The Commonwealth of North America: The Tale of the Second American Revolution

The Commonwealth of
North America:
The Tale of the Second American Reolution

Chapter Two: The Occupation

Section One: Clamping Down
After the last of the rebel standing armies was defeated, and most diplomats abroad captured and killed, the Kingdom of Great Britain would clamp down on its rebellious colonies in hope that a firm hand now will allow a softer hand later. There were those who openly spoke out against the measures that would be taken on the colonies. In Parliament the Whigs spoke out openly against what became known as the “Victory” Acts. The leading voice of Whigs, Sir Edmund Burke, would do whatever possible to lessen the punishments being placed on the colonies by Parliament. In the military General Charles Cornwallis also spoke out against the Victory Acts. Cornwallis had had misgivings about the conflict from the beginning. He had been sympathetic to the grievances of the colonists but still sought active service. After the war he would seek the position of Commander in Chief of North America. He would not receiving the position, it being occupied by Sir William Howe. He was, however, able to receive the position of Governor General of the Southern Department.​

A new command structure was set up in the colonies. With the exception of the King and Parliament, the highest authority in the colonies became the Commander in Chief of North America. Below the Commander in Chief were the three Governor Generals. The 13 colonies were divided into three “departments”. There was the northern department consisting of the colonies of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. The middle department consisted of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. The southern department consisted of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, East Florida, and West Florida. Below each Governor general were the Royal Governors of each colony. The Royal governors, though technically chosen by the King and Parliament, were in reality delegated to the Commander in Chief of North America and the Governor Generals.​

During Howe’s tenure he tended to select Royal Governors from the military, all of them being born and raised in England. This incited some resentment from the colonists. Up until that point most of the colonies had had governors who were at least from the colonies. Under Howe’s reign the will of Parliament and the King were exerted to the letter. Ports were heavily occupied by British soldiers to make sure all taxes were paid. The frontier also became more heavily guarded from pioneers while simultaneously hunting down rebel guerilla fighters still resisting British rule.​

Up until the years before the revolution the colonists had enjoyed representative government in the colonies. They had democratically elected legislatures and town hall meetings. However these became seen as a hotbed for descent and action. After the last standing rebel armies were subdued all colonial legislatures were closed and all town hall meetings were banned. In New England the restrictions were stronger then in the south. In Massachusetts a curfew was set so that no civilian could be out on the streets at night after 9:00 pm. This resulted in taverns and pubs either having to close early, or expand their business to room and board. Many of the practices that lead to the rebellion continued into the occupation. Soldiers were housed in the homes of private citizens without their consent.​

There was fear that the families of rebel leaders might become the leaders of a new rebellion. The British went out to the homes of the rebel leaders and forcibly relocated them to the colonial capitals where they would be monitored and guarded by British soldiers, essentially being under house arrest. One story from the families forcibly relocated has become famous and is one of the national stories of the Commonwealth.​

Thomas Jefferson was sent by the continental congress in late May of 1779 to France in hopes of possibly convincing the French to grant recognition. He left as soon as he could. He had to leave his wife Martha at home in Charlottesville, Virginia. A few weeks after he left, Martha discovered that she was pregnant. After the surrender of Horatio Gates armies across the colonies seemed to just fall apart. On October 1st General Charles Cornwallis marched on Monticello. The pregnant Martha Jefferson was unable to flee. To her surprise Cornwallis was very kind and polite to her and her family. The British simply occupied the home and the family put under house arrest. In January of 1780 the order for all family members of rebel leaders to be relocated was issued, and Martha Jefferson, 8 months pregnant, was forced to make the journey from Charlottesville to Williamsburg in the middle of winter. The journey was difficult, and Martha went into labor mid journey. She gave birth to a son, and with her last breath she named him Thomas[1], after his father. Martha died after giving birth. The nurse thought that the conditions the child was born in would most likely mean the child would die as well. But the child would survive into adulthood and play a pivotal role in the history of the commonwealth.​

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[1] A fictional character. I have plans for this character.​
 
Chapter Two: The Occupation

Section Two: Buffers
Since 1763 the King and Parliament has been concerned with preventing settlers from migrating past the Appalachians. The dangers of the wild and allegedly hostile Indian tribes was not enough to prevent people from trying. The Proclamation Line had been one of the reasons for the rebellion. There were those in Parliament who proposed removing the proclamation line, but the King and Tories in Parliament were not quite ready to grant that concession. Instead King George III and Commander in Chief William Howe decided to bring up an idea that had to be put aside when the rebellion began.

William Howe was ordered by the King and Parliament to establish the colony of Vandalia. The Ohio river would serve as its northern boundary while the Kentucky river would serve as its western boundary. The colony would be land locked, with Virginia creating its eastern border. The colony was intended to be buffer zone against settlers from Virginia moving out west. One major problem with the location of the colony was that there were rebel guerillas active. This region was where the Marquee de Lafayette was supposedly hiding. Some saw the establishment of this colony as a mistake for its location. However besides the strategic goal of preventing westward migration, it was purposely chosen so that they could hunt down “the boy” to the fullest extent without holding back.

The colony was established in June of 1785. Loyalists were attracted to the area by offering generous land grants to anyone who would settle the area, preferably with a family. This would serve as a base of operations for hunting down Lafayette and a buffer to prevent American colonists from moving out west. Plans for a colony of a similar purpose were created for the Ohio country, in hopes of preventing New Englanders from going out west.

After the Seven Years War several political societies in Britain and North America made propositions for new colonies to be created in the North American interior. Initially these were designed in order to help fight off the French in the future with a local populace that was loyal to England. Most of these ideas were either scrapped or put on the back burner during the rebellion. Now several of these ideas were once again seeing the light of day, but for different purposes. Instead of being used to fight off the French, they would be used as buffer zones between the Indians and the Colonists. Many of these plans had not been pushed forward before the rebellion because of the Proclamation Line in 1763. However the King and Parliament saw it necessary to create these settlements in hopes of controlling the colonies. They would not completely reject the Proclamation of 1763, but instead would make a couple exceptions: the first being Vandalia, the second being Charlotina.

Charlotina had been proposed as a colony to help fight the French in the possibility of a future war in the Ohio. It was originally planned to be along the Mississippi as a buffer against the French, but instead they moved it further east closer to the Pennsylvania border. The southern border of this colony would be the Ohio river, while the western border would be the Scioto River. Parliament began offering men in debtors prisons the option to go to the new colony of Charlotina. The colony was officially established in spring of 1790.
 
Vandalia, eh? Where you have put it, OTL Kentucky, is both a smart and stupid idea. To quote one of my favorite movies "that is so stupid that it's positively brilliant."
 
Well, I'm afraid I'm come across a little snag in the plans of this timeline. I am seriously considering rewriting it. I was hoping to do something on the same level as Look to the West, The Dominion of Southern America, or The Federated States of America: Sibling to a stillborn United States. I'm afraid I didn't do nearly as much research as I should have. I have an Idea of where I want this timeline to go up until about the 1840's. So I think I'm gonna turn this thread into a brainstorming thread if I do decide to rewrite.
 
I liked the story so far, and I am looking forward to the rewrite when it is available!

You're right about research. I'm thinking of writing my own timeline but after re-reading DSA, LTTW and several others I'm gradually realizing that it's going to take a lot more work, especially research. There are a lot of variables to consider.

Best of luck, and definitely keep us all informed.
 
I liked the story so far, and I am looking forward to the rewrite when it is available!

You're right about research. I'm thinking of writing my own timeline but after re-reading DSA, LTTW and several others I'm gradually realizing that it's going to take a lot more work, especially research. There are a lot of variables to consider.

Best of luck, and definitely keep us all informed.

Thanks for the support.

One topic I am looking into is pre-marxist socialism. I was hoping someone could point me toward some pre-19th century documents on socialism. Or perhaps some of the 17th century writings that refer to "Leveling". An Idea I had is for alternate names for OTL ideologies, so I was considering that socialism ITTL could be called "Levelism" or something of that nature.
 
Thanks for the support.

One topic I am looking into is pre-marxist socialism. I was hoping someone could point me toward some pre-19th century documents on socialism. Or perhaps some of the 17th century writings that refer to "Leveling". An Idea I had is for alternate names for OTL ideologies, so I was considering that socialism ITTL could be called "Levelism" or something of that nature.

interesting,... continue (bump)
 
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