MotF 51: The Map and the Mirror

Map of the Fortnight 51: Mirror-image Boer War

Towards the end of the sixteenth century, a group of London merchants were granted permission from Queen Elizabeth I to form a company for trade with the East Indies--the predecessor of the British East India Company. In OTL, all three ships from their second expedition were lost at sea, but in this timeline, one survives, and on its return the captain advises his employers that a supply station should be built to facilitate future trade. It is several years before the company's backers can find the funds, but eventually they follow through on the captain's recommendation and the settlement of Goodhope is founded on the site of OTL Capetown.

The colony grows slowly but steadily, and bit by bit English settlers begin to push into the interior. Puritans and other nonconformists account for a disproportionate percentage of the new arrivals, and many of them move beyond the region of official government control. Relations with the native peoples are complicated and often devolve into violence. The city of Willemspoort is founded further east along the coast as a supply station for the Dutch, marking their first official presence in the region.

Despite their early advantage, the English eventually falter, and in the aftermath of one of the European wars they are stripped of many of their eastern colonies, including Goodhope and the outlying settlements, which are handed over to the Dutch. The unofficial farming and ranching settlements of the interior are left mostly to their own devices, although they begin to receive a steady influx of people from the coastal settlements who are dissatisfied with the new Dutch authorities. Known as "Rovers," many of them push east to the Limpopo or north and west across the Kalahari, provoking fresh conflicts with native tribes, particularly the Zulus. A series of independent English-speaking republics are formed across the interior of South Africa, not all of them recognized by the Dutch authorities in Goodhope. Dutch immigration to the so-called "Rover republics" is resented by the English-speakers, and tensions are only aggravated when gold and diamonds are discovered in the region. In early 1901, violence breaks out between Dutch settlers and English Rovers in one of the disputed regions. The Governor-General in Goodhope moves to assert Dutch authority, while the Rover leaders appeal to the Portuguese, who have tacitly lent their support...

Map of the Fortnight 51: Mirror-image Boer War (map)

And a map for that:

Well, here's hoping none of our German members know my address.

The Intervention of 1755 having failed to establish a German monarchy
combining the correct proportions of stability and weakness hopes for by the
French and the Poles (although it did provide some nice tracts of land), the
three great Continental Powers took advantage of the distraction of the Atlantic
Powers of Spain and England-Burgundy[1] by the Wars of American Revolution to
solve the "German problem" once and for all. (And, not incidentally, to put paid
to any possibility of the wild doctrines espoused by the Americans spreading to
central Europe). Time would tell whether their "solution" was in fact any such
thing...

Bruce

[1] Southern portions long lost to religious schism and French armies

United Provinces of the South Atlantic

The Mirror: The Portuguese sign the Treaty of The Hague in 1661, recognizing Dutch imperial sovereignty over Dutch Brazil. Also, the Dutch give Portugal Ceylon in return for absolute sovereignty over Angola.

The History: Eventually, Dutch Brazil, Angola and the Cape get tired of being colonies. In 1795, the Dutch, rather than letting them have their independence, form the United Batavian Republics, which is quite similar to the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. The Cape, which is a group of provinces rather than a colony of the Republic, never gets taken over by the British. However, a few months before the French Empire forms the Kingdom of Holland, Brazil, Angola and the Cape declare independence as the United Provinces of the South Atlantic.

The UPSA, of VPZA as it is often abbreviated due to the Dutch name, becomes a republic. It forms good relations with Brazil and the United States as well as the British, and helps the Allies during World War I & II. The capital of the country is, at first Mauritsstad, but eventually they decide on a more central location: Hemelvaart Island.[1] Currently, the country is on the list of potential superpowers.

[1] St. Helena in OTL.

The Map:

Depicting Vijiyanagara and their European Raj at the height of the Raj, c. 1900 AD.

Showing the major Princedoms, abstract of the minor Princedoms, as well as whether they are Muslim (green) or Christian (blue). The Five Presidencies, under more direct rule, are also shown. The Egyptian Raj is mainly self-governing, but definitely under the Vijiyanagaran thumb. Europe itself is primarily Christian, but with Muslim majorities in many places, and significant minorities everywhere.

Baharata is something of a proto-Fascist state, along the lines of Napoleonic France. Their late conquest of Abyssinia threatens the main route into Europe.

The green scheme shows Muslim states, blue shows Christian states, reds and purples show Indian states.

Indian powers became involved in Europe around the seventeenth century. Vijiyanagara's trade with Venice led to their propping them against the Ottomans, a relationship which later turned into direct rule by their sponsor. Bengali traders gained a foothold in the Low Countries, in a similar arrangement, with protection against al-Firanji, a Muslim Empire extending over France. Over the years, through wars and trades, Vijiyanagara came to have a monopoly over Indian involvement in Europe, and gradually incorporated even the Alpine Kingdoms.

Based initially on some ideas that I kicked around in DBWI from the Pre-1900 forum; France & Britain switch historical destinies, with France gradually evolving into a constitutional monarchy with steady, limited, reforms, while Britain undergoes a radical revolution. The exact POD is that Prince William, Duke of Gloucester doesn't dance himself to death, meaning there's no Act of Settlement, or Act of Union. Otherwise essentially OTL until Queen Anne dies; King William IV proves to be just as much an a meddler and astute politician as his mother was, and even more so thanks to his good looks, charm, superb education, and gender. William IV's rule is generally considered the beginning of English Absolutism.

William IV gets England-Scotland involved in the Great Northern War on the Swedish side, defeating the Russians in the Baltic, and then later in the War of the Polish Succession the English fleet is able to relieve the Siege of Danzig. With England already in the war as nominal allies the French go ahead and send their armies through the smaller German states, causing the Prince-Elector Charles VII of Bavaria to jump on the bandwagon against the Hapsburgs. Unfortunately for him he is defeated, and his son Maximilian III Joseph is placed on the Bavarian throne. Elsewhere in the Germanies the King in Prussia proves to be a short-lived title, with the Brandenburgs forced to abandon Prussia after the Swedes join the war effort, helping the English push the Russians out of Poland and the Baltic. In Italy and the Southern Alps the Hapsburgs hold strong, but otherwise the combined Franco-Spanish forces overwhelm the Hapsburgs, who are forced to sue for peace as the French army marches on Vienna. This, combined with Peter the Great's death from an English cannon-ball, and the entrance of Turkey on the allies side largely ends the war.

Just a few years later during the War of the Austrian Succession however the Elector of Brandenburg is able to capture Silesia, and the Saxons Bohemia, though the Hapsburgs take Bavaria and the Palatine for themselves. The Spanish are able to re-establish themselves in Naples & Sicly, and the French are successful in defeating the Duke of Savoy. The Russians once again square off against the combined Anglo-Swedish armada, which keeps them out of the Baltic; the lack an efficient government in Moscow (1) certainly helps as well. Ultimately though sheer force of will Maria Theresa is able to get the other powers to recognize her ascension to the Hapsburg Realms and her husband elected Holy Roman Emperor, but only at a great territorial cost. This leads to quite the shake-up in European politics, and during the Family War (2) the Bourbon Pact is successful beyond its wildest dreams, with the Hapsburgs, Russians, and English humbled once more; the latter perhaps more so than any other, with most of her North American and Indian colonies stripped away. This causes the House of Stuart to turn ever more to absolutist policies, and while King James IV is able to 'get his revenge' by supporting the Louisianan Revolution, he wrecks his country's finances in the process for little-to-no gain for the average Englishman. This combined with a long depression, failed reforms, the writings of Enlightenment philosophers, and worst of all, a famine, eventually lead to the People's Revolt of 1787, though historians usually date the beginning of the revolution proper to the 1790 proclamation of the Second Commonwealth, or the 1791 execution of James IV and the royal family, which turns most of Europe against the English, joining together in the War of the First Compact to defeat the English, leading to the devastation of much of Northern Europe as the Commonwealth, using its superior navy, is able to not only repulse its foes but also launch several raids across the North European coast and down the major rivers. Due in part to this very Viking-esque scenario, during the folk years (3) English propagandist draw upon the rich English history of what IOTL would be known as parliamentary rule. However this argument is taken much further due to the absolutism of the Stuarts, and many English writers demand an even further return to the state of affairs prior to the invasion by the bastard Duke of Normandy, and even the elected monarchy of the Anglo-Saxons. Indeed during the hey-day of the folk years the Great Fear all things Anglo-Saxon come in vogue on the British isles, with the Witenagemot called for the first time in nearly eight hundred years, and new Moot Hills constructed across English cities. Eventually a military and political leader of Irish ancestry from Wales, of questionable dedication to folk cause, is able to rise through the ranks, becoming Lord Protector before overthrowing the Commonwealth and establishing himself as High King of Britain and Over the Seas. During his reign much of Europe is conquered and remade in his image, and butterflies flap hard and heavy across the globe. Only finally in 1811 is the English Empire defeated by the Fifth Compact, and the map of Europe completely redrawn. The Stuarts restored to the English throne, and quickly set about inaugurating a fiercely reactionary regime before its overthrown during the Hundred Days, in which the High-King returns from the Channel Islands, setting in stone the 'Arthurian Legend' (4) before being defeated once again by the hastily-assembled Sixth Compact. The Madrid Conference finally brings the People's Wars to a close, with the Stuarts once again in power in London, though the rival House of Jacob sees an opportunity for glory by giving in to some of the tamer popular demands...


(1) St. Petersburg never being founded ITTL.

(2) ITTL's analogy the Seven Year's War, which actually only lasts five.

(3) 'Folk' should be read as 'Revolutionary' to OTL readers.

(4) Some puns are too good to resist

POD :Odonid Aquitaine manage to influence politically the post-carolingian western world. Carloman and Louis share the kingdom of the western Francia as OTL, but the two remain separated and during Middle-Ages, Aquitaine is still a kingdom.

Little by little, annexation and marriages, the major state of the region is the Aquitaine instead of France.

The map is showing many oil languages, but it's mainly an institutional fiction made to break the oilitan militancy that urges for a more open linguistic policy.
So far, they didn't have any great progress, and the use of oil languages is slowly vanishing.

At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, William I of the Netherlands wanted to expand his realm to the shore of the Rhine. But since Prussia had fought so valiantly to help defeat the French, the Great Powers agreed to expand the Netherlands to the south instead. Territories transferred to Dutch control were the densely populated city of Lille along with roughly half of Walloon Flanders , the eastern two thirds of French Hainaut including the important fortress of Valenciennes and the iron fields of Longwy.

These territories added a substantial amount of French speaking Roman Catholics to the Kingdom, and to keep them in place William started his appeasement policies. The French language was to be taught in schools all over the nation, even in the Dutch speaking northern part. Many universities were founded in the South, all of whom only had lectures in the French language whereas the North was left without any such improvements. This left many Northerners feeling forgotten and betrayed by their king, who after all was a Dutch Protestant king, not a French Catholic. Rumors had it that his first born son, the heir to the throne, was a Catholic. When the time came, and William I died, the Northerners staged a revolution as they feared they would be oppressed in a state with a Catholic king. Prussia saw this as their opportunity to formally annex the Duchy of Luxemburg, an area of the former United Kingdom of the Netherlands whose capital was already garrisoned by Prussian troops. However, outspoken French disapproval of the Prussian plan caused the King of Prussia to install one of his sons as the Duke of Luxemburg, gaining control of the Duchy without actually annexing it.

As the Batavian Revolution ended, the London Treaty was signed in the late 1830s to establish the new order of the Low Countries. William II of the Netherlands continued to rule in the South, still having control of the provinces of East and West Flanders, Antwerp (with a few border concessions added), Limburg, Hainaut, Brabant, Namur and Liege.
In the North, a Republic was proclaimed, and the name of Batavia was chosen. This name had a special place in the hearts of many Dutchmen, as the Napoleonic Batavian Republic was very popular and prosperous during its time.
Minor border corrections were made to Luxemburg, nothing very drastic.
This treaty left the rump Netherlands without any major ports that could be used to supply the Overseas Empire. To rectify this problem a separate agreement was signed with the North that granted the Netherlands use of Northern ports until the port of Antwerp had been sufficiently upgraded to sustain the Empire. While neither side was very happy with this agreement, it was eventually seen as mutually beneficent to reduce the chance of another armed conflict between the two nations over control of the ports.




Fun fact: the term Dutch in this timeline is almost entirely phased out. The Northerners are called Batavians, and the Southerners are called Flemings. The Dutch language is mostly called Flemish, though the term Batavian is quickly gaining popularity

Han Empire - Reverse Migration

The Map depicts the Han Empire in the fourth year of Northern Emperor Shenjue and twelfth year of Southern Emperor Yongshi. The Southern Dynasty’s capital is in Chang’san, and the Northern Dynasty’s capital is in Chang’an. The map shows the Han’s traditional enemy, the Zang, to the west and the Barbarian hordes to the north. The Northern Dynasty is in decline, having lost significant territories to first the Helingu (Hellenes) tribes, and now the mighty Taliang (Italian) Khanate. There is talk of building a ‘great wall’ across the northern border, similar to Houyuan’s wall in Japan, to keep the barbarians at bay.

In case my reverse wasn't clear enough:
In OTL we have a Eastern and Western Roman Empire being invaded by nomads from the east and the Western Empire collapsing.
In my ATL I have a Northern and Southern Han Empire being invaded by nomads from the west, causing the Northern Empire to collapse. There is also Houyuans's (Hadrian's) Wall in Japan, and the Zang (Tibetan) Empire is a Persian analogue.

The POD IS 1066, and the Norman Conquest. Hardrada defeated Harold in the north, and William took control of the south. Wessex was added to the Duchy of Normandy and the title of 'King in Wessex' was added to the titles of William. The Normans became the dominant political power in France, ultimately out-competing all other contenders for the French throne, and establishing themselves as Kings of Francia. (I have used modern OTL French, and its Google Translate so it might be a bit poor)

Centuries past. Stuff happened. Norsemen settled in the verdant fields of England and further north in Scotland. The island was united under the House of Hardrada-Dunkeld, and the Francians forced out of Wessex forever earning the enmity of their southern neighbours. Unfortunately for Scandinavia proper, their energies had been put into the colonisation and subjugation of Britain and Ireland. The whole peninsular found itself under the governance of the Russians and the Holy Roman Empire/Germany respectively. The Russians diverted Ugric-speakers from Siberia into Sweden, making Suomics the majority people of Eastern and Northern Scandinavia. Denmark, Scania and southern Norway became fairly integrated, to the point that when Brandenburg-Scania emerged as a great power, few thought of the Scanians as anything other than Germans.

And so, Britain was left as the only 'Scandinavian' country. From the 15th century onwards, Britain settled North America, from Iceland across to the Continental Divide. This became known as Vinland, reviving the ancient name for the land given to it by the Vikings of Leif. In the 18th century, revolution burst out in Vinland and overcame the whole Empire. The Kingdom of Britain came to an end, and the Republic of Britannia-Vinland was born. The birth of this nation inspired revolutionaries in Guillaumianne (OTL Louisiana, Deep South and North Texas) causing the Francian Empire in the Americas to collapse. This worsened the ancient grudge between the powers.

In the early-19th century, the British and Francians went to war as extreme radicals took power and attempted to export the revolution to the whole of Europe. This is where the map comes from. Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Greenland and Vinland are the only areas considered 'Norse' other than the northern Norwegian coast. The remainder is either Finnish or German in nationality.

It's still friday in here, so here's my last time entry:

The Mirror: Mexico invaded the US

EDIT: I'm changing my text, hope it's ok.

In this particular world, the Spanish Royal Family fled to America as the Revolutionary Wars reached Spain. The American possessions were divided in two kingdoms: Peru in South America and New Spain in North America. The first, an unstable and corrupt country that suffers with lack of unity between the provinces and republican revolutionaries, Chile and the Plata basin were already experiencing automous republican governments without Lima formal recognition of course. The other kingdom, New Spain, managed to counter republican activism and reached a regular degree of stability.

New Spain felt that their rule over the northern provinces were in danger with the massive migration of Protestant farmers from the USA, they were settling the virgin fertile northern lands, reaching as far as Tejas, challenging New Spanish control over its Gulf. Therefore, New Spain's government lauched an ambicious plan of sponsoring the settlement of this lands with impoverished peasants and aristocrats fleeing the European Revolutionary War.

These new Catholic settlers soon had some skirmishes with the Protestants, leading to a conflictous relation between the US and New Spain.

By the 1820's, Great Britain began a war with the US over their trade policy and their relations with Revolutionary France, New Spain joined the war to secure their dominion over Luisiana and the Floridas. A two-front war was too much to the newly born USA. At first, New England seceded the Union as they couldn't deal with the British blockade of their ports and petitioned to join the British Empire as a Dominion. Afterwards, the British managed to get to Washington D.C. and burned down the Union's capital, that was reestablished in Philadelphia. The pressures over the central government of the Pro and Against-War factions, led to the secession the Southern States.

In the southern front, New Spain occupied Georgia with help of the local Indians (the Chief agreed to be baptized Catholic) and the European Military Refugees. All around this chaos, a crazy General in Virginia began a militaristic campaign occupying the neighbor states, introducing a Centralistic Caudillo-like Dictatorship.

By the time that the map was made, New Spain diplomatically fixed its borders with the British but the high number of Anglos in the north is still a big issue, specially with the beginning of Geogia Gold Rush.

here's the map:

Waht is Britian united Germany Style, and Germany united Britain style, with a french analogue Holland-Hannover Republic.

Alternate Civil War

Until 1868, USA's rulers carried on a very pro-slavery and pro-southern states policy, with a production focus on the southern cotton fields and an economic policy of free trade. In result, the growing industry of the United States struggles to become a nationwide industry, with foreign products' concurrency. In 1868, Joseph Lane is elected. The North secedes and 13 states (Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhodes Island and Connecticut merged into the New England State a few years ago) forms the Confederated States of America, a protectionist, industry-centered country. The American Civil War starts. Three years later, after an initial impressive but vain Confederated offensive and an Union counter-attack led by the general Robert E. Lee, Confederated leaders accept the defeat.

Sorry if this is too late.

Anyway, this is a reverse Hundred Years' War, from a POD where, instead of William the Bastard beating the English at Hastings in 1066, Edgar the Atheling conquers France. The map depicts territorial dispositions at the start of the conflict:

Scenario: Instead of Germany invading France via the Low Countries in World War I, France invades Germany.

PoD: France buys some (but not many) "Kruppstahl" breech-loading cannons from Alfred Krupp prior to the Franco-Prussian war, leading to them not doing quite so spectacularly badly in said war.

---

The Franco-Prussian war was won before it was fought. Whilst France's soldiers sported the superior Chassepot rifle, this was the largest of only a few advantages the great power had. Prussia, meanwhile, had the advantage of the superior breech-loading steel artillery provided by Alfred Krupp, and whilst France had purchased some similar "Kruppstahl" cannons under the insistence of Emperor Napoleon III, most of France's artillery remained tried and tested muzzle-loading bronze designs. In addition to this, Prussia's use of railways to quickly mobilise and manoeuvre its forces had no equal in French military doctrine, and Prussia's army was the only one in the world with the benefit of a dedicated General Staff.

The Prussians beat France back from the border, and got so far as to besiege Paris. Though they never marched on the city themselves, their previous victories and the untenability of the French position led to a French surrender, and the transfer of Alsace-Lorraine - now Elsaß-Lothringen - to Germany.

France had been decisively defeated, but it was not out of the game for good. The French Emperor, Napoleon III, immediately set about analysing why France had lost, and how it could remove its disadvantages. A French General Staff was created, and French military doctrine was radically rewritten for a new age of warfare.

The Emperor was not only concerned with military doctrine and the nature of the army's equipment, but also with geopolitics. Traditionally France had one of the largest armies in Europe, but was unable to bring it to bear against any one foe due to its central position. In the run-up to the Franco-Prussian war, the Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck had diplomatically isolated France, ensuring they had no allies to come to their defence. Though Napoleon III died in 1873, his campaign to break up von Bismarck's Dreikaiserbund - an alliance of the German, Austro-Hungarian, and Russian empires - continued with his son Napoleon IV, who helped break up the Bund in 1875, and obtained a mutual defence pact with Russia in 1879, in order to counter the dual alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary. This broke France's isolation, and Napoleon IV instantly began diplomatic overtures with Italy and Britain, hoping to ensure the neutrality of both in the event of a war between France and Germany. These diplomatic ties improved greatly once Kaiser Wilhelm II dismissed Otto von Bismarck as German chancellor in 1890 - the Kaiser pursued a much more aggressive foreign policy than the Iron Chancellor von Bismarck had, alienating many nations who were leaning towards the German camp.

In the years between 1900 and 1910 tensions between the Franco-Russian bloc and the German-Austro-Hungarian bloc grew, as dissent in Austro-Hungarian Bosnia - supported by Kingdom of Serbia - threatened to bring Russia (Serbia's ally) and Austria to war. The French Chief of Staff at the time, Joseph Joffre, decided that France's current preparations for a potential war with Germany were inadequate, and so oversaw a radical change in French military strategy. Reasoning that German fortifications in Alsace-Lorraine were too formidable to attack from the front, Joffre formed a plan of attack whereby a number of French armies would march through neutral Belgium and the Netherlands, catching the German defences off-guard and surrounding them. This plan was further modified over the years, eventually becoming Plan XVII.

The opportunity for war came in 1911. Austria-Hungary claimed it had evidence linking a number of Serbian nationals to a series of terrorist attacks and assassinations in Bosnia, and demanded their extradition. Serbia refused to extradite a number of the alleged terrorists, leading Austria-Hungary to declare war, ostensibly to protect its territory from foreign terrorists.

Germany backed up Austria-Hungary's invasion, and said it would defend Austria-Hungary if any nation attacked it as a result. Russia, seeing itself as the protector of all Slavic nations and having provided Serbia with much aid in the past, declared war on Austria-Hungary and Germany, calling in its major ally, France.

Plan XVII was then put into action, with troops being mobilised and moved quickly into position for the initial assault. Unfortunately for France, it had underestimated many things - the effectiveness of the Russian army, the willingness of Britain to go to war over the issue of Belgian neutrality, the efficiency of Germany's own mobilisation plans, and the effectiveness of the Belgian and Dutch troops to name but a few. On paper the Plan looked perfect - almost infallible - but no plan survives contact with the enemy, and this is all the more true for plans as audacious and radical as Plan XVII.

This'll be the first time I participated in a MotF challenge. Lots of awesome entries in this one, so I am pessimistic about my chances for victory, but you never know.


Historical background:
"As a result of what might have become known as a Divine Wind under different circumstances, Harald Hardrada and his fleet were delayed in their planned invasion of England. They would have to bide their time for roughly two weeks before they could safely carry out their plans.

In the meantime, William the Bastard of Normandy had crossed the English Channel with similar goals in mind as Harald; the acquisition of the Crown of England. He had tried and failed to gain Papal consent for his invasion, but he refused to let that stop him from acquiring what he believed to be rightfully his. Had he received the consent that he wanted, he might have been able to muster a larger invasion force, and with such a force his invasion of England may well have been a success. William's ambition was cut short, however, by his defeat at the Battle of Hastings. He was met there by the forces of Harold Godwinson, and while each side sustained considerable losses, it was the Anglo-Saxon forces who came out on top in the end. William himself was slain on the field of battle, and the Norman invasion lost its drive along with its leader.

This victory brought joy at first, but it was cut short upon news of the arrival of Harald Hardrada to north a few days later. While Harold Godwinson managed to keep his forces together and meet Harald Hardrada at Stanford Bridge, and while they did manage to drive them back and slay their leader, it was effectively the end of the Kingdom of England. Harold Godwinson died of his wounds some days later.

His sudden death resulted in a war of succession, with claimants from both outside and inside the kingdom claiming the throne of England. This would result in decades of war with no claimant succeeding in getting the upper hand in the struggle. The end result was the re-establishment of the Danelaw under the King of Denmark, Wessex and Cornwall being conquered by Normans and Bretons respectively and Northumbria and what remained of Mercia establishing themselves as independent Anglo-Saxon kingdoms as they once were in the past.

While the war was raging in England, Godred Crowan, said to be a member of the House of Uí Ímair, had established a power base of his own in the Irish Sea. Attracting several of the remnants of Harald Hardrada's failed invasion forces to him, he succeeded in conquering the Hebrides, the Isle of Man and later Dublin, which he made his capital. While this would have been more than sufficient for some, Godred wanted more. He set his sights on the various bickering principalities of the Emerald Isle, which seemed ripe for conquest. Having succeeded in gaining the support and loyalty of many of the still Norse-Gaelic cities of Ireland, he carried out a number of campaigns which would eventually result in him being crowned High King of Ireland, like Brian Boru was several decades before him.

He spent his remaining years attempting to pacify his new kingdom, which would prove to be a monumental task indeed. Despite the difficulties, it would seem as if he was successful in his endeavours as his son Lagman Godredsson was able to succeed him without the kingdom breaking down into civil war.

These are not the family chronicles of Uí Ímair, however, so let's cut this short. The dynasty Godred had established would eventually expand the kingdom he had forged, acquiring Scotland, Northumbria and Strathclyde through various means, including but not limited to conquests, marriages, assassinations and other schemes. Having established the largest state on the British Isles, one particularly eccentric member of the house of Uí Ímair decided to claim the title of "Emperor of Albion". Though he was not recognized as such by anyone but himself, the name "Albion" would stick and eventually become the official name of this new unified Gaelic kingdom.

As the kingdom grew, and the economic climate of Europe changed, the core and capital of the kingdom would eventually move east to York. At this point, York was more Norse and Gaelic/Scottish than it was Anglo-Saxon, and the same could be said for the territories surrounding it. While Ireland was eventually somewhat neglected a result, it would later go through an economical renaissance with the growing importance of ports such as Limerick and Cork in the face of the growth of Atlantic trade and exploration. The introduction of the potato, a plant from the New World, would later also result in heavy population growth there."

I actually thought I was going to be the first one doing this idea, until I saw Otherworld's. However, this should hopefully be different enough to still be interesting.

The basic premise of this is that of Decades of Darkness - Jefferson's death in 1809 leads to New England seceding, supported by the British, at which point the US begins the *War of 1812. However, ITTL Rufus King isn't shot, leading to less Federalist sympathy within New York, and so the *US are able to keep the west of New York, as well as New York City itself. With two more free states in the Union, the slavery debate still grows into a major issue, and Wilkinson finds himself having to compromise over Missouri's entry into the Union, with it becoming a free state on the condition that no other free states are to be admitted south of its northern border. In addition, Illinois and Indiana never repeal their free-soil status.

Later on, Jackson still comes to power, and the War of 1833 begins as in DoD. However, there is no Pennsylvania Rebellion, and so the *US is more successful, and eventually they are able to regain almost all of the Northwest Territory. A second compromise is now reached, whereby all of the new territory in the Midwest becomes free soil on the condition that the recent gains in Texas (which only go up to the Rio Grande ITTL, as Jackson sees no need to press further claims to restore *American prestige) are recognised as slave territory. As such, to compensate for the three free states admitted in the Great Lakes region, the three states of Houston, Tejas and New Mexico are admitted from the Texas-Coahuila Territory. Since the war is over quicker, Jackson doesn't seek a third term, and Hugh Lawson White gets elected for the Democrats.

White gets reelected in 1840, but dies only months afterwards, succeeded by his Vice-President, James Polk. Polk, in turn, is defeated in 1844 by George Dallas, who is succeeded in 1848 by Lewis Cass. Cass wages war against Mexico, same as in DoD, but due to less disorganisation in Mexico (the less disastrous Texian revolution leads to the Emperor remaining in power), only the OTL Mexican Cession is gained post-war.

When Cass signs an act into law that makes all of the Mexican Cession slave territory, in violation of the *Missouri Compromise (since parts of Utah Territory protrude north of the compromise line), the North is in outrage, and Congress agrees on a compromise that makes absolutely no one happy: California north of the 35th parallel is admitted as a free state, with the rest becoming a slave state and the Utah and Washington (Arizona and New Mexico west of the Rio Grande) territories remaining slave. To help sell this to the South, a Fugitive Slave Act is signed into law, which the Northern abolitionists come to despise.

Cass wins reelection in 1852, but steps down in 1856. The election that follows is turbulent indeed, as Jefferson Davis of the Democrats faces off against Cass's Vice-President, Sam Houston, and William Seward of the Freedom Party. Davis wins the election despite not having received a single electoral vote from the free states, much to the chagrin of the North, who realise that their interests will never be seen to in the present Union.



Around the New Year of 1857, nine states secede from the union, forming the Federated States, and choosing Abraham Lincoln of Michigan as their president. Since secession cannot legally take place without the approval of Congress, the states decide to be proactive, attacking the armoury at Harpers Ferry to try to start a slave revolt and tie up the Union army; this partially succeeds, as the Union army garrison is beaten back, and the weapons of the armoury distributed among the slaves on nearby plantations. After this, three more states secede, and the American Civil War begins in earnest.