 French Trafalgar, British Waterloo 
|
|---|
| History (Timeline) |
| Nations and Geopolitics |
| People, Culture and Other |
The Third American War[]
.jpg){kind=link}
American Artillery in Third American War. The war showed that, despite French weapon's and support, the American's were still easily outmatched by Confederate generalship.
The Third American War was considered one of the turning points of North American History: Manifest Destiny, the belief that the Union was destined to control land from the Atlantic to the Pacific, was nearly shattered. The Confederate States of America, born from the Southern States of the US in 1862, proved that it was strong enough to stand up to its more industrialized and populous northern neighbor, after 28 months of bloody conflict that destroyed large swaths of the border lands. Battles like Covington and Lexington in the South and Baltimore in the North forged a common sense of pride and nationalism between the American people that hadn't really been developed before.
Aftermath of the War[]
The Treaty of Charleston, the document that ended the war, forever ensured that the South was independent from the old United States, and that the Union could never hope to dominate and control the Confederacy, as the latter nation's people proved they were determined enough to be able to come back and win after defeat. The South also began to induct former black slaves further into the nation since their liberation over 20 years before, going as far as creating all black military units that fought in Mexico. However, no promises for other freedoms were guaranteed, and many rights gained during the war were later lost.
The Confederacy and the Pacific Republic were the biggest winners in the war: they divided the entire Mexican territory of Arizona between them, which provided them with a border to each other, and the ability to build a trans-continental railway, which, before the Panama Canal was built, ensured them the ability to transport goods from the factories in the East Coast factories to ports in the West Coast towards Asia and the Orient, which was cheaper and safer than shipping through the dangerous Cape Horn passage.
President James G. Blaine, due to his handling of the war, as well as the corrupt dealings of several appointed politicians, was impeached on January 17, 1884, and his Vice-President, William A. Wheeler, ascended to the position of President to the remainder of his term: he would eventually lose the elections to Grover Cleveland. General George A. Custer, a hero of the war, left the military to become involved in politics, starting as a short-term Governor of his home state of Ohio, then as Vice-President on the Nationalist-Democratic ticket in 1888, with President Cleveland. However, Cleveland died of a heart attack barely two years into his second term, and Custer was sworn in as President the next day, and called for the "... rebuilding of the Union into the dominating power of North America."
The United Kingdom, victorious over the US attempts to capture the Oregon Territory, and giving them a Pacific Coast, and their Dominion of Canada, bitter over the creation of the Republic of Assiniboia, managed to annex large portions of the fledging nation, forcing the shifting of the capital city from Winnipeg to Wascana, in the territory of Saskatchewan, over 600 km from the former capital. Alaska and Assiniboia were also forced to give up lands to the British, which was formed into British Alaska.
Lessons of the War[]
The lessons of the Third American War were studied through Europe as away to prepare for the next war, but many lessons were ignored, especially the awesome power of the "Gatling gun", which Britain and France saw as unsporting weapons, and so literally banned them from their armies, while other nations, such as Russia and Italy especially, sought to acquire this new weapons, with the power to mow down brigades and divisions in minutes, a great boost to long borders and smaller populations. Other teaching, such as the "Confederate Channel" technique, where soldiers would dig themselves into the ground, and ultimately link them together into long, battlefield spanning trenches, which would moderately protect themselves from artillery bombardments and fighting on an open field, and cut down casualties on the Confederate side. Britain, long trained in the technique of fire lines, did not accept this new tactic with open arms, although several British officers did encourage it in the Oregon Territory, with varying degrees of success.
Europe's War Scares[]
The World, 1885
However, Europe was not peaceful during the period before, during and after the Third American War. The bellicose stance of Emperor Louis, who was considered a "War Hawk" by many, led to the majority of the conflicts, though the majority were resolved by diplomacy and compromise. However, the other nations of Europe, especially members of the French-led Grand Alliance, were worried that France would try to push the continent into war before they were ready, and had been able to rebuild their armies from their defeat just over 20 years previously. Incidents in such places as the North Sea in 1886, the Tyrrhenian Sea in 1889 and Tripoli 1893 nearly brought the major nations to war on several occasions, and was even considered one of the factors that nearly led to the near assassination of the French Emperor on September 7, 1889, by a deranged gunman who lost his father and older brother in a battle with locals in Mauritania.
No one could claim that Emperor Louis was only focused on Foreign affairs, however. He was considered the force behind the Imperial Welfare and Living Project, which, for the first time ever, gave the workers a set minimum wage, standards for workplace safety, pensions for the elderly and reduced healthcare for the poor. Although conservatives and business owners were opposed, and were preparing to fight over the "Marxist Takeover" of the Empire, the Emperor calmed them down by lowering taxes, and pointing out that the minimum wage would help business, by creating increased demand. However, the Project was never fully implemented, with court cases ascertaining to the legality of provisions of the law, and was ultimately undone by the early 1900's.
Developments in the Middle East[]
In a surprising move, the Representatives of the ancient Persian Empire decided to try to bring the Emirate of Afghanistan into the empire in 1883, were they would provide roads and infrastructure to build the poor and warlord controlled region and ultimately, make Afghanistan part of the new Persian Empire. Roughly half of the warlords and the Emir, Mohammad Yaqub Khan, agreed and willingly signed the Treaty of Tehran. Several refused, however, and declared "jihad" on the so-called "Greater Persia." The Afghan Uprising lasted for nearly six years, but after the Battle of the Amu River the last of the warlords were dispatched, and Afghanistan became an official part of the Persian Empire. This lone act helped to reverse the decline of Persia, and helped to set it on the road as a new regional power.
The resurgence of Persian Power made Ottoman Turkey nervous, as this directly threatened Constantinople's influence over Mesopotamia and Arabia, because the strongly Islamic areas would have been more sympathetic to an Islamic government closer to home. Abdülhamid II, the new sultan of the Empire, decided that it may be best to try to limit Persian influence in the area, but heavy handed actions in order to suppress dissent and "groups loyal to Foreign states" provoked outrage, especially actions in heavily Christan Armenia, and the "Trabzon Massacres," (1887-1891) named after the first province to feature these mass murders, especially angered Europe and North America but no one would intervene in the tense political situation of the day, not wanting to anger a potential ally or enemy. However, as Ottoman Imperial power continued to decline, this threat was no longer as important as it had been.
The Russo-Japanese War[]
Japanese Soldiers during the Russo-Japanese War.
The rising power of Japan was seen warily by the major powers, most especially China and Russia, which saw the Rising Sun as a direct threat to their power in the Far East. The tension eventually resulted in the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War in early 1902. Despite initial successes by the Japanese Army and Navy, in the naval landing to capture Vladivostok (which had been "given" to Russia by China in the 1890's), the arrival of the Russian Baltic Fleet helped turn the tide in the Battle of the South China Sea, and reinforcements from the Trans-Russian Railway managed to recapture Vladivostok in the winter of 1903. The war would drag on until 1904, as an indecisive victory for neither side. However, Russian power had been assured in the East, and Japan had finally been stopped in the expansion of its Empire, though they assured themselves they would never suffer such a humiliation in the future.
The Second Industrial Revolution[]
By 1885, the majority of the world was now claimed, controlled or conquered. Empires stretched across continents, while smaller nations struggled to find their place in the world. Factories in the major cities belched smoke and produced products that were sold around the world. The telegraph, the steam ship and the railroads, all created and established at least two generations before, now links the world, and such projects as the Confederate-Pacific Railroad, the Colombian Canal and the Trans-Atlantic Telegraph cable now allows people, goods, ideas and wealth flow from on area to another with ease never before seen.
But this time also say the beginning of the free-market laissez faire economics: the belief that industry and consumer demand would control the economy, and little to no government intervention would be needed. However, this resulted in a constant cycle, where factories would produce ever increasing amounts of goods and hire many more people, resulting in an economic boom, until overproduction and the loss of trust in the free-spending banks and governments result in bust, so that after 1880, and before 1910, the world experienced four of these economic cycles, nicknamed the Boom-Bust Dance.
The British and French Empire's was also beginning to reform themselves. The successful creation of the Dominion of Canada led to South Africa and Australasia to be created as Dominions as well, in 1892 and 1899 respectively. Immigration to different parts of the Empire, and various groups of Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Arabian peoples to North America, Australia and the Colonial African territories increased the prosperity in their new lands, though mild racism, discrimination and prejudice still existed. French territories, especially Algeria and Indochina, were given some form of Home Rule, but Governors appointed by the Emperor still held executive power in these regions.
Reforming the System[]
Nellie McClung, the leader of the femenist movement in Assiniboia; She later becomes the first female representative on the Assiniboian Senate.
Into the 1890's, the major governments of the world still promoted some form of democracy, either with a constitutional monarchy, like in the UK, or a full fledged Republican system, such as in the United States. But voting rights in almost every nation were restricted, usually only to land holding males. But women and those not of the Caucasian race struggled to try to get their voices heard. The Women's Suffrage Movement, founded in the US and Russia almost simultaneously, fought hard to try to get their voices heard. Leaders such as Nellie McClung in Assiniboia, Kate Sheppard in Australia, Miina Sillanpää in Finland, Emmeline Pankhurst in Great Britain and Lucie Hadamard, the wife of well known politician Alfred Dreyfus, in France, ultimately proved successful, with women gaining the vote in almost every country. The Confederacy, Spain and several South American nations, however, did not approve of the vote, and the last country to do so, the Confederacy, wouldn't until 1933.
Sharecropping, as seen here, was widespread through the Confederacy, as the whites couldn't work all their land, and the blacks could own land.
Other movements focused on trying to give the vote to the disenfranchised, as well as more democracy to the people. The biggest movement was in America, where, although free for over thirty years, the African-American men and women who were formerly slaves fought to try to get their voices heard. The Confederate Government in Savannah, Georgia, bitterly opposed giving their former servants and indentured field hands any voice in governments, and organizations such as the African American People's Liberation Movement (the AAPLM) were quickly suppressed by the Army in several major raids in the Spring of 1895.
In the Union, the black people earned their right to vote in the 1870's, mostly because the number of blacks in the north was immensely smaller than the south, so it wouldn't have affected the political system as greatly. However, the large number of immigrants, many of whom where from Europe and Asia, were causing massive dislocations in the system. Laws to restrict voting from Chinese and those from Southern and Eastern Europe were the major issues in the United States, and due to low work wages, deplorable safety conditions, and the high prices for products. The political struggle between the Socialist Party, the successor to the Liberal Party, and the Nationalist Party, with two different view points: The "Red's" which called for government regulation and a strong stand against the CSA; and the "Blue's" which campaigned for free market enterprise with no government intervention and a moderate stand against the South and a development of the nation.
"Enlightened Brazil"[]
Emperor Pedro II of Brazil (1834-1889)
As the reign of the popular Emperor Pedro II continued into its fifth decade, it appeared that Brazil was, in many ways, on its way to becoming the first South American nation to join the Great Powers since the end of the Incan Empire. Having freed the Slaves in 1876, then helped to not only increase the value of the economy, but nearly double its size in a but two decades. Only rivaled by the Confederacy and the United States in the Western Hemisphere economically, and a military that had recovered from its defeat in the Second Latin American War with a new sense of pride and the most modern weapons (many made in Brazil) that a nation could buy, Brazil appeared certain to enter the 20th century with nothing to stand in its way.
But the death of Pedro's male heirs in infancy had cast a long shadow over the Brazilian throne. Although Pedro himself was not too concerned of what happens to the empire after his death, the people of Brazil where. When it became clear that his eldest daughter Isabel is the next in line for the throne, the Imperial Parliament was wracked by debate over if she should be allowed to assume the throne, or if the Empire should be turned into a republic. The conservative parties were divided over the issue, as they did not want a female to take the throne, but they did not want to establish a republic either, while the Liberal parties struggled to gain support for a republic in the face of the popular monarchy.
Empress Isabel of Brazil, (1889-1921)
A compromise was reached in the 1888, whereas the crown will be given to Isabel, while Parliament was to be given greater powers and establish a more representative constitutional monarchy. The settling of this issue cleared the way for the respected and dignified Isabel to take the throne in her own name on her father's death in 1889. Despite his fears that she would not be able to rule the country, she masterfully demonstrated her capabilities in the first few months, handling the affairs of state with diplomacy and charm. "The Brazilian Empire would continue on, an in no better hands than the Empress Isabel," one leading editor wrote. The Golden age of Brazil continued on.
The "Era of Progressivism"[]
The 1890's and early 1900's became known for the absolute wealth and prosperity that the rapidly industrializng world gave to those who owned the massive companies that spread across nations. Krupp and Farben in Germany; Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan and Vanderbilt in the US; Simon, Perroit and Gambetta in France; Whitney and Smithson in the South; Tesla in Austria-Hungary; and Rostovtsev and Lenin in Russia became house hold names, for managing to build business that made their homeland's more powerful, and bringing massive wealth to their owners and the nation.
This also led to the rise of the middle class: the professionals who worked in the businesses and factories as managers and designers, and achieved a level of prosperity never seen by the masses of people: they could afford some of the things that the were before only for the rich, such as the first automobiles (and the mass produced cars by Ford, which were reduced in price by the introduction of the assembly line in 1899) and phonographs. The first movies, made in the US and France, were mostly silent, black and white films, began in the later 1890's.
One of the major developments in International co-operation took place in 1888 with the first "Olympic games, organized by French diplomat Andre Liohre in Athens, Greece. Although the first event wasn't as popular as it was claimed it would have been, with American and French tourists easily sweeping the events, the idea was later expanded to become a major international event. The 1896 Olympics, held in Rome became the event it is recognized today, with each participating nation sending a team to compete for medals and prestige, and the 1900 Olympics, held in Paris, was a success.
Unionizing the Workers[]
"Pinkertons" escorting strike breakers during a strike in Ohio.
But the lower classes were only seeing marginal improvements in their lives: the first minimum wage laws in France and later the US and Russia didn't cover the majority of the expenses that they were faced such as high food prices and rents. And as more and more steam powered machines were being used in the factories, doing the jobs of dozens of men, more and more were laid off. Many of these same men were drafted into the army, as some form of conscription was in place in almost every country in the world in order to protect their interests and safeguard their borders. The culmination of these factors led to vicious riots in Montreal, New York, Manchester and Volgograd in the summer of 1901, the majority of which were suppressed by the army, killing hundreds. A massive strike in Pittsburgh was broken up by private security company's hired for the event, such as the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which resulted in the so called "Battle of Carnegie" after the owner of the steel mill, which resulted in almost 289 dead and over 500 wounded, as well as 1,750 arrested after the state militia responded.
This represented a major setback for the fledgling labor movement, as the violence reinforced the big owner's hold on power over the factories, while crushing the rights of the workers to try to unionize. Despite some gains, the American Steel Workers Association collapsed as a major power, and the major steel mills of the US remained non-unionized until 1914, when unions were given protection to organize.
The Alyseka Gold Rush and America's Boom[]
As in previous times, the allure of gold has drawn thousands from their home's to remote places of the world. When Gold was discovered in Alyseka in 1890, and again in the territory of Yukon three years later, drew thousands of settlers to the northern, predominately Russian nation. The sudden wealth made Alyseka one of the richest nations in the world, as few of the miners, which the Russian-Alysekan's nicknamed the zolotye muzhchiny, or Golden Men, would ever return back to the United States, the Confederacy, Assiniboia, Canada or Europe, making the northern nation on od the most culturally diverse in the world.
As thousands flooded to Alyseka, over two million left Europe to immigrate to Assiniboia, and over two and a half to Canada, and over fifteen million to the United States and the Confederacy combined in the two decades after the Third American War. Agriculture and industry flourished, and a "feeling of good will" was, apparently, being established. However, old rivalries: Canada and Assiniboia, The United and Confederate States, Pacific Republic and Alyseka, were not so easy to forget.
One of the more notable events that commentators and future historians would recognize was a divergence in the ideals of both the US and the Confederacy. Before the CSA won its freedom, the larger United States was recognized as a beacon of Liberty and Independence, with individualism being a major part of the ideals of America. After the nation was divided, however, two similar yet different modes of thinking developed, and solidified after the Third American War. In the north, due to the humiliation of loosing twice, a rather militaristic society was developing to avenge the defeat. With the US developing itself into a major armed camp, a regimentation of life was experienced, similar to what France was also doing at this same time. In the Confederacy, a pseudo-aristocracy was developing based on the wealthy planters/land owners of the South. Holding all the major positions of power, they continued to work to ensure their own superiority, including land and wealth requirements for holding office, as well as wage controls to spur industry.
The Assassination of T.R.[]
The election of Theodore Roosevelt, hero of the Third America's War, in 1905 over the one term William Jennings Bryan was seen as the end of the Liberal Party, which in its last years seemed to be drifting from its role as the left wing, civil rights and laissez faire party to the party of the big industrialists and corruption. Despite Bryan's attempts to clear his image, Roosevelt trounced him, winning the overwhelming majority of the popular votes, totaling nearly 59%, and every state except Dakota. As soon as he got into Office, Roosevelt set to work, and within the first year had broken up the Rockefeller oil and the Carnegie steel monopolies, as well as modernizing the army, which was still armed with weapons from before the Third America's War, as well as the doubling of the US Navy. His talk of "Walk softly and carry a big stick" was popular with the Union, and the dispatching of US Fleet on a round the world tour in 1907 was seen as the epitome of his achievements, and easily won a second term in 1908.
On May 2, 1909, Theodore Roosevelt, months after being sworn in for his second term, was shot while giving a speech in New York City by an anarchist, James T. Norman. He survived for only a few moments, and his last words were reported to have been "I've served the United States, and now I'm rewarded." It came as a shock to the world, being the first event to be telegraphed around the world as it happened, and resulted in the creation of the United States Federal Police Service, tasked with protecting the President and dealing with crimes across state lines, and, in later years, the surveillance of enemies to the State. Roosevelt's Vice-President, William Howard Taft was sworn in to complete the fallen President's term.
The "Melting Pot"[]
The world in the late 1890's and early 1900's was seen as a "melting pot" by journalist Winston Churchill in 1907, and he had every reason to believe so. Nationalism and Imperialism were sweeping across the continent, turning former allies against each other in the race to bring all the peoples of one nation under the control of one state and for the colonies offered in Africa.
A French cartoon of Cecil Rhodes, the British Colonial Minister, the so-called "Colossus of Africa."
The balance of power since the end of the First Great European War, were their were two major alliances - France and its allies and "associates", and Britain and Prussia and their allies had been undermined and shifted continuously since the 1860's. But by now, the major alliances, the Grand Alliance and the United Coalition, were constantly at each others throats, trying to find get an upper hand over the other. The Naval and Army Arms Races, where each nation tried to get their hands on the most up to date weapons to equip their armies with had nearly bankrupted many smaller nations, but loans and grants from their larger allies had prevented them from collapsing all together.
The "Almost" War in Burma[]
The fragile partnership of France and the United Kingdom, created after Germany and Britain suffered a falling out after the Second Global War, was nearly destroyed by the situation in the Far Eastern territory of Burma in the spring and summer of 1897. The two powers saw Burma as the perfect way to expand their colonial powers: The British from India and the French from Indochina. Separate expeditions launched by both nations without the others knowledge clashed in the jungles south of Mandalay, resulting in both forces withdrawing, and a bitter exchange in Europe. France called for Burma to be theirs, as they have traded with the ares for decades, though British influence was growing ever stronger with India. When French Prime Minister Félix Faure was asked about it, he claimed that Burma should be French because of the taking over of France's Indian territory's over forty years before, which sparked outrage in Britain. Both sides continued to bicker, but when the British caught wind of France preparing the Atlantic Fleet from Cherbourg, they claimed that the French were preparing a landing, and in return, started to mobilize the Home Fleet, which nearly led to the calling of General Mobilization in France.
British Forces arriving in Burma during the crisis.
Both sides continued to position themselves by blaming the other until Russia called both of the governments to agree to a conference, which Italy offered to hold. Germany, Ottoman Turkey, the US, the Confederacy, Japan, China and Austria-Hungary all pushed for the fighting powers to do so, as they all knew that if a European war were to break out, it would very quickly spread around the world. Emperor Victor ordered Faure to agree, but he instead resigned, to be replaced by Alfred Dreyfus, who followed the emperor's instruction. Great Britain also agreed, under Arthur Balfour, and the Conference of Naples was held. The negotiations nearly faltered several times, mostly because France and Britain could not agree to any compromise. The Conference was only held together by the other nations, who bluntly stated that they will not support either nation if they did not agree to some form of compromise. But the other nations could not agree on what the compromise should be, making US President Custer famously remark: "To be honest, we cannot agree on anything, except that we can't agree on nothing!" An agreement was eventually reached when France was given most of Burma, but Britain received some land, and trading privileges for forty years in the French Colonial Empire, which, by mutual agreement, was extended to the British colonies in 1903. This was perhaps the closest the world came to war before the out break of the Second Global War not quite fifteen years later.
Extreme Nationalism[]
The nationalism of this era was much more than that which was fostered during the French Revolution. Every culture in Europe was classified as a "nation", and therefore, could created their own state, which, in some empires such as Austria-Hungary and Imperial Turkey, it was seen as a threat to the current establishment. However, Vienna tried to integrate the various nationalities into the empire, and tried to influence other states in the Balkans, such as Serbs and the Bulgars, to act against the Sultan, who was far less liberal in this regard. Emperor Franz Joseph, who came to power over fifty years prior, was especially active in pushing for bringing the various nations of the Empire closer together, as he say it as the only thing that could possibly keep the empire together.
But in other nations, the question of nationality was much easier, as the state was in control of the lands that were predominately settled by people of the same race and culture. It then became a question of "us and them", and the influence of Charles Darwin's theories on evolution, especially that the strong prosper over the weak, was prevalent in Europe. The belief that the European was "superior" to every one else was used to justify colonization, and was also used to paint their neighbors/enemies as "inferior" compared to themselves. People were convinced, from an early age in public schools, that their nation was stronger than any other, and institutions such as conscription and the media was used to continue to hammer the point into their adult years. This made Europe very stratified and suspicious, and despite the railroads and telegrams that linked the capitals, they were growing further apart, and closer to their allies.
The Arms Race[]
The various nations of Europe also embarked on a massive, and expensive arms race to try to out-equip the other powers. France had an early lead, having spent enormous sums in expanding the industrial capacity of the nation in several national armories, which soon turned out very good rifles, artillery and machine guns. Britain maintained its lead in the naval race, despite efforts by the US, Russia, France and Germany trying to rebuild their navies to compete.
By some estimates, over 1578 million francs were spent in the five year period between 1905 until 1910 in France alone to strengthen the army, which would amount to about 45% of the budget in that same time period. Other nations also maintained these levels of military expenditures, resulting in high taxes and tariffs to raise the funds needed to pay for the new armies raised by Conscription laws, the construction of new battleships, such as the "Dreadnought" Class, the first of which was designed and constructed in the UK in 1906, and weapons such as the first airplanes (the first successful flight took place in the CSA in 1902), machine guns and artillery.
The Flashpoint[]
Despite the tensions in the world, few felt that war was soon to break out. However, those hopes were dashed in the city of Belgrade, part of the Ottoman Empire, one hot, July day in 1911.
Prime Minister Ahmed Riza, who had been appointed to his post about three months earlier, was touring the Balkan Provinces of the Empire, meeting with officials to discuss common complaints in the area, especially the increase in Nationalist sentiments among the different groups. Riza was a staunch Imperialist, and was prepared to whatever was needed to keep the Balkan territories in the Ottoman Realm.
On July 12, 1911, Riza was with the Mayor of Belgrade, driving toward the local city hall, when a series of gun shots rang out. Some of the shots blew out the automobile's tires, flipping it into the crowd of people that were around to observe their Prime Minister. The Mayor was instantly killed, as was the driver and the local military commander, though Riza managed to survive the initial rollover. In the panic, however, he never saw the gunman, a young Serbian named Gavrilo Princip, who fired all six shots in his revolver into the Prime Minister. Although he was immediately arrested, the damage had been done. Prime Minister Ahmed Riza was dead, and the entire Ottoman Empire was shocked. The Sultan, Abdülhamid II, ordered an investigation, and it was soon found out that Princip was part of one of the Slav independence movements, the Yugoslav Union, who was being sponsored by Austria-Hungary, Turkey's long time rival in the region. Turkey sent Emperor Franz Josef II an ultimatum to surrender the leaders of all groups that oppose Turkey, and to cut off all ties with them on July 27.
Austria-Hungary refused to any of the demands, and instead began to mobilize. Russia, also with interests in the Balkans, supported the Austrian's on July 29, virtually annulling the Non-Aggression Pact, which had been in the balance for over two decades. Italy, who knew that any war would draw her in, proposed a conference on August 1, but subsequent events, including the declaration of support to Turkey from Germany and Spain the next day, and France sending an ultimatum to Berlin and Madrid to stand down on the third. Kaiser Wilhelm II, knowing that he had to stand behind his ally of Turkey, bluntly told the French ambassador, Alexandre Ribot, to "mind your own business." Italy abandoned the idea of a conference on the fourth, and began to mobilize her armies. Britain, divided between helping Turkey, and insuring the safety of the Suez Canal, or standing with their "ally" France, instead decided to support Turkey, which insured that the partnership it had with France, nearly destroyed over Burma, was over.
The United States, under William Howard Taft, announced the Union's support for France on August 4, which forced Confederate President Woodrow Wilson to solidify its alliance with Britain the next day, and both nations mobilized their armies for war. Brazil, allied with the US, mobilized her army on August 5, while Argentina and Venezuela, allied with the CSA, did the same on the 7th. Japan, according to a secret treaty with Russia signed after the humiliation of the Russo-Japanese War under French pressure, announced her support for Russia, forcing China to mobilize, due to her alliance with Britain.
On August 6, their ultimatum being refused, Turkey declared war on Austria-Hungary. Within days, the rest of Europe, the America's, Africa and Asia was plunged into the War of the World.