The Fair Treatment

It's Impossible to Never Lose

Hello. This is my new TL, it is not my first. However my first was a failure of sorts (“Full Circle – France.” The TL suffered from a sloth of problems. I came up with the ending I wanted, and with the point of departure I had, it was simply impossible. In addition my research was quite limited. I often ignored the advice of my contributors. However this is my second TL. So let’s make this awesome. While I suppose this is technically a French wank, a couple other unexpected countries will have a similar treatment.


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February 16th 1748
Versailles


The weather outside was terrible. The rain that had been falling for the last 12 hours froze, and all of the cobblestone roads froze over. Louis could feel the wheels of the carriage rocking and bumping as it proceeded. Georges Cresson, Louis’ chief aid eventually remarked, “What are you going to say to him, he is your father.” “I will tell him what I think,” Louis responded harshly. “You of all people should know that is best to be kind during this sort of occasion.”

The carriage pulled up to the gates of the palace. A guard shouted, “The Palace is on lock-down, the king wants nobody in or out.” Louis shouted from within the carriage, “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?” The guard quickly let them through. “I know exactly what I will say to him.”

Louis XV was dying. Whatever the disease was it spread fast and ravaged the king. From being happy and perky just two weeks earlier his health decayed to the point where he could not leave his bed. When Louis Ferdinand, the Dauphin of France visited his ailing father he could not help but see something he saw only a few years ago.

July 19 1746

Louis Ferdinand was panicking. His wife, Maria Rafaela was losing blood quickly. She just gave birth to their first child. The door smacked open and a few additional doctors stormed in. They needed to stop the bleeding fast. Louis could not believe his eyes. The one true love he had was dying in front of him. It all started just five minutes before; Louis was in the courtyard when he heard about the improper child birth. He stopped what he was doing immediately to check up on her. Seconds after the new doctors came in Louis demanded, “Is there anything I could do to help?” A few of the doctors just looked at him; thinking “you’re kidding right?” One of them mumbled, sure – he gave Louis a rag and told him to get the baby away from here (this actually happened in real life).

There was a gain and loss. Maria survived, however she would be bedridden for months. The child, a daughter, died just a few days after the incident. What happened strengthened the bond between the two.

February 16th 1748


The Dauphin blinked. “May I talk to my father alone?” Everybody left the room. “I am going to die today,” Louis XV said weakly. “Yes you are,” replied the Dauphin. “I know you have very little respect, but listen to these words. End this war, we will win it. However you must recognize something. We cannot be seen as conquerors. For peace to be preserved and for France to have a favorable position it is imperative that we do not demand anything from our enemies.” The Dauphin smirked, “You are quite ignorant father. Do you not realize that this war solves nothing, regardless of what happens I assure you, within a decade a decade or two, Europe will break out in war. Tensions are rising. This war is finding a solution to the most important problems at hand. A new feud between Austria and Prussia has begun, the status of our colonies are at risk. The war we will encounter in the future is unavoidable. I will end this war, I will end it very soon, but I will make sure it leaves us in a position to win the next.” “Please reconsider; what you want will be the death of this nation.” “Goodbye, father.” The next day the King was dead and there was a new ruler. A new age had begun.
 
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Ah yes the war of Austrian Succession a war OTL Louis XV gave back the Austrian netherlands saying "I'm the king of France, not a shopkeeper", and gave back all his conquest. Needless to say the common peoples were not pleased to have suffered so much for nothing. The saying like "bêtes comme la paix" (stupid like the peace) and "travailler pour le Roi de Prusse" (working for the king of Prussia) were born. It greatly weakened the monarchy in the eyes of the peoples. And indeed the french peace treaty was facepalm worthy, the austrian netherlands would ha brought so much wealth to France and would have been easy to incorporate. Sure the dutch would have hated it but their power was declining and what use is a navy if your enemy is bordering you?
The pod is early enough to butterfly away the population decline.
 
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[FONT=&quot]Louis XVI

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No expense, even during the heat of war, was spared for the coronation. Louis Ferdinand became Louis XVI and his wife, Maria, was proclaimed the Queen consort. The first priority of his was to end the war. The war was very close to an end. While combat in India and the New World had largely stalemated; it was quite clear France was winning on the continent. Maurice de Saxe, a French general born in Saxony, had smashed the Austrians in the Austrian Netherlands. He was beginning to seem invincible. He was so important to the French war effort that the newly crowned king decided to he had to meet with the General. During the month of March Louis XVI and Maurice debated about how to win the war. It was generally agreed upon that the enemies would have no choice but to surrender if the French were able to win a major battle in the Netherlands proper. The new king and Maurice de Saxe decided to push towards Maastricht. French forces were but a mere 30 kilometers away. “If the enemy is ignorant to the point of not surrendering after this defeat, let us march Amsterdam,” remarked King Louis.

Maurice did not fail Louis. He commanded his army in an almost perfect manner. He used tactics that even the best Dutch tacticians could understand. Every day for a month his men advanced a kilometer. By mid-March his soldiers were outside the gates of Maastricht. Then the siege began. The city fell on the 3rd of April. The appalling Dutch defeat signaled the end of the war. Austria, Great Britain, Saxony, and Russia realized this was the time to surrender. A general ceasefire was called for. All the belligerents agreed to meet at Aix-la-Chapelle on the 19th to discuss the terms.

The terms of the treat, commonly referred as the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, were fairly basic. France and Britain agreed to a status quo antebellum in regard to their colonial possessions. Austria was forced to recognize the legitimacy of the Prussian annexation of Silesia. In addition there were minor territorial exchanges between Austria and Spain. The most controversial term of the treaty though was the French annexation of the Austrian Netherlands. King Louis XVI personally demanded this, and justified by saying that the majority of the population spoke a French dialect, Walloon. In addition there were minor territorial exchanges between Spain and Austria. The only independent countries left in the low counties that remained were the Dutch Republic, the Princebishopric of Liege, the county of Bouillion, and Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy. The French won the war.

Europe after the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
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Apart from the worries of new territorial integration Louis XVI spent the majority of his time pondering about the situation in the New World. There was just over fifty thousand French settlers in New France. This was a major problem. There were almost two and a half million British colonists in North America. The French were outnumbered by 50:1. In addition to this problem the Royal Navy was clearly superior to the French counterpart. This was clearly shown by the numerous British amphibious landings during the war. Louis XVI decided to try to find a solution the way he always did, by using logic. There were about eight million inhabitants of the United Kingdom. France had about twenty seven million citizens. While on average the average person in the United Kingdom was more economically productive, France still had a massive economic potential advantage. However Louis realized that it would still be impossible to overtake the Royal Navy in absolute strength. He determined the most reasonable course of action would be to have a medium-sized navy. It would never be big enough to have a full on engagement of the Royal Navy, but large enough to create a living hell for them. He deduced a navy of around 70% of the size of the Royal Navy would be perfect. He also wanted speed and maneuverability over outright firepower.

Louis, a true history lover, looked at the history of the French military presence in the New World, and compared it that of the British. Whenever British and the French went to war, the British actually tried to make advances. You could hardly say the French fought back, the previous Kings of France determined that it wasn’t worth sending troops to the New World. They deduced that the best way to retain the colonies was to win in continental Europe. When it came time to make a treaty they would simply offer to hand back the captured continental territory for their lost colonial territory. Louis was disgusted by this. The best case scenario is status quo, however if France were to lose in the Continental Europe they would lose their colonial possessions. This actually happened during the war of Spanish Succession. Using this information Louis determined he needed a proactive strategy in order to keep France in the New World.

Louis analyzed the problem from all angles. One thing that troubled him was the New France was around twice the size of all of Britain possessions in North America. And once again he realized the massive population discrepancy. It would be impossible to defend the entirety of the area. Louis realized he needed relocate the majority of his troops in the New World to one region. The next problem was, which area would be worth keeping. The French West Indies by far produced the largest amount of profit. However it came with a cost. War after war had shown the Britain, with its superior navy, could very easily take the islands. The next area was Louisiana. However this colony suffered a similar problem, the only way the French could supply it was through the port of New Orleans. This port could easily be shut down by the British. This left Quebec and the surrounding regions. They by far had the highest population. Louis found Quebec. Louis’ military strategy for the New World was going to focus around Quebec.

Louis realized it would be impossible to match the British colonies in terms of population, but he certainly needed to increase the population of Quebec. In a stunning address he announced all French Protestants and Jews would be allowed to move Quebec and share equal rights to Catholic French citizens. This would of course be protected by law. In addition all Native Americans within the territories of New France would be allowed to become French citizens as long as they were Catholic and showed a willingness to learn the French Language. It has been estimated as many as 20,000 Native Americans partook in this from 1749 to 1760. A citizen from a European country would also be allowed to become a French citizen and move to Quebec as long as they showed a willingness to learn the French language and swore loyalty to the King. The Majority of the people were Irish and Italian. The French government, of course, subsidized the passage of the new immigrants. France also needed some of the common French people to immigrate to Quebec. Many businesses were given charters by the government and in turn they required laborers from the mainland. A common practice was for a business to pay for the voyage of a French family unit and give them a generous house for 5 years of guaranteed labor. By 1760 Quebec was the one of the largest ship making regions in the world.


North America 1750

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katchen

Banned
France needs to send all of it's paupers and all of it's convicted criminals that it does not execute to Quebec (and Louisbourg). In the case of convicted criminals, they need to start out working on the locks on the Saint Laurent River that will take boats up to Lake Ontario as well as locks and a canal on the Ottawa River to reach Lake Huron. and ultimately a canal from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie and then to the Ohio and the Illinois Rivers and Gichee Gumee (Lake Superior) . Besides fields to be cleared, there is iron and copper to be mined on Lake Superior. And both are in short supply in France.
One of France's problems with sending settlers to the New World is its fear of running short of farmers in France. That's why France divides up farms between heirs instead of having the eldest surviving son inherit the farm--and why farmland in France is so fragmented and so many people get stuck on the land. And this is why France IOTL had such a difficult time settling Algeria and needed to turn to Italy for Pied a terre settlers--which it is doing ITTL too. France will need to attract everyone from Spanish to Catalans to Germans to Russian cossacks if it can get them, to Quebec. And yes, Scots fleeing the British Crown and willing to swear allegiance to the French.
 
Nothing stop the new king from reforming french laws and inheritance. Afterall the french state is badly in need of reforms especially economic one.
I disagree on sending non-french settlers there is a great risk of them becoming disloyal in the long run.
 
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Nothing stop the new king from reforming french laws and inheritance. Afterall the french state is badly in need of reforms especially economic one.
I disagree on sending non-french settlers there is a great risk of them becoming disloyal in the long run.

Well there is one thing stopping the king from making reforms, the overly conservative spoiled court of his. This will cause some problems later on. In addition in real life reforms were very close to be enacted that would have allowed easy French citizenship for Native Americans. I honestly don't think it would be much of a problem, as long as they swear loyalty to the king and share a common religion with the populace, sure there may be a few non-loyal individuals however.
 
Well there is one thing stopping the king from making reforms, the overly conservative spoiled court of his. This will cause some problems later on. In addition in real life reforms were very close to be enacted that would have allowed easy French citizenship for Native Americans. I honestly don't think it would be much of a problem, as long as they swear loyalty to the king and share a common religion with the populace, sure there may be a few non-loyal individuals however.
The french had good relation whit native american and by this point the king court is mostly under control. If some nobles make noise the king crown could seize their belonging and then send them into exil which is almost considered to be worse then death.
 
After the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle Lois XV I’s popularity was nearly at an all-time high for the French Monarchy. He had the support of the common man and his court, for the most part. Louis realized that some changes would be needed. However he also realized that if he changed the status quo too much he would perhaps be in a situation where he could lose support from the court.

One of the first things he wanted to do was to have a reform for the agricultural sector. France was arguably had the most fertile lands on the planet. However in terms of efficiency it was far behind. France sometimes actually had problems feeding itself. The previous kings were fearful about sending colonists to the new world because they were scared it could cause food troubles, and then in turn cause political instability. In 1750 it was estimated that around 75% of the population took part in the agricultural sector. Louis realized that this needed to be fixed. One of the first reforms he implemented was learned from the new world. Native Americans had been using crop rotations for hundreds of years. Unknown to scientists in the 1750’s, many types of plants used nitrogen. After several years all of the nitrogen could be depleted. However some crops, such as soy, could replenish the nitrogen, massively increasing the output. In addition many crops from the New World such as Potatoes and Corn were brought to France. These new crops gave a large amount of calories compared to the amount of time to harvest them. Also Louis repealed a lot of taxes, commonly referred to as “privilege seigneriaux” to lessen the burden on the common farmer. Because the majority of the farms in France were still owned by nobles Louis made an unofficial deal. “If your farms are efficient, I will care more about you.” While Louis realized the best way to increase efficiency would be simply to take away the land from the nobles, he realized that would most likely cause revolt.

Better food efficiency meant that not as many people had to farm. In the short term this actually caused civil unrest because there were a lot of people that couldn’t do anything. However in the long term this allowed the creation of a more diversified workplace. The number of artisans and construction workers increased. Decades later it would be recognized that this helped set up France for industrialization.

However, perhaps one of the most profound effects of this was the mass migration of French nationals to Quebec. It has been estimated that slightly over a quarter million French people migrated to Quebec. The government was quite happy about this, and decided to help subsidize the travel costs if the entire family unit was brought over.

Maurice de Saxe
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Shortly after the signing of the treaty Maurice de Saxe was given the honorary title of the Marshal of France. However Louis had an unusual plan for the marshal. He asked him to be the Viceroy of New France. Louis informed Saxe that he wanted he to restructure the colony so it would be able to defend itself from British aggression. However, he didn’t want the colony to be a police state; he also wanted it to be prosperous. Louis truly felt Saxe was the right man for the job.

Louis also had to worry about diplomacy in continental Europe. He realized that having an alliance with the Dutch republic was at the point impossible. However he could keep them neutral. The Dutch republic had a large navy. If the Dutch republic was allowed to be allied with the United Kingdom, their navy would be unstoppable. A useful ally for France, however, would be Spain. Additional allies France would gather would be Austria, led by Maria Theresa, an empress looking for new allies, Sweden, and Saxony. While unable to make Russia an official ally of France, they had excellent relations. However one failure on the part of France was that it failed to keep Prussia under its wing. Great Britain had established an alliance consisting of itself, Prussia, Portugal, Hanover, and Hesse-Kassell.

In North America France also tried to convince the Iroquois Confederacy that better relations with France was the answer. France tried to convince them that Britain was land-hungry and would dismantle their country if France was out of the equation. France was also able to find Native American Allies in the form of the Wabanaki Confederacy, the Algonquin, and the Shawnee.

Tensions were rising.
 
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Lorraine has a death wish? Anyway soon France border will be on the Rhine.

From Lorraine's perspective they see France as the Aggressor, and France has a death wish for them. They realize their days are numbered and are looking for an ally to protect them.
 
From Lorraine's perspective they see France as the Aggressor, and France has a death wish for them. They realize their days are numbered and are looking for an ally to protect them.
Even so Britain is too far to be of any real help they'll be conquered before anyone could send help.
 
Even so Britain is too far to be of any real help they'll be conquered before anyone could send help.
If they do nothing they know their screwed, if they ally with Britain and Prussia then maybe they can be reestablished after the treaty :p.
 
If they do nothing they know their screwed, if they ally with Britain and Prussia then maybe they can be reestablished after the treaty :p.
The duchy of Lorraine will be inherited by France when Stanisław Leszczyński will die. So they won't do anything. It is bound by treaty after the polish war of succession it is already de facto part of France.
 
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The duchy of Lorraine will be inherited by France when Stanisław Leszczyński will die. So they won't do anything. It is bound by treaty after the polish war of succession it is already de facto part of France.

Thank you for explain this to me, I was quite confused about how Lorraine actually became a part of France.
 
[FONT=&quot]French India Capital of Pondicherry
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Louis had a very different plan for French possessions in India. Currently the French controlled the colony through the French East India Company, which was given a monopoly on all lands east of the horn of Africa. The company was horribly inefficient because it was run by ignorant nobles who wanted capital in the short term, not thinking about the long term implications. By 1750 British India was slowly becoming the crown jewel. Its profits and size were expanding exponentially. However since the early decades of the 18th century the French counterpart had stagnated. Early in the year of 1750 Louis decided to end the problem. He nationalized the corporation and sent new officials to replace the nobles in its administration. The new leadership was not based on skill, not on inheritance. In addition Louis called for the construction of 5 ships of the line and an army of 12,000 to defend French interests. While Louis did make programs to incentivize French immigration to India, they for the most part failed. By the time the war start in 1757 there were only around four thousand French nationals actually living in India.

France was not the only country in Europe going through major changes in the 1750’s. The Dutch republic was still recovering from its defeat in the war of Austrian Succession. It realized that it needed to stay out of future conflicts for a while. It considered itself lucky that it was able to keep Maastricht. Spain was in a period of decline; its colonies were seemingly becoming less and less productive in every passing year. Lorraine was slowly falling under French influence as its time came closer and closer to running out. The principality of Neuchâtel, a French speaking protestant region under the control of Prussian king remained at France’s doorstep. Italy was still split between the Habsburgs, the Pope, and the Venetian republic. Switzerland was an interesting story. Since the treaty of Westphalia had been neutral. However tensions between the wealthy elite and the peasants were on the rise. In 1653 the peasants actually waged war. In the 1750 the same problems that created the war still existed. Germany itself could now be grouped into three groups, the Austrians, the Prussians, and everybody else. Tensions between Austria and Prussia were on the rise.
Great Britain, even though it technically lost the war, was doing quite well. Their colonies throughout the world were turning in record profits. The population was increasing and seemingly everybody loved the king. Core British strategy relied on their powerful navy and their vast colonial network for support. The sun gave no inclination of dimming on the British Empire.

In the next update prepare yourselves for the lead-up for a war on such a massive scale it will change Europe.
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