My advise is to look at history OTL. The cards were for the most part already devided in India. For example Dutch Ceylon. Is there in your timeline a point where someone could have taken Ceylon from the Netherlands? If not Ceylon should remain Dutch. The same is true for all parts of India. Your division makes sense in your timeline. So keep it that way. That would be my advise.
English Canada/French Carolina: A Timeline
- Thread starter Gabingston
- Start date
I'm kinda second guessing Huntsville being the capital city. It's gonna likely end up a good sized city, don't get me wrong, but I'm not sure if La Floride would have the resources to build an entire city from scratch, especially since it is not an independent nation yet. There are other locations I'm thinking of as possible sites for the capital, so I'll get back to you guys later.
I have some plans for this mid-sized U.S. city in the next update...
Ok, I've got some new plans.
I'm thinking that OTL's Montgomery, Alabama would make a good location for La Floride's capital city. It's about halfway between New Orleans and Richelieu (OTL Charleston), is located in a major agricultural zone that would grow lucrative cash crops (the laborers being enslaved, but there’s no need to go into that right now, I’m planning a future update on the peculiar institution/original sin of La Floride) and is located on what could become a major steamship route, that being the Alabama River. Fort Toulouse is just 10 miles from Montgomery, so there’d already be a French presence in the area.
So, what do you guys think of OTL Montgomery being the capital city of La Floride?
I'm thinking that OTL's Montgomery, Alabama would make a good location for La Floride's capital city. It's about halfway between New Orleans and Richelieu (OTL Charleston), is located in a major agricultural zone that would grow lucrative cash crops (the laborers being enslaved, but there’s no need to go into that right now, I’m planning a future update on the peculiar institution/original sin of La Floride) and is located on what could become a major steamship route, that being the Alabama River. Fort Toulouse is just 10 miles from Montgomery, so there’d already be a French presence in the area.
So, what do you guys think of OTL Montgomery being the capital city of La Floride?
Sounds good what would the name be? Also have you canceled the idea for the republican revolutions?
I found the republican revolutions idea hard to work with. Europe is a lot more monarchist and conservative ITTL without the French Revolution.
As for the name of ATL Montgomery, there were two native villages in the area before European settlement, named Ikanatchati and Towassa. I could use a French version of one of those names, or I could give it another name, I'll have to think about that.
https://learnodo-newtonic.com/french-revolution-causes
The French revolution is partially tied to economic weakness, something that the habsburg realm is no stranger to. A series of expensive wars also caused the revolution. These circumstances are found in the Habsburg realm as well. And the whole hodgepodge of different ethnic groups doesn't exactly help it either.
The Holy Roman Empire looked almost like it was standing on its last legs pre Napoleon.
Add decades of issues, it seems the realm is in ripe shape for a revolution.
Villeroyale (Royal City), I couldn't come up with anything better or more likely than that.
Does anyone else have some suggestions?
Part 41: La Nouvelle Capitale
Part 41: La Nouvelle Capitale
As the French in the Southeast of North America continued to expand westward from the Atlantic Coast and up the Mississippi River, it was clear that the French Viceroyalty of La Floride (the official name of the colony that I will be using until it ends up gaining independence in the 20th Century) needed a new capital city that was more central geographically than the existing capital of Richelieu, but also near the bases of power along the Atlantic Coast and Mississippi Delta. Being surrounded by a mosquito infested swamp, Richelieu was no place that a Viceroy would desire living, not to mention that the palace was nothing special.
So, the search for a new Colonial Capital was now underway. Sites that were considered included Rocheville, Chatougue and Grande Fontaine were considered for the capital, but they were ultimately turned down for one reason or another. However, not far from the existing Fort Toulouse, the site of the new capital was found…
The central stretch of the Rivière des Alibamons, known as the Plaine Noire had recently grown incredibly wealthy off of growing cotton to be used in textile mills in the Commonwealth of America and in Europe (grown and harvested off the backs of slaves, might I add, but that’s a subject for another time). When the Viceroyalty of La Floride declared that it was going to move the capital of the colony, this region quickly became one of the prime candidates, especially since it was near exactly halfway between the two largest cities of Richelieu and New Orleans. Towns in the area such as Bienville and Fort Toulouse were booming, so naturally both sent petitions to the government as to why they should become the new capital.
After the viceroy looked through the proposals, he decided that the capital would be located in the Plaine Noire, but not willing to pick either Fort Toulouse or Bienville just yet. However, the initial plans to choose an existing city soon changed, as a proposal to build an entirely new capital city in the Plaine arose.
The city, named Villeroyale, was to be located 10 miles south of Fort Toulouse near the existing town of Ecounchaty (incorporating Ecounchaty into the city). It was to be laid out in a simple grid pattern (I’ll do a mini-post on it) and would house the Viceroy’s residence, the Viceroyal Legislature and other governmental offices, as well as plans for other important things that a major city needs, such as a cathedral, train station, parks and a river port. The plans were for a population of 100-200,000 by 1900 (not unfeasible, considering that the population projections made by the Viceroyalty at the time were for a population of around 15 Million by 1900). Because the city would be located closer to Fort Toulouse than Bienville, Bienville received a new university, the Royal University of Bienville, as a consolation prize, which would be a boon to that town as well.
The Viceroyalty soon acquired about 100 square kilometers to build their new city upon, the grid was surveyed and laid out) and construction on the new home of the viceroyalty commenced in the spring of 1847, marked as the official founding of the city. The Viceroyal Château was completed in 1851, and the Viceroy officially relocated in 1852. By 1860, the city had a population of 8,000, growing further to 35,000 by 1870, with growth fueled by the Richelieu-New Orleans rail route that had a stop in the new capital. When Villeroyal was granted a Catholic diocese in 1866, construction began on the Cathedral of Villeroyal, which was completed in 1884. The Viceroyalty of La Floride now had a long-term home, with room to grow and places to go...
This is a 1km by 1km demonstration of the city grid that served as the foundation of Villeroyal. The largest black lines are the major roads through the city, spaced by 1/2km each. The medium sized black lines are normal roads, and are found every 1/4km. The smallest black lines are found every 1/8km, and are the smallest roads.
Map of European Settlements in India prior to OTL's Seven Years War. This TL will have a divided India, let's say that during the 7YW, France is able to devote more troops to India, thus keeping their Indian colonies. Over time, India is divided into several Spheres of Influence between Britain, Portugal, France, The Netherlands and Denmark (Britain gets the lion's share, though).
Map of European Colonies and Spheres of Influence in India as of 1850(ish)
- Red = Britain
- Blue = France
- Green = Portugal
- Orange = Netherlands
- Pink = Denmark
Part 42: Transcontinental Railroad
Part 42: Transcontinental Railroad
It’s now time to return to the Commonwealth of America, a rising power that was bound for global domination. From Newfoundland to New Westminster, the Thirteen Stripes now stretched from Sea to Shining Sea. With a rapidly growing population of 24 Million in 1850, British North America east of the Mississippi River and south of the Canadian Shield was either already heavily settled or well on it’s way to being so. However, that’s just one half of the continent, and in between the Mississippi and Pacific lie thousands of miles of wilderness. The British presence on the west coast of North America was steadily increasing, and there needed to be a better mode of transport to the West Coast than a wagon trail that took half a year to travel. Proposals emerged for a Transcontinental Railroad, which would be a grand engineering project the likes of which The Commonwealth had never seen.
The First Transcontinental Railroad in the Commonwealth of America broke ground in Omaha on the Fourth of April in the Year of Our Lord 1800 and 61. It basically followed the route of the old Oregon Trail, but on a much larger scale. By the end of 1862, the railroad had been constructed out to Miapate, over 400 miles from Omaha. However, building across the rolling plains was the easy part, as some more challenging terrain was now approaching. The railroad continued across the High Plains, traversing the South Pass before finally facing the Rocky Mountains.
The railroad chose to build in the Shawpatin River Gorge, since it provided a natural route through the mountains, but even that was incredibly difficult. Construction in the gorge commenced in the spring of 1865, and even with thousands of laborers, many of them Irish, construction almost ground to a halt, as it took until the fall of 1866 to traverse the 40 miles of the gorge.
Meanwhile, construction from the western terminus of Oregon City headed east began in 1864 (using many Chinese laborers, as IOTL), making its way to the Snake River Valley by 1867. Finally, on September 8th, 1867, the two lines met up in the newly-founded town of Twin Falls. After six years and much blood, sweat and tears, the first Transcontinental Railroad was completed. America now had a permanent link from coast to coast, and while there had already been significant American settlement on the West Coast, the amount of settlers making their way out west skyrocketed after the railroad was completed. More transcontinental lines were soon constructed, and cities on the west coast such as Tacoma burgeoned. The Royal Navy also had a new supply of timber coming from the massive, untapped forests of the Pacific Coast, and by the end of the 19th Century, the West Coast was a military and trade hub.
Of course, the effects of Westward Expansion on both the ecosystem and the indigenous inhabitants was far less rosy, but I plan to cover that in a future update, so stay tuned.
Part 43: The Subcontinent
Part 43: The Subcontinent
I’ve ignored this region for too long, so it is now time to pay a visit to the Indian Subcontinent. With a population as large as (and if not larger than) Europe and a size of almost 4.5 Million square kilometers, many different languages, cultures and religions, the peoples of the Indian Subcontinent cannot be reduced to some monolith.
While there had been the occasional European traveler who made his way to the subcontinent, European presence in India really began at the tail end of the 15th Century, when Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama made his voyages to India, acquiring the port of Goa. Over the following centuries, the European colonial powers continued to acquire colonies and gain influence in the subcontinent, and with the collapse of the Mughal Empire, the colonizers were quick to fill the void.
To start, we’ll talk about the primary European power in India, the British. The British East India Company, based out of Calcutta, gradually expanded its reach from the mouth of the Ganges up the river, and by the Mid 19th Century pretty much all of Northern India was under British influence in some way. Now, not all of it was under direct British control, as a lot of British India was actually governed by local rulers, or Maharajas, while direct British rule was most prevalent at the mouth of the Ganges. A major revolt against British rule occured in 1857, leading to the East India Company’s control of the colony being stripped and handed to the Crown.
Now, we move south to the French-controlled areas of India. French India consisted of the East Coast south of the Mahanadi River (except for the Danish territory of Trankebar) and most of the Deccan Plateau, with the French rule being based out of Madras. Similar to British rule being concentrated along the Ganges, the French rule in India was most pronounced along the coast, as most of the interior was still ruled by Maharajas, the only French presence being the occasional diplomat, garrison or missionary.
Portugal had built it’s Indian colonies mainly along the west coast, as they had two separate areas under their control, one of them being the area around Diu, and the other being the southwestern coast of India including Goa and Cochin. The Dutch owned the island of Ceylon, while the Danish had both the small area around their aforementioned post of Trankebar, as well as the Frederiksøerne, which is actually closer to Southeast Asia than to India itself.
The effects of colonialism in India are… complicated. On the one hand, the colonizers often built important infrastructure and operated schools, but also extracted resources and ruled as an occupying foreign power. This is not a topic that I’m in any place to cover in depth, so I’ll just leave it at that for now. Now I’ve got to figure out what the heck to do with Europe, see ya next time.
Part 43.5: Indian Diaspora
Part 43.5: Indian Diaspora
After finishing the update on India, I forgot to talk about TTL’s Indian Diaspora, so I’m gonna talk about it here. The British began using Indian laborers, known as coolies, on sugar plantations around the time that Slavery was abolished, with a sizeable Indian community developing in Trinidad, Guyana, Mauritius, Natal and Fiji, as well as giving the other European colonial powers the same idea. France soon thereafter began importing Indian coolies to Réunion and the Americas (including La Floride, but that’s a topic for another day). Portugal also used indentured servants from India, most notably in the Portuguese Australian colony that I will eventually get to (spoiler alert). I think that’s good for a mini-update, so I’ll see ya in Part 44.
Correction: It was the French that first used Indian Coolies IOTL, not the British.
You know what, it's been a while since Europe had a war, any ideas for potential European wars?
What's going on in the Balkans in your timeline? This could cause a war with Austria, Ottomans, and Russia at once.
Also, maybe a war in the Italian peninsula between Austria and France over spheres of influence?
Hm... put those two together, you could put the hapsburg realm on the same path as pre revolution France: A series of expensive wars, an outdated system, pushed to bankruptcy...
1. I have no idea what's going on in the Balkans.
2. That could work, perhaps it turns into a major global conflict similar to the 7YW.
3. Hmm... interesting idea. So, any ideas for an ATL Bastille?
Map of Europe in 1789
I'm assuming that much of the Balkans are still under Ottoman rule in the 1850s/60s, since the chaos of the Napoleonic Wars did not occur ITTL. I think a potential spark for the war would be Russia wanting to expand into Moldavia/Wallachia (or support Romanian rebels). Maybe the Serbs rebel or something, I'm no expert on European Geopolitics, much less from an alternate 19th Century where the French Revolution never happens.
