French Trafalgar, British Waterloo (1858-1882)

The First Global War
The war that broke out in the spring of 1858 was one of the most destructive of conflicts the world had ever faced up to that date. The slaughter that took place stunned the world, as the armies of the major powers, now using rifled artillery and "rifled" muskets, as well as Nationalism and Imperialism, had managed to mobilize armies that the commanders, trained in the old school of decisive battle, couldn't understand why the battle they had just waged failed, even though they knew that, if the forces in one sector had to retreat, their was thousands more willing young men ready to go into battle.

The war, sometime divided into two separate conflicts, the Second Great European War, and the Succession War in America, ultimately covered five continents: Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa, and is considered to have been one of the most destructive wars since the Thirty Years War that rocked Europe in the 17th century. By the time it was over, over 15 million casualties were reported, of which nearly 7 and half million died. The Old Order had been shook up to the point that it was unrecognizable, and new nations stood were old ones fell.

The Fronts of the War
In Europe, the major alliances composed a complex web around the continent: The Marseilles Pact, composed of France, Italy, Russia, as well as some smaller nations, mainly the Confederation of the Rhine, Denmark-Norway and Poland; and the United Coalition, made up of the United Kingdom, Prussia, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Spain. At a first glance, Prussia, France, Russia and Britain were the top military powers in Europe, while Italy, Poland, Ottoman Turkey and Spain were considered second tier powers, and the small nations of Greece, Denmark-Norway, the Netherlands and Poland were the lower rung in the ladder. However, the war changed every assumption, as the major powers bogged down in massive slogging battles, while supply routes fractured and generals could not control the battles, while the smaller powers made better progress, and managed to achieve results that stunned the major powers.

The majority of the fighting took place in Western Europe, in the Confederation of the Rhine and the Netherlands, and ultimately into the French Empire itself by 1862, but not before both Prussia and Britain were nearly defeated in 1860. Minor fronts in Europe included Northern Europe, when Sweden took back the territory taken away by Russia in the Prussian Expansion War; Southern Europe, mostly the conflict between France on one side, and Spain and Portugal on the other; the Adriatic, where Austria-Hungary tried to take over the Croatian coast in order to have access to the sea; Eastern Europe, where Prussia and Austria-Hungary fought against Russia and Poland; and the Black Sea, where Ottoman Turkey battled against Russia.

The end result was the defeat of the Marseilles Pact, and the incorporation of the Confederation of the Rhine into Prussia, reformed as the German Empire; the creation of the Baltic Confederation, Finland and Ukraine from Russia, as well as Flanders and Wallonia from France, as well as some colonial territories seceded to Great Britain, besides border changes for nearly every nation involved.

The North American stage was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, and, later in the war, Mexico and the Pacific Republic entered on the side of Confederacy, forcing the United States to sue for peace, and giving the CSA its independence from the North.

The South American phase of the war was considered nothing much but a sideshow to the main conflict, but still resulted in enormous casualties. Argentina, allied with Venezuela and Peru, and fought the alliance of Chile, Brazil, Bolivia and the Central American Republic. However, despite large odds, Argentina, Venezuela and Peru emerged from the four year war triumphant, annexing large swaths of enemy territory.

As the war devastated Europe, it eventually spread to the colonies of the Europeans. The African campaigns, while not as large as in Europe, caused even more casualties, due to disease and rudimentary medical techniques. The war also lasted nearly four months longer than the war in Europe, mostly due to difficulty in communications, but the end results mirrored that in Europe: France lost several colonies to Britain, Spain and Portugal, while Italy lost Tunisia to the Ottoman Empire.

The fight in Asia mostly centered around the French Indian territory's, which were taken over fairly quickly. Indian units also served in Africa and Europe with great distinction.

Aftermath of the War
The war laid waste to much of Europe and the America's, several nations had their economies ruined, and the results threw many nations into political turmoil after it finally ended with the Treaty of Potsdam in 1862. France was reeling from the defeat when the Emperor, young Philip Joseph died in 1862, due to hemophilia, and the Regent Council appointed to administer the throne tried to find someone to take his place, and settled on the nephew of the first Emperor, Napoleon I, Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, who was the leader of the Regent council, as well as President of the Imperial Parliament. France would be plunged into a five year long depression and reorganization stage, one of the most painful times in Imperial history. Denmark-Norway, Poland, the United States and Russia did not do much better, being humiliated in battle and forced to give up large portions of land, and also suffered the effects of inflation, rebuilding, and civil disorder.

But it was worse in Italy, which effectively collapsed, and the King, Victor Emmanuel II was forced to flee Rome in order to save his life, and the Italian Civil War began in earnest, and would devastate the nation, as France, Britain, Austria-Hungary and Germany sent arms to the sides they supported, and dragged the war on for over 5 years, until the Republican forces, supported by Britain and Germany, emerged triumphant over the Monarchists, and the Italian Kingdom was dissolved by the Constitution of 1868, with an obvious pro-German bend.

The Falling Out
The United Coalition, having won the war, did not suffer as much as the Marseilles Pact (which was disbanded in 1863), but Germany was faced with daunting challenge of rebuilding the war torn Rhineland area. They were helped, at first, by loans from Britain, but after a falling out after Britain supported Russian intervention in Poland to put down a anti-royalist coup in 1867, which Germany secretly supported, they received the majority of loans from Ottoman Turkey rapidly becoming the financial center of Europe and Asia.

But, under the new Chancellor, Otto von Bismark, Germany made rapid progress, and within 10 years, had rebuilt the destroyed areas. However, an attempt at rapprochement with Britain was coolly received, so Bismark, hoping to rebuild the nation before the next war, and try to secure new alliances, therefore the intervention in the Italian Civil War and Poland, as well as discussions with Ottoman Turkey, Spain, and Austria-Hungary to form a new alliance. He realised that it would be impossible to keep Russia and France from allying, mostly because of the deep hatred that was formed in the previous war, so he decided to try to keep numerous allies to surround Germany's probable enemies.

However, France was virtually isolated diplomatically. With the collapse of the Marsellies Pact, France had to try to find new allies. The only nation France could count on was Russia, which was bloodied, but managed to avoid major political upheaval.

America's In Upheaval
With the defeat of the United States, President James Buchanan's, re-elected in 1860 after the the opposition  Liberal Party agreed to form a coalition, was unceremoniously dumped out of the White House in 1864 for his handling of the war and the Confederate victories of the last two years of the war, to be replaced by Illinois Senator Abraham Lincoln of the Liberal Party, in one of the most lopsided election results ever, which Lincoln receiving over 65% of the popular vote and all but two electoral votes of the now much smaller United States.

The Confederacy, now independent, had to rebuild the northern part of the nation, as it was nearly destroyed by the war. Loans from Britain, especially after the falling out with Germany, helped greatly, and was soon able to begin building new factories and infrastructure, especially railroads. But, in return, the Confederacy had to agree to free the Black slaves, and the process known as The Liberation was began by President Robert E. Lee, who was elected after the war in 1863. He proposed that, in order to keep British support, they would have to begin to free the slaves, but, he decided that they would not get the vote as of then. After much haggling, the CS Congress finally approved. Most of the large plantation owners (also congressmen) were opposed to the situation, but when the announced their intention to reject the measure, the British ambassador threatened to cut off the loans and remove the preferred status they gave the Confederacy after they officially recognized the nation. With that threat, the last remaining resistance to the abolition of slavery was removed. However, true freedom for the former slaves was still many years away.

South America was devastated by the war, with both the victors and the losers exhausted. Since the rest of the world was caught in the massive Global War, South America was considered a sideshow, and so the major alliances didn't send much resources, and often to both sides if they did. But the Argentinian Alliance was able to recover quicker due to the indemnities paid to them by Brazil and the Central American Republic, but, due to corruption and ill advised spending, the entire continent was plunged into a massive depression that, all told, lasted fifteen years after the indemnities were paid in 1867.

Rebuilding the World
Napoleon III began the process of rebuilding France and the much reduced Empire with the New Imperial Plan, so that loans were provided to the business that needed it, especially in the Alsace-Lorianne area, and the Pyrenees. But, also planned as the expansion of the railway system, and the construction of new factories, mines and armories to prepare for the next war. The idea, besides rebuilding a shattered nation and preparing to confront the next enemy, was to solidify the Emperor's reign, as he saw it as weakened with the defeat of the First Global War in recent memory, so efforts had to be made to show that he is trying to reform the military and the economy to bring it in lines with a modern economy.

In a stunning move, long time enemies Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed a non-aggression pact in 1867, where Russia would drop its claims to the Dardanelles, and Turkey would not oppose Russian expansion into the Caucasus Mountains, and both nations granted favored trading status to the other. Germany, nervous of loosing its ally Turkey, also signed a treaty with Russia, granting favored trade status to the other in 1869. Austria-Hungary, nervous of this new agreement, signed a "Treaty of Understanding" with France and Italy. New alliances were already beginning to form, which worried many, that a new war would break out within years.

The Creation of Canada and Assiniboia
North America went through a major change in 1864, as the British Parliament approved the Canada Act, where Canada was granted full independence. Lead by the first Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald, Canada began a program to expand the country, and within ten years, had triplied industrial production, and more than doubled agriculture, mining, ship building and forestry. In 1871, however, Prime Minister Macdonald announced that Canada would purchase all of the Hudson Bay Company's land in the west, known as Assiniboia. The US, however, did not wish to see Canada stretch from Coast to coast, so therefore supported the Metis leader Louis Riel, who decried the "annexation" as a violation of the inhabitants rights. Under intense pressure, Macdonald was forced to hold a referendum to decide the fate of Assiniboia, but over 75% of those polled, which including the Metis and Native American's, voted to create their own nation. Although Macdonald and English Canada was prepared to declare war and take over the land by force, American and French Canadian pressure forced him to back down, and he was defeated in the next election, while Assiniboia, with the capital in Winnipeg, was declared independent in 1874, and their first President was Louis Riel, who would lead the nation until his resignation in 1891.

Both nations grew rapidly with immigration, as the United States "encouraged" the Indians living in the Dakota Territories to move to Assiniboia, which, under Louis Riel and the Union Party of Assiniboia, welcomed them, as well as hundreds of thousands of European and American immigrants who settled in many of the fertile plains of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, turning Assiniboia, by 1889, into the "Bread Basket of North America." Canada became increasingly industrialized, and the resources of northern Ontario and Quebec fueling the factories in Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax, and turning out products ranging from locomotives to farm equipment to ships to rifles, turning Canada into an industrial powerhouse. However, the tensions between French Quebec and English Ontario, masterfully held in check by MacDonald, was beginning to boil over, as the Ontarians saw the Québécois as the reason Assiniboia became independent, while the French saw the English as land hungry fanatics, which could be used to destroy Quebec's power in the Government, which at the moment was roughly equal between the English and French.

Formation of Alyseka
Soon after the First Global War broke out, Russian settlers in Alyeska, taking the initiative, invaded British held Yukon and British Colombia, stunning the British government in London. But with resources stretched thin in Europe and through the colonies closer to home, it was decided that it would be best to negotiate with Russia to allow some land be given to Alyeska, no matter what actually happens in the war, just to end the threat. The Russian's, surprised at the boldness of the Alyeskian settlers, and not exactly supportive of their endeavorer, agree to the British idea. It is decided that the Yukon, Northern British Columbia and part of Rupert's Land stretching toward Great Slave and Great Bear Lake, and Lake Athabasca would be the new borders to Alyeska, nearly doubling the size of the colony.

After the war, the Russian Empire, wishing to release Alyeska, offered to sell it to the United States, the Pacific Republic and Great Britain, but it was refused each time. But a majority of the settlers, totaling nearly 125,000 Russian, American and other immigrants, said they wanted to create their own nation, and Czar Alexander II agreed, and the Republic of Alyeska was announced on September 6, 1869.

Peak of Colonialism
Despite the ravages of the war in Europe, France, Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal and several other nations began to set up new colonies throughout the "Dark Continent". The exploits of explorers like David Livingstone and Charles Pierre Villenuvre II were told and retold across Europe. With the blessing of the Vatican, the major powers also were given the authority from on high to expand across the continent and convert the natives, so by the beginning of the twentieth century, Christianity was the predominate religion of Africa.

The colonial powers, urged on by business and nationalism, began pushing further out of the colonies they already posses, and pushed deeper and deeper into the continent. The British were able to move much quicker than any other nation, due to the massive influx of Indian immigrants into Africa, and by 1880, Britain had established a link from the Mediterranean to South Africa and from the Red Sea to the Atlantic. In one of the most ambitious engineering projects of the century, a rail line was built from the Ottoman controlled (but British influenced) Alexandria, Egypt, down to Cape Town, South Africa, with a rail line diverging from Karakorum, Sudan, to link Djibouti, Somalia, to Port Harcourt in Nigeria. France controlled the majority of North West Africa, besides Spanish Morocco, as well as a few small outposts on the Red Sea. Spain, Portugal, and Italy hold small possessions throughout the continent, while Ottoman Turkey maintains a hold on Egypt and Libya.

The "Reborn French Empire"
The efforts to rebuild French power were beginning to take effect in the late 1860's and early 1870's, but the sweeping overhaul of the Empire envisioned by Napoleon III was for the most part stemmed and reduced by the General Assembly and the bureaucrats, seeing their power being reduced with an increasing centralization of powers in the hands of the Emperor. Napoleon III died in 1873, disappointed that the empire he was planning to build was unrealized. His son, crowned Emperor Louis, and was more successful, mostly due to some compromises his father would never have accepted, such as giving the power to declare war to the General Assembly, and agreeing to speak in front of the Assembly at least once a year. He agreed to these measures only so that the Army would be virtually under his direct control, and the acceptance of creating a national police force, the Service de Sécurité Impérial, or the SSI, tasked with matters of national importance, such as anti-espionage, as well as "internal security," which would be used by later Emperor's to their own advantage.

The expansion of the French Colonial Empire through Africa, as well as the annexation of strategic posts in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean's gave the French a renewed sense of self. However, Louis' impatience and his fondness for the military (hem however, never served in the army, only being 17 when his father died and he assumed the throne) nearly turned some diplomatic events into war, but he was usually restrained by his premiers, advisors and generals, who were certain France was not ready to confront another major power, and the colonial expansion was only to strengthen France's position in the world.

Formation of the Grand Alliance
With the Marseilles Pact destroyed at the end of the First Global War, France was looking for a way to rebuild the pre-war alliance. Louis held a conference on March 17, 1875 in the Imperial retreat of Corsica, a few miles from Napoleon I's birth place, with the foreign ministers of several smaller nations, including Greece, Denmark-Norway, and the Netherlands in attendance. They agreed to the idea of an alliance, which one, Dorscth Van Ulbrect, the Dutch Foreign minister, coined the Grand Alliance, although he was joking, but the same stuck. Negotiations with Russia and Great Britain resulted in a major surprise: Russia declined, with its pacts with Turkey and Germany, while Britain joined its ancient enemy, France, due to fear of German intentions, which was to try to expand its military, and especially its navy. However, France was wary of letting Britain join, mostly due to the tensions both countries had experienced for decades, and was worried the United Kingdom would try to usurp France from its position as leader of the alliance.

The First Sino-Japanese War
In Asia, the island power of Japan was beginning to flex its muscle, using its European trained and equipped army and modernized navy (including several steam frigates) to try to increase its power in Asia. Several islands in the North Eastern Pacific were annexed in 1872, and Midway Island was bought from Britain, in return for allowing British ships rights to dock and resupply. Hawaii, although not part of the deal, was experiencing a Japanese immigration boom, making the island over 40% Japanese by 1875, the largest minority in Hawaii.

looked at the Japanese expansionism with increasing nervousness. The advisors to the Chinese Emperor, Tongzhi, and the real power behind the throne, the Empress Dowager, suggested a course to modernize along European lines, but they refused, believing just buying Western weapon's for his army a great shame, but necessary in order to insure the survival of the Chinese Empire. Their Korean puppet, however, took a more direct approach to Japan, quietly looking away when riots, targeting Japanese shops and businessmen, started in 1873, resulting in the death of 29. Japan used this as an excuse to send an army to Seoul, but China protested, and sent an army as well. The Japanese commander, telegraphing Tokyo for instructions, was told to wait for reinforcements, but China and Korea struck first, attacking the Japanese force. However, the Japanese, using their superior weapons and training, managed to hold off 125,000 men, against their 50,000, for four days, before charging the enemy and routing them. The Battle of Icheon was the first of many victories that Japan won in the First Sino-Japanese War, which, after three months, resulted in Japan occupying, and annexing, Korea, and exclusive trade rights in the city of Yanti and Weihai in China, and the right to build a Japanese owned and operated railway from Korea to these cities. The Emperor was forced to abdicate the throne, and his successor, the Guangxu Emperor, tried to start reforms in 1877, but a coup lead by reactionary elements in the army resulted in his house arrest. Reform had been delayed in China again, much to their latter sorrow.