The Clash of Titans: The Anglo-American War and Beyond
By Raymond Smith, published in Timstown, Jefferson
"... The Treaty of Reykjavik (signed on January 20th of 1835) and the Treaty of Havana (signed on February 3rd of 1835, after the fall of Cuba in late December of 1834) confirmed the end of hostilities between the United States and Great Britain, Spain, the Federal League, and Portugal-Brazil. As shown in the previous chapter, the Treaty of Reykjavik was a mortal blow to the British Empire, a blow that would lead to the Great Recession (which would also affect the United States after the official end of the Anglo-American War) and the Atlantic Standoff. The Great Recession would lead to political and economic changes across both the United States and Great Britain, while the Atlantic Standoff would begin a "cold" war between them. The "cold" war would not lead to any major battles or conflicts (though armed confrontations and skirmishes were common). Instead, it would lead to establishing various competing zones of influence and numerous colonies (or in America's case, protectorates) across the globe. Expectedly, this also led to a rise in nationalism in both nations and the creation of the infamous "White Man's Burden" theory in Britain and other European colonial powers...
Meanwhile, the Treaty of Havana was just as harsh as the Treaty of Reykjavik, if not harsher. However, by the time the treaty was signed, the Spanish Empire was already ripping at the seams, and the Kingdom of Portugal-Brazil was facing domestic unrest due to the costly and disastrous Anglo-American War. The Second French Republic occupied the entire eastern half of Spain and was already on course to establish a new "Republic of Aragon" to serve as a buffer state between Spain (as Spain had fought France three times in the course of forty years) and itself. Additionally, the Spanish monarch, King Ferdinand VII, was deeply unpopular in Spain and the Spanish people were exhausted by King Ferdinand's absolutist tendencies and Spain's overwhelming defeat in the Anglo-American War. With half of the nation occupied and the economy in tatters, the people were on the verge of revolt (the Spanish Revolution, which lasted from 1836-1845, would signal the beginning of the Revolutions of the 1840s across Europe). Meanwhile, Portugal was facing a potential split with Brazil and a vocal liberal bloc seeking to reform the kingdom's government and economic policies. These reasons, combined with the threat of naval bombardment from the American armored warships, led to Spain and Portugal quickly accepting America's demands.
The Peters Administration, along with the League of American Nations, discussed the extent of the terms intensively. The Spanish and Portuguese colonies' seizure in the Americas was universally agreed upon by the League of American Nations members. The captured colonies were to be split between the United States and her allies, similar to how the former British colonies and territories were assigned after the Treaty of Reykjavik. Each dependency was assigned by geographical proximity or historical ties (for example, the United States was to occupy Cuba and Puerto Rico, while Venezuela was to occupy Trinidad). More importantly, the US planned to seize the various Spanish and Portuguese islands across the Atlantic. From Sao Tome off the coast of Africa to Cape Verde and the Azores near Europe, nearly every significant island in the Atlantic was thrown into the Treaty of Havana. This was to ensure that the United States had a ring of islands protecting the mainland in the Atlantic and preventing European colonial empires from expanding (or at least, to delay them).
Meanwhile, Brazil was expected to "only" lose lands up to the Iguazu River, and the Federal League (which would reform to become the Republic of Uruguay shortly after the end of the Anglo-American War) was set to lose all lands west of the Uruguay River. All the lands captured from Brazil and Uruguay were to be ceded to Argentina to compensate the beleaguered republic that saw its eastern territories occupied during the war. Another goal of the League of American Nations was to defang Brazil and the Federal League. Invading the two countries was seen as too costly to carry out (though, both nations were raided by American warships to force them to capitulate to the LAN's demands). Articles 1 and 2 from the Treaty of Reykjavik were added to the Treaty of Havana, and a guarantee that the Spanish would peacefully withdraw their troops from Cape Town and Fort Hope (the final two towns that were under Spanish occupation in South Africa) was included as well.
A few weeks after the Treaty of Reykjavik was signed between the Leauge of American Nations and Great Britain, the Treaty of Havana was officialized. The Spanish Empire, which had once stretched across the Americas, came to an end with the Spanish delegation signing the treaty in a city within their (former) colony. There were plenty of disgruntled voices in the Spanish government, but with revolutionary sentiments swirling within Spain proper and the American Navy in position to wreak havoc on the Iberian Peninsula, their protests were muted. The four belligerent nations signed away their territories and their pride to improve their domestic situations, especially Spain. Unfortunately, all of them would face a turbulent decade directly after the war, with the Federal League and Brazil going through economic crises while Portugal and Spain faced political instability (and in Spain's case, outright rebellion)...
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... Yet, even after the surrender of all the nations in Europe, the war was not over. One remaining foe continued to occupy a LAN member and refused to surrender despite the overwhelming odds against them. The French Empire, which only controlled Hispaniola and French Guiana, was surrounded by enemies on all sides. From the north, the United States loomed over the island nation after successfully removing its foes from its homeland. In the west, Mexico, Yucatan, and Central America waited patiently to assist its northern ally in invading the French Empire (many Mexican, Central American, and Yucatan soldiers assisted the United States Marines in the Invasion of Cuba and the subsequent occupation). To the south, Colombia marched towards French Guiana (as it was cut off from Hispaniola due to the American blockade) and sent its small navy to support the United States in its blockade of the French Empire. Within the French Empire itself, Haitian rebels gathered to fight against the French Emperor and liberate their homeland from occupation. After the signing of the Treaty of Havana, the League of American Nations prepared for a month to bring the French Empire to a swift end.
The preparations were almost unnecessary, as the French Empire collapsed without much of a fight.
Before the invasion occurred, dozens of warships pounded every coastal facility and port they could find, completely breaking Imperial France's ability to resist an invasion. America's Special Forces teams were inserted throughout the island, fresh off their victories in the American mainland and Cuba. After weeks of chaos, the main event began as the United States launched its final operations of the war. On March 9th of 1835, two American Marine divisions descended upon Hispaniola with the support of the United States Navy and the combined navies of the League of American Nations. The First Marine Division invaded Cap Haitien, the French Empire's former capital before Nouvelle Versaille was built in Hispaniola's central regions. At the same time, the Third Marine Division struck Port Au Prince, while Haitian rebels revolted in Les Cayes. Meanwhile, ten thousand soldiers from Mexico, Central America, Yucatan, and Colombia landed on the beaches of Santo Domingo to rouse the Spanish speaking parts of the island against the French Empire.
The majority of Imperial France's soldiers and mercenaries had been either captured or killed by the time the invasion occurred. Thus the French Empire was unable to resist as it was swarmed from all sides. Within three weeks, the island was nearly under complete LAN control. And on March 31st, the French King, Louis XVII, was captured without a struggle after ordering his personal guard to stand down. One of the soldiers that arrested the king, Private First Class Marie-Adriana Bonapart d’Armont (who would become a Congresswoman and Secretary of State later on), commented, "The [French] King looked weary when we approached him. But when we accepted his surrender, he looked very relieved. It was as if he was hoping for us to capture him alive." After his capture, he ordered the total surrender of all his remaining forces to the League of American Nations.
He was brought back to the United States in an ironclad, surrounded by a Marine platoon at all times. When he stepped foot on the American mainland, he was immediately placed in a secure prison and was charged with numerous crimes against the United States and its citizens. However, the trial results would leave many Americans stunned, leading to the deportation of Louis and his family to France and then to Singapore...
The final chapter of the Anglo-American War came to a close after Imperial France's surrender. It is estimated that nearly three hundred thousand to four hundred thousand Americans perished in the war, with over 65% being civilian casualties. Additionally, over a million Americans suffered some form of injury (from light injuries to life-threatening). To put it into perspective, the other LAN members' total casualties were seventy thousand, a mere fifth of America's total deaths. The results of the war were horrendous to the population of the United States...
Meanwhile, Great Britain lost over 55,000 men (many were killed during the final days of the war, as they were sunk attempting to flee from the American mainland). Spain lost a similar number of men, while Portugal lost approximately 20,000. The French Empire lost over 70,000 people (due to the LAN's direct invasion of the nation and its disproportionate involvement during the invasion of the American mainland). Just under 25,000 Indian troops lost their lives, while tens of thousands of Brazilians also perished. Overall, the number of dead was more than five hundred thousand people...
America was entering a new era, an era in which it faced potential economic collapse and an uncertain future. Many questions lingered in all Americans' minds: Where would the United States go on from here? How would America integrate its new territories? And how would the United States go on to rebuild the mass amount of territories that were completely devastated from the war (everywhere from Jamaica to Akansa)?
All eyes would turn to President Eliyah Peters after the war, but unfortunately, he would be caught up with the Great Recession and the ensuing economic collapse. As such, it would be President Nathaniel Bonapart, one of America's biggest war heroes and President Peters' successor, that would drag the nation out of its quagmire and cement his legacy as one of the most progressive and inspiring presidents of all times...