Anglo-Dutch union/connection

Alright, this is not a new thread, but on the old board it was unfinished. I do wish to finish it and do hope that all those who chipped in on the old board will help again (and any newcomers are most welcome).

Basically on the old thread I found about 3 possible PODs for an Anglo-Dutch union. They were in order of date (starting from the first possible POD I know of):

(1) Elizabeth I sends over a viceroy who the dutch like in the 1580's. [This was submitted by Scott Blair].

"Here's what happened involving elizabeth, from what I found on a site about the history of the low countries:

"In 1582 the General Estates (parliament) of the Netherlands finally renounced the King of Spain, for violating the ancient priviliges of the Provinces. They introduced a new suzerain for all the Netherlands provinces. The (Catholic) French Duke of Anjou, a youger brother of the French King assumed the Lordship over all Seventeen Provinces. It would be silly for him to adopt the title Duke of Burgundy, since Burgundy was no longer a part of the lands that came forth from the Burgundian inheritance, so he was known as the Duke of Brabant, since long the central state of the Provinces. Of course he also took titles for all the other provinces. He wasn't a complacent suzerain and interfered in the affairs of State in a way not to the liking of the General Estates and the Prince of Orange. When he died the suzerainty was offered to the English Queen Elisabeth. She sent her favorite crony the Earl of Leicester. An even more meddlesome fellow than Anjou had been. In the meantime the Prince of Orange was murdered by a Spanish agent, and succeeded by his son Maurice, as Stadtholder of Holland and Zealand and Head of the army. When Leicester was tossed out in 1588, the actions of the new Spanish Governor Requesens and his General Alexander Duke of Parma had greatly reduced the territory of the Uprising."

http://home.wanadoo.nl/gerard.vonhebel/benelux1588.htm

(2) William III and Mary I. (3) Prince William IV and Anne of Hannover (daughter of King George II of Great Britain).
William III, stadholder in the Dutch Republic and cousin and husband to Mary Stuart who was James II's daughter. As we should all know James II was kicked out and Mary and William became co-rulers of Britain. They had no children and the pair were succeeded by Mary's sister Anne who also had no children (and she was the last Stuart monarch of England and Scotland (it was under her that the Act of Union came about by the way)). After that the House of Brunswick, Hanover line came to rule Britain starting with George I from Hanover.
I seem to remember that Parliament had passed some Act so that I think William's children would be the last to succeed to the throne after Mary's kids (provided she had any from another marriage apart from with William I think) and after Anne's kids. Now none of these people had children, so lets assume that William and Mary had a child. Wouldn't this child succeed as monarch of Britain? Most likely Anne would be Queen or maybe Regent until her death or until the child is old enough to rule on his/her own.
Also when the Stadholder-King William III died in 1702 without any heir, this ushered in the second stadholderless period in the history of the Dutch republic which lasted til 1747 (except in Friesland). In OTL William III's will left his estates and titles to his kinsman, Johan Willem Friso (1687-1711), of the Frisian branch of the family. The will was challenged, however, by King Frederick William I of Prussia, a descendant of Frederik Hendrik. Agreement still had not been reached when Johan Willem Friso drowned near the Moerdijk on his way to The Hague to negotiate a settlement. His widow, Maria Louisa of Hesse-Kassel (1688-1765), succeeded in upholding the status of the House of Orange-Nassau. The agreement on the inheritance reached with the Prussians in 1732 provided her son, Prince William IV (1711-1751), with the basis for his marriage in 1734 to Anne of Hanover (1709-1759), daughter of King George II of Great Britain. (This is the second link by the way).

I used the 2nd and 3rd PODs by the way (never learned of the first one til much later).

Now it would be nice to re-post everything that was discussed, but it is much easier to provide a direct link to the old thread whilst I only re-post the body of the TL itself. So here is the link:

https://www.alternatehistory.com/discus/messages/4/1148.html

Now here is the TL:

Now Mary died of smallpox in 1694, possibly we could have her die in say 1698 of smallpox so the children are born later, but let's work with 1694.
I'll have the POD be 1692:

So William and Mary are married (Will being 12 years older than his cousin) and in 1688 James II is deposed. Parliament is then faced with a dilemma: they want the throne to be the sole possession of Mary with William as Prince Consort, but Mary refused due to her self-imposed subservience to her husband (at first after marriage under duress she thought him repulsive but came to love and respect both William and his country). William was reluctant to accept the throne by means of conquest, preferring to be named king by Parliament through birthright. Parliament succumbed to the wishes of William and Mary, and the pair acceded as co-rulers. In early 1690 William and Mary have a child, a daughter, but she dies of birth complications. In 1692 Mary again gives birth, this time to a son, named William. William III is still having an affair with one of Mary's ladies-in-waiting which shows the marriage is still not perfect(this affair ends after the birth of his son). Two years later Mary dies of smallpox leaving William III sole ruler of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (as well as a stadholder in some Dutch provinces).
In 1702 William III died after being thrown from his horse (just as another war with France was starting). Parliament by now has established its supremacy with the Settlement Act of 1701. As William and Mary's son is only 10 now, Parliament names his aunt, Anne as Queen-regent. She is charges with ruling the country until William IV is old enough to rule on his own. Queen Anne rules from 1702 until 1710 when William IV finally reached 20 and accepted the Crown. The most prominent acheivement of Queen Anne's reign was the Act of Union between England and Scotland creating Great Britain. After 1710, Anne continued to advise her nephew until her death in 1714 (which can be considered the real "start" of William IV's sole rule). William IV is also a stadholder of some of the Dutch provinces as William III's will left his titles and estates to his son. As William is rather busy governing Britain, he leaves some of the work of Stadholder to his kinsman Johan Friso. However Friso drowned in 1711 and hos widow carried on his work and upheld the status of the House of Orange-Nassau.

1715- The late Queen-regent Anne's half brother, James the Old Pretender, claims the throne as his own and a group of legitimist Tories starts a rebellion in northern England in his name. James is in France however, and by the time he arrives in Britain, William had put down the rebellion. Even worse for the Old Pretender, French backing dried up with the death of Louis XIV. In Britain and in the Dutch republic William is rather popular and his popularity rises when he finally marries at the age of 23 to a Danish duchess (this duchess is not in line to inherit any duchy so this means no Anglo-Dutch involvement in Denmark). They have 2 children. One son and one daughter, named William and Margaret.

1716- With the rebellion over for a year, Britain settles into a period of peace with internal politics and foreign affairs being focused on by Britain's govt. Along with a period of peace came more time for William IV to go to the Dutch Republic to fulfil some of his duties as a stadholder.

1722- With William having to travel back and forth between Britain and Zeeland and Holland, he decided to create a post of Premier (Prime Minister) to run his affairs in England whilst he was in the Netherlands. The first Premier was Sir Robert Wadpole. Whilst in Britain he had Friso's widow help run his affairs in his provinces. Meanwhile William IV makes an alliance with his second cousin once removed, George the Elector of Hanover (George I on OTL).

1727- George, Elector of Hanover dies and is succeeded by his son also named George. William IV continues the alliance between Britain (and the Dutch Republic) and Hanover with his third cousin (George II of Hanover). In Britain Premier Wadpole thinks George II is a bit more rash than his father but in the interest of alliance keeps his tongue. He is vindicated however when George II declares war on Spain...

1738- Prince William of Britain (who now acts as stadholder in some of the Dutch provinces when his father is in Britain) marries a Anne of Hanover (daughter of George II of Hanover) and in 1739 he has his first son, John. The couple will have 5 children (2 die at birth). The other 2 surviving children are a boy and a girl named Willem and Augusta. The marriage to Anne reaffirms the British-Dutch-Hanoverian alliance.

1739- The period of peace in Britain and the Dutch Republic comes to a close as William IV follows through on his alliance with Hanover and declares war on Spain in 1739. The war with Spain was a component of the war of the Austrian Succession. Britain, the Dutch Republic and Hanover at this time are fighting Spain and France and the war lasts into the 1740s. The fighting came to nothing (a stalemate) and peace once again broke out until the 1750s..

1742-Wadpole retires.

1744- William IV dies and is succeeded by his son William V. William V becomes stadholder of the provinces in the Dutch Republic over which William IV was stadholder due to William IV's will. One of these provinces begins to debate whether to appoint a new stadholder, but William V (by a narrow margin in a vote) manages to retain the title of stadholder. The other provinces (Holland among them) also have voices of dissent, but with France so nearby and with a war with France so recently over, they decide to keep William V (and British automatic support) and affirm him as stadholder in a vote. His experience as a stadholder during his princehood was the second reason he was retained as stadholder.

1747- Another French invasion of the Dutch Republic is threatened and it seems for sure the French mean business. Groningen and Gelderland appoint William V as stadholder. The remaining provinces where William is not stadholder follow suit and William V becomes the first stadholder of all 7 provinces. The office of stadholder is then made officially made hereditary in the male and female lines. After this declaration the French stop threatening to invade, mostly out of fear and weariness of yet another war with Britain and Hanover so shortly after the end of the 1739 one as opposed to just punishing the Dutch.

1750s- Britain and France go to war again over imperial claims and Hanover and the Dutch republic dutifully declare war on France. There is intense fighting in Europe and some fighting in North America and India. Britain and her allies win this war against France. Britain now has dominance in North America and India and it seems that the French "threat" in Europe has been greatly diminished for now.

1758- Prince John (acting stadholder following the tradition of his father) marries his cousin, Elizabeth Caroline, daughter of Frederick Louis (son of George II of Hanover). He geniunely loves her, however Elizabeth dies within a year, childless. John withdraws in sorrow and it is not until 1765 at the urging of his father that he marries again, this time to a British noblewoman. He has no love for her and when the two children he has by her die shortly after birth, he becomes more estranged from her and focuses a lot on the Dutch Republic.

1760- George II of Hanover dies and is succeeded by his grandson, George III.

1767- William V dies and Prince John becomes King John II. In the spirit of his father he keeps the alliance with Hanover...

The gathering storm in the West

1765- Stamp Act imposed on British north American colonies

1767- Townshed duties imposed. The duties, however, were raising no revenue because of the colonial non-importation agreement and so no goods whatsoever were being sold in America. British trade was hit very badly.


1770-Lord North decided on conciliatory measures and in 1770 he decided to repeal the all duties except for the tax on tea which he retained to maintain Britain's right to tax the colonies. The Americans refused to import tea from Britain and the Netherlands. The result was that more coffee was drunk in America. On the same day as the repeal of the Townshend Duties, 5 March 1770, the Boston Massacre took place. Four regiments of British regular soldiers had been stationed in Boston since September 1768 and had been subject to verbal and physical attacks from the Bostonians for eighteen months. There had been a number of minor clashes in 1769. In February 1770 a mob attacked the home of a customs official who fired a gun from an upstairs window and shot an 11-year old. Troops had to be called out to defend the customs-man and his home. On 2 March a fight broke out between soldiers and workmen. The fight was broken up but the men involved agreed a resumption of the fracas on 5 March.

On 5 March a Boston mob was out, looking for trouble. Fifty to sixty men surrounded the customs-house; Captain Preston sent seven soldiers to support the sentry. The mob attacked the soldiers who fired, killing five and wounding six - mostly onlookers behind the mob. The colonial press made the most of the event: black-edged newspapers were published and the British troops were maligned. It is debatable what actually happened. Every contemporary report tells a different story. The British troops had to be withdrawn from Boston to Castle William and did not return to Boston until after 1776. Preston and seven soldiers were tried in America for murder; they were defended by John Adams and all were acquitted. However, by this time the non-importation agreement began to break down and the Sons of Liberty, now calling themselves the 'Patriots' had a difficult time in maintaining the conflict between colonies and Britain.

1772-1795- In Europe Poland is partitioned between Russia, Austria and Prussia.

1772- The government decided in the autumn of 1772 that Judges of the Massachusetts court were to be paid from custom-house receipts, not by the colony. The British hoped that this would make judges more independent because one colonial ploy was to withhold judges' salaries if the judges did not follow popular opinion. The colonists said that the British decision deprived them of their liberties. The result of this in the American colonies was the setting up of Committees of Correspondence which provided the political machinery by which thirteen separate colonies came to act together against Britain. The first Committee of Correspondence was the work of Samuel Adams, Joseph Warren, James Otis and eighteen other Boston men. They stirred up the other colonies against Britain. Only Massachusetts wanted a struggle with Britain at this point, but the 1773 Tea Act changed all that. By the Autumn of 1773 all the colonies had active Committees of Correspondence. The Committees of Correspondence and the Sons of Liberty decided not to let the tea from India be landed; if it was, it would sell because it was so cheap.

1773- The Tea Act is passed. Some colonists in Boston on 16 December prevented the tea from landing at the port by 340 chests of tea worth £9,000 into Boston harbour but those responsible ensured that all the damage to the ships was repaired. Elsewhere - Philadelphia, New York, Charlestown - the consignees were "persuaded" not to accept or to sell the tea through threats of - or actual - violence. Tarring and feathering was one colonial means of persuasion, as was pouring castor oil down the victim's throat.

1774- King Louis XVI begins his reign of France. News of the Boston Tea Party reached England very quickly. The press had published the story before Lord North even knew about it because the ship docked in Plymouth and riders took the news to London faster than the ship could sail there. The reaction in Britain was one of anger and a feeling that Massachusetts must be punished, as an example to the other colonies. The government rushed a series of pieces of legislation through parliament. In Britain they were called the Coercive Acts, in America they were known as the "Intolerable Acts". These including the Boston Port Act (closing the port to most traffic), the Massachussets Bay Regulating Act, the Administration of Justice Act and the Quatering Act. The Quebec Act was passed on 16 June. It was not a Coercive Act but the timing was poor. The Boston Sons of Liberty and Committee of Correspondence had persuaded delegates from all the colonies to meet, to decide on measures to defend their liberties. This resulted in the The First Continental Congress (6 September - 26 October 1774) where 56 delegates from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia: Georgia did not send any delegates. The Congress comprised a distinguished body of men. Many of them were lawyers and all were fit to rule. The New England colonies favoured confrontation with Britain; the middle colonies favoured conciliation with Britain; the southern colonies were fearful of action against Britain. No colony had ever moved against the mother country so Congress had no precedent to follow. The Americans also knew that Britain was one of the most powerful nations on earth. The colonists could be defeated easily: the Americans had seen the power of the British army in the Seven Years' War. In October 1774, the Declaration of Rights was passed by Congress, demanding that Britain should recognise the liberties of Americans. It demanded:

1) a repeal of all the laws passed since 1763 - a return to the status quo of the "golden age" of salutary neglect
2) the removal of the standing army
3) the removal of the Vice-Admiralty courts
Congress also imposed another boycott of British goods until their demands were met. The non-importation took effect on 1 December 1774. Many of the delegates wanted to remain in the British Empire and most wanted a settlement with Britain.

In Britain meanwhile, Lord North and King John II were in disagreement over the official governmental response. Lord North had wanted to make a firm stand and refuse. North said Britain had a moral right to expect the Americans to pay for their own defence and there were more Loyalists than Patriots in America anyway. John II agreed with him on that issue but John II wanted to give a more conciliatory response. He said that if the Americans should pay for their own defence and wish to do so then it should be done, only now the colonies would have to clean up mistakes and pay for debts on their own. After some more arguing the King managed to persuade Lord North to accept his proposed response and if some or all of the colonies were still being uppity then a harder response would be dealt. In Parliament, King John II meets more resistance to his personal response but with the rather reluctant backing of North his measure is approved. And thus the Imperial govt.'s response to the Continental Congress was:

1) All laws passed since 1763 would be up for negotiation with the Imperial authorities, though the colonial delegates must understand that some laws were quite necessary and should be implemented to some extent (though the extent would be negotiable).
2) Some of the standing army would be sent on duty to India, some would go to the West Indies and a small number would go to Britain, some would be moved further out west to the unsettled territories. However of the standing army that remained the delegates themselves would have to decide where they should be garrisoned (though Britain retains final authority).
The present Vice-Admiralty courts would be dissolved and the delegates would have to decide upon the members of new Vice-Admiralty courts.
The colonies, which now send delegates to the Continental Congress, will form a Union of colonies and the government of this colonial union would be granted certain powers by the Imperial government: the power to approve or reject the Vice-Admiralty selected by the Imperial govt., the power to make laws which will directly affect the union of the colonies and will not contradict with any Imperial laws or will conflict with the interests of the Imperial govt. in other parts of the world, the power to pay and house the local standing army and dictate the areas where the local army garrisons will be deployed only in times of peace, not in wartime (total control will then revert to the Imperial govt.). This Union of Colonies will be based off the Dutch Republic and the Albany Plan with a President-General appointed and supported by the Crown. The present Continental Congress would be renamed the Grand Congress (and still meet in Philadelphia) and its delegates would be chosen by the representatives of the people of the several Colonies met in their respective assemblies. The Grand Congress would members from each colony in the following proportion:
Massachusetts- 7, New Hampshire- 2, Connecticut- 5, Rhode Island- 2, New York- 4, New Jersey- 3, Pennsylvania- 6, Maryland- 4, Virginia- 7, North Carolina- 4, South Carolina- 4, Georgia (should it join)- 3 for a total of 51 delegates. There would be new Congressional elections every 3 years.

(For the rest of the Plan just type look for Albany Plan of Union on the net, as the plan is too long to be outlined here.)

King John II's proposed names for this new Union was the United Colonies of America (after the United Provinces of the Netherlands) or the American Republic (after the Dutch Republic).

In Philadelphia the delegates received the plan and a fierce discussion began. The opinions and views of all delegates from one colonu did not correspond exactly so some delegates from New Hampshire supported the plan whilst others opposed and some South Carolina delegates opposed whilst other approved........

to be continued.....

1774- Near to the end of 1774 the Congress was still divided over the King's Revised Albany Plan. Eventually questions from the New York, Virginia, Massachusetts, Conneticutt and New Hampshire delegates stalled a decision and the Congress agreed to postpone a decision until the King has responded to these questions. The questions were mainly on the status of the Indians in the Union (would they be represented or not) and the settlement of disputed lands between colonies.

1775- These questions reached King John II and Lord North and both were unsure what they should do. John II did not want to rule in favour of any particular colony and have it become anti-British, yet the idea of letting the new proposed Colonial Federal govt. settle the disputes, tempting as it was, could not be adopted as it would begin to make the colonies less attached to Britain. In anycase small colonies like Conn. would have less representation in any such govt. and would claim any ruling would be due to the influence of larger colonies in the govt. Conneticutt would then therefore appeal to the Crown leading to the situation John II faced at the moment. Lord North, feeling that the Imperial government was already acting too softly said that this was just one more sign of the colonies getting out of line. He said that once John II offered to give them an inch they wanted a mile. In North's opinion the colonies were just looking for an excuse to rebel and that since some would most likely rebel anyway, then the King should plan his response around that premise. He proposed that the King rule in favour of New York against New Hampshire and Conn., Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and rule in favour of Virginia against Massachusetts and Conneticutt. He also proposed that Virginia and New York share the Ohio area which could be divided between them at a later date. Massachusetts should be punished anyway for bringing this situation about with that whole "Boston Tea Party" and inspiring dissension in the other colonies. This would definitely bring Virginia and New York over to the British side and would have the added effect of dividing any rebellious colonies so they could not form a contiguous whole. If the King ruled in favour of South Carolina against Georgia this would divide the colonies into 4 sections as opposed to 3. Then the British could carry out that old saying of "divide and conquer". King John II was still unsure what his response should be however....
Meanwhile across the Atlantic the delegates of the Congress awaited His Majesty's Reply.....

The American Revolution

1775- In January the King is still undecided and Lord North's ideas are gaining favour in Parliament. Add to that, the fact that almost every member of Parliament seems to have their own personal reply to the questions and this creates a tumultuous situation for King John II indeed. First the King begins his reply by ruling out his options. According to him, there will be no representation of the Indians in the Grand Congress. The Indians would be allowed to live in peace in their own communities (British protectorates) that would be under the government of the Albany Union. Parliament agrees with that part of the reply and it is officially adopted. In Parliament some parliamentarians propose that all colonial claims west of the 1763 line be voided and that all the claimed land be placed under the control of the Albany Union govt. These proposals however were discarded once it was argued that 9 of the 13 colonies being debated about would not like such a settlement and could very well reject the Plan because of it. Many in Parliament also felt that Massachusetts should be punished, but other colonies rewarded to set an example to the as yet unrebellious colonies that following Mass.'s path would not be worthwhile. Finally Lord North's ideas became accepted with some limitations. All the claims of Massachusetts and Conneticutt in the claimed lands in the west would be voided, as would Virginian claims north of the Ohio and the area would be turned over to the Indians as a British protectorate. Limited settlment could occur in this area under the direction of the Albany Union govt. and the Imperial govt. Virginia would be paid compensation for her northern claims. All Virginian claims south of the Ohio river would be recognised, though this recognition would be provisional as new colonies could be formed in the area. All of New York's claims would be recognised which meant voiding the claims of Mass., New Hampshire and the small claim of Pennsylvania. North Carolina's claims would also be recognised, as would South Carolina's claims. Georgia's claims not in conflict with South Carolina's would be recognised partially. Half of her claimed area (the western half) would not be voided with the intention of setting up a full penal colony in the future in the area. The eastern half of her claim would be recognised and she would be paid compensation for her western claim. The King agreed to this proposal and by the end of January the reply had been drawn up and was sent.

April 1775- General Cage, the British commander in the Mass. area received reports that the colonists were storing arms in Concord. He decided to seize the arms in a night raid, however, the people of the surrounding area got word of his advance and blocked his path at Lexington. There a battle occurred between the British soldiers and the Massachusetts minutemen. Both sides suffered casualities, but the British advanced onto Concord and managed to seize some of the arms.

May 1775- The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia again (this time Georgia sent delegates). However the situation was now very different and Mass. was firmly against the Crown and her legislature had instructed her delegates to inspire rebellion in the other colonies. Conneticutt sided with Mass. very early after finding that its claims would be voided. New Hampshire also joined with Mass. since its claims against New York would be voided. These 3 colonies voted to reject the Revised Albany Union Plan and they managed to get Rhode Island to vote with them. Pennsylvania voted to reject it after the Parliament had refused to get involved in the claims between her and Conneticutt, stating that the dispute was "petty and ridiculous". Pennsylvania also voted to reject it as Conneticutt had promised to drop all claims to northern Pennsylvania if Pennsylvania rejected the Plan and supported Conn.'s claims in the west. South and North Carolina accepted the Plan, as did New York (which stated "the Plan could still be improved upon but was adequate"). Georgia's delegates were divided over the issue of their claim being only partially recognised and having a penal colony being set up to their immediate west, but due to the promise of compensation and the recognition of the eastern area of the claim they voted for the Plan. Mass., Conn. and New Hampshire managed to get the undecided colonies of New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware to vote against the Plan when they accused the Imperial Parliament and the Plan of favouring the large colonies like New York and North Carolina at the expense of the small colonies. Virginia (which had sent 6 delegates this time) was completely undecided and its delegates completely divided. On one hand they were pleased that some of Virginia's claims would be recognised and that compensation would be forthcoming for the rest. On the other hand, they were not pleased with their southern claim being called provisional and having their northern claims completely voided and be possibly turned over to the Indians. So 3 Virginians voted for and 3 against the Plan. The final vote was 37-18 in favour of rejecting the Plan. The rejecting colonial delegates attempted to get the remaining 18 over to their side and stated that the Plan could not be implemented anyway since the majority had voted against it. The accepting colonies refused to reject the Plan and their delegates left the Congress. Virginia's delegates stayed on and encouraged further negotiations. In the meantime the rejecting delegates, looking at the example of Concord and Lexington began discussing the raising of a Continental Army to defend against possible British action and seeking an alliance with France. George Washington of Virginia was favoured to lead the Army (he was against the Plan) and after assurances to the Virginian legislature that this Army was defensive only, Washington was permitted to become the commander.

1776- In July the remaining delegates of the Congress (the colonies in the Congress now referred to themselves as "states") drew up the Declaration of Independence, which they had been authorised by their own legislatures to accept and indeed encourage. Virginia opted not to sign on until the British took any offensive action against any of the colonies in the Congress (she still hoped for a peaceful resolution). News of this reached Britain and of course the people and govt. were outraged, though not totally unprepared. Over the last half of 1775 and first half of 1776 the British had been sending more soldiers to the American continent as a precautionary measure to subdue any revolts. With the help of the Dutch Fleet more British troops arrived per month than was possible in OTL. The British meanwhile had been very friendly over the past year with New York, the Carolinas and Georgia and had received reports of support against the rebel colonies from the Carolinas and Georgia and a pledge by New York that it would not aid the rebel colonies but that it had no wish for war to take place in its own colonial territory. New York was faced with rebel colonies on two sides and it feared that the port of New York may be captured and ransomed. So in August the British made their first move and blockaded the port of Boston. A British army coming out of Quebec came down into New Hampshire with the intent of reaching Boston..... The American Revolution had begun and it was to be a long struggle indeed.

August 1776- British regulars reach Boston and in concert with the small number of British soldiers already controlling parts of the town, take control of the entire town of Boston. The British also manage to drive off the Continental Army besieging the British army already in Boston at the start of the war. Washington's army scatters into the backcountry to plan for their return to Boston. In North Carolina the loyalist militia defeats a small band of American rebel sympathizers attempting to stage a revolt along the Virginia-North Carolina border. Back in New England, the British now plan to send some of their soldiers south from Boston and into Newport, Rhode Island. Control of Boston and Newport would give the British control over most of Rhode Island and the coast of Massachussetts. The British also plan to take New Haven in Connecticutt in a two pronged attack (hopefully if all goes well) from New York and Newport.

December 1776- British regulars begin disembarking in New York. New York had accepted the Albany Plan and the New York legislature had stated that they "would not oppose the stationing of regulars in New York on a temporary basis for the purpose of quickly settling this revolt." And "That New York was desirous of a peaceful settlement and would prefer if no regulars had to be stationed in towns."

1777- In New York (the colony) opinion was divided over which side to support though many had some sympathy for the American rebels. In New York City the British commander told his soldiers that they were under strict orders not to upset the local colonists and to have as little contact as possible with the locals to avoid any possible disputations. In New England British regulars march south and capture Newport and begin preparing for the assault to take New Haven. Later in the spring, the regulars from New York and from Newport make an almost simulatneous move towards New Haven. Here Washington's army lies in wait outside the town and manages to interdict the army coming from New York. A rather fierce battle occurs and the British are held up. The army coming from Newport reaches New Haven only to be confronted by the local Connecticutt militia (which wouldn't have stood a chance against the two British armies). After fierce fighting the militia retreat and the regulars enter the town. The local residents attempt to resist the regulars and stage street marches. This results in street skirmishes and some local being fired upon by the regulars. While New Haven was in chaos the local militia had joined up with Washington's army and their combined forces managed to bring about the first victory for the American rebels. The British army had decided to disengage and return to New York to recover from the fight. Washington's Continental army then melted back into the countryside and quietly surrounded New Haven where the smaller of the two British armies was preoccupied with restoring order. Washington laid siege to New Haven and the British facing continuing disorder and the prospect of attacks by the American rebel army decided to withdraw from New Haven and take up camp just west of the Connecticutt.
The Americans could rejoice in their first ever victory over the British. This victory also emboldened France to decide to ally with the Americans. The Spanish followed suit and in Europe a Franco-Spanish fleet was being assembled and Franco-Spanish armies were being raised.
Meanwhile the British had decided to attack Philadephia and postpone their campaign to establish control over all of New England. British ships set sail from New York, Halifax and Charles Town for the mouth of the Delaware. There British regulars are offloaded and begin to march northwards to the point of their intended crossing of the Delaware near to Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, where the Congress had been meeting, the delegates of the Congress as well as the town govt. hurriedly evacuated. The British faced opposition from some of the local militias and some members of the Continental Army but succeeded in capturing Philadelphia in September, shortly after they landed at the river's mouth. Things were beginning to look down for the Americans with the capture of Philadelphia but they now had French and Spanish allies so they were certainly not down and out for the count......

1778- The situation at the beginning of 1778 was thus: The British still controlled Boston and New Port and all of Maine district and most of New Hampshire was under their effective control. Most of the Massachussetts contryside and vietuall all of Connecticutt west of the Connecticutt river was under the control of the American rebels though. The American rebels also had no trouble moving into the countryside of eastern Connecticutt (though the chance of bucking up the British regulars became greater). Virtually all of Ehode Island and the coast of Massachussetts though was firmly in the hands of the British regulars. In the middle colonies, he British regulars cotrolled only Philadelphia and some of the adjacent areas as well as controlling the mouth of the Delaware. Trenton in New Jersey was a contested area with both British regulars and American rebels operating in the area. It was here that the next battle would be fought....

March 1778- With spring coming the British army controlling Philadelphia had received orders to march towards New York as expediently as possible and form a land link between occupied Philadelphia and (ostensibly friendly) New York (the colony). The Americans of course had to prevent this since it would allow the British regulars to gain control over a large area of settlements and allow for the linking up of vast British armies which could move on to conquer all of New England while keeping the Americans pinned down in a fight to regain Philadelphia. Meanwhile in the Atlantic the French and Spanish fleets were making their way towards the Americas. At fist it was thought that the fleets should dock in New England to provide help where it might be needed most, but knowing the effectiveness of the British Navy and knowing that New England was likely to be blockaded, the Franco-Spanish fleets made their way to Havana and New Orleans.Here the French and Spanish soldiers disembarked and began preparing for combat in the British colonies. In Havana and New Orleans meanwhile, the local garrisons were also beign readied and new men were being drawn into the armues. Almost all French and Spanish ships in the Caribbean had also beun to rally at or near to New Orleans and Havana. A small French-Spanish force had been offloaded at Baltimore though and it made its way north towards Philadelphia along with the Continental Army. In Philadelphia there was an up-and-coming commander by the name of Burr who was leading the section of the Continental Army that would coordinate with the French and Spanish.

April 1778- Some of the British regulars from Philadelphia made their way to Trenton and had little trouble defeating the small Continental army force that had been operating in Trenton, however they were continually harassed by the remnant force and started losing more men to these hit-and-run attacks. As the British were moving towards Trenton the French, Spanish and Americans proceeded to move towards Philadelphia. Here about half of this force lay surrounded the town and demanded a British surrender (even half of this force was slightly larger than the remaining British garrison), whilst the other half went on towards Trenton. In Philadelphia a long battle just outside the town raged between the British and the Americans, French adn Spanish. At one point it looked as though the British would win, but superior numbers prevailed in addition to the guerrilla warfare of the Americans and the British retreated across the Delaware. They now had the choice of aidng their fellow soldiers at Trenton or blocking a possible advance by the Americans and their allies from Philadelphia to Trenton to help force a decision. The British decided to stay put and block any advance. Such an advance was attempted but was successfully blocked.
Meanwhile in Trenton the British regulars had moved out of the town and surprised the Continental Army before it could initiate its planned attack and the Americans, French and Spanish, though slightly larger in number lost out in the end. The Americans fled towards New York and the British regulars followed. In New York (colony) some of the Americans attempted to hide among some sympathizers. In one hamlet a small detachment of British regulars, having been frustrated at claims that their were no rebels when they knew different, burned half the hamlet to the ground and imprisoned ro killed most of the menfolk of a particular age. News of this reached the rest of New York and the New York legislature became rather anti-British and in a snap vote, decided to side with the Rebellion. The British regulars responsible were punished of course, but just like the Boston "Massacre" this seemed inconsequential since it didn't swing popular opinion back to the British. New York then began negotiating with the Congress and New Hampshire agreed that it would recognise New York's claims to Vermont. The British regulars from Trenton who had been in hot pursuit of the defeated Americans returned to Trenton suffering a different defeat of their own.

Juky-August 1778- early 1779- British regulars begin arriving in large numbers in Charleston. Here they were still welcomed and had almost no trouble from any American rebels whatsoever. British regulars also arrived in Savannah, Georgia and in the fort in Florida near to what would become JAcksonville. Also the Dutch are being called upon to give more assistance as are the Hanoverians. Soon Hessian mercenaries hired by Hanover (as well as some Hanover soldiers) were being transported to the colonies by the British fleet which was to be augmented fully by the Dutch fleet (the Dutch form of assistance)in early 1779.

1779- The British regulars in the south had two goals: (1) protect the southern colonies from rebel attacks and the French and Spanish. (2) to advance from North Carolina into Virginia and seize the major settlements and then move on to Baltimore and finally coordinate another attack with British forces in the north to seize Philadelpha. Thus with the major settlments of all the colonies (New Haven was planned for separately by the British forces in the north alone) under British control the Americans would see the light and give in.
In mid-1779 the French-Spanish-American forces pushed across the Delware and began a march to Trenton which was now being heavily defended by the former blocking British forces and the formerly victorious occupying British forces. In the south the French and Spanish initiated their plan for the south and sent their fleets towards the southern coast and the British fleet protecting it. Their larger fleet defeated the British and were able to land all their troops in South Carolina and Georgia.
The Anglo-Dutch Fleet in the waters off the northern colonies was transporting more regulars and mercenaries to New York City(now occupied as opposed to friendly), Bsoton and Newport as well as blockading all of New England and most of the middle colonies. This fleet then manoeuvred to engage the Franco-Spansih fleet and in a great navsl battle in the Atlantic the swept aside the Franco-Spanish fleet and proceeded to blockade the southern colonies as well. From New Orleans more French (and some Spanish) soldiers were making their way to the southern colonies overland.

Now the British were about to have a fight on their hands......

to be continued.....

Also a possibility for Anglo-Dutch union is Queen Mary of England and Phillip of Spain having a kid- he would inherit England, the Netherlands and Franche-Comte.

Peace and normalcy

1780- The French and Spanish troops in South Carolina and Georgia engaged British troops in the colonies though there was no clear-cut victory. In the north the Franco-Spanish-American forces finally achieved enough soldiers to overwhelm the British forces locally and take Trenton. These troops then began a march towards New York and just outside the the New York area they encamped. The British forces in New York were much too entrenched to shift in a regular engagement and the Franco-Spanish-American forces were content to keep the British bottled up in New York. Meanwhile in Virginia the Continental Army began marching south into North Carolina to aid in the fight in the south. In Massachussetts, the American rebels in the countryside gathered together and surrounded Boston. American and British soldiers fought fiercely in section of Boston, but the British regulars were tired of occupying a rebellious Boston and also knew that with war being waged in the south and near New York, that reinforcements were becoming more unlikely. The regulars opted to hold out in Boston as long as they could however.
In the south the French and Spanish troops coming in from New Orleans finally reach Georgia and South Carolina and this is decisive for many battles. Despite Loyalist militia aid, the British regulars lost more battles than they won and the French and Spanish were able to move into Morth Carolina and join up with the Continental Army moving south from Virginia to fight the British there.
In New England the American rebels around New Haven and the Connecticutt countryside sent half their forces to take New Port. The British (and now also Dutch) regulars in New Port decided to abandon New Port and help in the fight for Boston. So the Americans took New Port with relatively little fighting. The regulars arrived outside Boston and helped the British in the town to stave off defeat. However it wasn't enough to bring about a victory and the town was divided into section where the Americans had control and the British-Dutch regulars had control. The New England aspect of the war was over with stalemate in Boston and victory in New Haven and New Port for the Americans. Philadelphia and Trenton were also American victories and the position of the British in New York was looking increasingly tenuous. Now in the south the British regulars in North Carolina were facing too many enemies from too many directions at once. They fought harshly and only at the end of 1780 did they surrender.
Back in London, Lord North and King John II had realised that continuing the war would drain British resources too much and had agreed that it should be brought to a conclusion with the British coming out of it as best they could. In January 1781 peace talks commenced in Paris and after much heckling and threats and counter-threats the British agreed that they would not retain any of the 13 colonies in question. However they refused to allow the 3 southern colonies to join the new United States of America. The Americans were disappointed about that development but the French and Spanish agreed since their aim of evicting the British from all 13 colonies would still be achieved. The British also insisted on keeping the northern section of Maine district as it had always been in British hands throughout the war and since it wouldn't affect British power in the Caribbean and Louisiana area the French and Spanish agreed and got the Americans to agree as well. In exchange the British evacuated all of Boston. The British then evacuated from New York City in exchange for setting up an Indian Reserve (a British protectorate) in the Iroquois lands in western New York and all along lake Ontario. There were forts held by the British along the lake in this areas anyway so the French and Spanish saw no reason to go to war with Britain over Indian lands and some lakeshore that the Americans may have wanted. The French and Spanish had also expended a lot of treasure to fight this war and had no wish to spend more gold to hammer-out the fine-details of their victory. The French and Spanish had no wish to see a strong American state competing with them in the Americas, so cutting the new state down in size was a bit desirable to the French and Spanish. It was agreed eventually by all that all lands to the Mississippi river north of the southern limit of Virginia's claim would be allocated to the United States and all lands
to the Mississippi south of the southern limit of Virginia's claim would be handed over to the southern colonies/states. Florida was returned to Spain.

1781- The 3 southern colonies send delegates to Charleston where an agreement remarkably similar to the revised Albany Union proposed by the King is quickly drawn up and accepted almost unanimously. The new Union was to be called the United Provinces of America (UPA) (as opposed to the United States of America or USA) and was to have a Parliament based of the British parliament and the States General of the Dutch Republic. The head of the new Union would be the President-General who would be elected by Parliament (like how the stadholder is elected by the States General). Since the UPA was supposed to be independent of Britain all references in the Union agreement to royalty had to be dropped. The capital of the UPA was to be Charleston (the largest city in the area and the largest port). The UPA and Britain and the Dutch Republic soon began resuming trade and all agreed to curtail trade with the USA. In the north meanwhile the states of United States were about to argue over the Articles of Confederation and drafting a new Constitution (not drawn up in full til late 1786). Virginia did not initially support the new Constitution, nor did New York and it wasn't until 1787 that all states except Virginia and New York ratified and accepted the Constitution. Finally in 1790 Virginia and New York accepted the Constitution but still voiced reservations. So now in North America there were two nations: the UPA and USA.

1788- First British convicts shipped to Botany Bay, Australia. In 1793 the first free British settlers would reach Australia.

1789- The French Revolution occurs. The deputies of the tiers-etat (third estate) at the Etats-Generaux (Estates-General or Parliament) proclaim themselves the government under under the title of Assemblee Constituante (Constitutional Assembly). The Bastille waa stormed soon after. All privileges were abolished.

1792- The French monarchy was suspended and a Republique (Republic) was proclaimed. The next year the monarchs were guillotined as were nobles and tax-collectors and other "enemies of the Republic".

1796- Formation of the Directoire (Directory) in France after a new Constitution is made. 5 Directors are to be the head of government.

1797- French victory in Italian campaign against Austria. This victory was due in no small part to an up and coming soldier, Napoleon Bonaparte.

to be continued....

Thank you Leej. Maybe that could be used in another TL. Of course that would bring about an Anglo-Spanish-Dutch union....hmmm.....

Revolution in France, the Old Order overthrown.

1790-1791- counter-revolutionary forces assembled in Brussells, Coblenz and Turin and an Emigre (French Exile) army is founded in the Rhineland

January 1792- National Assembly declare that Habsburg Emperor of Austria, Leopold II, should be invited to declare whether or not he would renounce every treaty directed against the sovereignty, independence and safety of the French nation. Two weeks later it ordered the property of all exiles to be seized in the name of the government and the Revolution. Leopold II was ready to be conciliatory but he died on March 1 and his son and successor Francis II was less intelligent and dominated by militarist and absolutist advisers. He rejected the ultimatum and France declared war.
Prussia, in alliance with Austria, and Piedmont declared war on France. In the early months of fighting the French achieved some victories.

1793- The revolutionary ideals of France were to too dynamic and radical to ignore by the rest of the monarchs of Europe (save a few like Catherine II who was preoccupied with Poland, but eventually sealed off Russia from revolutionary ideals). So, Britain and the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Prussia, and Piedmont formed the First Coalition and waged war on France.
Early in the year the French took Brussels. The King and Queen of France were executed shortly after for attempting to flee to the counter-revolutionaries the year before. The Royal couple would not be the only victim of the guillotine and over the next couple years many thousands of "enemies of the state and revolution" had their heads parted from their bodies. Shortly after taking Brussels and most of the Austrian Netherlands, the French army moved into the Netherlands were they fought a pitched battle with British and Dutch soldiers. The British and Dutch drove the French out and began an assault into the Austrian Netherlands taking Antwerp.
Suffering reverses on the battlefield as well as outbreaks of rebellion in France, the National Assembly (now calling itself the Legislative Assembly) introduced a new and far-reaching idea: universal conscription. At first only bachelors and childless widowers between 18 and 25 were called up. This allowed the French to field massive battle formations which made up for training with numbers and soon turned th tide (while gaining experience) for France. Revolts in Gascony and Artois and around Paris were put down and the Prussians and Austrians were pushed out of Alsace and over the Rhine. The newly buffed up French army also retook Brussels from the Anglo-Dutch force holding and finally took all of the Austrian Netherlands by 1794.

1794- With a resurgent France the States-General in the Hague petitioned Britain to send more soldiers and called for closer cooperation between Britain and the Dutch Republic. Meanwhile across the Atlantic in the UPA, the British and Dutch soldiers and sailors who had secretly stayed behind after the end of the American Revolution to train the new UPA army and help found the UPA navy soon had to find themselves on the first ships back to London, Rotterdam, Dover, Bristol and Liverpool. George III of Hanover, now completely mad finally responded to Anglo-Dutch calls for alliance against France and his parliament (which was weaker than Britain's or the Netherlands') quickly called up Hanover's soldiers to assist the Dutch Republic.

mid 1795- The National/Legislative Assembly was abolished and a new Directory was setup. The Directory was not popular to begin with as it was headed by corrupt men of ill-repute and as the years passed it would become only slightly more popular after some victories abroad but would have to put down more revolts than the Assembly did. The first revolt was in the winter of 1795 in Paris and the army was called in to put it down (the army was successful). Napolean Bonaparte had performed aptly in putting it down and the Directory, anxious to have excellent soldiers on their side and hopefully in their pockets, rewarded him with command of the home army. Bonaparte would continue to put down revolts right through into 1796.

1796- Frances only active enemies now were Britain and the Netherlands (and Hanover, but it doesn't count for much) on land and sea, and Austria and Sardinia. France had made peace with both Spain and Prussia and later Portugal, Saxony, the two Hesses, Naples, Parma and the Papacy. By annexing the Austrian Netherlands, France committed Austria to continue the war as it would not accept this loss. Britain and the Netherlands also objected to the annexation. In the Low Countries area, the French army had fought to a stalemate with the Anglo-Dutch armies roughly along the Dutch border and seeing no more sense in continuing operations in the area a truce was signed by both sides. In Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Groningen, Eindhoven, Utrecht and the Hague and other Dutch cities the locals cheered the British and Dutch soldiers for "saving the Republic from the French". France now concentrated her efforts against Austria and Bonaparte finally got a part to play in the war against the foreign enemies as opposed to putting down revolts.
Bonaparte's army was charged with breaking Austrian power in Italy. He commanded brilliantly and drove the Austrians from northern Italy and pressed on to the Danube. Here he linked up with two other French armies and all 3 French armies could now threaten Vienna. Austria agreed to peace and recognised the annexation of the former Austrian Netherlands, the French created Cisalpine Republic, ceded France large districts of the Rhineland in return for part of Bavaria and all of Salzburg and the exclusion of Prussia from territorial gain. By now Hanover had made peace and only Britain and the Netherlands were still at war with France on the high seas. Britain and the Netherlands also eventually signed an armistice called the Peace of Rheims but more commonly called the Truce of Reims.

1798- The Directory though knew that with Peace their popularity would falter and aimed to keep up some state of war (and national emergency) and hopefully gain a strategic victory over arch-enemy Britain. It sent an expedition to Syria which had the aim of capturing Egypt (to aid in cutting off the British from India) as well as advancing through Persia if possible to threaten British interests in India. Their scheme was a bit too grand however and the Anglo-Dutch Fleet under Nelson almost annihilated the French Fleet off Syria. The French withdrew in defeat and only succeeded in forming a Second Coalition against them consisting of Britain, Turkey and Russia. This Second Coalition soon collapsed however when the French made no more moves against either Turkey or Britain.

1799- With high popularity and seeing the Directory as inept, Napolean carried out a coup and got the Directory to abolish itself and appoint him as Consul over a new Assembly (which was rather weak and had his brother Lucien in it). The Directory and Assembly had appointed two other Consuls as well, both reformers who Napolean had no real fear for in any event.

1799-1803- The Consulate reorganises France and with Napolean as head, the Consuls prepare the nation for a renewal of war by building more ships, shipyards, naval ports, barracks and sending expeditions to Madagascar and Mauritius (both close to India). The French created Republics: The Cisalpine Republic, the Helvetic Republic (Switzerland), Ligurian Republic, Roman Republic (the Pope was allowed to stay as nominal head) and the Parthpean Republic (Naples) were reorganised internally to serve French economic interests and needs and became tributary states.

1803- Napolean had the Assembly and other co-Consuls declare him Emperor of the French and from 1803 he instituted measures which whilst reforming France was making more and more into a police state. In mid 1803 war was renewed.

1804- The French Fleet (what was left of it and the new ships) in addition to many ships from the Spanish suffered a massive defeat in the Bay of Biscay. Again Nelson along with his new Vice-Admiral Therises (a Dutchman) was victorious for the the British and Dutch. Now Napolean's plans to invade Britain could not come to fruition and he instead focused on the Netherlands.

1805- The French attempt to invade the Netherlands but only occupy a small area of land south of the Rhine. Britain then rallied Austria, Prussia and Russia to form a Third Coalition. Napolean managed to defeat (or almost defeat) each of his enemies one by one. He was victorious over the Austrians before the Prussians and Russians could organise aid at Karlsruhe and Munich and Wagram and then proceeded to defeat the Prussians at Dresden and Leipzig. His army was now in a position to smash Hanover and did just that. George III fled Hanover and joined his children in London (where they were being schooled and also where they were sent by their mother for their own safety from their mad dad). In London King and Stadholder John II, getting on in life, welcomed his Hanoverian cousin and declared that Britain and the Netherlands (for which he spoke as Stadholder) would be in the fight against France for as long as it took and that Hanover, indeed Europe, would be free of French rule.

1806- Napolean's armies were now poised to enter the Netherlands from the east and this they did in mid 1806. The British and Dutch troops fought fiercely and by the end of 1806 the French had occupied all of the Netherlands save for Holland (that peninsular area). The reason Napolean stopped here was because the Russians were entering Prussia as he entered the Netherlands and he had no wish to be attacked in the rear. So he had the majority of his army move back to Berlin where they defeated a combined Russian-Prussian force. His army then chased the Russians to Posen then Danzig and finally defeated them totally at Memel. Here the Russian Tsar, Alexander I signed the treaty of Memel in March 1807. Napolean entertained Alexander's ambition to be Emperor of the East (though he would never give any real support) while Alexander recognised Napolean as Emperor of the West. Having defeated the Austrians, Prussians and Russians (as well as the getting the Danes and Swedes to come over to his side) Napolean began to reorganise Europe. He did away with the Holy Roman Empire and drew up new constitutions for the German states. Baden, Wurttemburg, Hesse and all the other German states (except Prussia, Austria and Bavaria) were then organised into a Rhine Confederation (as some states bordered the Rhine). Bavaria was enlarged at Austria's expense. In mid-1807 his army finally succeeded in capturing the rest of Holland, but not before many British and Dutch troops evacuated along with the members of the States-General. In late 1807 all of the Netherlands and sections of northern Germany (parts of Hanover and Westphalia) were annexed to France as was all of Italy save for the Kingdom of Naples (a French creation). A Polish Kingdom was carved out of Prussia and Austria's Polish lands. An Illyrian Duchy was formed from the Illyrian lands detached from Austria and a Kingdom of Westphalia formed from Prussia's Rhenish lands. Louise Bonaparte was made Duke of Illyria and Jerome Bonaparte made King of Westphalia. Joseph Bonaparte was made King of Naples and Sicily.

1808- Napolean invades Spain and quickly conquers it, but finds that holding it was not as easy. In any case Joseph Bonaparte was also made King of Spain by Napolean and now the French Empire was at its height. Britain was isolated in Europe (not counting the Hanoverian and Netherlands governments in exile in London), but Napolean's exclusion of Britain from trade with the Continent (instituted after the conquest of the Netherlands was completed) did not have the desired effect. Britain still had a large navy (and also had the Dutch navy) and could still trade with the rest of the world and these two things kept her going against France....

USA and UPA update

As for the USA and UPA post-1780. Well the USA is having some internal troubles with Virginia (and New York also which half-heartedly aims to dominate the Union or at least rival Virginia). Virginia doesn't want to drop its claims to the western lands and hand them over as Federal territory as was proposed by the US govt. There is a consensus in the Virginia legislature though that it might be willing to drop claims north of the Ohio if the Federal govt. recognises its claims south of the Ohio. And of course there is that issue of slavery. Until 1799 it won't become a major issue because by then New York and New Jersey will still allow slavery to be legal. By 1804 however it might become a tense issue. In 1780 Mass. and Pennsylvania outlawed slavery. In 1783 New Hampshire basically outlawed it (though it didn't become fully illegal til 1857) and in 1784 Rhode Island and Connecticutt outlawed slavery. So by 1784 the legal slavery status was equal (5 states with slavery legal, 5 states with it being illegal). In 1799 New York outlawed slavery and in 1804 New Jersey outlawed slavery. This left only 3 states with slavery legal and 7 where it was illegal (this is counting New Hampshire in the anti-slavery camp). I don't see a civil war starting yet, but tensions will grow come the 1830s when the British Empire outlaws slavery and tries to stop the slave trade. Also the Loyalists in Virginia I have divided up: those who wish stay in Virginia and cannot afford to leave, those who leave for the UPA and those who leave for Canada.
The capital of the USA is Philadelphia by the way.

In the UPA, an Army and Navy are being built up and trained by some British and Dutch soldiers who stayed behind (but shed their uniform). Trade with Britain and the Dutch Republic is also high. Of course trade with the USA also exists but it has tapered off since the independence of the colonies in the form of two nations. Britain immediately after 1780 refused to trade with the USA, as did the Dutch Republic. The Anglo-Dutch boycott of trade ended in 1785 but trade was never the same and was much lower than pre-independence levels.

End of Era

Now for the TL in the North America 1800-1804:

1800- Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte had a vision of a renewed western empire for France, and his schemes included the recapture of Louisiana from Spain. Control over this vast territory would halt the westward expansion of the young United States and would supply French colonies in the West Indies with the goods they needed. Napoleon signs the secret Treaty of Ildefonso with Spain as the first step in his plan, an agreement that stipulated that France would provide Spain with a kingdom for the son-in-law of Spain's king if Spain would return Louisiana to France. However, Napoleon's plan collapsed when the twelve-year revolt of slaves and free blacks in the French colony of Saint-Domingue succeeded, forcing French troops to return defeated to France and preventing them from reaching their ultimate destination--Louisiana--and from being able to defend it. As Napoleon's New World empire disintegrated, the loss of Haiti made Louisiana unnecessary.


1803- The general peace in Europe opens the way for negotiations over the sale of Louisiana by France (which is in need of the money to compensate the lost treasure spent on war, as well as for introducing conscription). France had regained Louisiana from France and now saw an opportunity to gain currency for modernisation. Initially the French are only willing to offer it to the USA. As Britain is an arch-enemy the French let it be known that the offer of Louisiana does not go for them. The French were also about to exclude the UPA but when the UPA (bankrolled by Britain and the Netherlands) offered to pay more than what the French initially hoped to receive, then the UPA was allowed to bid. Soon a bidding war begins between the USA and UPA with the French enjoying the rise in the amount offered. Eventually Philadelphia and Charleston agree in bilateral talks to jointly purchase Louisiana and to split the colony along a line extending from the US-UP border to the border with Spanish Mexico. The USA and UPA came to this agreement because the USA was fast running out of actual reserves to draw upon to make the purchase and the UPA's bankrollers (Britain and the Netherlands) were beginning to balk at any increase in the UPA's offer. So in July 1803 the UPA, USA and France agree to the settlement worked out by Philadelphia and Charleston. By August however war had resumed in Europe and the British and Dutch instructed the UPA not to go ahead with the purchase. The UPA was at first rather irate, but Britain and the Netherlands said the UPA could just take the area of Louisiana that it desired. When the agreement broke down, the USA as well saw an opportunity and approached Britain and the UPA about taking Louisiana along the lines agreed (with some adjustments in the extreme north favouring Britain) between the US and UP. Britain and the UPA agreed to the new US proposal and by December Louisiana had been taken over by the USA and UPA. The UPA in the meanwhile had also declared war on France.

And Europe after 1808:

In London the members of the States-General who escaped from the Netherlands sat in the British Parliament, albeit as a "government" as opposed to a section of the British government. Though they had no country to run the British Parliament allowed them to continue their duties and had in fact invited them to sit in Parliament when the evacuated the Hague. As the Netherlands were now annexed ("illegally" the Dutch and British claim) the colonies of the Netherlands and all her assests were placed under the emergency control of Britain by the States-General and British Parliament (from this point on acting mostly as one entity). So Cape Colony, Ceylon, the Dutch West Indies, Dutch East Indies and the Dutch West Indian Company (DWIC) and Dutch East Indian Company (DEIC) were all placed under British control, though the Dutch laws and administrations (in the case of the companies) remained.

1809- In Austria, moves were being made to resist further French actions (especially after what happened in Spain) and Napolean declares war on Austria. The French defeat the Austrians outside Vienna in a costly "Battle of the Danube". Napolean's army performed less aptly than before due to many of France's soldiers attempting to put down rebellion in Spain and also because the Europe's generals had learned from Napolean's tactics and were applying those tactics themselves. In Sweden the King, Gustav IV, was deposed via revolution and his childless uncle, Charles XIII, succeeded him. The Swedish Diet needed an heir to the throne however and begin debating which French Marshal is the best choice. The Diet decided to limit its candidate eligibility to French dukes and princes (marshals) wh obtained their titles before 1807 (this shows loyalty and skill) and with sons. They come up with 3 possibilities: Bernadotte, Murat and Berthier. Murat was voted against because he had married Caroline Bonaparte and so choosing him would tie Sweden closer to Napolean and Paris than the Diet wished (Murat's grand-duc title was also in doubt, since some thought he obtained by being related to Napolean by marriage). Berthier was almost picked but he had married only recently and had made it known his son would be named Napolean. So Bernadotte was picked. He would allow for closer relations with the Continental System yet allow Sweden to still remain mostly outside the new French Empire.

1810- The Cortes (Spanish Parliament) was summoned and drew up a new constitution based upon the French revolutionary constitution of 1791. This constitution contrasted with the present French constitution and Napolean's autocratic despotism and Napolean disliked it intensely. Napolean continued to lead campaigns in Spain but only achieved victories when he lead his troops, otherwise the Spanish guerrillas were victorious over his generals in Spain. In addition, British, Dutch and Portuguese troops in Portugal continued to supply the Spanish guerrillas and attack French troops.

1811- The continuing revolt in Spain and the attempted revolt by Austria, in addition to a economic downturn due to the Continental System (no trade with Britain and an Anglo-Dutch blockade of any countries participating in said system) induced Russia to move towards an alliance with Britain.

1812- Persuaded by Russia's moves and British encouragement, Sweden (even with Bernadotte) moved towards alliance with Britain and Russia and a Fourth Coalition came into existence. In response to Alexander jumping his ship in 1811, Napolean began assembling a Grand Armee in Konigsberg in Prussia. He invaded Russia in June and his Armee followed a path to Moscow. He had expected to defeat the Russians, but the Russians, having learned from the past, did not play ball. Instead they withdrew whenever the French advanced and burned or took anything of value in the areas they evacuated. By the time Napolean reached Moscow his army was hungry and tired and had not defeated the enemy decisively. With winter, disease, desertions, vast lines of communications to maintain and hit and run attacks by the Russians, Napolean decided Moscow wasn't worth keeping and that he would withdraw. By the time his Armee left Russia he had lost almost 3/4's of his original force either killed or captured. This was his greatest defeat and only encouraged Sweden into being committed to the Coalition. Now even Prussia became restive.

1813- Prussia makes an alliance with Russia and promises not to make a separate peace and later in the year after Naoplean had been driven west of the Elbe by the Russians and Prussians, Austria joined the Fourth Coalition. Napolean still achieved victories at places like Leipzig and Jena, however the new alliance against him now had close to a million soldiers, whilst he was having more trouble mustering up little more than half a million (some of which were on duty in Spain). At the battle of Munich, Napolean lost 40,000 men and retreated to the Rhine. At about the same time the Spanish, Portuguese, British and Dutch had achieved victory in Spain and all of these forces (led by a British general) entered France from the south. Once in France however, the allies faced popular French resistance and the advance was slower than in the rest of Europe. Anglo-Dutch soldiers had landed in Holland and began to quickly liberate the Netherlands and moved into France. The Prussians, Russians, Austrians, Bavarians and others entered France from the east across the Rhine. The British also began assembling a force to land in Normandy. Victory is looking assured but then the British suffer a political setback when King and Stadholder John II dies in 1813. All over Britain, the Netherlands and Hanover (to which George III had returned after Napolean' retreat) many people mourn his passing. Parliament (and the States-General) had already declared George III's son to be the heir and now King and Stadholder George I assumed the role left by John II. George I declared the landing in Normandy was carried out in memory to John II and as a tribute to the late King. Soon Coalition armies were outside Paris and a siege began by early 1814.

1814- Becoming tired of stubborn French resistance some of the Coalition armies stopped laying siege and entered Paris. Wherever they went fierce fighting ensued and parts of Paris were destroyed. Then like a thunderbolt, an Austro-Prussian force killed Napolean after surrounding the building he has holed up in along with some of his most elite soldiers. Victory was declared but some of the most loyal commanders to Napolean declared they would never make peace and continued to fight. By September 1814 the last of the French commanders and their soldiers had surrendered.
Now began the rather difficult process of working out a post-war settlement.....

Haggling over the spoils

1814- With Napolean dead, the Coalition powers are ultimately victorious in France. Now comes the hard bargaining that would characterise the peace.

The first treaty in the new period of peace is The Treaty of Paris, 1814. France was to give up all territory acquired since 1790 and Monaco was re-made into an independent principality. France also had to cede Tobago, St. Lucia, Seychelles and a few other small colonies to Britain. Guadeloupe was returned to France from Swedish rule. The Bourbon monarchy was to be restored in France with a much stronger Estates-General than before the Revolution (with some of the good aspects of reform due to Revolution being retained).
The Bonaparte family was forbidden from assuming any major role in governing France and Bonaparte's immediate relatives (brothers especially) were exiled from France and indeed from Europe. France also had to pay a large indemnity and had to submit to occupation by an allied garrison until 1818. In addition Alsace-Lorraine was to be placed under exclusive Prussian occupation until the French indemnity was paid, and afterwards the future of the two provinces would be decided by the Coalition in a Congress for Europe. Prussia and Austria were going to press for at least Alsace to be an independent state in the German Confederation.

Belgium was for now under the occupation of Anglo-Dutch forces and it was called the southern Netherlands. Its borders with France were those of 1790 but the north-eastern Flemish areas (including Dunkerque which was renamed Duinkerken) of France was transferred to the southern Netherlands. In addition some of the Walloon (dialect of French) areas were incorporated into the southern Netherlands. Lille and Cambrai are Walloon towns but it is decided they will stay in France (the border doesn't come near to Cambrai). So the border lies just outside of Lille and that little projection of French territory along the Muese into Belgium was annexed to southern Netherlands.

In early 1815 Austria hosted a Congress in Vienna where the future of Europe was to be decided. France having made peace was allowed to attend as an equal (almost) power. France could not renegotiate her borders or her indemnity. Attending were Tsar Alexander I of Russia, Metternich the Chancellor of Austria, and major representatives for Prussia, Britain and the Netherlands and France. Minor representatives were present for some of the other European states as well. For 10 months the Congress went on with many side negotiations and distrust beginning to emerge among some of the powers. Prussia and Russia had secretly agreed in 1814 that Prussia would accept Russia's annexation of most of the Polish Duchy set up by Napolean in return for Prussia gaining all of Saxony. Britain, Austria and France resisted this agreement however (especially Austria as she wanted Saxony between herself and Prussia) and a compromise was worked out whereby Prussia annexed 3/4 of Saxony leaving a rump Saxon state and as compensation got some Rhineland territory quite close to France (in fact some of it just bordered Lorraine). Russia got to annex what she had desired of the Polish Duchy and the rest of the Duchy that came from Prussian territory taken by Napolean was returned to Prussia (essentially the border between Prussia, Austria and Russia is about the same as in OTL). Illyria and Tyrol were restored to Austria. Austria at the time was in occupation Lombardy, Venetia, the Romagna (of the Papal States), Modena, Lucca, Parma and Tuscany. Romagna was returned to the Papal States (which were restablished) and in return for the southern Netherlands becoming independent the Austrians were allowed to annex Lombardy and Venetia. Modena, Lucca, and Parma were united with Tuscany under a Habsburg prince into the Kingdom of north Italy. An Italian Confederation was setup and as Austria ruled part of Italy and had a Habsburg prince as King of a large section, it (initially) dominated the Confederation in alliance with the Pope (and at times with Piedmont). Piedmont was expanded slightly at the expense of France and was united with Sardinia (and already having Savoy and Nice) into the Kingdom of Sardinia. Corsica was transferred to the new Kingdom of Sardinia (from the 1814 treaty of Paris). In Germany the Rhine Confederation was disbanded but instead of the hundreds of pre-Napoleanic states, only 40 German states were restored. A new German Confederation was setup with Prussia and Austria being the defacto leading members. In Naples and Sicily the Borbon (As they would be known in Italy) monarchy was restored. Austria called for the restoration of the Holy Roman Empire (which was to be even weaker than it was before) to encompass (and basically link) most the German Confederation and the Italian Confederation. The other powers mulled over this decision, but left the matter for future discussion.

In the southern Netherlands an independent Belgium was set up though some territory in Limburg connecting Maastricht to the rest of the Netherlands was annexed to the Netherlands. Luxembourg was fully included in the new Belgium and it had a British prince (much futher down in the line of succession) as its new King. A Belgian Parliament modelled off the States-General and British Parliament was setup and Dutch and French were made the national (and equal) languages. This new Belgium was intended as a buffer state between France and Britain-Netherlands. It would also be a British allied state.

Now that is where the TL stopped on the old board. So from 1688 to 1815 (127 years) has been covered. I want to put up some maps and flags and such. At this point I want to pause for feedback from others (hopefully including the old suspects from the old thread and any newcomers).

Hmm...well people are reading it, just not really get any feedback or general comments. Well, anyway, here are the first couple maps.

Europe in 1770

And the second map which should help people visual the new North America.

North America 1783.

I need to read it in more detail before I can reply, but it's a very interesting concept. I recently started a timeline where a joint English/Scottish/Dutch kingdom becomes one of the "5 Empires" that dominate the world by the early 19th century (the other 4 are a joint French-Spanish kingdom, Russia, China, and Japan).

My one critique is that the napoleonic wars played out awfully similar, all things considered.

My one critique is that the napoleonic wars played out awfully similar, all things considered.

Click to expand...

Well, in a way yes, but in a way, no. They spanned the same approximate length of time, and Napolean was pretty much successful til 1812.
The changes are there if you know where to look.
1) Practically none of the battles mentioned were OTL historical battles. The battles all occurred in different places from OTL.
2) Napolean's invasion of the Netherlands is nothing like in OTL.
3)There was no Anglo-Dutch invasion of Normandy in OTL.
4) Napolean was not killed in OTL.
5) Napolean did not go to Egypt or the Levant in this TL as he did in OTL
6) the Napoleanic organization of Europe is different: (a) Illyria is a duchy outside of France proper, (b) most of Italy is in France proper, (c) Spain and southern Italy are ruled by the same Bonaparte (d) Bavaria is not joined in Rhine League/Confederation as it was in OTL
7) The post-napoleanic peace is different: (a) Belgium is formed and is larger than in OTL, (b) France loses Dunkerque/Dunkirk unlike in OTL as well as some Walloon areas in the north-east. (c) France loses Corsica. (d) France will probably lose Alsace. (e) Prussia gets more of Saxony, which by now is so weak it is for all events an purposes a Prussian satellite. (f) Italy is heavily reorganized with only 5 states in it now: Piedmont/Kingdom of Sardinia, Habsburg North Italy, the Papal States, Austria (in Lombardy and Venetia) and the Two Sicilies. (g) an Italian Confederation is formed.
8) France had essentially no navy thanks to the combined English and Dutch fleets.
9) The British did not bombard the Danish Fleet at Copenhagen. Thus British-Danish relations are better.

if you check the old thread and scan around the Napoleanic section, you will see I was rather hard pressed to find an alternative to Bernadotte for Sweden (and I tried) but what made sense in OTL, only made just as much sense in this TL, so he ends up on the throne. Also Napolean really did bite off more than he could chew in both Spain and especially Russia.

I have some ideas for the future of "Germany" and I think most of my changes will be post-Victoria, although a substantial one is in the works for Ireland, indeed for the whole UK as we know it.

More maps for your enjoyment:

Map of Europe 1789