Part 62: Victoria: Chapter 2 - Calm Before the Storm: 1800 - 1810

1800 - 1810: Calm Before the Storm

With the Modernizerns in majority at the court and Reichstag, Swabia begins large-scale import of a variety of crucial goods, ranging from base industrial materials such as steel to luxury items like fine clothes and furniture.


Swabia's finances are currently looking good and its colonial empire is generating a large surplus at the expense of military readiness.


Originally a Mazulan invention, the Cotton Gin reaches Swabia in February of 1800. While Swabia lacks cotton-producing colonies and thus has little use for the machine itself, the principle of it would come to act a source of inspiration for future inventions.


Emperor Mathias II, meanwhile, turns his attention to the army. Despite the dire situation with Zuhriman, he finds himself hampered by the Reichstag, who refuse to approve any funding for the recruitment of more soldiers. Mathias II will have to do with what he has.


Making the best of his options, Mathias creates a new branch of the Swabian army - the reserve. Consisting of unenlisted men who are given a cursory training in use of a rifle, it will allow Mathias to mobilize additional troops if war should break out.


He also creates several new standing divisions using soldiers from areas that Reichstag has less power over, Swabian Italy and Switerzland.


Bolstered by the new troops, the Imperial Army is deployed to the French border, ready to repel any revolutionary aggression. The brilliant general Ernst von Zingst is given the task of organizing the front and leading the 1st army.



In September of 1801, Swabian engineers finish adapting the steam engine for use in mining operations, significantly improving the output of Swabia's mining industry.


Research next begins into a reorganization of the Swabian Army Staff after Iberian model.


In November, construction of a trade post begins on the tiny island of Palau in Mikronesia.


In March of 1802, news reach Swabia that the Scandinavians have negotiated an agreement with the breakoff Republic of Gotland, recognizing their autonomy in exchange for making them into a Scandinavian protectorate.


A series of radical reforms have also begun in Finland as its new ruler, King Juuso, seeks to modernize his tribal country with the help of Scandinavian advisors.


In May, relations between Swabia and the Qin Empire are severely damaged when it is discovered that Qin government officials have been supporting insurgents on Swabian Guangdong.


Diplomatically, Mathias pursues closer relations with Austria, hoping for their support in an eventual war with Zuhriman. The Austrians remain wary of Swabia publically, but have offered some encouraging guarantees in private negotiations.


1803 begins as a particularily rainy year, something which plays havoc with the sowing and resulting in a poorer than usual harvest, cutting into tax income.


The new Army Staff System is completed in March, and research next begins into further developing the bank sector, which is currently being held back by the near-monopoly of the Fugger family.


In April, the peace treaty between Aquitaine and Iberia runs out, and Zuhriman declares war. Shortly thereafter, war breaks out between Byzantium and Persia.


Persia's newfound ally Lithuania joins the war on its side, forcing Byzantium to fight on two fronts.


The invasion of Aquitaine is swift and brutal. The Aquitainians offer fierce but ultimately hopeless resistance, and mere weeks after the war begins, independent Aquitaine is no more. Mathias makes a speech condemning the actions of Zuhriman, but ultimately opts not to intervene.



Research into financial development continues with the adaption of the Swabian Mark into printed money bills, and de-regulation of the stringent laws that control the creation of companies, opening up Swabia to the flow of private capital.



By April of 1805, the Imperial Reserve Corps has grown to 20 divisions, a force Mathias considers adequate to even out Swabia's disadvantage to France in standing army size.


The war in the east is going badly for Byzantium, its fronts collapsing in face of a ferocious Lithuanian advance.


By June of 1807, the situation in British America has gotten to the point that revolts are an everyday occurance, and news reach Swabia that the British governor in America, Thomas Brooke, has petitioned British King James IV with a desperate plan to maintain control. The plan is to divide British America into three regions, with Janesland in the west and New Britain in the west given autonomy as dominions, and a 'British Zone' of direct rule remaining in the area around Washington. James IV reluctantly accepts the plan.


Spurred on by the successes of their American brethren, the colonists of Vinland stage a massive uprising against the Scandinavian crown, demanding autonomy. Lacking the resources and will to fight a costly war overseas, the Scandinavian monarch gives in to their demands.


With most of the old colonists now independent or autonomous, the age of colonialism seems to be nearing its end in the new world.


Swabia's defense pacts with Byzantium and Great Britain expire in January of 1808. The alliance with Britain is renewed and turned into a fullworthy military alliance, while talks with Byzantium are shelved on account of the war they are fighting - and losing.



Peace is signed between Persia and Byzantium in February, with several Byzantine territories transfering hands. Lithuania remains in the war, however.


Swabia's industrial and economic progress has led up to the point where all the seeds of the industrial revolution has now been planted, and in March, a final series of legal reforms begin to pave the way for the creation of large-scale private industries.



Despite having closed off the front against Persia, Byzantium is still losing its war with Lithuania, and the Byzantine Emperor appeals to Mathias for help. With Zuhriman mobilizing troops along the border to Dauphine, the last thing Mathias wants is to get dragged into a war in the east, and he politely declines.


The Byzantine Emperor, desperate for any kind of edge, asks for a defense pact to keep his back clear instead, a proposal that Mathias is happy to agree to.


The defense pact does little to help the Greeks, however, and in January of 1809 Byzantium is forced to sign a humiliating peace, giving up several territories and giving Lithuania permission to march troops through their territory.



Humiliated, the Byzantine Emperor consoles himself by bullying the Emir of Sharjah into ceding the Persian Gulf port Ras al Mishab, shortening Byzantium's sea route to its Indian colonies significantly.


A few more quiet months follow, but in December of 1809, the event that Europe had been holding its breath for finally occurs as Zuhriman launches a full-scale invasion of Dauphine. His attacks on Aquitaine and Brittany could be overlooked, but Dauphine is a long-time independent, wealthy and industrious state, and conquering it would give Zuhriman a direct border to Swabia and Italy. Addressing the Reichstag and an assembly of foreign diplomats, Emperor Mathias formally declares war on Iberia and extends invites to his allies and fellow monarchs to join him.


Shockingly, Great Britain chooses to dishonour its alliance with Swabia rather than join in the war, and both the Netherlands and Saxony decline Mathias' invites, but Austria, and - somewhat surprisingly - Scandinavia join in the war on Swabia's side.


Austria brings with it its ally Lithuania, and as the year turns to 1810, a mighty coalition of monarchies stands ready to face Zuhriman for one final showdown between revolution and reaction.


As Mathias prepares to leave Stuttgart to join the army on the front, a frantic messenger rushes up to him, bearing a message from Guangdong: The Sibir Khanate has launched an all-out invasion of the Qin Empire with the intent of seizing the Imperial Crown of China itself. The Qin Emperor has personally appealed to Mathias, promising rich rewards if Swabia sends help to defeat the mongol hordes.


Swabia is about to enter what may very well be the greatest war it has ever been involved in - canit really afford to use money and troops to prop up the weak Qin dynasty? But if it does not, and China falls to the Mongols, Swabia might not just lose an important trading partner but will also suffer a loss of face and influence among the other Asian rulers. Unable to make a decision one way or another, Mathias convenes a special session of the Reichstag and leaves the matter to a vote.

Should Swabia offer military assistance to the Qin Empire? Cast your votes for one of the below options:

Current manpower is 55, leadership 40, cash reserves £25000, prestige 102

Option A: Send troops and advisors


Option B: Send advisors only


Option C: No military help