ANSWERING THE CALL OF LAFAYETTE, PART THREE…1881-1890
1881—France occupies Tunisia. Italy, which had hoped to claim the area for itself, is outraged. France also claims the western Congo basin, establishing Brazzaville. In South Africa, the First Boer War is fought. The Boers defeat the British at the Battle of Majuba Hill and other places. The British Government decides to make peace,
1881 onward—The Emperor Pedro II of Brazil opposes slavery, and over the years, various measures have been taken against it. In 1871, the “Free Womb Law” stated that children born to slave women were to be free upon birth, with the masters required to care for them until the age of 8, at which time the owner could either turn them over to the government for compensation, or have the use of their labor until they reached the age of 21. The law of 1871 also freed all government-owned slaves, codified the right of slaves to purchase their own freedom, established an Emancipation Fund to compensate, and thus encourage, owners who emancipated slaves by individual initiative, and mandated a census of slaves in Brazil. But over 700,000 slaves remain in Brazil, and Pedro has seen no easy means to free them.
However, the early end of the Paraguayan War has opened up an opportunity for Pedro to do something about this. Because the war ended so much sooner, Brazil never deeply indebted itself to British bankers in order to finance the war. Pedro now uses this available credit to expand the Emancipation Fund. He also shepherds a law through the Brazilian legislature mandating that all masters must allow their slaves two days each week during which they may hire themselves out to other employers, for wages. All wages thus earned will be paid by the employer into a government-administered emancipation fund for each slave. The government will add to each slaves individual emancipation fund matching funds (taken from the government's Emancipation Fund) for all wages the individual slaves contribute. When the amount in a slave's emancipation fund reaches the market value of a slave as of December 31, 1881, the government will purchase the slave from his owner, compensating said owner with the money in the slave's emancipation fund, which the owner must accept. The slave will then be formally manumitted. By this system, over 2/3 of Brazilian slaves will be manumitted by the end of the decade, and slavery, as an institution, will cease to exist in Brazil by the end of the century.
Although slavery will thus survive longer in Brazil than in OTL, the monarchy will largely avoid the enmity of the slaveholding landowners which it earned by emancipating the slaves without compensation via the Golden Law of OTL. The owners had wanted to transition to free labor anyway, as free labor was less expensive than slave labor, and the 1881 law gives them the ability to do so smoothly, without an abrupt loss of their slave labor force...and loss of crops...which was caused by the OTL Golden Law. The landowners will therefore continue to support the monarchy against the liberals who see it as an outdated institution.
January 1881--Emperor Napoleon IV of France, worried about resurgent Prussian power on his eastern border, signs a treaty of alliance with Emperor Franz Josef of Austria. The pact becomes known as the Paris Treaty.
March 1881--William Starke Rosecrans is sworn in for his second term as President of the United States. Also in this month, Kentucky abolishes slavery.
Also in this month, Tsar Alexander II travels to Berlin to discuss matters relating to the alliance between Russia and Prussia. While he is gone, his secret police discover a plot to assassinate the Tsar upon his return to Russia. The plotters are arrested. When the telegram reaches Berlin informing the Tsar of the discovery of the plot, he considers abandoning his program for the liberalization of Russian government. But, after much consideration, he decides to press on. On March 21, upon his return from Berlin, the Tsar will issue a proclamation creating an elected Parliament, or Duma, for the Russian Empire. The Duma thus created will have limited powers, and the voting system by which it will be elected will be weighted to favor the aristocracy, But over time both the powers allotted to the Duma and the fairness of the method by which its members are elected will be improved by further decrees of Tsar Alexander.
March 1881 onward--Tsar Alexander II, upon hearing of the latest plot against his life, orders his secret police to ferret out the members of the Narodnaya Volya terrorist organization. Over the next three years, hundreds of rank and file members are arrested and exiled to Siberia, while the leaders are hanged. The organization is effectively destroyed. Among those exiled to is Alexander Ulyanov, who is arrested for distributing revolutionary propaganda in St. Petersburg in 1883, and sent to Siberia later that year.
June 1881--Elections are held for the new Russian Duma. The Duma is seated, and begin legislating, later that same month.
1882—Britain occupies Egypt and parts of Somalia. Italy occupies Eritrea.
January 1882--Death of King Wilhelm I of Prussia (due to depression and added stress in his life as a result of the loss in the Franco-Prussian War, he dies a few years earlier than in OTL). He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Frederick III.
January 1882-June 1888--Reign of King Frederick III of Prussia. Frederick is, in many ways, the antithesis of his father. While he went to military school and has served in the army successfully in the Second Schleswig War, the Austro-Prussian War, and the Franco-Prussian War, Frederick hates war and has long opposed his father’s policy of unifying Germany by force. His reign will therefore mark a shift in Prussian foreign policy. However, as a former military man, he understands the need for a strong military, and the reforms begun by his father following the end of the Franco-Prussian War will be continued during his reign.
Frederick has also been very much influenced by his British wife, and admires British parliamentary government. He will introduce reforms which will transform Prussia into a liberal constitutional monarchy before the end of his reign, and will also encourage Prussia’s ally, Tsar Alexander II of Russia, as he follows, more hesitantly, in pushing Russia along the same road.
February 1882--King Frederick III of Prussia dismisses Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who has been an enemy and political opponent of Frederick’s for many years. Instead of following Bismarck's policy of unification of Germany by force under Prussian leadership, Frederick's diplomats will begin working toward a peaceful unification. His efforts are at first rejected by the other rulers of the German States.
April 1882--Debate in the U.S. Congress over the status of the Territory of Hispaniola has continued since the annexation of the Dominican Republic and Haiti during the Grant Administration. The Grant Administration had pushed for early Statehood for the Territory, but was opposed by the Democrats, as well as many Republicans, in Congress, and the issue bogged down in endless, and increasingly vitriolic, debate. The succeeding Rosecrans Administration has chosen not to commit to either side in the debate and the issue has languished throughout Rosecrans’ first term of office.
But, shortly after being sworn in for his second term, Rosecrans is visited by a committee of leaders from Hispaniola, including American émigrés like Frederick Douglass, as well as natives like former Dominican President Buenaventura Baez and Haitian journalist and politician Antenor Firmin. President Rosecrans agrees to meet with them, and a very frank discussion of the prospects for Statehood for Hispaniola takes place. Rosecrans explains the difficulties any such effort would face. First, Rosecrans explains, the ruling of the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott decision, which states that Blacks are not citizens of the United States, has never been overturned. Therefore, without a constitutional amendment…which is extremely unlikely, given conditions within the United States…the black population of the Territory of Hispaniola cannot be counted toward the population total required for Statehood, and black people cannot vote or take part in a Constitutional Convention which would be required for Statehood. Second, the continuing armed resistance against U.S. rule in Western Hispaniola (as the former Haiti is now officially called) is working against the possibility that the U.S. Congress would consider Statehood for Hispaniola. Therefore, Rosecrans explains, the possibility that Hispaniola will be granted Statehood anytime in the foreseeable future is pretty much nil.
Needless to say, the visiting committee of Hispaniolan leaders is not happy when they hear what Rosecrans has to say. But they had been prepared for such a response, and they make a counter-proposal. If Statehood cannot be had, they ask, why not withdraw Territorial Status as well, since Territorial Status implies future Statehood. Instead, treat Hispaniola as a colonial possession of the United States, grant self-administration to the colony as a commonwealth under the jurisdiction of the United States, and grant the people of Hispaniola the right to select their own local officials. This would fulfill, after a fashion, the promise made by the Grant Administration to the leaders of the free black community in the United States, that the newly annexed territory would be a place where free black Americans could go and govern themselves. It would also, they argue, go a long way toward defusing resistance to U.S. rule in the territory.
Rosecrans listens to the proposal, and, impressed by the logic of it, agrees to support it. He will soon afterward introduce a bill into Congress embodying the Hispaniolan proposal.
August 1882--After several months of debate, the U.S. Congress passes the Bill to Clarify the Status and Administration of Hispaniola, which had been introduced by President Rosecrans in April 1882. The bill contains the following key provisions.
1) It withdraws Territorial Status from Hispaniola, and organizes it as a colonial dependency of the United States, in the form of a self-governing commonwealth under the jurisdiction of the United States.
2) The act provides for an elected Governor, and a bi-cameral legislature, one to be elected from Western Hispaniola (the former Haiti) and the other from the former Eastern Hispaniola (the former Dominican Republic). All laws must be passed by both houses.
3) A Supreme Court for Hispaniola, the justices of which are to be selected by the President of the United States and confirmed by both houses of the Hispaniolan Legislature, is also created.
4) The people of Hispaniola, regardless of race, are to be granted the right to vote for their own officials, as well as for a non-voting delegate to the United States Congress. But they will have no right to vote for President of the United States, and none of their voting rights go with them if they leave Hispaniola to live within the United States.
5) Hispaniolans are exempted from service in the United State military. Defense of Hispaniola will be provided by the U.S. military, and Hispaniola will be subject to such taxation as may be laid down by the U.S. Congress in order to cover the cost of this protection.
Of course, in order to gain the support of Republicans in Congress, buried in the legislation are also provisions which are less favorable for the people of Hispaniola, specifically provisions to promote and protect the expansion of American business interests in Hispaniola. In some ways, this will be good for Hispaniola, as it will encourage business investment in the Commonwealth, providing economic opportunity for some which would not otherwise have existed. But it will also prevent the Hispaniolan Legislature from effectively regulating the activities of American businessmen in Hispaniola, which will mean that working conditions in factories and on plantations owned by mainland American businesses will usually be horrid, and poor Hispaniolans will be horribly exploited for the cheap labor they can provide.
Nevertheless, overall, the law is a great improvement over the conditions existing previously in the territory, and it is welcomed by most residents. Elections for governmental officials specified under the new law are to be held in November 1882.
October 1882--The Ottoman Empire, worried about possible renewed Russian expansionism, joins the Paris Treaty Powers. Emperor Napoleon IV sends a military mission to Turkey to train the Ottoman Army in modern military techniques, and begins supplying the Ottomans with modern weapons. The French also give the Ottomans loans which permit them to somewhat modernize their infrastructure and build up their industrial base.
November 1882--Elections in Hispaniola. Frederick Douglass is elected as the first Governor of the Commonwealth of Hispaniola. Also in this year, Jesse Woodson James is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat from Missouri (Because the Civil War ended earlier, Unionist Jayhawkers never raided the James farm, where in OTL they tortured Jesse's stepfather and whipped young Jesse when he tried to interfere. Jesse never joined the Confederate guerillas, as a result. He has lived a law-abiding life, went to law school, and later served in the U.S. Army during the Cuban War. After the war he entered politics in Missouri). Congressman James will support President Rosecrans' policies in Congress.
1883--Prince Pedro Maximilian of Brazil enters the Brazilian Army. He is a popular young officer, and rises quickly though the ranks over the next few years, partly as a result of his ability, and partly as a result of his imperial status.
May 1883—The Vienna Stock Exchange collapses. This sets in motion a chain of events which will result in a major recession in Europe which will last for the next ten years. The United States, due to it's Greenback money policy, is somewhat insulated from the downturn, but still is impacted by a loss of trade as various European countries put up tariff barriers to protect domestic industry during the recession.
One impact of the recession is to encourage the various European countries to accellerate their acquisition of African colonies, the exploitation of whose markets, it is thought, will help to counter the effects of the recession.
1884—Portugal makes a treaty with Britain to block off the Belgian Congo Society's access to the Atlantic. France occupies Guinea.
February 1884—King Frederick III orders the Prussian Diet to appoint a committee, composed of members of all major political parties, who will, with the monarch, draw up a constitution for Prussia. Thus begins a process of negotiations which will last for over half a year, culminating in the issuance of a constitution for Prussia in August 1884.
August 1884--The new Prussian Constitution goes into effect, being signed into law by King Frederick III on August 16, 1884. The constitution guarantees basic civil rights, and allows for democratic election of representatives to the Prussian Diet. Like the British Parliament, which Frederick admires, the Diet will be composed of two houses, one to be composed of noblemen (the Junkers), and the other of commoners, with agreement by both houses necessary to pass legislation. However, unlike it’s British counterpart, the Prussian analog to the House of Lords is composed of only fifty members, and members are to be elected to their seats. The franchise is extended to all male citizens over the age of 25, with those holding a specified amount of property eligible to vote for both Houses of the Diet. Those who hold no property, or less than the specified amount required to vote for both Houses of the Diet, are only eligible to vote for the lower house. Under these rules, the proportion of the population eligible to vote is even higher than that existing in Britain at the time, which is something of which King Frederick is very proud (and which he uses to lovingly poke fun at his English wife throughout the rest of his life). Perhaps most importantly, the constitution curbs the power of the Chancellor and limits the power of the monarch for the first time in Prussian history. The Chancellor is now to be selected by the Diet (although the selection must still be approved by the King), and responsible to it, in a manner similar to the Prime Minister in the British system of government.
August 1884 onward—The adoption of the new Prussian Constitution allows the liberal parties within the Prussian Diet to expand their seats within the body. The lower house of the body will tend to be dominated by a coalition of the German Progress Party, the German People's Party, and the National Liberal Party. The upper house, however, will tend to be much more conservative, with a coalition lead by the Free Conservative Party, which also leads the opposition in the lower house, firmly in control. As a result, legislation is often stalemated by opposition from one or the other of the two houses. In order to get important legislation passed, both factions often turn to King Frederick as an arbitrator and mediator, giving him an unforeseen, but highly important role in the legislative process.
November 1884—Presidential elections in the United States. President Rosecrans declines to run for a third term, and the Democrats nominate Governor Robert Milligan McLane of Maryland for President, while the Republicans nominate Senator James G. Blaine of Maine. In a close election, McLane wins the Presidency.
November 1884-March 1885—The Paris Conference. At the request of Portugal, Emperor Napoleon IV calls a conference, attended by 14 nations, to be held in Paris for the purpose of assigning spheres of influence and settling disputes over territories in Africa. The conference will continue for several months and will resolve several important issues. First, King Leopold of Belgium's acquisition of the Congo region is recognized. Second, general spheres of influence for the various European colonial powers were established. Third, the principle of “effective occupation,” which stated that colonies could only be held if the nation claiming them actually possessed them (i.e. occupied them, flew their flag there, established a colonial administration and police force to govern the colony), is established. Under this principle, the colonial power also was required to make use of the colony economically. If it failed to do these things, another power could legally take over the colony.
1885—Britain occupies Togo, while France occupies Dahomey (both territories were, in OTL, occupied by Germany).
March 1885-March 1889—The Adminstration of President Robert Milligan McLane. President McLane mostly continues the policies of outgoing President Rosecrans, and his term is mainly remembered as a time of general prosperity in the United States. Like Rosecrans, he supports the emigration of free blacks to the Commonwealth of Hispaniola. In one important regard, however, he differs with Rosecrans, and he opens negotiations with the rebels in Cuba, with the aim of eventually granting that island it's independence. In foreign policy, he will continue the policy of relative isolationism which had been pursued by Rosecrans, somewhat more successfully, as he will manage to avoid being involved in a foreign war during his term of office.
1886—Britain occupies Tanganyika; Portugal occupies Namibia (both territories which were colonized by Germany in OTL). Also in this year, a Frenchman named Paul Vieille invents "Poudre B," a smokeless powder made from gelatinized nitrocellulose mixed with ether and alcohol. This removes the last major objection to the use of repeating firearms (namely, the execssive fouling and billowing clouds of smoke produced by black powder), and those armies which still have not converted over to the new weapons will do so within the next few years. The new weapons also make another weapon truly practical...the automatic machine gun. Within a few years of this invention, the armies of the world will convert their weapons to versions firing the new smokeless powder.
March 1886—Australian miner George Harrison discovers the first outcrops of the Witwatersrand gold fields. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush begins shortly thereafter. The importance of possession of African lands is reinforced to European imperialists.
June 1886—Portugal, which has been exploring the territory in between its colonies at Angola and Mozambique since the 1870s, had, at the Paris Conference of 1884-85, presented the Pink Map, which proposed that Portugal be allowed to annex the territory in between the two colonies, thus linking them, Every country at the conference supported Portugal's proposal, except Great Britain, which wanted some of the territory in question for itself to gain a clear route for a proposed Capetown to Cairo railway. The issue was left unresolved by the conference, and Portugal has continued to pursue this agenda, sending troops and other officials into the disputed territory and setting up military posts there. This, along with the Portuguese annexation of Namibia, has dramatically increased tensions between Portugal and Britain. Portugal, knowing it cannot hope to take on Britain alone, begins seeking allies. It finds one in Emperor Napoleon IV of France, who, despite being somewhat of an Anglophile and having married a British princess, has become increasingly irritated by what he views as British encroachment on legitimate French interests in Africa and Asia, especially by the British occupation of Egypt and it's activities in the Nile Valley, which France covets because of it's own plan for a clear route from Dakar to Djibouti, on the Red Sea. “Everywhere we go in Africa,” he fumed privately to his foreign minister, “we step in the feces of the British Lion.” He has also been concerned by the increasingly close relations between Britain and Prussia, whose Anglophile King has even sent his son and successor to be educated in Britain. And so, in June 1886, Portugal formally joins the Paris Treaty.
May 1888—In Brazil, Senator Rodrigo da Silva seeks to take advantage of the absence of Emperor Pedro II (who is away on a visit to Europe) by taking a proposed law abolishing slavery without compensation to the Imperial Regent, Princess Isabel. Isabel, herself, has been dissatisfied by the pace of emancipation as it is occurring under her father's 1881 law, and is inclined to sign it. However, her husband, the Prince-Consort Maximilian, urges her not to act precipitously in her father's absence. Swayed by her husband's arguments, Isabel does not sign the law. There will be no sudden, uncompensated emancipation in Brazil.
June 1888--Death of King Frederick III of Prussia, of throat cancer. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Wilhelm II.
November 1888—Presidential Elections in the United States. President McLane decides not to run for a second term, throwing the field open to new candidates. The Democrats nominate Governor Grover Cleveland of New York, while the Republicans nominate Senator John Sherman of Ohio, a popular reformer who worked with President Rosecrans to break the “Trusts.” Senator Sherman wins the election by a substantial margin.
1889—Ivory Coast is occupied by France. The British and French agree on spheres of influence in the Gold Coast, and along the Gambia and Senegal Rivers.
March 1889—During his reign, King Frederick III of Prussia had been making subtle diplomatic efforts to prepare the various German States for a peaceful unification. The collapse of the North German Confederation following the Franco-Prussian War also caused the collapse of the German Zollverein Customs Union, which has had deleterious economic impacts on all the German States. The loss of the military alliance represented by the former North German Confederation has also left the various German kingdoms, Grand Duchies, Duchies, and Principalities feeling insecure and vulnerable to outside aggression, especially from Austria, which has been throwing its weight around in southern Germany especially since the end of the Franco-Prussian War. Frederick’s diplomacy skillfully played on these factors, and the rulers of the various German States have gradually become more amenable to the idea of a new union, of some sort. In March 1889, King Frederick's successor, Wilhelm II, decides the time is right, and issues a call for a Congress of the rulers of the various German States, to be held in Berlin in one year. The Congress is to discuss the creation of a new German Confederation, on a basis of equality between the rulers of the various states. The call is met with much skepticism, but in the end, Prussian diplomats are able to convince most of the rulers to agree to attend the conference. Austria is not invited.
Also in this month, John Sherman is inaugurated as President of the United States.
March 1889-March 1897—The Administration of President John Sherman. President Sherman has been one of the long-standing opponents of the “Greenback” policy pursued by the U.S. Government since the end of the Civil War, believing that the United States would be better served by going on the gold standard. He begins worknig with Congress to get legislation passed to that end, with no success. He will also successfully conclude negotiations with the Cuban rebels, and see legislation through Congress which grants independence to Cuba. However, he will mostly be remembered as the President who lead the United States into the Great War in 1896.
November 1889—Attempted military coup in Brazil. Since the early 1880s, as the leadership of the Brazilian Army which fought in the War of the Triple Alliance has died off and been replaced by younger officers, dissatisfaction has been growing within the army over the monarchy and it's policies. This has, in part, been caused by the philosophy of Positivism, which has gained much support within the Army, and by other factors such as budget cuts which have been enacted by the Brazilian legislature. In November 1889, a group of Army officers led by General Deodoro Fonseca attempts a coup d'etat. However, they are opposed by the Navy, which remains firmly loyal to the monarchy due to the influence of Prince Consort Maximilian, and by elements within the army itself, who rally around Prince Pedro Maximilian to oppose the rebels. The coup attempt fails, and the rebel officers are rounded up, tried for treason, and executed over the next six months.
1890 onwards--Cotton prices begin a long downward spiral due to new suppliers entering the market and overproduction by planters in the American South. Southern plantation owners begin to see their profits plummet. Their costs, unfortunately for them, cannot decline in synch with their profits, as slaves have to be fed, clothed, and housed even when profits are low.
1890 onwards—In the wake of the failed coup attempt, drastic reforms are carried out within the Brazilian army. The military colleges are purged of professors who teach Positivism, and the army is required to swear an oath of loyalty to the monarchy, with those who refuse being cashiered from the army. Emperor Pedro and his successor, Empress Isabel, also work to address the causes of dissatisfaction within the army, increasing pay and making sure that the army receives modern equipment and new uniforms on a regular basis. Over time, the loyalty of the military to the monarchy is cemented, and the military ceases to be a threat to the government.
January-February 1890—The African Crisis. In this month the government of Great Britain issues an ultimatum to the government of Portugal, demanding that the Portuguese withdraw their troops from the disputed territories in southern Africa. The Portuguese call on their allies in the Paris Treaty for support, and refuses to withdraw their troops. Emperor Napoleon IV supports the Portuguese, as do the other Paris Treaty Powers (albeit less eagerly). Finding itself facing the threat of war with not only Portugal, but with France, Austria, the Ottoman Empire, and possibly the United States (which has, since the end of the Franco-Prussian War, maintained a separate defense treaty with France), and having no firm allies of it's own, Britain withdraws the ultimatum.
March 1890--The Congress of Berlin meets, with the rulers of nearly all the German states in attendance. King Wilhelm II of Prussia proposes the creation of a new German Confederation, along the lines of the former North German Confederation. Like the North German Confederation, the new German Confederation will be a defacto federal state. It will provide for joint defense, joint diplomacy and international relations, and joint economic policy. But there will be some major differences. Unlike its predecessor, the new Confederation will not be under the domination of any single state…instead, each constituent state of the Confederation will be equally represented in the Bundestag of the Confederation, with each having one vote. A majority vote will be necessary to pass legislation. The Presidency of the Confederation will pass, in turn, to each of the rulers of the constituent member states who hold the rank of Grand Duke or King, with the President serving a two year term. Thus, each of the eligible member states can expect to lead the Confederation once every twenty years. The President will have veto power over legislation, however his veto can be over-ridden by a ¾ vote of the members of the Bundestag. The Chancellor of the Confederation will be nominated by the President, but must be approved by the Bundestag. Most of the German States vote to join the Confederation, the primary exception being Bavaria, which objects to the exclusion of Austria (Bavaria has been the object of Austrian diplomatic efforts since the Franco-Prussian War, and has pretty much aligned itself to Austria over the intervening years). King Wilhelm II of Prussia is selected as the first President of the new Confederation.
April-June 1890--The German Crisis. The announcement of the formation of the new German Confederation comes as a shock to Europe. Austria is outraged at having been excluded…again…from the unification of Germany, and begins making threats and mobilizing it’s armed forces. Emperor Napoleon IV of France is also concerned by the potential power and threat that a new German Confederation represents. However, Napoleon has other concerns at the moment as well…in the wake of the African Crisis earlier this year, colonial competition between Britain and France in Africa and Asia is beginning to heat up, and Napoleon is concerned by the very real possibility of conflict with Britain. Therefore, French diplomats work to defuse the situation by pressuring their Austrian allies to back down. In the end, the Austrians do so…not very happily.
August 1890—Great Britain signs a mutual defense treaty with the German Confederation, making it defacto, if not dejure, member of the Triple Alliance Treaty, along with Germany, Italy, and Russia.