Piracy in the Alternate 18th Century

Piracy in the 18th Century

Piracy did not manage to get mostly wiped out by 1730 like it did in the modern day. This was due to the fact that many wars sparked in the early 1700s and mainly in Europe/North Africa. Since most people weren't focusing on trade, most pirates were left untouched.

By the 1750s as this started changing, where there was now another power TUPA which could help patrol the Atlantic, which was in relatively fewer wars then the European powers.

This sparked a sort of idea, a sort of state-funded piracy, or a government based on piracy, one which could protect pirates but let them do whatever they want.

In the year 1758, a Republic was formed, called the Piratical Republic of Imani, or Republique Piraterie de Imani.

This newly formed nation was based on that idea. The government, which was run by the people of the country, guaranteed protection and some funding of the pirates under two requirements. Those were, that the pirates agreed to take an oath of the military, in which they were required to obey commands by the piratical council if summoned, and they would pay a percentage of their earnings to the government.

This turned out to be very effective, the state didn't establish a specified capital to prevent the nation from being broken easily.

By the year 1783, they took over the northeastern edge of South America, including much of the Guyanas region. They signed a treaty with multiple nations (TUPA, Morocco, Ottomans, Louisiana, and some much smaller coastal nations) promising not to attack them or their ships in exchange for a tribute.

The Fall of the Edo {Short Event/Bio}

The Fall of the Edo Empire

By 1740 the Tokugawa Shogunate had managed to conquer much of Japan, and on 1746 they have proclaimed the Edo Empire. This powerful nation had managed to take over all the smaller bickering Japanese states and united the island(s) under one banner.

But by 1780, after the death of their previous emperor, infighting started over the throne of the emperor, and it caused a devastating civil war. On 1783, the Shogunate of Hokkaido, the last remaining clan not united under the Edo banner attacked the weakening Edo Empire. Although they did not make it far, they devasted much of the enemy forces and caused the Edo Empire to collapse.

Many states formed in replacement, in fact, many more than were previously incorporated, with Hokkaido splitting in two itself not long after. These events reduced Japan back to nothing more than a bunch of bickering states.

The Islamic Union of The Balkans

The Islamic Union of The Balkans was an attempt at uniting the Balkans after a rebellion which occurred in the Ottoman occupied region of the Balkans.

In 1779, Mustafa Gurund of the region of Albania started a rebellion, which was followed by many others, including the Greek rebellion under Konstantinos Bildine in 1783, the Serb rebellions under many different people from 1780-1785, and the Moldavian rebellion in 1786.

After Mustafa's rebellion was successful, he established the Republic of Albania, but then he saw the rebellion around his newly formed nation failing, so he provided military support. This gave mass support to incorporate these new nations/movements into a union. Although Mustafa gave it the name the Islamic Union, it was a majority orthodox and had very good religious tolerance.

The French Revolt: The Early Days

France was a key player in the politics of Europe and had been since the middle ages. With an overseas empire that had, at one time, consisted of large parts of Canada, America, the Caribbean as well as territory in Africa and Asia, France had substantial sway over what occurred in most continents. France had joined the TUPA Independence War on the side of the TUPA to take the sword to their old enemies, the British. France, a monarchy with a large landed aristocracy, found itself supporting a strongly Republican and radical (some would say anti-monarchist) nation. Years later, with the advent of the Great Spanish Civil War, France intervened to support their allies in the failing Spanish monarchy but took heavy losses by doing so. The Spanish monarchy was perhaps the most traditional monarchy in the whole of Europe with church and state having a strong relationship and the king wielding absolute power. France’s alliances with two completely different ideologies, combined with a series of military defeats and mounting maintenance costs from overseas colonies, left the French population heavily divided with many strongly supporting the monarchy with an almost fanatical love for their king and others in favor of overthrowing the royal family and creating a new French republic.

Such differences in views spelled disaster for France as royalists openly clashed with Republicans in the streets. The French military was sent in on multiple occasions to break up huge mob battles between groups of royalists and revolutionaries. Some counties of France had populations which almost completely supported the monarchy. Counties like Brittany and Normandy. However, the king had fallen out of favor in more urban regions with the majority of Parisians against the hereditary rule. Finding himself surrounded by enemies, King Louis XV chose to relocate his palace from Paris to Rennes in Brittany for his own safety, ordering new fortifications to be constructed.

The military too was divided with many veterans from the campaigns in Spain supporting the idea of a French republic. Newer and fresher regiments, however, remained strongly supportive of King Louis XV’s rule over France. In some cases, regiments found that their officers had views that differed to those of their men which led to several accounts of officers being shot ‘accidentally’ by their own troops.

As widespread rebellion began to take place, Republican sympathizers in the French armed forces split off, forming their own regiments flying the new French tricolor. King Louis XV found himself left with the fanatical though untested newer regiments of the French military as Republican troops and rebels marched to besiege the fortress city of Rennes…

The Independence of Southern Algiers {Event/Short Bio}

  I would like to inform you before I start that this is going to be an event and a short bio, the whole Algerian region will be covered in a later date, when there is an actual Algerian (As in covers most, or part of modern Algeria, or unifies most of Algeria) nation.

  Now let us start with geography, YAY!! Well Southern Algeria is mainly Sahara, the Sahara which you might find pictured in movies. With that new information, I should introduce the conflict, some of the nobles and high ranking families of the old government were forced to migrate following the toppling of the old government in 1529 by "Red Beard" or Hayreddin Barbarossa.

  A quick event to keep in mind in the alternate history timeline, is that in 1728 a bustling city arose from a few large villages, and they named it Southern Algiers. By this time, Southern Algiers was the only piece of independent land in the Area, the northern half being controlled by the Regency of Algeria, the Western portion of Southern Algeria being controlled by Morocco, and the southeastern half being two Kingdoms.

  In 1734 the Eyalet of Algeria held a festival commemorating the 206th anniversary of the toppling of the old kingdom. This, as expected, got the descendants, and also revolutionaries, stirred. A big massacre occurred halfway through the festival, after a group of revolutionaries and descendants to previous nobles/high ranking officials gathered in protest against the festival (protest in the terms of 18th century fits into the terms of riot nowadays), in which 700 people died.

   This enraged Southern Algiers and the newly formed city-state decided to declare war on the Eyalet of Algeria, therefore also declaring war on the Ottomans.

  Southern Algiers managed to gain quite a  bit of land, although lost ultimately. Then in 1738 the Ottomans, along with the two Kingdoms to the southeast tried to attack Southern Algiers, Southern Algiers managed to defeat them, since they had better knowledge of the land, before launching an offensive and toppling the two kingdoms within a month of the beginning of the war.

  Shortly after, Southern Algiers wrote a constitution, and proclaimed itself a Emirate, henceforth The Emirate of Southern Algiers was born.

The Anglo-American War of 1748 {British Perspective}

Following the declaration of war in 1748, the United Kingdom found itself fighting The United Provinces of America once more. Eager to show the world that TUPA was only an upstart revolutionary state, George II diverted as many as funds as possible to the war effort, postponing the planned expansion of many overseas colonies. The UK was still nursing its wounds following the American War of Independence in the 1730s and popular opinion was against continued conflict in the Americas. Many British citizens felt that they should abandon their colonies in the Americas anyway as Britain was facing its own domestic issues. However, the lack of a parliament and organized form of democracy in the United Kingdom meant that these voices were unheard by the monarchy who went ahead with the war.

George I had died in 1746 of natural causes. Heir to the throne was George II who was seen as unfit to rule by the majority of the population of the United Kingdom. One of the main reasons for this was his lavish lifestyle and his fondness for women and parties. Another reason was his almost complete disregard for the wellbeing of his citizens residing anywhere other than England. The Scottish, Welsh and Irish, already seen as second class citizens, felt even more neglected and ignored by the state than they had ever done before. This would cause problems for the nation in future.

The British side of the war began with the North-Eastern Counteroffensive. Having already lost large tracts of land in their Canadian territories, George II saw that it was necessary to strike at the American heart before they launched a second offensive in Canada. British troops landed on the East Coast of North America to the north of Boston. The plan was to move south, taking Boston and occupying the whole region of Massachusetts. Following that, they would move south towards New York, taking Connecticut in the process. From there, British troops would move even further south to seize Washington in the province of Maryland.

George II did not see how the plan could fail. He saw it as an ideal way to put TUPA out of action as quickly as possible to avoid another long and drawn out war which Britain could not afford. Sadly, lack of foresight and bad intelligence led to the campaign ending in disaster for the United Kingdom. Data provided by British intelligence officers on the defences of the city of Boston was incorrect causing British losses to skyrocket. After a lengthy siege and heavy casualties, British troops were able to take Boston but faced a hostile population. British regiments in the area continued to report casualties and fatalities even after TUPA troops had left the area as the population had formed militias and resistance groups.

George II, growing impatient with the lack of progress, ordered his generals to stage another offensive, this time moving to take New York. British generals and officers came up with a new plan, seeing that an advance through Connecticut would result in catastrophic losses. Instead, the British forces would move further west before moving south to get to New York by way of Albany. They would then follow the Hudson River down to New York. However, British troops were surprised to find that Albany too was heavily defended. After multiple assaults, British troops routed and retreated. TUPA troops then crushed the remaining British forces at the Battle of Rotterdam. Britain would not launch another offensive for the rest of the war.

Facing rising tensions at home and defeat in the Americas, George II requested a peace treaty with TUPA in 1751 which they accepted. The terms of the treaty resulted in Britain accepting defeat in the war and losing territory (but not all their territories) in Canada. The war would show to the world that the United Kingdom was unable to defend its overseas holdings, making it an ideal target for foreign expansion. The war would give birth to multiple independence movements across Canada and Britain’s overseas territories. One such independence movement would start in the British Isles, taking George II by surprise. Some years after the war, the United Kingdom would cease to exist and would lose many of its colonies to rebellions.

The Anglo-American War of 1748 {American Perspective}

{Today's post will be the "American" perspective of 'The British-American War of 1748', the British perspective will be the second post.}

In 1748, under the presidency of Quincy Meine Hooper, TUPA declared war on Britain in what came to be known as 'The British-American War of 1748'. The cause that was given by TUPA was that they were supporting the revolutionaries in Quebec.

In reality, the Americans were spreading their expansionist wings, wanting, and even needed as the population grew rapidly, more land, especially the Canadian land to the north, which was owned by Britain. TUPA started with the successful expansion of Maine, expanding into Quebec, as well as taking over a few of the Islands on the side of Quebec.

The British tried to retaliate by attacking New York, although the American army halted their advances in 'The Battle Of Rotterdam', in which Edward Braddock was killed. In 1749, the Americans had their advances halted at 'The Battle of Niagara Falls'. By 1751, Britain requested a peace treaty, to which TUPA had accepted. TUPA had officially won the war by the Treaty of Rochester.

The significance of the war on TUPA was the fact that it established TUPA as a power to be reckoned with, defeating Britain twice. TUPA had gained a bit of land, but not that much.

The Fulani Caliphate {Short Bio}

In West Africa, in the year of 1727, a tribe in the area of Futa Jallon decided to rise up against the tribe heads (actual uprising). By 1729 they had established a Democratic Caliphate and decided to liberate surrounding and allied tribes from corrupt rulers. Those included tribes who followed the tribal religion, or those that had Imams as heads, with Islam as the religion. They managed to liberate the villages surrounding Futa Toro, and then, shortly after, Messina. 

Their economy relied mostly on trade, they would trade Ivory from East and Central Africa, salt, gold, and other valuable resources. Along with a minor role in the slave trade. Minor since the Caliphate banned certain groups of people being sold as slaves, such as Fulani's, the people who speak Fulan, people which would pay debts, and 'non-crime-doers'. 

The Fulani Assimilations and Wars of Expansion (1730-34) were very quickly won since the Fulanis had a great deal of trade power within the European world, resulting in them wielding more robust and modern musketry compared to other tribes around them. Quickly encompassing much of the ivory coast, and going as deep as Lake Chad.

Sultanate of Morocco

Once again I am really sorry for the lack of posts, with testing it is hard to get a post done. So here we go, The Sultanate of Morocco.

 The Sultanate of Morocco was under civil war after the death of Ismail ibn Sharif in 1727. The multiple sons of Ismail were fighting each-other (fun fact: Ismail Ibn Sharif had 868 children, a few of them were raised nobly, and only about 10 were fighting for the rule of the kingdom). Abdallah of Morocco managed to seize a permanent foothold in Morocco on 1736 by defeating all his rivaling brothers.

  Abdallah set up a wide variety of policies after the civil war. A few of the policies made were those encouraging scientific and technological advancement, but most were condemning acts against the king, even setting up a system where the king commanded the army directly. On 1739 Morocco became the first country to ally TUPA (being the 3rd to recognize it, behind Holland and France), and the first to sign a friendship treaty. By 1742, Morocco had improved a good amount, they were right behind Europe technology-wise and established it's first formal university, University of Khadim Al Rab (Real life counterpart) from an old Islamic school.

{{Somewhat like the new Uniforms instated by Abdel-Rahman}}

  In 1748 Abdallah died, passing rule onto his 25-year-old son, Abdel-Rahman ibn Abdallah, who studied in Europe (I could go on about his education, but basically he went to a prestigious Islamic school in Istanbul, then went on to go to a University in Europe). Abdel-Rahman removed many of the policies set up by his father, a few under the persuasion of TUPA and Holland (Both of which he had very good relations with), due to their near-dictatorial agenda. He instated more foreign policies and set up better education systems. He then reformed the military to be more westernized, in stating, of many, a universal uniform system.

  

The Great Spanish Civil War Part 2

Following the repositioning of Monarchist troops from the Basque and Aragon Front, seperatist groups in the area grew in power. French troops sent into the region met with ever heavier resistance and members of the French high command did not expect victory. France began to send less and less troops to support its Monarchist ally in the civil war. However, French troops did not retreat from the territory they had gained, instead fortifying what they controlled. It is this point of the Great Spanish Civil War that many historians believe was the turning point. Seperatist groups in the Basque Country and Aragon were able to operate free from French attack and could focus their efforts against the weakened Monarchist armies.

Meanwhile on the Galician and Southern Fronts, the English-Portuguese advance had ground to a halt. Attempted offensives resulted in catastrophic losses, largely due to the harsh terrain. Monarchist troops had ordered troops to advance further into Galicia but the superiour training and equipment of the English and Portuguese troops forced them to retreat. There was no breakthrough in sight for both belligerants and the war in the West became one of attrition.

However, across the Strait of Gibraltar, something stirred.The

great beast that was the desert nation of Morocco saw an opportunity to take back territory that they had lost ages ago in the time of the Moors and the Reconquista. With Monarchist troops spread thinly already over the Western and Aragon fronts, Morocco declared war and began to invade Spain from the Mediterranean, seizing control of the Balaeric Islands and moving north through Spain towards Madrid at great speed. They faced little resistance from troops and the population as the Moroccan troops struck fear into the hearts of the Spanish people who had heard many stories of the days of the Moor occupation of Spain. After only three months of fighting, Moroccan troops besieged Madrid and ordered the Spanish Monarchy to capitulate. The Spanish Monarchy refused to and the Moroccans mounted an assault, sacking the city of Madrid and killing the royal family. Demoralised by the fall of their capital and the deaths of their leaders, Monarchist generals surrendered to Morocco. Thus began the Moroccan Occupation of Spain.

However, that was not the end of the Great Spanish Civil War. Morocco saw the risk Aragon and the Basque Country posed to the integrity of the occupation and invaded both states. With the fall of the Spanish Monarchy and the independence of the Basque Country and Aragon, the people of the region were celebrating a victory and were not prepared for such an invasion. Both countries officially fell in less than a month but fighting in the region between rebels and the Moroccan occupiers did not end for many years. It is this point, the fall fo Aragon and the Basque, that many historians consider to be the end of the Great Spanish Civil War.

The Independence of Quebec

{Before we delve into today, or rather this weeks post, I would like to say that this week's post will be a combination between an event and the bio of a nation since I will be going over the full region of Canada later on.}

After the independence of TUPA, a surge of independence movements started, especially in colonies, although much of the others were just small revolts, one of the main ones that were inspired by TUPA was the Independence movement of Quebec.

Although Quebec did not have a very large population, they knew the land and took an advantage by starting their movement about ten years after TUPA's independence, which the British were still recovering from.

In 1743 their movement started, and at first, the movement went on for 4 years without any visible progress--in fact, not even recognized as a threat by the British Military, and more as Highwaymen. The cause was simply that while Quebec was expansive, and certainly was fairly Metropolitan, they simply didn't have enough supporters to take their cause, En Masse. This changed following the production of a couple of circumstances.

The morning of November 3rd, 1747 was an eventful moment for the whole of the American continent, as it would decide the fate of the American continent. In the Lake Ontario, some American militia-men from the Province of New England encountered a group of British troops crossing what they had set as the border against the British colony of Quebec. Upon confrontation, they were at first civil, until a shot from somewhere along the bay had come, it hit the British Regimental Officer, Edward Cornwallis, straight in the head, causing him to die on the spot. The British, in a blood-fueled rush, decided to shoot at the Americans, and a firefight had started. 

{Which would ultimately lead to the Anglo-American War of 1748} 

Little did they know, it had actually been from a Quebecer under the command of François Gaston de Lévis, a former officer of the French army during the American War of Independence, who had been waiting for the right time to strike. This was it, the Quebecers fired pot-shots the whole duration of the Skirmish while staying almost completely hidden from detection (with only a few accounts from the Militiamen reporting seeing the gun-fire from the woods behind).

On February 5th, 1748, the United Provinces of America voted to support the movement of the Quebecois, as part of the newly sparked Anglo-American War.

With the help of the Americans, and Francois' newly found support by the Quebecois people, under the flag they called the 'Drapeau de la Liberté', Gaston formed a formidable fighting force and began marched towards Quebec by the 22nd of April of the same year. Facing resistance only once on the way there, to which they crushed the Small British force in the Battle of Mont Tremblant. All of the lasting British forces had decided to take solitude in the city of Quebec itself, fortifying it to the best of their abilities.

On the 5th of May, they would arrive, what followed can only be described as the treacherous siege of Quebec.

Apologies from the Alt World Team

Sorry From The Team

Harry and I would like to apologize from our absence from the blog. We have been trying to keep up with schooling, and life in general. I have been trying to make our debut on YouTube to promote the blog. 

We are dedicated to you, our small community of followers and readers, and wish you get the best Alternate World((s), when we complete this current one).

As a follow-up to the apology, I will be telling you how things are going from now on, we will go event-wise, and then add on the biographies of Alternate countries connected to the event (In separate posts and until the time of the event).

And that is Today's Post, Tomorrow's will be about...{I dont want to spoil it for you, just wait until tomorrow ;) }

The Great Spanish Civil War Part 1

The Great Spanish Civil War began in July 1773 after years of rising tension in Spain. It lasted three years with fighting in almost every part of the country. By the end of it, Spain no longer existed as a single unified nation and foreign powers occupied various parts of the country for 'peacekeeping reasons'.

The reason for the Great Spanish Civil War is still debated to this day but many believe it was due to the effect the American War of Independence had on the Spanish population combined with the unrest left over from the War of the Spanish Succession earlier in the century. Spain had chosen to take the side of the American separatists in the American War of Independence and found itself supporting a radical republican nation. Spain had previously been a conservative nation with strong support for the monarchy but the War of the Spanish Succession at the turn of the century damaged support for the crown and driven a wedge into the Spanish population. Spain was now a haven of ideologies and beliefs, with many believing that Spain was following an archaic system by having an absolute monarchy. Spain also faced growing separatist movements with the Crown of Aragon, Galicia and the Basque Country striving for independence. The Kingdom of Spain, now ruled by the Bourbons after the War of the Spanish Succession, refused to grant these provinces independence, instead sending more troops to the regions to deter revolt. This only angered the regions further and they refused to accept Spanish rule, declaring independence and forming an alliance. Thus began the Great Spanish Civil War.

Originally, the belligerents in the war were almost entirely Spanish.  The separatist regions of the Basque Country, Aragon and Galicia sided with the republican movement in Spain against the Spanish Monarchy. The Spanish Monarchy believed that it could crush resistance in the regions easily but found many troops deserting and a large percentage of the population up in arms against them. Spain looked to France for support, both nations were ruled by Bourbons and France was willing to lend support to its ally. French troops moved into Aragon and the Basque Country in an attempt to restore order. However, at this time, the United Kingdom of England and Portugal took an interest in the affairs of the Great Spanish Civil War. England and Portugal had already seized control of Gibraltar and had fought against the Bourbon monarchy in the War of the Spanish Succession. England and Portugal took this as a chance to seize even more ground that had belonged to their old enemies, Spain and France. England and Portugal officially joined the war in January 1774, invading Galicia and Southern Spain and refusing to assist either side in the war. England and Portugal were able to rapidly expand into Spain but the harsh terrain and fierce resistance put up by both sides slowed the advance to a crawl in August 1774. France and the Spanish Monarchy continued to battle in Aragon and the Basque Country against separatists and republicans, at first with great success but the England and Portuguese invasion in the west drew royalist troops from the Aragon Front to the Western Front.

The American War of Independence

Pre-War Independence Flag of the Rebellion

Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, fled Britain in 1725, after George I crushed the Walpole-ists in the Second English Civil War. Settling in southern Georgia, and taking control of a distant relatives farm which ended up constituting nearly a 20th of Georgia. Post-Civil War, George I started expanding rapidly, requiring more funds for his impulsive tendencies to expand, he started imposing taxes, especially on slaves and tea. The people of the Thirteen Colonies replied with outrage, resulting in what can only be described as severe unrest.

Fierce resistance to the taxes, and 'False Lord George' started to ramp up, resulting in the Philadelphia, Savannah, and Boston Massacres, and an increased garrison of British troops in the 13 Colonies.

Standing up to their situation, as well as a group of equally powerful figures in their colonies, Compton headed a growing revolt, supported by the French, and Spanish, who were threatened by the British rapid expansion. 

Fighting fiercely, the southernmost colonies were the first to accept the movement, and with Compton as head, Compton's experience against George and extensive Guerilla knowledge being a massive help throughout the war. Compton headed a form of warfare which combined Celtic and Native tactics. His extensive use of slaves as spies, and his Proclamation of Freedom;

"While all men are inherently inferior in the eyes of God, I believe we are all equally inferior. Putting us at a level of equity to which I believe that we should all strive to achieve. I am giving you all the chance to be equal, for I will give you freedom if you help us get freedom. For we are brothers in slavery and nothing less!" 

Which ended up conscripting an army equivalent to, if not larger, than much of the colonial British forces. Compton brought the fighting to cities without sieges, and to the country, without line battles. He'd set up what he'd call a clam trap (for the way he'd lead troops in with an apparent prize only to surround whole armies with his own), and send in his own forms of Trojan Horses into cities. One example would be the Siege of New York was an overnight siege, which was the least bloody battle of the war, entailing surprise ambushes within the streets, to which normally only the British would suffer the consequences of and an extensive use of scare tactics. Eventually, simply two years after the start of the war, the Americans had won, all Colonial troops had surrendered, and the British had sent a convoy to discuss peace agreements.

 After the war, Compton set up a Provincial Democracy (in which every province acted as its own country within the higher Country of TUPA) and ordered the flag of what would be called The United Provinces of America. The red and white stripes stand for the four original provinces, with the two stars standing for the North and the South. Although most slaves were freed, a good amount was kept in a kind of manner as serfs, they were paid and granted education but could never leave working on someone's plantation, unless granted the right.

The Second English Civil War

The Second English Civil War was the result of George I's attempt to militarily expand more. In real life, George I couldn't expand due to the parliament. In our Alternate Universe, however, George I decided to declare war on the Parliament, or rather, defy the Parliamentary power. 

By doing this, much like what occurred during the First English Civil War, the parliament gathered an army in an attempt to overthrow his power. Under Command of Robert Walpole, the first few battles were victories, until the Georgian Army managed to flank the parliamentary armies at the Second Battle of Hastings.

After a long harsh battle at, ironically, a battlefield which had been bruised by a historical impactful battle, George I managed to defeat the Parliamentarian Armies and win the war. Afterward, George used his newly found authority to round up all Parliamentarian high ranks and executing them one by one to set an example of anyone who dared to oppose his armies. Although a couple of high ranks were not accounted for, with most accounts varying about the remains of the two unaccounted for.

The highly active movement of Enlightenment was now stunted, as George I did anything and everything to stop those who wished they had a voice from having a voice. The Dark Age of England has now begun.