Chapter 594
December, 1904
Saxony
Despite the continued belligerency of the secondary powers in the middle of Europe, there had been little actual violence since the previous year's campaign. The Kingdom of Germany dared not launch another general assault, not with the Polish, Russian and French troops menacing her borders. Only stubborn pride forced the House of Hohenzollern to accept the inevitable: an armistice sure to result in a retreat from Saxony.
By the winter of 1804/5, the economic collapse of all three nations was virtually complete. The rest of Europe was reaching a point of...exasperation.
War in the middle of Europe disrupted the increasingly vital intra-continental transport network of rail, road, river and canal. East and west, for all intents and purposes, were cut off. People were annoyed. Yet the "allies" of France, Poland and Russia were hardly politically united enough to agree to a joint invasion of the Kingdom of Germany. The threat seemed adequate. But the stubborn Germans continued to insist on annexing at least the portion of Saxony they'd occupied.
Isolated, the situation deteriorated to the point that it was merely a matter of which side would collapse first.
The answer would be known by spring as hunger spread throughout Germany.
Tuscany
By the winter of 1904/05, the Spanish Bourbon control over Tuscany became accomplished fact. Despite the Spanish Bourbon claim through the "rightful heiress" of Tuscany, there was to be no separation politically from the rest of peninsular Italy. Arguably for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire 1400 years prior, the Italians were united under the same monarch.
The past decades had been a heady time for the Italians. Most of the old feudal customs had been abolished. Italians had freedom of movement, freedom of occupation and the worst of the old draconian legal system had been abolished. Actual attempts were made by the government to modernize industry, not just for the monarchs but intended to provide employment and a better quality of life for the common man. That many of these attempts failed dismally did not detract from the effort.
Infrastructure was built, though some regions, like the south, would find the construction of roads and railways difficult through the mountainous lands and progress was slow.
One area which little progress was made was towards democracy. The King of Spain and his heir ruling Italy (with the Princess of Tuscany) would see no point in this "Protestant ritual" and steadfastly refuse to hand over power to the mob. The "Latin" house of Bourbon was not the spendthrift and incompetent rulers of the past. Instead, they redoubled their efforts towards industrialization.
Like much of Europe, the monarchy of Spain, Portugal and Italy would refuse to relinquish power firmly and honestly believing that the King knew best. Resentment percolated and mixed with the newfound Italian nationalism, a concept which had not existed in countless generations.
Often frustrated by lack of economic opportunity and suppression of democratic feeling, large numbers of Italians (again, the idea of "Italian" was a new concept) would sail west with Sicilians, Sardinians, Corsicans, Spanish and Portuguese to America. Given the Bourbon monarchy's less than ideal relations with much of their former Empire, most emigration was forbidden to these regions. This made travel there more difficult as it added additional expensive stops. Most Italians would opt for the vast and vibrant nation of America.
As an uncommonly large percentage of these migrants were men relative to other European migrants, many never intended to settle America for the long term. They wanted to make some money and return to Italy. Over 30% would eventually return to the mother country, though many more EXPECTED to return but did not do so for various reason ranging from unexpected wealth keeping them in America, failure to make enough for a return trip, making just enough to live but not enough to retire on in Italy or, in some cases, finding new wives in America...when they already had wives waiting in Italy.
The latter became "White Widows" meaning their husbands were not dead but the poor Italian women could not in good conscience marry again. Hundreds of thousands of women were abandoned while their husbands lived new lives in America.
Throughout the 1890's and first five years of the 20th century, there were more Italian immigrants than any other group including British, Irish, French, German and Russian.
By the latter half of the decade, the Germans and Russians slowly overtook the Italians and formed huge communities in the eastern cities of America and in small towns throughout the hinterlands.
Southeast Asia
The lands of Manicheistan in southeast Asia were perched between those of the Muslim Bengalis and the Buddhist Burmese. Nervous as to the potential aggression of their neighbors, the followers of Mani would dispatch delegations to their only possible supporter, the Emperor of China. Manicheistan (an exonym from the Maratha Empire) was a poor land with harsh geography. The modernizing armies of the Maratha Empire, Bengal, Burma, Siam, etc would easily defeat any Manichean resistance, leaving only the difficult terrain to defend them.
An alliance with China seemed the only answer. The current Emperor purported to support the religion of Mani and this made him their natural protector. By 1905, Manicheistan was an effective protectorate of China, joining Tibet, the Joseon Kingdom and others as a vassal state.
This was a titanic shift in power in the local politics as it brought China directly into the Indian Ocean where it could challenge the Maratha Empire, Russia, Bengal, the United American Provinces and others. Many of these powers already saw China's aggression in Nippon as a sign of things to come. Now it was feared that China would extend its influence over the Viets, Hmong, Siamese, Lao, Khmer, Khmu and Burmese as well, maybe even extending towards the Philippines and the East Indies.
The Maratha Empire, already concerned with the rapid advancement of the Chinese in naval technology, would seek an "understanding" with both the Americans and Russians to ensure that the Indian Ocean would remain "free", meaning free of Chinese domination. In the short term, this was threat was overstated as the Manicheistan coast was hardly riddled with ports suitable to base large fleets and Beijing had no intention of any immediate aggression in the area anyway.
But the fear persisted and grew over the years to come, often evolving into paranoia.