The Union Forever: A TL

[Mac Gregor]

Hey everyone, not saying this TL has been restarted but I thought I would do a quick update. Enjoy. ​

1981

Foreign Developments
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Cledwyen Bates-Morgan
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom​

During the 1981 British general election, the Liberal Party under Cledwyen Bates-Morgan managed a narrow victory ending a decade of Tory rule. Bates-Morgan inherited a country still reeling from the war. In his first address to Parliament, Bates-Morgan outlined his plan to shore up the nation’s finances by “divesting Britain of its less profitable oversea possessions.” Bates-Morgan also announced his intention for the various Commonwealth realms to take greater responsibility for their own defense. Many economists however, believed that these measures would not be enough to manage the United Kingdom’s colossal wartime debts and that further cuts would be needed.

On April 24, the world marked the first anniversary of the end of the Asia-Pacific War. Around the globe, memorials and somber ceremonies commemorated the over 30 million people who lost their lives in the conflict.

In the Congo, the German government claimed continued success as troops under Alfred von Lauenburg, now a field marshal, launched three large offensives in the north and eastern part of the colony. In response, hundreds of thousands of refugees along with several bands of Congolese guerrillas fled across the border into neighboring Chad and Gordonia, destabilizing the region. The war’s growing number of critics continued to lobby Chancellor Ulrich von Ritter for a negotiated end to the war.

During the summer, Swiss scientists led by Dr. Jean Marc Couchepin announced the creation of a vaccine for pneumonia.

On September 23, the Technate of China launched its first domestically produced satellite Zheng He. This made China the seventh nation to launch a satellite along with the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Imperial Eurasian Federation, France, and Italy. Chinese leader Heng Jiang declared that this was just the first step in China’s quest to eventually become the leader in space exploration.

In October, Japan ratified a new constitution, ending the provisional government that had ruled since the end of the war. As per the Treaty of Manila, the constitution of 1981 guaranteed basic civil rights, limited Japan’s military, and mandated regular multiparty elections. Kota Itokazu of the center-left Democratic Reform Party was sworn in as Japan’s first democratically elected prime minister since the 1930s. Itokazu would spend much of his term in office overseeing the reconstruction of Japan’s heavily damaged cities as well as mending relations with the League of American Republics and other foreign powers.

During a conference in Berlin on December 1, the Social Democrats and Christian Democrats announced that they would officially merge under the new name, the German Democratic Union. Over the next few years, the German political landscape would continue to adjust as many of the more leftwing Social Democrats and conservative Christian Democrats defected to the Socialist Party and German Conservative Party respectively.

In keeping with Prime Minister Bates-Morgan’s agenda, by the end of the year the territories of British Honduras, Somalia, and Puntland were granted dominion status. Ceylon and Malaya, which had played crucial roles during the war, became independent nations within the British Commonwealth.

 

[Mac Gregor]

1982 ​

Domestic and Foreign Developments ​

Flag of the Technate of Korea​

By the end of the year, Technocratic regimes were established in Korea and Assam. Both the League of American Republics and the British Commonwealth protested that the free and fair elections promised by the Treaty of Manila were violated by unwarranted Chinese influence. Chinese leader Heng Jiang replied simply that “the people of Asia can see which direction history is moving and have aligned themselves accordingly.”

In March, the U.S. Department of Justice began investigating claims that senior Washington politicians had over the past several years accepted bribes by organized crime outfits based out of Lake’s Crossing, Nevada one of the nation’s primary gambling hubs. One of the politicians implicated was Vice President Hudson Accardo who adamantly denied the charges.

In the 1982 Imperial Eurasian Federation general election, a coalition of conservatives led by the Motherland Party took control of the Duma. Many ethnic Russians had grown to resent Prime Minister Liudvinkos Zelenko and his pro-regional autonomy soyuznyy allies. The new Prime Minister, Bronislav Mihaylov, an aristocratic former general, vowed to curb decentralization and “reunite” the IEF. Unsurprisingly many of the IEF’s ethnic minorities feared that this would lead to an unconstitutional power grab by St. Petersburg.

In the fall, the movie Cold as Hell was released to critical acclaim and massive box office success. Based off the 1977 Battle of the South Pole, Cold as Hell earned three Griffith Awards for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor. The movie’s gritty tone and graphic violence made it an exemplar of action films made in the postwar era.

In November, the Portuguese Civil War finally erupted. The repressive government of Premier Miguelito Luiz Fernandes was ousted from power after months of protests and bloody clashes between government forces and a host of dissident groups. These groups, including the Front for Democracy and the Communist League, had been radicalized during the Asia-Pacific war and turned violent when Fernandes refused to relinquish his wartime powers. Fernandes along with the royal family fled to the Azores after the Portuguese Army, heavily engaged quelling anticolonial insurgencies in Africa, could no longer guarantee their safety. On November 23, a shaky leftwing provisional government was declared in Lisbon styling itself the Democratic Socialist Republic of Portugal.

During 1982, the British government under Prime Minister Bates-Morgan continued to relinquish its colonial possessions in order to ease the drain on the nation’s depleted coffers and appease growing cries for self-government. In a long awaited turn over, seven colonies in West Africa were united in a federation in much the same way as South and East Africa. The expansive new dominion, known as the Federated States of West Africa, encompassed a myriad of ethnic and linguistic groups. Politically, West Africa soon found itself divided into major camps. The first being the nationalists who favored a strong central government and wanted to pursue an path independent of the British Commonwealth. Opposite the nationalists stood the federalists who wished to keep most power at the state level and remain closely aligned with the British Commonwealth. ​

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Map of the Federated States of West Africa​

 

[rick007]

Booker T. Washington (1856-1916)

Booker Taliaferro Washington was born a slave in Hale's Ford, Virginia, April 5th, 1856. After being Emancipated, Washington moved with his mother to Western Virginia to be with his father. At school, Washington excelled at his studies. When he graduated from Moreland Seminary in 1880, he became a reverend.

Preaching all throughout the South, he settled in Atlanta. Aware of the need for Black colleges and universities, Washington helped found several across the South, though he himself never actually taught at any of them. In 1903, Washington spoke at the Atlanta Baptist Church in favor of racial equality. Booker T. Washington died January 15th, 1916 of what's commonly thought to be Congestive Heart Failure, at age 59.

Robert Ford (1861-1906?)

Born December 8th, 1861, in Ray County, Missouri, Robert Ford was constantly overshadowed by his six older siblings. Determined to make a name for himself as a newspaper reporter, first working for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, covering the 1884 election. Eventually Ford became one of the top reporters in the country.

In 1906, Robert Ford went to cover the 2nd Anglo-Boer War. What happened to him after that is a mystery. Some say he was captured and shot by the Boers, some say he died of disease, still others say that he was killed by wild animals. In any event, his death remains one of the most enduring historical mysteries.

 

[Mac Gregor]

The Iberian Crisis ​

The January Revolution ​

January – March 1983 ​

The popular uprising against the Portuguese crown sent shockwaves across Europe. To the east, Spain’s deeply conservative Carlist government under King Juan IV vowed to help the now exiled Portuguese regime regain control of the country. Many Spaniards however sympathized with the revolutionaries and their grievances as they too chaffed under authoritarian monarchial rule. After a month of dithering, the Spanish government ordered a general mobilization to bolster the small Spanish Army for what they hoped would be a quick march on Lisbon. Unfortunately for King Juan, events soon spun out of his control.

On January 7, 1983 soldiers of a reserve unit mustering near Toledo mutinied against their officers, refusing to take up arms to suppress the Portuguese revolutionaries. News of the mutiny in Toledo only exasperated the various protests and strikes that were engulfing the country. Madrid quickly dispatched Colonel Vito Rolando Vazquez of the 64th Cataphract Brigade to bring the rebels to heel. Vazquez however proved to be a poor choice. As a member of the Phoenix Society, a secret brotherhood of reform minded army officers, Vazquez was deeply committed to political change. Seizing the initiative, Vazquez and most of his soldiers joined the mutineers and began marching north to Madrid. This sudden turn of events caught the Spanish government completely off guard and they panicked to assemble a hasty defense.

On February 11, Vazquez and his forces reached the capital. Civilian protests and improvised roadblocks prevented the government from receiving adequate reinforcements. Many of regime’s troops either deserted or defected to the rebels. Only the Spanish Royal Guard mounted a serious defense when it contested the Palacio Real de Madrid, which was heavily damaged during the fighting. On February 16, the Spanish court decamped by helicopter to Seville where troops loyal to the crown had already crushed an uprising. Two day’s latter, Vazquez and a number of political dissident groups including socialists, democrats, technocrats, and even some monarchists wishing for a Bourbon restoration announced the formation of the Second Spanish Republic in a televised address.

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Flag of the Second Spanish Republic​

Over the next month and half, Royalist and Republican forces fought each other across Spain as both sides scrambled to secure key terrain and major population centers. The Republicans were aided by various Basque and Catalonian separatists who wished to craft a better position for themselves in a new Spain. By the end of March, the rebels had captured a swath of territory in the northeastern part of the country although sizable pockets of Royalist troops remained such as those in the army’s garrisons along the Pyrenees Mountains. Meanwhile, the Carlist government operating out of Seville, had brought reinforcements from Spanish Sahara and planned for a spring offensive to regain the capital in what it hoped would be a decisive victory.

Approximate territory controlled by rebels as of 1 April 1983​

 

[rick007]

John Sedgwick (1813-1878)

Born on September 13th, 1813, in Cornwall, Connecticut, John Sedgwick joined the Military Academy at West Point in 1833. After graduating in the middle of his class in 1837, Sedgwick became a 2nd Lieutenant in the Artillery. He went to Mexico where he was brevetted twice. After Mexico, he transferred to the cavalry, where he served in Kansas, Utah and in various Indian conflicts.

When the Civil War started, Sedgwick was assistant Adjutant General for the Military District in Washington, D.C. Promoted to Brigadier General in August 1861, he started his service in the Army of the Potomac. Eventually, he commanded the II Corps and then became commander of the Army of the Potomac and finally General in Chief for the entire army.

After the Civil War ended, Sedgwick resigned his commission to run for the governorship of Connecticut, which he easily won. In 1868, after serving four successful terms (since this was in the days when Connecticut's governors served one year terms) Sedgwick was nominated for President of the United States by the Republicans, which he won.

Though his two terms in office brought much needed stability and healing (and in the case of Santo Domingo more land) President Sedgwick had numerous disagreements with many of the people that he worked with. When he left office in 1877, President Sedgwick was glad to have served his country.

However, that happiness was short lived as the war with Spain proved. While giving a speech in support of the war on January 5th, 1878, President Sedgwick collapsed of a heart attack and died. He was 64 years old.

Samantha Greenburg (1980-)

Born to Jewish parents in New Orleans, Louisiana, April 14th, 1980, Samantha Greenburg quickly became interested in film. After graduating from film school in 2002, Greenburg started to direct TV episodes including the pilot for The Casebook of Mabel Collins in 2005. Soon after that, Greenburg was hired to direct her first feature film, a biopic called: Soldier Blue about the life of John Sedgwick during his time in the army. When it was released in 2006, it received many awards including the Best Director Griffith for Greenburg.

Greenburg then made several more movies about historical figures including The Last Stand about Geronimo in 2008, To The Last! about Susan B. Anthony in 2010 and 2014's What Glitters about Sally Jones, a saloon keeper in Gold Rush era Yukon. Recently Greenburg made waves by coming out as a lesbian. In the same interview she revealed that her partner's name is Rachel Herschlag.

 

[rick007]

First, happy belated fifth anniversary everybody!

George Armstrong Custer (1839-1905)


Born in New Rumley, Ohio, December 5th, 1839, George Armstrong Custer was raised in Michigan and Ohio. In 1858, he went to West Point where he proceeded to have one of the worst conduct records the academy had ever seen earning a total of 726 demerits. As a result he graduated last in his class and would have been posted to some obscure post had it not been for the Civil War.

During the War, Custer was promoted to Major. After the war, he started fighting Indians on the plains. One day, in 1873, he was hunting buffalo with some of his command and he was lining up the shot, pulled the trigger and accidently shot his horse in the head (that's not comedic writing, folks, that actually happened). Shortly after this incident, Custer was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.

Four years later, Custer was at war again, this time with Spain in Cuba. In command of the 3rd U.S. Cavalry Regiment, Custer lead several charges, including the ill advised final charge into Havana. Though he was made Brigadier General after this he resigned from the army in November 1878.

Custer spent the next 14 years with his wife, Libby, and five children trying various business ventures and failing. Then in 1892, the Ohio Democratic machine contacted Custer about running for governor of the state. He agreed and won two terms. In 1896, taking advantage of President Hill's decision not to run again and Vice President Palmer's decision not to run at all Custer ran for the Democratic nomination for President, which he won as he did the Fall election.

President Custer's term in office is controversial to say the least. While admitting Mahetane and Sequoyah and the Military Reform Act of 1897 were good things, he also made the Depression of 1897 worse with his protective tariffs. As a result President Custer lost the 1900 election to Robert Todd Lincoln in a landslide.

In his later years, Custer became bitter often lashing out at everyone who disagreed with him. George Armstrong Custer died March 13th, 1905, at age 65.

Josefina Guzman (1970-)

Born in Santiago, Santo Domingo, February 13th, 1970, as Josefina Duarte, Guzman was born to a poor family. Raised a Catholic, she went to Catholic schools most of her life. Earning a scholarship to study law at Harvard in 1990, it was there that Josefina met her future husband Pablo Guzman, whom she married on March 7th, 1994.

Admitted to the bar soon after, she returned to Santo Domingo. Practicing Civil Law, she won several high profile cases. In 2000, Josefina decided to run for the Senate. A moderate Democrat, she managed to win with 66% of the vote. Now in her third term, Josefina Guzman has announced that she is running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016.

 

[Mac Gregor]

Finally done. Here is a quick update on Serbia. Big thanks to Lalli for the flag. Let me know what you think.

Name: Kingdom of Serbia
Capital and Largest City: Belgrade
Population: 17,291,000 (1980)
Official Language: Serbian
Official Religion: Serbian Orthodox Church
Demonym: Serbian
Government: Authoritarian Monarchy
Head of State: King Milos I
Head of Government: Prime Minister Dusko Kasun
Formation: June 9, 1883
Currency: Serbian Dinar

Brief History of Serbia 1860-1985

Serbia achieved de facto independence from the Ottoman Empire following a bloody revolution in 1815 but was not officially recognized as independent until after the Russo-Turkish War of 1879. The Kingdom of Serbia came into existence on June 9, 1883 when Milan Obrenovic, the Prince of Serbia, was elevated to king. King Milan I ruled Serbia for the next 17 years, during which tensions between the surrounding powers of Turkey, Russia, and Austria-Hungary threatened to consume the tiny kingdom. After his death, Milan’s son and successor Alexander led Serbia into the Great War by declaring war on the Ottoman Empire on October 23, 1907. During the Great War, Serbia suffered greatly at the hands of the Imperial Entente being wedged between Austria-Hungary and Turkey. At the Battle of Pristina the Serbs lost 38,000 men over the course of two days. Belgrade even came under siege by the Turks in December of 1908 undergoing serious damage until Russian forces arrived to relieve the city in May of 1909. Emerging victorious with the rest of the Coalition of Free Nations, Serbia’s territory more than tripled by the time the ink was dry on the peace treaties. Serbia now encompassed a sizable swath of territory including the former Austrian provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as lands gained from the Ottomans such as the Kosovo Vilayet. These new additions made Serbia the most populous nation in the Balkans. King Alexander strove to unify his country by promoting a strong Serbian/Orthodox identity. While this worked well with the majority Serb population, the nation’s minority communities of Bosniaks, Albanians, Macedonians, and Croats often chaffed at their marginalization. In 1920, King Alexander’s only surviving child Princes Katarina married Prince Mirko the eldest son of Nicholas I of Montenegro. In the decades following the war, significant progress was made with a growing economy and one of the best electrification programs in Europe thanks to inventor and later Minister of Science Nikola Tesla. In 1947, King Alexander I died and was succeeded by his son-in-law Prince Mirko thus establishing a personal union between Montenegro and Serbia under the new house of Petrovic-Njegos-Obrenovic. Once on the Serbian throne, King Mirko I pushed a Pan-Slavic ideology on his country. He cemented close ties to Russia becoming a founding member of the Orthodox Council in 1963. While still technically independent Montenegro became little more than a Serbian province. King Mirko died in 1968 and was succeeded by his eldest son Milos. During the 1970s, Milos ordered an ambitious naval buildup including the missile frigate St. Sava. In recent years, King Milos and the ruling National Serbian People’s Party that supports him have stepped up persecution of political dissidents and ethnic and religious minorities souring relations with neighboring Albania, Croatia, and the other members of the German led Association of European States. In 1983, King Milos officially merged Montenegro with Serbia. The title "Prince of Montenegro" was bestowed on his heir Nickolas.

 

[Mac Gregor]

The Iberian Crisis

January – March 1983

Flag of the Kingdom of Portugal

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Portugal

After fleeing to the Azores in November of 1982, the royalist government of Premier Miguelito Luiz Fernades sought to mount a counter attack as soon as possible. Unfortunately, this meant pulling troops out of ongoing operations in Portugal’s colonies reversing any gains that had been made against African rebels over the past three years. By late February, a hastily assembled armada of 25,000 men and three dozen ships formed in the Azores and Madeira. Command was given to the 41 year old Prince Fernando who had considerable military experience leading troops in India during the Asia-Pacific War. Fernando wished to strike back as soon as possible to prevent the rebels from consolidating their position. On March 5, the ad hoc task force landed in southern Portugal near Portimao. The choice of landing in southern Portugal was fiercely debated by the royalists due to the south being a hotbed of rebel sentiment. Eventually, it was the fact that landing in the south allowed for better air cover from royalist pilots flying out of Madeira that carried the day. The speed of the royalist return caught the rebel forces by surprise. Prince Fernando was able to quickly head inland and in the span of a few weeks was within 40 miles of Lisbon. However, his advance quickly ground to halt after rebels put up a valiant defense at the Battle of Montemor-o-Novo. The front line soon began to stabilize, but both sides were plagued by guerrillas operating behind their lines. In a letter to his father King Manuel III, Prince Fernando regretfully stated that it might take months or even years to recapture the entire country.

Foreign Reaction

The Iberian Crisis forced many governments to choose sides. Below is quick rundown of the major players.

Pro-Rebels: The Turin Pact, consisting of France and Italy, was without a doubt the biggest supporters of the Portuguese and Spanish rebels. While some of this was due to ideology as France and Italy were both outspoken supporters of republicanism and liberal democracy, a larger factor was probably geo-politics. If Spain and Portugal could be democratized they would make valuable additions in a Western European block to rival the more conservative German dominated Association of European States (AES). While neither France nor Italy recognized the new governments in Madrid and Lisbon yet, both turned a blind eye to funds, supplies, and volunteers going towards the rebels. In early March, France and Italy froze billions of dollars of Spanish and Portuguese assets in order to constrain the cash flow aiding the royalist regimes. Outside of Europe, the left wing government of Brazilian President Nereu Pinto openly sympathized with the rebels and acquiesced for several companies of volunteers to begin training for service overseas.

Neutral: With the notable exception of Brazil, most of the nations in the League of American Republics officially took a neutral stance on the conflict in Europe. While public opinion largely favored the rebels, few wished to become involved in another conflagration so soon after the Asia-Pacific War. American President Margaret Stewart offered her services to mediate an end to the conflict but was rejected. The British Commonwealth took a similar stance and despite their long-standing alliance with Portugal would not aid either side in the conflict.

Pro-Royalists: Unsurprisingly, royalist forces in Spain and Portugal were supported by the worlds’ more conservative monarchies. The German government of Chancellor von Ritter painted the rebels as a reincarnation of the bloody Hungarian communist revolt of 1916 and vowed to help “the legitimate governments regain control of their rightful territory.” The IEF also favored the royalists but limited their aid to subsidized petroleum and discounted weapon sales. ​

 

[Mac Gregor]

The Iberian Crisis

April – December 1983​

Spain

After the chaotic first quarter of 1983, both sides braced themselves for what would turn into a long and bloody war. In Seville, King Juan IV appointed Xavier Felicaino de la Rosa generalísimo of the Royalist forces. De la Rosa formulated a three-point plan to regain the country. The first point was to dramatically enlarge the forces fighting for the crown. This included conscription as well as attracting foreign mercenaries and volunteers. There was no shortage of these with literally millions of recently demobilized soldiers around the world form the late Asia-Pacific War. Second, de la Rosa intended to starve the Rebels into submission wherever possible. To accomplish this de la Rosa ordered the destruction of crops and livestock in Rebel held areas and converting merchant shipping into armed vessels in order to blockade the coastline. Lastly, de la Rosa informed King Juan and the Royalist Prime Minister Emilio Sagasta that a quick assault to retake Madrid could not be mounted at this time. Instead de la Rosa decided to bide his time until his forces were superior to the Rebels. Leon was surrounded in order to prevent reinforcements and supplies from reaching the besieged Rebels.

In September, the Royalists launched a brutal assault against the coastal city of Valencia. The fighting would last for more than two weeks. Ultimately, it was the devastating fire of the Royalist navy that forced the Republicans out of their urban barricades. Video footage of Royalist troops executing captured Rebel fighters caused outrage around the world as did similar videos of Republicans hanging civilians deemed to be helping the Royalists. While the Rebels lost ground in the south, by the end of 1983 they managed to capture nearly all of the Royalist garrisons along the Pyrenees. This greatly eased supplies coming over the boarder form France. During this time, France with the aid of the International Humanitarian Association set up a number of refugee camps running from Bayonne to Narbonne. Sadly, by the dawn of 1984 each side held roughly the same amount of territory as nine months before despite hundreds of thousands of casualties and millions of civilians displaced.

Portugal

In Portugal, forces loyal to the shaky regime in Lisbon held onto power despite Royalist guerrillas capturing several towns in the northeastern part of the country. In order to make further headway, Prince Fernando convinced his father and the Royalist government to strip the last of their remaining forces from their colonies stating, “We can have Portugal or Africa, but we cannot have both.” Unsurprisingly, African rebel movements seized control of Angola and Mozambique within weeks of the Portuguese withdrawal. In Guinea, a ceasefire was reached with elections planned for the following year. In Goa, the municipal authorities under Gopal Sahani announced the creation of the Republic of Goa comprising the enclaves of Goa, Daman, and Diu after the Portuguese officials left unmolested. The new republic was quickly recognized by the Commonwealth of Madras as well as the Republic of India. East Timor, São Tomé and Príncipe continued to remained in Royalist hands. Bolstered by these reinforcements, Prince Fernando was able to link up with pro-Royalist forces in the north. By December, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Portugal was limited primarily to the cities of Lisbon, Porto, Braga, and their environs.

As in Spain, foreign weapons and fighters continued to poor into the country. One of the most effective Republican outfights was the Free Lusitania Brigade comprised mostly of Latin Americans and Europeans. The Royalist employed the soon infamous King Alphonse Battalion that included a number of Japanese mercenaries some of whom, such as Captain Hiroshi Nishimura, were wanted for war crimes.

Flag of the Republic of Goa​

 

[Mac Gregor]

Hey everyone, while 1983 was dominated by the civil wars in Spain and Portugal here is a quick look at some other developments around the world. Cheers!
​

1983

Domestic and Foreign Developments​

During 1983, the Union of Gulf Emirates and East Africa became fully independent nations. East Africa opted to remain inside the British Commonwealth. The UGE decided to pursue a different path, although it continued to maintain strong security ties with Britain.

In the spring, Janssen Computing Machines (JCM) unveiled the JCM Nebula-83 a revolutionary home computer. Deemed to be far more user friendly and capable than previous modules, the Nebula-83 would become the bestselling home computer to date. Although this success further cemented JCM as the leader in computer technology rival firms such as Vantage Industries and the German owned Dimendberg Corporation would mount effective challenges to JCM as the decade wore on.

Per the agreement made during the 1977 Cape Town Conference, Hong Kong and Macau were formally handed over to the Technate of China by the end of 1983. While the critically overstretched Kingdom of Portugal had much bigger concerns, many in the United Kingdom sought to renegotiate the deal made with China in order to retain Hong Kong. In the end, neither Chinese Chief Executive Heng nor British Prime Minister Bates-Morgan wished to spend any political capital to revise the arrangement.

The 1983 World’s Fair was held in the South African capital of Willemstad, the first time an African Nation hosted a World’s Fair. Newly elected Prime Minister Thomas Xingwana of the center right Citizen Bond party and King Edward VIII presided over the opening ceremonies.

On July 24, the German government under Chancellor von Ritter announced that it would mediate a peace settlement between Belgium and three of the four largest Congolese rebel factions. The delegates began meeting in Vienna in August. While no treaty had been reached by the end of the year, domestic pressure in Europe and a series of rebel reverses pushed both sides to arrive at a workable solution.

In September, a Technocratic government under Muzammel Sayem came to power in Bengal with the clear backing of Peking. The formation of the Technate of Bengal came after years of political deadlock and violent street clashes since Chinese forces liberated the region in 1978. Ultimately, it was money and weapons from China that allowed the Technocrats to defeat the Islamic nationalists loyal to former ruler Mohammad Hamid and the various democratic factions.

On Christmas day, Harper News Network (HNN) debuted becoming the second 24-hour cable news network. Harper Media Incorporated, HNN’s parent company and the owner of the magazine Harper’s Weekly, sought to compete with Andre Brooks’ immensely profitable World News Corporation (WNC).

 

[Mac Gregor]

The Iberian Crisis
“The Year of Blood”
1984 ​

Portugal

In what proved to be a slow plodding campaign of urban fighting, Portuguese forces loyal to King Manuel III retook the cities of Porto and Braga after ferocious street-to-street combat that lasted for months. The rebel forces of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Portugal became increasingly fractious as the Communist League and the Front for Democracy accused each other of sabotaging the war effort. By December, Prince Fernando was preparing for the final assault on heavily defended Lisbon. Unfortunately for the Royalists, pro-Republican guerrillas still roamed the countryside making it difficult for Prince Fernando to concentrate his forces.

Spain

As in Portugal, 1984 proved to be the bloodiest year of the conflict. For the Royalists, German equipment including assault rifles, vehicles, and helicopters allowed them to retake Leon in February. However, this would prove to be the high water mark for the Monarchists. In the spring, the Republicans mounted a large offensive in the center of the country capturing Avila, Zamora, and Salamanca effectively splitting the country in two. In September, an attempt by the Monarchists to push the Republicans back ended in failure thanks in part to Franco-Italian supplied MC-9 anti-cataphract missiles. Rebel guerrillas continued to gain strength and by the end of the year had made communication and resupply extremely difficult for the Royalists. The rebels even managed to regain Valencia after fierce fighting that left much of the historic city destroyed.

While the war ebbed and flowed in Spain, arguably the key turning point of the conflict occurred in Africa. In October, Sultan Yusef II of Morocco made a deal with the rebel government in Madrid. In exchange for entering the war against the Royalists, all Spanish territory in North Africa would be ceded to Morocco including Tangiers, Cueta, Melilla, and Spanish Sahara. The Canary Islands would remain Spanish. While some in the Provisional Republican government disapproved, most including Vito Rolando Vazquez, now the leading rebel general, approved under the conditions that Sultan Yusef keep the agreement secret and guarantee not to molest the Spanish inhabitants. On October 17, the Moroccan Army struck. Already depleted due to requirements in Iberia, the garrisons fell within 72 hours. In the south, Spanish Sahara was secured a few days later. In Seville, the Royalist government was furious labeling the Moroccans as “Moorish mercenaries” at the beck and call of the rebels. While King Juan IV tried to play off the setback as ultimately inconsequential, the seizure of Spain’s North African territories had some very tangible results. Tangiers was not only an important Royalist shipping center but housed several military depots and currency reserves crucial for the war effort. Monarchist efforts to retaliate proved futile and cost Seville a number of its dwindle supply of aircraft. In a very tense exchange, Germany’s Mediterranean squadron threatened to shell Moroccan positions until a joint Franco-Italian naval demonstration made Berlin stand down.

 

[Mac Gregor]

1984

Foreign Developments ​

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After months of debate, the Vienna Peace Conference finally concluded in late March. The resulting peace treaty required compromises from both sides. Belgium was allowed to retain most of the Congo but forced to turn it into a dominion or sorts guaranteeing basic human rights, a fair degree of self-government, and allowing for a referendum on independence in ten years’ time. The rebels were granted a small state of their own, the Independent Congolese Republic (ICR). With its capital in Goma, the ICR’s western border roughly followed the Lualaba River. While this was a much smaller territory than the rebels had hoped for, after nine years of war and a string of defeats most rebel groups were willing to settle. The exception was the Congolese People’s Revolutionary Movement (CPRM) which refused to settle for anything less than full independence for the entire Congo. The CPRM would continue to carry out attacks against European and ICR forces for years to come. Chancellor von Ritter declared the war “a stunning victory for Belgium, the German Empire, and the Association of European States.” Many however felt that the end result didn’t justify the huge financial cost, the 36,000 European casualties, and the deep social divisions caused in German society. Total estimates of Congolese casualties range anywhere from 200,000-330,000 people.

In June, the colonies of the British Virgin Islands, Turks, Cacaos, Leeward and Windward Islands were merged to form the West Indies Confederation. The new confederation delegated considerable autonomy to the various constituent islands, with a federal parliament located in Bridgetown on Barbados. To the south, the island of Trinidad, which was deemed too large to merge with the West Indies Confederation, was granted dominion status in November.

During the summer, the IEF space program announced its plan to conduct a manned Venus flyby within 5 years.

On October 30, the formation of the Technocratic Union was declared in the Chinese city of Chungking. Composed of the Technates of China, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, Assam, Bengal, Bhutan, and Sikkim, the Technocratic Union (TU) joined other supranational alliances such as the League of American Republics and the Orthodox Council. The TU’s charter declared that it would “share Technocratic values, government, and science” around the world. Many felt that the TU was just a guise for China to spread its ideology of Krulikist-Hengism. Needless to say, the TU’s formation did little to assuage the fears of China’s neighbors.

In November, the Norwegian film Norsemen by director Tor Amundsen was released becoming an international hit. While technically not the first use of computer generated imagery in a movie, Norsemen is notable for its impressive computer generated landscapes of Valhalla.

Having seized control of their respective countries after the withdrawal of Portuguese forces the previous years, the newly independent nations of Angola and Mozambique stumbled to form new governments. By the end of the year, Angola had established a shaky parliamentary republic under a coalition government. Sadly, Mozambique quickly descended into civil war as the various political parties and rebel factions failed to reach any sort of compromise.

Flag of the African Republic of Angola
The five arrows represent the "five virtues" of the republic; independence, self reliance, justice, progress, and unity.​

 

[Mac Gregor]

William Seward Lincoln
1877-1936

Called “Billy” by most of his family, William was the third child of Robert Todd Lincoln and Frances Adeline "Fanny" Seward. Born in 1877, William would follow in his father’s footsteps attending Harvard where he studied business. Unlike his father and older brother, William had a reputation for being a bit of a rake often getting into disciplinary trouble with the faculty. After graduation William soon secured work, with the help of his family’s impressive connections, at the prestigious Durant Railroad and Telegraph Company in New York City. During the Great War, William served a brief stint in the navy as a staff officer in Washington D.C. In the years after the war, William was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt to help oversee newly acquired Panama as the deputy territorial governor. William would spend nearly 12 years in Panama where he became a fixture of Panamanian high society until revelations about his womanizing prompted his wife Myrtle Carnegie to divorce him in what became a massive tabloid scandal. After leaving Panama, Lincoln held a variety of other jobs before eventually settling as a board member for Conestoga Motors an important American auto manufacturer. William eventually remarried Sarah Farrand, a woman 19 years his junior. William died in 1936, at the age of 59. The cause of death was officially listed as “a weak heart” but rumors of alcoholism or even syphilis circulated. His older brother Abraham Lincoln II gave his eulogy stating “Billy’s life may have been relatively short, but it was no doubt a full one, with all the ups and downs, highs and lows the world has to offer.”

 

[Mac Gregor]

1984 Presidential Election ​

With a decent if not great economy at home and a hard won peace abroad, many thought that President Margret Stewart would seek a third term as president. President Stewart however opted not to run again, stating that she “wished to go out on top.” The Democratic nomination soon became a three-way contest between Vice President Hudson Accardo of Florida, Governor Benjamin Norwood of Dakota, and Senator Andrew Peatross of New Jersey. While Vice President Accardo was the natural frontrunner his reputation was severely tarnished in the 1982 Lake’s Crossing gambling scandal despite being acquitted. Governor Norwood represented the socially conservative isolationist wing of the Democratic Party and wooed voters by promising to stay out of any troubles overseas, especially in Iberia. Senator Peatross was a labor union champion and favored revitalizing American manufacturing. 1984 is remembered by historians as arguably the first presidential election where both parties’ candidates were decided by the recently empowered primaries and caucuses and not at the national conventions. Peatross secured his party’s nomination after sweeping Delaware, Rhode Island, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, and Maryland in April.

Andrew Peatross

Andrew Lynn Peatross was born on February 25, 1927 to working class parents in Newark, New Jersey. Peatross put himself through college at Rutgers University by working nights at a New Brunswick railyard. In the following years, Peatross rose to prominence as a labor organizer before being elected as a state senator at the age of 31. Peatross, married the same year and eventually had three children with his wife Cassidy. The New Jersey legislature selected him as a United States Senator in 1979. Charismatic and affable, Peatross was adept at working crowds. His working class background was integral to his common man imagine making him a favorite or poor and lower middleclass Americans.

The Campaign

The 1984 presidential election saw a variety of third party candidates divide the electorate. Jarrod Baumgartner and his American Technocratic Party launched a spirited campaign but failed to gain traction as the public was increasingly worried about Technocratic China’s waxing influence. The Ecoist Alliance, a small but growing environmentalist party, nominated Tracy Harlow and gained a spirited following with conservationists, young voters, and anti-nuclear activists. However, it was eccentric businessman McKenzie Lovett who garnered the most votes for a third party candidate brandishing a virulent strain of rightwing populism.

The Republican Party nominated Bobby Wentz the competent if not somewhat boring Governor of Ohio. Wentz however, was often overshadowed by his running mate Abraham Lincoln IV a freshman congressman from Illinois. The Republicans’ calls to contain China’s rise and increase funding for the space program did little for an American populace who was largely content to enjoy peace and quiet after years of war. This played well for the Democrats, who ran on a simple platform of paying down the wartime debt and protect American jobs.

Andrew L. Peatross
Democrat from New Jersey
35th President of the United States​

The Results

On election night, Peatross and his running mate Chris Groce of Absaroka failed to secure a majority of the popular vote. However, with such a divided electorate the Democrats easily won a majority of the Electoral College making Andrew Peatross the 35th President of the United States.

​

 

[Mac Gregor]

The Iberian Crisis

1985: Peace in Portugal​

For the first four months of 1985, the Royalists under Prince Fernando made slow but steady progress as they cordoned off Rebel controlled Lisbon from the rest of the country. However, the Republicans pushed backed each thrust into the city with considerable loss of life for both sides. Conditions inside Lisbon deteriorated as food, medical supplies, and ammunition ran dangerously low. Desiring to end the war before the Spanish Republicans secured their country and could intervene in Portugal, Prince Fernando formulated a plan. If he could split the Republican camp, a negotiated peace might be reached. The two largest factions in the Republican government the Communist League and the Front for Democracy had grown increasingly hostile towards one another as the war dragged on. In a meeting in Dublin mediated by the British Commonwealth, representatives from the Front for Democracy met secretly with Royalist envoys. The Royalists offered amnesty to the Rebels if the Republicans would lay down the arms and swear allegiance to King Manuel III. The Front for Democracy countered that any peace settlement would be contingent on the transition to constitutional government. After two weeks of negotiations a tentative agreement was reached. Manuel III was to be reinstated, Royalist Premier Miguelito Luiz Fernandes would be dismissed and forbidden to return to mainland Portugal, all Rebels who swore allegiance to the crown would receive a pardon, those who refused would be allowed to emigrate to a country of their choice unmolested, free and fair elections for a new parliament and constitutional convention were to be held by 1987. Britain, Portugal’s ally since 1386, guaranteed the terms and agreed to act as a peacekeeper until a new government could be established.

A bloodless transition however, proved impossible to achieve. News of the conference leaked to the Communist League in besieged Lisbon. What followed, has become known by a variety of names but in Portugal is most commonly referred to as the noite das granadas “night of the grenades”. For three days, the pro-peace Front for Democracy fought the irreconcilable Communist League in the streets. Per their agreement, the Royalist did not interfere in the partisan bloodletting. On June 3, the remaining elements of the Rebel government publicly announced that it would agree to the terms as discussed in Dublin. British troops landed the following day to secure the city. After 32 months of war, the conflict was effectively over. The rest of the year saw an uneasy peace settle over the devastated country. Prince Fernando, who had over the course of the war effectively taken control of the Royalist government, saw that the Monarchists adhered to the peace terms to the consternation of the hardliners. In the Azores, Premier Fernandes was imprisoned after refusing to step down. Unsurprisingly, he would die before the end of the year reportedly from stomach cancer. All told, an estimated 206,000 Portuguese died in the war. A further 295,000 fled the country. Portugal had lost its empire, but saved its monarchy. It would be up to Prince Fernando and the Republican remnants to forge a new Portugal.

Democratic Socialist Republic of Portugal
1982-1985​

 

[Mac Gregor]

The Iberian Crisis

1985-1986: The Two-Spain Solution​

As the war in Spain entered its third year, the Republicans had regained the momentum against the Carlists. In one of the largest battles of the war, the Republicans mounted a two-pronged thrust towards Murcia in the dead of winter. The Royalists managed to check the attack but not without suffering heavy losses. Over the spring and summer, Rebel General Vito Rolando Vazquez concentrated on securing Galicia. Cut off from the rest of Royalist Spain, Galicia nonetheless fought on tenaciously. The important city of Vigo was only captured after a heavy bombardment by the Rebels. By the fall, the Monarchists under the command of Generalissimo Xavier Felicaino de la Rosa were reduced to Andalusia, Murcia, parts of La Mancha, and the Balearic and Canary Islands. The German led Association of European States continued to support the Royalists, but the pro-Republican Turin Pact was able to out supply them due to proximity and the availability of overland routes across the Pyrenees. In November, the Republicans finally captured Murica after three weeks of bloody street-to-street fighting. The winter of 1985-1986 proved deceptively quiet. General Vazquez prepared for the final push to capture Cordoba and the Royalist capital of Seville. The Carlists not only readied their defenses but also planned for a contingency if the war seemed loss.

On March 28, the Republicans launched their long planned offensive towards Seville. Armed with cataphracts, helicopters, and a large number of improvised armored vehicles, the open terrain of southern Spain helped the Rebels carry the day. Cordoba fell by the end of April. Seeing the writing on the wall, the Monarchists decided to flee as the Republicans arrived at Seville. With German assistance, King Juan IV and his ministers decamped for Palma in the Balearic Islands. Other Royalists, both military and civilian, escaped to the Canary Islands. The Republicans had finally secured all of mainland Spain.

As the Republicans lacked a true navy, seizing the Canary and Balearic Islands proved beyond their reach at the time. As such, a ceasefire went into effect on June 13. Neither the Republican government in Madrid nor the Royalist government in Palma recognized each other and both refused to sign a comprehensive peace treaty. The creation of “two Spains” however, would prove a headache for many foreign governments in the years to come as they had to decide which one to recognize. Still most were simply glad to see the bloodshed stop. Out of Spain’s 39 million prewar population up to 900,000 had been killed and 3 to 4 million had fled abroad.

Spanish Republicans celebrating in Barcelona
June, 1986​

 

[Mac Gregor]

1985

Foreign and Domestic Developments ​

In February, Wesley Schwimmer a famed documentarian from Massachusetts released For the Greater Good a film describing eugenics in the Technate of China. The movie described government imposed abortions, sterilizations, and euthanasia all in the name of “technocratic progress.” Compiled using smuggled video footage and the testimony of Chinese defectors, the film became one of the most controversial films of the 1980s. The official response from the Chinese government stated that the documentary misrepresented Krulikist-Hengism, China’s ruling Technocratic ideology. A host of others in the western world, especially the religious left in the United States, called for economic sanctions until China reformed their policies. Despite some protestations, few governments took any concrete steps on this matter. However, it did mark a further deterioration of relations between the Technocratic bloc and the democratic world.

On June 6, Danish mountaineer Teodor Kjeldsen and Sherpa Temba Gelu became the first people to ascend Mount Everest the tallest mountain on Earth. Earlier expeditions by the United Kingdom in 1931, Switzerland in 1944, and Germany in 1954 all ended in failure. Restrictions imposed by the Nepalese government and disruptions caused by the Asia-Pacific War delayed further attempts. King Christian XI knighted Teodor Kjeldsen upon his return to Denmark.

In the wake of Britain’s successful mediation to end the Portuguese Civil, War Prime Minister Cledwyen Bates-Morgan called an early general election. As expected, Bates-Morgan and his Liberal Party easily retained control of the government. Bates-Morgan announced that his reelection was proof that Britons believed in his plan to decrease the UK’s massive wartime debt by making cuts in defense and shrinking its imperial footprint. The Tories and Imperial Progressives naturally decried the Liberal’s record stating that they were overseeing the “steady destruction of the British military and dissolution of the British Commonwealth.”

During the fall, Halleckville based Delphi Industries unveiled the first commercially successful mobile phone the Mobi99x. Delphi Industries would dominate the American cellular phone market until the late 1990s eventually leading to all mobile phones to be colloquially referred to as “mobies”.

On December 11, the heads of government of seven nations in southern India announced the formation of the Community of South Asian States (CSAS). Composed of Madras, Hyderabad, Ceylon, Travancore, Mysore, Goa, and the recently independent Maldives, this new organization relaxed tariffs, eased travel restrictions, and guaranteed each member’s territorial integrity. Burma, Siam, and Malaya signed on as observers in a move that displayed solidarity against the growing threat of the Technocratic Union. As many of these nations were either British dominions or allies some opposed CSAS as just another form of colonialism. Although the UK did support CSAS, in reality Madras was the economic and military heavyweight of the alliance and served as its undeclared leader.

Flag of the Sultanate of the Maldives​

 

[Mac Gregor]

Here is the world map circa December 31, 1985. Enjoy.

 

[Mac Gregor]

There is more accurate alliance map with keys.

Good job Lalli. I made a few small changes. This is the alliance map as of the end of 1986. Please note that Royalist Spain has joined the AES. Madras and Ceylon are striped because they are members of both the British Commonwealth and CSAS. Bhutan and Sikkim were added to the Technocratic Union. I added Afghanistan as Persian ally although it is far more independent than Baluchistan, Punjab, or Sindh.

 

[Mac Gregor]

1986

Foreign and Domestic Developments

Flag of the State of Papua​

On February 19, the territory of Papua was admitted as the Federation of Australia’s seventh state. Extensively damaged during the Asia-Pacific War, Papua voted for statehood in part to speedup reconstruction. Gus Watson was sworn in as premier a few weeks later at a ceremony in the capital city of Fairburn.

In April, the comic strip Martin and Hugo by cartoonist Will Bartman appeared for the first time in the Atlanta newspaper Daily Intelligencer. Centered around the escapades of the young boy Martin and his friend Hugo the lion, Martin and Hugo would over the next few years gain a dedicated following in America and in several countries overseas.

1986 proved to be a watershed year for politics in Europe with elections in Germany, France, and Italy. In Germany, the German Democratic Union (DDU) gained control of the government for the first time, ending eight years of Conservative rule albeit with a very slim majority. The DDU leader Hermann Lasker became the first Jewish chancellor of Germany despite some very raucous anti-Semitic protests. Lasker promised to end the military adventurism that defined his predecessor Ulrich von Ritter’s time in office and concentrate on improving social programs. In France, Marcellin Linville and his National Republicans were returned to power after helping secure a Republican victory in Spain. In Italy however, the ruling Christian Labor government was toppled by the center-right Resurgence Party after an election related scandal forced President Crescenzo Veronesi to resign.

During the summer, a number of groups stepped up acts of civil disobedience in the Imperial Eurasian Federation’s Muslim majority territories to protest the heavy handed Russo-centric policies of Prime Minister Bronislav Mihaylov. The most prominent of these groups was the Turkic People’s Vanguard chaired by the charismatic lawyer Ismail Fitrat from Bukhara. When local authorities refused to reign in the protestors, Imperial troops were sent in to restore order. By the end of the year, hundreds of dissidents had been jailed including Ismail Fitrat and a number of cities spent months under martial law. Despite the situation eventually returning to normal the episode further widened the growing divisions between the IEF’s Russian and non-Russian subjects.

On September 13, Nigeria became a fully independent country inside the British Commonwealth. Unsurprisingly, Joseph Ukiwe the elderly prime minister who had led Nigeria since gaining dominion status in 1973, was retained by voters to head the government. Despite the boon of a vibrant oil industry, tensions between the Muslim north, Christian south, and separatist Biafra region continued to threaten the stability of the country. To the east, Chad was granted Dominion status but a disagreement over power sharing exacerbated a long simmering revolt along the north bank of the Ubangi River. Unwilling to deploy additional troops, British Prime Minister Bates-Morgan left it to the Chadian government to subdue the south with unimpressive results.

In December, the alternate history novel The Butterfly Emperor by Mexican author Jesus Barbosa Conejo was released. Set during the late 1800s in a world where Mexico is an expansionist empire, the novel explored several themes regarding imperialism, race relations, organized religion, and the notion of societal progress. The novel quickly became an international bestseller and sparked a number of squeals. It was later adapted into Spanish and English language films in 1988 and 1995 respectively.

Map from The Butterfly Emperor circa 1870​