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slothinator

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Bleu, Blanc et Rouge: A History of France in Three Colors
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Welcome to Bleu, Blanc et Rouge, A History of France in Three Colors!


This AAR will be a History Book AAR about France between 1836 and 1936. There is, however, the slight twist that each chapter is taken from an in-world history book written at the end of the period described. That means that you can look forward to unreliable narrators trying to make their regime look good and discredit their predecessors. As a consequence, I'd like to anticipate that I don't necessarily agree with the arguments that the "authors" will make but that each of them has their own agenda that will filter into their view of (to them) recent history.


I've also decided to include a limited number of historical characters which are either royals or those included in the Prologue. Every other French character that appears will, instead, be someone I created semi-randomly as the story progressed.


I used the HPM Mod and, as the tense suggests, I've already finished playing and am now getting around to putting it all into text. While playing, I did not have a particular goal in mind but rather was curious to see where the game took me and what interesting stories could develop while aiming for French success.


Lastly, this is my first AAR, so I hope that I'll get better over time and that it'll be a fun read for all of you!
 
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Prologue: From "Restoration and Revolution"
Prologue: From "Restoration and Revolution"

The origin of the contemporary history of France can be traced back to the Restoration of the monarchy in 1815. With the final defeat of Bonaparte, King Louis XVIII was welcomed back after decades of war and political instability. The King, however, did not wish to erase the Revolution but rather control its more fearsome impulses and utilize its best features. As part of this reimagining, he granted a Charter to the people of France whereby they would be guaranteed the rights of equality, religious toleration, freedom of the press and protection of private property. The King also allowed for a bicameral system on the British model where the Deputies could be elected if they possessed a sufficient amount of wealth.

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The Congress of Vienna would shape Europe for the decades to come

In foreign policy, France was invited to the negotiating table at the Congress of Vienna and was accepted as an important player in the concert of nations. The main foreign intervention in this period was the Spanish expedition of 1823 where France, in league with the other Great Powers of Europe, aided king Ferdinand VII in regaining his throne after he was expelled by revolutionaries demanding a constitution.

The following years saw France grow in prosperity in the absence of war and external strife as the population recovered from the effect of the Napoleonic Wars. This peaceful attitude, however, was changed by the accession of King Charles X.

The new King showed little love for the constitutional regime that had been established and attempted to repeal many of the liberties that the people had grown accustomed to in the past generation. Such an upheaval caused resentment to grow within Paris and the rest of the country to the point that the King launched a military expedition into Algeria to improve his image. This was justified by declaring that the Bey had insulted French officials and that it was necessary to deprive Barbary pirates of their principal bases.

While the expedition was a resounding success, it left mainland France free of soldiers to resist the coming Revolution. In July 1830, the people of Paris rose up in defiance of the King and his authoritarian tendencies. During three glorious days between the 27th and the 29th, the crowds managed to seize key points of the capital and force the King to abdicate in favor of Louis Philippe of Orléans who agreed to rule as a constitutional King of the French.

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Louis Philippe, King of the French

French parliamentary politics is now governed by those who emerged from this double movement of restoration and revolution with notable members being: Adolphe Thiers, Victor de Broglie, François-René de Chateaubriand, and Dupont de l'Eure.

Adolphe Thiers was born in Marseilles in 1797 to a family of poor financial means but managed to obtain a good legal education thanks to financial aid from an aunt and a godmother. As a young man, he worked as a journalist for "Le Constitutionnel" which held views in opposition to those of King Charles X. With the revolution of 1830, Thiers participated in government as a Deputy of the Assembly until being chosen by the King as Prime Minister in 1836 at the head of the Orléaniste party.

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Prime Minister Adolphe Thiers

Victor de Broglie was born in Paris in 1785 to a noble family who had suffered much during the Revolution as both his parents were imprisoned during the Terror and his father ended up facing the blade of the guillotine. Victor managed to obtain a good liberal education under the Empire and made his way into French literary society before the restoration. In the political field, he acted as a member of the Council of State under Napoleon and later identified himself with the liberals during the reign of Charles X. After the Revolution of 1830, he served as Prime Minister for King Louis Philippe and now is an influential member of the Orléaniste party.


François-René de Chateaubriand was born in 1768 to an old aristocratic family in Brittany and chose to become an officer in the Royal Navy where he quickly rose to the rank of captain. Initially sympathetic to the Revolution, he briefly fled to North America before returning to Europe to aid the Royalist émigrés in attempting to suppress the Revolution. After being injured during a siege, he was forced to spend the rest of the decade in exile in London. He managed to return to France under Napoleon where he became a prominent literary figure in the salons of Paris, providing inspiration for countless Romantic authors. With the Restoration, he served as Foreign Minister and several times as an ambassador for the Bourbon monarchy but, after the Revolution of 1830, his political influence has begun to wane as a consequence of his refusal to fully accept the new King. Despite this, he still remains a dominant voice in public discourse and is recognized as the virtual head of the Légitimiste party.

Dupont de l'Eure was born in 1767 in Normandy and practiced as a lawyer in the local parlement before the Revolution. His political life began in 1798 when he was chosen for the Council of Five Hundred, and he remained a prominent deputy during the Empire. He continued to serve in the various assemblies under the Restored monarchy and, after the Revolution of 1830, he was briefly appointed as Minister of Justice and is seen as the practical leader of the Liberal opposition.
 
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Welcome to AAR writing. This is very interesting concept you have here, and I have to say I am quite taken. I have quite a liking for unreliable history writers :D
 
subbed
 
Unreliable narrators are fun. I'll be reading.
 
stnylan, Idhrendur: Thanks for the support! I'll do my best to take advantage of the idea and make it a fun read!
cpm4001, guillec87, The Number 9: Thanks for the subscription and stay tuned for the first episode!
 
Shall follow with interest.
 
Bleu
Bleu
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Chapter I: From the “History of the Franco-Belgian War”
The first years of the reign of King Louis Philippe saw his majesty consolidate the power granted to him by the people and prove to them that his government had indeed been the right choice for France.

Adolphe Thiers of the Orléaniste faction was appointed as Prime Minister to the King in 1836 and collaborated with his majesty to drive the Algerian pirates out of their lairs in the North African coast.

This was deemed to be necessary after the Ouragan, a French merchant vessel trading between Marseille and Algiers, was assaulted off the Algerian coast. The pirates killed 6 of the ship's sailors and left the remainder of the crew to starve on the gutted ship. The French Royal Navy managed to find and rescue the Ouragan and proceeded to identify the pirate hideout within the territory of the Bey of Algeria.

This affront to French security was met with a vigorous reprimand from Foreign Minister Victor de Broglie to Bey Hussayn together with a request for compensation and permission for the French navy to hunt down pirates on the Algerian coast. These requests were disdainfully refused by the Bey and, as a consequence, the Army of the Alps was prepared for a full invasion of the country.

The Algerian war began in September 1836 and ended in late November, featuring only minimal French losses. During the peace negotiations, de Broglie required the Algerians to abandon all territories on the coast which would then be placed under direct control of the Crown as a colonial territory.
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Map of the situation in colonial Algeria
This great foreign success coincided the completion of the Arc de Triomphe that had started construction back in the days of the Empire. Under the new monarchy, the Arc assumed a novel symbolic role indicating the strength and resilience of the French people paternally guided by their citizen King.
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Article about the inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe
In the early months of 1837, a series of French trade convoys headed to the Spice Islands were held captive by the Dutch authorities off the coast of Bali. De Broglie protested this violation of previous trade treaties with the King of the Netherlands but received no sign of apology from the Dutch government. In reaction, the King declared war and ordered the French fleet to blockade the Dutch coast. The enemy remained resolute in their defiance until the beginning of June when the Army of Picardie threatened a direct siege of Amsterdam. In the peace treaty, King William of the Netherlands agreed that French ships could travel freely to the Far East and was forced to cede the colony of East Java which quickly became a major trade hub for French goods in the Orient.
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Map of the new colonies in the Far East
The rest of the year provided an opportunity for the Kingdom to adapt its new territories to suit the needs of the Metrópole by shipping raw materials to the budding French industries and sending valuable administrators to tame the indigenous people.

The seeds of a greater war were sown at the beginning of April 1838 when the continuing decline of the Ottoman Empire allowed Belgium to be admitted to the table of the Great Powers.
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A newspaper announcing the new global opinion of Belgium
While the King would have preferred a lucrative collaboration with such a nearby power, the Antwerp incident made such a proposition impossible. On April 17th, 1838, a regiment of Belgian soldiers rounded up a number of prominent French businessmen in the city and forcibly confiscated their valuables and the deeds to several businesses citing the government’s order to expel foreign influence from a sovereign Belgium.

A cabinet meeting between the King, Thiers and the de Broglie was called to assess the situation and protect the rights of French citizens. A unanimous decision was reached whereby de Broglie would send an ultimatum to Belgium demanding the restitution of French property within the month. As the 17th of May came along, it was with a heavy heart that the King gave the order to mass troops onto the Belgian border in anticipation of the conflict.

On June 20th the declaration of war was handed to the Belgian ambassador in Paris, thus initiating the Franco-Belgian War.
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News announcement of the beginning of hostilities
With the help from Spanish and Piedmontese allies, the French armies managed to quickly break into Belgian territory and set Brussels under siege. A quick victory seemed imminent, but it was swept away when the United Kingdom and its Hanoverian allies joined on the side of the enemy. A quick reaction by the French navy succeeded in isolating most British ships within their ports on the Channel, thereby eliminating the possibility of an invasion of mainland France. This left only the Hanoverians who were soundly defeated in late November in Hasselt.

A second phase of the war opened up with French troops occupying Belgian land and crippling the economy of what had been deemed too prematurely to be a Great Power. A minor invasion of Britain was attempted but the landing parties were repulsed, and it was decided that the resources could be better used elsewhere.

The final phase of the war was precipitated by the accession of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. This succession caused Hannover to shift from the British to the Austrian sphere of influence and, given the advance of the French army into Germany, this compelled the Austrian Empire to join the war on the Anglo-Belgian side and take over the role of war leader.
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Coronation of Queen Victoria of Great Britain
At this news, King Louis Philippe ordered a full-scale mobilization of the army and its transferal to Lombardie. The Austrians quickly entered the domain of the French-aligned Papal States but were stopped from entering Piemonte long enough that the French army could join the fray. The Austrian army was defeated in a few important but indecisive battles and began a slow, costly retreat into Venetien.

While Thiers was in favor of continuing the war to gain more concessions from Austria, the King and de Broglie were in agreement that French honor had been avenged sufficiently and that colonial concessions could be obtained from the British.

This led to the Treaty of Graz on the 17th of April 1840 where de Broglie, the Austrian Emperor Ferdinand, and British Prime Minister William Lamb agreed upon the capitulation of Belgium and the return of all French property together with the French annexation of British Barbados as compensation for war expenses.
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A newspaper announces the triumphant victory against Belgium
Another result of the war was the decline of Belgium, whose infrastructure had been devastated by the war, from the status of Great Power, reinstating the Ottoman Empire to the position it so recently held.
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The Ottoman Empire refuses to fade into the past
The year 1840 then began with a final reminder of French glory as the King gracefully allowed the return of the body of Napoleon I in a show of reconciliation between the old Revolution and the new Monarchy born by the union of Liberty and the King. The ceremony was attended by officers and soldiers of the Imperial Army together with those who had only heard of Napoleon from their elders. The King and Thiers were joined in welcoming the ashes of the great man to the Pantheon where they could enshrine another part of French history and glory.
 
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Riotkiller, TheButterflyComposer: Thanks! I hope you enjoy the first chapter and all the next ones!
 
Trying to restore things as quickly as possible.
 
why did you gain only Barbados from the war?
 
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The King also allowed for a bicameral system on the British model where the Deputies could be elected if they possessed a sufficient amount of wealth.

Hmm, interesting. This century is going to be dominated by parliament and not Republics then.

the King to abdicate in favor of Louis Philippe of Orléans who agreed to rule as a constitutional King of the French.

And you become even more British aligned...
Hmm, this is Vicky so peace and alliance with the GB powerhouse is much desired but may be impossible for France, especially as the only real way France can be powerful is by taking Africa or all of Europe...which GB really doesn't like.

The Algerian war began in September 1836 and ended in late November, featuring only minimal French losses. During the peace negotiations, de Broglie required the Algerians to abandon all territories on the coast which would then be placed under direct control of the Crown as a colonial territory.

Nice bit of land. Will you step on toes and go for Moroccan and Tunisian lands as well?

In the early months of 1837, a series of French trade convoys headed to the Spice Islands were held captive by the Dutch authorities off the coast of Bali. De Broglie protested this violation of previous trade treaties with the King of the Netherlands but received no sign of apology from the Dutch government. In reaction, the King declared war and ordered the French fleet to blockade the Dutch coast. The enemy remained resolute in their defiance until the beginning of June when the Army of Picardie threatened a direct siege of Amsterdam. In the peace treaty, King William of the Netherlands agreed that French ships could travel freely to the Far East and was forced to cede the colony of East Java which quickly became a major trade hub for French goods in the Orient.

Interesting. Your fleet is already quite strong then if it can defeat the Dutch so readily. Bit late for large colonial holdings in Asia but you can always try for indochina and see how long and how much you can get.

The seeds of a greater war were sown at the beginning of April 1838 when the continuing decline of the Ottoman Empire allowed Belgium to be admitted to the table of the Great Powers.

Hmm. I estimate this won't last very long.

A quick victory seemed imminent, but it was swept away when the United Kingdom and its Hanoverian allies joined on the side of the enemy. A quick reaction by the French navy succeeded in isolating most British ships within their ports on the Channel, thereby eliminating the possibility of an invasion of mainland France. This left only the Hanoverians who were soundly defeated in late November in Hasselt.

Lucky. Very fortunate. Soon the British will lose most of their interest in Europe through Hannover, so if you can sphere Belgium, you don't really have to worry about anyone again until Austria and Prussia start building big coalitions.

The final phase of the war was precipitated by the accession of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. This succession caused Hannover to shift from the British to the Austrian sphere of influence and, given the advance of the French army into Germany, this compelled the Austrian Empire to join the war on the Anglo-Belgian side and take over the role of war leader.

Ah...well, there might be the start of austria's coalition right there, but who knows, you might have weakened them enough to slow them down for a bit now. Keep the Papal States on side and they aren't getting anywhere with Italy. And Austrian rarely wins against Prussia so no dice there either. Yes, on the whole, a pretty good situation, provided you can beat them now.

While Thiers was in favor of continuing the war to gain more concessions from Austria, the King and de Broglie were in agreement that French honor had been avenged sufficiently and that colonial concessions could be obtained from the British.

Hmm. I mean, it's a dangerous game taking colonies from GB this early. Nothing really stopping them from takin get them back, especially in the Atlantic and Americas. You may have just garunteed a war later on where you lose most of your American possesions...well, the ones you have left anyway. Or maybe it'll be fine and the British don't care cos they're too busy with India and China. (This seems to be the hope most non GB players have with their Vicky games unless they are really trying to take GB down).

This led to the Treaty of Graz on the 17th of April 1840 where de Broglie, the Austrian Emperor Ferdinand, and British Prime Minister William Lamb agreed upon the capitulation of Belgium

So far, so fairly usual. GB off the continents, France ascendent after decades of strife, austria battered, Belgium uncomfortably wedged between empires, the rest of the world up for grabs. Go get some!
 
stnylan: Better to stamp out any rivals that live too close to French borders, especially if they'll bring the British into every conflict.
guillec87: I only managed to add Barbados because reparations from Belgium took a good chunk of my warscore and my military was pretty tired out by then so a long war with Austria would have goon South soon.
TheButterflyComposer:
Hmm, this is Vicky so peace and alliance with the GB powerhouse is much desired but may be impossible for France, especially as the only real way France can be powerful is by taking Africa or all of Europe...which GB really doesn't like.
There is certainly a conflict of soft power on the horizon but hopefully, they won't dare land in Normandy.
Nice bit of land. Will you step on toes and go for Moroccan and Tunisian lands as well?
Tunisia might be a bit of a stretch, what with the Ottomans being a Great Power, but Morocco seems very tempting.
Interesting. Your fleet is already quite strong then if it can defeat the Dutch so readily. Bit late for large colonial holdings in Asia but you can always try for indochina and see how long and how much you can get.
The new colonies are nothing huge but it's always nice to have some extra spice revenue and ports off which to springboard.
Soon the British will lose most of their interest in Europe through Hannover, so if you can sphere Belgium, you don't really have to worry about anyone again until Austria and Prussia start building big coalitions.
Right now it looks like the Prussians are taking interest in Belgium so it'll be a race to see who gets it first.
Hmm. I mean, it's a dangerous game taking colonies from GB this early. Nothing really stopping them from takin get them back, especially in the Atlantic and Americas.
So far, I managed to block their fleet well enough and, in Europe, Marianne rules the waves. I am also pretty sure that Victorian Britain will have its hands full with India and China for a few years.
 
Right now it looks like the Prussians are taking interest in Belgium so it'll be a race to see who gets it first.

Tricky. Of course, with them already beaten in war, perhaps you and austria can team up again to stop them here as well. The issue then would be balancing the two powers out in the east. Austria will eventually get weaker than Prussia unless you make it much bigger, at which point becomes a threat to France as well.

So far, I managed to block their fleet well enough and, in Europe, Marianne rules the waves. I am also pretty sure that Victorian Britain will have its hand

At the moment in Vicky AARs, we've seen GB do many strange things, like launching large campaigns to reclaim North America. If they stay on India and China, they should be far away and whilst rich, not too concerned or powerful in europe aside from ottoman stuff. If however they go anywhere else, retake US say or South America they'll be the strongest land power as well as sea, and they'll be much closer to Europe and your affairs.
 
Of course, with them already beaten in war, perhaps you and austria can team up again to stop them here as well.
With current relations, teaming up with Austria seems a bit difficult but I'm definitely looking around for a beefy Great Power to help me out in case any rivalries turn violent

At the moment in Vicky AARs, we've seen GB do many strange things, like launching large campaigns to reclaim North America.
As far as I've seen, my GB is looking pretty standard so fingers crossed for them staying out of European affairs
 
Chapter II: From the “Accounts of the early 1840s”
The history of the early 1840s is mainly remembered due to subtle shifts in the political climate and the consolidation of a strong France on the global stage.

In France, the election of 1840 saw three main blocs face off against each other. Prime Minister Adolphe Thiers was seeking reelection as head of the conservative Orléaniste party and reminded the public of his successes in the recent wars, promising that he would continue the policy of projecting French power over the Great Powers of Europe. In direct opposition to this line was François-René de Chateaubriand as head of the Reactionary Légitimiste party. He argued that France had no need to expend itself in costly foreign adventures but that it had to be on guard for revolutionaries at home who wished to topple the established order. Finally, Foreign Minister Victor de Broglie drifted out of Thiers' orbit and campaigned on a platform of extending suffrage and fulfilling the spirit of the July Revolution.

In December 1840, the results were announced to be: 44% for the Orléaniste, 37% for the Légitimiste and 19% for de Broglie's new Constitutionnel party. In view of this situation, King Louis Philippe decided to confirm Thiers as Prime Minister.

This balance would not last for long, however, due to a series of seditious protests in early 1841. The Upper House of Parliament, fearing the uprisings that Chateaubriand had warned, experienced a decisive turn towards the Légitimiste party under the parliamentary leadership of Édouard Affré.

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Deputy Édouard Affré

Édouard Affré was born in Amiens in 1809 to one of the first families to set up a textile industry in the area. He started his education after the Restoration and studied law in the hope of being a useful legal asset to the family business. This did not pan out as expected, however, as Édouard chose to join the army upon finishing his studies in 1824. He served honorably in the following years and participated in the first Algerian expedition in 1830, there he was captured during an ambush and he remained in captivity until the peace. He remained in the colony as part of the garrison until 1835 when, thanks to the influence of his family and his legal studies, he was chosen to serve as a Deputy in the Parliament.

In February 1841, Affré pushed through a bill whereby Deputies could be appointed to the Upper House only if they were members of the ruling party and no longer by appointment. This reform served to ensure that the core elements of the ship of state be governed by the firm hand of the King rather than being subject to elites that might not have the state’s best interest at heart.

In March of 1841, with popular and parliamentary pressure mounting, the King sacked Adolphe Thiers of the Orléaniste party to grant the position of Prime Minister to the Légitimiste Chateaubriand.

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Prime Minister François-René de Chateaubriand

Chateaubriand then used his influence in the Upper House by convincing Affré that it was in the best interest of France to curb the mutterings of Jacobin revolutionaries. In March 1842, a bill was passed legislating that, henceforth, misleading private newspapers would be illegal and only well-verified state press would have the right to publish.

In April, the government discovered a series of letters indicating that the Bey of Algeria was financing dissident groups in the coastal territories recently occupied by France. In view of such a blatant violation of the peace terms of 1836, Chateaubriand ordered the War Minister Médard de Valence to prepare for the final annexation of this rogue state.

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Minister of War Médard de Valence

The Marquis de Valence was born in 1810 to a family of noble émigrés who had resided in London since the outbreak of the Revolution. With the Restoration of King Louis XVIII, the family moved back to France and their ancestral holdings where Médard attended the local military academy from 1820 to 1824. Upon finishing his studies, he was sent to the court in Paris where he served as an officer to the palace guard of Kings Louis XVIII, Charles X and Louis Philippe. In 1836, Valence was sent as an observer to the Algerian Expedition where he became well known for his rich and vivid descriptions of the exotic new Colony. This lit an artistic spark in the young man who then proceeded to make a name for himself as an author of Orientalist literature until he was called upon for his first-hand experience of Algeria and the military arts.

On the 15th of May 1842, Chateaubriand finalized the declaration of war and the French army marched across the Algerian border and headed directly for the Bey’s palace.

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Newspaper announcing the beginning of hostilities between France and Algeria

By early June, the Algerian forces were in full rout and half of their territory had been occupied with only minimal pockets of resistance; it was at this point that the Sultan of Morocco threw in his lot with the doomed Algerians. The addition of another uncivilized Kingdom did little to change the result of the war and resulted only in the extension of the conflict up to September 1843 when the last desert strongholds surrendered to French soldiers. The Bey of Algeria and the Sultan of Morocco chose to offer their capitulation personally to Foreign Minister Fabien de Privas on the 23rd.

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The Bey of Algeria and the Sultan of Morocco surrender to Privas

The Comte de Privas was born in 1789 at the dawn of the dreaded Revolution. Like many loyal nobles, his family emigrated to Great Britain where he received an education in the natural sciences. Upon the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Counts of Privas returned to France to serve at the newly founded court while Fabien abandoned his original education and practiced as a lawyer for the remaining duration of the Empire. With the Restoration of King Louis XVIII, the family of Privas were imprisoned due to suspicions about their loyalty to the King and later placed under house arrest in Lille after the return of Napoleon. Having proved his innocence to the Royal Court, Privas started to work on a series of travel diaries that began with his residence in the Netherlands and reached their pinnacle with his account of a Grand Tour undertaken in 1832. Under King Louis Philippe, Fabien de Privas was chosen in 1836 for his legal acumen to become governor Picardie where he served until being called to the Cabinet.

Under the terms of surrender, the nation of Algeria was wiped off the map and fully incorporated into the Kingdom of France as a consequence of its continued treachery across the past decades. Morocco’s punishment was less harsh but substantial nonetheless: the Sultan promised to pay war reparations to France together with ceding the lucrative port of Ifni.

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Map of the situation in North Africa with the pacified Algeria and newly acquired port of Ifni

Within international politics, the continued decline of the Ottoman Empire compelled the other Great Powers to exclude the Turks from the decisions necessary to global stability. Their position was taken over by the Empire of Mexico whose industrialization was beginning to turn it into a clear contender for supremacy in the Americas together with the United States.

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News of Mexico's ascendance reaches French papers

In late 1844, French foreign policy shifted its attention from the Mediterranean to Central Europe. Spain, under the indecisive and unstable government of Queen Isabella II, was an unreliable ally and, despite constant pressure by Privas, had contributed only a negligible amount of soldiers to the Algerian War. This, compounded with Spanish refusals to lower tariffs on the products of French industry, led the French Government to conclude that they could not be trusted as allies and, on the 7th of February 1845, King Louis Philippe officially dissolved the alliance between France and Spain. Privas then started work on securing an alliance among other, more trustworthy, powers in Europe and found an enthusiastic supporter in Tsar Nicholas I of the Russian Empire.

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Tsar Nicholas I of the Russian Empire

The Tsar had paid attention to the Franco-Belgian war and had been pleased with the French defeat of Great Britain and, more importantly, the Austrian Empire which had provided a threat to Russia both in Poland and among the Slavic peoples of the Balkans. Privas was personally invited to Saint Petersburg where weeks of fruitful negotiations took place and concluded in a mutual defense pact with special clauses concerning Austria and the German Region. Both nations would collaborate in weakening Austrian power outside of the German Confederation while France would take special care to act as a third pole of influence between the German States. With this deal concluded, it seems as if a new profitable balance has been struck in Europe that will provide peace and stability for the foreseeable future.