archaeogeek
Banned
Part. 1. Wherein Butterflies are Slaughtered
Chateau de Marracq, Bayonne, April 15th, 1808(1)
The decision of a place to hold this meeting had been relatively complicated; the Doyen des Consuls(2) wanted Bayonne, even if the Prefect would have preferred Pau. Presumably the dean knew somethng he didn't. After not getting to host the king of Spain in his capital, he suggested a strong preference for the Citadelle. This, again, was shot down, the sous-prefet of Bayonne had suggested Marracq, which was after all abandoned and now belonged to the town, as well as much more comfortable. The vice-prefect had been very much in favor of it.
The Spanish situation had become untenable: both liberals and conservatives were angry, the conservatives probably angrier thanks to the king siding with more moderate liberals, and the prince of Asturias was seemingly courting both. The political class seemed mostly angry at the French (and french-allied) presence. The braver conservatives would sometimes say, in hushed tones, that the king had preferred the devil and the schismatics to God. The french presence had been necessary, however, as the overstretched Spanish army had been unable to push back the British descent in Galicia and the french "Armée des Pyrénées" had been invited in the country for support.
The defeat had been a loss of face to Britain, but it was quickly recovered with a swift victory at Ortega by sea, although less decisive than it could obviously had been. The French Army had still left behind a 50.000 strong army in the country to bolster Spanish forces and the British-friendly saw this as merely the prelude to becoming just one more sister republic, like Lombardy, Batavia, Helvetia, or Haiti (which prompted some of the conservative class to nickname Carlos IV the "nègre" of the french consulate). Or worse, a puppet like Etruria and Rome.
In these tensions, it was inevitable that something or someone would break down first. This someone turned out to be the Prince of Peace, who felt that moving the court to Havana would be safer. He barely escaped capture in Aranjuez, alive but wounded, having been shot in the arm by a conspirator. The king declined to move the capital to the americas, but agreed to move it nonetheless. On the 19th of March(3), the court moved temporarily to Oviedo. The city was rather strained initially by this new arrival but adapted. A second attempted conjuration against Godoy on the 25th, however, led to the king seemingly having a change of heart. Ships were prepared, letters were sent. The capital moved again, this time to Bilbao, as the forces loyal to the Infante Ferdinand controlled most of the kingdom.
It's in these conditions, with only the northern provinces still under royal control, that the meeting between the officials of the French republic and the kingdom of the Spains happened.
The king seemed mostly serene; historians would later compare his state of mind during the "Souper de Bayonne" to the state of mind his cousin, Louis XVI of France, had been in after his death was voted. In essence it seemed like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He was now exchanging pleasantries at what was ostensibly a state dinner, even if a modest one. The until then sanguine Godoy was now nervous, seemingly unaware of what, exactly, the content of the king's last decree was. Some of the french officials were equally nervous.
The discussion mostly avoided the subject. Instead they talked about the Planters' revolt in Saint-Domingue and the lesser islands. The sister republic in Haiti had recently put it down but had needed french support to counter the british supplied armies there. They talked about the situation with the ongoing conflict with Britain; it seemed like two giants in a dead lock. The french could hurt british trade at sea but, lacking in naval personnel, could not hope to do more than bloody the nose of the Royal Navy, while the british could also hurt french trade, but could barely hope to do more than bloody the nose of the Armée Consulaire(4), even if it could probably take on any peripheral army by concentrating forces. The main worry of the French republic seemed to mostly be whether or not the German powers, the Ottoman Empire and Russia would remain neutral in this fight. The seating arrangements gave off a certain parallelism between both countries: the men in each place of honour were colossal compared to the other guests, the king of Spain had largely inherited the build of the kings of Saxony, while the dean of the consuls of France was a bulky dark man, reputed to have the strength of arm to lift himself and his horse. In other circumstances, had they met in their youths, they would have been more inclined to a friendly bout of wrestling than to discuss high politics(5).
In all appearances, the only people who were aware of what, exactly, would be discussed after dinner were the elder Consul, Dumas, the king of Spain, Carlos IV, the american envoy, Armstrong, and the man who would become dean of the consulate after Dumas' tenure, Consul Cambacérès.
Nonetheless, the Infante Fernando stumbled upon the subject with a simple question regarding Louisiana. After all, the French had "abandonned" Saint-Domingue to the Haitian rebels, and the planters' revolts had extended to the area around New Orleans, had they not?
This question displeased Dumas, who simply responded that the Haitians were allies and confederate brothers of the French states (and the Batavians, and the Lombards, and the Helvetians)(6). As for Louisiana, it was initially planned to establish it as a sister republic and to develop it with french settlers and political émigrés from other countries, but ultimately, the war had made the costs too high (7). A perpetual condominium had been negotiated with the Americans over New Orleans, the land claims north of the 33rd parallel would be transferred to the United States, with the remaining territory, while small, would be retained as a République de Louisiane in association with France as Haiti was (and similar status was being considered for the remainder of the French West Indies and the Mascarine Islands as their population would some day allow).
Fernando then objected that these territories, if they were to be alienated to anyone, should have gone to Spain. The king then replied that the treaty had been drawn the night before. He then added that he spoke as though he was already thinking of himself as Spain, and that if he thought he'd be getting it all, he would be rather surprised.
The situation was, thus, outed. Everyone at the table now understood what the last decree could be about, and what the animated discussion between the king, the two senior consuls and the american ambassador could have been about.
The decree carried a number of provisions for the king's abdication, particularly when it came to the colonies. Strangely, it also carried the trappings of a treaty in many ways, bearing warranties by France and the United States.
The Decree of Marracq(8) decided thus
- Cuba, Southern Florida and Puerto Rico would form a new Viceroyalty in the West Indies, the Philippines would form a new Viceroyalty in the East Indies
- Northern Florida was to sold to the Americans along with inland Louisiana
- The Viceroyalty of New Spain would, within its new borders, would be given to Infante Carlos, as the Kingdom of Mexico
- The Viceroyalties of Peru and Rio de la Plata would be granted to Infante Francisco de Paula, as the kingdom of Peru
- The Viceroyalty of New Granada would be granted to Infante Leopoldo, as the kingdom of Granada
- The king, Carlos IV, abdicates the throne of Spain, to Infante Fernando. However, the king does not abdicate the throne of the West Indies.
- The crowns of the Indies will, after the king's death, be united to Spain in perpetual union. The remaining crowns in the Americas, however, will not be allowed to contract personal unions between either each other or foreign thrones.
- The division of the territories would follow the principle of Uti Possedetis, for the most part.(9)
- Godoy remained Secretary of State of the kingdom of the Indies.
Followed a complex system of reversions which covered pretty much every scenario short of a complete extinction of the house of Bourbon (including the possibility that reversions might have to be done through french members of the dynasty).
After this weight off his shoulders, Don Carlos, now simply Carlos I of Cuba & Puerto Rico, felt relieved. It had been incredibly simple after all.
At the very least it had seemed so.
While watching his two sons and his nephew on board the ship that would bring them to their fates in the Americas, a feeling of dread came to him: it would be anything but simple.
-----
(1) It's a week earlier than OTL's Bayonne Interview: the place and time is my first dead butterfly batch
(2) I'm not saying who it is yet
- but the french have a bunch of POD
(3) OTL date of abdication of Carlos IV, Godoy being captured at Aranjuez was one of the causes.
(4) OTL Grande Armée, with a different name reflecting the new régime better
(5) I admit that I am on shaky ground about this personality trait: Charles IV was indeed an avid wrestler and while Général Dumas was known to be an extremely strong man and would show it off, I can find no trace of him being a wrestler in particular with a cursory search, at the same time Alexandre Dumas père does give an impression of a man who would probably have enjoyed these sports. The anecdote about the horse comes directly from Alexandre Dumas sr. Having Dumas as consul and a reversal of the situation in Haiti (with a british supported revolt of the Grands Blancs instead of a slave revolt) is a fantasy which, I hope, will be forgiven, as I'm not entirely sure about its plausibility ) - Haiti is now, however, independent as a sister republic.
(6) I am cheating on the POD: the Consulate is also more girondist than OTL, not quite at United States of France level but Paris is much less powerful - this comes about as part of the reforms to try to stop another 18 Brumaire by decentralizing the poles of power. Yes that implies a pre-1800 POD in that department, but so does a Dumas in the consulate
(7) And the money was needed to rebuild and develop the navy after Ortega: ITTL there was no Trafalgar but Ortega instead a year later, which acts as a wake-up for the french leadership that naval power is actually important especially in what seems like it's about to shape into a Franco-British cold war.
(8)Officially the Real Cedula del 14 de Abril 1808 - the heirs so named are respectively
- That Charles, the Carlist Charles. As much as his elder brother any kingdom he'd have laid his hands on IOTL was a disaster waiting to happen, we'll see
- Francis was the first duke of Cadix and one of his sons would go on to become the (gay) king-consort of Spain to Isabella II, although there's enormous doubts as to whether any of their children are actually even his (I think even him was pretty sure they weren't). I know more about his son than I do about him. Also at the time he's 14 years old. And given that I just followed the Aranda plan and slashed Rio de la Plata, I very much doubt that I'm butterflying the Chilean and Platinean revolutions in their entirety; I'll see in later updates
- Leopoldo was 18 at the time and the prince of Salerno, i.e. a Bourbon-Sicily. There was a conspiracy to have him become Emperor of Spanish America by both Ferdinand I of Sicily and some british officers but he ended up arrested in Gibraltar along with a cousin from the house of Orléans. He was shortly regent of Naples, but otherwise I can't find much in his later years. Objections to naming the kingdom simply Granada would be met with a "there are also two Galicias in two different countries with two different kings and two different languages."
(9) The reforms of 1810 tidied up a lot of border conflicts. ITTL they haven't happened.
And I finally decided I was somewhat ready to turn the ideas I had in the back of my head into a short TL (with a little thing I borrowed from another thread's ideas); I will probably stumble in the first 20 years because I have a dearth of info about the political life of South America during the napoleonic wars compared to before or after. I'll remedy to it over time but if I make a glaring mistake I'm open to correcting.
Chateau de Marracq, Bayonne, April 15th, 1808(1)
The decision of a place to hold this meeting had been relatively complicated; the Doyen des Consuls(2) wanted Bayonne, even if the Prefect would have preferred Pau. Presumably the dean knew somethng he didn't. After not getting to host the king of Spain in his capital, he suggested a strong preference for the Citadelle. This, again, was shot down, the sous-prefet of Bayonne had suggested Marracq, which was after all abandoned and now belonged to the town, as well as much more comfortable. The vice-prefect had been very much in favor of it.
The Spanish situation had become untenable: both liberals and conservatives were angry, the conservatives probably angrier thanks to the king siding with more moderate liberals, and the prince of Asturias was seemingly courting both. The political class seemed mostly angry at the French (and french-allied) presence. The braver conservatives would sometimes say, in hushed tones, that the king had preferred the devil and the schismatics to God. The french presence had been necessary, however, as the overstretched Spanish army had been unable to push back the British descent in Galicia and the french "Armée des Pyrénées" had been invited in the country for support.
The defeat had been a loss of face to Britain, but it was quickly recovered with a swift victory at Ortega by sea, although less decisive than it could obviously had been. The French Army had still left behind a 50.000 strong army in the country to bolster Spanish forces and the British-friendly saw this as merely the prelude to becoming just one more sister republic, like Lombardy, Batavia, Helvetia, or Haiti (which prompted some of the conservative class to nickname Carlos IV the "nègre" of the french consulate). Or worse, a puppet like Etruria and Rome.
In these tensions, it was inevitable that something or someone would break down first. This someone turned out to be the Prince of Peace, who felt that moving the court to Havana would be safer. He barely escaped capture in Aranjuez, alive but wounded, having been shot in the arm by a conspirator. The king declined to move the capital to the americas, but agreed to move it nonetheless. On the 19th of March(3), the court moved temporarily to Oviedo. The city was rather strained initially by this new arrival but adapted. A second attempted conjuration against Godoy on the 25th, however, led to the king seemingly having a change of heart. Ships were prepared, letters were sent. The capital moved again, this time to Bilbao, as the forces loyal to the Infante Ferdinand controlled most of the kingdom.
It's in these conditions, with only the northern provinces still under royal control, that the meeting between the officials of the French republic and the kingdom of the Spains happened.
The king seemed mostly serene; historians would later compare his state of mind during the "Souper de Bayonne" to the state of mind his cousin, Louis XVI of France, had been in after his death was voted. In essence it seemed like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He was now exchanging pleasantries at what was ostensibly a state dinner, even if a modest one. The until then sanguine Godoy was now nervous, seemingly unaware of what, exactly, the content of the king's last decree was. Some of the french officials were equally nervous.
The discussion mostly avoided the subject. Instead they talked about the Planters' revolt in Saint-Domingue and the lesser islands. The sister republic in Haiti had recently put it down but had needed french support to counter the british supplied armies there. They talked about the situation with the ongoing conflict with Britain; it seemed like two giants in a dead lock. The french could hurt british trade at sea but, lacking in naval personnel, could not hope to do more than bloody the nose of the Royal Navy, while the british could also hurt french trade, but could barely hope to do more than bloody the nose of the Armée Consulaire(4), even if it could probably take on any peripheral army by concentrating forces. The main worry of the French republic seemed to mostly be whether or not the German powers, the Ottoman Empire and Russia would remain neutral in this fight. The seating arrangements gave off a certain parallelism between both countries: the men in each place of honour were colossal compared to the other guests, the king of Spain had largely inherited the build of the kings of Saxony, while the dean of the consuls of France was a bulky dark man, reputed to have the strength of arm to lift himself and his horse. In other circumstances, had they met in their youths, they would have been more inclined to a friendly bout of wrestling than to discuss high politics(5).
In all appearances, the only people who were aware of what, exactly, would be discussed after dinner were the elder Consul, Dumas, the king of Spain, Carlos IV, the american envoy, Armstrong, and the man who would become dean of the consulate after Dumas' tenure, Consul Cambacérès.
Nonetheless, the Infante Fernando stumbled upon the subject with a simple question regarding Louisiana. After all, the French had "abandonned" Saint-Domingue to the Haitian rebels, and the planters' revolts had extended to the area around New Orleans, had they not?
This question displeased Dumas, who simply responded that the Haitians were allies and confederate brothers of the French states (and the Batavians, and the Lombards, and the Helvetians)(6). As for Louisiana, it was initially planned to establish it as a sister republic and to develop it with french settlers and political émigrés from other countries, but ultimately, the war had made the costs too high (7). A perpetual condominium had been negotiated with the Americans over New Orleans, the land claims north of the 33rd parallel would be transferred to the United States, with the remaining territory, while small, would be retained as a République de Louisiane in association with France as Haiti was (and similar status was being considered for the remainder of the French West Indies and the Mascarine Islands as their population would some day allow).
Fernando then objected that these territories, if they were to be alienated to anyone, should have gone to Spain. The king then replied that the treaty had been drawn the night before. He then added that he spoke as though he was already thinking of himself as Spain, and that if he thought he'd be getting it all, he would be rather surprised.
The situation was, thus, outed. Everyone at the table now understood what the last decree could be about, and what the animated discussion between the king, the two senior consuls and the american ambassador could have been about.
The decree carried a number of provisions for the king's abdication, particularly when it came to the colonies. Strangely, it also carried the trappings of a treaty in many ways, bearing warranties by France and the United States.
The Decree of Marracq(8) decided thus
- Cuba, Southern Florida and Puerto Rico would form a new Viceroyalty in the West Indies, the Philippines would form a new Viceroyalty in the East Indies
- Northern Florida was to sold to the Americans along with inland Louisiana
- The Viceroyalty of New Spain would, within its new borders, would be given to Infante Carlos, as the Kingdom of Mexico
- The Viceroyalties of Peru and Rio de la Plata would be granted to Infante Francisco de Paula, as the kingdom of Peru
- The Viceroyalty of New Granada would be granted to Infante Leopoldo, as the kingdom of Granada
- The king, Carlos IV, abdicates the throne of Spain, to Infante Fernando. However, the king does not abdicate the throne of the West Indies.
- The crowns of the Indies will, after the king's death, be united to Spain in perpetual union. The remaining crowns in the Americas, however, will not be allowed to contract personal unions between either each other or foreign thrones.
- The division of the territories would follow the principle of Uti Possedetis, for the most part.(9)
- Godoy remained Secretary of State of the kingdom of the Indies.
Followed a complex system of reversions which covered pretty much every scenario short of a complete extinction of the house of Bourbon (including the possibility that reversions might have to be done through french members of the dynasty).
After this weight off his shoulders, Don Carlos, now simply Carlos I of Cuba & Puerto Rico, felt relieved. It had been incredibly simple after all.
At the very least it had seemed so.
While watching his two sons and his nephew on board the ship that would bring them to their fates in the Americas, a feeling of dread came to him: it would be anything but simple.
-----
(1) It's a week earlier than OTL's Bayonne Interview: the place and time is my first dead butterfly batch
(2) I'm not saying who it is yet
- but the french have a bunch of POD(3) OTL date of abdication of Carlos IV, Godoy being captured at Aranjuez was one of the causes.
(4) OTL Grande Armée, with a different name reflecting the new régime better
(5) I admit that I am on shaky ground about this personality trait: Charles IV was indeed an avid wrestler and while Général Dumas was known to be an extremely strong man and would show it off, I can find no trace of him being a wrestler in particular with a cursory search, at the same time Alexandre Dumas père does give an impression of a man who would probably have enjoyed these sports. The anecdote about the horse comes directly from Alexandre Dumas sr. Having Dumas as consul and a reversal of the situation in Haiti (with a british supported revolt of the Grands Blancs instead of a slave revolt) is a fantasy which, I hope, will be forgiven, as I'm not entirely sure about its plausibility
) - Haiti is now, however, independent as a sister republic.(6) I am cheating on the POD: the Consulate is also more girondist than OTL, not quite at United States of France level but Paris is much less powerful - this comes about as part of the reforms to try to stop another 18 Brumaire by decentralizing the poles of power. Yes that implies a pre-1800 POD in that department, but so does a Dumas in the consulate
(7) And the money was needed to rebuild and develop the navy after Ortega: ITTL there was no Trafalgar but Ortega instead a year later, which acts as a wake-up for the french leadership that naval power is actually important especially in what seems like it's about to shape into a Franco-British cold war.
(8)Officially the Real Cedula del 14 de Abril 1808 - the heirs so named are respectively
- That Charles, the Carlist Charles. As much as his elder brother any kingdom he'd have laid his hands on IOTL was a disaster waiting to happen, we'll see
- Francis was the first duke of Cadix and one of his sons would go on to become the (gay) king-consort of Spain to Isabella II, although there's enormous doubts as to whether any of their children are actually even his (I think even him was pretty sure they weren't). I know more about his son than I do about him. Also at the time he's 14 years old. And given that I just followed the Aranda plan and slashed Rio de la Plata, I very much doubt that I'm butterflying the Chilean and Platinean revolutions in their entirety; I'll see in later updates
- Leopoldo was 18 at the time and the prince of Salerno, i.e. a Bourbon-Sicily. There was a conspiracy to have him become Emperor of Spanish America by both Ferdinand I of Sicily and some british officers but he ended up arrested in Gibraltar along with a cousin from the house of Orléans. He was shortly regent of Naples, but otherwise I can't find much in his later years. Objections to naming the kingdom simply Granada would be met with a "there are also two Galicias in two different countries with two different kings and two different languages."
(9) The reforms of 1810 tidied up a lot of border conflicts. ITTL they haven't happened.
And I finally decided I was somewhat ready to turn the ideas I had in the back of my head into a short TL (with a little thing I borrowed from another thread's ideas); I will probably stumble in the first 20 years because I have a dearth of info about the political life of South America during the napoleonic wars compared to before or after. I'll remedy to it over time but if I make a glaring mistake I'm open to correcting.
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