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El Pip: Well sir! you may well be correct... howver the reactionaries are only in the Lords... so they may be able to keep it together as a commons parts?
likk9922: Yeah I hate the "Liberal-conservative" name for a party... thanks for reading
Sir Humphrey: A deep honour that such words come from a Empire-phile such as yourself
likk9922: Yeah I hate the "Liberal-conservative" name for a party... thanks for reading
Sir Humphrey: A deep honour that such words come from a Empire-phile such as yourself
IV - A Tale of Two Eagles
IV - A Tale of Two Eagles
From the hustle and bustle of the hustings and the excitement of a political 'earthquake' in domestic politics soon settled down in to the age old mundane drudgery of normal life. Like the grey skies above London, the city, country and Parliament were nothing but dull and dreary, for in reality not a great deal had changed, it was still the same people with the same ideas but in different ideas. Just like the skies were heavy with clouds the 'great minds' of the nation hid beneath the layers of gray political austerity the was a purpose to both. The clouds would soon move and pour their cargo upon the ground and restart amazing revitalisation of a land once dead, and so too would the out poring of minds find fertile land upon which to give life. As always with Britain any change was slow and steady, unlike the continent, but the product was no different for being evolved instead of revolutionised.
The American eagle had flown as the radical alternate to British rule in North America, growing steadily for decades and pushing the indigenous people west with legions of settlers, some moving into Mexican territory. This had caused problems for the young republic in the past with the Texan uprising causing hawks to lead the country to the brink of war over people who, although they were American, had escaped over the borders of the United States for a new life. The fact that the British had stepped in was seen by the majority of policy makers in congress and the states as a blessing, their brethren were protected, but they had not needed to be involved in a costly war[1]. The problems caused did not subside with Texan Independence though as settlers still streamed across the continent, many headed into Texas and some mixed with the British settlers on Oregon, but most crossed the entire length of the continent for the promise of the Pacific coast in what was technically Mexican land.
Tensions in the area steadily grew throughout the early 1840's until in March the of 1846 the 'glorious struggle' began with American settlers siding with the separatist Mexicans, who notably included theComandante of Northern California, General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, to raise the Bear Flag aloft and proclaim the Independence of the Californian Republic. The revolt spread through the territory along the coast and the local militias were soon over whelmed. Just as in the case of the Texan revolt a Mexican army was soon on the march north, but once again the army showed its inadequacies and they were stopped just inside of the new republics borders. There was much sabre rattling and hawkish calls in Washington and Austin, the recently created Texan capital, threatening war if Mexico City did not recall the troops, as tensions rose a war looked unavoidable[2]. It was at the juncture that Lord Palmerston, British Foreign Sectary, made his move. Ever the meddler he proposed mediation wherein representatives from all interested parties would meet and vote upon what would happen to the Pacific coast territory, under the plan all interested parties, the US, Texas, Mexico and the 'people of California' would have one voting delegate along with a 'neutral' British in the form of the Chairman of the talks, Lord Palmerston. The government in Mexico city initially refused British mediation, until it became clear that the British fleet could, and would, enter the fray in support of the American and Texan armies, they capitulated but they did obtain one concession though, they would have two delegates at the conference.
The atmosphere in Kingston, Jamaica, where the negotiations were held were tense and, because of the voting structure, there were inevitably many days of 'horse trading' as each country could not win a majority without votes of another. The Mexican delegation knew that even with two votes they would still need another to keep the territory under there control and so looked to woo the venerable British Lord. The Americans knew, or at least thought that they knew, that the Californians would vote for annexation by the United States and therefore looked to approach the Austin government to try and win their support in the hope that Palmerston would abstain as neutral. What the British knew, however, was that separatist feeling in both Texas and California was high and Palmerston, ever the Machiavellian, decided that it would be in the best interests of the Empire to have a friendly and strongly independent California and so he approached Presidents William B.Ide and Mirabeau B. Lamar, of California and Texas respectively, and put pressure upon them to vote for Californian Independence. Ide came down in favour of the idea when Palmerston told him that Texas would vote for continuing Mexican rule rather that that of the US and although Lamar was expansionist, he knew that his country had relied heavily upon the British in the past and agreed to vote with the Californians and British. The shock felt in Washington at this was immense and coupled with the signing of the Triple-Protection-Treaty, a mutual defense pact between the British Empire, California and Texas that basically made the two countries British protectorates, did little to defuse tensions, this would come to play havoc in the future.[3]
Continental Europe was much a gossip at this time with Louis Napoleon fleeing from his imprisonment to the shores of Great Britain and Johann Gottfried Gall at the Berlin Observatory making the first recorded viewing of Neptune. Matters soon turned from the romance of escapology and astronomy to yet more strife for the powers of the statusquo with organised resistance to British rule by the Maori in New Zealand. The peace on the continent was shattered when in March 1848 Frederick VII of Denmark announced to the people ofSchleswig the promulgation of a liberal constitution under which the duchy would become an integral part of Denmark, while preserving its local autonomy. The German minority of the state soon rose up against rule from Copenhagen and with Danish troops moving in to crush thew both the major German states, Prussia and Austria, moved to support their brethren. The move was abortive, however, when the double-headed eagle had problems much closer to home.
The Italian peninsular had been kept fractured, with Liberalism and Nationalism contained by Pope Gregory XVI, backed by a sure reliance on Prince Metternich's Austria. In the heady Summer of 1847, however, tensions reached boiling point and ethnically Italian lands within the Austrian Empire erupted with subversion and violence with both Lombardy andVenetia overthrowing the local Austrian administration and declaring their Independence. Wien was not agreeable to the idea of letting it's ethnic minorities, which together actually outnumbered the Germanic Austrians, from breaking away and ordered imperial forces to suppress the new states. Disheartened and angry about their 'brothers' across the border, Sardinia-Piedmont declared war and announced a 'Italian Revolution' asking for assistance from the other states on the peninsular, but Tuscany,Parma and Mondena all restrained themselves, with the latter actually sending a note of suport to Wien. In January, with imperial forces marching upon and defeating the hastily created Italian militias Pellegrino Rossi , liberal minister of the Papal States, was assassinated and the streets of Rome filled with Italian revolutionaries who forced democratic government upon the Pope and joined the war against Austria. Things worsened for theHabsburg monarchy when in March of the same year when in the twin cities of Pest and Buda peaceful demonstrations forced the imperial governor to accept their demands sparking various insurrections throughout the kingdom, which enabled Hungarian reformists to declare Hungary's autonomy within theHabsburg Empire.
The revolutions against Habsburg rule were seen to be short lived with Venetia laying down its fight in August 1848, but this was quickly followed by a Hungarian declaration of Independence in September just beforeWien finally abolished Serfdom. The other autocratic regimes of Prussia and Russia soon saw the dangers of a spreading nationalistic movement and offered support the the Austrian Monarchy, and so soon columns of Prussian and Russian soldiers were descending upon the Magyars and by April of the following year, after just eight short months of revolution, the Magyars were subdued and brought back under the imperial banner. One short year after the Hungarian struggle had started the state of Lombardy was overrun by Austrian troops and the 'Italian revolution' had come to and end with the newly created autocratic regimes in Sicily,Parma and the Papal States signing defensive pacts with the Habsburg Monarchy. With the Prussian king declining in the proposal of the Frankfurt Assembly, to make him the head of a Liberal German Empire 'Liberal Revolution' evaporated.
France was not immune from the troubles of the 1840's and the Second Republic was declared when King Louis Phillip abdicated in face of growing tensions and fled to London. In the Presidential Election of 1848 the socialists won a stinging victory with, Louis-Eugène Cavaignac being proclaimed as leader on the, 14th December 1848[4]. This perturbed many in Westminster and in the rest of Europe, but for now the continent settled down into an uneasy peace with Prussia, Austria and Denmark all returning to the statusquo in the "Schleswig-Holstein question"
Things in the Americas soon settled down during this era with the granting of 'home rule' to Nova Scotia after Lord Palmerston managed to defuse two minor border disputed with the United States over the province of Easton and the ownership of a pig![5] While on the back in Europe the Habsburgs managed to revers Prussian calls for greater German Integration with the "Humiliation Of Olmutz", however, both Austria and the Ottoman Empire were deeply offended and worried when the Russian Tsar started to ferment Pan-Slavism in their territories. And in China the Emperor was no longer seen as having the "Mandate of Heaven" causing the people of Taiping to break from the empire
In domestic politics the quiet and steady evolution of domestic attitudes continued with its sedate path, the traditional landed class of the Ultra Tories and Old Whigs were joined in their enthusiasm for tariffs by the new 'aristocracy' of mill and factory owners as well as the ever growing workforce of machine workers and clerks. The alliance of the traditional elite and the working masses was secured with a revolutionary linking of high tariffs and embryonic 'wealthare state' leading Gladstone's ministry, with its formidable political party apparatus, to increase their majority[6]. On an interesting side-note the main Irish Repeal Association party, that had been in an electoral pact with the Whigs and the Liberals was heavily defeated and almost wiped out in the election of 1851. It seemed that the increasing affluence, industrialisation and mover away from traditional small-holding and sharecropping has caused lest resentment to the Act of Union, and that the Irish people were more concerned with the continued investment in their lives of British capitalists that repealing the Act or throwing off the 'Imperialist Yolk'[7]
[1] This would defiantly have been seen differently in OTL
[2] In OTL the war had already broken out between the US and Mexico
[3] Manifest Destiny my bum!
[4] Not OTL either and potentially dangerous... or not as the case may be
[5] From OTL... the War of The Pig!... he pig was the only "casualty" of the war, making the conflict essentially bloodless lol
[6] I love this idea... it will be a re-occuring theme
[7] Still no Irish militancy TTL may be very different to OTL in this respect
IV - A Tale of Two Eagles
From the hustle and bustle of the hustings and the excitement of a political 'earthquake' in domestic politics soon settled down in to the age old mundane drudgery of normal life. Like the grey skies above London, the city, country and Parliament were nothing but dull and dreary, for in reality not a great deal had changed, it was still the same people with the same ideas but in different ideas. Just like the skies were heavy with clouds the 'great minds' of the nation hid beneath the layers of gray political austerity the was a purpose to both. The clouds would soon move and pour their cargo upon the ground and restart amazing revitalisation of a land once dead, and so too would the out poring of minds find fertile land upon which to give life. As always with Britain any change was slow and steady, unlike the continent, but the product was no different for being evolved instead of revolutionised.
The American eagle had flown as the radical alternate to British rule in North America, growing steadily for decades and pushing the indigenous people west with legions of settlers, some moving into Mexican territory. This had caused problems for the young republic in the past with the Texan uprising causing hawks to lead the country to the brink of war over people who, although they were American, had escaped over the borders of the United States for a new life. The fact that the British had stepped in was seen by the majority of policy makers in congress and the states as a blessing, their brethren were protected, but they had not needed to be involved in a costly war[1]. The problems caused did not subside with Texan Independence though as settlers still streamed across the continent, many headed into Texas and some mixed with the British settlers on Oregon, but most crossed the entire length of the continent for the promise of the Pacific coast in what was technically Mexican land.
Tensions in the area steadily grew throughout the early 1840's until in March the of 1846 the 'glorious struggle' began with American settlers siding with the separatist Mexicans, who notably included theComandante of Northern California, General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, to raise the Bear Flag aloft and proclaim the Independence of the Californian Republic. The revolt spread through the territory along the coast and the local militias were soon over whelmed. Just as in the case of the Texan revolt a Mexican army was soon on the march north, but once again the army showed its inadequacies and they were stopped just inside of the new republics borders. There was much sabre rattling and hawkish calls in Washington and Austin, the recently created Texan capital, threatening war if Mexico City did not recall the troops, as tensions rose a war looked unavoidable[2]. It was at the juncture that Lord Palmerston, British Foreign Sectary, made his move. Ever the meddler he proposed mediation wherein representatives from all interested parties would meet and vote upon what would happen to the Pacific coast territory, under the plan all interested parties, the US, Texas, Mexico and the 'people of California' would have one voting delegate along with a 'neutral' British in the form of the Chairman of the talks, Lord Palmerston. The government in Mexico city initially refused British mediation, until it became clear that the British fleet could, and would, enter the fray in support of the American and Texan armies, they capitulated but they did obtain one concession though, they would have two delegates at the conference.
The atmosphere in Kingston, Jamaica, where the negotiations were held were tense and, because of the voting structure, there were inevitably many days of 'horse trading' as each country could not win a majority without votes of another. The Mexican delegation knew that even with two votes they would still need another to keep the territory under there control and so looked to woo the venerable British Lord. The Americans knew, or at least thought that they knew, that the Californians would vote for annexation by the United States and therefore looked to approach the Austin government to try and win their support in the hope that Palmerston would abstain as neutral. What the British knew, however, was that separatist feeling in both Texas and California was high and Palmerston, ever the Machiavellian, decided that it would be in the best interests of the Empire to have a friendly and strongly independent California and so he approached Presidents William B.Ide and Mirabeau B. Lamar, of California and Texas respectively, and put pressure upon them to vote for Californian Independence. Ide came down in favour of the idea when Palmerston told him that Texas would vote for continuing Mexican rule rather that that of the US and although Lamar was expansionist, he knew that his country had relied heavily upon the British in the past and agreed to vote with the Californians and British. The shock felt in Washington at this was immense and coupled with the signing of the Triple-Protection-Treaty, a mutual defense pact between the British Empire, California and Texas that basically made the two countries British protectorates, did little to defuse tensions, this would come to play havoc in the future.[3]
Continental Europe was much a gossip at this time with Louis Napoleon fleeing from his imprisonment to the shores of Great Britain and Johann Gottfried Gall at the Berlin Observatory making the first recorded viewing of Neptune. Matters soon turned from the romance of escapology and astronomy to yet more strife for the powers of the statusquo with organised resistance to British rule by the Maori in New Zealand. The peace on the continent was shattered when in March 1848 Frederick VII of Denmark announced to the people ofSchleswig the promulgation of a liberal constitution under which the duchy would become an integral part of Denmark, while preserving its local autonomy. The German minority of the state soon rose up against rule from Copenhagen and with Danish troops moving in to crush thew both the major German states, Prussia and Austria, moved to support their brethren. The move was abortive, however, when the double-headed eagle had problems much closer to home.
The Italian peninsular had been kept fractured, with Liberalism and Nationalism contained by Pope Gregory XVI, backed by a sure reliance on Prince Metternich's Austria. In the heady Summer of 1847, however, tensions reached boiling point and ethnically Italian lands within the Austrian Empire erupted with subversion and violence with both Lombardy andVenetia overthrowing the local Austrian administration and declaring their Independence. Wien was not agreeable to the idea of letting it's ethnic minorities, which together actually outnumbered the Germanic Austrians, from breaking away and ordered imperial forces to suppress the new states. Disheartened and angry about their 'brothers' across the border, Sardinia-Piedmont declared war and announced a 'Italian Revolution' asking for assistance from the other states on the peninsular, but Tuscany,Parma and Mondena all restrained themselves, with the latter actually sending a note of suport to Wien. In January, with imperial forces marching upon and defeating the hastily created Italian militias Pellegrino Rossi , liberal minister of the Papal States, was assassinated and the streets of Rome filled with Italian revolutionaries who forced democratic government upon the Pope and joined the war against Austria. Things worsened for theHabsburg monarchy when in March of the same year when in the twin cities of Pest and Buda peaceful demonstrations forced the imperial governor to accept their demands sparking various insurrections throughout the kingdom, which enabled Hungarian reformists to declare Hungary's autonomy within theHabsburg Empire.
The revolutions against Habsburg rule were seen to be short lived with Venetia laying down its fight in August 1848, but this was quickly followed by a Hungarian declaration of Independence in September just beforeWien finally abolished Serfdom. The other autocratic regimes of Prussia and Russia soon saw the dangers of a spreading nationalistic movement and offered support the the Austrian Monarchy, and so soon columns of Prussian and Russian soldiers were descending upon the Magyars and by April of the following year, after just eight short months of revolution, the Magyars were subdued and brought back under the imperial banner. One short year after the Hungarian struggle had started the state of Lombardy was overrun by Austrian troops and the 'Italian revolution' had come to and end with the newly created autocratic regimes in Sicily,Parma and the Papal States signing defensive pacts with the Habsburg Monarchy. With the Prussian king declining in the proposal of the Frankfurt Assembly, to make him the head of a Liberal German Empire 'Liberal Revolution' evaporated.
France was not immune from the troubles of the 1840's and the Second Republic was declared when King Louis Phillip abdicated in face of growing tensions and fled to London. In the Presidential Election of 1848 the socialists won a stinging victory with, Louis-Eugène Cavaignac being proclaimed as leader on the, 14th December 1848[4]. This perturbed many in Westminster and in the rest of Europe, but for now the continent settled down into an uneasy peace with Prussia, Austria and Denmark all returning to the statusquo in the "Schleswig-Holstein question"
Things in the Americas soon settled down during this era with the granting of 'home rule' to Nova Scotia after Lord Palmerston managed to defuse two minor border disputed with the United States over the province of Easton and the ownership of a pig![5] While on the back in Europe the Habsburgs managed to revers Prussian calls for greater German Integration with the "Humiliation Of Olmutz", however, both Austria and the Ottoman Empire were deeply offended and worried when the Russian Tsar started to ferment Pan-Slavism in their territories. And in China the Emperor was no longer seen as having the "Mandate of Heaven" causing the people of Taiping to break from the empire
In domestic politics the quiet and steady evolution of domestic attitudes continued with its sedate path, the traditional landed class of the Ultra Tories and Old Whigs were joined in their enthusiasm for tariffs by the new 'aristocracy' of mill and factory owners as well as the ever growing workforce of machine workers and clerks. The alliance of the traditional elite and the working masses was secured with a revolutionary linking of high tariffs and embryonic 'wealthare state' leading Gladstone's ministry, with its formidable political party apparatus, to increase their majority[6]. On an interesting side-note the main Irish Repeal Association party, that had been in an electoral pact with the Whigs and the Liberals was heavily defeated and almost wiped out in the election of 1851. It seemed that the increasing affluence, industrialisation and mover away from traditional small-holding and sharecropping has caused lest resentment to the Act of Union, and that the Irish people were more concerned with the continued investment in their lives of British capitalists that repealing the Act or throwing off the 'Imperialist Yolk'[7]
Code:
United Kingdom general election, 1851
Seats Votes
Party won Gain Total Percentage
[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Liberal-Conservative 402 +4 512,847 54.1[/COLOR]
[COLOR="Yellow"]Liberal 256 -4 435,178 45.9[/COLOR][1] This would defiantly have been seen differently in OTL
[2] In OTL the war had already broken out between the US and Mexico
[3] Manifest Destiny my bum!
[4] Not OTL either and potentially dangerous... or not as the case may be
[5] From OTL... the War of The Pig!... he pig was the only "casualty" of the war, making the conflict essentially bloodless lol
[6] I love this idea... it will be a re-occuring theme
[7] Still no Irish militancy
TTL may be very different to OTL in this respect
Last edited:
Wash your mouth out sir! Though I risk Muphry's Law I must protest against such insults to the Queen's English.
Moving on North America is shaping up to be very interesting indeed, certainly the Civil War will be very different (if it even happens?). Looking forward to more.
Great update.
Perhaps you could change their name to something like, "New Whigs" or something to that effect?
Perhaps you could change their name to something like, "New Whigs" or something to that effect?
El Pip: My appologies sir... too much late night writing, and rubbish spelling
Yes the Americas are really heating up now... no sign of an Oregon Treaty tho? Yes I was surprised at what happened internally in the US... and had to come up with a good cover story
likk9922: Thank you very much sir!... although the 'Liberal-Conservatives' have stolen to clothes of the Whig's I do not think that the majority of ex Tories would like the name thank you for the constructive idea though... and the name Whig will not be lost to hostory
Yes the Americas are really heating up now... no sign of an Oregon Treaty tho?
Yes I was surprised at what happened internally in the US... and had to come up with a good cover story likk9922: Thank you very much sir!... although the 'Liberal-Conservatives' have stolen to clothes of the Whig's I do not think that the majority of ex Tories would like the name
thank you for the constructive idea though... and the name Whig will not be lost to hostory
V - Turkish Delight
V - Turkish Delight
Whatsoever a man sows, he must also reap. This ancient proverb forms a basis of our world and while it may be a 'romantic truth', to show the dissatisfied that their overbearing master will soon reap the same misery that he has sown in others, their is an eary thread of reality that manifests itself in the world, and such was the events in Europe.
When men came to the depths of the seas and oceans he made a pact with the mighty bodies of water, accepting that sacrifices would be taken from time to time, but wondering at the great riches that could also pour forward from such a magnificent country. And so in February the ocean around the Cape Colony took its sacrifice as the HMS Birkenhead, one of the new fleet of steam powered army transport ships just commissioned and finished, which struck a reef of the coast and floundered. On board the ship military discipline was shown at its bravest and most honourable as the soldiers stood firm on the floundering ship and allowed the women and children to be saved in the ships, inadequately numbered, life boats[1]. Just as the sea had taken away, so to was its riches exploited in the Netherlands as the hardy dutch reclaimed arable land from the murky expanses of the North Sea.
The defeat of the 'monarchist' party in the French elections of 1848 by the socialists did nothing to stop the growing agitation of the people against the socialist cause[2]. The growing power of Louis Napoleon within the French army was manifest in both the rank and file, as well the more culture 'officer class' and so in December of 1851 a coup d'etat threw Louis Eugène Cavaignac out of power and soldiers councils 'elected' Napoleon as president[3]. Within a year the mood of the French people had been modified and they voted overwhelmingly to replace the Second Republic with a new Empire once more to be headed by a Napoleon. Although this cause much unease with France's neighbours, it was soon decided that an imperialistic Napoleon was more preferential that an elected socialist paradise. In this respect the French people could not have been more fortuitous in their choice of a strong leader in the early 1850's.
The Eastern Question had plagued Europe since the steady decline of the Ottoman Turks had become evident while the Russian Empire grew from strength to strength causing many in Paris and London to fear that the Tsar would look to encroach upon the territory of the Ottomans and spread to threaten Anglo-French interests in the region. So when the Tsar sought to impinge upon Turkish sovereignty by having the sultan sign a treaty that would allow Russia to intervene to 'protect Christians' within the Ottoman Empire, Lord Palmerston and his French counterpart put pressure upon the Porte to refuse its signing[4]. With the Sultan's refusal came the movement of Russian columns into the disputed Danubian States and the Caucasian mountains and, as Newton predicted, an equal and opposite reaction from the Anglo-French axis declaring their support of Constantinople and along with them came Egypt, Wallachia, Tunisia and surprisingly Austria. The Habsburg's support of the 'sick man of Europe' can be considered surprising in many lights, and certainly was for the Tsar and his advisors, for they had just as much to gain in the Ottoman collapse as did the Russians, however Lord Palmerston had been at his meddling best[5] and using Austrian fears about revolutions had signed a secret alliance with London, which was activated just days after St Petersburg declaration.
The war was short and a resounding success for the western powers[6] as while the Russians easily advanced against the Danubian and Ottoman militaries in Europe they were in real danger of being surrounded and pinned against the black sea by a vast and unexpected sweep of Austrian forces further west. The fighting in the east fared no better with Ottoman and 'British' Indian troops holding steadfastly in the mountains. The French lead a strong amphibious invasion of the Crimean peninsular caused the destruction of the much vaunted Russian Black Sea Fleet and the British fleet guarded the Baltic approaches causing a great deal of harm to the economy of the Bear. As so in January 1854, Russia acquiesced and signed the Treaty of Paris, pledging to respect the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, ceeding a strip of land to Wallachia, which took away the Russo-Ottoman European border and furthermore, the Tsar and the Sultan agreed not to establish any naval or military arsenal on the Black Sea coast which effectively meant that the Russians could not deploy a fleet in the Black Sea again. Russian was thrown into turmoil with the Tsar agreeing to moderate reforms, he was to live only a year after the defeat with his plans in tatters. The victors, Napoleon III and Prime Minister Gladstone, toasted their success with the signing of a mutual defense pact but the reality of situation for the British army was not pleasant.
While in the east both the 'Princely States' of Nagpur and Awadh were annexed under the Doctrine Of Lapse, a doctrine that meant if a Prince was manifestly incompetent or died without a direct heir his territories would be annexed by the Company, the realms of New Brunswick and Newfoundland were allowed autonomy in the west.
Within the nation there was pressing need for reform of the army, members of Parliament and the public were horrified to learn that three times as many soldiers died from infections as ever from enemy actions, but the work of Florence Nightingale, MarySeacole [7], and others and led to the introduction of modern nursing methods that would help alleviate these problems in the future. Much more controversial was the ill-fated 'charge of the Light Brigade' at the Battle of Balaclava which lead to the death of hundreds and the famous poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The war brought to the fore the sale of commissions and whether such a system should have a place in a age of military modernity, Gladstone was sufficiently wise to lock this away in a royal commission so as not to offend the Ultra Tories, but the practices days were numbered none the less.
The war had many consequences upon the constituent parties in the fighting with a new Tsar who freed the Russian serfs after seeing impressed men soundly defeated by volunteers from France and England. The Ottomans also went with a moderation policy with theHatt-I-Humayun Reforms. While in France an attempt on Napoleon's life was made by an Italian revolutionary who while imprisoned for the act sent a letter asking the Emperor to take up the cause of Italian unification.[8]
With the humiliation of the Russian Tsar the Liberal-Conservative leaders Gladstone and Palmerston, at this point almost Prime Minister in regards to foreign affairs, were sailing with fair winds[9]. This was only furthered when the US Congress paid for the HMS Resolute, which had been abandoned locked in ice, to be salvaged, refitted and presented to Queen Victoria as a 'Present for Peace' for the princely sum of $40,000. So to the hustings once again the two main parties were to venture, with the popularity of 'Gladston's Tariffs' and 'Plamerston's World' the result in June of 1856 was a massive landslide for the government.
[1] This is from OTL and is where "women and children first" comes from... braver men than I
[2] This is true of OTL, but Napoleon won in 1848 where as here he had no popular mandate
[3] Loved the irony of soldiers councils electing some one like Napoleon
[4] All from OTL
[5] This was actually me... I'd forgotten about the Crimean War, this certinally helped
[6] Very different to OTL where the war was a success, but not short
[7] A person unfortunalty overshaddowed by Nightingale
[8] All OTL as well...
[9] A much better war causes a upwing in popularity in TTL instead of forcing a government from power in OTL.... well I needed something to explain the 'conservatives' winning time and again in the game
V - Turkish Delight
Whatsoever a man sows, he must also reap. This ancient proverb forms a basis of our world and while it may be a 'romantic truth', to show the dissatisfied that their overbearing master will soon reap the same misery that he has sown in others, their is an eary thread of reality that manifests itself in the world, and such was the events in Europe.
When men came to the depths of the seas and oceans he made a pact with the mighty bodies of water, accepting that sacrifices would be taken from time to time, but wondering at the great riches that could also pour forward from such a magnificent country. And so in February the ocean around the Cape Colony took its sacrifice as the HMS Birkenhead, one of the new fleet of steam powered army transport ships just commissioned and finished, which struck a reef of the coast and floundered. On board the ship military discipline was shown at its bravest and most honourable as the soldiers stood firm on the floundering ship and allowed the women and children to be saved in the ships, inadequately numbered, life boats[1]. Just as the sea had taken away, so to was its riches exploited in the Netherlands as the hardy dutch reclaimed arable land from the murky expanses of the North Sea.
The defeat of the 'monarchist' party in the French elections of 1848 by the socialists did nothing to stop the growing agitation of the people against the socialist cause[2]. The growing power of Louis Napoleon within the French army was manifest in both the rank and file, as well the more culture 'officer class' and so in December of 1851 a coup d'etat threw Louis Eugène Cavaignac out of power and soldiers councils 'elected' Napoleon as president[3]. Within a year the mood of the French people had been modified and they voted overwhelmingly to replace the Second Republic with a new Empire once more to be headed by a Napoleon. Although this cause much unease with France's neighbours, it was soon decided that an imperialistic Napoleon was more preferential that an elected socialist paradise. In this respect the French people could not have been more fortuitous in their choice of a strong leader in the early 1850's.
The Eastern Question had plagued Europe since the steady decline of the Ottoman Turks had become evident while the Russian Empire grew from strength to strength causing many in Paris and London to fear that the Tsar would look to encroach upon the territory of the Ottomans and spread to threaten Anglo-French interests in the region. So when the Tsar sought to impinge upon Turkish sovereignty by having the sultan sign a treaty that would allow Russia to intervene to 'protect Christians' within the Ottoman Empire, Lord Palmerston and his French counterpart put pressure upon the Porte to refuse its signing[4]. With the Sultan's refusal came the movement of Russian columns into the disputed Danubian States and the Caucasian mountains and, as Newton predicted, an equal and opposite reaction from the Anglo-French axis declaring their support of Constantinople and along with them came Egypt, Wallachia, Tunisia and surprisingly Austria. The Habsburg's support of the 'sick man of Europe' can be considered surprising in many lights, and certainly was for the Tsar and his advisors, for they had just as much to gain in the Ottoman collapse as did the Russians, however Lord Palmerston had been at his meddling best[5] and using Austrian fears about revolutions had signed a secret alliance with London, which was activated just days after St Petersburg declaration.
The war was short and a resounding success for the western powers[6] as while the Russians easily advanced against the Danubian and Ottoman militaries in Europe they were in real danger of being surrounded and pinned against the black sea by a vast and unexpected sweep of Austrian forces further west. The fighting in the east fared no better with Ottoman and 'British' Indian troops holding steadfastly in the mountains. The French lead a strong amphibious invasion of the Crimean peninsular caused the destruction of the much vaunted Russian Black Sea Fleet and the British fleet guarded the Baltic approaches causing a great deal of harm to the economy of the Bear. As so in January 1854, Russia acquiesced and signed the Treaty of Paris, pledging to respect the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, ceeding a strip of land to Wallachia, which took away the Russo-Ottoman European border and furthermore, the Tsar and the Sultan agreed not to establish any naval or military arsenal on the Black Sea coast which effectively meant that the Russians could not deploy a fleet in the Black Sea again. Russian was thrown into turmoil with the Tsar agreeing to moderate reforms, he was to live only a year after the defeat with his plans in tatters. The victors, Napoleon III and Prime Minister Gladstone, toasted their success with the signing of a mutual defense pact but the reality of situation for the British army was not pleasant.
While in the east both the 'Princely States' of Nagpur and Awadh were annexed under the Doctrine Of Lapse, a doctrine that meant if a Prince was manifestly incompetent or died without a direct heir his territories would be annexed by the Company, the realms of New Brunswick and Newfoundland were allowed autonomy in the west.
Within the nation there was pressing need for reform of the army, members of Parliament and the public were horrified to learn that three times as many soldiers died from infections as ever from enemy actions, but the work of Florence Nightingale, MarySeacole [7], and others and led to the introduction of modern nursing methods that would help alleviate these problems in the future. Much more controversial was the ill-fated 'charge of the Light Brigade' at the Battle of Balaclava which lead to the death of hundreds and the famous poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The war brought to the fore the sale of commissions and whether such a system should have a place in a age of military modernity, Gladstone was sufficiently wise to lock this away in a royal commission so as not to offend the Ultra Tories, but the practices days were numbered none the less.
The war had many consequences upon the constituent parties in the fighting with a new Tsar who freed the Russian serfs after seeing impressed men soundly defeated by volunteers from France and England. The Ottomans also went with a moderation policy with theHatt-I-Humayun Reforms. While in France an attempt on Napoleon's life was made by an Italian revolutionary who while imprisoned for the act sent a letter asking the Emperor to take up the cause of Italian unification.[8]
With the humiliation of the Russian Tsar the Liberal-Conservative leaders Gladstone and Palmerston, at this point almost Prime Minister in regards to foreign affairs, were sailing with fair winds[9]. This was only furthered when the US Congress paid for the HMS Resolute, which had been abandoned locked in ice, to be salvaged, refitted and presented to Queen Victoria as a 'Present for Peace' for the princely sum of $40,000. So to the hustings once again the two main parties were to venture, with the popularity of 'Gladston's Tariffs' and 'Plamerston's World' the result in June of 1856 was a massive landslide for the government.
Code:
United Kingdom general election, 1856
Seats Votes
Party won Gain Total Percentage
[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Liberal-Conservative 434 +32 572,637 59.1[/COLOR]
[COLOR="Yellow"]Liberal 224 -32 395,879 40.9[/COLOR][1] This is from OTL and is where "women and children first" comes from... braver men than I
[2] This is true of OTL, but Napoleon won in 1848 where as here he had no popular mandate
[3] Loved the irony of soldiers councils electing some one like Napoleon
[4] All from OTL
[5] This was actually me... I'd forgotten about the Crimean War, this certinally helped
[6] Very different to OTL where the war was a success, but not short
[7] A person unfortunalty overshaddowed by Nightingale
[8] All OTL as well...
[9] A much better war causes a upwing in popularity in TTL instead of forcing a government from power in OTL.... well I needed something to explain the 'conservatives' winning time and again in the game
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SirCliveWolfe said:Seeding a strip of land to WallachiaShould be "ceding"...
Good job. I really like how you have each update last an election cycle. I'm starting to feel the rhythm.
Excellent stuff Sir, most enjoyable. Though I for one like the name Liberal-Conservative its so Victorian in its cumbersomeness and oxymoronic nature, though I'd expect Peel's gang to go some something else to make them seem seperate.
National Party? Liberty Party? Radical?
I dunno, but it isn't getting in the way of the good read so eh
National Party? Liberty Party? Radical?
I dunno, but it isn't getting in the way of the good read so eh
That is very, very true. The Victorians were not afraid to give things names so long people could forget the beginning before reaching the end. By such standards Liberal-Conservative is the very model of succinct brevity.
On Balaclava, a shame you missed the Charge of the Heavy Brigade and the original Thin Red Line (both happened on the same day as the Charge of the Light Brigade). Still disaster tends to sell more papers (or poems in this case) than triumph so I suppose it's accurate.
likk9922: Changed, thanks for spotting it ... glad you like the rhythm
Jape: Thanks for the ideas, I am glad that you are enjoying it so
El Pip: I know, I know, with the style I'm am doing I'm missing a lot of things out... and I wanted to highlight the bad as I got v#creamed on land not quite as bad as whats to come tho
... glad you like the rhythmJape: Thanks for the ideas, I am glad that you are enjoying it so
El Pip: I know, I know, with the style I'm am doing I'm missing a lot of things out... and I wanted to highlight the bad as I got v#creamed on land
not quite as bad as whats to come tho
VI - Marriage, Divorce & Mutiny
VI - Marriage, Divorce & Mutiny
Since Wolfe's grand victory at Pladsey in 1757 'The Company' had expanded at an increasing rate throughout the sub-continent and by the early 1850's had reached the zenith of its power by incorporating Nagpur and Awadh under the Doctrine Of Lapse. These actions were deeply unpopular with the general population of India and especially with the Sepoys of the three main 'Presidenty' armies of Bombay, Madras and Bengal. This only added to the tensions that British evangelicalism had wrought, with Company officers seeing it as their duty to try an convert their men to Christianity, with the enforced social changes, such as the banning of burying widoes and child marriage, that cause a great sense of unease among the martial Sepoys. Also, within the Bengali Army, unlike the Bombay and Madras Armies, which were far more diverse, recruits came almost exclusively amongst the landowning Castes of the Ganges Valley. Partly owing to this, Bengal Sepoys were not subject to the penalty of flogging as were the British soldiers. Caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army were not merely tolerated but encouraged in the early years of the Company's Rule. This meant that when they came to be threatened by modernising regimes in Calcutta, the Sepoys were extremely sensitive to suggestions that their caste might be polluted.
The situation was akin to that of a pot simmering on the stove, all looked relatively calm, but with just a little more heat the water would begin to spill over. The rebellion itself was, literally, started over a gun. Sepoys throughout India were issued with the new rifle Enfield rifled musket replacing the Brown Bess. To load both the old musket and the new rifle, soldiers had to bite the cartridge open and pour the gunpowder it contained into the rifle's muzzle this was typically paper coated with some kind of grease to make it waterproof and it was rumoured that the cartridges were greased with pork or beef, both of which was abhorrent to the Indian soldiers being Muslim or Hindu, the controversy had got out of hand and suddenly the army was in open mutiny by May of 1857[1].
The swift actions of Company officers in the Bombay and Madras armies, where they were able to prove that in fact the cartridges were greased with beeswax, was fortuitous and it was only the high Caste Bengali army that quickly captured large swathes of the North-Western Provinces[2], including Delhi, where they installed the Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar, as Emperor of Mughalistan. The revolt was quickly subdued by the remaining loyal forces and by August the last of the fighting had died down, but the event shock the very foundations of the company and caused Westminster to act, quickly and decisively. In October of 1858, the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, Sir John Pakington signed an ordinance abolishing the East India Company and replacing it with the 'British Raj' indirectly governed by the British government via the India Office and a cabinet level Secretary of State for India. The age of 'The Company' was over and one of the most surprisingly efficient systems of government put in its place, India was to show, slowly but surely, the way forward for the entire Empire.[3]
The Piedmontese, who following their defeat to Austria in the First Italian War of Independence, found that they could not defeat a great power such as Austria without allies and this lead to their attempt to establish relations with other European powers, partially through Piedmont's participation in the Crimean War, they identified Napoleon as the most likely candidate for aiding Italy and it was not long after the state of Mughalistan had been annexed that France and Sardinia signed a secret treaty of alliance against Austria that stated that the former would help Sardinia to fight against Austria if attacked, and Sardinia would then give Nice and Savoy to France in return. It was decided to provoke Vienna with a series of military maneuvers close to the border. Austria issued an ultimatum on April 23, 1858, asking for the complete de-militarization of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and when it was not heeded Austria started a war with Sardinia, thus drawing France into the conflict.
The French and Sadinian troops were soon joined by popular uprisings in Tuscany and with the Austrian forces shattered by Garabaldi at Como forced them to the peace table. The Villafranca Armistice laid down the peace that was to follow, Sardinia-Piedmont was granted much of Lombardy and Austria oathed to stay out of Italian affairs. The Treaty of Turin, also signed on the 10th April 1859, caused that states of Modena, Tuscany and Parma to join with the northern Italian state in the new nation of Italy. Garibaldi crossed the Strait of Messina and brought Sicily into the fold, but Rome was kept independent under the Pope and the watchful gaze of the French.[4]
In the Balkans, despite Ottoman meddling, Wallachia and Moldavia elected the idea of the Union Of The Danubian Principalities and promptly took the name Romania. In north Africa, Spain, with the consent of London, declared war upon Morocco after tensions had risen and over boundary disputed and trading rights, the Spanish-Moroccan War of 1860, began well for the Iberians overturning the populated coast and moving on into the hinterland. Although it would take over a decade to fully incorporate the new lands, Spain had gathered in an impressive investment indeed.
In the United States of America the political spectrum had seen an increasing radicalisation with the issue of states rights becoming stronger and stronger. For decades the Whigs and Federalists had battled it out both looking to extend their idea of government but changing little, in the early 1850's, a radical group of Federalists had broken away to form the 'Patriot Party' which argued that the country would never achieve its ends while states were more powerful than then central government and sought to bind the country together with central banks and a massive 'Union' army. With the debacles over first Californian and then Oregon, which had been basically ceded to the Empire in the treaty of the same name in 1859, the Patriot Party's attacks upon the Whig administration and state rights had become ever more vicious and vitriolic and in the election of 1860 they had won a landslide in the northern states which saw President Lincoln elected.[5]
While Parliament was being dissolved for fresh elections in Great Britain, things in the Americas moved a pace and with Lincoln introducing centralising reform after reform, the predominantly southern pro-states rights states moved quickly and sought to extradite themselves from the Union with first South Carolina seceding, quickly followed by, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, North Carolina, Florida and then Virginia. The states quickly drew up a provisional constitution and Named themselves the Confederate States of America with their capital in Richmond. The new government moved quickly seizing 'federal' forts and arsenals in their territory including Fort Sumter, which owing to not being re-supplied was evacuated and handed over by the local commanders. Washington was in uproar and Lincoln moved quickly to claim that the seizures were a cause for war, but he made a grave mistake when the Texan government, prodded by the British, proclaimed support for their 'confederate brothers' he decided to declare war, thinking that the Empire would dare not attack, he was gravely mistaken.[6]
At this time Britain was beginning the path to modern government with increasing trends toward bureaucracy and anti-clericalism, but interestingly still looking upon aristocracy and the establishment as being more important than meritocracy and populism[7]. With Russia paying to free its serfs, much as the Empire had done with slavery, the people of the United Kingdom ventured to the polling booths, with the onset of a major war, and general popularity of the Galdstonian government, the Liberal-Conservative alliance was once again elected, albeit with a narrower majority.[8]
[1] This is all OTL
[2] As the events in game were over so quickly I had to find an idea... hope it worked
[3] A hint of something to come?
[4] Apart from the Papal States remaining (which will cause a great war ) this is all OTL
[5] A different America calls for a diferent civil war
[6] This was so funny I was almost crying in delight!
[7] Just showing the ideas I went for
[8] They just wont stop winning!
VI - Marriage, Divorce & Mutiny
Since Wolfe's grand victory at Pladsey in 1757 'The Company' had expanded at an increasing rate throughout the sub-continent and by the early 1850's had reached the zenith of its power by incorporating Nagpur and Awadh under the Doctrine Of Lapse. These actions were deeply unpopular with the general population of India and especially with the Sepoys of the three main 'Presidenty' armies of Bombay, Madras and Bengal. This only added to the tensions that British evangelicalism had wrought, with Company officers seeing it as their duty to try an convert their men to Christianity, with the enforced social changes, such as the banning of burying widoes and child marriage, that cause a great sense of unease among the martial Sepoys. Also, within the Bengali Army, unlike the Bombay and Madras Armies, which were far more diverse, recruits came almost exclusively amongst the landowning Castes of the Ganges Valley. Partly owing to this, Bengal Sepoys were not subject to the penalty of flogging as were the British soldiers. Caste privileges and customs within the Bengal Army were not merely tolerated but encouraged in the early years of the Company's Rule. This meant that when they came to be threatened by modernising regimes in Calcutta, the Sepoys were extremely sensitive to suggestions that their caste might be polluted.
The situation was akin to that of a pot simmering on the stove, all looked relatively calm, but with just a little more heat the water would begin to spill over. The rebellion itself was, literally, started over a gun. Sepoys throughout India were issued with the new rifle Enfield rifled musket replacing the Brown Bess. To load both the old musket and the new rifle, soldiers had to bite the cartridge open and pour the gunpowder it contained into the rifle's muzzle this was typically paper coated with some kind of grease to make it waterproof and it was rumoured that the cartridges were greased with pork or beef, both of which was abhorrent to the Indian soldiers being Muslim or Hindu, the controversy had got out of hand and suddenly the army was in open mutiny by May of 1857[1].
The swift actions of Company officers in the Bombay and Madras armies, where they were able to prove that in fact the cartridges were greased with beeswax, was fortuitous and it was only the high Caste Bengali army that quickly captured large swathes of the North-Western Provinces[2], including Delhi, where they installed the Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar, as Emperor of Mughalistan. The revolt was quickly subdued by the remaining loyal forces and by August the last of the fighting had died down, but the event shock the very foundations of the company and caused Westminster to act, quickly and decisively. In October of 1858, the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, Sir John Pakington signed an ordinance abolishing the East India Company and replacing it with the 'British Raj' indirectly governed by the British government via the India Office and a cabinet level Secretary of State for India. The age of 'The Company' was over and one of the most surprisingly efficient systems of government put in its place, India was to show, slowly but surely, the way forward for the entire Empire.[3]
The Piedmontese, who following their defeat to Austria in the First Italian War of Independence, found that they could not defeat a great power such as Austria without allies and this lead to their attempt to establish relations with other European powers, partially through Piedmont's participation in the Crimean War, they identified Napoleon as the most likely candidate for aiding Italy and it was not long after the state of Mughalistan had been annexed that France and Sardinia signed a secret treaty of alliance against Austria that stated that the former would help Sardinia to fight against Austria if attacked, and Sardinia would then give Nice and Savoy to France in return. It was decided to provoke Vienna with a series of military maneuvers close to the border. Austria issued an ultimatum on April 23, 1858, asking for the complete de-militarization of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and when it was not heeded Austria started a war with Sardinia, thus drawing France into the conflict.
The French and Sadinian troops were soon joined by popular uprisings in Tuscany and with the Austrian forces shattered by Garabaldi at Como forced them to the peace table. The Villafranca Armistice laid down the peace that was to follow, Sardinia-Piedmont was granted much of Lombardy and Austria oathed to stay out of Italian affairs. The Treaty of Turin, also signed on the 10th April 1859, caused that states of Modena, Tuscany and Parma to join with the northern Italian state in the new nation of Italy. Garibaldi crossed the Strait of Messina and brought Sicily into the fold, but Rome was kept independent under the Pope and the watchful gaze of the French.[4]
In the Balkans, despite Ottoman meddling, Wallachia and Moldavia elected the idea of the Union Of The Danubian Principalities and promptly took the name Romania. In north Africa, Spain, with the consent of London, declared war upon Morocco after tensions had risen and over boundary disputed and trading rights, the Spanish-Moroccan War of 1860, began well for the Iberians overturning the populated coast and moving on into the hinterland. Although it would take over a decade to fully incorporate the new lands, Spain had gathered in an impressive investment indeed.
In the United States of America the political spectrum had seen an increasing radicalisation with the issue of states rights becoming stronger and stronger. For decades the Whigs and Federalists had battled it out both looking to extend their idea of government but changing little, in the early 1850's, a radical group of Federalists had broken away to form the 'Patriot Party' which argued that the country would never achieve its ends while states were more powerful than then central government and sought to bind the country together with central banks and a massive 'Union' army. With the debacles over first Californian and then Oregon, which had been basically ceded to the Empire in the treaty of the same name in 1859, the Patriot Party's attacks upon the Whig administration and state rights had become ever more vicious and vitriolic and in the election of 1860 they had won a landslide in the northern states which saw President Lincoln elected.[5]
While Parliament was being dissolved for fresh elections in Great Britain, things in the Americas moved a pace and with Lincoln introducing centralising reform after reform, the predominantly southern pro-states rights states moved quickly and sought to extradite themselves from the Union with first South Carolina seceding, quickly followed by, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, North Carolina, Florida and then Virginia. The states quickly drew up a provisional constitution and Named themselves the Confederate States of America with their capital in Richmond. The new government moved quickly seizing 'federal' forts and arsenals in their territory including Fort Sumter, which owing to not being re-supplied was evacuated and handed over by the local commanders. Washington was in uproar and Lincoln moved quickly to claim that the seizures were a cause for war, but he made a grave mistake when the Texan government, prodded by the British, proclaimed support for their 'confederate brothers' he decided to declare war, thinking that the Empire would dare not attack, he was gravely mistaken.[6]
At this time Britain was beginning the path to modern government with increasing trends toward bureaucracy and anti-clericalism, but interestingly still looking upon aristocracy and the establishment as being more important than meritocracy and populism[7]. With Russia paying to free its serfs, much as the Empire had done with slavery, the people of the United Kingdom ventured to the polling booths, with the onset of a major war, and general popularity of the Galdstonian government, the Liberal-Conservative alliance was once again elected, albeit with a narrower majority.[8]
Code:
United Kingdom general election, 1861
Seats Votes
Party won Gain Total Percentage
[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Liberal-Conservative 417 -17 587,684 55[/COLOR]
[COLOR="Yellow"]Liberal 241 +17 480,832 45[/COLOR][1] This is all OTL
[2] As the events in game were over so quickly I had to find an idea... hope it worked
[3] A hint of something to come?
[4] Apart from the Papal States remaining (which will cause a great war
) this is all OTL[5] A different America calls for a diferent civil war
[6] This was so funny I was almost crying in delight!
[7] Just showing the ideas I went for
[8] They just wont stop winning!
Last edited:
Interesting the way the sepoy and American Civil wars progressed.
Promote more clerks! LIBERALIZE!
Promote more clerks! LIBERALIZE!
Fantastic stuff SirClive! Ordinarily I find AARs for bigger countries to be quite boring, but this one is very well written and gives an interesting insight into what's happening around the world.
Most interesting, the Un-united States War looks interesting and should be a great opportunity for the Empire.
As to the election it's my understanding that once you really start industrialising things swing the other way and you can't stop the Liberals winning. So it's swings and roundabouts really.
As to the election it's my understanding that once you really start industrialising things swing the other way and you can't stop the Liberals winning. So it's swings and roundabouts really.
All: My deepest apologise dear readers and lurkers, I had not noticed that this project had been on hiatus for so long... such is the demands of life that I have not been able to update this for a while.
This is back... and will be updated regularly from now until its completion, I do hope you will hang on while I re-do the above posts as they have lost their images Also the next section is very much too long, and so will be broken into two or three segments...
likk9922: LIBERALIZE!?! ?!? How dare you Sir!... actually this is starting to happen already...
Cinéad IV: Thank you very much sir, you words make me very humble...
El Pip: Yes an Un-united States... BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Still things seem to be going too well for the Empire, maybe it will change... or maybe not
...and now for something completely different, The American Civil War!
actually that's not very different is it?
This is back... and will be updated regularly from now until its completion, I do hope you will hang on while I re-do the above posts as they have lost their images
Also the next section is very much too long, and so will be broken into two or three segments...likk9922: LIBERALIZE!?!
?!? How dare you Sir!... actually this is starting to happen already...Cinéad IV: Thank you very much sir, you words make me very humble...
El Pip: Yes an Un-united States... BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Still things seem to be going too well for the Empire, maybe it will change... or maybe not ...and now for something completely different, The American Civil War!
actually that's not very different is it?
All your picutres have become tomatoes. A tasty food, surely, but rather out-of-place in the Great Game.
VII - The Southern War of Independence
VII - The Southern War of Independence
The Empire had near sleep-walked into a major conflagration in north America and now had to act quickly and decicivley, it seemed that politics had failed but as the great military thinker Karl Von Clausewitz uttered "It is clear that war is not a mere act of policy but a true political instrument, a continuation of political activity by other means". The thinking of Clausewitz had been passed from officer to officer in the British Army for many a year and his work "On war" was held in almost sacred regard as if it were the armies own bible. This philosophy called for the strategic planners of the British army to develop an approach that would lead to a direct and decisive confrontation as soon as possible. This ultimately lead to disaster in the form of a monumental pyrrhic victory, which ironically lead to the rise of British arms to the next level.
The British war plan entailed the movement of all armoured ships to the US east coast as soon as possible, linking up with the Caribbean and Americas squadrons. From here the fleet started a close blockade of the US coast. The American fleet sallied forth, on the 2nd April 1861, to try and disrupt the blockade and met the Royal Navy close to Chesapeake Bay. The armoured elements of the British fleet, lead by HMS Warrior, were in the vanguard and quickly disabled the few American monitors [1] by sheer overwhelming numbers, they then turned their high powered guns upon the wooden ships of the US navy. The limitations of wood as a defence in modern naval battles were clearly shown, the armoured ships of the RN cut through the entire US fleet without so much as a scratch and the "Age of Wood" was very much at an end. Many a historian wonders why the US fleet was congregated into one place precluding the use of commerce raiders, the answer may never be known with the debacle leading to much figer pointing in the USA, but not many facts coming to the fore [2]. On the British side, however, with naval victory came the realisation that although the RN was easily more powerful of the world's navy's that a sharp investment in steel ships was needed, and the hull's of 50 new Ironclads were laid [3].
The next phase of the Navy's plan for America was to sweep the high-seas free of the US merchant Marine, level the coastal forts on the eastern seaboard and make raids up and down the coast. The merchant marine of the US was the second biggest in the world, although a poor second to the British, but was hunted down and disassembled, of the some 8,000 vessels pre-war over 4,000 were captured as prizes of war by with the remainder sent to the ocean floor, only a handful were able to make it to neutral ports to be interred [4]. To suppress the US coastal forth the British used it's existing mortar flotilla and bombardment ships to one at a time, they were greatly helped in this because although the US Government had spent money on the forts, they were in many cases too parsimonious to actually install the naval guns [5]. The fleet, and it's marines, then moved to capture Nantucket Island and Martha’s Vineyard for use as bases while also raid Long Island with to assess the speed of the US response, withdrawing when US troops arrive. While awaiting the main Imperial army, one by one the British raid and destroy the smaller New England ports and cities. They burn all warehouses, ships and manufactories to the ground. Finally they raid New York and Boston causing savage damage [6].
While the Royal Navy was causing havoc on the seaboard, the US and it's commander, General McClellan despaired at what he could do in an almost impossible position. While state militias had to try and deal with British incursions, he decided that he needed to strike a decisive blow against one of the three main combatants. He quickly decided that a strike against Canada [7] would be long, drawn-out and costly and so chose to go straight for the Confederacy, hoping to knock them out quickly. The US knew that without South American or British nitrates, they could not produce more gun-powder [8]. With the blockade confirmed by the Battle of Chesapeake Bay, they had to act viciously and fast. US forces quickly moved into the CSA and started a drive upon Richmond, but were checked easily by the CS State Forces. The news for the US General got no better, while withdrawing from Virginia he gained news that the main British army, under the command of General William Elphinstone, had landed close to Washington and were preparing a siege.
In hindsight, it can clearly be seen that the war was always going to be short and victory would have been achieved without a landing at the American capital, with its disasterours results. While Kentucky, Missouri and the Cherokee all chose Neutrality, the impact of the Texan army and British Navy were decisive. On the, 14th July 1861, McClellan approached the British positions and gave battle, the result was a very bloody catastrophe for both the US and Britain. The Battle of Washington was won by the allies, McClellan's force was decimated and smashed and would play no further part in the war, and confederate troops under Lee arrived at the close of the battle and held to ground as to siege. While strategically it was a great victory, for the British army it may as well have been a defeat, the entire regular army that had been deployed to the Battle (roughly 70% of British regular forces) were slaughtered along with famous, but incompetent general Elphinstone. The reaction of Parliament and the country was one of utter disbelieve and shock, quickly turning to anger. Gladstone was quick to act and commissioned the Cardwell Report, to look at all aspects of the British army and was to report as soon as possible [9].
The third force that set itself against US power what that of finance, London had for the longest time been The financial centre of the world, and while it did not always turn upon the Empire's foes, it did in this case. While the Rothschild's and the like saw neither certain victory for either the Confederated or Federated states in a war on their own, two things swayed the thinking of the markets. The first is that the CSA issued an alternate bond that was backed, not by a government promise to pay, but by cotton [10]. This made the CS bond much more attractive than that of its northern neighbour, for as long as New Orleans was an open port, investors could get the commodity, make a profit and was 'inflation proof' and not relying upon the CS to do particularly well in the field. The US bond was seen as drastically a riskier as with no such good to use the federal government and so investors had to rely upon the US to not default, or use the expedient of just printing money to pay the interest, thereby cutting the real-term profit with spiralling inflation [11]. Many look back on the London money-markets and dam the Rothschild's for not backing the north, questioning there ethics, but as can be seen their move was not political, just risk adverse. As it worked out the second factor, the successful blockade by the Royal Navy, showed that the "city of London" had guessed correctly. Having little of what it's armies needed within its own borders the United States needed money, lacking a significant amount of specie [12], President Lincoln resorted to printing money, this mealy lead to a collapse in the US bond market, making further government borrowing impossible and impoverishing those who had backed the Unionists, mainly the US population itself.
The Treaty of Paris [13], signed on the 21st September 1861, which ended the war is a significant watershed in world events, but was actually quite equitable and has often engendered questions as to why this was the case[14]. The most stringent part of the treaty was that the border states, and those who had preferred neutrality were ceded to the Confederates as well as the restrictions as to the militarisation of the Federal army. The fact that the British Empire gained almost nothing save Nantucket Island and Martha’s Vineyard and a small indemnity, should be put against the entire strategic background. Since 1836, the British has managed to first encircle and then divide one of the few countries that had the requisite resources upon which to eventually challenge it and they had managed to destroy the world's second largest merchant navy, while greatly expanding their own. Back in the Foreign Office, civil servants quietly ticked off the "America box" from memorandums that tended to be headed by Russia and France[15]. The second thread around which the Treaty of Paris was born was that of once again, finance. While London merchants and investors had been incapable of bringing themselves of supporting the northern states in a war, they did still see the immense opportunity of further investment within those states. While Britain came out 'smelling of Roses' to coin a phrase, the Union did not. President Lincoln was quickly impeached and branded a traitor, and although the British attacks upon the seaboard were seen as reprehensible, they were quickly explained away by the majority in the states who saw that British trade and finance was the only way to rebuild the country. The irony of the political landscape should not be lost upon many, the Patriot Party, that had brought the union low was defunct and the majority of the former 'Federalist Party' had been southern and went from the Union with their states leaving the Republican's as the United State's de facto single party.
[1] They had precisely none.... but I've done this for flavour
[2] In other words... the AI is stupid
[3] About time too
[4] An absolute disaster for the US and a boon for the UK... but not one that is modelled in the game... oh well
[5] This is from OTL, got to love a government who builds forts and then save money by not installing guns
[6] This is the probable strategy that the Brits would have used.
[7] It was a bit gamey but I decided not to bring Canada into the war...
[8] However you look at it, if the US and Britain go to war early, the US is completely defeated rather quickly. In 1861 they had no nitrates and so not much powder...
[9] Yes I lost all of my army ... it did allow for the conditions of a CS victory to be achieved tho...
[10] This was done in OTL... a cotton bond
[11] In OTL the US never had to resort to this, but then again it never went to war with the Empire
[12] No Californian gold for the Feds in this time-lime
[13] HA HA HA! I wreek my wrevegay!
[14] Stupid CSA victory event
[15] Well I did anyway
VII - The Southern War of Independence
The Empire had near sleep-walked into a major conflagration in north America and now had to act quickly and decicivley, it seemed that politics had failed but as the great military thinker Karl Von Clausewitz uttered "It is clear that war is not a mere act of policy but a true political instrument, a continuation of political activity by other means". The thinking of Clausewitz had been passed from officer to officer in the British Army for many a year and his work "On war" was held in almost sacred regard as if it were the armies own bible. This philosophy called for the strategic planners of the British army to develop an approach that would lead to a direct and decisive confrontation as soon as possible. This ultimately lead to disaster in the form of a monumental pyrrhic victory, which ironically lead to the rise of British arms to the next level.
The British war plan entailed the movement of all armoured ships to the US east coast as soon as possible, linking up with the Caribbean and Americas squadrons. From here the fleet started a close blockade of the US coast. The American fleet sallied forth, on the 2nd April 1861, to try and disrupt the blockade and met the Royal Navy close to Chesapeake Bay. The armoured elements of the British fleet, lead by HMS Warrior, were in the vanguard and quickly disabled the few American monitors [1] by sheer overwhelming numbers, they then turned their high powered guns upon the wooden ships of the US navy. The limitations of wood as a defence in modern naval battles were clearly shown, the armoured ships of the RN cut through the entire US fleet without so much as a scratch and the "Age of Wood" was very much at an end. Many a historian wonders why the US fleet was congregated into one place precluding the use of commerce raiders, the answer may never be known with the debacle leading to much figer pointing in the USA, but not many facts coming to the fore [2]. On the British side, however, with naval victory came the realisation that although the RN was easily more powerful of the world's navy's that a sharp investment in steel ships was needed, and the hull's of 50 new Ironclads were laid [3].
The next phase of the Navy's plan for America was to sweep the high-seas free of the US merchant Marine, level the coastal forts on the eastern seaboard and make raids up and down the coast. The merchant marine of the US was the second biggest in the world, although a poor second to the British, but was hunted down and disassembled, of the some 8,000 vessels pre-war over 4,000 were captured as prizes of war by with the remainder sent to the ocean floor, only a handful were able to make it to neutral ports to be interred [4]. To suppress the US coastal forth the British used it's existing mortar flotilla and bombardment ships to one at a time, they were greatly helped in this because although the US Government had spent money on the forts, they were in many cases too parsimonious to actually install the naval guns [5]. The fleet, and it's marines, then moved to capture Nantucket Island and Martha’s Vineyard for use as bases while also raid Long Island with to assess the speed of the US response, withdrawing when US troops arrive. While awaiting the main Imperial army, one by one the British raid and destroy the smaller New England ports and cities. They burn all warehouses, ships and manufactories to the ground. Finally they raid New York and Boston causing savage damage [6].
While the Royal Navy was causing havoc on the seaboard, the US and it's commander, General McClellan despaired at what he could do in an almost impossible position. While state militias had to try and deal with British incursions, he decided that he needed to strike a decisive blow against one of the three main combatants. He quickly decided that a strike against Canada [7] would be long, drawn-out and costly and so chose to go straight for the Confederacy, hoping to knock them out quickly. The US knew that without South American or British nitrates, they could not produce more gun-powder [8]. With the blockade confirmed by the Battle of Chesapeake Bay, they had to act viciously and fast. US forces quickly moved into the CSA and started a drive upon Richmond, but were checked easily by the CS State Forces. The news for the US General got no better, while withdrawing from Virginia he gained news that the main British army, under the command of General William Elphinstone, had landed close to Washington and were preparing a siege.
In hindsight, it can clearly be seen that the war was always going to be short and victory would have been achieved without a landing at the American capital, with its disasterours results. While Kentucky, Missouri and the Cherokee all chose Neutrality, the impact of the Texan army and British Navy were decisive. On the, 14th July 1861, McClellan approached the British positions and gave battle, the result was a very bloody catastrophe for both the US and Britain. The Battle of Washington was won by the allies, McClellan's force was decimated and smashed and would play no further part in the war, and confederate troops under Lee arrived at the close of the battle and held to ground as to siege. While strategically it was a great victory, for the British army it may as well have been a defeat, the entire regular army that had been deployed to the Battle (roughly 70% of British regular forces) were slaughtered along with famous, but incompetent general Elphinstone. The reaction of Parliament and the country was one of utter disbelieve and shock, quickly turning to anger. Gladstone was quick to act and commissioned the Cardwell Report, to look at all aspects of the British army and was to report as soon as possible [9].
The third force that set itself against US power what that of finance, London had for the longest time been The financial centre of the world, and while it did not always turn upon the Empire's foes, it did in this case. While the Rothschild's and the like saw neither certain victory for either the Confederated or Federated states in a war on their own, two things swayed the thinking of the markets. The first is that the CSA issued an alternate bond that was backed, not by a government promise to pay, but by cotton [10]. This made the CS bond much more attractive than that of its northern neighbour, for as long as New Orleans was an open port, investors could get the commodity, make a profit and was 'inflation proof' and not relying upon the CS to do particularly well in the field. The US bond was seen as drastically a riskier as with no such good to use the federal government and so investors had to rely upon the US to not default, or use the expedient of just printing money to pay the interest, thereby cutting the real-term profit with spiralling inflation [11]. Many look back on the London money-markets and dam the Rothschild's for not backing the north, questioning there ethics, but as can be seen their move was not political, just risk adverse. As it worked out the second factor, the successful blockade by the Royal Navy, showed that the "city of London" had guessed correctly. Having little of what it's armies needed within its own borders the United States needed money, lacking a significant amount of specie [12], President Lincoln resorted to printing money, this mealy lead to a collapse in the US bond market, making further government borrowing impossible and impoverishing those who had backed the Unionists, mainly the US population itself.
The Treaty of Paris [13], signed on the 21st September 1861, which ended the war is a significant watershed in world events, but was actually quite equitable and has often engendered questions as to why this was the case[14]. The most stringent part of the treaty was that the border states, and those who had preferred neutrality were ceded to the Confederates as well as the restrictions as to the militarisation of the Federal army. The fact that the British Empire gained almost nothing save Nantucket Island and Martha’s Vineyard and a small indemnity, should be put against the entire strategic background. Since 1836, the British has managed to first encircle and then divide one of the few countries that had the requisite resources upon which to eventually challenge it and they had managed to destroy the world's second largest merchant navy, while greatly expanding their own. Back in the Foreign Office, civil servants quietly ticked off the "America box" from memorandums that tended to be headed by Russia and France[15]. The second thread around which the Treaty of Paris was born was that of once again, finance. While London merchants and investors had been incapable of bringing themselves of supporting the northern states in a war, they did still see the immense opportunity of further investment within those states. While Britain came out 'smelling of Roses' to coin a phrase, the Union did not. President Lincoln was quickly impeached and branded a traitor, and although the British attacks upon the seaboard were seen as reprehensible, they were quickly explained away by the majority in the states who saw that British trade and finance was the only way to rebuild the country. The irony of the political landscape should not be lost upon many, the Patriot Party, that had brought the union low was defunct and the majority of the former 'Federalist Party' had been southern and went from the Union with their states leaving the Republican's as the United State's de facto single party.
[1] They had precisely none.... but I've done this for flavour
[2] In other words... the AI is stupid
[3] About time too
[4] An absolute disaster for the US and a boon for the UK... but not one that is modelled in the game... oh well
[5] This is from OTL, got to love a government who builds forts and then save money by not installing guns
[6] This is the probable strategy that the Brits would have used.
[7] It was a bit gamey but I decided not to bring Canada into the war...
[8] However you look at it, if the US and Britain go to war early, the US is completely defeated rather quickly. In 1861 they had no nitrates and so not much powder...
[9] Yes I lost all of my army
... it did allow for the conditions of a CS victory to be achieved tho...[10] This was done in OTL... a cotton bond
[11] In OTL the US never had to resort to this, but then again it never went to war with the Empire
[12] No Californian gold for the Feds in this time-lime
[13] HA HA HA! I wreek my wrevegay!
[14] Stupid CSA victory event
[15] Well I did anyway
Last edited:
It's back!
But so to the update, a most costly victory but a victory nevertheless. And I suspect the support of the financiers was a self-fulfilling prophecy, by withdrawing support because they thought the US would lose they made it all but certain that the US would in fact lose.
One potential black cloud, if memory serves doesn't a defeated US perpetually seek vengeance on the CSA and declare war every chance it gets? (I don't own Vicki so this could be completely wrong)
But so to the update, a most costly victory but a victory nevertheless. And I suspect the support of the financiers was a self-fulfilling prophecy, by withdrawing support because they thought the US would lose they made it all but certain that the US would in fact lose.
One potential black cloud, if memory serves doesn't a defeated US perpetually seek vengeance on the CSA and declare war every chance it gets? (I don't own Vicki so this could be completely wrong)
Yes it is...It's back!
Oh yes, a crucial one in game terms... and one that will transform the next century
Hum... I think we have the classic "chicken and egg" situation here... which came first?
Yes... I think you have it dead on in this regard... more on that later
I don't know what your talking bout!
think I got them all now