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Technically speaking, a British duchess is never referred to by her surname, but as Her Grace or The Duchess of Wherever. Then again, Lady Mendenhall is probably like the RL Duchess of Alba, with having so many titles!
 
You have a good point. I should have put 'Lady Mendenhall' or 'Duchess Orkney' there. I'll change it.
 
Well, "the Duchess of Orkney", but I'm just being nitpicky. :D
 
Well, I was more referring to how she introduced herself, but like I said, I was just being nitpicky. :)
 
Hey,
As a longtime lurker, i finally signed in to post something about this. Having first read The Eternal Exile (which i thought was an amazing concept!), I was disappointed it grounded to a halt. But today I discovered this one, and I read it in one day (despite having to study for exams, silly me :D). This is really a great narrative, thank you for taking the time to write it. Please, continue to write these great AAR's untill the end of time ;).
 
Scampioen: Thank you very much! :) I shall try to keep up the quality!
Sather/Arakhor: Yeah...I agree...to whatever you decided! :p

Chapter 42a – The First American Revolution

Summarised from Chapter 10 of ’Britannia Triumphant’ by Lady Mendenhall.


British Imperialism in the 1760s reached a highpoint, with several campaigns against non-western opponents giving rich dividends. In battles in India and against the Ottomans the British forces utterly overwhelmed their enemy, despite being outnumbered by two-to-one on numerous occasions.

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This was possible mainly because of advances in British military organisation and armament. For a start, British troops completed their final steps towards a professional army. Soldiers were paid bonuses based on their performances, and a system of promotion from the ranks led to the lower officer positions often being as much as 25% of the total. Naturally this was unpopular with some of the aristocratic elite, but the system of purchasing commissions continued, even if all officers had to attend the Norfolk Military Academy.
The biggest change though was in the armament and organisation of the infantry. From this point on the British soldiers would start to be armed with Colonel Joseph Steven’s rifles, allowing them to fire from 4-5 times the effective range of a musket. Against the brave but utterly outclassed Ottomans and Indians there was no competition and the British could slaughter their enemies before they could even get within a hundred yards.

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The latter half of the 18th century, but especially the 1760s saw a variety of radical revolutionary movements undertaken by states inside and outside the British Empire. As the populations and area of European possessions in the Americas grew, those within them eventually came to the conclusion that they could rule themselves better than the distant rulers in Europe.
The first of these, as we have seen, was Mexico, but within the next twenty years more followed; Canada, Peru, Quebec, Chile, La Plata and Venezuela. Many of these broke away from the Spanish and Portuguese realms in South America, beginning a long process of war and chaos that lasted for many years.

4601760PeruIndependent.jpg


The greatest of these movements however came in North America from the British settlers in the vast lands of that continent. By 1760 the population of British settlers in North America had reached nearly ten million, spread from the icy Hudson Bay in the North to Equador in the South. The greatest concentration of people lived in the east coast of America and New Britain in South America.
These colonies at the start had been established by many private groups including religious radicals and trading companies. Gradually though the British government had taken over control, and in most cases had been the key funder for most of the exploration and colonisation of America. The British possessions in America, as has been discussed before, were divided into 13 Viceroyalties, each with their own internal governments but owing loyalty and taxes to the central government in London. In return, they provided a tax known as the ‘Two-Fifty’, or a 2.5% tax on all transactions above a certain amount. On the other hand they provided members of Parliament, and had a special board overseen by the Colonial Ministry.

Naturally, many people in the colonies felt exploited, oppressed and even threatened by the central government. Several prominent thinkers, writers and statesmen came together to discuss the potential of seceding from Great Britain.
The First American Revolution was genuinely popular with a large minority of the American population, but it enjoyed nothing like a majority support. Support for it was strongest in North and South Carolina, where the main merchant centres were located.
Much has been written on this conflict, so a brief summary must suffice here. In 1768 rebellions across the colonies broke out, and for two years the British forces stationed in America had a hard time suppressing the conflict.
This conflict was a true civil war, with the majority of the British troops having been raised in America. Finally, after a long and bloody conflict the British forces restored order to the continent, and generous terms were presented during the phase of ‘Reconstruction’.

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In the aftermath of the war the British army underwent significant reform. Though capable in America, the British forces had often suffered in the partisan war that resulted once the rebel forces had been beaten in the open field.
Therefore, the reforms of 1770 new cavalry and infantry tactical doctrines were adopted, and very soon the army became a truly combined arms force.


4681769NapoleonicUnits.jpg


In the aftermath of the American revolution a new system of classifying the states came into effect, forming the final system still in use today.

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(At this point I installed the colony renaming mod. Very useful!)
 
I promise I haven't vanished from commenting, just stabilizing my schedule. I think Sunday's going to be posting day.

Apparently I blinked and missed a LOT, though. Strange for me to cheer for the failure of a colonial revolution in British America. :p
 
First American Revolution? That doesn't sound too good...
 
Just read all of that over the past few days and damn am I glad I did. A most excellent tale. :D
 
generalolaf: Thanks, and welcome! I knew you Kiwis had good taste. :)
Momento Mori/Tanzhang: Yes, the second one was in 1814, where John's mother etc was killed.
Loki: Well, by this stage rebels are mere irritants. With over 400,000 troops I can pretty much squash anything...but it did take a while!
c0d5579: Excellent, her Ladyship's plan has worked! Haha, glad to see you back!

Chapter 43 – Breaking the News

5/2/1820


“Alright, I’m coming! This better be good, or else-“ Perkins called as he pulled open the door. He was utterly surprised to see John Adams standing there, looking rather flustered. “Mister John?”
“Perkins, good man, I need to see father. Come on, Elijah!” John said, pushing past quickly, and patting the man on the shoulder.
“But sir, it’s night-time!” Perkins protested.
“An emergency that might bring down the British Empire is afoot, Perkins!” John said as he ran up the stairs. “This is not a time to wait!”

John knocked and pushed open the door to his father’s study. He knew he would be in there, as Benjamin worked until midnight most nights.
“John? What is the meaning of this?” Benjamin asked, jolting up. He peered at his son and Elijah in confusion.
“Father, it’s vital I tell you this. The rebels are beneath Parliament, they’re planning to blow it up!”
“John, if this is some sort of joke…” Benjamin begun sternly.
“It isn’t! I was there near Parliament, and I saw them rolling barrels into the house nearest there. I overheard them!”
“It’s true, sir, I saw them rolling the barrel. One of them was the man John described from the other day!”
John’s father looked at them, trying to process this outrageous, yet earnest, observation.
“All this excitement has had a clear effect on you, I can see,” Benjamin said calmly. “I will look into it in the morning, I promise.”
“They’ll blow the whole place up, Queen, Lords, Parliament, everyone!” John insisted. “You have to believe me, father. I swear this is not some dream or fantasy.”
Faced with this heartfelt comment, Benjamin seemed undecided. “Very well. I hope for both our sakes you are correct, my son. I will send a message to the appropriate people now. I need you to head back there and meet up with the soldiers and lead them to this place. I hope to God this is true,” Benjamin said with a sigh.
“Thank you, father! I just have one stop to make beforehand…”
“That went better than expected,” Elijah said as they left the house. John had paused only to retrieve his weapon from the safe.
“My father doesn’t really believe us, but he’s willing to try. And it’s your lucky night, Elijah.”
“Why’s that?”
“You get to meet her Ladyship.”
Elijah seemed to brighten up at that as they hurried along to their horses to ride through the darkened streets.

An hour later, as the grandfather clock was chiming seven, they were admitted to see her Ladyship. That part had been easier than John had expected, with the guards and servants instructed to let him in at any time.
Now, with Tempest behind her watching them, Lady Mendenhall entered and graciously accepted Elijah’s bow.
“Ah, Mr Hill, I presume! John has talked a lot about you!” she commented.
“Thank you, Lady. I’m glad he has time to spare for others!”
She smiled at the joke. “While it is of course a joy to see you at any time, John, what brings you here?” she asked.
“Lady, the rebels have burrowed under Parliament, and have put gunpowder beneath it. They are planning to explode it tomorrow at the opening. Masters is there, and some Frenchman in charge of the operation. I’ve told my father, and he’s sent messages to the soldiers.”
For a moment her Ladyship looked curious, but then she nodded. “Of course! And you saw them?”
“Yes, Lady, I saw the barrels, I saw and heard Masters.”
“Then we must act swiftly, John. What is today’s date?” She looked at the calendar. “The fifth? How appropriate,” she said gnomically. “John, Elijah, I want you to come with me immediately. The soldiers will bumble around and might wander into a trap. I need to be there to oversee matters.”
Elijah seemed amazed by this woman and her calm, relentless manner. “Lady, are you sure you should be so near the danger?”
She chuckled. “I know how to handle myself, I assure you. Right, John?”
“It’s true,” John said.
Elijah looked between them, but said nothing. He made no comment on Tempest either, though the black woman’s stern look clearly intrigued him.
“We’d best get going. Come, John, Elijah. This crisis must be averted.”
“I’m surprised you believe us so easily,” Elijah commented.
“I know John well enough to know that this is no idle comment. If he says this is a threat, I believe him.”
Into the unknown they were headed. Danger was sure to follow!
 
Well, this seems to be going just too well. I bet in reality it is just a few french-born servants who are bringing some barrels of wine for the next parlament session, with Masters helping them out, because he wants to be sure that the Lords and Commons will be in their best moods when he will propose a new compromise regarding the colonies. Or something like that.

And then Lady Menhenhall has some strange ideas about Guy Fawkes and fireworks from her own timeline, she and Benjamin will soon get compromised after "uncovering" a non existant plot, and subsequently stay for a few decades in Australia untill her next incarnation is ready to take over the estate of her disgraced "mother". Sadly, Benjamin does not have this luxury so he ends up commiting a Japanese - style seppuku, with his son succumbing into alcoholism and being killed in a street brawl.

Of course, Masters uses this to his own advantage, causes an american revolution again, and declares himself eternal first consul of the United Territries of North America, with his son developing nazi ideology, ushering WW II before WW I.
 
Wondering if John's jumped to conclusions a bit in thinking that those barrels are indeed full of gunpowder... could be amusing if they aren't :p