TL: Children of the Plains of Abraham Revised (A New France & more timeline)

[da Racontor]

Chapter 5: The Mediterranean Sea Theatre​

—c. AD 1803—

“In order to survive the commonwealth had to expand its influence.”
from The Second Commonwealth of England

The Battle of Elba [43] [lxxi]​

Unfortunately for the continental monarchies, they were on the defensive in a war that they had officially declared, and were without a true plan. What plan they did have was simply to cut off all trade with England from the continent. Most nations did agree to this trade ban. But many weaker economies only agreed officially and turned a blind eye to any smugglers still willing to make the trip.

The first thing that England did was put its navy to use. Blockading important French and Spanish ports. It also attempted to resurrect the Golden Age of Piracy by offering letters of marque to anyone with a ship and willing to plunder Spanish trade routes. Third, with the help of Corsican ports, England landed soldiers on the Mediterranean islands to protect the local republican movements. Many of these soldiers would be drawn from the North American states. The Balearic Islands, Sardinia and Sicily would all succeed in being liberated with English help. And under English supervision, they would set up their own independent republican governments. These governments would differ slightly from the system used in England. All three new republics would function as sister republics to the English Commonwealth. Their main military goal would be to disrupt as much trade in the Mediterranean as possible. The Balearic Republic was the most like a puppet state. Sardinia and Sicily both had movements fueled by emigration from other parts of Italy that they were able to create their own governments. But the Balearic Republic was completely constructed by England. And even though it had a Spanish president, he was much too young to effectively run the country and England simply dictated what he should do.

The English Commonwealth did attempt to establish several footholds on the continent itself. But none of them were successful. England could not commit all its infantry to a single invasion point. So, any attempt was quickly overwhelmed by that country’s entire army. Unlike previous wars, England could not rely on continental allies or mercenaries divide their foes attention.

***​

	Balearic Republic​ República Baleares (spa)
	Flag of the Balearic Islands [lxvii], Mark of the Balearic Islands [lxxii, lxxiv], & Location of the Balearic Islands (rose) [xxxix]​
Motto:	“Esperanza, Juventud, Crecimiento” (spa) (Hope, Youth, Growth)​
Capital:	Palma
Official language:	Spanish
Common language:	Catalan
Official religion:	Deism
Demonym:	Balearic
Government: • President​ • Vice President​	Unitary presidential constitutional republic Rafael del Riego Baldomero Espartero
Legislature: • Upper house​ • Lower house​	Congress Senate House of Representatives
Currency:	Balearic dollar ($)

	Sardinian Republic Repubblica Sarda (ita)
	Flag of Sardinia [lxvii], Mark of Sardinia [xlviii], & Location of Sardinia (rose) [xxxix]​
Motto:	“Libertà, Virtù, Eguaglianza” (ita) (Freedom, Virtue, Equality)​
Anthem:	“The Sardinian Patriot to the Lords”
Capital:	Cagliari
Official language:	Italian
Common language:	Sardinian
Official religion:	Deism
Demonym:	Sardinian
Government: • Director​	Unitary presidential directorial republic Carlo Guiseppe Guglielmo Botta
Legislature:	Legislative Assembly
Currency:	Sardinian dollar ($)

	Sicilian Republic Repubblica Siciliana (ita)
	Flag of Sicily [lxvii], Mark of Sicily [xlviii, lxxiii], & Location of Sicily (rose) [xxxix]​
Motto:	“Unione, forza e libertà!)” (ita) (Union, Strength, and Liberty!)​
Capital:	Palermo
Official language:	Italian
Common language:	Sicilian
Official religion:	Deism
Demonym:	Sicilian
Government: • Director​	Unitary presidential directorial republic Carlo Lauberg
Legislature	Legislative Assembly
Currency:	Sicilian dollar ($)

---

Endnotes

43. OTL: The Destruction of “L’Orient” at the Battle of the Nile.​

Spoiler: Citations

lxxi. (Arnald, 1825-1827)​

lxxii. (Modified from source: Glasshouse, 2011)​

lxxiii. (Modified from source: Glasshouse, 2012)​

lxxiv. (Modified from source: Glasshouse, 2016)​

​

Spoiler: Credits

Arnald, George. The Destruction of "L'Orient" at the Battle of the Nile. 1825-1827. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Battle_of_the_Nile.jpg. Accessed 18 May 2022.​

Glasshouse. Royal Monogram of Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. 25 February 2011. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Monogram_of_Bernhard_III,_Duke_of_Saxe-Meiningen.svg. Accessed 18 May 2022.​

Glasshouse. Royal Monogram of King Albert of Saxony. 27 August 2016. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Monogram_of_King_Albert_of_Saxony,_Variant_2.svg. Accessed 18 May 2022.​

Glasshouse. Royal Monogram of Sarah, Duchess of York. 21 April 2012. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Monogram_of_Sarah,_Duchess_of_York.svg. Accessed 27 May 2022.​

​

 

[da Racontor]

So, I did not plan on having the next chapter until Sunday. Nor did I plan on posting a chapter about Quebec on Saint John the Baptist Day (in truth because its also the Feast of the Sacred Heart this year I forgot about it until just now). But since everything has lined up.

Joyeuxe Saint-Jean-Baptiste!

---

Chapter 6: The Battle for Québec​

—c. AD 1778 – AD 1803—

“They fought not just for the distant King of France, but for their own homes.”
Children of the Plains of Abraham

Capitulation of Montréal [44] [lxxv]​

During the French Civil War, all immigration to New France was halted. After the war, immigration returned and was bolstered by French who had lost their livelihood during the war and had nothing else to lose. Immigration from Bavaria continued as there were still people not wanting to live under Austrian hegemony who had not be able to flee before the war. But after the founding of the English Commonwealth, the largest group of new immigrants were from the British Isles.

While the commonwealth was ostensibly kinder to Catholics than the monarchy, most Irish did not trust them. Especially after hearing what happened to Catholics in the French Republic. When England began promoting Unitarianism in Ireland suspicion was high. The Irish resisted many of the reforms, which made the commonwealth regard them as hostile. Because of the commonwealth was hostile to the Scottish identity many Catholic Scots snuck away to New France. A few English Catholics also braved the trip to New France but they did not go in significant numbers. There were no boats from Britain to New France and going was illegal. So, making the journey to New France was long and dangerous, especially after war was officially declared.

When Louis XVI originally opened immigration to New France for non-French Catholics, what he wanted to happen was for the immigrants to settle and then become francized. As such there was no legal barrier to their settlement in the cities. But the language barrier did not make it easy and not all the New French welcomed the new commers. So, the immigrants moved further west. There they founded the eventual cities of Niagara-sur-la-Lac [45] and Toronto. Both towns did have French speaking populations. This would lead to the creation of strong ethnic enclaves in both cities.

§​

Unlike the French Civil War, New France was not able to avoid conflict. While American states of England sent most of their soldiers to supply the invasion of the Italian Islands, their primary goal in the war was to eliminate any competing powers in North America. Instead of the traditional tactic of Invading New France and attacking Québec directly, General Hull planned his invasion to travel through allied Indiana and attack through the sparsely populated region of Upper Canada before taking Montréal and finally Québec. This route was used during the Five Years’ War but it was not the route of the main attack force.

Gen. Hull began his invasion in July and proceeded almost unhindered until they reached Montréal. While reports of the English army were made to the Marquis de Lotbinière (the new Governor General of New France), he had largely dismissed them. He thought the reporter were either the result of the high tensions or a diversionary force. He fully expected the main invasion army to attach Québec first and hard. Montréal fell in a few days as it had very few defenses prepared and only had militia forces stationed there. Upon hearing of the fall of Montréal the Marquis de Lotbinière mobilized his personal guard to harass the English with the help of their Amerindian allies and other militia. Moving the regular military units would take more time. All regiments in New France were nationalized with the rest of the French military during the reforms of the Duke of Talleyrand.

When the English troops reached the walls of Québec in August, the city did have some time to prepare. The French army met the English in the field at the Battle of Québec. Despite the continued militarization of New France, the French army had not seen any action since the Five Years’ War. The English army, on the other hand, had seen continual skirmishes with Amerindians. After a short and disorganized battle, the French line broke forcing them to regroup further down the Saint Lawrence River. After watching their army flee, the city of Québec surrendered on the 13th of October. With winter coming the French army made no attempts to recapture the city, they only reorganized and fortified themselves.

The English set up a colonial government. While the colonial government did not outright ban the Catholic Church it did remove all its influence form the government. Attempts were made to remove the seigneury system but they found that it was too entrenched to just declare it abolished. Instead, they implemented regulations preventing children from inheriting their father’s property trying to force the system into a slow death.

***​

Endnotes​

44. Depicts a different event from OTL.​

45. OTL: Niagara-on-the-Lake.​

Spoiler: Citations

lxxv. (Unknown)​

​

Spoiler: Credits

Unknown. Capitulation of Montreal. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Capitulation_Montreal.jpg. Accessed 28 May 2022.​

[Edit: Noticed an issue with dates. Fixed.]

 

[Deadtroopers]

This isn't constructive at all

It isn't meant to be; except in the sense of "Do something more worthy of your talent."

 

[Mister Mister]

So New France is finished? Sad.

 

[da Racontor]

So New France is finished? Sad.

New France is occupied, nobody said anything about being finished. 🙂

 

[Mister Mister]

New France is occupied, nobody said anything about being finished. 🙂

Considering the English naval strength, I don't see how France could get it back.

 

[da Racontor]

Considering the English naval strength, I don't see how France could get it back.

There are other ways for New France to survive, and maybe even become French territory again.

 

[PGSBHurricane]

There are other ways for New France to survive, and maybe even become French territory again.

Well, we'll just have to wait and see.

 

[da Racontor]

Well, we'll just have to wait and see.

Spoiler: Spoiler

I do have this part planned out already. I just hope that it doesn't turn out too anticlimactic.

 

[Mister Mister]

Spoiler: Spoiler

I do have this part planned out already. I just hope that it doesn't turn out too anticlimactic.

We'll see.

 

[da Racontor]

Chapter 7: The Cherokee War​

—c. AD 1795 – AD 1804—

“A commonwealth protectorate did not mean protected from the commonwealth.”
The Five Tribes

Charge of the Horsemen at Cherokee Forest [46] [lxxix]​

When commonwealth was created not everyone was happy with it. Many hid their discontent for fear of retribution. Other fled to other countries. One individual, William Augustus Bowles [a], decided create his own nation. William Bowles was a Maryland Loyalist during the Columbian Conflict. He had married the daughter of a Muscogee chief and became an influential individual in the tribe. The State of Muskogee was mostly made from Muscogee and Seminole tribes, though they did not turn anyone who fled to them away. Indiana and England mostly ignored them. Muskogee was much too small to bother with when they were fighting the French. However, the state did cause trouble for the Spanish in Florida by raiding and pirating ships.

§​

Because Indiana was a protectorate of the English Commonwealth, when England mobilized for war so did Indiana. Since Indiana did not have any form of formal miliary service many Amerindians protested the war by not joining the army. The small size of the Indianan Army had an unintended consequence through. Many accused the Indianans of being sympathetic to the French. In order to eliminate the dissenters, the American states sanctioned militia raids on Indianan villages. As many of the able-bodied men were fighting in Canada or Europe the militia raids were mostly older men and outlaws.

When the militias destroyed Indianan villages, they usually claimed the land the village was on. This pushed the Amerindians away from the eastern Indianan border. One of the tribes that was hit the worst by the raid was the Cherokee. The Cherokee knew that mounting a counter attack would only bring the full military upon them So, the Cherokee started attacking other Amerindian lands further west to find new places to settle.

Those tribes that the Cherokee displaced began to raid other tribes further west. Those displaced tribes even attacked tribes in Mississippi, which they were nominally at war with due to it being a French protectorate. Despite being subject to those attacks, the Chickasaw blamed all their troubles on the French, who they were never content being their protector. They declared allegiance to Indiana and to the English Commonwealth, if not only to spite the French. Because of the fighting in New France, no French soldiers were sent to fight the Chickasaw.
Although it was nominally still in existence, Mississippi ceased to exist as a political entity.

The Iroquois where also hit hard by the raids into Indiana. Unfortunately, the Iroquois had already been suffering under similar conditions for quite some time now. Many fled to New France or assimilated into other tribes. What was left of the Iroquois Confederacy was nothing more than a rump of its former self, which did not even include their traditional homelands.

§​

In the Caribbean the English navy was constantly harassing the vessels and colonies of the Second Coalition. The English even began to issuing letters of marque specifically to harass French and Spanish trade routes in the region. The piracy was so prolific that Spain was having trouble communicating with its main colonies in South America, and life in the South American colonies grew much harder. France ended up conceding all the island of Hispaniola to the Haïtian revolutionaries just so that they could protect the rest of their sugar colonies from English raids.

Even though Haïti won its independence, its existence would not be peaceful or easy. The first thing the new nation did was slaughter all Europeans still on the island. The massacre would also be killed anyone who tried to help the Europeans escape or hide. A result Haïti’s entire population of clergy would also be wiped out, effectively killing Roman Catholicism in the country, a void the Haïti Vodou would fill. Most people would still consider themselves practitioners of both, but since there were no priests, Catholic practices would soon disappear. In the absences of a stable government, revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines would declare himself Emperor Jacques I .

§​

	State of Muskogee​
	Flag of Muskogee [lxxviii], Arms of Muskogee [lxxvi], & Location of Muskogee (tan) [xxv]​
Motto:	"Liberty or Death"
Capital:	Mikasuke
Common language:	English & Muskogean languages
Common religion:	Roman Catholic
Demonym:	Muskogean
Government: • Director-General​	Oligarchic republic William Augustus Bowles
Legislature:	Chamber pf Deputies
Population:	50,000–60,000
Currency:	Muskogean wampum (¤)

​

	Empire of Haïti​ Anpi an Ayiti (hat)
	Flag of Haïti, Arms of Haïti [lxxvii], & Location of Haïti (light blue) [xxxix]​
Motto:	“Bondye, peyi mwen, ak nepe mwen” (hat) (God, my fatherland, my sword)​
Capital:	Port-au-Prince
Official language:	Haïtian Creole
Common religion:	Haïtian Vodou
Demonym:	Haïtian
Government: • Emperor​	Constitutional monarchy Jacques I
Formed from:	Formed from Saint-Domingue & Sainto Domingo
Currency:	Haïtian gourde (G)

	Haïtian Revolution​
Date:	21 August AD 1791–1 January AD 1804
Location:	Hispaniola
Result:	Haïtian victory: • Haïtian Independence,​ • Creation of the Empire of Haïti,​ • Massacre of the French.​
Territorial changes:	Creation of the Empire of Haïti.
	Belligerents
Haïtian Revolutionaries, England (indirectly).	France, Spain.
	Leaders
†Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines	Viscount de Blanchelande, Federico Gravina

***​

Footnotes​

a. Estajoca​

b. Jak I​

Endnotes​

46. OTL: Charge of the Dragoons at Fallen Timbers​

Spoiler: Citations

lxxvi. (Modified form source: AnonMoos, 2005), (Modified from source: AnonMoos, 2013), (Modified from sources: Avalokitesvara, 2011), (Modified from source: Di (they-them), 2019),​

lxxvii. (Baselle, Heralder, Sodacan, 2022)​

lxxviii. (Himasaram, 2006)​

lxxix. (Zogbaum, 1895)​

​

Spoiler: Credits

AnonMoos. Triskele Hollow Triangle. 2005. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Triskele-hollow-triangle.png. Accessed 30 May 2022.​

Avalokitesvara. Beret of the Dukes of the Empire and of the Kingdom of Italy. 26 September 2011. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Toque_des_Ducs_de_l'Empire_et_du_Royaume_d'Italie.svg. 6 June 2022.​

Baselle, Heralder, Sodacan. Imperial Coat of Arms of Haiti (1849-1859). 14 January 2022. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Imperial_Coat_of_Arms_of_Haiti_(1849-1859).svg. Accessed 3 June 2022.​

Di (they-them). The bald eagle from the Great Seal of the United States without the shield or other elements. 26 May 2019. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heraldic_bald_eagle.svg. Accessed 2 June 2022.​

Himasaram. State of Muskogee (Florida, 1799-1803). 21 August 2006. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:State_of_Muskogee_(Florida,_1799-1803).svg. Accessed 30 May 2022.​

Zogbaum, R. F. Charge of the Dragoons at Fallen Timbers. 1895. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fallen_timbers.jpg. Accessed 28 May 2022.​

​

 

[da Racontor]

Chapter 8: The Peace of Rotterdam​

—AD 1803—

“May the new peace last.”
The Treaty of Rotterdam

Portrait of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838) [lxxx]​

By mid-AD 1803, it was clear to all parties that something different was needed. The English Navy prevented the Second Coalition from landing in the British Isles or the Mediterranean sister republics. While England could not field a large enough army to survive on the continent.

England and the Second Coalition approached each other about a peace deal. The Duke of Talleyrand met with the aged Thomas Paine to discuss the peace. Neither France nor England actually wanted the peace to last. What they wanted was a chance to rebuild and re-strategize. At the Treaty of Rotterdam, the two men simply decided on mandating a ceasefire. Unfortunately for the Second Coalition this left New France and the Mediterranean Islands under English control.

§​

While there was a lot of fighting in India, but there was not a lot of organized war. The French did not have enough troops in India to mount an offensive. But the Commonwealth of India was in a consistence state of civil war. The Indian prince and royal loyalists waged continued to wage a partisan war giving the commonwealth no rest.

§​

After the treaty, in New France, the occupational government did not expect much resistance. They viewed New France as a region were the Catholic Church violently oppressed the common people. Since the Church was no longer had a part in politics the people should have rejoiced in there new found liberty and support the new English government. Now their archaic traditions and language could be replaced with new logical English practices.

In New France, nothing went according to plan. The Marquis of Sérigny continued to lead partisan raids against the occupational forces. The common people did not rejoice in liberation from the Church. While there was some resentment against the central leadership of the Diocese of Québec, the local priests were another matter. The people protected their local priests which drove them into further conflict with the occupational government.

***​

	English Revolution {47}​
Date:	29 November AD 1800–18 July AD 1803
Location:	Europe & North America
Results:	Treaty of Rotterdam, • Ceasefire {48}​
Territorial changes:	• Independent Balearic Islands, • Independent Sardinia, • Independent Sicily, • Occupied New France.
	Belligerents
England India Indiana The Balearic Islands Sardinia Sicily	The Holy Roman Empire France Spain Naples Savoy
	Leaders
Charles Fox William Godwin Carlo Giuseppe Guglielmo Botta Carlo Lauberg	Francis II Louis XVII Charles IV Ferdinand IV Victor Emmanuel I

Figure 1: Map of the World in AD 1803 [xxxix, xliv, lxxxi]​

***​

Endnotes​

47. The more common name for the War of the Second Coalition.​

48. Proxy conflicts would continue, especially the Cherokee War.​

Spoiler: Citations

lxxx. (Pierre-Paul Prud’hon, 1817)​

lxxxi. (Modified from source: Bubbles, 2019)​

​

Spoiler: Credits

Bubbles, Mr. Treaties of Tordesillas and Saragossa. “Proposals and War Aims That Didn't Happen Map Thread”. alternatehistory.com, XenForo Ltd., 12 July 2019. https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...ppen-map-thread.317821/page-100#post-19178220. Accessed 10 July 2022.​

Prud’hon, Pierre-Paul. Portrait of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838). 1817. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Maurice_de_Talleyrand-Périgord_-_Pierre-Paul_Prud'hon.jpg. Accessed 6 June 2022.​

[Edit: fixed map]

---

Part V has ended.
Part VI promises an unexpected development for the main players. But I have quite a bit of work to do on it before its ready.

 

[Gabingston]

I notice that no one has colonized Australia yet.

 

[da Racontor]

I notice that no one has colonized Australia yet.

*checks map... checks notes... checks date... checks map again...* *grumble, grumble, grumble*

Thank-you for pointing it out!!

Added a fixed map, I'll make Part VI a single short chapter explaining about Australia to make up for it and move everything else back to part VII.

 

[da Racontor]

Part VI. Terra Australis​

—c. AD 1788 – AD 1830—

“The fabled southern continent!”
Unknown

A Complete map of the Southern Continent survey'd by Capt. Abel Tasman & depicted by order of the East India Company in Holland in the Stadt House at Amsterdam [lxxxii]​

While the Dutch originally discovered the continent of Australia [a], they did not originally make any territorial claims. Spain and Portugal claimed the land out of principal due to the Treaty of Tordesillas. Neither country actually had any interest in settling Australia. Portuguese sailors did periodically visit the coast as they travelled to and from their other colonies in the Pacific. Spain, however, only sent one or two expeditions to explore the coast and that was it.

Britain established a penal colony in AD 1788 called Sydney which would later be expanded to be the colony of New South Wales. Growth for New South Wales was slow. Britain’s American colonies was still a primary destination for many of its prisoners. But once the English Commonwealth was fully established, Australia became the primary destination for royalist prisoners. But the commonwealth had little interest in building the colony up, it had its handful with other things.

After Britain established New South Wales, the Dutch looked to establish their own colony. This was not because they expected the colony to do well, nor was it to establish their own penal colony (they would eventually do just that) this was simply to deny the English a monopoly of the trade routes in the area. They would founded Tasman in AD 1803 on Van Diemen’s Land [49]. Tasman would stay just a small port for most of its existence, and because the colony was only on Van Diemen’s Land the other European powers mostly left it alone.

In fact, all of Australia was pretty quiet until AD 1829 when France settled Port Breton [50] in western Australia. France established Port Breton and the whole French New Canada colony, to not miss out on a new land to colonize. By all accounts Port Breton was a disaster of a colony. It was chronically undermanned and frequently ran out of supplies. The colony did manage to survive, but this was probably only because everyone else on the continent was too busy with their own problems.

As a rule, the New Holland Aboriginals tried to avoid the European colonists. Since there were so few colonists at this period it was not actually that hard. But as time moved on the Aboriginals were pushed further and further into the unhospitable areas. Any time there was an armed conflict between the Aboriginals and the colonists the Aboriginals were severely outclassed.

***​

Figure 1: New Holland c. AD 1830 [xxxix, lxxxiii, lxxxiv]​

***​

Footnotes​

a. Australia is only the term for the continent. New Holland is the term for the largest land mass in Australia.

Endnotes​

49. In ATL Tasmania is still called Van Diemen’s Land, the city is called Tasman. The colony is sometimes called Tasmania after the city, but only in a political context never when referring to the island itself.
50. OTL Port Hedland, Australia.

Spoiler: Citations

lxxxii. (Sculp, 1774)
lxxxiii. (Modified from source: hadaril, 2018)
lxxxiv. (Modified from source: LouisTheGreyFox, 2018)

Spoiler: Credits

hadaril. 1848 AD The Springtime of the Peoples. “The NextGen OTL Worlda Series.” alternatehistory.com, XenForo Ltd., 30 July 2018. https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/the-nextgen-otl-worlda-series.436046/. Accessed 17 July 2022.
LouisTheGreyFox. Thompson’s 1922 Map of Australian States. “Proposals and War Aims That Didn’t Happen Map Thread.” alternatehistory.com, XenForo Ltd., 17 April, 2018. https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...appen-map-thread.317821/page-30#post-16873703. Accessed 17 July 2022.
Sculp, E. Bowen. A Complete map of the Southern Continent survey'd by Capt. Abel Tasman & depicted by order of the East India Company in Holland in the Stadt House at Amsterdam. 1774. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bowen-_A_Complete_map_of_the_Southern_Continent.jpg. Accessed 15 July 2022.

 

[Gabingston]

Why would the French settle in Port Hedland instead of somewhere more hospitable like Perth or Albany?

 

[PGSBHurricane]

Why would the French settle in Port Hedland instead of somewhere more hospitable like Perth or Albany?

To be fair, while it isn't the best place to settle, it has about 15,000 people which isn't terrible for the climate it's in.

 

[PGSBHurricane]

According to the map, the British claim the majority of Australia, while France has the West and Portugal, has much of the North. Who's the final power in the northeast of Australia?

 

[Gabingston]

To be fair, while it isn't the best place to settle, it has about 15,000 people which isn't terrible for the climate it's in.

Mostly because of the iron mines in the Pilbara. Before Iron was discovered in the Mid 20th Century, there would've been no reason to live there when you could live in Perth instead.

 

[da Racontor]

Why would the French settle in Port Hedland instead of somewhere more hospitable like Perth or Albany?

The colony was not very well thought out.
It is a reference to a supposed story I read somewhere on the Forum about a much later scam by a Frenchman.

ATL Perth will be settle later, and more successful than Port Breton.

According to the map, the British claim the majority of Australia, while France has the West and Portugal, has much of the North. Who's the final power in the northeast of Australia?

The map shows claims, not necessarily settlements or actual control. The northeast is Spain. Which even by this point had absolutely no actual presence or intent to have any but it claimed a piece of the land.