Union of American Realms: A World-Building Exercise

[Osk]

This is a really cool TL! Any hints as to the outside world or just focusing on the Union?

I've mostly been focusing on the Union, aside from a few abstract thoughts I've had on the rest of the world. I'm open to some suggestions.

I have been toying with one idea which is that the ideology that the Union is founded on is a warped one, loosely inspired by Cromwell's failed Commonwealth. It's pushed by an TTL author and founding father named Isaac Fox, who writes a series of political pamphlets, manuscripts and novellas prior to and during TTL's war of independence. Essentially, Cromwell and his supporters are exiled to Saybrook.

 

[Oliveia]

I mean, the biggest question I have is what this "European Collapse" is. I'm assuming it is just meaning the decolonization of the Americas, but I need to double check.

 

[Osk]

I mean, the biggest question I have is what this "European Collapse" is. I'm assuming it is just meaning the decolonization of the Americas, but I need to double check.

The "European Collapse" is a catch-all term I've decided to use for a hypothetical collapse of European nations in the early-mid 20th Century, perhaps starting in the late late 19th Century. The collapse, in my mind, isn't caused by a single event, but rather is brought about gradually by a multitude of events. I'm thinking it starts with droughts/famines hitting the continent in the late 19th Century, followed by large scale warfare in the early 20th century unchecked by outside powers like the US. I've also toyed with the climax being biowarfare that leaves a lot of Europe crippled and sparks a large refugee crisis. By the 21st Century, Europe is certainly stable again, but it took a whopping.

The collapse is a fluid concept and nothing is set in stone or canon yet!

 

[Oliveia]

The "European Collapse" is a catch-all term I've decided to use for a hypothetical collapse of European nations in the early-mid 20th Century, perhaps starting in the late late 19th Century. The collapse, in my mind, isn't caused by a single event, but rather is brought about gradually by a multitude of events. I'm thinking it starts with droughts/famines hitting the continent in the late 19th Century, followed by large scale warfare in the early 20th century unchecked by outside powers like the US. I've also toyed with the climax being biowarfare that leaves a lot of Europe crippled and sparks a large refugee crisis. By the 21st Century, Europe is certainly stable again, but it took a whopping.

The collapse is a fluid concept and nothing is set in stone or canon yet!

Ooh, I like this tbh.
Maybe have the former British colony be called New Albion - the British name for California?

 

[Planita13]

Hey Osk it's me. The guy with the lake TL. I really like how your own timeline is going so far. Keep up the good work!

 

[Osk]

Hey Osk it's me. The guy with the lake TL. I really like how your own timeline is going so far. Keep up the good work!

Why thanks!!

 

[Oliveia]

Ooooooh!

Perhaps New Albion is formally founded in TTL as the oldest English settlement in the New World, but is so far removed at the time of TTL's !Revolution! that it doesn't join the other colonies, before eventually breaking off on it's own either in the late 19th Century or the early 20th Century?

Would be interesting! There's a section on Wikipedia as to why the New Albion claim wasn't followed through with, but imagine how interesting it would be if it was. I can really quickly crank out a couple ideas in a new post, so I'll do that in a second

 

[Oliveia]

New Albion:
Capital: Francistown

Governor's Manor, in Francistown (built in 1667)
Flag:

(Literally just the Patriote flag, but it's an idea that popped into my head)

 

[Osk]

Will get back to this soon!

 

[Pragmatic Progressive]

I've also toyed with the climax being biowarfare that leaves a lot of Europe crippled and sparks a large refugee crisis.

(Pseudo-)Communist vs. reactionary powers ends first in bloody, bloody civil wars and then, some dictator has the audacity and insanity to unleash a real biowarfare attack (I imagine an Operation Vegetarian-type attack)? Or do you think other types of biowarfare would be more collapse-y?

 

[Pragmatic Progressive]

The big question then is that state I have between Aleyska and California/Tejas... I was thinking of making it a former British colony pre-European collapse, as they tried to reinsert themselves on the continent during the 19th Century? What do y'all think?

Now with the New Albion idea floating, California would be most likely a Tejan puppet.

 

[Osk]

I'm thinking I may nix Kanawha and fold it into Virginia; don't really see an opportunity for the split ITTL.

 

[Dante]

I'm thinking I may nix Kanawha and fold it into Virginia; don't really see an opportunity for the split ITTL.

It's possible that the people of Kanawha where tired of being politically dominated by the richer, plantation based east? The two halves of have always Virginia are very different economically and culturally.

 

[Osk]

It's possible that the people of Kanawha where tired of being politically dominated by the richer, plantation based east? The two halves of have always Virginia are very different economically and culturally.

That was my initial intent, but I couldn’t find a way mentally to justify the split - as in, why would the plantation elite ever let the coal regions leave? It’s a little different from Chicago leaving Kaskasia simply because that’s a scenario where the richer, more populated area chooses to leave - here, we have a less populated area, with rich resources, that I doubt the more powerful east would willingly allow to leave.

Idk just a thought. Plus there’s currently 51 realms and I want 50 lol

 

[Dante]

That's a good point, why let all that coal go? Unless there was some sort of conflict between the two? Possibly Kanawha started becoming abolitionist and and started to oppose the planter elite, maybe then it would be easier to just let them go. I like the idea of keeping them together, and all the potential conflict that the two halves would have with each other, and 50 is a nice round number.

 

[Osk]

That's a good point, why let all that coal go? Unless there was some sort of conflict between the two? Possibly Kanawha started becoming abolitionist and and started to oppose the planter elite, maybe then it would be easier to just let them go. I like the idea of keeping them together, and all the potential conflict that the two halves would have with each other, and 50 is a nice round number.

Yeah plus keeping them together provides some interesting political narrative!

 

[Dante]

Yeah plus keeping them together provides some interesting political narrative!

Exactly! Who else are you thinking of combining? I can think of several potential realms to combine.

 

[Osk]

Exactly! Who else are you thinking of combining? I can think of several potential realms to combine.

Well if I combine Virginia, it’ll be 50, but I think I may want larger realms anyway so please do share your suggestions!

 

[Osk]

So I've decided that East Florida will be majority Spanish-speaking, with it's brother West Florida having a three-way split between English, French and Spanish speakers.

 

[Dante]

Well if I combine Virginia, it’ll be 50, but I think I may want larger realms anyway so please do share your suggestions!

If your still thinking of combining some of the realms here are a few ideas:

-Maine and New Brunswick are pretty similar culturally and economically

-I'm not sure, but, it looks like central Illinois in a native state in TTL named Tecumseh? I'm not sure what the deal with OTL Indiana is, maybe you could combine them.

-Not sure what the three states that make up OTL Ontario have going on in this timeline, maybe the two western ones can be combined? Their populations seperatly would be pretty low.

-Same with OTL Minnesota and Manitoba

Long Island was historically settled by a lot of people from New England, maybe you can give it to one of the tiny New England realms?

You could combine the Carolinas, but, that's kind of boring. Culturally they're very different so keeping them separate makes sense.

I feel like the huge blobs west of the Mississippi OTL Iowa, Nebraska, etc could be combined.

Maybe give North Jersey to New York and South Jersey to Pennsylvania?



Just my take.

Also when can we expect an update on Chicagou? As a resident I'm interested to see what the history of my city is.