Monday, May 10, 2021

Some Alternate Histories

I have copied Throne of Salt once more.
  1. Repressive measures fail to curtail the Luddite movement, it spills over onto the continent.
  2. Moveable type printing flourishes in medieval India.
  3. Arab sailors discover the new world.
  4. The Monitor's guns manage to successfully sink the Merrimack. 
  5. Alexios I Komnenos decides against requesting aid from the Pope.
  6. The Zanclean Flood never happens and the Mediterranean remains dammed off from the ocean.
  7. The Arno river is successfully diverted.
  8. Rome delenda est.
  9. The Egyptians actually concretely write down where the hell the Land of Punt is.
  10. William the Bastard and his invading Norman army are drowned by an unexpected channel storm. 
  11. Horses remain undomesticated.
  12. Edward Lowe fails to invent cat litter.
  13. The Suez canal project fails due to lack of support, Suez Canal Company goes bankrupt.
  14. Camels invasive to North America.
  15. A successful Franco-Mongol alliance against the Caliphates is achieved.
  16. Adolphe Sax fails to escape to one of his numerous brushes with death. 
  17. The Ottomans win the Siege of Vienna.
  18. Saboteurs successfully destroy the Eiffel Tower at its opening.
  19. Iceland is settled by Basques.
  20. Atahualpa is warned against meeting with the conquistadors and instead ambushes them in the night, killing almost all of Pizarro's army and seizing their arms and armour. 
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4 comments:

  1. DanMay 10, 2021 at 5:29 PM

    "Adolphe Sax fails to escape to one of his numerous brushes with death."

    Nooooooooooooo!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LocheilMay 10, 2021 at 5:38 PM

    NOOO NOT ADOLPHE SAX!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LocheilMay 10, 2021 at 5:38 PM

      Great post though! Brilliant ideas, and well chosen points of divergence.

      Delete
  3. CallmesalticidaeMay 10, 2021 at 9:03 PM

    "Horses remain undomesticated" is very plausible (there were only a couple of domestication events, IIRC) and would have so many ramifications, from the invasions that never happened to the affect on agriculture in many regions. Horses often aren't the best choice but sometimes they're the only choice, in certain situations (and of course no horses = no mules).

    Oh, and the total lack of chariot warfare being a thing.

    #20 is also really, really interesting, since (again IIRC) the Spanish figured Cortes was a one-off and didn't get think "just go conquering these places" could work as a general strategy until Pizarro pulled it off too. I think that most AUs would try to get rid of Cortes to get that, so I really like this one.

    ReplyDelete

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