Nice! More content about Italy is good to see.
OK, everyone. I've been putting a lot of thought into this recently, and I'm considering a fairly major retcon. One of the earliest facts I ever mentioned about the ASB was that its capital is at Two Forts, OTL Pittsburgh. I made this decision when the ASB was a series of sketches on paper, before I even started posting about it. At that point my focus was mostly on the Great Lakes and the Ohio and St. Lawrence valleys; I didn't yet know how big it was. Two Forts as a capital made perfect sense for a confederation that mostly united what we call the Midwest and the East Coast.
But it has some major drawbacks. Above all, its inland location would have been burdensome for Caribbean members before railroads became widespread, and even afterward it could have been seen as a signal that they were an afterthought in the Confederation. This could have been a problem with the islands having a separatist streak that never went away over the years. And in general it's far from the major power centers of the Confederation, which especially in the nineteenth century were definitely on the coast.
A while back, I identified the Central States as the region of wealth and power in the ASB, usually understood as stretching from Maryland to Massachusetts, sometimes including the urban areas of Lower Virginia and New Hampshire on either end. And falling right in the center of that region is its biggest city, New Amsterdam. It's been commented before how New Amsterdam's economic and cultural sway would seem to be surprisingly prominent in the ASB, simply because of its geography. It's the natural place for a capital to be. And unlike the United States, which intentionally planned a capital to be away from power centers, the ASB probably didn't plan anything at all. Congresses, Councils and Parliaments met wherever it was convenient, eventually settling on one place. And the more I think about it, the less likely Two Forts seems to be that place.
New Amsterdam has other things to recommend it, as well. Two Forts' main advantage was being a neutral site. NN was not neutral, being one of the major powers of the continent... but it did often play a mediating role in conflicts among the colonies - England vs. France, Loyalists vs. Republicans. It participated in the big war of 1803 on the English side, but sort of reluctantly and without engaging in many long-distance campaigns. Its neutrality cred was not completely lacking. And aesthetically, it makes a good capital. Two Forts didn't grow into much of a city until the 1820s or 30s, and even then has little remaining from its earliest period; whereas New Amsterdam has a charming Old City inside its 18th-century stone walls, crisscrossed by narrow but picturesque canals.
Anyway, this would be a very big retcon because of how long "Capital = Two Forts" has been a thing. On the other hand, I kind of feel like "we" haven't committed much to Two Forts over the years. What's its culture like? Its landmarks? How has it contributed culturally to the rest of the ASB? We can answer those questions much more readily about New Amsterdam because it's just a more interesting city. Two Forts would remain the state capital of Allegheny and a regional economic center. Right now I'm obviously liking the idea of making a change, but I want to talk about it first and hear people's thoughts. Another possible drawback is the general silliness of changing such a key item so late in the process.
So here's the latest version of the big mid-Atlantic map. A few cities have been added since the last update. Main change is that it shows NA as the capital rather than 2F. You can see where both cities are in relation to other major cities.