For alternate history, historical, and whatif conjecture! Under international pressure, the Southern states gradually abolish slavery. According to the module, the Germans would not have been able to withstand the might of the British Home Guard and the RAF—and as the Royal Navy had superiority in the English Channel, they would not have been able to escape. In the America of 1962, slavery is legal once again, and the few surviving Jews hide out under assumed names. He did get a few things wrong, however—such as having a clock strike in Julius Caesar, 1500 years before such clocks were invented. Naturally, this turns Europe into a vastly different place. It would end not with the prostitute (Roberts) and her wealthy client (Richard Gere) living happily ever after, but with her dying of a heroin overdose while he drives into the sunset, cackling maniacally. Effect: The Fuhrer is revered in history as a great leader. Under the government of John Nance Garner (who would have been Roosevelt’s VP), and later the Republican candidate John W. Bricker, the U.S. doesn’t prevail against the Great Depression, and maintains an isolationist policy in World War II, leading to a weak and ineffectual military. The newly fascist CSA then plans a Final Solution for the “surplus” black population. What if the D-Day invasion had failed in 1944? Texas, unhappy with the new arrangement, declares its independence in 1878. Effect: Robert Kennedy survives his assassination attempt. Alternate history: what if Magna Carta hadn’t been written? His presidency, the article speculated, would be so disastrous that Democrats wouldn’t occupy the White House for at least another 25 years. Alternate History imagines what would happen if history had gone differently. And The Man in the High Castle is among the most well-known books that tackle that question. One of the most intriguing was a universe where Sinatra was never born, and is therefore unable to use his influence to get President Kennedy elected in 1960. Effect: World War II might have ended earlier—but Hitler would still have lost. What if the French decided not to sell the Louisiana territory to the USA? Alternate history is arguably one of the best genres in all of popular entertainment, partly because it relies on the complexity of hard decisions and the consequences that come from them. And what if America didn't drop the bomb on Japan? Using advanced technology, the U.S. is on the winning side. Explanation: In a 1960 article published in Look magazine, author and Civil War buff MacKinlay Kantor envisioned a history in which the Confederate forces won the Civil War in 1863, forcing the despised President Lincoln into exile. Effect: The Union would be over… forever. That’s the nature of things: we can never truly know. What if Charles Darwin had sought political office? (1999), edited by Robert Cowley, historians pondered what would happen if historical events had turned out differently. His 1962 novel The Man in the High Castle, which established him as a top science fiction writer, is set in a world where the Axis powers win World War II in 1947 and divide most of the world between them. What if the Allies invaded the Japanese mainland at the climax of WWII? r/ HistoryWhatIf. Meanwhile, a war of independence would stir in South America. Explanation: In "Road to the Multiverse," a 2009 episode of Family Guy, Stewie and Brian find themselves hopping between universes. 99 $26.00 $26.00 FREE Shipping Get free shipping Free 5-8 day shipping within the U.S. when you order $25.00 of eligible items sold or fulfilled by Amazon. Effect: Ronald Reagan is assassinated in 1985 (obviously). When Henry tries to usurp his nephew’s throne, he is stopped in a papal war. But, to be honest, when foreigners do so, they often fail to make it realistic, mostly because they think of a superpowered Brazil as a tropical version of the US. The plan was shelved in 1940, but some 30 years later, the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst started a war-games module, set in a world where Sea Lion had happened. One chapter mentions a fantasy novel in which the Emperor suffered a major defeat in the Belgian town of Waterloo. Even Bush’s vice-president, Dan Quayle, would be propelled to the presidency after winning a debate against Bill Clinton. SBNation.com and the SB Nation NFL teams sites play out various scenarios. The popular Harry Turtledove, who specializes in alternate history novels, has suggested what might have happened – in 11 volumes (so far). I’ve seen a lot of people give the idea of Brazil as a superpower power a try in an alternate history scenario. Explanation: The 1963 Kennedy assassination is a popular event of alternate history, inspiring novels, stage plays and short story collections. At the end of the war, the U.S. side wins again, and takes control of the CSA. In his novel Idlewild (1995), journalist Mark Lawson devised a world where Monroe survived her “suicide attempts,” President Kennedy survived his assassination attempt, and they continued their notorious (if historically unproven) affair for another 30 years. Hitchens didn’t explain how Nixon would avoid the Watergate scandal, or where Quayle would obtain his debating skills. Conspiracy theory 7. Explanation: Renowned novelist Kingsley Amis entered alternate-history territory in 1976 with his award-winning novel The Alteration. Instead, the CSA is offered neither independence nor civil rights, but is kept under military rule. In the 1968 presidential election, he would be Robert Kennedy’s running mate, eventually saving him from the assassin’s bullet. Explanation: Jack Dann’s 2004 novel The Rebel portrays a history in which film star James Dean survives his fatal car crash in 1955. An entire channel dedicated to the 'What If?". What if the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic had killed 50% of the world’s population? card classic compact. Instead, Nixon was elected, and “totally botched the Cuban Missile Crisis, causing World War III.” This caused devastation all around them. Need some inspiration for an alternate history scenario? Then there was the American supermarket tabloid The Sun. What if the Ottoman Empire had succeeded in capturing Vienna in 1529? What if the Confederate States won the American Civil War? 1 Welcome to the Alternate History Wiki 1.1 Topics 1.2 Rules 2 Latest activity This is the alternate history wiki where YOU can rewrite history. In simple terms, AH is a non mainstream explanation for actual history. Alternate history, long popular with fiction writers, has also been explored by historians and journalists. Here’s a list of 50 questions to excite your imagination, invalidate your history textbooks, and infuriate your stuffy childhood history teacher. Explanation: Any reality envisioned by Philip K. Dick was bound to be fascinating. In this history, while Reagan died 19 years early, other people are granted extended lives. Alternate history, alternative history (in Commonwealth English), or simply althist, sometimes abbreviated as AH, is a genre of speculative fiction consisting of stories in which one or more historical events occur differently. What if the RMS Lusitania was not sunk by a German U-Boat in 1915? Here are some of their intriguing conclusions. The first novel, How Few Remain (1997), introduced a world where, years after the war, the former USA is divided into two nations: the U.S. and the Confederate States of America. For example, what if the Confederacy had won the American Civil War, what if the Germans had won World War II, what if Al Gore had won the 2000 US Presidential Election. Posted by 15 hours ago. After fighting together in two world wars, the three nations are reunified in 1960 – a century after South Carolina’s secession had led to the Civil War in the first place. This question was asked in 1907, in an essay contest held by London's Westminster Gazette. Hence, the Church of England is never founded, the Spanish Armada is never defeated (as Elizabeth I was never born), and Martin Luther reconciles with the Catholic Church, eventually becoming Pope. What if Hitler had decided not to invade Russia? or what if Michael Portillo had become the British Prime Minister. A surprisingly effortless, if complex, read, its labyrinthine narrative weaves plot strands in and out of each other like silk, keeping the pages turning until the coffee goes cold. (The essay ended there – on a cliffhanger.). This leads the Fab Four to disband. What if Henry VIII had stayed married to Catherine of Aragon? What if there were no such thing as horses? Effect: Christianity would continue to rule the world. Explanation: The British movie magazine Empire joined in the counterfactuals game in 2003 by suggesting some possible stories from recent Hollywood history. What if all human lifespans were limited to 35 years? What if the Vikings never went viking and just stayed at home instead? Some of the stories out there are a mixture of the serious and silly, but others are a plausible look at how a few key decisions could have changed the world. Meanwhile, the United States loses New York, Washington DC, San Diego, Miami and other cities. She would then record a hit song with Frank Sinatra, make bad films, and give up acting in 1980 to look after her drug-addicted twin sons. President Lindbergh, a white supremacist and anti-Semite, declares martial law, throws his opponents in prison, and allies with Nazi Germany in World War II. This envisions a world in which the U.S. military sabotages President Kennedy’s attempts to negotiate peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis. ), But what if Napoleon had won the Battle of Waterloo in 1815? What if Earth had a habitable twin planet instead of a moon? Explanation: Marilyn Monroe’s death in 1962, at age 36, has been pondered by a few writers. Secret history 2. Effect: The Enlightenment starts early – and lasts a thousand years. Lapham suggested that, if the Romans had won, world history would have been remarkably different, with a “Roman empire preserved from ruin, Christ dying… on an unremembered cross, the nonappearance of the English language, neither the need nor the occasion for a Protestant Reformation… and Kaiser Wilhelm seized by an infatuation with stamps… instead of a passion for cavalry boots.”. The genre (which is sometimes referred to as “alternative history fiction”) is popular among contemporary readers, with many alternate history novels charting on The New … The stories are conjectural but are sometimes based on fact. Alternate history has been seen as a subgenre of li… What if the Romans never converted to Christianity? Outlawed by Anna North. Byron's execution, of course, would only inspire revolution. Lee Harvey Oswald didn’t shoot Kennedy, but shot Mayor McCheese instead. Explanation: Probably the first book-length alternate history, Napoleon and the Conquest of the World: 1812-1823 (published in 1836) imagined that Napoleon, rather than freezing in Moscow in 1812, sought out and destroyed the Russian army. Takes control of the Seventh Coalition at the climax of WWII the League of Nations of conflict such! Cake-Related fire, causing england to remain divided into separate kingdoms nor civil rights but... 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