The Federal Republic of America: sibling to a stillborn USA V 2.0

GeneralInTheShell

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Chapter 7: An Imperial Dawn
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Peoples and Places:
Thanksgiving
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An Albionorian Thanksgiving​

Various First Nations in Albionoria had long-standing traditions celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Albionoria's First Nations and Native Americans throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Cree and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America. Lower Canada, Upper Canada, and New England observed Thanksgiving on different dates. The history of Thanksgiving in Canada can be traced back to the 1578 voyage of Martin Frobisher from England in search of the Northwest Passage. In this, his third, voyage to the Frobisher Bay area of Baffin Island in the present Canadian Territory of Nunavut, it was also the intention to start a small settlement and his fleet of 15 ships were fitted out with men, materials and provisions for this purpose. Years later, French settlers, having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain, in 1604 onwards also held huge feasts of thanks. They even formed 'The Order of Good Cheer' and gladly shared their food with their First Nations neighbors. The New England Thanksgiving traces its origins from a 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plantation, where the Plymouth settlers held a harvest feast after a successful growing season. This was continued in later years, first as an impromptu religious observance, and later as a civil tradition. Though all three celebrations occurred within a month of each other, there was considerable debate when the notion of the creation of a national holiday was postulated. In the end it was settled upon that the date would be October 11th. ​

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A Thanksgiving for the Republic​

Modern Thanksgiving in the Federal Republic of America came into being long before Albionorian Thanksgiving was solidified. Its origins being from Commonwealth of Virginia, which as early as 1607 held thanksgiving celebrations and with the first permanent settlement of Jamestown, Virginia holding a thanksgiving in Spring 1610. After the fall of the First American Republic and the formation of the Federal Republic of America President-Director Andrew Jackson used the Virginian Thanksgiving as a modle to help bring the nation together and be thankful for what they had achieved. Thanksgiving was set on May 14 (the same day as the foundation of the Virginia Colony).

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Emperor-of-New-Zealand

Bump. How did I miss the latest update?

Probably because Thanksgiving isn't a big deal to anyone outside the US, and maybe Canada (or something).

Regardless, cool perspective on the alternate culture, Finley.

Bumpity Bump.
 

GeneralInTheShell


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Chapter 7: An Imperial Dawn
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Age of Empires: Part 4​

Greater Australia
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New Holland​
he unofficial flag of New Holland

The Australian islands were divided between three powers. The Kingdom of Holland held Western Greater Australia and Tasmanië; the British Empire held Eastern Greater Australia and Northern Lesser Australia; the French Empire held Southern Lesser Australia. For Holland the two places were predominantly settler colonies that attracted many Flemish and Dutch people’s from France and Holland who were disenchanted by the Bonaparteist regimes of their homelands and sought a more autonomous life. The First major Dutch settlement in New Holland was the Swarte Swaene-Revier Colony; predominantly made up of republican Protestants who had little love for the Catholic monarch of their homelands it was established in 1829. By late 1830 the areas around New Bolsward were settled, bringing the settlers into greater contact with the native Pindjarup people of the region. The situation was eventually controlled by establishing a Pindjarup protectorate that allowed the Pindjarup to keep nominal independence as well as receiving flour and other Dutch goods, eventually tying the Pindjarup to the Dutch economically. This system would be repeated over and over again with the expansion of the colony throughout New Holland and a similar model would be adopted in Tasmanië. Over time the protectorates shrank and shrank, becoming a kind of reservation system that made the natives utterly dependent on the Dutch for supplies as the Dutch transformed the land into farms, plantations and towns. In 1839, Wongi, an aboriginal resistance leader, led an uprising against the Dutch, raiding farms and plantation and rousing a small army of followers. Though it experienced initial successes, killing a number of plantation owners and farmers the Dutch colonial militia put down the rebellion with extreme ferocity, crushing it and laying waste to several Pindjarup villages. Though there would be other rebellions by the Native Australians, none would reach the level of success achieved by Wongi’s rebellion. The protectorate system spread through New Holland and Tasmanië.

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Arkhangelsk

General_Finley said:
no love for New Holland?
Click to expand...

What huh! I posted a comment last night after reading this...I do so love my internet :mad:

Well I gotta say I enjoyed it, I've been curious to see what the Dutch were up to in Australia. It's really cool to see another colonial power colonize Australia, though I do feel bad for the Aborigonies, they hardly seem to get any love.

I was wondering how relations between Greater Australia's two halves are...might there be conflict between the Dutch and British in the future?
 

Emperor-of-New-Zealand

I feel like Lesser and Greater Australia are too...cliched?

Did you do an update on their discovery or initial settlement? I mean, Abel Tasman would have still discovered Nieuw Zeeland in 1642 - the British weren't always the most creative in naming places, but the French I'm sure could do better than "French Lesser Australia."

Interesting what the Dutch are up to. Reminiscent of the OTL USA.
 

GeneralInTheShell

Arkhangelsk said:
What huh! I posted a comment last night after reading this...I do so love my internet :mad:


Well I gotta say I enjoyed it, I've been curious to see what the Dutch were up to in Australia. It's really cool to see another colonial power colonize Australia, though I do feel bad for the Aborigonies, they hardly seem to get any love.


I was wondering how relations between Greater Australia's two halves are...might there be conflict between the Dutch and British in the future?
Click to expand...


I'll fill you in on relation in the next update, covering British Australia.

Emperor-of-New-Zealand said:
I feel like Lesser and Greater Australia are too...cliched?

Did you do an update on their discovery or initial settlement? I mean, Abel Tasman would have still discovered Nieuw Zeeland in 1642 - the British weren't always the most creative in naming places, but the French I'm sure could do better than "French Lesser Australia."

Interesting what the Dutch are up to. Reminiscent of the OTL USA.
Click to expand...

The British call British Australia, Australia and New Zealand New Alba (Americans mostly are responsible for butchering the names). French Lesser Australia is still called New Zeeland though, once again it is mostly Americans lumping everything together. The Dutch call west Australia New Holland.

zeppelin247 said:
do the Dutch really have enough of a population for a large settler colony?
Click to expand...

It's not exactly the largest and most populated settlers colony, but it's enough.
 

jeckl

Do the Dutch do in Tasmania what happened OTL, walk from one side to the other all kill all the Aboriginals that they find?

Also, hope it all goes anglo. It would change our culture considerably if we had a 'Quebec' in Australia.
 

GeneralInTheShell

--
Chapter 7: An Imperial Dawn

--
Age of Empires: Part 5


Asian Empires

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The Fall of Qing China
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In 1882, just a year after the Russo-Sino War the Tongzhi Emperor was dead. The Tongzhi restoration, led by Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang had largely failed to restore stability to China. It is with the death of the Emperor that Viceroy of Huguang, Li Hongzhang, sees that the Qing Dynasty has lost the Mandate of Heaven. Raising a massive military force Li Hongzhang marched on the capital proclaiming himself Emperor of Chin, first emperor of the Yong Dynasty. Li Hongzhang had led troops against a number of previous rebellions in China, and was well aware of the tactics his enemies would use and of their overall corruption and incompetence. Moving swiftly his force captured the Chinese capital of Jingshi. Most support for the Qing dynasty amongst the Chinese people had been lost by the results of the Russo-Sino War and many revolted against the Qing under the banner of the Yong Dynasty. In the south rebellion was led under the banner of a former pupil of Li Hongzhang; Liu Kunyi. The Viceroy of Liangguang declared himself emperor of China, and with popular support in the south conquered much of southern China.

Taking advantage of the rebellions in China the Russians fumed rebellion in Mongolia and Burma launched an invasion of Yunnan Province. The Ma Rulong of Yunnan allied themselves with the Burmese hoping to gain independence from China and solidify their status as the ruling elite of Yunnan. By assisting Burma they were in fact righting away their future for once the Burmese military stood triumphant it was the Konbaung Dynasty of Burma that held power over Yunnan, which had traded its weak far away master for a strong close one. Yunnan retained nominal independence as a protectorate of Burma and a member of the South East Asian Co-Posterity Sphere that was economically as well as politically dominated by Burma. ​

In a matter of a few weeks after the start of the Yong Rebellion Li Hongzhang had conquered and unified most of Northern China from the Qing (loosing Mongolia and part of Manchuria to Russian puppet states and in Tibet, both Nepalese and British troop involvement secured Tibetan independence from China.) The Qing Dynasty fled to Russian Manchuria for sanctuary and would be set up as the puppet rulers of Mǎnzhōu Dìguó; a Manchurian nation state that would act as a Manchu homeland to placate the Manchurians under Russian rule. Li Hongzhang attempted to conquer southern China, but Liu Kunyi and his Dwei Dynasty had secured Southern China and fought back the northern invasion. Though there would be a number of small scale skirmishes neither side would attempt an all out invasion of the other. And so it came to pass that China was once again fractured into several states.

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GeneralInTheShell



--
Chapter 7: An Imperial Dawn
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Age of Empires: Part 6
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African Empires

European Imperial expansion in Africa

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German Africa and its consequences



German colonization of Africa was an odd thing the traders of the early 19th century were mainly interested in selling goods including guns and liquor in return for palm products, and had no interest in permanent colonization. In fact, they preferred to operate informally and without interference from German civil servants, and opposed annexation. The shift toward favoring permanent colonies was driven by two factors: a fall in the prices of African products created a demand to bypass the local African traders and establish direct routes to the interior; and once firms had established bases and plantations they required military protection. In 1884, Adolph Gruman, representing all West African companies as their spokesman, petitioned the imperial foreign office for "protection" by the German Empire. At the core of the commercial interests was pursuit of profitable trading activities under the protection of the Reich, but these entities were determined to stay away from political engagements. The protectorate of Kamerun was established shortly afterwards.

On 16 November 1882, Alberto Roman, a merchant from Venice, German Empire, requested protection for a station that he planned to build in South-West Africa, from the German Chancellor. On 24 April 1884, he placed the area under the protection of Imperial Germany to deter British encroachment. In early 1884, the Kaiserliche Marine ship Nautilus visited to review the situation. In April 1885, the Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft für Südwest-Afrika (German Colonial Society for Southwest Africa, known as DKGSWA) was founded with the support of German bankers, industrialists, and politicians. The new society soon bought the assets of Roman's failing enterprises.

As a consequence of this expansion by Germany the French pressured Spain to bolster Spanish Guinea. It would also lead the French government finally taking the calls for government protection by missionaries and traders in Tanzania seriously. Bagamoyo would become the capital of French East Africa and was one of the most important trading ports along the East African coast. French commercial interests would lead to conflict between France and the Sultanate of Zanzibar along with the Sultans inability to protect missionaries in the area from Mombasa to Mount Kilimanjaro.

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