Fragmented US after Revolution

This is an old timeline I dredged up and modified a little bit. Any comments, criticisms, etc, would be much appreciated. :)


1775 - Beginning of American War of Independence

1776 - Continental Congress issues Declaration of Independence

1781 - Decisive victory of Americans and French Allies over British force under Lord Cornwallis

1783 - Peace of Paris recognizes independence of United States

1785 - Death of George Washington after sudden illness

1787, 1788 - Failure of conventions in Philadelphia and New York that are attempting to devise a more effective government for the US

1789 - Beginning of French Revolution

1790 - New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, negotiate independence of Vermont without reference to Congress

1791 - Convention of southern states in Richmond, Virginia proposes new constitution, only southern states interested

1792 - Convention in Hartford, Connecticut proposes constitution for New England states and New York

1793 - Southern states ratify Richmond constitution as Independent States of America, New England & New York ratify Hartford constitution as Federal states of America
Remnants of US congress move to Philadelphia.

1794 - Treaty of Philadelphia partitions trans-Appalachian lands between ISA, FSA, and USA

1795 - Modified Articles of Confederation adopted by USA, states of Kentucky and Franklin admitted to ISA

1800 – FSA declares gradual emancipation for the states that still have slavery (New York and Connecticut)

1801 - Napoleon forces Spain to give western portion of old Lousiana territory back to France

1802 – Cotton gin invented in South Carolina (Not by Eli Whitney, who in this timeline stayed in New England and got involved in manufacturing firearms earlier and with more success than OTL)

During a brief peace with Britain, Napoleon increases French troop strength in Louisiana and encourages settlement

1803 – Eli Whitney of the FSA joins with several partners to found a company to manufacture muskets and rifles using interchangeable parts.

1804 – Haitian rebels defeat French forces and establish an independent republic. Defeat of French squadron by Royal Navy off the coast of Cuba. Louisiana effectively cut off from France. French military governor of Louisiana gives generous land grants to Anglo-American settlers in return for assistance in fighting any British invasion.

1807 – British expedition against New Orleans is repulsed.

1807 – 1812 – British fur traders supported by a few soldiers move into most of the northern and western Louisiana territory and stake Britain's claim to the entire region.

1808 – First commercially successful steamboat run by Fulton on Hudson River (there had been earlier working prototypes in Britain, the USA, and the FSA)

1810 – First steamboat on Ohio/Mississippi River system.

1812 – Disastrous failure in Russia turns tide against Napoleon

1813 – Second British attempt to capture New Orleans fails

Militia from ISA seize West Florida

1814 - Final defeat of Napoleon, who is killed in Battle not far from Paris - the French in Louisiana are effectively independent and refuse to surrender to the British.

1815 - Peace of Vienna is close to OTL in Europe, though the boundaries between Prussia, Russia, and some of the small German states are slightly different. In North America, Louisiana is recognized as an independent republic, consisting roughly of OTL states of Louisiana, Arkansas, and about 2/3 of Missouri. The rest of the old Louisiana territory goes to Britain, except for a small piece along the southwestern edge that goes to Spain.

1815 – 1825 – A significant number of ex-Napoleonic officers, soldiers, and officials move to Louisiana, which partly balances the influx of Anglo-Americans and helps to keep the two languages and cultures on an even basis instead of having the French speaking population overwhelmed in numbers by English speakers.

1817 – USA begins gradual emancipation.

1819 - Lousiana adopts constitution combining aspects of the centralized first French Republic’s constitution and the decentralized constitution of the ISA

1820 - Brazil becomes an independent Empire under a branch of the Portuguese royal family

1821 – Mexico becomes an independent nation, under the leadership of Augustin Iturbide, who like in OTL declares himself Emperor the next year, and unlike in OTL keeps power for many years and founds a dynasty.

1824 - All former Spanish colonies in South and Central America achieve independence with the final defeat of Spanish colonial forces.

Unpopular Corn Laws repealed in Britain by Whig/Liberal Parliament

First rail lines and locomotives in Britain

1825 - Tsar Alexander I of Russia recovers from bout of malaria in the Crimea

First rail lines in FSA, USA

1826 - Britain purchases East Florida from Spain

1827 - Parliamentary Reform Act in Britain extends the vote to more of the middle class (5 years earlier than OTL, due to stronger Whig/Liberal forces)

Britain intervenes to support independence of Greece against Ottoman Empire, but opposes further Russian gains at Ottoman expense in the Balkans

1827 – 1828 – First Egyptian-Ottoman war.

1828 – 1829 – Major slave uprising in South Carolina in the ISA, suppressed after a year with assistance from army and militias of other ISA states after much bloodshed and atrocities on both sides. Smaller slave rebellions flare in other parts of the ISA and in Louisiana, but are quickly suppressed. Most states of the ISA expel free blacks, while Louisiana deprives them of voting and most citizenship rights.

1829 - Trade agreements between Federal States of America and Britain end duties on most goods along FSA-Canadian border. Trade by ship across Great Lakes, Lake Champlain increases.

1830 – Completion of the Erie Canal in the FSA (later than in OTL, and the first railroads are appearing in the FSA and USA at this time)

Emperor Augustin I of Mexico offers free blacks land to settle north of Rio Grande River in the thinly-populated Mexican province of Tejas. Some runaway slaves also move to Tejas, since the Mexican authorities don't ask many questions. Some refugees also escape to British Florida.

Reactionary King Charles X toppled in France, replaced by Louis Philippe. Rebellion in southern Netherlands defeated, but the region is given some local autonomy.

Rebellion against Russia in Poland is defeated.

1831 France allies with Mehmed Ali, ruler of the nominally Ottoman province of Egypt.

Britain ends slavery in all of its territories.

British Florida accepts refugee free blacks and runaway slaves from ISA – this will continue for years to come and cause much tension between Britain and the ISA and Louisiana.

1831-33 Second Egyptian-Ottoman War between Ottoman Empire and its nominal vassal. Britain backs the Ottomans and France indirectly backs Ali. The war ends in a military draw, but Mehmet Ali declares Egypt an independent sultanate and quashes internal resistance to this decision.

1833 - North German states band together in a customs union

1834 - Whitney Firearms of Springfield, Massachusetts patents first practical revolver

1834-36 - "Tejas Wars" - English and French-speaking settlers in northern Tejas province revolt against Mexican rule. The Mexicans send regular troops and two volunteer regiments of free blacks against them, and encourage the slaves of the rebels to desert their masters and join the Mexican forces. Volunteers from Louisiana, the Western Confederation, and the ISA come to back the rebels. The war takes on strong racial tones – white rebels vs. mestizo and black soldiers fighting under the Mexican banner. In the end, northern Tejas becomes independent as the Republic of Tejas, but Mexico keeps southern Tejas, which has fairly large numbers of well-armed blacks with military training.

1835 – Telegraph first demonstrated in Britain

Uprising by French speaking population of Lower Canada against British rule is suppressed. Britain encourages more English speakers to immigrate to Lower Canada, both from Britain itself and the FSA, which has become quite friendly with Britain. Substantial numbers of French-speaking Canadians move to Louisiana, Texas, and even Mexico in the years to come.


1838-1842 – Construction of railroad linking Upper Canada and Lower Canada. In time, this and the lack of tariffs on food from the USA and FSA will allow Montreal and Quebec to become more competitive with New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore as outlets for food exports from the interior of North America.

1842 - First railroad construction in Russia – a line between St. Petersburg and Moscow - begins in Russia, supported by aging Alexander I

France seizes Tunis after a quarrel with its ruler (Tunis will be the center of French expansion instead of OTL Algeria)

1843 - Britain reorganizes North America territories. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island form one Federal Province with a legislature that has limited powers, Upper and Lower Canada form another, land between Upper Canada and the Rockies forms a Western Territory, and all land west of Rockies, north of Mexican territory, east of Alaska becomes the Oregon Territory. Much of the northern land is retained by Hudson's Bay Company.

1843-45 – Mormons move en masse from the Western Confederation, USA, and FSA into territory west of the Mississippi (OTL parts of Iowa, northern Missouri, southern Minnesota, and Nebraska) that is very thinly settled by whites. They do this to escape hostility from non-Mormon neighbors and to set up their own community run according to their own principles. The British authorities generally disapprove of the Mormon beliefs, but they want settlers for the territory as a buffer against other settlers who might be unfriendly to Britain. The Mormon leaders agree to support Britain's claims in any border dispute in return for the British leaving them alone to practice their religion and turning a blind eye to controversial practices, especially polygamy.

1844 - "Free Port" war between Britain and China over Chinese attempts to restrict trade, especially in Opium, and attempts to restrict missionary activity. After a humiliating defeat, China opens more areas to outside trade and missionary activity. (Unlike OTL, the British aren't willing to publicly give the war a name that admits it was fought over the right to sell opium. Officially, it's all about free trade vs. backwards oriental tyranny.)

1846 - Gold discovered in California - Mexico has paid more attention to California than in OTL, and there is a considerably larger Spanish speaking population already there.

Louis Philippe's government in France relaxes censorship, allows elected Assembly greater powers (this will reduce the tensions that in OTL led to revolution in 1848)

Austrian Empire, Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Baden form a customs Union

1848 - Scattered uprisings in German states, Austrian Empire, Italy are suppressed (no uprising in France to give a unifying example – also, Marx does not write the Communist Manifesto and never becomes very prominent. Socialism will be a major force but will take different paths from OTL)

1849-1850 - California war of independence against Mexico. California gains independence with British mediation, but must guarantee rights and land of Mexican citizens who stay in California.

1852 - Death of Tsar Alexander I, succeeded by son Alexander II

1854 - Founding of Vladivostok on the Pacific coast of Russian Empire

1856-1857 - Second Ottoman-Egyptian war results from rival French-Egyptian and British-Ottoman plans to build a canal across the isthmus of Suez. Egypt is defeated and the frontier is pushed back to the eastern edge of the Nile Delta. The war sees the first use of armored ships in combat (by a British fleet supporting the Ottomans)

1858-1861 - North American Wars or Prairie wars rage, pitting the ISA, Texas, Louisiana and later the USA against Britain and Mexico. The war is caused partly by Mexico and British Florida giving refuge to runaway slaves from the ISA, Texas, and Louisiana. Neither side is able to gain the upper hand. During the tumult, the northern province of Colorado secedes from Mexico and becomes independent. At the end, Louisiana and the USA lose limited amounts of territory to Britain, but otherwise boundaries change little. This war sees the first significant use of breech-loading rifles by some troops on both sides, and some use of balloons for aerial observation.

1858 - American party in the Federal States of America establishes 20 year waiting period for any Catholic immigrant to become a citizen. This is aimed at reducing the political influence of Irish Catholic immigrants.

British and Ottomans begin work on a canal across Isthmus of Suez in land recently taken from Egypt.

1859 – Tsar Alexander II begins gradual end of serfdom

1860 - Russia launches the first of several campaigns to conquer independent Muslim states in central Asia

1861- Britain ends convict transportation to overseas penal colonies - the penitentiary system took longer to become accepted in Britain than in OTL, and transportation was used even more extensively, with penal colonies established in New Zealand, Florida, and Oregon as well as Australia.

Britain signs formal treaty of alliance with Ottoman Empire, which is entering a period of great internal reform.

1863 -Russian fleet from Vladivostok forces Japan's rulers to sign trade treaty and open Japan to the outside world

Suez Canal opens

Britain signs treaty with ruler of Afghanistan, establishing British influence in Afghanistan, at least for the time being

1864 - States of North German customs Union defeat Denmark in a brief war, gaining Schleswig and Holstein.

Britain extends franchise to larger portion of male population.

1865 - North German Confederation formed

1867 - France seizes Algiers in North Africa

First elected Assembly of the Ottoman Empire opens in Istanbul.

1867-1870 - Paraguayan war sees Paraguay totally defeated by Brazil and Argentina (Uruguay never became separate from Brazil in this timeline), and partitioned between those powers.

1869 - France purchases Portuguese African outposts along the coasts of Angola and Mozambique

1870 - Northwestern provinces of state of Virginia, ISA, angry at the stranglehold that the tidewater elite continue to have in state politics, declare independence from Virginia and apply to join the USA. There is some fighting, but no general war. The new US state is called Vandalia.

1872 - After a series of attacks on foreign missionaries and merchants, France, Russia, and the Netherlands declare war on Manchu-ruled China. Britain, angry at China but fearful of growing Russian and French influence, reluctantly supports them. The resulting war sees the first significant use of machine guns, by Russian and French forces.

1873 - Beijing and Nanjing both occupied by joint European forces, Manchu authorities sue for peace. China forced to open up to almost unrestricted foreign trade, missionaries and merchants to have free access throughout the country, foreigners can not be tried in Chinese courts. (This is the biggest blow to the Manchu dynasty's authority yet - there was never any massive Taiping rebellion in this timeline, just a series of smaller revolts that have been contained.)

Brazilian Imperial government declares gradual emancipation of all slaves. Attempted resistance by slaveowners in some provinces is defeated over the coming years.

1874 - Smokeless gunpowder developed almost simultaneously in Britain and France. Use quickly spreads

1876 - State of Kentucky in the ISA becomes first state to adopt a program of gradual emancipation.

1877 - King William V of Great Britain is declared Emperor of India.

Barbed wire introduced in Britain's Kansas province and the USA. Use quickly spreads.

1878 - Wave of strikes in FSA and USA is suppressed, with much more brutality in FSA. American party in FSA passes law stripping any who participate in a strike of the right to vote.

First practical telephone developed in USA.

1879 – Virginia and North Carolina in ISA, Upper Louisiana (OTL Arkansas) in Lousiana all adopt programs of gradual emancipation. Other states and provinces will follow in years to come.

First practical incandescent light bulb produced in Montreal, Lower Canada.

1880 - Last major Native American resistance crushed on the plains in British Provinces of Missouri, King William's Land, and Shoshone

Russia begins construction of rail line that will eventually cross Siberia and connect European Russia with the Pacific coast

Prototype "Floating Bombs" (what we would call naval mines in OTL) produced in Britain.

1881 - British firm begins construction of canal across Nicaragua province of the Central American Republic

Two transcontinental railroad lines completed across North America, within 3 months of each other. (Transcontinental rail lines took longer than in OTL due to the routes across the continent being divided into multiple political units and lack of government backing for any one line, but the fact that the rails were built almost entirely with private capital meant that there were 2 lines competing with each other, and others soon to follow.)

Netherlands establishes outposts near the mouth of the Congo River, central Africa, and begins exploring inland with quinine to stave off the malaria that all but destroyed earlier European attempts to penetrate tropical Africa.

French navy begins research into submarine vessels and "lances" (OTL torpedoes)

1883 - British authorities in Cape Colony, South Africa, form an alliance with Afrikaner-controlled Transvaal and Orange free state to resist French encroachment from the east.

1884 - In response to French ally Egypt's increasing control of Sudan territory south of Egypt, Britain allies with Kingdom of Abyssinia, and covertly supports Sudanese tribes resisting Egyptian control. (Due to butterflies there is no charismatic figure like the Mahdi of OTL who unifies resistance in the Sudan into one huge movement.)

1884-1885 - Japanese Civil War between forces loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate, supported by Russia and France, and anti-Tokugawa forces rallying around the currently reigning Emperor and his advisors, and supported by Britain. The pro-Tokugawa faction is victorious with a great deal of Russian aid. They force the Emperor to abdicate and install a relative on the throne. Japan is now closely allied with Russia and France.

1885 - Russian army begins experiments with rigid lighter-than air vehicles (what would be called Zeppelins in OTL).

1887 – Russia pressures Ottoman Empire into giving autonomy (effectively independence) to Moldavian and Wallachian provinces. The British government, controlled by the Liberals at the time, responds weakly, and soon falls from power in favor of a Conservative government that promises solid support for Ottomans in the future.

1888 - Formal treaty of alliance between the Kingdom of Hawaii and Great Britain.

1889 – Major changes in arrangement of British Empire. Britain's various colonies and territories in North America, Australia, southern Africa, and New Zealand have gained more autonomy over time. The model of consolidating colonies into larger Dominions never emerged in Canada, because there was no massive US to the south. By this time, though, it seems inadequate to continue to refer to these areas as mere colonies or provinces, so they are declared “Domains of the Realm”, a Dominion-like status which gives them complete autonomy in domestic affairs while remaining subordinate to London in certain aspects of foreign policy. The new Domains are Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Canada, King William's Land, Missouri, Oregon and Florida in North America; New South Wales, Van Dieman's Land, Queensland, Charlotte, and West Australia in Australia; New Zealand; and South Africa.

1890-91 – Balkan crisis as Russia threatens war against Ottoman Empire over Ottoman suppression of Russian backed rebels in Bulgaria. Britain supports Ottomans, while France backs Russia. Ultimately, Russia and France back down, but this incident solidifies the British-Ottoman vs. Russian-French-Egyptian alliances.

1894-97 – The Chinese Crisis. Reformist elements attempting to gain power are suppressed by reactionary Qing authorities, who have become dependent on Russian support and have almost slipped to the status of Russian puppets. The suppression of the reformists, however, prompts a crisis as Chinese generals and provincial governors in the south revolt against the Qing regime. They are supported by the British, who are determined not to see the whole of China fall under Russian domination. By 1797, most of southeastern China successfully establishes itself as a separate country, with the senior general of the revolt establishing a new dynasty with an advisory council of other military and political leaders. This southern Chinese dynasty has close economic, political, and military ties to Britain.


1899 – Russia and Japan force the isolated kingdom of Korea to allow them to establish a joint protectorate
 
How many times have you done this now?[1]

My previous reply still stands:

Haven't finished reading the timeline yet (like it so far!) but would all the successor states really go with blank States of America?

Especially when you have stuff like New England already existing. The Commonwealth of New England say? The Federal Republic of America? Just seems odd that they'd all keep States of America in their name.

Maybe it's just me.

I think it's an interesting timeline and I still like it.

It seems like you've put a lot of work into it across the many threads (or a lot of work into many slight variations), but it remains in outline form for much of it. Perhaps fleshing it out year by year based on old comments and new ones?

Plus, I admit, knowing that every time you post this it winds down and you abandon it until a new tweaked repost pops up kind of discourages the whole comment thing (at least from me).



[1] For those wishing to catch up on previous discussions, I think this is all of them:

January 2007
November 2006
February 2006
January 2005
June 2004
 
It is highly unlikely that there would still be Mormons, with a POD in the 1780's. This bothers me about most fragmented USA TLs. Its very likely that there would be a revivalist New England church like the Mormons, but they wouldn't be founded by Joseph Smith Jr. and have all the trappings of the OTL church.
 
Given that Japan and Russia fought several wars in the late 1700's~ early 1800's, I just do not see an allinace like you have.

And thro several TL's here have had the US split in Thirds, I find in very unlikely.
After the New England leaves, the southern states have enuff power to pull the other states into their orbit,
unless the 3 join New England. mavbe a split among the 3 -- New york New jersey to NE, Penn to the south
 
Given that Japan and Russia fought several wars in the late 1700's~ early 1800's, I just do not see an allinace like you have.

And thro several TL's here have had the US split in Thirds, I find in very unlikely.
After the New England leaves, the southern states have enuff power to pull the other states into their orbit,
unless the 3 join New England. mavbe a split among the 3 -- New york New jersey to NE, Penn to the south

In Weird America I have NY, NJ and Penn all as part of the RNE or Republic of New England
 
It is highly unlikely that there would still be Mormons, with a POD in the 1780's. This bothers me about most fragmented USA TLs. Its very likely that there would be a revivalist New England church like the Mormons, but they wouldn't be founded by Joseph Smith Jr. and have all the trappings of the OTL church.

You might have a point here. I basically just included the Mormons because I think that they're so distinctive that it's fun to include them even in an alternate timeline. :p They aren't really essential to most of the rest of the timeline, though.
 
Given that Japan and Russia fought several wars in the late 1700's~ early 1800's, I just do not see an allinace like you have.

And thro several TL's here have had the US split in Thirds, I find in very unlikely.
After the New England leaves, the southern states have enuff power to pull the other states into their orbit,
unless the 3 join New England. mavbe a split among the 3 -- New york New jersey to NE, Penn to the south

I've never heard of wars between Japan and Russia before 1905 - I didn't think that Japan fought any foreign wars between the early 17th and late 19th century. :confused:

Essentially what happens is that Russia is developing faster economically than in OTL, and is actually the first power to persuade Japan to open contact with the rest of the world in the absence of a strong United States. A power struggle develops in Japan between the Tokugawa shoguns and a faction that wants to restore the emperor to real authority. Russia backs the Tokugawa faction, which wins the civil war that follows. Thus, the Tokugawa have become largely dependent on Russia for support. They also get the largest portion of their weapons and training from the Russians. Russia has a lot of leverage, and the Russian authorities tend to view Japan almost as a protectorate. Of course, the Japanese see it differently. There is resentment at Russia's domineering attitude, but at the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian alliance still has its advantages. The Russians are encouraging their Japanese allies to look to the south for expansion, where they won't rival Russia. The Philippines are still controlled by a weak Spain and are a tempting target. The more ambitious Japanese and Russian leaders are even talking of dividing all of China up into spheres of influence between the two countries if they can eliminate the British-supported southern dynasty.

The division of the original United States into three parts might not be the most likely outcome, but I don't think that it is too implausible. Culturally, New England, the middle Atlantic states, and the southern states tended to form distinct zones. It might seem more likely for New York to join Pennsylvania and New Jersey and leave the New England states in their own zone, but by the late 18th century, a considerable number of New Englanders were already settling in upstate New York, and Philadelphia was a bigger commercial rival to New York than Boston was. It could go either way. In fact, a breaking apart of the United States shortly after independence could happen in quite a few different ways and produce many possible combinations of smaller nations. This is just one possibility.
 
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This is a map of the world in 1900 for this timeline. It pretty much follows the standard universal color scheme, except for a few differences that are noted on the map itself. China is divided into two dynasties - the Qing/Manchu dynasty in the north and west that is politically (somewhat) dominated by Russia, and a new dynasty in the south and east that is somewhat dominated by Britain, and that I have not named because I don't know what a good name for a new Chinese dynasty would be. :p

Nation Building World 1900.png
 
This is a map of the world in 1900 for this timeline. It pretty much follows the standard universal color scheme, except for a few differences that are noted on the map itself. China is divided into two dynasties - the Qing/Manchu dynasty in the north and west that is politically (somewhat) dominated by Russia, and a new dynasty in the south and east that is somewhat dominated by Britain, and that I have not named because I don't know what a good name for a new Chinese dynasty would be. :p

UBER-Russia...

Dutch Congo...

:eek:
 
The map I posted earlier is actually from a modified version of my original timeline, in which the United States splits into only 2 nations instead of 3 in the 1790s. I posted the map without posting the corresponding timeline. :(

Here is the new timeline:


1775 - Beginning of American War of Independence

1776 - Continental Congress issues Declaration of Independence

1781 - Decisive victory of Americans and French Allies over British force under Lord Cornwallis

1783 - Peace of Paris recognizes independence of United States

1785 - Death of George Washington after sudden illness

1787, 1788 - Failure of conventions in Philadelphia and New York that are attempting to devise a more effective government for the United States.

1789 - Beginning of French Revolution

1790 - New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, negotiate independence of Vermont without reference to Congress

1791 - Convention of southern states in Richmond, Virginia proposes new constitution, only southern states interested at the time.

1792 - Convention in Hartford, Connecticut proposes constitution for New England states and New York.

1793-94 - Southern states ratify Richmond constitution as the American Confederation. New England states & New York ratify Hartford constitution as Federal States of America (FSA). Annapolis, Maryland becomes the capital of the American Confederation, while Hartford, Connecticut becomes the capital of the Federal States of America.

1795 – Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which are the only two states officially still part of the old USA, join the American Confederation. The states of Kentucky and Franklin (similar boundaries to OTL Tennessee) are admitted to the American Confederation.

1798 – After several small clashes over unresolved boundaries in the lands between the Appalachians and the Mississippi, the FSA and American Confederation sign the Treaty of Pittsburgh, fixing an agreed boundary between the western lands of the two nations.

1800 – FSA declares gradual emancipation for the states that still have slavery (New York and Connecticut)


1801 - Napoleon forces Spain to give western portion of old Louisiana territory back to France

1802 – Cotton gin invented in South Carolina (Not by Eli Whitney, who in this timeline stayed in New England and got involved in manufacturing firearms earlier and with more success than OTL.)

During a brief peace with Britain, Napoleon increases French troop strength in Louisiana and encourages settlement

1803 – Eli Whitney of the FSA joins with several partners to found a company to manufacture muskets and rifles using interchangeable parts.

1804 – Haitian rebels defeat French forces and establish an independent republic. British navy defeats a French fleet off the coast of Cuba, effectively cutting Louisiana off from France. French military governor of Louisiana gives generous land grants to Anglo-American settlers from the American Confederation in return for assistance in fighting an expected British invasion.

1807 – British expedition against New Orleans is repulsed.

1807 – 1812 – British fur traders supported by a few soldiers move into most of the northern and western Louisiana territory and stake Britain's claim to the entire region.

1808 – First commercially successful steamboat run by Fulton on Hudson River (there had been earlier working prototypes in Britain, the American Confederation, and the FSA)

1810 – First steamboat on Ohio/Mississippi River system.

1812 – Disastrous failure in Russia turns the tide against Napoleon

1813 – Second British attempt to capture New Orleans fails

Militia from the American Confederation seize West Florida from Spain, which is allied with Britain.

1814 - Final defeat of Napoleon, who is killed in Battle not far from Paris - the French in Louisiana are effectively independent and refuse to surrender to the British.

1815 - Peace of Vienna is close to OTL in Europe, though the boundaries between Prussia, Russia, and some of the small German states are slightly different. In North America, Louisiana is recognized as an independent republic, consisting roughly of OTL states of Louisiana, Arkansas, and about 2/3 of Missouri. The rest of the old Louisiana territory goes to Britain, except for a small piece along the southwestern edge that goes to Spain.

1815 – 1825 – A significant number of ex-Napoleonic officers, soldiers, and officials move to Louisiana, which partly balances the influx of Anglo-Americans and helps to keep the two languages and cultures on an even basis instead of having the French speaking population overwhelmed in numbers by English speakers.

1819 - Louisiana adopts constitution combining aspects of the centralized first French Republic’s constitution and the decentralized constitution of the American Confederation

1820 - Brazil becomes an independent Empire under a branch of the Portuguese royal family

1821 – Mexico becomes an independent nation, under the leadership of Augustin Iturbide, who like in OTL declares himself Emperor the next year, and unlike in OTL keeps power for many years and founds a dynasty.

1824 - All former Spanish colonies in South and Central America achieve independence with the final defeat of Spanish colonial forces.

Unpopular Corn Laws repealed in Britain by Whig/Liberal Parliament

First rail lines and locomotives in Britain

1825 - Tsar Alexander I of Russia recovers from bout of malaria in the Crimea

First rail lines in FSA, American Confederation

1826 - Britain purchases East Florida from Spain

1827 - Parliamentary Reform Act in Britain extends the vote to more of the middle class (5 years earlier than OTL, due to stronger Whig/Liberal forces)

Britain intervenes to support independence of Greece against Ottoman Empire, but opposes further Russian gains at Ottoman expense in the Balkans

1827 – 1828 – First Egyptian-Ottoman war.

1828 – 1829 – Major slave uprising in South Carolina in the American Confederation, suppressed after a year with assistance from army and militias of other Confederation states after much bloodshed and atrocities on both sides. Smaller slave rebellions flare in other parts of the Confederation and in Louisiana, but are quickly suppressed. Most states of the Confederation (except for Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where slavery has been abolished) expel free blacks, while Louisiana deprives them of voting and most citizenship rights.

1829 - Trade agreements between Federal States of America and Britain end duties on most goods along FSA-Canadian border. The level of trade by ship across Great Lakes and Lake Champlain increases.

1830 – Completion of the Erie Canal in the FSA (later than in OTL, and the first railroads are appearing in the FSA and American Confederation at this time)

Emperor Augustin I of Mexico offers free blacks land to settle north of Rio Grande River in the thinly-populated Mexican province of Tejas. Some runaway slaves also move to Tejas, since the Mexican authorities don't ask many questions. Other refugees escape to British Florida.

King Charles X is overthrown in France, replaced by Louis Philippe. Rebellion in southern Netherlands defeated, but the region is given some local autonomy.

Rebellion against Russia in Poland is defeated.

1831 - France allies with Mehmet Ali, ruler of the nominally Ottoman province of Egypt.

Britain ends slavery in all of its territories.

British Florida accepts refugee free blacks and runaway slaves from the American Confederation – this will continue for years to come and cause much tension between Britain and the Confederation (and Louisiana).

1831-33 - Second Egyptian-Ottoman War between Ottoman Empire and its nominal vassal. Britain backs the Ottomans and France indirectly backs Ali. The war ends in a military draw, but Mehmet Ali declares Egypt an independent sultanate shortly after the war ends and draws closer to France.

1833 - North German states band together in a customs union

1834 - Whitney Firearms of Springfield, Massachusetts patents first practical revolver

1834-36 - "Tejas Wars" - English and French-speaking settlers in northern Tejas province revolt against Mexican rule. The Mexicans send regular troops and two volunteer regiments of free blacks against them, and encourage the slaves of the rebels to desert their masters and join the Mexican forces. Volunteers from Louisiana and the American Confederation come to back the rebels. The war takes on strong racial tones – white rebels vs. mestizo and black soldiers fighting under the Mexican banner. In the end, northern Tejas becomes independent as the Republic of Texas, but Mexico keeps southern Tejas, which has fairly large numbers of well-armed blacks with military training.


1835 – Telegraph first demonstrated in Britain

Uprising by French speaking population of Lower Canada against British rule is suppressed. Britain encourages more English speakers to immigrate to Lower Canada, both from Britain itself and the FSA, which has become quite friendly with Britain. Substantial numbers of French-speaking Canadians move to Louisiana, Texas, and even Mexico in the years to come.


1838-1842 – Construction of railroad linking Upper Canada and Lower Canada. In time, this and the lack of tariffs on food from the American Confederation and the FSA will allow Montreal and Quebec to become more competitive with New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore as outlets for food exports from the interior of North America.

1842 - First railroad construction in Russia – a line between St. Petersburg and Moscow - begins in Russia, supported by the aging Alexander I.

France seizes Tunis after a quarrel with its ruler. (Tunis will be the center of French expansion instead of OTL Algeria.)

1843 - Britain reorganizes North America territories. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island form one Federal Province with a legislature that has limited powers, Upper and Lower Canada form another, land between Upper Canada and the Rockies forms a Western Territory, and all land west of Rockies, north of Mexican territory, east of Alaska becomes the Oregon Territory. Much of the northern land is retained by Hudson's Bay Company.

1843-45 – Mormons move en masse from the FSA and American Confederation into territory west of the Mississippi (OTL parts of Iowa, northern Missouri, southern Minnesota, and Nebraska) that is very thinly settled by whites. They do this to escape hostility from non-Mormon neighbors and to set up their own community run according to their own principles. The British authorities generally disapprove of the Mormon beliefs, but they want settlers for the territory as a buffer against other settlers who might be unfriendly to Britain. The Mormon leaders agree to support Britain's claims in any border dispute in return for the British leaving them alone to practice their religion and turning a blind eye to controversial practices, especially polygamy.

1844 - "Free Port" war between Britain and China over Chinese attempts to restrict trade, especially in Opium, and attempts to restrict missionary activity. After a humiliating defeat, China opens more areas to outside trade and missionary activity. (Unlike OTL, the British aren't willing to publicly give the war a name that admits it was fought over the right to sell opium. Officially, it's all about free trade vs. backwards oriental tyranny.)

1846 - Gold discovered in California - Mexico has paid more attention to California than in OTL, and there is a considerably larger Spanish speaking population already there.

Louis Philippe's government in France relaxes censorship, allows elected Assembly greater powers (this will reduce the tensions that in OTL led to revolution in 1848)

Austrian Empire, Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Baden form a customs Union

1848 - Scattered uprisings in German states, Austrian Empire, Italy are suppressed. (There is no uprising in France to give a unifying example – also, Marx does not write the Communist Manifesto and never becomes very prominent. Socialism will be a major force but will take different paths from OTL.)

1849-1850 - California war of independence against Mexico. California gains independence with British mediation, but the treaty ending the brief struggle guarantees the rights and land of Mexican citizens who stay in California.

1852 - Death of Tsar Alexander I, succeeded by son Alexander II

1854 – Russia forces China to cede territory north and east of the Amur River. Vladivostok is founded on the Pacific Coast in 1855. Russia will be somewhat stronger and more aggressive in its eastern territories than in OTL.

1856-1858 - Second Ottoman-Egyptian war results from rival French-Egyptian and British-Ottoman plans to build a canal across the Isthmus of Suez. Egypt is defeated, largely because Britain directly supports the Ottoman Empire while France does not directly support the Egyptians because they are not prepared to challenge the Royal Navy. The frontier is pushed back to the eastern edge of the Nile Delta. The war sees the first use of armored ships in combat, by a British fleet supporting the Ottomans.

1858-1861 - North American Wars or Prairie wars rage, pitting the American Confederation, Texas, and Louisiana against Britain and Mexico. The war is caused partly by Mexico and British Florida giving refuge to runaway slaves from the American Confederation, Texas, and Louisiana. Neither side is able to gain the upper hand. During the tumult, the northern province of Colorado, which is experiencing an influx of miners and ranchers, secedes from Mexico and becomes independent. At the end, Louisiana and the American Confederation lose small amounts of territory to Britain. This war sees the first significant use of breech-loading rifles by some troops on both sides, and some use of balloons for aerial observation.

1858 - American Party in the Federal States of America establishes a 20-year waiting period for any Catholic immigrant to become a citizen. This is aimed at reducing the political influence of Irish Catholic immigrants.

British and Ottomans begin work on a canal across Isthmus of Suez in land recently taken from Egypt.

1859 – Tsar Alexander II begins the gradual abolition of serfdom.

1860 - Russia launches the first of several campaigns to conquer independent Muslim states in central Asia.

1861- Britain ends convict transportation to overseas penal colonies. (The penitentiary system took even longer to become accepted in Britain than in OTL, and transportation was used even more extensively, with smaller penal colonies established in New Zealand, and Florida in addition to the colonies in Australia.)

Britain signs formal treaty of alliance with Ottoman Empire, which is entering a period of great internal reform.

1863 -Russian fleet from Vladivostok forces Japan's rulers to sign trade treaty and open Japan to the outside world.

Suez Canal opens

Britain signs treaty with ruler of Afghanistan, establishing British influence in Afghanistan, at least for the time being

1864 - States of North German customs Union defeat Denmark in a brief war, gaining Schleswig and Holstein.

Britain extends franchise to larger portion of male population.

1865 - North German Confederation formed

1867 - France seizes Algiers in North Africa

First elected Assembly of the Ottoman Empire opens in Istanbul.

1867-1870 - Paraguayan war sees Paraguay totally defeated by Brazil and Argentina (Uruguay never became separate from Brazil in this timeline), and partitioned between those powers.

1869 - France purchases Portuguese African outposts along the coasts of Angola and Mozambique

1872 - After a series of attacks on foreign missionaries and merchants, France, Russia, and the Netherlands declare war on Manchu-ruled China. Britain, angry at China but fearful of growing Russian and French influence, intervenes more reluctantly. The resulting war sees the first significant use of machine guns, by Russian and French forces.

1873 - Beijing and Nanjing both occupied by joint European forces, Manchu authorities sue for peace. China forced to open up to almost unrestricted foreign trade, missionaries and merchants to have free access throughout the country, foreigners can not be tried in Chinese courts. (This is the biggest blow to the Manchu dynasty's authority yet - there was never any massive Taiping rebellion in this timeline, just a series of smaller revolts that have been contained.)

Brazilian Imperial government declares gradual emancipation of all slaves. Attempted resistance by slaveowners in some provinces is defeated over the next few years.

1874 - Smokeless gunpowder developed almost simultaneously in Britain and France. Use quickly spreads.

1876 - State of Kentucky in the American Confederation becomes first state in several decades to adopt a program of gradual emancipation.

1877 - Barbed wire introduced in Britain's Kansas province and the USA. Use quickly spreads.

1878 - Wave of strikes in FSA and American Confederation, caused by a sudden and severe economic downturn, is suppressed, with much more brutality in the FSA. American party in FSA passes law stripping any who participate in a strike of the right to vote.

First practical telephone developed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the American Confederation.

1879 – Virginia and North Carolina in the American Confederation and Upper Louisiana (OTL Arkansas) in Louisiana, all adopt programs of gradual emancipation. Other states and provinces will follow in years to come.

First practical incandescent light bulb produced in Montreal, Lower Canada.

1880 - Last major Native American resistance crushed on the plains in British Provinces of Missouri, King William's Land, and Shoshone.

Russia begins construction of rail line that will eventually cross Siberia and connect European Russia with the Pacific coast

Prototype "Floating Bombs" (what we would call naval mines in OTL) produced in Britain.

1881 - British firm begins construction of canal across Nicaragua province of the Central American Republic

Two transcontinental railroad lines completed across the widest part of North America, within 3 months of each other. (These transcontinental rail lines took longer than in OTL transcontinental railroad across the USA due to the routes across the continent being divided into multiple political units and lack of government backing for any one line, but the fact that the rails were built almost entirely with private capital meant that there were 2 lines competing with each other to be the first. One rail line goes along a similar route to OTL first transcontinental railroad across the US, while the other follows a similar route to OTL trans-Canadian railroad. Another route further south would be completed in 1892, and another between the first two by the early 20th century.)

Netherlands establishes outposts near the mouth of the Congo River, central Africa, and begins exploring inland with quinine to stave off the malaria that all but destroyed earlier European attempts to penetrate tropical Africa.

French navy begins research into submarine vessels and "lances" (OTL torpedoes)

1883 - British authorities in Cape Colony, South Africa, form an alliance with Afrikaner-controlled Transvaal and Orange free state to resist French encroachment from the east.

1884 - In response to French ally Egypt's increasing control of Sudan territory south of Egypt, Britain allies with Kingdom of Abyssinia, and covertly supports Sudanese tribes resisting Egyptian control. (Due to butterflies there is no charismatic figure like the Mahdi of OTL who unifies resistance in the Sudan into one huge movement.)

1884-1885 - Japanese Civil War between forces loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate, supported by Russia and France, and anti-Tokugawa forces rallying around the currently reigning Emperor and his advisors, and supported by Britain. The pro-Tokugawa faction is victorious with a great deal of Russian aid. They force the Emperor to abdicate and install a relative on the throne. Japan is now closely allied with Russia and France.

1885 - Russian army begins experiments with rigid lighter-than air vehicles (what would be called Zeppelins or dirigibles in OTL).

1887 – Russia pressures Ottoman Empire into giving autonomy (effectively independence) to Moldavian and Wallachian provinces. The British government, controlled by the Liberals at the time, responds weakly, and soon falls from power in favor of a Conservative government that promises solid support for Ottomans in the future.

1888 - Formal treaty of alliance between the Kingdom of Hawaii and Great Britain.

1889 – Major changes in arrangement of British Empire. Britain's various colonies and territories in North America, Australia, southern Africa, and New Zealand have gained more autonomy over time. The model of consolidating colonies into larger Dominions never emerged in Canada, because there was no massive US to the south. By this time, though, it seems inadequate to continue to refer to these areas as mere colonies or Federal Provinces, so they are declared “Domains of the Realm”, a Dominion-like status which gives them complete autonomy in domestic affairs while remaining subordinate to London in certain aspects of foreign policy. The new Domains are Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Canada, King William's Land, Missouri, Oregon, and Florida in North America; New South Wales, Van Dieman's Land, Queensland, Charlotte, and West Australia in Australia; New Zealand; and South Africa. Other parts of the British Empire are either administered as colonies (some of the lands in Southeast Asia and Africa) or are technically under the administration of private companies that are closely connected to the British government. India is still under the East India Company, since there was never any Indian Mutiny to cause Britain to assume direct control. Most of the Arctic regions of North America are still under the jurisdiction of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Part of the West African coast is controlled by the Royal Nigerian Company.

1890-91 – Balkan crisis as Russia threatens war against Ottoman Empire over Ottoman suppression of Russian backed rebels in Bulgaria. Britain supports Ottomans, while France backs Russia. Ultimately, Russia and France back down, but this incident solidifies the British-Ottoman vs. Russian-French-Egyptian alliances.

1894-97 – The Chinese Crisis and Civil War Reformist elements attempting to gain power are suppressed by reactionary Qing authorities, who have become dependent on Russian support and have almost slipped to the status of Russian puppets. The suppression of the reformists, however, prompts a crisis as Chinese generals and provincial governors in the south revolt against the Qing regime. They are supported by the British, who are determined not to see the whole of China fall under Russian domination. By 1797, most of southeastern China successfully establishes itself as a separate country, with the senior general of the revolt establishing a new dynasty with an advisory council of other military and political leaders. This southern Chinese dynasty has close economic, political, and military ties to Britain.


1899 – Russia and Japan force the isolated kingdom of Korea to allow them to establish a joint protectorate
 
Here is a new version of the map, which will hopefully clear up the confusion about China. The "light green" China is the Qing/Manchu dynasty, which is heavily influenced by Russia (which is one reason why Russia hasn't taken more territory from them outright), while the "magenta" China is a newly-established dynasty that broke away from the Qing dynasty, and is heavily influenced by Britain. (I didn't give it a name since I know absolutely no Chinese and have no idea what would be a good name for a new Chinese dynasty.)

Nation Building World 1900.png
 
This is a map of the world in 1900 for this timeline. It pretty much follows the standard universal color scheme, except for a few differences that are noted on the map itself. China is divided into two dynasties - the Qing/Manchu dynasty in the north and west that is politically (somewhat) dominated by Russia, and a new dynasty in the south and east that is somewhat dominated by Britain, and that I have not named because I don't know what a good name for a new Chinese dynasty would be. :p

Hmm.....no Belgium, Dutch Congo.

French Thailand, Mozambique, Angola, Malawi, Zanzibar and Swahili coast.

Über-Egypt...

And I see that Portugal has lost pretty much all its colonies save Portugese Timor, and that Britain gained a few territories, including Florida, good parts of the western and central parts of North America, and bits of Venezuela.

But what bothers me a little, is that the British have somehow gained the southernmost part of Dutch New Guinea - that part, and specifically the island Dolak (or Frederik-Hendrik Island, as it was called during the Dutch period) was the first part of New Guinea to be colonized by the Dutch, and it was colonized during the early 17th century.

There's no way that the British could just claim it, and the island isn't worth enough to risk or start a war for.
 

Thande

Donor
There's no way that the British could just claim it, and the island isn't worth enough to risk or start a war for.
We could have retained it after the alt-Napoleonic Wars, although I don't see why we would retain that and yet no other (more profitable) part of the occupied Dutch East Indies.
 
We could have retained it after the alt-Napoleonic Wars, although I don't see why we would retain that and yet no other (more profitable) part of the occupied Dutch East Indies.

Yes, even in such a scenario, it would make far more sense that the British just held on to Java, and left the Dutch with the Moluccas and Frederik-Hendrik Island.


BTW, I also notice that British Serawak is smaller than in OTL.
 
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