AHC: Five or Fewer World Empires

Replace Mexico with a Habsburg Empire which controls Austria and the Spanish Empire and I think you've got it. However, I think that Mexico is pretty easily overcome by India.

But India is part of the British Empire. But I could go with the Spanish Empire.
 
1800 wasn't the slave-raiding era; it was in the wake of it, in the early industrial era.

Actually, the Atlantic slave trade had it's greatest boom ever in the decades before 1807: it wasn't so much the industrial era as British abolitionism which brought it to a stop. In any event, Islamic slave trading continued very vigorously until fairly late in the 19th century.

Africa had already been depopulated thoroughly due to the slave trade by this stage. Prior to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, in the 16th century, estimates indicate that Africa's share of the world population stood at around 22%. Compare this to Europe's share in the 16th century, which then stood at roughly 15%. If you're looking at the 16th century or earlier, which continent would you say it was more important to have greater unification in to fulfil this AHC?

The thread starter specifically said he wanted to have over a billion people involved (1810 OTL), so I'm not sure what the 16th century has to do with it. (BTW, where are you getting your estimates from? I don't recall Africa having that large a percentage of world population in 1500.)

Bruce
 
Couldn't you say that OTL in 1898 met this criteria (Britain, France, China, Russia, USA)?, But since this is an AH board I offer this (ca. 1900), not in order:

1. British Empire (including OTL British Empire as well as what OTL is the USA to the Mississippi River and Canada minus BC.

2. Russian Empire (including OTL Russian Empire as well as Alaska and western coast of North America to Columbia River)

3. Mexican Empire (OTL New Spain to the Isthmus of Panama)

4. Chinese Empire (OTL Chinese Empire)

5. Islamic Caliphate (OTL Ottoman Empire at greatest extent plus North Africa and Islamic areas on western/central africa

This would leave Japan, some of Oceania, and small areas of subsaharan Africa independent, none of which would equal the smallesr

The rest of Europe? South America?
 
Couldn't you say that OTL in 1898 met this criteria (Britain, France, China, Russia, USA)?, But since this is an AH board I offer this (ca. 1900), not in order:

1. British Empire (including OTL British Empire as well as what OTL is the USA to the Mississippi River and Canada minus BC.

2. Russian Empire (including OTL Russian Empire as well as Alaska and western coast of North America to Columbia River)

3. Mexican Empire (OTL New Spain to the Isthmus of Panama)

4. Chinese Empire (OTL Chinese Empire)

5. Islamic Caliphate (OTL Ottoman Empire at greatest extent plus North Africa and Islamic areas on western/central africa

This would leave Japan, some of Oceania, and small areas of subsaharan Africa independent, none of which would equal the smallesr

If this is in 1900, I should point out that Mexico only had 13 million people, or about half the population of Spain (at the time). Even if you include all of the rest of new Spain, that's still about 60 million, tops (about 2.8% of the global population in 1900). Germany had more people than that. The Ottoman Empire was also relatively small, with only about 30 million people (less populous than Italy).

Population in 1900:
1. British Empire: 419 million
2. Russian Empire: 132 million
3. "Mexican Empire": 60 million (OTL New Spain)
4. Chinese Empire: 415 million
5. Ottoman Empire+Egypt: 42 million

Combined, that gives you about 1068 million out of 1700 million people alive at the time, or about 63% of the global population.

Still, this might be possible with an ancient PoD. The American Revolution never happens, establishing British control over North America. France and Spain are still crushed in some kind of early 19th century war, establishing British naval dominance. Belgium never gains independence, but instead ends up part of France. Germany ends up uniting into some kind of barely-stable Grossdeutschland. South America ends up getting re-colonized. Japan never manages to modernize, and is partitioned among the great powers. The Ottoman Empire goes to war with one of the Great Powers and is defeated and partitioned*.

Korea is annexed by China. Siam is annexed by France. Persia is partitioned between Britain and Russia. Russia annexes Bulgaria. Britain annexes Nepal. Mexico and the Central American states become British protectorates. We're only at 88%, and I'm out of ideas. So let's have France, Britain, and Germany partition Italy, because nobody's done that in a while. France gets its OTL Napoleonic Italian territory (minus Venice), Germany gets northeastern Italy, and Britain takes southern Italy.

So, in 1900, you've got:

1. British Empire: 611 million
2. Chinese Empire: 465 million
3. Russian Empire: 187 million
4. German Empire: 150 million
5. French Empire: 120 million

This gives us a combined population of 1,533 million people out of a global population of 1,700 million, or 90.17%. The 6th most populous country is Sweden, with 5 million people (less than 5% of the 5th largest country, France). Of course, this will only last for a few years before all the overextended empires collapse.

*For both the Japanese and Ottoman partitions, I'm assuming that the 4 European powers all get equal shares of the population.
 
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1. Most Catholic Confederation of Bourbon Kingdoms: Spain (South Italy, Spain, Caribbean, bits of Africa, Philippines), France (loads of Africa, parts of middle east, maybe some SE Asia, Belgium, NW Italy), New Spain (Mexico and central America), Peru (Andean America), La Plata

2. China (China, Mongolia, vassals of N. Vietnam & Korea)

3. Russia (Russia, Iran, most of Poland, chunks Ottoman Empire, half of Japan, Alaska, vassals of Ethiopia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia)

4. German confederation (Netherlands, German states, north Italy as Habsburg inheritance, Croatia and Hungary as loose satellites tied to Germany proper by Habsburg royals, maybe Switzerland, Czechs, parts Africa, Dutch south Africa, Indonesia)

5. British Empire (North America north of New Spain, chunks of Africa, Indian subcontinent, most of Arabia, much of SE Asia, Australasia, half of Japan).

Remains: Portugal, Brazil, Scandinavia, few minor European states, maybe core of Anatolia and some bits of inner Arabia.
 
Just saying that since large-scale colonization of most of Africa is impractical till tropical medicine comes callin', the OTL relative decline seems likely to still happen. But if anyone does a POD in 500 BC and have a world with 1 billion people divided between the Chinese, Maryuan, Persian, Roman and Teutonic empires in 1000 AD, that would be cool... :)

Bruce
 
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