Chapter Summaries

Jourdan’s army freed slaves from plantations around Savannah, following the Regent’s plan to divide the United States rather than unite it against a foreign occupation. Meanwhile, Colonel Lefort’s Iroquois force prepared to disrupt the English advance through the forests and swamps near Detroit.

• Jourdan’s army freed the slaves on thirteen plantations near Savannah and left Black Seminoles to guide them toward Florida.
• Marius questioned Jourdan’s decision not to attack Savannah, and Jourdan explained that freeing slaves could split Northern and Southern opinion in the United States.
• Freed slaves joined Jourdan’s campaign, and within a week Savannah became an abolition zone as neighboring Georgia grew fearful.
• Colonel Lefort surveyed the route toward Detroit and ordered cavalry scouts west to locate the English force.
• Lefort’s Iroquois army prepared to harass English supply convoys through the Michigan and Ohio forests and swamps.

Lefort’s Canadian Army failed to attack the English as Eastern Equine Encephalitis devastated their horses, forcing the English to retreat toward Fort Mackinac. Meanwhile, Baron Morin arrived in Quebec and planned to advance Lower Canadian independence by encouraging constitutional reforms that Governor Prescott would likely reject.

• Lefort ordered his soldiers to stay far from English speakers after the Canadian Army suffered losses from the disease they believed was the Black Beast Spirit.
• The English retreated toward Fort Mackinac after losing horses and struggling to transport supplies through the forest.
• Baron Morin arrived in Quebec and arranged to meet Speaker Bédard through Security Bureau agent Lieutenant Joël, who used the name Caron.
• Baron Morin proposed constitutional reforms that would give Lower Canada's Parliament control over the Executive Council, finances, and protections for French Canadians.
• Baron Morin told Lieutenant Joël that Prescott’s likely veto would provoke resistance and create an opportunity to approach radical Parliament member François Blanchet.

Joseph set the Canadian reform movement in motion through Baron Morin, the Security Bureau, and newspapers, while Wilkinson hurried his American army toward Huntsville to intercept the French. The chapter ended as Dalemagne led over a thousand soldiers in a charge against the Americans near Shoal Creek.

• Baron Morin funded the Parti Canadien, while the Security Bureau acquired Lower Canada's two largest newspaper offices and expanded their influence.
• Lower Canada's reform proposal for equal access to public land and government posts passed by an almost unanimous vote.
• Wilkinson learned that Bonaparte's French forces were near Florence and ordered his army to march rapidly toward Shoal Creek.
• More than eight thousand American soldiers reached the upper reaches of Shoal Creek, where gunfire erupted to the southeast.
• Wilkinson mistook the attack for a French cavalry raid and sent Captain Pierce to drive it off, but Dalemagne was leading over a thousand soldiers in a charge.

Dalemagne’s thousand-man force ambushed and routed Wilkinson’s army, while Napoleon’s main force marched noisily along the Tennessee River to distract the Americans. The French gathered supplies in Florence and prepared to attack Wilkinson’s remaining troops near Haleyville.

• Wilkinson’s scattered column was ambushed by Dalemagne’s Hussars and infantry, and American soldiers fled in panic.
• Dalemagne’s troops split the American column, pursued its retreating soldiers, and used artillery to press the attack.
• Wilkinson gathered just over four thousand soldiers into a defensive line south of Shoal Creek, while Zebulon Pike warned that Napoleon might be approaching.
• Napoleon’s main force marched through towns along the Tennessee River as a distraction, while Dalemagne’s troops had reached the route from the Yazoo River to Huntsville by crossing the wilderness.
• French soldiers requisitioned supplies in Florence and discussed attacking the American forces gathered near Haleyville.
• A furs merchant who understood Creek language hurried to the Sheriff’s house to report what he had overheard.

Wilkinson concentrated his forces in Alabama while Napoleon bypassed him and moved to besiege Fort Adams, leaving the Americans caught between threats. Just as Napoleon prepared to attack, Louisiana's governor's assistant announced a favorable ceasefire with the United States, though Napoleon had not yet fought the decisive battle.

• Second Lieutenant Brandt reported the French movement to General Wilkinson, who chose to gather his forces at Sipsey Valley rather than retreat to Tupelo.
• Napoleon led the French west through northern Mississippi toward Fort Adams, intending to join Lieutenant Colonel Brasseur at Baton Rouge and secure his supply lines.
• Wilkinson assembled more than eight thousand soldiers, then received word that several thousand French troops were besieging Fort Adams and sent his army toward the Yazoo River.
• Dalemagne attacked as Wilkinson's forces began moving, while an Indian Tribe in central Alabama reported Wilkinson's movements to Napoleon.
• The Governor of Louisiana's assistant told Napoleon that Washington's diplomats had agreed to a favorable ceasefire, and Napoleon protested that he had not yet fought the decisive battle.

Napoleon learned that Jourdan’s advance and the spreading slave uprisings had pressured Jefferson into seeking a ceasefire. The negotiations produced a draft agreement favorable to France and Florida, though the United States still had to decide whether to recognize escaped slaves’ freedom.

• Napoleon’s assistant explained that Jourdan had advanced to Long Bay while slave uprisings spread across the South and toward Richmond.
• Jefferson concluded that Wilkinson’s forces were needed to suppress the unrest, but French attacks kept them pinned down, so he requested a ceasefire.
• Napoleon ordered a letter accusing Jourdan of avoiding battle and taking credit, unaware that Jourdan had been following the Regent’s strategy.
• Governor Elcano and the American negotiator quickly drafted a ceasefire agreement requiring territorial concessions, reparations, and recognition of Black slaves freed by Florida.

Portugal's campaign in New Granada faltered as Viscount Laguna faced dwindling supplies and sought permission to withdraw. At Versailles, Alexandra gave birth, and the chief midwife presented the swaddled newborn on a silver tray.

• Viscount Laguna arrived at El Picacho with six thousand reinforcements as Spanish troops joined the battle against Portugal.
• New Granada's Mulattoes and Indians attacked Portugal's supply line, leaving Viscount Laguna short of shells and food by the end of 1801.
• The court gathered at Grand Trianon Palace as Alexandra went into labor, while Bodlock ordered incense removed from the delivery room.
• Joseph waited anxiously at the foot of Alexandra's bed as Bodlock's team prepared for the birth.
• The chief midwife emerged with a silver tray holding the swaddled newborn.

Alexandra safely gave birth to a healthy son, whom Louis XVI named Louis Michel August de France, and the royal court celebrated the heir’s arrival. The next morning, Joseph visited the sleeping Alexandra and Michel before Talleyrand told him that Ottoman, Egyptian, and Diriyah envoys had arrived in Paris for the prince’s public birth celebration.

• Alexandra gave birth quickly and safely to a healthy boy, and the court announced that mother and child were well.
• Louis XVI presented the newborn to the nobles, named him Louis Michel August de France, and oversaw his baptism and recognition as heir.
• Joseph embraced Alexandra and realized she had survived the childbirth that had killed her in history.
• Joseph found Alexandra nursing Michel the next morning and left them to sleep before meeting Talleyrand and Eman.
• Talleyrand told Joseph that Ottoman, Egyptian, and Diriyah envoys had arrived in Paris ahead of the public birth celebration.

Joseph recognized a business opportunity in disposable diapers while discussing Ottoman, Egyptian, and Diriyah diplomacy with Talleyrand, and arranged secret talks with the Egyptians in exchange for a possible lease of land near Dhahran. The chapter ended with European representatives gathering at the Versailles celebration for Michel’s birth.

• Joseph watched Madame Cloutier change Michel’s diaper and realized disposable diapers could become a lucrative business.
• Talleyrand briefed Joseph on the approaching end of the Hejaz rebellion and the diplomatic requests expected from Constantinople, Cairo, and Diriyah.
• Joseph proposed securing a lease on the Dhahran region from Saud in exchange for Diriyah’s safety.
• Joseph instructed Talleyrand to observe diplomatic protocol at Michel’s birth celebration and secretly receive the Egyptians at the hunting grounds four days later.
• On November 14, Louis XVI opened Michel’s birth celebration, and the Pope’s envoy and other representatives offered congratulations.

At Prince Michel’s celebration in Versailles, the Ottoman envoy praised France, prompting British envoy O'Reilly to denounce the Ottoman presence and challenge France over its Christian allies. Talleyrand defended the invitation by invoking Rome and France’s strength, while O'Reilly ended by trying to force France to address the war in the Americas.

• Ahmed Jalal congratulated Louis XVI and praised France’s prosperity, learning, and influence on the Ottoman Empire.
• Sir Brien O'Reilly condemned the Ottoman envoy’s place in the Christian gathering and accused France of insulting Christendom.
• Joseph signaled Talleyrand to respond, and Talleyrand invoked Jerusalem and past Ottoman protection of Christians before comparing France’s stature to Rome.
• Jalal and the Italian representatives toasted the glory of France and Rome, waking Prince Michel with their cheers.
• O'Reilly challenged France to help its Madrid allies preserve their American colonies and accused it of standing by as they suffered defeats.

At a European gathering, Joseph and Urquijo countered O'Reilly's accusations by defending Spain and turning Britain's promises to its allies into a public test. The next day, Talleyrand heard the Ottoman envoy Jalal's proposal for Hejaz and warned that Ali Pasha's army would not leave easily.

• Joseph instructed Urquijo to challenge O'Reilly's claim that Spain could not defend its American colonies.
• Urquijo asserted that Spain was mobilizing in New Granada and Mexico and pressured Britain to send an expeditionary force to support Brazil.
• Joseph promised French assistance to Spain under the Mediterranean Security Organization Agreement, and the gathered representatives toasted the organization and France.
• Joseph instructed Eman to have the Paris News Agency publish an account of the gathering.
• The next day, Jalal presented Talleyrand with gifts from the Sultan and argued that an Ottoman governor should administer Hejaz.
• Talleyrand replied that Ali Pasha's army would likely refuse to leave Hejaz.

Talleyrand persuaded Jalal that Ali Pasha’s plans for Hejaz threatened Ottoman control of pilgrimage and Red Sea trade, then proposed exchanging French help for a trade monopoly in southern Syria. Jalal agreed to report the proposal to the Sultan.

• Talleyrand asked for seven million Krusch to persuade Ali Pasha to withdraw from Hejaz, and Jalal said the Empire could offer only about two million.
• Talleyrand warned that Ali intended to control Hajj taxes and pilgrimage qualifications, using them to build political influence in Constantinople.
• Talleyrand described Ali’s plan to make Jeddah a compulsory trade hub for ships entering the Red Sea, prompting Jalal to call it treason.
• Talleyrand proposed granting France a trade monopoly in southern Syria, arguing that it would provoke the Azm Family, the Agha Faction, and the Bedouins against Ali.
• Jalal saw the potential benefit of the plan and said he would report it to the Sultan.

Mustafa Bey asked Joseph to persuade the Sultan to let Muhammad Ali retain control of Hejaz, offering Egypt’s planned industrial expansion and long-staple cotton exports in return. Joseph agreed to press the Sultan but questioned whether Ali Pasha could afford his planned desert campaign, warning that the Sultan’s army might intervene.

• Mustafa Bey told Joseph that the Sultan planned to order Muhammad Ali’s troops out of Hejaz and asked France to defend Ali’s claim under Ottoman tradition.
• Chelebi presented Egypt’s plans to import steam engines, iron ore, and coal, and to expand long-staple cotton production using canals and enslaved labor.
• Mustafa Bey explained that revenues from Hejaz would help fund Egypt’s canals and new ironworks, and Joseph agreed to urge the Sultan to let Ali Pasha administer the region.
• Joseph asked how Ali Pasha would defeat the remaining Diriyah rebels, and Mustafa’s party said Ali planned to cross the Dahna Desert to occupy Diriyah.
• Joseph warned that the expedition would cost far more than one million Krusch and raised the possibility that the Sultan’s army might appear in Hejaz.

Joseph advised Mustafa that Ali Pasha should withdraw from Hejaz and seek compensation from the Sultan, including a proposed monopoly over Syria’s foreign trade. Meanwhile, France offered to mediate between Diriyah and Egypt if Saud’s forces helped contain Oman, leaving Marwan eager to accept.

• Joseph told Mustafa that Ali Pasha should let the Sultan’s forces wear down the Diriyah rebels and withdraw from Hejaz in return for compensation.
• Joseph proposed that the Sultan pay Ali Pasha two million Krusch and grant him a monopoly over Syria’s foreign trade.
• Joseph discussed expanding cotton production with Mustafa while pursuing his strategy to draw Egypt into Syria’s trade.
• Marwan met Ottwal outside Paris and pleaded for French help against Egypt’s advance on Diriyah.
• Ottwal said the Regent might mediate between Diriyah and Egypt if Saud’s forces helped contain Oman, and Marwan promised Diriyah would fight Oman.

Ottwal negotiated a ransom reduction for Diriyah in exchange for a 199-year lease of Dhahran, while Joseph secured legal claim to oil-rich land. In Vienna, revolutionaries debated sending troops to aid Hungary as Russian and Austrian forces advanced, and Lucas warned that Hungary’s fall could leave the Austrian Republic besieged.

• Ottwal offered Diriyah a 350,000-Krusch ransom payment to persuade Egypt to withdraw from Hejaz and proposed leasing Dhahran for a penal colony.
• Marwan offered Dhahran in exchange for a lower Egyptian indemnity, and Joseph approved reducing the payment to 150,000 Krusch for the barren land.
• Kutuzov and Samoilov led Russian forces into Hungary, forcing the Hungarian Army back toward Buda as its defenses collapsed.
• Gagern and Bergman urged action to reinforce Hungary, while the moderates and Royalists continued blocking the proposal in Parliament.
• Lucas asked whether dissolving Parliament would give the revolutionaries a majority and warned that Hungary’s defeat could expose Vienna to an encirclement by more than 180,000 troops.

Lucas and the Stilz Faction launched a second revolution to seize Parliament, bringing soldiers and Vienna’s citizens to the National Assembly. Lucas established an Emergency Committee and ordered the arrest and trial of the moderate Hirt Faction legislators, while the crowd demanded their execution.

• Lucas called on the Stilz Faction to seize Parliament and purge its opponents, and the legislators agreed to revolutionize again.
• Lucas went to the National Guard camp while lawyer Bergman recruited Adorno and other slum residents for the uprising.
• On January 14, Adorno led citizens east as General Delorme marched more than three thousand soldiers toward the Hofburg.
• Citizens and soldiers surrounded the National Assembly, and Lucas and more than twenty Stilz Faction legislators entered Parliament Hall.
• Lucas ordered the Hirt Faction legislators present to gather under guard and announced an Emergency Committee to try them without appeal.
• Gagern demanded the death penalty, and Stilz Faction legislators and supporters shouted for the moderates’ execution.

Lucas and the Stilz Faction purged nobles and political opponents from Parliament, passed sweeping emergency laws, and began mass arrests and executions. With the Radicals controlling Parliament and funds flowing from confiscations, Lucas turned to spreading the revolution, especially in Bohemia.

• Adorno and Gagern incited the crowd against noble deputies, who were dragged alongside the Hirt Faction while Speaker Steffens was removed from the podium.
• Lucas presented the February Laws, which imposed price controls and gave an Emergency Committee power to arrest, try, execute, and confiscate property from alleged enemies of the citizens; the deputies unanimously approved them.
• The next day, Adorno, Favre, and sixteen other Sans-culottes became deputies, leaving the Radicals with more than two-thirds of Parliament's seats.
• Three days later, the National Assembly approved sending 35,000 soldiers to Hungary and conscripting 70,000 more as General Cosport attacked Linz, Graz, and other Royalist-controlled cities.
• Patrols arrested more than 4,000 people in Vienna and nearby towns, and the Emergency Committee rapidly tried suspects, sentencing more than seventy percent to death and sending nearly a hundred people to execution.
• Bergman and other Stilz Faction members discussed the money raised through confiscations, while Lucas told Gagern that they needed to win support for the revolution, especially in Bohemia.

French ministers debated whether to support Austria’s revolutionary Parliament or the Habsburg Emperor, and reports of Austrian provinces choosing the Emperor shifted the discussion against aiding the rebels. Joseph had deliberately avoided intervening, hoping Austria’s factions would weaken each other without the empire collapsing entirely.

• Cambacérès argued that supporting the Austrian Parliament could topple the Habsburgs and bring Austria closer to France, while Baron de Broglie and Tressaguet warned that the rebels were violent and unpredictable.
• Bayei described the Parliament’s military gains and the growing Slovak threat, while Segur doubted it could win on multiple fronts against the Emperor and Russian forces.
• Talleyrand reminded the ministers that the Regent had tacitly approved the Habsburg request for Russian aid and showed little inclination to support the rebels.
• Baron de Breteuil received a report that Hungary had rejected Slovak distinctiveness and that Bohemia had declared loyalty to the Emperor and prepared to suppress the rebellion.
• After learning that Bohemia, Croatia, and Slovenia stood with the Habsburgs, Baron de Breteuil continued the debate along the proposal not to support the Austrian Parliament.

Baron de Breteuil brought the Senate’s proposal for aiding Austria to Joseph, hoping to earn praise, but Joseph rejected support for either side in the conflict. Joseph insisted France should spend its budget on railways and the navy.

• Baron de Breteuil regretted missing the chance to buy land near the Fontainebleau Sanatorium, where diplomatic offices and property prices had multiplied.
• Baron de Breteuil arrived at the sanatorium and heard a doctor report that Prince Michel was healthy and developing exceptionally well.
• Baron de Breteuil presented the Senate’s plan to lend Austria six million francs and transfer military supplies to support the Habsburgs.
• Joseph rejected the plan, saying Austria could never be France’s ally and France should not waste money supporting it.
• Joseph told Baron de Breteuil that France would support neither the Vienna National Assembly nor Austria, and would invest its budget in railways and the navy.

Joseph planned to use a Vienna Affairs Summit to steer the German States’ response to Austria and weaken England’s influence. The story then shifted to Lahore, where Salah met Ranjit Singh, who rejected the prospect of joining England against the Marat Alliance.

• Joseph told Baron de Breteuil that France should mediate in Austria’s civil war without committing money or backing a side.
• Joseph ordered Breteuil to propose a Vienna Affairs Summit, using German States to shape the discussion and make them look to France for direction.
• Joseph instructed Breteuil to have Saxony invite England and prepare propaganda whether the English attended or stayed away.
• In Lahore, Salah arrived disguised as a Mysore envoy, accompanied by Tipu Sultan’s son Muhiddin, to meet Ranjit Singh.
• Ranjit Singh told Salah that he would be disappointed if he had come to persuade Punjab to join England against the Marat Alliance.