These Fair Shores: The Commonwealth of New England

Only the Panama Canal was not built. There is no connection between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.
Are there major calls for such a canal?
If yes, is a route through Lake Nicaragua or the OTL route (or somewhere else) generally favored?
I assume this means most goods travel around Cape Horn instead.
Without a Panama Canal, and with climate change generally sped up here, is the Northwest Passage used more? How does it compare to Cape Horn, and how has this ratio changed over time?
Have disputed claims to the Northwest Passage been settled? Is it territorial waters of Canada, or an international strait, or something else?
 
Given the slightly more authoritarian bent to some major countries, what's the global consensus (if any) on climate change ITTL? Is there any kind of Imperial "green" policy, even absent a formal Green party in government?
 
How do you access the Discord serve again? The link is invalid
Prolly best to ask CosmicAsh privately; iirc, the board no longer allows Discord links to be posted publicly.

(If this isn't permitted either, please disregard; I just know there was a rule change about the links in the past year or so!)
 

Deleted member 77383

So what proxy wars had occurred in the Cold War? And what insurgencies and acts of terrorism had occurred in the US if it’s pretty dystopian?
 
57xrmb.jpg

Here's a little meme that I made.
 
Really? Has anyone even proposed such a thing? Or is it just too difficult, politically speaking?

Huzzah.
Interesting. It's nice to see the world retain some non-European forms of government; reminds me a little of "Fear Nothing But God."

That's...intriguing. I understand that the Americans would have no interest in excavating it, as they have no naval presence in the Pacific and seem content to sit on the sidelines of the international power games, but one would still expect a powerful Britain to dig a passageway to shorten the trip to Asia, California, or Pacific Canada.

EDIT: Speaking of "games:" what can you tell us about international sports competitions in this world? Were the Olympics ever revived?
Are there major calls for such a canal?
If yes, is a route through Lake Nicaragua or the OTL route (or somewhere else) generally favored?
I assume this means most goods travel around Cape Horn instead.
Without a Panama Canal, and with climate change generally sped up here, is the Northwest Passage used more? How does it compare to Cape Horn, and how has this ratio changed over time?
Have disputed claims to the Northwest Passage been settled? Is it territorial waters of Canada, or an international strait, or something else?

For a canal connecting the Pacifc and the Atlantic:
One had been proposed, and two starts were made on them. Under the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, a major canal project was undertaken in Nicaragua, but funding quickly ran out and support dropped due to the ongoing pressures of the war in the Yucatan. The project was abandoned after this setback, and to this day the United States refuses to let any one construct such a canal, and has threatened invasion and repercussions for any state that undertakes a project such as this. To the American leadership, a canal would expose the American Caribbean and New Orleans to an attack from the Pacific. For Canada, which charges tolls on journeys through the Northwest Passage (considered Imperial land, so Canada benefits), there is no incentive to lose this lucrative revenue stream, and Mexico has an Atlantic-Pacific Railroad service running as well. There is little to no incentive for any canal building at this point.

What's the ideological position of Bay Residents Association? how do Civic Union vs federal Labor and Metropolitan vs federal Liberals compare ideologically?
Does the endorsement of Carbone for Civic Union has to do more with scandals or ideological proximity?
The much higher value of the pound is an unique case or there has been much less inflation ITTL everywhere?
How are conflicts between Catholics and Protesants in Prussia, do they vote for different parties like OTL before WW2?
Has a "normalization" of borders ever been proposed in the German speaking area?

-The Bay Residents Association is pretty much your garden variety Liberal party (economic and social liberalism). The Civic Union rests to the right of Labour, and just a smidge to the left of the federal Liberals, with a few members whose voting scores would put them in with the federal Tories. The Metropolitan Party more or less are most similar to urban Conservative MPs, being still to the right of the Liberals.
-Both. The Prime Minister is considered by many to be very moderate. Most Conservative MPs endorsed the Metropolitan party.
-The European world (and the wider world, generally, with exceptions) operates on a metallic standard. There are a few fiat, free-floating currencies, with the bedrock being the Empire, which maintains a bi-metallic standard of Gold and Silver. Even countries that do have a "floating" currency do so because they have pegged their currency to a mixture of metals, or even a less rare metal. Prussia, for example, pegs its currency to the value of Copper traded through London. Since this price can change, so does Prussia's currency.
-Those differences no longer play a factor in the voting patterns of voters in Prussia.
-Yes. Mostly by Germany. Prussia and the UK have a vested interest in ensuring that their borders remain the same as they are, and the hampering of Germany's economy and ease of travel is a policy objective, not a problem.

How strong is the US government’s control over more distant territories such as the rural west, Cuba, and Puerto Rico?

How do ordinary Americans view the president and the institution of the presidency?

- The control over these distant territories used to be much stronger. It seems with each passing month a little more control slips away...
- This is a tricky subject. Most Americans know that their choices no longer matter when voting for President, because all power is centralised in the Chairman. It was well known and understood that the country is a dictatorship, so the President is more or less and afterthought at this point.

Given the slightly more authoritarian bent to some major countries, what's the global consensus (if any) on climate change ITTL? Is there any kind of Imperial "green" policy, even absent a formal Green party in government?

The global concensus is that it must be stopped, at all costs. Most countries have strong policies to avert climate change, with some notable dissenters who refuse to modfy their existing plans, such as the United States.

So what proxy wars had occurred in the Cold War? And what insurgencies and acts of terrorism had occurred in the US if it’s pretty dystopian?

There was no such thing as the Cold War. The only thing comparable was the constant struggle for power and influence between France and the United Kingdom in West Africa, though this included several hot wars and was more a delicate balance of patronage, military supplies, and diplomatic favours.
 
-The European world (and the wider world, generally, with exceptions) operates on a metallic standard. There are a few fiat, free-floating currencies, with the bedrock being the Empire, which maintains a bi-metallic standard of Gold and Silver. Even countries that do have a "floating" currency do so because they have pegged their currency to a mixture of metals, or even a less rare metal. Prussia, for example, pegs its currency to the value of Copper traded through London. Since this price can change, so does Prussia's currency.
Interesting. I don't think I've ever read a TL where a country's currency is linked to the price of a commodity other than oil before. Any reason why Prussia pegs its currency to copper prices?

Are there countries that peg their currencies to another currency, rather than to a metal?

I'm assuming the main reserve currencies ITTL include the Imperial pound, the Russian rouble, the Japanese yen (or whatever Japan calls its currency ITTL), the French franc and the Chinese yuan.

There was no such thing as the Cold War. The only thing comparable was the constant struggle for power and influence between France and the United Kingdom in West Africa, though this included several hot wars and was more a delicate balance of patronage, military supplies, and diplomatic favours.
Does France still have its own sphere of influence by the present day?
 
"The global concensus is that it must be stopped, at all costs. Most countries have strong policies to avert climate change, with some notable dissenters who refuse to modfy their existing plans, such as the United States."

This feels nice atleast.

"-Yes. Mostly by Germany. Prussia and the UK have a vested interest in ensuring that their borders remain the same as they are, and the hampering of Germany's economy and ease of travel is a policy objective, not a problem." This intrigues me,
 
Last edited:
The global concensus is that it must be stopped, at all costs. Most countries have strong policies to avert climate change, with some notable dissenters who refuse to modfy their existing plans, such as the United States.
Details like this are one of the reasons I really like this TL. There's a lot that's better than OTL, like a concerted effort to fight climate change, but it's still not an unrealistic utopia. Great work as always!
 
Ok, that's a whole bunch of stuff.

There's an "internet licence". Is the internet provided by a single national provider in the UK ITTL? Some department or spin off from the Post Office, perhaps?

The US is getting bad. Very bad.

And the honourable leader of the opposition (California) sounds a bit like a certain former president of the OTL United States.
 
Last edited:
I'll bet that people will be focusing way more on North America but what's going on in Africa? The continent is a bit of a mystery so it'd be nice if we could get some information on a few states like Abyssinia or the Cape, rather than a hard focus on the American Continent. Just a suggestion, I really like your work
 
Top