MotF 46: A New (FillInNation)

Republic of New Bengal

POD: The British decide to use workers from British India (predominantly Bengal) in the 1840s after the discovery of gold in the western parts of Australia fifty years ahead of schedule (1835 instead of 1885).

Other details: New Bengal is a majority Bengali state, with small British and miscellaneous Indian minorities, as well as the Maubere from East Timor, which was added to New Bengal after it was purchased from the Portuguese monarchy in exile in 1902. The capital Tagore is a planned city like Melbourne, set up in 1909 and it only exceeded New Dacca (which developed a lot like our Darwin) in terms of population in the 1970s and it holds it barely holds its lead.

And a note regarding the United Kingdom mentioned: Cygnia (the original Swan River Colony) is now part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Ireland, Newfoundland and Cygnia. Integration of colonies, woohoo!

Vinland Union

PoD : Occupied by loads of Religious Wars in Europe, France never colonized Quebec. So Denmark did.

Background : In 1618, the Seventy Years War [1] start in Europe. France play a major role in the war, but in contrast, they cannot launch new expeditions to the Americas. However, Denmark, after 2 years of fight and the conquest of Lübeck, Bremen, Hannover and Oldenburg, end the war and start the colonization of North-East America. Years after years, the colonies grow and in 1771, Denmark controls three big territories : New Jutland [2], Vinland [3] and Kunglikaberg [4]. But on that year, the seven colonies who compose the Danish Colonial Empire start to revolt. During 2 years, they will fight for independence. Finally, they accept a peace offer from Denmark : from this moment, the Vinland Union become a Dominion. They have their own government and laws, but are part of the Empire of Denmark.

[1] Equivalent of the Thirty Years War. With 40 years more.
[2]OTL Quebec.
[3]OTL Newfoundland
[4]OTL New Brunswick, without Nova Scotia/Acadia.

My mistake, my old map broke the rules . Anyway, here's a new one:

POD: Something to do with the San Patricio brigade, cause the Irish are totally freakin' awesome.

Background
An independent Republic of California some time after the Mexican-American War, which the Mexicans won. Majority 'Mexican', with Chinese minorities in the west focused on Mexicali and San Francisco, Navaho and other Native American minorities in the south-east, and 'American' minorities spread out across the nation, though mostly in the east, north, and San Bernardino valley.

California's relations the United States is uneasy, but as they say: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Regardless, the Mormon population in eastern California requested and was granted independence mostly to serve as a buffer against potential American 'colonialism'. While a Mexico that is losing its superiority in North and Central America does not recognize the new breakaway states, most of the rest of the world does.

Inspired by California, several other regions are now starting to create their own independence movements.

I present, New Attica. Initially the Product of a somewhat more Assyrian style Ottoman administration which attempts to quell the Greek nationalist movement by exiling settlers to the distant Southern Fringes of the Empire (bear witness to New Thessaly, New Ionia, New Thrace and the former New Boetia, Attica and Macedonia), this had the somewhat Ironic effect of simply giving Greece a new colony (maintained with help from Egypt) when it eventually declared independence in the late 1870s. The new king Constantine I first declared the entire colony as New Attica after the most populous province, and soon had built a new Capital: Alexandria in Africa. Several provincial divisions and egoistical creations later and we reach the present situation, and Self Government has been given to an area which has always been somewhat autonomous.

Currently high in the priorities is the ongoing border conflict with Soudan over North Attica, which is largely de facto independent outside of the New Attican outpost of Port St. George

My entry: The Russian Imperial Dominion of Novorossiya [1] (New Russia), an extended Russian Alaska and Cascadia.

There are two relatively minor PoDs in this scenario; firstly better Russo-Japanese relations lead to Japanese ports being opened to Russian merchants in the 1820s, this means Russia has more trading opportunities and the US and HBC traders have less of an advantage. Secondly Kuskov's expedition doesn't go as far south as California, instead he founds his settlement (Fort Ross is butterflied into Fort Russ ITTL) roughly where OTL Portland is. Whilst limiting southern expansion this has the effect of bringing the two Russian colonies much closer together.

After coming into conflict with the Hudson Bay company, Russia and the UK settle with the Anglo-Russian Treaty of 1829 - Russia can settle all land West of the continental divide provided they hand over Vancouver Island (known as Vancouverland) and all their colonies in Hawaii to British control. The Russians accept this, and begin heavily colonising, founding new towns such as Saint Andrewsburg and Novomagadan.

Russia also formalises it's boundries to the Californian and Salt Lake watersheds in the south. This is disputed by Spain who, following on from the Spanish-American Treaty that settled the US-Spanish boarder at the 44th parallel, continue to claim along the same line until the Pacific. That also gives rise to what is known as the Jefferson Territory, or more commonly as Jefferson's Oddity. It comprises a small American exclave that exists as part of a strange cross-over of the two treaties, which neither Russia nor Spain can claim; in a similar situation to OTL's Bir Tawil.

Novorossiya got off lightly in the ATL *Crimean War, but the UK seized one of the largest cities and part time capital of Novomagadan. The British (English) General that captured the place remarked "This place was named after a small, dull, damp, cold region at the arse-end of the Empire we took it from. I intend to respect that." He then proceeded to rename it "New Wales". [2]

Finally, to the present day, and although there has been no Great War yet the people of Novorossiya are not entirly satisfied. Despite being called an "Imperial Dominion" - the same status (generously) granted to Poland and Finland, a good third of the country want more independence from St Petersburg but to keep the Tsar (who is pretty popular all things considered, Novorossiya is liberal compared to much of the Russian Empire) whilst another third want full independence and a US-style republic (mainly foreign immigrants from the US, Canada and Mexico) whislt the final third (mainly the lower classes) are pretty happy with the status quo.

[1] I know southern Ukraine is New Russia in OTL, but meh. There can be two, or the name is less common in OTL for the Ukrainian version.

[2]

And the map:

The 21st century saw India and Canada rise into prominence. As resources ran short on Earth the two worked together to dominate the new space race. They established a colony on Mars in 2054, and the population soon exploded as India had an effectively endless pool of potential settlers. Since its establishment it has grown almost entirely underground, something which has made US, Russia and China suspicious and made it the source of heavy scrutiny.

The separation from Earth, along with the mixture of two nations' authority has caused the Alouette-Rohini colony to be quite autonomous, running on a currency-less economy and having its own schools and hospital systems. There have been some complaints about the developmental of what has been called something varying from Technocracy to a Caste-system, the latter term being used more amongst the Canadian settlers. This is do to there being three main classes: scientists and (most) government officials, mechanics and other skilled larbourers, and the semi-refugee bulk of the population (~80% of the total or ~90% of the Indian population) which does the less skilled work, in some cases being used where the Russians and Americans would use rovers and other robots for mining and exploration. The education system is attempting to fix this, but as India continues to send the poor (mainly from the former Bangladesh) to the colony the local government can't fix the problem.

Republic of the Amazon

Republic of the Amazon

PoD:
It is decided that Louis XIV will marry Maria Theresa of Spain. The decision is made right after his father dies in 1643, though he is only five years old then.

Background:
France and Spain decide that the marriage is for the better of the two countries, since the fighting between the two countries in the Thirty Years War and in the Franco-Spanish War really isn’t getting anywhere. After the Battle of Rocroi, which is called the Final Battle, the two countries call a truce with the Treaty of Cambrils. The two also stop fighting in the Thirty Years War, which just becomes a Twenty Years War.

France’s new peace with Spain also increases relations with Portugal. When Portugal loses the First Battle of Guararapes in 1648 due to being outnumbered by the Dutch, France decides this is a chance to get some quick land in South America, where all of their settlements have previously failed. They agree to help the Portuguese fight off the Dutch as long as they get some land in South America, preferably in the Guiana Shield, where they will be closer to France. Portugal agrees, and the French successfully drive out the Dutch, and get land in the eastern part of the Guiana Shield.

France’s calls its new colony French Guiana, though after 50 years, it is referred by everyone as Amazonia, and France officially changes the name to French Amazonia. The colony does well, and after 1895, it thrives, thanks to the new French West Africa, from where France can get to Amazonia more easily. During World War II, Vichy France creates air bases there to bomb British Guiana, but those air bases are destructed after the Axis powers loose.

After World War II, Amazonia becomes extremely modern, due to France “babying” it, as it is one of its last remaining colonies. In 1977, after Guyana and Suriname receive independence, Amazonia formally requests independence. The biggest reason Amazonians want independence from France is because they aren’t really French anymore. They’ve been so heavily influenced by the Brazilians to the point that 80% of the Amazonians are bilingual, speaking French and Portuguese.

On April 7th, one week after Amazonia requests independence, France agrees to let them have their freedom, but for 35 years, the French president will be a “Greater President” of the country, meaning he can veto a bill even if the Amazonian president has signed it. The Amazonians reluctantly agree, saying that freedom under a French “Greater President” is better than no freedom at all. Due to this, Amazonia, which is now officially the Republic of the Amazon, is often compared to the British Dominions.

Today, Amazonia is the most developed country in South America. Its relations with most of the world are excellent. The country has also created quite some national parks to protect the Amazon rain forests found in it. Most Amazonians fluently speak French as well as Portuguese. Amazonia will receive full independence from France on April 7th, 2012. Until then, Amazonians are preparing for full independence after 364 years.

My map-type thing.

Bruce

Vice-Reino de Novo Portugal:

Portugal colonizes the Maritime provinces of Canada instead of other countries doing that. One part, Novo Bristol, was first settled by England, but was traded later to Portugal. In 1925 the Viceroyalty is still part of Portugal, but it has already a lot of autonomy.

I was trying some new map fancy stuff, so... That's my entry:

In this TL the Dutch Independence War is longer and they manage to absorve much more of the Spanish Empire. This stronger Netherlands captures the Philippines and explores the Pacific Ocean much earlier than in OTL. A strategical colony was established in Concordia Bay (OTL's San Francisco Bay), named in honor of the Republic's motto: "Concordia res parvae crescunt" - In unity small things grow.

The initial goal was to be a VOC's base to smuggle gold from New Spain, but it changes with the persecution of the Christians in Japan and the Dutch permission to settle the persecuted in the new colony, what pleased the Japanese rulers. In this TL the Christians were never expelled from Japan, but were often maginalized and attacked, like the Jewish Pogroms.

So, the constant migration of persecuted Christians, including radical reformers from Europe (Anabaptists) and Asian Christians, from China to the Malay Archipelago, made a vibrant self-sustained and semi-autonomous colony spreading from the Japanese-based Christiania River colony (OTL's Columbia River) to the European-based colony of New Utretch (OTL's Los Angeles).
By the late 1700's gold was found in the Wiesen River Valley (OTL's Sacramento Valley) and European immigration bommed. The newly acquired profitability of the colony led also to the development of commercialy valuable orchards with Malay labor in the New Utrech Area.

In the turn of the century, with the bankrupcy of the VOC, California was made a regular province of the Dutch Republic, with full political rights to the Asians, that were a half of the Province population.

By that time the Dutch got involved in the Mexican Independence War, Granting to Kalifornia the northern part of the Kalifornian Peninsula and the territory by the Tizon River (OTL's Colorado River). A possible new source of conflict will be the land north of the Christiania River as the Dutch, British, Russian and Louisianan are all establishing Fortresses and Trading Posts in the same area.


As you can see, the map is in Dutch. I'm sorry if I made some mistakes, my Dutch is as good as Google Translator allows me. I assume that most people in here are not Dutch-speakers, so let me translate the map and comment it a little bit. (By the way, California in Dutch is written with a C, but I thought it looked so much cooler with a K... It's a divergent Dutch then! )

" Map of the Province of Kalifornia - The Political Divisions and Human Data - 1857 "

" Ethnic Distribution in Kalifornia "
" Dutch " - That includes not only the Dutch but most of the European settlers, including German Anabaptists, French Huguenots, Scottish Reformed, etc.
" Japanese " - Also not only the Japanese but all Christian Asians settlers. Catholics from the Malay Peninsula, the Philippines and China, mostly assimilated in the Japanese-Kalifornian culture. The majority are nominaly Catholic but with some sincretic beliefs (What makes them hate the Spanish missionaries just as much as the Dutch).
" Mahommedans " - Muslims. Mostly indentured servants from Java working in the plantations of New Utretch and also some Indian herdsmen by the Desert, settled there to counter Indian raids. Unlike the Japanese, they're mostly maginalized in Kalifornian society.
" Spanish " - Like OTL. Spaniards and mestizos living in areas that were part of New Spain until the Mexican Independence.
" Indian " - Native Americans. Nothing much to say.

"Verklaring der Kaart " - Explanation of the Map
"Hoofdplaats" - Capital City
"Grootstse Nederzetting" - Large City
"Belangrijkste Spoorwegen" - Principal Railways
"Belangrijkste Schip Routes" - Principal Ship Routes
"Fortificatie" - Fortifications
"Grote Rivieren" - Great Rivers
"Departamenten" - Departaments (The divisions of the Province)
"Landen" - Countries
"Aangetrokken ... " - Made by the Geographical Society in the Hague

I'll give some information about the names too, mostly in Dutch:
"Desjima" - Japanese Port; "Sankijago" - Corruption of Santiago; "Amakusa" - Japanese Christian Martyr; "Tasmania" - Tasman, the Dutch Navigator;
"Hakandorp" - Hakka Village; "Larantuka" - City in Flores Is.;
"Zoutmeer" - Salt Lake; "Woestijndorp" - Desert Village in Dutch; "Pruisicheveld" - Prussian (Anabaptists) Fields;
"Wiesendal" - Valley of the Wiesen (River); "Simabara" - Japanese town; Random Dutch names;
"Neder-Kalifornië" - Lower Kalifornia;

The map:

This is a map of South Africa from Analytical Engine's TL "Her Diamond Heart". The general setting should be familiar - it's Peshawar Lancers.

After the Fall, the Cape Colony rose in importance to the Raj with the arrival of the Germanic diaspora, most of whom settled in the colony. After the declaration of independence of Transvaal in 1880 (having been under British rule since 1877) and the annexations of both Griqua states, the movement for unification of the British holdings in South Africa grew.

Natal, fearing becoming but an extension to the much more populous Cape, demanded changes to the original plan of union. Eventually, it was agreed that each of the Cape Colony's seven provinces (as well as Natal) should become a full province within a federal state, whereas the two Griqua states (which were now mostly populated by whites) should become a territory each. This plan was accepted by all sides, and in 1887 the Viceroyalty of South Africa was formed.

In 1890, King Cetshwayo of the Zulu agreed to join his kingdom into the VoSA as a protectorate, being given autonomy in internal affairs. In 1891, after an attempt by the South African settler militia to disarm and integrate Basutoland, the Raj government in Calcutta more or less forced the South Africans to give the state a protectorate status similar to Zululand's.

The treaties of Mozambique, which were signed in 1883 and 1889, brought Portuguese East Africa under Raj control, and in 1895 it was annexed into the VoSA as the provinces of Lourenzo Marques, Gaza, Inhambane, Beira, Quelimane, Mozambique, and Cabo Delgado, as well as the territory of Tete.

The following decades saw significant colonial expansion. Fort St. Andrew was established by a Scottish expedition in 1904, and four years later the Salisbury Territory, named for the Raj's first prime minister, was established. In the 1910s, the Damaraland and Namaqualand territories were established and colonised.

The discovery of diamond deposits around the town of Kimberley accelerated population growth in Griqualand West, and in 1922 the territory was elevated to the status of a full province. Simultaneously, gold deposits were discovered in huge quantities in the Boer states, preempting a huge influx of immigrants from the VoSA. This proved a large problem for the Boer leadership, as the Afrikaners were now in an even smaller minority than before.

Now, in 1930, the Boer states appear to be more unstable than ever, and the state presidents of both states will soon have a choice: walk into the Raj, or limp into the Raj.



Unless it's obvious, W., S.-W. and S.-E. stand for Western, South-Western and South-Eastern Cape.

POD here is that Lutheranism was more widespread in the Slavic speaking areas of the Austrian Empire. In the aftermath of a very strange *30 Years War*, Ferdiand III and Philip IV made an arrangement to encourage the Protestant Slavs and Hungarians to emigrate to the troublesome Rio De la Plata region. As far as harebrained schemes go, this one did fairly well. Laplata (note: the accent is on the first syllable, not the second) is now an indirect part of the Kingdom of Austria (an unforeseen side effect of the mass emigration of Slavs was that Austria is now more or less Germanified, so it stayed united to the present day), and Laplata is the second or third most prosperous nation in the Western Hemisphere.
Two notes on the map:
Laplatan is a Slavic language, and is a combination of Czech, Slovene, Serbo-Croation, and Slovak, with a few dashes of German, Spanish, Hungarian, Mapuche, and Guarani.
ITTL, English speakers still call German "Dutch"