| 1654-1660 | 1670-1715 | 1715-1717 |
1670’s
Over the next 10 years the situation around the Kakuwanë Këhôte hasn’t changed much. The British have made numerous bids to buy Mikmaquè but without the will to move troops away from the growing border tension to put military influence on French Acadia, the French will not budge. In the mean-time the British export most of the Francophones in Vermont and the sliver of Mikmaquè (the Mikmaquè sliver is added to Vermont in 1678) to Louisiana (an a lesser amount to other Leonez colonies), cautious of what trouble they could cause their Anglophone leaders if provoked (In the OTL, this Acadia thing happened in the 1750’s and at the time, the British demanded an oath of allegiance to the King, here they didn’t bother asking *there* because they didn’t want to risk it and they didn’t expect a yes, anyway). Once the majority of French colonists are replaced by British and other colonial citizens, Vermont becomes a colony like the other 9 (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Maine, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia (it has expanded to the Ohio river), Carolina, and the newer colony of Georgia, established in 1662).
Many of these colonies are beginning to petition for statehood, a more independent form of a colony to allow better representation in the British Empire. If accepted a continental Senate may be formed, giving the colonies a greater mode of autonomy; already New York and Maryland’s applications are passing through parliament but the British have little interest in letting any of their colonies go and although they know the New Yorkers and Delawareans will not accept the inevitable denial of their petition, they hope to buy time to raise loyal troops in case of a rebellion, this precaution will become a thorn which will grow into a bigger and bigger thorn in the Empire’s side. The cost of maintaining such garrisons in non-frontier, non-expansion zones will be a proverbial black hole in Britain’s pocket (not that anyone knew of black holes then). The British increase trade taxes to help pay for this but really it only causes more irritation, especially when the colonists aren’t completely fooled by the Englishmen’s excuse of “The Haudenois on the Horizon Today, in Our Beds Tomorrow!”.
France’s Louisiana territory is expanding at a phenomenal rate due to the British relocation. This displacement of French settlers combined with the importation of African slaves creates the culture of ‘Cajun’. The territory is growing so fast in fact, that the Central Plains aboriginals are beginning to be pushed slowly northward and the local governments are having trouble keeping up, slum cities and shanty towns abound. Although the Mikmaquè and Québec colonies aren’t growing very fast, they still are growing economically and they show a great potential, mines still held alone may make the colonies of Nouvelle France prosper.
Keeping up with the continental news, the Haudenois see the threat to their native cousins from French expansion. Many scholars and politicians are sent to the Nakota-Lahkota-Dakota ancestral lands to help them start forming a government base. It is painfully apparent where the world is headed for the people of Leonez. The start of a cohesive governing body may form as soon as 1700, by that time though, there may be little left of their original lands. This action puts strain on French-Haudenois relations but they are still comparably better than either one’s relations with the British. The Unenö'keteka'tæætö has grown greatly since 1517, its position as a major colony and trade port of about 3000. It’s 153 year old walls are the oldest in the confederacy but they can still hold up against anything from subsidised piracy to the Spanish Armada. A fleet (called the Unenö fleet) of one Katyus Káôwö and three Kaháwaniyúnutak'aa is stationed at the port, most of the inhabitants are either employed in colonial defence or in trade. The outlying farms are not very successful because of the predominance of swamps and swarms of insects but fish and trade goods make up for it. The Unenö'keteka'tæætö is in fact more profitable for the Confederacy as a whole than the British colonies are for the Empire since trade isn’t taxed and defences aren’t imported, the high level of autonomy also is a plus for public relations. Most Haudenois don’t agree with the British’s high trade tariffs which only increase every year, which also makes international relations strained still. Haudenois products are of great value and skill and are very popular in the foreign colonies. The Haudenois have a population of about 1.4 million at this time.
1695 August 13th
After putting down a small rebellion in Delaware, Loyalist John Churchill is granted lordship over Southern Carolina so the colony is split (instead of helping the British in the Spanish war of Succession OTL, but the British won that war, anyway).
1703 August 20th
Today the Lahkota Federation is formed. The borders of the Lahkota lands have moved up from the Missouri River to the more northern Missouri River. Their new military has fortified their southern border to ensure the French may advance no more. Peaceful negotiations with the French help preserve the border as well
1704 June 19th
Today, after having taken ‘NO’ for 30 years so well, the British colonies have just drafted a constitution, uniting all the British colonies in Leonez in want of freedom of life, liberty, and fraternity. Over the last 30 years, although few revolts occurred, many legislators and statesmen loyal to England were thrown out of office in protest. The newly elected leaders of New York, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Virginia, N. and S. Carolina, Georgia, and Nova Scotia sign the constitution, thereby forming the United States of Leonez in “Defiance Against British Tyranny”. The colonists now entitle themselves Leonians and continue to call on Britain to grant them legal independence, Britain refuses and readies the hordes of garrisoned loyalists. Nouvelle France can see the writing in the Haudenois smoke signals (they don’t really use them that often anymore, it’s a cultural tradition). Once the USL revolts, and it will; troops from Vermont will start flowing into Maine, and troops from Abnaki (the province on the Haudenois’ side if the St. Lawrence) will flow into Vermont. The French begin evacuating civilians from the St. Lawrence region. The Haudenois wait patiently. The British know this. They are caught between being beaten by rebellious colonists and winning against a Haudenois assault, or, losing most-if not all of Vermont to the Haudenois and successfully fending off the Leonians. The Unloyalists try to get a war pact agreement from the Haudenois but after the secret meeting with them, they are not totally sure they’ll help.
1704 July 4th
Formally the Leonians declare their independence from the British Empire with the State leaders signing the “Declaration of Independence” under President Thomas Derrick (In reality the war started before the D.o.I. in the OTL). He announces that the other British colonies of Vermont and Newfoundland will be liberated from the British and he assures the nation’s army, the Continental Marines, that when they arrive, they will be greeted with open arms. He also states that a land bridge between Nova Scotia and the rest of the Union must be had and so Mikmaquè is also added to the list of colonies to be ‘freed’. Thomas was not a general…
On July 5th, the shot “Heard around the World” as it were, was … done…. And the Leonian Revolutionary War had begun..… with, the British planned assassination of President Thomas Derrick. His co-president, (who was also not a general) Michael Williams took over for him and sent the army in his predecessor’s name north to Vermont while sitting behind a desk.
Mike’s generals mostly took care of the war for him, it was thought at first that maybe a political solution could be found, even at the last minute, so both elected president and co-president were civilian politicians-oh well. The entire population of the rebellious British colonies was 300,000, that means the Haudenois out numbered them 2.66 million to 300,000 - about 9:1 against. They definitely could have been a powerful ally. Of that 300,000 about 30% supported the British (in OTL it was 15-20% but Britain has really strengthened its Loyalist Army) but also, only 45% supported independence, so another 1/4 was probably too poor to be significant or were just farmers who couldn’t care less. 90,000 Loyalist soldiers plus about 20,000 (total 110,000) mercenaries hired from other parts of the Empire and even the Hessians from Germany were stationed in the colonies against 135,000 militiamen. 4:5 odds against the Loyalists. The two forces being of almost equal size would prove a long war. Although the British garrisons were highly skilled and trained, one of them approximately 2-3 times as good as a Marine, the Marines still had good commanders and a determined spirit to match the British skill.
The first move of the Marines not fighting their local garrisons was north from Maine into Vermont and Mikmaquè and west from Nova Scotia into Mikmaquè. The British navy was still dominant on the seas and their blockade around Newfoundland proved impassable. The British left as few soldiers defending the St. Lawrence side of Vermont from the Haudenois as possible, and the huge army of 40,000 moved south to meet the 70,000 Unloyalists.
Half-hearted attempts on the Bahamas are also made but the Leonian fleets are beaten back.
1704 October 9th
After many long and devastating battles both armies are near depletion and some British troops surrendered to the Leonians. 10,000 Reinforcements further enforced Leonian victory in Vermont. The French defences of 51,000 in Mikmaquè start out decently in defending their position but the Leonians eventually wear down their numbers and more battalions meant for Newfoundland arrive, eventually securing Mikmaquè for the Leonians. Tens of thousands of Loyalists wanting nothing to do with the war at first flee northward to Vermont, once it is conquered they are forced to the Bahamas or to Newfoundland as the last of the Northern colonies, some of the poorer Loyalists even go to the Haudenois Confederacy to escape, they are reluctantly allowed in with minimal rights and freedoms. This creates a new social class in the Confederacy. They are neither slaves (at least most aren’t slaves) nor citizens and they become best compared to peasants but they are still strong willed and will cause problems for the Haudenois in the future if they are not assimilated.
1704 October 10th - 1715 January 23rd
The revolutionary war was devastating for the USL and British Empire, over a thousand were killed and Britain has only Newfoundland (now swelled from 70 to 81,000 people in 15 years), Jamaica, and the Hispaniola farms on the Leonez continent. The French have Louisiana and the remains of Québec (the St. Lawrence region still only military outposts) and the United States of Leonez has gained its independence. The lower part of Maine is divided into the additional, smaller states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Vermont is split into Vermont and New Hampshire. Virginia is also split into Virginia and Kentucky while Georgia remains the largest state. The Leonians remake the flag of the colonies into the Stars and Stripes: nine alternating red and white stripes with a blue upper-left-hand corner containing a white star for each state.
USL flag 1715
| 1654-1660 | 1670-1715 | 1715-1717 |