Map Monday: The Republic of Massachusetts Bay by Ben "False Dmitri" Carnehl

I've always been a sucker for balkanized North America timelines involving alternate colonial histories where the British are not the dominant culture. I know its not very plausible when you factor  in the demographics that made Anglo domination possible, but call it a guilty pleasure if that works for you. With all that said, when I was on my winter blogging break, one map out of the dozen or more I saw entertained me the most:

That is the map of The Republic of Massachusetts Bay by Ben "False Dmitri" Carnehl from his "Affiliated States of Boreoamerica" timeline. I have covered this timeline many time before on Map Monday, mostly because not only is Ben a good alternate cartographer, but the timeline is full of opportunities to create unique nations and cultures in a North America that never was. In this case, Massachusetts Bay was founded by religious exiles who turned their tiny nation into a mercantile and industrial powerhouse that became a center of radicalism and helped establish one of the institutions that led to the ASB.

The map itself focuses on the internal subdivisions of the Republic and uses softer colors, which I enjoy, for said subdivisions and the nation's neighbors. I also liked the inclusion of the "Praying Towns", which are Massachusetts Bay's version of Indian Reservations and fits the multi-cultural narrative of ASB. In conclusion, its another example of the creativity that comes out of the ASB universe.

Honorable mentions go out to "The Philippine Rainbow" by Lynn "ToixStory" Davis (I have to admit a balkanized Philippines is a unique idea) and "Map of the Arizona S.A.R." by Sjdubya.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: Affiliated States of Boreoamerica in 1730 by False Dmitri/Ben Carnehl

As many of you may know, I am a big fan of False Dmitri/Ben Carnehl's Affiliated States of Boreoamerica timeline. Its a lovely bit of world-building with a subtle humor that I also learned recently was in the same universe as Ben's Pseudodemetrian Imperial Commonwealth. That being said, I am here to talk about maps, not the timelines themselves. So lets look at one of the maps from the ASB that caught my attention:

This is the map of the lands of the ASB in 1730. Admittedly its very rough (just look at those color blobs in the bottom left), but it gives an idea of the different political entities that existed in 1730. Here we can see the colonies, independent Jacobite states and some of the more powerful Amerindian tribes. I would actually like to see more maps like this since there is not central depository for the ASB's history. We get glimpses of it from the brief histories Ben and others release on the individual states, but something on the "confederal" level would help string them altogether. Nevertheless, this is a map enjoyed pouring over and I look forward to what Ben and the other contributors to the ASB have in store for the future.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: Royal Province of Maryland by False Dmitri

My next featured map comes from my friend False Dmitri, a.k.a. Benkarnell. Not only is Ben an active member of AlternateHistory.com, but he is also a veteran editor of Ill Bethisad and the AltHistory Wiki. He can also make some spectacular maps, like his balkanized American ethnicities map that is the #2 most viewed article on The Update. Today, however, we are here to check out the Royal Province of Maryland:

This map is set in his Affiliated States of Boreoamerica timelines.  It is a really unique timelines in the sense that it focuses primarily on the domestic histories of the member states of Boreoamerica and ignores the wars and geopolitical rivalries found in other timelines. The ASB (see what Ben did there) is a confederation of White and Indian states that arose out of a vastly different colonization of North America. Not only are there less British colonies, but the ones that do exist have vastly different identities than their doppelgangers of OTL.

Take Maryland, for example. Not only do we learn how the colonies gained their independence during the a Revolution that was not quite Glorious, but we see how this colony of English Catholics transformed into a Jacobite state where the current claimant rules from afar while the Baron Baltimore is the de facto monarch. Ben has managed to give this alternate Maryland a unique identity not seen in most balkanized North America through his history and from the tiny changes he has made in the map above.

Honorable mention this week goes to rvbomally's "Putsch", which features a three-way Cold War between the capitalists, communists and an alliance of fascist states led by Italy. If you want to submit a map for the next Map Monday, email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com with your map attached and a brief description in the body of the email.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.