Pontefract-Capital Of Britain

Pontefract-Capital Of Britain:

A request by a friend of mine for a scenario with a rather specific premise. It is rather ASB. In this world the Royalists are able to hold their own in Northern England during the English Civil War. The Parliamentarians keep their control over Southern England but the Royalists are able to keep Northern England, secure Wales and Scotland and quell unrest in Ireland after a short struggle with rebels. Britain is divided in two.

One of the strangest developments by far was the moving of the court to Pontefract Castle, one of the fortresses that had been integral in halting the Parliamentarians. The town near the castle expanded rapidly as the new capital attracted people to it.

Republican England found itself hemmed in on every side by Royalist Britain and looked to the Dutch for assistance and support. Meanwhile Scotland and Wales found themselves increasingly bound to the remaining English metropole as Britain struggled to correct itself politically. Cities like Cardiff, Hull and Barrow-in-Furness eventually became major economic centres for Britain as trade moved north. The American colonies ended up in British hands and the more English/Protestant sympathetic New England colonies were pacified.

By 2014 the British Isles are once again united and have been for nearly 70 years. The Great Britannic Empire remains the premier power of the world, even if the centre of power shifted to the Americas long ago. Pontefract is a massive city and remains the capital of the British Isles as well as the spiritual capital of the Empire even if Jamestown is the true capital of the Empire as a whole. The royal family spend most of their time in Jamestown as well but their palace at Pontefract Castle does see regular occupation by any princes or princesses once they get older. The Britannic government is still technically an absolute monarchy though power has obviously been distributed between a collection of agencies, ministries, the aristocracy and the clergy. Though the royal family do still possess their traditional powers it is tolerated only because they are expected to never exercise them.

Society in general is hierarchical and traditionalist. Catholicism is incredibly influential and significant to the Britannic people. They have only recently stopped trying to forcibly convert people though the missionaries can get very insistent when it comes to trying to save the people of the colonies from their 'sins'. Social mobility is much easier than it used to be since the industrialisation of the empire though there are certain expectations of people once they enter the upper class, such as purchasing a noble title. Corruption and elitism are major problems in the Britannic Empire despite the cultural effort to enforce some kind of modernised noblesse oblige. The older nobility are gradually being replaced by new aristocracy, most of which are derived from the nouveau riche that dominate most modern industry.

The Britannic Empire abolished slavery a little over a century ago though they were one of the last nations to do so. The Empire's attempts to integrate the people of their empire helped justify the abolitionist movement's goals. Race issues still exist and the black population of the empire do suffer from an apparent glass ceiling but things are improving. A sort of White Man's Burden also exists but it does also believe that foreign cultures within the Empire can participate in society as long as they convert to Catholicism. Religious tolerance is a very new idea and Protestantism still suffers from connotations with the Republican English.

The Britannics maintain several allies in Europe known as the Holy League. The most powerful of these is the Holy Roman Empire. The Hapsburgs had better luck in establishing control over more of the German states of the Holy Roman Empire and was even able to consolidate them as the wars between Catholicism and Protestantism whittled down the more independent members of the Holy Roman Empire. The Seven Years War finally saw all but the Netherlands fall to the Hapsburgs. They have since been integrated and many have proven to be far more compliant due to the fear of the Dutch Proletists and their supporters. The Holy Roman Empire is a militant state and staunchly Catholic though they are fairly tolerant of Protestants, Jews and even the less pious Muslims of their territories. Unlike the other European allies of the Britannics the Holy Roman Empire is wholly independent. Most others are minor vassals and economic or political dependencies that often host great numbers of Britannic military bases.

The Dutch had much better luck in this TL, especially in Africa where they managed to build an empire that stretched from the Cape to the Equator. Unfortunately it was an empire built on the backs of slaves. Eventually their practices became their downfall when, during Seven Years War between the Britannics and their allies and the Protestant League, the Dutch and their allies lost but not without horribly mistreating their population as they struggled to accumulate resources. Whilst they didn't lose any territory they did collapse into total revolution, destroying the Dutch Empire and building the Peoples Proletist Union.

The union expanded upon the minor levels of industrialisation that the Dutch had been implementing on their empire before and during the Seven Years War. These modernisation programs killed millions but did manage to not only expand the Union's industry but also allowed them to transform into a superpower that could truly contend with the Holy League. Though there are still a few unconscious biases and minor tensions the Union is post-racial since the working class of every race in the Dutch Empire ended up struggling together to over throw the old government. The centre of the Union is now in Africa as it is now undeniably the most important economic and demographic portion. The pan-racial nature of the revolution and the prominence of the African territories (which have a rather noticeable white and mixed population thanks to intense settlement programs) helped promote the post-racial ideas that define the Union. The security and surveillance state are still rather extensive despite the recent liberalisation of the Union and state propaganda is rather common though opposing or alternative views on Proletism and the revolution are allowed in some academic circles through debate.

After decades of Cold War that have been in a state of Détente for the past twenty or so years the Union has been reforming and liberalising itself. Various economic reforms that allow surplus from farms, mines or other resource and manufacturing based industries to be kept and sold by the farms and factories that produced it. Small businesses are also permitted if they produce commodities or affordable luxuries by themselves as long as they too comply with state regulations for business. Restrictions on speech, education and movement have also been relaxed quite considerably though the surveillance state is still in place and people will occasionally disappear if they are too outspoken. Religion is also seeing a revival in the Union. It is primarily Christianity but Islam (which is starting to worry people) is also starting to emerge as are several new minor faiths and post-modernist based beliefs.

The Proletist Collective, a loose alliance of proletists, is still in one piece despite the lowering of hostilities between them and the Holy League. The Turkic Proletist Republic, whilst not as wealthy as its competitors has managed to industrialise enough to become a notable member of the Proletist Collective and did manage to develop a nuclear program. The Chinese Proletist Republic is another significant state. Originally a Dutch puppet state they started out as an orthodox proletist state that has since liberalised with time as well. They are rapidly adopting increasingly capitalist practices as the government continues to lower diplomatic and economic boundaries with other nations. The other nations in the Collective are still rather weak. The more orthodox nations are starting to become serious embarrassments and some are considering thinning their ranks in order to cut the money sinks loose.

The Ottoman Empire has lost a fair bit of territory over the 19^th Century but thankfully the Sultan who ruling by the Seven Years War was a moderniser who had learnt from their predecessors' mistakes, just in time to avert proletist revolution and invasion. The Ottomans today are a constitutional monarchy of sorts though the sultan still has a fair amount of power. They have managed to develop a centralised system that still incorporates and appeases the Arab population. They still make a lot of money off of their oil deposits but the current Sultan, a man who wants to leave a legacy similar to his visionary great grandfather, is sponsoring another wave of modernisation and has patronised several new businesses.

Russia had a slightly different history. They still expanded east and became a major world power but the Tsars they picked were at least a little more enthusiastic about industrialisation. Their proletist uprising was mainly in their 'colonial possessions' in Central Asia and was primarily founded on anti-colonial sentiments. Russia spent several decades as a corrupt kleptocracy with a sham democracy afterwards and was almost always struggling to stop causing its own proper proletist revolution. The modern kingdom is about 50 years old and was founded through a military coup that ended with the leader crowning himself. It is moderately progressive by this point even if the king is still very involved in government. Industry has been rebuilt but infrastructure is still lacking in places and the wealth disparity is very apparent. A rising middle class has been emerging in the past few decades and is beginning to change things.

Technology is a few years behind OTL. Mobile phones and laptops are still rather bulky and wireless networks are not as developed. The internet equivalent, whilst recently being incorporated into a worldwide system, does not have global coverage and is still restricted in terms of how powerful the transceivers are. Nuclear power is widespread, primarily because nuclear weapons have not been used in any major engagements and this world has managed to avoid having any major nuclear catastrophes. The Cold War has also prompted the power blocs and even many nations to try to become as self-sufficient as possible. Renewable and sustainable energy sources besides nuclear power are being developed and the governments are founding numerous initiatives to oversee the expansion of solar, wind and tidal power generators. Rocket technology is actually more advanced and have more efficient fuel cells which has extended the space race and has led to several visits to the Moon by astronauts from both power blocs. There are even plans for a hypothetical permanent base.