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VICUÑA OF THE EAST
ANTI VIK'UNJA

東ウィク’ニャ
Vicuna of the East
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The year is 1527. Pedro de los Ríos, governor of Panama, waits anxiously in his office, awaiting word from the second expedition of Francisco Pizarro to Peru.  Unsure whether his predecessor put his trust in the right place when Pizarro won him over, he sits and watches as a messenger enters to deliver the unfortunate news.

In OTL, Francisco Pizarro, conquistador of the Incan Empire, and his party stopped in the northern part of present-day Ecuador, which was recently put under Incan rule.  When Pizarro came ashore, he was quickly enveloped by thousands of hostile natives.  Completely surrounded, the conquistadores had little hope of escape.  A Spaniard fell off his horse, and the natives believed that the horse and rider, who they thought to be one entity, had mysteriously divided in two.  Fearing the supernatural, the natives fled immediately.

But what if Pizarro didn't survive the incident?  Say that early on in his expedition, some of his expedition's horses contracted and died of colic.  He could not turn back or call for reinforcements because it would mean he would lose support of the governor of Panama.  With nothing to lose, he continued on his expedition.  Near Tumbes, one of his crewmembers managed to kidnap a balsa (raft) of natives.  Confident in his findings, his party heads back.  Stopping in what is in OTL northern Écuador, Pizarro and his crew disembarked from the ship in hopes of entering the land.  However, before they could return, they were instantly surrounded by thousands of Ecuadorians.  Weary and undersupplied, the Spaniards make a last attempt to fend off the Ecuadorians with their only remaining Vicuñas of the East…

Point of Divergence[]

World Map 1526 (Vicuna of the East)

The world around the time of the POD. The Spanish Empire is in red, and the Inkan Empire is in green.

POD: A loss of horses to colic during Francisco Pizarro's second expedition to Peru leads to its failure.
Main Article: Point of Divergence

Notes from the Author[]

The author of this timeline is User:Detectivekenny.

Standard English may not always apply. It depends on the situation.  As this encyclopedia is intented to appear as Wikipedia would in an alternate history, you may see words with different usages.  For example, in this timeline, the name of the Incan Empire is almost always Peru, and rarely Tawantinsuyu (Land of Four Corners). Some words have a totally new etymology such as quippo as slang for rubber band. This would have derived from Argentine Spanish juepo, from the Pongsoya dialect of Amoy Chinese hoe-but (廢物) meaning "useless objects," even though the inventors of the rubber band in Thailand would have called it wong yang (วงยาง).

I do not have an opinion on whether this world is better or worse than the real world.  This is not a glorification of any sort, although Peru's culture may receive special focus being much different than OTL. While it would be nice that the Incans weren't slaughtered under Spanish domination, maybe that would explain the diverse mix of cultures found in Peru today.  If I really wanted to clean up every act in Peru I would use a different timeline, because in this timeline, the negative qualities of human nature are embodied in every country. It makes for a much more interesting and plausible read.

This timeline is meant to capture the complexity and detail of history. This timeline does not strive towards a particular result but instead captures the strange quirks history may take. Although even the best althistors may simplify their timelines lightly, some events in this timeline are overcompensated. For example, the Industrial Revolution takes place independently in two or three different countries at the same time. A common principle used in writing the timeline is that of "taking the road less traveled." When getting into later stages of the timeline, basically anything can happen. Sure, the King of Laos wouldn't have easily converted to Christianity easily in OTL, but given the different setting, there is no reason why not!

While this is intended as a close approximation of the course of events that would unfold following the point of divergence, it should be noted that this representation is far from perfect.  Much is assumed during this timeline.  In the rapidly-changing world of Peruvian anthropology, chances are that during the writing of this timeline, a major discovery will be made that challenges the very basis of this timeline.  And chances are, I will do very little about it, because this timeline is, again, an artistic project based off the flow of history, not the precise details of the real world.

Complexity must be observed, but ambiguity will not be tolerated. The complexity of history is enigmatic. Political events are often very complex but they inherently must be straightforward enough for the common person to understand. Economic events are complex and ambiguous but are often based on existing patterns. Artistic and technological patterns are spontaneous but are usually tied to the political situation. Together these complexities must be observed and analyzed by historians to form connected ideas which may not be universally true.

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