I know. It was more of a random thought or scandal for a potential King. It was more of a thought about a constitutional monarch suddenly has direct control over land separate from it's role in the states. He wouldn't need Congress if he wanted to declare war in his separate territory or use it on American citizens. If Leopold controls Congo in this timeline would or could that be a question on the move it's power?
The Kingdom of Liberty: A History of the United States
- Thread starter Tresckow
- Start date
Stay safe, @Roosevelt; hope the governor didn't announce he was going to hike the Appalachian Trail (no, wait, that was Mark Sanford)…
Hope Dorian misses you; the Bahamas are getting pounded, though...
Hope Dorian misses you; the Bahamas are getting pounded, though...
Chapter Five
Chapter Five - The Continental and Canadian Wars (Part I)
"Our brothers and sisters in the Canadas need the guiding and protective hand of America. For too long they have suffered under tyrannical British rule, as we did no more than sixty years ago. At long last they have taken arms and risen up against their captors, and now is the time that we spread liberty northwards." - U.S. President Andrew Jackson (August 5, 1835)
Perpetual revolutions between 1775 and 1820 had certainly changed the world order. The emergence of nation-states in North and South America signaled the end of European dominance in the New World. The United States proved she could stand on her own two feet after seizing Louisiana and the Floridas from the Spanish Empire. France humiliated the Austrians, Prussians, and British after fighting nearly a decade to stop their attempts at restoring the Bourbon monarchy. The Holy Roman Empire was reduced to nothing more than a rump confederacy. The only counterrevolutionary powers to emerge unscathed were the United Kingdom and the Russian Empire, with the latter only engaging France for a few years. As noted earlier, Britain was able to seize Cuba and Port Rich from the Spanish in the 1810s and she continued to maintain the world's largest military. In Eastern Europe, Russia had been slowly but steadily growing. Unlike the British and French, Russia was mostly agrarian and still maintained a feudal social system. However, Russia's population was continuing to grow and so did the military. She defeated the Ottoman Empire and secured much of eastern Moldavia (Bessarabia) in the mid 1810s and again in the 1820s to secure Greek independence.
Alliances stemming from the French Revolutionary War complicated the situation in Europe. France and her many puppet states maintained a close alliance with Spain. The British maintained an alliance with the Kingdom of Prussia. Austria, Prussia, and Russia formally agreed to the "Holy Alliance" against France, but clashing interests and changing diplomacy led to the alliance falling apart in the 1820s. Austria found itself at odds and frequently disagreeing with Russia's expansionist policies. France took advantage of the opportunity, with Consul Joachim Murat engaging in rapprochement with Russia. Russia would formally leave the Holy Alliance in 1828, and two years later, would sign join the Franco-Spanish-Russian alliance, now known as the "Triple Entente."
"Our brothers and sisters in the Canadas need the guiding and protective hand of America. For too long they have suffered under tyrannical British rule, as we did no more than sixty years ago. At long last they have taken arms and risen up against their captors, and now is the time that we spread liberty northwards." - U.S. President Andrew Jackson (August 5, 1835)
Perpetual revolutions between 1775 and 1820 had certainly changed the world order. The emergence of nation-states in North and South America signaled the end of European dominance in the New World. The United States proved she could stand on her own two feet after seizing Louisiana and the Floridas from the Spanish Empire. France humiliated the Austrians, Prussians, and British after fighting nearly a decade to stop their attempts at restoring the Bourbon monarchy. The Holy Roman Empire was reduced to nothing more than a rump confederacy. The only counterrevolutionary powers to emerge unscathed were the United Kingdom and the Russian Empire, with the latter only engaging France for a few years. As noted earlier, Britain was able to seize Cuba and Port Rich from the Spanish in the 1810s and she continued to maintain the world's largest military. In Eastern Europe, Russia had been slowly but steadily growing. Unlike the British and French, Russia was mostly agrarian and still maintained a feudal social system. However, Russia's population was continuing to grow and so did the military. She defeated the Ottoman Empire and secured much of eastern Moldavia (Bessarabia) in the mid 1810s and again in the 1820s to secure Greek independence.
Alliances stemming from the French Revolutionary War complicated the situation in Europe. France and her many puppet states maintained a close alliance with Spain. The British maintained an alliance with the Kingdom of Prussia. Austria, Prussia, and Russia formally agreed to the "Holy Alliance" against France, but clashing interests and changing diplomacy led to the alliance falling apart in the 1820s. Austria found itself at odds and frequently disagreeing with Russia's expansionist policies. France took advantage of the opportunity, with Consul Joachim Murat engaging in rapprochement with Russia. Russia would formally leave the Holy Alliance in 1828, and two years later, would sign join the Franco-Spanish-Russian alliance, now known as the "Triple Entente."
Consul Joachim Murat, a colorful figure who would be beloved by his people
Murat's accomplishments did not only include the Triple Entente. After his election as Consul by the Senate, Murat laid out his ambitious plans for France and the world. He set his sights on Paris, which had been "rotting" since the revolution. As France had continued to pay off her war debt, he allocated hundreds of thousands of Francs for the restoration of churches, schools, and apartments across Paris. Murat also began the construction of Roman-inspired buildings, namely La Place de Congrès, which would serve as the new home of the French Congress, and the Arc de Triomphe, a massive arch on the Champs-Élysées intended to honor the heroes of the French Revolutionary War. In the early 1820s, the Consul authorized the construction of ten new canals throughout France, easing trade and transportation across the country. However, this would all come at a cost, as Murat would enact stiff taxes to pay for his projects. Unlike the deposed King, however, Murat would impose taxes across all classes, alleviating some aggravations regarding taxes from the lower and middle classes.
Early drawing of La Place de Congrès
Consul Murat also promoted French expansionism and nationalism. The status of the French Empire was called into question by the leftist elements of the French Revolution, but like his predecessors, Murat would refuse to hand over or relinquish control of the French colonies. In fact, the Consul expanded French claims in Indonesia, seeing it as a major economic and strategic opportunity for France. They were, however, challenged by the British in their efforts, slowing France's aim to control the islands. As Murat left office and General Jean-de-Dieu Soult took his place, his farewell parade was attended by thousands, with many tossing flowers in his path. In their eyes, Murat had restored France's reputation and rebuilt a nation that was still recovering from war.
Across the Atlantic, the United States of America was seeking to build her own empire. Manifest Destiny, the belief that the United States should span from sea to sea, was heavily supported and pushed by King Augustus II and President Andrew Jackson. Wagon trains moved across the massive Louisiana Territory and settlers began to establish their homes in the relatively unknown Great Plains. However, they were not alone in their new frontier. Natives who had lived in the region for hundreds to thousands of years were uncertain about the Americans moving into their land. Clashes in both the Great Plains and in the east with Native tribes led to the Congress passing the infamous Indian Removal and Settlement Acts of 1827. This new act authorized the United States military to forcibly move tribes deemed "troublesome" west into what is now present-day Arkansas. Between 1827 and the early 1850s, tens of thousands of Native Americans would be deported to the Arkansas Territory, with many dying on what is now referred to as the "Trail of Tears." Most Americans would turn a blind eye to this, with some even celebrating the mass deportations.
Settlers were not just moving inside the United States' borders. They were moving both north and south into the Canadas and Mexico. To the north, the border between British North America and the United States had been relatively open to both British-Canadians and Americans. If you were to visit Toronto or Montreal during the 1820s or 30s, you would be guaranteed to meet an American living there. Ironically, Upper Canada, which was a prime destination for Loyalists following the American Revolutionary War, was now home to thousands of American citizens who migrated there between 1800 and 1830, and it was estimated that a third of its residents were American citizens in the year 1830. To the south, Emperor Agustin maintained an open border policy to Americans settling into Texas and California, and despite slavery being formally banned in the Mexican states, Agustin allowed American settlers to practice slavery in the northern territories. Texas, which was relatively empty compared to the rest of Mexico, quickly became majority American as southerners brought their families and slaves westward.
A Romantic Depiction of Manifest Destiny
The sound relations between the United States and Mexico would end in 1830, however. General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who was a staunch opponent of the empire, marched into Mexico City on March 31, 1829, taking Emperor Agustin prisoner and instating Santa Anna as the President of the Federated Republic of Mexico. A staunch liberal nationalist, Santa Anna began to institute radical reforms, such as centralization, confiscating church property, secularization, and most consequentially, enforcing the ban on slavery. The reforms triggered revolts across Mexico, namely in Texas. American settlers formally declared independence on July 4, 1832 as the "Republic of Texas," which was recognized and supported by the United States shortly after. Within six months, Texas formally secured independence from the Federated Republic of Mexico. In response to Texas becoming a sovereign state, President Santa Anna publicly tore up the papers of the Mexican-American Alliance and decried the United States as a "force of imperialism and evil." Needless to say, this permanently tarnished relations between the United States and Mexico.
The situation in Europe completely collapsed in 1834. In the afternoon of September 1, 1834, the Spanish ship Héroe was docked at the British port of Gibraltar. A British ship nearby, the HMS Ocean was into port. Unbeknownst to the crew on-board, several of the cannons was loaded and ready to fire. Lieutenant Charles Blaires, who was conversing with fellow sailors, casually extinguished his cigar in one of the starboard cannon's touch hole. The ashes from the cigar ignited the gunpowder, firing the cannonball into the Héroe's hull. Ten Spanish sailors were killed by the shrapnel. Panicked by the attack, Spanish sailors began to load their guns and attack the Ocean. The Héroe began to list heavily to port, making it next to impossible to successfully aim and attack. Within 20 minutes, the fire that came from the cannonball ignited the gunpowder on the Spanish warship, obliterating the Héroe and killing everyone aboard, along with 12 people on land.
News of the incident spread across Europe like a wildfire. Spain called on Britain to apologize and, in retaliation, demanded that Gibraltar be handed over to Spanish authority. Britain, unsurprisingly, refused to follow Spain's demands and on September 14, Spain seized Gibraltar by force. The United Kingdom deemed this an act of war and formally declared war the day after. After Britain declared war on Spain, France declared war on the British, followed by Austria and Prussia declaring war on France. Within a week of the Battle of Gibraltar, all of Europe was at war.
The Entente strategy was simple: the French, Batavians, and Danish would try to take German ports in the north, French, Helvetic, and Cisalpine forces would move east towards Vienna, and Russian forces would move towards Vienna and Berlin, attempting to start Polish rebellions and forcing Austria and Prussia to surrender. The Entente strategy would actually bear fruit in the fall of 1834. The Entente would hold the entire Wadden coastline by October, and French troops would be marching through Hanover in November. In the east, the Russians would take East Prussia, South Prussia, and West Galicia in short order. The Entente's advances, however, would soon end in January of 1835. General Hans Ernst Karl launched his early morning offensive against the French Army at Wolfsburg. The French, unprepared for Karl's attack, were destroyed by Prussia, with nearly 12,000 soldiers killed or captured by the Prussians.
The Second Battle of Wolfsburg (January 9, 1835)
In British North America, the Francophone Quebecois were beginning to grow restless. The expenses of the Continental War required the British to hike taxes across her empire, and support for the war in Quebec was nonexistent. The Quebecois were sympathetic with France during the revolution and were even more sympathetic now, seeing the British as the aggressors. While not necessarily pro-American, anti-British Quebecois saw hope in the successful Floridian and Texan revolutions, and if they were able to garner support from the Americans, they may not be subject to London's rule anymore. Their western neighbor of Upper Canada was not pleased with the tax hikes, too (as mentioned, they were home to a large number of American settlers), and rumblings of independence were heard across Toronto. In July, the British ordered a division of Quebecois to be raised and sent to Europe to fight the Entente. In all of Quebec, this was the final straw. They were not going to fight the French in defense of Britain.
They were going to fight the British instead.
When World War I hits 80 years early, you gotta do what you gotta do, or at least try
When will the British ever learn that high, unpopular, taxes on their colonies aren't healthy to colonialism ?
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