Vive l'Antipodée: A French Australia Timeline
- Thread starter Gabingston
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nah to be honest i'd rather it continue as is (democratic) but it would certainly be cool to see a strong communist presence (i mean the socialists in france did have a decent presence after all)
Part 24: The Great War
Part 24: The Great War
On June 28th, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. Through a chain of alliances, (intentionally) unreasonable demands and declarations of war, France, and thus their semi-independent yet still-a-colony colony of Antipodée was dragged into the war. Thousands of young men volunteered for the military, and thousands more were drafted, and they were shipped off on the long voyage to either Western Europe or the Middle East. For the first time, many women went to work in factories, as there was a labor shortage from the many men who left for war. Most of the Antipodean troops went to the Western Front, expecting action and adventure but instead finding themselves sitting in filthy trenches not willing to leave because you’d die almost instantly. Over 300,000 Antipodeans served in Western Europe, and over 45,000 were killed and over 150,000 were injured. Antipodean Troops also fought in the Middle East, with Antipodeans participating in the Gallipoli Campaign and advances in Mesopotamia and the Levant. Over 175,000 Antipodeans served in the Middle East, of which over 20,000 died (mainly in Gallipoli) and over 50,000 were wounded. When the war ended, the soldiers were greeted with fanfare, but many were wounded, both physically and mentally. Demands for complete independence, previously small, surged as the Antipodeans wanted a prize for service in the war.
Part 25: INDÉPENDENCE! VIVE L’ANTIPODÉE!
Part 25: Independence! Vive L'Antipodée!
The governor of Antipodea, Antoine Perrin, offered to provide aid to France in exchange for independence. France, being crippled from the war, reluctantly accepted the call for independence, and thus on June 1st, 1920, the Republic of Antipodea (French: République de L'Antipodée) was declared an independent nation, with the capital in the colonial capital of Miléoua.
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Such a small (population wise) nation, so far from Europe, entirely at the mercy of Japan, wanting independence. Suicidal much? Not that France would ever give it, France is the last nation that would give independence if it could help it.
So what were the effects of a near half a million extra troops for France?
Well, I stand corrected...
This independence does not seem plausible, especially given the political culture of France at the time, as well as the example of the loyalist colon populations of Algeria and New Caledonia OTL. Why would Antipodea break from a France that was an obvious protector?
I don't think independence is possible, but some sort of dominion status were they are independent in all but diplomacy and trade.
There is a difference between a quick hop across the Mediterranean/A small island in the South Pacific and an entire continent with a population of millions.
Not really, when we're talking about issues of identity. Why are Antipodeans so quick to diverge when they seem to have been happy as French?
What exactly is the benefit of independence?Was France treating this colony unjustly?Was there no self-rule?Make no mistake,when Australia became fully independent,it wasn’t clear cut.We didn’t get full de jure independence from Britain until decades after it ceased to have any meaningful influence in the country,in 1986. It was the idea that Britain can no longer provide or desire to protect Australia that really drove Australia to make it out on it’s own.
identity would be the key part.
Australians didn't see themselves as British anymore and saw themselves as Australians after WWI and certainly by WWII (even if their was still close connections to the crown itself).
I'd imagine it would be the same situation here.
Identity is an issue,but I don’t think it was as important as the fact that Australia and Britain were ran separately.From what I remember,French identity had a lot to do with citizenship and their rights(and obligations),as opposed to culture,which is why people from Alsace Lorraine clamored to be French(from what I have read).I think it would have been quite out of character for the French not to give Antipodeans full citizenship rights,including the right to send deputies to the French parliament.Even Algeria for example,sent deputies to the French parliament,though the right to vote was only limited to French settlers.Antipodea meanwhile is a French majority colony.
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Could be a case were Antipodeans became different from the French. Are the French going to stubbornly just go out and say no, are they in any position to even resist if they wanted out.
In the case of the timeline,they just became independent in two years after the war,and prior to the war,they saw themselves as French.
Now I’m not saying the French will stop them from becoming independent,but all I am saying is that it’s odd that there’s no attempt to reconcile them. Velvet divorces like these generally happen after years of failure at reconciling differences.
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