[Forum Game] - World in Revolution: 1861 Mk. IV

[Noco19]

A Treaty to amend Borders, regulate International Commerce, and amend the Payment of Reparations between the United and Confederate States of America
(Treaty of Alexandria)​

Recognizing the need to reform national borders to ensure peace,
Recognizing the need to ensure stable commerce among Nations,
Reaffirming the need for Nations to remain financially accountable and solvent,

The signatories and the governments they represent agree to the following:

GENERAL PROVISIONS of borders.

§ 1. The borders of the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, between the District of Columbia in the former and the Commonwealth of Virginia in the latter, shall be amended as shown in Appendix A.

§ 2. The citizens and Government of the United States and Confederate States shall be afforded sixty days, from the signing of this Treaty, to remove all properties, public and private, from the ceded areas of the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

GENERAL PROVISIONS of commerce.

§ 3. All commerce on rail that travels on rail lines which go across the borders between the United States and Confederate States shall not be impeded or prevented to continue travel, and shall thereby be permitted to improve international commerce and the lives of the citizens of both Powers.

§ 4. All trade and commerce that travels on the rivers between and through the United States and Confederate States shall enjoy free and full navigation thereon, and shall not have duties nor tariffs upon them placed for purposes of discouraging imports or exports, nor for purposes of revenue collection by state or Federal governments.

§ 5. After the passing of four years from the signing of this treaty, article 4 may be revisited by the signatory Powers, for purposes of evaluating its effects on international commerce, economic and financial wellbeing, and for purposes of revenue collection by one or both of the signatory Powers.

GENERAL PROVISIONS of payments and finances.

§ 6. The Government of the Confederate States maintains the right to petition the Government of the United States to amend the articles pertaining to the payment of reparations (§ 5. & § 6. Treaty of Manassas, 1865) to the Government of the United States, in the event of endangered solvency in the former.

With signatures affixed on this seventh day of September, in the year of Our Lord eighteen-hundred and sixty-five,

HORATIO SEYMOUR,
Secretary of State of the United States

JUDAH P. BENJAMIN,
Secretary of State for the Confederate States of America

​

Spoiler: Appendix A.

 

[Frymonmon]

BE ADVISED

I am extending the deadline for orders to 12 July 2017.

 

[99KingHigh]

Addressed to the relevant Personas of the Government of France and the Government of Italy.
​

Your Excellencies,

The correspondence that I wish to inaugurate with your respective Governments, with the utmost reverence, is conducted on behalf of the Mont Cenis Concessionary Company, formed on 12 April 1864, and comprised of the names foresigned in the valediction of the document. Your Excellencies, the purpose of the request hereafter included is to seek authorization for the construction of a railway to serve as the temporary alternate to the planned Fréjus Rail Tunnel for so long as that entity remains unconstructed. A direct route that will not require existent horse-drawn transport across the Alps and over the Mont Cenis Pass will considerably expedite freight transport by means of the completed rail connection between Calais and Brindisi. Our company’s chief engineer, Mr. John Barraclough Fell, notes that the slopes of the Alps are excessively sharp for conventional trains; however, Mr. Fell has a patented system that has been detailed by Brassey Jackson Betts & Co.'s Canada Works in Birkenhead, and displayed to observers at the inclines of Whaley Bridge with the permission of the London and North Western Railway. Necessary spaces proving the only obstacle, the Company seeks permission to build adjacent to the public roads of Mont Cenis to navigate the Alps in accordance with the special construction provisions of Mr Fell. Mont Cenis Concessionary Company is happy to inform your persons that the Company is prepared to fund this operation independently without the necessary expenditure of the French or Italian administrations.

Sincerely,
The Duke of Sutherland,
Mr. Thomas Brassey
Sir Morton Peto
Mr. Edward Betts
Mr. James Lister
Mr Thomas Crampton
Mr. Alexander Brogden
Mr. James Cross
Mr. John Fell
Mr. James Brunlees
Mr. Joseph Jopling
Mr. T S Cutbill.
Mr. C Lowinger.
​

 

[99KingHigh]

On the 11th day of November, 1865

Treaty between His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir John Lawrence, G.C.B., K.S.I., Viceroy and Governor-General of Her Britannic Majesty's possessions in the East Indies, and the one part by Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Bruce, CB, by virtue of full powers to that effect vested in him by the Viceroy and Governor – General, and on the other part by Samdojey Deb Jimpey and Themseyrensey Donai according to full powers conferred on them by the Dhum and Deb Rajahs, 1865.

ARTICLE I There shall henceforth be perpetual peace and friendship between the British Government and the Government of Bhootan.

ARTICLE II Whereas in consequence of repeated aggressions of the Bhootan Government and of the refusal of that Government to afford satisfaction for those aggressions, and for their insulting treatment of the officers sent by His Excellency the Governor-General in Council for the purpose of procuring an amicable adjustment of differences existing between the two states, the British Government has been compelled to seize by an armed force the whole of the Doars and certain Hill Posts protecting the passes into Bhootan, and whereas the Bhootan Government has now expressed its regret for past misconduct and a desire for the establishment of friendly relations with the British Government, it is hereby agreed that the whole of the tract known as the Eighteen Doars, bordering on the districts of Rungpoor, Cooch Behar, and Assam, together with the Taloo of Ambaree Fallcottah and the Hill territory on the left bank of the Teesta up to such points as may be laid down by the British Commissioner appointed for the purpose is ceded by the Bhootan Government to the British Government forever.

ARTICLE III The Bhootan Government hereby agree to surrender all British subjects, as well as subjects of the Chief of Sikkim and Cooch Behar who are now detained in Bhootan against their will, and to place no impediment in the way of the return of all or any of such persons into British territory.

ARTICLE IV In consideration of the cession by the Bhootan Government of the territories specified in Article II of this Treaty, and of the said Government having expressed its regret for past misconduct, and having hereby engaged for the future to restrain all evil disposed persons from committing crimes within British territory or the territories of the Rajahs of Sikkim and Cooch Behar and to give prompt and full redress for all such crimes which may be committed in defiance of their commands, the British Government agree to make an annual allowance to the Government of Bhootan of a sum not exceeding fifty thousand rupees (Rupees 50,000) to be paid to officers not below the rank of Jungpen, who shall be deputed by the Government of Bhootan to receive the same. And it is further hereby agreed that the payments shall be made as specified below:

On the fulfillment by the Bhootan Government of the conditions of this Treaty Twenty Five Thousand Rupees (Rupees 25,000).

On the 10th January following the 1st payment, thirty five thousand rupees (Rupees 35,000)

On the 10th January following, forty-five thousand rupees (Rupees 45,000)

On every succeeding 10th January, fifty thousand rupees (Rupees 50,000)

[X] Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Bruce, CB
[] Samdojey Deb Jimpey and Themseyrensey Donai

 

[MastahCheef117]

​

Great change is made in the Nation — the words and whispers and shouts and cries of a great multitude, the greatest host of God yet seen upon the face of the earth, are now heard by every one of their countrymen at last, and all the countrymen of the Union across the world. But these cries for liberty and for Union — for the Right affirmed and acquired by our Forefathers through great shedding of blood and loss of limb and heart and life — are derided by the enemies of natural law and Liberty, in this country and elsewhere, as nothing but a FOLLY of foolhardy Negro-lovers who would destroy their country by affirming the equal rights of their countryman and brother.

And six years ago the famed Georgian said that an undivided South had proclaimed in unanimity, that John Brown the Meteor — John Brown the would-be Emancipator — John Brown the God-fearing — John Brown the Unionist — John Brown the Countryman — shall be let out to hang in the gallows. In the death of a man seeking to cleanse the earth of sin, the land of the oppressor found joy and cause for celebration; in his death, the land of the emancipator found untold grief and an unyielding anger.

I have written some years ago that I shall give no inch and that I shall be heard. I have been heard alongside the cries of five-hundred thousand Union men who have fought in field and thicket and grass, in day and night, in frigid cold and interminable heat, in brutal snows and torrential downpours, for the preservation of their country and the final and total abolition of the greatest sin ever committed against God on the Earth. And at last those cries of all the great republicans and patriots across all the city-streets and forest-paths was heard by that body of Congressmen were heard, and the Amendment to the Constitution for which we have waited so long was made full and insurmountable law.

But that noble crusade, touted by its opponents as the greatest folly and greatest ill-founded cause ever taken up by the arms and energies of Man, has not perished in dignity with the passage of a simple law. It persists not abroad only, but here in this Union, and again, too, on this Continent. For on the fields of Tennessee and Virginia, not terribly unlike the fields of Kentucky and Maryland, and in all the other States that have declared their secession from Union, there exist some millions more men and women who labor endlessly with no pay and with no rights — damned by Lucifer and his cruel and mindless minions to work for all time for their pleasure, and to live all their days and hours —to the very last — without ever having exercised a single one of those glorious rights issued by God. The mission therefore cannot end here at the acceptance of a law in this Republic, but must be carried out, protected, projected, and forced across all the borders of the world. The Negro of the South is as much our countryman as any neighbor down the street or elsewhere in the State, and he as much as any citizen or subject of any distant monarchy or republic, no matter its fashion of government and its execution of laws, nor the tongue or dress of its people. And the crusade shall not end, then — it shall be taken up by a whole new host of Patriots who love their countrymen as themselves, and cherish the great liberties given to us by God — and must be.

The ingrate oppressors and their colleagues and allies in their newfound republic — better to call it a tyranny which rejects God, for such is a far better and more accurate description — would instead call us a minority in our own Republic, or on the Continent, for the belligerent opposition of a most oppressive, violent, and belligerent institution is folly, that the Negro is inferior to the White, and that the Minority would be better to settle into their own politic and institutions than to concern themselves with the affairs of others, "with which they cannot, by right or by manner, associate themselves with." Better to be always in a minority of one with God — branded as madman, incendiary, fanatic, heretic, infidel — frowned upon by "the powers that be," and mobbed by the populace — or consigned ignominiously to the gallows, like him whose "soul is marching on," though his "body lies mouldering in the grave," or burnt to ashes at the stake like Wickliffe, or nailed to the cross like him who "gave himself for the world," — in defence of the RIGHT, than like Herod, having the shouts of a multitude crying, "It is the voice of a god, and not of a man!"

 

[99KingHigh]

The SS Great Eastern and the Attempt on the Transatlantic Telegraph Cable
​

The original transatlantic telegraph cable—designed and laid down in 1858—was an unsustainable entity; the engineer, Wildman Whitehouse, applied excessive voltage to it while trying to achieve faster operations than the cable had been able to endure, and the cable failed in September 1858. The reaction to this news was outrageous; many implied that the line was a mere hoaxed invented to simply encourage stock exchange speculation. In the enquiry that followed, Dr Whitehouse was deemed responsible for the failure, and the company did not escape criticism for employing an electrical engineer with no recognized qualifications. Cyrus West Field, the American entreuperneiir, was unable to revive the scheme for several years, until in 1864, two English businessmen, Thomas Brassy and John Pender, succeeded in raising the necessary capital. The Glass, Elliot, and Gutta-Percha Companies were united to form the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company which undertook to manufacture and lay the new cable under the direction of the new English chief electrician, C. F. Varley. Between the failure of the original cable and the successful attainment of new capital, long-range cables had been submerged in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea; an improved cable of durable quality was therefore designed from these experinces, and the Haymills site of Birmingham, England, manufactured 30,000 miles of wire in eleven months.

The famous Robert Howlett photo of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (designer of the SS Great Eastern) against the launching chains of Great Eastern at Millwall in 1857.
​

Finally, on July 15 1865, the SS Great Eastern captained by Sir James Anderson, departed from Nore in Valentia Island, and proceeded an attempt on the 2,3000 nautical miles of cable. The attempt failed on July 31 when, after 1,02 miles had been paid out, the cable snapped near the stern of the ship, and the end was lost. The ship steamed back to England, where Field attempted another effort, and formed the Anglo-American Telegraph Company to lay a new cable and complete the broken one. The next voyage was scheduled for July 13, 1866...

 

[Noco19]

The Indian Territory; 1865
Indian Holdings and Statuses under the Confederacy​

In the aftermath of the War of Secession, among the maintained territories of the Confederacy stood the Indian Territory, a land quite unlike most of the American Continent. Born out of the various conflicts between American settlers and the Native Americans, to think the Indian Territory was at all a cohesive entity would be a grave mistake; it was not a truly singular territory, but an area defined by recognized tribes connected by their investment of power into regulatory treaties with at first the U.S. and now the Confederacy.

It was these very treaties and their revisions that first secured the Indian Territory on the side of the Confederacy, as the Five Civilized Tribes - referring to the Cherokee, Semniole, Creek, Choctaw, and Chickasaw nations, who were the primary holders within the Indian Territory - proved amenable to Confederate overtures. With Albert Pike as Confederate Envoy to the Native Americans, various treaties were drafted that further defined the character of these native nations within the overall Confederacy. While existing treaties likewise promised defense and the pursuit of the general, native welfare, with special judicial districts with their unique stipulations, the Confederate treaties expanded upon this in clear terms.

For instance, the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations together secured a non-voting delegate to the Confederate House of Representatives. Likewise, they would have the expressed right of unrestricted self-governance so long as it stood in the character of the Confederate Constitution. Furthermore, they secured the formation of their own judicial district spanning both native nations and guarantees that such both nations, by convention, decide upon the case of statehood, both the nations could be admitted as a combined state and considered equal in the Confederacy. Similar arrangements were made with the combined delegations of the Creek and Seminole, and separately, the Cherokee. By the word of the law, the Confederate treaties were a massive boon to hopes of the Five Civilized Tribes, who before greatly feared the further deterioration of their rights.

Of course, such treaties were likewise offered to the more minor tribes within the Indian Territory and elsewhere, from the Quapaw, to the Shawnees, and even to the Comanche. But in their abandonment of the Confederate cause by military attack or flight, these treaties were considered nullified, the main result of which was the confiscation of the small portions of Shawnee, Quapaw, and Seneca lands in north-eastern Indian Territory, leaving them, for now, unassigned, which has led to some debate within Congress over its future - whether to accommodate different tribes or to be sold, and then to whom?

Thus, with the flight of those minor tribes, the Indian Territory managed to find itself in a much more understandable state, with the Five Civilized Tribes owning clearly delineated lands with clearly delineated rights. That is not to say that the Indian Territory lacked its land quirks however; of note were three elements - the Cherokee Outlet, the Leased District, and Greer County.

The Cherokee Outlet was quite simply land designated for the usage of the Cherokee Nation to travel westward, although the imposition of now national borders led to some concerns for the Cherokee, which led to their representative calling for negotiation with the North for native transit.

"It has been ingrained within the traditions and livelihoods of we Cherokee to roam the land for the pursuit of hunt; so then we ask that this body work within its power to preserve this that we hold dear and true to our own rights."​

- Representative Elias Cornelius Boudinot of the Cherokee Nation​

Likewise, the Leased District was quite simple. Originally comprised of lands claimed by the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, a treaty with the Federal Government in 1855 allowed for the leasing of all such lands between the 98th and 100th meridians and the South Canadian River and Red River. With the flight of the residing Wichita and others, the Confederacy had little use of the land at the moment, but kept open the possibility of its usage in the future.

Greer County would be the most irksome of the Indian Territory, not so much for its native inhabitants, but for its legal status. Born out of surveying error in the 1819 Onis Treaty, Greer County had the blessing of being claimed by both the State of Texas and the Federal Government, the former of which saw the land as a possible county for white settlement, while the latter saw the land as possible land for Indian settlement. And with the formation of the Confederacy, a nation that still stands without an established Supreme Court, such a controversy continues to this day, in turn acting as the catalyst for President Jefferson Davis' call for the creation of such a body.

 

[Noco19]

The Cherokee Nation
Led by Principal Chief John Ross​

Joining arms with the Confederacy in 1862, Principal Chief John Ross - or Koo-wi-s-gu-wi (Trans: Mysterious Little White Bird) - was a figure of immense respect within the Cherokee Nation, but likewise of intense controversy and critique. Described by some as the Moses of the Cherokee, Ross like many of his prominent contemporaries in native politics was of mixed birth, one-eighth Cherokee by blood quantum. But he was raised in a household that was staunchly bicultural, serving him well for the future.

Mentored under Chiefs Pathkiller and Charles Hicks, and important for his fluency in both tongues, Ross rose quickly despite his young age, becoming a member of the National Council by 1817. As principal negotiator for the Cherokee, Ross built clout in Washington D.C. and was an audacious spokesman for the tribe, seeking Congressional redress for the intense demands placed upon his people by white expansionists. By 1828, Ross was elected permanent principal chief.

What dominated his early tenure was the prospect of Indian Removal, as the United States continued its expansion across the continent, a notion which drove a wedge within Cherokee politics. Ross and the majority of course opposed the imposition of expulsion, becoming informally known as the National Party, while others rallied around the old and influential Major Ridge and the brothers Stand Watie and Elias Boudinot as the Treaty Party, who saw their removal inevitable and thus importance was on securing rights over resistance. A treaty was signed in 1835 which promised Cherokee expulsion by 1838, not approved by Ross and the Council, but instead the Treaty Party.

Regardless of the validity of Major Ridge's signature, the U.S. Government nevertheless enforced the treaty, resulting in the horrifying "Trail of Tears" expulsion of the Cherokees. About one-fourth of the Cherokee died on the trek to the Indian Territory, including Ross' wife Quatie. In the aftermath of this calamatious offense, numerous assassinations were inflicted on the Treaty Party, with all members condemned to death. Only Stand Watie would survive, becoming a major foe to Ross' tenure.

And so the Cherokee chartered a new life in the Indian Territory until the outbreak of perhaps the most important moment for the Cherokee - the War of Secession. As the Confederacy declared its independence, the Cherokee Nation was split harshly, moreso than it had been in the 1830s. Many traditionalists and full-bloods were initially scornful of the Confederacy due to their general fear of Union retribution and their apathy towards maintaining slavery. Most of these men centered in the Keetoowah Society and hoped to compel Ross towards loyalty.

Opposing them were the wealthy and well-armed segments of the Cherokee, as well as the mixed-bloods. Stand Watie was the most notable, leading a band of supporters to the Confederate armies as early as 1861. A natural opponent to Ross, Watie nevertheless called on the Principal Chief to recognize that the Cherokee future was with the South, not the North, and that now was the time to unite the tribe lest it break again. While not at all forgiven for the murders of his kin, Ross was in Watie's eyes a vital component to securing the Cherokee support.

John Ross for his part was desirous of pure neutrality. Receiving both Union and Confederate envoys into 1862, Ross continually acknowledged the need for peace in the Indian Territory, at times considering forbidding participation by both sides for fear they would bring ruin. It was only through the diplomacy of Albert Pike, Confederate Envoy to the Native Americans, and the influence of Watie and his supporters that Ross relented, convinced that the South had the necessary abilities to win. To this, the more radical members of the Keetoowah Society fled to Kansas to back the Union, however most begrudgingly fell in behind the respected Ross.

This notion would be tested throughout the course of the war, however, Watie and his backers would be vindicated multiple times as the Indian forces of the Confederacy proved impressive in their western expeditions and finally with the ultimate conclusion of the war. Likewise, Watie personally earned acclaim for himself as the only Indian officer to stand as brigadier general on either side. And with the so-far upheld treaty with the Confederacy, Stand Watie carved out a strong political following within the Cherokee Nation comprised of wealthy landowners and slavers, military veterans, and mixed bloods, kept checked by the largely traditionalist, moderate, and cautious elements behind John Ross.

Now, the Cherokee Nation stands under better laws, but not without internal tension. Principal Chief John Ross cannot live forever, as his failing health has well proven, and it is well-known that Stand Watie eyes the position of Principal Chief with great ambition - but would it be for the benefit of the Confederates or for the proper Cherokee?

 

[Noco19]

The Seminole Nation
Led by Principal Chief John Jumper
​

Born in the Seminole lands of Florida sometime in 1820, John Jumper - or Hemha Micco - was among those militant Indians who fought against the United States in the Second Seminole Wars from 1835 to 1842. Captured in battle and forced out of his homelands, Jumper was among the many Seminole who were forced into the Indian Territory, where he would served in the National Council through the 1840s.

By 1849, Jumper had built himself as a prominent member of the tribe and so when his brother, Chief James Jumper, died, he would succeed as Principal Chief. During his tenure, Jumper would concern himself with establishing a new life in the Indian Territory, dispatching envoys to recruit remaining Floridian Seminoles and working alongside Presbyterian Ministers to secure schooling for his people. In 1856, Jumper oversaw the formal establishment of the Seminole Nation.

At the outbreak of the War of Secession, it was natural that many looked to him for direction. Cautious of Confederate diplomacy, Jumper nevertheless joined the other Five Civilized Tribes in joining with the Southern Cause in 1862, swayed by the ambition of Seminole statehood. Serving as a lieutenant colonel in the Seminole Mounted Volunteers, Chief Jumper was one of Brigadier General Stand Watie's trusted commanders not of Cherokee stock.

However, that was not to say there was not dissent. In response to the Seminole alignment to the Confederacy, a town chief by the name of John Chupco unilaterally refused to recognize any treaty with the South, speaking on behalf of the Hvteyievike Band, a group of Seminole who had most recently arrived from Florida. Departing with his most ardent followers, Chupco met up with the expelled Chief Opothleyahola of the Creek Nation and departed north for Kansas to fight for the Union. Ambushed during the initial Confederate invasion into Kansas, Chupco was captured and scalped by a mixed band of whites and natives.

Now, the Seminole Nations stands generally undivided under Jumper, his opponents fled or dead. Further entreating Christian missions, by 1865, Jumper concerned himself chiefly with finding God through Baptist ministry while heavily encouraging the establishment of better schooling for the Seminoles.

 

[KeldoniaSkylar]

Austro-Ottoman Railway Agreement
​

Whereas, it is necessary to secure the continued peace and prosperity of the borderlands directly adjoining the Austrian Empire and the Ottoman Empire,

Be it resolved by the contracting powers, the following;

Article, the first; the head of the House of Habsburg shall buy out the his Imperial Majesty the Sultan's suzerain rights, privileges, and ownership over the United Principalities for a lump sum of 1,626,000£ ($200m stat bucks).

Article, the second; both nations guarantee the borders and the territorial integrity of their respective European possessions.

Article, the third; this treaty shall come into effect immediately and replace all agreements between the Austrian Empire and the Ottoman Empire in specific regards to the United Principalities.

Article, the fourth; no foreign troops not mutually allowed by the contracting powers shall be allowed in the territory of the United Principalities.

Article, the fifth; a concession is granted to Austria to develop a railway system for the Northern Balkans.

The mainline in Austrian territory will start at Zagreb and then move to Ottoman territory to Sarajevo, to Skopje, to Sofia, and then terminates in Constantinople. The line within Austrian territory is to remain property of the Austrian government. Branch lines to Varna, Belgrade, and Salonika are also authorized. The line in Ottoman territory--subject to the concession granted to Austria for a period of 25 years starting upon completion of the mainline--will be managed by interests licensed by the Austrian government for this period. Upon the expiration of the concession ownership of the Ottoman territorial portion of the line will vest in a joint Austro-Turkish firm with a 51 percent share owned by the Turkish government and a 49 percent share owned by the Austrian government.

Signed,

[X] Alexandros Kallimachis, The Sultan's Ambassador to the Hofburg
[X] Anton Graf Prokesch von Osten, Ambassador to the Sublime Porte, High Commissioner to the Danubian Principalities.
​

 

[Cloud Strife]

Austro-Ottoman Railway Agreement
​

Whereas, it is necessary to secure the continued peace and prosperity of the borderlands directly adjoining the Austrian Empire and the Ottoman Empire,

Be it resolved by the contracting powers, the following;

Article, the first; the head of the House of Habsburg shall buy out the his Imperial Majesty the Sultan's suzerain rights, privileges, and ownership over the United Principalities for a lump sum of 1,626,000£ ($200m stat bucks).

Article, the second; both nations guarantee the borders and the territorial integrity of their respective European possessions.

Article, the third; this treaty shall come into effect immediately and replace all agreements between the Austrian Empire and the Ottoman Empire in specific regards to the United Principalities.

Article, the fourth; no foreign troops not mutually allowed by the contracting powers shall be allowed in the territory of the United Principalities.

Article, the fifth; a concession is granted to Austria to develop a railway system for the Northern Balkans.

The mainline in Austrian territory will start at Zagreb and then move to Ottoman territory to Sarajevo, to Skopje, to Sofia, and then terminates in Constantinople. The line within Austrian territory is to remain property of the Austrian government. Branch lines to Varna, Belgrade, and Salonika are also authorized. The line in Ottoman territory--subject to the concession granted to Austria for a period of 25 years starting upon completion of the mainline--will be managed by interests licensed by the Austrian government for this period. Upon the expiration of the concession ownership of the Ottoman territorial portion of the line will vest in a joint Austro-Turkish firm with a 51 percent share owned by the Turkish government and a 49 percent share owned by the Austrian government.

Signed,

[X] Alexandros Kallimachis, The Sultan's Ambassador to the Hofburg
[] The Austrian Representative​

[x] Anton Graf Prokesch von Osten, Ambassador to the Sublime Porte, High Commissioner to the Danubian Principalities.

 

[Noco19]

The Creek Nation
Led by Principal Chief Samuel Callahan​

Whereas all the other Five Civilized Tribes were governed by men who came around in support of the Confederacy, the Creek were unique in that their standing principal chief - Opothleyahol, meaning "Good Speaker", - was vehemently against any such notion to the point of insurrection. This is well explained by the very history of the tribe, as the Creek possessed within its numbers a great deal of members of African descent, born from their original homelands of the Southeast. It was of little surprise then that these Creek, living primarily in the central and northern reaches of their lands were staunchly against the notion of aligning with the South.

Likewise, the primary leadership of the Creek, between Principal Chief Opothleyahol and chiefs such as Micco Hutko, had its many grievances against the United States, but levied them at the respective states - namely the likes of Georgia. Thus, they felt that an alliance with the South would simply put them again at the mercy of the instigators towards their removal.

However, that is not to say that the South had no supporters within the Creek. Especially within the southern lands of the Creek Nation and among the south-eastern tribes, cotton cultivation was a staple livelihood, securing a cultural and economic connection with the South. Furthermore, while many within the Creek had African heritage, even figures such as Opothleyahol himself boasted slave labor to works their plantations, suppressing any sort of noble sense of abolitionism that could have formed a strong, popular movement.

What would prove the downfall of Opothleyahol would be his belief that the Creek would ultimately fall behind him and the other leaders. And so, as Unionist Seminoles, Freedmen, and runaway slaves gathered at Opothleyahol's home to prepare exodus, he would speak before the National Council, calling for a declaration in support of the Union. To his utter surprise, the National Council, having been swayed by Albert Pike, not only disregarded such a request, but in turn expelled Opothleyahol.

With vengeance in his heart, Opothleyahol would gather his followers and embark out north, likewise picking up other dissidents and encouraging insurrection among the lesser tribes of the Indian Territory. He would prove to be the staunchest Indian speakers against the South and would play a role in prompting the Quapaw, Seneca, Shawnee, and Wichitas to betray the Confederacy.

As Confederate victory was proclaimed following the Treaty of Manassass, the Creek Nation felt both a sense of vindication, but likewise uncertainty. The Creek National Council was well aware that it alone had bore the most rebellious fruit from among the Five Civilized Tribes, and if the others felt cautious about a future under the Confederacy, the Creek felt it tenfold.

This in turn was no doubt the foundation for the rise of the current principal chief - Samuel Callahan, or Hothlepoya meaning "Crazy Warrior". Born in 1833 to a white father and a mixed-blood Creek woman in Mobile, Alabama, Callahan and his mother were forced out of the state and into the Indian Territory following his father's death in 1836, whereafter they would move to Texas after marrying into a white family.

Returning in the 1850's, Callahan would settle down with a white woman from Sulphur Springs, Texas, starting a family and a cattle ranch. Moderately wealthy, Callahan would become influential among pro-Confederate Creek and by 1861, would serve as a volunteer officer for Creek volunteers. While serving with little distinction compared with the likes of Stand Watie, Callahan did manage to earn the trust of his soldiers, where he would be informally given his Creek name of Hothlepoya. In 1864, Callahan angled himself for a political career and managed to secure himself the position of representative to the Confederate House of Representatives on behalf of the Creek and Seminole nations.

His tenure, however, would be cut surprisingly short with the conclusion of the war. Now at peace, the Creek National Council struggled to find a candidate to fulfill the long vacant position of principal chief. At the recommendation of the wealthy and military veterans of the Creek, and those of pragmatic mindset who sought conciliatory action towards the Confederacy, Samuel Callahan was elected chief. Returning from Richmond, Callahan now sits now as one of the chiefs most aligned with the Confederacy.

 

[Noco19]

​

The Choctaw Nation
Led by Principal Chief Peter Pitchlynn​

First son of the mixed-blood Choctaw woman Sophia Folsom and John Pitchylnn, interpreter for George Washington in Choctaw affairs, Principal Chief Peter Pitchlynn, or Hat-choo-tuck-nee meaning "the Snapping Turtle", received a remarkably advanced education even for white standards. Attending a boarding school in Tennessee as a child, Pitchlynn later attended the prestigious University of Nashville, whereafter he returned home to Mississippi to become a farmer.

With his fine education, Pitchlynn considered himself an agent for the betterment of his fellow Choctaw, and it was by his initiative that the Choctaw Academy was founded in Kentucky in 1825. Likewise, he labored to ban the sale of alcohol in Choctaw territory, seeing it as a great vice pushed upon his people. His views can best be described by none other than Charles Dickens, who recorded his meeting with Pitchlynn on a steamboat on the Ohio River:

"There were but twenty thousand of the Choctaws left, he said, and their number was decreasing every day. A few of his brother chiefs had been obliged to become civilised, and to make themselves acquainted with what the whites knew, for it was their only chance of existence. But they were not many; and the rest were as they always had been. He dwelt on this: and said several times that unless they tried to assimilate themselves to their conquerors, they must be swept away before the strides of civilised society."
​

By 1830, Pitchlynn was a member of the Choctaw National Council, prized for his use in negotiations between the Choctaw and the U.S. Government. Pitchlynn took his duties seriously, and so he moved to the Indian Territory so as to help found their new Nation. Throughout the 1840s, Pitchlynn worked to organize the continued settlement of the Choctaw into the Indian Territory, while petitioning Congress for the recognition of each native nation as separate territories, to no avail.

Much like the Cherokee chief John Ross, Pitchlynn saw the secession of the Confederate States of America as the beginnings of chaos and trouble, and so he departed from this mission in Washington D.C. to return home to the Indian Territory, praying that the war would not come to his people. No such luck was had however as both the North and South vied over the loyalties of the tribes of the Indian Territory.

While preaching neutrality, when push came to shove in 1862, as numerous tribes leaned towards the South, a number of important factors culminated in Pitchylnn's support behind the Confederacy. Firstly, there were indeed some economic ties between the Choctaw and Southern states, namely in their practice of slavery. Furthermore, the local agents from the U.S. Government had been Southerners, and so they naturally advocated for backing of the South. Perhaps most interesting however was the advocacy for the South by the Mississippi Choctaw, who told their kin in the Indian Territory to side with the South.

The reasoning behind this swell of support by the Mississippi was founded on their resentment of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit, signed between the Federal Government and the Choctaw in 1830. The document which effectively served to sever the Choctaw between the Nation in the Indian Territory, which had autonomy, and the Tribe in Mississippi, which was subject to state law, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit was especially despised due in part to the promise of land and the subsequent controversies with its allocation by the U.S. Government. Many appeals were given to U.S. Courts and all were ignored. The Mississippi Choctaw, perhaps naively, believed that the Confederacy could prove more amenable to talks.

And so, convinced by the popular will of the Choctaw of both the Indian Territory and Mississippi, Pitchlynn voiced his backing of the Confederacy. And in early 1862, when Principal Chief Samuel Garland resigned due to illness, it was Pitchlynn who replaced him, becoming the principal chief at a time of great anxiety. Throughout the War of Secession, the Choctaw proved to be a capable force, compared to the likes of the Cherokee in terms of apparent zeal.

Now, with the war finished and Pitchlynn as principal chief, the Choctaw Nation stands poised to be guided towards a new path, generally optimistic in pursuits of reforming themselves to better survive in this much changed world. Already, Pitchlynn has made moves to secure funding for another Choctaw Academy, with Kentucky now under the Union, and has begun talks with his Mississippi counterparts to advocate in the House of Representatives for redress regarding the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit.

 

[Noco19]

The Chickasaw Nation
Led by Governor Cyrus Harris​

A mixed-blood Chickasaw from Mississippi born in 1817, Cyrus Harris grew up on the estate of his grandmother while his grandfather was notable Chickasaw leader General William Colbert. Sent to a boarding school in Tennessee, Harris only received formal education at an elementary level, however his skill in both English and Chickasaw languages allowed him a status beyond his education.

Just like their Choctaw relatives, the Chickasaw of Mississippi were increasingly coerced into moving onto the Indian Territory, and it was no different for Harris, who moved in 1837 where he opened a mercantile business. However, it was his service in translating between U.S. agents and tribal leaders that directed Harris towards his future pursuits in diplomacy. Throughout the 1850s, Harris accompanied federal expeditions around the Indian Territory and as far west as Washington, before returning home to settle down in 1855.

1856 proved an important year for the Chickasaw Nation, as it marked the adoption of a new constitution, establishing the office of governor, not principal chief as it was styled in the other Civilized Tribes. Of the many candidates, none would receive the majority of the popular vote, thus leaving the selection in the hands of the National Council. By a majority of one vote, Cyrus Harris became the first Governor of the Chickasaw Nation. Harris would spend his two-year term organizing the government, but was defeated in the 1858 elections by Doughtery Colbert.

Still, Harris remained an influential figure in the Chickasaw Nation, and found himself back in office in 1860. It was during his tenure that the War of Secession broke out, and thus it was his guidance that lead the Chickasaw to become perhaps the most avid supporter of the Confederacy. Rooted in the same issues shared by the Choctaw against the U.S. Government, Harris capitalized on the Chickasaw sentiments, stating:

"The United States abandoned us; Fort Washita is unmanned and we have been left open to the whims of any Plains peoples who seek to raid us. That which has been promised to us in exchange for our current condition - the defense of our lands - has been wholly ignored. We have no other alternative but to proclaim our secession from the United States and our alliance to the Confederate States."​

Thus, Harris signed a set of resolutions that would be the first victory had by Albert Pike's overtures to the Indian Territory, followed by the other Civilized Tribes. It was the ambition of Harris and indeed the Chickasaw and Choctaw to secure the opportunity of statehood and increased rights, and Albert Pike offered just that. Perhaps for that, Harris won the 1862 election against Doughtery Colbert, and then again in 1864, firmly shutting out his long-time rival.

Now entering in 1865, it is seen that the Chickasaw have settled into quiet prosperity, working alongside the Choctaw Nation in commerce as well as representation for their grievances in Mississippi, as well as defense against possible attacks from marauding natives from the Plains.

 

[etranger01]

To His Majesty, Victor Emmanuel II, King of Italy,

His Imperial Majesty NAPOLEON III, Emperor of the French by the Grace of God and the Will of the Nation, bids me cordially invite Your Majesty to Paris in the coming year, together with Your Majesty's retinue, ministers, and family, there to enjoy the city's renovations and to renew the historic friendship between the House of Bonaparte and the House of Savoy. Your Majesty is further invited to participate in discussions with His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the French and His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias regarding the present situation in Europe.

Should Your Majesty accept, His Imperial Majesty's envoy to Your Majesty's court has been instructed to put himself at Your Majesty's disposal to coordinate the timetables for Your Majesty's visit.

Please accept His Imperial Majesty's fond regards and sincere wishes for Your Majesty's health and good spirits.

Edouard Drouyn de Lhuys
Foreign Minister of the Empire​

 

[oxfordroyale]

To His Majesty, Victor Emmanuel II, King of Italy,

His Imperial Majesty NAPOLEON III, Emperor of the French by the Grace of God and the Will of the Nation, bids me cordially invite Your Majesty to Paris in the coming year, together with Your Majesty's retinue, ministers, and family, there to enjoy the city's renovations and to renew the historic friendship between the House of Bonaparte and the House of Savoy. Your Majesty is further invited to participate in discussions with His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the French and His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias regarding the present situation in Europe.

Should Your Majesty accept, His Imperial Majesty's envoy to Your Majesty's court has been instructed to put himself at Your Majesty's disposal to coordinate the timetables for Your Majesty's visit.

Please accept His Imperial Majesty's fond regards and sincere wishes for Your Majesty's health and good spirits.

Edouard Drouyn de Lhuys
Foreign Minister of the Empire​

A Letter from Prime Minister Bettino Ricasoli to Edouard Drouyn de Lhuys, dated 3 April 1865.
​

To His Imperial Majesty, Napoleon III, Emperor of the French,

His Majesty VITTORIO EMANUELE II, King of Italy, instructs me to accept your most gracious invitation to attend His Imperial Majesty in Paris. The Kingdom of Italy is a new nation among the old and established states of Europe, bereft of clear allies and allegiances to depend upon in times of trouble; His Imperial Majesty’s offer to renew the historical friendship between the House of Bonaparte and the House of Savoy is therefore greatly appreciated.

His Majesty the King would also like to accept His Imperial Majesty’s invitation to participate in discussions with his most dist Imperial Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias. The present situation in Europe is one that will be best approached through diplomatic collaboration of this kind, and there are few better ways to forge long-lasting bonds of peace and friendship than the mingling of monarchs.

His Imperial Majesty’s fond regards and sincere wishes for health and good spirits are warmly returned to him by His Majesty the King of Italy.

BETTINO RICASOLI
Prime Minister of Italy

 

[Harpsichord]

José de San Martin, Father of the Fatherland

Born in the Argentine province of Corrientes in 1777, San Martin and his family travelled to Madrid in 1783, joining the army six years later at the age of twelve. For the next twenty-one years the young soldier fought on behalf of the Spanish crown against Moroccans, British and the French in turn; during these years San Martin was exposed to Enlightenment ideas, developing a liberal perspective that rejected the absolutism of Ferdinand VII while also opposing the French invasion of Spain. In 1811 San Martin, now thirty-four years of age, returned to his homeland on-board the George Canning with several other liberal-minded Spanish generals; the exact reasons for abandoning Spain for the Rio de la Plata are lost to history, but suspicions prevail that San Martin and his fellow travellers moved to the Americas to continue their fight when they believed that it had already been defeated in the Peninsula.

Unlike many of his compatriots in the early years of Argentine independence, San Martin advocated against conflict with José Artigas and the liga federale for risk of weakening the Patriots at a time when the royalists were still a threat. Aware that several patriot campaigns to Upper Peru overland had failed, San Martin instead chose to cross the Andes to Chile and move into Peru by sea. To call the plan audacious would be an understatement; the return of royalist authority to Chile in late 1814 necessitated not only a larger army, but for said army to cross the mountain range ready for immediate combat. Preparations took over two years, during which time San Martin pressured the Congress of Tucumán (the assembly of the United Provinces) to declare independence from Spain, whilst also refusing proposals for himself to be appointed Supreme Director.

Already regarding as a capable general, it was his successful crossing of the Andes in 1817 and subsequent liberation of Chile that began the legend of San Martin in earnest. Yet fearing for itself, Buenos Aires recalled San Martin and his Army of the Andes. In full knowledge that doing so would likely concede Chile to the royalists and prevent him from liberating Peru, the general refused. Lacking reinforcements, Buenos Aires and the Supreme Director fell to a federale army; the unitarios never forgave this defeat, and largely placed its blame at the feet of San Martin. Friendly with the federale caudillos, but having earned the enmity of the then dominant unitarios, San Martin left for Europe in 1823, settling in Brussels. He was to briefly attempt to return to Buenos Aires during the leadership of Dorrego, however, as his ship arrived in port he learned that the unitario Lavalle had usurped the government. Without setting foot ashore San Martin travelled to Montevideo, and later returned to Brussels.

After the rise of Juan Manuel de Rosas, the two men frequently exchanged letters of mutual friendship. When France and later Britain blockaded the Rio do le Plata, San Martin went as far as to offer his military services against the imperial powers. Out of respect for Rosas and his successful defence of the country, San Martin bequeathed to the Argentine dictator his own curved sabre, which he had carried with him since departing for Argentina in 1811. It was shortly after hearing of the Argentine victory against the Anglo-French blockade that he died, on 17 August 1850. In his will San Martin requested that his body be moved to Buenos Aires thereafter; before Rosas could begin the repatriation he was defeated by Urquiza at the Battle of Caseros. While both Rosas and Urquiza paid public homage to San Martin (the latter erecting a column in Paraná) in the aftermath Buenos Aires fell to unitarios, who still despised San Martin for his perceived betrayal decades before. Thus, with repatriation indefinitely delayed, San Martin's son-in-law, Mariano Balcarce, arranged for a tomb for the remains in the cemetery of Boulogne-sur-Mer.

 

[Cloud Strife]

The newly appointed High Commissioner to Moldavia and Wallachia delivers a message to Prince Cuza of the United Principalities and ensures that the same message is published in the major newspapers of the region. (@Arrowfiend)

We, Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Vistulan Poland, Bohemia, Venice, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, and Illyria; King of Jerusalem etc., Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow, Duke of Lorraine, of Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and of the Bukovina; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Auschwitz, Zator and Teschen, Friuli, Ragusa and Zara; Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trent and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg, etc.; Lord of Trieste, of Cattaro, and over the Windic march, Lord of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, etc., acting upon Our new role as liege lord over the United Principalities, do summon Our subject, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, to Vienna to deliver information on the condition of the newly acquired Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia unto Our person.

We enjoin Prince Cuza to come to Our residence in Vienna within the month.

There, in Vienna, Prince Cuza shall be reconfirmed in his role as Prince of Moldavia and of Wallachia, upon renewal of his sacred vow, to observe the obligations and duties he and our Moldavian and Wallachian subjects find themselves due to Us by the recent agreement with the Sublime Porte, which has transferred the allegiance of the residents of the aforenamed territories from the Sultan of the Ottomans to Our person.

We appoint Our servant, Anton Graf Prokesch von Osten, as High Commissioner in Bucharest and we enjoin Our loyal subject Prince Cuza to involve him, and rely upon him, in all matters of state. To that end, We task the High Commissioner, Graf von Osten, to render unto Prince Cuza and his administration as necessary advice and aid in matters of governance and administration and to send reports on the state of affairs in the forenamed territories regularly to Our person.

Furthermore, We grant to the security forces of the territories of Moldavia and of Wallachia the benefits of training and supervision by officers of Our armed forces. Every standing formation of the territories of Moldavia and of Wallachia is to be granted at least one officer of Our current forces to give advice to local leadership. Additionally, conscious of the need for economies and the efficiency of Our Imperial forces in the art of war, we direct our administration in the territories of Moldavia and of Wallachia to maintain a total force of no more than 20,000 effectives in these times of peace. The good people of the territories of Moldavia and of Wallachia shall rest assured that they will be provided all the benefits of protection by Our forces to allow Our new subjects to focus their full efforts on domestic welfare.

We direct Our administration in the territories of Moldavia and of Wallachia to focus on internal development, to advance public welfare, and to see to it that Our new subjects enjoy the fruits of prosperity. We direct that plans for a railway to connect these land with our existing lands be drawn up and that efforts be taken by Our learned subjects to present the administration of our new territories with plans for education of a primary and compulsory nature to be enacted within this decade.

We direct the High Commission to deliver this notice in person to the officers of the administration of the territories of Moldavia and of Wallachia, such as Prince Cuza, and We direct that this message be reprinted in the major newspapers of the territories of Moldavia and of Wallachia, and Our lands adjoining in the Crown of St. Stephen.

Given at Vienna,

 

[KeldoniaSkylar]

Upon reflection that Article Four potentially impinges upon the suzerainty exercised by Austria and the Sublime Porte offers its removal, noting that the Porte values the continuance of pacific relations in the Concert.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Upon reflection that Article Four potentially impinges upon the suzerainty exercised by Austria and the Sublime Porte offers its removal, noting that the Porte values the continuance of pacific relations in the Concert.

The Imperial Government notes the Sublime Porte's kind offer and accepts it. Henceforth, Article Four of the Austro-Ottoman Railway Agreement is struck from the document and declared inoperable.