Major events of 1809
Europe
The British follow the example of Bavaria and Austria in scrapping the existing Military Academy in London and establishing a completely new one. The focus of the material is to be on lessons that have been learned from engagements in India and Ireland. Not exactly the stuff that will help the British fight the French in open combat, but something that may be useful down the line against different enemies.
The British take a new approach to the economy, equally radical as the previous experiment with industrial subsidies. The new plan is to remove bureaucratic government interference and to allow entrepreneurs to do what they will. One of the major changes is the virtual abolition of patent law, so that new inventions can now be copied by anyone at will. The result is a mass exodus of British inventors, with Richard Trevithick leaving for France and Arthur Woolf for the United States, among many others. Copies of Trevithick’s steam engine, however, begin to appear in different parts of England.
Instead of a blockade of France and the Netherlands the British opt for attacks against French and Dutch merchant ships in the Channel, the Mediterranean, and around Gibraltar. These actions are significantly cheaper than the full blockade would be, as they require many fewer ships, but they are also less effective and a non-trivial number of French ships continue to operate, especially in the Mediterranean.
The French begin to raise war taxes in order to compensate for the lost trade revenue. The French population is touchy about taxes and so the increases are moderate, and their temporary and fair nature is emphasized. Some of the money goes towards additional recruitment, though the majority is used to make up the trade revenue shortfall.
The French General Staff under Berthier is expanded significantly. While there are shortages of money other places, there are no shortages for the General Staff, with hundreds of experienced officers added to it over the year. The Staff takes over the coordination of the French Army, the logistics and supplies, and other essential operations. Berthier, who was mediocre the previous year in his position, proves to be a gifted administrator if not a gifted strategist.
The Dutch back off the quota system for the rural population and begin imports of food from France. To a large extent this alleviates the situation in the countryside, though in the cities conditions remain difficult. Both materials and labor are requisitioned by the government for the production of military supplies. As the government has nothing to pay these workers with they work under threat of punishment or death and the situation in many government-run military manufactures is close to slavery.
The Dutch also begin to introduce “French” military reforms, though it is unclear what is meant by this. Regiments are renamed into demi-brigades, though the organization of the units remains the same. A General Staff is formed, although it fumbles around and is mired in attempts to oversee the military production in the cities. Despite the increased military production of supplies, ammunition, etc. the Dutch army remains in the Netherlands, with only a single demi-brigade assisting the French force in Westphalia.
The Rhenish Republic takes measures to promote Republican ideas around the country and in the nearby occupied Nassau. This takes the form of a Jacobin Revolutionary Committee in Wiesbaden. In former Westphalia the occupied territories see some improvements in terms of administration, largely with the help of the French army, but in part due to the expanded scope of the Republican government.
The Republican Committees also organize militia outfits. These, in general, are bands of armed civilians led by former Westphalian officers sympathetic to the cause. These number approximately five thousand men by mid-year and are partially incorporated into the French forces in Westphalia.
In Westphalia both Jourdan and von Blucher stand on their sides of the Ems through Spring, receiving reinforcements from France and Prussia. This is likely a mistake on the part of von Blucher, since whereas he previously had near parity with the French, Jourdan’s reinforced army easily outnumbers him. In late May Jourdan begins his campaign towards Osnabruck, where he is met by von Blucher and Graf Yorck. Surprisingly, it is the Prussians who carry the day, thanks largely to a spectacular charge by the volunteer corps of Frederick William of Brunswick that decimates the French left flank. The battle, though, leaves the Prussians in no shape to pursue the French and Jourdan retreats back across the Ems, where he remains for the rest of the year.
On the Rhine Moreau makes the inexplicable decision to cross the main and attempt to reach Archduke Charles at Darmstadt, leaving the Russians in Frankfurt at his back. By itself the small Austrian and Bavarian force would be unlikely to resist the French, but the French find themselves surrounded, trapped between the Austrians, the Russians, and the Rhine. The result is predictable, with Archduke Charles and Kutuzov smashing the French army before Moreau is able to escape across the Rhine in a battle near the village of Trebur. The Austrian lack of artillery keeps the casualties low on the French side, but only part of the French army is able to retreat south and cross the Rhine at Nierstein, with the majority taken prisoner by the Austrians and Russians. The French try to regroup at Worms, while the Austrians and Bavarians secure Mainz, the first time the Austrians have been on the left side of the Rhine since the French occupied it years ago.
In the spirit of every other country in Europe, Prussia also scraps its existing Military Academy. It is not clear who was the first to think that dismantling a military academy in the middle of a war is a good idea, but it has clearly caught on. The changes that the Prussian make, are, in fact, good. The problem is that the results will take some time, and in the meantime there is a disruption to the operations of the army.
The Bavarian weaponsmiths work on making the air-rifle's cannister easier to make. Cast iron is chosen as the material, though it means the cannisters are very heavy, making both the use of the gun and the transportation of additional cannisters difficult. Most soldiers prefer the older cannisters. Biggest progress is made in changes to the design of the rifle itself, making it significantly less fragile. Though there are still few of the new rifles around, this is a step forward for a rather unlikely weapon.
Recruitment of new soldiers in Bavaria is brisk, with the additional five regiments raised without any trouble. Most of the new soldiers are armed with older gunpowder guns, since there is a shortage of air-rifles and cannisters. There are proposals for new tactics, to combine gunpowder-armed soldiers and air-rifle-armed soldiers, but in practice this leads to chaos, with soldiers unsure of what they are to do on the field. In time this may change, but the French are not going to wait for Bavarian soldiers to learn new skills before fighting.
Bavaria under Maximilian Joseph is thriving. The land acquisitions are accompanied by economic growth. Furnaces and distilleries create a yet unseen prosperity and has turned Bavaria into an economic and cultural center. Many refugees flee the war zones along the Rhineland, to establish themselves in the Bavarian heartland. After the creation, the fall and the rebirth of the Rhenish Republic, the War of the First Coalition waged in the region, and the new war, many civilians are simply eager to work in a safe environment. The Rhineland has been torn apart by conflict many times in the last two decades and thousands of Rhinelanders only wish to live in peace. To them, Bavaria seems like a good place to start over.
In Austria the army begins a frantic search for artillery. Locally produced, imported, good quality, bad quality, non-functional, it is all sent to the armies on the Rhine. As a result of the mess artillery batteries are made up of guns with different ranges, few soldiers know how to operate any gun other than their own, and nobody is ever sure whether the cannon will fire or explode and kill the soldiers operating it. Its hard to tell whether the situation is an improvement or not.
Up in Denmark production of lumber speeds up. Despite the loss of the Sound Toll Denmark has bounced back very well, with both Denmark and Norway supplying timber and lumber to Britain for the construction of ships and south to Germany for other work.
Having witnessed the disaster of the Far East expedition the Danish government is undeterred. The outposts in Danish West Africa and in India are scheduled for major expansion, with the cost running into dozens of millions of pounds. The goal is to establish adequate port facilities both in Christiansborg and at Dansborg. Though these are obviously necessary if Denmark is to be able to project power in the East Indies, its not as obvious that Denmark can afford the cost.
Sweden too begins to make changes to the Military Academy. At least in the case of Sweden it is not in the middle of a war. The largest change is the expansion of the size of the Academy, with the idea of training more officers for an army that will be expanded in the coming years. Some of the promotions are made more meritocratic, though it seems a stretch to think that one could become a senior commander in Sweden without political connections.
Sweden is perhaps an unlikely destination for individuals leaving England, but it has an established Academy of Sciences, and a number of scientists do move there under the urging of the King and Jöns Jacob Berzelius. In a manner typically of Enlightened Monarchs the Swedish King spends lavishly on science and the arts and so there is money to go around in the Academy.
Except for another abortive Italian attack into Tyrol, which fades as soon as it becomes clear that the Italians continue to man the defenses there, there is no action in northern Italy. Five additional regiments are formed, led specifically by Italian officers. Napoleon himself oversees construction of fortifications in Tuscany, though the expected attack from the south does not materialize.
For the sake of stability Napoleon backtracks on his proposed legal code. A Concordat is reached with the Catholic Church which will see Catholicism as the state religion and exemption of Church lands, monasteries, charities, and many other Church operations from taxation. In Genoa, resent against Napoleon Bonaparte keeps building up, and it materializes when Giacomo maria Brignole, an old Doge and the most influential man in Liguria, openly says that union with Italy was a mistake. A Genoese assembly then requests a re-negotiation of the agreement that saw Genoa become part of Italy, with the implied threat that if the renegotiations do not take place Genoa may go its own way again. It seems that Italians like their centuries-old autonomy, and that centralization isn’t going to be accepted by the locals.
Although the Genoese situation remains unresolved, Napoleon also finds a compromise with the banking families from Venice, Lucca, Tuscany, and other major centers. They will help finance Napoleon’s war at reasonable rates in return for taking over control over the Banca d'Italia. These families, and their banks, will issue currency through the Banca, supposedly backed by gold. Though the reality of whether it is backed by gold, or by something else, remains murky.
In Sicily the army, inspired by the wonderful outcome of such a move in Austria, decides to procure an entirely new set of cannons. This is not quite the disaster it was in Austria, but the wisdom of replacing existing armaments while at war is debatable. New, lighter, cannons are not particularly superior to the old ones. They require training to use and adjustments to the officers’ tactics. All in all, though the change does not result in an Austrian-esque disaster, it is not particularly useful.
About twenty five thousand new recruits are raised in Sicily in order to prepare for the war. There are no issues with the recruitment process, most of the new men come from rural areas of Naples. Army pay is decent and it is a good way to make a life that is not spent on a farm. However it is a strange army that is preparing for war. Few local officers, and many French and Italian exiles prepare to lead peasants to war to fight the French. The influence of the exiles in the army however proves to be bad for the morale of the troops, as they feel - perhaps rightfully so - that they are fighting a war for foreigners. The officers continued desire to reclaim France and Italy for themselves leads to a wide gap between the commanders and the rest of the army. The soldiers are treated as tools that will enable the officers to go back to their old properties, and the exiles are eager to set them to use. Its not clear, though, that the Sicilian soldiers are eager to die so that their officers may recover their lost estates.
On Sardinia Victor Emmanuel makes plans to regain the lands of his House. Over the years he has overseen the fortification of the island and the construction of a dozen or so small ships, in case of a French attack on the island. His army, having escaped from Piedmont, numbers approximately fifteen thousand men, mostly veterans of the previous wars. Unfortunately for him, when the Sicilian navy moves to try to help transport the army to Italy, the large navy of the Italian Republic makes short work of them. And so, for now, Victor Emmanuel remains on his island, unable to even reach the lands he used to rule.
In Saragossa, the local Republican troops are toppled by an uprising, backed by the Church. The Republican alliance with the French is proof that they are agents of the enemy, who seek to destroy Spain and its religion. José de Palafox, a young lieutenant who takes part in the attack, is named Governor of Saragossa and Captain-General of Aragon by the populace, bypassing the remnants of the local Junta and the King likewise. Unlike the previous Junta, however, he is very popular and Saragossa becomes a stronghold of the Spanish who are opposed to the French. All over Aragon, resistance against Republican rule begins, just as French troops under Bernadotte arrive to quell the counter-revolutionary rebellion. A fierce siege for Saragossa begins, after the French advance is halted by the routed Royalists who are inspired by a woman named Agustina, who mans the cannons on her own. The siege of Saragossa is brutal, lasting for more than four months. Cannonfire destroys most of the buildings in the city while the French are turned back in seven (!) separate assaults on the city walls. The final battle takes place in the streets of Saragossa over the first week of November as the French fight the Spaniards (including civilians) street to street and house to house. At the end the city falls, though the devastation is unbelievable. Of the fifty five thousand people who lived in Saragossa perhaps fifteen thousand are left alive, and of Bernadotte’s force of thirty six thousand maybe six thousand are left. Agustina and Palafox become national symbols of struggle against the French all over Aragon and Spain. In central Spain, Royalist troops, assisted by Royalist militias, launch a 'small war' against the Republicans. Juan martin Diez is the prime example of these fighters, who are inflicting large casualties upon the French and Spanish Republicans, and are seen as heroes by the increasingly Royalist population.
First the Portuguese try to focus on “tropical warfare” and then they switch to using foreign instructors in traditional tactics. The irregular units, those that could be useful in small-scale fighting in the colonies, are once again disbanded. Semaphore signaling is introduced, though there are unlikely to be semaphores in the tropics. All in all the constant changes back and forth leave soldiers and officers bewildered and the state of Portuguese army in disarray.
Unfortunately for the Portuguese an expansion of the navy goes only slightly better than the army reform. A dozen new smaller ships are ordered in order to protect Portuguese trade. These are laid down at yards across the country, but only after a year of work a major flaw is discovered. It is not clear now whether to proceed with construction and to end up with a dozen sub-par vessels or to scrap the project and start from the beginning.
Yet another Military Academy is established this year, this time in Poland. It is not completely clear why one is necessary, since most Polish officers are educated in Russia, but there it is. A Polish army is re-established, with fifteen thousand soldiers recruited into it. As it stands these are led primarily by Russian officers, though with the Academy in existence this may change over time, provided Russia allows it to.
As the rump Polish-Lithuanian state tries to improve its blatant flaws after years of decay, it faces the same difficulties as before the partitions, but worsened. Unfortunately for the government, golden liberty and magnates’ power were never diminished. The Partitions happened because of the revolutionary unrest, and the power of the magnates remains guaranteed by the three partitioning powers. The recent actions of the government have led to the recreation of the old parties. The Sejm is once more divided, between Prussian, Austrian, Russian and Patriot groups, and all ideas that a side brings up are quickly vetoed, leading once more to inaction and instability.
In Russia there is a search for a way to keep the cost of the military campaign down. The unfortunate reality is that, the only plausible way to keep the costs down is to provide fewer, poorer quality supplies to the army that is far away. Since the savings would be small, the Russians sensibly decide not to make the cutbacks and to instead look for ways of raising the necessary revenue in the future.
Ottoman Empire is a strange place, where revolters are commonly appeased by giving them everything they may want. Just like Ibrahim Pasha at some point took over as Grand Vizier, so the position is now offered to Muhammad Ali. The palace coup against Ibrahim is surprisingly smooth by Ottoman standards, with the Sultan and the Valide Sultan supporting his ousting. Ali Pasha is relatively generous to his predecessor, considering the attempted assassination of Ali, allowing exile rather than death. Ali’s son, Tusun Pasha, is appointed as Wali of Egypt while Ali himself cements his position in Constantinople.
Serbian revolters are dealt with by Ali by simply granting them their demands. Serbia will from now on be a hereditary principality that is a vassal of the Porte. Karađorđe Petrović becomes the first hereditary Prince of Serbia. It seems the only traitor who does not get his way is the Prince of Wallachia whose forces are easily crushed by the Ottomans near Sofia. With the Moldavian forces bearing down on the Danube Constantine Ypsilantis decides to flee for Transylvania, and then Russia via Poland, rather than face his demise.
Americas
President Madison has a bad year. First he is at odds with his own party over the issue of taxation. His plan to reduce excise taxes on certain goods is largely approved, but the Democratic-Republicans in Congress, led by Joseph Bradley Varnum, also cut tariffs in half, arguing that high tariffs hurt farmers and unjustly benefit the rich. Congress is careful to ensure that the income it receives is still sufficient to cover its bills, but the prospect of any major government-funded projects has taken a serious blow.
Next Madison has to deal with deteriorating relations with the United Kingdom. Without the protection of high tariffs New England manufactures struggle to compete with British imports. British textiles (produced with American wool and cotton) arrive in Boston and New York. This prompts an ever-more-angry confrontation between New England entrepreneurs and British merchants and there are calls for renegotiating the American-British treaty that has led to this situation.
In the Swedish Caribbean two primary schools are set up on Guadalupe. The idea is the education of the children on the island in Swedish. Unfortunately the island is dominated by two groups - the slaves and the French upper class. The French children are typically taught at home while the slaves, well, are slaves. The small Swedish population and even the tiny middle class of town workers who live on the island are grateful for the schools, but they do not seem likely to alter the dynamics of island life.
In Mexico the movement of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla gains in popularity. It remains violent and radical, and it is still supported by merely a fraction of the people in the country, but there are supporters to be found outside of Dolores. Many poor Mexicans, especially criolles, can get behind the idea of killing those with money and taking it for themselves. However, the opposition to the movement is much stronger, and it grows much faster than the movement’s popularity. The King is popular as is the new Viceroy, and violence is extremely unpopular among everyone except the small fraction of the poor.
The movement receives an unexpected boost when Ignacio Allende leads the band of poorly-armed peasants to a victory over Spanish troops near Santiago, just south of Dolores. The Spanish troops expect an easy victory, but in the last year Allende has turned his three-thousand strong force into a competent militia. He uses the six cannons he has captured in Dolores to his advantage, and loses less than ten men in the engagement. Perhaps if Hidalgo and Allende cannot win the support of the Mexicans they can simply conquer the country.
In Caracas the self-proclaimed municipal council begins an anti-royalist campaign that is only thinly disguised as an anti-corruption one. Francisco de Miranda leads the campaign, demanding that royalist officials be removed, under made-up accusations of corruption. The popular Spanish Capital General Vicente Emparán treads a middle line, agreeing to remove those officials against whom concrete evidence of corruption can be found and protecting the rest.
In Peru a further three thousand men are raised into the colonial military, with the goal of solidifying the occupation of Upper Peru. Elsewhere in Peru, in Lima in particular, the Viceroy attends to his duty of establishing elementary schools to teach children basic reading, writing skills. Though the goal is to win popularity, the schools do not really change anyone’s mind about the situation in the colony.
In La Plata the situation is murky. Manuel Belgrano calls for a revolution to depose Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, though there is no reason for it. Belgrano is supposedly upset by the resignation of the King, but its not clear how this translated into a revolution to depose the Viceroy. The couple of dozen of armed protesters who support Belgrano are easily dispersed by the troops in Buenos Aires, but the situation remains tense, especially as the Viceroyalty of Peru continues to occupy Upper Peru.
Over the course of two years the Russian presence in Alaska nearly doubles, to about 150 permanent settlers in three separate small outposts along the coast. Up to five times that are temporary hunters and fishermen who come over to Alaska from Russia and then return back to Okhotsk at the end of summer.
Africa
In many parts of northern Africa, Libya and the Sudan Muslim thought takes a different direction than in Arabia. Although there was a brief emergence of Salafism in parts of the Sahara, by now it is mostly gone. Local Sufi traditions blend native beliefs and mystical Islamic rituals in order to produce a strand of Islam that is very different from the puritan Salafism practiced in Arabia.
Surprisingly, it is a Danish fleet under Steen Andersen Bille that attacks the French and Dutch African outposts. The French resist stubbornly, though both of their forts eventually fall to the Danes. The Dutch in the Gold Coast surrender without a fight. The French might take it as a matter of consolation that the ship of the line that was damaged during the attack probably costs more than the entire colony combined.
A Danish expedition up the Niger river is not heard from after they depart Warri near the river delta.
Many of the Dutch settlers in the Cape initially welcome the British intervention, given the state of the Batavian Republic. The British, however, quickly begin a process of shipping thousands of colonists (usually convicts or those otherwise forced into this situation) to the Cape, with the goal of displacing and marginalizing the Dutch. An uprising begins in Cape Town in June and over the course of the summer the Dutch and the British clash across the settlements in the colony. In August a daring Dutch attack leads to the capture of two ships in the harbor of Simons Town, and though the British keep control over the area around the harbor of Cape Town, that is about all that they keep control of in the colony.
Asia and Oceania
Muslim scholars meet in Diriyah in order to discuss the nature of Islam and the details of Salafism. The document that comes out of it, based on Sharia and the Salafi interpretation of the Quran, is a synthesis of Salafi thought. But without a governing authority it is not clear what has been accomplished. Muslim scholars return to their towns and villages and continue to administer Sharia justice in their own interpretation of the Salafi ideas. The deviations between different interpretations are, today, more minor than before, but they are sure to grow over time just as they did before.
A clever Saudi officer decides to adopt the mazhar, a traditional drum, in order to send signals from one bedouin troop to another. The innovation spreads quickly and is adopted by most officers in the Saudi forces. There is some difficulty, since not everyone uses the same signals, but these will get worked out over time. In the meantime an extra three thousand bedouin are recruited into the ranks of the Saudi forces, giving the Saudis probably the largest force on the Arabian peninsula.
With war in the Indian Ocean once again, and instability in the Ottoman Empire, Persian trade suffers. Piracy in the Persian Gulf is once again on the rise after the Persians seem to have failed to eradicate it in the prior years. Attempts to promote trade, such as gifts and bribes for foreign merchants, while expensive, do little to actually stop the gradual decline.
Domestic commerce, though, continues to improve. The large bazaar in Tehran attracts merchants from all over the country. In a single week more goods are sold at the Tehran bazaar after it opens than in all of previous year in the city. The activity is likely to slow down, but the temporary boost is certainly welcome.
In Azerbaijan the Ottoman forces withdraw, leaving the Persians to try to fight the local Khans by themselves. The Persians fortify the city of Baku, making it largely impenetrable for the small Azeri forces. The Persians then attempt to use local collaborators and guides to lead them to the Azeri strongholds, and the guides lead them straight into prepared Azeri traps. Nearly four thousand Persians perish in two different massacres in the Kura valley, and by the end of the year, if anything, the Persian grip on Azerbaijan has lessened.
The British have little trouble taking control of Reunion, though the French resistance on Isle de France proves somewhat more significant. The two French frigates, along with minor ships, nearly defeat the much larger British squadron, losing only when one of the two frigates runs aground. A series of small engagements on the island itself take most of the year, with the French retreating after every one, but never completely defeated. An attack on Colombo in Ceylon has even less success as the Batavian East Indies Fleet defends the island from the British squadron sent to capture the town. Other operations in the Indian Ocean are postponed until the following year in the face of these setbacks.
The Maratha Confederacy begins to fall apart. A new Charter, proposed by the Peshwa, is soundly rejected by the Knights. The Gaekwad Maharaja of Baroda signs a separate treaty with the United Kingdom, accepting British protection. The rest of the Knights are split into two groups - those who want to maintain the Confederacy with equality between all regional rulers and those who no longer have interest in such. The Pawars, Scindias, and Bhonsales are most inclined to keep the Confederacy together while the Holkars under Yashwant Rao Holkar believe that it has outlived its usefulness.
The news is made all the more terrible as the army training program initiated by the Peshwa ends in disaster. The Knights each vie for the loyalty of the military commanders. Some are removed through political pressure, some are outright assassinated. Many have ties to Yashwant Rao Holkar who has proven to be a capable commander himself. And so with loyalty suddenly more important than ability the Maratha army’s quality understandably deteriorates.
The Danish fleet finally limps from India to the East Indies, where it arrives at Fort Rotterdam. The fort is taken by the fleet after a short bombardment, and the Danes enter Makassar. Their plans from here are unclear, though it is becoming increasingly difficult to supply a force of nearly ten thousand soldiers in a completely foreign land.
The Portuguese meanwhile stage a small attack against the Dutch outpost at Ternate. There exists no Dutch fort there, and the “outpost” is a matter of four dozen Dutch traders and officials who work in two buildings in the city. The Portuguese arrest the men, though what happens from here is uncertain. A planned attack against Ambon, where there is a Dutch fort named Victoria, is called off after it becomes clear that the small Portuguese force is insufficient to take it.
Other events
Robert Fulton patents the steamboat in the United States.
Whangaroa Māori people kill and eat 66 crew and passengers of the brigantine Boyd in New Zealand.
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck publishes Philosophie Zoologique, outlining the concept of evolution.
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