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King Of The West

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King Of The West:

A request from my father for a scenario of his own suggestion. In this world Henry V is lucky enough to avoid the dysentery that would kill him in OTL and managed to consolidate his claim on the French throne that he had recently won.


King Henry and his immediate successors, used to the relative centralisation of the English political and legal system, attempted to transplant it onto the French. This of course led to uprisings from the nobility that had to be quashed once again. It took time but soon enough the English system was forced on the French and a common law of sorts was created to help unite the two nations.


The Anglo-French Kingdom would fluctuate in size as the English presence on the continent often waxed and waned. However the new united kingdom would survive in some form even if it appeared truncated. The size of the kingdom, now placed under a common law and increasingly 'centralised' form of feudal government, proved to be able to withstand the test of time. Of course the prominence of the two kingdoms within this union would shift regularly but the relative stability of England ensured that it would eventually become the dominant of the two with France remaining important but not the capital territory.


By 2014 the British Empire is still around and has managed to retain direct control over most of its traditional continental counties whilst exerting control over the rest in some other fashion.


Though the name may suggest otherwise the French have had an impact on the cultural of Britain. The official English language is significantly more French with several gender specific pronouns as well as a great number of loan words and vocabulary. French is still spoken in much of Continental Britain though English is taught in all schools as a secondary language at least. Pure 'English' mostly exists in the rural north and has produced several strange dialects. The locals of both extreme linguistic ends of the heartland tend to stubbornly switch to their native dialects whenever tourists show up.


The British throne has changed hands a few times, the current occupants being distant relatives of the Burgundian Hapsburgs. Overall the monarchy retains some actual power but for the most part they have been replaced by the parliaments that have developed over the centuries.


British society is very conservative and religious. Though there is a parliament it is very exclusive and elitist with the upper class usually making the majority of MPs with few exceptions. The monarchy is still held in high regard, an attitude that is reinforced by the media, church and educational system. Social mobility, whilst difficult, is possible and a welfare system is in place which combined with a very high degree of religiosity helps keep the people happy. Technically the Catholic Church is still a separate entity but the sheer scale of British presence over most of their worshippers and the secession from the Holy See of nearly every Christian nation that opposes London has forced them to toe the British line. Suffrage is universal and women can find employment in practically any field but traditional gender expectations are still in place and discourage them from doing so.


The people of the continental territories and counties are much more conservative and paranoid than the people on the British Isles due to their much closer proximity to the western states of the Accord which, in a way, has proven beneficial by keeping them close to London.


Britain's empire is very extensive. Their position as the most prominent nation in a heavily reformed Holy Roman Empire as well as their network of allies, vassals and dependencies extends their authority even further. The sheer size of their empire has become more interconnected as technology advanced but has also become more decentralised with time as well. Most of the viceroyalties are fully autonomous to the point of near independence by this point and the other colonies have all agitated for some kind of autonomy of their own.


Britain's empire is still in the process of being developed but has become increasingly integrated with time. Racial tensions are slowly being soothed through religion since the standard policy has been the acceptance of colonial races so long as they convert to some form of acceptable Christianity, preferably Catholicism. African and Asian converts can easily make their way to the highest points of government if they learn English which has made it somewhat easier to keep a hold over the colonies. Local elections now decide the appointment of regional officials though a crown appointed governor is still sent to fill what is now a largely ceremonial position. Right now the British Empire is on the precipice of either falling apart as the bonds weaken or drawing closer together in a new and more federal system as economic interdependence and political and racial integration go further.


The greatest rival to British hegemony is the Krakow Accord, an alliance of states and their own respective empires and spheres of influence that oppose British efforts to expand territorially and influentially.


The Empire of Poland is still the ceremonial leader of the Accord though the Russians have overtaken them in terms of economic productivity and military power. The Polish have been a major power in Eastern Europe and even spearheaded the Dissenter Churches that rose up in the 16th Century. They have also managed to hold their own in the face of the Hungarians, Swedish and Russians throughout the past.


The Polish used to be an elective monarchy but have been a hereditary monarchy for several centuries now. The emperor is also the head of the Polish National Church though the position affords him very little ecclesiastical authority. The government is very traditional with the parliament being dominated by the aristocracy. The upper class is made up nearly entirely of ennobled people with those who enter the upper classes buying a title in order to ingratiate themselves with the existing system. Nearly all industrialists and rich businessmen have been brought into the system of ennobling the wealthy. Polish society is even more stratified and restrictive than Britain's. The class system is almost rigid in most places despite the trickle of people into the upper class from the middle class. The monarchy and the church are very important culturally and support for these institutions is encouraged by the state and media.


Hungary is technically in a personal union with the Polish but is otherwise independent of them. The Hungarians are reluctant members of the Accord and their participation was largely due to their political ties and economic dependence on Poland.


Sweden is one of the more powerful empires of the Accord and has eclipsed the Polish in many ways, reflecting the changes in the Accord's power dynamic. Sweden is another Dissenter nation with its own church that is thoroughly nationalised and supported by government conversion initiatives. Like Poland they have a very traditional society but their class system is not as rigid with more options for social mobility. This flexibility has also made them the centre for original technological innovation in the Accord. The culture of ennobling those who enter the upper class has been adopted by the Swedes quite enthusiastically.


Russia whilst the largest and most backward, relatively, is also the strongest member of the Accord. Despite being old enemies of Poland and Sweden the Russians have been eager members of the Accord since the British began to press on their own ambitions. The Russians were the last to fully industrialise but they have benefited from the more recent modernisation compared to the other powers and are still expanding their infrastructure. Railroads and industrial complexes are springing up across the empire and great efforts are being made to connect the eastern half of the empire, where the ports are, to the western half. Despite facing stronger neighbours (and because of it in some ways) the Russians expanded east earlier though they were not able to acquire a port for a very long time. Russia has accepted the system of ennobling those who manage to progress up the social ladder but the Tsar still holds the majority of power. The Russians are mostly orthodox but are unconventionally tolerant of other faiths though overt militancy on the part of their Muslim subjects does lead to retaliations by the government and the church. Russia's resources, both human and natural, have made them the economic power of the Accord and the sheer size of their increasingly well equipped army is making them the military power as well.


Technology is at about 1950s level. The last major war was fought over 60 years ago with the equivalent of 1900s technology. The generally conservative and repressive cultures of this world have seen technology progress much more slowly than OTL. Every major nation does support innovation and has done so for at least two centuries now but they object to the political involvement of science and philosophy. Social attitudes are even more archaic with the class systems of every major nation still held in regard. Culture is still about as flamboyant as the OTL Georgian/Regency Period though wigs have recently gone out of fashion. Public sexuality is also much more open than previous periods and schools are required to have sex education classes.


Nuclear power has only recently been discovered and the British and the Accord are both rushing to restrict the number of nations that can develop and build atomic bombs. Jet engines are now common in every form of modern aircraft and rockets are becoming ever more advanced. There is even an emerging space industry and both sides are engaged in a Space Race of sorts though it is much slower than OTL's. New consumer appliances and products are beginning to emerge but the consumerism of OTL has not developed. Socialism and fascism have not developed in OTL forms but anarchism is much more common and is becoming more popular in the more disenfranchised classes alongside anti-establishment religious fundamentalism. Already the governments of every major power are cracking down on radical behaviour, ideological paranoia is spreading and the ideals of the terrorist activists are being smeared by national media and the educational systems.


The nations of the Accord are starting to suffer from radicalism whilst at the same time another war is about to take place between them and the British Empire. Britain has grown increasingly self-confident and whilst they are not complacent they are too used to being the single most powerful nation in the world. Their enemies are growing stronger and any future wars may prove to be a big surprise to 'the empire upon which the sun never sets'. 

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123456789JD's avatar
Will there ever be a Jewish state in this TL? Or do the British treat them fairly?