Chapter 132: Chapter 122: (1803)

1803:

January 10th: A representative of Erie Enterprise (on the orders of Samuel Kim) introduces the steamboat to China, demonstrating the effectiveness of the steam-powered ship to the Qing court. The Qing Empire will purchase the steamboat from the representative and add it to its small, modernized navy (by this time, around four "modern" ships are complete, with sixteen ships set to be completed by 1810). Additionally, China will look into utilizing the steamboat as river and coastal vessels, since it will cut down transportation times significantly.

At the same time, the Lanfang Republic will also acquire a steamboat and begin its own modernization project in order to protect against the Dutch. Using the nation's newfound wealth due to its trade with the United States, the small island republic will arm itself to defend its independence.

January 30th: The United States enters discussions with Spain to acquire the rest of the Louisiana Territory. However, the Spanish government refuses to even entertain the idea and rejects the offer. Instead, the two nations will discuss the official borders between Spanish Louisiana and the United States, to no avail. Despite the American delegation providing maps and approximate borders, the Spanish will refuse to concede to the American proposal (which sets the border west to encompass the future state Lakota [AN: OTL's North and South Dakota]). The U.S. pushes this proposal, as they desire to have more leeway when they are fighting the Free Sioux Nation and have several American settlements that are west of the Missouri River (though they are under constant attack from the Sioux Indians). Meanwhile, Spain does not want to concede anymore territory to the upstart republic as they are threatening Spanish interests in the Caribbean.

February 3rd: The Twelfth United States Congress assembles in Columbia.

In the Senate, the new Senate seats from Ontario and Illinois are spread out between three parties. The Democrats and the Unionists split Ontario. Meanwhile, the Front takes both seats in Illinois. The Senate is now tied between the two factions, with each side holding twenty-five seats.

United States Senate:
Yellow: Republican Party (15) [Centrist]
Red: Democratic Party (10) [Conservative]
Green: Frontier Party (10) [Center-Left]
Blue: Union Party (15) [Liberal]

In the House, a new party emerges from Massachusetts. The Liberal Party, led by Abigail Adams, will establish its presence within the Twelfth United States Congress by securing three House seats. One of the members of the party will be none other than Deborah Sampson, who won her Congressional district in Massachusetts. While the party will mainly focus on the issue of gender equality, they will also promote many new ideas (such as pensions for government workers, worker's rights, and expansion of public education). While the party is small, it will gradually attract more and more followers due to its ideals and policies. They will align with themselves with the Unionist-Front bloc, though they will be considered the "radical" wing of the Liberal Coalition.

Ranked-choice voting will bring interesting results to the House, as the Democrats gain seats in South Carolina while the Unionists make gains in Massachusetts. In addition to this, the Hanwi Massacre and other recent scandals destroy the Republican-Democrat majority and the Liberal Coalition regains the House in overwhelming fashion. While President Madison is not to be blamed for the massacre (which was carried out by individual soldiers and officers), the effects of the Massacre will be felt through the voters.

United States House of Representatives:
Yellow: Republican Party (52) [Centrist]
Red: Democratic Party (37) [Conservative]
Green: Frontier Party (35) [Center-Left]
Blue: Union Party (58) [Liberal]
Purple: Liberal Party (3) [Radical Liberal]
Grey: Independents (12)

February 10th: Doctor Marie-Louise Lachapelle of Quebec makes a name for herself in China, as she becomes one of the most renowned and caring American doctors in China. Using recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services and the American Society of Medicine, she and the other doctors will help opium addicts by supervising their gradual withdrawal from the substance and treating withdrawal symptoms. Due to their limited numbers, the American doctors will not be able to counter the opium epidemic. However, they will help establish treatment methods to combat opium addiction and introduce modern medical science to the Asian nation.

February 14th: Timothy Kim is released from prison on parole. He travels to the Jefferson Territory and he is welcomed as a savior by the locals in his namesake town. He quickly becomes one of the leaders of the state and establishes a more organized, formal territory government. When Jefferson is granted statehood in 1812, Timothy will be elected as the first Governor.

March 2nd: Quebec proposes a new canal that runs from Lake Ontario, through Lake Taronto (AN: OT's Lake Simcoe), and into Lake Huron to cut down on travel times from the east coast to Ontario and Rupert's Land. The canal will be named the Ontario Canal and constructions will begin in 1804. The Ontario Canal will help the growth of nearby towns (such as Sault Ste-Marie, Sudbury, Toronto, Thaona, and Mississauga.

March 19th: New South Wales establishes the "White Only Policy" and declares its capital city in Shelburne. Only whites are allowed to settle in the colony (and even that definition of white is very narrow). A few slaves will be imported into the colony, but they will be massively outnumbered by the number of white settlers in the colony. At this time, the population of Australia is around 120,000 (discounting the Aboriginals).

April 1st: The April Anti-Monarchist Riots begin in France as the Marseilles Riot of 1801 emboldens the Republicans in the nation. Major cities from Metz to Paris to Lyon to Marseilles see intense unrest as the National Guard and the French Army struggle to contain the rioters. Monarchist sympathizers are targetted and their properties are looted by angry mobs. A group of Republicans also protests directly outside of King Louis' palace in Versailles and even attempt to storm it (which is only stopped by the King's own bodyguards). While the April Riots start due to the strong anti-monarchy sentiment across the nation, it also happens due to the stagnating economy, which is only made worse with Brisott's cautious policies.

Many Monarchists that were once loyal to the king will flee the nation, as they realize that the French monarch is unable to protect them. As a result, many will flee to Corsica (a place where Republicans have little presence in), nearby European nations, or Spanish Saint Domingue with their possessions. A few Monarchists will even move to Quebec and Ontario in the United States, though they will face some persecution in the young republic.

April 10th: The Despard Plot succeeds in causing mass chaos and destruction across London. Colonel Edward Marcus Despard manages to acquire several hundred kilograms of dynamite from Irish Republican sympathizers in the United States (who purchased the dynamite from mining and construction companies). He and his conspirators blow up the Bank of London, the road to Windsor Castle, an army barracks near the Tower of London, and the gates of Buckingham Palace. The fallout from this event is immense. By a sheer stroke of luck (or misfortune), King George III would be caught in the blast near Windsor Castle, though he survives the incident. The Bank of London would collapse from the blast of the dynamite, while the explosion near the Tower of London kills dozens of troops. By the end of the day, nearly three hundred British people are dead, the nation is in absolute chaos, and the king is in a coma. Not only that, but the British economy takes a nosedive as the destruction of the Bank of England throws the economic situation of the nation into mayhem. Loan records, bank statements, and other invaluable information are lost in the explosion.

Immediately, the British government begins a manhunt to hunt down the people involved, though Despard and his group flee back to Ireland in order to join with the remnants of the United Irishmen. The United Irishmen, also funded by various Irish-Americans back in the United States, plans to carry out an uprising in early 1804. As a result, while the British government is in chaos, the Irish prepares to launch another rebellion against the British government.

However, the group's plan changes dramatically as the British government manages to arrest one of the conspirators involved in the Despard Plot. The captive rattles off all the names of those involved in the bombings, including Despard. Due to this, Despard and his fellow conspirators go into deeper hiding within the Irish countryside. Worse, the British government begins an unrestricted search for the bombers within Ireland, arresting many innocent civilians and putting the entire island under martial law. This only creates more anti-British sentiments and unintentionally swells the ranks of the United Irishmen, who are both horrified and excited over the turn of events. The heavy-handed tactics from the British results in the United Irishmen accelerating their plans for an uprising to late 1803.

Meanwhile, the Prince Regent stands as the regent for his father. The revelation that Irish revolutionaries nearly killed his father galvanizes the regent against the Irish. When King George III fails to wake up from his coma and dies in 1810, his son will immediately start implementing oppressive laws against the Irish and refuse Irish Catholic Emancipation. The Catholic Emancipation proposal (which has been floating since the Act of Union) immediately loses support after the revelation behind the Despard Plot and the Tories will hold a stranglehold over the British government for years to come.

April 29th: The Society of Feminists and Equal Rights creates an organized campaign to prepare for the 1804 elections. They aim to gain more seats for the Liberal Party and actively work to get more women into Congress. They also establish their own newspaper: the Lady Liberty Herald.

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May 5th: Thomas Paine publishes an essay called "In Defense of Liberty," in which he condemns absolute monarchs across Europe and praises the United States and French Republics. He also emphasizes on the revolutionaries in Haiti and elsewhere and states that mankind is "rising to the expectations set by the American Republic." The essay is received with great enthusiasm among the French and the Americans but is censored and banned in other nations.

May 15th: The first Hanwi Day is recognized by the federal government. Hundreds of soldiers are deployed to the memorial site to place flowers on the graves of the two hundred Sioux Indians that were massacred. They come under fire from several Sioux scouts, but the memorial service will finish without any casualties.

May 19th: Robert E. Lee, son of Vice President Henry Lee III, is born in Columbia.

May 30th: The Battle of Niobrara River ends in a stalemate between the U.S. Army and the Sioux Indians. The Sioux Indians take casualties, but they are able to successfully withdraw after wiping out an Army patrol near the river. Forty-four American soldiers lose their lives in exchange for fifty Sioux lives. Brigadier General Robert Arnold notes that several Indian tribes that were formerly aligned with the US, such as Yankton and Omaha, are now fighting for the Free Sioux Nation. This leads to escalating fears that the war in the west will never end as both sides are unable to reach a compromise.

June 2nd: A telegraph line between Boston and Philadelphia is officially complete. The line allows a message from the Massachusetts city to the Pennsylvanian city to be sent within a day instead of taking several days. Since the telegraph lines aren't entirely stable (the Philadelphia-Columbia line will break down only a month after its competition, due to the fragile nature of the wires), a team of engineers will ensure that the lines are maintained and functional daily.

June 30th: Major General Anthony Wayne links up with Bakhtawara in Canton and the two traverse to Nepal together. With them are hundreds of men hired by Bakhtawar to carry the American shipments of firearms (approximately two thousand rifled muskets directly from the United States), ammunition, and rifled cannons (ten pieces). Once they arrive back in Nepal through Tibet, General Wayne implements the same training regimen as he did with the Ninth Banner Army.

July 10th: Dai Viet invades Cambodia, forcing Siam to join the war as well. At the same time, Burma, who has suffered numerous defeats at the hands of Siam, join in on the war to subjugate Lan Na (a small vassal kingdom under Siamese rule). Emperor Quang Trung personally leads his armies against the Siamese, which are now equipped with rifled muskets and cannons. Within days, the Siamese forces will be forced to retreat relentlessly as they struggle against both invading armies. Rama I of Thailand realizes the precarious situation of his country and seeks help from elsewhere, but unfortunately, his country is isolated and alone.

July 22nd: As the British economic situation continues to tumble, lower-class British people immigrate to the United States to seek financial success elsewhere. Irish immigrants will be the most common group as the Irish are blamed for the bombings and persecuted by the British government and public. Additionally, the shock of the Bank of London's downfall results in the temporary ascendance of the banks in the Netherlands.

August 3rd: The construction of the first railway line begins in the United States. It will stem from Columbia to Baltimore. The owner of the line will be the federal government, which will set up the Federal Railway Union when the railway is complete. As the steam locomotive prototype is still of questionable quality, the railway will first be used as a wagonway before being upgraded to a railway. This will allow ARPA to develop a more reliable steam locomotive for its first appearance.

August 19th: The first "Haulie lanes" in New York City are completed. The sight of mailmen delivering packages and letters while riding on the contraption will not be an uncommon sight in the city. Hundreds of citizens with their own private Haulies will use it to carry goods or for general exercise. The project will be met with positivity and success, and other states will seek to develop their own Haulie lanes in their major urban areas.

August 30th: Congress passes the "Vaccination Act of 1803," requiring vaccines for all federal employees. The vaccines will be provided for free to employees, and later on, the Act will be expanded upon to offer free vaccines to any citizens.

September 15th: The Irish Rebellion of 1803 begins as tensions finally boil over with the United Irishmen capturing Dublin Castle and seizing key points across Dublin itself. Approximately ten thousand rebels rise in revolt across the island, with many ordinary civilians joining in as well (due to the British government's heavy-handed tactics against the Irish in response to the Despard Plot). It will take nearly a month for the British government to stamp out the rebellion.

September 28th: Cambodia falls to Emperor Trung's forces. Immediately, Siam begins to seek peace with Dai Viet but Emperor Trung desires parts of eastern Siam as well. Thus, the war continues with Siam being pressed on both sides.

October 3rd: The chaos in Britain delays the East India Company's war plans against Nepal. This buys the Nepalese time to arm and readies themselves for the upcoming war...

October 19th: The Irish Rebellion comes to a bloody end as nearly five hundred rebels and three hundred British soldiers are killed in the Battle for Dublin. All the ringleaders of the rebellion are executed and the British government discovers that the Irish rebels were armed with American weapons. This will cause unspeakable fury to erupt from Prime Minister Pitt the Younger and King George IV. One of the conspirators to the Despard Plot is also caught in the mass round-ups and he confesses that the explosives used during the bombings were also from the United States as well.

November 10th: The British government demands the United States to hand over the Irish-Americans that sold weapons and explosives to the Irish rebels. The American government firmly refuses, claiming that the ones involved in the plot are American citizens and they will be tried in American courts for their connections to the Rebellion and the Despard Plot. This will cause a tremendous rift to form between the two nations. The whole affair will cause King George IV to develop very anti-American attitudes. When the Irish-Americans involved in the plot are found innocent four months later, Britain will nearly cut off all relations with the United States in outrage.

While outright war will be avoided due to the diplomatic skills of President Madison (who would go on to offer compensation to rebuild the Bank of London and even attempt to send doctors to help treat the comatose King George III), relations between the two will rapidly deteriorate.

Historians argue that the Despard Plot and the near-death of his father changed King George IV's habits and policies significantly. Which, in turn, caused the Anglo-American War to erupt under his rule.

November 22nd: Emperor Jiaqing bans the use of opium throughout China, though he also pushes for reforms to rehabilitate opium addicts and counter the British opium trade in the southern provinces. One of his reforms sees the expansion of the cotton industry through the use of the cotton gin, which will help China make up for some of its silver deficit.

December 5th: The first horse-drawn cotton harvester makes its appearance in South Carolina. The inventor, a plantation owner named Charles Pickney, will receive widespread acclaim for his invention.

December 31st: On New Year's Eve, Miranda begins the Venezuelan Revolution. Thousands of rebels fight Spanish troops in Caracas and surrounding areas. Within a week, the Spanish troops are driven out from the city and a Republic will be declared (which will be based on the United States). In response, Spain diverts some soldiers away from Saint Domingue. This will only cause both Saint Domingue and Venezuela to become war zones in the near future.

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