Alternative History:Historical list of alternate histories
From Alternative History
Timelines hosted here, or elsewere, ordered by historical period. This might either be the period in which the POD occured or the period in which the main changes are evident.
See also:
Contents |
[edit] Prehistoric
[edit] Permian-Triassic Boundary
- Permian Extinction: Civilization
- Sapient, or intelligent, life evolves shortly (some 90,000 years) before the Permian Extinction, which wipes out 95% of all life on Earth, like that extinction does in OTL (it is the biggest extinction ever to strike Earth). Civilization arises 11,000 years before the extinction, starting near the mountains in the middle of the Pangaean supercontinent. By the time of the extinction, airplanes ply the Tethys Ocean from and to the lands surrounding it and the larger Panthalassic Ocean is being explored, and there is a high level of technology. Then the Siberian Traps eruptions begin anew, releasing great clouds of methane (thus triggering the extinction)... how will the people react?
[edit] Paleolithic
- Zera
- Some hominids reached the Americas before the modern Homo sapiens. This lead to a different fauna evolution in the Americas allowing later come Homo sapiens to domesticate suitable burden animals.
- God eu Mac̉
- The languages and religions of Earth never split up, leaving 5 (slightly) peaceful nations to develop, such as Usic̉uw.
[edit] Classic Era and Religions
- No Christianity World
- Jesus of Nazareth is released by the governor of Judea, Christianity dies out by around AD 100.
- Roma Invicta
- Augustus's conquest of Germania succeeds, leading to drastic shifts in Roman History.
- Whims of Fortune
- Fates of nations, empires, religions and cultures are mere playthings to Fortune; some rise to greatness only to be brought low, and some fall, only to rise to breathtaking heights again. In this ATL, a million changes, some great, some small, transform the world. Follow the successes of the Kushans, the Vandals, the Rus and the Turks, contemplate the lost glories of Carthage, Babylon and Khazar, and weep for Rome and Mecca, whose greatness was denied by Fortune's fickle hand.
- History of Rome-After Ætas ab Brian (Ætas ab Brian)
- TL after the events of Ætas ab Brian
- Diocletian Killed
- Shortly after Diocletian declares himself Emporer, he is killed.
[edit] Fall of Rome and Middle Ages
[edit] Roman-time barbarians
- Germanic Power
- The Franks and Visigoths hold more staunchly to their languages thus developing Frankish, Hispagothic, and other Germanic languages, eliminating Spanish, French and Portuguese, but allowing the Langue d'Occ and Catalan come to the fore as independent languages.
- Celtic Rules
- The Celtic tribes throughout Europe have never been suppressed by other peoples, yielding highly Celtic-influenced Europe with numerous Celtic nations and languages all over the continent.
- Hunnica: The Barbarian Rome
- The Huns win at Chalons. They then conquer Rome, and the Roman way of life is absorbed into the Attila's empire.
[edit] Medieval European kingdoms
- Burgundy Survives
- The kingdom of Burgundy survives to the present day, and becomes a colonial power.
- Chaos TL - A world without Genghis Khan's conquests
- This TL starts with the death of Genghis Khan in the year 1200 and goes until 1993.
- Penda Dies
- In 642, Oswald of Northumbria kills Penda of Mercia at the Battle of Maserfield. Northumbria remains under one king, Oswald does not become a martyr.
- Henry II Dies In 1100
- The early demise of Henry II causes a drastic change in succession and the royal houses of Scotland, England, France and greatly affects the politics of western europe.
- The Third Rome
- Ivan the Terrible controls his temper, resulting in the birth of a grandchild, and the life and rule of his heir, Ivan V. Russian history is forever re-directed and The Third Rome rises in the East.
- The Western Empire
- Geoffrey, Count of Brittany was the younger brother of Richard the Lionhearted. In Our Time Line (OTL), he pre-deceased Richard by dying in 1186 from a fall from a horse. This left his young son, Arthur of Brittany, as Richard's legitimate successor, but Richard and Geoffrey's youngest brother, John Lackland, forced Arthur aside and eventually had him killed. In this timeline, Geoffrey survives, and he is succeeded by Arthur.
- Vegetarian World
- India becomes a major world power. The Cathars survive the crusades against them and vegetarian Catharism becomes a major religion in Europe and later elsewhere. Many other non-vegetarian related events occur, and this leads to a world not completely unlike our own, but quite different in many ways, too. The Vegetarian World has well over 100 pages and is fully fleshed out (or "veggied out", as the case may be) with demographics info, maps, flags, and even some photos!
[edit] Arab expansion
- Pure Arabica
- The Bubonic Plague decimates Europe, killing nearly 2/3 of the population and reducing the Renaissance to ashes. The world was ill prepared for the Arab aggression and resurgence.
[edit] Mongols
- Chinese World
- A divided China partially resists the Mongol invasion, while the Mongols devastate western Europe. When the Mongols fall, the Chinese states are ready to conquer the unknown world.
[edit] Age of Discovery
[edit] Discovery of the Americas
- Papatlaca
- A major fatal disease develops in precolumbian mesoamerica. As the New World is ravaged by smallpox, the Old World suffers from papatlaca.
- The Andean Wars
- Christopher Columbus had his journey to the New World delayed 6 months, and his ships are destroyed in a hurricane. Civil war is waiting in Spain and the Ottomans won't be very friendly...
- Cabotia and Brasil
- The Castilian queen does not support Christopher Columbus who is not lucky in France either. The English and the Portuguese discover the Americas before 1500, though.
[edit] American colonization
- Montezuma's Revenge
- Cortez and Pizarro fail in their conquests of the Americas and to this day the powerful Aztec and Incan empires exist. The Mississippian Mound-Builders remained strong, and with the support of a technologically vitalized Aztec Empire fended off the attacking western cultures. Also, the enigmatic Anasazi exist to this day...somewhere in the Southwest.
- New Albion
- Sir Francis Drake reports the existence of a massive bay (St. Francis bay), and sends a large colony to form a secret harbor, from which Spanish ships are siezed or destroyed.
- The Haudenosaunee
- In 1311 the Iroquois were given a chance to survive Europe's invasion.
[edit] Far East and Oceania
- Toyotomi Japan
- Japan did not become isolationist as it did here, and expanded to fill the Pacific Ocean, colonizing California.
[edit] Revolutions
[edit] American Revolution
- Failed Continental Congress
- The 13 English colonies in North America manage their independence but they cannot agree on a common government.
- Federalist Failure
- The Federalists lose in their attempts to ratify the new Constitution, and the United States falls apart, leading to the rise of a Virginian "Empire".
- The State of Canada
- The Canadians answer the call of the Americans Rebels for revolt. After the American Revolution the state of Canada is created and nearly all British influence on the east coast of North America have been eliminated.
- USA Kingdom
- In order to replace the faulty Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention chooses a king to head the government.
[edit] South American independence
- Greater Colombia
- San Martin manage to convince Bolívar he still has a role to perform in South America, letting Bolívar more room to prevent Venezuela seceeding from Colombia, and concentrate in freeing the Caribbean.
[edit] International Wars
[edit] War of 1812
- United States of New England
- The War of 1812 goes from being a war against Britain to a full-flung civil war.
[edit] Mexican-American War
- Viva California
- The Mexican-American War was a bust. The California Gold Rush causes a rush of American population to the valleys of California. The Mormons are all Spanish speaking and the US's sentiment of Manifest Destiny is turned Northward, at least at first.
[edit] Civil Wars
[edit] American Civil War
- Eye of the Storm
- This reality's POD occurs during the Battle of Gettysburg in which Confederate forces, deciding against the infamous Picket's Charge and instead choosing to flank Union forces eventually going on to rout the Northern army.
- No Gettysburg
- This althist occurs after the Confederacy successfully sues for peace because Gen. Lee remained on the defensive, rather than invading the North and meeting the Union Armies at Gettysburg.
- Rebellion of 61
- This althist has two primary PODs. In the first, the nascent Confederate States of America is defeated at the (First) Battle of Bull Run, ending the brief Rebellion of '61. In the second, the Komei Emperor of Japan lives several decades longer than in our time line.
[edit] Spanish Civil War
- A United Front
- The Spanish Civil War spills out to the rest of europe.
[edit] Great Wars
[edit] Seven Years War
- British Louisiana
- Disease in 1762 prevents the British takeover of Cuba, preventing the Spanish loss of Florida. Britain takes Louisiana instead.
[edit] Napoleonic Wars
[edit] World War I
- Bolshevik Bleeding
- A wiser and more watchful Alexander Kerensky avoids the rise of the Bolsheviks and October Revolution never occured, making the way free for democracy in Russia.
- Capitalists of the World, Unite
- The German railroad car smuggling Lenin into St. Petersburg is intercepted by Tsarist forces. Russia bleeds itself dry by the end of the Great War, but Communism never takes root. Equally pulvarized against the Russian anvil, Germany sues for peace in 1917.
- Kornilovshina
- General Lavr Kornilov begins his coup earlier, and is succesful. Russia fights on to the end of World War One, with various changes major and minor throughout the world.
- Princip Arrest
- Serbian terrorist Galivrio Princip is arrested before his assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. WWI is delayed and results in a rich Africa; a democratic Socialist government in Russia; and an isolationist, agrarian USA.
- Red Napoleon
- The death of Adolf Hitler in 1924 sees the rise of a peaceful Germany. However, peace in Europe encourages aggression in the Soviet Union, leading to increasing tensions and the outbreak of a Second World War in 1946, as Communist Russia and Democratic Europe wrestle over the fate of the world. As an embittered Russia rises from the ashes of defeat in 1954, and as the victorious Allies squabble amongst themselves, a Third World War appears inevitable, this time directed at the object of Russia's burning hatred - the capitalist empire known as the United States...
[edit] Interwar years
- Fall Grün
- On September 30, 1938, German Führer and Reichs Chancellor Adolf Hitler, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, French Prime Minister Édouard and Italian leader Benito Mussolini signed the Munich Agreement, in which the Czechs were forced to cede the Sudetenland, with its large German speaking minority, to Nazi Germany. The Czech population, angered by the betrayal of their ally France and the fact that the Czechs had not been represented at Munich, urge the the Czechoslovak government under President Edvard Beneš and Prime Minister Arm. Gen. Jan Syrový to refuse to abide by the agreeement and fight for their democracy and independence. Later that day, Beneš and Syrový declares that they will not abide by the agreement. Furious with the Czech refusal, Hitler orders the invasion of Czechoslovakia, Fall Frün, to be set in motion the next morning...
[edit] World War II
- Cold Phoney War
- Allied partial victory on Norway convince Hitler on the near imposibility of invading the British Isles, keeps Chamberlain in power and gives the Allies a position to directly fight the Soviet Union over Finland.
- See Paris and Die
- Field Marshal Erwin von Witzelen successfully assassinates Hitler on May 1941 during a military parade in Paris.
[edit] Post WWII
[edit] Global
- The Earth Federation
- After World War II, the Earth International Federation (commonly referred to as the Earth Federation) was established instead of the United Nations. Because the Earth Federation openly admits that it hopes to become a world government, the United States refuses to join until the 1990s.
- Cold War... then World War
- In 1983 Britian, Italy, and Greece are taken over by fascists and form an alliance, in response Germany, the USA, and Belgium form another alliance, and the rest is this history...
[edit] Technology
- Cambridge Computing
- Computing visionary Alan Turing and iconoclastic philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein establish an interdisciplinary program in Mind, Machine and Mathematics at University of Cambridge. By the year 2000 robots with human-like intelligence are common.
[edit] The Americas
- Oswaldia
- John F. Kennedy wasn't assassinated, the shot missed and killed Governor Connally instead. Because JFK was around to see the Space Race to completion, and it took a very different route...
- President Gaitan
- In 1950, Gaitán is elected president of Colombia. A populist leftish government, but supported by the CIA as a way to prevent true comunism to become a major power in Latin America, Gaitan is neither one of the best or worst presidents. But butterflies from him surviving 1948, also prevented Castro to become leader in Cuba.
[edit] Asia
- Divided Japan
- Japan gets partitioned instead of being entirely under American control during the Occupation, making it a Cold War hotspot.
[edit] Eurasia
- A World Divided
- After Mikhail Gorbachev is killed just prior to him assuming power in the Soviet Union, the Cold War continues until today and many people meet a different fate.
[edit] Unclassified
- The Loose Bandage Timeline (LBTL)
- What if William McKinley was not assassinated in September of 1901? The story departs from our own when the bandage concealing the assassin's .38 caliber revolver slips off his hand, revealing the gun in time for a bystander to knock the failed assassin to the ground, thus sparing McKinley's life and delaying the years of progressivism which began under the tutelage of McKinley's Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt.
- Here we go again
- A world formed from several PODs:
- The British Parliament agrees to the terms of the Albany Congress, ensuring that America remains British.
- The Emperor Qianlong of China institutes modernising reforms in China, which leads it to becoming one of the Great Powers.
- Símon Bolívar holds Gran Colombia together, and forms the League of Latin American States, which leads becomes a regional power in Latin America.
- Germany is formed by the treaty of Erfurt in 1850, with Austria at its head. Prussian manipulations lead to dire consequences in the future.
- Alexander III of Russia has a different tutor, thus instituting the reforms of his father, and democratising Russia. Thus Lenin and co. become a political party (the Red Army becomes a paramilitary organisation).
- Charles Babbage's Diference Engine is compleated, thus accellerating technology.
