1780-1820 (Canadian Independence)

Revolutions in North America
The American Revolution began a period of rebellion in British colonies in North America. The American Revolution was caused by transformations in American society and government. America favored democracy over monarchies. Many Patriots hoped for a representative government, the opposite of what they were of colonies: they had no representation in the British Parliament.

The American Revolutionary War started with the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and in 1776 the Declaration of Independence was created, marking the independence and creation of the United States of America. The Americans then won several battles, gaining the support of European powers such as France and Spain.

In the late 1770s, many people in Quebec threaten the British government with independence. The British argued over allowing the people of Quebec to pratice their language and culture. After several weeks of waiting for a decision, the people of Quebec got the answer that they could still not practic their culture. Thus, the Canadian Revolution was set into motion.

Canadian Revolution


Quebec patriots soon begin their rebellion. Americans win the Battle of Quebec, which makes more of the Quebecois revolt. British soldiers are placed in the villages, which angers the local population, fueling the revolution even more.The revolution soon spreads to the rest of Canada. British soldiers are sent to stop the revolution. The first battle of the war was the Battle of Cowansville and Dunham. The Canadians defeated the British in these battles and then engaged the British in the Siege of Montreal, which forced the British to evacuate Montreal. British and Quebec soldiers then clashed in the Battle of Trench Hill, where the British defeated the rebels but lost a third of their own force. Quebec soldiers then crossed the border into Maine, which was under control of the British. The Invasion of Maine resulted in a British victory.

After defeated the British in the Siege of Montreal Canadian forces went to Nova Scotia to defend against a British attack. The British attacked and forced the Canadians to withdraw. The Canadians retreated across southern Quebec and into Ontario. There, on Christmas, Canadian soldiers crossed the St. Lawrence River and attacked Hamilton. The British soldiers were asleep and the city was not guarded well. The Canadians took the city and captured a lot of prisoners.

In the first battle of the year the Canadians attacked the city Burlington. They forced British soldiers in a retreat and got many supplies from the city. The British then tried to get back the Thousnads Islands, which was strategically important as it could stop shipping in the St. Lawrence River and was in the hands of the Canadians. The Canadians and British fought over it for a few months before the British Army in the Thousands Islands surrendered in the city of Kingston. The British then launched an attack on Quebec City, which was important to the Canadians. After defeating the Canadians at the Battle of Levis, the British occupied Quebec City. The British general in charge of the attack on Quebec City, did not, however, move north to help the British in the Thousands Islands. After defeating the British at the Thousands Islands France entered the war on the side of the Canadians.

The British retreated from Quebec City in order to protect Toronto against a possible Canadian-French attack. The Canadians asked the French to either assist them in attacking Toronto or attacking towns on the western edge of the St. Lawrence River. The French chose to sail down the St. Lawrence River and attack Thunder Bay, which was an important port to the British. Canadian and French soldiers marched on land to attack the city while French Navy Ships blockaded the city. The soldiers on land attacked the port while the ships bombarded it. After 25 days of fighting the Siege of Thunder Bay ended with a Canadian-French victory. The British soldiers inside surrendered and over 8,500 British soldiers were captured. With the captured of this amount of soldiers the British and Canadians negotiated a peace treaty.

The Canadians and British sign the Treaty of Madrid, giving Canada independence. The new country contains the area of eastern Canada. Canada is a democracy.

Changed North America
With the independence of America and Canada, the landscape of North America was changed forever. New nations were created while other expanded.

America and Canada
The newly independent nations of the United States of America and Canada both faced each other across the border. Many people in the both nations felt threatened by the other, but others felt that the two nations should be allies. America decided to perform the latter. In 1791, American president George Washington met with Canadian government officials. It was decided at the meeting that America and Canada would co-exist peacefully. Many sight this as the beginning of the American-Canadian Alliance, which would come to exist in the early 1900s.

With the warmthening of relations between the two nations, many people began criss-crossing the border. Merchants from both sides came to sell their goods. Perhaps most important was the selling of timber. Most of the timber that came from New York and Massachusetts were gone, and Canada sold the timber to the northern parts of America. The New England region also sold crops to Canada such as potatoes, dairy products, tobacco, cranberries, and blueberries.

Creation of Winnipeg
The independence of Canada meant that United Empire Loyalists had to move to another place to live. It would eventually be decided to be OTL Canadian Prairies. The 50,000 Loyalists who fled there built settlements around the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, and the settlements joined together to form the colony of Winnipeg. The Loyalists, however, found that communicating with Great Britain was difficult, if not impossible. Winnipeg was then transformed from a colony into a nation.

The Winnipegers soon found them with odds with local American Indians. Several battles broke out between Winnipeg and the Cree, Assiniboine, Okibway, and other local tribes. By 1800, the situation was continuing to worsen, with Indian raids destroying the Winnipeg crops and cattle. Peace was finally restored to the land by a young man named Jean Baptiste Lagimodiere. Lagimodiere traveled to the Indian tribes camps and managed to bring upon a peace between Winnipeg and the Native Americans.

Rumbles in Haiti
In 1791, a revolution began in Haiti against their French colonial rulers. Forces led by Haitian General Toussaint L'Ouverture freed many slaves and the rebels established control over large parts of the island. In retaliation, French leader Napoleon Bonaparte ordered a large expiditionary of French soldiers and warships to the island to restore French rule. The French restored rule and all was quiet in Haiti... at least until a few months later in 1802.

When the French plot of restoring slavery to the island was discovered, the Haitian rebels went on the offensive. The new French leader of the campaign in Haiti became Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau. He led a ruthless campaign, and led to many French loyalists to defecting to the Haitian cause. With the Haitians gaining control of the entire island, the final blow they needed to strike was at Vertieres.

An attack on Viertieres was led by an ally of L'Ouverture, Jean Jacques Dessalines. The French fired at the advancing Haitian column, killing a number of them. One of the French soldiers shot at the horse of Francois Capois, the leader of the Haitian column. Instead of hitting his horse, the shot strck Capois, who fell of his saddle and died. The attack soon fell apart and the Haitians retreated. Rocmanbeau declared it a great victory, and continued his campaign against Haiti. By now the revolution attracted the attention of the United States, on which expansionism had became extremely popular.

American Expansion
During the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, the United States of America went under serious expansion. Jefferson had a vision of the United States expanding into Spanish-controlled Louisiana Territory, and later stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. With Napoleon's Army fighting wars throughout Europe and taking over nations, several oppurtunities arose for the Americans.

Louisiana Purchase
The first of these expansions was into the Louisiana Territory. The Territory was originally controlled by Spain, but when Napoleon's army took over the nation, ownership of the area was given back to France. When New Orleans was closed to US trade, President Thomas Jefferson proposed to France about buying the port city of New Orleans.

With the war occuring in Haiti, the French treasury was slowly being depleted. Desperate for money, Napoleon offered to sell the territory for 15 million dollars. Jefferson was pleased with the offer and a some time later the United States bought the territory. The size of the United States was doubled, and Jefferson sent the Lewis and Clark Expidition to survey the United States' new territory.

Haiti
The next part of America's expansion was into the nation of Haiti. With the rebels slowly being pushed back, the United States saw an oppurtunity to expand. Diplomats were sent to Haiti about the possibility of American help in the rebellion. The rebellions, in desperate need, agreed, and the United States began organizing a force to intervene in Haiti. The United States Marine Corps were sent in, and most of the troops had never seen combat before.

The first intervention became one of the worst military defeats in American history. The well-trained French troops easily defeated the inexperienced American troops. In response, Jefferson began to improve the military. Better training was given, and the weapons were updated. Jefferson also created a permanent American army, and the navy was significally expanded.

The second American intervention became an American victory. After first landing in Haiti, the American Army and Haitian rebels forced to advancing French soldiers to retreat. Several battles were won by America and Haiti, and once again, the French were cornered. This time, however, Haiti struck the final blow, and France left the colony.

After the war, America decided to leave troops there to protect the island. In 1808, Haiti became Haiti Territory, America's first Caribbean territory, and received much praise and critism from the local inhabitants of the territory.

French Revolution
The French Revolution began in the year of 1789. The Revolution began in Paris on July 14, 1789 with the Storming of the Bastille, a fortress that respresented royal authority in Paris. The revolution was caused by France's major economic crisis and taxation. Militias were created by the middle class who opposed the monarchy. These militias became known as the National Guard. On July 14, 1789, the militia in Paris stormed the Bastille, beginning the French Revolution.

Soon the monarchy was disposed, and the French First Republic was created. However, the Revolution brought France to war with Austria and its allies. A French invasion of the Netherlands also brought Great Britain into the war, and Prussia joined the war soon later. France's war with these nations are called the War of the First Coalition and the War of the Second Coalition.

Canada Divided
The French Revolutionary War nearly divided the people and nation of Canada. The French people in Quebec sided with the French revolutionaries, while the English people in the rest of Canada supported the English war with France. As the Canadian Prime Minister at the time, James Livingston, put it, "The Storm is breaking in this great nation of Canada."

Prime Minister James Livingston was a military commander during the Canadian Revolutionary War, and had served as the President of Canada for a few years before. Livingston did not support either side in the disput, but was tasked with settling the argument. The first thing he was creating a more equal government, because the Canadian government was mainly made up of Englishmen.This did not stop the problem, as the members of the government took sides and violence was beginning to break out. One such case occured at the city of Montreal, where French militias fought in the southern part of the city against and English militia, and 13 people were killed and 28 people were injured.

The violence led to French militias being created in Canadian cities, and these groups were commonly refered to as "French Cadets". The situation continued to worsen with fights breaking out all over Canada. The Prime Minister created a permanent army to try to stop the violence. However, this led to infighting in the military. Livingston feared that Canada would divided in a civil war if had been embroiled in it already. Livingston's best attempts to reunite Canada were failing. What reunited Canada came as a surprise to Livingston and everyone in the nation.

Britain's Dependence on Canada
While war was brewing in Canada, battles were already fought in the wartorn land of Europe. On one side was the nation of France and its allies, which were led by Napoleon Bonaparte, and on the other side was a coalition of states, led by Great Britain and Austria. The War of the Fourth Coalition ended in 1807. The war led to the British need of rebuilding the Royal Navy, which had lost serious amounts of men and ships in the war with France.

In order to stop this, Great Britain began the impressment of Canadian and American sailors to reman their navy. This caused serious uproar in the two North American nations, as the United States government was dominated by the War Hawks, and Canada faced a great crisis between the English and French. As a result, America and Canada placed economic embargoes on Britain. This crippled Britains attempts at rebuilding, as much of the timber needed to rebuild was exported to Great Britain by Canada. Now their supply was cut off, and they didn't know for how long.

Great Britain faced had no other option: they needed to get the resources from Canada and America. Thus Britain decided to invade Canada. Great Britain decide to get across the Atlantic with the navy of Denmark-Norway. Great Britain could not use Denmark-Norway's fleet to fight against France because it was too small. The fleet, could, however, carry troops across the Atlantic to Canada. So on June 25, 1807, the first British soldiers landed in Canada.

British Invasion of Canada
The British force landed on Nova Scotia. The first town town they came to was mainly populated by Englishmen, and were welcomed there. However, other towns greeted them less nicely, and small skirmishes broke out. The British began the taking of Canada's resources. Trees were cut down and were sailed back to England. The British forces there were stronger than the local militias. Word, however, was sent from the Nova Scotia to Prime Minister Livingston, who was then in Toronto.

Canada declared war on Great Britain. The United States decided to declare war on Britain too, and sent the Marine Corps to take British possessions in the Caribbean. Troops quickly landed in the Bahamas. The United States also sent military northward, with boats coming to Canada through the St. Lawrence River. By the time American troops got to where they needed to be, the British troops were already rolling.

Canada United
The British invasion inadvertently helped the reunion of Canada. French Cadets and English militias, who once fought against one another, fought side by side to drive out the British. Both sides gained respect for another, and both groups were finally jointly refered to as "Canadian". However, Canada still faced a mountain of trouble with Britain's attack.

British gunboats defeated the American navy in the St. Lawrence River after a few battles, and soon they were sailing down the river toward the Montreal. The United States and Canada subsequently placed most of its troops in Montreal. The British forces numbered 1,500 men, while America and Canadian forces numbered 1,700 men. The British forces, led by Major General Isaac Brock, originally had success in Montreal, taking 3/4 of the city. The Americans regrouped, and, along with reinforcements, pushed the British out of the city. The British were forced to retreat.

Battle of Iceland
The British loss at Montreal began a long line of losses for the British army. The war had now gone into the winter, and the British forces were tired and hungry. The British decided to retreat back to the coast. Hundreds died, and the British did not nearly as many men as they did in the beginning of the campaign. Defeat was near for Britain.

American and Canadian armies converged on the British headquarters at Halifax, Nova Scotia. The British were finally defeated, and were forced to evacuate. However, there was not nearly enough boats to carry all the soldiers back. Over 600 British soldiers were captured on that day. America's and Canada's victory over Britain brought them the attention of France, who laid down a plan to finally defeat the Royal Navy during on of its stops at Iceland.

In April 19, 1808, the Battle of Iceland broke out. American, Canadian, and French ships pounded on the Royal Navy stationed there. Canadian troops also landed in Iceland, and stormed and occupied the city of Rekjavik, Iceland's only city. The Royal Navy was decimated, and a month later word of British surrender reached North America. The British Invasion of Canada was finally repelled.

Defeat of Britain
The defeat of Britain brought change to many nations. The victory by Canada and America proved that the two new nations could survive in war with a great power, and a great sense of nationalism was created in those nations. Canada was finally united, and James Livingston went down in Canadian history as one of the greatest prime ministers.

In Winnipeg, news of the war reached the nation in the winter of 1807-08. The nation, despite its loyalty to Great Britain and the empire, decided not to aid the nation. Winnipeg felt that invading Canada would be suicide, and American and Canadian soldiers would roll into the border in seconds. This began Winnipeg's seperation from Great Britain and its path as a seperate nation.

The Royal Navy's decimation at Iceland left England defenseless to a French attack. France had just finished successful campaigns in Europe, and much of the continent was in France's control. Napoleon knew it was time for his invasion across the English Channel into Britain, known as the English Campaign. The crossing was quickly made and French soldiers were in England's southern coast.

The British soldiers had lost the will to fight, and much of them deserted the army. Those who stayed and fought were veterans of the British Invasion and Canada, and seen much combat. The French, however, quickly rolled over the British defenses and in a month and a half London was captured. Great Britain announced its surrender, and France had completed its conquest of Europe.

Victory in the Iberian Peninsula
In 1807 Napoleon invaded Portugal, right after the British invasion of Canada. Napoleon had recently established naval dominance in the Bay of Biscay, and soon was ship soldiers to Portugal. Without British help, Portugal surrendered in 1808, following the conquering of Portugal's capital, Lisbon. Using Portugal as a launching point, Napoleon invaded western Spain, as well as northern Spain from the Pyrenees. Napoleon's soldiers quickly crushed any resistance and conquered Madrid, the capital. In 1810, Napoleon made his brother, Joseph, King of the Iberian Union in, which was a union of Spain and Portugal.

Spanish resistance was still found, and were known as guerrilas. In 1810, Joseph I led an attack on the guerillas known as the Battle of Badajoz. The guerillas were finally crushed, and the Iberian Union got on its feet.