The Power of The West - A Timeline

The Push Into Africa

Long known as the dark continent, a land which only small trade posts had survived, European powers began to look inward to expand their colonial might. These countries being Great Britain, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Dutch, and some others too. Trade posts began expansion, and new trading companies sprouted in the overseas African territories. This also led to the final nail in the coffin of the Turkish Empire.

In 1896, the Kingdom of Italy seeked to expand it's power, and what better of a place was Ottoman Libya. The Italian fleet landed in Cyrenaica, and swept across the deserts, quickly occupying most of Libya. The Ottoman Empire had no way of regaining the territory, so they sued for peace, giving Libya to Italy with little blood. The Ottoman Empire grew unstable further, and a republican revolution, or even a communist one seemed imnent.

Next, The British Empire layed claim to the entirety of Omanese Kilwa, simply to expand their empire. The collapse of the slave trade led to the rapid decline of the Omanese Sultanate, as they profited off of their colony using slaves. And so, a large British fleet landed in Zanzibar, and then landed on the coastline, freeing slaves. These newly freed slaves flocked to the British banner, and a colonial government was established very quickly. Shortly after the capture of Kilwa, a British invasion force from India invaded the homeland of Oman. A deal was drafted in which Oman would become a protectorate under Britain. Kilwa would be handed over under a colonial government. With this, the British Arabian Company would be established, laying claim to vast swathes of territory, and angering a lot of nations. However, invasions and colonization would continue as new territories continued to bow down to Great Britain.

With the colonization and invasions, nations would often claim a lot of land. Fights would occur on the borders of colonial areas, and nations would insult one another. Finally, a solution was established in 1900, when a very long congress occured, which divided a lot of Africa among the powers. Huge adjustments came to the borders, and many fights occured which led to a lot of problems being solved via money. While Africa was still a huge mess of claim lines, sometimes crossing eachother, it at least was somewhat organized.

The Rush for Africa had begun.

Map for timeline 7.png
 
The Russian Empire

At the onset of the 20th century, Russia was in dire need to reassert their position on the world stage by proving that they were a force to be reckoned with, be it colonial or militaristic. The beginnings of this was the abolition of serfdom in Russia, proving they had finally entered the modern era, and Tsar Nicholas II realized that the rapidly modernizing world made many of the lower class citizens quite angry about the lack of political and civil rights they owned. Thus, the reforms of 1903 led to Russia creating it's own parliament, known as the Duma. Officials were elected from each Oblast to represent their region, and reformation continued. Russia was still an agricultural nation, and to move forward, they also required industrialization. St. Petersburg and Moscow began to get subsidies for companies so that factories would be constructed and the cities would grow to mass-produce large quantities of items for the public, military, and other departments.

The Russian Empire focused much of it's power on preparing for a war. One that they had figured out within a half hour meeting. Ukraine and Finland were protected in a treaty by Germany and Great Britain, so no. China has modernized enough that they couldn't be defeated most likely, also no. Perhaps the Ottoman Empire, but they would have to squeeze their army through the Caucasus, and relations were becoming friendly between them and the Germans. However, the Persians had a long border with Russia, and also was isolationist and had no allies. Taking the entirety of Persia, though being hard, would enable a port on the Indian Ocean, allowing them to compete in the Indian Ocean trade.

Thus all of this led to the Russian Empire to mobilize and move it's troops to their shared border with Persia. In 1906, war is declared, and Russo-Persian troops clash. The most decisive of the battles, which ultimately led to the Russian victory in the war was the battle of Shahroud, in which Russian troops caught the bulk of the Persian army and secured high ground. This led to the absolute destruction of the Persian Army and a rapid dip in morale. The Russian army slowly continued to push into Persia on all fronts. Tehran was lain siege to and was captured in late 1908, with Shah Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar surrendering. Russian demands were that the entirety of Persia would become part of the Russian Empire, however it would still remain relatively autonomous so as to prevent rebellions. Russia had gained a huge region of land, and many powers began considering creating a small coalition against them to curb their invasions, out of fear of being attacked themselves and added to the newly growing Russian Colonial Empire.

The end of this war led to a huge spurt in Russian nationalism, specifically "Pan-Slavism" which became extremely popular in Russia. At first it was rejected by most leaders, but the increasingly liberal Czar Alexander II slowly started embracing it more and more. The Pan-Slavism movement declared that all Slavic-language speaking nations and regions were rightfully part of Russia, and that they should be attacked and annexed, eventually forming a state spanning Eastern Europe and Asia. This ideology of extreme nationalism also merged with the religious establishment, forming an ideology feared to gain further control. Currently they only control 4% of the seats in Russian Duma, but elements of it continue to grow in popularity, with many people slowly realizing that they agreed with most of their decisions and options for improving Russia.

An_engagement_in_Hungary_between_an_Austro-Hungarian_force_and_Russian_cavalry.jpg
 
Last edited:
A BRIEF SUMMARY ON THE LEADERS OF THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD, BY THE COOKTOWN INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF COUNTRIES AS OF 1905

Below is a list of the leaders of nations throughout the world, though it is desired to keep in mind that many of these leaders may have deceased since the time of this writing, thank you.

THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN, IRELAND, AND HER COLONIAL POSSESSIONS: EDWARD VII
800px-George_V_of_the_united_Kingdom.jpg

THE KINGDOM OF FRANCE: CHARLES XI
Carlos_Duke_of_Madrid.jpg

GERMAN EMPIRE: KAISER WILHELM II
220px-Bain_News_Service_-_The_Library_of_Congress_-_Kaiser_Wilhelm_%28LOC%29_%28pd%29.jpg

KINGDOM OF ITALY: VICTOR EMMANUEL III
220px-Vitorioemanuel.jpg

EMPIRE OF RUSSIA: NICHOLAS II
220px-Nicholas_II_by_Boissonnas_%26_Eggler_c1909.jpg

EMPIRE OF CHINA: ZAITIAN
220px-Emperor_Guangxu.jpg

OUR HOMELAND, CALIFIA: HENRY THOMAS
6870267df7bd0c1f726a7d382eae5caf.jpg

REPUBLIC OF TEXAS: C.A. CULBERSON
Charles_Allen_Culberson.jpg

THE TRUE STATES OF AMERICA: WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
220px-WilliamJBryan1902.png

THE WORKERS'S AMERICAN UNITED STATES: LEE TROTSKY
220px-Lev_Trotsky.jpg
 

Thothian

Banned
Very interesting. US fragments after/during after the alt-Civil War, and the alt-CSA has some sort of populist/socialist revolution. How and why exactly did Trotsky come to North America?
 
Last edited:
Very interesting. US fragments after/during after the alt-Civil War, and the alt-CSA has some sort of populist/socialist revolution. How and why exactly did Trotsky come to North America?

Thanks, I'm glad you like it! Trotsky was butterflied to be born earlier, and emigrated from Russian Ukraine as a child, with his family.
 
Califia, and their fellow British dominions

The "dominion" of Califia continued on it's way advancing significantly. It was practically independent at this point, mostly out of the British politicians being worried about a repeat of 1776. The only ties they had to the British crown was a small tax, the occasional joining of wars, and the pledging of allegiance to the king.

Califia, however, was growing in population at a huge rate, almost at the point where land was running out to be given out. The population had reached 6 Million in the Fall of 1903. Not only was Cooktown the primary bustling metropolis capital of Califia, several other cities held large ethnic populations or just grew at quick rates.

MainNord.jpg

Los Angeles, 1902.​

Angeles was one of the largest cities, and had a majority of the remaining Mexican population in Califia. Alexandria(Seattle) Had also begun growing, and held an especially large Slavic population. Russiatown held a huge collection of Russian-speakers, similar to Chinatown, Japantown, Little Italy, and other ethnic pockets in several cities. To the east, the lands of the Great Basin slowly continued being populated, but many people still remained in the Urban regions of Salt Lake City and New Rome.

Also on the topic of British Dominions, the population of Canada, which still stalled somewhat behind Califia, had still grown significantly over the past few years, to 4 Million. They were beginning to be given the same rights as the Califians, to the point that they, too, could be considered virtually independent.

To the north of Canada, Rupert's Land was reintegrated into Britain after a short referendum on whether they were ready to join Canada. One of the parts of the new enlarged British North America, considered to be an Inuit majority, was given it's own autonomous protectorate within Britain. The native Inuit peoples celebrated their victory fervently, and for days.

Califia and Canada were very diplomatically tied, still, as they would often collaborate on projects, for example the continental highway, which went from Cooktown across to Ottawa on one road. Quebec, which was part of Canada, still gained their own autonomous region, but not full independence. Not even close. Many Quebecois sort of missed the times under Britain, and resentment grew for their Canadian overlords. Only time will tell where this goes...

Early-Lincoln-Highway.jpg

The Continental Highway, areas not yet paved.​
 
Last edited:
Germany

The German Fatherland was the King of the World. Britannia was his Queen. The two Saxonic Powers dominated the world stage, and Germany stretched across all of Poland to the Rhineland, south in Austria and north in Denmark. They even had joined the colonial powers, with colonies starting up once Bismarck had died.

However, this power did not come without consequences. The massively overstretched Kaiserreich had to deal daily with rebels in Poland, France, Denmark, Slovakia, Czechia, the Baltics, and even some in Austria! Despite widespread reform, rebels would continue to rise up. Along with this, Germany was indebted to many nations for supplies given to them during the War of The Six Continents, and had little way to repay it.

Due to this chaos, many fringe parties began gaining traction, similar to other nations around the world. The Rose League, which supported a fully government-planned economy, and complete equality of money, similar to that of America, and a "Dictator of The Proletariat" started becoming popular in the Eastern Regions, like Poland and Livonia.

The Anarcho-Syndicalist Party, which rivaled the Rose League, became popular in similar areas to the Rose League. They believed in equality of money, but were also anarchists. They believed in having no leader, with the workers leading the nation.

On the other end of the spectrum, far-right religious parties became popular, in which they believed that either all Catholics should become converted to Protestantism, or that all Protestants should be converted to Catholicism. They were definately the most popular of the fringe parties, gaining a large percentage of seats in the German Parliament.

However, in 1910, a rebellion fighting for independence to Poland had begun after negotiations had failed after promising a large, autonomous region. Germany could still beat them, but it wouldn't be as easy as it would have before...

Along with these issues, Germans along borders with France and Russia started to fear for their lives. The French Nationalist Party, which had skyrocketed in popularity over the years, and the Pan-Slavic Party in Russia, which became common among the people, started recruiting very radical members. A terrorist attack in Straussberg in which a bomb went off killed hundreds, and injured thousands. The culprits were linked back to the French National Party, who argued that everything west of the Rhine was rightful French territory, and that a large portion of Italian, Spanish, and Swiss territory was rightful French land. Germany is probably doomed, unless someone could take control who is powerful and charasmatic enough to lead his people to victory...

Sackville_Street_%28Dublin%29_after_the_1916_Easter_Rising.JPG

The Straussberg terror attacks.​
 
The End of The Ottoman Empire

Finally, as the Ottoman Empire declined, states held in the grasp of the sultan continued their riots in various large cities. The power of Turkey had gotten to such a small point, that fears of an imnent Russian invasion(which was only half true) made a vast majority of the troops move to Mesopotamia to stand guard. This led to the undermanning of regiment in the Balkan states, a blunder that would be remembered by various historians for centuries. The persecuted Orthodox minorities that spread across the northern Balkans had began organized rebellion, however the autocratic sultan refused to send troops to put down the rebellions. This led to a point in which many disloyal politicians constantly plotted against the sultan, and some assassination attempts were planned, but most were caught in the act of planning, except one, in which a rifle shot barely missed Abdülmecid II's head.

Finally, the breaking point occurs, when the government in Belgrade decides that the south is theirs now. Shortly afterward, Nis erupts in rebellion, pledging allegiance to the Serbian Flag. Soon, within 4 days, Christian Orthodox rebels rise up in Sarajevo. The sultan realizes he has made quite a blunder in his army placement, and troops rush from the east to the Balkan peninsula. However, when they arrive, most are tired of running, and are not fully ready to fight in a battle. Supplies also begin to deplete due to the loss of important mines. Then, Greek rebels revolt in southern Macedonia. Bulgaria also announces the absence of all ties to the Ottoman Empire. Albania declares independence as well, soon afterwards. Things are spiraling out of control in the Ottoman Empire, and many do not know what to do in high positions of government. The Republic of Macedonia is soon established as well, claiming much of the Turkish Balkan Holdings. Montenegro also invades from the north, occupying much of the Ottoman territory.

Russian_troops_storming_Beijing_gates_1900.gif

Italian forces blast their way into Ankara, taken 1915.​

All this chaos leads to the announcement from the British government that "Stability must be restored, and therefore, we fight.". An official British declaration of war was sent, and soon Yemen found itself occupied by British troops. The same Casus Belli was also announced by Italy and Bulgaria, and soon troops arrived on the southern coastline of Anatolia of Italy, and Bulgarian troops flooded across the Danube, burning and pillaging. British troops walked unapposed(mostly) in the Arabian deserts, until they reached Mecca and Medina, which were fiercley guarded. As the military was in shambles, the general who could finally unite them was Mustafa Bajalan. He announced that the government under the current sultan was far too weak, and initiated a coup d'etat in Constantinople. Abdülmecid was held hostage by his new government, and he announced that the forces of the invading nations would be pushed back as best as possible, but negotiations of a treaty would probably be best soon. A sort of stagnation in the war occurred at this point, in which little to no land gains were made on either side. Finally, however, 4 years after the mess started in 1913, Russia announced that the Orthodox natives to the east needed "rescuing". Thus, Russian troops flooded southward into the Ottoman Empire, at which point Bajalan's military government sued the invading forces and rebels for peace.

The following deals would be forced upon him:

- The Kingdom of Albania would be granted independence and recognized by all participants of the war.

- The Free Federal Republic of Macedonia would be granted independence and recognized by all participants of the war.

- Bulgaria is to be no longer considered a puppet of the Ottomans, and is now a free, independent republic.

- Land conquered by Montenegro, Serbia, Greek rebels, Bulgaria, Italy, Russia, and The United Kingdom will be given up to these nations.

- Bosnia will be given up to Hungary on the conditions that it will be given it's own autonomous region, and that no attempts at Hungarification would begin.

- The Islamic Holy Land is now the new, independent republic of Hejaz.

- The remaining pieces of the Ottoman Empire would be split up into the Kingdom of Mesopotamia, which was given to a British General to be the ruler(Which was an amazingly stupid idea, rebellions were constant, and Sir Willis, the ruler, would quickly be overthrown in a populist rebellion) and the "New Turkish Sultanate", which would be led by general Mustafa Bajalan, in the new Bajalan dynasty.

The outcome of this treaty was, in many ways, flawed. However, peace would at least be somewhat ensured and the Ottomans' long reign over the Middle East had finally come to a quick end.
 
The 1913 Raj Rebellion

British India had long been rebellious against their current ruling system. People asked constantly for at least some bit of constitutional rights, for example the granting of the election of leaders, and a semi-independent dominion to allow some form of self rule. However, the increasingly arrogant British Empire under Edward VII had declined time and time again. Riots went in the streets constantly as well, and occasionally the British Military had to be unloaded on the rebels. Finally, however, when the breaking point had been reached between British and Indian relations, when an array of British officers unloaded on several rebels in the street. 120, to be exact. The Raj erupted into rebellions all over the colony, so much so that troops from all over the empire had to be deployed in India. Things were looking bad for Britain.

Finally, British troops began to gain the upper hand. However, they knew that even if they did win, unrest would still be steadily high. Finally it was decided that a treaty would be established in the proper Raj, giving autonomy to the colony. It was agreed that the entire Raj would become a dominion of Britain, similar to the past government of Canada. The protectorates around them would remain protectorates, but free passage, etc. would be allowed between the two British satellites. However, while this made things calm for quite a while, things would continue growing tense in the future...

1814-300x208.jpg

John Hide, British general who crushed the Raj Rebellion.​
 
Civil War in Brazil!

Pedro II was, for a quite a long time, the emperor of Brazil. He ushered in peace and prosperity, along with a golden age of Brazilian culture. A failed coup in 1889 by Brazilian generals led to the killing of many high officials. Because of this event, and of old age, Pedro II began to become sickly, and paranoid. Finally, he passed away in his sleep at age 70 in 1895. It was now time for his daughter, Princess Imperial, Isabela, to take the throne of Brazil.

Her coronation was relatively large, yet had sad undertones, for many people had missed and longed for the good old days of Dom Pedro II. However, her rule was not taken to kindly. Shortly after taking the throne, she banned slavery, being the last western, industrialized nation to do so. Along with this, she was seen as incapable, primarily because of her gender and economic policies(Which were seen as far too socialist, an ideology which soon became a very taboo thing in Brazil). With this, the popular support for a military coup once again began to grow quickly, and the government, which was in shambles already, panicked. Top officials fired many people who were deemed "untrustworthy".

Finally, general Gomes Carneiro took matters into his own hands, organized the military, and marched into Rio de Janiero in 1904. He quickly gained control of the government, exiling the entire Braganza family who had ruled Brazil since it's independence. However, his authoritarian rule was despised by much of the population. This led to a republic rebellion in Sao Paulo, where a huge mob of citizens stormed many large government buildings, eventually establishing a capital in the new de facto "Republic of Brazil". Gomes would have none of it. He sent his military northward to attack, but the growing populace support of a republic led to increasing support for the Republic of Brazil. The republic also began recompensating many former slave-owning plantation owners for their lost slaves, which was very popular among them. Much of the Amazonas was seized by the republic, while the "Brazilian Federation" under Gomes Carneiro expanded along the coastline. Along with this, many loyalists began rising up in smaller regions, though they were mostly just a slight disturbance.

To make matters worse, the Republic of Bahia, as well as the Kingdom of Riogrande rose up in rebellion against Brazil. They quickly made significant gains, and many new factions rose up, with no one knowing who might win the civil war. Brazil has entered dark times, times that require a strong leader...

General_Carneiro.png

Dictator Gomes Carniero​
 
Top