1859: The cauldron of radicalism boils over
Germany’s domestic affairs, at the beginning of 1859, were contentious but not violent. A disagreement about the expansion of police powers for the Ministry of the Interior and the new Head of the Corps of Gendarmerie, Konrad von Schwaben, eventually became a thoroughly but entirely professional review of the backgrounds of every member of the Reichstag. The objective was to find ties to the increasingly vocal members of the Suffragists, who were suspected to be a Jacobin front organization. No evidence was found, but the vigorous debate between Michael von Hohenzollern, von Schwaben, and the DDA left everyone uncomfortable.
An uprising of the Carlists in Castille drew attention to foreign policy. By every appearance, their victory seemed likely, but armed intervention would have been extremely unpopular and the New Society coalition of Chancellor Bismarck was very fragile. The DDA leaving would not have crippled them, by any means, but there were already whispers and grumblings of collusion between the New Society, UAI, and HUN to keep a stranglehold over power in Germany.
When the Carlists won in September, proclaiming an Absolute Monarchy in Castille for the first time in centuries, Foreign Minister Friedrich von Hohenstaufen had to carefully consider Germany’s options. Castille was a long-time friend of Germany and served as a helpful counterweight in case of war with France. France, however, was a shell of its former self. Castille was open to continued positive relations with Germany, but some voices in the Imperialists wanted to see the German army reassert the Republic’s dominance in the country without long, drawn out negotiations. The Foreign Minister decided to seek negotiations, for the present, as Germany’s international reputation was still a little weak with the annexation of Pomerania.
What nobody took into account was how this act of seeming weakness would play in the German hinterland. A group of Byzantine Greeks, who longed to see the Purple return to Italy, misinterpreted the Foreign Minister’s reluctance to use force as a fundamental shift in policy rather than a simple example of pragmatic politics. Using wealth smuggled into the country by certain Sicilian families, who longed for the lax enforcement policies of the Byzantines instead of the tough law and order policy of Germany, these groups hired German mercenaries and adventurers to lead their undisciplined armies.
Michael von Hohenzollern immediately convened the Conclave of Stadtholders to seek approval for the use of army units to put down the uprising. The DDA abstained, and every other party voted to authorize force. Chief von Schwaben, unused to dealing with large bodies of troops, asked Hugo Unger for assistance, given his wealth of experience and expertise. Unger immediately advised the gathering of three full armies to destroy the rebels before it spread. Perugia was chosen as a staging ground.
The quick, decisive plan bore fruit immediately. The smaller wing of the uprising in the Balkans was put down with ease. Many of those armies were poorly equipped and simply fled at the sight of the German army. The Italian wing was more organized, and meant to fight. They even drew blood, as the Battle of Salerno demonstrated, by far the largest of the resistance.
They had still more damage to do, as a small cell of the Greeks helped the notorious Naples Butcher escape from his prison. The Ministry of the Interior reacted swiftly, arresting and detaining a family of farmers who hoped to conceal the Butcher in exchange for considerations under the new Byzantine regime. The Butcher was killed, unfortunately, in the process of his recapture.
The rebellion, ultimately, broke before the disciplined and hardened armies of the German republic. By the end of 1859, only a few thousand remained around the city of Massena. The people of Germany went into their New Years’ Eve parties tired but calm, and Michael von Hohenzollern’s New Years’ Eve Extravaganza, the highlight of the Nürnberg social scene, saw no fewer than 75 of the 100 Stadtholders and 400 of the Assemblymen enjoying the finest meat and drink money could buy.
It is no surprise, then, that the Ambassador from Bulgaria would have also been present, and chosen to relay his urgent news just as the clock rolled over to 1 January 1860.
The Bulgarians had only voted to declare war on Athens a few days before. They were confident they could defeat Athens on their own, but realized that, at the very least, the German navy might play an important role in their victory.
The Athenian navy, 29 ships strong, far outweighed their tiny and inefficient army. With German ships first destroying and then guaranteeing access for Bulgaria to seize lands once called Bulgarian, the Ambassador swore the war would be quick and decisive. He also hinted that a friendly power within striking distance of Constantinople would not be amiss either, if Germany wanted retaliation against the Byzantines.
While the Ambassador graciously granted Germany 30 days to decide, the 1 January session of the Reichstag had a number of petitions to consider. First among them were to choose which, if any, of the reform plans to pass. The Greek uprising had made some of the staunchest conservatives more willing to consider changes, if they would prevent further rebellions.
The second proposal was from the Governor-General of Liberia, who given the population of his region, requested the integration of Liberia as a full fledged member of the Republic of Germany, with all the rights and privileges that entailed.
There were also the tiniest hints of the Jacobins trying to build support for a party to represent their radical ideas for society in a more benign package. Nobody knew where the movement would formally erupt, but it seemed very likely that, within the next five years, somewhere there would be enough support for Marx’s ideas to try to take them to the ballot box.
Two explicit measures to vote on, both of which would be constitutional amendments.
First: which of the three reforms do we pass, if any? You may vote for one, and only one, or vote “No Reform.” If no reform can, by itself, gain a majority of both houses, then the reform which gains a plurality will be put to the Reichstag in a second vote.
Second: do we make Liberia a formal state? A simple “Yes” or “No” will do here.
Finally, the Foreign Minister must make his formal recommendation on whether to answer or decline the call to arms. If he says to decline, nothing more is to be said, as in our government, only the Foreign Minister (with the support of the Reichstag) has the power to declare war. If he says to answer, this would also require a vote.
Any other constitutional amendments would be acceptable to introduce at this stage!