Map Thread XXI
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Second in an 'America-as-Africa' series. See also: the Republic of Canosi.
Modern-day Tuskalusa was the first region of North America to be colonized by Europeans. The Spanish colony of Florida was initially claimed in 1513 by Juan Ponce de Leon, and the first permanent Spanish settlement of St. Augustine was established in 1565. Trade and limited Catholic missions with the native Muskoke and Timicua continued at a moderate level for the next few hundred years along the coast, though European entry into the interior was blocked by the powerful Alabama and Coosa kingdoms, and by the pervasive Red Death and other native American diseases.
Beginning in the late 18th century and early 19th century, during the 'Scramble for America' precipitated by the invention of effective medication for these diseases and an international quest for raw resources and Christian converts, Spain made limited inroads into the interior, cut off by the greater powers of Britain and France. But in the end of the 19th century, by allying with Britain in the Atlantic War, Spain took control of a vast swath of territory in former Spanish Louisiana. The area west of the Mississippi was administered independently and is now the Republic of Okocappo, while the area east of it was annexed into Florida.
In the 1940s, the independence of neighboring British colonies led to unrest and nationalist agitation, which was brutally crushed by the Spanish government. By the 1950s, this repression has led to uprisings and ultimately a brutal guerilla war, as the National Front for the Liberation of Florida (FNLF) struck from bases in the new Republic of Muscogee and the inland swamps. Ultimately, in 1968, the Spanish government withdrew from the region, leaving a war-torn and underdeveloped country.
To make matters worse, disagreements between FNLF leaders boiled over into civil war throughout the 1970s between Eastern and Western factions; at the same time, Natchez and Shawanoki separatism threatened the integrity of the state. In 1981, a peace agreement brokered by foreign powers temporarily stopped the fighting, but the war resumed after the result of 1983 elections were disputed. Ultimately, the western faction prevailed, leading to the UNAT dictatorship which leads the country to this day under the name 'Tuskalusa,' named for a semi-legendary Alabama chief and kingdom who defeated an early Spanish explorer.
The country remains quite poor on a global scale, though it has seen more rapid development in recent years thanks to exploitation of off-shore oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Nevertheless, it remains highly unequal, and the average Tuskalusan is dependent on manual cash crop farming to make a living.
One thing I wanted to note that struck me while I have been making this series is the sheer scale of the knowledge which was lost with the destruction of the pre-contact Native American societies. I had read 'pop-history' sort of stuff about the pre-contact period before, e.g. 1491, but before looking into it more deeply, I had not realized that almost nothing is known about the vast majority of the native societies of the continent because nearly everyone died and the societies which recovered in time to be recorded were fundamentally different and weaker than what was there before.
Imagine how much culturally poorer we would be today if 99% of the history and culture of, say, Europe had the same fate. Nothing is left of the Roman and Habsburg empires except a couple of dirt lumps which have long since been plowed over. Even the existence of languages like French or German are just theories, pieced together from individual words misheard and recorded in bits by foreigners; others, like English or Spanish, had their last speakers die decades ago without anyone caring to write down what they knew. Almost all literature and art - Virgil, Homer, Shakespeare, Voltaire, Cervante - is totally lost to the ages, with, at best, misremembered whispers passed down from generation to generation as the evidence it ever existed in the first place.
That is what happened to two whole continents full of peoples and cultures as distinct from each other as France and China.
I think this might be the single biggest tragedy in human history. There were so many times when reading about all this that I wanted to know more. What ended up happening to all the cities full of people that De Soto and other literate explorers passed through? What else was out there, just off their paths? What did all those people believe in, write about, build? What language did they speak? Where did they come from? How did they feel about their neighbors? What did they eat? How did they react when they started dying to diseases they didn't understand? We will never, ever know, because they were all gone before anyone with the ability and interest to record it for us came along, and the people who did put a lot of effort into actively destroying what was left over. And that is genuinely depressing.
A bunch of (mostly) French-and/or-English-speaking homesteaders and smallholders, mostly fairly recent immigrants, revolting for greater autonomy like everyone else, just for their own reasons. They’re not too keen on the whole “Astlan” thing due to the fact that they actually like many of the newer imperial reforms banning collective ownership of land and reorganizing the territories (they’re— mostly— liberals). They just want to be left well enough alone and not taxed too much, and they're loving the ability to "settle" on native lands much more easily. Uniquely among the federal rebels, the territory shown held by the Roscitas is less “territory controlled by an army” and more “areas that fear Roscita and vaguely Roscita-affiliated raids and banditry.” They’re more of a true guerrilla group.
They’re named after a relatively well-known bandito federal among them, Rosco Alpente (the guy mostly responsible for those blue specks you see down in Louisiana proper), though in actuality they’re not a very centralized or organized revolt at all.
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Thank you so much, I really appreciate hearing that! I'm a sucker for weird alternate governments and ideologies, and I'd definitely like to continue that trend if I were to go further into the future of this TL.
Shame, as Roscitas allegedly means "Little Rose" I was kinda hoping this might be Texans with a national anthem of "Yellow Rose of Texas"
I think you should, not a lot of Hannibal wining timelines that gose in the direction your shown.
An attempt of mine to create a WWI-related scenario which avoids a number of what I consider common cliches:
1) Franz Ferdinand's survival results in an endless Belle Epoque
2) The German Empire always wins against the Russian Empire, and usually wins big
3) Austria-Hungary either retains its 1914 borders or grows, or collapses entirely
4) After the trench warfare dies down France gets a get out of jail free card to exit the 20th century suffering nothing worse than the occasional relatively painless occupation. Yes, I said painless. compare and contrast Vichy France and the German Generalgouvernment. Or even perpetual neutrality.
5) If the Entente wins, Greece expands all over the Ottoman Empire
So, what happened here? FF lives, tensions decrease for a time and Britain distances itself from the Entente seeing how Russian industrialization appears to make it a counterweight to Germany. But this in turn encourages German hopes of fighting Russia and France without Britain, so it doesn't lead to peace in the long run. War breaks out in the early 20s. Germany steamrolls France, but at the cost of letting the beefed-up Russians reach the Oder and Neisse. Italy opportunistically jumps in to get some pieces of French territory but does not join the wider war. At this point Britain decides enough is enough and proposes a peace roughly along the lines of the status quo, but neither Germany nor Russia are willing to listen. Berlin thinks that after removing one front, it can finally focus on Russia and win. The Russians want a more punitive peace and expect that the Kaiser will give it to them once the sound of Russian guns becomes audible in Berlin. One final push seems doable. Neither side is correct. As the Germans stop retreating the war ceases to be a mobile one and devolves into static trench warfare. Germany slowly pushes the Russians away from Berlin and back across the Oder, and the Russians begin thinking that the British had a point, but the Germans think they're winning and still reject the peace offers. Britain eventually joins the war on Russia's side and the Ottomans are strongarmed into letting support for Russia through the Bosphorus. Without any notable successes in pushing the Pomeranian-East Brandenburg-Lower Silesian front back to the Oder-Neisse and Berlin, the Entente think outside the box and decide to focus on Austria-Hungary. Italy and Romania are persuaded to join, and the offensives across the Carpathians get deep into Hungary, but are halted before Budapest. In Berlin the situation still seems fixable. But the Italian entry and the distraction in the south prevents farther progress in Pomerania, East Brandenburg or Lower Silesia. Attempted landings in France in co-operation with rebels also fail and result in the fragmentation of France. An offensive meant to drive the Russians across the Oder entirely retakes part of Breslau on one side of the river, but fails to do much else. By this point both Berlin and Moscow are feeling strained by the war, and are beginning to consider a peace. But neither of them is interested in a return to the status quo. Germany has gotten rid of the threat of a western front against France and doesn't want to see it return. Russia sees the French as having been useless anyway and prefers to keep its gains, and also thinks that German control over Russia will automatically put Britain on its side after the war. The allies with a weaker presence on the continent (A-H, Italy, Britain) don't have that much to say if the Germans and Russians agree on something. In the end Germany agrees to concessions to Russia in the east in return for Russia consenting to full German control over France. Northeastern France is annexed and settled by Germans from East Prussia and Silesia, the rest becomes a de facto colony. Britain dislikes it but is somewhat consoled with taking over both the French and German colonial empires. This won't let the British Empire survive indefinitely of course. As it is recognized as a German client, both Britain and Germany are suited by French weakness. It is thought that France is permanently reduced to the status of a secondary power comparable to Spain or the Ottoman Empire at best - but such definitive claims are sometimes premature. The Ottoman Empire has avoided a catastrophe and gains some time to reform itself. Italy is probably the big winner here, jumping into the war and out of it at the right times thus satisfying its main irredentist claims.
The first map shows what is commonly known as Westeuropa as it exists following the end of the war. The second shows the extent of British and Russian control or influence in the aftermath of the war, when both empires reach their greatest ever extent.
In Germany all this is seen as very much a temporary situation caused by the wartime blockade and attrition, and a round 2 before too long is seen as entirely probable. In fact it comes sooner than expected as a revolutionary crisis in Russia creates an opportunity to attack. This would have worked splendidly and ensured control over the continent for perhaps even a few decades if the US were not determined to prevent German control over Europe, but the fighting in western Europe, the cross-channel landings effected by both sides, the English and French fronts, and the Iberian Front which emerged once pressure from both sides to use Spain as a springboard or deny it to the other became too strong for Madrid to be able to stay out of the conflict, is another story.
1) Franz Ferdinand's survival results in an endless Belle Epoque
2) The German Empire always wins against the Russian Empire, and usually wins big
3) Austria-Hungary either retains its 1914 borders or grows, or collapses entirely
4) After the trench warfare dies down France gets a get out of jail free card to exit the 20th century suffering nothing worse than the occasional relatively painless occupation. Yes, I said painless. compare and contrast Vichy France and the German Generalgouvernment. Or even perpetual neutrality.
5) If the Entente wins, Greece expands all over the Ottoman Empire
So, what happened here? FF lives, tensions decrease for a time and Britain distances itself from the Entente seeing how Russian industrialization appears to make it a counterweight to Germany. But this in turn encourages German hopes of fighting Russia and France without Britain, so it doesn't lead to peace in the long run. War breaks out in the early 20s. Germany steamrolls France, but at the cost of letting the beefed-up Russians reach the Oder and Neisse. Italy opportunistically jumps in to get some pieces of French territory but does not join the wider war. At this point Britain decides enough is enough and proposes a peace roughly along the lines of the status quo, but neither Germany nor Russia are willing to listen. Berlin thinks that after removing one front, it can finally focus on Russia and win. The Russians want a more punitive peace and expect that the Kaiser will give it to them once the sound of Russian guns becomes audible in Berlin. One final push seems doable. Neither side is correct. As the Germans stop retreating the war ceases to be a mobile one and devolves into static trench warfare. Germany slowly pushes the Russians away from Berlin and back across the Oder, and the Russians begin thinking that the British had a point, but the Germans think they're winning and still reject the peace offers. Britain eventually joins the war on Russia's side and the Ottomans are strongarmed into letting support for Russia through the Bosphorus. Without any notable successes in pushing the Pomeranian-East Brandenburg-Lower Silesian front back to the Oder-Neisse and Berlin, the Entente think outside the box and decide to focus on Austria-Hungary. Italy and Romania are persuaded to join, and the offensives across the Carpathians get deep into Hungary, but are halted before Budapest. In Berlin the situation still seems fixable. But the Italian entry and the distraction in the south prevents farther progress in Pomerania, East Brandenburg or Lower Silesia. Attempted landings in France in co-operation with rebels also fail and result in the fragmentation of France. An offensive meant to drive the Russians across the Oder entirely retakes part of Breslau on one side of the river, but fails to do much else. By this point both Berlin and Moscow are feeling strained by the war, and are beginning to consider a peace. But neither of them is interested in a return to the status quo. Germany has gotten rid of the threat of a western front against France and doesn't want to see it return. Russia sees the French as having been useless anyway and prefers to keep its gains, and also thinks that German control over Russia will automatically put Britain on its side after the war. The allies with a weaker presence on the continent (A-H, Italy, Britain) don't have that much to say if the Germans and Russians agree on something. In the end Germany agrees to concessions to Russia in the east in return for Russia consenting to full German control over France. Northeastern France is annexed and settled by Germans from East Prussia and Silesia, the rest becomes a de facto colony. Britain dislikes it but is somewhat consoled with taking over both the French and German colonial empires. This won't let the British Empire survive indefinitely of course. As it is recognized as a German client, both Britain and Germany are suited by French weakness. It is thought that France is permanently reduced to the status of a secondary power comparable to Spain or the Ottoman Empire at best - but such definitive claims are sometimes premature. The Ottoman Empire has avoided a catastrophe and gains some time to reform itself. Italy is probably the big winner here, jumping into the war and out of it at the right times thus satisfying its main irredentist claims.
The first map shows what is commonly known as Westeuropa as it exists following the end of the war. The second shows the extent of British and Russian control or influence in the aftermath of the war, when both empires reach their greatest ever extent.
In Germany all this is seen as very much a temporary situation caused by the wartime blockade and attrition, and a round 2 before too long is seen as entirely probable. In fact it comes sooner than expected as a revolutionary crisis in Russia creates an opportunity to attack. This would have worked splendidly and ensured control over the continent for perhaps even a few decades if the US were not determined to prevent German control over Europe, but the fighting in western Europe, the cross-channel landings effected by both sides, the English and French fronts, and the Iberian Front which emerged once pressure from both sides to use Spain as a springboard or deny it to the other became too strong for Madrid to be able to stay out of the conflict, is another story.
Attachments
Not entirely sure of a plausible PoD for this scenario (suggestions are welcome). Premise is that the US fails to become more centralised after the Revolution and remains a loose confedertion of states. Interstate conflict and diverging interests cause many of the states to go their separate ways in the next few decades, leaving a rump US in the Mid-Atlantic states and New England. New England then secedes after a disastrous war with Britain (the UK was busy in a continental war in Europe and the US thought a quick push into York and Montréal could coud force a quick peace and get them the Northwest Territory plus maybe parts of Upper Canada). Later secessions in the early 1820s see New York and Vermont also go their own ways. Also, there is no French Revolution and the Ancien Régime has gone on, leaving both Spain and France in better positions than OTL. The map is set in 2000 AD.
Shouldn't the Korean peninsula be more or less similar to OTL's frontline or in favour of the South, with Communist China far smaller?
North Korea ITTL 'won' a pretty Short War against a much weaker South and US forces in the region in the late 40s. This Korean War was short, blunt and pretty much humiliated South Korea. There are claims of direct Soviet Support as well, "Volunteer" forces and all.
Also also, there are no UN multi-national forces assisting the smaller Korean and US forces.
EPCOT Center - Resurrected
When I draw an illustrative for EPCOT, I typically maintain a lot of the original park, i.e. with Horizons, CommuniCore and World of Motion intact, because if it ain't broke... But in this case, I'll be looking at how EPCOT might have been revamped/refreshed beginning circa its 25th Anniversary to return to something closer its original spirit, instead of taking the opposite path and devolving into a less-beautiful, less-sophisticated, less-cohesive, less-unique and less-timeless IP park."
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Spheres, Britain in particular didn't plan to inherit three sets of colonies at once and struggles to consolidate its new acquisitions at minimum cost. But returning them to their prior masters was out of the question from the moment that the landings in France failed and the Netherlands were occupied.
I
Those french borders are atrocious good god, anyhow I also disagree with your notion that France gets off scot free when they lose WW1. They are almost alwasy subordinate to the germans and incapable of striking back.
My my, the Spanish directly administer Florida and the islands? Well, I suppose it would still be a colony so not like it is getting the rights of the provinces in the homeland, for what little those were. Did we never end up with the Five Civilized Tribes here since the US didn’t control the areas of Mississippi and Alabama? Makes me almost wish that the borders were rounded instead of straight down there. It would be interesting to see those tribes ending up with a respected status (probably with a lot of mestizos down the line), used as border troops against invading American filibusters. Does seem a bit unfair that the British would annex all of Maine, considering they neither claimed all of it nor did New England get too involved in the War of 1812. Then again, I suppose a long line of Virginian Presidents are hardly going to mind losing some New Englander land. And why it has nothing really to do with pods or such, I love how the Indian Buffer state has a slight difference in the northwest borders and does not have that little American exclave around Lake of the Woods.
Come to think think of it, I wonder if the light yellow in the Great Plains is because of high autonomy for the locals or just administrative boundaries so the New Spanish can stay in a couple cities while a couple of the larger tribes raid the smaller ones. I do find it very strange the way Pennsylvania expanded, so I imagine that there must have been some Haudenosaunee/Iroquois entity before or during the revolution here, or the parts unclaimed by Pennsylvania would have been their own state in this United States. I imagine the economy will be a fair bit different here without the ability to dig the canals used IOTL to funnel things from the Great Lakes into the ports at Brooklynn and Manhattan and the other boroughs/former cities around there.
I do wonder on the exact POD for this, which I know you say you are unsure on. Has to be sometime after South Carolina gave up their strip of land to North Carolina, though I suppose they might not have bought of it as too important. A union of Carolinas would be good, but makes sense they do not do it here, as the aristocrats could not want to give up to much influence tot he other. I suppose they would marry into each other enough that the only real issue would be where to locate the capital. Ahhh right, the reason I brought this up was I wondered if States Island still went to New York here. If the split happened before the union broke up, then maybe, but if after then I don’t see the Americans backing down right away unless it involved partial dropping of claims by New York in the West. The part with the Kingdom of the Seven United Netherlands seems a bit off, but I suppose they might just call their provinces that at some point while Finding ways to unify their statholders into one person. Maybe kind of like how so many countries in Africa and the Middle East put Arab in their name or used very similar flags. Lots of other examples in history I am sure, but those were so successful that we don’t even think about how groups unified into one. An yo know, I think this Canada may be quite a bit more French Speaking, as it will be harder for Americans to travel to Ontario and settle there. Depends on how amiable the British are to American settlers. They might not think of them as a threat since they are broken up, and thus let them settle in southern Quebec, with the Americans who would travel to upstate New York ending up there instead. Not that the numbers would be exactly the same, since a lot of the population growth was from farmers having lots of kids.
You just aren't used to seeing terrible borders in Western Europe
As for not being able to strike at the top dog on the continent, well, that's always a pretty high bar to reach.
You could say that this happened because the Constitutional Convention fell apart because they couldn't reach the agreements that they did IOTL. The convention came close to collapsing a few times so it's plausible to imagine that it failed. If it failed, the country was doomed to break apart because the Articles of Confederation were completely useless. So yeah 👍🏻
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