Insane_Panda
Deity
Oh, I can do that. Easy for sheezy.
I'd rather do it than stats, you know
I'd rather do it than stats, you know
NES World/Regional Maps Requests Thread
- Thread starter Chieftess
- Start date
BEHIND_THE_MASK
A Liar... A Cheat...
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2006
- Messages
- 1,840
I got a big request...
With the seeming failure of my recent NES, I've decided to take a big step and do something a bit more complicated.
I need a map of the World, I need it realistic, if the country is dirt poor, make it dirt poor. eco Centers can be placed where needed and apropiatte. I just need you to set up the map, its borders, the cities then I can finish with some of my own touches.
So, who here is willing to take suck a project?
With the seeming failure of my recent NES, I've decided to take a big step and do something a bit more complicated.
I need a map of the World, I need it realistic, if the country is dirt poor, make it dirt poor. eco Centers can be placed where needed and apropiatte. I just need you to set up the map, its borders, the cities then I can finish with some of my own touches.
So, who here is willing to take suck a project?
Symphony D.
Deity
If one fails at something simple, how does it make sense to then go on to something complex and expect better results? Not criticizing, just saying that aiming for excellence doesn't do anybody much good if the fundamentals aren't there.
BEHIND_THE_MASK
A Liar... A Cheat...
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2006
- Messages
- 1,840
Actually, I see it as not a thing of difficulty. The idea was to build an empire from scratch starting with one eco center, this would obviously take a long time and likely discouraged many.
Based off the real world, and its events (plus how people are sick of em and want to change em) I found this more appealing to the mass of the NES community.
knigh+
.
I always like detailed game rules and maps in everything (yep, I like micromanagement, too). And I have been thinking in exact same lines.
here is a portion of the map I have been working on this week:
It is actually Panda's map (or Symphony said so about 20 posts ago), in which I painted territories colors and added cities & numbers (and also corrected a few minor errors).
It is prepared according to current data (GDP from CIA Factbook, populations from World Gazetteer). Here are the rules I followed while making it:
1- Capitals are red (or yellow, if the territory color is too close to red).
2- Cities are sized according to their individual GDPs; cities less than $10bn don't appear, even if they are capital; smallest markers are $10-30bn, then 30-100 (Lisbon, Bucharest), 100-300 (Madrid, Istanbul), 300-1000 (London, Paris), above $1trillion. The last one does not appear on this part of the map, only NewYork and Tokyo classify as such.
3- These cities produce 1, 3, 10, 30, 100 points of stuff.
4- Then for each country, I assumed 10% of the remaining (rural) population also provides useful industry, converted into points, and those are the numbers on some countries. (This is necessary because a city-only system favors countries with big cities over other developed countries with small cities)
5- Finally, every country gets 1 base point (in case people want to play Albania for example).
6- Then in a NES, the total economy of a country can be sum of these. (Example: Bulgaria=2, Hungary=4, Greece=13, Turkey=26, Italy=54, Germany=92). I also thought of rules for improving these in a NES, but that's not relevant to the map discussion.
Symphony D.
Deity
No, I said he was (re)coloring it. It's nobody's map, as it was made by a program (ArcGIS), not a person.
Its usage "as is" amuses me since the recolored version is going to be available sometime tomorrow (supposedly), fixing certain things like France being red and the South Pacific not being completed.
knigh+
.
Well, since the scale doesn't change, I'll just copy/paste the SouthPacific when it is ready. France's color is not relevant to any NES (and they have as much red as blue in their flag).
The point of my modification to the map was having realistic cities, rather than a bunch of quasi-random dots that have been used in many other maps here.
Oh, I can do that. Easy for sheezy.
I'd rather do it than stats, you know
Excellent
Nothing personal against das' map, it's just hideous is all.
BEHIND_THE_MASK
A Liar... A Cheat...
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2006
- Messages
- 1,840
does someone have a map of the seleucid Empire in 220 bc.?
Symphony D.
Deity
Retroactive deletion.
knigh+
.
Excellent... except the tiny detail of Nakhchevan (tiny green between Turkey, Armenia and Iran) being different color than Azerbaijan.
Great work. I'll post my version with cities sized according to current economy at some point (not necessarily soon due to, you know, work and other real life stuff)
Great work. I'll post my version with cities sized according to current economy at some point (not necessarily soon due to, you know, work and other real life stuff)
Stormbringer
The Brick and The Rose
Symphony, may I use that map as a base for the 1919 NES that I will be doing? I will put cities on it and post it with cities and modern borders first.
Stormbringer
The Brick and The Rose
Yes, that is a map that I will be using as a base, with some modifications. But if I do a NES it will be a quality NES, and that includes the map, so I am willing to do a lot of work, if necessary.
Here is a link to the 1919 NES, if someone could check that map for accuracy for me that would speed things up considerably http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=127974
Here is a link to the 1919 NES, if someone could check that map for accuracy for me that would speed things up considerably http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=127974
Stormbringer
The Brick and The Rose
Actually, while the request to double check the map still stands I think I will be using a different map, the one that Sheep is using now. I find it to be just as accurate, it already has cities, and I think it looks at least just as good.
knigh+
.
Will it be beginning of 1919 or end of 1919? The map in that link shows a mix.
Stormbringer
The Brick and The Rose
Begining of 1919, what changes need to be made?
knigh+
.
The only ongoing conflict in 1919 was Turkey (WW1 continued there until 1922), so the territories there were shifty. I'll use a piece of Sheep's map (so you can directly copy paste into your map) but colors might differ (sorry).
Start of 1919 is somewhat similar to todays borders, with the following exceptions (cities in parantheses):
1-Straits (Istanbul), Iraq, Cyprus (Nicosia) and SW Georgia (Batumi) controlled by UK, shown in red
2-Syria, Lebanon, Clicia (Adana) controlled by France, shown in dark blue
3-Rhodes and (Antalya) controlled by Italy, shown in bright green
4-Nakhichevan declared independence in Dec 1918, shown in pink.
Greece, Armenia, and France gained more ground from Turkey during 1919.
Start of 1919 is somewhat similar to todays borders, with the following exceptions (cities in parantheses):
1-Straits (Istanbul), Iraq, Cyprus (Nicosia) and SW Georgia (Batumi) controlled by UK, shown in red
2-Syria, Lebanon, Clicia (Adana) controlled by France, shown in dark blue
3-Rhodes and (Antalya) controlled by Italy, shown in bright green
4-Nakhichevan declared independence in Dec 1918, shown in pink.
Greece, Armenia, and France gained more ground from Turkey during 1919.
Ok panda...request changed. This might take you awhile, but besides owing you a free reservation in whatever NES I make, I would put something in my signature about your greatness...AND GIVE YOU 5 DOLLARS!!!
Here is the timeline:
For Want of a Nail Timeline
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1765 - The Stamp Act passed, requiring various documents in America to bear a taxation stamp. It is met with widespread protest.
1768 - Disturbances in the colonies. Sons of Liberty launch a campaign of terrorism, troops sent from Canada to Boston.
1770 - The Boston Massacre, British troops fire upon a mob.
1773 - The "Tea War", including the Boston Tea Party, results from a grant to the East India Company of rights to sell directly to the Colonies.
1775 - Beginning of the North American Rebellion in an engagement between rebels and British soldiers. It soon spreads throughout the Thirteen Colonies. Rebel forces under the command of General Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold assault Quebec and fail, leading to the death of Montgomery and the relegation of Arnold to secondary roles.
1776 - British forces under Howe defeat American forces under Washington at Long Island. Enthusiasm in France for the American cause wanes, and no support arrives for the rebels.
1777 - British General Burgoyne launches a two-pronged attack to divide the colonies in half. Howe is uninformed of the final plans, and sets out south by sea. Burgoyne's expected reinforcements from St. Leger are defeated. Burgoyne crosses the Fishkill River, saved by American General Gates' hesitation. Burgoyne offers to admit defeat and retreat, but Gates will accept only unconditional surrender due to his ambitions to assume supreme command (Washington is in bad grace in Philadelphia). British forces under General Clinton approach, and the rebels launch an attack on Burgoyne's force. The assault fails, and Clinton's army attacks from the rear. The rebels retreat, and soon their army is disbanded.
Washington's armies are defeated by General Howe, and he encamps at Valley Forge. Over 2000 troops, including 200 officers, desert and plans for an attack on Philadelphia are abandoned due to poor morale.
1778 - The rebel Congress forms a new military command, the Board of War. Washington resigns his commission. By this time, it is evident that France will no longer support the Rebellion. Benjamin Franklin and Lord North mediate, producing a plan to grant the Colonies more independance under the Galloway Plan of 1774 (calling for the colonists to control their own internal affairs, though with a veto for the British parliament). On June 12, 1778, the formal articles of armistice are signed, ending the North American Rebellion.
The rebellion ends up having a significant constitutional effect in Britain, where North's ministry and those of his successors are far more independant than at any time since the Commonwealth during widespread opinions of the King's irrationality during the war.
The more prominent rebel leaders are rounded up and punished, while most gain general amnesty. Of the 56 signatories of the Declaration of Independance, 7 are executed in London (John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, Robert Treat Paine, and Roger Sherman. In addition, Tom Paine and Patrick Henry were put to death, George Washington imprisoned for life). 31 are tried by colonial courts (sentences range from imprisonment and exile to loss of citizenship rights). Some one thousand lynchings of rebels take place over the next year, despite attempts of the army to prevent them. Some difficulties are encountered by Howe and Clinton, unsuited by temperament for their posts, in their role of pacifying New England, Maryland, and the colonies to the south.
1780 - the Britannic Design is accepted by the Crown, to be put into effect two years later. The essence of the proposal is "confederation within federation". The thirteen colonies retain their original identities and government apparatus. Each has a bicameral legislature and a governor named by the Crown. They are grouped into two confederations, Northern and Southern, governed by councils consisting of one representative from each colony. Each council sends representatives to the other and envoys to Commons, where they could speak but not vote. Taxation is levied by all three levels (colonial legislature, royal governor, confederation). New York is the capital of the Northern Confederation, Norfolk that of the Southern. Fort Pitt is chosen as the new capital of all the colonies (where both councils may meet on occasion), and the position of Viceroy is established to oversee all colonial affairs.
Canada comes under the design, but divided into three additional confederations - Quebec (all of Canada as far west as the eastern boundary of Lake Superior), Manitoba (from there to the Pacific), and Indiana (the former Northwest Territory). Nova Scotia is given a great deal of internal freedom and autonomy, more than any other portion of British North America.
A substantial portion of the rebels choose to leave the new Confederation of North America, though resistance continues in some isolated areas such as Vermont and parts of western Virginia. Some left for France and Scandinavia, but most rallied around a group of Rebellion leaders such as General Nathaniel Greene, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, James Madison and Benedict Arnold.
At first, some thousand rebels departed for central Louisiana. They were never heard from again, and rumors of their disappearance discouraged others from following them into the northern wilds. A second, much better organized group leave for Jefferson, in the southern central area of the continent. Approximately 3000 are in the group, most from the southern colonies and many slave owners - taking with them 500 slaves. The journey of this group from Jamestown to Jefferson later becomes known as "The Wilderness Walk". After two years and grievous losses, they found Jefferson City 200 miles past San Antonio. Slavery remains, largely due to not knowing what to do with the substantial Negro minority if they are freed.
1782 - 1783 - A wave of immigration to Jefferson City occurs, primarily by sea. 6000 new white settlers and 1000 slaves arrive. By 1794, the population is over 43000 whites and 18000 slaves. The settlers are largely saved from Spanish interference due to the desire of King Charles III to encourage development of the area, and due to the Russian threat to the Spanish on the Pacific coast. Spain's interest in North America is soon ended by the death of Charles III in 1788.
1785 - Fort Pitt is renamed Burgoyne in honor of the ex-General, ex-Viceroy.
1788 - Tremendous economic growth occurs throughout the CNA, but one flaw in the Britannic Design becomes apparent - cooperation between the Confederations does not match expectations. The SC evolves into a fairly decentralized entity, the NC develops a trend of strong governors-general, and the Manitobans and Indianans have little in common with their more sophisticated eastern neighbors. The old antagonisms between Quebec and the NC almost reaches the point of border war at one point.
The economy of the SC is agricultural and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future, while that of the NC is tending more towards commerce and industry. The NC is largely Presbyterian and Congregationalist, while the SC is dominated by the Church of England.
1789 - The Paris Insurrection is dispersed in a bloodbath known as "The Terrible September Days". Many suspect Britain to have encouraged the insurrection, and relations with London take a turn for the worse. Louis XVI, having no taste for another struggle, has no intention of embarking on new adventures.
1793 - Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin, drastically increasing the output of the Southern Confederation. Even more important is the effect on Jefferson, which soon gains a tremendous economic boost from cotton, and closer ties to France as a result of trade. Farmers from the Southern Confederation lacking sufficient land begin to immigrate. In addition, slavery is revived, primarily in Jefferson due to opposition in the Confederation and Britain. A formal government is required for the expanding colony, and is formed under the influence of some of the more elitist leaders such as Hamilton and Madison. Government is formed as a tripartite scheme of separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The legislative branch consists of a chamber of representatives and a senate whose members are selected by the chamber. The chamber creates laws, the senate is required to pass them. The executive branch is chosen by the Senate, consisting of three men, the votes of two being necessary for decisions. The executive branch selects the members of the high court, who are then ratified by the senate. The new constitution is vague in some areas and fails entirely to mention others (such as slavery), allowing all sides to hope that they can sway the government to their views in the future.
1793 - 1815 - Alexander Hamilton is one of the leaders of Jefferson, and the dominant figure. His leadership is essential in solving the economic and governmental problems of Jefferson in its formative years, but his views on reconciliation with the CNA and Britain are largely unheeded, and a longstanding anti-CNA policy arises. Foreign affairs become dominated by a pro-French faction.
1793 - Louis XVI dies of a head injury. Louis XVII ascends the throne, with Queen Marie Antoinette as regent. The Queen looks eastward for support, and concludes a secret treaty with Emperor Francis II of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to coordinate an attack on, and the dismemberment of, Prussia. The secret is badly kept, and the British warn Frederick William II of Prussia and offer aid.
1795 - France and the Austro-Hungarian Empire attack Prussia. A French army is sent to threaten Spain, which gives in, leading to effective domination of Spain by France. Queen Maria I of Portugal appeals to London for assistance in case Franco-Spanish forces attack. Britain sends troops to Portugal and Prussia, and establishes a blockade of the continent. Prussia fights off the invaders, but lacks the manpower to mount invasions of France and Austria.
In America, Georgians invade the Floridas and Louisiana, annexing them without waiting for permission from the SC. Various CNA colonies attack Spanish and French possessions along the Mississippi, as well as New Orleans. New Orleans is soon seized by a united SC army. By late 1798, all of North America east of the Missouri-Mississippi waterway is in CNA hands.
Jeffersonian politics and policy become divided into two factions, the Continentalists (in favor of "Continental Destiny" - expansion, and a Greater Jefferson encompassing the continent), and the Liberty Party (opposed to this and supporting the principles of the Declaration of Independance). The Continental Party gains majority support.
The Continentalists lead Jefferson into the Trans-Oceanic War, without a formal declaration, to seize as much French and Spanish territory as possible. One army reaches within 20 miles of New Orleans, and another reaches the Rio grande in 1797.
1799 - Articles of peace are signed in Aix-la-Chapelle. Prussia forms the Germanic Confederation with the addition of some Austrian territory. Charles I of Spain is replaced with Prince Ferdinand of Prussia. France is required to pay an indemnity to Britain. British and Prussian troops put down a revolt in Paris, and Louis XVII effectively becomes a puppet for them. V In America, the war continues as Jefferson and the SC continue to seize Spanish lands. Revolution erupts in Spanish America, eventually leading to the expulsion of the last viceroy from South and Central America. A new Confederation, Vandalia, is created at the center of the continent.
1805 - The Republic of Mexico proclaimed in Mexico City, as the last Spanish soldiers leave America. The slaves are freed and liberty guaranteed, but religious freedom is a contentious issue with the priests who supported the revolution, and in 1806 the Mexican Civil War begins. It will last for more than a decade. The Trans-Oceanic War will never truly end in the Americas, and the South American nations will be consumed in petty wars until the present day.
1810 - Quebec is becoming an economic colony of the NC, and many French-speaking inhabitants realize this. Dissidents organize the Free Quebec party, demanding full autonomy for French Quebec in the confederation's internal affairs. Their opposition in English Quebec, in search of foreign capital and strong ties to the CNA, form the Progress Party (more commonly known as the Liberal Party). The pro-agrarian opposition forms the Farmers Congress, soon transformed into the Conservative Party.
In Manitoba, due to relative isolation and its agrarian nature, politics is largely conflict-free for the next half century, becoming a haven for farmers, religious sects, utopians and the discontented.
Indiana is the fastest-growing state, from a population of 250,000 in 1810 to 3.5 million in 1840. By 1803 the Indians of the confederation unite behind Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, and achieve several crushing military successes against the Indianan army. In 1815 the governor calls upon the Confederation for military assistance, driving Tecumseh back, but the Indians remain a threat until 1850.
The Northern Confederation is exceptional in few areas, but progressive in all, and industrializes rapidly. By 1840, New York is the largest city in the Empire, dwarfing London at 9 million. A major railroad-building spree assists significantly. Monopoly capitalism and low wages, however, lead to discontent, and decades of conflicting styles of governmental management.
In the SC, cotton becomes a major source of foreign trade, and slavery increases substantially. The SC navy is the second-best in the world by 1830, and its elite are extremely wealthy. The cotton culture, however, soon runs out of available land and begins to strain what it uses, leading to stagnation of yields - a substantial problem with competing Jefferson to the west. Negro slaves are one quarter of the population by 1836, and slave revolts cause major problems. The SC navy and army, the largest in the CNA, are necessary primarily to protect the slave trade and counteract revolts - leading to a large military budget, and the use of most of the cotton profits to create a sort of police state. A new anti-slavery party, the Southern Union, is formed and conflict between abolitionist and pro-slavery views soon dominates SC political life.
1815 - Federales in Mexico begin entering urban centers and embark on a program of terror. The clerical faction of the civil war appeals for international aid to stop the bloodshed, and in the end, only Jefferson commits to actual intervention. An ambassador from Jefferson is rebuffed, and Jefferson declares war using the insult as an excuse. In 1816, the population of Mexico is 3 million to Jefferson's 130,000 and the Mexican army 85,000 soldiers to the 25000 of the Jefferson militia. It soon becomes evident, however, that the tough Jeffersonian army is more than a match for the Mexicans due to the Mexicans' occupation fighting the rebels, low morale, and the Jeffersonians have superb leadership. In 1817, the army of Jefferson marches into Mexico City after an eight month campaign, suffering few casualties. Mexico undergoes the worst purge in the continent's history shortly after liberation, all those with the remotest connection with the old regime executed. The Jeffersonian commander steps in to end the bloodshed, proclaiming himself provisional president of Mexico.
1820 - A coup against the provisional government in Mexico is overthrown. Andrew Jackson, effectively in full command of the government of Jefferson, initiates a union between Mexico and Jefferson. The delegates hasten to do Jackson's bidding in the creation of a bilingual, unified United States of Mexico, with a strong military and executive, and the preservation of slavery. There are six states which have nominal independence, but are very much under the authority of the central government in many important matters, and the state governments end up with little real power. Three states write charters granting the Catholic Church special rights. The tripartite ruling council of the new USM is replaced by a single president, elected by the senate for a six year term (with veto power, command of the military, and the power to call elections). Only free men are allowed the vote, and peons are not considered free men, drastically limiting the franchise (initially Jefferson has 34% of seats in the lower house). All governmental deliberations are to be held in English, and the restrictions on the procedure of the Assembly render it ineffective enough to be subordinate to the other arms of government. Opposition from the Liberty Party is unsuccessful in preventing these measures. For the next 18 years, Jackson rules the USM severely but successfully. Jackson's brilliant leadership, and strategy for the unification, will allow the USM to eventually grow into a unified and effective nation (though his own racial views are extremely bigoted in many ways, most especially against the Negroes). This national unification, however, is often with Jeffersonians in many of the main positions of wealth and power, with the Mexicans forming a parallel majority society.
Eventually, a central banking system is established and free trade encouraged. By 1835, 40% of central bank stock is in French hands, cementing the USM's relationship with France.
1835 - London is hit by financial crisis, as the bank of Baring collapses and the ruling party is subsequently thrown out of office. In 1836 the loss of investment hits New York, causing the collapse of numerous banks who are ill prepared for tight times. By 1837, depression and social unrest spreads to the entire CNA.
1838 - The depression in the USM, never as severe as in the CNA, ends soon after the discovery of gold in California. The state is sealed off from foreign prospectors. A railroad is constructed, and Jackson's great opposition to industrialization begins to be overcome. This results in numerous other metal deposits being found in the USM, and in the decline of the importance of cotton (due also to an international cotton glut which will last for 30 years). The state of Jefferson becomes second in importance to California, and the existing leadership is rocked by change.
1839 - Indian uprising in Indiana led by a born-again Indian chief puts to death 5000 inhabitants of Michigan City. The CNA army is sent, and massacres the entire Indian force in the most savage act of retribution in CNA history. In Quebec, pro-independence Patriotes are crushed in an attack on Quebec. Franz Freund's "Consolidated Union of Producers", favoring government regulation in support of workers, gains real political power for the first time. In 1840 a general strike occurs, and a radical worker assassinates the governor. Private armies hired by manufacturers retaliate, destroying the Consolidated and killing 40,000. Until 1842, the Britannic Degree is suspended as the governor rules with an iron fist (the opposition wins the next general election on a platform of reconciliation). The legacy of Governor Gilpin is an NC saved from anarchy, but with the worst record of violation of civil liberties and internal turmoil in the CNA.
In the SC, the price of cotton declines, leading to a slump in the slave trade, which soon ground nearly to a halt due to the glut of slaves. Production turns from cotton to other crops on many plantations. As the plantation holders look for ways to rid themselves of many of their slaves, a policy of government-supported manumission is adopted with strong British support. Slavery is ended throughout the British Empire, but a minor clause in the manumission act leads to many slaves being kept on for an indefinite "period of education" for the next two generations. By January of 1942, most slaves have been granted their freedom, although they had few places to turn for work except to their former plantation owners, who ended up the main beneficiaries of manumission.
In the USM, the Libertarians (Liberty Party) win the majority of the government for the first time, replacing Jackson with their own President. Their policy is one of moderation, reducing discrimination against Indians and "Mexicanos".
1841 - Meetings at Concordia, as a result of the problems of the years of depression and crisis, lead to amendments to the Britannic Design in pursuit of a more centralized state. Discussions open in earnest in 1842 in the CNA Grand Council. The Grand Council is transformed into a powerful legislative instrument, with 150 elected members, and a Confederation Senate is created with 5 members from each state but little power, to act in a manner similar to the House of Lords. The Governor-General, now selected by the Grand Council, similar to the position of Prime Minister in the UK. The Anglican Church is maintained as the established church, and the right of Britain to call upon CNA troops in defense of the Empire, is maintained. The remarkable cooperation of the whole process acts to strengthen CNA ties with Britain. At the time of the passing of the act, an unusually harsh winter in Europe leads to a boom market for CNA food, and soon the depression ends.
1843 - At the annual convention of the Continentalist party, Hispano Pedro Hermion rallies the party to a renewed line of expansionism and anti-CNA sentiment. Hermion becomes leader of the party under a primarily militaristic, anti-CNA platform.
1845 - Open war erupts between Mexicans and North Americans in the disputed border region between Mexico del Norte and Vandalia. An election in the USM, happening to coincide with the period of high tension and the failure of mediation, is won by the Continentalists on a platform of war. In the end, the Rocky Mountain War arises out of escalation of local conflict even as negotiation attempts between the two governments continue. It is interesting to note that the telegraph, which might have averted the conflict had Burgoyne and Jefferson been connected, is invented in 1846.
There are 24 million North Americans and 16 million Mexicans (some 200,000 of whom are slaves). The CNA has the support of Britain, the most powerful nation in the world, while the USM's French allies are unable to offer meaningful support (being involved in difficulties with the Germanic Confederation). The CNA has the second largest navy in the world, which blockades Mexico with ease, destroying the small USM fleet within two years. The CNA has the second largest industrial complex in the world (by 1849 the largest), and has superior transportation via rail. The CNA has 500,000 men under arms and will raise an additional million, while the USM has 200,000 and will not exceed 650,000.
The USM was not, however, without assets of its own. Jackson's policy of cooperation with Hispanos and Indians bore fruit, and the blacks were kept under control by force (including genocide). The French Canadians saw the war as a chance to assert independence, and under the patriote banner demanded independence, while many Indians deserted the CNA and served in the Mexican Army. The SC saw freedmen use the war as an opportunity to demand equal rights, while the NC was plagued by anti-draft riots and labor stoppages. The CNA uses more troops to keep the peace at home than to fight the Mexicans for much of the war.
Most of the fighting takes place on Mexican soil - many North American troops, at least 90,000, die of disease and the elements. The Mexicans were also blessed with better field commanders, and less interference from the supreme commander.
1848 - All of the disputed territory has been seized by the CNA, but repeated offensives into Mexico del Norte and Jefferson meet with failure. A CNA landing force captures Tampico and attempts to drive to Mexico city, but is eventually routed. The CNA negotiator suggests a return to the prewar borders, with an election to determine ownership of the disputed zone, but negotiations break down and the war continues.
1849 - 1852 - a CNA force drives for San Francisco, and major elements of both armies fight in a zone centered on the Rockies. The Battle of San Fernando, the last field battle of the war, ends in a draw with the retreat of both armies. The Mexican army attempts to trap the American army in the mountains, while the Americans send reinforcements to free it. In what is referred to as the most foolish battle in the history of warfare, both sides spend five months chasing each other in the snow rather than retreat. 110,000 CNA and 60,000 USM soldiers die during the war.
1851 - In the USM, the failure of the war effort and the possibility of defeat leads to open warfare between supporters of the government and the peace faction. The President rallies the support of the government with another one of his strong, motivational speeches, but at the conclusion of his speech, Hermion is assassinated. This results in his near-instant martyrdom, but a martyrdom of a man now portrayed as having gone to war very reluctantly. The new government ceases offensive operations, resulting in a renewed but unsuccessful CNA offensive. The USM careful defensive eventually salvages the military situation inherited from the Hermion government.
1853 - After failing to secure support for a full scale offensive against Mexico, new elections in the CNA result in a government favoring peace.
1855 - Settlement negotiations conclude, resulting in minor territorial concessions to the CNA and a payment from the CNA to the USM for losses due to escaped slaves. The end of the war begins a long boom in the CNA, already the world's leading industrial power (due in no small part to substantial British investment). Quebec is the only state to decline economically in the quarter-century following the war, due in part to patriote terrorism which led to emigration of nearly half a million. Due to low immigration, the state's population declines from 5.9 million to 4.8 million by 1870.
Here is the timeline:
For Want of a Nail Timeline
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1765 - The Stamp Act passed, requiring various documents in America to bear a taxation stamp. It is met with widespread protest.
1768 - Disturbances in the colonies. Sons of Liberty launch a campaign of terrorism, troops sent from Canada to Boston.
1770 - The Boston Massacre, British troops fire upon a mob.
1773 - The "Tea War", including the Boston Tea Party, results from a grant to the East India Company of rights to sell directly to the Colonies.
1775 - Beginning of the North American Rebellion in an engagement between rebels and British soldiers. It soon spreads throughout the Thirteen Colonies. Rebel forces under the command of General Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold assault Quebec and fail, leading to the death of Montgomery and the relegation of Arnold to secondary roles.
1776 - British forces under Howe defeat American forces under Washington at Long Island. Enthusiasm in France for the American cause wanes, and no support arrives for the rebels.
1777 - British General Burgoyne launches a two-pronged attack to divide the colonies in half. Howe is uninformed of the final plans, and sets out south by sea. Burgoyne's expected reinforcements from St. Leger are defeated. Burgoyne crosses the Fishkill River, saved by American General Gates' hesitation. Burgoyne offers to admit defeat and retreat, but Gates will accept only unconditional surrender due to his ambitions to assume supreme command (Washington is in bad grace in Philadelphia). British forces under General Clinton approach, and the rebels launch an attack on Burgoyne's force. The assault fails, and Clinton's army attacks from the rear. The rebels retreat, and soon their army is disbanded.
Washington's armies are defeated by General Howe, and he encamps at Valley Forge. Over 2000 troops, including 200 officers, desert and plans for an attack on Philadelphia are abandoned due to poor morale.
1778 - The rebel Congress forms a new military command, the Board of War. Washington resigns his commission. By this time, it is evident that France will no longer support the Rebellion. Benjamin Franklin and Lord North mediate, producing a plan to grant the Colonies more independance under the Galloway Plan of 1774 (calling for the colonists to control their own internal affairs, though with a veto for the British parliament). On June 12, 1778, the formal articles of armistice are signed, ending the North American Rebellion.
The rebellion ends up having a significant constitutional effect in Britain, where North's ministry and those of his successors are far more independant than at any time since the Commonwealth during widespread opinions of the King's irrationality during the war.
The more prominent rebel leaders are rounded up and punished, while most gain general amnesty. Of the 56 signatories of the Declaration of Independance, 7 are executed in London (John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, Robert Treat Paine, and Roger Sherman. In addition, Tom Paine and Patrick Henry were put to death, George Washington imprisoned for life). 31 are tried by colonial courts (sentences range from imprisonment and exile to loss of citizenship rights). Some one thousand lynchings of rebels take place over the next year, despite attempts of the army to prevent them. Some difficulties are encountered by Howe and Clinton, unsuited by temperament for their posts, in their role of pacifying New England, Maryland, and the colonies to the south.
1780 - the Britannic Design is accepted by the Crown, to be put into effect two years later. The essence of the proposal is "confederation within federation". The thirteen colonies retain their original identities and government apparatus. Each has a bicameral legislature and a governor named by the Crown. They are grouped into two confederations, Northern and Southern, governed by councils consisting of one representative from each colony. Each council sends representatives to the other and envoys to Commons, where they could speak but not vote. Taxation is levied by all three levels (colonial legislature, royal governor, confederation). New York is the capital of the Northern Confederation, Norfolk that of the Southern. Fort Pitt is chosen as the new capital of all the colonies (where both councils may meet on occasion), and the position of Viceroy is established to oversee all colonial affairs.
Canada comes under the design, but divided into three additional confederations - Quebec (all of Canada as far west as the eastern boundary of Lake Superior), Manitoba (from there to the Pacific), and Indiana (the former Northwest Territory). Nova Scotia is given a great deal of internal freedom and autonomy, more than any other portion of British North America.
A substantial portion of the rebels choose to leave the new Confederation of North America, though resistance continues in some isolated areas such as Vermont and parts of western Virginia. Some left for France and Scandinavia, but most rallied around a group of Rebellion leaders such as General Nathaniel Greene, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, James Madison and Benedict Arnold.
At first, some thousand rebels departed for central Louisiana. They were never heard from again, and rumors of their disappearance discouraged others from following them into the northern wilds. A second, much better organized group leave for Jefferson, in the southern central area of the continent. Approximately 3000 are in the group, most from the southern colonies and many slave owners - taking with them 500 slaves. The journey of this group from Jamestown to Jefferson later becomes known as "The Wilderness Walk". After two years and grievous losses, they found Jefferson City 200 miles past San Antonio. Slavery remains, largely due to not knowing what to do with the substantial Negro minority if they are freed.
1782 - 1783 - A wave of immigration to Jefferson City occurs, primarily by sea. 6000 new white settlers and 1000 slaves arrive. By 1794, the population is over 43000 whites and 18000 slaves. The settlers are largely saved from Spanish interference due to the desire of King Charles III to encourage development of the area, and due to the Russian threat to the Spanish on the Pacific coast. Spain's interest in North America is soon ended by the death of Charles III in 1788.
1785 - Fort Pitt is renamed Burgoyne in honor of the ex-General, ex-Viceroy.
1788 - Tremendous economic growth occurs throughout the CNA, but one flaw in the Britannic Design becomes apparent - cooperation between the Confederations does not match expectations. The SC evolves into a fairly decentralized entity, the NC develops a trend of strong governors-general, and the Manitobans and Indianans have little in common with their more sophisticated eastern neighbors. The old antagonisms between Quebec and the NC almost reaches the point of border war at one point.
The economy of the SC is agricultural and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future, while that of the NC is tending more towards commerce and industry. The NC is largely Presbyterian and Congregationalist, while the SC is dominated by the Church of England.
1789 - The Paris Insurrection is dispersed in a bloodbath known as "The Terrible September Days". Many suspect Britain to have encouraged the insurrection, and relations with London take a turn for the worse. Louis XVI, having no taste for another struggle, has no intention of embarking on new adventures.
1793 - Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin, drastically increasing the output of the Southern Confederation. Even more important is the effect on Jefferson, which soon gains a tremendous economic boost from cotton, and closer ties to France as a result of trade. Farmers from the Southern Confederation lacking sufficient land begin to immigrate. In addition, slavery is revived, primarily in Jefferson due to opposition in the Confederation and Britain. A formal government is required for the expanding colony, and is formed under the influence of some of the more elitist leaders such as Hamilton and Madison. Government is formed as a tripartite scheme of separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The legislative branch consists of a chamber of representatives and a senate whose members are selected by the chamber. The chamber creates laws, the senate is required to pass them. The executive branch is chosen by the Senate, consisting of three men, the votes of two being necessary for decisions. The executive branch selects the members of the high court, who are then ratified by the senate. The new constitution is vague in some areas and fails entirely to mention others (such as slavery), allowing all sides to hope that they can sway the government to their views in the future.
1793 - 1815 - Alexander Hamilton is one of the leaders of Jefferson, and the dominant figure. His leadership is essential in solving the economic and governmental problems of Jefferson in its formative years, but his views on reconciliation with the CNA and Britain are largely unheeded, and a longstanding anti-CNA policy arises. Foreign affairs become dominated by a pro-French faction.
1793 - Louis XVI dies of a head injury. Louis XVII ascends the throne, with Queen Marie Antoinette as regent. The Queen looks eastward for support, and concludes a secret treaty with Emperor Francis II of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to coordinate an attack on, and the dismemberment of, Prussia. The secret is badly kept, and the British warn Frederick William II of Prussia and offer aid.
1795 - France and the Austro-Hungarian Empire attack Prussia. A French army is sent to threaten Spain, which gives in, leading to effective domination of Spain by France. Queen Maria I of Portugal appeals to London for assistance in case Franco-Spanish forces attack. Britain sends troops to Portugal and Prussia, and establishes a blockade of the continent. Prussia fights off the invaders, but lacks the manpower to mount invasions of France and Austria.
In America, Georgians invade the Floridas and Louisiana, annexing them without waiting for permission from the SC. Various CNA colonies attack Spanish and French possessions along the Mississippi, as well as New Orleans. New Orleans is soon seized by a united SC army. By late 1798, all of North America east of the Missouri-Mississippi waterway is in CNA hands.
Jeffersonian politics and policy become divided into two factions, the Continentalists (in favor of "Continental Destiny" - expansion, and a Greater Jefferson encompassing the continent), and the Liberty Party (opposed to this and supporting the principles of the Declaration of Independance). The Continental Party gains majority support.
The Continentalists lead Jefferson into the Trans-Oceanic War, without a formal declaration, to seize as much French and Spanish territory as possible. One army reaches within 20 miles of New Orleans, and another reaches the Rio grande in 1797.
1799 - Articles of peace are signed in Aix-la-Chapelle. Prussia forms the Germanic Confederation with the addition of some Austrian territory. Charles I of Spain is replaced with Prince Ferdinand of Prussia. France is required to pay an indemnity to Britain. British and Prussian troops put down a revolt in Paris, and Louis XVII effectively becomes a puppet for them. V In America, the war continues as Jefferson and the SC continue to seize Spanish lands. Revolution erupts in Spanish America, eventually leading to the expulsion of the last viceroy from South and Central America. A new Confederation, Vandalia, is created at the center of the continent.
1805 - The Republic of Mexico proclaimed in Mexico City, as the last Spanish soldiers leave America. The slaves are freed and liberty guaranteed, but religious freedom is a contentious issue with the priests who supported the revolution, and in 1806 the Mexican Civil War begins. It will last for more than a decade. The Trans-Oceanic War will never truly end in the Americas, and the South American nations will be consumed in petty wars until the present day.
1810 - Quebec is becoming an economic colony of the NC, and many French-speaking inhabitants realize this. Dissidents organize the Free Quebec party, demanding full autonomy for French Quebec in the confederation's internal affairs. Their opposition in English Quebec, in search of foreign capital and strong ties to the CNA, form the Progress Party (more commonly known as the Liberal Party). The pro-agrarian opposition forms the Farmers Congress, soon transformed into the Conservative Party.
In Manitoba, due to relative isolation and its agrarian nature, politics is largely conflict-free for the next half century, becoming a haven for farmers, religious sects, utopians and the discontented.
Indiana is the fastest-growing state, from a population of 250,000 in 1810 to 3.5 million in 1840. By 1803 the Indians of the confederation unite behind Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, and achieve several crushing military successes against the Indianan army. In 1815 the governor calls upon the Confederation for military assistance, driving Tecumseh back, but the Indians remain a threat until 1850.
The Northern Confederation is exceptional in few areas, but progressive in all, and industrializes rapidly. By 1840, New York is the largest city in the Empire, dwarfing London at 9 million. A major railroad-building spree assists significantly. Monopoly capitalism and low wages, however, lead to discontent, and decades of conflicting styles of governmental management.
In the SC, cotton becomes a major source of foreign trade, and slavery increases substantially. The SC navy is the second-best in the world by 1830, and its elite are extremely wealthy. The cotton culture, however, soon runs out of available land and begins to strain what it uses, leading to stagnation of yields - a substantial problem with competing Jefferson to the west. Negro slaves are one quarter of the population by 1836, and slave revolts cause major problems. The SC navy and army, the largest in the CNA, are necessary primarily to protect the slave trade and counteract revolts - leading to a large military budget, and the use of most of the cotton profits to create a sort of police state. A new anti-slavery party, the Southern Union, is formed and conflict between abolitionist and pro-slavery views soon dominates SC political life.
1815 - Federales in Mexico begin entering urban centers and embark on a program of terror. The clerical faction of the civil war appeals for international aid to stop the bloodshed, and in the end, only Jefferson commits to actual intervention. An ambassador from Jefferson is rebuffed, and Jefferson declares war using the insult as an excuse. In 1816, the population of Mexico is 3 million to Jefferson's 130,000 and the Mexican army 85,000 soldiers to the 25000 of the Jefferson militia. It soon becomes evident, however, that the tough Jeffersonian army is more than a match for the Mexicans due to the Mexicans' occupation fighting the rebels, low morale, and the Jeffersonians have superb leadership. In 1817, the army of Jefferson marches into Mexico City after an eight month campaign, suffering few casualties. Mexico undergoes the worst purge in the continent's history shortly after liberation, all those with the remotest connection with the old regime executed. The Jeffersonian commander steps in to end the bloodshed, proclaiming himself provisional president of Mexico.
1820 - A coup against the provisional government in Mexico is overthrown. Andrew Jackson, effectively in full command of the government of Jefferson, initiates a union between Mexico and Jefferson. The delegates hasten to do Jackson's bidding in the creation of a bilingual, unified United States of Mexico, with a strong military and executive, and the preservation of slavery. There are six states which have nominal independence, but are very much under the authority of the central government in many important matters, and the state governments end up with little real power. Three states write charters granting the Catholic Church special rights. The tripartite ruling council of the new USM is replaced by a single president, elected by the senate for a six year term (with veto power, command of the military, and the power to call elections). Only free men are allowed the vote, and peons are not considered free men, drastically limiting the franchise (initially Jefferson has 34% of seats in the lower house). All governmental deliberations are to be held in English, and the restrictions on the procedure of the Assembly render it ineffective enough to be subordinate to the other arms of government. Opposition from the Liberty Party is unsuccessful in preventing these measures. For the next 18 years, Jackson rules the USM severely but successfully. Jackson's brilliant leadership, and strategy for the unification, will allow the USM to eventually grow into a unified and effective nation (though his own racial views are extremely bigoted in many ways, most especially against the Negroes). This national unification, however, is often with Jeffersonians in many of the main positions of wealth and power, with the Mexicans forming a parallel majority society.
Eventually, a central banking system is established and free trade encouraged. By 1835, 40% of central bank stock is in French hands, cementing the USM's relationship with France.
1835 - London is hit by financial crisis, as the bank of Baring collapses and the ruling party is subsequently thrown out of office. In 1836 the loss of investment hits New York, causing the collapse of numerous banks who are ill prepared for tight times. By 1837, depression and social unrest spreads to the entire CNA.
1838 - The depression in the USM, never as severe as in the CNA, ends soon after the discovery of gold in California. The state is sealed off from foreign prospectors. A railroad is constructed, and Jackson's great opposition to industrialization begins to be overcome. This results in numerous other metal deposits being found in the USM, and in the decline of the importance of cotton (due also to an international cotton glut which will last for 30 years). The state of Jefferson becomes second in importance to California, and the existing leadership is rocked by change.
1839 - Indian uprising in Indiana led by a born-again Indian chief puts to death 5000 inhabitants of Michigan City. The CNA army is sent, and massacres the entire Indian force in the most savage act of retribution in CNA history. In Quebec, pro-independence Patriotes are crushed in an attack on Quebec. Franz Freund's "Consolidated Union of Producers", favoring government regulation in support of workers, gains real political power for the first time. In 1840 a general strike occurs, and a radical worker assassinates the governor. Private armies hired by manufacturers retaliate, destroying the Consolidated and killing 40,000. Until 1842, the Britannic Degree is suspended as the governor rules with an iron fist (the opposition wins the next general election on a platform of reconciliation). The legacy of Governor Gilpin is an NC saved from anarchy, but with the worst record of violation of civil liberties and internal turmoil in the CNA.
In the SC, the price of cotton declines, leading to a slump in the slave trade, which soon ground nearly to a halt due to the glut of slaves. Production turns from cotton to other crops on many plantations. As the plantation holders look for ways to rid themselves of many of their slaves, a policy of government-supported manumission is adopted with strong British support. Slavery is ended throughout the British Empire, but a minor clause in the manumission act leads to many slaves being kept on for an indefinite "period of education" for the next two generations. By January of 1942, most slaves have been granted their freedom, although they had few places to turn for work except to their former plantation owners, who ended up the main beneficiaries of manumission.
In the USM, the Libertarians (Liberty Party) win the majority of the government for the first time, replacing Jackson with their own President. Their policy is one of moderation, reducing discrimination against Indians and "Mexicanos".
1841 - Meetings at Concordia, as a result of the problems of the years of depression and crisis, lead to amendments to the Britannic Design in pursuit of a more centralized state. Discussions open in earnest in 1842 in the CNA Grand Council. The Grand Council is transformed into a powerful legislative instrument, with 150 elected members, and a Confederation Senate is created with 5 members from each state but little power, to act in a manner similar to the House of Lords. The Governor-General, now selected by the Grand Council, similar to the position of Prime Minister in the UK. The Anglican Church is maintained as the established church, and the right of Britain to call upon CNA troops in defense of the Empire, is maintained. The remarkable cooperation of the whole process acts to strengthen CNA ties with Britain. At the time of the passing of the act, an unusually harsh winter in Europe leads to a boom market for CNA food, and soon the depression ends.
1843 - At the annual convention of the Continentalist party, Hispano Pedro Hermion rallies the party to a renewed line of expansionism and anti-CNA sentiment. Hermion becomes leader of the party under a primarily militaristic, anti-CNA platform.
1845 - Open war erupts between Mexicans and North Americans in the disputed border region between Mexico del Norte and Vandalia. An election in the USM, happening to coincide with the period of high tension and the failure of mediation, is won by the Continentalists on a platform of war. In the end, the Rocky Mountain War arises out of escalation of local conflict even as negotiation attempts between the two governments continue. It is interesting to note that the telegraph, which might have averted the conflict had Burgoyne and Jefferson been connected, is invented in 1846.
There are 24 million North Americans and 16 million Mexicans (some 200,000 of whom are slaves). The CNA has the support of Britain, the most powerful nation in the world, while the USM's French allies are unable to offer meaningful support (being involved in difficulties with the Germanic Confederation). The CNA has the second largest navy in the world, which blockades Mexico with ease, destroying the small USM fleet within two years. The CNA has the second largest industrial complex in the world (by 1849 the largest), and has superior transportation via rail. The CNA has 500,000 men under arms and will raise an additional million, while the USM has 200,000 and will not exceed 650,000.
The USM was not, however, without assets of its own. Jackson's policy of cooperation with Hispanos and Indians bore fruit, and the blacks were kept under control by force (including genocide). The French Canadians saw the war as a chance to assert independence, and under the patriote banner demanded independence, while many Indians deserted the CNA and served in the Mexican Army. The SC saw freedmen use the war as an opportunity to demand equal rights, while the NC was plagued by anti-draft riots and labor stoppages. The CNA uses more troops to keep the peace at home than to fight the Mexicans for much of the war.
Most of the fighting takes place on Mexican soil - many North American troops, at least 90,000, die of disease and the elements. The Mexicans were also blessed with better field commanders, and less interference from the supreme commander.
1848 - All of the disputed territory has been seized by the CNA, but repeated offensives into Mexico del Norte and Jefferson meet with failure. A CNA landing force captures Tampico and attempts to drive to Mexico city, but is eventually routed. The CNA negotiator suggests a return to the prewar borders, with an election to determine ownership of the disputed zone, but negotiations break down and the war continues.
1849 - 1852 - a CNA force drives for San Francisco, and major elements of both armies fight in a zone centered on the Rockies. The Battle of San Fernando, the last field battle of the war, ends in a draw with the retreat of both armies. The Mexican army attempts to trap the American army in the mountains, while the Americans send reinforcements to free it. In what is referred to as the most foolish battle in the history of warfare, both sides spend five months chasing each other in the snow rather than retreat. 110,000 CNA and 60,000 USM soldiers die during the war.
1851 - In the USM, the failure of the war effort and the possibility of defeat leads to open warfare between supporters of the government and the peace faction. The President rallies the support of the government with another one of his strong, motivational speeches, but at the conclusion of his speech, Hermion is assassinated. This results in his near-instant martyrdom, but a martyrdom of a man now portrayed as having gone to war very reluctantly. The new government ceases offensive operations, resulting in a renewed but unsuccessful CNA offensive. The USM careful defensive eventually salvages the military situation inherited from the Hermion government.
1853 - After failing to secure support for a full scale offensive against Mexico, new elections in the CNA result in a government favoring peace.
1855 - Settlement negotiations conclude, resulting in minor territorial concessions to the CNA and a payment from the CNA to the USM for losses due to escaped slaves. The end of the war begins a long boom in the CNA, already the world's leading industrial power (due in no small part to substantial British investment). Quebec is the only state to decline economically in the quarter-century following the war, due in part to patriote terrorism which led to emigration of nearly half a million. Due to low immigration, the state's population declines from 5.9 million to 4.8 million by 1870.
1860 - The USM has recovered from the war, though not to the same extent as the CNA. Increased mechanization in cotton farming is making the slave something of an uneconomic relic. The institution remains due to opposition to freeing the slaves, but the institution gradually declines as a blind eye is turned to escaping slaves (large numbers of whom escaped to Vandalia over the years).
1863 - Petroleum is discovered in Jefferson. Initially output is no threat to the dominance of CNA production, but by 1876, oil production in Jefferson exceeds that of Indiana. By 1874, Petroleum of Mexico is the largest corporation in the USM. By this time California is becoming a fruit-farming paradise, and rail transportation increases to service it (by 1875, the USM will have the most extensive rail network in the world).
1864 - USM President Conroy succeeds at amending the constitution so that the President and the membership of the Senate are directly elected by the people. In addition, bills in the Assembly must be voted on only once, instead of twice, to pass, making the lower house much more relevant to politics. These measures end up causing little change in the political structure, but do much to quiet calls for reform.
1865 - A group of friends in the USM form the Kramer Associates, with plans to facilitate transportation between the Atlantic and Pacific. They consider, and reject, a plan to construct a canal across the state of Chiapas, and instead turn their attention to Guatemala and New Grenada, two backward nations fighting over the Isthmus of Panama. Plans soon focus on a route purely through Guatemala - though twice as long as the Panamanian route, but the land is flatter and a lake is handy to facilitate operations.
1866 - Kramer and Benedict, leaders of the Kramer Associates and Petroleum of Mexico, form an alliance due to common interest in Guatemala. Both are anglos, and continentalists by conviction. Both men oppose Conroy's reformism, and soon mobilize their interest to prevent his reelection. Together they form a political force of great power.
1869 - The USM elections, a victory for the Continentalists, make it quite plain that Mexico is politically divided - Anglo and Hispano-controlled Jefferson and California are primarily Continentalist, while Mexicanos tended to be in the Libertarian camp. The victorious faction is surprised to learn that the Guatemalans have opened negotiations with Germany to construct a canal. Kramer does not wait for official action, acting alone to foment a coup in Guatemala in the following year (the new government agrees to let him build the canal). In effect, Guatemala soon became a subsidiary of the Kramer Associates. The canal will be completed in 1878, and first turn a profit in 1885.
1870 - the CNA becomes the acknowledged technological leader of the world. By this point it also has the highest medical standards, and North American universities produce more graduates than all of Europe combined. This dominance of innovation is best exemplified by Thomas Edison, inventor of many things from the lightbulb to the vitavision, locomobile, and airmobile shortly before his death by accident in 1903. Politically, the period is best described as very bland, with a policy of isolationism, and dominated by big business interests. For the first time, manufactured goods exceed agricultural products in exports.
1873 - In time for the elections this year, a new Political Party known as the Peoples' Coalition emerges to challenge the traditional parties (now known simply as Liberals and Conservatives). This is symptomatic of the rise of many societal problems such as the problem of oppression of blacks, the rise of industrialism and large corporations, urbanization leading to the rise of slums, and wage issues arising from ineffective unions. In most respects the Coalition is a pro-agrarian, anti-urban, anti-immigrant party.
1877 - Due to great increase in the population of Vandalia, at 6.8 million and increasing rapidly, it is split into two confederations, Northern Vandalia and Southern Vandalia.
1878 - Tensions between France and the Germanic Confederation erupt in war, following Germany's surpassing of France in almost every industrial category, and the German decision of 1870 to construct a large navy. The war begins earlier than expected, triggering various economic shocks, but does not influence the English-speaking world directly. Britain, however, increases mobilization and moves to a war footing, prepared for anything - and discouraging investment in North America.
1879 - German armies are victorious over the French, with French colonies in German possession. Spontaneous riots erupt in Paris, and Louis XX abdicates for his son. The mob storms the palace and puts the royal family to death. The Germany army enters Paris.
1880 - The loss of investment triggers a financial crises in the CNA, and the collapse of several major banks and industries, leading to the Great Depression, which will last for two and a half years.
Around the world, the Bloody Eighties soon begin, as the strain between the remaining old feudal institutions and the modern industrialized world is met by the advocates of new ideologies such as socialism and nationalism. Scholars, looking back upon the original ideologies of the American revolutionaries, begin to believe that the failure of them to come about caused the loss of a golden age for mankind. The failure of the revolution dispirited like minded groups across the world and alerted the regimes to the dangers of revolt, but their collapse finally begins. At this point the CNA is probably the most advanced nation in the world, with progressive business and labor shortages leading to good working conditions, but in most of Europe, the old nobility dominates many aspects of business. In the USM things are perhaps the worst of all, with the Mexicanos still living in a feudalistic economy while the superstructure of the nation is imposing and industrialized.
Several regiments of German troops join the rioters and the uprisings spread to the German Confederation, Austria, and the Italian kingdoms. Soon every major capital is in chaos except London and St. Petersburg, both protected by loyal troops. Within a few months, the riots are quelled, except in France where a socialist government is formed. By 1884 this government has control of most of France, but the struggle between the Socialists and Monarchists will continue for the next quarter century and cause the decline of France.
Most of the other Continental nations follow the French example, with the exception of the German Confederation which remains under Hohenzollern leadership, influenced by a new reform party. Britain, Germany, and Russia are the only remaining major powers in Europe. Russia survived due to the backwardness of most of the population, Britain by the ability of its system to handle reform.
1880 - 1882 - 1.5 million Europeans emigrate to the CNA, 100,000 to Mexico before both close their borders.
1881 - emergency loans and financial assistance from the CNA government help reduce some of the effects of the Depression. The Imperial Monetary Fund is established to support member nations.
In the USM, a convention of the Mexicano reformist Workers Coalition is violently broken up by the Constabulary, a new plainclothes police organization. Insurrection spreads across the USM with the sole exception of Jefferson, where it is stopped by oppression by a paramilitary organization controlled by Petroleum of Mexico. The President places the nation under martial law, and soon the nation is under police control, a battleground between revolutionaries and reactionaries. He later suffers a fatal heart attack, and in the struggle to select a new President, control of the nation moves to the eleven-man Cabinet as a temporary measure. Benito Hermion, the leader of the Constabulary and loyal to Kramer Associates, successfully pushes for an indefinite delay on the upcoming elections, and is selected for the newly created position of "chief of state". In the following days, the Constabulary imprisons major opponents of Hermion, and the remaining Senate confirms Hermion as Chief of State.
1882 - Kramer of Kramer Associates dies of a stroke, and later that year Benedict of Petroleum of Mexico retires. Hermion, who had been removing himself from their influence in any case, is now nearly unchallenged. By 1883, Hermion's forces have control of most of Mexico, and he has dictatorial powers. The pacification soon enables Mexico to begin its recovery from the Great Depression. Hermion announces that Mexico is repudiating its tremendous debt to France, some 80% of Mexico's foreign debt, while half the foreign investment in Mexico (French) is nationalized or redistributed. Hermion announces a program of social reforms, supported by increased taxation, many of which are never actually completed.
1883 - The popular CNA Governor-General passes a series of social and economic reforms, as well as an increase of the army from 80,000 to 200,000 men and a plan to make the navy "second to none".
1885 - Under a wave of refugees fleeing from chaos in Europe, several countries close their borders to immigration (including Spain, Switzerland, and the Scandinavian countries). Hundreds of thousands of Russian peasants leave for Turkey and North Africa, large numbers of Italians to South America, and 47000 leave the Netherlands for South Africa. In the British Empire, large numbers of French, Dutch, and Italians move to Australia, New Zealand, eastern Africa, and Manitoba.
By this time, many of the CNA reforms prove problematic, and the government appears powerless.
1886 - Hermion of the USM strengthens ties with Germany, and establishes a friendly face to the CNA, whose experts indicate that Hermion believes them too strong to tackle. Hermion becomes a source of virulent anti-French rhetoric, and seizes Guatemala under the pretext that France is involved there. A puppet government is established.
1887 - Hermion begins a purge of his presumed political foes, including the populations of the French quarters of many Gulf cities. By 1889, his grip on the nation is complete.
1888 - Uprisings in Moscow and St. Petersburg are met with a violent response from the Tsar. Within the next five years, over 2 million Russians are killed by the army and the secret police.
In Burgoyne, the now-conventionalized Peoples' Coalition is elected to power. The new Governor-General follows an isolationist stance, declaring that the CNA gains nothing from the rest of the world but trouble.
1889 - The governor-general holds a referendum in Quebec over its status in the CNA. The winners are the "association" faction, and Quebec becomes an associated state with much local autonomy but not full membership in the Confederation. He also institutes a program of expanded financial assistance to entrepreneurs, whose companies would cede a minority portion of their stock to the government. Entirely by accident, this coincides with an improvement in the economic climate for entrepreneurs and small ventures. Later on, the institution will cause as much harm as good.
1890 - Mexico invades and conquers New Granada, a nation of 12 million with a history of 70 years of independence and the most powerful in South America. Soon the nation provides a vital economic stimulus to Mexico, a vital source of iron and coal as well as enriching Kramer Associates and Petroleum of Mexico. Hermion's older brother is sent to rule the now-puppet state.
1892 - The fighting in France finally comes to an end, albeit a temporary one.
In Mexico, Hermion proclaims the USM has no further military aims - indeed, south of Hermion lie Guiana, a British colony, and the poor nations of Quito and Rio Negro (which soon become effectively dependant on Mexico anyway). The Empire of Brazil is more independant, but Dom Pedro V still acknowledges Mexico City's dominance. All of South America is soon dependant on Mexico in one way or another, and within a year a revolution is fomented in Hawaii which is added to the USM.
In Mexico, there are now only two large corporations, Kramer Associates and Petroleum of Mexico, which bring economic growth in complete cooperation with the government. Kramer Associates is the third largest business organization in the world, with interests on all continents and its hands in nearly everything, while Petroleum of Mexico is the largest producer of refined products, owning over three quarters of the world's known reserves. The USM has a population of 71 million, compared to 79 million in the CNA, though it has little more than 1/6 the GNP of the CNA.
Petroleum of Mexico is merged into the Kramer Associates, which now controls 70% of Mexico's non-petroleum industry, and is beginning various international operations. The USM annexes Hawaii at the urging of Kramer Associates.
1984 - Cortez of Kramer Associates joins with the Krupps in an attempt to take control of the Ottoman Empire, which fails. The Associates enter into a profit-sharing arrangement with Russia in order to mine copper in Alaska.
1895 - Charlex X lands at Calais, beginning a civil war in France that would decimate the population within a generation.
1896 - Kramer Associates explorations uncover gold in the Yukon. The Russian government, in need of funds, decides that its mining agreement with Kramer covers copper only, and thus that it does not need to share the profits.
1897 - Cortez is unable to win support from Hermion to invade Alaska. In cooperation with California, whose legislature had mostly been purchased by Kramer, he formulates a plan to provoke war with Russia, and to let the Russians invade California.
1898 - Repeated border incidents and failed communications lead to a Russian invasion of California. Within four months, all of Alaska is conquered by Mexico in the Great Northern War.
1899 - Cortez gets the Japanese to mediate with an eye toward ending the war quickly, but Hermion has other ideas. Mexican forces land in Siberia, and defeat the Russian fleet at sea. By October 1899, Mexico controls a large portion of Siberia, and military activity is halted by the winter. "Provisional Free Russian Government" formed in Siberia, which soon becomes a willing puppet of the USM.
In the CNA, the Starkist Terror begins as councilman Fritz Stark accuses CNA president Gallivan of being in the pay of Kramer Associates. After a two-week period of violence and reprisals, Gallivan is cleared of the charges and Stark commits suicide. Despite these events, public hysteria continues and Gallivan eventually resigns.
1900 - Revolution erupts in European Russia. Poland, the Baltic States, and Ukraine declare independence while the Tsar and his family flee the country. The Revolution will continue for five years, ended only by intervention of Britain, France, the Germanic Confederation, and Austria. In Japan, Emperor Meiji is shocked into approaching the Europeans for trade and technological assistance. Britain and Japan soon become major trading partners.
1901 - The Yamagata-Macmillan treaty pledges Britain and Japan to support each other in case of war in the Pacific. Mexico is the second-largest power in the world in terms of land, exceeded only by weak and divided China. It is still third-rate economically, but its military is second to none. Hermion announces that the United States of Mexico is replaced by the Mexican Empire, with himself as Emperor. Cortez, fearful of the consequences of Mexico's recent actions, launches a conspiracy which leads to Hermion fleeing the country and living out his life in exile in Spain.
1902 - Under Kramer direction, the old Constitution is restored in Mexico and free elections are held. Evacuation of Siberia by the Mexican military begins.
1906 - United British Commonwealth of Nations formed by Britain, Australia, New Zealand, India, Victoria, and Egypt. The CNA, maintaining its isolationist stance, does not join.
1909 - Marshal Henri Fanchon launches a coup and unifies France. The economy recovers within two years.
1900 - 1910 - CNA population grows from 87.1 million to 109.8 million, GNP from 43 billion pounds to 78 billion pounds. Electricity usage grows tenfold, and the number of locomobiles and radios in use grows from 18,000 and 29,000 respectively, to 769,000 and 3.1 million. The Airmobile is invented by Thomas Edison in 1903, though true commercial aviation does not begin until 1915 with a government mail contract. Vitavision is developed in 1900, but will not become commercially feasible for another 20 years. By 1910, weekly attendance at motion pictures is 50 million.
In Mexico, population grows from 88.9 million to 113.4 million, GNP from 5.8 billion dolares to 11.9 billion dolares. Kramer Associates accounts for half of the GNP, and is four times as large as the next largest firm in the world. The USM produces primarily petroleum locomobiles, but petroleum locomobiles do not pass steam models (favored by the CNA) in world sales until 1929.
1911 - Fanchon holds elections and is elected President of the Republic.
1912 - The world's major powers are connected by an outdated system of alliances that is often confusing. Britain is leader of the Commonwealth, has relations with the CNA but no formal treaty, has a nonaggression pact with Germany in force since 1883 against revolutionary France, and the alliance with Japan against the USM from 1901. Germany has treaties with the Ottomans, Poland, and the Baltic states against the Russian successor states, a treaty with Mexico, and an "understanding" with Italy. France is allied with the Ukrainian Republic, Serbia, Greece and the Argentine. The USM has treaties with Free Russia, the Brazilian Empire, and Germany. The CNA has no treaty committments, but is friendly with Britain. Fanchon understands this, and is prepared to test the system at its weak points.
Fanchon dreams of conquering the globe. He modernizes and enlarges the army and navy, andplans to isolate Mexico and attack it in order to regain territory lost in the revolution. He makes several miscalculations - Britain, the CNA, and Kramer Associates will strongly oppose such a French attempt to tip the balance of power, and French support in Mexico has nearly vanished. Fanchon is deluded about the real state of world power, surrounding himself with cronies.
1914 - France invades Tampico under the pretext of a riot in the city, beginning the Hundred Days War. During the first month, French marines secure the canal, and the Mexican army falls back in the face of determined French assaults. The Mexicans replace their commanding general, rally, and defeat the French at Chapultapec. The Mexican navy isolates the landings, and the French eventually sign an armistice. The short and localized war ends, but the French brought revolution, freeing some of the 100,000 negro slaves in the USM.
Many slaves who fought for the French are put on trial, which results in international protest. In the CNA, the organization Friends of Black Mexico is formed.
1915 - Riots begin surrounding the trials. In once incident, a large number of disguised CNA citizens are arrested. Tensions are sparked across the USM and the CNA.
1917 - Amid anti-negro violence and general discontent in Mexico, polls reveal that while most Mexicans are "dissatisfied" with the institution of slavery.
1920 - Friends of Black Mexico shifts its focus toward ending racism in the CNA, becoming the League for Brotherhood, and eventually extends to become an organization for dissatisfied middle-class whites rallying against industrialism.
General Calles, victor at Chapultapec, is elected President of Mexico. His popularity is very high. President Calles makes a surprise announcement to the Mexican Senate that slavery will be abolished (he does not specify details). A Manumission bill is introduced, which all Kramer supported politicians are instructed to vote for. Public mood is correctly assessed by Pedro Fuentes of Chiapas as opposing manumission, and he leads the attack against Calles. The Manumission acts is passed by voice vote, and its implementation is supported by Kramer Associates. Riots and demonstrations result, so severe that the troops are called in on several occasions. Despite significant popular opposition, Calles follows by introducing a motion to offer USM statehood to associated territories from Alaska to Siberia. The attempt flounders badly, with only Alaska and Hawaii approving statehood. Due to Calles' tendency to act without consideration of public opinion, Fuentes easily wins the next election in 1926.
1922 - Owen Galloway appears in the public eye in the CNA, owner of the largest corporation in the CNA. He initiates the Galloway Plan, providing financial support for the "curing of ills through seperation" - allowing people to emigrate or move to locations where their politics and ideology are better supported. The plan ends up destroying much of the basis of the protest movements, though only a few hundred thousand people leave the CNA and somewhat over one million relocate internally (mostly to Manitoba) over the next 8 years. Manitoba's population grows tremendously, and urbanization actually declines slightly. The Galloway Plan doesn't work exactly as anticipated, but does make Galloway the most popular person in North America. His philosophy and ideology are indistinct and self-contradictory, but have substantial impact on the masses.
In the CNA government, Governor-General Dewey slashes government spending and decentralizes the CNA power structure, and cooperates fully with the Galloway Plan (effectively exporting much of their political opposition).
1928 - President Fuentes decides that Kramer Associates has too much power in Mexico. By this time, Cortez has retired (having greatly underestimates popular opposition to manumission). Kramer is banned from Japan and restricted in France, the Netherlands, and Germany, but controls the Philippines and virtually controls the economies of Brazil and the Argentine. Although still chartered in Mexico, it is a force in its own right, with three quarters of its sales outside Mexico. Reacting to this threat, Kramer Associates undergoes dramatic restructuring over the next few years. Soon it consists of eleven "separate" corporations, all based in different countries and responsible for different areas, an organizational tangle extremely difficult for the government to track down.
1932 - Dissatisfaction with Fuentes perceived ineptitude (as a result of his inability to pin down the reorganized Kramer Associates) leads to the election of Alvin Silva in Mexico. Silva's campaign focused on ignoring internal affairs, in favor of nationalistic expansionism.
1933 - The German army numbers over 1.9 million men, plus a growing force of over 900 airmobiles (more than Britain and the CNA combined, and more advanced). Germany is expanding into British spheres of influence around Asia and Africa, and with new oil concessions from the Ottoman Empire is threatening the CNA policy to avoid having to depend on Mexico for oil. Governor-General Watson of the CNA embarks upon a historic diplomatic tour of Europe, and pledges that the CNA will expand its army and navy, and create an air arm second to none. The CNA is soon pushed toward a formal alliance with Britain, as Mexico strengthens its ties with Germany and Japan, another ally of Britain, is threatened by Mexico and Germany in China.
1934 - Public opinion in the CNA changes overnight when Owen Galloway, making an overt political stand for the first time, condemns the arms buildup. A movement begins to impeach Watson, which he eventually overcomes.
1863 - Petroleum is discovered in Jefferson. Initially output is no threat to the dominance of CNA production, but by 1876, oil production in Jefferson exceeds that of Indiana. By 1874, Petroleum of Mexico is the largest corporation in the USM. By this time California is becoming a fruit-farming paradise, and rail transportation increases to service it (by 1875, the USM will have the most extensive rail network in the world).
1864 - USM President Conroy succeeds at amending the constitution so that the President and the membership of the Senate are directly elected by the people. In addition, bills in the Assembly must be voted on only once, instead of twice, to pass, making the lower house much more relevant to politics. These measures end up causing little change in the political structure, but do much to quiet calls for reform.
1865 - A group of friends in the USM form the Kramer Associates, with plans to facilitate transportation between the Atlantic and Pacific. They consider, and reject, a plan to construct a canal across the state of Chiapas, and instead turn their attention to Guatemala and New Grenada, two backward nations fighting over the Isthmus of Panama. Plans soon focus on a route purely through Guatemala - though twice as long as the Panamanian route, but the land is flatter and a lake is handy to facilitate operations.
1866 - Kramer and Benedict, leaders of the Kramer Associates and Petroleum of Mexico, form an alliance due to common interest in Guatemala. Both are anglos, and continentalists by conviction. Both men oppose Conroy's reformism, and soon mobilize their interest to prevent his reelection. Together they form a political force of great power.
1869 - The USM elections, a victory for the Continentalists, make it quite plain that Mexico is politically divided - Anglo and Hispano-controlled Jefferson and California are primarily Continentalist, while Mexicanos tended to be in the Libertarian camp. The victorious faction is surprised to learn that the Guatemalans have opened negotiations with Germany to construct a canal. Kramer does not wait for official action, acting alone to foment a coup in Guatemala in the following year (the new government agrees to let him build the canal). In effect, Guatemala soon became a subsidiary of the Kramer Associates. The canal will be completed in 1878, and first turn a profit in 1885.
1870 - the CNA becomes the acknowledged technological leader of the world. By this point it also has the highest medical standards, and North American universities produce more graduates than all of Europe combined. This dominance of innovation is best exemplified by Thomas Edison, inventor of many things from the lightbulb to the vitavision, locomobile, and airmobile shortly before his death by accident in 1903. Politically, the period is best described as very bland, with a policy of isolationism, and dominated by big business interests. For the first time, manufactured goods exceed agricultural products in exports.
1873 - In time for the elections this year, a new Political Party known as the Peoples' Coalition emerges to challenge the traditional parties (now known simply as Liberals and Conservatives). This is symptomatic of the rise of many societal problems such as the problem of oppression of blacks, the rise of industrialism and large corporations, urbanization leading to the rise of slums, and wage issues arising from ineffective unions. In most respects the Coalition is a pro-agrarian, anti-urban, anti-immigrant party.
1877 - Due to great increase in the population of Vandalia, at 6.8 million and increasing rapidly, it is split into two confederations, Northern Vandalia and Southern Vandalia.
1878 - Tensions between France and the Germanic Confederation erupt in war, following Germany's surpassing of France in almost every industrial category, and the German decision of 1870 to construct a large navy. The war begins earlier than expected, triggering various economic shocks, but does not influence the English-speaking world directly. Britain, however, increases mobilization and moves to a war footing, prepared for anything - and discouraging investment in North America.
1879 - German armies are victorious over the French, with French colonies in German possession. Spontaneous riots erupt in Paris, and Louis XX abdicates for his son. The mob storms the palace and puts the royal family to death. The Germany army enters Paris.
1880 - The loss of investment triggers a financial crises in the CNA, and the collapse of several major banks and industries, leading to the Great Depression, which will last for two and a half years.
Around the world, the Bloody Eighties soon begin, as the strain between the remaining old feudal institutions and the modern industrialized world is met by the advocates of new ideologies such as socialism and nationalism. Scholars, looking back upon the original ideologies of the American revolutionaries, begin to believe that the failure of them to come about caused the loss of a golden age for mankind. The failure of the revolution dispirited like minded groups across the world and alerted the regimes to the dangers of revolt, but their collapse finally begins. At this point the CNA is probably the most advanced nation in the world, with progressive business and labor shortages leading to good working conditions, but in most of Europe, the old nobility dominates many aspects of business. In the USM things are perhaps the worst of all, with the Mexicanos still living in a feudalistic economy while the superstructure of the nation is imposing and industrialized.
Several regiments of German troops join the rioters and the uprisings spread to the German Confederation, Austria, and the Italian kingdoms. Soon every major capital is in chaos except London and St. Petersburg, both protected by loyal troops. Within a few months, the riots are quelled, except in France where a socialist government is formed. By 1884 this government has control of most of France, but the struggle between the Socialists and Monarchists will continue for the next quarter century and cause the decline of France.
Most of the other Continental nations follow the French example, with the exception of the German Confederation which remains under Hohenzollern leadership, influenced by a new reform party. Britain, Germany, and Russia are the only remaining major powers in Europe. Russia survived due to the backwardness of most of the population, Britain by the ability of its system to handle reform.
1880 - 1882 - 1.5 million Europeans emigrate to the CNA, 100,000 to Mexico before both close their borders.
1881 - emergency loans and financial assistance from the CNA government help reduce some of the effects of the Depression. The Imperial Monetary Fund is established to support member nations.
In the USM, a convention of the Mexicano reformist Workers Coalition is violently broken up by the Constabulary, a new plainclothes police organization. Insurrection spreads across the USM with the sole exception of Jefferson, where it is stopped by oppression by a paramilitary organization controlled by Petroleum of Mexico. The President places the nation under martial law, and soon the nation is under police control, a battleground between revolutionaries and reactionaries. He later suffers a fatal heart attack, and in the struggle to select a new President, control of the nation moves to the eleven-man Cabinet as a temporary measure. Benito Hermion, the leader of the Constabulary and loyal to Kramer Associates, successfully pushes for an indefinite delay on the upcoming elections, and is selected for the newly created position of "chief of state". In the following days, the Constabulary imprisons major opponents of Hermion, and the remaining Senate confirms Hermion as Chief of State.
1882 - Kramer of Kramer Associates dies of a stroke, and later that year Benedict of Petroleum of Mexico retires. Hermion, who had been removing himself from their influence in any case, is now nearly unchallenged. By 1883, Hermion's forces have control of most of Mexico, and he has dictatorial powers. The pacification soon enables Mexico to begin its recovery from the Great Depression. Hermion announces that Mexico is repudiating its tremendous debt to France, some 80% of Mexico's foreign debt, while half the foreign investment in Mexico (French) is nationalized or redistributed. Hermion announces a program of social reforms, supported by increased taxation, many of which are never actually completed.
1883 - The popular CNA Governor-General passes a series of social and economic reforms, as well as an increase of the army from 80,000 to 200,000 men and a plan to make the navy "second to none".
1885 - Under a wave of refugees fleeing from chaos in Europe, several countries close their borders to immigration (including Spain, Switzerland, and the Scandinavian countries). Hundreds of thousands of Russian peasants leave for Turkey and North Africa, large numbers of Italians to South America, and 47000 leave the Netherlands for South Africa. In the British Empire, large numbers of French, Dutch, and Italians move to Australia, New Zealand, eastern Africa, and Manitoba.
By this time, many of the CNA reforms prove problematic, and the government appears powerless.
1886 - Hermion of the USM strengthens ties with Germany, and establishes a friendly face to the CNA, whose experts indicate that Hermion believes them too strong to tackle. Hermion becomes a source of virulent anti-French rhetoric, and seizes Guatemala under the pretext that France is involved there. A puppet government is established.
1887 - Hermion begins a purge of his presumed political foes, including the populations of the French quarters of many Gulf cities. By 1889, his grip on the nation is complete.
1888 - Uprisings in Moscow and St. Petersburg are met with a violent response from the Tsar. Within the next five years, over 2 million Russians are killed by the army and the secret police.
In Burgoyne, the now-conventionalized Peoples' Coalition is elected to power. The new Governor-General follows an isolationist stance, declaring that the CNA gains nothing from the rest of the world but trouble.
1889 - The governor-general holds a referendum in Quebec over its status in the CNA. The winners are the "association" faction, and Quebec becomes an associated state with much local autonomy but not full membership in the Confederation. He also institutes a program of expanded financial assistance to entrepreneurs, whose companies would cede a minority portion of their stock to the government. Entirely by accident, this coincides with an improvement in the economic climate for entrepreneurs and small ventures. Later on, the institution will cause as much harm as good.
1890 - Mexico invades and conquers New Granada, a nation of 12 million with a history of 70 years of independence and the most powerful in South America. Soon the nation provides a vital economic stimulus to Mexico, a vital source of iron and coal as well as enriching Kramer Associates and Petroleum of Mexico. Hermion's older brother is sent to rule the now-puppet state.
1892 - The fighting in France finally comes to an end, albeit a temporary one.
In Mexico, Hermion proclaims the USM has no further military aims - indeed, south of Hermion lie Guiana, a British colony, and the poor nations of Quito and Rio Negro (which soon become effectively dependant on Mexico anyway). The Empire of Brazil is more independant, but Dom Pedro V still acknowledges Mexico City's dominance. All of South America is soon dependant on Mexico in one way or another, and within a year a revolution is fomented in Hawaii which is added to the USM.
In Mexico, there are now only two large corporations, Kramer Associates and Petroleum of Mexico, which bring economic growth in complete cooperation with the government. Kramer Associates is the third largest business organization in the world, with interests on all continents and its hands in nearly everything, while Petroleum of Mexico is the largest producer of refined products, owning over three quarters of the world's known reserves. The USM has a population of 71 million, compared to 79 million in the CNA, though it has little more than 1/6 the GNP of the CNA.
Petroleum of Mexico is merged into the Kramer Associates, which now controls 70% of Mexico's non-petroleum industry, and is beginning various international operations. The USM annexes Hawaii at the urging of Kramer Associates.
1984 - Cortez of Kramer Associates joins with the Krupps in an attempt to take control of the Ottoman Empire, which fails. The Associates enter into a profit-sharing arrangement with Russia in order to mine copper in Alaska.
1895 - Charlex X lands at Calais, beginning a civil war in France that would decimate the population within a generation.
1896 - Kramer Associates explorations uncover gold in the Yukon. The Russian government, in need of funds, decides that its mining agreement with Kramer covers copper only, and thus that it does not need to share the profits.
1897 - Cortez is unable to win support from Hermion to invade Alaska. In cooperation with California, whose legislature had mostly been purchased by Kramer, he formulates a plan to provoke war with Russia, and to let the Russians invade California.
1898 - Repeated border incidents and failed communications lead to a Russian invasion of California. Within four months, all of Alaska is conquered by Mexico in the Great Northern War.
1899 - Cortez gets the Japanese to mediate with an eye toward ending the war quickly, but Hermion has other ideas. Mexican forces land in Siberia, and defeat the Russian fleet at sea. By October 1899, Mexico controls a large portion of Siberia, and military activity is halted by the winter. "Provisional Free Russian Government" formed in Siberia, which soon becomes a willing puppet of the USM.
In the CNA, the Starkist Terror begins as councilman Fritz Stark accuses CNA president Gallivan of being in the pay of Kramer Associates. After a two-week period of violence and reprisals, Gallivan is cleared of the charges and Stark commits suicide. Despite these events, public hysteria continues and Gallivan eventually resigns.
1900 - Revolution erupts in European Russia. Poland, the Baltic States, and Ukraine declare independence while the Tsar and his family flee the country. The Revolution will continue for five years, ended only by intervention of Britain, France, the Germanic Confederation, and Austria. In Japan, Emperor Meiji is shocked into approaching the Europeans for trade and technological assistance. Britain and Japan soon become major trading partners.
1901 - The Yamagata-Macmillan treaty pledges Britain and Japan to support each other in case of war in the Pacific. Mexico is the second-largest power in the world in terms of land, exceeded only by weak and divided China. It is still third-rate economically, but its military is second to none. Hermion announces that the United States of Mexico is replaced by the Mexican Empire, with himself as Emperor. Cortez, fearful of the consequences of Mexico's recent actions, launches a conspiracy which leads to Hermion fleeing the country and living out his life in exile in Spain.
1902 - Under Kramer direction, the old Constitution is restored in Mexico and free elections are held. Evacuation of Siberia by the Mexican military begins.
1906 - United British Commonwealth of Nations formed by Britain, Australia, New Zealand, India, Victoria, and Egypt. The CNA, maintaining its isolationist stance, does not join.
1909 - Marshal Henri Fanchon launches a coup and unifies France. The economy recovers within two years.
1900 - 1910 - CNA population grows from 87.1 million to 109.8 million, GNP from 43 billion pounds to 78 billion pounds. Electricity usage grows tenfold, and the number of locomobiles and radios in use grows from 18,000 and 29,000 respectively, to 769,000 and 3.1 million. The Airmobile is invented by Thomas Edison in 1903, though true commercial aviation does not begin until 1915 with a government mail contract. Vitavision is developed in 1900, but will not become commercially feasible for another 20 years. By 1910, weekly attendance at motion pictures is 50 million.
In Mexico, population grows from 88.9 million to 113.4 million, GNP from 5.8 billion dolares to 11.9 billion dolares. Kramer Associates accounts for half of the GNP, and is four times as large as the next largest firm in the world. The USM produces primarily petroleum locomobiles, but petroleum locomobiles do not pass steam models (favored by the CNA) in world sales until 1929.
1911 - Fanchon holds elections and is elected President of the Republic.
1912 - The world's major powers are connected by an outdated system of alliances that is often confusing. Britain is leader of the Commonwealth, has relations with the CNA but no formal treaty, has a nonaggression pact with Germany in force since 1883 against revolutionary France, and the alliance with Japan against the USM from 1901. Germany has treaties with the Ottomans, Poland, and the Baltic states against the Russian successor states, a treaty with Mexico, and an "understanding" with Italy. France is allied with the Ukrainian Republic, Serbia, Greece and the Argentine. The USM has treaties with Free Russia, the Brazilian Empire, and Germany. The CNA has no treaty committments, but is friendly with Britain. Fanchon understands this, and is prepared to test the system at its weak points.
Fanchon dreams of conquering the globe. He modernizes and enlarges the army and navy, andplans to isolate Mexico and attack it in order to regain territory lost in the revolution. He makes several miscalculations - Britain, the CNA, and Kramer Associates will strongly oppose such a French attempt to tip the balance of power, and French support in Mexico has nearly vanished. Fanchon is deluded about the real state of world power, surrounding himself with cronies.
1914 - France invades Tampico under the pretext of a riot in the city, beginning the Hundred Days War. During the first month, French marines secure the canal, and the Mexican army falls back in the face of determined French assaults. The Mexicans replace their commanding general, rally, and defeat the French at Chapultapec. The Mexican navy isolates the landings, and the French eventually sign an armistice. The short and localized war ends, but the French brought revolution, freeing some of the 100,000 negro slaves in the USM.
Many slaves who fought for the French are put on trial, which results in international protest. In the CNA, the organization Friends of Black Mexico is formed.
1915 - Riots begin surrounding the trials. In once incident, a large number of disguised CNA citizens are arrested. Tensions are sparked across the USM and the CNA.
1917 - Amid anti-negro violence and general discontent in Mexico, polls reveal that while most Mexicans are "dissatisfied" with the institution of slavery.
1920 - Friends of Black Mexico shifts its focus toward ending racism in the CNA, becoming the League for Brotherhood, and eventually extends to become an organization for dissatisfied middle-class whites rallying against industrialism.
General Calles, victor at Chapultapec, is elected President of Mexico. His popularity is very high. President Calles makes a surprise announcement to the Mexican Senate that slavery will be abolished (he does not specify details). A Manumission bill is introduced, which all Kramer supported politicians are instructed to vote for. Public mood is correctly assessed by Pedro Fuentes of Chiapas as opposing manumission, and he leads the attack against Calles. The Manumission acts is passed by voice vote, and its implementation is supported by Kramer Associates. Riots and demonstrations result, so severe that the troops are called in on several occasions. Despite significant popular opposition, Calles follows by introducing a motion to offer USM statehood to associated territories from Alaska to Siberia. The attempt flounders badly, with only Alaska and Hawaii approving statehood. Due to Calles' tendency to act without consideration of public opinion, Fuentes easily wins the next election in 1926.
1922 - Owen Galloway appears in the public eye in the CNA, owner of the largest corporation in the CNA. He initiates the Galloway Plan, providing financial support for the "curing of ills through seperation" - allowing people to emigrate or move to locations where their politics and ideology are better supported. The plan ends up destroying much of the basis of the protest movements, though only a few hundred thousand people leave the CNA and somewhat over one million relocate internally (mostly to Manitoba) over the next 8 years. Manitoba's population grows tremendously, and urbanization actually declines slightly. The Galloway Plan doesn't work exactly as anticipated, but does make Galloway the most popular person in North America. His philosophy and ideology are indistinct and self-contradictory, but have substantial impact on the masses.
In the CNA government, Governor-General Dewey slashes government spending and decentralizes the CNA power structure, and cooperates fully with the Galloway Plan (effectively exporting much of their political opposition).
1928 - President Fuentes decides that Kramer Associates has too much power in Mexico. By this time, Cortez has retired (having greatly underestimates popular opposition to manumission). Kramer is banned from Japan and restricted in France, the Netherlands, and Germany, but controls the Philippines and virtually controls the economies of Brazil and the Argentine. Although still chartered in Mexico, it is a force in its own right, with three quarters of its sales outside Mexico. Reacting to this threat, Kramer Associates undergoes dramatic restructuring over the next few years. Soon it consists of eleven "separate" corporations, all based in different countries and responsible for different areas, an organizational tangle extremely difficult for the government to track down.
1932 - Dissatisfaction with Fuentes perceived ineptitude (as a result of his inability to pin down the reorganized Kramer Associates) leads to the election of Alvin Silva in Mexico. Silva's campaign focused on ignoring internal affairs, in favor of nationalistic expansionism.
1933 - The German army numbers over 1.9 million men, plus a growing force of over 900 airmobiles (more than Britain and the CNA combined, and more advanced). Germany is expanding into British spheres of influence around Asia and Africa, and with new oil concessions from the Ottoman Empire is threatening the CNA policy to avoid having to depend on Mexico for oil. Governor-General Watson of the CNA embarks upon a historic diplomatic tour of Europe, and pledges that the CNA will expand its army and navy, and create an air arm second to none. The CNA is soon pushed toward a formal alliance with Britain, as Mexico strengthens its ties with Germany and Japan, another ally of Britain, is threatened by Mexico and Germany in China.
1934 - Public opinion in the CNA changes overnight when Owen Galloway, making an overt political stand for the first time, condemns the arms buildup. A movement begins to impeach Watson, which he eventually overcomes.
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