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Not So Far From God: An Alternate North America
by Jycee​

The possibility of wanking Mexico has been an object of debate in this forum for quite some time. Some agree that it is an easy country to wank due to the possibilities and opportunities, others believe it is impossible to wank it due to how it behaved early in its history. What is true, however, is that it (along with Canada) is usually a victim of Ameri-wanks and that it rarely happens the other way around.
The problem in attempting to wank Mexico mostly relies in two places: the first is its northern neighbor, the second its internal divisions (the criollo elite, the meztiso middle class, the indigenous underclass, the Church, the military, the intellectuals, etc). Unless these get solved quickly Mexico is doomed to fail. Right? I think that this is not necessarily true. Mexico can rise to become a power even if many of its internal divisions are present and even if it still has a strong northern neighbor (though not as strong). How?
Well all wanks are relative. OTL is a bit of an Ameri-wank so an Ameri-wank TL requires the US to be much larger than being the world’s sole superpower. A Mexi-wank TL only requires for Mexcio to do a little bit better initially, something that is not too difficult, and rise to be a major player (though not necessarily the only one) by the late 1900s.

This TL however will not be exclusively focused on being Mexi-wank. It will be about a very different North America. I’m not even sure how it will end; I’ve figured stuff out up to the 1860s-70s and a rough outline of the rest. But things can change as the TL develops. To make sure it is not exclusively a Mexican focused TL, I will write on the Mexican perspective, the American perspective, and the perspective of one of my favorite AH nations, which will be revealed in due time. Most of it will be done in a history textbook format (because it is the easiest to write) but I will add a few quotes, speeches, journal entries, etc as I come up with them. There will also be a bit of a butterfly net on the people that are around.

Finally I’ve got to thank those TL’s and the AH.com writers that have inspired me. If the influences are obvious at times please don’t take it to be plagiarism regard them as an homage or a pastiche at the least. You are good historians researchers and writers. I’ve been posting in your TL’s so you know who you are.

Anyway without much further ado

The POD: The Conspiracy of the Machetes [1] is successful in killing the viceroy of New Spain in 1799. Though the subsequent rebellion will take time to actually finish the job. Thus Mexico is born earlier, more stable, and at time in which there is much more happening around the world. Thus causing certain changes to happen rapidly [2]. I will go into further detail in the first update.

And a few excerpts that will give you hints on were this is headed.

“Although we usually consider September 9th 1808 to be the day the movement for Mexican independence began, the fight for independence had been an ongoing struggle for almost a decade. Starting with the Rebellion of Guadalupe [3] sporadic uprisings against Spanish rule had been common even a few years before Jose de Iturrigaray’s time as viceroy. Furthermore the advance of American filibusters into the northern territories, particularly in Tejas (which then included all land west of the Sabine and east of the Bravo), had sparked numerous pro-republican movements since Aaron Burr attempted to establish the first independent nation in the American Southwest. San Antonio itself was used by Burr as a launching point of his incursions into New Spain a full year before the declaration of independence.” – Freeing Mexico: A Brief Summary of Mexico’s Struggle for Independence by Ernesto Moreno, Universidad Autonoma de Laredo, 1993

“Aaron Burr could be considered one of the most controversial figures of American history. Most American textbooks depict the third vice-president as a traitor, rightly so; Thomas Jefferson believed Burr’s treason to be obvious and placed significant effort into getting Burr arested. However by the time anyone could have made a move Burr was already safely across the border in a country he helped create. The American traitor is actually responsible in part for the existance of at least two North American nations, maybe more.” – Our Traitor: A Short Biography on Aaron Burr by Ana Sofia Wilkerson, University of Sabine Crockett, 2001.

“After all of his accomplishments the man still had ambition for more. I can respect that.” Andrew Jackson after meeting the Mexican General Agustin de Iturbide in Havana, Cuba 1821.

“He was destined to be something big. I should know; I saw much of myself in him.” General Agustin de Iturbide after meeting future US President Andrew Jackson in Havana 1821.

“Never has our country seen such treachery as that which Fremont has partaken in. Not even vice-president Burr could have created such an abomination as the one that man has created in the Pacific!” – US President Thomas Benton on the actions of his son in law, 1848.

I hope that I have piqued your interests.

[1] Obscure point in Mexican history, check out wiki here just for background. But it will be covered in the next update.
[2] However there will be a bit of a butterfly net outside North America just cause it would be impossible to explain every little change in the world and because I am not that familiar with Asia’s history. But we will worry about that in due time, which won’t be for a while.
[3] This is what the Conspiracy of The Machetes will be known as in TTL due to its success.
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