WI: A Dominant Global South and an ex-colonized Global North?

This is...cliche as hecky, but I'm kind of curious to see how it might be done. With a POD from, say, the foundation of Carthage, how could you flip history on its head?

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The Middle East, India, and China were dominant economically and, one could argue, politically and technologically, for most of history. Perhaps without the Mongol Empire, for example, Europe does not acquire the gunpowder technology as quick as OTL. Without gunpowder, it would be more difficult for Europeans to establish themselves as world maritime powers by seizing fortifications with cannon or using gunpowder, combined with good naval technology, to displace regional maritime powers. Moreover, the Mongols would not be a unifying force that promoted cross-continental trade, thus not incentivizing the Europeans to colonize in the first place. Then if you add in that the new world may not be discovered (at least, not by the Spanish in 1492) and you have an entirely changed global economy, devoid of the great, and in some cases destabilizing, influxes of bullion, as well as the avoidance of the Columbian exchange. The societies of China, the Middle East, and India will not be devastated or stalled to the degree they were IOTL by the Mongols and post-Mongol invasions (Timur, I’m looking at you). All of this only gives time for nations of another place, such as the Middle East or India (both of which had nations and peoples with great mercantile and maritime traditions), to rise to global hegemon status.

Just a thought, and just one example.
 
Many chances:

-Chinese industrialization under the Song (endlessly debated, but plausible).
-Indian empires become more expansionistic (perhaps the Chola? or the Southern trading kingdoms?) and there is an Indian age of colonialism.
-European nations fail to conquer and colonize the Americas. Without the resources from there and the ensuing butterflies, European progress is much delayed.
-Mongols, Huns, Turks, or other nomads devastate Europe.
-Arabian/Islamic industrialization.
-Or a sucessful Islamic conquest of most of Europe (or at least control over the Mediterranean).
-No unified USA or ATL equivalent. Without a whole continent's worth of resources, the polities of this ATL North America will be less prosperous and more suceptible to domination.
-My personal favorite: No Potatoes. No, really, hear me out. Potatoes are amazingly good for cold climates. If they, for whatever reason, are not adopted beyond the Andes, the population of colder climates will be much lower, or at the very least they will have to use less efficient crops. Many butterflies.
-A longer lasting, more peaceful Mongol Empire creates long-lasting trade and cultural exchanges. The center of world trade goes to Persia, China, India, or even Central Asia.
-Western African cultures sail to the Americas first. Whatever the result, it means that most South America will be outside the European area of influence.
-Perhaps more devastating wars of religion? Though to surpass the 30 Years War, though.

For me, to prevent an European dominated world you need to change 1) the colonization of the Americas, 2) the subsequent Age of Imperialism and 3) the factors that delayed China and India (Europe's main *competitors*). For the purposes of the OP you also need to avoid a (mostly) unified North America, which was sort of an historical fluke anyway. All of these can be done surprisingly late, even into the 1500s if you really stretch it.
 
-My personal favorite: No Potatoes. No, really, hear me out. Potatoes are amazingly good for cold climates. If they, for whatever reason, are not adopted beyond the Andes, the population of colder climates will be much lower, or at the very least they will have to use less efficient crops. Many butterflies.

No potatoes in the narrow sense not only affects Europe but literally everywhere else, including the Mediterranean and China, where they're an under-emphasized but major source of calories in various forms. In the wider sense of "no Columbian exchange" it probably affects some parts of the world even more than it affects Europe.

The butterflies will indeed be massive, but all over the world.
 
You include a bunch of areas of the world which many would not consider south at all and are areas that have been for most of history globally dominated so it not that hard to just change a few things then boom done China dominant Middle East dominating India dominating Indonesia dominating
 
If countries as northern as China, Korea, Mongolia, Turkey, or even perhaps Iran become dominant, then they would just form a slightly different Global North instead of a hegemonic Global South. They would end up conquering southward from their northern regions, as well as trading heavily with northern neighbors.

You would need to have sub-Saharan African civilizations, Dravidian civilizations or Southeast Asian civilizations to become great powers/superpowers for the entire Global South to be dominant. Otherwise, they will diffuse too much technology into Eurasia and integrate themselves into a Eurasian system of great powers, while probably still colonizing the rest of the Indian Ocean for example.
 
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