Horizon to Horizon: The Imperial Commonwealth of the United States

[Libertad]

HORIZON TO HORIZON: THE IMPERIAL COMMONWEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES​

Welcome to my new Cliche Called Ameriwank timeline.

My decision to create this thread is to tell you, honestly, because of the reason that I don't want my original Cliche Called Ameriwank timeline to drown out the United States of Ameriwank by Big Tex in search engines as what I am noticing since the time that I saw that the page 1 of my Ameriwank timeline is on the top result of Google search engine and the other 6 pages of my thread are among the top results with the United States of Ameriwank being a bit drowned out. I really don't want that to happen.

I want readers to notice that this work of mine is not that good in my opinion compared to Big Tex's phenomenal work. That's the reason.

So by the way, Why the title? Horizon to Horizon? What's with the Imperial Commonwealth of the United States? What's this?

Well, to those who at least managed to lurk around without making their presence felt in making replies, you'll notice that in the first thread, I've decided to create an American monarchy. And yes, I'm going to continue the idea... but with a twist... Just watch out for that.

So there would be a federal American kingdom. If it is really going to be federal. But yeah, at least an American monarchy. My inspiration in making this decision is Lord Grattan's amazing Course of Human Events timeline. And of course, this is in tribute to Wolfgang Scott Cohen and his America Eterna: The Federal Kingdom of America timeline. May you be in peace right now Wolf , living in a United States of Ameriwank like world. Hopefully. That's my (Ameriwank?) world . But what's with the Imperial Commonwealth?? Well, if Big Tex is going to create the Great Republic of the United States out of his current Ameriwank Empire; why can I not make the Imperial Commonwealth of the United States out of my own (Ameriwank??) Empire?

The question though is how the hell am I going to do this timeline going along the way of creating a borderline ASBish looking and utopianistic one world union timeline?

Then just watch out!!

And actually, the question is... can I really do that?? Can I make the entire planet of the humans come together under the embrace of (the American Eagle?)??

Well, I'm gonna try. But my goal is really not that. I just want to create the largest territorial Ameriwank possible. And that might not cover the entire world. But let's see as we move from my POD to the year 2000. To my readers in the original thread, you already know what's gonna be my POD. But I'm going to post it again here for the benefit of those who did not. Hehehehe.

You might ask..."What's with the question marks over there with the open and close parentheses covering the words Ameriwank and the American Eagle? I thought you're going to make an Ameriwank?"

WHAHAHAHA. Decide for yourself if I'm making an Ameriwank or not then!!

You'll see why.

LET'S GET STARTED!!!

 

[Libertad]

SEVEN YEARS’ WAR and the BATTLE OF SIGNAL HILL

The Seven Years’ War is an international conflict involving most of the great powers of the world from 1756 to 1763 and affected large parts of the world; including Europe, North America, Central America, the West African Coast, India and the Philippines. It is what many historians are considering as the “third global war” after the War of the Spanish Succession and the War of Austrian Succession. It is known by many names considering the battles in numerous theaters: The French and Indian War, Pomeranian War, Third Carnatic War and the Third Silesian War.

There’s been a non-stop fighting for almost seven years. The date is September 15, 1762. The place is St. John’s, Newfoundland. The French were totally losing the war and everybody on the French side knows it. However, in anticipation of the upcoming peace negotiations, the French wanted one final fight. The goal is to gain access to the fisheries of Newfoundland as part of the plan to rebuild the French Navy after being beaten badly by the British. Thus back in May, a small force headed by Chevalier de Ternay slipped out of Brest, France, passed the blockade and headed into the Atlantic.
By June 27, 1762; it seems that the French were just on their way in capturing Newfoundland. Here in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Comte d’Haussonville’s forces forced the surrender of the town and proceeded to make a defense system consisting of several advance posts equipped with artillery around Signal Hill, a strategic point surrounding the area.
But just two days ago, the British landed at Torbay, a few miles north of the place. Ternay and Haussonville were unable to counter it, so to hamper the British advance, they dispatched a detachment to guard the bare summit of Signal Hill.

Now at dawn, the British makes a surprise attack by climbing the hell held by the French. This surprise attack is short but fatal that it lead to the death of the commander of the French detachment, Guillame de Bellecombe. [1] On the British side though, a bullet shatters the legs of one of William Amherst’s officers.

By morning, Signal Hill is in the hands of the British. And it seems that the war is finally on its closing period.

[1] THE POD. In OTL, He is just seriously wounded and managed to have a good career in French India and French Haiti before finally retiring and dying in the middle of the French Revolution.

 

[Libertad]

THE TREATY OF PARIS and the END OF THE SEVEN YEARS’ WAR


And so the Seven Years’ War finally came to an end. In the Treaty of Paris signed on February 10, 1763; the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland emerged as the world’s premier colonial power. Many historians today concluded that the Treaty of Paris started what will become known as the First Britannian Century. Not only does this treaty showed the overall victory of the British over the French and the Spaniards, it actually started the slow transfer of power that is going to happen for the next 150 years within the old British Empire from the motherland Britain to its North American colonies, that in a matter of years will form the United States of America.


In this treaty; Britain returned many of its conquests, since the British perspective on the status of France and Spain is that despite their loss, they are still major European powers so that peace terms could not be made too harsh that it will only aggravate the situation where France and Spain might look for revenge, bringing Britain into another long war. This lead to the decision of returning some of the economically powerful sugar islands in the Caribbean that was formerly held by the French in return of capitalizing on the fur trade of Quebec. Spanish Tobago was not returned back though but Havana was returned back to Spain. Britain, through this treaty, gained St. Lucia, Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Dominica while returning Martinique and Guadeloupe back to France.[1] Britain also gained the eastern half of French Louisiana, that of from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mountains while also gaining Spanish Florida and yes, French Quebec. Britain then returned all of its other conquests to its respective owners while also giving France fishing rights off Newfoundland and giving two small islands, St. Pierre and Miquelon, for French fishermen to dry their catches. Minorca was also returned back to Britain by Spain. France was then forced to recognize the British client rulers in India along with making the promise not to attack Bengal.

So the year 1763 became the first year of London's colonial dominance that will never be reversed.

[1] St. Lucia was given to Britain, and was not returned to France. Spanish Tobago was also given to Britain. These are the first obvious butterflies since the POD.

 

[Libertad]

THE COURSE OF HUMAN EVENTS [1]

1763 was a seminal year in North American history. In the aftermath of her victory in the Seven Years War, Great Britain established military and mercantile superiority over the lion’s share of the continent. All of New France east of the Mississippi River and east of the Hudson Bay Company’s land (Rupert’s Land) in the arctic north, plus the two Floridas now belonged to Great Britain. The North American theater of the war had been the site of brutal and destructive violence. Its end though did not bring peace to the continent. Rather it brought more conflict and bloodshed.

After the British army had taken control of the region from France, various Indian tribes, beginning with those near Détroit, revolted. They were alarmed by the policies imposed upon them by British General Jeffery Amherst and the British encroachment onto their land. The French, though they claimed the land, never attempted to dominate the land in the Upper Great Lakes as the British were attempting to do. The Indians, under the leadership of the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, attacked several British forts and settlements in the region in an attempt to drive both soldiers and settlers out. All totaled, eight forts were destroyed and hundreds of British soldiers were either killed or captured. Over a thousand settlers lost their lives or were captured as well. The number of Indians killed was not recorded. In the end, The Indians were unable to drive away the British, but the rebellion did force the British government to modify the policies that had provoked the conflict. The following year, peace talks between the crown and the tribes were begun. General Amherst was recalled to London and then reassigned.

[2]King George III was greatly appalled by the reports of the awful violence. On October 7, 1763, the king issued the Proclamation of 1763. The treaty established the vast Continental Crown Lands [3], which would, for an unspecified length of time, be reserved for the Indians and off limits to British settlers. The region set aside included the entire Great Lakes watershed, St. Lawrence watershed east of the river and the Mississippi watershed and those of its tributaries east of the river itself. The eastern boundary began at the mouth the St. John River at St. Lawrence Bay, followed the rives for 30 miles, went south to the Great Eastern Divide, and then followed the divide south to the 33rd Parallel, where the line curved to the SE where it intersected the 82nd Latitude and the East Florida border. The southern boundary of the reserve was the 32nd Parallel from the Mississippi River east to the Chattahoochee River, then south along the river at midstream to the river’s junction with the Apalachicola River, then east along the East Florida boarder to its terminus at the 82nd Latitude.

The Proclamation did not sit well with the colonists. For those who had poured money into land speculating endeavors it brought financial loss. For the land hungry populous it represented opportunity lost. People’s anger was focused on Parliament. This anger was enflamed further in the spring of 1764 when Parliament passed the Sugar and Currency Acts. The Sugar Act, which was a modification [4] of the 1733 Molasses Act, was an attempt to raise money for the Crown by increasing the duties on merchandise imported into the colonies that was not of British origin. The Currency Act prohibit the colonies from issuing paper money, but it did forbid them from designating future currency emissions as legal tender for public or private debts. This tight money policy created financial difficulties in the colonies, where gold and silver were in short supply[5]. At a town meeting in Massachusetts Bay, "no taxation without representation" was decried and cooperative protest throughout the colonies was suggested. Non-importation, or declining to accept merchandise imported from Britain, became the protest of choice in the Colonies.

By early 1764, King George III had concluded that he needed a personal representative in the colonies, someone whom he could trust to act on his behalf regarding land and settlement issues in the land covered by the Proclamation of 1763 and who could be a persuasive spokesperson for the Crown in the existing colonies of North America. In late April that year he chose his brother, Edward Augustus, Duke of York and Albany for the job. Edward was created Proprietor of the Continental Crown Lands. [6] He arrived at Annapolis, Maryland on August 27, 1764. Edward and his wife, still newlyweds, having been married just five months earlier, would stay at the estate of Frederick Calvert, the 6th Baron Baltimore.

[1] The first entry of Lord’s Grattan’s The Course of Human Events timeline. There were very slight modifications on this entry though which I made.
[2] Here come the modifications. I deleted the first sentence of this paragraph from the original entry.
[3] The second obvious butterfly from the POD.
[4] It’s originally written as “an extension”.
[5] Changed the original entry for a bit.
[6] More butterflies are flapping their wings right now!

THANK YOU LORD GRATTAN.

 

[Libertad]

EDWARD AUGUSTUS; DUKE OF YORK AND ALBANY, PROPRIETOR OF THE CONTINENTAL CROWN LANDS

 

[Libertad]

THE AMERICAN COLONIAL CRISIS [1]

Upon arriving in North America, Edward Augustus immediately became involved with the situation in the Crown Lands. In November 1764 he met with Britain’s Indian Agent for the northern section of the Crown Lands, Sir William Johnson. Johnson told him about Pontiac’s activities and described the British response. At the time, British soldiers were marching toward the Muskingum River in the Ohio Country and were within striking distance of several Indian villages. During that mission the army secured the release of more than 200 men, women and children who had been taken captive by the Indians. The army also extended an invitation to tribal leaders asking them to gather the following summer at Fort Ontario to craft a formal peace treaty with representatives of the British government. By November, the expedition had pressed on into the Illinois Country where they drove French soldiers from their last remaining stronghold, Fort de Chartes. It was there that they spent the winter.

When spring arrived, the commander, Colonel Bouquet and deputy Indian agent, George Croghan, met with Chiefs Pontiac and Kaské. While Kaské wanted to burn Croghan at the stake, Pontiac urged moderation. Kaské refused to join with “those who would surrender to the invaders the land given them by the Great Spirit”. Rather than accept British sovereignty, he left British territory by crossing the Mississippi River with other French and Indian refugees. Pontiac though agreed to travel to New York. There he and several hundred other Illinois and Ohio tribal leaders entered into a formal treaty with William Johnson and Edward Augustus at Fort Ontario on July 25, 1765. The Fort Ontario Treaty called for the cessation of all hostilities in the region, provided for the return of all prisoners of war, and established a Covenant Chain of Mutual Respect and Peace between the tribes and the British government. Additionally, the tribes recognized British control (but not sovereignty) over the land north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi, and the British agreed to provide livestock, clothing, blankets and medical supplies to the tribes annually for ten years. While at the fort, Edward Augustus met and befriended the Mohawk leader Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea). Brant’s friendships with Edward Augustus and William Johnson were the only lasting friendships he ever had with white men.

The Duke of York also quickly became involved in the issues between the colonists and the crown. Throughout his first year in North America, the Duke of York was in correspondence with several leading citizens and government officials in the colonies. These letters focused on the issues of taxation, commerce and western settlement. These letters did much to calm the waters in the colonies. The Duke’s efforts were hampered however when Parliament passed the Stamp and Quartering Acts. There was civil unrest in several cities from Halifax to Philadelphia.

As a result of Prince Edward’s efforts, a meeting was set up between Prince Edward and key legislators and citizens from several colonies. The meeting was held between October 10 and 28, 1765 in New Haven, Connecticut, [2] with him presiding. At the conclusion of the meeting; the Stamp Act Congress, as it was known, submitted a Declaration of Rights and Grievances in which they claimed that Parliament’s right of taxing the colonists is unconstitutional because the body did not include any representation from the colonies and in response to the problem of “taxation without representation”, a Plan for Colonial Cooperation and Responsible Government was also issued as a proposal in solving the problem. The plan, called the Adams-Franklin-Augustus Plan (after its chief proponents Samuel Adams, William Franklin and the prince himself) would be disseminated, along with the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, throughout British America and would be presented to King George III and the British Parliament by a colonial delegation, headed by Prince Edward himself, who signed these documents.

[1] With partial entries from Lord’s Grattan’s The Course of Human Events timeline.

[2] The Stamp Act Congress of OTL was held in New York City between October 7 and 25, 1765.

SAMUEL ADAMS, Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Stamp Act Congress delegate

WILLIAM FRANKLIN, Governor of New Jersey and Stamp Act Congress delegate

 

[Libertad]

A few more updates coming up.

So no one's interested. Probably because it looks like I'm borrowing ideas from others rather than creating ideas of my own. But I have some ideas of my own. Didn't you see it?

Fine. Here are the updates.

 

[Magus1108]

This is quite interesting, so far. I look forward to seeing where you take this! Keep up the great work!

 

[Libertad]

THE ADAMS-FRANKLIN-AUGUSTUS PLAN and the TRIP TO LONDON [1]

The colonial delegation arrived in London in the middle of November, 1765 bringing along with them two important documents that will set the tone for the gradual and aching transformation of the North American colonies into the United States of America; the Declaration of Rights and Grievances and the Plan for Colonial Cooperation and Responsible Government.

The Declaration of Rights and Grievances outlined colonial objections to the passage of the Stamp Act and declaring that the taxes being imposed by the British Parliament on the colonies without their formal consent were unconstitutional. It listed a Colonial Bill of Rights, which stipulated that all of the citizens of the colonies have rights of Englishmen and without representation and voting rights in the British Parliament; only the colonial assemblies can have the right of taxation on the colonies. It also included a petition for “our Emperor of America”, King George III, in helping out in solving the Stamp Act crisis. The Plan for Colonial Cooperation and Responsible Government was presented as a proposal for solving the constitutional issue of taxation without representation.

The colonial plan was almost a total rip off from the Albany Plan of 1754, but with important modifications. It created a Governor-General of North America; to be appointed by the Crown, execute laws aimed on the colonies and appoint royal governors and other colonial officials in the name of the Crown. It also created two plans that the Parliament can choose from for the functions of the Continental Congress. In the first plan, the Continental Congress will have the power of overall colonial legislation with the British Parliament with a power of vetoing laws passed by the Continental Congress. In the second plan, the British Parliament will gain the power of legislating on colonial matters in exchange of giving voting rights in the British House of Commons to colonial agents (each colony can have its own colonial agent) that will be chosen by their respective colonial governments with the approval of the Governor-General in legislation that are aimed at the colonies. The colonial agents will also gain the power of legislation for colonial matters within the House of Commons while the Continental Congress can serve as an intercolonial forum of discussion that can draft legislation, which will be submitted to Parliament by the colonial agents.

The colonial delegation arrived in London, with Britain already on a new prime minister; Lord Rockingham. George Grenville, the previous prime minister who passed the Stamp Act, was dismissed by Prince Edward’s brother early in the year due to the combination of his brother’s personal dislike of Grenville and Grenville’s own lack of parliamentary support. Lord Rockingham’s administration would immediately start with the domination of the American colonial issue. He received Prince Edward and the colonial delegation well and he immediately laid the table for negotiations with the colonists. Lord Rockingham agreed with the delegation in terms of the necessary repeal of the Stamp Act but he began to have reservations on the colonists’ insistence of being represented in the Parliament, mainly because he didn’t know if he could get the necessary parliamentary support on the Adams-Franklin-Augustus colonial plan. He agreed to try and the prime minister with other leading Whigs like William Pitt the Elder showed their support for the colonial plan, even backed up with the support of King George III himself, who was swayed enough by his brother, and the American Colonies Act was narrowly passed by both the Commons and the Lords just before the end of Parliament’s session in December, 1765 while receiving the royal assent on Christmas Day.

The American Colonies Act became a fitting Christmas gift by the King and widespread celebrations in the colonies were held in his honor starting on New Years’ Day, 1766. The Act formally repealed the Stamp Act but to save face, it also declared the right of the Parliament “to legislate on colonial matters on all cases whatsoever”. But it did give what the colonial delegation wanted, parliamentary representation, albeit limited. The Parliament agreed to the first part of the colonial plan in giving the colonies a Governor-General but the House of Lords did not agree in giving outright legislative powers to the Continental Congress, making the delegation settle on the second plan for the Continental Congress. Nevertheless, it did not made the delegation return home empty handed and Prince Edward’s efforts were totally praised by the leading colonists. This also set the tone for more discussion towards colonial representation and Prince Edward returned back as British North America’s first Governor-General, appointed by the “Emperor of America”, King George III. The royal title was added in late January, 1766 by the British Parliament which drew the ire of France and Spain to the pleasure of King George himself.

Prince Edward though did not return in the same manner as the rest of the delegation. He first visited the British Caribbean bringing Benjamin Franklin with him and both of them were warmly received and created goodwill throughout the Caribbean colonies. This Caribbean tour was crucial for it made the economically wealthy islands send representatives to the Continental Congress that will be convened on May, 1766.

And so ended the Tea Act Crisis. But another set of laws will be passed by the British Parliament that will once again create resentment on the colonists.

[1] Original Entry! Hahaha!

 

[Libertad]

GEORGE GRENVILLE, British Prime Minister during the passage of the Stamp Act.

CHARLES WATSON-WENTWORTH, 2nd MARQUESS OF ROCKINGHAM; British Prime Minister at the arrival of the Stamp Act Colonial Delegation.

WILLIAM PITT THE ELDER, British Prime Minister during the end of the Seven Years' War and leading supporter of American colonial rights. His support is crucial to the passage of the American Colonies Act of 1765 and the Royal Titles Act of 1766.

 

[Libertad]

This is quite interesting, so far. I look forward to seeing where you take this! Keep up the great work!

Thank you! And I thought I'm all alone here.

 

[Libertad]

NECESSARY ADDITIONS ABOUT THE TRIP TO LONDON

The colonial delegation did not came to London just to talk about the Stamp Act though since the Sugar Act, the Currency Act and the Quartering Act were also included in the list of laws being resented by the colonists and were related to the issue of "no taxation without representation". However, they became tertiary issues compared to the plan for pushing the Adams-Franklin-Augustus Plan to Parliament and the repeal of the Stamp Act, since it is the Stamp Act that recently dominated the issue and Prince Edward advised the delegation to present their demands slowly but surely in a calculated manner because presenting the colonists' issues with the other laws passed by the Parliament might derail the overall plan of pushing for an American colonial parliamentary representation.

Eventually, the Sugar Act was repealed with the introduction of the Revenue Act and the Free Port Act while the Quartering Act was allowed to expire in 1767. The Currency Act though remained a sticky issue.

 

[Libertad]

LAWS. LAWS. LAWS.

When William Pitt the Elder assumed the prime ministership in July 1766 with the creation of the Chatham Ministry, the newly empowered colonial representatives presented yet another proposal that will further advance the cause of American representation in the British government. This is a proposal that the ministry supported. This proposal is the creation of the Office of the Colonial Secretary that will represent the American colonists in the British cabinet system. The office though will be placed below the Office of the Secretary of the Southern Department, a cabinet ministerial post. The new office was given to none other than Benjamin Franklin; the most popular Right Honourable Colonial Agent from the House of Commons.

NEW YORK and the QUARTERING ACT

Here in TTL, the New York Restraining Act was not needed to be passed because the colonial delegation with Robert Charles, New York's colonial agent, already promised that the New York Provincial Assembly will comply with the financial provisions of the Quartering Act; since the issue of "no taxation without representation" has been solved.

WILLIAM PETTY, 2nd EARL OF SHELBURNE; SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE SOUTHERN DEPARTMENT (CHATHAM MINISTRY)

RIGHT HONOURABLE COLONIAL AGENT BENJAMIN FRANKLIN; COLONIAL SECRETARY, SOUTHERN DEPARTMENT (CHATHAM MINISTRY)

 

[Seraph]

So this will be like the Roman Empire compared to Tex's Roman Republic?

 

[Libertad]

So this will be like the Roman Empire compared to Tex's Roman Republic?

What made Big Tex's Ameriwank look like a Roman Republic?? The idea of an expansionistic republic and it is being Roman like because it's on its way to being on the top of the world?? And the Roman Empire concept on mine is the fact that what I am trying to plan is not an American republic?? So it's an empire??

And remember, Big Tex's work has ASB intervention. Mine has not. Unless my ASB intervention here became my imagination. Hahahaha.

Ah! You thought of it this way because of the name "Augustus" isn't it?? Hehehehe.

 

[Libertad]

CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

The Continental Congress opened up in May 12, 1766 in the Pennsylvania State Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Representatives from the entire British America were around; from Newfoundland to Tobago, thanks to the Franklin-Augustus Caribbean tour, with the exception of Grenada due to the major earthquake that happened over there along with Quebec who declined the invitation. This Continental Congress struggled at first in terms of how to solve issues when it was found that they were many to begin with like that of reorganizing the political administration of both the British Leeward Islands and the British Windward Islands, the fight between the Bahamas and Bermuda over the Turks and Caicos Islands, granting a royal charter to Newfoundland, law and order in the British Virgin Islands, response to the major earthquake in Grenada, enlargement of the Continental Crown Lands, adjustments to the 1763 Royal Proclamation boundary line, granting voting rights to Iroquois delegates, the Grand Ohio Company's want of settlements west of Virginia, reassessment of the proprietor colony status, establishment of a Continental Crown Land Office, Pennsylvania land claims, solutions for making a good proposal for amending the Currency Act, introducing a good tax law in replacement of the Stamp Act, asking for a repeal of the Quartering Act, amongst other things. But the first kind of an American representative body was underway. Within the halls of the Continental Congress came the greater acceleration of the development of a united American colonial consciousness.
Prince Edward was actually very pleased with the creation of the Continental Congress.

 

[Free Lancer]

i like it looking forward to seeing what happens

 

[Libertad]

i like it looking forward to seeing what happens

Thank you sir.

 

[MarshalBraginsky]

What would the British version of this Imperial Commonwealth's name be? Just curious since the Brits would name it like Grand Duchy of (insert proposed name here) or Imperium of something else.

 

[Libertad]

What would the British version of this Imperial Commonwealth's name be? Just curious since the Brits would name it like Grand Duchy of (insert proposed name here) or Imperium of something else.

Hmmmm..... I can't answer that. Hahaha.