Omake # 4 Some did wonder why the French never annexed the Golden Republic of the West. Well, this is France... not annexing said republic
As usual, still my own interpretation, still not canon.
Tales of reintegration (The Golden Republic of the West, 1906-1916)
A long time ago, the lands of the Golden Republic of the West were French.
Well, a longer time ago, they belonged to the tribes native to North America. However, no matter how much the various governments of the countries sharing the continent protected the rights of said natives (ranging from “not at all” to “quite well actually” and passing through “depends on the precise tribe”), none recognized them to have constituted a country in the (more “their”) modern sens of the term.
No matter what, Aquarelle and the surrounding lands were then officially ceded to New Orleans after the Louisianan rebellion. Then the Aquarellans themselves rebelled against New Orleans and the French (with Russian help) were all to happy to ensure their independence (and wave it in front of the Louisianans any day of the week).
At that time already, some people in Aquarelle asked to return to the fold of the French Kingdom. But, between the appeal of complete independence (especially the complete financial independence that would allow them to capitalize on the gold rush) and an already massive immigration that would see the French as benefactors but not as fellow countrymen, they were already a minority. The eagerness of the Russians to keep some influence in the region and the lack of appetite of Paris for a showdown with Moscow over such a tiny piece of land ensured the status quo.
In 1906, the Golden Republic of the West was officially neutral, but leaned heavily on the French side. As the French-Russian split was consumed, the Aquarellans wisely decided to focus on their relations with the closest of the two giants. After all, the French would probably be able to conquer them in mere days if they wanted, no matter the amount of help the Russians would send, or rather try to send through the inevitable French blockade. The Russians on the other hand would need to ensure French neutrality to pull the same trick.
Then came the earthquake. On May the 23rd, 1906, at about three o’clock in the morning, with an epicenter of few kilometers offshore and a magnitude of 8.1, it took the city and its surroundings, home to nearly 800,000 of the 1.7 million Aquarellans, wholly unprepared.
The tremors did countless damages, but the worse came from the fires that started as gas pipes were broken and their inflammable contents met live wires all over the place.
The president was found dead, crushed in his bed by a falling ceiling. When his wife returned from a visit to a provincial children hospital in the afternoon, officials carefully avoided telling her that he was found handcuffed to the bed. The vice-president was nowhere to be found (and was later presumed dead). With half the government injured, command fell, among all, to the minister of youth and sports, who soon became much appreciated for his skills in chaos management.
After four days of treating emergency after emergency, the situation was finally stabilized. It was also dramatic. At least half of the capital’s population was now homeless. Thousands were dead, many more injured, nearly all were emotionally shocked. Countless factories had been destroyed, or would need repairs that could no longer be attempted, not with what remained of Aquarellan industry.
The French came to the rescue. They may have been more concerned about a possible annexation by California than by the plight of the Aquarellans, but they came nevertheless.
Two years later, by 1908, Aquarelle was rebuilt. It was also, very discretely, far more dependent on the French than ever before. Most of the Aquarellan industry, whether rebuilt or subsidized for months, was now partially owned by French companies or banks. Treaties had been signed which offered generous conditions to the Golden Republic, but also tied it to the French judiciary system, and made even harder any economic deal with a country outside the French sphere. There was no talk of annexation at the time, but it was more a matter of the French being busy digesting their conquests of the Great War than anything else.
During the 1909 elections, the sympathies for the French were still high in Republic, but none seriously brought the subject of annexation. None but a fringe subgroup of the Progress Party. As the subject was brushed apart, the Progress Party as a whole made a decent score in the election and managed to enter the governmental coalition.
They stayed there for the five year of their term, with partisans of the annexation more and more vocal, to the point of nearly being expelled several times.
In 1914, the Progress Party managed to win the election and govern alone. With a single-seat majority. The pro-annexation seized the opportunity.
Perhaps, if they had listened to opinion pools rather than their wishes, they would have found that there was a clear distinction between feeling grateful for the French help and wanting to become French, or that by this point less than ten percent of the population favored the proposed annexation.
Yet, the minority managed to impose its referendum to president Goliath Ivanovitch. And so the campaign started. In 1916, during the two and a half month preceding the poll, PP members fought PP members among the criticisms of the other parties, which called the whole process a waste of public money (although not always in such polite terms). In the end, seeing the poor support for annexation, the opposition decided to turn the referendum about the PP credibility by calling for a boycott while said party was tearing itself apart from the inside.
The opposition’s gamble was won. Somehow.
Yes, the PP imploded after the vote and would nevermore govern the country. And yes, the referendum results rejected annexation. But as only a mere 19 % of the population took part, far less than in any serious expectation of the opposition, those in favor of joining the French Empire claimed a staggering 48 % of the ballots.
In a few words, the opposition had made a loud and troublesome minority even louder and even more troublesome. And it had just offered a golden argument to some expansionist circles within their juggernaut of a neighbor...
As usual, still my own interpretation, still not canon.
Tales of reintegration (The Golden Republic of the West, 1906-1916)
A long time ago, the lands of the Golden Republic of the West were French.
Well, a longer time ago, they belonged to the tribes native to North America. However, no matter how much the various governments of the countries sharing the continent protected the rights of said natives (ranging from “not at all” to “quite well actually” and passing through “depends on the precise tribe”), none recognized them to have constituted a country in the (more “their”) modern sens of the term.
No matter what, Aquarelle and the surrounding lands were then officially ceded to New Orleans after the Louisianan rebellion. Then the Aquarellans themselves rebelled against New Orleans and the French (with Russian help) were all to happy to ensure their independence (and wave it in front of the Louisianans any day of the week).
At that time already, some people in Aquarelle asked to return to the fold of the French Kingdom. But, between the appeal of complete independence (especially the complete financial independence that would allow them to capitalize on the gold rush) and an already massive immigration that would see the French as benefactors but not as fellow countrymen, they were already a minority. The eagerness of the Russians to keep some influence in the region and the lack of appetite of Paris for a showdown with Moscow over such a tiny piece of land ensured the status quo.
In 1906, the Golden Republic of the West was officially neutral, but leaned heavily on the French side. As the French-Russian split was consumed, the Aquarellans wisely decided to focus on their relations with the closest of the two giants. After all, the French would probably be able to conquer them in mere days if they wanted, no matter the amount of help the Russians would send, or rather try to send through the inevitable French blockade. The Russians on the other hand would need to ensure French neutrality to pull the same trick.
Then came the earthquake. On May the 23rd, 1906, at about three o’clock in the morning, with an epicenter of few kilometers offshore and a magnitude of 8.1, it took the city and its surroundings, home to nearly 800,000 of the 1.7 million Aquarellans, wholly unprepared.
The tremors did countless damages, but the worse came from the fires that started as gas pipes were broken and their inflammable contents met live wires all over the place.
The president was found dead, crushed in his bed by a falling ceiling. When his wife returned from a visit to a provincial children hospital in the afternoon, officials carefully avoided telling her that he was found handcuffed to the bed. The vice-president was nowhere to be found (and was later presumed dead). With half the government injured, command fell, among all, to the minister of youth and sports, who soon became much appreciated for his skills in chaos management.
After four days of treating emergency after emergency, the situation was finally stabilized. It was also dramatic. At least half of the capital’s population was now homeless. Thousands were dead, many more injured, nearly all were emotionally shocked. Countless factories had been destroyed, or would need repairs that could no longer be attempted, not with what remained of Aquarellan industry.
The French came to the rescue. They may have been more concerned about a possible annexation by California than by the plight of the Aquarellans, but they came nevertheless.
Two years later, by 1908, Aquarelle was rebuilt. It was also, very discretely, far more dependent on the French than ever before. Most of the Aquarellan industry, whether rebuilt or subsidized for months, was now partially owned by French companies or banks. Treaties had been signed which offered generous conditions to the Golden Republic, but also tied it to the French judiciary system, and made even harder any economic deal with a country outside the French sphere. There was no talk of annexation at the time, but it was more a matter of the French being busy digesting their conquests of the Great War than anything else.
During the 1909 elections, the sympathies for the French were still high in Republic, but none seriously brought the subject of annexation. None but a fringe subgroup of the Progress Party. As the subject was brushed apart, the Progress Party as a whole made a decent score in the election and managed to enter the governmental coalition.
They stayed there for the five year of their term, with partisans of the annexation more and more vocal, to the point of nearly being expelled several times.
In 1914, the Progress Party managed to win the election and govern alone. With a single-seat majority. The pro-annexation seized the opportunity.
Perhaps, if they had listened to opinion pools rather than their wishes, they would have found that there was a clear distinction between feeling grateful for the French help and wanting to become French, or that by this point less than ten percent of the population favored the proposed annexation.
Yet, the minority managed to impose its referendum to president Goliath Ivanovitch. And so the campaign started. In 1916, during the two and a half month preceding the poll, PP members fought PP members among the criticisms of the other parties, which called the whole process a waste of public money (although not always in such polite terms). In the end, seeing the poor support for annexation, the opposition decided to turn the referendum about the PP credibility by calling for a boycott while said party was tearing itself apart from the inside.
The opposition’s gamble was won. Somehow.
Yes, the PP imploded after the vote and would nevermore govern the country. And yes, the referendum results rejected annexation. But as only a mere 19 % of the population took part, far less than in any serious expectation of the opposition, those in favor of joining the French Empire claimed a staggering 48 % of the ballots.
In a few words, the opposition had made a loud and troublesome minority even louder and even more troublesome. And it had just offered a golden argument to some expansionist circles within their juggernaut of a neighbor...