Crosspost from the current MotF. The challenge is "And Then There Were Few", to have the smallest number of countries possible. As such, the map is going to be *a bit* ASB within that context, but I've done my best to make it reasonable. I've made a world with only 21 sovereign nations.
Timeline Report
Timeline: 1750UF (United States/France super-state Centric)
'Current' Year: 2000
PoD: Indeterminate, minor changes traced to around 1750.
Structure: Multipolar (6 great powers/blocs)
Dominate Ideology: Colonialism*
* Overseer's Note: While colonialism still has strong hold on this world, most researchers' expert opinion is that the structure has been tipped past the point of no return. Though there is a heavy undercurrent of traditional democratic/neo-liberal/progressive ideas, the traditional communist paradigm has been suppressed by the powers that be to the point that it was forced into colonial populations, rather than the traditional working class outlet. 1750UF appears on the brink of this ideology exploding rapidly, with some rebellions already having had success. Notably, there has also been an instance of successful fusion with radical Islamism as well.
Travel Advisories: Local Dystopia conditions exist across large parts of the planet, especially for non-dominant local ethnic, religious, and otherwise distinct groups. Researchers should also take note that 1750UF has one of the highest danger coefficients for racism of any in the catalog.
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Timeline Summary
Researchers have as of yet been unable to determine the exact PoD for this timeline as the local culture, while not overly different from that of our own, has a unique combination of factors that makes operating difficult. Likely the initial changes occurred in the mid-18th Century, and were of little consequence, but the eventual spiral resulted in a widely successful American and French Revolutions, described by some as "best case" scenarios. The timeline shows a heavy tendency towards the formation of superstates, driven by these two nations. As of the 'current' year, 2000, only
21 sovereigns exist. TL 1750UF is a world of extremes, where conservative colonialism still reigns supreme, yet the ideas unleashed by the French Revolution are still strong. The denizens of 1750UF appear to have established a philosophical disconnect between these ideas and how universally applicable they are to all of mankind.
The key event in establishing how drastically different this timeline progressed is the fact that the Napoleonic Wars lasted until well into the Late 19th Century, followed by a century of relative "peace". TL 1750UF presents a case where definitions are important. There has been no "major" war between the great powers since circa 1890 or so, barring a few Asian conflicts, but most of the great powers have been embroiled with maintaining order within their own boundaries, through a variety of means, both violent and non-violent, which has reduced the number of multi-state conflicts. No analogue of either WW1 or WW2 has occurred. The later stages of the Napoleonic wars, after 1820 or so, are instead called the European Reorganization, consisting of a complex series of mid-scale conflicts involving France that drastically reshaped the continent but after any threat of Napoleon actually losing hold of France had vanished. The last movement of the European Reorganization was the War of the German States which began in 1880 and ended with the Treaty of Prague in 1888 which recognized the need to keep Russian and French interests distinct. Though a few minor changes have occurred since then in Europe, by and large to this day the provisions of that treaty still govern the organization of Europe.
Below is a summary of the six major blocs (and four non-aligned sovereigns). As a final note, technology in this timeline is somewhat disjointed. On average technology can be said to be that of the Prime TLs' 1970s, but not all areas are equal. For example, nuclear weapons have never been developed, though some theoretical discussion in universities has occured. Rocketry is even further behind the standard advancement table. However, consumer electronics are only slightly behind standard advancement (meaning compared to the rest of 1750UF computing and electronics are about 15 years ahead). It is estimated some form of internet will develop by 2005, only marginally behind standard advancement considering the state of technology in other areas.
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(Blocs listed in relative order of power.)
The strongest bloc in 1750UF is led by the
French Empire, under the Bonaparte Dynasty. Though responsible for the greatest upheaval 1750UF has ever seen, and indeed one of the largest of any archived TL, since 1890 the French have also overseen a Pax Europa that is also unrivaled. Throughout the 19th Century Europe, or most of it, was reformed according to many of the less radical ideas of the Revolution, and Bonapartes installed on key thrones to cement the change. Acceptance was slow and uneven. The real jewel in the European System, from Paris' perspective, is the
Italian Empire, under Emperor Victor Napoleon III, distant cousin to current French Empress Eugenie. Less cooperative is the
Iberian Empire. The monarchy was imposed on the peninsula in the 1840s in an attempt to fight resistance by centralizing control. Over the long run the effort has more or less worked, though even now many view the Empire as little better than an actual French puppet. Still, Paris has graciously "allowed" Iberia to maintain colonies, mostly ones already belonging to the Spanish and Portuguese. Iberia is definitely not as firmly under Paris' thumb as the
Grand German Confederation, however, which is a deliberately complex and inefficient system that unified most of the German states. Though again, one state is easier to control than many, historically Germany was a great trouble spot, at least until the Treaty of Prague formally recognized Russian interests. While being deeply flawed, the Confederation also did allow France to formally "define" what nationalism should look like, as well. For extra-European affairs France has generally relied on fairly middle-of-the-road colonial arrangements, though also more forceful arrangements when faced with rebellion. However, France's global standing is also augmented by an alliance with the
Federation of La Plata and the Andes. The French-British rivaly has only intensified, even if the British are on the losing end, and La Plata helps keep France's interests in the Western hemisphere secure.
The second strongest bloc is lead by the
United Associated States, the new name of the United States of America following a second constitution roughly 100 years ago. The UAS is moderately isolationist, when it comes to military affairs, though thrives on international trade. The UAS has sympathies with both the British and the French, but ever so slightly leans towards the French, mostly because post-Napoleonic British governments have tended to be, for lack of a better word, "abrasive" when it comes to diplomacy. With Europe engaged for over a century following it's formation, the nascent United States was left to its own devices in North America, especially as British Canada joined the young republic in its Revolution. The Civil War occurred much as it does in most TLs, though with proportionally more resources on both sides. Following the conflict, though, the United States found itself in a very unstable position, in part due to increased diversity in the population and a more unruly South. By the 1880s it was clear something major would have to be done, but it wasn't until the 1900s that a new Constitutional Convention was managed. By and large the new Constitution is similar to the old one, but with increased protections for minorities and more powers for individual states. This only marginally helped stability, but it helped enough. The Mexican states were quite happy with the arrangement, and while conflict between the former CSA and the North continued, the UAS had reached a side where this one conflict wasn't enough to dominate politics. The UAS is joined in a triple alliance by
United States of Central America, actually the second attempt at such a country, and
Haiti, the world's smallest country. The USCA was an effort by the late US government to create stability in Central America, at a time when Mexico was still presenting quite a problem. While originally it was very much a UAS puppet, over time the reigns have slowly been released.
Surpassing the British, The
Russian Empire is perhaps the single strongest country on the face of this Earth, though it lacks any formal allies. Prolonged conflict with the French has made Russia much more European focused and informally allied with the British, though Asia has not been neglected. Russia has adopted an interesting dual strategy for stability. In Europe, nations that were particularly troublesome have sometimes been created as mostly autonomous Kingdoms that are still under the Tsar. The most autonomous is
Prussia, which at times is said to be Russian in name only. Devastated repeatedly across the 19th Century, by the end it had little choice to avoid being absorbed into Pax Europa though. Prussia is joined by
Finland,
Poland,
Bulgaria, and
Serbia, all who have various levels of freedom as well. Indeed, Serbia is comparable to Prussia, except for the fact that they don't mind being Russian as much, with Bulgaria a close second. Russian forces, combined with forces from these five autonomous regions, are then used to more "traditionally" quell revolts across colonial territory in Asia.
The
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is a shadow of its former self, in more than one way. British prestige has never recovered from Napoleon's rise, and foreign policy since has largely been a desperate attempt to challenge France on the world stage despite always being a step behind. As such, the UK tried to maintain a large colonial empire, and indeed, in some ways up until recently the British had the "better" Empire. Aside from Russia, whoever, who was of little help, the British really had no help in this effort, furthermore meeting resistance not only from Pax Europa, but the Ottomans and Chinese as well. Since the 1980s the Empire has definitely been in a state of crisis, losing India after a bloody but short struggle. While rebellions are up across the world, with more and more effective weapons in the hands of locals finally, of all the colonial powers the British are the ones to have been defeated, and other British holdings can definitely smell blood in the water. Britain does have other allies, but none are even close to the strength of Russia. The
Kingdom of Brazil, or rather, the Kingdom of Portugal occupies a part of South America, but has next to no power projection. Simply put, it's hands are tied domestically and in local foreign politics. In many ways the Kingdom is just a colony, too. Many defeated powers saw major migration to Brazil, but rather than integrate, a European society has been built on top the locals. More trouble is likely in store soon. The
Kingdom of Scandinavia is likewise in no position to help. Originally Scandinavia was a French effort, but around 1900 it peacefully realigned to the British Sphere, mostly for trade reasons. Militarily Scandinavia has always chosen a policy of careful neutrality. Lastly, the
South African Union is in a similar state to Brazil, but with less European manpower and harsh measures that would make even nominal colonial nations blush. It was actually formed when European colonists themselves, of which there was a significant number, took matters into their own hands when there was a local revolt in the late 1970s. Everyone knows that isn't going to end well, but the UK isn't about to turn down one of it's only allies, even one that's constantly insubordinate and technically a breakaway nation.
In Asia, there's surprisingly little to say. The
Qing Empire is doing well, though constantly saber rattling at the Europeans. Around 1910 Japan became a major point of contention which resulted in a mid-sized war between the Qing and a team of Russia and the UK, which resulted in a Qing victory after the Europeans realized they could win, but it would be pyrrhic. The end result made a unified
Empire of Japan, but as a Chinese puppet. The Japanese were not happy, by any means, but the point of the result was to leave Japan free from "direct" Chinese influence while also preventing colonization, a "neutral zone" of sorts.
The last major bloc is led by the
Ottoman Empire. With Europe distracted, the Ottomans eventually were able to get internal rivalries under control. They were later bolstered when the UK attempted to make Arabia the next place it was going to carve out for its Empire, uniting locals to the Ottoman banner in resistance. The French have been on fairly good terms with the Ottomans, believing that there is more benefit in letting them have a go at the British from time to time than there is from taking chunks for themselves. The Ottomans have recently been joined by the
Peoples Revolutionary Caliphate, one of two nations to successfully revolt against the British in India. The PRC is an unholy fusion of Revolutionary Leftism and Islam. Internally things are actually quite pleasant for the population, but only because there are plenty of chances to off former colonial masters as an outlet for bloodlust. Even the Ottomans are wary of their new ally. After all, they already have the Caliph, why do they need another? Many believe in the long term the PRC isn't sustainable, but for now, it's a major upcoming force in 1750UF.
There are four "neutral" powers, though some of the neutral powers are actually rather aggressive. Their power just isn't enough to warrant being treated as a bloc. The strongest is the
Republic of Greater India, the other country to form out of former British India. Ideologically India is also very very anti-colonial, but the difference is they've put focus on getting their own house in order first. Liberation of other colonies comes second, and at this rate, that second may be a long ways off. Unlike the PRC, they're still willing to negotiate, too.
Next strongest is the
Kingdom of Hungary, still under Hapsburg rule. The Hapsburgs are mildly isolationist these days, but can be said to be moderate in many ways. These days nationalism in Europe is definitely dead, but it doesn't mean there are always sunshine and rainbows. There's also still a lingering sense of bitterness over the Treaty of Prague. To be fair to them, Austria had been brought back into the fold from the nationalist riots, but France didn't care. Their new Germany was too important, or rather, too big a point of contention for their pride. Hungary is most friendly with Russia, but their heart really just isn't in the great game anymore.
The third neutral power is perhaps the most active internationally. The
Union of Bolivar has been around quite awhile as a union of former Spanish colonies. They are aggressively anti-colonial, but more importantly, were aggressively expansionist themselves more than they were anti-colonial, back in the day. Amazingly, internally they're probably second only to the UAS in terms of democratic institutions, though the Union is also decentralized to a great degree. That said, while objectively the democracy is free, the Unitary Parliament is frequently a supermajority rule by the leading conservative party.
And last, and definitely least, is the
Kingdom of Ethiopia. Ethiopia makes a nice neutral ground in Africa, isn't strong enough to generally be of note, and doesn't even have an alliance like Haiti does to make it worth mentioning in most contexts. Historically it has had border skirmishes with the Ottomans mostly, and some with the British, but most everything has been stable for the past 50 years.
Though TL 1750UF is frequently cited as one of the best examples of the Superstate Convergence paradigm, it is also important to note that this is a TL on the brink of systemic collapse, also providing a case that even in TLs where one paradigm has reigned supreme that does not mean that paradigm will always reign supreme. It is unfortunate that this TL is so difficult to study, as it is perhaps one of the most important to understand.
