Chapter 3: Texas-Mexican War, part 2, and Van Buren's Revenge.
It's now July 1st, 1843. Texas and Mexico remain in a state of war, and the fighting is only becoming more and more intense, both with the Lipan Apaches joining the fray, and with Santa Anna's conscription program in full swing. Several Texas towns have already been occupied by the Mexicans, including Refugio, Goliad, Victoria, and La Baca, and more are in danger of falling themselves at any time, and even the people of San Antonio are getting a little leery. To make matters worse, the Mexicans aren't the only enemy Texas has to deal with, either; there are still Comanche raiders plundering around S.A., Austin, and other places in the central part of the country, wreaking havoc.
However, though, things aren't looking all bad for Texas; Santa Anna has called up about as many enlisted soldiers as he can find, and willing volunteers aren't easy to find anymore, even amongst his devotees; while on the other hand, some American volunteers, from both the North and the South, are still coming to Texas offering to help the Texians to fight off Santa Anna's invaders.
Though many Texians did come from the South, there were also a fair number from the Northern states as well; Lysander Spooner, the unlikeliest of pioneers, amongst them. And speaking of Mr. Spooner, he himself has formed a volunteer corps. of his own, mostly Northerners but with a slight few Southerners sprinkled in as well; what makes them so special? They all share one thing in common; they are all anti-slavery. Every single one of them. They're also mainly for a Union with the United States as well(though some, not so much). Spooner's men have seen little in the way of combat but they are all about to be put to the test, and sooner than they might think.....
Santa Anna may be feeling a little smug about Texas at the moment, but he has been having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that his Mexico hasn't been winning all of its battles: Insurgencies in Zacatecas, Potosi, and Coahuila continue to chafe against his iron will, and even worse, the Yucatan, which had already been a problem a couple of years ago, is now all but totally lost to his control. And they're starting to spread, too: reports from Guanajuato and Chiapas are now indicating that similar problems have begun to develop there as well. Reports of unusual activity in California over the past year or so, haven't gone unnoticed, as well. And even with his most recent victories, Santa Anna continues to grow more and more wary, and may eventually descend into outright paranoia.....
In America, Martin Van Buren, after amazingly managing to win a second term by just the slimmest of margins yet seen, has begun to realize that he was in error by following Jackson's dubious economic policies. In 1841, he had begun to work with Congress on trying to find some short-term, and hopefully, at some point, long-term, solutions to the problems which still haunted the nation. So far, it appears that the fix has been successful, as many more honest banks that had suffered have been propped back up(though less reputable institutions have been allowed to fail), and many smaller businesses had their debts forgiven so they could have a better chance at surviving the hard times.
Even so, the damage will still take a little time to heal completely and some Democrats, and a few Whigs, continue to throw roadblocks in Van Buren's path.
Many in the United States have also been concerned about the various goings on in Texas and Mexico, and there are there is increasing agitation for the intervention of Washington in said conflict. And there continues to be bitter division amongst Americans as how to handle Texas.
In the South, there are definitely a fair number of people for the annexation of Texas, not only for fear of it becoming a British puppet, but also to further the expansion of slavery; however, though, there are many who have begun to oppose such, for fears that Texas might possibly reject slavery in some fashion(even if not banning it outright, necessarily), even if only to keep Mexico from invading again.
And up north, there are some who would prefer that Texas be left alone; they don't want anymore slave states in the Union if it can be helped. But, on the other hand, there is a growing amount of support for annexation, too; not all Texians are overtly pro-slavery, and there's a feeling that some might actually be willing to go for at least gradual emancipation of enslaved African-Americans, if nothing else, even if some opposition does rise up(as it inevitably would, unfortunately) to the idea from the more reactionary sections of Texas society.
Butterflies have only begun to reach Europe relatively recently, but reached, they have: Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium have all recognized Texas as a sovereign and independent nation. And not only that, but some Germans, too, have recently taken an interest in Texas, too, though of a different kind: colonization, of said territory. Already, a few societies such as the Adelsverein and the
German Emigration Company, where dedicating their operations to such a purpose. In fact, just recently, the town of Industry was founded, just west of Austin, the first town in all of Texas to be founded by Germans.
But in a more general sense, while things may seem largely peaceful on the outside, there does exist a fair amount of underlying discontent in many countries, such as France, Germany, Hungary, and many others. France, in particular, has seen a major upswing in anti-Royalist sentiment, particularly in the northern areas, as well as the southeast of the country, with Marseilles in particular being eyed as a potential headquarters by at least a few enterprising French wannabe revolutionaries.
The German States, too, are beginning to become noticeable hotspots of dissent as well. Men such as Joseph Fickler, Franz Hecker, Gustav von Struve, as well as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, are beginning to make themselves heard by the people, especially Fickler and Marx & Engels. The nobility knows that they are safe for now, but worry about what the future may hold.....and that future may just come sooner than they think.
And in Hungary, too, men of revolutionary spirit are restless. Lajos Kossuth, in particular, has recovered from a bout of ill health and has begun to work behind the scenes for political, and social reform.....and so have his contemporaries, such as Istvan Szechenyi and Ferenc Deak.
And then there's the strange case of Italy. Who knows how things could turn out there?
The Path towards revolution has begun!
Now, here's Chapter 3 of “La Tierra Afortunada”.
