After the declaration of the German Empire Prince Friedrich, the future Friedrich III (though in this timeline he will style himself Frederick I because the reason he chose with III instead of anything else is messy and convoluted), decides to quit his smoking habit in a desire to be a good example to the German people by not wasting money on too many luxury items. As a result of this he never suffers from cancer of the larynx and later ascends the throne as healthy as a man in his 50s can be. Furthermore Friedrich's son Wilhelm, whom we know as Wilhelm II, dies prematurely in a hunting accident when the hunting rifle of one of his mates accidentally discharges and hits Wilhelm's horse, which in shock throws down the rider, causing him to break his neck. This means that young Heinrich becomes emperor at the age of 49 after his father dies in 1911 aged 79. Otherwise stuff happens: the United States intervenes more aggressively in the Mexican Civil War, London and Berlin have excellent diplomatic ties, Russia gets enormous, and the Ottoman Empire is dismembered by European interventions and native revolts in the 1910s. But after roughly 40 years of peace Europe might be seeing a major war soon, the biggest since the Franco-Prussian War...
Please note that due to the immense number of annotations I've decided to not include them on the map itself. I'm sorry.
ANNOTATIONS
THE AMERICAS:
1) Newfoundland isn't a big fan of the deal they were forced to make with Ottawa over the Labrador border.
2) Ottawa meanwhile feels quite good about everything. Though quite a few people are worried about the United States...
3) A compromise between Democrats and Republicans lead to a united Oklahoma and Dakota instead of possibly dividing either of the two.
4) America's intervention in Mexico came with some minor territorial annexations. The recently admitted state of Arizona has profited the most, gaining a coastline at the Gulf of California.
5) The Republic of Sierra is an American creation, formed specifically to allow for a strong US military presence in the unruly region.
6) Still economically close to the US out of sheer necessity, but the relationship between Mexico City and Washington is quite cold.
7) Cuba finally gained independence from Spain in 1901 without foreign intervention, though America quickly included the young island republic in their sphere of influence.
8) When the Americans encouraged Panama's independence they offered the Rizal people American protection. Now San Andrés and Providence is a small US territory.
9) Still Spanish and highly autonomous.
10) Firmly in Washington's pocket after the US bailed out the struggling Venezuelan government.
11) Brazilian companies have essentially taken over Bolivia's mining industry.
12) Narrowly beating Argentina for the title of "most influential country of Spanish-speaking America"
13) Ambition, thy name is Argentina.
EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST:
1) The Portuguese monarchy did not survive the embarrassment of the Berlin Conference and the snubbing of the "pink map".
2) The Spanish Bourbons are sitting on an unstable throne...
3) The Ulster question got resolved, for now at least...
4) Kinda bummed out that Berlin didn't keep its promise to cede back some bits of northern Schleswig.
5) Belgium, birthplace of Rexism.
6) Austria-Hungary is no more. The Habsburgs had enough time to reform their empire into four nations and they even managed to make Hungary semi-federal!
7) The union with Norway has only recently been dissolved. Quite close to the Alliance because Russia is scary and the Swedes living in Finland aren't too happy with St. Petersburg.
8) Russianization is the biggest fear of the people in Finland.
9) Independence clubs struggling to survive due to secret police raids.
10) Russia's favorite little plaything.
11) A proud ally of both Germany and the UK, though they aren't happy with the prospect of a war against Russia.
12) A shadow of its former self, the Ottoman Empire has become a Russian puppet state. The irony isn't lost on the now marginalized reform movement.
13) The Syrian Christians enjoy Russian and French protection, though nobody in Syria is truly happy with the current arrangements...
14) Yes, most Armenians are now no longer under Ottoman control, but Armenia is desperately hoping for autonomy within the Russian state.
15) The Emirate of Gazira just wants nothing to do with anyone anymore. Definitely hates the Kurds.
16) The complex nature of the Kurdish state baffles most European orientalists, especially since it has also managed to integrate the resident Assyrian minority.
17) Persia would like to be neutral but the British just stick around...
18) The House of Rashid has managed to unite central and eastern Arabia, though the Hedjaz still remains out of their reach.
19) Muscat and Oman was integrated into the Aden province of the Indian Raj and divided in two for "easier administration".
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC:
1) Kinda happy they dodged the Russian bullet.
2) Russian Turkestan is a very strategic possession, though also a costly one.
3) Altishahr is an important stop for Russo-Chinese trade.
4) Mongolia swiftly followed the Tibetans when the Qing collapsed.
5) Indian nationalism is slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with.
6) The Holy Duke of Yen now resides no longer in Qufu but rather Nanking.
7) The Liaodong peninsula was ceded to Japan together with Taiwan, a massive humiliation for the declining Qing regime.
8) The loss of most of Manchuria was another aspect of the Qing decline.
9) An opportunistic ally of the Japanese and a quick learner, too.
10) Filipino revolutionaries found ideological allies in Hong Kong and Tokyo, and ultimately sided with the Japanese instead of the British.
11) Mindanao is a chaotic place.
12) When Spain had lost the Philippines Micronesia was no longer desirable to keep as a colony. Thankfully Belgium was interested.
13) It's my favorite alternate history cliche, you know?
14) Still fell to the Americans, despite the relatively early POD.
15) The bickering between the French, Americans, and British over these small islets was more serious than you'd think.
AFRICA:
1) Almost became Spanish, which would've been the ultimate humiliation for Morocco.
2) A collection of tiny desert statelets under French protection that primarily serves as a buffer for Senegal.
3) The French Sahara is run by the French military due to a lack of a permanent population.
4) Almost killed the concept of a Franco-Italian alliance.
5) Still ended up in Italian hands, somehow.
6) Gained formal independence just a year ago after being a British protectorate for a while.
7) Upper Senegal is the second-most important region of French West Africa.
8) Kamerun is Germany's cash cow in Africa, though that comes at the cost of native lives...
9) Equatorial Guinea, because Spain just had some islands lying around.
10) The Belgian Congo is hell on earth for the native population and a seemingly infinite money printer for Belgium.
11) Very proud, quite poor, and it hates the French and Italians. So naturally it leans pro-Alliance.
12) The German treaties with the local Somali emirs and sultans have ended and all of Somaliland is now under direct colonial administration.
13) Britain's Great Lake protectorates are fascinating British naturalists.
14) Pretty much the only real point of contention between London and Berlin...
15) Bechuanaland looks a bit different than what we're used to.
16) The Boers of Transvaal hate life, the British, and the potential need to ally themselves with the French of all people in one last attempt at "liberty".
