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diff --git a/WORLDBUILDING.md b/WORLDBUILDING.md index 3bb2965..5619b5c 100644 --- a/WORLDBUILDING.md +++ b/WORLDBUILDING.md @@ -258,24 +258,77 @@ Ogedei dies (alcoholism, historical pattern). Succession crisis ensues, but fund - Strategically positioned between Greater Germany and Mongol-Rus sphere - In V3: mid-tier independent power -### Anglo-French Union (Tentative) -- Mongol raids into northern France weaken the Capetian dynasty -- England likely exploits French weakness rather than allying (medieval political logic) -- Possible scenarios: - - English king gains French throne through inheritance/conquest (Treaty of Troyes scenario, 150 years early) - - Angevin Empire 2.0: cross-Channel Anglo-French state - - Or France simply weakened but independent -- If union forms: extremely powerful state with English naval tradition + French population/agriculture -- **Status: TO BE DETERMINED** - need more detailed discussion - -### Iberian Peninsula -- Largely unaffected by Mongol invasions (too far southwest) -- Reconquista continues normally -- Key questions still open: - - Does Castile-Aragon union still happen? - - Does Aragon expand into southern France (Languedoc) if France collapses? - - Does Portugal pursue Atlantic exploration? -- **Status: TO BE DETERMINED** +### The Partition of France and the Plantagenet Kingdom + +Mongol raids into northern France (Flanders, Picardy, ~1240s-1250s) weaken the Capetian dynasty. England exploits this rather than allying (medieval political logic). The result is not "England conquering France" but the **Plantagenet dynasty reclaiming and unifying its continental and insular domains**. + +#### Why England Claims the French Crown +- The English court already speaks Anglo-Norman French +- The Plantagenet kings are originally French nobles (Anjou, Normandy) +- Losing continental territories (1204, King John) was the anomaly; reclaiming them is "going home" +- Population ratio ~4:1 (France:England) means the continental territory is the real center of power + +#### Capital: Paris +- Paris (~200,000) dwarfs London (~40-50,000) +- An English king who gains France would move the capital to Paris - same logic as any peripheral conqueror moving to the richer core (Norman -> England in 1066, but in reverse now) +- England becomes an "overseas province" of a Paris-centered kingdom +- Over time, French identity absorbs English identity at the elite level + +#### Plantagenet France Territory (~1300) +- **Core**: Île-de-France (Paris), Normandy (recovered), Anjou/Maine/Touraine (recovered), Picardy, Champagne +- **Original English holdings**: Aquitaine/Gascony (Bordeaux region) +- **Insular**: England, possibly Wales, contested Scotland/Ireland +- **Vassal**: Brittany (semi-independent, in Plantagenet sphere) +- English Channel becomes an internal waterway + +#### Contested with Burgundy +- Plantagenet king claims all of France -> includes sovereignty over Burgundy +- Burgundian duke (Capetian cadet branch) may claim to be the true French heir +- Creates a **legitimacy war**: two "Frances" competing for the Capetian inheritance +- Disputed territories along the Burgundy-Île-de-France border + +#### Long-term Implications +- French language remains elite/court language (English court already French-speaking) +- English language persists on the islands as commoner language, developing independently +- England/Scotland/Ireland may develop distinct identities resisting continental French elite +- By 1836: Atlantic power centered on Paris, controlling northern/western France + British Isles. French-speaking court, English-speaking island populace. + +### Duchy of Burgundy (Independent) +- **Formation**: Capetian cadet branch declares independence as France collapses +- **Territory**: Duchy of Burgundy (Dijon) + County of Burgundy / Franche-Comté (Besançon) +- **Language**: Almost entirely French-speaking (~100%). The Franco-German linguistic border runs along the Vosges Mountains; Burgundy is fully on the French side. Franche-Comté was in the HRE but linguistically Romance. +- **Relationship with Greater Germany**: Strategic ally but NOT part of German unification. German ethnic nationalism cannot absorb a purely French-speaking state. Alliance based on shared threats (Plantagenet France to the west, Mongol-Rus to the east). +- **Claims**: May claim to be the legitimate successor to the French crown (Capetian blood vs. Plantagenet usurpers) +- **V3 role**: Mid-tier independent French-speaking state, buffer between Plantagenet France and Greater Germany + +### Iberian Peninsula (Divided) +- Reconquista effectively complete by ~1270 (only Granada remains as Castilian tributary) +- **Castile and Aragon do NOT merge** (unlike historical 1469 marriage union) + +#### Crown of Aragon (Mediterranean Power) +- **Territory**: Catalonia, Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, **Languedoc** (reclaimed from collapsed France - Occitan/Catalan cultural affinity) +- **Possibly also**: Provence, Mediterranean islands (Sicily, Sardinia - historical Aragonese expansion) +- **Absorbed Navarre**: France's collapse removes Navarre's protector; too small to survive independently; culturally/geographically closer to Aragon +- **Orientation**: Mediterranean, facing Italy and North Africa +- **Language zone**: Catalan-Occitan continuum across Pyrenees + +#### Kingdom of Castile-León (Atlantic Power) +- **Territory**: Central and western Iberia (largest Iberian state) +- **Orientation**: Atlantic, facing Africa and potentially the open ocean +- **Granada**: Emirate survives as Castilian tributary - without Aragon's help, Castile may never muster the political will to finish the Reconquista. Granada could survive to V3 era as a small Muslim vassal state. +- **Competitor**: Portugal for Atlantic expansion + +#### Kingdom of Portugal +- **Territory**: Western Iberian coast, Reconquista completed 1249 +- **Orientation**: Atlantic, historically the pioneer of maritime exploration +- **Competitor**: Castile for Atlantic routes +- **Small but independent**, may punch above its weight in exploration/colonization + +#### Emirate of Granada (Surviving Muslim State) +- Last remnant of Al-Andalus +- Castilian tributary/vassal +- Without united Spain, may survive to 1836 as a small but culturally significant Muslim enclave in Europe +- V3: interesting minor power, potential flashpoint ### Scandinavia / Kalmar Union - Mongols don't reach Scandinavia (too cold, too forested, too poor) @@ -288,12 +341,12 @@ Ogedei dies (alcoholism, historical pattern). Succession crisis ensues, but fund - Norway maintains Atlantic possessions (Iceland, Greenland, Faroe Islands) - No Great Northern War equivalent (Mongol-Rus doesn't prioritize Baltic access - their window is Black Sea/Constantinople) -### Italy -- Protected by Alps from Mongol invasion -- City-states likely continue (Venice, Genoa, Florence, etc.) -- Renaissance may still occur -- But: northern Italian economic connections to Germany disrupted by Mongol destruction -- **Status: TO BE DETERMINED** +### Italy (~1300: No significant divergence yet) +- Protected by Alps from Mongol invasion - no direct impact +- City-states continue as in our timeline (Venice, Genoa, Florence, Papal States, Naples/Sicily, etc.) +- Northern Italian economic connections to Germany weakened by Mongol destruction of HRE, but butterfly effects have not yet materialized by 1300 +- Status at 1300: essentially same as our timeline's Italy. Divergence will come later. +- **Post-1300 evolution: TO BE DETERMINED** --- @@ -359,18 +412,18 @@ Song goods -> Central Asia -> Mongol-Rus territory -> two routes: --- -## Open Questions for Further Discussion - -1. **Anglo-French relationship**: Union or separate? Who controls what? -2. **Iberian Peninsula**: Castile-Aragon union? Portugal? Aragon expansion into southern France? -3. **Italy**: City-states continue? Any unification pressure? -4. **Age of Exploration**: Delayed? Led by whom? Does Song's maritime expansion preempt European exploration? -5. **The Americas**: Who discovers/colonizes them? -6. **Africa**: Colonial partition? Song vs. European competition? -7. **India and Southeast Asia**: Song colonial sphere? Or contested? -8. **Post-Mongol period (1300-1500)**: How does each region evolve? -9. **Song's North-South civil war**: When? Outcome? What does Song look like by 1836? -10. **Ilkhanate evolution**: What does the Middle East look like by 1836? -11. **Mongol-Rus internal evolution**: Reform movements? Slavic nationalism? Industrialization attempts? -12. **1836 technology levels**: Who has what? Is Song far ahead of everyone? -13. **North Africa**: Independent Maghreb states? Relationship with post-Ilkhanate Middle East? +## Open Questions (1300 Snapshot Remaining) + +1. **Italy (post-1300 evolution)**: How do city-states develop differently? Renaissance? Unification pressure? +2. **Ilkhanate / Persia / Middle East**: Mamluk submission degree? Persian cultural dynamics? Islamic world without a caliphate? +3. **North Africa**: Maghreb states' relationship with post-Ilkhanate Middle East? + +## Open Questions (Post-1300 Chronological Development) + +4. **1300-1500 era**: Each region's evolution through late medieval period +5. **Age of Exploration**: Delayed? Led by whom? Song maritime expansion vs. European exploration? +6. **The Americas**: Who discovers/colonizes them? +7. **Africa and India**: Song colonial sphere? European competition? +8. **Song's North-South civil war**: When? Outcome? What does Song look like by 1836? +9. **Mongol-Rus internal evolution**: Slavic nationalism? Industrialization attempts? +10. **1836 technology levels**: Who has what? Is Song far ahead of everyone? |