Orba Imperium

[Lucadamo]

Orba Imperium is a world I am currently developing. It's an alternate/steampunk universe in which the colonial empires of the late 1800s and countries of the 14-1700s in Europe exist today. Here's the timeline from 1692-1885.

1692 – The Spanish extend a protectorate of the Kingdom of Cambodia to fend of Siamese aggression.

1776 – The Kingdom of Virginia officially secedes from Britain. King George I is crowned king.

1780 – King George I is assassinated by British insurgents. The Dowager Princess Martha replaces him as Her Majesty Queen Martha I, Queen of Virginia.

1789 – Outbreak of the French Revolution. The Bourbons flee to Naples.

1792 – The Kingdom of Sicily under the French Bourbons is established. It consists of the island of Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula.

1795 – Republican France overruns the southern provinces of the Kingdom of Burgundy and annexes them as official provinces of the Republic of France. Royal family of Burgundy flees to the Low Countries.

1796 – The Kingdom of Burgundy is reestablished in the Netherlands and Belgium. The new capital is established at Amsterdam.

1798 – The French declare war on Burgundy and begin assault on southern Belgium. British and Saxon troops intervene on behalf of the Burgundians.

1798-1801 – The Walloon War: Republican France attempts to create a republican vassal state in the Burgundian occupied territories of Belgium and the Netherlands. Eventually, British and Saxon troops drive back French forces and secure the independence of the Kingdom of Burgundy.

1802-1806 – The Alpine War: Bavaria invades Switzerland’s northeastern cantons which results in armed conflict between the two countries. Italy assists Bavaria in the war which results in a Bavarian victory. The Swiss government is overthrown and the entirety of Swiss territory is ceded to the Kingdom of Bavaria.

1804 – Napoleon I becomes the first emperor of the Imperial Republic of France. Dictatorship established and all democratic processes are abolished. Britain and Burgundy, long time enemies of Republican France are in full support of the Bonaparte Regime.

1808 – The Treaty of Pamplona is signed by Spanish and French diplomats. This secures all Spanish territories (both domestic and colonial) from French expansion.

1810 – The Atlantic League is established. Britain, France, Spain, Burgundy, and Virginia are all founding members.

1816 – The Mexicans revolt against Spanish rule. Spain quickly withdraws and allows Criollo rebel-leader Simon Bolivar establish an imperial monarchy under the Bolivar family. Emperor Simon I becomes the first emperor of the Mexican Empire.

1821 – Chile and La Plata peacefully secede from Spain. Spanish authorities establish vassal dynasties in Buenos Aires and Santiago, creating the Kingdom of Patagonia in La Plata and the Kingdom of Araucania in Chile.

1824 – The Treaty of San Juan is signed by Virginian and Spanish diplomats. Spain retains Cuba, Peru, modern-day Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay while Ecuador, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, and Panama are ceded to Virginia.

1826 – Emperor Simon I of Mexico violates the Treaty of Queretaro which restricts Mexico from expanding southward into Spanish Central American territory. Austria-Hungary backs the Mexican forces and Spain is forced to cede Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica to Mexico in order to keep a hold on valuable Cuba.

1827-1839 – The German Unification Wars: Prussia is victorious at the Battle of Hamburg which secures its annexation of Saxony, despite British and French assistance. Prussia then moves southward and begins its campaign to absorb Bavaria. To avoid major conflict and financial cost, King Rodolphus Wittelsbach II of Bavaria cedes all of Swabia and Bavaria to the Prussians, who now call themselves the Federated Empire of Germany, and the Prussians allow them to retain their territories in Switzerland. A new Bavarian capital is established at Zurich and the Kingdom of Switzerland is born.

1746 – Swiss personal union with Piedmont-Liguria. Switzerland absorbs both territories and obtains a shoreline.

1782 – The First Portuguese Revolution occurs. The royal Braganzas flee to Brazil and a new dictatorial monarchy is established in Lisbon.

1784 – The Braganzas establish a new empire in Brazil and officially secede from Portugal.

 

[Max Sinister]

Welcome to the forum, Luca. However, I had to move this thread, since your timeline obviously isn't long enough for the "Timelines and Scenarios" forum.

 

[Philip]

I think you need to expand this quite a bit. For example,

1776 – The Kingdom of Virginia officially secedes from Britain. King George I is crowned king.

Why and how? Is there a war? Are there other colonies? Has everything else up to this point gone the same as OTL?

1780 – King George I is assassinated by British insurgents. The Dowager Princess Martha replaces him as Her Majesty Queen Martha I, Queen of Virginia.

That's it? No other reaction from Virginia?

1789 – Outbreak of the French Revolution. The Bourbons flee to Naples.

Why? How have the events in the Americas affected France?

1792 – The Kingdom of Sicily under the French Bourbons is established. It consists of the island of Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula.

How do they get control? Why don't they still claim to be the Kingdom of France?

1795 – Republican France overruns the southern provinces of the Kingdom of Burgundy and annexes them as official provinces of the Republic of France. Royal family of Burgundy flees to the Low Countries.

IIRC, Burgundy hasn't been a kingdom for 500 years. What happened? Which house rules Burgundy?

1796 – The Kingdom of Burgundy is reestablished in the Netherlands and Belgium. The new capital is established at Amsterdam.

How do the republicans in the Low Countries feel about this?

1798 – The French declare war on Burgundy and begin assault on southern Belgium. British and Saxon troops intervene on behalf of the Burgundians.

Why does France declare war? Why does UK get involved?

1802-1806 – The Alpine War: Bavaria invades Switzerland’s northeastern cantons which results in armed conflict between the two countries. Italy assists Bavaria in the war which results in a Bavarian victory. The Swiss government is overthrown and the entirety of Swiss territory is ceded to the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Who is 'Italy'? Do the Great Powers care that Switzerland is being annexed?

1804 – Napoleon I becomes the first emperor of the Imperial Republic of France. Dictatorship established and all democratic processes are abolished. Britain and Burgundy, long time enemies of Republican France are in full support of the Bonaparte Regime.

Not sure I buy the UK giving full support to someone who has abolished democracy.

1810 – The Atlantic League is established. Britain, France, Spain, Burgundy, and Virginia are all founding members.

What is the purpose and nature of the League. It seems to me that the goals of these states would be quite different.

1816 – The Mexicans revolt against Spanish rule. Spain quickly withdraws and allows Criollo rebel-leader Simon Bolivar establish an imperial monarchy under the Bolivar family. Emperor Simon I becomes the first emperor of the Mexican Empire.

How? OTL, Spain suffered the Napoleonic Wars. This was a big part of the Mexican independence.

1821 – Chile and La Plata peacefully secede from Spain. Spanish authorities establish vassal dynasties in Buenos Aires and Santiago, creating the Kingdom of Patagonia in La Plata and the Kingdom of Araucania in Chile.

Why?

1824 – The Treaty of San Juan is signed by Virginian and Spanish diplomats. Spain retains Cuba, Peru, modern-day Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay while Ecuador, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, and Panama are ceded to Virginia.

Why?

1826 – Emperor Simon I of Mexico violates the Treaty of Queretaro which restricts Mexico from expanding southward into Spanish Central American territory. Austria-Hungary backs the Mexican forces and Spain is forced to cede Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica to Mexico in order to keep a hold on valuable Cuba.

When did the Habsburg lands become Austria-Hungary? Where are the rest of the Great Powers? Engaged in communal singing?
I think you are overlooking the effects of these events on the rest of the world. Replacing the ARW with the creation of a Kingdom of Virginia should have wide spread effects on Europe. Does it?

 

[Lucadamo]

Hey, thanks for the welcome. And yes, this is my first TL and I definitely appreciate the advice. Let me see if I can answer your questions:

- The Virginian Revolution is pretty much the same as the American Revolution, except instead of installing a republic, the founding fathers opted to install a freer monarchy.
- Why don’t we go with the idea that republican ideals have been simmering among the French lower class for a while? That might work. We could delay the revolution for a few years so to make it more realistic. This would also give the French royal family more time to flee.
- The Bourbons flee to Naples because it is controlled by a branch of the Bourbon family. We’ll say they gained control through the line of succession following a nastily public “assasination” that would have nothing to do whatsoever with the former king of France and his Lady MacBeth-esque wife .
- We’ll say Burgundy remained a kingdom and separate from France, but also held the Low Countries in combination with Alsace-Lorraine. The House of Orange-Nassau will rule Burgundy. Strong ties with Britain (who will lend troops to the Burgundian government) will preserve the Burgundian monarchy.
- France declares war on behalf of a continental-wide movement enacted by French republicans to united all Francophone Europeans under one flag. Thus, the French Republic invades the Wallonia province of Burgundy. Britain gets involved on behalf of their close allie, the Burgundians.
- Italy, in this case, will be a Northern Italian state centered at Milan. Eventually, this kingdom will expand to cover all of northern Italy south to the borders of the Papal States and excluding Venezia, Liguria, and Piedmont. Switzerland, at this time, will be primarily an isolationist state with little diplomatic dealings with outside nations. Most Catholic nations will support a Catholic monarchy in a state with a strong population of religious “deviants.”
- Britain is in favor of the Bonaparte regime because prior to his ascent to power, Britain and the French Republic were open enemies due to French hostility towards their Burgundian ally.
- The goals of all of these nations, although not overtly stated, is colonial expansion and the preservation of traditional, yet constitutional, monarchies. They have replaced the Allies of OTL. Spain remains in power due to smarter economic planning and an alliance with Napoleon’s superior French Empire.
- Mexican nationalists were responsible for secession from Spain. Economic disperity in Spain is the root cause for Spanish withdrawl from the territory. The primary regions for extracting resources West of the Andes remain part of the Spanish Empire.
- Instead of creating internal enemies, Spain opts to create external allies and vassal states that might be more valuable than cumbersome and independent-minded territories. This proves to be on of the self-saving methods of the Spanish Empire.
- To preserve friendly relations with an expansionist Virginia that has little regard to international alliances, Spain sells valuable territories to boost internal economy. This gets Spain out of it’s “depression.”
- The Atlantic League is mostly economic, with little to no required militaristic mutualism. British officials would likely be for the cession of Spanish territories to Mexico if they are guaranteed uncontested sovereignty over their Caribbean territories.

 

[dreadnought jenkins]

Im not sure how realistic it is to have Burgundy handwaved back into reality. I mean, does that mean no Austrian Netherlands, no Dutch revolt against the spanish draining away resources. An entire country surviving would probably lead to major changes and HUGE butterflies.

 

[Lucadamo]

Well, it's alternate... so wouldn't the point be to stay away from historical realism. One of the primary reasons Spain remained wealthy was because it never wasted resources on occupying the Netherlands.

 

[dreadnought jenkins]

Yes the point of alternate history is to make it different but within plausibility. If I was to write a timeline with a pod in 1860 about a different Franco Prussian war, have britain interfere, and than say that Britain overwhelms its enemy because America stayed in the empire but chose the name Canada, it just wouldn't make sense. The butterflies would be enormous, perhaps causing Britain to lose dominance in India (take a look at Thande's Look to the west, its a must)and most definitely altering the world too much. My timeline would be denouced and called ASB.

My point is that while its really interesting to see how different a world can turn out, it must at least start out with plausibility. Thus no handwaving countries into existence, like Burgundy. Burgundy was important to the Hapsburgs, since it was rich and the they inherited it. Without it, you alter one the families that shaped Europe, and thus you alter history. The Dutch revolt was important to England, because it led to the spanish armada, not to mention it being REALLY IMPORTANT to the Dutch. Also, Burgundy was the enemy of France, so that alters French foreign policy. So many things get altered by keeping Burgundy independant, its ridiculous.

I dont mind your timeline, but you should

A) give us a bit more details, like that kingdom of Virginia and all the things that are happening. Its really hard to follow.

and most importantly B) move the POD back in order to keep Burgundy if you really want it in existence