Alternate History General Discussion

[Coiler]

Toying with the notion which I don't know is plausible, but can be a good point of difference: Having an independent Scotland's head of government still be called a "First Minister" and not a "Prime Minister"

Thoughts?

 

[SpanishSpy]

This is a very interesting WI with a wide cone of plausibility, I think. The effects of the Peninsular War on the Spanish Empire can't be underestimated with the mass formation of juntas and collapse of "legitimate" authority and all, and before that point most discontent against the Spanish Empire consisted either of conspiracies planning revolution or of local rebellions against Bourbon centralism. I suppose the main exception to this is Argentina, where after the 1806 British invasion there was a massive surge of local pride that concluded with the Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata being deposed and replaced with a local popular military leader, with the Spanish authorities accepting this. That's the sort of precedent that might conclude with independence if the Spanish eventually try to truncate this sort of pseudo-autonomy and mess it up hard. Another thing to keep in mind is that, during the Napoleonic Wars even before the Peninsular War, there was a massive spike in smuggling to British and American markets. So if the Spanish try to deal with that and mess it up, that's something that might create dissent. But other than that, it would be a long process - decades, I think - to get the critical mass for independence, and liberalism and nationalism would both be far weaker forces in the Spanish Americas. I suppose Britain would also be eager to egg on the independence movements to commercially dominate the newly independent states - a policy which Lord Selkirk wanted - and that will have some effects.

I like this this phrase - is it a phrase in common use? I haven't seen it but I could immediately tell what it meant.

 

[Indicus]

I like this this phrase - is it a phrase in common use? I haven't seen it but I could immediately tell what it meant.

Not that I’m aware of and as far as I know I came up with it, but I very well could have gotten it from somewhere and forgotten the source. As you say it struck me as a very natural turn of phrase for something that is an important part of AH.

 

[Christian]

Classical PoD: is the survival of Julia, Julius Caesar's daughter, enough to keep Pompey and Caesar in the same camp?

On the one hand, I can't see either consenting to the other being an equal to them, but that familial link is a very strong one, and despite the age gap, it does seem that Julia and Pompey genuinely loved each other. Would Julia be able to keep her father and her husband from coming to blows?

I remember reading an old AH story about Rome where Julia still died, but her child managed to survive, leading to Caesar and Pompey being united in their grief, but having a common heir.

Was written in the style of Shakespeare, well the opening bits were, and by EdT, and I half suspect some of you know him personally.

 

[SpanishSpy]

I read a book about China's non-Han majority regions and learned about Mount Kailash - it's holy to four different religions, and I couldn't help but think that, in a different timeline, it could be a contentions site something akin to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in our world, i.e. dropping a pin in the wrong place could start a world war.

 

[I Saw A Red Sky]

I read a book about China's non-Han majority regions and learned about Mount Kailash - it's holy to four different religions, and I couldn't help but think that, in a different timeline, it could be a contentions site something akin to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in our world, i.e. dropping a pin in the wrong place could start a world war.

The wonders of secular governance.

 

[InsertCoolUsernameHere]

What if FDR had lost at the 1932 Democratic National Convention. His support was pretty fragile, James Farley thought that it would quickly collapse if he hadn't been nominated by the fifth ballot. There were a few instances when Roosevelt came close to defeat, so what if this had actually come to pass? How would FDR's political career be impacted by this defeat?

 

[Mark]

What if FDR had lost at the 1932 Democratic National Convention. His support was pretty fragile, James Farley thought that it would quickly collapse if he hadn't been nominated by the fifth ballot. There were a few instances when Roosevelt came close to defeat, so what if this had actually come to pass? How would FDR's political career be impacted by this defeat?

Doesn't that miss the major interest of how does the US and World get impacted by no FDR?

 

[InsertCoolUsernameHere]

Doesn't that miss the major interest of how does the US and World get impacted by no FDR?

The thing I'm wondering is if FDR losing in 1932 would meaningfully impact his political career

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

this lady A timeline where Radama I (king of Madagascar in the early 19th century) survives and the island becomes a Japan-style country would be interesting, both due to the possibilities and the fact it would prevent Ranavalona I from coming to power. ("This lady" was supposed to be in place of her regnal name, but the hyperlink glitched out)

 

[Gary Oswald]

this lady A timeline where Radama I (king of Madagascar in the early 19th century) survives and the island becomes a Japan-style country would be interesting, both due to the possibilities and the fact it would prevent Ranavalona I from coming to power. ("This lady" was supposed to be in place of her regnal name, but the hyperlink glitched out)

Be more political continuity than primary european sources would have you believe. Radama was already heading towards breaking the british alliance before his death.

 

[Time Enough]

This may intrguie folks, but Francis Spufford, author of books like Red Plenty and Golden Hill has written an Alternate History book; Cahokia Jazz, set in a world where the Native American populations are infected with a less deadly version of smallpox and so by the 1920s, there still a large and thriving Native American population, the book is a Noirish Thriller set in the Deseret and follows the investigation of a murder. Read more about it here.

 

[iainbhx]

I‘ll be buying that, I enjoyed Red Plenty and have an interest in Cahokia.

 

[Hendryk]

I‘ll be buying that, I enjoyed Red Plenty and have an interest in Cahokia.

So did I, in fact when I read it I wished Spufford had done more counterfactual exploration of a Soviet command economy that managed to keep its promises. I'm intrigued to see he has also written bona fide AH.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

Since late 2023 on AH.com, criticism of my timelines has been one of the main factors hurting my mental health, alongside internet political discussions. While I originally took the feedback easily and even rewrote some of my TLs to make them more realistic, the constant negative feedback eventually got on my nerves. This applies to my replies to suggested PODs as well. The recent interaction on this thread over Madagascar history, where I got radioed, somewhat disappointed me, but I learned something new about its politics during the 1820s. There were two OC projects I abandoned due to criticism, one on this site, and another on Reddit.

 

[napoleon IV]

My pitch is that this ends with the Czechoslovak Legion becoming the Praetorian Guard for the eventual winners, and by the 1940s its understood by everyone that the Vozhd of the Russian State is simply a puppet of the Czechoslovaks.

 

[Hendryk]

My pitch is that this ends with the Czechoslovak Legion becoming the Praetorian Guard for the eventual winners, and by the 1940s its understood by everyone that the Vozhd of the Russian State is simply a puppet of the Czechoslovaks.

In With Iron and Fire some of the Czechoslovak Legionnaires stay behind in the newly founded state of Yakutia, including General Gajda, who by 1933 has become its de facto dictatorial ruler.

 

[SultanArda]

Can I ask you something?
How can you decide on whether what you are writing is bland or not?
Because I feel like what I am writing right now for my timeline (as I am now stuck in the first and most dreaded part of "The Cadets Are Not Deceived!", the info dump regarding Turkey of the 1950s, and especially before the coup situation.)
Here is the link to it (Warning: It is in the membership-required part of the website), please tell me whether what I wrote so far is bland or not as bad as I am thinking of them to be.

 

[NotDavidSoslan]

Can I ask you something?
How can you decide on whether what you are writing is bland or not?
Because I feel like what I am writing right now for my timeline (as I am now stuck in the first and most dreaded part of "The Cadets Are Not Deceived!", the info dump regarding Turkey of the 1950s, and especially before the coup situation.)
Here is the link to it (Warning: It is in the membership-required part of the website), please tell me whether what I wrote so far is bland or not as bad as I am thinking of them to be.

Try to write the information in an exciting tone.

 

[SultanArda]

Try to write the information in an exciting tone.

How can I do it?