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.

* * *

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.

* * *

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 June 2015

We should never be surprised to see Map Mondays dominate the top 5 articles from the month before:

1) Map Monday: If Westeros Were Europe by Joe Satran and Tiara Chiaramonte by Matt Mitrovich.

2) New Releases 6/2/15 by Matt Mitrovich.

3) Map Monday: Wikenlaw! by SRegan by Matt Mitrovich.

4) The Audio File: Lightspeed Magazine by Sam McDonald.

5) Map Monday: Confederation of Nations by Rvbomally by Matt Mitrovich.

* * *

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.

Map Monday: Wikenlaw! by SRegan

This week's Map Monday is another entry to the Pale Continent map contest being held at AlternateHistory.com (which is now opened for voting). It is from SRegan (who first appeared on Map Monday with his ADAIR/ADARI/KI map) and it is titled "Wikenlaw!":

Learning what we can from the map above and the short story that came with it, in this world the Vikings discovered the new world centuries earlier and this somehow butterflies away the Renaissance. Thus a stagnant Europe finds itself at the mercy of raiders and conquerors from across the Atlantic.

Much like "The Iron Shirts" by Michael F. Flynn, Native Americans have crossed the ocean first, but as conquerors and not refugees as in Flynn's story. I like how SRegan factored in time to recover from European diseases, but I wonder how long the Wiken can maintain their positions in Europe (the name of which is a play off the Danelaw of OTL). Still a pretty cool map that highlights what it must have been like in Africa when Europeans started coming to shore in greater numbers.

Honorable mentions this week go out to "Territories of the Empire of Kambujia" by ThePicene and "World War 2.5" by Rvbomally. 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.

* * *

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.

Map Monday: ADAIR/ADARI/KI by SRegan

A common distraction at work for me is to check on how Wikipedia portrays the ever-evolving borders of ISIS. In fact there is a lot of debate about what is the actual extent of ISIS's control. Do they control large swatches of Syria and Iraq as depicted on Wikipedia or do they just control a few towns and highways with most of the countryside being disputed. So can you use such a fluid situation in your alternate history? SRegan thought so in his "ADAIR/ADARI/KI" map:

In this timeline, the Northern Mali conflict is hijacked by an Islamic mercernary group known for their advanced weaponry. They quickly absorb various Islamic groups throughout the region creating a ISIS-esque state in Northern Africa. I thought SRegan did an excellent job capturing the essence of Wikipedia's map while successfully transplanting it to a region of the globe usually ignored by the rest of the world. Its a good map that was inspired by the ongoing tragedy in the Middle East that reminds us that it can happen elsewhere if we are not vigilant.

Honorable mentions this week go out to Frank Jacobs of Strange Maps for his in-depth look at Amazon's The Man in the High Castle's map of the former United States. Don't forget to check out Sam McDonald's new blog (he has been posting his original maps there) and those looking to hire a map maker will be happy to learn that ToixStory is accepting commissions. Finally, you may also like to take a gander at the map of the most common jobs in every American state or BBC's collection of maps that shaped the world.

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.

* * *

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.