'Tis Time To Part (Version 2.0)

PCSwitaj

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
-Samuel Beckett, "Westward Ho", 1983

While hopefully we shall avoid that last bit, the only way to find out if you'll fail a second time is to start again after the first attempt. So, with that in mind - it's back:

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PCSwitaj

Prolouge: Join or Die, Live and Learn

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Join or Die​
Friday last an Express arrived here from Major Washington, with Advice, that Mr. Ward, Ensign of Capt. Trent's Company, was compelled to surrender his small Fort in the Forks of Monongahela to the French, on the 17th past; who fell down from Venango with a Fleet of 360 Battoes and Canoes, upwards of 1000 Men, and 18 Pieces of Artillery, which they planted against the Fort; and Mr. Ward having but 44 Men, and no Cannon to make a proper Defence, was obliged to surrender on Summons, capitulating to march out with their Arms, &c. and they had accordingly joined Major Washington, who was advanced with three Companies of the Virginia Forces, as far as the New Store near the Allegheny Mountains, where the Men were employed in clearing a Road for the Cannon, which were every Day expected with Col. Fry, and the Remainder of the Regiment. -- We hear farther, that some few of the English Traders on the Ohio escaped, but 'tis supposed the greatest Part are taken, with all their Goods, and Skins, to the Amount of near 20,000 pounds. The Indian Chiefs, however, have dispatch'd Messages to Pennsylvania, and Virginia, desiring that the English would not be discouraged, but send out their Warriors to join them, and drive the French out of the Country before they fortify; otherwise the Trade will be lost, and, to their great Grief, an eternal Separation made between the Indians and their Brethren the English. 'Tis farther said, that besides the French that came down from Venango, another Body of near 400, is coming up the Ohio; and that 600 French Indians, of the Chippaways and Ottaways, are coming down Siota River, from the Lake, to join them; and many more French are expected from Canada; the Design being to establish themselves, settle their Indians, and build Forts just on the Back of our Settlements in all our Colonies; from which Forts, as they did from Crown-Point, they may send out their Parties to kill and scalp the Inhabitants, and ruin the Frontier Counties. Accordingly we hear, that the Back Settlers in Virginia, are so terrify'd by the Murdering and Scalping of the Family last Winter, and the Taking of this Fort, that they begin already to abandon their Plantations, and remove to Places of more Safety. -- The Confidence of the French in this Undertaking seems well-grounded on the present disunited State of the British Colonies, and the extreme Difficulty of bringing so many different Governments and Assemblies to agree in any speedy and effectual Measures for our common Defence and Security; while our Enemies have the very great Advantage of being under one Direction, with one Council, and one Purse. Hence, and from the great Distance of Britain, they presume that they may with Impunity violate the most solemn Treaties subsisting between the two Crowns, kill, seize and imprison our Traders, and confiscate their Effects at Pleasure (as they have done for several Years past) murder and scalp our Farmers, with their Wives and Children, and take an easy Possession of such Parts of the British Territory as they find most convenient for them; which if they are permitted to do, must end in the Destruction of the British Interest, Trade and Plantations in America.
Benjamin Franklin, The Pennsylvania Gazette, May 9, 1754


25 August 2008
Gilbert Hall Rm. 200
Shippensburg University
Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
United States of America

Sean Calder shifted uncomfortably in the old wooden desk, an exhausted face staring back at him from the window he sat next to. Mondays were going to be the end of him, he just knew it. Only the first day of classes sophomore year and he already sat through three of them, starting at eight in the morning, with giant gaps of time in his schedule but none large enough for a decent nap to keep him going. Instead, he found himself exhausted, sitting in his weekly night class/lecture as the rain continued to fall outside. Even the subject covered in the class added to his uncaring mood. Though he was a history major, he didn’t have any real interest in the topic of this particular class; in truth, he had only reluctantly signed up for it when his first choice, United States Contemporary History, had filled up. There were a handful of students, twelve including himself, which seemed to be the limit for the small old room, which still lacked any modern classroom necessities. And on top of that the six (six!) textbooks needed for this class, the reputation of the professor that you couldn’t just skip out on the books for this course, and the fact that they already had to have read a few primary sources (brought to his attention via a notice posted in the book store) just seemed to be a string of bad omen after bad omen. Truly, if there was any way for this class to get worse, Sean just couldn’t think of it.

He snapped out of his thoughts as the professor strode into the classroom, wet from the rain but without a coat or umbrella, and tossed his bag onto the desk in the front of the room. Stopping in front of the chalkboard to grab a piece of chalk he quickly scrawled out, in handwriting barely legible: HIS402 THE FORMATIVE YEARS OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLICS – Dr. Eric Ward. His task complete, the man turned on his heels and scanned the classroom quickly before breaking out into a wide grin.

“Well, I’m surprised to have a full class, knowing my reputation and all. Before I’m completely overwhelmed at the site let’s get started. Like it says up on the board, I’m Dr. Eric Ward and this is The Formative Years of the American Republics. Hopefully you will either love or learn to love this class. Or you drop it before the two week withdrawal window ends, whichever is the best course for you. This will not be your standard weekly night class: I refuse to stand up here and talk to you for two and a half hours. I’d get bored, you’d be bored, you wouldn’t learn a thing, you’d fail, and it would be a big waste of time for everyone and money for most. Instead, you’ll be the ones talking: I will lead us in a roundtable style conversation on the topics of the week, and keep us on course, but you’ll be the ones contributing and sharing based on the readings.”

As if remembering something, he quickly rushed over to his bag and pulled out packets of paper all stapled together – the syllabus. He glanced around the room again as he began to hand them out, and Ryan swore his eyes had some sinister sparkle in them when Dr. Ward looked at him.

“So, since this is our first meeting things will be a little rough, so I’ll talk more than I usually do until you get the hang of it. Consider this one a freebie…alright, let’s start with an exercise: off the top of your head, right now – what do you know about Benjamin Franklin?”

Sean found himself surprised at how quickly the class flew by, as well as at how much he was actually enjoying it. They covered a wide range of topics, Franklin and colonization to the Indians and French and British, but everything all flowed together smoothly, easily understandable and all helping to form a larger picture. The class now at an end, Dr. Ward stood up in front of the students and began to speak, walking around the group circle they had formed with their desks.

“Join, or die – it’s a short, simple phrase combined with a picture of a dismembered snake. It was part of an article written by Franklin, of course, although focus is almost exclusively on the phrase and image when it comes to teaching history. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that until today none of you even knew that there was an article at all. It made a nice image in a textbook and nothing more to you. But to Franklin, this was his attempt to communicate his beliefs in the need for a colonial union to both the common man and the genteel elite alike. We need to understand this document, then, in two ways. The first is as the masterful piece of propaganda that it is, perhaps the first editorial cartoon in the history of American media. Granted, it’s not flashy, it’s not something that you will find being used during the election right now, but it was still important to us. This leads to the second way to view this: it is, in the end, an important primary source document, allowing us to not only see the issues and concerns of the day, but how such matters were conveyed at the time and if we can find any parallels to the world today. Everything that the country and even the world faces today can be traced back to the actions taken during the time period covered in the class. Now this was published in The Pennsylvania Gazette over 250 years ago, and obviously a lot of events have taken place between then and now. We can’t cover everything; otherwise, you will learn nothing, and this would be a waste of your time, my time, and your parent’s money. However, by looking at the 1750s and moving forward to the turn of the nineteenth century you will hopefully understand not only the history of the period a little bit more but also gain knowledge and understand about some of the institutions still in place today, as well as other topics whose roots date back to the period. I do hope that you’ll enjoy this class, we seemed to tonight. Please check your syllabus for the material covered next week, and make sure you read what I’ve asked you to – otherwise the discussions will be uninformative, one-sided, and the lack of participation will hurt your grade. And trust me; I will know who hasn’t read. I’ll see you all next week!”

As he walked back out of the building into the cool evening air, the rain having passed through, Sean reconsidered his previous thoughts about the class. In the end, it might actually turn out to be a worthwhile and interesting class after all…
 

PCSwitaj

Act One: I Heard The Bullets Whistle (1752-1763)

“I heard the bullets whistle, and, believe me there is something charming in the sound.”
-George Washington, 1754

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PCSwitaj

Excerpt from “European Colonization of North America” by Thomas Bolton (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1990)

In fact, one could quite possibly make a successful argument that the root of the development of North America post contact, and perhaps even the how such development impacted the rest of the world, can trace its roots back to the colonization strategies and demographics of the three main colonizers. All three – the Spanish, the French, and the English[1] – saw North America differently and acted accordingly, resulting in vastly different outcomes.

For the Spanish, primary focus centered on their holdings in the former Aztec and Incan empires, the heart of their new North American empire. While the first permanent settlement in North America was establish by the Spanish in Florida (St. Augustine, 1565), this colony, along with the Californias[2] and New Mexico[3], were a sparsely European populated area known as the Borderlands, an area where Spanish influence was present but not the level of control seen in Central and South America. In the case of the latter two, the degree of native resistance, such as the Pueblo Revolt[4], and the failure to find a comparable level of mineral wealth as found in the core of the colonial holdings hampered consolidating efforts and resulted in a general lack of interest in the regions. In some ways, this can be seen in the boundaries of Florida; while the Spanish were the first to colonize and had claims at their height stretching into what is today central Georgia as well as the Savannah River, over time the English were slowly able to move in to the point where the current borders were established, in part due to a lack of interest on the behalf of Spain until it was too late for any other outcome. In the end, the Spanish presence in North America was primarily military or missionary outposts, serving a strategic and religious significance. With the threat of encroachment from the Atlantic and the English and French, and from the Pacific by the English and Russians, the Spanish maintained a small number of forts in the hopes of keeping out her rivals from not necessarily the Borderlands, but the true heart of her colonial empire farther south. Meanwhile, missionaries spread the gospel according to the Catholic faith; while the spreading of religion is a matter until itself, in some small part it may not have hurt knowing that if a population would convert then it would provide one more difference between themselves and the Spanish compared to any potential English or Russian advances into the region.

While the Spanish focus in North America was in the south and nonexistent to some extent, the French originally concentrated much farther to the north, in the Saint Lawrence River valley. With the founding of Quebec (1608) and Montreal (1642) French control was firmly established within the valley, both cities acting as two anchors on each end. Here in New France, success was based upon the highly profitable fur trade conducted, in partnership, with the local native tribes in the region. Over time, adventurous traders, the coureur des bois[5] and the voyageurs[6], made their way farther and farther into the interior of North America, establishing trading relations with countless native nations and increasing the profitability of the colony. Jesuit missionaries also spread out across the interior in an effort to convert the population to Catholicism, and after adding in the claims of the Mississippi River valley in 1682, which would be strengthened with the establishment of the port of New Orleans in 1718, the French now held influence over a vast stretch of territory, from the Saint Lawrence to the Great Lakes and down the many rivers to the Gulf of Mexico[7]. What the colonies lacked, however, were permanent settlers; while hunters, traders, and missionaries arrived in the New World, only a relatively small number of immigrants came and settled, despite the efforts of the government. In many ways, the French colonial effort remained economic first and foremost.

While both France and Spain claimed large amounts of territory, and thus by only judging using a map would seem to have been in a strong position, demographically the reality was quite different, as they were unable to attract large enough amounts of settlers to put a firm hold on their claims. For the English, meanwhile, the opposite held true: while the English colonies hugged the coast of Hudson Bay and only extended as far as the Appalachian Mountains along the Atlantic coast, within its boundaries lay an ever-growing diverse population of settlers. High birthrates, with the average number of children per household ranging from five to eight, as well as high levels of immigration from Europe meant that unlike the efforts of the Spanish and French the English were able to have occupants to the lands that they claimed. The differences are readily evident when comparing the French and English settler population numbers for the fifty years before the French and Indian War. From 1700 to 1750 the French population increased from 15,000 inhabitants to 75,000, with most settling in the Saint Lawrence River valley. Meanwhile, the European population in the English colonies exploded, from 250,000 to 1.5 million spread across all the colonies[8]. Confined to such a small space between the Appalachians and the Atlantic, it was only a matter of time before movement westward would take place.

Excerpt from “Colonial America: The British Colonies” by Peter O. Davidson (Philadelphia: National, 1990)

By the beginning of the 1750s British officials and American colonists alike had cause to be wary of their colonial surroundings and situation. For the most part, the British colonies still hugged the Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia in the north to the newest colony, Georgia, in the south. There had been some progress moving into the interior, especially in the Middle Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay colonies where settlement as extended as far as the slopes of the Appalachian Mountains. Other areas, however, extended no more than a hundred miles inland in locations, often only reaching as far as the fall lines of the major rivers in the area, the river rapids preventing movement farther upriver.

Although these geographical limitations were gradually being tamed, the colonies still had to contend with the geopolitical realities of the time. They were surrounded on three sides by potentially hostile neighbors; with vary degrees of serious threat. Although she had declined as a dominant colonizing power, thought was still given to the Spanish presence in the south in Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. By this point the British focus was more on the French, whose vast network of forts, outposts, and settlements dominated the system of rivers and lakes in the continental interior, from the St. Lawrence southwards through the Great Lakes and Ohio and down the Mississippi until it emptied into the Gulf of Mexico. Complicating issues further were the overall lack of settlers within the French domain, the focus seeming to be to establish small settlements and trading posts for the fur trade throughout the interior. This peaceful, and nonintruding, trading policy resulted in friendly relations and alliances with several of the local Native American tribes in the area, which only served to provide another potentially hostile enemy for the British.

Of course, war was not an uncommon occurrence in the Americas for the British colonists. In fact, three wars had already taken place between Great Britain and France that involved action in the Atlantic colonies: King William’s War (1689-1697), Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713), and King George’s War (1739-1748)[9]. Territory in North America had even changed hands between the two sides, as the British gained Acadia and Newfoundland in the aftermath of Queen Anne’s War. No such exchange took place following the end of King George’s War, despite the successful capture of the strategic fortified town of Louisbourg by New England colonists in 1745[10]. Wars had been waged between the French and British before, but neither had been able to strike a fatal blow in North America.

Now, less than ten years after the end of King George’s War, tensions between the two powers commenced anew as hostility, and a sense of finality, picked up. In 1752, a French raid on a British trading post at Pickawillany[11], along the Great Miami River, drove the Pennsylvanians from not just the site but from the Ohio Valley and the trade game in the region. The following year, the French began a southward push from Lake Erie towards the Forks of the Ohio, constructing forts along the way. The French claimed the lands as being part of the watershed of the greater Mississippi River system[12]; the colonists saw the lands as a place to move and settle on[13], away from the ever developing coast. Something had to give, and yet again the British and French seemed poised for conflict in the lands of North America.
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[1] And later the British, although this author has decided to stick with just the English and England, thank you very much

[2] Made up of at least the OTL US state of California (known as Alta California) and the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. While later incarnations of Alta California would include lands belonging to the OTL states of Arizona, Nevada, Utah Colorado, and Wyoming, those would not be added on until past the POD

[3] Created in 1598 by Juan de Oñate, it contained most of what is now OTL New Mexico as well as lands farther to the west

[4] After fifty years of Spanish interference around what is now Santa Fe, the native Pueblo drove out the Spanish from the area, killing around 400 colonists in the process. The Spanish were driven out for twelve years and only restored authority in 1692

[5] French for “woodlands runner”, these men were the actual traders who ventured into the wilderness to conduct trade with the various tribes in the region, including the Ottawas and Miamis. Both IOTL and ITTL there is a legacy about them, found mostly IOTL in Quebec, although it is not as strong as that of the voyageurs, the reason for which I could only fathom a guess

[6] French for “traveler”, these men played the role of transporting the furs by canoe during the fur trade era. Out of the two mentioned above, the voyageurs play more of the folk hero role than their trader counterparts

[7] Informally divided into two sections, and further informally divided in half again. See Map 1.1b for the vague boundary lines

[8] Thanks in part to those high birth rates mentioned earlier as well over 350,000 European immigrants during that fifty year period

[9] These are the names given to these conflicts in North America; in Europe, they are known as the War of the League of Augsburg, the War of the Spanish Succession, and the War of the Austrian Succession

[10] While a point of contention on behalf of the New England colonists, the status quo ante bellum peace meant that the British regained their fortification in Madras, India which had been captured by the French in 1746. Oddly enough, the Count of Maurepas, Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux, pushed for the French to regain the fort, much to the detest of many in France who would rather have kept their gains elsewhere

[11] Located at the site of the modern OTL city of Piqua, Ohio, the raid served two purposes: to drive the Pennsylvanians out and to serve as a show of force to other tribes in the area who may have been considering siding with the British in the area

[12] As part of their claim in 1682

[13] Something that they were doing before the war in small numbers, against the law in some instances, which will be covered in a future update
 
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PCSwitaj

Attached is one of the maps for this update, showing the extent of the French, Spanish, and British claims and colonies in eastern North America. The map is, itself, somewhat selective in the material presented, since my sources varried greatly in what was setteled, controled, influenced, and claimed, with the French perhaps disavantaged since most maps do not show a density style fill like with the British colonies but rather a single marker for major forts. I've tried to find a good balance between all of my sources

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PCSwitaj

Faeelin said:
I'm looking forward to where you are taking this, as always.
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Docmagnus said:
This is good; I subscribed so as to get a heads-up on everyone else.
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Thank-you both very much, hopefully you'll enjoy were this is heading.

In other news, I just realized I never posted the second map, so I will do that tomorrow. It's a similar map, just also shows the borders of the British colonies in question (and the appox. ones for the French) as well as a few cities and other locations of note.

EDIT: And better late than never, here is the second map from this update. The next update will be up in a day or two, I was lucky enough to find the minutes of OTL's Albany Congress so I am taking note from it to beef up the entry on what happens ITTL's version. In anyone has any questions about the TL or maps feel free to ask.

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PCSwitaj

Excerpt from “Colonial American Politics 1660-1775” by David W. Norton (New York: Perennial, 1999)

In reaction to the growing tension with the French, and the possibility that warfare may bring in several of the Native American tribes in the region, representatives from several northern and middle colonies met in Albany, New York from 19 June through 11 July 1754. These delegates, attending what has since become known as the Albany Conference[1], were tasked to resolve two separate but related issues: to persuade the Iroquois Confederacy to side with the British in event of war against France and to coordinate the joint defense of the colonies should such a war break out.

While the first time colonial representatives met with such a task before them in the eighteenth century, it was not the first time that such a venture had taken place. In fact, some New England colonies had formed a loose association, known as the New England Confederation, in the 1640s primarily for the purpose of a united defense. A more centralized attempt at union took place in 1686 when King James II placed all the colonies from the Delaware River to Penobscot Bay under a single governor. The effort, known as the Dominion of New England, failed within a few years due to size and an unlikable governor, helping to unite the colonies only in their distaste for his rule. Those arriving in Albany hoped to emulate the Confederation, rather than the Dominion, though both would have lasting impressions on politics and government in the region.

As for the two tasks at hand, it was actually a coordinate effort at defense which seemed the more likely of the two to be accomplished. The Iroquois had maintained a policy of neutrality since 1701, refusing to side with either of the two European powers, and had benefitted from the arrangement. Without somehow managing to convince the Iroquois that they would be better off on the side of the British, it seemed the best they could get were guarantees that they would maintain their neutrality. Meanwhile, there were high hopes for securing an agreement on common defense. Representatives from seven colonies were in attendance: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. More importantly, several of the prominent men of the colonies were in attendance; Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania[2], Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts[3], and Philip Livingstone of New York[4] all added an aura of importance and a sense of inevitable accomplishment for both of the tasks. Instead, the conference failed miserably on both fronts.

Excerpt from “The Conference at Albany” by Eric Ward (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 2007)

A precursor to the fate of the conference, serving almost as an omen for the outcome, was the illness of Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts. One of the big names who planned to attend the conference, Hutchinson would become ill on the 23rd of July, after only a few days in Albany. Suffering from a severe case of food poisoning, he would remain in Albany with the hopes of recovering in time to re-attend the meetings. Instead, he remained in poor health, and only after recovering slightly did he head back to Boston for more bed rest and recuperation. Fortunately for Hutchinson, he would recover from this health scare and continue on with his political career[5].

Meanwhile, the delegates remaining in Albany fared no better than their departed companion. For the majority of three weeks, the delegates meet twice a day (save Sundays) with themselves and with representatives of the Iroquois. Despite listening politely and taking part in the discussion on the matter with the representatives from the colonies, the Iroquois in the end saw no reason to abandon their policy of neutrality in European conflicts, which had seen them successful navigate between the British and French since they adopted the policy in 1701. There were some in attendance who would be worried about the possibility of the Iroquois siding with the French when the next conflict (inevitably) arose, but this position was minor compared to the overall feeling that the delegates had been unable to convince the Iroquois that siding with them was a better option, and assumed that they would stick to their original neutral stance. Relations between the two sides had failed to change[6].

What the Albany Conference is truly known for, however, is the utter failure at the attempt of mutual colonial defense amongst the colonies, to such a point the relations between some of the colonies actually worsened. In later years some of those in attendance, including Conrad Weiser of Pennsylvania[7], would use this fact as the reason that the Iroquois decided not to side with Britain at the conference[8]. Most historians point to the introduction by Benjamin Franklin of his “Plan of Union” to his fellow delegates, calling for an intercolonial legislature with the power of taxation to be based in America. This went above and beyond what officials in London had given their backing to for the conference, the establishment of united colonial defensive efforts. While it is possible that some in attendance took offense to the plan, the colonies had had issue with one another over various topics, from borders to trade; it could have been possible to discussed Franklin’s plan in a calm and careful manner, coming to a successful conclusion regardless of the final decision. Instead, a failure to contain tempers during the discussions and debate with a proper amount of decorum allowed the plan to be the outlet for colonial complaints, and soon tempers flared within the courthouse[9].

The major complaints brought up by the delegates during their sessions without Iroquois representatives would involve conflicting land claims to the interior, much to the chagrin of Franklin. The two main areas of contention were the Green Mountains and the Wyoming Valley. For the Green Mountains, the claims of New York to the region by way of letters patent to Prince Edward were put up against those claims of New Hampshire, who were issuing their own land grants to the area to the protest of New York. While Massachusetts had claims to the region, with the absence of Hutchinson to arguments were allowed to be played back and forth between the other two colonies. The matter would not be resolved in Albany, and would continue to be an issue between all parties involved for decades to come.

Meanwhile, the dispute between Connecticut and Pennsylvania over the Wyoming Valley surpassed the argument for lands farther north. The conflicting claims were a result of a “double granting”, when King Charles II granted the lands in question to Connecticut in 1662 and then again to William Penn for Pennsylvania in 1681, not realizing that the claims would overlap. What made this situation even more critical was the presence of one man, John Henry Lydius, at the conference. Lydius, originally from Albany, had made a name for himself in land speculation, some deals which had gone sour[10]. He attended the conference not as a delegate from New York, where he was from, or Connecticut, who had a stake in the Wyoming Valley, but as a private citizen representing the Susquehanna Company, a venture based in Connecticut whose goal was to purchase land in the valley and settle it by Connecticuters and fellow New Englanders[11].

The conflicting claims and presence for Lydius invoked strong emotions on both sides, and both would rush to come to an agreement with the Iroquois to the lands. On July 6th the Pennsylvania delegation would reach an agreement with the Iroquois for lands in the upper reaches of the colony, but not the Wyoming Valley itself. On the last day of the conference, the 11th, Lydius approached the Connecticut delegation with signatures and documents stating that the Wyoming Valley was open to their settlement efforts. Some chiefs, it would emerge, had signed both documents, which was odd to the Pennsylvanians since their documents stated that the Wyoming Valley would be held for the Iroquois themselves. Soon cries were raised that alcohol, currency, and forgery were behind the Lydius deal, especially after Iroquois representatives told Pennsylvanian authorities that that deal was not valid. The Connecticuters were happy however, and would soon begin to colonize the area[12].

By the end of the conference, even the concept of unified colonial defense would create a regional argument between the New England colonies and her Middle Atlantic brothers. Up to this point, the majority of fighting between the British and French in the New World had taken place in New England, without much help from the more southerly colonies. Now, it was being argued by the New Englanders, that with a significant threat to the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia, that the idea of intercolonial defense was proposed. Such a defense would see New England farmers hundreds of miles away from their farms, defending another colony while leaving their own farms and colonies defenseless to potential attacks later one. Now this issue, like almost every other at the conference, was too contentious and no agreement could be made.

In the end the Albany Conference, called together with the goal of strengthening colonial cooperation, would prove to open old wounds and cause tension instead. What had started out as a grand a noble attempt broke down into arguments and bickering amongst the delegates, strained preexisting colonial relations and severally weakened the ideal of intercolonial cooperation at a level above the colonial governments[13]. And, while only notable due to the events that would follow, it would prove to be a significant event in terms of geopolitics as well. Not only were all major differences contested between a colony from New England on one side and the Middle Atlantic on the other, but not a single colony south of the Potomac River took part in the conference, most notably Virginia[14].
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[1] Or as it is known IOTL, the Albany Congress. Following the less than stellar outcome at this version, the lesser title “conference” has been applied to the meetings.

[2] At this point in time, Franklin had, among other notable accomplishments, established the Pennsylvania Hospital with Dr. Thomas Bond, created the Union Fire Company (the first of its kind), flown his kite, been elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly, and received honorary degrees from both Harvard and Yale – not a bad start to be honest

[3] Hutchinson had served as a member of the General Court and represented Massachusetts in England to solve a border dispute with New Hampshire in 1740

[4] A famous merchant at the time, Livingstone’s name was already quite well known in higher circles in North America. He served as an alderman (local municipal government member) at the time of his arrival in Albany

[5] The initial POD for the timeline; in OTL no such case of food poisoning took place

[6] This part of the Albany Conference is as per OTL’s Albany Congress

[7] Born in 1696, he was a Pennsylvania Dutch pioneer, better known as an interpreter and diplomat between the colony of Pennsylvania and the Native Americans who lived in the colony. He will have a role to play in the future

[8] As we know this is not really the case, as the outcome was the same with the Iroquois even with the success of the Plan of Union at our own Albany Congress. Of course, our historic time twins don’t know that, hence the opinion which has been established

[9] IOTL Hutchinson was a firm supporter and strong player in the discussions and debates about the Plan of Union, helping to craft it into the form approved and sent to colonial legislatures. Without him present, no one has filled the void, allowing the discourse that follows

[10] Including being banished by French authorities in Montreal after being caught trying to bribe a local tribe into illegal smuggling

[11] This effectively makes Lydius the first example of a lobbyist in American politics both IOTL and ITTL. Quite an interesting fellow from what little info I can find on him

[12] This is all OTL up to this point, and will actually be touched on in updates after the French and Indian War ends

[13] IOTL, the failure of the Albany Congress wasn’t the congress itself, which successfully developed a plan for a unified legislature for the colonies. Instead, the failure was from the plan being rejected by all of the colonial governments involved, afraid of losing influence and power to this new legislature. Here however, no agreement ever leaves the Albany Court House, so while it is also seen as a failure as in OTL the reasons and exact failures are different

[14] To be touched upon in a future update
 

PCSwitaj

mowque said:
Those are some awesome maps.
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Thank-you very much; I posted the blank version here, while the original can be found here. It's a great map for the period this TL will cover, although it was not without much blood, tears, etc etc to do the rivers and lake/ocean boundries pixel by pixel to make sure it looked alright...
 

PCSwitaj

Excerpt from “Bloody Ohio Country” by Walter R. Borneman (Pittsburgh: Fort, 2001)

Simply put, the political situation in the Ohio Country on the eve of war was chaotic, a wide host of rival players jostling for control of a region which had grown only more crowded in the past decade. Iroquois negotiators had, in the mid 1740s, ceded vast stretches of land to English colonists for settlement[1]; the land in question, however, was not theirs to give away. In truth, the lands in question were the tribal lands of two of the Iroquois’ subordinate tribes, the Delaware and the Shawnee. Disgruntled, they migrated westward while Virginia land speculators, under the organization of the Ohio Company, moved in from the south to prepare the area for sale and development. The Virginians were not the only Europeans interested in the area, specifically the Forks of the Ohio[2]. Fellow colony Pennsylvania was also interested in expanding westward, while to the north the French saw the region as vital to maintaining their links to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. By selling the land in the first place, the Iroquois had unintentionally turned the region into a powder keg, as Pennsylvania fur traders, Ohio Company representatives, and the French military all made attempts to enforce their claim to the area while the angered Delaware and Shawnee tribes lingered as they continued westward from their former lands. In the end, it was only a matter of time before conflict would break out.

Excerpt from “Nouvelle-France: French Colonies” by Peter O. Davidson (Philadelphia: National, 1990)

In the eyes of the French, control over the Ohio Country was vital to the continued existence of their empire in the New World. The Ohio River, la Belle Rivière to the French, provided a vital link between the upper and lower sections of her North American landholdings while also providing a route of natural transportation for their furs and other trade items down to the port of New Orleans on the Mississippi River. Any type of a permanent British presence within the region would challenge both the economic control over the Great Lakes fur trade and effectively split New France from Louisiana as control of the Mississippi and Ohio would be disputed. A devastating raid on a Pennsylvanian trading post near Lake Erie in 1753 temporarily drove the Pennsylvanians out of the area, but it was not enough; there were still Virginians to contend with and without establishing a strong presence themselves in the area it could still fall into British hands. In the end, the French simply had to act to ensure the land would remain theirs.

Accordingly, beginning in 1753 the French constructed a line of forts stretching southward from Lake Erie to establish control at strategic points and tighten their control over the region. The first two were Fort Presque Isle on the shores of Lake Erie and Fort Le Boeuf, fifteen miles inland at the confluence of French Creek and Leboeuf Creek. The following year they continued downstream, establishing Fort Machault at the confluence of French Creek and the Allegheny River. From here, they would build their fourth fort at the next important location, where the Allegheny River met the Monongahela to form la Belle Rivière: the Forks of the Ohio.

Excerpt from “And the Forest Floor Ran Red: The French and Indian War” by Harold D. Weaver (Pittsburgh: Fort, 2007)

The spot at the forks of the Ohio River had always been a popular and important location for both Native Americans and Europeans. In terms of British interest, William Trent[3], a backwoods Briton, had established a highly successful trading post in the area in the 1740s, conducting a profitable trade with the various Indian villages in the surrounding area. However good the economic situation was for Trent, the British and their adversary the French never lost sight of the strategic importance of the forks, a key for the ensuing conflict.

When news of the French southwardly progress arrived in the Virginian capital of Williamsburg Robert Dinwiddle, the colonial governor in absentia[4], saw a threat to the land claims that Virginians (himself included[5]) held in the Ohio Country and the economic wealth that could come from their speculation by the Ohio Company. In November 1753 he sent a young militia major, twenty-one year old George Washington, to Fort Le Boeuf as his emissary in an effort to get the French to leave the region. Washington would return to Williamsburg on January 16th, 1754 with two important documents: the official French reply in a sealed letter (the answer being “No”, as Washington had been rebuffed by the fort commandant, Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre[6]) and Washington’s own notes, consisting of a journal and sketches of the fort and maps of the area. The French were staying put, but Washington had gathered significant intelligence should the Virginians act. Dinwiddle had a choice to make.

After contemplating his situation, Dinwiddle decided that the time to act had arrived and called out the militia. Overall command was given to Joshua Fry[7]; in conjunction orders were issued for two units of volunteer militia, the first under the command of William Trent and the second under George Washington, newly commissioned as a lieutenant colonel. Trent’s unit was to proceed to the forks with hast and begin construction of a fort; meanwhile Washington was tasked with constructing a road from Virginia to the forks and reinforcing Trent’s men upon his arrival. Fry would be behind with the rest of the regiment once it had mustered, completing the force and taking overall command upon his arrival.

Within a month forty-one men had arrived at the forks and were at work under Trent constructing a small fort, named Prince George[8], while Washington and Fry both made their way through the backcountry. The fort was only partially completed when, in April, a large French force arrived from the north. The outnumbered Virginians, under the temporary command of Edward Ward[9], peacefully surrendered on April 18th and abandoned the site. Fort Prince George was burned to the ground, and in its place a larger, more elaborate fort was built in its place and named in honor of the Governor-General of New France, the Marquis de Duquesne. The French had won the race to the forks and, with the establishment of Fort Duquesne, established their presence in the area. If the French were to be removed, the British would have to take offensive action.
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[1] This author has simplified the issue for the sake of keeping the reader’s interest, with the results unknown. The entire issue was far more complicated; in fact, only some land had been sold for European settlement, while most of the agreements were only for the establishment of trading posts and no permanent settlement. Much like the French, the Iroquois were wary of the great wave of British settlers pouring over the Appalachians and wanted to slow or stop such movement as much as possible. Meanwhile, the Delaware and Shawnee had been forced to move from eastern Pennsylvania, and while in what is now western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio they joined along with other tribes in a pan-Indian movement that was developing at the time with the goal of gaining independence from the Iroquois…as you can see, a lot more complicated than the author makes it out to be

[2] The spot where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers join to form the Ohio – also known as the site of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania today

[3] Born in 1715 in what is now western Pennsylvania (used loosely), Trent was the son of the older William Trent, a prominent merchant and founder of what would become Trenton, New Jersey. Little is known of his life before the French and Indian War, other than his establishment of his trading post and helping colonists settle on the other side of the Appalachian Mountains

[4] The actual governor of Virginia, Willem van Keppel, the 2nd Earl of Albemarle, never set foot in the colony from his appointment in 1737 til his death in 1754. He did, however, receive his annual salary of £1,665. Instead, Dinwiddie ran the colony, exercising a vast amount of power while receiving a significantly smaller salary

[5] In part due to their significantly smaller salaries, acting governors often tried to maximize their income by taking part in land speculation and other money making endeavors. Knowing quite well the situation that the acting governor was most likely in, the shareholders of the Ohio Company offered Dinwiddie one of the twenty shares, holding a cash value of £200, or about $40,000 in 2005 (when the source book was published) or a little over $45,000 today (2012). He also received a share of the future profits of the company as well, providing the incentive to look out for the best interests of the group of land speculators, which also happened to be his own interests as well

[6] Born in Montreal in 1701 and able to trace his family back to famous explorers and the first mayor of Quebec City, Saint-Pierre served in various military roles in New France as well as helping to explore the interior of what is now OTL Canada and the northern US. He had seen service in some of the colonial wars prior to the French and Indian War, including a raid on Saratoga, New York during King George’s War in 1745

[7] Born in 1699 in England, Fry is remembered as being a surveyor, mapmaker, and explorer in Virginia as well as being a soldier and member of the House of Burgesses, the colonial legislature of Virginia. Some of our board members might know him as one of the co creators of the Fry-Jefferson map of Virginia, at the time (1752) the most detailed map of Virginia made with Peter Jefferson, father of Thomas Jefferson

[8] Named after Prince George, the future King George III

[9] The reason for Ward’s command of the force (both OTL and ITTL) will be covered in the next update
 

PCSwitaj

Excerpt from “Young Washington” by James C. Randolph (Richmond: Tidewater, 1998)

While he would gain fame and have success in his later military career, the first true military adventure for Washington started rough and proceeded to only get worse. Before even entering the field he suffered his first setback, having a terrible time in his efforts to recruit volunteers for his regiment. Money was the main issue at hand. The House of Burgesses had only approved a daily wage that was half of that for common labor, to be supplemented by a modest land grant in the Ohio Valley that would only hold if the British were able to defeat the French. It was simply more profitable for men to continue to work in the fields then to join up, something that Washington noted in his journals but could do nothing about[1]. Many men were unimpressed by his offer and refused to follow, putting the young and eager lieutenant colonel in an uncertain situation. By the time Washington reached Wills Creek, he had only 159 men under his command.

Disaster and misfortune continued to follow Washington and those under his command as they neared the Forks. On April 22nd, mere days after arriving at Wills Creek, word reached Washington that Edward Ward, Trent’s second in command, had been forced to surrender to a vastly superior French force under the command of Claude Pierre Pécaudy, the Sieur de Contrecoeur[2]. Trent had handed over temporary control of the fort to Ward while he scoured the area for provisions. The French force, arriving on the 17th, appeared upon the Allegheny River in a vast flotilla of canoes and bateaux, consisting of French, Canadian[3], and Indian allies as well as, to the alarm of the British, at least eighteen cannons. The forty men at the unfinished fort, short on food, arms, and ammunition, viewed the scene in front of them with dread, and Ward took the best course he had available to him: surrender. Fort Prince George was burned to the ground, and the men of the regiment were forced to pull back southwards under Ward’s command. All of this had happened while Washington approached the fort with no word from Colonel Fry or his forces, deliberate hast seemingly abandoned by the overall commander.

With reports about the French entrenching in the north and the lack of news about Fry in the South, Washington found himself in a difficult position as the temporary commander of the force. Sending in his men against a vastly superior force only invited slaughter, but at the same time a retreat from the mission’s objective was not desirable either, since Washington intended to comply with Dinwiddie’s orders[4]. A Council of War was called for by Washington, where amongst his officers it was decided that they would press forward with the assistance of a friendly local Indian force under Tanacharison[5], a local Seneca chief; such aid would help to even the numbers between the French and themselves. The regiment was soon 37 miles to the south of the French at Fort Duquesne, and orders were passed around to dig in and prepare for a possible French attack.

On the morning of May 27th, Christopher Gist[6] arrived in Washington’s camp with word that a French force had passed his trading post around noon the day before. Washington acted immediately, sending half of his men westward to locate them. No reports back to the camp had arrived by that evening, when a Mingo[7] warrior arrived with news of a French encampment to the north of Washington. With half of his force sent off in the wrong direction, and the possibility that the French to the north may be a raiding party against his own camp, Washington set off with a detachment of 40 men in the pouring rain and black of night in an effort to meet up with Tanacharison and his warriors. Finally meeting at dawn the two leaders met in a brief council, deciding to ambush the French before they had a chance to catch the British by surprise. The decision would prove to be historic.

Excerpt from “And the Forest Floor Ran Red: The French and Indian War” by Harold D. Weaver (Pittsburgh: Fort, 2007)

Having fanned out and encircled the camp upon their arrival, the Virginians and Seneca warriors soon closed in on the French camp and prepared for the assault. At seven in the morning on May 28th Washington gave the order to attack. A startled French sentry tried to sound an alarm as he caught sight of Washington rising from his shelter; it did them no good however. The Battle of Jumonville Glen lasted all but fifteen minutes, and was no more than a fierce intensive firefight. When the gunfire finally faded away twelve Frenchmen had been killed, two (including the commander, Jumonville) had been wounded, and 21 captured. The Virginians had suffered only a single fatality and three wounded[8]. Washington had won his first battle, gaining victory in the mountainous Ohio Country. He had also, unknowingly, sparked a global war between empires.
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[1] A common theme that Washington will face again a few years later while the French and Indian War rages on; this will be covered in more detail in that update

[2] Born 1705 in what is now Quebec, Claude-Pierre had both military and legislative experience in New France before taking command of this force in an effort to establish French power in the Ohio Country. His family had extensive landholdings along the Saint Lawrence, something which will impact him at the end of the war

[3] In this context (both IOTL and at this point ITTL) the term Canadian is used for the French colonists and militia in New France, as opposed to French military units from the Continent – similar to Washington being both Virginian and British at this point

[4] Some lines of note from the orders include to “make prisoners of or kill and destroy” and “Offenders” of the king’s authority who “obstruct the works” at the Forks. Such wording could prove interesting or perhaps unfortunate depending on the situation at hand…

[5] Also spelled Tanaghrisson and known as the Half-King, Tanacharison is known by historians as one of two things: an Iroquois viceroy over the Indians of the Ohio Country in fact, or a simple village leader who had been given such a role by the British to help serve their purposes in the area which over time and history had been solidified into truth. Regardless of which one it truly is, it does not diminish his role in the upcoming events

[6] An explorer of the region, Gist is credited with providing the first detailed descriptions of the Ohio Valley to Britain and the colonies in 1751. He is still in the region during Washington’s movements

[7] Mingo was the name given to Iroquois Indians who had moved out of the traditional homelands in New York’s Finger Lakes region and settled into the Ohio Valley

[8] All numbers and outcomes are as OTL
 
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