This Week in Alternate Histories - June 23 to June 29

JUNE 23
Alt-Timeline: Travaillis Republique Democratique
Year: 2014
The Brittany region of France finally achieves independence. Since the end of the war over sixty years ago Brittany had recovered more quickly and was more open to working with the UK & USA. On June 23 the Grand Alliance of Europe recognizes Brittany as an independent nation over French protests.

JUNE 24
Alt-Timeline: Alexander's Earth
Year: 2151 native calendar (AD 1820)
Nearly fifteen years after the Unknown War devastated the Earth, the inhabitants of Almazangrad emerge from their underground city and begin to explore the desolate area around their settlement. Initial explorations show only slightly elevated background radiation in the area around the city giving hope to the survivors of expansion and accumulation of desperately needed resources.

JUNE 25
Alt-Timeline: Alternate Great Lakes
Year: 1788
Virginia becomes the 9th state to ratify the US Constitution. Saint Lawrence has refused to join the new union.

JUNE 26
Alt-Timeline: Sino-Soviet Alliance
Year: 1945
The United Nations charter is signed. A controversial section of the charter allows for a formation of a UN military which would cause trouble when the Soviet Union fails to utilize its veto power at the start of the Korean War. In the future this would be seen as the primary weakness of the new organization and the rise of a more powerful international communist organization in the '50s.

JUNE 27
Alt-Timeline: British North America
Year: 1768
The Treaty of Fort Stanwix is signed between the British and the Iroquois Confederacy. It establishes the borders of Iroquois territory and creates provisions for the British to enforce violations by colonists.

JUNE 28
Alt-Timeline: Campi Flegrei
Year: 1955
A major Nazi air attack with most of their jet fighters breaks the back of the Red Army at the start of the Battle of Radom. This battle marked the limit of the Russian advance into Germany territory.

JUNE 29
Alt-Timeline: World War III
Year: 1963
An agreement is finalized with President João Goulart of Brazil and elements of the US Navy to use Brazilian ports for resupply in the aftermath of the nuclear exchange sparked by the Cuban Missile Crisis. The chaos of the global war and shifting weather patterns is causing problems worldwide, but the presence of the Navy vessels helps stabilize the ports and stimulates economic activity.

Friday Flag - Saint Lawrence

In 1788 when the United States Constitution was being ratified by many of the States. By the end of the year only Rhode Island and Saint Lawrence had not ratified the document. The French-speaking and culturally different inhabitants of the colony had too many differences to the British-stock Americans. In 1789 Rhode Island joined the Union but Saint Lawrence finally declined to join the new political entity.

Saint Lawrence formed its own government. It's flag has a field of blue in the canton with white symbols to represent its provinces, inspired by the American flag. The main field of the flag is red to represent the blood shed during the Revolution and during the years of British oppression. A single white stripe to represent the first province is near the end of the fly end of the flag.

By 1800 the flag has three Fleur-de-lis. They represent the Provinces of Saint Lawrence and Quebec while the third represents the unorganized territories around the great lakes.

Friday Flag - United States of America

The flag of the United States of America under the Articles of Confederation and then the early days under the Constitution. The state of Saint Lawrence declined entry to either organization after the Revolution. The thirteenth stripe and star were removed from the revolutionary flag when the new nation was forged.

Alternate Great Lakes

Sorry about the lack of recent posts. Work and feeling under the weather took up a chunk of time (and learning how to play EUIV). Right now I'm trying out my new desk treadmill system and walking at a zippy 1mph as I type and edit an image. Once I build some extensions for my desk it should be a cool set-up and help me stay in a shape other than round.

So for this latest update I'm looking at the North American Great Lakes. I live near one of them and I have to say it can be nice. Back in elementary school I was told the Great Lakes and Finger Lakes were created by the glaciers during the last ice age. Nice of them to do so given the general pain in the butt glaciers made life for early humans.

So I got to thinking: What if the lakes ended up looking a bit different. Some different variations in the ice sheet or other factors I should really research could have given us different lakes than the ones were are accustomed to. So here is a sketch I made of one possibility. I'll next have to dig up some old maps from National Geographic and refine the shapes of these with a better eye on actual geological factors.

might be a little difficult to see but I enlarged the analog of Lake Ontario and have it exit down the Mowhawk Valley then Down the Hudson Valley instead of the St. Lawrence River. I also picture large swamps where Illinois would be.

What do you think? What sort of changes in the eventual European colonization would happen? How wold local tribes and nations be different?