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Editor says, what if the Spanish had captured Leiden? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the October 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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In 1574, on this day the forces of Francisco de Valdez finally captured the rebellious city of Leiden, South Holland.
Fall of LeidenDutch rebels had taken up arms against the king of Spain, whose family had inherited the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands. Most of the counties of Holland and Zeeland were occupied by rebels in 1572, who sought to end the harsh rule of the Spanish Duke of Alba, governor-general of the Netherlands. This territory had a very high density of cities, which were protected by huge defenseworks and by the boglands, which could easily be put under water.
The Duke of Alba tried to break resistance using brute force. He used Amsterdam as a base, as this was the only city in the county of Holland that had remained loyal to the Spanish government. Alba's cruel treatment of the population of Naarden and Haarlem was notorious. The rebels learned that no mercy was shown there and were determined to hold out as long as possible. The county of Holland was split in two when Haarlem was conquered by the Spaniards after a costly seven month siege. Thereafter, Alba attempted to conquer Alkmaar in the north, but the city withstood the Spanish attack. Alba then sent his officer Francisco de Valdez to attack the southern rebel territory, starting with Leiden.
The war finally ended in 1648 with the Peace of Münster, whereupon the Hapsburg Netherlands were fully restored to Spanish rule, albeit with some local autonomy sought by the Dutch rebels.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
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Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Generals Source: Wikipedia Labels: Spain, Spanish, Alba, Habsburg, Francisco de Valdez. Editor says, in reality the Siege of Leiden occurred during the Eighty Years' War in 1573 and 1574, when the Spanish attempted to capture the rebellious city of Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands, and ultimately failed. We have repurposed significant amounts of content from Wikipedia in authoring this post.
Editor says, what if the Munich Conference had imploded? muses Jeff Provine on the This Day in Alternate History web site. Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the October 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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In 1938, on this day, co-chairmen US Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov opened the second round of the peace conference after earlier diplomatic talks had imploded at Munich.
October 3rd, 1938 - Talks Restarted at MunichFrench Prime Minister Édouard Daladier had given Chamberlain the leading role in the first round, but as negotiations progressed he had determined that Hitler wanted "a domination of the Continent in comparison with which the ambitions of Napoleon were feeble".. President of Czechoslovakia Edvard Beneš refused to roll over and began mobilization of his country for war. The talks imploded, and British (and indeed European) leadership of the crisis was brought to an abrupt end. Obviously a breakthrough would have to come from outside the Continent.
By now Daladier and Beneš had realized their mistake in not insisting that the United States and Soviet Union attend the Conference. The United States was particularly relucant to attend, and almost certainly would have not become involved on any engagement terms other than co-sponsor of the Conference. And to prevent the informal formation of a Permanent Contact Group (a League of Nations Security Council if you will), Hull and Molotov were sent as co-chairman. The Fuhrer was even more reluctant; soon after the meeting with Chamberlain hehad furiously exlaimed "Gentlemen, this has been my first international conference and I can assure you that it will be my last". However it appeared that the German Government was locked in a power struggle with a military leadership unwilling to fight, and their agreement to attend was potentially nothing other than a cynical attempt to build the case for war.
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Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Jeff Provine Blog Source: Wikipedia Labels: Daladier, Neville Chamberlain, Hitler, Nazi Germany, Munich. Editor says, in this blog we reverse Jeff Provine's Talks Implode at Munich post.
~ Fight!Fight!
~ Hitler being deflated (even destroyed?) by diplomacy... would that it were. And hilarious!
~ Some generals would not be any better...like Ludendorf, who joined in the Beer Hall Putsch and hated both Jews AND Christians.
~ The trouble with Czechoslovakia going to war was that it had large minorities (Slovaks and Germans and some others) who weren't keen on fighting for Prague, and Poland also had claims. It would have been ironic for POland to end up as Germany's ally against the West over the Teschen region, wouldn't it?
~ The big difference between Adolph and the generals/old governing class is that the latter were not inclined to insane gambles. They did not think Germany could defeat either the French army or the economic strength of the British Empire. Few people today realize what a shock to established opinion the fall of Paris in 1940 was. It was seen as a result outside the bounds of the possible. Eric, a lot of nominal Czechoslovaks would not have fought but enough would have. Poland would not join Germany in such a war. Neither would Hungary who had FAR better claims to much of Slovakia. No one thought the Germans could beat the West. People do not volunteer to join the losing side.
Editor says, what if the British Empire had been ahead of the curve? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
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In 1955, for the first time, developments in modern civil aviation enabled the Chancellor of the Imperial Federation to hastily convene a special assembly to agree a globally co-ordinated response to the Russian dissolution crisis.
End of the Great GameWhich was fortunate because Britain was facing a challenge unprecedented in the three centuries of her global hegemony.
Even though both great powers shared common borders from the prairies to the Kyber Pass their political systems were at a radically different level of maturity. Because Tsarist Russia had never willingly embraced the concept of global devolution whereas Britain was an island that never enjoyed the luxury of contiguous landmass.
It was a hard lesson that almost cost Britain the Eastern Seaboard in 1776. The result of local representation was the Imperial Federation, jingoistically described by Rudyard Kipling as the "fence-less prairie". But therein lie the problem because the wave of nationalism bursting out of the Russias was threatening to overwhelm those largely undefended imperial territories.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
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Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Politicians Source: Wikipedia Labels: British Empire, Britain, Kipling, Imperial, Russia. Editor says, in this article we celebrate the genius of Nevil Shute's futurist novel "In the Wet" (1953).
~ I am not sure if Russian nationalism would be a threat to the British Empire...the Muslims remembered exactly how the Russians had obtained their Central Asian terror-tories.
~ What was it about?
~ If the Imperial Federation proves better economy than a Commonwealth, it'd hold. If not, no.
Editor says, what if France had retained Quebec? muses Chris Oakley reflecting on an article in the New Statesman magazine. Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
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In 1771, Quebecois rebel militias attacked the British garrison at Sherbrooke, starting one of the most significant battles of the Quebec Rebellion.
Double Jeopardy Part 3
Battle of SherbrookeOver the next five days rebel troops and British forces would fight tooth and nail for control of the garrison; early on the afternoon of the sixth day the British garrison commander was killed when a stray musket ball tore through his neck and severed his jugular vein. The disheartened remnants of the garrison then hastily retreated to Montreal, leaving all of Sherbrooke in rebel hands.
At the time of the battle it was thought a rebel gun had fired the fatal shot at the British commander; in 2003, however, an archeological dig near the original garrison site turned up startling new evidence the garrison commander might actually have been the victim of a friendly fire accident.
The rebel victory at Sherbrooke dealt a staggering blow to Great Britain's prestige in the New World. Not only did it embolden insurgent militias elsewhere in Quebec to mount still greater attacks on British outposts there, it triggered a surge in pro-independence sentiment among the people of what is today the eastern seaboard of the United States; by 1772 the most vocal advocates of American separation from Britain had formed a coalition known as the Brotherhood of Liberty to rally public opinion in favor of armed resistance to British rule. It was the Brotherhood that would finally launch the American Revolution in the spring of 1775.
Entry posted by
Chris Oakley
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Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Double Jeopardy Source: New Statesman Magazine Labels: Plains of Abraham, Quebec, Canada, America, Britain. Editor says, inspired by inspired by one of Dominic Sandbrook's articles in New Statesman
~ I suspect rebellion was coming to the thirteen colonies wnich made up the original United States whatever happened in Canada. But a breakaway Quebec might have eventually joined the USA.
~ I'd say that the thirteen colonies would have dog-piled on the Quebecois _toute suite._ At that time, one of the big holidays in Boston was "Pope Day,"
featuring the immolation of "Pope" dummies a la Guy Fawkes.
~ Eric O. sure but that didn't stop them (American revolutionaries) but accepting Catholic France and Spain's help during the ARW. I could see an alliance between American Rebels and Quebecois Rebels with idea that once the war is over 'you go your way, we'll go ours'.
~ Wonder if enough success up north might spill over into independence movements in the Caribbean. They'd have to overcome the Navy, but stranger things have happened.
Editor says, what if John Wayne had listened to the wealthy Texas Republican Party backers who asked him to run for national office in 1968? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the October 2010 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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In 1972, with their anti-communist crusade in headlong retreat around the world, the 37th President of the United States, Marion M. Morrison received his fellow ultraconservative politician, Senator Richard M. Nixon for talks at the White House on this day.
The ConquerorJust twenty years before, "the Duke" would have been incapable of holding such a meeting. A six-packet a day smoker and heavy drinker, film directors had to shoot his movie scenes before noon because he was such a mean drunk by the afternoon. In fact the cause of his self-destructiveness, and also his conversion to super-patriotism, was a deep-seated frustration that his employers had prevented him from participating in World War Two.
Ironically, all that changed in 1951 when two Russian hitmen posing as FBI Agents attempted to kill him in his offices at Warner Brother Studios. Enraged by his anti-communist activities in the late 1940s (when Hollywood blacklisted those perceived as Soviet sympathisers), Joseph Stalin had ordered this hit during one of the many late night movie watching evenings that marked the final crazy years of his rule.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Alternate Historian, 2006-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Politicians Source: Wikipedia Labels: John Wayne, Marion Morrison, Richard N. Nixon, Cold War, Communism. ~ Now, that's a twist worthy of any of his movies...
~ It's all too easy to see John Wayne running for office, if he'd dried out for good. But if elected, would he have taken the oath under that name, or as Marion Morrison? I'm not sure he ever legally changed it.
~ Good twist.
~ Oh, those Republicans, electing movie stars...
~ Interesting---but Nixon wasn't anything like a real live ultraconservative. If he were around today, he'd be close to "RINO" status in a lot of people's eyes. Maybe having Nixon leading the liberal opposition? Nixon and Kennedy were on the same page on a lot of things.
~ Okay, but it is a tableau rather than a story. And what about President Jim Morrison. Eh? Thanks! ---JJR
Editor says, what if Bush had vetoed the bailout in 2008? muses Jeff Provine on This Day in Alternate History Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the October 2010 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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By 2008, a vicious cycle of "predatory lending" following comfortable economic growth in the mid-2000s gave way to one of the largest economic disasters since the Great Depression. Governments all over the world faced trade problems, collapsing values, and surging commodities including oil and food costs. In the United States (often blamed as the source of this disaster), the main issue was sub-prime mortgages.
Bush Vetoes Bailout Under legislation to promote home-ownership in the Clinton era, laws limiting the offers of loans to persons with poor credit were softened. A housing bubble began, and money from investors quickly followed. Mortgages were taken up by banks, resold to lending institutions, and parceled out to securities, some at very high risk. When the growing economy hit an inevitable stone in the road, mortgages began to default, causing a loss to investors, causing a withdraw of spending, causing further economic downturn. With houses pouring onto the market, home prices plummeted. The stock market dove as well, and unemployment skyrocketed from businesses forced to downsize.
A new story by Jeff ProvineEconomic bad news seemed to swallow up all news, even eclipsing military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Famously, Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme would be one of many examples of the mishandling of funds that would all but destroy Americans' faith in business. With an election in November, President George W. Bush called for decisive action.
On September 21, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson would propose a plan for some $700 billion in government funds to support mortgage-backed securities like Freddie Mac, AIG, and Fannie Mae as well as major bankrupt businesses like General Motors. The original proposal called for nearly unlimited power as well as freedom from judicial review and oversight. Americans booed the plan, and it underwent a week-long adjustment through Congress before becoming the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.
On September 24, Bush addressed the nation, describing a disastrous future for the American economy if some sort of action was not taken. The idea of using tax dollars to invest and then be returned when the economy was sound came off as good to many until the President mistakenly left out the word "back" from the phrase, "gives our economy the flexibility and resilience to absorb shocks, adjust, and bounce back".
Commentators on both sides (liberals looking to knock down Republican votes in November, conservatives looking to stop the "socialization" of America) descended upon the word, portraying the "bouncing" of the economy as a clear signal that nothing was in control. The government would throw desperately needed money at a problem, and debts would only rise. In a rash of speeches and a viral video describing its methods against Keynesian economics of feeding the cycle of boom and bust, the conservative economic ideals of Friedrich Hayek came to the forefront. Allusions to the works of Ayn Rand began to resound. "Let 'em Fail" drowned out the calls of "Too Big to Fail".
Feeling the change in American opinion, Bush vetoed the bailout bill, sending it back to Congress and asking for something that "won't pat the back of lazy sleaseballs". Another bill would be produced by the end of October called the Economic Solvency Act of 2008. It posed stiffer regulations and granted power to the FDIC to clean up the mess banks made with harsh penalties, including criminal investigations.
Wall Street reacted by collapsing. Americans flew into panic, stockpiling weapons, bottled water, and canned goods. Riots broke out in major industrial cities, practically tearing Michigan apart and creating militarized Union workers locking down factories until agreed pay was given. The 2008 election gave Democrat Barack Obama the White House and a country on the verge of anarchy. While millions were devastated, his alleviation programs akin to the WPA and breadlines of FDR kept the country from total disaster, which was seen in many other countries with open warfare in Greece and a collapse of rule in Iceland.
The economy has readjusted and begun to rebuild, slowly, upon Hayek grounds. The Second Great Depression drags on with promises that, one day, jobs will be plentiful again. In the meantime, savings of whatever is left are solid upon a gradually deflating dollar.
Entry posted by
Jeff Provine
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Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Jeff Provine Blog Source: Jeff Provine’s Blog Labels: Bush, Bailout, Economy, Recession, Depression. Editor says, in reality Bush and the nation at large approved the Paulson plan and its promises of an economy that will indeed "bounce back". As future generations cope with a continual federal deficit and a national debt looking to cross $14 trillion by the end of 2010, an end to the recession seems in sight, but unemployment remains depressingly high.
~ Obama managing to avoid a full blown collapse, atop a miscalculation on this scale by GWB, will pretty much remove the Republicans from power for a generation at least. Now the real question is if the US would consider Al-Qaeda worth paying attention to at all.
~ Loans to "persons with poor credit" (i.e., low-income members of minority groups) played only a marginal role in the creation of the housing bubble. By far more important was the overyuse (and misuse) of financial derivatives, which fostered speculation at the cost of a loss of accountability: after a while, no one could be sure exactly who owned what debt, so "instruments" were traded fpor their speculative value without regard to the ral money attached to actual properties. Like all such bubbles, including the Internet bubble of the nineties, tis one eventually burst.
If the Clinton Administration deserves blame, it isn't for fostering policies allowing more black people to buy homes but for refusing to take a resolute stand against repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, the Depression-era measure aimed at separating commercial banking from investment banking. The Republican Congress which pushed through repeal was setting the country up for a repeat of the banking crisis of the 1930s, which duly arrived. Clinton should have vetoed it, gone on television to tell the country why, and dared the GOP to override his veto and accept responsibility for the consequences--but he didn't.
~ Would the Michigan Nat'l Guard go up against militarized union workers?
~ I'd hope Michigan would turn into much more of a stand-off than all-out battle, but it'd essentially have to be a military crackdown.
Editor says, what if David Letterman was a weatherman in 2010? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
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In 2009, on this day David Letterman's contract was terminated by his employer the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) who simultaneously announced that the new host of the "Tonight Show" would be Conan O'Brien.
Click 
to watch
"Tonight Show" implodes after NBC fires David LettermanThe original scandal had come to light when the alleged extortionist, Robert J. "Joe" Halderman was arrested trying to cash a phony $2m check after Letterman had contacted the Manhattan District Attorney's office. On September 9th, Halderman had allegedly broken into Letterman's car to place photographic evidence alongside the demand for the money. Requiring a grand jury to order the arrest, the photographs had been revealed, demonstrating that Letterman had pursued a string of affairs with the staff on his show. Because of his role as the manager, it later transpired that Letterman was liable to charges of sexually harrassment, forcing his dismissal from NBC.
Viewing ratings on the "Late Night with Jay Leno Show" on CBS received an immediate, huge surge which really meant that only Leno, and not O'Brien, was the main beneficiary from the scandal. Ironically, NBC had initially favoured Leno as the successor to Johnny Carson in 1992, but at the host's insistence, had instead offered the position to David Letterman. Leno had been one of a number of Talk Show Hosts who had sharply criticised Letterman's behaviour.
Click to watch
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Today in Alternate History, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Media Source: Wikipedia Labels: David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Johnny Carson, Robert Halderman. Editor says, we're grateful to David Atwell for his assistance in the development of this post.
~ And the last laugh goes to Johnny Carson!
~ Oddly enough, this doesn't sound all that far-fetched...
Comment on Tina Fletcher Saulnier from Facebook: The weather would be more enjoyable to listen to.
Comment from Scott and Karol Becker on Facebook: We would probably get our weather reports during a segment where he drops things off buildings.
Comment from Jeff Mayers on Facebook: It would be intresting to say the least...
Editor says, what if Ken Saro-Wiwa the inspirational leader of the Ogoni people had survived and won out? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
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In 1941, this day the future President of Nigeria Kenule Beeson (Ken) Saro-Wiwa was born at Bori in the Niger Delta.
On a Darkling PlainHe spent his childhood in a polygamous household of Anglican faith and eventually proved himself an excellent student, netting him a scholarship to study English at Government College Umuahia. He would complete his studies at the University of Ibadan and briefly became a teaching assistant at the University of Lagos.
Saro-Wiwa capitalised upon his education by spending thirty years in the employment of the multinational Shell Oil company where as a press officer his principal function was falsely denying environmental damage to the Niger Delta.
But in 1995, he was re-united with his father Chief Jim Saro-wiwa. A religious awakening would inspire him to champion the rights of the indigenous people of the Niger Delta. His ultimate triumph was documented in his controversional biopic "On a darkling plain"1.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Today in Alternate History, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Generals Source: Wikipedia Labels: Ken Saro-Wiwa, Ogoni People, Nigeria, Niger Delta, Oil. Editor says, 1) in our timeline, OADP is a description of the tragedy of the Civil War. May God bless the people of Nigeria.
~ "Polygamous household of Anglican faith?" ??? Africa is a very strange place. Can't really comment on how this would have made things different, though---Africa's a bit off my bailiwick.
~ A stable, less corrupt center in Africa could turn around a lot of the influence of extortion post-colonialism. If only.
~ Re Eric Oppen's comment: Consider Latin America, where many pre-Columbian gods and spirits have been adopted into folk Catholicism (at the cost, I'm sure, of considerable heartburn among the hierarchy).
On this day in 1951, the New York Giants beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 5-4 to cap off a historic late-season comeback drive and win the National League pennant. The Giants' win came on a one-out ninth inning home run by infielder Bobby Thomson; Thomson in turn credited the homer to batting tips he'd learned from his third base coach, former Knights outfielder Roy "The Natural" Hobbs. | |
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| Bobby Thomson |
Variant entry posted by
Chris Oakley
original content has been repurposed to celebrate the author's genius © Chris Oakley,2008-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: New York Knights Source: Wikipedia Labels: New York Knights, Baseball, America, Sport, New York.On this day in 1599, White Doe, also known as Virginia Dare, first learned from her adopted family how her birth parents had died at the hands of the Devourer and how she herself had come to be with the Haliwa-Sapone people. | White Doe |
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| Virginia Dare |
Entry posted by
Chris Oakley
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Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Colony1587 Source: Wikipedia Labels: Croatoan, Roanoke, America, 1500s, Virginia Dare.| Pres. Nominee | In 1991, William J. 'Bill' Clinton of Arkansas announces he will run for President in 1992. Governor Clinton's announcement triggers a frenzy of activity on the part of his numerous political enemies, both within his home state and nationally, aimed at digging up dirt on him. The effort will prove humiliatingly successful, leading to Clinton's defeat in the Democratic primaries: a combination of financial and sexual scandals will ruin his chances for the White House and contribute as well to his defeat by Republican Mike Huckabee in his 1994 quest for re-election as governor. |
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| Bill Clinton |
Entry posted by
Eric Lipps
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Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Generals Source: Wikipedia Labels: Bill Clinton, Mike Huckabee, Arkansas, Governor, Presidency.In 1983, Texas Governor Mark White raises eyebrows when he appoints state treasurer Ann Richards to replace Lloyd Bentsen in the U.S. Senate. There is speculation that he has chosen Richards to get her out of the state and keep her from digging into questionable financial deals on the part of friends of his. | |
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| Mark White |
Entry posted by
Eric Lipps
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Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Generals Source: Wikipedia Labels: Mark White, Ann Richards, Lloyd Bentsen, America, Senate.In 1795, a mob attacks the Tuileries Palace in Paris. It is repulsed by artillery under the command of Colonel Napoleon Bonaparte. | |
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Entry posted by
Eric Lipps
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Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Generals Source: Wikipedia Labels: Napoleon Bonaparte, France, Italy, Europe, British Empire.In 1929, Gustav Stresemann arrived in Egypt for a two-year sabbatical intended to restore his failing health. | |
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| Gustav Stresemann |
Entry posted by
David Tenner
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Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Generals Source: soc.history.what-if Labels: Streseman, Weimar Republic, Hitler, Hindenburg, Germany.Entry posted by
Glass Onion
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Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Alternate Nations Source: Invision Power Board Labels: King James II, Battle of Boyn, Ireland, England, Grand Alliance.Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Clive Barker, 'Imajica' 1985. Robbie Taylor, 2005.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Beasts Source: Paranormal Labels: Hollow Earth, Imajica, Clive Barker, Adolf Hitler, Reanimator.Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
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Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Alternate Nations Source: Wikipedia Labels: Fort Sitka-Mexico City, Captain James Cook, British North American Union, Alaska, British Empire.Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Today in Alternate History, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Crises Source: Wikipedia Labels: Lee Harvey Oswald, Oswaldskovich, Khrushchev, Cold War, Assasination.October 2
Editor says, what if the Kings Crusade had recovered Jerusalem? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the October 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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In 1187, following the Siege of Jerusalem, Saladin captured the Holy City after eighty-eight years of Crusader rule.
God Wills IT! Part 2Pope Gregory VIII proclaimed that the disaster was punishment for the sins of Christians across Europe and spurred by religious zeal, Henry II of England and Philip II of France ended their conflict with each other to lead a new crusade [1]. Even the elderly Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa responded to the call to arms, personally leading a massive army across Anatolia.
But the Third Crusade was extremely fortunate to survive two early disasters. Frederick Barbarossa very nearly drowned in the Göksu River in Anatolia [2]. And a Papal-brokered peace conference at La Ferté-Bernard forestalled a resumption of Anglo-French hostilities [3]. But of course most fateful was the demise of Saladin which robbed the Saracens of their iconic leader and paved the way for the Crusader's victory.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Alternate Historian, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Politicians Source: Wikipedia Labels: Crusade, Saladin, Islam, Muslim, Jerusalem. Editor says, in reality the Third Crusade was largely successful, but fell short of its ultimate goal - the reconquest of Jerusalem. All of these cited events are of course fictional points of divergence to justify this timeline.
~ There is only one problem;- The arrival of the message who said "there's a letter". "Dear son, get home quick. Your no-good brother John is scheming to take over your throne, your loving mum" Notice I butterfly out the death of Henry II so RtLH does not lead the crusade
~ No Richard the Lion-Hearted, to rally and inspire the English...not to mention historical romance writers like Sir Walter Scott. Say it isn't so, Joe!
~ In Sharon Kay Penman's novel _Lionheart,_ Richard says that the reason he doesn't try to besiege Jerusalem is because he can't surround it and the Saracens could and would wipe the Crusaders out. I take it in this TL there's enough extra strength along to make a siege do-able?
~ Would've been a different world if Catholic Christendom was an empire rather than something of a religious confederation often at war with itself.
Editor says, what if Gandhi had been appointed the first indigenous Governor General of British Cape Colony? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the February 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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In 1869, on this day the pin-stripe suited British Lawyer, Sir Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, a coastal town which was then part of the Bombay Presidency in the Raj.
Birth of Sir Mohandas K. GandhiEducated in Law at University College London, he was admitted to the British bar before returning to India in 1891 to establish a law practice in Mumbai. But tragedy struck when he learned that his mother had died while he was in London. When his business failed, he took the fateful decision to accept a year-long contract from Dada Abdulla & Co., an Indian firm, to a post in the Colony of Natal, South Africa.
The journey into British South African continued his practical education in the operation of the British legal system. He was thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg after refusing to move from the first-class to a third-class coach while holding a valid first-class ticket. Travelling farther on by stagecoach, he was beaten by a driver for refusing to move to make room for a European passenger. And the magistrate of a Durban court ordered Gandhi to remove his turban, which he refused to do.
But he stubbornly refusing to be discouraged from seeking advancement in this racist society. During the course of the next decade, Gandhi would firmly embed himself in both the European and Indian communities in this trinary social context. And by 1906, he had served in British khaki uniform as a Sergeant Major, fighting for the extension of the British Empire to the betterment of those two communities. Slowly but surely, he was ascending into the upper echelons of the social elite.
A life-long career was finally recognized in 1947 when he was appointed Viceregal representative by King George VI, serving as the first indigenous Governor General of the Cape Colony. But this appointment also exposed him to sharp criticism for a series of highly controversial attitudes that he had repeatedly expressed all the way back to 1893.
Even if the British had not seen fit to carefully review the professional record of their Viceregal representative, luckily a group of Norwegians had. Because in 1937, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee known as the storting had seriously considered him for an award in recognition of his peaceful efforts to reconcile the communities in British South Africa. Ultimately this recommendation was rejected in a report authored by Professor Worm-Müller which was fiercly critical of his racist attitudes towards the indigenous African community. Somehow the sensitivites contained in this private document were released to the world by a twenty-nine year old member of the African National Congress known as Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Alternate Historian, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Politicians Source: Wikipedia Labels: Gandhi, South Africa, Governor General, India, Civil Rights. Editor says, in reality Gandhi returned from South Africa to live in India in 1915. We have taken some liberties with the development of British South Africa; instead of a single Union, we imagine a devolved set of smaller colonies emerging. Also we have explored some idea on Rupeenews which are fiercely critical of Gandhi during the period of his life.
~ The Boers would have flipped their collective wigs.
~ Meanwhile, the Indian Independence Movement would have gotten even bloodier without his PR.
Editor says, what if the Fed actually went bankrupt? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
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In 2019, on this the hundredth day since a private cartel of Chinese investors forced the Fed to shutdown non-emergency government programs, President Garry Swiftcurrent addressed the bankrupt nation from his rented office suite in the Western White House, a shared condominium in California.
Click to watch the Americathon
American CenturyBeing careful to avoid making direct reference to the condition of vulnerable persons, he welcomed the growing self-sufficiency of Welfare-dependent citizens. This encouraging development was just one of a number of signs that America's best days were still ahead. It was a necessary adjustment, a correction imposed by the market in response to America's profligacy.
The message was beamed across the country by a Chinese satellite, launched by rockets set to place a man on the moon within the next twelve months.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Alternate Historian, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Politicians Source: Wikipedia Labels: America, Federal, China, American Century, Budget. Editor says, in this article we celebrate the genius of the 1979 movie Americathon.
~ Never saw the movie, so can't really comment, but this isn't AH so much as speculation about the future.
Editor says, what if HP Lovecraft had met Adolf Hitler in New York? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
We assume the point of divergence that Hitler uses his aunt's inheritance to emigrate to the United States but is otherwise otherwise the same in character.Share this Article on: Facebook Twitter
In 1924, on this day the mentally unstable pulp-fiction writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft was arrested by the New York Police and charged with the murder of his Jewish wife Sonia Greene.
Click to watch the document "Fear of the Unknown"
Fear of the UnknownThe author blamed her killing on the "Mad Arab" Abdul Alhazred1 a bizarre accusation that led to a search of the couple's Brooklyn apartment. Voluminous quantities of hand written correspondence was discovered, much of it shockingly xenophobic in character.
It emerged that by exploring his bitter race hatred in fantasy literatures, Lovecraft had made the acquantance of a fellow writer in Weird Tales, the Austrian emigré Adolf Schicklegruber.
It appeared that Schicklegruber encouraged Lovecraft to paint upon an althogether darker canvass. A dystopian nation far more frightening than the "Imperial America" conceived by Robert W. Chamber's insane protagonist Hildred Castaigne in The King in Yellow, a play that Lovecraft greatly admired. Instead of the voluntary Government-sponsored Lethal Chambers for Suicide, Schicklegruber proposed a proto-fascist regime in which the Aryan masters liquidated the immigrant races.
The discovery of this correspondence terrified Greene. She raced to the Police station to make a report, but she was killed by a mysterious, unidentified stranger. It was a tragic circumstance that Lovecraft instantly regretted because his wife had returned unconditional love in a way that his mother had not, a form of love that he recognized had deeply disturbed his emotional balance. In his suicide note Lovecraft wrote some of his most powerful prose ~ "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is Fear of the Unknown". For Lovecraft, something was missing from this harsh world, and that was love2.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Alternate Historian, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Beasts Source: Wikipedia Labels: Lovecraft, Hitler, Fiction, America, Insanity. Editor says, in this article reprises some of the ideas of John Reilly's Life and Times of President H.P. Lovecraft. (1) the Mad Arab is of course the fictionalized author of the Necronomicon. (2) The final quote is from the great man Robbie Taylor.
~ Paging Norman Spinrad. Mr. Spinrad, please pick up the red courtesy phone....
~ This doesn't sound much like OTL's HPL. HPL was very non-violent in person...he wouldn't even take a trapped mouse out of a trap, but threw it away trap and all. Fixed - thanks. Ed
~ Alfred Hitchcock would've had a field day with this one...
~ It would have been "Schicklgruber" or "Schickelgruber," not "Schicklegruber," had Hitler been using that name. There is, however, some controversy over whether that ever was his surname.
~ Maybe a little writing could've gotten that out of Adolph's system. Perhaps even better than art school.
~ Anyone ever read "The Iron Dream" by Norman Spinrad?
Editor says, what if Woodrow Wilson had lived? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the March 2011 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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In 1919, a conspiracy to prevent the ratification of the Covenant of the League of Nations was foiled in the nick of time when First Lady Edith Wilson prevented the White House physician Dr. Cary Grayson from adminstering a stroke-inducing poison to her husband Woodrow Wilson.
"Open Covenants, Openly Arrived At"
Co-written with Jeff ProvineA coast-to-coast public speaking tour in support of the League had over-exerted the President. He collapsed from exhaustion in Pueblo, Colorado on September 25th and was forced to return to the White House for medical attention.
Almost overwhelmed by the force of opposition, Wilson was fully aware that the list of Grayson's possible conspirators was endless including inter alia:
- Theodore Roosevelt who as President had negotiated secret treaties to open Pacific trade routes that had not only sold out Korea to Japan but abrogated the first of Wilson's fourteen points ("Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private international understandings of any kind but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view").
Radical differences of opinion over America's future had turned to personal acrimony when Wilson refused to authorise TR to lead his ageing Rough Riders to Flanders. - William Jennings Bryan who as Secretary of State was humiliated by his career-ruining decision to resign in protest over Wilson's response to the sinking of the Lusitania, a position which left him politically isolated.
- Robert M. La Follette, Sr. a prominent Senator who was strongly opposed to American involvement in World War I and who promoted defense of freedom of speech during wartime. Teddy Roosevelt called him a "skunk who should be hanged" when he opposed the arming of American merchant ships; one of his colleagues in the Senate said he was "a better German than the head of the German parliament" when he opposed the Wilson Administration's request for a declaration of war in 1917.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Alternate Historian, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Politicians Source: Wikipedia Labels: Woodrow Wilsin, League of Nations, Covenants, Foreign Policy, America. Editor says, inspired by David A. Robbins excellent novel "Assassins Gallery" (2006) in which British Agents poison FDR.
~ Wasn't TR dead by this time? And how would Mrs. Wilson know a poison from a real medicine?
~ TR could have been part of a conspiracy before his passing.
~ Wow, what an alliance! the 1920s have America lead onto the world scene rather than the bit of post-war isolationism, which shakes up European history forever.
Editor says, what if France had retained Quebec? muses Chris Oakley reflecting on an article in the New Statesman magazine. Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
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In 1769, the Fifteen Years' War finally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Stockholm.
For both Great Britain and France the peace accord didn't come a minute too soon: the British wanted to consolidate the gains they'd achieved in the New World since the late 1750s, while the French were trying to keep their already strained armies from being bled still further white lest France's longtime Mediterranean adversary Spain be tempted to launch an invasion across the Franco-Spanish border.
Double Jeopardy Part 2
The Year of BloodIndeed, the French government was ultimately compelled to sue for peace by the ongoing deterioration of France's strategic position in continental Europe. There was also the matter of trying to keep a lid on the simmering internal discontent that had been building among the French middle and lower classes ever since the siege of Quebec City.
Although the Treaty of Stockholm's terms were later criticized as unnecessarily harsh in some respects, the French negotiating party felt they had little choice but to agree to those terms given the significant casualties the French army had endured both in Europe and in North America -- particulary during 1768, a time some modern French historians now call l'Annee du Sang ("the Year of Blood").
Ironically, Britain's real problems in Quebec would start well after French troops had left the province. Resentful of their new would-be rulers, the Quebecois wasted little time organizing a widespread resistance to British control; the British were driven out of Quebce by 1773. The success of the Quebec uprising inspired American colonists to seek independence from Britain themselves two years later.
Entry posted by
Chris Oakley
© Chris Oakley,2008-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Double Jeopardy Source: New Statesman Magazine Labels: Plains of Abraham, Quebec, Canada, America, Britain. Editor says, inspired by inspired by one of Dominic Sandbrook's articles in New Statesman
~ This is reasonably plausible.
~ Or given that Britain is distracted with a Quebecois Revolution (say troops stationed in America are moved to Quebec) the American Revolution starts very shortly afterward.
~ If British troops were moved from America to Quebec, that would actually alleviate one of th grievances the colonists had--the Britiah practice of forcibly "quartering" soldiers in the homes of American civilians, at those civilians' expense, which was specifically cited in the Declaration of Independence.
On the other hand, once driven out of Quebec the British might have been all the more determined to hold on to the rest of their North American possiessions. This could have played out in a number of different ways depending on the roles other nations played in this timeline.
~ Wonder if Quebec would join up with the Articles of Confederation or stay as close allies (perhaps enemies as expansionism continues).
Editor says, what if Bill Clinton told the public the truth about Area 51? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
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In 1995, on this day US citizens officially learnt of the existence of a new federal facility when President Bill Clinton announced that it was in the paramount interest of open government for contested information about Area 51 to be revealed to the public.
Area 51The long-expected revelation had become increasingly inevitable since the opening of a private legal challenge from seven labourers who had been harmed by open-pit burning of toxic chemicals. Allegedly investigations by the Environmental Crimes Project (ECP) at George Washington University had determined that the Department of Defense had acted negligently. Also the Environmental Protection Agency had failed to enforce compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery (RC&R) Act.
The resistence of US District Judge Philip Pro had melted away when attorney Jonathan Turley of ECP threatened to subpoena a senior Russian embassy official and several former Soviet Intelligence officer who could confirm the identity of the base. On September 2nd, Judge Pro ruled that owing to the specific demands of the RC&R Act, the government must within one month either make the EPA report public or seek a presidential exemption.Turley hailed the ruling saying it showed that "national security claims do not trump domestic laws .. government can lo longer have nameless, faceless bases".
The farcical reality was shatteringly disappointing. The US Government did indeed have UFOs housed at nearby Groom Lake. Nine in fact. But because scientists had been ordered to operate in a condition of utmost secrecy, any prospect of a breakthrough had been stiffled and they had hopelessly failed to back-engineer the spacecraft. Worse, after an armed confrontation at the Lake in 1979, joint research with Extraterrestrial Biological Entities (EBEs) had ceased. Ten years later an obscure scientist named Bob Lazar had absconded with the remaining supply of Element 115 which was necessary to propel the vehicles. Lazar, a pyrotechnic freak, had exploded the material at one of his annual Desert Storm Parties before becoming the victim of a mysterious hit and run shooting on a Las Vegas Highway.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Alternate Historian, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Conspiracy Theories Source: Wikipedia Labels: Area 51, Bill Clinton, Bob Lazar, UFO, Conspiracy Theory. Editor says, in our timeline these ideas are explored in"Area 51: The Dreamland Chronicles - the Legend of America's Most Secret Military Base" by David Darlington (1997)
~ The aliens always take back their nicest toys :(
~ How long before Clinton starts openly kowtowing to the alien vote? And Weekly World News goes absolutely nuts---they've been predicting this for years.
Comment from Judy Suleta on Facebook: BFD!! Nothing Clinton or any other President did comes close to the crimes committed by GWB!!
~ What alien vote? Wouldn't they have to become citizens first? And if Clinton "kowtowed" to them, it'd be no worse than what Republicans have done for fifty years regarding Florida'x Cubans.
Aside from that, the prospect of "reverse-engineering" a spacecraft from another star-system would be pretty remote anyway--about the same as Americans of, say, 1692 reverse-engineering a jet aircraft which hand somehow been thrown back in time. We'd be lucky if we were able to pick up just a few technological bits and pieces--too much prior art would be missing. Even with alien help, it would be unlikely--we'd have to build the ndistrial infrastructure t make thew parts to make the parts to make the parts, and I don't believe that would pass unnoticed,
~ A few technological bits picked up in 1692 from a jet fighter would be ample to make huge leaps. They may not understand circuit boards, but an understanding of electric flow would jump ahead at least a century. Small motors, pressurized ejection, heck even wing design... it'd all be pieces. We might not figure out interstellar travel or anti-gravity from initial reverse-engineering, but we could pick up awesome metallurgical leaps and begin to lay the groundwork centuries ahead of traditional research.
~ Nonsense. I'm a science fiction writer, but I've never believed in aliens. I wrote about them once, in a comic story. habitable planets are just too few and too far away.
Editor says, what if the sickly Edward IV had lived longer? muses Jackie Speel. Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the September 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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In 1452, on this day the youngest son of the Duke of York and Cecily Neville was born at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire. Like his father, he was named Richard Plantagenet and in time he also became a pretender to the throne of England.
Bosworth, 1486
Part 1 - Lord of the NorthDuring his early twenties, his once vigorous elder brother, Edward IV King of England fell into bad health and inactivity. In event of his widely expected demise, contingency arrangements were made for Richard to serve a Lord Protector and guardian to his nephew Edward[1], the young heir to the throne. But it proved unnecessary, because Edward IV clung to life until 1486, dying at the still relatively young age of forty-five. And worse yet, Richard's own wife, Anne had passed away the year before.
Therefore he was forced to put his own contingency arrangements into operation. Denied a governing role as Head of State, he instead strengthened his position as "Lord of the North". He remarried and his second wife had twin heirs. Inevitably, these parallel reconstruction efforts were considered a threat by his nephew, young King Edward V. And within bare months of the ascension, it appeared certain that the Country would be torn apart by Civil War.. An installment of the Bosworth 1486 thread conceived by Jackie Speel.
Entry posted by
Jackie Speel
© Jackie Speel, 2012-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Bosworth 1486 Source: Wikipedia Labels: Edward V, Richard III, Tudor, York, War of the Roses. Editor says, [1] in our time, he died prematurely at the age of only thirteen. Along with his younger brother Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, Edward was one of the Princes in the Tower, who disappeared after being sent (ostensibly for their own safety) to the Tower of London. Responsibility for their deaths is widely attributed to Richard III, but the actual events have remained controversial for centuries.
~ There actually WAS a revolt, led by Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be the Duke of York. It failed and he was executed, so obviously HIS chances weren't very good either.
~ While the above comments were true, Edward V (Or should I write "Joffrey I? No, that would be WRONG of me!) had the disadvantage of being lumbered with his Woodville relatives, who weren't exactly great field commanders and weren't popular with the other nobles for their greed.
~ And now us Ricardians must take up the cudgels, too. You said that "Responsibility for (the Little Princes') deaths is widely attributed to Richard III, but the actual events have remained controversial for centuries." In fact, Richard has been pretty well rehabilitated, in historical novels starting with "The Daughter of Time" in 1951 and continuing to "The Kingmaker's Daughter" right now. We even have has portrait on our walls, and he was NOT a hunchback. I might add, though, that Shakespeare's version was much more exciting and entertaining than the goody-goody modern versions. Anyway, "Kingmaker's" did, indeed, criticize the Woodvilles for their greed...but the reader suspects that the they were unpopular with the nobles because they were not royally born.
Editor says, what if the stroke had killed Woodrow Wilson outright? muses Alasdair Wilkins. Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
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In 1919, on this day President Wilson suffered a massive stroke. First Lady Edith Wilson and a team of doctors immediately moved to place the incapacitated president in seclusion.
Thomas R. Marshall
29th President of the United States 1919-21The Event: For much of the rest of his term, the First Lady essentially ran the government, deciding which matters were important enough to bring to the attention of the partially blind and paralyzed president.
Frankly, it's a wonder the stroke didn't kill him outright. But .. what if it had?
The Successor: Vice President Thomas Riley Marshall (pictured).
Why the alternate history novel should be written now:
Deeply unpopular for an almost endless number of reasons - his support of the League of Nations, an economic recession, general weariness with the war and his reforms, his totalitarian domestic policies during the Great War, and there's always his massive racism - Wilson was leading the Democrats to certain defeat in the 1920 election. A new article from Io9The only possible chance for the Democrats was if the current administration completely reversed itself overnight.
That just might have happened if Thomas Marshall had become president. A smart but unassuming Indiana politician with a sharp sense of humor, Marshall had been utterly ignored by Wilson and completely shut out of the government. It's just possible Marshall could have built on the likely goodwill his succession would have created, and moderated the Democrats enough for them to keep control in 1920.
And, assuming the Democrats might have regulated Wall Street in the twenties more heavily than the Republicans did - in other words, if they'd regulated it at all - the Great Depression might just have been a mild recession. (Or it could have been a thousand times worse. I don't claim to be an economist). Of course, Europe probably still would have descended into fascism and economic despair. And that still leaves the decaying American agricultural and industrial sectors that helped exacerbate the Depression in the first place. Even so...it's worth exploring.
To be continued
Entry posted by
Alasdair Wilkins
© Alasdair WilkinsStory Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Politicians Source: Io9 Labels: Woodrow Wilsin, Riley, Presidency, Premature Death, Election. ~ WW's racism didn't make him unpopular---it was a little OTT for some Northerners, but most white people felt that way about blacks in those days.
~ A Marshall presidency might not have headed off the Crash and the Depression. The Democrats were in those days dominated by the party's archconservative Southern woing, the sort of people who worshipped under a cross on Sunday morning and burned one Monday night. The party didn't begin shifting left in earnest until FDR's time--and even FDR, for all the right-wing whining about his "socialism," was pretty careful about the regulation he imposed, considering the magnitude of the economic crisis he inherited.
Had the D's been in power when the Crash hit, though, Republicans would have been poised to make a comeback in the thirties. It might have been Herbert Hoover, or Alf Landon, or some other prominent GOP'er of the time who got elected to four terms, instead of Roosevelt.
~ How does Marshal beat Harding? Economy had imploded. War was deeply unpopular. The default setting for the US outside Dixie was mostly Republican. For this to work you need a repeat of 1912 with two Republicans running. IOW you need TR to not die, to be denied the GOP nomination and to run on a united Progressive-Socialist ticket [TR-debs].
~ Without being president, Harding would've lived longer, so a silver lining for some.
~ I think it would have mattered little since the damage was done by Wilson once the USA entered WWI.
Editor says, what if the Ottomans had stormed Vienna? muses Jeff Provine on This Day in Alternate History Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the October 2010 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
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In 1529, on this day the Ottomans stormed the city of Vienna. The army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent arrived at the gates of Vienna September 27, 1529. Three years before, Suleiman had smashed the army of King Louis II of Hungary, conquering much of the land. Following the momentum, he raised an enlarged army and pressed toward Vienna and the Austrians.
Ottomans Storm Vienna They set out in May, first reestablishing conquest in Hungary by seizing fortresses lost in the interim to Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria, who had been named king of Hungary after Louis's death under the might of Suleiman.
Most effective were Suleiman's large-caliber cannons, which he brought over miles of mountain roads. The rains were light, making for easy travel and minimal loss of men and camels from illness in soggy conditions. Buda, which had been softened by attack in 1526, was taken, and the army mopped up various defenders before turning to the Austrian border. It was a difficult march, but the soldiers looked forward to the great wealth to be plundered from the Habsburgs. The siege was laid, and the artillery gradually wore down the walls. Suleiman made attempts at mining and tunnels to break in sooner, but the defenders were ever-vigilant for the sound of rhythmic digging through the soil.
A new story by Jeff ProvineAfter days of heavy assault, the city wall was finally breached. The city had over twenty thousand defenders of German mercenaries, Spanish musketeers, and hastily armed and trained peasants. They fought bravely, but the 120,000 Ottomans outweighed them. After the breakthrough, the battle lasted a day, and then five days of pillaging stripped the city of anything of value. The rest of the fall was spent conquering as much of Habsburg land as Suleiman could claim before retiring the army for winter back to the reconstructing of Vienna.
The Christian Crowns of Europe recognized the danger that the Ottomans held. The Holy Roman Empire had long stood as a central ground of balance between them in their wars; now it was a border with an ever-growing enemy. Problems of protestantism and reformation had popped up through the likes of John Hus and Martin Luther, but minor religious differences could be set aside for a time while they suddenly faced a real possibility of Muslim invasion. Still, it would be almost another decade before the fear and wrath gained direction through an organization.
In 1537, Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa took the Venetian island stronghold at Corfu near Greece, proving that the Ottomans would push forward as their forces allowed. Appealing to Pope Paul III, a Holy League was created, establishing a navy of over 300 ships and, more importantly, a massive army to march from the Holy Roman Empire and down the Danube. Contributions came from the Republic of Venice, the Papal States, Naples, Sicily, Spain, all through the Germanies and Bavaria, Poland-Lithuania, and knights from the old orders of Malta and Teuton. The army marched, liberating Vienna, and Suleiman met it in battle at Buda.
In one of the most decisive battles of western history, the Ottomans were defeated. Through the 1540s and '50s, the new crusade would push through the Balkans, causing revolution among the Greeks and effectively pushing the Ottomans out of Europe by Suleiman's death in 1566. The lands would be divided among the participating crowns, creating a political union the Balkans that would prove even more disorganized than the Holy Roman Empire.
This expansion caused a surge of wealth into the Catholic states, combining with a flow of gold from the New World by Spain and Portugal's trade. Much of this fortune would be spent crushing the Protestant uprisings and checking the growth of Sweden as a power. Wars would then divide the nations, especially during the reign of Louis XIV of France. As the countries reorganized themselves, either putting down or supporting revolutions, Europe would eventually transform into a series of nation-states with nearly the whole continent tied together under the common mantle of Catholicism.
Entry posted by
Jeff Provine
© Jeff Provine, 2010-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Jeff Provine Blog Source: Jeff Provine’s Blog Labels: Vienna, Turks, Ottomans, Muslim, Europe. Editor says, in reality 1529 was a particularly rainy year. Suleiman would be forced to abandon his cannon and lose many men and camels to disease and exposure. Without the use of artillery, Vienna was unshakable, and more rains finally caused withdrawal on October 14, stemming the expansion of the Ottoman Empire into Europe for another century. A Holy League was organized in 1538 to attack Barbarossa, but the Christian fleet was soundly defeated. After the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the Europeans would recognize the threat of the Ottomans and create a Holy League to push them back into the Balkans, where the Ottoman Empire would rule until its decline in the nineteenth century.
~ The big change here is the sultan and the main army wintering in Vienna. Ottoman state didn't work that way so when did thsi new state come into being.
~ I don't think they could have rolled the Ottomans back that far that early on. At that time the Ottoman state was fairly efficient, and a lot of its subjects were Orthodox Christians who preferred "the turban" to "the tiara"---IOW, they'd not be pleased to see Western Christians coming to "save" them. To this day, 1204 and the Fourth Crusade's a sore point with a lot of them, I am told.
The Ottomans could have had a nasty defeat, and were coming to the end of their apogee, but they'd probably hold the Balkans for a few centuries in any event.
~ I concur with Oppen. Indeed there were probably a fair number of Protestants that would defect in the long terms (consider the fate of Calvinists and Unitarians in Transylvania as opposed to those if Hasburg lands).
~ Good point, Scott. Couple of reasons to stay, one being the establishment of a strong frontier. Also, with Austria on just about the logistical max from Constantinople, much of the army would not make it and take up garrison positions; fortunately, there would be quite a few new fiefdoms to manage. If they'd just left, then Charles V and the whole HRE would sweep into the newly reconquered land, just like Ferdinand II did with much of Hungary just a few years before. Suleiman definitely wasn't stupid.
~ This could have been a MAJOR game-changer as far as Balkan geopolitics was concerned...
Editor says, what if Zombieland featured the bad ending you suspect ten minutes from the climax of the movie? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
In 2009, on this day the American zombie comedy horror, Zombieland premiered in cinemas across North America. The film was written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick and directed by Ruben Fleischer.
Click to watch the Movie Trailer on Youtube
Time to Nut Up or Shut UpThe film takes place within a post-apocalyptic context, featuring characters that have adopted names from their home towns to reduce emotional involvement. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is a college student from Austin, Texas, who is on his way to Columbus to see if his parents are alright, who explains a few of his "rules" for surviving the zombie apocalypse.
After surviving a few zombie attacks, he encounters Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), whose life goal is to find the last Twinkie on Earth. As they are searching a grocery store for Twinkies, they meet two girls, Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) who, seeking escapism, are headed for the Pacific Playpark.
In the final scene, this oddball movie takes a decidely morbid turn when it becomes clear that none of the characters will survive the zombie attack at the Pacific Playpark. This fatalistic ending was to some extent foreshadowed by the accidental death of the actor Bill Murray who cameos in the movie, playing himself, disguised as Zombie; when Murray tries to scare Columbus and Little Rock, Columbus kills him and Murray explains he wasn't much good at practical jokes.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© "Zombieland" (2009) written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick and directed by Ruben FleischerStory Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Movies Source: Wikipedia Labels: Zombies, Woody Harrelson, Zombieland, Pacific Playpark, Bill Murray. Editor says, Plot Summary from Douglas Young of the Movie Guy: The entire world is hit with an apocalyptic infection that turns people into zombies once they have been bitten by an infected zombie. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is a young geek who has a lot of phobias about almost everything from clowns, to bathrooms, to checking the back seat of cars. Being alone and scared of the outside world has kept him alive. His new fear is being eaten by zombies. To survive, Columbus has begun making a long list of rules to survive. Each time he gives you one of his rules, you see an example of his rule in action. Columbus explains to the audience in a background voice such as wearing your seat-belt, or the double-tap rule after you shoot a zombie make sure he is dead by shooting him in the head again. Trust me; this is not a wasted shot. The number 1 rule is to be sure that you can outrun the zombies, because the overweight and slow people were caught first by the zombies. He decides to go home to Columbus to see if his parents are still alive. Along the highway, he meets Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) a redneck zombie killer who loves Twinkies and misses his puppy Buck. They team up and head for Tallahassee. On the way they meet and join forces with two girls, Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abagail Breslin). They may be the last surviving people on earth, and they must rely on each other to survive.
~ You can't beat Shaun of the Dead IMHO ;)
~ Phooey on that..."Night of the Living Dead" is still the numero uno zombie flick.
~ Haven't seen it, can't comment. Not much into zombie stuff anyway.
In 1919, on this day the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2 to clinch the American League pennant; Chicago's last hope victory was dashed when "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (pictured) struck out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. White Sox fans were quick to protest the strikeout call; one particularly irate spectator lit his game program on fire and waved it menacingly at winning pitcher Hooks Dauss, not realizing he had dropped his still lit match.
Disaster at Comiskey Park by Chris OakleyWithin minutes Comiskey Park itself was in flames; sportswriters Hugh Fullerton and Ring Lardner, who'd barely made it out alive, phoned a running account of the disaster to Fullerton's editor across town. By the time the fire was extinguished, the park and dozens of blocks of the surrounding neighborhood lay in ruins. Among the fire's casualties were Abe Attell; ex-Philadelphia boxer Billy Maharg, a co-conspirator with Attell and "Sleepy" Bill Burns in the now-dead scheme to fix the 1919 World Series; White Sox traveling secretary Harry Grabiner; and Sox pitcher Eddie Cicotte, who succumbed to smoke inhalation en route to a local hospital. Sox reserve infielder Freddie MacMullin was permanently paralyzed from the waist down when his spine was severed by falling debris as he was fleeing the park.
Entry posted by
Chris Oakley
© Chris Oakley,2008-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: white sox Source: Wikipedia Labels: Ban Johnson , Chicago White Sox, 1919, Sports, Baseball. ~ No Comment
On this day in 1941, deposed Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin was executed for what an official TASS bulletin described as 'conduct detrimental to the welfare of the USSR and her people'. | |
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| Joseph Stalin |
Entry posted by
Chris Oakley
© Chris Oakley,2008-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Barbarossa41 Source: Wikipedia Labels: World War 2, Operation Barbarossa, Fascism, Europe of the Dictators, Joseph Stalin.In 1976, former Georgia governor James Earl 'Jimmy' Carter defeats incumbent Gerald R. Ford in the U.S. presidential election. | US President |
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| Jimmy Carter |
Entry posted by
Eric Lipps
© Eric Lipps,2007-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Beasts Source: Wikipedia Labels: Jimmy Carter, 1976, Presidency, General Election, Democrats.In 1970, South Vietnamese and U.S. troops cross the border into North Vietnam, allegedly in hot pursuit of North Vietnamese army units and Vietcong insurgents. | |
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| Andrei Gromyko |
Entry posted by
Eric Lipps
© Eric Lipps,2007-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Generals Source: NNDB Labels: Andrei Gromyko, Vietnam, Cold War, America, Soviet Union.On this day in 1950, members of the Preacher's Corners Historical Society in Maine made the horrifying discovery that one of their town's most distinguished historical figures, Philip Boone, was a serial killer and devil worshipper who might have been involved in the mysterious deaths of his grandson Charles and Charles' friend/assistant Calvin McCann on this very same day a hundred years earlier. | |
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Their suspicions of Philip's complicity in Charles Boone's death were heightened when Maine state police uncovered a mass grave near the Boone ancestral homestead, Chapelwaite. Author Stephen King would later recall the Boone family's macabre history in his book Jerusalem's Lot. |
Variant entry posted by
Chris Oakley
original content has been repurposed to celebrate the author's genius © Stephen King, Salem's Lot, 1976.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Salem50 Source: Internet Movie Database Labels: Salems Lot, Maine, Murder, Stephen King, America.| Werner | In 1954, the first attempted U.S. satellite launch fails spectacularly as the rocket explodes ten seconds into liftoff. At NASA headquarters, there is consternation. The launch failure makes the evening TV news, and Agency officials fear Eisenhower will respond by cancelling the program. A crash effort is made to ready another rocket and satellite. |
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| Von Braun |
Entry posted by
Eric Lipps
© Eric Lipps,2007-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Generals Source: Wikipedia Labels: Werner Von Braun, NASA, Space Race, America, Cold War.In 2006, agents the New World Order assassinated Helen Chenoweth, a key leadership figure in the national resistance movement formed by the Milita of Montana. This loyalist paramilitary organization had been amongs the first to confront an international shadow government that was usurping American sovereignty. | Helen Chenoweth |
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| Paramilitary |
Rocky Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Nevada Highway Patrol, said Mrs. Chenoweth-Hage, a passenger in a sport utility vehicle, died when it overturned on a remote northern Nevada highway about an hour’s drive from her ranch in Monitor Valley, Nev., where she had moved five years ago. She was traveling with her daughter-in-law, Yelena Hage, and her 5-month-old grandson, Bryan Hage, who survived with minor injuries. Ms. Hage has yet to confirm rumours that a black helicopter had forced the vehicle off the road. |
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Today in Alternate History, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Conspiracy Theories Source: New York Times Labels: Helen Chenoweth, Black Helicopters, New World Order, New York Times, America.Entry posted by Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor
© Robbie Taylor, 2004-Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Soviet America Source: Robbie Taylors Blog Labels: Joel Rosenberg, Robbie A. Taylor, Comrade, Soviet States of America, Communism.Entry posted by Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor
© Robbie Taylor, 2004-Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Mlosh Source: Robbie Taylors Blog Labels: Mlosh, 1720, Robbie A. Taylor, Warp, Alien.The city of Malobo began to go through what Dubai did - one of the world's maddest construction boom. EQ is soon an idol for conservative Europeans as 'what good Africans can do,' an exception to the poverty and civil disorder in its region. (Its neighbors all have oil, too, but are too large and too divided to use their oil the same way.) But for left-wing Europeans and Africans (and, gradually, left-wing Americans as well), EQ is evil incarnate, a decadent faux-Catholic aristocracy propped up by oil companies, Spain, and the CIA.
Entry posted by
Tzintzuntzan
© Tzintzuntzan, 2007.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Crises Source: Google Discussion Groups Labels: United Arab Emirates, African Kuwait, Equatorial Guinea, Oil, Petrodollars.Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Today in Alternate History, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Alternate Nations Source: Wikipedia Labels: Jacques Cartier, Quebec, French Union, British Canada, New France.Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Today in Alternate History, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Generals Source: Wikipedia Labels: Nuremberg Trials, Lawrence of Arabia, Winston Churchill, World War 2, Bernard Law Montgomery.Older Posts 
© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
