfidious Albion has in the next entry. It will, hopefully, explain why they're more willing to let Colombia build some little factories.
I'm pretty sure the UK wouldn't be happy to let the French stick their nose in Latin America, which they considere to be in their sphere. France was, after all, not totally defeated ITTL, and the Bonapartist still hold some power.
Re-reading what I wrote I realize that I didn't express myself correctly. I meant to say that the sugar industry was being rebuild in Haiti, not in Santo Domingo. Most of the sugar plantations were very dependant in slavery, and with Haitian independence and the terrible governments that followed that industry was destroyed. ITTL, Colombia is able to rebuild the plantations there using the now free laborers to work on them and the fact that nobody wants to buy from Spain to remain competitive. Santo Domingo will continue with its own economic activities, but the Colombians are wary to make Haiti too powerful and thus have started to construct some industry in Santo Domingo too, industry which is fueled by Haitian workers. Also, due too being a Colombian puppet most of Haiti's profits are used to build Santo Domingo, but Colombia still uses some of them to (marginally) improve Haiti, in order to keep the population happy to work and easy to control. The situation under the Benevolent Dictadorship is the better Haiti can hope for the moment but I agree that it will lead to revolution in the long term. Don't worry though, Colombia has an ace under its sleeve to maintain its puppet loyal when the time comes.
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Nice update.
Meanwhile, in that certain lone Spanish colony in Asia, life goes on, as usual.
Meanwhile, in that certain lone Spanish colony in Asia, life goes on, as usual.
Thanks! Well, I kinda forgot about the Philippines... Since it is not part of Latin America I don't see information about it to be fit for the next update, but I will surely mention it in the update about the rest of the world.
Is Latin America defined in this timeline the same way as in our timelime? Because, as far as I know, the concept was promoted by the Second French Empire (and now it implies a shared identity defined by Samuel Huntington), but I don't know if the concept was known at the beginning of the 19 century, to the point of being the name of a continental Congress.
I used OTL's concept of Latin America in my reply to Tredecimus, and it does not include Philipinnes, for virtue of not being part of neither South nor North America. ITTL the concept itself has not been formulated yet, but the identity does exist, being for now defined as the former Spanish colonies, with Brazil and Haiti excluded for the moment. OTL there were attempts of unity and cooperation between the former colonies, and ITTL they are somewhat more succesful, thus the concept of a common identity and culture by virtue of being former colonies of the Spanish Empire is starting to take shape inside the timeline. The term itself doesn't exist, but I use it anyway for the sake of simplicity. I'll include an explanation of how the term comes to exist and mean "all the countries in the Americas where Romance languages are used", but it will be around OTL's time. By the way, if you meant the Congress of Cucuta, it didn not have "Latin America" in any part of it, being rather named after the city in which it was held.
No it's okay. This is a South American timeline. Just ignore the ramblings of a drunkard.
No it's okay. This is a South American timeline. Just ignore the ramblings of a drunkard.
Don't worry my drunk friend, I was planning to include an update about the Philippines sooner or later anyway.
Chapter 16: La Latino America del Congreso, Part II.
La Latín América del Congreso Part II.- The Consolidation Years
"Triumphs are meaningless if peace doesn't follow them"
-Antonio de Nariño, libertator of Colombia.
Congress Latin America was characterized by the peace lived during the period, with no major wars or conflicts starting during it. By 1819 the situation in Peru was stabilized and the last Royalist guerrillas destroyed. The protectorate, thus, was ended and in its place the Republic of Peru was installed. The first elections were celebrated, but only wealthy Criollo males were able to vote even though Miranda begged the authorities to extend the vote to wealthy Indigenas and Mestizos. Jose de la Mar was elected as the first president of Peru. He was antagonistic towards Colombia, but he knew that Peru was dependant on it for the time being, so his government saw an expansion of the Colombian influence in the country. This angered most of the Criollos who had voted for him, hoping he would make Peru great again. His only positive action in the eyes of them was the expulsion of Colombian and Chilean forces and the foundation of the independent, though tiny, Peruvian Army.
A ruthless and brainless tyrant or a brillant leader? Opinions are still divided.
Politically, Congress Latin America was marked by the various disputes between the nations. The Congress of Cucuta didn’t leave anyone satisfied with their land, and almost everyone had a claim on other country. In 1820 Central America became a hot topic as the Mexican Empire, under Agustin I claimed the entire region, divided between the USCA and Colombia (which held Panama and Costa Rica). The claim was based in that the region used to be part of New Spain, with the Yucatan peninsula being the biggest sore spot Mexico wanted back.
Mexico was, by far, the country which had sustained the most damage during the Independence War. Unlike the almost-conventional warfare that took place in La Plata or Colombia, Mexico had been submerged in destructive guerrilla warfare and Spain continued to raid its shipping, damaging the already weak economy. Agustin, however, had managed to stabilize the country economically and politically wise, with the first elections happening swiftly. The first Mexican Prime Minister was Alejandro Andrade, a clever man whose major accomplishments were managing several treaties of commerce with the United States and alliances with the Native America tribes north of Mexico. He also refused to allow Americans settle Texas, instead encouraging “civilized natives” (that is, catholic and Spanish speaking natives) to settle there. He also encouraged Mexican people from little towns and cities destroyed during the war to settle there, taking advantage of the abundance of free land and the fact that Texas was relatively untouched by the war. The abandoned towns would then be repopulated with immigrants from Europe, who were coming in bigger and bigger numbers each year.
Mexicans settling the frontier with the USA.
Back to the Central American question, both Agustin I and Andrade wanted to reclaim the land, annexing the USCA if possible, but also wanted to avoid antagonizing Colombia, to which Mexico owed a huge debt. Pedro Molina Mazariegos, the leader of the USCA, saw himself in a desperate situation as his country was very dependant in Colombia, which had forced them beforehand to cede some land to the United Kingdom in another attempt at gaining the favor of it. Thus, the USCA destiny would be decided by Colombia and nobody else.
The Colombian government in general, and Miranda in particular, didn’t like the idea of a monarchy in Latin America, but they were also aware of the power the Mexican Empire had. Colombia’s population was about four million people[1]; Mexico’s was almost six million. Deciding that an alliance and good relations with Mexico were a better alternative than having them as a foe, the Treaty of Yucatan was signed. The entire peninsula wasn’t given back, but Mexico still retrieved a lot of land and relations with Colombia improved significantly. The treaty also further destabilized the USCA, though it managed to hold together for the rest of Congress Latin America.
Pedro Molina Mazariegos.
The situation in the South Cone remained in a cold peace. The different Platinean states starting to cooperate with each other, but the whole country wasn’t very stable, especially after San Martin decided to exile himself, leaving Artigas as the most prominent leader in La Plata, more specifically, the leader of Oriental Provinces, from which he denounced the “tyranny” of Buenos Aires. Still, the economy rose from the ground as vast quantities of cattle and wheat were produced and exported. The political situation also gave a turn for the better as La Plata laid down its claims in Paraguay and Charkas. Meanwhile, Chile also started to re-build itself, and like La Plata laid down its claims in the Charkean coast.
Paraguay saw some improvements too, though Francia’s dictatorial and isolationist government put it at odds with the other nations in the continent. Of note is the fact that he greatly encouraged mixed couples and education in both Guaraní and Spanish, which would save Paraguay of class problems for ethnic reasons in the future[2]. Even then, his rule remains controversial to this day.
The next great success of Congress Latin America took place around 1822, as Brazil reached independence. We’ll provide a brief background for the event. Following the Napoleonic Invasion of Portugal, the Royal Family fled to Brazil. During their stance there a series of revolts and riots broke up all around the colony, especially after the government attacked and annexed Oriental Missions from La Plata. The King had to return to Europe after the death of Napoleon, but he returned shortly after to Brazil, which had become an integral part of his kingdom. The Portuguese elites were outraged by this and, influenced by the liberal ideals that circulated through the continent, started a revolt. Similarly to the revolts in Spain, this one was supported by the French, who wanted yet another constitutional monarchy in its orbit.
Don Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil.
Knowing that a full scale revolution could start if he didn’t intervene, King John Vi returned to Portugal, installing a constitutional monarchy and making Brazil a colony once again. The situation alarmed the Brazilian people, and the colony fell into anarchy during a time until Don Pedro, the crown prince, decided to step in. He was left behind by his father to look after Brazil, but he fell in love with the land and with the ideals of liberty and independence. In June 7, 1822, he declared the independence of Brazil with him as the Emperor, in a move very similar to that of Agustin I.
He then proceeded to lead the newly funded Empire of Brazil to victory in a short war against Portugal. Mexico was open to the idea of another Empire in the Americans, proposing an Imperial Alliance and giving abundant supplies to Brazil. La Plata showed apathy at best and hostility at worst, while Colombia was unsure. Having all of the continental Americas (with the exception of Canada, which was too far to be a threat, and some little colonies like Guyana) as independent nations was beneficial, but the Colombian leadership didn’t like the idea of yet another Monarchy in the continent, especially one where the Emperor was actually a member of the royal house of the colonizing power.
The Brazilian War of Independence wasn’t as bloody or destructive as the wars in the Spanish colonies, but it still left the country with its fair share of destruction and scars. Curiously enough, most of the destruction was actually made during the riots and rebellions during the past years, but the war prevented that damage from being repaired. Of note are the revolutions in Bahia and Pernambuco, which tried to install independent Republics but failed.
Independence of Brazil.
Similarly to La Reconquista the Portuguese efforts started to wane as the Portuguese crown wasn’t able to keep up with its cost and Brazil had a much larger manpower base. By 1824 Portugal decided to surrender and admit the independence of the Brazilian Empire, under Pedro I of the House of Braganza. France saw an opportunity to win influence with the new countries in the Americas, especially the monarchies, and pressured Spain and Portugal to call for an international conference with their former colonies. In the Peace of Madrid (1824), both powers finally recognized and made peace with the Latin American countries. Relations were still bad, and most of the region didn’t want to trade with their former overlords, but attacks and convoy raiding stopped. For its efforts, France, now under King Carlos X, obtained great influenced in the region, justifying it with the fact that France, Portugal and Spain, and by extension their former colonies, shared a common “Latin” identity.
La Plata, hostile to the United Kingdom thanks to their story of invasions, started to see in France a new guide, agreeing for a French request to open navigation in the Platinean Rivers. Brazil was also very friendly, but Pedro I wanted his Empire to be neither in the French nor in the British orbit, being instead neutral. The greatest French achievement was, however, in Mexico, where they convinced Agustin I to marry his son with a French noble, thus legitimizing the Mexican Monarchy. The benefits were almost immediately as the Mexican elites started to really accept the Empire while France managed to extend its worldwide influence, much to the frustration of Britain.
Carlos X, King of France and Navarra.
Colombia, firmly in the British orbit, was the only one that didn’t like the idea of French influence in Latin America, but pragmatic as always allowed them to have certain influence and investment in Hispaniola, especially their former colony of Haiti (also recognized by Colombian request in the Peace of Madrid). France was thankful of the protection Colombia offered to French citizens and creoles, pursued during the Haitian Independence, and repaid them with the funding of industry and schools in all of Hispaniola. French became especially important as a first language in Haiti, although Spanish was very popular as a second language in the Haitian elites.
Still, Colombia decided to take its chance and grow even closer to the United Kingdom, offering themselves as the key to keep control in Latin America, more exactly in Chile, Peru, Charkas, Paraguay and Central America, all of them in the Colombian orbit. Decided to stop the French from gaining too much influence in the region, Britain augmented its level of investment in Colombia, La Plata and Brazil, though Colombia was the only that accepted that attention with open arms
Many French people were able to return to Hispaniola once the Colombians took over. Some inhabitants of other Caribbean Islands also went there, especially independentist from Cuba.
Congress Latin America was also marked by the immigration booms, started by the Colombians Latin Laws that encouraged and facilitated immigration of Catholics able to speak a Romance Language. Copied by other countries, this started a trend of immigration with four main groups: French, mostly settled in Mexico thanks to the influence France held there; Spaniards, almost all of whom went to Colombia, the nation least hostile to “La Madre Patria”, the one that required the least wealth to vote and with the only other condition being speaking Spanish; Italians, who settled in La Plata; and Portuguese, who continued to go to Brazil thanks to Don Pedro’s friendly relations with Portugal.
Also of note are other migratory movements. The British mostly went to Canada, especially to settle the areas the Empire won from the Americans, but of course some of them went to the USA instead. A notable minority went to Colombia thanks to the friendly relations it and Britain had. Germans mostly went to the USA or Canada, but a significant portion of them moved to settle Chile instead. Again, a notable minority of Germans moved to Colombia, who sponsored this in basis of the existence of a former German colony in Venezuela (known as Klein Venedig) and funded, with their help, La Colonia Tovar near Caracas.
A New Life in the New World. Immigrants arriving to Caracas.
Continues in Part III.
_____________________________
[1]The sources I consulted presented great variation. The figures range from 2.5 million at their lowest to 4.5 million at their highest. Also confusing is the fact that the figures tend to change depending in what you are searching, with diferent numbers for Gran Colombia and New Granada. For the sake of wank, I decided to go with the greatest population figures for every Latin American country.
[2]Did you know that Paraguay is the only country where a Amerindian language is in common usage by most of the population? Yeah, Peru and other countries like Ecuador and Bolivia may recognize their own native languages, but the great majority of the people speak Spanish and only Spanish. Paraguay has been called one of the few truly bilingual countries in the world, since more than 80% percent of the people speak both Guarani and Spanish. By the way, that bit about mixed mariages actually happened.
"Triumphs are meaningless if peace doesn't follow them"
-Antonio de Nariño, libertator of Colombia.
Congress Latin America was characterized by the peace lived during the period, with no major wars or conflicts starting during it. By 1819 the situation in Peru was stabilized and the last Royalist guerrillas destroyed. The protectorate, thus, was ended and in its place the Republic of Peru was installed. The first elections were celebrated, but only wealthy Criollo males were able to vote even though Miranda begged the authorities to extend the vote to wealthy Indigenas and Mestizos. Jose de la Mar was elected as the first president of Peru. He was antagonistic towards Colombia, but he knew that Peru was dependant on it for the time being, so his government saw an expansion of the Colombian influence in the country. This angered most of the Criollos who had voted for him, hoping he would make Peru great again. His only positive action in the eyes of them was the expulsion of Colombian and Chilean forces and the foundation of the independent, though tiny, Peruvian Army.
A ruthless and brainless tyrant or a brillant leader? Opinions are still divided.
Politically, Congress Latin America was marked by the various disputes between the nations. The Congress of Cucuta didn’t leave anyone satisfied with their land, and almost everyone had a claim on other country. In 1820 Central America became a hot topic as the Mexican Empire, under Agustin I claimed the entire region, divided between the USCA and Colombia (which held Panama and Costa Rica). The claim was based in that the region used to be part of New Spain, with the Yucatan peninsula being the biggest sore spot Mexico wanted back.
Mexico was, by far, the country which had sustained the most damage during the Independence War. Unlike the almost-conventional warfare that took place in La Plata or Colombia, Mexico had been submerged in destructive guerrilla warfare and Spain continued to raid its shipping, damaging the already weak economy. Agustin, however, had managed to stabilize the country economically and politically wise, with the first elections happening swiftly. The first Mexican Prime Minister was Alejandro Andrade, a clever man whose major accomplishments were managing several treaties of commerce with the United States and alliances with the Native America tribes north of Mexico. He also refused to allow Americans settle Texas, instead encouraging “civilized natives” (that is, catholic and Spanish speaking natives) to settle there. He also encouraged Mexican people from little towns and cities destroyed during the war to settle there, taking advantage of the abundance of free land and the fact that Texas was relatively untouched by the war. The abandoned towns would then be repopulated with immigrants from Europe, who were coming in bigger and bigger numbers each year.
Mexicans settling the frontier with the USA.
Back to the Central American question, both Agustin I and Andrade wanted to reclaim the land, annexing the USCA if possible, but also wanted to avoid antagonizing Colombia, to which Mexico owed a huge debt. Pedro Molina Mazariegos, the leader of the USCA, saw himself in a desperate situation as his country was very dependant in Colombia, which had forced them beforehand to cede some land to the United Kingdom in another attempt at gaining the favor of it. Thus, the USCA destiny would be decided by Colombia and nobody else.
The Colombian government in general, and Miranda in particular, didn’t like the idea of a monarchy in Latin America, but they were also aware of the power the Mexican Empire had. Colombia’s population was about four million people[1]; Mexico’s was almost six million. Deciding that an alliance and good relations with Mexico were a better alternative than having them as a foe, the Treaty of Yucatan was signed. The entire peninsula wasn’t given back, but Mexico still retrieved a lot of land and relations with Colombia improved significantly. The treaty also further destabilized the USCA, though it managed to hold together for the rest of Congress Latin America.
Pedro Molina Mazariegos.
The situation in the South Cone remained in a cold peace. The different Platinean states starting to cooperate with each other, but the whole country wasn’t very stable, especially after San Martin decided to exile himself, leaving Artigas as the most prominent leader in La Plata, more specifically, the leader of Oriental Provinces, from which he denounced the “tyranny” of Buenos Aires. Still, the economy rose from the ground as vast quantities of cattle and wheat were produced and exported. The political situation also gave a turn for the better as La Plata laid down its claims in Paraguay and Charkas. Meanwhile, Chile also started to re-build itself, and like La Plata laid down its claims in the Charkean coast.
Paraguay saw some improvements too, though Francia’s dictatorial and isolationist government put it at odds with the other nations in the continent. Of note is the fact that he greatly encouraged mixed couples and education in both Guaraní and Spanish, which would save Paraguay of class problems for ethnic reasons in the future[2]. Even then, his rule remains controversial to this day.
The next great success of Congress Latin America took place around 1822, as Brazil reached independence. We’ll provide a brief background for the event. Following the Napoleonic Invasion of Portugal, the Royal Family fled to Brazil. During their stance there a series of revolts and riots broke up all around the colony, especially after the government attacked and annexed Oriental Missions from La Plata. The King had to return to Europe after the death of Napoleon, but he returned shortly after to Brazil, which had become an integral part of his kingdom. The Portuguese elites were outraged by this and, influenced by the liberal ideals that circulated through the continent, started a revolt. Similarly to the revolts in Spain, this one was supported by the French, who wanted yet another constitutional monarchy in its orbit.
Don Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil.
Knowing that a full scale revolution could start if he didn’t intervene, King John Vi returned to Portugal, installing a constitutional monarchy and making Brazil a colony once again. The situation alarmed the Brazilian people, and the colony fell into anarchy during a time until Don Pedro, the crown prince, decided to step in. He was left behind by his father to look after Brazil, but he fell in love with the land and with the ideals of liberty and independence. In June 7, 1822, he declared the independence of Brazil with him as the Emperor, in a move very similar to that of Agustin I.
He then proceeded to lead the newly funded Empire of Brazil to victory in a short war against Portugal. Mexico was open to the idea of another Empire in the Americans, proposing an Imperial Alliance and giving abundant supplies to Brazil. La Plata showed apathy at best and hostility at worst, while Colombia was unsure. Having all of the continental Americas (with the exception of Canada, which was too far to be a threat, and some little colonies like Guyana) as independent nations was beneficial, but the Colombian leadership didn’t like the idea of yet another Monarchy in the continent, especially one where the Emperor was actually a member of the royal house of the colonizing power.
The Brazilian War of Independence wasn’t as bloody or destructive as the wars in the Spanish colonies, but it still left the country with its fair share of destruction and scars. Curiously enough, most of the destruction was actually made during the riots and rebellions during the past years, but the war prevented that damage from being repaired. Of note are the revolutions in Bahia and Pernambuco, which tried to install independent Republics but failed.
Independence of Brazil.
Similarly to La Reconquista the Portuguese efforts started to wane as the Portuguese crown wasn’t able to keep up with its cost and Brazil had a much larger manpower base. By 1824 Portugal decided to surrender and admit the independence of the Brazilian Empire, under Pedro I of the House of Braganza. France saw an opportunity to win influence with the new countries in the Americas, especially the monarchies, and pressured Spain and Portugal to call for an international conference with their former colonies. In the Peace of Madrid (1824), both powers finally recognized and made peace with the Latin American countries. Relations were still bad, and most of the region didn’t want to trade with their former overlords, but attacks and convoy raiding stopped. For its efforts, France, now under King Carlos X, obtained great influenced in the region, justifying it with the fact that France, Portugal and Spain, and by extension their former colonies, shared a common “Latin” identity.
La Plata, hostile to the United Kingdom thanks to their story of invasions, started to see in France a new guide, agreeing for a French request to open navigation in the Platinean Rivers. Brazil was also very friendly, but Pedro I wanted his Empire to be neither in the French nor in the British orbit, being instead neutral. The greatest French achievement was, however, in Mexico, where they convinced Agustin I to marry his son with a French noble, thus legitimizing the Mexican Monarchy. The benefits were almost immediately as the Mexican elites started to really accept the Empire while France managed to extend its worldwide influence, much to the frustration of Britain.
Carlos X, King of France and Navarra.
Colombia, firmly in the British orbit, was the only one that didn’t like the idea of French influence in Latin America, but pragmatic as always allowed them to have certain influence and investment in Hispaniola, especially their former colony of Haiti (also recognized by Colombian request in the Peace of Madrid). France was thankful of the protection Colombia offered to French citizens and creoles, pursued during the Haitian Independence, and repaid them with the funding of industry and schools in all of Hispaniola. French became especially important as a first language in Haiti, although Spanish was very popular as a second language in the Haitian elites.
Still, Colombia decided to take its chance and grow even closer to the United Kingdom, offering themselves as the key to keep control in Latin America, more exactly in Chile, Peru, Charkas, Paraguay and Central America, all of them in the Colombian orbit. Decided to stop the French from gaining too much influence in the region, Britain augmented its level of investment in Colombia, La Plata and Brazil, though Colombia was the only that accepted that attention with open arms
Many French people were able to return to Hispaniola once the Colombians took over. Some inhabitants of other Caribbean Islands also went there, especially independentist from Cuba.
Congress Latin America was also marked by the immigration booms, started by the Colombians Latin Laws that encouraged and facilitated immigration of Catholics able to speak a Romance Language. Copied by other countries, this started a trend of immigration with four main groups: French, mostly settled in Mexico thanks to the influence France held there; Spaniards, almost all of whom went to Colombia, the nation least hostile to “La Madre Patria”, the one that required the least wealth to vote and with the only other condition being speaking Spanish; Italians, who settled in La Plata; and Portuguese, who continued to go to Brazil thanks to Don Pedro’s friendly relations with Portugal.
Also of note are other migratory movements. The British mostly went to Canada, especially to settle the areas the Empire won from the Americans, but of course some of them went to the USA instead. A notable minority went to Colombia thanks to the friendly relations it and Britain had. Germans mostly went to the USA or Canada, but a significant portion of them moved to settle Chile instead. Again, a notable minority of Germans moved to Colombia, who sponsored this in basis of the existence of a former German colony in Venezuela (known as Klein Venedig) and funded, with their help, La Colonia Tovar near Caracas.
A New Life in the New World. Immigrants arriving to Caracas.
_____________________________
[1]The sources I consulted presented great variation. The figures range from 2.5 million at their lowest to 4.5 million at their highest. Also confusing is the fact that the figures tend to change depending in what you are searching, with diferent numbers for Gran Colombia and New Granada. For the sake of wank, I decided to go with the greatest population figures for every Latin American country.
[2]Did you know that Paraguay is the only country where a Amerindian language is in common usage by most of the population? Yeah, Peru and other countries like Ecuador and Bolivia may recognize their own native languages, but the great majority of the people speak Spanish and only Spanish. Paraguay has been called one of the few truly bilingual countries in the world, since more than 80% percent of the people speak both Guarani and Spanish. By the way, that bit about mixed mariages actually happened.
And in spite of everything, we will still have a somewhat divided Latin America, due to British and French influence, but at least it won't be as violent as OTL, with the USA right now doing nothing. And I see that we might get a conflict of interests in Peru in the near future.
By the way, mind if I steal the idea of having Crown Prince Agustín Jerónimo marry an European noblewoman?
By the way, mind if I steal the idea of having Crown Prince Agustín Jerónimo marry an European noblewoman?
So...Mexico is Interesting, they might get into horn locking with the gringos in the future but might get better that otl? or there is a piece of the puzzle is still missing, still nice partial title drop about a strong south and central america based on a common 'latin culture', that was a nice reference.
So far so quiet...too quiet, what is the little incident make that calm to evaporate? must be something big both sides of Atlantic and with European Influence that might be something that happen in europe.
So far Nice timeline Red, keep going it buddy.
So far so quiet...too quiet, what is the little incident make that calm to evaporate? must be something big both sides of Atlantic and with European Influence that might be something that happen in europe.
So far Nice timeline Red, keep going it buddy.
Don't worry, La Unidad Latinoamericana will come later. The USA is currently licking its wounds, but will see more about them in the next update, which will focus in Europe and the rest of the world during the 1817-1830 period. And yeah, you can use that idea if you want. I really like your TL, and if it helps you, feel free to use the idea.
Oh yeah, the gringos will find a stronger Mexico, and this time the war won't be as easy as OTL. Haha, to tell you the truth that reference about the tittle was actually accidental.
Peace is hard to maintain, especially in something as unstable as Congress Latin America. One war or scalated conflict and the whole system would crash down. Europe will not have much interest in that incident, though they will try to push for their favorite when it comes.
Thank you for your support Nivek!
From the way Mexico's being portrayed it actually seems to be doing pretty well. Allied with France, a stable government from the get-go. I can even picture a stalemate with the United States, maybe even a victory.
Yeah, Mexico is doing well for now. It may last, it may not; I just want to set strong bases in which the country can be build. If the bases aren't strong, or if, in other words, the start is bad, I'm sure Mexico would eventually descent into OTL's chaos, and that would defeat this TL's purpose. On the other hand, if Mexico has strong bases and a previous history of stability, they can get up in their feet even if some disaster sends them into temporary chaos. At least that's what I think.
Thanks! That one will be the last chapter before Latin America descends into chaos.
Hello and welcome! Thank you very much for your support, I'm glad you like it. It's good this TL seems to attrack a lot of Latin users (Latino-Alterhistorians?). As for Cuba, just one hint: It's going to be trapped between the condor and the eagle.
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