[RFC Dawn of Civ] The Alternative History of France

[Jwitti]

Raze Athens and kill all the Greeks.Oh, wait, they're Macedonians under Alexander....

 

[christos200]

Raze washigton, nuke every american city and kill all americans. Oh wait, americans in reality are british or spanish.

 

[Jwitti]

Not any more!
Really, this is childish. I mimicked you to make a point.

 

[mayor]

boys! It is childish and it is just an extension of the nationalistic crap!

STOP IT!!! go somewhere else for this sort of things.. We are here FOR STORIES!!!!

 

[Jwitti]

YES!!what he said!

 

[hoplitejoe]

S&T was built on nationalistic arguments

 

[Jwitti]

You mean CHRISTOS started the thread!!!!!!

 

[christos200]

Mcedonians are greeks so your post is false.

 

[Jwitti]

Italians are Roman then. They are the 'descendants' geographically, as are the Aztecs from the Olmecs.
Macedonians are separate chronologically from the height of Greece as Italy is from the height of Rome.

 

[heitorcccp]

Finally, I've managed to end and put to publishing state the Chapter V. I've run the last two weeks out of either time or stamina (or both) to write down it, but now its done

it's full of scientific and political history, despite being composed of "peace years"

Now, with you, the Chapter V.

 

[heitorcccp]

Introduction

As told in the end of the previous chapter, for the first time in more than two centuries, the French nation was in complete peace, removing the immense burden of the war effort from the shoulders of its people. The Franco-Italian Settlement for Peace, a.k.a. Treaty of Marseilles, ended one of the longest wars in European history, with a sad result of “status quo ante bellum” for both countries. But French businessmen and Italian politicians had greater priorities at the time, and the expensive and fruitless war was abruptly ended.
The militarist outrage at the time of the peace was noisy, but never posed any threat to the government’s stability. But the efforts of militarist hawks in the French Parliament resulted in ever-lasting large budgets to the armed forces, and to efforts to develop newer and innovative weapons.

Henri Matisse, a (mainly posthumous) famed painter from Besançon, became very known after his works depicting the idyllic and healthy way of life in the countryside of the French Germany (Régions of Lotharingia), strengthening the local culture while promoting cultural integration within French art and culture circles; A boom of “Germanism” developed quickly in French cultural scene, with more and more people being interested to know about the eastern possessions of their country – and even become attracted enough to get out of the enlarging French cities to live “a life of dreams” in placid Lotharingian towns. French government officers stimulated these migrations, badly needed to fully assert French domination of these areas.

The development of steam-powered engines by French engineers at the Antoine Lavoisier Academy of Sciences marked, for many historians, the beginning of the French Industrial Age. This was a critical development for France, as the nation could keep up with its powerful neighbors and retain its place in Europe.

Part of a French contemporary map. Note the far enlarged French cities and towns, and the extensive development at the Lotharingian Régions (Alsace, Lorraine, Rhenanie, Bavière, Saxe, Pomeranie).

At the eve of the XIX Century, a new diplomatic “tool” (for some, a diplomatic weapon) was developed; International Congresses were periodically held to discuss peace, commerce and political issues among the involved nations. Ultimately, the most important issues were about “displaced peoples” and “orphaned communities”, which always motivated serious discussions about land transfers, “peacefully” sanctioned by each Congress. The French Republic had no land interests at the time, so it preferred to maintain good relations with the other countries; but fierce discussions sometimes ended with polemic land transfers in grounds of “Historical Legitimacy” or “People’s liberation”
As example, here was the map of Eastern Prussia, after the transfer of the important city of Kauen back to Swedish hands. It was under German administration since the restoration of the German monarchy in Austria, having flip voluntarily just after the crowning of the Kaiser. Now, as a mere County of the Great Britain, Germany could not even protest.
Good or not, it was relieving to French authorities in charge of the Pomeranie, now under better French control.

Started in America, in filthy Incan tenements, a new wave of mutated smallpox (“The Mesoamerican Smallpox”) swept quickly the American lands before jumping into many Eurasian places simultaneously, making truly “beach-heads” for the invasion of the continent. The disease was markedly deadly at its beginning, killing thousands where it ravaged; but in later years it evolved to a “milder”, painful but not deadly form, difficult to fully eradicate. The disease remained a danger until the late 1820’s, most for its later “milder” type.
The growing French cities suffered heavily from the pest, as there were ideal conditions for its spreading – people died in thousands at the crowded poor districts in Besançon, Francfort, Marseiile, and other cities. But public health efforts were better organized this time, and the smallpox didn’t thrive as much as in earlier plagues.

 

[heitorcccp]

Even in such bad times, the industrious French people found ways to innovate and grow. Antoine Lavoisier-Bonaparte, great-grandson of the famed French scientist lived and dedicated his life to sciences in Marseille, leading local scholars in a similar way to his ancestor in Besançon. Ultimately, his efforts ended in the creation of another Science Academy in Marseille in 1811, expanding the model of French upper education.

Worthy of note were the repeated and fruitless attempts of the Spanish Crown to get their hands in the Portuguese Lisbon, promptly rejected by the international community.
Another important event at the time was the Russian Revolution, with new ideas about equality and collectivism (the so-called “Communism”) gaining power in Russia and establishing the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union or USSR, for short). French authorities, while worried about similar events in their lands, took some measures to prevent deep social unrest and managed to maintain stability.

French works about machine engineering and newer methods of labor division led to optimized production in French factories, in a method called “assembly line”. With each labor team specializing in only a part of the production process, and new machines to optimize the work result, production costs and waste fell sharply, and industrial goods were now produced at massive amounts, raising the living standards of the French people. This further averted the dangers of a rebellion in French lands.

The Egyptian Nation, after centuries of partition and foreign rule, declared its independence. While a huge blow in Ottoman interests in the Middle East, it not played a great deal of worrying in France, although making an European war more unlikely.

Hubert Languet, a French philosopher and theologian, was born and lived in Aix-le-Chapelle, where he wrote important works about the nature of human soul and daring considerations about the true meaning of human existence. His philosophical thinking survived in Aix-le-Chapelle scholar community, giving birth to a literary school (the Languetism) and even to new sects among the local churches, attracting lots of people from the entire country.

 

[heitorcccp]

In 1858, an initially cultural movement named “Dutch Spring” ended in open uprising, after being treated with tolerance (or “lenience” as angrily accused the nation’s hawks) by the French liberal governments. People in Amsterdam found themselves confident enough to invade the Governor’s palace, murder in bare hands the Governor, most of his entourage and even members of his family, while declaring the independence for the Netherlands. Surprised French garrisons were expelled at gunpoint, with “diplomats” requesting French recognition of the new “country”

The French Republic gave them a soundly and harsh “NO”, announcing immediate repression of the “rebel insurrection” and regaining of the control. Politicians like Georges Boulanger, “The Hawk”, and Jeanne Loirettienne, “The Maid of Orléans” (ironic to note that the first Frenchwoman to get a seat in the Parliament was such a war hawk like “The Maid”) were pivotal to draft a resolution of “Zero Tolerance” to Dutch rebellion, authorizing the French Army to be merciless towards the “rioters”. The furious statements of Jeanne about the events rendered her the name of “The Mad of Orleans” among Liberals, who preferred a negotiated way to deal with the Dutch.

“The unique acceptable “diplomatic talk” to that rioters is the rumble of our cannons and our rifles” Jeanne, “The Maid of Orleans”, October 1858.

“Yes, I’ll gave the “proper treatment” that these “citizens” deserve – the treatment we give to rapists and murderers” Georges Boulanger, November 1858

The Second Low Countries War was a mere shade of the previous one, lasting no more than four months. The massive superiority of French forces completely crushed the Dutch garrisons and irregular defense force, entering Amsterdam shortly after the 1859 New Year’s Eve. Jeanne Loiretienne, who personally stayed with French Field Command in the Dutch operations, gave important advice about tactical deployment and helped to motivate the French armies there, being awarded, for the very first time for a woman, a Maréchal de France’s baton.
Later in life, she was pivotal to assert the women’s right in France, while being an important opposition leader in the Parliament. However, in 1869, when she was about to run for French Presidency, a harsh systemic infection ravaged her body, killing her in just 4 days. A week of mourning was held for the famed Maid of Orléans.

 

[heitorcccp]

French engineers, always working to find better ways to produce things, devised a new method of steel production, able to produce large amounts of excellent quality steel. The mass-production of steel pumped vigorously the French industry.

Pierre de Fermat was a French scientist and mathematician, who developed to perfection the algorithm theory in his city of Bordeaux, serving as the focal point to the formation of the Bordeaux’s Academy of Pure and Applied Sciences. This academy, later, would be the birthplace of many revolutionary innovations in French science.

The Italian League was fighting their own internal enemies since the peace with France, and mainstream historians place the Italian unrest as the driving force behind the Italian accepting of the peace treaty. But the unrest continued even without external enemies, and got worse every year. By the end of the XIX Century, it was evident to any European that the Italian collapse was a matter of time – little time. And, in 1898, after a general strike and nationwide rebellion against new taxes in the Italian League, the city of Rome was engulfed by all-out rebellion, writing off the government and leaving the provinces in their own; in a couple of weeks, most of the official Italian government was over, with dire and imprecise news coming from the fighting: beheaded politicians, disemboweled generals, stripped and stoned wives of ministers, just to state some atrocities. The rebels themselves didn’t managed to convene in a single government, and separated themselves in the ensuing Civil War.

The Italian League, the historical French nemesis, was gone. The French Government was the very first to come out in “defense” of the “poor Italian peasants” and to demonstrate “good will to end the riot in Italy”.
The long awaited invasion of the Italic Peninsula was finally becoming real. The order – the French order – was to be established.

 

[heitorcccp]

Hope you enjoy this one too

Notes:

1. Sorry for some bad english if present, this chapter was not harshly reviewed as previous (late night incoming as I ended the chapter.. )

2. I'm SERIOUSLY considering to run next stories in Epic speed, for greater accuracy

3. Still finding a way to disable spaceship victory in RFC DoC (or simply I'm not searching well enough)

Thanks for your attention! And special thanks to the guys who kept this thread alive and thriving The "Rome" guy would specially like this chapter (or not...)

 

[christos200]

Great update.

 

[Alexius08]

3. Still finding a way to disable spaceship victory in RFC DoC (or simply I'm not searching well enough)

A custom start is what you're looking for. Editing DoC's .ini files should do the trick.

 

[hoplitejoe]

Go buy a map off of someone!

 

[heitorcccp]

@alexius08: But in custom start you still can start in the Rhye's worldmap with all RFC features, right?

@hoplitejoe: Perhaps because my own geography actual skills, I'd rarely feel pressured to go buying maps , and the AI, at least here, didn't like fair trade at all. But I've perfected the buying map strategies in similar games, next story this will be practiced more often (this one already finished).

Thanks!

 

[heitorcccp]

@christos200: You're surely pleased at the Italian demise, eh?