This TL is dedicated to Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, destroyer of Fort Caroline, Admiral in the Spanish
Navy, and above all the founder of St. Augustine.
POD / Scenario[]
In 1792 Europe was on fire. The French Revolution had occurred and killed the King of France. Some Spanish leaders saw the new Republican France as a potentially powerful ally. Others, including most of the Royal Familia with the notable exception of the Duke of Valencia, agreed that the powers of Great Britain, Austria and Russia would be overwhelmingly powerful, even if not at first but their population and industrial capacity would eventually destroy the French. But they were still Spanish and would never ally with the vile English.
As a result of the Royal Familia not agreeing with alliance with France nor Great Britain's Legions, as the Spanish people called the Coalition, Spain decided to stay neutral ... possibly through hell or high water.
But the threat of revolution still hung in the air, so to assure that neither side would destroy Spain, the Royal Familia signed the Spanish Bill of Rights which assured all its citizens equal human rights, from white men to free black men, from white woman to free black women, this move proved to be an excellent deterrent against revolution, especially when the words of peace and non-revolution were backed up with the army's bayonet points as the King could suspend habeas corpus in times of great crisis, such as a revolution.
But they didn't stop there. In secret from the other side they signed non-aggression pacts with both the Coalition and France in return for trading rights.The decision to be neutral proved decisive. The Spanish armies in the New World, the Orient, and in Spain herself grew from white and freed black men enlisting to nearly the amount of Russia's vast army, but unfortunately they still couldn't bring their men to the fighting prowess of other world powers, thus they adopted a Russian approach to the military and had the military tax exempt to encourage growth. But the Spanish Navy is where the power of the Spanish truly lay, they trained the naval men for a longer time then nearly any other nation in the world, some ships such as the HRHS Valencia was rumored to be able to hit any window in London from a mile outside of its port, and although obviously an exaggeration it did show how much the new navy was feared. The navy and army kept Spain as a (somewhat) decisive player in the Americas.
But the 400 Line Infantry arriving in East Florida from Cuba changed everything. Andrew Jackson destroyed Indian settlements in retaliation for them attacking settlements in Georgia. The West Florida Colony was de facto under US control. But the extra division of infantry kept Spanish control in the East a very good possibility.
Adams–Onís Treaty[]
The signing of the Adams-Onis Treaty went awry when the American President declared that West Florida was already under American control. He demanded that the amount of money being paid to the Spanish for Florida be cut to only 1,000,000 dollars. The Spanish immediately responded that the United States was being unreasonable and threatened to walk out of the treaty altogether. The Secretary of State urged the President to change his mind, but he didn't falter and refused to give anymore than that. The Spanish then sent a proposal: Spain would accept the one million dollars in return for the United States recognising East Florida as a Spanish Colony. The President accepted, along with Congress, and the Treaty was signed.
Florida after the signing of the Adams-Onis Treaty[]
Map of the electoral votes in the United States of America showing La Florida
The Spanish in La Florida, as it was now called since there was no East any more, set to work making the colony more prosperous and perhaps even counted among its wealthy colonies. Inspectors went along the coast of Florida to find a good place to create a puerto and eventually they came to Tampa. The area was relatively back-water and very under-populated but it seemed it was the perfect spot to found a city with its almost perfect natural harbor. Thus they founded Puerto de Tampa. The city was almost as soon as its port was built a boom town. The city called home many who were in the shipping business, from harbor workers to merchants and everything in between seemed to live there. The Crown was immensely pleased that the harbor was bringing in
Shows were some major cities of La Florida are (red = Spanish) (blue = USA)
mucho pesos, but unfortunately their exact letter of approval was heavily damaged during the Spanish Civil War so we may never no exactly what they said.
West Florida was admitted to the Union in 1822 as the State of Pensacola with its capital in Pensacola City. The state was the first state to be founded with a significant portion of the population not speaking English. Almost 50% spoke only Spanish which was a whopping statistic at that time.
The city that was the colony's capital was still very much defined but some saw the potential of Tampa with its ever increasing population and said it should be the capital of the colony, while others said it should be St. Augustine the historic capital of La Florida. Even some American settlers in North Florida got into the argument. It eventually got so bad riots occurred in both Tampa and St. Augustine over the issue. Again the records where lost of what exactly the Spanish Crown said but the list of it can be made out from the records of speeches from politicians in La Florida. The Crown had decided to have the governor of the colony, José Juárez to found a capitol. He was personally chosen by the Crown to lead La Florida, and was a signer of the Spanish Bill of Rights as well as a major force behind its writing and approval. José Juárez, reportedly after arguing heavily with his wife and daughter over the issue to the point where he lost his voice, chose to found the city on the St.John's River. Initially the city was set to be called St.John or St.Thomas Aquinas, no one is quite sure, but he eventually decided to name the city Puerto Juárez en el río Santos Juanes (in OTL Jacksonville area) .
Meanwhile while this was happening President Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine which is still in use today. The Doctrine basically states that European colonization of America would cease or it would be taken as a declaration of war. Monroe governed over a relatively peaceful time in US history and the rest of his term was rather uneventful except for the celebrations of his birthday, which to many Americans made them glad that he had to pay out of pocket for those expenses (if you get what I mean).
Unfortunately for La Florida the Era of Good Feelings didn't go very far south of the border. Tampa though very operational, saw a fall in trade after the creation of Juárez. Many just attributed this to statistical chance. Others said it was because the Eastlians (even though they live pretty close to the same line of longitude the people in Juárez and St Augustine were technically east) as they called them where poorer and sucking up their resources. The second idea began to catch fire in Tampa. On February 12, 1824 Tampa seceded from La Florida and Spain. Unfortunately their city-state was crushed in a matter of weeks when Spanish grenadiers entered city-limits the rebels almost literally fled for the hills which where a very long ways away from the flat Florida turf. The grenadiers where ordered not to destroy the city or harm the population. But as grenadiers and wanting the spoils of war they did anyway. When Jackson heard of there actions which included burning churches and home, looting, and raping women and children he had the commander court martialed and the unit disbanded and, in a way, banish from La Florida and forced over the Appalachicola into the wetlands of Louisiana and West Florida, they're never heard from again. The people of the colony and even the President of the United States commended the Governor for decisively acting against an obviously horrible crime.
The Governor was riding a high tide of support from not only the people but the Crown as well. Records that
Maria Josepha
were not damaged show that Governor Juárez was even widely liked in the Spanish Royal Family Some records,mainly letters later found in a secret compartment in the Royal Palace of Madrid, show that he and the Queen of Spain Maria Josepha were even where having an affair at the time as he visited Spain every 2-3 years, but only once did she come to La Florida, in the Spring of 1827 and stayed until the following Spring. Although her letters to her husband said that she was trying to get well from the clean and reputedly healing airs of La Florida it is widely believed that they where deceitful or just out right lies, as during this time Jackson's wife was in a hospital in Pensacola recovering from a high fever and dysentery, whilst he and Maria stayed at the Governors Estate in Juárez.
The citizens of La Florida had prosperous years under Governor Juárez. Although he began to crack down more violently after the death of Maria Josepha, and he also created a memorial to the Queen in the center of the city, as well as nine statues of her in the Governor's Estate. Juárez grew tremendously under the Governor but this is not all that helped spur its growth. The position it was in on the St.John's River gave it substantial income from the citrus farms in East Florida.Tampa did except the Easterners eventually even electing one to be their Mayor in 1832.
But all things must come to end. On December 26, 1834 he died after battling yellow fever and tuberculosis. Governor Juárez was given a state funeral in La Florida, the proceedings lasted almost four days. Flags all across the colony where at half staff to commemorate him and his life. The Crown even was involved in mourning his death, the entire city of Madrid was ordered to be silent for half an hour out of respect for the Governor. The only other person ever to received this honor besides the Royal Family was General Franco for his involvement in restoring the monarchy and being the leading general in the Spanish Civil War.
Like Father, Like Son[]
The colony was put into the hands of his son Pedro Juárez. The people extremely doubted his abilities because of his intense stutter and young age of 21. Soon though a problem arose to challenge his prowess. The American settlers in the Northern region began to speak out against the monarchy and called for the colony to be annexed by America. Although no one knows why the Americans chose this time to speak out against the Crown and the colony many believe it is because of the new Governor's disabilities created an opportunity for them.
Whatever the reason Governor Pedro Juárez acted almost immediately. He sent a battalion of militia from Juárez to the region. The commanding officer told the Americans that if they would not end the speech against the crown they would be forced out of the country. Seminole Natives in the area joined the militia as the settlers often tried to push them off their lands. Anti-American sentiment ran high in the Spanish camps.
Seminole soldiers attacking an American house in the North Florida Territory
The Americans, with the remembrances of a bloody war against another crown, refused to stop critisizing the Spanish Monarchy. Colonel Jose, following orders, attacked American settlements and drove them across the US-Spanish border. Bloody conflicts continued in the wooded areas but the white settlers where no match for trained Spanish grenadiers and Cherokee warriors. Many met a horrible fate with all there possessions burned and their family killed. The horror of the event was not fully realised until the records were released in 1902.
Governor Pedro was hailed as a hero in La Florida for expelling the Americans who were constantly plaguing the people and were viewed pretty much like illegal immigrants in the 21rst century America. The American President criticized his actions, what he said exactly remains unknown but the responses to his speech show that it was something between a criticism to nearly a declaration of war against Spain. But whatever he said many officials in La Florida to New Spain where out-raged by his speech. Not surprisingly many records show that the citizens of La Florida began to exhibit many anti-American sentiments to the point of hate-crimes against merchants from the US.
The Natives were rewarded for their bravery by issuing Declaración de los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas de la Florida which guaranteed that Natives in La Florida where to have the same rights as a Spaniard. The Declaración de los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas de la Florida was met with great controversy as no document like it was ever issued by the Spanish or any European power in North America. The official reaction by the crown was lost during the Spanish Civil War but it wasn't good. From what we can tell by Governor Pedro Juárez's response is that his Governorship was threatened and apparently very seriously as the issue didn't come up again until 1844.
The Wars of Hispanic Independence 1838-1844[]
The Spanish Crown soon after the Mississippi Event had much larger problems then annoying Americanos.
Spanish cavalry in New Spain riding around the flanks of the enemy at the Battle of Tijuana
Many colonies in the New World were rebelling. The armies in the New World weren't prepared for all out rebellion because of the new Spanish King's dissolution of the Spanish Bill of Rights on October 31, 1838, he did this because he said that the bill of rights went against the divine right of the king who was supposedly chosen by the church. Thankfully (or unfortunately according to your view) according to records almost all of the colonies had a significant amount of soldiers who weren't wishing to renounce their loyalty to the King though many questioned his actions, so they stayed with the Crown. Fighting seemed to be going in favor of the Spanish Loyalist initially. One such example of this was at the Battle of Tijuana where the Loyalist and Rebel armies fought three miles outside of the city and fought ferociously. Although the records of many of the battles were sent to Spain for preservation they were lost in the Spanish Civil War, but we can get a picture of what happened from a Loyalist journal.
We saw the enemy and formed battleranks. The noise of the shots are deafening, yet seeing the enemy's head severed from his shoulders or his gut thrown towards the sky always seems to outweigh the pain in my ears. About halfways through the battle we readied our bayonets. It's a joke really, only a third of us really have bayonets, some in desperation had melted sharp pieces of metal to the gun's barrel, others only needed a yell and they would if they had to rip the other's throat out with ther their teeth. Thank God for the cavalry though, they hit them in their unaware and tore through them, and with a shout of strength we charged. The fighting lasted until dawn of the next day and we stood with blood in our face and hair, victorious.
But all this changed with Fernando Bolivar, nephew of Simon Bolivar. Records of his ascent to power in the rebellion were lost during the Bolivian Civil War after his death. But however it happened he became the Washington of the South. In the Guyanas he organized the rebels into ten divisions. The Spanish military never even saw it coming, four division on both sides of the army hiding in the jungle while two where plainly seen and vulnerable. The Spanish fell into their hands as the engaged the supposedly small army seven divisions fell onto their flanks while one hit them in the back. Within two hours the entire Spanish army was either captured or slaughtered. Bolivar's army soon secured the rest of the Guyanas and his men marched into Venezuela. The First Venezuelan Division of the Crown was already neck high in debt and their soldiers had been not paid for almost five months and morale was worse then a rabbit becoming stuck with fifteen dogs on their back. Needless to say the army didn't even need to employ any deception methods as the entire army almost entirely surrendered when they saw the extra troops supporting the rebel's flanks. Venezuela fell in three weeks. Bolivar's men entered Central America in 14 weeks with the Colombian's Spanish army falling after the Battle of Carepa destroying any supply rout from New Spain. Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, Argentina and Ecuador had already fallen to extremely violent guerrilla warfare.
Panama was one of the few areas that were nearly 80-90% Loyalist because of the Atlántico al Pacífico a la Autopista which connected two ports, one on the Atlantic and the other on the Pacific, which was guarded by Spanish troops to keep the highway clear and safe. This employed nearly 57% of the population of Panama. Thus Panama would not be as easy to destroy as the Guyanas or Venezuela.
Siege of Panama
Bolivar's men entered the province largely unopposed. But this quickly changed as they neared the capital. The city was heavily defended and would be suicide to attack head on, thus Bolivar decided to do the first and last major siege of the Wars of Hispanic Independence. He surrounded the city for almost 5 months from 1843-1844, before the city fell to Bolivar, leaving the rout to Mexico City wide open. Within 4 weeks Mexico City fell as the demoralized army, under-funded, under equipped army fell nearly as soon as they saw them and on September 22, 1844 all Spanish colonies in the New World were recognized as independent by Spain, France, the USA, Sweden, Russia, and Switzerland with the signing of the Peace Accords of Madrid.
Vive la Revolucion![]
La Florida didn't stay silent during this time of great upheaval. The people of the colony rose against the Crown with the dissolving of the bill of rights. Tampa, St. Augustine, Juárez, and most of East Florida was in revolt as soon as word of the Bill of Rights being repealed was brought over. Governor Pedro who was very devoted to Spain throughout his entire life was torn. His father was the driving force behind writing the Spanish Bill of Rights but he was born and raised to respect and serve the crown. Many first-hand accounts say that he was fiercely arguing with his wife to the point that servants where afraid to enter his room. But on December 15, 1838 22 delegates from all over La Florida sent the Declaración de secesión del Reino de España to the Governor and on the same day it arrived (December 22, 1838) after reading it he signed the document and had the document read in the main plaza of Juárez.
The people accepted the document with tremendous joy. But unfortunately the grenadiers did not and they declared the Governor a traitor and attempted to storm the Governor's Estate but the people overwhelmed the grenadiers and they were killed and not a single one made past the statues of Maria Josepha who was said to be watching with joy. The day after the attempted storming of the Governor's Estate, Pedro Juárez declared himself President-for-Life and he said that he would hold the position until the end of the crisis.
The colony was in a unique position as nearly all of its military capacity was in its navy and the army was comprised in the navy. The naval ships fired upon the city that it was situated in Tampa, St. Augustine, and Juárez where soon under heavy bombardment. St. Augustine's Castillio de San Marcos was under fire again for the first time since the French and Indian War. But this did not last as the ships were forced out to sea by coastal guns. This effectively ended the revolution on land in La Florida.
La Florida during the War of Hispanic Independence was in a constant state of naval warfare around the entire peninsula. Several warships were created in Tampa after lumber was cut down in the surrounding territory. The Floridians were very good sailors and were so good that one Seminole tribe refused to call them anything other then 'the men who learn to sail before they can walk'. But there sailing skills, which were prided upon by nearly all Floridians, were no match for the trained Spanish sailors. Even though the Floridians could sail faster then them, even circles around them but that meant nearly nothing until real naval guns were
the EFB Juárez engaging a Spanish vessel with inadequate weaponry
purchased from the Americans.
But this did not happen for a few years. During this time the Floridian Navy was reduced to hit and run tactics using very fast sloop-class vessels. The President-for-Life Juárez meets with the American President Martin Van Buren, who had protested the Spanish Bill of Rights being removed as a "...nearly demonic and extremely vile thing.". President-for-Life Juárez and President Van Buren agree to a deal of something similar to the Lend-Lease Act in the late 1930s-early 1940s, basically what is signed is that America "lending" her navy against the Spanish Navy which was now being overstretched but still formidable, in return for a "lease" of the Florida Keys until they were officially recognized by Spain.
This act greatly hurt the Spanish Armada as now they were having to fight a real naval war, not against a rag tag bunch of fishermen and traders but a real, trained, and potent enemy. The results were seen in 5-weeks (this clarity of when the Spanish Armada had its knees broken and its throat slit is because Puerto de Tampa had extremely accurate records of the amount of money going in and out of the port) and the results were seen quite quickly aft' that. The wealth of this city had declined sharply since the end of the Spanish Control and the beginning of the Spanish Blockade. But now that the money was rolling back in they could now buy weapons from other places except the United States, whom many thought that their relationship was dealing with the devil.
la Cruz de la Florida de Valor
The Florida Navy soon turned from direct confrontation with the Spanish to protecting trading vessels. The crew of the EFB (Estado de la Florida del Buque) Juárez was awarded by President-for-Life Pedro Juárez the Florida Cross of Valor after destroying the Spanish Ship-of-the-Line Isabella.
The naval war continued vigorously until the FSS Juárez along with US vessels and other Florida ships destroyed the Port of Havana effectively crippling the Spanish trade in the Caribbean.
The day of September 22, 1844 was a day of joyous celebration all throughout the New World from Portland to Ushuaia, Richmond to Mexico City, Washington to Juárez. Every man rejoiced that the war was over.
Convención Constituyente[]
| |||||||
| Capital | Puerto Juárez en el río Santos Juanes | ||||||
| Largest city | Puerto Juárez en el río Santos Juanes | ||||||
| Language official |
Spanish (official) | ||||||
| others | French,Portuguese,Native Languages, English | ||||||
| Religion | Catholic (90.5%), Native Religions (0.5%), Protestant (7.4%), Islam (0.6%), Other (1%) | ||||||
| Area | OTL East Florida km² | ||||||
| Independence | from Spain | ||||||
| declared | Decmber 22, 1838 | ||||||
| recognized | September 22, 1844 | ||||||
| Currency | Florida Dollar | ||||||
The Wars of Hispanic Independence were over. Latin America faced a new problem, the same problem another nation had just 60 years before in 1787... creating a workable government out of the ashes of war. President-for-Life Juárez called together the smartest minds in La Florida from Tampa to St. Augustine to create a constitution. The men where from multiple walks of life and were all incredibly smart. Those men were nearly as varied as La Florida was, out of the 56 men who attended (roughly 3-4 from each province) 16 were Seminole, 3 were Creek, 7 were black, and the remaining 30 were all white but this divergence in skin color and race did not hamper the Constitutional Convention as the Spanish Bill of Rights had been in place for a long time before it was destroyed and the effects of it may not have been total tolerance but it was more then enough.
Debate[]
The delegate's first job was to decide the basic principles of their new nation, democratic, autocratic, constitutional monarchy, oligarchy, or some amalgam of them all. The delegates first agreed that a democracy should be in place but the men looked back in history and saw the massive amounts of failures of the democratic system and its corrupting effects over the population and their leaders.
Florida Carta de Derechos[]
So after much debate an Constitutional Monarchy was established. But the only limit on the King's power was the Supreme Court and the Florida Carta de Derechos which said that people had the right to Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Freedom from the Government Artificially Controlling Prices, the Right to Bear Arms, Right to not be Maliciously Discriminated Against because of Race, Religion, Sex, or Creed, Right to Privacy, Right to a Lawyer, Right to a Fair Trial, Right to not have the Government force a Citizen to Purchase Something, and the Right to Peacefully Assemble.
Supreme Court[]
Fifteen Judges would be voted into office by the people to decide if the King's Laws or Acts were Constitutional and if they weren't they would be thrown out, or if he did an action maliciously and deliberately against the Constitution or the Orders of the Supreme Court he then could be forced to abdicate by a 2/3 majority, the Judges would also be the only ones able to Repeal Laws (per request of the King) or add new Rights (or Freedoms) to the Bill of Rights (again per request of the King) by a 2/3 vote by the Judges, the Provincial Legislatures, and the Governors. They can also Repeal Rights/Freedoms with a 2/3 vote of the Judges and 2/3 of the Provincial Legislatures (if it doesn't come out as a whole number its rounded to the closest whole number), and 2/3 of the Governors. Also they could force a King to abdicate if after a fair trial they decide he has committed felony crime.
The People's voice came in to the Executive office only when a King had died and left no direct heir, the people would then vote for a new King either from his family or not.
The Coronation of King Pedro I
The Constitución de la Florida was signed by all 56 Delegates and the President of the Convention Pedro Juárez. The People rejoiced at the new government and the voting took place soon aft'. The King of Florida was voted in by 94% of the population... this man was Pedro Juárez and he was selected to be King. He was crowned on September 22, 1845 as King Pedro I of Florida.
Reino de la Florida[]
Map of the Florida Provinces
His first act as King was to create an official language. He chose the native language of the people of La Florida, Spanish. The Supreme Court ruled the law Constitutional. The effect was not at first seen but it would be seen eventually. The new King made thing run smoothly throughout the new Kingdom. He solved several disputes between Provinces such as the exact size of the Tampa Bay Province, or the boundary between Lakes and Marion, or most famously the dividing up of the water of Lake Okeechobee. He was regarded as a good and benevolent King by nearly everyone. The time in Florida was beautiful and serene, the trade arrived and left on schedule, the natives were peaceful, and the Americanos had finally decided Florida wasn't worth the trouble of the annoying mosquitoes, and the people who could never understand what they were saying without getting angry and sometimes wishing they had bought that shot-gun that they saw in the shop down the road.
King Pedro I was widely liked and known. This was especially true in Latin America after Bolivar died well past his time in 1847. This was because of the Bolivarian Civil War. Many saw him as a great reformer to the Spanish ways of monarchy. The New York Gazette even published an article about him saying that "...[K]ing [Pedro I] is widely seen as the reason monarchies have been around for such a long time without democratic reform, benevolence." His reign was marked by a stark peacefulness that hadn't been seen in Florida for many centuries, possibly even the first time that the whole peninsula was in a relative state of peace and (relatively) friendly diplomacy. Often he would ride throughout the Reino de la Florida just to see what was there. His travels as a King challenged the travel of even the great traveling of Emperor Hadrian of the Roman Empire.
Various things did arise to challenge the king, one of the most famous was that the flag was heavily influenced by the Catholic denomination of Christianity and that the people had been given the freedom of religion. He replied that "So do you want me to outlaw Christmas, Easter, Lent, Palm Sunday, and days of Thanksgiving as well?" The man realised that the freedom of religion didn't outlaw the government being influenced by religion just banning a religion or imposing things against one. The Supreme Court upheld the decision and stated that "Though the flag is heavily influenced by Catholicism it does not interfere with the Freedom of Religion. The Catholic influences simply reflect the fact that Florida is heavily Catholic and was heavily Catholic since the arrival of the Spanish. The fact that the Freedom of Religion has been given to Floridians doesn't mean that the government must be totally devoid of religion, in fact quite the opposite could be true it could very well have all the Judges as Catholic Bishops and have every Saint's feast day as a national holiday. All the Freedom of Religion grants is that no one shall be punished for their believes and their religion shan't be banned or have restrictions forced upon it."
Eventually he did settle down though and he stopped most of his travels in 1848 and settled down with his family in Jacksonville in the Royal Palace of Florida. He was at this time childless but he did eventually have five girls whom names were Isabella, Sophia, Esmeralda, Alba, and Carmen he had one boy who was twins with Esmeralda, his name was Pedro Jackson II. King Pedro I faced the first military attack against Florida since the revolution in 1859.
El Comercio Inhumanos[]
Mean while in the United States the issue of slavery became a hotly debated topic. Not that it hadn't been but the question was soon getting larger then it ever had been. The slaves that escaped to Florida even during the Hispanic Wars of independence were huge. The number of escaped slaves fleeing to Florida had succeeded that of the ones fleeing to Canada in 1842. Many Southerners called for slave finders to go into Florida and capture the slaves to return them.
In response King Pedro I, who had been a staunch abolitionist his entire life, decreed the Decreto de la Libertad in 1849 which said that all slaves escaping to Reino de la Florida from the United States would be free and granted Floridian citizenship and it officially outlawed slavery in the Reino de la Florida, the Supreme Court barely passed the Decree with a 8-7 vote.
Many Southerners felt outrage at the act and some even called for war against the nation. The United States government did everything it could to prevent the Southern people from becoming hostile against the Floridians.
All this was occurring the Bolivarian Civil War tore South America apart. His generals all vied for power with extremely loyal troops who would fight to the end for their general's cause. The scene reminded many of Rome before its collapse into the Roman Empire, and everyone was looking for the Augustus.
Guerra Civil Bolivariana 1847-1947[]
General Sanchez advancing on Lieutenant General Hernandez
The Bolivian Empire had disintegrated after Bolivar's death. He hadn't done much of anything after the war as he was well older then most people and was quite tired after the exhausting, bloody war. Often he could do nothing but lie in bed and do nothing.
After his (fairly late) passing his generals bickered over who should have the crown of Bolivia. All of them said that Bolivar in private had said that they were his heirs. Unfortunately they couldn't share power and the Bolivian Civil War began on June 1, 1847, three weeks after Bolivar's death.
The war began in the Bolivian capital of Caracas as General Sanchez and his men stormed the capital building and took control of the city. The other generals saw it was time to take advantage of the disunity and distrust, along with the confusion to finish the bickering once and for all.
General Sanchez and Lieutenant General Hernandez were at each others throat throughout the rest of their lives. The first battle between them was at Maiquietia were the out-come was undetermined. The other Generals took control of other provinces and attacked each other to gain the most land and power.
The New York Gazette said that "The [Bolivian] Civil War is tearing away at the fabric of the Bolivian Kingdom. The bloody civil war's first battle was at the city of Maiquetia, very close to the start of the civil war in Caracas, in fact the distance is roughly from Annapolis to Washington DC. The battle proved indecisive and is likely to be the way most of the battles in the war play out."
Unfortunately the New York Gazette was right. The battles were almost entirely indecisive. Generals would send their men to battle and watch as both sides were killed, slaughtered on the field in droves. All for nothing as the battles would rarely gain more then perhaps 100-200 yards. Any more then two miles was considered a major advance after the battle lines were drawn.
Soon the bogged down troops learned not to go out of their defensive positions as even looking over the trench's edge often caused the entire enemy line to open up. Artillery was perhaps the only thing that could reach out and do any damage. Of course none of the generals would give up the chance to rule most of Latin America, so until their nation was destroyed they would not give up.
.svg){kind=link}
Map of Gran Colombia and other South American nations
Lieutenant General Hernandez and General Sanchez finally had a last battle at Caracas in 1857 and Sanchez was killed by Hernandez himself during a cavalry charge. Hernandez then conquered what remained of the Province of Grand Colombia with little resistance as most of the soldiers fled into the wilderness.
The other generals still fought amazingly ferociously. Their troops fought often until the sound of retreat was called and even then often they would be unwilling to leave and the officers had to convince the men to leave. This was to be the standard in the Bolivian Civil War.
Gran Colombian troops in 1919
Hernandez died in 1862 and left a clear successor along with most of the other generals who were beginning to feel the weariness of war upon themselves. Hernandez II was just as power-hungry as his father, this was the standard in the General's sons. In 1879 the last original general died and yet their sons still fought the war of their fathers (the only exception to this was Mexico which in 1861 declared itself neutral). The war was going to become one of the longest continuously lasting wars in the history of humanity
La reacción[]
.png){kind=link}
the USA at the time of the México Declaración de Neutralidad
La Florida and the USA watched the Great South American War intently, they examined the tactics, the strategy, but most of all they tried to see what had come of those tactics and strategies. Soon the entire world had realised that any war between two or more equally powered nations was going to be a long drawn-out and bloody battle.
Asuntos del Mundo[]
United States of America[]
The United States in 1856 signed a treaty with the UK over the Oregon Territory called the Oregon Treaty.
Spain[]
Spain after the Wars of Hispanic Independence was sent reeling. In the main land Spain proper underwent a mini-revolution the king was forced to abdicate and the people re-instated the Spanish Bill of Rights and elected Isabella II as Queen of Spain. She passed many reforms, but was always looking over her shoulder trying to not have a repeat performance of the former king.
Prussia and the German States[]
Map of Europe 1875
Prussia united the German States and Denmark in 1860 in the Krieg der Deutschen Einheit after having inspiration from studying the tactics of Hernandez in South America against Sanchez. The new German state was immediately a super power. The combined forces of the German peoples were nearly unstoppable as the constant warring had honed their expertise in war-making to nearly an estimated 20:1 fighting ratio against other European powers.
Austria-Hungary[]
Austria was influenced by the Krieg der Deutschen Einheit in ways not expected. In 1867 the Treaty of Vienna was signed bringing the royal families of Austria and Hungary together into one nation called Austria-Hungary. They then sweep south and unite the Balkans under the banner of Austria-Hungary.
Low Countries[]
The Low-Countries signed the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1869. The new state named itself after the predecessor of all those nations the United Provinces.
Poland[]
Polish people rose up against the Russians in 1873 and with help from Germany gained its independence from Russia. It was later discovered that Germany recognized Poland only because it agreed to grant immunity to the Kaiser's son who was imprisoned in Poland because of the mysterious death of his fiancee.
Italy and the Papal States[]
The Italian Unification Wars begins in 1870. Italia is reunited under the banner of a single nation for the first time since the Roman Empire. Italy attempts to conquer the Papal States but fails to destroy the Swiss Guard who protect the area of greater Rome. After nearly 3 years the Kingdom of Italy signs the Treaty of the Vatican which gives Italy most of the Papal territory besides a square around Rome which would stay as the Papal States. The Italians make Venice their capital.
Reino de la Florida in 1859[]
1859 was a year of war-fare on the peninsula not seen in a long time. King Pedro I's Decreto de la Libertad had angered the South to the extreme. the 36th United States Congress was mostly Southern Democrats after the Decreto de la Libertad had pushed some populations of northern states who did not approve, nor disapprove slavery into voting Southern Democrat as they saw the act as a motion against the southern people.
The 36th Congress looked for any reason to declare war against La Florida. Georgia militia even once went into La Florida itself and burned Pedro Rey de la Ciudad, a village of about 70-150 (the records were badly damaged) and burned the place to the ground, then erected an American flag in the village. A Floridian merchant who was passing through the area and saw the flag. He then told Suwanee authorities. They looked at the scene and reported it directly to the Governor of Suwanee. King Pedro I was informed with-in 48 hours of the event that American militia had attacked a Floridian village. Furious he sent letter to President Buchanan. Buchanan read the note which said:
Dear Mr. President,
It has become evident that the American military has attacked a Floridian village of 100 persons. They slaughtered man, women and child. The village was then burned and a American flag was hoisted in what was left of the town-square. I tell you this now as I see that it has become evident that my declaration of giving your slaves the ability to escape to freedom has caused great hatred against the Kingdom of Florida. I ask you to properly punish whomsoever has committed this crime or hand him over to Floridian Authorities.
Signed,
Rey Pedro Hernandez Juárez
As well as this letter La Floridian diplomats in the United States were ordered not to discuss anything with Americans.
Buchanan did absolutely nothing. King Pedro I waited for 2 weeks and sent almost 2 telegrams a day to the White House. The United States government did nothing to either punish nor look for the offenders. He acted on March 12, 1859, Floridian Grenadiers from St. Augustine marched into southern Georgia and attacked Cairo, Georgia. They returned the favor from Pedro Rey de la Ciudad and burned the city to the ground and put the city to the sword.
This is exactly what the 36th Congress wanted. Buchanan asked Congress to declare war against the Reino de la Florida. They happily agreed. On March 25, 1859 the United States declared war against the Reino de la Florida.
The Floridian-American War of 1859[]
[What I used as a map of Georgia http://www.georgia-map.org/road-map.htm]
[What I used as a map of Florida http://www.florida-map.org/road-map.htm]
Beginning of the War[]
King Pedro I declared war on the United States 30 minutes after the news of the United State's declaration of war against La Florida was received. Within 14 hours the entire militia was mobilized. Within 17 hours the BSM (Buque de Su Majestad) Juárez had set out to sea along with the BSM St.Augustine, the BSM Tampa, the BSM Appalachicola, and the BSM Suwanee. Within 19 hours all Forts and military personnel were put on High Alert. Within 21 hours the First Suwanee Militia was sent out into southern Georgia.
The war began with a bang. The artillery brought with the First Suwanee Militia pounded at Thomasville, Georgia. The Georgian militia came to attempt to relieve the city on March 27, 1859 only to find the city was already burned and they had moved on. The Suwanees hit Ochlocknee already by the time the militia arrived in Thomasville. Once again the city was captured then put to the sword.
During this time the Floridian Navy had sailed up the East Coast and bombarded St. Mary's, Brunswick and Sea Island. The cities were smoldering wrecks by the time the Georgia division of the Coast Guard arrived, four days later, and all that was found of the settlements was a broken and shell-shocked people.
Battle of Sterling[]
The United States was off to a bad start. The Georgian militia along with now the professional military could never seem to find the First Suwanee Militia and always seemed to be a day or so behind them. The Second Grenadier Division from St.Augustine had joined with New River-St.Mary Militia on its way up the East Coast on March 31, 1859 along with additional Seminole re-enforcements from Lakes Province. The combined force hit Moniac on April 1, 1859 then swept up the coast hitting Folkson, Silco, Woodbine, and White Oak by April 8, 1859. Finally the US military hit the Floridian Army in a fair fight.
The Army of the Potomac and the Combined Floridian Force stuck each other April 9, 1859 the Battle of Sterling lasted for 3 days. The native's fighting style along with European style had been taught to most of Florida's military, professional and not. The native's style was seen as a tactic to destroy a larger and more powerful force. The Grenadiers, Militia, and Seminole force used this tactic against the Army of the Potomac. The Battle of Sterling ended in a US defeat. The Army of the Potomac was routed, the rout was so full that it was only ended once they had reached Savannah.
East Coast Campaign[]
The Combined Floridian Force kept with the original plan and stuck Sterling, Darien, Shellman Bluff and Riceboro by April 19, 1859. The Army of the Potomac (after it was re-organized) came back to challenge the force once more. The Battle of Richmond Hill ended indecisively. Both armies were forced to withdraw to a better defended position. The destruction along the Georgian Coast was done though, cities were in ruins and farms were destroyed.
Capture of the First Suwanee Militia[]
The First Suwanee Militia at this time didn't halt for more then a night. They hit Pelham, Camilla, Newton, Leary, and Morgan relatively unopposed as their moves were eccentric and often confusing even for the officers. The troops burned every settlement they could find and often out the residences to the sword. Their movement were finally pinned by the Army of the Appalachicola which surrounded them in Dawson. Over 1,000 were killed, 500 went missing, and 1,500 were captured. The POWs were sent to Andersonville Prison.
Andersonville[]
Andersonville Prison was not completed by the time the POWs arrived. The walls had barely gone up when they arrived. Commander Wirz was the Commanding Officer at Andersonville, he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep the prisoners fed but he took them in any-way. He had the prisoners cut down the surrounding trees and forced them to build the main building for the Officer's Quarters along with the Guards Quarters. But when they were completed not much wood was left as the prison itself had been built out of the surrounding trees. Thus he ordered the remain 17 trees be cut down and chopped into fire-wood. But POWs kept arriving.
Private Jose Juanito at Andersonville Prison
After the first month the fire-wood was gone. The food for reasons unknown to Wirz had stopped arriving, conditions had begun to spiral down quite quickly. Very soon the food had run out and the POWs began to starve. The main stream going though the camp was used as a latrine and a source of water. Dysentery, Scurvy and Malnutrition set in with-in a week. Soon the POWs were starving, guards had to take the dead bodies out of the now crowded prison so they could give it a sort of proper funeral without having the body be cannibalised by the other prisoners.
The conditions only continue to deteriorate. More and more POWs continue to arrive with news of the war as the telegraph lines to the camp had been cut. Soon it becomes apparent that they can no longer bring in any more POWs. Commander Wirz sent a letter to Buchanan telling him that Andersonville is in no shape to accept any more Prisoners of War.
Andersonville mass grave
Buchanan hears his proposal and on August 20, 1859 sends a secret order that all United States Prisoners of War be executed immediately as the government can no longer afford to care for them. All 6,551 (that is the number of bodies found by 2011) of the prisoners are executed and buried in a mass grave.
Battle of Savannah[]
The Battle of Savannah was fought between the Combined Floridian Force and the Army of the Potomac. The CFF attacked Savannah on August 29, 1859. They had been consolidating their defences along the coast and building defences especially around Riceboro.
The Floridian Navy had sent the BSM Naples, the BSM Victory, the BSM Keyes, and the BSM St. John's to re-enforce the naval group already at sea. They formed the Atlantic Florida Naval Task Group. The AFNTG had bombarded Savannah but failed to destroy the city. They also went up the coast and hit Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Wilmington, Crown Pointe, Havelock, and Elizabeth City. The Battle of Chesapeake Bay was the first time the AFNTG had gotten into a serious naval battle (although one of the crewman aboard the BSM Juárez did argue very strongly the in Charleston a very angry fisherman came alongside the ship and was the groups real first naval battle as the fisherman blew a 5 foot wide hole in the ship's side) they won against the American Navy but lost the BSM Keyes in the battle.
The CFF hit Savannah and the ensuing battle was horrific. The Americans had been supplied with weapons from New England. The CFF had surrounded the city and had attacked the city from all sides. The Floridians made a headway throughout the poorer districts but on the other side of the city the army was having a tougher time at it. The US Army beat the CFF back out to their defensive positions. The Floridians were in the poorer areas, but when the Floridians in the other side of the city routed the Americans turned 'round and hit en masse. The Floridians had not expected this and routed as soon as the first bayonets hit their ranks. Soon the Floridians were forced back to Riceboro.
Revelation of the Andersonville Horrors[]
The Americans didn't give any quarter. They pursued the Floridians down to Riceboro where another battle ensued. Once again the Floridians were forced to retreat. This continued as the Americans hit Shellman Bluff, Darien, Sterling, Sea Island, and Brunswick by September 1, 1859. During these battles over 2,300 Floridians were killed and 1,900 were captured, they were all brutally killed and buried in a mass grave. A Floridian spy, Richard McLeod, took a picture of the events. He then sent the horrific picture along with a report and a photograph smuggled out of Andersonville of Private Jose Juanito, to King Pedro I. Horrified at the American's actions he gave a speech to the people of Juárez and shows the pictures. The news-paper printed the pictures and sent copies of it to the front. Generals and officers were sickened by the photographs and the regular infantry saw the pictures and many became physically sick by the sight. General Alberto ordered that his troops never surrender as surrender now meant death. The other generals followed suit, within 2 days of the news-paper arriving all General had issued similar orders.
Battle of Moniac and the Entering of Florida[]
The American military continued its march down the East Coast. They swept through White Oak, Woodbine, Kingsland, and Silco. The Floridian military still fought valiantly. They (of course) never surrendered, but now with the information of the killing of their comrades they fought harder and braver. But bravery and determination can only get one so far with bullets and bayonets. They still had to fall back many times as to not be totally destroyed by the American bullets. They fought and lost at St. Mary's and Folkson. Now their dogged determination increased the closer the got to the Florida-US border. Re-enforcements arrived on September 15, 1859 after the battle of Folkson. The 2,500 extra troops from the Duval Province fought at the battle of Moniac.
The Battle of Moniac was one of the most bloody battles of the war. The Floridian troops were attacked by the Army of the Potomac. They fought gallantly but it was futile. They were outgunned by the US troops and they were killed in scores. The entire Seminole regiment routed and caused panic in the lines. They retreated over the Florida border and the Americans had won the day. They made camp for the night before going over the St. Mary's into Florida-proper.
Invasion of Florida[]
The Army of the Potomac entered Florida on September 17, 1859. They entered New River-St.Mary's Province encountering resistance from the local people. But unorganized rabble was no match for the professional army. they sacked the city of Macclenny, Middleburg and Penny Farms. The CFF had retreated to Juárez where they prepared the city's defences, St. Augustine prepared the Castillio de San Marcos for a siege and brought the artillery up to their positions and instituted a curfew.
The Army of the Potomac hit Greencove Springs, and Orange Park before they looked towards Juárez.
The CFF was re-enforced by the conscription of nearly all men between 18-50, but they really had nearly every man between the ages of 13-60 ready to fight even though they hadn't been officially conscripted.
The Army of the Appalachicola invaded Leon Province on September 18, 1859. They swept down and encountered heavy losses but victories none-the-less at Monticello, Wacissa, Tallahassee, Norfleet, and Crawford. They were turned back at St. Mark's where they fled to Tallahassee only to find that Floridian partisans had retaken the city. The Army of the Appalachicola turns back and tries to make it to Crawford only once again to find that the guards that they left behind in the city was to small and was over-taken by the Floridian partisans. The partisans from Tallahassee and Crawford trap the Army of the Appalachicola and annihilate them leaving only 120 captured who are then brutally killed as retaliation for the Andersonville horrors and the killing of the 1,900.
The Army of the Potomac though had better luck as they didn't leave enough people to be partisans in any of the cities that they had conquered. They decide to then hit Juárez, they surround the city on October 7, 1859.
Siege of Juárez[]
Picture of the defensive fortifications of Juárez
The Siege of Juárez lasted from October 7, 1859 to February 1, 1860. The Floridians trapped inside the city had been preparing for a siege and had prepared great defensive works around the city and stored food in large warehouses filled with meats, vegetables, and fruits all preserved with inordinate amounts of salt from the salt farms in St. Augustine. The food was more then enough to last the winter.
The artillery battle that ensued around Juárez that winter was incredible. It rivaled the heavy artillery battles going on in South America. The mortars were especially useful in the siege. They could fire up and over the walls of earth around Juárez and either into the city or into the enemy army. The Army of the Potomac had significantly less mortars than the Floridians but the regular artillery that they did have was more then enough to cause wide-spread death in the city.
The Army of the Potomac did suffer heavy casualties in this siege as the massive amounts of mortars in Juárez inflicted massive numbers of wounded and dead. The AotP didn't give up until the last, though. It was on January 29, 1860 that the Floridians sallied forth and after three days of heavy fighting drove the AotP away from the city. The AotP's rout was unlike was unlike what had been seen since the early days of the war. They retreated all the way back to Moniac, Georgia where they stayed to lick their wounds.
Peace[]
King Pedro I sends a letter to the President Buchanan asking for peace talks. He soundly refuses. In response the Floridian Navy attacks Jamestown and Williamsburg. The telegraph is sent once more asking for peace or promising further hits along the US coastline as the majority of the USN on the East Coast was destroyed in the Battle of Chesapeake Bay and the USN on the West Coast would take still at the very least three or four months to arrive on the East Coast. Again he refused. The CFF was sent to Moniac were on March 2, 1860 they hit the AotP and slaughtered them in the night.
The AFNTG then sailed up the Potomac where they shelled DC for a night. The night after the 'Washington Raid' King Pedro I sent one more telegraph to Buchanan and warned that if he didn't agree to peace talks the shelling would continue to take place. He finally agreed to peace talks.
The King of Florida and President Buchanan met in Richmond, Virginia. They discussed the terms. At first King Pedro I wanted the State of Pensacola and Georgia ceded to the Reino de la Florida. Buchanan obviously refused. Buchanan then wanted for Florida to join the Union. Now Pedro refused. They argued like this for almost a week before the terms were laid out.
Treaty of Richmond[]
The Treaty of Richmond said this:
1) The Reino de la Florida and the United States of America shall cease to have a state of war between them.
2) The United States of America shall admit that they were the aggressors in the said war.
3) The Reino de la Florida shall receive $22,000,000 from the United States of America as war reparations.
4) United States of America shall admit wrong doing at Andersonville Prison and the killing of Prisoners of War.
5) The Reino de la Florida shall gain unlimited access to the Appalachicola River, Chattahoochee River and the Flint River
6) The United States of America shall admit that escaped slaves to Reino de la Florida are free from their former master and ANY other human being and shall be universally recognized as free-men.
The United States Congress approved the Treaty of Richmond on March 29, 1860 with heavy in contempt but the fact that Floridian Warships were still right outside of DC and able to launch a full broadside in a moments notice help push the treaty through.
Gobernante del Caribe[]
The time after the Floridian-American War was one punctuated by the growth of Floridian power especially in the Caribbean. The Reino de la Florida's growth in power is now mostly attributed to the defeat of the Americans whom the largest most successful nation in the world, Britain hadn't been able to do (the Mexicans aren't included as there was no Mexican-American War). The Floridian shipping increased almost over night as the nation was no longer viewed as a back-water nation of woodsmen.
King Pedro I who is now 47 signed an agreement with Britain and Spain to allow Floridian ships to dock at their ports in the Caribbean and that the Floridian Military would occupy Jamaica and Puerto Rico in exchange for confirmation that British and Spanish interest in those colonies and other colonies of theirs in the Caribbean would be backed by Florida. The Colonial Tratado de Protección de London was agreed to by the Judges with a 10-5 vote.
The Floridian Army occupied those two colonies on July 12, 1860 three days after the signing. The colonies initially rejected their new masters but after a few days they accepted them as the natural progression as a colony of the crown. The Florida Navy quickly set to work traveling the sea lanes for any signs of pirating or other nations. The BSM Juárez attacked three pirate vessels on September 3, 1860 and successfully destroyed all three of the vessels with barely a scratch on their hulls. Soon the trade in the Caribbean consisted almost solely of Floridian vessels as more and more ships were being built.
Environmental Protection Act[]
Map of Florida with the Everglades National Preserve
Ecologist soon realised that at the rate that Florida was cutting down trees they would lose nearly all of their forest by 1879. As a response King Pedro I issued the Ley de Protección Ambiental which with the approval of the Governors would fence off large amounts of the Everglades that would not allow any logging to take place there. The Judges approved the Ley de Protección Ambiental with a 9-6 vote. The Governors of both Naples and Miami agreed as the land was swampy and was not producing any real commerce. The Everglades National Preserve was the first nature preserve in recorded history. The purpose of the Everglades was to preserve the naturally beautiful area in South Florida. The Everglades is also one of the most bio-diverse place in North America and the animals there are found no-where else.
Many believed the Everglades National Preserve was an idiotic idea that King Pedro I had came up with. Many saw the Everglades as a wasted resource and that the Everglades was too large to ever fully disappear. Prince Pedro II who agreed with his father pointed towards Europe as an example of when the ecology is abused. He said that Europe was once entirely covered with forest but was abused so much that it entirely disappeared. Many of the native populations of Florida congratulated King Pedro I for being the first white man to see that balance in nature was essential.
Prince of the Seminole[]
In 1862 two years after the end of the Floridian-American War of 1859 King Pedro I created a new title to the heir of the crown. The Prince of Wales had actually suggested that a different title be used for the crown prince than just prince so that later on the titles of prince wouldn't get confusing as to who was the crown prince. King Pedro I on March 25, 1862 exactly two years after the start of the war the title of the Prince of the Seminole was adopted (with the approval of the Seminole chiefs in that they were asked a month before) for the Crown Prince of Florida.
The new title was initially met with criticism from mainly the white community and the Creek community as the Seminole weren't a natural group of natives and formed from the mixing of African-American Slaves, Lower Creek and Muscogee people in central and south Florida. The Prince of the Seminole spoke out against this criticism saying that the Seminole was a strong and independent people who battled the Americans in North Florida and was the only tribe who actively fought the Americans in the Floridian-American War of 1859 and that the title would be accurate as well because of his blood as his father had married a Seminole women and he was half Seminole. After a series of papers written by the Prince of the Seminole called the Seminole Papers argued for the title most argument died down.
The Prince of the Seminole then toured the Lakes Province where most of the Seminole lived. He then toured the Tampa Bay Province, the Miami Province and the Charlotte Province. In those Provinces he met with the Provincial Governors and with the Seminole Chiefs. There he often spoke of ways to improve production and of way that production could be less polluting and less environmentally hurtful while still having normal production quotas. Unfortunately it often means invasive reforms and expensive machinery so most companies do not follow his advice. Although one notable exception was the Juanito y Juanito Registro de la Empresa which was a logging company.
The Floridian people people continued to trade within the Caribbean and slowly but surely gained more and more power throughout the Caribbean. The Floridian Navy became the dominant force in the Caribbean as the European powers slowly drifted from the Caribbean to their more prosperous colonies in the Orient and Africa. Within four years the European control over the colonies in the Caribbean were purely de facto as the Floridian Army occupied more of their territories to 'protect' the European interests in those colonies. But of course, Florida had other ideas in mind.
Guerra Civil Americana[]
The American Civil War tore the nation apart in 1861 with the election of Abraham Lincoln. The Southern States feared he would abolish slavery or severely hamper the practice. The Southern States seceded and formed the Confederate States of America. Abraham Lincoln initially attempted diplomacy with the 'nation' but they refused to rejoin the union without a written document stating that Abraham Lincoln would not try to abolish slavery. Unfortunately he could not produce the document as this is exactly what he wished to do.
King Pedro II in coronation regalia
The American Civil War basically follows the same route that it does in OTL with Fort Sumter and Gettysburg along with Appomattox and the Fall of Richmond. The only real difference is that there were several Confederate excursions into the Reino de la Florida although all were stopped, reversed and routed. These events caused the Floridian Second Army stationed in St. Augustine to be deployed to re-enforce the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Gettysburg and it stays with them for the rest of the war.
La muerte de un héroe[]
1866 was possibly the most sad year in the Reino de la Florida. King Pedro I died peacefully in his sleep due to natural causes, although modern historians are calling for his bones to be removed so they could test for toxins. 17 year old Prince of the Seminole Pedro II is coronated as King Pedro II on September 15, 1866 one day after the death of King Pedro I. The coronation is performed with the Bishop of St. Augustine placing the crown on Pedro II's head unlike before with Pedro I who copied Napoleon and took the crown from the Bishop and set it on his own head. King Pedro II shortly after his coronation announces to the crowd that a new age has begun in La Florida and that he will continue the policies of his father and further the cause of the "...great Floridian people...".
El rey Pedro II[]
The new King of Florida set to work with his new title very soon after his coronation. King Pedro II one week after his becoming King set to work. He asked the Judges to officially define each of the rights and freedoms. His reason for this was unknown at the time. During their defining King Pedro II set to work in occupied Caribbean. He built many Catholic churches in remote areas and commissioned works that often depicted scenes from the Holy Bible. His works in many remote islands led many to Christianity and many more were exposed to the ideals of the religion and became believers after a-while.
His Christian works earned him the nickname the Pope of the Caribbean. His reaction to this is unknown as no documents regarding this have been found.
In 15 weeks the judges were done and one of the most interesting was the definition for the Freedom of Religion. Their definition was that " No one shall be punished for their beliefs nor shall they be in any way fined, taxed or any way fiscaly hurt for their religious beliefs, nor shall their practicing of religion be banned or have act(s) set against it that shall in any way prohibit their free exercise of religion.". At first glance it does not seem very strange but an experienced eye will see something or better termed not see something. The Judges completely left out any thing saying that the government shall not respect any reilgion or help a religion more then any other. In fact its almost inviting the government to give tax exemptions to Catholic churches and taxes to the rest of the religions as it is not penalizing any religion only helping one. Although it is a slippery slope, it was still a very feasible thing.
King Pedro II contacted the Pope in Rome on December 25, 1866 for the first time ever that a telegraph had been sent from Juárez to Rome. He wished the Pope a Merry Christmas and told him that he would be wishing to speak more with the Pope. His Holiness agreed that they should be in more contact and told his men to strengthen the telegraph cables as so they wouldn't be damaged and messages would get through faster.
La reina Isabella[]
King Pedro II continued on normaly with the politics of the day and often kept up with local events. He was mostly seen as another kind and benevolent leader much as his father. His daily life was often nonchalant until April 3, 1867 when he married Isabella Martinez who was seventeen years of age and the daughter of the owner of Puerto de Tampa envío Generales the largest shipping company in La Florida, it didn't hurt that she was described by many as the most beautiful women to ever adorne the halls of the palace eighter.
His politics rapidlly changed after their marriage. His politics became very conservative and more family based even though he had no children of their own. His wife and him appeard almost every where that the royal duties had him go, except for classified meetings and whenever he had to meet with his generals.
But one of his most widley seen change was on the issue of the Caribbean. Before-hand he had been constantly sending in more troops to pacify any threat, real or not. But just one month after his marriage he began to pull troops out of the area. Many atribute this to his wife who had been in Jamacia during the time it was occupied. Afterwards it is widley believed that she became very anti-militaristic against Floridian troops in the Caribbean.
Revolución agrícola[]
King Pedro II began to take an agricultural aproach to the Floridian economy. He commissioned large Sugar-Cane Plantations in South Florida along with Citrus Plantations and Rice Farms. In North Florida he commissioned large Indigo Plantations and Cotton Plantations. His only real industrialistic thing that he began was large Textile Mills in the Tampa Bay Province and Hernando Province as well as Weapons Factories in the St. John's Province, Volusia Province, and Miami Province.
Of course just beacuse he was agriculturist didn't mean his people was as well. In the Volusia Province many salt mines were opened and shipped out the salt. In the Lakes Province paper factories were opened using the many trees in the area as material for the paper.
Destruction[]
King Pedro II came to the Lakes Province on January 7, 1868 he saw the massive destruction that the paper industry was creating out of the local environment. For nearly 70 miles trees had been cut down and the roots taken up. The massive roots of these trees had held the sand and sediment in the ground and not eroding but now as the roots were taken the ground showed heavy scarring. For nearly the entire clearing the ground had been turned into a thick mud-like substance and was being carried by the rainwater down to the river and making the water almost black and toxic to all life within it. Furious he ordered the plant closed down and issued a statment to the Lakes Province to find a solution to their environmental problems or he would issue massive taxes against all of the Lakes Province. His taxes threat ranged from paper and logging to even cloth, meat, water, milk and nearly a 100% tax on citrus and every item sold in the province.
Overshot[]
The Lakes Province quickly acted and passed the Hernandez and Ferdinand Act. The H&F Act had the same amount of trees cut down be planted and made the logging industry plant a tree for every tree they removed. They sent the new law to King Pedro II to approve of. He did and the massive taxes were not put against the Lakes Province.
The other provinces realised that the new king meant business in regards to environmental problems, much more so then his father. Other provinces began issuing laws to curb pollution. Many of these laws regarded the cutting of trees, the dumping of pollutants into streams or the ocean, but smog regulations were not implemented as the damaging effects of smog weren't yet known. Some of these laws were extraordinarily difficult to work with and began to pull companies under. By June of that year the Floridian economy began to slide from the small businesses collapsing.
Course Correction[]
King Pedro II was an environmentalist but a tree-hugger he was not. He quickly created the Ambiental Proyecto de Ley de Reforma which basically said these three things:
Ia) Companies who cut trees must not totally clear an area of trees but must leave at least 22 trees still remaining for every square mile of land used for foresting.
Ib) After 180 days within a single year of foresting in an area of one square mile the area that was forested must be left and no more foresting take place for 360 days.
II) All waters in La Florida may not have any pollutants dumped in them.
III) Trees cut for agricultural purposes is entirely allowed with no restrictions unless the area cleared is more then 22 square miles then the same restrictions apply with foresting companies.
IV) This law shall actively prosectuted in all provinces within the Reino de la Florida. Any Province that doesn't shall have a punitive tax set upon it of 22% of all the revenue the Province creates.
V) The government may not take land without just cause or the landowner's permission unless the landowner is a convicted criminal of at least one felony.
The Supreme Court passed the bill with a 13-2 vote. All of the provinces repeal their environmental laws as the federal government takes over. The Provinces also begin to create special divisions within their executive branch to actively prosectute' the new law.
Corruption of the Rich[]
The new law puts an enormous burden off of the agricultural sector. Many of the richer plantations push the envelope with having a 21.5 square mile clearing. Soon their production rates begin to rise and they feel the walls of their enormous plantation push on them. They often begin to clear more land for farming and bribe the inspectors to look the opposite way. They also begin to put a foot in the political sphere as well. They throw their wieght around to get taxes reduced, or to have the number of inspectors decreased and other things.
Rural Poor[]
But plantations weren't the only people profiting from the new law. Many urban workers who'd had enough with their boss or their poor working conditions often bought an axe, a bag of seed and grabbed their families to head off into the heavily wooded central Florida where they would clear a plot of land and begin to farm. They would sell their produce to anyone on the road to make their money. Soon the urban-rural ratio began to look like the 1700s once more with nearly 80% living in rural areas and 18% living in urban areas and 2% living solely on a boat. But even with 80% of the population of Florida living in the rural areas it was still very sparsely populated as the area was tremendously large and only about 2,500,000 lived in Florida at the time so roughly 2,000,000 lived in rural areas while 500,000 lived in urban centers mostly in Juárez, Tampa, and St. Augustine.
Rural Middleclass[]
In the begining of this many who left for the rural lands were extremly poor. They often avoided any contact with the out side world, not out of hatred towards it but out of fear that the bankers would try to force bills upon them or the authorities would start asking questions of how they attained this farm with out paying for it. But by 1870 a new class of people were starting to become more prominent. A new class that wasn't a rural poor and not a wealthy plantation owner. This new class was often called the Rural Middleclass. They often lived in respectable homes with a good sized plot of farm-land surrounding it. This new class begins to overtake the rural poor as the poorer class begin to feel the profit from their agricultural sales. Soon the Rural Middleclass becomes the dominant group of people in the Reino de la Florida. These people whould decrease in number over the year but their indomitable spirit of conquering the vast, unexplored woods and creating a name for themselves whould always live on.
La agricultura y el ferrocarril[]
The people in Florida were experiencing a temporary boom time. Many people from America and the Caribbean came to Florida for the very temperate weather. Often times many came to the nation who were terminally ill. This is beacuse many believed that the Florida air was able to heal and was good for the lungs. Studies today show that this is probalby beacuse people in New England who came were from heavilly industrialized areas whilist La Florida was mostly an agricultural economy.
These Enfermo de viajeros, or sick travellers, brought money to La Florida. This provided much wealth for those in the cities who could easily attract people from the north. Henry Flagler became the richest person in Florida because of his rail-lines and hotels all along the east coast of Florida. He was also one of the most popular people in Florida with his name being a common household name.
On January 16, 1876 Supreme Court Judge Alefred Hernandez died of a heart attack. Elections for the new Supreme Court Judge occurred on January 25, 1876. The decision was about 89% of the electors chose Henry Flagler to become the new Supreme Court Judge. He accepted the position and took the oath on February 12, 1876.
King Pedro II then relised that Flagler's abilities in economics would be wasted if he was only a Judge thus he created the position of the General Secretary of the Treasury, General Secretary of War, General Secretary of State. He then appointed three of the Judges to these positions and appointed Henry Flagler to the General Secretary of the Treasury, Joseph Ferdinand to the General Secretary of War, and Jose Hernandez to the General Secretary of State.
The judges approved the change to the Constitution along with the other required peoples and it became a part of the Constitución de la Florida.
Henry Flagler, along with the others, accepted their positions. Henry Flagler immediately began to work on many of the poor rail systems on the West coast and almost all of his provisions were accepted and the first rail to go from Juárez to Tampa was completed by connecting the Costa Este de Florida de Ferrocarril (Florida East Coast Railway) to the new Ferrocarril de la Costa Oeste de Florida (Florida West Coast Railway) which both connected to Key West. This made the trip very long but did allow for the first time politicians from Tampa to reach Juárez without having to either take the dangerous overland route or the long and dangerous oversea route.
Henry Flagler became the face of Florida along next to King Pedro II. Henry Flagler's achievements were officially recognized with the Flagler Cruz being made in his honor and him being the first recipient. Often Henry Flagler built hotels in many places using his own money and becoming even more rich. Soon he didn't even need the King's permission to do a project as he could fund it himself but he often did not. One notable example was the building of a railway to Pensacola City from Tampa, this act infuriated the King but publically he expressed nothing.
Flagler also began to build roads deep into the Floridian forests and reaches many small farms who then are able to sell their products cities. Many places begin advertising "Fresh Florida Fruits and Vegetables". Soon the buying of fruits and vegetables skyrockets for 5 months before settling once more.
La Guerra de Pascua[]
The Easter War began on Easter Sunday 1890 (April 6). The began early in the morning when Spanish ships appeared on the horizon of Tampa and Miami. The warships imeadiatley began to shell the cities with horrible artillery fire before the Spanish Marines landed on the shores of Florida. They quckly captured both cities and began to drive inwards. The Floridian Army was caught with its pants down as Spanish troops quickly forced the surrender of the Tampa and Miami Provinces. The Spanish drove up the coasts of Florida capturing San Antonio and Brooksville on one side with Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach captured by April 13. The Florida Army was on a full retreat as soon Lakes Province and Hernando surrenderin to the Spanish.
The Florida Army was finally able to re-organize around St. Augustine. They were quickly able to repel the Spanish back once organized as the Spanish had antiquated weaponry and soon the Spanish were pushed all the way back to their starting points were the Florida Navy destroyed the Spanish fleet and forced the Spanish troops to surrender. This forced the Spanish to sign the Treaty of Miami which said these things:
1. A State of War shall no longer exist between Spain and Florida.
2. Spain shall admit it is the aggressor in said war.
3. All of the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean shall be given to Florida.
In all, the war lasted from April 6, 1890 to March 10, 1890. This was one of the shortest wars in the history of the continent. HUH?
Mar Caribe Organización del Tratado[]
The Caribbean Commonwealth
The Caribbean Sea Treaty Organization was estalished shortly after the Easter War after the Floridians realised they would be entirely unable to protect their new far-flung colonies and that they would not be able to provide reasonable services.
The Floridians gave control of the Caribbean back to their inhabitants, the newly indpendent nations realised they were highly vunerable to attack, they then met in Havana and discussed the possbility of an alliance to provide mutual defense, and if needed, offense. The Caribbean Sea Treaty Organization was established witht the signing of the Treaty of Havana.
The new Caribbean alliance met in Saint Augustine for the first time on May 2, 1890 and agreed to ensure the safe trade between Caribbean islands. The CSTO (or MCOT) unified the militaries of the Caribbean while keeping their national identities. The signing of the Treaty of Havana was heralded by many American newspapers as the "Great Marriage of the Caribbean, for better or for worse."