The Dead Skunk

[King Henry]

Glad you're enjoying it. Whatever happens to them politically (I'm not giving anything away just yet) Britain and France will still be rivals — the more so as this France will be more of an economic and industrial power than OTL's.

Yeah, the retention of Belgium will really help French industrialization, especially if the Liberals and Regency don't share Napoleons boneheaded opinions on industry

Actually, he was mentioned in the last birth announcement — the history buff who will later develop an interest in economics. The quote at the beginning of the Battle of Velaine will give you an idea of the sort of conclusions he draws.

Ah, and he's popular in Louisiana and among the American natives? That will not end well.

All I'll say is that the French system at this point works… as long as the government doesn't screw anybody over too badly.

Well yeah, I was speaking mainly of the next generation.

 

[Lycaon pictus]

For Valentine's Day, how about a wedding?



May 8, 1818
11:30 a.m.
Hannover

The nave of the Marktkirche looked like something that had been desgined for a mythical race of giants. Red brick pillars held the vaulted ceiling more than a hundred feet over the heads of the assembled dignitaries. Sunlight streamed in through the tall, narrow Gothic windows. It was a solemn place, built to overawe.

William Duke of Clarence looked up at the ceiling and laughed with sheer joy. Then he looked back down at his new bride, Marie Louise Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Princess of Leiningen. She was a widow of 31, with two children. He was 52 and father of ten, nine still living. At the moment, they felt like they were both sixteen.

He kissed her. He had already done it once, after being pronounced man and wife, but once more couldn’t hurt…

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

Bye bye Queen Vicky

 

[King Henry]

By the way, kind of off-topic, but would it be okay if I sigged this quote?

“The difference between the Conservative and Jacobin Parties is that both of them think we drink the blood of Christian babies… but the Jacobins would like us to share it with them.”

 

[Lycaon pictus]

By the way, kind of off-topic, but would it be okay if I sigged this quote?

Sure, go ahead.

 

[King Henry]

Sure, go ahead.

Too big unfortunately.

 

[Lycaon pictus]

After enduring the well-wishes of every local dignitary in the city, William finally got to the people he really wanted to see. He hadn’t given his family much notice, and his brothers were busy in the Lords, but two of them had managed to come — Edward Duke of Kent, Augustus Frederick[1] Duke of Sussex and… huh?

“Sophia?”

“Surprised to see me?” His sister smiled.

“I certainly am. What on Earth brings you out of Kensington?”

“Among other things,” she said, “I was bored. I wanted a little adventure.” (Mother and Father, for reasons best known to themselves, had raised his younger sisters to be virtual recluses. By Sophia’s standards, this trip to a peaceful part of the Continent in the company of two of her brothers and a number of servants did indeed constitute an adventure.)

“Mother didn’t try to stop you?”

Sophia shook her head, but not with any sign of satisfaction.

“Mother’s health is getting worse,” said Edward. “Dr. Croft is… not optimistic.”

“If you want to visit, you should return to London soon,” put in Augustus Frederick. “Hannover can get by without you for a little while.”

“I was just thinking that London would be a good place for a honeymoon,” said the bride.

“How is Father?” said William.

“Father… continues,” said Sophia. “When he heard the new baby, he knew him for a baby, at least, but thought it was Alfred or Octavius.”[2] There was a long, mournful silence. This conversation was getting awfully grim for a wedding.

“On a happier note,” Sophia continued, “our niece is doing very well. She sends her love, and her congratulations.” Sophia looked around, as if searching for someone.

Out of the corner of his eye, William spotted a tall man with bushy black muttonchops. Right next to him was a short, stout woman with hair dyed black, holding a hat crested with egret feathers. Now, how to handle this with a minimum of awkwardness?

“Sophia, I believe I see an old friend of yours over there,” said William. “Why don’t you go talk to her?” The other two princes turned, saw who William was indicating, and then discreetly pretended they hadn’t seen anyone in particular.

What Prinny doesn’t know won’t hurt him, thought William. And it’s not as though he has any right to complain. He could still hear his eldest brother’s voice, on the morning of his own wedding day — “William, tell Mrs. Fitzherbert she is the only woman I shall ever love…”

* * *

“Sophia!” said Caroline. “It’s been too long! Barty, darling, would you go fetch us a bottle of wine?”

Barty, darling. Sophia gritted her teeth. Caroline’s utter lack of anything that resembled discretion had been amusing when she was a young princess fresh out of Germany. Now it was just tiresome.

“Has Charlotte’s latest letter reached you yet?” said Sophia when Pergami was out of earshot.

“Yes, it has,” said Caroline. “I’ve been giving it some thought. Do you think she’s truly forgiven me?”

“I think she has. At the very least, she understands why you left, and why it would be… difficult… for you to take up residence in England again. But she hopes that you will at least be able to pay her a brief visit some time this year. She’ll be spending the summer at Claremont House. She looks forward to introducing you to The Leo[3]… and the cub.”

As Sophia had known they would, Caroline’s eyes lit up at the mention of the grandchild. Then she looked a bit warier.

“Why do I have the feeling this has something to do with politics?”

“Well, there is that as well,” admitted Sophia. “The Whigs need all the allies they can get… and our young lady is eager to prove her commitment to them.”

“You mean, to prove she won’t betray them as my husband did?”

“Quite so. And, after all, the good Baron Pergami can keep Chateau d’Issy in order while you’re in England.”

“Why would I want to leave him behind?”

“Surely you wouldn’t bring him to Claremont House? The poor man would feel quite left out. Standing around while everyone else reminisces about events he was never part of, listening to gossip about people he’s never met… no man wants to do that.”

“How could you possibly know so much about what men want?”

Sophia sighed. Tact was never one of Caroline’s strong points. Neither was being able to take a hint when it was presented to her with a formal letter of introduction.

“Caroline,” she said quietly. “I do not know, or care to know, what manner of relationship may or may not exist between yourself and yonder tall dark handsome Italian. You know Prinny is obsessed with divorcing you, but I don’t think Parliament will allow it… as long as you can refrain from doing anything foolish, such as traveling the English countryside accompanied in public by the man many suspect of being your lover. Do you understand me now?”

“Finally, some plain speaking!” said Caroline. “Very well. I’ll take your advice. But on the subject of Barty, I will tell you what I tell everyone else — the only man I have ever committed adultery with is Mrs. Fitzherbert’s husband.”

[1] Not to be confused with Frederick Duke of York, or Ernest Augustus. This family had so many children they didn’t have enough names to go around.
[2] The two sons of George III who didn’t live past childhood.
[3] Charlotte Augusta’s pet name for her husband.

 

[Lycaon pictus]

The Congress of Stockholm began in May of 1818. There were many matters to resolve:

• The United Kingdom and France had a cease-fire, but not yet a peace treaty.
• The borders between the United States of America and the New World possessions of Britain and Spain had not been settled to anyone’s satisfaction. In some cases, the territory they ran through had not even been properly explored.
• Prussia had at last defeated the rebellion in Upper Silesia, but Russia had had to intervene in Posen. Now the Tsar was demanding formal possession of the province.
• Austria had solidified its economic and military ties with Saxony, Baden, Württemberg and Hesse, the last of which was still smarting from the loss of its trans-Rhenish lands. But Bavaria, in the center of this little circle, was still holding out.

And of course all this ignored the great open wound that was the Other Peninsular War. At the beginning of the year, Austria, Piedmont-Sardinia and the Two Sicilies were swearing that there was no need to negotiate and that they would reassert control over Italy, but the rest of Europe was having doubts — and now France was preparing to intervene. Since the Sicilies were a British ally, this would essentially restart the war between them on another front.

It was hoped by all that these matters could be dealt with before the Baltic began to ice over…

…Henry Clay’s decision (seconded, of course, by Caulaincourt) to attend the Congress can only be understood in the context of the defeat the United States had suffered in 1815. Negotiating one-to-one with the British, or their Spanish allies, the young republic would be at a terrible disadvantage. Castlereagh, realizing this, had chosen to make an issue of the border now, rather than waiting for the rapidly growing United States to become stronger. But Clay was no colonial bumpkin. He knew it was best to take care of such things in the company of allies — and of neutral powers that didn’t want to see Britain grow too strong.

For example, it was not hard for Clay to persuade the Tsar’s representative, Ioannis Kapodistrias, that it was in Russia’s interest for the United States to have as broad as possible an outlet on the Pacific for the Russians to trade with directly, rather than having to go through the British. Kapodistrias made it very clear to Castlereagh that Russia would not look kindly on any attempt by Britain to claim the whole of the Oregon country…

…On June 26, the Clay-Castlereagh treaty was signed. It placed the U.S.-British North American border at (running east to west from the Lake of the Woods to the Pacific Ocean) the 95th meridian south to the 46th parallel, then the 46th parallel, the Jack River[1], the 47th parallel, the Missouri River, the 46th parallel, the Snake River and the Columbia River. This left the United States with plenty of room to grow while giving the Red River colony and the bulk of the Oregon country to Britain.

With Spain’s ambassador to the Congress, Clay could afford to be a little more aggressive. Once again, the King of Spain had sent his ally the Marquis of Labrador to an international conference. (Spain’s ambassador to the United States, Luis de Oníz y González-Vara, would later lament that he had not been entrusted with this task.) As Clay pointed out to Labrador, large parts of New Spain were still in revolt, and the United States would find it very easy to smuggle weapons and ammunition to the rebels…

…On July 10, Labrador agreed to the following border (running east to west from the Louisiana border to the Pacific): the Sabine River, the 94th meridian, the Red River, the 100th meridian, the 37th parallel, the Continental Divide and the 41st parallel.
H. Michael Wolcott, A History of Western International Diplomacy, 1648-1858

[1] OTL the James River of the Dakotas.

 

[King Henry]

Okay I have to admit I have no idea how these borders compare to OTL. Would a map be possible?

Anyway, can't wait to see how the negotiations in Europe turns out!

 

[bm79]

Okay I have to admit I have no idea how these borders compare to OTL. Would a map be possible?

Anyway, can't wait to see how the negotiations in Europe turns out!

For the northern border, it means that NW Minnesota, much of N. Dakota, northern Montana and Idaho, and almost all of Washington State remain British.

As to the US-"Mexican" border, it follows the modern Texas border, takes the top line of the Panhandle to the area of Taos, NM, then climbs the spine of the Rockies to about the latitude of Salt Lake City, then to the Pacific. As he said, a bit more generous than the Adams-Onís treaty OTL.

 

[King Henry]

For the northern border, it means that NW Minnesota, much of N. Dakota, northern Montana and Idaho, and almost all of Washington State remain British.

As to the US-"Mexican" border, it follows the modern Texas border, takes the top line of the Panhandle to the area of Taos, NM, then climbs the spine of the Rockies to about the latitude of Salt Lake City, then to the Pacific. As he said, a bit more generous than the Adams-Onís treaty OTL.

Ah, ok, thanks, that's very helpful

 

[Lycaon pictus]

And here's the actual map. The new borders are in green. (It doesn't cover the whole area, and I'm not sure I got the Continental Divide part right, but other than that it's okay.)

 

[King Henry]

Well, Canada's certainly going to be more important TTL, assuming the British can keep the land. Will the lack of an easy causis beli from Texas and and an already existing Pacific coast makes a Mexican War in the future less likely?

 

[Lycaon pictus]

Well, Canada's certainly going to be more important TTL, assuming the British can keep the land. Will the lack of an easy causis beli from Texas and and an already existing Pacific coast makes a Mexican War in the future less likely?

Patience… all in good time.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

Wow the territorial changes are simply mind boggling TTL's US is going to be veeeeery interesting to say the least.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

[/SIZE]
H. Michael Wolcott, A History of Western International Diplomacy, 1648-1858[/FONT]

The question is, what happens in 1858 that changes things?

So its safe to say that the U.S. will definitely be smaller than in OTL?

 

[Lycaon pictus]

Before we get back to Stockholm, let's check up on Italy. The good news is, they're not starving so much anymore. The bad news… has a name.


Although today regarded as a footnote in the history of the war, the February Uprising in the city of Naples shook the kingdom of Ferdinand I to its foundations. It took two weeks to suppress, and forced a virtual withdrawal of the Two Sicilies’ forces from several areas in the west where they had been making progress.

More importantly, it convinced Ferdinand that if he wished to rule the kingdom he was trying so hard to hold on to, brute force would be necessary… but not sufficient. In the case of Naples, he chose to take a wolf-and-shepherd approach[1] to the city. He would enact martial law and appoint a military governor to root out all traces of rebellion and dissent. Then, after a period of time, he would dismiss this governor and take charge himself, showing (relative) clemency. For his “wolf” he chose a man destined to become one of the most memorable monsters in Italian history — the gold-braided whistling nightmare, Lieutenant Colonel James Thomas Morisset.

The irony is that nothing in Morisset’s background suggests a particularly terrible man. He had served in the British army since he was eighteen, fighting in India, Egypt, Portugal and Spain, and had risen through the ranks entirely on his own skill — his family was poor, and could not have afforded a commission. Even after his face was mutilated by an explosion, he had been simply a conscientious and reliable officer in His Majesty’s service — perhaps a more stern disciplinarian than average, but not inhuman. But he was a man to whom rebellion was a strange and evil thing, and who drew the same conclusion from every defeat and setback he experienced — that he had not been harsh enough, that he needed to use more force and inspire greater fear.

His regiment, the 80th Foot, was stationed in Sicily after Nancy. It was tasked with hunting down small bands of rebels before they became large ones, and with breaking up demonstrations before they turned into riots. Officially, King Ferdinand held overall command of all military units on the island, including the 80th — but he treated the British as though they were independent allies, seldom exercising any control over them.

Morisset, thus freed from the normal constraints of service to the Crown, took his duties a step further. He learned to speak Italian, if not like a native, then as well as his misshapen lips and jaw allowed him to. He then began questioning suspected rebels himself — often having them beaten or flogged — and using spies and informers to put the Sicilian reputation for loyal silence to the test. It was here that he first began showing signs of the obsessive suspicion and the appetite for cruelty that would define him in the eyes of a nation…

…Morisset’s reign of terror began on March 10, 1818, with the simultaneous hanging of 427 captured insurrectionists in various plazas of Naples. Of particular note was the manner in which four men judged to be ringleaders were executed. The only limit the king placed on Morriset was that he was not authorized to inflict any punishment worse than hanging. (Ferdinand had previously dealt with rebels by having them beheaded. Hanging was a more British punishment, and the king wished to make it very clear who was doing this.)

But Morisset was not so easily restrained. He remembered a punishment which his old master, General Wellington, had inflicted upon a looter near Coimbra during the war in Portugal. The thief had stolen a full-length, gilt-edged mirror, presumably in the hopes of selling it to one of the gang of fences, whores and other camp followers who were never far from the armies (it being far too cumbersome to carry on march). Wellington had disposed of this pilferer in a way that must have seemed distinctly apropos — he had hanged the man, and hanged the mirror in front of him. Whether or not Morisset was there to see this event, but he had certainly heard of it.

So it was that the Neapolitans were introduced to “death in the mirror.” The unfortunates subjected to this were hanged by being hoisted up from the ground rather than dropped from a gallows, to ensure that their necks would not break. And, of course, a mirror was placed in front of their faces. If they could not turn their heads (Morisset would sometimes order the guards to physically prevent the condemned from looking away), or shut their eyes for the blood pressure behind them (this is a point of controversy among medical historians) the victims would be forced to spend their last moments watching themselves die…
Arrigo Gillio, The War of Italian Unification

[1] We would say “good cop/bad cop.”

 

[King Henry]

Britain isn't going to be very popular in Italy, is it?

And wow, this whole series of events is going to leave a hell of a scar on Italian culture.

 

[The Uchronian]

And here's the actual map. The new borders are in green. (It doesn't cover the whole area, and I'm not sure I got the Continental Divide part right, but other than that it's okay.)

It's a nice map but I'm afraid there does seem to be an issue with a part of the border in OTL's Montana. Mind if I improve on this?

 

[Lycaon pictus]

Britain isn't going to be very popular in Italy, is it?

And wow, this whole series of events is going to leave a hell of a scar on Italian culture.

At least one Briton is going to be fighting on the side of Italian independence. I'll get to him soon.

It's a nice map but I'm afraid there does seem to be an issue with a part of the border in OTL's Montana. Mind if I improve on this?

What's the issue?

If it's just that the border I drew is kind of jagged, remember that (like the one in the Treaty of 1818 IOTL) it was created by people who were trying to sum it up in an unambiguous written description, and who only knew the land from the charts and descriptions of a bare handful of explorers. Under the circumstances, it could have looked a lot worse. IOTL we ended up with strange possessions like the Northwest Angle and Point Roberts.