The Wild Cards


   The alliegence of smaller nations were only important to the belligerents for either their strategic positions of raw materials. With the total preoccupation of the great powers of the world, how these smaller nations would fair basically came down to how well they played their positions. Some would become very rich, either by luck or skill, while others would suffer. By 1900, there were not many nations left who possessed forces that were capable of altering the military situation.
The only nations that were outside of Europe, and harbored ambitions, with enough military power to possibly accomplish those, were in South America. Specifically it was Argentina and Brazil and they had been antagonists for nearly a century. Argentina was doing quite well, during the first few years of the war, selling wheat and beef to both sides at a price that went up in value almost every month. They were coming under increasing pressure by the British to embargo the Tripple Entente. The Argentinians also had their own separate issues with the US and France. To sum up their situation, they easily had excuses to go to war with either side and they had considerable naval assets that, with the exception of Brazil, were unchecked on the South American continent.
One might think that Argentina had a good thing going with a literal cash cow of products, that were desperately sought by both sides, and only minor pressure with the belligerents. Apparently, it was not good enough for them. In truth, the hawks (those calling for war) had greatly outnumbered the doves (those who wished to stay out of it) by a considerable margin and this had been the case since the start of the war. Argentina’s fundamental reason for sitting on the side lines was that, apparently, they couldn’t figure out which side they wanted to be on. This was the primary debate in Buenos Aries and it was as furious as war or peace in other capitals.
The main reason for this quandary was that while they hated the British intensely, the Argentinians had an equally strong working relationship with Britains chief ally, Germany. There was a sizable German population that lived in Argentina and, unlike similar immigrants in the United States, these Germans were very much pro mother country. Argentina was also a favorite pre war vacation spot for wealthy Germans and, as such, relations between the two countries could have never been better.
It was the Mozambique Expedition that ultimately settled the matter and on March 3rd, 1900 the anti British faction finally won out. Argentina declared it’s resolve to reclaim the Molvina Islands that was currently a British protectorate called the Falklands. The ownership of these islands was a long running dispute between the two nations that was virtually unknown outside of Argentina. Even in Britain, you would be hard pressed to find an average citizen on the streets who had ever heard of the place. Still, the ownership of these islands was the basis of Argentina’s entire decleration of war which, appeared to be quite limited. They did not declare war on any of Britain’s allies nor did they make any offers to cooperate with any of Britain’s enemies.
If this was a plan to placate Argentina’s native German population it ultimately failed. Great Britain already had plans, on the board, for this eventuality and had long since consulted her allies over the matter. Germany was in agreement that if the Triple Entente were to get coaling bases in this region then it could be a disaster. US and French cruisers were already causing enough problems without a base. So by the 5th of March, the entire Anglo-German alliance declared war on Argentina and put them squarely in the Franco-American camp. The European imigrants of Argentia were not happy with this and would remain a problem for the rest of the war. This would cause rifts and political instability that has lasted in Argentina to this very day.
It is worthy to note that the situation in South America was very similar to that in the North. While the American 61 raged between the US and CS, Argentina had began to act on plans that would unify and industrialize their nation, with the ultimate goal of emerging as a first world power. This had put them squarely at odds with their large northern nieghbor, the Empire of Brazil. The result would be several wars that were every bit as devesating as the one being fought by their English speaking neighbors to the north. It would also result in a continued arms races between Argentina and Brazil.
Unlike Argentina, there was never any debate, in Brazil, about which alliance was favored. If Argentina had entered the war on the Anglo-German side then it is likely that Brazil would have stayed out of the conflict entirely. The reason for this was that Brazil and the Confederate States enjoyed a very close strategic parternship. Wealthy Confederate business men owned extensive holdings in Brazil and each nation enjoyed favored trade status with the other. Almost continual medaling, by the US, in internal Brazilian affairs, had only served to strengthen the ties with the Confederacy. Since the war first broke out, Brazil had failed to go to war but, then again, she had never really been asked. Even so, Brazil was not technically nuetral since they openly declared their support for their North American allies.
The only thing, in Brazil, that was possibly stronger than her relations with the Confederacy was her animosity towards Argentina. Brazilians saw the upstart nation as a genuine threat and, in part, this seems to be a great deal of the reason why Brazil kept strong ties with the CSA. When the Confederacy declared war on Argentina, in response to the decleration against Britain, there was never any question or debate in Brazil about what she would do.
Brazil would enter the war by the 8th of March and, now, South America would share in the horrors that were already being experienced in Europe, North America, and Asia. Before it was over with, the smaller nations of Uruguay and Paraguay (the latter of whom had yet to recover from the last war) would be caught up in this conflict and one of them would eventually cease to exist. Indeed, it is easy to argue that no matter how much damage had been done elsewhere in the world, ultimately, South America would suffer more than anyone else. The war would redraw the map in South America and shatter long range plans and reforms that had been the order of the day in the pre-war world.
While the war would have major ramifications for those who lived in South America, the truth of the matter was, it was not a serious concern to the great powers. They had more than enough trouble of their own and, while the region was important for one or two reasons, it was far from vital to the larger conflict. At the time, there was only one nation left that remained uncommitted, and had resources that both sides not only coveted but, considered crucial.