The Rise of Parties
The Nineteenth Century: The Saga of Equestria
July 14, 1832
Canterlot, Equestria
We, the Princesses of Equestria, have been charged by the ponies of Equestria to defend and protect this fine nation. This is not a responsibility we take lightly. Over the course of the past decade, we have been forced to make difficult decisions, in the name of protecting Equestria. Unfortunately, we must now make another difficult choice.
The recent battle at Appleloosa was fought between the newly-modernized Equestrian Armies and a group of humans determined to seize Equestrian territory for their own use. The Royal Council has interrogated the humans responsible for the battle, and they have stated that they seized the province of Valahamas because of the presence of human settlers. They claimed to wish to “liberate” the humans from the “quadapetal tyranny.” They also claimed to seek annexation from the United States, after they had secured their territory.
It is clear that the presence of the human settlers within Equestrian territory pose a threat to the safety and security of our nation. As such, the Equestrian Royal Council, representatives of the ponies of Equestria, declares that all humans, excepting those in the employ of the Equestrian government and those who represent other nations, and their families, are no longer welcome to reside in Equestria. The government shall buy all property that the aforementioned humans may have bought within Equestria. The Royal Council gives all humans that are subject to this proclamation one year to comply with it. Failure to do so is subject to seizure and liquidation of property and forced deportation.
Done in Canterlot, by the Equestrian Royal Council, whose names are fixed below:
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“Are we sure that this is a good idea?” asked Twilight, somewhat nervously. “The United States will not like this...we may even end up alienating the United Kingdom.”
Cadance looked uncomfortable as well, as she said, “I agree. At the very least, we should do this quietly. Let us not flaunt this decision in the face of the human nations.”
Luna grimaced, but did not comment.
Celestia sighed. “If we do not preface this with a declaration, we will be accused of being two-faced liars.We must proclaim Equestria to be a pony-only state, and if we don’t, the violence will only continue.”
“Yes, but-”
“Twilight! I understand that you have your concerns, but trust me. This is the best move for Equestria.”
All members of the Council recoiled. It occurred to Celestia that she may have stepped out of line.
“My apologies. But my point stands.”
Celestia picked up the quill, and signed her name in the first empty slot.
Luna blinked and, after a moment of hesitation, did the same.
Twilight and Cadance looked at each other for a couple of seconds. Then, slowly, both of them signed the declaration.
July 17, 1832
Canterlot, Equestria
“And this cannot stand! This is a clear and blatant infringement on human rights within Equestria.”
“The problem with that statement, Ambassador Ieving, is that Equestria is not a human state,” replied Celestia, in a detached voice. “As such, we are not obligated to provide ‘human rights’ to human settlers.”
The British ambassador shifted uncomfortably at that, but otherwise held his peace.
“Furthermore, when the Royal Council moved to begin allowing human settlers, we made it clear that humans would only be allowed to live in Equestria as long as they were orderly and obeyed the laws of Equestria. The Manetown Incident and Battle of Appleloosa have proven that humans cannot obey our laws, and keeping them in Equestria is dangerous for everypony involved. In addition, anti-human sentiment within this Principality has flared. I am not certain that we can guarantee the safety of any humans within Equestria.”
“It is the responsibility of the government of a state to keep its citizens in check!” replied Ieving.
“Really? Is that the reason you passed the Exclusion Act two years ago in your Congress? An act prohibiting ponies from settling in the United States? Tell me, how is this any different? No, the decree stands.”
Ieving stood up. “Very well. I want my passport and letters of accreditation back. I am leaving this nation.”
“They will be provided,” replied Celestia.
“I would like mine back as well,” stated Liston, the British ambassador. “This is a...monumental piece of news, and I should deliver it to His Majesty myself.”
Celestia flinched inwardly, recognizing what this meant. We just alienated the British.
Outwardly, she nodded and said, “Of course.”
January 2, 1833
First Meeting of the Equestrian Advisory Council of 1834
Canterlot, Equestria
As was tradition by now, Celestia gave a speech on the first meeting of the Advisory Council. The delegates got the days between Hearth’s Warming Eve and New Year’s Day off, to spend with their families. However, the representatives were expected and obligated to show up January 2, weekday or weekend, to address anything that came up during their break.
Celestia, and the Royal Council, maintained an extremely high standard for the Advisors.
As Celestia spoke, she gazed out into the seats of the several Advisors. As always, the twenty members of the Royal Court sat on Celestia’s right, and the one hundred Deputies sat on her left. She also noticed that, unlike in the past, the delegations from each of the districts did not sit together. Rather, the ponies seemed to be grouped in a pattern that was not clear to her.
She mused on this for the next few paragraphs, as explained the reasoning behind the Human Expulsion Proclamation. Of course, she did not need to explain herself to the Assembly, but she had fallen in the habit of doing so.
It was toward the end of the speech that she finally noticed something significant. She noticed that each pony wore an band on their front left leg. Some of them wore yellow bands, more wore grey, but the significant majority wore a navy blue band.
She speculated on what they could have meant for the duration of her speech. As she finished the final paragraph, she delayed her closing statement and instead went off of her script.
“And now, if I may discuss something that I have observed throughout my time in this Assembly...I have noticed that every pony, it seems, is wearing a colored band. In addition, each of the member of the two chambers are sitting with ponies that are wearing similar bands, rather than with their districts. If somepony will be so kind to tell me the reason for this trend?”
Each member seemed to start slightly; it was very much a violation of tradition for the Princess to ask a question of the Assembly in that manner. However, there was no rule against it, per se…
The Chancellor of the Court (a different pony than the one who attended the Congress of Panama) stood up. Celestia noticed that she had a blue band on.
“Your Serene Majesty, these bands signify our political identity.”
Celestia gave a small start, then said, “Political identity? What, precisely, do you mean?”
“Well, the ponies wearing yellow identify as liberals, who seek increased political participation, a relaxation of anti-human policies, support a strong, defensive military and the introduction of a market system free from government interference. Ponies in grey are equivalent to human reactionaries - they wish to double down on anti-human policies, support a strong, aggressive military, and wishes to keep the hooves of the government firmly upon the reigns of the economy. In the middle is the majority, the ponies in blue. We identify as more moderate; we seek to maintain the current status quo. We do not wish to expand or contract anti-human policies, we support only a small, defensive military, and we think that the government should interfere in the government, but only when necessary.”
Celestia was slightly stunned. She had not expected for the political scene of Equestria to fracture so suddenly and quickly…
“The beginning of this political polarization was when the Council left to attend the Congress of Panama,” said the Chancellor. “While the Council was away, we implemented several reforms. As we did so, there were several disagreements about what form these reforms should take. Some wanted the government to execute all of these itself, some wanted to allow for the rise of more private businesses, not directly responsible to the government. Eventually, the pro-government faction won, and...well, the Council ratified all of our decisions. The fact that the Council had to ratify our decision, though, angered a few members of this Assembly, who thought that the Assembly should be allowed to operate independent of the Princesses. They banded together with the pro-business faction and formed what they call ‘The Liberal Coalition,’ a reference to the human ideology of change. The opposition - the former pro-government faction - split with itself. The more extreme ponies formed ‘The Reactionary Alliance’ (as they were reacting to perceived attack by the Liberal Coalition) and the remaining ponies styled themselves ‘Moderates.’ Such is the nature of these bands.”
Celestia had to consciously keep her mouth from hanging open at this. Are we seeing the rise of political parties? And some members of this Assembly are challenging my right to rule Equestria? What is going on here?
“Thank you, Chancellor. That is most enlightening. I would like to remind the members of this Assembly that it was created by and is underneath the Royal Council. The Assembly only has the power to do what the Council authorizes it to do; it may not do any more. I shall also reiterate what I said at the opening of the Assembly: the power of this Assembly originates at the Royal Council. At no point may you challenge us. As the power of this Assembly comes from the Council, we retain absolute authority over it, up to and including the power to dissolve it, should we see fit.
“With that in mind…the fragmentation of this Assembly into political factions is not something that the Council will look upon favorably. Former political parties are hereby considered banned within the Principality. Take your factious politics elsewhere. They are not welcome here.”
January 16, 1833
Canterlot, Equestria
“We’re done?” asked Twilight, surprised.
“Not quite,” replied Celestia. “But almost.”
“Westernization complete...I’m not quite sure if I believe that,” said Cadance.
“I do,” replied Luna. “Look how far we have come: we centralized the government, modernized the military, reformed parts of the economy, streamlined the school system, and have rebooted the sciences under the Royal Ministry of Sciences and Arts. What else is left, but to build the very first warship for Equestria?”
“The culmination of our research; the epitome of our progress,” mused Celestia. “All in one, grand vessel...it has a certain romantic ring to it.”
“It should be a craft greater than any Equestrian ship that came before it,” said Twilight, getting into the groove. “A monument to Equestria itself!”
“Yes...we should call it the ERV Equestria, named after the land it shall protect. Equestria, a mighty ship, in a class known as the man-o-war to the humans...I like it…”
March 15, 1833
Canterlot, Equestria
Your Serene Majesties,
Greetings, Princesses. I wish to extend the hand of friendship and prosperity clothed in the glove of cautious strength. While my term in office shall expire in three years, I believe it is best to set the foundation for the next President and to affirm the stances of the United States and Equestria on several subjects.
First and foremost, all unclaimed lands left on the continent may be firmly stated to belong to these United States. The efforts of this republic to spread the light of democracy will not be in vain, and I urge you to consider the relative benefits of such a concession, as your nation struggles to defend itself against marauding, fortune-seeking pirates.
Second, the Kingdom of "Griffonia" to your immediate north is to be recognized as a clear and present barbarian threat to prosperity and liberty on this continent, and as an obstacle in the rightful design of God. Not two months have gone by without some band of the youths of the Griffon upper classes terrorizing the diplomatic interests of the United States in that territory. My administration has had experience in the removal of such threats, and I urge you to remember what the United States Army is capable of when future presidents inevitably address the Griffon problem.
Third and finally, the recent chaos in Mexico's territory of Texas is proving that the United States will have future conflicts in those areas as the clash of cultures across this continent intensifies. These United States will continue to pursue mutually-beneficial relations with Texas, and hold fast against any Mexican threat that may rear its head. In the best interests of Equestria, the United States demands that neutrality in foreign affairs of that area be your official policy. Your involvement in the settling of territorial disputes between the nations of man, in all the glory of God and nature, is not needed.
The existence of your nation, as surprising as it may be, is a tolerable deviation from the laws of nature that these United States will allow in the future. So long as our nations continue to coexist, the amicable continuance of trade and stable borders will be the proper and desired order. Do note, the United States has no interest in defending you against marauders. The incident in your “Appleloosa” was regrettable, and the United States shall allow you to prosecute the perpetrators in accordance with your laws. Do not misunderstand this, though. This republic will hold as steadfast as my defense of New Orleans in our goals. This continent is destined as American soil, and the fulfillment of that dream shall be the pursuance of that nation's people for so long as we draw breath and may hold high that great Star-Spangled Banner.
Yours in Potential Friendship,
Andrew Jackson
President of the United States
“That was bold,” said Celestia.
“Indeed, it was,” said Luna. “First and foremost, the United States will tolerate our continued existence? What in Tartarus is that supposed to mean? That we need their permission to be a sovereign state?”
“Chaos in Texas? I knew things were tense, but chaos may be a bit of hyperbole…” observed Cadance.
“He was not exactly friendly towards Griffonia, either. Calling them a ‘barbarous threat to the liberty and posterity of this continent,’ or some such thing,” observed Twilight.
“This Andrew Jackson is not exactly the most diplomatic of humans.”
“I would have thought that he would have had a diplomat look over this letter to...soften the language.”*
“Welp, we need to be careful. If this letter is correct, he will be of no concern in three years. But we need to watch out. I doubt he will be the last of his kind…”
* Author’s side note: He did. The diplomat spend five hours crossing out and replacing words. Jackson incorporated every change into the letter.
Ah, the end of the beginning. This sure has come a long way... but the true start is coming. Even with the failed attempt at Salt Lick, Equestria has seen nothing yet with what the US can and will do.
Hmm, January 1 1836... as it stands, obviously the closest thing happening near them is the Texas rebellion. Although IRL around this time it was actually on a low-point. The Mexicans had been pushed out of Texas proper on the last months of 1835 after the Anglo-Texans succesfully sieged San Antonio de Bejar and Fort Lipantitlán... only to spend weeks struggling with planning the Matamoros Expedition that things fell apart, allowing the Mexicans to strike back. Of course, we know how THAT ended up, but still...
Either way, would be interesting to see what the ponies are thinking of Santa Anna at this point. Anglo-Texans had various reasons for what they did. And while some, like stubbornly clinging to practicing slavery, are strikes against them, others like Santa Anna centralizing so much the government, aren't.
I guess other points of interest that would be reaching their ears at this time is the Farrapos War. Though that would be too far away compared to Texas their attention may not be all that in.
I wonder when they are going to build up their military?
I am really looking forward to the coming chapters and the coming of the "start" of the story, so much action, so much history that can happen.
Alternate histories, from colonization, to expansion to defense, to wars of weapons and words.
This is going to be amazing, and a sudden realization. Equestria has a lot of gold.
They might be the ones to buy Alaska from the Czar if they get lucky, that would be rather cool and interesting. As well as leading to pressures for both a water and land route between these lands.
Man o' war?
longislandpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Portuguese-Man-o-War.jpg
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No, silly pony! This man-o-war:
thepirateking.com/images/ships_manofwar3.jpg
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It's going to be a wild ride!!!
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Don't count the ponies out yet...
6927361
This man o' war?
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Manowar1920.jpg
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One that I look forward to seeing developing and growing as time goes on.
Interesting, the California region and such, and northern territories of Mexico at this point in time is not very full of humans, still it is going to be interesting to see what comes next.
Ok, Let's see:
A) Celestia is going more authoritarian, if she execute the congress... it will be very interesting to see what happens next
B) Political Parties, Glad to see the [Yellow] Liberalism there, it would have been hilarious if the most radical would have called themselves the [Red] Conservatives, but that third party sounds very interesting, potential democrat party?
C) January 1st 1836, José María Vargas was a President (again) until April 24th... Here is the list, it's too confusing at this point in time: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anexo:Presidentes_de_Venezuela
It would be 4 years until the creation of the Liberal Party in Venezuela (August 24th 1840) through a letter made by Antonio Leocadio Guzmán in the Newspaper El Venezolano (The Venezuelan):
The Liberal party lasted until 1899 (due to the takeover of Cipriano Castro) and had a very original flag:
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Flag_of_Partido_liberal_de_Venezuela.svg/220px-Flag_of_Partido_liberal_de_Venezuela.svg.png
So one of the questions now could be: Will this liberal party be the Left Wing in Equestria like the one in Venezuela?
This is getting good. Thanks for reading and have a good day.
6927452
Dat flag tho...so creative...
I selected the yellow color for the Liberal Coalition because that's the color of the liberals in 1836 Vicky II Equestria. Same for the Moderates (Conservatives) and the Reactionaries. But that's nice parallel.
Red...conservatives? I thought red was reserved for socialists and communists...?
6927486 Nope, in Venezuela, the Conservative party used the color red and with a flag just as original as the liberal party
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_Partido_conservador_de_Venezuela.svg/220px-Flag_of_Partido_conservador_de_Venezuela.svg.png but that was during 19th century, as of now, the conservative party doesn't exist anymore.
Still cool to see the rise of political parties, they're always a step ahead into a good government, IMO.
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Well, going by what they can do in the mod, they wouldn't have to wait. They can actually be the ones offering to buy it (I don't know if the event for Russia to sell it includes to Equestria. I know they can also offer it to the UK and even Mexico, but don't know if to Equestria). But well, that is if they choose to in this story.
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Fun fact: Over here, the Liberal Party (1822-1884) used Red. Though the Conservative Party (1849-1867) did used Blue like Victoria II does. At this point it's going to be clear that the universal usage of ideology colors Victoria II uses it's not going to match that of many countries.
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A) If I remember right, the mod has stuff for Equestria going authoritarian. Don't remember it all right now, though.
C) Confusing huh, heh. Wonder what makes of over here's, haha. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heads_of_state_of_Mexico
6928069 Dang, only seeing the list gives me dizziness, and I'm very sure it's even more confusing if you delve into it.
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Wouldn't PTSD be a problem within the Equestrian military which hasn't seen war for a thousand years?
How would Equestria deal with smallpox? Sea pirates?
Wouldn't humans start reverse engineering Equestrian tech since you said its more advance?
California Gold Rush = Dead Equestria and Griffonia
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I point you to this quote from Celestia in the chapter "To Kill a Filibuster:"
The ponies are taking measures to care for their veterans.
Why would the ponies be infected by a human disease? As for pirates, Equestria has started building the ERV Equestria. I doubt it's just going to sit at port...
When did I say that? I don't think I said that. The only thing the Equestrians have that the humans don't is mobile artillery, which is in the theoretical stage at this point. And the United States used mobile artillery ("flying artillery") in the Mexican-American War OTL, so the ponies aren't that far ahead...
I doubt the Royal Council would be inclined to share knowledge of a massive gold deposit. And unlike OTL, there is no way for the humans to find out; no humans are allowed in Equestria and no Equestrians are allowed in America.
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Yeah, but no surprises, considering our history was a mess through pretty much almost all the 19th Century and early 20th.
Though if you ask me, the best part is the First Federal Republic. With one guy resigning presidency... only to come back for the term's last three months after five different guys were president in his place. And the Santa Anna and Gómez Farías tag-team.
I really don't like this. I don't like this at all. Banning all humans from entering the country is probably Celestia's worst idea to date.
You can see how much everyone else doesn't like the idea. You know what? I think Celestia is being way too brash here.
Also, this could quite possibly be a worse decision:
Celestia bans all political parties of any kind, ever. She also cements that the Assembly has no real power and that they are no more than puppets of the Council.
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In fact, throughout the whole story, Celestia has been doing most of the things without an advisor or anyone thinking things through beore they pass. The Council can't do anything, as demonstrated in this chapter.
6930203
Finally, someone saw the not-so-subtle power grab from the rest of the Council!!! Finally, someone said something about Celestia browbeating everypony else into line with her desires! I was wondering if I somehow make it too subtle.
But, I feel as if your reading too much into this part:
I don't think that the ponies would be too pissed over this. After all, ponies don't vote for members of the Advisory Assembly; they are appointed by the Royal Council from different parts of the country. It really is a puppet of the Council, and Celestia has never implied that it wasn't. It never was designed to be a Congress or Parliament with political parties, it was simply designed to take the pressure off of the Princesses, and handle the more mundane tasks. Think of it as more the head of the Equestrian bureaucracy, which is directly under the Princesses.
Also, the greater population of Equestria has lived under the Princesses for ages. The whole idea of this "democracy" is new to them. The establishment of the Advisory Assembly probably didn't even make a political splash. The closest thing to democracy they had was the townships, and they were dissolved ages ago. For the record, now that westernization is almost over, the decision to abolish those townships will have more discussion...
This isn't to say that the Assembly won't start to claim the title of a Congress or Parliament in time, though.
6930271
I guess I went a little bit too far with that.
I do still think that a
FrenchEquestrian Revolution is not 100% impossible. Most likely, someone will yell at celestia and she will be a little sad for a while. Way I see things, the Assembly will want to not be puppets, celestia will abolish them, they will say "YOU WANNA ABOLISH ME? ME? I'M THE FREAKING CONGRESS NOW AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY!". Who knows what celestia will do then.Side note: The reason I went so far with the "oppression" or whatever was because I was salty about celestia walking around and beating all her problems up by silencing everyone else, and no one in the comments noticing. Politics is the You thought this was a naughty word, didn't you, and celestia is the fan
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Well, admitedly, I don't have much grasp on these events to comment about it. Though at the same time, I am more focused on the eventual consequences once we enter the main event period of the story. And, well, you could say my attention is pulled more on the interactions with the outside than the internal stuff. But well, I guess I just need to have a sharper eye for this stuff.
6929939 Sounds like a very interesting government, I would read that.
6930271 Well, whenever I said that Celestia was becoming more and more authoritarian, I was meaning how much she was using her authority to overstep the others (including the council itself), which is why I see that if she doesn't stop, she will get a coup d'etat very soon.
I think that this will end up with one or two of the princesses becoming the leaders of the political parties (Twilight and probably Cadance could become the leaders of the Liberal party while Luna of the Conservative/Moderate party, while the reactionaries/extreme Right would follow Celestia, the ponies of each party only has to ask the respective princess to become the leader and if the conversation goes right, very soon the political parties would be created even if Celestia doesn't want to).
But I will leave this clear, in a country, the Right wing always represent the party in control of the government (since Celestia is the one in charge, she and the reactionaries would become the Right Wing) while the opposition would be the minority or the ones that doesn't have the control (in this case, the conservatives who would be center and the liberals who would be the Left Wing since they would be the ones opposing this government the most). But I'm just talking in base of how politics works in my country, I'm not sure how it works in the US (But if I'm not wrong, the Right Wing belongs to the Republicans and the Left Wing belongs to the Democrats, right?).
Granted, you can use this speculation/information however you want, this is just my point of view.
6930512 This isn't the main story? wow, and I thought this was very good already.
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Well, remember that the concept of this story is based from the mod of a game. Well, a sub-mod of a mod. So I would consider the main portion as what the game/mod itself covers (so it would be from Jan 1, 1836 to Jan 1, 1936), and all this time of the story, since the 1806 start, could be considered as a prologue period of sorts.
Also, funny you mention about what princesses would follow what ideologies, since the mod actually covers that a bit. Well, I don't think it does for all four. Just for the sisters, I think.
6930668 1936?? Dang, that includes Cipriano Castro (1899 - 1908), Juan Vicente Gómez (1908 - 1935) and the first year of Eleazar López Contreras (1936 - 1941), I didn't expected the Rise of the Andino's to get enough space to get covered here, that means that Equestria might suffer from the idiocy of Cipriano Castro (he was dumb enough to anger European Powers such as the British and the Germans, which caused the second crisis of the country which lasted from 1902 - 1903) and whatever jokes you may want to make of him and Equestria might get some political exiles from the Dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez (If they allow them to come of course).
Although, if all of this was a prologue of sorts, I hope it means we'll get to see a epilogue after all of this ends.
Well, I hope I got which Princess follows what right.
6931148 Not to mention World War 1 and a couple years of Hitler! I wonder how they will react to the Japanese?
6930271 Would Equestria participate in the 'Colonization' of Africa and Asia?
If not, wouldn't they be left behind economically?
The majority of those that died in the battles of the American Civil War were the wounded in medical camps. Wouldn't this affect Equestrian battles as well?
What other valuable resources are in California?
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6931148
Why would I be bound by gameplay limits? This story will continue for as long as I can keep coming up with new material!
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Fascinating. I would think about the stuff of my country, like the Porfiriato (1884-1911) and the Revolution (1910-1920), but considering we neighbor Equestria in this, chances are higher for stuff to get ahistorical with us. Specially once Manifest Destiny hits or so.
6931551
Oh wow, could this mean it could get as far as the 21st Century!?
Though it would have to end at some point.
Or continue as a different story since this is titled "The Nineteenth Century" after all.6931423 It would be very interesting, hopefully they will try to open relations with the Japanese in the 1850's if they get the chance. And I hope they can get something out of the WWI, maybe a change in the government?
6931551 Oh Boy, now this will get interesting, Cipriano Castro was a poor dictator, but he managed to get to power because Juan Vicente Gómez was his general, Castro was one of those leaders that tried to make Venezuela something to respect, but he ended up causing our ports to be blocked by Europe, in the end, we got the help of the US when they decided to help us (The British and Germans started to bombard our ports, and the US decided to activate the Monroe Doctrine to help us, even when they didn't liked Cipriano Castro), eventually Castro got ill and had to leave to another country to get operated, but he didn't even crossed the Antilles when Juan Vicente Gómez forbid him of ever coming back and started his Dictatorship in 1908.
Now Juan Vicente Gómez, even though we are so far from that I must tell you what kind of being he was now so you can planify how to use him (if you want to use him of course):
Gómez was a before and after in Venezuelan history, as I said once, he was Cipriano Castro's General and the main reason nobody ever managed to defeat Castro and by that I mean that any General that tried to fight Castro (1899- 1908) or Gómez (1908 - 1935) was defeated by The General Gómez, he was that good as a military commander, he could apply the tyrant route because he had control of the Military, he had control of the Congress (which was just a puppet for him) and nobody could say anything about him to the point that he ruled until his death in 1935.
He was the closest thing Venezuela ever got to Alexander The Great, in a sense that he was unbeatable, he defeated not only Venezuelan Generals, but even armies supported by companies (like the New York & Bermúdez Company who supported Manuel Antonio Matos so he could defeat Castro... as I said, Gómez defeated him), he didn't had naval army, but in land nobody could defeat him, and he used anything on his power to fight, he even fought with riders that used Machetes to fight.
He didn't knew how to write or read, but he wasn't dumb by any mean, he studied the tactics from Napoleon and Bismarck and after WWI he decided to create the Venezuelan Air Force, and everybody thought they were useless, but in the end, they worked to stop a coup attempt by a general named Ramón Chalbaud (his son would later become president in 1948, but that story is for another day) who was going to try an invasion from the sea (in other words, Gómez defeated a navy vessel with Airplanes). And to destroy once and for all the Caudillos that plagued Venezuela (and hence, the civil wars) he created the military academy so no other men could have their own personal army.
Since Penalty of death was abolished in Venezuela since 1863, Gómez didn't execute his enemies, instead he either send them to jail, or exiled them, this lead to the death of the Conservative party and the Liberal party and threw Venezuela into a political coma.
But Gómez, unlike Hitler or Napoleon or any other dictator, decided to isolate Venezuela, while this meant that we never fought in WWI, it also meant that no other country was involved on what happened here, and to make sure of it Gómez paid all the Exterior Debt in Venezuela and made sure to never anger the other nations so he could rule in peace.
for those who know spanish and are interested, this is a documentary made about him:
For those who doesn't know Spanish, his personality could be described like this:
you can see his face from 1:47 - 1:52
I am truly sorry for making this lengthy, but if you ever decide to include Gómez, I had to describe a bit about him so you can tell what to do when this happens in Equestria:
What will Equestria do when Gómez takes over?
What will Equestria do if Venezuelan exiles ask the Equestrians for shelter? will they allow the Venezuelans to be in Equestria or not?
If Equestria decides to support a Venezuelan General to overthrown Gómez, how bad it will be the defeat?
If you ever decide to include Gómez or a piece of him in the story, I hope this information helps you, but don't worry, he will come in 1899 (with Castro) and rule in 1908. There's still plenty of time for that.
I only hope Equestria doesn't try to fight him, it would be a waste of resources and soldiers.
Sorry for writing this, but he is such a big deal that I had to warn you about him so you could pan better how to handle Gómez.
But since this story is focused on the 19th Century, for now, I will try to research about Antonio Guzmán Blanco (1870 - 1887), he is the one that could affect things when the time comes.
Thank you for reading this, and I'll try to make this as short as possible.
6931592 Exterior Policies, always makes the world so much more interesting.
6932575 Oh, and I forgot, one of the greatest insult that Gómez could have done to us was being born and dying on the exact same days that Simón Bolívar was born and died.
6932434
Japan is certainly gonna be one of those countries whose history will most likely be different thanks to Equestria's prescence. After all, what are the chances the US can still send Commodore Perry over there? And even then not guaranteed to make Japan go as IRL. Japan's future is more or less in limbo right now, I'd say.
6932779 Indeed.
6932779 the U.S. might react differently to the empire of the rising sun, without a threat of coastal invasion
You know, as much as I enjoy seeing all 4 princesses getting together, I'm starting to wonder how the Mane 5 and other folks in Ponyville are doing.