A.D. 1851 onward, Hawaii--Since the adoption of a formal constitution in 1840, the
Hawaiian monarchy has seen it’s power steadily declining, and European settlers have
come to the islands in increasing numbers, taking land away from the natives and pushing
for constitutional reforms designed to give them more political control over the islands.
It looks very much like the islands will be annexed by one European power or another in
the near future. Indeed, despite their guarantees to the contrary, as recently as 1849, 

the French made an abortive attempt to seize the islands.

One power which has not made such inroads into the area has been Tawantinsuyu, which,
since the discovery of the islands by Tawantinsuya ships in the 18th Century has engaged
in peaceful trading there, but nothing more. Relations between the Hawaiian monarchy
and the government of Tawantinsuyu are very good, and it is this which prompts King
Kamehameha III to ask for an alliance with the Tawantinsuya. Auqui Amaru Inca II
initially declines this request, but Kamehameha is persistent, and upon reflection, the
request is granted. In a treaty remarkably similar to that which Tawantinsuyu maintains
with the Quilombo, the Tawantinsuya guarantee to protect Hawaiian independence and
the sovereignty of the Hawaiian monarchy. In return, Kamehameha grants the
Tawantinsuya the right to construct and maintain a naval base and coaling station (for the
ever-increasing fleet of Tawantinsuya steam warships) at Pearl Harbor, as well as giving
special concessions for Tawantinsuya business interests in the islands.

News of this agreement is met with outrage in Europe. France openly threatens war, and
Britain too is none too pleased. But in the end, cooler heads prevail, and the treaty stands.
It will endure until the present day.

A.D. 1851 onward--Gold Rushes in Australia. In 1851, thousands rush to gold in
southern Australia, including British, Irish, American, and Chinese prospectors. There are
tent cities with populations as large as 40,000. Food growers have a greater market for
their produce, stimulating Australia's economy. An agricultural revolution is beginning
using a mechanical harvester, called Ridley's Stripper, that had been invented in
Australia. Within a short time, the easy surface gold will be exhausted, and gold will be
found only by digging for veins of gold buried beneath metres of clay and rock. By 1854,
the hills for miles around the gold fields will be entirely denuded of trees in order to
provide timber for the deep shafts being dug...an environmental disaster from which the
area has never fully recovered. Later gold rushes in the Tawantinsuya colony and in other
regions of British Australia will have similar effects.

A.D. 1851--In Siam, King Mongkut ascends the throne. He invites European diplomats to
his coronation. He becomes known for speaking English, French, and Latin. Meanwhile,
in France, the Constitution of the Second Republic states that the presidency of the
Republic was to be held for a single term of four years, with no possibility to run for
re-election, a restriction written into the constitution for fear that a president would abuse
his power to transform the Republic into a dictatorship or a sort of life-presidency. In
1851, President Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, arguing that four years is not enough to fully
implement his political and economic program, asks the National Assembly for a revision
of the constitution to enable the president to run for re-election. The National Assembly,
which is dominated by monarchists who are opposed to Louis-Napoleon and in favor of
the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, refuses to amend the constitution. After a
stalemate lasting several months, on December 2...the 47th anniversary of the crowning
of Napoleon I as Emperor of the French...Louis Napoleon stages a coup and seizes
dictatorial powers. Also in this year, news that the crew of another shipwrecked
Tawantinsuya whaler have been executed in Japan reaches Tawantinsuyu. Ever since the
first such incident in 1800, the Tawantinsuya have been attempting to resolve the issue by
negotiation. But the Japanese have steadfastly refused to receive Tawantinsuya
embassies, and have continued to treat shipwrecked Tawantinsuya mariners with great
cruelty. The latest incident proves to be the proverbial “straw which broke the camel’s
back,” and an enraged Auqui Amaru Inca II orders a military expedition to be sent to the
islands. In Australia, the British colony of Victoria is founded.

A.D. 1852--The British arrive in lower Burma and bring opium from India for sale to the
Burmese. In southern Africa, Britain recognizes the right of Boers to administer their
own affairs beyond its Cape Colony border so long as the Boers end slavery. Also in this
year, Louis Napoleon, dictator of France, has consolidated conservative support and
dissolves parliament. He crushes an uprising and holds a plebiscite to justify his coup.
The referendum’s legality and fairness are very questionable, but peasants and the
religiously devout give him the votes he wants. After a second referendum, on December
2, 1852, the Second Republic officially is ended, and the French Empire is declared
restored. Louis Napoleon is crowned as Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. Beginning
of the Second Empire. Also in this year, a Tawantinsuya naval expedition arrives in
Japan. Upon their arrival in Edo Bay, they are fired upon, and in reply, the Tawantinsuya
warships bombard the Japanese fortifications, quickly silencing the enemy guns. Stunned
by the destructiveness of the Tawantinsuya artillery, the Japanese send out an embassy
which meets with the Tawantinsuya commander, Admiral Vicaquirao, aboard his ship.
Vicaquirao presents the Tawantinsuya demands...the opening of Japanese ports to
Tawantinsuya trade, the end of Japan's 200 year policy of seclusion, a guarantee of safety
for shipwrecked Tawantinsuya whalers and the establishment of permanent diplomatic
relations. Failure to comply, he states, will result in war between Japan and
Tawantinsuyu. He gives the Shogun one month to decide, during which the
Tawantinsuya fleet remains anchored in Edo Bay...it’s powerful guns pointed
threateningly at the city. In the end, Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu relents, and the Treaty
of Edo is signed in June 1852. Within five years, all the other major powers will sign
similar treaties with Japan (the treaties will come to be known, in Japan, as the “Unequal
Treaties” and highly resented). Japan’s long isolation is over. In Italy, Count Camillio
di Cavour becomes Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia. A devout Italian
nationalist, he works toward the eventual unification of Italy under the banner of the King
of Sardinia. In Hawaii, King Kamehameha III, emboldened by his new alliance with
Tawantinsuyu, promulgates a new Constitution which restricts the rights of
non-Hawaiians to own land. This creates a crisis as the European powers protest the
restrictions on the rights of their citizens in the islands. In order to defuse the situation,
Auqui Amaru Inca II agrees to assist the Hawaiian monarchy in funding a buy-out of the
European land-owners affected by the new constitution (in exchange, the Tawantinsuya
get an additional naval base in Hawaii). He also extracts a guarantee that Kamehameha
will not enact any further changes to the Hawaiian constitution...reminding the Hawaiian
King that the alliance between his country and Tawantinsuyu is of more benefit to Hawaii
than it is to Tawantinsuyu, he tells Kamehameha that he will not stand for any more
actions that might drag Tawantinsuyu into an unnecessary war. Chastened, Kamehameha
agrees.

A.D. 1853 onward--Influenced by his admiration for the systems of government in
Tawantinsuyu and the United States, French Emperor Napoleon III’s domestic policies
are quite different from those he pursued in OTL. As one of his first official acts,
Napoleon issues an edict which establishes the civil service examination and the public
education system which he had proposed in his legislation of 1859 (which had been
defeated by the monarchist majority in Parliament). As he hopes, this measure will serve
to dramatically increase the efficiency of the government, reduce corruption, and increase
popular support for the government among the general population (although not among
the aristocracy, who see government positions which formerly were reserved for them
being taken by commoners who outscore them on the examination). And in general, in
contrast to OTL, his regime will be quite liberal, and Napoleon issues a new constitution
reflecting this, including a reconstituted Parliament called the Chamber of Deputies.
Finally, Napoleon has always been concerned about the plight of the working classes and
the poor, a concern which he expressed in a book he wrote during his imprisonment,
entitled “The Extinction of Pauperism.” The book had called for what might be termed
“mildly socialistic” reforms of the French economic system, and Napoleon will
implement these ideas during the course of his reign. This too increases the popular
support he enjoys. As a result of these facts, opposition to his regime is much less than in
OTL, and many influential people who in OTL were opponents of Napoleon III will be, if
not staunch allies, at least not committed foes. Chief among these is Victor Hugo, who
will serve in Napoleon’s Chamber of Deputies from the time it is reconstituted in
mid-1853 onward, as well as holding various cabinet posts within Napoleon’s
government.

A.D. 1853--Tsar Nicholas I of Russia goes to war against the Ottoman Turks over what
he sees as his right to defend Orthodox Christians in Turkey and in Jerusalem (then under
the authority of the Ottoman Empire). Britain introduces the Enfield Rifle Musket Model
1853 as the standard infantry arm of it’s armies. This will have a major impact when it is
introduced among the sepoy troops of the British East India Company a few years later.
The last British convicts are shipped to Tasmania. A smallpox epidemic kills 5,000
Hawaiians.

A.D. 1854--Britain and France are afraid of Russian expansion. At a Turkish port on the
Black Sea, the Russian navy, using exploding shells for the first time, sets a Turkish fleet
afire. The British respond with horror to the devastation. The British declare war, and are
joined by Emperor Napoleon III of France. Queen Victoria writes of "the great
sinfulness" of Russia having "brought about this War"-the Crimean War. Pope Pius IX
addresses a question about differences between Jesus Christ and others. He proclaims the
infallible doctrine of the Immaculate Conception (virgin birth) of Jesus Christ, that Jesus
was born exempt from all stain of original sin. Elisha Graves Otis has invented an
elevator brake and has started a company to manufacture elevators that will hoist freight.
He demonstrates the elevator at the World's Fair in New York City. The scientist John
Snow had been claiming that cholera was carried in water or food and could be ingested.
Colleagues have dismissed his idea. A cholera epidemic has broken out in London, in an
area around a water pump. Snow takes a sample of the water from the pump and through
a microscope finds it contaminated. He removes the pump's handle and the cholera comes
to a quick end. The Eureka Stockade Revolt in Australia (a rebellion by Australian gold
miners against the authority of the government of Victoria colony) breaks out. The
miners are demanding 1) Manhood suffrage (the right for all men to vote); 2) Abolition of
the property qualifications for members of parliament; 3)Payment of members of
parliament; 4) Voting by secret ballot; 5) Short term parliaments; 6) Equal electoral
districts; 7) Abolition of diggers and storekeepers licenses; 8) Reform of administration
of the gold fields; and 9) Revision of laws relating to Crown land. Although the rebellion
is defeated, most of these demands will be met by the colonial governments of Australia
within a year after the end of the rebellion. Also in this year, King Kamehameha III of
Hawaii dies, and is succeeded by Kamehameha IV.

A.D. 1855--Hoping to secure British and French support for Italian unification, the
Kingdom of Sardinia joins the Franco-British alliance against Russia and enters the
Crimean War. Much of Japan's capital, Edo (Tokyo), is destroyed by earthquake, tsunami
and fire. King Mongkut of Siam signs a trade agreement with Britain. He builds roads,
sets up printing presses, creates a currency and sets out to reform slavery. The city of
Arnoldtown (OTL Chicago) adopts a plan for the first comprehensive city sewer in
United States. In France, the Emperor Napoleon III, hitherto a bachelor, has been
looking for a wife to produce a legitimate heir. Napoleon approaches the eligible
daughters of most of the royal families of Europe, but finds them unwilling to marry into
the parvenu Bonaparte family, and after a rebuff from Queen Victoria's German niece
Princess Adelaide von Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Napoleon decides to broaden his horizons
and look beyond the established European royal houses. There are two promising
candidates: the beautiful 29-year-old Eugenie de Montijo, Countess of Teba, a Spanish
noblewoman with some Scottish ancestry who had been brought up in Paris; and
Charlotte Arnold, the equally beautiful, 19-year old daughter of King Benedict III of the
United States. Napoleon is deeply smitten by Eugenie, but in the end, pressure from the
other members of the Bonaparte Family...who argue forcefully that a only a “bride of
royal blood” is “good enough” for the Emperor of France...convinces him to pursue the
hand of Princess Charlotte (it should also be said that Napoleon is also attracted by the
symbolism such a union would represent...being a union of two royal houses which
gained their royal status by action rather than by lineage, and this was certainly one
determining factor in his final decision). After rather arduous negotiations with King
Benedict...who is a doting father and has some misgivings about the age difference
between Napoleon and Charlotte (Napoleon, born in 1808, is almost twice Charlotte’s
age)...an agreement is reached, and the pair are wed in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in
Paris on December 21, 1855. Also in this year, Queen Isabella of Nuevo Espana marries
Prince Leopold, of the German royal house of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (a Catholic
line related to the Protestant ruling house of Prussia). Isabella and Leopold will prove to
be well suited to each other (in OTL, Isabella married one of her cousins, the Duke of
Bourbon-Cadige, who was a homosexual, and their marriage was very unhappy, with
Isabella engaging in various affairs and coming under the influence of various court
favorites as a result), and their union will be a happy and fruitful one. As a result and
with Leopold’s strong support, Isabella will have a very successful reign, free from
domination by court favorites and other intrigues which characterized her OTL rule in
Spain.

A.D. 1856--Tsar Nicholas I of Russia dies. His son, Alexander II, makes peace with
Britain and France, the Crimean War ends. Russia's humiliation inspires Alexander's
desire for reform. Count Cavour of Sardinia, and Italian nationalists everywhere, are
frustrated when the Congress of Paris, the peace conference which ended the Crimean
War, totally ignores Italian issues. In France, there has been some outcry against the
marriage of Emperor Napoleon III to Princess Charlotte of the United States. Charlotte
is not a Catholic, and there are many who object to a Protestant serving as Empress of
France. In the end, Charlotte defuses the situation by converting to Catholicism...at least
officially. Privately, she continues to practice her Protestant faith. Also in this year, a
ship owned by a Chinese, registered with the British in Hong Kong, and docked at
Canton, is searched by Manchu government agents looking for a notorious pirate. The
British send an expedition of ships seeking redress and are joined by the French, who
want to avenge the Manchu execution of a French missionary. There is also
dissatisfaction with Chinese compliance to agreements made at the end of the first Opium
War. The Second Opium War begins. Unlike the previous Opium War, there will be no
Tawantinsuya participation in this one. In India, the British East India Company advises
the reigning Moghul Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, that he will be the last Moghul
Emperor of India and the Moghul Empire will cease to exist upon his death. The British
colonies in Australia become the first anywhere in the world to employ a “secret ballot”
in elections.

A.D. 1857--Elisha Graves Otis installs the first passenger-safe elevator in a department
store in New York City. Giuseppe Garibaldi, who has been on Staten Island, New York,
for five years, founds the Italian National Association to fight for the unification of Italy.
Helmuth von Molkte is appointed Chief of Staff of the Prussian Army. He begins a
thorough reorganization of the army to correct the defects which caused the humiliating
defeat suffered in the First Schleswig War. Also in this year, Queen Isabella of Nuevo
Espana gives birth to a healthy son, who is named Felipe Luis. The birth of the new
prince is hailed by the populace of Nuevo Espana, who hold their popular queen in great
esteem. Felipe Luis will be the first of no less than eight children Isabella will produce
during her long and fruitful marriage to King Consort Leopold.

A.D. 1857-1858--The Indian Mutiny. In India, the Sepoy Rebellion (also known as the
Indian Mutiny) breaks out among troops of the British East India Company in 1857.
Ostensibly, the rebellion begins when the 1853 Enfield Rifle is introduced into service
among the sepoys (although there were many other contributing factors, such as unfair
treatment of native troops by European officers, attempts to convert Muslims and Hindus
to Christianity, and general resentment of British rule). Hindu agitators tell the sepoys
that the cartridges for the new rifles are greased with beef fat, while Muslim agitators tell
those of their faith that the cartridges are greased in pig fat. In order to use the cartridges,
the soldier must bite off the greased end with his teeth. Thus Hindus think they are being
forced to taste the fat of a sacred animal, while Muslims think they are being forced to
touch the fat of an unclean animal (in actuality, the cartridges are greased with mutton fat,
but the truth is unimportant to the agitators). Both groups are outraged, and rebel. For a
time the rebels are successful, and several horrid massacres of British citizens are carried
out But by mid-1858, the British are able to defeat the rebels, and savage reprisals for the
sepoy massacres are carried out. The British government is sickened by the savagery
perpetrated by both sides, and decides to dissolve the British East India Company and
take over the formal government of India as a Crown Colony. The last independent
enclaves of native rule are soon forced into subjugation to the British Raj. In the years
that follow, reforms are introduced. Expropriation of land is discontinued, religious
toleration is decreed, and Indians are admitted to subordinate positions in the civil
service. But the rebellion will be long remembered with bitterness by the British, and
they will never trust Indian troops in quite the same way again.

The Tawantinsuya holdings in south India are little affected by the events of the Mutiny.
In southern India, the Tawantinsuya have been less oppressive with the native population
than the British have been, and the sepoys employed by the Tawantinsuya East India
Company remained loyal (the Enfield Rifle not being adopted by the Tawantinsuya).
Indeed, Tawantinsuya East India Company troops assisted the British in putting down the
rebellions in the north.

A.D. 1858--The Second Opium War ends. China is forced to pay Britain and France
indemnities and to open more ports. The opium trade is legalized. Christians are to be
allowed to proselytize and guaranteed protection, and Westerners are to be allowed to
hold property in China. Russia and other powers rush in to gain benefit from the British
and French victory. In Vietnam, a French and Spanish expedition seizes the port city of
Tourane (today Da Nang). The French are interested in ending Vietnamese persecution of
Christian missionaries and in trade with Indochina. Italian nationalist Felice Orsini
attempts to assassinate French Emperor Napoleon III, but fails. From his prison cell,
Orsini makes a passionate plea to Napoleon to support the cause of Italian unification.
Napoleon, who as a youth had been active in the Italian nationalist organization, the
Carbonari, is swayed by this pleas and decides it is his destiny to help Italy. He meets
with Sardinian Prime Minister Count Cavour, and the two agree to jointly wage war
against Austria, which is seen as the biggest impediment to Italian unification. The aim
of the war will be the annexation by Sardinia of the Austrian provinces of Lombardy and
Venetia, as well as the Austrian-supported duchies of Parma and Modena. In exchange
for French support, Sardinia agrees to cede to France the provinces of Savoy and Nice.
Later this same year, Empress Charlotte of France gives birth to a son who is named
Napoleon Louis Jean Joseph Bonaparte, Prince Imperial of France.

Meanwhile, up until now, the British holdings in the Oregon Country have been loosely
administered by, but not owned by, the Hudson’s Bay Company. As they are sparsely
populated, this has worked fine, so far. But in 1858, gold is discovered at the
confluence of the Thompson and Nicoamen Rivers, and when news of this strike reaches
the outside world, tens of thousands of people make their way to the territory in search of
their fortune. While most of these meet with disillusionment and soon leave the territory,
enough stay that the need for a real colonial government is seen by British authorities in
London, and accordingly, the Crown Colony of British Columbia is created.

A.D. 1859--In Vietnam, the French take over Saigon. Charles Darwin has been sitting on
his Origin of the Species for 21 years. He has it published. The first successful oil well in
the United States is drilled, in northern Pennsylvania. Rabbits are brought to Australia,
which will produce an ecology disaster.

A.D. 1859-1860--The Austro-Sardinian War: As per their agreement the previous year,
the Kingdom of Sardinia goads Emperor Franz Josef of Austria into war over the
province of Lombardy, in northern Italy. The combined French and Sardinian armies
defeat the Austrians at the battles of Magenta and Solferino, forcing the Austrians to
withdraw from Lombardy into Venetia. At this point, Napoleon III, seeing the strong
Austrian fortifications on the Venetian border and fearing that a long and bloody
campaign would be needed to force the Austrians out of Venetia, decides to make a
separate peace with the Austrians.

Napoleon and Franz Josef meet at Villafranca without the knowledge of Napoleon’s
Sardinian allies. Together, the two agree on the outlines of a settlement to the conflict.
The Austrians will retain Venetia, but cede Lombardy to the French, who will then
immediately cede it to Sardinia (the Austrians being unwilling to themselves cede the
area to Sardinia). Otherwise, the Italian borders would remain unchanged...in Central
Italy, where the authorities had universally been expelled following the outbreak of war,
the rulers of Tuscany, Modena, and Parma, who had fled to Austria, will be restored,
while Papal control of the Legations is to be resumed. Because Napoleon has not fulfilled
the terms of his agreement with Sardinia, he announces that he will not demand cession
of Savoy and Nice.

Naturally, the Sardinians are outraged by this agreement, which they rightfully see as a
betrayal by Napoleon III. Although King Victor Emanuel II agrees...over the objections
of his prime minister, Count Cavour...to the terms of the Villafranca agreement in the
Treaty of Zurich signed in November, Sardinian troops soon move to occupy the central
Italian states, despite the protests of Austria. Napoleon III does nothing to force the
Sardinians to abide by the terms of the treaty. In December, the central Italian states unite
into the United Provinces of Central Italy, and apply for annexation by Sardinia. In
exchange for French support of this annexation, Sardinia renews it’s offer to cede Savoy
and Nice to France, and Napoleon III agrees to give his support. Sardinia annexes the
central Italian states in early 1860, and cedes Savoy and Nice to France.

A.D. 1860--Taiping rebels fail to take Shanghai, repelled by a force led by an
Englishman, Frederick Townsend Ward. J.J.E. Lenoir of France develops an internal,
non-compression, combustion engine. Jews in Britain are allowed to vote. International
trade has been increasing. World exports are 4.53 times what they were in 1800.

A.D. 1860 onward--In the Quilombo, there is a growing feeling of, if not resentment, at
least dis-satisfaction with the paternalistic relationship which Tawantinsuyu exercises
over the Quilombo. The business concessions given to Tawantinsuya business concerns
in exchange for Tawantinsuya protection against intervention by foreign powers has
meant that the Quilombo has become effectively an economic colony of Tawantinsuyu,
supplying raw materials and agricultural produce in exchange for Tawantinsuya
manufactured goods. Recognizing this, beginning in 1860, the Great Chiefs of the
Quilombo begin pushing for industrialization as a means for the Quilombo to gain a
greater measure of independence from Tawantinsuyu, importing British and American
machinery for the manufacture of textiles and other goods to the Quilombo. The
Quilombo also expands the railroad network in the country. By the reign of Great Chief
Aitan Chiamaka in 1900, the Quilombo will have achieved many of it’s goals of
economic independence. But by the nature of things, it still remains very dependent on
Tawantinsuyu.

A.D. 1860-1861--The War of Italian Unification: In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi, enraged
at the French annexation of Nice (his home city), begins preparing a military force to take
the “stolen provinces” back from France. Count Cavour, terrified that Garibaldi will
provoke a war between France and Sardinia and undo all that has been accomplished over
the past 2 years, persuades Garibaldi to take his “Red Shirts” (as his troops are called) to
attack the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies instead. The Two Sicilies, ruled by corrupt
Bourbon kings, are ripe for the taking, and their conquest (and unification with Sardinia)
would bring almost the whole of Italy under one flag. Garibaldi lands in Sicily with
1,000 men in May 1860, gathers local rebel bands to his banner, and by the end of June
has liberated the whole of said island. Eluding the navy of the Two Sicilies, Garibaldi
slips across the Straits of Messina in July and advances northward. Military resistance
melts away, and the populace everywhere hails him. By mid-September King Francis II
of the Two Sicilies, formerly in command of an army of over 150,000 men, has only
4,000 loyal troops left to him, and holds only the fortresses of Capua and Gaeta and a
hastily constructed defensive line along the Volturno River. But these last loyal troops
prove to be a tough nut for Garibaldi to crack, and he calls on King Victor Emanuel to
come to his support.

Victor Emanuel and Count Cavour want to oblige Garibaldi, but there is a problem...in
order to reach the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, they have to advance across the Papal
States. This is politically a very tricky situation, for Emperor Napoleon III of France has
pledged to protect the Pope, and Catholics all over the world support the Papal cause.
Complicating the situation is Garibaldi, who is demanding that Rome itself be annexed
and serve as the capital of the united Italy. In the end, a compromise is reached between
Cavour and Napoleon. Sardinia will guarantee that Italian troops will not enter Rome and
the Pope will remain in control of said city, but Sardinia will be free to absorb not only
the Two Sicilies, but also all of the Papal States outside of Rome itself. In late
September the Sardinians invade the Papal States, defeat the Papal army by the end of
September. In October, the Sardinians move into the Two Sicilies, join forces with
Garibaldi’s army, and force King Francis to abandon the line on the Volturno River.
Francis and his remaining troops are besieged in the fortress of Gaeta, which they
stubbornly defend until forced by starvation and disease to surrender in January 1861. In
March 1861, the Kingdom of Italy is formally declared, and King Victor Emmanuel II of
Sardinia is crowned as King Victor Emmanuel I of Italy, ruling all of the Italian Peninsula
except Venetia and Rome.

A.D. 1861--In Pennsylvania an oil well has begun producing more than 3,000 barrels per day, and oil
refining has begun, producing an alternative fuel for lamps (up until now, whale oil has
been the primary fuel for lamps). China's Manchu emperor, Xianfeng, has been
weakened by debauchery and drugs and dies at the age of thirty. The son of his consort
succeeds him. The former consort, Cixi, becomes the boy's regent and acquires the title
Dowager Empress. In Germany, workers making mirrors have lost all of their teeth. A
professor of medicine discovers they are victims of mercury poisoning. His findings lead
to government regulations requiring alternative mirror making processes. In Britain a
government commission begins to investigate non-textile industries employing children.
Occupational diseases among children are discovered. On June 6, his goal of Italian
unification nearly complete, Count Cavour dies. Also in this year, King Charles VI of
Spain dies. His son and heir, Juan Carlos, Prince of Asturias, is then a boy of twelve
years. In the interim until he comes of age, his mother, Queen Beatrix, rules Spain as
regent. Upon the death of King Charles, Queen Isabella of Nuevo Espana issues a
proclamation reaffirming her right to the throne of Spain. But since the repression of the
liberals in Spain and the flight abroad of most of the liberal intelligentsia, there is little
support for Isabella’s cause in Spain itself, most of the population being content under the
rule of a traditionalist monarch who staunchly supports the Catholic Church. Therefore,
little to no disorder attends the assumption of the rule of Spain by the new regent.

The Zion Society is formed at Frankfurt, Germany. It advocates the creation of a
national homeland for the Jews in Palestine.

He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King Benedict IV.  Also in this year, Mikveh Israel, the 

first modern Jewish agricultural school and settlement is established in Palestine.

Austrians in the Tyrol and Istria, so it gained nothing there by it's participation in the war. 

But it did gain one major bonus...it got to keep Rome, which it seized shortly after entering 

the war from the Papal Army and French garrison defending the city.

A.D. 1875--The light bulb is invented in the United States. Britain has bought into part
ownership of the Suez Canal enterprise. Southern Africa has became the largest diamond
producing area in the world. An attempt by Ottoman agents to collect taxes in
Herzegovina leads to a popular uprising, and the rebellion spreads to Bosnia.

A.D. 1876--Rebellion against Ottoman rule has spread to Bulgaria. A reformist group in
Turkey deposes Sultan Abd al-Aziz. Murad V becomes sultan but is declared insane. Abd
al-Hamid becomes sultan and he accepts a new liberal constitution. The telephone is
invented in Tawantinsuyu by Quehar Tupac. Russians have conquered all of Uzbekistan
and occupy the northern part of Kyrgyzstan. German physician Robert Koch establishes
an procedure that proves the germ theory of disease and boosts microbiology and the
identification of microorganisms. A three-year-old drought has devastated India, China
and the Quilombo, causing as many as 30 million deaths from starvation and disease.
Tawantinsuyu is affected too, but the traditional Tawantinsuya system of food storage
and distribution helps to mitigate the effects there. Japan forces the Koreans to accept a
trade agreement similar to Admiral Vicaquirao’s demands to the Japanese government
back in 1852. The last full-blooded Tasmanian aborigine, Truganini, dies. Also in this year, 

King Benedict IV of the United States, who up until this time has been a confirmed bachelor, 

marries the Infanta Juana Maria (b. 1858, second child of Queen Isabella) of the Kingdom of Aztlan. 

This union between the dynasties of the two American kingdoms is seen as an important event 

by observers worldwide, and a portent of closer relations between the two American giants in the future.

A.D. 1877 onward, Europe--In the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, tensions in
Europe remain high, in large part due to the actions of Prussia. Prussia’s national
confidence has been shattered by defeat. Seeing herself surrounded by enemies and
potential enemies, Prussia once again reorganizes it’s military system, embarks on an
accelerated military buildup, and begins casting about for allies. By the end of the
century it has assumed the aspect of a garrison state, armed to the teeth and full of
bellicosity. It also abandons all pretense and absorbs the other member states of the
North German Confederation within a few years after the end of the disastrous war. The
death of stodgy old King Wilhelm I and the accession of his somewhat unstable grandson
to the throne as King Wilhelm II in 1888 only serves to further escalate tensions.

As a result of the mounting tensions on the continent, a system of alliances grows up in
Europe as the various powers align themselves for self-defense. By 1900, the two main
groupings which have arisen are the Entente Cordiale consisting of France, Austria, the
South German Confederation, and Britain, which opposes the Triple Alliance of Prussia,
Italy (which has ongoing territorial disputes with Austria) and Russia (which is a
traditional adversary of Britain and has disputes with Austria over the Balkans as well).

One side effect of Prussia’s national humiliation that might have been expected to reduce
tensions, but does not, is that those voices within Prussia which had begun calling for
Prussia to join the scramble for overseas colonies (which would necessitate building a
large navy to protect those colonies) are silenced as the national mood turns inward in
self-doubt and recrimination. As a result, there will be no German/Prussian naval race
with Britain, as happened in OTL.

A.D. 1877 onward--In the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, the various powers
examine the recent events of the war and attempt to find any lessons they might contain.
As a result of these studies, the various armies abandon their brightly coloured and highly
impractical uniforms over the next two decades in favor of outfits dyed in various shades
of brown, gray, and green. The decisive nature of firepower for the defense is recognized,
and the armies quickly adopt bolt-action magazine rifles firing metallic cartridges filled
with smokeless powder as new designs become available in the 1880s and 1890s, as well
as automatic machine guns (Maxim, Hotchkiss, and other designs) and quick-firing
artillery. The value of entrenchment was clearly demonstrated during the war (and will
be further reinforced by the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5), and war planning in most
armies will focus on fighting an essentially defensive battle, with little emphasis given to
the offensive in most battle planning. One army which particularly benefits from these
lessons is that of Austria-Hungary, which reforms itself in the wake of it’s poor
performance in the Franco-Prussian war and becomes much more effective than it’s OTL
counterpart. Austria-Hungary’s forces will, by the outbreak of war in 1914, have become
highly proficient in the new defensive tactics, and will be well-equipped with machine
guns and good artillery which will stand them in good stead during the upcoming conflict.

The great exception to this rule is Prussia, where...as is quite often the case...the sting of
defeat in the recent war has lead many of it’s generals to begin to “think outside of the
box,” and consider novel means of breaking a stalemated front and restoring movement to
the battlefield. Prussian military writers emphasize infiltration tactics, designed to
bypass strongpoints in the enemy line, which can be contained and reduced later, after a
breakthrough is achieved. Others see in the recent inventions of Karl Benz and Gottleib
Daimler...the first practical vehicles propelled by internal combustion engines fueled by
gasoline...the possibility of developing “armored cavalry” which can punch through
enemy defenses and exploit the breakthroughs thus produced. Prussia will pursue...in
great secrecy...both ideas in the years ahead.

A.D. 1877--In Japan, agrarian and samurai revolts against government reforms have been
defeated militarily, the largest being the Satsuma Rebellion, involving several thousand
men. The fighting drains the national treasury and leads to inflation. Meanwhile, in
southern Africa, the British intend to protect the Boers (Afrikaners of Dutch, French and
German descent) from the Zulus and to repair the Boer Republic of Natal financially.
They suppose that a majority of Boers favor British rule and they annex the republic. Also
in this year, supporting their fellow Orthodox Christians in the Balkans, the Russians
declare war on the Ottoman Empire and are marching toward Constantinople. The Prince
Imperial of France comes of age and officially ascends the French throne as Emperor
Napoleon IV. The Gardner Gun, the first successful mechanical (i.e. hand-cranked)
machine gun, is patented in Britain. The Kingdom of Italy formally moves it's capital from Turin to Rome.

 The Pope is allowed to keep the precincts around St. Peter's Basilica as a independent state under his own rule...

the Vatican City.  Alfred von Tirpitz becomes Inspector General of the Prussian torpedo boat
fleet.

A.D. 1878--Ottoman Sultan Abd al-Hamid has dismissed the new liberal constitution and
reformist politicians. The first attempt in modern times to graft western political ideas
onto Islamic society has failed. All opposition is suppressed and all governmental power
transferred to the Sultan's palace. The British fear Russia's expansion southward in the
Balkans. The word jingoism is coined, rising from a popular song in Britain that begins:
"We don’t want to fight, but by jingo if we do We’ve got the ships, we’ve got the men
and got the money too!" The European powers get together in Vienna to settle the
Russian war against the Ottoman Empire and the underlying causes of it, and in the
process they create problems for the future that will lead to disastrous war. They settle
matters to some degree in accordance with national determination, recognizing Bulgarian
and Romanian independence and giving independence to Montenegro and Serbia, but
they also defer to old fashioned empire: the Habsburg monarchy in Vienna is given
approval of its takeover in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Vienna's army enters the provinces,
carrying symbols of Roman Catholicism is crushing Orthodox Serb resistance. Cyprus
transfers from Ottoman to British control. Fearing Russia's advances into Turkistan and
Samarqand, the British occupy Kabul. The "Second Afghan War" has begun. In Russia,
Vera Zasulich, a member of the youthful radical group "Land and Liberty," seeks revenge
for the beating that one of her activist friends has received in prison. She shoots and
wounds the military governor of St. Petersburg and is tried by a jury, which fails to
convict her. The government responds by ending jury trials for people charged with
politically motivated crimes. The government also steps up its arrest and exile of persons
suspected of supporting terrorism. In southern Africa, the British order the King of the
Zulus, Cetshwayo, to disband his army of four to six thousand. He refuses. The Zulus
defeat the British at Isandhwana, killing 800 British and capturing 1,000 rifles, with
ammunition.

A.D. 1879--With the help of Gardner guns, the British overpower the Zulus, at the Battle
of Ulundi. Queen Victoria urges "kind and generous treatment of Cetshwayo," who is
exiled to Cape Town. A yellow-fever epidemic begins in New Orleans. In
Constantinople, Turkish authorities forbid Armenian performances. In Russia, St. 

Petersburg has its first significant strike by industrial workers. King Benedict IV and 

Queen Juana of the United States have a son (actually the second child produced by the marriage), 

Crown Prince Benedict William John Arnold.   Also in this year, Gold is discovered on the south island of New Zealand. The Tawantinsuya authorities do not want an influx of foreigners, and so the discovery is not allowed to be
leaked to the world at large. The Tawantinsuya mine the gold themselves, and a mint is
set up on the island to produce Qurants from the mined gold.

A.D. 1880--After many failed attempts to assassinate Alexander II, radicals fail again,
blowing up the dining room at the tsar's palace, killing eleven and wounding fifty-six.
The tsar was late for dinner. Police arrest many members of the radical group "Will of the
People," almost destroying the organization. In less than eighty years, the whaling
industry on the Pacific ocean has collapsed, largely as a result of the increased production
of kerosene, which has killed the market for whale oil. The conservative British
politician, Benjamin Disraeli, for the last six years has been in his second run as Britain's
Prime Minister. Many are unhappy with his having raised taxes and unhappy about the
cost of military operations. Election results are not in his favor and he steps down.

A.D. 1881--A member of the radical group, "Will of the People" assassinates Tsar
Alexander II. His son and successor, Alexander III, makes no distinction between
terrorists and political activists of the non-violent variety. Censorship is tightened.
Publishers and writers with liberal ideas are harassed. In the Transvaal, Boers
(Afrikaners) rebel against British rule and defeat the British at Majuba Hill. Britain's
prime minister, Gladstone, returns self-rule to the Boer Republic except for control of
foreign affairs. France declares Tunisia a protectorate. Muhammad Ahmad leads a
pan-Islamic rebellion amid cries for war against infidels. He proclaims himself the Mahdi
(Messiah) who is to rid the world of evil. For some time, there has been a budding
romance between Princess Beatrice, daughter of Queen Victoria of England, and the
handsome, dashing Emperor Napoleon IV. Napoleon speaks fluent English (thanks to his
American mother), and the two met at a party which Beatrice attended in Paris at the
occasion of Napoleon’s coronation. Both have made frequent trips across the Channel to
visit since that time. Finally, in June 1881, the two are wed in London in a ceremony
attended by most of the crowned heads of Europe and the Americas. Atahualpa Inca III,
who had been a friend of the groom’s father, presents the happy couple with a set of
matched imperial robes, woven from finest vicuna, trimmed with jaguar fur, and
embroidered in gold thread with Napoleon’s imperial crest. A photograph of the couple
wearing these robes during the formal coronation of Beatrice as Empress of France later
that month will become one of the most famous of the 19th century.

Also in this year, in Britain and Tawantinsuyu, a joint celebration of the 300th Anniversary of
the Anglo-Tawantinsuya Alliance is held. Both nations issue commemorative postage
stamps and strike commemorative gold coins celebrating the occasion. Queen Victoria
travels to Cuzco and Atahualpa Inca III travels to London to take part in ceremonies
commemorating the signing of the historic agreement. One viewer of these events (or at
least the ones in Britain) is an impressionable young lad named Herbert George Wells.
Wells will one day write a novel inspired by his memories of these events, entitled “The
Empire of Gold,” which will be based on the premise that the Tawantinsuyu Empire had
gone the way of the Aztec Empire in Mexico and fallen under the cruel thumb of the
gold-hungry Spanish conquistadors, and postulates a vastly different world which results
from that outcome. Published in 1889, it will be the first alternate history novel written
in the English language. It will be little remembered, however, compared to Wells’ more
famous works like “War of the Worlds” and “The Time Machine.”

A.D. 1881-1884--Pogroms in Tsarist Russia kill tens of thousands of Jews and force hundreds of
thousands to flee. While most of these end up in the United States, Britain, and other western
countries, many go to Palestine and settle.

A.D. 1882--In response to a nationalist revolt in Egypt against Ottoman rule, Britain and
France support the Ottoman sultan. A British army defeats an Egyptian force at the Battle
of Tell al-Kabir. Britain is concerned about the Suez Canal, and Queen Victoria wants to
protect Christians in Egypt. Exercising her power to consult with and advise her
government, she favors keeping troops in Egypt. Alexander III believes that Jews are the
killers of Christ. Pogroms against Jews have been spreading across Russia's empire. They
are being expelled from Moscow and are fleeing the empire. German physician Robert
Koch, discovers the rod-shaped bacterium that causes tuberculosis.

Also in this year, Crown Prince Felipe Luis of Aztlan marries Princess Caroline Arnold,
youngest daughter of King Benedict III of the United States. Like the earlier marriage of
the Infanta Juana Maria of Aztlan (sister of Crown Prince Felipe Luis) to Crown Prince
Benedict (brother of Princess Caroline), the marriage further cements the relationship
between the two American dynasties.

A.D. 1882-1903--The first Aliyah, or major wave of Jewish immigration into Palestine. About
35,000 Jews move to Palestine, with about half remaining to become permanent residents.

A.D. 1883--Robert Koch discovers the rod-shaped bacterium that causes cholera. Karl
Marx dies, John Maynard Keynes and Benito Mussolini are born. The Ottoman sultan,
Abd al-Hamid II, has his former prime minister, Midhat Pasha, strangled. The Orient
Express railway opens between Constantinople and Baghdad. Hiram Maxim patents the
first recoil-operated automatic machine gun.  Konstantian Tsiolkovsky, a Russian school teacher, 

publishes FREE SPACE.  In this, Tsiolkovsky shows that a rocket will function in a vacuum 

due to Newton's Action-Reaction" laws of motion.

A.D. 1884--France incorporates Vietnam into its empire. In Africa, France occupies
Guinea. In Uganda, Christians object to the King Mwanga's homosexual relations with
young boys and men who serve him as pages and attendants. Mwanga, has numerous
Christians put to death, some by burning. Christians arm themselves and ally with local
Muslims in a civil war against Mwanga. Britain proclaims a protectorate over the eastern
half of New Guinea and adjacent islands. Britain sends a force to the Sudan to supervise
an Egyptian withdrawal from Khartoum, and the force takes charge of 2,500 women,
children, sick and wounded. Muhammad Ahmad's force surrounds them. The British
government's rejects a request for military help from a Sudanese slave trader and warlord.

A.D. 1885--After ten months, Muhammad Ahmad overruns the British force in
Khartoum. Its leader, Charles Gordon, is killed. With help from the British, who are
involved in neighboring Sudan, Italy takes from the Egyptians control over what today is
Eritrea. European powers meet in Berlin and make agreements concerning Africa. They
give King Leopold of Belgium control of the Congo. Spain is awarded a colony on the
Atlantic coast of northwestern Africa (which will become known as the Spanish Sahara).
Britain annexes what in OTL would become Botswana, Tanzania, Namibia, and
Cameroon. France is colonizing Central Africa and establishes a little colony on the
northern tip of Madagascar. In Germany, Karl Benz develops an internal combustion
engine. It can run at 250 revolutions per minute. A bicycle with a diamond-shaped frame
and a chain drive to the rear wheel is exhibited in London.Emperor Napoleon IV and Empress 

Beatrice of France produce a son, who they name Napoleon Jerome Louis Henri Bonaparte, 

Prince Imperial of France.

1886--Gold is discovered in the Transvaal-Boer territory. In Germany, Heinrich Hertz
uses sparks to send a radio signal. After a ten-year effort, troops from Aztlan trap
and destroy the band of the Apache chieftain Geronimo, effectively ending the wars of
Aztlan against the natives of it’s northern territories. Geronimo’s head is taken to
Mexico City, where it is displayed in a museum for years to come. Paul Vielle of France
invents Poudre B, the first practical smokeless gunpowder. Over the next decade, armies
throughout the world will abandon their black-powder-firing small arms in favor of new
weapons using smokeless powder.  Crown Prince Felipe Luis and Princess Caroline of Aztlan 

produce a son, who they name Ferdinand Carlos.

A.D. 1887--Ethiopians are fighting Italy's attempt at colonization. The Italians remain in
Eritrea. The Yellow River bursts its banks, and the flooding kills 900,000 Chinese.

A.D. 1888--George Eastman invents the Kodak camera, making it easy for
non-professionals to take photographs. In London, five prostitutes who ate poisoned
grapes have been disemboweled. The murders are attributed to Jack the Ripper. King
Wilhelm I of Prussia dies. His son, Friederich III, dies of throat cancer after reigning 99
days. Friederich's son, Wilhelm II, son of Queen Victoria's politically liberal daughter,
Vicki, becomes King of Prussia. Wilhelm had suffered a traumatic breach birth and has a
withered arm as a result. Modern doctors have also claimed that he may also have
received some brain damage during the birth as well. Whether or not that is the case,
Wilhelm has an unstable personality, and will be prone to blustering, bullying behavior
that will serve to alienate most of the nations of Europe at one time or another. Tensions
in Europe will dramatically increase during his reign.

A.D. 1888 onward--With the accession of King Wilhelm II to the throne of Prussia,
Prussia has a King who is interested in naval affairs, for perhaps the first time in it’s
history. Although he is forced by Prussia’s circumstances to forego the acquisition of a
large surface navy, Wilhelm takes an interest in the development of a new and untried
machine which is in development in several countries...the submarine. Remembering the
blockade of Prussia’s ports during the Franco-Prussian War by the victorious French
Navy, Wilhelm knows that in a war with Britain or France in the future, a much more
severe blockade will be imposed, and reasons that Prussia must have a weapon capable of
imposing a blockade on it’s enemies. Since a surface navy is not an option, the
submarine seems a possible answer to this dilemma. This conviction is reinforced when
Wilhelm learns, in 1889, that Spaniard designer Isaac Peral successfully fired three
Whitehead Torpedoes from a submarine vessel of his own design (Peral fails to interest
the government of Spanish King Charles VII, but soon finds agents from King Wilhelm at
his doorstep, and moves to Prussia to pursue submarine development there, working at
Krupp’s Germania shipyard). Over the protests of his ministers and the Reichstag,
Wilhelm will, almost from the moment he succeeds to the throne, divert a portion of
Prussia’s military budget into the development of submarines. He will be supported in
this by Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz from the time said officer joins the Naval Ministry in
1892. Tirpitz, who spent most of his naval career in the torpedo boat fleet, can easily see
the potential of submarines as a stealthy platform for firing the deadly torpedo. Tirpitz
will later become Secretary of State for the Navy in 1898, and from that time forward, he
and King Wilhelm will work closely together on their joint dream...building the world’s
preeminent submarine fleet. By 1920, Prussia will have built a fleet of over 200 very
capable long- and medium-range submarines. No other nation in the world will have
anything approaching this fleet in quality or quantity.

A.D. 1889--The Ivory Coast becomes a French protectorate, and the English and French agree
on spheres of influence on the Gold Coast and on the Senegal and Gambia rivers. In a
small town in Austria, Braunau, by the River Inn, which borders Germany, Adolf Hitler is
born. Also in this year...the Tenterfield Oration by Sir Henry Parkes, which advocates the federation
of the five British Australian colonies, which are at this time self-governed but under the
distant administration of the British Colonial Secretary.

A.D. 1890--Death of Atahualpa Inca III. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as
Manco Capac Inca III. Manco continues his father’s reforms, introducing a new and
expanded Bill of Rights within two years of his succession to the crown. In
Constantinople, Armenians in the district of Gum-Gapu protest, and authorities crush the
demonstration with bloodshed. Economies in Europe have been in a downturn. British
investors sell their U.S. stocks for needed money.  Also in this year, the Australian Federation 

Conference calls a constitutional convention.

A.D. 1891--Hawaii's King Kalakaua dies of kidney disease and is succeeded by his
brilliant sister, Lili'uokalani. In West Africa, the French invade the Mandinka Empire,
employing artillery and machine guns. The Mandinka ruler, Samoie Touré, resorts to a
scorched earth policy and shifts his empire to the east. Prussia’s Social Democratic Party
advocates the 8-hour day, prohibition of child labor under the age of 14; government
regulation of working conditions, the abolition of laws that restrict the right of people to
assemble, direct suffrage by secret ballot, the election of judges, an end to laws that put
women at a disadvantage as compared with men, a graduated income and property tax,
free medical attention, a people's militia for defense, secularized public education and no
public money supporting religious institutions. The Prussian government initiates the first
public old-age pension system. Various Turkish intellectuals, including in the military,
are drawing inspiration from the West. In institutions of higher learning secret societies
have formed. Exiles called Young Turks meet in Geneva to organize a nationalist
movement against Sultan Hamid's rule. His repressions are failing.

Also in this year, The First National Australasion Convention meets, agrees on adopting the
name “Commonwealth of Australia” and drafting a constitution. The constitution is
adopted by the Convention, even though it has no legal authority to do so.

A.D. 1892--In Russian ruled Poland, unrest among workers brings an attack sent by
authorities that kills 46.

A.D. 1893--Hawaii's Queen Lili'uokalani is planning a constitution that will spread power
to native Hawaiians. Although the land amendments passed by King Kamehameha III in
the 1850s have prevented large-scale foreign ownership of Hawaiian land, by that time
the foundations of a plantation system, producing crops, cattle, and sheep for export, had
already been laid, and there simply were not enough Hawaiians to meet all the needs for
labor. So, as in OTL, large numbers of Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and other primarily
Asian immigrants have been imported to fill these roles (working for Hawaiian
landowners instead of European landowners). Over time, the sheer number of these
people has forced the Hawaiian monarchy to make concessions to allow them access to
political power, and by 1893 a majority of the lower house of the Hawaiian legislature
(which is popularly elected...the upper house consists of nobles appointed by the
monarch) consists of immigrants instead of native Hawaiians. Lili'uokalani sees this as a
threat, and wants to reduce the political power of the immigrants. Laos becomes a French
protectorate. A mounted British column crosses the Umniati River into Matabeleland
(today Zimbabwe). They have rifles, two 7-pounder field guns and a number of Maxim
machine guns. Six thousand Ndebele warriors attack the British encampment. Hundreds
of Ndebele die. Less than 10 members of the British column are killed or wounded.

Also in this year, the Corowa Conference calls on the colonial parliaments of Australia to
pass enabling acts, allowing the election of delegates to a new constitutional convention
aimed at drafting a proposal and putting it to a referendum in each colony.

A.D. 1894--Alexander III dies of kidney disease. His eldest son, at 26, is crowned Tsar
Nicholas II. His main interest is devotion to God and an undisturbed family life. A few
days after his coronation, trinkets and such are presented to the masses as presents from
the tsar. Surging forward to the gifts in an open field, more than a thousand people are
trampled to death. Dahomey becomes a French colony. Korea's king calls for help from
China to suppress riots. Opposed to China's influence in Korea, Japan sends troops and
takes control of Korea. Japan's military moves north from Korea into Manchuria, and they
move eastward to Port Arthur. An antiquated military force from Manchu China is
overwhelmed by Japan's more modern force. In France, Captain Alfred Dreyfus is falsely
accused of passing military information to Prussian agents and is sentenced to life in
prison. Hawaii's Queen Lili'uokalani unveils her new Constitution, which includes a
clause that no person who is not of at least 1/4 native Hawaiian blood may serve in the
Hawaiian legislature...which would exclude over half the members of the lower house of
the current legislature. There is rioting among the large Chinese and Japanese worker
communities on the islands, which the Queen orders her army to suppress. Pictures of
Hawaiian troops firing into crowds of rioting civilians appear in newspapers across the
world. Several European powers begin expressing concern over the safety of their
citizens who live in Hawaii, and threatening to take military action. This prompts Manco
Capac Inca III to intervene in the situation. Tawantinsuya troops from the bases near
Honolulu move on the city and quickly seize the royal palace after a sharp fight with the
Hawaiian palace guards. Queen Lili'uokalani is placed under “protective custody,” and
Tawantinsuya troops disperse both the rioters and the Hawaiian army troops in the city.
Quiet gradually settles back onto the islands. Queen Lili'uokalani is soon on board a ship
headed for Tawantinsuyu for “high level talks” with Manco Capac Inca. The new
constitution is declared suspended in her absence, and the legislature rules the islands
temporarily by itself.

Upon her arrival in Tawantinsuyu, Queen Lili'uokalani is well treated, but Manco Capac
Inca makes it clear that if she wishes to return to Hawaii and resume her throne, she has
to agree to withdraw the new Constitution. Queen Lili'uokalani resists for quite some
time, but finally decides to relent. She is returned to Honolulu by the end of the year and
resumes her throne, formally withdrawing the proposes Constitution.

A.D. 1895--China signs the Treaty of Shimonoseki, ceding to Japan control over the
Liaodong peninsula to Port Arthur, ceding to Japan Taiwan and permitting Japanese to
live in and trade with Chinese. In Germany, Wilhelm Roentgen develops X-rays. Studies
in Hysteria by Josef Breuer and Sigmund Freud launch an Age of Analysis.

All British Australian colonies except Western Australia agree to implement
the Corowa Proposals.

A.D. 1896--In Constantinople, Armenian nationalists attack the Ottoman Bank.
Authorities retaliate and 3,000 Armenians die. The British are alarmed by the spread of
French influence in southern Sudan. Britain's military leader, Horatio Kitchener leads an
army into the Sudan. Britain declares Ashanti (today Ghana) a protectorate. At Adowa, in
the far north of Ethiopia, Ethiopians defeat an Italian army, saving themselves from
colonial rule. In Matabeleland, rebels kill more than 120 white settlers. A force of 500
whites is assembled and ends the rebellion. In France the real spy in the Dreyfus Affair
has been found, but the French Army prefers to keep its mistake hidden and to maintain
Dreyfus, as guilty.  The Bathurst Conference meets to discuss the 1891 draft constitution for a
united Australia. Also in this year, a Tagish Indian named Keish notices gold nuggets in a tributary creek
of the Yukon River in the far north of British North America. He thinks nothing of it and
word of the discovery doesn’t get out to the world at large.  

A.D. 1896-1904--Theodore Herzl unsuccessfully approaches world leaders for assistance in
creating a Jewish national home.

A.D. 1897--The first subway (underground) passenger system in the United States opens
in Boston Massachusetts. Theodor Herzl, a Jewish journalist from Hungary, has been
disturbed by the anti-Semitism connected with the Dreyfus Affair. He organizes and
holds the first Zionist Congress.

A.D. 1897-1898--The Second National Australasian Convention meets and agrees to
adopt a constitution based on the 1891 draft. Later they revise and amend the draft, and
having agreed on a final draft, submit it to the people for the vote in individual
referendums in each colony.

A.D. 1898--Britain obtains a 99-year lease of Hong Kong from the Chinese. In China and
India the bubonic plague begins to kill what will eventually be three million people. A
force of 8,200 British and 17,600 Sudanese troops, under British command, win against
more numerous Dervish warriors, at the battle of Omdurman, in the Sudan, near
Khartoum. The British lose 48 dead. An estimated 5,000 Dervish are taken prisoner and
10,000 are killed. Flashbulb photography begins.  A book by a Polish financier, Ivan Bloch, is 

widely distributed in Europe thatpredicts the kind of warfare to be fought in the next major European war.