Fred Koch as President? Oh Lord...
I confess that this was a little "OMG, butterflies" and I have really made the cardinal sin in most timelines by ignoring the fact that - come fifty years from the PoD, it is unlikely that anyone recognisable to their OTL selves are going to exist. That said, it was only a bit of fun, and I think that there is a contractual obligation to have at least one independent in the White House in the majority of timelines.
So is there a reason why King Alexander took a Scottish name (becoming, I presume, the first monarch to do so)? Very fun, and it's interesting to see how many people were forced to leave their countries and became influential in their fields in the new countries. As you say, in some respects this is a better world than OTL, in others it isn't. Overall though, any timeline without the USSR and Nazi Germany is almost bound to be an improvement. It's hard to imagine circumstances where their absence makes things worse.
Well, OTL's (and presumably, ITTL) Edward VIII would have been David III had he taken his favourite name as his regnal number. If I remember correctly, EdT had 'Alexander IV' as King-in-Exile at the end of FaBR, so I didn't think it was too unlikely. I suppose that a monarch who ascends to the throne at a time when Scotland has rumblings of secessionist tendencies may decide to take the name as a sop to the nationalists.
For the record;
Monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Irish Free State and the Commonwealth Realms
1910-1936: George V
1936-1971: Edward VIII
1971-2009: Alexander IV
2009-0000: Victoria II (great micromanagement grand-strategy game, Ed.)
Still going to post a map of TTL? That's be pretty interesting!
Also, what is Russia's population in TTL? I imagine a lot higher with no Great Patriotic War or Stalin....
I may well do a map, it is a four-day weekend after all!
I imagine that Russia's population is a good fifty million above OTL - not simply because of the Great Patriotic War or Stalin's Purges (mass killings have still happened under Wrangel) - but also because the slowed development of gender matters and acceptability of birth control. That is pure speculation of course, I'd have to actually sit down and feed some numbers into a spreadsheet.
I was just about to ask that. This is a fantastic TLIAFD/W, just a little hard to keep track of what's where.
Is the EC analogous to the EU, or is it a proper federalized Europe?
I did indeed see the EC as being similar to the European Union - but with more emphasis on military integration than on economic/trade matters. The Confederation Headquarters are based in Vienna, the inception from the idea coming from the development of Danubia. The Habsburg family obviously, have been very heavily involved in promoting it.
Amazing as ever and highly original. You've crafted a world that is both totally alien and completely recognisable. Neither overwhelmingly utopic or dystopic, but different and therefore much more interesting (imho).
Unfortunately I don't know nearly enough about Russian history to comment on specifics, but I really enjoyed the plausible portrayal of a transition from autocracy to revolutionary state to "strong man" dictatorship, to eventual "western" democracy. The timeline really captures the feel of just how long and difficult it can be for that kind of democratic tradition to take root.
I'd second the call for a map, even just one of Europe (presumably the region most changed in borders and political geography), but I appreciate that you might want to keep the style of the work "as is" with interpretation of the wider world left to the reader.
It really means a great deal, old chap, thank you.
As I said, I did not set out to make this anything other than 'different' - some things are better, some things are worse. I suppose that a lot of this comes down to where you are.
To use just one example, the Jewish population of Eastern Europe remains largely as it was in OTL prior to WWII, and Yiddish is still commonly spoken (our own Ms. Rosenbaum being a typical example) in place of Hebrew. However, Zionism has not taken root in any meaningful sense and although the Levant Federation has a number of immigrants, the world's largest Jewish populations are in the United States, Poland and Russia proper. I'm sure that this is still far preferable to the legacy of HaShoah - but the average Jewish person living ITTL is likely to be poorer, more actively discriminated against and with far more restrictions placed on their freedom of movement.
Another one?
You two are unstoppable!
Since the mission to Venus is described as joint Anglo-Italian effort, does that mean that neither country is part of this alt-European Community? If so, is that the reason for such partnership to be established or did something happen during or after the War of the Iron Pact that pulled the two nations together? As an Italian, this "special relationship" between my homeland and the UK fascinates me!
The real question about eugenics would be if it managed to transcend its so-called "negative" form that was most common in the late XIX/early XX centuries and evolved into its "positive" approach, derived by deeper understanding of Mendelian genetics. I mean, I hope the Russian Minister for Eugenics by the second half of '900 are able to do something more than ordering the sterilisation of criminals and mentally ill people and that something like "genetic counselling" exists for people wishing to have hereditary disease-free children.
All very much food for thought - if I decide to flesh things out further (I may well do a map, actually) I may do so. As Meadow and others have said, one of the points of TLIAD/Ws is to get a coherent narrative done in a short space of time, rather than a focus on world building. I am sure that there are many areas of this TL that will fall to bits if they are questioned for an extended period of time, but I may have to have a think in the weeks to come.
Nevertheless, many thanks for all of your kind words - I will consider what you have said and get back to you.
