Map Monday: United States of Europe by Zek Sora

Zek Sora returns to Map Monday, this time with a map without zombies (shocking, I know). I present the "United States of Europe":

In this timeline, Napoleon decides to preserve the preserve the Continental System rather than conquer anymore of Europe. Although Zek does not go into too much detail in the description that went with the map, my guess is that Napoleon never invaded Russia in this alternate history. Eventually the Continental System evolves into a more centralized European Union-esque organization known as the "United States of Europe".

To be fair, this is perhaps one of the more plausibly optimistic timelines involving a victorious Napoleon. Direct French control of most of Europe probably wouldn't have lasted long, but uniting them under a confederation where France was essentially the leader among equals could have worked. While I am curious to know how the USE governs its colonial possessions (since they apparently do have some according to the map), I still found this 1868 hybrid political/election map to be a good way of presenting the alternate history. I also like the color pallet Zek uses, which is similar to some of his other maps.

Honorable mentions this week go out to "World War 2.5" by RvBOMally and "Union of Islamic Republics" by Doctor President.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr, DeviantArt and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: Different Ottoman Partition by Panhomo

I always have a soft spot for alternate Middle East maps and this one was good enough to feature on Map Monday:

This is "Different Ottoman Partition" by Panhomo, circa 1920. As the title suggests, this timeline features a different partition of the the defeated Ottoman Empire after WWI. Britain and France divided up the Middle East at the Euphrates River and apparently took more chunks out of Turkey than in our timeline. It reminds me a lot of the proposed borders of the Treaty of Sèvres, a treaty that was much harsher than the Treaty of Versailles and yet is rarely remembered by historians.

According to Panhomo, the base map is from the University of Texas' collection, which is one of the map databases recommended to us by Lynn Davis. With that said, Panhomo did a good job working in the changes caused by his scenario into the base map. I especially liked the inclusion of Kurdistan and I have to believe that in the present day the Kurds finally have their own state (and probably fought a Kurdistan-Iran War as well).

My one criticism is that Panhomo mentioned in his post that Russia doesn't technically exist as is shown in the map. Instead of just saying that I sort of wished he would have just shown us that by doing a few more edits, but it is a minor quibble. Many maps often don't reflect the actual realities on the ground, besides base maps updated constantly by alternate historians. So with that criticism out of the way, I can end by saying that this is a fun Middle East map to look at.

Honorable mentions this week go out to "The Republic of Greater Cascadia" by Nihht and "Causa Deus: Human Migrations to Antarctica" by Gian.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr, DeviantArt and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: Causae Deus - Climate of (Deglaciated) Antarctica by Gian

Years ago I was a contributor to a timeline called "Great White South". It was set in a world where Antarctica was warmer and could support human colonization. Although incredibly implausible, I still had fun creating new cultures on virgin soil. So when I saw this map by Gian/IEPH, it gave me that warm nostalgic feeling:

This is "Causae Deus - Climate of (Deglaciated) Antarctica". Unlike most alternate history maps, it foregoes politics to show the geological differences of this alternate Antarctica. As you can see, even without glaciers, most of the continent would still be tough to live on, but some of the coastal regions might be comfortable. Otherwise, the map is well done. Gian/IEPH was able to add details about the different regions without making it look busy. Plus, he promised more maps (and has already delivered) so who knows what we will see in later updates.

More importantly, he credited Devon Moore's "Great White South" timeline and the base map it used to create his map. So don't forget to check it out and read a fun ASB story.

Honorable mentions this week go out to "The Principality of Verona" by Zek Sora, "A Political Map of Our Solar System" by Ephraim Ben Raphael, "La Lasta Espero Por Homaro​" by rvbomally, "Mega Super Russia" by Bruce Munro, "Sub Specie Aeternitatis" by Goldstein, "Cornwallis" by Keperry and "Reich-1" by Prometheus_2300.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: The Day After the World of Tomorrows​ by Rvbomally

Today's map is an odd one. It is essentially a remake...of a remake. I'll explain later, but for now, here is the map:

This is the "The Day After the World of Tomorrows"​ by Rvbomally, an alum of Map Monday. It is a remake of another map by Rvbomally, which was itself a remake of CastleGreifenghast's "The World of Tomorrows". Remakes and covers are actually quite popular in the alternate history community and I have featured a few in the past on Map Monday. It is nice how the alternate history community builds off each other and through this indirect collaboration, creates pretty awesome timelines.

As for this specific timeline, Rvbomally has essentially created a world where the different punk genres are at war. For example, Britain has adopted dieselpunk technology to maintain their empire, the Soviets are an atompunk society that worships Stalin, America is a cyberpunk society dominated by the alt-right, Europe is a biopunk society where the far left have gone too far, Central Africa is an imperialist steampunk state and Cambodia has clockpunk technology thanks to an ancient computer.

There are other references to punk literature scattered throughout the description (including references to Lovecraft) and it has the dystopia feel that Rvbomally's timelines are famous for, but I did find it amusing to learn that Arabia in this world is a secular democracy and the last bastion for freedom and liberty.

The map itself is well done in a Munroist-esque style. I especially like the smaller map of the Moon in the bottom right corner that has been appearing in a lot of Rvbomally's maps lately. I always enjoyed timelines featuring a more crowded Solar System and its good to see others agree with me that we need to plant the flag in more places. All and all, its a great timeline with an equally great map.

Honorable mentions this week go out to "Gepidia under control of King Mundus" by WotanArgead, "Greater Assyria" by Christodoulou1900 and "The Duchy of Calais" by Zrew33.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Top 5 Posts from August 2016

Most viewed map from August 2016.

Well summer is winding down so lets take a look again at what you all thought were the best articles in the waning days of the season:

1) World War II Was a Team Effort, Deal With It by Dale Cozort.

2) Technology in Alternate History by Rvbomally.

3) Map Monday: Colonization of Europe, 1855 by Falkanner by Matt Mitrovich.

4) New Releases 8/16/16 by Matt Mitrovich.

5) Map Monday: And Mighty Be Her Powers by SRegan by Matt Mitrovich.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: Europe in 1792 by Rebecca Stirling

I didn't plan this. Seriously, I did not plan to feature a another map by Rebecca Stirling set in the same timeline. It just sort of happened, so don't yell at me. Anywho, here is the map:

This is "Europe in 1792" by the aforementioned Rebecca Stirling and it is from her timeline, "The Faraway Kingdom" (which I still haven't read yet). Personally I wished I had a better name to give this map. One that more captures the alternate reality that it represents, rather than the unimaginative "continent in year" title I had to give it. For all I know, Rebecca does have a good name for it, but I couldn't find it.

Back to the map: its great. It looks like a map I would have seen in a history textbook. I like the super Romania and the Crimean Khanate that is still around (in our timeline it would cease to exist in 1783). Also, I would like to learn more about the "United Protectorate", but I guess I would need to read the timeline to do that. In summary, its an awesome map by an awesome alternate cartographer, who I think may be the first person to have back to back appearances on Map Monday (although I am too lazy to check if that statement is true).

Honorable mentions this week go out to "Socialist Federal Republics of the Danube" by Nihht, "Red Skies" by Rvbomally and Zombie Russia (the 'Ruswamp') by theSuricateProject.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: Carolina and Friends 1800 by Rebecca Stirling

I love maps when there is an alternate colonization of the east coast of North America. The most recent find of its kind has to be "Carolina and Friends 1800" by Map Monday veteran Rebecca Stirling:

Wow, that is a long map once you put it in blog form. Anywho, this is a map from Rebecca's "The Faraway Kingdom", which I admit I haven't read, but it appears to involve the Stuarts founding a kingdom-in-exile in North America. So I am definitely going to have to check it out because I love Stuart-oriented timelines like that.

The map itself is a well-done balkanized North America. I especially like how Rebecca doesn't use dark blues for the ocean. Its a nice touch that you see again and again in her maps that I don't think I have commented on yet. Plus it has plenty of details without being too busy.

I am little curious about why Pennsylvania is called Georgia in this timeline. I'm pretty sure Georgia in our timeline was named after the Hannoverian King George II, but why would the Stuarts name one of their provinces after those who replaced them? I don't know, maybe its explained in the timeline itself.

Honorable mentions this week go out to "Gauls Shank Rome" by Bruce Munro and the "Sovereign Republic of Nubia" by Aven.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: L'union Fait La Force​ by rvbomally

Since peanut butter met chocolate, never have two good things formed such a perfect union...until now.

This is "L'union Fait La Force"​ by Rvbomally. It is a cover of Ephraim Ben Raphael's Empire of Haiti scenario from "An Examination of Extra-Universal Systems of Government". For those who don't know, it is a series of short scenarios told from the perspective of a traveler interviewing people from different timelines about their form of government. If you are a busy person like me, these short scenarios are a great way to get some quality online alternate history in small, easy to digest pieces.

Although it came originally with a map that focused on the Caribbean Sea and the surrounding regions, this cover by Rvbomally shows us what is going on the rest of the world. It has nice, soft colors and Munroist style annotations, but without the text explosion that Bruce is known for. Its a fun map that adds to Ephraim's original scenario without replacing it entirely, so definitely go check out the description attached to it in the original post.

Honorable mention this week goes out to "Postapo North America" by theSuricateProject.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: And Mighty Be Her Powers by SRegan

My senior project in undergrad was a paper discussing the imperialist ambitions of certain members of the American Colonization Society (ACS), the organization that founded Liberia, and how they hoped to use colonies started by freed blacks to build an American colonial empire in Africa. So when I saw the below map by an already well-known alternate cartographer, I of course had to feature it:

This is "And Mighty Be Her Powers" by SRegan. The details of this scenario are rather vague. Essentially the ACS is just more successful in encouraging blacks to settle in Liberia. Perhaps there were more slave revolts since during my research Liberia saw its highest rates of immigration from the United States after slave revolts, since reprisals against blacks led to many free blacks to flee to Liberia to avoid violence from whites. Anywho, SRegan goes on to say that Liberia distances itself from America, changes its flag to the colors of the Republic of Maryland and is today a minor African power.

I really do love the idea of a well-off Liberia, especially when you factor in how rough the last few decades have been for it. The map itself is well done in the way I have come to expect from SRegan. I especially like how he worked in the Republic of Maryland, which is one of those obscure former nations that only alternate historians ever bring up anymore. There is a lot to love about this map and I am happy to feature it on Map Monday.

Honorable mentions this week go out to "Greater San Diego Area Map" by Doctor President, "TL-191: Yankee Spring" by Rvbomally and "The World of SRegan's Strong West Wind 20 Years After the Second War of Irish Expansion" by Bruce Munro.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Top 5 Posts from July 2016

Most viewed map from July 2016.

So July wasn't one my best months in terms of page views, probably because I took a whole week off from blogging in the middle of it, but we still had some amazing articles. Check them out below.

1) Why Are Alternate History Adaptations So Poorly Made? by Josh Weiss.

2) Flag Friday: Concept Flags for Hearts of Iron 4 by Rock by Matt Mitrovich.

3) Anime Review: Full Metal Panic! by Sam McDonald.

4) The Alphabet of Alternate History: C by Dale Cozort.

5) Map Monday: Greater Lebanon by Simon Regan by Matt Mitrovich.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: Colonization of Europe, 1855 by Falkanner

Alternate colonialism/imperialism scenarios are always a guilty pleasure of mine...and most alternate historians given how many of them I see every week. Still this one in particular was good enough that I had to showcase it on Map Monday:

This is the "Colonization of Europe, 1855" by Falkanner. The timeline is admittedly a little implausible. The point of divergence appears to be that increased contact with Europeans leads to the African states actually modernizing instead of being torn apart by the slave trade. Meanwhile Europe is torn apart by religious wars and an increasingly militaristic Roman Catholic Church. In the chaos the Ottoman Empire, Morocco, Mali and the Kongo all gobble up parts of Europe.

Although I do find the idea of Africa countries modernizing so quickly and conquering parts of Europe to be the work of ASBs, I nevertheless still like the spirit of the idea. It is an ironic alternate history that can easily allow for some fun historical parallels. The map itself is also well done, with the soft colors that I like and the scenario leaves me interested in learning more about what happens next.

Honorable mentions this week go out to "American Britain, 1976" by shiftygiant and "Rebels and Draka" by RoyalPsycho.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: The Great Entente by Lynn Davis

There were several good maps these last couple of weeks, but after reading the description for this one below, I was finally able to pick today's featured map.

This is "The Great Entente" by long-time Map Monday alum Lynn "ToixStory" Davis. Created for AlternateHistory.com's Random Bouts of Cartography contest, Lynn says she created the map after being given the color blue and the theme fascism. Reading more into the description and you learn this is actually an alternate history of Harry Turtledove's Timeline-191 or Southern Victory series.

Although the CSA and the rest of the Entente still lose the Great War, overly pious Gordon McSweeney survives the war and goes into politics. He leads a fascist, extreme Christian political party to the White House and allies with the defeated Entente powers, due to his dislike of Germany. This isn't actually that much of a stretch, especially when you learn many fans of Timeline-191 suspected that Turtledove originally planned for the United States to lose the Great War and have McSweeney be the Hitler analog instead of Jake Featherston.

Anywho, the second Great War happens and the new Entente is victorious. As you can see from the map, France became the leading power of Western Europe and directs the region between the multi-polar Cold War with the United States, Russia and Japan. Of course, the map is great. Its minimalist, but there is definitely attention to detail. Another excellent map by one of our premier alternate cartographers.

Honorable mentions this week go out to "The Ukraine War" by JoeyB2198, "Map of the Submarine Telegraph Between America & Europe" by CourageousLife and "Romania Mare" by Nanwe.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: Greater Lebanon by Simon Regan

Since I missed Map Monday last week, I'm going to feature two maps this Monday. Luckily they are both from the same universe so it makes it easier to talk about them. Let's begin, shall we:

This is "Greater Lebanon" by Simon Regan. In this timeline the Ottoman Empire is carved up differently in a way that favors the Arabs. A "Federation of the Levant", however, was created as a counterweight and a home for the minorities living along the Mediterranean coast. We can also see a Jewish state in southern Palestine, an independent Kurdistan (or "Curdistan") and a Kingdom of Iraq in the Shia majority areas.

First up, I love maps focusing on a different division to the Middle East. Second, this map is well done. Soft colors, realistic borders and lots of details; pretty much everything I look for in a map. Regan gets a lot of praise in the community as an alternate cartographer and this map confirms his position as one of the best. Hold on, there is still another map to look at:

This is an ethnicity map of the Federation of the Levant, also done by Regan. As you can see the Levant is a multicultural place, hence why they probably need to be a federation. Trying to get all of these ethnic and religious groups to work together must be like trying to herd jet pack wearing cats, but somehow they make it work. Anywho, this is another nice map for all of the same reasons mentioned above. I really do need to feature more of Regan's work.

Honorable mentions this week goes out to "A Totally Random Map" by Martin23230, "Dixie-2" by Rvbomally, "Rome Eternal 1.0" by Bruce Munro, "If Hokkaido was an independent country" by Pavelzuk, "Iksander-1" by Rebecca Stirling, "Alexander's World​" by Zek Sora and "Balkanized North America Tribute" by 22iron thunder.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: If Kamchatka was an independent country by Pavelzuk

Its rare for someone other than myself to showcase an alternate history map on their site, but it happens. Just like with today's subject:

This is "If Kamchatka was an independent country" by Pavelzuk and I found it on Imaginary Maps subreddit. As far as I can tell there isn't much of a story to the map, but we can gleam some details by just looking at it. Since there is a Russian Federation we can probably guess that Kamchatka gained independence around the time the Soviet Union fell apart. Google Fu didn't help me find any independence movements in the region and considering that most of the population is Russian it makes it even more unlikely this place would want to separate from the rodina.

Still I did find one article that suggested America could have bought Kamchatka from Russian when they bought Alaska. Perhaps if that happened, Kamchatka may have had very different demographic history that would make it more willing to be independent rather than being a part of the United States or Russia.

Regardless of whether the scenario makes sense, the map is well done. Soft colors and a minimalist style makes it a treat to look at. I wasn't the only one who thought so either. Brilliant Maps did a piece on the map as well and included some factoids about this fictional country. Go check it out when you get the chance.

Honorable mentions this week go out to "1983: Doomsday - Rise of the North - North America" by Lynn Davis, "Jewish Crimea" by Iserlohn, "Central African Republic" by SRegan and "The Independent State of California" by Rubberduck3y6.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: New York State of Mind by Stuyvesant

So the idea of creating an alternate history based on a song isn't anything new (see Joe Steele by Harry Turtledove) but it is still relatively rare. Thus I was happy to see that the good folks at AlternateHistory.com are doing a map contest where maps are based on songs. This one in particular caught my attention:

This is "New York State of Mind" by Stuyvesant and is based off the song of the same name by Billy Joel. There isn't a description yet for the map, but you can make some assumptions just by looking at it. For example, this appears to be a balkanized America timeline where New York did really well. In our timeline New York did claim much of the Great Lakes region, but so did a lot of states, like Virginia. Considering Virginia had much easier access to these areas, its a little surprising New York did so well, but maybe it will be explained by Stuyvesant in a later update.

The map itself is alright. Its very minimalist and you don't get many details of the outside world, but the colors are nice and the orientation is good. Sure this is a NY-wank, but its a well done NY-wank.

Honorable mentions this week go out to "The Hellenic Confederation, 250 BCE to 525 AD" by Rebecca "Upvoteanthology" Stirling, "The Commonwealth" by Zek Sora, "The Federation of Columbia" by FMannerly and "TL-443 Ernst sein ist alles" by Zauberfloete​.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: What Remains, Part 3: Last of the Vikings by Zek Sora

Picking today's map was easy since I already featured Part 2 on a previous Map Monday. So with that said, lets take a look at "What Remains, Part 3: Last of the Vikings" by Zek Sora:

In case you weren't around for the last one, What Remains is a map series inspired by a mod for Victoria 2 where you can lead a 19th century nation through a zombie apocalypse. "Part 3" acts as sort of a retcon since it shows more areas of Scandinavia surviving. That being said, it is a lot more detailed than the world map we last saw, which really gives you a chance to see what a skillful alternate cartographer that Zek is.

As for the scenario, Scandinavia in the What Remains universe is divided between the British and Swedish blocs, with the British controlling all the territory bordering the North Atlantic thanks to the Royal Navy, with the Swedes in turn controlling the islands in the Baltic thanks to their navy. Presumably neither has the resources or will to kick the other out of the region, but as the zombie hordes are driven further back, perhaps open warfare against living humans may one day resume. Sort of the sad reality of this and other timelines like it.

Honorable mention this week goes out to "Greater Imperial Germany" by SoxWithPotatoes, "Der Kontinent Europa 1950 AD" by Falkanner, "Cover of  Randy McDonald's Tripartite Alliance Earth" by Bruce Munro and "The Colonial States of Australia in the Year 1700" by Doctor President.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Top 5 Posts from May 2016

Thankfully I was able to get this in before we got to far into June. So enough talking, here are the most viewed articles from last month:

1) Map Monday: Colonisation of the Japanese Archipelago by Rubberduck3y6 by Matt Mitrovich.

2) Map Monday: Alternate North America 1789 by YNot1989 by Matt Mitrovich.

3) Dystopia in Alternate History by Rvbomally.

4) Anime Review: Hetalia by Sam McDonald.

5) Weekly Update #233! Time After Time Picked Up by ABC and More by Matt Mitrovich.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: Colonisation of the Japanese Archipelago by Rubberduck3y6

In our timeline, Japan managed to maintain its independence even as the European colonial powers were gobbling up as much territory as possible. But what if it had succumbed to European territorial ambitions?

This is the "Colonisation of the Japanese Archipelago" by Rubberduck3y6. In this world it seems that the Tokugawa shogunate ended four years earlier due to a failure to modernize and European pressure. The Dutch, British and French all carve out spheres of influence, but a small area around Edo and Nagoya managed to maintain its independence before kicking out the Emperor and declaring a republic. Otherwise information about this alternate history is scarce.

There is a brief mention of "British Tartary". Wikipedia tells me that Tartary refers to territory in between the Ural Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. How the Hell did the British get there? Sadly I couldn't find any additional information on this timeline so I can only speculate about how such a place came to be. Otherwise the map is nice looking and the text doesn't have any major spelling and grammar issues. Good job, Rubberduck3y6.

Honorable mentions this week go out to "A Different Reality In These Splendid Islands" by Gian, "The Kingdoms of North America" by Zek Sora and "The Continent of Europe in 1450 AD shortly before the voyages of Nicklas Lund" by Rebecca "Upvoteanthology" Stirling.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Map Monday: Alternate North America 1789 by YNot1989

AlternateHistory.com was down this weekend for an upgrade and there were many alternate historians who didn't know what to do while they waited for the forum to come back. Some suggested checking out other alternate history sites, which I thought was a great idea. In fact, lets look at an alternate history map from outside the forum:

This is "Alternate North America 1789" (a.k.a. "The Revolution's Rangers" and that link will take you to a short timeline) by YNot1989 and I found it on Imaginary Maps subreddit. In this timeline the Americans, with the help of wealthy inventor Theodore Bell of New York, mop the floor with the British early on in the American Revolution thanks to better technology (repeating rifles, steam engines, etc.). By the time of this map, the United States includes Canada and there is the unrecognized state of Iroquois. Slavery is ending as steam tractors are cheaper then keeping a plantation of slaves and it looks like it will be abolished when the new Constitution is finally adopted.

As far as I can tell, this timeline is based on another YNot1989's timeline, "Our Revolution", which can currently be found on the AltHistory Wiki. The point of divergence for that timeline is that Theo, his friends and their school's campus in 2010 Arizona is sent back in time to 1775. Considering that the point of divergence for the map is actually 1773, we may consider this an update of an old idea. Still I like the old fashioned look of the map and the soft colors. I'm curious why the revolutionaries didn't also get Florida (since it was British territory at the time) as well considering how good they did early on in the Revolutionary War, but it is a minor nitpick in an otherwise good map.

Honorable mention this week goes out to "Pilgrimage of the Faithful" and "Kingdom of Poland 1917" by Zalezsky, "The Hajj to Earth" by Krall and "A map for the Earth of Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente" by Bruce Munro. If you want more mappy goodness, go check out Lynn "ToixStory" Davis' Map Commission Guide and San's "The Proportional States of America".

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.

Top 5 Posts from April 2016

Months tend to fly by when you get older. Hard to believe its already time for another Top 5 posts from last month.

1) Flag Friday: Flags of the North Atlantic Pact Organisation by Marc Pasquin by Matt Mitrovich.

2) Map Monday: A Green Cold War (2020) by Bruce Munro by Matt Mitrovich.

3) Southlander: When the Sickle Reaped the Ashes of America by Daniel Larson.

4) Map Monday: The Kingdom of Great Britain (in the Guiana) by Birdperson by Matt Mitrovich.

5) Lets Look At the Alternate History of Homefront: The Revolution by Matt Mitrovich.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he 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.