TIMELINE : 1850 TO 1879
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TIMELINE : 1850 TO 1879 |
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The World in 2000 | Africa | Central America And The Caribbean | North America | South America | Antarctica
Central Asia | Eastern And South-Eastern Asia | South Asia | Europe | The Middle East | Oceania
Timeline | Differences | Politics | Science and Technology | Society | Notes | Summary | Home
1640 to 1669 | 1670 to 1699 | 1700 to 1729 | 1730 to 1759 | 1760 to 1789 | 1790 to 1819
1820 to 1849 | 1850 to 1879 | 1880 to 1909 | 1910 to 1939 | 1940 to 1969 | 1970 to 2000
As the Russian threat to it increases and spreads the Persian Empire negotiates with the Sarajevo Pact and joins it as an associate member.
Following the Third Council of Rome, a number of world governments, including the members of the Arabian Council, announce the formation of a secular organisation to allow discussion and negotiations between nations in a peaceful manner. After long discussion this is named the Oikoumene Council, and has its headquarters in the city of Shiraz, in Persia, which is selected as being a city which is holy to none of the religions whose worshippers are part of the Council, as well as being reasonably centrally located among the signatory nations. [The Oikoumene Council is roughly equivalent to the real world United Nations.]
Polish inventor Franciszek Pniewski develops the first computer using electrical rather than mechanical components. [Early electrical computers consist of both digital and analogue types. However, in time the advantages of digital computers lead to their becoming the dominant type, as in the real world.]
Bad weather causes a series of devastating floods across China. Rumours begin to circulate that this is a sign that Emperor Xianfeng has lost the Mandate of Heaven.
The Sultanate of Sulu takes over the Bai Cat Vang [Spratly Islands] in the South China Sea, replacing the extremely nominal Chinese control of the islands.
As part of the drive to increase the effectiveness of the Sarajevo Pact, the currencies of all of the remaining independent member nations are unified into one, consisting of the Mark, which is divided into sixteen Schilling each of which are divided into sixteen Bracteates.
Massive reforms of the Prussian armed forces begin, as the entire state begins to become geared around the military. New technologies, tactics and strategies also begin to be incorporated into the Prussian military.
The first underground railway in the world opens in Warsaw in Poland in the Sarajevo Pact [as opposed to in London in 1863 in the real world].
Prussia's neighbours watch its military developments with interest and more than a little worry. Many of them attempt to match the Prussian innovations with their own.
As time passes and digital computers become the dominant type, systems using trinary logic, that is, base three, become the dominant type of digital machine. [As opposed to the binary computers using base two that dominate in the real world.]
As its industry and military expand and develop, seeking new territories into which to expand, the Persian Empire conducts several probes into the Mughal Empire. However, these are quickly ejected, and war threatened if they continue.
A nationalist revolution breaks out in Zanj, with the aim of freeing the region from Omani control and establishing it as an independent nation. The Omani government sends troops in an attempt to suppress the revolution.
As one of its first actions, the Oikoumene Council manages to bring a negotiated end to the long-running skirmishes between European and Indian shipping and colonies in West Africa.
The first fluorescent lighting is developed by Amintore Einaudi in the Kingdom of Milan. [1893 in the real world.]
The New Suez Canal is completed, allowing more and more shipping to travel to and from India to Europe via the Red Sea.
French inventor Valéry de Lamartine is the first person to link more than one electrical computer together using the telegraph/telephone system.
Chinese military forces, backed by Russian troops, begin enforcing conversion to Russian Orthodox Christianity and crushing the unrest that this causes.
Ships of the Sultanate of Johor begin blockading Pulau Ujong [Singapore], using the justification that it is stealing trade that under the Treaty of Brunei should be theirs.
With a significant part of the Omani military tied down attempting to suppress the revolution in Zanj, the Abyssinian government and the Ottoman Empire begin to take advantage of this distraction to gain an advantage over Oman in the Middle East. In particular, Abyssinia is able to make great advances in the Socotra War.
The Kingdom of Canada-Louisiana lays claim to Tejas [Texas], on the grounds that a majority of its citizens are of Louisianan descent. This is rejected by Tejas.
Shortly after this Mexico also lays claim to Tejas, based on its historical ownership of the region.
Seeking to counter the growing power of the Russian-allied Persian Empire, the Mughal Empire offers technological and industrial aid to the Ottoman Empire. However, the Ottomans, confident in their power, reject this offer.
A second wave of bad weather and flooding devastates areas of China. The rumours of the Emperor having lost the Mandate of Heaven only grow and become stronger.
Ayutthaya sends ships to break the Johorese blockade of Pulau Ujong [Singapore]. Shots are exchanged, and war breaks about between the two nations, with Ayutthaya considered the aggressor.
The Mughal Empire and the Dakshina Nad finally declare that the Thuggee Cult has been eliminated from the world.
To show his approval of the thesis of Aishwarya Mangeshkar, Mughal Emperor Shah Buland Iqbal II appoints the first person of the Untouchable caste to the Mughal Durbar.
Seeking a swift resolution to the Zanj revolution and to avoid the loss of the island of Socotra altogether, the Omani government accedes to the Zanji demands and allows Zanj to secede from Oman and become an independent nation in its own right.
Not wishing to be taken over by either Mexico or Canada-Louisiana, Tejas [Texas] signs the mutual defence Treaty of San Antonio with California.
Prussia forcibly incorporates several of the small German states neighbouring it into itself.
The bright comet Voiculescu [Scweizer] appears.
Comet Macintosh [Klinkerfues] appears with a ten degree long tail; it is visible to the unaided eye.
The tradition of Untouchable representation on the Mughal Durbar continues to the present day.
A Great Comet is seen from mid-March to Mid April, visible to the unaided eye with a tail five degrees long.
In the southern Chinese city of Wuhan, General Huang Zuoyi declares what many Chinese are thinking, that the Manchu Dynasty has lost the Mandate of Heaven. General Huang, of south Chinese origin, is one of these who exposure to illicit technological imports from the outside world has convinced that things and ideas from outside China can be of value.
California and Tejas [Texas] begins fortifying their borders with Mexico and Canada-Louisiana.
Prussia forcibly incorporates another two of the small German states neighbouring it into itself.
The Great Khanate joins the Arabian Council.
Alarmed by this, Bavaria begins arming itself. The Sarajevo Pact also begins attempting to realign their defences to account for the possible Prussian threat as well as the definite Russian one, but its nations are limited by financial constraints.
Massive uprisings occur across China in support of General Huang Zuoyi. The forces of the Manchu government do their best to suppress them, aided by those of the Holy Russian Empire. Massive casualties are caused among the revolting citizenry.
With neither side able to gain a decisive advantage over the other, the Jawa-Johor War ends with both sides agreeing the respect the rights of the other.
The now-experienced navy of the Sultanate of Johor again destroys the Ayutthayan Navy.
With the help of the Oikoumene Council the various powers that are competing for land and trade in western Africa manage to come to an agreement dividing up that part of the continent. Borders are stabilised at their present locations, and where they are undefined, mutually acceptable borders are put in place.
Mexico and Canada-Louisiana sign the secret Treaty of Ville-Marie [Montreal], dividing California and Tejas [Texas] up between them.
Bavaria signs the Treaty of Munich with several of the smaller southern German states to form the Germanic Alliance against Prussia.
As increasingly large numbers of pilgrims come to Mecca on the Hajj, the Ottoman Empire finds itself becoming unable to cope with them. In this year many pilgrims are forced to sleep outside for the first time, and incidents of disease become commonplace. Governments across the Muslim world protest at the poor handling of the Hajj by the Ottoman government.
The first internal combustion engine automobile is marketed in England.
A powerful earthquake strikes the south of Terre Henri [the north island of New Zealand].
As time passes the original maps used to divide up Africa prove to be inaccurate, leading to adjustment of the maps rather than any adjustment of the lands held by different nations. As such the borders shift from their original straight lines to more 'crinkly' boundaries. In addition wars, skirmishes, local and national-level agreements and other factors also serve to adjust the borders and render them imperfect.
Claiming that they wish to protect the Russian Orthodox Christian population of China from the violence of the rebels, the Holy Russian Empire sends more troops to China to support the Manchu Emperor Xianfeng.
The Sultanate of Johor invades Pulau Ujong [Singapore] at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula.
After long years of working together, the members of the Banten Pact formally federate themselves into the Sarekat Negara-Negara Jawani [the Federation of Civilised States; the word 'civilised' in the name refers to the way in which Jawanese [Javanese] people, especially the nobles, often consider themselves the most advanced people in the world and also those with the most perfect norms and styles (although contrary to this, the Jawanese people in general are known as modest, polite people who always try to avoid conflicts and confrontation with others)].
After a long blockade of the island of Socotra by Oman, trapping the Abyssinian forces holding it there, the Socotra War between Abyssinia and Oman finally ends with Abyssinia agreeing to return control of the island to Oman.
In an attempt to solve the problems it is having with the numbers of pilgrims coming to the Hajj, the Ottoman Empire introduces a quota scheme that it insists is temporary, limiting the numbers who may go to Mecca on the Hajj. This raises cries of protests around the Muslim world.
Mexico and Canada-Louisiana invade California and Tejas [Texas]. What becomes known as the American War begins.
The first steam-driven car affordable by those other than the rich goes on sale in the Netherlands.
Despite objections in the English and Danish governments, in a deal brokered by the Muscovy Company, the Hudson's Bay Company sells a large tract of its territory on the western side of Hudson's Bay to the Holy Russian Empire.
Prussia and France sign the secret Treaty of Paris, dividing up Europe between them.
As the anti-Manchu uprisings continue and spread across China, the Holy Russian Empire is more and more obviously in control of the Emperor and the Manchu government. This only spurs on those attempting to overthrow the Manchu's. The Chinese Civil War begins.
Not wishing to see China fall to the Holy Russian Empire, the Dakshina Nad, the Mughal Empire and Dai Ngu offer assistance to the forces of General Huang Zuoyi in the form of training, equipment and volunteer personnel. This assistance is gratefully accepted.
Enforcing the quotas they imposed in the previous year, the Ottoman government turns away a number of ships carrying pilgrims on the Hajj to Mecca when they arrive at the port of Jeddah. The Mughal and Dakshina Nad protest this, as do numerous other Muslim governments.
As popular unrest against the Ottomans government spreads across the Islamic world, the Mughal government is compelled to act. They present an ultimatum to the Ottoman Empire demanding the removal of the quotas on Hajj pilgrims. The Ottoman government refuses to do so, and the Mughal Empire declares war. What becomes known as the Hajj War begins.
Bavaria and the Sarajevo Pact sign the Treaty of Warsaw, allying themselves against Prussia should war come.
In a number of short, sharp attacks, the Mughal Empire, assisted by the Imamate of Oman, strikes into the Ottoman Empire, being very careful to avoid all holy sites, in what is very much a tutelary war. These strikes are assisted by unrest among the Ottoman people, who also dislike the quotas their government has imposed.
The Ottoman government admits defeat, and in the Treaty of Mecca which ends the Hajj War abolishes the quotas it imposed. Oman gains significant territory in the Arabian Peninsula from the treaty, but in return the governments of the Muslim world pledge to help the Ottoman government solve the problems caused by the numbers of pilgrims going to Mecca.
A powerful earthquake at Fort Tejon, in California, kills hundreds of people and ruptures three hundred and fifty kilometres of the San Andreas Fault.
The first underground railway in Paris opens to the public [as opposed to 1900 in the real world].
The foreign assistance to China during its Civil War has the effect of further breaking down the barriers between China and the rest of the world. It also causes many Chinese to flee China to South-East Asia and beyond, many to places where Chinese people have already settled, particularly those settled during the Zhengjiaotu Rebellion.
The new Chinese Diaspora causes sporadic problems as unrest occurs among natives who see themselves being displaced by Chinese immigrants.
In the following years, the Mughal Empire and other Muslim states invest heavily in facilities and infrastructure in the Ottoman Empire, which over time solves the problem of Hajj pilgrim numbers.
Fighting between the Russian-backed forces of the Manchu dynasty and those of rebel General Huang Zuoyi spreads across China. [This is not unlike the fighting of World War I in the real world, but on a larger scale.]
Attempts by the Sultanate of Johor to break out of its foothold at Pulau Ujong into the real of Ayutthaya to the north are repulsed by Ayutthayan land forces.
The nations of the Maluku Pact petition to join Sarekat.
Persian probes into Turkmenistan are repulsed by the Turkmens, with assistance, equipment and advice from the Mughal Empire.
Mughal prospectors discover coal in the Great Khanate, near to their capital city of Qaraghandy [Karaganda]. Mining efforts begin.
After prolonged negotiations, the Arabian Council merges with the Oikoumeme Council.
As their forces are pushed back on all sides, the governments of California and Tejas [Texas] merge for the duration of the war, to better coordinate their defences.
Paisiello's [Donati's] comet appears. It has two brilliant tails about sixty degrees long and is visible to the naked eye.
The first underground railway in Delhi opens to the public [as opposed to 2002 in the real world].
Persian reconnaissance into the other Central Asian Khanates also indicates that they are split between the Mughals and Russians, neither of whom would welcome Persian expansion into the region. This leaves the Ottoman Empire, whose weakness has been shown up by the recent Hajj War, as the least bad option for expansion.
Russia fields a new type of improved steam-powered armoured fighting vehicle against the Chinese rebels. These are known as Elephants (a term used for secrecy, as they were referred to as a 'new breed of war elephant', and derived from the equally large and dangerous war elephants). They prove highly effective, and the concept is copied around the world. In Russian, these become known as Slonoviye, from the Russian for Elephant. In Persian they are known as Fil, for the same reason.
Sarekat accepts the Maluku Pact as a set of new members.
Novo Albion begins to assist California-Tejas against Mexico and Canada-Louisiana.
A vast solar storm strikes the Earth, causing aurorae seen around the world as far south as the Caribbean. It causes failures and lesser problems for electrical systems around the world [much like in the real world, but more so given the more advanced level of technology in this world]. In its aftermath a number of nations introduce safeguards to limit the effect of such storms in the future.
The first contraceptives and abortifacients made from processed unripe papaya fruit are developed by Sirimavo Muralitharan in Sinhale, and go on sale there. They quickly spread to India, and from there on to the rest of the world.
The Holy Russian Empire invades the Philippine Islands, crushing the Spanish resistance there and quickly taking control of the entire archipelago. The Sultanate of Sulu is forced out of the southern parts of the Philippine archipelago. The Russians begin forcibly converting the populace to Russian Orthodoxy, and putting to the sword those who resist, of which there are many.
Chinese rebel forces use the first aircraft, an internal-combustion-engine-driven hot air havajahaz [airship], to reconnoitre over enemy territory. [This is the first use of air power of any kind in war. It is not the last.]
With the war between Ayutthaya and Johor at a stalemate, with the diplomatic assistance of the Dakshina Nad and Oikoumene Pact, a settlement is negotiated. Johor keeps its gains at Pulau Ujong but Ayutthaya is allowed to build any navy it wishes. With the signing of this Treaty of Hué the war ends.
The Persian Empire demands the return of its western territories, lost to the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century, and also the Ottoman territories it controlled during the reign of Nadir Shah. The Ottoman Empire rejects these demands.
The southern areas of the island of Sulawesi join Sarekat; the northern areas remain under the control of the Sultanate of Sulu.
Zanj attempts to use their help to the Empires of Luba and Lunda when they were part of Oman to gain influence and ultimately control over the two empires. However, this is discovered by the Luba and Lunda and the Zanji attempts are rebuffed.
A Great Comet seen from mid-June to July has a tail twenty degrees long.
Inventor Gaspard Trintignant in the Kingdom of Canada invents the first means of recording and reproducing sound [as opposed to 1877 in the real world].
Tension grows between Zanj and the Empires of Luba and Lunda.
The forces of the Dakshina Nad and the Sultanate of Sulu invade the Philippine Islands against heavy Russian resistance but with major local assistance. With many of their forces tied down in China, the Russian defence is not as effective as it might be.
The first skyscraper is completed in Delhi.
Havajahaz [airships] begin being used in the Chinese Civil War for more than reconnaissance, beginning to attack other aircraft, as well as targets on the ground using machine guns. They are also used against the Russian invaders in the Philippines.
After a number of victories, the forces of California-Tejas eject those of Mexico and Canada-Louisiana from their land. The American War ends with the Treaty of Havana, which sets the borders between all of the nations involved in stone 'in perpetuity'. With this the American War ends. Because of the damage inflicted during the war, the governments of California and Tejas remain merged 'for the duration of the emergency'.
The Persian Empire initiates a series of provocative actions along its border with the Ottoman Empire, hoping to draw the Ottoman Empire into a war. As the level of provocation increases, the Ottomans have little choice but to declare war. What becomes known as the Anatolian War begins.
After defeating the Ottoman forces sent to repel them, the Persians advance into the fairly weak Ottoman Empire with reasonable success.
The Sarajevo Pact, seeing this as a purely Ottoman-Persian affair, do not feel that they can assist in the Anatolian War.
Prussia demands that Poland grant it sufficient lands to unify its regions into a single contiguous land area. When these demands are refused, Prussia declares war and invades Poland. The Sarajevo Pact likewise declares war on Prussia. This soon becomes known as the War of Prussian Expansion.
The Prussian techniques known as Neuer Krieg (New War), combining new technologies such as elephants [tanks], havajahaz [airships] and rockets with new strategies and tactics intended to make best use of them, allow them to make great inroads into Poland before it, and the rest of the Sarajevo Pact, can respond effectively.
Under the provisions of the Treaty of Warsaw, Bavaria also declares war on Prussia. Under the provisions of the Treaty of Paris, France declares war on Bavaria and the Sarajevo Pact. The German states allied with Bavaria in the Treaty of Munich also declare war on France and Prussia. Scotland also declares war on Bavaria and the Sarajevo Pact.
The bright Comet Sudjatmiko [Tebbutt] is observed with a tail one hundred and twenty degrees long.
As time passes the greater land area of California leads to its population becoming greater and greater than that of Tejas.
The first havajahaz [airship] used to launch artillery rockets is used by the Russians in the Chinese Civil War. Soon both sides are using them. [Rocket-armed steam dirigibles are a workable idea here as they are nowhere near as inflammable as a hydrogen-filled one would be.]
Negotiations between the Ottoman Empire and Abyssinia, conducted under the aegis of the Oikoumene Council, avert a war between the two nations. This helps to give the Oikoumene Council more political and international credibility.
As part of the Anatolian War, the Ottoman Empire suffers a major defeat at the Battle of Erzurum.
The Mughal Empire again offers assistance to the Ottoman Empire against the Persians. This time the offer is accepted, but the Ottoman Empire is in disarray, so that what help does arrive cannot be used as effectively as it might.
Threatened by the expansion of Xhosaland and the Dutch Cape Colony to their south and Zanj to their north, the Empires of Luba and Lunda feel they have little choice but to sign treaties with Portugal, placing themselves under the protection of Portugal as client states rather than outright colonies.
Poland has little choice but to surrender to Prussia. Prussia begins to consolidate its territorial gains.
In the west of Europe, French forces attack those of the Germanic Alliance.
After a number of territorial infractions by the French, Milan enters the War of Prussian Expansion on the side of the Sarajevo Pact.
Mughal theologian Jarnail Singh publishes 'On Unity', a book linking the philosophies of Islam and Sikhism into what he considers to be a unified whole, a syncretic philosophy that he names Tâleb az-Eslâm [Disciple of Submission]. The publication of this is immediately met with hostility by many members of both the Sikh and Muslim communities of the world.
Comet Al Khayyat [Swift-Tuttle] is discovered. It is found to be the parent comet to the Perseid meteor shower, which occurs in August.
The first underground railway in London opens to the public [as opposed to 1863 in the real world].
As time passes, Luba and Lunda become reasonably prosperous nations under the wing of Portugal, with Portugal helping them develop in return for access to the rich mineral wealth in the Katanga region shared between the two countries, which Portugal sells around the world.
Over time many of the children of the rulers of the Luba and Lunda come to be educated in Portugal. Because of this the two Empires have, over time, adopted a number of Portuguese institutions such as elements of their legal system, the Portuguese language for official business, and the Catholic Church, although traditional beliefs are also common among the people of the two empires.
The Yaponese Emperor dies. There is no sign of his heir. Tsar Ivan VII takes the Yaponese throne as the new Emperor.
The forces of the Holy Russian Empire are evicted from the Philippine Islands, leaving them devastated.
In the Anatolian War the forces of the Persian Empire decisively defeat those of the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Ankara. Despite considerable scattered Ottoman resistance, Anatolia is open before them. Persian forces advance towards the Bosporus.
Belated reinforcements from the Mughal Empire and the Sarajevo Pact begin bolstering the Ottoman defences on the Bosporus and in the Holy Land.
Persian forces take the east coast of the Bosporus, but despite repeated attempts cannot overcome the strong Ottoman defences on the western shore. Persian attempts to strike south into the Holy Land and take Ottoman lands there are also repulsed. Attempts by them to take control of Crete and Cyprus are likewise unsuccessful.
In the Chinese Civil War, Manchu forces clash with the rebels under General Huang Zuoyi at the Battle of Hangzhou. The city itself is razed during this battle.
French forces take control of parts of the west of the Kingdom of Milan.
The Sarajevo Pact begins fortifying its new borders with Prussia.
Unrest across Yapon flares into all-out rebellion as the Yaponese attempt to throw off their Russian conquerors. This fails, and the Russians conduct massive purges across parts of Yapon.
The Dakshina Nad attempts to hand the formerly-Spanish parts of the Philippine Islands back to the Spanish while the Sultanate of Sulu take back control of what was theirs. The Spanish, not wishing to take back control of their now-devastated furthest-flung outpost, instead offer to sell them to the Dakshina Nad, on the assurance that the people of the Philippine Islands will be allowed to continue to worship and live as they did under the Spanish. The Dakshina Nad accept this offer and the Philippine Islands formally come under their control.
The Anatolian War turns into a stalemate. The Persians are consolidating their hold on Anatolia, but cannot expand any further. The Ottomans cannot retake the territory they have lost.
The Oikoumene Council steps in, in an attempt to resolve the situation. At a conference in Delhi the two sides grudgingly agree an end to the war, with the Treaty of Delhi. Persia gains Anatolia, but does give up some of its gains in the Holy Land, and accepts limitations on its military forces in Anatolia. With this the Anatolian War ends.
As part of the outcome of the Anatolian War, the Ottoman Empire is forced to move its capital city, which it does, to the city of Jerusalem.
Mughal Emperor Shah Buland Iqbal II dies of old age. In a major break with tradition, he is succeeded by his daughter, his oldest child, who becomes Empress Afareen Fizuzah.
Almost immediately unrest at a woman coming to the Mughal throne begins to spread across the Empire, with rioting and protests in many of its cities. As this unrest spreads, it threatens to turn into a civil war.
Prussian forces invade the Netherlands. The lack of alliances caused by its Vrijdenkerij government means that no-one comes to the aid of the Dutch. Many of the nobility flees to the Federation of England and Denmark.
With the takeover of the Netherlands by Prussia and the (forced) abdication of the Stadtholder, the four remaining Dutch colonies, Suriname in South America, Cape Colony in Africa and Nova Holland and Van Deimens Land in Marege [Australia] are thrown onto their own resources.
Numerous Dutch bankers flee to the Federation of England and Denmark, where they and the native bankers are able to secure a significant proportion of the banking market, competing with the many Scottish bankers.
Ayutthaya, wanting to keep control of shipping (and the money that comes with it) begins construction of a canal across the Isthmus of Kra (the narrowest part of the Malay Peninsula) with financial assistance from various sources outside of Ayutthaya. This will run from the Andaman Sea to the Gulf of Thailand via Surat Thani and Phangnga, cutting out the Johor-controlled Straits of Malacca.
The militaries of Bavaria and the Sarajevo Pact complete the updating of their methods driven by the Prussian Neuer Krieg (New War) techniques. This is significantly faster then the Prussians and French has counted on.
Despite their best efforts, the Dutch exiles in the Federation of England and Denmark are unable to convince the Federation government to enter the War of Prussian Expansion on their side.
Prince William VIII of Orange and his family, the only members of the Dutch royal family to escape the takeover of the Netherlands, arrive in Cape Colony. Some of them travel on to the other surviving Dutch colonies.
In order to halt the unrest that is threatening to tear the Mughal Empire apart, the Empress Afareen Fizuzah abdicates 'for the good of the Empire'. Her younger brother takes the throne in her place, becoming the Emperor Ummid Akhtar II, although Afareen remains a valued advisor to him.
Mughal theologian Jarnail Singh, the writer of 'On Unity' and founder of the syncretic Muslim-Sikh philosophy of Tâleb az-Eslâm [Disciple of Submission], is murdered in the city of Chandigarh. The culprits are never apprehended.
The Great Southern Comet appears.
Since this time no woman has succeeded to the Mughal Peacock Throne.
Despite the murder of its founder, the ideas of his philosophy of Tâleb az-Eslâm spread across the world, with a number of small and harried groups which follow them appearing in its more tolerant areas.
In the Chinese Civil War, Manchu-Russian forces push the rebels into the south of China.
The fighting of the Chinese Civil War spills over into the Khanate of Luntai and despite the best efforts of the Khanate forces, it loses significant territory to Russian and the Holy Chinese Empire, including its capital city of Luntai [Urumqi] itself.
Prussia and France attempt to invade Bavaria and the rest of the Germanic Alliance. However, aided by the forces of the Sarajevo Pact, the invaders are repulsed, although Bavaria does lose some territory.
The forces of the Holy Russian Empire invade several strategically significant parts of the eastern Sarajevo Pact, forcing the Pact to split its defences against the two aggressors, Russia and Prussia.
New Mughal Emperor Ummid Akhtar II proves to be a Muslim of fairly fundamentalist beliefs. This soon brings him into conflict with the rest of his government as he attempts to impose his beliefs on the populace.
After one disagreement too many, Ummid Akhtar II exiles his sister Afareen Fizuzah from his court.
The Khabibulin [Tempel-Tuttle] comet is discovered. This is later found to be the parent comet of the Leonid meteor shower.
As the Chinese Civil War continues the criminal groups known as the Triads are able to extend their power and influence in China and beyond, becoming one of the major criminal groups of the world.
Following some of the horrific battlefield slaughters during the Chinese Civil War, documented in svetzam [photographs] and other records, the members of the Oikoumene Council sign the Second Shiraz Convention. This establishes the Fellowship of Universal Right Action, an organisation intended to protect human life and health, and prevent and alleviate human suffering, without any discrimination based on nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. [This is an organisation equivalent to the Red Cross of the real world.]
Mughal Emperor Ummid Akhtar II re-imposes the jizya tax on non-Muslims abolished by the Emperor Akbar, an action that sparks unrest and hostility towards him.
An assassination attempt on the Mughal Emperor Ummid Akhtar II by a group of Hindus enraged at his reintroduction of the jizya tax fails to kill him. However, in response he introduces harsh restrictions on non-Muslims in the Empire, and particularly Hindus, though members of all of the non-Muslim faiths are affected.
Unrest, far more extensive and serious than when Afareen Fizuzah came to the Peacock Throne, begins to spread across the Mughal Empire. Both non-Muslims and Muslims are involved in this opposition to Ummid Akhtar II which, given the numbers of non-Muslims involved in the Mughal system, soon begins to have a major effect on the Empire as a whole.
Uprisings against the Prussian invaders occur in Poland and the Netherlands. These are covertly supported by the Sarajevo Pact and Germanic Alliance. The first of what become known as the Orangemen, anti-Prussian terrorist groups, appear at this time. These uprisings continue into later years despite the best efforts of the Prussians to suppress them.
At the insistence of Prince William VIII of the former Netherlands, rather than becoming the new Stadtholder, he is instead crowned King William I of the Netherlands at Cape Town Cathedral. He emphasises his legitimate claim to the throne of the Netherlands and his right to rule all Dutch territory, everywhere. At the same time, to emphasise the new regime and the intentions of the new regime, Cape Colony is renamed Oranjestaat [Orange State].
Although the Dutch colonies are nominally united under King William I, they are sufficiently separate to be effectively self-governing nations.
With the increased trade between Europe and India via the new Suez Canal, the governments of Portugal, France and Anglo-Denmark open negotiations with Abyssinia to purchase land on the east coast of Abyssinia for them to use as way stations and trading posts.
Seeing Ummid Akhtar II as a serious threat to the Mughal Empire, especially in light of the continuing Chinese Civil War, a conspiracy of high-ranking Mughal government officials, military officers and the former Empress Afareen Fizuzah stage a coup d'etat. Ummid Akhtar II is removed from the Peacock Throne and imprisoned, while his (and Afareen Fizuzah's) younger and more religiously tolerant brother Ahmad Shah Zafar is placed on the throne.
The leaders of the coup that placed Ahmad Shah Zafar on the Peacock Throne submit themselves to Imperial justice. They are all sentenced to be paraded in public in an ignominious condition, and to be whipped, both fairly nominal sentences given their actions. After her punishment Afareen Fizuzah returns to the Mughal court where she takes up a position as advisor to the new Emperor.
By now fully mobilised for war, the Sarajevo Pact expels the Holy Russian Empire from the areas that it has invaded, and conducts a number of retaliatory raids into the Holy Russian Empire, destroying industrial and technical monasteries, military bases and transport routes. This the first instance of modern fully mechanised warfare to occur in Europe.
An earthquake that strikes New Granada [Ecuador] and Peru kills forty thousand people.
Using new designs for elephants [tanks] and several other new weapons, including the first modern use of chemical weapons (used reluctantly but out of what is considered to be necessity), the Chinese rebel forces advance across a wide front, pushing back the Manchu-Russian forces, who dig in across an equally wide front running roughly east-west.
With its eastern borders secured, the Sarajevo Pact moves to repel the Prussians from its territory, aided by the militaries of Germanic Alliance.
The Mughal conspirators and the new Emperor Ahmad Shah Zafar make changes to the Mughal system of government to ensure that a near civil war such as that triggered by Ummid Akhtar II can never happen again. These changes include increasing the power of the Mughal Durbar and Panchayat-i-Doulat, effectively turning the Mughal Empire into a constitutional monarchy. As another part of the changes introduced by Ahmad Shah Zafar there is a more explicit concept of religious freedom added to the law books, replacing the old implicit 'right' to worship privately as one saw fit so long as the wider social order was left undisturbed. Another change made as part of these reforms opens the sortition process by which people are selected to the Panchayats [ruling councils] of the Empire to all citizens of the Empire.
The Oikoumene Council attempts to facilitate a negotiated end to the Chinese Civil War and the War of Prussian Expansion, to no avail.
In the Chinese Civil War, the Manchu-Russian forces begin using chemical weapons against the rebel forces.
Uprisings across Poland are accompanied by a major attack by the Sarajevo Pact and Germanic Alliance into Poland and France. After many bloody battles, Poland is liberated, and parts of France taken by the Germanic Alliance.
French political philosopher Fabrice Sertillanges, in an analysis of the world political system, coins the terms 'One Truth' and 'Dharmic' blocs to describe the two great lines of political thought in the world, stemming from intolerance and tolerance of their beliefs respectively.
The first functional military submarine is invented by Warner Stormare in Sweden, where it is used against Prussia [this was invented in 1895 in the real world].
The first railway in Central Asia opens, linking the coal mines of Qaraghandy in the Great Khanate with Russia and the Mughal Empire.
After long years of negotiation, the Federation of England and Denmark is expanded into a full political union of the two countries. The new Anglo-Danish Empire is proclaimed.
As part of this the Anglo-Danish territories in northern North America and the North Atlantic, centred around Greenland and Iceland, are unified into a single administrative region known as Nordland [Northland]. Another part of this union is the official abolishment of slavery in all of the Dominions of the Empire in which it has not already been abolished at a local level.
Another change enacted as part of the creation of the Anglo-Danish Empire sees the franchise extended to all citizens of the Empire, regardless of gender, who are over the age of twenty-one.
New England miners in the Pennsylvania area are found to be mining coal from across the border in Canada-Louisiana. The Canada-Louisiana government demands that they cease this theft (as they see it).
An epidemic of influenza breaks out in the war-zone between the two Chinas. Helped by the numbers of refugees and general breakdown of society caused by the Chinese Civil War, the virus spreads rapidly around the world, soon becoming known as Chinese Influenza.
Prussia and France offer terms to end the War of Prussian Expansion to the Sarajevo Pact and Germanic Alliance. A peace conference begins in the neutral Danish city of Copenhagen.
A new Polish government is constituted, forming the Fourth Polish Republic.
After long negotiations, during which they grant Abyssinia a number of lucrative trading and scientific agreements, the governments of Portugal, France and Anglo-Denmark purchase small enclaves from the government of Abyssinia for use as way stations and trading posts on the route to and from India. These are named Moqadisho, Somalie and Ogaden respectively.
When the New England government rejects the demands of Canada-Louisiana to cease mining under their territory, soldiers are sent to use explosives to collapse the encroaching tunnels, killing a number of New England miners.
Prussia takes control of the smallest and least populated Dutch colony of Suriname.
After long negotiations, the War of Prussian Expansion ends with the Treaty of Copenhagen. Prussia retains some of its conquests, but loses others, particularly in Poland, and is forced to pay reparations. It does retain control of the Netherlands and its colonial empire including the Dutch West Indies and Dutch Suriname, as its representatives have little support from other nations. France and Bavaria return to their pre-war borders. No-one is entirely satisfied with the outcome of the war, but also no-one is dissatisfied enough with it to want to engage in another right away.
A powerful earthquake strikes in California.
Anglo-Danish biologist Margrethe Kvamm writes the first book putting forward the ideas of what becomes known as Oikologie [ecology; this was first elucidated in 1895 in the real world].
A second wave of Dutch people flee the Netherlands, either for the Dutch colonies or into the Federation of England and Denmark, where they contribute to the Anglo-Danish economy.
Prussia attempts to set up colonies in Africa and elsewhere in the world, but find that it is all already claimed by others. They have to settle for the colonial possessions they took from the Dutch.
When Canada-Louisiana rejects New England demands for compensation for the deaths of their miners, the Anglo-Danish Empire declares war on Canada-Louisiana. What becomes known as the Miners War begins.
The Chinese Influenza epidemic finally ends, having killed some tens of millions of people.
The Chinese Civil War turns into a stalemate, with neither side able to win over the other.
With the situation in Anatolia largely stabilised, and Persian control established, some of the secret parts of the Treaty of Moscow are made clear when Persia hands control of Anatolia over to the Holy Russian Empire.
Gold is discovered in Oranjestaat. [These are the goldfields of real-world South Africa, which were discovered in 1886 in the real world.]
The first steam turbine engine is developed by Edvard Asbjørnsen in Norway (part of England-Denmark).
Inventor Adnan Shah Banoori in the Imamate of Oman invents the ability to record and project moving pictures.
It becomes clear that the entire Anatolian War was engineered by the Holy Russian Empire to allow them to acquire Anatolia, using the Persians as their tools as a way for them to avoid entanglement with the Sarajevo Pact, who are allied to the Ottoman Empire against the Russians.
Navies around the world begin to rush to take advantage of the new steam turbine engines in their ships.
As the Miners War continues the first modern trench warfare [analogous to that of the First World War of the real world] develops along the New England-Canada-Louisiana border, and quickly spreads from there to China and its civil war.
Not recognising the new King of the Netherlands, and wishing to take control of the newly-discovered Oranjestaat gold fields, a joint Franco-Prussian expedition attempts to take control of Oranjestaat, wishing to gain the strategic advantages of its position for themselves. What becomes known as the Cape War begins.
Franco-Prussian forces take control of Cape Town and the southern parts of Oranjestaat.
The Mughal Empire begins attempting to use offers of help against the invading French and Prussians along with heavy-handed diplomacy to force Oranjestaat to grant them exclusive rights to their gold resources, to the detriment of Oranjestaat itself.
With the handing over of much of Anatolia to Russia after the Persians took it during the Anatolian War, there is unrest and protests across the Persian Empire.
Despite the best efforts of the Persian government to suppress this, the unrest continues.
In the Ottoman Empire, political philosopher Enver Sevket publishes a thesis stating his analysis of the reasons for the decline of the Ottoman Empire, and putting forward a plan for its revival. This involves turning the Ottoman Empire into a militaristic, secular, technocratic state using scientific principles to run the nation along the most effective lines. He names this new system a Sophocracy, a government by thought, and claims that it will benefit all of the individual, the state, and humanity as a whole. Although this publication is quickly suppressed, and Enver Sevket put under house arrest for his anti-Imperial, anti-monarchy statements, copies of his book still circulate both inside and outside the Ottoman Empire.
As time goes by many in the Ottoman Empire come to support the thesis of Enver Sevket, and what becomes known as the Empire Revival Movement begins to grow, particularly in the military and government, despite attempts by the Ottoman government to suppress it.
The Oikoumene Council, with the backing of the Mughal Empire, Dakshina Nad, Holy Russian Empire, Anglo-Danish Empire and Kingdom of France, announces the banning of the slave trade, everywhere in the world.
Lachhiman Thapa working in the Mughal Empire transmits the first Barq Mouj [Lightning Wave, the name for radio in this world] signals. [In the real world this was done in 1895.]
The Holy Russian Empire begins construction of Trans-Siberian railway linking Moscow with the Pacific Ocean [in the real world this began in 1891].
Comet Myskin-Kamat [Coggia] appears, and is visible to the naked eye. It has two tails more than sixty degrees long.
Over the next decade the warships of many nations patrol the waters of the world, apprehending slave ships, destroying slave ports, and generally making the slave trade so unprofitable that those who are not captured give up on it.
After prolonged negotiations, the members of the Oikoumene Council sign the Shiraz Convention, agreeing the first formal 'rules of war' to be used among the nations of the Oikoumene and preferably in all wars. These are known as the Law of Right War. [These are roughly equivalent to the Geneva Convention and Laws of War of the real world, though in this world many of the rules are derived from those used in Islam; the first of these was adopted in 1864 in the real world.]
England-Denmark offers assistance to Oranjestaat against the Mughals, French and Prussians, for a price.
Prussian Suriname joins Le Pacte d'Amazone as an associate member.
Making use of the new moving picture technology, the first film produced for entertainment is screened in Delhi in the Mughal Empire, for an audience of the nobility.
The film-making industry begins to grow and spread around the world.
As the trench systems on both sides become more extensive, the Miners War between New England and Canada-Louisiana turns into a stalemate.
The Franco-Prussian advance into Oranjestaat is finally halted some way inland from the coast. However, attempts by the Dutch settlers to retake the territory they have lost end in failure.
A military coup led by many of the generals involved in the taking of Anatolia topples the Persian Emperor, his Foroutan Dynasty, and the Persian government. The Emperor and much of his government flees into exile in the Holy Russian Empire. The leader of the coup, General Ezzatolah Panahi, installs himself as the first of a new strongly anti-Russian imperial line, the Panahi Dynasty.
Pudhiya Kozhikode becomes the first state in the world to grant equal rights for women.
As time passes many other nations also grant equal rights to the female half of their population.
With help from the Oikoumene Council, which provides a neutral setting for negotiations, a cease-fire is declared in the Chinese Civil War. Although there is no formal end to the war, and a few skirmishes still occur between the two sides, this marks the effective end of the war, which has lasted twenty-one years. China is now divided into two countries, a Manchu China in the north and a rebel China in the south. Some seventy million people are thought to have died over the course of the Civil War [more than in the closest real world equivalent, the Taiping Rebellion]. This too helps to give the Oikoumene Council more political and international credibility.
The Ayutthayan Kra Canal opens to shipping. With this, Ayutthaya achieves an economic victory over the Sultanate of Johor, even if not a military one.
The new Persian government attempts to cancel various contracts Persia has with the Holy Russian Empire for the supply of technology. However, by means of threats of economic and other sanctions by Russia these attempts are halted.
With the end of the Chinese Civil War the city of Luntai [Urumqi] remains in the hands of Manchu China. Despite this the people of the Khanate remain very attached to the city, and so the remaining Khanate of Luntai does not change its name.
A thousand people are killed by mud flows from the eruption of Mount Cotopaxi in New Granada [Ecuador].
Hervé Vartan in the Kingdom of France discovers radioactivity. [This occurred in 1896 in the real world.]
The further spread of Chinese people displaced by the Chinese Civil War causes Chinese culture and martial arts to become even more widely known, and lead to the development of more hybrid styles mixing Chinese and non-Chinese elements.
Sarekat prospectors discover oil and gas under eastern Borneo. However, they illegally keep this secret from the Sultanate of Brunei, which rules that part of Borneo.
With the situation at a stalemate, the Cape War ends with the Treaty of Cape Town, which recognises the new borders in southern Africa. Although Prussia took part in the Cape War, France retains exclusive rule of the Cape of Good Hope region, which they name Bonne Espérance. Oranjestaat has no choice but to move its capital from Cape Town. A new capital is established at what becomes known as Oranjeburg [at the same location as Gaborone in Botswana in the real world].
The first heavier than air flying machine, built by Arogyaswami Padmanabhan in the south Indian state of Thanjavur, is successfully flown. These quickly become known as Vimanas, after the mythological flying machines described in the ancient literature of India.
Due to over-hunting the sea otter becomes extinct in the wild. Significant numbers remain in captivity, however, often being bred for their fur.
With its colonial ambitions stymied, Prussia turns inward, its government becoming more and more oppressive and dictatorial with time.
With the borders of the two Chinas now reasonably stable, and the fighting between them largely ended, General Huang Zuoyi declares that he now has the Mandate of Heaven, and that he is the first Emperor of the new Ling dynasty. This has its capital at the ancient Chinese capital of Xi'an. The Ling Dynasty is generally accepted by most of the people of China.
Making excuses about wishing to peacefully expand its territory Sarekat offers the Sultanate of Brunei a large sum of money for eastern Borneo. The financially-troubled Sultanate of Brunei accepts this offer.
The new Persian government demands that the Holy Russian Empire returns the parts of Anatolia that Persia 'gave' to it after the Anatolian War. These demands are rejected.
As France cements its hold over Bonne Espérance large numbers of Dutch settlers, many of them heavily armed, flee the region and travel north into the remaining Oranjestaat territory. These people become known as Trekkers [similar to the Voortrekkers of the real world].
Taking advantage of the disruption of the Cape War, Federation of England and Denmark also takes control of the eastern part of southern Africa from Oranjestaat. They name this new territory Natal.
The government of Oranjestaat signs the Treaty of Oranjeburg with the uXhosa of Xhosaland, guaranteeing mutual defence for them both.
As time passes both Oranjestaat and Xhosaland evolve into quite xenophobic, heavily armed and paranoid states.
1640 to 1669 | 1670 to 1699 | 1700 to 1729 | 1730 to 1759 | 1760 to 1789 | 1790 to 1819
1820 to 1849 | 1850 to 1879 | 1880 to 1909 | 1910 to 1939 | 1940 to 1969 | 1970 to 2000
The World in 2000 | Africa | Central America And The Caribbean | North America | South America | Antarctica
Central Asia | Eastern And South-Eastern Asia | South Asia | Europe | The Middle East | Oceania
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Copyright © Tony Jones, 2007.
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