Introduction
The Pax Imperialis (The Peace of the Emperor). Or why the Chinese play cricket
(For my beloved daughter Kwaryn)
This one of those "the sun never sets" British Empire timelines. However what comes out at the end will very definitely not be the British Empire. Neither is it the Indian Empire nor any other Empire. It's a defuse global federation called the Imperial Commonwealth. This Commonwealth grows to become the world's leading power, with a distributed economy spread over five continents. However while its global nature is its greatest strength, it is also its greatest weakness. Though it has immense power, it is extremely hard for it to focus its power.
All the critical core information required to understand this timeline is contained in a limited number of posts. I refer to these as Chapters. These contain the story of the timeline as a sequence of events. These are all threadmarked in sequential order, I try to wait at least 24 hours between posting updates to allow time for people to comment. For anyone coming in "late," I always update each entry if I make alterations. So all you need to do is simply follow the bouncing ball through the threadmarks to get a grip on the timeline. The Chapters start with the seventh threadmark. This post and the five index posts come first. HOWEVER, various circumstances mean, that seventh threadmark is physically directly below this post. So if you want to skip the indexes and dive right in, just read to the bottom of this and hey presto, the first Chapter should be right there. Also to help keep perspective all monetary values mentioned include a conversion to pounds sterling in 1900 in curly braces after the number. For those who wish to put the values in modern terms, one pound sterling in 1900 is very roughly worth 145 US dollars in 2022.
NOTE ON NAMES: The term used to refer to the British Empire throughout the timeline changes over time. From 1870 to 1909 Britain and British is used with individual parts of the Empire named as required. In 1909 there is a fundamental change in the constitutional structure of the Empire, with the Dominions given a binding voice in Imperial policy. Therefore from 1910 the the terms Empire and Imperial used, with Britain and British solely referring to the Home Islands. At some point in after that, the Empire will again change with its transformation into a formal federation known as the Imperial Commonwealth. From this point one, the term Commonwealth is used. At this point I'm not entire when that will happen, but it will happen.
Scattered through thread there are also other posts which expand on the raw information in these Chapters. These are design notes, lists of abbreviations used, data relating to alliances, navies, military affairs etc I regard as important. These are all indexed in the next five threadmarks, but I'll also link to them here.
- Maps and Graphics
- Design Notes
- Stories
- Naval Matters
- Military Matters
- Abbreviations and other terms
You may notice an index for stories. I always intended for this timeline to be a setting for storytelling. So they're exactly what it says on the box, pieces of fiction set in this timeline. One proviso, there are no guarantees I'll ever get round to writing any, but I've included the index just in case. I'll mention, if anyone else ever feels the urge to use the setting as a backdrop for their own writing, PLEASE FEEL FREE, I would love it in fact. Most of my own writing is set in shared universes and I feel they are so much richer than a single person's work. I'd also love to turn this into a shared universe, just have no idea how to go about it, or if anybody would be interested.
This is the fourth iteration of this timeline. I hadn't updated it here for two years but I didn't stop working on it. However I'd done a LOT more research over those two years and was no longer happy with it, especially the pre 20th century portion and the First Great War. Plus it was too much of a britwank in my opinion, so that needed to change as well. I originally posted this in the after 1900 forum since most of it is set post 1900. However this time I'm starting here. I'm planning on continuing it in the post 1900 forum when I hit 1900 (maybe, I'll see when I get there).
The point of divergence is Gladstone's Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act isn't diluted. This brings forward the split between the radical and Whig factions in the Liberal party, increasing the pace of reform. However the butterflies spread fairly quickly and start to reach outside the bounds of the Empire in odd ways. However significant changes don't start to show up until the 20th century. Throughout the timeline I use the term Britain to refer to the United Kingdom, it's just easier to type. When I need to refer to one or more of the specific Home Nations, I use England, Ireland, Scotland, Ulster (the OTL Northern Ireland) and Wales.
There are a lot of abbreviations and terms which may be hard to keep track of, certainly FAR too many to remember. I periodically post an updated list of them and index it. So if you run across an abbreviation or term you don't understand, all you have to do is look it up. The same applies to alliances. This is a multi polar world and it can be hard to keep track of whose allied with whom. Also past about 1920, do not assume ANYTHING is like the OTL. The timeline changes slowly, but it changes beyond all recognition. Some very important points to remember. NOTE: These are all based on the third iteration of the timeline, I'm hoping this one goes differently. So, while I think all of these will apply to this iteration, I could be wrong.
1) The Imperial Commonwealth (abbreviated CW throughout the timeline) is a vastly different state from the OTL British Empire. It has a totally different geopolitical outlook, focusing on the Far East not Europe. Its involvement in Europe is primarily to keep the European powers from interfering in the east, keeping them focused on Europe. It also abandons traditional imperialism, instead using soft power to create client states.
2) The relative power of the CW and US is basically reversed. By 1940 the CW economy is twice the size of the US.
3) By the mid 30s India has a modern industrialised economy and has thoroughly been integrated in the CW political structure.
4) Italy is also a very different place. By the 40s it has the fourth largest economy in the world and possesses one of the most efficient militaries.
5) Poland is also quite different. Not only does it include all of OTL Poland but all of Galicia, Silesia and half of East Prussia. It also received considerable CW investment in the 30s to build up as credible rival for the Franco-Russian Entente.
Constructive criticism is VERY welcome. This timeline has a lot of personal importance to me. I want it to be the best it can. I've even enlisted the help of one my clients who happens to be a history professor specialising in the late Victorian and Edwardian period (he was surprised but very happy to help lol).
So while I really love people telling me what I'm doing right. Feeds my ego no end and keeps me writing this. What I really want is people to tell me what I'm doing wrong, to rip it to shreds, point out my mistakes and where things don't make sense. I will listen and incorporate suggestions. So thank you for both the good and bad.
But if you think something can be done better, is poorly thought out, horrendously wrong or just plain sucks, please say so. I've been called more nasty names than you can probably imagine, I'm no delicate flower. But please also say why. I will listen.
I should point out while I am developing this as a serious timeline. I also keep in mind its use as an RPG setting and a setting for my writing. Hence the oddities such as airships, dual battalion British cavalry regiments, gyrodynes and domesticated zebras. These are intended never to move beyond novelties. The number of airships in this timeline is economically completely unsustainable, but well, what's an alternate history if you don't have airships? There will not be regiments of zebra cavalry. Gyrodynes however will achieve some limited military use in special forces operations, such as is suitable for RPGs. These things will exist on the fringes where they have no real effect on the timeline. Basically they're colour text to give a “We're not in Kansas any more” effect.
Also I mention this is the fourth iteration of the Timeline. The first two iterations I think are utter crap, I'm a little embarrassed by them actually. The third is okay, I've used it as a setting for thabletop RPGs and it is fun. But it also had some serious issues hence this fourth version. However you want to see the development of the TL, here are the first three attempts
Iteration One
Iteration Two
Iteration Three
(For my beloved daughter Kwaryn)
This one of those "the sun never sets" British Empire timelines. However what comes out at the end will very definitely not be the British Empire. Neither is it the Indian Empire nor any other Empire. It's a defuse global federation called the Imperial Commonwealth. This Commonwealth grows to become the world's leading power, with a distributed economy spread over five continents. However while its global nature is its greatest strength, it is also its greatest weakness. Though it has immense power, it is extremely hard for it to focus its power.
All the critical core information required to understand this timeline is contained in a limited number of posts. I refer to these as Chapters. These contain the story of the timeline as a sequence of events. These are all threadmarked in sequential order, I try to wait at least 24 hours between posting updates to allow time for people to comment. For anyone coming in "late," I always update each entry if I make alterations. So all you need to do is simply follow the bouncing ball through the threadmarks to get a grip on the timeline. The Chapters start with the seventh threadmark. This post and the five index posts come first. HOWEVER, various circumstances mean, that seventh threadmark is physically directly below this post. So if you want to skip the indexes and dive right in, just read to the bottom of this and hey presto, the first Chapter should be right there. Also to help keep perspective all monetary values mentioned include a conversion to pounds sterling in 1900 in curly braces after the number. For those who wish to put the values in modern terms, one pound sterling in 1900 is very roughly worth 145 US dollars in 2022.
NOTE ON NAMES: The term used to refer to the British Empire throughout the timeline changes over time. From 1870 to 1909 Britain and British is used with individual parts of the Empire named as required. In 1909 there is a fundamental change in the constitutional structure of the Empire, with the Dominions given a binding voice in Imperial policy. Therefore from 1910 the the terms Empire and Imperial used, with Britain and British solely referring to the Home Islands. At some point in after that, the Empire will again change with its transformation into a formal federation known as the Imperial Commonwealth. From this point one, the term Commonwealth is used. At this point I'm not entire when that will happen, but it will happen.
Scattered through thread there are also other posts which expand on the raw information in these Chapters. These are design notes, lists of abbreviations used, data relating to alliances, navies, military affairs etc I regard as important. These are all indexed in the next five threadmarks, but I'll also link to them here.
- Maps and Graphics
- Design Notes
- Stories
- Naval Matters
- Military Matters
- Abbreviations and other terms
You may notice an index for stories. I always intended for this timeline to be a setting for storytelling. So they're exactly what it says on the box, pieces of fiction set in this timeline. One proviso, there are no guarantees I'll ever get round to writing any, but I've included the index just in case. I'll mention, if anyone else ever feels the urge to use the setting as a backdrop for their own writing, PLEASE FEEL FREE, I would love it in fact. Most of my own writing is set in shared universes and I feel they are so much richer than a single person's work. I'd also love to turn this into a shared universe, just have no idea how to go about it, or if anybody would be interested.
This is the fourth iteration of this timeline. I hadn't updated it here for two years but I didn't stop working on it. However I'd done a LOT more research over those two years and was no longer happy with it, especially the pre 20th century portion and the First Great War. Plus it was too much of a britwank in my opinion, so that needed to change as well. I originally posted this in the after 1900 forum since most of it is set post 1900. However this time I'm starting here. I'm planning on continuing it in the post 1900 forum when I hit 1900 (maybe, I'll see when I get there).
The point of divergence is Gladstone's Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act isn't diluted. This brings forward the split between the radical and Whig factions in the Liberal party, increasing the pace of reform. However the butterflies spread fairly quickly and start to reach outside the bounds of the Empire in odd ways. However significant changes don't start to show up until the 20th century. Throughout the timeline I use the term Britain to refer to the United Kingdom, it's just easier to type. When I need to refer to one or more of the specific Home Nations, I use England, Ireland, Scotland, Ulster (the OTL Northern Ireland) and Wales.
There are a lot of abbreviations and terms which may be hard to keep track of, certainly FAR too many to remember. I periodically post an updated list of them and index it. So if you run across an abbreviation or term you don't understand, all you have to do is look it up. The same applies to alliances. This is a multi polar world and it can be hard to keep track of whose allied with whom. Also past about 1920, do not assume ANYTHING is like the OTL. The timeline changes slowly, but it changes beyond all recognition. Some very important points to remember. NOTE: These are all based on the third iteration of the timeline, I'm hoping this one goes differently. So, while I think all of these will apply to this iteration, I could be wrong.
1) The Imperial Commonwealth (abbreviated CW throughout the timeline) is a vastly different state from the OTL British Empire. It has a totally different geopolitical outlook, focusing on the Far East not Europe. Its involvement in Europe is primarily to keep the European powers from interfering in the east, keeping them focused on Europe. It also abandons traditional imperialism, instead using soft power to create client states.
2) The relative power of the CW and US is basically reversed. By 1940 the CW economy is twice the size of the US.
3) By the mid 30s India has a modern industrialised economy and has thoroughly been integrated in the CW political structure.
4) Italy is also a very different place. By the 40s it has the fourth largest economy in the world and possesses one of the most efficient militaries.
5) Poland is also quite different. Not only does it include all of OTL Poland but all of Galicia, Silesia and half of East Prussia. It also received considerable CW investment in the 30s to build up as credible rival for the Franco-Russian Entente.
Constructive criticism is VERY welcome. This timeline has a lot of personal importance to me. I want it to be the best it can. I've even enlisted the help of one my clients who happens to be a history professor specialising in the late Victorian and Edwardian period (he was surprised but very happy to help lol).
So while I really love people telling me what I'm doing right. Feeds my ego no end and keeps me writing this. What I really want is people to tell me what I'm doing wrong, to rip it to shreds, point out my mistakes and where things don't make sense. I will listen and incorporate suggestions. So thank you for both the good and bad.
But if you think something can be done better, is poorly thought out, horrendously wrong or just plain sucks, please say so. I've been called more nasty names than you can probably imagine, I'm no delicate flower. But please also say why. I will listen.
I should point out while I am developing this as a serious timeline. I also keep in mind its use as an RPG setting and a setting for my writing. Hence the oddities such as airships, dual battalion British cavalry regiments, gyrodynes and domesticated zebras. These are intended never to move beyond novelties. The number of airships in this timeline is economically completely unsustainable, but well, what's an alternate history if you don't have airships? There will not be regiments of zebra cavalry. Gyrodynes however will achieve some limited military use in special forces operations, such as is suitable for RPGs. These things will exist on the fringes where they have no real effect on the timeline. Basically they're colour text to give a “We're not in Kansas any more” effect.
Also I mention this is the fourth iteration of the Timeline. The first two iterations I think are utter crap, I'm a little embarrassed by them actually. The third is okay, I've used it as a setting for thabletop RPGs and it is fun. But it also had some serious issues hence this fourth version. However you want to see the development of the TL, here are the first three attempts
Iteration One
Iteration Two
Iteration Three
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