POD:
Lord Byron – the English romantic poet – survives an encounter with marsh fever (malaria) in April 1824, instead dying of natural causes in 1854.
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Kingdom of Greece (OTL Greece + Albania + Macedonia):
Byron’s survival in April 1824 ensures plans of an artillery-based attack on the Turkish-held fortress of Lepanto are carried through. Despite losing a significant proportion of troops (just over a third), the rebels take the base. In the following months Lepanto becomes the de facto headquarters of the resistance effort, and is instrumental in the success of further activity.
With the rebels position slightly more secure, Byron returns to the UK in September 1828 in an attempt to raise support for the Greek cause.
With the aid of British forces (pledged by the Duke of Wellington in 1829), Byron provides a rallying figure for native resistance movements of the Greeks, Albanians and Macedonians. The Ottoman Empire recognises the independence of Greece in February 1830.
In his later years (1845-54), Byron becomes strongly involved in Greek politics, helping to forge the way for a British ally in the Mediterranean.
British Protectorate of the Ionian Islands:
With the ‘Anglicisation’ of Greece, and less anti-British sentiment – the Ionians and the British see no reason for the Ionian Islands to be returned to Greece (as in 1863 OTL)
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Timeline:
1820s
1823 – Byron arrives in Greece.
1824 – Byron survives brush with marsh fever (POD). Rebels take Lepanto.
1828 – Byron returns to the UK to raise support for the Greek rebels.
1829 – Byron’s supporters in the Commons help pressure Wellington into pledging British military support to the Greek cause.
1830s (need help in fleshing out timeline from beyond here)
1830 – Greek claims of independence are ratified by the Ottoman Empire.
1840s
1848 – Revolutions of 1848 (?). Marx’s ‘Communist Manifesto’ published.
1850s
1851 – Lord Byron dies of natural causes.
Crimean War (1854-56?)
Indian Mutiny (1857-58?)
1859 – Darwin’s ‘Origin of Species’ published. Moldavia and Wallachia are unified, forming Romania.
1860s
Italian Unification (1861-70?)
American Civil War (1861-65?)
French occupation of Mexico (1863-67?)
Meiji Restoration in Japan (1866-69?)
1865 – Abraham Lincoln assassinated.
1867 – Canada becomes an independent nation.
1870s
Franco-Prussian War (1870-71?)
Start of the ‘New Imperialism’
1880s
First Boer War (1880-81?)
The ‘New Imperialism’
------
Major Ideological/Cultural Divergences:
- Greek Romanticism (combine Byron with Ancient Greek culture)
- Reform Orthodoxy (Religious movement seeking a syncretism of Anglican and Greek Orthodox Christianity)
Lord Byron – the English romantic poet – survives an encounter with marsh fever (malaria) in April 1824, instead dying of natural causes in 1854.
-----
Kingdom of Greece (OTL Greece + Albania + Macedonia):
Byron’s survival in April 1824 ensures plans of an artillery-based attack on the Turkish-held fortress of Lepanto are carried through. Despite losing a significant proportion of troops (just over a third), the rebels take the base. In the following months Lepanto becomes the de facto headquarters of the resistance effort, and is instrumental in the success of further activity.
With the rebels position slightly more secure, Byron returns to the UK in September 1828 in an attempt to raise support for the Greek cause.
With the aid of British forces (pledged by the Duke of Wellington in 1829), Byron provides a rallying figure for native resistance movements of the Greeks, Albanians and Macedonians. The Ottoman Empire recognises the independence of Greece in February 1830.
In his later years (1845-54), Byron becomes strongly involved in Greek politics, helping to forge the way for a British ally in the Mediterranean.
British Protectorate of the Ionian Islands:
With the ‘Anglicisation’ of Greece, and less anti-British sentiment – the Ionians and the British see no reason for the Ionian Islands to be returned to Greece (as in 1863 OTL)
-----
Timeline:
1820s
1823 – Byron arrives in Greece.
1824 – Byron survives brush with marsh fever (POD). Rebels take Lepanto.
1828 – Byron returns to the UK to raise support for the Greek rebels.
1829 – Byron’s supporters in the Commons help pressure Wellington into pledging British military support to the Greek cause.
1830s (need help in fleshing out timeline from beyond here)
1830 – Greek claims of independence are ratified by the Ottoman Empire.
1840s
1848 – Revolutions of 1848 (?). Marx’s ‘Communist Manifesto’ published.
1850s
1851 – Lord Byron dies of natural causes.
Crimean War (1854-56?)
Indian Mutiny (1857-58?)
1859 – Darwin’s ‘Origin of Species’ published. Moldavia and Wallachia are unified, forming Romania.
1860s
Italian Unification (1861-70?)
American Civil War (1861-65?)
French occupation of Mexico (1863-67?)
Meiji Restoration in Japan (1866-69?)
1865 – Abraham Lincoln assassinated.
1867 – Canada becomes an independent nation.
1870s
Franco-Prussian War (1870-71?)
Start of the ‘New Imperialism’
1880s
First Boer War (1880-81?)
The ‘New Imperialism’
------
Major Ideological/Cultural Divergences:
- Greek Romanticism (combine Byron with Ancient Greek culture)
- Reform Orthodoxy (Religious movement seeking a syncretism of Anglican and Greek Orthodox Christianity)
