Right now, it a wild range. In northern Africa, French and Italian forces are advancing through Tunisia and the Sahara into Ottoman 'Libya', with Franco-Italian naval superiority protecting their coastal supply lines. In the west, a lot of the British colonies and protectorates are under attack or are being subsumed into French West Africa. In the Congo basin, things are still peaceful due to neutral Spain and Germany still being neutral. In the east, the Italian and French colonies on the African Horn are gobbling up British Somaliland the Ottoman-aligned Majerteen sultanate, while also taking potshots at the Egyptian Khedivate. In all, they're doing pretty good for now.
Mixed to negative. The French don't have as many colonies, bases, and troops there as the British. Thankfully, neither do their enemies. The French Carribean are bring pummeled, but their strategy of using speedy gunships are halting the lumbering Royal Navy from taking over yet. Above all, no one wants to provoke the United States.
I... still haven't thought much about French Polynesia But I have been reading up on what to do with New Caledonia, especially since I found out that there are some interesting exiles there. The island is also the reason why Australia had to split their paltry navy and further plod their Papuan campaign.
Actually, I didn't even notice that! I have a feeling a lot of newspapers will make the connection though, much to the consternation of the settlers there.
Just saw that this timeline is nominated again for a Turtledove and I am so thankful to you all for enjoying this work! I didn't think that I would reach this far when I began this, especially with personal issues cropping up partway, so having people out there who enjoyed this is something that I am truly thankful for.
As for the next update, I'm in the middle of writing it now and there's a good chance that it will be a long installment or at least a chunky one. Why?
Well, remember all those European foreigners living in Malaya, Sarawak, and the like? What do you think happened to them?
Belawan Port, Sultanate of Deli, Sumatra (Dutch East Indies), 31 July 1905
Rasim Yusupov only had his one luggage, but he knew he was lucky to even have that.
“Passport.” The inspector droned.
The light of mid-morning casted brilliant shafts onto the wharf floor as he handed his book and documents to let them be examined. After a few inquiries and scribbles, the suited bureaucrat stamped a seal and handed the collective mass to the Russian entrepreneur in the only language they both knew, English. “Welcome to Sumatera. I hope you find your stay here welcome. Next!” Without seeing, Rasim could see the line of expelled expatriates perking their heads.
“I’ll be right behind you.” His wife Yelena said, lugging her only bag.
Walking past the makeshift counter into the opposite hall, he found himself swaying at his feet, partially from sleep and partially at his new surroundings and circumstances.
He had slept through the whole overnight journey on the steamer, and he hardly thought deeply into the implications of their hurried flight from Penang. But now, in the wood, steel, and stone edifice of the arrival hall, surrounded by Dutch signs and Malay letters, Rasim began to feel a deep undertow at his brain, of why did his ten years of business at Georgetown came to a sudden end.
“Come, I think the train station is this way.” Yelena spoke, guiding them both to the adjoining building where the morning express will take them to Medan. To his disappointment, all the first-class tickets were snapped up by the French émigrés (“of course they were.” his wife tutted), but they arrived early enough to obtain the last two second-class seats for the departing train. Settling themselves into their carriage, Rasim wondered if the snobbier displacements in his passport line would stomach a ride among the common folk at the back.
But with the comfort of the enclosed space, came the resurfacing of repressed thoughts. The fact that even the Dutch East Indies now have emergency passport controls told greatly of the regional distrust, further amplifying all that has happened in the previous days. [1] He moaned. “Everything that we have done. For ten years. Gone.”
Yelena turned her head. “It’s not your fault, dear. It’s never that. Not one of us expected the repossession laws, and we never thought the locals would act as they did. The fact that the Penang Commerce Board took the business is proof enough that you were successful!”
“But look at where we are, dear.” Rasim voiced out, looking out at the fields and palms blurred by the train’s motion. “And now we have to do it all over again.”
“Well at least now we know what to do in starting over.” Yelena replied. “And if the British over there consider us a threat because of it, then screw them. Screw them all. We have done nothing wrong in our years of stay at Penang, and whatever the Tsar does back home shouldn’t be taken as a slight against us, or any other Russians or French or whatever new hellcats the British are up against. If they don’t want us prospering and making their towns great, then we might as well kick shit at their faces and take our talents elsewhere where the people do want us. They deserve it.”
Rasim was silent in awe. For what seemed like the umpteenth time, he wondered how fortunate he was to marry such a spirited soul.
Comforted by the exchange, he turned his attention away from the repossession and engaged in small talk with his beloved, glancing now and again at the passing view of eastern Sumatra. As mid-morning led to midday, the tropical sunlight reflected scenes of mangroves and fishponds, market towns and coconut palms, orchards and plantations growing resplendent among paddy fields and river deltas. In less time than imagined, their destination was in sight, and it seemed to take no time at all before Rasim and his love walked down the floor of Medan station, a couple amidst a sea of fleeing emigrants.
There were stalls and pamphleteers taking spots by the station’s entrance, and a strong wind blew off a pamphlet onto his very feet. Picking it up, he saw that it was an advertisement of sorts, calling out for foreigners to invest in one of Medan’s outlying neighbourhoods. Above it all scrawled a series of words that seemed to convey… what?
Kom naar Medan Polonia!! // Venez à Medan Polonia!! // Selamat Datang ke Medan Polonia!!
Rasim’s face dropped. Wait. Looking at the words again, he felt a new kind of emotion well up from inside. Rereading the words, he couldn’t help a bitter chuckle to escape his lips; of all the things that could remind him of his homeland, it was something most Russians don’t want to be reminded of.
“Oh, the irony.” Yelena spoke, herself hardly amused.
Come now to (the district of) Polish Medan!
********************
Khairul Sanivasagam, More than Merchants: A History of the European Communities in Malaya, (Areca, 2006)
…To say that the Great War created a mess out of Malaya’s European communities was an understatement.
By 1904, decades of work by intrepid entrepreneurs and the commercial rivalry between the Crown Colonies of Penang and Singapore to see which port handled the best in trade (which was further complemented with the additional exploitation of the peninsula) had resulted in the islands possessing some of the most colourful European communities anywhere in the Malacca Straits. While British citizens did form the majority of the white population, a thriving French community blossomed in Singapore while a German group of Austrian-Swiss-Imperial businessmen formed an influential bloc in the Penang Chamber of Commerce, holding 11 out of 34 seats in the trade organization [2].
The mainland also saw change. In nearby Johor, Russian consuls were paying court at the sultan’s palace while Italian planters were establishing rubber estates across Perak and Kedah. The largest cities had Armenian Streets and Turkish Quarters, and even a microscopic Jewish presence. The world-famous Esplanade Hotel of Georgetown was run by an Anglo-Polish Ashkenazi, Joseph Przepiórka [3], while Singapore’s Waterloo Street became the site of a Hasidic nucleus and Johor Bahru’s Lorong Yahudi an Ottoman-Sephardic one. From Terang to Malacca, it seemed all the intrepid souls of the Continent, in all its faces, tongues, and faiths, would make themselves permanent here.
But then came the Great War, and all its consequences. The Russian attack on Aceh and the war in Sarawak came as a shock for the ruling British, whom immediately saw these communities as suspect subversives. With the battles for Russian Phuket making the Malacca Strait unsafe, a secret fifth column of Frenchmen or Russians preparing for attack was a stalking fear in the corridors of executives. On the street, the local Malays, Indians, Arabs, and Turks had their own opinions and fears, which lead to shocking attacks on anyone who was suspected of sowing discord during the late weeks of July.
Not surprising then that both Penang and Singapore swiftly instituted the Alien Enemies Ordinance – though it is now more infamously known as the Repossession Laws – which allowed the properties and business concerns of French, Russian, and Italian origin to be confiscated by the colonial authorities [4]. The passing of the act in July 29 coincided with street riots across Penang and Singapore as news of Ottoman defeats whipped the local Muslims into a frenzy, leading to thousands of Russians, French, and Italian residents fleeing the cities, some with only the clothes on their backs. A number of whom were residents since the mid-1800’s, but no longer will the British invite their racial co-equals with open arms.
A fair number in Singapore fled to neutral Johor, where Sultan Abu Bakar promised protection to the escapees. Indeed, the arrival of moneyed businessmen and their families was seen by the royal government as very favorable as it engaged with crash industrialization, and the nationally famous “Ayam Kacak” manufactories of Jean Clouet would find its modern roots in the city [5]. But with public opinion running the other way, and with Johor Bahru beset by rioters of its own, many more fled to the Dutch East Indies…
…As for the seized assets, they were later auctioned to British firms, whom would later use their increased capital to buy out their competitors and further increase their reach in Malaya. Slowly, but surely, the days of European competitiveness began to wane…
********************
Victoria Gea, Dutchmen or Not? The Other Caucasian Foreigners of Colonial Nusantara, (Keroncong: 1999)
…The Great War arrived to Batavia with all the authority of a bomb. The government had not been completely surprised – the sabre-ratting of empires at Indochina and the South China Sea were duly noted with great concern – but dealing with global tensions was a different beat than facing open war.
As the Netherlands remained neutral, so did her colonies, though the practice of ensuring that was an unenviable task for the colonial Dutch. The naval battles near Malaya and Borneo hampered regional shipping, and while the global conflagration ensured a steady flow of inflated profits for raw goods to belligerent alliances, it also inflated the price of rice in the local markets of Sumatra and Borneo, which were less welcomed. Not only that, but the neutral nature of the islands often meant that British, Russian, and even Italian and French cruisers were suddenly steaming to the nearest Dutch-controlled port to escape predatory hunts, which brought the potential of regional war to dangerous levels.
Thankfully, the Dutch navy was of a different beast when compared to her neighbours of Australia, British Malaya, and Sarawak. Comprised of dozens of speedy and hard-hitting destroyers suited for the archipelago, the authorities quickly enforced the rule of neutrality on all belligerent warships: docking rights for only twenty-four hours. When the Russian ironclad Konstantin decided to stay on at Bangka Island, the Dutch quickly made an example of the matter by interning the crew, damaging the warboat, and towing it out to open sea. It was a dangerous move, but it showed the importance of Dutch neutrality to all and served as both a reminder and warning of Dutch naval power. None dared to linger long after that…
…On another note, the Great War also brought some unexpected consequences, the most immediate of which were the exodus of French, Italian, and Russian communities that had once called Malaya home, now driven away by local riots and British repossession laws. A fair number immigrated to neighbouring Sumatra, where the burgeoning cities of Medan and Palembang quickly tried to accommodate their new residents. Java also received a part of the emigrants, though their nature as citizens of belligerent Powers also meant that they were monitored discreetly by Dutch officials for the remainder of the War.
Though small in number, the wealthy and commercial sentiments of these new communities would play a visible part in the East Indies’ development, for good and ill. Some of the mines currently operating in Sumatra were dug under French and Italian bosses and financed by French and Italian capital. Similarly, the stunning tea fields of Bukittinggi wouldn’t have existed if not for the displaced Russian entrepreneurial class and their love of the drink. Architecture was also affected, with the neighbourhoods of Batavia, Bukittinggi, Medan, Palembang, and Surabaya attaining their romantic look from their new neighbours’ taste. Indeed, the Russo-Polish Quarter of Medan is still considered as one of the most visited sites in the region today.
However, there is also a darker side to the influx as the new businesses and plantations gobbled up native lands and resources, particularly in Sumatra. The highlands of Toba in the northern part of the island was especially favoured, yet the territory was in a midst of low-grade war between the Dutch authorities and the Batak people, whom refused to submit for the last twenty years. Now, with a new entrepreneurial class making itself at home, the pressure increased for the government to settle the score and make peace with the Batak, which led to an escalation of hostilities and final death of the Batak leader, Sisingamangaraja XIII, on February 1906. [6]
Afterwards, the lands of the Toba Highlands were divided to favour the new European planters. Missionaries from these groups would also make their mark in converting local souls, hoping to create a native Christian bastion on a majority-Muslim land…
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Excerpt from the handbook: “A Guide to Polish Medan and Sumatra!” by ‘Kolektif Orang Luar’ (Grand Grafika, 2001)
…Our history here began with the great Baron Ludwik Michałowski, a poor and patriotic nobleman who joined the Polish January Uprising of 1863, seeking to free his homeland from Imperial Russian rule. Tragically, the Great Bear destroyed the will of the Polish people and forced thousands of compatriots to flee across the world, Ludwik included.
Escaping to Holland, he went into service for the Dutch government and eventually managed to not only train the troops of Sumatra’s Deli Sultanate, but also gain a concession for a spice plantation at the Dutch East Indies. The place? The growing town of Medan. In 1872, the first house was built here, and Ludwik managed to amass enough initial income to also manage the surrounding lands. He named his new home “Polonia”, the Latin name for his oppressed homeland.
Despite initial setbacks, the spice fields yielded growth, enough so that Ludwik refused to sell his plots back to the Dutch government when they asked. [7] As word of his success grew and spread back to Europe, a stream of Polish men and women decided to try their luck and begin a new life here in Medan, forming the community you see today! Our forefathers built houses and churches that reminded them of home, and cooked Polish recipes using local plants and animals, creating our famous Medan rolls and spiced rasool! (mind the hotness, though!)
From Medan, we fanned out across Southeast Asia. Malayan Penang became our second city, and Philippine Manila our third, yet Medan Polonia was always the heart of our Sundaland community. We opened our doors to our brothers and sisters that journeyed from Europe to their new home at Australia, and some stayed!
Our neighbours had a much different arrival. During the Great War, when the British forced every Russian in Penang to leave, many came over to Medan and the nearby mountains to start anew. Despite our hostilities, these people had little in hand, so we decided to let there be peace and help the Russian Quarter get itself together. In return, our extremely gracious neighbours [8a] gave us a share in their businesses and plantations, though we declined. Besides, we already have our own tea fields at Lake Toba (don’t tell the Russians!)… [8b]
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Peter O’Connell, Sarawak’s White Sarawakians; Our History, Kenyalang (2010)
…The European community in Sarawak was a minuscule one, yet it was a thriving one. Surrounded and outnumbered by Chinese, Peranakan, and Dayak tradesmen, many merchant-adventurers aided each another in times of need while discarding the feuds of their home soils. By 1900, Sarawak had not only the typical British and Dutch trading concerns, but also Italian planters, Spanish botanists, Swiss missionaries, and Danish curators scouting the land for noteworthy artefacts for the capital’s museum [9]. Around two dozen Polish merchants were recorded settling on the coastal towns while the Austro-Hungarian naval base at Miri counted at least 15 Austrians and 5 Hungarians as permanent residents. By 1905, and discounting the Brooke family and their administrative apparatus, more than 450 Whites permanently lived in a nation of over 400,000…
…The expulsion of the Italian community from the kingdom was perhaps unsurprising, given the local shock and outrage after the bombardment of Bandar Charles and subsequent invasion. But what is less mentioned, at least culturally, was how the Astana had relatively little say on the matter.
In fact, the Ranee Margaret was privately concerned over the safety of the 50 or so Italian merchants and settlers scattered across the kingdom. But despite being the titular head of royal power at Kuching for the interim – what with Rajah Charles and her children heading the fight up north – there was only so much she could do to contain the flash mobs that swept through coastal Sarawak. The state’s police force was a small one, and many able-bodied men joined the call to reclaim the northlands and invade Italian Sabah, hollowing out both the law enforcement force and the pool of potential recruits.
As such, there was little she could do to protect the Italian community besides advising the other European residents to shelter them. But after the successive riots at Kuching, Sibu, and Bandar Charles over the month of August, many of them sailed for safer pastures anyway. When the atrocities of the Askaris became known in September, the rest of the community crumbled before local fury and were seen as persona non grata. By October 1, there were no more Italians in the Kingdom of Sarawak…
…After the fall of Italian Sabah, there was much debate on whether the territory should be annexed outright as recompense for Sarawak’s involvement. However, the hurried debates at Kuching and Singapore saw consensus shift to declaring the region an ‘Occupied Territory’, as the still-raging regional battlefronts and relative inexperience of the newly crowned Rajah Clayton saw the Astana erring towards stability, though Sarawakian bureaucrats began to de jure administer the region.
Amongst the main concerns was Sandakan. Once the capital of Italian Borneo, the city of nearly 10,000 was mostly vacated prior to its downfall, leaving the new interim administration with many abandoned shops and villas. With the opportunity at hand, the navies of Sarawak, the British, and the lone Kriegsmarine battleship - the Kaiserin Elizabeth - immediately moved in, while the kingdom’s business class quickly turned the Italian-themed town centre into a riotous cacophony of Malay, Dayak, Chinese, Indian, and Peranakan streets. Soon, they were followed after by British, Dutch, Spanish, German and even Japanese and Polish entrepreneurs.
All of which, of course, was done without paying compensation or restitution for the emigrant Italians now holed up at Zamboanga…
********************
Plaza Hotel, Zamboanga, Spanish Philippines, 8 December 1905
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘THEY WON’T PAY’!!?”
Berenguer Tambunting shifted uncomfortably at the words. “T-t-their response was that, s-since your main property and villa was abandoned when you fled, y-your ownership to both is dissolved and thus seen as void. The Dutch-Sarawak man called it “t-the right of conquest.”
“CONQUEST!!? WHAT IS THIS, THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY!?” His employer roared. “Who do these people think they are!? Stay here! I’ll have you send my papers and deeds to the consulate.” And with that, Berenguer found himself waiting outside his employer’s study, paying full mind to calm his over-stressed heart and leaving as little thought as possible to the irritated footsteps of his former-timber magnate of an employer, who was banging the drawers to assemble his case.
When he was called back, the face behind the desk remained crimson with anger. “Punch the men there if you have to, but do not return unless you received some headway! Tell them that Lamberto Gardella wants his compensation, and that he won’t hesitate to get what he wants!”
And with that, it seemed to take no time at all for Berenguer to hold the papers and exit the luxury hotel. Out on the street, it took a while before he found himself breathing erratically and slowed his sprint; without the presence of the man, he always feel as if he could breathe easier, though he still felt as if a great weight is hanging over his head ever since he started work.
Bastard. Berenguer now regretted his acceptance of the assistant post more than ever. The recent influx of Italian emigrants from Borneo has crammed the city’s hotels, but it had also flushed the streets with opportunity, and working for the wealthiest of them seemed to suit a person of good standing as himself. A well-to-do mestizo with a weak constitution would be perfectly suited for office work, or so he thought.
“What should I do?” he murmured to himself. The men at the Sarawak consulate were firm with him the last time, and from what he’d heard of how the British acted over at Malaya, the former residents of Sandakan probably won’t be getting anything, ever. Then again, explaining that to him would probably end in Berenguer being fired. Or slapped, and then fired.
Looking around, Berenguer looked at the street before him. This part of town was where most of the richer Italians now lived. The hotels and bars were becoming alive now that the afternoon is making way for evening, and the new residents are making themselves seen on the road. Up and down the street, the air was peppered with arguments, laughter, and light conversation as townsfolks and guests jabbered on in a clashing mélange of Italian, Spanish, and Chavacano.
Well, at least there are other jobs available.
____________________
Notes:
As can be seen, this update is focused on the foreign communities of Southeast Asia. Despite there being oceans on ink written on how the colonial minority handled themselves amongst the locals, there’s actually not a lot written on how these Europeans and Americans actually saw each other, and how faraway conflicts both united and separated them. Penang, Singapore, Batavia, and even Sabah all had colourful communities of Whites that ranged from Dutch merchants to Spanish settlers to even an American actress! There were Armenians, Germans, Jews, and Circassians all living and working across the archipelagos during the colonial era, and especially before WWI.
And yes, there really was a Polish nobleman who settled in Medan. Baron Ludwik Michałowski (also spelled as Michalski) was an actual person who settledin Sumatrain the 1870’s. His plantation of Polonia, and the name especially, was so remembered locally that it became the name of Medan’s airport until July 2013! However, good luck finding anything detailed on the internet about him in English, because I tried for weeks. So far, only the German and Polish Wikipedia’s have anything close to a biography on him. Perhaps it’s because of his short time in Sumatra, or perhaps it’s because his true name was actually Ludwik Matyasek (he changed it after getting in involved in the January Uprising).
Some of the things in this timeline are too crazy to even be imagined, if it were not that it actuallyhappened.
Notes are placed under a cut for bring too long, this time.
1. Before WWI, it was generally easy to travel across countries and colonies without a passport, although having one on hand was encouraged. A single passport with the right visas can even transport an entire family across borders. After the birth of modern war, many countries and colonies began to demand paperwork and credible proof for individual travellers. Given the nearby battles and heightened stakes ITTL for Southeast Asia and the D.E.I, the Dutch are taking no chances and have hastily assembled new passport checks for all Europeans.
2. Germans really did form such a bloc in the Penang Chamber of Commerce IOTL. According to More Than Merchants: A History of the German-speaking community in Penang, German residents made up the second-largest European community on the island by the First World War, with several Germans and German firms playing an outsized role on Penang’s development.
3. The TTL name for the Eastern and Oriental Hotel. Penang’s historical Jewish community was truly microscopic, but they did exist right up until WWII IOTL. And despite modern Malaysian anti-semitism, the most recent grave in Georgetown’s Jewish cemetery was recently dug in 2011 to bury Mordecai David Mordecai, a Penang Jewish resident of Baghdadi descent who really did work as a general manager in the Eastern and Oriental Hotel. For some more info, here’s some interesting articles on the cemetery, its caretakers, and the number of Penang’s Jews that lived throughout the centuries.
4. IOTL, they were called the ‘Alien Enemies Winding-Up Ordinance’, and it was applied to all British Crown Colonies during WWI, leading to thousands of German, Italian, and Ottoman merchants being interned and their businesses confiscated. ITTL, the authorities at least allow the ‘alien enemies’ to leave, though not without their entire wealth or possessions.
5. The alternate version of the nationally famous Ayam Brand, which was founded in Singapore by Alfred Clouet. Here, it was his TTL cousin who sailed to Singapore and started the manufactory. When the Great War arrived, he moved the business (and factory) to Johor.
6. Sisingamangaraja XIII is the TTL son of the actual Sisingamangaraja XII, who was a priest-king of the Batak peoples in north Sumatra. He engaged with the Dutch in a guerrilla war that lasted decades, seeking Acehnese help in his resistance to the point of even converting to Islam (though his religiosity is still subject to controversy). ITTL, the independence of Aceh convinced the Dutch to clamp down hard on the Batak, leading to XII’s death and his son continuing the work, sporadically creating uprisings here and there until his death 1906, one year earlier than his OTL father’s death in June 1907.
7. This is where Medan Polonia truly diverged. IOTL, Ludwik obtained a tobacco concession which he sold to a tobacco company in 1879. By all accounts, it was successful, but his wife’s death from the hot climate may have influenced his decision to leave by 1880. ITTL, his spouse lived and he obtained a concession to grow spices which raked in enough of a profit to make him decide to retain the land. Word of his success reached back to Europe, and the rest was history.
8. You know how some tourist brochures and pamphlets gloss over the dark history of controversial places to entice more visitors? This guidebook follows that. These passages are full of faff and bullshit, glossing over (8a.) deep socio-political and cultural animosity, and (8b.) the method of exactly how did the Polish planters obtained local lands, or who originally lived on it.
9. Despite the distance, the OTL Sarawak Museum had a curator that hailed all the way from Sweden (Eric Mjöberg, curator: 1922-1924), who was internationally notorious for illicitly collecting artifacts from the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. TTL, word of Sarawak has attracted a Danish anthropologist to take up the reins during the Great War.
The patterns of the European community in SEA is certainly a marked change from now on. Although from reading the latest chapter, it does give one this vibe that just like WW2, the causes in the background that led towards the conflict have already started brewing. Only marked difference is seeing which European country is going to ally with whom down in the long run.
Well, it's not as if the Polish in Medan are going to tell you that unsexy part of history of how exactly they grew and prospered in a land they migrated thousands of miles to from their homeland for a 'fresh new start.' Migration always has a give and take thing to it. Can't exactly get the good land that you want when there are people already living there, unless something happened that allowed you to get it, and it's all down to choices and circumstances, whether good or bad.
Speaking of which, the Italians that formerly lived in Italian Sabah are likely going to remember what the Sarawakians (and the British) did, should there be a motivation to invade Sabah in the future to 'reclaim what is rightfully theirs' kind of excuse. Considering how they treated the natives and what they created to allow to run amok (Askari), the Sabahans are going to view them the same way as how the OTL Sabahans view the Sulu Sultanate: We don't like you, we really don't want you back, so get out.
Is there an American community in Malaya and Sarawak as well?
There are a few American merchants and botanists taking up shop in Malaya and Sarawak, and both Johor Bahru and Kuching have American embassies. But as of yet, there's been no American notable enough to garner significant attention, save for TTL's Theodore Roosevelt.
EDIT: Consuls, not embassies! There's not enough Americans in both places to garner such! *facepalm*
There are a few American merchants and botanists taking up shop in Malaya and Sarawak, and both Johor Bahru and Kuching have American embassies. But as of yet, there's been no American notable enough to garner significant attention, save for TTL's Theodore Roosevelt.
EDIT: Consuls, not embassies! There's not enough Americans in both places to garner such! *facepalm*
Speaking of consulates, sometimes when you do research and go online, the information gained can be surprising and downright confusing at times.
For instance, in modern day Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, there are 7 and 13 consulates in these two states, respectively. Understandable enough if there are sizeable expat communities and international businesses that gives enough presence to help establish a consulate. But then it baffles you once in a while of which country is in the list... and where the locations of said consulates are at, like where the French and Danish consulates are at in Sabah, for example. The former one is located in an industrial sector while the latter is located in Menggatal of all places.
You really outdid yourself in this latest chapter. Good job! I really enjoyed the Sarawak portion and while it was cruel, its probobly for the best that the Italians were expelled. Italians from what ive seen tend to be ultra nationalistic and if they remained they might have sought independence or welcomed a reinvasion. The sooner the raja asserts sarawaks claim on the area, the sooner other nations will have to acknowledge its de jure hold on the region. Sarawak is primed to take advantage of trade using its geographical position. Im looking forward to any reforms the Brookes have in store for Sarawak, but i can wait.
There's definitely more war in the far east in this timeline, but are there more or fewer people who have been dispossessed, I wonder? One would think that there would be a lot of Germans trying to make their luck in various parts of the British empire by virtue of the Hanoverian connection, still only severed during Victoria's lifetime, as well as good relations and lack of a large colonial empire of their own for the Germans who wish to try their luck in the far east. On the other hand, the French are an old colonial power, who had the first of their own people in place before the borders of the colonial empires were set. I would not be surprised if the numbers of the French and German expatriates were so large that the numbers of other European powers would be comparable to the difference in number between the two alone.
Nitpick: Yurevna is not a Russian first name, it's a "father's name", meaning "daughter of Yuriy". So a woman with the first Name e.g. Yelena and a father called Yuriy Ivanov would be called Yelena Yurevna Ivanova, and if she then married a guy with the last Name Rasimov, she'd be Yelena Yurevna Rasimova. Male father's names end in -(o/ev)ich, the male equivalent to Yurevna would be Yurevich.The normal way of address between Russians who are not close friends is by first name and father's name, and in the early 20th century that wouldn't have been an ucommon form of address even between husband and wife. Only Close friends or close relatives, would use the first name only; using only the father's name is something that only people higher in rank would do with subordinates, or it is also sometimes done humorously.
Speaking of consulates, sometimes when you do research and go online, the information gained can be surprising and downright confusing at times. [...] But then it baffles you once in a while of which country is in the list... and where the locations of said consulates are at [...]
Diplomacy is weird, yo. From what I've skimmed from some reading, a number of consuls in present-day Sabah and Sarawak are honorary consuls; they are citizens of either France or Denmark or any foreign state, but have settled here and are thus selected by their government to represent them locally. Not a career diplomat? Not a problem!
This also means their place of residence or work is a consulate of sorts, though I do wonder at some of the sites they're based. Either Google maps is being fed lousy info, or the French honorary consul is really into marketing and logistics.
Speaking of which, the Italians that formerly lived in Italian Sabah are likely going to remember what the Sarawakians (and the British) did, should there be a motivation to invade Sabah in the future to 'reclaim what is rightfully theirs' kind of excuse.
You really outdid yourself in this latest chapter. Good job! I really enjoyed the Sarawak portion and while it was cruel, its probobly for the best that the Italians were expelled. Italians from what ive seen tend to be ultra nationalistic and if they remained they might have sought independence or welcomed a reinvasion. The sooner the raja asserts sarawaks claim on the area, the sooner other nations will have to acknowledge its de jure hold on the region.
Thank you! And Sarawak's actions pretty much show that her citizens aren't wholly paragons of virtue, even to innocent people. As for Italians being ultra-nationalistic, I will say that a number of historical ultra-nationalists were born in foreign places that were heavily impacted by war. Whether this will mean a chaotic future for Sarawak and Southeast Asia... is something to ponder.
For the people who were expelled, many of them - and particularly former Sandakan residents - won't forget their treatment and expulsion, and some of the richer folks are trying to claw back whatever they can from the Sarawak government, though to no avail. There might even be a few who'll try and head back after the War to reclaim their lost properties or start afresh. For now though, everyone is either holed up in the D.E.I or the Spanish Philippines, trying to get by and praying that these colonies won't go to war.
Sarawak is primed to take advantage of trade using its geographical position. Im looking forward to any reforms the Brookes have in store for Sarawak, but i can wait.
The Spanish-based creole is going to have a lot of new loanwords, and any dimensional-hopping travellers shall be absolutely bamboozled by at how pasta is a heritage cuisine at Zamboanga.
There's definitely more war in the far east in this timeline, but are there more or fewer people who have been dispossessed, I wonder? One would think that there would be a lot of Germans trying to make their luck in various parts of the British empire by virtue of the Hanoverian connection, still only severed during Victoria's lifetime, as well as good relations and lack of a large colonial empire of their own for the Germans who wish to try their luck in the far east. On the other hand, the French are an old colonial power, who had the first of their own people in place before the borders of the colonial empires were set. I would not be surprised if the numbers of the French and German expatriates were so large that the numbers of other European powers would be comparable to the difference in number between the two alone.
In absolute numbers, there are more dispossessed people across Sundaland and the Far East ITTL from the Great War, mainly due to the extra addition of colonial powers and the greater number of European immigrants in the colonies that have since become war fronts.
The Germans do form one of the larger communities here, ranging from the thousands to the tens of thousands due to excellent trade and opportunities from Aceh to the Philippines (the modern-day Ayala Conglomerate was founded by a German ancestor on the paternal side IOTL, and the family is probably present ITTL). But on the global scale, Germany’s overseas empire also occupies a piece of the African Sahel, which will siphon off some investment and attract settlers from some of the more adventure-capitalist types.
But beating them by a league is the French overseas community, whom could only be compared to the British or Dutch in terms of numbers (tens of thousands, though actual numbers are hard to come by). Besides the colonies of Indochina, there were French planters, missionaries, and businessmen across Malaya and the Dutch East Indies as well, with some fluctuating numbers to account for the Europe-Australia migration route. But because of those very numbers, the British are now seeing them as a threat, which has – and/or will – result in a mini-migration of sorts as many Frenchmen try to sail to the more neutral places of Southeast Asia.
Nitpick: Yurevna is not a Russian first name, it's a "father's name", meaning "daughter of Yuriy". So a woman with the first Name e.g. Yelena and a father called Yuriy Ivanov would be called Yelena Yurevna Ivanova, and if she then married a guy with the last Name Rasimov, she'd be Yelena Yurevna Rasimova. Male father's names end in -(o/ev)ich, the male equivalent to Yurevna would be Yurevich. The normal way of address between Russians who are not close friends is by first name and father's name, and in the early 20th century that wouldn't have been an ucommon form of address even between husband and wife. Only Close friends or close relatives, would use the first name only; using only the father's name is something that only people higher in rank would do with subordinates, or it is also sometimes done humorously.
Thanks for the correction. Aside from some hurried linguistic reading, my only knowledge of the Russian language comes from reading fanfiction, so maybe I should've seen this coming.
Speaking of consulates, sometimes when you do research and go online, the information gained can be surprising and downright confusing at times.
For instance, in modern day Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, there are 7 and 13 consulates in these two states, respectively. Understandable enough if there are sizeable expat communities and international businesses that gives enough presence to help establish a consulate. But then it baffles you once in a while of which country is in the list... and where the locations of said consulates are at, like where the French and Danish consulates are at in Sabah, for example. The former one is located in an industrial sector while the latter is located in Menggatal of all places.
Diplomacy is weird, yo. From what I've skimmed from some reading, a number of consuls in present-day Sabah and Sarawak are honorary consuls; they are citizens of either France or Denmark or any foreign state, but have settled here and are thus selected by their government to represent them locally. Not a career diplomat? Not a problem!
This also means their place of residence or work is a consulate of sorts, though I do wonder at some of the sites they're based. Either Google maps is being fed lousy info, or the French honorary consul is really into marketing and logistics.
And compared to the other consulates, the French consulate is the only consulate whose address may or may not be properly verified. I mean if you want to find the consulates for, say, Slovakia or Panama in Sabah, their addresses are properly listed. Either the French don't care or they don't want their consulate in Sabah to be easy to find (considering the occasional French navy ship or submarine visiting by in Seppangar Bay).
Alright, after browsing through my past entries I am really unnerved by how much the timeline's pacing has slowed down. While some parts of it were caused by factors I never foresaw, the fact that it took a year just to cover Sarawak's main part in the Great War really unsettles me. Add in the fact that there are many places still uncovered and several more years of global conflict to plod through, the wartime updates are going to be a tad breezy from here on out. The core portion of the war-narrative (Sarawak and co.) is already finished, and I don't want to spend the next three years documenting what shall happen globally in the next three years.
I'm already writing the next installment, which will be ready sometime next week. Here's a hint: it's north of Southeast Asia.
That's still a question to be seen, but if (and that's a big if) Austria-Hungary dissolves due to the Great War, then Sarawak could revoke their share of the Miri oil field and all the improvements they've made therein. However, the kingdom still doesn't have enough skilled labor or experience running petroleum extraction by themselves, so there's a chance they will grant it back to the successor Austrian state that arises later on. Plus, given that British power in the South China Sea was shattered throughly during the opening months, Singapore might try and wrangle the same concessions out of Kuching to preserve regional and strategic dominance.
But these scenarios hinge on a collapsing Austria-Hungary, and the empire is still kicking around for the moment, albeit in a "dire straits" kind of existence. The permanent residents in Miri are holding their breaths, and the Kaiserin Elizabeth keeps stopping over between the town and Sandakan to soothe the residents' feelings.
The next installment is half done, and I try to finish it by the end of the week. After that, it's to Oceania and Africa, followed by a summary of events and some side chapters to round off the first year.
But I have been reading up on what to do with New Caledonia, especially since I found out that there are some interesting exiles there. The island is also the reason why Australia had to split their paltry navy and further plod their Papuan campaign.
