I'm no expert in war matters but this quotes from your TL could help you to write the outcome. TTL Spain, if I didn't read wrong, is "bigger" and something "better" than OTL Spain. Also remember that gold (Perú) and silver (México) can buy a lot of wills (slave revolts in Dixie and Texas, anti-US British and French politicians, British and French colonial troops which "casually" were "over there")...
May the Sun Never Set: A Spanish Empire TL
- Thread starter TheRealAndOnlyGaru
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I'm no expert in war matters but this quotes from your TL could help you to write the outcome. TTL Spain, if I didn't read wrong, is "bigger" and something "better" than OTL Spain. Also remember that gold (Perú) and silver (México) can buy a lot of wills (slave revolts in Dixie and Texas, anti-US British and French politicians, British and French colonial troops which "casually" were "over there")...
Chapter 6: The Spanish-American War
After the Annexation of Texas by the United States, many skirmishes began on the border regions. As the number of skirmishes grew, and the death count rose up, both sides began to mobilize their troops. The war officially began May 10th 1846, after American Forces, led by General Zachary Taylor, attacked and raided the Nueces Strip. Thus provoked the Declaration of War from Spain.
Spain had been mobilizing troops since the US annexed Texas, but the Royal Army of New Spain, led by General Antonio López de Santa Ana, was ill prepared and slightly smaller than the US army. The first weeks of the war saw an American advance over the Nueces Strip and Santa Fé de Nuevo México, one of the few cities in Northern New Spain.
The United States had took an initial advantage, and while the Court of Madrid wasn’t sending reinforcements, the Spanish struggled against the confident American Troops. General Santa Ana tried to assemble an army of 10,000 men to cross the Rio Bravo and march towards San Antonio, but was ambushed at San Agustín de Laredo, in an event known as the Desastre de Laredo. Santa Ana managed to flee, but his army had been divided and the Río Bravo would fall under American control as American troops took Reynosa and Matamoros, both towns that bordered the Río Bravo.
The Spanish-American War had been criticized in the US by the Whigs and supported by the Southern Democrats, but after the victories at Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros, the public opinion changed. Meanwhile, Spanish diplomats were trying to convince Britain and France to fight alongside them, but the efforts were unrewarded, as both Britain and France refused to go to war against the United States. Spain was alone in a war that could ruin its international reputation forever.
When Santa Ana and the rest of his army arrived to Mexico City, he was received and replaced by General Jerónimo Valdés, who had arrived from mainland Spain with 70,000 reinforcements from the peninsula and Perú, and following Santa Ana’s humiliating defeat, Valdés was appointed Comandante Supremo del Ejército de Su Majestad (High Commander of the Royal Army). Valdés was a talented and experienced general, who had been in the Spanish Army for nearly 4 decades.
The Spanish reinforcement, along with Valdés’ tactics, helped stopping the American offensive through Nueva Santander. The Americans wanted to reach Veracruz to achieve total control of the Gulf of Mexico, but were stopped at the village of Poza Rica, at 200 kilometers of Veracruz. While at California, American troops under Captain Frémont were assisting the “Bear Flaggers”, a group of Californian rebels. Lieutenant General De Sotto was send to suppress the rebellion, but by the time De Sotto arrived, the Americans had just taken San Francisco and were attacking Monterrey. Frémont’s army was surprised when De Sotto’s army arrived, defeating Frémont, who then retreated. The Spanish had managed to successfully counterattack in both fronts.
Worried about their several defeats, the United States decided to open a new front against Spain. One of the many desires of Southern Americans was to take Cuba. Polk, surrounded by many Southerners in his cabinet, decided to attack the Spanish colony of Cuba. Commodore Matthew Perry landed in Cuba along with 10,000 men under his command in January 1847. Cuba was of great economical importance to Spain, as it was rich in sugar and other resources, but also had a great military importance, as part of the Spanish fleet was based there; so the Americans seized the island, trying to maintain the island’s wealth in order to sustain the war effort. Commodore Perry’s forces finally achieved control of the island in March 1847, after the Spanish defeat at the Battle of Santiago, where most of the Spanish fleet in the Caribbean was burned to ashes. The remaining ships fled to Ciudad del Carmén, in the Yucatán peninsula.
The next move the Americans did was convincing the native tribes in Northern New Spain and Yucatecan rebels. The natives helped the Americans to win New Mexico and Northern New Spain, but the Yucatecan rebels failed. The Americans, eager to end the War, hoped to launch an attack on Veracruz, but the American fleet was ambushed on its way to Veracruz. On the Eastern Front, the US Army struggled against General Valdés, who was defeating US General Zachary Taylor in every battle. By November 1847, General Taylor’s forces had been pushed back to the Río Bravo, while at California and the Pacific, the fight was still rough, but neither side could obtain progress against the enemy’s lines. The war had reached a stalemate.
It was 1848, and turmoil came to most of Europe. Germany, Austria, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Denmark were submerged into revolutionary and nationalist fervor. Even though Spain was already liberal in comparison to its European neighbours, the war against the US had caused discontent amongst the ruling class and the bourgeoisie, who wished to end the war, end the Duke of Cádiz’s regency and reestablish trade in the Americas. In May 1848, revolutionaries stormed the Royal Palace in Madrid. The Duke of Cádiz was forced to resign and flee the country. General Ramón María Narváez was appointed Prime Minister until a new constitution was drafted, and called for peace talks with the United States.
The United States took advantage of the turmoil in the Spanish homeland, launching a last offensive towards California and Northeastern New Spain, but would agree to make peace with Spain, now that they had the upper hand. Peace talks began in late July 1848. An agreement was finally reached on August 29 1848, and signed by General Zachary Taylor in behalf of the United States, and General Valdés in behalf of the Kingdom of Spain. The Treaty of San Francisco was ratified by both nations in September 1848, and put into effect on January 1st 1849. The main points of the Treaty of San Francisco were:
- Peace is declared between the United States and the Kingdom of Spain
- International relationships and trade are going to be resumed between the United States and the Kingdom of Spain.
- Spain must recognize Texas as an integral part of the United States, and abandon its claims to that area.
- Spain must cede all lands claimed once by the Republic of Texas to the United States and abandon all claims to those lands.
- The United States will gain the Spanish Colony on Cuba.
- The Kingdom of Spain will withdraw its fleet from the Island of Cuba.
- The United States will gain the area of the Bay of San Francisco , and have the right to establish a fleet there.
- The Kingdom of Spain will provide the United States a way to communicate the San Francisco Bay Area to the rest of its territories.
- All American troops will be withdrawn from Spanish Territory.
- All Spanish troops will withdraw from American Territory.
- All war prisoners will be returned to their respective homelands.
- The citizens living on former Spanish soil now under American jurisdiction will be able to get American citizenship and preserve their properties on American soil or abandon the United States along with their properties.
- The United States must pay Spain 20 million dollars for all damage made to Spanish lands.
- The United States must pay 15 million dollars in compensation for the land gained.
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With this chapter ends the conflict of Texas. Hopefully I'll post a map soon.
It's a great AH, although I think you made 3 great mistakes:
- In OTL Ferdinand VII never accepted to recognize the victory of the rebels, so I doubted very much that he did it if he had options to recover the totality of the Spanish America. As soon as he knew the successes of the expeditionary force destined to set sail at the beginning of 1820 (the general in chief was the Count of Bisbal, while his second was Colonel Riego) and the realist forces of Iturbide, he would send another expeditionary force to end with New Granada rebels as soon as possible.
- However, at most he could accept the independence of the viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata (mainly Argentina and Uruguay; Paraguay would prefer to return to Spanish control to avoid falling into Brazilian hands), probably by transferring the sovereignty of that territory to his older sister, Infanta Carlota Joaquina, Queen Consort of Portugal -at the time, she sought this territory by exploiting the Peninsular War and Spanish American Wars of Independence-. In no case he would agree to lose the territorial continuity between New Spain and Perú.
- The Spanish government, specially led by Ferdinand VII, would never accept the entry of US colonists into the territory of New Spain, anticipating that they would encourage uprisings for a future US expansion. Besides, they would be mainly people of Protestant faith, and even the Spanish Constitution of 1812 didn't admit religious freedom. An absolutist government led by Ferdinand VII would never accept it.
- In a Spanish-American war where Spain retained New Spain, in case of US victory, Spain could give up many territories but Cuba would be completely non-negotiable; and in a war of that magnitude, I doubt very much that Cuba will be unprotected how your AH expose. After all, in OTL Cuba was just occuped by US forces with the support of the Cuban rebels, and in your AH there are no Cuban rebels.
I'm not sure if they'd be able to stop those American colonists from moving in illegally.
On the other hand, northern New Spain would be more populous, with the Comanche still satisfied with tribute from Spain and not ravaging and raiding literally all of northern Mexico. And they'd also be given a free hand to raid the illegal American colonists. So, there'd be less Americans coming in for sure, and the illegal Americans that do come in would face Comanche warriors raiding their land.
I don't think that the US colonists will risk entering a Spanish territory, where Ferdinand VII governed, with his absolutism and in full force of the Spanish Inquisition, that burned the heretics at the stake (Ferdinand VII didn't reestablish the Spanish Inquisition after Triennial Liberal, but it was in full force during its first absolutist period; the auto-da-fé occurred during its second absolutist period was under the responsibility of the most absolutist bishops, not by the Spanish Inquisition). And without counting, with the continuous attacks of the Comanche.
I have been at vacations, sorry. Wow, I still don't know how I could make those mistakes. Anyways, I don't plan to start over again, so at least I hope this serves as inspiration.