I apologize for the recent hiatus, it took a little longer than I predicted to get the next part sorted out, but I will have it posted later this week. Also, while I certainly appreciate the support and sentiment behind the thread bumps, there are other more productive means of getting my attention that don't get everyone's hopes up.
An interesting tit-bit that's somewhat relevant to the timeline and I think many of you may enjoy; the last known Palaiologos died in Barbados in 1678
https://www.thenationalherald.com/3...last-byzantine-emperor-in-western-hemisphere/
That's really fascinating. I knew about the Montferrat branch of the Palaiologoi, Demetrios and Thomas Palaiologos, Sophia Palaiologina and her brother Andreas, but I had assumed that was it so I'm really quite surprised by this. After doing a little more digging, I learned that the Greek Government actually sent representatives to Britain in OTL to search for any members of the Palaiologos family, but ultimately they failed.
I think it's been mentioned before, but I really hope that the ruins of Troy don't get blown up in this timeline. That would be a shame to archaeology and history alike. Also, I hope the Greeks can take Northern Epirus back.
The rediscovery of Troy is still a long ways away, but I think I can safely say that what happened in OTL won't be happening here, for various reasons. Northern Epirus will certainly be a point of contention but I hope what I have planned for the region will be both satisfying and believable.
We can only hope that the Megali Idea doesnt fail.
I can I want to see a surviving Ottoman Empire that reforms successfully that can tell Russia to step off successfully.
The heirs of Leopold and Kapodistrias will surely lead Greece to greatness! Hopefully Greece can achieve the Megali Idea(at least partially) and be better off than OTL.
The Megali Idea is already a concept in this timeline, but whether it is successful or not is a matter of debate. Greece ITTL is certainly much stronger, it has more territory to start which means more people and resources, Crete and Chios are particularly important acquisitions for Greece to have early on. Greece also has a more stable political structure compared to its OTL counterpart thanks to a surviving Ioannis Kapodistrias and Leopold of Saxe-Coburg's acceptance of the Greek Crown. Finally, the Greek economy is stronger than OTL thanks to more territory/people/resources, better management of those resources, and an early commitment to industrialization and public development. Despite all these advantages relative to OTL, Greece is still not a match for the Ottoman Empire by itself. Its also important to note that the Ottoman Empire is somewhat stronger compared to OTL as well, namely a slightly earlier Tanzimat reform, a thorough subjugation of the Kurdish and Turkish magnates in Central/Eastern Anatolia and the Albanian and Bosnian magnates in the Balkans. And while the loss of Crete may be a loss for the Ottomans from a glance, it may actually be somewhat of a benefit to them compared to OTL as they don't have to constantly deal with rebellions and unrest on the island.
Greece will definitely punch a lot harder in the inevitable rematch between the two, but the Ottomans are also a bit stronger too. In the end if they were fighting one on one with no
outside interference, then the Ottomans would likely win 9/10 times.
So, going back to conversation we had on page 93 about more Polish immigrants to the US, especially into Texas, effecting TTL's Civil War, there were apparently talks throughout history, and including after the Civil War, of dividing Texas. It could easily be divided into 2 - 4 states. Perhaps the large, Republican-leaning Polish and German, with some carpetbaggers, population could successfully petition Congress to make such a thing happen. Looking at the map Carp posted, I could easily see the north-eastern portion of Texas being made into its own state that would give the Republicans a boost in the House and Senate.
How viable would something like this happening be?
Carp is probably better versed on this than I am, but from what I know, the US annexation of Texas left some room for debate over whether or not Texas, or any other state for that matter, could split itself into multiple different states unitarily. Suffice to say, the American Civil War and subsequent ruling in Texas v. White essentially ended this debate. Now regarding the Polish 48ers in America, they will definitely have an impact on the United States as a whole and Texas in particular, but whether or not that results in Texas splitting apart is still to be determined. If there happens to be an American Civil War parallel in this timeline, then its certainly possible that we could see a West Virginia type situation emerge in Texas in TTL.
