Odyssey of Fritz, the Turncoat Prince

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Chapter 182
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    Chapter 182

    November, 1793

    Paris

    By November, even Robespierre wondered if the Directory had gone too far. So many people were being sent to the guillotine that it had become more a method of entertainment for the masses than an actual disincentive to disloyalty.

    It has become France's "Bread and Circuses", the slight man thought. Robespierre had once been an ardent activist against the death penalty in all forms and only grudgingly acceded to popular demand for the institution. Lately, though, it had gone out of all control and, by the speed that the provinces were turning away from the Convention (barely a day passed without a Convention member or two quietly slipping out of Paris and fleeing for home).

    Initial attempts to negotiate with the provincials were stymied by in the increasingly strident and counter-productive rhetoric of the Directory itself. Threatening to execute the rebels only made them MORE rebellious, not less. While he had once been considered something of a moderate among the Revolutionaries, Robespierre had grown increasingly radical and only now was beginning to realize the Revolution had lost its way. Robespierre quietly canvased the Directory (most of which were still "independents" rather than Radicals of Marat's ilk) and realized that he may be able to affect the outcome of the Revolution if he could only assume authority of the military at a crucial moment. Robespierre knew the National Guard protecting Paris was certain to support Marat or whoever screamed loudest. He would gain no sympathy there.

    Instead, Robespierre sought help from the army itself and the renowned war hero Moreau who commanded the army of Flanders. If Moreau could be brought into this little conspiracy, it may just stand a chance. The politician dispatched his son upon a "fact-finding" mission to inquire if the man was willing to assist.

    Unfortunately, his plans were betrayed and Robespierre returned home to find the National Guard surrounding his home. Placed under arrest, the trial took place the next day and execution that same afternoon.

    By the evening, Marat and his fanatics were entirely in command of northern France.

    Lyon

    Belatedly, the southern cities would send forces to the aid of besieged Lyon. Along with much of the army of the Alps returning from Piedmont and the Swiss Cantons, the "Federalist" forces would be able to relieve the battered city before it succumbed to the Convention's power.

    Over the course of the summer, the term "Federalist" was hesitantly used for the loose alliance of anti-Directory forces. The Directory accused it of counter-revolutionary and monarchist tendencies as well as desiring to rend apart the nation into regional Kingdoms. In truth, there were few monarchists in their ranks nor was it truly "regionalist" in scope. Most desired a strong, centralized state, preferably with no monarch but some were willing to accept a constitutional monarch who knew his place.

    General Dumouriez would return from the Spanish border (the Army of the Pyrenees) with an idea. He discussed with General Duggomier the advantages of bringing multitudes of closet Monarchists back into the fold (the insanity of Paris had turned many millions of ardent revolutionaries into moderates in comparison) by putting a King back on the throne. However, too much blood had been shed with Louis XVII, whom was a tool of the Austrian Emperor anyway. If there was any French influence in Vienna's court, it was by the King's uncles, all but Louis August being an arch-reactionary.

    Many would be satisfied with a DIFFERENT King, not of the current House of Bourbon. With so many Princes of the Blood now murdered (including the Revolution's great supporters in the House of Orleans), this created a problem.

    But Dumouriez knew of one candidate who still possessed a claim to the French throne, though one that had been ignored for centuries. The General pointed out to his colleague the precedent of Great Britain in the early years of the century. When so many of the reigning House of Stuart proved unpalatable to the nation after James II was exiled, they simply ignored the hereditary rights and went to find a King willing to do Parliament's bidding. They found George I of the House of Hanover, whom would never forget that dozens of claimants with superior blood rights had been bypassed for the throne of Great Britain and he owed everything to Parliament's generosity.

    Maybe what France needed was an outsider, one equally dependent upon the new Convention being haphazardly put together in Marseilles would not bat an eye as he signed whatever the hell the Convention would put before him because he knew the alternative was having nothing...of BEING nothing.

    It seemed a bizarre idea but it actually made sense. In Dumouriez' opinion, the Paris Convention had proven the accuracy of all the Monarchists' fears regarding Democracy, something more and more of France was beginning to realize. Perhaps a Constitutional Monarchy would return stability and sanity to the nation while reinforcing the Revolutionary ideals.

    It was a longshot but Dumouriez determined to suggest it. The fact that, as Kingmaker, he would likely be greatly rewarded helped as well.
     
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    • the finn

    I like your TL so far. I am excited for your next update and I hope that you would include in it who is going to be King of France. I would also like to know more about the exploits of Frederick Hohenzollern and Napoleone de Bonaparte.
     

    Md139115

    Banned
    Alt History Buff said:
    But Dumouriez knew of one candidate who still possessed a claim to the French throne, though one that had been ignored for centuries. The General pointed out to his colleague the precedent of Great Britain in the early years of the century. When so many of the reigning House of Stuart proved unpalatable to the nation after James II was exiled, they simply ignored the hereditary rights and went to find a King willing to do Parliament's bidding
    Click to expand...

    Oh I think I know who it is!!!

    :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

    It's going to be the Stuarts, isnt't it?!
     

    Alt History Buff

    the finn said:
    I like your TL so far. I am excited for your next update and I hope that you would include in it who is going to be King of France. I would also like to know more about the exploits of Frederick Hohenzollern and Napoleone de Bonaparte.
    Click to expand...

    Yeah, as the new title character, Frederick Hohenzollern will be a major player going forward.
     

    Joseph890

    Alt History Buff said:
    Yep. There is still a fellow in Rome.
    Click to expand...
    That idea is not gonna work he was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and he was about 70 to 80 if my math is right. He was the last member of the family still alive. After he died the steward claim to the throne defaulted to the daughter of Charles the first of England line of succession. If the marriages are the same as it in real life the house of Savoy holds the steward claim to the throne of England
     

    Tamar of the Tamar tribe

    Joseph890 said:
    That idea is not gonna work he was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and he was about 70 to 80 if my math is right. He was the last member of the family still alive. After he died the steward claim to the throne defaulted to the daughter of Charles the first of England line of succession. If the marriages are the same as it in real life the house of Savoy holds the steward claim to the throne of England
    Click to expand...
    I think he got married and had kids in this timeline.
     
    Chapter 183
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    Chapter 183

    December, 1793

    Algiers

    illustration of Algiers circa 1700 under the Dey.



    Colonel Benedict Arnold (Jr.) gazed over the crumbling ramparts of the city of Algiers. It had been years since the allied fleet took the walled city from the Dey of Algiers and years since the Berbers left the sight of the walls. Granted, like several of the cities of North Africa recently reduced by European firepower, the hold over these distant, isolated fortress towns was assisted by the fact that the local chiefs and nobles immediately started fighting for power the moment the Dey or Khedive or whatever the warlord called himself lost control over his city. Without the trade and piracy stemming from the port towns, the Barbary states would collapse. Despite assumptions to the contrary, North Africa was, in fact, quite central to trade and had supplied mass amounts of grain, dates and other foodstuffs to Europe of millennia, back before Carthage, back to the ancient Pharaohs.

    When the local chiefs cutting each other to pieces, the Europeans held most of the conquered cities without overly much trouble due to this falling out among the natives. Berber tribesmen tolerated the settled farmers due to mutual interest. With the trade in slaves, gold, grain and the revenues from piracy gone, there was no reason for any of the tribes to give a damn about the assorted Kings of the Barbary coast whom could no longer supply what they desired.

    The economy in North Africa suffered no less than in Europe for the loss of trade.

    This resulted in civil war as tribes, at peace for generations, turned upon one another and started raiding towns. Brothers, cousins, even fathers and sons, started to fight for influence, to be the next Dey. This granted the Europeans a short window to consolidate their gains. However, the Americans, Danes (and Swedes, Norwegians, Finns, etc), Tuscans, Papal Troops, Austrians and, in some areas, Spanish, Greeks or Russians, would have trouble garrisoning the cities with adequate troops. Many of these towns were large and required thousands of men, which none of the assorted nations could or would supply in the necessary quantities. Informal alliances agreed upon by officers on the spot somehow became long term situations. It became understood that any of the nations of Europe (those not at war with one another) would be able to dock in any of the ports. While France and Britain were effectively shut out of the Mediterranean, the remainder managed to reach a modus operandi of cooperation. They feared what was beyond the walls more than within. At any moment, it seemed likely that a massive attack would send them scurrying for the docks or that the uncomfortable alliances would shatter (the Americans and Spanish were not getting along terribly well, for example).

    But the control over these ports would allow an easy patrol along the coast of Africa. Piracy plummeted, though this was as much to lack of a place to sell goods than a lack of harbors to hide.

    In Algiers, it appeared that a candidate had managed to put an end to the violence and consolidate his control over the countryside immediately around the city. That was bad for the Europeans (and Americans).

    Colonel Arnold (Breveted) was a Captain back in America, the youngest in the 2000 man American Marine Corps. Founded by his father, the Marines served on the expanding American fleet. Arnold had helped seize Cairo from the Khedive (and was well rewarded for doing so). He sympathized with the Copts and other minorities of Egypt and abhorred the slaughter taking place to the south. When Commodore Paul was ordered to pull out of Egypt, he used all his influence to keep 1000 Marines in the four major north African pirate towns: 250 each in Alexandria, Tunis, Algiers and Tripoli.

    Tired of the slaughter in Egypt, Arnold opted to command Algiers. Now, he was starting to regret this decision.

    "How many men do you think are present out there, General?" He inquired of his companion, practicing his French.

    Brigadier General James Stuart shook his head. The scion of the Stuart Dynasty of Great Britain, the man had been born and raised in Rome and, to a lesser extent, Paris. Since he was a boy, Stuart had served in the army of the Papal states, usually mercenaries hired from abroad. As a prince under the protection of the Pope himself, Stuart was quickly granted a commission and rose through the ranks. His father was Prince Henry, the claimant to the Stuart throne, now sixty-nine years old and operating as a glorified administer in the Papal States. He commanded a 2000 man detachment of Papal troops paid for by Rome. Tripoli and Tunis had similar regiments from Italy.

    Stuart's English was probably better than Arnold's French but he knew his companion was trying to improve his language skills. Arnold had been utterly lost with the Arabic, Berber, Latin, Italian, Greek and other languages of the region.

    "At least ten thousand, Colonel", Stuart replied. "Unless the Berbers of the south continue to rebel against this new Dey, we shall learn if the walls can hold."

    "Thank god they don't have any artillery of note."

    "Indeed".

    The Arabs, a thousand years ago, had spread across Africa like a plague of locusts, the great horsemen of the age. Much like the Mongols, the fast-moving cavalry would outclass the sedate Egyptians, Berbers, etc of North Africa. Not until the age of modern artillery and massed infantry volleys would the elite cavalry be defeated.

    But again, the Christians were surrounded in their walled fortifications by mobile horsemen. That did not work well for the Christians a thousand years prior.

    Arnold and Stuart feared it would not end well here.


    Southern Egypt

    The duel between two contenders for the throne of Egypt had, by 1793, completely degenerated into anarchy. Over a half-dozen claimants battled for supremacy in middle and upper Egypt. Some were simply dynastic contenders, others were motivated by faith. As such, minorities like Christians, Shia and Sufis were preyed upon by the local Sunni Arabs and Mamluks.

    Sufism is not a religion. Most identify as Sunni Muslims. However, it is a practice of deep devotion with an uncommonly (for Islam) veneration of Sufi Holy Men known as Saints, coming uncomfortably close to the idolism that is abhorrent to most Muslim theology. A male doctrine, Sufism attracted the educated and active. When the assorted Sunni would-be Khedives began to order the Sufi temples closed, several Orders would arm themselves to defend their beliefs.

    Sufis had the reputation of peaceful coexistence with other faiths, though this was hardly universal. Occasionally, Sufis would lead crusades or jihads. However, in this case, the Sufis would come forward to protect the Christians, Shia and other minorities even as they protected themselves. With petty warlords whom gained the loyalty of city garrisons or Bedouin tribes now challenging the collection of Mamluk Pretenders, the chaos continued indefinitely and no faction would arise in the near future to eject the modest Russian force at the mouth of the Nile that occupied Cairo and Alexandria with the aid of local minorities (Christians and Shia) and Sunnis fed up with the entire Mamluk Dynastic Civil War.

    Ethiopia



    Under the command of their energetic and devout King, the Ethiopians continued their descent from the highlands and seized the barren Coast of the Horn of Africa. Other forces would strike north against the Nubian Islamic tribes, pushing to Khartoum at the confluence of the Blue Nile and White Nile, the core of the Funj Sultanate (Sennar). The Ethiopians would not hold these regions long. By 1793, the lands once known as Nubia had largely been Arabized in culture and converted to Sunni Islam. However, the more southern regions remained animist and putting the Fung Sultanate of Sennar on the defensive would prove critical in allowing the Ethiopians to convert the southern peoples to Coptic Christianity and provide a buffer to the enormous Empire that would soon arise.
     
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    • Alt History Buff

    Cuāuhtemōc said:
    Probably won't be much cleaner if the Russians ever come to use the Middle East as a dumping ground for unruly minorities. Like Siberia, but with camels.
    Click to expand...

    Yeah, I think Russia has taken that route with Greece, dropping Jews off in Constantinople. I meant to have a few blurbs on the rising anti-Semitism in Russia, Ruthenia and eventually Poland. Remember that Jews may toast to "next year in Jerusalem" but few actually expected or wanted to go there, not when under the rule of the Ottomans and probably not the Russians.

    With Russian control over the Suez, it is possible that there will be two large Empires that would be less interested in anti-Semitism than others: a vast Ethiopian Empire and the Maratha Confederacy under the influence of a United East India Company. I'll explore this more later.
     

    Alt History Buff

    Knightmare said:
    Which says a lot, given their list of "Not a threat" is what, some of their membership rolls?

    With everyone else being either a "potential threat" or "actual threat"?
    Click to expand...

    Yeah, the paranoia would only be getting worse in Paris once they get wind of the provincial plans to reinstitute the monarchy.
     
    Chapter 184
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    Chapter 184


    February, 1794

    Corpus Christi , Karankawa territory

    While the port of Corpus Christi was indeed a fine location, Brigadier Frederick Hohenzollern would wonder just what the hell America needed with it. Galvezton Bay was close to New Orleans and the gateway to the temperate/tropical lands of the interior. The land east of Corpus Christi was more barren and far too close to the core of New Spain.

    It seemed as if the nation was deliberately baiting a bear for no sensible reason. But the new colony was nevertheless populated with hundreds of settlers from Buffalo, New Orleans and other parts. By astonishing coincidence, three ships from the Mediterranean arrived bearing 465 Copts, Maronites and a few Greek Orthodox. Assuming that the travelers intended to sail for Galvezton, he tried to direct them north. However, not a single member of the crew or passenger list spoke English. When asked if this was “America”, Hohenzollern nodded and the passengers began to disembark (obviously the crew didn’t give a damn as they had to pick up a shipment of sugar and coffee from Cuba on the return journey).

    Thus, the bizarre easterners continued to arrive in the new territories, much to the befuddlement of the Americans. As there was unlimited land and the Copts and their ilk often bore skills in demand (tradesmen, farmers, merchants, etc), there seemed no reason to turn them away. A few Anglos would wonder about their swarthy skin and inquire just how they differs from red Indians, though few actually cared that much. Warm bodies were needed to populate and protect the outposts from both Indians and Spanish. Hohenzollern could not exactly afford to turn anyone away. Instead, through much labored translation in French or Latin or whatever language could be parsed, the Coptic men were informed that they would have to join the militia. They seemed surprised that they would be allowed weapons and were delighted to partake in the Sunday militia drills. Apparently, Christians in Egypt were not allowed to bear weapons and this was taken as a novelty. Again, Hohenzollern could not complain.

    After a particularly frustrating militia muster in which he tried to explain…AGAIN…the concept of right and left (his Arabic, mainly profanity, was “coming along” if one wanted to be charitable), Hohenzollern returned to the rough fortification Lieutenant de Buonaparte was constructing for the handful of soldiers which had accompanied them down from Galvezton. Any experience officer could see the precariousness of the position even before a Spanish frigate arrived and demanded to know what the hell they were doing there. They ship left without incident but Hohenzollern knew that the issue was not resolved by a longshot.

    De Buonaparte had constructed the fortification inland, as opposed to near the channel. Ideally, the fortifications would be built on the high ground in order to lob shot and shells upon infringing ships. However, the Americans had not the materials or artillery, not to mention the sailors, to build such defenses. Instead, the fortress was not intended to repel a force by sea but rather from land. Produced with mud brick by the handful of professional soldiers, the fortification looked more than stout enough to repel an Indian raid but he wouldn’t want to be behind those walls if/when Spanish artillery was brought up.


    No feeling the slightest bit secure, the American commander and his lieutenant settled in to wait, wondering when the inevitable hammer would fall.


    Mexico City

    Jose de Buonaparte had, like the rest of his family, been reduced to poverty by his father’s incapacity to restrain his gambling habit. To this day, Jose would wonder if his father’s early demise had been more of a blessing than a curse. At least the family debts had ceased to climb.

    Trained as an attorney by the charity of one of his father’s friends (whom was a creditor that immediately demanded repayment when Jose began to practice), Jose quickly joined the rising tide of wealthy and middle class criollos (American born whom were not allowed to participate in most government functions, that being reserved for Peninsulars, or European born). Initially, Jose’s father Carlo had been among the Peninsulars sent by the King of Spain to administrate New Spain. However, Carlo de Buonaparte died in New York, leaving his large family destitute. Not of sufficient rank or notoriety to receive a pension from Spain, the family was left to fend off the creditors alone.

    Jose would do his best by practicing law but had far too many mouths to feed. Only Napoleon would managed to provide for himself by gaining a scholarship from the American Military Academy. One less mouth, there, though he had not heard from Napoleon in over a year. Louis was studying law as well while Lucien was directed towards the church where he was receiving a free education (and most DEFINITELY DID NOT want to be a priest and had vowed privately never to take the order). Jerome was being educated at a middle-class school, again on the charity of one of father’s former associates.

    Jose began to join the ranks of the increasingly frustrated colonial elites whom looked to America, Britain, France and the Dutch Republic for evidence that the heavy hand of the crown is not necessary to govern (though France wasn’t exactly a good example for the locals). Many ambitious and wealthy men were gravitating to the local equivalent of Radicals (which wasn’t really that terrible Radical as the Spanish tended to be a Conservative bunch as a rule).

    The initial colonial requests for greater autonomy had been summarily dismissed, occasionally repressed. Then the ban on foreign trade had further incensed the Criollos.

    The quiet Colonial Societies would form, discussing the future of the country. While they did not desire the raucous Democracy of America, they did not see why the gentry could not administer their own affairs. While Revolution was seldom mentioned, even in whispers, the fact of these societies' existence was enough to spur the Viceroy and his henchmen into action. Dozens were arrested and charged with treason. With the almost paranoid frame of mind in Madrid, the Viceroy knew better than offer an leniency. Fortunately, few of these men were from leading colonial families and he was able to issue death warrants without offending anyone important.

    In March of 1794, over thirty colonials hanged, including Jose de Buonaparte.
     
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    • Knightmare

    Knightmare

    Alt History Buff said:
    De Buonaparte had constructed the fortification inland, as opposed to near the channel. Ideally, the fortifications would be built on the high ground in order to lob shot and shells upon infringing ships. However, the Americans had not the materials or artillery, not to mention the sailors, to build such defenses. Instead, the fortress was not intended to repel a force by sea but rather from land. Produced with mud brick by the handful of professional soldiers, the fortification looked more than stout enough to repel an Indian raid but he wouldn’t want to be behind those walls if/when Spanish artillery was brought up.
    Click to expand...
    Hang on, they're near the coast, right?

    One idea for defenses would be Coquina. Spanish used it in at least one fort, held up pretty well.
     
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