Looks awesome. Everything is top tier. Flag is great and this doesn’t diminish its quality bit it reminds me of the “Strength of Serbia Movement” political party’s logo a bit lmaoInspired by this map, here is a maybe-maybe not project from me for "Notre Alliance" (aka French Commonwealth).
French Australia. No particular POD.
Map Thread XXII
- Thread starter Balkanized U.S.A
- Start date
Been seeing way more “partial breakup” Yugoslavias which only lose Slovenia and Croatia lately. Maybe it’s just that I’ve been working on a TL based around that concept lately & thus am hyper aware, but I smile every time I see one, it’s like seeing someone you know.
The only thing I don't like is that the internal borders are the same as OTL British Australia, but otherwise that is a great concept!
vgh...
Banned
I don't think George Bass would have discovered the strait named after him if the British hadn't colonised Australia. But otherwise superb map.Inspired by this map, here is a maybe-maybe not project from me for "Notre Alliance" (aka French Commonwealth).
French Australia. No particular POD.
A second cover of Roses, Tulips and Liberty after the Great War, by WannabeeCartographie. Link to the actual 1965 map here.
But if a curious question here, but are there any climate maps that go into more detail than Koppen in regards to habitats and subdivisions?
There's ones by Thornthwaite, Trewartha and Holdridge:
Thornthwaite climate classification - Wikipedia
Trewartha climate classification - Wikipedia
Holdridge life zones - Wikipedia
But I don't know if those are what you are looking for.
Turn 30: As It Stands
Takeaways, because I forgot to add notes...
Beijing fell as most of their troops were bogged down in India, so China at large folded pretty quickly and India was too weakened thereafter to put up much of a fight against the Red Army.
Meanwhile, the UN was putting up a heck of a fight in France as the Technate and Soviet forces pushed west. Being real stubborn. So I dropped 15 battleships in the English Channel and halted all British reinforcements. London would fall a couple turns later.
This eased up fighting as we pushed into Iberia, but denied that access, the UN started raiding the USSA's east coast just as they were finally pushing the Japanese back. DC was taken twice, in fact, until those battleships crossed the Atlantic and cleared out those waters too.
Once France had a Mediterranean coast opened up - even as enemy ships were still nearby - French forces started landing in Algeria and poured south, then as soon as they reached the Bay of Benin, they loaded up and invaded Brazil and Venezuela.
Technate forces were slower to the seas because they were still grinding into Iberia, but once Madrid fell they jumped on their own transports and hit the sunny beaches of the Caribbean.
The same Soviets that took London bebop'd on down and stormed Lisbon.
A similar naval scene played out in the Yellow Sea, but was preceded by the largest aerial force on the planet raking the Japanese navy from Kamchatka to Cambodia.
There are now several invasion fleets crossing the Indian Ocean headed east or approaching from the Panama Canal to the west.
The last Japanese forces in the Americas were defeated in Mexico AFTER Tokyo fell.
Loving this weird little Portuguese Thassalocracy, and kinda surprised at Australia's sudden flex.
Takeaways, because I forgot to add notes...
Beijing fell as most of their troops were bogged down in India, so China at large folded pretty quickly and India was too weakened thereafter to put up much of a fight against the Red Army.
Meanwhile, the UN was putting up a heck of a fight in France as the Technate and Soviet forces pushed west. Being real stubborn. So I dropped 15 battleships in the English Channel and halted all British reinforcements. London would fall a couple turns later.
This eased up fighting as we pushed into Iberia, but denied that access, the UN started raiding the USSA's east coast just as they were finally pushing the Japanese back. DC was taken twice, in fact, until those battleships crossed the Atlantic and cleared out those waters too.
Once France had a Mediterranean coast opened up - even as enemy ships were still nearby - French forces started landing in Algeria and poured south, then as soon as they reached the Bay of Benin, they loaded up and invaded Brazil and Venezuela.
Technate forces were slower to the seas because they were still grinding into Iberia, but once Madrid fell they jumped on their own transports and hit the sunny beaches of the Caribbean.
The same Soviets that took London bebop'd on down and stormed Lisbon.
A similar naval scene played out in the Yellow Sea, but was preceded by the largest aerial force on the planet raking the Japanese navy from Kamchatka to Cambodia.
There are now several invasion fleets crossing the Indian Ocean headed east or approaching from the Panama Canal to the west.
The last Japanese forces in the Americas were defeated in Mexico AFTER Tokyo fell.
Loving this weird little Portuguese Thassalocracy, and kinda surprised at Australia's sudden flex.
I'm confused, did you accidently press the fill button too many times or are most of the countries just vanishingly small?
That's true, though I did try to keep most of the pre-1800 names just because I didn't exactly know what the POD would be.
At the turn of the XIXth century, Brazil stands as the largest country in South America and one of the most important economies in the world. The year 1900, the 85th since independence and 60th of the Republic, began with the election of Ruy Barbosa to the presidency on July 1st.
The country’s growing population of 40 million, 18m of which were eligible to vote, faces a historical transition from agrarian life to urban livelihoods, bolstered by the spread of electricity throughout the country. Over the last 50 years, the surge in industrial activity, particularly in sectors such as textiles, manufacturing, and steel production, dramatically changed the nations’s landscape.
Cities such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo became hubs of technological advancement and economic growth, while slums and overcrowded tenements mushroomed, housing the influx of internal and foreign migrants who sought employment in the burgeoning factories. Amidst growing dissent, a labor rights movement spearheaded by worker activists and union leaders emerged, demanding equitable wages, improved working conditions, and legislative reforms to address entrenched inequalities.
The 10th Republican Congress was the first to include the nascent Partido Trabalhista (Labour Party), led by Giulio Sorelli, with 26 seats at the Chamber of Deputies, though most of the 133 seats belong to Barbosa’s Partido Republicano (Republican Party).
To achieve the goal of establishing a nationwide system of public education that emphasizes literacy, his administration will need to avoid clashes with the opposition Partido Liberal (Liberal Party), headed by his main political rival, Bernardino de Campos, and fight resistance from entrenched political interests and conservative factions.
With the rapid expansion of technology and the influx of new ideas, Brazilian society underwent a remarkable metamorphosis at that period. With suffragette movements taking place in Europe and North America, groups of women began advocating for the right to vote and actively engage in the country's political process. Community-based initiatives focused on Black Brazilian interests began to appear, inspired by similar initiatives between European and Asian immigrants.
What will the new century hold for South America’s powerhouse?
Nice! I also made a map of this same setting a while back: https://www.deviantart.com/keperry012/art/The-Day-After-Ragnarok-739570299
If it helps, this world is also starting to undergo an encroaching mystical ice age and/or nuclear winter!
There have only been a handful of times I’ve seen it written like this (it’s virtually always “19th”), so in my mind I always just pronounce it “zixth.” I dunno.
If you'd like to see updates, I do have a dedicated thread to this timeline that you can find in my profile, and I also have a discord that has been growing, as of recently, so don't be shy to stop by. Anyway, enjoy!
THE GREATER NORTH
THE BREIF HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
History and lore:
The Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent would be the end of the War of 1812. The United States acquiring British North America as its own would not come to pass and the nation would feel the ramifications of its actions, losing over 1.5 million square kilometres in territory in the regions of the northern Louisiana territory, Michigan, Wisconsin, upstate New York, and northeast Maine. Not only that, but it would lose fishing rights and the legal rights to station naval forces in the Great Lakes while also allowing Britain to freely navigate the Mississippi River to its newly acquired territories and conduct trade with the United States and recognize everything north of the 42nd parallel as British in what would become British Columbia. In other words, the Treaty of Ghent was an embarrassment and a major blow to the United States' history and goals for its national interests, while also being an important lesson for its future attempts of expansion westward.
The Treaty was not signed with ease in Congress. President James Madison would be the most disliked man in both the government and public opinion, as his goals for less British involvement in the United States' foreign endeavours would be seen as and was a complete failure. Madison would be voted out of office unanimously and Vice-President Elbridge Gerry would remain in office until shortly, passing away in 1814 and being replaced by Henry Clay until the election of 1816. The War of 1812 and specifically the Treaty of Ghent would hold huge ramifications for the election, with the Democratic-Republican Party being widely unpopular in the Northeastern United States and giving the Federalists (the party who opposed the war greatly) a greater chance at victory. Despite this, James Monroe would be able to campaign his success in Baltimore and New Orleans and his adoption of Federalist economic policies to victory. The Federalist Party would be disbanded until later reforming again in 1875.
As a reaction to the Treaty of Ghent, President Monroe would sign the Monroe Doctrine, a foreign policy legislation that would act as a warning to European powers who wished to spread their influence in the Western hemisphere and establish tariffs to repay for the damages the war had caused.
The consequences of Manifest Destiny
Despite its losses in the territory after the Treaty of Ghent, the United States still had a large chunk of territory from the Louisiana Purchase, west of the Mississippi for settlement. The region that is now known as the Missouri Territory would rapidly be settled by slave owners and by 1819, the Missouri Territory would be eligible for statehood. At the time, the Senate was split evenly between free and slave states, but if Missouri was allowed to join the Union the even split would be compromised. This issue no longer became a matter of debate when Maine offered to become a state, with Congress having both states be admitted at the same time and maintaining the balance in the Senate. During the bill, it would be debated to have a legal boundary to restrict slavery south of the 37th parallel but it would slow down the progress of admitting Maine and Missouri, so the bill would be split into two and passed later in 1920 to create what is now known as the Missouri Compromise.
The balance of slave and free states would tip over in the admission of Arkansas as a slave state in 1836, with the number of slave states growing to 13 and free states remaining at 12.
Democrat James Polk’s presidency would become a major turning point for the United States. His platform believed in expansion into Texas, California, and other regions of Mexico by any means necessary. Under his administration, Texas would join the Union as a slave state and a debate on the boundary of Texas with Mexico would pursue, with the United States asserting it being the Rio Grande River while Mexico claimed it to be the Nueces River. Polk’s administration was keen on acquiring this territory, so when diplomatic efforts failed, he would send 80 troops across the disputed territory of the Rio Grande, with the Mexican Army reacting accordingly by repelling the troops out of the region in 1846. Polk would rally Congress to war after this attack against U.S. troops and begin to fight for the territory he wished to occupy as president. The United States would quickly advance along the Rio Grande and push into Alta California while also pushing into the capital Mexico City in 1847, with the war seen as a major military success and redeeming the lost territory in the Treaty of Ghent. Polk would send a negotiator to establish the new boundary between the United States and Mexico with the signing of the Treaty of the Guadalupe Hidalgo, gaining the territory that makes up present-day Arizona, California, Chihuahua, Jefferson, New Mexico, Rio Grande, Sonora, Texas, and Yucatan. Polk and his administration would see it as a major success for the nation and its platform, while northern representatives would see it as a massive threat to the expansion of slavery in the nation. Another issue that would arise with these new territories was rebellions in Yucatan, with the Mayan people continuing to fight a bloody battle against the United States known as the Caste War of Yucatan.
The United States would begin to settle the region and face fierce resistance as the settlers went deeper into the peninsula, with the United States only having de facto control of the region's coastlines. Fighting would not stop until 1858 when President Buchanan sent a large amount of reinforcements in hopes of ending the war in 1856. The war would kill 20,000 Americans by the end of the conflict, and a total loss of almost 70,000 when including Native and Mexican settlers.
With Texas and Florida joining the Union, the balance of slave states would be 15 over 12 free states. However, with the new territories acquired in the West, the free states had a chance to admit more states in their favour and maintain the balance in the Senate. Most of the newly acquired territory was mountainous and inhospitable for cotton growth, so the chances seemed high.
Five bills would be passed by the Senate, known as the Compromise of 1850 to defuse the situation between the free and slave states: approving California as a free state into the union, passing the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, banning the slave trade in Washington, D.C., defined the boundary of Texas and government for the territory of New Mexico, and established a government for the territory of Utah.
In 1854, the Missouri Compromise of 1820 would be suspended by the Nebraska-Rio Grande Act, allowing white settlers to vote on whether the territories would become a free or slave state. The results would have people of pro and anti-slavery sentiments travelling to Nebraska and Rio Grande in hoping their votes can overturn the outcome to their preference, leading to fighting in Nebraska known as bleeding Nebraska. President Buchanan would admit Rio Grande and Nebraska as slave states in 1854 and 1857 despite the negative reception from the free states in 1857.
The balance of free and slave states was in the hands of the slave states, having 17 slave states over 13 free states, and would change from to 14 free states after Delaware banned slavery by a slim vote.
The American Civil War
The American Civil War would disrupt all aspects of the Union. 10 free states (California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont) would declare independence from the Union over the issue of slavery, with rebellions in Maryland and Delaware overthrowing the pro-slavery state governments and declaring independence as well. The following year, the western portions of the Utah Territory known as Nevada would split from the Union and declare itself a part of California. Washington, D.C. would be occupied by rebel forces. The United States descended into civil war.
During the final months of fighting during the Civil War, the United States would admit the state of Sonora as a slave state into the Union with the promise of building a transcontinental railroad to the coast in 1865. Sonora was admitted as compensation for losing most of its Pacific Coast during the fighting. The New Mexico Territory would then be divided into Arizona, Jefferson, and Chihuahua.
The United States would lose the war due to a combination of multiple factors, such as a lack of infrastructure and industrial capacity to conduct a war against the Northeast and California, the lack of a navy to break the rebel blockade, and having a smaller population—including slaves—than the northeast, while also fighting a two-front war and trying to maintain its newly acquired territories in Mexico. The Treaty of London would be signed by the United States—like the Treaty of Ghent—being a permanent embarrassment to the United States: losing its largest manufacturing sector, a large chunk of its population, losing greater access to the Pacific Ocean, and having to repay California and the FAR reparations.
In the end, the slave states would hold an outright majority of the Senate and population, with 16 slave states against 3 free states. This would have the United States develop into a more agrarian-based economy, with a lack of urbanization, all while its economic system is built off the labour of slavery.
Development and expansion after the Civil War
There was a major problem after the Civil War. The United States had lost its capital to the FAR, and its defacto capital of Richmond was at major risk of invasion as it was during the Civil War. Proposals for its new capital would take place, with some suggesting New Orleans—or even invading Cuba and moving to Havana—Montgomery, or even Columbia, South Carolina. However, Atlanta would be chosen as the capital of the United States. Not only did the city purpose the idea and supply the Federal Government with the land for its new capital building, but it would be far from the coast from naval attacks, was deep in the south and far from the United States enemies, while also promoting a strong southern heritage in the region. Atlanta would then become the shared capital city of the nation and the state of Georgia. The Georgia State Capitol building would be chosen as the location for the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States while also sharing the building with the state of Georgia, so construction began to expand the building to encompass both governments. Another major development in Atlanta was its improvement in infrastructure as Federal Funding began to expand in the city, quickly becoming the largest city in the southeast. All of the new construction in the city would be done with slave labour.
The United States would begin to see the conclusion of the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad (the Southern Pacific) from New Orleans, Louisiana to Guaymas, Sonora. The railroad would be a major financial success for the Guaymas region as it would quickly grow into a more urban region as more settlers came to the city and construction of a major Pacific port began, while the Southern Pacific was beginning to expand into Southwest Arizona to connect with the new country of California.
Despite the railroad’s success in the development of the modern metropolitan areas of Arizona and Sonora, the entire railroad would be built by African American slave labour. Many slaves would die during the project due to heat exhaustion and the dangerous conditions they endured in the deserts and mountains of the southwest. This came with great controversy from Congress, not because the use of slave labour was immoral, but because many slave owners were dissatisfied with their slaves dying and losing profits and property. To solve the issue, the government would compensate slave owners for their losses during the project and begin to slowly replace slave labour with poor immigrants. The further west slave owners settled, the more its slave and cheap labour population slowly grew out of its agrarian practices and into more industrialized labour. These activists would include mining, construction, and the expansion of railroads.
Before the Civil War, the South had always proposed expanding the United States' territory into the Caribbean. It seemed inevitable that the United States would eventually try and assert its claims and dominance over the region, and one step closer to that goal would be right in front of them. When Santo Domingo applied to join the Union in 1869, Congress and the Senate unanimously passed the bill for the annexation of Santo Domingo. It would not become a state until 1873. With its newly acquired territory, the United States would begin to invest in large naval ports in both Yucatan and Santo Domingo for both trade and military purposes. Like many other projects beforehand, Slave labour would be used to construct these projects. However, instead of sending its slaves from the mainland to the Caribbean for their labour, the United States would pass the Restored Order Law. This law would allow the federal government to run programs designed to abduct local black populations of the Yucatan and Santo Domingo and any new territories acquired to put into the national slave market, which would then be used to construct its larger projects in the Caribbean.
On February 14, 1875, Arizona would be admitted into the Union. Before its population boom in the 1960s, Arizona's southwest was a major trade route for the United States and California due to its lower terrain. Settlements along this region would be built, but they would not become the large cities they are today due to the major heat influx in the region. It would be until the introduction of modern AC units in housing would Arizona become the largest state on the American west coast, with the metropolitan area of Penasco growing to a population of over 4 million and maintaining the largest Pacific port in the United States.
In the same year on August 7, Chihuahua would be admitted as a state. Its importance would begin with the Southern Pacific Railroad being built through the region, but that would only be its beginning. The region would have a large influx of people when its agriculture sector began to grow with its livestock production along with its mining industry in silver. Chihuahua would become the largest silver producer in the United States, today outputting nearly 1,000 metric tons of the resource annually. It also maintains a small lumber market in its southwest.
On August 1, 1876, the state of Jefferson would be admitted to the Union. The state would be blessed with its mineral wealth in gold, silver, and many others while also being the main source of the strategic Colorado River that gives most of the Western U.S. and most of Southern California its fresh water supply. Its population growth would mainly come from the Gold Rush in 1858 and continuing its mining history until the state began to manufacture transportation and military equipment in the early 1890s.
Utah would be admitted in 1896, with the delay mostly being due to the majority of Mormons in the region. Like Jefferson, the state would be rich with mineral wealth during the American gold rush. However, its proximity between Canada and California would bring a major military presence to Utah during the arms race of the Great War. These military interests in the state would help develop the state's infrastructure.
On December 10, 1898, the Spanish would transfer its colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico to the United States. The United States would have both of the colonies administered as territories by the Federal Government, extracting the wealth of sugar plantations of Cuba and expanding its influence in the Caribbean. Cuba would have its population call for independence, but Atlanta had different plans for the island. The United States would begin to prop up a pro-union leader in Cuba, propaganda, and immigration into the island, creating the conditions for a transition of power to the United States for Cuba to become a state. When the time was right, a vote would be held across Cuba in 1901 on whether the island wished to be an independent nation, a territory of the United States, or be admitted as a state. With the demographics and beliefs being in favour of the United States, Cuba would vote to become a state and would immediately be accepted by Congress. On May 20, 1902, Cuba would be admitted as a state. The same conditions would be applied to Puerto Rico in 1934, being admitted on July 25. This expansion into the Caribbean would only incentivize the United States to focus its industrial power on its military, to create a strong and large navy to combat any potential threat (mostly British and local rebellions) from the Caribbean.
Oklahoma would become a major state for travel between the growing population and economy of Texas and the Great Lakes. Many white settlers would begin to purchase former Native American land in what is known as the Land Run of 1889, eventually causing tension on statehood. The white settlers wished for representation while the native Americans wished for their state as well. Eventually, the land of modern-day Oklahoma would be merged into one state on November 16, 1907. The state would begin to experience an economic boom with the oil industry, with oil investments in the region driving its growth.
The territory of New Mexico would play a crucial role in maintaining a trade route with California, while also playing a major role in the Great War, when the United States launched an invasion into Southern California. New Mexico would be admitted as a state on January 6, 1912, after enough people moved to the territory after the construction of the Santa Fe railroad.
The territory of Yucatan was a glorified naval base for the United States. Only its coastal cities were maintained with proper facilities and infrastructure to travel and live in. Port Polk would be the largest naval base in the Caribbean, stationing most of its fleet in the city and providing the city receiving benefits from the Navy, such as more funding from the federal government to build roads and attract industry that would support the military. Most of the population on the eastern side of the territory was military personnel, while the western side was more native and settled by Americans. It would not be until the United States began to develop into a more modern economy that it would begin to expand further into the rich and deep forest of the Yucatan. The territory would apply for statehood multiple times but the federal government's power over the region would triumph over the territory’s wishes, as it was much easier to use the area for military purposes under a territory rather than a state. It would not be until June 12, 1948, would Yucatan be admitted as a state.
The slow death of slavery in the United States and its impact
The United States economy was incredibly fragile. It relied on foreign investment and international rates to supply itself with income after the reluctance to maintain a proper taxation system among its people and the weakening of the central bank. The United States' main export and income was from its cotton industry. Its largest partner would be the British Empire, buying 75% of the United States supply. The British would eventually begin to see themselves buying less and less cotton from the United States under domestic pressure due to the stories of the United States' immoral use of slavery to maintain its economy and would see more investments being made in Egypt and India’s cotton industry. This would dramatically affect the United States economy, eventually causing the price of cotton to dramatically decrease. As prices began to drop and the market was beginning to change negatively in their favour, it encouraged plantations and many investors to begin to change their attitude towards their wealth being invested into light industrial projects.
Between 1880 and 1890, the United States would begin to see further industrialization in the south, with most of the industries centring around agriculture equipment and energy production. Despite these moves towards a more diverse economy by investors, they would still be reluctant to maintain their use of slavery for producing goods. It became very common to see the United States use its slave population in factories of small industrializing communities compared to its much larger urban cities of Richmond and New Orleans, as free white workers saw slavery as a threat to their jobs and wages. The adaptation of slavery to industrialization in urban America would begin to create a new division for the people and slave owners, which would eventually lead to the proclamation in many urban counties to protect free white jobs from the threat of cheap black labour, creating the steppingstones to slavery being banned in the United States.
This incentive and action of slowly industrializing would only further strengthen the British from beginning to impose an embargo on the United States cotton and equipment entering the country, with the British making it very clear that abolition in the United States is the only way to ending the embargo. There would be two motives behind this British embargo: to end slavery in the modern era, and to open up the United States market value for more British goods. The embargo would be successful, with more and more people beginning to oppose slavery in the United States and more government officials supporting abolition. Slave owners would react to these changes as a threat to their wealth and way of life, declaring it as an overextension of the government, but their opinion didn’t matter as the majority of free whites began to reject slavery in their cities.
Abolition would only remain in the hands of individual states, but it would change in the periods of 1890 and 1894. In a dramatic shift in national policy, the state of Nebraska would be the first slave state to ban slavery on December 28, 1890. Not only was it symbolic of the fact that slavery was beginning to lose its grip on the nation, but its economy as well, and it greatly threatened slave owners. Over time, more and more states would begin to impose abolition policies. Florida would be second on March 3, 1891; followed by Santo Domingo on March 28, 1891; Jefferson on May 11, 1891; Texas on September 9, 1891; Sonora on September 20, 1891; Chihuahua on December 1, 1891; Kentucky on January 29, 1892; the Rio Grande on February 2, 1892; Missouri on February 27, 1892; Arizona on March 20, 1892; North Carolina on July 8, 1893; Tennessee on August 29, 1893; Arkansas on November 11, 1893; and Virginia on October 11, 1894. What used to be a slave-dominated nation with 16 of 19 states allowing slavery to be practiced would reduce to five in the southern bank of the Mississippi and the United States, with the states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina refusing to recognize slavery as an illegitimate practice and the remaining territories of Utah, New Mexico, Yucatan, and Oklahoma maintaining its legal status under federal law.
On June 8, 1894, the United States would impose a national proclamation of emancipation, officially banning the practice of slavery across the Union. It would officially have the United States as the last country in the Western hemisphere to ban the practice and eventually have the British embargo lifted and improve the economy of the United States.
Despite the acts of slavery being banned, it was only by name. States would begin to pass what is known as Jim Crow laws and limit freedoms for the African American population. In the agricultural parts of the nation, sharecropping was common among landowners and African Americans, and throughout the nation, African Americans would be paid much lower than their white counterparts, given much more labour intensive work, and divided by racial lines in public spaces such as libraries, parks and schools; counties banning the sale of the property to African Americans and restricting their choices of occupation. Segregation would not leave the United States after the banning of slavery, it would only embolden the nation to exploit its new free population to avoid foreign interference.
With the stigma the nation had against African Americans (especially in majority white urban areas), plans by states and the federal government would begin to draft legislation to begin moving African Americans out of certain urban cities. It would begin with the government seizing property if the individual owned property and forcing them to live in shelters out in the countryside. These shelters would usually be near a railway, making it easier for the government to transport African Americans to these communities. These individuals who were forced out of their homes would lose their jobs and be forced to either work on farms or be at risk of being forced to do other kinds of work by local governments. Eventually, the United States would begin to promote programs to move African Americans to Africa but the plan would later be deemed to be ineffective and other means would be taken to establish a new home for African Americans, despite most of the country’s black population seeing themselves as Americans. The United States would begin to occupy the majority black nation of Haiti on December 6, 1895–occupying the nation with an iron fist to quell rebellions from the local population, violating human rights and killing tens of thousands to establish a proper hold on the country. The United States would then begin to deport African Americans out of the United States and forcibly send them by ship to settle in Haiti, despite the poor living conditions that Haiti offered. The United States would maintain local infrastructure poorly unless it benefited the military, making living conditions worse in some regions of Haiti and receiving condemnation from many Western nations.
However, these condemnations didn’t matter and the United States would forcibly send over two million African Americans to Haiti between 1895 and 1910, shifting the language demographics of Haiti to a majority English-speaking country, and increasing its population from 1.2 million to 3.4 million, which would only reduce the quality of life in the region. In the end, the United States would continue to occupy Haiti, with its racist policies in full swing, and the rest of the world doing nothing to stop it. Living conditions in Haiti would not improve until the Caribbean Spring, when the United States Caribbean territories and eventually the mainland began to rebel for the end of racial segregation between 1954 to 1968.
The Great War
The overall performance of the United States economy evolving into a more industrialized economy in the South would be poor. The efforts to limit African Americans in society by any means necessary would slow down production and delay infrastructure development if it possibly influenced African American communities in a more positive light than white Americans, and the drainage of resources in occupying its new lands in Haiti would only hinder development in the country. The lack of progress in the American South and West would only attract a limited amount of immigration beyond the Great Lakes, as its northern and western counterparts were rapidly industrializing and urbanized—attracting more immigrants. Most of the immigrants that arrived in the United States were farmers from Europe who get afford large amounts of cheap land that was available.
It would not be until the United States oil boom in Texas in 1901 and the modernization policies put in place by states would the US begin to see its major expansion as an economic power. With major wealth coming out of the oil industry in the south, the United States saw major investments from both national and foreign investments to further expand its ability to produce and export more oil, creating jobs and large ports to maintain the boost the country was beginning to see. The oil boom would be the biggest event in the United States' path towards modernization from relying on its agrarian economy, as it quickly began to move into the petroleum industry as one of its largest exports.
The United States' economic policy was beginning to shift, and with that shift came a more prosperous economy for the United States. The development of infrastructure from both foreign and national investment would only help the United States grow, allowing travel across the country to become much easier and affordable. Despite all of these successes, it still lacked the culture to dig deeper into the manufacturing and business aspect of industrialization outside of living off the land and building the machinery to live off the land. The United States manufacturing only consisted of farming machinery, transportation, and mining equipment—it was not producing a lot of consumer goods it had the potential to. There were three main reasons for this: its economy is based on extraction and growth, there isn’t a high demand to produce consumer goods in the nation, and beyond building equipment for extraction; the industry it did have was also focused on providing for its ever-expanding military.
Before the oil boom and the gradual development of the United States, the military was not in a great position for the expansion the country wished to pursue. Its navy met the country's needs for expansion in the Caribbean, but anything beyond that was too risky for the navy. Its military was not as modernly equipped as other armies in the world, and similarly to its navy, only met the country's needs. This would all begin to change as the United States' industrial capacity began to rise and the economic culture grew with it over time, as the success in this period would only continue until the Great War. Supply routes were much quicker and more effective, the U.S. Navy expanded in size in both ships and the raw power of the ships itself, and the average American troop began to be just as armed as a British one.
These rapid changes in the military capabilities of the United States would have a dramatic effect on its neighbours' response. Canada, California, and the FAR would begin to invest more into their armies and begin an arms race in North America, while also developing defence strategies and capabilities. During the tension between these nations, nationalism in the United States was at an all-time high. Many were proud to see the United States starting to become greatly successful, and many believed that now was the time to fix the wrongdoings that were acted upon, specifically in the Treaty of London during the Civil War and the Treaty of Ghent during the War of 1812. Most importantly, many federal politicians were backing this new initiative to reverse the treaty's effects on the nation, such as the banning of the U.S. Navy in the Great Lakes. New policies would begin to prepare the United States for a quick offensive war to try and force its neighbours to accept the new terms the United States wished to impose in 1910 and would be executed in 1914 during the first months of the war in Europe.
As the United States was drafting and laying the foundations for its offensive, Canada, California, and the FAR would create a military alliance against the United States. The United States saw this as an inevitable outcome—even without the alliance would the three nations defend each other? In response, the United States would begin to align itself with the Central Powers as they too wished to see Britain’s dominance begin to erode. The United States would begin to trade and develop stronger military ties with the Central Powers, an alliance that would help the United States feel more confident in its goals in North America. As a result, the United States would begin its offensive in Michigan and the Canadian Prairies, while sending troops into Southern California. The Great War would reach North America and it would take more lives, time, and resources than anyone could have ever imagined, shaping the country's path forever into the future.
Aftermath of the Great War
The United States, like many other nations during the war, entered the conflict confident that modern warfare would bring its objectives to a quick conclusion and reap the benefits in under a year. Instead, the United States lost 1.8 million lives who were mostly young men, its greatest economic region of the Great Lakes was in ruins, its relations with its neighbours were sour, and many revolts began to occur in its Caribbean territories. The United States would not reach any of its goals in the war, at a major cost for itself and its neighbours. As stated many times before, it was to become the war to end all wars.
The United States would sign the Treaty of Montreal to end the conflict in North America on March 7, 1917. The United States would sign the treaty with the agreement that the United States would repay for the damage it caused in all three nations of the Free American Republic and would have a limit of military presence on its borders with all three nations. The Treaty wasn’t as harsh (many others called for territorial concessions by the United States) because the United States had started the war due to harsh treaties, to begin with, so it was the ultimate goal of all nations at the table to achieve a reasonable agreement.
The United States would begin to develop a new foreign policy. It soon realized its ambitions in North America were not only sustainable but were nearly impossible to achieve with all three nations united on military defence. The United States would begin to isolate itself from any affairs outside of the Western Hemisphere and particularly focus on its strategic interests in South America while continuing to maintain economic stability outside of the Western Hemisphere. This would have the United States meddling in elections in South America to achieve its interest, along with military coups in the region—South America would become the United States' playground for economic and social conquest, and nations in North America and Europe did not care enough to intervene. A consequence of this would be the United States not joining the League of Nations, nor participating in the Pacific War or any other international war outside of South America.
In the Caribbean territories, many rebellions were occurring to protest against the war. Some would eventually evolve into anti-Union protests, but they would be quickly repelled by the national guard and settle after the war had come to a peace in North America.
With a new chance of peace in North America, the United States would begin massive reforms in its economic policy with its neighbours and national institutions. It would begin to focus on implementing a friendly economy for consumer spending and business investment, beginning to diversify the economy into producing consumer goods that would help benefit both consumers and businesses in the United States, allowing the United States to make greater investments into infrastructure to boost living conditions in urban and rural areas it had not been able to before, attracting more immigration to the country and beginning the American Age in the 1940s of economic and population growth into the large economy it is growing as today.
During its economic boom, the United States would begin to work on its own nuclear weapons program in 1948, shortly after the revealing of the Granville Project and its success during the Pacific War. The United States would have most of the project tested in Arizona and would see success in its first nuclear weapon in 1954, becoming the fourth country to develop nuclear weapons.
The Caribbean Spring
Segregation against African Americans in the United States had been a common occurrence for centuries in the nation, both during its time as colonies under Britain and under Washington and Atlanta during independence. African Americans were disproportionately misrepresented compared to white Americans in places of occupation, education, and government, and it would continue to last until the Caribbean Spring would begin to form what is known as the Civil Rights Movement.
Many protests had occurred beforehand in the United States discussing the treatment of African Americans in the United States, but they would not be as successful in pushing for nationwide reforms unlike in 1954, when protests began on the living conditions in Haiti. Even though the region was still a territory, it was severely affected by a lack of funding from the federal government to maintain its infrastructure and services for the people, building enough pressure to begin uprisings against the United States government. The people of Haiti would begin to raid predominantly white police stations and other government official buildings and begin to have their voices heard, with echoes arising across many other segregated communities in the Caribbean and the United States. At first, the United States would send its military to try and resist the protest, but it would not be successful and only embroil them. The images of the protest would begin a Supreme Court case against the conditions the government has imposed on the region of Haiti. Known as Haiti v. Federal Government, it would conclude that the lack of funding and treatment of the residents of Haiti were unconstitutional and that the government was reliable to maintain healthy living conditions for all residents it is responsible for. This resolution would begin to see the United States maintain proper funding for Haiti and its people, with the region becoming more and more sustainable over time and becoming a more prosperous state in the modern day, and top of that, would begin a domino effect of more and more protest on the treatments of African Americans in the United States. The investments would allow Haiti to eventually develop itself into a strong enough economy to be self-reliant and apply for statehood, being the newest state admitted to the Union in 1973.
The protest would become more rampant after the death of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy from Chicago who was brutally beaten to death by two white men. It became a symbol of the brutality that African Americans faced in the American system and the road ahead that African Americans faced if they wished for the freedom that they deserved. Months after the death of Emmitt Till, more stories would come out about African Americans resisting the system of oppression. Over time, it would be deemed that segregation in schools was unconstitutional, along with segregation in public areas such as transit and libraries—it was becoming clear Jim Crow laws were starting to become less restrictive and less effective in their goal to separate African Americans from society.
Eventually, in 1963, the march in Atlanta would be a defining symbol of the resistance towards the United States that African Americans faced. An estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people would join in the march to achieve equality in the United States, with the right to vote, decent living conditions, fair employment and integration into society, and a right to education.
Despite major support around the nation, white nationalist groups would begin to terrorize local black communities. Murder, assault, all of it showing that despite the success the movement had been achieving, there were still key issues within society itself that no law could ever solve without a new way of thinking about African American in America.
In the end, the United States would sign the Civil Rights Act in 1964. It would outlaw the discrimination that all blacks and other minorities had been facing, becoming one of the most significant pieces of law in the United States' history. It would finally give African Americans a chance in America and would allow for progress within the nation to continue.
Modern-day
The United States today is a developed mixed economy nation. It is the third largest GDP (nominal)—behind Canada and in front of Russia—while also being ranked as the 18th largest GDP per capita (nominal). The economy is fueled by its farming sector, natural resources, and productivity. It currently has one of the highest income inequality rates, but it has been significantly reduced over the last few decades. It also has multiple free trade agreements, such as NAFTA with Canada, California, the FAR, and Mexico.
It’s currently leading as the largest producer of petroleum and natural gas while also being the fourth largest manufacturer and trading country in the world, with its total trade amounting to over $3 trillion, roughly 28% of its GDP of $10.7 trillion. It currently has investments in technology-based mostly in Texas, while also making large investments into energy products such as petroleum, natural gas, nuclear, and renewable sources.
The United States is an automotive-based personal transportation nation and has most of its vehicle production in the Great Lakes, becoming the third largest automobile manufacturer in the market. It’s the largest automobile ownership, while also being the second largest automobile market by sale value. Its second most popular transportation industry is its airline industry, with rail transport being the third largest choice in transportation.
The United States has the fourth largest population in the world (between Russia and Canada), with most of its population growth occurring through immigration. Its most populous state is Texas due to the oil boom making it a large part of the state and nation's growth, while also having a significantly large population in its tropical Caribbean states. Most immigrants are from Europe, but a significant portion of them also originate from Latin America. 54.8% of its population is white, 21.8% is Latino, and 15.2% is black. A combination of its expansionist and slavery policies over its history has affected its demographics significantly. It is currently admitting an average of 400,000 immigrants annually, with most settling in the Deep South cities like Atlanta and New Orleans and the southern coastal states.
The American healthcare system is mostly based on private insurance, with few exceptions of public healthcare in government subsidies. Most employed Americans receive healthcare insurance through their employer, while more elderly and veterans rely on a government-funded insurance plan. Its healthcare performance on a global standard is seen as reasonable for quality compared to other countries but is far from perfect to its neighbours and many other nations. It is also ranked the highest nation for obesity rates while being close to the top in many other factors such as heart and lung disease, infant mortality, drug or alcohol injuries, and many more factors that bring a negative effect on life expectancy and the healthcare system.
The United States culture is a mix of Southern, Hispanic, African, and European traditions. As a nation, it is a common belief to follow the “American Creed” which stands for freedom, equality under the law, property rights, democracy, self-determination, and little government involvement in civic life. 73% of its population is Christian; 53% is Protestant and 18% is Catholic—with most of its population near the Mexican border and in the Caribbean—while 19% is deemed to have no religion. It is common for the average citizen to see themselves as one with the church and the land that they live on, while also having what is known as a Southern English dialect, which has a collection of multiple accents and idioms. Its cuisine includes a large variety of different types of food, becoming known as its most distinctive of American culture, with a lot of fried foods and many others adopted by its Native American and Latino populations, with a mix of African American food as well. A lot of the country's music is influenced by country, soul, and many others that make the United States a very distinct people in the world. It also has a large interest in American Football, Auto Racing, golf, fishing, and hunting. Most of the country's film industry is based in Southern Florida and Havana, Cuba—helping promote the country's tropical beaches that attract the country's large tourist industry.
The United States has one of the largest militaries in the world, having five service branches of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Most operations conducted by its army have been located in South America, specifically during the War on Drugs and Banana Wars. It has the second-largest navy in North America and the third-largest in the world, while also having the third-largest Air Force and Army in the world. It is also the third largest defence spender. It currently maintains four aircraft carriers, with all of them being posted in the Caribbean states of Yucatan, Florida, and Santo Domingo. It has a stockpile of over 2,000 nuclear missiles, while also having some of the most modern long-range missile capabilities—along with some of the most modern military systems in the world. Its culture of weapons and defence contributes to its large military being such an important component of the nation.
In this timeline, George Washington declined to run for president in 1788. In his place, John Adams was elected and Adams was succeeded in 1792 by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson began to consort with the radical fringe in the United States and in 1797 was deposed in a conservative coup led by the Society of the Cincinnati. To rally the nation, Washington was enthroned as king. The aristocrats that never gave up the power they held gained and over eh next century, power became consented in the hands of a titled elite. The Washington Dynasty saw its status rise as they became Emperors after the conquests of Canada and Mexico.
Across the sea, the French Republic succeeded against all the odds in exporting republicanism to all of Europe. Over four and a half decades, the French felled the Prussians, Austrians, Spanish, and British to create a bloc of republics from Russia to the Atlantic. The dream of 1789 has faded across Europe as the republics have devolved into unfree states with heavy government control over civilian life and a thirst for outward expansion.
As of 1900, the world is divided into two major blocs: led by Columbia is the Occidental League, an alliance of monarchs ranging from constitutional emperors to despotic tsars united in their hate of France and its European allies. From Paris, the Brotherhood of Equal Republics represents the republican states of the world in a strong military and economic alliance that detests the world’s monarchies just as much as the monarchies hate them. These two alliances seem destined for a clash between them, one that could engulf the whole world in flames.
- - -
Note that I don't think this is an especially likely alternate timeline. In many timelines, it seems that the United States is destined to turn into a liberal democracy. I'm trying to depict a world where things have gone a whole other direction.
The full writeup can be found here.
Thank you to Ungern of the paper soldier website Junior General for the poses and some of the parts used for the soldiers in the map.
Across the sea, the French Republic succeeded against all the odds in exporting republicanism to all of Europe. Over four and a half decades, the French felled the Prussians, Austrians, Spanish, and British to create a bloc of republics from Russia to the Atlantic. The dream of 1789 has faded across Europe as the republics have devolved into unfree states with heavy government control over civilian life and a thirst for outward expansion.
As of 1900, the world is divided into two major blocs: led by Columbia is the Occidental League, an alliance of monarchs ranging from constitutional emperors to despotic tsars united in their hate of France and its European allies. From Paris, the Brotherhood of Equal Republics represents the republican states of the world in a strong military and economic alliance that detests the world’s monarchies just as much as the monarchies hate them. These two alliances seem destined for a clash between them, one that could engulf the whole world in flames.
- - -
Note that I don't think this is an especially likely alternate timeline. In many timelines, it seems that the United States is destined to turn into a liberal democracy. I'm trying to depict a world where things have gone a whole other direction.
The full writeup can be found here.
Thank you to Ungern of the paper soldier website Junior General for the poses and some of the parts used for the soldiers in the map.
Old Enemies, New War- the 2023 Rome-Persia War
AN: some pictures were AI generated. Basemap made using QGIS, basemaps from Natural Earth Maps. .
“Rhomania and Iran's enmity is as ancient as the nations themselves. Theirs is a struggle between East and West- between Mars and Ahura Mazda- between Christianity and Islam- between Distributism and Technocracy. The war which has broken out, thus can be considered a continuation of this ancient feud. Rhomania and Iran have been at an uneasy peace for generations, but now this unnatural state of affairs has been shattered. Jazira's invasion of Assyria has kickstarted a chain of events which has led to Western Asia being consumed in ferocious battle.
But at the same time, this is a new war. Hypersonic missiles fly over Constantinople as drones loiter over Iranian cities. Supercomputers generate battle plans and grand strategies in the heart of Iran's Central Military Command. And worst of all- in thousands of silos and bunkers scattered under Anatolia and the Iranian Plateau- thousands of nuclear missiles, sarin gas bombs, and bioweapons lay dormant, patiently waiting for Iran or Rhomania to unleash their horror on the battlefield.
This may be the natural order of things. Perhaps Rhomania and Iran are destined by enemies. But I refuse to believe this. For the sake of those being gassed, bombed, dying and suffering in the fields and cities of West Asia- we must secure peace. For the sake of humanity’s survival, we must make sure the silos and bunkers never open.”
-Excerpt from the 2023 essay “Why Rhomania and Iran fight”, by Professor Khuyaq Quispe Maygua.
" One day, two thousand years of war will be but a distant memory for Rhomanians, Iranians, and all the people in between… Once the hate has melted away like dew, the craters bloom with wildflowers and the trenches become bubbling brooks, my children will see the end to war.”
OP-ED: A Resident of Theodosiopolis Mourns Peace
by Anonymous
In the center of Theodosiopolis, the Emperor stands alone.
His gaze is eternally east, towards the waters of Araxes flowing towards the border of Armenia, towards the pearly white slopes of Ararat and the place where my family, long before I was born, grew grapes along the shores of Lake Sevan. His gaze never wandered when my young father and his parents fled across the border being harried by Armenian troops, and as Rhomanian burned Manzikert a generation later.
I have been to the Emperor countless times, and I have come to see him as a friend. He has looked after my father’s family and later my family in health and sickness, through sunny days and winter storms. He is about the same as I remember him as a child- maybe a little more tarnished. But his courtiers- the bustling central market- is gone. The Armenian carpet makers haggling with customers, the Turkish councilman reading the latest proclamation from Constantinople- even old Pappous feeding the pigeons have been replaced by the roar of cataphracts heading to the border.
The Theodosiopolis I grew up in was one of many languages and many names. To my Turkish friends it was Erzurum- to my wife’s mother it was Karin, to the Georgian couple who always visited my father’s shop it was Karnu-kalaki. To walk down to the central market , in the shadow of the castle and beside the stone Emperor, was to walk down the whole world and hear all of its tongues.
Now when I walk in my beloved city, I cannot recognize her. Our Greek neighbor burns her icon of Gregory of Narek in the street, cursing the saint she once revered. The Iranian restaurant on Aphrodisias Street, which used to invite the city to a huge feast on Eid, is smashed and looted, the fountain where I once played with my Ossetian cousins is broken by falling missile debris. Old Stephanos’ house- where that old curmudgeon would endlessly wage war on his malfunctioning boiler- is a blackened ruin. As I passed the Emperor, the snow was melting off his eyes- wet streaks on his cheeks and pooling under his feet.
Every day, before we had dinner, my father would curse the Armenians. In his later years he would do it silently, as he knew that me and my sibling had many Armenian friends, but I could see his lips moving when I pretended to look away. I was bewildered and terrified by his hate- I could never understand it. But now seeing Iranian missiles kill my neighbors and friends, I finally understand it and feel it boiling deep inside me. But I know what is happening now is because of hatred- and I cannot be consumed by it.
As I write this, I can hear the shriek of Iranian hypersonic missiles overhead, and the low thumps of Rhomanian air defense rockets engaging. Over the crackling radio, I can hear an Armenian news anchor struggle to deliver the news of yet another Rhomanian chemical attack. Beside me, my wife is singing a soft Assyrian lullaby to our little children, trying not to think about her father and mother trapped by Iranian forces in Duhok.
I’ve always believed in peace- I felt like my family was living proof that all nations could live together as God’s Children. I still believe that one day, two thousand years of war will be but a distant memory for Rhomanians, Iranians, and all the people in between. My generation has failed- but I believe someday, once the hate has melted away like dew, the craters bloom with wildflowers and the trenches become bubbling brooks, my children will see the end to war, and the Theodosiopolis of my memories and dreams will be born again.
ARTICLE: At this critical moment, the international community deadlocks
by Liam Hamilton, World Congress Correspondent
MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRAI REPUBLIC : Three weeks into the new Rhomanian-Iranian War, the World Congress deadlocked again on a resolution calling for a ceasefire after aggressive obstructionism from the Rhomanian and Iranian delegations. After repeatedly delaying the vote by technicality, the 81 national delegations voted for a resolution condemning both nations and their allies for “overwhelming evidence of war crimes'' and calls for all parties to disengage and return to “internationally recognized borders.” Meanwhile, 47 national delegations voted against the resolution and 38 abstained, resulting in the resolution failing to reach a majority.
Meanwhile, dueling Rhomanian and Iranian resolutions were also shot down by wide margins. A Rhomanian resolution condemning Iran and Jazira for “their outrageous illegal invasion of Assyria'' and accusing Iran of “indiscriminate chemical warfare” failed by a vote of 41-85-40, while an Iranian resolution condemning Rhomania for “continuously attempting to provoke Jazira and Armenia to war” and it's “brutal genocidal actions in Armenia” failed by a vote of 30-92-44.
Many delegates voice their frustrations and fears. The Érainn delegate, Meabh Coinndealbhán, said that frustration in the anti-war camp has been aimed particularly at the abstaining national delegations. “Both Rhomania and Iran have the ability to wipe out humanity many times over, but these ****** have the gall to not vote at all?” exclaimed a frustrated Coinndealbhán. “Apologies for my outburst, but everyone in this chamber is tired and angry. Some of us have gotten physical”. One of the abstaining delegates however, Yaakov Straus-Mahfouz of Palestine, says that abstention does not come out of indifference but the very real threats to their country. “We are a small country, wedged between opposing sides. We cannot afford to take a side, even an anti-war one.” Straus-Mahfouz declines to name which countries threaten Palestine, but they are most likely Syria, which is part of the Rhomanian-led alliance, and Egypt, which has been diplomatically and militarily aiding Iran.
Meanwhile, in the two war camps, the mood is a mixture of grief and grim determination. Many of the diplomatic staff have left as both governments feel diplomacy has failed. The delegation teams which remain, are committed to defending the interests of their side and winning the war. An Assyrian delegate said that “The horror unleashed upon our people can only be met with force.” When I asked her about the alleged war crimes of Assyria’s allies, she said: “I have used up all my tears. My home is a ruin, my people are gassed, bombed and crippled daily. They have ripped up my heart: I have no sympathy to give them.”
Nevertheless, the diplomatic deadlock may be broken in the coming days. Tawantinsuyu, the world’s largest economy and the political leader of the Western Union, have signaled support for the anti-war camp and will throw its huge economic and political influence into a new security resolution designed to force a ceasefire. It is not known, however, whether Rhomania or Iran will bow to even threats of military action.
As delegates continue to battle it out in the World Congress, tens of thousands die in the villages, towns and cities of West Asia. The world teeters at the prospect of annihilation, and yet there seems to be no answer from the halls of power.
by Anonymous
In the center of Theodosiopolis, the Emperor stands alone.
His gaze is eternally east, towards the waters of Araxes flowing towards the border of Armenia, towards the pearly white slopes of Ararat and the place where my family, long before I was born, grew grapes along the shores of Lake Sevan. His gaze never wandered when my young father and his parents fled across the border being harried by Armenian troops, and as Rhomanian burned Manzikert a generation later.
I have been to the Emperor countless times, and I have come to see him as a friend. He has looked after my father’s family and later my family in health and sickness, through sunny days and winter storms. He is about the same as I remember him as a child- maybe a little more tarnished. But his courtiers- the bustling central market- is gone. The Armenian carpet makers haggling with customers, the Turkish councilman reading the latest proclamation from Constantinople- even old Pappous feeding the pigeons have been replaced by the roar of cataphracts heading to the border.
The Theodosiopolis I grew up in was one of many languages and many names. To my Turkish friends it was Erzurum- to my wife’s mother it was Karin, to the Georgian couple who always visited my father’s shop it was Karnu-kalaki. To walk down to the central market , in the shadow of the castle and beside the stone Emperor, was to walk down the whole world and hear all of its tongues.
Now when I walk in my beloved city, I cannot recognize her. Our Greek neighbor burns her icon of Gregory of Narek in the street, cursing the saint she once revered. The Iranian restaurant on Aphrodisias Street, which used to invite the city to a huge feast on Eid, is smashed and looted, the fountain where I once played with my Ossetian cousins is broken by falling missile debris. Old Stephanos’ house- where that old curmudgeon would endlessly wage war on his malfunctioning boiler- is a blackened ruin. As I passed the Emperor, the snow was melting off his eyes- wet streaks on his cheeks and pooling under his feet.
Every day, before we had dinner, my father would curse the Armenians. In his later years he would do it silently, as he knew that me and my sibling had many Armenian friends, but I could see his lips moving when I pretended to look away. I was bewildered and terrified by his hate- I could never understand it. But now seeing Iranian missiles kill my neighbors and friends, I finally understand it and feel it boiling deep inside me. But I know what is happening now is because of hatred- and I cannot be consumed by it.
As I write this, I can hear the shriek of Iranian hypersonic missiles overhead, and the low thumps of Rhomanian air defense rockets engaging. Over the crackling radio, I can hear an Armenian news anchor struggle to deliver the news of yet another Rhomanian chemical attack. Beside me, my wife is singing a soft Assyrian lullaby to our little children, trying not to think about her father and mother trapped by Iranian forces in Duhok.
I’ve always believed in peace- I felt like my family was living proof that all nations could live together as God’s Children. I still believe that one day, two thousand years of war will be but a distant memory for Rhomanians, Iranians, and all the people in between. My generation has failed- but I believe someday, once the hate has melted away like dew, the craters bloom with wildflowers and the trenches become bubbling brooks, my children will see the end to war, and the Theodosiopolis of my memories and dreams will be born again.
ARTICLE: At this critical moment, the international community deadlocks
by Liam Hamilton, World Congress Correspondent
MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRAI REPUBLIC : Three weeks into the new Rhomanian-Iranian War, the World Congress deadlocked again on a resolution calling for a ceasefire after aggressive obstructionism from the Rhomanian and Iranian delegations. After repeatedly delaying the vote by technicality, the 81 national delegations voted for a resolution condemning both nations and their allies for “overwhelming evidence of war crimes'' and calls for all parties to disengage and return to “internationally recognized borders.” Meanwhile, 47 national delegations voted against the resolution and 38 abstained, resulting in the resolution failing to reach a majority.
Meanwhile, dueling Rhomanian and Iranian resolutions were also shot down by wide margins. A Rhomanian resolution condemning Iran and Jazira for “their outrageous illegal invasion of Assyria'' and accusing Iran of “indiscriminate chemical warfare” failed by a vote of 41-85-40, while an Iranian resolution condemning Rhomania for “continuously attempting to provoke Jazira and Armenia to war” and it's “brutal genocidal actions in Armenia” failed by a vote of 30-92-44.
Many delegates voice their frustrations and fears. The Érainn delegate, Meabh Coinndealbhán, said that frustration in the anti-war camp has been aimed particularly at the abstaining national delegations. “Both Rhomania and Iran have the ability to wipe out humanity many times over, but these ****** have the gall to not vote at all?” exclaimed a frustrated Coinndealbhán. “Apologies for my outburst, but everyone in this chamber is tired and angry. Some of us have gotten physical”. One of the abstaining delegates however, Yaakov Straus-Mahfouz of Palestine, says that abstention does not come out of indifference but the very real threats to their country. “We are a small country, wedged between opposing sides. We cannot afford to take a side, even an anti-war one.” Straus-Mahfouz declines to name which countries threaten Palestine, but they are most likely Syria, which is part of the Rhomanian-led alliance, and Egypt, which has been diplomatically and militarily aiding Iran.
Meanwhile, in the two war camps, the mood is a mixture of grief and grim determination. Many of the diplomatic staff have left as both governments feel diplomacy has failed. The delegation teams which remain, are committed to defending the interests of their side and winning the war. An Assyrian delegate said that “The horror unleashed upon our people can only be met with force.” When I asked her about the alleged war crimes of Assyria’s allies, she said: “I have used up all my tears. My home is a ruin, my people are gassed, bombed and crippled daily. They have ripped up my heart: I have no sympathy to give them.”
Nevertheless, the diplomatic deadlock may be broken in the coming days. Tawantinsuyu, the world’s largest economy and the political leader of the Western Union, have signaled support for the anti-war camp and will throw its huge economic and political influence into a new security resolution designed to force a ceasefire. It is not known, however, whether Rhomania or Iran will bow to even threats of military action.
As delegates continue to battle it out in the World Congress, tens of thousands die in the villages, towns and cities of West Asia. The world teeters at the prospect of annihilation, and yet there seems to be no answer from the halls of power.
Just W.O.W.
Old Enemies, New War- the 2023 Rome-Persia War
AN: some pictures were AI generated. Basemap made using QGIS, basemaps from Natural Earth Maps. .
“Rhomania and Iran's enmity is as ancient as the nations themselves. Theirs is a struggle between East and West- between Mars and Ahura Mazda- between Christianity and Islam- between Distributism and Technocracy. The war which has broken out, thus can be considered a continuation of this ancient feud. Rhomania and Iran have been at an uneasy peace for generations, but now this unnatural state of affairs has been shattered. Jazira's invasion of Assyria has kickstarted a chain of events which has led to Western Asia being consumed in ferocious battle.
But at the same time, this is a new war. Hypersonic missiles fly over Constantinople as drones loiter over Iranian cities. Supercomputers generate battle plans and grand strategies in the heart of Iran's Central Military Command. And worst of all- in thousands of silos and bunkers scattered under Anatolia and the Iranian Plateau- thousands of nuclear missiles, sarin gas bombs, and bioweapons lay dormant, patiently waiting for Iran or Rhomania to unleash their horror on the battlefield.
This may be the natural order of things. Perhaps Rhomania and Iran are destined by enemies. But I refuse to believe this. For the sake of those being gassed, bombed, dying and suffering in the fields and cities of West Asia- we must secure peace. For the sake of humanity’s survival, we must make sure the silos and bunkers never open.”
-Excerpt from the 2023 essay “Why Rhomania and Iran fight”, by Professor Khuyaq Quispe Maygua.
" One day, two thousand years of war will be but a distant memory for Rhomanians, Iranians, and all the people in between… Once the hate has melted away like dew, the craters bloom with wildflowers and the trenches become bubbling brooks, my children will see the end to war.”
OP-ED: A Resident of Theodosiopolis Mourns Peace
by Anonymous
In the center of Theodosiopolis, the Emperor stands alone.
His gaze is eternally east, towards the waters of Araxes flowing towards the border of Armenia, towards the pearly white slopes of Ararat and the place where my family, long before I was born, grew grapes along the shores of Lake Sevan. His gaze never wandered when my young father and his parents fled across the border being harried by Armenian troops, and as Rhomanian burned Manzikert a generation later.
I have been to the Emperor countless times, and I have come to see him as a friend. He has looked after my father’s family and later my family in health and sickness, through sunny days and winter storms. He is about the same as I remember him as a child- maybe a little more tarnished. But his courtiers- the bustling central market- is gone. The Armenian carpet makers haggling with customers, the Turkish councilman reading the latest proclamation from Constantinople- even old Pappous feeding the pigeons have been replaced by the roar of cataphracts heading to the border.
The Theodosiopolis I grew up in was one of many languages and many names. To my Turkish friends it was Erzurum- to my wife’s mother it was Karin, to the Georgian couple who always visited my father’s shop it was Karnu-kalaki. To walk down to the central market , in the shadow of the castle and beside the stone Emperor, was to walk down the whole world and hear all of its tongues.
Now when I walk in my beloved city, I cannot recognize her. Our Greek neighbor burns her icon of Gregory of Narek in the street, cursing the saint she once revered. The Iranian restaurant on Aphrodisias Street, which used to invite the city to a huge feast on Eid, is smashed and looted, the fountain where I once played with my Ossetian cousins is broken by falling missile debris. Old Stephanos’ house- where that old curmudgeon would endlessly wage war on his malfunctioning boiler- is a blackened ruin. As I passed the Emperor, the snow was melting off his eyes- wet streaks on his cheeks and pooling under his feet.
Every day, before we had dinner, my father would curse the Armenians. In his later years he would do it silently, as he knew that me and my sibling had many Armenian friends, but I could see his lips moving when I pretended to look away. I was bewildered and terrified by his hate- I could never understand it. But now seeing Iranian missiles kill my neighbors and friends, I finally understand it and feel it boiling deep inside me. But I know what is happening now is because of hatred- and I cannot be consumed by it.
As I write this, I can hear the shriek of Iranian hypersonic missiles overhead, and the low thumps of Rhomanian air defense rockets engaging. Over the crackling radio, I can hear an Armenian news anchor struggle to deliver the news of yet another Rhomanian chemical attack. Beside me, my wife is singing a soft Assyrian lullaby to our little children, trying not to think about her father and mother trapped by Iranian forces in Duhok.
I’ve always believed in peace- I felt like my family was living proof that all nations could live together as God’s Children. I still believe that one day, two thousand years of war will be but a distant memory for Rhomanians, Iranians, and all the people in between. My generation has failed- but I believe someday, once the hate has melted away like dew, the craters bloom with wildflowers and the trenches become bubbling brooks, my children will see the end to war, and the Theodosiopolis of my memories and dreams will be born again.
ARTICLE: At this critical moment, the international community deadlocks
by Liam Hamilton, World Congress Correspondent
MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRAI REPUBLIC : Three weeks into the new Rhomanian-Iranian War, the World Congress deadlocked again on a resolution calling for a ceasefire after aggressive obstructionism from the Rhomanian and Iranian delegations. After repeatedly delaying the vote by technicality, the 81 national delegations voted for a resolution condemning both nations and their allies for “overwhelming evidence of war crimes'' and calls for all parties to disengage and return to “internationally recognized borders.” Meanwhile, 47 national delegations voted against the resolution and 38 abstained, resulting in the resolution failing to reach a majority.
Meanwhile, dueling Rhomanian and Iranian resolutions were also shot down by wide margins. A Rhomanian resolution condemning Iran and Jazira for “their outrageous illegal invasion of Assyria'' and accusing Iran of “indiscriminate chemical warfare” failed by a vote of 41-85-40, while an Iranian resolution condemning Rhomania for “continuously attempting to provoke Jazira and Armenia to war” and it's “brutal genocidal actions in Armenia” failed by a vote of 30-92-44.
Many delegates voice their frustrations and fears. The Érainn delegate, Meabh Coinndealbhán, said that frustration in the anti-war camp has been aimed particularly at the abstaining national delegations. “Both Rhomania and Iran have the ability to wipe out humanity many times over, but these ****** have the gall to not vote at all?” exclaimed a frustrated Coinndealbhán. “Apologies for my outburst, but everyone in this chamber is tired and angry. Some of us have gotten physical”. One of the abstaining delegates however, Yaakov Straus-Mahfouz of Palestine, says that abstention does not come out of indifference but the very real threats to their country. “We are a small country, wedged between opposing sides. We cannot afford to take a side, even an anti-war one.” Straus-Mahfouz declines to name which countries threaten Palestine, but they are most likely Syria, which is part of the Rhomanian-led alliance, and Egypt, which has been diplomatically and militarily aiding Iran.
Meanwhile, in the two war camps, the mood is a mixture of grief and grim determination. Many of the diplomatic staff have left as both governments feel diplomacy has failed. The delegation teams which remain, are committed to defending the interests of their side and winning the war. An Assyrian delegate said that “The horror unleashed upon our people can only be met with force.” When I asked her about the alleged war crimes of Assyria’s allies, she said: “I have used up all my tears. My home is a ruin, my people are gassed, bombed and crippled daily. They have ripped up my heart: I have no sympathy to give them.”
Nevertheless, the diplomatic deadlock may be broken in the coming days. Tawantinsuyu, the world’s largest economy and the political leader of the Western Union, have signaled support for the anti-war camp and will throw its huge economic and political influence into a new security resolution designed to force a ceasefire. It is not known, however, whether Rhomania or Iran will bow to even threats of military action.
As delegates continue to battle it out in the World Congress, tens of thousands die in the villages, towns and cities of West Asia. The world teeters at the prospect of annihilation, and yet there seems to be no answer from the halls of power.
"More successful revolutionary France leads to an undemocratic Europe" seems fairly standard, tho.' It's as if people don't like the French or something.
(And speaking of France, it's a bit odd that they've managed to overrun European Russia but have done nothing to expel the Ottomans from the Balkans. I could see the French avoiding spreading Republicanism and independence to the area if the Ottomans were an ally of convenience against the Russians, but that's hardly an issue here.)