The Tale of the Twelve Republics: a TLIAW Redux

[mlp]

October 25 1886. As a reaction to the The Years' War in Cuba, the Spanish declares slavery illegal in Cuba. This ultimately results in a higher rate of American investments in Cuba.

October 31 1886. The Seoul Central University establishes the Seoul National Observatory on top of Namsan. The Meteorology Bureau, subordinate to the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, is modelled after its American counterpart. By 1890 three more are established in Gangneung, Cheju and Uiju.

November 14 1886. Yuan Shikai celebrates the complete redevelopment of Foochow Arsenal with several foreign advisors. Work commences immediately after on the construction of warships and gunboats to refurbish the Nanyang fleet.

November 19 1886. Originally only the right-hand man to Li Hongzhang, Yuan Shikai slowly consolidates his power from the now-senile Li. This is signified as this day a New Army garrison in Canton - Li's power base - is turned over to Yuan.

December 2 1886. The first session of the Korea Central Assembly commences.

The Conservative Alliance is pissed at the lack of pissedness at the Central Assembly.​

December 13 1886. Hawaiian King Kalakaua, as part of his plan to organize a Pacific confederation, appoints former Minister of Foreign Affairs John E. Bush to be the chief ambassador to the peoples and chiefs of the Pacific. His use of $30,000 for implementation of the policy is harshly criticised as part of his “delusional campaign”.

December 17 1886. English adventurer Thomas Stevens enters Korea on a raft across the Yalu river. For two weeks he will travel down the peninsula to Pusan, where he crosses the strait to conclude the world's first circumnavigation on a bicycle in Yokohama.

December 19 1886. American cartography experts, having arrived in Ullengdo a week earlier, attempt to visit the area where the islets are supposedly located but are forced to go back due to harsh weather.

December 25 1886. Two Presbyterian Churches in Hamhung celebrate Christmas, with around twenty followers in all. Several more celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in Seoul and elsewhere.

January 1 1887. Many more reforms are passed and enforced. Litter becomes illegal as a form of transport, except at marriage and other ceremonial uses. Further budget is appropriated to continue the construction projects in Seoul, along with education reform. The most controversial reform, however, is the abandonment of conscription by the Central Assembly and the establishment of a mercenary army. This brings a large number of the unemployed lower-class to Seoul.
Estimated total population of Korea: 17,088,000

They see me rollin' They hailin'​

 

[mlp]

January 20 1887. The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.

January 30 1887. Inspired by his trip to Japan two years ago, famed novelist Pierre Loti publishes his latest work Madame Chrysanthème. Written in the form of an autobiographical journal of a naval officer who was temporarily married to a geisha while he was stationed in Nagasaki, the novel gained instant success, running 25 editions in the first 5 years and becoming one of the literary works that founded the West's perception of Japan.

February 5 1887. The Giuseppe Verdi opera Otello premieres at La Scala.

February 27 1887. With a written pledge from the Russian government that they will not attempt to capture any part of Korean territory, along with abiding by the Joint Anglo-Russian Boundary Commission, the British Empire withdraws from Port Hamilton. The Koreans who lived on the island are saddened by the loss of a large source of revenue. And the whiskey, of course.

March 1 1887. Remnants of the Narodnaya Volya, led by Aleksandr Ulyanov, attempts the assassination of Czar of All Russia Alexander III on the sixth anniversary of Alexander II's murder. They are caught by the police and are sentenced to death. The death of Aleksandr is said to have radicalised his younger brother, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov - later to be known as Lenin.

March 2 1887. Koreans now comprise 5% of the Hawaiian population. The rest are made of the Americans, Europeans, Chinese and Natives. 25,000 Koreans live north of the Tumen River.

March 4 1887. Gottlieb Daimler unveils his first automobile.

March 9 1887. The Treaty of Friendship and Commerce between Belgium and Korea is signed by both governments. Provisions include tariff rates, an ambassador-in-residence in Seoul and extraterritoriality of foreigners.

March 15 1887. Yuan sends two of his gunships to Haiphong and declares it the official base for the Tonkin Flotilla of Nanyang Fleet.

March 30 1887. The "Newspaper War" reaches its climax as it now involves over 50 newspaper publishers and is mentioned in a speech by an Independent in the Central Assembly. It is notable that the rhtoric of the editorials are slowly becoming mature and toned-down in accusations.

April 3 1887. The Sogwa is held on the National level. The 130 who excelled most in mathematics are to be sent to China, Japan, Europe or the United States; the next 100 are sent to the Military Academy; the 300 who have excelled in other fields are sent to Seoul Central University.

A sketch by a German missionary. The guy in front is wishing he brought his cheat sheet with him.​

April 10 1887. Having now mapped Ullengdo several times over and bored as hell, the American cartography experts attempt the second time to find the supposed islets. They are able to locate two, both of which are in the general location of 131°52’ East and 37°14’ North.

April 13 1887. After several months of extensive research, the German officials conclude that large amounts of coal and iron are deposited in northern Korea, and believe Hamhung to be an ideal location for a large steel processing plant. President Kim, with approval from the Central Assembly, appropriates a large sum of money for the construction. Also ordered is that the plant be finished construction within five years.

April 14 1887. News of Korea's election and female suffrage reaches London, New York and other major cities. The story of how a small oriental republic has moved so quickly as to allow women to vote becomes widely printed. Within the week major newspaper agencies announce to begin an "investigation" into the peculiar matter.

April 15 1887. With the modernisation of Seoul in full swing, workers finish construction of the Reform Party Hall. The building, begun from the 1870s to serve as Gojong's office and reception hall for dignitaries, and almost completely copied from the United States White House, was immediately adjacent to the West Gate and Kyonghee Palace, and opposite of the Central Assembly building, which was next to the East Gate. The building will become a major part of Korean history as time progresses.

Ripoff level Korea.​

April 30 1887. Edinburgh-born British engineer William K. Burton becomes recruited by the Republic of Korea to advise on civil engineering.

May 3 1887. With the finished Han River Railway Bridge, the Seoul-Inchon line is open to the public. The knowledge Korean engineers have earned from the experience will be used to great extent in the future.

May 23 1887. The first session of the Korea Central Assembly closes after several months; it has, overall, gone quite smoothly. The various Conservative representatives are beginning to slowly realise how their voices would most certainly be ignored in the Assembly.

May 30 1887. The Danish government signs the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce with Korea. The Koreans celebrate the occasion with cottage cheese and marinated herring.

June 1 1887. The Monument for the Korean Flag is finished construction. Modelled after the Washington Monument, the granite and marble pillar stands 10 metres high in the intersection between the Republican Mall and Yukjo Road. Atop the pillar is a flagpole with the Korean flag, guarded by two members of the Republican Guard. The Guard is to protect the Flag at all times, day and night, dry and wet, peace and war.

June 18 1887. The Reinsurance Treaty is signed between the German and Russian Empires as part of Bismark's attempt to continue the League of the Three Emperors and diplomatically isolate France. The Treaty outlines that, other than cases where the other attacks a major ally(for Germany, Austria-Hungary; for Russia, France), benevolent neutrality would be observed.

June 21 1887. The British Empire celebrates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, marking the 50th year of her reign.

June 25 1887. Tens more of schools and factories have been established across Korea. A notable reaction to the trend is the boom in “traditional schools”, where students are taught Confucian text, basic arithmetic and physics: over 100 have sprung up since last year. Another notable trend is the increase of newspaper publications, both in Seoul and other major cities.

July 6 1887. Angry American businessmen, merchants, and planters, led by politician and plantation owner Lorrin A. Thurston, capture King Kalakaua and force him to sign the Bayonet Constitution. The constitution, called so as the Hawaiian King was threatened at gunpoint, gives political and military power to a small group of Americans and Europeans while leaving Kalakaua a puppet king.

Motherfuckin' Asiatics ruinin' our businesses.​

 

[rjd1997]

I'm loving it!

I feel like your setting us up for either an earlier warlord era or a military dictatorship for China. Just a feeling.

 

[mlp]

I'm loving it!

I feel like your setting us up for either an earlier warlord era or a military dictatorship for China. Just a feeling.

oh, you know, just a feeling. I shan't tell you too soon.

 

[mlp]

July 23 1887. The Swedish government signs the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce with Korea.

August 3 1887. The Japanese Imperial government, through the ambassador in Seoul, asks why Korea has not built a working navy yet. Kim Hong-jip replies that he finds none necessary, with Japan defending the seas for its younger brother. Japan tells Korea to cut the crap and start taking up fiscal responsibilities.

September 5 1887. A total of 120 Koreans are sent to China: 50 to Tientsin, and 70 to various Shanghai arsenals and factories.

September 17 1887. With the failure of the "Rokumeikan Diplomacy" initiative and the conservatives riling against the fact that Japan is becoming forced to westernise, Inoue is forced to step down as Foreign Minister. The position is filled by Ito Hirobumi.

September 28 1887. Start of the 1887 Yellow River flood in China, which results in the death of around 2 million.

October 13 1887. Five students are sent to University College London with financial backing of the Reform Party. They will arrive in London within two years.

October 21 1887. Construction of the Wulsan Arsenal finishes several months earlier than expected. Modelled after the Yokosuka Arsenal in Kanagawa, it includes several technical schools, a brick factory, a large foundry and an aqueduct. It also acts as the base for several Japanese warships.

October 25 1887. Korean culture, particularly the arts and literature, have begun to influence the West. In the United States this has become significantly prominent - allegedly on this day famed Symbolist artist Arthur B. Davies draws The Flower, even going so far as to draw on ricepaper and paint a fake stamp.

They say there is a dickbutt hidden in this painting.​

November 1 1887. The second wave of China-trained Koreans arrives at Inchon. Many will go back to their hometowns and establish numerous factories while others join their alumni at the Military Academy.

November 4 1887. After numerous rejections Arthur Conan Doyle is able to publish A Study in Scarlet in Beeton's Christmas Annual, where detective character Sherlock Holmes makes his first appearance.

November 13 1887. The police in London clash with radical and Irish nationalist protesters. Over 400 are arrested and 75 badly injured, hence the name Bloody Sunday.

November 14 1887. The mercenary system is abandoned as it is concluded to be impossible for there to be an adequate wage for the soldiers while maintaining an efficient budget. The police recruitment system is expanded to fit the immediate needs of the Republican government.

December 2 1887. Spurred by news of Korea's progressiveness, leading suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst establishes the Women's Franchise League. Across the Atlantic, Susan B. Anthony's work History of Woman Suffrage includes Korea's election "incident" in the final chapters. Women's suffrage movements across the world are gaining traction from the election in the young oriental republic.

December 13 1887. With Chairman Kim Yun-sik present, the Korean Naval Ship Yangmu is commissioned at Inchon Harbour. An ancient British cargo ship refitted with guns too large for the magazines, the Yangmu was not built for battle, much less stay afloat. It still served however as the flagship of the Korean Navy, which until then only consisted of coastal patrol boats and several torpedo boats(the arsenals focused on producing guns and munitions, along with industrial produce such as steel or bricks).

Shitty ship is shitty.​

December 19 1887. Cixi "reluctantly" accepts urges by court officials to remain dowager after Guangxu becomes old enough to gain legitimacy.

December 27 1887. Despite strong protests from his aides, the Czar of All Russia Alexander III appoints Sergei Witte as the Director of State Railways.

 

[mlp]

January 1 1888. The Republican government proclaims several reforms. They are of the following: tariffs are increased in the hopes of strengthening the domestic economy; the entire population is allowed to speak the same speech level with that of the yangban; the requirements for all bureaucrats to adopt ‘modern’ hair styles by trimming their facial hairs. The last in particular begins to rile a great amount of the rural aristocrats.
Estimated total population of Korea: 17,176,000

#FacialHairSwag​

January 12 1888. The 'Schoolhouse Blizzard' hits Dakota Territory, the states of Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas, leaving 235 dead, many of them children on their way home from school.

January 13 1888. The first modern school in the Empire of Vietnam, the Đông Kinh Nghĩa Thục, is founded by Vietnamese intellectuals and American missionaries. Although the education system is primarily focused on combating Confucianism and foreign imperialism, the school continues to use Chinese script instead of the latin alphabet.

February 11 1888. Park Son-soo, brother to famed Park Kyu-soo(regional administrator of Pyong-an during the General Sherman Incident) and grandson to founder of the Silhak movement Park Chi-won, founds the first Western-style blast furnaces near Pyong-an, next to a iron mine. Within the month the blast furnace succeeds in producing molten pig iron from iron ore. By the end of 1890 two more blast furnaces are constructed around Korea.

Bit bigger than this.​

February 27 1888. In West Orange, New Jersey, Thomas Edison meets with Eadweard Muybridge, who proposes a scheme for sound film.

March 8 1888. The Korean Department of Education, for the first time since 1416, begins to dispatch government-trained teachers to hyanggyos. This is part of the government's attempt to combat the significant rise of "traditional schools", which is rumoured to harbour anti-republican sentiment - exactly 101,604 schools have been identified.

March 9 1888. Two French priests attempt to gain entry into the Empire of Vietnam via boat at night. When their ship is found, they attempt to burn the ship and run away. They are later captured however. On the same date Frederick III becomes German Emperor and King of Prussia.

March 10 1888. The Republic of Korea is admitted membership to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Its admission comes less then three months after Japan's, on September 2 1887.

March 11 1888. The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400.

March 16 1888. In a highly tense situation the two priests, badly beaten up but alive, are retrieved by the French colonial government. Yuan warns of severe consequences if a similar situation is to arise in the future.

March 23 1888. A meeting called by William McGregor to discuss establishment of The Football League is held in London.

April 4 1888. With the Czar encouraging expansion into Siberia and the increasing demand for paper in Korea, several pulp mills are established around the Amur river basin - this being the third one in the last 10 months. This strongly encourages Korean immigration to the area, with more than 30,000 now north of the Tumen River.

April 16 1888. The German Empire annexes the island of Nauru.

April 21 1888. Famed Japanologist Ernst M. Satow arrives in Pusan port with cartoonist and creator of the Japan Punch Charles Wirgman. Like many others, the two have heard of Korea's stunt and were interested to discover if such a policy was indicative of Korean culture or a ruse by the government to garner foreign attention.

Ernst M. Satow, GCMG PC. "Sir could you please look at the camera" "Oh god why"​

 

[hasdrubal barca]

Great Blizzard of 1888, wow. Learn something new everyday.

 

[mlp]

Great Blizzard of 1888, wow. Learn something new everyday.

yepp filler

 

[mlp]

April 23 1888. After returning to Europe, Tolstoy publishes “My Experiences of Korea and her people”, a series of diaries and essays compiling Tolstoy’s experiences in Korea. It includes his stay in Seoul, his discussions with various Reform Party members including President Kim Hong-jip and Min Yeong-ik, meeting the Christian missionaries in Hamhung, and enjoying the parochial beauty of Korea. He praises the Three Principles of the Nation, the Reform Party and its system of government, and the agrarian Republicanism of Korea, calling the state “the beginning of a great revolution in the Orient”. Immediately rising to utmost renown amongst intellects in Europe, the book becomes the flagbearer of the Anti-Imperialist movement within Europe and North America. Along with the "election incident" as it is now called in Europe, Tolstoy's work also helps bring Korea to great prominence, coming shoulder-to-shoulder in fame with China and Japan.

April 28 1888. The Privy Council of Japan is established by imperial ordinance of Emperor Meiji. The President of the Council, of course, is Ito Hirobumi.

April 29 1888. José Rizal, Filipino nationalist and revolutionary, publishes the famed novel Noli Me Tángere, which translates to english as "touch me not". Printed in Berlin, it reflects Rizal's inspiration from Uncle Tom's Cabin and greatly satirises upon the Spanish colonial government in the Philippines. Influences from his times in Europe is also reflected, as the protagonist Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin has also finished his studies in Europe and frequently quotes Korea as "a modern republic known by all Europeans" - the latter implying the significant effect Korea and its various reforms had on European intellectuals.

May 2 1888. The establishment of modern public schools(through hyanggyos) leads to an outburst of disapproval from conservative writers and journalists, one of the most famous being the article "Is This It". The newspaper articles become the main topics of discussion within the Central Assembly.

May 3 1888. President Kim Hong-jip threatens to ban all "traditional schools" if any children are withheld from receiving modern, public education. He publishes an opinion piece through one of the Reform Party-affiliated newspapers upon the importance of modern education and the establishment of "New Neo-Confucianism"(신성리학).

May 7 1888. With some regions remaining insubordinate, the Japanese-trained police are ordered to enforce the government order. Motions are also made to try rally support from the Conservative Alliance by reinstituting no-tax laws for the yangban class.

May 8 1888. The first attempt to replace the President Kim Hong-jip is made via petition. For appeal to the masses the petition for President is made for a hero of Korean folklore: Hong Kil-dong, famed thief for his justness who ruled the countryside for decades and remained in their memories for centuries more. Also notable is the fact that Hong worked during the rule of Lord Yonsan, the most bloodthirsty monarch during the Joseon dynasty. The comparison of Kim Hong-jip and Yonsan becomes more prolific.

Elect me for president!​

May 9 1888. Completely aware of the Empire of Vietnam being at the mercy of China and France, Möllendorff advises Hàm Nghi to pursue closer diplomatic relations with the Japanese. Nghi agrees to follow such a policy.

May 11 1888. With many of the yangban class now part of the peasantry, anti-governmental elements are incorporated into many "associations"(계), with either the "associations" acting as a facade for subversive activities or outwardly writing and printing conservative, anti-Western pamphlets. The strong majority of the "associations" remain as financial institutions however.

May 13 1888. In Brazil, the Lei Áurea abolishes the last remnants of slavery.

May 15 1888. The Japanese-trained police begin a heavy clampdown on subversive "associations". They also brutally chase down any members of the "associations" who attempt to run away with the pooled money(which was highly prolific during the time).

"Good man, why are you wearing that stupid hat?" "Officer, is there a fucking problem?"​

 

[mlp]

May 28 1888. In Scotland, Celtic F.C. plays its first official match winning 5–2 against Rangers F.C.

May 29 1888. Within three weeks, in the most coordinated movement in the history of the Conservative Alliance, almost half of the needed votes for the petition are gathered. Conservative newspapers praise the petition and actively describe Kim Hong-jip and Kim Yun-sik as axe-yielding, big-nosed barbarians brutally destroying Korea and its people. The Reform Party discusses what to do with the crisis. Few suggest a Japan-esque clampdown on any insubordination, but the majority believe that communication and dialogue would be the better way to handle any crisis - besides, the conservatives are too large a power to be dealt with directly.

May 31 1888. In an effort to pacify the public, and to put an end to the petition movement once and for all, the following measures are taken: the head of the Japanese police is "released from duty"; several chief editors of conservative newspapers are arrested and sent to exile; a legislature is passed to reinstitute tax breaks for both the yangban and merchant class(those who earn over a specified wage); Chairman Kim Yun-sik is to hold a large Harvest Ceremony(제천의식) in October of this year.

June 8 1888. The fact that the yangban class is treated as equals to lowly merchants enrages some conservatives. Many more petition movements arise, including for one "Mr. Kim Nothing"(김아무개), but they are stopped before they become large issues. Reform Party members and other liberal newspapers urge to view the process of modernisation as a "Return to Korea", from when many millennia ago Dankun was ousted by Kija to assert Chinese influence over Korea. Emphasis is also put upon the democratic process of the new Republic.

"Well I'm fucked," said Kija.​

June 9 1888. The Korean government launches its most ambitious construction project: the Seoul-Pyongyang line, which connects Seoul to the northern breadbasket of Korea, Pyongan province. Expected construction time is 6 and a half years and railway design is completely done by Korean engineers.

June 12 1888. The Propaganda Movement, through La Solidaridad, publishes a long article upon Korea's example of modernisation. Korea's quick entrance into the global stage becomes widely recognised throughout the Philippine islands.

June 15 1888. Wilhelm II becomes German Emperor and King of Prussia. 1888 is the Year of the Three Emperors.

June 25 1888. Elections for the 2nd Congress of the Central Assembly are held. Effects of a disgruntled yangban class is clearly represented by the loss of 2 seats by the Reform Party. 58% Reform Party; 38% Conservative Alliance; 4% Independent.

July 2 1888. The principales of the districts of Manila and the nearby provinces (led by Doroteo Cortés and José A. Ramos) marched to the office of the civil governor of Manila, José Centeno García. They present a manifesto addressed to the Queen Regent. The manifesto, entitled "Viva España! Viva el Rey! Viva el Ejército! Fuera los Frailes!" (Long live Spain! Long live the King! Long live the Army! Throw the friars out!), is soon accused to have been written by del Pilar. The manifesto enumerates the abuses and crimes of the friars and demands their expulsion from the Philippines including Manila Archbishop Pedro P. Payo himself.

July 7 1888. The Kingdom of Sedang is formed in the deep interior of French Indochina by former plantation-owner Charles-Marie David de Mayréna.

This, kids, is why you should never play too much Civ.​

July 10 1888. Marcelo H. del Pilar, under accusations of having written the subversive pamphlet Viva España! Viva el Rey! Viva el Ejército! Fuera los Frailes! from the Spanish government, escapes to Korea. Having communicated with Reform Party members previously, he begins his stay in the residence of industrialist and Reform Party member Lee Seung-hoon after being introduced to him.

July 25 1888. Frank Edward McGurrin, a court stenographer from Salt Lake City, Utah, purportedly the only person using touch typing at this time, wins a decisive victory over Louis Traub in a typing contest held in Cincinnati, Ohio. This date can be called the birthday of the touch typing method that is widely used now.

August 5 1888. Bertha Benz arrives in Pforzheim, having driven 40 miles (64 km) from Mannheim in a car manufactured by her husband Karl Benz, thus completing the first "long-distance" drive in the history of the automobile.

August 8 1888. Orchestrated by Möllendorff and other foreign advisors sympathetic to Vietnam's cause, a secret process of negotiations is held between the Empire of Vietnam and the Empire of Japan.

August 9 1888. Oaths Act of the British Empire permits the oath of allegiance taken to the Sovereign by Members of Parliament to be affirmed rather than sworn to God, thus confirming the ability of atheists to sit in the House of Commons.

August 13 1888. The Local Government Act, effective from 1889, establishes county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales, redraws some county boundaries, and gives women the vote in local elections. It also declares that "bicycles, tricycles, velocipedes, and other similar machines" be carriages within the meaning of the Highway Acts (still the case today), and requires that they give audible warning when overtaking "any cart or carriage, or any horse, mule, or other beast of burden, or any foot passenger", a rule abolished in 1930.

August 19 1888. It is agreed that, with his 4-year tenure gone as such, it would be best that Kim Hong-jip serve only one term. And the Reform Party needed a new face to show to the Korean people. Thus the Central Assembly elects Min Yeong-ik(71%). Other candidates were Kim Ok-gyun(21%) and Seo Jae-pil(8%).

I'm the President now. Deal with it.​

 

[The Forty-Eighth Rōnin]

Why would Plaridel go to Korea instead of Spain, where most of his fellow activists are?

 

[mlp]

Why would Plaridel go to Korea instead of Spain, where most of his fellow activists are?

It was because Rizal was in Korea during the time. Both would only be staying in Korea for a few months, maybe a year, before moving on to Spain.
Before that however, they would try to reach a certain deal with the Japanese.

 

[mlp]

Bump. Any more comments or questions?

 

[mlp]

August 29 1888. Basil H. Chamberlain, foremost expert on Japan in the British Empire and translator of haikus to english, arrives in Korea at Inchon port. Interested in the Korean language and traditional literature, he will come to compile the two-volume encyclopaedia on Japan and Korea Things Japanese and Korean by 1893.

August 31 1888. Whitechapel murders: The mutilated body of London prostitute Mary Ann Nichols is found. She is considered the first victim of Jack the Ripper.

September 4 1888. George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camera which uses roll film. On the same date, in a letter accepting renomination as President of the United States, Grover Cleveland declares the Chinese "impossible of assimilation with our people and dangerous to our peace and welfare".

September 8 1888. Whitechapel murders: The mutilated body of London prostitute Annie Chapman is found. She is considered to be the second victim of Jack the Ripper.

September 13 1888. Koreans now comprise 7% of the Hawaiian population. They are severely mistreated and are often under malnourishment and overwork. With workers severely lacking any place for rest and mainly from the Christian-majority regions around Hamhung, the first Korean church is established in Hawaii within the month.

It took 3 turns to build this Pantheon.​

September 27 1888. Whitechapel murders: The 'Dear Boss letter' signed "Jack the Ripper", the first time the name is used, is received by London's Central News Agency.

September 30 1888. Whitechapel murders: The bodies of London prostitutes Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes, the latter mutilated, are found. They are generally considered Jack the Ripper's third and fourth victims, respectively.

October 1 1888. May Rizal, upon his second long journey abroad, first visits Korea. He lands at Inchon and travels by foot to Pusan for a month, leaving by early November. He also meets Pilar in Seoul and discuss various topics, ranging from the similarities of cultures between Korea and the Philippines to Tagalog linguistics. He later publishes the journal he has written along the way, Sucesos de las Republicas Korea(Events in the Korean Republic).

October 2 1888. The Whitehall Mystery: Dismembered remains of a woman's body are discovered at three central London locations, one being the construction site of New Scotland Yard.

October 3 1888. The Harvest Ceremony is held by Kim Yun-sik. Thousands gather to the altar to watch Kim pray for good harvest. The large ceremony, fortunately, does much to ameliorate the minds of conservatives - along with the election of Min as President, it has been a good year. There begins a split between reform-minded members of the Conservative Alliance and staunch conservatives, mainly over issues such as the need for the yangban class to encourage modernisation or whether and how women should become an "equal" member to society.

October 9 1888. The Washington Monument officially opens to the general public in Washington, D.C.

October 10 1888. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce is signed between the two countries of Vietnam and Japan. The treaty outlines a treaty port, extraterritoriality, and tariffs. A furious Yuan forces Möllendorff and other conspirators to resign.

October 16 1888. As a preliminary trip of her "Around the World in 80 days" trip, Nellie Bly is sent by the New York World to investigate the peoples of Korea. She embarks from Los Angeles this afternoon. She is also personally intrigued by the fact that the oriental republic has allowed women to vote.

October 30 1888. The Rudd Concession, a written concession for exclusive mining rights in Matabeleland, Mashonaland and adjoining territories, is granted by King Lobengula of Matabeleland to Charles Rudd, James Rochfort Maguire and Francis Thompson who are acting on behalf of South African-based politician and businessman Cecil Rhodes, providing a basis for white settlement of Rhodesia.

November 1 1888. Pilar becomes introduced to the Japanese ambassador to Korea Komura Jutarō. The two discuss the issue of Philippine indepenence and Japan's willingness to support the matter. The ambassador agrees to relay the matter to the Foreign Relations Ministry.

November 6 1888. United States presidential election, 1888: Democratic Party incumbent Grover Cleveland wins the popular vote, but loses the Electoral College vote to Republican challenger Benjamin Harrison, therefore losing the election.

November 9 1888. Whitechapel murders: The mutilated body of London prostitute Mary Jane Kelly is found. She is considered to be the fifth, and last, of Jack the Ripper's victims. A number of similar murders in England follow, but the police attribute them to copy-cat killers.

November 20 1888. By the 2nd anniversary of the declaration of the Empire of Vietnam, over 10,000 refugees have escaped to the Tonkin area. Harshly treated by the French colonials and wishing to escape Catholicism, the "boat people" famously escape via wooden boats to safety. The French attempts to control these escapes fail miserably.

December 12 1888. After travelling Korea up and down the peninsula, Charles Wirgman ends up adopting several puppies of Korean stock. The pairs he bring back to the British Empire are later identified as the Jindo Spitz(진돗개), the Kyungju Bobtail(동경이) and the Korean Sheepdog(삽사리).

Kyungju Bobtail. The most Moon Moonest of all Moon Moons.​

December 23 1888. During a bout of mental illness (and having quarreled with his friend Paul Gauguin), Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh infamously cuts off the lower part of his own left ear in a brothel and is removed to the local hospital in Arles.

December 30 1888. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce is signed between the two countries of Vietnam and Bulgaria. Eager to exploit the situation of the weak Empire, nations large and small have jumped the bandwagon to joining the treaty port at Hanoi. In total 21 nations have gained rights of extraterritoriality in Hanoi with Favoured Nation status, listed in chronological order: Japan, China, the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Denmark, Sweden-Norway, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, the Netherlands, Austria-Hungary, Greece, Switzerland, Argentina, Mexico, the Ottoman Empire, and finally Bulgaria. Many of these treaties, such as Bulgaria's, are useless however as they do not have the economic strength to even send ships to Haiphong.

 

[mlp]

January 1 1889. The Republican government proclaims several reforms. They are of the following: females were to now be accepted to the Military Academy, although in a separate building; females were now also allowed to take the Sogwa and Taegwa; officials are allowed to have freedoms over whether or not they wish to trim their facial hairs; various rural aristocrats are granted positions in the local commerce offices. The final two are specifically enacted to ameliorate relations with the conservatives, while giving incentives to aristocrats to oversee the growth of the local economy.
Estimated total population of Korea: 17,264,000

January 3 1889. The great King of the Sedang and former plantation owner Charles-Marie David de Mayréna, after being rebuffed by several European countries, is offered a trade in Belgium by a financier called Somsy: in return for mineral rights in the sovereign kingdom, the monarch was to be given weapons and munitions. A deal is immediately struck and the great King of the Sedang begins his long trip back to his kingdom. A courier is contacted in Hong Kong to transport the weapons and commence training for the subjects of the great King.

January 5 1889. The Russian government, under orders from Fianance Minister Sergei Witte, issues an imperial rescript in which it announces its intention to construct a railway across Siberia.

January 8 1889. Herman Hollerith receives a patent for his electric tabulating machine in the United States.

January 9 1889. A full plan for the design of the Trans-Siberian Railway, drawn and redrawn over a period of ten years, is presented to Witte for review. Modelled after the Trans-continental Railroad in the United States, it is to be built from both sides, one beginning in Chelabinsk and the other beginning in Vladivostok. With double tracks all the way, it is estimated to greatly increase Siberian and Central Asian commerce and population movements. Estimated time of construction was 20 years.
The Trans-Siberian Railway was to go along the following cities: Moscow, Yaroslavl, Kirov, Perm, Yekaterinburg, Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Taishet, Irkutsk, Ulan Ude, Chita, Birobidzhan, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok.

January 10 1889. Under the leadership of Vietnamese nationalist and Confucian scholar Phan Đình Phùng the Imperial Military Academy of Hanoi, along with other schools for Western training, is founded. Phan also founds the Black Hoods Order, a secret society dedicated to the survival of the Vietnamese nation and ensuring the fact that none, either the Chinese, French, Japanese or else, would succeed in the attempt to destroy it.

Something like this.​

January 15 1889. The Coca-Cola Company is originally incorporated as the Pemberton Medicine Company in Atlanta, Georgia.

January 20 1889. With the encouragement of Yunnan governor Cen Yu-ying and Yuan Shikai, Chinese bandits flourish in the Laotian jungles. As an extension of the Haw wars, and to an extent the Taiping Rebellion, the "Flag Gangs" spread deep in Laos and Vietnam, harassing Siam in the east and French Indochina in the south. On this day the bandits allegedly recapture Chiangkham from the Siamese.

January 22 1889. Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, D.C.

January 24 1889. Confident from the military reforms that had taken place since the birth of the Royal Military Academy in Bangkok, and wishing to put a finality upon the issue of the Chinese bandits, Chulalongkorn orders a fourth expedition into northern Laos and protect the vassal Kingdom of Champasak.

January 28 1889. With encouragement from Yuan Shikai, Emperor of Vietnam Hàm Nghi declares the Kingdom of Champasak his vassal.

January 30 1889. Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera commit a double suicide (or a murder suicide) in the Mayerling hunting lodge.

February 3 1889. Cossack-Russian adventurer Nikolay Ivanovitch Achinov arrives with settlers, infantry and an Orthodox priest to Sagallo on the Gulf of Tadjoura, modern-day Djibouti. He declares the settlement "New Moscow" and requests recognition from the Russian Empire.

Article on Achinov's expedition.​

 

[hasdrubal barca]

Black Hoods Order, the picture is most epic.

 

[MapleTekh]

Assassin's Creed: Korea? Hell yeah.

 

[Tom Colton]

Cool developments! Russian Djibouti should be...interesting.

 

[mlp]

Black Hoods Order, the picture is most epic.

Thanks man.

 

[mlp]

Assassin's Creed: Korea? Hell yeah.

Vietnam actually, but same idea.