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| Alternate History Input | |
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| Topic Started: Aug 15 2013, 09:40 PM (924 Views) | |
| Ànraich | Aug 15 2013, 09:40 PM Post #1 |
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L'évolution Spéculative est moi
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I wanted some input for a couple of ideas for new alternate history projects I've been tossing around in my head. The first I call Lion of the Pacific, which is about a Hawaii that remains independent and becomes a minor, though by no means overlooked, player on the world stage and de facto ruler of the Pacific. That's all on my other computer right now, which is currently off due to a massive electrical storm passing through. I'm still doing a lot of research on it too, so I'll get to it at a later date. The second, which I would like to discuss first actually, is a recent idea. ![]() It's your classic "CSA Wins" idea, which has been done to death, I know, but with a little bit of a twist. This map is circa 1925, and as you can see the Confederate States of America did not last very long after winning independence. Their idea for a federation of loosely associated states and their continued widespread use of slavery is simply unsustainable, and the nation rapidly collapses. While the Confederate States of America does still exist, it's a shadow of it's former self, and after an embarrassingly quick defeat at the hands of the United States in the Great War of 1914-1921, it's become increasingly isolationist and more and more obsessed with this new "fascism" idea. After declaring independence from the CSA in 1881, Texas started having Dreams of Empire. Continuing the Texas tradition of disputes over absurdly one-sided proposed borders with Mexico, the Texans found themselves in war after war after war with Mexico: and gaining more and more concessions with each victory. They finally stopped when the CSA and USA threatened to get involved in the last of the "Texmex" wars in 1910, but they had already gotten a Pacific port and were quite pleased with the results (although they did bully Mexico into later selling them the northern half of the Baja peninsula, if only to ensure Texan trade in the Pacific was secure). Texas tried to remain neutral during the Great War, but after it was clear that the Germans/French (not sure which side the CSA would/will be on) couldn't actually give them any real support and that the Confederacy stood no chance against the Union, they jumped in and managed to wrestle Sequoyah (Oklahoma) from them before their eventual surrender. After the loss West Florida seceded, having been a haven for Confederate deserters, abolitionists, and freemen since the American War of Independence (the American Civil War; what else would the Confederates call it?). While it dreams of joining the United States, that simply won't happen (there's a saying that before West Florida joins the Union, the second coming will have happened, pigs will fly, and men will walk on the moon). I think the last thing to mention would have to be the Republic of Louisiana, which has an interesting history. See, after the CSA became independent slavery became less popular with each year that passed. By 1900, most slaves had been freed (although most freemen lived in concentration camps, ghettos, or what amounted to indentured servitude), but large numbers were used as forced labor in wharfs, factories, and generally any industry that involved large amounts of dangerous or hard labor. Many were simply worked to death on assembly lines, and the biggest population of slaves lived in New Orleans. By this time most of Louisiana's populace was black, and most of them were slaves. Amongst the slaves a new idea was beginning to spread and give them hope, in fact one could say that the Confederacy was haunted by a specter... The specter of communism. In 1908 slave rebellions broke out all across the Confederacy, and the nation's trade and industry came grinding to a halt. In New Orleans radical abolitionists and communist slaves and freemen slaughtered slave owners and government officials indiscriminately, and the Confederate troops stationed in the region to keep the peace in case something like this happened were quickly ousted. Three years of this saw an independent Red Louisiana and absolute emancipation throughout the CSA, and it's gone surprisingly well for them. While history in OTL has shown that most communist nations quickly become terrible, terrible places to live controlled by terrible, terrible people, this timeline's first communist state had the distinction of being the only one to be founded by people who literally had nothing to lose but their chains. Communism is very dear to their hearts, and they take it quite seriously, although they have to make some concessions about their philosophy for the sake of practicality. Communist New Orleans is actually a very nice place to live... If you're black, anyways. They still appreciate art, and liberty, and free trade of course, but they are rapidly growing more and more militant and xenophobic. Whether this communist paradise will last the next few generations is yet unknowable. None of this is set in stone, it's basically a general idea. A lot of the dates are just random, I was just trying to build a general time frame for the events I had thought of. I just wanted some input on what people thought of the idea, what works and what doesn't, and if there's any opportunities I missed. Some ideas for where and what to research would be nice too, I haven't done much research for this one yet. |
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We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar. "The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming Tree That Owns Itself
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| Ànraich | Oct 5 2013, 03:53 PM Post #16 |
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L'évolution Spéculative est moi
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Well the rebirth of kingdoms and such emerged from the simple fact that people who had resources had power. Powerful families gained more and more influence in communities, and held on to that power as civilization began to rebuild. Somewhere along the line they became nobility. Most of these "kingdoms" have a senate, congress, parliament, or some combination thereof. Some places, like Omaha, are ruled directly by a congress, while others, such as Maine, elect presidents and have systems similar to the ancient American one. Some kingdoms have kings elected by the nobility or body of representation. Basically the reason that kings and nobility are in charge is because it's their wealth and resources that keep the kingdoms running. Now my plan is that in Europe things took a more democratic turn, since the sea level rise was arguably worse there than in the rest of the world. The populations of entire nations such as the UK, Netherlands, and Denmark were displaced as the sea swallowed their homes. Half of France is underwater. Italy is more of an archipelago than a peninsula. All these people had to be relocated to other places, and they of course wanted representation. Over time cultural diffusion took place, but the idea of democracy remained central to their way of life. So it's kind of a reversal, with the New World being ruled by kings while the Old World embraces republicanism. |
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We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar. "The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming Tree That Owns Itself
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| Lycaon | Oct 5 2013, 04:10 PM Post #17 |
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All hail Odin! All hail the Allfather!
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The true meaning of hypocrisy
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| whachamacallit2 | Oct 5 2013, 04:14 PM Post #18 |
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Guy who yells at squirrels
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Since Africa won't experience to much of a loss of land compared to the rest of the continents, what's going to happen there? |
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| lamna | Oct 5 2013, 04:53 PM Post #19 |
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No I mean the paraphernalia of Kingship. That kind of government is expected but why does it become official? During the Warlord Era the warlords never called themselves emperors or dukes. Does it get to a point where a a de-facto monarchy has been around so long that when someone changes it into an official one on a whim, nobody cares? And once one person has done it do the rest just follow suite? That would be a bit like making Queen Victoria Empress of India. Previously there had only been one Emperor, the ruler of the HRE, but Napoleon changed that, and with Mexicans and Brazilians becoming Emperors, we felt like we needed to keep up. |
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Living Fossils Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural 34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur. [flash=500,450] Video Magic! [/flash] | |
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| Ànraich | Oct 5 2013, 05:15 PM Post #20 |
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L'évolution Spéculative est moi
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Pretty much, yea. Warlords take over, then their children rule as warlords, and theirs, and so on until one day somebody decides that warlord is a harsh and archaic title, so they decide to become a monarch instead. Keep in mind this isn't feudal Europe, these people don't need a divine right to rule (except the Emperor of Mexico, he rules by divine right of Death, the One True God). They call themselves kings and emperors because, well, that's what they are by right of tradition. Some places take the rising sea levels pretty well. Before the collapse Africa was home to the richest, most powerful nations on Earth. They had finally achieved peace (more or less) and political stability (more or less), but when the oil finally ran out they fell into violence and discord just like everybody else. It wasn't just one thing that led to the collapse of global civilization, it was everything. There were too many people, not enough food to go around, uneven distribution of resources, and technology that advanced too damn fast for everybody to keep up. The climate shifted, the tropics expanded and the polar regions shrank as the temperate zones advanced on them. Antarctica is kind of like Australia now, with nice temperate coastal regions and a glacial, barren wasteland interior. There is no north pole as we know it, just a vast ocean with some icebergs near the middle. Speaking of Australia, they survive this whole ordeal quite well. Aside from Japan, they're the only country that has survived intact over the centuries, though it is no longer the same Australia thanks to the combination of cultural evolution and geographic isolation. They even have a Lord Regent to act as sovereign in absence of the British Crown, though the British people no longer exist, let alone their monarchy. |
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We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar. "The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming Tree That Owns Itself
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| lamna | Oct 5 2013, 05:19 PM Post #21 |
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Australia already has a Governor-General to do that exact job. |
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Living Fossils Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural 34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur. [flash=500,450] Video Magic! [/flash] | |
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| Ànraich | Oct 5 2013, 05:21 PM Post #22 |
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L'évolution Spéculative est moi
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Yes, but it doesn't sound as fancy as Lord Regent. |
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We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar. "The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming Tree That Owns Itself
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| lamna | Nov 15 2013, 06:25 PM Post #23 |
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Got any further with this? It's kinda cliché to have pseudo-Aztec Mexicans. Maybe you could have one crazy emperor who was into that, and a couple of his heirs have gone along with it but now they are moving away from it as part of the renaissance. What of the Martians, what kind of technology do they have? Are they still in contact with earth? What's the culture and government/governments like? |
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Living Fossils Fósseis Vibos: Reserva Natural 34 MYH, 4 tonne dinosaur. [flash=500,450] Video Magic! [/flash] | |
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9:22 AM Jul 11