AHC: Screw the Ottomans (via worse 15th Century)

Curious as to why such a large number of threads have to do with downfall of Ottomans (Byzantine wank), a successful Confederacy, or a destruction of Mexico.
That's a question for another thread, but to keep it short.

1. The Byzantine Empire is one of the most popular polities there, so a restoration of the "heirs of Rome" has a great appeal on the amateur (or even professional) history lover. Since the Ottomans were the ultimate nemesis of the Byzzies the antagonism is simply inevitable.
2. The ACW was the largest conflict in American soil and most of the userbase there are Americans, since the CSA were the losers the main point of interest of WI scenarios, after all "WI: the Union faster faster!" as simply boring. ;)
3. Mexico was one of the most unfortunate victims of American expansionism, so devouring more of Mexico is a goal for most Americo-wankers, curious of why you picked Mexico over Canada (which is annexed more often than not).
 
Was thinking about this lately; would Islam as a whole be significantly affected if the Abbasid Caliphs in Egypt survived significantly longer?
Not a lot. My understanding is that the Abbasid Caliphate was almost a joke by that point, with almost no one taking it seriously (although it was useful to the Mamluks for legitimacy). However, there may be more serious indirect effects down the line.
 
Those are what I'm thinking about here -- the Ottomans claiming their Sultan as being (kind of) Caliph had itself implications for Islam the world over, and more following the empire's fall.
Sure. But the change here is more of a direct effect of the Ottoman screw. The Abbasids in themselves are unlikely to have much of an impact, although you never know.
 

trajen777

Banned
I wish u would pick from 1400 vs after Tamerlane - in this case u have Ottoman defeat -- and Venetians / Genoa not ferrying the Ottoman across. SO Anatolia a wasteland of tribes, Ottomans gone. Then a the Byz have a chance to regain some land, commerce.
 

raharris1973

Gone Fishin'
Donor
Monthly Donor
Curious as to why such a large number of threads have to do with downfall of Ottomans (Byzantine wank),

More from just the love of Byzantines than hate of Ottomans. Ottomans have their own fans on the board.

a successful Confederacy

Probably because it's one of the most often mentioned what-if scenarios in english language pop culture. Or because people read a story based on the premise, learned enough to see all those story's flaws, and are to develop their own version. Pro-Confederate sentiment is not common on the board, except among newcomers who generally see their PoDs and timelines get intellectually smacked down on and don't stay long.

or a destruction of Mexico.

Probably because of the prevalence of Americans on the board, and the tendency of people from nations on many continents to wank their home country. And I don't see this one come around to much, at least compared with all the other well-represented American history PoDs.
 
Something else just occurred to me -- if Venice still controls the Straights of Constantinople, that could affect the expansion of Spain and Portugal; plus Mamluk Egypt isn't distracted by the Ottoman threat in the early 16th Century, so even if Portuguese efforts aren't directly affected, their free hand to establish themselves in the Indian Ocean is now effectively gone.

CONSOLIDATE:
Burji likely fight the Portugese for control of the Red Sea and beyond as they did in otl, but will soon be the main front for wars against Venice, Genoa, Hungary, etc...
Are we sure Egypt and Venetians will be rivals in a major war? After all, they're pretty profitable as trading partners, and they have a lot of overlapping interests, keeping Portugal out of the Indian Ocean being among them.
 
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