The World in 1883
The world in 1884 was nothing like the one a mere 30 years earlier. Indeed, much had changed in the few decades since the Napoleonic Wars. The Great War had left a permanent mark on European politics, one that would persist to this day: Germany had united in a single powerful Empire, the squabbling nations of Italy had formed a united Italian Kingdom. The balance of power established with the Congress of Vienna was permanently shattered with the fall of the 350 year old Habsburg Empire.
The Great Powers of Europe in 1884 had seen quite a bit of change as well. While the United Kingdom still was the most powerful nation in the entire world, the German Empire was a close second. France, while still third, had declined in stature, severely weakened by its loss in the Great War and the increasing strength of German industry.
France, once the greatest military power in Europe, had been dealt its second humiliating defeat in 50 years. This lead to important unrest in the country, especially from the army, who regarded democracy as the primary reason for France’s fall from greatness. As a result, monarchist movements in the French army grew more and more pronounced.
The United States of America, still unstable as ever, had dodged full scale civil war in the 1860s over the issues of state rights and slavery. It still faced, however, large-scale revolts by elements of the army and some zealous southerners wanting to establish what they called the “Confederate States of America”. The revolts were promptly crushed during the summer of 1864. In 1871, a communist uprising took place on the East Coast. While in most cities the rebels were quickly crushed, in New York, the rebels blocked the bridges to and from the island of Manhattan, proclaiming the “Manhattan Commune” urging their follow workers to rise up and overthrow the bourgeoisie. The Commune held out for two months, as the army was busy elsewhere in the country. Finally, on August 16th 1871, Washington ordered the removal of the Commune. General Bennett, when being given orders to remove the Commune asked the President on any particular orders was told: "Deal with it." Taking the President's tone of voice as an indication of what was wanted; General Bennett communicated these orders to his subordinate Commanders. The fighting was ferocious, with the rebels fighting desperately to hold back the US army, forcing them to fight house to house, floor to floor. After a week of intense combat, most of the communist rebels had either been killed or captured. The remaining rebels were rounded up and summarily executed. Following the Manhattan Massacre, things calmed down in the US. However, deep tensions still remained in many states.
By 1883, Russia had lost it's position as a Great Power. After being humiliated in a war with Persia and another two wars with China, Russia was increasingly disregarded by the Great Powers, being relegated to the position of a local power. Meanwhile, Italy and Japan has risen from irrelevance on the world stage to being two of the most powerful nations in the world. The Netherlands and Sweden also rose to prominence following the Great War. However, they remained mostly neutral, focusing primarily on their own internal matters rather than meddling in those of others.