The Second Millenium

[Vince53]

And now that it is 1787...

Britain founds Freetown, a colony for freed slaves. Most of the slaves had been captured from the Americans during the Revolutionary War. Britain had settled them in Britain, but most could not escape poverty and prejudice there. Freetown will eventually become the capital of Sierra Leone, a country on Africa’s Atlantic coast with about 6 million people.


Two moons around Uranus are discovered.


The United States is falling apart. The states are taxing each other, a unified national program is impossible, and delegates assemble to amend the Articles of Confederation. With George Washington presiding, the delegates realize that it is hopeless--they have to start all over again. And thus they write the Constitution of the United States.


The US Constitution is a contract between the American people and their government, and the government is not allowed to break that contract. A variety of freedoms, including freedom of speech, religion, the press, and to peacefully assemble are guaranteed.

Civil war breaks out in the Netherlands, and Prussia invades them.

The legendary Captain Bligh sets sail in the HMS Bounty. He is heading for Tahiti. He, uhm, does not treat his crew kindly.

 

[Vince53]

Things go great in 1788!

75% of New Orleans is destroyed by fire.

Sweden and Turkey declare war on Russia. Five years later, when it is over, Sweden lost a naval battle and Turkey lost a lot of land. Soon, Austria jumps in for an inconclusive four year war with Turkey that produces heavy losses on both sides but little gain.


“Puller of Teeth,” an amateur dentist, organizes a revolt against Brazil’s Portuguese rulers. Quickly discovered and arrested, he is hanged and beheaded (The Portuguese were pretty upset at him) four years later. Today, Brazil recognizes him as a national hero.


On January 26, 11 British prison ships found Sydney, Australia. And thus, the modern nation of Australia begins as a British colony. Soon, 146 years of war between the Aborigines and Australians begins. When it is over, the Australians will have lost over 2,000 killed, with the Aborigines losing over ten times as much. And, as in America, Europeans will accidentally introduce diseases such as smallpox, that will devastate the original natives.



Westward Ho! American pioneers found Marietta, Ohio, the first permanent American settlement outside the original 13 colonies. With the Continental Congress still in charge, 11 states ratify the new US Constitution.


A massive hailstorm heavily damages France and the Netherlands.

 

[Vince53]

1789

For some time, Vietnam had acknowledged Chinese rule while remaining independent. But government shake-ups in both nations produce a massive Chinese invasion in 1788. But this year, Vietnam wins a major victory that expels China and make Vietnam officially independent.

The United States ratifies its present Constitution, and George Washington is elected the first President under the Constitution. Eight previous Presidents had served one-year terms under the Articles of Confederation.


Georgetown University, the oldest surviving Catholic college in the US, is founded in Washington D.C. It has almost 18,000 students today, over half of whom already have Bachelor's degrees.


The King of Sweden abolishes their parliament and restores an absolute monarchy.


"This is mutiny, Mr. Christian!" The tyrannical and legendary Captain Bligh is overthrown by the crew of the Bounty. Along with 18 others, he is placed in a lifeboat. And from there, he will lead the lifeboat on an incredible 4,000 mile voyage to safety.


As poverty grips the nation, the French government re-organizes. But with 1/4 of its 600,000 people unemployed, Paris is swept by riots.



The ten year long French Revolution begins as starving Parisians storm the Bastille. A fortress converted to a prison, the Bastille only held 7 prisoners, but it was a major historical event. But with the French government still in control, the nobility hurriedly passes reforms in a desperate attempt to appease the peasants.


Antoine Lavoisier did not invent chemistry. But he publishes the first chemistry textbook (for high schoolers). Completely abandoning alchemy, he is considered the father of modern chemistry.


The radioactive element Uranium is discovered.

 

[Vince53]

Welcome to 1790

George Washington makes it official, and he makes it public—Jews in the United States will be fully equal. It has never been changed. He also makes it clear that there will be no religious persecution of anyone in the United States.

Angered at the theft of a rowboat, an American trading ship uses cannon and firearms to massacre about 100 Hawaiians. The result? Hawaii’s King Kamehameha the Great learns the value of firearms and cannon and begins purchasing them as he continues to conquer the rest of the Hawaiian Islands.

The US passes The Indian Trade and Intercourse Act, placing nearly all interaction between Indians and non-Indians under federal, rather than state control, established the boundaries of Indian country, protected Indian lands against non-Indian aggression, subjected trading with Indians to federal regulation, and stipulated that injuries against Indians by non-Indians was a federal crime. The conduct of Indians among themselves, while in Indian country, was left entirely to the tribes. These Acts were renewed periodically until 1834.

 

[Vince53]

We return to 1790.

It's a revolution that failed, but only for forty years. With the Netherlands gripped by civil war, some of the provinces revolt and form the United States of Belgium. Defeated and re-annexed after only a few years, the dream continues--in 1830, the same provinces rebel again, and then form the modern nation of Belgium.

The first official census finds that the United States has 3,929,214 people.

Fighting to maintain control in the French Revolution, the government re-organizes the entire nation in an attempt to break up local loyalties.

At war with Turkey and Sweden, Russia is growing into a powerful threat to both Asia and Europe. After a minor defeat, the Swedish Navy wins a major sea battle against Russia. The two nations then make peace and form an alliance against France. Almost immediately, Russia hands Turkey another major defeat.

 

[Vince53]

And it's 1791!

Korea begins persecuting Catholics.


It was a goofy law, but Russia created the Pale of Settlement, comprising about 1/5 of Russia. Jews could only live in the Pale of Settlement. Except in certain cities. And Jews could live outside the Pale. It was abolished in 1917. About 750,000 Jews lived in the Pale when it was created.


“The Bill of Rights,” the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the US, is passed. More important than the rest of the Constitution combined, these amendments guarantee freedom of religion, the press, speech, and right to peacefully assemble and peacefully petition the government.



France adopts the Metric System.


France's King Louis XVI of France, his wife Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family are captured by revolutionists. The royal family was fleeing Paris in order to reach loyal troops. Considered a good king by many, news of his flight and repudiation of the revolution turned most of the population against him.


A peaceful crowd assembles in Paris with a variety of grievances after learning of the royal family's arrest. Troops kill about thirty of them when they refuse to disperse.


A slave revolt breaks out in Haiti.

 

[Vince53]

Ahoy Crew! It's 1792!

Mob hysteria breaks out in Paris. Fearing that prisoners will escape and kill them, mobs execute about 1300 prisoners. About 233 of them were Catholic priests who had refused to swear allegiance to the new government. Smaller massacres then break out in other cities. The solution? France invades Austria. No problem--Prussia declares war on France. No problem--France quickly defeats Prussia, abolishes the monarchy, and the French Republic (which still exists) is formed.



In New York, a group of Dutch merchants meet under a tree on Wall Street and agree to form a commercial league. Thus, the New York Stock Exchange is formed.


Sweden had become an absolute monarchy when their king is assassinated. His son begins a 17 year rule marked by defeats by Russia. The army forces him to abdicate and restores most of Parliament's powers.


A victorious Russia signs a peace treaty with Turkey, and almost immediately invades Poland. And Europe is getting worried--on the east, Russia has expanded all the way into North America. On the south and south-east, Russia has expanded into Moslem territory. It's becoming a powerful northern threat to Europe, and now it is expanding westward into Europe.


About 14,300 Japanese are killed when a volcano causes an avalanche and tidal wave.

In England, the Baptist Missionary Society is formed. Today it supports over 350 missionaries in more than forty countries.

 

[Vince53]

In 1793, the French peasants prove that you can have your cake and eat it, too--Marie Antoinette is beheaded. However, she never said it.

But first, France executes their King. And then they declare war on Britain and the Netherlands. And then they lose to an invading Austrian army; so, two days later, they declare war on Spain. Then, France overthrows its new government.

An outbreak of Yellow Fever kills 10% of Philadelphia, and another 40% flee the city. Winter cold ends the outbreak by killing the mosquitoes that were spreading it.

Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin. By making cotton a profitable crop, the cotton gin established slavery in the southern United States, where the soil and weather produce good cotton. Picking cotton is a mindless task that is suitable for slave labor, lowering the cost of cotton and providing valuable foreign currency from European sales.


Prussia and Russia divide Poland between them.


September 5--France begins "The Reign of Terror," executing about 41,000 people. Ten months later, the government is overthrown and the leaders are executed. It's times like this that you understand why Americans revere George Washington.

 

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It is hard to find anyone treated more unfairly by the media than France’s King Louis XVI. A man of mediocre ability, he altered world history as few people ever have.


Louis inherited a financially troubled kingdom and immediately set out to abolish serfdom, reform unfair taxes on the poor, and end religious persecution against non-Catholics. These three actions united the nobility against him.


At age 15, he was forced to marry 14 year old Marie Antoinette, a high-ranking Austrian noble. Having just lost a war to Austria, the French resented her. Her extravagant spending and opposition to fair treatment of the poor didn’t help matters. A phoney historical work reported that a “great princess,” learning that the peasants were starving, said “They have no bread? Let them eat cake!” A child at the time, Marie Antoinette could not possibly be the person who said it, if it were ever said at all, and the statement was not attributed to her until after her death.


Having lost Canada, France was in a desperate situation, as Britain was becoming the most powerful nation in the world. Spain and the Netherlands also worked to keep France out of new lands. In a desperate move that eventually paid off, he threw France’s finances and military into saving the American Revolution from defeat, thus weakening Britain and giving France a much-needed ally. But the poverty Louis produced helping the US brought about the French Revolution and the end of the monarchy. Shifting alliances proved fickle, and the US and France soon became rivals. A century after Louis’s death, the Anglo-American Alliance will help make the world safe for democracy.


But Louis did succeed. After losing the US, Britain was forced to seek peaceful relationships with its European neighbors. After Napoleon’s defeat, France and Britain grudgingly became allies. The frequent wars in Europe slowed and mostly stopped. But, beheaded by the people he had tried to serve, Louis died a century and a half before his policies became successful.


An independent United States, a French government that usually treats the common people fairly, and a stable Europe are the legacies of this man of mediocre ability.

 

[Vince53]

1794 is a rough year for innocent civilians.

China wins the White Lotus rebellion, killing about 100,000 impoverished peasants. But a century later, China will still not have recovered.


After decimating a Polish army defending Warsaw, Russian troops massacre almost 20,000 civilians just east of the city.


President Washington personally leads an army to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. A 5,000 man army had gathered to fight a tax on alcoholic beverages, but after negotiations, the army disbands peacefully and the tax remains in effect.


Trying to avoid conflicts with the US, Indians form the Cherokee Nation with Little Turkey as Chief. The US helps resettle them, providing farm animals and instructions in farming. While the American Indians are a doomed civilization, the Cherokee nation is so successful that it lasts until 1907.


“Citizen Genet,” the French ambassador to the US, had been illegally arming American privateers to attack British shipping, while raising an American army to invade Spanish territory. This had endangered US neutrality in the wars between France and Spain, and Genet had urged the US to rebel against Washington. But a new group comes into power in France and wants Genet back—so they can execute him. And Genet’s enemy, George Washington, grants him political asylum.

 

[Vince53]

The Republic of France has a big year in 1795!

The first Russian Orthodox Church in the Americas is established at the Russian settlement at Kodiak, Alaska.


France invades the Netherlands and captures a large fleet frozen in its harbor. And France makes peace with Prussia. Britain exploits the situation, seizing Cape Town, a major port in southern Africa, from the Netherlands.



France adopts the metric system, which is now the standard for most of the world.


Rebellion breaks out in northwest France, and Britain invades in order to help the rebels.


Getting aggressive in the Caribbean, France re-seizes Saint Lucia (Today it is an independent nation) and forces Spain to give them Spain's claim to Hispaniola in return for peace.


Britain, Russia, and Austria form an alliance against France.


Poland is re-divided between Russia, Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire. The last King of Poland abdicates, and Poland disappears from the maps.


A small meteorite lands in southern England. On display in the British Museum, it helped prove that matter existed in space.

 

[Vince53]

Welcome to 1796!

The Netherlands remains in chaos, as the government collapses under foreign invasion and occupation. The new government holds national elections, but 102 years will pass before there is another national election. Fearing that France will beat them to it, the British seize Ceylon, a large island off the coast of India, from the Dutch.

Meanwhile, Austria, Prussia, and Britain have invaded France. But a new general, named "Napoleon," wins his first victory over the invaders. He proceeds to invade Italy, capturing Milan. From there he continues to smash the Austrian army in Italy, seizing badly-needed guns and other equipment for France.

Choosing not to run for a third term, Gerorge Washington delivers his famous "Farewell Address," pleading with the US not to adopt a two-party system and to stay out of European affairs. The new President, John Adams, persuades Washington to serve as a general in the western US in order to re-organize a badly-controlled US Army.

Catherine the Great, who extended Russia into North America, Moslem lands, and eastern Europe, dies. Her incompetent son lasts five years before being assassinated.

Edward Jenner invents the vaccination shot. That man has literally saved billions of lives. In trying to cure smallpox, Jenner realized that a small dose of a disease would train the body to build an immune system against the disease. By injecting people with cowpox, a mild illness, he made them immune to smallpox.

 

[Vince53]

It's 1797!

With Spain now in the war on France's side, Britain defeats a Spanish fleet off the Portuguese coast, and then seizes Trinidad off the South American coast. Eventually united with nearby Tobago, "Trinidad and Tobago" became independent in 1962 and is the third wealthiest nation in the Americas. But a British invasion of Puerto Rico (now a US territory) is one of the greatest defeats in British history.

Good Heavens, France invades Britain! Seriously. 1400 French troops land in Wales, intending to march to Bristol, England. But most of them start looting instead of marching. A quickly-assembled group of 500 reservists, militia, and sailors easily defeats the invaders.

After 1,100 years of independence, Venice is conquered by Napoleon. It will change hands a few times, but Venice has remained a city ever since.

"Ho, Boys! Her sides are made of iron!" The US Navy launches the Constitution, one of the most legendary warships in history. Today "Old Ironsides" is a floating museum. PS. Its sides are made of wood.

American negotiators arrive in France to resolve problems in the Caribbean. Informed that they must pay bribes in order to negotiate, "The XYZ Affair" leads to a brief undeclared war between France and the US in the Caribbean.

 

[Vince53]

In 1798, the following events occurred..

France authorizes privateers (licensed pirates) to attack American shipping.

France invades and conquers the Papal States, removing the Pope from secular power and forming the Roman Republic (which is under French control).

Not wasting any time, France quickly conquers Switzerland, annexing part and making the rest a client state. Then, rushing to invade Egypt, Napoleon conquers Malta, a heavily-fortified island south of Italy that had been ruled by the Knights of Malta since 1530.

Napoleon races through Egypt, conquering major cities, when the Ottoman Empire sends troops to stop him. No problem--Napoleon defeats them.

And then, the legendary Admiral Nelson leads the British Navy to victory in the Battle of the Nile. Fought in the Mediterranean just north of Egypt, England sinks or captures the entire French Navy in the Mediterranean. This encourages Austria, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire to declare war on France.

Britain then defeats a small French fleet attempting to land troops to invade Ireland.

A French privateer attacks an American merchant ship, not realizing that it had been purchased and armed by the US. And thus, the newly-formed US Navy wins its first victory.

 

[Vince53]

France closes out the century with a really bad year.

After two major defeats by the Russians and Turks, Napoleon is forced to pull back to Egypt. Meanwhile, the Habsburgs capture northeast Switzerland from France.

Now, having lost their Mediterranean fleet last year, France assembles a fleet from captured vessels and pulls other ships into the Mediterranean. There, the entire French fleet is captured by the British, without the British losing a single ship.

But things improve later in the year. Russia and Britain invade the Netherlands, and their army is captured. And Napoleon defeats a 10,000 man Turkish army trying to retake Egypt. And finally, Napoleon leads a brief revolt and seizes the government of France.

But a French soldier in Egypt discovers the Rosetta Stone. It has the lsame lengthy message carved into it, in hieroglyphics, in ancient Egyptian, and in ancient Greek. Now, scholars could translate hieroglyphics. Captured two years later, it is the most widely.viewed object in the British Museum.

 

[Vince53]

Avast, ye landlubbers! We close out the eighteenth century with a last look at 1799.

First, the US had a navy during the Revolution, but it was part of the army. After becoming independent, the US established a new navy. Last year, that navy had captured a small schooner, used by French privateers. Armed as a US Navy ship, it is quickly captured by the French, who make it part of their own navy, where it is quickly recaptured by the US. But in the Caribbean, the USN Constellation captures the French Intrepid. The Intrepid had more men and had more guns, but the Constellation had more Americans.

Napoleon had been suffering some setbacks, so he seizes control of France. Then he invades the Holy Roman Empire.

"First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen," The Father of Our Country dies. Considered a general of only average ability but stupendous character, George Washington had led the US to victory in the Revolution. And then, while France went insane during its own revolution, Washington had led the US in peacefully changing governments from the Articles of Confederation to the US Constitution. As President, he had personally visited Congress to smooth over disputes and ran an absolutely honest government. And when China and Russia massacred tens of thousands of peasants who had rebelled, Washington had ended a farmer's rebellion in western Pennsylvania without firing a shot. Inheriting a situation in which Indians were routinely mistreated by European governments, Washington had instituted laws to protect them, and he made it absolutely certain that the US would never practice religious persecution.

And with that, we say Good-bye to the 1700's.

 

[Vince53]

Welcome to the 1800's! We have several major, overlapping events going on.

1) The Spanish Empire collapses. Three centuries of cruelty pay off, as Spain loses literally everything in the New World. Most of Spain's possessions throw off their yoke, while the rest joyfully accepts American conquest. By the end of the century, the Spanish Empire consists only of minor holdings in north Africa.

2) The United States explodes into an empire. Hurtling westward across central North America, the US buys, steals, seizes, and annexes lands claimed by Britain, Spain, France, Mexico, Canada, Russia, and the Indians. Reaching the Pacific, the US correctly realizes that it cannot be safe if it doesn't have bases, so it annexes Hawaii and several small islands. At the end of the century, the US launches an unprovoked war on Spain, seizing all Spanish possessions in the Caribbean, as well as the Philippines.

And the Americans do it right. Treating their territories kindly, they persuade most of the empire to voluntarily join the United States. The Philippines and Cuba are two major exceptions.

To be continued...

 

[Vince53]

3) The Americans conquer America. In one incredible fifteen year period, South America throws off its European yoke. But to the dismay of the great liberator Simon Bolivar, the South Americans then break apart into different nations as various areas demand independence. In North America, everything south of the Rio Grande throws off their Spanish rulers. The US seizes all of central North America, and Canada is granted total self-rule in 1867 (although not completely independent until 1982). Fearing that Britain will seize Alaska, Russia sells it to the US. Britain and the Netherlands maintain small holdings, and much of the Caribbean remains under European control.

4) The Native Americans collapse. Decimated by disease, the Indians cannot withstand the inferior numbers of better-armed Europeans and Americans. Most surviving Indians have intermarried with their conquerors, while the rest are crowded into reservations.

 

[Vince53]

5) The Russian Empire is brought to a stop. Having united Christian Europe, Moslem Asia, and even the American Indians against her, the Russian giant has too many enemies to keep going. Europe actually goes to war to protect the Moslem Ottoman Empire against Russia. Fearing that Britain will seize Alaska, Russia sells it to the US, withdrawing from North America.

6) Europe lays a solid foundation for World War 1. Spending huge amounts on infrastructure for military purposes, Egypt cannot repay its loans, so Britain invades--and decides to stay. European nations begin a rapid conquest of African and Asian nations, forcing a European military build-up, that will eventually lead to the first world war.

 

[Vince53]

7) The Japanese Empire begins. Bullied out of its peaceful isolation by the US Navy, Japan begins a rapid modernization campaign, and then begins seizing territory in the Pacific.

8) The civilized world turns against slavery. Most of the world had already rejected slavery, before one of the worst civil wars in history frees American slaves. Their tales of suffering complete the process.

9) The Christian world rejects sectarianism in favor of denominationalism. Led by the US (which has never had a religious war), the West embraces freedom of religion. Warnings that tolerance will lead to civil war prove false (most of the time) as American Catholics, Protestants, and Jews live in the same communities without strife. The big losers are the Anglican Church (now an American minority) and the Catholic Church. The big winners are the Baptists, who increase rapidly in the US, but not much elsewhere.