The Colombian Empire: A (mostly) United Spanish American TL

[moxn]

Hello, everyone. For a few years now I have enjoyed the many fantastic worlds and timelines on this site, but I have never actually created one myself. This will be my first attempt at a timeline, so I'm sure I will make a few mistakes along the way. Hopefully you will bear with me in spite of that

Like a lot of scenarios that I end up making, this timeline will be something of a wank. I know it may not be the most realistic, but I will be satisfied as long as it turns out interesting. Any comments, criticisms, or suggestions would be more than welcome.

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On October 12th, 1807, the first French troops passed into Spain on their way to Portugal. At least, that was what Spanish King Charles IV had believed. For years, his country had been tenuously allied to Napoleonic France, and so he had no quandary with allowing thousands of troops pass through his borders. He could hardly suspect, however, that Napoleon considered the Spanish Bourbons to be untrustworthy allies and so planned to take them out of the equation.

By this point, there had already been increasing tensions within Spain over the growing French influence on its government. While Charles and his wife Maria supported him and dutifully listened to his advice, others in the royal family despised the man. One of Godoy's largest enemies was none other than Charles' own son and heir, Ferdinand. From a young age, Ferdinand hated Godoy and his power over his parents and the nation. Most of Spain agreed, since the upper classes resented being lorded over by a low-born man, the religious were distraught over his confiscation of Church property, and everyone blamed him for the disastrous war with Britain which had destroyed nearly the entire Spanish fleet.

Everything came to a head when Ferdinand's wife Maria Antonietta died under mysterious circumstances. Soon after, Godoy was widely accused of poisoning her in retribution for conspiring against him. Whether this is true or not is still up to debate, but regardless of its validity a real conspiracy began to form against Godoy, and by extension King Charles IV. After Godoy himself warned the king of this conspiracy, Charles had his own son put under house arrest until he could be sure there would be no coup against him. Just as Ferdinand was freed, however, the French troops who had been allowed into the nation finally struck and began to occupy key Spanish cities.

At this point, the royal family, Godoy, and other top government officials fled to Aranjuez, and from there planned to escape to the New World. This is when Ferdinand and his key supporters sprang into action, however. Ferdinand and his allies had mistakenly believed that Napoleon would support his claim to the throne. They had Godoy was imprisoned, and Charles was forced to abdicate in favor of his son. Shortly after this, the French Emperor invited Ferdinand to Bayonne, where any issue of succession would finally be settled.

Little did Ferdinand know that Napoleon planned to replace his troublesome family entirely. The Emperor had planned to put his own brother, Joseph, on the throne, and ensure that Spain would never waver in its loyalty to France. So when Ferdinand finally arrived to the city he was taken captive in the local palace. Ferdinand refused to give up his titles at first, but once his mother and father also arrived and were taken prisoner, he finally gave in.

A political cartoon at the time depicting Napoleon's plot against the Spanish.

The government and people back in Spain refused to recognize their new Bonaparte king, however. The Junta de Gobierno, which was headed by Ferdinand's uncle Antonio and contained all the major ministers of state, continued to recognize Ferdinand as the rightful king and immediately began to resist French occupation.

At the start of the year, Napoleon bragged that he could take all of Spain with fewer than 12,000 troops. By the middle of the year, however, nearly 70,000 soldiers were needed to occupy the nation and they still didn't seem to be enough. During this time, Ferdinand remained a French hostage in Bayonne along with his parents, and a number of juntas had begun to form all throughout the empire claiming to rule in his name. It looked like they would be trapped in France for the remainder of the war. Plans changed, however, by November of 1808 when Charles IV died while in captivity.

The details of Charles' death are still contentious to this day. France and its supporters have always maintained that the 60-year-old man had simply succumbed to his age and the stress of recent events, causing his health to falter and succumb to illness. Spain and its supporters immediately accused Napoleon of having the former king poisoned in order to punish Spain for its resistance, with the clear threat that Ferdinand would be next if they continued to fight.

Ferdinand VII, King of Spain and Prisoner of France.

From this point on, it became the central junta's top priority to find a way to free Ferdinand and protect the rest of the royal line. While Antonio remained in order to lead the resistance, Ferdinand's two brothers Carlos and Francisco finally left for New Spain as was originally planned (his sisters were already living in other countries, and one had even fled to Brazil with the Portuguese court the previous year).

In the late winter of 1809, months of plotting had finally paid off. Ferdinand was successfully freed from Bayonne, thanks largely to the efforts of a woman who worked as his maid while he was kept in the palace. From there, he crossed into Navarre disguised as a commoner, and on more than one occasion narrowly escaping French forces that had been sent to find him. Ferdinand would take great pleasure in retelling the story of his escape for the rest of his life, though he often exaggerated portions when it suited him.

Despite his return to Spain, however, the young king was far from safe. The Junta de Gobierno still feared that Napoleon would recapture Ferdinand and execute him, and so hastily smuggled him out from the country to be with his brothers and other ministers in New Spain. Antonio would continue to rule in Ferdinand's name back in the home country as the new Peninsular Wars burned on.

The Spanish Empire in America in 1809.

And so, from 1809 onward until the end of the war, the Spanish Empire would be ruled from Mexico City. All around the empire, local governments swore their loyalty to Ferdinand as the rightful king, and denounced the Bonaparte pretender to the throne. Not everyone would be happy about the king's arrival to the West, however. Chiefly among them was a prominent Spanish republican figure living in London named Francisco de Miranda, who had sworn to return to his homeland and free it from the tyranny of the monarchy.

 

[Unknown]

Look at Red_Galiray's timeline for some ideas...

 

[Nivek]

So we could get the spanish empire broke in two-three piece, with a monarchist one in mexico-centro america, the titular empire and a nation in southern south america?

 

[Red_Galiray]

Look at Red_Galiray's timeline for some ideas...

Heh, thanks for the bump, but I believe this timeline will take a widly different direction than mine.

Interesting start and premise moxn. I'll definitively follow.

 

[moxn]

Look at Red_Galiray's timeline for some ideas...

Thank you, I have definitely followed their thread and gotten some inspiration from it, but this this timeline will diverge from theirs quite a bit.

So we could get the spanish empire broke in two-three piece, with a monarchist one in mexico-centro america, the titular empire and a nation in southern south america?

It is very well possible, but then so are many other things

Heh, thanks for the bump, but I believe this timeline will take a widly different direction than mine.

Interesting start and premise moxn. I'll definitively follow.

Thank you! Like I said I have gotten some inspiration from your own great timeline, but this one will indeed turn out wildly different (or at least I think it will).

 

[LNSS]

If the Empire survives without being Balkanized, Panama City would make for a more central location for the capital.

 

[moxn]

As soon as word of Napoleon's invasion reached the Spanish colonies, scores of new juntas immediately began to spring up and declare their loyalty to the rightful government of Spain. The vast majority swore their loyalty to Ferdinand, specifically (though a small number in the Rio de la Plata supported his sister Carlota in Brazil instead). In reality, however, a large number of these juntas saw this as their opportunity to achieve much greater autonomy, if not complete independence, and simply claimed to rule in Ferdinand's name as a thin excuse. Some people speculate that if the royal family had never escaped Spain, all of Spanish America would have descended into chaotic revolutions.

Before matters could get out of hand, however, Ferdinand's younger brothers Carlos and Francisco had arrived to America along with a number of important ministers of state. This greatly inhibited the popular support for the independent juntas, and within months most had recognized Carlos as the acting regent. From Mexico City, Carlos would begin reining the colonial governments back in in order to focus on resisting the French and reclaiming Spain.

Not everything would continue on smoothly, however. The initial calls for the formation of local juntas had created some of the first political waves that would eventually become tsunamis. For now, the governments of the viceroyalties simply responded by arresting pro-junta liberals who had signed petitions or made demonstrations. This would strengthen the crown's authority, but only temporarily.

Ironically, Ferdinand's escape from France the following year in 1809 would undo much of the progress made under Carlos and the government in exile. For the first time, many of the elites and citizens alike in New Spain would now have to deal with Ferdinand directly. Ferdinand was a staunch conservative, which alienated many liberals. In particular, Ferdinand supported the continued legal superiority of peninsulares (those born in Spain) over the criollos (those of Spanish descent born in the colonies). The criollos largely felt that because they were racially the same as the Spaniards, they deserved to have all of the same legal rights as them.

The conservatives would eventually find themselves alienated as well. While Ferdinand supported them politically, his brash personality and lack of education often caused him to clash with those around him and fail to earn their respect. The king's very presence in Mexico City had now begun to undermine his own authority. For once, a number of liberals and conservatives had come to agreement on something, since both wished that the war would end and Ferdinand would leave back to Spain as soon as possible.

Mexico City in the early 19th century.


“He has proved himself in many ways the basest king in our history. Cowardly, selfish, grasping, suspicious, vengeful, he seems incapable of any perception of the enormous sacrifices of Spanish people to retain our independence and preserve his throne.”

Retrieved from the journal of a peninsular elite living in Mexico City

Unfortunately for many, the war in Europe would not be over any time soon. Ferdinand and his family would ultimately have another five years to settle in and cement their rule. It was during this time that Ferdinand's two brothers would also start to play a more prominent role in history.

The older of the two, Carlos, was 20 years old when he first arrived in New Spain. He was a very religious young man, and in certain ways even more conservative than his older brother. He enjoyed the power he wielded during his months as regent, but his loyalty to the crown meant that he never plotted to take that power back once he had to give it up. Afterward, he seemed content to remain in Mexico City for the remainder of the war and deal with internal affairs.

The youngest brother, Francisco, was barely 14 years old when he fled with his family. Unlike his brother Carlos, he would not play a large role in early administration and instead continued his education in the courts of New Spain. The mixture of colonial and Spanish tutors exposed Francisco to a wider range of ideas, and also gave him more insight into the inequality of colonial rule.

-

The next two years in New Spain would be mostly uneventful. Militias were organized to support the war against France, the last of the remaining juntas were dissolved, and suppression of the liberals intensified. This merely caused more and more tensions to build, however. One of the largest points of tension would develop in Caracas.

In 1807, a young Venezuelan republican named Simón Bolívar returned from his travels to his city of birth, and over the years slowly amassed a small following of like-minded people. He would often host small parties where men from the local elite families would mingle, discuss politics, and ultimately plan on how best to oust the Bourbon family. They would be forced to act on these plans sooner than expected, however, when Ferdinand ordered further crackdowns on liberal forces in 1810. Arrest warrants were issued for several prominent party members. Facing, exile, imprisonment or even execution once their plot was uncovered, Bolívar and his men instead chose to act and began their revolution. Their first act was to gather the manpower and resources they had managed to organize up to that point and storm a local jail where many political prisoners were held.

The rebel band sent messengers far and wide to try and encourage other regions to join them. Among the messages sent, one was to Francisco de Miranda, who had been staying in Haiti the year prior trying to find foreign support once again. By the time Miranda would arrive in Caracas with a small Haitian militia, the city had already fallen to the rebel forces. This period would mark the beginning of the Republicano Wars.

 

[moxn]

If the Empire survives without being Balkanized, Panama City would make for a more central location for the capital.

While it is a good modern location, unfortunately I think disease would be a very large problem for any city there at that time. A lot will depend on what the future country's borders look like.

 

[Red_Galiray]

Thank you! Like I said I have gotten some inspiration from your own great timeline, but this one will indeed turn out wildly different (or at least I think it will).

The Spanish monarchy going into exile to the Americas will be a huge butterfly because most independence movements before the First Venezuelan Republic swore that they were only taking command on behalf of the king and repetedly stated their loyalty to him. Of course, some like Miranda and Bolivar were always pro-Independence. I think you did a very good job of portraying that in the latest chapter. Anyway, I am eagerly waiting to see what are your plans for those two. Both Miranda and Bolivar were very interesting and complex figures.

 

[moxn]

The Spanish monarchy going into exile to the Americas will be a huge butterfly because most independence movements before the First Venezuelan Republic swore that they were only taking command on behalf of the king and repetedly stated their loyalty to him. Of course, some like Miranda and Bolivar were always pro-Independence. I think you did a very good job of portraying that in the latest chapter. Anyway, I am eagerly waiting to see what are your plans for those two. Both Miranda and Bolivar were very interesting and complex figures.

I agree, and I think the entire region will turn out very different because of it. I've been trying to keep the historic figures realistic, with their personalities and goals in mind, but still hope I am not being too harsh or negative on anyone (like Ferdinand and... well mostly Ferdinand).

Thank you again, and I hope I don't disappoint with the next chapters.

 

[moxn]

“Like other prominent Spanish rebels, Francisco de Miranda has long been one of the most controversial figures in Colombian history. For many, he represents the dream of a united and free Hispanoamérica, and is still revered by Latino republicans to this day. To Royalist historians, however, he is often painted as an inept intellectual who was more proficient at talking about independence than actually making it come about. What divides the two factions the most, however, is on how to judge his legacy following the end of the First Republicano War.”

Gabriel Costa, University of San Marcos Press

Flag of the Venezuelan Republicans, it would come to represent republicanism all throughout Latin America.


From the very beginning, the republicanforces faced major obstacles. One of the largest problems was their lack of support from both the peninsulare and the mixed-race citizens. The majority of the republican forces under Bolívar and Miranda were made up of the local criollos who were concerned with affirming their own rights first and foremost. Peninsulares were afraid of losing their protected status, and non-criollos rightly suspected the rebels of being unconcerned with their lower statuses. For indios, mestizos, pardos, and others who did seek equality, they did not look to elite slave owners like Bolívar. Because of this, the rebel forces were never able to gain popular support like they had hoped.

Another issue often brought up by historians is the lack of a united republican front. There remained deep schisms in its leadership, which mostly stemmed from the tensions between Bolívar and Miranda. While Miranda had a long military career and spent years planning for this rebellion, Bolívar was the main financial backer of the rebellion and commanded a larger role in its leadership. The young man would often butt heads with Miranda, whom he saw as being too cautious, too old for his position, and too set in his ways. Miranda, in turn, thought that Bolívar was too brash and lacked the finer skills needed for diplomacy outside of the battlefield.

Over the next two years the republicans would launch a guerrilla war against the Spanish government. While they remained centered in Caracas, they largely operated in the sparsely populated countryside and became known for their strikes from the jungles and mountains. In this time Bolívar would quickly rise further up the rebel ranks and began to directly lead attacks against Spanish strongholds. His natural charisma and string of victories made him popular within the army, while more and more soldiers became alienated from Miranda's harsh treatment and willingness to retreat.

Initially, the Spanish forces left in the region were taken by surprise and fell into disarray. But by mid-1811, republican momentum would start to dissipate as reinforcements started to arrive from the other viceroyalties. On paper, the king's brother Carlos lead the forces sent to retake Venezuela. In reality, however, Carlos largely delegated leadership to general Domingo de Monteverde and was content to simply take credit for the mounting victories.

For the next year, the republicans would be on the run. Valencia, Tocuyo, Barinas, and other cities returned to loyalist hands, and the rebel leadership in Caracas feared that they would have to flee into exile just as Miranda had done before. In their desperation, they began to look more and more to Bolívar and his more daring plans to retake the lost towns. They had had enough of Miranda and his overly-defensive strategy, and in March of 1812 they finalized their plans to call Miranda back to the city and place his troops under Bolívar's leadership. Before the message could reach the old fighter, however, tragedy would strike.

On March 28th, 1812, the last hopes of the republicans crumbled. A massive earthquake struck the city of Caracas, upending nearly all its buildings and killing tens of thousands of its inhabitants. Many prominent leaders perished in the quake, but none of the deaths would hurt the cause more than Bolívar himself. Many historians writing about this period would speculate over what would have happened had the young revolutionary survived.

The people of Caracas search for survivors in the ruins of their city.

For the loyalists, the catastrophic earthquake was nothing less than the act of God. They could not have hoped for a greater piece of propaganda to rally the people behind them, and after this point more and more local militias would volunteer to join Monteverde's army, while more rebel forces began to desert. Miranda would be devastated over the destruction of his city of birth and of the deaths of his compatriots. Many soldiers around him would write in their journals that he became more dour and despondent after that point. Miranda would call for another retreat to the town of Maturín, where he planned to reorganize and convene with the surviving republican leadership.

Once in the eastern town, they would not have long to settle in. A rebel commander named Manuel Piar had departed from Maturín shortly after arriving. Over the war, Piar had grown disillusioned with the revolution due to the racial discrimination he faced from the criollo elites (Piar's mother had been a mulatta woman). After Miranda's troops had been pushed back and the earthquake had struck at the heart of the rebellion, Piar could see the writing on the walls and defected to the loyalists.

The defector Manuel Piar. Following his pardon, he would continue to support greater rights for the non-white classes.

Monteverde was determined not to put this information to waste. He sped his army along, afraid that the rebels would catch wind of his approach and flee before he had a chance to arrive. On June 11th, 1812, his army would successfully surround the town and finally forced Miranda to surrender. This day is often considered the official end of the Republicano War, but it would be several more months before the last of the remnant rebel forces were defeated. Most of the republican leaders would be executed, while Miranda himself would spend the rest of his days in a prison in Cádiz.

Although peace had finally been restored, it would not be long before the empire would see violence again.

 

[moxn]

Overall, 1812 would prove to be a high point for Spain. While the Republicano rebels were defeated in the West, British forces began a major offensive to help the Spanish repel the French and retake Madrid, Salamanca, and other key areas. By year's end, the Grand Armée's defeat at the hands of the Russian winter marked the beginning of the end for the Corsican Emperor.

1812 would also see several concerning trends for Spain. While Ferdinand and his brothers had successfully escaped and continued to run the empire from Mexico City, preventing the government from fragmenting apart, he still ruled Spain itself in absentia. This allowed liberal factions to flourish, at least compared to their compatriots in the colonies. Even while they helped fight the French invaders off, they were greatly influenced by the ideals of the French revolution and enlightenment. They hoped that their common struggle against invasion would create a greater sense of national unity that would give them a chance to further their progressive goals. However, those hopes would be dashed against the reports of liberal purges and suppression in the viceroyalties and Ferdinand's plans to maintain his absolute rule.

Back in New Spain, General Monteverde and his men would return from Venezuela fresh off their victorious campaign. Despite his leadership, however, much of the credit for crushing the rebels would go towards the king's brother, Carlos, who received the title of Captain General of America. Monteverde would not forget this snub any time soon.

Tensions would also develop within the royal family itself. While both Ferdinand and Carlos were staunch conservatives, their younger brother Francisco had been exposed to the writings of Voltaire, Locke, and others, and became more influenced by their philosophies. This would spark contentious fights with his brother Carlos, who said that while he was risking his life to put down traitors, Francisco was safe back at home studying their works.

Despite this, Francisco was hardly a liberal, let alone a revolutionary. He naturally continued to reject the republican ideology that wanted to overthrow his family, and simply came to hold more moderate monarchist views. Generally, he was not especially interested in politics and found more interest in the arts and, now that he was beginning to enter adulthood, travel. After 1812 he would be found visiting several cities around New Spain, and eventually an interest in the arts and ruins of the ancient Inca drew him to Peru. He would be the first in his family to step foot in that land.

The young Francisco.

Even though the republicans of Venezuela were beaten back, their ideology continued to live on. Those who survived the political purges continued to hold secret meetings and form their own plans against the monarchy. The two regions with the largest unrest would be Mexico, with the greatest imperial oversight, and the Rio de la Plata, the area with the least.

In the north, tension would arise from the criollo class who had up to that point enjoyed local prestige but always played second fiddle to the peninsulares. With the surge in immigration from Spain and the heavy hand of Ferdinand's rule, many feared that there would never be true equality between white citizens (few cared about the non-white majority). Further south, secret plots against the crown stemmed from the demand for greater autonomy. The Southern Cone had always been a remote end of the empire, and in practice they had enjoyed a greater deal of local autonomy as a result.

The highpoint for the Spanish Empire would end in 1814, when Napoleon was taken prisoner and Ferdinand decided to finally return to his homeland. It was in this state of transition back to Madrid that the building resentment against the king would finally erupt in what would be known as La Ruptura.

An unenthused Napoleon being sent into exile.

 

[TimTurner]

Watched!

 

[moxn]

Watched!

Thanks

I hope I'm moving things along realistically so far. Part of me is worried I'm skimming over things too quickly, and another part is worried I'm getting too caught up in some details.

 

[luis3007]

The viceroyalty of Peru was always the most staunch loyalist one, in OTL they delayed the independence in South America by several years fighting against the revolutions in Granada and La Plata, and had to be invaded twice from south and north to defeat the Spanish loyalists.

Give them equality between criollos and peninsulares, and they will willingly and gladly be your chief enforcers in South America.

 

[moxn]

The viceroyalty of Peru was always the most staunch loyalist one, in OTL they delayed the independence in South America by several years fighting against the revolutions in Granada and La Plata, and had to be invaded twice from south and north to defeat the Spanish loyalists.

Give them equality between criollos and peninsulares, and they will willingly and gladly be your chief enforcers in South America.

Things in Latin America will definitely change since the majority of the juntas never formed and some of the most ardent republicans are dead or imprisoned. While Peru will remain loyal, the question will be who they will remain loyal to. Hopefully it all makes sense with the next updates

 

[moxn]

The powder keg that King Ferdinand had left behind in America would hold together for nearly two years after his departure for Spain in 1815. With his brother Carlos still in Mexico City as the acting regent, the persecution of liberal agitators diminished but still continued. This repression is what helped maintain an uneasy status quo.

When Ferdinand finally came back to Madrid, he did not like what he saw. While the Junta de Gobierno had maintained a central authority on the peninsula in his name, liberal forces had managed to better organize in his absence. Despite their requests for his return to the homeland for years at that point, they were not particularly excited over his arrival. The king, perhaps rightly, feared that the liberals would rally around an upstart general named Juan O'Donojú and attempt to limit his powers, or even overthrow him entirely.

The spark that finally lit everything off came early in the year 1817. For the last few years, King Ferdinand had decided the Spanish colonies would need to contribute even more to the empire in order to fund rebuilding the homeland and increasing the size of the military to protect against any rebellions or coup attempts. This meant higher taxes for the criollos, mestizos, and others, higher tributes paid by the various indios, and even higher tariffs for all. Perhaps most controversially, it also entailed further confiscations of property.

For many people across the continent, it became clear that even with King Ferdinand back in Spain, there would be no changes to the outdated system and no rewards for their contribution to the war. So long as the conservative monarchy remained in power, any desires for equality, autonomy, or even representation would forever fall on deaf ears.

It is here that Father Miguel Hidalgo entered the picture in the city of Dolores, New Spain.

Hidalgo leading the march on Mexico City.

Even before the war, Hidalgo had been at odds with the conservative leadership and popular with the common man. He had been an advocate for elevating the destitute in Dolores from their poverty by teaching people various crafts, ranging from beekeeping to wine cultivation to leather making. This caused him to run into trouble with the law, which tightly controlled the colonial economy and prohibited expanding these new industries. He would also butt heads with the religious authorities as well as the secular. Despite his vows to celibacy as a priest, Hidalgo had fathered five children and was known to enjoy gambling and dancing. This often caught the attention of the inquisition, though he never faced serious charges.

His most egregious crime, however, were the liberal views he espoused. During the frequent purges, Hidalgo had finally been targeted by the government and had his three haciendas confiscated by the state. When he still continued to support government reform, a warrant was finally put out for his arrest. Once the townspeople heard of this, however, they refused to turn him in to the authorities. For several tense days, Hidalgo was taken in to their homes and remained hidden, until his appearance in the town square on February 12th. It was there that he gave his now famous speech to the citizens of the town, provoking them to gather their arms and march on the capital to make their voices heard. Armed with old rifles, farming equipment, and machetes, thousands of people began their march to Mexico City, and with every town they passed their numbers grew.

Prince Carlos would never get the chance to hear their demands, though it's unlikely he would have been open to negotiations. While the thousands marched under Hildago, Carlos quickly tried to organize an army to crush them and defend the city. During these preparations, he made an appearance in one of the city barracks, where a young soldier named Manuel Antonio Acosta was stationed. Acosta had been a liberal sympathizer, especially since his own brother had died in a colonial prison. Once he heard the news of Hidalgo's march, he believed the time had come to throw off the chains of tyranny and cut the head of the snake off directly.

When the Prince walked past him with his small retinue of bodyguards, Acosta produced a pistol and got off a single shot. Nearly instantly the guards turned on him and struck him down, but the initial shot was all he needed. The bullet had pierced the prince's chest and mortally wounded him. While Acosta was instantly killed, Carlos would cling to life for another three days before passing. The leadership of New Spain was left in disarray from these events. Two factions soon coalesced as a result.

The injured prince was quickly moved to a bed by his guards.

The first rallied around José de Iturrigaray, the former viceroy of New Spain. Iturrigaray had been disliked by the king, stemming from the fact that he had served under and later been appointed to his post by Godoy, the previous Prime Minister who was dearly hated. Iturrigaray also became unpopular with the peninsulares due to his perceived favoritism of the criollos. Despite this, he had been an able statesman and continued to serve the crown in exile. With the king back in Spain, the regent now dead, and a mass uprising on their hands, Iturrigaray let his liberal sympathies be known and attracted those in the leadership who agreed with the demand for reforms and greater autonomy, though he disavowed any calls for overthrowing the king.

The elder Iturrigaray, who was already pushing on 75 during the uprising.

The other faction would be lead by Francisco Venegas. Venegas had a long military career, and had come out of retirement during the Peninsular war. As the united front against the French began to fail, however, he joined many other elites in America to be in direct contact with the king. Venegas was a staunch supporter for the crown's absolute rule, and easily gained the support of the conservatives in the leadership who wanted nothing more than to destroy the uprising and weed out any treason within their ranks.

Venegas had long been a supporter of the conservatives, absolutists, and peninsular elites.

 

[moxn]

Any comments or criticisms on the last few updates?

 

[Sceonn]

I don't think simply grouping the parties in two will work, esp. given the size we're working with. There will be multiple smaller, and perhaps regional parties making cooperation a necessity to achieve majority. The Royal Supporters should do badly among the general population methinks.

 

[moxn]

I don't think simply grouping the parties in two will work, esp. given the size we're working with. There will be multiple smaller, and perhaps regional parties making cooperation a necessity to achieve majority. The Royal Supporters should do badly among the general population methinks.

A fair point Regionalism is going to be a major factor, but so far the crisis is centered around Mexico City and the elites there. In my next update I plan to touch on what's happening in the other Viceroyalties and how they will react. Technically speaking, both factions still support the monarchy, one side simply wants to see reform while the other wants to maintain the status quo. Generally, I think the criollos and mestizos would largely support reform, while the peninsulares would be a bit more split but mostly support the conservatives. The indios and various black and mixed-race people will probably vary, but they did tend to support the royalty OTL because they felt the criollos were only looking out for themselves and would oppress them even worse in an independent nation. Whether that plays out the same here will have to be seen.