A Whirlwind of Diplomacy
A Whirlwind of Diplomacy
The Nineteenth Century: The Saga of Equestria
June 30, 1836
Canterlot, Equestria
“...this was found,”stated the Royal Guard pony.
He threw a pamphlet onto the desk of the Royal Council.
Increasingly, as of late, earth ponies have increasingly found themselves at the bottom of the social and political ladder within Equestria. The Princesses have, in their wisdom, decided to fight the human menace by adopting the ways and the tools of the West. Unfortunately, this wise move has had the unforeseen consequence of dividing Equestria along tribal lines. Unicorns increasingly hold the positions of authority in Equestria, while earth ponies find themselves regulated to the bottom. Pegasi, meanwhile, have found themselves pushed to the side, into the military.
The Princesses are wise and strong. However, they have undoubtedly made a mistake. I believe I speak for the entire earth pony tribe when I call for the Princesses to bring back the townships, and allow earth ponies back into the political process. Let it be known that I do not blame the Princesses for any of this; rather, this entire mess is an unfortunate consequence of the westernization process that the Princesses, for all their wisdom, overlooked by accident.
This is The Earth Pony Voice.
“...Interesting,” said Celestia.
“Very,” agreed Luna. “Tell me, where did you find this?”
“It was discovered in a rare police raid in the Ponyville province,” replied the Guard. “As it violated the laws requiring a censored press, it was sent to the Royal Guard.”
“A political pamphlet in Equestria, calling for national reforms,” mused Celestia. “Never thought I would see the day. On the national level, the ponies of Equestria have never really been interested in politics.”
“This writer appears to be very keen in maintaining the Council, but he wants the return of the townships,” observed Twilight. “Not exactly a revolutionary.”
“Indeed. This pamphlet does no harm,” said Celestia. “I think we should simply ignore it. Cracking down would cause more trouble than it would prevent.”
August 10, 1836
Diplomatic Message from Equestria to Mexico
To the Mexican Government,*
The Equestrian Royal Council has heard of the tragedy inflicted upon your people and country by the so-called “Republic of Texas,” aided by the United States of America. We wish to extend our condolences and say that the Principality of Equestria is disgusted by their actions. It is remarkable that the United States was allowed to maintain its “official neutrality,” despite the fact that over 200 American Army regulars unofficially served in the Texan Army. Unfortunately, we were unable to assist you, as the Americans would have certainly eliminated us from the map.
It has occurred to the Council that many of our goals are aligned. Both of us are nations that struggle to maintain our independence against outside forces. Both of us border a nation bent on asserting dominance over this continent. Both of us know that when the Americans come, we will be hard-pressed to survive.
We, the Equestrian Royal Council, seek closer economic and political ties with the Republic of Mexico.
Sincerely,
The Serene Majesties of Equestria, whose signatures are attached below.
Princess Celestia
Princess Luna
Princess Cadance
Princess Twilight Sparkle
June 20, 1837
London, Great Britain
“Alexandria, wake up.”
A young woman, only barely eighteen years old, stirred. She opened her eyes, to see her mother.
“The Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham are in your sitting-room. They wish to see you straight away.”
The young woman sat up, blinking sleep away.
“There is no need to get all dressed; your dressing gown will suffice. Quickly, now.”
Following her directions, the young woman named Alexandria got up and walked into her room. Alone. Without her mother.
“Yes, sirs?” asked
“Twelve minutes past two o’clock this morning, your uncle, King William the Fourth, joined God in Heaven.”
“You, Your Majesty, are Queen now.”
August 15, 1837
London, Great Britain
The Queen of Great Britain and Ireland looked to her mother. “Why have we not invited the rulers of this ‘Principality of Equestria’ I have heard so much about? Are they not royals as well?”
“‘Principality of Equestria?’ You mean the nation of horses west of the United States? Why would we invite them to your coronation?”
“Because, I cannot help but feel that when the historians a hundred years from now sit down to write about this time, that nation and their rulers will be the first thing they discuss.”
August 30, 1837
Diplomatic Message from Griffonia to Equestria
To the Royal Council of Equestria,
I, King Odrynn, would like to extend my apologies on behalf of the entire Kingdom of Griffonia. Three days ago, a group of five griffon youths heckled and harassed the diplomatic delegations from Equestria, the United States, and the British Empire. I want you to know that the youths responsible for these actions have been arrested and punished according to Griffonian law.
I also want to reach out to the Council. As you may have learned, a rebellion within the Kingdom forced me to reverse nearly all of the westernization process; I barely managed to retain my throne. As such, we are, metaphorically, back at square one.
I still believe that westernization is the best choice for the continued protection of my realm. With this in mind, I respectfully request that I be granted assistance in undertaking this process, in the name of protecting both of our nations.
Sincerely,
Odrynn
King of Griffonia
“Good to see that Odrynn managed to hold onto his kingdom, despite the nobles,” observed Cadance. “I kind of like him.”
“Indeed. Now, we need to answer his question about aid.”
“I’m curious, why does he say this is in the best interest of both of our nations? I support helping them, but I can’t help but wonder why he insists that the safety of our nation is also at stake.”
“Think about it, Cadance. The Griffonian kingdom is to our north. We have a total of four border provinces there: Hoofsdale, the Everfree Forest, Appleloosa, and Salt Lick City. None of them are places where it is reasonable to keep a well-supplied garrison; the closed reasonable location is Baltimare, south of Hoofsdale. The border is long, difficult to defend, but perhaps more important is the fact that the coastal region of Equestria is so important. If Hoofsdale were to fall, an enemy could strike at Baltimare, a major city. From there, it is extremely easy to seize Ponyville, the seat of the Council of Harmony, and an important cultural site, as you all are aware. An invader can then also pick up Stalliongrad, a key historical site for the earth ponies, before marching on Canterlot itself. And then, if Equestria continues to fight on despite the fall of Canterlot, it’s an easy march to Manehattan and Fillydelphia, the two largest Equestrian cities. And finally, if the pegasi are still being rowdy, despite everything, the invader must only march on Cloudsdale, blast the city out of the sky with their cannons, and just like that, they have captured practically every major city and over two-thirds of the Equestrian population, just by hugging the coast. The northern border is too important, and King Odrynn knows it. Even if we were to focus all our energy on defending the coast, that leaves Ponyville, Colton, most of central Equestria, and all of Valmansas out of our easily defendable area. No, letting the Americans gain a northern border with Equestria is unacceptable. It would be the single greatest step towards defeat we could take. And again, Odrynn knows it.”
“So even if we didn’t want to, we have no real choice. We must help him.”
“Precisely. We must. And it’s a good thing we are willing, as well, as, again, we would have to do it anyways.”
September 12, 1837
Diplomatic Message from the British Empire to Equestria
Her Majesty, Queen of the British, hereby cordially invites Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, and Princess Twilight, to the coordination of Queen Victoria. The ceremony will be held on June 28 of next year, and we would be honored to have you in attendance.
Queen Victoria
January 16, 1838
Griffon Falls, Griffonia
“We have gathered here to resolve disputes between the Kingdom of Griffonia and the United States of America,” said Luna.
The humans nodded, and King Odrynn did as well. When the youths had hassled members of the Equestrian diplomatic delegation and traders, the ponies were more than willing to allow the incident to slide.
The United States, however, was not.
On October 21, the Kingdom of Griffonia received a list of three demands from the United States.
On October 23, the Principality of Equestria received a letter requesting that the Equestrians moderate the discussion.
And here they were.
“For the record, the following were demanded by the United States of America:” said Princess Cadance. “Complete reimbursal of all damaged properties, a fine of two thousand dollars, and the turnover of the griffon province of Pocoltello.”
“My government states that Griffonia should consider itself lucky,” stated the human ambassador, John White. “Congress originally wished to demand two additional provinces and a much higher fee.”
“Thank you, but that’s not relevant,” said Luna, with an edge to her voice. “King Odrynn, do you have any objections to the items on this list?”
“Yes, Your Serene Majesty, I do.” replied Odrynn.
Luna gazed at the griffon. He’s changed. In the aftermath of the Griffon Reaction, as it was being called, the King was quieter. His normally centered air had been shaken to the core. Instead of confidently looking his equal in the eye, Odrynn avoided Luna’s gaze and instead looked down at his notes. He also spoke quieter, with a little less authoritism.
“The Kingdom of Griffonia capitulates to demands one and two. That is, I am willing to pay both the fine and to reimburse damages. However, I cannot turn over any more Griffonian territory than I already have.”
“The United States is not satisfied by simply levying a punitive fine.”
“But I cannot afford to give up any more territory than I already have. The province that you mentioned is home to over a thousand griffons! I cannot force them to abandon their homes, and I refuse to abandon them to their fates under the United States.
“However, I am willing to pay a higher punitive fine.”
“That is not good enough. If I am to surrender the third demand, I must demand instead an additional eighteen thousand dollars and an agreement for Griffonia to open its borders to American military escorts for the protection of American interests.”
Odrynn did not look up, but Luna heard a note of his old steel enter his voice. “Twelve thousand.”
White frowned, then said, “You are not exactly in a position to bargain...no less than sixteen and a half thousand.”
Odrynn hesitated, then apparently realizing that the American was correct, nodded once and said, “Very well. Sixteen and a half thousand it is.”
Luna frowned slightly. Do they even have anything close to that sum of money in Griffonia’s treasury?
“It is agreed.”
The same day
The same place
“We can’t afford it, Princess!” exclaimed Odrynn.
“I thought so,” replied Luna. “But I see that you had no choice.”
“Indeed. Much like your Manetown Incident, and the earlier Columbia River claims, I had to buy peace. Even at the price of sixteen thousand and a half thousand dollars, and the surrender of Griffonia’s territorial sovereignty.”
“Equestria will be happy to loan you the required funds to make the payments.”
January 20, 1838
Lāhainā, The Kingdom of Hawai’i
Princess Celestia stepped off of the ERV Equestria, taking in the beauty of the island port. Despite it being winter back in Equestria, Lāhainā, the capital of the Kingdom of Hawai’i, was downright warm. The Sun shone brightly, but Celestia was told that rain in January was actually rather common.
Interesting how these climates vary so wildly, she thought. And these humans have no control over them…
Celestia was on her way to observe Queen Victoria’s coronation in Great Britain when she decided to take a slight detour to visit the island nation.
“Ali’i Nui Kamehameha,” said Celestia smoothly - she had practiced on the way to Hawai’i. “On behalf of the Equestrian Royal Council, I extend my royal greetings.”
After her translator finished, the Hawaiian smiled warmly. “Princess Celestia, Her Most Serene Majesty of Equestria. Welcome to Hawai’i. We have much to discuss.”
* Interestingly, the first draft of this letter had the words “Dear President,” followed by names Bustamante, Múzquiz, Pedraza, Farías, Barragán, and Santa Anna, each one of them crossed out. Apparently, the writers of the letter gave up after they heard that Barragán had returned to the Presidency, only to die in office soon after.
Stats
Page generated in 0.042 seconds
Total duration
1,003 users online
162,243 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
God this make me hate the old America
That probably was touched already but after reading summary I have to nitpick:
sapient (thinking)
As everything with a brain is sentient (feeling ex. pain) be it rat or cockroach.
6959790
Featured? *Checks it out and sees it in all of its glory*
In the immortal words of Rainbow Dash:
ohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh
Fuck HoI 4, I want Vicky 3 now.
Although I dislike some parts of this, I will admit; I do like the overall story. it's very... interesting, for lack of a better term. An excellent premise.
this next bit is a little ranty and more me pointing out inaccuracies than anything else, so feel free to skip it.
it was mentioned in earlier chapters that part of the equestrian army was 35,000 ponies strong, with 500 cannon. Yet, the equestrians are seemingly afraid of the United States, which is strange, seeing as their regular army was only about 14,000 strong in 1836, and it was only that high because of the second Seminole war. Also, as mentioned before, the proportion of cannon to soldiers is... unsettling. I know this is hardly historically accurate, for obvious reasons, least of all because it's loosely based on a video game... But as a huge fan of this era in history it just sort of irks me a bit. And my preference with (loose) historical fiction is that it be as realistic as possible- just my choice. 500 cannon, ranging from 3 pounders to 32 pounders would have a frontage of at least 600 yards axle to axle (If you realise what this would mean in battle, then you get why I don't like it). And the gunpowder required to fire 500 cannon more than a few times... bloody mind boggling. There weren't that many cannon at Waterloo, nor any other battle in the time period. Only the navy had so many cannon, and to an extent the Lines of Torres Vedras (google it, if you don't know what they are).
In the previous chapter you said that soldiers make up 2% of the population (5.25 million), which by my calculations is 105,000 ponies. That's a bloody large army for such a small population. In 1830 the US had a population of about 13 million, give or take a bit, and an army smaller than that mentioned before by several thousand. The British Army was only around 60,000 men at this point, spread out over a quarter of the world. I know I'm focusing on the military side of things here, and this fic is far more political intrigue than action/adventure, It's just... I had to say something, the armchair general/historian in me would never be at rest otherwise. I'm so sorry for cluttering your comment section with my prattle. And feel free to reply to this post or pm me if you disagree with anything here; I'm sure I've probably got something wrong.
Good fic otherwise though, so far. I'm not asking that you change a thing; just stating my opinion.
And there went Texas. Well, it was innevitable. Even if the Battle of San Jacinto had gone different, or the war had continued despite the Treaty of Velasco, who knows what would have meant regarding the US's stand on the conflict. And speaking of, we certainly seeing them take a more aggressive stand with Griffonia. It doesn't surprise me, considering that with Griffonia there, the region is no longer under a join-ownership between the UK and the US, meaning the latter is pretty much feeling free to do so. Though we certainly saw a bit of that already with the Columbia River issue.
Hehe, of course, can't have a story based on Victoria II without the Queen herself appearing.
Hmm, interesting, so they're already making contact with Hawaii. Well, considering Equestria does border the Pacific with quite an amount of coastline, doesn't surprise me if they also look towards the Pacific.
6959790
It finally made the Feature Box? Ah, too bad I missed it.
6960901
Hey! Welcome back. Long time no see...
6961042
Congratulations on being featured :D
Now Let's see:
Celestia is ignoring her people, first step into a political crisis, I recommend the return of townships or to create governors for each state (in case Equestria decides to make a territorial division of the country), otherwise, there will be a big problem in the future.
Opening relationships with México, a step forward IMO, glad to see it happening, now let's hope they manage to keep tabs with the presidents in charge.
Queen Victoria has come, now things will get interesting, she is a very cool queen.
Hawaii, oh Hawaii...
Maybe I will be wrong, but I'm still predicting the fall of the griffon kingdom, but now I see two possibilities: They either get conquered by the US or get annexed by Equestria.
Now with that said:
Between 1835 - 1837 Venezuela was on a political turmoil because there was people who didn't liked Páez or his regime (mainly because he was seen as a traitor to Bolívar oor the Country), the problem was that the actual President wasn't Páez, but the doctor José María Vargas, who wasn't a General, he was a man of education a civilian, so during his presidency he got a military strike that took him out of the country for 2 months, just to get installed back by Páez (who got a lot of power in the country so far), but still, he had a lot of pressure under him, so he surrendered the Presidency.
In March 11th, 1837, the presidency is given to the General Carlos Soublette (which would last until January 28th, 1839, with Páez returning to be a President), while I haven't dug enough for now, a key thing during this time would be the law of Immigration which would allow immigrants to come to the country and bringing Bolívar's rests to Venezuela and there was a relative peace in Venezuela.
6960439
Don't worry man, maybe here México will regain it... maybe... It's good to dream.
6961244
Well, there is the potential. After Texas became independent, they almost immediatly asked the US to annex them (no surprise there). Though the US knew it wasn't wise to accept right away (considering how it would've looked), though it did took about 9 years when they finally did it. The UK meanwhile actually got involved in this affairs, since it wanted to use Texas as a buffer against US expansionism. By the mid 1840's the UK had managed to convince Mexico to strike a deal. Mexico would give up their claims on Texas on the condition that Texas remained an independent country.
Now, IRL this meant that between Texas joining the Union in 1845, and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848, Mexico had regained legal claim over Texas. If the G-H Treaty is avoided in this story, then it opens the possiblity of Mexico regaining Texas at some in the future (as I don't see an Eq-Mex alliance reaching this far on the first try, preserve the status quo at most maybe).
Man, so to say, so little time to do so. All I can say is that things are taking a very interesting turn.
6961042
Indeed.
Glad to see you have managed to get this far. And congrtas on being featured.
6960296
That's a good point, and I'm glad you were able to point that out so very well.
My main guess why Equestria has such a large army compared to it's overall population, compared to other nations at the time, is because they need that many to deal with any possible threat all across it's borders. And this army is not only meant to defend a nation, but an entire species [or two]. So while you may see it as overkill in size, I'm sure the Princesses (Celestia especially) would have good reason for it, the way they see it.
6961432
Well, to be fair, I think those numbers are taken from the mod itself, where soldier numbers are inflated. Which means that by game standards, Equestria's army would be only standard. Like, whenever I play as Mexico I always see the US with over 35K soldiers in Louisiana by the early 1840's (like the AI already knows it's gonna enact Manifest Destiny, and when they do it's already 40K+). And that's just the initial count without counting the rest of their soldiers elsewhere and the ones they gain by mobilizing the general populace. The US in the game has an insane number of soldiers because it pretty much has a lot of immigration modifiers from events and decisions, which then assimilate to Yankee or Dixie culture. You hardly can compete with them for immigrants for the most part.
6961454
Fair enough. Since this is based on a game I never played before, I'll have to take your word for it.
Also, there was a part mentioned about "Pegasi cavalry and dragoons". Now I fully understand that these troops basically form a niche role that most 19th century cavalry fill, with a slight twist resembling maybe the air force and paratroops of the 20th Century, it kinda seems a bit odd for the name. Since they aren't actually riding anything as an actual cavalry [or other "-lry"]. But minor nit pick.
6961477
Well, there are other mechanics involved that justify the large number of soldiers and how it balances it out. But well, it would not quite apply to this story, where the high number does become an outlier instead.
You know, the terms could actually still apply. Cavalry does have its roots from the French word for Horse (Cheval), so it wouldn't be hard to say the term is different for Equestria. The term Dragoon may have started as a term for mounted infantry, but the term evolved. It has also been used to denote "Medium Cavalry", which could also be said to be of different usage for Equestria.
6960296
6961432
6961454
Tolbi and Honey are both correct. The United States and every other country also has an inflated number of troops, as well.
As for the Equestrians being afraid of the Americans, well, while they might have a larger army on paper, the Americans have much more experience.
6961477
6961537
I always thought of dragoons as elite fliers, only a step below the Wonderbolts...
6961537
Hmm, interesting.
And like I said before, the Pegasi do play a role similar to cavalry. Being the eyes and ears of the army, as well as attacking the flank, rear (or in this case the head/top) of the enemy, and pursue those in retreat. And being able to fly means they are even better at this role than standard horse cavalry.
And Dragoons would be the same thing [especially once they have breech loading rifles]. Also I think the name came from the type of weapon that was used by French cavalry troops.
6961454
True story: I once had a game where as the absolute Emperor of the Celestial Empire, I had almost ten times as many immigrates as the USA.
Though maybe having every social reform and trouncing the Americans so badly that the USA fell to reactionaries, communists, and fascists every five minutes had something to do with that...
6961579
Indeed, and let's not forget that if the battlefield is cloudy, they have stealth as well. Heck, they can potentially bring their own cloud covers. Pegasi are gonna be a big boon for Equestria, at least until the humans can adapt.
Yep, the Dragon firearm, which was basically a blunderbuss in handgun form.
6961588
Yeah. I can see that happening. Lol.
It's a pity Your Equestria is so far away from the more populated areas of the USA. It would be interesting to see how a North American Equestria would deal with sharing some of its borders with the South. And whether they would act as a haven for both runaway slaves and freed blacks (like Canada), or try to bar them (like the Northern/Midwestern states) from immigration.
6961568
Like I said. Basically 19th Century equine versions of Paratroopers.
6961628
I don't have slaves or freed blacks, but I do have a similar situation coming up for you...
6961613
Exactly. Equestria will have a major advantage as being the first military to have some form of Air Force. And lets not forget how this could be applied in any naval engagements.
So either humans will have to create Anti-air artillery at least 40 years ahead of OTL, or some other way to combat them.
6961651
YAY!
I bet I know what it is too.
Wait have you ever thought about haveing the pegasi create tornadoes in case equestria at war and use them on enemy cities or have celestia use the Sun to burn a few cities or have Luna use the tides from the moon to destroy costal American cities . ponya have magic why not use it
6949891
I didn't know that actually. Yeah, I don't think Equestria will be welcoming them diplomatically very well due to that. Panama and Columbia could be a tricky situation. However, if Equestria agreed to liberate Panama from Columbia's control, then Panama could prove to be a very loyal ally. The downside, is that you would have Columbia ticked off with Equestria and it could potentially lead to some serious political tensions. Considering that Equestria has to put up with the obnoxious behavior that the United States has been displaying towards them, that wouldn't be great to pile another political enemy on top of the mess.
Peru and Chile could be another potential headache with the future problems they're going to be having; based off of what you told me. So it seems like the only possible, potential South American ally at this current time would be Panama. Provided that Columbia refuses to allow Equestria to build the canal, thus allowing Equestria to liberate Panama from Columbia's control.
6950484
On the other hand, however, based off of what you've stated, being allies with most of Latin America would be a very powerful alliance pact for Equestria. The United States would be a little more limited in what they can do with Equestria if this happens. If the U.S. tries to take or claim official Equestrian territory, then that could provoke a proverbial hornet's nest. This is going off of the principles of: "You mess with one of us, you mess with ALL of us!" and "An enemy of Equestria, is an enemy of [insert country(s) name]."
So I really hope that Equestria is able to become allies with most of Latin America, and Canada at the very least. Maybe the Russian Empire too, but that could potentially be quite messy once the Czars are overthrown and communism is put into power.
You know, I just realized. The US government was being quite bold there in trying to obtain Pocoltello. When you consider all of Griffonia lies north of the Missouri Compromise Line, it means any land-grabs the US does there would only benefit the North (since more land means more potential free states meaning balance disruption between the North and South). I wouldn't be surprised if the South would've protested had Odrynn buckled. Specially more so when you consider the (admitedly temporal) rejection of Texas's annexation petition. Even the attempt would still upset the South if to a lesser extent. Hmm... depending what the US does regarding Griffonia in the following years, things could start be going off the rails already.
6963839
Well, for Equestria to be in any position to consider the idea and decide to follow up with it, it's still far off. So it might be a non-issue for now. and perhaps not even become one. In fact, the idea of building a canal in Panama was just one of a few. Through the 19th Century, other potential spots for a canal were in Nicaragua (Lake Nicaragua), and Mexico (Tehuantepec isthmus), all considered as early as the 1820's and perhaps even farther back. If Equestria were to consider a canal, alternatives would exist. Personally, I think it would be interesting if an alternative actually happened. But well, we would have to see how things go in the story first.
Well, just got done reading the most recent chapter, and I really liked it. I feel so sorry for Griffonia right now as well. They are not doing well at the moment, and I sincerely hope that Equestria and Griffonia can get through this together.
On a much lighter note, I am very impressed with the attitude and sense of respect/responsibility with Alexandria (Queen Victoria). Inviting Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Cadence to her coronation was a very smart move. I'm hoping that this will further strengthen bonds between The United Kingdom and Equestria. Because with how much of a powerhouse the British Empire is at this time in world history, being allies with them would be a HUGE advantage for Equestria. At that point, if the United States tries to pick a fight with Equestria, then they better be ready to have a potential beat down. Especially if Equestria manages to somehow get most of the South American countries as allies too.
Just saying on a personal note, if I was the United States , I would NOT want to mess with Equestria if they had that many allies on their side. That would be a death trap just waiting to happen.
Awesome chapter, and I look forward to the next chapter as usual.
6963996
I agree. Like I had mentioned in an earlier comment, anything could happen at this point. It all depends on what direction mint20 wants to take the story in. Like you, I think it would be a little more interesting if we had some deviations here and there from how things actually played out in real life.
~ Super-Brony12
6963839
Indeed, making an alliance with most of Latin America would be a good thing, especially considering that most of Latin America lives under the idea of Pan Americanism (Basically, we're all brothers, we bicker and fight, but we're all brothers), so yeah, it would be ticking the hornet's nest.
In the end, it would be a matter of WHEN to make the alliances, and I'm pretty sure Tobikage may know which is the right time for México (if it isn't happening now of course), the reason why I mention so much Guzmán Blanco is because he was the first President who decided to bring Venezuela into the World stage, so he could (quite literally) shake the world political stage at least a little bit, but before that, Venezuela was in a big political problem (as this fanfic goes I will be detailing what is going on in parallel and a few years in the future in case mint20 finds something worth of use) and while I think a bit of food trade would be possible, I don't think it would help a lot (and the earth ponies may get jealous of exterior countries doing their job, supplying Equestria of food).
At this point, Venezuela now has as a President the General Carlos Soublette, a military man who was known for being educated, well cultured, benevolent and even kind (before 1837 he was in Britain making diplomatic envoys, like helping with the payment of the debt from Venezuela to the British, after having a big success in that, he came back to the country where Páez gave him the position of President because the current one just couldn't hold it, too much pressure from ALL sides demanding him to retire, even though he was one of the most educated man at the time), he managed to hold the country in peace until 1839 (3 important points that I've found so far is his decision of bringing back Bolívar's rests back to Venezuela, the law of Inmigrants, that once I see how it works I will detail it here and the Symphonic Orchestra that, while it was an idea of the previous President, he made sure it could happen for the culture well being of Venezuela) when the new elections came and Páez won and started to rule again until 1943 (more on that later).
Now, if mint20 is reading and saw something worth of use, sorry man, I read the book whenever I have free time and you write really fast. If you ever get close to something that may relate to the US or may affect Equestria I will let you know... if you don't mind that is.
Thanks for reading, have a good day.
6961261
I agree with you there, I'm pretty sure RD is getting into the military, FS may be in the medical side of the military if she isn't a vet any longer.
Applejack may be getting very angry with the political decisions of the princesses (I hope she manage to tell Twilight her problems or convince her of exporting apples outside of Equestria), so IDK how that would go.
IDK how Pinkie or Rarity would be reacting to all of this.
6965831
Having support from the UK would certainly help once the US goes all Manifest Destiny. Heck, in the game, it's pretty much what I do to survive as Mexico. Although, I do wonder if things may surface that could put hinders on British-Equine relations. Like, has Equestria already heard of stuff like what's the current situation of the Irish? Since we are nearer the 1840's, it's gonna turn worse with the Great Famine / Potato Blight. Causing pretty much a displacement. Something that has the potential to be relevant here since many did moved to the US. Where, of course, they ended up not being treated much better in comparison. A point which also became a bit important in the Mexican-American War, though not just with the Irish, but other non-Anglo European inmigrants in the US.
6966704
Well, with Mexico, it's certainly a matter of "When", since at this point it is innevitable. The Mexican-American war will come, since sooner or later the South is gonna be in the want for more land (now that Arkansas gained statehood in 1836, the only non-state lands left south of the 1820 Missouri Compromise Line is modern-day Oklahoma (still unorganized territory) sans the panhandle (still in Mexican hands), and the Florida Territory; while the north still has plenty more land to carve free states out of it), so once Texas gets annexed, its claim of bordering the Rio Bravo will transfer to the US, which was the spark of the war IRL (many in the South did saw the war as their chance to gain more land, and supported to gain as much as possible, few even supported annexing the whole nation; fortunately their proposals and the war itself was met with opposition from groups like the Abolitionists and the Whigs, resulting in only what the US ended up taking in the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty).
And I don't think Equestria, after thwarting the Salt Lick filibuster attempt and seeing Griffonia loose land back in the 1820's and then narrowly avoided loosing more now, is gonna like it even one bit. And I'm pretty sure word of the Salt Lick thing has long reached Mexico, so they know they don't see the US fondly either, which offers a prime chance to ask them for help.
Although, I'm still going off in the case the war's start is still April 1846. We're still almost a decade before reaching 1846, so things can still change the circumstances of the war, though the war itself is still going to happen. Though I don't think the war's start date would change much in the situation of Equestria and Mexico having to fight together against the US.
6967781
Cool, México may have a chance of not having its territory stolen.
I caught wind of this fic and really enjoyed it. I will say though, I don't presume to know your plans just a cool suggestion, the fic and westernization process is really reminiscent of 1870s-1890s Japan. An cool plot element would be to have a Boxeresque rebellion in Griffonia and have Equestria put down the rebellion along with the other Regional powers. Equestria would still play the role of Japan and the other powers in the region would be Russia, US, and Great Britain.
6967781
Hey, do you think this is something worth mentioning here? https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1033381310070430&id=506863256055574&substory_index=0
I mean, it mentions the British and the US and a central american nation getting screwed over? if so, I would try to translate it here.
6970026
Ah, William Walker! Ugh, that man...Well, I'd say it is relevant. If anything it is something Equestria would be paying close attention and state opinion about, as I don't think it is still yet in a position for much else. Specially since it involves the US and UK, which currently are the two countries Equestria has the most dealings with (good or bad).
Although, the development of these Central American matters in the 1850's are certainly likely to take a different route depending how things with Mexico go. After all, even in OTL there was American interest (guess from who) in aquiring land in Central America and the Caribbean (like Cuba with the Ostend Manifesto), and if in this story they fail with Mexico, chances are the American government may change its approach, among other things.
Although, the text is a bit long. Maybe a summarized form of it translated?
1.- While I was translating this, I realized that I could have simply used the Google translator and then fix any error I could find in it, I hope it worked.
2.- This is (more or less) the story of how Guatemala got stolen Belize in the same way that Venezuela got stolen the Essequibo and Argentina got stolen the Maldives. The 3 nations are still fighting for those territories even today.
3.- I hope this is found interesting/useful to the story or anyone interested in a bit of history of Latin America.
Thank you for reading, have a good day.
Hi, IDK why there haven't been new updates, but It has given me time to make a more proper research of what it's going to happen in the near future, so I hope this is useful to you:
The second presidential rule of Páez started from 1839 - 1843, he won the elections of 1838 with a total amount of 212/222 second degree votes.
By this point, José Antonio Páez is so powerful (he owns 5 farming lands) that he feels that not even Bolívar would be able to stand against him and in the middle of his confidence he decides to get rid of Antonio Leocadio Guzmán in March of 1840 after Guzmán made a speech that would only talk about his glories, Páez never thought that Guzmán would be capable of doing anything to him. Also by this point the high prices of the Coffee, which was exported, started to lower which caused a high recession in the economy of Venezuela. In October of 1840 the Liberal Party is founded by Leocadio Guzmán, who managed to gather all the people who was unhappy with the Conservatives and (through the newspapers) Leocadio managed to destroy Páez image, so Páez not only had to face the economic bubble (that he caused btw) for the low prices of coffee but he also had to face the growing influence of the Liberal party.
His second Presidency was remarked by the following points that could be of interest to Equestria:
1-The Ratification of the debt during the times of The Great Colombia to the British (the British were financing the Venezuelans against Spain during the Independence wars to weaken the spanish Empire).
2.- In 1842 is published the National History of Venezuela. This made Venezuela the first hispanic nation that had serious text, written by experts, about the geography and history of Venezuela narrated since its origins, a cultural advancement that marked Páez government.
3.- According to those who visited the country, Venezuela was one of the most prosperous, advanced and closest to european development around that time.
4.- Due to the unpopularity caused by the Liberal party (they also managed to make Bolívar popular again, something that Páez had to do to obtain power in Venezuela), Páez decided to bring back Bolívar's rest to Venezuela in December 17th of 1842 (When Soublette wanted to do it in 1838, Páez didn't allow it).
Sources: http://dato3478-liceo.blogspot.com/2009/10/segundo-gobierno-de-paez.html
https://isaurajriver.wordpress.com/2014/02/02/segunda-presidencia-de-paez-surgimiento-del-partido-liberal/
This is his face by this time:
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/P%C3%A1ez_by_Lewis_B._Adams.JPG
Well, might as well also pitch in. Considering this chapter ended in January 1838, one thing that may be reaching Equestrian ears is the Pastry War by the end of the year and early 1839. For all the jokes about being the fault of one baker (heck, they don't call it Pastry War for nothing)... it is actually, more or less, that.
Back in 1828, after the elections in which Pedraza won, a rebellion was caused which forced him to flee. Guadalupe Victoria had to remain president until Congress called for new elections in 1829 which Vicente Guerrero won. Anyway, in the meantime the situation caused many parts of the city being damaged or looted. This, in turn, affected the many foreigners that had homes or jobs. While France didn't acted about it, it wasn't until the baker, Remontel, went straight to King Louis-Phillipe... in 1838 (yes, ten years and he was still looking for compensation), for which France finally decided to do something about it.
So Remontel demanded the 600,000 pesos, and then plus Mexico's debt to France, the situation was beginning to tense up. President Bustamante refused to pay, and as a result France put a naval blockade and attacked the port of Veracruz. It should be noted that the US also sent a ship (Woodbury) to help with the blockade. They were able to take control of the port and the island-fortress of San Juan de Ulua. Santa Anna, who was in retirement at the time, decided to organize an attack to liberate the port. It failed, and he even lost a leg thanks to grapeshot. Though now with Santa Anna out of retirement, he would be once more active in the government for almost two decades more.
So, with the blockade, at first smuggling was attempted through Texas at Corpus Christi, but Texas put a stop to it fearing France would attack and blockade them as well (a whole shipment of flour being left behind is the reason Flour Bluff got its name). Finally, with British mediation, Mexico was forced to pay the baker's compensation in order for France to withdraw.
The 1835-1848 period was certainly our worst moment, I'd say. Anyway, it would be interesting to see how Equestria reacts to the Pastry War.
7012140
No new updates because of school. Homework is a bitch. Couple that with the fact that I've gotten really tied down watching the Presidential and other campaigns in my country, the USA Go Sanders, GO! Feel the Bern! and a minor case of writer's block, and you begin to understand why it's been taking so long.
After Páez ended his period in January 28th of 1843, came the General Carlos Soublette for the constitutional period of February of 1843 - 1847. He won the Presidency by a 66.6% of the votes.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Carlos_Soublette.jpg
He was an educated man, honest, of goodwill and well mannered, one of the first things he did was to get along with the liberal opposition (who by this point controlled the Congress), being a democratic man, he searched for internal peace by listening to everybody and having a well balanced gabinet for his ministry and he doesn't try to repress his people like Páez did, instead he gives amnesty to the people that Páez exiled since 1835 (which they end up joining the liberal party right away). The result ended up being that the liberal party hadn't touched him, he was probably the only conservative that got along with his opposition (that and the main focus of the liberal party was Páez).
He managed to have a punctual payment of his debt with the British, reduced the internal debt in a 90%, in January 14th of 1845 is created the highway Caracas-La Guaira (a connection to the coast that today is known as Carretera Vieja or "The old Highway"), he managed to get international recognition of the independence of Venezuela, and (thanks to one of his ministers) he manages to get a peace treaty with Spain (who finally recognized Venezuela's independence).
He also managed to get trade and diplomatic deals with England, France, Nueva Granada (Colombia) and Ecuador. Also Cartography studies on the country are start to get done.
Sadly, the fact that he got along with the Liberals got him the tagname of "traitor" from his own political party, which resulted in him getting more along with the Liberals (although he never betrayed Páez) and although he allowed freedom of expression, he never was popular with his people.
Now in 1846 (the elections for the next President) was a murky one, Leocadio Guzmán was getting the votes, but the conservative party was still too strong (Conservatives 40%, Leocadio 25%, Monagas 20%, etc.), so Páez decided to invite Leocadio for an interview, Leocadio accepted and went with his own group to the house of Páez in Maracay (his son, Guzmán Blanco, was with him).
But Páez, instead of making the interview, decides to give his votes to José Tadeo Monagas (the same one that tried to overthrow Páez both in 1830 and again in 1835), this caused the followers of Leocadio to make riots in the country and Páez used this as an excuse to trial Leocadio Guzmán (who decided to run and hide like a coward).
In the end, Guzmán was tried and sentenced to death (although the next President would change that to an expulsion of te country the next year), his son, Antonio Guzmán Blanco, would watch this, and decide that, while his father's ideas of civilization were good as well as being called "The Second Bolívar", his father lacked the bravery to take the arms when needed to and that he would get said army if needed to take control of the country.
Meanwhile, Páez would think that he had a victory by getting rid of Leocadio Guzmán and getting Tadeo Monagas as a President, Páez thought that he would be able to control Monagas, but he was wrong, very wrong.
The last thing I will mention is about the Slavery in Venezuela, originally during the Great Colombia those born from slaves would become free man at the age of 18 (there would be an amount of money that would be saved over the course of his life so when he got 18 years, he would have enough money to start out a life as a free man), when Páez separated Venezuela, he changed this law so instead of being free at the age of 18, they would become free at the age of 25 (which would make it even longer to get rid of slavery, something that Soublette would try to change in 1845 but failed at, but more on that later).
I will talk more about it when you upload more chapters (I think here must be something worth for this story or at least to entertain anyone waiting for the next chapter), then, I will talk about the first TRUE dictatorship in Venezuela: The Monagato
Thanks for reading, have a nice day.
7012802
It's alright, it's understandable to get a writer's block and yes, take a look at your presidential campaign, there are certain candidates that you should fear, especially considering that this elections are way too similar to the presidential elections of Venezuela of 1998.
7012759
Wow, I'll never under appreciate a baker in my life, they're very dangerous. It's quite surprising how one baker can cause so much trouble.
Also, while researching Páez, apparently he passed through México in October of 1854 and got to meet Santa Anna (by meet, I mean that Santa Anna gave named him "Member of the order of Guadalupe", how big is that?).
7012887
Yeah, but well, that's history.
Not during the time of Santa Anna, maybe. The Orden Nacional de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (National Order of Our Lady of Guadalupe) was created by Iturbide for his empire. It was basically a way to reward loyalty to the empire, and a recognition of said loyalty. The Order stopped being used when Iturbide's empire ended, of course, but Santa Anna brought it back in 1854 when he got Pope Pius IX to recognize it. So under Santa Anna the order was most likely still a recognition of loyalty, but to Santa Anna's presidency rather than a monarchical reign. But then the Ayutla Revolution led by Juan Alvarez overthrew Santa Anna in 1855 and thus it came to a stop again.
It would get one last revival by Emperor Maximilian, along with the creation of two other orders, The Orden del Águila Mexicana (Order of the Mexican Eagle) for foreigners, and Orden de San Carlos (Order of Saint Charles) for women (it even got to include members from the nobility/royalty of other countries).
All three came to an end when the second empire ended. Nowadays they're defunct since the Mexican Constitution prohibits nobility titles. Although the Mexican Eagle one got a spiritual succesor with the Order of the Aztec Eagle, also for foreigners.
7012976
XD alright, man, history can be so interesting most of the time.
7008914
My thoughts exactly.
7012802
Hey, an idea just came to me, is it possible that Equestria would (eventually) compete against the US in their influence over Latin America? I mean, with the Monroe Doctrine the US got a lot of trust and support from the Latin American countries, isn't it possible that Equestria would try to compete or gain said influence eventually? and yes, I'm aware that right now they're starting with México, but there are other nations they could try to meet, right?
7017624
7025036
I found the first Chapter in the territorial dispute between Venezuela and Great Britain over the Essequibo:
it officially started in January 13th of 1841, after the explorations of Robert Schomburgk that happened between 1834 - 1839, he made a map that showed the delimitations between the British Guiana, Brazil and Venezuela with the British Guiana having the territory beyond the Essequibo river that, according to the Uti Possidetis Iuris when Venezuela separated from The Great Colombia, was a violation to the venezuelan Sovereignty, to make it worse (besides that this cartography job was made by the British without telling it to the Venezuelan President Páez), in Barima (a river in Venezuela) was placed a post that showed British occupation (again, without telling Venezuela).
At this Páez decided to send someone to make a cartography of the Essequibo territory (work that would be continued by Carlos Soublette later on) and sent a Plenipotentiary (not sure what that is) to ask the British to remove the flag and also sending Soublette to make negotiations (I repeat, all of this during 1841), Páez was willing to go to war on this and before any of you have a doubt on this, Páez was known as "The Centaur" for his skills with the horse and his abilities in the plains, he was a very able general, to this point, he was seen as an unstoppable force and almost every caudillo followed him anywhere, he could raise an army of over 10.000 if possible to fight in this war.
In the end, the British conceded in March 9th of 1842 and took off the flag and they adjusted the territorial limitations made by Robert Schomburgk in the territory.
Map of Venezuela by 1840
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estado_de_Venezuela#/media/File:Mapa_politico_de_Venezuela_1840_restored_version.jpg
Thanks for reading, have a nice day.
looking forward to your next update
ps what are your thoughts on stellaris so far? heh i wonder if anypony will make a stellaris fic on here? sadly not many paradox fics on here