Disjointed Empire

If the war at large was reaching a crescendo, it was nothing compared to the political campaign that was being waged in Richmond, amongst the halls of the Confederate Capital. It had been no secret that the Confederate States had been looking to expand it’s borders since before the war. Most thought, and this included elected officials as well, that this expansion was limited to the island of Cuba. It was a non controversial issue since any idiot could look at a map and see that the island colony was a security problem unless the Stars and Bar’s flew over Havana. The deal with Spain, largely brought about by the coming war, had included a good deal more than just the one possession. When added to the territories seized by the Confederate Navy, since the commencement of hostilities, the Confederacy suddenly found itself with a small empire on it’s hands. This did not sit well with some.

One might think that there might be moral objections to controlling an empire and this was particularly true of a nation that had, itself, once been a colonial possession (to Great Britain), and then, followed by being a virtual colony in all but name (to the United States). If any such objections were raised then no one bothered to write it down. Most of the anti imperialist sentiment was centered in the more conservative Home Party and their basic objections seemed to have been rooted in paranoia over the power that it gave the national government in Richmond.

Most of the elected officials of the time were old enough to remember having been citizens of the United States. They remembered the problems that came with territorial expansion and the unequal power that it gave the Federal Government in Washington. This had been one of the leading causes of the American 61 and, now, some of these hard core states rights politicians believed they were seeing the cycle repeat itself. There was no small amount of dissension in the Confederate Congress and much of that was directed right at President Wheeler. There were even some congressmen who accused Wheeler of using the war to become a dictator.

While the more radical claims grabbed headlines, they were largely ineffectual in budging Wheeler. If that was all there was then he may not have had a problem but, the fact was, that not all of the points raised by the HP were without merit. Many claimed that the Confederacy simply could not afford to administer such far flung territories, let alone defend them. As the war dragged on, the last part of that was even worrying Wheeler as he watched the Royal Navy sit passively in their ports and do little to nothing. It was no secret in Richmond that British support was critical to such a venture and, by this time, that was no longer a foregone conclusion.

This basic problem led to some serious changes in Confederate Foreign policy. Prior to the war, the Office of State had been one of the most non controversial agencies of the CSA. Foreign policy was very simple for the Confederacy and it all revolved around keeping the British happy in return for support. By the summer of 1901 it was very clear that, no matter what the outcome of the war, the world was about to be a very different place. The Royal Navy was no longer going to be the undisputed master of the ocean and the Confederate Navy was going to have to pick up a great deal of the slack.

At the time it was not very well known but, it was in the shadows of these realizations that the Confederate States began looking for new allies. This would eventually lead to cementing relationships with nations that were already friendly to the CSA, such as Brazil. It would also bring about new overtures between the CSA and Mexico. Despite Mexico’s dismal performance in the war, anyone who knew anything about economics of the time, were well aware that the Mexican Empire was a rising star. With a little help, Mexico could become a serious power to deal with in North America. Richmond was more than willing to offer that assistance.

These moves were logical and with only minor grumbling about various treaties and overtures to Mexico, there was little in the way of opposition to these moves. Of course, none of them did a great deal in cementing Confederate policy in the Pacific Rim and, it was here, that several diplomatic moves drew fire and, not just from Home Party politicians but, even from London. A great deal of this had to do with the fall of Canada which had caused a political fire storm in places like Australia and New Zealand. The anti-war factions in these common wealth nations were slowly leaning towards becoming anti-imperial and Richmond began courting these factions, with an eye to the future.

All of these would become future issues in many nations but, none would become more crucial than when the Confederate State Department began seriously talking with Japanese officials. The Meiji Government, itself, seemed largely closed off. They were polite, seemed receptive but, at the end of the day not much came of the talks. The same was not true of the Japanese military and, in particular, their navy. While the civilian government of Japan was playing a wait and see game, their military leaders had almost reached a unanimous conclusion about the post war world. If Japan were to stand on her own two feet, she would no longer be able to rely on Great Britain or, anyone else for that matter.

Despite this realization, it was still obvious that Japan could not proceed completely alone. Western nations still had too much that Japan required. That was why the view amongst many Japanese Generals and Admirals was that if Britain wanted to treat them as children then, just maybe, what they needed was a friend who wanted a partner instead. When it became obvious to the Japanese military that the Confederacy was making some very friendly overtures, they became instantly interested.

Back in Richmond, while this seemed a logical move, there were many who were not so happy with the idea. They saw Japan as being too far away to be of any use and, while nobody said as much, there were hints at racial problems as well. Too our modern eyes this might seem almost a childish opinion and, yes, it is very out of step with our modern world but, the concerns of many Confederate citizens had practical implications that could not be ignored at the time. One has to remember that racial beliefs of this time were not just confined to Europeans, everyone held such attitudes.

While it is unfair to constantly pigeon hole the Confederacy into one giant racial issue, because that was far from being the case, the simple fact remains that this problem that they inherited from the United States, made governing the CSA very complicated to say the least. The racial issue almost always surfaced and even in issues that seemed to be completely unrelated. As long as times were relatively calm, the issue that involved nearly a third the population of the Confederacy proper, was largely manageable. By 1901, times were anything but calm, and the situation was growing worse.

The white population of military age was being wiped out and, even in 1901, this had become obvious to the power elites of the CSA. They said nothing about it and, indeed, it was a tightly held secret that required no enforcement because those in charge were afraid to even mention it. It was also, a problem for down the road and, not the only one that was being faced in 1901.

The Bureau of Colored Affairs, the national agency that managed the CSA’s free black residents and slaves, had been going through a quiet transformation as the war went on. At one time, this agency was the model of efficiency and, despite what some modern authors have claimed, it was also largely fair. The reason for this is easy to understand when you consider that Richmond had no desire to give a third of their population a reason to revolt. This did not mean that the CSA was prepared to grant equality to blacks because there was no mention of that at all. What the BCA did do, while maintaining the laws that made blacks second class, was curtail excess that can occur when one human owns another.

Pre war records demonstrate that they were quite effective at this job. The BCA even had it’s own court system, which was largely confined to free residents, where it was possible for a black man to sue a white man. There was also a criminal division that enforced such laws as rape and, by 1901, this did extend to slaves. While modern human rights advocates tend to ignore such things, these laws were enforced without exception but, of course, you have to remember why. The white leaders of the CSA were not stupid and they realized the implications of a revolt. They certainly had no intentions of granting citizenship to anyone with dark skin. This is why the foreign policy and the new territories suddenly became a problem because, for the most part, there were almost no white people living in any of them.

It would have been impossible for Richmond to enforce the pre-war employment laws in places like Cuba or anywhere else in the Caribbean for that matter. Blacks living in most Confederate States were restricted on how much they could earn per year. The national government set standard rates for everything from factory workers to barbers and, while these were not absolute, they were more or less the standard. There were a few exceptions because, there were some black residents who became rich in the CSA but, these were all extreme exceptions. These laws also restricted the jobs that could be held by blacks, both slave and free resident.

In the island nations of the Caribbean, such laws were completely impractical. At the time, no one even knew exactly what percentage of the population of Cuba was black but, no one doubted it was substantial. On the islands that were former French possessions, the black populations were easily more than ninety percent. The people who lived under Spanish and French rule might have been subjects, may have been largely impoverished but, they had also lived under laws that were very different from those of the Confederacy. Neither Spain nor France actually had any racial laws and the peoples of these new Confederate possessions were not so receptive to the idea. These people also contributed to many technical professions and to suddenly fire them all would cause the economies of these islands to collapse.

Naturally, this would cause a problem back home for the CSA. Many realized it would only be a matter of time before certain black residents would question why it was that they could not work certain jobs for certain pay when, in Confederate Territories, it was perfectly normal. This was far from the only problem that the sudden Confederate Empire would cause. The question of what a race was, would ultimately have to be questioned as well. At the start of the American 61, this question seemed as simple as black and white. In a nation as insular as the Confederacy, there were no shades of gray. The sudden inclusion of people who were neither white, nor black, would shake up the very notion of race, and once this kind of thing happens it is a small step to wonder about your justifications of suppressing others of different skin colors.

On this subject, it has to be noted that this was far from the first instance that the CSA had to deal with this issue. They had been dealing with native tribes and Hispanics since before they were even a nation. While these people were not considered white they were also not suppressed by racial laws as were the slaves and former slaves. Since natives were only a majority in Sequoia and the Hispanic populations were largely confined to Texas, these exceptions to the entire black and white view were swept under the rug and ignored by the national government. Unofficial social customs took care of the rest in the individual states. With the acquisition of former French and Spanish territory, this could no longer work.

The real sticking point was also one of the furthest away. The population of the Philippines was very cosmopolitan and had been so for a very long time. Not only was there a Hispanic segment, mostly descendants of Spanish colonists but, you had the various Polynesian populations that were far from homogenous. If that was not enough, there was also a substantial Chinese population that lived in the archipelago, mostly in the environs of Manila. None of these people even took the new Confederate officials seriously when the race laws were brought up. At the same time, CSA authorities were having their own problems because none of the racial laws seemed to fit the situation that was Manila, let alone the countryside of Luzon or the thousands of other little islands they now ruled.

There were many in Richmond who were not happy with that situation but, there was little they could do about it. Initially, they were also able to divert attention away from the race issues because in nearly all of the new Confederate territories, they had a more immediate problem. Most of them had been in various stages of revolt against the Spanish and, now that the flags had changed, these rebels showed no signs of quitting. All that had happened was that Confederate marines and sailors were now replacing the Spanish garrisons who were more than happy to leave.

Many of these rebels knew that the Confederacy had a much larger war on it’s hands. They also knew that it would take time for the CSA to militarily establish themselves. There was also quite a bit of unrest that stirred people who had otherwise avoided the rebellions. It has been noted, by the leaders of two of the biggest rebel factions in Cuba, that black recruits rallied to their causes in large numbers after the first Confederate warships showed up in Cuban harbors. They would not be the last in the new territories. These rebellions, no matter how down played they were by Richmond, sent quiet shivers up the spines of white Confederates in every state.

At the time, that was a future concern for President Wheeler. His big shock came when the Philippines were formally handed over to the CSA because, not only had he inherited a war of rebellion from Spain, he had, in fact, inherited two. It was well known in Richmond that there was a rebellion of Spanish speaking, Christian, Filipinos on Luzon and they were also aware that several other islands were in various stages of revolt. Wheeler’s people had already contacted many of the rebel bands and were confident they could work out a deal that would eliminate much of the trouble. What they did not know was that on the largest of the southern most islands, Mindanao, the people there had no interest in peace. They were further horrified to learn that the Islamic Morro had been fighting everyone, neighbors and colonials, for longer than anyone could even remember. To date, the Morro war still stands as the longest running, known, conflict in the history of mankind. Now the CSA had no choice but, to pick up where the Spanish had left off.

Needless to say, none of this was particularly popular in the CSA. The young nation was now in charge of administering large populations of people who did not share the same skin color as the dominant ethnic group of the CSA. These people had their own histories, prejudices, and most were only vaguely aware of the those held by their new masters. A lot of these people were already in armed rebellion and, on the streets of Richmond, Atlanta, and New Orleans, white citizens of the CSA read about these far off places and wondered, how long until it spread right to their own front door?

The situation would only get worse and before the summer of 1901 was out. The reason why the citizens of the CSA could worry about their new empire was because, up till now, they thought the big war had largely gone their way. They had mostly stopped the invasion of their nation by the US. They had taken territory away from their enemies and, their navy had performed spectacularly. Even the most pessimistic never thought they could loose. These nay sayers had been mostly talking of not winning and that is not quite the same thing as loosing. When the United States began to turn it’s full attention to it’s lost southern states, that would begin to change. Then came the disasters of the kind that no one could have ever predicted. The literal winds of war were about to change.