Decades of Darkness, Abridged

Decades of Darkness is an alternate history written by Jared from Australia, and published online. Its website, with maps of the alternate world, is found here: http://decadesofdarkness.alternatehistory.com/ This alternate history spans more than 1,700 pages and includes an enormous amount of names, places and inventions familiar from our real history, but slightly changed in this version. Wars, alliances, ideologies and the very nature of nations are different. Some new nations come to life while others cease to exist as the empires battle it out for control of the earth. Maps of the world’s shifting borders as they appear up until the 1950s can be found at the website.  

Decades of Darkness

 Early 19th Century: The New England Secession, the Napoleonic War, German Confederation, the First Congress of Vienna 1809, January 6: U.S. President Thomas Jefferson suffers a heart attack and dies two days later. This means that he won’t repeal the Embargo Act, which bans trade with Britain. New Englanders are furious, as they suffer most from the lack of trade. The Federalists, already dissatisfied with the political state in the Union, lean increasingly toward secession.

1819, May-June: The Boston Convention is is held, where delegates from the New England states declare secession. U.S. President James Madison declares the secession illegal. 1810: Following a divide-and-conquer policy, Britain recognizes New England as a sovereign state. At the same time, Britain strongly opposes the U.S. annexation of Spanish West Florida. Britain supports Indian tribes attacking American settlers. “One thing I know, if we first left the left the tyranny of England, should we not now also leave the popular tyrants in Washington, who shelter themselves under the forms or the name of the Constitution, tortured and interpreted to suit their views? I do not believe in the practicability of a long-continued union. A Northern confederacy would unite congenial characters, and present a fairer prospect of public happiness; while the Southern States, having a similarity of habits, might be left to manage their own affairs in their own way.”--Senator Thomas Pickering, speaking at the Boston Convention, April 25, 1810

1811: The United States declares war against Britain and attacks the rebellious New England, hoping that most of the New Englanders will want to remain in the United States. The War of 1811 begins. 1812: Britain occupies and burns Washington D.C., ending the war. New England becomes an independent republic. The State of New York, initially neutral, joins New England, as does the occupied State of New Jersey. The new republic consists of the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New York, and New Jersey.

Additionally, New England and Britain take joint control of the city of Detroit and its surrounding counties, as well as the Territories of Michigan and Indiana. 1813: Napoleon Bonaparte, whose Grande Armée of half a million men has been reduced to less than a hundred thousand in the Russian campaign, is fought to a draw in Dresden. Most of Napoleon's remaining German allies desert him. After a series of smaller battles Napoleon is finally defeated at Leipzig, and France is forced to leave Germany. The remainder of the Napoleonic War will be fought in France itself. 1815: Napoleon has returned to power and fights the Allies at Waterloo. The Anglo-Dutch forces, led by General Wellington, are defeated as British forces have focused on North America. Shortly thereafter the Prussian army under General Blucher successfully destroys the Napoleonic army. 1815: The Congress of Vienna. The victorious Allied Powers settle the borders of Europe after the war. German states have now come to see German unity as the sole guarantor of their own peace and security, when Britain seems more preoccupied with events in North America. A German Confederation is formed consisting of Prussia, the Netherlands, Austria, and the smaller states in between.   The 1820s and 1830s: Slavery, European wars, the War of 1833 1820s: The British Navy adopts a policy of capturing any slave-carrying ships it finds in the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea, greatly adding to the tensions with the United States. The border between the United States and New England remains in dispute. Furthermore, the British have established an Indian Confederation carved out in part of former American territory, as payment for Indian support in the war. New Englander settlers move to the Indian Confederation in large numbers.

1822: The North American Colonization Society purchases part of the Angolan coast from Portugal and establishes Liberia, a territory to which freed slaves can be colonized. The earlier Liberia on the African west coast has proven inhospitable due to rampant disease, and so the new Liberia is placed on the African continent's eastern coast.  1825: The Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, making slavery legal in all Territories of the United States. 1825: Both the United States and Britain/New England object to French interference in the New World. This sets off a long Anglo-American rivalry for influence in Latin America. Initially the British influence is much greater, except in Brazil and Cuba. 1829: Greece gains independence from the Ottoman Empire, in part due to their supply of frigates from New England. There will be ongoing military and commercial contact between the two nations. 1832: Patrick Matthew publishes “Design and Evolution: The Natural Selection of Species.” This treatise on evolution convinces Americans that a hierarchy of races is natural and necessary. The philosophy of Matthism will be accepted by all political parties in the United States.

 1833: Edgar Allan Poe, a captain in the New England Army, is stationed at a fort on the New York-Pennsylvania border. He has been repeatedly reprimanded by his superiors for writing poetry and other fiction when he should be commanding his men. He publishes the widely acclaimed poem “The Raven,” about the ravages of war. “Nevermore,” the poem declares. The 1830s: As Wellington was defeated at Waterloo he has lost his chance of becoming prime minister and will not push for Catholic Emancipation in Ireland. Irish revolts now trouble the British Empire. 1833: First Carlist War in Spain. For more than three decades Don Carlos and Isabella will fight over the Spanish throne. 1834-1836: Russo-Ottoman War, where Russia takes advantage of French-British focus on the Americas. The Ottoman Empire is soundly defeated. Russia takes control of Moldavia and Wallachia. 1833: Texas-Coahuila issues a Declaration of Independence from the Mexican emperor, and seeks admittance to the United States as a Territory. Texas is supported in this by French and American forces. The Mexican Civil War follows, where General Santa Anna unseats the emperor, who is blamed for the loss of Texas. Mexico becomes a republic. 1833: The War of 1833. The United States, under President Andrew Jackson, declares war on New England, Britain and the Indian Confederation. A surprise attack on the New York harbor sinks and captures many ships. At the same time, the American army invades the Indian Confederation to reclaim the land lost in The War of 1811. Detroit is also retaken. France joins the war on the American side. 1834: French separatists attempt to establish the Republic of Belgium, consisting of Luxembourg and part of the southern Netherlands. With Britain and France occupied in North America, the rebellion has little support. The German Confederation beats down the rebellion. The episode leads to a process of stronger German unification. 1834: The British Royal Navy, led by Commodore Perry, captures and burns Washington D.C. a second time. 1835-1836: Peace negotiations held in Stockholm, Sweden break down. The warring sides in North America reluctantly return to the battlefield. Meanwhile, a short-lived Catholic rebellion against British rule begins and ends in Canada. While it fails, it boosts American morale. A failed British assault on New Orleans, beaten back by Brigadier General Jefferson Davis, further encourages the Americans and wins President Andrew Jackson re-election to an unprecedented third term in office. 1837: New peace negotiations begin. This time, Britain agrees not to capture slave-carrying ships in the Caribbean, and the United States agrees to import slaves only from South America, not from Africa. The Indian Confederation is removed from the map, being divided by New England, the United States, and Britain's Wisconsin Province. Texas-Coahuila is recognized as part of the United States; it will later become West and East Texas. 1837: Miguel, son to the Portuguese king, becomes King Miguel I of Brazil.

  The 1840s: American Growth, European Revolutions, British Kingdoms 1839-1846: In the “Pirate Wars,” the United States establishes a strong naval presence in the Caribbean and routs pirates from the sea. 1840s: Many new states and territories are added to the United States: Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, East Florida, etc. Many Caribbean islands are also purchased or captured: Guadeloupe (from Sweden), Danish West Indies [U.S. Virgin Islands], etc. All American states and provinces will eventually be slave states, except Ohio, Pennsylvania and Westylvania. 1841: The United States capital is moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. The move inland is undertaken so that the capital will not be easily captured from the sea a third time. 1839-1842: In China, the Opium War sees the Chinese navy devastated by the British. A Chinese philosophy of liberation begins to evolve. 1842: In South Africa, the trek of the Boers leads to the establishment of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal as independent republics. 1844: First cricket game between national teams is held between Britain and Canada. 1845: James I, brother to the King of England, is crowned King of Canada. Eventually Kingdom status will also be granted to Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, while they still remain in the British Empire. This is done to stem calls for independence. Having watched the confrontations between the United States and New England, there is a widespread sentiment in Europe that republics are to their nature aggressive, and that a nation needs a monarch as a unifying and stabilizing factor. 1845: Nephite [Mormon] settlers arrive in Dearborn, Wisconsin Province. 1848: A Colombian civil war leads to Venezuelan secession. Ecuador and Panama remain part of Colombia. After the war, Colombia is one of the few Latin American countries with stable civilian rule. 1840s: Australia receives significant immigration from Europe, as fewer immigrants wish to move to the United States. The British Empire rules India and Burma. Persia is independent, but increasingly worried of Russian expansion. The Netherlands (and thereby the German Confederation) rules the West-Indies. The French have an increasing interest in Indo-China. In Nippon, the Tokugawa Shogunate maintains its policy of isolation, with strictly limited trade with Dutch and Chinese merchants. Choson [Korea] is likewise isolated. The Ottoman Empire, after its defeat by Russia, has been forced to recognize Egyptian independence. Liberia, on the African east coast, receives a large number of Black immigrants - some voluntary, some forced - from the United States. Brazil is a staunch American ally, importing slaves and selling them to the United States and Cuba. Italy is divided between various nations. The United States now has approximately 12 million citizens (and 3 million slaves), while New England has 7 million citizens. 

1849: Various revolutions sweep Europe: Hungarians rebelling within Austria's borders, Chartists and Irish on the British Isles, Sicilians, Danes in Holstein, etc. Vienna proclaims itself a republic, taking most of the Austrian fleet with it during its short-lived independence. The February Revolution unseats the French king, who flees to the United States, as France becomes a republic for the second time.  The 1850s: Confederation War and Rise of the German Reich, First American  Filibusters, First Mexican War 1850: The Bear Flag Revolt begins in California against Mexican rule. American citizens who have emigrated there demand American annexation. California becomes part of America with no resistance, as even the Mexican general in California wishes to be ruled from Knoxville instead of the incompetent leaders in Mexico City. 1850: A German Reich is established, where executive power is shared by the three Kaisers of Prussia, Austria and the Netherlands. A Bundestag (parliament) is established in Frankfurt, but any proposed legislation requires the approval of at least two of the Kaisers. The Kaisers decide foreign policy, where unanimous consent between all three Kaisers is required for any action. The army becomes Prussian-dominated in practice, while the navy is Dutch-dominated. The Austrian Kaiser represents the Reich in foreign affairs. Hungary becomes a separate state in personal union with the Austrian Kaiser. The Reich has a population of 75 million. 1851: The Yucatan peninsula becomes an American protectorate, when the Mexican governor in Yucatan calls for American aid to put down an Indian rebellion. 1851: The Jaguars are established as an elite U.S. counter-insurgency force. They are experts at fighting in the jungles and in the mountains, and will become feared throughout Latin America. They are also notoriously independent, as their supreme commander - always a colonel, not a general - has the right to refuse orders from U.S. Army Generals. Their formal name is the 1st West Florida Volunteer Infantry, but they will be officially renamed as Jaguars in 1904. 1851-1852: First Mexican War, when Mexico declares war against the United States over Yucatan. The U.S. easily wins the war against its weaker, divided enemy, and annexes large territories. General Lee takes New Mexico early in the war, a province with a mostly American population. 1852-1853: The Confederation War. France attacks the German Reich, hoping to break up the rising unified Power. Russia half-heartedly joins on the French side, with Britain providing some financial support. Germany defeats the French at Verdun and the Russians at Tannenberg. Germany acknowledges the Ottoman Empire as a Russian sphere of influence, ending the war with the Russians; the fall of the Second French Republic ends the war with France. The Second French Empire is established, with Charles Napoleon Bonaparte as the emperor. 1854: The German Navy, mostly Dutch, arrives in Formosa [main island of Taiwan]. The Dutch can now reclaim Formosa after two hundred years of absence. The island will become the jewel in Germany's Asian empire.

 1854: The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution ends the existence of free Negroes in America. Henceforth, no free Black man or woman will be allowed to set foot in the United States. The free Negroes in the country are transported to Liberia in large numbers. 1856: Six German steamships demonstrate modern naval might to the Nipponese rulers, opening up the country for trade. This allows Nippon to modernize and eventually become a Power in its own right. 1857: Jefferson Davis is elected President of the United States, and in his inauguration speech calls for the capital's name to be changed from Knoxville to Columbia. “In all social systems there must be a class to do the menial duties, to perform the drudgery of life.  Such a class you must have, or you would not have that other class which leads to progress, civilization, and refinement.  Fortunately for the United States, she has found races adapted to that purpose at her hand.”--U.S. Senator James H. Hammond, 1858 1858: The United States annexes Cuba, after American filibusters (private military forces) land on the island in support of the slave-holding elite, which fears that a new Spanish government will abolish slavery. This is a pattern that will be repeated throughout the Caribbean. 1858: Abraham Lincoln, Senator from New York, wins the New England presidential election on the Radical ticket. 1859: The United States annexes Nicaragua, following American filibusters and an invitation from the Nicaraguan elite. 1850s: Indentured labor: With the annexation of Yucatan and other Latin American territories, new forms of indentured labor are introduced. The hierarchy of indentured labor is now debt-slaves (often factory labor, who could theoretically work off their debt), peons (serfs with higher social standing and protection), serfs (bound to the land but often left to work independently), slaves, and convicts (worked as slaves, harsly). The children of debt-slaves and peons married to a free citizen, stand a higher chance of achieving freedom. The two definitions, debt-slave and peon, will later blur into one. Mestizos are debt-slaves or peons, Indians are serfs. Blacks are always slaves. After the War of 1833, when cotton exports to Europe and industrial imports from Europe were greatly reduced, many slaves have been moved to developing domestic American industries.  1850s, late: The Spanish merchant class, tired of the Second Carlist War between Don Carlos in the north and Isabella in the south, appeal to a group of generals to end the fighting. The generals turn against Isabella and declare a republic. Now there are three sides in the civil war.

 The 1860s: The Turkish War, Assassination, Second Mexican War, War Over Switzerland, the Second Congress of Vienna 

1860: The American population is now approximately 17 million Whites, 6 million slaves, 1 million other. The New England population is 10 million. The Canada population is 3 million. 1858-1862: The Turkish War. Britain goes to war against Russia in support of the Ottoman Empire. Canada drives out the Russians from Alaska. The British Royal Navy dominates the Black Sea, while the British Army is tied down in Bulgaria. Eventually the Ottoman Empire collapses, as many of its subject peoples rise up in revolt. Ottoman influence disappears from the Balkans, while Britain secures the Straits of Constantinople by declaring the new Turkish state a British protectorate. Greece and Austria add to their territory in the Balkans, as does Russia in taking Bulgaria. 1860: New England declares a protectorate over Santo Domingo, to protect it from the United States. The U.S. refuses to recognize this protectorate. 1860-1862: Franco-Italian-German war. Germany marches into Switzerland to aid German separatists. Napoleon III intervenes on behalf of the king of Switzerland. Italian General Garibaldi, having already unified large parts of southern Italy, invades Austrian-held northern Italy. France is partially invaded by Germany, while General Garibaldi manages to take all of northern Italy except Lombardy and Venetia. Germany achieves control of most of Switzerland. Chancellor Bismarck of the German Bundestag arranges for Napoleon III to obtain territory in southern Switzerland and northern Italy as a face-saving measure. 1861: Puerto Rico is taken over by an American filibuster, invited by large landowners. 1862: Honduras is taken over by an American filibuster.  1863: The Second Mexican War begins when President Jefferson Davis is murdered by a Mexican Indian, acting as part of a conspiracy. The captured assassin claims that the orders came from Mexico City. Mexico City is occupied, and President Juarez is hanged. Several more Mexican provinces are annexed by the United States, and Mexico loses its entire Caribbean coastline. 1863-1864: The Second Congress of Vienna is held, where the European states meet to arrange new borders after an exhausting period of wars. Russia obtains Bulgaria and part of former Ottoman territory, and Serbia is established as a sovereign state under a Russian prince. Italy is now mostly unified and is granted Albania as a colony. The German Reich loses some territory in Italy and wins some territory, notably Swiss cantons and the province of Sarajevo. Greece gains some formerly Ottoman islands. Turkey becomes a Sultanate under British protection. France acquires Nice and Savoy from Italy, and Syria (including Lebanon) as a colony. Britain acquires Palestine and Syria as colonies, and Egypt as a protectorate. A joint declaration by the Powers calls for peace and an end to the wars that have troubled the continent for the past fifteen years. Otto von Bismarck is noted as a highly successful diplomat at the Congress, and within the Reich as well, where he increases the Bundestag's parliamentary power. 1864: Colombia invites advisors from the German Reich to modernize their army and navy. Colombia has approached Costa Rica regarding a defensive pact against the growing American expansion. 1865: New Brunswick, a British territory, joins New England as a state after a plebiscite.

 1865: Diamonds are discovered in the Kimberley region in South Africa, Boer territory.  1866: Gold is discovered in the state of North California and in the Black Hills, leading to a gold rush across the newly opened Central Pacific Railroad. 1866: The horst is invented. Richard Brady King of New Hampshire patents a design for a new “horseless steam carriage,” which becomes known as a “horstcar” or simply horst. The first horstcars are sold to the public the following year. This marks New England's rising status as an industrial power. 1867: Colt Holdings begin to manufacture the Hoover Gun, the first successful cylinder gun [machine gun]. This marks the march toward modern warfare. 1868-1870: New England, Great Britain and the United States launch the first of a new class of steam-powered, mastless, ironclad battleships. (Named the Timothy Pickering, Thunderbolt and Illinois respectively.) 1868: The Renewal in Nippon brings about a modernized government, formally under the emperor's rule. A rapid modernization process follows as Nippon seeks to catch up with the Western Powers. Nippon will claim various islands in the Pacific. 1868: A private American filibuster to the Sandwich Islands [Hawaii] in the Pacific, an informal British protectorate, fails as it is not supported by the U.S. government. 1869: Bananas are grown on a large scale for the first time in Nicaragua and sold to the United States. Their protective peel makes them well suited for transport. Local debt-slaves are bought for the picking process, since they work harder than slaves if given the occasional financial bonus, which they will spend rather than save for their debt. The bananas are at first seen as an exotic delicacy and eaten with a knife and fork.  The 1870s: Spanish Partition, Caribbean States, the Bogota Pact 1870: The American population is now approximately 24 million Whites, 7 million slaves, 4 million other. The New England population is 12 million. The Canadian population is 4 million.  1872: Spanish Civil War comes to an end. The Kingdom of Aragon is formed in the north and east under Duke Carlos, while Queen Isabella's son Felipe retains the rest of Spain and most of the overseas empire. 1872: Napoleon III of France purchases Trinidad from Spain, finally ending the long era of Spanish colonies in the Americas. 1874: Guatemala applies for protectorate status from America. This comes after the Mexican dictator President Salas sent a letter to American President Griffin, suggesting a joint war against the British Empire where Mexico would invade Guatemala and British Honduras. This in turn came after a period of a seemingly cordial stance from President Griffin toward Salas.

President Griffin publishes the letter, thereby achieving dominance over Guatemala, while British-Mexican relations sour. 1875: The Caribbean Purchase. Napoleon III sells its Caribbean colonies - French Guiana, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago - to the United States. The money is needed for French imperial expansions in Africa and Asia. The Caribbean colonies have become expensive to maintain since the abolition of slavery. The purchase of the old colonies, while minor lands, adds immensely to the prestige of the United States, now clearly the rising imperial Power in the Caribbean. U.S. President Griffin sells most of French Guiana to staunch U.S. ally Brazil, another rising Power picking up the torch after the Europeans. As part of the deal, an American-Portuguese military alliance is formed. 1877: The Bogota Pact. A defensive alliance between Great Britain, Colombia, Costa Rica and Venezuela, engineered by British Premier John Gladstone. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli's government has fallen in large part due to the apprehension that U.S. power has been allowed to grow unchecked. John Gladstone seeks a containment policy both north and south of the United States, while to the west the Sandwich Islands [Hawaii] are protected by the Royal Navy. 1871-1880: Thirteen new states are added to the United States, as its presence in the Caribbean is solidified: Chihuahua, Nicaragua, Yucatan, West Cuba, East Cuba, North Durango, Veracruz, Puerto Rico, Sonora, Honduras, Colorado, Sinaloa, South Durango. The United States of America now has 46 states.  The 1880s: Third Mexican War, Brazilian Invasion of Uruguay, Second Napoleonic Wars, The Third Congress of Vienna 1880: The American population is now approximately 31 million Whites, 9 million slaves, 5 million other. The New England population is 15 million. The Canadian population is 6 million. 1881: The 300-feet Colossus of New York is erected on an island in New York Harbour, a gift to the people of New England from the people of Greece. In one hand it raises the torch of Liberty, while the other hand rests on the sheathed sword of Vigilance. 1881: Emperor Napoleon IV of France and Czar Peter IV of Russia sign a Franco-Russian pact. The two nations have been cordial since their attack on Germany in the Confederation War.  “A diamond must be cut before it will shine.  A nation needs trials before it can become great.”--Edward Mahan, during his 1888 American presidential campaign, explaining why he thinks that the expense and bloodshed of the Third Mexican War has strengthened the USA. 1881: Third Mexican War. Brutus Clay, Chairman of the Northern Pacific Railroad, arranges for fake Mexican attacks within the U.S. on the railroad leading into Mexico. United States President Corbin is forced to declare war. Mexico is easily conquered, but Mexican guerrillas continue to plague the occupiers until 1888. The Jaguars finally hunt down the last guerrilla

leaders, in large part by putting White Mexicans in charge of rural territory and letting them set up local defenses, giving the guerrillas no place to hide.  1882: Spain and France invade Aragon, where King Carlos has become increasingly despotical. For both countries, it is a chance to acquire territory. The invasion is opposed by Germany, as Aragon comes close to being a German ally. 1884: Brazil invades Uruguay after the explosion and sinking of the HNS Riachuelo in Montevideo Harbor. Brazil accuses Uruguay of sabotaging the ship. Brazil defeats Uruguayan, Paraguayan and Argentinian forces, with the support of the United States. At the same time, Chile invades Charcas [Bolivia] to settle a long-standing border dispute. “Future years will never know the seething hell and the black infernal background of the European war; and it is best they should not.  The real war will never get in the books.”--New England General Harvey Whitman, quoted in the Hartford Sentinel upon returning home from the Second Napoleonic Wars

1884: Second Napoleonic Wars. Germany threatens war over the occupation of Aragon. France and her ally Russia attack Germany, the fourth time French and German forces are at war in the 19th century. France occupies the German capital of Frankfurt, and Emperor Napoleon IV expects the war to be over. Yet Otto von Bismarck oversees an ordered retreat from the city, and Germany continues fighting. Napoleon IV burns the Reichstag building and much of the city to break German morale. It fails. 1884: The German navy seizes Indochina and other French colonies in Asia, including White China, which surrenders to the German-backed White Emperor, First Son of Christ. The Royal Navy scores victories against the French navy in the Atlantic. “Pray that you have only daughters.”--Kaiser Willem IV of the Netherlands to his son, Crown Prince Willem, on hearing the casualty figures from the Battle of Roulers. 1884: Italy attacks Germany to retake Lombardy. Italy has learned lessons from the last war, but German forces prove to be superior. Austrian superiority in artillery and logistical planning halts and drives back the Italian attack on Lombardy. New railroads and tunnels help the Austrians move troops into Lombardy quickly. They then press on southward, taking several Italian cities before being halted north of Bologna. 1884: The United States and Brazil declare war on Spain, much in defense of their long-time ally Portugal, where Spain seeks territory. They declare that they will act as co-belligerents of Great Britain, not as allies. They capture Seville in Spain before the year's end. 1884: British and Australian forces take the Philippines from France with little resistance. 1885: The French armies in the Netherlands and by Frankfurt have been halted and are driven back toward Paris by a combined British-German force. Madrid is under siege by British, New Englander and Aragonese armies from the north, while American, Portuguese and Brazilian forces advance from the south. Spanish rebels inside Madrid depose King Felipe VI, then surrender to the Allies. 

1885: Facing advances by German, British, Turkish and Hungarian forces, the Russian Czar is forced to sue for peace. Russia loses Poland, Lithuania and Bulgaria, some minor territory to Turkey, and the Czar's cousin will no longer hold the throne in Serbia. “War alone brings to the greatest tension all human energy and puts the stamp of nobility upon the men who have the courage to meet it.”--Napoleon IV, Emperor of France, during his abdication speech in Paris, just before his departure for Algiers 1885: Italy calls for a ceasefire. Paris falls. Napoleon IV abdicates and flees to Algeria. The Third Republic is declared in France. 1885: Revolts sweep Russia. The Czar is forced to agree to a constitutional monarchy with parliamental rule, and the revolts eventually subside. The Czar can name and dismiss ministers; the Duma, parliament, can only confirm or reject ministers but not name its own. Elections are held in the following year. 1885-1886: The Third Congress of Vienna. France loses Lorraine to Germany and loses many of its overseas colonies. Chancellor Otto von Bismarck declares that all German-speakers in Europe have now been united. The Kingdom of Poland, formerly part of Russia, is created. Courland is created (Lithuania and part of Latvia) and is ruled by a German monarch (the nephew of the Kaiser of Prussia). Poland, Hungaria and Croatia join a “personal union” with the Austrian Kaiser. Serbia is forced to accept a German monarch. Albania becomes independent and is also forced to accept a German monarch. Montenegro is also forced to accept a German monarch. Spain restores Gibraltar to British control, and renames itself Castile. Various smaller lands change hands from defeated to victors. Italy, despite being on the losing side, gains Nice. 1886: Britain annexes the Philippines, formerly a Spanish possession for more than 300 years. British forces will be battling Filipino rebels in the Anglo-Philippine war up until 1890. Russia is suspected of smuggling modern arms to the rebels. 1887: Napoleon IV committs suicide by poison in Algiers rather than be captured by ships sent by the new government in Paris. In his last letter, "Final Letter to the French," he says that he could have reclaimed power from the new government in Paris during the last days of the war, but that he chose not to do so because it would have meant French killing French. The letter, and the safety in praising him after his death, leads to the view in France of Napoleon IV as a martyr. 1889: Continued fear of Brazil and Chile leads to the formation of the Amistad, a mutual defensive pact between Argentina, Paraguay and Charcas. All three nations seek European, mostly German advisers to modernize their military. Uruguay will join the pact six years later.   The 1890s: The Anglo-Boer War, the Olympiad 1890: The American population is now approximately 43 million Whites, 11 million slaves, 14 million other. The New England population is 20 million. The Canadian population is 8 million.

  “South Africa is where the rot began. A few over-eager imperialists in the Cape ended up dictating policy for Britain. Of course the government of the day thought that they had to intervene. They had the best interests of the Empire at heart, or so they thought. Instead, they had just laid the first paving stone on the road to hell.”--Neville Wood, last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in his memoirs “Good Intentions”, written during the final days of his imprisonment “The Prime Minister calls this the best of times for the Empire, but it is the worst of times. We entered this war for philanthropic reasons, but it has become a war of extermination. General Milne will make a desert, and he will call that peace.”--George Evans, British opposition (Liberal) MP, addressing the House of Commons during the Anglo-Boer War 1890-1893: The Anglo-Boer War, provoked by the British in South Africa to gain control of the diamond fields. While the British have strength in numbers and equipment, the men of the Boer Republics know the terrain and fight a successful guerilla war. This leads to Boer civilians being forced into the world's first “assembly camps,” where tens of thousands will die of disease due to the lack of basic necessities. Boer farms and towns are burned. The Anglo-Boer War will do much to anger Germans in the Reich.  1894: The first modern Olympiad is held, with participants from 21 nations. It includes sports such as Marathon, High Jump, Pole Vault, Cycling, Fencing, Gymnastics, Rings, Rope Climbing, Rowing, Shooting, Swimming, Tennis, Water Polo, Weightlifting and Wrestling. 1890-1894: British author James Earle Hanson publishes a series of novels setting the pace for a new literary genre, science fantasy. Among the novels are classics such as “The Invisible Man,” “The Chrononaut,” “Voyage to the Moon,” and “Journey Beneath the Waves.” 1891: The Society for Ethical Peon Treatment is formed, to protect peons from cruelty and forced prostitution. In the early 1900s many states will adopt laws forbidding the prostitution of peon women. Until this time, “dance clubs” with peon women servicing visiting men were common in the Caribbean, in particular on Cuba where many wealthy Americans came for vacations. 1892: Otto von Bismarck, German Reich Chancellor and “the architect of the Reich,” resigns. He had found it increasingly difficult to build a political majority to support his decisions among the many parties in the Bundestag. 1894: The Eight Amendment to the Constitution of New England prohibits the use of alcoholic beverages. Before the Amendment ten of the thirteen states had already banned alcohol within their borders. 1896: The Ninth Amentment to the Constitution of New England abolishes racial restrictions on the right to vote. One percent of the New England population is Black. 1898: Great Britain occupies Tibet using an Indian expedition, declaring it to be a territory independent from China. The Western Powers have been increasingly involved in China, as advisors, protectors and rulers of various provinces. Russian-backed Qing forces are slowly taking over much of the Chinese interior. Russia also controls Manchuria and Peking.

Shanghai is a free port under the joint rule of Germany, Britain and Nippon. Portugal controls Macau and adjointed lands, Britain and Germany hold territories in the south and east, Nippon holds territory in the north-east. There are American and European advisors in the various provinces, and warlords hold shifting territories in the interior. 1898: El Salvador becomes the 55th state in the Union. 1899: Guatemala becomes the 56th state in the Union.  1900-1906: The North American War 1900: The American population is now approximately 55 million Whites, 15 million slaves, 23 million other. The New England population is 24 million. The Canadian population is 10 million. 1901: The Vanguard, the first big-gun battleship, is commissioned in the United States on January 1, making all earlier battleships obsolete. 1902: A national park system is introduced in America to protect American wildlife.  1905, May: The North American War begins. The United States demands that Britain leave British Honduras, from which arms have been smuggled to Indian rebels in the Yucatan and elsewhere. Britain refuses, and U.S. President Mitchell declares war. The United States faces the combined Allied forces of Great Britain, New England and Canada, as well as some Australian army and navy units. 1905, May-July: Four American armies push into New Jersey in a long-planned strategy to overwhelm the state with greater numbers, then move on to take New York, New England's greatest port. They are met by combined UK-NE defenders. The southern parts of the state are taken, but the front then comes to a halt. The United States loses 130,000 men, the Allies lose 100,000 men. 1905, May 5: Cloud-ships are used for the first time in war, when the U.S. forces bomb Fort Sanford on the Niagara front. The American cloud-ships fly too high for New Englander skyplanes to shoot them down.  1905, May 14: The USS Seawolf becomes the first submersible [submarine] to sink an enemy warship. American submersibles, often called the wolves of the sea hereafter, continue to successfully ravage the otherwise more powerful Allied fleets throughout the war. “We stand on the cusp of history: to our left lies infamy, to our right beckons success.With our courage in war and our industry we will create our remembrance. We stand midway to eternity.”--From the State of the Union Address by Lewis Mitchell, 19th President of the United States, 1905 1905, May: Lake Erie falls under complete American control before the end of the month, when the U.S. moves in pre-fabricated modular gunboats for assembly in Cleveland in large

numbers. Buffalo is blockaded, Canadian ports are shelled, and the entrances to Lake Erie are blocked. Toledo is isolated both on land and by sea and surrenders. 1905, June 23: Selkirk, Manitoba, becomes the first city in history to be bombed by sky assault, as U.S. General Montgomery pushes far into Canada to cut off the Transcontinental railroad. 1905, July: British, Canadian and NE forces invade Illinois. U.S. General Hearst successfully retreats, burning bridges and destroying ditches in order to swamp fields, making the advance difficult for the invaders. The bulk of U.S. forces have been committed to New Jersey, but General Hearst mans strongholds on the way, inflicting casualties and then withdrawing before the Allies can get their artillery in place. He finally makes a stand in Bloomington, where Allied and American artillery exchange barrages for several days. The town is reduced to rubble. The Allies have to fight American forces trench by trench before the town is taken, and General Hearst retreats to a position south of Bloomington. 64,000 Allied soldiers and 27,000 U.S. soldiers die during the Illinois campaign. 1905, July: U.S. General Charles Bull captures Detroit. He is then moved eastward and appointed General-in-Chief of the New Jersey front. “Today, hope died.”--Diary entry for American Captain Alvar O’Brien, 22 August 1905 1904, August 10-October 14: American forces attack the Watchung Mountains, New Jersey. The strength of the Allied defenders has been vastly underestimated, and waves of American soldiers are mowed down by cylinder guns. By the end, 94,000 American soldiers have died, almost twice as many as the Allied casualties. As a result some generals are replaced and several members of the U.S. General Staff have to leave their seats. American military intelligence is also reorganized and improved.  1905, August: Trinidad and Tobago are occupied by Allied forces mounting an assault from Venezuela. The former slaves are armed to fight alongside the Allies. When British troops leave, the slaves begin massacring Whites in Trinidad, while Venezuelan troops turn a blind eye. The news is soon cabled out across Europe, and British troops force the Venezuelans to evacuate the remaining Whites, who are repatriated to the United States. Nearly 10,000 Whites are killed, often in brutal ways. 1905, October 21: Poison gas is used in the war for the first time, as the New England military engineers release 160 tons of chlorine gas against American trenches outside Picton, New Jersey. 4,000 American soldiers are killed. 1905, December 4: Australian soldiers stage an amphibious landing in Nicaragua, hoping to move on to the Canal. They are met by overwhelming resistance, first by cylinder guns and warships, then in the easily defended jungle. After five months the Allies are forced to finally abandon the offensive, which has gained little ground. “Lindsay-Davenport was the only man who could have lost the war in a day.”--Lord George Kelvin, Australian naval historian, writing of the Battle of Long Island “This is a time for tears.”

 --Admiral Chester Leahy, American fleet commander, on learning of the number of ships lost – on both sides – at the Battle of Long Island 1906, April 2: The Battle of Long Island begins. It is the largest naval battle in world history thus far. Allied ships are far superior in numbers, but the British ships have inadequate armor. The Allied guns fire faster but less accurately and with weaker shells, while the American guns fire slower but more accurately and with heavier shells, which proves to be much superior. The fleets pass by each other delivering broadsides, with the British suffering the larger casualties. The fleets then turn back to seek to face each other again. By luck, the American fleet comes to pass at close quarters ahead of the Allied fleet, nearly perpendicular to the Allied path, able to “cross the T” and fire at the first ships in the Allied fleet without facing counter-fire. Four of the strongest British Vanguard-class ships are sunk or badly damaged. In a second engagement, more Allied ships are sunk. The Allied lead in Vanguard-class capital ships is eliminated. 1906, April 8: U.S. President Mitchell offers peace terms via the German embassy. Canada and New England must foreswear all foreign alliances and dismantle their fortifications. The United States will claim only British Honduras and British Guiana. President Mitchell utters the famous words, “Tell them that these peace terms are generous. If I have to offer peace terms a second time, they will not be.” The Allies reject the peace terms. 1906, June-July: The Twenty Days, an Allied offensive using 450 arlacs [tanks] to advance moderately in New Jersey. Arlacs are too slow and break down too easily to change the front, but they show that it is possible to break through trench lines. 1906, July 22: The Rapier Offensive. U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Alvar O'Brien launches his plan for choke troops, trained in new tactics throughout the spring, to attack enemy lines in stealthy night raids against weak points, supported by artillery cutting off enemy communications and reinforcements. Enemy strongholds are then surrounded and isolated. The new choke tactics will see American troops advancing up to nine miles in northern New Jersey in three days, and O'Brien is promoted to full colonel. He will become a general by the war's end. 1906, August 19: American forces retain the initiative and start a push that captures Newark. 1906, September 16: American troops stand on the shores of the Hudson River, with Manhattan within artillery range. They are also able reach the Croton aqueduct with their artillery, which would cut off the water supply for the four million New Yorkers. New England General Manning is forced to withdraw and surrender the city. 1906, October 2: Captain Whelan's cloud-ships travel from the United States to hover over London. A new line of long-distance cloud-ships has been developed in the United States specifically for reaching across the Atlantic, the first time man-built flying machines do so. Instead of bombs they bring leaflets (with the threat of bombs) asking Britain to end its futile war effort now that New England has surrendered. The arrival sends shock-waves through British society and leads to peace negotiations. 1906, December 12: A peace treaty is signed. Great Britain cedes its remaining islands in the Caribbean except Jamaica to the United States. Newfoundland (British territory) becomes an independent state. Canada leaves the British Empire. Canada and New England will have no foreign alliances. Fortifications by the border will be dismantled, and the Canadian and New

England armed forces will be severely restricted. Canada gives Vancouver Island to the Nephites [Mormons] immigrated from America as the Nephite Free State; Canada also loses British Columbia and Alaska to the United States. New England loses several counties in New Jersey, and loses Dominica [Dominican Republic] to the United States. The war has ended with an overwhelming American victory.  1906-1909: Post-War Period, Brazilian Civil War “Never have I been so amazed than at how many of our politicians who voted for the war when it was declared can now reveal that they were secretly against it all along.  It must have been the best-kept secret in history.”--New England President Nicholas Forbes, 1907 1906, April 19: Black officers in Brazil stage a coup, when many white soldiers have been sent to fight alongside the Americans. The Brazilian Civil War begins. 1907: Large shipments of Blacks from former Allied territories to Liberia begin. According to the peace treaty, Black citizens have three years to leave the territories, after which they will become slaves. “These Canadians don’t even realise how lucky they are.  Every last one of them could have been citizens, as good as any others, if only they would choose to become one.  If they were Colombians or Costa Ricans, most of them wouldn’t have been offered that chance.  Well, if they don’t want to be citizens like any other, let them be non-citizens like any other.”--Diary entry for Brigadier General Alvar O’Brien, 15 July 1907 1907: General Alvar O'Brien is tasked with pacifying New Caledonia (formerly British Columbia), taken from Canada. He does so by sentencing captured White rebels and their wives (who must have been co-conspirators) to debt-slavery as peons in the Caribbean. 1907: Monarchical forces in northern Brazil receive aid from America and Portugal, and some military volunteers. Republican forces receive volunteers from Germany, Italy and Britain, and some aid from Germany. Paraguay takes back territory lost to Brazil in 1884. There are also significant separatist and messianic movements who don't want to be ruled by the Republican government in Rio de Janeiro. 1907: Widespread rioting in Canada instigated by the new Labour Party, Republicans, Socialists, and anarchists. The government is accused of inadequate defense during the war, and not doing enough to ease the suffering of the people in the post-war depression. 1907: Colombia and Costa Rica, who fought on the Allied side in the war, are forced to accept annexation in the face of an American invasion. Venezuela refuses and is invaded. A long guerrilla war begins in Colombia and Venezuela, where the rebels can hide and be supplied from across the borders. “Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.”--Alexis de Tocqueville

 1907: In New England, Vitalism emerges as a movement meant to bring life and order back to a dead nation. Vitalist redshirts fight the Socialists in the streets. The most successful Vitalist party is the National Front, led by Shane Mullins, which appeals not only to young men and veterans but also draws members from the broader masses. 1907: In New England, Ravenism emerges as an art movement with the object of defiling normal artistic ideals. Its stated aim is to do away with old values, blaming them for having caused the North American War. Ravenism is named after Captain Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem The Raven, about the casualties of war. 1907: In Germany, Dynamism emerges as an artistic and philosophical movement that sees the world as on a march toward technology and development, with Germany first and other nations as secondary. Following the North American War and the weakening of the British Royal Navy, Germany for the first time maintains the world's largest navy, and is the world's strongest imperial Power, causing resentment in Britain. 1907: Immigrants from former British territories in the Caribbean start moving to Britain. Within two years, 1.4 million mostly Black Caribbeans move to Britain, causing widespread dissent among British workers who lose their jobs to immigrants working for much less pay. The major British cities experience rent spikes and increased unemployment. 1908: English nationalism awakens, to match the nationalism in Scotland and Cymru [Wales]. The Scylding Cycle is published, depicting the quest of a group of adventurers in an English-styled fantasy setting, fighting a dark lord on a quest as war rages around them. The series of novels becomes widely popular. The Tory Party becomes the vehicle of the new English nationalism. 1908: America sends submersibles, cloud-ships and arms to Monarchical forces in Brazil, complete with volunteer crews for the submersibles.  1908: Cisplatinian rebels in Brazil declare the restored nation of Uruguay, with the support of Argentina. 1908, January 23: Canada's King George I is shot by a Labourite in a Wisconsin meeting hall, where the king had held a speech about national reconciliation and a peaceful move forward. Street fights soon erupt between rioters from the Left and veterans loyal to the crown. The Sedition Act is passed to strike down on labor unions, strikers, and any others inclined to protest. Especially Wisconsin, a hotbed of Republicanism, is affected. The Sedition Act is to a large degree the work of James II, who although lacking real political powers has united a coalition of members of parliament. 1908: A great political debate in the United States as the sentencing of rebels in the formerly Canadian territories to peonage is made public. The sentencing of White men and women to peonage sends shockwaves around the world. While General O'Brien's actions are found to be within the bounds of the law, this is the first time White men and women have been turned into forced labor. The practice is abandoned, and O'Brien gains powerful enemies in the United States Congress. He nevertheless remains popular among Americans as the man whose tactics won the war in New Jersey. 

1908: General Charles Bull is elected as President of the United States. “Dona Maria is the legitimate ruler of Brazil.  She has long been a friend of the United States, and now it is our turn to help her. We will provide every support necessary to restore her to the throne. With cloud-ship and rifles and courage, we will crush those rebels against the Brazilian government.  And I hope that no nation in the world will recognise these illegitimate rebels who have miscalled themselves the government of Brazil.”--From an impromptu speech by U.S. President Charles Bull, delivered beneath the Washington Monument, Columbia City, June 1 1909 1909: Empress Maria Bourbon of Brazil is freed from captivity by American Jaguars. They escape by cloud-ship over the jungle. American soldiers now fight the Republicans openly in Brazil. When a German merchant vessel is torpedoed by mistake, the German Observation Force is sent to aid the Republicans.  The 1910s: The Golden Years, Versailles Convention, Canadian Unrest, Brazilian Republic 1910: German population is 113 million. With members of the Verein (Poland, Hungaria, Croatia, Courland), 166 million. With the colonies of the German Reich, 244 million. 1908-1919: The Golden Years, the greatest economic  boom in American history. Industry advances rapidly. The rest of the world also experiences an economic boom, but nowhere as much as in the United States. 1910: The Versailles Convention, held by French president Napoleon V, draws delegates from nations around the world, including the major Powers. It establishes the first recognized laws of war: the declaration of war, conduct on land and sea, treatment of prisoners, treatment of neutrals, the ban of some weapons, etc. 1911: The first race riots take place in Britain, where British workers protest against lowered wages, higher rents, and unemployment caused by Caribbean immigration. The Labour Party becomes the party of disaffected workers. “We had no choice. The alternative was starvation. A man who would rather watch his child starve than reach for a gun is no man at all. He is a dog.”--Last words of Henry Allan York, Labour union organiser and leader of the Freedom Army 1911: The Freedom Army, consisting of 30,000 disaffected farmers, marches on Kingston, Canada's capital. Labour organizations are allowed to join after some discussion, which brings in radical socialists and republicans. They stay outside the parliament building for weeks, demanding reforms. Tory MPs and other members of parliament combine to pass Ryan's Bill, written by Tory MP Frank Ryan, to institute price controls for farm goods and launch a campaign for public works in improving the infrastructure. However, the bill is vetoed by the House of Lords. The Freedom Army grows agitated, and when military forces show up to arrest its leaders, the Army opens fire, killing several soldiers. The Army is then surrounded by Canadian military, and attacked. Nine days of fighting begin before the Army is defeated and its five leaders sentenced to hanging. Political chaos follows, with the Labour party falling apart in factions. The Tories are split between moderates and hard-liners.

 1911: In Brazil, São Paulo falls to the Republicans. Empress Maria resigns. President Charles Bull calls for American entry in the Brazilian Civil War, but Congress cuts off all funding for further military involvement or aid to the remaining Monarchical forces. 1911: Venezuelan Arturio Segovia, opposing the American occupation, writes The Book of Freedom about guerrilla warfare against foreign occupiers, under the pseudonym Eunuco Mitchell. 1912, March: Canadian King James II dissolves parliament and declares a new election to be held in April. 1913: In New England, four Vitalist parties merge to become the United Democrats, led by the conservative Jacob Astor. Shane Mullins is the head of the redshirts, the party's citizen militia. 1914: Shane Mullins becomes state attorney in Long Island, New York City. When Jacob Astor dies, he becomes Chief of the United Democrats. “Freedom gains us nothing, if the price is chaos and bloodshed.  The truth is that men are tired of liberty.”--Shane Mullins 1914: The American cloud-ship The Hugh Griffin sails through the sky around the world in 22 days. The flight is symbolic of the development of modern sky travel, and becomes enormously famous. 1916: In New York's Central Park, 200,000 redshirts march with military precision for May Day. “Socialism is a fraud, a comedy, a phantom, a blackmail.”--Shane Mullins 1916: The Victory Memorial is finally finished in the United States, in memory of the North American War. A large hall with seated statues of three earlier presidents, leading to a pool of water with the names of the fallen inscribed around the sides. On the other side of the pool is a winged Columbia, holding the eternal flame of victory in her outstretched hand. The flame is a real fire that never fades. On a raised mount outside the hall is the Mitchell Monument overlooking the memorial. 1916: The New England ship Cherbourg hits an iceberg and sinks. Following the rescue of crew and passengers by a joint U.S.-NE effort, the major seafaring nations along the Atlantic Sea meet in France to discuss North Atlantic safety on Napoleon V's invitation. They agree to a plan for patrolling the major sealanes for icebergs. The newly installed funks [radios] help ship communication greatly in times of emergency. 1916: Fyrds are formed in England, teaching young boys self-reliance and outdoor skills. The Fyrd movement is closely tied to the Tory party and the new English nationalism, based on an Anglo-Saxon revival through themes, festivals, clothes and names. It becomes customary to

wear a Seax, a knife tied to the belt as a sign of independence, a custom which spreads throughout the land, even to opponents of the revivalist movement. 

The 1920s: Depression, Security Act, Rise of Vitalism, American Economic Boom, Build-Up to the Great War “Sometimes, people notice all the wrong things. Stock market collapses got headlines.  Leaving the gold standards got protests. Mass bankruptcies caused riots. Guerrillas rose up in revolt. But when we instituted reforms which would strengthen the nation for the next century, we received only silence. If the 1910s were the Golden Years, the 1920s should have been called the Quiet Years. But in the long run, quietness was worth more than gold.”--Oliver Bird, U.S. Industrial Commissioner, “Inside Columbia”, 1953 1920: The Panic, financial crisis. The United States abandons the gold standard and implements tariffs to protect burgeoning domestic industries. A central register for indentured labor is established, with fingerprints and photographs collected to facilitate a more mobile workforce of indentured labor over state borders. The United States will turn the recession around and experience an unprecedented boom. 1920: General Oliveira is the de facto dictator of Brazil, with a rigged electoral system. His rule is similar to the Vitalists. He is pro-German and is close to Amistad, the military alliance comprising the rest of non-U.S. South America. 1920-1922: New England experiences megaflation, a rapid rise in prices accompanied by a weakening currency. This is caused by the New England Treasury seeking to increase the money supply to stimulate economic growth, coupled with new American tariffs excluding NE industries. 1920: Portugal faces bankruptcy, having lost its lucrative trade with monarchical Brazil. European Powers offer to bail out Portugal in exchange for its colonies. Major resentment arises between Germany and Britain over which colonies they should acquire. 1920: Canadian election. The old Labour and Tory parties collapsed after the Kingston Rising and the subsequent violence. In their place stand the National Republican Party, which is Socialist, and the Canadian Party, which is loyal to the king and similar to the Vitalists in New England. The Canadian Party has ruled Canada for eight years. During the election campaign, the Blackshirts from the CP now fight the socialist Republican Guard in the streets. The CP wins a majority of parliament seats, but is accused of stealing the election. 1921, March 20: In Canada, NRP leaders are arrested on charges of sedition. Radical NRP members start forming rebellious organizations. 1921: Canada's Security Act is approved by parliament. It gives King James II wide emergency powers. 1921: In Siam, an independent Asian country, a group of officers stage a coup against the king. The coup is planned by German adventurer Werner Schweitzer, working out of German Indochina. The coup is aided by Schneitzer's private German mercenaries. The Siamese officers request for the country to become a German protectorate, and the German

government is faced with a fait accompli, as acquiring a new colony appeals to the electorate. Britain is angered, as Siam has always functioned as a buffer state between Indochina and British-controlled India. A diplomatic crisis ensues, contributing to the fall of the Liberal British government. It is replaced by a Labour government that is openly hostile toward all things German. 1921: Shane Mullins and three more Vitalists are elected to the New England Senate. The United Democrats changes its name to the United Vitalist Front. “I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.”--Shane Mullins in his first speech to the New England Senate 1921: The Kingdom of Newfoundland declares bankruptcy. Its fishing-based economy is wrecked when both the United States and New England declare a 100 percent tariff on fish. Socialists clash with the Returned Servicemen's League in the streets. Fishermen protest in the capital, St Johns. Since there is nothing the government can do for the fishermen, they fall into the hands of the Socialists, and riots break out. The Socialists take over the country and arrest the government members. The prime minister is executed, while the king is later released into exile. Liberty camps are set up for political prisoners, those who are not executed. 1922, October: Canadian Prime Minister Small is killed by a bomb placed in his car as he turns the ignition outside the royal palace. King James II is standing nearby, waving him off when the bomb detonates. It is the second time James II is stained by another man’s blood, the first being his father King James I on the day of his assassination. Days later, the Canadian Parliament passes the Executive Powers Act, giving the king full governmental power. A few weeks later, the king abolishes the lower house of parliament indefinitely. Elections are postponed until the brewing civil war with the Socialists is over. 1922: Twilight War engulfs Canada. In the capital province of Ontario, the weak Republican presence is shown by occasional bombings of government buildings and drive-by shootings of government officials. In Quebec the Republicans launch a similar campaign, and also are forced to fight the relatively peaceful French separatists who demand autonomy for their province. In Wisconsin, Republicans take over much of the northern part of the province, save for government holdouts in key towns and transport links. In the western prairie provinces of Caroline and Saskatchewan, the Republican-dominated provincial parliaments remain nominally loyal to the king, but law and order dissolves as Republican factions start fighting each other in the streets. Meanwhile, King James II arms the Blackshirts and veteran organizations to fight the Republicans in the streets and take back lost ground. 1922: Vitalist leader Shane Mullins visits U.S. President Bellamy and convinces him to argue for the temporary lifting of reparations payments from New England. The alternative, Mullins says, would be a Socialist takeover within two years, who would refuse to pay any reparations. Combined with the threat of revolutionary Socialism as witnessed in Newfoundland and Canada, this makes the Vitalists the second-largest party in the New England Congress.  1922: In America, companies renting out slave labor become highly successful. Many planters need labor only during planting season. Hired labor is also used for fruit picking, serving at sports events, and much more.

 1923: The 23rd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives women the right to vote. 1923: Loyalty camps are built in Canada on King James II's orders, to house captured dissidents and rebels. 1923-1926: American General Rodolfo Fierro, newly arrived in Colombia, employs fire-squads to defeat the guerillas, who use car bombs against crowds in the cities. The fire-squads evacuate civilians from a countryside area, then burn the buildings and the crops. The civilians are moved to safety camps, depriving the guerillas of support. The method is very effective, and in just a few months it pacifies areas that have been in rebellion for fifteen years. Nevertheless there is great opposition to the method in Congress, and the fire-squads are stopped after four years. While the fire-squads were meant for evacuation only they also carry out massacres, with estimates of the number of dead ranging from 50,000 to 200,000. 1923: During the global economic recession, Hungary is crippled by its interest payments on foreign loans. The Hungarian government demands that the Reich abandon the gold standard, allowing Hungary to print more money. Germany refuses. 1924: Brewster, an unruly New England Redshirt commander, leads an expedition into Socialist-controlled areas of Canada. The expedition fails. 1925: The Vitalists dominate both Houses of Congress in New England. 1925: New England President Franklin vetoes plans for new Special Courts to examine the conduct of military commanders during the North American War. The president is impeached by Congress on suspicion of aiding the enemy; before the Brewster raid into Canada, President Franklin had sent information about the raid to the Canadian king. The president is impeached and removed. The Special Courts are approved. 1925: The New England Redshirts, acting as a private army, invade Newfoundland and quickly take control of the country, ending the Socialist rule. The Redshirts are led by Chief Ingersoll, a former Captain and flying ace from the war, the first pilot to shoot down a cloud-ship. He has become a prominent leader in the Vitalist movement. He is appointed Secretary of War. Ingersoll makes the New England armed forces more efficient, and oversees a replacement of old officers with new ones. The Redshirts free prisoners in the Newfoundland Liberty camps, and replace them with Socialist prisoners. 1925: The Black Fist Rebellion begins in China. It is put down by Russia, Germany, Nippon and Britain. British soldiers discover that many of the rebels in British-controlled areas have German-made rifles and some heavier weapons. (Only many years later is it discovered that German adventurer Werner Schweitzer in Indochina had sold the arms to the rebels, in the hope of destabilizing British rule.) Seeing the swift German response to the rebellions, many formerly pro-British Chinese warlords call for a transfer of power from Britain to Germany in British areas. This further erodes German-British relations. 1926: Shane Mullins is elected President of New England. 

1926: The United States hosts its first Olympiad. It is held in the Esperanza Colosseum, built out of steel and concrete unlike earlier sports stadiums and able to hold 25,000 spectators. Two or three soccer matches are played in the Colosseum each year, and it is used for a variety of other sporting occasions. 1927: Britain, France and Andorra sign the Andorra Pact. Britain has held discussions with many countries in Europe on what to do in case the continent is “destabilized,” meaning in case of war with Germany. “The Reichsbank and the [German] Ministry of Finance are united in their opposition to Hungary’s irresponsible fiscal policies. Juhász’s government has chosen to pursue an independent financial policy of high government spending. This is solely their decision, and Hungary is responsible for its own budget. They cannot expect Germany to restore their finances if they default on their debts.”--German Minister of Finance Hendrikus Colijn, 1927 1927: The Moroccan Crisis. Germany dispatches its navy to Morocco, which has defaulted on its debts. This angers Britain, as Morocco was granted independence from Portugal in 1920 when Germany and Britain failed to agree on which Power would acquire the colony. Britain quickly negotiates a defensive alliance with Morocco. Britain also offers to meet Morocco's interest payments for a year.  1927: The defensive military Andorra Pact between Britain, France and Andorra is extended to include Italy and Morocco, and renamed the Bouclier (shield). It is clear that the only potential enemy of the pact is the German Reichsverein, including Germany, Courland, Poland, Hungary and Croatia. 1928: Croatian Prime Minister Drago Lukich resigns, claiming that the Reichsverein in its present form cannot continue. Like Hungary, Croatia has been badly hurt by the global recession, and wants Germany to bail out its finances. 1929: Friedrich IV, Kaiser of Austria and King of Hungary, dies. Hungarian Prime Minister Agyar László refuses to accept a new king unless Germany agrees to heavy subsidies and  pays for Hungarian debt. 1929, May: Both in Hungary and Croatia there is considerable opposition to the anti-German stance of their governments. Hungarian officers declare that they will refuse any confrontation with their German colleagues. British-mediated negotiations, which would have broken the German majority vote in the Reichsverein, come to an end. Up until now the German government has seemed ready to consider accepting such a change. The Governor General of Hungary abolishes the government and calls for emergency elections. The temporary new government includes many generals. Prime Minister Agyar László denounces this action as unconstitutional. A state of martial law is announced in Budapest and other key cities. New elections are postponed indefinitely “until order has been restored.” The Croatian Governor General also dissolves the parliament and calls for new elections. The German Deutschleger marches into both nations to uphold the peace. 1929, May: Britain and Italy both condemn the entry of German troops in Hungary and Croatia. In France, President Marceau does the same. Having taken over after President

Napoleon V, he has taken an anti-German stance to strengthen his weak presidency, and many voices calls for retaking formerly French provinces, now held by Germany.  “I do not enjoy war, but I will not refrain from it if our enemies persist on holding a knife to Germany’s throat.”--Edmund Schulthess, Reichs Chancellor, 1929 1929, June: Britain having closed the Suez Canal for German and Polish merchant ships, Germany despatches its Adriatic Fleet to secure key targets in the Mediterranean. German ships occupy the Cypriot port of Lemesos. The German navy also lands troops around the Suez Canal, surrounding British positions. Germany masses troops in Libya, preparing to strike against Egypt.  “War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free unless made or kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”--John Stuart Mill, British philosopher  1929-1932: The Great War 1929, June 11: The Great War begins. Britain and Italy declare war on Germany. They are followed by France, Aragon, Morocco, Australia and Nippon. 1929, June 19: The Russian Duma declares war on Germany, but the Russian Czar vetoes the declaration. A constitutional crisis follows.  1929, June 25: Liberia invades Mozambique to take it from the Germans. Many Liberians disapprove of going to war against Germany. 1929: Throughout the year, Field Marshal Blackwood leads British forces in Asia in capturing Siam, German Indochina, and Sumatra. 1929, June-July: The German and British navies clash over the Suez Canal, with a non-decisive result. The German and Italian navies clash over the Strait of Otranto, the gate to the Adriatic Sea, which ends with a German victory. 1929, July 15: Germany bombards the Peace Line, the massive line of fortifications built along the border by former President Napoleon V. 250 German divisions stand against 109 French, 25 British and 2 Aragonian divisions. Britain will move in more divisions later. 1929, July 29: Germany breaks through the Peace Line. A push toward Paris on three fronts follows. Counter-attacks by French arlacs against the German flanks significantly slow the German advance. Railroads and bridges are destroyed by the retreating French troops. 1929, September: Operation Notte e Nebbia. Italian arlacs attack German forces in Lombardia. They attack swiftly, taking key points before the German command has time to react. This Lightning War is the result of Italian officers having studied the use of arlacs in the

North American War, and having realized their potential as an independent and fast-moving force. Nearly 50,000 German troops are killed in the clashes. “Twice in the history of the United States, France has come to the aid of the American people. Two examples of selfless sacrifice on the part of the French government and the French people; two wars fought for no reason but to aid the United States in its times of need. Now, the time has come to repay the debt. It is once again the time for one of the world’s great republics to come to the aid of the other.”--U.S. President Harlan Porter, October 15, 1929 1929, October 15: America declares war against Germany. 1929, November: America declares war against Peru, a German ally. 1930, March: The German Navy enters the Northern Sea in force. It is met by the Royal Navy, as well as American and New England naval units. Although both sides take heavy damage the result is that Germany withdraws from the Northern Sea for the remainder of the year. 1930, March: Paris falls after months of siege.  1930, April: New England's General Rodney Ironfist attacks German forces around Paris. New England has plenty of skyplanes, since they were not limited in the peace treaty after the North American War due to not being a prominent weapon at that time. New England has also commissioned an army of arlacs to be built in Liberia in secret. These forces are now used to drive back the Germans in a Lightning War. New Englander arlacs punch through German lines to strike at the artillery and supporting infantry reserves behind the lines, before these can be effectively used.  1930, May: Germany changes its focus, from northern France to southern France and Italy. Germany seeks to cut off Italy from the rest of the Bouclier, and capture Rome in order to force Italy out of the war. The American forces in southern France are under-equipped; an American division has less than half the artillery of a German division, and lacks adequate arlacs. While American forces in the mountains of Morvan and the Massif Central hold out well, the Germans advance quickly in the more open Saone Valley. The Germans take Lyon.  1930, July 7: Russian Czar Alexander II declares war on the Bouclier forces, having finally arranged a majority of parties in the Duma willing to do so. The Czar believes that war against Britain will yield greater territorial gains than war against Germany. A week earlier Germany and Russia have signed the Warsaw Declaration, ensuring Russian entrance into the war on Germany's side. The Russian Czar does so to eliminate the British obstacle to Russia’s southward expansion in Turkey, Persia, India and China. Germany is nevertheless forced to make sweeping concessions which remain secret until the end of the war. Notably, Courland will be handed over to Russia, although granted wide autonomy. Much of the Balkans will fall under a Russian sphere of influence, with the rest being a German sphere. Germany will not object to Russian influence in Persia, or to a possible Russian acquisition of India, Tibet, southern China, and Nippon.  “Why have you declared war on Britain?”

--Neil Browning, British ambassador to Russia, July 8 1930, during a last-ditch effort to persuade the Russian Czar to withdraw the Russian declaration of war.“Because every great game must end in checkmate.”--Czar Alexander II, replying to the British ambassador. (Referring to The Great Game, the long rivalry between Russia and Britain for control of Central Asia.) “War must be recognised as an instinct of mankind, of divine origin. It will not be replaced by fantasies of idealistic human devices like commissions of arbitration or princely mediation.”--General Nikolai Krestinsky, 16 July 1930, speaking to journalists and affirming his support for the Duma's rejection of a Swedish-French offer to mediate peace between Britain and Russia 1930, August 18: The Peruvian government surrenders to America. Guerilla resistance continues in the mountains. 1930, November: General Alvar O'Brien, the hero from the North American War, is put in charge of all American forces in South America, with the mission of defeating Chile and Republican Brazil. He begins the production of light arlacs with a simple construction, which are able to operate in the jungles at far range without breaking down. The arlacs would not be able to win any battles in Europe, but they fill their function in South America perfectly. He also demands and is granted far larger numbers of skyplanes, which are used for reconnaisance and bombardment. Finally, he declares the restoration of the Brazilian monarchy, in order to gain the support of Brazilians who can be used to patrol occupied cities. 1930: Australia releases Chinese rebel leader Chen Jiongming and offers him the position as Generalissimo of the Chinese Auxiliary Forces. This encourages the Chinese to rebel against the Russians in Beijing, and the rebellion spreads through much of Russian-controlled China. 1930: German leaders and media start using the term Endguelting Friede, or Final Peace, as a declaration of their intent to impose harsh conditions on the defeated Bouclier Powers. In particular the crippling of France. 1931, February-April: Germany's Eisen offensive against Italy lands troops along the Italian coast in the Adriatic Sea. German forces take Tuscany, the region of Marche, and move down the coastal railroad toward Pescara. In southwestern France, American forces halt the German advance in the Battle of Lattes. This allows American and French forces to erect a defensive line in the Massif Central and prevents the French position in south-western France from collapsing. 1931, May: Italy surrenders to Germany and submits to a military occupation of key points. The Italian military is demobilized. Italy will not be allowed to take any actions that threaten German security, as determined by a German Marshal sent to Rome. Germany will claim Nice, Savoy, and a large part of northern Italy. The Principality of Monaco is restored from Italian rule. 1931: Riots spread from Rome throughout Italy, as veterans demand the removal of the government and the monarchy for having dragged the nation into a losing war. The king and the government flee Rome for Naples, then Palermo. The rebels proclaim a provisional Republican government. Some troops, in particular among the navy, remain loyal to the elected government. German troops stay in their barracks and refuse to intervene.

 “Condemn me, it does not matter: history will absolve me.”--Liberian Major General Stenio Duvalier, 1931 1931, June: Liberian President Jamieson is deposed by General Duvalier. This is done to stop the Liberian occupation of Mozambique on Britain's behalf, while British-ruled South Africa is killing African rebels in British East Africa [Kenya]. General Duvalier becomes a de facto dictator of Liberia. 1931, June-October: Bouclier forces are forced to retreat as German troops from Italy are brought in to reinforce the divisions in France. The defeat of Italy swings the naval war in the Mediterranean to Germany's favor. German troops advance in Northern Africa. German troops return to Paris and once again occupy the city, where the New Englander General Rodney Ironfist dies fighting in the streets. The French wartime capital of Tours also falls. British and New Englander forces still hold out in Rennes and Brittany, American forces still defend the Massif Central. The French president finally asks for peace terms. German Chancellor Schulthess will only accept a conditionless surrender; France's fate will be decided when the war is over. 1931, May: Turkey surrenders to Russian and Greek invaders. Turkey will cede territory to Russia and Greece and become a Russian protectorate. Turkey's Arab colonies will become an independent state by the name of Mesopotamia, a Russian client state. Bulgaria, a Russian ally, obtains western Thrace. Massacres of Turks follow in areas controlled by Greece and Bulgaria, and Russia arranges a population transfer, with Greeks in Turkey moving to Greece, while Turks move to Turkey. While the massacres take place, Russian troops enter Bulgaria as peacekeepers. They do not leave until Bulgaria has agreed to become part of Russia. 1931, May: Persia surrenders to Russia and becomes a Russian client state.  “Always, the best-laid plans are ruined by one unforeseen detail.”--Russian General Lars Sonck after the Allied landing at Inchon 1931, May: Russia attacks Nippon's client state Choson [Korea]. The Nipponese forces fight stubbornly and manage to hold off the one-million-man Russian army for months, before being forced back down the peninsula. The war turns into a stalemate when Australian forces land on the shores by Inchon, behind Russian lines, retaking the occupied Seoul. A trenchwar begins betwen Russia on one side, and Australia and Nippon on the other. 1931, October 15: France surrenders. Foreign troops are given two weeks to leave France. Most of the French government flees to Britain, but President Marceau commits suicide in his home. As best can be determined he shoots himself in the exact moment, 5 pm, when the ceasefire goes into effect. 1931, October: Field Marshal Blackwood is made Chief of the General Staff in Britain. He has captured several Asian colonies in 1929, organized the defense of India against a possible Russian invasion in 1930, and conducted a brilliant retreat of British forces in France in 1931.  1931, October: British Prime Minister Neville Wood of the Labour Party, having read the South American Eunuco's book on guerrilla warfare, organizes a paramilitary British Defense

Force against German invasion. In practice, this amounts to arming groups of Labour street fighters. Field Marshal Blackwood objects strongly. 1931, December 14: Ceasefire between German, American, Aragonese and Portuguese forces. The Madrid Treaty is signed. Aragon agrees to dismantle its forts on the Aragon-French border, and accepts German troops on its soil. Aragon also gives up the Congo to Germany. Germany accepts South America as an American sphere of incluence, while America accepts Africa as a German sphere of influence, except for Portuguese colonies and the small American colony of Whydah. America surprisingly recognizes the independence of Argentina and Uruguay, provided that Argentina cedes its claims to Tierra del Fuego and the British Falklands, and that both refuse to allow foreign troops on their soil. “Britain, you stand alone. Your allies have fallen or fled back across the seas. The armies of the Reich and its friends and allies are triumphant across Europe. We have driven out your soldiers and your skycraft. You have no further hope in this war. If we must, our forces stand ready to cross the Channel and bring the war to your home soil. “I would prefer not to bring about such ruin. An armada awaits on the Continent, needing only my command to bring death to your cities from sea and sky. If I need to give the word, then I shall do so. But I would prefer a just peace. Abandon this futile war which you cannot win, and we will have peace.”--German Schancellor Edmund Schulthess, February 14, 1932, in a speech delivered by funk after signing the Madrid Treaty 1932, February 14: German Chancellor Schulthess publicly offers Britain peace. Britain would lose many of its colonies and be forced to dismantle the Royal Navy. Britain refuses. “A lie repeated a thousand times does not make it truth. And the truth is that Schulthess began this war with lies, and he continues to be the master of falsehoods. Britain still has allies across the sea. Our Empire is united in defiance of tyranny. Our compatriots have already stripped Germany’s overseas colonies from her, and they have reassured us of their support. New England stands with us against German oppression. “The truth is that even if Britain stood alone, we still would not yield. Britain fought alone against the first Napoleon and against the Spanish, and we were victorious. Our defences are strong; our people are courageous. We will not bow down to tyrants. We will not accept a ‘just peace’ – as just as you offered France?” --The last British Prime Minister Neville Wood, February 17, 1932 1932, March 4: Operation Vorherrschaft (Supremacy) begins. The German Luftmacht bombs British skyfields.  1932, March: New England begins firing Astor rockets at German targets, mostly cities. The rockets are fired from the ground in Britain, and their mobile deployment ramps are almost impossible for German skyplanes to find. 1932, May 12: Kaiser Willem of Austria is killed by an Astor rocket as he visits the docks in Rotterdam. The German people is furious, and there is now rising support for launching an invasion of Britain. 

1932, June 11: Operation Jungeisen begins, with the aim of invading Britain. The German navy moves toward Britain, and the Battle of East Anglia becomes the bloodiest naval battle in history. With the Royal Sky Force reduced after months of Operation Luftmacht, and with American ships withdrawn, the British are at a disadvantage and suffer greatly. The German navy protects transport ships carrying arlacs and 31,000 soldiers. Many are killed when their ships hit mines and sink. Others are bombed by New England skycraft. Others are killed by cylinder-gun fire or mines on the beaches. And many die when Prime Minister Neville Wood orders the beaches bombed with poison gas. Three days later only 1,600 remain and surrender to the British. 1932, June 16: President Shane Mullins withdraws New England from the war, pointing to the British use of poison gas as an inexcusable act that New England will not support. Many veterans from the North American War share a revulsion for the use of poison gas. New England forces move northward in England and then to the west coast for transportation to Ireland. 1932, June 22: The second German attack comes, the real attack. Parachuters are dropped over England to secure key points. The German navy returns, and the British Royal Navy is too weak to stop it. Three beaches are secured between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth, and pre-made bridges are assembled. Mastery of the skies is essential to the German success. Hovercrafts are also used to move in troops, and it is discovered that the hovercraft can also operate on the British marshes. Great Yarmouth is soon captured, giving the German navy a port through which cargo can be brought on shore. 1932, June: The United States captures the provisional Brazilian Republican capital of Ribeirao Preto, after having captured both Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. The Republican government is virtually eliminated. Many prominent generals and political leaders switch sides and join the American- restored Brazilian monarchy. 1932, June: Areas with strong Labour support in British cities have fallen under the rule of workers' militias, armed as part of the Home Defense Force. In response, English nationalist Fyrds have taken control of Tory-loyal areas. Prime Minister Neville Wood ignores this. He also refuses increased calls for a ceasefire. 1932, July 7: General Oliveira, President of the Republic of Brazil, is deposed in a coup. The new military junta negotiates peace with the Americans. The United States takes ownership of the southern coastline, called American Brazil, while the restored monarchy is given the northeast, called Ecuador. The Republic maintains control of the more sparsely populated inland. Those who do not wish to live under American rule are free to move to the Republic of Brazil. 1932, July: Charcas negotiates a surrender to the United States. Paraguay invites American annexation, as preferable to an American invasion. 1932, November: British Field Marshal Blackwood meets with representatives of several parties: the Tories, the Liberal Democrats, the Cymru nationalists. A plan is formed where the king will approve of an interim government and Prime Minister Wood will be deposed. When Wood orders a second use of poison gas against the German forces, Blackwood counters the order and the plan is set in effect. However, Wood has received word of the plan and has

called in Labourite members of the Home Defense Force to protect him. They shoot the men who have come to arrest Wood. The British civil war begins. “Hurry up, I’m freezing to death out here!”--Reported last words of Neville Wood, to his firing squad 1932, November: Neville Wood is captured and executed by Socialists opposed to the war as he tries to flee London. 1932, December: The new British government under Field Marshal Blackwood requests a ceasefire with the Germans, to fight the Socialists and restore order. German Chancellor Schulthess agrees to this and halts the German advance.  Aftermath of the Great War 1932, December 6: The British House of Commons meets for the last time. The meeting takes place in Oxford, as the government has been forced to flee London. They vote to pass the Emergency Government Act, which gives Field Marshal Blackwood the right to rule by decree. The British Parliament then disperses forever. Three hours later, the United Kingdom is dissolved as Marshal Blackwood signs a document declaring England's withdrawal and its consequent independence. This is done to allow England to avoid war reparations to Germany, and to follow the road of English nationalism. Instead of being part of a defeated empire, England will be a new nation. 1932, December 7: King Edward VIII, the last King of Britain, leaves his throne in a funk broadcast from Ireland. 1932, December: The Restored Empire is formed, comprised by the kingdoms of Australia, South Africa, Ceylon in Asia, and later Ireland. Former parts of the British territories and occupied German colonies are set on a path to developing their own governments and institutions for five or eight years, after which they are offered plebiscites on their future. They can choose full independence, Kingdom status within the Empire, or in some cases union with Australia or South Africa. 1933, February 14: In China and Choson, a ceasefire begins between Russian forces and their Qing puppet rulers on one hand, and Australian-Nipponese forces on the other. Russia had seriously underestimated Nippon's industrialization and armament, and had not expected that a rebellion (led by Chen Jiongming and instigated by Australia) would begin in Russian-controlled China as soon as the war started. Russia wins Tibet, northern Sakhalin and part of Choson. Nippon is given southern Sakhalin, the Kuriles and Formosa [Taiwan], formerly the jewel in the German Asian empire. Both Australia and Nippon grant independence to those parts of China that are under their control, believing it to be easier to defend against Russia together with an independent China rather than trying to hold onto the territory. 1933, March: In New England, President Shane Mullins is deposed in a military coup. 1933, March 4: An automated cotton-picking machine is patented in the United States. The machine will drastically lower the price and need for slaves. The reserve price for slaves and peons has always been set by the cotton industry.

 1933, March 4: General Alvar O'Brien, the hero from the North American War and the conqueror of South America, is elected President of the United States. 1933, November: Marshal Blackwood, now Lord High Stewart of England, dissolves local councils and forms a system of Sheriffs to rule the English counties. Blackwood will rule England until his death in 1954. 1936, January 1: The Grosseuropaische Wirtschaftsverein, the Greater European Economic Union, is formed, comprising the German Reich, the members of the Verein, and defeated European states. It is a free-trade union dominated by German industry. It is also a military alliance, with German forces stationed permanently in all defeated states and many of the other members. It is run by the Economic Council and the Security Council. The Security Council, holding the real power, is dominated by Germany. (There are nine seats, with three held by Prussia, Austria and the Netherlands. These also have the right to veto all decisions. The remaining six seats are held by the other members on a rotating basis. However, four smaller German states are also included in the rotation of seats.) The full members of the GEEU are Germany, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, North and South Italy, England, Scotland, Cymru and Denmark. Associate members, such as Albania, Montenegro and Aragon, do not have representation on the Security Council. Occupied states such as France and Morocco also lack representation. 1935, April: The last remaining military forces in Chile surrender to the United States, long after the Great War is considered over in the rest of the world. As per the peace agreement with Germany, the only remaining German friends in South America are now Argentina and Uruguay, which have agreed not to allow any German or other foreign forces on their soil.  “Until the moon falls and the sun burns out, Germany and Russia will not stand easily beside one another.”--From a speech to the Imperial Parliament by Andrew Kelvin (later Baron Kelvin), junior member for Macquarie, 1945 “Perpetual peace is a dream, and not even a beautiful dream. War is an integral part of the ordering of the universe. Men love peace as a means to new wars.”--Amber Jarrett, American author and philosopher, in “All Too Human,” 1951. As a young woman she had taken her brother's place as a conscript and fought in Peru. “To exist is to compete. To live is to strive. To think is to desire. All men exist, all men live, and all men think. So will they always desire, and in desiring they will strive, and in striving they will compete. What they do not have, they will want. What they want, they will take, or be destroyed in the taking. And as it is true for men, so it is true for nations.”--Amber Jarrett, American author and philosopher, in “All Too Human,” 1951   “This century we live in has seen the greatest change in the history of the world. We have seen the triumph of ambiguity, the marriage of reason to nightmare. Across the world moves the twin spectres of hope and sorrow, caught betwixt the growth of technology and the nature of the men who wield it.”--Vincent Hollis, South African Prime Minister, 1952  

“Before the end of this decade, Russia will be the first nation to put a man on the moon and bring him back safely to earth.”--From the inauguration address of Czar Michael II, 20 July 1961