Map Thread XIV
- Thread starter MorningDew
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Upvoteanthology
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Sorry, reposting to avoid EoPS 
So this is the best I can do in one night, I included a Swiss, Maori, and Congolese Siberia like people wanted.
Neutrality? What's that?
PoD:Petermann von Gundoldingen of Lucerne doesn't die during the Battle of Sempach in 1386, leading to an even more decisive Swiss victory against Austria.
Scenario: After the decisive Battle of Sempach pushed Austrian presence out of the city entirely, the Swiss Confederation established itself as a definitive entity in the area. Without the death of Von Gundoldingen, he would go on to lead more strong battles against Austria, expanding the Confederation deep into Hapsburg lands. By 1410, the Swiss had taken the cities of Chur, Maienfeld, and Walenstadt. But the growth didn't stop there, as the Swiss monster continued chugging along. Genoa, along with some towns in France, met together to form a coalition against the expansion, and slowly began to invade Swiss cities along the border. However, Hannes von Gundoldingen, son of Petermann, lead the Swiss in an offensive against the Genoese, ending the war in 1421. Quickly, the Swiss cities met to decide what to do with the defeated Genoese, and the answer was clear; they speedily abdicated the Genoese government, appointing Hannes as their puppet king. Thus, the Von Gundoldingen dynasty was born, essentially a Swiss-run dynasty used to control their protectorates.
With the royal marriage that came with having a dynasty, it allowed the Swiss to inherit new kingdoms. The Hapsburgs fell during a brief Austrian rebellion in 1481, leading the Von Gundoldingen to swoop in and take over. On top of that inheritance, a young man named Christer Schneider discovered the lands of Fredrika a year later, claiming it for the Swiss Confederation. That land would eventually go to Portugal, but the initial settlements in the area were Swiss. Eventually, German colonization shifted southward, with Switzerland granting their puppet kingdoms of Bavaria and Austria some land. After the discovery of furs in the far north, new towns were also founded up there, and the want for fur grew in the minds of the people. Population quickly shifted from the German colonies in the south to the Swiss colonies in the far north, causing the former to become something of a backwater. The Swiss colonists would interact with English settlers in Charlotte (the name for the northern continent), but these interactions were mostly peaceful until the 1700's, when the Swiss colonies sponsored the uprising of what would become Falkenrath. They sponsored an English-German colonist, Johann Falkenrath, to promote the uprising of the more profitable English colonies in Charlotte, and the rebellion succeeded in 1766. In turn, however, the Swiss colony of Kielholz rebelled a few decades later.
Even with Kielholz gone, the Swiss had a valuable ally in Falkenrath, and their northern colony continued to grow exponentially, getting them richer by the minute. The Swiss were able to successfully conquer parts of France, consolidating their realms in the process. By the early-1800's, the Swiss inadvertently lead a Monarchist Bloc, even though they were not monarchist themselves. This was evidently due to the Von Gundoldingen dynasty, which had been proliferating Swiss power through Europe for centuries by this point. The Swiss were the #1 power in Europe, as even powerful nations like England and Portugal had fallen to republican rebellion (with Swiss backing, no less). The fur colonies began to exhaust themselves in the north, leading people to mine for gold and move further and further west. Eventually, in 1810, the Swiss Siberian colony was officially founded, quite shortly after their Australian one. Miners and fur traders spilled into the area, as they traded with the Japanese (who they quickly took over due to their lack of a single ruling dynasty). "Undesirables" like those who rebelled against the Swiss government were sent to Siberia, like the Maori who lead raids against Swiss towns in New Zürich, or the Congolese who used to be slaves under Swiss rule in the south. By 1860, the Siberian colony is one of the more profitable ones in the world, but will it last? With the Von Gundoldingens starting to break away from Swiss influence, and the power axis beginning to fall apart, how long until they have to free their profitable fur colonies? Only time will tell...
A map game is every game in the Shared Worlds subforum of the corresponding name. It works by first claiming a turn and then editing the map. In most cases, you have to dexcribe the eventswhich you inserted into the map, however, the clou of a Silent map game is that this does not take place, but shall take place after we have reached 2016...
Here's another one I've been working on for a while: a cover for "Tripartite Alliance Earth", a world of the ITA (Interdimensional Transit Authority) created by Randy McDonald (website here http://rfmcdpei.livejournal.com/)
This is a broadly "convergent" TL: although divergences begin with the end-of-the-Napoleonic wars negotiations, the general progress of History is fairly similar, with Germany rising under Prussian leadership, the UK grabbing stuff all over, and the US expanding to the west coast, while in the 20th century there is a WWI in the wake of which a Russian Soviet state arises, and a WWII in which Germany plays a leading role.
However, details differ. South America did better at modernizing and industrializing, especially after 1900. The US has a rougher time with its internal politics from the late 19th century on, the end of Napoleon III sees France move back to (constitutional) monarchy, Britain has a bit less success in the colonial game and the French a bit more, Hitler is a blond with an eyepatch [1]
Things really diverge sharply after WWII, with the US becoming increasingly authoritarian and internally divided, and the Soviets have a civil war in the 60s, leading to the establishment of a separate hard-line regime east of the Urals and a more moderate one in the European parts. (A band-aid in the form of an all-SSRs Union was created, but there essentially were two Soviet Unions) Come 1981, tensions rose between a US-backed block of right-wing SE Asian regimes and the hardline communist alliance of China and Soviet Siberia (may include central Asians, and nuts): things were not helped at all by the US was led by a truly rabid anti-communist by the name of Elizabeth Chang, a high functioning sociopath with the less pleasant attributes of Trump and Sarah Palin carefully covered with a veneer of respectability and a belief in the value of military tension as a means of enforcing control at home.
In 1982, the balloon went up, and before long nukes began to fly. The war spread to the European part of the USSR and India, and when President Chang found herself facing impeachment, launched a final damn-the-torpedoes attack on China and Siberia, although not before threatening to attack other major powers that did not aid the US in the Defeat of Communism, and actually launched a spray of missiles at Europe and Japan after they told her to (albeit more politely) get stuffed. (Fortunately, this TL was rather more advanced than our own at this point, and the existence of pretty high-quality space and ground based anti-missile systems meant Japan lost only 4 million people and Europe less.) Similarly, these anti-missile systems meant results were merely horrible rather than entirely unspeakable, and human civilization did not die out in the northern hemisphere.
Postwar, thanks to a low-level nuclear winter combined with the collapse of international trade for a while, much of the globe is devastated by famine where it has not been already devastated by bombs and fallout. Tens of millions of refugees are on the move. A new international order emerges under the leadership of the League of Nations (a more successful organization than OTL) and three major powers, or the Tripartite Alliance: the European Confederation (already a more centralized union than OTL's EU, and becoming more so as a result of the struggles to deal with the post WWIII horrors), the South American Community (a looser grouping, but largely untouched by WWIII), and the Empire of Japan. All three absorb huge numbers of refugees, which in the case of Japan proves rather socially disruptive, but in the long run allows it to avoid the demographic quagmire OTL Japan is mired in. Huge areas of devastated Eurasia are taken over by international forces under the aegis of the League of Nations. A number of nations, Japan in particular, do some non-league-of-Nations-approved expanding, but under the circumstances nobody really objects that much. The northern two thirds of Africa, much of which as OTL had become dependent on imports of food, fuel, etc., is particularly hard hit by famines, and suffers from a considerable population shrinkage in spite of not being hit by bomb one (however, the horrors of the post-war status actually help consolidate African states in the long run: massive population movements have mixed together and homogenized populations, and smaller language groups and ethnicities have diminished in importance in comparison with state-wide common languages).
Although some of the charred edge bits of the USA were taken over by other states, much of the US remained unoccupied by the League or anyone else, as the US civil war triggered by President Chang's refusal to step down slowly dragged on. It would not finally come to an end until Tripartite Alliance world is contacted in 1998 by the multi-timeline association known as the Interdimensional Transit Authority (ITA). After the initial failed effort at a takeover by ITA Bad Boy Holy Alliance World (The Tsar-Emperor is supreme on three continents), a more beneficial relationship was established, and an end was brought to the US civil war with a combination of carrots and (rather large) sticks. Remaining "Presidential" hardliners migrated to an empty North America of their own on a human-free world, and peace finally came to the globe, although Tsarist (and later alt-Soviet) meddling left Russia more fragmented than ever. Tripartite Alliance World is now a full ITA member and the future is looking fairly bright.
[1] Kidding.
I remember this! That was a fascinating scenario-does anybody have a link to the original? It's probably on archive.org somewhere but I dunno exactly what to look for. Any help appreciated!
I'm guessing that the X is where the bomb went off? But wow-who bombed Crimea and why?
So this is the best I can do in one night, I included a Swiss, Maori, and Congolese Siberia like people wanted.
Neutrality? What's that?
PoD:
Scenario: After the decisive Battle of Sempach pushed Austrian presence out of the city entirely, the Swiss Confederation established itself as a definitive entity in the area. Without the death of Von Gundoldingen, he would go on to lead more strong battles against Austria, expanding the Confederation deep into Hapsburg lands. By 1410, the Swiss had taken the cities of Chur, Maienfeld, and Walenstadt. But the growth didn't stop there, as the Swiss monster continued chugging along. Genoa, along with some towns in France, met together to form a coalition against the expansion, and slowly began to invade Swiss cities along the border. However, Hannes von Gundoldingen, son of Petermann, lead the Swiss in an offensive against the Genoese, ending the war in 1421. Quickly, the Swiss cities met to decide what to do with the defeated Genoese, and the answer was clear; they speedily abdicated the Genoese government, appointing Hannes as their puppet king. Thus, the Von Gundoldingen dynasty was born, essentially a Swiss-run dynasty used to control their protectorates.
With the royal marriage that came with having a dynasty, it allowed the Swiss to inherit new kingdoms. The Hapsburgs fell during a brief Austrian rebellion in 1481, leading the Von Gundoldingen to swoop in and take over. On top of that inheritance, a young man named Christer Schneider discovered the lands of Fredrika a year later, claiming it for the Swiss Confederation. That land would eventually go to Portugal, but the initial settlements in the area were Swiss. Eventually, German colonization shifted southward, with Switzerland granting their puppet kingdoms of Bavaria and Austria some land. After the discovery of furs in the far north, new towns were also founded up there, and the want for fur grew in the minds of the people. Population quickly shifted from the German colonies in the south to the Swiss colonies in the far north, causing the former to become something of a backwater. The Swiss colonists would interact with English settlers in Charlotte (the name for the northern continent), but these interactions were mostly peaceful until the 1700's, when the Swiss colonies sponsored the uprising of what would become Falkenrath. They sponsored an English-German colonist, Johann Falkenrath, to promote the uprising of the more profitable English colonies in Charlotte, and the rebellion succeeded in 1766. In turn, however, the Swiss colony of Kielholz rebelled a few decades later.
Even with Kielholz gone, the Swiss had a valuable ally in Falkenrath, and their northern colony continued to grow exponentially, getting them richer by the minute. The Swiss were able to successfully conquer parts of France, consolidating their realms in the process. By the early-1800's, the Swiss inadvertently lead a Monarchist Bloc, even though they were not monarchist themselves. This was evidently due to the Von Gundoldingen dynasty, which had been proliferating Swiss power through Europe for centuries by this point. The Swiss were the #1 power in Europe, as even powerful nations like England and Portugal had fallen to republican rebellion (with Swiss backing, no less). The fur colonies began to exhaust themselves in the north, leading people to mine for gold and move further and further west. Eventually, in 1810, the Swiss Siberian colony was officially founded, quite shortly after their Australian one. Miners and fur traders spilled into the area, as they traded with the Japanese (who they quickly took over due to their lack of a single ruling dynasty). "Undesirables" like those who rebelled against the Swiss government were sent to Siberia, like the Maori who lead raids against Swiss towns in New Zürich, or the Congolese who used to be slaves under Swiss rule in the south. By 1860, the Siberian colony is one of the more profitable ones in the world, but will it last? With the Von Gundoldingens starting to break away from Swiss influence, and the power axis beginning to fall apart, how long until they have to free their profitable fur colonies? Only time will tell...
One of my favorite cartographers makes yet another fascinating scenario. Nice work, Becca!
I seemed to go down with BOTP syndrome, so reposts were prescribed.
A map based on Meadow's Last Service.
I made up quite a lot of stuff, to fill in gaps.
Basically, Germany went Spartacist in 1924, France had a go at revolution later on, but it got put down pretty viciously and France became a crypto-fascist military dictatorship. Hungary went Red in 1929 and, coming on the heels of the stock market crash, led to a similar turn in Britain, albeit via the ballot box. After many close calls, Europe went to war once again in 1939. It is now the winter of 1940. Paris has fallen, and five generals try to hold the Reds back, but are unwilling to cooperate with one another. The fascist dictatorships of Italy and Spain each prop up their chosen strongmen. Spain itself is torn by civil war, and its homegrown Reds have crossed the Pyrenees to link with the Volkswehr. Italy is fighting for every bloody inch in the Alps and Fiume struggles against German siege. The Soviets have got bogged down in Bulgaria, but are advancing against the joint Yugoslav-Greek army.
Tomorrow, Britain will formally withdraw from France and will destroy the Channel Bridge in an attempt to prevent an invasion of the British Isles. At the moment, things look like they are heading the way of the Workers' International. Finland has fallen and Romania has been dismembered. Denmark, Norway and the Low Countries are occupied and compliant Spartacist governments being installed. Bulgaria is in a similar position. Sweden is neutral, but surrounded by communists, marches to the same tune. Spain cannot last long, and the joint Anglo-Italian expedition in Andalucia is all that stands between the Reds and Gibraltar. If The Rock falls, then the Mediterranean will slip under the sway of the Red Flag.
But Britain still has her empire, and even if France should fall, her generals are determined to continue the fight in the colonies. Oswald Mosley hears encouraging things from both Washington and Tokyo. He sees a chance to forge an alliance on which the world the world will turn, which will reverse the conquests of Bolshevism, and restore the natural order to Europe and the world...
A map based on Meadow's Last Service.
I made up quite a lot of stuff, to fill in gaps.
Basically, Germany went Spartacist in 1924, France had a go at revolution later on, but it got put down pretty viciously and France became a crypto-fascist military dictatorship. Hungary went Red in 1929 and, coming on the heels of the stock market crash, led to a similar turn in Britain, albeit via the ballot box. After many close calls, Europe went to war once again in 1939. It is now the winter of 1940. Paris has fallen, and five generals try to hold the Reds back, but are unwilling to cooperate with one another. The fascist dictatorships of Italy and Spain each prop up their chosen strongmen. Spain itself is torn by civil war, and its homegrown Reds have crossed the Pyrenees to link with the Volkswehr. Italy is fighting for every bloody inch in the Alps and Fiume struggles against German siege. The Soviets have got bogged down in Bulgaria, but are advancing against the joint Yugoslav-Greek army.
Tomorrow, Britain will formally withdraw from France and will destroy the Channel Bridge in an attempt to prevent an invasion of the British Isles. At the moment, things look like they are heading the way of the Workers' International. Finland has fallen and Romania has been dismembered. Denmark, Norway and the Low Countries are occupied and compliant Spartacist governments being installed. Bulgaria is in a similar position. Sweden is neutral, but surrounded by communists, marches to the same tune. Spain cannot last long, and the joint Anglo-Italian expedition in Andalucia is all that stands between the Reds and Gibraltar. If The Rock falls, then the Mediterranean will slip under the sway of the Red Flag.
But Britain still has her empire, and even if France should fall, her generals are determined to continue the fight in the colonies. Oswald Mosley hears encouraging things from both Washington and Tokyo. He sees a chance to forge an alliance on which the world the world will turn, which will reverse the conquests of Bolshevism, and restore the natural order to Europe and the world...
Isaac Beach
Banned
So to clarify, Britain is fascist? And if that's the case, what of the US?
Not to sound cynical, but is this a 'what if the Nazis were commies' type dealie?
Not exactly. The new leaders of the Social Democracy of Germany have a certain Teutonic flavour to them, certainly, but their goal is revolutionary.
This is a world more governed by extremes after WW1, where in Britain, the young vigorous men of the trenches found their way to power swifter than in our world, where ideological violence between the wars was worse and resulted in more vicious consequences.
As for America, its pretty quickly following the lead of Britain and France, with an actual New Deal Dictatorship forming.
1986: Things are getting a bit ugly in Africa.
The USSA intervention in Nigeria is becoming a more difficult issue to deal with. Considered by many the greatest humanitarian crisis facing the world as millions have been displaced in viscious asymmetric warfare between the USSA forces and various islamic militants. To make matters worse USSA soldiers have begun getting sick with a previously barely documented new STI, and many returning on leave have inadvertantly spread the slow acting but deadly disease into the USSA populat (yes, AIDS is showing up). Many in the USSA public are convinced this is some sort of biological weapon that either the Arabs concocted to fight the USSA or their own government used but somehow fumbled. The paranoia the government had been stoking in regards to outsiders has begun to be turned on them.
Nigeria is not the only troubled spot. Fed fresh Indian support the South African People's Liberation Army (SAPLA) has broken the nation into full civil war against the racist white dominated regime. Germany had initially continued to send support to South Africa until news broke out of a number of massacres by the South African government. Cut off from the 'free world' South Africa has begun trying to sign a deal with the devil and is asking the USSA for aid (misjudging recent ethnic based riots in a scattering of USSA cities for a racially focused domestic policy rather than a state suffering from stagnation and mismanagement).
Australia is sliding haphazardly towards democracy though. The Governor General's death left a power vacuum in the party and after hardliners attempt a coup the nation is stumbling towards more open policies with the outside world and their own people. It will be a slow process though.
Elsewhere the Space Race continues. Cairo has escaped the economic slump that was threatening their stability in the late 70s when oil prices collapsed as a result of improved Russian production now that China and India's modernisation and industrialisation efforts have increased global oil demand (and the violence in Nigeria is a serious blow to their oil production).
The USSA intervention in Nigeria is becoming a more difficult issue to deal with. Considered by many the greatest humanitarian crisis facing the world as millions have been displaced in viscious asymmetric warfare between the USSA forces and various islamic militants. To make matters worse USSA soldiers have begun getting sick with a previously barely documented new STI, and many returning on leave have inadvertantly spread the slow acting but deadly disease into the USSA populat (yes, AIDS is showing up). Many in the USSA public are convinced this is some sort of biological weapon that either the Arabs concocted to fight the USSA or their own government used but somehow fumbled. The paranoia the government had been stoking in regards to outsiders has begun to be turned on them.
Nigeria is not the only troubled spot. Fed fresh Indian support the South African People's Liberation Army (SAPLA) has broken the nation into full civil war against the racist white dominated regime. Germany had initially continued to send support to South Africa until news broke out of a number of massacres by the South African government. Cut off from the 'free world' South Africa has begun trying to sign a deal with the devil and is asking the USSA for aid (misjudging recent ethnic based riots in a scattering of USSA cities for a racially focused domestic policy rather than a state suffering from stagnation and mismanagement).
Australia is sliding haphazardly towards democracy though. The Governor General's death left a power vacuum in the party and after hardliners attempt a coup the nation is stumbling towards more open policies with the outside world and their own people. It will be a slow process though.
Elsewhere the Space Race continues. Cairo has escaped the economic slump that was threatening their stability in the late 70s when oil prices collapsed as a result of improved Russian production now that China and India's modernisation and industrialisation efforts have increased global oil demand (and the violence in Nigeria is a serious blow to their oil production).
Miranda Brawner
Donor
Well done as always, Beedok. I'm enjoying keeping up with this timeline. Looking forward to seeing how the space race turns out.
So this is the best I can do in one night, I included a Swiss, Maori, and Congolese Siberia like people wanted.
Switzerwank.
In HDM, the area east of the Ural possesses cities with a Russian name, yet sources call the areas as Western and Eastern Tartary.
I'd assume that Siberia is controlled by a cadre of Mongoloid self-proclaimed Khans, who are somehow influenced by Muscovy.
I'd assume that Siberia is controlled by a cadre of Mongoloid self-proclaimed Khans, who are somehow influenced by Muscovy.
There's a lot of the HDM world that's never been referred to or covered, not quite sure how to handle those if your major concern is staying true to authorial intent rather than what seems to make sense. Me personally, I reckon most of that stuff is never going to be covered by PP so I'd feel free to just guesstimate.
Speaking of fictional universes, and mapmaking... now for something completely different.
Speaking of fictional universes, and mapmaking... now for something completely different.
After a long hiatus, I have finally finished the next installment (a ASB scenario) of my 440‘ties series.
In this scenario Hitler suffered a stroke after celebrating the victory over France. Although he didn’t die, it severely affected his judgments. A great side effect of this situation was no invasion of the Soviet Union, but instead a focus to defeat Britain in the west. This scenario ultimately culminated in an amphibious invasion of the British Isles in 1942 and the subsequent surrender of the Allies (the US fought on for a couple of years though).
Now several decades later the world is locked in a four-way Cold War between the US-led alliance, the Reich, the Soviets and the Maoist Chinese.
TL-443 Ernst sein ist alles by Zauberfloete
In this scenario Hitler suffered a stroke after celebrating the victory over France. Although he didn’t die, it severely affected his judgments. A great side effect of this situation was no invasion of the Soviet Union, but instead a focus to defeat Britain in the west. This scenario ultimately culminated in an amphibious invasion of the British Isles in 1942 and the subsequent surrender of the Allies (the US fought on for a couple of years though).
Now several decades later the world is locked in a four-way Cold War between the US-led alliance, the Reich, the Soviets and the Maoist Chinese.
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working on a qbam version of the map with 50 us states of equal population
just taking a lil break between other maps haha
Interesting it reminds me of the setup to The Children's War, except with a stroke instead of an astrologer.
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