Timeline part 3 (Cliveless World)

1844

Russia declares war on Persia, its forces moving to ensure Russian access to the Indian Ocean regardless of the cost, in line with the tenets of UER. The Persian War begins. France helps Persia defend itself, seeing its own interests in the region threatened by a Russian victory, but at the cost, to the Persians, of allowing the French to gain influence in the east of the country. This greatly hinders French assistance, and serves mainly to drag the war out. Russian military needs in their Turkish holdings also hinder them against the Persians.

A bright Great comet is seen.

The Kazakh Civil War finally ends, with an irrevocable split into two Kazakh nations, the eastern and western Kazakhs.

Bad feelings persist to the present day between the two halves of Kazakhstan.

Other nations begin to copy the Kazakh steam-powered armoured cars, which become generally known as Cossacks. [Likewise, when they appear, tanks also become known as Cossacks.] Among these nations are the Zulus.

1845

The Jewish immigrants to Israel make the Israel Purchase, buying the land from Columbia and becoming a separate nation between southern Columbia and Mexico. The largest city in the new state, San Antonio, is renamed New Jerusalem and becomes the capital of Israel.

As the nation of Israel grows, it becomes very successful due to the industry of its inhabitants.

Forced together by circumstance, the former Russian provinces of Siberia and Alyeska ally themselves, forming the Alyesko-Siberian Federation, with its capital at Petropavlovsk, in Kamchatka. As the borders of this new state stabilise, two ethnic nations also form themselves out of the former Russia, Nenetsia and Taymyria.

Mud flows from the eruption of Mount Ruis in Colombia kill seven hundred people.

The large numbers of immigrants living in California following the gold rush there are, by now, resenting being quite heavily taxed and controlled by the Mexican government. The local Duke, Nicholas, sides with his people, local and otherwise. This is apparently partly because he sees California, with its mixed Russian-Spanish culture, as different from Mexico and also not being allowed to go its own way. With help from Columbia, California secedes from Mexico in a relatively bloodless manner. However, despite the wishes of the Colombian government, California does not then become part of Columbia. Instead, Duke Nicholas declares that California is now the Duchy of Kaliforniya - they did not fight for their freedom from Mexico to then give it up to Columbia. There are skirmishes along the border with Columbia, but geography (deserts) and the loyalty to the Kaliforniyan people, more loyal to Kaliforniya than Columbia, keep Kaliforniya independent.

The Colombian governments' handling of Kaliforniyan secession is widely derided across the southern territories.

France, the Dutch, the Triple Union, Spain, and Portugal all set up trading posts on the Chinese coast. The French initially try to sell Indian textiles into China, with no success, but then a French entrepreneur, Jérôme Rheault, comes up with the idea of selling opium into China and this works out quite well for them, though not for the Chinese. Many traders begin to sell opium into China at gunpoint, making large profits. [This is the equivalent of the real world Opium Wars.]

1846

After years of unrest at the poor showing of the Ottoman Empire against the Russians, and how little it seems the Ottomans can depend on anyone else, a wave of nationalism sweeps the Empire. A 'New Empire' movement forms and begins to put forward ideas for a new, democratic, socialistic Ottoman regime which will benefit everyone in what is now the Empire, and help it move forward into the modern age.

French forces invade the island of Libertatia and crush government forces there as they re-establish control of the country. Libertatia reverts to Haiti. Many Haitians flee their island to the Libertatias on the mainland.

Seeing its handling of Kaliforniyan Secession as the final straw on top of the Colombian government's long list of poor decisions such as the slavery issue and the Economic Crisis, the southern Colombian Territories split off to do as they see fit, interpreting the Colombian constitution to allow it to do this. It immediately solves its slave problem with emancipation. The Colombian government attempts to prevent the split, but does not have the money to pay the military to stop Louisiana seceding. Because of this there is not a civil war, but there is bad feeling and violence, as well as essentially forced migration of supporters of the opposition position on both sides.

Columbia, with a smaller slave population, keeps slavery for much longer.

The new Louisianan government is a delegative democracy, with lots of recalls of delegates when this is seen as necessary. This form of government is instituted to cure the perceived problems with the Colombian system, but means that the Louisianan government doesn't do much. Because of this corporations and so on become very powerful there. With its succession, Louisiana renames it capital city of New Westminster back to New Orleans.

Because of their criticism of the handling of Kaliforniyan secession, relations between Kaliforniya and Louisiana are better than with Columbia.

As France industrialises France recovers from the Economic Collapse, a 'Bipodiste' theory develops out of Physiocracy. The basis of this is that, as society evolves (advances), industry inevitably becomes as important as agriculture in underpinning society.

The Bipodiste movement grows and spreads as industry becomes more and more important to France. It has a flag that is vertically divided, with half gold (for agriculture) and half black (for the coal that powers industry).

As France becomes more industrialised the Bipodistes see the polluting effects industry has on the areas around it, and after a great deal of work, persuade the King to pass laws allowing industry only in selected (and usually agriculturally non-productive) areas.

Even so, there are some problems with pollution in France, but in general the French become quite good at eco-friendly techniques and technologies.

1847

After acceding to pressure from his people, the former Duke, now Nicholas I of the House of Habsburg-Romanov (the new Royal Line created upon Kaliforniyan independence), is crowned as the first King of Kaliforniya.

Having established control of Haiti, French forces move into the formerly Spanish Dominica and quickly take control of the entire island of Hispaniola, despite Union attempts to stop them.

Comet Jobidon [Hind] appears and is bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye during the night and in telescopes during the day.

1848

The first electrical telegraph is built. [In the real world in 1842, by Samuel Morse] This begins to replace the various optical telegraph networks in use around the world.

Cristóvão de Loronha, a Portuguese miller (water wheel using miller) notices several odd water 'switching' effects occurring as he experiments with new designs of water mill [these are what, in the real world, are known as the Coanda effect]. Intelligent and well-read, he sees that this is something interesting and writes a paper about his findings which he publishes in the proceedings of the Academia das Ciencias de Lisboa [The Academy of Sciences of Lisbon, created 1779 in the real world] where it languishes while the Economic Collapse grinds on.

1850

French engineers begin the construction of the Suez Canal. [Earlier than in the real world because of the perceived need for better links with French India.]

King Louis XVII of France dies aged sixty-five. He is succeeded by his son, who becomes King Louis XVIII.

The Netherlands becomes the first nation to officially introduce a eugenic policy, refusing to allow those deemed 'unfit' to have children.

Over the following years, many other nations also introduce eugenics policies, with varying classifications of 'fitness', and varying degrees of resistance and unrest arising from the population over them, usually arising from who is 'fit' and who is not, and how much input the citizenry have into this choice. At first eugenics mainly consists of the sterilisation of people if they prove to have 'defects', though precisely what constitutes a 'defect' varies from place to place. In some places and for some cases euthanasia is used on 'serious defects', particularly in new-born babies.

At the same time a number of what become known as Naturist movements appear across Europe. Opposed to what they see as un-natural changes to society arising from UER, eugenics, Selección Natural Social and technological advancement, they wish to return humanity to its proper 'natural' state and society, though precisely what is meant by that varies from group to group. Some of them are religiously-based, others are entirely secular; many include Luddite elements.

1850s

In the Union an official tongue, known as Unionsprache (Unionspeech) is introduced. It is a constructed language using a mix of English and German elements, intended to formalise the already-existing mixing of English and German occurring within the Union.

At the same time a unified Union currency is introduced. This is a decimal system, consisting of Marks that are each divided into one hundred Pennies.

As the use of steam-powered tractors spreads (their widespread introduction having been delayed by the Economic Collapse), farming practises begin to change to accommodate them, with larger fields and less crop variety. Farming begins to become industrialised. This spreads and leads to the introduction of practises such as battery farming. Only in French-influenced areas, where this is considered non-Physiocratic, is this not adopted. [This industrialised farming occurs earlier than in the real world.]

There is something of a Roman revival across Europe.

As time passes, and the Chinese government weakens, European control of parts of China spreads out from their trading posts up the coast and into the interior. France, the main European power in China, supports local rulers over the central government, and the Manchus can do nothing against them, through they do try, continuing to arrogantly assume the Europeans are their inferiors.

Various Chinese uprisings occur and are suppressed by the Manchus with European arms, or by the Europeans themselves.

1851

The Persian War ends with Persian surrender to Russia. In the Treaty of Tehran, Persia is reduced to a rump state in the east of the former nation, with Russia incorporating the western half of the country in what becomes known as 'Russia's Persian tongue', or the Persian Tongue.

There is a coup in the Ottoman Empire as the New Empire movement, with massive popular support, overthrows the old regime. It renames the Ottoman Empire the Ottoman Socialist Ummah (OSU) and moves to reorganise the country along modern lines, bringing with it modern technological development. The Sultan remains as head of state but is now a constitutional monarch.

The Tsar encourages Europeans to emigrate into the Persian Tongue to ensure Russian control of the area.

1852

The OSU begins a programme of national railway building, with the intention of opening up the country to allow further development. [In the real world construction of the first railway in the Ottoman Empire began in 1866.] A great deal of European investment beings to flow into the OSU.

Quebec begins an active eugenics programme aimed at improving their people.

Marcus Seilley, the eighteenth President of Columbia, frustrated at the inability of his government to do much of anything, attempts to turn the Presidency into an elected Monarchy. The Continental Congress rejects this.

President Seilley surrounds Congress with troops to force the decision in his favour. Some Congressmen submit to this coercion, but a mass of armed citizens unseats the President. This incident leads to a widespread distrust of both the army and central government by the Colombian people, to the point that several other Presidents since then have also been unseated by the mob when they are perceived to be out of line.

Unrest spreads across Russia over the use of UER in the Empire. People who lost relatives when Russia let go of its colonies are unhappy with the government. Others are unhappy with euthanasia. In general people are unhappy with the UER system because, although [like Communism in the real world] is has had some successes, it requires people who are not human, and who can simply let go of things without emotion.

There is considerable emigration from all of the major powers, and the other European nations, to the various colonies around the world, and to Columbia and Louisiana. The Union has British, Irish, Scots, Prussians and Hanoverians emigrate to Neuer Hanover, Neues Prussia, Sierra Leone and its other colonies. French settlers move to India, Africa and Australis. Russian ones move into the Persian Tongue.

All nations also recruit willing (persecuted and so on) foreigners to populate their colonies. Colombia and Louisiana also do this, with Louisiana becoming a back door for immigration into Quebec from France.

1853

Matvei Aleksashkin, a Russian mining engineer discovers gold on the Kenai Peninsula in Alyeska [1849 in the real world]. Within months people are flooding in to take advantage of this find, and the Alyeskan Gold Rush begins. [The Alyeskan gold fields include those in the real-world Klondike.]

Childless General Valentin Alexandrovitch Kurakin, with the support of many of the Russian nobility and moneyed classes, leads a Russian Revolution against the Duma who implement UER, to restore Russia to its 'proper' self again. Tsar Peter IV is deposed and executed.

General Kurakin takes over as the first Tsar who is a constitutional monarch, the first of the Kurakin dynasty, Tsar Valentin I. He restores the Russian flag to its old form, abolishes serfdom, and institutes various reforms. Many of the changes imposed under UER are undone. This brings a supply of free labour to the cities, stimulates industry, and increases the size of the middle class in terms of both numbers and influence. However, Russia retains the use of the Rational system of measurements.

The bright comet Huet-Jardin [Scweizer] appears.

Comet Altmann [Klinkerfues] appears with a ten degree long tail; it is visible to the unaided eye.

Russia begins to re-colonise its former territories. As they try to resist this the various Muslim states of central Asia are driven to ally with each other and with Afghans, Persians and French to retain their independence and identities, these alliances constantly shifting and changing as all of the parties involved attempt to manipulate matters for their own advantage. [This resembles the 'Great Game' of the real world, but played out further north.]

[Many of the central Asian states are stronger than they were in the real world, having bought iron and steam industry from Europe during the Economic Collapse.]

1854

A Great Comet is seen from mid-March to Mid April, visible to the unaided eye with a tail five degrees long.

After otherwise unaccountable perturbations are discovered in the orbit of planet Herschel [Uranus], mathematical predictions of the existence of a new outer planet are confirmed with the discovery by Charles-Augustin Lyotard at the Paris Observatory of a world beyond Herschel [Neptune, discovered for the same reason in the real world, in 1846]. Although attempts are made to name the new planet Louis, after the French King, it eventually becomes known as Lyotard, after its discoverer.

An attempted coup with the intention of making Russia a theocracy under the Russian Orthodox Church in is suppressed.

Zulu Cossacks are used to lead an invasion of neighbouring Matabeleland and Tswanaland. With little that can stand against them, the Matabele and Tswana can only retreat. The Zulu-Matabele War begins.

1855

The first practical internal combustion engine is invented. [In the real world 1859.] From the first, they are powered by alcohol and plant-based oils rather than mineral oils.

By now a majority of the people in the Alyeskan gold-mining regions are immigrants, mostly from Columbia. A political movement wishing to have those areas secede to Columbia begins to grow, despite attempts by the authorities of the ASF to suppress it.

A powerful earthquake strikes Wellington, New Zealand.

An attempted pro-Romanov revolution in Russia is suppressed.

The Zulu-Matabele War ends as the Zulu have to stop to assimilate their new conquests. The rump Matabeleland and Tswanaland begin rearming themselves.

1856

Protests over the treatment of Colombian gold miners by the authorities of the ASF lead the Colombian government to declare war on the ASF. What is quickly named the Alyeskan War begins.

The ASF, fighting on their home ground and with shorter supply lines and better infrastructure prove to have the advantage. However, the Colombians are more flexible and in many cases better armed.

Martinho Guonçallvez Vieyra, a Portuguese scientist, comes across the 1848 paper of Cristóvão de Loronha and sees that its results can be used for something practical. He uses the Loronha Effect to construct liquid-driven switches for liquid flows, which become known as fluidic switches.

Tsar Valentin I disapproves of all of his relatives as successors. He reinstates the old Roman system of succession by adoption, adopting the person he sees as best suited to continue his work. This leads to unrest among the Russian nobility.

There are several coup attempts in Russia as those displaced by Tsar Valentin I's adoption of an heir attempt to assert their 'right' to rule. They fail.

The adoptive succession system is also adopted in several other places over the years. Some of these are new monarchies; In others the system is forced on the monarch by unrest.

1857

Colombian forces invade Kaliforniya in an attempt to extend Columbia all the way to the Pacific Ocean. However, their attacks are repulsed.

A powerful earthquake at Fort Tejon, in Kaliforniya, kills hundreds of people and ruptures three hundred and fifty kilometres of the San Andreas Fault.

1858

After a number of inconclusive engagements, the ASF and Colombian governments negotiate an end to the Alyeskan War with the Treaty of Sitka. The borders between the two nations are solidly defined and the ASF commits to not oppressing immigrant gold miners. Columbia refuses to accept any region in Alyeska that attempts to secede to it.

Jouy's [Donati's] comet appears. It has two brilliant tails about sixty degrees long and is visible to the naked eye.

Martinho Guonçallvez Vieyra uses the Loronha Effect to construct the first fluidic calculating machine, which he names the Arithmetical Fountain. [This is the fluidic equivalent of the Difference Engine.]

A pro-Romanov coup in Russia is suppressed. It never has more than minority support.

An alliance of southern African tribes led by the Matabele and Tswana people attack Zululand. They are aided by Cossacks and other steam-powered equipment they have developed. The Second Zulu-Matabele War begins.

Arithmetical fountains prove to be very useful, and others across Europe build them too. Some are both functional and aesthetic.

1859

The first ships begin to use the newly-completed Suez Canal. [In the real world 1869]

Egypt's debt forces it to sell its share of the Suez Canal. Ever since it has been under French ownership.

A third attempted pro-Romanov revolution in Russia is suppressed. Like the other such attempts, it never has more than minority support.

French scientists develop fingerprinting as a means of unambiguously identifying people. It begins to be widely used in criminology and for general surveillance and control of the population, both in France and outside of it. [In the real world fingerprinting was first developed in 1880.]

Assisted by uprisings within Zululand, the Zulus are pushed back.

A socialist anti-cities movement, which becomes known as the Naturalists, evolves out of the French Physiocratic system of economics. Naturalists think that the nations of the world should adjust. That they should spread the factories and so on of the cities across all of the villages of the nation. They realise that industry is essential for the modern world, but insist that it is secondary to agriculture. This movement has a golden flag, symbolising grain and agriculture.

Along similar lines to fingerprinting, forensic science in general advances rapidly during this period.

Over the years, the existence of the Suez Canal helps to open up East Africa, though it is also closed in wars from time to time.

Led and inspired by the teachings of a charismatic Taoist priest, Pang Shaiming, anti-opium riots begin and spread across China. The Manchu government can do nothing to stop them, but the Europeans interpret this as their allowing the uprising to happen. The riots are brutally suppressed by European soldiers, but rather than stopping the uprising, it fans the flames, and the uprising spreads.

As it continues, the Chinese uprising turns into a bloody Chinese Civil War as the Chinese people fight to expel the Europeans and to bring down the Manchu government, who they perceive to have lost the Mandate of Heaven. Even in their traditional areas in the north of China, the Manchus have little support. Millions die in the violence.

The French, wanting stability in China, support the Manchus with arms and troops. This reliance of foreign support encourages only the belief that the Manchus have lost the Mandate of Heaven.

1860

The first sustained improvements to farming crops and techniques arising from scientific research make their appearance. The new knowledge of genetics is used to manipulate and improve crop plants of all kinds. This begins a 'green revolution'. [In the real world this happened from 1944 onwards.]

Wishing to preserve their language and culture against increasing Anglicisation and Prussianisation at home, a number of Welsh groups begin searching for places to set up their own communities in the New World.

The first pneumatic type is invented by Floris Geertszoon in the Netherlands. [In the real world this occurred in 1845.]

A Great Comet seen from mid-June to July has a tail twenty degrees long.

1861

The triple-expansion steam engine is invented. [In the real world 1881]

An anti-Semitic regime is elected to power in Mexico.

After a number of unsuccessful proposals, the Argentinean government invites Welsh settlers to come and live in Patagonia, to help the Argentines establish control of the area as well as preserve Welsh culture. [This is similar to what happened in the real world (more information from the same site or from the BBC).]

The bright Comet Sternberg [Tebbutt] is observed with a tail one hundred and twenty degrees long.

The Second Zulu-Matabele War ends with the Matabele-Tswana Alliance regaining much of the territory it lost in the first Zulu-Matabele War.

Oil is discovered in Israel.

1862

Disliking the growing power of the Jewish nation of Israel, and wanting to take the oil there, the Louisianan and Mexican governments rescind the Israel Purchase on a trumped-up excuse. Israel refuses to accept the rescinding of the Purchase. Mexico, with tacit support by Louisiana, and secret funding from Russia, invades. What becomes known as the Pogrom War begins.

The War is not popular in Louisiana, although it is supported by many Louisianan Catholics, and the Roman Catholic Church itself. The Mexicans are much less divided. Although they prove surprisingly tough fighters, many Israelis are killed. The war is not the rout the invaders were expecting, and although they take large sections of Israel, the war drags on.

Comet Ruprecht [Swift-Tuttle] is discovered. It is found to be the parent comet to the Perseid meteor shower, which occurs in August.

The first plastics are developed by Theunis Geertszoon in the Netherlands. [In the real world this also occurred in 1862.]

Plastics come to be widely used somewhat sooner than in the real world. This is one of the reasons why aircraft - both heavier and lighter-than air - appear sooner.

1863

The Union, and Britain particularly, begins to offer support to Israel.

The first Welsh settlers arrive in Patagonia. After many initial problems they begin to make a go of their new lives. Hundreds, and then thousands, of Welsh people join them. [More than in the real world, where only hundreds made the trip.]

The Uighur people of the Chinese province of Xinjiang rise up and overthrow their Manchu rulers, forming the new nation of Uighurstan. At the same time, Mongolia also breaks free of China and forms an independent nation.

The Union and Nicaragua, after long negotiations, sign the Treaty of Tegucigalpa. After a significant payment to the Nicaraguan government by the Union, this rearranges the borders of Nicaragua and the Mosquito Coast to give the Union all the land it will require to build a Nicaraguan Canal, as well as giving Nicaragua access to the Gulf of Mexico. Construction work begins on the Nicaraguan Canal.

1864

Israelite Uzziel Chertok invents the hand-cranked Chertok Gun [Gatling gun, which in the real world this invented in 1861]. This is immediately used against the invading Mexican and Louisianan forces to great effect. Manufactured in large numbers in Israel and, later, in the Union, it proves a major advantage to the Israelis.

The Union joins the Pogrom War on the side of Israel. Columbia remains neutral; it seems to disapprove of the actions of Louisiana, but not to want to actively oppose its sister nation.

1865

With the invasion stymied by the Israelis, the Pogrom War enters a stalemate. Trench warfare begins.

The first rifles enter service, used by both sides in the Pogrom War. [About the same as in the real world]

As the Chinese Civil War forces the Manchus out of the rebel-controlled north, the number of rebels increases, though the number of rebel factions does too.

The Great Southern Comet appears.

Inspired by the reports of Arithmetical Fountains coming out of western Europe, Russian engineer Kliment Zadornov develops a model of the Russian economy using the flow of water between different containers to represent the flow of money between different parts of the financial system [this is very similar to the MONIAC computer of the real world]. The papers he writes based on the results of this gain the attention of the Russian government, and the Zadornov Fountain (as it comes to be known) is adopted by the new Russian government where it aids in the development of the country.

Over time the use of Zadornov Fountains spreads to other nations around the world, and also to many UER groups who come to consider them very much a part of their planning. Although useful, the Zadornov Fountains soon prove unsuitable for anything more than very high level models of an economy, though this does not stop more ideologically-minded UER groups using them as if this was not the case.

1866

Israel, Louisiana, Mexico, Columbia and the Union broker a peace that ends the Pogrom War.

After several incidents of French slaves fleeing to Libertatia, French forces attack the country. Although they do not destroy Libertatia, they force a surrender, with Libertatia giving up its access to the Atlantic Ocean (and thus most of France's slave-holding American colonies) as part of the settlement.

The Paulus-Fortin [Tempel-Tuttle] comet is discovered. This is later found to be the parent comet of the Leonid meteor shower.

1867

General Jia Fai, a high-ranking leader of the Chinese rebels, rises up and unifies the rebels into a single army, and forces a settlement that ends the war, though at the cost of millions of Chinese lives. The Chinese Civil War ends, and the general begins a new dynasty, the Long, with himself as Emperor. However, the Manchu Emperor retains the support of the French.

There are now two Chinas, a rump Manchu China in the interior of what was China with its capital at Xian that is weak and a puppet of France and the other European powers, and a Long China in the North, with its capital at Beijing. This is poorer, but also freer of outside control, and seen to have the Mandate of Heaven. Manchu China is surrounded along the coast by five new European possessions including La Chine Du Nord Française [French North China], La Chine Du Sud Française [French South China], the Spanish Territorio de Macao [Macau Territory], the Nederlandse Formosa en China [Dutch Formosa and China] and the small Union territory of Jih-Chao [Rizhao].

Despite brutal attempts to stop them, large numbers of Chinese flee the increasingly oppressive Manchu China for Long China.

1868

The first internal-combustion-engine-driven lighter-than-air airship flies in France. [In the real world 1888.]

An earthquake that strikes western South America [real world Ecuador and Peru] kills some forty thousand people.

Poor harvests lead to political unrest in Argentina.

As the influence of the Naturalists begins to spread the French establishment has them banned, and many of them go into exile, particularly in the Holy Roman Empire.

1869

The first electric microphone is invented by Gebhard Zumwald in Prussia. It immediately begins to be used for covert surveillance. [In the real world this was invented in 1876.]

As the numbers of Afrikaner settlers in Cape Province expands, they begin to show signs of unrest against the policies of the Dutch government.

A Third Zulu-Matabele War occurs after skirmishes along the border.

1870

Israelite Shimshon ben Arieh declares that Liron ben Aviram, the founder of Israel, was misled. The American Israel is not the True Israel but a diversion from it. The Jewish people must thus find a New - the True - Israel. This declaration, and the support Shimshon ben Arieh gains for it, creates a great rift in Israeli society. There is violence, and an Israeli civil war is only narrowly averted.

Despite this, several 'New Israel' movements appear in Israel and among other Jewish populations around the world, despite their being dubbed traitors by the Israeli government. Some want to set up a New Israel in the Holy Land. Others a New Israel somewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

In France, Maurice Lipietz expands on the idea of the Arithmetical Fountain to produce a much more flexible and programmable fluidic calculating machine, which becomes known as the Analytical Fountain. This is run using a system of punched cards similar to those used to control looms. [This is the fluidic equivalent of the Analytical Engine.]

In Zululand, smiths using the ideas of James McWhirter put forward in 1842 secretly produce the first truly mechanical programmable computing machine. [Only the Zulus make wide use of mechanical computers, because they consider that they understand and prefer them over foreign devices.]

A radical UER government takes control of Argentina in a bloody coup. Many enemies of the state are purged, and the new regime dissolves its cities and spreads it people and everything else out across the countryside, for the good of the nation and the happiness of all. By force. The Argentinean economy goes into free-fall. [This is very vaguely analogous to the actions of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.]

As time progresses Analytical Fountains become widely used, shrinking in size as tiny high-pressure components, nozzles and so on are developed, alongside telegraph-based electrical peripherals such as printers. ''[Because fluidic computing becomes widely used, electronic computing only happens much later than in the real world, and mechanical computing never becomes widely adopted. Fluidic computing is only truly superseded by DNA computing, despite the limitation it has because of the difficulty of its being miniaturised.]''

Computers of various kinds find widespread use, in cryptographic work and in running train systems, factories and so on as effectively as possible. They are also used for information tabulating in surveillance and so on. Surveillance and over-bureaucratisation of many states derived from this leads to the hindering of research and advancement.

As the policies of many government become more and more mechanised and bureaucratic, unrest among the people, spurred on by the various Naturalist and Naturist movements, grows and grows.

1871

As more and more people move into Long China, pressed by migration from the south, there is little option but for waves of Chinese to move north and east into the Alyesko-Siberian Federation. Diplomatic attempts to stop this migration fail, and the Alyesko-Siberian government uses force to do so. The Sino-Siberian War begins.

1872

A powerful earthquake strikes Pino Solitario [Lone Pine], in Kaliforniya.

The first telephone is invented by Gebhard Zumwald in Prussia, based on his earlier microphone surveillance technology. [In the real world 1876]

As the Chinese migration continues, the Sino-Siberian War comes to include Korea as Chinese also move into that nation.

After considerable debate, the Dutch government grants full equivalence to Cape Province, giving its citizens seats in the Dutch government proportional to its population, and making it a semi-independent self-governing dominion within the Dutch Empire.

Zululand initiates a eugenics programme aimed at improving their people.

Over time other Dutch colonies have gained similar dominion status, each time expanding the number of seats in the Dutch parliament.

1873

The quadruple-expansion steam engine is invented. [In the real world 1894]

After petitions and protests fail, there is a general strike in Britain over the governments Panopticon-related policies. It is broken up by force. In protest, other outbreaks of unrest rapidly spread across Europe, and are also suppressed. Eugenics records, computing machines and mechanised factories are destroyed. The Naturalist movements gain more and more support, and civil unrest increases as what becomes known as the First Societal War begins.

Suppression of dissent and diversity in Argentina, 'for the good of all', results in massacres of Welsh settlers. The Union protests this mistreatment of it people (although in fact they are no longer Union citizens, there is enough protest at home over this to make the Union government take notice).

1874

The first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable is completed. [In the real world 1866]

Tsar Valentin I dies of old age. He is remembered as Tsar Valentin the Great. He is succeeded by his adoptive son, who becomes Tsar Nikolai I.

As Naturalist-related unrest spreads and intensifies, and religious unrest also begins in India, most European governments realise that they cannot stand against it in the long term. Many of them agree to allow a return to 'normal' society, dismantling many of their eugenics and related programmes. However, in some places, such as Russia, vicious suppression of the Naturalist movements occurs instead, and a reign of terror begins.

In the chaos of the Sino-Siberian War a new nation, the Evenk Republic, breaks off from the Alyesko-Siberian Federation.

As violence and massacres continue in Argentina, public unrest spreads in the Union, partly inspired by the anti-UER feeling of the recent Societal Wars. The Union government threatens military action against Argentina.

As the Nicaraguan Canal nears completion, and seeing the strategic importance of having its own crossing of the Central American isthmus, after prolonged negotiations the French government buys the former Spanish colony of Panama.

Comet Green [Coggia] appears, and is visible to the naked eye. It has two tails more than sixty degrees long.

Although their 'unnatural' social programmes are largely ended, governments are badly frightened by the Societal War, and there is increased surveillance and so on of their people by the governments of the world, as they are now much less trusted than before and the governments do not want a repeat of the unrest that occurred.

Many of the Nullopticon movements are discretely banned during this time, along with various types of obfuscating slang.

1875

The Nicaraguan Canal opens after twelve years under construction by the Union.

After years spent searching for possible locations, the largest of the New Israel movements decides that the (defensible) island of Madagascar is the New Israel. The Union, who supported Israel in the Pogrom War, are fairly friendly with the Malagasay government and are able to assist them in establishing their settlement on the island.

The OSU demands of the new Tsar Nikolai I that the Russian Empire returns the territory they took in the Bosporous War. When these demands are refused, the OSU declares war and attacks Russia to regain their 'rightful territories'. As what becomes known as the Anatolian War begins, Ottoman forces prove to be much better, and better equipped, than previously suspected and they push the Russians back on several fronts.

Korea is completely overrun by Chinese migrants, and is absorbed into Long China. The majority of the Korean population are killed during the Chinese invasion as a matter of Chinese policy, while most of the remainder flee to Japan, La Chine Du Nord Française or the Alyesko-Siberian Federation, leaving Koreans a tiny minority in their own country.

With its demands for a stop to the massacres ignored, the Union sends military forces to Argentina. Although other nations do not necessarily want this, they also very much dislike the Argentinean UER regime, and so do not object. The Argentinean War begins.

The First Zulu-Tswana War occurs after skirmishes along the border.

The New Israel settlers have problems with native unrest in Madagascar, but are able to suppress it. They soon come to dominate the island. Industrialisation begins, and the creation of a strong navy, as well as the establishment of several trading posts on the coast of the African mainland.

Relations between the government of New Israel and Israel are initially very cold, although they thaw slightly with time.

1876

Union forces quickly suppress Argentinean resistance, assisted by a number of uprisings against their government by the Argentineans themselves. The UER regime collapses, and its leaders are captured, tried (by Argentineans) and executed. The Argentinean War officially ends.

To avoid problems such as this again, the Union imposes a new division of Argentina. The nation is divided into four, a rump Argentina, Gran Chaco, New Wales (Cymru Newydd) and Mapuche, in the very southern tip of South America.

France begins constructing a canal across the Central American isthmus in Panama.

New Wales is a parliamentary democracy along Union lines. Rump Argentina becomes an oligarchy, while Gran Chaco becomes a dictatorship. Mapuche becomes a Kingdom.

Over the years emmigration has raised the Welsh population of New Wales above that in 'old' Wales in Britain.

1877

The eruption of Mount Cotopaxi in western South America [Ecuador] kills a thousand people in mud flows.

A bloody coup brings a radical Rationalist regime to power in Peru. One of the aims of this government is to unite the world into one under the Rationalist banner. Some Rationalists flock to the Peruvian banner. Others, who do not believe that the end of a unified, Rational world is worth any means used to achieve it, are more sceptical. Yet more who believe only the peaceful unification of the world will last protest its methods. Despite this all Rationalists come to be tarred with the Peruvian brush.

1878

With support from the Turkish population, the forces of the OSU push the Russians out of Anatolia [Turkey] as the Anatolian War continues. They continue their advance into the Caucasus with the stated aim of 'liberating' all of the Muslims of southern Russia.

1879

Ottoman forces take the Crimea and move into Armenia. They are assisted in this by the use of poison gas, which they use widely against the Russians, becoming the first nation to use chemical weapons.

New Wales is offered membership in the Union. After a referendum it accepts this offer, and becomes a member state.

1880

As the Chinese migration into Long China begins to stop, the Long government negotiates a settlement with the Alyesko-Siberian Federation. The low population of the Alyesko-Siberian Federation means it can do little to stop the Chinese migration, so it accepts their offer. A new border between Long China and the Alyesko-Siberian Federation is defined and with it the Sino-Siberian War comes to an end.

A Great Southern Comet appears with a fifty degree long tail.

A Naturalist coup occurs in the Holy Roman Empire, and a Naturalist regime takes power after much bloody fighting. The royal family of the Holy Roman Empire flees into exile in France.

Pro-Naturalist unrest is suppressed in France, Russia and the Union.

Despite some attempts by the new Naturalist regime to reduce the power of cities, in the end the cities of the Holy Roman Empire are not demolished - it would be far too disruptive. However, new industries and so on are forced to be spread across the country. These limitations greatly hinder the development of the Holy Roman Empire, though they do encourage the growth of an extensive system of transportation.

1881

The Russian Empire begins negotiations with the OSU to end the war. The Ottomans refuse to relinquish the territory they have taken, and the Russians cannot take it. The Treaty of Sevastopol officially recognises the current borders between the two states, and ends the Anatolian War.

Kaliforniya adopts the adoptive succession system.

A Great Comet, also known as comet Smith-George [Tebbutt], appears in the southern skies with a tail twenty degrees long.

Russia, humiliated by its defeat at the hands of the OSU during the Anatolian War, begins to rebuild and improve its military.

1882

Electric light is invented in the Union by Godmund Smith. Its use quickly begins to spread across the world.

Mud flows from the eruption of the Galunggung volcano in Indonesia kill more than four thousand people.

Comet Godard [Wells] appears. It has a tail forty degrees long.

The Welsh population of New Wales protest at the Union flag suggested to them. At their insistence, it is modified with a green field rather than the traditional dark blue. The large number of Spaniards present in New Wales also protest the flag. It is further modified to reflect the old Argentinean flag, with a Welsh dragon superimposed over it. The government of New Wales also block suggestions for sending European colonists there.

The Great September Comet is seen between September 1882 and Mid-February of 1883. It is very bright, with a bright tail twenty-five degrees long and can be seen by the naked eye during daylight, even at noon and close to the sun.

1883

A major eruption of the Krakatau volcano in Indonesia kills more than thirty-six thousand people in ash falls and tsunami. The blast is heard five thousand kilometres away.

The Union takes advantage of this to take control of a few islands in the Dutch Indies.

1884

Anti-maladies [antibiotics] are discovered by Frenchman Aubert Rachelle at the University of Paris. [In the real world French physician Ernest Duchesne discovered these in 1896, though they were not fully developed until the 1930s]. They soon become known as 'antimals'.

King Louis XVIII of France dies aged seventy-six. He is succeeded by his second son (his first son, Louis, having died), who becomes King Charles XI.

In Manchu China there is a widespread revolt in support of Long China, with the intention of merging the two Chinas back into one. It grows and spreads.

The OSU, confident after its victory over the Russians, attempts to persuade France and its new King to grant it control of the Suez Canal. When this fails, they simply annex it. The French declare war, and the Suez War begins.

1885

The revolt in Manchu China is brutally suppressed, with many dead in the process.

The French Panama canal opens to shipping traffic.

Manchu China suffers a continuing problem with pro-Long China terrorist activity.

1886

The first machine gun is invented by Gautier Pflaume in Hanover. [In the real world 1883]

A train crash kills King Fernando VIII of Spain, as well as his wife and children. With no immediate successor to the Spanish throne, it falls to King Charles XI of France.

With Zulu mercenaries hired by the OSU making up many of their opponents in the Suez War, France declares war on Zululand in an attempt to get them to withdraw their forces, despite the Zululand government not being involved in the Suez War.

1887

As France blockades Zululand it finds that the Zulus are much more organised than expected, and fight back far more effectively than anticipated. Espionage eventually finds out that the smiths of Zululand have developed powerful mechanical computers that allows them to be more organised than the French, and thus more effective.

Despite French efforts with Arithmetical Fountains, they cannot match the organisation of the Zulus at home, although the Zulu forces cannot defeat the French.

The Suez War ends with a resounding defeat of the OSU by the French, although the Zulus do well. The OSU is forced to sign over the Suez Canal to France in perpetuity, and allow the French military to set up bases wherever it wishes to protect the Canal. A major French presence begins to build up in Egypt; this continues to the present day. Franco-Zulu relations return to the status quo.

Two thousand people are killed after an earthquake strikes the French Riviera.

A powerful earthquake strikes Sonora, Mexico.

Another Great Southern Comet appears with a tail fifty degrees long.

As Charles XI of France takes the throne of Spain, there are disturbances and unrest across Spain as Spain essentially becomes part of France. Despite rumours (and some evidence) that this unrest is funded by the enemies of Spain and France, the unrest grows and spreads.

France and other nations begin advancing their computing sciences and techniques, although they continue to develop Analytical Fountains rather than mechanical computers.

1888

X-rays are discovered by Habib al-Khwarizmi at the University of Beirut in the OSU. [In the real world these were discovered in 1887.]

Columbia attempts to apply 'scientific' racism to justify its continuation of slavery. However, unbiased scientific tests prove that racism is unfounded, and the results are hushed up.

A new Emperor, Alamgir III, comes to the throne of the rump Mughal Empire. Young, charismatic and forceful, he begins to work towards the restoration of the Mughal Empire.

1889

King William V of Britain dies. He is succeeded by his daughter, who becomes Queen Sophia I. The accession of a woman to the throne triggers what becomes known as the Salic Crisis, as Hanover's Salic Law means that a woman cannot be ruler of Hanover. This is resolved through the Union, where the Personal Union of Britain and Hanover is dissolved, but the two nations remain linked through the Union itself. As the Union changes, it is also remade into a federation - one nation with one government.

The first heavier-than-air aircraft flies in France after being invented by Luc Sautet. Its first passenger is Etienne Montgolfier, a of Joseph Michel Montgolfier, one of the original inventors of the balloon. [Because internal combustion engines are developed earlier here than in the real world, aircraft are also developed that much earlier.]

Anti-French unrest in Spain comes to boiling point as a revolt starts in Madrid and spreads across Spain. Spanish troops are ineffective in suppressing the revolt, and many join it. French troops brought in to assist only fan the flames of the revolt.

Comet Golden [Barnard 2] appears.

1890

King Charles XI of France dies aged sixty. He is succeeded by his son, who becomes King Charles XII.

The Spanish revolt turns into a civil war.

The first motion pictures are invented by Karl von Duisburg in the Union. [This is slightly earlier than in the real world.]

As it become clearer and clearer that Panopticon-based surveillance and computers are monitoring and controlling peoples lives, there is a resurgence of Naturist and Luddite movements opposed to governments knowing all aspects of their peoples lives. The people want their privacy back.

As time passes, the Naturalist regime in the Holy Roman Empire proves to be incapable of managing the country, which sinks into poverty and corruption.

1891

Again, various popular movements unite against their governments and large-scale social unrest spreads across the world as what become known as the Second Societal Wars begin. There are more General Strikes, and some sacking of government record offices in riots and arson, during which many records are destroyed.

Governments attempt to crack down on this behaviour, but, again, there are simply too many people involved. Security is tightened to prevent sackings and arson.

Taking advantage of the unrest of the Second Societal Wars, Mughal Emperor Alamgir III begins forging ties of mutual interest with the other Muslim states of northern India, attempting to form them into what will eventually become a new Mughal Empire.

1892

The first commercial motion pictures are produced. [This is slightly earlier than in the real world.]

Russia declares war on the OSU with the aim of taking back the territory it to them lost during the Anatolian War; this conflict becomes known as the Caucasus War. This time the Russian forces have an edge, and gradually push the Ottomans back.

Despite the high security of the computing facilities, the first computer virus is discovered, secretly loaded into the computers of the French government and attacking the information stored there.

The Second Zulu-Tswana War occurs after skirmishes along the border.

As part of the Second Societal Wars, protests around the Houses of Parliament in London get out of hand, and the building is burned to the ground, with great loss of life among the protestors as troops break them up. [In the real world the Houses of Parliament burnt down in 1834.]

1893

The Rationalist regime ruling Peru invades and takes control of neighbouring Charcas [Bolivia].

The government of New Israel attempts to negotiate the transfer of French trading posts on the island of Madagascar to them. After prolonged discussions, the French sell them all but one settlement, which they retain for strategic purposes.

Wishing to nip the potential problems caused by a resurgent Mughal Empire in the bud, the French persuade the rulers of the Indou [Hindu] state of Rajputana to act against Emperor Alamgir III and the rump Mughal Empire.

In the Union, after many years of work scientist Afred Kurtzweil expands on the idea of the Arithmetical and Analytical Fountains to produce what he names the Synthesising Fountain. This is a version of the Arithmetical Fountain that does not use water as its operating fluid, but instead any of a variety of chemicals. Rather than producing a numerical output, it automatically synthesises a chemical output, its operations combining control of the sequence of chemical reactions with the chemical reactions themselves in one integrated machine. Despite a number of teething problems, the Synthesising Fountain is quite successful, and becomes a widely used instrument.

Later versions of the Synthesising Fountain incorporate self-cleaning sequences, and many of them come to be made of crystal or gold, or gold-plated, to avoid reactions between the chemicals used and the Fountain itself.

1894

Blood groups are discovered by Semyon Kirilovitch Aleichem at the University of St Petersburg in Russia. [In the real world they were discovered in 1901 by Karl Landsteiner.]

In French India, Prajesh Badri d'Agartala, a Franco-Indian administrator from the city of Agartala in the Royal State of Tripura and working in one of the major agricultural universities near Pondicherry, is inspired to link the new science of ecology with evolution and Indou-ism, particularly the Karmic cycle, to create what he calls Nayaa Rasta (the New Way) and which non-Hindi speakers generally refer to as Physio-Indouism (contracted to Phyndouism) or Badri-ism [as ignorant non-Muslims sometimes refer to Islam as Mohammedism]. [Hindi translation Site.]

Nayaa Rasta is a new political and religious belief system based on the linkage of everything together into an overall living world, through which souls and spirits move by the dictates of Karma. Only right living can raise up the world and improve it, and people's lot, in the longer term by improving everything as people live their lives in many different forms and rise up the Karmic ladder [this is a religious form of Orthogenesis]. What is perceived as evolution is the result of this long-term improvement. As such people should live morally, in tune with society and the living world around them, nurturing them both to improve everything over many Karmic cycles.

A Fourth Zulu-Matabele War occurs after skirmishes along the border.

As part of the Second Societal Wars, an Anti-Naturalist revolution takes hold in the Holy Roman Empire. After much bloody fighting a new pro-Monarchy regime is put into place, and the Naturalists suppressed.

The forces of Rajputana invade the rump Mughal Empire. The links that Emperor Alamgir III has forged with the other Muslim states prove to very weak as no other state comes to his aid, despite appeals for them to do so. Rajputana quickly takes control of Delhi and the rest of the small remnant of the Mughal Empire. Emperor Alamgir III dies in the defence of Delhi, along with all of the remaining Mughal royal family. The Mughal Empire officially ceases to exist.

With the help of the OSU, Albania and Wallachia secede from the Holy Roman Empire during the unrest of the Anti-Naturalist revolution.

The Spanish Civil War (which has also become known as the Second War of the Spanish Succession) ends as the French agree to a new relationship between the two nations. King Charles XII of France steps down from the Spanish throne, and instead a distant and Spanish member of the Bourbon royal family is placed on the Spanish throne. He becomes King Amadeo I of Spain.

With the accession of King Amadeo I to the throne of Spain, there is an end to Spanish unrest. However as Spain rebuilds with French assistance, it is still very much a French satellite.

The Second Societal Wars gradually end with widespread government capitulation to the demands of the protestors. The Union's Panopticon Office is disbanded. Some places do not capitulate, however, and become very repressive. These mostly become closed states, to avoid their people simply emigrating.

Laws restricting the use of surveillance and so on are put in place in most nations. However, the systems do, in general, remain in place.

In some places a period without government surveillance, including things such as censuses, ensues. However, as time passes this lack of information gathering fades away as the need for information grows and the people are convinced that some information is required by the government for the nation to be able to function.

In some places the uprising against the Panopticon Society leads to it being turned back onto the governments. People watch their governments like hawks, and demand great governmental transparency. In some places everyone is observed. In some places only the government is observed. In others the government retains control and the people are still watched...

Since the absorption of the Mughal Empire into the state of Rajputana, the late Mughal Emperor Alamgir III has become a rallying cry and martyr for those few Indian Muslims who wish to resurrect the Mughal Empire and expel the French and other foreigners from India. However, the supporters of this idea, such as they are, have always remained very much a fringe movement.