Part 23: Lone Star Sandwich Again

Chapter 13: Lone Star Sandwich Again

Texas, having just reverted to a democracy from the grasp of Radical dictatorship, is now the only democracy north of the Rio Grande, and is probably its last hope in North America.

However, the United States is still far too strong to piss off, so for now we must awkwardly avoid the subject in the presence of American diplomats and hope we can continue American-Texan friendship while it suits our purposes.



As predicted, Mexican California falls very quickly, and the US is heavily defending the Californian shores against Mexican incursions.



We decide too offer an alliance and join their war, but the United States declines. Perhaps they do not want to be forced to use their own troops to defend (and expand) the Republic. No matter; it will be entertaining to watch the Americans attempt amphibious invasions of Mexico.



We receive reports that our recent illegalization of slavery and return to democracy have made the Republic a shining star in the eyes of immigrants, and Las Vegas in particular is drawing many people to come work in the iron mines. Most are Irish, and in one day a number of them equal to 62% of the resident population of the small town immigrated there (shown).



Relations with the United States were somewhat strained when they changed their constitution, so we are attempting to alleviate that. But it won't be easy if the Americans don't try to themselves.



A great day for the Republic! We've been able to get ahold of something the British have had for a little while now: machine guns. Now we could start colonizing if we wished and had the money; too bad Britain already claimed most of the Pacific.



Functionalism will improved general education efforts in our country and is now being studied.



Our railroad system is state of the art still and progressing smoothly in the newly acquired territory. Already a man could ride the rail from any of our continental provinces to another on the rails.



We are already seeing a return on our investment in Yankee capitalists. They have been funding some of the railroad construction on our new border, and now they announce construction of a lumber mill in Hawaii. Lumber is not an expensive product, but it is used for many products that are. Lumber was actually a good choice for a factory; our Paper factory in Texas will be more profitable with non-imported lumber, and one of our provinces in Arizona produces timber.



The United Kingdom declares war on Sokoto, a native uncivilized nation in central west Africa (present-day Nigeria I believe). The UK looks to claim Africa just as it did the Pacific, but with its proximity to Europe they may see more competition.



Taking a page from our book, the Americans have successfully (and surprisingly) conducted an invasion of Acapulco and are now a stone's throw away from Mexico City. It remains to be seen whether they will be able to push into the capital.



Time flies, and a new election cycle is upon us already.



The Nationalists are still the most popular political party by a large margin. The poor Democrats will never get a candidate into the Presidential office at this rate.



We're receiving worrying reports from all across the northern border. American troops are taking up positions all around us. It seems little progress is being made in Acapulco (though they still control it); we pray they don't intend to forcefully create a path on land to Mexico.



The Argentinian government has moved to claim the rest of unsettled southern Argentina as sovereign territory. Now the Republic shares a recognized border with them. With any luck they will still be unable to form a decent military any time soon.



Some immigrants have moved to Santa Cruz, and it seems they are a number of poor Northern Italians that were trying to escape the Sicilians' war to unify Italy. We welcome them and wish them the best in their new home.



The Ottomans settled for peace with the North African nation of Tripoli (in present day Libya), having been at war with them for a few years now. Most of Tripoli's possessions are now in Ottoman hands



Here is the latest map of the situation in the Mediterranean south of Italy. Egypt and Tunisia have been lucky enough to escape European aggression so far, but it is unlikely they will for too long. Britain owns Malta; it seems there is no part of the world where Britain does not have a stake or claim.




Queen Isabella II in Spain has been deposed, and the Spanish crown is vacant. The Spanish offer the crown to a Hohenzollern candidate. Prussia, with the house of Hohenzollern being the King's family, gladly accepts the offer. France, eager to go to war with Prussia, refuses to recognize or accept a Hohenzollern in the Spanish throne and declares war. The North German Federation and Free City of Bremen come to the aid of their ally. This looks to be an epic confrontation.



Back home we look to increase the number of troops we can readily mobilize to 8 divisions, the most supportable by our growing population. We hope to not need them soon, but America has been avoiding us diplomatically, and we grow increasingly nervous about the situation on our northern border.



At least one million men surround the Republic. They could flatten Texas in a heartbeat and move on to Mexico. And all we can do is pretend they aren't there and continue to improve our Republic and our relations.