The Malouinic War

Louis the XV, known as the beloved, king of France and Navarre, was dead. Dead in the month of December in the year 1770 four days before Christmas. The cause was still being determined by France’s top medical practitioners, with most favoring the theory that it was a heart attack, yet rumors of an assassination by poison were prevalent even in the first days of the announcement. This is often dismissed as pure conspiracy as later medical evaluations concluded no poison in the deceased monarch’s cadaver. Yet far too many in both France’s laypersons and members of the king’s court persisted in believing in a plot orchestrated by none other than César Gabriel de Choiseul, duc de Praslin, the late Louis’ own foreign minister. It made the most sense at the time especially amongst Choiseul’s growing number of rivals at court. He had long been falling from grace and had been advocating for war against Britain to maintain his standing within the royal government. Backing Spain’s claim to the Falklands isles.


It was well known that the late Louis opposed getting involved in the affair and his death seemed far too conveniently timed to have been a mere coincidence. It was perfectly obvious to the discontent that the minister of foreign affairs was guilty. But upon closer examination of the conspiracy it all seems to fall apart. It would have been a tremendous risk if he were caught that could have resulted in him being executed. Then there’s the fact that it would not guarantee the outcome that Choiseul desired and could have so easily cost him his position as foreign minister (which it eventually did). Finally, there’s the evidence that Choiseul was genuinely grieved over the king’s death and frustrated by the conspiracies surrounding him. These insights into Choiseul’s state of mind are all but confirmed from accounts and testimonies by those who knew him the most as well as letters that he would later write.


But for all the speculation and mystery surrounding the king’s death, there is certainly no denying that Choiseul benefited from the king’s untimely demise. His ministry was kept on by the young successor Louis XVI who was certainly more agreeable with Choiseul’s warmongering then his father was. The young Louis was somewhat seen with contempt by the French court and lower classes. Overweight and timid, he would surely amount to nothing but a weak monarch who would lead France to ruin. Or, in the eyes of his father’s vessels, an opportunity to take advantage and manipulate the young man into their schemes and designs.


The new king was determined to shake off this image of weakness and gave the unpopular minister Choiseul a second wind. Whether he intended to go to war or expected that England would back down from the combined might of Spain and France is unclear. But Choiseul made that point moot anyways since it only took him a day after the king’s death to send a letter to the Spanish king, encouraging him to stand firm against English saber-rattling. Even before Louis XVI was coronated the minister had been preparing to revive the conflict with its century old rival across the channel.


In any case none of it mattered in the end. The new king allowed this type of behavior as it suited his goals. Perhaps his detractors were onto something after all, not that anyone would be so rude to tell that to his majesty’s face. With all the pieces in France falling into place all that left was what the king of Spain, Charles III, decided to do next. He felt doubt in himself, forging a friendship with England had long been a goal of his, and the last war against them ended poorly for Spain and France, war would surely be foolish. Yet here he was on the edge of plunging the entire world into the fires of war once again. Was it worth unleashing that same chaos again over a few barely habitable stones? Yes, England’s claim to a single speck of Spanish soil was unacceptable to him still. What would he tell his nation, neighbors, and all of Europe if he were to cow so easily? That Spain was weak and feeble, no longer able to defend herself and that her empire was ripe for pickings. Her colonies to be squabbled over like some mere table scraps amongst hungry wolves. England had grown arrogant ever since the end of the Seven Years War. Believing themselves to be undisputed masters of the sea and belittling their peers. He would have to break that pride if there was ever to be peace in his realm.


Yet still the decision was not an easy one and time was not on his side. He prayed to God to show him the path he must take but received no answer. He dallied for days over what he should do. This was not the fight he wanted, yet he kept coming back to it. If he delayed anymore France could abandon him and the choice would be made for him. Any hope he had of victory rested in his alliance with the French as much as he loathed to admit it. He realized that it had to be now or never, the only option before him was war. King Charles III did what he hoped he would never have to do, he gave the orders to his generals to attack and made appropriate letters to Choiseul. The die had been cast, the conflict that historians would later deem the “Malouinic War” was about to hear the first shots.


“What a shame, and 1771 seemed like it would be such a good year” – Charles III from the historical play “The Falklanders” 1963.


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This is the start of my first serious attempt at writing a timeline. I've been wanting to make one ever since I've joined this site but I've been procrastinating for maybe ten years now through sheer continuous worldbuilding, research, and laziness. So I'm just going to go for it and focus on just writing from here. So this may not be the most well researched or thought out but as long as I can keep updating it regularly then I'll be happy with it.
 
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Just a nitpick - the king of Spain in 1770 was Carlos III, not Carlos IV, unless he's been killed by the same malady that targeted his cousin in Paris.
 
The British government under the ministry of Lord North was in a frenzy. Not only did his gambit backfire it happened in the worst possible case imaginable. England was now in a state of war with its two most potent rivals in Spain and France while having no allies to speak of on the European continent. There was thankfully a surge of patriotism in the population which was optimistic about the war, but many in parliament were all too aware of the fact that public opinion would change on a dime the minute they started losing. While others in the government, and more alarmingly the armed forces, were blissfully ignorant of this reality and fully bought into the dangerous lie of British supremacy. But to those in charge were looking for immediate, accessible, victories so they could keep those accusatory fingers from pointing at them.


All in all, it was expected to be a short war. A few scuffs and bruises with a skirmish here and there but this was over a few rocky islands. The powers that be wouldn’t wager everything over such a lackluster prize. As such there wasn’t much in the way of a coherent strategy for victory amongst the top military brass. The plan that did emerge in the chaos was to target Spain first as they were the aggressors and possessed all the lucrative territory that Britain would want in the form of its colonies. It was also a known fact that the golden days of the Spanish Empire were long behind it and was apparently the lesser when compared to France. It's theorized that a few quick victories would enough to knock Spain out of the war, denying France without its chief ally and little reason to continue hostilities. At least, that was the theory.


The first target was obviously recapturing Port Egmont from the Spanish in the Falklands as it was the cause of this whole debacle. But that was only peanuts when compared to other more lucrative prizes were to be had. Such as Cuba for instance which the British had taken during the Seven Years War and only gave it back because of the sugar industry lobbying to give it back to Spain since the introduction of Cuban markets would deeply cut into their profits. The wise knew that they would have to give it back again for this reason but the popular imagination remand ignorant of the reality. Yet still, Spain would give anything to get it back so it remains valuable as a bargaining chip. Then there was the possibility of the Spanish Philippines where the British held the colonial capital only to lose it through diplomacy. The Falklands, however, remained relevant for two reasons. The first was that it was a useful base for controlling the South Seas. The second and far more critical point was a staging point for an invasion of La Plata.

The British forces were thrown randomly left to right trying to capture everything they could get their hands on but during the chaos came something entirely unthinkable, Britain’s gateway to the to the Mediterranean was under siege. While the English wasted time over useless stratagems and half-baked offensive campaigns. Their French and Spanish adversaries immediately sent their fleets to take the fortress of Gibraltar. Which, unfortunately for the British troops stationed there at the time, couldn’t have come at a more inopportune moment. For you see, the fortress’s defenses had been going into a state of disrepair over the past few years. Meanwhile, the stranded defenders were a bit undermanned since there was little need during peacetime. Efforts were underway to renovate the aging infrastructure, but they were not anywhere near finished by the time the French and Spanish attacked. Despite these shortcomings, the defenders had put up an impressive fight against the invading forces that outnumbered them ten to one (1) and successfully kept the Franco Spanish forces at bay for nearly half a year. There is little doubt that they could have continued for much longer if they were adequately supplied or were given relief from any nearby British forces. Sadly, the British were blocked off on the western side of the straights due to the French and Spanish fleet. While those still trapped in the Mediterranean could have possibly offered aid, but they were utterly unaware of Gibraltar’s situation and were already engaged with French forces which would have hampered their efforts to aid Gibraltar anyways. There was an attempt by Gibraltar to send them a message, but the agent assigned to deliver this message was apprehended by the French.


Despite these setbacks, the defenders still managed to fend off waves of oncoming invading forces and were even able to repel the French trump card. The French originally planned to take out Gibraltar’s walls through specially crafted ships called floating batteries and send in a landing force once they were down. But the British thwarted this and sank the floating batteries with heated shot cannon fire. If luck had been on their side, there’s no doubt that the British could have lasted much longer yet ultimately their downfall was partly caused by the inside. You see the island fortress had a problem with desertion rates in its garrison since before the war partially because men were forced to be there and partly because of boredom. Desertion wasn’t quite a problem during the siege naturally since they were surrounded by hostile forces but a few still worked up the nerves to attempt to escape. Some may have made it but most who tried probably ended up as prisoners of war. However, it wasn’t that the deserters were what lead to the British defeat. The few that did were negligible even in a battle where every man counted. The real problem was the ropes they used to climb down from the fortress. Usually, these were spotted and cut down immediately. Yet somehow, someway, one line on the side of one of the less used rooms of the fortress was missed. Maybe the men who were supposed to spot this made a mistake, perhaps they were sleep deprived and hungry which was likely given the situation in the fort. We shouldn’t be too hard on them for missing it. It was honestly a human mistake that any of us could have made.


The French were quick to forgive them quickly. It was a spot of fortune that they found this first and sent in a team of saboteurs as soon as they could while under the cover of darkness. It was even better fortune that the infiltrators were unspotted considering the renewed French cannon fire against the fortress to offer them a distraction. The breach was enough for the Franco-Spanish forces to follow up with a renewed invasion while the British having to fight on the inside and outside the fortress were quickly overwhelmed and were forced to surrender.


It was an honest mistake. Just one. But it was all that it took to see Spanish flags fluttering over the once proud fortress of Gibraltar.


César-Gabriel, the Duke of Choiseul, was quite pleased with the news of Gibraltar. He refrained from any jubilation more extravagant than a soft smile, but it was a grievous understatement of his true feelings. Celebrations can wait because there were still other matters to attend to. Such as his ongoing battles with parliament who would rather see him disposed. The victory would help serve to silence the detractors, but he was far from out of the woods. For now, he was to go on the offensive and take charge of the war (and the narrative) from his enemies. Meanwhile, there were still some issues that resulted from Gibraltar’s capture. As it was French troops who taken the fortress meant that they now occupied what they recognized as the sovereign territory of their ally. There were those in the military who wanted to keep the fort in French hands as they didn’t trust the Spanish to defend it. Thankfully these men had little influence as holding it for France would inevitably result in an international incident. Yet giving it back to Spain would not be straightforward as presenting it as a gift to them would wound Spanish pride. Part of the duke wished the Spanish took the fort instead and spare him the trouble, but he reasoned with himself that it was a good problem to have. He could always kick the proverbial can down the road until after the war was finished to resolve the issue and he was already scheming several ways to get around this predicament.


As was mindlessly filling out paperwork while getting lost in his own thoughts and plans he heard a knock on his door to his office. His aid, Joseph, came into the room, showed the customary signs of greeting nobility and asked the duke if he could spare a moment claiming it was important. The duke, a bit annoyed at this intrusion at first, allowed his aid to explain himself and clarify what he wanted. Joseph told his master that France’s most esteemed surgeon was waiting outside the office with news about the late king Louis XV’s cadaver. Blood rushed from Cesar’s face. Any report that would reignite speculation on the king’s death at this time could be ruinous for him. He paused for a moment before regaining his composer. He knew that standing there in a stupor for any longer would not make his problems go away, so he commanded Joseph to fetch the surgeon. Joseph nodded and brought the surgeon as he was told. Following him into the room the surgeon skipped the usual greetings and instead opted for a polite bow when greeting the duke. Cesar ignored this as he was anxious to hear what the man had to say and gave him permission to speak. The surgeon straightened his stance. He paused for a moment to clear his throat. He was careful to conceal the discomfort on his face, but Cesar could feel the unsettled mind radiating from him. The surgeon gave the account of the autopsy on the cadaver since immediately after the king’s untimely demise. Then he finally reached to the point that the duke had wanted to hear. They confirmed no signs of poison much to the duke’s relief. Yet they also confirmed that it wasn’t a heart attack either. Then the surgeon fell silent. Cesar, a bit confused now, asked him what caused him to die? Disease, strangling, organ failure? But the surgeon shot down all proposed theories. He then finally revealed that there was nothing out of the ordinary that caused the king’s death. Everything seemed fine, and that was the problem. The fact that they could find absolutely nothing that would have ended the king’s life. It was as if he just… expired?


Cesar sunk back into his chair. He ran his fingers through his hair as a thousand thoughts started to ruminate in his mind. He had avoided the scenario that he feared the most, assassination, only to somehow found himself facing a far worse result. Nothing. At least if it were murder, then that at least offered the promise of a murderer to find and clear his good name. But nothing? People wouldn't accept nothing as an answer. In the absence of answers, they will turn to wild speculation and descend into mass hysteria pointing fingers until they made up a story that would satisfy their questions. Fingers pointing to him. Cesar knew that even in the best-case scenario this would still cost him. It would serve as fuel for the court and only hamper his efforts in the war. Those same nobles and statesmen would whisper into the king’s ear with words against him. His Austrian bride was already advocating for his dismissal. Being the dim brat that she was he thought in contempt. Luckily the king was still on his side, but a constant stream of demands and rumors would take their toll, time was now Cesar’s enemy. He consoled himself with the knowledge of Gibraltar. It wouldn’t be quite as effective propaganda now but, so long as he got credit for it, would at least mitigate the damage. But most importantly it kept him in the young King’s good graces. For now, that would have to do. Thoughts raced through his mind on what to do next. Then he realized that the answer to his problems has been right in front of him the whole time. Keep winning, people may complain and jeer him but so long as he brought results then the layman wouldn’t care what the other two estates think and neither would their guardian the king. That was all he would need to secure his power. He began to wonder if there was anything else that the British left vulnerable. Another quick and easy victory to cement his position and thereby bring peace to his restless mind. He lacked any confidence in India, there wasn’t much worth fighting over in Africa. Could Hanover be a possibility? He pondered but ultimately concluded that expanding the war into the rest of Europe would do him no favors especially if France was the aggressor. At last, he came upon his grand scheme as he turned his eyes westward on his map. There Cesar eyed an unfinished continent filled in colonies from Spain and Britain. He had initially hoped that the British subjects in the new world would have revolted against their British masters and side with them then. But his souring relations with the king’s court forced him to accelerate those plans. Still, he was hopeful about a potential alliance with the Native Americans (2) and had already sent his ambassador to meet with prominent discontents there. Yet it would probably take some time assuming the best-case scenario so he couldn’t place much stock in that hope. And at last, he reached a different thought altogether. A radical, borderline preposterous idea it was, yet he refused to heed to his conventional judgment. Why not invade the British Isles directly? When you went beyond stereotypes and presumptions and considered the details, he would know that the British fleets were performing weaker than expected. He even came very close to doing it during the last war but ultimately decided against it.


It was indeed something he would keep in mind at least but whatever his decision he needed to act soon while he had some momentum going. Before the non-existent news came to light.

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(1) author is being figurative
(2) author is using an antiquated term to refer to Anglo American colonists

So give me your thoughts and please leave any reply because it's going to get discouraging if the first page is nothing but updates.
 
I enjoy this so far, although in my opinion it's still a bit too early to say much so far. The idea of the French sparking an earlier American Revolution sounds interesting!
 
Thomas Zane plopped the hefty textbook onto a table with a Gaslamp near it. He already built up a small pile of books and planned to read through them until the Boston library closes. Tom sat down and picked one of the thinner textbooks titled The Great Journey: History of 18th century America written in gold letters. It wasn’t how he wanted to spend his day off, but it turned out that his ancestor was necessary for his next case. His client- Tom thought to himself, was Charlotte Dale his client or his partner? Anyways his client/partner demanded that she tell her everything he knew about Jonathan Zane. He knew mostly squat about the time-period he lived in and needed to brush up on his history. He only remembered bits and pieces of the elder Zane’s exploits from his grandfather and the dime-novel adventures that were supposedly true. But she kept pressing him and was willing to pay a lot of money, the amount you just can’t politely refuse. Meanwhile, she had started a rival private investigation firm and had been offering her help with two cases so far. Except offer isn’t the right word, more like she invited herself and if he did close the door, she’d just end up making a new entrance. Besides, Tom knew Charlotte was smart enough to spin circles around him. She could probably drive him out of business if he made her an enemy, to be honest. It was easy money for him anyhow since they split the earnings, so he didn’t object too much. But Charlotte was a difficult woman to say the least, the kind who never stopped until she finally got what she wanted, and it didn’t look like she was going away anytime soon, so he had to come up with something to satisfy her demands.


He poured through the pages trying to find the chapter that he wanted. Following the discovery of the new world by European explorers between the 15th and 16th centuries. “Too early,” he thought and flipped through large sections into the book. As the American Kingdom was drawn into the Terrabellum through its financial investments in the Rumelian Sultanate. “Way too far.” He thought to himself. He then resorted to looking through the index to find references to Jonathan Zane. He finally found what he was looking for on page 324 and picked the first paragraph it offered.


It was three years into the Malouinic War, and the British were struggling against France and Spain but had been holding steady. With the loss of Gibraltar early in the war their position had collapsed in the Mediterranean while the British attempts to seize colonial possessions elsewhere had failed. With the lack of any significant victories was making the war unpopular with the British public. Significantly damaging the reputation of Lord North’s government, but so far, they’ve managed to avoid any further losses aside from Gibraltar and the Falklands. But the situation would grow from dire to worse as a new foe appeared on the world stage in the backwoods of her American colonies. In spite of her best attempts to avoid a conflict with the Indians on the American frontier the royal governors, particularly Lord Dunmore, Britain had appointed sparked a new war against them. Usually, a small conflict against a native tribe wouldn’t even be a blip on the map, and the British probably would have just let local militia’s handle the crisis as they did. However, something was happening amongst the Indians that the British were unaware. Before the war, the Indians were a broken people who had sacrificed much during Pontiac’s Rebellion only to receive the promise of reprieve from white settlement. But it was an unspoken truth that it wouldn’t be long before the white man ignored his pledges and attacked each tribe one by one. Meanwhile the Indians continued to languish in their reservation, drinking their sorrows with alcohol, and killing each with the American made guns. Men abandoned their families, while the old traditions slowly replaced with the new Christian god. These were dire days for Indians.


It's not surprising that in the face of the complete destruction of their society, most human beings would turn to a higher power to seek comfort. Witch hunts swept across Indian lands. While religious fervor was reaching its peak. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that someone would take advantage of it and while its characterized in popular history that the British, mainly Lord Dunmore, were bumbling buffoons for letting things get so far out of hand as they did but the truth is that British officials were well-aware of the situation. They just thought that they would be the ones to benefit from it. But history had other plans and paved the way for a prophet named Nixkamich better known as the masked man. There are many myths and legends surrounding the Masked Man but the truth is that we know very little about him. It is believed that the earliest sightings of him were reported as early as 1770 a little before the Spanish attack the English fort in the Falklands. Nixkamich began his ministry with the Shawnee tribes but he quickly expanded to nearly every tribe in the west. He preached a message that was nothing out of the ordinary of what other elders and prophets were saying. Reject the white man’s ways, throw out his alcohol and revive old traditions. But his most powerful message was one that Pontiac had been preaching since his rebellion. A call to unity of all tribes from all nations to throw back the white tide. It was one that resonated with all Indians, but most dismissed it as complete fantasy and dismissed previous calls to unity after the failure of Pontiac. Nixkamich was different though, the way he delivered that message was unlike anything anyone heard of. His voice was majestic to hear, and his very words seemed to be enchanted. It moved even the most jaded of men to tears and the sinful to confession. It stirred something primal in all who heard him.


The Masked Man’s influence was growing, and he gathered numerous flocks of followers converting to his cause. Village after village accepted his teachings and learned all that he taught. He made each of them promise to join a pact that if one tribe should go to war against the British, then all would rally together against the white man while also making peace amongst each other. While many Indian leaders converted to his cause such as Logan, Cornstalk, Blue Jacket, and numerous others. Nixkamich established a grand council to settle disputes amongst his nascent Confederacy. The prophet proved to be an excellent diplomat, and few tribes refused to join him. He also managed to successfully negotiate with the Bourbon alliance after their disappointing secret meetings with American leaders. From his growing settlement that the whites called ‘Prophetstown’ near present-day Brownsburg (1 OTL Lexington) Nixkamich started building rudimentary factories and the foundation of a modernized military thanks to some funding and supplies sent by the Spanish.


As said before, history likes to paint figures such as Lord Dunmore in a comedic light for failing to notice this on his doorstep, but it wasn’t entirely his fault. Frontier militias and other units stationed near the border were aware that something was happening among the Indians and petitioned for months for the Virginia colonial government to act. The governor had been doing something about the situation for some time now, you see, the Shawnee were the core of a stiff resistance to British authority in the Ohio area which they gained through a treaty with the Iroquois. Lord Dunmore had been working for years to make sure that the Shawnee were politically isolated from the other tribes when he planned to attack them, but he vastly underestimated the growing influence that Nixkamich had which thwarted those plans. Thanks to the Masked Man, the Shawnee now had alliances with nearly every Indian nation in the backwoods (2) aside from the Iroquois Confederacy. Lord Dunmore only realized this after it was far too late and ended up embroiling all of North America into a war in the west.


Tom kept flipping through the pages, trying to find the name of his ancestor amid the Westron War. Legends and tall tales surrounded so much of what happened to Jonathon Zane. How his brothers, Ebenezer and Silas Zane, were personally killed by the Masked Man. Beginning the youngest brother’s quest for revenge against the mystic he traveled to different planets and dimensions across time and space. Culminating in him banishing the Masked Man from our world only to return having all his accomplishes ignored. These were good for a few stories even if Jonathan or his descendants benefited from them directly. But the thing is it was all true. The Masked Man, the others, their eternal conflict, the locket that keeps them both from taking over the world, and all of it. Or so his grandfather claimed. Tom didn’t know if he completely believed the story himself, but he kept the locket that his grandfather gave him close, and he cared for it on the off chance that it was real.


He heard a loud gong coming from the nearby clock tower. When Tom looked up from his book to check the nearest clock he found it said 8:00 p.m., the library would be closing soon, and he still lacked any answers for Ms. Dale who was getting adamant on the locket. Tom recently moved it to a place that felt more secure, but he didn’t know what she was willing to do to get it. He doubted that she would try to break into his office and steal it but was convinced that she could easily outsmart him at any moment. Tom had hoped that could satisfy her demands for the case she gave him through some other means but was coming up short. The detective decided to call it enough for tonight and collected the books to return them. Tom didn’t check out any, digging up history through textbooks just wasn’t yielding any results. With a sigh he resigned to his fate and went straight home. He had another case involving a manslaughter, and he did not doubt that Ms. Dale would somehow find a way to become involved again.

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Sorry for the prolonged delay folks, (man how do Thande, Jared, and EdT keep up with these?). Thanks Raharris and ETGalaxy for reminding me to get back to work. Now I have to get started on the next chapter. I do get a week off of work so that should give me some time to get ahead. So anyways here we are. Hope you guys enjoy.
 
Great chapter, the Kingdom of America you hinted sounds interesting as does this Confederacy and the Westron War. Also does the Masked Man have an OTL doppelgänger or is he fictional?
 
Great chapter, the Kingdom of America you hinted sounds interesting as does this Confederacy and the Westron War. Also does the Masked Man have an OTL doppelgänger or is he fictional?
The Masked Man is fictional, but that's for a very specific reason.
 
Sorry for the delay again. Next chaptor will be up tomorrow.

The unnamed war had mostly been an unexpected success for France and Spain when only speaking about purely in military victories and territorial gains. But in practicality it was costing them dearly while also sowing the seeds of future unrest in those nations, not that the governing classes knew of it at the time. For starters, the war was taking a financial toll and France as soldiers had to be paid and supplied. There were victories yes, but these were mostly considered minor gains with only Gibraltar being its sole significant gain. But after that, the war was stalling between Britain and France without many of the significant fronts shifting. Naval battles were a more successful story as the French Navy, who were outmatched continuously by the British in the Seven Years War, where now holding their own and at times even outperformed their rivals.


Things didn’t go as well for their Spanish allies who had lost several confrontations with the British. As it was overall less prepared for war, then France was. Although they were all but guaranteed to get Gibraltar back once the war was over, it was French troops who won the battle, and thus Spain would inevitably have to make some concessions before their ‘ally’ would give it back. They did manage to repulse a hastily made British counter-invasion of the Falklands. But they had lost Havana again and Manila in the Philippines while also lacking in any serious victories against the Anglo’s. This situation left Spain largely regulated to a supportive role, and the way the war ended would come back to haunt Charles IV and his descendants in later years. Yet despite of all this, they were still able to hold ground in North America albeit not in a satisfactory manner. It was due to the newly formed alliance with Nixkamich’s Westron Confederacy on the American frontier. However, this alliance sparked some animosity between the Spanish and the French minister of war César-Gabriel, the Duke of Choiseul. Choiseul was in the process of negotiating with American leaders who were dissatisfied under British rule and hated being dragged into a war that seemed to have nothing to do with them. The point proved to be moot anyway as all but the most radical of the discontents were advocating for rebellion, and the war with the Indians would only push them back into the arms of the British. But the after effects of this alliances would shape the Americas for years to come.


Overall, the war was becoming unpopular with the French although the unrest that happened in the Revolutionary Wars popularized by the play Le Passionné disgustingly exaggerated [1]. The war was undoubtedly taking a sour note. Little progress was being made the longer it dragged on, and to them, France had already proven to be a match against Britain. They wanted to drop out of the war while they were ahead. It wasn’t long until King Louis gave in to his wife and advisers and dismissed Choiseul from his government. The Duke of Choiseul was left to retire to his estates and later compiled a detailed biography about his life.


Meanwhile, the war was causing near political hysteria in the Kingdom of Great Britain. The loss of Gibraltar was the first devastating blow to morale. The Tory government under Lord North was in deep trouble. In hindsight, historians have somewhat grown to sympathize with North. Britain didn't lose Gibraltar because their forces were incapable and could have easily held the rock if it were at a more opportune time, they lost because of unforeseen misfortune which could have happened to even the best of men. Other than that, they held out well against the French all things considered. But it didn’t matter, Britain was supposed to be supreme master of the seas and now they could only hope to fight the French to a standstill. North’s enemies were taking full advantage of the situation. But the one who would come out on top was a bit of a surprise. No one would have suspected William Pitt the Elder to depose the embattled North. The two were always hostile to each other in the political arena but, regarding the issue of the increasingly unpopular war, both shared the responsibility of its instigation. Pitt, probably even more so since his advocacy for a tough stance to France and Spain directly lead to North’s government to escalate the conflict. He should have gone down in flames with the rest of the war hawks. But Pitt didn’t suffer the same fate as he had begun criticizing the way North was handling the war. Pitt then sifted his argument that Britain needed to end the war to save face. It was a sentiment that resonated well with the public and allowed a few other Tories to salvage their party's reputation. Although he was reluctant to return as Prime Minister due to his health, Pitt’s loathing for North and his mishandling of both foreign and domestic policy encouraged him to return to politics. He just needed to dispose of the current prime minister.


It didn’t take him long to find an opportunity. Overseas in the American colonies, there was plenty of discontent between the native colonials and the British. These problems started with the Townsend Acts. The colonists began protesting the acts almost immediately, fortunately for then North quickly backed down because of the war with France and repealed most of the laws. But it had soured relations between Britain and her colonies, and North did not give up on his attempt to strengthen British authority in the Americas. Many in Britain supported their American cousins. Including politicians from both the Whigs and the Tories. They too were outraged over it, but thankfully for North, it was mostly swept under the rug with the onset of the war. Maybe if it wasn’t for other factors that would’ve been it. Except North couldn’t leave well enough alone. While the colonials quietly celebrated the repeal of most of the acts they failed to realize that British Parliament never conceded that they had no right to tax them, and there was one tax still left in place. The East India Company had been struggling financially for some time due to the conquests of most of the Indian subcontinent and the subsequent debt it took on to pay for its private armies. North’s solution was to tax the Americans. It sparked the controversy all over again. Except for this time, things quickly got out of hand. Especially when news broke out that some prominent Americans were having talks with the French. Naturally, this would have been treason. Instead, it was terrifying. The British already felt as if they had been fighting an uphill battle with the French for years. The thought of having to fight another significant conflict an ocean away was more than they could bear. Although the truth was that these discussions happened a while ago and were unfruitful due to French support of the Westron Confederacy, it was enough to outrage the British public. Pitt seized on this fresh controversy and started propagating his narrative of the war that North was severely mishandling it. North’s problems didn’t end there because somehow a letter he supposedly made to his cohorts detailed his contempt for the Americans and doubted that they would ever accept British authority unless through force, and planned to provoke them to justify such drastic measures intentionally. After all that North’s prime ministership had been through up until that point, this was what finally lead him to being dismissed and ousted from Power. King George III quickly chose Pitt to replace him. There was some concern over Pitt’s health as he had struggled with bouts of insanity in the past, the man himself initially refused to take the position over this but was persuaded otherwise.


With both Choiseul and North out of power, it didn’t take long for the war to end. Pitt quickly sought to establish an armistice with the Bourbon powers. To the French and Spanish, he surrendered control of the Falklands, now renamed the Malvinas, and Gibraltar he would only individually surrender to the French to insult Spain and hopefully spark a rift between the two nations. Meanwhile, he continued to occupy western Cuba as North had ties to the sugar lobbyists who cost them control of the island during the Seven Years War.[2]


He ended the war with the Dutch in a separate set of negotiations in exchange that they pay hefty fines in “war damages.” It was a stroke of genius for Pitt as the Malouinic War left all involved parties with considerable wartime debt which would usually be paid off by the losing nation. But that was impossible in this situation as both France and Britain had voluntarily backed down. While the Dutch couldn’t be expected to pay for Britain’s entire wartime debt, it did give her a leg up on France and Spain.


France meanwhile, returned the island of Bermuda and three British vessels that it captured during the war. They would also later secure an agreement with Britain for the western half of the continent of New Holland. Spain was not so gracious at the peace negotiations since the British continued their occupation of western Cuba. They backed out since they wouldn’t dare continue the war without French support, but their resentment caused to the continued Spanish support of the Westron Confederacy out of fear of further American encroachment into Spanish America. Thus, the war continued for some time in the backwoods of North America where peace reigned in Europe.


The war effectively came to an end, but Pitt’s trials were only beginning. The war made everyone realize the dire need for reforms in the empire. But where would Pitt even begin with this Herculean task?

[1] Author is biased and is only including written records that disproportionally represents the views of the nobility, the lower classes reactions remain hotly debated.)

[2] British industrialists in the sugar market did do this in OTL, but the connections to North is the author’s ITTL’s bias.

So yeah, sorry about that. Not going to make promises like that again. But I did just start the next chapter which will cover China.
 
The loss of Prince Rong, better known then as Yongqi, was a blow to the Qing Dynasty and especially to the emperor himself. He was by far the most capable of his sons, he excelled in his studies and was a capable warrior. He was a favorite in the line of succession to the imperial throne. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long after the emperor made him a prince that his life was taken by tuberculosis. He was laid to rest at the royal tombs, the Emperor and all of China, mourned for him but inevitably life moved on without him. Four summers passed by in his absence, Yongqi’s passing was all but a memory. But on the fifth summer, he came back.


He strode through the fields of the emperor’s summer palace. The Qianlong Emperor is said to have risen from his chair as he felt a divine wind flow from the west. He rubbed his eyes believing it to be some sort of trick. The Emperor had known for some time that vandals had disturbed his son’s tomb but now this? He was at a loss on what to think. He invited the stranger into his tent. The servants who spotted the mysterious look-alike offered him wines and such. The two men then engaged in a long drawn out conversation. The emperor obviously had many questions for him, and the stranger proved he had a very sharp tongue. After their conversation ended, the emperor had no doubts that this was his son. How he was resurrected was beyond his knowledge, but he did not care. His retainers, however, were a little less precise, and would never be entirely convinced either. But was no concern to Yongqi, it would have been convenient if more believed it at the start, but what mattered was that he convinced the only man he needed to. But those skeptics still were an obstacle for Yongqi as his father couldn’t afford to reinstate him as a first rank prince or else risk angering them. But he could appoint him to a prominent position in the military. His first assignment was as an officer guarding the Burmese border. There wasn’t much action that went on due to the heavy military presence on the other side of the border. Trouble instead started a little closer to home. A group of rebels sprung up nearly a year later. They were led by a man named Wang Lun, a martial artist who built up a rebel army of a few thousand near the Shandong province. The would-be warlord had captured three prominent cities. Yongqi used this crisis to transfer himself to a command position tasked with retaking these cities. The prince made short work of the rebellion and personally captured its leader. Yongqi’s fame sored throughout the empire. Was there any argument to doubt the prince’s identity? The emperor didn’t think so, and this time there wasn’t much argument from his court either. Not that they didn’t want to contest Yongqi’s identity, but doing so would have been disadvantageous at the time. Yongqi’s odds of inheriting the throne now seemed to be not so implausible.


Yongqi’s influence grew so far as to that he convinced his father to dismiss the Grand Chancellor of the Treasury, Heshsen, from his position on charges of corruption. Although this move may have costed him in the long term as the Qianlong emperor kept him around as an advisor. This would be the start of a growing wedge between the emperor and his son. This was the start of a growing wedge between them. Although we know from history that this divide never culminated in a great calamity, it did set prince Yongqi on a radically different course.


Chengdu, Sichuan Province, late Qing China, 1771


Prince Rong Yongqi was walking down a dark corridor that leads to his private safe house in the sleepy town of Chengdu. He was followed by his Han bodyguards, whose careers in the eight banners would have ended as his father was attempting to purge his Han political enemies. He was quietly gathering support and allies for his bid to become the emperor. He loved his father and had no plans in overthrowing him, but the Qianlong emperor would not live forever. The allies he was gathering came from unlikely sources but were needed to secure his throne from rival factions around his brothers, and necessary for his plans of changing China from the top down. He and his entourage were on their way to meet one of these unlikely allies now. An ex-rebel leader named Wang Lun. Yongqi had to go to extreme lengths to break him out of prison. Fortunately, being the one who put him there gave him the knowledge he needed to do it quietly. Still, faking his death was risky, “he’d better have what I want, or else it may be better to put him back on the ground.” Yongqi thought. The trio came up to an iron door protected by two more of the prince’s men. Without a word, Yongqi passed through the door. There he saw the defeated warlord sitting on the floor cross-legged with a mat under him in a dimly lit room. Wang Lun squinted from the light from the lamp. He set down the small cup of tea his guards have given him. “So, what honor do I have to be in the presence of a prince?” he asked bitterly, completely ignoring the customary greetings to a member of the royal family. Yongqi let the veiled insult slide. A wave of his hand signaled his guard to leave the room. He sat down face to face with the ex-warlord. He greeted him as pleasantly as he could. It did little to release the tension in the room, but that was no excuse to not be polite. This annoyed Wang Lun even further. With that, Yongqi went straight to the point and pulled out a piece of paper with a symbol of a white lotus on it. “I’ve gone through a lot of trouble to meet you, Mr. Wang. It’s perfectly understandable for you to hate me, but the truth is that anyone competent could have defeated your little band of brigands. I was only the man you stepped up first.” He said. “I’m not telling you or the Manchu anything.” Wang Lun said. “I wasn’t finished.” Yongqi quickly added. He then stood up and started pacing. “I am not aligned with the Manchu.” He said. “If your true aim was their overthrow then your best option now is to cooperate, which I will reward you handsomely for. However, if you continue holding on to the notion that you could ever become emperor, then you are useless to me.” Wang Lun considered what was just said to him carefully, he still fancied himself as a player in this deadly game. He pondered if the prince was telling him the truth or not, furthermore, he wondered what he could possibly have that the prince would go to extreme lengths just to talk to him? Was it a ruse, the entire rescue could have been an elaborate show. But even if it was fake, what did he have, or at least what they were convinced he had, that they wanted so badly? Thinking it over, Wang Lun concluded that he did have little to lose. The offer the prince was making was the kind you can’t refuse, mostly because he knew he’d probably die if he did. “Say that I believe you, what would I have that could be of any value to you?” he asked. The prince smiled. He turned his head away so that Wang Lun couldn’t see it. “I’ve noticed that during your campaign you didn’t make any effort to recruit from the local population,” Yongqi said as he began to pace in front of the room’s only door. “Which means that you either honestly believed in your own delusions or…. You were expecting allies to rally to you?” he said, raising an eyebrow. “And you don’t strike me as the former type of person.” Wang Lun had to hold back every instinct in his body to keep himself from punching that cocky grin. But he was right. If the rest of the White Lotus had shown up the outcome of his campaign would have gone more smoothly. He didn’t know what the prince wanted them for, but he didn’t care about protecting them now in the slightest. They failed in joining his revolution so he’ll fail in keeping their secrets. He did inquire what the Manchu prince intended to do with them if discovered. “The White Lotus is the cornerstone of my designs.” Is all prince said.
 
Really nice to see this timeline back, I quite enjoy it! One question, how does the prince return from the dead? There has to be a logical explanation, right?
 
Aha! I knew that gorillas can't live underwater! :p
Hehe, I was trying to start it at 0:02 but I couldn't figure out how to do it. But back to your question, I can't reveal why or how Yongqi was resurrected as that would involve spoilers. All I'm wiling to say for now is that he and the Masked Man are connected.
 
Hehe, I was trying to start it at 0:02 but I couldn't figure out how to do it. But back to your question, I can't reveal why or how Yongqi was resurrected as that would involve spoilers. All I'm wiling to say for now is that he and the Masked Man are connected.
Interesting. But I'm assuming it has an explanation that makes sense, right? No ASB or magic?
 
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