The World on April 14, 1861
In 1861 the world stood on the precipice of change. Some empires were growing while others were crumbling; Kings and Monarchs attempted to hold on to their Crowns in the face of liberal movements driven by ideals called democracy or socialism; European powers set their gaze across the globe seeking subjugate the primitives for their own gains, all the while adolescent Republics and Empires in the Americas and Asia sought to forge their own destinies. The first shots of the American Civil had been fired; revolution was on the lips of the peasantry across Europe; and even China was engulfed in inner turmoil. It was a World in Revolution, and certainty about the future was little more than speculation.
North America
(The Bombardment of Ft. Sumter, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. April 12-13, 1861)
Following the election of Abraham Lincoln in November of 1860, seven southern states seceded from the union of the United States and formed the Confederate States of America and adopted a Constitution for their new nation in Montgomery, Alabama in March of 1861. However, troops of the United States had refused to surrender Ft. Sumter in Charleston harbor, South Carolina, to the Confederates. On April 12, 1861 Confederate cannon began shelling the fort; by April 13, the U.S. troops had surrendered and Confederate troops had hoisted the ‘Stars and Bars’ in Charleston Harbor.
In Mexico, the violent conflict of the Reform War had just ended across the Central American nation. Bloody war had raged for the past four years between Liberals and Conservatives across the country over the liberal agenda to enact Reform Laws to restrict the influence of the Catholic Church in the nations government and to seize Clergy property.
South America
The young Empire of Brazil was coming off a decade of peace, prosperity and economic growth. The period since 1853 had been one of peace and prosperity for Brazil. The political system functioned smoothly and civil liberties were maintained. A start had been made on the introduction into Brazil of railroad, telegraph and steamship lines. The country was no longer troubled by the disputes and conflicts that had racked it during its first thirty years. The future seemed bright.
In the Argentine Republic it seemed the divisive troubles of its past were perhaps finally behind with the creation of the new Argentine Constitution in 1853. Finally, the Argentineans were united under one government and the signs of civil war and secession could hopefully be looked at as things of the past.
Europe
Britain had become the first truly globe saddling empire. Some had begun saying that “the sun never sets on the British Empire” and, in fact, it truly never did. From Canada to New Zealand the British Empire spanned the entire globe from west to east and their factories and levels of industrialization stood as proof of their power while the mighty Royal Navy dominated the seven seas.
Oddly enough, a new Napoleon was on the throne of a Second French Empire. Napoleon the Third, a nephew of Bonaparte, sought to carve his own mighty Empire out of both the continent and overseas possessions. Though he had not proved quite as successful as the name he inherited and tensions grew among the liberals in France calling for reform.
The once magnificent Spanish Empire now possessed quite the limp. The majority of its overseas colonial empire was now gone to independence movements and lost in wars. However, it still held several Caribbean possessions and the fertile, but rebellious, Philippines. Things were across the Spanish Empire, but perhaps a small ray of hope remained.
The Low Countries, the Kingdoms of Belgium and the Netherlands, were positioning themselves for future successes. Belgium was industrializing and building up their rail networks, while the Netherlands sought the riches of the East Indies with a trading company rivaled only by the British.
(Victor Emmanuel II, King of Italy)
Italy was, finally and first time, united as one under King Victor Emmanuel II as of March 1861. Unfortunately, however, Rome was not included in the unification process as the French, and Napoleon III, ensured Vatican independence. What path this new Kingdom would travel down was anyone’s guess.
In Germany the tensions were high as political pressure from the Prussians to join all of Germany under their Empire grew. The Bavarians perhaps would remain a hold out of opposition. While the mighty Austrian Empire could not decide whether its attentions were suited to influencing the German affairs or keeping its eyes locked on the newly formed Kingdom of Italy and the ever-present Ottoman Empire.
The Ottomans, though, were not what they once were. Their coffers and their armies seemed less impressive with every New Year. They had begun seeking allies in Europe for the first time, and as a result emerged victorious in the Crimean War gaining territory from the Russians and dominance around the Black Sea.
On March 3, 1861 Czar Alexander II, preempting a revolution that would do the same, issued a proclamation abolishing serfdom in the Russian Empire. However, he failed to reward the newly emancipated serfs with ownership of the land they had worked. This could only prove to brood trouble for the future.
Asia
(A battle during the Taiping Rebellion)
The mighty Chinese civilization was in chaos. The Qing Dynasty had been fighting of the most significant rebellions in Chinese history for the past eleven years. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has formed its capital in Nanjing in rebellion against the Qing, seeking to create a Christian Kingdom in southern China. Its leader, Hong Xiuquan, the self-proclaimed younger brother of Jesus Christ had rallied an army of millions to fight in the name of his brand of Christendom.
To the east, the land of the rising sun was newly opened to interaction with outsiders. The United States had succeeded in forcing the Tokugawa Shogun to sign a treaty of ‘Peace and Amity’ with the United States in 1854 and soon other Western nations had done the same. Now, Japan faced an influx of foreigners and revolutionized national trade and economic flux. The old systems and traditions were beginning to seem outdated and many wondered how Japan could survive and remain independent in the face of the advanced and powerful civilizations of the West.
