The Red Crowns: An Imperial Tale

[Kinny Riddle]

Is it really possible for Marxism to be big enough in China for it to establish a regime before Europe? And this early (1908) as well?

OTL Chinese Communist Party wasn't even founded till 1921, which is of course co-founded by Li Dazhao. But that was after years of observing how other Marxist networks succeeded overseas, especially Russia.

 

[Major Crimson]

Man, Serbia's (Gun-shaped!Serbia) and Bulgaria's borders (Square!Bulgaria) look really weird. Also has A-H federalised?

It is all rather odd looking isn't it but feasible I hope. As for AH no, that's just the internal administrative divisions, not necessarily federal states.

Well China's turning into an even bigger cluster than it was OTL. Might be an opportunity for Russia to regain some of its prestige while France is locked out further from anything in Asia. A good set of updates there with the world really changing from OTL.

Cheers! Yeah poor china, it won't be short and it definitely won't be sweet. Russian influence is a definite, there's no way they aren't regaining some prestige as well as a good chunk of land. It's nice to be far enough away from PoD that the world is starting to become that bit less recognisable...

Is it really possible for Marxism to be big enough in China for it to establish a regime before Europe? And this early (1908) as well?

OTL Chinese Communist Party wasn't even founded till 1921, which is of course co-founded by Li Dazhao. But that was after years of observing how other Marxist networks succeeded overseas, especially Russia.

Valid points and I'll make it more clear in an edit; they have the backing of at least one major (as in important, not as in rank) general, the young elite and have been pushing their rhetoric on the poor for a while. Frankly, if you're a poor peasant farmer, the Marxists are probably going to seem more appealing than the right wing republic.




Sorry chaps and chapettes, no update today. Life is just blegh at the minuite and school work is driving me nuts, as is real work. Anyway I'll try and do one for tommorow, internal Russia stuff methinks and then things will be heating up, so to speak...

 

[CieloPane]

Are there any differences in the European populations in North Africa or is it pretty much at the same level as OTL?

 

[Major Crimson]

Chapter Thirty Two: Not a One is Worthy of My Russia

Extract from The Four Georges: The Kings who Made the World
By Peter Russou, UBC Press


Russia, today, is not a place known for radical change, nor for fastness in any real capacity but that has not always been the case. If you took a Russian from 1896 and showed him the Russia of 1908, he would scarcely know where he was. Tsar George is a controversial and divisive figure in any discussion but there is no doubt that he changed Russia forever. The Short War came close to beaking the empire and the one thing holding it together seemed to be the Tsar, a man more than willing to make grand and decisive reforms. Any and all military control over the civillian government died in 1896 with the Separation of Powers Bill, which was put through the Duma (then a largely powerless body but still technically the sole executive body) by George and his supporters in the Kadets. George completely reshuffled his cabinet a few months later, the famous “Young Administration” (so called as not a single member of the new cabinet was a day over 45) brought in radical changes across the board, starting by opening up the Russian Economy to foreign investments, as well as providing tax breaks and even monetary incentives to those wishing to develop industry in Russia. This, combined with the Americo-Russian Economic Treaty of 1899 led to a huge influx of foreign (particularly American) capital. Russia famously, at the order of the Tsar himself, became the first nation to produce Cloudskiffs on an industrial scale and would follow this up a few years later, opening the first Auto factory (outside of Germany) in 1907. Though Britain, Germany and America outperformed Russia consistently, by ‘05 she had become the world’s fourth largest producer of steel and by ‘06 she overtook France to become the world’s fourth largest industrial power. The economy too saw a great boom and finally, the Russians began to develop a middle class.

Few predicted Russia's industrial blooming.​

With success in abundance, rioting and dissent dropped exponentially. Socialist groups such as the SDLP fell in popularity, though such groups had of course been illegal since the assassination of Tsar Nicholas. The parties of Russia consolidated further, the Constitutional Democrats (referred to as the Kadets by most) were in power from 1900 until the Grand Reform Bill of 1907, whilst the Farmer’s Liberal Party (a small group that came as close to Socialism as one could without being locked up) and the Panslavic Union (a nationalist group, occasionally in coalition with the Kadets) stood in opposition. In truth though, the Tsar held nigh on absolute power, the Kadets were loyal to George and so were the people. Those in government were typically young and upcoming lawyers, businessmen and forward thinking aristocrats, each hoping to catch the eye of the Tsar. The armed forces were completely reshuffled in 1904 and the Command structure uprooted and replaced with a new, innovative one; less ranks and considerably more bottom heavy, field commanders were now encouraged to make decisions on the fly. French, American and even Austrian trainers were brought in to retrain their Russian counterparts in trench and urban warfare and Russian versions of the British Maxim Gun and French Canon de 75 artillery piece provided modern weaponry for this new army. The Grand Reform Bill is seen by many as Russia’s reconfirmation as a power as despite their embarrassments in the Short War and the Rumelian Conflict the Russian were once again seen as a stable, strong world power despite remaining heavily in debt. The Bill ended the 9 years of “paternalist governance” when the Tsar’s will was law and everything else was essentially trappings. The Duma returned as a legislative body whilst Russia’s border regions gained autonomy and government bodies were heavily consolidated.

A Government Reborn, the Russian Duma was back in power.​

All seemed well in Russia but the Tsar himself is so often ignored; his shift from a Liberal Reformer in the 1890’s, to a reluctant absolutist during the short war and then a decisive and occasionally heavy handed Emperor in the 1900s is fascinating, as is his inability to sire a child, though it is likely his wife who was infertile, not the man himself. As he aged the Tsar became more cynical, particularly in terms of his family, whom he came to see as decadent and foolish. In 1909, on the brink of war and when asked by General Aleksei Brusilov about who should follow him in the event of his death the Tsar said; “Who should? Michael (his brother and heir-presumptive) is probably knee deep in a French woman as we speech, Uncle Vladimir is even worse a leader than he is a painter and Alexei can barely command a ship, never mind an empire. You ask me who should succeed me? Not a one of them. Not a one is worthy of my Russia.”

The Tsar aged rapidly in the early years of his reign.​

 

[Major Crimson]

Are there any differences in the European populations in North Africa or is it pretty much at the same level as OTL?

Fairly similar; though certainly a bit higher, a more economically developed Africa as well as further hardships in France particularly will encourage emigration as well as earlier Italian and Spanish settlements means bigger settlements developing earlier.

 

[Major Crimson]

Hey everyone, I'm working on tommorow's update as I type this but i wanted to ask, how are we going for believability at the minute? The early Marxism in China was raised but I wonder what people are thinking about Germany and Russia? Also; do we like what we see ATM? Quality is important to me and I want to ensure that I'm delivering good stuff and on that note is there anywhere else we'd like to see more of? I plan on doing something on Mexico in the near future but I am aware that certain spheres have been ignored, so what region would you like to see?

Anyway thanks everyone for reading and for making the TL the success it has been so far!

 

[King of the Uzbeks]

Hey everyone, I'm working on tommorow's update as I type this but i wanted to ask, how are we going for believability at the minute? The early Marxism in China was raised but I wonder what people are thinking about Germany and Russia? Also; do we like what we see ATM? Quality is important to me and I want to ensure that I'm delivering good stuff and on that note is there anywhere else we'd like to see more of? I plan on doing something on Mexico in the near future but I am aware that certain spheres have been ignored, so what region would you like to see?

Anyway thanks everyone for reading and for making the TL the success it has been so far!

I like the idea of a broad Latin America update. Or something about alt-Antarctic Exploreation

 

[Major Crimson]

Chapter Thirty Three: The Widening Gyre

Extract from: The Long War; How and Why

By Peter O'Toole, PUblished by Dublin Print, 2021

Kaiser Frederick is widely regarded as one of Germany’s most intelligent and well loved leader and his unexpected death in mid 1908 came as a great shock to the Empire and the world. Coming just months after the disastrous Prussian Coup, Germany wasn’t quite sure how to respond. Never the less, on the 17th of April 1908, Kaiser Henry VIII was crowned as King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany. Henry had never been trained to be King, nor had he had any real desire for the role; finding passion only in the Imperial Navy. Unlike his erratic and presumably deranged brother, Henry was reasonable and popular, not only across North Germany but also in the Anglosphere. He was seen as a good successor for his father and the coronation was not only attended buy the entire British Royal Family but also the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George as well as many other British figures. The coronation followed his father’s funeral by only two days, it was a lavish affair again with famous guests from the whole world. The nation went into mourning, Frederick had turned Germany into a genuine democracy, he had persued a path of peace and he had made the lives of ordinary Germans more prosperous than ever. As Germany laid to rest one of it’s greatest rulers, the nation wept but Britons stood at their side. It is then quite a mystery, how young King Henry was able to completely ostracise those foreign nations who loved his so well.

The HMS Leviathan, the ship that tore nations apart.​

There were two great naval arms races of the early 1900s, commonly referred to as the Northern and Southern Arms Races. The Southern one took place primarily in South America, where the Empire of Brazil and Republics of Argentina and Chile all competed to expand their navies. Britain too began expanding their navy, to reduce the threat of these rising powers and secure her hold on the South Pacific. The Brazilians and Argentinians far outstripped their Chilean counterparts and by 1908 both had produced 2 Leviathan class Battleships, whilst the Brazilians were working on another four and the Argentinians another six. Tensions grew high between the two nations as the years went on, though the South American conflict would very much be put on the back burner as things in Europe amped up. Under Kaiser Friedrick, Germany had been wary of challenging British naval might; preferring to specialise in their Army and avoid antagonising their counterparts in London. Despite this, four Leviathans had been laid down, in comparison to the British nine (including the original, American four, French two and Russian one. The Reichsmarine and the Royal Navy had both been warning their governments of the potential threat that the other posed and only the insistence of one Major Churchill, a popular supporter of the Liberal government within the British Armed Forces, made the Fabian-led Government explore any sort of expansion at all. The issue really arose when Henry as King ordered that Germany would have “a fleet to shake the heavens so that the apples might fall into German hands”. He ordered the production of 15 new battleships, 6 of which were to be Leviathans. The British government was outraged, such a huge increase in naval production, particularly in one lump order, an order that would be the biggest single naval expansion in history. The “Titanen Crisis”, named for the new class of German Leviathan, resulted in an emergency meeting between Lloyd George and members of the German Government on the 21st of May. They met at Dusseldorf and there they attempted to hash out a Treaty to regulate the tonnage of the two Empire’s navies. The talks went on for four days; the British wanted the Reichsmarine to be capped at 40% of the RN and limited to 10 Leviathans whilst the Germans wouldn’t settle for any less than 75% and 30. The talks proved futile and the British walked out on the 26th. The split would be worsened by Henry’s insistence that this was only the beginning of the nation’s naval expansion and that soon, no navy could stand before Germany’s. Henry's antagonising was not deliberate, by all accounts the man was reasonable, kindly and intelligent, it was merely his personal fascination and devotion to the German navy that drove him to such rash actions.

The Kaiser, Shortly after his coronation​

Later that month, Prime Minister Lloyd George made a joint announcement with King Edward, promising the British people that “in ten years, the Royal Navy shall include no less than fourty of the finest, most powerful vessels of the sea”. The escalation continued throughout the year and Anglo-German relations permanently damaged. By the time push came to shove in Europe, the great Germanic Brothers had become bitter rivals indeed. Though the period of peace lasted for little less than a year, Britain sank back into her splendid isolation and looked both across the Atlantic and to their friends in Japan for a new alliance. The “Pacific Three” became a popular term for a while and and Anglo-American-Japanese alliance seemed on the cards. In June a meeting was geld in Vancouver, attending by Canadian, British, American, Australasian and Japanese delegates discussed a free trade zone involving said powers, as well as a forum to discuss grievances and mediate on issues occurring in the pacific. There the fate of China was discussed, though little was actually decided upon. The meeting itself seemed to prove the viability of a Pacific Three Alliance. Germany meanwhile was left shaken, her alliance with Italy stood strong, though the Italians were a shaky military presence at best. In order to compensate, Kaiser Henry signed the Baltic Cooperation Treaty in July 1908, greatly tightening the already close relations between Germany and Scandinavia, as well as the Balkan-German Declaration of Friendship, between themselves and the Baltic League. New alliances were taking hold in Europe and now the world stood divided, the Double Entente was the closest alliance and the one most ready for war whilst the Central Bloc (a growing term for Germany and her allies) had elite armies and impressive industry. Meanwhile the Pacific Three looked on in horror, as Austria and Turkey stood at the sidelines, Europe began it’s descent into madness on a chilly day in Warsaw.

 

[Major Crimson]

I like the idea of a broad Latin America update. Or something about alt-Antarctic Exploreation

Sure, I'll approach those in the next update. We had a bit on Latin America today but I'd like to do more depth.


So guys, we're moving on to big things! There should be a map up tommorow, showing the tentative alliances that are starting to emerge and after that it's full speed ahead to crazy town.

Enjoy!

 

[King of the Uzbeks]

Lets see this crazy stuff.

 

[5000 Cows]

... well then. Just as everything was looking nice and things looked like they could be be peaceful (with the great powers at least), this happens. It can't be said you haven't left us ominous forshadowing that illustrated that things would go bad, but I confess I never saw it coming in a manner like this.

Bravo sir.

 

[Pannonius II]

Oh Austria-Hungary, don't do anything stupid,but I know it's tempting.

 

[Komnenos002]

I wonder how the various factions in the German parliament / political elite reacted to the Kaiser's naval expansion. The situation is far different from OTL with an Anglo-German rapport. A rapport that's been thrown away to expend huge sums on a navy that's always going to be second best.

Hopefully the UK manages to avoid any general European war. The revenue from selling to both sides and the lack of death / strained resources might give it the means to modernise and rationalise its fairly outmoded industries (an issue it struggled with until well after WW2 IIRC). I will defer to someone who has greater understanding of the UK's industrial situation though, I only have a passing awareness of the matter.

 

[Major Crimson]

Here we are chaps, the Alliance system of late 1908. As you can see, the Pacific Three are fairly dominant, at least in the East but they're less an alliance and more a group of major, non-interventionist powers that want to preserve their own power bases. The two "real" alliances though are fairly evenly matched, though I'd probably give it to the Entente in terms of initial strength and Italy are, well Italy.

Anyway, Red is Pacific Three, Yellow is the Bloc and Blue is the Entente. Paler colours are tentative allies whilst brighter is definite/official members.

EDIT:
Shit, I defo missed some stuff.

 

[Major Crimson]

Lets see this crazy stuff.

All in good time but don't worry, things will start getting dicey as of tommorow.

I wonder how the various factions in the German parliament / political elite reacted to the Kaiser's naval expansion. The situation is far different from OTL with an Anglo-German rapport. A rapport that's been thrown away to expend huge sums on a navy that's always going to be second best.

Hopefully the UK manages to avoid any general European war. The revenue from selling to both sides and the lack of death / strained resources might give it the means to modernise and rationalise its fairly outmoded industries (an issue it struggled with until well after WW2 IIRC). I will defer to someone who has greater understanding of the UK's industrial situation though, I only have a passing awareness of the matter.

Progressives were dead set against, as were the SDP, but the Conservatives
have been doing better and will do almost anything to support the new King, they never had Fredericks favour so they'll go for Henry's. Henry, the Conservatives and defectors from other parties got the constructions passed fairly quickly. Frederick's death was a real boon for the German Reactionaries, particularly the Prussians and the Navy.

All out war for the UK would probably go a bit better than OTL, they've got a bit of experience already but if they can avoid it and stay on top of domestic issues yeah, they might be top dog for a little longer. No spoilers though!

Oh Austria-Hungary, don't do anything stupid,but I know it's tempting.

But what could be a better time to regain imperial prestige? Surely our great Austrian Leaders could never make any grand mistakes...

... well then. Just as everything was looking nice and things looked like they could be be peaceful (with the great powers at least), this happens. It can't be said you haven't left us ominous forshadowing that illustrated that things would go bad, but I confess I never saw it coming in a manner like this.

Bravo sir.

Thank you kindly! And I'm sorry to tell you all this but the more time that passes the more you'll see, this isn't going to be a feel good TL, not by anyone's imagination.

 

[King of the Uzbeks]

Why do I have the feeling that Austria-Hungary is going to dive in with the Entente?

Also if Chile is leaning Bloc then is imagine that Boliva might get in with the Entente to get some coast back.

 

[Major Crimson]

Prologue: Dr Livingstone, I presume?

"It does seem to me, fascinating that, when extrapolated out ad infinitum, the daily actions of just one man can have ten times the effect of the edict of any Emperor. We must imagine that, with the flapping of each butterfly's wings and each syalable we speak, we are the sole crafters of the future. Who knows just what made our history happen? It could be anyone, any man woman or child, the changed the world as we know."

-Oscar Wilde, Collected letters, 1910-1921​

January 3rd 1872, Ujiji, Near Lake Tanganyika

“Blasted hot, isn’t it?” the Botanist asked his young companion. The boy nodded eagerly and continued to fan himself with his hat. “Sweltering, it is sir.” he replied, his Scotch tones ringing out across the desert. Their guides and guards followed behind and the whole caravan stared, slack jawed at the sight before them. The sea of faces went on for miles, there had to be four thousand people here, at least.

“Sir, how are we meant to find one man in all this?”
The botanist laughed, “Robert my boy, we’re looking for he only other Englishman in Africa, I doubt he’ll blend in."

He wasn't wrong, within a few minutes Stanley saw one of the guides wave him over, motioning to the centre of the crowd. Stanley lept up and ran over, anticipation and anxiety running through his head. And then he saw him, Dr Livingstone, England’s hero and the finest Christian on the dark continent. With a sigh, the Botanist took off his hat;
“Dr Livingstone I presume?”

The man, however, made no reply, not that Stanley would have expected him to. With a look of sadness Stanley sat down next to the man he had spent oh so long looking for and forced himself not to weep. Dr Livingstone's face was one of surprise, a scream still on his blood speckled lips. The grotesque cut along the Doctor’s throat was beginning to congeal and the flies were starting to have their way. “By god Doctor, what did they do here?” The dead man did not reply but young Robert did.

“Tribal warfare Sir, bloody brutality. The guides say this is a common occurrence, some five thousand dead they think. Imagine the poor negroes, living like this every day of their lives…”

Stanley’s mouth curled into a quite ungentlemanly snarl. “Poor negroes!? Poor bloody Livingstone, blast these tribal savages for what they did to him, blast them to hell! When Westminster hears about this they’ll slaughter the whole bloody lot of them from here to Timbuktu!"

“But sir,” the boy protested, “They've lived in poverty and barbarity their whole lives, how can we truly blame them? Can we truly say we wouldn't be the same?”
“We bloody well can! We’re Englishmen! White Men! Above this savagery!”
The young man did not look convinced but gave a consenting nod none the less.

Stanley sighed again. “Christ, if only we’d gotten here sooner… I tell you Robert, this is going to change the face of Africa forever.”

Ten Months Previously

In a workshop in London, a man hammered a nail into shape. He took great care over all of his nails, sure they weren’t much but they were what he made and he was going to make them right.

As his hammer struck the tiny piece of metal, a pretty girl made a decision, she’d take a different route home today, past the new ironworks.

And as the nail maker completed his four hundred and seventy fourth nail of the day, something in the far window caught his eye. It wasn’t often pretty girls came past his workshop and so he waved and the girl smiled and waved back. Distracted, the man didn’t notice an unfinished nail roll into the wrong box and even if he had, what difference could one nail make?

Two weeks later, in a house in portsmouth, a captain’s wife had received a new painting. It was a pretty thing, from her cousin in Derbyshire and it’d look quite smashing above her husband’s arm chair. As the captain’s wife watched, a servant picked up his hammer and grabbed a nail, ever so slightly shorter than average, and hung up the grand new picture. “Lovely,” said the Captain’s wife, “absolutely lovely.” and went to bed.

The Captain didn’t notice the painting, he didn’t notice much as he collapsed into his arm chair, brandy in hand. He’d just take a little nap, he thought, and then he’d be off to the docks, to ship off old what's-his-name to wherever-it-is in Africa. The nail, however, had other plans and, with excellent timing, slid rather rapidly out of the wall, tumbling to the floor. The painting followed suit, not wishing to be left behind, and landed quite resolutely on the Captain’s neck. It didn’t hurt the Captain, so to speak, but the breaking of one’s neck can make it awfully difficult to get up for work in the morning.

The next day Henry Stanley was annoyed, the man who was supposed to take him to find Livingstone had only gone and bloody died! The replacement wouldn’t even be in town until Thursday and it was a bloody outrage! The Botanist stormed into a local pub and, before long, struck up a conversation with the man sitting next to him. Robert Cunninghame was his name, a young scotch chap who’d shown quite the interest in his little expedition. Stanley being the accommodating type, had offered the man a spot and a few hours later, after shaking hands with his new friend, Stanley wandered off into the night. Well, the more the merrier, he thought to himself, as he attempted to trace his steps back to the hotel. He only hoped that they’d make it to Livingstone in time. Oh well, what difference could a few days make...

 

[Major Crimson]

So here we have it! The POD.

Don't worry we'll be back to grand drama soon enough, maybe even tonight if we're lucky, but for now I wanted to show you just how all these events came to be...

If this makes very little sense to you, try here. I've always found the Stanley-Livingstone encounter fascinating and from an alt-history perspective, a bloody brilliant place for a POD!

 

[King of the Uzbeks]

So no Living Livingston means Imperial Socialists?

 

[Major Crimson]

So no Living Livingston means Imperial Socialists?

Well, a late ship leads to dead Livingston (which also leads to our earlier and more aggressive British African policy) and also brings the Berlin Conference forward by a couple years, explaining the smaller Belgian Congo (less exploration and claims before the Conference.

The Imperial Socialists come more from Robert CGs extended time in Africa, greater exposure to the plight of colonial subjects and cooperation with the British government. It's understandable that after seeing so much hardship a man would want to see change and how better to achieve this change than through the government that A) Already exists and is wealthy and B) has supported your expeditions so far?

Hence, Imperial Socialists! Might be a bit of a stretch but lets be honest, a TL with a premise like this kinda needs it.