Add 1750 checkpoint: Global War, French Revolution, Balkan War, Portuguese collapse

The Great War (~1750s-1760s):
- England+Burgundy+Germany+Aragon vs France+Portugal+Castile
- England wins: gains Mississippi west bank, Portuguese India, Highland Scotland
- France: revolution → republic, king flees to Brazil
- Portugal: collapses — loses Ceuta to Morocco, mainland under Castilian protection
- Two exiled courts (French + Portuguese) in Brazil

Balkan War:
- Illyria (unified South Slavic state) + Byzantium vs Bulgaria + Great Khanate
- Byzantium REVIVED: city-state → recovers Greece + Albania
- Illyria gains parts of Macedonia
- Great Khanate loses Balkan influence

French Revolution: Republic declared, colonies given independence movements
Highland Scotland absorbed by England → all Britain unified
Morocco recovers Ceuta (310 years after losing it)
India scramble crystallizing: Ilkhanate west, Song east, England coast, Portugal remnants

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

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 ---
 
-## Open Questions (Post-1725)
-
-1. **India**: How does the scramble resolve by V3? Spheres of influence? Full colonization?
-2. **English-French North American war**: When does it escalate from friction to full war?
-3. **Great Khanate serfdom**: Abolished by revolution or reform before V3?
-4. **Japan**: Does it become Tier 1 by V3?
-5. **Australia partition**: Song vs Kalmar vs England
-6. **South Africa**: Ilkhanate vs Portugal → conflict?
-7. **Remaining to 1836**: 111 years, ~4 checkpoints
+---
+
+## 1750 Checkpoint: The Global War and Its Aftermath
+
+### The Great War (~1750s-1760s) — Seven Years' War Equivalent
+
+**Trigger**: English expansion west of Mississippi into French-claimed territory
+
+**Anti-French Alliance:**
+- **England**: Industrial powerhouse, naval dominance, coal/iron economy
+- **Burgundy**: Long-term English ally, wants French territory
+- **Germany**: Wants to weaken France (continental rival)
+- **Aragon**: French rival in Mediterranean/Italy
+
+**Pro-French Alliance:**
+- **France**: Largest European population, absolutist-reformed military
+- **Portugal**: Declining but still has empire — allied with France
+- **Castile**: Aligned against England's allies
+
+**Neutral/Opportunist:**
+- Kalmar Union, Ilkhanate, New Song (focused on their own spheres)
+
+**Theaters:**
+1. North America: English vs French colonial forces + Native allies
+2. India: England seizes Portuguese territories
+3. European continent: France vs Burgundy/Germany border
+4. Balkans: Simultaneous separate war (see below)
+5. Morocco: Attacks Portuguese Ceuta
+
+### War Results (~1760s)
+
+**England (BIGGEST WINNER):**
+- Gains Mississippi west bank (New Orleans, Texas territory ceded by France)
+- Gains Portuguese Indian territories (except Sri Lanka and Maldives)
+- **Absorbs Highland Scotland** (French garrison expelled during the chaos)
+- → England now controls ALL of Britain + Ireland + growing North American empire + Indian coastal colonies
+- Funds independence movements in remaining French colonies
+
+**France (BIGGEST LOSER):**
+- Loses: Highland Scotland, Mississippi west bank territories, colonial influence
+- French colonies receive English-funded independence movements → become autonomous dominions or independent republics
+- **French Revolution erupts** post-war: military humiliation + financial crisis + Enlightenment ideas
+- **Republic declared**: King overthrown
+- **French king flees** → first to Portugal → then to **Brazil** (with Portuguese royal family)
+
+**Portugal (COLLAPSED):**
+- Loses Indian territories to England
+- **Morocco reconquers Ceuta** (310 years after losing it — 1415→1760s)
+- Portuguese mainland placed under Castilian "protection" (satellite state / semi-annexation)
+- **Portuguese royal family flees to Brazil**
+- **Two exiled courts in Brazil**: French king + Portuguese king in Rio/Bahia
+- Portuguese empire reduced to: Brazil (now center), Cape Colony (vulnerable), Moluccas (isolated), scattered African posts
+- V3: Brazil with two European exile courts = incredibly complex political situation
+
+**Burgundy**: Gains some eastern French territory (Champagne border regions). Still landlocked but more secure. Rhine navigation rights confirmed.
+
+**Morocco**: Reconquers Ceuta. National triumph. Marinid/successor dynasty prestige boosted.
+
+**Castile**: "Protector" of Portugal → gains influence over Iberian neighbor. Not conquered but dominant.
+
+### Balkan War (Simultaneous, ~1750s)
+
+**Illyria** (unified South Slavic state: Serbia + Bosnia + Croatia) emerges:
+- No Ottoman occupation → no religious division, no ethnic cleansing history
+- South Slavic peoples developed shared identity naturally
+- Unifies and seeks expansion
+
+**Alliances**: Byzantium + Illyria vs Bulgaria + Great Khanate (intervention)
+- **Result**:
+  - **Illyria**: Gains parts of Macedonia
+  - **Byzantium REVIVED**: From city-state → recovers Greece + Albania
+    - Constantinople + Thrace + Greece + Albania = viable small state again
+    - Independent of Great Khanate (which can't project Balkan power anymore)
+    - Orthodox (Constantinople-tradition) political state restored after 230 years as city-state
+  - **Bulgaria**: Reduced (lost Macedonia territory to Illyria)
+  - **Great Khanate**: Failed to prevent Balkan realignment → influence in Balkans effectively ended
+
+### Post-War Balkans
+| Entity | Territory | Status |
+|---|---|---|
+| Illyria | Serbia + Bosnia + Croatia + parts of Macedonia | New unified South Slavic nation |
+| Byzantine Empire | Constantinople + Thrace + Greece + Albania | Revived small state |
+| Bulgaria | Reduced core territory | Independent but diminished |
+| Great Khanate | Still holds Wallachia/Moldavia (barely) | Balkan influence ended |
+
+### French Revolution → Republic
+- War defeat + financial crisis + Enlightenment ferment → revolution
+- King overthrown, **French Republic** declared
+- French king flees to Portugal → then Brazil (joins Portuguese exile court)
+- French colonies: English-funded independence movements → **autonomous dominions or independent republics**
+  - New France (Canada): Autonomous? Independent republic?
+  - Other French territories: break away
+- France shrinks to continental France only — no colonies, no overseas territories
+- **Highland Scotland**: Absorbed by England during the revolution chaos → England controls all of Britain
+
+### New Song: Continues Expansion
+- Australian colony growing (more settlers arriving)
+- Malacca firmly held (post-Aceh conquest)
+- Focus on digesting reconquered territories (Sichuan, Western Protectorate)
+- Population boom from Columbian Exchange crops continuing
+
+### Japan: Pacific Industrial Power
+- Industrialization ~75 years in → approaching Tier 1.5
+- North Pacific fur trade empire (Kamchatka → Alaska → Pacific NW outposts)
+- Competing with Jianzhou and Kalmar for North Pacific/American influence
+
+### Ilkhanate: Strategic Adjustment
+- Lost Egypt, lost Malacca → but holds Persia/Iraq/Anatolia/Central Asia + Indian puppet states + East Africa
+- East African colonies being developed as homeland provinces (reaching South Africa → friction with Portuguese Cape Colony — but Portugal is collapsing)
+- **May seize Portuguese Cape Colony** as Portugal collapses?
+- Industrial capacity still Tier 1 but England and Germany closing fast
+
+### India: Scramble Crystallizing
+| Power | Territory by ~1760s |
+|---|---|
+| Ilkhanate | Western India (Gujarat + puppet states extending inland) |
+| New Song | Eastern Bengal (宣慰司) |
+| England | Eastern coast (formerly Portuguese) + new acquisitions |
+| Portugal | Sri Lanka + Maldives (all that's left of Indian empire) |
+| Indigenous | Maratha-equivalent, Mysore-equivalent, Rajput states — still significant |
+
+### Global Power Rankings (~1760s post-war)
+| Tier | Powers |
+|---|---|
+| Tier 1 | England (ascendant), New Song, Greater Germany, Ilkhanate |
+| Tier 1.5 | Japan (rising fast), Kalmar Union, Bohemia |
+| Tier 2 | French Republic (rebuilding), Aragon, Jianzhou Republic |
+| Tier 2.5 | Burgundy, Korean Kingdom, Italian states, Illyria (new), Byzantium (revived) |
+| Tier 3 | Egypt, Tunisia/Morocco (Ceuta recovered!), Mongol Khanate, Castile (+Portuguese protectorate) |
+| Declining | Great Khanate, Portuguese Empire (collapsing), Indian fragments |
+
+---
+
+## Open Questions (Post-1750)
+
+1. **French Republic**: How does it develop? Napoleonic equivalent?
+2. **Brazil**: Two exiled courts — how does this play out?
+3. **Great Khanate**: Serfdom abolition before V3? Revolution?
+4. **India scramble**: Final resolution by 1836?
+5. **Australia**: Song vs England vs Kalmar partition?
+6. **Portuguese Cape Colony**: Does Ilkhanate seize it?
+7. **Remaining to 1836**: 86 years, ~3 checkpoints (1775, 1800, 1836)