Hrrm. Interesting, its nice to see some pre-Columbian TLs. I don't think the domestication of rice is all that strange, but i do have my concerns about domesticating the Buffalo. reading GG&S would really make most of our concerns clearer. But, basically the buffalo just generally is domestic able. Even with thousands of years work, its difficult to see how it would happen. However, other then that your TL is very good. It would be nice if you made a political map with all the labels you had in the bigger map. Just a thought.
Mississippi Rice (timeline)
- Thread starter tormsen
- Start date
Interesting Installment, For the name for the new land, What about Pinzonland(At least that is what the English could start calling it, and the name just eventually sticks). Also that Slavery part is a tad bit interesting, If the Amerindian Slaves can tough it out, you could very well see an hybridized culture develop(Simmiliar to how in OTL, African Slaves adapted to a "European" way of life, they still retained some native characteristics). However, what impact this will have on West Africa as whole, im not entirely certain of at the moment and need to do further research lol...Keep it comming.
I wrote a long post with some of my justifications for bison domestication, but my browser ate it. In short form, I understand the objections but I feel that the relative success of bison domestication in OTL in recent times has shown that they are at least amenable to semi-domestication, and that if the challenge of their temperament could be overcome they would be perfect domesticates. Historically, there was no real incentive to try (half-hearted 19th century efforts aside). In MRTL (Mississippi Rice Time Line), there is more incentive at a much earlier date, so I believe that at the very minimum the Megalopotamians will be able to duplicate the semi-domestication of OTL modern bison. So, they will have a lot of them, and they will live close to them, so a zootropic disease will jump over. Whether its possible that the bison could be further domesticated is probably a matter for debate, but I think the idea that the bison is inherantly undomesticatable is not entirely true, though Jared Diamonds wider argument about domesticatability largely is.
The disease I was going to base the Sweataches on was brucellosis, but now it becomes apparent that it was probably a Eurasian disease. This, however, is impossible to definatively confirm, and bison were a relative newcomer to the New World who actually originated in Eurasia. So they might have had it, or maybe a weaker strain. Or, an analogous disease could have developed. Regardless, I have such good plans for the Sweataches that I may have to handwave a bit...
The disease I was going to base the Sweataches on was brucellosis, but now it becomes apparent that it was probably a Eurasian disease. This, however, is impossible to definatively confirm, and bison were a relative newcomer to the New World who actually originated in Eurasia. So they might have had it, or maybe a weaker strain. Or, an analogous disease could have developed. Regardless, I have such good plans for the Sweataches that I may have to handwave a bit...
1503: In Italy, the Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernando de Cordoba is destroyed by the French, who consolidate complete domination over the kingdom of Naples. De Cordoba flees back to Spain but he has fallen out of the favor of the Spanish crown. The Spanish abandon their claim to the throne of Naples. Balboa marches east to attack the Muskogee city of Hanca, due to its association with vast quantities of gold. Bastidas is able to make a truce with the western Muskogee cities.
1504: Death of Isabella of Castile, ending her patronage of Jose the Iqalan who returns to Juana. The marriage of Arthur Tudor to Archduchess Margaret of Austria, daughter of Maximilian I. Balboa and his army travel along the coast of Masaguay, conquering and stealing gold, until they reach Temegua, to find the local towns largely decimated by smallpox. They enter the city of Fayal and are engaged in battle by a group of warriors, but come to victory with few casualties.
1505: Death of Alexander VI and temporary accession of Julius II, which prompts the Sacking of Rome by French troops and installation of Georges d'Ambois as Pius III.The Sweataches are afflicting both the European and black populations of Hispaniola and Juana.
Death of Charles VIII and beginning of the regency of Louis, duke of Orleans. Civil war begins in Spain between Ferdinand and Philip of Castile. A son is born to Arthur Tudor and Margaret of Austria, also named Arthur. The Syuda again attack the city of Weaku, to find it undefended and its population suffering from a strange illness. In Europe, a new disease is spreading through the population, causing deaths in humans and in cattle.
1507: De Cordoba, fighting for Philip of Castile, is instrumental in defeating Ferdinand. Ferdinand retains Aragon, Sardinia and Sicily while Philip is now king of Castile and the Netherlands. Smallpox ravages the Upper Megalopotamian, but a quarantine effort at Quechaca organized by Queen Ophesia prevents the disease from spreading further along the Equayor. Jose the Iqalan raises a rebellion against Aragon in the city of Ayaanchaca but it is brutally repressed.
1508: Castile and Aragon war over Juana and Hispaniola in the [Caribbean], Jose the Iqalan escapes from Juana to Castillian Masaguay. Portugal explores the northern [South American] coast to Panama, having decided that the Treaty of Tordesillas no longer applies in the absence of a unified Spain and seeking to secure knowledge of an alternative passage to Asia. A Spanish slaver inadvertently carries the Sweataches to West Africa.
1509: An Aragonese Audiencia is created in Ayaanchaca, the largest Muskogee city and main focus of Spanish colonials, while a rival Castilian Audiencia is formed at Iqalo. The Aragonese have discovered a number of native gold mines which look amenable to exploitation. With the Tuscan incorporation of the city of Pisa as a casus belli, Borgias invades Tuscany, furthering his quest for control of central Italy and supported by France and the papacy but opposed by Aragon, Austria and Venice.
1510: Europeans learn of the Algonquian city-states of the Lower Megalopotamian. The Aragonese have co-opted the Muskogean slave and forced labour system for their own ends, setting the stage for a heirachical society with Europeans at the top, followed by cooperative noble families, lording over a population of slave-born. In Juana and Hispaniola black slaves have become common due to the terminal decline in the native population, but a significant portion of the African slaves are vulnerable to the Sweataches. Surviving native and black slave populations begin to mix. The Muskogee pidgin tongue remains in common use, particularly among slave populations including blacks. Aragon invades Tuscany but also the Navarre (ruled by the brother-in-law of Cesare Borgias, which prompts a surprise invasion by Castile (with the initial support of the French). Death of Pope Pius III of gout causes a political struggle, but cooperation between the Louis of Orleans and the Borgias see the election of an Italian pope amenable to their interests. Austria and Venice ally against Franco-Borgias but are defeated in Milan.
1504: Death of Isabella of Castile, ending her patronage of Jose the Iqalan who returns to Juana. The marriage of Arthur Tudor to Archduchess Margaret of Austria, daughter of Maximilian I. Balboa and his army travel along the coast of Masaguay, conquering and stealing gold, until they reach Temegua, to find the local towns largely decimated by smallpox. They enter the city of Fayal and are engaged in battle by a group of warriors, but come to victory with few casualties.
1505: Death of Alexander VI and temporary accession of Julius II, which prompts the Sacking of Rome by French troops and installation of Georges d'Ambois as Pius III.The Sweataches are afflicting both the European and black populations of Hispaniola and Juana.
Death of Charles VIII and beginning of the regency of Louis, duke of Orleans. Civil war begins in Spain between Ferdinand and Philip of Castile. A son is born to Arthur Tudor and Margaret of Austria, also named Arthur. The Syuda again attack the city of Weaku, to find it undefended and its population suffering from a strange illness. In Europe, a new disease is spreading through the population, causing deaths in humans and in cattle.
1507: De Cordoba, fighting for Philip of Castile, is instrumental in defeating Ferdinand. Ferdinand retains Aragon, Sardinia and Sicily while Philip is now king of Castile and the Netherlands. Smallpox ravages the Upper Megalopotamian, but a quarantine effort at Quechaca organized by Queen Ophesia prevents the disease from spreading further along the Equayor. Jose the Iqalan raises a rebellion against Aragon in the city of Ayaanchaca but it is brutally repressed.
1508: Castile and Aragon war over Juana and Hispaniola in the [Caribbean], Jose the Iqalan escapes from Juana to Castillian Masaguay. Portugal explores the northern [South American] coast to Panama, having decided that the Treaty of Tordesillas no longer applies in the absence of a unified Spain and seeking to secure knowledge of an alternative passage to Asia. A Spanish slaver inadvertently carries the Sweataches to West Africa.
1509: An Aragonese Audiencia is created in Ayaanchaca, the largest Muskogee city and main focus of Spanish colonials, while a rival Castilian Audiencia is formed at Iqalo. The Aragonese have discovered a number of native gold mines which look amenable to exploitation. With the Tuscan incorporation of the city of Pisa as a casus belli, Borgias invades Tuscany, furthering his quest for control of central Italy and supported by France and the papacy but opposed by Aragon, Austria and Venice.
1510: Europeans learn of the Algonquian city-states of the Lower Megalopotamian. The Aragonese have co-opted the Muskogean slave and forced labour system for their own ends, setting the stage for a heirachical society with Europeans at the top, followed by cooperative noble families, lording over a population of slave-born. In Juana and Hispaniola black slaves have become common due to the terminal decline in the native population, but a significant portion of the African slaves are vulnerable to the Sweataches. Surviving native and black slave populations begin to mix. The Muskogee pidgin tongue remains in common use, particularly among slave populations including blacks. Aragon invades Tuscany but also the Navarre (ruled by the brother-in-law of Cesare Borgias, which prompts a surprise invasion by Castile (with the initial support of the French). Death of Pope Pius III of gout causes a political struggle, but cooperation between the Louis of Orleans and the Borgias see the election of an Italian pope amenable to their interests. Austria and Venice ally against Franco-Borgias but are defeated in Milan.
Megalopotamian Faiths
The Megalopotamian pantheon went through a number of permutations. In early times shamanism and medicine men held sway, though they lost influence with urbanisation the shamanic tradition continued in rural regions and villages. The ancient city of Weaku revelled in a unique bison cult, if the artwork on their temples is any indication. Along the Megalopotamian various gods, dragons and heroes emerged in myth.
Centralisation of rice farming culture brought a masculine hierachy of gods, particularly with the expansion of the Southern Iroquoian peoples along the Equayor. Chief amongst their gods was the grim bison-headed diety Yansau. Like the great beast, the nature of Yansau was multifasceted: at turns strong, steadfast protector of existence, and then suddenly wild and violent avenger. This was, perhaps, an evolution of a previous bison cult amongst the people of the city of Weaku and it reflect the bison's position in Megalopotamian society as a sacred, ubiquitous and unpredictable animal.
The hierachy of the gods ruled over by Yansau reflected the new hierachy of Megalopotamian society ruled by kings and emperors. There were also older traditions, gods of the rice cycle. In the north these gods became synonymous with the fertility goddess Diyigalogodi, but in the south amongst the Masaguay a different and unique tradition of rice gods prevailed. The Megalopotamian pantheon represented divine state power and order. The war god Gelusaga, who rode a great thunderbird in struggles against demons (often tracable to older traditions from the Upper Megalopotamian region). The priest gods Nvota, Dida and Odaliquod, representing sorcery, wisdom and song. A vast bureaucracy of minor gods and spirits, beholden to divine power.
The cult of Falcon Morningstar, said to have emerged sometime around 800 AD changed matters. Represented as a winged human, his was an inauspicious birth. The maiden goddess Ageusa was resting by a river when she was raped by a passing rogue. The rogue was destroyed, but a love child was born, the demigod Falcon. Half-human, he was jealous of the powers of the gods. He stole knowledge from the gods: fire and agriculture. The furious gods took revenge by exiling Falcon to a distant star and taking immortality from humanity, introducing death to the world.
For Falcon's treachery, his mother Ageusa went insane with rage and grief by this, and fled underground where she became an underworld goddess and mother of monsters known as the Undying Crone. Anthropologists believe the story of the creation of the Crone was an attempt to assimilate an old Weaku mother goddess by the expanding Southern Iroquoian peoples, and may have been initally unconnected with the legend of Morningstar.
The Megalopotamians believed that immortality was the natural state of mankind, and that eventually, it would be restored. Until that time, human remains and souls must be kept sealed in ritual funeral pots. These pots, containing human remains and worldly possessions, were buried to preserve them for the New Immortal Age, but also to protect them. For it was believed that the Undying Crone and her monstrous children would consume the corpses and souls of those not properly sealed in funeral pots. The funeral pot culture predated the story of the Crone and Falcon Morningstar, and represented the domination of Equayor over the rest of Megalopotamia.
The Undying Crone was the main source of evil and fear among the Megalopotamians. Corpse-eater, crop-rotter, witch-patron and disease-spreader were among her many names. Her name was used to scare children, sanctify vile oaths, curse, and explain the horrors of the world. She was said to have given birth to many monsters: feathered alligators, turkey-skin-men, underwater panthers, frog-women, white giants, black dwarves and a multitude of other creatures populating the Megalopotamian mythological world.
This culture eventually led to the grand Royal Pots, filled with riches and buried in secret locations, that became the subject of European treasurehunters greed. Despite conversion to Christianity, many continued to bury their dead in pots. Indeed, among the Megalopotamians, pottery was also associated with death. Broken pottery and earth left on a man's doorstep even today is considered a dire death threat.
The rise of the Morningstar cult saw a change in religious life. To the Morningstar faithful, the gods are jealous horders of divine knowledge that could be taken by humanity, and through impudence and courage mankind could take back his lost immortality. To the old priesthood, the Morningstar heresy was a challenge to their power. The response was the rise of the Primeval Ascetics, seeking a primitivist existance. They believed that by returning to a pre-Morningstar way of life, the Gods would forgive them and grant immortality.
It should be noted that for the most part, the old gods and religion still held the upper hand before the arrival of Europeans. But it was simply that those gods were swept away by Christianity, while the Morningstar faith and its Primevalist counterpart survived and evolved. It was the very nature of Megalopotamian belief that caused the eruption of the heresies of Megalopotamia.
Falcon Morningstar became the Winged Christ, a figure that drew as much on the old legends as it did on the Bible. Salvation was seen not as a sacrifice of God's only begotten son, but a cunning reversal by Jesus of the punishment given by the jealous Old Testament god after the eating of the fruit of the tree of life by Adam and Eve (the snake in the garden being seen in the Winged Christ heresy as being a positive figure). This heresy was brutally repressed by the Christian churches but refused to die out, increasing in sophistication over the centuries. Indeed, even within the mainstream churches the New World tendency to portray Christ and other holy figures with wings in religious art was eventually accepted even as theological inventiveness was rejected.
Meanwhile, the Primitivist impulse fused with some of the more extreme aspects of the new churches that emerged in the 16th century, eventually forming the Edenic movement, seeking to recreate a latter-day state of Divine Grace through ascetism and division from worldly life. Similarly, the Crone has retained her ancient power, even being associated with the Virgin Mary by anti-Catholic extremists. Megalopotamian ancient beliefs would continue to have an effect on religion both in the New World, and in later centuries even beyond it.
The Megalopotamian pantheon went through a number of permutations. In early times shamanism and medicine men held sway, though they lost influence with urbanisation the shamanic tradition continued in rural regions and villages. The ancient city of Weaku revelled in a unique bison cult, if the artwork on their temples is any indication. Along the Megalopotamian various gods, dragons and heroes emerged in myth.
Centralisation of rice farming culture brought a masculine hierachy of gods, particularly with the expansion of the Southern Iroquoian peoples along the Equayor. Chief amongst their gods was the grim bison-headed diety Yansau. Like the great beast, the nature of Yansau was multifasceted: at turns strong, steadfast protector of existence, and then suddenly wild and violent avenger. This was, perhaps, an evolution of a previous bison cult amongst the people of the city of Weaku and it reflect the bison's position in Megalopotamian society as a sacred, ubiquitous and unpredictable animal.
The hierachy of the gods ruled over by Yansau reflected the new hierachy of Megalopotamian society ruled by kings and emperors. There were also older traditions, gods of the rice cycle. In the north these gods became synonymous with the fertility goddess Diyigalogodi, but in the south amongst the Masaguay a different and unique tradition of rice gods prevailed. The Megalopotamian pantheon represented divine state power and order. The war god Gelusaga, who rode a great thunderbird in struggles against demons (often tracable to older traditions from the Upper Megalopotamian region). The priest gods Nvota, Dida and Odaliquod, representing sorcery, wisdom and song. A vast bureaucracy of minor gods and spirits, beholden to divine power.
The cult of Falcon Morningstar, said to have emerged sometime around 800 AD changed matters. Represented as a winged human, his was an inauspicious birth. The maiden goddess Ageusa was resting by a river when she was raped by a passing rogue. The rogue was destroyed, but a love child was born, the demigod Falcon. Half-human, he was jealous of the powers of the gods. He stole knowledge from the gods: fire and agriculture. The furious gods took revenge by exiling Falcon to a distant star and taking immortality from humanity, introducing death to the world.
For Falcon's treachery, his mother Ageusa went insane with rage and grief by this, and fled underground where she became an underworld goddess and mother of monsters known as the Undying Crone. Anthropologists believe the story of the creation of the Crone was an attempt to assimilate an old Weaku mother goddess by the expanding Southern Iroquoian peoples, and may have been initally unconnected with the legend of Morningstar.
The Megalopotamians believed that immortality was the natural state of mankind, and that eventually, it would be restored. Until that time, human remains and souls must be kept sealed in ritual funeral pots. These pots, containing human remains and worldly possessions, were buried to preserve them for the New Immortal Age, but also to protect them. For it was believed that the Undying Crone and her monstrous children would consume the corpses and souls of those not properly sealed in funeral pots. The funeral pot culture predated the story of the Crone and Falcon Morningstar, and represented the domination of Equayor over the rest of Megalopotamia.
The Undying Crone was the main source of evil and fear among the Megalopotamians. Corpse-eater, crop-rotter, witch-patron and disease-spreader were among her many names. Her name was used to scare children, sanctify vile oaths, curse, and explain the horrors of the world. She was said to have given birth to many monsters: feathered alligators, turkey-skin-men, underwater panthers, frog-women, white giants, black dwarves and a multitude of other creatures populating the Megalopotamian mythological world.
This culture eventually led to the grand Royal Pots, filled with riches and buried in secret locations, that became the subject of European treasurehunters greed. Despite conversion to Christianity, many continued to bury their dead in pots. Indeed, among the Megalopotamians, pottery was also associated with death. Broken pottery and earth left on a man's doorstep even today is considered a dire death threat.
The rise of the Morningstar cult saw a change in religious life. To the Morningstar faithful, the gods are jealous horders of divine knowledge that could be taken by humanity, and through impudence and courage mankind could take back his lost immortality. To the old priesthood, the Morningstar heresy was a challenge to their power. The response was the rise of the Primeval Ascetics, seeking a primitivist existance. They believed that by returning to a pre-Morningstar way of life, the Gods would forgive them and grant immortality.
It should be noted that for the most part, the old gods and religion still held the upper hand before the arrival of Europeans. But it was simply that those gods were swept away by Christianity, while the Morningstar faith and its Primevalist counterpart survived and evolved. It was the very nature of Megalopotamian belief that caused the eruption of the heresies of Megalopotamia.
Falcon Morningstar became the Winged Christ, a figure that drew as much on the old legends as it did on the Bible. Salvation was seen not as a sacrifice of God's only begotten son, but a cunning reversal by Jesus of the punishment given by the jealous Old Testament god after the eating of the fruit of the tree of life by Adam and Eve (the snake in the garden being seen in the Winged Christ heresy as being a positive figure). This heresy was brutally repressed by the Christian churches but refused to die out, increasing in sophistication over the centuries. Indeed, even within the mainstream churches the New World tendency to portray Christ and other holy figures with wings in religious art was eventually accepted even as theological inventiveness was rejected.
Meanwhile, the Primitivist impulse fused with some of the more extreme aspects of the new churches that emerged in the 16th century, eventually forming the Edenic movement, seeking to recreate a latter-day state of Divine Grace through ascetism and division from worldly life. Similarly, the Crone has retained her ancient power, even being associated with the Virgin Mary by anti-Catholic extremists. Megalopotamian ancient beliefs would continue to have an effect on religion both in the New World, and in later centuries even beyond it.
The Sweataches
It is believed to have been a bison disease, possibly related to the cattle disease brucellosis, in its origins. Specifically, the marsh bison breed of the Lower Mississippi and Masaguay, as the disease when transmitted to humans became a sub-tropical and tropical disease. The disease can spread in any environment through contact with infected animals or humans or their byproduct. The disease is most dangerous, however, in subtropical and tropical regions as it can be spread by insects feeding on both infected animals and humans. The disease best thrived in warm, wet environments and was most common in the Caribbean before the coming of Europeans (possibly due to the Masaguayan expansion and trade networks).
The disease colonises the uterus, placenta and regional lymph nodes of it's host. The time between infection and display of symptoms is generally about two weeks to two months, which allows the disease to be quite unknowingly spread. Symptoms include inconstant fevers, sweating (accompanied by a unique smell akin to wet hay), weakness, migraines, depression and muscular and bodily pain. Contact with infected animals or humans can spread the disease, as can exposure to unpasteurised milk. However, the disease spreads most rapidly through the mosquito, much like malaria. This mutation of the disease will be what makes it such a tenacious killer. Even more that the direct deaths, the effects on fertility will be what makes this disease such a dire foe.
Areas of minimal effect, with deaths between 0% and 5%, will be most of Europe, Russia, central Asia and northern Asia. This will see some dislocation and the odd severe outbreak but in general it won't be catastrophic. A greater effect will be seen in subtropical regions, with perhaps 5% to 15% of the population succumbing. This will occur around the Mediterranean (particularly the Iberian penisula), North Africa, the Middle East (particularly around Mesopotamia), South Africa, the interior of southern China as well as southern Japan. The areas where the disease will find the most fertile ground will be similar areas that are afflicted by malaria. Most of sub-Saharan Africa, India, south east Asia and the southern Chinese coast will be particularly affected. With no resistance, the disease is going to kill a much larger percentage of the population. With the Sweataches spreading through Asia and Africa, and smallpox and other diseases decimating the population of the New World, the global human population will fall significantly in the 16th century.
The Spanish will be largely responsible for bringing the disease to Europe and West Africa, causing epidemics there in the 1510's (in the latter case causing a severe population slump, severely limiting the slave trade. But the main vector of the disease will be Portugeuse expansion in Asia. The first regions hit will be India and the Sultanate of Malacca, then southern China in the 1520's and southern Japan in the 1540's. The Asian trade networks, already reeling from Portugeuse aggression, will be in even more chaos ITTL than in OTL. The Portugeuse themselves will die in large numbers in the Tropics as well, just as susceptible to the Sweataches in that environment.
In general its going to mean that for Portugal, the expansion into Asia will be far less profitable and far more costly than in OTL. Iberian population slumping in this time is going to reduce the rate in which the Spanish and Portugeuse expand into the New World. With the Treaty of Tordesillas no longer relevant (due to the temporary breakup of Spain), the Portugeuse feel free to claim the coast of northern [South America]. As Spain finds gold in its possessions to the north, the Portugeuse become greedy for that easy cash to supplement the increasingly difficult Asian trade. Portugeuse explorers will stumble onto the Chimu, and then the Potosi mine, in the middle of this century. As that vast wealth becomes Portugal's main priority, it will become wealthy and begin to neglect its Asian possessions. The Spanish, wealthy from New World gold but less so than in OTL, will move to expand its Asian interests instead.
The Sultanates of the East Indies will be severely destabilized, delaying for a time the Islamisation of the region as the Sultanates are unable to project their power. The Sultanate of Malacca will collapse more completely than OTL, becoming very difficult for the Portugeuse to administer, however the Sultanates of Johor and Aceh will be similarly affected. As the Portugeuse will be suffering the disease effects as well it may become zero-sum, but as trade dries up the Portugeuse may lose their appetite for it. If Johor weathers the storm, the collapse of Mallacan and Acehnese competition and a Portugeuse withdrawl could see the area come under Johor's control. The Thai Ayutthaya kingdom in the north may try to make a play for the area, however it will also be suffering its own epidemics.
Southern China, particularly the coastline, will be hard-hit by the epidemic. This will limit the ability of the Ming to project their power into south east Asia, so they will be unable to vassalise Vietnam for the time being. With trade disrupted and the population dying in great numbers, the state's naval power is likely to suffer. However, the Japanese pirates infesting the area will also suffer, as southern Japan will host an outbreak of its own. The OTL expansion of Japanese wokou pirates is likely to be reduced ITTL, due to the population slump in both southern Japan and the reduction of southern Chinese overseas trade. When state authority reasserts itself, it should be able to control things better than OTL. This is one part of Asia where the Portugeuse presence is likely to continue, exporting [South American] silver across the Pacific to China.
India will be hit quite hard by the Sweataches, particularly the southern Vijayanagara empire. It is likely to be more vulnerable to assault by the Deccan Sultanates, which may see a greater spread of Islamisation compared to OTL. The empire may split up into bickering feudal kingdoms, becoming more vulnerable to northern aggression and European expansion. The Sultanates themselves will suffer the epidemic, which may cause some of the sultanates to fall. If one state maintains cohesion while others collapse, it could cannibalise the others and then turn southward against the fracturing Vijayanagara. In general, however, the entire subcontinent will suffer political, social and economic disorder, which may instead mean a greater expansion of the Mughals under Babur.
Africa will be hit hard, with the population of much of West Africa slumping. Compared to OTL (which saw a population boom due to the introduction of corn) there are going to be a lot less West Africans, and the slave trade from that region will be much smaller in scope than OTL. Meanwhile, the East African coast will be highly affected, particularly Mombasa and Kilwa. The Portugeuse will probably have an easier time establishing control over this area than in OTL as local power structures collapse. In general, I see the Portugeuse finding control over Indian Ocean trade to be easier, but less profitable, than OTL, and much of the Portugeuse trade network may end up being taken over by Spain or another power.
The Ottoman Empire, though it won't suffer the worst of the Sweataches, will be affected. Greece, Anatolia and the Middle East will be greatly affected. Ottoman expansion into the Red Sea and competition with Portugal may not take place. Mesopotamia will be the largest epicentre, which may weaken the Ottomans in the region enough that the Safavids will retake the area (though they, too, will be somewhat affected by the disease). On the other hand, the weakened Safavids might become subject to an invasion by the alliance of the Uzbek khan Shaybani and the Mughal Babur. That may mean that the Mughals, consolidating control over the southern Persian coast as well as most of India, may be the ones to compete with the Portugeuse with assistance from Ottoman and Venetian advisors.
As for the Mediterranean, there will be severe outbreaks in Iberia, Italy and the North African coast. This will likely assist in the French attempts to dominate Italy in this period, though their local Borgias allies may have a rough time of it. The Ottomans expanding into southeastern Europe are going to be weaker than OTL, and progress slower and with less success. With the Ottoman threat reduced, Spain and Portugal both distracted and weakened, a major issue for Europe will be the conflict between the Holy Roman Empire and France (which controls Italy and the Papacy). In this TL, the political circumstances will mean that the pressures that manifested as the Reformation in OTL may instead manifest as Schism. But more on that later.
It is believed to have been a bison disease, possibly related to the cattle disease brucellosis, in its origins. Specifically, the marsh bison breed of the Lower Mississippi and Masaguay, as the disease when transmitted to humans became a sub-tropical and tropical disease. The disease can spread in any environment through contact with infected animals or humans or their byproduct. The disease is most dangerous, however, in subtropical and tropical regions as it can be spread by insects feeding on both infected animals and humans. The disease best thrived in warm, wet environments and was most common in the Caribbean before the coming of Europeans (possibly due to the Masaguayan expansion and trade networks).
The disease colonises the uterus, placenta and regional lymph nodes of it's host. The time between infection and display of symptoms is generally about two weeks to two months, which allows the disease to be quite unknowingly spread. Symptoms include inconstant fevers, sweating (accompanied by a unique smell akin to wet hay), weakness, migraines, depression and muscular and bodily pain. Contact with infected animals or humans can spread the disease, as can exposure to unpasteurised milk. However, the disease spreads most rapidly through the mosquito, much like malaria. This mutation of the disease will be what makes it such a tenacious killer. Even more that the direct deaths, the effects on fertility will be what makes this disease such a dire foe.
Areas of minimal effect, with deaths between 0% and 5%, will be most of Europe, Russia, central Asia and northern Asia. This will see some dislocation and the odd severe outbreak but in general it won't be catastrophic. A greater effect will be seen in subtropical regions, with perhaps 5% to 15% of the population succumbing. This will occur around the Mediterranean (particularly the Iberian penisula), North Africa, the Middle East (particularly around Mesopotamia), South Africa, the interior of southern China as well as southern Japan. The areas where the disease will find the most fertile ground will be similar areas that are afflicted by malaria. Most of sub-Saharan Africa, India, south east Asia and the southern Chinese coast will be particularly affected. With no resistance, the disease is going to kill a much larger percentage of the population. With the Sweataches spreading through Asia and Africa, and smallpox and other diseases decimating the population of the New World, the global human population will fall significantly in the 16th century.
The Spanish will be largely responsible for bringing the disease to Europe and West Africa, causing epidemics there in the 1510's (in the latter case causing a severe population slump, severely limiting the slave trade. But the main vector of the disease will be Portugeuse expansion in Asia. The first regions hit will be India and the Sultanate of Malacca, then southern China in the 1520's and southern Japan in the 1540's. The Asian trade networks, already reeling from Portugeuse aggression, will be in even more chaos ITTL than in OTL. The Portugeuse themselves will die in large numbers in the Tropics as well, just as susceptible to the Sweataches in that environment.
In general its going to mean that for Portugal, the expansion into Asia will be far less profitable and far more costly than in OTL. Iberian population slumping in this time is going to reduce the rate in which the Spanish and Portugeuse expand into the New World. With the Treaty of Tordesillas no longer relevant (due to the temporary breakup of Spain), the Portugeuse feel free to claim the coast of northern [South America]. As Spain finds gold in its possessions to the north, the Portugeuse become greedy for that easy cash to supplement the increasingly difficult Asian trade. Portugeuse explorers will stumble onto the Chimu, and then the Potosi mine, in the middle of this century. As that vast wealth becomes Portugal's main priority, it will become wealthy and begin to neglect its Asian possessions. The Spanish, wealthy from New World gold but less so than in OTL, will move to expand its Asian interests instead.
The Sultanates of the East Indies will be severely destabilized, delaying for a time the Islamisation of the region as the Sultanates are unable to project their power. The Sultanate of Malacca will collapse more completely than OTL, becoming very difficult for the Portugeuse to administer, however the Sultanates of Johor and Aceh will be similarly affected. As the Portugeuse will be suffering the disease effects as well it may become zero-sum, but as trade dries up the Portugeuse may lose their appetite for it. If Johor weathers the storm, the collapse of Mallacan and Acehnese competition and a Portugeuse withdrawl could see the area come under Johor's control. The Thai Ayutthaya kingdom in the north may try to make a play for the area, however it will also be suffering its own epidemics.
Southern China, particularly the coastline, will be hard-hit by the epidemic. This will limit the ability of the Ming to project their power into south east Asia, so they will be unable to vassalise Vietnam for the time being. With trade disrupted and the population dying in great numbers, the state's naval power is likely to suffer. However, the Japanese pirates infesting the area will also suffer, as southern Japan will host an outbreak of its own. The OTL expansion of Japanese wokou pirates is likely to be reduced ITTL, due to the population slump in both southern Japan and the reduction of southern Chinese overseas trade. When state authority reasserts itself, it should be able to control things better than OTL. This is one part of Asia where the Portugeuse presence is likely to continue, exporting [South American] silver across the Pacific to China.
India will be hit quite hard by the Sweataches, particularly the southern Vijayanagara empire. It is likely to be more vulnerable to assault by the Deccan Sultanates, which may see a greater spread of Islamisation compared to OTL. The empire may split up into bickering feudal kingdoms, becoming more vulnerable to northern aggression and European expansion. The Sultanates themselves will suffer the epidemic, which may cause some of the sultanates to fall. If one state maintains cohesion while others collapse, it could cannibalise the others and then turn southward against the fracturing Vijayanagara. In general, however, the entire subcontinent will suffer political, social and economic disorder, which may instead mean a greater expansion of the Mughals under Babur.
Africa will be hit hard, with the population of much of West Africa slumping. Compared to OTL (which saw a population boom due to the introduction of corn) there are going to be a lot less West Africans, and the slave trade from that region will be much smaller in scope than OTL. Meanwhile, the East African coast will be highly affected, particularly Mombasa and Kilwa. The Portugeuse will probably have an easier time establishing control over this area than in OTL as local power structures collapse. In general, I see the Portugeuse finding control over Indian Ocean trade to be easier, but less profitable, than OTL, and much of the Portugeuse trade network may end up being taken over by Spain or another power.
The Ottoman Empire, though it won't suffer the worst of the Sweataches, will be affected. Greece, Anatolia and the Middle East will be greatly affected. Ottoman expansion into the Red Sea and competition with Portugal may not take place. Mesopotamia will be the largest epicentre, which may weaken the Ottomans in the region enough that the Safavids will retake the area (though they, too, will be somewhat affected by the disease). On the other hand, the weakened Safavids might become subject to an invasion by the alliance of the Uzbek khan Shaybani and the Mughal Babur. That may mean that the Mughals, consolidating control over the southern Persian coast as well as most of India, may be the ones to compete with the Portugeuse with assistance from Ottoman and Venetian advisors.
As for the Mediterranean, there will be severe outbreaks in Iberia, Italy and the North African coast. This will likely assist in the French attempts to dominate Italy in this period, though their local Borgias allies may have a rough time of it. The Ottomans expanding into southeastern Europe are going to be weaker than OTL, and progress slower and with less success. With the Ottoman threat reduced, Spain and Portugal both distracted and weakened, a major issue for Europe will be the conflict between the Holy Roman Empire and France (which controls Italy and the Papacy). In this TL, the political circumstances will mean that the pressures that manifested as the Reformation in OTL may instead manifest as Schism. But more on that later.
The Fall of the Ottomans
Sweataches arrived in the Ottoman empire, at least in it's European possessions, as early as 1508. However, it truly erupted in the capital toward the end of the summer 1509, followed soon after by a devastating earthquake that damaged much of the city. The plague and earthquake left the city in chaos, and claimed the life of Sultan Beyazid II. This resulted in a succession crisis, as two ambitious sons vied for the throne: Selim and Ahmed.
Selim raised an army in Thrace and secured control of the capital, while Ahmed, fresh from battling the Karamid Turks in Anatolia marched his veteran army toward Constantinople. Sweatache plague affected both armies adversely, and a siege dragged on until early 1511, in which Ahmed successfully took the city and Selim was forced to flee to the Crimea.
In the east, the Sweataches were ravaging the Safavid empire, particularly in Mesopotamia, and left the empire open for a sweeping invasion by the Uzbek khan Shaybani. A series of military disasters and an alliance between Sultan Ahmed, the Mughal Babur and the Uzbeks led to the collapse of the Safavids and the Shaybanid domination of Persia. A new outbreak of the Sweataches in Mesopotamia decimated the occupying Ottoman forces at this time, as well as almost killing and henceforth severely weakening Ahmed.
A sneak attack by the Mamluks forced a general Ottoman retreat, while Selim took the opportunity to raise another army for an attempt on the Ottoman throne, with the support of the Crimean khan. Ahmed, out of sorts in general and with a weakened army, was forced to choose between Mesopotamia and Constantinople. He ceded the (admittedly plague-ridden) Mesopotamia to the Mamluks in 1513 and met the combined Thracian and Crimean forces of Selim. Ahmed's weakened army was defeated by Crimean cavalry and he is captured and executed.
Responding to reports that the Mamluks have opportunistically occupied parts of Anatolia, Selim tried to forge camaraderie between his forces and the remaining former forces of his dead brother by pushing the Mamluks out of Anatolia and invading Syria. As this coincided with an eruption of the Sweataches along the Nile, it was probably a clever strategic plot. This unfortunately opened the Ottoman empire on the West to an aggressive Christian alliance.
The ambitious 16 year old French king Charles IX, claiming the Despotate of Morea, invaded Greece in 1514 with Papal blessing and allied with Venice and the Borgias. The war effort was in large part funded by Papal indulgences sold throughout Europe, which caused severe anger (particularly in Habsburg lands) as the profits from indulgences are used to further the temporal ambitions of the French crown. This anger led, in 1517, to the protest against the French-occupied Papacy by Martin Luther.
Despite initial successes against the Mamluk forces, Selim was forced to move West to counter the French invasion. The situation worsened in 1516 as newly-crowned Louis Jagiellon of Hungary, in support of the French, invaded the Ottoman empire with a vast army under the command of Gyorgy Dozsa, while Wallachia threw off the Ottoman yoke. The Papacy sanctioned an alliance with the Mamluk Al-Ghawri and the Holy Alliance of France, Venice, Romagna, Hungary, Wallachia and Egypt was formed.
The Anti-Turkish Crusade eventually led to the death of Selim on the battlefield and the conquest of Ottoman Europe by France, Hungary and Venice. In Constantinople, Charles IX of France was crowned Eastern Roman Emperor in 1519. His lands were vast, encompassing France, Milan, Naples, the Balkans, Morea, Macedonia, Thrace and western Asia Minor. France's expansion over the last two decades had been funded by continued misuse of papal indulgences, a process which continued as Charles XI attempted a beautification of Constantinople through great works by Italian artisans and architects and began the suppression of Islam in his new territory after the Spanish reconquista model.
Serbia went under Hungarian rule, greatly enhancing the wealth of the Hungarian state in the form of Serbian silver. King Louis Jageillon of Hungary, linked closely to the Eastern Roman Empire, succeeded in a power struggle with the Hungarian nobility to become a powerful and influential ruler. The Jageillons become closely linked with the French crown as well as the Italian Borgias. Wallachia became independent under Neagoe Basarab, who through strong ties with the French crown will be instrumental in the attempt to heal the rift between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
The interior of Anatolia was mostly occupied by Egyptian forces but part of the East fell to opportunistic invasion by the Shaybanids. Egypt developed more advanced artillery and a strong navy, this led later in the 16th century to a number of confrontations in the Mediterranean with the Franco-Roman Empire but for the time being the Egyptians were occupied in military conflicts with the Portugeuse in the Indian Ocean (with assistance from the Venetians) and battling with the Shaybanids over their eastern border. Persecutions against Muslims by the conquering armies saw an exodus to the Crimea, of mostly Muslims but also Jews. These immgrants were later instrumental in assisting in the rise of the Crimea and it's struggle with it's Christian neighbours, particularly Muscovy and Wallachia.
--
Thanks for the support guys, I should be getting back to the New World soon but once I started shifting things about in Eurasia because of butterflies and the Sweataches, one thing kept leading to another...
Sweataches arrived in the Ottoman empire, at least in it's European possessions, as early as 1508. However, it truly erupted in the capital toward the end of the summer 1509, followed soon after by a devastating earthquake that damaged much of the city. The plague and earthquake left the city in chaos, and claimed the life of Sultan Beyazid II. This resulted in a succession crisis, as two ambitious sons vied for the throne: Selim and Ahmed.
Selim raised an army in Thrace and secured control of the capital, while Ahmed, fresh from battling the Karamid Turks in Anatolia marched his veteran army toward Constantinople. Sweatache plague affected both armies adversely, and a siege dragged on until early 1511, in which Ahmed successfully took the city and Selim was forced to flee to the Crimea.
In the east, the Sweataches were ravaging the Safavid empire, particularly in Mesopotamia, and left the empire open for a sweeping invasion by the Uzbek khan Shaybani. A series of military disasters and an alliance between Sultan Ahmed, the Mughal Babur and the Uzbeks led to the collapse of the Safavids and the Shaybanid domination of Persia. A new outbreak of the Sweataches in Mesopotamia decimated the occupying Ottoman forces at this time, as well as almost killing and henceforth severely weakening Ahmed.
A sneak attack by the Mamluks forced a general Ottoman retreat, while Selim took the opportunity to raise another army for an attempt on the Ottoman throne, with the support of the Crimean khan. Ahmed, out of sorts in general and with a weakened army, was forced to choose between Mesopotamia and Constantinople. He ceded the (admittedly plague-ridden) Mesopotamia to the Mamluks in 1513 and met the combined Thracian and Crimean forces of Selim. Ahmed's weakened army was defeated by Crimean cavalry and he is captured and executed.
Responding to reports that the Mamluks have opportunistically occupied parts of Anatolia, Selim tried to forge camaraderie between his forces and the remaining former forces of his dead brother by pushing the Mamluks out of Anatolia and invading Syria. As this coincided with an eruption of the Sweataches along the Nile, it was probably a clever strategic plot. This unfortunately opened the Ottoman empire on the West to an aggressive Christian alliance.
The ambitious 16 year old French king Charles IX, claiming the Despotate of Morea, invaded Greece in 1514 with Papal blessing and allied with Venice and the Borgias. The war effort was in large part funded by Papal indulgences sold throughout Europe, which caused severe anger (particularly in Habsburg lands) as the profits from indulgences are used to further the temporal ambitions of the French crown. This anger led, in 1517, to the protest against the French-occupied Papacy by Martin Luther.
Despite initial successes against the Mamluk forces, Selim was forced to move West to counter the French invasion. The situation worsened in 1516 as newly-crowned Louis Jagiellon of Hungary, in support of the French, invaded the Ottoman empire with a vast army under the command of Gyorgy Dozsa, while Wallachia threw off the Ottoman yoke. The Papacy sanctioned an alliance with the Mamluk Al-Ghawri and the Holy Alliance of France, Venice, Romagna, Hungary, Wallachia and Egypt was formed.
The Anti-Turkish Crusade eventually led to the death of Selim on the battlefield and the conquest of Ottoman Europe by France, Hungary and Venice. In Constantinople, Charles IX of France was crowned Eastern Roman Emperor in 1519. His lands were vast, encompassing France, Milan, Naples, the Balkans, Morea, Macedonia, Thrace and western Asia Minor. France's expansion over the last two decades had been funded by continued misuse of papal indulgences, a process which continued as Charles XI attempted a beautification of Constantinople through great works by Italian artisans and architects and began the suppression of Islam in his new territory after the Spanish reconquista model.
Serbia went under Hungarian rule, greatly enhancing the wealth of the Hungarian state in the form of Serbian silver. King Louis Jageillon of Hungary, linked closely to the Eastern Roman Empire, succeeded in a power struggle with the Hungarian nobility to become a powerful and influential ruler. The Jageillons become closely linked with the French crown as well as the Italian Borgias. Wallachia became independent under Neagoe Basarab, who through strong ties with the French crown will be instrumental in the attempt to heal the rift between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
The interior of Anatolia was mostly occupied by Egyptian forces but part of the East fell to opportunistic invasion by the Shaybanids. Egypt developed more advanced artillery and a strong navy, this led later in the 16th century to a number of confrontations in the Mediterranean with the Franco-Roman Empire but for the time being the Egyptians were occupied in military conflicts with the Portugeuse in the Indian Ocean (with assistance from the Venetians) and battling with the Shaybanids over their eastern border. Persecutions against Muslims by the conquering armies saw an exodus to the Crimea, of mostly Muslims but also Jews. These immgrants were later instrumental in assisting in the rise of the Crimea and it's struggle with it's Christian neighbours, particularly Muscovy and Wallachia.
--
Thanks for the support guys, I should be getting back to the New World soon but once I started shifting things about in Eurasia because of butterflies and the Sweataches, one thing kept leading to another...
1509: An Aragonese Audiencia is created in Ayaanchaca, the largest Muskogee city and main focus of Spanish colonials, while a rival Castilian Audiencia is formed at Iqalo (where Jose the Iqalan has gained a degree of influence). The Aragonese have discovered a number of native gold mines which look amenable to exploitation. With the Tuscan incorporation of the city of Pisa as a casus belli, Borgias invades Tuscany, furthering his quest for control of central Italy and supported by France and the papacy but opposed by Aragon, Austria and Venice. The continued plague in Italy means that foreign forces are reluctant to intervene, however. The Sweataches spread along Venetian trade routes to the East, afflicting the Ottomans, and the Portugeuse to India. In Constantinople, an Earthquake combined with a outbreak of the Sweataches claims the life of Bayezid II, sparking a struggle for the throne between his sons Ahmed and Selim.
1510: Europeans learn of the Algonquian city-states of the Lower Megalopotamian. The Aragonese have co-opted the Muskogean slave and forced labour system for their own ends, setting the stage for a heirachical society with Europeans at the top, followed by cooperative noble families, lording over a population of slave-born. In Juana and Hispaniola black slaves have become common due to the terminal decline in the native population, but a significant portion of the African slaves are vulnerable to the Sweataches. Surviving native and black slave populations begin to mix. The Muskogee pidgin tongue remains in common use, particularly among slave populations including blacks. Aragon invades Tuscany but also the Navarre (ruled by the brother-in-law of Cesare Borgias, which prompts a surprise invasion by Castile (with the initial support of the French). Death of Pope Pius III of gout causes a political struggle, but cooperation between the Louis of Orleans and the Borgias see the election of an Italian pope amenable to their interests after the anti-French candidate is taken with the Sweataches. Austria and Venice ally against Franco-Borgias but are defeated in Milan. Outbreak of the Sweataches in Persia, a Safavid army under Ismail I is defeated by the Uzbek Mohammad Shaybani. Civil war in the Ottoman Empire as Selim's Thracian forces battle with Ahmed's army fresh from fighting the Karaman Turks.
1511: France siezes Sicily from Aragon. A Castillian expedition under Diego Colon sets out to explore Sandero. The new pope condemns Ferdinand of Aragon, who soon after is killed in battle; Philip becomes king of unified Spain. The Treaty of <> with Portugal divides the Spanish and Portugeuse portions of the New World over a north-south axis, but only applies to the New World. An outbreak of the Sweataches in England causes the sudden death of Arthur, heir to the throne. The Sweataches ravage Mesopotamia as Safavid Persia is invaded by the Uzbeks, supported by Shaybani's brother-in-law Babur. Portugal takes the sultanate of Malacca. Ahmed defeats Selim, who flees to the Crimea.
1512: Smallpox enters the Equayor and reaches the capital of Gadyua. Anuk Axe the Decadent succumbs as do all but one of his brothers, Anuk Axe II the Stubborn (As he is known in history, despite the word Axe being Sadyuan for “the Third”. Much as the Gobi desert translates as the Desert desert, so does Anuk Axe II translate as Anuk the Third the Second). His wife Ophesia takes ill but recovers. However, soon as many as 60% of the population will succumb to the smallpox. Ahmed invades the Safavid empire in alliance with Shaybani and Babur, only to have the bulk of his army succumb to the Sweataches and then be destroyed by a surprise attack by the Mamluks. Muscovy invades Lithuania.
1513: The Spanish discover the gold of America and northern Masaguay [the Georgia Gold Belt]. The second son of James IV dies at birth. Queen Ophesia exiles Anuk Axe II to the Dyai on a pretext, and begins to interrogate Muskogee and Algonquian prisoners about the newcomers to the south. The death of Henry VII and the ascension of the 8 year old Arthur I, with the King's mother Margaret of Austria and Henry, Duke of York, having been chosen by Henry as co-regents. This regency will see significant power-struggling between the two. Selim, in alliance with the Crimean khan, raises an army and siezes Constantinople again, forcing Ahmed to cede Mesopotamia to the Mamluks. The Shaybanids achieve dominance over Persia after Shah Ismail's Qizilbash forces switch to the Shaybanid side, the Safavids withdraw and retain control of their Caucasian homeland. Sweataches outbreak in Sofala and Kilwa afflicts both Portugeuse and locals.
1514: San Diego de America founded in America as a port for Spanish gold. Nile outbreak of the Sweataches, up to 40% of the population of Cairo succumbs. Ahmed fails to capture Constantinople and dies amid the siege. The French, claiming the despotate of Morea as rightful territory, invade Greece with blessing from the Pope and in alliance with Venice. Khazada Bagum, wife of Shaybani and sister of Babur, is kidnapped by the Safavids. The Sultanate of Mombasa collapses as much of the population succumbs to the Sweataches, it will not recover but has lost much of its economic value. Meanwhile further inland the disease has reached the Monomotapa, but they will be less affected than those on the coast.
1515: Illegal and ham-fisted conquest attempt of the lower Mississippi ends in massacre for the Spanish involved. The crown is furious. Some of the soldiers survive and are held as captives by the locals, and then eventually freed. The local people wish to make an alliance with the Spanish against the Syuda. Selim withdraws from Syria and moves to counter the French invasion of Greece. Spanish tercios and German landsknecht fighting on behalf of the Habsburgs to restore order in Friesland commit a number of atrocities. The Safavids and Babur ally against the Uzbeks, with the Safavids promising to return Babur's sister. The Sultan of Gujarat allies with the Mamluks against the Portugeuse, the superior Portugeuse ship designs bring them victory but parity in terms of artillery means that the battle is a Pyrhic one for the Portugeuse.
1516: Representatives of the Triple Alliance pledge fealty to Spain in exchange for an invasion of the northern empire of Syuda, which they describe as barbaric and evil. A Spanish-Algonquian alliance siezes the city of Weaku from the Syuda. Al-Ghawri of Egypt begins to spend a large amount of money on artillery, having witnessed the power of Ottoman guns while being pushed out of Anatolia and Venice. The French-aliged Louis Jageillon assumes the Hungarian throne and a Hungarian army under György Dózsa invades the Ottoman empire in support of the French. Formation of the Holy League of France, it's Italian allies, Venice and Hungary. Beginning of the Frisian uprising, a major distraction for the Holy Roman empire. Babur captures Samarkand, but the Safavids are defeated in the West by the Uzbeks, who have adopted matchlock muskets.
1517: Luther publishes a series of thesises, decrying the corruption of the French-controlled papacy, the use of papal indulgences to further the temportal aims of the French crown and the Borgias as well as the history of corruption in the Church, a theme which plays well with Maximilian I. The Conquest of the Equayor begans with an expedition sailing north and entering the Equayor, with native Algonquin allies. The Empress Ophesia knows of the impending invasion. Up the lower Megalopotamian they are attacked but upon entering the Equayor the attacks cease. Upon reaching the Gyuda, the Spanish are astonished to be welcomed into the city. Emprecss Ophesia personally greets them and agrees to submit to Spain. She surprised the Spaniards by presenting them with a Bible and declaring herself and her kingdom to be Christian converts. As the Spanish intention was indeed to rule the empire through a local puppet, as was working well in the Masaguayan cities, it seemed a fine offer. All seemed well until the Algonquian allies begin to loot and plunder, necessitating a violent Syuda response and a subsequent massacre in the city. The Spanish withdraw under fire with Ophesia as a captive. The Safavids deliver Khanzada Bagum to the Uzbeks in exchange for peace (and vassalage), the Shaybanids take Sarmakand and kill Babur.
1518: Anuk Axe II sweeps into Gyuda to find the city in anarchy due to the smallpox outbreaks, he retreats again and his army spreads the disease further up the Equayor. Severe rift between the Danish King Christian II and HRE Maximillian over the formers refusal to give up his Dutch commoner mistress, despite marriage to Isabella of Hapsburg (born several months later than the OTL equivalent). The Safavids sieze Trebizond, the Ottoman forces stationed there flee to the Khanate of the Crimea.
1519: Constantinople is captured by the forces of the Holy League. The French papacy refuses to support a divorce between Christian II and Isabella of Hapsburg, so the enraged Maximilian uses his authority as Holy Roman Emperor to sanctify it himself. Martin Luther is currying favour with the Hapsburgs, who oppose the French-controlled Papacy. The French are tacitly supporting the Frisian uprising.
1510: Europeans learn of the Algonquian city-states of the Lower Megalopotamian. The Aragonese have co-opted the Muskogean slave and forced labour system for their own ends, setting the stage for a heirachical society with Europeans at the top, followed by cooperative noble families, lording over a population of slave-born. In Juana and Hispaniola black slaves have become common due to the terminal decline in the native population, but a significant portion of the African slaves are vulnerable to the Sweataches. Surviving native and black slave populations begin to mix. The Muskogee pidgin tongue remains in common use, particularly among slave populations including blacks. Aragon invades Tuscany but also the Navarre (ruled by the brother-in-law of Cesare Borgias, which prompts a surprise invasion by Castile (with the initial support of the French). Death of Pope Pius III of gout causes a political struggle, but cooperation between the Louis of Orleans and the Borgias see the election of an Italian pope amenable to their interests after the anti-French candidate is taken with the Sweataches. Austria and Venice ally against Franco-Borgias but are defeated in Milan. Outbreak of the Sweataches in Persia, a Safavid army under Ismail I is defeated by the Uzbek Mohammad Shaybani. Civil war in the Ottoman Empire as Selim's Thracian forces battle with Ahmed's army fresh from fighting the Karaman Turks.
1511: France siezes Sicily from Aragon. A Castillian expedition under Diego Colon sets out to explore Sandero. The new pope condemns Ferdinand of Aragon, who soon after is killed in battle; Philip becomes king of unified Spain. The Treaty of <> with Portugal divides the Spanish and Portugeuse portions of the New World over a north-south axis, but only applies to the New World. An outbreak of the Sweataches in England causes the sudden death of Arthur, heir to the throne. The Sweataches ravage Mesopotamia as Safavid Persia is invaded by the Uzbeks, supported by Shaybani's brother-in-law Babur. Portugal takes the sultanate of Malacca. Ahmed defeats Selim, who flees to the Crimea.
1512: Smallpox enters the Equayor and reaches the capital of Gadyua. Anuk Axe the Decadent succumbs as do all but one of his brothers, Anuk Axe II the Stubborn (As he is known in history, despite the word Axe being Sadyuan for “the Third”. Much as the Gobi desert translates as the Desert desert, so does Anuk Axe II translate as Anuk the Third the Second). His wife Ophesia takes ill but recovers. However, soon as many as 60% of the population will succumb to the smallpox. Ahmed invades the Safavid empire in alliance with Shaybani and Babur, only to have the bulk of his army succumb to the Sweataches and then be destroyed by a surprise attack by the Mamluks. Muscovy invades Lithuania.
1513: The Spanish discover the gold of America and northern Masaguay [the Georgia Gold Belt]. The second son of James IV dies at birth. Queen Ophesia exiles Anuk Axe II to the Dyai on a pretext, and begins to interrogate Muskogee and Algonquian prisoners about the newcomers to the south. The death of Henry VII and the ascension of the 8 year old Arthur I, with the King's mother Margaret of Austria and Henry, Duke of York, having been chosen by Henry as co-regents. This regency will see significant power-struggling between the two. Selim, in alliance with the Crimean khan, raises an army and siezes Constantinople again, forcing Ahmed to cede Mesopotamia to the Mamluks. The Shaybanids achieve dominance over Persia after Shah Ismail's Qizilbash forces switch to the Shaybanid side, the Safavids withdraw and retain control of their Caucasian homeland. Sweataches outbreak in Sofala and Kilwa afflicts both Portugeuse and locals.
1514: San Diego de America founded in America as a port for Spanish gold. Nile outbreak of the Sweataches, up to 40% of the population of Cairo succumbs. Ahmed fails to capture Constantinople and dies amid the siege. The French, claiming the despotate of Morea as rightful territory, invade Greece with blessing from the Pope and in alliance with Venice. Khazada Bagum, wife of Shaybani and sister of Babur, is kidnapped by the Safavids. The Sultanate of Mombasa collapses as much of the population succumbs to the Sweataches, it will not recover but has lost much of its economic value. Meanwhile further inland the disease has reached the Monomotapa, but they will be less affected than those on the coast.
1515: Illegal and ham-fisted conquest attempt of the lower Mississippi ends in massacre for the Spanish involved. The crown is furious. Some of the soldiers survive and are held as captives by the locals, and then eventually freed. The local people wish to make an alliance with the Spanish against the Syuda. Selim withdraws from Syria and moves to counter the French invasion of Greece. Spanish tercios and German landsknecht fighting on behalf of the Habsburgs to restore order in Friesland commit a number of atrocities. The Safavids and Babur ally against the Uzbeks, with the Safavids promising to return Babur's sister. The Sultan of Gujarat allies with the Mamluks against the Portugeuse, the superior Portugeuse ship designs bring them victory but parity in terms of artillery means that the battle is a Pyrhic one for the Portugeuse.
1516: Representatives of the Triple Alliance pledge fealty to Spain in exchange for an invasion of the northern empire of Syuda, which they describe as barbaric and evil. A Spanish-Algonquian alliance siezes the city of Weaku from the Syuda. Al-Ghawri of Egypt begins to spend a large amount of money on artillery, having witnessed the power of Ottoman guns while being pushed out of Anatolia and Venice. The French-aliged Louis Jageillon assumes the Hungarian throne and a Hungarian army under György Dózsa invades the Ottoman empire in support of the French. Formation of the Holy League of France, it's Italian allies, Venice and Hungary. Beginning of the Frisian uprising, a major distraction for the Holy Roman empire. Babur captures Samarkand, but the Safavids are defeated in the West by the Uzbeks, who have adopted matchlock muskets.
1517: Luther publishes a series of thesises, decrying the corruption of the French-controlled papacy, the use of papal indulgences to further the temportal aims of the French crown and the Borgias as well as the history of corruption in the Church, a theme which plays well with Maximilian I. The Conquest of the Equayor begans with an expedition sailing north and entering the Equayor, with native Algonquin allies. The Empress Ophesia knows of the impending invasion. Up the lower Megalopotamian they are attacked but upon entering the Equayor the attacks cease. Upon reaching the Gyuda, the Spanish are astonished to be welcomed into the city. Emprecss Ophesia personally greets them and agrees to submit to Spain. She surprised the Spaniards by presenting them with a Bible and declaring herself and her kingdom to be Christian converts. As the Spanish intention was indeed to rule the empire through a local puppet, as was working well in the Masaguayan cities, it seemed a fine offer. All seemed well until the Algonquian allies begin to loot and plunder, necessitating a violent Syuda response and a subsequent massacre in the city. The Spanish withdraw under fire with Ophesia as a captive. The Safavids deliver Khanzada Bagum to the Uzbeks in exchange for peace (and vassalage), the Shaybanids take Sarmakand and kill Babur.
1518: Anuk Axe II sweeps into Gyuda to find the city in anarchy due to the smallpox outbreaks, he retreats again and his army spreads the disease further up the Equayor. Severe rift between the Danish King Christian II and HRE Maximillian over the formers refusal to give up his Dutch commoner mistress, despite marriage to Isabella of Hapsburg (born several months later than the OTL equivalent). The Safavids sieze Trebizond, the Ottoman forces stationed there flee to the Khanate of the Crimea.
1519: Constantinople is captured by the forces of the Holy League. The French papacy refuses to support a divorce between Christian II and Isabella of Hapsburg, so the enraged Maximilian uses his authority as Holy Roman Emperor to sanctify it himself. Martin Luther is currying favour with the Hapsburgs, who oppose the French-controlled Papacy. The French are tacitly supporting the Frisian uprising.
The Portuguese Withdrawal from Asia
The Portuguese in the early 16th century looked poised to dominate the Indian Ocean trade networks, controlling ports in East Africa, India and Southeast Asia. Indeed, it was only the existence of the Pinzonian disease known as the Sweataches which rendered her attempts futile. Portugal herself was the first to suffer the effects when the disease broke out in the Mediterranean, with reports of death rates as high as one out of every nine people in Lisbon, and higher in the south. This dealt the first blow and the closest to home. Regardless, Portuguese ships went out and with them came death.
It was perhaps bad luck that the regions prized by the Portugeuse were those geographically likely to be affected by the disease. First the Swahili coast was hit, and terribly. Many of the larger trading cities, particularly near the Equator such as Kilwa and Mombasa, were affected so strongly that they were all but abandoned by their inhabitants, and in other cases it was simply a matter of the trade routes being so disrupted as to be worthless. The Portuguese maintained a presence in forts (though here too the disease reared its head) but costs mounted as trade declined and the Portuguese eventually pulled back to Sofala in the south, which had been relatively unaffected. The main African trade partner of Portugal now became Monomotapa.
In India, the disease decapitated the Vijanagaraya Empire and severely destabilised the Sultanates in the north. As the Hindu south collapsed, the weakened Sultanates were absorbed by the interior Bindar sultanate, whose claims of Bahmani sovereignty led to a reestablishment of that polity. In the east, the Gajapatis moved south taking Golconda and parts of former Vijanagaraya. In the south, the Portuguese began to deal chiefly with merchant guilds, who sought to use Portuguese guns and horses against the landlords and Brahmans. This merely led to increasingly intense violence, and the breakdown of internal communication and transport systems. Trade became simply the exchange of Indian luxuries of declining quality for Portugeuse weapons and horses.
To the west, the ascendant Mamluks made life difficult as possible for the Portuguese, continually modifying their fleet to better intercept and sink Portuguese caravels, and supplying the Bahmani with guns and horses of their own. Though initially the Portugeuse had an advantage, as time went on the Mamluks went from an annoyance to a threat. Meanwhile, friendly relations between the Mamluks, Venice and the Valois in this period meant that the Red Sea trade route was much more profitable.
Meanwhile, in southeast Asia, the capture of the trade hub of Malacca was meant to allow for control of the trade routes, in fact it merely dispersed them. When the Sweataches came, they struck throughout the region, killing millions and wiping out trade routes. The region soon became one of little profit. Then, after the spread of Sweataches to southern China and the death of the hapless Chinese emperor in Nanjing soon after meeting with a Portuguese trade mission, the Portuguese found themselves unable to trade with China. A quarantine order by the Chinese court brought military action against Portuguese smuggling, and the Sweataches had caused severe deaths throughout the mercantile Chinese south.
Wherever the Portuguese went, they brought death and destruction. Indian Ocean trade was fundamentally disrupted by these effects, and what little trade remained was to be vied for with Mamluk, Venetian and Valois rivals. As the Spanish began to find gold in Masaguay and America, the Portuguese began to search in Laurentia for their own. As the Portuguese were in retreat in Asia, laid low by disaster and circumstance, they made their own conquests in the Cordilheiras (Andes) after the discovery of the secret Welser-Chimu trade agreement. With the discovery of Botosi silver, Portugal pulled out of Asia entirely to concentrate on its new Laurentian empire.
The Portuguese in the early 16th century looked poised to dominate the Indian Ocean trade networks, controlling ports in East Africa, India and Southeast Asia. Indeed, it was only the existence of the Pinzonian disease known as the Sweataches which rendered her attempts futile. Portugal herself was the first to suffer the effects when the disease broke out in the Mediterranean, with reports of death rates as high as one out of every nine people in Lisbon, and higher in the south. This dealt the first blow and the closest to home. Regardless, Portuguese ships went out and with them came death.
It was perhaps bad luck that the regions prized by the Portugeuse were those geographically likely to be affected by the disease. First the Swahili coast was hit, and terribly. Many of the larger trading cities, particularly near the Equator such as Kilwa and Mombasa, were affected so strongly that they were all but abandoned by their inhabitants, and in other cases it was simply a matter of the trade routes being so disrupted as to be worthless. The Portuguese maintained a presence in forts (though here too the disease reared its head) but costs mounted as trade declined and the Portuguese eventually pulled back to Sofala in the south, which had been relatively unaffected. The main African trade partner of Portugal now became Monomotapa.
In India, the disease decapitated the Vijanagaraya Empire and severely destabilised the Sultanates in the north. As the Hindu south collapsed, the weakened Sultanates were absorbed by the interior Bindar sultanate, whose claims of Bahmani sovereignty led to a reestablishment of that polity. In the east, the Gajapatis moved south taking Golconda and parts of former Vijanagaraya. In the south, the Portuguese began to deal chiefly with merchant guilds, who sought to use Portuguese guns and horses against the landlords and Brahmans. This merely led to increasingly intense violence, and the breakdown of internal communication and transport systems. Trade became simply the exchange of Indian luxuries of declining quality for Portugeuse weapons and horses.
To the west, the ascendant Mamluks made life difficult as possible for the Portuguese, continually modifying their fleet to better intercept and sink Portuguese caravels, and supplying the Bahmani with guns and horses of their own. Though initially the Portugeuse had an advantage, as time went on the Mamluks went from an annoyance to a threat. Meanwhile, friendly relations between the Mamluks, Venice and the Valois in this period meant that the Red Sea trade route was much more profitable.
Meanwhile, in southeast Asia, the capture of the trade hub of Malacca was meant to allow for control of the trade routes, in fact it merely dispersed them. When the Sweataches came, they struck throughout the region, killing millions and wiping out trade routes. The region soon became one of little profit. Then, after the spread of Sweataches to southern China and the death of the hapless Chinese emperor in Nanjing soon after meeting with a Portuguese trade mission, the Portuguese found themselves unable to trade with China. A quarantine order by the Chinese court brought military action against Portuguese smuggling, and the Sweataches had caused severe deaths throughout the mercantile Chinese south.
Wherever the Portuguese went, they brought death and destruction. Indian Ocean trade was fundamentally disrupted by these effects, and what little trade remained was to be vied for with Mamluk, Venetian and Valois rivals. As the Spanish began to find gold in Masaguay and America, the Portuguese began to search in Laurentia for their own. As the Portuguese were in retreat in Asia, laid low by disaster and circumstance, they made their own conquests in the Cordilheiras (Andes) after the discovery of the secret Welser-Chimu trade agreement. With the discovery of Botosi silver, Portugal pulled out of Asia entirely to concentrate on its new Laurentian empire.
Great TL! I especially liked the segment on Megalopotamian faiths, very interesting and detailed. One of the signs of a truly detailed TL is when there is an extensive exploration of the development and culture of an AH society, instead of just big events like wars and battles. I'm looking forward to future updates!
Bill Cameron
Banned
That said, I always appreciate a good avocado diaboli.
Tormsen,
I'd like to second the suggestion made by the original Devil's Advocate in this thread: You really, really, REALLY need to read Jared Diamond.
After you read him, you'll realize that your ideas concerning the domestication of wild rice and bison in your TL might as well be ASB. Diamond explains the domestication of both plants and animals very cogently, he's well worth tracking down.
As already pointed out, the domestication of rice is not automatic. Unlike many other crop "technologies", it requires settled agricultural patterns and large infrastructure investments to even begin.
As for domesticating bison, Diamond points out that humans domesticated nearly every species worth domesticating in neolithic times. The only species that weren't domesticated were those few whose handling would require tools and equipment beyond that found at stone age levels. Bison definitely fall into this group. After all, you aren't going to corral them without something akin to barbwire and, by the time you've developed the technologies to make something like barbwire, you'll have already domesticated another easier species to fill the bison's niche.
Besides, how are your ATL Amerinds going to catch sufficient bison to domesticate on foot? The OTL Plains Amerinds didn't hunt bison nearly as much as they did after the horse was re-introduced by the Europeans. Drive herds over cliffs or stalking the occasional meal are one thing, capturing breeding stock is another kettle of fish entirely.
Figure out some more plausible PODs and this timeline could be a winner.
Regards,
Bill
Yes, one should read Jared Diamond. However, he's not infallible. To some extent, his argument on domestication is circular - if they could have been they would have been, and they weren't so they couldn't. Now. It it true that in areas where several domesticated animals existed, people had the 'meme' that animals could be domesticated, and tried others. So camels (more difficult) were domesticated after horse, etc. However, in North America there really weren't any domesticated animals (aside from dogs - and turkeys in Mexico), so no one TRIED to domesticate bison, pronghorns, etc. Now, people are raising bison now, and it's a bit tricky - they're less domesticated than confined with modern fencing. Still, if you look at the genetics of domesticated animals, several seem to have originated with a single event - all dogs seem to have descended from ~5 bitches in Asia, e.g.. So, all it would take would be for it to work once and you could grow your domestic bison herd from that. As for the mechanics of it, no you wouldn't capture an adult animal - probably NO domestication happened that way. What you do is you raise an orphaned baby as a pet. That's doable for lots of species. Whether you can breed them in captivity and have them as part of the human herd/pack, is another matter and is more difficult.
Personally, I suspect that domesticating bison is probably impossible but allowable for a POD.
As for Wild Rice - it is provably domesticatable - since it has been in modern times. Sure the Ojibwa didn't do it, but white man has. It certainly COULD have been done in antiquity.
Note that cows, nice gentle Bossie, are descended from the Aurochs which had a reputation even worse than bison IIRC.