«12. . .3,6463,6473,6483,6493,6503,6513,652. . .3,6823,683»
1915 - Poseidon Tavern, New Orleans
"Missus Thiessen!" called Pierre, from the top of the stairs, "There's a gentleman suh here to see you!"
Sunrise sighed and put down the book she had been reading. "I'll be right there, Pierre!" she called back.
She got up and picked up her dress. She had been hoping to spend her day off alone with her book, a luxury she had been ill-able to afford since becoming the president of Red Racer. Getting the little company off the ground had been harder than it looked, especially since they were working in a relatively tiny market and at least two-thirds of their revenue got eaten up in taxes. Only recently had Sunrise felt like they had finally secured a spot in the market despite the best efforts of their older, more established rivals in neighboring nations.
Sunrise wondered who would be calling on her here. Few people knew that she lived in a waterfront tavern on the New Orleans docks, and of those fewer still were business associates. She supposed her secretary might have let it slip - the woman had looser lips than a drunken sailor. "Did he give his name, Pierre?" Sunrise called as she slipped the dress over her t-shirt and slacks.
"No, ma'am," Pierre replied. "I asked him, too. Said he'd rather "remain anony-mouse" fo' right now."
Sunrise sighed again. She hoped it wasn't some admirer from one of the New Orleans merchant houses. She had lost count of the amount of love letters she had received from that one young man from the Marseille family...
She straightened her dress and quickly checked her hair before stepping down the stairs to meet her mysterious guest. To her surprise, standing there was Marcel du Pont, the patriarch of the du Pont shipping conglomerate and one of the city's leading men. To her further surprise, standing next to him was Inessa Borisovna Badenov in corset and skirts (and somehow managing to look comfortable in them). "M'sieur du Pont, a pleasure to see you," Sunrise greeted the patriarch. "And Inessa! I thought I'd never see you again! Where have you been?"
Inessa smiled. "Mingling, dahlink," she said, her Pottsylvanian accent flying right over the heads of those present. "I'm sorry I didn't call, dahlink, but I needed the operational security."
"I'll bet," Sunrise replied dryly. Turning back to the Cajun, she said, "Please forgive me, M'sieur. Inessa and I are old friends who have not seen one another in a long time."
"No apologies needed, mademoiselle," du Pont replied, smiling. "If we may get straight to business, however? Is there a private place here that we may talk?"
Sunrise nodded. "Pierre! We're gonna need to use your back room! And no eavesdropping this time!"
"Now naw, missus Thiessen, I ain't given to droppin' no eaves," Pierre replied with a smile. "Rent's goin' on yo tab, you know dat right?"
Sunrise smiled in return. "Now now, Pierre, since when have I ever not been good for my tab?" She turned back to du Pont and Inessa. "Right this way, she said.
Tessen, Nearly Finland, and Sandinista nicaragua
Continuation
As soon as they were all seated, and the door closed and locked, Sunrise turned to her two visitors and remarked, "All right, you two have piqued my curiosity. What is it that required you to meet me here to discuss behind closed doors?"
Marcel cleared his throat. "Mademoiselle Thiessen, is it true that you are, how do I say it, not of this world?" he asked.
Sunrise glanced at Inessa, who nodded imperceptibly. "It might be," she replied, turning her attention back to the Cajun. "It might be true that I and my family members are refugees from another timeline. Who is asking?"
Marcel nodded. "Mademoiselle, let me get straight to the point. Inessa and I are here on behalf of the Enclave, and we seek to recruit you and your family to our cause."
Sunrise narrowed here eyes. "What cause?" she asked.
"The liberation of Louisiana from the grip of the French," Marcel replied. "Let me explain. Ever since the Americans liberated themselves from the grip of the British in 1812-"
"You mean 1776," Sunrise interjected.
"1812, mademoiselle," Marcel replied. "It was not until they defeated the British in battle on their own terms that it could be truly said they were a proper nation in their own right."
"Fair point," Sunrise acceded.
"As I was saying, mademoiselle, ever since then, there have been those in Louisiana who have yearned to free us from Napoleon's tyranny - and his taxes. In 1848, my grandfather founded the Enclave, a group of Louisiana's merchants dedicated to this very goal. Ever since then, we have worked towards this goal - but up until now, we have made little progress."
"And you think with my help, you can achieve your goal," Sunrise said. "With the command of future technology that I supposedly have at my disposal."
Marcel coughed. "With all due respect, Mademoiselle, I will admit to a certain amount of incredulity. Such a thing is fantastical, oui? Yet already your brother upends the automobile manufacturing world with innovations thought by many to be a dream. With the technology from the future that you and your family could build us, we could stand up to France in revolution, despite its great power."
Sunrise snorted derisively. "Great power that couldn't beat Great Britain in a showdown over Canada," she remarked. "I somehow hardly think that you would really need me and our technology to win in a fight against Napoleon."
"A win against Napoleon in their - excuse me, our - current state would leave us too weak to counter other enemies," Inessa interjected before Marcel could reply. "At best, we would be too weak to hold the entire territory together. At worst, we would get gobbled up by Canada or Mexico or Spain or worse."
"Hmm," Sunrise said thoughtfully. "But what if you didn't have to fight him?" she asked.
"Pardonne Moi, mademoiselle?" Marcel asked, taken aback.
Sunrise smiled, the gears in her head turning. "Listen, we've all griped about these insanely high taxes, right?" she asked. "Why are they so high? Because Napoleon is bankrupt. The war against Great Britain and then the U.S. has left him in massive amounts of debt for little gain. He was already hard-pressed to defend Louisiana during the war, and he'd be hard-pressed to do so in any other one."
"What are you getting at, dahlink?" Inessa asked.
"What I'm getting at is.... what if you bought Louisiana its independence?" Sunrise replied. "Get together a couple million or billion francs, offer Napoleon a deal he can't refuse?"
"That's!..... That's.... that's actually a brilliant idea," Marcel mused.
"I told you she was smart, dahlink," Inessa said, beaming. "She's definitely onto something. We would still need to push him a little - maybe a few riots here and there, a sustained propaganda campaign back in France, but I think we could definitely do it."
Marcel nodded thoughtfully. "I would need to consult with the other members of the Enclave, but I do think this idea has merit," he said. "In the meantime, would you like to join us anyway? Especially to prepare a plan B in case he refuses."
Sunrise smiled. "Sure, why not?"
Tessen, Nearly Finland, and Sandinista nicaragua
Vancouver Sun, page 4
New Branding
After consultations with Premier Ricker, Oregon State has begun a shift in Homestead advertising. Unlike other states like Kooteney, Washington, and Tillamook that have been boasting about their fertile and untamed lands, open for the taking, Oregon's Governor has shifted from focusing on poor European farmers and labourers to religious minorities. They are boasting their state as open land where new communities can prosper, free from religious persecution and scorn. groups like Hutterites, Mennonites, Hassidic Jews, and even smaller religious groups like the Church of Celestia, Hellenic Revivalists in Greece, and the small Church of "Latter Day Saints" in New York have already taken note of the states new marketing. Only time will tell if it pays off for Oregon. When asked about the decision to change their approach, Premier Ricker remarked that he "is devoted to preserving the traditions laid down by our Founding Figures, the the DSCC should be a free and accepting nation." Behind closed doors however, members of the Premier's staff have told the Vancouver Sun that "he doesn't care if they're Satanists, as long as they become tax paying citizens." Several Native tribes have come out against the Homestead Act, be it for religious minorities or not, but their protest has fallen on mostly deaf ears.
Here's a question for ya, 
Tessen: Will there be an option for parent nations like us to forcibly move populations to colonies/subservient states? E.g. like Russia has done a lot in RL from even before the Soviet era.
I think we can make something like that an option, sure.
1918 - Versailles, France
Napoleon VII sat back in his chair and rubbed his face. In front of him sat his exchequer's latest treasury report - and as usual, the outlook was dismal.
While the eight years that had gone by since the end of that disastrous war had done some to see his debt shrink, it wasn't enough. The cost of pacifying the Louisiana territory, coupled with the immense costs that had gone into constructing the Panama Canal, were still more than he was making in taxes and revenue. In the meantime, the Louisiana Territory had become a hotbed of crime and rebellion, with peasants and the natives regularly rioting in protest of the enormously high taxes placed on the territory (and then of course, there were those damn Yankees in Illinois). The bloodshed had left a sour taste in the mouths of the French public, and public opinion had begun to pressure him to abandon the territory.
The trouble was, there wasn't anyone to buy it! Both Mexico and Tessen had turned down an offer, and neither of the two recently independent nations on the West Coast were in any shape to buy and maintain the amount of territory that was Louisiana. And of course, Napoleon wasn't about to sell the territory to England or any of his other imperial rivals in Europe.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Oui, what is it?" Napoleon called.
His butler poked his head into the office. "Pardonne moi, your excellency," he said, "But there is a mademoiselle here to see you on urgent business. She claims she is a representative from Louisiana."
Napoleon stifled a groan. "Louis, I told the last group of repr-"
"She says she has a proposal for you that you cannot refuse," the butler said, interrupting Napoleon before he finished.
Napoleon sighed. "Fine, fine, let her in," he said.
Moments later, a blond woman of medium build and wearing the latest Parisian fashions swept into the room. "Your excellency!" she said, curtseying gracefully. "Merci beaucoup for granting this audience to your humble servant."
Napoleon stood and bowed, somewhat impressed by the woman's beauty. "The pleasure is mine, mademoiselle." He gestured to a chair. "Please, sit. Tea?"
"Oui, s'il vous plaît," the mysterious woman replied. She crossed her legs daintily and laid her hands in her lap.
Napoleon told his butler to bring them a platter of tea. "Forgive me, mademoiselle, but you seem to have the advantage of me,"
"Oui, that I do, dahlink," the woman replied with a small smile. "My name is Inessa Borisovna Badenov, of New Orleans."
Napoleon raised an eyebrow. "Russian, then? But of New Orleans?"
Inessa nodded. "Of Russian ancestry, whose family immigrated to the territory a generation ago."
Napoleon nodded thoughtfully. "Very well, Mademoiselle Badenov. Shall we get down to business? I am informed that you have a proposal for me, one that I cannot refuse."
Inessa's small smile returned. "Oui, your excellency. I understand that the French government is currently experiencing, shall we say, some financial difficulties related to a recent, failed war?"
Napoleon frowned. "Mademoiselle, I do not like to always be reminded of my unpleasant circumstances."
"Of course, your excellency," Inessa replied, bowing her head. "My proposal, however, might go towards solving some of your... difficulties. Particularly, your financial ones - and the difficulties you are currently experiencing in policing the territory of Louisiana."
Napoleon sat slowly back in his chair. "Go on, mademoiselle," he said as the butler brought the tea.
Inessa took a moment to take a sip of her tea before going on. "Your excellency, I represent a group of concerned citizens of Louisiana who are... unhappy, to put it mildly, about the state of affairs in the territory. No, I don't mean the trouble-causing rabble" she said, gesturing at the office window, "But the more... influential members of Louisianan society." She put her teacup down. "We see that France is unable to adequately police the territory, and we know that you have approached several nations about buying the territory, only to be turned down. So, we have come to you with the proposal to buy our freedom."
Napoleon raised both his eyebrows. "Buy your freedom, mademoiselle Badenov? You would offer me money to see an independent Louisiana?" he said, somewhat incredulously. "How much are you offering?"
"5 billion francs, your excellency."
Napoleon's jaw dropped. 5 billion francs would go a long way towards paying off the enormous debt left over from the Canadian War, and it was much more than he was expecting he would ever get for the region if he had sold it. "Five billion? Wherever did you get such a massive amount of money?" he asked incredulously.
Inessa smiled. "As I said, I represent certain influential members of Louisiana society who have gathered the money over a significant period of time." she replied. "As well as relying on a number of wealthy, er, politically unattached patrons from outside Louisianan society. We are prepared to transfer the funds to you as soon as the treaty affirming our independence can be signed."
Napoleon sat back, flabbergasted. His mind raced, divided between the question of "Why didn't my tax agents find this money" and "What do I have to lose by refusing?" Finally he asked, "What proof do I have that this money exists? And what is to stop me from coming and taking all this money anyway?"
Inessa smiled, reminding Napoleon of a hyena's grin - hungry and predatory. "To answer your second question first," she replied, "There are many political concerns with doing so. Your subjects are already restless - such a move could not help but be seen as tyrannic, in a time where revolution already wafts on the air. You would most likely end up stomping out more fires than 5 billion stolen francs would resolve. And as for your first question..."
Inessa pulled out a small purse and tossed it onto the desk. Inside were several dozen small coins of solid gold. "There are more like that, awaiting shipment upon inking of the treaty."
Napoleon weighed the bag, and then made a decision. "Mademoiselle, you have a deal," he said, smiling. Then he frowned again. "But, I have no doubt that my government will wish to attach certain other conditions to your independence - we very well can't have you allying yourselves with the British once our back is turned, now can we?"
Inessa nodded. "Such a thing is to be expected, non?" she replied.
Napoleon stood and extended his hand. "Mademoiselle Badenov - a handshake to seal the deal."
After Inessa shook, Napoleon rang for his butler. "It will take some time to hammer out the details," he said, "I do have to push this deal through my government, of course. I will have quarters prepared for you here in the palace - and in the meantime, would you join me for dinner tonight?"
"It would be an honor, your excellency," Inessa said, a genuine smile on her face.
Tessen, Nearly Finland, Cascadia and columbia, and Sandinista nicaragua
...and welcome back to Northwest Radio, your home for programs, news and music all along the Pacific Coast.
In political news this week, Premier Ricker's polling has reached a historic low for Cascadian politicians, falling below 35% today according to the Vancouver Sun. His numbers are even lower then that of Premier MacDonald before him, who has co me to be known as the "Flapjack" by much of the country due to his flip-flopping on foreign policy issues and education reform. Ricker's even lower numbers can be attributed mainly due to his failure to stop the passage of the Eggert Act, allowing women's suffrage. His hard stance on the issue has angered the nation's liberals, still banded together in the Suffrage Coalition, and his failure to stop the Act's passage has angered the nation's conservatives, who consider him week compared to previous conservative Premier George Kingsley. In his free fall, the Premier has gathered together prominent members of the BNAP and the Windsor Bloc to discuss saving the administration, but it's collapse seems imminent. MP Dr. Pendleston, the Head of the Opposition, shrugged off reporters when asked about a possible vote of no confidence in the coming weeks, but with public opinion swaying away from the current administration, such an action seems more and more likely. All the Suffrage Coalition needs to do is stick together for just a few more weeks and we could have a new Premier in office.
And in other news, the cultural divide between city dwelling "Columbians" and the rest of the country grew a bit wider today, after prominent radio personality and author Henry Sark, son of the controversial Windsor Bloc far-right politician Maxwell Sark, published an editorial in the Victoria Herald called Baseball vs Hockey, and the fall of Anglo-Saxon Values, in which he demonstrates how the Coastal Columbians love of baseball, a "gentlemen's sport", demonstrates their obvious superiority over the Scottish and Welsh Provincials in the south of the country, as well as the Nord-Ouesters in Kooteney and Paid-Riviere, and the Russian and Manchurian Cascadians in Royal Alaska. He goes on to call the national minorities' love for hockey a "demonstration of their love for violence and barbarism", and uses several racial slurs, calling Nord-Ouesters "frogs", and Manchurian Cascadians "Mongoloids". Senator Jessica Frank, a prominent figure in support of French Cascadian Rights, called the article "disgusting" and demanded a formal apology from the Victoria Herald. The newspaper has not yet responded to her request.
Alitannia, Grand Enclave, and Sandinista nicaragua
OOC: Please disregard my typos. It's late here. :P
AN INVITATION
For those who want to improve their storytelling, I have an invitation for you....
Come claim/set up the alternate universe version of your nation on Earth 2 of the Baas Mulitiverse:
PRE-FLOOD EARTH
4004 BC - 2348 BC
Click below to view all PRE-FLOOD history:
c. 4004 BC
Time begins.
The earth is created by God. Before this point, there was nothing. In six days, God creates everything in the universe -- every star, every planet, everything of nature that exists on the earth. Among this creation on Earth, are the first two humans, a man and a woman named Adam and Eve. They are created fully grown, fully intelligent, and live for a while, naked, in a lush beautiful place known as the Garden of Eden.
At this time, the entire Earth is covered with a water/ice canopy that preserves it in a consistent, warm, greenhouse-like climate. Differences in temperature are minimal, with no more than mild global air movements. Storms do not exist. Rain does not occur. Instead, the surface of the planet is watered by a fog, a mist that rises up and moistens the ground. Life is abundant all over the earth. Animals, birds, fish, plants and trees can be found everywhere. Rain forests are plentiful. Rivers are crystal clear. Land is hilly or flat. There are no mountains, no deserts, no polar ice caps, glaciers do not exist. Earth is, quite literally, a perfectly engineered paradise.
All animals are created to eat plants and the fruit that grow on them. They do not hunt or kill each other for food. There are no meat-eaters (this includes the dinosaurs). Adam and Eve are also commanded, by God, not to eat meat.
Beyond Earth, there are countless stars and planets, all equally beautiful and unique, but none of them are created to support sentient life. Earth is 100% unique -- the home of humanity, the crown of God's creation.
An unknown date after Creation
Sin and death enter the world. As a consequence of their disobedience to God, Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden. They are ashamed of their nakedness, and clothe themselves. Not long after they are expelled from the Garden, they have a son, whom they name Cain. He is the first human born on Earth. Over time, many more sons and daughters are born to Adam over the years, thereby establishing Adam and Eve as the genetic source of all humanity.
At some point, when Cain is older, he kills his younger brother Abel, lies to God, ignors God's rebuke, and leaves home to build a far-off city. From him and his wife are descended generations of Godless men and women who spread out and populate the Earth. They begin to eat meat, in defiance of God's command not to do so. They kill each other, they practice polygamy... they live evil, selfish and utterly corrupt lives.
Many humans during this period live over 900 years. The water canopy above the planet shields them from the harmful effects of ultra-violet rays, cosmic rays, and other harmful radiation.
The inhabitants of Earth at this time create and play musical instruments. The develop poetry. They tend cattle and livestock, they dig mines in search of mineral resources, and they make and use tools of brass and iron. They live in cities and they farm the land. They are advanced, intelligent, creative, self-aware individuals.
3874 BC
Eve gives birth to a son, whom she and Adam name Seth.
3382 BC
A man named Jared, of the line of Seth, fathers a son named Enoch.
3317 BC
Enoch has a son whom he names Methuselah.
3074 BC
Adam, the first human created on Earth, dies at the age of 930.
3017 BC
Enoch, a God-fearing man, is taken to heaven -- without death. He is 365 years old.
2948 BC
Lamech, son of Methuselah, has a son. He names him Noah.
2349 BC
- Methuselah dies at the age of 969. He is known to history as the oldest-living human.
2348 BC
In response to the sheer wickedness of mankind, God engineers a cataclysmic global flood that engulfs the entire Earth. The water/ice canopy above the planet collapses into a massive global deluge of rain, and water below the earth's surface rises up, flooding everything. There is no dry ground left uncovered. Massive earthquakes, volcanoes, and other natural disasters accompany this violent apocalypse. Mountains rise, and valleys sink. The surface of the Earth is completely changed, resulting in the modern continents and islands that we know today.
Noah, his wife, his three sons (Shem, Ham, Japheth), and their wives, survive this global flood aboard a large wooden ark. Accompanying them are two of every kind of animal (one male, and one female). Every other human, animal and plant on Earth is destroyed. The world before the Flood is completely wiped out. An estimated 10 trillion people perish. When the water recedes, hundreds of feet of sediment cover the Earth. The lush pre-flood plant life (now trapped under rock and sediment) becomes the earth's massive coal and oil resources.
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*(The estimate of 10 trillion people on Earth before the global flood is the result of a conservative mathematical extrapolation using Biblical lineage data, the average lifespan of 900 years, and the much higher number of children per couple. In addition, a global flood would not have been necessary if humanity did not fill the entire surface of the Earth at that time.)After 40 days of rain, and 150 total days afloat, the large wooden vessel comes to rest on the newly-exposed land of a brand new mountain in the Middle East, known to history as Mount Ararat.
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ANCIENT HISTORY
2347 BC
The new world begins.
After 370 days on the ark, Noah, his family, and all of the animals on the ark, exit onto dry ground, and set foot upon Mount Ararat in the Middle East. From these survivors descend all current humans and animals on the earth. At this time, God engineers it so that all animals now fear humans. In addition, God grants permission for humans to eat any animal that does not still have blood in it. Before the Flood, humans and animals live in harmony with each other. After the flood, they fear and eat each other.
When the flood waters recede, areas of the planet begin to cool. Large ice sheets form over vast areas of the planet (except near the equator). This rapid global "ice age" persists for roughly 700 years.
2247 BC
At this time, all humans on earth speak the same language. Noah and his family had been commanded by God to "be fruitful, increase in number, and fill the earth." Yet, as the post-flood population grows, most people remain in the Middle East. They decide to build a city with a tall tower (Bablyon in Mesopotamia) to proclaim their greatness. God, however, intervenes, removes their common language, and establishes multiple new languages so that they can no longer understand each other. All humans on Earth, are, therefore, forced to spread out across the planet, settling in various places that share the same language. These common language groups become the founding inhabitants of the ancient civilizations we know today.
c. 1850 BC
The post-Flood global "ice age" reaches its peak.
c. 1650 BC
The post-Flood global "ice age" comes to an end.
1490 BC
Native Americans record an odd geological occurrence -- the sun and moon stop moving for about 24 hours. It is not known until centuries later, that in Isreal (in the Middle East), Joshua asks God to make the sun and moon stop moving, so that the light of the day could last long enough for the Israelites to complete their battle against the Amorites. God answers Joshua's prayer. The Earth and moon stop rotating for about a day, and the Amorites are crushed by the armies of Israel.
c. 1400 BC
The ancient cities of San Lorenzo, Tenochtitlán and Potrero Nuevo are settled in the southeastern region of "Mexico". This is the political center of the Olmec people. Many scholars believe that the Olmec crossed the Pacific Ocean in boats from western Africa. They are the earliest known civilization in the Americas.
c. 900 BC
The ancient city of Chavin de Huantar is settled in the northern Andean highlands of "Peru". Its political influence extends to other civilizations and settlements along the western South American coast. It is the political center of the Ancient Chavin people, and the first known civilization in South America.
c. 750 BC
The ancient Mayan civilization establishes its first major cities in Central America.
5 BC
Jesus Christ is born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, Israel (the Middle East). He is both God and man. As a human being, Jesus is the second man in Earth's history to be born outside of natural conception (Adam being the first, having been created fully grown). He is born to a virgin woman named Mary, conceived by God, and having no human father.
29
Jesus Christ begins his ministry in Galilee, Israel (the Middle East).
33
Jesus Christ is crucified on a cross just outside of the gates to the city of Jerusalem in Israel (the Middle East). He is buried, and, three days later, rises from the dead. After 40 more days appearing to his disciples and followers, he ascends into heaven.
984
Norsemen from Iceland, led by Erik the Red, settle in Greenland. These early settlements along the southwestern coast of Greenland eventually see a combined population of 3,000-5,000 with at least 400 farms. They export walrus ivory, furs, rope, sheep, whale and seal blubber, live animals such as polar bears, and cattle hides.
986
Bjarni Herjólfsson, a Norseman sails to Iceland to visit his parents, only to find that his father has gone with Erik the Red to Greenland. He takes his crew, and sets off to find him. Unfortunately, a severe storm destroys his ship. Most of the crew, including Bjarni, drown. Three survivors are later recovered, and tell the story of the ship's disappearance.
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*(In real life, Bjarni discovers land west of Greenland when his ship was blown off course. Although he doesn't explore his discovery, his stories reach Greenland and Norway, inspiring Leif Erikson to retrace Bjarni's journey. This leads to the Viking discovery of Helluland, Markland and Vinland. -- These events never occur in this timeline. Greenland is the limit of Viking influence in the New World.)
c. 1050
The ancient North American settlement, known today as
Cahokia Mounds, rapidly grows in size to become a massive city. Cahokia Mounds is located near the confluence of the Missouri, Illinois and Mississippi Rivers -- near Collinsville, Illinois, east of St. Louis. It becomes the center of trade, with trade networks extending to the Great Lakes, Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.The ancient North American settlement, known today as Aztalan, is established in south-central Wisconsin, Tessen. It is connected to Cahokia Mounds by a robust trading link. At it's peak, it is estimated to have had a population of 500-1,000 inhabitants.
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13th CENTURY
c. 1250
The Ancient city of Aztalan (modern name) is abandoned. No one has been able to determine why, although environmental reasons are generally assumed to be the cause.
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14th CENTURY
1325
The Mexica/Aztecs begin building the city of Tenochtitlan on a small island on the west side of Lake Texcoco in "Mexico". This city eventually becomes the center of the powerful Aztec civilization, with an estimated population as high as 350,000.
c. 1350
The Norse settlements in Greenland suffer through unseasonably cold winters around this time, but manage to survive. While they remain largely self-governing, the Kingdom of Norway, and later Denmark assert uncontested territorial control over Greenland.
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*(In real life, these original Norse settlements in Greenland are abandoned by 1400, with no indication as to what happened to the settlers, or where the may have gone. A 1721 Dano-Norwegian expedition to Greenland found no evidence of surviving Europeans.)
c. 1350
The Ancient city of Cahokia Mounds (modern name) is abandoned. No one has been able to determine why, although environmental reasons, possibly even illness, are generally assumed to be the cause.
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15th CENTURY
1438
The Inca Empire is established in "Peru". It is born out of the Kingdom of Cusco.
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16th CENTURY
1511
A Spanish caravel is wrecked in the Caribbean, and about a dozen survivors manage to make landfall on the coast of Yucatán. They are seized by a Maya lord, and most of them are sacrificed. Two Spaniards manage to escape. The conflict between the Spanish and the Maya begins.
1519
The Spanish under Hernan Cortez makes first contact with the Aztec Empire. He allies with the long-time enemy of the Aztecs -- the Confederacy of Tlaxcala -- and arrives at the gates of Tenochtitlan (the Aztec capital) in early November.
1520
A group of Spanish arrive in Mexico from Hispaniola, bringing with them the smallpox virus that has already been ravaging that island for two years. Cortez hears about the group, and goes to defeat them. During this contact, though, one of Cortez's men contracts the disease.
The Aztecs rise up in rebellion against Cortez and his men. Outnumbered, the Spanish are forced to flee Tenochtitlan. During the fighting, the Spanish soldier carrying smallpox dies.
After the Spanish flee the Aztec capital, the smallpox virus spreads, devastating the Aztec population. It kills most of the Aztec army and 50% of the overall population. The Aztecs do not know the cause of this disease, and die in great numbers. There are so many dead that it becomes impossible to bury them all. When entire families die, they pull down the houses over them so that their homes become their tombs.
1521
Hernan Cortez returns to Tenochtitlan to find the Aztec army in ruins, with any remaining soldiers weak and dying from the disease. He easily defeats the Aztecs and enters Tenochtitlan, victorious. Spanish reports indicate that they could not walk through the streets without stepping on the bodies of Aztec smallpox victims.
1523
A total of 180 Spanish cavalry, 300 infantry, 4 cannons and thousands of allied warriors from central Mexico arrive in that land that will become Guatemala. The subjugation of the Maya civilization begins.
1526
The Spanish make first contact with the Inca Empire. Smallpox and other diseases begin to sweep through the Inca population. Incan Emperor Huayana Capac, his successor, his sons, and most of the other leaders are killed by the disease. Within a short time, smallpox claims 90% of the Inca population. The Spanish subjugation of the remaining Inca follows soon after.
1530
Measles and other European diseases infect the Maya.
1545-1548
A second smallpox epidemic sweeps through the Aztec population.
1561
Smallpox reaches Chile by sea, when a ship carrying the Spanish governor lands at La Serena. Chile had previously been isolated by the Atacama Desert and Andes Mountains from Peru, but at the end of 1561, and in early 1562, the disease ravages the native Chilean population. Unofficial estimates suggest that the natives lose 40% of their population.
1576-1581
A third smallpox epidemic sweeps through the Valley of Mexico. The Spanish, to consolidate the diminishing Aztec population, merge the survivors from small towns in the valley into bigger ones. This helps to break the remaining power of the upper classes. By the end of this third outbreak, the population of the Aztecs is estimated to have declined by 95% in the course of 60 years.
.
17th CENTURY
1609
Henry Hudson, an English sea captain and explorer, explores the New England coast for the Dutch East India Company. He is hired to find a Northeast Passage to Asia. He lands at Newfoundland, Cape Cod, and discovers Delaware Bay.
1613
The Dutch begin establishing settlements in New England.
1620
Frenchman, Etienne Brule, becomes the first explorer to reach Lake Superior.
1624
The Dutch establish a fur trading settlement on Governors Island (in New York harbor).
1625
The Dutch begin constructing Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan Island (New York). The port city outside the walls of the fort, New Amsterdam, will become a major hub for trade between North America, the Caribbean and Europe.
1634
Frenchman, Jean Nicolet, becomes the first European to enter Lake Michigan as he searches for a water route to China through North America.
1664
Aug. 27 -- The British capture the city of New Amsterdam ("New York City").
1697
The last remaining independent Maya city (the Itza capital of Nojpetén) falls to to the Spanish. The Mayan Empire is no more, although the Mayan culture persists in small villages outside the reach of Spanish control.
.
18th CENTURY
1754
The French and Indian War (between France and England) begins in North America.
1762
Nov. 13 -- The Treaty of Fontainebleau secretly cedes the land west of the Mississippi River to Spain.
1760
Oct. 25 -- British King George II dies suddenly, the result of an incipient aortic aneurysm. He is 77 years old. He is succeeded by his 22-year-old grandson George William Frederick (George III).
1763
Feb. 10 -- The Treaty of Paris is signed in Europe, ending the French and Indian War.
1764
Robert Tessen, a British-Canadian fur trader, becomes the first European settler in Tessen, when he settles permanently at Green Bay. The Republic of Tessen is later named in his honor.
1775
The American Revolution begins in North America as British colonies declare their independence from England. A bloody war begins along the eastern coast of North America.
1780
Estimates of North American native deaths as a result of smallpox and other European diseases reaches nearly 2 million.
1783
Sept. 3 -- The Second Treaty of Paris is signed in Europe, ending the American Revolutionary War. All British land east of the Mississippi River (and south of Wisconsin) is given to the new, sovereign and independent democratic nation of the America au.
1785
French-Canadian Alexis Laframboise establishes a trading post at the site of what will eventually become Milwaukee. A small European settlement soon springs up near the trading post.
.
19th CENTURY
1800
Spain returns control of Louisiana Territory to the French in the Treaty of Ildefonso.
1812
June 8 -- The War of 1812 breaks out between England and the United States. This is the first time the United States declares war on another nation.
1814
Dec. 24 -- The Treaty of Ghent ends the War of 1812. Within that treaty are provisions to release the British Wisconsin Territory as a fully independent sovereign nation. The new nation is intended to be a Great Lakes land buffer between the United States and British Canada.
1815
Feb. 18 -- The British territory of Wisconsin officially becomes a sovereign and independent nation known as Tessen.
1820
Jan. 29 -- British King George III dies, the result of rapidly failing health. He is 81 years old. He is succeeded by his 57-year-old Prince Regent son George Augustus Frederick (George IV).
1830
June 26 -- British King George IV dies, the result of upper gastrointestinal bleeding resulting from the rupture of a blood vessel in his stomach. He is 67 years old. He is succeeded by his 64-year-old younger brother William Henry (William IV).
1833
The British Canadian Welland Canal opens, allowing ships to travel from Lake Ontario/Atlantic Ocean to Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan. A total of 40 wooden locks control the canal, with the smallest lock being 110 feet long, 22 feet wide, and 8 feet deep. At this time, the entire canal is owned by Great Britain.
1837
June 2 -- British King William IV dies, the result of failing health. He is 71 years old. Since he has no living legitimate issue, he is succeeded by his 18-year-old niece Alexandrina Victoria (Queen Victoria).
June 10 -- British Princess Alexandrina Victoria is crowned as Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
1839
Jan. 20 -- El Salvador gains independence from the United States of Central America.
Jan. 25 -- The United States of Central America collapses. The new nations of Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica gain sovereign independence.
1840
Jan. 8 -- Bolivia declares independence from Peru. This, in turn, leads to the independence war between Peru and Bolivia.
1843
Feb. 15 -- The Dominican Rebellion begins in Haiti.
March 26 -- The United States and United Kingdom agree to the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. This treaty resolves the regional Aristook War between the two powers.
1846
Jan. 23 -- In France, Louis Phillipe I abdicates the throne of France in favor of his nine-year-old grandson, Philippe.
Jan. 25 -- Due to strong public opinion, the National Assembly of France rejects young Philippe as king. Instead, they declare the establishment of the Second French Republic. The provisional government instates Dupont de l'Eure as its president.
Feb. 1 -- France declares war on the United Kingdom as a result of political issues in Europe. This fighting spills over into North America.
Aug. 26 -- French and UK troops engage in battles in the Idaho region of North America.
Oct. 3 -- French and UK troops engage in battles in French Minnesota.
1848
Dec. 11 -- In France, Louis Napoleon wins the Presidential election.
The British Canadian Welland Canal is deepened and improved. The 40 locks are reduced to 27, each 150 feet long, 27 feet wide, and 9 feet deep. The rest of the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Atlantic is upgraded to this 9-foot depth. This canal allows ships to travel from Lake Ontario/Atlantic Ocean to Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan. At this time, the entire canal is owned by Great Britain.
1849
Feb. 11 -- The United States allies itself with France in their war with the United Kingdom, thereby bringing the USA into the fighting in North America. United States troops prepare to invade British Canada.
July 4 -- In Haiti, Soulique declares himself emperor.
Oct. 20 -- The United Kingdom accepts peace with the United States. Status quo.
1850
Jan. 14 -- In Haiti, the Dominican Rebellion is crushed.
April 16 -- The slave trade ends in Brazil.
1851
Dec. 3 -- In France, the Coup d'Etat of Louis Napolean occurs.
1852
Dec. -- In France, Louis Napoleon is elected Emperor. He assumes the French throne as Napoleon III.
1855
Feb. 18 -- In France, an assassination attempt wounds Napoleon III.
The St. Marys Falls Canal opens. This canal/lock allows small ships to travel from Lake Huron to Lake Superior. At this time, the entire canal is owned by Tessen.
1860
Dec. 21 -- The Confederate States of America declare independence from the United States, setting into motion the deadly and destructive American Civil War. South Carolina secedes from the Union.
Dec. 24 -- The U.S. state of Florida secedes from the United States and joins the Confederacy.
1861
Jan. 2 -- The U.S. states of North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Mississippi secede from the United States and join the Confederacy.
Jan. 7 -- France intervenes in Mexico; France declares war on Mexico.
Jan. 11 -- The Republic of Tessen honors its preexisting alliance with the United States, and allies with the USA in it's civil war against the Confederacy. This brings them into the war against the South, however, Tessen declines to provide any troops to the assist the North.
Jan. 22 -- Spain intervenes in Mexico; Spain declares war on Mexico.
Feb. 22 -- The first battle of the American Civil War takes place near Staunton, Virgina. 8,000 Confederate infantry are attacked by 32,000 Union troops (with artillery). The Confederate troops are easily routed and forced to retreat.
March 11 -- Union troops begin a scorched-earth tactic in the Virginia Shenandoah Valley. North/South fighting grows in intensity (and exclusively) in Virginia, literally destroying the Confederate state. It becomes the worst sustained combat ever pursued on American soil.
May 30 -- French troops successfully complete an amphibious landing of troops at Acapulco, Mexico.
1862
Intense fighting continues in Virginia. The CSA Army of Northern Virginia, and the USA Army of the Potomac continue to brutalize both each other, and the Virginia landscape. Land is captured and liberated, back and forth. Thousands of men have been killed on both sides.
Feb. 12 -- Confederate troops invade the USA state of Kentucky.
March 12 -- Spain accepts peace with Mexico. Status quo.
March 13 -- Ecuador chooses to establish a Jesuit dictatorship, and becomes a satellite nation of the Papal States.
April 2 -- The Confederate States pass the Conscription Act and institute a nationwide military draft.
May 22 -- Confederate troops capture Louisville, Kentucky.
May 23 -- In Virginia, the Battle of Fredricksburg begins the deadly Fredricksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In this two-day battle, 50,000 Confederate troops clash with 30,000 Union troops defending the city from rebel liberation. Confederate Generals Clebourne and Pemberton face off against Northern General Ambrose Burnside.
June 23 -- Confederate troops invade Southern Illinois.
July 4 -- Confederate troops invade the USA state of Indiana.
July 25 -- Confederate troops invade Maryland, as they push toward the Union capital of Washington D.C. -- The Maryland Campaign begins.
July 26 -- Confederate troops capture the USA city of Evansville, Indiana.
Aug. 23 -- Confederate troops invade Pennsylvania.
Aug. 30 -- The USA naval ship, USS New York, intercepts the British mail packet RMS Trent and removes, as contraband of war, a high-ranking Confederate diplomat. The Confederate envoy was bound for Britain to press the Confederacy's case for diplomatic recognition, and to lobby for possible financial and military support. The British government demands an apology from the USA, and receives none. Disgusted by this violation of British neutral rights, and viewing the entire situation to be an insult to their national honor, the United Kingdom declares war on the United States, and throws its support behind the Confederacy.
Sept. 2 -- The USA state of Kentucky secedes from the Union and joins the Confederacy.
Sept. 3 -- Confederate troops capture the USA city of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Sept. 12 -- Confederate troops capture the USA city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Sept. 13 -- Confederate troops march into the USA capital of Washington DC. Conceding defeat, the United States sues for peace with the Confederacy.
Sept. 15 -- The United States and Confederate States sign the Treaty of Washington which officially ends the bloody and destructive American Civil War. The treaty is signed in the White House, and grants sovereign independence to the Confederate States of America (now officially known as Dixie au). War, however, continues between the United States and the United Kingdom.
Sept. 18 -- The displaced United States Senate gathers near Washington D.C. and near unanimously votes to impeach President Abraham Lincoln. He is immediately removed from office. They also vote to relocate the United States capital to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1863
May 8 -- France accepts peace with Mexico. Status quo.
June 19 -- British troops invade and capture the USA city of Baltimore, Maryland.
July 30 -- USA troops recapture Baltimore.
Oct. 6 -- USA troops capture the British city of Sydney, New Britanna.
Dec. 12 -- USA troops capture the British city of Halifax, New Britanna. The United States now controls all of the British Canadian province of New Britanna.
1864
Jan. 18 -- Impeached USA President Abraham Lincoln is murdered by a Dixie national while crossing the street in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois.
1865
United States troops continue to capture land in British Canada.
1866
May 5 -- The United Kingdom accepts peace with the United States. Status quo. USA troops in British Canada begin the long march south back into the United States.
1869
April 20 -- Mexico enters a military alliance with Dixie.
1870
Feb. 17 -- Dixie buys the island of Cuba from Spain. The island becomes a state within the Confederacy.
Oct. 9 -- The Dixie Congress rejects an emancipation proposal. Slavery continues within the Confederate States of Dixie.
1871
Oct. 8 -- A massive fire destroys a large part of the USA city of Chicago, Illinois. Hundreds of acres of the city land are burned, with roughly thousands of buildings destroyed. Of the city's 100,000 inhabitants, 63,000 are left homeless. 230 bodies are recovered, but the death toll may have been as high as 400-500. The county coroner suggests that an accurate count is impossible as some victims may have drowned or had been incinerated leaving no remains.
---------------------------------------
*(In real life, dry conditions and gusting winds contributed to major forest fires in northern Wisconsin and Michigan on the same day. Thousands of people were killed. In our story, however, miraculously, the only major fire on this day was in the city of Chicago.)
1873
French sculptor, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, briefly considers the idea of gifting a colossal neoclassical bronze statue of a robed female figure representing Libertas, a Roman goddess, bearing a lighted torch and tablet, and representing Freedom to the United States. However, the United States' disastrous loss in the American Civil War, and the continuation of slavery in Dixie kills the idea rather quickly. No such statue is ever gifted to the United States.
---------------------------------------
*(In real life, this was the beginning of the famous Statue of Liberty. In our story, however, Lady Liberty is never built in New York harbor. Instead, Bedloe's Island is the location of a granite-walled star-shaped fortification known as Fort Wood.)
1877
Nov. 24 -- France declares war on the United Kingdom. Within months, French troops are invading and capturing land in British Canada. British Canada will, from this point forward, be a highly contested region by both France and the United Kingdom.
1879
Russia officially claims and occupies Alaska.
1881
May 5 -- The Dixie Congress rejects an emancipation proposal. Slavery continues within the Confederate States of Dixie.
1884
June 2 -- French Emperor Napoleon III dies, the result of failing health. He is 76 years old. He is succeeded by his 28-year-old son Napoleon Eugene Louis Jean Joseph (Napoleon IV).
1887
A new shorter route for the British Canadian Welland Canal is completed. The new route contains 26 stone locks, each 270 feet long, 45 feet wide, and 14 feet deep. This canal allows ships to travel from Lake Ontario/Atlantic Ocean to Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan. At this time, the entire canal is owned by Great Britain.
1889
July 9 -- The United States declares war on Dixie over the issue of slavery -- an institution that is still practiced in the Southern nation. The Dixie War begins. Tessen honors its military alliance with the United States, but, once again, declines to send any military troops to assist in the fighting.
July 16 -- 54,000 USA troops invade Dixie Virginia.
Aug. 1 -- Dixie troops invade USA southern Ohio.
Aug. 27 -- USA troops capture the Dixie city of Norfolk, Virginia.
Sept. -- Severe fighting has engulfed the Dixie state of Virginia a second time, yet the Confederates put up a strong defense.
Sept. 11 -- USA troops begin an assault toward the Dixie capital of Richmond.
Oct. 8 -- After a month of intense fighting, USA troops are routed near Richmond, and forced to retreat.
Nov. -- Nearly 200,000 USA troops push toward the Dixie capital of Richmond a second time.
Nov. 16 -- The monarchy comes to an end in Brazil.
Dec. 20 -- USA troops capture Richmond, Virginia.
Dec. 22 -- France and Portugal ally with the Confederacy in their defensive war against the United States.
Dec. 25 -- Tessen pulls out of the Dixie War, and declares neutrality. They have no interest in being pulled into a major war against France -- with whom they share a common border along the Mississippi River.
Dec. 26 -- Dixie troops invade USA southern Illinois.
Dec. 28 -- USA troops invade Dixie's state of North Carolina.
1890
Jan. 13 -- USA troops invade Dixie's state of Kentucky from the north.
Feb. 25 -- French troops cross the Mississippi River from Louisiana, and invade the southern part of the USA state of Illinois. Surprisingly, there are no USA troops located there at the time, and the masterful French invasion succeeds unopposed.
March 23 -- French troops take control of, and occupy, southern Illinois.
April 10 -- After the massive Battle of Lynchburg (in Virginia), a decisive victory that sees the Confederates utterly wiped out by a massive USA force of 256,000 troops, Dixie sues for peace. The United States agrees, on one condition: Dixie emancipates all of its slaves, and permanently abandons the institution of slavery. Faced with severe ultimatums from the United States, and seeking to preserve its sovereignty, the Dixie government agrees. All slaves in Dixie are granted their freedom. Many begin to flock northward into the United States, in what will become the largest refugee operation on American soil.
May 1 -- The United States signs peace with France, in an effort to avoid a long, drawn-out war with their French neighbors. Within the treaty, the southern two thirds of the USA state of Illinois is ceded to French Louisiana.
1896
April -- In Athens, Greece, half way around the world, the first Modern Olympics are held. Over the years that follow, this will become a high-profile global sports competition.
.
20th CENTURY
1901
Jan. 22 -- British Queen Victoria dies, the result of failing health. She is 81 years old. She is succeeded by her 49-year-old son Albert Edward (Edward VII).
July 25 -- Dixie hosts the World's Fair in Charleston, South Carolina.
1902
Fighting continues between French and British troops in British Canada.
1910
July 20 -- The United Kingdom finally agrees to peace with France. Central British Canada is ceded to France, and is immediately granted sovereignty as the nation of French Canada. French Canada becomes a dominion of France.
May 6 -- British King Edward VII dies, the result of failing health. He is 68 years old. He is succeeded by his 44-year-old son George Frederick Ernest Albert (George V).
1911
Nov. 1 -- In Peru, the abandoned city of Maccu Piccu is discovered.
1913
June 22 -- Tessen purchases the land of Minnesota and eastern Dakota from French Louisiana.
1917
April 3 -- Denmark sells the Caribbean Virgin Islands to the United States. The former Danish territory becomes the first official territory of the United States of America.
1918
After years of delays and other problems, the Panama Canal opens. The locks are 1,050 feet long, 94 feet wide, and 40 feet deep. This canal allows ships to travel to cross Central America between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. At this time, the entire canal is owned by France.
1921
March 22 -- All over North and South America, news reports and first-hand accounts speak of the sudden and mysterious appearance of hundreds of naked humans. Some sources claim that these are angels fallen from heaven; others claim that they are visitors from another planet; and still others claim that they are time-travelers from 100 years in the future. No one is able to agree on their origin, but the fact still remains, these mysterious people are here. They are beginning to assimilate into the cultures around them.
1923
Jan. 18 -- France captures Texas, and adds it to French Louisiana.
The AU2 of Earth 2 has exactly the same borders as we use here in the AU -- the same exact land-claim pages. The only difference in that world is that Germany exists, there was a WWI, and Fascism in Germany will likely lead to WWII (these real world events are not likely to happen in our AU, here -- since there is no unified Germany in this world, and there was no WWI).
Here's the kicker, though....
As we kick things off in 1920 (within all regions), AU2, on Earth 2, represents our AU nations without the influences of the time-travelers from the future (i.e., 2021). So.... if you set up a new non-time-traveler version of your nation in AU2, and then compare it with your nation here in the AU, the differences between both copies of your nation would tell you exactly how those future time-travelers changed your nation here in the AU.
And those changes -- those differences -- might make for some interesting roleplay backstory angles here in this AU. In fact, to this end, I already have a Tessen2 over on Earth 2, and I will be comparing it to Tessen here in the AU once our story starts. I am very interested to know how Tessen changed (and in what areas it changed) due to the presence of those time-travelers from the future.
Just something to think about -- something that might have influences our or intrepid new story re-start. ;)
So my industry region is apparently in the far west.... Intriguing...
So far, anyway. I haven't finished adding all the data for Grand Enclave. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if you've got some industry in the southeast near the USA/Dixie and Louisiana as well.
Based on the population percentages, your industry in Utah is likely to be very small. The Louisiana area is likely to be more well developed.
As an update to my previous post, I took at look at the written data I'm inputting into the land claims pages....
Utah has 1% population in cities -- likely a result of all the valuable natural resources located there.
Louisiana has 2% population in cities -- likely a result of that being the national capital, and primary seaport.
Texas has 7% population in cities -- likely due to the oil wealth located there.
Those three provinces/regions are the only areas in Grand Enclave that start in 1920 with an industrial base (and, therefore, the locations for any factories you choose to build once our story begins).
Whew! I was beginning to think that I wasn't gonna get any, considering the majority of my population seems to live on farms. :D
Tessen and Imperial curacao
September 2nd, 1918 - New Orleans, Louisiana
"Hear ye, hear ye! With the signing of this Badenov-Clemenceau Treaty, Louisiana declares its independence from France as a sovereign nation! Let this day, September 2nd, be forever remembered as a day of celebration, when we the slaves bought our freedom from our oppressive masters! Long live Louisiana! Long live the Enclave!"
Sunrise shook her head, listening to the criers on the streets below. The Treaty/Declaration was being read all throughout the territory, and she could only imagine the reactions some of those criers were getting. "Did we have to put that Long Live the Enclave part in there, Inessa?" she asked, turning away from the window.
Inessa shrugged. "I wasn't in charge of the public statement, I think the Gratiots were."
Sunrise sighed. "All right. Louisiana is independent. What do we do now?" she asked.
"Actually, we had a proposition for you," Marcel du Pont said, walking into the room with the other Enclave leaders in tow. "What say you, mademoiselle, to the idea of being our first president?"
Sunrise was taken aback. "President?" she said incredulously. "Why me? You're the nominal leader of this Enclave, surely you must be qualified to also lead the country?"
Marcel smiled and looked down sheepishly. "Mademoiselle, that is the thing. None of us have experience governing a country - but we are told you do. We are told even that your people prospered under your short tenure as the President of Ivan Industries. Therefore you are the best candidate for the job."
Sunrise glanced at Inessa, who shrugged almost imperceptibly. "Who told you that?" she asked.
"I did," Augustus said, stepping out from the crowd.
Sunrise groaned. "August, haven't I told you before not to spill my personal details out to everyone you meet?" she said, shaking her head.
"Yeah, but that was to tell me to quit matchmaking. You never said anything about politics," Augustus said with a grin. "C'mon, sis. This is the opportunity of a lifetime! A chance to mold a new nation into something greater than France could ever be! Y'know, like the great nations in Dad's stories!"
"If I may offer my opinion, dahlink," Inessa interjected, "I too think you should not turn this down. It was your idea to buy this nation's freedom, it is now your responsibility to lead it to peace and prosperity."
Sunrise sighed. "That logic is severely flawed," she replied. "But...." She considered the waiting group silently for a moment. "I'll do it," she decided. "I'll be your first president."
The room erupted into cheers. "We'll get an inauguration ceremony set up right away," Marcel promised. "All hail the chief! Long live President Sunrise!"
"For however long that will be," Sunrise murmured.
Tessen, Nearly Finland, Cascadia and columbia, Imperial curacao, and 1 otherSandinista nicaragua
Meant to post this before going to church, didn't finish it in time. :D
Nah, French Louisiana just doesn't have the same kind of settlement that the real world western USA had by 1920. I'm sure that will start to change as our story kicks off, and you gain control of the future direction those lands take. ;)
No, I lost my beautiful Yukon!
Well, no, not lost, you can certainly regain it as you did before. You gained Yukon from British Canada a treaty a few years into our previous story. If we're going back to 1920 -- before that event, Yukon returns to Canada per the 1920 stats. ;)
Just like good 'ole Napoleon V is alive again, and France is, once again, a world power.
Guess you'll have to fight another war to get back what you now technically never had...
Time resets can blow a fuse if you think too hard about it...
Damn. It will return to my clutches!
Tessen and Michigan AU
On the plus side, there weren't many cases like this. Sure, we had the UK gain French Canada BEFORE 1920 this time around (mostly because I didn't want to go through the tediousness of splitting up Canada between France and the UK on the land claim charts)... we can work that into the fabric of the story -- as you already have with your character's passing comment via the mouth of Napoleon himself.
There's also Halavat who isn't with us this time around, so we'll just leave his northwestern Louisiana lands as a part of Grand Enclave.
I think everything else pretty much slips back to 1920 without any trouble. Since we won't be doing another reset, this time around, things are being set up to allow better recording of political changes..... and what happens, happens. And we'll keep going from there.
Imperial curacao and Grand Enclave
1919 - Poseidon Tavern, New Orleans
Sunrise sighed a sigh of relief as she collapsed into bed in the tavern bedroom that had been her home for the last eight years. She was scheduled to move out to the former governor's mansion in the next few days, and she had already begun packing. Yet even as she prepared to assume the reins of a nation she had helped create, she found herself dreading the transition; becoming increasingly reluctant to leave her "home" and the places and the people she knew.
Sunrise reflected on the journey that had brought her to where she currently was. When she and her family had arrived in Louisiana, they hadn't even had the clothes on their back. They had been forced to live in poverty, eating rice and beans every day while they slaved away on the docks and in the streets. Sunrise smiled, remembering her first few days as a waitress, clumsily learning how to deflect lonely and drunk sailors while providing excellent service nevertheless.
In just a few short years, though, that had all changed. One of her brothers was the head of a rapidly growing company that was pushing the boundaries of technology. Another had become a well-respected officer in Louisiana's Frontier Corps, respected by both the European settlers and the Natives alike in the far west. And she herself had become the president of a newly-founded nation, one that held boundless potential for the future.
Sunrise began to softly cry. If only her parents had survived to see the things she and her family had achieved - the way they had all grown, the things they had accomplished and the respect they had earned. She buried her face in the pillow, her unresolved grief having overcome her. Though the bouts had become less and less frequent over the years, they still showed up at unexpected times - especially when she was tired or stressed.
She almost took no notice when an arm came around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "Oh, darling," a familiar voice said softly, "It's okay. It'll all be okay."
"Y'know, Sunrise, we're really proud of you," another familiar, male voice said.
Wait... could it be...? No, she must be hallucinating...
Sunrise opened her eyes and blinked a few times to clear the tears. "M-m-mom? Dad?" she exclaimed, sitting up straight in her bed and breaking free of the hug. "Is that really you?"
"Yes, honey, we're not ghosts," Ivan said, a twinkle in his eyes. "We would have called ahead, but, well, we wanted it to be a surprise."
"B-b-b-b-but you're dead!" Sunrise exclaimed. "You weren't with us when we arrived here!"
"It's a long story," Ivan replied. "Suffice it to say we're not dead. We've even had a few years added to our lifespans, it seems."
Sunrise took a good look at her parents, and she realized that both of them looked fairly youthful - especially considering she distinctly remembered them being in their late forties back in the old world. "But... whaa...."
"Shhhh," Sunset said, putting a finger to her daughter's lips. "Just appreciate the moment, my darling Sunrise."
In response, Sunrise threw her arms around her mother. "Oh, mom, dad... I've missed you so much. I thought you were dead," she said as tears of joy streamed down her face.
Ivan crossed the room to the bed and joined in the hug. "We missed you too, honey," he said, nestling his face in his daughter's hair and kissing her forehead. "We would have come and visited sooner, but, well... it's been tough getting time off from work," he finished with a smirk.
"Where have you guys been?" Sunrise asked.
"Michigan," Ivan replied. "We got dropped in the middle of the woods without clothing, food, or money. I'll tell ya, those bears were mighty confused seeing us."
Sunrise giggled. "At least you didn't get dropped in the middle of a market square with no clothes on," she remarked.
"Heck, I'dve taken that over getting scratched and pawed at by thorns, brambles, and pine needles," Ivan retorted.
They all laughed. "Oh, I've missed you both so much," Sunrise repeated, hugging her parents for dear life.
"And we missed you," Sunset said. "And we're very proud of you for what you've accomplished here."
"You've grown into a strong and beautiful woman," Ivan added, "And we couldn't be happier that you've found your place in this strange world we now live in." He smiled. "Y'know, it was all I could do to keep from crying during the inauguration ceremony."
"You always were a sucker for sentimentality," Sunset said playfully, lightly punching her husband in the shoulder.
"Thank you, mom, dad," Sunrise said, changing the subject. "You have no idea how much that means to me."
"You're welcome," Ivan said, kissing her on the forehead. Then he extricated himself from the embrace and stood up. "Now, what's a good place to eat around here? We've got a few hours to burn before our train leaves for Chicago."
"You're not staying?" Sunrise asked, suddenly despondent again.
"I'm afraid not," Ivan replied, looking somewhat uncomfortable. "I promised my boss at the paper mill I'd be back by Tuesday."
"You could live here with me!" Sunrise suggested. "I'm the President now, I'm sure they won't mind you living in the mansion with me, since you're my parents!"
Ivan laughed, and then sighed. "Yeah, we could, Sunrise," he said, "But we shouldn't. You'd never be comfortable with us looking over your shoulders all the time. And besides," he said with a shrug, "This is your world, your life... your place. The place where God's intended for you."
"Our place is in Michigan," Sunset added, stroking her daughter's hair. "That is where our home, our hearts are. And here is where your home is, your heart is."
Sunrise drew a deep breath, then expelled it. "Yeah, you're right," she said sadly. "I suppose it would really hold me back to have you watching over my shoulder all the time."
Ivan smiled his trademark half-smile. "Don't worry, we'll still keep in touch - and I'll always be willing to provide advice whenever you need it."
Sunrise nodded. "Thanks, Dad... I'll probably end up taking you up on that offer more often than not." She extricated herself from her mom and stood up. "Could you at least stay one more day? The rest of the family deserves the chance to see you. I'm sure I could work something out with your boss... Seeing as I'm the president of a nation now." She grinned.
Ivan chuckled. "Be my guest," he said, a twinkle in his eyes. "I guess one more day couldn't hurt." His expression turned serious. "But I'm serious about the food," he remarked, eliciting a chuckle from the two ladies. "Whaaat? I'm hungry!"
Tessen, Nearly Finland, and Imperial curacao
Also, I thought Nevada had iron? If it only has gold and silver then I have even less objection to letting Nearly Finland having it than I did before.
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