Alternate South Africa

Well, I was exaggerating for the sake of drama. I was mostly referring to disease, though. Is New Guinea pretty bad?

Well its not nearly as bad as Africa - 'only' about 30-40% of the German planters died of malaria and other diseases (And the Germans had some of the least livable parts of the island).

Once you get well away from the coasts and a high enough altitude its pretty livable for Europeans, the problem is getting around the arduous terrain.
 
I thought about Ouidah, which I actually had never heard of until just earlier today when I was reading about the Portuguese Empire, but I don't think anyone would get too excited about that. That is a good example of how incredibly stubborn you Portuguese are! "It's our fort, and we're not leaving, end of discussion! Now get off my lawn!"
Hey, I don't even have Portuguese ancestors! :p

Abdul, I can't remember now if you've already commented it, but what about the Congo? Does Leopold or Belgium get it, or other nation is able to push a claim?
 
Hey, I don't even have Portuguese ancestors! :p

Abdul, I can't remember now if you've already commented it, but what about the Congo? Does Leopold or Belgium get it, or other nation is able to push a claim?

Leopold began his play for the Congo before the POD, so there is a Congo Free State, although it's geographically different. It is limited by the Uele instead of the Bomu, it extends into the area of Angola that isn't on the Pink Map (which is largely worthless), and the eastern portion beyond the Lomami, including Katanga, are controlled by Zanzibar.

Again, this is sort of just the "roadmap". I'm totally open to it going a different way - we'll just have to see, once it gets rolling.
 

maverick

Banned
You probably talked about this before, but I have a lousy memory, so how's the relationship between Constantinople and Abyssinia/Ethiopia?
 
You probably talked about this before, but I have a lousy memory, so how's the relationship between Constantinople and Abyssinia/Ethiopia?

Ge'ez, am I going to have to give you a rundown on every country on earth? :rolleyes:;)I'm actually not sure about Ethiopia - if Yohannes IV is emperor, relations would be rocky because he was horrendously Islamophobic - but Menelik wasn't. I think probably at first it will be rocky, but once the Italians start pushing in, it will get better.
 
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Geez, am I going to have to give you a rundown on every planet on earth? :rolleyes:;)I'm actually not sure about Ethiopia - if Yohannes IV is emperor, relations would be rocky because he was horrendously Islamophobic - but Menelik wasn't. I think probably at first it will be rocky, but once the Italians start pushing in, it will get better.
1) every planet on earth, certainly....
2) Since you're talking about Ethiopia, should the first word be Ge'ez:) (I know, I am SO helpful)
 
OK, new version - it's a bit blurry because it's gigantic - about 12 MB, and I had to shrink it down. This one includes transportation. As of about 1915:

Light Blue = navigable rivers
Purple = 3'6" gauge railway
Dark Blue = meter gauge RR
Red = 750mm gauge RR

I've added Ovamboland as a native protectorate - it's a reasonably discrete and culturally unitary block, and it gets rid of yet another convergent border (I'm slowly getting rid of them all). I considered giving Ovamboland to Portugal, but most of it is in Namibia, it's too far and hard to reach from Portuguese power, and Namibia is useless without the Ovambo, who are all the manpower.

So the Dominion would probably have a similar government to the OTL Union, with an Imperial Governor General who is a constitutional executive with little power beyond what the British monarch has at home, except for his authority over the native protectorates.

Population:

Cape 3.0M
Natal 1.3M
Orange .5M
Transvaal 1.7M
SW Africa .3M
Rhodesia .8M
Total 7.6M
White Total 1.3M 17%

Bechuanaland .2M
Ovamboland .2M
Basutoland .4M
Swaziland .1M
Total .9M

Total: 8.5M

SouthAfrica2.jpg
 
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I understand that the Cape is far more economically important than Walvis Bay, but it just looks weird to have no continuous east-west line across southern Africa. Especially if the salt flats and the Okavango are avoided, it can't be that hard to build across (OTL's) Botswana, right?
 
I understand that the Cape is far more economically important than Walvis Bay, but it just looks weird to have no continuous east-west line across southern Africa. Especially if the salt flats and the Okavango are avoided, it can't be that hard to build across (OTL's) Botswana, right?

Other than the area the rail line goes through, Bechuanaland is entirely the Kalahari Desert. Also, this is 1915-ish - there is more rail later, but not any more in Bechuanaland.

Here's a population density map from 1960, and this is when the population is over three times greater. You can see there's just nobody there. The number of people that would want to go from Namibia to Rhodesia is way too vanishingly small to justify building a railway across the desert. you're right that it looks weird, though.

afpopd60.png
 
By the way, I'm rather surprised seeing Congo-Zanzibar border doesn't came as mostly arbitrary straight line. However it also doesn't seem to me that the border follows a particularly decisive geographic feature, but that's why it would be surprising if it does....
 
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By the way, I'm rather surprised seeing Congo-Zanzibar border doesn't came as mostly arbitrary straight line. However it also doesn't seem to me that the border follows a particularly decisive geographic picture, but that's why it would be surprising if it does....

It's actually following the Lomami River.
 
I think the SW-Bechuanaland is unnecessarily messy for what would be chosen at the time - despite what it may look like square borders in a near empty desert are very reasonable, as you can use latitude and longitude to precisely locate them over changeable, flat and eroding features, and ranchers and diamond would very much appreciate that.

Not that it has to the OTL one of course, but some sort of linear border.
Also why is it called SW Africa? Its not like its south or west of the cape ;) - Transorange maybe?

I think you should desaturate the base image - its not like your using the colours for anything and it will save on colour information.
 
I think the SW-Bechuanaland is unnecessarily messy for what would be chosen at the time - despite what it may look like square borders in a near empty desert are very reasonable, as you can use latitude and longitude to precisely locate them over changeable, flat and eroding features, and ranchers and diamond would very much appreciate that.

Not that it has to the OTL one of course, but some sort of linear border.
Also why is it called SW Africa? Its not like its south or west of the cape ;) - Transorange maybe?

I think you should desaturate the base image - its not like your using the colours for anything and it will save on colour information.

Good idea re: base image. I like the OTL outline being there for reference, but the colors are a nuisance. The actual map doesn't look quite as messy as this.

It's not as bad as it looks. It follows wadis on the edge of the Kalahari, some of which were described as "prehistoric" so I assumed they don't shift. My reasoning is that in OTL the boundary was set by men operating by telegraph between Berlin and London, who didn't really give a sh$% where the line ran, where in this case the line is likely to be established between people who know the local area. In most cases, those divisions were also conveniently located between ethno-linguistic groups. I'm not married to the border though, if you think it's not realistic or appropriate to the time.

As for the name, I don't have one yet! It's provisionally SW until something better comes up. I was thinking Rehoboth after the original colony established there by mixed-race Afrikans-speakers, but that seems unlikely, and also sounds like a demon's name.

Skeleton Coast? West Rhodesia?
 
Good idea re: base image. I like the OTL outline being there for reference, but the colors are a nuisance. The actual map doesn't look quite as messy as this.

It's not as bad as it looks. It follows wadis on the edge of the Kalahari, some of which were described as "prehistoric" so I assumed they don't shift. My reasoning is that in OTL the boundary was set by men operating by telegraph between Berlin and London, who didn't really give a sh$% where the line ran, where in this case the line is likely to be established between people who know the local area. In most cases, those divisions were also conveniently located between ethno-linguistic groups. I'm not married to the border though, if you think it's not realistic or appropriate to the time.

Well I don't really think it is, as almost no one lives there and those that do are nomadic. The British colonial office aren't going to track the course of the Wadis (especially since geographic location of large features isn't that accurate as of yet), they'll quickly determine no one lives there, quickly draw lines based on longitude and latitude that are easy to arbitrate disputes with and call it a day. Essentially look at that population map you've linked up thread - the British will try and draw straight lines that don't bisect the inhabited portions.

This is only true in deserts though, they'll be much more exacting where there are people and more noticeable geographic features.

As for the name, I don't have one yet! It's provisionally SW until something better comes up. I was thinking Rehoboth after the original colony established there by mixed-race Afrikans-speakers, but that seems unlikely, and also sounds like a demon's name.

Skeleton Coast? West Rhodesia?

Skeleton coast will be dumped quickly, especially if they are trying to attract people to settle. They might name it after a noted governor so you could pretty much use any appealing British name you like. Rehoboth does have a nice biblical feel the British liked in the 19th century.

The Penguin Coast for a laugh? Something named after theses guys: Hollam (early British mapper) or Albrecht (the brothers Albrecht were the first missionaries from london early in the 19th), Battels (a English sailer from the 16th who was a captive soldier in Angola and escaped south for 16 months, first Englishman to see Namibia, possibly mythical?), the Nautilus (first British ship to survey the coastline, captain has the rather dull name Thomas Thompson), the Valorous (did the annexing of the Penguin islands under captain Forsythe for Governer Wodehouse)...
 
Well I don't really think it is, as almost no one lives there and those that do are nomadic. The British colonial office aren't going to track the course of the Wadis (especially since geographic location of large features isn't that accurate as of yet), they'll quickly determine no one lives there, quickly draw lines based on longitude and latitude that are easy to arbitrate disputes with and call it a day. Essentially look at that population map you've linked up thread - the British will try and draw straight lines that don't bisect the inhabited portions.

This is only true in deserts though, they'll be much more exacting where there are people and more noticeable geographic features.



Skeleton coast will be dumped quickly, especially if they are trying to attract people to settle. They might name it after a noted governor so you could pretty much use any appealing British name you like. Rehoboth does have a nice biblical feel the British liked in the 19th century.

The Penguin Coast for a laugh? Something named after theses guys: Hollam (early British mapper) or Albrecht (the brothers Albrecht were the first missionaries from london early in the 19th), Battels (a English sailer from the 16th who was a captive soldier in Angola and escaped south for 16 months, first Englishman to see Namibia, possibly mythical?), the Nautilus (first British ship to survey the coastline, captain has the rather dull name Thomas Thompson), the Valorous (did the annexing of the Penguin islands under captain Forsythe for Governer Wodehouse)...

Sounds reasonable - I shall draw straight lines forthwith.

I tried the desaturating, but it means giving up the blue ocean. Is there any way of just desaturating Africa on the base map? Africa is traced on the geographic borders map, if there's some way do desaturate everything within the borders of another layer.
 
Sounds reasonable - I shall draw straight lines forthwith.

I tried the desaturating, but it means giving up the blue ocean. Is there any way of just desaturating Africa on the base map? Africa is traced on the geographic borders map, if there's some way do desaturate everything within the borders of another layer.

Ummm desaturate on the color drop down only does the selected area, so just select your Africa on the borders layer and then shift to the base map layer?
 
Ummm desaturate on the color drop down only does the selected area, so just select your Africa on the borders layer and then shift to the base map layer?

Eureka! I had to do each color separately, but it worked. It didn't reduce the file size, but it does look better.
 
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