Nationalism and Libertad.- A South American Tl.

[Red_Galiray]

Freedom, Unity, Nationalism and Imperialism ​

A South American TL by Red_Galiray

Special thanks to users Morning_Dew and Thande.

“And I dare say, people of France, shouldn’t we fight against the tyranny of this ancient regime? The French King has proven to be utterly unsuited for reigning. Don’t you see the humiliation he brought to France with the Falkland Crisis and the Seven Years War? Don’t you see that he doesn’t care about his own people? Yes, that’s right. Plenty of patriotic Frenchmen who fought bravely have been exiled just because they failed. And now? They’ve spend resources and men for another country’s independence and well being, the United States! And we have nothing but poverty as a reward! It’s time for revolution. Vive La France!”

-General Antoine Isabey (1784)

The three men watched each other with caution. Comrades and co-generals during the revolution, now that they had power they were no longer friends. During that time of revolutions and nationalism, the time they triggered, nobody could be trust. Especially in Revolutionary France.

Antoine eyed Jean Boissieu and Francis Laforêt, almost fondly remembering their battles together. Almost. The battle for Bastille, for the Palace… they were only bloody and filled with mud and death. Was the revolution worth it? It certainly was! The French King had brought enough humiliation over France. First, it was the Treaty of the Falklands, where the British obtained those (useless) islands after France failed to assert its position in the world and fully support Spain. The king was a coward who feared war.

And then war came anyway. The Seven Years War was just like the revolution. Bloody, full of death and despair. Wait, there was a difference. The Seven Years War was more humiliating.

Not only France lost its North American colonies, but it was left with huge losses and lost India too. One of the worst events during the war was that several Frenchmen opposed the British, and when they were defeated, the King denied access to France again. He spent huge quantities of money in keeping them outside, and it strained relations with Spain since they ended in the Spanish colonies. One of them had especially received the majority of them; along with hundreds of thousands of Indians who supported France… was it New Granda?

Anyway, the people couldn’t stand more when France declared its support for the American Revolution; poverty was the only thing the country gained. The ideals and beliefs of great men Voltaire only inspired the fight.

The Revolution Started in 1784. The French people rose against the Monarchy, in several rebellions especially in Paris. Though if took some time, the movement become an organized army after Antoine Isabey, a brilliant general whose bigger talent was charisma and speeches, took the helm. Bastille fell, and one by one, the French nobility and monarchy fell too. They fell under the guillotine.

But even the king’s death wasn’t enough to stabilize France. The country became divided, as the only thing that maintained the movement together was the mutual hatred for the king. Two Political Parties, the Boisseins and the Laforeits disputed the helm of the new Republic.

Parliament or President? Or Both? No one seemed to agree in that matter. And then, Antoine took the helm again. He declared a new Regime, new as the Council, who was going to be presided by him and several generals and veterans of the Revolution. Jean and Francis became key member of the Council, since even when neither of their parties was able to hold France by itself, they still had a powerful influence.

A new age, called the Terror Regime started. An age of governmental and national uncertainly. Though a national identity was being born, it was weak. The country was unstable, and a strong hand was needed. The Terror Regime was based in corruption, military power, conquest, repression and guillotines. Antoine was the dictator, ceremonially called President of the council. His iron hand conducted a successful invasion of the Netherlands, bringing Austria and Prussia into war, just what he wanted. The French Terror Wars started.

Jean cleared his throat, like if he was going to finally say something. “Tell me, Francis, just how many people have we killed these past months?” Francis didn’t even think for a second before coldly answering “Six thousand. Hmm… Add one to that. A man was guillotined today”. Jean only replied “Loyalist or…?” “Loyalist, yes”.

Antoine watched the scene with mild amusement. The first days of guillotining oppositors were sick and hard. Now, it was easy. “Any relevant news, gentleman?” He stressed “relevant” because guillotining someone was daily occurrence.

“Our invasion of Netherlands is proceeding as planned, sir. The British are not pleased, but they won’t take any direct action in this moment. As for the others, Prussia and Austria’s forces are really irrelevant and our armies have been able to defeat them.” Francis answered mechanically.

Antoine nodded “What about Spain?”

Jean looked a little worried, while Francis was delighted. It could be either good news or bad news. “Well, sir, Spain has fallen to revolution too”

The Old General blinked. Jean continued “Apparently, a group of partisans rose because they’re displeased with Spain’s state too. They were pretty irrelevant until Spain fell to poverty thanks to the American Revolution which had no reward for them either, and the continuous rebellions in the colonies.”

Antoine remained silent, though something in his gaze said that more information was necessary “You see, sir that several Frenchmen arrived there, especially in New Granada. There are also a huge number of Indians. Our patriots have spread the ideals of Liberté, égalité, fraternité around there.”

More silence. Jean slowly understood that the first gaze meant something relevant to France. “Spain has announced that they can’t continue supporting us in our wars, since all their army must fight the rebels.”

Antoine didn’t care at all. Spain was useless anyway, and the next step was invading them and installing a puppet Regime, like that one in Italy. He was happy that the revolution was able to spread, nonetheless.

“Let’s continue gentleman…”

“There has been a rebellion in Haiti, sir” Francis said, deciding to continue talking about the new world.

“Rebellion, uh? I suppose they were swiftly defeated, weren’t they?”

“Of course they were, sir, but we think it was inspired by the American Revolution”

The General couldn’t help but smile “And we inspired that Revolution! Our revolutionary episode has returned to bite us”

“Another worrying aspect is the Spanish Colonies. Though the Caribbean remains loyalist to Spain, New Spain, New Granada and the Viceroy of Rio de Plata seem to be heading towards a rebellion. Since Spain has fallen in a civil war, it means they will probably be able to achieve independence. It may help us, since Spain won’t be able to recuperate with its colonies’ help.”

Antoine grinned “Good, good… the only problem it’s that damn British Empire then. Though we can surely defeat any troops they send us, defeating the Royal Navy is impossible right now. If we play “nice”, they will allow us to conserve the conquered lands, but dessocuppy the Netherlands may be needed”

“Well, we have to occupy them first” Jean reminded

“Yes, right. The future looks bright for France!”

Antoine saw through the window, daydreaming. The Terror Regimo couldn’t last long, unless he made something about it. Perhaps convincing everyone that the others will attack France? No, it wouldn’t be of any use. He had to think quickly, before a new revolution was born.

“What are you thinking, sir?” Jean asked, genuinely curious.

“The World is constantly changing. The Old Regimes of Europe are shocked by the Revolution and the new wave of Nationalism, while the ideals of independence have reached the colonies in the New World. Whoever is able to dominate this new age will be the master of the world. Who will be it? The revolutionary France and her invincible army? Or the Powerful British Empire and the mighty Royal Navy? We shall fight, even if the people are unhappy, this is for the greater good of the nation. The Terror Regime shall live on” Antoine replied, half to himself, half to Jean.

A silent flag was waving outside the window, just above the last guillotined head of the day. “For the greater good of France” Antoine added.

 

[rjd1997]

Viva Gran Columbia!

 

[juanml82]

Subscribed. I guess Napoleon ended up in South America?

 

[MorningDew]

There's one thing I forgot to tell you on the old TL

Don't make the entire thing sound like a commercial for Grand Colombia. This is a major problem in the narrative scenes, it makes them look unrealistic.

Now good luck, and best of wishes to S.A.

 

[Red_Galiray]

Viva Gran Columbia!

Viva la patria!

Subscribed. I guess Napoleon ended up in South America?

He may have

There's one thing I forgot to tell you on the old TL

Don't make the entire thing sound like a commercial for Grand Colombia. This is a major problem in the narrative scenes, it makes them look unrealistic.

Now good luck, and best of wishes to S.A.

Hahaha , yeah, now that I re-read it, I realize just how cheesy and comercial like it was. Thank you very much

 

[Alt History Buff]

Are these characters fictional?

 

[Red_Galiray]

Are these characters fictional?

Yes, they are. Historical characters may be included in these early parts of the timeline, but I'd rather work with fictional characters.

 

[MorningDew]

If Bolivar is butterflied, then is *Napoleon going to take his place? Or are your plans bigger than that?

(Mostly concerning Bolivia, which is named after Bolivar)

With the way that the pre-tl was seemingly going to take, I saw 3 options for European Immigrants.

1: Protestants: U.S.A. Pretty obvious as otl.

For Catholics, I predict a split.

2: South-central Italians, Iberians: Colombia and Mexico (possibly Brazil as well).

3: German Catholics, French, North Italians: Plata and Chile. I'm assuming that they'll have an immigrant structure closer to the U.S. than Mexico and Colombia, these groups are more likely to come over there (The social structure of their cultures matches more with Plata and Chile, Colombia and mexico are mostly native/mezito descended, which the Iberians didn't really have a problem with and the Italians will like the stability of government. Plata and Chile being founded on trade means that even by the time that went independent otl, they were majority European descended. Because of the existing population already being mostly European, and the fact that the French, North Italians, and Catholic Germans' societies were more trade based as well, most of those groups would head to Plata and Chile even with unstable governments. However, Colombia still probably comes out on top due to 3 things: Its mixed-race society has a far higher natural population growth than Plata's and Chile's [their overall population growths will probably be the same, and plata and chile are not one country, their competition and fighting will definitely help the Colombians], and an alliance with britian gives the Colombians a huge international advantage if they play it right, and PANAMA CANAL [nuff said there]).

Which port will the Colombians let the British "use"? (If your plan for the dissolution of British Guyana goes through, the British will still want a good harbor as a base in the area, so it would probably be a condition along with the money charge. For extra fun the British could get a port like that in Chile too, it could help keep Plata down in international standing and whatnot)

If the administration borders don't change much, then shouldn't the Colombian-Mexican border be at the otl panama-costa rica border? (assuming that's the border between them when they get independent, and the dispute is argued but not done anything about for the first decades of independence, which I would expect if both countries want to recover from the independence war)

Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico generate an ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS amount of wealth, securing Spain to use a puppet government to funnel some of that cash into the french war machine should be a top priority (FAR more than any other Caribbean Colony combined). It would allow France to help take Britain's blows initially, but it wouldn't keep them afloat forever, this increased amount of time alive could help with the plans for ttl modern Europe, especially for the Netherlands.

(The french didn't emigrate much at all otl, but I can see that changing ttl. The longer-lasting revolutionary regime will promote natural population growth to the breaking point "for the fatherland!", and when it collapses, the huge unrest and anarchy should send sizable amounts of urbanites and peasants alike to flee the country. Because Colombia will be allied with the British and other reasons, plata is the only real fit for them, and I think Plata would seize the chance and open its doors. The result? Platan Spanish and culture will have as much french influence as Italian influence had in otl, with the Italians ttl mostly going to Colombia.)

That's all for now. Pretty interesting, a Italian-influenced Colombian Spanish, a French-influenced Platian Spanish, and a High German-influenced Chilean Spanish. Way different than otl! How right am I in my predictions?

 

[Unknown]

And do a combination of narrative posts and excerpts from books about this time, ala Male Rising and Of Rajahs and Hornbills (both excellent TL), if possible.

Looking forward to more...

 

[Red_Galiray]

If Bolivar is butterflied, then is *Napoleon going to take his place? Or are your plans bigger than that?

Bolivar is butterflied, but he may made an apparation as an irrelevant character just for fun (like when Hitler appears as a painter when something changes World War II). If he does appear, he won't do that much. We may see Napoleon as a libertador.

(Mostly concerning Bolivia, which is named after Bolivar)

Bolivia can't keep that name, so they might be named Charkas, as that was their name during the colonial age "Royal Audience of Charcas"

With the way that the pre-tl was seemingly going to take, I saw 3 options for European Immigrants.

1: Protestants: U.S.A. Pretty obvious as otl.

For Catholics, I predict a split.

2: South-central Italians, Iberians: Colombia and Mexico (possibly Brazil as well).

3: German Catholics, French, North Italians: Plata and Chile. I'm assuming that they'll have an immigrant structure closer to the U.S. than Mexico and Colombia, these groups are more likely to come over there (The social structure of their cultures matches more with Plata and Chile, Colombia and mexico are mostly native/mezito descended, which the Iberians didn't really have a problem with and the Italians will like the stability of government. Plata and Chile being founded on trade means that even by the time that went independent otl, they were majority European descended. Because of the existing population already being mostly European, and the fact that the French, North Italians, and Catholic Germans' societies were more trade based as well, most of those groups would head to Plata and Chile even with unstable governments. However, Colombia still probably comes out on top due to 3 things: Its mixed-race society has a far higher natural population growth than Plata's and Chile's [their overall population growths will probably be the same, and plata and chile are not one country, their competition and fighting will definitely help the Colombians], and an alliance with britian gives the Colombians a huge international advantage if they play it right, and PANAMA CANAL [nuff said there]).

Exactly I want to have Italians since they will be assimilated more easily, and are Catholic too. Once the Spanish stop being bitter for all the "we declare independence" thing, they will move in mase too. As for Chile and Plata, well, Chile in OTL already had a good number of Germans, and it can be noticed in their culture (there are videos of the Chilean army marching at Prussian Glory) A French influenced Plata might be interesting too. The Brisith Empire alliance and the Canal will give them a huge international advantage too.

Which port will the Colombians let the British "use"? (If your plan for the dissolution of British Guyana goes through, the British will still want a good harbor as a base in the area, so it would probably be a condition along with the money charge. For extra fun the British could get a port like that in Chile too, it could help keep Plata down in international standing and whatnot)

It really depends in how much Colombia cares about Guayana Esequibo. In OTL, it has almost no people and no big cities. It may change in TTL, and if it has any big enough port, if will be leased. If not, ports in OTL Venezuela, perhaps even Caracas, will be open for the British. As for Chile, they will have good relations with Colombia (it's based in that OTL Ecuador and Chile have very good relations) so the British may be open to help them too, asking for a port beforehand of course.

If the administration borders don't change much, then shouldn't the Colombian-Mexican border be at the otl panama-costa rica border? (assuming that's the border between them when they get independent, and the dispute is argued but not done anything about for the first decades of independence, which I would expect if both countries want to recover from the independence war)

The countries will use the borders of the Viceroys as their new borders, but there will be some controversy if either Mexico or something like the USCA (United States of Central America) want to have all Central America under their control. And since the region includes Panama and Costa Rica... But there will not be any war during the first years.

Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico generate an ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS amount of wealth, securing Spain to use a puppet government to funnel some of that cash into the french war machine should be a top priority (FAR more than any other Caribbean Colony combined). It would allow France to help take Britain's blows initially, but it wouldn't keep them afloat forever, this increased amount of time alive could help with the plans for ttl modern Europe, especially for the Netherlands.

Yup, that's the French Master Plan!

(The french didn't emigrate much at all otl, but I can see that changing ttl. The longer-lasting revolutionary regime will promote natural population growth to the breaking point "for the fatherland!", and when it collapses, the huge unrest and anarchy should send sizable amounts of urbanites and peasants alike to flee the country. Because Colombia will be allied with the British and other reasons, plata is the only real fit for them, and I think Plata would seize the chance and open its doors. The result? Platan Spanish and culture will have as much french influence as Italian influence had in otl, with the Italians ttl mostly going to Colombia.)

Good idea. Though I will not wank la Plata, having them without enmigration would be boring.

That's all for now. Pretty interesting, a Italian-influenced Colombian Spanish, a French-influenced Platian Spanish, and a High German-influenced Chilean Spanish. Way different than otl! How right am I in my predictions?

Hahaha, who said we already had enough differences? There's a running gag in South America: Nobody can't understand the Chileans, except other Chileans. It would be worse in this timeline, since Peruvian Spanish will likely remain the same while we all know how Mexican Spanish is.

You're very right in your prediction, so right in fact, that it might count as spoilers

 

[Red_Galiray]

And do a combination of narrative posts and excerpts from books about this time, ala Male Rising and Of Rajahs and Hornbills (both excellent TL), if possible.

Looking forward to more...

I will try to do that. Thank you very much.

 

[MorningDew]

A question about south america: As far as I can tell Uruguay is basically an extension of the "main settlement area" of Argentina, but is the reason that Chile has such a different culture than them (Even thought they are all by far majority European descended) is that its "main settlement area" is a different place entirely than Argentina's?

 

[Red_Galiray]

A question about south america: As far as I can tell Uruguay is basically an extension of the "main settlement area" of Argentina, but is the reason that Chile has such a different culture than them (Even thought they are all by far majority European descended) is that its "main settlement area" is a different place entirely than Argentina's?

Geography is one reason. The Andes are a quite difficult obstacle, so people from the two countries weren't able to exhange customs and practices. Keep also in mind that each country's major population centers (Santiago and Buenos Aires) are very far from each other. So, practices from Chile generally stayed in Chile and pratices from Argentina, generally stayed in Argentina.

Another one was the different type of immigrants. Yes, Chile got Italians and Argentina got Germans too, but Germans left a more lasting impression in Chile than they did in Argentina. Same for the Italians. They developed different customs and dialects as a consecuence, even when they ethnically similar.

As for where did they settle, it had to do with the Chilean government encouraging settiling in the southern areas of the country. Cities like Valdivia were first colonized for Germans. In the other hand, Argentina didn't encourage settling in a particular area, so most people remained in Buenos Aires or in a near city. If you look to a population density map, you can notice the most populated areas are either Buenos Aires or somewhere near it.

 

[Red_Galiray]

A TALE OF LIBERTADORES AND COLONIZADORES. - A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE GRAN COLOMBIAN INDEPENDENCE.

By Marco Diaz, Colombian Central University, Bogota, Colombia (2010),

CHAPTER 3: CAUSES OF THE INDEPENDENCE.

Something many people fail to notice about the Colombian Independence War and, sadly, of almost every war or conflict in our history, is that it wasn’t provoked by just one big event. Instead, it was a large series of events that built the path to independence.

Those included the decline the Spanish Empire suffered from the Falkland Crisis (1770). The Empire had been humiliated, and the people around the colonies, the criollos, started seeing them as useless since they were not able to hold even some little islands around Tierra de Fuego. Would they able to hold their entire colonies then? Continuous raids against Buenos Aires started, while in the Northern Colonies, the favoritism towards the Caribbean was made clear as Spain spent huge quantities of money into protecting them, while New Granada was practically left apart.

The consciousness in the colonies grew day by day, with the arrival of new ideas from Europe flowing through them. Text of author like Locke arrived there, and several newspapers and bohemian societies were created to spread those same ideals.

In Gran Colombia, then now as New Granada, the bohemian societies were especially important. Those association, generally made of criollos of the high society, were originally created as a means of distraction, but quickly become places where you could talk about Spain unfairness and bad government.

The main problems those gentlemen found with the colonial administration were the lack of criollo rights and the obvious preference for “peninsulares”, that is, Spaniards from the mainland. The colonial administration was inefficient, and several revolts happened due to mistreat. Some worthy of mention are the revolt of Loja (1771), of Cuenca (1774), Pasto (1776) and Panama (1780). Every revolt had different causes behind it, from exploitation at work to military abuses; they still had the anger and resentment against Spain as a core element.

An outstanding man from this time period was the Doctor Eugenio Espejo, a criollo born in Quito, whose newspaper “Las Primicias de la Real Audiencia de Quito” were acclaimed and inspired several of those bohemian movements.

Another important factor was the big wave of exiles, mainly from India and France. The Indians faced discrimination, and they made them militant, with multiple uprising happening. On the other hand, the Frenchmen were angry, but they faced no discrimination thanks to their status as Europeans. However, they couldn’t attain power either. They were bringing the different ideas born in France to there, including the ideals of independence.

As the people were becoming more and more militant, two important moments happened: The American Revolution and the French Revolution. The American Revolution brought hopes towards the Viceroys, who wished freedom but thought it impossible. Even when the American Revolution could not be considered complete thanks to being not so a decisive victory, it demonstrated that fighting against an old regime was possible and winning wasn’t just a crazy dream.

The militancy of the people also increased when Spain needed to dramatically raise tariffs and taxes thanks to the huge debt the American Independence War left for them, with almost nothing in return. .

The Bohemian societies were reborn as new associations, called Juntas Patrioticas. They were filled with philosophers like Francisco de Miranda, Juan Pio Montufar and several ones who came from France. The Juntas abandoned the Societies passive fight for an aggressive fight, with several rebellions happening under their auspice.

The Massacre of Guayaquil was one of them, were the Junta of Quito inspired a boycott against the Spanish ships there. It quickly became a fight, and almost one hundred people, women and kids too, were killed for disobedience against the crown.

The Massacre horrorized the people of New Granada, and the Juntas started to cooperate, thinking that a total genocide of Criollos and Mestizos was the following the event. The Two most prominent Juntas, the Junta of Quito, directed by the criollo Benalcazar, and the Junta of Bogota, directed by the French exiled Luois Lebrun, joined to create the new Junat Patriotica of New Granada, who sought active independence from the crown.

By 1785, they were already stockpiling arms and training officers (criollos and mestizos) and soldiers (Indians and natives). Different independence movements were created in New Spain, Chile and Silver River Viceroys.

When the crisis of the Cortes in June 1785 happened, most colonies declared their support for the Spanish King. But the Juntas had another idea. Just when Spain was in the middle of a bloody civil war, the rebellion of Quito, also known as the rebellion of the “Aurora Libertadora” happened, with patriotic troops attacking Carondelet Palace and taking it.

To say the royalist were surprised is an understatement. Even when they were used to revolts, those were only a group of angry men, sometimes with revolvers. They didn’t expect to see a trained, organized force storming towards the Palace. The General Governor of Quito, Aymerich, was captured and the Independence of New Granada was declared in August 10, 1785. The Colombian Independence war had started.

Mexico and La Plata rebelled too shortly after.

Although the poems, books and even anthems of those nations want to make the Independence War seem like a glorious campaign, it was bloody and hard. All the armies involved had huge losses of men, and all the nations were devastated at the end.

Even with all this, Colombia reached their final independence in 1787 when the Battle of Caracas was won by the Ejercito Libertador and the remanants of the Spanish army were outside the new country. The Ccucta Convention of 1787 named the new country Gran Colombia, after Columbus. Why was it “gran” (great)? Because the original Colombia was only Cundinamarca, so the Entire New Granada Viceroy was a “Gran” Colombia. (See chapter 4 for a detailed analysis of the war).

With the independence of the homeland proper secured, and both La Plata and the USCA independent, the only remnant of Spanish presence in Latin America was Mexico and the Viceroy of Peru. While Mexico was not a problem since the patriots had already the upper hand, Peru was a big problem, and deciding that ending the Spanish presence there was needed, both the Platinean army and the Colombian army started the “Liberacion del Peru” in 1788.

 

[MorningDew]

Good start to the background info.

After you do part 2 of the dissolution of the Spanish empire, then you should start covering it again, except in detail (and to make it have more of a purpose, it should have hints on what happens in the future and ttl popular culture references).

I would start with the beginning of the p.o.d., then do the alt-English-French-Spanish conflict, explaining how the French-Spanish lose and what effects that has on their empires. (This is not the revolutionary war of the U.S.A., its what otl we call the French and Indian war in america)

Then, I would do a chapter the reason for Spain itself falling into civil war, and show the effects on the administration of the colonies.

After that, the war itself in the colonies could be divided into parts 1, 2, 3, and 4, starting with the rebellion in Quito and ending with the capture of Lima/Veracruz.

Then, a final chapter to the unrest starting in France and the Spanish civil war getting worse and you can start on the first years of independence.

 

[juanml82]

Wait, what's happening with Tupac Amaru ITTL?

 

[Red_Galiray]

Good start to the background info.

After you do part 2 of the dissolution of the Spanish empire, then you should start covering it again, except in detail (and to make it have more of a purpose, it should have hints on what happens in the future and ttl popular culture references).

I would start with the beginning of the p.o.d., then do the alt-English-French-Spanish conflict, explaining how the French-Spanish lose and what effects that has on their empires. (This is not the revolutionary war of the U.S.A., its what otl we call the French and Indian war in america)

Then, I would do a chapter the reason for Spain itself falling into civil war, and show the effects on the administration of the colonies.

After that, the war itself in the colonies could be divided into parts 1, 2, 3, and 4, starting with the rebellion in Quito and ending with the capture of Lima/Veracruz.

Then, a final chapter to the unrest starting in France and the Spanish civil war getting worse and you can start on the first years of independence.

This works practically like an index But there will be one chapter focusing in the US, in how their Revolution is different than in OTL (noticed the "wasn't deccisive" part?) and how it contributted to Spain and France's falls too. The following chapter will be (in order):

1.-Falkland Crisis and the Seven Years War: the POD.
2.-American Revolution
3.-Spanish Revolution: Causes and consequences, in the mainland and the colonies.
4.-Spanish Revolution: Civil War and more.
5.-Quito, luz de America: Revolution.
6.-March in the Andes: The capture of Bogota.
7.-Viva la Patria!: The capture of Caracas and how the independence war is going for the rest.
8.-Dirty Loyalist: The capture of Lima and end of the Independence War.
9.- French Terror Wars.

Wait, what's happening with Tupac Amaru ITTL?

Well, we haven't seen Peru's situation yet. All I can said is that exilied Indians found he sympathic.

 

[Red_Galiray]

Causes of the Earlier Revolution.- The POD.

AN EXTENSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION CAUSES.

By Jean Rohan in “History Blog”. Translation by Robin Watterson.

Chapter I: The Importance of the Revolution.

The French Revolution is the moment that changed modern history, and the one that gave shape to the modern world. It was the event that introduced nationalism and liberalism to the world, and the one that started the European Age known as the “Concert of the Ancient Regimes”. Without it, our world would be a very different place.

Most people, mainly Colombians and Americans, tend to ignore the global implications it had in their respective countries, possibly thinking that if didn’t really affect them. They’re wrong, since the Revolution had a heavy weight in their countries, and was what made the Colombian Revolution even possible. It had even some effects that would only manifest years after, like the Brazilian independence that created the arch-nemesis of the Nation of Libertad.

In this series of articles, I will go through the causes of the Revolution, how it happened, how the Terror Regime converted it into a full-circle revolution, the French Terror Wars, the coup that ensued (I like calling it “Revolution, part 2”), why did they continue the Wars and the Treaty of Amsterdam. I will not continue until the fall of the French Empire, since that’s a story, and history, for another time.

I know that you, my dear French readers, will likely not want to remember the Terror Regime, since it was our darkest hour. It has, however, to be remembered so it won’t happen again, and I will try to tell the absolute truth behind that dictatorship.

However, I’d like to reach readers outside France with this article. Especially Colombians. And yes, I know that writing in French isn’t exactly good for that, so I asked my good Platinean friend Oscar to translate to Spanish this article. I chose a Platinean (I also have friends in Mexico and Colombia itself) because the country’s mostly neutral in the “Colombian question” since most Latin America either don’t like Colombia (Brazil, Peru, Charkas, Mexico) or love it (Chile, Paraguay, Guayana, Central American countries). Though, in second though, Spanish from Plata is so different from Colombian Spanish that they may not understand the translation. I mean, they should be different languages!

I have nothing against Colombia, just that they tend to ignore the fact that French Revolution was what allowed them to be free, similar to how Americans forget that without us, they would still be an English Colony.

Anyway, time to start.

As I was saying, before going to another of my rants about anybody who isn’t French, The Revolution was a very, very important fact in history. Without it, the Spanish Revolution couldn’t have happened. And without that Revolution, Latin America wouldn’t have gained independence. And without that… well, you understand.

To fully understand the revolution, we have to look for its causes. The normal version outside France is “poverty and hunger” which is… quite accurate, in fact. But wait, there’s more!

The French Revolution started with the anger and militancy that rose after France lost the Seven Years War, and with that, most of her colonial Empire to those British. People was angry, but what hurt the national pride and the crown’s credibility most, was the Indian Resistance Movement, founded in French India.

Wait a sec, Jean! French India? Yes, just as you heard it. When we think about India today, we usually think of a British ex-colony, seemingly forgetting the fact that it wasn’t entirely British, at least for a time. When the Seven Years War started, we still had some territories there, and thus, the fighting extended towards the subcontinent too.

It seems that nobody, not even ourselves, expected such a strong resistance. Behind all this was a young and brilliant officer, Charles Florit. He managed to organize the disloyal Indians in an organized and effective combat force, able to hold on the British lines.

He did this by promising to give rights to them, and astounding rewards. The war didn’t go as expected so those poor soldiers didn’t get what they wanted. And quite frankly, I think they wouldn’t have gotten it anyway.

So, even with the resistance best efforts, the British still won and they took all India. Then, “the Purge” started. Every French officer was expulsed, and every Indian who supported the French was deported. The crown said they were a “failure” and thus, not worthy of returning home. Those Indians, even when they were looked down upon (you know, racism and colonialism) fought bravely for France, and the people back in Paris knew it, and several petitions to bring there to the mainland were made. The King refused, and in a very infamous declaration, he said that they didn’t deserve that since they weren’t brave enough.

But what make the public the angrier, was that not only the French Officers in India were exiled from France, but those in Canada and the Generals and Admirals that failed to win were left in their own as well.

Saying people were angry is an understatement. Not only the economy was almost ruined, but the king proved not care about his subjects and when revolts happened, he simply used his army causing more unrest and anger. During this time was when the philosopher Flament wrote his book, “Of Leaders and Kings”. That book influenced French public opinion of the King, as it called for democracy and freedom, while saying the Ancient Regimes were not good enough, using those horrible events as a proof.

The Age of Philosophy started with this book, and several works were published around France, Spain, Netherlands, Austria and Italy. Consciousness rose and the first steps for the revolution were set, but what happened there was not enough. The King still had some credibility and a real revolution was not possible yet.

As for the other consequences, The Big Wave of Immigration to Gran Colombia, then New Granada, started. Why did they went towards there? Because nobody else wanted them. Europe, obviously not and the English colonies were not an option. So the Spanish Colonies were the only destination. Although the crown managed to keep them outside the Caribbean and New Spain, the Indians got to New Granada and Silver River Viceroys, where they faced active discrimination from the peninsulares there. You know the rest of history there- Indians and Natives got angry and later, Criollos got angry. Spain is locked in Civil War and they declare independence, but that’s not what we’re discussing!

Anyway, after that, people seemingly calmed down. Works about freedom were still being published, riots stopped but poverty continued. Then, an international crisis started.

Over what? Over the Colonies? India? North America? An important territory in Europe? Another war of succession? No! The Falklands! Seriously.

They were technically Spanish, but the British wanted them too. Spain, backed by France, decided to go against the British. It almost ended in a war, since for some reason unknown to me (perhaps a port in the Atlantic?) the British wanted them, and they move some ships of the Mighty Royal Navy there. The King feared another war, so he gave the Falklands to the British. Spain was outraged and almost broke relations, while the King’s prestige and popularity dropped.

Again, some philosophical works appeared, saying that the crown wasn’t enough to protect France and her interest. The second step to revolution was taken, as the people were angry at who they thought was a ruthless king, but now also angry at who they thought was an idiot and incompetent king.

Then, the next step was taken when France intervened in the US’ behalf during their Revolution. Not only huge quantities of men were sacrificed, furthering the image of “ruthless crown that doesn’t care for its citizens”, but also enormous sums of the so needed money. And France didn’t even manage a total victory, since at the end we had to literally beg for peace.

The Peace of Paris gave Independence to the US (except New York), but it was a humiliation for France. All those losses, and for nothing! Spain, who once again helped us, was humiliated and angry too, as they’re efforts had nothing as a reward either.

People was very angry this time. The War was hugely unpopular, the crown had lost all its credibility, France was bankrupted and poverty, crime and repression started in masse. But the King and nobles were still enjoying a life of luxury and pleasure.

Finally, all those assemblies that had been reuniting to discuss the king’s incompetence decided to move to the offensive in 1784. We’ll be analyzing how it went in the next chapter and its consequences SPOILER: General Isabey takes power and starts the Terror Regime after he overthrew the King.

 

[MorningDew]

By "except New York", do you mean parts of upstate New York?

 

[ZhugeLiang]

This is a great timeline...

But I don't get why the British are deporting Indians. I don't mean to sound rude, but for the British, it's much more cost-effective to just kill them there. What's the point of the deportations?