1835:
January:
The reconvening of the Shawnee Parliament began with Tecumseh approaching each and every Tribe Representative of Parliament and asking that they all swear a Sacred Oath that regardless of what his decision was, the Parliament was to abide by it. Despite enormous reluctance on behalf of every Tribe Representative, they all agreed to swear on oath on the basis that it would avoid a Civil War. The Parliament Room was packed by all the Tribe Representatives and Tribal Chiefs who had wanted to know what the outcome of their Oaths would be. What followed was a speech by Tecumseh that was short and full of the sadness of a man who believed who he had failed:
“After great thought, it has become obvious that I can no longer abide by the principles I had clung to when I first started a coalition to stop the white man from taking the land of our people. If we change, we shall lose our very being. If we do not change, we shall lose our lives, land and everything else. Though I had hoped never to utter such words, to survive, we need to change so that we can become more like those to the east. I have failed to cling to the ways of my ancestors and have failed to protect my people from that taint of foreigners. Give me a gun and I shall fight the enemies of this nation. But I shall not allow our people to destroy themselves. I can no longer lead you for I cannot stand by as we lose our way of life yet I cannot allow ourselves to wither and die. I shall no longer be a part of this Parliament; I shall retire to the Earth and come only when I am called.”
With those words, Tecumseh left the Shawnee Parliament building, never to return. Though many tried to stop him from leaving, the aging leader refused to stay, instead walking onwards and leaving the settlement to live in seclusion. With Tecumseh gone, the only choice left was to abide by his decision, to allow the Shawnee Nation to reform on a European model. A new Overseer was chosen to succeed Tecumseh and the education proposal which had been the root cause of all this chaos, was passed and the Shawnee Nation began to the long, arduous journey to becoming a modern nation. Tecumseh began a life of seclusion, away from all politics and Tribes, although his promise of defending his Nation would become highly important later on.
February:
In the British Parliament, a vote on the issue of the remaining Rotten Boroughs was passed. The final remainders of the corrupt system of British voting were wiped out completely. Lord Melbourne saw it as a great victory of behalf of Liberalism and against his Tory opponents, many who were beginning to rankle at their long exile from power. Calls for a General Election were being made and with confidence, Lord Melbourne agreed to do so in June 1836, to allow the electoral reforms time to take place. Confident of a victory, Melbourne planned to secure an electoral win by also disposing of the most unpopular economic policy in living memory, the Corn Laws.
June:
In Madrid, one of the defining pieces of political thought in the 19th Century was published. Juan Talvera, the Spanish philosopher who had been present at Napoleon II’s Coronation had spent much of his time composing a definitive political journal which would change the face of political philosophy. Published on the 4th June, the booklet entitled “The Proper use of a Junta Government in Order to Further the Interests of a Nation.” Despite the title, the political theory Talvera was pushing was fairly straightforward. He basically divided a national Government into three distinct areas, social, economic and military.
Talvera theorised that the perfect Government would split all responsibilities into these three areas with one man leading each area as befitted his experience. A man with great political capabilities would lead the social policies, a man with great economic abilities would lead the economic policies and a brilliant soldier would head the military. Talvera theorised that this system would be the perfect balance, none would try to topple the others and lead a dictatorship without destroying the system itself. With the capabilities of the state now simplified and at their most efficient, Talvera then stated that the nation should work to becoming a great Empire.
What Talvera expected to be however, was one defined by geography. He predicted that the Atlantic Ocean was far too great an obstacle for the Spanish Federacion to overcome, Nationalism would work against it along with the sheer geographic problems. A true working Empire had to be connected by a geographic mass, like the Roman or French Empires. Talvera further stated that the Empire should further the aims of the nation, increasing its prestige and power.
When published, the booklet gained huge popularity throughout Europe. The ideology espoused by Talvera soon came under the name ‘Juntism’ and became hugely popular in areas such as the Netherlands and Italy. Germany also saw an interest in the ideology, particularly in the areas of the Meiningen Pact. The ideology also eventually spread to America where it gained support in the west and south in particular.
September:
Further tensions between Britain and Spain rose as problems in the Caribbean as a pirating vessel raided a port on Cuba. Spain placed the blame upon a British sponsored crew while Britain placed the blame upon the raiders that existed in the Caribbean. The incident only served to highlight the tensions between the two Empires and the Federacion started to become convinced that the British were trying to undermine its whole position in the Americas. Unwilling to take on the full might of Britain, the Federacion began to look for an Ally in the region which could help it overcome its adversity. Moves were made to bury the hatchet with the US and make a united front against the British in the Americas, a move the US was all too happy to agree to.
December:
On the 24th December, Napoleon II opened the first session of the French Imperial Council. Representatives from Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the German territories convened to reach an agreement on the provinces in the role of the Napoleonic Empire. The first session went very well, the cordial atmosphere greatly aiding the idea that Napoleon II did indeed want to progress in the eyes of his people. One region which didn’t see it this way was the Basque Counties. Cut off from the French centre of power, the Basque people began to grow agitated and, spurned on by Spanish agents, started to openly defy the Napoleonic Regime. Although peaceful at first, these protests would continue to grow more and more violent as the years passed.