Cabot discovers Virginia Volume II

Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

Cabot discovers Virginia, American nation 100 years early

by D Fowler

Volume II

Expanded America, Part XII - Peace and Ramifications

Britain gained a great deal from Spain - all of Mexico, in fact. It provided a link with their colony of Belize. They tried to insist on Gibraltar, too, but the war-weary British didn’t want to provoke France if they continued the war over that point. The French size and population advantage scared Britain a lot. Thus, Spain retained Gibraltar. "Louis’ conquest of Portugal really prevented it," George I declares, we don’t have any help in Iberia.

The Dutch obtained Cuba and Puerto Rico, while the British got Hispniola. French Guyana became part of Brazil, only because the British wanted to give the Portugese something, but weren’t sure what was proper, considering that they’d been conquered by the French, then eased over into the Borbon camp by the end of the war, but OTOH, Pedro had assisted in forestalling any French or Spanish advances by pushing for Louis to go back to France. "This is too bizarre," the Enlish king remarked of the ordeal.

Guadaloupe went to the Danish, who had assisted the British the last year and a half of the war, once British victory seemed assured. France would need to rely on their continental power and their newly found friendship with Portugal, and make any moves on the British through Brazil.

Ironically, India, the place that set off this war, remained the same. "We might have had problems if the Persians got more involved," remarked King George. Louis XV recovered from his many lacerations, but would always be rather sickly due to the injuries, and the decision was made that he should marry someone as soon as possible, so an heir could be born. In the fighting in Portugal several years before, the man to whom one of King Pedro’s daughters was going to be married died. This was seen as the perfect plan, although some complained that a political alliance somewhere else should be encouraged instead. Louis married Maria, who was almost a decade older, on June 5, 1724. By 1726, they’d had a son, Jean-Louis. They would have a daughter, then another son before the end of 1730. The King of France had an heir, who could also be King of Portugal.

The Spanish, with the straits of Gibraltar all theirs, grabbed the northern part of Morocco, to match the French conquest of Algeria. Louis and Phillip concentrated on expanding their navies and armies to battle the British, anxious for a rematch. They would take it anywhere they could get it.

In British North America, the colonies stretched throughout the continent. Now, however, came the tough parts - governing a region which spanned over a fifth of the earth, and paying off the war debt.

The British had been forced by other problems to take much of the 1600s off and let the colonies govern themselves to some degree. They would pay the price for that when they began administering the colonies more from London, and taxing them.

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Expanded America Part XIII - The Masses Uniting

The year was 1729.

The realm of British North America hosted nearly seven million citizens, and the group was starting to unite into a single, cohesive unit. The enormous region of Mexico soon began to be integrated by the British, a tremendous prize from a difficult war.

Britain wanted to avoid high taxes, but they felt the citizens of BNA needed to pay for some of the war effort. The residents didn’t complain much the first few years of peace, as the British, knowing there was an enormous continent there, which was unlikely to be settled quickly, chose to allow settlements west of the Mississippi and north of the Rio Grande. Their Prime Minister noted that "without the French or Spanish to battle, we have no major need to befriend the natives, and besides, what is the fastest major settlements could reach the Pacific? The year 2000, perhaps?" The years, seeming so far off, was used to show that to them, the notion of a large, extensively populated expanse was beyond comprehension.

However, the lack of representation distressed colonists. For almost 100 years, through crises in Ireland, the Cromwell period and the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution, and other, smaller items, the colonies had become self-sufficient; that wasn’t hard, considering the many different regions and products produced by each. Also a part of their complaints was that the British weren’t permitting the construction of windmills along the Plains. The colonists wanted as much power as the British could acquire, as the notion of replaceable parts and a number of recent inventions were beginning to spark the Industrial Revolution..

IN April, 1729, a regiment of British troops patrolling the Ohio River noticed a dozen large windmills near Portsmouth, in the Ohio colony. They began to dismantle them, but local residents tried to prevent it. A fight ensued, and four British soldiers were killed, along with ten civilians. Several months later, the British began to clamp down in the area. Unfortunately, word got out to the colonists first. If the British cracked down too hard, the colonies would revolt.

The reason: numerous leaders had reasoned that their people deserved the right to make their own decisions. They didn’t consider national independence at first, but the likes of Walter Adams of Boston, Charles Baines and John Cavanaugh of the Ohio region, and numerous prominent Germans such as general Carl Drussel, proclaimed in many published papers that "the insistence on controlling our way of life without giving us the opportunity to provide [our leaders] with less restrictive alternatives amounts to the denial of what is, on it’s face, a fundemntal liberty which cannot be restricted." These were the famous words of Baines’ famous speech in the "Pittsburg Decrees," a series of meetings and speeches held by colonial leaders in August of 1729.

In October of that year, the British were nearly massacured after a battle near Cincinnati. Baines and Cavanaugh barely escaped, by a couple hours, as the British raided a weapons depository that the colonists held. As they marched back several miles to Cincinati, local farmers hid behind buildings and rocks and shot at the British. A revolution was underway.

In late November, 1729, Louis XV’s prime minister quickly called off his troops attempting to advance into Libya. Finally, perhaps the French could get back at the British. As for the Spanish, they prepared to send troops up from Central America if the colonists appeared to have any chance of success. Of course, that would be a while, but for now, perhaps they could regain some lost territory.

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Expanded America, Part XIV: Another War Erupts

Louis XV preferred a hands-off policy, but he appreciated the conquest of land. Influenced heavily by others, he felt the Mediterranean could soon be a Borbon lake, or even just a French lake. He’d sent troops to capture Sardinia with good results in 1728, though there were still skirmishes with the Habsburgs. When 1730 witnessed several American victories, they pounced into the fray. The Spanish quickly followed.

First, the Spanish sent numerous ships and troops up from Guatemala to harrass the settlers. They knew this wouldn’t antagonize the rebelling colonists because none had settled down that far; indeed, there was only one city south of the Rio Grande which had been overrun by the BNA’s victors from the last war, and those were Germans down from Fredericksburg to Monterrey. Mexico City had been attacked, but the best the British could do their was gain a small win. It was Spain’s war weariness that forged the peace.

France, Portugal, and Spain, meanwhile, began attacking all sorts of British shipping. Indiscriminant assaults sank a lot of slave ships, as well as a fair number of those carrying munitions or troops from the windmilled factories at Kent and Sussex. When American naval commander Erik von Stubin stunned the British with a heroic victory near the mouth of the Thomas More Seaway, allowing the rebels to win the Battle of New Hampshire, the Borbons sent an envoy promising their support. They cautioned, however, that they needed to know just what they were supporting. Phillip II’s envoy reemarked that "we suggest you organize a plan to join the family of nations after your war, rather than remaining a part of Britain, which we know may be on your minds."

The Americans had thought about declaring independence, but the sheer size of the area had made them wonder if they could form a cohesive fighting force, much less whether they could agree on creating one nation. Finally, Baines, the leader of their Continental Congress, decreed that a meeting would be held to draft a Declaration of Independence the following year, in April of 1731. The meeting would take place in Cincinnati.

When news of this spread, reaction ranged from jubilant to distrustful. The lands of the northeast, around the Thomas More Seaway and stretching north and south, were elated, as were those in the Ohio colonies. The German regions - Fredericksburg and the colonies of Mississippi and Alabama, plus those in the Smokey Mountains region - were rather happy, as were the peoples west of the Mississippi River. They simply wanted peace, no matter how it was obtained.

The original colonies - the Catholic ones from the 1500s - were more dubious. They were distrustful because the overwhelming majority of colonial leaders had been Protestant, as had the majority of colonists - that was, until Mexico was claimed. Now, they could insist on equal status with the Protestants by insisting that Mexico be claimed as independent, as well. Of course, if Spain re-took that, such a thought would go down the drain, but they could always remain with Britain in that case.

Cavanaugh, while writing the Declaration of Independence in June of 1731, considered that a solution could be found. If they won this revolution, he would offer to mediate the dispute and help them create an American Orthodox Church to combine the two.

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Expanded America Part XV: Organizing Orthodoxy

The next couple of years proved rather indecisive, as the British-paid mercenaries, the Austrians, lost a number of battles, and as the rebels concentrated on solidifying the Southeast and New England. The British were hoping the Catholic central Atlantic colonies would provide a safe haven for British sympathizers. They had hoped Mexico would do the same, but Spain was constantly nipping at their heels there. Why should the Tories desire to flee south when they could easily be overwhelmed by the now-strengthened Spanish?

Support for the revolt among Catholics was low, so Cavanaugh convened a sepcial convention among religious leaders to mediate a settlement between the Protestants and Catholics. Many were eager, as they recalled from their families’ histories rapid flight away from the religious wars of the early 1600s. "Praise the Lord, we had such an established colony like this to come to," many proclaimed. Cavanaugh wanted the new nation to have no official state religion, but also remarked that to allow everyone the freedom of religion without fear from others, it would be best of a common ground could be established between the two.

Therefore, religious leaders met in a region near Lake Michigan in the spring of 1733. Negotiations fared slowly at first, but as the Spirit moved in the people, it was agreed that the Bible needed to be the sole authority, and that salvation must be by grace through faith, and not of works, or even grace plus works, "for if by works than it is no longer grace." This was seen as the beginning of the Greta Awakening.

The groups established several key fundamentals of faith. By August, they’d agreed to rely on the Bible and not on any established doctrine of other churches, and to treat the Pope as a patriarch, but never with supreme authority. People could pray themselves, without priests having to intercede. The church structure would be much more centered on local churches.

An astounding thing occurred as this "American Orthodox Church" formed, and numerous local churches changed to that denomination, or kept their own but registered within the Orthodox hierarchy. Led by preachers such as Johnathan Edwards and Fritz Whittier, a Great Awakening began to occur in the nation. With this came a desire to abolish slavery, which caused more people in the North to turn against the British, who would doubtlessly continue the slave trade. By the end of 1734, the entire Great Lakes area and the northern region was in rebel hands. Meanwhile, the Spanish and British were fighting hard for Mexico City, with some of the rebels also involved in the fighting.

Cavanaugh was quite pleased with the results of the compromise. His only qualm was that American Orthodoxy was becoming so popular, many people considered it as a state religion, with freedom to worship in other ways being accepted. Cavanaugh’s excitement was over a compromise being reached on Earth, but other leaders claimed to know better. "God is seeing us put aside differences and follow His Word, the Bible," declared Walter Adams. "America’s first colonies were dedicated to God, and by golly, our nation should be, too!"

As the major Battle of the Potomac resulted in an American victory in early 1735, the British began searching for a way out of the war. They considered that eventually, they would have to grant American independence.

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Expended America - Part XVI - American Independence Sends British Elsewhere

The French had been fighting for territory for quite a while. Some rumors spread that they would get Florida in any peace treaty, as they had given such immense aid to America. Thanks to the enlistment of trained soldiers rather than the hiring of mercenaries, Louis XV continued to reign surprme over other leaders. Of course, others began to match France’s - well, really, Holland’s - innovation, but few could do it as well, and nobody had the population at this time.

In November of 1735, a surprisingly short time until one consider the power of the Borbon Triumvirate, as they were called in England, French forces sailed from their positions in the Caribbean and Florida to Fredericksburg, with troops marching up the banks of the Mississippi. American troops joined from the northeast, and on November 19th, the last remaining major British regiment was captured.

In February of 1738, hostilities finally ceased with the following conditions: France could keep Cuba, which it captured during the war, and Spain regained Hispaniola and the Yucatan Peninsula, plus some land south of Mexico City. In a matter of years, Britain had lost its entire North American possessions.

The British quickly responded by pouring more and more forces into India, where they resumed their battles with the French. Louis XV, interested in defeating the growing pirate nations, decided to assault Tripoli next.

The British, however, heavily resisted the Bourbon Triumvirate, and felt that the best way to do this was to assault India. Also, the British began considering the colonization of Africa, though after several years they discovered the same problems the French had, that diseases such as malaria prevented them from gaining any ground. They would claim Australia and New Zealand in the 1740s, but those areas proved rather worthless.

Meanwhile, the Americans possessed some notions of Republican government from numerous writings, but didn’t have a strong enough knowledge of it to consider maintaining an elected leader. The 22 provinces, in 1738, chose to for a representative Parliament with a monarchy, a government something like that of Britain’s. Cavanaugh pushed for, and got, a Bill of Rights added to the Constitution. Cavanaugh would become the first Prime Minister, with Adams’ family, a very prestigious one, becoming the royal line. King Walter I of America was quickly recognized by European courts, and quickly courted for an alliance with Britain.

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Expanded America Part XVII: Of Cabbages and Kings

The year was 1745. Louis XV’s empire had expanded to include Tripoli, and French forces, it was believed, might soon try to take on the Habsburg possessions in Italy. Louis’ citizen army, with conscription used extensively, had produced great gains for France, and the British so feared total French control of the Mediterranean, they planned to equip the Ottomans, hated enemies of their friends the Austrians, to build a canal, and to develop an Anglo-Ottoman Alliance.

Then, in May, came the murder of the monarch. Louis XV was killed at the height of his reign, and had become so revered for his power, it was he who was called Louis Le Grand, not his predecessor, by historians.

Louis’ son, Jean-Louis, became King Louis XVI of Frence. Louis XV had made careful gains and then consolidated, as witnessed by his near-total control of Portugal, his overpowering of most of Saharan Africa, and other bold moves. Jean-Louis, on the other hand, had not learned to wait patiently. Of course, he hadn’t been forced to analyze the positives and negatives of many opposing plans proposed by the Kings of Spain and Portugal as had his father. In 1746, Louis XVI entered into a disastrous campaign against Switzerland and numerous German states along the Rhine and Ruhr, a war which greatly damaged French morale after such incredible gains.

This got King Walter to thinking. His son, albeit of a more seasoned age then Jean Louis, was rather slow-witted. One member of the royal court was said to have opined that "Prince Martin’s head could be mistaken for a head of cabbage, the growth patterns are so slow in each."

Walter knew that the young nation needed strong leadership to determine whether to ally with Britain, whether to expand militarily or maintain a small army, and other items. Slavery, too, would soon be a big concern, as more and more people pressured the American Parliament to get rid of it.

Therefore, early in 1747, Adams called a Constitutional Convention to the capital of Cincinnati to revise the document. Instead of a hereditary Kingship, Baines’ and Cavanaugh’s original suggestion of a lifetime Presidency was supported by many. Baines especially wanted to see the young nation obtain this, as his ancestors were close followers of Cromwell who had come to America in the 1660s.

Adams suggested, however, that even this could spell disaster if a person became too old. He pushed for a term of 6 years, with as many re-elections as possible. Cavanaugh complained that the people should have a shorter time in which to choose their President, just as they did their representatives. Eventually, a 4-year limit was kept, but to appease Cavanaugh’s factions, the Bill of Rights now included a guarantee of freedom of religion, though American Orthodox remained the primary religion. A kingdom remained, but the role of the monarch would be that of a mere figurehead; checks and balances were placed in the executive, unicameral legislature, and judiciary, but the king really had nothing to do but sit there. "Sort of like lots of the lesser nobles of Britain," joked Baines as they signed the Constitution.

General von Drussel of the Smokey Mountains region became the compromise choice for President, as a well-respected leader and victor in the Battle of the Potomac. He was inaugurated in 1749. While the British wished the new nation could have retained their strong king, they realized the need to strongly court American support in their seeminly unending battle with the Borbon Triumvirate.

One of their first suggestions: A British envoy approached the U.S. and remarked that "we would greatly support an American attack on Cuba."

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Expanded America Part XVIII: Building Power and Biding Time

America watched in 1752 as von Drussel won re-election. He aanounced he would only serve those eight years, making Britain hopeful that America would be strong and willing to attack. As it was, the former general knew how rough war could be, and wanted no part of fighting alongside the British.

Hence, while the U.S. simply improved its power base bit by bit, the British concentrated on India. Adams, still a very highly respected figure, used his wide influence to push a ban on slavery through Congress and on to the states as a Constitutional Amendment. Because slavery seemed to be dying out, and the southern states were more occupied by Germans, Quakers, and other ethnic groups who disliked slavery, the amendment was passed. Slavery and the slave trade were banned in America in 1758.

With Baines the new President after a peaceful transition, the U.S. began growing closer to Great Britain, much to Cavanaugh’s dismay. Cavanaugh wished the U.S. to oppose the British and the Borbon Triumirate, because both groups still supported slavery. His new political party would keep the nation isolationist.

Baines, however, openly began talks aimed at an alliance with Britain. The earthquake of 1755 in Lisbon had created a monster, as several members of the royal family died, and suddenly Louis XVI was king of France and Portugal. With the resources of two nations at his disposal, many worried that a world war like the last one could erupt at any time.

Increasing the danger was the Borbon alliance with Poland, a still rather strong nation which constantly opposed Austria. Russia would likely join Britain, a fact which greatly disturbed Cavanaugh, because of Russian serfdom. In a famous speech during the 1758 mid-term elections, Cavanaugh insisted that "the forces of slavery, begun so wickedly 200 years ago by Arab slave traders, could rightly be said to be coming back on them with the Borbons. This does not mean we allow them to prosper through outright support, for they are still working evil. This merely means that nations going into heretofore unchartered territories, and exploiting the natives therein, are no more worthy of our support than the vilest of criminals, and we must remain neutral in any action by the nations of Europe."

The growing British navy made considerable inroads in India, to the west of the Indus River, over the next few years. When Cavanaugh won the 1760 election as Americans responded to worries about warfare, Britain knew they had problems. However, they also knew antagonizing America would be most unwise. And yet, when Cavanaugh was asked "what will it take to get you to support us in war," they sensed there would be no easy solution.

Cavanaugh had simply uttered two words. "End slavery."

Cavanaugh promised support in a war because he sensed the British would never agree to end slavery, but one never knew. In the meantime, the U.S. could take the high ground morally, and avoid involvement in what could turn out to be a very nasty conflict.

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Expanded America Part XIX: Weird Menu: British Swallow Pride, Cavanaugh Eats Crow

The war referred to as the Nine Years’ War - only because very little fighting took place in Asia except right at first, and none in Africa - began in Asia. The murder of the Polish crown prince set this one off in October, 1771, a couple years after another isolationist man took office; Alfred Herrera, the nation’s first Catholic President, from Maryland. A moderate on many issues, he was a logical choice .

Austria, Russia, and numerous German kingdoms quickly invaded Poland, utilizing the French-style "citizen armies," to plant a Habsburg on the throne. France, Portugal, and Spain quickly responded, swamping the Mediterranean with ships. The large French army marched across German lands, but they were defeated in a large battle near Berlin. However, the Ottomans quickly took advantage of the war to resume teir attacks on the Austrians, and some oberservers feared that Vienna could be threatened once more.

Sure enough, by late 1772 Ottomans were at the gates of Vienna, Russia was being beaten back thanks to their inferior technology, and Germany was getting slaughtered. The British declared war on the French, and attacked somewhat successfully up through the Sahara. However, they could make no inroads in other areas. Their attacks in India were being thwarted byOttoman ships coming from the Persian Gulf, and by Persia itself.

King George III sent a communique to former President Cavanaugh, now Ambassador to Britain, in mid-1772, witht he British doing quite badly. He’d conferred with the British Prime Minister, who was dreadfully afraid of another Spanish Armada-style invasion. In it, the monarch announced that "the sheer size of the Spanish isn’t a major problem - we do have a great navy. The audacity of Louis XVI isn’t a major threat, the fool has been lucky in a few battles. The tremors of our populace are of little concern, for who is not afraid in wartime. But put them together, Mr. President, and we are desparate. We need you to assist us in this war."

Cavanaugh repeated his prior words, then announced that "though isolationist, our nation has built up incredible strength in the last few decades, mostly for defensive purposes. Such are the benefits of a large and democratic society, though, that offensive force is usable, as we have used our great resources to expand the Industrial Revolution greatly." He opined that a declaration of war, after the 1772 elections, would be viable.

With the British and hodge podge of German states - some of which wee not included, having opted to join the French or remain neutral - on the ropes, and only the might and size of the Russians under Catherine the Great keeping the Allies in the war, the British opted to put an end to slavery and the slave trade. While British slave traders nearly revolted, the Prime Minister informed them that without this step, there could be no more nation at all. Besides, he didn’t say it would never resume.

President Herrera asked two months before his inauguration, on February 1st, 1773, for a declaration of war against "the abominable, slave-holding nations of France, Spain, and Portugal, and the autocratic houses of Habsburg in Austria, and against Poland and Sweden, in support of our fine friends the British, Germans, and Dutch." His ommission of the Russians came due to their continued serfdom, though he admitted to being less cautious than Cavanaugh concerning this. "They, at least, to not trade them or capture new ones."

Cavanaugh returned from his furlough as ambassador with a great deal of chagrin, and some called for Herrera to oust the man from his position. They expected peace, and Cavanaugh had thought he’d given it to them, that there was no way the British would ever agree. Sure, there might have been pressure from King George on the Prime Minister to ban it, but it was still a courageous political decision, though one the Americans had forced upon them.

As time wore on, however, the British continued to lose battles. Louis XVI decided now, before the Americans could do anything more than attack Cuba, was the time to invade Britain. He would send no support to the Cubans, gladly trading one island for another. In June of 1773, as America sent a large number of men to Britain for an invasion of France, he would attempt to duplicate the

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Expanded America - Part XX (and last): The Battle for Britain

Againg Eric von Drussel, who looked young for a man of his age, 79, spoke to a large throng of troops before they departed from a harbor on the Thomas More Seaway. "Men," he spoke, "most of you don’t recall our war for independence, except in the history books. Wel, that was a long time ago, almost 40 years. We’ve patched up our differences. We tried not to fight in any more wars, especially alongside the British. We didn’t think we’d have to help the greatest military machine int he world.

"However, just remember this - everyone needs a little help. We became a nation as a team, we win this war as a team, fighting side by side. And, if the enemy gets you down, just remember, you are members of a nation that didn’t just fight the greatest military in the world, you beat them, hands down! You, your fathers, your grandfathers had great courage! You do, too, so pull it out! Pull out all the stops! The army that beat the greatest one int he world can surely annihilate those pesky little European ones. And together, we will make the world safe for freedom loving peoples everywhere!"

Americans had captured Cuba by late April, less than six weeks after they invaded. They knew something must be up, because the French offered little resistance and sent little help. Those int he capital of Cincinnati sensed it, too. They would almost have to send troops to Britain, because Europe was just about the only place they could fight, unless they tried Africa. They would soon learn they were lucky they did.

The French invasion began with a couple hundred thousand men launching from Calais. A second prong, filled with Portugese and Spanish soldiers, launched two days later, on June 11. The British navy did a stellar job of combatting the ships, but many got through. A sensational battle raged for days on the cliffs of Dover. Many British nobles quickly fled north, to Manchester. Some Britishers scoffed at their fear, noting that "Queen Elizabeth was ready to fight on the shores of Britain against the Spaniards!" Finally chastened, some noblemen returned, though the ten year old Crown Prince and his younger siblings were kept there as a precaution.

In late June, a few lead ships from the American military landed at several Irish Sea ports, above the penninsula so they could avoid the potential invasion. General von Drussel, who had been sought as a criminal some 40 years before, was hailed as a hero by the nation. Meanwhile, a small number of troops began to break out of the small territory they held and head to London.

Once American troops were dropped off, the Americans ordered their ships to be sent with skeleton crews to fight the Borbons. A pivotal battle ensued in early August, as soldiers and civilians fought near London. Americans and English fought a valiant battle against Spanish and French/Portugese ships, eking out a narrow win in August and preventing much-needed supplies from reaching the invading forces. Their defense of the perimeter of English waters provided great relief to the British civilians, who rose massively but were initially outnumbered by the large numbers of Borbon troops.

Finally, in November of 1773, the last of the invading forces, led by Louis XVI himself, ran out of supplies. Louis snuck aboard a barge and escaped, but his welcome was quite cold in France. He’d cost the French an immense amount of prestige, and now their size advantage in draftable civilian troops had almost dissipated. Louis did the only sensible thing - he raided the Portugese treasury to provide valuable funds to keep France afloat. Then, he announced that Portugal had just puchased the holdings of France in the Sahara. He abdicated in favor of his son, Louis XVII of France, lest the people revolt, and settled down to reign over Portugal. He instructed his son before leaving that the new monarch was to "use the money to pay for improvements for the people, lest they overthrow you, too."

The British and the rest of Europe were exhausted. France had been vanquished. They pulled out of the war, allowing those nations which fought it to relieve the pressure on the Austrians. By 1775, the Great War had ended with a hard fought Allied triumph and destruction all over Europe. A noted writer of the times posited that "never again will there be such a brutal war. Now that we have seen governments taking their own civilians, thereby destroying their nations’ supply of leaders, the spectacle of war is so fresh in all of our minds that I almost guarantee there will never be a major war fought on this continent again."

That’s all the storyline, though there will be an afterword about the world in 1900. It was hard to take it any further toward 1998, though others are welcome to try.

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Expanded America - The world in 1900

France: The infusion of cash from Portugal held off a revolt for roughly 50 years, as the people could be bought off with little items, like more food, here and there. However, a peasants’ revolt in 1820 led to the overthrow of the king and establishment of a Constitutional monarchy modelled on America’s government. They’d completely lost India by this time, and the revolt caused an end to slavery in the few remaining French colonies.

Portugal: A poor country like Spain, it tried to find buyers for the Saharan Colonies for years. With a failing infrastructure and lagging far behind the other European nations because of their utter lack of money, they finally sold the areas to the Dutch, who were small enough to be inoffensive to both the English, who were their allies, or the French, or Spanish, who still combined to control much of the Mediterranean.

Austria: With the Ottomans entrenched in Europe, the Hungarians revolted against them in 1819, determined to create a Christian kingdom. They succeeded with Russian help, but Hungary would not be brought back within the Austrian realm. Hence, the dejected Habsburgs united their nation with the Catholic kingdoms of Germany and a few in the lower Rhine Valley in 1841. The Czechs and Slovaks are ethnic minorities, but they have not been able to rebel successfully.

Prussia: They wound up uniting the Protestant German kingdoms which remained, but while they hold the Ruhr Valley, Austria holds the Rhine, meaning no united Germany in the center of Europe. Rather, a cold war of sorts exists between Germany and Austria, with France, Holland, Britain, and Hungary monitoring thins to ensure no major war breaks out.

Poland: It is the "sick man" of Europe in 1900, stretching from Krakow in the south, along the Vistula, where it borders Russia, then west, then south along a line just west of Pozman. It is completely landlocked, and the only reason it has not been totally divided is Austria and Hungary are too weak, and Germany and Russia might come to blows if they bordered each other. Indeed, negotiations have begun to allow Poland a port somewhere.

Ottoman Empire: No longer the "Sick Man of europe," because it holds no territory in Europe. The nation lost Hungary in the 1810s, Greece in the 1820s, much more of the Balkans in a war against Russia, Hungary, and Greece in the 1840s, in which Greece took all of Macedonia, and finally the Dardenelles in the 1890s. France is maintaining a protectorate over Constantinople for the time being, but Russia wants it, the Ottomans want it back, and Greece would even like a stab at it. The French have gained a sort of protectorate over the Ottomans, in return for their not pursuing excess lands in Africa during the division of that nation. Except for Turkey, most of it is more or less a French colony. Russia also is interested in it, however, meaning that war between France and Russia is quite likely at some point over the next few years.

Britain: Theirs is the most powerful empire in the world. They control all of southern Asia, much of Africa, and still a few small islands in the Carribbean, though that is mostly American territory, too. The British are seen as "America’s big brothers," and commonly assist the Americans in their Latin American spheres of influence.

Russia: A stagnant nation, partly because of the intense destruction wrought by The Great War. It continues to try and gain entry into the Mediterranean Sea, which other European powers oppose but which the strongest, Britain, can do little about, as Spain’s intent is to keep British ships out of the Mediteranean. Some British ships get through, but the Catholic nations of Spain, France, and Portugal are more interested in settling old scores by allowing the Ottomans to be dismantled, even if it is by an Orthodox nation and not a Catholic one. Britain seems resigned to let this happen, as they know that if the Russians do get into the Mediterranean, they will eventually come into conflict with the Spanish and, more importantly, the French, and they can stay bloody well out of it.

Holland: With the discovery of oil in Libya in 1899, Holland is hoping it can once again be a player on the world stage, and Portugal and France are both kicking themselves. The extent of the oil, of course, is unknown.

America: A thriving nation with nearly 200 million people, it is Britain’s heir apparent. It has maintained an incredible era of peace for the last 100+ years, only fighting to assist Spain’s colonies in their bouts for independence, and again in a minor war with Portugal, in which they insisted an end to Portugese slavery be enforced int he treaty. The nation covers the entire North American continent except for a tiny fraction, and owns a few minor colonies abroad, too.

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