ATL with Fragmented North America

[Paul Spring]

This is Part I of a background timeline for a story that I have been writing (In a very desultory fashion) over in the AH Fiction section. I figured I could post it here as well, as a straightforward timeline -

1775 – Beginning of American War of Independence

1776 – Continental Congress issues Declaration of Independence

1781 – Decisive victory of Americans and French Allies over British force under Lord Cornwallis

1783 – Peace of Paris recognizes independence of United States

1785 – Death of George Washington after sudden illness

1787, 1788 – Failure of conventions in Philadelphia and New York that are attempting to devise a more effective government for the US

1789 - Beginning of French Revolution in France

1790 – New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, negotiate independence of Vermont without reference to Congress

1791 – Convention of southern states in Richmond, Virginia proposes new constitution, only southern states interested

1792 – Convention in Hartford, Connecticut proposes constitution for New England states and New York

1793 – Southern states ratify Richmond constitution as Independent States of America, New England & New York ratify Hartford constitution as Federal states of America
Remnants of US congress move to Philadelphia.

1794 – Treaty of Philadelphia partitions trans-Appalachian lands between ISA, FSA, and USA

1795 – Modified Articles of Confederation adopted by USA, states of Kentucky and Franklin admitted to ISA

1801 – Napoleon forces Spain to give western portion of old Lousiana territory back to France

1802 – During a brief peace with Britain, Napoleon increases French troop strength in Louisiana and encourages settlement

1804 – War resumes between Britain and France

1805 – French fleet escorting convoy to reinforce Louisiana is intercepted and mostly destroyed by Nelson’s British fleet in the waters off Pensacola, FL. Louisiana is mostly cut off from France.

1810 – First British expedition against New Orleans meets strong defences manned by French regulars, militia, volunteers from ISA and is defeated

1814 – Defeat of Napoleon in Europe The French in Louisiana are now effectively independent and refuse to surrender to the British.

1815 – Second British expedition against New Orleans also fails. Napoleon returns to France, regains power, raises new army, defeats weak British forces under Wellington in Netherlands, but is forced back to Paris by Prussian, Russian, Austrian forces. Napoleon is killed in battle near Paris, October 1815.

1816 – Congress of Vienna redraws map of Europe, recognizes Louisiana as independent state but most of Louisiana’s northern territory goes to Britain. The boundaries in Europe are similar to OTL except that Prussia and Austria both get additional territory carved out from the French regions of Alsace and Lorraine.

1819 – Louisiana adopts constitution combining aspects of French republic and ISA

1820 – Brazil becomes independent Empire under a branch of the Portuguese royal family

Use of steamboats booms on Ohio and Mississippi rivers between the USA, ISA, and Louisiana

1822 – Mexico declares independence from Spain

1824 – Unpopular Corn Laws repealed in Britain by Whig/Liberal Parliament

First rail lines and locomotives in Britain

1825 – Tsar Alexander I of Russia recovers from bout of malaria in the Crimea

First rail lines in FSA, USA

1826 – Britain purchases Florida from Spain

1827 – Parliamentary Reform Act in Britain extends the vote to more of the middle class.

Britain intervenes to support independence of Greece against Ottoman Empire, but opposes further Russian gains at Ottoman expense in the Balkans

1828 – Telegraph first demonstrated in USA

1829 – Trade agreements between Federal States of America and Britain end duties on most good along FSA-Canadian border. Trade by ship across Great Lakes, Lake Champlain (which is already pretty high) increases.

Great Slave Uprising erupts in South Carolina, ISA. Slaves capture weapons, take over most of Charleston, much of the coastal region of South Carolina, which is almost 90% black slave by population. Revolts elsewhere in ISA and Louisiana are quickly contained.

1830 – Charleston and much of tidewater retaken by ISA army and militia in campaigns marked by much brutality and atrocities on both sides. Guerrilla activity will continue for years. Most states in ISA and provinces in Louisiana order free blacks to leave by end of year or face enslavement.

Emperor Augustin I of Mexico offers free blacks land to settle north of Rio Grande River in Mexican province of Tejas.

Reactionary King Charles X toppled in France, replaced by Louis Philippe. Rebellion in southern Netherlands defeated, but the region is given some local autonomy.

Rebellion against Russia in Poland is defeated.

1831 France allies with Mehmed Ali, ruler of the nominally Ottoman province of Egypt.

Britain ends slavery in all of its territories.

1831 – 1835 British Florida accepts refugee free blacks and runaway slaves from ISA.

1833 – North German states band together in a customs union

1833 – 34 War between Ottoman Empire and its nominal vassal Mehmed Ali, with Britain backing the Ottomans and France backing Ali, ends in partial Ottoman victory.

1834 – 36 “Tejas Wars†pit mostly white settlers in northern Tejas against Mexicans and black units from southern Tejas. Northern Tejas becomes independent as Texas, southern Tejas remains part of Mexico.

1839 Whitney firearms of New Haven, Connecticut, FSA, patents first practical revolver

1842 – First railroad construction begins in Russia, supported by aging Alexander I


1843 Britain reorganizes North America territories into provinces of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Lower Canada, Upper Canada, King William’s Land, Missouri, Iowa, and Columbia.

France seizes North African port of Algiers

1844 – “Free Port†war between Britain and China over Chinese attempts to restrict trade, especially in Opium, and attempts to restrict missionary activity. After a humiliating defeat, China opens more areas to outside trade and missionary activity.

1846 – Gold discovered in California

Louis Philippe’s government relaxes censorship, allows elected Assembly greater powers

Austrian Empire, Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Baden form a customs Union

1848 – Scattered uprisings in German states, Austrian Empire, Italy are suppressed

1849 – 1850 California war of independence against Mexico. California gains independence with British mediation, but must guarantee rights and land of Mexicans who stay in California.

1852 – Death of Tsar Alexander I of Russia - succeeded by son Alexander II

1854 – Founding of Alexandrograd (OTL Vladivostok) on the Pacific coast of Russian Empire

1856 – 1857 Second Ottoman-Egyptian war ensues when ruler of Egypt declares himself an independent Sultan. Egypt is partly defeated - it becomes recognized as an independent sultanate but loses all land outside of Egypt itself, including the Isthmus of Suez where the Egyptians and their French backers had hoped to build a canal. This war sees the first use of armored ships in combat (by a British fleet supporting the Egyptians)

1857 – 1861 North American Wars or Prairie wars rage, pitting the ISA and Louisiana and later the USA against Britain and Mexico. Neither side is able to gain the upper hand. During the tumult, the northern province of Colorado secedes from Mexico and becomes independent. At the end, Louisiana and the USA lose limited amounts of territory to Britain, but otherwise boundaries change little. This war sees the first significant use of breech-loading rifles by some troops on both sides, and some use of balloons for aerial observation.

1858 – American party in the Federal States of America establishes 20 year waiting period for any immigrant to become a citizen.

British and Ottomans begin work on a canal across Isthmus of Suez in land recently retaken from Egypt.

1860 – Russia launches concerted campaign to conquer independent Muslim states in central Asia

1861 – Britain ends convict transportation to Australia and New Zealand

Britain signs formal treaty of alliance with Ottoman Empire, which is entering a period of great internal reform.

1862 – Britain signs treaty with ruler of Afghanistan, establishing British influence over Russian in Afghanistan, at least for the time being

1863 – Russian fleet from Alexandrograd forces Japan’s rulers to sign trade treaty and open Japan to the outside world

Suez Canal opens, funded largely by the British and in the territory of the Ottoman Empire

1864 – States of North German customs Union defeat Denmark in a brief war, gaining Schleswig and Holstein.

Britain extends franchise to larger portion of male population.

1865 – North German Confederation formed

1867 – France seizes Tunis in northern Africa.

First elected Assembly of the Ottoman Empire opens in Istanbul.

1867 – 1870 Paraguayan war sees Paraguay totally defeated by Brazil and Argentina, and partitioned between those powers.

1869 – France purchases Portuguese African outposts along the coasts of Angola and Mozambique

1870 – Northwestern provinces of state of Virginia, ISA, angry at the stranglehold that the tidewater elite continue to have in state politics, declare independence from Virginia and apply to join the USA. There is some fighting, but no general war. The new US state is called Kanawha.

1872 – After a series of attacks on foreign missionaries and merchants, France, Russia, and the Netherlands declare war on Manchu-ruled China. Britain, angry at China but fearful of growing Russian and French influence, reluctantly supports them.

1873 – Beijing and Nanjing both occupied by joint European forces, Manchu authorities sue for peace. China forced to open up to almost unrestricted foreign trade, missionaries and merchants to have free access throughout the country, foreigners can not be tried in Chinese courts. (This is the biggest blow to the Manchu dynasty’s authority yet – there was never any massive Taiping rebellion in this timeline, just a series of smaller revolts that have been contained.)

Brazil declares gradual emancipation of all slaves. Attempted resistance by slaveowners in some provinces is defeated over the coming years.

1874 – Smokeless gunpowder developed almost simultaneously in Britain and France – use quickly spreads

1876 – State of Kentucky in the ISA becomes first state to adopt a program of gradual emancipation.

1877 – King William V of Great Britain is declared Emperor of India.

Barbed wire introduced in Britain’s Kansas province, USA. Use quickly spreads.

1878 – Wave of strikes in FSA and USA is suppressed, with much more brutality in FSA. American party in FSA renounces right to vote for any who participate in a strike.

1879 – Virginia, North Carolina in ISA, Upper Louisiana (OTL Arkansas) in Louisiana all adopt programs of gradual emancipation. Other states and provinces will follow in years to come.

1880 – Last major Native American resistance crushed on the plains in British Provinces of Missouri, King William’s Land, and Shoshone

Russia begins efforts to encourage more settlement and exploitation of its North American territories in Alaska.

Russia begins construction of rail line that will eventually cross Siberia and connect European Russia with the Pacific coast

Britain starts research into Explosive Floating Torpedoes, or EFTs (what we would call “mines†in OTL

1881 – British firm begins construction of canal across Nicaragua province of the Central American Republic

Two transcontinental railroad lines completed across North America, within 2 months of each other. (Transcontinental rail lines took longer than in OTL due to the route being divided into multiple political units and lack of government backing for any one line, but the fact that the rails were built almost entirely with private capital meant that there were 2 lines competing with each other, and others soon to follow.)

Netherlands establishes outposts near the mouth of the Congo River, central Africa, and begins exploring inland with quinine to stave off the malaria that all but destroyed earlier European attempts to penetrate tropical Africa.

French navy begins research into submarine vessels.

1883 – British authorities in Cape Colony, South Africa, form an alliance with Afrikaner-controlled Transvaal and Orange free state to resist French encroachment from the east.

Incandescent light bulb invented in Montreal, Lower Canada.

A French firm begins attempting to dig a canal through the Isthmus of Panama, which is controlled by Gran Columbia, an ally of France.

1884 – In response to French ally Egypt’s increasing control of Sudan territory south of Egypt, Britain allies with Kingdom of Abyssinia, and covertly supports Sudanese tribes resisting Egyptian control. (Due to butterflies there is no charismatic figure like the Mahdi of OTL who unifies resistance in the Sudan into one huge movement.)

1884 – 1885
Japanese Civil War between forces loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate, supported by Russia and France, and anti-Tokugawa forces rallying around the currently reigning Emperor and his advisors, and supported by Britain. The pro-Tokugawa faction is victorious with a great deal of Russian aid. They force the Emperor to abdicate and install a relative on the throne. Japan is now closely allied with Russia and France.

1885 – Telephone invented in USA.

Russian army begins experiments with rigid lighter-than air vehicles (what would be called Zeppelins in OTL)

Dominions of Canada and Columbia established in British North America. Canada is formed from the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. Columbia is formed from the province of the same name, which is now divided up into several smaller provinces.

1886 – Tsar Alexander II dies of Russia, succeeded by his (very ambitious and capable) son Peter IV.

 

[Chrispi]

Very good. Not perfect, but very good.

I know it's nit-picking but details are important in constructing a good alternate history, and there are a few problems here: the "earliest" one is that with an early 1780s POD there is a great likelihood that Robert Gray would not sail to Oregon and discover the Columbia River on a ship named the Columbia. Furthermore it appears that the British are unchallenged in Oregon, and rather than using a radical American name like Columbia, they'll more likely use the name on Captain Cook's maps for both the country and the great river that flows through it...Oregon! Ironic, isn't it, that in OTL the USA keeps the name Oregon while the British get stuck with British Columbia?

As an addendum I would also expect that, with increased British interest in the area, that there would be designs on New Albion, ahem, California. How much of California would be incorporated into the Dominion of Oregon is questionable, of course; I suspect that British maritime supremacy would give it a large chunk of California's coast, anywhere from San Francisco to Santa Barbara, but think it unlikely that it'll include Nevada or Utah.

 

[Beck Reilly]

I know it's nit-picking but details are important in constructing a good alternate history, and there are a few problems here: the "earliest" one is that with an early 1780s POD there is a great likelihood that Thomas Gray would not sail to Oregon and discover the Columbia River on a ship named the Columbia.

It's Robert Gray. Thomas Gray was a poet.

 

[Chrispi]

It's Robert Gray. Thomas Gray was a poet.

Edited. Thanks.

 

[Faeelin]

Everyone breaks up America. We never see "WI America stretched from Alaska to Buenos Aires?"

Looks okay.

 

[Chrispi]

Everyone breaks up America. We never see "WI America stretched from Alaska to Buenos Aires?"

Looks okay.

Then we would in all probability be speaking Spanish.

 

[cow defender]

probably english french spanish portuguese and assorted native tongues.

 

[Paul Spring]

Notes about the world in 1885 – Part I

The British Empire is probably the single most powerful force in the world, even more powerful than in OTL, but it has aggressive rivals in the form of Russia and France. The two most important foci of the British Empire are the lands in North America and the Indian subcontinent. Britain also has the entire continent of Australia, the two large islands of New Zealand, Jamaica and several smaller islands in the Caribbean/West Indies, the Cape Colony at the southern end of Africa, several outposts along the coast of Africa, Singapore and southern Malaysia, and much of Borneo.

In order to hold such a large empire, considerably larger even than OTL, without a standing army or too heavy a tax burden, the British Empire has been obliged to give many of its regions a fairly high degree of self-government. In return for a large measure of autonomy in domestic matters, the local governments assume the bulk of the administrative and defence burdens for their territories and in some circumstances can send troops to other parts of the empire. Basically, this is similar to OTL Dominion status, but here the move towards regional self government begins a little earlier. By 1885, all of the British territories in North America have the equivalent of Dominion status. Australia and New Zealand are also essentially dominions in all but name by 1885, in spite of the fact that their populations are even smaller than in OTL (more settlers from Britain went to British territories in North America, leaving fewer for Australia and New Zealand). The Cape Colony, Jamaica, and Barbados are not full dominions, but they are moving in that direction. India never had a major “mutiny†or other uprising, and the East India company is still intact in 1885. Authority is gradually being transferred to a series of regional governments and “Princely states†with varying levels of native participation in the government.

The structure and policies of the government in different dominions vary quite a bit. This is especially true in North America, where many of the settlers in British territories come from the Federal States of America, the United States of America, and the Independent States of America. Immigrants from the FSA and USA make up a large percentage of the residents of Oregon in particular (the dominion of Oregon consists of OTL Oregon, Washington, part of northern California, Idaho, parts of Montana and Wyoming, British Columbia, and part of the Yukon territory). In fact, Oregon came close to rejecting a parliamentary system of government in favor of a system with a separate executive patterned after the constitutions of the FSA and USA. By 1885, the other British territories in North America – Missouri, King William’s land, Iowa, and Kansa – are about to get dominion status. The Dominions raise their own military forces, which are divided into 3 groups. The Dominion Militia are part-time, and only required to fight in or near their own territory. The Dominion Regulars are full time professional soldiers, mainly intended to defend the territory of their respective Dominions or to take part in operations that are not more than a few hundred miles from their own country. The Dominion Imperial Volunteers can be sent to fight anywhere the Empire needs them.

The territory of Florida is a special case. With only a small number of settlers from Britain, much of the population is made up of escaped slaves from the ISA or their descendants, as well as the descendants of free blacks and Seminole Indians. The fact that the majority of the population is not white may have something to do with the fact that there have been no moves toward granting Florida more than minimal self-government. In some respects, the British are more liberal about race than just about any other western society, but this is still the late 19th century.

In addition to its dominions, colonies, and other territories, Britain also relies on several countries that are either formally allied to Britain, or at least have generally good relations with. Among these allied nations are the Ottoman Empire, Brazil, the Federal States of America, and the Afrikaner Republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State.

In OTL, Britain allied with the Ottoman Empire during the Crimean War, but later became indifferent or outright hostile. In this timeline, Britain’s alliance with the Ottomans becomes deeper with time, spurred by the threat of a Russia that is even more aggressive and with a stronger economy than in OTL, and the threat of a France that becomes firmly allied with Egypt. There is extensive British investment in developing rail lines, telegraph lines, factories, and other industrial-era infrastructure within the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman government also gets a significant part of the revenues from the Suez Canal, which runs in Ottoman territory near the border with Egypt and by 1885 is defended by Ottoman forces with some British backing. The Ottoman Empire in TTL is actually smaller than the 1885 Ottoman Empire of OTL, due to the complete loss of Egypt and Libya, but it is economically more developed and overall much stronger. The Ottomans have taken significant steps towards becoming a constitutional monarchy with the establishment of an Assembly.

 

[tom]

probably english french spanish portuguese and assorted native tongues.

Just like OTL, right?

 

[Paul Spring]

Where I'm going with this ..

The world in 2003:

 

[Aedh Rua]

Very interesting, and plausible. Looking at the 2003 map, it looks like this world avoided any World Wars. Am I right in this assumption? Also, it would really be kewl to see what the societies and governments of the USA, ISA, FSA, Canada, Missouri, Columbia, Louisiana, and California looked like. Florida, too, for that matter.

I like it enough to want to know more.

 

[Paul Spring]

This timeline did have 1 World War (called the "Global War" in this TL) in the late 30's and early 40s, but it wasn't as destructive as OTL World War II. The other key difference is that it was only a partial victory for this timeline's equivalent to the Allied side. Russia, the most powerful nation in the timeline's equivalent to the "Axis", survives the war with only minor territorial losses. Russia eventually finds a new ally in a recently-united China, and the two of them form what is commonly known as the "Eurasian Alliance".

 

[tom]

What is their technology like?

 

[Paul Spring]

Notes on the world

The world as a whole is locked in what we would call a "cold war". The main antagonists are, on the one side, a fairly loose alliance called the "Commonwealth of Free Nations", and on the other side, an alliance of Russia and China often known as the "Eurasian Alliance". The Commonwealth or CFN (acronyms are even more widely used in this world than in ours, at least in English), is loosely based on the British Commonwealth of Nations. The members of the British Commonwealth (or BCN) are also all members of the CFN, but the Commonwealth also includes a number of other prominent nations, such as Brazil, the United States of America, and Japan. As a general rule, most countries in the CFN are somewhat similar to the so-called "First World" countries of OTL, but there are some significant differences. One of them is that the ideals of "classical liberalism" and "laissez-faire", which in OTL gave way to support for a more interventionist state in most countries (even the USA), have remained dominant in most countries. There is, quite simply, less government regulation of most things, and citizens of this timeline's Great Britain, Canada, the USA, or Brazil would consider both the taxes and level of government regulation in their OTL equivalents to be unacceptably high.

In the Eurasian Alliance and its allies, and some other countries as well, things are different. In this timeline, a number of governments, beginning with that of Russia in the late 19th century, shrewdly combined the contruction of a welfare state with appeals to militant nationalism. By doing this, they stole much of the thunder of the rising Socialist movement and created forms of government and society that in some respects resembled what OTL calls fascism. Unlike OTL fascism, though, this blend of nationalism and state socialism with a limited market economy became both widespread and long-lasting. It continues to be the dominant system in Russia, China, and several other countries. An unintended consequence of this, however, was the decline of socialist influence in many other countries, particularly those of the British commonwealth. Once socialism was coupled with nationalism and linked to particular governments that were usually authoritarian and expansionist, it lost much of its reputation as a force that defied the traditional order. As the 20th century rolled on, socialism lost most of its remaining appeal in the Commonwealth countries that were experiencing economic booms and rising standards of living.

Tech levels are similar to OTL 2003, slightly more advanced in certain specific areas.

Personal computers and the equivalent of the internet appeared slightly earlier, something like 2-3 years earlier, so they are slightly more advanced than in OTL, at least in the wealthiest countries. Small personal computers ranging from notebook-sized down to the size of small calculators, with wireless access to networks, are becoming quite common.

Overall, the world as a whole has fewer private automobiles and more mass transit. Most of the more prosperous countries throughout the world have a public transportation network much like OTL western Europe - lots of rail lines, subways, streetcars, or elevated train lines in virtually every large and middling-sized city, and quite a few large buses. Some countries - especially Brazil and several countries in North America - are known for having more private vehicles than most other developed countries - but even they rely heavily on public transportation, especially in and around cities. Air travel is similar to OTL with one significant exception - the use of very large blimps as floating luxury cruisers. Both rigid and non-rigid airships played a larger role in military and civilian use than in OTL, and they remain to serve a significant niche market.

Certain aspects of military technology are more advanced. There was never any international agreement to ban weapons from space, so several great powers (Britain & Commonwealth, Brazil, Russia, China, France) have satellites armed with conventional and/or nuclear missiles, as well as self-guiding kinetic weapons that can basically be dropped from orbit and destroy ground targets by slamming into them at incredibly high speeds. By 2003, non-chemical lasers have reached the point where they are close to becoming practical weapons - there are already some satellites and aircraft that are armed with them, mainly as a defensive weapon against missiles. Tests for use by ground forces and in an offensive role are underway. Otherwise, military technology is similar in most respects to 2003 OTL. Historically, however, there has been somewhat less emphasis on armor than in OTL. There are fewer tanks and heavy armored fighting vehicles. Helicopters, on the other hand, are even more widespread than in OTL, as are amphibious vehicles. Less emphasis on armor and heavy artillery has meant more emphasis on getting the best weapons, equipment, and tactics for infantry. The use of remotely guided vehicles for reconaissance, and infrared and night viewing equipment, are also more widespread, being common in most of the world's major militaries.


Nuclear power is more widespread on this world - the more liberal states have less regulation of private industry, including nuclear, than in OTL, and the more authoritarian countries usually have governments that support the use of nuclear power. A less fearful public perception of nuclear power may be related to the fact that this world has been lucky enough to never have a large, Chernobyl-style nuclear accident. Also, nuclear weapons have NEVER been used in wartime - they were first developed shortly after the end of the 20th centuries' only "World War". The fact that the safe storage of nuclear waste is a serious problem has not been widely publicized, and the threat of an environmental disaster from leaking radioactive waste is very real. More modern reactor designs produce much less waste, but there are still plenty of older plants in operation around the world. There has been more research than in OTL on attempts to find an effective way of achieving sustained fusion reactions, but so far without success.

 

[Paul Spring]

Another map

This map gives an idea of the general alliances in this timeline's equivalent to the "Cold War":

 

[Coriolanus]

I like this TL so far. I'm intrigued to see just how different the different nations are in North America.

 

[Grimm Reaper]

Hmm, New England is with the commies and NO ONE will take the Deep South. What might we interpret from this?
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If I WANTED your opinion I would read it in your entrails

 

[Tetsu]

Everyone breaks up America. We never see "WI America stretched from Alaska to Buenos Aires?"

Actually, I've seen that quite often, although admittedly not as much as a balkanized USA.

Good work on the TL, it seems like the world is overall more peaceful than OTL (only having one major world war), and a more peaceful world is a rarity in AH.

 

[Paul Spring]

Grimm - keep in mind that "communism" as we know it never existed on this world, although socialism has. The Eurasian alliance and its allies have a form of government that is centralized and authoritarian and somewhat socialist, but also allows a considerable amount of economic freedom and a market economy. The closest equivalent in OTL would probably be the People's Republic of China for the last 15 years or so. Unlike the PRC, though, there is no fundamental contradiction between the official ideology of the state and the way things are actually run.

The Federal States of America includes the 6 New England states and New York State. It has had a troubled history for much of the 20th century and as of early 2003 is under the control of an authoritarian government that is somewhat patterned after the Russian and Chinese examples. However, it is fairly isolated, surrounded by members of the CFN, and its government has managed to greatly antagonize many members of the Commonwealth, to the point where the CFN is considering using direct military force to remove this thorn in their side.

The "Deep South" that you're referring to is probably the ISA - Independent States of America. It isn't so much that nobody wants them, but rather that they prefer to remain neutral and have been somewhat isolationist in recent years. Also, the ISA has a rather weak central government, which tends to limit its freedom of action in foreign policy and makes it tough to join alliances.

Tetsu - The fact that there has been only one "World War" can be somewhat deceptive, because there have been more fairly large regional wars in this TL's 20th century than in OTL. In fact, the distinction between a "regional war" and a "world war" isn't as sharp in this world as it was in OTL. The "Cold War" of this timeline also started a few years earlier than in OTL and as of 2003 shows no signs of letting up.

Coriolanus - Indeed, I shall post more information before long.

 

[tom]

Faeelin:
I think the reason is that messing up America makes the world more interesting. America already dominates the planet, give it the Western Hemisphere and we would either have a "Super-cold War" between the Old and New worlds, or America would almost be a de facto world government.