Add 1375 checkpoint: Novgorod crushed, Germany independent, global industrialization spectrum

- Novgorod: autonomy attempt crushed, veche abolished, Mongol prince installed
- Greater Germany: formal independence from Great Khanate (~1360s-1370s)
- Industrialization spectrum: Song leading, Ilkhanate/Germany/Italy importing, Great Khanate blocked by serfdom
- Levant triangle: Byzantine-Ilkhanate-Egypt proxy conflict over Syria
- Kalmar Union formally established (earlier than historical 1397)
- Plantagenet France: recovering, Scotland de facto independent
- Song: North-South crisis building toward ~1450-1500 eruption

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

1 files changed, 69 insertions, 12 deletions

diff --git a/WORLDBUILDING.md b/WORLDBUILDING.md
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+++ b/WORLDBUILDING.md
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ Ogedei dies (alcoholism, historical pattern). Succession crisis ensues, but fund
 #### Rus Identity Fragmentation
 The "Rus" people never unify into a single identity (no Moscow to force unification). By V3 era, at least 5 distinct groups:
 
-1. **Novgorod Rus** — Merchant/republican tradition, Western-oriented (Hanseatic ties), traditional Constantinople Orthodoxy. Post-trade-collapse: economically reorients toward Germany, culturally diverges from Great Khanate core. Strongest separatist potential.
+1. **Novgorod Rus** — Former merchant republic, Western-oriented (Hanseatic ties), traditional Constantinople Orthodoxy. ~1360s: attempts autonomy → Great Khanate crushes it, abolishes veche, installs Mongol prince as ruler. Veche bell removed (symbol of republican death). Hanseatic trading posts closed. City downgraded to Mongol princely fief. Resentment goes underground. By V3 era: culturally distinct, harbors separatist sentiment but politically suppressed.
 2. **Kiev-Dnieper Rus** — Around Great Khanate's administrative centers. Most Mongolized, accepts Volga Orthodox sect. Urban, bureaucratic.
 3. **Northeast Forest Rus** (Moscow, Vladimir) — Agricultural, isolated, most "Old Rus" traditions preserved. Under direct Mongol rule but less culturally penetrated than Kiev.
 4. **Ukrainian Steppe Rus** — Newly resettled serf communities on Mongol-owned estates. Mixed origins (drawn from across the empire). Developing unique identity from shared oppression.
@@ -621,14 +621,71 @@ Plague travels via Silk Road trade routes. More active trade in this timeline me
 
 ---
 
-## Open Questions (Post-1350 Chronological Development)
-
-1. **1300-1500 era**: Each region's evolution through late medieval period
-2. **Italy post-1300**: Renaissance? Different city-state dynamics? Unification pressure?
-3. **Age of Exploration**: Delayed? Led by whom? Song maritime expansion vs. European exploration?
-4. **The Americas**: Who discovers/colonizes them?
-5. **Africa and India**: Song colonial sphere? European competition?
-6. **Song's North-South civil war**: When? Outcome? What does Song look like by 1836?
-7. **Great Khanate internal evolution**: Slavic nationalism? Industrialization attempts?
-8. **Ilkhanate fragmentation**: Does Egypt break away? Persia's trajectory?
-9. **1836 technology levels**: Who has what? Is Song far ahead of everyone?
+## 1375 Checkpoint
+
+### Post-Black Death Industrialization Spectrum
+Labor scarcity after plague drives mechanization interest worldwide, but capacity varies enormously:
+
+| Tier | Powers | Status |
+|---|---|---|
+| Already industrial | Song (north) | 200+ year head start |
+| Importing Song tech | Ilkhanate, Greater Germany, Italian city-states | Trade wealth / commercial capital funds technology acquisition |
+| Conditions exist but not started | Plantagenet France, Aragon, Bohemia | Capital and motivation present, but scale/focus lacking |
+| Structurally blocked | Great Khanate | **Serfdom prevents industrialization** — forced labor eliminates incentive for machines |
+| Too poor/small | Mongol Khanate, Granada | No capital, no infrastructure |
+| Being de-industrialized | India | Song factory goods destroying native handicraft industry |
+
+### Novgorod Crushed (~1360s)
+- Novgorod attempts greater autonomy, citing economic collapse and religious differences
+- Great Khanate seizes the opportunity: needs internal victory to restore prestige after losing Germany
+- Veche (popular assembly) abolished, veche bell removed as symbol
+- Hanseatic trading posts closed and merchants expelled
+- Mongol prince (Great Khan's son) installed as ruler — city becomes princely fief
+- Novgorod's commercial elite dispersed or killed
+- **Consequence**: Great Khanate destroys its last commercially capable city, cementing agricultural-only economy
+- Novgorodian resentment goes underground — V3 era separatist potential remains
+
+### Greater Germany: Independent (~1360s-1370s)
+- Formal break from Great Khanate vassalage
+- Hanseatic-led federal structure forming
+- Alliance with Bohemia formalized
+- Begins importing Song technology via Italian Mediterranean trade routes
+- Early proto-industrial development in Hanseatic cities
+
+### Levant Triangle: Byzantium vs. Ilkhanate vs. Egypt
+- Syria/Palestine becomes three-way influence zone:
+  - **Byzantium** (Great Khanate proxy): claims Levantine coast, manages Crusader remnants
+  - **Ilkhanate** (Tabriz): Syria is direct territory, resists Byzantine/Great Khanate encroachment
+  - **Egypt** (semi-independent governor): pushes into Palestine/Sinai as buffer zone
+- Cold war / proxy conflict, not open warfare
+- V3 event chain material: diplomatic plays over Syrian territory
+
+### Plantagenet France
+- Recovering from plague
+- Paris court consolidated over northern/western France + England
+- Scotland likely achieved de facto independence (Plantagenet focus entirely continental)
+- Burgundy rivalry continues as cold war over French legitimacy
+
+### Kalmar Union
+- Formally established (~1360s-1370s, earlier than historical 1397)
+- Defensive alliance against Greater Germany and Great Khanate
+- Norway retains Atlantic possessions (Iceland, Greenland)
+
+### Song Dynasty
+- North-South fracture deepening but no open break yet
+- SE Asian colonization accelerating (post-plague depopulation of local peoples)
+- Burma Road developing, connecting Yunnan to Bengal
+- Mandate of Heaven narrative simmering — religious movements in the south
+- Timeline for crisis: pressure building toward ~1450-1500 range
+
+---
+
+## Open Questions (Post-1375 Chronological Development)
+
+1. **Age of Exploration**: Who discovers the Americas? Song maritime expansion vs. European attempts?
+2. **Song's North-South crisis**: When does it break open? ~1460s (second cold wave)?
+3. **Italy**: Renaissance dynamics with changed trade routes?
+4. **India**: How does Song economic penetration develop? Delhi Sultanate's response?
+5. **Ilkhanate**: Does Egypt formally break away? When?
+6. **Great Khanate**: Further decline or stabilization?
+7. **1836 technology levels**: How does the industrialization spectrum evolve?