The Century of Peace
European Colonialism
Warning: Within this chapter there is some discussion of the crimes perpetrated against the conquered peoples by the Colonial Powers.
EDIT: I had to change small parts of this chapter for the sake of self-consistency.
Introduction
The profound social, political, technological and philosophical changes which had swept through Europe during the first half of the 17th century heralded the advent of the
European Golden Era, an unprecedented period of complete European domination on the World stage.
Long gone were the times when the Europeans fought for their survival against the seemingly neverending onslaught of their many enemies! After the end of the Second European War, the
Century of Peace provided the European Powers the perfect opportunity to expand all over the World at an amazing rate.
The colonies provided the Europeans with:
- Space for their rapidly expanding populations (in North Africa, Middle East, North America, Südreich, La Plata, etc);
- Products unavailable in Europe like spices, coffee, cocoa, tea, furs, oils, minerals (from India, the East Indies, the Caribbean, etc);
- Slaves for the plantations and mines (from Africa and the conquered Muslim lands).
The extraordinary success enjoyed by the European Powers began to ask for an explanation. Unable to understand the actual reasons of the
European exceptionalism, which are debated by historians to this day, the European philosophers of that time came forth with two conflicting theories:
1. The inherent superiority of the
European Race over the
lesser races (Britain, Germany, Scandinavia);
2. The
Divine Grace bestowed upon the Christians by God Himself (Spain, France, Italy, Romania).
In some instances, this difference in philosophy would be paralleled by a marked difference in the behaviour of the conquerers towards the conquered and enslaved. A good example might be the rather mild and paternalistic attitude exhibited by the Germanic Powers [1] versus the harrowing ethnocidal excesses of the Latin Powers.
[1] With the important exception of Australia, where the German Colonial Establishment considered the native inhabitants to be part of a different species and treated them worse than wild animals.
1. Spain
The Empire of the Americas
From Mexico to the Southern Ocean, all the American Mainland and Islands belonged to Spain, who was still the largest Power in terms of total land area. In order to preempt any possible encroachment by hostile powers, Spain spent the Century of Peace taking actual possession of all the coast and the most important islands in its huge domain.
Resource extraction was increasingly supplemented by various plantations in the tropical and equatorial areas and settler colonization of La Plata, Chile and Mexico Provinces. Besides Spaniards who made up the absolute majority of settlers, significant numbers of Catholics from from non-Catholic countries were welcomed by the Spanish Crown: British (Irish), Germans (mainly Austrians and Bavarians), Croats and Hungarians. A few generation later, all of them became assimilated into the Spanish majority.
The Lesser Antilles were leased to Britain for 99 years (1648 - 1747). The expiration of the lease and the unwillingness of Spain to renew it was one of the catalists of the
Third European War (
EW3).
The northward expansion on the Pacific Coast of North America was marred by low-scale intermittent conflict with Scandinavia and later Britain. The situation in North America remained fluid until the end of EW3.
Patagonia was the cause of a short war in 1701 with Germany which claimed the territory south of parallel 40ºS and attempted to seize it by force. After several months of mostly inconclusive fighting in the Pampas and on the High Seas, the Great Powers Council brokered a peace settlement between Spain and Germany.
All of Patagonia remained Spanish territory, with Germany gaining only Tierra del Fuego (Feuerland) and adjacent islands with the border being settled on the middle of the Strait of Magellan (which became an international water way, freely navigable by the ships of all European Countries).
The Philippines
After losing all the East Indies colonies and outposts to Britain and all the Pacific Islands to Germany in the Second European War, the Philippines remained isolated and pretty useless and lost most of their former importance.
Around 1670, Spain decided to sell it but neither Britain nor Germany wanted the other Power to have it and pressured Spain to refrain from selling, while the other European Powers were obviously not interested. In 1757, the Philippines were almost abandoned, save for the missionaries, and Spain finally sold the unprofitable colony to Germany, much to the British displeasure.
The African Colonies (Bissau, Guinea, Angola, Mozambique)
The only purpose of these Colonies was the aquisition of Slaves.
The rather remote Colony of Mozambique (which lost its strategic significance with the loss of the rest of the Spanish interests in the Indian Ocean) was sold to Germany in 1692 for a large amount of money. This action paved the way to the future conflict between Germany and Britain in Southern Africa.
Spanish North-West Africa (Mauretania)
After the Second European War (EW2), Spanish NW Africa consisted of Tangiers, Ceuta, Mellila, Oran and Algiers (Constantine, Tunis, Bizerte and Tripoli having been ceded to Italy).
The Spanish-Moroccan Wars of 1669-1673, 1688-1696 and 1717-1718 resulted in the complete destruction of the Moroccan State and its incorporation into Spanish NW Africa which was renamed Mauretania.
In NW Africa, the Spaniards were the most ruthless, destroying the Arab and Berber population almost completely through a combination of several gruosome but effective methods:
- widespread massacres of both the prisoners of war and civilians;
- deliberate famines and water shortages;
- transportation to America of most able-bodied men to work as slaves on plantations (because most of them died quickly, the turnover was very high);
- Forced Christianization followed by assimilation into the Spanish Nation.
In the span of less than a century, the demography of NW Africa was irreversibly changed and the whole area was merged with Spain Proper.
2. France
La Nouvelle France (New France)
Following a large increase in population due to state-sponsored immigration, New France started to expand northwards.
After several incidents between French and Scandiavian fur trappers, Scandinavia and France agreed in 1738 to a common border on the parallel 54ºN, granting New France a small access to King Christian Sea [2], which was until then an internal Scandinavian Sea.
The treaty solved one problem but created another, with France using its rather ambiguous wording to claim all the territory up to the Pacific coast where the Scandinavians had already established their presence.
[2] OTL Hudson Bay, New France's coastline being in the southern part of OTL James Bay.
The African Colonies (Senegal, French Guinea, Ivory Coast, French Congo)
Except some limited natural resource extraction, the main purpose of the African Colonies was the very lucrative slave trade. When France banned slavery in 1647, the Colonies lost most of their importance.
3. Britannia
British North America
The first Colony to pass the one million European inhabitants mark,
British North America (
BNA) became the most important British Colony due to its strategic position, massive size, great amount of productive land in a nice temperate location, natural resources, booming population [3] and economy.
[3] Mostly British but also smaller numbers of Germans, Scandinavians and Protestant French (Huguenots).
The westward expansion of BNA placed the British in conflict with the other powers. A tentative partition of North America (1738) between Britain, France, Scandinavia and Spain left noone fully satisfied and, although a full-scale war did not erupt, clear borders would not be agreed upon until after the end of EW3.
Shortly before the start of EW3, the situation in BNA became increasingly tense, the American colonists demanding equal taxation and representation with the British from the Home Islands.
After several rounds of fruitless negotiations between the representatives of the American colonists and the London Government, an armed insurrection against the British Authorities seemed imminent.
The start of EW3 pressured the British Government to acquiesce to the American's demands in order to concentrate on the war raging in the rest of the World. BNA became an integral part of Britannia with most of the British laws being extended to the new territory. With the benefit of hindsight we can now say that it wasn't the most sensible decision...
The Lesser Antilles (West Indies)
These Caribbean Islands were a British Colony in all but name, the 99 years lease being considered by Britain to be nothing more than a technicality. With Spain unwilling to extend the lease, Britain annexed them unilaterally in 1751, which was considered a great humiliation in Spain.
They were very lucrative, producing vast amounts of highly priced commodities like sugar, cocoa, coffee and tobacco [4].
[4] Until 1688 when following the advice of the British Church (it was belatedly realized that tobacco was the Devil's herb!), Britannia outlawed smoking and destroyed all tobacco plantations.
The East Indies
Including the famous
Spice Islands and the strategic Malacca Strait, the East Indies were a very profitable Colony, albeit plagued by rebelions and unrest. The British-held areas and Protectorates were slowly expanding until most of the Archipelago was under direct or indirect British rule on the eve of EW3.
British India (including Ceylon)
British India was an extremely profitable colony, explaining the British desire to subjugate all the Indian Subcontinent.
The unrelenting British encroachment in India was slowed down and finally stopped by three factors: the resurgence of the Mughal Empire in the first half of the 18th century, the German, Romanian and Persian meddling and the start of EW3.
The African Colonies (Gambia, Sierra Leone, Gold Coast)
Like the other European Sub-Saharan Colonies, the British African Colonies' main economic activity was the Slave Trade.
Cape Colony (Capeland)
Unlike the other African Colonies, the milder climate of the Cape Colony and the relative lack of dangerous diseases attracted a large number of colonists who began to expand into the African wilderness. By the eve of EW3, the British colonists from Capeland had already met with the German military from Mosambik who were expanding in the opposite direction. Several clashes led to a small number of casualties on both sides.
4. Germany
Südreich (The South Realm)
The Südreich (South Realm in German) was the single German Colony including all the German lands in the Southern Hemisphere:
- Australia (Neubrandenburg, Neuhessen, Neuholland, Neuseeland, Neubremen, Neudanzig, Neuhamburg);
- Neupommern (
OTL Tasmania);
- Neupreussen (
OTL New Zealand);
- Neuguinea (New Guinea, including adjacent islands);
- Südsee Inseln (The Islands of the South Sea = Pacific Ocean);
- Antarktika (everything south of 40º S and not part of the other continents);
- Madagaskar (Madagascar, including other Indian Ocean Islands);
- Mosambik (Mozambique, including parts of South Africa and Swaziland);
- Feuerland (Tierra del Fuego, including adjacent islands).
Australia and Neupommern (New Pomerania) were Settler Colonies, needed for the excess German population. On the Australian Mainland, the interior proved difficult to settle because of the harsh arid climate.
It is here where the Germans commited their single greatest crime: the dehumanization and virtual extermination of the Australian Natives. The German Scientist Martin Vögel classified them as another human species,
Homo Australis, purportedly distinct from
Homo Sapiens. The reason for this seems to have been their lack of agriculture and state structures.
Later, from just another (lower) human species, the Natives were degraded to mere animals by the local Colonial Authorities. Lacking the protection of the Church (not humans meant no baptism) and with their lands coveted by the settlers, the Natives were displaced, murdered and, in some instances, even hunted like animals. The persecution only ended in the 20th Century, but even today the racists are calling them
Affe (Ape).
Neupreussen (New Prussia) was conquered in stages, starting with its northernmost cape. By the start of EW3, the conquest was mostly complete with only small areas under the control of Maori insurgents. The local Maori population was to be slowly germanized like everywhere else except Australia and Neupommern.
Organized resistance in
Neuguinea (New Guinea) faltered quickly but parts of the interior remained unexplored until the 20th century.
The
South Sea Islands included most Pacific Islands except those near its edges and Hawaii (still undiscovered by Europeans at the start of EW3).
Antarktika was continously expanded to include more and more lands as they were discovered, peaking with the late 18th century discovery of Mainland Antarctica itself.
Madagaskar, while claimed by the Germans, was not fully occupied until the early 19th century. By the start of EW3, only the northern part of Madagaskar was under German control, with an excellent port at its northern tip.
The Mascarene Islands were settled beginning in the 1640's. The Dodo, a strange bird from the Great Mascarene Island (Grossmaskarene, OTL Mauritius) was saved from almost sure extinction by the dedication of the German naturalists from the Zoological Gardens in Prague.
Mosambik was probably bought from the Spaniards not for its value (the Germans were not interested in the Slave Trade and abolished slavery altogether in 1715) but for its strategic position near British Capeland which they wanted to conquer when the opportunity arised. By the start of EW3, the Germans and the British had already a common (and highly contested) border in Southern Africa.
Feuerland (Tierra del Fuego) had been grabbed from the weaker Spanish Empire mainly to prevent the possible closure of the important Strait of Magellan. Besides the minimum necessary amenities for the unfortunate soldiers deployed there, it was not developed further.
5. Sarmatia
Struggling with internal issues inherent to a multinational state and external threats (Russia), Sarmatia was initially unwilling or unable to enter the Colonial Club. The only Sarmatian Colony, only acquired in 1743, was Sarmatian Guinea centred around the mouths of the Niger River.
The Black Sea Steppe, the Azov Steppe, Crimea, Transazovia and other remote regions could be considered colonies and functioned mostly as such despite being integral parts of the national territory.
6. Romania
Besides its relentless expansion in the Orient [5], Romania did not acquire any overseas colonies. The only exception was Socotra, captured in 1679 and held intermittently in the following decades.
[5] See the relevant chapter (a link will be added here to the article when posted).
7. Scandinavia
Although directly annexed to Scandinavia Proper, some of its European territories were colony-like in nature: Lapland, most of Finland (except the Baltic coast), Whiteland and Ingria. These territories were increasingly integrated with the core Scandinavian lands.
Western Lands (NE North America, including Greenland)
Eastern Lands (Northern Siberia, Northern Pacific, NW North America, including Alaska)
The main products of these vast lands were fur, pelts, animal oils and blubber. The Atlantic and King Christian Sea shores of North America were used as Settler Colonies, although the population was still small because the vast majority of the potential colonists were sent to Ingria, Finland and Whiteland.
The Natives were generally treated well and given the opportunity to become citizens if Christianized and properly Scandinavized.
The two colonies, although having land on the same continent (North America), were separated by a vast wilderness which remained virtually impassable until the late 18th century. Adding to their relative remoteness was the fact that the North-West Passage was not navigable, being permanently enclosed in ice.
8. Russia
Russian Siberia
Between European Russia in the west and the Okhotsk Sea in the east and between Scandinavian Siberia in the north and the nomadic khanates in the south, the vast Russian Siberian land was slowly colonized by intrepid Russian frontier men.
By the end of the 17th century, Russia started the conquest of the Turkestani, Mongol and Manchu Khanates. In the first part of the 18th century, Russia started to meddle in Chinese affairs. Its influence in China increased to the point that Russia became one of the main actors in the Great Chinese Civil War of 1779-1802.
Note: The outstanding territorial issues with Scandinavia and Sarmatia will be discussed in the relevant chapter.
9. Italy
Italian Africa
The only Italian Colony was Italian Africa, initially made up of Constantinia, Tunisia and Tripolitania.
Shortly after their country's unification and while still gripped in nationalistic fervour, the Italians decided to remove all the preexisting population from Italian Africa in order to settle it with the excess Italian population from the overpopulated peninsula.
Their method was frighteningly simple and effective. The native population (Arabs and Berbers) was slowly but continously pushed southwards by the Italian army, away from the life-bearing coast and into the lifeless Sahara Desert.
Because the Desert could support a much smaller population than the Coast, most of the displaced population perished, their ethnocide being mostly unnoticed by the "civilised" Europeans back home.
The demographic change was so effective that the whole area was able to be annexed directly to Italy as its "Fourth Shore" (
Quarta Sponda).
By the middle of the 18th century the only Muslims living anywhere near the Mediterranian Coasts were the Egyptians. For the Christians, the Mediterranian Sea began to be seen once again as
Mare Nostrum.
10. Other Countries
The Colonies of Greece and Armenia were adjacent and tightly integrated to their respective mother countries and part of the itself increasingly integrated Empire of the Orient, alongside Romania, Georgia, Slovakia and other lands and territories.
Note: More will be discussed in the chapters about the Empire of the Orient.
After the Third European War, the European Colonialism would enter a new phase with almost all of the remaining parts of the World coming in one way or another under the control of
Europa Magna.
You can find a World Map with the Colonies in
this earlier post.
