There's a map/article/meme that goes around of Colonised Europe, which is meant as a provocative 'ah, but what if Europe was colonised/treated like the Middle East' - but didn't seem quite going far enough for it. I saw it again yesterday and it struck me Ireland is a unified state with no odd name, so a colonised Europe means Ireland is better off, and that seemed a bit Wrong.
So I had a rough go at my own!
- As few places as possible should be able to say "well we've won cos we're bigger". You might be but you also might be a completely different country or being bombed by the Norwegian People's Front
- This is more-or-less the result of a "scramble for Europe" in the 16th century. This means for a chunk of Europe, it's more "what if you stayed colonised longer", "what if the coloniser came back and won again", and "what if the coloniser changed".
- Some bits were never colonised because nobody could be bothered (in Switzerland's case, ala Abyssinia, it also fought too hard). Some bits, as with Europe's overseas territories, stay under foreign control for Reasons. (As Turkey IS the coloniser, it's larger)
- The names of the new nations are a mix of existing country names (not always the right ones), regional/geographic ones (same), and very nationalist names, chosen post-independence. These are not just the old colonial borders as places were conquered, split, or unified over the years. Some rich city-states are now independent.
- Some 'ethnic homelands' were created - based on imperial fiat and overlooking who else lived there, or whether you wanted to be there.
https://twitter.com/cepmurphy
- Protestantism was spread about because imperial powers weren't putting up with some guy in Rome saying he was talking to God.
So I had a rough go at my own!
- As few places as possible should be able to say "well we've won cos we're bigger". You might be but you also might be a completely different country or being bombed by the Norwegian People's Front
- This is more-or-less the result of a "scramble for Europe" in the 16th century. This means for a chunk of Europe, it's more "what if you stayed colonised longer", "what if the coloniser came back and won again", and "what if the coloniser changed".
- Some bits were never colonised because nobody could be bothered (in Switzerland's case, ala Abyssinia, it also fought too hard). Some bits, as with Europe's overseas territories, stay under foreign control for Reasons. (As Turkey IS the coloniser, it's larger)
- The names of the new nations are a mix of existing country names (not always the right ones), regional/geographic ones (same), and very nationalist names, chosen post-independence. These are not just the old colonial borders as places were conquered, split, or unified over the years. Some rich city-states are now independent.
- Some 'ethnic homelands' were created - based on imperial fiat and overlooking who else lived there, or whether you wanted to be there.
https://twitter.com/cepmurphy
- Protestantism was spread about because imperial powers weren't putting up with some guy in Rome saying he was talking to God.